Vana'diel Potter

A Fanfic by Viral Inque

Author's Note:

Chapter IX: A Small Problem

Harry and Fleur awoke the next morning bright eyed and excited to start their day. They had planned it all out loosely before they'd gone to bed the night before. They would be careful with their limited funds, but they also had every intention of treating themselves.

Their first stop was to get some new clothes. This problem had only gotten worse after spending the previous day running around getting a good sweat up. They went into the first shop they found that sold clothing and decided on something plain and simple that would help them blend in without depleting their money too much. After they were done they ran back to their room and changed.

"Ready?" Harry asked.

"Uh-huh," Fleur replied from behind the folding partition where she was changing.

"Let's see then."

Fleur stepped out from behind the partition and spun gracefully in a pose. She had managed to find a powder blue tunic with a wide silver stripe running down the middle and a black belt. The tunic was pretty short so she also had on a pair of black legging. It was all surprisingly affordable, so Fleur even got a pair of boots to go with it all.

Harry had not been so lucky. After removing anything that involved tights or looked like a dress from his list of options there hadn't been much of a selection to choose from. In the end, he finally decided, with Fleur's help, on a plain white shirt underneath a beaten leather vest. This was all fine and good with Harry, and so were the boots they had chosen on. The matching leather pants were the problem. They were beginning to chafe.

"We look pretty good if I do say so myself," Fleur smiled.

"Well, you look great," Harry said doubtfully, trying to adjust his pants into a more comfortable position.

"Oh, stop already," Fleur demanded, putting a hand on her hip, "You look fine."

"Well, at least we got some clean clothes to wear," Harry shrugged, and added, half-joking, "And I'll get used to the itching."

"Close enough," Fleur sighed, "You ready to go out?"

"Sure," Harry said, "What do you want to do?"

"Don't know," Fleur said, "'Ow is our gil?"

"Not so bad," Harry replied, checking the coins in his pocket with a scowl, "Let's just not go crazy."

They stepped back into the now familiar surroundings of San d'Oria's residential district, and started slowly making their way out of the labyrinth of buildings. They wandered casually, arms linked together comfortably, lingering whenever and wherever they wanted to. They took the scenic route, stopping to chat with people or even just to admire the architecture of the city, so by the time they entered the town proper they were quite hungry.

After a moments consideration, they couldn't think of where to go to eat, so they asked. The first few people recommended places that were more like taverns that served food, not unlike the living area at the inn. It took longer then they had planned, but finally they found themselves at a restaurant with a small sign on the front door that had Vijiantrue carved into it in looping script.

It wasn't glamorous or posh, but it was well lit and clean inside, which was far more endearing then the others. Everything inside was simple and unadorned, with highly polished tables and chairs made of a fragrant red wood. It was also quiet, and there wasn't a soul in the place. Harry sneaked a peek at a menu sitting at one of the tables and saw this was the place for them. He nodded at a table in the corner and they sat down.

There was an awkward moment while they waited where they sat looking at each other without saying anything. Harry shifted uncomfortably and looked absently out the window.

"We only got a few more days at our room," Fleur said conversationally, "What do you reckon we'll do with ourselves zen?"

"I hadn't thought about it actually," Harry replied, "Maybe it'll be time for us to move on. We could just head for Windurst. Not like we have to pack."

"I suppose so," Fleur smiled, "We can't stay 'ere forever, and I do want to see Windurst, but it seems fairly far."

A mithran woman had emerged from a door at the back of the restaurant and slinked her way toward them. She stopped in front of their table, pausing to scratch one of her pointed ears with a pencil she had been carrying, before looking down at them.

"Help you?" she asked, offering a forced smile.

"Can we 'ave a moment, please?" Fleur replied politely.

"Sure, just give a wave when you're ready," the woman said, then walked off and took a seat behind a counter by the front door, her tail swinging lazily the whole while.

"'Arry, are you sure it's okay to eat 'ere?" Fleur hissed, leaning in close to Harry so as not to be heard, "Zat woman 'as fur."

"You know, I probably would have gotten along just fine if you hadn't needed to mention that," Harry pointed out smartly.

"Sorry."

"I'm sure it's fine," Harry assured, though he suddenly wondered why the place was so deserted.

"Okay," Fleur said uncertainly, "Let's order."

They both decided on a dish with chicken, since it was the only meat on the menu they recognized. Before long, the woman that was apparently their cook as well as their waitress returned carrying a large platter full of food. She placed a plate in front of either of them that contained chicken slathered in gravy and a heap of oddly shaped rice, a pair of drinking glasses, a bottle of a dark red liquid that must have been wine, and a basket filled with black bread.

"Um, thank you," Harry said, "But we didn't-"

"Don't worry about it," the woman said quickly, then added with a smile, "Enjoy your meal."

The woman disappeared through the same door and Harry and Fleur were alone again. They looked at each other briefly before Harry shrugged and made for the bottle of wine. As he fumbled with the stopper in the bottle, he felt a fleeting awkwardness towards Fleur creep back into him with the formality of the occasion. He brushed this feeling off and a second later a cork rocketed across the room.

