Chapter 4: Bookstore Brawl
Siri was quiet after I told him. Then he pulled me into a hug and apologized over and over for being a git. I felt better afterward. Not just because I well and truly had my brother back, but because I had gotten my fears out in the open and I wasn't rejected. I think that's what I feared most would happen. Rejection.
Leo had a nightmare his first night at the Burrow. It was the same one – Quirrell torturing him repeatedly and Leo eventually killing him. He woke up to find Fred and George holding him down, staring at his sweat-soaked form in worry. When they asked what was wrong, he had looked away and mumbled that it was just nightmares from the end of last year. The two had exchanged a look before picking him up by his arms, grabbing his broom, and marching him out the door.
The led him to a large field and tossed him a Quaffle-sized ball, which he stared at in confusion until they grabbed their own brooms and took the ball from him, soaring through the sky. Leo raced after them and took it back, and there progressed the quietest game of keep-away Leo had ever been a part of.
When they returned to the house, Mrs. Weasley was standing in the front yard, hands on her hips as she prepared to scold them all for being out so late. The twins sent Leo inside while they talked to their mum.
The next night, he had another nightmare, and again the twins took him out flying. This time, when they returned, Mrs. Weasley was waiting for them with a kind smile and mugs of hot chocolate.
As this was occurring, the Weasleys began to notice other odd behaviors as well. Leo avoided mirrors at all costs and outright refused to be in a room with a chessboard in it. They were confused at first until Harry explained that some of the obstacles they had had to overcome were a giant chessboard and dealing with the Mirror of Erised. Leo was surprised the following morning to find that all of the mirrors had either been removed or covered. He didn't say anything but was grateful nonetheless.
A week after Leo began staying with the Weasleys, he and the twins were walking back into the kitchen that morning when they heard Mr. Weasley speaking.
"...You three've got them, too," he was saying, as the three ambled in.
Leo blinked at his Hogwarts letter before opening it and reading through the list of books. One was The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2, and the rest were seven books all by Gitroy Lookhard, as Leo liked to call him. As in 'look hard enough, and you might just find some talent'. Leo outright refused to believe that someone with an ego that large had done any of the things Mrs. Weasley said he had done. You don't see, do, and experience horrible things and come out of it smiling. You just don't.
Fred, who had finished his own list, peered over at Leo's.
"You've been told to get all Lockhart's books, too!" he said. "The new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher must be a fan — bet it's a witch."
At this point, Fred caught his mother's eye and quickly busied himself with the marmalade.
"That lot won't come cheap," said George, with a quick look at his parents. "Lockhart's books are really expensive..."
"Well, we'll manage," said Mrs. Weasley, but she looked worried. "I expect we'll be able to pick up a lot of Ginny's things secondhand."
Leo made a resolution at that moment to pay for all the Weasleys' supplies. It was the least he could do after they put up with his nonsense for the past week.
"Oh, are you starting at Hogwarts this year?" Harry asked Ginny.
She nodded, blushing to the roots of her flaming hair, and put her elbow in the butter dish. Fortunately, no one saw this except Harry and Leo – who barely suppressed a snort of laughter - because just then Ron's elder brother Percy walked in. He was already dressed, his Hogwarts prefect badge pinned to his sweater vest. Leo had the overwhelming desire to give it to Apollo and have him fly it off to Azkaban as a gift for Sirius.
"Morning, all," said Percy briskly. "Lovely day."
He sat down in the only remaining chair but leaped up again almost immediately, pulling from underneath him a molting, gray feather duster — at least, that was what Leo thought it was until he saw that it was breathing.
"Errol!" said Ron, taking the limp owl from Percy and extracting a letter from under its wing. "Finally— he's got Hermione's answer. I wrote to her saying we were going to try and rescue you from the Dursleys. 'Course, this was before Leo sent a message saying he had picked you up."
