Diagon Alley Part I
"Can you smell him yet?"
"Not yet, cub," said Elysia with a slight roll of her eyes, smiling though she was just as anxious as he was. "Don't worry, I'm sure he'll be here soon. Lucas will make sure of that. Now stop bouncing, you'll tire yourself out."
Grinning, Harry planted both feet firmly on the ground, trying to stay in one place even as he craned his neck forward. He was excited beyond belief about the clans newest visitor, Remus Lupin, who would be the first werewolf he meet outside of his family. He'd been excited for the last week, since Dumbledore and Snape left them with the promise to send him by today, on his birthday of all days. Though it would be better if his uncle could come with them, but Fenrir said it was probably for the best that he stayed behind. Lupin apparently didn't like him very much, and neither did the rest of the wizarding world.
Harry faintly wondered how different he would be from him and the others. Probably dressed a lot differently from them, at least. The two were wearing their best clothes - long sleeve shirts with a v-neck for Elysia and round neck for him, long pants, and slipper like shoes, but it was still vastly different from cloaks and robes that wizards wore.
Sniffing the air, Elysia tilted her head to the side and frowned slightly. "Cub, try smelling for our visitor and tell me what you find."
With a tiny frown, Harry did as he was told and sniffed the air. His sense of smell was stronger then a normal human beings, as was his hearing and sight, something that Fenrir told him was something like a side effect from his wolf form so often. So when he finally detected what his mother was found, he wrinkled his nose and resisted the urge to sneeze. It was an awful scent, even though it was so faint that it was practically nonexistent. "Its smells like one of Arianna's poisons herbs." The ones that stung his nose, only worse. "What is that, Mum?" he asked with a grimace.
"I'm not sure," answered Elysia slowly, shaking her head. "But I guess we'll find out." She ran a hand over his hair, a habit that hadn't died even though his hair had grown almost to the middle of his back and become less wild. The only thing left from his old hair was the bangs that covered his scar. She placed a hand on his shoulder. "You ready?"
Nodding, Harry eagerly waited for the new werewolf to appear, all while trying to ignore the faint smell of poison that was getting stronger.
Soon enough, Lucas entered the clearing where they decided to meet, greeting Elysia with an upward tilt of his head before saying something to someone behind him. And then Lupin stepped out, and for a moment, Harry was simply blinded by the smell of magic, sickness, and poison. It was over in a instant, and he was use to the smell now, but Harry could only wonder why the werewolf smelled so horribly. He looked nice though, with light brown hair and warm brown eyes. He looked a shabby in slightly tattered clothes, and a little sickly.
"Harry," said Lupin as he drew closer, a warm smile on his face. "Its good to finally see you again. I haven't seen you since you were a baby. Sorry, I should introduce myself," he said to both him and Elysia with an embarrassed chuckle and a hand rubbing the back of his head. "My name is Remus Lupin, I was a friend of Harry's fathers back when we were in school."
"Its nice to meet you, sir," said Harry happily, bouncing on his feet again. Pulling out of his mother's grasp, he circled the man, sniffing him even though he already knew his scent now. "You smell like chocolate!" he announced, ignoring the other smells for the one he hadn't smelled since he was a little boy. "I haven't had chocolate since I was a little kid!" He remember that time clear as day, when the rare chance came that Dudley complained how the chocolate egg he got tasted funny and threw it him while crying for a new one. He hid in his large clothes to eat it later, and it was one of the best things he had ever tasted.
"Please ignore him, he's been rather anxious to meet a werewolf outside of our clan," said Elysia with a teasing tone, before giving a slight bow to their visitor. "My name's Elysia. Its nice to finally meet you, Remus Lupin."
"The same," answered Lupin with his own bow.
"I was planning on sitting down and talking with you, but I think my cub has a different idea," grinned Elysia. "So why don't we leave for Diagon Alley and I'll ask you questions along the way."
"Sounds fine to me," answered Lupin, earning a cheer from Harry. "If you could lead us out of the forest, I can call for our ride. Also..." He leaned forward and whispered something to Elysia, so softly that even Harry's sensitive hearing couldn't understand what he said. He found out a moment later, when Elysia nodded and Lupin reached inside his cloaks and pulled something out. "Here, Harry, a present. Its your birthday, isn't it?"
