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Author: Malfidus Story: The Mentor Rating: Young Teens Setting: Pre-OotP Status: Abandoned Reviews: 0 Words: 27,022
A/N As you see, I have decided to continue this fic as pre-OotP. Therefore, the events of OotP did not take place. Chapter Five: Back to Diagon Alley Life with the Weasleys was immeasurably better than life with the Dursleys, even if Harry did still have to worry about what to do in his situation with Ginny. Although Ron and Hermione weren't actually dating yet, they still seemed to be enjoying their time together. They would spend their afternoons together, often just sitting outside in the warm summer air, talking. Even though Harry was very happy seeing them together like this, he was starting to get a bit lonely by himself. Of course, he wasn't ever alone, considering that the founders of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes were running loose around the house, but he was starting to see what Ron had meant about everyone pairing off. He had also wondered for the first few days where Percy was, but Ron had told him that he had been working full time at the Ministry of Magic. Fred and George, too, seemed to be enjoying Ron and Hermione's time together, although at Ron and Hermione's expense. After they had begun to spend more time together, Fred and George had teased them to no end. Eventually, however, Mrs. Weasley had put a stop to it by threatening to curse all their socks to tickle their feet whenever they put them on. On a warm summer's morning about a week before their Hogwarts term started, Harry came down to the breakfast table to see Ron and Hermione were already there, chatting over a piece of toast. Harry sat down, and his two friends both greeted him with a casual "Good morning," before returning their attention to each other. Mrs. Weasley, who was at the kitchen counter preparing breakfast, said, "Would you like some toast, Harry dear?" Harry, who had had yet another nightmare just last night and was especially hungry, said, "Yes, please, Mrs. Weasley." "Pumpkin juice, too?" "That sounds excellent," he said. Mrs. Weasley brought him a plate of toast with his pumpkin juice. "Thanks." He started eating, but was interrupted by a large tawny owl fluttering into the room. It was carrying six letters, addressed to him, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Fred, and George, and each was stamped with the Hogwarts seal. As the owl dropped the letters on the table, Hermione said, "We only have a week before term! They're sending these a bit late, don't you think?" Ron nodded fervently. "Don't worry" said Mrs. Weasley. "I think we'll probably be able to go to Diagon Alley soon. Maybe today, even - I mean, if that works for you all, dears." Harry looked at his two friends. "What were you two going to do today?" "Nothing much," answered Ron. "Today would be lovely, Mrs. Weasley!" said Hermione brightly. "Then it's settled," said Mrs. Weasley. "We can go this afternoon." "Go where?" asked a sleepy voice from the stairs. Ginny was awake. She walked into the room and sat down at the kitchen table. As she did so, Mrs. Weasley brought her a plate of toast and a glass of pumpkin juice. "We were thinking of going to Diagon Alley today, as your Hogwarts letters finally arrived, dear," Mrs. Weasley told Ginny. "Ooh, good!" she said eagerly, and tore open her letter. Harry, along with everyone else at the table, opened his letter too. Dear Mr. Potter, Please note that the new school year will begin on September the first. The Hogwarts Express will leave from King's Cross station, platform nine and three-quarters, at eleven o'clock. Please also note that in lieu of You-Know-Who's recent resurrection, greater security measures will be taken at the school this year. Aurors will be stationed in the corridors, so we give all students the friendly reminder that rule-breaking will not, under any circumstances, be tolerated this year. A list of books for next year is enclosed. Yours sincerely, Professor M. McGonagall Deputy Headmistress Harry removed his booklist from his envelope. You must have a copy of each of the following: A Guide to Advanced Potion-Making --Phyllida Spore An Advanced Guide to Transfiguration --Emeric Switch Magical Creatures of Great Britain --Lucinda Grubbly-Plank Practical Counteractions to the Dark Forces --Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody Reading Tarot Cards --Ford Shaadow The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 5) --Miranda Goshawk Harry finished reading his list and set it on the table. Ron and Ginny soon finished theirs too, but Hermione kept reading hers. Ron looked over her shoulder to see why, and let out a half-annoyed, half-amused groan. "What is it, Ron?" asked Ginny. Ron nudged Hermione in the side, and out of her envelope, (Harry had noticed that it was rather bulkier than usual) she pulled a gleaming, silver Prefect's badge. Ginny put her hand to her mouth and gasped in surprise and admiration. "Wow! Congratulations, Hermione! You're a Prefect!" Hermione blushed scarlet. She seemed stunned too, as it took her a moment to find something to say. "Thanks, Ginny," she finally said quietly, as if hardly daring to believe it herself. "Congratulations," Harry said, beaming at Hermione. Hermione smiled warmly back at him. "Oh, come on," said Ron, jokingly. "You‘re not surprised, are you Harry? We all knew she would be Prefect. Blimey, in two years, it'll be the Head Girl sitting at this table!" Harry laughed at Ron's comment. But Hermione turned to Ron and, though looking quite exasperated with him, drew him into a friendly hug. Ron was slightly taken aback, but he returned the embrace. "Congratulations, Hermione," he said through Hermione's bushy brown hair. Harry exchanged a wide-eyed glance with Ginny, but finally, Hermione let go of Ron and returned to her seats. "Well, dear," said Mrs. Weasley, after Hermione had released Ron, "I am not surprised at all." Hermione beamed again. "You should be very proud of yourself, Hermione." "Thanks, Mrs. Weasley," said Hermione, still beaming. She began, with fumbling fingers, to clip her badge onto her morning dress, but Ron stopped her. "You know," he said, "it's probably best to keep this secret from Fred and George for a while. Remember how they used to mess around with Percy's badge?" Hermione laughed. "You're probably right, Ron. I'll go up and put it in my trunk." As she stood up, Ginny did too. "Can I come with you, Hermione?" she said. Hermione shrugged. "Sure, don't see why not. It is your room, after all." Harry and Ron watched the two girls' retreating backs as they went up the stairs, chatting quietly. Harry became silent as he heard his own name mentioned. "Hermione, I wanted to talk to you about Harry," he heard Ginny say, her voice getting softer as the two girls moved up the stairs. "I mean, do you really think I should go ahead with. . ." At this point, her voice became indiscernible among the other magical sounds of the Burrow. "Of course," said Harry sarcastically to Ron. "Just when it gets important." "I know what you mean," he said, sighing sympathetically. "Now, dears," said Mrs. Weasley. "Eavesdropping isn't exactly polite, you know." "Yes, Mum, we know," said Ron. He looked at his watch. "Wonder if the twins are up yet." "Probably working on another Wheeze," said Mrs. Weasley, sighing. "I'll go check on them." Mrs. Weasley walked out of the kitchen and up the stairs. When Mrs. Weasley was out of earshot, Harry asked Ron, "So, what are you planning to do about Hermione?" Ron sighed. "Look, Harry, I'm just going to go one step at a time. Right now, I guess what I'm doing is seeing where she wants this to go." Harry shook his head. "Ron, I've already seen it during the past week, not to mention today. She wants to be more than just your friend." Ron looked slightly taken aback. "Oh, come on, Ron. You're closer to her than all of us right now. If you can't see it, then I can't help you." "Harry," Ron said, "it's not that I don't see it. . . . I've been seeing it for the past week, like you said. But, you know. . . . I mean, she's been our friend for four years, now. . . . The idea of going out with your best friend is, I dunno. It's just a bit, er, creepy, I guess." "Hermione seems perfectly fine with the idea. And if you want to go where she wants to go, like you said, then you should ask her out, because that's what she wants." Ron still wasn't swayed. "But Harry!" he began to protest. Harry interrupted him. "Look, Ron, if it makes you feel any better, you can take a look at the book Hermione gave me for my birthday about relationships." Ron laughed. "Hermione gave you a book on relationships?" Harry laughed