CHAPTER FIVE
Diagon Alley
Harry and Finnic woke early the next morning. Although they could tell it was daylight, they kept their eyes shut tight.
It was a dream, Finnic told himself firmly. I dreamed a giant called Hagrid came to tell me I was going to a school for wizards, I've had weirder dreams. When I open my eyes I'll be at home in my cupboard, next to Harry.
There was suddenly a loud tapping noise.
And there's Aunt Petunia knocking on the door, Finnic thought, his heart sinking. But he still didn't open his eyes. It had been such a good dream.
"All right," Harry mumbled, "I'm getting up."
Harry sat up and Hagrid's heavy coat fell off him. The hut was full of sunlight, the storm was over, Finnic layed next to him, eyes shut tightly as he forced himself to sleep. Hagrid himself was asleep on the collapsed sofa, and there was an owl rapping its claw on the window, a newspaper held in its beak.
Harry scrambled to his feet, so happy he felt as though a large balloon was swelling inside him. He went straight to the window and jerked it open. The owl swooped in and dropped the newspaper on top of Hagrid, who didn't wake up. The owl then fluttered onto the floor and began to attack Hagrid's coat making Finnic open his eyes to look at the movement on top of him.
"Don't do that."
Harry tried to wave the owl out of the way, but it snapped its beak fiercely at him and carried on savaging the coat.
"Hagrid!" said Harry loudly. "There's an owl —"
"Pay him," Hagrid grunted into the sofa.
"What?"
"He wants payin' fer deliverin' the paper. Look in the pockets."
Finnic looked at the coat he was under. Hagrid's coat seemed to be made of nothing but pockets — bunches of keys, slug pellets, balls of string, peppermint humbugs, teabags... finally, Finnic pulled out a handful of strange-looking coins.
"Give him five Knuts," said Hagrid sleepily. "Knuts?"
"The little bronze ones."
Finnic counted out five little bronze coins, and the owl held out his leg so he could put the money into a small leather pouch tied to it. Then he flew off through the open window. Finnic's eyes went to Harry's as they both smiled wider than they think they've ever done before.
Hagrid yawned loudly, sat up, and stretched.
"Best be off, yer two, lots ter do today, gotta get up ter London an' buy all yer stuff fer school."
They both were turning over the wizard coins and looking at them. They had just thought of something that made them feel as though the happy balloon inside had got a puncture.
"Um — Hagrid?"
"Mm?" said Hagrid, who was pulling on his huge boots.
"We haven't got any money — and you heard Uncle Vernon last night... he won't pay for us to go and learn magic."
"Don't worry about that," said Hagrid, standing up and scratching his head. "D'yeh think yer parents didn't leave yeh two anything?"
"But if their house was destroyed —"
"They didn' keep their gold in the house, boys! Nah, first stop fer us is Gringotts. Wizards' bank. Have a sausage, they're not bad cold — an' I wouldn' say no teh a bit o' yer birthday cake, neither."
"Wizards have banks?" Finnic asked, picking up a sausage.
"Just the one. Gringotts. Run by goblins."
Harry dropped the bit of sausage he was holding. "Goblins?"
"Yeah — so yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it, I'll tell yeh that. Never mess with goblins, Twins. Gringotts is the safest place in the world fer anything yeh want ter keep safe — 'cept maybe Hogwarts. As a matter o' fact, I gotta visit Gringotts anyway. Fer Dumbledore. Hogwarts business." Hagrid drew himself up proudly. "He usually gets me ter do important stuff fer him. Fetchin' you — gettin' things from Gringotts — knows he can trust me, see."
"Got everythin'? Come on, then."
Harry and Finnic followed Hagrid out onto the rock. The sky was quite clear now and the sea gleamed in the sunlight. The boat Uncle Vernon had hired was still there, with a lot of water in the bottom after the storm.
"How did you get here?" Harry asked, looking around for another boat. "Flew," said Hagrid.
"Flew?" Finnic gasped.
"Yeah — but we'll go back in this. Not s'pposed ter use magic now I've got yeh."
