69 The Quick Visit

Amelia was not surprised when she arrived at the gates to Hogwarts and saw a well dressed young man waiting there for her. He had his trunk beside him, too. She didn't ask him why he never left it in the castle and she wasn't going to. If he felt like he needed it with him, as far as she was concerned, he could take it with him anywhere he wanted to go. She tapped the gates with her wand and stepped close to him.

“Good morning.” Amelia said and took him into a hug. She saw the smile he had and it warmed her heart that he wasn't shying away from her. He looked happy to get a hug from her and she returned his smile as he hugged her back.

“Good morning.” Harry said as his chin sunk into her combat robes between her breasts. “Can I ask you something?”

“Of course.” Amelia said. “Go ahead.”

“You said these are your combat robes and you wear them all the time, just in case.” Harry said and she nodded. “How do they protect you if they are so soft?”

Amelia chuckled and he felt movement on his cheeks. “Step back for a second.”

Harry let her go and her top pushed back out to almost be flat.

“Knock on it.” Amelia said.

Harry raised his eyebrows at her and she nodded.

“Like a door. Go ahead and try it.”

Harry looked at her chest and then at her face, then he reached out and knocked on the spot right between her breasts.

*Thump!* *Thump!*

“What... what the...” Harry used both hands and knocked several times, almost like he was beating on drums.

Amelia laughed. “Easy there, Harry.” She said and caught his hands. “Now, just poke it with your finger slowly.”

Harry nodded as she let his hands go. He used a single finger and slowly poked the fabric. It sunk in as if it was normal fabric. “That's so cool!” He said and poked the fabric in a few different places.

One spot was on her breast. Before she could tell him to not touch her there when the cloth was soft, because it wasn't appropriate, he used his other hand to knock on the spot right next to where he was poking her. She caught her breath when he moved both hands away and the part he poked stayed that way for several moments.

Amelia just stared at him because he had quickly found an intrinsic danger to the magic armor. It let you move like normal cloth until you get hit with something, then it hardened to protect you, no matter what shape it was in at the time of impact. You had to be careful of your movements when wearing it. The pressure eased on her breast where he had poked it as the cloth went back to its normal shape.

“How much did it cost?” Harry asked as he picked up his trunk by the handle.

“I didn't ask because I didn't want to know.” Amelia said with an awkward smile.

Harry chuckled and the two of them walked to just outside the gates. “That means I won't be buying any, unless you know where the Ministry got it.”

Amelia put her arm over his shoulder as she ignored the previous awkward moment. “What would you want with combat robes?”

“They would just be normal robes I would wear for protection.” Harry said as he tucked his arm around her waist and held on.

“You wouldn't be allowed to wear them around the school, not even under your uniform.” Amelia said.

“Oh. Then never mind.” Harry said and held the trunk in front of himself and shared his magic with her.

Amelia took in a sharp breath and let his magic join with hers, then she disapparated to the hospital into the room designated for it. She led Harry out into the lobby and they both waved at the Welcome Witch as they passed by her. She nodded to them and they went into the stairwell and went up to the third floor. The room door was already open and they could hear people talking.

“I can eat after Harry's visit.” Sirius said. “He could be here any minute.”

“You need to take your potion.” A woman's voice said, almost pleading.

They entered the room and Healer Ela was perched on the side of the bed and held a large vial that was filled with a brownish liquid.

“You know what I get like after drinking it and I don't want to feel miserable with my godson here.” Sirius said, his arms crossed and his face defiant. “An hour wait won't make much difference.”

Healer Ela let out a sigh.

“Hi, Sirius.” Harry said, which made Healer Ela jump up off of the bed and drop the potion. “Immobulus.” He said as he deployed his wand and the potion froze just before it hit the floor.

“Nice one, Harry!” Sirius said, his voice full of approval.

“Quite.” Amelia said and reached down to grab it and Harry ended the spell. She handed the potion to Healer Ela. “Don't be so nervous.”

“You just startled me, that's all.” Healer Ela said and held the potion close. “Thank you, Harry.”

