Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

End of Obsession	By : Juwel Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Snape Views: 50502 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 9
Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter fandom. The characters in this fiction are the property of J.K. Rowling. No money is being made from this and no trademark infringement is intended. This is purely for your reading pleasure.

Chapter List
- 9
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- 11
Diagon Alley was no longer the wonderland that Harry remembered it had been.
He'd made it a point to take care of Draco Malfoy first, figuring that he could get that bit of unpleasantness out of the way, return the wand, reach out a hand to see if Draco had changed at all. What he had seen told him that Draco was just as big a prat as he'd always been. Well that was fine, Harry told himself. The Malfoys could all rot in Hell for all he cared, particularly Lucius. He'd had a feeling that someone else had been watching them, probably Narcissa, but why she would want to hide herself, he wasn't sure. At any rate, he was glad that he would no longer have to deal with any of them.
Harry hoped that a little shopping trip would improve his spirits afterwards. He took the Floo first to George’s shop, thinking perhaps he could purchase a few fun items, even if he had no idea who he could use them on. Of course he could always save them for when he returned to Hogwarts in the fall. As Harry walked in, he gave George a wave. George looked a little wane but smiled back, setting down the boxes he had been using to stock the shelves, and walking over. He clapped Harry on the back. "Hey Harry. Nice to see you out and about for once!" Some of the gaiety was feigned, Harry knew--he'd seen George at the Burrow the weeks following the death of his twin. If he looked closely, there was still the keen ache of loss in the lines around George's eyes, moisture at the edges that refused to be shed when he was on working hours. George himself hadn't left his room for two weeks after the battle except for the funeral.
Harry shrugged. "I figured it was time to try and get back to more normal things. It's quiet at Black's place. I also was thinking of getting another pet." It was both comforting and painful to be around George, Harry had found. There was the constant reminder of loss, the absence of Fred finishing his sentences. But George was still a good friend as well.
"You know, I'm developing a magical construct pet--it'll be a rat, and it's going to be brilliant because it'll be charmed to deliver either presents or pranks on command. Won't be ready for several months though--it's a bit of a trick to figure out the spells." George cocked his head. "Or maybe I just should buy myself a monkey. That could be fun too."
Harry rolled his eyes; he could only imagine the trouble George could get up to if he had a small furry companion of any sort. "I like the monkey idea. Opposable thumbs, and all that." He glanced around the place, knowing he probably wouldn't see any new products this time, but just seeing if anything sparked his interest.
George chuckled. That seemed to have pretty much tapped out his humour for the moment, so he headed back to his boxes. "Looking for anything in particular?"
"Not really," Harry said, trying to focus on thoughts of fun when all he really felt like doing was curling up in a ball somewhere. It was going to be harder than he'd thought to find normalcy again.
"All right--let me know if you need anything. Oh--and if you're planning anything against Ron, I recommend the Spider Cider--yes, I know it's not a perfect alliteration. But it sounded better than 'Spider Sweet'. Turns you into a spider, for about five minutes or so. Have him near a mirror when he drinks it." George grinned.
This time Harry actually laughed, imaging how Ron would react to being turned into a spider. "I may have to try that one. Thanks."
Harry spent the better part of the afternoon just hanging out in the shop, trying a few of the sample items, selecting out a few other items including a passion perfume for Hermione--she needed a little passion in her life. It was disconcerting to think that there really weren't many he could buy for. He hid a few times when other customers entered the place, not really ready to face other wizards, not knowing whether they'd worship him or hex him.
By the time Harry stepped back into the alley, he had a nice bag of items, and his heart felt considerably lighter. He decided to head over to Eeylops Owl Emporium next. He almost didn't make it in the door, however. There was a white owl in the front window, an owl that bore far too strong a resemblance to his own lost Hedwig . . . the grief made him sway for a moment, threatening to overcome him, before Harry was able to tear his eyes away. He strode resolutely into the building.
"Harry Potter!" The proprietor of the shop was an elderly witch with bright blue eyes that seemed to almost glow in the dark interior of the shop. It was better in there, Harry noted--there were many owls, as well as a few other birds of prey including a large raven which gave a loud shriek as Harry passed it by.
He felt himself shriveling inside, wishing--but it was going to be this way, always. People were going to react every time he stepped into a room. "Yes. I'm just kind of browsing at the moment . . ."
He was about to say more, but the old woman interrupted him. "Oh, I bet! I heard all about the loss of Hedwig, poor thing--she was quite a specimen, wasn'ts he? I still have her sister as part of my breeding group, you know--that's one of hers in the window there."
Harry flushed, not daring to glance back, now understanding exactly why it looked so much like Hedwig. "Actually, I was thinking of something a little different." He motioned over towards a bunch of smaller owls. “I want something dark brown, or perhaps dark grey or black. And I want something smaller. ” He couldn't explain to the old woman the pain that just looking at something like that was like, how fresh the wounds still felt. He knew others had lost loved ones in the war, but how many had lost so many close friends as himself?
“Mmm,” the witch said, and Harry could hear the disapproval in just that syllable. “You’ll want something with a lot of stamina and speed then, I’d wager—person such as yourself probably will be receiving a lot of mail.” She eyed him speculatively.
“That sounds good. ” Harry didn’t like to think what kind of mail people would be sending him, but he had a feeling she was right. He’d already received numerous packages from Muggleborn wizards shortly after the final battle, thanking him. Most of it was still at the Burrow.
“Follow me, Harry—oh, and my name’s Deidre, Deidre Eeylops. Kids used to call me ‘dreary eyedrops’.” Deidre chuckled. “Don’t care much nowadays. I’m still here and most of them are dead. ” She led him towards the group he had been looking at and started sorting through the cages, poking her finger in, snatching it back if it looked like an owl would bite her. “You don’t want a lot of these—they’re temperamental. You need something a bit more stable—great white would have been good, or a great horned owl, even. But I think I have something that should work. ”
She pulled out a small cage with a small black owl with amber eyes and a white breast, hunched over and regarding them warily. It made no fuss, however, when she reached in and pulled it out to show Harry. “This is a pygmy owl—she likes small dark spaces, so you could use something like a birdhouse for her. She’s fierce, strong, and highly manoeuvrable. I’ll warn you—she might struggle a bit with larger packages. But she’s stubborn too, so who knows. ”
Harry smiled at the feisty little bird--she was definitely different than Hedwig, and that was a good thing. She was pretty in her own way, her black feathers dotted with white here and there, her small face turned up at him curiously. "She's perfect."
It wasn't difficult to work out the details from there, with Harry paying out the necessary Galleons. Deidre insisted that he put his new owl to work right away, starting out with taking his packages home. He already had the old cage from Hedwig, which he could further modify, so there wasn't much else that was needed. He decided on the name 'Gertie' because that was like the sound it made as it preened itself.
Harry was just about to call it a success of a day, when he stepped out of the shop.
Right into the flashes of several cameras pointed at him.
Worse, Harry saw a face he would know anywhere, smiling at him from behind her customary notebook and quill.
"The great Hero of the Wizarding World on a shopping trip! Can this poor orphaned boy ever find purpose again, now that his destiny has been fulfilled?" Rita smiled as the cameras clicked.
Harry wished he could just disappear.
***
- 9
- 10
- 11
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End of Obsession