Chapter 24 – The Shopping

Thanks a lot to my beta-readers, Orodruin and AmyLouise, for correcting my mistakes.

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to J.K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.

Chapter 24 – The Shopping

Harry looked around curiously. They were in a town he didn't know. Strimhedge, Ivy had said. They were heading for a big house which was colored in a rainbow colors.

Harry couldn't shake the questions of the guardianship and his name from his mind, and so he decided to ask Severus, who was striding right beside him. "Ehm, Severus, can I ask you a question?"

"If it isn't to ask Ivy to change her mind, go on," Severus said, without even looking at Harry. They must have looked odd to passers-by; Ivy was heading eagerly in the direction of the colorful house, surely already imagining what wonderful clothes she would buy for Harry, and Severus and Harry sullenly followed her. Severus would never understand what it is with women and shopping. He could totally understand Harry's reluctance.

"I wondered about the guardianship," Harry said, craning his neck to look at Severus.

"What about it, exactly, Harry?" Severus asked, still facing the unbelievably colorful house with a look of pure disgust on his face.

"My name for example. Am I still Harry Potter?" Harry almost jumped when Severus stopped abruptly to face him.

"Who else should you be other than Harry Potter? What are you talking about? Are you feeling unwell? Are you delirious?" Severus reached for Harry's forehead to feel his temperature.

"Severus," Harry said, annoyed, while batting Severus' hand off his forehead. He rolled his eyes. "I'm feeling fine."

"What's wrong?" Ivy asked. She was standing a few meters away from them and had just realized that the two weren't following her any longer.

"Everything is just fine, Ivy," Severus said to his worried wife and then turned to Harry. He laid a hand on Harry's shoulder. "I think we need a little more time and privacy to discuss the guardianship. Let's finish the shopping, and then I will answer all your questions, okay?"

"'Kay," Harry said and sullenly let Severus lead him by his shoulder in Ivy's direction.

When they entered the clothing shop, Harry looked around in awe. A tiny little witch came over to them immediately and addressed Ivy. "Good day, I'm Millisande Murasso, can I help you?"

"Thanks, we will choose a few clothes first, and then we would be glad to get your help. Could we please get a box?" Ivy asked the friendly lady.

"Certainly, my dear, here you are," the lady said, and a box floated over to Ivy.

"Thank you," Ivy said, and with a flick of her wand, the box was moving in the direction she was heading. She turned and looked at her companions. "What are you waiting for?"

Severus immediately hurried over to the customer lounge and grabbed one of the magazines there.

Harry glared after Severus for leaving him alone with Ivy. He could see Severus grin before he hid his face behind the magazine.

"Harry, come on. Over there is the teenagers' department," Ivy said, much too eagerly for Harry's taste.

"Trousers first, Harry." Ivy pulled him in front of a shelf with several pairs of trousers and jeans. "What do you prefer – trousers or jeans?"

"Eh, jeans," Harry said and looked confusedly at the clothes. There was only one example of every style, no different sizes.

"Then choose three trousers and five jeans." Ivy started to look through the trousers.

Harry just looked at Ivy with shock and didn't move.

"Harry, at your pace we will still be here tomorrow." Ivy rolled her eyes and held a pair of trousers in front of Harry's legs. "If you don't start choosing for yourself, then I will do it." With that she threw the trousers in the box.

That shook Harry out of his stupor. "But that's too many. What will I do with so many trousers?"

Ivy sighed, annoyed. "Wear them, Harry? Really, I thought Severus was a difficult man while shopping, but you beat him at this."

Harry grabbed one of the pairs of jeans and looked at them. They're jeans, what else should I look for? He threw it in the box.

"Over there are jeans in a different style, Harry. Check if you would like to have one of them." Ivy pointed at another shelf.

Harry looked at them. The first pair were baggy. I don't think that Severus would like me running around with jeans like this. And I also don't like them. He went to another shelf. Here he found straight jeans in different colors and took two black ones, a dark blue and one that had a washed out look. When he put them in the box with the other jeans, he asked Ivy, "What about the size?"

"Oh, you will see later, Harry." She looked through the jeans he had chosen and looked skeptically at the washed out one. Her disapproval was written all over her face.

"I can put it back," Harry said and reached for the jeans in Ivy's hand.

Ivy pulled it out of his reach and then put it back in the box. "If you like it, we will buy it. I don't have to like all your clothes." She took one of the pairs of trousers she had placed on a stack in front of her on the shelf. "Come over here, and let me test some of these."

