Once outside, Tooth took over, steering Jack and Bunny over to a small shop by the name of Madam Malkin's, where they would be getting their robes.
"Now, you three stay here and get fitted and the rest of us will go get your cauldron and scales. We'll meet you in the book shop, all right?"
Jack nodded, surprised that the others would leave but not particularly bothered. Bunny and Sandy followed suit a bit more dubiously, no doubt calculating the amount of chaos Jack could cause in half an hour in a clothing shop. The other Guardians didn't seem to notice, and in a few moments Jack found himself seated on a tall stool, being magically fitted by a pleasant, motherly witch.
Fortunately for the shop, Jack and Bunny were done relatively quickly, and since Sandy told them to go ahead, soon enough Bunny was being dragged down the street by an extremely hyper Jack (the free sweet bowl in the shop really wasn't the best idea).
"Come on, come on, we'll be late!"
He heard Bunny sigh behind him. "No, ya gumby. We're ten minutes early. And Sandy hasn't even left the robes shop yet."
Vaguely, Jack knew he was acting like a six-year-old, but he was too sugar-high to care. "Ten minutes? We have to wait ten minutes? I'm bored already!"
"Well, I suppose we can get all our books so when the others show up ya won't have to stand around."
"'Kay," Jack said. "Race you!"
And with that he took off, running down the street with Bunny hot on his heels.
They'd been racing for several streets before Jack realized they'd taken a wrong turn. Suddenly, they were running down a narrow, dingy alley filled with distinctly seedy looking characters.
Jack skidded to a stop, Bunny crashing into his back.
"Um, I think we took a wrong turn, Bunny," he said nervously.
"Ya think?" Bunny replied sarcastically.
The people crowding the street were pressing closer, and Jack stepped back, feeling the familiar warmth of Bunny's chest behind him.
"How do we get out of here? They don't look like the sort to let us go with a pat on the back."
"Shh. Not English," Bunny replied, talking in Fae, the language used by spirits and elves. "Just... Imagine they're Pitch. If you aren't afraid of them, they won't be able to hurt you."
Following Bunny's lead, Jack lifted his head and turned to leave. Then he heard a voice behind him.
"I- I'm fine, thanks." It sounded like a teenage girl, and she was clearly scared. For a moment Jack's fervent desire to leave conflicted with his Guardian instinct to protect. Then he took off, elbowing people aside with no qualms about using violence. A kid was in danger!
There, in front of a dark shop, stood a blond girl of about ten or eleven. A grimy witch was getting up in her face, trying to sell her something that looked suspiciously like human ears.
Jack, remembering his life before, when lords would come through, looking down at the villagers and treating them like mangy dogs, murmured to Bunny "Follow my lead. Bluff."
Then he started towards the girl, silently hoping she would have the sense to play along.
"Oh, there you are," Jack said, putting on an upper-crust accent. "Mama isn't pleased in the least. This trip is a privilege, you know, and if you keep running off like that, she'll come take you home. God, you're filthy, must be this place rubbing off on you. Come on."
He grabbed the girl's arm, pulling her away from the witch. Bunny stood behind him, looking at one of the shop windows with disdain.
"You too, Aster, or next time she won't let you come along."
Jack continued shepherding the others away, using his staff to shove people out of the way, and giving them mild frostbite for good measure. Finally they drew near Diagon Alley again. Just as Jack thought they'd get away with it, their way was blocked by an tall man.
"Ah, there you are, Luna. What were you doing down Knockturn Alley? Did these lads take you in there?"
He was looking distinctly suspicious, so Jack thought he should explain.
"Sir, my brother an I ended up in Knockturn Alley entirely by accident, and as we were leaving, I heard – Luna is it? – I heard Luna. She sounded scared, so we went to get her out of there. And now, sir, we will be leaving."
With that, Jack dragged Bunny away, and back towards Flourish & Blotts , where the others would no doubt be anxiously waiting.
Sure enough, North, Sandy and Tooth stood in front of the shop, seeming in disagreement. Symbols flashed above Sandy's head; a ticking clock, Bunny and Jack running, then a thumbs up.
"Yeah, you're right, Sandy," Jack said, revelling in the fact that all the Guardians jumped. "We're fine."
"Ah, vhere vere you, Jack, Bunny?" North said, looking relieved. "Ve vere all so vorried!"
"See, that's the thing," Jack started. "The clothes shop had sweets and I got sugar-high, so I got Bunny to race me. Then we got lost down this place, Knockturn Alley, and found a girl who was in trouble so now she's safe, I think, and we're here!"
"Sugar?" Tooth exclaimed in dismay. "Here, open up! Oh no, you shouldn't have..."
"Tooth," North said firmly. "Hands out of mouth!"
"Sorry, just, they're so white! Now, make sure you brush tonight."
More shapes appeared over Sandy's head, though Jack was the only one to notice.
"You're right, Sandy. We should go get our things or we won't be done by lunchtime."
"Ah, thank you, Sandy, Jack. Ve should indeed ve going!"
With that, North strode into the crowded shop, trailing the other Guardians in the small space he had cleared.
Inside, the shop owner nearly had a fit when they said they wanted the Monstrous Book of Monsters.
"I've been bitten twice already today!" He said grumpily. To his surprise, however, Jack and Bunny calmly stroked the books, which opened peacefully into their hands.
"Thank you, kids," he said gratefully. "That'll make handling them a lot easier!"
Tooth poked her head back into the shop.
"Are you coming? We must get our wands!"
"Yeah, yeah, coming sheila," Bunny grumbled.
Jack laughed and skipped out of the shop, almost losing it and calling the wind to fly. Just as his feet started to leave the ground, though, Bunny grabbed his shoulder, drawing him back to the ground.
"Careful. Don't want people seeing that."
"Aww, you do care," Jack replied mischievously.
Bunny rolled his eyes and muttered, "In your dreams, Frostbite."