Taking the present in hand, Harry's eyes went wide. It was a bar of chocolate, which read Honeydukes Milk Chocolate across the front in gold lettering. It was such a simple thing, but it made Harry a little teary. He'd never gotten a present from someone outside of his family. "Thank you," he said with a smile. "Uh, do you mind if I save it?" He didn't want it to be gone so quickly.
"Not at all," said Lupin with a smile.
"I think you just become someone new best friend," Elysia muttered to him while Harry slipped the chocolate into the side bag he was bringing along. "I've never seen Harry accept someone so fast."
The response she got was a wide grin from Lupin.
Fifteen minutes later, the three were stepping out of the forest and onto a dirt road way that looked like it hadn't been used in years. Blinking in the strong light, Harry suddenly realized that he hadn't been to the edge of the forest in six years, since the day his former guardian - he refused to call him uncle anymore - had forced him to enter it.
Even though it was warm out, Harry shivered in the warm sun as a sudden feeling of dread came over him, like stepping into a waterfall. Something was going to happen. He wasn't sure what, but he could just tell...
"I'll call our ride now, try not to be too startled," said Lupin as he flung his hand forward. After along moment of silence, which made Harry wonder if actually worked, something suddenly screeched to a halt in front of them, a cloud of dust filling the air and making Elysia pull him into her arms as she growled in defense.
As the dust cleared, Harry stared up at the large, violently purple bus with three decks, which seemed to have appeared out of thin air. Gold lettering over the windshield spelled The Knight Bus. The doors open, and out stepped a slightly plump young woman with a large smile, dressed in an outfit that matched in colour. "Welcome to the Knight Bus, my name is Ashley White and I'll be your conductor this evenin'. Boy, you're all a ways out. Don't think we've ever been flagged down out here before. "
"What is that thing?" asked Elysia in a growl while Lupin talked with the woman about how much it would cost for the three of them to reach London.
"Its a bus, Mum," Harry said, holding back a laugh. "You ride inside them and they get you somewhere fast."
"You get inside that thing?!" Elysia snarled a little. "It roars louder then I do and reeks worse then a forest fire. No, that thing is a beast."
"So are we, Mum, remember?" Harry pointed out, even though he had to agree with her. It was louder and smellier then he remembered. "Don't worry, its safe." Unless they crashed, but he thought it was best if he didn't point that out. "Trust me."
Still looking at the bus with wary, Elysia glanced down at him for a moment. "Only you," she said simply, making Harry smile. When he still had trust issues, it was something that he would say in answer when his mother told him to trust her, because at the time, and still now, it was still true. He only trust her and his uncle fully.
"Ready?" asked Lupin as he handed some gold coins to the conductor.
Nodding shortly, Elysia took a deep breath before marching forward, Harry trailing after her. She didn't hesitate to step on the bus, though she did seem to flinch when the engine rumbled a little louder. When the conductor instructed them to sit in the nearby seats, which were nicer then even the chairs at the Dursley home and all empty since they were the only riders, she did so immediately, clutching to the sides so tightly her knuckles turned white.
As Lupin climbed aboard, Harry looked back at the forest. His home. It was the first time he had left in six years. For some reason, it didn't feel right to leave, but at the same time... it did. Like returning to a familiar place he hadn't visited in a long time.
"Alright, please everyone stay seated for the rest of the trip!" instructed Ashley, grabbing a nearby pole before turning to the driver. "Take her away, Ernie!"
Nodding, the white hair driver seemed to literally slam his foot on the gas. And then the bus shot forward with a BANG, moving faster then Harry ever thought possible. Nearby, Elysia yelped as her chair started to move backwards, not bolted down, and she leaped off it, ignoring the conductor telling her to 'please get back in you're seat, its for your own safety!'. She shot back she rather take her chances as she hung onto a nearby pole. Harry just grinned and decided he didn't mind this kind of travel. It was like being on a amusement park ride.
Thankfully for Elysia, the ride evened out a few minutes into it, so she carefully crawled back into her seat and started talking with Lupin, all while trying not to be sick. Harry, not really interested in their talk, politely asked the conductor if there was something he could read. After Ashley cooed for a moment about 'How cute and adorable,' he was, produced a newspaper, sadly saying it was the only thing she had. Not minding in the least, Harry looked to the front page.
What Happened to the Boy-Who-Lived?
By Rita Skeeter
Frowning as he recognized the nickname - wasn't it something Dumbledore had called him? - Harry read the article carefully.
