Tuesday July 12th, 1994
Harry's first three weeks of summer had been a whirlwind of activity! The majority of it was spent, obviously, with the wedding. He had helped Uncle Sirius and his future aunt as best he could in preparation for the wedding (which may or may not have involved setting up glitter bombs and showing Tonks videos of Pavarotti's concerts). Once the wedding was done, though, he opted to join the Salvatore family as they went sight-seeing across the country. It was a good chance to see more of his own country, and it got him out of the flat while the newlyweds… well, got on like newlyweds.
He tried not to think about the loud implications of that fact.
This morning he swung over to the Leaky Cauldron, joining the Salvatore family as they broke their fast by trying out a full English breakfast. It was rather amusing to watch, as practically the whole family remained for the holiday. This, in turn, meant that they took up half of the tables at the Leaky. With so many of them here, it took a while before Harry noticed that another witch had joined them.
"Melly?" He blinked at the sight of the blonde standing over a sea of brunettes. "What are you doing here? Are you… joining us, too?" He guessed.
"That I am," she said smugly. She turned to their former defence tutor and gave him a cheeky bow with an outstretched hand. There was a piece of parchment in her hand, he noticed. "I got everything arranged, just as promised."
Mister Salvatore took the parchment, scanning through its contents while Melly straightened and rocked on her feet. Once he finished, he gave a solid nod. "It includes both floo passwords, too. Excellent." He got to his feet and loudly addressed the group, "Ragazzi, oggi andremo in una riserva di draghi in Scozia!"
"Una riserva di draghi?!" Marco cried. "Sorprendente!"
Everyone got into a hullabaloo, and Harry couldn't help but feel confused. "What's happening?"
"I got in touch with Willamina," Melly explained. "She says she can take us all on a tour through the dragon reserve her family runs."
"Really? That's wicked!"
"HA!" Marco laughed, "That is what I said!"
Everyone hurried through their breakfast, more eager than ever to start the day. Then, one by one, they all lined up for the floo. With a call of, "Black Dragon Inn," Harry soon found himself in the interior of a small, stone reception hall. He shuffled forward, knowing Laura would pass through the floo at any moment. He spent the waiting time admiring the reception. There were framed pictures all along one wall, each labelled with plaques detailing the names of dragon reserve team members. On the other end were decently large windows, revealing the inn's location on a grassy plateau somewhere deep within the Scottish highlands.
"You made it!" a voice cried out.
Harry turned to the voice, recognizing Willamina MacFusty in an instant. She, however, had called out to Melly, instead. The two girls embraced, giggling and exchanging pleasantries. Harry walked closer to greet his fellow Puff.
"Hope you don't mind that I sent word to Juliet," said Willamina, "but she's from Portree, proper, so I figure she's better at giving a town tour once we're done here."
"Hey, it's fine by me," said Melly. "I'm sure everyone here will appreciate seeing more magical districts while they're visiting."
"Well I wouldn't call it a 'district'," Willamina said with a wince. "Too small for that; but it's the only place on Skye where you can get a pint of butterbeer. Oh! Professor Salvatore, it's great to see you again!"
Willamina broke away to greet the former Professor. Harry, meanwhile, considered Melly for a moment. "This is nice of you, reaching out to MacFusty and all that."
"Hey, when you know people with connections, might as well take advantage of it," she chirped.
"Heh, spoken like a true Slytherin," he teased.
"Oy, you," she bumped his shoulder playfully. "Well I don't see you using your friendly Hufflepuff disposition to reach out to friends to give sight-seeing ideas."
"Touché." He thought it over for a moment. "Portree… Stephen lives here. I suppose I could have asked him about coming here."
"Too late for that," she teased. "What about elsewhere? It's never too late to make plans."
He thought it over for a minute before giving a shrug. "I can think of a couple ideas. I'll have to owl people tonight and see what they think."
"Sounds good. Well, until then, we might as well make the most of today. Keep your eyes open, Harry. It's not everyday you get to see a dragon!"
The Hebrides Dragon Reserve was, indeed, AWESOME!
They didn't get up close and personal with the dragons (Harry was sure glad for that!) That said, they did get to see two dragons in a tiff. They fought in a vicious swirl of fire and black scales, and the younger crowd cheered them on even as the dragon tamers moved in to diffuse the situation.
Willamina, on her part, taught them all sorts of cool facts about dragons. How they hunt, how they raise their young, and more. Plenty of interesting tidbits Harry could only dream of learning in Care of Magical Creatures. (-Speaking of which, Willamina mentioned that NEWT students do take day trips to this reserve in their final year, so Harry clung to that knowledge with a promise to work hard for that class' OWL!)
When they finished with the tour, they all floo'ed over to Juliet McCormack's home in the village of Portree. It was a small home, with probably only two bedrooms, if Harry had to guess. Luckily they didn't stick around, as Juliet quickly guided them out to the village for lunch. They ended up at a pub called the Violet Lion, which seemed ill-used from the outside until he walked in. It was clear immediately that, just like the Leaky, this pub also catered to magicals.
