Forsaken
folder
Harry Potter › Het - Male/Female
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
50
Views:
2,142
Reviews:
4
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
Harry Potter › Het - Male/Female
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
50
Views:
2,142
Reviews:
4
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Adventures in Shopping
Disclaimer: JKR owns Harry Potter.
~~+~~+~~+~~
Chapter 10- Adventures in Shopping
Harry couldn’t believe his luck. Here he was, walking down Diagon Alley, chaperone free. He was shocked to see almost no one out and about. The main drag of the Alley was nearly deserted, and everyone that was out looked as if they had tics in the necks, always craning their heads around behind them. Their nervousness was contagious, causing Harry to hurry in through the silver doors of the bank. He lowered the hood of Severus’s cloak, looking around for a free goblin.
“Harry?” cried a voice from across the room. Harry turned and saw Bill rushing towards him, a bandage still covering one side of his face.
“Hey Bill,” said Harry. Bill stuck out his hand and shook Harry’s.
“What are you doing here?” asked Bill quietly. “Ron’s been asking about you non-stop.” Harry smiled, trying to act as casual as possible.
“I just needed to get an account summary and get a bit of money, that’s all,” said Harry. He reached into his pocket, making sure that his key was still safely where he’d put it. He avoided Bill’s inquisitive gaze, looking towards the main counter.
“I can help you out, if you want,” said Bill softly. “The goblins are down right rude these days. It’ll be faster and much less painful if I do it.” He waved Harry over to his desk, motioning for him to sit down. Harry handed him his key. “I’ll be a few minutes. How much did you need, again?”
“Uh,” said Harry, mentally adding up some figures. “I think 300 galleons ought to be plenty, with fifty galleons worth in pounds.” Bill raised both eyebrows at the amount, but nodded.
“Sure thing, Harry,” said Bill in slight shock. He turned and walked towards the back room, leaving Harry to sit in the main lobby. He watched one goblin in particular count out about a dozen beautiful emeralds, tie them into a sack and hand them very carefully to another goblin who was waiting behind him, along with a scrap of parchment.
“And make sure they get where they’re supposed to be,” growled the goblin. “I don’t want him to send us another owl about how he’s missing something.”
“Here you go, Harry,” said Bill, setting a sack full of galleons on his desk. Harry turned back around as Bill handed him an envelope full of bills. “Your muggle money. Oh, and here’s your bank portfolio.” He handed Harry a slim folder. “It has information and documentation on everything the bank is holding or tracking in your name.”
Harry opened it and read through the first page. His jaw dropped at the amount noted at the bottom of the page.
“There’s got to be a mistake,” whispered Harry. Bill reached over and pulled up the folder to see the front.
“Nope, it’s yours,” said Bill, sitting back down. “Those figures are as of yesterday at five. Any trading that’s gone on at the Exchange this morning won’t be reflected on any of the stock reports.”
“Stock reports,” mouthed Harry, flipping through some of the pages. He stopped at one page decorated with the Nimbus Racing Broom Company’s logo. His eyes nearly popped out of his sockets at the price and number of shares that Sirius had left him.
“That’s a great stock to have right now,” said Bill, reading the page upside down. “The requests they’ve gotten for Firebolts from all of the professional Quidditch teams has really given them the edge over Cleansweep.” Harry shut the folder and slipped it into his cloak pocket, completely floored.
“Yeah,” muttered Harry. He took his money and stood up. “Thanks for all your help, Bill. Say hi to your family for me.”
“I will,” said Bill, giving Harry a grin. “See ya around, Harry.”
Harry walked out of the bank in a daze. He had more money than he had ever dreamed of. There was no possible way he could spend everything in his vaults. And if that wasn’t enough, Sirius’s stocks were making him money hand over fist without him even doing anything. He gave his head a shake and hurried down the sidewalk to Madam Malkin’s. He walked in the door, causing a bell to ring somewhere in the back room. A plump witch hurried out to the front counter.
“Mr. Potter,” gasped Madam Malkin, grabbing Harry’s hand and pumping it excitedly. “It is an honor. What can I do for you today?”
“I need some new robes,” said Harry. Malkin dragged him over to a stool set in front of a huge mirror.
“Up you go,” said Malkin. Harry stepped up as Malkin pulled a set of plain black robes over his head. “Hogwarts, correct?”
“Uh, actually,” said Harry. “I didn’t mean school robes.” Malkin’s smile got larger, spreading from ear to ear.
“I understand completely, dear,” she said, pulling the robes back over Harry’s head. “We just got in the newest robes from Paris. Here we are.” She held up a garish set of robes in light orange with an edging of red stitching running down the length of it. “Just thirty galleons, Mr. Potter. Quite a deal.”
“Not my color really,” muttered Harry. “Do you have anything in, uh, dark green or blue?” Her face faltered slightly, but she turned and gathered up several sets of robes.
