Chapter 57: CHAPTER 57: THE 25th OF AUGUST

Facts:

The Leaky Cauldron was a popular wizarding pub and inn located in London. It was the entrance to Diagon Alley and, indirectly, Knockturn Alley. The rear of the pub opened up onto a chilly courtyard that contains the entrance to both alley ways.

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It was the 25th of August, Ed and Hermione were preparing to stay at the leaky cauldron. Ed wanted to go there early because he wanted to buy some things and study it. He was now tidying himself in his room, he wore a normal blue shirt and jeans. After he was finished dressing up, he took his suitcase and walked outside his room.

Ed then went to Hermione’s room and knocked on her door.

“Hermione? are you done?” he called out.

“Ed? Wait a minute, I’m just fixing my hair a little.” She answered.

Ed hummed and waited outside. A couple of minutes later, Hermione was finally done and got out of her room and greeted Ed. She was wearing a pink jacket to warm herself up, as it’s nearing fall.

Hermione scanned Ed’s clothing and questioned, “You didn’t wear warm clothing? It’s already quite cold outside…”

Ed shrugged, “It’s not that cold.”

Hermione just sighed at the statement, “Fine, suit yourself.”

The two then walked to the front door. Ed was helping Hermione with her trunk, as Ed only brought his suitcase. “You want me to put it in the suitcase?” Ed asked.

Hermione shook his head in denial, “No thanks, it’ll be a bother to get it out.”

Ed just hummed and the two arrived at the front door, where Ashbey was waiting.

“Hello Ashbey, I think we’re ready.” Ed greeted.

“Good morning Master Ed, Leaky Cauldron right?” the butler questioned as he grabbed Hermione’s trunk and put it on the car trunk.

Ed hummed, and the two entered the car together.

“Oh yeah, what do you want for your birthday present? You haven’t told me yet.” Hermione asked.

Ed thought for a while before shrugging, “You don’t have to buy me anything really.”

“I insist.” She pushed.

Ed sighed, “How about a cup of ice cream?”

Hermione narrowed her eyes, “That’s quite cheap don’t you think?”

“It’s all right Hermione, you're fixing your hair and teeth, it's already enough for a birthday present.” Ed commented nonchalantly, making Hermione blushed deeply as he said that. “O-Okay then…”

The car then moved, it has been a long time since Ed rode a car, usually he can just blinked, but Hermione was with him, and she will probably be detected if he does that.

“I never asked you, but what’s that ring by the way?” Hermione suddenly asked, pointing at the ring on Ed’s finger.

“This?” Ed showed the ring, “It’s the reason I can use magic outside of school without being detected.”

“Well can I have one?” she said rather excitedly, but Ed’s expression fell as he heard her.

“Trust me, if you know what’s the ingredients on how to make this ring, you won’t wear it, and you will probably hate me for wearing it…” Ed said rather grimly.

“Well, what’s the ingredients?” Hermione questioned, curious about the ring.

Ed shook his head, “Like I said, if you know, you’ll probably hate me, and won’t wear the ring.”

“I won’t hate you Ed, just tell me.” Hermione pushed, but Ed just kept silent, signalling that he doesn’t want to talk about it. Hermione sighed and just looked away from the window, admiring the streets of London.

A couple more minutes later, the two arrived at the pub, they parked near it and got out of the car. Ashbey was handing Ed Hermione’s trunk when Ed said to him, “Ashbey, I think I can’t go back to Christmas this year, can you tell Roger and Anna?”

“That is sad to hear Master Ed…” Ashbey commented, “But all right, I’ll make sure to tell them.”

Ed shot a weak smile towards Ashbey and said, “Thanks Ashbey, see you next year.”

Ashbey just nodded and the car drove away, leaving Ed and Hermione behind.

“Right, let’s get going shall we?” Ed said, which Hermione just nodded.

The two then entered the pub and went to Tom, the barkeeper to talk about the room.

“Hey Tom.” Ed greeted the man while he sat on the stool.

“Hello Ed, your room is ready for you, do you want to take the key now?” Tom said, straight to the business.

Ed nodded, “Can we rent another room? I’ve got Hermione here that needs one.”

