Daniel Granger was going over some office work in the spare time between clients. Owning a business has a lot of perks, but he and Emma had found a number of downsides, and one of these was the paperwork. There seemed to be paperwork for everything, it was like he couldn't even buy a box of tea bags without filling out three different types of paperwork.
Right now he was going over the papers to replace some of their older equipment. Their dental drills, in particular, were in dire need of replacement, having been in use for almost ten years. He flipped through a few quotes given to him and one caught his eye, it was a local company that made a pitch to the network of dentists in London that helped cover each other if they had an overflow or it was specialized work a client needed. The quote was fairly good. They were offering a discount if the whole network upgraded with them at once. He was just about to sign off on the deal when something else snatched his attention.
He picked up the paper and went to see his wife, only to find she was with a patient. He waited outside her office for a few minutes while she finished up a routine filling replacement for the patient that liked toffee more than they should. Once the patient had left he joined her in her treatment room before she could call her next patient. "Hey, honey take a look at this for me will you. Tell me if you see what I see", he held out the paperwork to her, then watched as she began to read it. He knew the exact moment that she saw it, her eyes went wide and her grip on the paper turned her knuckles white, she was gripping it so hard.
Grunnings - Specialized Drills
C.E.O - Vernon Dursley
"I knew I'd heard that name somewhere. The fucking git is trying to sell us drills." It was only the fact that Daniel didn't want to scare off the clients in the waiting room that kept him from raising his voice. "I'm going to ruin him...by the time I'm finished he won't sell a single dental drill in London ever again. There is no way I am letting our friends and colleagues give money to that piece of human filth." He continued on his rant for a few minutes before his wife finally interrupted.
"Dan, you need to ask Harry first before you do anything,'' that brought a look of confusion to his face, "What? Why? They are our friends." Emma gave her husband one of the more dangerous looks of hers that he had learned over the years. This one was 'You can be such an idiot sometimes', "Because, honey, it's up to Harry if he wants to tell people or even let us tell people. He is the one who has to live with them knowing what happened to him." Dan didn't like it but his wife was right. He still knew that he could at least stop this deal from happening, though it required the unanimous decision of everyone in the network. This deal was definitely not going to get the approval of Granger & Granger dental surgery.
He went back to the office area and went to put the deal in the shredder when a thought struck him. Maybe he would let the deal play out a little more before pulling out. It wasn't uncommon to have a company like Grunnings try and butter up people who were looking to place large orders, maybe he could see how much of Vernon Dursley's money he could waste before ruining the deal. And maybe if he could get the go ahead from Harry ruin a bit more than the deal.
Daniel sat back in his old comfortable office chair and began to plot. If he was going to do this he was going to do it right.
---ϟϟϟ---
Harry, Hermione and both Mr. and Mrs. Granger were at Diagon Alley. It was time for the annual back to school shopping trip that was equally exciting and sad. For Harry and Hermione, it was a sign that they would be going back to Hogwarts, a place they loved, which just showed how good it could be there, considering some of their experiences. It was also sad because it meant leaving, the teenagers would be parted from Mr. and Mrs. Granger until Christmas. Harry had already been informed he was coming back for the holiday. Harry was a little shocked to realise just how much he would miss the two dentists who had lovingly taken him in.
He had expected the gratitude he felt weighing down on him, they had done so much for him. He'd even expected that he would like the two of them. But the sense of losing something, losing someone, when going to Hogwarts was completely alien to him. He wondered if that's what the other students felt when they left behind their families for the year. And even what that said about how Harry viewed the Grangers.
They had already visited Gringotts, Harry popping down to his vault to gather his gold while the Grangers had exchanged their muggle pounds into wizarding currency. Hermione was pushing to go to Flourish and Blotts first but everyone was putting their foot down on that. "Honey those books are quite heavy, if we buy them first we'll have to carry them around the entire time. If we buy them last our arms just might survive the day." Mrs. Granger reasoned.
Harry had a suggestion, "Why don't we have a look in Bagdull's trunks & bags, my school trunk is too small to fit all my books in now and I'm guessing that 'Mione might need an upgrade as well." Hermione admitted that she didn't think she was going to fit all her books in her trunk this year and was planning to leave some of them at home. Once she'd explained the undetectable extension charm to her parents again reminding them about her hairband, Mrs. Granger thought that the expanded trunk was a good idea. Mr. Granger was to busy making 'Dr. Who' references again, to voice an opinion on the matter.
