Hermione was still muttering about the way the shop clerk talked to Harry as the group made their way out to the street, eating their cones and thanking Mr. and Mrs. Weasley for the treat. Harry might have participated in abusing him, too, if he hadn't been so worried about how he was going to manage eating an ice cream cone while walking and trying to navigate the busy street. A large vehicle roared by and it sounded so close that Harry was certain it must be up on the pavement. He clutched at Hermione's arm and froze until it went past. He let out a breath.

"It's just a lorry, Harry," Hermione spoke into his ear. They hadn't yet recast the Calamitatis charm.

"Harry, there's a step down here," Hermione said. Harry remembered tripping up it on their way in.

"Hey, do you think we can find a place to sit down and eat?" Harry murmured to Hermione. "I'm not sure I can manage all this while walking." He lifted his cone up in the air.

"Oh, right. They do have an outdoor seating area," Hermione said.

"Hey, let's sit down and eat here," Hermione called to the Weasleys who were wandering down the pavement.

She led Harry through a metal gate that clanged to a rickety little chair that wobbled when she put his hand on the back of it. He sat down gingerly as he heard the others filing in and finding chairs around them. He reached out and found the small table between them. It shifted under his hand and he found that there was a pile of papers on it. He touched the paper tentatively and decided it must be a newspaper. It made him think about what Hermione had said about the events in the Chamber of Secrets not appearing in the Daily Prophet yet.

"Hermione, have you been reading the Daily Prophet?" he asked.

"Yes, I've been picking it up when we come into London. You can read it at the Center's library, did you know? I caught up on this week's news when Ginny and I went to the library. They haven't printed anything about what happened at Hogwarts. It's very odd," she said.

Harry ran his fingers over the newsprint while he listened. Reading the paper sounded like drudgery.

"Good idea to sit down, Hermione," Molly approved as she sat down at the neighboring table. "Here are some napkins… Harry, your ice cream is dripping into your lap, dear. Scourgify."

Harry felt a strange, fleeting warmth on his thigh. He reached for a napkin and held it under his dripping cone while he tried to track down the errant rivulets with his tongue.

Ron sat down at the table with them and let out a moan.

"That good, is it?" Harry asked. "What flavor did you get?"

"Blood orange," Ron said. "It's bloody brill… " the rest of the word was lost in his slurping.

"What did you get, Hermione?" Harry asked.

"Roasted plum. It's quite good."

"Ew, that sounds horrid, 'Mione," Ron muttered through a mouthful of ice cream.

"Ginny, what did you get?" Harry asked.

There was a squeak and a chair rattled against the pavement and Molly shrieked. Harry felt people brushing by him. He sat still trying to figure out what was going on.

"Did Ginny fall down?" he asked Hermione. "Is she okay?"

"Come on, Ginny," Fred said.

"Here you go," said George.

"Oh, that's a shame!" Molly lamented. "Oh, dear. Let's get you a new one, okay? No, don't cry dear. It happens, Gin. Please don't worry."

"Ginny, I'm sorry. Did I scare you?" Harry asked.

"No, Harry, don't you fret yourself. It wasn't your fault," Molly admonished. "Now, let me clean up this mess before someone steps in it… scourgify."

"Let me get you a new one, Ginny," Harry said standing up and holding his cone out to Ron who took it. He shook out his staff and held his hand out to Ginny.

After waiting for a few long minutes, she put her small hand in his—it was cold and trembling.

"Oh, wait a sec, Harry, you have ice cream dribbled on your shirt," Fred said as he passed by and Harry heard him mutter something, and then felt his T-shirt warm up slightly and then cool down.

"Oh, thanks!"

He had started walking toward the gate, and then he remembered that his muggle money was in his staff and that he'd have to use magic to get it out. He stopped and touched the raised dots on the staff handle and muttered "Accio five-pound note," and slipped the note into his pocket when it flew into his hand.

"Can I take your elbow, Ginny?" Harry asked.

She took his hand and placed it on her arm, but didn't say anything. She was still trembling.

"Did you get hurt when you fell, Ginny?" he asked softly.

He felt a slight movement that traveled down her arm to his hand.

"Did you shake your head?"

"Yes, sorry," she muttered.

"Are you okay?"

"Why does everyone keep asking me that?" Ginny bemoaned.

"Because we care about you. And yeah, I get it. Everyone keeps asking me, too."

"Well, you got hurt, didn't you. That makes sense," Ginny protested.

"You were hurt, too, Ginny… maybe in ways worse than me…"

"What do you mean worse than yours!"

"No one can see your injuries; mine are more obvious," Harry responded.

She sniffled.

