Chapter 11

Jonathan Crown

Harry told Ron and Hermione what had happened at the hearing; neither of them could make sense of what had happened. The presence of Umbridge and the hooded individual in the benches, as well as Lupin and Moody, was a mystery. Harry couldn't even say whether Malfoy had been found guilty of anything or not; after he'd left the courtroom he was quickly whisked to an exit and sent on his way.

More welcome news awaited them at the Burrow. Owls from Hogwarts had arrived in the afternoon while they'd all been out, bringing the booklists for their seventh year.

Neither Ron nor Hermione were listed as Head Boy or Head Girl, however, although they both found prefect's badges in their envelopes. They would have to wait until September 1 on the Hogwarts Express to find out who'd been given those honors.

"It had better not be Pansy Parkinson," said Hermione darkly. "She'll be absolutely, insufferably revolting if she's been made Head Girl."

Ginny had also received her O.W.L. scores. Hermione practically snatched the parchment out of her hand as she presented it. As with Harry's own results the year before, it gave the pass and fail grades, the student's name, and his or her scores:

Ordinary Wizarding Level Results

Pass Grades Fail Grades
 Outstanding (O) Poor (P)
Exceeds Expectations (E) Dreadful (D)
Acceptable (A) Troll (T)

Ginevra Molly Weasley has achieved:

Astronomy.................................. E
Care of Magical Creatures.......... E
Charms....................................... O
Defense Against the Dark Arts.... O
Divination.................................... A
Herbology................................... E
History of Magic.......................... A
Potions....................................... E
Transfiguration........................... E

"Very good scores," Hermione said with a smile, handing them back to Ginny. Harry suspected she was being diplomatic; Hermione had taken O.W.L.s in every subject except Divination and Muggle Studies and had scored O's in every subject except Defense Against the Dark Arts, in which she'd gotten an E.

"Mum was happy with them, at least," Ginny said with a shrug. "But I think I should have had an 'E' in History of Magic."

"For what?" Ron sniggered, "staying awake?"

"At least I passed it," Ginny shot back. Harry said nothing; like Ron, he hadn't passed History of Magic either.

The booklist for seventh years was minimal, with only The Standard Book of Spells Grade 7 by Miranda Goshawk and Advanced Transfiguration being required for all of them; Hermione had a few other books on Advanced Ancient Runes and Arithmancy.

"Too bad these didn't arrive a day earlier," Ron mused. "We just got back from Diagon Alley and now we'll be heading there again." Now, with all three of them able to Apparate if they desired, traveling would no longer be the big affair it had once been. Unless Ginny wanted to go along as well, especially to Diagon Alley for her school supplies. The group resolved to make the trip the following morning, so there would be more time to look around.

Many things had changed in the few weeks since Voldemort had been "defeated." The overall celebration had largely died down, replaced with a new sense of freedom, especially after several Death Eaters, now remorseful after their leader's disappearance, had turned themselves in to the Ministry of Magic. They had been dealt with, although only two, Flanders and Smithers, had received sentences at Azkaban.

As a consequence, many of the freedoms the Wizarding world had enjoyed in the years after Voldemort's first disappearance, freedoms which had been cut back as he rose again, were now reappearing. The Floo Network, much of which had been disconnected in the last few years, was being reconnected again, with the addition of a "floo valve," a simple spell that disconnected the fireplace from the Floo Network. Mr. Weasley, Mrs. Weasley had mentioned, had had the Burrow's fireplace reconnected to the Floo Network with a Ministry-approved floo valve in place. Getting to Diagon Alley would be no problem as long as Fred and George's store remained open.

The only opposition to their trip came from Mrs. Weasley, and her reasons were more pragmatic. "I don't know why it's going to take the lot of you running around Diagon Alley when I could take care of it for everyone myself."

"It's not just for picking up school supplies, you know," Ginny replied reasonably. "There's window-shopping and cafés and visiting Fred and George's shop –"

"Now that's a lovely idea just before you go back to Hogwarts," Mrs. Weasley snapped. "You don't need to be bringing any of their stuff back to school for pranks and such!"

"Mum!" Ginny said, outraged. "When have I ever done that?!"

