(Word Count: 2,546)
The decision to involve Draco in getting the diary did not come lightly. In reality, Harry had no need for his help, and could get the diary easily by talking to Ginny. He believed she would hand it over without any issue.
Well… the Weasley's had mentioned in their letter that they forgave him, so she should still trust him, right?
However, by getting Draco to help, even if he only plays a small part in it, this would mark the first time he would specifically go against his father's plans. It was little moments like this that would help Draco realize that his father can make mistakes and is not the end-all be-all. Once he realizes that, then Draco can begin to think that maybe his father is also wrong about pureblood supremacy.
With that sorted, the two boys used the floo to travel to the Leaky Cauldron and made their way to the entrance of Diagon Alley. Before they entered, Harry cast a subtle Notice-Me-Not charm on himself—keyed to only work on strangers—so he didn't get swarmed by fans. He would get crowded before but now, with all of that publicity he got in the dueling tournament, he didn't want to think about it. So he didn't risk it.
Draco looked at him askance. "What was that for, Potter?"
"Just a Notice-me-Not charm. I'd rather do our shopping without all of the attention," Harry explained.
Draco raised an eyebrow. "I thought you would have been used to it by now. You can't seem to do anything these days without landing on the front page."
"And that's precisely why it can get so exhausting. I'd rather have a little bit of peace today, thank you very much."
Draco gave him a look that suggested he found the idea absurd but did not press further. He would just have to experience it himself one day to understand.
They stepped into Diagon Alley and found the street packed full, with a particularly large crowd outside Flourish and Blotts. Diagon Alley was normally packed this time of year as all of the students came to do their school shopping, but today went far beyond that. Today's crowd wasn't just student families, but now many fans of Gilderoy Lockhart showed up for his book signing.
Glances from passers-by slid off of them as they made their way to the crowded bookstore.
"Ugh, do we really have to wait here? It's so crowded. Why don't we wait at Fortescue's instead?" Draco suggested after being bumped one too many times.
"We can go to the second floor, I don't think anyone's up there. Everyone's on the ground floor for the book signing. Besides, I see some friends of mine and I'd like to say hello," Harry said.
It was easy to spot the Weasleys from the crowd. All he had to do was spot the large island of red heads that stood above the crowd. All of the Weasley boys were tall and lanky, making them impossible to miss.
They all stood near the entrance, carrying armfuls of packages they've accumulated as they've already done most of their shopping. Mrs. Weasley was craning her neck trying to see through the crowd to get a better look at Gilderoy Lockhart—she was a Prewitt and didn't have the Weasley's tall genes—holding a stack of second hand books, presumably all of Lockhart's books he had placed on the required reading list.
Fred, George, and Ron all looked bored out of their minds and would rather be anywhere else right now, though the twins hid their long-suffering a bit better. Percy was business like, and was reviewing some sort of list.
Ginny was there, hugging a small black cauldron filled with packaged potions ingredients to her chest. She was talking excitedly with Hermione. The two of them seemed to be gushing over the "hero" Lockhart.
Mr. Weasley didn't seem interested at all in the book store and was conversing enthusiastically with Dan and Emma Granger.
Draco noticed them as well and made a disgusted face but wisely kept his thoughts to himself. "Why don't you go ahead, I'll just… browse the second floor."
"You don't want to meet them?" Harry asked.
"Just because you're tolerable doesn't mean I have to go make friends with the Weasley's of all people. The Weasley twins have been harassing Slytherin House every week. They're insufferable," Draco said with a pious sniff.
"Fair enough," Harry said.
They split up. Draco went up the stairs to get away from the crowd and Harry went to go greet his friends.
Ron noticed him first, what with him being bored of the event and looking around for anything to take his mind off of it. Harry's notice-me-not charm only worked on strangers after all.
Their eyes met and Ron's bored face changed to one filled with mixed emotion. The main ones Harry could feel, focusing on drowning out the rest of the crowd's turbulent and noisy emotions and thoughts, was guilt, relief, anger, loneliness, and… a bit of guarded mistrust, even if Ron himself didn't realize it.
Harry could feel it. Ron still considered him his friend, but now there was that bit of distance between them. Things couldn't go back to the way things were.
