A Flourishing Fraud
It was as if he was an entirely different person, now.
Living back on the Alley had Harry in bright spirits, running around with the other kids who found themselves there daily, weaving through crowds of tourists and shoppers, ducking down back alleys and through stores like they owned it, smiling sweetly at employees as they used the Alley like their own personal playground.
Jocelyn Wiseacre consistently dragged him to bother her brother Jacob as he worked at Fortescue's with a scowl. If Harry tended to buy her ice cream as they did, well, neither of them would tell her dad. Her quick wit and quicker temper had Harry affectionately calling her Jaws, and she took to the nickname with a wide grin and skipped away.
Harry would take a to-go cup of lavender ice cream back to Hannah at the Leaky Cauldron, and Susan, more often than not, would appear just in time to steal half of it and stay for dinner. She would pop in almost every day, either just for dinner or for breakfast, eating and dragging Harry to various shops she wanted to visit. He followed with a grin, and would usually just chat with the clerk as his friend browsed, only to sit with Hannah at the end of their day to gossip. The three of them had a usual table in the back, and Tom would grin as he watched them laugh and share food and even recipes, as Hannah had an affinity for helping in the kitchen. He caught them huddled around the stove at least once a week, his cook, Freya, watching on with a soft smile.
Susan even dragged him home with her, one night, for dinner with her formidable aunt Amelia, and the usually stern Head of the DMLE couldn’t help but laugh at Harry’s retelling of Susan’s dressing down of Draco Malfoy the year before, when they had first met.
“I swear, Miss Amelia, the phrase you’ll never be more than a chess piece for your father no matter how good you are at the game was probably life-ruining for Draco, but I’ll think of it fondly for the rest of my life.”
Susan blushed. “I barely remember that, honestly. He was picking on Justin, that first week. Justin didn’t have anyone else to stand up for him.”
Harry just grinned at her. “You may not remember that, but I guarantee he will. Draco and Justin.”
Even though Harry had taken to wearing his favorite beanie again, most of those who either lived or worked in Diagon knew who he was. But after two summers of his presence, suave and charming when he wasn’t hiding from crowds, they all knew not to mention anything, and kept an extra eye out for him when it was particularly busy.
Flick Higgs, especially, fresh from her graduation from Hogwarts, would always pull Harry off of the floor of Flourish & Blotts when bigger groups came in. While Harry appreciated the safety, it usually ended in her trying to talk to him about starting the Grey Faction, even after he had explained that he wouldn’t be in a position for that for a few more years.
Since he was, you know, barely twelve.
Eventually, he would wheedle the conversation towards the rituals he had been able to practice so far. She would roll her eyes, but he would always leave with a new book or note to study.
Florean at the ice cream shop was also a champion of keeping Harry hidden, and showed him his side entrance with a wink, offering refuge in a private room when the lines for sundaes got too long. It helped that Jacob was completely unimpressed with Harry's popularity and the crowds that brought, and didn't mind serving any of Harry’s friends away from the counter.
The ice cream parlor was also more than happy to host Harry’s birthday party that summer. All the usual kids from the Nook came to the party, only Draco and Hermione missing.
Draco and his mother sent an overly polite apology in the form of a letter and a rare book on ancient magical plants. While Harry was interested in reading it, he immediately handed it off for Neville to read through, and smiled to himself ten minutes later when he saw Theo settled next to the Gryffindor as they scanned through the tome.
Hermione, still in France, had sent a gift as well—a mostly-empty photo album, almost identical to the one Harry had received for Yule the year before. Only a few pages were filled: copies of the photos they had posted in both the Nook and the first year’s lounge, a few photos from the train on the way back to London, and a few candid photos that never made it to the wall.
Harry grinned and tucked it into his bag. The camera that came with it, however, stayed out, and made its way around the room, everyone either taking selfies or candid photos of Harry opening presents.
Most of his other gifts were practical: new robes, gloves for Quidditch, new books.
Gerard had sent him more homework, claiming his need to do more research on proxies and the stance he would want Andromeda to take if she were to take his place on the Wizengamot.
He nearly threw it at Marcus’s laughing face, and the private room in the ice cream parlor quickly became overcome with the laughter of a wrapping paper fight.
Garrick Ollivander was yet again a favorite hangout spot for Harry, as well. No one seemed to spend more time in the wand shop than necessary, and Harry loved the feeling of the heavy weight of magic in the air, and would duck in to learn meditation techniques when he could. The few exercises to clear his mind that he had learned for Occlumency did nothing until Garrick walked him through the importance of centering himself in a calm state, and by the end of the summer, Harry thought he might be able to learn the next step of passive shielding.
Harry’s favorite part, however, was learning more about the folklore that Garrick was fond of, and he left Ollivander’s each day with a list of books to pick up at either Flourish, Obscurus, or Leery Lit. His journal was nearly full, even after Jacob Wiseacre taught him an expansion charm for it.
