"Hi, Amanda, " said Sirius kindly, "Do you own the restaurant as well?"
"No, " said Amanda matter of factly, "The restaurant is owned by Amanda Ambrose. I am Amanda Alworth. I permitted Mrs. Ambrose to operate her restaurant adjacent to my adventure park because it provides a convenient way for my customers to get food during their stay. At my place, admission is free for children eighteen and under. I originally planned on free admission for those under eighteen but before opening I decided to include eighteen year olds in my free group so that all high school seniors would be included in the free group. I admit kids into my adventure park for free to keep it affordable for large families. Along those lines, each adult in a group with three or less adults is charged a $5 admission fee.
A/N: Amanda Alworth charges in dollars instead galleons or sickles because she is a muggle. Amanda Ambrose is a witch, hence the spells and charms on some of the food in the previous chapter.
Sirius was surprised to hear the that the admission would be charged in muggle money, but he was smart enough that he always carried some muggle money with him just in case.
Amanda Alworth went on, "In groups with four or more adults, it is a straight up $20 admission fee no matter how many adults are in the group. I want to keep it affordable enough that a full family with two parents and four grandparents can come. "
"You're a wonderful lady, Madam Alworth, " said Sirius respectfully.
"Call me Amanda, " said Amanda cheerfully, "The caveat is that every group must have at least one adult of at least twenty one years of age."
"Translation, " said Sirius bluntly, "My adventure park is for family outings and not a hangout for groups of high school and college friends."
"Exactly, " said Amanda clearly, "As your group consists of one adult with two kids, your admission fee is $5."
"I'm Sirius Black and the kids are my godson Harry Potter and a guest named Tracey Davis whose fourteenth birthday is today."
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" realized Amanda in a nanosecond, "This is an outing for Tracey's birthday."
"Yes, " confirmed Sirius as he paid Amanda and led Harry and Tracey on their way.
As they walked to the first attraction, Harry asked Tracey, "Do you have any pets?"
"Yes, a calico cat named Swirl. My dad bought Swirl for me as a tenth birthday present. Mom never wanted me to have pets because she dislikes animals due to the noise they tend to make. But luckily for me, dad overruled her."
"Does Swirl meow a lot?" Harry asked Tracey.
"No, but his meows are pretty loud, " answered Tracey, "A Swirl meow usually means feed me. I love Swirl because he's cute, cuddly, curls up on my lap, and loves being petted. I know you have a snowy owl for a pet, Harry."
"Her name is Hedwig, " explained Harry, "But how did you know-"
"The number of times she's either delivered packages to you or just to come to greet you in the Great Hall during breakfast, "replied Tracey, "I do know who you are even if today is the first time we've talked."
"You know, " said Harry thoughtfully, "Having a conversation with Tracey Davis is no different than having a conversation with Ginny Weasley or Luna Lovegood or Susan Bones. Houses be damned."
"I'm glad to see you've come around, Harry, " said Sirius approvingly.
Next nanosecond, they came upon the first attraction, which was simple horseback riding. There was a stable of horses guests could take out and ride.
Sirius, Harry, and Tracey each mounted a brown horse and took a few laps. But at the end of their third lap, Harry's horse bucked him off and he fell quickly and forcefully to the ground.
Realizing that Harry was now unconscious, Sirius conjured a stretcher while apparating all three of them to St. Mungo's.
A healer told Sirius that Harry would have died if he were a muggle from the force of the fall, but that Harry's magic might have saved him. They would simply have to wait and see if he woke up again. With her parents' permission, Tracey stayed at St. Mungo's as well.
Two days later with Harry still in a coma, Sirius found himself comforting a crying Tracey, who couldn't seem to look at Sirius.
"Keep your head up, Tracey, " commanded Sirius.
"But, if Harry dies, then it's my fault. I was the one who wanted to go to Amanda's Animal Adventures in the first place. If I hadn't chosen Amanda's Animal Adventures for the outing then Harry would never have gotten on that horse and would never have gotten hurt, " said Tracey shakily.
Sirius forced Tracey's head up and forced her eyes to meet his.
"Tracey, it's only natural for you to feel some guilt, but trust me, I know what happened to Harry was not your fault. Things happen. I don't blame you in the slightest, ," said Sirius clearly.
Looking at Tracey's eyes, Sirius saw that they were very bloodshot.
"You've been crying a lot, haven't you?" Sirius asked Tracey quietly.
Tracey nodded.
Sirius took out his quill and some parchment and wrote.
"Dear, Mr. and Mrs. Davis:
Tracey has been crying a lot the last few days. I saw her eyes were very bloodshot today. She feels extremely guilty about what happened at the adventure park and blames herself for Harry getting hurt under the premise that Harry would never have gotten hurt if she hadn't wanted to go to Amanda's Animal Adventures. Such feelings of guilt are common in situations like this, especially for someone as caring and compassionate as Tracey. Tracey will not leave St. Mungo's while Harry is still in a coma, but I believe it would comfort her if Swirl could be sent along. if one of you could drop Swirl off at St. Mungo's I believe it would greatly comfort Tracey.