Tom looked at Ed apologetically, “Sorry Ed, all the rooms have been booked, the last ones were booked by the Weasleys…”

“Oh…” Ed said as he looked at Hermione, “Okay Hermione, what are you suggesting we should do now?”

“Well can I just share a room with you?” she said, her cheeks are red and she suddenly found the floor interesting.

“What?” Ed was surprised, “O-Okay then…” Ed answered weakly, then he went back to Tom who was smiling, “Right, the key?”

Tom pulled the key from a nearby drawer and gave it to Ed, “Here it is, it’s the first door on the right, upstairs.”

Ed nodded and got off the stool, he then walked upstairs, with a shy Hermione following behind him.

“I’ll take the suitcase while you take the bed, is that okay?” Ed questioned.

“Why don’t we just sleep in the suitcase? It has plenty of room…” Hermione suggested.

“I guess you’re right… but who’s going to guard the room then?” Ed said as he unlocked the room door. It looked pretty normal for a wizarding world room. He entered it, and once Hermione entered, he closed the door and locked it. After that, Ed put the suitcase on the floor and opened it. “Well, you want to put your clothes here or inside?”

Hermione shook her head, “I have some clothes inside the suitcase so it should be fine…”

Ed chuckled, “The suitcase is practically your second home Hermione…” Ed teased.

“It’s going to be my home in the near future anyway…” she whispered to herself, making sure that Ed didn't hear it, but she failed miserably.

“What makes you think it’ll be your home in the near future?” Ed asked with a raised eyebrow.

Hermione panicked a bit when he said that, but she ultimately answered, albeit stuttering, “W-Well, I might marry you in the future right? You said it yourself… if both of us didn’t find someone other than either of us, then we would marry each other…”

Ed sighed, “Yeah, I said that… but I’m starting to regret that to be honest…”

Hermione looked hurt at the statement, “What do you mean? You mean you don’t want to marry me?” she demanded an answer.

“What? No, no, no, it’s the opposite…” Ed said rather weakly in the end.

“O-Oh…” Hermione stammered, her cheeks are as red as Ginny’s hair right now, and she just quickly walked away from the conversation and placed her trunk near the bed. Hermione is ecstatic as she now knows that Ed is slowly changing his mind about the waiting thing, and she just needs to wait a little bit more to make them official, maybe she’ll convince Ed more to quicken it.

“Right…” Ed said, feeling really awkward, “Do you want to meet Harry? Or do you want to buy the school stuff first?”

Hermione thought for a while before deciding, “Let’s go buy some school stuff first, I want to meet Crookshanks.”

Ed nodded, “Okay, I’ll accompany you if you want.”

Hermione smiled brightly as she pulled Ed’s hand to the door. “Let’s go then.”

Hermione then dragged Ed into the Diagon Alley and both of them brought the school needs, well, Hermione brought her school needs as Ed already had all of it. Hermione first dragged Ed into the bookstore, she went overkill there as she not only bought the necessary books, but also some books that she wanted to buy.

“Hermione, you know I have those books in the library right?” Ed questioned, confused on Hermione’s behaviour.

“I know, but I wanted to own it myself.” She answered, happy with herself as she gave the stack of books to Ed for him to carry.

Ed just sighed and asked once again, “Where do you want to go now?”

“Let’s go buy Crookshanks first.” Hermione said. “But you wanted to buy some things right?”

Ed hummed, “I wanted to buy the firebolt.” Ed said nonchalantly, making Hermione stop in her steps.

“You’re joking…” Hermione exclaimed, “That’s expensive Ed! what do you need it for anyway?”

“I wanted to study it to make my own broomstick.” Ed informed, “I’ve studied the previous broomsticks already, I just need the firebolt.”

Hermione sighed, “Just be careful on your spending Ed…”

Ed hummed, “I’m going to start up a company anyway, so perhaps money will not be a problem in the near future.”

Hermione snorted, “Says the guy who has 10.000.000 Galleons in his vault.”

Ed chuckled, “All right, let’s go buy that Ginger cat.”

