Henry's next stop was a plant shop tucked between two larger establishments. It was not a wide space, but it was surprisingly deep, the walls were lined with dried magical plants, flowerpots of glowing moss hung from the ceiling at varying heights, and in one corner stood a miniature Whomping Willow, pruned to approximately a foot tall.
It was flicking its two thin branches in a way that suggested more irritation than actual menace.
The shopkeeper, a young witch with thick glasses, was crouching in the corner watering it. When one of the branches caught her on the arm, she simply laughed and muttered, "Naughty," without looking up.
When the door opened, she looked across at Henry.
"What are you looking for?"
"Some magical plants suitable as gifts for elderly people," Henry said. "Ideally something connected to nature or the seasons."
The witch thought for a moment, then rose and disappeared further into the shop, returning with a small flowerpot wrapped in burlap. She set it on the counter and folded the cloth back.
Inside was a very small sapling, barely the height of a palm, with four thin bare branches that gave it the look of something caught in mid-winter and not entirely pleased about it.
"It's dormant," the witch said. "But give it water and a windowsill, and it will wake up on its own."
She picked up a small spray bottle and misted the base of the sapling. The four branches began, very slowly, to tremble, and then, on the leftmost one, a tiny green shoot emerged and unfolded into a single delicate leaf.
"Spring," she said.
She pointed to the branch beside it, where the leaves were already a full, deep green—larger and thicker than the first.
"Summer."
The next branch over had leaves beginning to yellow at the edges, curling slightly with the dry, wistful quality of late October.
"Autumn."
She touched the base of the sapling gently, and the yellowed leaves drifted down from the last branch, leaving a small twig coated in the faintest layer of frost.
"Winter. And then it begins again."
Henry watched the cycle continue, a new green shoot emerging on the bare branch, the spring branch deepening toward summer, the summer branch edging into autumn.
"It keeps going like this indefinitely?"
"Yes." The witch nodded. "It needs only water and sunlight. It won't grow larger, won't flower, won't set fruit. It simply lives and turns with the seasons."
She paused. "My grandfather used to say that watching it gave him a particular kind of peace. Not the anxious feeling of growing older, but something quieter, more like: ah, so that is how the seasons move."
Henry was quiet for a moment.
"I'll take it. And the small Whomping Willow in the corner as well."
His grandfather, he had decided, would appreciate both of them. The old man had a genuine fondness for unusual things.
By the time the shopping was done, the light had almost completely gone from the sky.
The coloured lights of Diagon Alley were coming on one by one, and unlike anything Henry had seen in the Muggle world, these seemed to have their own intention, some drifting around the lampposts like unhurried fireflies, others flowing in thin rivers of light above the shop signs.
The ice cream parlour had the most elaborate display of all: clusters of tiny glowing orbs that bobbed over the heads of passing children until the children reached up to touch them, were delighted, and found themselves guided, step by step, toward the entrance.
A deliberate strategy, Henry noted.
The air carried roasted chestnuts, caramel, and melted butter.
The street was still full, the last of the Christmas shoppers moving quickly under armfuls of bags, their breath visible in the cold.
A group of young wizards stood at a corner with steaming cups, talking and laughing in no particular hurry.
Lucy had been standing quietly beside Henry for some time. When she judged his attention had returned to the present, she asked, "Is Your Highness ready to return to Kensington Palace?"
"No need to Apparate," Henry said. "There's a car waiting outside."
Lucy blinked, did not ask anything further, and fell into her customary half-step behind him as they made their way back through the Leaky Cauldron.
The pub was considerably livelier in the evening than it had been during the day.
The fireplace burned strongly, casting a warm amber light across the old wooden tables. In one corner, a small group of elderly wizards sat with steaming glasses in front of them, deep in some animated disagreement.
Henry caught fragments as he passed, something about unusual occurrences in the forests of Albania. He did not slow down.
Tom noticed him from behind the bar and offered a greeting.
Henry smiled and gave a brief wave as he passed through.
Out on Charing Cross Road, the ordinary world resumed. Pedestrians in heavy coats moved quickly along the pavement, shopping bags in both hands, heads down against the cold.
The streetlights laid soft yellow circles on the asphalt, and snowflakes drifted through them, settling in a thin layer on the ground.
Henry looked not at the snow but at the black Jaguar parked at the kerb. Its bodywork caught the light warmly, and a light coating of snow on the bonnet suggested it had been there for some time.
Then he saw what was pressed against the passenger window.
William's face was flattened against the glass, his nose white from the pressure, a gap-toothed grin visible even from several metres away.
He was waving with both hands in the frantic, whole-body manner of someone who has been waiting in a car for too long and has finally spotted the reason they had to wait.
Harry, being shorter and finding William entirely in the way, could not reach the window at all.
He had managed to get one arm out from under William's elbow and was waving it in the air like someone trying to signal a ship from a very small lifeboat.
Then the driver's door opened, and Diana stepped out.
She wore a dark grey cashmere coat, her hair shifted slightly by the wind, her expression entirely unguarded.
She walked around the front of the car toward him, and her smile was the kind that does not require any preparation.
"Mum?" Henry moved toward her. "You came yourself—"
"Someone hasn't been home in three months," Diana said, taking his face in both hands and looking at him with the particular attention of a parent who has been worrying quietly and does not intend to let him know how much. "Of course I came."
Before he could say anything else, the back door of the car flew open.
Two small figures launched themselves out simultaneously and hit him from both sides.
"You took ages!"
"You went to magic school, do you know real magic now? Make a rabbit! Make a rabbit for me!"
"Mum said you caught the Golden Snitch! What colour is it? Is it actually gold?"
"Get off, Harry, I got here first, stop pushing—"
+++++++
Announceent!!!!!!!!
Guys, I am finally back. This book was not dropped. I unfortunately lost access to my google account and could not access my patreon and paypal at all, luckily I finally managed to get some help and was finally given access to my patreon account. Things are looking good too on paypal, I will soon recover it too. (Photo)
I do not even know if you guys still even care about this book. I will continue updating in a few days depending on your feedback. Should I continue this or just start a new one?
I do want to just post all of those advanced chapters from p*treon here, but it would be unfair to those that have memberships and have remained on my patreon despite my absence. I will come up with a compromise, you can access every single advanced chapter Just by joining the first tier.
You will not have to join the more pricey tiers at all to enjoy the latest advanced chapter. I do not know how long this will be, a few days, maybe a week, we shall see.
If you cannot afford to do any of that, do not worry. Those chapters will eventually become public, but after a very long time.
You guys are amazing, I honestly thought that everyone will have left when I returned, I was so stressed out, but you guys gave me a pleasant suprise, I am so fuckin happy.
Thank you for your support guys and be careful of the links you guys click on the internet.
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