Chapter 4
Chapter four: At Flourish and Blotts
Fred and George came into Ron's room as he and Harry were sitting on the floor, playing cards.
"Oi," grumbled Ron, "Don't you ever knock?"
"Seriously," Ron grumbled. He looked at Harry and Hermione, "They do this all the time."
"Sorry," said Fred.
"But this is more important." George said, seriously.
"What's going on?" Ron asked them, worriedly.
They sat down on the floor with them, and then turned towards Harry.
"Harry," Fred said, frowning. "Listen mate, you don't have to tell us if you don't want to, but we would really appreciate it."
Harry looked at them confused, but with an increasing sense of trepidation.
Harry had a feeling what this was about, and he wanted nothing more than to run away.
"Back at the Dursleys, in the cupboard where we found your trunk," George said gently. "We found a sign on the inside door."
By this point, Harry was deathly pale. His eyes were wide.
"Harry, why did the sign say, 'Harry's Room'?" Fred asked softly.
Growls echoed off the stone walls. Arms reached for Harry, but pulled back almost as fast when they saw him flinch.
Harry was looking at them in terror, his breath coming in small gasps.
Harry was unintentionally copying his future self step by step.
Toni came over, and slowly approached Harry like he was a cornered animal.
"Harry…?" Toni said in a gentle tone. Harry twitched in her direction. "Harry, it's Toni. Your mother. Harry you're safe, they can't get to you. No one is going to hurt you any more. I promise."
As Toni spoke, she slowly got closer to Harry, and even slower wrapped her arms around her child. After ten or so minutes of Toni just holding Harry, and whispering comforting words into his hair, he was able to calm down.
"Harry?" Ron asked, concerned. But underneath that, the anger he felt at what this new piece of information insinuated grew.
"Harry, are you all right?" Fred asked.
"We only ask, because we're worried about you." George said.
"You can't tell anyone!" Harry said in a panic.
"What? Why-" Ron said.
"Please! You can't tell anyone!"
"Harry, you know it's not healthy to keep all of this in. You need to talk to someone about this." Hermione counseled.
Harry shook his head, "No one ever believes me."
This statement was followed by silence.
"Well, we believe you." Ron said with furious conviction, that was repeated all across the hall.
Harry looked at his friends first. Then at his parents. Then at the rest of the hall. Everyone - with the exception of certain students and staff, you know who they are - had the same response to this as Ron did. As Harry looked at all of them, and one by one saw the support and how angry they were on his behalf, something happened that hasn't happened in over four years.
He began to hope.
Fred and George shared a look between themselves and Ron, before looking back at Harry.
"Alright Harry." Fred said reluctantly. "We won't tell anyone."
"But we would really appreciate it if you would tell us what happened in that house." George said gently.
"You don't have to tell us now," said Fred. "But when you are ready."
…
"Fred, George," Ron said, pulling them to a stop in the garden, and said quietly, "We're not really going to just drop it are we? I mean, we're not just going to let those muggles get away with this are we?"
"No." Fred said grimly, anger gleaming in his eyes.
"No we are not." George said, a vengeful grin just starting to appear on his face.
"I know that's right!" Lee crowed.
Fred, George and Lee Jordan then put their heads together and began to quietly whisper amongst themselves.
"Whatever you three are planning, I want in." Loki said.
This brought the entire hall to a dead halt. The majority of the Weasleys and all of the teachers, looked at Loki with terror in their eyes.
The pranking trio on the other hand, on no, they were over the moon. They were bobbing their heads like bobble heads and agreeing before anyone could say no.
"What have you done?" Snape hissed angrily at Loki.
Loki cocked one eyebrow at him without saying a word, amusement dancing in his eyes. But, underneath that, anger.
…
Life at the Burrow was as different as possible from life Privet Drive. The Dursleys liked everything neat and ordered; the Weasley's house burst with the strange and unexpected. Harry got a shock the first time he looked in the mirror over the kitchen mantelpiece and it shouted, "Tuck you shirt in, scruffy!"
Toni went back to scribbling notes. She was going to need a new notebook soon.
…
Mrs. Wealsey fussed over the state of his socks and tried to force him to eat fourth servings at every meal. Mr. Weasley liked Harry to sit next to him at the dinner table so that he could bombard him with questions about life with Muggles, asking him to explain how things like plugs and the postal service worked.