"'Dear Ron, Leo, and Harry if you're there,
"'I hope everything went all right and that Harry is okay and that you didn't do anything illegal to get him out, Ron, because that would get Harry into trouble, too. I've been really worried and if Harry is all right, will you please let me know at once, but perhaps it would be better if you used a different owl because I think another delivery might finish your yours off.
"I'm very busy with schoolwork, of course'— How can she be?" said Ron in horror. "We're on vacation! — 'and we're going to London next Wednesday to buy my new books. Why don't we meet in Diagon Alley? Let me know what's happening as soon as you can.
Love from Hermione.'"
"Well, that fits in nicely, we can go and get all your things then, too," said Mrs. Weasley, starting to clear the table. "What're you all up to today?"
Leo, Harry, Ron, Fred, and George were planning to go up the hill to a small paddock the Weasleys owned. It was surrounded by trees that blocked it from view of the village below, meaning that they could practice Quidditch there, as long as they didn't fly too high.
They couldn't use real Quidditch balls, which would have been hard to explain if they had escaped and flown away over the village; instead, they threw apples for one another to catch. They took turns riding Leo and Harry's Nimbus Two Thousands, which were easily the best brooms; Ron's old Shooting Star was often outstripped by passing butterflies. Leo roared with laughter every time he saw it happen.
Five minutes later they were marching up the hill, broomsticks over their shoulders. They had asked Percy if he wanted to join them, but he had said he was busy. Leo had only seen Percy at mealtimes so far; he stayed shut in his room the rest of the time. Leo felt it was because he needed some 'alone time'. Fred and George were both horrified and amused by this statement.
"Wish I knew what he was really up to," said Fred, frowning. "He's not himself. His exam results came the day before you did; twelve O.W.L.s and he hardly gloated at all."
"Ordinary Wizarding Levels," George explained, seeing Leo and Harry's puzzled looks. "Bill got twelve, too. If we're not careful, we'll have another Head Boy in the family. I don't think I could stand the shame."
Bill was the oldest Weasley brother. He and the next brother, Charlie, had already left Hogwarts. Leo had never met either of them but knew that Charlie was in Romania studying dragons and Bill in Egypt working for the wizard's bank, Gringotts. He was looking forward to meeting Charlie one day and hearing about all his adventures with dragons.
"Dunno how Mum and Dad are going to afford all our school stuff this year," said George after a while. "Five sets of Lockhart books! And Ginny needs robes and a wand and everything..."
"I wouldn't worry too much about it, George, I'm sure it'll all turn out fine," Leo assured him.
Mrs. Weasley woke them all – with the exception of Leo and the twins, who were already awake - early the following Wednesday. After a quick half a dozen bacon sandwiches each, they pulled on their coats and Mrs. Weasley took a flowerpot off the kitchen mantelpiece and peered inside.
"We're running low, Arthur," she sighed. "We'll have to buy some more today...Ah well, guests first! After you, Harry dear!"
And she offered him the flowerpot.
Harry stared at them all watching him.
"W-what am I supposed to do?" he stammered.
"They've never traveled by Floo powder," said Ron suddenly. "Sorry, you two, I forgot."
"Never?" said Mr. Weasley. "But how did you get to Diagon Alley to buy your school things last year?"
"We asked for directions and walked there," Leo shrugged, feeling a bit guilty about lying to them.
He didn't know why, but he felt that it was important that he keep Grimmauld Place a secret from everyone. So far, the only ones who knew about it were himself, Harry, and Sirius – and he wanted to keep it that way.
"Floo powder's a lot quicker, dear, but goodness me, if neither of you've used it before —" Mrs. Weasley was saying.
"They'll be all right, Mum," said Fred. "Watch us first."
He took a pinch of glittering powder out of the flowerpot, stepped up to the fire, and threw the powder into the flames.
With a roar, the fire turned emerald green and rose higher than Fred, who stepped right into it, shouted, "Diagon Alley!" and vanished.
"You must speak clearly, dear," Mrs. Weasley told Harry and Leo as George dipped his hand into the flowerpot. "And be sure to get out at the right grate..."
