Disclaimer: I'm not J.K. Rowling, I don't own most of the characters that will be used in this FF, and it's based on events from 'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets'. If you have any questions, PM or email me.
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Chapter 4: Diagon Alley
Harry had been staying in the Weasley household for almost a week when the Hogwarts letters arrived one morning during breakfast. Harry and Ron had just walked into the kitchen as Ginny was helping herself to more porridge. Seeing Harry enter, she jumped, knocking her bowl off the table. She felt herself blushing, but didn't run away. She had learned that it was easier and less embarrassing to pretend nothing was wrong. No one noticed her blushes, or if they did, they pretended not to see.
The mail flew in the window while Ginny was picking up her bowl from the floor.
"School letters are here." Mr. Weasley picked up the bundle and passed the letters around. Taking her letter, Ginny broke the seal on the envelope and pulled out the papers
'Dear Miss Weasley,
We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress'
Ginny had known she'd be going to Hogwarts, just like her parents and brothers, but it was an amazing feeling to get accepted. For a moment, she forgot her nervousness about Harry and the want of her brother's acceptance. For a brief moment, she was just Ginny Weasley, a girl about to go away to school for the first time, ready to make a name for herself. She could be and do anything she wanted.
Then Ginny heard the others discussing how much their supplies would cost.
"…won't come cheap…"
"…we'll manage…"
All thoughts of distinction quickly left her head as Ginny looked at the second page of her letter.
'All first years will require the following:
Uniform
Three sets of plain work robes (black)
One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear
One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)
(All pupils' clothes should carry name tags)
Books
'The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)' by Miranda Goshawk
'A History of Magic' by Bathilda Bagshot
'Magical Theory' by Adalbert Waffling
'A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration' by Emeric Switch
'One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi' by Phyllida Spore
'Magical Drafts and Potions' by Arsenius Jigger
'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' by Newt Scammander
'Break with a Banshee' by Gilderoy Lockhart
'Gadding with Ghouls' by Gilderoy Lockhart
'Holidays with Hags' by Gilderoy Lockhart
'Travels with Trolls' by Gilderoy Lockhart
'Voyages with Vampires' by Gilderoy Lockhart
'Wanderings with Werewolves' by Gilderoy Lockhart
'Year with the Yeti' by Gilderoy Lockhart
Equipment
1 wand
1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)
1 set glass or crystal phials
1 telescope
1 set brass scales'
'Merlin, this is a lot of stuff!'
she thought. 'And this doesn't even include potion ingredients or parchment and ink, not to mention clothes for underneath my robes.'Ginny had been saving her money for almost a year, after seeing how much her parents had to spend last year when Ron started school. She wanted to pay for her own supplies, but after saving for so long, she wasn't sure she'd be able to pay for everything on her list. 'Why are there so many books this year? Ron's list wasn't this long last year.'
It was decided that they would all leave for Diagon Alley in an hour, so Ginny went upstairs to get ready. Putting on a grey skirt and white blouse underneath her nicest black robe, she took a little leather bag from a drawer in her dresser and tied it to her belt. All her money was in that pouch. 12 Sickles and 14 Knuts, the most money she had ever had at one time. Taking her list of supplies and putting it into her pocket, Ginny went downstairs.
Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Fred, George, Percy, Ron and Harry were already in the living room. Standing aside, Ginny watched as Ron stepped into the fireplace and went to Diagon Alley by using Floo Powder. Harry looked startled when Ron disappeared into the flames.
'Why is Harry scared? The Floo Powder won't hurt him.'
Harry stepped into the fireplace next, his hand shaking as her took some Floo Powder from the bowl. Taking a deep breath, he threw the powder down, said "Diagonnilly", and disappeared.
"Oh no…did he just say Diagonnilly?" Mrs. Weasley asked.
"I think so. He definitely mumbled. We'd better hurry after him and hope he hasn't gone to far astray." Mr. Weasley entered the fireplace, pulling Ginny in with him, and the next thing she knew, they were tumbling out of a fireplace in the middle of a robe shop. She'd travelled by Floo Powder quite a lot, so the experience was nothing new, but she still hated the fact that she got covered in soot every time she went anywhere.
Ron came over and helped them brush off the soot, asking questions at the same time.
"Where's Harry? I thought he was going to come next."
Mr. Weasley explained to him what had happened, pausing to help his wife out of the fireplace before the twins came through and landed on her. Once they were all through, they left the robe shop and began to look for Harry. Everyone was nervous, but did their best to hide it. Ron met Hermione along the way and quickly told her what happened. They were about to separate into search parties when Harry was seen walking through the crowded street towards them, covered from head to foot in ashes, with his glasses broken and his robes torn.
Relief flooded through Ginny, and she wanted nothing more than to run to Harry and hug him, but instead, she stood behind her dad and watched while Harry explained what happened. He had come out in a shop in Knockturn Alley, and if he had not been seen by the gamekeeper at Hogwarts, he could have been in a lot of trouble with the people there.
Happy that Harry was safe, the family split up to do their shopping, deciding to meet later that day in Flourish and Blotts. Mr. Weasley and Ginny spent the next hour buying her school supplies. It had taken her a while to convince him to let her pay for her things, but in the end, Mr. Weasley gave in and let Ginny pay. She was fitted for new robes (the first new robes she'd had in 2 years), measured in every possible way while shopping for her wand, and by the time they left to meet the others, Ginny and her dad had their arms full of packages and bundles.