They settled down in the boat, Finnic frowned at his now wet shoes and Harry still staring at Hagrid, trying to imagine him flying.
"Seems a shame ter row, though," said Hagrid, giving Harry and Finnic another of his sideways looks. "If I was ter — er — speed things up a bit, would yeh mind not mentionin' it at Hogwarts?"
"Of course not," they said, they were eager to see more magic. Hagrid pulled out the pink umbrella again, tapped it twice on the side of the boat, and they sped off toward land.
"Why would you be mad to try and rob Gringotts?" Harry asked.
"Spells — enchantments," said Hagrid, unfolding his newspaper as he spoke. "They say there's dragons guardin' the high security vaults. And then yeh gotta find yer way — Gringotts is hundreds of miles under London, see. Deep under the Underground. Yeh'd die of hunger tryin' ter get out, even if yeh did manage ter get yer hands on summat."
"So dragons are real!" Finnic gasped.
Hagrid smiled at this, "Of course they're real. What kind of world would it be without dragons?"
Harry and Finnic sat and thought about this while Hagrid read his newspaper, the Daily Prophet. The Twins had learned from Uncle Vernon that people liked to be left alone while they did this, but it was very difficult, they've never had so many questions in their lives.
"Ministry o' Magic messin' things up as usual," Hagrid muttered, turning the page. "There's a Ministry of Magic?" Harry asked, before he could stop himself.
"'Course," said Hagrid. "They wanted Dumbledore fer Minister, o' course, but he'd never leave Hogwarts, so old Cornelius Fudge got the job. Bungler if ever there was one. So he pelts Dumbledore with owls every morning, askin' fer advice."
"But what does a Ministry of Magic do?"
"Well, their main job is to keep it from the Muggles that there's still witches an' wizards up an' down the country."
"Why?"
"Why? Blimey, you two, everyone'd be wantin' magic solutions to their problems. Nah, we're best left alone."
At this moment the boat bumped gently into the harbor wall. Hagrid folded up his newspaper, and they clambered up the stone steps onto the street.
Passersby stared a lot at Hagrid as they walked through the little town to the station. The Twins couldn't blame them. Not only was Hagrid twice as tall as anyone else, he kept pointing at perfectly ordinary things like parking meters and saying loudly, "See that? Things these Muggles dream up, eh?"
"Hagrid," said Harry, panting a bit as he ran to keep up, "are there really dragons at Gringotts?"
"Well, so they say," said Hagrid. "Crikey, I'd like a dragon."
"You'd like one?"
"Wanted one ever since I was a kid — here we go."
They had reached the station. There was a train to London in five minutes' time. Hagrid, who didn't understand "Muggle money," as he called it, gave the bills to the Twins so they could buy their tickets.
People stared more than ever on the train. Hagrid took up two seats and sat knitting what looked like a canary-yellow circus tent.
"Still got yer letters?" he asked as he counted stitches.
Harry and Finnic took their parchment envelopes out of their pockets.
"Good," said Hagrid. "There's a list there of everything yeh need."
They unfolded a second piece of paper neither of them noticed the night before, and read:
HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
UNIFORM
First-year students will require:
1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)
2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear
3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
4. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)
All students should have a copy of each of the following: The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)by Miranda Goshawk
A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot
Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling
A Beginners' 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 Scamander
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble
OTHER EQUIPMENT: 1 wand
1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)
1 set of glass or crystal phials
1 telescope set
1 brass scales
Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad
PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS
"We're allowed pets?" Finnic asked, he once got in trouble for bringing a stray cat into school. In his defense it was raining and the cat was drenched.
"Can we buy all this in London?" Harry wondered aloud.
"If yeh know where to go," said Hagrid.
Harry and Finnic had never been to London before. Although Hagrid seemed to know where he was going, he was obviously not used to getting there in an ordinary way. He got stuck in the ticket barrier on the Underground, and complained loudly that the seats were too small and the trains too slow.
"I don't know how the Muggles manage without magic," he said as they climbed a broken-down escalator that led up to a bustling road lined with shops.
