Chapter
37
Wonder as I Wander
Sirius and Harry spent most of the night catching up on what had been going on lately, before retiring to bed around midnight. Just as Harry was putting on his pajamas, he glanced outside and gasped. Thousands upon thousands of tiny white flakes were falling from the sky over London. Grinning, Harry hurried over and leapt into bed, snuggling beneath the covers and resting his head on the pillow. Within minutes he fell sound asleep.
"Dashing through the snow..in a one horse open sleigh..."
The next morning Harry awoke to the sound of voices singing on the street. He had slept wonderfully, and was rather annoyed because he had been in the middle of a pleasant dream. Yawning, Harry stretched his arms over his head and reached for his glasses on the nightstand. His mouth fell open when he realized it was nearly 10:30 in the morning, and he quickly hopped out of bed, going to the window. The entire city was covered in thick white fluff, and when he got a better look, he realized where the singing was coming from.
Ron, Hermione and Lavender were standing on the sidewalk in front of the apartment building dressed in thick coats, scarves, hats and mittens and were caroling. "SIRIUS!" Harry yelled, laughing as he stumbled out of the bedroom and into the kitchen, where his godfather sat reading the paper as he usually did.
"Harry! What's the matter?" Sirius cried, nearly leaping three feet.
"You have to see this," Harry begged, grabbing his arm. "Come on!"
"All right, I'm coming, I'm coming." Sirius nearly tripped over his chair as he stood, and followed the teenager through the living room and back into his bedroom. Harry led Sirius to the window and pointed down.
"Well I'll be." Sirius chuckled. He pulled the window open and leaned on the sill. "Hullo everyone, what brings you here so early?"
"Good morning!" Hermione cried. "Hi, Harry!"
"Hey!" Harry waved. "Come on up!"
"Let's go, Ron, I'm freezing out here!" Lavender called and nodded up to Harry. "We'll be up in five minutes! There's a man selling hot chocolate a few blocks away and I want to get some!"
Harry sniggered. "We have that stuff here," He replied. "Come on!" He watched as Hermione led the way into the building, and Harry rushed for the living room again.
"Well wasn't that a surprise, eh?" Sirius chuckled. "They must be your friends if they're here to see you this early in the morning and in the snow no less! Do you want me to make some hot chocolate?"
"That'd be great, Sirius.Thanks. I'll wait for them on the couch." He flopped down and covered himself with the old blanket while Sirius went back into the kitchen. About two minutes later Harry heard knocking, and he hopped off of the couch again, nearly running into Sirius who was preparing to answer the door himself.
"After you," Sirius laughed, and Harry pulled the door open, throwing his arms around Hermione, whom he saw first.
"Hullo, Hermione! You guys, what are you doing here? I thought you were with your families! It's Christmas Eve day!"
Hermione nodded. "We are," she added, "but we're all leaving later on this afternoon, so we decided to surprise you and come for a visit. It was Ron's idea to sing, since he never got a chance to put that choir together at Hogwarts. Mmmmm, what's cooking?" She asked as the three entered.
"Hot cocoa," Sirius replied.
"Yum." Ron licked his lips. "So how're you feelin', mate?"
"The same as I did last time I saw you." Harry laughed. "Come on in and have a seat! Let me take your coats first, though."
"Ah, thanks, Harry." Said Lavender, allowing him to help her slide her arms out. Once their coats were hanging up, Harry led his friends into the living room and ordered them to sit down on the couch and relax for a bit. Well, actually, Hermione sat on Harry's lap since the couch was not that big.
"Couldn't bare to be without me, eh?" Harry sniggered, wrapping his arms around her and resting his chin on her shoulder. She giggled and kissed him.
"No I can't," she told him. "I tried, really I did, but I kept seeing your face wherever I went and I had to come and visit you at least once."
"So it really wasn't Ron's idea to come here then, was it?" Harry teased her.
She rolled her eyes. "Well, it was sort of his idea but mostly mine."
Sirius eventually came into the living room carrying a tray that contained mugs of hot cocoa for all of them, and passed them out. He then sat down in one of the other chairs in the room and grinned as they sat sipping from their cups, not really speaking.
"So what are all of your plans for the holidays?" Sirius asked.
