Chapter 11

"Which way do we gotta go?" Ron asked, looking at the map. "We're looking for something called..." Ron squinted as he tried to figure out what it said.

"Voie du Mystique," Hermione said, reading over his shoulder. "It means the Way of the Mystic."

"Why can't they just write that then, instead of writing this jibberish?" Ron asked with a roll of his eyes.

"Ron, it's not gibberish. It's French. You know, the language Fleur speaks? I rather doubt she would appreciate you calling her language gibberish. Come on, it looks like we have to go this way." Hermione started walking in the direction that the map indicated.

Ron hung back a moment, then turned to Harry when she was out of earshot. "How is it that she knows all this stuff? Isn't there one bloody thing that she doesn't know anything about?"

Harry held his hands up. "I'm not going to get involved. Come on, we better go before we lose sight of her." Harry started after Hermione, leaving Ron staring after both of them.

"I give up," he mumbled, then followed his two friends' retreating backs.

When the three of them finally got to Voie du Mystique, they knew that this place was very different from either Diagon Alley or Enchanter's Way. Although there were some shops that carried items that looked harmless enough, most of the shops carried items of dubious legal magical use.

"Blimey, this place looks like it's full of dark magic," Ron said quietly, looking around at the shops. There were shops that he reckoned sold stuff like the ones in Knockturn Alley back in London.

Hermione nodded in agreement. "It might be, or it might just be a different kind of magic than we are used to. They are known for voodoo in New Orleans, and I imagine a lot of the items that the shop sells are geared towards those who practice it."

"Well, there's a Quidditch shop over there," Ron said, pointing. "At least we know they'll have stuff there that we're interested in. And I reckon that you'll want to go to the bookstore?"

"Yes, of course. Let's just say that whoever is done first comes and looks for the other person. Is that fair?" Hermione looked at Ron and Harry and raised her eyebrows.

"'Course, we know who is going to be done first, but alright. See you in a while." Ron and Harry walked in the direction of the Quidditch shop, and Hermione headed to the bookstore.

Harry browsed the shelves of books as he and Ron waited for Hermione to finish. As Ron had predicted, they were done in the Quidditch store first. When Harry entered the shop, he was almost immediately drawn to the books on the dark arts. He still hadn't decided whether or not he would be taking the job as a Quidditch player when he finished school, and he was still thinking about becoming an Auror. He figured the more he knew about the different dark arts the better Auror he would be.

He sometimes wondered why it was that he was still interested in defeating the dark arts. After all, he would have thought that having battled dark wizards in one form or another for the past seven years would have been enough. He picked up one of the books off the shelf that was about dark magic detection spells.

"Are you ready, Harry?" Hermione asked, coming up beside him as he walked toward the front of the store. "I know Ron is. He's been ready for the past half an hour."

"Yeah, I'm ready. I think I'll get this one," he said, holding up the book he'd chosen.

"I've found a few that interested me too," Hermione said, indicating her rather ample stack of books she was holding. "Can I see the one you are getting?"

"Sure." Harry handed it to her and saw Ron pacing rather impatiently outside the door.

"I didn't see that one. You go ahead and pay for your book, and I'll be right out." Hermione handed him back his book and disappeared back into the stacks.

Harry shook his head and went to the front to pay for his book. A moment later, Ron came up to him.

"Where's Hermione?" Ron asked, looking around for her.

"Oh, she wanted to go and browse some more. Let's go wait outside for her, shall we?" Harry asked as he paid for his book.

"Yeah, we could do that."

Harry and Ron walked out of the shop, and twenty minutes later Hermione exited the shop, carrying a bulging bag of books. Harry's eyes widened when he saw the bag, but he had enough good sense not to say anything.

"Is there anywhere else that you two want to go?" she asked, shrinking down her bag and putting it in her pocket.

"Why don't we go get something to drink?" Ron said, wiping the sweat off his brow. "I don't know about you two, but I could use something cold."

"Yeah, me too," Harry said, realizing how thirsty he really was.

"I think I see a place up there," Hermione said, looking down the street. "We could try there and see what they have."

As they neared the tavern, Ron looked up and said, "The Frog's Legs Tavern?" Then he quickly added, "Well, I guess it's no worse than the Hog's Head Inn."

After the heat of the day, Harry felt immediate relief when they walked into the tavern. The place was dark and refreshingly cool, but full of strange smells. As it was an off hour, they were able to find a table immediately.

"Welcome to The Frog's Legs Tavern. I'm Chrissy and I'll be your server," a perky waitress said as she sauntered over to their table and handed them each a menu. "Would you like something to drink while you are looking over your menus?"

"We've never been here before," Hermione said, looking over the menu. "What can you suggest that is cold to drink?"

"Oh my gosh, I love your accent! Where are you from?" Chrissy asked, looking at Hermione and giving her a wink.

"Um, we're from London. So, what is good to drink here?" Hermione asked, clearly taken aback.

"Well, there's the Honeybeer, that has a sweet taste to it and it's served cold. But if you like something a little spicier, my favorite is the Cajun Cracker." She smiled at Hermione.

"We'll take three Honeybeers, please," Hermione said, not looking at the waitress. "Thank you."

The waitress walked away from their table, and Harry and Ron exchanged a glance.

"Was that waitress hitting on you, Hermione?" Ron asked, his eyebrows disappearing into his hairline.

Hermione frowned. "It sure seemed that way, didn't it?" She had a strange feeling in her stomach.

"But she's a girl, and so are you," Ron said with confusion in his voice.

"Well noted, Ron," Hermione said, rolling her eyes. "I think I need to set the record straight." She took Ron's hand as Chrissy returned to the table with three bottles. "I apologize for not introducing myself earlier. My name is Hermione, this is Harry, and this is Ron, my boyfriend. We're in the States for holiday."

"It's very nice to meet you," Chrissy replied, looking a little let down. "Did you want to order something to eat? Or do you need some more time?"

"I think we're just going to have the drinks, thank you," Hermione said, wanting to get out of there.

Chrissy tore off the bill and left it on the table.

"Let's pay the bill and take our drinks with us. I notice a lot of people walking around with drinks, so I don't think it will be a problem," Hermione said quietly.

A few minutes later they were walking down the street once again. Harry noticed that Hermione still looked a little uncomfortable, but at least Ron was keeping quiet.

As they walked down the street, Harry noticed a little shop. It was rather non-descript and not very flashy, but something made him want to go into the store.

"Do you mind if we go in here?" he asked, indicating the shop with a tilt of his head.

"Of course not. What kind of shop is it?" Hermione asked, looking toward the shop.

"I think it's just like a junk shop. It might have some interesting stuff in it," Harry said, going inside.

Ron saw Hermione start to follow Harry in, but he placed his hand on her shoulder to stop her. When she turned around, he gave her one of his lopsided grins. "You okay?"

"Yes, I'm okay. I just felt a little strange with the way the waitress was treating me, that's all." She gave him a small smile.

"Just wanted to make sure," he said, giving her a kiss. "So, let's go see what this shop has to offer."

As they walked into the shop, they noticed the shopkeeper handing a book to Harry.

"Here, Mr. Potter. I think that you will find the information in this book very interesting and useful."