“He's not up to your super huge big breakfasts yet?” Harry asked with a smile.

Healer Ela smiled back. “I'm sorry I had to cram all of that into you before you went to school.”

“I'm not.” Harry said. “Have you seen the bajillion steps up to the castle from the black lake?”

Healer Ela chuckled and reached out to rub the top of his head. “I'm glad you didn't have to struggle going up them.”

“It was great! I wasn't out of breath or anything.” Harry said.

“I'm glad.” Healer Ela stopped rubbing his hair. “I need to warn you to not get Sirius too excited.”

“I'm sitting right here, dammit.” Sirius said.

“Well... about that...” Harry started to say when a woman knocked on the door frame.

“Hi, there! Madam Malkin sends her regards.” The woman said as she came in with her equipment floating behind her and handed Harry a cloth bag.

“What are you doing?” Healer Ela asked pointedly.

“Oh, don't mind me. This only takes a couple of minutes to set up.” The woman said and waved her wand to deploy the screen and looked at Harry. “You asked for a nice field with some trees in the background, correct?”

“Yes, thanks.” Harry said and the image appeared on the screen. “Hey! It's moving!”

The woman chuckled. “I don't use cheap still frames! It's only the best for my customers.”

“What's this all about?” Sirius asked, genuinely curious.

“I figured out a present to get you.” Harry said and opened the bag that the woman had handed him. “Healer Ela, could you help me get Sirius changed into this?” He asked and took out a stylish suit and the fanciest robes on the market.

“Blimey!” Sirius exclaimed.

Healer Ela just stood there and stared at Harry, because she didn't know what to say.

“I want you to look good for our first portrait together.” Harry said with a big smile and took out a smaller set for himself.

“Harry, you are a true delight to have in our lives.” Amelia said. “I'll give you a hand. It seems Healer Ela is a little too shocked to be of much use right now.”

Harry nodded and they eased Sirius over to the edge of the bed and helped him get changed. They let him sit for as long as possible while they did, because he wouldn't be able to stand for very long, if the last visit was any indication. By the time he was dressed, the set was ready and Healer Ela had snapped out of her trance.

“Sirius, I'm just going to trim you up a bit.” Healer Ela said and she did several quick swipes with her wand and trimmed his scraggly beard and moustache to look presentable, then she did a few swipes at his hair and tamed it to be less of a mass and more like an actual hairstyle. “All right, that should do it.”

“Harry, please tell me I look as much like a proper man as you do.” Sirius asked. While Healer Ela had tended to him, Harry had quickly changed with Amelia's help.

“Better.” Harry said and held a hand out to him. Sirius took it and stood up.

“I'm ready for you.” The woman said from behind her magic device that was pointed at the screen. Everything was well lit and gave off a warm glow.

Harry and Sirius stepped in front of the screen and Sirius put his arm over Harry's shoulder while Harry put his arm around Sirius' waist to help support his weight.

“Thank you for this, Harry.” Sirius said as he looked down at him.

“You're welcome.” Harry said and looked up at him.

They both turned towards the device and waited.

“....and we're done.” The woman said and stepped back to look at it. “I got it. I really got it.”

“Got what?” Amelia asked and looked into the display.

“I caught exactly the emotions Harry wanted.” The woman said and tapped it, then swiped her wand at her things to pull them towards herself. “I'll be back in half an hour.”

The woman ran from the room with her things floating behind her and Harry led Sirius over to the bed and sat him down. The three of them quickly undressed him and put him back into the hospital gown.

“Ah, this was a nice fantasy.” Sirius said and sat back against the pillow propped up at the head of the bed.

“It's not over yet.” Harry said and opened his trunk. The three of them watched as he went down inside of it and came out with a tiny wardrobe. He placed it in the corner of the room and enlarged it to its proper size, then hung up Sirius' new suit inside.

“Harry, what... how did you...”

“I ordered a bunch of things for my trunk by owl post. Shrunken, of course.” Harry said. “I figured I could get you a wardrobe, too.”