"Fascinating!" he would say as Harry talked him through using a telephone. "Ingenious, really, how many ways Muggles have found of getting along without magic. Now, what exactly is the function of a rubber duck?"
Harry was brought up short on that one. Not that he didn't have an answer, but just that he wasn't expecting that question.
"Mr. Weasley," Peter said, "After we are all sent back to our proper times and places, remind Harry or Hermione to introduce you to Google."
Harry heard from Hogwarts one sunny morning about a week after he had arrived at the Burrow. He and Ron went down to breakfast to find Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and Ginny are already sitting at the kitchen table. The moment she saw Harry, Ginny accidentally knocked her porridge bowl to the floor with a loud clatter.
Ginny turned as bright as her hair, and hid in her mother's side.
A corner of Bucky's lips twitched downward, but his expression cleared just as fast, as if it never happened.
…
"Letters from school," said Mr. Weasley, passing Harry and Ron identical envelopes of yellowish parchments, addressed in green ink. "Dumbledore already knows you're here, Harry - doesn't miss a trick, that man. You two got them, too," he added, as Fred and George ambled in, still in their pajamas.
"What, is he spying on you or something?" Ron asked.
"I wouldn't put it past him." Daphne commented from a few seats down.
The teachers glanced at each other. This was caught by Daphne and a few others.
For a few minutes there was silence as they all read their letters. Harry's told him to catch the Hogwarts Express as usual from King's Cross station on September first. There was also a list of the new books he'd need for the coming year.
SECOND-YEAR STUDENTS WILL REQUIRE:
The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2
By Miranda Goshawk
Break with a Banshee by Gilderoy Lockhart
Gadding with Ghouls by Gilderoy Lockhart
Holidays with Hags by Gilderoy Lockhart
Travels with Trolls by Gilderoy Lockhart
Voyages with Vampires by Gilderoy Lockhart
Wanderings with Werewolves by Gilderoy Lockhart
Year with the Yeti by Gilderoy Lockhart
Fred, who had finished his own list, peered over at Harry's.
"You've been told to get all Lockhart's books, too!" he said. "The new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher must be a fan - bet it's a witch."
"That's all of Lockhart's books. What is the new professor thinking? Are they trying to make parents go bankrupt?" Bones asked, exasperated.
At this point, Fred caught his mother's eye and quickly busied himself with the marmalade.
"That lot won't come cheap," said George, with a quick look at his parents. "Lockhart's books are really expensive…."
…
Harry approached Mr. Weasley later that day, shortly after lunch.
"Mr. Weasley, could I talk to you for a moment, please?" Harry asked cautiously.
"Yes Harry." Mr. Weasley said, putting his cup of tea down. "How can I help you?"
"Ron had mentioned when I met him that you are always wanting to learn more about Muggles, and this past week you've asked me a plethora of questions about them." Harry said.
"I'm sorry if I've been bothering you about them." Mr. Weasley apologized.
"No, no. That's not what I-" Harry took a breath, and collected his thoughts. "What I mean to say is, I was wondering if you would be interested in coming and working at my new company?" Harry asked.
"...I-I beg your pardon?" Mr. Weasley said, astonished.
"Let me start from the beginning." Harry said, "I have found a way to merge magic and Muggle technology without any negative side effects, and have decided to start selling my inventions to the public. I would greatly enjoy having you in my Research and Development Department, where you'd be able to invent and tinker to your heart's content."
"You know Harry, there are laws against this kind of thing." Mr. Weasley said uncertainingly, after a moment.
"Come on Dad," Ron said grinning, "Take the job."
"Yeah Dad." Fred said.
"Besides," said George, "Some rules are meant to be broken."
"George Weasley, don't you dare." Mrs. Weasley scolded.
"I know, I've already got Gringotts looking into it. But the goblins work quickly, especially when money is involved." Harry said.
Bill nodded.
"So what do you say? If you say no, I'll completely understand."
Mr. Weasley sat in contemplative silence for a few minutes as he thought. Finally he said, "What is the pay?"
"Because we're just starting out, the pay isn't very high. But as the products get more popular, and we make more, I'll be able to pay you more. As of right now, I can pay twenty galleons an hour." said Harry.
The hall sat in stunned shock.
"Harry, do you know how much that really is?" Percy said, voice shaking.
"Yes, and I wouldn't have offered it if I didn't think it wasn't a fair wage." Harry said seriously.
