Harry McGonagall

Chapter 23 - European Summer

Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.

Harry McGonagall – Chapter 23 – European Summer

The trip to Great America was very similar to the one from the previous year, with two exceptions. One is that the Grangers weren't there, and the second is that Brianna was now tall enough to ride the exciting rollercoasters, which she made sure to do. Just as last year, neither Harry's dad nor Aunt Minnie went on the thrilling rides. Aside from the lines at the best rollercoasters, it was a very fun-filled day, and the topic of Sirius Black didn't come up for the rest of Harry Potter's birthday.

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A few days later, the McGonagall kids were taken to the dentist and eye doctor, although this time, they decided to use the magical eye doctor when Harry mentioned, "I've been thinking about getting contact lenses, and I heard the magical ones are better. Last week, Paul Grabowski told me that a few years ago, a muggle-born became an eye healer and developed magical contact lenses. They aren't too popular among the purebloods and older wizards, but a lot of muggle-borns get them and haven't had any complaints. Paul hardly knows he's wearing them." They made an appointment for both kids with the eye healer in Little Salem, and so the McGonagall family found itself standing outside of a building with a sign that showed a pair of brown eyes moving around, apparently looking at everybody. Underneath them it said Healer Eugene's Eye Examinations. "Well, this is the place," stated Mark as he opened the door. Although there was no bell on the door, they heard a distinct ring as they walked inside. The walls were lined with shelves full of glasses of all shapes and sizes. There was even a shelf with magical eyes spinning around. Harry looked around in fascination, noticing a sign that advertised special features available for all glasses and contact lenses. These included night vision, the ability to see through any object, the ability to see through invisibility cloaks, and a zooming in feature. A voice asking, "May I help you?" pulled Harry from his browsing. He turned to see a young dark-skinned witch in a yellow robe looking at his parents. Cindy answered, "Yes. We have an appointment for both our children – Harry and Brianna McGonagall – to have their eyes checked. So far, Brianna hasn't needed glasses, and Harry is interested in getting contact lenses." The receptionist turned her attention to Harry and seemed to be staring at his eyes. "Yes," she commented. "I can see why you don't want to hide those lovely green eyes of yours, young man. I'll bet all the girls will enjoy staring into them." Harry blushed at this statement, but didn't respond. They were then given roles of parchment to fill out.

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Harry's appointment was first, so he walked into the office where the eye healer was waiting for him. The friendly wizard said, "I understand that this is your first magical eye exam," after glancing at a role of parchment.

"Yes," he responded, suddenly a bit nervous.

"Well, this exam is much easier than the muggle ones where you have to keep choosing what looks better or worse. I just perform a few spells on your eyes. You won't feel a thing." "All right."

"Now, just take off your glasses."

