Harry awoke much more readily the following morning, August sixth. He had a restful night, free of any dreams. As Harry started to dress himself, Mrs. Weasley sat next to him, before waking Ron.
“I have to go to Diagon Alley today, do you still want to go?” Harry nodded after pulling his shirt over his head. “Alright, but I have a lot of shopping to do, so you have to behave. I’m not taking a five-year-old. Can you be good long enough?” Again, Harry nodded; after all he had been considerably well behaved yesterday, he thought. Mrs. Weasley then woke Ron and the girls.
It was after breakfast that Mrs. Weasley told the others she and Harry were leaving. “I have some shopping to do today and Harry’s coming with me. I want you three to be good while I’m gone.”
“Can’t we all go,” Ginny asked.
“No, I promised Harry that just he and I would go today. But when your book lists come, we will all go.” Ginny did not like this option, but had no choice. She headed upstairs with Hermione and Ron, while Mrs. Weasley and Harry prepared to set out.
Mrs. Weasley stepped into the fireplace first, using Floo Powder as Harry could not aparate. After she was gone, Harry did the same, careful to speak clearly and precisely.
Harry whirled through the Floo Network, spinning fast. The deafening roar rushed past his ears, his eyes and mouth were full of soot and ash. Looking through the green flames, he became very dizzy.
Harry spewed out of the fireplace in The Leaky Cauldron. If Mrs. Weasley had not been ready to catch him, he would have slammed into the stone floor. He closed his eyes to stop the room spinning as Mrs. Weasley wiped the ash from his face and dusted him off. He suddenly became aware that he should not have eaten so many eggs at breakfast. His eyes snapped open and he managed to turn away from Mrs. Weasley seconds before he threw-up.
As Mrs. Weasley banished the mess, Harry became aware that nearly everyone was looking in his direction. He nervously flattened his bangs across his forehead. His hair was now dangling in his eyes but he was sure that his scar was hidden. He walked with Mrs. Weasley out the back door and into Diagon Alley, feeling much better than he had.
“Where did you want to go Harry? Did you want to get Ginny something like what she got you?” They were leaving Gringotts now.
Harry had not previously thought about what he was going to buy. “Ok,” he muttered, unable to think of anything still. Mrs. Weasley led the way to a jewelry shop Harry had never noticed before. It’s merchandise did not necessarily have magical properties, but might be made of unusual or magical items, like Harry’s claw pendant. He wanted to do this alone, but he could just here the shopkeeper asking him where his mother was had Mrs. Weasley not been with him.
After some time and with Mrs. Weasley’s help, Harry found something he thought Ginny would like. Harry had needed Mrs. Weasley’s help because he had never bought jewelry before and she knew what Ginny liked. It was a circular locket with a heart-shaped ruby in the center, encircled by peridots (Ginny’s birthstone). This particular locket’s magical quality was interesting. If held by two persons for a short while, it would automatically be set with their picture on either half. Harry was curious to see if it would be a picture of him as a child or an adolescent.
As they were walking to Mrs. Weasley’s first destination, Harry noticed a large crowd in front of one of the shops. It surged as people came in and out. As he looked, he noticed the crowd were mostly teenagers and some were carrying familiar looking snack boxes.
Harry was prepared for a boring day now, or so he thought. He found his mind wandering and he longed to be with his friends. But he knew Mrs. Weasley would be mad if he did not wait quietly.
By the time they stopped at a café for lunch, Harry’s feet and legs were throbbing. He had grown tired of all the shopkeepers telling Mrs. Weasley that he was ”such a well-behaved little boy,” or that he was “adorable and so patient.” But there was nothing he could do; revealing the truth would be infinitely more humiliating.
Harry had just finished eating when a woman walked by with her son. The boy looked to be about ten, but that was not what caught Harry’s attention. It was the lady giving Mrs. Weasley more compliments about “her” son.
“Oh, what a cute little boy you have. Those green eyes are so precious.” Harry wanted to hide under the table, but stayed in his seat.
“Thank you.” Mrs. Weasley did not seem to mind the attention as much as Harry did. She could tell Harry was getting frustrated however and put her hand on his knee and gently squeezed.
“Oh, enjoy it while you can. They grow up too fast. It seems just yesterday I was changing Alex’s diapers…”
“MUM!” The boy turned a bright red, but his mother pressed on as though he had said nothing.
“… and he’ll be going off to Hogwarts next year.” She sighed deeply and her son looked mortified. “’Bye, cutie.” She reached down and pinched Harry’s cheek. Harry angrily brushed her hand aside. “Oh, is somebody cranky?” She exchanged goodbyes with Mrs. Weasley and left.
Harry was sitting with his arms crossed now and was starring determinedly at the edge of the table. Mrs. Weasley put a hand on Harry’s shoulder before speaking. “Maybe she was right. Harry, do you want to go home and take a nap?”
Harry shook his head clear and his mind into focus. “No, I’m fine. Really, I’m not tired.”
“Are you sure? Even teenagers take naps sometimes.” She was careful to whisper the last sentence. “But if you’re sure, let’s get going.” Mrs. Weasley gathered her prior purchases, managed to take Harry’s hand and they set off.
Almost immediately, Harry found himself starring at a shop front along with many young boys around the age of six. It was a wizarding toy store and he was transfixed by the display, like the other boys. Both sides of Harry’s split mind thought it was the coolest toy he had ever seen, though only one would have admitted so out loud.
It was a wizard action figure that really walked, moved around and cast “real” spells. All it could do was make smoke or light come from its tiny wand, but that was something. All the children around and even some older boys just stood watching the toys in the display window.