Harry stood still in front of her as she put one pair of trousers after the other in front of his legs. What the hell was the different between them? They all looked the same to him. After what seemed like an eternity, Ivy had chosen two more, and Harry sighed, relieved.

Ivy looked reprovingly at him. "We have just started, Harry."

"Yeah, I know," Harry said sullenly while looking longingly at Severus, who was enjoying his magazine in the waiting lounge. That's so unfair.

"Now shirts, Harry." She dragged him and the box to the proper area of the shop. "Six sweatshirts and twelve T-shirts," she ordered.

"I don't need twe..." Harry started to protest, but Ivy interrupted him.

"I don't want to hear it, Harry. Start choosing or I will choose and then it will be something like this." She held up a red T-shirt with a yellow duck on it.

That was all Harry needed to see, and he quickly started to look through the shirts and chose some. He even started to like it, because there were some cool shirts. For example, a black one with a silver dragon and another one with a Nimbus 2000 found their way into the box.

Seeing his choice of shirts, Ivy grabbed for a plain black and a plain white one and tossed them into the box as well.

After a single black and a lonely gray sock found their way into the box from Ivy, Harry chose one with Quidditch players at the hem and another with Grindylows. "Won't I need two of them?" Harry asked, confused that only one sock of each pair had found its way into the box.

"No, we will duplicate them later. You will see, Harry." Ivy had already moved over to the next shelf, and Harry sighed, frustrated. Merlin, let this be over soon!

"Shoes, Harry. Here we find a pair because they are not the same for both feet." She explained this as if speaking to a small child. Harry was lucky that the other customers were too occupied to watch them. After Harry had picked out a few pairs of sneakers and cool flying shoes, which were made of a very flexible and smooth leather, even at the sole, Ivy put two pairs of conservative shoes, one black and one brown, in the box.

"And now follows the most important question. Boxers or briefs, Harry?" Ivy looked questioningly at him while stopping in front of the shelf with the underwear.

Harry blushed deeply as he quickly tossed three pairs of boxer shorts in the box.

Ivy rolled her eyes again. "At least twelve, Harry!"

Quickly, the ordered number of boxer shorts found their way into the box without a closer look. When Harry tried to pass Ivy to leave the embarrassing part behind him as fast as possible, Ivy blocked his way. She reached into the box and pulled out a pair of boxers with two fingers. "Are you sure you want this one?"

Harry blushed a deeper red than before. He could feel his face burn when he looked at the black boxer shorts with cute little white kittens all over it. Embarrassed beyond imagination he grabbed the shorts out of Ivy's hand and placed it back on the shelf.

"Over here are silken ones. Did you like Severus' silken boxer shorts?" Ivy asked while showing him the shelf.

"Oh," Harry only said and took five pairs of shorts out of the box and put five silken ones of different colors in it.

Ivy grinned. "You are so cute when you blush, Harry."

"Ivy," Harry said warningly.

Ivy looked at the contents of the box. "I think we have all the casual clothes. Let's move on to the robe department."

Harry groaned, frustrated. He had hoped that this would be the end of it.

"Behave, Harry, or I will let Mrs. Murasso loose on you." She turned without waiting for an answer and smiled when she noticed Harry following her sullenly.

Shopping for wizard robes was much easier. There wasn't much to choose from, and Ivy did it all for him. Soon the box was filled with two more school robes and two casual robes for indoor and outdoor.

"Okay, let's look for Mrs. Murasso," Ivy said, and turned to the waiting area. Seeing the full box, Mrs. Murasso was soon at their side. Severus also followed them when they headed for a door which led to the back of the shop. Harry looked around curiously. The room they entered had a small, round platform in the middle and a curtain on the right side of the room. Severus sat down on the couch near the platform.

"Okay, my boy, up on the platform. We will start with the robes." Mrs. Murasso lightly pushed him onto the platform while Harry looked for help from Severus.

Severus was grinning, even though the miserable look on Harry's face made him feel pity for the boy. Next time Ivy tried to drag Harry in here, he would surely give her quite a fight.

"Young man," the shop lady said, and handed Harry the school robes. "Put it on!"

Harry did what he was told. Mrs. Murasso waved her wand at him, pulled here and there at the robe, and finally looked at Ivy for approval. After Ivy nodded, the lady waved her wand and a nice folded robe appeared next to Severus on the coach. When Harry moved to hand the robe to the lady, it disappeared with a wave of her wand. He went through the same procedure with the other robes. Harry was already exhausted and more confused than before when they reached the shoes. The first pair were the black conservative ones Ivy had chosen. "They are too big," Harry said when the old lady passed the shoes to him to pull them on.

