Harry and Ron, shifted from one foot to the other as they were fitted for their new robs. Hermione waited patiently on the side, snickering every time one of the boys complained and the predictable reprimand which followed. The earlier confrontation with Malfoy and his mother had left a heavy atmosphere in the shop, though it was slowly dissipating. Hermione could tell that Madam Malkin wanted them out of her shop as swiftly as possible.

Ron nearly jumped out of his robes at the sudden chiming of the shop's entry bell, earning himself another needle prick in the leg in the process. Madam Malkin frowned up at the boy, but refrained from saying anything and turned to greet her latest costumers. Her eyes widened and immediately curtsy, as the old tradition demanded of her.

The trio curiously observed the display, Hermione and Harry at a complete lost, Ron, however, partly understood what was going on.

"Greetings Madam," the tall figure with long straight black hair. His baritone voice answered as he bowed in return. The three of them stared wide eyed at his elegant clothes, everything about the man screamed nobility to the students. His eyes quickly flickered over the trio, deciding that it was best to not address them.

"Milord, how may I be of assistance?" she asked. This man wasn't like the other nobles… the other purebloods… he holds firmly to the traditions of old and treats everyone he meets, being pure or muggle, with utmost respect. Well… as long as one didn't insult him or show him disrespect. Madam Malkin hopes that the children do not interfere.

The man chuckled inwardly; he knows his effect on people and because of the change in times, his sticking to the old costumes unnerved many a wizard or witch.

"I've come to pick up the robes I ordered." He stated counting down from three and just on time a redhead with wavy shoulder length hair stepped into the store. The madam would recognize him and know of which robes he was talking about.

Madam Malkin nodded and quickly went into the back to look for the man's order. She may not know their names, but it would be near impossible to forget their faces. The red haired one had been by the shop just hours earlier.

Back in the front, the newest arrival looked around the shop and every tense second of silence that passed, his impatience increased. Not even a minute later he broke it a turned to his companion.

"Why are you here Sal?" he asked, his blue eyes studying the kids that were in the room.

'Sal' raised an eyebrow and in a monotonous voice answered. "We decided it was best for you not to come alone, Ric."

"I can take care of myself," 'Ric nearly grounded out. He wasn't a defenseless child and even when he had been, he knew how to handle any situation that was thrown at him.

'Sal' stared at him emotionlessly, his empty expression creeping Harry out. No human should be able to hide what they were thinking so perfectly. Even his voice didn't give way to what he was thinking.

"Of that we have no doubt," he replied. "It's your inability to stay out of trouble and not call attention to yourself that worries us."

'Ric' stared intently at his dark hair companion, but after a second broke out laughing. He could tell that his friend had been force to coming with him, though he was sure that he didn't just come for this small errand.

"How did things go at the bank?" 'Ric' asked once his laughter was under control.

'Sal' inclined his friend, not worry that these children would be any threat. They had no hope of understanding their conversation. "Ragnok assured me that my vaults will be secure, no one but myself has the authority to access them."

"And of what we spoke of?"

The shorter of the two incline his head, leaning comfortably against his cane.

Hermione gasped silently, she may have never met the goblin in person, but it wasn't easy to forget the name of the current Goblin King.

"He will look into it," 'Sal' responded and when he saw his friend's expecting gaze, "he was disturbed that an item such as that could be in one of his vaults. He wishes it out of his bank as soon as he finds it." He added.

'Ric' nodded and before he could ask anything more, Madam Malkin returned.

"Here is your order, Milords." She said and held it out. 'Ric' took it with one hand and with his other grabbed her other, bring it towards his lips and kissed it softly.

"Our much humble appreciation, Madam," 'Ric' charmingly said. The seamstress flushed and curtsy once more, accepting the high compliment.

'Sal' bowed, "thank you for your time, Madam, we won't disturb any longer." He voiced, luckily his friend got the hint and followed suit. The two men exited the shop and left three bewildered teens in their wake.

Harry turned to his friends, his surprise and confusion clear in his expression.

"Blimey," Ron murmured, still staring at the spot where they had been standing.

"Madam Malkin, who were those two men?" Hermione asked.

The red face witch shook her head and returned to work on the students. She absently answered the girl's question. "I am not aware of their names; however, they are wizards that follow the old traditions."

"So they support You-Know-Who?" she asked carefully, noticing how Harry tensed. Hermione hoped that she is wrong, there was something about those two that screamed power.

Madam Malkin scoffed, though it was Ron that answered. "No Hermione, the old traditions dates back to a time before even Hogwarts was created."

"But I've never read anything that mentions anything about some 'old traditions'." She argued. It wasn't common for her to at least not have heard of something. At the very least in passing, Ron and Madam Malkin seemed to be well informed.

"I'm not surprise, Miss Granger, they have never actually been written down. It is knowledge that is passed down through Pureblood families, yet there are few families that still practice them. It goes against their wizard supremacy ideology."

Ron nodded eagerly, "yeah, my mum used to tell us how wizards and witches use to act during the Dark Times. They had great respect for anything magical, be it a centaur or an elf. She told me they protected one another."

Harry eyebrows were near his hair line. This greatly surprised him; from what he had seen wizards thought all magical creatures that weren't wizards were beneath them and some were even denied basic rights. Yet, a thought was bothering him.

"That is correct Mr. Weasley," Madam Malkin praised and finished with his robes. She turned and gave her final appraisal of Harry's.

"But protect each other from what?" the Boy-Who-Lived asked.

Madam Malkin eyes flickered towards the young girl, a few years back she had met the girl's parents and hoped that what she was about to say didn't offend her in anyway.

"Muggles," was her short reply. The Weasley boy nodded grimly. Hermione frowned, not really understanding, but decided to search for information regarding this Dark Times once she got to Hogwarts.

It wasn't much later that the three were outside once again.

"Got everything?" Hagrid asked when they were by his side.

"Yes," Harry said, "did you see the Malfoys or a pair of wizards?"

"Yeah," Hagrid responded, "Though don't worry Harry the Malfoys won't try anything in the middle of Diagon Alley and the wizards they seem like nice folk. Greeted me and everything, before they headed of somewhere else."

Before they could continue talking of the matter, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and Ginny appeared, each carrying a heavy bag filled with books.