Disclaimer: Harry Potter and Gargoyles belong to their respective owners, neither of which is me, I'm merely borrowing their characters. I am not making any money off of this story.

Author's Note: I am so sorry for the delay in posting this. I have had most of this chapter written and sitting on my computer for months but I had a case of writers block and couldn't get the chapter to go where I wanted it to. I'm still not completely satisfied with the way it turned out but I wanted to post something. However I am still working on this story. In the next few chapters (which will hopefully be posted fairly quick) an event I've been anticipating since I began this story will take place. I am greatly looking foward to that scene and hopefully will be able to write it so that it will fit how I have seen it. I think you will all like what I have planned.

Chapter 6

Penthouse Suite, The Hilton

"Okay, we're in New York, now what?" asked Ron as the group settled down on the available couches and chairs in the main room of their suite. "Hermione?" The teens all looked towards the bushy haired witch.

Hermione bit her lip as she thought things over. It's about 3:30 pm. I checked in a newspaper at the airport and sunset is at 8:15 tonight. That gives us about four and a half hours of daylight before we have to be back here. I don't think we should be out in public after dark, at least not on our first night here" she stated as she looked toward Harry. "I mean, we don't know the city and we don't know the public opinion of gargoyles. It wouldn't do to be caught outside when Harry changes."

Harry sighed. "You mean I can't be out after dark. Looks like my condition is already causing problems. If you guys want to go out, I don't mind."

"No Harry, we're all in this together. And you are not causing any problems. I don't think its wise for any of us to be out after dark on our first night in the city, not just you. We need to learn about our surroundings and the people before we try anything."

"Thanks Hermione. Okay, even if we won't be going out tonight, we still have this afternoon. And I think I know what we need to do first" he stated as he looked down at himself and his friends, remembering the looks on the staff and other guests when they first checked in. The concierge had been calling security over to 'escort' them off the premesis. Thankfully Harry's passport and debit card, as well as the reservations the goblins had provided, had been enough to prove their identity. In fact, once the staff had realized their mistake, they had been most apologetic and bent over backwards to accomodate them. "Hermione, do you think we have enough time to buy some clothes before sunset?"

The others, except Hermione and Luna (the former because her clothes were alright, the latter because she didn't see anything wrong with her outfit) looked down at themselves and grimaced. Ron and Ginny however, seemed especially uncomfortable.

Ron opened his mouth and started, uncomfortably, "Harry, I know Ginny and I don't really fit in but we don't have access to our vaults and -"

Harry cut him off there. "Ron, I have enough money in my vault to cover what we need and I can access it with the debit card the goblins gave me. Don't worry about it." When Ron, and Ginny, still looked uncomfortable, Harry continued, "Look, you guys are my friends and the closest thing I have to a family. None of you had to come with me, but you all chose to follow me and find out why these things are happening to me. You need the clothes to fit in here and help me. The least I can do is pay for them. Besides, I want to do it. Like I said before, you guys are my family and family should take care of each other." Now it was Harry's turn to look uncomfortable as he finished his little speech. He never really felt comfortable talking about his emotions, and his little speech came a little too close for him. It did have the effect of stopping the others' protestations, though Ron did still look a little uncomfortable.

"Good, now that that's settled, I believe we should have enough time to get enough clothes for the time being and be back before sunset. I have a list of clothes stores that should have what we need." When the others looked at her, she admitted "Some of the places were mentioned by Diane Maza, and the rest were recommended by the concierge when I 'explained' that there was a mixup with our luggage at the airport."

The group wasn't really surprised by Hermione's preparedness, and quickly made plans of where they would stop first.

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Back in England, Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts

Albus Dumbledore suppressed the urge to sigh and rub his head. He idly wondered who and how far back in Molly Weasley's family had been a banshee; with that woman's ability to scream and yell there had to be some banshee blood present. It had taken far to long to soothe her volatile temper, and he had wasted precious time, time that could have been better used tracking down those blasted brats.

Once he had finally appeased the woman for the time being he had called an order meeting. That had been a waste of time as well. It had been full of chaos and accusations being thrown around. With all the bickering and shouting, little had been done. No one seemed to have any idea where Potter and his friends could have disappeared to, and some were even beginning to question his authority by questioning his decision to leave Potter at the Durselys. 'The nerve of them. How dare they question my decisions, I am the only one who knows what's best' he thought furiously. He had sent them out to look for any clues, with a few such as Minerva and Filius going to question various students who might know where they would go.

