Harry Potter's Visum et Disiderium

A/N: Hey! Here it is shiny chapter three! I feel like I should give a little warning for this story. I have received several reviews stating that they hope Harry will 'get over it' soon. I wanted to warn the readers that I am approaching this story with the mindset that Harry is suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ( much like soldiers coming home from war) so no, he will not be getting over it quickly. I'm sorry if this upsets some readers, but I hope you will give the story a chance, especially as I've put copious amounts of research into this plot. It will not be completely dark, this chapter is lighter than the previous two for instance. However it is labelled Angst for a reason. So if I've driven anyone away, I'm sorry to lose you. For those continuing with me, big hugs for all of you! Enjoy!

Disclaimer : I own no rights to Harry Potter or any of JK Rowling's characters.

“So I'll hold tight to what I know,

You're here... and I'm never alone.”

Never Alone by The Barlow Girls

Chapter 3 - The Florence Sun

The remaining days before Harry and Hermione's trip to Italy passed in a blur of packing and research (in Hermione's case). Harry enjoyed the flurry of activity, however, since it gave him little time to reflect on his recent thoughts. Rowen kept a close eye on him, but not so close that he felt suffocated in any way. Harry was extremely grateful for her silent support. The morning of August 4^th dawned with everyone in the house rising early, as Harry and Hermione's portkey was set to leave at 7 am. Harry had arranged for a portkey since apparition over such long distance consisted of apparating oneself to different locations, which meant a total of several apparitions in a short time which could be tiring. Harry had opted to just portkey to their location, it seemed much easier.

Downstairs, Rowen was setting breakfast on the table when Harry appeared, dressed in muggle clothes. Even though they were going to a wizard convention, Florence was still a muggle community and Harry had packed more muggle clothes than wizarding robes. Rowen greeted him warmly and as he sat his plate filled with breakfast, courtesy of Winky who was in the kitchen. Hermione joined them shortly, and they all ate while discussing various places to see in Florence. When they had finished eating Harry retrieved their bags from upstairs, shrinking them and placing them in the pocket of his sweater. He also grabbed the portkey, and old tin can, which had been owled to him yesterday along with a note of when it was due to go off.

Rowen was hugging Hermione when Harry came jogging down the stairs. He came to a stop in front of Rowen and Snape. Rowen eyed him with some concern before pulling him too, into a great hug.

“You have everything you need Harry?” she questioned him as she pulled back. Harry nodded, thinking of the flask of potion in his trunk. “ Well, just... be careful okay? And be good? We'll see you both in a week.” Rowen admonished them gently, before stepping back to join Snape who merely nodded his goodbye. Harry held out the can to Hermione, who grabbed it, her eyes shining with excitement that was almost contagious. At precisely 7 am they felt the familiar tug behind their navels as the portkey activated.

When Harry had re-oriented himself, he looked around to see that they were in a hotel lobby, which was richly decorated in golden tones, with marble floors shining under their feet and a high ceiling above their heads. A small wizard rushed forward to greet them, his golden robes fluttering about him.

“Mr. Potter! Miss. Granger! Such a pleasure, such a pleasure!” his voice when he spoke was a bit squeaky, but at least it was British. “ My name is Brayton Wickliff, I am one of the many Benvenutos here at Hotel Pendini! Come, come! Follow me!” Mr. Wickliff spoke rather quickly, as he began to lead them down several twisting corridors which Harry barely managed to look at before coming to a halt before a set of Mahogany doors. He flung them open rushing them in.

“Ah, here we are! The Leggero Room! Now! There is of course, a bedroom to the left off of the sitting room, and the bathroom is located off of that. You are on the fourth floor, and just need a quick revealing charm at the end of this hall to locate the elevators.” He paused to take a breath here, and Hermione, a confused look on her face interrupted him.

“But... isn't Hotel Pendini a muggle hotel? My parents and I saw it when on our way to the Uffizi Gallery when we were in Florence last!” she protested in a befuddled voice. Mr. Wickliff just chuckled at her question as he turned to look at her as she spoke.