Hermione then walked to the Magical Menagerie with Ed and she instantly walked to the ginger cat near the counter, she petted him, and the cat didn’t hiss, which the clerk praised saying that the ginger cat never let anyone touch him. Hermione of course knew this as she read the books, so she bought the cat using the money her parents gave her and walked out of the store with a happy smile and a cat in hand.

“Okay, you want to buy the firebolt?” Hermione said while stroking Crookshanks, “I’ll come with you.”

Ed nodded while leading Hermione towards the Quality Quidditch Supplies. As the day goes by, the alley is getting more and more crowded, so Ed puts the books aside and pulls Hermione aside to the corner of the alley and puts the books down.

“Ed what’s wrong?” She asked the boy.

“The Alley is getting more crowded.” Ed informed as he casted a silent Engorgio spell on a small suitcase in his hand, he then put the books in there and cast a shrinking charm to the suitcase once again.

“Okay.” Ed said, then he grabbed Hermione’s hand and squeezed it lightly, “So you don’t get separated.” He said, a bit serious, but Hermione can see that Ed’s cheeks were red.

Hermione was no better than Ed, she was a blushing mess, she grabbed Crookshanks tightly so she didn’t do anything that she might regret later. Crookshanks on her hands were uncomfortable, so he jumped to Ed, he is now standing on top of Ed’s head, making Ed chuckle.

“Oh, turns out he also likes me.” Ed commented, “Right, let’s go to the shop.”

Ed then continues to lead Hermione to the Quality Quidditch Supplies. On the way, just like Ed thought, both of them almost got separated as people started slamming on them in the alley. Thankfully, they both held each other’s hands tightly so they didn’t get separated.

After a couple of minutes of surfing the crowded alley, Ed and Hermione arrive in front of the store, Ed can already see the firebolt on display. He smirked slightly as he entered the store with the girl besides him and the cat on top of him.

The doorbell rang, and the clerk inside the store noticed it.

“Welcome!” he greeted, “What can I do for you?”

“Um yeah.” Ed and Hermione got closer to the counter and Ed continued to talk to the clerk, “The firebolt is up for order right?”

The clerk instantly turned serious and pulled out a big book, “Right…” he said, he opened the book and wore his glasses to read the content of it. “We can take two more orders right now, the price is negotiable.”

Ed hummed, “Does the price affect who’s going to get it first?”

“’Course it will.” The clerk answered.

Ed nodded, “What’s the highest price that has been offered?”

The clerk read the book again and answered, “2500 Galleons.”

Ed heard Hermione gasping a little, Ed however was smirking, ‘Wow, my budget was 10.000, who knew it could be this little.’

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“All right.” Ed then pulled out his suitcase once again and pulled out a bag of Galleons. “3000 Galleons, good enough?”

Now, the clerk and Hermione gasped, “Y-Yeah… that’s enough…” the clerk said weakly, “What family are you from kid, you’re loaded.” He complemented.

Ed just smiled at the man and said, “Please deliver it to Edgart Aldrich, send it to Hogwarts.”

The clerk sighed, “Aldrich… I heard about the name… but where?” he questioned, but ultimately shrugged, “Okay, expect the delivery around October.” He said as he wrote Ed’s name to the book. “Wait a moment kid, I will give you the certificate for the firebolt and the golden registration number.”

Ed nodded as the clerk went to the back of the store.

“Ed, how come you’re so irresponsible! 3000 Galleons is too much! You could’ve bought it for around 1000 even though you’re going to wait a while…” Hermione scolded the boy.

Ed sighed, “I need it as quickly as possible Hermione, besides, after studying it, I’ll probably give it to someone else or something, and the Gryffindor team will win easier.”

Hermione sighed, “Harry will already get a firebolt from Sirius, who will you give it to?”

Ed shrugged, “Dunno, The Chasers maybe… they seemed nice, it’d be nice to get to know them.”

Hermione glared at him, as she knows that the chasers of the Gryffindor team are mostly girls, but Ed ignored it and waited for the clerk.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang again, Ed looked at who it was, and saw that it’s Seamus, Dean, and Harry coming in.

“Ed? what are you doing here?” Harry asked as he was surprised that Ed was in a Quidditch store, then, he looked at the girl beside him and was even more surprised, “Hermione? is that really you?”

