Chapter Three
The next morning Harry slept until nearly nine in the morning, which for him was late. Knowing Sirius, absent any pressing plans, would likely sleep considerably longer, Harry was in no particular hurry to get up. He drank orange juice on his balcony, watching the sea birds on the cliffs for a while before showering and bringing the book about spell chain defense he had been reading downstairs. He figured he'd get at least a rough draft of one of his holiday essays out of the way today, as well, since he and Sirius had decided to take it easy, and maybe go out later in the day, staying out for dinner.
Harry flooed Ted's office and Ted's receptionist said she would ask him to floo back - there was someone in his office at the moment. So, Harry ate waffles with Potter Manor honey and bacon and read his defense book on the piazza until Bina popped out to tell him Ted was floo calling him back. To say Ted was surprised he wanted to know if he could get an apparation license since he was emancipated was putting it mildly. However, Ted thought he likely could, it was being emancipated at eleven that was unusual. Ted said he would double check and get back to him on that.
Harry then went into the card room and looked through his charms book for the summer essay. He quickly realized that he would want to get the second year books before writing his essays, though, so he put his work away until he could get to Diagon Alley and returned to his book on spell chains. He curled up on the window seat in the hallway, looking out at the garden, which was beautiful and peaceful, and a very different view than the ocean and cliffs. Sirius found him there after he himself had eaten breakfast, having asked the elves where Harry was since Harry didn't join him on the piazza.
"Your mother liked to read here." Sirius commented, sitting down beside Harry on the window seat and looking out at the garden. He tipped Harry's book to see the title. "That's not advanced for you?" Sirius asked.
Harry shook his head. "Older Harry was top of his year - and older years - at defense. It was his subject, even without studying. At least until he found runes and wards, and that was much later." Harry shrugged, "Mind you, he did keep having to fight Voldemort, which probably created an incentive." Sirius gave him a dark look, like he didn't find that funny, but nodded.
"Well, I'm glad to have you good at defense." Sirius said. "But I'd be even happier if you never had to use it."
Harry smiled but shrugged. He doubted it was going to be that easy in his future, even if older Harry's memories did warn him of many dangers. Voldemort would still be obsessed with him.
"I thought we should talk about what else we want to do in Italy, since a few things would take some planning. For example, I thought we might go up to Rome just for the Colosseum and the Roman baths and lunch one day, but we'd do best to get the tour for the Colosseum set up the day before, like we did for Pompeii. We don't need a tour for the baths."
"That sounds great!" Harry brightened. "Hermione made it sound really interesting."
Sirius smiled. "There's a lot in Rome, but taking a bit of it each trip seems to me the way to do it until you're older and would enjoy the night life. There's no beach in the city proper, and it's hot and crowded in the summer. Having said that, there are a lot of amazing things to see, but since you will be coming back regularly, you don't need to cram everything in at once."
"Could we see Venice?" Harry asked tentatively, and Sirius smiled, considering it progress that Harry had asked for something he wanted.
"Of course, we can. Is there anything else you particularly want to see?"
Harry shook his head. "I don't want to do too much, it's pretty wonderful right here." He said, truthfully.
Sirius beamed at him. "I feel that way myself. We can always pop to one of the coastal villages for lunch, and you wanted to go parasailing, which might be something we should get tickets for in advance as well, by the way. So today, how about if I set up the Colosseum tour for tomorrow, and check out parasailing for the day after Rome, and have dinner in town and otherwise just hang out here?"
Harry nodded. "Sounds great. I'll go with you to check out the tickets though, you shouldn't have to do all that on your own."
Sirius laughed. "Rome will be fast if I do it by myself. We can go together into town to check out the parasailing though, if you like." Harry nodded at the compromise and Sirius stood up. "I'll be back shortly then." He walked up the stairs to the bedrooms, and a few minutes later Harry heard the crack of Sirius apparating away.
Harry had just gotten up from the window seat half an hour later and was putting his book back in the card room when Sirius apparated back into the salotto, so Harry walked in there. "We're all set for the Colosseum tomorrow!" Sirius said cheerfully, and they walked out onto the piazza where Sirius called for a cold drink so Harry got one as well.
"Thank you for taking care of that, Sirius." Harry said, and Sirius smiled at him.
"You are entirely welcome," he said, "The parent is the one supposed to be doing this stuff. You don't need to look so guilty." Harry smiled sheepishly.
"When we get back to England, I need to go to Diagon Alley and at least get the second year Charms and Transfiguration books." Harry said. "Those don't change, and I need them for my essays."