The hall was quiet for a moment longer, and then it broke out in an explosion of conversation as Magical raised students became excited with a way to make their lives easier. Teenagers, am I right?
The Non-magical raised students however were just excited that they will be able to talk and text their friends and family. There were a few older students who had kept up with modern science, and even had a knack for it, and were very excited about this new career prospect.
And bonus, Potter is paying really well for a startup company.
Mr. Weasley hummed as he thought. "I will need to talk this over with my wife before I make any final decisions."
"Smart." James nodded sagely.
"James, dear?" Lily said, sweetly.
"Ye-" James said, turning to face his wife. Only to see the look on her face and register the tone of voice she used. And with that, he stopped talking and turned back to the book.
Sirius patted James' back consolidating, all the while silently snickering.
James looked at Sirius out of the corner of his eye, and gave him a look. Sirius sent back his own challenging look. James sent back a look of his own.
"If the two of you are done with your little bromance moment, can we get back to the book?" Lily asked.
They turned back to find the hall snickering.
Lily and Remus shared a fist bump behind their backs.
"Alright."
…
"Morning, all," said Percy briskly. "Lovely day."
He sat down in the only remaining chair but leapt up again almost immediately, pulling from underneath him a molting, gray feather duster - at least, that was what Harry thought it was, until he saw that it was breathing.
"Errol!" said Ron, taking the limp owl from Percy and extracting a letter from under its wing. "Finally - he's got Hermione's answer. I wrote to her saying we were going to try and resume you from the Dursleys."
He carried Errol to a perch just inside the back door and tried to stand him on it, but Errol flopped straight off again so Ron laid him on the draining board instead, muttering, "Pathetic." Then he ripped open Hermione's letter and read it out loud:
"'Dear Ron, and Harry if you're there,
"'I hope everything went alright and that Harry is okay and that you didn't do anything illegal to get him out, Ron, because that would get Harry into trouble, too.
"Yes Ron," Hermione said, "I really hope that you didn't do anything illegal, because that would get Harry in trouble too."
Ron mumbled something that sounded something like, "Harble fumble."
I've been really worried and if Harry is all right, will you please let me know at once, but perhaps it would be better if you used a different owl, because I think another delivery might finish your one off.
"'I'm very busy with schoolwork, of course' - How can she be?" said Ron in horror. "We're on vacation! - 'and we're going to London next Wednesday to buy my new books. Why don't we meet in Diagon Alley?
"'Let me know what's happening as soon as you can. Love from Hermione.'"
"Well, that fits in nicely, we can go and get all your things then, too," said Mrs. Weasley, starting to clear the table.
…
Mrs. Weasley woke them all early the following Wednesday. After a quick half a dozen bacon sandwiches each, they pulled on their coats and Mrs. Weasley took a flowerpot off the kitchen mantelpiece and peered inside.
"We're running low, Arthur," she sighed. "We'll have to buy some more today…. Ah well, guests first! After you, Harry dear!"
And she offered him the flowerpot.
Harry stared at them all watching him. Wondering what he was supposed to do with the pot of ash. Did they want him to clean the fireplace and put the ash into this small clay pot? That couldn't it be though. It was much too small for that. And they were supposed to be going shopping, not cleaning out the fireplace.
Again a curse was said towards the Dursleys.
Maybe it was something obscure? Maybe they had a ritual where they had to cover themselves with ash before they went out in public?
The students snickered, sounding like the hissing of snakes.
But, no that can't be it, he would have heard of something like that at Hogwarts. And besides, when he went to Diagon Alley all those other times, he didn't see anyone covered in ash.
"It's okay, Potter. We all have something that we have trouble with." Malfoy said in a patronizing voice.
"Shut up, Malfoy!" Ron said.
This was frustrating.
Finally he decided there was nothing for it, and that he was just going to have to ask what it was for.
"W-what am I supposed to do?" he stammered.
"He's never traveled by Floo powder," said Ron suddenly. "Sorry, Harry, I forgot."
"Never?" said Mr. Weasley. "But how did you get to Diagon Alley to buy your school things last year?"
"I went on the Underground -"
"Really?" said Mr. Weasley eagerly. Were there esapators? How exactly -"
Professor Burbage wrote down 'escalators'.
"Not now, Arthur," said Mrs. Weasley. "Floo powder's a lot quicker, dear, but goodness me, if you've never used it before -"
"He'll be alright, Mum," said Fred. "Harry, watch us first."