The dinner with the Tonks family was a highlight of his summer. Harry arrived, nervous with a bottle of wine from the Greengrass’s winery (Daphne had surely laughed when he had written her for advice, and her letter back was dripping with amused condescension). When he knocked on the door, however, there was almost instantly a loud crash from inside the Tonks house, which was almost as far away from the main Alley as possible. The crash, apparently, had come from the Tonks daughter, who opened the door a moment later, holding her wrist and grinning down, short hair a bright pink.
“Wotcher, Hadrian. Come on in, Mom’s just put dinner on the table. Ooh, wine. Dad, get the corkscrew!”
A portly man peered around the corner. “Dora, you have your wand. We don’t need to use the corkscrew. Hello, there! You must be Hadrian. Come in, come in. Ignore Dora, she can’t walk right on the best of days.”
Harry smiled awkwardly as he walked past his cousin, and then blinked a few times at her hair changing to a furious red as she rolled her eyes at her father.
“I hate my name. Nymphadora. Most people call me Tonks, but Dad at least calls me Dora. You can, too, I guess, family privileges and whatnot,” she muttered as she ran a hand through her hair.
“Oh, are you a metamorphmagus?” He turned to her completely and watched her hair flare a dozen different colors before she settled on that same soft pink. Her expression instantly brightened.
“Yeah, top of my class at Auror Academy for disguises and concealment.” She grinned at him, walking down the hallway and instantly tripping over the rug that ran along it. “Not always so great at the rest of it though,” she said as she caught herself.
Harry frowned. “Well, yeah. If you change your appearance regularly, your body won’t have a good frame on its original center of gravity. Even if you go back to your natural state, your muscle memory doesn’t remember how to move properly.”
Tonks looked down at him. “Wait, what?”
Harry looked at her. “Aren’t both of your parents doctors? You don’t know muggle science?”
“Dad? What’s muscle memory?” She disappeared down towards where Mr. Tonks had been, Harry following with a bemused chuckle. He followed his cousin into the kitchen, where Andi was setting the table as Mr. Tonks pulled down glasses to set the table with.
“Hm? Oh, Hadrian, please, take a seat. And call me Uncle Ted, would you? Only fair if you’re calling Andi Aunt.”
“What’s muscle memory?” Tonks collapsed in a chair, eyes flickering between her parents.
Andi gave a thoughtful frown. “Well, it’s the idea that eventually, your brain remembers movements subconsciously. Like, when you know the movements for a spell without needing to think about it. Why?”
“Hadrian mentioned something about it having to do with my clumsiness.”
All three Tonks turned to the now-blushing Harry. “I’m not the most well-versed in anatomy and whatnot, my friend Hermione would be better to ask. But, well, it makes sense. If… If Dora grew up shifting and altering her height, her weight, even just the length of her limbs, her body wouldn’t have learned how to act when she was at her natural state.”
Ted almost dropped a glass. “I hadn’t even thought of that. That’s…” He put down the glasses on the table and disappeared into a different door, a soft light emitting as a chair scraped on the floor.
Andi rolled her eyes fondly, a sight more loose than she had been in the clinic, obviously at ease in the comfort of her own home surrounded by family. “He’s sure to be on a research binge, now. I’ll bring him some food through in a few moments. Hadrian, how in the world did you think about that?”
“Well, I was reading about how when blood adoption was prevalent, those who were adopted had a chance of going through very quick changes to their stature, and they had to relearn things like balance and walking. It would make sense that when someone went through that change frequently, they never had the chance to learn it.”
Andi hummed thoughtfully. “That’s a delightful insight. I wonder if anyone has done a study on that.”
“If they haven’t before, they will now,” Tonks laughed as she peered towards Ted’s study. “Mom, Hadrian brought wine.”
The rest of the night was a mix of laughter, debate, and a promise of family that made Harry’s chest seize with hope.
Not even the raucous peeling of laughter when Harry nearly spat out his first taste of wine could diminish the newly found comfort he had with the Tonks family, and running into them around the Alley was almost as affirming as when Molly would call him one of her kids.
Tonks (though he was still calling her Dora, he always introduced his cousin as Tonks) took to letting him know when she had days off (which was more often than not as she was still just a trainee) and offered to be his escort into the main street of Knockturn. Theo, thrilled with the company, showed Harry a few of the more neutral shops. Between Theo, Tonks, and the ever present hood over Harry’s face, the clerks down Knockturn were sure who it was visiting their stores, but no one dared mention it, both for fear of political revenge and for common courtesy. Harry would appear at the doors of Leery Literacy with his bag heavy at his side, and they would pass the afternoons doing their work together.
On the rare days Molly let her kids floo to the Alley, Harry would drag Ron over to the store as well, throwing his beanie over the red hair as Ginny disappeared to find Pansy. A few hours later, Ron would have grudgingly finished his work, and Pansy would appear in the doorway with a secretive grin that eerily matched the one on Ginny just behind her. The first time it happened, Ron and Harry met each other’s eyes with a mix of fear and apprehension, but by the end of the summer, they simply shrugged it off with the knowledge that Ginny would be safe as the leader of her year in Slytherin, with Harry and Pansy both backing her.