Someone whistled as they walked inside, "You're about to work overtime, Eilidh!" The man and his friend laughed at the odd joke. They laughed more as a dark haired woman walked out of the kitchen and swore at the sight of them.
"Right," she said in a brusk voice, "Take a seat, you lot, and I'll fix you something up. McCormack, warn a witch next time, eh?"
Juliet squeaked, "Sorry, Mrs. Egwu!" She rushed to a seat, embarrassed over the whole thing.
The others took it in stride. They each peered across the chalkboard menu and opted for some simple fare so as to not overwhelm the poor woman (more than they already were). As they waited for their food, another wizard entered the pub.
Harry brightened immediately upon recognizing him, "Stephen!"
The other boy jumped, clutching a sketchbook to his chest as he jumped in fright. The seated pair of locals found this hilarious and jeered the poor boy as he ducked his head and quickly shuffled over to him.
"Hey, Harry. What are you doing here?" said Stephen.
"We were just visiting the Hebrides Dragon Reserve," he answered.
"Oh, that's nice," he said shyly. "I've been there a couple of times. It's gorgeous, innit?"
"Big time!"
Having got their attention, the Salvatore kids called them over and made introductions. Ornella, upon seeing his sketchbook, brightened at the sight. "Disegni?"
"What?"
"Disegni, ehh, design? You make designs?"
"Oh, uh," he glanced down at his sketchbook, "not really 'designs', much, but I draw scenery. Hills, the town, you know. Would you like to see them?"
"Yes, please!"
Feeling encouraged, Stephen joined their table and revealed the contents of the sketchbook. He and Ornella poured over them, with others listening in as he described different aspects of the village and the Isle of Skye in his drawings.
Harry listened, too, though he also found himself half-distracted with those around him. There was a flurry of Italian from the adults at the various tables. On the other side of the pub the handful of locals were speaking loudly making jabs towards the other occupants. The only other English he could hear was from Melly as she loudly cooed over Ezio's baby. Unlike the other teens, Melly had situated herself among the adults. She was speaking playful nonsense to Luca, and occasionally turning to Mister Salvatore in quieter conversation. He couldn't make out what they said to one another, but Mister Salvatore looked oddly serious, like how he acted when he'd been tutoring them that one summer. Melly, in contrast, kept the exact same cheery expression with Mister Salvatore as she gave Luca.
"Your grandpa is so serious!" She said playfully to Luca. "SO so-so-so serious! He thinks I don't know what I'm doing. Everything is always 'knowledge and preparation', he says. Well, I have loads of knowledge, and tons of preparation; but is that enough for him? No, no-no-no-no-no! Pftzz!"
The baby laughed as she blew a raspberry at him. His grandfather, meanwhile, rolled his eyes and muttered something under his breath. Melly clearly heard whatever he said, and lolled her head backwards in his direction. "Relax, I got this," he heard her say. "The fail-safes are set, and you put it back with no one the wiser. All that's left is to sit back and let life take its course."
She certainly acted as she said, leaning back in her chair, raising Luca high in the process as the boy cooed happily over the game. Harry shook his head right along with the elder Salvatore. Whatever it is Melly is plotting, it's certainly bound to be something ridiculous.
After lunch they toured around the village. They walked through a harbour of colourful houses, got a bit of magical history via the old apothecary tower, and overall enjoyed the natural and built sites of the Scottish highlands.
There was one last surprise, however, as they made it back to Juliet's home and came face to face with a cousin of hers.
"Kirley Duke," he introduced himself to the crowd, "lead guitarist of the Weird Sisters, if you've heard about us."
A mix of yes' and no's answered that. "No? Well, we can't have that, can we?" He rocked on his feet, grinning widely. "We're having a concert this Friday in Horizont Alley. You lot should come!"
Once that invitation was translated, the various teens grew excited at the prospect. It didn't take much to convince the adults to let them go, and soon Harry found himself with an extra activity to do with them this week!
"Oh, as for you, Little Angel," he called out to Melly, pulling a small pouch from his pocket. "Got the first set of wins here. Gotta say, seeing is one thing, but predicting every World Cup match is a whole new level! What's your secret?"
Melly laughed as she accepted the purse. "It's hardly a secret. My friend, Eloise, and I worked a bit of arithmancy to figure out the odds. Mix that in with Sight, and it paints a pretty full picture."
"I'll say!" He gave a loud laugh. "Keep this up, kid, and we'll be swimming in gold in no time."
"That's the plan!"
Harry shook his head. "Are you seriously using your Sight to gamble- wait, what am I saying, of course you are!"
"Ha! Well, what can I say, Harry Baby," she slung an arm around his shoulder and ruffled his head playfully, "I'm the kind of witch who, when I see an opportunity, I seize it!"