Saturday Harry woke up to the sound of the alarm clock. He hit it with a wandless silencing charm and looked up into golden brown eyes that were looking at him confused by the sudden sound. She was laying on his chest and he was very aware that they were both naked. Harry slipped out from under her and rolled out of bed.
"Go back to sleep Love, it's early yet." He said pulling on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt.
"Okay, the show's over any ways." She said with a smile. Harry leaned over and kissed her.
He collected his socks, shoes, vest, gun, and wand before he slipped out of the room. He met Dan in the hall and they headed up to the roof. Harry stretched as Dan flexed his knees. Dan looked over and saw Harry smiling.
"Sleep well?" Dan asked with a grin.
"I did. You?" Harry asked seeing the spring in the man's step.
"I did. Emma really loves magic." Dan said.
"I get it. Hermione loves it too. She practically radiates excitement." Harry said jogging alongside Dan.
"We doing anything today?" Dan asked.
"I wanted to call Abby and see if she knew of a car dealership that deals with mages. I want to get a big SUV that can hold a bunch of people. When people start coming over we're going to need a car that can fit a bunch of people. I'd buy a limo if I thought it would be easy to drive and hold more people but a big SUV or van can hold 8-10 people. I also have to take a run out to New Jersey. I want to bury a portkey marker on the side of the road somewhere between the country club and the stadium. That way we can skip the bridges or tunnel to get out there. It will cut our commute in half. On the return trip we can take the portkey right back to the lobby. I am not getting stuck in traffic after a Dragon's game again." Harry said.
"Good idea." Dan said nodding.
"Yeah I figure I can make the call after breakfast." Harry said keeping pace with the older man who, thanks to his Healer visit was running like a man half his age.
"How is your shooting going?" Dan asked.
"Good, I have the drill you taught me down cold. By the end of last night's session I went 40 for 40 in a row and I was moving faster each time." Harry said.
"That's really good, shooting is a skill. There is no other way to get better then to keep shooting. We should see if we can get a line on more cheap bulk ammo. I want my daughter and Dora to start practicing too. We should also get regular stock magazines for your guns so you get practice in reloading. It doesn't matter if you can hit the target every time, if your 150 round magazine jams, and you fumble a reload, you still end up dead. Also we need cell phones, it's been a week of sharing Dora's phone and it's starting to grate on me." Dan said.
"I'll add it to the list." Harry said.
They did a heavy workout that morning to make up for the two light days they did. They had breakfast and Harry put in a call to Abby. By nine Harry was on the Brooklyn bridge headed to the Red Hook neighborhood. He was driving his Camaro with Hermione riding shotgun and her parents in the back seat. Traffic was light and they made it to the dealership by half past nine. The place looked like a normal brick warehouse aside from the roll up garage door and the sign out front proclaiming Miguel's custom cars. Harry pulled up to the curb and shrank his car when he saw no one else was around. Just inside the door was an expanded room that acted as a showroom/front office for three salesmen. The room wouldn't be out of place in any car dealership in the US. The space was about 75x50 foot with thirty foot high ceilings that allowed you to see into the loft of offices on the second floor. On the showroom floor where six vehicles. They were obviously a tasting platter of what the shop did.
The first row of cars was a gleaming red 1970 Chevy Chevelle convertible, with snow white leather interior, sitting low and wide and ready for a cruise. Sitting next to it was a white 2010 BMW M3, the car had the light blue, dark blue, and red M striping on the side and the interior was ripped out and replaced by a roll cage, race seat and five point race harness the fenders were rolled out to fit wider racing slick tires. Next to that was a black 2015 Ferrari 458 spider with a Liberty Walk widebody kit, red and black interior, and fat black rims and over stretched tires.
The next row started with a smoke gray 2016 Jaguar xjl with blacked out windows so you couldn't see how magically expanded the car was inside. The back set up like a limo with forward and rear facing seats. It had four white leather aircraft seats in two pairs facing each other, a full entertainment system, and a mini bar. There was a black 2015 Jeep Rubicon Unlimited with a huge lift kit, giant off road tires, bull bars, a winch, safari roof rack, snorkel, and enough light bars to see into next year. But it was the last vehicle they came there for.
A 2015 Chevy Suburban. Every bit of the exterior was blacked out. The rims, the grill, the trim, the lights, the windows, even the chevy badging. The interior was expanded to house six rows of seats, three rows of two big aircraft style seats, and three rows of benches big enough to sleep on. Every seat had a cup holder, tv screen, headphone jack, USB and power outlets. The back cargo space had expanded compartments to hold more luggage than any twenty people would ever need. The engine was tuned up and the chassis was lightened. With four wheel drive, an expanded fuel tank, armor plating, and magical shielding it was an unstoppable beast.
"Can I help you?" A sales woman in a black business suit asked as she came up to them.
"Yes, My name is Harry Steel, Abby called ahead, I'm here for one of these beasts." Harry said.
"Yes, we've been expecting you, I'll go get the boss." She said rushing off. A few minutes later and a older Mexican man in his forties wearing a blue work shirt, jeans, and work boots came walking out of a side door. He pulled a wand from his back pocket and waved it over himself to clean off the grease before he approached the group.
"Hello, I'm Miguel Hernandez. Welcome to my shop. I understand you are in the market for our executive armored personnel carrier?" He asked in an odd accent that was one part east LA gang banger and one part Harvard businessman.
"I am. I was looking for a van or SUV that held 8 to 10 people. I was pointed to your shop by Abby. But now that I've seen your work I have a feeling this is going to be a very expensive trip for me. How much does one of these babies go for?" Harry asked hopping up into the driver's seat of the beast.
"For the base model with the armor and shielding and expanded six rows of normal leather seats you're looking at $78,000. This model with the aircraft seats, media screens, expanded cargo space, and custom paint is $110,000 out the door." Miguel said with a prideful grin.
"I'll take it." Harry said.
"You'll take it? No test drive? No haggling?" Miguel asked looking shocked.
"I suppose we should test drive it." Harry said.
"I'll pull one off the shelf in the back. Come this way please." Miguel said leading them through the door he came from.
"You have a lot to learn about buying a car Harry." Dan said laughing.
"You're not supposed the pay the price they ask for it?" Harry asked looking confused.
"They add a few thousand to the price so they have wiggle room to bargain with." Dan said.
"Oh, but doesn't that make you look cheap though don't you think? It's not like I can't afford it. Plus, if I pay sticker he might be willing to give us a deal if we buy in bulk. Did you see the race car? I want one. I bet track days are fun." Harry said with a grin as they walked through the door and into a huge shop floor area.