He took a pinch of glittering powder out of the flowerpot, stepped up to the fire, and threw the powder into the flames.
With a roar, the fire turned emerald green and rose higher than Fred, who stepped right into it, shouted, "Diagon Alley!" and vanished.
"You must speak clearly, dear," Mrs. Weasley told Harry as George dipped his hand into the flowerpot. "And be sure to get out at the right grate…."
"The right what?" said Harry nervously as the fire roared and whipped George out of sight, too.
"Well, there are an awful lot of wizard fires to choose from, you know, but as long as you've spoken clearly -"
"He'll be fine, Molly, don't fuss," said Mr. Weasley, helping himself to floo powder, too.
"But, dear, if he got lost, how would we ever explain it to his aunt and uncle?"
"They wouldn't mind," Harry reassured her. "Dudley would think it was a brilliant joke if I got lost up a chimney, don't worry about that -"
"It'd be a brilliant joke if they'd disappear." Hagrid growled.
"Well… all right… you go after Arthur," said Mrs. Weasley, but it wasn't alright, and she could feel it in her bones. "Now, when you get into the fire, say where you're going -"
"And keep your elbows tucked in," Ron advised.
"And your eyes shut," said Mrs. Weasley. "The soot -"
"Don't fidget," said Ron. "Or you might well fall out of the wrong fireplace -"
"But don't panic and get out too early; wait until you see Fred and George."
Bearing all this in mind, Harry took a pinch of Floo powder and walked to the edge of the fire. He took a deep breath, scattered the powder into the flames, and stepped forward; the fire felt like a warm breeze; he opened his mouth and immediately swallowed a lot of hot ash.
"D-Dia-gon Alley," he coughed.
…
Dizzy and bruised, covered in soot, he got gingerly to his feet, holding his broken glasses up to his eyes. He was quite alone, but where he was, he had no idea. All he could tell was that he was standing in the stone fireplace of what looked like a large, dimly lit wizard's shop - but nothing in here was ever likely to be on a Hogwarts school list.
There were excited whispers around the hall, as many of the students had never been in a shop like that before.
…
The sooner he got out of here, the better. Nose still stinging where it had hit the hearth, Harry made his way swiftly and silently toward the door, but before he'd got halfway toward it, two people appeared on the other side of the glass - and one of them was the very last person Harry wanted to meet when he was lost, covered in soot, and wearing broken glasses: Draco Malfoy.
Heads swiveled in Malfoy's direction.
But Malfoy just held his head up high. Not unlike a giraffe. He practically had, "I'M A GIRAFFE!" on his forehead.
Harry looked quickly around and spotted a large black cabinet to his left; he shot inside it and pulled the doors closed, leaving a small crack to peer through. Seconds later, a bell clanged, and Malfoy stepped into the shop.
…
Malfoy, who had reached for the glass eye, said, "I thought you were going to buy me a present."
"I said I would buy you a racing broom," said his father, drumming his fingers on the counter,
"What's the good of that if I'm not on the House team?" said Malfoy, looking sulky and bad-tempered. "Harry Potter got a Nimbus Two Thousand last year. Special permission from Dumbledore so he could play for Gryffindor. He's not even that good, it's just because he's famous… famous for having a stupid scar on his forehead…."
"Hey Malfoy," Harry said, "You want a scar on your head to match?"
"Harry Potter!" Lily scolded. "That is enough."
"What? He started it."
"I don't care. Stop it."
Malfoy smirked from where he saw Harry sulking.
"That means you as well Mr. Malfoy." McGonagall said, her lips a thin line.
Malfoy glared down at the table. And now it was Harry's turn to smirk.
Malfoy bent down to examine a shelf full of skulls.
"...everyone thinks he's so smart, wonderful Potter with his scar and his broomstick-"
"You have told me this at least a dozen times already," said Mr. Malfoy, with a quelling look at his son. "And I would remind you that it is not - prudent - to appear less than fond of Harry Potter, not when most of our kind regard him as the hero who made the Dark Lord disappear - ah, Mr. Borgin."
"Borgin?" Fred said, awed.
"You're in Borgin and Burkes?" George said, stunned.
"Mum never lets in there." Ron said, enviously.
"And you'll never be caught dead in there if I have any say in the matter." Mrs. Weasley said, clearly upset.
