As the group of friends hurried back to the Egress to Diagon Alley, it seemed like everyone who passed them was talking about the flood of rats that had just coursed through Charing Cross Road.
"Fred. George. Put Ron's clothes right. They are drawing more attention than the rats!" Hermione hissed.
"That's a fair point… do the honors, George?" Fred conceded.
"There you go, Ron… back to school robes in the middle of London… doesn't stand out at all," George chortled.
"This isn't a time to be taking the mickey out of anyone!" Hermione protested.
"What do you mean, Herms?" Fred teased and had probably pulled Hermione into a side hug, given the way she was baulking. "What better time than when the streets are teeming with rats, muggles, Aurors, and escaped death eaters?"
Harry shrugged to himself… Fred had a point. Gemma asked him what was going on and Harry tried his best to describe it. She caught hold of the slip of paper and scratched her agreement on his arm.
It was getting hot under the invisibility cloak and rivulets of sweat were making their way down Harry's neck. Gemma was pressed close to him, one arm around his waist so they could move in unison. His clothes were sticking to him.
Ginny yelped, and lurching, she pulled Harry (and Gemma) to the side.
"Wha—!" Harry exclaimed.
"More rats! They almost ran into us!" Ginny panted.
"Gah! How many rats are there in London?" Neville muttered when they had to stop as yet another mischief of rats blocked their path. Their scritching nails and chorus of squeaks were unnerving.
"More rats than people, that's for sure! And where is Scabbers!?" Ron moaned.
"Do not play the flute again!" George demanded. "Or I'll put a permanent sticking charm on that Pied Piper hat!"
"Stop it!" Ron bleated.
"We're nearly there," Hermione assured. "Come on."
"Nearly where?" Harry asked… he had lost all sense of direction.
"Diagon Alley."
"I think I better just go to the apparition point… I've got to get Nio."
"What about all your school things?" Hermione asked.
"I can figure that out later."
"Mum already thinks Harry is safely there, Hermione. It probably is better if Harry goes. I don't think Dad saw him… but that one Auror did, I'm pretty sure."
"No! They haven't!" Fred exclaimed.
Harry was really confused by Fred's tone as it didn't seem like him to be so upset about an Auror possibly seeing Harry.
But then he realized that it must be something else when he ran into someone who had stopped directly in front of him. Ginny, Harry, and Gemma were still trying to right themselves when Neville and Hermione rammed into them from the back.
"Please, no!" Ginny groaned.
"Not Dementors again!" George shouted. "What does the Ministry think is going to happen? In the middle of London!"
"Seriously?" Hermione said. "After what happened at the Burrow?"
"Ginny?" Harry asked, registering the tremors that were telegraphing through his hold on her. "You all right?"
"They are getting closer," Fred said, gravely. "Let's get out of here."
"Isn't it dangerous to let them loose where there are so many muggles?" Harry said. "Can they even see them?"
"It doesn't look like it," Neville said. "But they seem to notice the shift in weather… if you didn't know better it looks like a storm is coming in."
Gemma was squeezing his arm tight and stepping backwards. Ginny's tremors were getting stronger as she leaned into Harry from the other side.
"Ginny," Neville said. "You look really pale!"
"Let's go in here!" Ron said, dispelling their paralysis and suddenly the group was mobilizing again, pulling Harry and Gemma in the opposite direction. Gemma let go of his arm long enough to sign that there was a step.
They were squeezing through a narrow passage that smelled strongly of shepherd's pie and beer.
A pub. They had entered a muggle pub.
They were huddling in the entrance muttering about how long they needed to wait when someone greeted them cheerily.
"So, how many in your party?"
"Er, we don't need a table," Hermione sputtered.
"Er, yes, we do," Ron interjected. "This place smells heavenly!"
"A table for eight, please," Fred said.
"We don't have time for a meal!" Hermione stated, then hissed. "Or the pounds."
"Er, that's a fair point," George muttered.
"Oh, right. So sorry. We'll just be heading out," Fred explained to the host.
Another group of people entered the pub, exclaiming about how quickly the temperature had dropped and arguing about whether or not it was an unexpected summer storm. The air that came in the door with them was significantly cooler than earlier. Harry and Gemma were pressed against the wall as their friends tried to make room. The host greeted the new visitors and showed them to a table.
Ron's stomach was growling loudly… almost drowning out his grumbling about not getting to eat.
"They are still out there," Ginny whispered. Her voice was stronger, though. He guessed that she was peering through a window on the door.
"How many are there?" Harry asked Ginny in a low voice, as Gemma moved around him, grabbing the slip of paper and trying to see out the door as well.
Gemma tapped "two" on his arm.
"Harry, they are horrid," Ginny said, her voice wobbling. "It's like being in the Chamber again."
"Oi, here come some Aurors… look at that! They are making the Dementors move with those silvery things," Neville said.
Gemma relaxed her grip on Harry's arm.
Another party entered the pub and with them a blast of ice-cold air. Ginny moved toward the open door and they spilled out into the eerily quiet street. The change was so marked from when they had been out on Charing Cross Roads just minutes before, it was as if they had crossed through an Egress. The sweat that had pooled in the small of Harry's back turned icy and Gemma's tremors were being broadcast through her arms that tightened again around him. Ginny was also pressed up against him.