The shop had a dozen bays, an upholstery area, and a paint booth. There were about a hundred guys rushing around fixing cars and trucks. Miguel lead them over to a wall with five large heavy steel safes. He punched in a code and opened the large door. Inside the safe was six shelves full of shrunken cars the size of hotwheels. There had to be about a hundred cars in the safe. He pulled a few black SUVs out and looked at the tags attached to the back wheels. He found one he liked and put the other ones back. He pulled the tag off. Set it on the floor by the roll up door and expanded it with a wave of his wand. It was a clone of the Suburban in the showroom. He waved at the truck and they all got in with Harry behind the wheel. Miguel called out something in spanish and a worker jogged over and lifted the garage door for them.
Harry started the SUV and rolled out of the shop into the mostly empty streets of the industrial park area. The SUV handled like a dream. It floated on a cushion of air with almost no body roll, it took turns like a sports car, and the pedal response was immediate. If Harry had any doubts before they were gone by the time he pulled into the garage.
"Like I said, I'll take it. That is a truly amazing SUV to drive. Now what's the price tag for a pair of the BMW race cars we saw out front?" Harry asked.
"Those are factory spec racers good for the BMW M3 series, they run you $50,000 a piece. We use salvage cars to make them. For a pair? I normally do $95,000. But since you're buying the SUV too? I'll give you a pair of them for $85,000 out the door." Miguel said pulling two cars out of the safe and setting them on the ground. He expanded them and they saw a matched pair of M striped BMW M3 racecars with race tires, a front air diffusers, and big rear wings.
"What do you think Dan? Want to try your hand at a few track day events?" Harry asked.
"I think I do." Dan said slipping into one of the cars.
"These cars are not just for track days. You can enter them into the BMW Factory Spec series. I think you missed like half the season already but I'm sure you can wiggle your way in. They race every few weeks at tracks around the country. It's mostly for rich mages and dealerships. I think the season is 10-12 races. Half the field shows up with their cars in little cases along with the rest of the spare parts and pit crew tools." Miguel said.
"No kidding? That's crazy. Well we know what we're doing the rest of the summer." Harry said hopping into the other race car.
"What's that car they are working on?" Hermione asked pointing to a vintage green sports car being worked on by three men.
"That is a 1962 Jaguar MkII cabriolet." Miguel said.
"But they didn't make a MkII cabriolet." Dan said getting out of the car and coming to stand by his daughter.
"You're right. They didn't but this company in the UK started chopping old wrecked MkII's and making them. They charge an arm and a leg for what is essentially a salvaged titled chop shop deal. But because they have a fancy british name, and they put it on brushed stainless steel badges around the car it's special and they can charge $200,000 for them. I figured I could do the same thing for way less. We find wrecked bodies of old MkII's. We strip them back to the bare metal and rebuild them with new parts we make in house. We put in a new Jaguar V8, a six speed manual transmission, disk brakes, magnetic ride suspension off a new F- Type. The interior is all soft tanned leather, high polished exotic wood grain, and brushed stainless steel. There's a Bose six speaker sound system with bluetooth. You name it we put it on the car then we enchanted the crap out of it to make it lighter and shield it from that harshness of the world. We even have an enchantment on the car that turns the leather top into a hardtop for the winter. It's the car Jag would make if they were making them today. I have a few of them if you want to take one for a spin?" He said pulling three small cars out of the safe.
"I couldn't. It would be so expensive and I don't go anywhere so I wouldn't use it." Hermione rambled off before Harry kissed her to shut her up.
"Mia, do you like the car?" Harry asked.
"Yes. I think it's cute. But that's not a good enough reason to buy a car." She said.
"No, the fact that You think it's cute is enough of a reason to buy a car. You need a car of your own. What if we get busy in the next few weeks and everyone is rushing off to do something. You'll be stuck with my big Camaro or the tank I just bought. Why don't you take it for a test drive?" Harry asked turning her around. She saw three copies of the Jag that was being worked on. One in British racing green with tan leather interior, one in maroon with black leather, and one in black with red leather.
"Oh, I like the black one with the red leather." She said walking towards the car without thinking.
"Miguel, can we take the black one for a test drive?" Harry asked.
"Sure, the keys are in the ignition." Miguel said trying not to laugh.
"Dan, Emma, look at his stock. Take anything you like. Here Dan hold onto this." Harry said handing him the briefcase full of cash from his bag as he sat in the passenger seat next to Hermione who was very much in love with the car. She started it up and the V8 rumbled to life. She shifted and tested the pedal as she idled out of the garage before he gave it some more gas and took off.
"I love it. Listen to the purr of the engine." She said taking a turn around the corner faster than she normally would have and giggled when the car cornered flat with just a hint of over steer.
"Are you happy you tried it?" Harry asked with a smile.
"Yes. Can I have it?" She asked running her hands over the wood steering wheel and stainless steel shifter.
"Why are you asking me for? Your black card in your wallet is linked to the Steel account. It's your money too." Harry said.
"I didn't know that." She said.
"Well it is. It has been since I filled out the paperwork that night in the bank. What's mine is yours. It's the same with your parents cards and Dora's too. I did it the night I became Harry Steel." Harry said.
"Well in that case I'll take it." She said with a big smile as she pulled back into the garage.
"We'll take it!" Harry said.
"Very good." Miguel said.
"Where are my parents?" Hermione asked.
"Your mother found my stock of Porsche 356 kit cars. She found a California wide body in silver with dark red leather interior and went for a test drive. You both have good taste in cars. The red leather is very nice. And the Porsche she grabbed has a mid 90's air cooled 911 Carrera turbo engine. Very fast." Miguel said as the little roadster came screeching into the shop with Emma grinning behind the wheel.
"It's a keeper?" Harry asked.
"This is the nicest car I've ever driven. It's so fast and nimble." Emma said.
"Good, add it to the list. Let's start counting out the cash." Harry said taking the case from Dan.
"Right this way. We'll head into my office." Miguel said leading them to a glass walled conference room on the shop floor. He called out something in spanish and five guys started rushing around the cars they were taking. The room had a long table made of glass and eight black leather leather rolling chairs. Miguel cast a few cleaning charms on the room before he let them sit.
"The boys will get the paperwork ready and they'll stick on plates. Now let's talk price. Since you're buying so many cars at once, and if I can get your word you'll come to me first for the next time you're looking to buy a car I can give you a better deal then what we agreed on." Miguel said pulling out a piece of paper and a pen.
"You have my word I'll come to you first. You have a great stock of cars. In a few weeks we're going to have a bunch of people coming over to the states, they're going to need cars and this is the only place I'm coming. I have half a mind to go looking through your safe. The addiction is real and I liked that widebody Ferrari in your lobby." Harry said.
"You really like the 458? I can give it to you for $250,000." Miguel said with a knowing grin.
"I'm tempted, but I have three convertible Ferraris as it is. How much for a coupe. No, you know what? Don't tell me. Let's save that for later. I'm happy with my 355." Harry said making them all laugh.