“Well, it is a muggle hotel. However, Muggles are only aware of three floors of it, and infact, the elevator must be told to go to the fourth floor. The fourth floor is entirely magical and held for wizards only. Now if you need anything, you hold out your wand like thus,” Mr. Wickliff held out his wand in front of him rather like a microphone, “ and say Benvenuto Brayton! And I will come! If you would like to order food, of course just call for Lurky, who is this room's house elf! Anything else? Questions? No? Well! I must be off to greet the American wizards arriving shortly. I hope you enjoy your stay!” Brayton had said all this with barely a pause in between and had hustled his short body over to the door as he spoke. With his last words, he flung open the doors and gave them a small bow before exiting.

Harry and Hermione looked at each before bursting out laughing. “ Oh my! What an... interesting man!” Hermione exclaimed between peals of laughter. When they had finally calmed down, they began to look around the room in awe. It was a beautiful room, with walls painted in a delicate yellow that seemed to draw the sun in. There was a settee by the fireplace in a pale blue, witch matched the two small chairs flanking a breakfast table by the window, which showed a beautiful view of the Via Strozzi and you could see the shape of the cathedral in the distant horizon. By the door was a mahogany table, which had a coat tree next to it. Harry heard Hermione call out to him from the bedroom.

The room, which Harry saw upon first glance, was decorated in much the same fashion as the sitting room, with yellow walls and the bed done in blue. The bed looked like two twin brass frames pushed together to create one large bed. When Harry sat upon it though, it was clear that the large bed consisted of one wide mattress however. He looked at Hermione who was glaring at him.

“One bed, Harry? I thought you got a double room?” she asked with a slight tone of accusation.

“I did! I swear Hermione!” Harry blushed fiercely since it was clear what Hermione had thought he'd done. Seeing the look of acute embarrassment on his face , she seemed to soften.

“Oh it doesn't matter Harry! We can handle sleeping in the same bed... right?” she said in a overconfident tone. Harry nodded, while thinking of his nightmares. Thank Merlin for the potion! I'll have to get Snape something nice to thank him for it. Hermione , in the meantime, had moved onto the bathroom. Harry lay back on the bed, feeling the warm sunshine streaming through the windows.

“Hermione?” he called. “ You don't have any convention stuff today do you?” he asked when she popped her head into the room.

“No, I'm not required to be there until tomorrow morning. Why?” she asked.

“I thought we could go explore a bit...” Harry stated wistfully, glancing out the window to the busy street below. “ Maybe get some lunch or something?” Hermione's face lit up at the suggestion, and she nodded enthusiastically.

“Just let me change first and we'll go!” she said brightly. She emerged a few minutes later in a summer dress, and they headed out the door, down to the end of the hall, where Harry performed the revealing charm and the elevator doors appeared . They stepped in, pressing the button for the lobby, where they headed straight out into the warm sunshine.

They spent most of the morning strolling along the Florence River, criss crossing it's various arched bridges, and just soaking the culture in. Harry felt extremely comfortable here, as if the bright sunshine had chased any darkness lingering about him away. Hermione, held onto his hand and laughed and talked with him, seeming to sense the subtle change.

They lunched at a small bistro called Caffe' La Torre, eating at a small table outside in the Tuscan sun. Afterwards, Hermione dragged Harry into the Uffizi Gallery, where she proceeded to march him from painting to painting giving brief explanations for each. Harry was unsurprised that Hermione knew so much about Florence, as she and her parents were well traveled. They had entered the Tribune Room of the gallery when Harry halted in front of a disturbing painting entitled Slaughter of the Innocents. He could not seem to tear his eyes away from the depiction of death and the bodies of the small children littering the canvas. Harry felt the darkness creeping up on him again, do he pleaded extreme tiredness to Hermione, and she relented and said that they could come back some other day.

They spent a quiet evening in their rooms, with Harry just sitting in front of the fireplace, filled with good food, while Hermione looked over her speech nervously.