"Yeah," Ron muttered to Harry. "Her hexes are bad enough as it is."

"I heard that!" Ginny and Mrs. Weasley both said at the same time.

Eventually it was all worked out: Ginny and Mrs. Weasley would go via Floo Network to Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes, and Harry, Ron and Hermione would Apparate there so Harry could stop by his vault at Gringotts and Hermione could exchange the Muggle money her parents had given her for gold. Fortunately, according to Bill, the long waits and rather intrusive security searches performed by the goblins had been removed after the events of July 31st.

Not wanting to Apparate directly in front of the Leaky Cauldron, the three chose a small side street a block away to arrive in. Harry and Hermione arrived mostly okay; the distance made the sensation of Apparating a bit more acute, and Harry felt a bit woozy for a second or two after arrival. Then he turned to Ron and laughed in spite of himself: both of Ron's eyebrows were missing. "Whoa," Ron said, staggering a bit. "I feel a bit funny."

"You look a bit funny," Harry said, grinning. Shaking her head, Hermione produced her wand and regrew Ron's eyebrows in a second.

They walked the block over to the Cauldron and waved to Tom the barman as they passed through the pub. A few people looked up, and one, whom Harry recognized as Madam Marsh, waved, but it was very different from the first time he'd come into the Leaky Cauldron with Hagrid what, six years before?

Then he had been a hero, famous and cheered by everyone he met. Now he barely rated a second look. Wondering why he should feel bad about losing a notoriety he never wanted, he, Ron and Hermione passed into the courtyard in the back and tapped the third up and second brick across three times with Hermione's wand to open the archway into Diagon Alley.

Diagon Alley had changed extensively as well in the past few weeks. Now, rather than small groups of people hurrying anxiously along the mostly-empty street between shops, the Alley was full of eager, enthusiastic crowds of witches and wizards laughing and talking as they ambled along, looking in windows and at wares outside the stores, much like the first time Harry had seen it with Hagrid, six years before.

"What's first, then?" Ron asked, looking around at the crowds of witches and wizards passing around them.

"Gringotts," Hermione said. "I need to change my pounds into Galleons. Then –"

"Flourish & Blotts," Ron finished.

"No, I thought we'd go to Fred and George's and get Ginny," Hermione corrected him. "She came along to go shopping too, you know."

Gringotts didn't take very long. Ron waited just inside the silver doors while Harry and Hermione each found someone to help them. It took only a few minutes to convert Hermione's Muggle money to Wizarding Galleons, Sickles and Knuts, but Harry had to travel down to his vault, number 687, to get some gold.

The ride down seemed to take longer than Harry remembered from before. There were also some strange twists and turns in their route that made him think they were detouring around something. "Why so long to get there?" he shouted to the goblin taking him down to the vault over the cold wind rushing past them.

"Shaft 13 is closed today!" the goblin shouted back. "Big transfer going on there." He didn't elaborate on what was being transferred, and suddenly they pulled to a halt in front of Harry's vault.

The goblin took Harry's key and unlocked the door, and Harry scooped some Galleons and Knuts into a bag he'd brought with him. He looked over the gold still in his vault; he hadn't made much of a dent in the amount left in here; in fact it seemed like a lot more than the last time he'd been here, puzzling Harry until he realized that the gold from Sirius's vault must've been transferred into his.

He returned to the cart and it hurtled back the way they came. As they neared one of the cross-shafts Harry could see several large chains running down it into the darkness below. He hoped they would pass close enough for him to catch a glimpse down the shaft but the cart suddenly veered away rather than onto a track that ended suddenly at the edge of the shaft. Their course slowly inclined upward until they reached the small stone station. The goblin held the door open for Harry, who nodded in thanks and rejoined Hermione and Ron at the bank entrance.

"Did you hear all that clanking noise?" Ron asked as they walked out of Gringotts.

"Couldn't hear much of anything over that cart," Harry said, wiggling a finger in one ear.

"It sounded like heavy chains," Hermione added.

"Yeah, they're transferring something up one of the shafts, the goblin told me," Harry said. "But I didn't see what it was."

"Maybe we could wait around and see," Ron said hopefully. "They might be bringing up a lot of gold or something."

