Maybe it's All For The Best
Chapter9: London
"I miss you so much"
"I've been gone 7.5 days" I laughed into the phone. "You probably haven't even noticed I'm gone"
"Of course I have. The apartment is empty and I'm hungry" He sounded like he was pouting and I snorted.
"You're such a sook... Why are you hungry?"
"Because there's no food left" He admitted. I laughed again and rolled over on my bed.
"Go buy some then"
"I can't"
"Why?"
"Because I'm depressed that you're not here and I can't leave the apartment"
I snorted again.
"I'll text Katy and get her to go shopping for you ok?" I offered. "I miss you Nate" I told him. Three little beeps in my ear made me gasp.
"What's wrong?" Nate asked.
"My phone is going flat!" I exclaimed. My phone was going flat and I couldn't charge it. Stupid, stupid wizards and they're no muggle technology thing! What would I do without my phone!
"Well charge it?" Nat said, sounding confused.
"I can't!"
"Why?"
"Because we don't have... a charger" I caught myself before I could say we don't have electricity or power points. "I left my charger in New York" I sighed. "I'll have to go to London to get one"
"Oh ok... So I should go before – " The phone beeped again and then went blank.
"SHIT!" I exclaimed. I stared at the iphone in my hands (A/N – yes I know iphone batteries don't last 7 days... I myself have one... but for the purpose of this story... they do xD). It was completely dead, completely flat. I pressed the button a couple of times but nothing happened.
I glanced at my wand on the bedside table and raised an eyebrow.
"I wonder..." I tapped my wand on the screen.
Sparks flew and the screen shattered with a loud bang. I screamed and fell backward off the bed.
"Riley?" Mum called out, sounding worried.
"Yeah?" I sat up and cradled my poor phone.
"What are you doing?" She stuck her head in my room.
"My phone broke" I pouted. "I've got to go into London to get it fixed... where's Roe?" I stood and brushed my shorts off.
"She's at work dear... won't be home until 2" Mum wiped her hands. "Hermione and Ginny?" She suggested.
"Working too" I sighed. "Looks like I'm going in by myself" I pulled a face. I really didn't want to go into the muggle world right now.
"What about Harry?" She said with a smile.
"Harry's also at work" I pointed out, knowing exactly what that smile meant.
"I'm sure he'd take a lunch break for you..." She said hopefully. The woman was hell bent on having Harry as he son-in-law I'm sure about it.
I shook my head "I don't think so" but I wasn't so sure. Maybe I should go over to the Ministry and see if he wanted to come. He did live in London... and it had been a long time since I'd been to London so I didn't exactly know my way around...
"I just don't like the thought of you going into London without some sort of protection" Mum sighed with a shrug.
"Mum, I live in New York" I laughed, wrapping my arm around her shoulder.
"I know. I worry all the time... see the grey hairs?" She pulled her hair that was so much like what mine used to be. There was no way there were any greys there. She still looked like she was thirty.
"Nope" I laughed and kissed her cheek. "I'll be back later"
"Take Harry!" She called out just before I apparated to Diagon Alley. I walked up to the Ministry entrance and went in.
I pushed through the fast walking crowds of wizards and witches who seemed to be in a constant rush and over to the Golden Gates at the end of the atrium. I smiled at the guard on duty. "I'm looking for Harry Potter. Do you know if he's in?"
"He is Miss. Level two. May I have your wand to register you?" The pleasant faced man said with a smile. I handed him my wand and he weighed it and took my name. Then he pushed open the gates. "Go to level two and ask the witch at the desk which office he's in. Have a good day Miss Vanderbilt" He tipped his cap to me.
"Thank you" I smiled back and followed his instructions. I took the lift and came to the desk. "Hello" I greeted the bored looking witch. "Which office is Harry Potters?"
She looked at me sceptically over the top of her glasses. "And you are?"
"I'm Riley... We're meeting for lunch today" I made up. "He said to meet him at his office"
She raised her eyebrows slightly. "Take a right, three doors down and he's on the left. Name's on the door" She said in a bored voice and looked back down at the parchment she was writing on.
"Thanks" I said, not as friendly as I was to the guard. I followed her instructions as well and came to an office with the names 'Harry Potter' and 'Ronald Weasley' on the door. I guess the juniors had to share offices. I knocked twice before opening the door.
"Riley?" Harry asked as I walked in.