"Visiting family," Lavender replied.
"Same," Ron and Hermione replied.
"Are you going to visit Bill in Egypt this Christmas?" asked Harry.
"He's home this time," Ron told him, though there was a hint of sadness in his voice, and Harry knew why. During their fifth year at Hogwarts, Ron's other older brother Charlie had died when they had gone to Romania to try and hide Harry from Voldemort, while he had been sick.
"Well that's good," Sirius broke the tense silence that had filled the room.
Hermione was snuggling against Harry, her head leaning against his chest. "So what did your Mum and Dad think of Julian, Hermione?" Harry asked after a few moments of silence passed while they were concentrating on their cocoa. Hermione reached up and planted a tener kiss on his cheek.
"They loved him," she replied, her voice filled with delight. "They think you're wonderful, Harry." Ron pretended to gag and Lavender smacked him on the shoulder.
"Hey!" Ron sniggered. "What was that for?" He planted a kiss on her lips, which she accepted. Sirius smirked from his sweat, his dark eyes twinkling. It was amazing how fast Harry, Ron and Hermione had grown, and Harry especially, since his battle with the illness the previous term, had grown to take even the smallest things in life more seriously.
"How long are you three staying?" Sirius asked curiously.
"Not long," Ron replied. "Why.are you trying to get rid of us?" he winked playfully and the others laughed.
"Not at all," Sirius insisted. "I was only wondering if you planned to take Harry into town or not."
Hermione and Lavender glanced at each other, fighting back giggles.
Harry smiled. "I wouldn't mind. I'd just need to get a shower and dress."
Ron nodded. "We'll do it, then. Siriius, can I use your fireplace to get a hold of my Mum? I don't have a felly tone thing."
"TELEPHONE, Ron," Hermione snipped. "Haven't you been paying attention at all during Muggle studies?" She stood up and helped Harry to his feet. "Can I use your phone, love? I have to call my Mum as well."
"Sure. It's in the kitchen." Harry pointed in the general direction, and Hermione went in, followed by Lavender. Sirius, meanwhile, was conjuring up a fire for Ron so he could get in contact with Mrs. Weasley. Harry watched with amazement as her face appeared in the bright orange flames.
"Hullo, Ron, what is it?" She asked, her voice sounding as though it were an echo. Then she turned in Harry's direction, and smiled sweetly. "Hullo, Harry dear."
Harry waved nervously as Ron asked about going to Diagon Alley.
"As long as you are back by seven," Mrs. Weasley told him. "We have a family dinner planned."
"Yes Mum, I know." Ron told her. "I'll see you at seven, then."
"Merry Christmas, everyone!" Mrs. Weasley called, and with a small POP, she was gone. Harry stood gaping.this was the most interesting thing he'd seen the wizard's use with fire since floo powder! Hermione and Lavender eventually came back out into the living room, both smiling.
"We can go too, Harry," Lavender announced, "Though I have to be back by five.we're going to my Aunt Eva's tonight."
"My parents expect me home by then as well," Hermione added.
"Great!" said Harry. "Well, let me get ready and we'll go." He headed for the bathroom, and the others sat down again, waiting patiently for him.
"He looks so much better, Sirius," Lavender whispered. "He's not nearly as pale anymore."
"He even sounds better too," Hermione added.
Sirius nodded. "Well, let's hope that this lasts.I don't want to spend another moment in the hospital, though if something else happens I'll have the sense to take him to St. Mungo's this time."
Hermione frowned.
Harry stood in the shower, meanwhile, allowing the warm water to fall over his body. He hadn't felt so wonderful in his life.his best friends had come to see him without warning, he felt well.Harry washed his hair and nearly got a mouthful of shampoo bubbles in the process. At last he managed to get dressed and joined his friends again, who were whispering amongst themselves. Harry could hear clanging noises from the kitchen, which meant that Sirius was cleaning again. "I'm ready," Harry told them, and they looked up, blinking.
"Your hair is still damp," Hermione pointed out.
"And?"
"And in case you don't know, you could honestly get sick if you're out in the cold with wet hair!" She put her hands on her hips and glared at him.
Harry raised his eyes. "That's what hats are for, Hermione."