"I understand. If I didn't own this place I'd be a very poor man with a garage full of cars I couldn't afford. Now we'll start with the Suburban. I quoted you 110, I can go as low as $100,000 even on that one. It's as low as I can go. We put a lot of work in those trucks. The pair of M3s, I can go as low as $42,000 a car on those, again I'm bumping up against my overhead. For the Jag I can do $68,000. Lastly the Porsche 356 will run you $59,000. Your total comes to $311,000. We take cash, checks, Gringotts bank drafts, and credit cards of you got one that can cover." Miguel said.
"You take Gringotts Black card?" Harry asked pulling his black card out.
"We do." Miguel said.
"Perfect! In that case shrink and box up everything but the two sports cars. We'll drive those out." Harry said handing him the black card.
"We'll have them gassed up and ready to roll out in about fifteen minutes. Help yourself to the drinks bar. We'll get your paperwork ready." Miguel said shaking hands as he walked out. Harry stood up and looked at the side bar and saw a one cup coffee maker and a glass front fridge full of drinks. He grabbed a can of monster.
"Emma they have caramel cappuccino in the one cup maker. You want one? They have to-go cups?" Harry asked holding up the coffee pod.
"Harry, thank you for the car but don't you think it's…" Emma started to say but Harry cut her off with a hug.
"Emma, it was nothing. It was cheaper then what I bought. In fact it was a bargain. And like Mia here, you needed a car of your own or you'd be stuck driving the big tank we just got or my Camaro. I have a vault full of vintage cars and I have a feeling most of them belong in a museum. We need new modern cars that work and we can drive everyday. The fact that we got cool cars is a plus. It's either your little Porsche for $59,000 or nice sports saloon for about the same price." Harry said.
"Well okay. But it feels like we're taking advantage of you. Living in your house, buying things with your money and now my little sports car." She said.
"You're not taking advantage of me. It's impossible to take advantage of me. I love you guys. Especially you Granger girls. Nothing is too much for your two." Harry said hugging Emma and Hermione.
"I love you too son." Emma said hugging Harry hard.
"Okay, now back to the important questions. Do you want a cappuccino?" Harry asked.
"I'd love one." Emma said with a big smile.
"You got it, Dan? Mia?" Harry asked.
"I'll take a coffee too Harry." Hermione said.
"I'll try one of those monsters you like so much." Dan said.
"Coming right up! I hope you ladies are ready for a day of driving. We have to head to Newark New Jersey to see a gun dealer. Then we have to head out to Lyndhurst New Jersey and find a nice little spot to bury a portkey target so we don't have to take the Lincoln tunnel ever again. Then we have to pop back to The Potter and drive to the bank to pick up our cell phones. Somewhere in between there we should stop off for lunch. Maybe we'll stop at the country club so you guys can take a look around the grounds." Harry said handed out drinks.
"Sounds like fun." Emma said as Miguel came back with a stack of papers and three small plastic boxes with the shrunken cars. Harry filled out the paperwork for three of the cars as Emma and Hermione filled out the forms for their own cars.
When they were done Miguel shook of of their hands and gave them cards with the phone number to the shop. Harry dropped into the passenger seat of Hermione's Jag and by half past ten they were headed south on the Verrazano bridge to Staten Island, before hopping onto the 278 expressway all the way to Newark New Jersey. It took some map work on Harry's part but by a quarter after eleven they pulled up outside a small gun store. Harry and Dan walked in leaving the girls by the cars. The store didn't look like much, just a small gun shop with three counters with a small assortment of handguns, racks on the wall with shotguns and hunting rifles, and shelves full of boxes of ammo. There were three clerks sitting behind the counters working on guns.
"Can I help you?" One of the clerks asked standing up and wiping his hands off on a rag.
"Yes, I'm Harry Steel, Abby Gibson sent me to you for ammo?" Harry asked looking around the store.
"Don't let the small shop fool you. Come on back to the store room. I'm Sam Smith, but everyone calls me Smith on a count of my job." The man said with a southern drawl as he lead them through a door to the back room.
By now Harry really should be getting used to the way the magic world worked outside of the UK. The 'store room' was a huge warehouse full of pallets of ammo in cases and boxes, pallets of gunpowder and primers in big plastic jugs and jars. There were dozens of machines making ammo by the tub full being manned by six men. There were workbenches with about two dozen gunsmiths making custom firearms with magic and tools. The back wall was full of rack with guns.
"Now you were looking to buy ammo. As you can see we manufacture ammo here. What were you looking for?" Smith asked with a smirk.
"We were looking for 9mm ball ammo. We're going to need a lot of it, and we're prepared to buy in bulk for a better deal. We'll be paying cash." Harry said.
"Also 5.56 ball." Dan reminded him.
"Well, we sell 9mm by the box of 50, or a case which is 20 boxes for a 1,000 rounds, or a pallet which is 120 cases for 120,000 rounds. A box is $12.50, a case is $250, and a pallet is $30,000. 5.56 comes in boxes of 20, or a case of 50 boxes for a 1,000 rounds, or a pallet of 120 cases for 120,000 rounds. A box of 5.56 is $7.50, a case is $375, and a pallet is $45,000." Smith said.
"Fuck, ammo is expensive. We just bought a BMW race car for $42,000." Harry muttered.
"Our ammo is a lot cheaper than a comparative name brand. Magic takes care of quality control and I would put my bullets up against Winchester or Remington all day. But those prices are for the nice and neat prepackaged stuff. If you'll take loose ammo in boxes we can do a deal seeing as it saves us on packaging and time to pack it all. For a case of a 1,000 rounds of 9mm I can do $200, and for a pallet of 120 cases I'll do $23,000. That's $.19 a round. At that point I'm almost losing money. I can do a case of 5.56 for $325 and a pallet for $36,000. That's $.30 a round." Smith said.
"What do you think Dan?" Harry asked.
"I was wondering, if we gave you the spent brass, lead, and copper back would we get a discount?" Dan asked.
"You have your own range?" Smith asked.
"We do and the spent brass is filling up a barrel. We have a pile of lead and copper fragments collecting on the floor. If we were to sell you back the spent metal how much could we get back or off our next purchase?" Dan asked.
"We'd have to do the math on how much lead and copper we'd need to get back per 1,000 spent brass casings, but I'd honestly be willing to give you back half the price of a pallet if you buy by the pallet." Smith said.
"We going to need that much ammo?" Harry asked.
"Just your training alone is a more than a case a week. I also want to start you on a harder program and when we get the rest of the group over we're going to be running through ammo like water. We're going to need a case and a half per person per week. How many people are you looking to train?" Dan asked.
"I'd like to train everyone that comes over. Hopefully 10-16 people. That means we're going to run through a pallet of 9mm in what? 6-7 weeks? Less than two months?" Harry asked as his eyes went a bit crossed.
