Disclaimer: The usual, don't own any it, yadda yadda yadda....

Wandering:

After releasing the owls to take their letters back home, Harry went back inside for a moment, to pocket one of the cameras, and sealed the door to the apartment on his way out, with a whispered "Mischief Managed." As he walked toward the front of the store, Reggie saw him and asked, "Well, what did you think of the apartment? Up to standards and all that?" with a grin. Harry replied, "It's great! A guy could really get used to that sort of thing."

"Well, you know it's yours whenever you need it. You and the Twins are the only ones who have access to it, aside from the house-elf that comes over to clean and stock it."

Harry was surprised at this. "I thought that house-elves were frowned upon here, that that sort of thing had ended long ago in the States."

Reggie smiled. "Well, this little guy is apparently an exception to a lot of rules. He's free, and wears some of the most godawful ugly clothes I've ever seen. All of them at once, I think, too. What was his name? Dibby? Dabby? Something like that, at any rate." He broke off as he saw Harry with his head in his hands, his shoulders shaking slightly. "Something wrong, Harry"" He looked concerned now.

Harry pulled his hands away from his face, and Reggie could now see that he had been laughing. "That would be Dobby. It's a long story. Why doesn't it surprise me, that he would be the one to take care of my place?" Shaking his head in bemused disbelief, he started walking towards the front of the store. "Reggie, I'm going out for a while. It's been requested that I take some pictures around here before I head out. I'll be back later. Oh, by the way, did you get the message to get rid of the disguise kits?"

Reggie let out a belly laugh. "Yes, we did. I heard about the threat you made to the Twins over that. Don't worry, though. They were never intended to be sold. They were spelled so that only you, or an employe could see them, and even if somebody did manage to pick one up, the price tags had such a ridiculously high price on them that nobody would ever buy it. A thousand Galleons if I remember right. They said the amount had some significance on it's own."

Now it was Harry's turn to laugh. "Yes, but it's another long story. Maybe some night, we'll have to get the two of them over here, along with a few other friends, and you can hear some of those stories. Make sure you've got a couple of bottles of Firewhiskey handy. That'll be some thirsty work. For now, I'd better go get a start on those pictures." With a grin, he shook Reggie's hand and walked out the door.

The first place Harry wanted to get some pictures of was the Owl Post. He took a few snaps of the main entrance from across the street, so that he could show the sheer size of the place. It really was huge. That done, he decided to go in and get a picture or two of the local delivery area. He could hardly wait to see the look on Ron's face, when the red-head saw a room full of Scopes owls, all zipping, flitting, and darting back and forth. A picture like that out to be good for a lot of laughs, when Ron saw it.

He thought he'd get a few pictures of the bookstore he'd stopped at the day before, Magical Mysteries. After getting some pictures of that shop, he continued down the street, taking pictures of traffic as it passed by. Arthur would love seeing the variety of different enchanted vehicles that traveled the streets here. There were family cars, sports cars, motorcycles, cargo vans, and almost anything else you could imagine. Harry even caught sight of an old pale blue Ford Anglia. He did a doubletake at that. It was a bit of a flashback to see that. The last time he'd seen one of those, it was busily working it's way back into the Forbidden Forest, and hadn't been seen since.

As he continued down The Street, Harry watched the people around him. He saw young couples, some obviously in love, strolling down the sidewalk, window shopping. He watched one couple sadly peering through the window at a jewelry shop. The girl, a pretty blonde, pulled her boyfriend inside. As Harry watched from outside, the couple approached the counter. The jeweler inside obviously knew them. Before they even reached the counter, the older man already had one particular ring out, and resting on the glass. The girl tried it on. She was clearly in raptures over that ring. Her boyfriend, a lean young man with dark hair, leaned on the counter, watching her. His love for her was written all over his face, as was the disappointment that he couldn't afford it now. Harry took some pictures of the shop, making sure the couple was in the frame. As he put his camera away for the moment, the couple turned around, and walked out the door, and down the avenue. Harry came to a decision, and walked into the store. "May I help you?", asked the old man behind the counter.

"Yes. This might sound like a strange question, but how well do you know the couple that was just in here?"

The jeweler replied, "Loni and Chuck? I know them quite well. I went to school with both of her parents. The two of them are probably the best thing that ever happened to each other. It's just too bad he can't afford that ring. He wants to propose, but hasn't been able to save enough to get it for her yet. With the job he has right now, it'll be quite a while." He shrugged. "Maybe once he finishes college, and can get a better job. Why do you ask?"

Harry thought for a moment, then asked, "Do you accept Gringott's charge accounts?"

The older man grinned and said, "I'd have to go out of business if I didn't."

"I'd like to pay for the ring she was looking at. The next time they come in, slip it to him as they leave, and let them know it's taken care of, ok?"

The man looked at him curiously, asking, "May I ask why you would do that? It doesn't sound like you know them at all."

"They remind me of a couple I know back home. They started out with very little except love. I owe them more than I can ever repay. I think that this is something they would approve of, even if they wouldn't allow me to do it for them. Where is your charge plate?"

The jeweler pulled out the plate, still looking a bit sceptical. "Here it is. The price is..."

Harry had held up his hand, stopping the older man. "I don't need to know." As he signed his named on the plate, the jeweler's eyes widened as he realized who his customer was. "Just go ahead and run the charge. I trust you. Just remember, I will be checking my statement, so keep it reasonable, alright?"

"Of course, Mr Potter. Was there anything you were looking for yourself? Maybe there's a special young lady in your own life?"

