I do NOT own HP or any other characters from the story. They are entirely JK Rowling's genius and I am simply borrowing them.
Note: Sorry for the long wait, but hope it's worth it!
Chapter Seven: A Day in Muggle London
Thursday morning dawned too early for Harry and Ron. Ginny came in at about eight, smacking Ron in the head to wake him, then moved over to Harry to awaken him in a decidedly different manner. When he felt her lips exploring his mouth, face, and neck, his hand automatically drew her head down. His lips met hers, pulling her in deeper. After awhile, his eyes still closed, he pulled her body down next to him. He put his arm over her back, playing with her long, soft hair. Then, he made every sign for falling back to sleep. Ginny giggled, punching him lightly on the shoulder.
"Come on, Harry. I must be more interesting than that."
"Mmm…" Harry mumbled something incoherently, and then opened his eyes blearily.
Meanwhile, Ron was glaring at them from over on his bright, orange bed. "Just because I approve of your relationship does not mean I want to see it on display first thing in the morning!" he said with a bit of a growl.
"Oh, shut up, Ron," said Ginny, who was still lavishing attention on Harry, "Go find Hermione, that'll make you feel better."
After shooting one more glare in the direction of Harry's bed, Ron trooped out of the room. Harry and Ginny went back to their morning greeting.
"You kind of need a breath mint," Ginny informed Harry once Ron had gone.
"Oh?" asked Harry. He then tried his best to smother Ginny in his morning breath. "If I'm not mistaken, I think you're the one who decided to try that method of robbing me of my sleep…"
"Yes, well, I must say is has its appeal," said Ginny slyly, tickling his muscular bare chest. But as Harry ducked in for more kisses, she wrinkled her nose and pushed him away. "Now, now, Harry," she rebuked as he pouted, "No more until you've showered and brushed your teeth. After that maybe we can escape Mum to do a bit more snogging."
"Tease," Harry accused, grumbling. Nevertheless, he dragged out of bed, grabbed some clothes, and headed off to the shower.
About ten minutes later, he appeared at the breakfast table in muggle attire. Dudley's hand me downs looked so awful on him that Ginny turned to her mother and pleaded, "Oh, Mum, look at him. You have to let us go get him some new clothes today, he looks terrible in those!"
"Gee, you sure know how to make a guy feel good in the morning," said Harry. "But actually, I was hoping you would take me shopping—I'm sure you have better taste in clothing than I do."
"Ooh, let's all go!" cried Hermione, looking excitedly at Ron.
"I just don't know, kids, it isn't very safe to go out these days, and I need your help around here…"
"Oh, come on, Mum," wheedled Ginny. "We'll be back in plenty of time to help set up for the parties tonight. Think about it, if we don't go, Harry will have to go to the stag party tonight dressed in these." She pointed distastefully at Harry's clothes. "And, quite possibly, he would never have the chance to go shopping again. He could end up defeating Voldemort in those. Think about it, he could go down in history as the worst-dressed hero to ever save us all!"
In spite of herself, Mrs. Weasley had to chuckle. "Oh, I suppose it is almost his birthday. I'd prefer to have an adult go with you, though. Let's see, Bill and Remus and Tonks are too busy, how about Moody?"
The four teenagers raised their eyebrows in horror at the thought of Mad-Eye-Moody, the scary old auror taking them shopping.
"Or," said Ginny, "How about Charlie?" When she said his name he glanced up from his copy of the 'Prophet,' behind which he had been ignoring their conversation.
"Huh?" he asked.
Ginny immediately pranced over, giving him a huge hug. "Charlie, don't you want to escort your favorite sister and her closest friends on a little shopping excursion?"
"Uh, not particularly," he replied.
"Please!" she begged, "You've been positively bored stiff with all this wedding garbage anyway…You'd have lots more fun with us cool kids." She winked conspiratorially at her friends.
Charlie sighed, and then glanced over at his mother, who was watching the brother/sister interaction with amusement. "Any chance of my getting out of this?" he asked pleadingly.
"Nope," Molly replied.
"Better resign yourself, mate," put in Ron. "These girls are relentless when shopping is involved." He put his arm around Hermione affectionately.
"It's a girl's favorite sport!" chirped Ginny. Pulling Charlie out of his seat, and Harry out of his, she dragged them both over to the fireplace. "Coming Ron, Hermione?"