"The right what?" said Harry nervously as the fire roared and whipped George out of sight, too.
"Well, there are an awful lot of wizard fires to choose from, you know, but as long as you've spoken clearly —"
"They'll be fine, Molly, don't fuss," said Mr. Weasley, helping himself to Floo powder too.
"But, dear, if he got lost, how would we ever explain to his aunt and uncle?"
"They wouldn't mind," Harry reassured her. "Dudley would think it was a brilliant joke if I got lost up a chimney, don't worry about that —"
"Even I think that's a brilliant joke," Leo snorted.
"Well...all right...you go after Arthur," said Mrs. Weasley. "Now, when you get into the fire, say where you're going."
"And keep your elbows tucked in," Ron advised.
"And your eyes shut," said Mrs. Weasley. "The soot —"
"Don't fidget," said Ron. "Or you might well fall out of the wrong fireplace —"
"But don't panic and get out too early; wait until you see Fred and George."
Trying hard to bear all this in mind, Harry took a pinch of Floo powder and walked to the edge of the fire. He took a deep breath, scattered the powder into the flames, and stepped forward; he opened his mouth and immediately swallowed a lot of hot ash.
"D-Dia-gon Alley," he coughed.
He vanished, and Leo exchanged an apprehensive look with everyone else.
"Anyone else feel like that went terribly, or just me?" he asked.
"Oh dear. I certainly hope he hasn't gone too far," Mrs. Weasley said worriedly.
"I'm sure he's fine, Mrs. Weasley. Harry's got a knack for getting out of messy situations," Leo reassured her, taking Floo powder out of the pot. "Granted, I'm usually the one who puts him in them – but still."
He threw the powder into the flames, his eyes dancing as they turned bright green. He stepped into the flames and smiled at what felt like a pleasantly warm breeze. He wanted to linger a bit longer but wasn't sure how long the Floo Powder would last.
"Diagon Alley!" he shouted clearly.
It felt as though he was being sucked down a giant drain. He seemed to be spinning very fast — the roaring in his ears was deafening — and then suddenly he toppled out, feeling hands steadying him before he fell over. He looked up to see that it was the twins who had caught him.
"Where's Harry?" Mr. Weasley asked in confusion.
Leo sighed dramatically.
"Apparently, I can't take my cousin anywhere."
Leo was saved from explaining further by the appearance of Ron, who filled everyone in on the Harry situation. Percy appeared next, followed by Ginny and finally Mrs. Weasley. She looked around worriedly before bustling them out of the Leaky Cauldron and out to Diagon Alley to search for Harry.
Thankfully it only took about ten minutes to find Harry, safe and sound in the presence of both Hagrid and Hermione. Harry explained that he had wound up in Knockturn Alley – essentially the Dark Wizards' shopping district – and that Hagrid had found him and managed to lead him out to Diagon Alley safely.
"Suppose it's a relief you were covered in soot. Makes it harder to see the scar," Leo said thoughtfully. "Hate to think what a bunch of Dark Wizards would do to the Boy-Who-Lived."
"Funnily enough, that doesn't make me feel any better, Leo," Harry informed him in a very dry tone.
"It wasn't supposed to."
"You're a git."
"I love you too."
"Well, gotta be off," said Hagrid, who was having his hand wrung by Mrs. Weasley ("Knockturn Alley! If you hadn't found him, Hagrid!"). "See yer at Hogwarts!" And he strode away, head and shoulders taller than anyone else in the packed street.
"Guess who I saw in Borgin and Burkes?" Harry asked Leo, Ron, and Hermione as they climbed the Gringotts steps. "Malfoy and his father."
"Did Lucius Malfoy buy anything?" said Mr. Weasley sharply behind them.
"No, he was selling —"
"So he's worried," said Mr. Weasley with grim satisfaction. "Oh, I'd love to get Lucius Malfoy for something..."