Once a week saw Harry scribbling at the side of the desk of either Griphook or Gerard, building his knowledge of the political world, of the Grey Faction, of his position in both. He had Gerard put out feelers in India for any remaining family Harry might have, and any support from the area he might be able to ask for. No response yet, but the lawyer promised to keep trying throughout the year, realizing without asking that the family aspect of it all was as important as the political backing for Harry. Gerard did his best to keep Harry distracted from it all, teaching him history and posing questions that sent the heir headlong into research binges. Harry ended up having a separate journal that he kept, one for just his thoughts and notes on the political world. He had to ask Gerard to teach him a ward for it just in case, to keep it away from prying eyes, or any eyes.
(Neither of them had to mention their promise never to speak of the fact that the ward was based in blood, and that only those of Harry’s bloodline or his magical partner would be able to read it.)
It was only a few weeks into the summer, almost halfway through the heat of vacation, when flyers for an event at Flourish & Blotts started popping up. Usually, Harry didn’t pay attention to those, knowing that Flick would make a point of having him stop by for anything interesting. Usually, it was just general book releases, but on occasion, a favored author of Harry’s would be there for a signing, or just to promote their book, and Harry would shamelessly use his own fame to meet them and end up in an amiable debate or conversation.
On this occasion, however, the blaring grin of the face that was the majority of the posters caught Harry’s eye, and his blood ran cold. He immediately muttered his apologies to Susan, turned on his heel, and headed towards Gerard’s office. Boska, Gerard’s receptionist, looked up in shock as Harry completely bypassed her and what had to be a Greengrass cousin in the lobby with a quick apology.
Gerard looked up from a conversation with a gruff looking man and met Harry’s entrance with a raised eyebrow.
“Please tell me we at least started legislation to sue Gilderoy Lockhart for libel.”
Gerard grinned. “Investigation ends next week. Court in October. So unfortunate for him, it’s going to hit the papers next week, just after his new book is released.”
Harry raised a brow. “Does he know?”
At Gerard’s nod, Harry smirked, bowed, and left the room, giving Boska a proper apology on his way out of the building.
A quick note to Ron, and Harry ended his day with an even smugger grin than usual.
The morning of the book signing saw Harry, hood up, scribbling in his notebook with a large book open on the counter of Leery Literary, Natalie popping muggle gum he had bought for her in a chair on the other side, Theo on the floor surrounded by parchment and books.
Tonks was leaning against the wall by the entrance, flipping through a newer edition of some Anti-Auror pamphlet.
Natalie Nott had eyed the trainee Auror warily the first time she walked in, clearly remembering her from school and knowing her position, but Tonks just rolled her eyes.
“Morals don’t necessarily align with the laws of society. Dark isn’t evil, and just because the minister is terrified of his shadow falling on just the cobblestones of Knockturn doesn’t mean we all dismiss the community here. I may be the daughter of a muggleborn, but I am also a daughter of House Black, and I respect the essence of the old ways, even if they need a few adjustments.”
Natalie shrugged, and ignored her unless she purchased something.
Harry and Theo, however, had taken to crowding over various books, most containing hearth rituals that Hogwarts just didn’t see the benefit of teaching, or blood schemes that they weren’t allowed to teach. Harry’s notebook was becoming cramped with the various small spells that housewives had been doing for centuries, and notes on how to alter them for wider results.
Theo was the one who would constantly write back and forth with Hermione about their findings, as Harry was usually too distracted by his other friends in the Alley to give her proper responses, especially as by the time she wrote back from France, Harry was already three subjects away from whatever she was writing about.
That was probably why it was Theo, of all people, who had to lean over the counter that morning, slamming the tome closed nearly on Harry’s hand.
“Hadrian, you’re supposed to meet the Grangers at the Leaky in three minutes,” he drawled, pulling the book towards him as Harry shook his hand out from writing.
It took a second for Harry to register what Theo had said, and then he groaned. “Crap, thanks, Theo. Put that up for me? Natalie, pleasure as always. Dora, c’mon.” He grabbed his cousin’s hand and pulled her back into the alley, weaving quickly through the lesser populated Knockturn Alley to get to the Leaky Cauldron as fast as possible, ignoring the twin flashes of blonde of the male Malfoys in Borgin & Burkes.
Tonks was laughing by the time they fell through the side door of the Leaky, ducking through the hallway to the main dining room. Harry was trying to catch his breath as he scanned the room, pulling his hood off and tugging on his favorite beanie. Not seeing curly hair, he ducked out the front door, Tonks a step behind.
“You don’t have to follow me anymore, Dora, it’s muggle London. I’ll be fine.” Harry took a deep breath as he leaned against the boarded up windows.
Tonks rolled her eyes. “What if I just wanted to meet your ickle little minions?”