"Zis is nice," Fleur thought out loud as Harry poured the wine, "I probably wouldn't 'ave thought so a month ago, but now-"

Fleur cut herself off, scooped up her glass and held it up. Harry followed suite. "To friendship and adventure," she smiled, clinking her glass into Harry's.

"Cheers."

The wine was thick and sweet and welcome. The food was just like the restaurant itself- simple but charming. After a probing taste, they tucked into the whole spread without a word.

"Windurst is far away," Harry thought glumly after some time, resurrecting their earlier conversation, "And we're low on cash again. I suppose we don't have to go, at least not right away."

"No, I suppose not," Fleur shrugged, then stopped short, "Wait, what?"

"I said-," Harry's fork slipped out of his hand and onto his plate with a clatter. He had the sudden feeling that something was terribly wrong, but every time he tried to think of what that might be the thought skirted from his mind. "Why is that wrong?" he whispered anxiously.

"We needed to go to Windurst. Why?" Fleur said, a sickened look on her face.

"Because," Harry said, a mixture of understanding and dismay in his voice, burying his face in his hands, "We have to get back home. We don't belong here. How could we have forgotten?"

"We shouldn't 'ave forgotten," Fleur said, looking dismal, "Zis can't be right."

They looked at each other and without another word tried to think, tried to remember how long it's been since they had thought about going home, since they'd thought about the people they cared about that they had left behind. It certainly felt like it had been way too long.

"Zis is 'orrible," Fleur moaned, "God forgive me, I almost forgot what Gabrielle looks like. Wait, you don't zink-"

"We're forgetting about home," Harry stated decidedly, "That's got to be it."

"Oh, 'Arry," Fleur cried, her lip trembling, "What are we going to do?"

Harry put his hand on Fleur's, "Don't worry, Fleur. We just got to stay calm and we'll figure a way out of this. Let's just finish our food and go back to the room to regroup."

"Okay," Fleur said quietly, blinking back tears.

They finished their meal in uncomfortable silence. After paying for their food, they trudged back through the city, back towards the inn, the jovial mood that had taken them through earlier nothing but a distant memory. They didn't speak, but Harry quietly slipped his hand around Fleur's for comfort, which she took gratefully.

When they got back to the room they sat down on the edge of the bed together and continued their silent vigil. Harry still held on to Fleur's hand, running his finger along the ridges of her fingers without thinking about it, lost in deep thought. Fleur seemed unaware of this, as she was also lost in her own mind. Harry tried to think of what they should do next, but could only think of Ron, and Hermoine, and Hagrid, and all the other people he had nearly just forgotten.

"We have to stop doing this," Harry said, leaping to his feet, startling Fleur, "I know what your thinking. You're thinking about your sister, and your grandmother, and your friends, and feeling horrible for forgetting them. I know because I'm thinking the same thing. But it's not our fault. We have to focus on getting out of here."

"I suppose," Fleur said sadly.

"Come on, Fleur," Harry said, grabbing Fleur gently by the shoulders, "Stay with me. We have to think."

"We 'ave to figure out exactly where Windurst is," Fleur said weakly.

"And we need money," Harry added, making a list in his head.

"We could ride chocobo's to Windurst," Fleur said, taking a deep breath and shaking her head lightly, as if trying to bring herself back to her senses, "But zat would cost money. We could walk, but zat would take a lot longer and put us in danger. We'd need to know 'ow far we were going either way."

"Okay, okay," Harry said, beginning to pace back and forth across the small room, "Two things we know for sure- we need money and a map of some sort. Now, how do we do that?"

"No idea," Fleur shrugged, and fell back onto the bed.

"Come on," Harry pleaded, "Think."

"Well," Fleur replied, sitting back up, "We can get money, but what does it matter? We need to figure out 'ow to make more faster. Ze map is a little easier, but only slightly."

"Do you think we should split up?" Harry offered, unsure himself, "You look for a map, I look for a way to make some money?"

"I don't know," Fleur said skeptically.

"We should be alright inside the city," Harry said, "Probably."

"I'd rather stay together," Fleur shook her head, "We don't know what might 'appen to us now."

"You're right," Harry nodded, "Map then?"

"Okay."

They went back out, a slight hastening to their pace. They decided to make their way to the center of town and go from there. Once there they noticed the auction house looming nearby.

"It's as good a place as any to start, right?" Fleur said.

They pushed their way through the throng and, finally, to the second landing they had been on the other day. As with the last time, the one booth in the corner looked abandoned.

The same man that had been there before was still there, resting his chin in his hand, looking bored beyond description. He offered them an uninterested glance.

"The cotton hasn't popped up yet," he said dully.

"Actually," Harry said, trying to sound casual, "We were looking for a map of Vanadiel."

"A map?" the man repeated, "We don't sell those, but I'm sure there's a few laying around in any one of these shops."

"Thanks."

They ran back down the stairs, intensified by their desire to get their goals accomplished, and shot into the first shop they saw. They were slightly disappointed to find a large pile of maps laying about on a table in the corner. Harry handed the shopkeeper the two gil for the map and they were on their way.

