Harry Potter and the Serpent Items: Part 3

Once Tom had left, taking Harry’s order and the menu with him, the black haired boy just stared after him.

“So you’ll get me into trouble, but you won’t get me out of it?” Harry grouched at the golden bracer that was poking out from under his jacket sleeve, the snake on it seeming to look delighted, though he knew that it was a figment of his imagination.

He should take it off. Take it off and throw it away, or get it melted or something, but Harry didn’t want to and not only because Dumbledore had asked him to look after it. There was something about it, something special that made him rather protective of the golden item, even though he hadn’t heard anything about it before and neither, surprisingly, had Hermione.

Really, he thought, the one who he needed to speak with the most was Dumbledore. He had seemed to know what the bracer really was, even if he hadn’t given Harry any real information besides ‘look after it and it will look after you’. He would know what these blackouts were and how to stop them.

He had just finished his meal when there was a knock on his door.

Harry’s hand strayed to the pocket that held his wand as he approached the door, wary considering his experiences today. “Who is it?”

“A friend.” A bright voice informed him, one he knew rather well, “And her father.”

Harry opened the door to find Luna stood on the other side, long dirty blonde hair tucked up neatly and pinned in place by a golden decorative haircomb adorned by a serpent, a sharp contrast to her robe which was a garish combination of all of the colours of the Hogwarts houses in a zigzag pattern that left Harry dizzy after looking at it for too long.

“Mr Potter.” Mr Lovegood nodded to him as the pair entered the room, “I hear you need an escort for the day.”

“I don’t want to be a bother.” Harry tried, knowing that this could be one of his few opportunities to lose the Lovegoods before they were dragged into whatever he had gotten himself into.  

“No bother. No bother at all.” Mr Lovegood waved it off with a smile, “If a friend of Luna’s needs an escort, I’m more than willing to oblige. Xenophillius Lovegood,” The man offered Harry his right hand, “Nice to meet you.”

“Harry Potter. It’s nice to meet you too.” Harry nervously offered his own, before realising too late that the bracer was still showing. It didn’t matter too much. Mr Lovegood gained an odd look for a moment before shaking Harry’s hand briskly.  

“And now we’re acquainted shall we go?” Mr Lovegood asked, “I’m sure that you have lots of places you need to get to and our shopping list isn’t small either.”

“Actually I was just...” Harry trailed off as Luna latched onto his arm and pulled him out of the room and down the stairs, before heading towards the entrance to Diagon Alley. “Gringotts...”

“Well of course we’re stopping at the bank first.” Mr Lovegood informed him with a slight chuckle, “Can’t buy anything without money after all.”

Luna nodded briskly, still hanging onto Harry’s arm like a limpet. The boy thought he heard a comment about ‘Potter and Loony Lovegood’ from a couple of the students who were here with their parents on a trip , but he tried to ignore them. It wasn’t the first time he’d heard the insult after all.

He was surprised to feel Luna stiffen slightly and he touched one of her arms, unsure what to do to help her relax. It appeared to help though as Luna blinked at him and gained a smile as they stepped through the archway to the biggest wizarding high street in Britain