Mrs. Weasley noticed Harry dragging his feet and followed his gaze to the shop. “Did you want a new toy Harry? You didn’t get one for your birthday.” Harry slowly nodded his head, not even conscious that he was doing so. “Well, if you’re good we’ll come back when we’re finished with everything else.” She kept moving and after a few steps, Harry stopped dragging his feet.
Some time later, Harry was still thinking about the toy. He was sitting in a chair, outside a fitting room, waiting patiently, as the shopkeeper was quick to point out. His feet were hurting from being on them so much and he was getting tired. When Mrs. Weasley was done he finally admitted that he was tired.
“I’m tired,” Harry whined as Mrs. Weasley took his hand to leave the shop. “Can we go back now?” Harry was too tired to continue a fight against childish tendencies.
“We’re almost done Harry,” she soothed. “I just have one more place to go.”
But Harry was not thinking clearly. “I want to go back,” he half-shouted, half-whined, now stomping his feet.
“Harry,” Mrs. Weasley warned. “You said you’d be good. Don‘t you want to go back to the toy shop?”
“No. I wanna go home.” Harry pulled his legs up, forcing Mrs. Weasley to let go of his hand, or bend over. Harry sat on the ground, not himself in the least, kicking and screaming. Mrs. Weasley lifted him so his legs were on either side of her hip, which was no easy task, given everything else she carried.
Mrs. Weasley had been serious when she told Harry she would not put up with childish behavior. She aparated on the spot and into his room at Grimmauld Place. Harry was still fussy, but Mrs. Weasley’s attention quickly shifted to what was happening in the room.
Molly dropped everything she was carrying, except Harry, though she came close. Ron and Hermione were sitting on Ron’s bed, lips locked and arms wrapped around each other. They pulled apart, realizing what the popping sound had been when several thuds sounded from the floor. Mrs. Weasley sat Harry on his bed without a word, Ron and Hermione had moved apart and were watching her, unsure what she would say to them. She pulled Harry’s shoes off and laid him under the blankets to take a much-needed nap. He closed his red, bloodshot eyes and curled up instantly.
Mrs. Weasley turned back to her son and Hermione. Her look told them all they needed to know; she was not approving of their actions. She grabbed Ron by his ear and pulled him from the bed. He had to walk bent over as she pulled him to the door. She wrenched it open and pulled him into the hallway. She looked back and saw Hermione still on the bed, looking apprehensive. “Hermione!” The door was slammed shut once the three were out, but this only made Harry role over.
Fifteen minutes had passed before Ginny came into the room, giggling madly and wanting to talk to Harry about it. She had not known how her mother had found them, but heard her shouting at the pair. She saw Harry asleep and stopped laughing, completely surprised. She backed from the room and gently closed the door.
It was around two hours later when Mrs. Weasley returned to get Harry for dinner. She gently roused him and he slowly opened his sleepy eyes. He was still tired, his legs were numbed and he was still very much in the mindset of a child. She lifted him from the bed, setting him on her hip again. Harry wrapped his arms around her, but did not lay his head on her shoulder this time. His legs gently swung on either side of her as she carried him downstairs, one arm holding him against her, the other brushing hair from his face. Harry was enjoying the whole experience.
It was not until he was halfway through eating dinner that Harry truly realized what had happened in Diagon Alley. He had acted exactly how he did not want to. He recalled how he had felt being carried to dinner that night and was disgusted with himself.
After dinner, Ginny and Hermione had the chore of cleaning up. Harry alloyed himself to be carried out of earshot before speaking. “Mrs. Weasley, I’m sorry for what I did.”
“Well, it might have been more my fault.” Mrs. Weasley put Harry down and let him walk beside her now. “I should have brought you home after you bought Ginny’s present. There was no reason to keep you with me, but I thought you might want some fresh air.”
“Thank you. I want to be sixteen, but it’s harder than I thought right now.”
“I thought it might be, but I can tell you are trying. There’s a big difference in you the last couple days. Anyway, I’m glad you’re back to yourself now. I will need your help tomorrow.”
“You will?”
“Yes. Nobody’s done any cleaning here since we arrived. So tomorrow we are all going to clean and dust and make sure there are no more infestations. Just like last summer, but it should not take as long.” They had just reached the landing with Harry’s bedroom.
“Oh.” Harry had no desire to do chores all day tomorrow, knowing it would really tire his small body and already stressed mind. But if he suddenly acted younger to get out of them, Mrs. Weasley would suspect something. He might even be punished.
“Harry, could you pick up your toys,” Mrs. Weasley asked, gesturing the ones he had left in the hall the other night. “Hermione stepped on one of those cars earlier and nearly fell down the stairs.”
That night, as Harry got himself ready for bed he had an idea of how to get out of chores the next day. It came to him as he was getting his pajamas and saw one of his birthday presents.
Harry extracted the skiving snack box from his bag and flipped it over. There, on the back, was a list of the contents. As it was the twins’ deluxe box it held five of the candies and their antidotes.
There were fever fudge, nosebleed nugget, fainting fancies, puking pasties and coughing creams, to name a few. Harry thought to himself a moment. A piece of fever fudge and a coughing cream would be enough. Mrs. Weasley would make him stay in bed all day, but after taking the antidotes he would have time to think.
Harry set his watch alarm ten minutes earlier than Mrs. Weasley had been waking him. That would give the candies time to take a full affect.
Harry went to bed, looking forward to a worry-free day, where he could think of a way out of his problem. He would be back to normal by Ginny’s birthday.