"That's what it's going to take." Dan said.
"Okay, we'll take a pallet of each and we're also going to need a laundry list of magazines. What kind of guns are you making?" Harry asked.
"Custom guns for 3 gun competition and the like. We do custom 2011 race guns, light weight AR15's, and race tuned semi-auto shotguns. We also take custom orders for guns. I think at the moment we're making a run of Sig Sauer p226 X-Fives for a shooting team. You want to take a look at our work?" Smith asked.
"I don't mind if I do, Dan this is going to be an expensive day. Stop me if I start to want too many expensive things." Harry muttered to the older man. Dan laughed and shook his head.
By the time they walked out at a little after noon both women looked bored and hungry. Harry had two pallets of ammo shrunken down to the size of a cake box, and two dozen magazines for each of the types of guns they had. He also had three of the X-Fives, three 2011 race guns, and three skeletonized AR15's. Harry was now $72,000 lighter.
"When are we having lunch?" Emma asked.
"Right now. We'll head to the country club now and then drive over to Lyndhurst. I'll direct Mia, you guys follow." Harry said dropping the bags in the trunk of Hermione's Jag and hopping into her car.
Harry lead them to the country club which was located in Glen Ridge. The drive took about fifteen minutes and by Half past noon they were seated on the terrace overlooking the first tee and last hole. They had a nice lunch before they walked around the grounds for a half hour to check out the place. After lunch they headed to Lyndhurst and drove around a bit until they found a back road that lead into a dead end.
Harry got out, walked a few feet into the grassy area on the side of the road and with small wave of his hand he lifted a small patch of dirt and tossed a gold portkey card into the hole. He dropped the dirt back and stepped on it a few times. He cast a few notice me not spells around the area and ran a few hundred feet away. He pulled out the matching card and with a tap of his wand he was standing back on the same spot again. They shrank the cars and Harry handed out two gold card that said home to Hermione and Emma.
"Sorry Dan, the portkey requires a tap of the wand to activate it. You'll have to share." Harry said holding out his card and Dan took a hold of it.
He tapped it and they landed in the portkey room in the Potter. Emma and Hermione were a few seconds behind. They walked out and saw Steve the morning shift doorman. They greeted him with a smile and wave and expanded the cars out front under the awning. They drove to the bank at just before two Abby was waiting for them in the lobby. She handed them a shopping bag full of small boxes.
"As you requested, 25 magical smartphones. They run off of ambient magic, they are damage proof, water proof, and they are all activated. They are a sequential set of number starting from 2550 to 2575 and the number is on a sticker stuck to the back of each phone. They all have the standard plan plus long distance and unlimited data. $50 a month per phone. I set you up with the lump sum payment option of a one time fee of $30,000 for two years of service plus $500 a phone. Your total was $42,500." She said.
"Thank you Abby, by the way the car shop and the gun stores were great. Thank you again for all your help." Harry said hugging her much to her surprise and delight.
"You're very welcome Harry. You are by far the nicest client I've had in awhile. Usually rich guys are demanding jerks. I'm going to put in a request to handle your account when I can." Abby said.
"Great! I'd much rather work with you." Harry said.
"Oh! Before I forget, do you guys have plans for tonight? Because if you don't then your Neighbor is throwing a gala tonight at seven." Abby said with a smile.
"The museum?" Harry asked.
"Yes, the Natural history museum is opening a new exhibit about dinosaurs. They are hosting an unveiling tonight. It's a cocktail party and dinner. It's a black tie event and tickets are $2,500 a person but you get yearly memberships to the museum and it gets you on the list for a bunch of other formal events." Abby said.
"What do you guys think?" Harry asked with a smile because he knew the girls would want to go.
"I think we should be good neighbors. We're going to need dresses. You two are going to need tuxes." Emma said.
"Great, I thought I was going to have to attend this thing by myself. I can get you five tickets. Girls I know of a dress maker that can fit us in a hour. Harry, my grandfather can he you both fit for tuxedos in a matter of minutes." Abby said.
"I have loads of jewelry in my vault you guys can wear tonight if you want." Harry said.
"Great. I get off work in two hours I'll meet you ladies at this address for dress fittings at four then we'll head to a saloon for full hair and makeup. We should make it back to your apartment just before the start time. We'll toss on our dresses and head across the street to the museum. I still can't believe you guys live next to the museum." Abby said with a shake of her head as she handed Hermione a slip of paper from her little black book.
"That leaves our afternoon free. You want to play a round of golf this afternoon? I think we can just fit it in." Dan asked.
"Sure. We'll get our tuxes and pop over to jersey and drive to the country club." Harry said looking at his watch. It was two o'clock now, if they didn't fuck around too much it should only take them three hours to play a round. That gave them two hours to do what they had to do.
"I'll call my grand dad and tell him you're on your way, and I'll set you up with a 2:45 tee time for two." Abby said.
"You're the best Abby." Harry said leading the group of the bank. Harry took two of the phones out of the bag and handed one to Dan.
"I'm 2525, Dan you're 2526. We'll see you girls back at the house to drop off our tuxes and and get out golf bags." Harry said expanding his black Ferrari and getting in.
"We'll see you there." Hermione said walking to her car.
Dan got in and Harry blasted out of the parking lot headed north east to Little Italy. He made it the two and a half mile trip in ten minutes thanks to side streets and speeding. He pulled into a fire hydrant spot in front of Geno's shop and shrank his car with a wave of his wand. He put it in his bag and they headed into the small shop. Geno was waiting for them and in a matter of minutes they were stripped down to their boxers, and shoved into tuxes. A classic black one button tux with a bow tie for Dan and a very dark blue almost black one button black collar tux with a black silk normal tie for Harry. Geno made a few adjustments to the suits so they fit like a glove and nodded to himself. He had them take off the tuxes, and ten minutes after they walked in into the shop, they were walking out with suits, shirts, ties, and shoes. Harry held out his portkey for the Potter and they were standing in the lobby less than twenty minutes after they left the bank. When they walked into the apartment the girls all looked at them in shock.
"How did you make it back so fast? We just walked in a few minutes ago." Emma asked.
"Harry drives like a stabbed rat and Geno had the two suits ready for us when we walked in. The fit took about five minutes." Dan said as they walked to their rooms to put away their suits and get ready to play a round of golf.
"It's so unfair you men can walk into a shop and walk out a few minutes later with a suit that looks good." Emma said as Dan changed out of his khakis and button up, for looser black golf pants and gray golf shirt.
"Yes it's very unfair indeed." Dan said with a smile as he grabbed his golf bag and shoes.
"You ready to go? We have twenty minutes before our tee time." Harry said walking down the hall with his bag and shoes. He was dressed the same as Dan but he was wearing a green shirt.