"Are we sure they are gone? Shouldn't we wait inside longer?" Harry said, he also felt unsteady on his feet as the noxious fumes of the Dementors reached his nose.
"What is going on?" Ron asked. "Where'd everyone go?"
"I can see my breath!" Neville exclaimed. "Gah! They're niffy!"
"Let's go this way," Fred urged. "The Aurors are directing the Dementors down Great Newport Street… let's go to the Center… it is close by."
It was strange to be on Charing Cross Road devoid of traffic and pedestrians. They crossed the intersection and hurried along the street until they all slowed, coming to a stop and turning toward the wall of buildings to their right.
"It's here, right?" Hermione said.
Harry shook out his staff and walked forward a couple of steps until he heard the greeting welcoming them to the Perenelle Flamel Adaptation Center. Gemma questioned what they were asking.
"Yes, we're at the Center," Harry confirmed, passing the slip to Gemma. It was getting warmer and the roar of traffic was starting to filter through the piercing silence… though still at a distance.
"We can go through the Center's Egress to Diagon Alley," Neville suggested.
"If they've been able to repair them," Harry amended.
They stepped through the doorway that had opened up and once they had all passed through they were enveloped in the warmth and aromas of the Center. From the reception desk came the distinctive percussion of Godric's brailler. Harry's throat constricted. He hadn't realized how much he'd missed all of it. As they moved closer to the desk, the brailler stopped.
"Welcome. How may I help you?" Godric Burbage asked. "Though you should know that the Center is currently closed."
"Hi, Mr. Burbage," Neville said. "It's me, Neville Longbottom, and other friends of Harry's and Gemma's. They are with us, too, though under the invisibility cloak… well, I suppose that doesn't make a difference to you…"
"I could tell there's quite the group of you, Neville, but no, I can't tell that Gemma and Harry are concealed under an invisibility cloak," Godric chuckled. "It's good to see you again. What can I do for you lot?"
"Wait, I thought he was blind!" Ron whispered though Harry was sure that Godric heard.
"Oi! What was that for?"
Harry smiled. Someone must have poked Ron. He had never realized how literal Ron was before all this.
"We're trying to get back to Diagon Alley… there are Dementors out on Charing Cross Road…" George interjected.
"... and so many rats!" Ginny added.
"We thought maybe we could go through an Egress here," Hermione suggested.
"Dementors and rats?" Godric questioned. "That's an odd combination."
"Tell me about it," Ron sighed and Harry giggled. It all seemed so absurd.
"Sadly, our Egress is still being repaired, but our floo network is connected again if you'd like to use that," Godric offered.
Harry groaned inwardly.
"Where'd we floo to?" Ron asked. "The Leaky Cauldron? Or the Magical Menagerie?"
"We're connected to the Leaky Cauldron," Godric supplied.
"Oh, drat," Hermione said. "I'm supposed to meet my mum and dad at the Menagerie."
"Oh! Lucky! What are they getting you?" Ginny asked.
"It's a surprise! An early birthday present," Hermione said. "But I suppose it'd be better just to show up to the shop normally… they might wonder where I've been if I arrive by floo."
"Harry, can you take your group to the floo?" Godric asked. "I need to remain at the desk."
"Er, I don't know where it is," Harry said. Gemma grabbed the slip of paper and tapped a question on his arm.
"The floo entrance," Harry said to Gemma, then told Godric that Gemma knew and would lead them there as she signed all this to him and then slipped out from under the cloak.
After a chorus of good-byes to Godric, the group trailed after Gemma, going through the door that led to the main corridor through the Center, but turning right instead of left as Harry expected.
Harry caught a wiff of the owelry as they passed it and then they were turning left, but not going through a doorway. From the sound of it, they had entered another smaller corridor.
"What is this place," Harry asked, realizing that he hadn't been in this part of the Center before. He didn't know there was anything beyond the owlery.
"I dunno," Ginny shrugged. "It kinda looks like the staff lounge at Hogwarts, though."
Harry frowned remembering the glimpses he'd had of the lounge at Hogwarts and not feeling comforted by the thought of a similar room at the Center. He reminded himself that Snape wasn't likely to come swooping out of the corner to interrogate him.
The group had stopped before the crackling floo fire… the faint aroma of floo powder brought the green flames to Harry's mind.
Harry wished he had asked Godric for advice for how to travel through the floo network without getting sick and lost. Surely, Godric had figured it out, if anyone could.
"What is it?" Ginny asked as Harry hung back.
"Er, traveling by floo…" Harry said quietly.
"Oh, right," Ginny said as she turned, looking around the room. "There's an apparition point here, too. Do you want to use that?"
"I didn't know there was one within the Center!" Harry exclaimed. "We always had to go out of the Center before."
"I think it is new," Neville said. "I don't remember seeing it before."
"You've been in here?" Harry asked, not really understanding why he was so annoyed.
"Sure, Gemma showed me when I visited her… when she was helping me speak to my mum," Neville said simply and Harry's annoyance slipped away.