“If anything, I’m Hermione’s minion. Also, you’re never allowed to hang out with the Weasley twins.”
“You know Charlie is one of my best friends, right?”
“And I’m sure he’ll agree. Wait, is that her?” Harry stood on his tiptoes, craning his neck over the crowd.
Tonks snickered as she watched him, and it turned into full laughter as he shot forward, tackling a dark-skinned girl into the man behind her.
Harry was at least slightly embarrassed that the first time he officially met the Grangers was the sight of him tackling their daughter into her father. But the soft smiles on both of their faces had him sheepishly grinning back.
“Mr. and Mrs. Granger, it’s an honor to meet you,” he said as he started to bow, and then, remembering they were still on Charing Cross, just nodded with a grin instead.
“Please, call us Dan and Emma.” Hermione’s mom spoke up, tucking her arm into the crook of her husband’s elbow. “Are you two sure you don’t need us to come in with you? I’ll admit, we’re a tad worried about just letting you kids loose shopping.”
Hermione groaned. “Mama, it’s fine, Harry practically lives here.”
“Besides, ma’am, we’re meeting up with friends, many of whom are already of age. My cousin, for one,” Harry points to where Tonks was waving a few yards away, “will be with us most of the day, and she’s training to be a wizard cop. And Ron’s parents will be here as well, they’re just popping over after lunch.”
Emma still looked hesitant, but Dan patted her hand. “Honey, I’m sure it’s fine. Hermione even had Molly Weasley promise to keep an eye on her for the day.” He turned to the kids. “Now, kiddo, we’ll see you here for dinner at seven. You’ve got your money?”
Hermione nodded. “Yes, Papa.”
“Okay. If anything goes wrong, do whatever you have to, and we’ll deal with the law later.”
Emma smacked his arm even as Harry and Hermione laughed. “Dan, Harry just said his cousin was joining the police. Please don’t make jokes like that.”
Tonks pushed off the wall and walked to put a hand on each of the kid’s shoulders. “No worries, Mr. Granger, I’ll be the first to have any paperwork concerning incidents with this lot disappear.”
Harry leaned back and looked up, grinning at her. “Uncle Ted would be so proud.”
Dan reached out to shake Tonks’ hand. “Cheers. We appreciate you looking out for our girl. We keep up as much as we can, but Hermione says it’s bound to be rather busy today, and we don’t know how comfortable we would be coming in, let alone how comfortable others would be with us there.”
Hermione frowned before she stepped forward to wrap and arm around both of her parents. “Love you. Thanks for bringing me today.”
“Oh, of course, dear. We’ll see you for dinner.” Emma pressed a kiss into her daughter’s curls. “Harry, no funny business.” She winked as he immediately blushed.
“Mama, please.” Hermione rolled her eyes as she grabbed Harry’s hand. “I’ll see you both later.” She started pulling him along, ignoring her parents’ laughter as he shrugged and waved at them.
“You weren’t waiting long, were you?” She pulled him back into the door of the Leaky, immediately ducking to the side, away from any curious eyes. Tonks stood between them and the rest of the room.
“No, honestly I would have been late if Theo hadn’t reminded me. This is Dora Tonks, my cousin. Just call her Tonks.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry, that was so rude. A pleasure, Tonks. I’m Hermione.”
Tonks grinned. “I gathered.”
Hermione turned back to Harry with a frown. “Lift up your shirt.”
Harry pulled back with eyebrows raised. “Mione, please, wait til we have a little more privacy, my cousin is right there.”
Tonks just laughed.
“Shut up and hold still.”
Harry rolled his eyes and lifted his shirt up. “You were so nice three seconds ago.”
A flash of magic and Harry was staring at words and numbers that he couldn’t even begin to make sense of.
“Blimey, Hermione, did Pomfrey start giving out lessons?” Tonks asked, leaning in to scan the results.
She had the decency to blush. “No. I just did some research.” She looked back at Harry. “And I expect you and Ron to learn it by the time we get back to school.”
Harry frowned. “What exactly is it?”
“It’s a basic diagnostic spell. Just does a quick scan to see if anything is abnormal at that point in time.” Tonks looked over at Hermione with a proud nod. “Nice.”
Hermione dismissed the spell and pulled Harry into a fierce hug. When she released Harry from the immense curls of her hair, she gave a soft smile. “I take care of my people, Hadrian Potter, and you and Ron are at the top of the list. And next summer, I’m coming to visit.”
Tonks snorted and took a few steps away.
Harry shot her a V and turned to his friend. “You hopefully won’t have time. Gerard and Amelia made a deal with Dumbledore. I just have to spend a week there, and then I’m free to come back to the Alley.”
She gave him another hug. “Good. I think just one of us having a body count before we’re teenagers is enough.”
He groaned and pulled away. “Mione, once again, cousin. Training to be an auror.”
She rolled her eyes. “Oh, please, there’s no way Gerard didn’t tell your aunt about Quirrelmort.”
Tonks snickered. Harry ignored her.