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About twenty minutes later, Harry left the office with a big smile on his face and his old glasses in his pocket. "Harry," asked Cindy, "Did you already get your contact lenses?" "Yes," he replied happily. "He told me that I don't have to take them off at all, and a sticking charm is making sure they'll never accidentally come off. There's just a spell I need to perform on my eyes every day for about a month to moisturize them, until they're used to the contacts. He said that muggle contact lens eye drops could be used two or three times a day instead of the spell, if for some reason I couldn't perform it." Cindy looked her son in the eyes. "I agree with the receptionist," she whispered. "The girls will like gazing into your eyes." "Mom!" he hissed. "Especially Hermione." He blushed and turned away from his mother, just in time to see Brianna walk into the office. -HM-HM-HM- When Brianna returned, she heard her brother arguing with their mother. "But mom, I think that feature would be great." "Maybe so, dear, but I don't think the girls at Hogwarts will appreciate you having x-ray vision." "They don't need to know..." "That's final, Harry." "Fine," he responded in a huff that Brianna could tell was fake. She realized that Harry was just having fun – trying to get a reaction from their mother. She knew he never expected to get contact lenses that see through everything. "Can I get the other features?" he asked. "Maybe next year we'll get you one," she answered, "but not this year." She then turned to face her daughter. "How'd it go? Are your eyes still perfect?" "Always," Brianna admitted with a grin. "Lucky," commented Harry, causing his sister to stick out her tongue. -HM-HM-HM- 'This is Privet Drive,' the traveler thought to himself as he looked up at the street sign. He had looked up his destination in the local Felytone book, and was now searching for Number 4. Aside from the addresses, it was nearly impossible to tell one house from the other in this boring neighborhood. He peered through the window and saw an overly large man with a bushy mustache sitting down at the dinner table with his horse-faced (yet familiar-looking) wife, a boy who appeared to be the size of a small whale, and a dog-faced woman. The stranger watched and waited, hiding behind a bush to avoid being noticed by the neighbors. His black fur helped him to remain unnoticed. The bulky man and dog-faced woman both consumed an exorbitant amount of alcohol while the stranger kept quietly waiting for his opportunity to find out if his godson were there. Finally, the intoxicated adults, as well as the fat kid, left the room and went up the stairs, leaving the horse-faced woman who he'd seen with Lily at Kings Cross Station years before alone to wash the dishes. The escaped prisoner of Azkaban morphed into a man and walked up to the door. -HM-HM-HM- "Hermione! It's great to see you!" Harry exclaimed as he was suddenly embraced by his best friend. Much to his surprise, the Grangers were waiting at the airport when his family floo'd to England. It was a few days before the August 9th Quidditch match in France. "It's good to see you, too!" she exclaimed. "You look good without those glasses," she blurted out before both of them blushed and released each other. "Aren't you gonna kiss?" asked Brianna, earning a glare from her brother, who then turned to greet Hermione's parents, who welcomed them all back to England. "We should be going," said Minerva. "Adam, Marissa, will you join us for dinner?" -HM-HM-HM- After spending a few hours at a fancy restaurant with the Grangers, the McGonagalls made their way to their family manor. They'd only been there for a few minutes when the floo activated and the face of a wizened old wizard with white hair and beard, which, from that perspective, seemed to be on fire, appeared. Harry, who was closest to the fireplace, found the sight amusing, but managed to avoid laughing. "Greetings, Mr. Potter," he politely greeted the teenager. "Hello, Mr. Dumbledore," he said noncommittally, not sure how he should respond to his former headmaster. "If you don't mind, sir, I prefer McGonagall." "Very well, Mr. McGonagall," he replied with a twinkle in his eyes. "Thank you." He decided to add, "Thanks for keeping my secret." "It's no bother." "Albus," asked Minerva, who just approached. "Is something wrong?" "I'm afraid so," he nodded grimly. "Sirius Black paid the Dursleys a visit today." "WHAT?" exclaimed all the McGonagalls at once. Harry sadly asked, "Are they...dead?" "Fortunately, no," answered the former headmaster. "I placed wards on their house to alert me if a wizard were to approach their property. When I got there, he had just left Petunia Dursley, who was very upset. He'd questioned her about Harry Potter's whereabouts, and determined that she'd been obliviated, but not that I had done it. He screamed at Mrs. Dursley and left." "But he wasn't able to learn anything to lead him to Harry?" asked Cindy. "No," answered Dumbledore. "And I obliviated Mrs. Dursley of the entire incident." "Why didn't he kill her?" asked Harry's sister. "Brianna!" yelled Mark. "You should never wish someone dead!" "I wasn't wishing her dead," she argued. "I simply was curious why he didn't kill her, since he didn't have any problem with killing before." Albus commented, "Young Miss McGonagall does raise a good question that I can't readily answer. Perhaps he sensed that he had tripped a ward and knew he didn't have time." The conversation went on for a little while after