too. "Yeah. Dr. Nereese Tsoos's Guide to Stress and Relationships." At this, Ron laughed so hard that he toppled off his chair to land sprawled out on the floor. "Bloody hell," said Ron. "I knew she was a bit mad, but not that mad!" At that moment, Fred and George, followed by Mrs. Weasley, entered the kitchen from the staircase. "Hah!" Fred said to George. "Looks like Ron found one of our Bucking Chairs!" "Bucking Chairs?" said Harry, jumping up from his seat. "That's a normal chair," said Ron, still chortling and getting to his feet. "I just fell off." "Great job, Fred," said George, dejectedly. "Now everyone knows about our chairs." Mrs. Weasley looked furiously at the twins, but she calmed herself down as she said, "Just come and have some breakfast, dears. Your Hogwarts letters came today, by the way," she said, indicating them still lying on the table. "We were planning to go to Diagon Alley today." George shrugged. "All right," he said passively as Fred moved to sit down. But as he did so, George said as quietly and discretely as possible, "No, not that one, Fred. That chair's one of ours." Fred tried to stand up, but it was too late. The chair had suddenly rocked sideways, launching Fred all the way over to the foot of the stairs at the exact same moment that Hermione and Ginny arrived at the landing. Fred landed on them, and they all fell to the floor in a confused heap. "FRED!" Ginny screamed. "Get off of me!" Fred clambered quickly to his feet, and then bent over to help both girls up. As Mrs. Weasley started telling Fred and George off for their joke, Harry said quietly to Ron, "You want to go look at that book now?" "Sure," he said. They left the kitchen and its mayhem to retreat up the stairs and into Ron's room. Once there, Harry went over to his trunk, opened it, and unearthed the bright yellow book that Hermione had given him. "Here you go," said Harry, handing the book to Ron, who sat down on his bed and flipped it open on his lap. "Ah," Ron said, after a moment of flipping through pages. "Here we go. ‘Starting a Relationship'," he read. "Firstly, one of the most essential parts to having a good, strong relationship is to have a background of good, strong friendship." "There you go, then, mate," said Harry. "I told you!" "Yeah, but Hermione and I always have rows and everything." "But you guys always make up," said Harry. "Here, let me see the book." Ron handed it to him. Harry read for a minute, then found what he was looking for. "If you are involved in a long-term relationship," he read out loud, "arguments are not something to worry about. In fact, arguments can be healthy in a relationship. Additionally, making up can be just as fun and rewarding as other aspects of a relationship. "So, according to this," Harry motioned down at the book, "you and Hermione are perfect for each other." Ron sighed. "I guess you're right," he finally admitted. "So, what are you going to do?" asked Harry seriously, as he closed the book, stood up, and put it back in his trunk. Ron hesitated, unsure of how to put his thoughts into words. "Well, er, I guess that I'll, er, ask her out, then?" he said, looking feebly up at Harry. Harry patted Ron on the shoulder. "Good job, mate." *** "Right, then," said Mr. Weasley. "Harry, you can go first." It was that afternoon, and everyone was preparing to go to Diagon Alley via Floo powder. Harry had, in the summer before his second year, tried to go to Diagon Alley by Floo, but had instead ended up in Knockturn Alley. Knockturn Alley, as Harry had perceived it, was everything Diagon Alley was not; dark magic and Dark Arts shops. Harry had no intention of going there again. "All right," said Harry in response to Mr. Weasley. He reached his hand into the pot of Floo powder that Mrs. Weasley was offering to him and felt the sandy powder between his fingers as Mr. Weasley lit a fire in the fireplace. Then, he tossed the Floo powder into the dancing orange flames which instantly turned emerald green. With a last look around the Weasley's living room, he took a great breath, stepped into the pleasantly warm green flames, and shouted as clearly as he could, "Diagon Alley!" Instantly, he felt a rapid spinning sensation race throughout his entire body. He spun faster and faster, causing his surroundings to blur in a display of greys and greens. Then, he started slowing down, and he