“Still. Shh.” His stern face almost instantly fell as he looked at her. “It’s good to see you, Hermione. I missed you. How was France?”
She wrapped her arm around his and pulled him back towards Tonks. “Terribly interesting, of course. I feel like I barely saw anything even though we were there for nearly a month. And of course, it was horrible not being able to really write to anyone, especially with how your summer started. Are you sure you’re alright? Theo had barely told me anything, just that you were fine and making Ron study with you.”
Harry knocked their shoulders together. “I’m fine. Promise. Just…” He trailed off as Tonks led them towards the Floo. “Just ready to be back at school.”
She eyed him warily, but was distracted by another tackling hug, this one into Harry, who laughed as they all tumbled to the ground right in front of the bar where Tom was clearing breakfast plates.
“Hi, Ron.” Harry groaned from the bottom of the pile.
Ron peered over Hermione’s shoulder. “Heya, Harry.”
Hermione was laughing as Tonks helped her up. “I missed you too, Ron.” She hugged him properly once they were all standing again. “How much trouble have you two gotten into with me on the continent?”
Ron instantly pulled back with a mock gasp. “How dare you, Granger, we are the image of innocence.” He tugged the beanie on Harry’s head. “Let’s go, Mum already ran down to Flourish to get in line, and Ginny found Pansy, apparently.” He sighed. “I’m not looking forward to this.”
“Your sister and Pansy? The first years won’t have a chance,” Hermione laughed as she wrapped her arms around one of Ron’s.
"I've given up hope on that already, thanks, they've been like that since Harry got to the Alley. No, I'm not looking forward to today."
They filed out of the bricks and were instantly thrown into a world of chaos.
More people than Harry had ever seen were milling about the Alley, more than even the busiest of meals in the Great Hall.
He instantly linked hands with Ron and leaned into his side. “Merlin…”
Tonks groaned. “Aw, Moody’s gonna kill me. I told him I’d be on crowd patrol over by Gringotts ten minutes ago. Sprogs, I’ll see you all for dinner. Hadrian, if you need anything, find an adult and get out of there. Your safety is more important than anything else, more than books or the politics. Okay?”
Harry swallowed and nodded. “Yeah.” He shook his head. “I’ll be fine. Just a lot at once. You go. I’ll see you later.”
She met his eyes for a moment and then nodded. “Okay. Stay together, you lot.” She gave a salute and disappeared down the road.
The three of them stood at the entrance for another moment before Hermione gave a grin. “Come on, might as well.”
Harry’s wandering gaze caught on the slight blush on his friend’s cheeks. “Hermione Jean, don’t tell me you actually want to meet this guy. There’s no way half of what he writes is true.”
The blush got even worse. “He’s one of Wizarding Britain’s most famous writers. I’ve read quite a bit of his work, even before we got the book list. Excuse me for looking forward to a chance to meet him.”
Harry and Ron met each other’s gaze and they hid snickers behind their hands before following Hermione forward. Wary of losing each other in the crowd, Harry kept a hand wrapped around Ron’s wrist, while Ron had a hand around the strap of Hermione’s bag.
“Mum’s thrilled about the whole thing, too. Says it’s just because his book’s helped her with her garden work, wants to thank him in person. But Fred caught her flirting with the photo of him on her book. If I have to see him wink one more time…”
“What I want to know is who assigned his entire bibliography for the entire school. He’s sure to make a mint profit today alone.”
“Hopefully they at least get a cut. Though, knowing how he was with profit cuts with some of his other series, I’m not that hopeful.”
Harry laughed.
Hermione studiously ignored them, weaving through people with a determined stride.
“There’s no way this many people are here just because some author is,” Harry sighed as he ducked out of the way of yet another giggling woman.
“This is ridiculous. He’s not even a decent writer,” Ron scoffed as he scanned the crowd for more redheads.
Hermione rolled her eyes, barely looking back at them. “He’s an international hero, Ronald.”
“He’s an international fraud, you mean.” Harry pulled his beanie down over his head. “Mione, you saw the dribble he wrote about me. You think he’s really going around fighting yetis and curing lycanthropy?”
“But…” She looked flustered as she faltered in front of an upscale restaurant that had yet to open for the day. “The books he wrote about you were obviously fiction. His memoirs…”
The boys stared at her with expectant looks.
She straightened her stance with a huff. “I’ll do research. Surely there’s other proof of his exploits.”
“Well, when those exploits turn out to be exploitations, we’ll try not to tell you we told you so.” Harry nudged her shoulder with his. “Just don’t get distracted by those pearls, just because your parents are dentists doesn’t mean your first crush should be someone with blindingly white teeth.”
Hermione blushed and pushed him away. “Shut up, Potter.”
“I think I see Mum and Percy.” Ron craned his neck. “They’re not that far in line.”
Harry groaned and pulled out a chair at a table next to them, jumping on top of it to see above the masses. “Blimey, how many people can the store even hold?”
