Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not owned by me.
Harry heated his tea water with a flick of his wrist - he had found simple wandless magic rather easy - and added the tea leaves. As he waited for it to steep, he made the rest of his breakfast: toast and eggs. Easy and simple.
An owl hooted at the window, and as Harry moved to let it in, his brown robes swished about his ankles. Sitting at the table with the Daily Prophet in his hands, Harry began to eat. His eyes skimmed the pages of the newspaper, trying to find something interesting. Ah, there it was. An article talking about the work done at Hogwarts appeared a few pages in, accompanied by a black-and-white picture of the castle. The picture was hardly moving, save for a breeze that swept by the bushes on the far edge of the frame.
Remembering that he was meeting Ron, Hermione, and Ginny in at the Leaky Cauldron, Harry tried to flatten his hair, in an attempt to become less recognizable. But no matter how hard he tried, his hair would just bounce up again. Giving up, he picked up his wand and washed the dishes.
Checking the time, Harry realized he should leave soon if he didn't want to be late. He threw the Floo Powder into the fire, stepped in, shouted "Leaky Cauldron," and was whooshed away in a frenzy of emerald flames.
Trying not to make a scene, Harry stepped out of the fireplace. To his surprise, he was the first of his friends to arrive. Waiting idly in the pub, Harry saw a couple second looks thrown his way, but no reporters came to question him.
Hermione stepped out of the fireplace a few minutes later, brushing her bushy hair out of her face.
"Oh, you're here," she said in mild surprise.
"Why wouldn't I be?"
"Well…" she gestured toward the people scattered at the tables.
"I can scare them off," Harry dismissed her worries with a shrug. "Besides," he added. "I don't want to to be hexed."
"Yes, Ginny did seem rather… determined to have all of us come."
The bell on the door gave a little ring as it opened, and Ron and Ginny entered the already crowded pub. Ron was grumbling under his breath (something that sounded an awful like "this better not take too long"). Ginny, on the other hand, seemed extremely excited to be here. It was odd, really. She had never been enthused to shop for school supplies, yet her brown eyes sparked with anticipation, and she had the air of an over-stimulated puppy.
Hermione shook her head in slight confusion over Ginny's apparent bounciness, raised a questioning eyebrow at Ron.
"I thought you weren't coming."
"I wasn't," said Ron shortly.
"What made you change your mind?"
Ron scowled and quickly explained that several hexes had been placed on both him and his belongings until he agreed to come.
Ginny didn't appear to have been listening to this brief conversation, though that was to be expected, as she was literally jumping up and down on her toes with excitement.
"Alright, let's go!" she chirped happily, giving Harry a smile. He smiled back oddly intimidated by her mood.
After all, the Weasleys had never been thrilled to visit the Alley after the war, most of them staying away from it as much as possible. Harry understood why, of course.
For where there had once been a gloomy, sad alley, looking almost deserted, and drooping with the weight of a war; where one shop had brightened the street, its neon lights gleaming and reflecting off the windows of the empty shops near it; the roles seemed to have been switched. Now, the alley was bright and cheerful, recovering from the war spectacularly, buzzing with the excitement of the press; one shop stood alone. Its windows were now the darks, spiders now nested in its eves. Dust had gathered inside, only seen if one were to squint through the grimy glass. The W in Wizard's was falling off, and Harry feared it would come crashing down any day. That being said, Ginny's attitude was very strange indeed, and coupled with George's recent disappearance, highly suspicious.
The four made their way through the pub, attracting the usual stares and second-glances. Reaching the brick wall, Hermione tapped her wand against the brick three up and two across from the trash can. Ginny stepped forward first, her eyes wide and alert. She peered down the alleyway, so keen on finding something unknown to Harry, so eager to be in the alley today (far too eager in Harry's opinion), and…
Ginny's blissful atmosphere disappeared as quick as bubble can pop. Her shoulder's slumped, her smile faded, and she no longer looked like she wanted to go shopping.
"Oh," she said quietly. "Oh, well… it's okay, we can still go shopping… Gringotts?"