"Of course they are." The lady looked skeptically at Harry, as if she thought he wanted to be cheeky.

"It's his first time shopping at a magical clothing store, Mrs. Murasso," Ivy explained.

"Oh, dear, why didn't you tell me before? Just put them on, and you will see." Mrs. Murasso gave him a friendly smile.

Harry took the shoes reluctantly and put the first one on his foot. The moment he was in the shoe, it started to resize itself to fit. "Wow," Harry said, awed.

"The other one as well, Mr. Snape," Mrs. Murasso instructed.

Harry looked up, shocked, but before he could say anything, Ivy said, "It's Mr. Potter."

"Oh, really, I thought he was your son, Mrs. Snape. Potter?" The lady looked more closely at Harry. "Harry Potter?"

Harry rolled his eyes and groaned.

"Harry, stop behaving like that, and put on the second shoe," Ivy said sternly. That was the Ivy Harry tried to avoid as much as possible. Until now this kind of voice had only been directed at Severus, and Harry preferred it that way.

"Yes, ma'am," Harry said shyly, hoping to calm Ivy with this behavior.

Ivy rolled her eyes at being addressed like that. "Mrs. Murasso, we would like to finish all this as soon as possible. My husband is still quite ill, and we have to go back home soon."

Severus glared at his wife, and Harry snickered at the murderous look Severus shot at Ivy. The shoes fitted perfectly now, and after a wave of Mrs. Murasso's wand, the exact copy landed in front of Severus' feet. The same happened with the rest of the shoes. A shirt was tossed at Harry.

"Behind the curtain, young man, and when you are dressed, come out again," the shop lady ordered.

Harry returned to stand in front of them again with the new shirt that had started to fit itself on him the moment he had put it on.

"Do you like it like this, or do you want it to fit more closely or more loosely?" the lady asked.

"It's okay."

Mrs. Murasso waved her wand and all the T-shirts were copied to Harry's size. The self-fitting examples vanished, and Harry assumed they would find their way back to the shelf now. Soon the space beside Severus was occupied with shirts and trousers and socks. Now only the underwear was left, and Harry blushed again. Oh, please don't let me have to stand in front of them in the boxers.

Ivy grabbed for one of the silken ones and passed them to Harry. "Put it on and then call for Severus. He will help you with the fitting," Ivy said, to Harry's relief.

The boxers felt nice, but the fitting charm on them made them too tight for Harry's taste. He tried to pull at them to see if they would expand. The whole shopping trip had made Harry exhausted and on edge. Knowing that the others were standing on the other side of the curtain was an embarrassing thought. Harry didn't notice that he was starting to breathe faster and that sweat was forming on his forehead.

"What are you doing in there, Harry? Are you finished?" Severus asked impatiently.

"They don't fit." Harry started to panic about his embarrassment. Oh, Merlin, he will come in and see me in these ridiculous tight boxers. His face felt like it was on fire, and his breathing became more panicky.

"That's what I will come in for, Harry." Severus was standing right in front of the curtain and so he could hear Harry's breathing. "I am coming in now, Harry."

Harry's breath was already coming with wheezing sounds. "Where is your applicator, Harry?" Severus moved over to the stack of Harry's clothes.

Ivy, hearing Severus' words, came through the curtain as well. She immediately went over to Harry, who was clawing at his throat. "Calm down, Harry." She gently pushed Harry down on the chair in the changing box. "Shhh, Harry. It will be over soon."

All the embarrassment was forgotten. The only thing that counted now was getting oxygen.

"Damn," Severus cursed, seeing how far Harry had worked himself up into an attack again. Thank Merlin, the Dark Lord is dead already; how would the boy do facing him again when he gets a full panic attack about nothing but a pair of boxer shorts that do not fit, Severus thought, worried. What was James thinking, letting Harry leave the quarters so soon? Severus went out to get the vial in his outer robes, which he had left on the couch.

"Do you need help? Shall I call for a Healer, Mr. Snape?" the shop lady asked worriedly.

"That's not necessary," Severus said shortly as he headed back behind the curtain with the vial in hand.

Harry's lips had already turned blue, and he looked as if he would pass out any second.

"Open up, Harry," Severus ordered. When Harry didn't react, Severus prised Harry's jaw apart and poured the potion into his mouth. "Swallow, Harry." With skilled hands, Severus massaged Harry's throat to help him swallow.