“Oi, you lot!”
The three of them turned to see Terrance Higgs waving at them from Fortescue’s.
Harry grinned, jumped down, and jogged over, the others not too far behind. “Terry, alright? Flick’s said you’ve been overseas all summer.”
“Yeah, had a cousin offer to house me in Canada for a bit. Good to see you Diagon side, Hadrian. You all trying to get in to grab your books?”
“Yeah, not that we like our chances, mate.” Ron stepped up to wrap an arm around Harry’s shoulders, nodding at Terrance with a grin.
“Nah, don’t worry. Felicity pulled the lucky wand and is working on restocking, rather than calming the chaos of the crowd. She should be in the backroom more often than not. Go round the back, knock on the door. Just you lot, now, she’ll get in trouble if too many sneak in.”
“Cheers, Terry.” Harry gave him a hug and led his friends to a side alley. “C’mon, I know which door it is.”
They rounded a corner into the sudden silence of an empty alley. All three let out a sigh of relief.
“Honestly, mate, we should have just waited until tomorrow to get our books.”
Harry nodded. “We still could. But I saw Draco and his parents in the line a ways ahead of your mum, and I don’t trust that to not blow up in our faces. So either way, we need to be in this store. Besides, I’m on the last two pages of my journal, I need a new one today.”
Hermione, of all people, rolled her eyes. “You and that journal. If it ever gets lost, I’m leaving the school.”
“I’m right behind you, I don’t need to see Harry like that.”
Harry pouted. “You guys are so mean to me. Hermione, you even said you wanted to start one, don’t have a go at mine.” He knocked at the door.
A few moments passed before the metal door in the alley creaked open, and a wary Flick peeked through.
She let out a groan at the sight of the three twelve-year-olds grinning at her. “Did Terrence send you? I’m going to kill him, Taira will literally fire me if she finds out I let someone else through here.”
Harry tilted his head with an innocent smile. “C’mon, Flick. I’m the Boy-Who-Lived. Surely she’d let me in, if only so the press on the front side doesn't cause even more of a commotion.”
She scoffed as she pulled the door open wide enough for them to pass through. “I don’t know, sprog. Not even you might be able to save me after the chaos of today. Just…” She sighed, looking towards the main room. “Try not to cause a public riot? I know how you feel about that asshole. I don’t think Tonks could get you out of charges like that. Go, quickly.”
The three filed into the room, sticking to the walls as they wove back towards the area usually kept for school books.
The line for the signing was wrapped around all of the displays throughout the entire store. Harry pulled the beanie down over his head with a sigh. “Why do I get the feeling that this entire day is going to suck?”
Hermione peered over his shoulder towards the crowd. “At least we have dinner with my parents to look forward to?”
“True.” Ron looked back at them. “My da is going to adore your parents. Did you properly warn them about him?”
She nodded with a laugh. “Honestly, I think they’re excited. They’ve promised to look at each question with a grace that would put the haughtiest of purebloods to shame.”
“I’d much rather them than the actual purebloods,” Harry muttered, fiddling with the edge of his hat, trying to ignore the sudden press of heat and sound in the room.
“But, Harry, I’m sure Draco will be ever so pleased to see you again, his favorite cousin.” Hermione batted her eyes and leaned into his side even as he scoffed with a grin and pushed her off.
Their laughter caused many in the crowd around them to turn to them, expressions a mixture of fond indulgence and irritable scowls. A curious photographer, however, connected the dots, and came towards them with a smile just shy of predatory.
Harry hadn’t noticed that he had subconsciously shoved the beanie up, trying to get cool in the heat of the jam packed room. Shoving it up just enough for his scar to show, light shade of the lightning bolt a sharp contrast against his dark skin.
The photographer taking a quick break to the side of the masses, however, immediately caught sight of it, and soon enough was reaching towards the trio, pushing Harry’s hat back off of his head. “Harry Potter’s here, Mr. Lockhart!”
Harry had to dig his nails into the palms of his hands before he reacted to the harsh hand falling on his shoulder, pulling him towards the stage set up at the back of the store, and with every inch he felt more blood leaving his face.
Barely two steps towards the stage, Marcus and Flick melted out of the crowd to lurk at the edge, both within a reasonable distance.
Harry could barely spot a few other friends watching with frowns, Anthony and Pansy standing together just beyond the Weasley family, Theo and Neville a few shelves back, the Patil twins with Hannah and a furious Susan.
Ron and Hermione were just behind the photographer, taking advantage of the path being made between the housewives now chattering and whispering, eyes flickering between Harry and Lockhart.
Lockhart, who was watching Harry approach with a clearly forced smile. “Ah, Harry Potter. At last we meet. Come, come, a few photos and we’re sure to make the front page.” He pulled Harry up on stage, a firm hand clasping his shoulder as the other one held Harry’s hand in a loose handshake. “So much back and forth these past few weeks, and this is how we finally meet.”