"Hey guys" I smiled at them both. The office was pleasant and not as cramped as I thought it would be. Along the wall behind Harry's desk was a book shelf full of files. There was also a mirror with dark figures lurking in the background. Sunlight shone brilliantly through the enchanted windows, lighting up the Grindylow tank in front of them. Behind Ron's desk was a cabinet full off auror stuff that I didn't even try and understand.
"What are you doing here?" Harry stood and walked to give me a quick hug. I smiled.
"Well I have to go into London to get my phone fixed and wondered if you are taking a lunch break anytime soon?" I smiled at him hopefully. "Both of you" I added, glancing at Ron. He grinned and shook his head.
"I'm not, I just ate... thanks though" He answered. I looked at Harry expectantly.
Harry rubbed the back of his head, messing up his hair more than usual. "I would but I've got..." he started to say.
"I'll finish it" Ron interjected. Harry turned around to stare at his friend. "Go get lunch" Ron nodded.
"Really? This isn't one of those things where you'll say you'll do it but wont?" Harry asked, a little suspiciously. Ron laughed.
"Honestly. Go take lunch. Hell, take the rest of the day and I'll cover for you" Ron grinned broadly. I raised my eyebrow at him, wondering what he was up to.
Harry turned around and shrugged. "Looks like you're stuck with me" He smiled.
"Great!" I exclaimed, maybe a little too enthusiastically. Ron snorted and I narrowed my eyes at him. The smirk slid off his face and he returned back to his work. "Shall we go then?"
"Sure" Harry nodded and we left the office.
We walked in silence through the Ministry and back out onto Diagon Alley. Harry loosened his tie and rolled up the sleeves of his plain white Oxford shirt. "Do you ever do field work?" I asked as we walked.
"We're still training to do field work... normally it's four years training for that but they're counting the war as 2" He grinned.
"Defeating the Dark Lord has to count for something though, right?" I laughed.
"You'd think so, but apparently they don't want to over inflate my ego" He grinned cheesily and tapped the bricks to the Leaky Cauldron. I snorted and followed him through to the muggle world. "So, what happened to your phone?" He asked as we walked down the busy London street.
I slid sunglasses on my face and tied my hair up in a messy bun. "Well the battery went flat... and then I tried to charge it with my wand and it kind of... killed it" I pulled my poor phone out of my pocket and showed him.
He burst out laughing. "Riley! Even Teddy could have told you that would happen!" He chuckled, handing it back to me.
"Shut up!" I nudged his shoulder with mine. "I was only testing to see what would happen and apparently... muggle technology doesn't like magic" I sighed, blowing a stray strand of hair out of my face. He grinned at me and pushed his glasses up his nose.
"You're not wearing your ring today?" He questioned as subtly as he could.
I tucked my left hand self consciously behind my back. "Oh yeah... I can't sleep with it on..."
"Scared of doing some damage with it?" Harry chuckled.
"Yeah something like that" I agreed. "I guess I just forgot to put it back on or something this morning" I lied. Truthfully I hated the damn thing. It was so big and gawdy and heavy. Beautiful ring... just not me.
Harry studied me for a few seconds before calling my bluff. "Liar" He sighed.
"I am not!" I shoved him again. He shoved me back and I almost tripped up an old man. Harry pulled me out of his way by my waist before I could be barrelled over "Sorry!" I called out after him. "See what you almost made me do?" I rolled my eyes, stepping out of Harry's arms.
"Well I'm sorry, but I can see through that total bullshit lie" He snickered, shaking his head. His hair fell over his eyes and he flicked it away with a twitch of his neck.
"It's not" I said defiantly. "God, if I'd know you were gonna be THIS annoying I wouldn't have asked you to come" I rolled my eyes.
He nudged my shoulder, brushing our hands together lightly. "Now that is a lie" He murmured. I glanced at him for a second before looking away.
We walked into the Apple store and waited in line to see someone. Because we were inside I had to push the sunglasses up onto my head. I kept my head low and chatted to Harry, trying to hide behind him as much as I could. I didn't want to be noticed today.
"Oh my god... You're Riley Vanderbilt!" Someone exclaimed behind me. I groaned before turning around and smiling at them.
"Yes! Hi!" I smiled at the mother and her little girl.
"Oh you're so beautiful in real life... wow... I... well my daughter loves you. You're a great role model for her" The woman giggled. "No pun intended" A crowd was starting to form around us as the woman babbled on.
I smiled and glanced down at the young girl with wide eyes. "Hey... what's your name?" I asked with a smile.
"Skylar" She said in a quiet voice.
"Wow that's a pretty name... do you want me to sign your bag?" I chirped happily.