Sincerely
- Sirius,"
Sirius sent the letter off with a St. Mungo's barn owl.
About an hour later, a man who looked very much like an adult Tracey and a woman with golden hair and gray eyes entered the ward. The man was carrying a calico cat.
The man handed the cat to Tracey without saying a word and she immediately started petting it.
"Sirius, " said the man seriously, "I am Tracey's father, Travis Davis."
"I am Travis's wife and Tracey's mother, Terresa Davis, " said the woman shyly.
"Know this, " said Sirius clearly, " I do not blame Tracey for what happened. It could have happened to any of us. I promise that no matter what happens Tracey has my full support. Though I know that if Harry survives a great burden will be lifted from her. Tracey only wanted to go out to Amanda's Animal Adventures for her birthday. She didn't do anything wrong. "
Tracey, meanwhile, was getting calmer and more comfortable as she petted Swirl.
Noticing his daughter start to relax a bit, Travis said, "I'm glad you had us send Swirl. We should've done that without prompting. Swirl has always had a way of making Tracey feel at ease."
"The power of pets, " said Sirius gently.
"Has Tracey slept at all the last few nights?" Terresa asked Sirius.
"She was too guilty and too worried to sleep the first night, " answered Sirius uneasily, "But when it looked like she wouldn't sleep again last night, I gave her some Dreamless Sleep Potion. She's still been pretty upset today, which is why I had you bring Swirl, but at least she got a good night's sleep last night."
"Oh, thank you, Sirius, " said a very relived sounding Terresa, "I can't image the state Tracey would have been in if she went several days without sleep."
"I'm going to give her the potion again tonight, " promised Sirius, and when the time came, he did.
Next morning, before Tracey had woken, Swirl had crawled up onto Harry's bed and rubbed his face against Harry's.
Incredibly, the nanosecond Swirl's face had touched Harry's, Harry began to stir.
"W- what, " said a dazed and confused Harry, "Where I am, why is there a cat in my bed?"
"HARRY!" screamed Sirius happily in a voice that woke Tracey.
"Has he come round?" asked Tracey in voice filled with cautious hope as she got of bed.
"Yes, he made it, he's awake now. Swirl got into his bed, and, incredibly, when Swirl rubbed his face against Harry's, Harry started to stir." explained Sirius.
"Swirl?" said Harry wildly. And then he looked around and saw Tracey, "This is your cat?"
"Yes, " said Tracey proudly.
When Harry was a little more alert, Sirius filled him in on everything that had happened and introduced him to Travis and Terresa.
"How are you feeling Harry?" asked Sirius seriously.
"Alert, but weak and tired, " answered Harry, "Hey, Tracey, may I have your permission to hold Swirl properly and pet him?"
"But of course, " smiled Tracey.
So, Harry held and petted Swirl. With each passing minute of holding and petting swirl, Harry felt both stronger and livelier and in ten minutes time he said, "I feel like myself again."
"That's wonderful!" chorused Sirius, Travis, Terresa, and Tracey.
"It sounds weird, "But the more I held and petted Swirl, the stronger and livelier I became, " said Harry in amazement as he handed Swirl back to Tracey.
"Swirl must not be an ordinary cat, there must be something more, " said Tracey mysteriously. "First he revived you, then he gave you your strength back."
"Tracey, look, " said Harry in a businesslike voice, "I understand you feel bad about what happened, but please understand that you bear NO responsibility for my getting hurt. Sometimes things happen where you wish you could go back in time and make different choices. But some things are nobody's fault."
Without prompting, Harry got out of bed and walked up straight up to Tracey and gave her a hug.
"It's going to be okay, " said Harry reassuringly. "I'd still like to be your friend."
This earned Harry smiles from Sirius, Travis, and Terresa.
"If my godfather and your parents are okay with it, I'd like to make you an offer, " Harry told Tracey.
"Which is?" asked Tracey eagerly.
"I know your birthday had a terrible ending, but if Sirius, Travis, and Terresa are okay with it, I'd like to invite you to my fourteenth birthday party on July 31st."
"Go for it, Harry, " said Sirius encouragingly.
"What do Tracey's mom and dad say?" Harry asked Travis and Terresa.
"We're all for it, " said Travis appreciatively, "It's a great opportunity for her."
"It's good for her to have non Slytherin friends, " said Terresa approvingly.
Harry, Sirius, Travis, Terresa, and Tracey ending up leaving St. Mungo's together and taking a portkey to Godric's Hollow.
Sirius graciously offered to have the Davises stay for dinner.
They ended up eating a delicious dinner of steak, baked potatoes, sweet corn, and Coors.
On this day of relief, they were happy to enjoy such a good dinner.
The Davises went home after dinner, but new seeds of friendship had been sown despite the adversity.