"Or wands."
"Hermione, you can't practice magic outside of school, you know that!" Lavender gasped, sounding just like Hermione for a moment.
"Sirius?"
"Yes Hermione?" Sirius's gruff voice came from the kitchen, and he peered out from around the corner.
"Could you put a drying spell on Harry's head? His hair is still damp." Her voice was trembling a little.
Sirius smirked. "All right, Hermione. Come here, Harry."
Harry shot Hermione a look as he went over to his gadfather, who took his wand from the countertop, and aimed it at Harry's head, and murmered a few words. Harry suddenly gasped.a very warm feeling came over him as he felt the spell taking effect. Within minutes, Sirius was finished, and Harry found that his hair was now completely dry.
"Thanks."
"Hermione's worried, Harry, and we really can't risk."
"I know, I know," Harry grumbled.
Sirius gave him a worried frown as Harry went back over to Hermione, folding his arms. "Better?"
"Much." Hermione grinned, ruffling his hair. "Now let's go."
Everyone put their winter things back hats, gloves, scarves and boots, and Sirius brought them out onto the snow-covered street. Harry nearly slid and fell on his rump when he came in contact with a patch of black ice when they crossed the street. Instead he managed to stumble right into Lavender for support, who fell into Ron, who knocked into Sirius.
"Careful!" Sirius called. "I'll tell you what.it's a few blocks down to the Leaky Cauldron.I'll call for the Knight bus." He stuck out his arm. BANG. Everyone shrieked and leapt backwards, covering their hearts with their hands. Harry recognized the triple decker bus that stood rumbling in the street. The driver recognized him immediately as well, and he beamed.
" 'Ello, 'Arry!" Stan greeted, coming down the stairs. He was the conductor, and the driver's name, if Harry remembered correctly, was "Ern."
"Hullo," Harry greeted.
"Where are you of to t'day?" He tipped his hat at Sirius and the others.
"Diagon Alley if you please," Sirius told him politely with a nod, and Stan stepped aside to allow all of them on.
"All righ'.Diagon Alley it is then." The doors shut and BANG! Everyone jolted in their seats as the bus began moving again.
"So what are you all up to for the o'liday?" Stan asked as he watched Harry squeeze Hermione's hand tightly.
"Not much," Ron replied. "Family and everything."
"'Ow nice."
"Are you getting a break for the holidays?" Hermione asked curiously, looking Stan up and down with interest.
"Oh no, we work all th' time," Stan told her. " 'ow else are us folk s'pposed to get around?"
Hermione looked rather sad that Stan had no where to go on Christmas.
BANG! The bus stopped again and the doors opened. Everyone leaned forward to watch who was coming on.a tiny, plump witch stumbled on, hiccupping as she carried an empty, chipped bottle in her hands. She gave a goofy wave to them and nearly fell flat on her face as she made her way towards the back of the bus. Ron blinked as he watched her fall onto one of the beds, and he smirked.
"Ought to watch 'ow many drinks you down next time, Madame Plankin," Stan scolded as the witch broke into another fit of hiccups.
"Oh I hic will hic!" She completely ignored the stares from the other passengers on the bus. Hermione held back giggles as she turned away to glance at the scenery outside of the window.
BANG!
"Oh!" Lavender cried as the bus started up again, and she grabbed onto Ron's arm. At last, their stop came, and everyone nearly tumbled out, dizzy from all of the sudden stops and starts.
"I'll be seein' 'oo all later then?" Stan asked, tipping his hat.
"Er." Sirius blinked. "Yes."
BANG! The bus disappeared, and Harry saw that they were standing right in front of the Leaky Cauldron. Lavender pulled her jacket tighter around her as she looked up at the sign, her breath coming in faint white puffs.
"Come along now," Sirius called, and everyone scrambled after him, being careful not to slip as they did so. They went around to the back of the pub, and Sirius, who was the only one allowed to use magic outside of Hogwarts, took out his wand and raised it. Harry's fingers were once again laced through Hermione's, but he did not mind at all. He smiled at her as she watche Sirius tap the particular bricks needed to open the archway, and then the wall began to part. Harry could hear witches and wizards caroling and enchanted pianos playing as they entered the alley. The girls gasped.everything was decorated for the Christmas holiday. All of the shops were strung with beautiful multi colored or white lights, and Christmas trees stood in each of the windows, covered in decorations.