Sirius nodded. "You are right that they don't change. They might even be in the Potter Library," he said.
Harry laughed. "Wouldn't there at least be new editions?" He asked.
Sirius shrugged. "I can't see why second year charms and transfiguration would have changed, and the instructors certainly haven't, but it is possible. In any event we can definitely get you to Diagon Alley when we get back."
Sirius stretched. "While I was out, I made a reservation for dinner tonight at a restaurant I noticed when we were in town before. It would be a good place to wear that black silk shirt you bought," he said with a grin. "We can go in a little early so we can check out the parasailing tickets, then have dinner. That leaves us the rest of the day until around five for swimming or whatever else you want to do."
Harry beamed at him, then asked diffidently, "Are you up for teaching me surface dives?"
"Absolutely." Sirius said contentedly.
Later that day they procured a parasailing boat for ten thirty in the morning two days on. Happy with the prospect, they walked up the narrow twisty streets to the restaurant Sirius had spied while they were walking into town their first day there. It was in an upper floor of a building midway down the hill towards the harbor and had rooftop veranda seating with a view of the harbor and of the town. It was by far the dressiest of the restaurants they had gone to, and Harry wondered if he should have worn a tie with his black silk shirt and the heavy silk pants he had bought earlier in the week. However, looking around he saw that only about half of the men were wearing ties, although all were dressed elegantly - as he was himself, he reminded himself firmly. Sirius wasn't wearing a tie, either, but he was wearing a silk blazer and always wore the Black elegance that made anything he wore appropriate. Harry decided he needed blazers if he was going to be out much in muggle society.
They had a few minutes wait for their table and a middle age couple and a darkly handsome boy Harry's age came in. The boy was wearing a jacket, Harry noted glumly. Then he realized he knew the boy. "Blaise Zambini, isn't it? Henry Potter." He said, as the boy turned to look at him curiously.
"Potter," Blaise said, holding out his hand, "I saw you on Budelli Island."
Harry smiled taking his hand. "Yes, I saw you as well. Sirius, Blaise Zambini is a student with me in Scotland. And this is my father - Sirius Black." Sirius looked over, his eyes sharpening, and smiled, holding out his own hand.
Blaise nodded, taking Sirius's hand. "And these are my aunt and uncle, Maria and Antonio Zambini." He gestured to the middle age couple with him, who smiled. "Henry Potter goes to school with me, although he's in Ravenclaw."
"Senora, Senor." Harry said, nodding in greeting. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
Maria Zambini smiled. "Oh, and you speak Italian!" she said, pleased, exchanging greetings with Sirius as well.
"Do you come to Italy often?" Blaise asked Harry in Italian, interested.
"This is the first time, but my family has a place not far from here, so I'll likely be coming pretty often now. I love it here." Harry said cheerfully.
"Oh, that's right. You didn't know about your properties until this year." Blaise made a face. "Dumbledore got away with quite a lot."
"Well, in the end, he didn't get away with it." Sirius reminded him, and Blaise's lips twitched.
"True." He looked at Harry. "My uncle has a place just down the coast. I visit every summer to see this side of the family."
Harry's eyes lit up. It would be great to make a friend he could hang out with when he was in Italy. He looked at Sirius and, pointedly, to the parasailing confirmation in Sirius's hand. Sirius looked down at the paper, at Blaise and nodded, smiling.
"Have you ever been parasailing?" Harry asked. Blaise's eyebrows shot up.
"Noooooo..." he looked amused but intrigued. "Do you plan to go parasailing?"
"We just hired a boat to take us out in the morning day after tomorrow. If you're going to be around, you're welcome to come." It turned out the older Zambinis could drop Blaise at the waterfront at 10:30 for the parasailing if Harry and Sirius could see that Blaise got back to his uncle's house after lunch, which was no problem, so the plan was set just as the waiter came to take Harry and Sirius to their table on the veranda.
"I need jackets." Harry said glumly as he and Sirius sat down.
Sirius laughed. "We can get you a few." He said amiably. "But really, you fit right in here. You just happen to know the one kid your age who is wearing a blazer." Harry looked around and saw that that was true, but he still felt underdressed since Sirius, Blaise and Blaise's uncle were all wearing jackets. Sirius noted his expression and laughed again. "We can get you one while we're in Rome tomorrow." Harry nodded, looking down at the menu.
"Did you want to invite Remus out for a couple of days? Or to Paris?" Harry asked, realizing that he was seeing his friends but Sirius was not.