Hagrid was so huge that he parted the crowd easily; all Harry and Finnic had to do was keep close behind him. They passed book shops and music stores, hamburger restaurants and cinemas, but nowhere that looked as if it could sell you a magic wand. This was just an ordinary street full of ordinary people. Could there really be piles of wizard gold buried miles beneath them? Were there really shops that sold spell books and broomsticks? Might this not all be some huge joke that the Dursleys had cooked up? If they both didn't know that the Dursleys had no sense of humor, they might have thought so; yet somehow, even though everything Hagrid had told them so far was unbelievable, they couldn't help trusting him.
"This is it," said Hagrid, coming to a halt, "the Leaky Cauldron. It's a famous place."
It was a tiny, grubby-looking pub. If Hagrid hadn't pointed it out, neither of them would have noticed it was there. The people hurrying by didn't glance at it. Their eyes slid from the big book shop on one side to the record shop on the other as if they couldn't see the Leaky Cauldron at all. In fact, the Twins had the most peculiar feeling that only Hagrid and them could see it. Before one of them could mention this, Hagrid had steered them inside.
For a famous place, it was very dark and shabby. 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. The low buzz of chatter stopped when they walked in. Everyone seemed to know Hagrid; they waved and smiled at him, and the bartender reached for a glass, saying, "The usual, Hagrid?"
"Can't, Tom, I'm on Hogwarts business," said Hagrid, clapping his great hands on Harry and Finnic's shoulders and making their knees buckle.
"Good Lord," said the bartender, peering at the Twins, "is this — can this be —?" The Leaky Cauldron had suddenly gone completely still and silent.
"Bless my soul," whispered the old bartender, "Harry and Ava Potter... what an honor."
He hurried out from behind the bar, rushed toward the Twins and seized their hands, tears in his eyes. "Welcome back, Mr. and Ms. Potter, welcome back."
"Er, it's actually Finnic sir." Finnic said hesitantly. The old bartender blinked then grinned.
"My apologies Mr. Potter."
The Twins didn't know what to say. Everyone was looking at them. The old woman with the pipe was puffing on it without realizing it had gone out. Hagrid was beaming.
Then there was a great scraping of chairs and the next moment, Harry and Finnic found themselves shaking hands with everyone in the Leaky Cauldron.
"Doris Crockford, Mr. and Mr. Potter, can't believe I'm meeting you at last."
"So proud, Mr. Potters, I'm just so proud."
"Always wanted to shake your hands — I'm all of a flutter."
"Delighted, Sir Potters, just can't tell you, Diggle's the name, Dedalus Diggle."
"I've seen you before!" said Harry, as Dedalus Diggle's top hat fell off in his excitement. "You bowed to us once in a shop."
"He remembers!" cried Dedalus Diggle, looking around at everyone. "Did you hear that? Harry remember me!" Harry and Finnic shook hands again and again — Doris Crockford kept coming back for more.
A pale young man made his way forward, very nervously. One of his eyes was twitching.
"Professor Quirrell!" said Hagrid. "You two, Professor Quirrell will be one of your teachers at Hogwarts."
"P-P-Potters," stammered Professor Quirrell, grasping Harry's hand, "c-can't t-tell you how ppleased I am to meet you t-two."
"What sort of magic do you teach, Professor Quirrell?"
"D-Defense Against the D-D-Dark Arts," muttered Professor Quirrell, as though he'd rather not think about it. "N-not that you n-need it, eh, P-P-Potters?" He laughed nervously. "You'll be ggetting all your equipment, I suppose? I've g-got to p-pick up a new b-book on vampires, mmyself." He looked terrified at the very thought.
But the others wouldn't let Professor Quirrell keep Harry and Finnic to himself. It took almost ten minutes to get away from them all. At last, Hagrid managed to make himself heard over the babble.
"Must get on — lots ter buy. Come on then."
Doris Crockford shook Harry's and Finnic's hands one last time, and Hagrid led them through the bar and out into a small, walled courtyard, where there was nothing but a trash can and a few weeds.