“A shame, for sure, Mr. Lockhart.” Harry took a breath and forced his Slytherin mask into place, smiling for the camera flashing incessantly. His voice lowered into a murmur, one barely audible over the din of the fans trying to press even closer. “But I’m sure I’ll see you plenty at the trial in October. We can catch up then, I suppose.”
Lockhart laughed, glittering teeth shining as the sound echoed and a few women swooned. “Oh, you’ll see me much sooner than that.” He dropped Harry’s hand, and his other moved to drape his arm along Harry’s thin shoulders. “Ladies and gentlemen, this is the perfect moment to announce a new career stepping stone that I’ve been working towards for quite some time. Little did Harry and his schoolmates know that today, they wouldn’t just be coming to pick up their textbooks and my new book Magical Me, which my good friend Harry here will be receiving the full set of, free of charge…”
He trailed off, and Harry’s mind raced to the worst possible outcome of this little speech. Eyes meeting Ron’s, it was clear he wasn’t the only one worried about what would come next.
“But they would be getting the real magical me… astheir new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.” Ignoring the squeals from the majority of the room, Lockhart pulled a shocked Harry into his side. “That’s right, children of the wizarding world, you may rest easy, for I, Gilderoy Lockhart, am taking the post this coming September at Hogwarts.”
The applause in the room was deafening, and Harry could feel his hands start to shake.
Whether through anger or nerves, he couldn’t quite tell.
He shot Marcus a pleading look, and the older Slytherin instantly ducked between two Aurors working crowd control and jumped on stage, shooting the author a sardonic smile as he dug his nails into the man’s wrist, causing him to pull back sharply.
Harry, now subtly leaning into his friend’s broad side, took another breath and gave the room another winning smile, just as the clapping began to quiet. “And we couldn’t be more thrilled, Professor. I’m sure my fellow students will agree that we have so much to learn from you. And with news such as this, I’m sure the world at large will be eagerly watching Hogwarts to see just how much of an impact you make at our illustrious school.”
Lockhart met his gaze with a flicker of apprehension, but kept his smile as wide as possible as an assistant loaded Harry’s arms with books. “Indeed. I appreciate the support, dear boy, and I will see you in September!” He shot Harry and the crowd a wink, and moved towards a table to begin autographs.
Marcus instantly pulled Harry down off of the stage, pushing him towards a glaring Flick, who led him back to the stockroom, muttering all the while.
Harry worked on regulating his breathing as he watched Flick scowl.
“Absolute garbage of a man,” she muttered, pacing between tall stacks of loose books and boxes. “Thank Morgana I won’t be there to witness the idiocy in person. Hadrian, you lot will have to keep me updated, because I can’t decide if it’s going to be entertaining or just pure pain.”
Ron appeared at the doorway. “Pain for sure, but if we can help it, it’ll be on both sides.”
“You can’t threaten a professor, Ronald,” Hermione chastised as she peered around the corner. “You may not like him, but Headmaster Dumbledore hired him for a reason.”
Ron scoffed. “I can’t threaten a professor? I remember quite a few choice words from someone in this room regarding Quirrell last year, and it wasn’t me or Harry. A few for Dumbledore as well, now that I think about it. You sure you didn’t mean I can’t threaten your crush?”
“You cannot be serious, Granger. You like that thing?” Flick looked towards the younger girl with eyes wide in despair.
Hermione blushed and sniffed haughtily. “He has a very alluring way of writing, that’s all.”
“Even if it’s all hippogriff shite,” Harry murmured, finally speaking after taking the distraction of his friends to calm himself down.
“I’ll find evidence one way or another,” Hermione responded, moving into the room to tentatively reach towards Harry. “Are you alright? For your somewhat skewed point of reference?”
Harry rolled his eyes. “Cheers, Mione. You always know just what to say to make my day better.” He reached up to lace their hands together. “I’m fine now. Just… a lot all at once. Did Marcus not follow you back? I’ll need to talk to Gerard about things if the Smiling Wonder is going to be at school all year.”
Flick shook her head. “Must’ve ducked back through. You still have a week before the train, you can bug Flint Sr. another day. Just get your books and get out of here. Honestly, just grab the books you need from back here, and I’ll check you out myself.”
“We can’t just dip out the back, Flick. The rest of the Weasleys are out there, as are the Malfoys, and with so many cameras around, I don’t want something scandalous to happen before we even get back to school.” Harry adjusted his robe, and shoved the beanie Ron was holding out back over his hair. “Besides, I’ll need to get used to crowds eventually. Life doomed for politics and whatnot.” He pushed his shoulders back and led his friends back onto the floor.
It was rather painless to grab their books, as everyone in the store now realized that the Boy-Who-Lived was shopping among them with two sneering shadows. Only a few people had the courage to actually stop him, and Ron and Hermione would use the distraction to grab whatever they needed from the area.
It also helped that Harry had all of Lockhart’s books for free, and Ron scoffed and refused to waste any money on them when he could just share them with Harry.
Hermione looked horrified by this decision, but gave up after Ron shot her a look.
