Bad [Harry Potter Fanfiction] (Bad Series: 1)

2 | The Leaky Cauldron

Harry spotted Hermione and Ron the second he stepped into the Leaky Cauldron. They sat in a corner booth, towards the back of the pub. He started over just as Hermione spotted him. She waved with a smile, but she was blocked by a wizard stepping into his path.

"Merlin's beard! It's Harry Potter!" He grabbed Harry's hand, shaking it.

Harry clenched his jaw to keep the words buried inside of him. Would it never end? It'd been five years.

"Harry Potter!" someone else cried.

"Shite," he muttered and yanked his hand from the man's grip.

The cry went out across the pub, and in the mess, he slipped by, rushing to the corner and sliding into the corner booth. Once in, he muttered the disillusionment spell.

"Harry," Hermione muttered.

"Just until it quiets down," he replied, leaning back.

She chewed her bottom lip but reached across the table and squeezed his hand. "How are you?" she asked, brushing a lock of dark hair behind her ear.

For a moment, he just stared at her. At them. Ron's arm thrown casually over the back of the booth, his fingers softly brushing against her shoulder. His best friends, married. It blew his mind. It was still new to him, for them too, he was sure.

Change wasn't something he enjoyed, but there were always things that stayed the same. Their friendship, his job, the public's reaction to him, and he couldn't forget the nightmares. Those would follow him to the grave.

He sighed and smiled slightly. "Good."

Leaning forward on her elbows, she took him in. "How are you really?" she tried.

He rolled his eyes, shaking his head. "I'm serious."

"Fine!" She threw her arms up then leaned back again. "Fine. How's work? I feel like I haven't seen you in ages!"

He rubbed the back of his neck and peeked around again. Everyone went back to their own business once they couldn't find him. Finally, he dropped the disillusionment spell and waited a moment. No one jumped and pointed fingers at him. He exhaled. People still snuck glances at him, but he could ignore that.

Hannah Abbott passed by their booth, and she stopped when she spotted him. "Harry," she said softly, smiling. She now owned the pub. "A Butterbeer?"

He smiled, nodding, and off she went to another table.

Harry turned back to Hermione and Ron. "Work's kept me busy lately. I'm sorry, Hermione. I'll do better. Promise. You two are family. I'll work harder at it." He rubbed his temples, his glasses jumping a bit. "But it looks like all my hard work is starting to pay off." His eyes flickered towards her and waited.

Ron's forehead furrowed, but Hermione almost jumped out of her seat to hug him. She stayed on her side, however, reaching across and grabbing his hand. She squeezed it. "That's fantastic news, Harry!"

"What?" Ron asked, forehead furrowed. "Did you get promoted and not tell me? Because I'm your best mate. I come first, you know."

Harry laughed. "Robards and Kingsley offered me the Head Auror position after I close my new case. There's promised training and time, though. I'm not ready yet." He rubbed the back of his neck. Would he ever be?

"Congrats!" Ron reached across the table and shook his hand. "That's amazing!"

"Truly," Hermione said, smiling. She took a sip of her Butterbeer. "Look at you, Harry. You're going places."