It's been ten years since Harry Potter, the The Chosen One and the defeater of You-Know-Who, was whisked away to his guardians, kept hidden from the world even though he was now so famous, his name said by every witch and wizard in England. While the reasons at the time were obvious, to keep him from being harmed by Death Eaters that had yet to be caught, people are starting to wonder why no one has seen him since.
There were of course a few "sightings" during the first few years, even a picture of two snapped quickly, but even those came to a halt towards the end of 1985.
Which means that no one, save for a few, know where our young Savior is.
And now on his eleventh birthday, an important day in any wizards and witches life, everyone, including this reporter, are starting to wonder. Will Harry Potter even appear at Hogwarts this coming September? For as far as we know, he could have been sent of to the Colonies, or even taken away to be trained so that he can defeat the next Dark Lord. Everyone that this reporter has talked, including the Ministry, has said the same thing - "No comment."
Do they even know where poor young Harry Potter is? Where has Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster at Hogwarts, hidden him?
Staring at the paper while not really reading the rest of it, Harry racked his brain. Did Dumbledore place him at his guardians? He never really thought about it before, but someone had to put him there, right? It wasn't like the Dursleys had willingly take him, they had admitted that much. So was it the old man's fault that he had been stuck with those horrible people for at least four years of his life?
Harry suddenly felt very angry with the elderly wizard.
"Cub?" Elysia gentle touched his arm, snapping him out of his anger. "Is something wrong?" She had problem smelled the change in his emotions.
Taking a moment to calm down, Harry smiled weakly. He had no reason to really be mad at Dumbledore yet. Maybe the old wizard didn't know how awful the Dursleys had been. "I'm alright, mum," he answered before he put down the newspaper and listened as Lupin explained some wizarding terms to his mother.
The bus came to stops periodically, causing Elysia to cling to her chair each time it did, and more passengers came aboard, one or two headed for the same place they were, others places that Harry never heard of. Men, women, and even the occasional child all gave him and his mother strange looks, but Harry was a little glad it was more because of their 'drab' appearance than his scar, which he was now constantly checking to make sure it was covered by his bangs. He hadn't had to worry about that back at home.
After an hour of travel, Ashley finally announced as the bus came to another screeching halt, "The Leaky Cauldron! Please exit the bus in an orderly fashion!"
Gratefully, Elysia exited the bus as fast as possible. Harry followed her, only to pause when he finally stepped outside. Everything was so dull compared to the bright colors of the forest, and stench in the air was strong, like their were a thousand Knight Bus around them. And the noise - automobiles honking, people yelling and talking in loud voices into little black boxes in their hands, even the faint whine of a police car or a fire truck. He didn't remember it being this awful when he was five.
"How can human's live like this?" whimpered Elysia as she clamped her hands over ears. "Its awful!"
"Why don't we go into the pub, its much quieter in their?" said Lupin as he ushered them inside a tiny, grubby looking pub, a sign hanging from it reading The Leaky Cauldron. As he glanced around before they stepped inside, he noticed others weren't really looking at it. Their gazes slid from the big book shop on one side to the record shop on the other, as if they couldn't see the pub at all. In fact, Harry had the most peculiar feeling that only the ones leaving the Knight Bus could see it.
The pub was very dark and shabby place, though thankfully, much quieter with only a low buzz of chatter. A few old women were sitting in a corner, drinking tiny glasses of sherry. One of them was smoking a long pipe. A little man in a top hat was talking to the old bartender, who was quite bald and looked like a toothless walnut. He looked up as they entered. "What can I get for you folks?"
"Nothing, thank you, Tom," said Lupin as he steered Harry and Elysia though the bar. "Just going to Diagon Alley. Lets move along before they realize who you are," he muttered softly. "If they do, you'll never get away."
Finally, they went through another door, entering a small, walled courtyard, where there was nothing besides a few weeds and a full trashcan. Lupin smiled at their confusion before he pulled out his wand and after a moments thought, tapped the brick above the trashcan three times. The brick he had touched quivered, and in the middle a small hole appeared. It grew wider and wider, and after only a second, they were facing an archway that showed a street full of people.
"Welcome to Diagon Alley," said Lupin with a smile.
