A/N: I would like to thank everyone for adding my story to their favourites and following it. I also appreciate all the reviews. Happy new year!
Disclaimer:
The Harry Potter universe and all the characters in it belong to J. K. Rowling.
Chapter 6 Shopping
When Harry and the Flamels finished their dinner at the Leaky Cauldron, they reentered Diagon Alley through the archway once again.
"Where should we go first?" Harry asked.
Why don't we first shop for clothes?" Nicholas said.
Harry saw that the alley was becoming empty as they walked to Madam Malkin's. As he approached the shop, he saw several pages from the Daily Profit lying on the ground fluttering slightly from the light breeze. Normally, he would have just ignored it but as the wind pushed a page back, he saw his face smiling back at him. He picked it up and began to read the article that was underneath the picture.
Truths and Lies
By Elizabeth Perks
For the past 8 months, we have provided all our faithful readers details regarding the prestigious Triwizard Tournament held at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Unfortunately this will be the last article discussing the champions and the tasks. This week, we are publishing articles about the aftermath of the tournament.
If you have been following the events, you have undoubtedly heard that Harry Potter also known as "The Boy Who Lived", won the competition due to his high score and his successful retrieval of the cup. You would have also heard that there was a complication in the final task which caused Cedric Diggory to lose his life. According to Mr. Potter and Headmaster Dumbledore, 'He Who Must Not Be Named' has returned and it was the dark lord who murdered Mr. Diggory's son. Unfortunately, we weren't able to get a hold of Mr. Potter or Headmaster Dumbledore for an interview. When we asked what Minister Fudge thought, he had this to say:
"The Ministry of Magic would like to reassure everyone that 'You Know Who' has not returned."
Are Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore telling the truth or are they telling lies? Keep an open mind and your eyes peeled for evidence to determine the truth.
For more information about Harry Potter, go to page 5.
For more information about Albus Dumbledore, go to page 6.
For more information about the Triwizard Tournament, go to page 7.
For more information about Cornelius Fudge, go to page 8.
Harry tossed the newspaper aside and sighed in annoyance.
"Look on the bright side. At least it wasn't Rita Skeeter. Her speculations would have involved you killing Cedric Diggory. That reporter has also encouraged the public to figure out the truth for themselves," Nicholas said.
"I guess. I just want people to prepare for Voldemort's return."
"I understand my dear. I really do. Unfortunately due to the political climate, there is not much we can do for now. All we can do is prepare you for the upcoming fight." Perenelle patted his arm comfortingly.
They stepped into the shop and Harry saw racks of different styles of clothing which came in several different shapes and sizes. He saw dresses, robes, and even invisibility cloaks. Before any of the shop assistants offered their services to them, Madam Malkin hurried out of the back room and headed straight towards them.
"Mr. Mrs. Carter! How may I be of assistance?"
Harry was confused for a moment before he realized that she was speaking to Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel.
"Hello Madam Malkin. It's very nice to see you again. Today, it is our son James Carter who requires your assistance," Nicholas said charmingly.
Madam Malkin glanced at Harry before she beckoned for them to follow her. When they arrived at her office, she quickly ushered them in to the room before she closed the door securely and activated her wards.
Harry thought at first that the office was plain. However, when he examined the room in greater detail, he noticed that the room was painted in several shades of yellow and that there were many hooks spaced evenly on three of the four walls. On his left, he saw a plain wooden table with large sheets of fabric laid out on top of it. In front of him, there was an ancient desk with badgers carved on the sides.
"It's safe to remove your glamours now," she said.
Nicholas and Perenelle waved their wand and their glamours disappeared instantly. Before Harry could remove his glamour, Nicholas gently grasped his wrist.
"Allow me to remove it for you. Your wand still has the trace on it and the wards here do not block the magic monitoring devices at the ministry," Nicholas said.
Harry nodded and with another wave of Nicholas's wand, his glamour disappeared instantly.
"Oh my! Mr. Potter or should I say Lord Potter." She glanced at the ring resting on his index finger as she said this. "I didn't realize you knew Nick and Penny."