It was a bitter realization, but one that Harry had prepared for. 'All this for what? A mere stat point?' Harry wanted to curse. He had just wanted to do what Fate wanted, and help his friends gain some experience.
It made him think… should he have simply lied and said he didn't know how that chess match would have ended? Or at the very least that they had succeeded in stopping the thief that night, that there really was someone still trying to steal the stone.
It was a messy moral conundrum. What would it turn him into if he was constantly deceiving everyone around him, just to get a more preferable outcome? He didn't want to live like that. But he also didn't want to lose all of his friends.
Perhaps this is something to ask the portrait of Cassandra for advice on.
Ron shuffled from foot to foot awkwardly, not knowing what to say, before saying, "So… uh, congratulations on winning the dueling tournament. I heard it got pretty crazy over there."
"Heh," Harry half laughed and half scoffed. It wasn't exactly an apology, but it was a way of showing that he wanted things to go back to normal. An unspoken apology shown through action, though it only really worked if both sides understood what was happening. "Yeah… the reporters over there wouldn't let me have a moment's peace," Harry said, tacitly accepting the attempt for what it was.
Ron grimaced. "I'm surprised you haven't gone barmy! Have you seen what Witch Weekly's been saying about you?" He joked.
"Ugh, don't get me started," Harry groaned.
Their conversation eventually drew the attention of the rest of the Weasleys and Grangers.
"Harry!" Hermione yelled gleefully and rushed over to give him a hug.
"Hey, Hermione," Harry greeted, hugging her back. He looked over her shoulder through the bushy hair at the rest of the group.
No sooner did Hermione release him from her hug did the twins clap him on the shoulders, one hand on either side, "Well, look who it is! If it isn't Merlin reborn!" George said.
"At least, according to Witch Weekly," Fred said with a grin.
The two shared a look, and they both had the same thought: 'We're pranking the tar out of him once school starts.'
They may like him, but Ron was also their brother. They couldn't just let this go unanswered. Though give it a few pranks and they'd be square.
'Not that I'll just sit around and let myself be pranked.' Harry thought, already mentally going through some of his own prank ideas to retaliate.
Mrs. Weasley greeted him with a tight smile. She was really protective of her children and did not like what he had done, not one bit. When she heard Bill talking about his encounter with the seer in Egypt, she was trying to move past it, but she was having a hard time understanding it from Harry's point of view. Still, she was trying.
"Hello, Harry dear…" She started. "About that night, we've all had a discussion about it and we know you didn't mean it, but you can't go sneaking out at night breaking the school rules and trying to confront dark wizards! It was very irresponsible and far too dange—"
"Molly," Arthur put a hand on her shoulder to put a stop to it, and gave her a look. He turned to Harry and greeted him cheerfully. "Harry! Well done winning the tournament! Well done!"
He seemed to be the most understanding of the Weasleys, apart from Ginny. Harry couldn't feel any anger or lingering resentment from her at all.
"Thank you, Mr. Weasley," Harry said politely
"Great job, Harry!" Ginny cheered shyly. "I knew you would win!"
"Hey, Ginny. Thank you," Harry said. "And congratulations to you on getting into Hogwarts! Are you excited to start your first year?"
"Oh yes," she gushed, "We were just talking about it!" Ginny looked over to Hermione. "Fred and George told me we'd have to fight a troll to get sorted, but Hermione told me the truth."
"Spoilsport," the twins muttered under their breath.
Hermione just glared at them, and pulled the smaller group of her, Harry, Ginny, and Ron a little ways away to get out of the crowd. They were now at the base of the stairs leading up to the second floor. She huffed in annoyance, before turning back to Harry. "Harry, have you done your school shopping yet? We're already done, we just need to get Lockhart's books!" She asked.
"No, I've only just started. I figured I would start with the booklist," Harry said.
"Whoever the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor is, they must be a huge fan of Lockhart, if they've placed all of his books on the booklist," Ron commented.
"Who isn't? Don't you know everything he's done? Just look at how many adventures he's been on!" Ginny said.
"He's written practically the whole booklist!" Hermione gushed excitedly.
"Actually, Lockhart is the new defense professor, unfortunately," Harry said.
"What do you mean unfortunately?" Hermione asked somewhat defensively.