As they stepped into the shopping area and Lupin explained the first place to go was someplace called Gringotts, Harry couldn't help but wish he had a eight more pairs of eyes so he could see everything at once: A low, soft hooting came from a dark shop with a sign saying Eeylops Owl Emporium - he could see several large birds through the window. Several boys his age had their noses pressed against a window, gazing at the broomsticks sitting on display. There were shops selling robes of all sorts of colours, shops selling different sized telescopes and strange silver instruments Harry had never seen before, another with barrels that said they held bat spleens and eels' eyes - and smelled like it too. Large piles of spell books that were taller then he was, quills, and rolls of parchment, potion bottles, globes of the moon and other planets...
"Here we are - Gringotts," said Lupin as they approached a large while building that seemed to tower over the smaller shops. At the top of the many white steps, standing beside its burnished bronze doors and wearing a uniform of scarlet and gold to match, was some kind of creature. He was about head shorter than Harry, and had a swarthy, clever face, a pointed beard and very long fingers and feet.
"That's a goblin," whispered Elysia, earning looks of surprise from both Harry and Lupin. "Remember, Harry, Elder Arianna told us stories about them, like the one of the two goblins that weren't allowed to marry because they came from different tribes."
"Morgan's favorite story," said Harry with a nod as he remembered the ending. They were only allowed to be together cause Ironshade searched high and low for a rare gem that he gave to his love's father, Steelfist, in exchange for her hand.
As they approached the doors, the goblin bowed to them, and while Lupin walked on without notice, Elysia bowed in return, with Harry mimicking her. "A pleasure to meet you, cousin," said Elysia politely.
Though a little startled, the goblin gave them a toothy grin, showing off sharp teeth. "And the same to you. It has been many years since those with the Mother's gift besides my own have passed through our doors." He bowed again, waving them through. "Welcome, and enjoy your visit, cousin."
"How are you cousins?" asked Harry in a whisper as they went on at a slow pace.
"Our clan and other "human-like" creatures, goblins, centaurs, mermaids, vampires, all believe while the Sun made humans, including those made of magic, the Mother Moon made all of us, each different but the same," explained Elysia softly. "That's why we thrive in the moonlight and human's love the sunlight. And just like all humans are related one way or another, so our we. Therefore, we are "cousins". Those that are changed, like werewolves and vampires, also become our cousins if they accept the change, so if you are bitten, you'll also be their cousin. Make sense?"
Harry nodded, cause it really did, before he looked to the second pair of completely silver doors, guarded by a pair of goblins this time and Lupin waiting nearby. There were words engraved onto it, reading:
Enter, stranger, but take heed
Of what awaits the sin of greed,
For those who take, but do not earn,
Must pay most dearly in their turn.
So if you seek beneath our floors
A treasure that was never yours,
Thief, you have been warned, beware
Of finding more than treasure there.
"I take it that isn't a good idea to try and rob from here," muttered Harry as they bowed to two goblins, who smirked as they did the same in return before opening the doors. He also noticed that they gave Lupin a small glare as he went through. Could they smell the poison's stench as well?
But all thought that went away as they entered a vast marble hallway. About a hundred more goblins were sitting on high stools behind a long counter, scribbling in large ledgers, weighing coins in brass scales, examining precious stones through eyeglasses. There were too many doors to count leading off the hall, and yet more goblins were showing people in and out of these. That's when it hit, Harry - the bank was run by them. Made sense, since if the stories Arianna told him were right, they loved precious metals and jewels.
"Hello, Harry!" The large Hagrid waved to them as passed them by, lead by a goblin. "Glad ta see ya again! I'd love ta stay an' chat, but I've got a task ta do fer Dumbledore." He puffed up. "Its real important."
"Bye, Hagrid," said Harry, waving back with a small smile. He was a little glad to see the giant go - not that the man wasn't nice, he was, getting a picture of his parents for him. But he was still a little angry with him for trying to force him to leave the forest. And by the look on his mum's face, Elysia was still angry too.
Making their way to the closest available counter, Lupin cleared his throat before speaking up. "Good morning. We've come to take some money out of Harry Potter's vault."
The goblin peered over his square glasses and down at them. His gaze narrowed when he saw Lupin, turning away with a sniff, but he raised an eyebrow when he saw Elysia and Harry. "I see," he finally said. "You have his key, sir?" he asked with a sneer.
"Ah, of course." Lupin reached into his robes and brought out a small gold key, holding it for the goblin to see.
After a moment of examination, the goblin nodded. "Everything seems to be in order. I will have someone take all of you down to the vaults. Edgeclaw!"