But neither Harry nor Hermione were inclined to stay; Hermione insisted on getting to Fred and George's as soon as possible and Harry, who'd just seen a massive pile of gold in his own vault, didn't want Ron in a self-pitying mood over his lack of money. Ron acted annoyed but shrugged as they left, heading toward the Weasleys' shop.

Fred, helping a couple of pretty sixth-year schoolgirls as they entered, gave them a cheery wave. Ron stared a moment, then whispered to Harry, "Do we know them?"

"They're Hufflepuff," Hermione said curtly, not looking back at him as they walked toward the back. "Don't you notice anything about people while you're at school, Ron?"

"Yes," replied Ron, but didn't elaborate – which seemed to annoy Hermione even more.

In the back, Ginny and Mrs. Weasley were having cups of tea in the office. "I was beginning to think you'd forgotten us," Ginny said as they entered the room.

"Gringotts still takes a while if you have to go down to your vault," Harry said. "Where's George?"

"He's making a delivery," Mrs. Weasley said. "A novelty shop in Edinburgh owled them for a supply of their joke candy." She shook her head. "I still can't imagine what anyone sees in some of that stuff…"

"At least more people are finding reason now to enjoy it," Ginny pointed out. "A month ago Fred and George were having trouble selling any."

"A lot of things were different a month ago," Mrs. Weasley agreed. "But I don't know how much better things are now than they were before. Most people don't realize that, even if Lord V-Voldemort has been defeated again, he may still return."

"Well, for most people, perception is reality," Hermione said. "I doubt if that'll ever change."

Ginny and Mrs. Weasley finished their tea and the group prepared to go shopping. The first stop was to be the book dealer Flourish & Blotts, since everyone had books to pick up. After that, Mrs. Weasley and Ginny would pick up the other items Ginny needed while Harry, Hermione and Ron wandered around Diagon Alley. That idea didn't exactly please Mrs. Weasley but she did nothing more than maintain a tight-lipped, disapproving silence.

Flourish & Blotts, the primary bookstore in Diagon Alley, was usually at its busiest in the weeks preceding the start of term at Hogwarts on September 1. Today was no exception; the store was teeming with people, parents buying books for children and groups of teenagers like them who were enjoying their new freedom to get out and about in the Wizarding world. The textbook section was especially crowded as Hogwarts students picked up new books.

They wound their way carefully through the throngs of people keeping their eyes ready for the titles they needed. Harry spotted the Transfiguration book they needed and moved toward it. He picked one up and passed a copy each to Ron and Hermione. Taking one more copy for himself, he studied it for a moment. The book was unremarkable, as were most of the N.E.W.T.-level books they'd bought in the last year. He was about to begin looking for their next book when someone trod on his foot.

"Ouch!" Harry said. "Watch out!"

"Sorry about that," the young man who'd stepped on his foot said, stepping back. "Someone pushed me off balance."

"No problem," Harry said, looking at him; for a moment he thought Neville Longbottom had trod on him. He had the same look about him as Neville: a bit stocky with straight brown hair, though the resemblance ended there. He was a bit shorter than Harry and wore glasses as well, although his were oval instead of round, and wire frames instead of black ones. He wasn't anyone Harry recognized from school, and his accent was wrong as well. "Are you a Hogwarts student?"

The young man had hazel eyes, similar to but not quite as vivid a shade of green as Harry's. Smiling, he said, "No, but I will be – this will be my first time there."

"You're not a first-year though," Harry said. The young man looked every bit as old as Harry.

"Oh no, I've been going to magic school in America for the past six years." He held out a hand. "I'm Jonathan Crown, from the United States of America."

"I'm Harry Potter." They shook hands. Crown didn't react at the mention of his name; Harry wondered if, as an American living out of Britain, Crown had even heard of him. Ron and Hermione had come back to see who he was talking to, and Harry introduced them. "These are my friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. They both go to Hogwarts as well."

Jon shook their hands. "Pleased to meet both of you," he said pleasantly.

"Where are you from in America?" Hermione asked.

"Texas," Jon said. "I've been attending the Merlin School of Advanced Witchcraft and Wizardry in Salem, Massachusetts, though."