“Harry...” Healer Ela started to say that it couldn't stay, because it was dangerous to have things in the room with Sirius.

“I know what you're going to say.” Harry said with a smile. “That's why it's all the way over here across the room.” He said and poked the door and it was soft as a cushion. “I cast Spongify on it, too.”

Amelia chuckled and Sirius laughed.

“You are brilliant, my boy! Bloody brilliant!” Sirius exclaimed and then pat the side of the bed. “Come here and tell me how your week has been.”

“You're not going to believe this.” Harry said and sat down on the edge of the bed. “The Headmaster at the school trusted Hagrid with getting something out of a Gringotts vault nearly two months ago.”

Sirius barked a laugh. “Please tell me it was something important!”

“It was important enough that he forgot all about it until yesterday and announced a hundred galleon reward for returning it.” Harry said with grin and Sirius laughed and laughed.

“Do you know what it was?” Amelia asked.

“He said it was a red crystal of some kind and wouldn't say what it was called, just that it was sentimental and he wanted it back.” Harry said and brought up the dragon heart diamond and the red opal drawings into his mind. “Hermione looked into what it could be and found a few different things that it could be.”

“You're not going to go hunting for it, are you?” Sirius asked.

“For what? A hundred galleons?” Harry asked and opened his money bag. He dug his hand in and took out several large handfuls of silver sickles. “I have almost that in just silver sickles!”

Sirius laughed and pat his arm. “I'm not going to ask how much in galleons you have.”

“I honestly don't know.” Harry said with a grin and Sirius laughed again.

Amelia and Healer Ela stood off to the side and slowly shook their heads in disbelief.

Harry and Sirius talked for half an hour, with occasional additions by Amelia and Healer Ela, then the woman that had taken the picture ran back into the room.

“It came out wonderfully! I'm so proud!” The woman said and she had two wrapped bundles in her arms. They were two feet by two feet and she handed one to Sirius and one to Harry. “I hope you have somewhere important to hang these, because they are masterpieces.”

Sirius opened his and he took in a sharp breath at the two handsome men in the picture that could be seen from the waist up. They looked at each other, showing deep emotions, then they looked out at him. Tears came to Sirius' eyes and he didn't bother trying to wipe at them.

“This is... the most wonderful...” Sirius hugged the portrait and looked at Harry. “Harry.”

“I know.” Harry said and stood as he looked at Amelia. “We better go.”

“Hang this up for me first.” Sirius said and pointed to the wall that he would see when he was laying down on his side.

Harry took the portrait and cast a sticking charm on it, after building his magic up a lot, then he placed it on the wall. Portrait Sirius and Portrait Harry looked out of the frame at him and gave him nods.

“That's perfect.” Healer Ela said. “Thank you, Harry.”

“Are you putting yours in your trunk?” Sirius asked.

“For now.” Harry said and put it inside. “I'll hang it up at home when I visit there.”

Amelia looked at him. “When exactly were you going to do that?” She asked with a stern expression.

“After I begged you to take me there when we're in the hallway.” Harry said with a smile.

“You... cheeky little...” Amelia started to say and Sirius let out a laugh, despite the tears still in his eyes.

“You better take him when he asks.” Sirius said. “He'll take The Knight Bus if you say no.”

Amelia chuckled and put a hand on Harry's shoulder. “You shouldn't be abusing my good nature just because I like you so much.”

“Ha! When else is he supposed to?” Sirius asked.

Amelia opened her mouth to respond, then realized what he meant. “All right. After we're in the hallway and you pay the photographer, I'll pop you over and then I have to pick up my niece, Susan.”

Harry nodded and walked over to the bed. “I'll see you next week... or the next time you look right over there.” He said and motioned to the portrait on the wall. “That's what it's for, after all.”

Sirius opened his arms and Harry leaned in and gave him a hug. “You're a good boy, Harry.” He said and let him go. “See you next week.”

Harry nodded and he, Amelia, and the woman left the room.

“It's time to take your potion.” Healer Ela said.

“Harry just left, dammit!” Sirius exclaimed.

Amelia chuckled as she shut the door.