The goblin named Edgeclaw lead them through one of the many doors. Harry, who expected more marble or something like it, was surprised to find they were in a narrow stone passageway lit with torches. It sloped steeply downward and there were little railway tracks on the floor. Egdeclaw whistled sharply, and a cart came up the tracks, stopping in front of them. They climbed in under his directions, and were off.
Though his eyes stung as the cold air rushed past them, Harry kept them wide open as he and Elysia laughed in enjoyment, while Lupin looked like he was trying not to be sick. This was like racing through the forest, except better. Once, he thought he even saw a burst of fire at the end of a passage and twisted around to see what it was, but too late and they had plunged even deeper, passing an underground lake where huge stones grew like sharp teeth from both the ceiling and the floor.
"That was great!" cheered Harry when they finally stopped in front of what assumed was his vault. "We're gonna do that on the way back, right?"
"Unfortunately," groaned Lupin, looking a little green as they climbed out of the cart.
"Key, please," spoke up Edgeclaw for the first time. Lupin handed him the key, and with sharp twist, the goblin opened the door.
A lot of green smoke came billowing out, and as it cleared, Harry gasped. Inside were mounds of gold, columns of silver, and heaps of bronze coins. He had been expecting paper money, but this... "Its all mine?" he asked, looking towards goblin.
"Yes, sir. This is your smallest vault, which your parents assigned for necessities such as school supplies and so on," answered Edgeclaw. "Your larger vaults are not to be accessed until your seventeen birthday save for emergencies. Shall I explain each coins and current exchange rate?"
When Harry nodded eagerly, Edgeclaw explained the way that wizard money worked. The small bronze coins were called Knuts, and were the equivalent to a British penny. Twenty-nine of them would equal up to a Sickle, which were the slightly larger silver coins. And then seventeen of them would equal to the largest coins, the gold Galleons. And if there was ever a time that he wanted to spend a large amount, all he had to do was come to Gringotts for a Note, which was like a Muggle check, and they would transfer the money to whoever turned the Note in later on. And when Harry asked, he glad helped him gather what he thought was a good amount of money to by his supplies and have enough to treat himself a few times.
One wild cart ride later, the three walked out of Gringotts, blinking in the strong sunlight. Harry didn't know where to shop first now that he had a bag full of money. He didn't know or care if he had more money then the Dursleys use to have, it was just nice enough to have money for once in his life. And from what Edgeclaw told him about his other vault, he would have enough money to last him comfortably the rest of his life.
"Where should we go first?" asked Lupin as he looked over the list that Harry handed him.
"How about clothes?" suggest Harry, looking down his comfortable clothes to what other were wearing around him. It certainly was a big difference. "Where do we go to get those?"
"The best place would be Madam Malkins," answered Lupin after a moment. "She certainly does the best work, and you certainly can afford it."
They were to a little shop with the name written across the front in cursive. Entering, they were greeted by a squat, smiling witch who introduced herself as the shops owner. "Hogwarts, dear?" Madam Malkin said cheerfully, going on without letting him answer. "We've got quite a few other students here, in fact, though I've never seen someone with you're style of clothes. I'll take you, young man, though you'll have to share the room with another young man being fitted up."
Nodding, Harry left his mother and Lupin as he was lead to the back of the shop. Inside, he saw boy with a pale, pointed face standing on a footstool while a second witch pinned up his long black robes. After gesturing for him to stand on the stool, Madam Malkin slipped a long robe over his head and began to pin it to the right length.
"Hello," said the boy after a short moment of silence, "Hogwarts, then?"
"Yes," said Harry with a nod and a quick sniff of the air. The boy smelled like mint and lemons. "You too?"
"Course. Are you Muggleborn?" he asked with a curious tone. "You certainly are wearing... strange clothing."
"No," said Harry with a shake of his head. Lupin had explained that to him, technically, he was a half-blood. "Are you?"
"Certainly not," said the boy with a sniff, and Harry wondered for a moment if he was smelling him, but then he remembered that humans didn't use their senses that much. "I'm a Malfoy, we're pureblood, of course." He held out his hand. "Draco's the name."
"Harry," said Harry as he took the hand and shook it, deliberately not giving his last name. He'd never shaken hands with someone before, but he remembered his former guardians doing it with guests. "And I'm half-blood, or at that's at least what I've been told."
"Mm. I doubt you'll be in Slytherin, then," said Draco, nodding to himself. "You're probably going to Gryffindor, aren't you?"
