Chapter- 56 : Resurgence Part - 5

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Harry chose not to put it off and left for Diagon Alley the minute McGonagall's dismissed him. He didn't need to buy anything yet, he reasoned, he just had to see what they had in stock so that he could borrow the books from the Hogwarts library for free to evaluate them.

Standing in a little-visited corner in the back of Flourish and Blotts noting down the available titles on parchment with a ratty-looking quill, Harry drew a number of odd looks. It might be because of what he was doing, but judging by the fear some people displayed it might also be the scars that put them off.

"Harry?" a female voice cried, startling him and he turned.

Amanda, his gorgeous drinking buddy, was barrelling down on him between the stacks, coming to a stop just in time to place one hand on his chest for balance while she used the other to poke him savagely.

"You don't Floo, you don't write," she scolded. "What's a girl to think?"

"If you wanted me to write," he responded dryly, "you should have given me your last name."

Her mouth formed a small o. "I didn't give you my Floo address either, did I?" she mused. Harry shook his head and she threw him a startled look. "Is that why you didn't come over when I invited you in?"

"Uh, yeah." Embarrassed, he ran his fingers through his hair. "I waited for like five minutes but left when you didn't come back. I did pay your tab though."

She absently waved off his babbling, instead looking strangely disappointed.

"I, well..." She flushed. "It's been a long time since I've done that, you know, sleep with a guy on the first date. I thought you declining my offer was... gallant, in a way."

"Oh." He did not quite know how to feel about that. "If it's any consolation, I was worried that I might be taking advantage of you being drunk so I don't think anything would have happened."

She looked at him askance before fluttering her eyelashes.

"Are you sure?" she purred. "I can be very... persuasive."

His heartrate sped up and he had to swallow to moisten his suddenly dry throat.

"I do have morals!" he objected, trying to ignore how warm her hand felt on his chest.

"I'm glad," she said, smiling wickedly before kissing him on the cheek and breathily whispering, "Play your cards right and maybe I'll tell you my last name."

Her warm breath tickled his ear and Harry shivered as his cheeks grew hot.

Taking two steps back Amanda adopted a curious expression like nothing out of the ordinary had just happened. "So what are you doing here?"

Harry shook his head to clear it but couldn't get rid of the small smile on his face. "I'm checking for books to assign my new students," he explained.

"Hard at work, even in the summer. Admirable." She breathed in deeply and for a second Harry's eyes flitted to her chest before he focussed on her face again. "Why don't you finish up here and I'll go browse a little," she proposed, already turning to walk away. Looking over her shoulder, she called, "Just come find me when you're done."

A few minutes and a lot of hastily scribbled notes later he found her just as she was paying. The proprietor handed her a small bag and to his immense surprise she passed it on to him.

"Here, this is for you," she said. "A thank you for paying off my tab, even after I ditched you."

"You didn't have to," he murmured, but nevertheless reached in to pull out a small volume titled Glamours for the Gifted.

"I know that your scars bother you," she said softly. "With this book, if you want to, you can hide them for a while." Laying her hand over his she slowly forced his fingers closed around the cover. "Don't do it out of shame though, because that would be wrong as you have nothing to be ashamed of. I just wanted you to have the option."

Harry swallowed thickly. "Thank you. That is very thoughtful."

She smiled softly and nodded once before her smile turned impish and she twirled around playfully. "It's also a book written specifically for witches," she called out loudly over her shoulder. "Most of the people buying it are teenage girls worried about their looks. If anybody ever catches you with one of those glamours they'll think you're hiding a zit."

Cackling loudly she fled out of the store, hair flying and Harry chased after her, apologising to everyone he inadvertently ran into.

"Minx," he growled when he caught up but she just smiled widely and ignored him. "What brings you to Diagon Alley, anyway? Is there something you need?"

She shrugged casually. "Not really, I was just window shopping."

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