Hagrid grinned at the Twins.
"Told yeh, didn't I? Told yeh you two yer were famous. Even Professor Quirrell was tremblin' ter meet yeh both— mind you, he's usually tremblin'."
"Is he always that nervous?" Finnic asked.
"Oh, yeah. Poor bloke. Brilliant mind. He was fine while he was studyin' outta books but then he took a year off ter get some firsthand experience... They say he met vampires in the Black Forest, and there was a nasty bit o' trouble with a hag — never been the same since. Scared of the students, scared of his own subject — now, where's me umbrella?"
Vampires? Hags? Harry's and Finnic's heads were swimming. Hagrid, meanwhile, was counting bricks in the wall above the trash can.
"Three up... two across..." he muttered. "Right, stand back, you two." He tapped the wall three times with the point of his umbrella.
The brick he had touched quivered — it wriggled — in the middle, a small hole appeared — it grew wider and wider — a second later they were facing an archway large enough even for Hagrid, an archway onto a cobbled street that twisted and turned out of sight.
"Welcome," said Hagrid, "to Diagon Alley."
He grinned at the Twins amazement. They stepped through the archway. Harry and Finnic looked quickly over their shoulders and saw the archway shrink instantly back into solid wall.
The sun shone brightly on a stack of cauldrons outside the nearest shop. Cauldrons — All Sizes — Copper, Brass, Pewter, Silver — Self-Stirring — Collapsible, said a sign hanging over them.
"Yeah, you'll both be needin' one," said Hagrid, "but we gotta get yer money first."
The Twins wished they had about eight more eyes. They turned their heads in every direction as they walked up the street, trying to look at everything at once: the shops, the things outside them, the people doing their shopping. A plump woman outside an Apothecary was shaking her head as they passed, saying, "Dragon liver, sixteen Sickles an ounce, they're mad..."
A low, soft hooting came from a dark shop with a sign saying Eeylops Owl Emporium — Tawny, Screech, Barn, Brown, and Snowy. Several boys of about the Twins age had their noses pressed against a window with broomsticks in it. "Look," Harry heard one of them say, "the new Nimbus Two Thousand — fastest ever —" There were shops selling robes, shops selling telescopes and strange silver instruments they had never seen before, windows stacked with barrels of bat spleens and eels' eyes, tottering piles of spell books, quills, and rolls of parchment, potion bottles, globes of the moon...
"Gringotts," said Hagrid.
They had reached a snowy white building that towered over the other little shops. Standing beside its burnished bronze doors, wearing a uniform of scarlet and gold, was —
"Yeah, that's a goblin," said Hagrid quietly as they walked up the white stone steps toward him. The goblin was about a head shorter than Harry and Finnic. He had a swarthy, clever face, a pointed beard and, Harry noticed, very long fingers and feet. He bowed as they walked inside. Now they were facing a second pair of doors, silver this time, with words engraved upon them:
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.
"Like I said, Yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it," said Hagrid.
A pair of goblins bowed them through the silver doors and they were in a vast marble hall. 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. Hagrid and the Twins made for the counter.
"Morning," said Hagrid to a free goblin. "We've come ter take some money outta the Potter Twin's safe."
"You have their key, sir?"
"Got it here somewhere," said Hagrid, and he started emptying his pockets onto the counter, scattering a handful of moldy dog biscuits over the goblin's book of numbers. The goblin wrinkled his nose. Harry and Finnic watched the goblin on their right weighing a pile of rubies as big as glowing coals.
"Got it," said Hagrid at last, holding up a tiny golden key.
The goblin looked at it closely.
"That seems to be in order."
"An' I've also got a letter here from Professor Dumbledore," said Hagrid importantly, throwing out his chest. "It's about the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen."
The goblin read the letter carefully.
"Very well," he said, handing it back to Hagrid, "I will have someone take you down to both vaults. Griphook!"
Griphook was yet another goblin. Once Hagrid had crammed all the dog biscuits back inside his pockets, he and the Twins followed Griphook toward one of the doors leading off the hall.
