As he conversed with the two girls, and Blaise and Terry joined in the on the conversation, Harry took a short look around the room at all the witches and wizards. Despite having never spoken with any of them, he had seen almost all of them at one point or another during his excursions in Diagon Alley. There were only a few he had no memories of. He chalked that up to them being housewives who rarely left their homes or not being in Diagon Alley when he was.
"Harry?"
At the sound of his voice being called, Harry turned around and came face to face with Cassidy Fergand. The girl was staring at him with blinking, inquisitive eyes as she realized he was not alone.
Harry was focused more on her looks than her expression. He easily took notice of how attractive Cassidy looked today in her soft blue robes and plaited black hair. And maybe it was just him, in fact, he was sure it was just his hormones at work, but the young woman looked even more beautiful than she usually did.
It was a struggle not to let his eyes roam down to her bust, which was larger than even Selene's and easily visible underneath her robes.
"Good afternoon, Cassidy," Harry said respectfully, keeping his new appreciation for the young woman's beauty well hidden. Thankfully, he already had a lot of practice with that today. "How's work?"
"Same as always," Cassidy replied with some amusement seeping into her voice. She eyed the many witches standing within the bookstore and shook her head. "Though we are a bit busier today than we usually are."
"Yes, I can see that," Harry noted in a dry tone. He shook his head before deciding to be polite and make introductions. "I don't think I introduced you to all of my friends, have I?" As Cassidy shook her head, Harry took the time to introduce the group he had grown close to. "You already know Hermione..."
"How could I not," Cassidy looked at the young bushy haired girl who was speaking with Tracey and Astoria about Gilderoy Lockhart. While the bushy haired witch did not come in as much as Harry, she was probably the second most common customer.
"Yes, well, the two with her are Tracey Davis and Astoria Greengrass. And these are my other friends, Hannah Abbott, Susan Bones, Daphne Greengrass, Neville Longbottom, and Blaise Zabini."
"Nice to meet you all," Cassidy greeted with a smile as the others greeted her in turn. She then focused back on Harry. "Listen, so I've been thinking about that offer you gave me."
"And have you decided on whether you want to accept it or not?" asked Harry, now fully engrossed in his conversation.
"If you can really do as you said, then I'll accept."
"In that case," Harry pulled out a small envelope that he had brought with him, the same envelope he had taken to keeping on his person every time he entered Diagon Alley just in case he ran into Cassidy.
"Take this to the Department of Magical Jobs and licenses. The process will probably take a while to get sorted out, but with my name and your NEWTs' you shouldn't have too much trouble. When you have done that, owl me and I'll send a letter to the Goblins asking them to buy out one of the unused lots in Diagon Alley."
"I'll also send you all the notes I have made on potions as well as a more comprehensive book on how ingredients react to each other."
"Alright, I'll do that," Cassidy took the envelope from his hand. Harry felt a slight shiver crawl from his hand, up his forearm and bicep, move along his shoulder, before going all the way down from his spine to his toes from the contact. "Thanks again for giving me this opportunity, Harry. I've been wanting to get out of here for a while now, but haven't been able to."
"It's fine," Harry waved her thanks off. "I know how difficult it can sometimes be to get a good job. And it's not like this isn't going to benefit me as well. Without someone who managed to get those NEWTs, I would never be able to even think about opening up a shop here."
After a few shared parting words, and Cassidy thanking him one last time, the young woman left, the letter clutched in her hand.
"What was that about?" asked Daphne, eying the young woman as she disappeared into the crowd curiously before turning her attention to Harry. Beside her, Hannah, Susan, Lisa, Neville, Terry and Blaise all leaned forward, interested in hearing about what their friend was doing with that girl.
"Sounded like some kind of business proposal," Blaise added with a speculative gleam in his eyes. "Something about a potions shop, I would wager."
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