"Yes please" She nodded. Out of nowhere about twenty pens were thrust in my direction. I scrawled a note on her bag and turned back to Harry.
"And you think you have it bad?" I sighed. Cameras were going off in our faces, people were trying to get my attention and anything that could be signed was thrust in my direction. Harry gave me a sympathetic look and I went about my business.
Thankfully a sales assistant ushered them all away and I was able to exchange my phone for a new one. They didn't even ask how I broke the first one. One of the perks of being famous I guess.
They also let us out the back door because a large crowd had formed around the front.
"Shit Riles, that's crazy... is it always like that?" He asked, grabbing my arm and guiding me around a puddle.
"Yeah... yeah it is" I answered, distracted by the sudden contact of his hand. My skin burned where he touched it. "Do you want some ice cream?" I asked, noticing an ice cream parlour on the street we'd just turned on. He nodded and let me go. I breathed in and out to try and settle my heart beat down.
We walked in and ordered. "So what did you think of Sarah?" He asked as we stood and waited for our order. I could see the two girls behind the counter whispering to each other about me, wondering why I was in London and who the hell I was with.
"Sarah? Uh... well she's nice" I forced a smile and studied my nails. I wasn't really trying to hide the fact I was lying. "Do you like her?" I asked, smiling at the girls as I took our cones. I ushered Harry out quickly before they could ask for my photo or autograph.
"I don't know really... I've tried to start bringing her to things, to see if she fits in with everyone, but I don't think she does" He shrugged.
"I guess everyone is a bit hesitant on new people after the war" I suggested. That and she's a total bitch.
"You didn't like her, did you?" He asked, glancing at me.
"She's a bit..." I tried to be tactful and not say the B word.
"Abrasive?" Harry suggested.
"Putting it nicely, yes" I nodded. "How do you even know her?"
"She's a friend of Angelina's and she offered to babysit Teddy when I met her at the shop one day and now she's kind of permanent" He answered. He licked his melting ice cream thoughtfully. I didn't say anything. Mum always told me to do that if I couldn't think of anything nice to say. "She's good to us though. It's been so hard since Lupin and Tonks..." His voice cracked and he cleared his throat.
I scooped up his hand and linked our fingers. "I'm so sorry Harry, that I wasn't here..." I murmured in a low voice. "I couldn't believe when Molly told me..."
He gave my hand a squeeze and lifted his shoulder in a half shrug. "It happened so fast, there's nothing any of us could do about it... They both paid the price for being emotionally involved" He dropped my hand suddenly, and I was left with an empty feeling. I knew what his words meant. They meant that he had done the right thing so long ago because I (in his words) would have been a liability. Pain tugged at my chest and I took a lick of my ice cream. I looked out at the Story Bridge, raising it's roads to let a barge pass underneath.
"Well Teddy is lucky to have you" I spoke after a while. "He's a happy kid"
"He is" Harry nodded. "It's just hard juggling everything sometimes... work, Teddy, being 'the-boy who-lived-and-then-defeated-voldemort'" He scowled slightly. "Sarah understands that though. She's not pushy or in my face about anything" He smiled slightly and I had to look away. Why was it that boys couldn't see that girls were just Pure Evil sometimes?
"I understand it too" I murmured. "But then again, I always have" I added. He glanced at me but I spoke again before he could say anything. "So what are you doing for your birthday?"
"My birthday?" he wrinkled his brow. "Oh! Right, you'll be here for that won't you?" He smiled.
"I definitely will" I nodded. "The big 'Twenty-One'" I nudged him. "Doing anything?"
"Not really to be honest" He shook his head. "I don't really like fusses..."
I gasped and pretended to look scandelised. "You don't like a fuss?" I placed a hand dramatically over my chest. "But Harry, you're 21! You're officially an adult! You have to take this chance and get wasted just because you can!" I threw my hands in the air and laughed. Harry chuckled. "Besides... I'm here so it'll have to be extra awesome!"
I tossed my hair over my shoulder and finished my ice cream. I could see him watching me out of the corner of my eye and I felt butterflies stir in my stomach again. I looked at him and he glanced away quickly... shyly.
"Well maybe... I'll think about it... only because you're here" He linked his fingers with mine again and looked out over the Thames. I smiled and leant into his shoulder. I really missed moments like these.
Plea's Note:
Here it is... Number 9... Things are getting interesting between Harry and Riles don't you think? I know they are because I just wrote one of the most nailbiting chapters... with a HUGE twist... be prepared to hate someone you love mmk? ;)
Love always,
Plea xo
Oh.. King... I'm trying to reply to you! I promise xo