"What's the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen?" Harry asked.
"Can't tell yeh that," said Hagrid mysteriously. "Very secret. Hogwarts business. Dumbledore's trusted me. More'n my job's worth ter tell yeh that."
Finnic shot a look at Hagrid, he loved mysteries. Finnic nudged Harry but Harry was to busy looking at Griphook to pay any attention to him.
Griphook held the door open for them. Harry and Finnic, who had expected more marble, was surprised. They were in a narrow stone passageway lit with flaming torches. It sloped steeply downward and there were little railway tracks on the floor. Griphook whistled and a small cart came hurtling up the tracks toward them. They climbed in — Hagrid with some difficulty — and were off.
At first they just hurtled through a maze of twisting passages. Harry and Finnic tried to remember, left, right, right, left, middle fork, right, left, but it was impossible. The rattling cart seemed to know its own way, because Griphook wasn't steering.
Their eyes stung as the cold air rushed past them, but they kept them wide open. Once, they thought he saw a burst of fire at the end of a passage and twisted around to see if it was a dragon, but too late — they plunged even deeper, passing an underground lake where huge stalactites and stalagmites grew from the ceiling and floor.
"I never know," Harry called to Hagrid over the noise of the cart, "what's the difference between a stalagmite and a stalactite?"
"Stalagmite's got an 'm' in it," said Hagrid. "An' don' ask me questions just now, I think I'm gonna be sick."
He did look very green, and when the cart stopped at last beside a small door in the passage wall, Hagrid got out and had to lean against the wall to stop his knees from trembling.
Griphook unlocked the door. A lot of green smoke came billowing out, and as it cleared, the Twins gasped. Inside were mounds of gold coins. Columns of silver. Heaps of little bronze Knuts.
"All yours," smiled Hagrid.
All theirs— it was incredible. The Dursleys couldn't have known about this or they'd have had it from them faster than blinking. How often had they complained how much Harry and Finnic cost them to keep? And all the time there had been a small fortune belonging to them, buried deep under London.
Hagrid helped Harry and Finnic pile some of it into bags.
"The gold ones are Galleons," he explained. "Seventeen silver Sickles to a Galleon and twentynine Knuts to a Sickle, it's easy enough. Right, that should be enough fer a couple o' terms, we'll keep the rest safe for yeh." He turned to Griphook. "Vault seven hundred and thirteen now, please, and can we go more slowly?"
"One speed only," said Griphook.
They were going even deeper now and gathering speed. The air became colder and colder as they hurtled round tight corners. They went rattling over an underground ravine, and Harry leaned over the side to try to see what was down at the dark bottom, Finnic reached for him but Hagrid was faster and groaned, pulling him back by the scruff of his neck.
Vault seven hundred and thirteen had no keyhole. "Stand back," said Griphook importantly. He stroked the door gently with one of his long fingers and it simply melted away.
"If anyone but a Gringotts goblin tried that, they'd be sucked through the door and trapped in there," said Griphook.
"How often do you check to see if anyone's inside?" Finnic asked. "About once every ten years," said Griphook with a rather nasty grin.
Something really extraordinary had to be inside this top security vault, the Twins were sure, and they leaned forward eagerly, expecting to see fabulous jewels at the very least — but at first they thought it was empty. Then they noticed a grubby little package wrapped up in brown paper lying on the floor. Hagrid picked it up and tucked it deep inside his coat. Harry and Finnic longed to know what it was, but knew better than to ask.
"Come on, back in this infernal cart, and don't talk to me on the way back, it's best if I keep me mouth shut," said Hagrid.
One wild cart ride later they stood blinking in the sunlight outside Gringotts. They didn't know where to run first now that they each had a bag full of money. They didn't have to know how many Galleons there were to a pound to know that they were holding more money than they had in their whole life — more money than even Dudley had ever had.
"Might as well get yer uniform," said Hagrid, nodding toward Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. "Listen you two, would yeh mind if I slipped off fer a pick-me-up in the Leaky Cauldron? I hate them Gringotts carts." He did still look a bit sick, so Harry and Finnic entered Madam Malkin's shop alone, feeling nervous.