After assurances to Mrs. Weasley, all five of them flooed to the now quite dismal Diagon Alley. Many of the shops were now boarded up, while others were pasted over with 'Wanted' posters. Only one shop on the entire street looked entirely upbeat: quite predictably, the Weasley twins' joke shop.
When they emerged on the other side of the fireplace, Harry said, "Wouldn't it be better to go into Muggle London for this sort of thing?"
"Now you're talking," said Ginny. "Any stops need to be made here before we step out?"
Hermione looked longingly at the bookstore, but shook her head. "I suppose we'd all better get some clothes. Maybe we should get some dark outfits for when we, er, go on missions," she said tentatively, watching to see if Charlie was listening to their conversation.
"That's Hermione for you," said Ginny, "ever practical. Good idea, though! Let's go." She and Harry led the way out the door at the Leaky Cauldron. The bright and bustling Muggle streets seemed strange in comparison to the almost desolate Diagon Alley. The shop windows on this side of the Leaky Cauldron were much more likely to be filled with ads and mannequins dressed in the latest style than with posters of menacing Death Eaters. Ginny soon scouted out a handful of stores for them to try, and their shopping adventure began.
The first store was a trendy little place in which everyone seemed to find something of interest. Ginny and Hermione were looking at clothes for their hen party that evening, while Ron, Harry, and Charlie were aimlessly looking through the store's vast T-shirt collection. After some time had lapsed, Ginny seemed to remember her responsibility and rushed over to pick out some clothing for Harry. He soon had an armful of clothing to try. As she pushed him towards the fitting room, Harry mumbled to her, "Thanks for your help, Ginny, but I want you to pick out something for yourself, too."
"Oh, um, that's ok, Harry," she replied, blushing a little. "I probably shouldn't spend the money right now, and anyway, today's for you."
"But Ginny, I want you to get something. Your birthday is coming up, too."
"Oh, ok," she said with a gleam in her eye. "Early birthday presents! I'll go see what I can find—you might regret the open offer!" She was about to rush off, but she turned and wagged her finger at him. "Show me everything," she said, pointing at the clothing in his arms.
When they left the store some while later, Harry was in possession of several new pairs of jeans that actually fit him, many new T-shirts fitted to show off his nicely toned upper body, a few jackets and a fitted black shirt for "missions." The other three also had purchased some darker clothing, along with a few fun items. Harry practically drooled to think of Ginny in her new outfit: A low-cut turquoise top and a tight black leather skirt. Even Hermione let loose a bit, buying some low-rise, fashionable jeans and a nice, sparkly tank top. Charlie, meanwhile, looked more bored than ever.
When the group stepped back outside, a bright sun was beating down on them from almost right above.
"Lunch time, yeah?" asked Ron. Ginny and Hermione rolled their eyes at each other, but agreed.
"Okay," said Hermione, "But let's step over here into the alley to shrink our bags down. We'll need our hands free if something bad happens." Covertly, she led them in between the buildings and shrunk down their purchases. "Now, I know a great place we can go to—it's just around the corner."
After lunch in a busy little fish and chips pub, Ginny had one more place on the agenda to stop.
"Okay, Harry, I don't mean to embarrass you, but when I've done laundry with Mum I've seen the state of your knickers, and I know you need some new ones."
Harry stopped dead in his tracks, and looked at her questioningly. "When did you ever help your mother with my laundry?"
"That's the least of your concerns; that better have been the only time she's seen the state of your knickers!" said Charlie. He and Ron looked about to explode.
"Oh, grow up, boys," retorted Ginny. "Of course that's the only time I've seen his knickers," she added privately to Harry, "not that I wouldn't like to see them in another capacity sometime."
Harry went bright red, growing quite warm around the neck and possibly in certain other areas, while he looked at Ginny, shocked. "Is anyone else extremely uncomfortable about the fact that we are currently discussing my undergarments in the middle of a public street?"
"Don't worry, Harry," said Hermione consolingly, while patting him on the back. "The sooner you give in, the sooner it will be over."
"Well, I'm all for that. Lead on, Ginny."
She smiled, and then led the group to a new store, in which she rapidly picked out a series of boxer shorts, socks, and undershirts for Harry. "See now, that was fast," she said.
Harry had to agree, as they once again stepped out into the sunlight. This time, though, the light seemed a bit darker, as if someday had turned a dimmer switch on the sun. Immediately on edge, Harry put his arms out to stop his friends from moving further out into the crowd.