"Well, that was easy enough," Harry frowned.

"Yes, but now what?" Fleur pointed out a little impatiently.

"We're going to have to ask someone," Harry said simply, "It's not crazy to want to make a little money. We wouldn't look that suspicious. There's got to be a way."

"Look zere," Fleur said, pointing to a shady looking man wearing all black, his head covered in a cowl, "If anyone would know, 'e would."

"Sure, why not," Harry shrugged.

"Excuse me," Fleur said, tapping the man on the shoulder, "We're looking to make some quick gil. 'Ave any suggestions?"

Harry glared at Fleur, but if she noticed, she ignored him. The man in black wheeled around to face them and looked them up and down slowly.

"You're kids," he said indifferently.

"So?" Harry replied defiantly.

"Can you fight?" the man asked.

"We can hold our own," Harry said impatiently.

"So go collect crystals and stop asking me dumb questions," the man said, and began to walk away.

"Crystals?" Fleur asked in confusion.

The man turned back and gave them a scrutinizing look mixed with equal parts dislike, then turned back and went on his way.

"So much for being discreet," Fleur smiled, "Maybe we weren't suspicious enough."

"He thinks we're mad for sure," Harry agreed, "But he'll have forgotten about us in two minutes. Plus, that was kind of constructive."

"Yes," Fleur began, Harry seeing a 'but' coming from a mile away, "But apparently we're supposed to know what zese crystals are supposed to be. So 'ow are we going to find out what zey actually are?"

"Good point," Harry said, defeated, "Let's sit and think about it a moment while we rest."

They found a random spot along the stone wall surrounding the city and sat down. Harry pulled out the map and unfolded it onto his lap. Fleur rested her head against Harry's shoulder and looked on as he traced a line across the map from one landmark to the next.

"It's so big," Fleur moaned.

"I think if we can get to this temple in LaTheinne, we can teleport to Saruta Baruta," Harry said, pointing out places on the map, "But it seems like a long way there, and even longer still to Windurst."

"So we're going to need supplies, right?" Fleur asked.

"That would be putting it very lightly," Harry answered sadly.

Silence fell over them as they scrutinized the map, and the potential scope of the task opening up before them. The longer Harry looked, the more daunting it all seemed. There were several areas along their path on the map marked with warnings, including a large orc warning at the temple in LaTheinne which was their first objective.

"What if we didn't go to Windurst?" Fleur finally asked after a long time.

"We don't have any other leads," Harry replied simply.

"No, no we don't," Fleur agreed glumly.

"We can barely eat, so we're not riding chocobos or hiring bodyguards," Harry added after a pause, "Or much of anything else for that matter."

"We should 'ave been more careful," Fleur whimpered.

"We couldn't have known what was going to happen," Harry said, giving Fleur's hand a reassuring squeeze, "Besides, we haven't even considered weapons or magic scrolls to help defend ourselves with. There's just no way we would've had enough money no matter what we did."

"So?" Fleur asked after another pause.

"I don't know," Harry answered honestly.

"Is zis going to be our last night 'ere?" Fleur asked.

"Probably," Harry nodded.

"So let's go," Fleur said quietly, getting to her feet and wiping off her backside.

"Where?"

"One more time," Fleur said, making a wide circle in the air with her index finger, "Then back to the room."

"We don't have time for sightseeing right now, Fleur," Harry said impatiently.

"We've done all we can for now," Fleur said somberly, "Let's just call it a day."

"Are you mental?" Harry said, a little annoyed, "We still have plenty of daylight left. We can scrounge up some money. I don't know how just yet, but I'm sure there's-"

"'Arry, please!" Fleur cried suddenly, looking visibly upset and drawing a few looks. She held a hand out to Harry, "Can you just do what I tell you zis one time. Please!"

"Um, alright," Harry replied stupidly and took Fleur's hand.

And once again they toured through the city, for the last time, arm in arm. It all mirrored their trip through the city that morning, or at least it might have seemed that way, but this time when they spoke about their time there it felt to them that it was in a sort of nostalgic way, as if it had all happened a very long time ago. Despite everything that was going on they couldn't escape a feeling of loss at having to leave San d'Oria; even though, or maybe because, they had only been there a short time.

On their way they stopped at a grocer and spent the last of their money on as much food as they could buy. Harry thought to protest, but then realized that it made little difference if they ran out of money then or tomorrow or even the next day, since they didn't have enough either way.

When they got to the room, Fleur quietly went about laying out a meal for them to eat on a cloth she laid across the bed. Harry watched her curiously, unsure of what she was doing, or why, but not daring to ask. Finally, she sat down on the bed, smiled at Harry, and waved him over. Fleur wrapped her arms around Harry's neck and kissed him gently on the cheek.

"Tell me a story," she said.

"A story?" Harry repeated, giving Fleur a slightly befuddled look, "What kind of story?"

"Tell me your story," Fleur explained, "Then I'll tell you mine."

Harry smiled, grabbed a piece of bread off their makeshift table, and took a deep breath, "Well, I guess it all started on my eleventh birthday…"