"How did you come to attend Hogwarts, then?" Ron asked, curious.

"Our school participates in an exchange program with other schools in England and Europe," Jon replied. "I signed up for Hogwarts last year, even though it looked like there wouldn't be an exchange because of some problems you've been having over here. Fortunately, all that cleared up a few weeks ago and the Headmistress at Hogwarts contacted me about attending."

"That's very interesting," Hermione said, bemused. "It's the first I've heard of that program, though."

"I'm glad for the opportunity," Jon said eagerly. "Hogwarts has a great reputation in the States, but I don't think there's been a student exchange in the last 30 or 40 years."

"We'd better get the rest of our books," Ron said, a little insistently.

"Okay," Jon nodded. "I hope I'll see you at Hogwarts, then." He waved, picked up a copy of the Transfiguration book and moved away.

"Funny bloke," Ron said after Jon had gone. "He sort of reminded me of Neville."

"Me too," Harry said. "I thought he was Neville, when he stepped on my foot." Ron chuckled.

"I thought he was nice," Hermione said. "I like his accent."

They found the rest of their books and got in queue to pay, with Harry in front of Ron and Hermione. Harry saw, as they chatted in line, that Jon had gotten into the adjacent queue a bit further back.

As it happened, however, the other queue moved a bit faster than theirs did, so Jon was having his books rung up just as Harry was paying for his. He finished paying and stepped aside to let Ron go next when the clerk helping Jon said, "What's this? I can't accept these!"

Harry turned to look. The clerk was holding several gold coins that weren't Galleons. "Sorry," Jon was saying. "I forgot to get them exchanged. Can't you take them to the bank and have them changed for British money later?"

"We don't do that," the clerk said, annoyed. "You'll have to get them exchanged yourself."

"Well, can you hold my books until I come back so I can pay for them?" Jon asked.

"I suppose we can…"

"Excuse me," Harry said to Jon. "I have enough money to pay for your books. You can pay me back later at school, if you like."

Jon looked relieved. "I would appreciate that, thank you! But I need to find the bank anyway and set up an account, so if I can find you afterwards I'll pay you back then."

Harry was counting out Galleons for the clerk. Ron and Hermione were watching from the queue next to them; Hermione was beaming but Ron's expression was unreadable. "I can take you over to the bank, if you'd like," Harry offered.

"Well, that's very generous of you," Jon said, trying to demur. "But I don't want to be a bother."

"Well, you already are a bother," Harry said grinning. "So I don't think it matters how much more of one you are."

Jon looked at him a second, then laughed. "I guess that's true! In that case, I accept."

Jon gathered his books off the counter and Harry turned back to Ron and Hermione. "I'll meet you out in front when I get back."

"Okay!" Hermione said, smiling. Ron merely nodded.

Harry and Jon walked out of Flourish & Blotts and Harry pointed the way to Gringotts. "I didn't want to take you away from your friends," Jon said apologetically.

"No problem," Harry said. "I'm kind of curious, too – I've never set up an account at Gringotts and I'd like to see how it's done." He looked at Jon. "Er – it's probably rude to ask, but how much gold do you have to put in?"

Jon shrugged. "I just have a bank draft from the First Wizarding Bank of Dallas, Texas. My uncles thought I should set up a bank account while I'm in England, in case I need money, so I won't have to send to them for any." He pulled out a full-looking pouch that clinked when he shook it. "I have a few hundred dollars in gold, but I forgot that you use different money here. It's pretty different from ours."

"Yeah, I remember how strange it was when I first heard of it," Harry agreed. "Twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle, 17 Sickles to a Galleon."

"Right," Jon said, smiling. "In the U.S. it's just 100 cents to the dollar, for wizard or Muggle. The only difference is, wizards use gold while the Muggles use –"

"Paper bills," Harry nodded. "I lived with my Muggle uncle and aunt for ten years before I started at Hogwarts, and they didn't like anything to do with magic, so I know quite a bit about it."

They walked into Gringotts, the goblin doorman bowing them in. Jon looked a bit apprehensively at the goblin, amusing Harry, but he otherwise took things in stride.