"Yeah, let's move. I want to stop off at the in-house barber and have my hair cut after we play. You need a cut too kid." Dan said leading the boy to the front door.
"See you boys later. Have fun on your golf date." Emma said laughing at the two of them.
"She can joke all she wants but she don't understand our love." Harry joked loud enough for Emma to hear as he shut the door. That made her laugh harder.
Harry and Dan took the elevator to the basement garage and Harry held out the portkey to Lyndhurst. In ten seconds they were in New Jersey. Harry expanded his car, shrank their bags and put them in his trunk. They got in and Harry made the six mile trip in less than ten minutes. They arrived at the front door of the country club by 2:35.
"Damn we made good time Kid." Dan said looking at his watch.
"It's the car. It makes you confident. I can see all the way around it and I know it has grip for days. I just point it at corners and it goes." Harry said.
The boys played a round of golf and this time they tried not to mess around too much. They took it seriously and both of them played way better this time. They both shot just under 80 which was a big improvement for Harry. They both stopped off at the club barber and got haircuts. For Dan it was just a quick trim and a shave. For Harry it was a full reshaping of his style. He chopped off most of his hair into a devil may care cut that made him look cool. He also had the barber trim his three day old stubble into a jaw defining beard. When they were all done they headed out to the car, shrank it down and took the portkey back to the Potter right around half past six. They rode the elevator up to the apartment and found a house full of women rushing back and forth between bedrooms in different states of dress.
"Oh good, you two are here. Find a bathroom, take a shower and get dressed." Hermione said wearing a white dress that hung off her neck and left her shoulders and most of her back bare. The dress came all the way down to the floor but had a long slit up right side. Her hair was up and she had a light touch of makeup on including bright red lipstick.
"Yes mama," Harry said with a confident wolfish grin on his face as he looked her up and down. Dan saw the look, shook his head and walked away.
"Like what you see?" She asked with a sexy smirk.
"I do. I love it. It looks like it comes off easy." Harry said slipping up to her and kissing her.
"I like your new haircut, it's sexy." She said running her hands through his hair. As she kissed him harder.
"Hey you two! Less kissing more dressing. And you, I need you to open your vault so we can get to the shiny." Dora said.
She was wearing a black one button tuxedo that was cut to fit her tall statuesque frame but there was no shirt, just a deep neckline that ended at her ribcage and loads of cleavage. Her long blond hair was pulled back into a bun exposing her long neck and and she was wearing very high but sturdy looking heels. She had about the same amount of makeup as Hermione and the same red lipstick.
"God damn sis. You look good too." Harry said nodding.
"Yeah, me and Abby are going to cause quite the commotion tonight. She's my date." Dora said with a smirk.
"Nice, come on, I'll open the vault for you." Harry said leading her to his room at the end of the hall.
Harry opened the vault door and headed into his bathroom to grab a quick shower. By the time he came out of his bathroom in his boxers Dora was just coming out of the vault with a set of diamond studs in her ears and a big diamond necklace made of smaller diamonds that ended in a teardrop diamond that rested on her breast bone above the swell of her bigger than normal breasts.
"What do you think?" She asked.
"Nice." Harry said pulling on his shirt over his vest when Hermione walked into the room and right into the vault with her mom following right behind her.
Emma was wearing a satin black dress with a small v neck that hinted at cleavage without showing any. The dress was tight to the waist and flowed out and down to floor in the back and to the middle of her shins in the font showing off her black high heeled shoes. Her hair was up like her daughters and she had a bit more makeup on. She looked like a movie star walking the red carpet.
"Sorry to barge in Harry, I didn't know you were still changing." Emma said looking away from him as he slipped on his pants.
"It's fine. You look very nice Emma, very classic hollywood actress." Harry said with a smile as he buttoned his pants.
"Thanks Harry." She said with a smile as she walked into the vault.
"Harry, do you have any pocket squares?" Dora asked looking at her jacket pocket.
"Check my closet. Center island the side by the shoes I think." Harry said pulling on his socks and shoes. Dora nodded and headed into his closet.
Harry was tying his tie when Abby walked in wearing a full length black dress with a plunge neckline that stopped just low enough to prove she wasn't wearing a bra. The dress hung on every one of her curves and there was a long slit that went all the way up to her right hip to show off all of her long leg that ended in a very high black spike heeled shoe. Her blonde hair was done up in big curls and pinned in place like a 1950's actress. Like the rest of the ladies she had bright red lipstick and smokey eyes.
"Looking good Abby, Dora is a lucky girl." Harry said pulling on his gun rig and jacket.
"Likewise Harry, very James Bond." Abby said following Emma into the vault.
"Thank you." Harry said slipping his wand into the inside pocket of the jacket made to hold wands. He put on his watch and looked up when Dan walked into his room. That made Harry laugh.
"Do you have any cufflinks? I don't have any and I don't like the metal cuff bars that come with the shirt." Dan asked.
"Check my closet, on the left side of the island top drawer I think. There are about ten sets." Harry said walking to his bedroom door.
He held up his wand and a few seconds later a bottle of Bollinger Brut Special Cuvee came flying into his hand from the kitchen. He chilled the bottle with a spell and conjured six glasses. He popped the top as people started coming out of side rooms and poured six glasses killing the bottle. He handed out glasses and that's when they all realized they were all in the room.
"To our first fancy ass party. May it be the first of many." Harry said clinking glasses with everyone.
"Here here!" Dan said.
"Okay, now let's get moving because it's seven and we have to walk." Dora said looking at her small watch.
That started a scramble to the door. The girls got their jackets on, found their handbags, and did one last check of hair and makeup. Harry was the last one out and he locked the door behind him. When they walked out the front doors they could see the lights and the gathering of photographers on the red carpet the three couples walked the block and a half in the nice evening air to the front entrance. They made their way through the line of reporters with Abby handling the questions. They checked in at the front desk and Abby led them off to the side following the rope line to a red carpet in front of a wall wrapped in blue with the museum logo repeated as a pattern and another gauntlet of photographers. Harry did his best to smile and stand next to Hermione who looked like she belonged there.
At this point Harry could barely see thanks to all the flashbulbs. They just kept following Abby. She lead them to a small reception area where they were serving champaign. Slowly his eyesight came back to him and got a chance to look around the large entry full of dinosaur bones and celebrities.
"Abby do you think it's okay to have our pictures taken." Harry asked but she just waved him off and pointed to the room around them. Half the people from TV and Movies were there that night. They were all standing in little groups talking to each other. Abby laughed at their wide eyed looks.
"No one is going to print your pictures. You're cute, but not George Clooney cute. Now mingle with the pretty people, it's what you paid for. Just walk up to them, say you like their work, and if they talk to you, you know they're cool. I'd start with the cast of SNL, they're easier to talk to because they're comics." Abby said before waving at someone they thought they knew from the fashion world and walking off with Dora following her.
