Chapter 32: Chapter 8: A Visit to the Granger’s and a Prison Break. Part 1
The Granger family invited him for lunch on Sunday, which was two days away from now. He looked at his lackluster wardrobe and sighed.
Dobby popped right next to him and gave him a sniff of disapproval. "Is the Great and Fashionable Master Harry Potter Sir finally going to use his great fortune to buy some clothes?"
He rolled his eyes at the fanatic elf. Ever since Dobby found out the state of his wardrobe, he was not shy to voice his disgust. There were times that Dobby nearly set fire to his entire wardrobe, but Harry was forced to place a full-body-bind one too many times to stop him.
"Hardy harr harr Dobby, you would make a fine comedian."
Dobby gave him another look of disapproval. "Dobby would have enough misery looking master's wardrobe to make a lifetime of material. A little bit more and poor Dobby would be a butter-beer-alcoholic"
Harry groaned at the not too subtle barbs that Dobby threw at him. He understood his wardrobe was not the best. His life with his relatives made sure that he did not receive a stitch of nice clothing. However, that does not mean he has to wear the same garbage from before. Dobby was right, he needed a makeover.
"Alright, fine. But first, we are going to plan exactly what and how much we need to buy. I also know that we might buy extra once we get there, but it is a good habit to plan this stuff out."
Dobby nodded furiously as he popped away and came back with several clothing catalogues, both mundane and magical.
Harry sighed, "Oh boy…"
The two of them spent a good part of the afternoon and planned as to what purchases they would be making. From casual, business casual to more formal outfits, they planned everything.
The next day, they spent a good deal of time going from store to store buying various outfits and even left orders for tailored suits, which Harry thought was a waste as he was in a period of growth, but Dobby would have none of it.
Next, they spent their late afternoon shopping at the more high-end magical clothing store, Twilfit and Tattings. Here, they bought several pairs of formal robes and dress robes. The dress robes were set to magically fit to a certain extent; thus, he thought did not have to worry about replacing the robes anytime soon.
But as Dobby explained to his fashion-oblivious master, it would be inappropriate for some one of his social standing and wealth to constantly wear the same robes to various social events.
Flashback
Harry raised an eyebrow, "Do tell me why I have to keep 'updating my wardrobe'? Aren't these really high-end, and stupid expensive mind you, magical robes set to fit you anyway?'
Dobby huffed at his master's apparent stupidity. Or at least stupidity for him. "Great Master Harry Potter sir, I really think you banged your head against your mother's womb a little too hard."
Harry's eyebrows twitched at the ridiculous insult Dobby threw at him. Dobby ignored him and continued, "Master Harry, fashion trends come and go. You need to keep up with the latest trends to remain fashionably relevant."
Harry swore under his breath and then grumbled, "The hell if I care about some fashionable nonsense. No way am I going to be some poncy, incompetent, and an absurd git like Lockhart."
Dobby rolled his eyes and looked at him as if he were placating a toddler. "Master Harry, Dobby must tell you that improving your appearances does not really mean that master is some poncy git. It only bolsters master's image."
Harry rubbed his forehead with his left hand. "I do not care about what others think of me. They will think I am the savior today and think I am the next dark lord with a harem of veela the next."
Dobby looked at Harry quizzically. "A harem of veela? Can master even handle that? If so, Dobby must call you Great and Virile Master Harry Potter sir from now on. Also, are veela any pregnant? Dobby knows how to take care of baby masters and mistresses too."
Harry groaned and just smashed his face against the desk.
Flashback end.
After the tedious hours spent on shopping, he collapsed on the couch. Dobby looked at him with a hint of sympathy and went to prepare dinner for his master.
It was around 11 o'clock on Sunday when Dobby popped over Harry over to the Granger household. The wards that Dobby had were still applicable when he transports someone, but they do not last when he apparates himself.
Good, because human apparition is somehow the worst.
Harry wore a light blue short sleeved shirt, cream colored chino pants, and a nice pair of brown shoes. Overall, a decent outfit when you visit someone's house for the first time. Harry had an assortment of biscuits with him as a gift for the Grangers.
Harry walked up to the door and rang the bell. He heard to feet rapidly shuffle to the door and Hermione's voice yell out, "Coming!"
The door opened and a familiar brown-haired blur gave Harry a tight hug. Harry's eyes bulged out of his eye sockets at the force she hugged him, yet he smiled at the familiar embrace of his friend.
"Hermione, I can't breathe."
She let go of her friend and let out a brilliant smile. She took Harry's hand and guided him inside. That was when she did a double take on him.
Hermione looked up to meet his gaze, and her eyes widened. Her eyes roamed over Harry's form and noted the several physical changes that he had gone through. She flushed slightly. She cleared her throat.
"Ahem, I see you grew up a little this month or so and bought some clothes."
Harry nodded and smiled. "All thanks to Andy, my new healer. She is one of the nicest people I have ever met. Also, I took up boxing and physical training this summer."
