"I was thinking about heading to the Alley," Harry replied. "I need to see George and find out what new Wheezes he's created."
Something in her expression must have registered for his look morphed into one of concern and his knife and fork lowered.
"What?" he asked.
Hermione couldn't resist biting her lower lip as her mind whirled, trying to find the best way to tell him about that morning's article.
"Come on, Hermione," Harry said. "You know you can tell me anything."
There was nothing for it but to tell it straight and hope that he didn't overreact.
"There was an article in the Prophet this morning," she blurted.
Harry's eyes closed briefly.
"They know I'm in Britain, don't they?" he asked resignedly. "How'd they find out?"
"I don't know," Hermione admitted.
"Doesn't matter," Harry sighed. "Just means that I'm going to have to be a little more circumspect though."
Unexpectedly, he stood and raised his hand towards the open doorway. Magic fairly swirled around him, enough that Hermione could feel it, although that may have simply been because she knew what Harry's magic felt like. And then, in a swirl of blue-grey, Harry's dragonhide cloak whizzed through the door, quickly followed by his many-pouched belt. Both items were donned before Harry flipped up the hood of his cloak and waved his hand across his face.
"Harry Potter! If you think I'm going to sit here with you while you play dress up …" she began before drawing her wand.
The finite incantatums followed by the banishing spell should have undone Harry's own spells and knocked the hood off of his head. Her frown preceded her second attempt; his chuckles, her third.
"That's not going to work, Hermione," Harry laughed. "Besides, I have it on very good authority that it's never a bad thing to wear your suit at home."
"If you're talking about taking the advice of Tony Stark, then I hardly think that he's the best role model for you to emulate," Hermione retorted. "And exactly why aren't my spells working?"
"Parseltongue," Harry replied simply. "Figured that I needed a variant of the usual spells in case I encountered other witches or wizards. And as for Tony, I can get him on the phone for you if you like, I'm sure that he'd tell you the same thing I am."
Hermione scowled at him. "Make it Pepper and you've got a deal. Now. Undo those spells."
A simple wave of his hand preceded him lowering his hood.
"You've got to admit that it'd be better than going as myself," Harry said.
"No, I do not," Hermione replied. "You may wear the hood up, but no obscuring spells if you expect me to be seen with you in public."
Reluctantly, he nodded and she gave her own nod of satisfaction.
"Now, start talking. I never knew you were so good at wandless magic?" she stated.
Harry laughed. "Figured I needed an edge. It's not easy and my spell repertoire is limited, but it has its uses."
"You will teach me, won't you, Harry?" she asked, her eyes never leaving his.
"Never thought anything different," he replied.
ooo00ooo
Harry stepped from the floo into the Leaky Cauldron and stopped dead. It was almost as though he'd stepped back in time!
Everything was near identical to the very first time that Hagrid had brought him here when he was eleven – the place was dark and gloomy; patrons sat around at the tables nursing pints or glasses of strange coloured beverages; a group of what looked to be hags occupied one corner table; and there was a light covering of dirt on the walls. Even the slight smoky haze near the ceiling emphasised the old-world feel that permeated the tavern.
The only difference from all those years ago was that old Tom was no longer standing behind the bar wiping a glass. Now it was a blonde woman that looked vaguely familiar.
"Hannah Longbottom," Hermione whispered into his ear and Harry gave a slight nod of thanks for the reminder.
With that first encounter at the Cauldron uppermost in his mind and what had happened then, Harry wasted no time in striding forth, intent on reaching the back courtyard.
"Hi, Hermione!" a bright-sounding voice greeted.
"Hi, Hannah," Hermione replied. Then, as Harry refused to stop, "I'll have to catch up with you later, apparently we're in a rush."
The intake of breath that came from the far side of the bar told Harry that Hannah had recognised him. Thankfully, she didn't make a scene.
"Make sure you stop by Hogwarts soon," Hannah called after them. "I think there's someone there that'd love to see you."
Harry paused in the courtyard before tapping the bricks to make the portal to Diagon Alley open.
"She's right," Harry stated, cutting off Hermione before she could remark on his rudeness. "I need to get up to Hogwarts today instead of waiting until the weekend. Teddy's there and he's bound to have seen that article."
"You're right, Harry," Hermione agreed. "Somehow, though, I think Hannah meant Neville."
Harry nodded. "Well, yes, it'll be great to see Nev again as well."
A quick flick of his wrist brought his wand to bear before he tapped the remembered sequence of bricks.
Once again, Harry felt that odd sense of déjà vu. The Alley was the almost exactly the same as he remembered it. Oh, there might have been a store or two different, but it was all the same, cobblestones and all. As Harry stared at the place, he began to wonder whether it'd changed in the slightest in the past couple of hundred years!
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