"I guess we circulate." Harry said with a shrug.
"I guess so." Hermione said leading him off.
What followed was a blur handshakes, smiles, and small talk. Later when they thought about that night they would remember small snippets of conversations with people from tv. They eat a passable dinner under a blue whale. After that there was an unveiling of a big dinosaur. After that a small band started playing and people mingled again for a while before they started leaving. By half past eleven when Abby rounded them up most of the people were gone. She lead them to the coat check and then out into the cold night air. The walk was nice and everyone laughed and talked about meeting famous people. By the time they walked into the Lobby of the Potter building they were ready for bed. Mike greeted them with a smile and they spent a few minutes talking to him about the dinner while the overnight valet brought Abby's car up.
"You sure you can drive?" Harry asked.
"I'm fine Harry, I'm stone sober at this point and I don't have too far to go. I only live a few miles from here. Oh before I forget. You better take these back." Abby said handing him the diamond necklace and earrings she was wearing as she slipped into her Maserati.
"Okay, goodnight, and thanks for getting us tickets for tonight's event." Harry said.
"Any time Harry. Like I said before, I'd rather hang out with you guys then the boring rich jerks I normally deal with." She said before she drove away.
The group headed up to the apartment and everyone headed for bed. As the group made its way down the hall it got smaller until Harry led Hermione into the master suite. When they were inside their room Hermione attacked his mouth. She stripped off most of Harry's suit as they moved further into the room still attaches at the mouth. By the time they made it to the bed Harry was down to socks, open shirt, dragon hide vest, his gun rig, and boxers. He pulled back for a minute to ditch most of that leaving him in his boxers.
Hermione took off the very expensive jewel encrusted earrings and necklace she was wearing and set them on the bedside table before she reached behind her neck and undid the button that held the top of her dress in place she let the top fall down exposing her naked breasts making Harry groan. She pushed the dress off her hips leaving her in little white knickers and white pumps. She pushed him onto the bed and made sure he was watching as she turned around and pushed her little white thong down. She smirked when she heard him mutter 'oh god'. She stepped out of her knickers and approached the bed in nothing but her white pumps and a sexy smirk.
Sunday, the next morning, the alarm clock rang at half past six and Harry hit it with a wandless silencing spell before rolling over and going back to sleep holding his girl. Harry woke up again when someone knocked on the bedroom door. He rolled over and saw it was half past nine. He rolled out of bed summoned a pair of track pants from his closet, put them on, and rushed to the door as they knocked again. It was Emma.
"Hey, we're all up and about to have breakfast. I wanted to check on you guys." She said looking past him to see clothes all over the floor. She looked back at him and smiled a knowing smile.
"Right, I'll go get Hermione up and we'll be right there." Harry said rubbing his neck, it itched. What he didn't know was he had three long scratches down his neck.
"Right. You should have Hermione look at that. We'll wait for you." Emma said holding in her laugh until she turned around. Harry shrugged and walked back to the bed where Hermione was sitting up and stretching.
"Breakfast?" She asked.
"Yeah, what's on my neck?" Harry asked.
"Oh Harry, I got you good. It's these nails from the saloon. They're sharp." She said grabbing her wand of the nightstand and healing his neck, his back, and head.
"Yeah, you were wild last night." Harry said with a goofy grin thinking about the night before. In the last few nights they had together, they were so excited to get to the main event they rounded second base, and ran straight for home plate. Last night they tried third base and Harry figured out he had a talent for it.
"Yes, it was very nice. We're going to have to try that again." Hermione said with a matching grin.
"Well not right now, we need to head to breakfast." Harry said grabbing the t-shirt off the chair and pulling it on.
Hermione summoned his dress shirt from the night before and a pair of shorts from her closet. They both got dressed and headed out to the kitchen. When they got there the elder Grangers and Dora all had smirks on their faces. Harry got their plates and sat at the counter trying to keep it cool and not blush, there was nothing to blush about. Hermione was doing better. She ignored the smirks and ate with a grin of her own.
"I see you healed the scratches." Emma said breaking the silence.
"Yes, it's a simple spell, one we're going to go over soon I think." Hermione said.
"Good, then I can heal your father's back as well. These nails the salon put on are sharp." Emma said.
"I wouldn't know." Dora said with a pout breaking the attention and making everyone laugh.
"What are we doing today?" Dan asked.
"We're hanging out around the house. I want to watch my big ass projector and play some video games. Then I'll head out to a store and pick up everything we need to grill for a late lunch. It's been awhile since I've cooked and I'm starting to get the bug for it. Later we have a Dragon's game. They're playing the Miami Sand Sharks I think. Then we all have to get to bed early tonight, we have a big day tomorrow. Dora's heading over to Paris to get our friends out. Remember, if you run into trouble you call us. Dan and I are going to be standing by waiting in the garage for most of the morning, locked and loaded and looking for a fight. We can portkey right to you from down there." Harry said.
"I know, but Mum thinks we're still in the clear. The order of the fried turkey has been running around Paris dodging the french Aurors running down leads trying to find you and Hermione. I honestly think our cover can hold up for a few more weeks before they figure something is up. In fact I might try to get Neville's folks out tomorrow if I think we're clear. Can I take the portkey to london with me tomorrow?" Dora asked.
"Sure, you can have anything you want or need. Like I said it's not a game we're playing. If things even feel like they're going sideways pull out. We'll set something else up. Remember we have time and resources on our side. The Order of the fried turkey might be running around France like chickens with their heads cut off at the moment, but if the old man catches wind of the play he'll make a move to stop it. Is Neville going to go through the renaming process like I did?" Harry asked.
"He is. It's happening tonight. He'll be brought to the bank tonight and the same two healers will kill him and bring him back. Augusta has already signed the paperwork to hand over the house to him. He is, at the moment the head of his house, and when he dies, and gets reborn he will get rid of the marriage contract and his old will just like you did. In fact the whole group is going to spend the night at the bank for security's sake. They will leave from the bank out a side door to muggle London and from there my dad is going to get them on the 9:15 train to Paris. As soon as the train hits the chunnel the old man has no power over anything. In fact the bank will have a security team at both the London and Paris stations. I'll make the pick up at noon when the train get to Paris, I'll collect everyone off to the side, check them for tracking charms, and hand them a portkey. When they are safely away I'll pop over to London and take the temperature of the situation and see how things look. I can even check in with the fried turkey club through Shack and see what's going on. I will have my vest on and I will be armed. I'll also have the portkey and my phone. If shit hits the fan I'll pop out to a safe place and portkey back. I might also look in on Frank Martin and see if he has more stock of Dragon hide. He told me some more vests were going to fall off the back of a truck soon." Dora said.
