Promises

They spent most of their day there, running into old friends from Hogwarts as they were walking from store to store. They didn't buy anything except some chocolate, but they had fun just wandering in and out of the various stores. Fred and George had hired Lee Jordan to paint a sign in their window that said 'Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes -- If you want your friend to grow a tail, The Weasleys' Wheezes will never fail!' They stopped to talk briefly with Lee, since they hadn't seen him since their wedding.

Cho Chang was in Diagon Alley as well, looking in Flourish and Blotts for a book about magical plants and fungi. Harry helped her find a book that had helped him out a lot called One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore. The imposter Alastor Moody had given it to Neville in an attempt to help Harry win the Triwizard Tournament, but Harry neglected to realize that the book would be of service to him.

The one person who was in Diagon Alley that they were actually glad to see was Remus Lupin, who was sitting alone in a tavern called 'The Lonesome Wizard.' They had seen Lupin through one of the dirty glass windows. He was sitting at a table for one, with an old, dusty mug filled with what Harry supposed was firewhiskey. Seeing how lonely he was, Harry and Ginny decided to walk inside and talk with him.

"Hey Moony! How ya been?" Harry greeted him as he slid beside Lupin. He was sitting in a chair that he had snatched from one of the other tables. Lupin turned around at the mention of his old nickname, and was surprised to see Harry sitting there, watching him intently as he took another swig from his dusty glass.

"Oh, hey Harry! I was just thinking about you... I was going to see if you were going to Arthur's tonight for dinner," Remus told him.

"Well, Ginny and I were thinking about going. We're pretty sure we'll be there, but we're not absolutely sure. Why, are you going to be there?" Harry asked.

"Yep. Molly invited me over last night when I ran into her over at Hogwarts. Apparently there was something urgent she needed to tell Dumbledore. I asked her what was going on, but she wouldn't tell me. Ah well, if she wanted me to know, she would've told me. I guess it's nothing I should be concerned about." Lupin shrugged at the thought, and turned the conversation elsewhere. "So, what are you here for today? Just getting away from the house, I suppose?"

"Precisely. Life's just been so hectic lately. We just needed to get away from it all," Harry answered. By now, Ginny was outside the tavern, pacing back and forth. She couldn't stand the musty smell in that place. "Say, did you here that Ron and Hermione are getting married?"

"Really? Good for them! I always knew they were going to end up together. They were virtually inseparable at Hogwarts, though they did have their fair share of petty arguments, though that's understandable. Even couples that have been together for twenty years still have disagreements about things. Ron and Hermione just seemed to 'click'. I saw those two getting together from the moment I first met them."

Moments later, Harry Potter could be seen strolling out of the doors of 'The Lonesome Wizard' in Diagon Alley. Ginny Weasley was still walking back in forth in front of the tavern. Draco Malfoy was down the street talking to a witch in a hooded black robe. Harry saw Malfoy, and tried his best to avoid the one man whom he hated most. He managed to conceal himself from Draco, by walking behind Ginny in a manner that would make it almost impossible for Draco to see him.

"Why are you trying to avoid him, Harry?" Ginny asked him once they had walked out of earshot of Malfoy.

"Because, I hate that guy, and I don't want him to start any sort of trouble today if he saw me. I'm really not in the mood for him to pick a fight," Harry answered, rolling his eyes. Draco had always been a bully to Harry and his friends during Hogwarts, and Harry supposed that Malfoy still had not changed his ways. Draco would always be the self-centered snob he once was. He would always think he was the best, just because of who his father was.

"Hey Potter!" an angry voice yelled from behind him. Harry did not need to turn around to figure out who it was. Draco Malfoy had noticed him. He turned around, and stared at the nineteen-year-old kid who was standing there with a smug look on his face. Harry knew the face. It was one that Draco had made many times before, when he was planning on arguing with Harry.

"What do you want?" Harry asked as he stared right back at that sinister looking teenager. Harry had already gripped his wand firmly within his pocket, just in case he needed to use it.

"What? Can't I just want to have a nice conversation with an old classmate?" Draco asked, with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. Harry knew Draco too well to think that all he wanted to do was talk.

"Draco, I'm really not in the mood right now for a fight. Why don't you find someone else to bother?" Harry replied, turning around and getting ready to leave. But Draco wasn't finished. He still had more to say to Harry.

"Don't just walk away from me, Potter! I have more to say!" The tone of Draco's voice was becoming angrier with every passing moment. Harry could hear the temperamental little child in Draco's voice. It was true. Draco had not changed a bit since graduating from Hogwarts. Harry turned around once more, and saw Draco looking at him with eyes of fire.

"Well, spit it out! Tell me what you're going to say! I don't have all day!" Harry told his childhood rival. Harry was becoming more frustrated by the minute as well; he was tired of listening to Draco make fun of him and the people whom he cared about most.

"Listen, I know this is going to sound a tad weird, but my father is trying to kill me, and I need your help," Draco replied, trying to sound as sincere as possible. Harry did not know whether to take him seriously or not.

"What? Your dad's trying to kill you?" Harry asked, quite confused about what Draco was trying to tell him. Draco had always been one to lie to Harry.

"Yes, that's exactly what I just said, Potter. He thinks I've betrayed him and the family name. He thinks that I like mudbloods. He thinks I like that mudblood Granger. I know you've defeated the Dark Lord, so I know you can help me kill my father," Draco told him.

"Kill your father? Are you mad? I'm not going to kill anybody!" Harry shouted, just a little too loudly. He got a few weird glances from people as they passed by. He lowered his voice to a whisper. "Are you mad? I'm not going to Azkaban!"

"I'll give you ten thousand galleons."

Harry thought for a few minutes before his wife answered for him. "No!" Ginny yelled. "My husband is not getting involved in your family's problems!" She grabbed Harry by the arms and dragged him away.

"Ten thousand galleons, Ginny! Ten thousand!" Harry said to her in disbelief. "C'mon, Ginny! Do you know what we could do with ten thousand galleons? We could buy anything we wanted! We could have everything we've ever dreamed of!"

"You're not going to help him kill his father! What if you get caught? You'd go straight to Azkaban!" Ginny tried to reason with her stubborn husband. "This is the last time I'm saying this. You're not helping Malfoy! Not even if it is for ten thousand beautiful galleons..." Harry could tell that Ginny loved the idea of ten thousand galleons to spend on anything. She had never had that much money before.

"Fine! C'mon, let's get home," Harry told her, stomping off towards the Leaky Cauldron. He grabbed some floo powder out of the pot on top of the fireplace in the tavern, and threw it into the fire. "Godric's Hollow!" he said as he stepped into the emerald green flames. Moments later, he was standing in his home in front of a crying Hermione Granger.

"Hermione! What's wrong?" Harry heard a voice say from behind him. Ginny had just appeared from the fireplace covered in ash. The couple wiped the ash out of their robes, and sat down on either side of Hermione, who was still weeping.

"R-Ron just c-called off the w-wedding..." she sputtered out, amidst the sound of her choking.

"What?! I thought he really wanted to get married?" Harry replied, patting one of his best friends on the back. "Why did he do that?"

"He said he wasn't ready to get married, and that it probably wouldn't last," she said, trying her best to hold back the sobs.

"I thought you said you didn't really want to get married anyway?" Ginny added into the conversation. She was quite confused. First Hermione said she didn't want to get married, and then she came to her crying because Ron called off the wedding.

"I didn't at first, but then you made me see that getting married was a great thing!" Hermione told Ginny, looking her straight in the face. It was at this point that Harry got up from his seat and walked up the stairs to his bedroom; he knew it was his fault Ron had called off the wedding.