Once inside, they both looked about the hall, wondering where one might go to open an account. Jon finally settled on a goblin sitting at a desk under a sign that read Information. He stepped up to the desk, but the goblin appeared not to notice him. As Jon started to say something, the goblin said, "State your business."

"I would like to open an account," Jon said. The goblin looked up at him.

"You wish to rent a vault?"

"Uh, yes," Jon said, looking at Harry, who just shrugged.

"How much gold do you plan to store?"

Jon pulled out his wallet and handed over a slip of paper. The goblin looked at it; one of its eyebrows went up. "A considerable sum," it said, looking back at Jon. "We offer free vault rental for amounts such as this. There is, however, a 10% fee if you close out the account within 10 years."

"Not a problem," Jon said. "I plan on keeping it for some time."

"Very good," the goblin said. "Do you require any special security such as a keyless vault or guarded access?"

"What's 'guarded access' mean?" Harry asked.

"Dragon," the goblin said. Jon raised his eyebrows at Harry, then turned back at the goblin.

"I think a normal vault will be sufficient," Jon decided. "Is that what you use?" he asked, turning to Harry. Harry nodded.

"Very good," the goblin said again. He reached into a drawer and removed a large leather ledger. Flipping through the pages, he found an open entry. "It looks like vault 257 is available. That should be adequate for your current needs. Is there anything else I can do for you before we get your key?"

Jon pulled out his bag of money. "I have some American money I'd like converted to British."

The goblin took the bag and emptied the contents on the counter in front of him. He waved a gnarled hand over them and the coins rearranged themselves into separate stacks. "At the current rate of exchange for today, let's see…" the goblin replaced the American money with stacks of Wizarding coins. "It works out to 124 Galleons, 5 Sickles and 22 Knuts." Jon counted out the money he owed Harry, handed it to him, and poured the rest back into his bag.

"Step to the end of the counter for your key," the goblin directed them, then dropped out of sight. Jon and Harry walked the considerable length of the counter to where another goblin was seated in front of a large wall covered in tiny bronze doors. The goblin who had been helping them reappeared and handed the second goblin a small strip of parchment. The second goblin looked at the parchment, nodded, then disappeared with a loud crack. Both Harry and Jon stepped back, startled. Harry hadn't known goblins could Apparate.

The goblin had reappeared on a rolling ladder in front of the wall. The ladder seemed to move of its own accord as the goblin examined various little doors. Finally finding the one he wanted, the goblin ran his long fingers across the door and tapped it in an odd pattern. The door popped open and the goblin pulled out a small gold key. He looked back at Jon. "Will you need only the one key?" he asked.

"Yes," Jon said, "I suppose." The goblin closed the little door and Disapparated again, reappearing in front of them behind the counter.

"Here's the key to your vault," the goblin said, handing it to Jon, who took it gingerly. "You, or any person acting on your behalf, must always present that key to be allowed access to your vault. No key, no vault. Is that clear?"

"Y-yes," Jon said. He looked curiously at the key in his hand.

The goblin produced a large ledger (There was certainly no shortage of ledgers at Gringotts! Harry thought), opened it and spun it around to face Jon, pointing to the last line with a long, knobby finger. "Sign there for receipt of your key." Jon took a nearby quill and signed the ledger; the goblin's hand moved over the page and suddenly held another scrap of parchment which he gave to the first goblin, who had been waiting. The first goblin went back to his own chair.

"That's it," the second goblin said. "Bank hours are posted on the front door." He looked at Jon and Harry with beady eyes, reminding Harry, inexplicably, of Uncle Vernon. "Have a nice day."

They turned to leave, but just then a large clanking sound caught their attention, coming from a large corridor to their left. It was similar to the chains that Harry had heard earlier, while going to and from his vault, but it seemed louder now in the relative quiet of the bank's hallways. It grew louder still, growing in intensity until Jon and Harry were forced to cover their ears.

"What is it?!" Jon finally yelled to Harry.

"Don't know!" Harry shouted back. "They told me they were moving something when I was here earlier!"

At that moment there was a loud BOOM and the clanking stopped suddenly, leaving a deafening silence behind. Harry and Jon removed their hands slowly from their ears.

"Whatever they were moving," Jon said quietly, in a tone of awe. "It certainly was big."