"I'd pay good money to see you take old Lucy down a few pegs," Leo admitted in a gleeful tone.
"You be careful, Arthur," said Mrs. Weasley sharply as they were bowed into the bank by a goblin at the door. "That family's trouble. Don't go biting off more than you can chew —"
"So you don't think I'm a match for Lucius Malfoy?" said Mr. Weasley indignantly, but he was distracted almost at once by the sight of Hermione's parents, who were standing nervously at the counter that ran all along the great marble hall, waiting for Hermione to introduce them.
"But you're Muggles!" said Mr. Weasley delightedly. "We must have a drink! What's that you've got there? Oh, you're changing Muggle money. Molly, look!" He pointed excitedly at the ten-pound notes in Mr. Granger's hand.
As everyone else went to their vaults in Gringotts, he walked up to the counter and requested Adknus's presence. When the grizzled old goblin appeared, Leo asked that any money taken from the Weasley account be refilled from his own vault at the end of the day. When asked if Leo would like the family informed, he shook his head, saying that if they asked to just tell them it was an anonymous donation. He knew the Weasleys would never accept charity, even if that's not what it was. It was simply Leo's way to repay them for all they had done over the last week and a half.
He then headed out and bought all his necessary school supplies, saving the books for last as he didn't want to lug Lockhart's stupid face all over the Alley. An hour later, he was headed for Flourish and Blotts. He was by no means the only one making his way to the bookshop. As he approached it, he was surprised to find a large crowd jostling outside the doors, trying to get in. The reason for this was proclaimed by a large banner stretched across the upper windows:
GILDEROY LOCKHART
will be signing copies of his autobiography
MAGICAL ME
today 12:30 P. M. to 4:30 P.M.
"Well, I am now officially convinced that the universe hates me," Leo pouted.
"We can actually meet him!" Hermione squealed behind him, alerting Leo to her presence. "I mean, he's written almost the whole booklist!"
The crowd seemed to be made up mostly of witches around Mrs. Weasley's age. A harassed looking wizard stood at the door, saying, "Calmly, please, ladies...Don't push, there...mind the books, now..."
Leo - joined by Harry, Ron, and Hermione - squeezed inside. A long line wound right to the back of the shop, where Gilderoy Lockhart was signing his books. They each grabbed a copy of The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2 and snuck up the line to where the rest of the Weasleys were standing with Mr. and Mrs. Granger.
"Oh, there you are, good," said Mrs. Weasley. She sounded breathless and kept patting her hair. "We'll be able to see him in a minute..."
Leo wasn't able to suppress an eye roll.
Gilderoy Lockhart came slowly into view, seated at a table surrounded by large pictures of his own face, all winking and flashing dazzlingly white teeth at the crowd. The real Lockhart was wearing robes of forget-me-not blue that exactly matched his eyes; his pointed wizard's hat was set at a jaunty angle on his wavy hair. Leo didn't know it was possible to dislike someone this much without ever having talked to them.
A short, irritable-looking man was dancing around taking photographs with a large black camera that emitted puffs of purple smoke with every blinding flash.
"Out of the way, there," he snarled at Ron, moving back to get a better shot. "This is for the Daily Prophet —"
"Big deal," said Ron, rubbing his foot where the photographer had stepped on it just as Leo kicked out a foot and tripped the man, causing him to fall and break his camera.
Gilderoy Lockhart heard him. He looked up. He saw Ron — and then he saw Harry. He stared. Then he leaped to his feet and positively shouted, "It can't be Harry Potter?"
Sensing something bad coming, Leo latched onto Harry's arm. This turned out to be a smart move on his part as the crowd parted, whispering excitedly, and Lockhart dove forward, seizing Harry's arm and tried to pull him to the front. He looked bewildered when Harry didn't budge. He looked at Harry's other arm and spotted Leo holding onto him tightly. Lockhart gave a brilliant smile.
"Come along, lad, let Harry go. Promise you, you can have him right back -"
"No thanks. I'm not letting you use Harry for some stupid publicity stunt," Leo responded in a very rude tone.