"What kind of gelato do you want?" Harry asked, remembering the step as they went through the door. A bell tinkled as they passed through. There were customers ahead of them ordering.

"Fresh mint stracciatella," Ginny said.

"Straw-che-tella? How do you know how to pronounce it?" Harry asked.

"The guy told me when I ordered it the first time. It's just a fancy name for mint chocolate chip. It's yummy," she said and Harry noticed that she wasn't trembling anymore.

Harry heard the bells ring again and it sounded like Fred, George, and Lee had come into the shop, too. Their feet were sliding around on the tile floor as if they were pushing each other; their voices sounded conspiratorial.

"Can I help you," the man behind the counter asked.

"One scoop of fresh mint stracciatella in a sugar cone, please," Ginny said.

"Didn't you just order?" the man asked.

"Yes, but I dropped it," Ginny said quietly.

"Did he drop his, too?" the man questioned.

"No, I didn't," Harry said tersely.

Why was this person still talking about me as if I can't answer for myself?

"Did you want another one, then?" he asked loudly.

"No, thanks, just the one," Harry said cringing and stepping up to the counter while holding out the five-pound note.

The note was snatched from his hand. Harry held out his hand waiting for the change as he heard the cash register ring open and coins being pushed around. Ginny nudged his hand forward a bit and the man grunted then dropped the coins into his palm.

Harry felt them briefly, trying to determine how much change he'd received before he put them in his pocket. He needed more time to figure out what the coins were.

"Need any help, Harry?" Fred asked, coming up behind them.

"No, we're fine. Ginny's got her ice cream again, right Gin?" Harry asked, but he was confused as it sounded like Ginny was sniffling again. "What's wrong, Ginny?"

"Nothing," she muttered.

"Don't you worry a bit, Ginny," George said. Harry felt George wrap his arm around Ginny and pull her away from him, leaving Harry standing in the middle of the ice cream shop.

"You shouldn't have done that, Fred and George," Ginny admonished, it sounded like they were going through the door.

Harry shook out his staff and started following them.

"It's just a little bit of fun, Gin. And did you see that guy's expression?" Fred cajoled.

"What's going on?" Harry asked, coming up behind them.

"His expression was priceless!" Lee hooted.

"Whose expression?" Harry asked.

"The guy at the counter—," George explained as he held the door for Harry. "Mind the step, Harry."

"—when he read your shirt, Harry." Lee said.

"What?!" Harry exclaimed as he ran his hand over his shirt. It felt different than it had that morning when he put it on.

"What does my shirt say?" he asked slowly, realizing that he could feel the imprint of ink on his shirt, though he was pretty sure he had just put on a dingy grey one that morning—one that didn't have any logos on it.

"I was blinded while slaying a Basilisk—what's your excuse?" George read theatrically, then pivoted him around.

Ginny gasped a sound that was half laugh, half sob.

"What's on the back?" Harry said with a bit of panic in his voice.

"And there's an image of a gigantic dead serpent and you're standing on it holding up the sword, with blood gushing out of your eyes!" Lee nearly shouted.

Ginny was crying more audibly.

"What?!" Harry said as he tried to cover the shirt with his hands, his staff held awkwardly in his elbow, while twisting it to pull the back to the front in a failed attempt to cover the back as well.

"Do you like it, Harry?" George asked.

"We thought you should blow your own trumpet a little," Fred said.

"Fred, you need to change that back. Harry can't wear that while we're walking around London," Arthur said, fuming. "I thought I told you about the need to keep this quiet! It's not a time to blow trumpets!"

"Aw, dad, where's the fun in that?" George moaned.

"Come on, it's the most wicked thing ever and no one even knows he did it!" Lee said.

"Yes, that's the whole point, we're trying to keep it under wraps, not announce it to the world at large! Harry's safety is a stake here!" Arthur emphasised.

"Well, when you put it like that… " Fred said.

"Oh, let me see!" Ron said, laughing and pushing Harry's hands away while turning Harry again so he could look at the back of his shirt. He hooted in delight. "That's bloody brilliant!"

"Oh, boys, that's terrible! I can't believe you did that!" Molly scolded.

"Really, I can't imagine that Harry wants to announce to the world that he's blind," Percy said. "and it's terribly gory."

Ginny sniffed loudly. "Ginny, dear, your ice cream is dripping. Come on, now. Why are you crying?" Molly was speaking softly to Ginny.

"How did you do it?" Hermione asked with a bit of awe in her voice.

"We don't reveal our secrets, dear Hermione," Fred said sweetly.

"Well, change it back, now, while there are no muggles around," Arthur hissed.

"Okay, but I still think that Harry should get some credit for what he did," George said.