Harry started to say no, but stopped himself. "What do you have in necklaces? Maybe something with emeralds and rubies."

A half hour later, Harry walked back out of the shop with a small wrapped package. In the box was a delicate gold chain, with a platinum pendant, set with a two perfect stones. One was a ruby, and the other was an emerald, set inside each end of a small infinity symbol. He thought it would be the perfect gift for Ginny.

After leaving the shop, it was time to find a place to get some lunch. He found a small resturaunt down a sidestreet, called Papa Charlie's. It was an italian place. As the waitress seated him at a table, he took a look around. The place was decorated in rich earth tones, with deeply varnished wood paneling and furnishings, and bronze sconces on the walls. After he had ordered a plate of spaghetti and garlic bread, he heard a familiar voice.

"Harry? Harry Potter?" Harry turned around to see who it was, and saw the friendly face of Oliver Wood heading his way. Harry waved him to a seat.

"How are you, Oliver? I haven't seen you in a long time. What have you been up to? Weren't you and Katie Bell going out?

"Yeah. We got married about two years ago, after she was injured, just outside Hogsmeade. It was that Death Eater attack. Remember that?"

Harry shook his head, thinking back. "Yeah. I remember that one all too well. We lost Moody and Dean that day. What have you been doing since then? Besides getting married, that is."

"Well, I've been coaching a Quadpot team down in South Carolina, the Dragons. I had a owl from my mum a couple days ago. She sent me a copy of the Dailey Prophet, with an article about the war being finally over. I was glad to see that, I can tell you that. I wasn't surprised, though, when I saw it was all down to you. Good job there, mate."

Harry replied, "Well, it wasn't all me, by any stretch of imagination. There were a lot of people working for that, and a lot that were lost. I'm just glad it's all over. Now, we can all get on with our lives."

"So what do you have planned now? Gonna go play pro Quidditch? They said on the wizarding wireless earlier today that Ron Weasley was accepted to the Cannons this morning. Hopefully, you can manage to get on a better team." said Oliver, shaking his head over Ron's choice of teams.

"I'm not really sure, Oliver. For now, I'm taking the opportunity to do a little traveling. I've got a lot to sort out lately, as far as what's next." He turned pensive. "I spent so long preparing for this war, now it's over, I'm at loose ends, I guess."

Oliver gave Harry a searching look. "Where are you going from here? Any plans?"

"Not really. I'll probably head up the coast a while. Why?"

"Well, there's a place I think you might want to see. It's out Route 25A, not far from Smithtown. It's called Callahan's Place. If there's anybody who could use a place like that, it's you." The last was followed with a nod, almost as if he was confirming it to himself.

"Callahan's Place? What is it? It sounds like some kind of bar. Something special about it?"

Oliver replied, "You could say that. I don't want to say anymore about it. I don't want to give you the wrong idea about it. Just check it out. If you don't like the place, then keep heading up the coast. If nothing else, it's a great place to have a drink. I think you'll like it."

"Okay, I'll check it out. I'm not sure what the big deal is about a bar though." Harry shrugged.

Oliver said, "I hope you do. Good luck in figuring it all out. It looks like your food is coming. I'll leave you to it." He stood up to go.

Harry stood up as well, to shake Oliver's hand. "Take care of yourself, Oliver. Give Katie a kiss for me." and sat back down to enjoy his meal.

After he finished, Harry crossed over to the other side of The Street, to continue taking pictures of the businesses and homes he saw along the way. He saw many familiar shops, such as Honeydukes, Zonkos, Flourish & Blotts, Madame Malkins, a few others. After a while, he decided to head back down to WWW. As he walked in the door, he asked Reggie where he could take the camera around here to get the pictures developed.

Reggie asked. "May I see that?" After it was handed over, he pointed to the bottom of the camera. "See that button there? All you have to do is hold it down for five seconds, and the pictures come out the side, already finished. It just stores them until you're ready to look at them. Then take the camera to where you bought it, and you'll get your deposit back. Neat little device, actually." He handed it back to Harry.

"Ok, thanks. I think I'll head back into the apartment for the night. It's been a long day, and I want to get an early start tomorrow."

"Taking off on us, are you? Where are you headed from here?"

Harry replied, "Yeah, I am. I think I'll head on up the coast. I ran into a friend from school earlier today. He told me that, on my way, I should check out a bar out on 25A, Callahan's Place. Know anything about it?"

"Intimately, Harry. Best prices I've ever seen for drinks and they don't seem to get a lot of the useless jokers that most bars get. Definitely worth a stop. Once you get about a mile past Smithtown, watch for it on the right. There's no neon, just a wooden sign hanging above the door. I think you'll like it a lot."

"It sounds like I'll have to check it out. Well, I think I'll head back to the apartment. Have a good night."

"You too, Harry. If I don't see you in the morning, take care of yourself."

"Thanks for everything, Reggie. This place is brilliant."

"The way I hear it, Harry, we should be thanking you for everything, including our jobs." Reggie raised an eyebrow at Harry.

"Well, I gave the Twins a hand when they started the first shop, but everything since then is all down to them."

"If you say so, Harry. Good night then."

"Night, Reggie."

Once Harry was settled into the apartment for the night, he had the camera spit out the pictures, so he could leaf through them tonight. He looked again at the picture of the young couple at the jewelry store, sure that he'd done the right thing there.

Harry spent the rest of the evening watching an English Quidditch match on the Wizard's Telly. The Hollyhead Harpies easily beat the Chudley Cannons, 250 to 100. Harry shook his head again at his best friend's new employers, and went off to bed for the night.