"I don't believe that's your decision to make, Mr...?"
"Evans. But it's not yours either. It's Harry's," Leo informed the man. "Do you want to go up there with him, Harry?"
"Not particularly, no," Harry replied at once.
"There you have it," Leo smiled triumphantly. "Now, let him go before I sue the hell out of you for assault and attempted kidnapping."
Lockhart seemed quite displeased by this turn of events, but released Harry nonetheless and returned to the stage. He turned around to face the crowd, his unusually bright smile back on his face as he said, "It appears Mr. Potter is a bit shy – but not to worry! You still have me."
He gave a small wink and the women – and a few men – cheered. Leo rolled his eyes and pretended to vomit, still not releasing his hold on Harry in case Lockhart changed his mind.
"Ladies and gentlemen," he said loudly, waving for quiet. "What an extraordinary moment this is! The perfect moment for me to make a little announcement I've been sitting on for some time!
"When young Harry here stepped into Flourish and Blotts today, he only wanted to buy my autobiography — which I shall be happy to present him now, free of charge —" The crowd applauded again. "He had no idea," Lockhart continued, giving Harry a winning smile through the crowd, "that he would shortly be getting much, much more than my book, Magical Me. He and his schoolmates will, in fact, be getting the real magical me. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have great pleasure and pride in announcing that this September, I will be taking up the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"
"Yep. The universe definitely hates me," Leo groaned before turning to Harry. "Is it too late to drop out of school?"
Harry patted his shoulder sympathetically. A wizard then came by and presented him with the entire works of Gilderoy Lockhart. Staggering slightly under their weight, Harry and Leo managed to make their way to the edge of the room, where Ginny was standing next to her new cauldron.
"You have these," Harry mumbled to her, tipping the books into the cauldron. "I'll buy my own —"
"Bet you loved that, didn't you, Black?" said a voice Leo had no trouble recognizing.
He bit back a groan, as he turned to face Blaise Zabini with Draco not far behind him, looking uncomfortable with the situation. Leo met his gaze, giving a slight incline of his head and receiving one in return.
"Couldn't let stupid little Potter have the attention – had to go and grab some for yourself, didn't you?" Zabini sneered.
"Sorry, I'm still trying to figure out who you are," Leo frowned, scratching his chin in faux thought. "Haven't I seen you in a circus somewhere? Maybe a zoo?"
Zabini snarled, stepping forward and reaching into the pocket of his robe with his right hand. Leo lurched forward, grabbing Zabini's wrist with his left hand and flicking his wand out into his right with one fluid motion. The tip of his wand pointed at the underside of Zabini's chin.
"We've been here before, haven't we?" Leo asked in a pleasant tone. "It didn't end so well for you last time, now did it?"
Zabini's face grew red as a small crowd gathered around them. Ron and Hermione pushed their way to the front, laden with stacks of books as they made their way over to Harry, asking what was going on. Harry was just as confused as they were, and he had been there since Zabini had first shown up.
"Feeling brave just because all your little friends are around?" Zabini attempted to mock him.
"Last I checked, we got in this exact same situation last time when just your friends were around," Leo reminded him pointedly. "Why don't you yield now and walk away – while you have some small shred of dignity left."
"Never," Zabini snarled.
"Leo!" said Mr. Weasley, struggling over with Fred and George. "What are you doing? Put your wand away -"
"Well, well, well — Arthur Weasley."
It was Mr. Malfoy. He stood with his hand on Draco's – who paled somewhat - shoulder sneering at them all.
"Lucius," said Mr. Weasley, nodding coldly.
"Busy time at the Ministry, I hear," said Mr. Malfoy. "All those raids...I hope they're paying you overtime?"
He reached into Ginny's cauldron and extracted, from amid the glossy Lockhart books, a very old, very battered copy of A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration.
"Obviously not," Mr. Malfoy said. "Dear me, what's the use of being a disgrace to the name of wizard if they don't even pay you well for it?"
