Disclaimer – I do not own the Harry Potter franchise. Everything here belongs to J.K Rowling.

Chapter 1 – Some shopping misadventures

It was a bright, slightly chilly mid-august afternoon. The magical parts of London, just like the muggle ones, were bursting with happy commotion and life. Everywhere, people were hurrying outside, alone or in little groups, trying to take in as much of the perfect late summer sun as they can, as if they could store it for the upcoming season of rain and gloom.

Among the many families striding through the colorful Diagon alley, one in particular was getting the attention of the passersby. There was a lot of excited whispering and pointing. Autographs were asked for and given. People were crowding around them in quite a large circle, creating something like a traffic jam. The reason for that were the young family's parents. Many quidditch fans recognized the red haired mother as the former chaser for the successful Holyhead harpies. The main attention though, was her husband. A black haired, bespectacled man with a lightning bolt scar on his forehead. The boy who lived and the man who killed Voldemort – Harry Potter.

Albus Severus Potter, the family's middle child, wasn't sure he was liking all this attention. It made them move so slowly, he was sure they'll only reach the last shop on their list, Olivander's, mid-afternoon. It's been three and a half hours now, and they only started moving towards it now. And if his brother's experience two years ago was anything to judge by, the wand fitting could take about an hour on its own.

Al looked at his siblings, walking beside him. His little sister, Lily, seemed to be dozing off, while clinging to their mother's hand, yawning occasionally. Even his older brother, James, who usually didn't have a problem with the celebrity lifestyle, seemed bored out of his mind. Al felt especially sorry for Lily. She wasn't even going to school yet, so it seemed unfair that she had to go through all of this just to get his and his brother's supplies.

Speaking of his older brother…

"James? Is that what they call a nervous tic? Why are your eyes moving like that?"

"I was trying to wink at you, idiot!" the taller kid said, slightly annoyed. "You were practically sleepwalking there. Had to get your attention somehow…"

"Well, you got that. Even if you looked like you have some brain issues", Al smirked, and immediately received a smack on the head.

"What I was going to say, Albus, is that now is the perfect time to split".

"What?" Al looked bewildered. Definitely not his brightest moment, but the pushy crowd made him feel a bit confused and dumb.

"Man, you're slow. I mean, this whole thing is going to last another hour. In the meantime, we both have our allowance money with us, just sitting in our pockets, waiting to be wasted. We can go to uncle George's shop, finely have some fun, and return before mom and dad even notice."

Al looked away from James and regarded his parents' backs. Some nagging voice (sounding suspiciously similar to aunt Hermiony's) was counting several logical, very well argued reasons on why this will end badly. Al turned and looked at his brother.

"Sure, sounds like a plan."

So naturally, they got lost.

'How do you get lost in the middle of the day, in a street you've been to a hundred times before?' thought Al, looking at the strange surroundings. 'You forget that streets tend to be connected to other streets, and those are connected to some other streets as well. And if all of your attention is dedicated to arguing with your brother, well… this is where you end up eventually.

The street where the boys were currently walking was narrower and much more plain looking than any of the ones they've been to today. In fact, if it wasn't for the shops names (Herbs and Charms of the Far East, Mrs. Caleb – Dream Walker, Ramona's Curses and Counter Curses), one could thing he somehow wandered into muggle-London. The place was so plain – it was quite unnerving.

"I don't like this," said James, "We came back to the exact place where we took the wrong turn. It's the right place, I know it!"

"How can you know it? All I remember was talking to you, I don't think I was even looking at the road. Sure could have used a cell phone right now…"

"Would have exploded right in your face", James grinned at him. Then looked around and added. "There's no one here except us. Let's ask for help in one of the shops."

"Don't you think it's weird though?" Al asked, trailing his brother to the nearest shop entrance. "Stuck in a strange street, conveniently, there's no one around…"

"Well, what else should we do," James answered, without looking back, "Come on, I have my wand with me. And anyway, what's the worst that could happen in a shop that sells laboratory equipment?"

"Marduc and Daughters - Laboratory Equipment," Al read the sign as the boys entered. "What's a shop like that doing in the magical part of London?"

"Preventing stagnation," Someone answered from within the room. The owner of the voice was obscured almost completely by a big white box he was currently unpacking. Evidently, he wasn't a very tall man. All they could see was a mass of black hair, so wild that it gave the impression it's owner was getting electrocuted twice a day at least.