Even the goblin who had just finished helping them appeared interested. He had jumped onto the countertop and was peering down the corridor. "Sounds as though they've finally gotten it up to the main level," he said, almost to himself. Looking at Harry and Jon, the goblin grinned again in a most alarming leer.

"Would you like to be the first to see what we found in one of the most secure areas of the bank?" Jon and Harry both nodded.

"Come along, then." Leaping down from the counter, the goblin led them down the length of the corridor, so far that the main lobby had all but disappeared from view, when they came upon Shaft 13 and what now rested upon the edge of it.

"What is that?" Harry said in wonderment. Before him and Jon was a large metal box, approximately 10 feet on each side, with very ornate engraving and figures cut or cast into its sides and edges. In the side facing them was a large door, almost as big as the side itself, with two large hinges along the left edge and a relatively small handle on the right. Next to the handle was a fairly large knob that looked like the dial for a combination lock, marked along its edges with numbers from 0 to 15.

But the center of the door had caught both Harry and Jon's attention. There was a square area divided into a four-by-four grid of smaller tiles, each tile perhaps 18 inches square. Fifteen tiles were set into the four-by-four grid, with one spot left open; it looked like adjacent tiles could be slid into the open spot if one were moved.

On the tiles were strange markings. They reminded Harry of some ancient runes he'd seen Hermione working on at one time, although he knew nothing at all about ancient runes.

"We don't know what it is," the goblin who'd brought them along said, as if he thought Harry had asked him the question directly. "Other than obviously being a vault of some kind. There's no record of it being placed in the security section; I've looked very carefully, and found nothing. It's a mystery."

"What are you going to do with it?" Jon asked.

The goblin folded his arms across his chest and shrugged. "That's up to the Chief Goblin to decide; it's not goblin-made so he'll probably put a few wizard Cursebreakers on it – we have some of the best in the world, Bill Weasley for one; if he can't open it, Bargrivyek knows who can."

"GRIDHAND!" A basso voice roared nearby. The goblin, Harry and Jon all jumped. A large (compared to the one they were with) goblin was striding angrily toward them. "What are those humans doing in here?!"

The goblin with them backed away from the angry newcomer. "Your pardon, Boss – I thought it would be alright for them to see the discovery."

"Are we paying you to think, now?" the boss goblin sneered. "Get them back to the lobby!"

"Yes, Boss," their guide bowed obsequiously then turned and began hustling them back the way they came, ignoring Harry's questions about who the boss goblin was or why he didn't want them to see the vault. Before they knew it, the goblin had them walking out the silver doors of the lobby and through the outer door beyond into Diagon Alley itself.

Standing outside the bank, looking back, Harry said, "That was very strange. I always thought goblins were more organized than that."

"Why d'you say that?" Jon asked.

"Well they're usually all in the know of their bank policies, but the goblin who took us to see that artifact didn't seem to know we shouldn't see it."

"Well, if they're normally that organized," Jon pointed out. "Then maybe we were allowed to see it for a reason."

"You mean," Harry suggested, "They want us to talk about what we've seen? To start rumors?"

Jon shrugged. "I'm just guessing."

"Oi! Harry!" someone called from the crowd, moving toward them. It was Ginny, waving at them, and Mrs. Weasley, both carrying sacks of school supplies.

"Who are they?" Jon asked.

"One's my – well, my friend, Ginny," Harry said. "She's Ron's sister. And the woman with her is their mother, Molly Weasley."

"Oh, any relation to the Bill Weasley that goblin mentioned?"

"She's his mum, too."

They stopped in front of Harry and Jon. "We got the rest of my stuff," Ginny said, hefting the bags she was carrying.

"Thank goodness it was a short list," Mrs. Weasley said, then turned to Jon. "And who might you be, dear?"

"Jon Crown, ma'am," Jon said with a small nod of his head. "I'm here from the United States to attend Hogwarts this year."

"Really?" Both Ginny and Mrs. Weasley said this at the same time. Mrs. Weasley added, "You have such a charming accent, Jon. Where are you from?"

"Texas, ma'am."

"My, how interesting! And to think you're all the way over her in England just to attend Hogwarts for a year," Mrs. Weasley said brightly.