Fred muttered a spell under his breath and Harry felt his shirt warm again and then cool suddenly. He moved his hands over his torso, trying to discern if it had been restored completely. It wasn't the same, but he couldn't feel the imprint of words this time.

"That's not what his shirt looked like before, Fred," Molly reproached.

"Well, he should at least get a decent shirt out of the deal, don't you think, Mum?" George said.

"Sure, I suppose. That color does look nice on you, Harry. Brings out the green of your eyes," she said softly.

Harry kind of hated that everyone was looking at him and discussing things he couldn't see.

"Here's your gelato, Harry," Hermione said as if she understood, grabbing his hand and placing the cone in it. "I cast a freezing charm on it so that it would stop melting. I'll take it off now. Finite glacius."

"Oh, it's cold," he said, shivering and he moved his other hand through the air trying to find the back of his chair, which he finally found and sat down. He didn't like having to grope for things.

His tongue nearly stuck to the gelato, it was so cold. He wasn't sure he could finish it. It had been so heavenly just moments before.

Why am I being such a stick in the mud? They were just having a bit of fun.

"Alright, Harry?" George asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Harry said, trying to get the corners of his mouth to go up.

George slapped him on the back.

"It's just that it kind of… " Harry was saying when Hermione interrupted him. "Harry, he's gone. He went over to sit with Fred and Lee."

"Oh, yeah. Right," he said. "No problem."

"They shouldn't have done that without telling you, Harry," Hermione said softly. "It was insensitive. You don't have to pretend that you're okay with it."

"Oh, come on, Hermione. They weren't taking the mickey out of Harry, they were poking at that guy—you were just laying into him, too," Ron chided. "Harry thought it was funny, didn't you, mate?"

"Didn't you see his face, Ron. He didn't think it was funny—he was just confused," Hermione insisted.

"It's alright, really," Harry said, wishing they'd drop it.

He tried his cone again and it was getting soft enough to eat. He didn't want to throw it away after the Weasleys had spent so much money on the treat, so he made himself take a bite. Pretty soon he was focused on trying to keep the ice cream from melting all over him again.

Ginny was still sniffling near Molly and Harry suspected that she wasn't enjoying her gelato, either.

oO0OooO0OooO0OooO0Oo

"Well, we better head back to the Center," Arthur announced to the group.

Metal scraped against the concrete as they stood up and started going out the little gate onto the pavement. Despite his best efforts, Harry felt like he had gelato everywhere. He held his staff in its collapsed form and muttered scourgify while tapping his shirt and trousers and then each of his hands.

"Wait a sec, Harry. There are people walking by. Okay, do it now. You have some on your chin, too," Hermione told him, so he tapped his chin. He liked the warm feeling of the spell—it made him think of a hot washcloth.

"Ron, you better do it, too," Hermione chided. "I think you got more on you than Harry did. You look like a 5-year-old."

"Do not!" Ron huffed, but it sounded like he was scourgify-ing himself.

He shook out his staff and grasped Hermione's arm at her cue.

"Better cast the Dissolutionment spell again," Hermione reminded and he felt her body twisting as she looked around. "There aren't any muggles nearby, this is a good time."

"Right," Harry said as he held the tip of his staff to his forehead and muttered the incantation.

"But don't you cast it—I think people kept running into me and Ron because we're both under the spell," Harry said.

"Maybe it was because Ron's not a very careful guide," Hermione muttered as she led him out to the pavement and they started following the hoard of Weasleys back to the Center. Harry could hear Ron and Lee laughing about something they saw in a shop window up ahead of them.

"Well, it was his first time," Harry said quietly. "And it was through the heart of London. You could cut him some slack."

"Hmmm. I didn't really think that through, did I?" Hermione reflected.

"Well, it might have been better to try it out around the Center first," Harry admitted.

"You could have said something," Hermione pointed out. "Step up here—the pavement's uneven."

"Yeah, well," Harry sighed.

"My mum mentioned that we could go to Diagon Alley when she comes to pick me up—get you a quick quotes quill. Do you want to do that?" Hermione asked.

Harry was quiet. He did want to get some new clothes and trainers and a quick quotes quill would be handy for writing letters and he was tired.

"We don't have to do it today," Hermione said.

"I do need to get some new clothes and I'd really like to have a second pair of shoes. My trainers were wet for nearly two days and it would have been nice to have a second pair to wear."

"Couldn't you just perform a drying charm on them?"

"Yeah, I need to learn that one," Harry said.

"Or what about duplicating your shoes?" Hermione suggested.

"How do you do that?" Harry asked.

