Harry Potter Breaking The Chains

"It's no problem," she said to him. "I know what it's like to be in a place totally unfamiliar to you. It can be overwhelming. I'm just glad that whoever you asked directed you to our store."

"Me too," Harry replied honestly. Just then a waiter came up to them.

"Right this way, please," he directed them.

Harry waved for Jessica to precede him and followed behind her. He tried not to admire the view too much but couldn't resist a couple glances. They were led to a small table set for two against the wall. It wasn't so small as to feel cramped, but it wouldn't have sat any more than two people. "My name is Anthony, and I'll be your server this evening," he told them as he handed each of them a menu. "If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask." He left them with their menus, and Harry glanced up at his date and smiled softly before opening up his menu and looking through it.

There were many different kinds of pastas and steaks and other such meals listed. Harry knew what some of them meant as he had been forced to cook several of these, but he was unfamiliar with a lot of them. Thankfully, each one had a short description underneath it to explain what it was. In the end he selected something simple that he knew he would enjoy. He set his menu down and saw that Jessica was still looking through her own menu.

Seeing that he had placed his menu aside she asked, "So what's it gonna be for you?"

"Fettuccini Alfredo with Broccoli and Chicken," he told her.

"Mmmm, that sounds good. But I think I'm going to get the lasagna," she replied. "Did you want to get an appetizer or a salad or anything?"

"Err-I hadn't thought about that," he responded with a sheepish grin. He opened his menu back up and looked through the list of appetizers. Half of it seemed entirely foreign to him, and he didn't know what to make of it. He looked over the menu to find her watching him with a small grin on her lips. "Was there something that you wanted?" he asked her.

Her smile grew wider as she answered, "I was thinking some calamari might be nice."

Not really knowing what he was agreeing to, Harry said, "Okay, that works for me."

The waiter returned a minute later and asked, "Are we ready? Did you want an appetizer to start off?"

Harry glanced at Jessica and saw her give him a slight nod urging him to order it. "Umm, yes, we'd like to have some calamari please," he told the waiter.

"An excellent choice. And were you both ready to order?"

Harry nodded and looked to Jessica to let her go first. She turned to the waiter. "I'll have the lasagna."

The waiter jotted down the order on a pad of paper and turned to Harry. "And for you, sir?"

"I'll have the Fettuccini Alfredo with Chicken and Broccoli please," Harry replied.

"Excellent," the waiter said as he jotted the order down. "I'll have your appetizer out for you shortly. Now what can I get you both to drink?"

"I'm just going to stick with water," Jessica told the waiter.

He turned to Harry waiting for his reply. "I think I'll just stick with water for now as well," he told the man. The waiter nodded and wandered off, presumably back to the kitchen to place their order.

"So Harry," Jessica broke the silence a moment later, "what have you been up to since the last time I saw you?"

"Oh, well I've been jogging and working out in the mornings as usual," he told her. A small smile graced her lips as she listened. "And I've been doing a little studying as well, since the school year is starting up soon."

"You said you went to a school in Scotland, right?" she asked him.

"Yes, my parents both went there when they were kids. That's where they met," he answered her.

"That's sweet. So they arranged for you to go there too?"

"Yeah, apparently they had that planned right from the start since they both died shortly after my first birthday," Harry told her only slightly lying. After all, they had planned to send him to Hogwarts. They didn't actually actively arrange for him to go there, but that was just a technicality.

"I'm sorry," she told him. "It must have been really hard growing up not knowing your mum and dad."

"Yeah," he answered. "My mum and my aunt were sisters, and I guess they didn't get along very well. I don't really know any details because she refuses to talk about my mum, so I can only assume they didn't like each other. My aunt and uncle always kept me separate from their lives, doting on their own son. I've always kind of felt like an outsider there." It was the truth, just a dumbed down version of it. It would have to do because he couldn't tell her the whole truth.

"That's terrible," she gasped. "It must have been horrible growing up like that, feeling like you don't really belong. You probably wondered what your life would have been like with your parents had they not died," she said. "Oh! I can't believe I just said that. How terribly thoughtless of me. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to bring all this up. Oh dear, I'm mucking this up royally, aren't I?"

"It's okay," Harry told her with a slightly sad smile as he reached across the table and placed his hand atop hers. "You're right. I did always imagine what life would have been like with my real parents, feeling like I really belonged in the world. But I've had 15 years to come to terms with all of it. Don't feel bad about it, really. I'm okay talking about it."

"I still feel just awful for bringing all that up," she told him.