Harry tours Europe
-8-
"Grindelwald FINALLY DEAD!"
Word that the second most dangerous Dark Lord in modern times was finally dead was a shock to many; dozens of witches and wizards, particularly in Britain, had laboured under the false assumption that Grindelwald had been killed in a pitched battle against Albus Dumbledore.
However, that was just British propaganda.
It was well known and buried in Europe, the most heavily affected part of the world Dumbledore had cowardly weakened Grindelwald by sending squad after squad after squad of hit wizards and other mercenaries he'd 'persuaded' into attacking the Dark Wizard, before stabbing the already weakened and tired Grindelwald in the back.
Many witches and wizards in Europe had suffered and died because of Grindelwald, and as a result, they had been utterly incensed with Dumbledore's actions in getting Grindelwald locked up in prison seemingly forever.
And now he was dead, died of natural causes only after two months following the death of Lord Voldemort.
-8-
Two days after his arrival in Italy found Harry eating in a small cafe in one of Italy's largest shopping districts in the magical community. Just before he had left Britain, Harry had asked Bloodbringer for details about the various magical enclaves around the world so he could drop by for a brief visit. Harry might hate the wizarding world, but that didn't mean he couldn't and didn't want to see different sides to it.
In front of him was a copy of one of the magical newspapers, detailing the sudden death of Grindelwald. Harry didn't care, he had never truly taken any notice of Grindelwald beyond a small amount of research.
Switching between muggle and magical, Harry explored Italy. He had planned to just simply travel throughout Europe and to other parts of the world before he had to return to Hogwarts. He sampled wines, ate classical Italian meals, and he even asked chefs for different recipes while he explored the city of Rome.
Rome was a wondrous mixture, in his opinion, of the ancient and the modern; everywhere he went he saw signs of the Ancient Roman empire, and yet he was able to walk into a cafe and watch the baristas prepare lovely coffees and other refreshments.
On the magical side of Italy, he had to cast some glamour charms in case anyone came up to him, and he used that time to collect books about Italy's magical history and books that were generally not sold or just extremely hard to come by in Britain, thanks to the Ministry's desire to keep everything locked away and isolated with people like Fudge in power.
On his final evening in Italy, Harry enjoyed a sumptuous meal and some wine, using his magic to compel the muggles to let him have some wine.
-8-
Harry had longed to visit Switzerland since he was a young boy, primarily because Arthur Conan Doyle's 'The Final Problem' was set there. While he explored Switzerland, sampling beers and chocolates, Harry also enjoyed the wonders of nature. He had never seen anything like it before, and he was awed by the beauty of the landscapes, especially the mountains of the Alps.
It actually amused Harry to know that while muggles would try to climb the mountains, struggling to reach the tops, tackling the icy cold of the ice and snow, risking their lives finding footholds and places to camp while they struggled to cope with rationing their food and water supplies, and faced with the discomfort of high altitude breathing, he could take a broomstick and simply overfly the mountains and come back in time for dinner.
-8-
Germany was a beautiful land; the country's past was turbulent, especially since the start of the 20th century. But despite that, the country was beautiful and it was full of rich history, and culture. Scientists, musicians, artists, scholars, athletes, and other geniuses had their roots in this country. Its mountains graced the landscape effortlessly, and as he explored cities like Berlin and Munich, Harry went out and enjoyed the nightlife.
Beer was the staple booze, rather than wine, and while some of the beers were too strong, Harry did enjoy them and he quickly found a few decent favourites in the brief few days he was there.
Next stop, France.
-8-
Harry decided to simply travel to Paris to begin exploring France, but being in the home turf of Fleur Delacour was leaving him a little nervous. He decided there and then he wasn't going to visit the magical community in this country, not if it meant bumping into her. It would bring back too many memories.
Using the Paris metro, Harry began exploring the city, visiting museums like the Louvre, and the Arch D'triumph, to say nothing of his visit to the Eiffel Tower. When he reached the top, he took several pictures of the city.