"Okay. As long as we're on the same page and we know what's supposed to be going on we can keep tabs on the situation as it unfolds." Harry said.
"On our end Mom and I are going to take everyone to lunch down the street from the bank, then we're going to get them all in the beast and take them to David Wandsmith's shop and get them fitted for new wands. By the time we're done with that we should be getting back here you should be back and we'll take it from there." Hermione said.
"Okay then it sounds like we're all set. Now if you'll excuse me, I have very important video games that need to be played." Harry said standing up and setting his empty plate on the serving tray where it vanished. He walked out of the room as they laughed at him.
Harry grabbed a quick shower, put on a new tracksuit, t-shirt, vest, and gun rig. He headed into the movie room and booted up the system. For the next three hours he got his ass handed to him by ten year olds in Call Of Duty: Black Ops III. By that point it was just before noon. He announced he was heading to the store and Emma tagged along. They rode down to the basement in a contented silence.
"You think the Camaro's trunk and back seat are big enough for food shopping or should we take the beast?" Harry asked looking at the line of cars.
"Should be fine, what do you plan on getting?" Emma asked.
"Stuff for lunch, maybe a few meals in the coming week, we also need essentials like beer, soda, chirps, biscuits, also the store is right down the street from the electronic store Dan and I went to a few days ago. I remember he had mini fridges with expansion charms on the inside. I want to get one for each room. That walk to the kitchen is way too long for water. I also want to get ten cases of water. Maybe we should take the beast. In fact you'll be driving it around tomorrow you drive." Harry said waving at the big truck.
"I do need to get used to it. It's so much bigger than the little BMW X1 crossover I had." Emma said climbing up into the beast.
The two of them headed out in search of food and beverages. They ended up at the Trader Joe's on Broadway and 72nd. They each grabbed a cart and went aisle by aisle tossing things into the cart. They both figured out two carts wasn't going to cut it so Emma kept those first two carts and Harry ran back to the front of the store for two more. The house needed everything from salt and pepper, to eggs and milk.
By the time they got to the checkout line they had five carts. One cart was just packs of water bottles, cases of Coke, and cases of Monster stacked precariously high. It took a while to ring it all up and bag it. They pushed their carts out to the Beast and Harry found a cool compartment in the back under the floor. It was a hugely expanded heavy plastic bin that managed to hold almost everything they bought. Emma made sure the bread and eggs were at the top of the bin and Harry shut it. He finished packing the rest of the bags into the trunk and they headed for the electronic store. Harry walked into the store and fifteen minutes he came out with a small bag with nine mini fridges and a full sized stand up fridge for the little field house on the roof.
They made it back to the Potter by half past one. Harry conjured a second bin and packed the rest of the bags inside. He then had Emma float the lighter one and he floated the heavier one onto the elevator. They unpacked all the bags and Harry filled the bin with things he would need for lunch. He headed up to the roof with Dan. A few spells got the brick grill clean and the charcoal hot and ready to cook. Harry had Dan brush the grill down with oil as he seasoned the meat. Soon they had chicken breasts and haddock fillets on the grill as he diced up tomatoes, onions, cilantro, and a few chillies for salsa. He thin sliced an avocado and some lettuce. He dumped a big can of black beans into a conjured sauce pan and set it on the grill he cooked and mashed the beans and added hot sauce and shredded cheese to them before he dumped them into a bowl and vanished the pot with a wave of his wand.
At this point he turned the meat and fish moving it off to the side so he could heat up two dozen taco shells. Dan stood back and was mildly shocked the boy could cook like this. He's knife skills were very good and he could multi task, which was something Dan could not do. The girls came up with a bucket full of ice cold beers. They stood around and watch Harry cook as they talked. Harry pulled the meat and fish off the grill, and cut it into strips. Which he transferred onto platters. He hit it all with fresh lime one more time and handed it off to Emma to take to the gazebo along with the bowl of salsa, the bowl with the beans, and the plate of garnish. He cleaned the grill and tossed five ears of corn on the grill and hit the charcoal with another fire spell to bring up the heat. In less than five minutes he had a bowl of fire roasted corn. He brought it to the table and they had lunch.
"You are a really good cook Harry." Hermione said sounding shocked. She had plowed through three fish tacos and was looking at a fourth.
"Don't sound so shocked, I was forced to cook for my horrible family from the time I could see over the stove." Harry said.
"I'm just saying, you'd think those skills would transfer over to potions brewing." Hermione said.
"Hey! I'm good at potions, Snape is a shit teacher. When he wasn't breathing down my neck he was sabotaging my work. Why do you think I stopped working with you? I didn't want to bring down your grade in the class." Harry said.
"What else can you make Harry? Do you bake?" Emma asked.
"I can bake breads and the like but I have no feel for cakes and pies. I'm a cook not a baker. I make a good pot roast, and fish and chips, but I kill at breakfast foods. I make the best blueberry pancakes and my steak and cheese omelets are greasy salty heaven. Crispy bacon, buttermilk waffles, black pudding." Harry said getting lost in the thought of breakfast.
"Great, now I'm hungry again and I just finished eating." Dora said before she burped. "Sorry." She said.
"Don't be, I wish I could. I had one taco too many." Emma said rubbing her noticeable belly.
"The secret to good grilling is don't mess with your food. Put it on and leave it alone." Harry said finishing his beer.
"Well you can grill from now on. I thought I could grill, but after watching you work I know I'm an amature." Dan said.
"Sounds good to me, now who's up for some horseshoes?" Harry asked and he got a bunch of groans in reply.
They spent the next three hours lounging around the house watching tv or in Harry and Dan's case setting up all the little mini fridges in each room. Harry turned the old TV cabinets in each room into a mini bar to house the fridges and also ice buckets. He would add glasses and bottles of booze to each room as well as a magical tea set. He added it to the list if thing to get.
They all got their Dragon's jerseys on and met Mike and Walter in the lobby. Make had his daughter Maddy who was ten and Steve's boy Tim who was nine. Walter had his two grandsons Billy who was twelve and Justin who was ten. Harry expanded the portkey card to the size of notebook paper and held it out for everyone to grab onto. He tapped it and in ten seconds they were standing on the side of the road in New Jersey. Harry expanded the Beast and Emma helped the two men get the kids strapped in for the twenty minute drive to the stadium. They parked the Beast in the VIP parking lot and walked into the side entrance. They met Becky again and she lead them to the new box. It was right across the way from the Bank's box and the kids were wide eyed the whole time. Mike and Walter were both a bit shocked as well.
"Becky, as you can see we have a lot of hungry mouths to feed tonight. And it's two hours before tips off. We're going to need the nacho platter, the soft pretzel platter, the six foot sub, the Hotdog cart, and a large cheese pizza. Also bring us the ice chest of beer and pitcher of margaritas. We're also going to need a few pitchers of soda, and six jerseys. Also can we have six signed quaffles at the end of the game? Put it all on the bill." Harry said.