Three hours later, Harry left Malkin’s with several bags full of parcels - robes in various dark, rich colors, along with a new set of black dress robes and a couple of new cloaks. Malkin also showed him some of their new muggle lines, talking him into buying several pairs of trousers and about twelve shirts and tunics. He was exhausted and had very little money left.
He walked down the Alley to the gaudy purple building and smiled at the sign that still hung in the window. He pushed open the door and froze at the sight of boxes everywhere.
“Can’t you read?” yelled an angry voice from the back office. “We’re closed! Get the bloody hell out!”
“Fred?” shouted Harry. “George?” A pair of red heads appeared in the hallway.
“Harry!” cried George. He ran down the hall with Fred. “What are you doing here?”
“I was about to ask you the same thing,” said Harry, looking around at the stacks and stacks of boxes.
“Damn Ministry’s what happened to us,” said Fred bitterly, sticking his hands in his pocket as he leaned against the wall. “The Aurors came in here and confiscated everything they thought was dangerous. Something to do with that bastard Malfoy using our Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder in his attack on the school.”
“I’m surprised they left all this stuff here, then,” teased Harry. He only got half-hearted grins in return.
“Robards came waltzing in here the other day,” said George, “saying he was here on the Minister’s orders --“
“-claiming that our shop was selling dangerous weapons to Death Eaters --” continued Fred.
“And that we had to close the shop until further notice,” they said furiously in unison.
“They can’t do that!” said Harry. “How are you to know what your customers are going to use the stuff for?”
“We tried to explain that to that moron Robards,” said Fred, packing up another box. “But of course, he wasn’t in a mood to listen to us.”
“So what are you going to do now?” asked Harry, helping George carry some boxes to the back store room. George set down the box in his arms and grinned mischievously at Harry.
“They didn’t tell us to stop making stuff,” said George smugly. “We just had to close the shop.”
“Now that’s the Fred and George Weasley I know,” said Harry, giving George a high five. He peeked inside a box of Puking Pasties and remembered Snape’s request.
“So,” said Harry breezily, “you guys got any new products to dazzle me with?” Fred’s face fell as he dumped some Canary Creams into a box. One burst in a poof of feathers.
“No, unfortunately,” said Fred sadly. “The Aurors took all of the ones in production we had down here in the lab. Of course, the recipes are locked in our vault.” He grinned in triumph.
“They only had a search warrant for the shop, not our loft upstairs. Good thing too - we had just moved all of the stuff we were working on for the Order up there so we could move some merchandise around, or we’d have been screwed six ways from Sunday. But with all the packing we’ve had to do, we haven’t been able to work on anything lately.” Harry sighed, looking around at the windowless room.
“Did you guys need any help?” asked Harry, grabbing the edge of a heavy box that Fred was trying to lift on top of another.
“Oh, thanks, but we’re mostly done,” said George. “You want to come to our house for supper? Mum’s cooking shepherd’s pie.”
“No, no,” said Harry, “I’ve got to get - I’ve got to get home.” Fred glanced quickly at George.
“Well, Potter,” said George, his face becoming very serious. “We’d like a word with you before you go off and do whatever it is you hero types do in your free time.”
“Oh?” said Harry nervously, bracing himself for the worst. Fred and George walked towards him, crossing their arms across their chests. “What is it?”
“Write our sister, will ya?” said Fred, poking a finger into Harry’s chest. Harry sighed in relief, rubbing his chest.
“I will,” said Harry. At their skeptical faces, he laughed. “No, I will. I’ve just been really - um - busy lately.”
“Well, we’ll just see about that, Mr. Potter,” said George, walking him out of the shop. “If you don’t keep your word, we might just have to kill you. Voldemort would be shit out of luck.”
“Alright, alright,” said Harry, pulling the door open and lifting his hood over his head. He picked up his bags of clothes. “See you guys.”
“See ya, Harry,” said Fred and George. Harry heard them lock the door behind him as he walked leisurely down the Alley. He stood and admired the brooms in the window of Quality Quidditch Supplies before walking on to the Apparition point. He froze at the sight of platinum blond hair out of the corner of his eye. He looked again, but didn’t see anything. He was sorely tempted to check things out, but a very strange feeling came over him - the feeling that he didn’t want to disobey Snape’s instructions. What the hell? he thought to himself. He sighed and disapparated back to the bridge.
He walked over the bridge, the hair on his neck standing on end. He quickened his pace, every now and then ducking into an alley and looking behind him. No one was ever there. He ran the last block down Spinner’s End, bursting through Severus’s door and slamming it shut behind him. He walked slowly into the sitting room and watched Severus take a drink, looking at him from over the top of his glass. Harry dropped his bags and flopped onto the couch, not really caring if Severus would mind or not. Severus picked up his half-finished cigarette from the ashtray and took a pull.
“So, how’d it go?” asked Severus, exhaling a cloud of smoke. Wordlessly, Harry pulled out the folder from his pocket and handed it to Severus. Severus opened it and read the summary page.