Harry looked around for any signs of Dobby. Since he could not feel his magic, he whispered, "You got to thank Dobby for the outfit. He ran me ragged around London."
Hermione giggled and took a step back.
John and Claire now stood behind Hermione. Claire looked at her daughter with a hint of exasperation and John looked at the pair with amusement.
Claire spoke first, "You looked awfully cozy sweetheart."
"I wondered why she threw her book down and bustled all the way here. Nice to see you again Harry," John added and shook Harry's hand.
Clair kissed both of his cheeks and Harry flushed slightly at the gesture. Hermione blush deepened and she shot a glare at her parents. Harry simply chuckled. He took a couple of steps and handed over the biscuits to the parents.
"I thought it would be rude of me to enter empty handed, I hope you like them."
John chuckled as he took the gift. "You know, people think that we don't eat sweets because we are dentists. You might be the first one in a long while that brought biscuits as a gift to us."
Claire smiled and lead Harry to the living room. This house was like the Tonks family. There were a lot of photographs and other personal items neatly arranged around the house, except for the lack of magical items.
The furniture in the room looked relatively modern and Harry thought that the colors of the room contrasted very well with the furniture of the house.
Not that I know much interior design.
John clapped his hands together. "Now then, why don't you two kids get to whatever magical kids do nowadays. Claire and I will finish cooking lunch."
Harry and Hermione nodded, and the two adults disappeared into the kitchen. They both sat down on the couch. Hermione nibbled her lower lip. "So, what were you up to over the last few weeks?"
Harry did not really want to discuss the details about how he handled his relatives. The less said about them, the better. Plus, he felt immensely guilty about using magic on a mundane human.
"Harry?"
Harry gave her a tight smile. "I don't really want to discuss how I took care of my relatives. I feel ashamed of the way I handled them."
Hermione opened her mouth to press for details but decided to hold her tongue. She understood that Harry can be incredibly tight lipped about his relatives. Her mother told her while they were in France that children who come from abusive households tend to not be open about their families.
So, she kept her silence for now. She felt Harry bottled some intense emotions from his encounter with his relatives, and she will be right there when he needs an ear.
Harry relaxed in his chair. He was afraid Hermione would push him for details and he was grateful when she did not. It was a rarity for Hermione to not force the issue, but from the beginning of their friendship, she understood him in ways everyone else failed to.
He turned his gaze towards the window. "I got myself a law-wizard, who is Andy's husband. They are brilliant, and their daughter is wicked. She is a trainee Auror who left Hogwarts a year before we started our first year. But here is the best part, she is a metamorphmagus!"
She frowned and tilted her head slightly in confusion. She felt a slight pang of jealousy as Harry went on about another woman. Though her curiosity over a new subject won over. "Meta what now?
Harry shot her an impish grin. "Well, well, well. What do we have here? Is this something that the most brilliant Ms. Granger does not know?"
Hermione sniffed, turned her head away and crossed her arms out in front of her. Harry decided to ease up on the teasing. "Metamorphmagus. A person who has this ability can transform either a single or multiple part of their body to something completely different. Though they can't really change their height or weight by much. She transformed her nose into a beak once, it was really cool!"
Intrigued by the new piece of knowledge, she asked, "Can anyone learn this ability like being an Animagus or is it like parseltongue where you can only be born with it."
Harry shook his head. "You can only be born with it."
Hermione nodded and placed a finger on her chin. "I wonder how it works. It sounds fascinating to me."
Harry scratched the back of his head. "You can ask Andromeda or Tonks that when you meet them."
"Tonks? I thought their last name was Tonks."
Harry shivered slightly. "She-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named-By-Her-First-Name does not like her given name. She even hung me from the ceiling once until I stopped using her name. Until her mum found out what she did and blasted her to kingdom come."
Hermione laughed and Harry huffed at his friend's amusement. Harry waited till Hermione calmed down before continuing with the rest of his update. "Andromeda put me on a whole bunch of potions and gave my inoculations last week. Ted and I have been working on my finances. What else do you want to know?"
Hermione bounced in her seat excitedly. "What about magic? Were you really able to cast safely away from school? So, you did not get into trouble? What magic did you learn? How far did you progress? You said you found some magic books that had topics that were not covered in Hogwarts, how were they?"
Harry's head spun with all the questions she was asked. He was sure he heard a snicker from somewhere in the house, but Hermione did not seem to notice. He took a deep breath and held both his hands up.
"Breathe Hermione. I don't think I remembered all of your questions."
Hermione looked slightly embarrassed by her onslaught. Harry smiled as he took his time to remember the questions. "I bought all the books that were used for all seven years in Hogwarts for all the wand related subjects and OWL levels for runes and arithmancy. I found books on healing, magic perception, and elemental magic."
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Quatroquatro
Quatroquatro Hello All,
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P.S. Chapter 8 is up in Fanfiction dot net, Chapter 9 will be up within the next two days.
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