"I'll have everything brought up asap." Becky said with a big grin as she watched the kids stare in wonder at the field and the two teams flying around before the game. A few minutes later she came back with six jerseys and Harry got the kids attention.
"Okay, Rules of the box. One, you wear your Dragon's jersey at all times. Two, you route for the dragons no matter what, and three, we eat all the junk food until we feel sick!" Harry said handing out jerseys and shrinking them to fit.
"Yes sir!" Billy said tossing off a salute.
"Now those are rules I can live by." His ten year old brother said nodding.
"Good, let the gluttony begin!" Harry said as carts were pushed into the room full of food.
"My ex-wife is going to kill me." Mike said watching his daughter take a souvenir sized cup of soda from Harry and start sucking it down.
"I'm the grandpa, I'm expected to give my grandsons junk food and sugar." Walter said watching Emma and Harry play mom to the kids filling their plates with hot dogs and nachos.
"It will be fine, they'll crash in an hour and be calm by the start of the game." Dan said handing out beers to the men. Dan flipped on the tv and changed channels until he found the Chicago Shadow Cats vs the New Orleans Voodoo quidditch game on ESPN Magic2. The Cat's scored and Tim cheered for a second before he looked up at Harry.
"Sorry." Tim said and Harry was confused for a second then it hit him.
"It's cool. I have a house in Chicago. So we can add the cats to the list of approved teams to cheer for." Harry said patting the boy on the back and sitting with the kids on the couch he pulled the table closer so they could set their plates down. They all sat and watched the game and shoved food in their faces.
"He's going to make a good father one day." Emma said smiling at Harry sitting with the kids and holding important conversation with them on topics like the hotness of the Cat's front line of chasers, or the stretchiness of good pizza cheese, if tomato sauce counts as a fruit paste, and the top speed of the firebolt broom vs the new Ford Thunderbolt Broom.
"I know. It's mostly because he's still ten years old on the inside." Hermione said.
"He didn't get much chance to grown up." Dora said.
"No, he went from abused little boy to killer of darklords and defence teachers and leader of school kids." Hermione said.
They watched the Cats kill the Voodoo 106 to 68 in a bad blow out before the Dragons lost to the sand Sharks 98 to 85. Watching the two games back to back Harry understood the difference between the best team in the league, the Cats, an okay team, like the Dragons, and a shit team, like the Voodoo. Whereas the Dragons slowed down at the end of the game and the Voodoo looked almost dead the Cats were ready to play two more periods. The Cat's keeper was mostly light out through the first half and only when the Voodoo got weak and started to trail off did the Cat's keeper let off the gas and let a few shots through only blocking the easy stuff. Not that it mattered at that point, the Cats were up by 50 points and still going strong. The Dragons had enough in the tank for three quarters of tough play but by the end they were dying to sit down.
Towards the end of the game Becky came by with the bill, Harry handed her his black card and a seven hundred dollar tip. Becky brought in a cart of with six signed quaffles. When Harry handed them out to his guests the kids freaked out. Mike and Walter were very excited as well. They headed out to the Beast where Harry shrank the car and everyone that had a portkey to the Potter building took a few people with them back home. By the time they headed up to the apartment it was just a quarter past nine. This was way better then driving back in traffic.
Harry spent an hour at the range working his way through ten regular 30 round magazines in his MP5k. He worked on sighting it in and trigger control. Then he worked on bringing it up on target from concealment under a coat hanging on the shoulder sling. When he had that down he moved onto firing a few shots from the MP5k, dropping it and letting it fall away on the sling as he drew his Sig p226 and engaging targets with his pistol. When he was all done he checked his loaded mags and made sure he had everything in his bag ready to go.
When he walked into his room he saw Hermione sitting in bed reading. Harry set his bag on the chair by the bed with the full dragon hide armor suit next to along with black track pants, a black athletic t-shirt, and his black trainers. He set his gun rig next to the bag and put his gun and wand on the table next to his glasses which he hadn't needed to wear in the last two days. Hermione saw all of this and didn't say anything. She just set her book down and checked to make sure her bag was close by and her gun was on the bedside table. Harry took a quick shower and came to bed in black under armor compression shorts and socks.
"You got a bad feeling?" She half asked half said.
"It could be something I ate." Harry said with a shrug.
"Okay. Do you think I should tell my dad or Dora?" Hermione asked.
"No, it's not a premonition or anything. It's nerves before the big game I think. The gut instinct that says life can't be this good without something bad happening. It will pass. I don't want Dora doubting her plan, and I don't want to disrupt Dan's sleep if we do run into a problem I want him fresh." Harry said laying down and staring up at the dark green canopy of the bed.
"But you're going to be up half the night worrying?" Hermione again half asked and half said.
"I'm going to try not to. I'm going to work on my breathing and calming my nerves. I need you to sleep as well. You're our emergency healer and back up for now. The next time we go back to the island of misfit magicals we're going to have Doc Carter standing by and half the DA suited and booted and ready to roll. When we get more folks out we'll have more people on standby." Harry said in a voice that was way too calm for what he was saying.
"Harry, promise me you'll look after yourself and my dad tomorrow?" Hermione asked just above a whisper.
"Even if I have to kill half the magicals in London to do it. The same number of us that go there are coming back, hopefully with more friends. For all we know, everything is fine and tomorrow will go off without a hitch." Harry said confidently.
"Right, Hopefully." Hermione agreed slipping out of bed.
She hit herself with a cleaning charm and walked into her closet. She came out in a sports bra, compression shorts, and socks. Her hair was pulled in a ponytail at the base of her neck. She pulled her armor out of her bag and laid it out on the chair like Harry and slipped into bed.
"You got a bad feeling?" Harry asked with a smirk.
"No, but you do and you're gut is never wrong. Better to be safe than sorry." She said kissing him and turning off her lamp.
She rolled over and Harry cuddled up to her back holding her to his chest. It took a while for them to fall asleep that night. an hour later across the pond Luna Lovegood shot out of her sleep on a couch in the bank with a start waking Susan and Amelia up. The three women were sharing an office for the night in preparation for the trip out tomorrow.
"They're outside the bank. We're surrounded." She said.
"Who's here? The Order? The Death Eaters?" Amelia asked.
"Yes." Luna said shaking as she brought her legs up to her chest and hugged herself.
Cliff Hangers Suck! I know. But this chapter was getting way to long and the fight scene would add another half chapter to this. Also you should know i really hate killing off characters. It's a cheap hook in my opinion. So relax, the next chapter will go up in a few days. after that i'll be posting one chapter a week. we've burned through the set up, now comes the fun part.