"I don't know," Harry shrugged. He didn't even know what a Gryffindor was.
"Ah. What about Quidditch, then?" Draco went on. "I'd be a Seeker, myself."
"Um... I don't know anything about that," said Harry, shaking his head.
"What were you, raised by wolves?" asked Draco with a raised eyebrow.
"Uh... no?" said Harry hesitantly after choking for a moment. Well, technically it was werewolves that raised him in. "I was raised by Muggles," he quickly lied. "I don't know what Slytherin, Gryffindor, or Quidditch is. Are those something important at Hogwarts?"
With a sigh, Draco started to explain. "Lets start with Slytherin and Gryffindor. There's four houses at Hogwarts, which you're Sorted into on the first day. They put you in the House that's best for you. The best for me is obviously Slytherin," he said proudly, looking like a puffed up bird. "Anyone who wants to succeed is in Slytherin. It's the house for the ambitious, the clever, and the sneaky. Now if you're really smart and like to learn then you belong in Ravenclaw. To me they seem like a bunch of bookworms, but to each his own," he said with a shrug. "If you like to work hard and are really loyal, then you want Hufflepuff. Then if you've got more courage than common sense and like to fight for what you believe in, you're in Gryffindor. "
"They all sound pretty good, actually," Harry admitted. "How do we get Sorted into them?"
"I... I don't know, actually," Draco frowned. "Father won't tell me, no matter how much I bully him to tell me."
"Then I guess we'll find out at Hogwarts, huh?" Harry said with a grin. "Maybe we'll have to fight a dragon or something. Or a quiz." He grimaced. "I'd fail with flying colours, for sure."
Draco laughed, and then started to explain Quidditch. By the time he was finished, Harry's head was whirling from all the information that had just been stuffed into his brain. The game just described to him was like Muggle football, with a bit of cricket and a hint of capture the flag. All and all, confusing, but it still sounded like a lot of fun.
"I think if I could, I'd like to be a Chaser, or maybe a Seeker," said Harry when Draco was done. The thrill of chasing something, it was like hunt, save for the fact that he'd be flying. Flying, something he had only dreamed of before. "Is there a team we can try out for?"
"Yes, but we can't try out till out second year, at least," said Draco with a frown. "Even if I manage to sneak a broom in, I couldn't play this year without a teachers permission. And that hasn't happened in a hundred years. I'm good, but not that good."
"Well, maybe next year we can try out together," said Harry, silently hoping Draco would still be friends with him this time next year. Sure, he was a bit stuck up, but other then that, he was kind of cool. And, he was the first wizard he meet his age. "Although, it'll be a problem if we're both Seekers."
Chuckling, Draco smirked at him. " I like you, Harry. Would you like to go with me to meet a few friends of mine?"
He wanted to say yes. He really did. "I can't," Harry said with a shrug. "I've got to keep shopping with my mum."
"All done, lad," said Madam Malkin with a careful smile as she removed Draco newly hemmed robes. "You can get down now."
As Draco leapt down, Harry waved to him. "It was nice meeting you. See you at Hogwarts?"
"Of course," said Draco with a nod. "I'll see you there."
"You seem happy," said Elysia when he emerged ten minutes later, while Lupin talked with Malkin about the cost would be for the robes and other things he would need.
"I think I made a new friend," said Harry with a wide smile. "My first wizard friend."
"That's wonderful, cub," said Elysia as she placed a kiss on his head. "I'm glad to hear it. But remember, Harry," she said with a small frown. "Just because you're friends with someone doesn't mean you can tell them about... well, you know what about. Is that understood?"
"Yes, Mum," said Harry, nodding "I won't tell anyone, promise." He understood the dangers of telling someone that he was raised by werewolves, and he wasn't going to his risk his family over his friends.
Once the robes were paid for and shrunken by Lupin to fit in Harry's side bag, much to the same boy's and his mother's amazement, the three were just exiting Madam Malkin's when Harry suddenly walked into somebody, both of them falling backwards and on their bums with a 'omph'.
"Ow," said Harry with a slight whine, rubbing his lower back. That kind of hurt.
"Hey, I'm sorry, are you... Harry?"
Looking up, there was no chance at Harry's eyes not going wide when he saw someone he never expected to see again in his life, let alone in Diagon Alley, and completely recognizable even though it'd been six years since the last time they saw each other.
"Dudley?"