A stooping man had appeared behind the counter, smoothing his greasy hair back from his face.
"Mr. Malfoy, what a pleasure to see you again," said Mr. Borgin in a voice as oily as his hair. "Delighted - and young Master Malfoy, too - charmed. How may I be of assistance? I must show you, just in today, and very reasonably priced -"
"I'm not buying today, Mr. Borgin, but selling," said Mr. Malfoy.
"He's selling to Borgin?" Mr. Weasley said, a gleam in his eyes.
"Selling?" The smile faded slightly from Mr. Borgin's face.
"You have heard, of course, that the Ministry is conducting more raids," said Mr. Malfoy, taking a roll of parchment from the inside pocket and unraveling it for Mr. Borgin to read. "I have a few - ah - items at home that might embarrass me, if the Ministry were to call…."
'Tell me where you're hiding it all, you bastard.' Mr. Weasley thought.
Mrs. Weasley looked at her husband in concern. Arthur has always wanted to arrest Lucius Malfoy for something. And have it stick. So far, he hasn't been able to.
Mr. Borgin fixed a pair of pince-nez to his nose and looked down the list.
"The Ministry wouldn't presume to trouble you, sir, surely?"
Mr. Malfoy's lip curled.
"I have not been visited yet. The name Malfoy still commands a certain respect, yet the Ministry grows ever more meddlesome. There are rumors about a new Muggle Protection Act - no doubt that flea-bitten, Muggle-loving fool Arthur Weasley is behind it -"
"Say that again you inbred magical Dursley!" Harry shouted.
Whatever anyone else was going to say it was overshadowed by Harry's exclamation. After there was a moment of peace, before it sounded like an explosion went off in the great hall. There were students laughing so hard they were crying. A few were holding onto each other to keep themselves from falling. Even still, there were some who had fallen completely out of their seats, and were rolling on the floor.
It took McGonagall - because she and Snape were the only ones who hadn't started laughing to some degree. And he was busy with the Slytherins. - 23 minutes to get the hall into some form of order.
The Slytherins - those loyal to Malfoy - were still glaring at Harry.
Harry felt a hot surge of anger.
"- and as you see, certain of these poisons might make is appear -"
"You see, Madam Bones," Mr. Weasley said, excitedly. Pointing up at the book. "He said he's got poison."
"Yes I heard." Madam Bones said. "However, most houses have poisons in them to kill the common pests. So, for I know he could be talking about that." Mr. Weasley went to argue, but Madam Bones held up her hand, "I do agree that it is suspicious, and if he does something later on that is illegal, then I will intervene and investigate. But until then, my hands are tied."
Mr. Weasley slouched in his chair, resembling Ron when he gets told off for not doing his homework, an awful lot.
"I understand, sir, of course," said Mr. borgin. "Let me see…"
"Can I have that?" interrupted Draco, pointing at the withered hand on its cushion..
"Ah, the Hand of Glory!" said Mr. Borgin, abandoning Mr. Malfoy's list and scurrying over to Draco. "Insert a candle and it gives light only to the holder! Best friend of thieves and plunderers! Your son has fine taste, sir."
Fred and George looked at each other, grins spreading across their faces.
"Absolutely NOT!" Mrs. Weasley screamed, standing up from her chair so fast, it practically went flying back.
"Awe, but Muuuuuuum." Fred and George whined.
"NO!" Mrs. Weasley said sternly. "Don't even think about it!"
Fred and George pouted, slouching in their chairs. However, when their mother's back was turned, they shared a secret smile.
"I hope my son will amount to more than a thief or a plunderer, Borgin," said Mr. Malfoy coldy, and Mr. Borgin said quickly, "No offense, sir, no offense meant -"
"Though if his grades don't pick up," said Mr. Malfoy, more coldly still, "that may indeed be all he is fir for -"
"It's not my fault," retorted Draco. "The teachers all have favorites, that Hermione Granger and Perfect Potter -"
"I would have thought you'd be ashamed that a girl, a mudblood, of no wizard family, and a half-blood with a mudblood mother beat you in every exam," snapped Mr. Malfoy.
With that, everyone was shouting again. Each trying to be heard over the one before. While Harry, Hermione, and all of the first year muggle raised students, and those at the Avengers table looked on in confusion. Steve and Bucky however, were just as angry as everyone else.