“There's no need to be nervous you know,” Harry said mildly. “ You know the subject backwards and forwards. The convention isn't in our hotel is it?”

“No, thank Merlin!” Hermione said with a smile. “ Can you imagine the service we'd get from Lurky if he heard about my cause?” Harry smiled remembering their first encounter with the house elf just that afternoon. He was quite aptly named, as he did seem to pop out of nowhere from behind, as if he had indeed been lurking all along.

“Well, let's head to bed.” Harry yawned. “ You have a big day ahead of you.” Hermione nodded absentmindedly as he spoke.

“I'll be in in a minute, Harry. I just want to correct a few things..” as she spoke she began to scribble furiously on her parchment, Harry just shook his head before entering the bedroom. He changed into his pajama bottoms and taking a quick swig of his Dreamless Sleep potion before crawling into bed. I wonder if Hermione has a side... he thought drowsily. Hermione entered at that moment, giving him a nervous smile before disappearing into the bathroom, emerging a short while later and quickly climbing into bed. They lay there a few moments in tense silence, their bodies laying ridged on the outskirts of the mattress. Finally Harry heard Hermione's trademark huff.

“This is ridiculous! We have been dating for almost a year, we shouldn't be this nervous!” her voice was irritated as she spoke. Harry chuckled in response.

“ Only natural I suppose. We're not used to it yet.” Harry replied. Hermione's face took on a surprised expression at the yet but was distracted as Harry had rolled over and pulled her into his body. He wrapped both arms around her and gave her a small kiss, before telling her to go to sleep. They both lay down, comforted by the warmth of the embrace before quickly falling asleep.

After the first day, it seemed as if Harry and Hermione fell into an easy pattern. They would rise and breakfast early, then Hermione would leave for her convention activities during the day. Harry would wander the streets of Florence, shopping and just taking it all in, and they would meet again in the evening for supper. They days passed in a pleasant haze of sunshine, good food, and even better company. Hermione had naturally, done brilliantly on her speech, and each night she would share her day with Harry, including any interesting lectures she had attended. Harry would listen attentively, well almost always attentively, and they would discuss it over dinner.

Harry found himself visiting the Uffizi Gallery almost daily, where he would just sit and contemplate the different paintings. He never went back to the Tribute room, however. His favorite paintings were the different depictions of The Adoration of the Magi, which depicted the many people paying homage to the baby Jesus. His favorite version of this was Leonardo DaVinci's. He also spent a great deal of time, just strolling about the many bridges of Florence. The vistas on the river were perhaps his favorite part of Florence.

Sooner than they ever felt possible, their last day was upon them. Hermione's convention had ended in the afternoon, and they had gone for one last walk before getting dressed for dinner. Harry was taking Hermione out on their last evening in Italy. They had supper in a beautiful restaurant, and afterward had strolled, hand in hand along the river. The full moon hung low in the sky, and the lights from the many buildings lining the river, reflected off of the water.

“It's so beautiful Harry” Hermione sighed as they paused, leaning against the railing that lined the walkway. Harry looked at her as her face reflected the moonlight.

“Yes, it is.” he said softly. Hermione leaned into him, kissing him under the Tuscan moon, as Harry wished that they could stay there forever. He had felt almost normal again this week, no one had questioned him, or judged him. He had just been left alone, with Hermione. As he stared up at the full moon, knowing that they must return tomorrow, his heart was filled with regret. Regret for what he hadn't shared with Hermione yet, regret for leaving this beautiful place that had been his sanctuary this week, but a small corner of his heart felt hope. Hope that everything would be alright in the end, and he and Hermione could return here one day, to bask in the sun again.

A/N2: I know! Oy with the A/N's already! But I thought I'd provide links for the paintings Harry and Hermione saw.....

The Slaughter of the Innocent - http://www.virtualuffizi.com/uffizi/img/1429.jpg

The Adoration of the Magi - http://www.virtualuffizi.com/uffizi/img/1594.jpg

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