Mr. Weasley flushed a darker red than either Ron or Ginny could ever manage.
"We have a very different idea of what disgraces the name of wizard, Malfoy," he said.
"Clearly," said Mr. Malfoy, his pale eyes straying to Mr. and Mrs. Granger, who were watching apprehensively. "The company you keep, Weasley...and I thought your family could sink no lower."
There was a thud of metal as Ginny's cauldron went flying; Mr. Weasley had thrown himself at Mr. Malfoy, knocking him backward into a bookshelf. Dozens of heavy spellbooks came thundering down on all their heads; there was a yell of, "Get him, Dad!" from Fred or George; Mrs. Weasley was shrieking, "No, Arthur, no!"; the crowd stampeded backward, knocking more shelves over and, in the commotion, Zabini broke free and ran off; "Gentlemen, please — please!" cried the assistant, and then, louder than all —
"Break it up, there, gents, break it up —"
Hagrid was wading toward them through the sea of books. In an instant, he had pulled Mr. Weasley and Mr. Malfoy apart. Mr. Weasley had a cut lip and Mr. Malfoy had been hit in the eye by an Encyclopedia of Toadstools. He was still holding Ginny's old Transfiguration book. He thrust it at her, his eyes glittering with malice.
"Here, girl — take your book — it's the best your father can give you —" Pulling himself out of Hagrid's grip he beckoned to Draco and swept from the shop.
"Yeh should've ignored him, Arthur," said Hagrid, almost lifting Mr. Weasley off his feet as he straightened his robes. "Rotten ter the core, the whole family, everyone knows that — no Malfoy's worth listenin' ter — bad blood, that's what it is — come on now — let's get outta here."
The assistant looked as though he wanted to stop them leaving, but he barely came up to Hagrid's waist and seemed to think better of it. They hurried up the street, the Grangers shaking with fright and Mrs. Weasley beside herself with fury.
"A fine example to set for your children...brawling in public...what Gilderoy Lockhart must've thought —"
"He was pleased," said Fred. "Didn't you hear him as we were leaving? He was asking that bloke from the Daily Prophet if he'd be able to work the fight into his report — said it was all publicity —"
"Well, gotta find some way to make the headlines since Harry didn't go up there with him," Leo remarked, retracting his wand as they made their way down the street.
"How'd you know Lockhart was going to go for him anyway?" George inquired curiously.
"Simple: Lockhart's an attention-seeking prat who'll do anything to make a splash. Getting a photo with the Boy-Who-Lived would've been the perfect way to do that."
"Wow, you really don't like Lockhart," Ron commented.
"Gee, did I make it too obvious?"
Uncle Siri,
This may seem a bit of an odd question, but what do you know about Gilderoy Lockhart? He's supposed to be our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, but I don't really like him. Granted, he's most likely loads better than Quirrell (I highly doubt I'll ever meet anyone as truly awful as he).
I met him in Flourish and Blotts yesterday when he tried to get a picture with Harry and I wouldn't let him. Not really looking forward to dealing with that ego for an entire school year.
Hope all is as well as it can be.
Love,
Leo
P.S.: I hope you're aware that I'm not going to stop asking until you say 'yes'.
Dear Remus,
This may seem a bit of an odd question, but what do you know about Gilderoy Lockhart? He's supposed to be our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, but I don't really like him. Granted, he's most likely loads better than Quirrell (I highly doubt I'll ever meet anyone as truly awful as he).
I met him in Flourish and Blotts yesterday when he tried to get a picture with Harry and I wouldn't let him. Not really looking forward to dealing with that ego for an entire school year.
Hope all is well.
Cheers,
Leo
P.S.: You wouldn't happen to know a slow-acting spell or potion that can change the colors of various things/people, would you? Asking for a friend.
P.P.S.: You wouldn't happen to know of some sort of silencing charm, would you? Something that prevents other people from hearing you? Again, asking for a friend.