So the four of them made their way to Bagdull's, the outside of the shop must have been the smallest in Diagon, barely more than a door with a sign hanging over it, proclaiming Bagdull's Trunks & Bags - custom luggage expension to order. They filed into the shop expecting stairs that lead to another floor, but were surprised to find an extremely spacious area just inside the door. This prompted another bout of 'Dr. Who' quotes from Mr. Granger. This sparked a chuckle from behind the display of trunks, it came from the man who'd just walked out from behind them, smiling broadly.
"Good afternoon, I'm Tobias Bagdull, welcome to my shop. It's easy to spot those raised by muggles when they come in, a lot of them make references to that show. So much that I had to get my wife to explain it to me. Well...what can I do for you today? By the looks of it you are here to look at a trunk for Hogwarts?" He waited for them to confirm his suspicions. It wasn't much of a leap, two teens this close to the start of term.
"Well if that's the case, this is the catalogue you'll want", he handed them two identical booklets, and two sheets of parchment. "Just write out a list of the features you want from the catalogue and I'll whip up your trunks within the hour." Harry and Hermione both started looking at the catalogues to see what could be done, which turned out to be quite a lot. The trunks could have up to seven compartments, each opened when a different key was used in the single lock. The range of ways each compartment could be customised was staggering, from the basic same size as a standard trunk right up to rooms that were ten by ten ft rooms (although the ten by ten ft rooms were eighty gallons each, before you added any furniture. more than a little out of their price range.)
After a lot of back and forth between the four of them, both Harry and Hermione decided to each get the same three compartments, each was to be four ft wide, two ft deep and sixft tall and a cupboard that popped up when the lid was opened. One of the compartments was to be a wardrobe, another a bookshelf, and the last one for storage of general items, such as cauldrons, broomsticks and potion kits. The trunks came out at ten galleons each, or almost fifty pounds in muggle money, but when you looked at it as buying three trunks the price was a lot more reasonable.
Hermione almost caused an argument when Harry insisted on buying her trunk for her. "Harry James Potter you do not need to go wasting your money on me like that.", he cut her off before she could build up a full head of steam. "Hermione. This is the last chance I have to do any shopping before we are back at school and it's your birthday in a few weeks. This is my present for you." that took the wind out of Hermione's anger before it was able to get going. "You are impossible sometimes Harry." but her words lacked any heat. "Thank you, I love it." she pulled him into a light hug knowing that both of them would be uncomfortable with more affection around strangers.
After leaving Bagdull's they headed for Madam Malkin's robes store, both Harry and Hermione needed new robes for the upcoming year. Madam Malkin's had a bit of a queue, mostly of other Hogwarts students waiting to purchase their own robes. In the shop, there was a Gryffindor sixth year and a Hufflepuff fourth year that they knew well enough to say hi to but nothing more than that. They browsed the selection of accessories while Mr. and Mrs. Granger held their place in line. Harry picked out a set of dragonhide gloves with a matching belt that he took a liking to, as well as a hat and scarf set after remembering Mrs. Granger's words about what they'd forgotten from their last trip to Diagon Alley. Hermione picked out a three-piece set of knitwear that was periwinkle blue, and consisted of a pair of gloves, a hat and a scarf. They rejoined the queue with the older Grangers and soon after, each of them was in possession of three new sets of school robes.
After that it was a quick trip to Scribbulus next door to buy a couple of new quills, and some ink and parchment. Harry bought himself a rather nice glass quill with an unbreakable charm on it. While technically it was against the school rules, that rule was relaxed after the first year. They wanted students to break their quills and spill ink in their first year. It got them used to using the reparo and tergio spells and helped reinforce the message that they could do magic as well as providing good focusing practice.
It was then onto Slug & Jiggers, Hermione only had to refill about half of her ingredients, having done a better job than Harry of keeping her's topped up for the year. Although Harry still had some ingredients, it turned out that it was cheaper for him to buy a complete kit of basic potion ingredients, the same as he had done the first year, when he was here with Hagrid on his first ever trip to Diagon Alley.