Madam Malkin was a squat, smiling witch dressed all in mauve.
"Hogwarts, dears?" she said, when Harry started to speak. "Got the lot here — another young man being fitted up just now, in fact."
In the back of the shop, a boy with a pale, pointed face was standing on a footstool while a second witch pinned up his long black robes. Madam Malkin stood Harry on a stool next to him slipped a long robe over his head, and began to pin it to the right length. Finnic stood on the other side of the boy while a different women started to size his sleeves.
"Hello," said the boy, "Hogwarts, too?" "Yes," said Harry, Finnic nodded.
"My father's next door buying my books and mother's up the street looking at wands," said the boy. He had a bored, drawling voice. "Then I'm going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don't see why first years can't have their own. I think I'll bully father into getting me one and I'll smuggle it in somehow."
Harry and Finnic were strongly reminded of Dudley.
"Have you got your own broom?" the boy went on.
"No," said Harry.
"Play Quidditch at all?"
"Nope," Finnic said again, wondering what on earth Quidditch could be.
"I do — Father says it's a crime if I'm not picked to play for my house, and I must say, I agree. Know what house you'll be in yet?"
"No," said Harry, feeling more stupid by the minute.
"Well, no one really knows until they get there, do they, but I know I'll be in Slytherin, all our family have been — imagine being in Hufflepuff, I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?"
"Mmm," said Harry, wishing he could say something a bit more interesting. Thankfully Finnic spoke up.
"Slytherin does sound cool." He said hoping that agreeing with the boy would make him explain more of what the houses and Quidditch were.
"I say, look at that man!" said the boy suddenly, nodding toward the front window. Hagrid was standing there, grinning at Harry and Finnic and pointing at three large ice creams to show he couldn't come in.
"That's Hagrid," said Finnic, pleased to know something the boy didn't. "He works at Hogwarts."
"Oh," said the boy, "I've heard of him. He's a sort of servant, isn't he?"
"He's the gamekeeper," said Harry. He was liking the boy less and less every second.
"Yes, exactly. I heard he's a sort of savage — lives in a hut on the school grounds and every now and then he gets drunk, tries to do magic, and ends up setting fire to his bed."
"I think he's brilliant," the Twins both said, coldly.
"Do you?" said the boy, with a slight sneer. "Why is he with you lot? Where are your parents?" "They're dead," said Harry shortly. He didn't feel much like going into the matter with this boy. "Oh, sorry," said the other, not sounding sorry at all. "But they were our kind, weren't they?"
"They were a witch and wizard, if that's what you mean."
"I really don't think they should let the other sort in, do you? They're just not the same, they've never been brought up to know our ways. Some of them have never even heard of Hogwarts until they get the letter, imagine. I think they should keep it in the old wizarding families. What's your surname, anyway?"
But before Harry could answer and Finnic could start questioning, Madam Malkin said, "That's you done, my dears," and the Twins, not sorry for an excuse to stop talking to the boy, hopped down from the footstool.
"Well, I'll see you at Hogwarts, I suppose," said the drawling boy.
Harry and Finnic were rather quiet as they ate the ice cream Hagrid had bought them (chocolate and raspberry with chopped nuts).
"What's up?" said Hagrid.
"Nothing," Harry lied. They stopped to buy parchment and quills. Harry cheered up a bit when he found a bottle of ink that changed color as you wrote. When they had left the shop, he said, "Hagrid, what's Quidditch?"
"Blimey you two, I keep forgettin' how little yeh know — not knowin' about Quidditch!"
"Don't make us feel worse," said Harry. He told Hagrid about the pale boy in Madam Malkin's. "— and he said people from Muggle families shouldn't even be allowed in —"
"Yer not from a Muggle family. If he'd known who yeh were — he's grown up knowin' yer names if his parents are wizardin' folk. You saw what everyone in the Leaky Cauldron was like when they saw yeh two. Anyway, what does he know about it, some o' the best I ever saw were the only ones with magic in 'em in a long line o' Muggles — look at yer mum! Look what she had fer a sister!"