Harry blushed and said, "I'm their apprentice and please call me Harry."
She looked surprised before she smiled brightly. "Congratulations Harry. Now, I'm assuming you need a few robes with the Potter crest on it?"
"Actually, I think I need a full wardrobe with the Potter crest on the formal robes." He looked at Nicholas and Perenelle for confirmation. They nodded encouragingly.
"Very well. Do you wish to browse our selection of muggle clothing while you wait for your robes to be completed?" Madam Malkin asked.
"Sure," Harry said.
Madam Malkin pulled a lever protruding from the wall. To his astonishment, the two panels slid back and a passageway appeared in front of him.
"Beyond that passageway, you'll find a large selection of muggle clothing. If you need to come back, just pull the lever on the wall. It looks exactly like the one here."
Harry walked through the passageway and found himself standing in a large rectangular room full of racks and shelves full of clothing. He saw jeans, t-shirts and dresses hanging on racks while an assortment of swim trunks, jackets and long-sleeved clothing were laid neatly on shelves lining the walls.
For the next hour, Harry grabbed a variety of t-shirts, long sleeves shirts, pants, underwear and jackets which he thought would fit him. Once he gathered all of the clothing he wanted to try, he went into a changing room near the back of the room and donned each piece of clothing in front of a mirror. The colours he chose were primarily black, gray and blue. To his surprise, he found that all of his clothing looked good on him. Also, he found it pleasant that the clothing felt comfortable and snug.
Meanwhile, Nicholas and Perenelle were having an important discussion in Madam Malkin's office.
"Please tell us the feelings and opinions of the shop keepers in terms of Voldemort returning," Nicholas said.
"A lot of them are scared that Voldemort is returning but they believe Lord Potter. I believe that when the time comes to fight, they will support him." Madam Malkin stated as she worked on Harry's robes.
"Excellent. You say that a lot of them believe Harry so which shop keepers do not?"
"The owners of Slug & Jiggers Apothecary, The Daily Prophet's main office, and Twilfitt and Tatting's."
Nicholas sighed. "Why am I not surprised."
"Have you seen any individuals sympathetic to Voldemort's ideals or known Death Eaters entering your shop?" Perenelle asked.
"No. Not lately. It's mostly elderly people who come by to either chat or purchase their clothes. I imagine that they don't want to deal with the crowds."
"Well, please let us know if you see people who are known Death Eaters or who believe in Voldemort's cause," Nicholas said.
"And please observe them to the best of your ability. We are mostly interested in their interactions," Perenelle added.
"Understood," Madam Malkin said. "Are you going to tell Lord Potter about the spy network and the support that he has?"
"Yes we will tell him soon. We need to teach him Occlumency first. Unlike Albus, we don't plan on holding any valuable information which we know would help him in the war." Perenelle stated bitterly.
Nicholas wrapped a comforting arm around Perenelle's shoulder.
A low rumbling noise could be heard throughout the office. Several seconds later, Harry emerged from the passageway carrying an armful of clothes.
"Would you like the standard charms on all those clothes?"
"Sure. By the way, why are the muggle clothes stored in another room?"
"The muggle clothes offend the pure bloods. I would lose a lot of business if they saw that kind of clothing."
"That's a shame."
Madam Malkin nodded and levitated the pile of clothes over to the table with her wand and began to rapidly mutter a string of spells. A minute later, she stopped and directed the clothes into a bag which she produced from a drawer inside her desk.
"The robes are complete. I just need you to press your ring here, here, here and here." While she was speaking, she pointed to the front and back areas of each robe. While Harry pressed his ring onto those spots, he noticed that the designs of the robe fit the crest perfectly and his respect for her profession grew.
Harry smiled and said, "The robes look amazing."
Madam Malkin returned his smile with one of her own. "Thank you Harry."
With a flick of her wand, the robes became neatly folded. She pulled another bag from the drawer and Once again, she waved her wand like a conductor's baton and directed the clothes into the bag.