Meanwhile, Ed saw Seamus and Dean stared at Hermione a little bit intently, Ed felt a little bit of jealousy, but ignored it.

Hermione smiled at Harry and came over to hug him, “Hello Harry, how have you been?”

“How have I been? How have you been!? Hermione, you look really different!” Harry exclaimed, “You look…”

“Prettier?” She continued Harry’s words while giggling, “I did some things to my teeth and hair, other than that, puberty I guess…”

“Well, you’re definitely prettier than the last time I met you.” Harry said while smiling, “Good on you Hermione.”

Hermione smiled, “Thanks.” She then looked at Dean and Seamus who were still Gobsmacked at Hermione’s new appearance and greeted them, “Hello guys, have a nice summer?” she said while giggling at their reaction.

“Y-Yeah…” Dean stuttered, while Seamus didn’t say anything.

Hermione just nodded and came back to Ed’s side, then Ed whispered to her, “See, I told you the boys will have a crush on you.”

Hermione smiled, but Ed felt like it was a forced smile, and she looked away from Ed, “Right, I guess I’ll go back to the Leaky Cauldron again now that Harry’s here, I’ll see you there.” She said to Ed.

Ed hummed, “I’ll buy you ice cream once I’m finished.”

“No, I’ll buy you ice cream, I haven’t given you a birthday present.” She insisted.

Ed sighed, “Fine, go now.”

“Right, see you.”

Hermione then ran off out of the store and towards the leaky cauldron, while the other three boys came over to Ed.

“Was that really Hermione? the one who always stays at the library?” Seamus commented.

Ed chuckled, “Yes she is Seamus, she went to France over the summer, and I asked one of my friends from Beauxbatons to meet her, she agreed and she probably got beauty tips from my friend.”

“The Veela girl you mean?” Dean continued to ask, “The one who you’ve shown on the long table last year?”

Ed hummed, the two nodded in understanding and Harry asked something to change the topic, “What are you doing here anyway?”

“Oh, that.” Ed said, but before he could say anything, the clerk came back, “Right, here you go kid, the certificate and the registration number.” He said as he handed down a parchment and a golden plate. Ed hummed, “October right?” Ed questioned.

“Yes, expect it around early October.” The clerk said.

“Right, thank you.” Ed shot a smile to the clerk, he then turned to the other three boys, who were looking at Ed as if he’s a ghost.

“D-Did you just-”

“I-Is that-”

“H-How…”

Ed raised his eyebrow, “What?”

“Is that a firebolt registration number?” Harry asked, looking excited and pale at the same time. 

Ed shrugged, “Oh, yeah, I just bought it, it won’t come until October though.”

The three then squealed in excitement, and Ed just shook his head in amusement. The four of them then exited the store, walking towards Leaky Cauldron.

“Are you going to try for the Gryffindor team Ed?” Dean asked in the way.

Ed shook his head, “No, I bought the firebolt so that I can study it, after that… I guess I can give it to the team if they want it.”

“Are you joking! You bought that expensive broomstick just to study it?!” Seamus exclaimed.

“Well, I wanted to make my own broomstick, so I wanted to study this supposed ‘revolutionary’ broomstick.” Ed said casually.

The other three shook their heads in surrender, “So who are you going to give it to once you finish studying it?”

“Dunno really, probably the chasers? Or you Harry? Let’s just see later.”

The three then continued to talk about the firebolt excitedly as the four walked to the Leaky Cauldron once again. After they arrived, Ed didn’t see Hermione in the pub, so he figured that she’s in the room.

“You know where Hermione’s room is Ed?” Harry asked. Ed blushed lightly at the question and answered it truthfully.

“Oh, um, she didn’t get a room, so she stayed in my room…”

The three went silent for a minute and smirked, “Ah, I see…” Seamus teased.

“Nice move Ed.” Dean patted Ed in the back.

Ed sighed in annoyance, “It’s the truth okay, ask Tom if you like.”

“Whatever makes you sleep at night Ed, right, we got to go, we’ll see you at school you two.” Seamus said as he and Dean walked towards the Leaky Cauldron exit.

Ed hummed, “you want to go to the room Harry?”