"Merry Christmas!" A disgruntled looking wizard dressed in bright green and red robes greeted, pulling strands of tinsel over their heads and showering them with red and green star and tree confetti. Hermione fingered the tinsel around her neck and raised her eyes at Harry, who was just as startled.
"Erm.thanks." Ron called after him.
"Come on!" Lavender told everyone.
"Hold on, I'm not going with you!" Sirius laughed.
"What?" Harry asked in disbelief.
"This is your day, I'm not going to infringe on it of course. I'll give you all a few good hours to walk around and enjoy yourselves and I'll meet you at the Leaky Cauldron around 3."
"But."
"You'll be fine," Sirius promised, grinning at them. "Plus I have a surprise to set up for tonight, Harry." he gave his godson a wink.
Harry stared. "All right.we'll see you later then?"
Sirius nudged them all forward and gave them a wave, before apparating back to the apartment, leaving them alone for the moment. Lavender looked at Ron. "Isn't Diagon Alley beautiful on Christmas Eve?" She gasped. "Ooooh.I just love hearing the music." They began walking down the street, making footprints in the snow where their boots touched it, and did a bit of window shopping at first.
"I could go for a cup of tea at Loreala's bakery, couldn't you?" Hermione asked, rubbing her glove-covered hands together and blowing into them. It was so cold outside that it was almost numbing.
"Sure," said Ron, who began singing in a very high, ridiculously sounding soprano voice: "I wonder as I wander, out under the sky.how Jesus the Savior, did come for to die.for poor orney people like you and like I.I wonder as I wander out under the sky."
"How appropriate," Lavender giggled, grasping his arm once again and leaning her head against his shoulder as they made their way towards the bakery. The smells were fantastic as they stepped inside, listening as the little bell hanging on the door jingled, and the baker, a fat, balding man with a kind manner looked up from where he was rolling out dough.
"Ah! Good afternoon to you." He greeted, wiping flour on his apron. "What can I get for you lot?"
Hermione glanced at Ron who was looking at the different pies and cakes on display. "We'll all have some tea, thank you," Lavender told him, smiling.
"Well, we have quite a few different flavors of tea.which would you prefer?"
When they all gave him their orders, they took their seats at a table for four by the window. Harry sat across from Hermione so they could listen to each other a bit better, and Ron sat across from Lavender. There weren't many customers inside this place, only an old wizard dressed in bright blue and orange robes, his pointed hat sitting on the table so that he revealed his completely bald head. Harry took Hermione's hands in his and touched them to his lips, closing his eyes.
"Ooh, magazines!" Lavender squealed, pointing to one of the stands in the corner, interrupting Harry and Hermione's tender moment. She stood up and went to pick up The Quibbler, which was a rather unusual wizard magazine, and opened it on the table. "They always have a good quiz in here for you to take.oooh, here we are.page fifty three, how romantic are you."
Just at that moment, the baker came out with their cups of tea, and told them they could pay him when they were ready to leave. Harry took a small sip and glanced at Lavender, who was reading over the questions with a smile on her face. "All right, I'll ask each of you a question and answer truthfully now." She cleared her throat and held the magazine in front of her. "Hermione, do you have a quill on you?"
"Yes," Hermione replied, pulling one out of her robe pocket and handing it over.
"Thanks. All right, first one. Your perfect idea of a date would be: A: a candlelight dinner and a stroll through the park. B: Getting it on in your quarters (Ron nearly choked on a mouthful of tea after Lavender read this question), C: Watching a sexy movie or D: Playing video games." She looked up at Hermione. "What's your answer, Hermione?"
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Oh please, Lavender.do you really think you can judge a person based off of a ridiculous quiz like this?"
Lavender rolled her eyes. "No, but aren't you the least bit curious?"
"I'd take A and B," Ron sniggered into his cup.
"I'd take." Harry thought for a moment. Both A and B sounded intruiging. He studied Hermione's face as she was still arguing with Lavender about how stupid these magazine quizzes really were, before he finally replied, "Lavender, I'll choose B."