It only took another few minutes to check everything out, and while Ron made his way back to Molly and Ginny in the line, Hermione disappearing into an obscure area of the store, Harry set to wandering towards the entrance, hoping to run into another friend.
A gathering crowd, facing away from Lockhart, made a chill run up his spine in resignation, one that only grew when he spotted Pansy to the side, worrying at her lip.
“We have very different ideas of what it means to disgrace the wixen culture, Malfoy,” Harry heard from Arthur Weasley as he rounded the corner.
Lucius Malfoy was sneering from the other side of the entrance area of the store, Draco and Narcissa bracketing him in silent support, even though Harry swore he caught a sigh from the woman as she watched her husband. Harry followed her flickering gaze towards the elder Malfoy.
Harry had been in Slytherin long enough to know when someone was about to say something just for the sake of getting a reaction.
And Lucius had just a tad too much indignation in the sardonic smile he gave Arthur.
Harry sighed, pulling off his beanie, before stepping forward, eyes catching on the man’s irritated wife. “Aunt Narcissa! Lovely to see you in person after so many months of writing back and forth.” He pasted on a wide smile and ducked around the few Weasleys not in line, trying to subtly signal them to leave. “Excuse me, Fred. We do need to set a day to grab some lunch, and catch up before Draco and I return to school. I just feel like you have so much to teach me about House Black.” He let his voice carry throughout the store, over the din of people clamoring to get a look at yet another Weasley-Malfoy conflict.
She gave him a knowing smile. “Hadrian! Of course, so good to see you.” She stepped forward to meet him, leaning down in her heels to give him a hug, gracefully ignoring his shoulders stiffening. “You’ll have to owl me so we can set that up. We could meet here, or I’m sure Lucius wouldn’t mind having you round to the Manor.”
“Sounds perfect. We’ll set that up. Lord Malfoy, a pleasure. I believe we ran into each other last year, during my first visit to the Alley. Fantastic to see you again under better circumstances.”
The man’s eyes skated over his scar, but it was the hair that clearly shocked him into remembering, the same red beanie clutched in his hand. “Ah, yes, I had offered some advice about brooms, I believe. A pleasure to see you more accustomed to your position among us, Heir Potter.” His gaze flickered around the room to the crowd still watching. “However, I simply can’t have you calling my wife Aunt Narcissa and have you call me Lord Malfoy. Let’s make it Uncle Lucius, yes?”
Harry bit back a grin, limiting himself to a soft smile. “Only if you call me Hadrian. I do appreciate your advice, I flew quite a bit while at school, and will be buying a broom before returning. I look forward to getting to know you both further over a meal. It’s been a pleasure doing that with my cousin this past year. Draco, how has the summer treated you?”
Draco’s complexion was ruddy but he put on a fake smile. “Quite well, Hadrian, thank you. I hope yours has been as well? Can’t seem to stay out of center stage, I see.”
Harry ignored the not-so-subtle jab. “Quite, though I’m looking forward to going back to school. Even if our new teacher doesn’t seem to live up to the hype.”
“Yes, I do miss the routine of classes. My cousin is coming in this year as well, and it’s been too long since we’ve caught up. I’ll enjoy being able to see her more regularly.”
Harry tilted his head. “Even if she’s in Gryffindor?” he challenged.
A blush from Draco, especially when Lucius placed a heavy hand on his shoulder. “Even then, Hadrian. Family wills out, no?”
Harry nodded. “Family, yes. But I also think ability should as well, no? Surely someone’s merit should play into things, even if they didn’t have the joy of having such…” He trailed off as his eyes flickered to Lucius and Narcissa standing just behind their son. “...such attentive wizarding parents.”
“A debate for another day, don’t you think, Hadrian?” Lucius’s drawl cut through the murmuring of the crowd.
Harry’s eyebrows went up, but he conceded with a smirk. “Indeed, Uncle. I’m sure Draco and I will have many more discussions of a similar nature. It seems to be our favorite topic.”
Draco swallowed, but with eyes flickering around their audience, shot Harry a small smile, one laced with a smugness that Harry had thought he had grown out of.
“Well, as I’m sure you know, Draco here is planning on trying out for Slytherin team as well. Perhaps we can take you to look at brooms, Hadrian?” Narcissa stepped forward in a glide, smiling between the two boys.
Harry gave a slight bow, subtly waving off Ron and Anthony, who had appeared to linger at the edge of the crowd. “I’d be honored, Aunt Narcissa.”
The following hour was spent walking a tightrope, Harry felt. Too much into political slights and Narcissa would change the conversation quickly. Draco was oddly silent, eyes flickering between his parents and his cousin, only commenting when directly asked a question.
Harry walked out of Quality Quidditch with a Nimbus 2001 tucked under his arm and a new appreciation for the power his ‘uncle’ held in the world of wixen.
He quickly forgot all about it when he spotted nearly a dozen of his friends waiting for him to join them for ice cream.