Chapter Nine: Diagon Alley 2.0

As they left St. Mungos a few minutes later, after Merope had promised to keep in touch with both Ginger and Penelope, Tom spoke to her.

"I have to go into Diagon Alley to get muggle money and clothing, but then we can go to the village." He held out his hand for her to take, which she did willingly. She had been to Diagon Alley, when they had gotten her wand, but the family had not returned after Marvolo saw muggles in the alley.

They apparated directly into the alley, finding themselves near the bank and the bookshop. Merope looked around her curiously, as shops had changed since she had last been there. She seemed especially interested in the books, which Tom found amusing.

"Perhaps we have time to look at some books as well." He spoke casually, but Merope knew he had seen her looking. She blushed sheepishly, but smiled.

It took just a couple minutes to exchange the muggle money since he only took a little. He did not want to spend too much in the village, again allowing the muggles the comfort of their current reality. It would not make sense for the Gaunt family to suddenly be wealthy - it would make more sense to build that up slowly. He still had plenty of wizarding money left to get the clothing he wanted and a book for Merope.

She had stood by his side the whole time, with eyes roaming the lobby. The goblins were interesting and strange to her, just as the building they worked in. The marble structure was massive and so smooth. She loved it, but found herself preferring the charm of her home.

Together they walked back into the alley, where Tom led her to the bookshop. "Now, I do need to pick up those clothes, so I will leave you to browse. We can get just one book today, and I'll be back in just a few minutes." He waited for Merope to nod in understanding, and then walked back out to get the muggle clothing down the street.

The wizard seemed a little perturbed by the request, but complied in finding Tom a nondescript suit. From there, he took care to select two sets of sturdy boots. One was for himself, the other for Merope to use during the winter months. He had noticed that her shoes were falling apart, so he also selected a plain pair of black flats. Purchasing the items, Tom quickly walked back into the bookshop.

He was bemused to find Merope buried in books - seeming to struggle choosing just one. She startled just slightly, but smiled when she saw Tom. "I just can't pick." She shrugged.

"Well," Tom said, bending down to look through the books. "I think this one would be helpful for you currently," -pointing to a textbook- "but this one would be more entertaining for you." He pointed to a wizarding fairytale collection. "Let's go with the entertaining one for now, shall we?"

"Okay." Merope nodded, picking up the book excitedly. She had never been told any fairy tales growing up.

They walked up to the counter to pay for the book, where Tom again recognized Jane. Does she ever have a day off? He thought exasperatedly. Jane seemed surprised to see Tom as well, and smiled curiously at Merope.

"Hello again Tom! Who's this - your student?" She asked brightly, as she scanned the book with her wand.

"Yes, this is Merope." He turned to Merope. "Merope, this is Jane Byrd. I purchased all of our texts from her a few days ago."

"Oh." Merope looked at Jane cautiously, watching the interaction between her and Tom. She felt slightly...jealous of their incredibly innocent relationship. It was just that she'd never really had anything like what she had with Tom - a father figure. Merope was therefore a little threatened by this new girl who seemed to have known him beforehand, although she knew that was also irrational. Of course he would know people before he met her.

But Jane seemed unaware of the internal struggle within Merope. Tom was aware though, and gently touched Merope's shoulder before speaking to Jane.

"We decided it might be good to balance our learning with some fun." He smiled, gesturing to the book.

"Oh of course!" Jane smiled again at Merope. "I loved these stories growing up, and still have some favorites."

Tom handed her the money to pay for the book. "Please feel free to come in again - it was lovely to meet you Merope." Jane waved as the two left the shop, apparating back home.

Tom had made it impossible to apparate into the home directly - call him paranoid but he didn't want to take any chances - so they landed at the doorstep.

"Well, that was quite the success I think." Tom smiled. "I'm going inside to change quickly, would you prepare lunch for us? I preserved some fish soup."

Merope nodded and then walked into the kitchen to go to work. Tom padded upstairs and changed, leaving nothing but the shoes for Merope and the muggle money in the rucksack. He would surprise her with the shoes at lunch. To be honest, he was rather looking forward to it - it would hopefully be the last piece in the puzzle of creating a new impression for her.

He found Merope stirring the soup over the fireplace, smiling to herself. Tom couldn't help but smile seeing how far she had already come. He was proud of her, but also very proud of himself. Admittedly, when he agreed to these conditions with Death, he didn't honestly think he could make it this far.

"I'll help you." Tom announced his presence, walking over to grab the bowls and spoons.

"Thank you, the soup's almost done."

Tom nodded, walking over to the table and setting the table. He then pulled out the flats and set them down next to her bowl, having put her boots in her closet. He sat down to wait, skimming over the book they had purchased at the shop. He hadn't read these tales before, having been originally 'raised' in the muggle world.

"Here you are!" Merope scooped out soup for Tom and then herself, setting the cauldron back on the fireplace before sitting down. She had actually taken a few sips of soup before she saw the shoes.

Her spoon clattered on the table as her jaw dropped. She silently looked from the shoes to Tom, not sure if this was real. She had not been given shoes ever - she had always taken what she could get when Morfin or Marvolo had outgrown theirs. When Tom nodded, she immediately tried them on, discarding the scraps on her feet. Tom waved his wand and vanished the scraps, smiling at Merope's clear joy at the gift. The charm on them allowed the shoes to resize themselves exactly to her feet, meaning that they should last until they were worn out rather than being outgrown.

"Thank you!" She said, the loudest she'd spoken since Tom had met her. She then cheerfully returned to her soup, although she kept looking admiringly at the shoes.

"I'm glad you like them." Tom chortled, sipping his own soup. "Is there anything in particular you would like to get from the village?"

Merope pondered, thinking that she really had everything she could have ever wanted. "Um, not really." Then it came to her. "Oh! Maybe...maybe cream?" She had only had milk once, but she really loved it.

"Alright, we'll get cream." Tom smiled, taking a mental note of it, along with the other basic food items he wanted to pick up. He finished his soup, placing the bowl in the sink to be cleaned when they got back. "Are you ready?"

Merope quickly finished, very excited about going on the outing now that she felt so confident. "Okay!" She added her bowl to the sink and followed Tom out of the house.

Notes:

This was a fun chapter for me to write, because Merope deserves to feel better about herself. Next stop - the muggle village!

Happy Reading!