CHAPTER 2 - Absolutely No Clue

That day might seem like an ordinary day for everyone else: people running into each other on the streets, shops all filled with students eager to get their school supplies, parents trying their best to restrain their children from all the excitement. Yes, it seemed like an ordinary day for Diagon Alley. But not for two young, aspiring Gryffindors, who just happened to be hiding behind a tall man they did not know. If you look closely, you will find that these two are Harry and Hermione.

"I think the coast is clear, Hermione. We should leave before they see us," said Harry, grabbing Hermione's hand and dragging her to the opposite direction.

The two walked for a while in silence. They watched as busy people kept passing by them. Two weeks from now they will finally see their beloved Hogwarts again. They just can't wait for that day; the day when they can finally study in peace.

"Tell me, Harry. Exactly how do you plan on leaving this place without being spotted by your fan club?" Hermione finally spoke as Harry let go of her hand looked at her face.

"I don't know… I'll find a way. Maybe I can hide under an umbrella or something," answered Harry.

"Well, that's a solution."

"They'll probably be gone before we even leave this place. I'm sure they won't stay that long."

"They would, if they find out that you're still here. Where did you get those fans anyway? And what's the deal with that book? Did you…"

"Oh no, Hermione, I didn't ask, whoever that man was, to write all those false stuff about me. And I don't know where those people came from. If you ask me, I'd rather them not knowing who I am."

"Well, you can't change the truth that you had defeated the Dark Lord. That's why people adore you so much now."

"That's not exactly what I had in mind when I battles him. Anyway, I think they're gone now."

Hermione nodded in approval. They walked again in silence, until Hermione bumped into someone they did not expect to see there.

"Hey! Watch it you…"

"Malfoy? What are you doing here?" Harry asked, shock planted on his every word.

"Don't you use your head, Potter? Of course, I'm here to purchase my stuff. What did you expect? I was here on a date or I just happened to pass by? Ask a more stupid question."

"We didn't exactly expect you to ever return to Hogwarts after what Harry did to your father," Hermione shot back.

"Well, Granger, you got it all wrong. For your information, I am staying at Hogwarts because of my mother and because I want to. Father can't stop me. Besides, he's not even in the position anymore to decide what I would do in my life. But then again, at least I have a father."

"What did you just say?"

"Ever heard of a thing called ears, Potter? Everyone has them. Mind using yours?"

"Stop it. This isn't exactly the right place to be having another one of your traditional arguments. There are so many people here and I don't think you would want to create such a scene in front of everybody here. Do you?"

The two of them gave each other piercing glares before Draco finally disappeared in the crowd. Harry sighed heavily, leaning against a wall. This wasn't exactly what he expected to happen here in Diagon Alley. Guess this just wasn't his lucky day.

"C'mon, Harry. We better go look for the Weasleys now. We don't have that much time left before the lunch," whispered Hermione.

"Yeah, let's go," answered Harry.

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"I wonder what happened to those two. Where in blazes could they be?" Ron mumbled as he and Ginny went past three huge men on their way out Ollivander's.

Both of them have been looking for Harry and Hermione for the past thirty minutes and still, they can't find any clue on where the two had been. They've scanned every single place that they have entered for any sign of the two young Gryffindors they were looking for in hopes of finding them. They even asked every person they recognized as friends if they saw Harry and Hermione, but none responded in the way they wanted them to.

"This is going nowhere. How can we find them in this crowd? Our only chances of finding Harry and Hermione is if one of Harry's fan club members screams in delight when they see him. And I doubt Harry and Hermione would let that happen. As of now, Ron, we don't have a single clue on where they are," said Ginny.

Ron looks around, still trying to find any sign of his missing best friends. This is getting ridiculous! Why are we looking for them if, probably, they don't want to be found? No, no, I mustn't think that. Harry and Hermione are obviously looking for us too. They should be around here somewhere.

"We better get going. We might have a least bit of a chance of finding them if we move along. Who knows? Mum and Dad had probably found them and are looking for us right now," said Ron as he and Ginny walked off in search of their parents.

As the day closed into the afternoon, Harry and Hermione found themselves inside an old book shoppe that sold different literature books for those people who were big fans of literature. Hermione dragged Harry inside as soon as she saw the shoppe just after they ran past a few members of Harry's fan club. Harry didn't mind, though he'd rather be elsewhere, but he just let Hermione go through the shelves without a single word to be heard from him.

Hmm... most of these books are written by muggles. How come they're selling it here? Harry followed Hermione through the tall shelves while looking at some familiar books that they passed by. He took out one thick book entitled, The Truth About Romance. This is something. I never knew wizards and witches read love stories. Hmm... looks kinda fascinating.

"Harry, what are looking at?" Hermione asked, walking towards him.

Harry looked up at Hermione's curious face and couldn't help but smile. His best friend had grown almost as tall as he is. She looked more mature than the Hermione she was a few years dated. He felt so happy that she stood by his side even after all that has happened.

"It's nothing. It's just a romance book I saw. I just looked at it out of curiosity," he said as Hermione came close.

"This is an interesting one. Mind if I take it?" she asked, smiling at him.

"It's all yours. I'm not really a big fan of romantic novels. Go ahead. Don't let me stop you."

"Thanks, Harry. Why don't you go outside and wait for me there. I'll just go and pay for these books. I'll be out their soon."

"Okay. I'll go ahead then." Harry walked past Hermione and exited the door.

Harry looked around to check if any of his fans were visible. Lucky for him none of them were there. He sighed and observed the people passing by with loads of books and school stuff at their hands. We were supposed to buy our school supplies today, but instead, we're hiding from those crazed fans of mine. This day couldn't get any weirder.

As Harry looked around, his eyes set on a particular store. It was a jewelry shoppe. Harry looked back at the book shoppe and thought to himself for a while before entering the door of the book shoppe to look for Hermione. He found her caught up at one of the shelves, reading a rather thick book that he had no intention of finding out what it was.

"Hey, 'Mione."

"Oh, Harry! Sorry, did I make you wait?"

"No, it's okay, 'Mione. I just came in to tell you that I just need to go check out something across the street. I'll be back soon. Why don't you take your time in here? I know you want to look some more."

"Are you sure? I don't want to be a burden."

"Go on, don't worry. I'll be back here for you a little later. Meanwhile, just stay here, so we don't get separated like we did with the others, okay? Don't go wandering off without me."

"Alright. Be careful."

"Bye, see you later!"

Harry closed the door gently behind him and walked towards the jewelry shoppe. He glanced at the displays on the front window before entering through the green wooden door that was standing right in front of him.