But Sirius shook his head. "Meeting your friends is one of the things I want to do," he said. "I see a lot of people when I'm working on the Wizengamot bills, which I'll be doing again when we get back, and we'll be having House functions. I don't need to bring people out while we're on vacation. Hermione and Blaise were already in Italy. If we walked into a restaurant and Remus was there, I'm sure we'd invite him over to catch up a bit, but that's unlikely to happen."
Harry ducked his head guiltily, and Sirius raised an eyebrow. "Well, it isn't like Blaise is a friend yet. I don't know him. I just don't see any reason why he couldn't be a friend." Harry said, "and if he comes here a lot, I thought it might be nice to know someone in the area."
Sirius smiled at him. "Good thinking," he agreed.
-o0o-
Harry enjoyed their time in Rome, touring the Colosseum and the Roman Baths, and eating lunch at a cafe on the edge of a park with fountains. He found the perfect jacket for his new shirt and pants in a small but obviously exclusive shop, as well. Still, he agreed that if they only had ten days, he would rather spend the bulk of his time on the coast near the villa. Sirius told him that when he was older, he would find more attraction in cities that would make the crowds worth it, but that Sirius remembered feeling the same way when he was younger.
They ended up the day as they had nearly every day this trip, swimming in the cove below the villa and dining on the piazza. Harry's swimming had quickly become 'respectable for pool parties' as Sirius put it, even if Harry wouldn't be entering any swim competitions soon, and he could enjoy himself fully in the water without any lingering fear, which was really as much as he had ever wanted, and more than he had expected to achieve his first visit there. Harry assumed older Harry's 'muscle memory' had helped him up to a point, but as with first year magical theory swimming didn't seem to be something older Harry had ever gotten particularly good at.
The next morning Sirius joined Harry on the piazza with enough time to eat before meeting Blaise, but barely. Harry grinned at Sirius as he sat down at the table and poured himself a glass of the fresh squeezed orange juice Harry had asked to be a staple at breakfast when he was there. "Sleep well?" Harry asked.
Sirius gave him a dirty look but then smiled. "Between the warm summer air and the Potter wards here, I'm sleeping better than I have since Azkaban." He admitted. "The Manor is much better than the Hogsmeade House was because of the Potter wards, but Italian summer air is so different from anything near dementors, I suspect that even in my sleep I know I'm home."
"We should come here for a while during winter holidays." Harry suggested. "Get a break from the cold." Sirius looked at him consideringly and nodded.
"If we have time, I'd like that," he said, "There will be fewer people too if we do it part of the first or last week of holidays, after new year. We probably wouldn't get more than a few days, a week at the most, but it is lovely that time of year, as well. The swimming isn't quite as good, of course, although there can be days warm enough to swim even then." Harry shrugged, smiling, just glad to have thought of something that might help.
Harry had finished his breakfast a while before and had just been reading, so he waited until Sirius had finished eating. They then apparated to town, Harry looking disgruntled at not being able to do it on his own and avoid the 'side along nausea'. Ted had found that Harry was eligible to get an apparation license, but Harry had to wait to get back to England to take the test so he was either being popped by elf or was side along apparating with Sirius until then. Sirius looked amused as he released Harry's arm, guessing his thoughts. "There is something about 'almost' being able to do something that makes it harder not to be able to do it." Sirius agreed, and Harry smiled ruefully, as they started down the hill to the waterfront from the more secluded area they had chosen as an apparation site.
They arrived a few minutes early, not wanting Blaise to have to wait for them. When he appeared, Blaise was with his Aunt Maria who was discussing her own schedule. While she didn't actually ask if they could keep Blaise until four or five in the afternoon instead of just through lunch it quickly became apparent that would be more convenient and Sirius offered to take the boys back to the villa after lunch to swim until she returned home from her own activities. She blessed him with a brilliant smile and a comment about how she was sure the boys would enjoy more time together.
When she left, Harry looked at Blaise and guessed from the bland look on his face that he was a bit bemused by that comment as well. "Well, after that, I sure hope we hit it off!" he said cheerfully, and Blaise laughed, all straight white teeth and real humor.
Sirius was amused as well. "You two don't know each other at all?" he asked.
"Blaise was last to be sorted of my year, with Zambini as his last name." Harry said. "It stuck in my mind. Dumbledore kept Ravenclaw with Gryffindor for every single class, which I understand is not how it is usually done but is how it was done for us. Daphne is the only Slytherin I really know. Well, Peregrine Derrick now, and I've met Theo Nott and Draco Malfoy at a House functions. But I don't really know any of them through school."
