Summary: Harry goes shopping for shoes. Archie tags along. Fits into cannon of The Futile Facade as far as I know right now.
Author Note: After writing this, I realized potioneer shoes are probably actually treated with potions, not charms, since potions are usually unaffected by spell work, but bah. Whatever. I'll just change it later if I ever incorporate this into a longer fanfic story. I'm mostly just trying to get a feel for Harry and Archie's characters and their dynamic in this.
This snippet came out after reading about Harry's shoes in chapter 1 of The Futile Facade. Violet probably won't cover it again since, if Harry had any say in the matter, it would be a simple in and out purchase.
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Potioneer Shoes
Harry had finally been forced to move shoe shopping to the top of her priority list when the sizing charms on her old shoes had worn out and her pinched toes started to give her foot cramps. It was annoying, but at least she could pick up some ingredients from Tate while she was out.
Archie had come along and pointed out the most impractical shoes. Harry ignored him and went straight to the fireproof, acid proof potioneer footwear immediately, ignoring Archie's groan.
"People are going to associate me with your bad taste, Harry." He murmured, sidling up beside her. He actually looked a bit frustrated, rather than the usual tolerant exasperation. It was true Archie had more fashion sense than she did, although an often eccentric one - that was Sirius's fault. Being associated with practical sense rather than fashionable whims didn't seem like a very bad thing, really, especially since at least one person in Britain -Hermione- would associate her with impractical taste. That was almost an even trade. Still. Maybe she shouldn't completely dismiss it - for the facade if nothing else.
Harry put the shoes back and met Archie's puppy dog eyes with a carefully unaffected expression. "I'm not wearing something that doesn't have the basic potioneer safety charms." She watched, mildly amused, when Archie's expression cleared up with contagious excitement.
"You're not buying Clunky Blocks Disguised as Shoes, Version Two? Really? Because, really, Harry they look atrocious on you." Archie pulled her back over to the section of shoes he had pointed to earlier, shoes with feathers and scales and bright colors mixed in with the less eye-catching specimens. "We can just have the clerk charm the shoes for you. Or I bet you could do it if you want. Don't pretend you don't know how to cast the charms yourself."
She didn't, actually. Although she knew the charms in theory. She would have to look into that.
"Charms that are cast on the raw materials themselves are more potent, and therefore safer than charms that are applied on the end product. What if the charm started to wear out and I didn't realize it until a caldron exploded and acid ate through my feet?" Harry pointed out. And she refused to wear the green scaled monstrosity that Archie was eyeing. "The shoes in the potioneer section are guaranteed quality."
"And ugly." Archie quipped back, even as he turned reluctantly back towards her and the section with more professional selections. "As if your caldrons ever explode." Archie added petulantly after a beat.
"Of course they do." She responded, surprised. Really, Archie had been there for some of her more misguided experiments when they were younger so he should know better. "It just doesn't happen as often anymore. I'm going to be starting free brewing soon, anyway, even if I wasn't interested in following important safety procedures."
They began to walk through the potioneer approved shoes on display. Most of them were a practical, shiny leather black that were similar to Harry's old shoes. Of course Archie was attracted immediately to the two pairs that weren't.
"No." Harry said sternly to the red pair Archie had lifted to present her with. The blue pair next to them wasn't awful, but it would clash with her usual black robes. "Let's just get my usual, Archie. They're not that bad."
"Yes they are." Archie sighed. He placed the red shoes back. "Can we at least buy some separate pairs of shoes for you to wear when you're not brewing? Maybe a nice suede green or something. We can add the charms to those if it makes you feel better."
Harry picked up the black shoes she had abandoned earlier. "I'm always brewing, Archie. When would I get a chance to wear them? I'm not going to carry a separate pair of shoes with me everywhere so I can change in and out of them throughout the day."
"Yes you are." Archie huffed. "My sense of taste and honor require no less. It's not like you can't just shrink and spell them weightless anyway."
Harry ignored him and went up to the counter. As the clerk was ringing up the total, Archie dumped a pair of said green suede shoes next to her purchase.
"Add these, please." Archie smiled sweetly as Harry turned to glare at him. The clerk wasn't nearly as immune to Archie's sweet, sweet smile and complied easily. Draco was right. That particular expression needed to be severely regulated.
When she made to leave to the Alleys the next morning, Archie had left breakfast early and rather pointedly hidden away her potioneer shoes. Well, at least Leo's ears would have a proper challenge today.