{Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlour, Diagon Alley}
As everyone looked around and waited, I leaned casually towards Hermione. My eyes dipped, checking out her exposed cleavage for a quick second before I whispered, "What are you all looking for?"
Her eyes snapped to me as she looked confused and replied, "The owl carrying the letter usually arrives within a few minutes. You shouldn't have done that, Harry. Didn't you get the letter when you used the spell in the morning?"
'Shouldn't the letters take longer than a few minutes?'
"No, I did not," I replied, puzzled. As time passed and no owl arrived, Emma started the discussion on why that was possible.
"Maybe your letters are going to your family's house?" She guessed, which seemed like a reasonable conclusion, given that they had no idea how the trace works.
"I don't think so, given that our Hogwarts letter arrived at my and your homes, which shouldn't be registered anywhere in the magical system. The whole system clearly seems automatic." I replied as everyone at the table mulled over my words and then nodded.
"Plus, Prof. McGonagall just processed your application yesterday. The Ministry has no reason to know where you live if you refused to go to Hogwarts, so an address shouldn't be a thing. Unless..." I mused out loud.
"Unless what?" Emma asked curiously.
"...Well, unless magic, of course. We don't exactly have an idea of what it is capable of now, do we?" I replied, and Daniel nodded wholeheartedly as he followed along. "Well, this means we know where we are going next... to the bookstore, of course." He grinned at my questioning look.
'I would never do this well in a family that is so focused on academics, though I can kind of understand why Hermione in canon treated books as gospel.'
"Let's go." Daniel stood up excitedly, but Emma pulled him back into his seat with a sharp tug. "Let the children eat something before we go anywhere. Have you had breakfast, dear?" She directed the question at me, to which I nodded. I had eaten a quick bowl of tomato soup with peas, a house special for 5 sickles.
"Well, let's get some sugar in you before these two get themselves lost in the books again," she said as Hermione quickly scarfed down her dessert and shared a quick glance with Daniel while I ordered the same ice cream I'd had yesterday. It wasn't the best, but it was different enough that the novelty hadn't worn off yet.
"Why don't Dad and I go search for the book regarding the trace while you two eat?" Hermione asked, and Daniel, having reached a tactical decision with her, nodded. "Great idea, dear. We'll meet back at the bookstop."
And just like that, two whirlwinds of energy were gone, leaving me behind alone with Emma. She wore a strained smile as she tried to suppress a sigh. We shared a look before I chuckled, "That looks like it happens to you a lot."
"You have no idea." She shook her head and looked down at her own ice cream for a moment before picking up a scoop and focusing on eating.
"Yeah, I had a feeling that they were way too smooth with those looks and the quick getaway, with this being their first time." I suppressed a scoff as I joked with her.
"Well, I don't mind the company." I smiled at her as I looked into the distance. "It's been a funny couple of days. I'm still trying to wrap my head around it." I replied, honesty bleeding into my tone as everything was indeed happening too quickly.
"Oh, I'm sorry, dear. I'm sorry you had such a rough childhood." Emma replied as she put her scoop down and looked at me with concerned eyes. It seems like she had misunderstood me, reading too much into my vulnerability.
"Thank you," I replied softly as I avoided looking into her eyes; otherwise, she might see through my fake emotions. Instead, I sneaked another bite as I looked around. "It feels surreal, doesn't it... a magical world hidden away, like Alice in Wonderland."
"Well, from what I have seen, it's real enough, Harry." She smiled kindly at me. "Otherwise, I have had a very real daydream of a spoon flying around in my dining room."
I smiled, nodded, and took another bite of ice cream. I looked around and asked, "Do you know of any place to shop around for clothes near the exit of Leaky Cauldron?... I haven't really shopped for my own clothes before." I added after a brief hesitation, then looked away from her as I lied.
"Of course, dear, there is a shopping street not far away." She replied and then, after a moment, offered, "We can go there after these two come back. Based on the clothing style of witches that I can see, most of them prefer to wear dresses under those robes. So Hermione might need more variety when she goes to Hogwarts, even if it seems like they show too much skin." She muttered the last part, which caused my eyes to drop briefly down toward her breasts.
Unlike the pert and round breasts of a young woman, her breasts were hanging like teardrops and looked like her sundress had collected them together by the straps. My eyes widened as she leaned forward, her breasts pooling on the table, and as I looked up and noticed that I had been caught looking. I blushed and averted my eyes as Emma laughed.
"It's quite alright, Harry. You are a healthy, growing boy, so I can understand your curiosity." She winked at me, which did nothing to help with the embarrassment, so I took another bite of the cold ice cream, hoping it would douse the flame that had spread to my cheeks.
"I'm quite comfortable in my skin, dear. I'm an old woman, so I can be a little freer in how I dress. I just don't want Hermione to deal with unwanted attention as I did back in the day."
"You're very beautiful," I countered her self-deprecation almost automatically, my eyes locked onto her kind smile and gentle gaze. She had a very unique aura around her, maybe it was the confidence that she was talking about, very much like Adorabella.
'Too bad I can't see a number over her head that would tell me how low her inhibition is,' I thought before pushing it away. It shouldn't be too high, considering she was flirting with me.
"Aww, aren't you a charmer, dear? It seems like I have to warn Hermione to stay away from you. Otherwise, you might steal my babygirl away." She grinned as she teased me, and I focused on finishing the last couple of scoops of ice cream in my mouth.
"Let's get going," I mumbled, pulled out a couple of galleons, and left them on the table. "I don't think they have galleons left to buy any book that they might find."
Emma gave me an amused look, nodded as she stood up gracefully. The strap of her purse hugging close to her stomach emphasized her ridiculous curves, and I had to forcefully turn away so I wouldn't stare.
I heard her giggle at my antics as we stood up, and I shuffled to hide my discomfort, which she clearly noticed. "A growing boy indeed," she teased as I sped up, escaping her words and heading toward the bookstore.
As I reached for the door, a distracted Hermione walked out and collided head-on with me.
"Ahh~" she shrieked in surprise, and my reflexes saved her as I quickly grabbed her waist to make sure she didn't fall. It was a scene straight out of a movie script as she stared at me and I stared at her flushed face.
And then my worn-out glasses slipped from my face and smacked into her nose.
'That's one way to ruin a moment...'
AN: Have some plans for Emma during the summer vacation before school starts. I made her too sexy to not try anything. :P