"That's right. Daphne Greengrass and her sister saw unicorns at your place over winter holidays." Blaise said. "I understand Daphne has a picture of herself with a unicorn in the dorm."
Harry smiled, pleased. "It was my first time using a wizarding camera. I'm just glad anything turned out."
Sirius mercifully did not say anything about the sisters Greengrass in front of Blaise as they walked onto the dock to board the parasail boat. Their captain's name was Lorenzo and he had a mate named Mario to help him with the equipment. Both of them seemed pleased that the entire group spoke Italian, and they were soon on their way to a less busy part of the harbor. The captain explained that they would take off and land from the stern of the boat, and there was no need for them to touch the water at all. However, he said most of the people he took out preferred him to dip them down a few times so their feet trailed in the water, and Sirius, Harry and Blaise all agreed that sounded fine.
Apparently, they could all go up at once or singly or in any combination, since there were only three of them and 'none of them were fat.' Sirius said that since 'the boys were more expendable' they should go up first to test the gear, then he'd try it with them. Lorenzo and Mario laughed delightedly while Harry and Blaise exchanged wry looks at that.
Mario hooked up a three harness rig, and Harry and Blaise were strapped into the end harnesses, leaving the one in the middle for Sirius to join them on the next trip up. Harry was surprised when the they left the deck with a sensation of floating very unlike the acceleration of a broom. After some minutes Harry decided that a broom was better in general because he could direct it independently and because of the speed, but that this was good too, and offered a brilliant view of the harbor. Harry grinned at Blaise who was also taking in the sight. "Thanks for asking me," Blaise said, returning his grin. "I usually have cousins here when I visit but they are off with friends this year, so it has been just me and my aunt and uncle."
"Glad to have you." Harry said. "And it's good to know someone who's around here sometimes, since I'll be coming back often, I expect."
They had floated for a while when Harry spotted dolphin and pointed them out to Blaise. "Seeker's eyes." Blaise said with amusement as they watched the dolphin leap.
Then the parachute partially collapsed and they plunged suddenly before soaring back up and Harry saw Sirius waving as Mario did - something - to the winch at the back of the boat. "Did I tell you my father has a sense of humor?" Harry asked rhetorically, and Blaise laughed, his white teeth flashing. Shortly after that, the parachute went into a more controlled dive, skimming them just above the water with their feet splashing. Harry grinned at Sirius who was looking very pleased with himself, and Harry motioned that Sirius should join them. They went up and down to the water one more time after that before they were reeled in to the back of the boat for Sirius to be strapped into the middle harness.
"Are they going to collapse the parachute like that while you're on it?" Harry asked as they rose again high above the water.
"That would be telling!" Sirius said cheerfully, just before the parachute did in fact collapse letting them fall nearly half of their height before recovering the floating sensation as they rose again. Harry pointed out to Sirius where the pod of dolphin were still jumping, as they settled back to enjoy the ride.
After about an hour of parasailing the group rode back to the dock and scouted for a likely looking waterfront restaurant for lunch. It was still early enough that there wasn't too much of a line for the outdoor tables and they ate piadina, a sort of flat bread sandwich, and watched the people go by. During lunch they found out Blaise was on his own with his aunt and uncle this trip because his mother was on a honeymoon, which Sirius passed over with only the merest of best wishes for the happy couple, and Harry remembered the comment Sirius had made earlier about not wanting to gossip about the Zambinis. Well, it was none of his business, anyway.
After gelato, they moved to a secluded area where Sirius told them that it had been years since he had tried side along apparating more than one person at a time, and the least said about that time the better. Harry thanked him for his honesty, laughing, and called Piper and Mina to pop them back to the villa. They had to go to the outer wards where Harry welcomed Blaise for his visit, watching the look of pleasure grow on Blaise's face as Potter Villa appeared. Harry felt he would never grow tired of guests enjoying the Potter properties he loved so much.
Blaise followed the now expected path from the entry to the grand piazza, and stood, silent, looking out at the view. "This is truly magnificent." He said, finally, and Harry beamed at him.
It was getting hot at this point, and the water looked inviting, so after a break for the bathrooms the three of them walked down the path to the beach. By the time they got there, the elves had set up limeade and ice water under cooling charms, with amaretti on a plate to share. Sirius swam occasionally, but spent most of his time under the umbrella working on correspondence while Blaise and Harry got to know each other.