“Holy shit,” muttered Severus. He flipped slowly through each page, scanning over the deeds to property in Godric’s Hollow, two houses in London, one in France and Italy, and even a beach house in the south of Spain. He slowly thumbed through the stock reports, reading over the stocks in various small companies, as well as the page on the Nimbus stocks.
“Damn,” said Severus, crushing out his cigarette. “I knew I should have picked up some of those shares. Bit pricey now, though.”
“Oh, but those prices are only current as of yesterday at five,” said Harry sardonically. Severus grinned at him as he shut the folder and tossed it onto the table.
“Well, if this whole hunting dark wizards thing doesn’t pan out,” said Severus, “you can always buy a few more houses and maybe even a Quidditch team.” Harry moaned into the couch. Severus laughed, causing Harry to look up in shock. He’d never heard Snape laugh before.
“I think you’re the only person I’ve ever met that wails in despair over discovering he has 754 million galleons to his name,” said Severus. Harry rolled over onto his back, staring up at the ceiling.
“Bloody hell,” murmured Harry. Severus shut the book he was reading and set it on the table, looking expectantly at Harry. Harry felt eyes on him and glanced at him.
“Oh, sorry,” said Harry. “Fred and George didn’t have anything new. They said the Aurors had forced them to close their shop.” Severus sat bolt upright in his chair. “They had packed up their entire stock, but luckily, all the stuff for the Order had been in their apartment, so the Aurors couldn’t touch it.”
“Thank God,” muttered Severus, relaxing back into his chair. “They say why the Aurors were so keen on getting their hands on a bunch of joke products?”
“Malfoy bought some Peruvian Darkness Powder from them last summer,” said Harry cautiously, purposely keeping his tone as blank as possible. “Ginny said that he used it to smuggle the Death Eaters into the castle through his Vanishing Cabinets, so the Aurors were on Fred and George for selling dangerous products.” Severus shook his head.
“Of all the things to be worried about,” muttered Severus. He picked up his glass and drained the rest of his jack and coke. “I assume you did, in fact, get some clothes.” Harry waved his hand at the five bags near the door. “Good. If you would get them out of my sitting room, I would appreciate it.” Harry heaved himself up off the couch. He unclasped Severus cloak from around his neck and handed it to Severus.
“You hungry, Potter?” asked Severus, getting up to lay his cloak on the back of his chair. Harry grabbed his bags and walked towards the staircase, stopping before the bookshelf.
“A bit,” said Harry, looking for a handle. “Uh - how exactly do you open this thing?” Severus stepped over and pulled on the spine of volume seventeen of The Complete Potions Compendium. The catches unlocked.
“Thanks,” said Harry quickly, ducking through the door. Severus watched him for a few seconds, marveling at how dissimilar this version of the boy was compared to the one he had dealt with for six years prior. Where was the arrogance that he had grown so used to dealing with, the disrespect for authority? He was going to have to watch himself or he might actually start liking the kid. He walked to the kitchen and opened his pantry. He set his hand on the shelf, gently pushing aside the jars and jars of potions ingredients in search of anything to eat.
“So what’s for dinner?” asked Harry, causing Severus to jump clear out of his skin. Harry quickly backed against the stove.
“Shit,” muttered Severus, putting a hand to his chest as his heart dislodged itself from his throat. He shut the pantry door and pulled open the refrigerator, staring glumly at the very few nonfood items in the door. Harry looked around him.
“Well, I suppose we could have wine for dinner,” said Harry, his lips twitching upwards. Severus sighed, closing the door.
“We could,” he said, running a hand through his hair. “However, it’s not the most satisfying meal, speaking from experience.” He looked at Harry, still dressed in the robes Severus had given him. “Come with me. We’re going out.”
“Out?” repeated Harry warily. “Out where?”
“You’re hungry, aren’t you?” said Severus, walking through the sitting room and up the stairs. Harry rushed after him.
“Yeah, but -“
“Well, so am I,” said Severus simply. He pushed open his bedroom door and kicked a clear path to his closet. Harry checked himself on the threshold, gazing around at the clutter that was so abnormal compared to the rest of the house. There were more bookshelves lining the walls of this room as well, filled with very old books. The spines were so faded that he couldn’t read the titles. He eyed the closet before quietly walking over to a shelf. He gently ran his fingers over the leather covers, leaning closer to make out the titles. He froze when Severus pressed a grey suit jacket against his back.
“I didn’t touch anything, I swear,” said Harry quickly, holding his hands up. Severus chuckled, smoothing out the sleeves along Harry’s arms.
“Guilt conscience, I see,” said Severus, handing the jacket to Harry, along with a dark red button down shirt and a pair of grey trousers. “We’ll have to work on that.” Harry chuckled half-heartedly.
“Old habits die hard, I guess,” he said softly, draping the clothes over his arm and avoiding Severus’s gaze. Severus ruffled the boy’s messy hair, causing Harry to look up at him strangely.
“We’ll have to work on those, too,” said Severus quietly. “Now go get dressed. I’m hungry.”