Hermione's head snapped towards him. "You.B?!" She blinked.
This did it for Ron, who burst into laughter and nearly fell right off of his chair. "B?!" Lavender cried. "Harry, that's.are you sure? You're answering honestly now, right?" Lavender asked, mystified. Harry didn't honesty seem the type.
"Of course!" He told her. "Why are you all looking at me like that? I'm sixteen years old, for crying out loud.of course I'd."
"Ahem." Lavender looked down at the magazine and scribbled "B" for Harry's answer. "Moving on."
Ron was grinning at Harry who had an eyebrow raised. Hermione was still gaping, open-mouthed. Ten questions later, Harry had everyone rolling on the ground. "Harry, you are NOT." Ron gasped, "A.sexual m-magnet.no." He was practically crying he was laughing so hard.
Lavender giggled. "Oh come on, let us stop jesting at him."
Harry nodded to her in approval. "Yes, if you don't mind.shouldn't we be walking around a bit more?"
"Okay." The four of them stood up and paid the baker for the tea, and he wished them a Merry Christmas before they left. Harry and Ron decided to go and look at Quality Quidditch Supplies, despite the girl's protests, as they wanted to visit the pet shop.
"How about this," Harry began, "You two can go to the pet shop and Ron and I can go to the Quidditch shop.is that fair?"
Hermione and Lavender agreed, though quite reluctantly, and Hermione gave Harry a tight hug.
He kissed her. "Meet us by that lamp post in about twenty minutes, okay?" He looked at Ron who nodded at Lavender.
"All right. See you." Hermione waved as Harry and Ron took off, and then she turned to Lavender with a raised eyebrow. "Typical."
"I'm still gaping over Harry's final score in that quiz, Hermione!" Lavender gasped as they made their way to the Magical Menagerie.
"Oh please," Hermione snorted. "I know he was joking."
"Are you sure he was?" Lavender whispered as they opened the door, and were immediately nearly defeaned by squawks, mews and squeaks. A turtle sat unmoving in an aquarium by the window and every so often, Hermione could see it's shell shoot off a few random sparks.
"Ah, hullo there!" The owner of the shop greeted them, smiling cheerfully. "Last minute shoppers, eh? Plenty to choose from, you know, and I am having a sale tonight."
"No thank you, we're just looking," Hermione insisted. "Have you gotten any new cats in?"
The owner nodded. "Aye miss, we just did.we got some precious new kittens that are over here." He led the girls over to a few cages he had stacked up one on top of the other. There were two kittens in each cage.yellow and white striped ones, pure black, grey and black.
"They are adorable!" Lavender squealed.
"You're the young lady who bought Crookshanks from me not too long ago, didn't ye?" He raised his eyes, and Hermione nodded.
"I did, yes."
"How is the lad getting' along?"
"Very well," Hermione replied, beaming. "I think my boyfriend also purchased an owl for me here a few weeks ago."
The owner nodded. "Excellent," she replied.
Hermione and Lavender spent a bit of time in the pet store, looking around and cooeing over the cuter and cuddlier animals. When it was time to meet up with Harry and Ron again, the girls thanked the owner for allowing them to look around and then left. They saw the boys just approaching the lamp post, and they rushed across the street to meet them. Harry was about to say hello when he sneezed harshly, causing everyone to jump. "Bless you." Hermione told him.
"Thank you."
"It must be the smell of the place getting to you," Lavender suggested with a giggle.
Harry smiled.
The four of them spent the rest of the time just walking into each of the shops, and were quite surprised when it was time to meet Sirius. "That was a lot of fun," Harry told his friends as they made their way to the meeting spot.
"Yes. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas, Harry," Lavender told him, giving him a hug. They met Sirius, and headed back onto the Knight bus after a while. Stan gave each of them red and green lollipops as they got off at the apartment.
"We'd best get back," Ron told Harry.
"Yeah." Harry gave Hermione a great hug and kissed her on the lips. "Don't worry, love. The vacation will go faster than you think." He smiled as he watched her turn away with a final wave, and then looked up at Sirius, who was grinning.
"What are you smiling about?" Harry asked as they turned to head back inside.
"You'll see." Sirius replied, and led his godson upstairs.