“Um, sure…”

The two then walked towards the room and opened the door, he then saw that Hermione was reading a book on the couch with three ice cream cups beside her.

“Hi Hermione.” Ed greeted as he sat on the bed, Harry entered too and sat on the couch.

Hermione smiled, “Hi.” She mumbled, “Here’s your ice cream, Vanilla like you like, and here’s yours Harry.” She handed the ice creams to both of the boys.

The room then turned quiet again, but then Harry broke the ice by asking something that he shouldn’t have.

“So where do you sleep Hermione? on the bed with Ed or…” he asked while smirking.

Hermione blushed instantly and smacked Harry on the shoulder, “O-Of course not, he’s sleeping on the couch while I’m on the bed.” Harry just hummed while still smirking.

“Anyway…” Ed quickly changed the subject, “Fudge says anything Harry?”

“Oh…” Harry quickly changed his face when Ed changed the subject. “Like you said, he ‘pardoned’ my crimes, he even said that he’s going to send some dementors, whatever that is, to Hogwarts…”

Ed hummed, “Predictable.”

Hermione scowled, “That man is really incompetent as a minister, sending Azkaban guards to prison… what is he thinking!”

“Calm down Hermione.” Ed chuckled, “we just have to deal with it.”

Hermione glared at Ed as she knows that he can do more than just ‘deal with it.’, but she didn’t say anything about it.

“Well…” Harry interrupted the glare as he was getting uncomfortable, “So… Do you know what sort of trouble I’ll be in again?”

Ed chuckled, “You should know Harry, it’s quite obvious.”

Harry thought for a while and said, “Sirius Black?”

“Of course.” Ed said, “But I’ll deal with it, I want to solve the dementors as quickly as possible…”

“Please, do it quickly, we haven’t met any dementors and yet I felt the shivers.” Hermione commented.

“It’s quite hard… Pettigrew is with You-Know-Who, and he kind of hates me as you might remember.”

“Wait, who’s Pettigrew, and how’s Voldemort involved in this?”

“Oh, I mean not you-know-who as in Voldemort, but You-Know-Who as in a boy that only Hermione and I knew….” Ed said. “As for Pettigrew, you’ll know soon enough Harry…”

Harry looked at Ed suspiciously and sighed, “Right, I want to take a shower, you guys enjoy your time.” He said while exiting the room.

Hermione and Ed looked at each other and just shrugged, Hermione spending the rest of the day reading books and Ed improving some designs of the magical items he wanted to sell.

On the night, Ed and Hermione were discussing where they will sleep.

“You should sleep here Hermione, so you can quickly open the door when someone knocks.” Ed advised.

“And leave me sleeping here all alone? It’s scary here, no, I’m staying in the suitcase.” Hermione argued.

“Who’ll watch the room then?”

“You are of course.”

“You know what.” Ed said, “Let’s go with your idea when you talk with Harry, I’ll go sleep on the couch, you’ll sleep on the bed.”

Hermione seemed surprised but didn’t say anything, she thought for a while then nodded, “All right…” she mumbled, but she still stood on the floor fidgeting her fingers for a while, making Ed confused, “What’s wrong Hermione?”

“Hm? Oh no…” she snapped out of her thoughts, “Maybe- are you sure you wanted to sleep on the couch? I mean… it’s quite uncomfortable right?”

Ed shrugged, “I’ll manage.” He spoke.

“Maybe…” she mumbled, she suddenly found the floor interesting as she said her next words, “Maybe you wanted to sleep with me on the bed?” her face was red right now, but she was holding it together.

Ed was very surprised at Hermione’s bravery, his face was blushing as well at the offer.

“Hermione…” he whispered softly, “You know that’s a bad idea… I’m a teenager, I don’t know if I can’t control myself…”

Hermione nodded weakly, she’s a bit happy that Ed doubted whether he can control himself if he sleeps on the same bed as her, it means that he’s attracted to her physically, but at the same time she’s a bit disappointed at Ed’s unwillingness, but at least she knew that he’s attracted to her physically, which is a plus in her books. “Right… you’ll sleep on the couch then.”

Ed nodded and made himself comfortable on the couch, both of them stared at each other, one on the bed and one on the couch, and they both said goodnight to each other, ending the day.

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