Harry really was busy the next day. He refused to go on holiday looking like a tramp. He had a funny feeling that he wouldn’t get through customs if he looked like someone who had just rolled off of the street, so, without so much as a hello to any of the Aurors, he slipped back out into Muggle London, this time cheating and using the Knight Bus rather than going on foot, and purchased a whole new wardrobe as well as another box of cards, this time from the new set of boosters that had been released the day before.
When he finally got back to the Leaky Cauldron, he half expected to get an earful from whoever was supposed to be on duty, but the only complaints he had were from Sirius, who had not enjoyed the fact he’d been cooped up all day and wanted to stretch his legs, and from Hedwig who had brought yet another letter from Hermione, who was planning on visiting the next day if he wasn’t busy.
Harry sent a message back again, leaving Hedwig staring at him irritably, since she wanted a rest, and took Padfoot for a walk and then settled down with his purchases, organising his new clothes and sorting through the hundreds of new cards, making note of a few that Luna might like, simply enjoying the peace that came with having a few days away from Dursleys.
When Hermione arrived the next day however, that peace and quiet was shattered, at least for a little while as she ranted at him in person for not going to her or Ron when he had been kicked out of his house. Right up until Padfoot licked her hand. Then she was too engrossed in finding out where he’d gotten the dog and where he was planning on keeping it during term time and did he know how to look after it properly, and had he taken it to the vets yet?
Hermione’s questions only stopped when Harry presented her with the books he’d bought. The wizard swiftly wished he’d waited till after he’d introduced her to the game of Duel Monsters because she proceeded to skim through all of them. She did, however, come to the same conclusion he had about the Serpent Items, minus knowledge about Powel, in half the time it had taken him.
Then their conversation had taken a rather different route. Instead of ranting at him Hermione started fussing, worrying for her friend and what using and owning such a dangerous dark artefact could do. She did suggest that he got rid of it, much as she had before they’d left school for the summer, but bit her tongue when Harry reminded her that Dumbledore had stated that he should keep it with him at all times.
Harry got to watch, amused, as Hermione was torn between concern for her friend, anger that Harry should shrug off the danger so easily and confusion since she still wasn’t sure if Dumbledore was really looking out for Harry or not.
“You are going to be careful with it, aren’t you?” Hermione asked finally, biting her lower lip and watching her friend carefully, knowing him far too well to ask him to stay out of trouble.
“Of course.” Harry agreed, not particularly wanting to become known as the Boy-Who-Sealed-Souls, “Though you know what I’m like. I’ll try and be careful and end up getting eaten by a dragon or something...”
Hermione glowered at Harry’s nochatlent shrug. “Harry James Potter. If I find out that you’ve been playing with dragons, I’ll... I’ll...” She seized one of the pillows off of his bed and swatted him with it repeatedly.
Harry let out a yelp of shock, having never expected it from his bookworm of a friend and grabbed the other, counter attacking and the pillow war didn’t stop until next door complained that could whoever had let the herd of hippogriffs into the room please let them back out again.
Neither kid could resist dissolving into laughter the moment the door was shut behind the complainer.
“We sound nothing like a herd of hippogriffs.” Hermione stated as they pair of them calmed down, stroking the fur on Padfoot’s back. “There’s much less squawking and roaring for a start.”
“What’s a hippogriff?” Harry asked only to earn himself a despairing look from his friend.
“I swear Harry, you don’t read anything you don’t have to, do you?”
“I read all those books I showed you.” Harry stated a little defensively.
“Only because they had information about your Bracer in them.” Hermione pointed out, looking like the cat that’s gotten the cream as Harry couldn’t deny her point. “Otherwise you wouldn’t have even thought about going into Flourish and Blotts would you?”
“Maybe.” Harry grouched, wondering, once again, why Hermione was a Gryffindor when clearly her love of knowledge should have made her a Ravenclaw.
Hermione just let out a soft snort and leaned back, using her hands to support her as she stared at the ceiling. “Mum and Dad have gone into London. Made me promise to stay here and talk to you. I told them the Dursleys kicked you out and they asked me if you’d consider staying with them?”
Harry blinked, wondering where this had come from. Unlike Ron’s parents, Hermione’s barely knew him. Certainly not enough, in his opinion, to make an offer like that. “Why?”
Hermione chuckled at him softly, though the sound was a mixture of bitter and something Harry couldn’t quite catch. “You were my first real friend. My parents think that’s important.”
Harry stared at her. “You’re kidding? There was no one...?”
“I don’t know where you went to school but no one wants to be friends with the nerd.” Hermione snorted, “We tried a few schools, but it was always the same. The kids my age didn’t want to know me, and the kids in the year I was always placed in couldn’t stand that they had to deal with having a younger class member.”
“You got to skip years?” Harry asked, slightly envious since if he’d been jumped up a year, he would no longer have had to share lessons with his cousin Dudley. His envy vanished just moments later as he both envisioned the reactions of his Aunt and Uncle if he had been jumped up a year and pulled ahead of their precious ‘Duddykins’ and heard the soft snort that Hermione let out.
“It’s not as good as it sounds. It just means you take tests quicker. Have to change school faster and have more to unlearn when you go to Hogwarts.” Hermione sounded frustrated.
“Is that why you took every class you could when we picked our options?” Harry asked, curious.
“I’m bored in normal classes.” Hermione admitted, “And hopefully that much work will keep me occupied. I mean I probably won’t get accepted for all of them, not unless they can work out the schedules and that would be a nightmare. I’m sure Professor McGonagall has enough on her plate already without having to worry about reorganising all of our classes.”
Harry just nodded his agreement. Between her duties as Head of Gryffindor House, the fact she was Deputy Headmistress and all of her classes, he could well imagine that scheduling headaches were the last thing she needed.
