"Market"
"Ain't seen so many folks wearin' dresses before," Jayne sniffed, as he, Mal, Harry, and Zoe walked through Diagon Alley. Located on Persephone, this magical hub of commerce was a short stop before heading to Badger's to offload the goods.
Hagrid had said that Dumbledore would be expecting them, in the local bank. Gringotts, it was called. Mal took one look at the goblins working the place and decided right then and there that this was one place he didn't want to try to rob. As lucrative as doing business with the magical world might be, he doubted they'd survive the attempt. Was that a dragon guarding one of the vaults?
"Can we-?" Jayne asked, predictably, as they arrived at Harry's vault. Mal shut him up with a glare.
"No. This is Harry's money, it ain't for nothing else but his schooling," Mal declared, as they stood outside the chamber filled to the roof with gold. Harry, in extreme guilt, opened his mouth to offer to split the money his parents had left him, when a look from Mal stopped him.
"This is yours, Harry, dong ma? You keep it for your schooling."
"But… But Serenity-!"
"Is allright," Mal soothed. "Look, if you want to share your money with us? Wait until you're done with your schooling."
"How long is that?" Jayne whined. Zoe rolled her eyes.
"Jayne, shut up already."
"Rags"
School robes were all Harry wanted—He preferred the baggy Asian-style pants and button-up shirts in his wardrobe on Serenity to such… loose garments. Mal, on the other hand, rather liked the open-style of wizard robes, and sprang for a few adult-sized ones in the bargain bins. Kaylee would especially like the pink-patterned one with ruffles, he thought…
"Where the hell is Dumbledore?" He muttered, as they progressed from Malkin's clothing shop to the local bookstore. Zoe shrugged.
"No sight of anyone matchin' the description, sir."
"If he's gonna just pop out unexpectedly for fun, I swear, I'm gonna shoot him," the captain growled.
"That would not be wise," intoned a quiet voice from behind the group. In an instant, the old man with the long beard, half-moon spectacles, and purple robes and hat had five guns trained on him. The older wizard looked over his spectacles with a twinkling smile at the focused-looking Harry.
"A Theodore ASP. Small, simple, concealable. Excellent weapon choice for a young man on the fringes of the system." The wizard looked up at Jayne, who had Phoebe and Janet pointed at Dumbledore's head and heart. "Your recommendation, I presume?"
"Kid's a good shot. Deserves one of the best handguns ever made," the mercenary growled with a hint of pride. Mal and Zoe rolled their eyes, while Harry blushed sheepishly.
"Protect"
"Placing Harry in the care of the Dursleys was the option that offered the most protection from Lord Voldemort's followers," the old wizard began, sipping a strange fizzy drink at an outdoor café in the Alley. Mal and the others had simple water, and still had their hands on their guns.
"But not from the Dursleys," Zoe observed flatly. Dumbledore sighed heavily.
"I knew that I was consigning Harry to a difficult life… But the life he had before meeting you was preferable to capture by Death Eaters. And before you shoot me for saying so, hear me out: The Death Eaters are masters of the three Unforgivable Curses. They could have turned Harry into their child sex slave, or made him mutilate himself for fun, tortured him with pure pain and complete agony, or simply ended his life right there." The wizard shook his head.
"I chose the lesser of two evils, Harry… And I am sorry that life dealt me so few options. But you are safe now, Harry. And with a family that loves you."
"Yes. I am," Harry responded quietly… Before sitting up, walking around the table, and punching the shocked Dumbledore in the nose, sending him falling flat on his back to the pavement. Zoe went and helped the elderly wizard up, while Mal and Jayne pulled Harry a short distance away.
"Harry… Next time you feel like punching some folk who's wronged you? Tell me first," Mal murmured quietly. Harry sighed and looked down, ashamed.
"I'm sorry. I knew I shouldn't have, but-"
"Shouldn't have! Of course you should have! I wanted to know when I should hold him still and let you punch him some more!" Mal exclaimed.
"Could I get a few licks in? Nothing I hate more than some BUN tyen-shung duh ee-DWAY-RO thinks he can play God," Jayne growled. "Well, aside from not gettin' paid."
"Jayne," Mal growled warningly. Jayne blanched.
"What? I didn't mean the obscenely huge piles of gold in Little Harry's vault! I didn't!"
"Brothers"
The wand hummed in power, bringing a smile to Harry's face as he held it. He waved it about a few times, feeling the magical core within bonding to his own seamlessly.
"Dah! Jing-tsai!"
Mr. Olivander frowned thoughtfully, then took the wand back, examining it closely.
"Curious, curious… This wand's core, a phoenix feather… Was from a phoenix that gave one additional feather… but only one. The core of the wand that did… This," the ancient wizard pointed to the scar on Harry's forehead, which made the young boy gape. Mal pushed the wizard's hand away, and tapped the counter impatiently.
"Shiney. Can we check out now?" The wandmaker was giving Mal no end of the willies.
"Cleaning Up"
"Brooms… Why all the fuss over brooms?" Jayne asked incredulously, looking at the crowd gathered outside a window of a shop with a fancy-looking broom within.
"What are you, stupid?" Asked an imperious-looking blond child. "That's a Nimbus 2000 racing broom, the best Quidditch broom in the system!"
"Quidditch? What the guay is Quidditch?" Jayne asked, brow furrowed. The blonde boy turned up his nose.
"You must be some bèn-ài-huāng to not know what Quidditch is!" Jayne's face crumpled in anger.
"Why you little hun dahn!" Jayne seized the boy, covering his mouth before he could scream, then stuffed him in a trash can, where his cries of anger and indignation were muffled. Jayne, slapping his hands clean, headed off, though somewhat puzzled:
What does mud blood mean?
"Tickets"
"All aboard! All aboard!" Kaylee cried, grinning out to the crowd passing by. Her face lit up even more when Harry came up, a trunk with a white bird in a cage trudging behind him.
"Dì di! See you come back from your shopping trip! How was it?"
"Not bad… I punched out a school professor, got me a nice owl, found out I'm filthy rich, and have a wan similar to the one Voldemort used," Harry replied nonchalantly, as he headed into Serenity, leaving a gawping Kaylee behind. Her mouth closed, before turning and smiling out into the crowds again.
"Excuse, miss?" A well-dressed gentleman with glasses stepped up to her. Kaylee's smile grew a bit.
"Yes, sir?"
"I would like passage on your ship, to Haven if you please? My name is Doctor Simon Tam…"
81 to go…
Di di little brother
bèn-ài-huāng Stupid mud blood
guay Hell
BUN tyen-shung duh ee-DWAY-RO Stupid inbred stack of meat
Dah! Jing tsai! Great! Brilliant!