Ron gave a confused shrug and glanced at Harry and Hermione, who both gave a similarly bemused expression. They started down the alley, walking past the shops on their way to the wizard bank. Harry couldn't help but notice that Ron and Hermione were casually holding hands in a way that suggested an easy relationship. Harry felt a small pang of jealousy at this. He and Ginny hadn't been able to slide back into dating after the war (although this probably had something to do with Ron, judging by the fact that Ginny stopped talking to him during the week before Harry's birthday).
As they walked up the steps to Gringotts, Harry was all too aware of the goblins glaring at him. Sighing, he surrendered his wand to Ginny, Ron doing the same.
"Is it real?" on of the guards asked in a gruff voice.
"Ye-" Harry began, but he was cut off.
"Not you," the goblin growled, turning to Ginny. "Is is?"
"Yes," she said, a little uncertain about the goblin's particular procedure.
"I still don't get why you're allowed to have your wand," Ron said to Hermione.
"Because, Ronald," she said. "Girls are more trustworthy than boys. Even the Hogwarts founders thought so."
They approached one of the goblins, requesting to be taken down to their vaults. Harry was surprised when Ginny said that she had her own vault. He knew Ron and Hermione had gotten their own, but…
"You have a vault?" he'd asked.
"Why shouldn't I?" she'd teased. "I am seventeen."
Walking out of Gringotts (and redistributing the wands), the four began to make their way to the different shops. But before they could enter the first store, a shop across the street lit up so suddenly that everyone turned to stare.
Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, screamed the neon lights. For a second, no one said or did anything. Then, Ginny grabbed Harry's wrist and ran towards the door, dragging Harry along with her. He was faintly aware of Ron and Hermione's footsteps behind them, but the shock of the George opening the shop was beginning to set in, and he couldn't really think anything at all.
Stepping inside, Ginny finally let Harry out of her death grip, and he walked around as though in a daze. The shop was clean and bright, each display looking as though it hadn't ever seen a dust bunnie. The only difference Harry seemed to spot was the absence of pygmy puffs.
"Like it?" Harry jumped at the voice, spinning around. George stood behind him, grinning - actually grinning!
"Thanks for the scrumpets, by the way."
"What are they for?"
"Typically used to make poisons appetizing, they smell rather good, contrary to their name. I used them in this." He held up a small vial filled with swirling green liquid. "It's fake mint spray. Makes your breath awful."
They had to leave the shop soon, however. Ron had an armload of products, Ginny a handful of potions, and Hermione had a rather odd expression on her face. She looked as though she could not decide between being uptight about the fact that several pranks were being pulled on her in the near future, or if she should be happy that George had opened again.
They made their way through the shops, talking and laughing the whole way. When they finally reached Flourish and Blotts, they were quite surprised to find that Neville was there. He had a large book on herbology under one arm, and a potted plant in the other.
"Hi, Harry."
"Hi, Neville. What's that?"
"Just a decoration plant. It lets off a nice smell, so tons of people have them. When's the next D.A. meeting?"
"Tuesday."
"Isn't it the last one?" Ron interjected.
"Yeah," said Harry.
Hermione mumbled something that sounded a lot like "not quite…"
"What'd you say?" asked Ginny.
"Nothing, Ginny. I'll show on Tuesday."
"See you on Tuesday, Neville."
"Bye, Harry."
Shopping completed, the four headed back to the Leaky Cauldron.
"Hey, Harry," said Ginny. "We're heading down to a lake later this week. Want to come swimming with us?"
"Oh, um…" Harry stalled, trying to remember what he had planned for this week. "Sure, I'll probably be able to go. Owl me later?"
Ginny nodded, and to Harry's great relief dropped the subject.
"Lunch?" Harry offered, gesturing toward and an empty table.
"Sorry, I've got a house elf interview," Hermione said, checking her watch.
"Book hunt," said Ron.
"I've got D.A. stuff, too," said Ginny. "See you soon!"
Thank you all for reading! Words: 1, 565 (the longest chapter yet!). Ainthe and ragsweas, thank you for continuing to review. , I'm glad you liked the last chapter! Cassandra30, the memory will probably come up again, though we may not ever visit it. I hope you liked the chapter, and please review!