It turned out that he wasn't the only one who had the idea to get Hermione a birthday present at Diagon Alley. Hermione's parents had decided that they would finally allow Hermione to have a pet. When he'd asked about it, Mr. Granger told him that Hermione had been relentlessly asking her parents for a pet since before her first year, as well as in her second year, but for reasons that were not elaborated on, they had refused. This year however, they felt things were different and they granted Hermione her wish, though they warned her that she'd have to take responsibility for whatever familiar she picked. She'd agreed quickly, nodding her head enthusiastically, and with that, they were off to the Magical Menagerie to pick out a pet.
The four of them could barely squeeze into the shop. The walls themselves were hidden because each and every square inch was hidden behind cages of all sorts. The smell and noise of the shop was an assault on the senses as each of the cages occupants tried to make itself known. A pair of enormous purple toads sat gulping wetly and feasting on the dead blowflies that had been spelled to fly around them. A gigantic tortoise with a jewel-encrusted shell was glittering near the window. Poisonous orange snails were oozing slowly up the side of their glass tank, there were cats of every colour, a noisy cage of ravens, a basket of funny custard-coloured furballs that were humming loudly, and on the counter, a vast cage of sleek black rats which were playing some sort of skipping game using their long skinless tails. The witch behind the counter was already talking to one Hogwarts student about an ill toad that he possessed.
Neville Longbottom was looking for advice on how to treat his sick toad Trevor, "He got sick over the summer. It wasn't too bad at first, but now he's not eating and I'm getting a little worried..."
The witch behind the counter took a pair of glasses out of one of her pockets, "Well pop him on the counter and let's have a look at him", Neville gingerly took the sick toad out of his front breast pocket and placed him gently on the counter in front of the witch. While she was examining Trevor, Harry and Hermione took the opportunity to greet Neville, who was looking sick himself, only with worry.
"Hey Nev, how's your summer been?" He turned around and saw them standing behind him, "Harry! Hermione! It's so good to see you", Neville grinned widely as he embraced Hermione in a little hug, obviously happy to see them. He looked at them both in turn, his eyes settling on Hermione's seeming lack of cat ears, though he knew better, "Hermione you look… um... normal again. Did they finally figure out how to undo the effects?" Neville's phrasing was a little bad but she knew that he meant it in a nice way, "Unfortunately, no. Harry got me this headband to help me in the muggle world. It's easier to just leave it on in Diagon Ally as well as we came and are leaving through muggle London."
"So, Harry's staying with you?", he turned to Harry, "There was a rumour going around that you ran away from your muggle relatives after a fight. Are you okay?" Harry scoffed at that, "I'm doing better now that I don't have to live with them anymore, but I don't really want to talk about it right now", Neville gave him a confused but also pitied look, then just nodded. "Okay I won't ask, but if you ever need to talk, I'm here for you", Harry appreciated that, he knew he and Neville had never been too close. It was Hermione, Ron and him at first and after everything that happened with Hermione and the chamber, and then the way Ron reacted, Harry had been focusing solely on her. But here Neville was, offering help and comfort without any hesitation. Neville was a good guy.
"Neville! Are you done?" a formidable-looking witch came over, wearing long green dress robes and an unusual hat that had a stuffed vulture atop it. She stopped next to them, smiling at Neville, "Oh, are these friends of yours Neville? Why don't you introduce us dear."
Neville coughed awkwardly, before making the standard introductions, "Gran this is Hermione Granger and Harry Potter. Hermione is a fellow Gryffindor and the top student of our year, and of course, Harry needs little introduction. Harry, Hermione, this is my grandmother, Madam Augusta Longbottom."
Harry stepped forward, taking the lady's outstretched hand, "It's a pleasure to meet you Ma'am", the grip Madam Longbottom had in her handshake was strong, strong enough that Harry winced slightly. He would not have thought her capable of it at first, "And you Mr. Potter. I guess you get tired of hearing this but you are the spitting image of your father when he was your age, except...he was a little taller", Harry frowned at this, people compared him to his father a lot, almost every time, but Madam Longbottom was the first to point out that he was shorter than his father. Harry wondered if this was because of his mother or the way the Dursleys had treated him. With his aunt being on the tall side for women he suspected he knew the answer.