Ivy drew Harry's head to her chest and spoke in as calming a tone as she was capable of at the moment, which wasn't very calm at all. "Breathe, Harry." She drew calming circles on his back and cast a scared look at Severus when Harry started to sob.

"Harry, the potion will help you, but you have to try to calm yourself as well. It is over. You can breathe now, and there is nothing to cry about," Severus said calmly as he stroked Harry's hair.

"I'm sorry," Harry said miserably. He felt so embarrassed that he had gotten a panic attack over shorts that didn't fit. How sick am I? I'm such a burden. Harry felt the potion trying to fight against these negative thought and feelings. It was as if the potion tried to push him to the surface of his mind and stop him from diving too deeply into his negative thoughts.

Severus shook his head. "He is fighting the potion. We need someone with healing magic." Hearing that made Harry sob even harder.

I'm a total freak, he thought, disgusted at himself. He didn't see Severus' Patronus vanish through the curtain.

"Harry, you must breathe more calmly and let the potion take over!" Merlin, it was only a few minutes, and Harry had gotten himself so deeply into the attack that not even his potion helped. And this is what James called great improvement? Harry will never make it through the school year without killing himself. Severus was worried, and when Albus emerged he was so deep in thoughts that at first he didn't notice him.

Harry felt the potion being pushed violently through his blood system by an unknown force. The same force pulled him to the surface of his thoughts, and then he could feel the warm and relaxing healing magic of Albus. He leaned tiredly into Albus' chest while the old wizard pulled him onto his lap. "Shhh, Harry, everything is fine now. Just breathe calmly, and let the magic flow through your body." Albus' calm monotone voice soothed Harry, and he started to feel the hand that was on his chest now, and also the one on his head. He was back in the real world. And back came the memories.

Harry groaned in embarrassment, even when Albus' magic and Severus' potion made it impossible to go deep into this feeling. "I'm sorry."

"There is nothing to be sorry about. You had a long and exciting day, didn't you?" Albus said in his cheerful voice again. Harry was still leaning into the old wizard's chest with his eyes closed, and so he didn't see the worried look Albus gave his daughter and son-in-law. They looked shaken, but needed to regain their control soon, because they couldn't let Harry see them like that.

Severus found his voice first and said, a little shaken, "Maybe you should pack up the clothes, Ivy. We will finish here, and then we can head home."

That gave Ivy a good reason to compose herself out of sight of Harry, and she took it gratefully.

"Oh, no," Harry said miserably, hearing that the shopping trip was canceled because of his behavior. He opened his eyes to look at Severus. "I promised the twins I'd bring something for them, and I wanted to get money from my vault to buy a camera, and..."

"Stop it, Harry. You are exhausted, and we will go back to Hogwarts. The twins will understand, and you can buy something for them during your trip with Albus, Minerva and the twins to Diagon Alley this weekend. And I refuse to explain the vault sealing to you again, Harry. We will speak about the camera later. Now we have to get you back into bed."

Harry hid his face in Albus' chest in frustration. This made him aware of where he was sitting at the moment, and he blushed again. "Oh, Merlin." He struggled to get off Albus' lap.

"No, Harry, not now. First, I want you to breathe very calmly," Albus said sternly.

Harry tried hard to fulfill Albus' order just to be allowed to jump off his lap.

"That will get you nowhere, Harry," Albus said, scolding when he felt Harry fighting to force himself to breathe calmly. "You have to relax." Albus increased the calming magic a little, and Harry slumped in his chest with a sigh.

The exhausted feeling laid over him like a thick blanket. All he wanted to do was sleep, even if it was in his boxers on Albus' lap. His breathing became calm and even. When Albus lessened the magic flow, Harry groaned in protest.

"Come on, Harry," Severus said while lifting the boy up under his armpits.

Harry woke up fully when he was stood, swaying slightly, in front of his guardian. All his senses back, he grabbed for the boxers again and started to pull at the fabric.

"Stop that," Severus said as he batted Harry's hand away. He waved his wand, and Harry felt the boxers loosen. "Better?"

Blushing again, Harry nodded. The nodding wasn't a good idea. A wave of exhaustion came over him again, and he was grateful when he felt Severus' hand steady him by his shoulder. He didn't notice Severus waving his free hand to copy the boxer size for the boxers outside in the box. He hardly registered Albus moving behind him, and when he felt Albus lowering the example shorts to his knees, he hadn't the energy to protest. Soon both men had dressed him completely. Severus waved his wand at Harry to make him lighter and then lifted him in his arms. "Let's go home, Harry."

An exhausted moan was all the answer Severus got from the almost sleeping teenager.

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