Harry hadn't known what to expect with Blaise, knowing he was a Slytherin, but also knowing his family was considered politically neutral like Daphne's and that he was not friends with Malfoy. Blaise turned out to be witty and sarcastic, and politically astute. Harry mentioned that Daniel Greengrass had spoken to Sirius about the two of them working with Blaise's Regent on some bills, and Blaise was interested in Sirius's 'alignment.' Harry said he understood it was very similar to Greengrass's himself, and Blaise looked intrigued.
"Do you do much of the Wizengamot work yourself?" Harry asked, since in his experience, Susan Bones and Neville Longbottom, both of whom had Regents did none of the work themselves. Blaise made a very Italian 'meh, somewhat' face.
"My mother is my Regent and she votes the seat, but she is usually only interested in the high profile bills. I'm interested in the direction of the wizarding world in general, so I take more of an interest than she does, much of the time." Blaise looked at Harry speculatively. "How much do you get involved with your seats?"
Harry was treading water and thinking. This was a far more adult conversation than he had had with any of the other Heirs on legislative matters. "Well, I'm the actual seat holder for the Potter and Peverell votes," he said, "so I feel like I should grow into it sooner rather than later, but I do rely on Sirius quite a lot at this point. I'll be getting more involved this summer, now that I am out of school, and I guess we'll see how quickly I can learn. Still, I'll be back at school again in September, so Sirius will still have my proxy during term."
"And you don't find him a bit 'dark' for your Potter/Peverell leanings?" Blaise challenged.
Harry laughed. "I found Dumbledore a bit dark for my Potter/Peverell leanings." Blaise laughed delightedly. "So far Sirius and Greengrass don't bother me." Blaise grinned at him, and they seemed to have truly broken the ice.
They all rinsed off and moved back up to the house shortly after four since they didn't know how long it would be before Blaise's Aunt floo called to have Blaise brought home, which happened two chess games later between Blaise and Harry - Sirius having told them he'd sit today out. Harry had won the first game, barely, but then Blaise settled in, and Harry got the impression he'd have to work hard to get another win from the boy. Since Harry had only learned that past school year, he wasn't too discouraged, and when Sirius mentioned that fact Blaise cocked his head and looked thoughtful. "You're quite good for playing such a short time." He said with authority, not seeing Sirius's lips twitch behind him as Blaise pronounced judgment.
After Piper popped Blaise back to his uncle's home, Harry and Sirius showered, changed and met back on the piazza for crusty bread and local cheese before dinner. "You kids looked like you were having fun in the water." Sirius said, accepting a glass of chilled white wine from Bina. "How did you find him?"
"Intelligent." Harry said, thoughtfully. "I like him, but he is more reserved than most kids I know. I mentioned that Greengrass had thought the two of you might be able to work on some bills with his Regent and he wanted to know your 'alignment.'"
Sirius smiled. "And what did you say?"
"I said what you had said to me, that it's a lot like Greengrass's. That seemed to interest him."
Sirius nodded thoughtfully. "I hope he repeats that to his Regent." Harry smirked and Sirius raised an eyebrow.
"Blaise said that his mother was mostly interested in the high profile bills, but that he was interested in the direction of the wizarding world, so he took more of an interest much of the time. I suspect that except on those high profile votes, it is Blaise's opinion that is being voted."
At that, both of Sirius' eyebrows rose. "Very interesting," he said, and Harry grinned.
"I told you he was intelligent." Harry said, and Sirius nodded.
"Oh, I wanted to ask you about your birthday." Sirius said, and Harry looked interested. "I wanted to have a proper birthday party for you, but Regent Longbottom thought we should add House guests, since you are head of two Houses and the Heir to a third. So, I was thinking maybe dinner, with dancing after."
"But my friends who aren't in Houses could come?"
Sirius nodded. "This is a birthday party. Your friends will be there. There might be some invited to the dinner who you don't really know well who are affiliated legislatively is all."
"OK, I can live with that." Harry decided, and Sirius smiled at him, his eyes dancing.
"So, who do you want to invite?" He asked. "I know you don't know Ernie McMillan well, but his father and we vote the same way often, so if you don't mind adding him it might be best." Harry nodded.
"Hermione and Neville, and Susan Bones and Hannah Abbot, Padma and Parvati Patil, Lavender Brown, definitely, if there's going to be dancing, and Daphne and Astoria. Anthony Goldstein. Blaise. And if we could let it get out that I took some dancing lessons here so I can dance more dances than Andromeda taught me?" Harry asked tentatively, but Sirius just smirked and nodded. "How many people should I invite?"
"How many do you want? Terry Boot?"