held out his hands to stabilize himself as he stopped quite suddenly. However, despite his attempts to right himself, he fell face-first out of the fireplace onto the hearth of the Leaky Cauldron. He stood up stepped back away from the fireplace to allow the rest of the Weasleys to arrive. He watched as Fred, George, Ron, Ginny, Hermione, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley all appeared one at a time in the fireplace. When everyone was accounted for, Mr. Weasley said, "Okay, all. The first stop, I think, should be Gringotts." Everyone else agreed, Harry especially as his money bag was running low on gold. The eight of them passed through the magical barrier from the pub into Diagon Alley, and then made their way towards the wizarding bank. Their stop only took about half an hour, and when they exited the bank, Harry's money bag was considerably heavier. "Where are you all going next, then?" asked Mr. Weasley from amongst the hustle and bustle of the witches and wizards crowding the streets of Diagon Alley. "Well," said Hermione, "Flourish and Blotts is just up there." She pointed up the sunny street. And sure enough, there it was. A slightly run-down bookshop on the side of the path displayed the sign "Flourish and Blotts Book Shop" on the front. "Well," said Mr. Weasley, "Molly and I have some other shopping to do, so why don't we meet at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour at three? Is that enough time?" Harry, who had thrown away his watch last year (it had broken during the second task of the Triwizard Tournament), shrugged. But Ron, looking at his watch said, "Sure. An hour is probably enough." "Right, then," said Mr. Weasley. "See you later." And with that, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were off down the street. "Let's get to it, then, shall we?" asked Ron. The rest of them nodded, so they all made their way up the street and into the little bookshop. They heard the soft tinkling of a bell as they entered the shop. Harry went up to the desk and ordered and purchased his books from his booklist, followed by Fred and George. Harry returned to the group with his books, and set them on the ground. While he was waiting, he looked around the shop. Then, a book on one of the shelves caught his eye. A familiar bright yellow volume entitled Dr. Nereese Tsoos's Guide to Stress and Relationships. "Hermione," said Harry, a thought entering his head at seeing the book. He pulled her to a corner to speak to her privately. "Er, why did you get me that book for my birthday?" He pointed it out to her. As Hermione looked where he was pointing, Harry saw Ginny, out of the corner of his eye, also look toward the book. She blushed scarlet, and carefully moved out of Harry's line of sight. "Well," said Hermione, "like I told you. I thought it would be useful." "But why a book on relationships of all things?" "Well, er," Hermione hesitated. "Er, because I wanted to get you a book on stress management, and that was the only one they had," she said very quickly. "I couldn't help that it was also on relationships." Harry saw her booklist flutter slowly to the floor as she spoke. Ron, noticing this, walked over to pick it up. He walked over to the desk as Fred and George left the desk and started looking around the musty shelves of the book shop. "Why do I need a book on stress management?" he asked. But at the look on Hermione's face, he quickly added, "Not that I don't appreciate the gift." Hermione seemed to accept that. "Well," she said slowly, as if pondering her answer to his question, "because . . . with You-Know-Who coming back and all, and your nightmares, it seemed like the right thing to get you." Hermione quickly sent a half-glance over Harry's shoulder, toward Ginny's direction. Harry was about to ask what Ginny had to do with it when Ron returned from the front desk with his arms full of books, and Ginny took her turn and walked up to get her books. Ron set half of the books at Hermione's feet and placed her booklist gingerly on top of the stack. "Here," he said, panting from the weight of carrying all of the books. "I got your books for you." Hermione beamed at him. "You didn't need to do that for me, Ron." She dug in her pockets. When her hand re-emerged, it was holding a handful of gold. After carefully counting out the right amount, she held it out to Ron. "But