When everyone calmed down, Hemione asked, "What does 'Mudblood' mean?"
Surprisingly, it was Snape who answered her. "It is a particularly vulgar insult. It means someone who is born out of wedlock, from a boorish family, or has no respect either credited to them or for their betters."
"Well that doesn't make any sense. Seeing as my parents were married for five years before they had me, and my parents are well respected and accomplished in their fields of profession. They're dentists, doctors." Hermione said.
"It is generally given to mean a person who comes from a non-magical background." Snape explained.
"Well I just don't see it." Hermione shrugged, pouting slightly. "Muggles aren't automatically boorish and disrespectful, any more than magicals are bastions of virtue."
"Well, the Dursleys are." Harry shrugged.
"...Okay, they are an exception, but other than them, yes." Hermione said.
Harry stood in the cabinet thinking over everything that he had heard. He wanted to be even a little bit gleeful that Malfoy jr. was looking so angry at the reprimand that he got, but he couldn't just ignore the fact that they had insulted both his mom and his best friend with the same slur. He may not know what it means, yet, but given that it was Malfoy who said it, it couldn't have been good.
"You just know that Harry is going to research the meaning of the word, and then find a way to make Malfoy pay." Ron said, knowingly.
Harry gasped dramatically, "Who? Me? No, never!"
All of the boys in Harry's dorm snorted.
"Harry, don't lie." Seamus said, "It doesn't look good on you."
"It's okay Harry," Loki said, lightly chuckling, "I'll teach you."
"Please no." McGonagall pleaded towards the heavens.
…
Hagrid seized Harry by the scruff of the neck and pulled him away from the witch, knocking the tray right out of her hands. Her shrieks followed them all the way along the twisting alleyway out into bright sunlight. Harry saw a familiar, snow-white marble building in the distance - Gringotts Bank. Hagrid had steered him right into Diagon Alley.
"Thank you for getting him out of there, Hagrid." Lily and James said gratefully.
"Yer welcome." Hagrid smiled his big bushy beard at them in reply.
"Yer a mess!" said Hagrid gruffly, brushing soot off Harry so forcefully he nearly knocked him into a barrel of dragon dung outside an apothecary. "Skulkin' around Knockturn Alley, I dunno - dodgy place, Harry - don' want no one ter see yeh down there -"
"I realized that," said Harry, ducking as Hagrid made to brush him again. "I told you, I was lost - what were you doing there, anyway?"
"I was lookin' fer a Flesh-Eatin' Slug Repellent," growled Hagrid. "They're ruinin' the school cabbages. Yer not on yer own?"
"I'm staying with the Weasleys but we got separated," Harry explained. "I've got to go and find them…."
…
"Where did you come out?" Ron asked.
"Knockturn Alley," said Hagrid grimly.
"Excellent!" said Fred and George together, grinning.
"We've never been allowed in," said Ron enviously.
"I should ruddy well, think not," growled Hagrid.
"Yes, thank you Hagrid." Mrs. Weasley said, giving her children disapproving looks.
…
"Guess who I saw in Borgins and Burkes?" Harry asked Ron and Hermione as they climbed the Gringotts steps. "Malfoy and his father."
"Did Lucius Malfoy buy anything?" said Mr. Weasley sharply behind them.
"No, he was selling -"
"So he's worried," said Mr. Weasley with grim satisfaction. "Oh, I'd love to get Lucius Malfoy for something…."
"I'll get you some day, you son of a-"
"Arthur!" Mrs. Weasley said. "There are children."
…
GILDEROY LOCKHART
Will be signing copies of his autobiography
MAGICAL ME
Today 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
"We can actually meet him!" Hermione squealed. "I mean, he's written almost the whole booklist!"
"Harry," Ron said, "Oh no."
"What?" Harry asked, concerned.
"She's one of them." Ron said, horrified. Pointing at Hermione. "A Groupie."
Harry and Ron both shuddered in horror.
"Oh very funny." Hermione pouted.
The crowd seemed to be made up mostly of witches around Mrs. Weasley's age. A harassed–looking wizard stood at the door, staying, "Calmly, please, ladies…. Don't push, there… mind the books, now…."
…
"Out of the way, there," he snarled at Ron, moving back to get a better shot. "This if for the Daily Prophet -"
"Big deal," said Ron, rubbing his foot where the photographer had stepped on it.
Harry frowned and glared at the mistreatment of one of his best friends. Even if it was only in the books.