"And to answer your earlier question," the man moved around his desk and the box that was currently on it, "I could think of at least eleven ways to kill you both using merchandise from this shop. I'm sure I can come up with a few dozen more, if you give me time to think about it". He said all that with a very friendly smile.

"Julian Marduc," he extended his hand to them. And as the boys shook it, saying their names, he continued, "We don't have plenty of visitors, I will admit. Most people have the preposterous notion that magic and the scientific method don't mix together".

"And they do?" Al asked, while his brother sent him an annoyed look.

"Um, sorry to interrupt," James said, not looking very sorry, "The thing is, we were in Diagon alley for our school supplies, and… Well, I guess we weren't paying attention, and – "

"Say no more," this time Mr. Marduc interrupted. "Were you getting a sensation that the street traps you inside on purpose, almost as if you are walking inside a loop?"

The brothers nodded. The man's grin widened even more.

"Ah, one moment then", he ran into a back room, a manic gleam in his eyes. A few moments passed, and the man appeared once again. A strange whirling sound, that Al didn't even notice before, stopped. James eyed the man suspiciously.

"So it was you who trapped us here," he said, taking one step forward.

"Oh, not on purpose! You were indeed trapped inside my experiment. Quite a successful one, if I may add. But it was not my intention at all. In fact, I informed all the residents within the influence zone not to get out for one hour exactly. There should have been a warning sign in Diagon alley".

"So what's the experiment?" the younger boy asked, intrigued. James rolled his eyes.

"Researching the magical properties of moving Mobius strips. Very interesting field of study, can't believe I'm one of the first to tap into it. Well," the man added with a good natured smirk towards James, " I can see you are in a bit of a hurry. Wait just a bit. My youngest daughter was about to head out to Diagon alley herself. Begins Hogwarts this year. Malka! hurry up! There are people here requiring your assistance!"

There was a bit of a noise coming from even further back, and what sounded like a bag zipping. A moment later, a girl came out to the front room, carrying a pink backpack on one shoulder. She was even shorter than Al (and that was saying something), and had a long dark braid, and big dark eyes. She looked at them owlishly, then fished inside her pocket and got out a pair of glasses.

"Hello, I'm Malka Marduc," she said with a friendly smile.

"James Potter", the taller kid grinned at her.

"Albus Potter. Just call me Al."

"Splendid! Now, dear. Those boys were slightly… affected by my current experiment. Would you mend your father's mistake and help them back to where they came from? Since you're going there anyway."

"You came from Diagon alley?" the girl's eyes lit up. "Were you shopping for school supplies?"

They moved out of the store. Suddenly, the turn back to Diagon alley was right there, a block from them.

"Yup. Just need to get Al's wand, and we're done."

"Oh. I'm just beginning. I guess I overslept."

"And you're doing all your shopping alone?" Al asked, astonished.

"Yeah. I mean, I live right here, so I know everything. No chance of getting lost. Besides," she added, her voice slightly sad, "There's no way to get daddy from his experiments once he's in that set of mind. I'm surprised he even noticed you there".

The kids reached Diagon alley in no time, and from there, it was pretty easy to spot his family. The crowd was gone now (perhaps his dad threatened to send them on a trip to Azkaban – being an auror was useful sometimes). Their parents were looking around, and it was plain even from a distance that they were very annoyed.

"Mom, dad", the oldest brother started once they reached their parents. "I know how this looks, but we can explain". Albus nodded furiously, picking through his best excuses in his head.

"Excuse me," a quiet voice intervened, before his parents got to say anything. All faces turned to Malka.

"I think it would be best if I explained. My name is Malka Marduc. My father, Julian Marduc owns a shop back on Nameless street. He was conducting an experiment – all perfectly legal and he has all the papers," she added, "And Al and James were trapped in. He sends his apologies. And I'm very sorry as well."

There was a long moment of silence.

"Julian Marduc, then." his father said, a slight look of misery in his eyes. "I'm certainly familiar with him. And I know for a fact that he had permission for his current experimentation. "He signed, "Well, fine. At least it's my day off".

And while their mother was mouthing 'you're not off the hook' at them, they said goodbye to their new friend and entered Ollivanders.

My biggest problem is starting stories and losing the thread in the middle, eventually abandoning them. I really hope this won't happen here. I do have quite a clear idea about the story. Another problem is that English is not my first language, so sometimes my sentences get weird. I'm especially confused by all those past tense shenanigans.

So, I hope my OC's weren't too annoying.

Thank you for reading. Please review, if only to correct my weird English.