One morning, Harry decided to do something he had never done before; he woke up early and he went on the Paris Metro after he had gotten used to using it, deciding to do something he had never ever done before in his entire life. While he had been in London, Harry had learnt of a Tube challenge, where people would try to visit every single station on the Tube network in an entire day in the shortest possible time. Just for fun, Harry decided to try it out on the Paris metro. Harry didn't plan on announcing what he was doing, he wasn't that type of person. He managed to reach the end of his self-approved challenge, before he went back to his holiday rental, exhausted.
Leaving Paris, Harry travelled across the beautiful country, before he found himself in Normandy. One day it began raining, and he stood in the rain and letting it wash over him. As he stood there, in France a long way from Britain and outside of the jurisdiction of the control freaks of Britain, Harry felt upset. He had longed to visit the world without anyone meddling, and all he had were people like Fudge and Dumbledore stopping him, he was upset and furious that he was here now, despite being glad he had the chance when his childhood and teen years were almost over. Gone for good.
Harry started crying in relief and horror at what he had become and what he'd gone through, but he didn't realise he was being watched…
-8-
"Maman, look, isn't that Harry Potter?" Gabrielle Delacour whispered while she stood with her mother and big sister.
Fleur turned and found herself looking at the now white-haired Harry Potter. He was standing a little away, head tilted upwards, not caring if he was getting wet. Fleur's heart broke when she took in the looks of sadness on his face, and it broke further when she realised he was crying.
"He's upset," Gabrielle sniffled.
"He has a right to be, Gabs," Apolline Delacour commented, "from what I know he led a terrible life before he even went to that stupid British school and then he was thrown into prison."
Fleur bowed her head.
Her memories of that night were sketchy considering how Krum had attacked her in the maze before he was blasted away, but not before she was left behind, in shock about what happened. So many of her fellow students had died along with many Hogwarts students when the cup exploded with that dark curse, but she'd left Britain with mixed thoughts; while she hadn't gotten along with Harry Potter that much in the early days especially when she mocked him only to be brutally cursed by him in return to shut her up, he had saved Gabrielle.
She knew he was capable of terrifying violence, but he had been smarter than to cast such a dark curse over the trophy and then arrive in the aftermath. Something was wrong, but who would listen to her?
She was just relieved her family hadn't been caught by the blast, even if they'd been shaken horribly and even now Gabrielle suffered from recurring nightmares over the whole mess.
Fleur bit her lip, and turning to her mother, she said, "Let's go, mama," she whispered, feeling guilty for intruding on Harry's privacy.
-8-
Spain was one of the most vibrant countries he had visited, and since he had only visited a short number of countries recently, that was saying something. Madrid was vibrant, and he loved exploring the sunny streets and sampling the best of Spanish cuisine, he even went out for his amusement to some of the clubs, and watched some of the girls dancing.
One day, Harry visited the Padro museum and studied the numerous works of art here, like he had done with the Louvre. Art wasn't his speciality and it wasn't something that interested him, although he wondered absently if he should try his hand at it, just for the sake of it.
He was shaken out of his thoughts when he came across Picasso's Guernica. Taking up an entire wall, the famous artist had painted one of the most brutal acts carried out by the Germans, whose air force just bombed the Spanish town of Guernica for a test run before the second world war. The losses the town faced were nothing compared to the lives lost throughout the war of course, but at the time it was considered brutal and vicious.
"Sir? Are you okay?"
Harry, who'd been burning the pictures of people dying into his head, snapped out of it and turned to see a museum worker looking at him in concern. It was a young woman, with her rich dark hair shining in the light. Like many others, she did a double take upon realising he was a teenager and not someone older.
"Yes, I was just looking," Harry replied.
The woman nodded, although she did send him a curious look, aimed at his white hair, but he ignored it. She turned her attention to the painting.
"One of Picasso's finest works, no doubt about that, but while I pass by it every day, it still takes me aback. The artist had a way of painting death and violence."
"He did," Harry said in agreement, absently knowing if Picasso saw what he had seen, he would never paint again.
After leaving the museum, Harry decided to go back to the rental he had and just let the day pass by. He didn't feel like doing anything more, and even the bright sunlight couldn't make him forget those horrible images. In any case, in a couple of days, he would be heading to the MACUSA, to meet his American family for the first time…