"His works are stolen, Hermione. He travels to distant places to investigate local heroes or anyone that's had a wondrous adventure, then he "interviews" them. Once he has all of the details needed to write his next story, he obliviates anyone involved, and modifies the memories of witnesses, and claims the deeds as his own. He wants glory and attention but is too cowardly to actually do anything. The man is vainglorious and utterly vile," Harry said matter of factly.
Hermione, Ginny, and Ron all paled as they listened.
"Oh Merlin. Mum's going to be so upset when this gets out. She fancies him," Ginny muttered.
"But, but… how can that be? If Dumbledore hired him as a professor, he can't have done all those things! Surely Dumbledore would know, or at least suspect something! Why would he hire someone like that?" Hermione said, grasping at straws.
Harry shrugged. "I don't actually know if Dumbledore is aware or not. My best guess is he doesn't know. Else, why would Dumbledore hire him? He may be the headmaster, but he's not omnipotent, or all-knowing. However, it will quickly become obvious just how incapable Lockhart is once he starts teaching, then Dumbledore will look into his so-called achievements and realize what he'd done."
"Bloody he—" Ron started to curse, but another voice came from above them.
"If what you're saying is true, Potter, then the standards of Hogwarts have truly fallen, just like my father always says."
Everyone looked up to see Draco Malfoy leaning against the bannister, idly flipping through a book, before closing it with a snap and tossing it onto a pile of books next to him. He glanced at all four of them in turn, meeting Ron's glare with a sneer, and made his way down the stairs to meet them.
He gave a proud smirk, "Weasely. I see there's yet another one of you. How many of you even are there? Are there another five of you waiting to crawl out of the cupboards?"
"Watch it, Malfoy!" Ron shouted angrily, his face scarlet. Ginny looked like she was ready to bash Malfoy's head in with the cauldron she was carrying.
Harry clapped him on the shoulder, and gave a warning squeeze. "Draco, do not insult my friends."
Draco shrugged his hand off with a wince. "Hmph," He adjusted his robe's lapels, shooting Harry an annoyed look. "As I was saying, I wonder what's going on in Dumbledore's head, where he hires just anyone to be a teacher. I mean, does Lockhart even have a mastery?"
"Having a mastery isn't actually a requirement to be a professor. You just need to have either taken your NEWTs for the subject in question, or achieved something in the field of study. We've just been blessed to have most of our professors be actual Masters," Harry explained. "On paper, Lockhart is a very decorated wizard, as well as an honorary member of the Dark Force Defense League. That's more than enough to earn a teaching position."
"Dumbledore knows what he's doing," Ron said. "I'm sure once we go tell him what Lockhart's been up to, he'll have him sacked and arrested as soon as possible!"
From the corner of his eye, Harry noticed the faces of Lucius and Narcissa approaching the bookstore. "Draco, your parents are here."
Draco stiffened momentarily from nerves. "Right," he muttered.
Hermione looked between the two of them with an odd look.
A few moments later, Lucius and Narcissa entered the store and found them. They came over just as Arthur Weasley did, who struggled over through the crowd together with Fred and George.
"Ron, Ginny! Why don't we head outside? It's far too crowded in here," he said.
Lucius Malfoy arrived at that moment, standing next to Draco placing a hand on his shoulder and giving Arthur a sneer similar to the one Draco had given Ron.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't Arthur Weasley," he said.
"Lucius," Arthur nodded coldly.
"Busy time at the Ministry, I hear," said Mr. Malfoy. "All those raids... I hope they're paying you overtime?"
He glanced over the Weasleys present with distaste but, surprisingly, he made no move towards Ginny's cauldron.
"Obviously not," Mr. Malfoy said. "Dear me, what's the use of being a disgrace to the name of wizard if they don't even pay you well for it?"
"We have a very different idea of what disgraces the name of wizard, Malfoy," Arthur said.
"Clearly," Lucius said. His eyes landed on Dan and Emma who were standing protectively on either side of Hermione. His eyes narrowed and his sneer deepened but, again, he didn't escalate. Instead, he turned to his son. "Come along, Draco."
He turned and left without another word.
Harry watched him go in shock. He had been watching carefully. Lucius hadn't delivered the diary. It was nowhere to be found.