thanks," she added as an afterthought. Ron flushed scarlet. "Don't worry about it," he mumbled. Harry stared. He knew that the Weasleys didn't have very much money, and refusing Hermione's was definitely the wrong thing to do. "Take it, Ron," insisted Hermione. Ron looked as if he were going to continue refusing, but when he saw the confused look on Harry's face, he mumbled, "Fine." He held out his hand, into which Hermione dumped her gold. "Thanks for getting my books for me," she said as she awkwardly put a hand on his shoulder. Ron flushed again. "Y'welcome," he said, very embarrassed, and Hermione removed her hand. Ron called over to Ginny, who was at the front desk. "You got your books, Ginny?" "Yeah," she called back over. Harry watched as she grabbed her books off the desk and returned to the group. Fred and George, who had been looking around the shop at books on practical joke spells, hadn't heard a word of Ron and Hermione's discussion, but returned when they saw that Ginny was done at the desk. They all exited the bookshop into the sunny path. "Where to next?" asked Harry. "Well," said Ginny, "if no one objects, I need some bigger robes for this year." "Okay, then," said Harry. "Madam Malkin's is just up there." They all trooped up the walk toward the robe shop. Once there, Harry said, "Well, if no one minds, while we're waiting for you, Ginny, I want to nip over to Quality Quidditch Supplies for a moment. Just to look," he added. "I'll come, too," said Ron. "Us, too!" said the twins, enthusiastically. "I'll stay with Ginny," said Hermione. "All right," said Harry. So Ginny and Hermione went into Madam Malkin's, while Harry, Ron, Fred, and George all crossed the street to Quality Quidditch Supplies. When they got there, Harry noticed the display in the window which was comprised of seven polished broomsticks, all sitting on bronze stands. The main display sign said: The Sweeper™ Series Each broom in the Sweeper™ Series, recently released to the public, is specially designed for each position of play on the Quidditch field. The handle of each Sweeper™ is made of oak, and each twig in the tail is a specially selected willow twig. Free with each Sweeper™ is a miniature broom care kit, technique manual, and a bronze display/storage stand. An entire set (one Keeper Sweeper, one Seeker Sweeper, two Beater Sweepers, and three Chaser Sweepers) is sold at a ten percent team discount. Price on request. There were also signs under each grouping of the different brooms. Interested, Harry kept reading. The Beater Sweeper™ Top speed: 175kph Time to accelerate to top speed: 11 seconds Top speed minimum turning radius: 3.75m Other special features: An Unbreakable Charm on the handle. The handle can also be used to hit Bludgers if the player has lost his club. The Chaser Sweeper™ Top speed: 210kph Time to accelerate to top speed: 10 seconds Top speed minimum turning radius: 3.5m Other special features: N/A The Keeper Sweeper™ Top speed: 160kph Time to accelerate to top speed: 12 seconds Top speed minimum turning radius: 4.5m Other special features: A Balancing Charm on the seat area to prevent falling off. The Seeker Sweeper™ Top speed: 230kph Time to accelerate to top speed: 10 seconds Top speed minimum turning radius: 3.5m Other special features: An Ergonomic Charm on the handle to conform to your grip. A Balancing Charm on the seat area to prevent falling off while flying no-handed. "Hmm," said Harry when he finished reading. "Looks interesting, although I do rather like my broom." "Wouldn't it be great to get our hands on one of those?" moaned Ron enviously. "If only we had the gold." The four of them stood looking through to the seven glamorous brooms for a long time. As they admired them longingly - all except Harry who already had a very nice broom, a Firebolt that had been given to him by Sirius, his godfather - they met some other people that they knew from Hogwarts. Neville Longbottom, a round-faced, very forgetful boy, showed up to admire the new brooms too. About fifteen minutes after him, Lee Jordan, one of the twins' best friends, arrived at Quality Quidditch Supplies as well. He also stayed a bit to stare enviously at the brooms, but finally, Harry realised they would have to go and meet up with the girls. He voiced this to the rest of the group who agreed. Fred and George took one last wistful look at