The Love Of A Good Wizard

Comfort Zones

Minerva, thoroughly shaken, wanted to get back to Hogsmeade right away, but Pansy convinced her that they might as well do what they had come to London for; it might cheer them up. Their journey towards the Leaky Cauldron through still deserted streets was a slow one due to the rubble and shattered glass everywhere, but it seemed interminable to Harry.

Tom was being completely silent, walking very close to him and throwing sideways glances at him every so often. His expression was one of utter confusion and a kind of unease, but each time Harry returned his glance, and their eyes met, he seemed to make an effort to look calm. Harry already knew him too well to be fooled for a moment. Tom's tension was palpable, and he wanted nothing more than to ease it.

Diagon Alley should have been a sight for sore eyes after the mayhem of Muggle London. Instead, its bright colours and happily smiling shoppers and carefree child wizards demanding sweets and pet owls and broomsticks - and as a rule, getting what they wanted - were jarring and discordant, and all four of them felt it to varying degrees.

"Let's find a music shop and get back quickly, shall we?" Pansy said, shuddering a little.

"Fine with me." Harry looked at Tom. "Is there anywhere you want to go while we're here?" Tom merely shook his head; his continued silence was beginning to unsettle Harry intensely.

Minerva and Pansy offered to sort out the gramophone and some records by themselves, and Harry was grateful that he could simply remain behind with Tom; he suggested waiting at Flourish & Blotts, and Tom grunted softly. Harry assumed it was agreement.

Having no idea whether Tom had any money at all, Harry was self-conscious about buying anything, and he knew Tom wouldn't appreciate his offering to buy things for him. So he simply trailed his fingers listlessly along a row of books while Tom wandered off into the back of the shop. When Harry saw him again, he was heading towards the counter, placing a thick, tattered looking book there which didn't look at all magical. He inched closer, just managing to see the title as it was being packaged: Muggle Wars and Warfare. A thoughtful frown on his face, Harry went back to browsing until Tom was suddenly next to him.

"Do you want to get some ice-cream?" Tom offered, sounding almost normal, but he wasn't fooling Harry.

Harry shivered, both at his proximity and the pleasure of hearing him speak again at all, even if his voice was lacking its usual self-assurance. "Yes," he breathed, and followed Tom out of the shop.

* * *

They made it back to Hogwarts not long after the majority of students who had only been as far as Hogsmeade, and having shrunk their purchases, they weren't worried about being caught. It was therefore a surprise to Harry and Tom when they almost ran into Professor Slughorn on the way to the Slytherin common room.

"Ah, Tom. Just who I've been looking for," the short, rotund wizard said. "Good afternoon, Harry."

"Afternoon, Professor." Harry was unsure - were they in trouble?

"I have some good news, Tom," Slughorn said instead, and Tom's brows rose. "Come with me, I'd like to show you something."

Harry stepped aside, but Tom said, "Can Harry come along?"

"Yes. I don't see why not," Slughorn said, wandering off down the corridor. "I know you'll appreciate it, being a little more... well, private than most students. And more studious too, of course." Slughorn chatted all the way to the corridor leading towards the storeroom where Tom had found Minerva's sofa, but turning right instead of left, he took them to a door guarded by a painting of Poseidon. "There is no password yet, so you can set your own, of course," Slughorn stated.