Gilderoy Lockhart heard him. He looked up. He saw Ron - and then he saw Harry. He stared. Then he leapt to his feet and positively shouted, "It can't be Harry Potter?"
"Oh, no." Harry said, and then slumped in his seat and tried to hide.
Hermione put her arm around Harry's shoulders in comfort.
…
"Nice big smile, Harry," said Lockhart, through his own gleaming teeth. "Together, you and I are worth the front page."
"Harry's worth the front page without you, you big tosser!" Remus said.
When he finally let go of Harry's hand, Harry could hardly feel his fingers. He tried to sidle back over to the Weasleys, but Lockhart threw an arm around his shoulders and clamped him tightly to his side.
"Ladies and gentlemen," he said loudly, waving for quiet. "What an extraordinary moment this is! The perfect moment for me to make a little announcement I've been sitting on for some time!
When young Harry here stepped into Flourish and Blotts today, he only wanted to buy my autobiography - which I shall be happy to present to him now, free of charge -" The crowd applauded again. "He had no idea," Lockhart continued, giving Harry a little shake that made his glasses slip to the end of his nose, "that he would shortly be getting much, much more than my book, Magical Me. He and his schoolmates will, in fact, be getting the real magical me. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have great pleasure and pride in announcing that this September, I will be taking up the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"
The adults and all of the boys groaned. The vast majority of the girls all squealed in excitement. Like Hermione. Who was sitting right next to Harry.
Thankfully there were a few girls that either didn't care or were on the boy's side on this one.
…
"Well, well, well - Arthur Weasley."
It was Mr. Malfoy. He stood with his hand on Draco's shoulder, sneering in just the same way.
"Lucius," said Mr. Weasley, nodding coldly.
"Busy time at the Ministry, I hear," said Mr. Malfoy. "All those raids… I hope they're paying you overtime?"
He reached into Ginny's cauldron and extracted, from amid the glossy Lockhart books, a very old, very battered copy of A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration.
"Arthur if they aren't paying you the overtime that you are due, then you need to say something about it." Moody grumbled.
"I know," Mr. Weasley sighed. "I know. I will."
"Obviously not," Mr. Malfoy said. "Dear me, what's the use of being a disgrace to the name of wizard if they don't even pay you well for it?"
Mr. Weasley flushed darker than either Ron or Ginny.
"We have a very different idea of what disgraces the name of wizard, Malfoy," he said.
"Clearly," said Mr. Malfoy, his pale eyes straying to Mr. and Mrs. Granger, who were watching apprehensively. "The company you keep, Weasley … and I thought your family could sink lower -"
…
"Here, girl - take your book - it's the best your father can give you -" Pulling himself out of Hagrid's grip he beckoned to Draco and swept from the shop.
'Why do I get the feeling that this is going to come back to bite us all in the butt later on?' Harry thought to himself.
…
Later that day, as everyone was either getting their shopping bags sorted, or outside playing, Mr. Weasley approached Harry.
"Harry," said Mr. Weasley as he stepped up next to him. "Could I have a word with for a moment?"
For a moment Harry thought that he had done something wrong. Why else would Mr. Weasley want to talk to him alone? What if they were sending him back to the Dursleys?
Trying not to let his nervousness show, Harry nodded his head, and followed Mr. Weasley inside. Where Mrs. Weasley was waiting for him? Okay, either this is the strangest punishment wind up, or something else is going on.
"Harry," Mrs. Weasley said, "I don't know what our future selves are doing but, I know that it's not a punishment."
But, nonetheless, he sat down in one of the kitchen chairs with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley sat across from him. And just when Harry was beginning to become even more nervous, Mr. Weasley said, "Harry, Molly and I have talked about the job offer that you made, but before we agree to anything, we will need more information. Like what my hours will be, and what exactly will I be working on."
Cheers broke out scattered around the hall.
"Yeah!" Ron cheered. "He's gonna take the job!"
"And ya see Harry," Hagrid said, smiling broadly. "Yer not in trouble."
Harry heaved a huge sigh of relief, knowing that it was just business that they wanted to talk about, and that he wasn't actually in trouble.
With that, they spent the next hour and a half until Mrs. Weasley had to get started on dinner, going over the particulars of Mr. Weasley's new job, should he take it.
"And on that note, I believe it is lunch time." Mrs. Weasley said.
