Flower of Friendship

Before dawn, the Gryffindor trio returned to Number 12 Grimmauld Place on foot. They had no choice; they hadn't learned Apparition yet, nor did they have their conspicuous flying brooms, not to mention the Knight Bus that might reveal their location. Fortunately, all three of them were in good physical condition.

“Harry, what do you mean by coming back the day after tomorrow? Didn’t you do what I taught you?” Hermione asked, suppressing her anger.

Harry countered with a question, "Do you remember the ingredients and steps for making Polyjuice Potion?"

“Of course.” Hermione’s train of thought was momentarily diverted by his sudden question. “If it were now, I could definitely do better than I did in second year—why are you asking this?”

"Oh right, in second grade... um... I thought there wasn't enough time, so I had to buy everything ready-made."

Harry seemed to have a plan in mind that she was unaware of, which made Hermione anxious. "Harry!"

Ron wasn't in a hurry. "Don't panic, Hermione. Harry will tell us eventually."

Hermione turned her anger on him, "Aren't you worried at all?!"

“I think Harry knows what he’s doing. Think about it, he was able to face a dragon and Vader all by himself last year, and he’s a year older this year. What can’t he do?”

"Shut up!"

"I only told you because you asked me..."

Harry didn't let his two friends argue for long. "I'm going to buy ready-made Polyjuice Potion and Age-Defying Elixir."

The uses of anti-aging agents are obvious, as for compound decoctions—

“Who do you want to look like you and stay at headquarters?” Hermione’s mind raced. “Avoid the adults, the twins? Oh no… Ginny? But she probably wouldn’t agree if she knew you were going to see a girl—” Hermione’s voice trailed off at the end, “…who else?”

"Of course it's Ron. He knows me best and is the most suitable to play me."

"Huh? Me?" Ron pointed to his nose.

"Then I'll stay with you—"

"No, Hermione, you have to keep an eye on Ron. He's prone to making mistakes when he's nervous."

"What? You think you can sneak out of headquarters alone during the day? Impossible!" Hermione's eyebrows shot up. "Besides, how do you explain Ron's absence?"

"Whether it's in the bathroom, sleeping... Ron always eats a lot. I think as long as he sees 'me' and you, Mrs. Weasley will feel at ease?"

"Hey buddy! I just don't like wasting money!"

Hermione hesitated for a moment, "But do you think they'll believe you can stay in your room and not go anywhere?"

"Doing homework, brewing potions, preparing for a hearing... any excuse will do."

"Merlin's beard! You've reminded me of the hearing! Harry, you can't be so reckless, listen, you—"

"I'll carry an invisibility cloak with me at all times to ensure my safety, okay?"

"No--"

"What are the ingredients for compound decoctions and aging potions? We definitely need to buy some, otherwise where will we get the raw materials to brew the magic potions?"

"Harry!"

“Hermione.” Harry stopped. “Like I said, I’ll only be with Queenie for an hour or two. I don’t think that will take much time off. I promised her I’d go with her to the school ball. If you’re not going to help me, I’ll go to Sirius. He’ll definitely be on my side.”

"..."

“I just don’t want to bother him with these things. He’s already stressed enough. You know, once this summer is over, I won’t see Queenie again.”

"..."

“I will ask the twins to teach me Apparition; I can’t rely on the Invisibility Cloak alone to save my life.”

Hermione wanted to say that it was dangerous, but she thought of Sirius after Harry's words. Marauders at this age were already practicing Animagus, so Apparition, which most wizards could master, seemed insignificant in comparison.

Her lips, which had been pursed into a straight line, finally opened. "Then Ron and I will learn together."

Harry smiled. "Of course, we're always together."

Ron looked at this and then at that. "You've agreed on it? When are we going to suggest buying potions? Mom will never refuse anything related to studying."

“Wait until after nine o’clock,” Hermione said sternly, “because Ron has no idea what getting up early means.”

Hey! I'm getting angry!

The three of them exchanged a glance and burst out laughing simultaneously.

As soon as it was light, Queenie started banging on the door frantically. She had just touched her face and discovered that Emily hadn't removed her makeup! She could already imagine what she would look like after crying while drunk. Good heavens, thank goodness Harry stopped her from turning on the light, otherwise she wouldn't have the face to see him again!

Emily opened the door for her, looking completely bewildered—she almost thought someone had come looking for trouble, like that the seemingly unreliable Harry was actually a married man and his wife had finally come knocking on the door.

Five minutes later, Emily sat cross-legged in a chair watching Queenie tidy herself up, and she asked incredulously, "You actually believed that?"

"Why wouldn't I believe it? Harry is very sincere."

"Yeah, you're pretty easy to fool."

Queenie washed her face with her eyes closed. "That's because you haven't met Harry. If you did, you wouldn't think he's a bad person either." She still remembered how Emily had talked about all the possibilities of Harry being a bad person last night to comfort her: a fishing expert, a conman, an insurance salesman... Well, insurance salesmen aren't necessarily bad people, but Emily thought Harry must have ulterior motives.

“Then I’ll meet him myself. You’re meeting him the day after tomorrow—it should be tomorrow now, right? I’ll go with you then.” Emily was still a little worried. Queenie only thought of Harry as a somewhat mysterious and handsome sailor because she liked him. In her opinion, he might not even be a real sailor. Did he have a certificate? Even if he did, it might be fake. Otherwise, how did they get into the bar?

"..." Queenie wanted to enjoy a short time alone with Harry, but she knew Emily meant well. "Let's go together, but you can't fall for him."

Emily made a vomiting face. "Come on, I'm not that bad woman Freya."

Queenie gave a sweet smile. "Of course you're not my darling. How can she compare to you?"

Emily snorted.

Harry's departure went remarkably smoothly.

To avoid attracting attention, he didn't even go through the front door, or even down to the second floor. His and Ron's bedroom was on the third floor, not very high, so Harry simply climbed out the window. This simple method went unnoticed, thanks to the house's built-in exorcism spell. Besides, what wizard would climb out of a window to leave a room? And what wizard in this house would even think of another wizard doing so?

Harry bought a cell phone first. He wasn't very good at using it, but he couldn't stay out for too long, so he didn't waste time learning how to use it from the clerk and went straight to Queenie's apartment.

Sitting on bus number 6, Harry found himself feeling no tension or worry whatsoever. He wasn't worried about Mrs. Weasley finding out he was missing, about this summer of meeting only to part, or even about the upcoming hearing to try him. His mind was filled with replays of the dance steps and the questions he might be asked about seafaring and maritime matters.

Harry suddenly stopped and looked at his reflection in the car window, where he was in his early twenties. Was his hair... so messy? Should he get it fixed?