And to top it all off his access to the Potter accounts was currently frozen. He had received notice from the goblins that all access was suspended while irregularities in the handling of the Potters' wills and the handling of the accounts themselves were investigated. 'I need to get Potter back here and under my control again. Without him I'll lose control of my financing for this war as well as my 'weapon'. Where could they be?!'

"Hmm. Perhaps Lupin will know. I shall have to inquire with him tomorrow. It's time that werewolf started contributing instead of moping around. He'll help, I just have to play my 'I gave you a chance that no one else ever has' card to get his help. And maybe it will put an end to his moping over Black's death."

He didn't even notice as Fawkes looked up from his perch and trilled a note of disapproval before facing away.

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Manhattan

They had taken the limo to a shopping area and Hermione had quickly ushered them into one of the stores. She had a quick discussion with one of the employees and then everything was a blur. Several employees came over and began bustling about, bringing over piles of different clothes. All of them, except Hermione, were shoved into fitting rooms with armloads of clothing, having to come out and model each outfit before being sent back in for a new one. Harry noticed that he seemed to have more clothes than the others but when he pointed it out Hermione simply pointed out "The others are only getting enough clothes to last out the summer or this trip (whichever ends first) but you need a whole wardrobe. Not to mention you are more likely to go through them with your condition", to which he had no reply.

During the hustle and bustle of trying on all of the clothes (and he had never worn so many different clothes in his life) he could have sworn Hermione disappeared for a while but it was hard to tell. Finally the salespeople seemed satisfied, and he went to pay for their purchases with his debit card. He was glad that that was over with and went with the others to put the bags in the limo. After depositing the bags in the car he was surprised when Hermione dragged them off to another store.

This time it was Ron who said "But Hermione don't we have enough clothes?"

Hermione responded that they didn't know what type of situations they would be faced with during this trip and it was better to be prepared for any occasion. The group was stunned by their friend's attitude about clothes. They had never seen her act this way about shopping (unless it was for books). Though Ron did stick his foot in his mouth when he made a comment about her "acting like a girl" which earned him quite a glare from the bushy haired genius.

Finally it began to get late and they returned to the hotel. Harry had never been so glad for night to approach as he was then. For once he was thankful for his condition, it ended the shopping trip from hell. They went to their suite and deposited their bags in a corner to be sorted later. Glancing at a clock, Harry saw that it was 15 minutes to sunset.

He went into his room and changed into his torn clothes, figuring it was better than ruining another set, then returned to the main room to wait for his transformation. The others had all collapsed on the couches, though he did notice that someone (most likely Hermione) had warded the room for silence. A few minutes later the pain hit and his transformation began.

After a few agonizing minutes, the pain subsided and Harry collapsed on a couch as well. "I don't think I'm ever going to get used to that" he stated. The others all looked at him sympathetically, sad that there was nothing they could do but watch their friend as he went through that much pain.

Hermione broke the silence a few moments later. "I suggest that we all get to bed early tonight. Not only is there the time difference that will affect how tired we are but sunrise is at 5:45 tomorrow morning and we'll want to get a head start. That includes you Harry" she added noticing that the transformation and lack of real sleep over the last few days had worn him out.

"But Hermione," he began to protest "how am I supposed to sleep. If I try to sleep in a bed, I'm afraid I'll ruin the bedding at the very least, and possibly break the bed. I don't think the bed is designed to handle wings, talons and a tail." He demonstrated his point by showing his sharp talons and demonstrating how easily they rip through cloth on a piece of his shirt.

Hermione sighed. "I know Harry but even in this form you still need sleep. Remember normal gargoyles would sleep and recover in stone during the day but that doesn't apply to you. Maybe if we make a nest of blankets and pillows and charm them not to rip." She went into the room Harry would be using (the suite included six bedrooms) and suited action to words. "There, try that Harry."

He reluctantly began to lay down on the nest of pillows and blankets. It was surprisingly comfortable and only took a few moments to get into a comfortable position for his tail and wings. "Thanks Hermione, I think it will work great" he yawned suddenly, surprised at how tired he felt all of a sudden. "G'night everyone" he muttered sleepily as he began to quickly succumb to sleep. The others quickly left his room and retreated to their own rooms, beginning to feel the effects of the long journey for themselves.