“Well, think you’ll have time to learn one more thing?” Harry asked. “I mean it’s for recreation, and that’s a necessary part of studying, isn’t it?”
“I might. It depends what it is.” Hermione looked curious. “It doesn’t have anything to do with broomsticks, does it?”
“No. No flying. A few things that could fly, but no flying ourselves.”
“Oh?” Hermione asked, curious now, “Do tell.”
“It’s called Duel Monsters and...”
“You’re not talking about the Muggle trading card game that’s been hovering around the edges of popularity for a couple of years?” Hermione asked, confused. “Where did you even learn about it?”
“Luna.” Harry replied simply with a small smile.
“Ah.” Hermione nodded in understanding. After all she’d learned that ‘Luna’ was a perfectly rational excuse for almost anything, “I have a few cards, but I never really got into the game.”
“Luna’s teaching me how to play.” Harry replied, “I have plenty of spare cards if you’re interested.”
Hermione was and they spent an enjoyable afternoon going through Harry’s cards and beating each other with their decks, Hermione favouring Spellcasters and sneak attacks over Harry’s favoured heads on rush attack policy.
Midway through their fourth test of Hermione’s deck a thought popped into Harry’s head.
“Hey Hermione?” Harry asked, curious about something.
“Hmm?” Hermione replied, almost as engrossed in her cards as she had been in the books earlier.
“What do you know about Egypt?”
The question threw Hermione, who looked up as him, confused. “Why?”
“Uh...” Suddenly Harry wished he hadn’t asked since he had no idea if the Weasleys had invited Hermione on their holiday. “Because Luna said these,” He held up the arm with the Bracer on, “Have a base in Egyptian magic and I was curious as to what you know.”
“Well I’ve never really looked into Egyptian forms of magic.” Hermione admitted, “Thought about it when Ron mentioned that his brother was a curse breaker for Gringotts, but never got around to it. I was a little busy trying to learn ahead. After all the Pure-Bloods have been around magic for much longer than we have and...” She looked a little embarrassed, “I might have been asking the upper years for book suggestions.” She paused at the look on Harry’s face, “Yes I know, I’m being a know-it-all.”
“No, no it’s not that.” Harry shook his head, though the thought had crossed his mind, “I’m just surprised that anyone was willing to give you a book list. I mean other than the Weasley twins none of the upper years seem to like us...”
Hermione chuckled slightly. “Oh believe me Harry, the upper year students from our house love you for your Quidditch skills and the fact you brought Gryffindor the house cup for the last two years running. But no, the ones who gave me the information I wanted were the Ravenclaws.”
“How?”
“They appreciate anyone trying to get ahead.” Hermione chuckled, “Keep wondering why I’m not a Claw too.”
“Why aren’t you a Ravenclaw if you’re so interested in learning?” Harry asked.
“Nearly was. The hat was torn between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw.” Hermione blushed, “I had to ask to be put in Gryffindor. Embarrassing huh?”
“No.” Harry thought about how he’d pleaded with the Sorting Hat not to be put into Slytherin. “Not really but why Gryffindor?”
“Well, the only people I knew I wanted to be Gryffindors.” Hermione blushed, “And I kind of hoped...” She mumbled the next bit but Harry grinned at her the same.
“Well considering how little people seem to spend time with others outside their own house. I’d say it’s a good thing, right?” The smile that grew on Hermione’s face was enough to tell Harry that had been the right thing to say, even if he wasn’t quite sure where it came from.
Hermione had to leave before their duel ended, having realised the time and needing to meet up with her parents who had agreed to come back for her after they went shopping in London. Harry saw her out and then took Padfoot for a walk, taking a slightly different route again as he successfully got himself lost down the various alleys that led away from the main shops, the ones that he was always taken to when he came to Diagon with his friends, and towards the little shops that had sprung up on the outskirts.
He felt a little safer, taking a different route back to the pub every time as the only part of his walk that was predictable was the four or five yards he had to walk to enter the leaky Cauldron. Not that he seemed to have come under attack again since that one incident, causing him to wonder if it had been planned or if he’d just happened to have the bad luck to run into a drunk Death Eater.
At worst it might have been Lucius Malfoy. Harry hadn’t forgotten about the promise Draco’s father had made after he’d outed him as the man who had set the problems of last year into motion. He had a funny feeling that if Dobby hadn’t intervened when he had, either he wouldn’t be walking around or he’d have had another Penalty on his conscious.
Somehow he doubted he’d get away as lightly as he had over the Dursleys if the spirit of his Bracer had sent a member of a rich Pure-Blood family insane. Harry was under the impression that, considering how well Mr. Malfoy appeared to get on with a certain family, that the Weasleys wouldn’t be sorry if Powel had taken matters into his own hands and they probably wouldn’t have been the only ones.
When his stomach rumbled he headed back the way he’d come, finding his way by trying to recognise the shops he’d passed, all of whom had closed by the time he had finally hunted down Padfoot’s lead which had somehow ‘mysteriously’ ended up under the bed. He was a couple of alleys away from home when he overheard a conversation he probably shouldn’t have done.
“Give me one good reason why I should listen to anything you have to say.” The voice of someone Harry didn’t know but set Sirius’s tail wagging echoed around the corridor.
“I need your help.” The second voice, a panicked man’s voice, made Padfoot start growling and Harry had to dig his feet in to prevent the huge dog rushing around the corner, “Please, you’re the only one I could turn to.”
“You’re dead.” The first voice growled, deep and rough, a tone that was rather similar to Padfoot’s.
“Please Remus.” The second man begged, “I had to hide. Sirius had friends that would have been out to get me. I...”
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