Mrs. Weasley and the twins were already inside Flourish and Blotts when they got there, holding quite a few packages themselves. Harry, Ron and Hermione, who was probably with them, hadn't arrived yet.
"Look Ginny, Gilderoy Lockhart is here signing autographs!" Mrs. Weasley was saying. "I wish I had known, I would have brought my copy of 'Gilderoy Lockhart's Guide to Household Pests'." Mrs. Weasley thought Lockhart was the best thing in the world lately, believing anything that he said in his books.
Ron, who had just come in, heard her saying this, and whispered loudly to his friends "Mum fancies him. He's all she ever talks about."
Mrs. Weasley heard him, but didn't do anything, because at that moment, Gilderoy Lockhart himself entered the store and was giving a speech. All around her, women were sighing and gazing at him, even Ron's friend Hermione looked a bit taken with him. 'I don't think there's anything special about him,' she thought. 'He's not bad to look at, but he's so old!' Ginny stopped paying attention and focused on her list of school books. Half of what she needed was written by Lockhart, but there were so many people around his books that she turned and looked for the others on her list. Putting a copy of 'The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)' into her cauldron, she turned around to see Harry walking towards her with a big pile of books. The familiar blush rose on her cheeks,
Harry dropped the books into her cauldron. "Here," he said. "You have these. I'll buy my own."
"Th-th-thank you, H-h-harry," she whispered, but Harry didn't seem to hear her. A boy with pale skin and blond hair had come up to them and was taunting Harry. Ginny felt herself fill with anger, and forgetting how nervous being around Harry made her, she looked the blond boy square in the face and said "Leave Harry alone. He didn't ask for all that attention!" That was the first thing she had said around Harry that wasn't a whisper or mumbled under her breath.
The pale boy glared at Ginny, as if wondering why she dared to speak to him. "So, you've got yourself a girlfriend, eh Potter?"
At the word girlfriend, Ginny blushed more than she had blushed in her entire life. Harry just stared at the boy and didn't say anything, but Ginny would have crawled into a hole and died if she could have. Ron and Hermione were coming over, and judging by the looks on their faces, they didn't like this boy either.
Seeing them, the boy snickered. "Weasley, didn't expect to see you here. Your parent's will most likely go hungry for a month to pay for that lot," he said, eyeing at the pile of books in Ron's hands. Ron looked as though he would have jumped on the boy if Hermione hadn't held him back. All the same, Mr. Weasley noticed the commotion and made his way over, as did who Ginny assumed to be the blond boy's father. His father looked to be just as mean and snarky as the boy was.
The two adults greeted each other civilly, but it was obvious they didn't like each other. Her dad called the other man Lucius Malfoy, which meant that the boy was Draco Malfoy, who Ron was always talking about.
"You've been rather busy at the ministry, I understand, Arthur. I do hope they're paying you overtime." The man glanced around at Ginny and her brothers. His eyes fell on the second-hand transfiguration book in Ginny's cauldron. He reached out and pulled it out, holding it with two fingers, like it could make him sick. "Judging by this, I suppose they aren't. Just disgraceful." He spoke from between clenched teeth, hissing out his words.
Mr. Weasley turned a little red, and pursed his lips together. "We obviously have different opinions on what makes a man a disgrace." 'He must be hinting about Mr. Malfoy being a bad wizard.'
"Clearly." Mr. Malfoy threw Ginny's battered old book back into her cauldron, grabbed his son by the shoulder and left the store.
Mr. Weasley looked ashamed and shooed the children out of the shop. They returned to the robe shop, climbed into the fireplace one by one and went home. Mrs. Weasley and Percy stayed behind in Flourish and Blotts, one trying to get Lockhart's attention, the other reading a book entitled 'From Prefect to Head Boy: an Ambitious Boy's Guide.'
No one said anything as they lugged their purchases into their rooms. Ginny brought her many bags, boxes and bundles up to her third floor room and dropped them all onto her bed. It was a large pile, and it would take her at least an hour to put everything away. With a sigh, she began unwrapping the packages. The new robes were put into her wardrobe, and all of her equipment was put into her school trunk, ready for when she'd leave. Her books were the last things to be put away. Most of them were put on a shelf over her desk, but all the Lockhart books were put away in a drawer where she couldn't see them. 'His smile is just so annoying sometimes!'
The last book was sitting on her bed. Picking it up, Ginny looked it over. 'Where did this come from?' She thought. The book had a green cover with etched gold corners, and the word 'Diary' was written on the cover in slanting gold letters. 'I don't remember buying this. Where could it have come from?' Ginny began to think over her day, to try and figure out where it came into her possession. 'We went to Flourish and Blotts, listened to Lockhart talk for a minute, I went around finding my school books, Harry put a bunch of books into my cauldron, - Harry! Harry must have given it to me! Harry gave me a diary! Does that mean he likes me? It must! Harry Potter likes me!' Ginny's thoughts whizzed through her head and her heart was pounding against her chest.
Opening the diary to the first page, she picked up her quill and wrote:
'Hello Diary, my name is Ginny Weasley.'
Her smiling face changed to one of confusion a second later as her words disappeared into the page and an invisible hand wrote a reply.
'Hello Ginny, my name is Tom Riddle.'