"I'm looking forward to it," Jon smiled. "I've heard a lot of good things about it."

"Like what?" Ginny asked. She looked serious but Harry could see a twinkle in her eye.

"Well," Jon thought for a moment. "Good teachers, a very good library, and – it's in a magical castle!"

"Right so far," Ginny said. "I'm Ginny Weasley, by the way –" she shifted the bag she was holding and they shook hands "– and this is my mum."

"So what're the bad things you've heard about Hogwarts?" Ginny asked Jon. Both Mrs. Weasley and Harry listened, interested to hear his response.

"Well… " Jon looked a little uncomfortable saying anything, but plunged on. "There's been some trouble keeping certain teaching positions open –"

"Yeah, Defense Against the Dark Arts," put in Harry.

"— and there were some mishaps with students being severely hurt last year," Jon said, looking upward as if recalling information from another source. "I remember reading one died a few years ago during the Tri-Wizard Tournament."

Ginny and Harry glanced at each other.

"And I've heard," Jon continued, "that some of the teachers there, not all of them, but some, tend to use teaching methods that are somewhat … draconian in outlook."

"Well," Ginny said almost conspiratorially, "Only the ones that can turn into dragons."

"What?" Jon said, looking nonplussed.

Ginny and Harry laughed; even Mrs. Weasley smiled. "I'm joking," Ginny said. "Though some of them can be real pains in the –"

"Ginevra!" Mrs. Weasley said sharply.

"— bum," Ginny finished, looking at her mother coolly.

"There you are!" Hermione's voice came from a dozen yards away. She and Ron hurried up to them carrying their books from Flourish & Blotts. "We were wondering if you'd forgotten about us!"

"Never," Harry said. "We've just been trying to get back there."

"We stood out front for quite a while waiting for you, Harry," Ron said, sounding a bit peeved. He didn't look at Jon, standing right next to Harry.

"Anyway," Mrs. Weasley said, suddenly sounding brisk. "We'd better get back to Fred and George's. I've got some things to whip up lunch for everyone, assuming I can get their stove to work." She looked at Jon. "You're welcome to come with us, dear. I'm sure we have enough, and I'll bet you haven't tasted real English cookery yet."

"I haven't," Jon agreed. "But I still have some shopping and looking around to do before I eat."

"Where are you staying, here in London?" Hermione asked.

"At the inn that's at the entrance to this, erm, street," Jon replied.

"Ah, the Leaky Cauldron," Mrs. Weasley said, nodding. "Well, if you ever want some real cooking, come down to Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes –"she pointed down the alley "— at number 93, and tell my sons there – you'll know them on sight, they look just like this one –" she nodded at Ron "– and tell them I said to bring you round to the Burrow."

"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley," Jon said. "I'll see you all later." Waving, he moved off into the bustling crowds and disappeared.

They watched him go, then Ginny turned back to the group. "So that's an American," she said. "Interesting accent."

Ron rolled his eyes while Harry and Hermione chuckled. Mrs. Weasley, however, said, "Wasn't it, though! I wish Fred and George could've met him."

As it turned out, however, Fred and George had met Americans (although not Jon) before. "Oh yeah, they come in here all the time," Fred told his mother after they had returned to Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes. "We get lots of Wizarding tourists from the States looking for interesting items to bring back home. They're wild for the Tooting Toffees we make."

Later that evening, back at the Burrow, Harry pondered his situation once again. There was only had a few weeks left before school started, and no telling how much time they would have at school to work on extracurricular activities like finding Horcruxes.

They would have to, though, Harry knew. Even if Neville, somehow, had actually killed Voldemort, his Death Eaters now knew it was possible to bring him back, even if they didn't know how. Although, Harry knew, he couldn't even count on that much; it was possible that Wormtail had to know, since he was the person who'd helped Voldemort regain his whole body. If Wormtail had already done it once, he could do it again.

They also probably knew, through Wormtail, that Voldemort would want his blood to help revive him. That was something Harry would now fight with every fiber of his being, should Death Eaters try to capture him. Until then, they would try to find Voldemort's Horcruxes and destroy them one by one. Then finally, Voldemort himself.