Harry hesitated, then sighed. "Sure. I guess. Now that Dumbledore's gone, we can be friendly. He's just not going to be a best friend. But then neither are Lavender and Parvati, if for different reasons. If we're digging that deep we could invite Ron Weasley as well, I guess. And we can invite Ernie McMillan since he and Terry get along and neither one can really dance."
Sirius's lips twitched. "We don't have to invite people you actively don't want."
"Then maybe not Ron, just because I don't want to spend the entire evening hosting him, and I don't really know who else he'd hang out with. If it weren't going to turn into a House event, I could have a quidditch themed party and invite him and some others."
"Maybe a different day you should have people over for a pick up quidditch game and you could invite him for that." Harry thought about that and the more he thought about it, the more he liked it. He beamed at Sirius who smiled back at him.
"We should invite Dora and Peregrine." Harry said, and Sirius nodded. "And Andromeda and Ted. And tell Andromeda that if she tries to pretend I'm asking her out of duty I will bleach her hair as a prank." Sirius huffed with laughter. He had actually done that to her when they were kids, and had told Harry about it.
"I'm not sure I should tell her that." Sirius said, but his eyes were dancing. Harry grinned.
"Obviously, Madam Longbottom, and the Greengrasses and Madam Bones and the Abbots - you know better than I do who we should invite for political purposes."
Sirius nodded. "I'll come up with a list and run it by you." He smiled. "I appreciate you not minding your birthday party being turned into a House event. It is hard to not have it do so, though."
Harry shrugged. "I've never had a birthday party at all. It sounds brilliant to me." Sirius froze, and Harry wondered what he had said wrong.
"All right, and you will have a separate celebration, not turning into a House event, with just your close friends. That is certainly what I chose for myself." Sirius said in a brittle voice. He took a breath and let it out slowly. "Madam Longbottom had thought your birthday would be a good time to introduce you to your peers, so to speak, and Andromeda agreed, but you are absolutely getting a real birthday party with your best friends." Sirius was so upset Harry moved to sit closer to him and put a hand on his arm. Sirius laughed ruefully and shook his head. "And here you are comforting me. I am a terrible father."
Harry huffed, and Sirius looked at him in surprise. "Come on, who was the real host when the Grangers were here?" Harry asked in amused exasperation, "And who just automatically included Blaise today when I wanted to? It would be cool if we could go to lunch and a movie with just Neville and Hermione, no house duties involved, but it doesn't have to actually be on my birthday."
"Let's reverse that. Your birthday is on a Friday, and Saturday is a better day for a dinner with dancing in any event, particularly if we are inviting people with day jobs like Madam Bones, Daniel Greengrass and Ted. Friday I'll take you and your smaller group to lunch and a movie of your choice in London. Maybe I can find Star Wars playing somewhere." Sirius finished with a grin.
Harry grinned back. "Hermione's probably seen it, but it's a classic, she won't mind seeing it again since I haven't."
Sirius looked much happier. "Then, that's a plan." He said, firmly. "And you can still invite your friends to your dinner with dancing that has House overtones. I just want to make sure you get a party you really enjoy, as well." Harry beamed, and Sirius settled back to his food, contentedly.
Harry and Sirius spent their remaining time in Italy mostly on the beach, breaking out the kayaks Sirius had remembered to kayak a short way along the coast. However, they had one additional side trip to Venice which they took in the afternoon so that they could enjoy evening drinks and dinner on San Marco square. San Marco became the 'church and museum' Sirius threw into the Italian trip to salve his culture conscience, which Harry assured him was just the right amount. Besides, Harry added, Sirius should get culture points for Pompeii, Herculaneum and Rome as well. Sirius grinned broadly at that, happy to agree.
After the Villa, Paris seemed much more formal, if only because there was no beach, and, of course, it did involve sampler trips to the Louvre and Versailles. The Paris apartment was the least opulent Potter property, however beautifully appointed, having only three bedrooms and three and a half bathrooms, a salon, a kitchen with a small eating area, a dining room and house elf quarters. The apartment did have a separate entrance and wards, which Harry recharged fully. It also had a rooftop terrace where Harry and Sirius drank cold drinks looking out on the lights and sights of Paris. Harry's favorite sight in Paris was Sainte Chapelle cathedral with its gorgeous stain glass windows. However, Harry could see why Sirius had thought Harry would get more out of the villa at his age. Sirius told him he and Harry's Dad had used the Paris apartment quite a bit as young adults and that Harry would appreciate it more when he was older.