Not really an important chapter, tbh. This is more for just showing Draco slowly becoming more used to muggle culture.
(Word Count: 1,713)
Out in front of the house, resting near the front steps, were two bicycles. Harry had cast a notice-me-not spell on them so they wouldn't get stolen. Getting around the city on foot would take forever, and he felt like there would be only so much Draco would put up with before he just refused to go along with Harry's plans. The public buses would probably be too much, so bikes it is.
"Hop on a bike, the music shop is pretty far on foot," Harry said, swinging a leg over his own.
Draco stood there, scowling in confusion at the bike. "What are these?"
"They're called bicycles, or just 'bike' for short. You hold onto the handles here and use them to steer. You use these pedals to push yourself forward. Pretty simple," Harry explained.
"I've never ridden one. It doesn't seem very stable. I'll fall over!" Draco complained.
"Don't worry, I've enchanted yours so it won't fall no matter what. You'll get the hang of it easily. Think of it like riding a broom, once you get it, you'll never forget," Harry said.
The enchantment on Draco's bike was essentially acting like training wheels, allowing him to only worry about steering and pedalling.
Still unsure, Draco got onto the bike putting his feet up on the pedals. He wobbled a bit, but as Harry said it remained upright.
"Alright, now pedal to move forward and follow me," Harry said and began moving down the street, with Draco awkwardly following.
As they made their way up a hill, Draco was huffing and puffing. "This… is why… I don't like… the muggle world!… Why… can't we… just floo… to where… we need… to go!... Or at least… fly a broom!… But no… muggles… will see us!"
When they got to the top of the hill, Draco braced himself against the handlebar to rest, breathing hard.
Harry, meanwhile, looked just fine. He pulled up alongside him. "I forgot to mention. If you pull this lever slightly," He pointed to the 'brake' lever on the right handle, "it's enchanted to pedal by itself. The left lever is to brake."
Draco gaped at him, then gave him a withering glare. "And you waited until after I got to the top to tell me?! You absolute ars—"
"And what do you know, we're here!" Harry interrupted, pointing to the music store. It was the first floor of a 4 story building, with its facade being painted bright red as opposed to the building's worn stone brick.
Draco got off his bike and angrily threw it to the ground—the enchantments were only active when someone was actually on the bike. "Fine! But this better have some good music! Though I doubt it."
A bell chimed as Draco marched inside.
Inside the store the place was packed full of shelves with CDs, and tables that had boxes of vinyl records for customers to flip through, as well as cassettes tapes. The tables were organized by genre. In one corner was a record player, playing "Here Comes the Sun" by the Beatles. Towards the back was the counter, behind which were several guitars hanging up on the wall, as well as a shelf with a selection of stereos and Walkman CD players. Behind the counter sat an old man in a flatcap, idly working at a crossword puzzle. That was Mr. Reed, who owned the building. He didn't really take the initiative to provide customer service.
This shop was Harry's favorite, because it did its best to include many different genres, and didn't focus only on the mainstream favorite bands. It had plenty of good indie singles.
It also took orders to transfer music from CD to Cassette or vinyl, and vice versa. Which was very convenient because vinyl was one of the areas of technology the wizarding world actually used. Many wizarding homes, even the purebloods, had a record player.
Harry guided Draco to the vinyls.
"So what sort of music do you like? Are you more of a Weird Sisters, or a Cauldron Cats type of guy?"
"I don't know, I've never really bothered with music before. Father sometimes listens to Montfaucon or Krämer. But I don't really care for them. They're a bit boring, if I'm being honest," Draco said, listing two of the more well known classical composers of the wizarding world.
"Ugh, no wonder you've never bothered with music before, if that's who your father listens to. Well, hey, what do you think about the song currently playing?" They listened to the Beatles for a moment.
"It's alright," Draco said with a sniff, trying to play it off.
Harry scoffed. "You know it's okay to like something. This song is called "Here Comes the Sun," by a band called the Beatles. If you like this…" Harry led him over to the rock section, and pulled out an album for the Beatles, Aerosmith, and Led Zeppelin. He looked over to Mr. Reed still working on his crossword, "Hey, Mr. Reed, do you mind if I play something else on the record player?"