While he pondered this Hermione had greeted Madam Longbottom in the same manner, and introduced her own parents to the Longbottoms, "We were just asking Neville how his summer was", Hermione effortlessly kept the conversation flowing while Harry was distracted, "Well it was going splendidly until that vile LeStrange woman broke out of Azkaban. Now we have to think of that Death Eater running around freely while she should be locked away from good upstanding people", that snapped Harry out of his ruminations.
"Wait...Bellatrix LeStrange is a witch? I thought so when I saw her face on the muggle news", Hermione shifted uncomfortably. She had talked him out of believing that the escaped convict was a witch, but it seemed Harry's speculation had been right after all. Neville, however, went still, as though if he moved a muscle he'd lose his composure.
"Yes Mr. Potter. She is a witch, though I must confess my surprise that you were not already aware of this, all things considered," Madam Longbottom stated bluntly, implying that if not Harry himself, someone had been extraordinarily thick. "No one has ever spoken to me about her. Though I thought she looked a lot like Draco Malfoy's mother, and I know that his father was a follower of Voldemort's", the two purebloods visibly jumped at the name and Hermione flinched. But Harry continued regardless, "So given the date of her conviction that was on the muggle news, I guess LeStrange was one of Voldemort's followers as well?"
The Longbottoms jumped a second time but this time Hermione didn't. She knew that sometimes Harry liked to keep using the name, trying to get people over their fear of it. Considering some of what the Longbottoms were saying though, she wondered if it was a bad idea in this case.
The witch, who had been examining Trevor, got Neville's attention, "It looks like your toad has a bit of an infection. This potion here should help him be right as rain in a few days, shall I ring it up for you?" Neville looked relieved at the news. He complained about trevor every now and then, but given how much effort he put into finding him again when he got lost, it was easy to see he cared about his familiar a lot. Neville bought the potion and was about to say his goodbyes when his grandmother spoke up, "Harry there are a few things you should have been told about that witch as soon as she escaped. I don't have time right now but could you join me and Neville for lunch at the Leaky Cauldron, in about an hour? The Grangers are of course welcome as well", Harry quickly conferred with the Grangers and it was soon agreed that they would meet up.
Afterwards Neville and his grandmother took their leave and Harry, Hermione and her parents resumed their search for a familiar for Hermione. Hermione made her way around the cages, inspecting the animals, the black rats began working together as a team performing tricks as she inspected them, the toads began croaking out tunes, the ravens tried to look dignified as they said pre-learned phrases like "On the road to wisdom, behave like a raven and observe everything carefully!" and "A circle has no beginning!", even the jewel-encrusted tortoise from the window lit up his jewels in a rainbow of colours.
None of this seemed to hold Hermione's attention, however, it was around the cats where things got interesting. Every single cat in the shop sat up and paid eerily close attention to Hermione as she approached their cages. All except one, there was a ginger tom who, unlike the other cats, wasn't in a cage. Or more accurately, his/her cage had no front to keep the cat in. This particular cat watched Hermione as well but with one eye closed, feigning disinterest in a way that seemed to come naturally to cats. Hermione looked at the cat interestedly, but moved on after reading the sign over the cat's chosen throne.
Crookshanks - Half-Kneazle Tom
Temperament: unpersonable
As Hermione moved to look at the next cage, Crookshanks' paw flashed out faster than the eye could see, swiping at Hermione's hairband. The hairband in question was easily dislodged and flew across the room into Harry's face. This had two effects, firstly, Hermione's cat ears where now on full display. Not so much a problem here, in an environment where everyone at least knows about magic. Secondly Harry, while rubbing the area around his eye where the tartan hairband had struck, missed the next few seconds of the interaction between Hermione and the apparently grumpy cat. The grumpiness was only apparent because the cat was now in Hermione's arms, rubbing his face into her's, purring like an idling motorbike.
It was hard to tell what shocked the shopkeeper more. The fact that Hermione suddenly had cat ears or that his moody Crookshanks actually seemed to like someone. It mattered little in the end, as soon the cat-eared girl was leaving the shop with her new Half-Kneazle in her arms and her mysterious hairband back where it belonged, much to the annoyance of the ginger cat in her arms. "No Crookshanks, I need to wear it till I get home, then you can see my ears, I promise,'' Hermione placated the cat, then it was a trip back to Bagdull's for their previously purchased trunks.