"Something's wrong here, I want you all to get out of here," Harry said tersely as he scanned their surroundings intently. To the unpracticed eye, the busy street and storefronts looked normal. Muggles milled around chatting on their cell phones, swinging their shopping bags over their arms, and generally paying no heed to the rush around them. Unfortunately, Harry had been too well practiced in figuring out dangerous situations.
"I thought we were over that," said Ginny angrily. "If something is up, we're staying here to help you." Ron and Hermione quickly agreed.
"Honestly, Harry," said Charlie, "I'm supposed to be here to protect you, not the other way around."
"Fine, fine, whatever, but don't get yourselves hurt. Be quiet a minute, I need to listen." While the others continued to glance around, Harry tuned everything out, simply feeling the air. His mind became acute to the traces of magic that seemingly existed everywhere, even around the muggles. Before he had the chance to be confused, a whoosh of magic entered the immediate area. Harry understood why he had been uneasy and had traced unusual magic when a group of Death Eaters apparated into the crowd. He and his friends immediately drew their wands and began sending shouted and nonverbal spells in the direction of the Death Eaters, careful not to hit any bystanders. The muggles would have to be sorted out later.
Clearly, the Death Eaters were expecting an attack. They quickly countered the spells sent their way with Dark Magic that meant business. Fortunately for the teens, they had been preparing for something like this nearly every day in and out of DA lessons. As they advanced towards the masked Death Eaters, Harry and Ron threw up strong protective shields while Hermione and Ginny made use of their creativity with some interesting spell-casting. Charlie, meanwhile, attacked a Death Eater one on one, quickly incapacitating him with a confundus charm strong enough to take down a dragon. Charlie then followed standard procedure of the Order, snapping the Death Eater's wand, and binding him against apparation.
The girls had between them managed to take out three more Death Eaters, leaving only two more. Soon, the taunts of Bellatrix Lestrange could be heard among the ruckus. Harry narrowed his eyes and approached her confidently, allowing the others to finish off the last Death Eater.
"So, Bella, to what do we owe this honor?"
"Harry Potter," she sneered, "I knew you'd be here. We followed you all day, couldn't you tell? You are unworthy of the respect given to you, and it is time I finished you off."
"It's time you finished me off? I thought that was a job for your master," he replied scathingly.
Bellatrix hesitated a moment, and then shrieked, "Anyone who kills you will be rewarded greatly by the Dark Lord! Only the most committed of his followers would dare try it." She did not sound very confident in this statement, however, and Harry began to doubt whether she had support in this attack.
"Aha, so perhaps Voldy does not know of your attack today? Bold move, Bella. Risky, though. Defeat me, and you could be rewarded beyond all others. Be defeated by me, and you will probably lose face even more so than you have already. I'm curious why you chose today, though, as there are only a few of us present. Wouldn't it have been more profitable to come in blazing on Saturday, unbeknownst to a wedding party full of high-ranking officials, blood traitors, members of the Order of the Phoenix, oh, and me of course...?"
"Fool! I, at least, am smart enough to realize that you will all have been expecting that! If I were to kill you now, it would spare my master a good deal of headache and the possibility of losing many more of his followers in a massive attack. Again, rewards, rewards, rewards!"
"Uh-huh. Well, unfortunately you failed to contemplate my victory today. Sorry to disappoint you!" With the small talk effectively ended, Harry and Bellatrix engaged in a duel. Bellatrix soon looked even more uncomfortable than ever, as Harry threw off her every attempt to take him down. He, meanwhile, was having some success with well chosen disabling charms. The Death Eater quickly became tired with the sparring, of which she was clearly on the losing side, and advanced upon Harry to deal him pain he could not avoid. To her surprise, Harry was not much affected by her cruciatus curse, as he barely writhed in pain.
After his quick recovery, she gasped. "How could this be?" she shrieked.
"Well, Bella, once again your lot has been overcome by seemingly simple tricks that are quite often overlooked. Even the simplest of spells can pack a punch if said with the right emphasis…and by someone like myself. You should be scared, Bellatrix, and all the rest of your pals, because I am coming after you, and so are my friends, the DA, and the Order of the Phoenix." As she cowered underneath his seemingly towering form, he said one last spell to completely disable her, and snapped her wand in two.