that, and finally Dumbledore's head returned to the other end of the floo call. -HM-HM-HM- The next day, the family met up with the Grangers in Diagon Alley for school shopping. Brianna still had her brown eagle owl, Barnabus, so she didn't get a new pet. Hermione already had both an owl and a cat, so she wasn't getting any new pets either. Therefore, they only picked up pet supplies without taking long to look at the animals. Officially, Brianna had left her Silver Bullet broom in America, since she couldn't bring it to Hogwarts anyway. Unofficially, Harry had it hidden with his stuff, since he still owed her for helping him smuggle in his Lightning Bolt during his first year. In any case, they did look at the Quidditch supplies, noticing the Firebolts, and Harry got a new pair of Seeker gloves, as well as a new broom service kit. They went into Flourish and Blotts next, and after Brianna had gotten her books, Hermione still wanted to stay there browsing. The Grangers stayed with their daughter, as well as Harry, while the rest of the McGonagalls went off to other stores after Brianna wished Harry and Hermione to, "Enjoy your date," causing them both to blush. Once they were out of that store, Brianna surprised her parents and aunt by asking, "Can I get a new wand at Ollivanders?" "Are you having trouble with your old one?" asked Cindy. "No, but Harry..." "Harry's first wand didn't entirely suit him," explained Minerva. "But it still worked for him," argued Brianna. "I thought I could get one as a spare just like him." Mark looked at his wife, who shrugged her shoulders. "All right, but that'll be the only extra thing we're getting you." She pulled two galleons out of her pocket and asked, "Is this enough to get a holster like Harry's?" -HM-HM-HM- In the meantime, both third-years had picked out extra books and purchased them. They left the book store and walked around the alley, with Hermione's parents staying back a bit to give them privacy. "I wish Brianna would stop saying stuff like that." Hermione looked slightly hurt, but Harry didn't see her face since they were both walking. "Is the idea of dating me that horrible?" Harry's eyes widened as his face paled. "I, No, I didn't mean...um. I didn't mean anything against you. It's just that if I, um, we wanted to date, we could handle it ourselves and not need her pushing us to do it." He then quickly added, "I'm, er, not entirely opposed to the idea. I'd just prefer it to be my idea." "Really?" she asked, sounding neutral. He cleared his throat. "Maybe if I decided I, er, wanted to date, y'know...theoretically." "Theoretically?" she repeated. He swallowed before saying, "Yeah. What store do we need to visit next?" he asked, quite obviously changing the subject before walking a bit faster. Sighing, she answered, "We should pick up more C.A.R.E. badges." "Good idea." Harry acted a bit awkward for the rest of the day until they met up with the rest of the McGonagalls, where they found that Brianna had managed to talk Ollivander into selling her a wand and holster. Soon after that, they went to their respective houses. That night, when Harry and Hermione had their usual mirror-call, they both acted normally again, completely ignoring the conversation they'd had earlier in the day. -HM-HM-HM- "It's time to get up." Blinking as his groggy head began to clear, Harry focused his eyes on the person who had just shaken him awake – his dad. He blinked again and slightly smiled at the fact that his father's face was not blurry. He'd only had his magical contacts for less than two weeks, and still wasn't used to being able to see properly. He summoned his wand from its holster (he always slept with one of his holsters on) and performed the moisturizing spell on his eyes as he said, "All right. I'm up." Fifteen minutes later, Harry, with his hair still wet from the shower, arrived in the common room of his family's manor. The three adult occupants were sitting on the sofa. "Good morning, Harry." "Morning, Aunt Minnie." "Mornin' everyone," said Brianna, as she walked into the room stifling a yawn. "How long until the Portkey activates?" asked Harry. His mom answered, "Five minutes." He frowned at that statement. "Aren't we having breakfast?" "Don't you remember?" asked his dad. "We're going to be eating at the campsite with the Grangers and Patils." "But I'm hungry now," he argued. "I'm sorry, son. But we don't have time to get you anything. Unless you don't want to go to the game." "Fine," Harry replied as his stomach growled. "We'd better all start holding the portkey now," commanded Aunt Minnie as she picked up a length of rope and tossed one end toward the kids. "It's going to activate in about thirty seconds." They waited in silence until the familiar sensation of being tugged by one's navel overtook them. Harry's feet touched the ground for about a second before he fell backwards, landing on his posterior. He glared at his sister, who'd held onto their mom to avoid falling, and was now laughing at him. "Harry!" a familiar voice called from behind him. He quickly got to his feet while Hermione asked, "Are you all right?" "I'm fine," he replied. "Hi, guys!" greeted Padma Patil as she, along with her sister and parents, approached the group. "Hi, Padma," responded Hermione. "Hi, Parvati." At that point, an official-looking wizard approached the group, and began speaking in what Harry assumed was French, since they were in Le Mans, France. The Grangers conversed with him for a few minutes before telling them the direction they needed to walk. -HM-HM-HM-