the two Beater Sweepers still standing motionless inside the shop window, and then pried their eyes away from them. While they were making their way back up the cobblestone street to Madam Malkin's, Harry pulled Fred and George aside. "So," he said in a low voice so that Ron wouldn't hear him (Ron was busy examining a display in a magical artefact shop as they passed it), "have you got your brother his new dress robes yet?" Fred and George looked horrified. "We thought you were only joking!" said Fred incredulously. "Joking?" chortled Harry. "No, I was serious. Now's not a bad time to do it, you know," he added hastily as they approached the shop. "I'll make sure Ron is distracted." "Right," said George, now smiling. "What do you say, Fred, a nice maroon set with lace hemming?" Fred snorted. But Harry said, "Get him something reasonable, okay? Nothing with maroon or lace. . . ." "Harry, you take the fun out of everything," said Fred in mock disappointment as they entered the shop a little way ahead of Ron. As the door shut with the tinkling of a bell behind them, they saw Ginny and Hermione at the front desk buying Ginny a set of used robes. "You guys about done?" asked Harry. Hermione turned around. "Almost," she said. "What did you all get up to?" she asked. "We looked at a new broom series at Quality Quidditch Supplies," said Ron, his eyes taking upon a glazed look that said only too well that in his heart, he still had his nose up against the window. "Really?" said Hermione, grabbing Ginny's new set of used robes from the counter. "I read in the Daily Prophet that they were developing a new series over the summer, something like each broom is specialized for each position?" "Yeah," said Harry. "That's it." "We also saw Neville and Lee," said George. "Sounds like you lot had fun," said Ginny, smiling at Harry and making him feel slightly uncomfortable. Then, in an attempt to hide some of this discomfort, Harry said to the group, "Why don't we go on over to the ice cream shop now?" He gave Fred and George a meaningful look. Fred seemed to get the message, a smirk once again crossing his face. "We have some other shopping we want to do. We'll catch you up later." "Okay," said Harry, and they all left the shop. A few paces down the street, Harry saw Fred and George discretely braking away from the rest of them to go buy Ron's new dress robes. Fortunately, Ron wasn't paying attention. Hermione had timidly slid her hand discretely into his, and Ron was staring at her in amazement. "It's all right with you, isn't it?" asked Hermione. "Oh, er, yeah," he managed to say through his bewilderment. "It's fine." They got to Florean Fortescue's about fifteen minutes before they were due, so they all bought some ice cream while they waited for Mr. and Mrs. Weasley to meet them there. They sat eating for a few minutes until Harry nudged Ron in the side. "What?" hissed Ron. Harry glanced across the table to Hermione who was talking with Ginny, and then back to Ron. "Now's as good a time as any. Ask her." Ron sighed. He sighed and fidgeted in his chair. He looked at Harry pleadingly, but Harry urged him on. "Hey, Hermione?" he said finally, and Hermione turned in her chair to look at him. "Hmm?" she said. Ron hesitated. He looked at Harry for support, so Harry nodded. Ron continued. "Can I, er, talk to you for a second?" "Sure," said Hermione, setting her spoon on the table. They walked off a little way from the group. As Ron began talking again, Harry couldn't help but overhear what he was saying. "I've been thinking, and. . . er. . . I was wondering if you, er. . . wanted to, er, start dating?" Hermione looked very taken aback and surprised. After a moment, she said, "Are you all right, Ron?" She pulled her wand from her pocket, obviously checking Ron for any character-changing spells. "Hermione, I'm serious," said Ron, pushing away her wand. "Well," she said, "if you're sure about this, I, er, I guess we can start dating." Ron's entire body looked as if it had just been removed from the Full Body Bind as it relaxed. After an obviously uncomfortably moment between the two of them, Ron finally gave in and swept Hermione into a deep embrace. A/N Phew! That chapter took a lot out of me, but it was quite fun to write. Hopefully, I'll be able to tie up some loose ends next chapter.
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