"Here you are dear." Madam Malkin handed him two large bags.
"Thank you."
As they exited Madam Malkin's store and headed towards Ollivander's wand shop, a thought popped into Harry's head.
"Hey Nick. Does Gringotts have similar wards like your mansion? You didn't say anything about magic being detected."
"Good observation. Gringotts has similar wards that are at Flamel mansion. Some of those wards prevent the trace from activating."
"Speaking of glamours," Perenelle said looking worriedly around, "we forgot to put your glamour back on." Quickly, she whipped out her wand and cast the glamour on him. "Hopefully, no one has seen you."
Unfortunately, one of the order members saw Harry and instantly went to the nearest fireplace to contact Dumbledore.
As Harry and the Flamels stepped into Ollivander's wand shop, Harry could sense the magic thick in the air. Instantly, Ollivander appeared behind the counter.
"Lord Potter, Lord and Lady Flamel. What brings all of you here?"
"Mr. Ollivander. I require a custom made wand." Said Harry.
"Very well. Normally, I would not do this unless the customer has a license to carry another wand. However, I see the mark of destiny on you. Before we go to my workshop, please hand over your wand so I can remove the trace."
Harry pulled his wand from his front pocket and handed it over to him. Ollivander pulled his own wand from his holster and pointed it at Harry's wand. He softly murmured a spell and suddenly, Harry's wand began to glow brightly. It was bright enough to illuminate all the boxes stacked neatly on the shelves. A moment later, it faded and the occupants of the room could no longer see all the boxes very clearly. He slipped his wand into his holster and handed Harry's wand back.
"I would recommend getting a dueling holster for that wand. Now, please follow me," Ollivander said.
They followed him back into a large rectangular room with shelves setup in wide isles which held ingredients for wands. Some of the materials were contained in jars while others were stored in wooden boxes.
"Close your eyes and feel the pull of the materials. When you feel something drawing you to a certain direction, point to where you think it is coming from and I will go and retrieve the materials for you," Ollivander said.
Harry Nodded and closed his eyes. At first he couldn't feel anything but as he stood there like a statue, he gradually felt several sensations. He felt like he was in a spider web and there were a couple of strands connected to him. He knew that those strands would lead him to the materials so He pointed to where he felt those invisible strands. Ollivander began to grab the materials off the shelves. As Ollivander brought the materials to him, he could feel each component resonate within his body. Harry opened his eyes and saw that the materials he pointed to were setup on a table close by. To his surprise, Ollivander was already muttering to himself.
Feeling Harry's curious gaze on him, Ollivander said, "Lord Potter. The components you have chosen are very unique because instead of having only 1 core, your wand will have 2 cores and those cores are opposites of each other. Also, the wood that you have chosen is quite rigid."
"What are the materials I have chosen?"
Ollivander looked eager to begin working on the wand. "You have chosen maple as the wood. As for the cores, you have chosen dementor skin and phoenix feather. This will be a very powerful wand. It will be able to handle dark and light magic. It will be very challenging to create!"
Throughout their conversation, Nicholas and Perenelle exchanged a smile and thought to themselves, 'It seems that we will finally have a gray lord.'
"How much is it for this wand?"
"Seventy galleons because the materials are very rare. You may pay once I have created the wand," Ollivander said distractedly.
Harry Nodded. "When will the wand be complete?"
"It shall be finished tomorrow afternoon."
Ollivander gathered all the materials and began to mutter to himself once again. Taking it as a dismissal, Harry and the Flamels returned to the front of the shop intending to head back to the Leaky Cauldron. However, Perenelle saw that there were many order members patrolling the area including Alastor Moody who would be able to easily see through the glamours with his fake eye.
"Why don't we ask Ollivander if we can use his fireplace," Perenelle said.
Returning to the back room, Nicholas asked Ollivander for permission to use his fireplace. Without looking up from his work, he nodded. They grabbed a pinch of Floo powder that was resting in a pot on top of the mantle and with three cries of "Flamel mansion," they disappeared from the shop.