Narcissa nodded and gave him a smile so the pair exited the shop and headed to Florean Fortescue's where they ordered a couple of hot fudge sundaes with extra chocolate.
"Excuse me young man?" a voice broke in while the two were enjoying their ice cream. Harry turned to acknowledge the woman and tensed slightly when he noticed that she had a man carrying a camera with her.
"The gentlemen who works in the apothecary identified you as the person who chased away the Dementors" the woman continued.
"I have no idea what you are talking about" Harry replied immediately , seeing that Narcissa was going to answer on his behalf. "We have just arrived here so he must be mistaken" he added firmly.
"I see" the woman sighed. "I apologise for the intrusion".
The two left them alone once again and Harry continued to eat his ice cream.
"Why didn't you tell them it was you?" Narcissa asked disbelievingly. "I don't want to be in the newspaper" Harry answered simply, remembering his most recent experiences with the press.
"Oh" Narcissa exclaimed and began spooning the sugary treat into her mouth once more.
The duo stain silence for a few moments before the young girl spoke again.
"I think you're really nice, even if the people in my house say mean things about you" she proclaimed.
"I bet they do" Harry responded amusedly.
"Bella says that those idiots got what they deserved for hurting your brother" Narcissa continued. "And I don't think you're mean".
"I'm only mean to people who deserve it" Harry explained. "I wouldn't ever hurt anyone without a reason".
Narcissa nodded. "Thank you" she whispered shyly. "For saving me and getting Andi's present fixed" she added. "Well we can't have your sister getting a broken present for Christmas can we?" Harry asked with a chuckle.
"No" Narcissa agreed. "But it was really nice of you, you didn't have to" she pointed out.
"It looks like I got a new friend out of it, so it was worth it" he replied with a smile. Narcissa smiled.
"I'd like to be your friend" she declared happily. "Then it looks like we both made a friend today Narcissa" Harry returned warmly.
The girl shook her head.
"Only my Father calls me that, everyone else calls me Cissy" she pointed out.
"Well everyone calls me Harry, or Potter if we aren't friends" Harry explained. "So I can call you Harry then" Narcissa stated with a beaming smile.
Harry nodded.
"How about we go and see if your sisters present is done and then I will take you to the floo in the Leaky Cauldron so you can go home?" he suggested.
The girl took him by the hand and led the way.
"Ahh I have just finished" the shopkeeper explained as the duo entered the shop. "I even placed an unbreakable charm on it for you".
"Thank you" Harry responded gratefully. "I'll also take that painting" he added, spotting a beautifully created image of a griffin in flight.
"That will be 500 Galleons" the shopkeeper explained.
Harry removed a small bag of gold from his pocket and handed it to the man, shrinking and pocketing the picture before he led Narcissa to the Leaky Cauldron.
The painting was not originally what he was going to get Charlus, but he knew the man was fond of the creatures and thought he would prefer.
"Thank you for everything Harry" Narcissa said once again as they were stood next to the fireplace.
"That's what friends are for" Harry answered simply.
The girl wrapped her arms around him before throwing a handful of floo powder into the fire and disappearing.
Harry sighed and followed the girl's lead, appearing in Potter Manor a few moments later.
"You were gone a while" Dorea observed as he entered the kitchen. "There was a Dementor attack, but it's ok, no one was hurt" he explained.
"Are you ok?" the woman asked worriedly.
"I'm fine, I've dealt with them before" he replied dismissively. "Anyway, I need to go and wrap the presents before Sirius decides to come in and search me" he added with an amused shake of his head as he headed upstairs.
Dorea simply watched the boy leave and shook her head sadly at his retreating back.
It did not surprise her in the slightest that he had encountered the creatures before, but it didn't make the confirmation any easier to take.
(BREAK)
Harry was rudely awoken before sunrise on Christmas morning by an overzealous Sirius who was evidently very keen on starting the day as soon as possible, of course by opening presents. After cursing the boy's name repeatedly, Harry finally pulled himself from the warmth of his bed, showered and joined the rest of the household in the very heavily decorated lounge are, where Sirius was visibly bouncing from the anticipation.
Harry shook his head at the teen who was acting like a toddler before taking a seat.
"Can we start now?" Sirius questioned impatiently.
Dorea simply nodded and without hesitation, he barreled into the pile that he had clearly already identified as his own and began tearing off layers of wrapping paper.
Everyone was pleased with what they had received.
Harry had been gifted several books on spells and curses from Charlus that he had never even heard of and would definitely be useful in a fight. Among various other books he had also gotten new quidditch things, a vast quantity of sweets and Lily had even sent him a silk scarf that matched their eye colour. Remus had sent him a book on Thestrals and Peter a selection of potions that he had made himself that would most certainly get some use.
It was during dinner that evening, after a day of flying and eating junk food, that the impending visit with the Blacks was raised by Dorea as she explained what would be expected from him.
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