The Christmas lunch was here and the tables were packed high with fatty foods, from roast turkey, beef, potatoes, turnips, carrots, Yorkshire puddings, enough gravy to drown in... Basically everything a family would have on Sunday roast except with a far higher risk of diabetes. The only real vegetables present were so smothered in fat that they may as well have counted as protein.
Not that Harry was complaining, of course, this was actually the first time he was getting to try it. The Dursleys used to have him make roast dinners whenever the urge struck them, yet he never actually got to taste any of it. He could have snuck some bites in, but he was under the misapprehension that such foods were the reason why his family was so shit...
He blatantly ignores the glares sent his way by Dumbledore, his Slytherin Housemates, Gryffindor... Basically everyone really, and instead turns his attention to piling his plate high
"Hey! Not all of them!" someone protests but trails off when they realise just who had stolen all the pigs in blankets...
"You got a problem?" Harry questions as he dumps the entire contents of a gravy boat over his meal.
"N-no! Sorry!" they yelp as Nanthisk pokes his head up from under the table.
"Uh... Harry?" Nick tentatively asks as he sits himself in the empty place next to Harry, obviously avoiding Nanthisk.
"Yha?" he asks while chewing.
"I-er, got you a present, for helping me..." the young boy holds out some kind of card to him.
Harry wipes some gravy on his robe and take it, revealing it to be some kind of trading card. "Diego Maradona...? I don't know who that is..."
"He's the best footballer out there! It's one of the rarest in the collection you can get! It's probably worth, like, ten pounds now!"
"Ten pounds..."
Nick hurriedly nods, "Yeah, cool right!?"
...
"Yeah..." he trails off, only now noticing Hermione's approach, "You too?"
She eyes the card and inwardly fist-pumps, knowing well Harry's disdain for such things. She places a small booklet on the table, one with a scrawled picture of a bust..? "I made it after you told me your plans, it's a tour guide for magically important locations in Rome, like the Colosseum where gladiators and prisoners fought magical beasts, or Palatine Hill where the Emperors used to live..."
Harry takes it and flips through some pages, squinting at her rushed writing, "It's... Good? Thanks." he smiles lightly before his brows furrow at the fact he hadn't gotten her anything... The only person he'd ever gotten a Christmas present for was Kali, but even then that was only because she made sure to remind him.
"Ah..." he utters, reaching down into his bottomless back and searching for a particular item he'd absconded from the come-and-go room, one he knew Hermione needed and would have probably bought for herself later on.
"Here," he hands her the dusty book on Occlumency. "It's a magical art you can practise at home without the Ministry knocking on your door. Plus, it shields your mind from intrusion..." he adds the last part with a meaningful look.
"R-really? This is too much..." she says despite reaching out and taking the book. "I-I really shouldn't take this."
"I don't underssstand massster, doesss she want it or not...?" Nanthisk asks as the girl secures the book under her arm.
"She's just being polite." he hisses back before turning his attention to her, "Take it, I've already read it anyway." not true but he found two older editions of the same book. He wasn't going to leave the extras there for someone else to take.
She flashes him an almost luminescent smile, "That's really sweet of you... Harry." she simply says before skipping back to the Gryffindor table, where her Housemates immediately begin interrogating her...
-----------------
Harry wished he could just skip the long-ass train ride home and apparate instead, but with Hagrid escorting him like a hound dog he didn't really have a choice in the matter.
Thankfully it passed quickly with the combination of books and irritating magical chocolate. Not even the Slytherins tried to bother him either, which was a plus. Hermione spent almost the entire journey with her head in her new book...
With the train stopped he casts a disillusionment charm on Nanthisk around his shoulders, shoves his glasses in his pocket and brushes his hair over his scar before exiting, finding a huge crowd of people milling around the platform. Judging by how most of them had cameras, he was pretty sure they were looking for him too.
"Ah, that's my parents there, I'll see you later Harry, thank you again for the gift. Remember to call me if you can!" Hermione says, handing him a phone number before making her way to the uncomfortable-looking Muggles. She was so excited to get back to them that she forgot to ask Harry to meet them... Or maybe didn't and did it intentionally?
"Harry." a familiar voice greets and he turns to find Kali... Or not? Instead, it was a non-descript woman wearing a summer dress and a sun hat.
"Kali." he greets, feeling her through their bond. "When are we meeting the lawyers?"
"Ten minutes, we need to start moving." she says, taking his hand to lead him away, only for someone to block their path.
"Sofia...? What are you doing here?" Remus Lupin asks, eyes darting to Harry in realisation.
"Sofia?" he asks over their bond.
"He's one of my projects." she mentally replies, "Mr Hashbury asked me to pick up Harry, it's my first time on this platform actually..."
"You know about magic?"
She sighs sadly, "My mum's a squib, or that's what I think she calls herself? She passed away you see..."
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that..." Remus shakes his head, "But I need to speak with Harry here for a minute."
"I'm really sorry Remus, but he's got a meeting to get to in ten-no, eight minutes, we really need to rush!"
"But-"
"I'll talk to you later, okay?" she assures as they shuffle through the crowd, leaving the confused Werewolf behind.