Hermione's new trunk was the same shade of blue as her winter knitwear she'd bought earlier. It had an iridescent purple sheen, with a mirror-smooth finish and pale copper metal adornings, she loved it. Harry's was made of walnut that had been buffed and polished into a honey-like, golden-yellow brown. His trunk had black-coated iron metalwork that Harry personally thought looked amazing, though Hermione said it seemed quite gloomy. They each moved their day's purchases into their trunks, freeing up their hands from all the bags they were carrying. The trunks' had built in wheels, which were only on the one side, making them easier to handle than the bags.
The last stop for the day was long-awaited, on Hermione's part. Flourish and Blotts bookstore. Hermione was almost shaking with anticipation, reciting the books from her school book list under her breath. "For charms, The Standard Book of Spells Grade III, A Journeyman's Guide to Transfiguration for McGonagall, for Care of Magical Creatures The Monster Book of Monsters. I don't know what Professor Kettleburn was thinking setting that book. Numerology and Gramatica for Professor Vector's class. The Spellman's Syllabary for Ancient Runes. The Essential Defence Against the Dark Arts, I wonder who the new DADA professor is... The book sounds promising. 1993-1994 Academic Magical Almanac for Astronomy and snape set Enchanting Elixirs."
She kept this up the entire way to the shop. As They entered Flourish and Blotts, the manager came hurrying towards them, "Hogwarts?" she asked abruptly, "Come to get your new books for the term?"
"Yes, in fact, we need –" Hermione began up her mental catalogue once again. "I know what you need," the manager quickly interrupted, before she could get too excited. She grimaced as she drew on a pair of very thick gloves and picked up a large, knobbly walking stick. She then proceeded towards a cage near the corner of the room, far out of the way of the other shelves and books. It was labelled, "The Monster Book of Monsters."
Harry spoke up, "We only need one of those. I already have one." The manager looked a little relieved at that. Harry, who'd already predicted the next problem from his own experience with the book, pulled a length of nylon cord from his pocket that he'd found in one of the kitchen drawers at the Grangers. He had specifically brought it to deal with Hermione's monster book. He was about to go help the Manager when Hermione, having had a similar idea, pulled a roll of regular muggle tape from her bag. The two teens looked at each other, smiling that they had the same plan. "The cord will be better for the book", Mrs. Granger supplied, giving Harry the push he needed.
Two minutes and three minor bites later, Harry victoriously handed Hermione the tied up monster book. The manager glanced at the book that was now safe to handle, then a thought struck her and she had an idea, disappearing down a hallway further into the shop. Harry and Hermione started going through the display of educational books that Flourish and Blotts put out every summer, picking up the ones they definitely needed and taking a quick peek at others that seemed interesting. Soon they each had their stack of required books, eight for Hermione and six for Harry, who had one book already and was taking one less subject.
The manager came back holding a book open. She checked the book a few times, then with a slight blush and flourish of her wand she said, "Shibarius*". Ropes shot from her wand and tied up each of the monster books in a way that looked almost artistic. Hermione, after seeing the results of the spell, asked the manager about the book but was told that the book was restricted to people of age.
Harry asked the manager about how they were meant to read the book, but she didn't have a clue. "They sent a stack of leaflets with the bloody things, you know with instructions about opening the book, but the damn things shredded the leaflets. I swear if the boss stocks these things again I'm storing them in his office, and locking him in there with them."
After that Hermione and Harry went searching again for any other books that took their fancy, now that they'd made their required purchases. Hermione found two more books to add to her already enormous and ever-growing book collection, 'A compendium of household charms - 157 spells to make a witch or wizard's life easier', and a 'Rune Dictionary'. Harry, on the other hand, had found something more his style, 'Basic Hexes for the Busy and Vexed', it didn't contain anything too dangerous, but some that might have their uses after he next fell victim to another one of the Twins' pranks.
When the group left the bookstore, their coin purses were considerably lighter, even if their trunks weren't. They were a bit early for lunch with the Longbottoms and after a day of shopping in the blazing August sun, the four of them took a much needed break at Florean Fortescue's, each with an ice-cold glass of lemonade, taking the opportunity to relax.