Game On, Your Move

Chapter 10: Connect the Dots

In the wake of the Gobstones tournament, tension between Tom and Harry eased, replaced by kinship. Tom could now say with 95% confidence that Harry no longer harbored animosity towards him.

Meanwhile, research failed to progress. After weeks — or was it months now? — in the time loop, they had exhausted every tangentially related book from the library and from Dumbledore's personal collection. They were no closer to leaving the time loop than when they'd first begun their research.

"We need other resources," Harry said one morning. Instead of poring over books, he was doodling a particularly grumpy-looking man waving a cabbage leaf. "Can you get us access to your housemates' libraries?"

"I can, but they may not be that helpful," Tom said. "Most of them are getting ready for the ball, and by the time we gain admission to the libraries, we would have at most a few hours to read the books before the day resets."

"That's true, but unless we get our hands on more books, we've hit a dead end."

"I agree, which is why I have a better solution." Tom had been mulling over this for a while. "We should go to a bookstore."

"Like Flourish & Blotts?"

"No. The one I have in mind is owned by a distant relative of Caractacus Burke, so she sells secondhand books of more exotic origins, to put it kindly."

"I've been to Borgin & Burke. I can imagine the type of books we'd find."

"You have?" Tom said, surprised. "What were you doing there?"

"Floo mistake, so I ended up in Knockturn Alley instead of Diagon Alley. Nasty place, if you ask me."

"It's not for everyone," Tom acknowledged. Now was not the moment to mention he'd considered inquiring about summer jobs there. "Anyhow, because of that Borgin & Burke connection, she stocks books that are out of print, or books that aren't appropriate for most bookstores and libraries. Since we're in a time loop, we can buy as many books as we want."

"That's a good idea," Harry said, setting aside his doodle. "A really good idea, actually. Where is this bookstore? Is it easily accessible from Hogwarts?"

"Hogsmeade, so yes, quite accessible."

"And there's a Hogsmeade trip today," Harry said, catching on. "What are we waiting for then? Let's go catch the carriages."

Tom barely had time to assent before he was dragged out of the library.

Harry bounced with eagerness throughout the ride, and Tom was bubbling with excitement himself as the thestral-drawn carriage screeched to a stop. He sorely needed this change of scenery, even though he had started eschewing Hogsmeade trips in fourth year because they felt too juvenile.

To his surprise, Harry suggested exploring the village rather than heading straight to the bookstore.

"It's going to take us a few loops to find the right book," he explained, "so I might as well explore 1940s Hogsmeade first."

As it turned out, 1940s Hogsmeade wasn't too different from the one Harry knew. The majority of the shops would survive into the 1990s and, despite changes of ownership in the intervening years, sold similar merchandise.

"We've barely changed in the last five hundred years," Tom pointed out, when Harry voiced his disappointment. "What can you expect from five decades?"

The lack of novelty didn't stop Harry from visiting his favorite places. They went to Zonko's, where Harry almost knocked over a shelf of nose-biting teacups in his clumsiness; Gladrags, where he showed an alarming amount of interest in luridly-colored socks; and Honeydukes, where he loaded up on chocolates and treacle fudge.