"Listen up! Is Gemma nearby? Can she see my notes?" Harry asked, pushing the hood of the invisibility cloak off his head.
Gemma responded by tapping him on his arm and he continued, " I'm going to go back to my cave… collect Nio and I'll see you all tomorrow at King's Cross, all right?" Harry announced rather more confidently than he felt.
Ron snorted on cue.
"Oh, but Harry!" Hermione protested as Gemma squeezed him tight around his middle.
"I'll let you know that I'm okay. I'll send you a message on the tablet," Harry said, tactilely signing to Gemma on her back. She nodded against his chest and reluctantly stepped away.
"Yep, better to go ahead and do what Mum is expecting than surprise her at the Leaky Cauldron," George said sagely.
Harry shuddered at the thought of Mrs. Weasley catching him out… or Auror Bones for that matter. He shook out his staff and cast the navigation spell, asking it to guide him to the apparition point. His staff notified him when he was correctly positioned.
"Ron, I'll keep an eye out for Scabbers," Harry said before he twisted around, thinking about the damp earthy aroma of the caves and the sound of the trickling water of the fountain in the atrium.
Ron's voice trailed after him and then was cut off as he traveled.
"Aw, thanks, mate… that's… wait! What?—"
[break]
The next day Harry said his goodbyes again to the underground sanctuary with a bit of regret… knowing that while he couldn't wait to be on the train again with his friends, he was going to miss the absolute safety of the caves. At least this time Nio was snug against his belly.
Hedwig had started early to Hogwarts… it would be a long flight for her… but she apparently preferred twelve hours of flying over riding the Hogwarts express in a cage. He couldn't blame her. When he had asked, she simply growled, nipped his ear, and then flew down the passage way to the sea cliffs exit.
Checking one last time that he had gathered up all of his things by grazing his hands over the shelf that had served as his bed for the last three weeks, Harry whispered to Nio that he guessed he was ready.
"Why are you whispering?" the snake responded.
"No idea," Harry whispered back.
"Well, get on with it. I hate the waiting almost more than the actual feeling of being turned inside out," Nio grumbled.
"Right. Sorry. Hmmm, I wonder if we still have time to fly into London?" Harry asked himself.
"Absolutely not," the snake shuddered, flipping around by Harry's belly button and making him squirm in turn. "What's wrong with just gliding through tunnels? And why are leg walkers constantly moving hither and thither? We've got everything we need here…no need to go anywhere else."
"I can't just hide forever," Harry said, his recent time with his friends on his mind. He wondered if he could ever find an in-between place… a balance between isolation and chaos. Harry shook the thoughts out of his head so that he could focus on apparating to the Leaky Cauldron where he was meeting the Weasleys and the Grangers. He was a little uneasy about it since the last time he'd been in there he could see and it wasn't like he'd paid attention to the apparition point. Hermione had described it in great detail on the tablet the night before. He hoped it would work.
In a lengthy letter that he'd received a week ago, Professor McGonagall had tried to talk him into apparating to the Hogsmeade station instead and skipping the whole train trip altogether. He also had never paid attention to the apparition spot at Hogsmeade… perhaps even moreso than the Leaky Cauldron which was the first magical space he had encountered. He had politely insisted that he wanted to start the year on the train with everyone else. It had seemed like a good idea at the time.
Nio nudged him again and Harry patted the snake at his belly and then concentrated on apparating to the Leaky Cauldron. He twisted and focused and felt the toffee pull of moving through space. The temperature, aroma, and sounds settled into the hoppy, warm chatter of the pub and he heaved a sigh of relief that he'd made it with all his body parts. He slipped his hood off his head and straightened up.
"Harry! You've arrived!" Hermione called from across the room, her footsteps clattering closer on the wood planks. "You won't believe what my parents got me!"
Nio was complaining loudly as he wriggled against Harry's belly button and Harry put a hand over him. Something wet and furry pressed against his cheek and then pain erupted on his collarbone… like he'd be snagged by a few fishhooks. Harry yelped and tried to batt the thing that Hermione was thrusting in his face away while still protecting Nio.
"Oh, Crookshanks! You naughty cat!" Hermione reprimanded in a sing-song voice. "Sorry, Harry. I didn't think he'd do that."
"A cat?"
Nio wriggled against Harry's hand in obvious distress. Harry took a step backward into the wall.
"Hermione. Your cat clawed me," Harry tried to explain with an even voice. "He's upsetting Nio."
"I told you!" Ron bellowed from across the room. "That cat is a menace!"
"Oh, Ron. He's not! He's the sweetest wittle kittie ever," Hermione crooned as she padded away from Harry and toward Ron, still nuzzling her cat.
"There's no way Scabbers will come back if he's around," Ron protested.
Harry shook out his staff and followed his friends across the pub, thankful for his staff that helped him navigate around the many chairs and tables in his path. A few people exclaimed in alarm as he neared… he imagined his floating head wasn't something they saw every day… but he didn't feel safe enough to take his cloak off completely.
"Oh, Mr. Potter!" A familiar voice accosted him. "You've arrived!"