Slightly Amused

Chapter 1: Out Of Place And Overdressed

It was the beginning of August and Harry Potter couldn't wait to get out of this stuffy house. The heat was rising every day, and Ron's owl Pigwidgeon, or Pig, refused to fly in the heat in order to return a letter to its owner. Harry and Ron had been owling each other all summer, but Hermione has only returned one of Harry's letters. It was the same for Ron, and they just figured that girls were too difficult and complicated to think about during summer break. All of that could wait for the beginning of term.

This summer, the Dursleys again decided not to make a change in their attitude towards Harry. They were as spiteful as ever, and Harry didn't bother to make any changes either. His aunt and uncle went out almost daily with their porky son Dudley, yet they left poor Harry behind to "watch the house." Harry was no watch dog, and he just lounged around the house, waiting for mail from Muggle or owl post. Today was another one of those days. But this time, Harry had the house to himself for nearly four days. Uncle Vernon chose a nice vacation spot in London to play tennis and other summer sports, and he didn't want to waste money on his worthless nephew coming.

After the Dursleys left, Harry was growing impatient. Pig was exhausted from flying back and forth; Ron was miles away from Harry. He almost thought about using Muggle post, but then he had second thoughts. What if the mailman didn't visit the Burrow? He then decided to wait and use Hedwig later. She was out hunting for mice and such, but she should be back soon.

By the time Hedwig arrived back from the outdoors, Harry had fallen asleep on the living room couch. He was awoken an hour later by a rapping on the front door. Peeking through the door window, he saw a woman carrying some boxes. Who would walk around selling things in this heat? His curiosity dragged him to the door and made him open it.

"Hello," said the woman at the door. Harry realized she wasn't exactly a woman, but a teenage girl around his age. She wore a dark, snug uniform-style outfit, and he wondered how she wasn't sweating. Her skirt was short enough for the summer, but it was black. Her olive green shirt had a collar that made Harry feel hot even though he wasn't wearing it. Knee-high socks were out of the question for days like this, but she was wearing them anyways. Most of her brown hair was tucked inside a lime-green-and-black striped beret, which made Harry assume she was French.

"Would you like to buy some candy?" she asked sweetly. She spoke differently, but it sure wasn't a French accent. Maybe she was American? Perhaps that's why she seemed so accustomed to this heat.

"Sure," Harry replied, eagerly. The Dursleys didn't have many sweets around, but it was helping Dudley with his weight a bit. Then Harry remembered that he didn't have any Muggle money, he had only a few Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts. "Oh, wait. I'm sorry. I don't have any money," he told her.

"I'm pretty sure you do," she said reassuringly. Opening her box of sweets, Harry nearly dropped his jaw. There were no Mars Bars or Girl Scout cookies, but arrays of Bertie Bott's Every Flavored Beans, chocolate frogs, sugar quills, and every other wizard candy Harry could think of. It was like Honeyduke's in a box!

"You're -," Harry started.

"Yes," she interrupted, not rudely. "I am."

"Well then, I guess I'll take one of everything!" Harry said. The girl laughed. Her cute laugh was ringing in his ears as he ran upstairs to get some coins. Then he wondered why she was selling these kinds of things in a Muggle-inhabited area. She can't just show Muggles chocolate that actually jumps like a frog! Maybe she knew he was a wizard... maybe she knows where wizards are. Then he wondered if she was a stalker of some sort, but he'd never seen her before. She must be a witch with a map of wizard homes.

Running back to the door, Harry saw that she already had one of every candy wrapped neatly in a box with "Harry Potter" written neatly in handwriting along the side. He gave her the money, and she thanked him with a sweet smile. She was a very good-looking girl, and Harry wondered why he hadn't seen her at Hogwarts. If she was really his age, she must go to Hogwarts, right? Maybe she doesn't live around here, and she's just visiting for the summer. Yes, that's it. Of course she doesn't go to Hogwarts, or he would have definitely noticed her by now, he was already about to be in his sixth year. Then he wondered how she knew his name, but realized that she must have seen his scar.

Harry carried the slightly heavy box of sweets back up to his room and found Hedwig perched atop her cage. Pig was curled into a tighter ball than he already was, sleeping in the middle of Harry's bed. When Harry was tying the letter for Ron to Hedwig's outstretched leg, he decided to send him a chocolate frog or two, since the girl had given him about ten.

Later that night, it started to get cold. Harry hadn't felt a cold night like this in almost two months. He didn't bundle up under covers; it was great feeling cool. For a few minutes, he even went outside and felt the breeze, just in case it would be hot again tomorrow. He drew the line when his teeth started to chatter, and fell asleep under his blanket.

Hedwig woke Harry up at around seven in the morning, and that was way too early for him. He almost went back to sleep, but noticed she had a letter from Ron tied to her leg. Excited, he jostled out of his bed and rushed through what Ron wrote. The girl who had sold candy to Harry yesterday also visited the Burrow. Ron questioned how this was possible, because he didn't think anyone but family and close friends knew where he lived. No matter the circumstances, Ron didn't turn down a chance for sugary treats.

Harry didn't bother to think about it too much; things like this happen all the time. It was like he was a magnet. Weird things always happened to him, he just wasn't sure why this time it was different. People never actually go around selling things in Little Whinging, and yet it was a witch. By the time Harry was downstairs and watching television, it was off his mind.