"Well, I've only read about it… but the incantation is Geminio and I guess it allows you to make copies of things… though it doesn't work on food or money and many items are protected from the charm so that people can't duplicate copyrighted material such as books… though it might work on muggle books. And I understand that the copies may not be as good as the originals… so if you duplicate your trainers, they may not hold up to wear as long," Hermione explained.

Harry started when something splashed on his neck. "Is it raining?" he asked. "Or did a pigeon just poop on me?"

"Yes, it's raining," Hermione said as she started to walk faster. There were shrieks from the group ahead of them. The smell of ozone was sharp in his nostrils.

"Can't we just conjure an umbrella or something?" Harry asked as the rain started to pelt him—making him shiver.

"Not in the middle of muggle London, we can't," Hermione said. "Here. We're going into a store." She led him through a narrow doorway and the air was instantly warmer and smelled of dust and mildew—Harry could also smell the wet clothes and sweat from the crowd of Weasleys that he had been pressed against as they entered the tight confines of the shop.

"Is this a bookstore?" Harry asked, pushing against someone's back trying to make some space for himself. Percy—he determined by his height and grumbling.

"Yes, it's a used-book store," Hermione confirmed, sounding distracted as she led him down a narrow aisle to the left and giving them more space. "Oh, I wonder if they have a braille section."

"I doubt they would. Why do you want a braille section?" Harry asked, surprised.

"I've been trying to learn, remember? I told you," Hermione said.

"Me, too," said Harry remembering his one lesson with Madam Flamel.

That had been ages ago.

"Oh, they have a large print section… oh, yes, here we go. Just four books in braille, but that's something," Hermione said.

"What are the books?"

"Here," she said as she tapped the back of his hand holding his staff with a book. "You look at it."

He let go of her arm and took the book. It was big, but not heavy.

"Hermione, I can't read braille yet."

"I thought you were having lessons."

"Yeah, I just had one this week. I missed the others… "

"Why did you miss them?" she paused while flipping through another book.

"I… it was a hard week."

"Yeah? What happened?" she asked, her attention on him fully now.

"I . . I was… er… sad."

"Sad?"

"I guess I kind of shut down," he hated to admit it, yet he knew from talking to Besel that it did help to talk about it.

"Oh," Hermione said. "Well, I guess that makes sense. I mean, you've been through so much." Her breath caught in her throat.

Oh, no, don't start crying! Harry thought. He started feeling the cover of the book, his staff caught in the crook of his arm.

"Yeah, this is like Greek to me," he said, trying to distract her.

"Oooh! It says that it's Pride and Prejudice," Hermione said. "That's one of my favorites!"

"You can read it?" Harry asked, incredulous.

"No, it's also got the title in regular print on the cover. Maybe I'll get that. I could practice on it. Oh, it's expensive! Over fifty pounds."

"Wow. That much, really?"

"The rest are children's books… The Cat in the Hat, Go dog go, and a book of nursery rhymes," Hermione said, disappointment clear in her voice. "And they are expensive, too. That's just not right!"

"Hey," George had joined them in the aisle. "It stopped raining. We're going to head out."

"Okay," Hermione said and Harry could hear her sliding the books back on the shelf. She took the volume of Pride and Prejudice from his hands and he heard it thunk back onto the shelf—a cloud of dust tickling his nose.

"I guess it is good that I have access to the books at the Center's library, huh?" Harry said as they walked down the narrow aisle, the silver tip of Harry's staff tinging against the base of the book stacks.

The bell on the door tinkled as they passed through it and the shop owner called out a farewell in a fragile voice. "There's a step down here, Harry," Hermione informed him and he found it with his staff. The pavement was wet under his trainers and all the aromas of the city were damp.

"Hmmm. I smell a garden," Harry said, breathing in deeply.

"There isn't anything green in sight, but I smell it, too. Maybe it is a rooftop garden," Hermione said.

"Did I tell you about Little Friend?" Harry asked.

"Little friend? No, who's that?" Hermione responded.

"My little snake friend at Privet Drive. He helped me weed and mow the lawn."

"They made you mow the lawn?" Hermione cried out.

"Just my normal chores."

"But you could have been seriously injured!"

"Yeah, if I didn't do the chores… " Harry said under his breath. "Little friend helped me. The smell of plants reminds me of him. He really likes fat worms."

"Why didn't you bring him with you?"

"He wanted to stay with his family."

"Oh, I guess that makes sense. Why don't we go to the Magical Menagerie in Diagon Alley and see if they have a snake for you… it could guide you."

"What? A guide snake?" Ron hooted. "But then everyone would definitely think you're Slytherin's heir!"

"Oh, Ron, that's so last year," Hermione stated.