The man glanced up, and shrugged. "Go for it, kid. You have good taste anyway." He went back to the crossword.
Harry switched out the record for the Aerosmith one, and "Dream On" started playing.
As the music played, he subtly watched Draco slowly start bobbing his head, before he caught himself. "What's the point of all this? Why did you bring me to a random music store?"
Harry glanced at Mr. Reed. Even though it looked like the man wasn't paying any attention to them, he was most likely listening in to make sure they weren't causing any trouble. He was the shop owner after all. He couldn't have anyone just come in and cause mischief.
He would have used a sort of notice-me-not charm or something similar so the man wouldn't pay any attention to their words, but the trace made things difficult. Harry had left his holly wand at home so the trace wouldn't affect him, but Draco most likely had his wand on him. If he cast any magic out here in muggle London, it would likely trigger the trace for Draco.
So instead he kept things vague.
"Well, you enjoyed the gameboy and the comics I got you last time, so I thought you would enjoy some actual music instead of that classical stuff your dad makes you listen to. Honestly, Draco, your father is a bit too strict on what you can and can't enjoy. You've got to learn to enjoy life," Harry said.
"My father isn't strict," Draco said defensively, "He just wants me to perform my best, is all."
"Kid, no matter how successful you are in life, everyone needs hobbies that they can enjoy," Mr. Reed cut in. "Trust me, I've lived long enough to know. If you don't have anything you enjoy, then what's the point of living at all?"
Draco gave the muggle an angry look. "I have things I enjoy! I can have fun if I want to."
Harry stepped in. "Regardless, did you like the music or not?"
"Yes, the music is fine."
"Good! Why don't we buy you these albums? They're all the same genre, so I'm sure you'll like them all. Heh, we can even buy your father some classical music as well," Harry said, going over to the classical section and getting a selection of Mozart, Bach, Vivaldi, Wagner, and Beethoven.
"Wait, you can't!" Draco said in a panic. "Father will kill you!"
"Relax. You said he liked classical music, didn't you? I'm sure he'll appreciate the gesture." Harry leaned in close so Mr. Reed wouldn't hear the next bit. "Besides, I won't tell him they're from the muggle world. He won't have a clue. Can you imagine? Your father enjoying music made by muggles?"
The panic in Draco's face faded, replaced with a mischievous smirk. "Pfft. Fine, alright. But remember, I had nothing to do with this, okay? If father does find out, I'm not getting in trouble for it."
Harry grinned. "Deal."
They spent some more time listening through portions of various different types of music and eventually purchased several rock and hard rock albums for Draco, a Metallica album for Harry, and the selection of classical albums for Harry's "prank" on Lucius and made their way out of the shop back to their bikes.
"Alright, I think we still have enough time to visit a game store," Harry said.
"Good, that gameboy I bought last time doesn't work anymore. I need to buy a new one," Draco said.
"What happened to it?" Harry asked.
" I don't know. The… screen? The screen won't turn on anymore. I took the batteries out to cross through some wards, then when I put the batteries in, it didn't work anymore," Draco said.
"Really? Do you have it on you? I could take a look."
Draco reached into the inside pocket of his suit coat and pulled out the gameboy. "Here, see? It's busted."
Harry checked the batteries, and sure enough they were placed in the wrong way. "You've put the batteries in the wrong way. See this little plus sign? You need to match the sides of the batteries that have the plus sign to that side. Otherwise, the electricity won't flow right."
"Why does that matter? The batteries are in, aren't they?"
"Well, it's like… how do I put this… it's like stirring potions. If you stir the wrong way, it'll ruin the potion. It's the same thing here. If the electricity doesn't flow in the right way through the gameboy, it won't work," Harry said. He flipped the batteries around and tried turning it on again. Luckily, it worked. "Here, see?" He handed the gameboy back.
"You fixed it!" Draco excitedly snatched the gameboy back. "Alright, then I guess we don't need to go to the game store any more. Is there anything else we can do?"
Harry shrugged. He only planned for the music and game store. "Why don't we head back, store the albums, and we can head to Diagon Alley early? We can get some ice cream at Fortescue's."
They biked back to Grimmauld, this time with Draco pedalling far more confidently.