"Sounds like wizard racism." Finnic mumbled, looking at a blue quill that shot out fireworks when you dipped it in ink.
"So what is Quidditch?"
"It's our sport. Wizard sport. It's like — like soccer in the Muggle world — everyone follows Quidditch — played up in the air on broomsticks and there's four balls — sorta hard ter explain the rules."
"And what are Slytherin and Hufflepuff?"
"School houses. There's four. Everyone says Hufflepuff are a lot o' duffers, but —" "I bet I'm in Hufflepuff," said Harry gloomily.
"Better Hufflepuff than Slytherin," said Hagrid darkly. "There's not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin. You-Know-Who was one."
"Vol-, sorry —You-Know-Who was at Hogwarts?" "Years an' years ago," said Hagrid.
They bought Harry's and Finnic's school books in a shop called Flourish and Blotts where the shelves were stacked to the ceiling with books as large as paving stones bound in leather; books the size of postage stamps in covers of silk; books full of peculiar symbols and a few books with nothing in them at all. Even Dudley, who never read anything, would have been wild to get his hands on some of these. Hagrid almost had to drag Harry away from Curses and Countercurses (Bewitch Your Friends and Befuddle Your Enemies with the Latest Revenges: Hair Loss, Jelly-Legs, Tongue-Tying and Much, Much More) by Professor Vindictus Viridian.
"I was trying to find out how to curse Dudley."
"I'm not sayin' that's not a good idea, but yer not ter use magic in the Muggle world except in very special circumstances," said Hagrid. "An' anyway, yeh couldn' work any of them curses yet, yeh'll need a lot more study before yeh get ter that level." He grabbed Finnic's shirt before he ran off again into the "Dangerous Treasures and Charms" isle.
Hagrid wouldn't let Harry buy a solid gold cauldron, either ("It says pewter on yer list") ("And imagine how hard it would be to clean it" Finnic added), but they got a nice set of scales for weighing potion ingredients and a collapsible brass telescope. Then they visited the Apothecary, which was fascinating enough to make up for its horrible smell, a mixture of bad eggs and rotted cabbages. Barrels of slimy stuff stood on the floor; jars of herbs, dried roots, and bright powders lined the walls; bundles of feathers, strings of fangs, and snarled claws hung from the ceiling. While Hagrid asked the man behind the counter for a supply of some basic potion ingredients for Harry and Finnic, the Twins themselves examined silver unicorn horns at twenty- one Galleons each and minuscule, glittery-black beetle eyes (five Knuts a scoop).
Outside the Apothecary, Hagrid checked Finnic's list again.
"Just yer wands left — A yeah, an' I still haven't got yeh two a birthday present." Harry and Finnic felt their faces go red.
"You already made a cake!"
"You don't have to —"
"I know I don't have to. Tell yeh what, I'll get yer guys animals. Not a toad, toads went outta fashion years ago, yeh'd be laughed at — an' I don' like cats, they make me sneeze. I'll get yer owls. All the kids want owls, they're dead useful, carry yer mail an' everythin'."
Twenty minutes later, they left Eeylops Owl Emporium, which had been dark and full of rustling and flickering, jewel-bright eyes. Harry now carried a large cage that held a beautiful snowy owl, fast asleep with her head under her wing. They had agreed one owl can be both of theirs, after all Aunt Petunia would never allow two owls and it sounded hard enough to clean up after one.
They couldn't stop stammering their thanks, sounding just like Professor Quirrell.
"Don' mention it," said Hagrid gruffly. "Don' expect you've had a lotta presents from them Dursleys. Just Ollivanders left now — only place fer wands, Ollivanders, and yeh two gotta have the best wand."
A magic wand... this was what Harry and Finnic had been really looking forward to.
The last shop was narrow and shabby. Peeling gold letters over the door read Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. A single wand lay on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window.
A tinkling bell rang somewhere in the depths of the shop as they stepped inside. It was a tiny place, empty except for a single, spindly chair that Hagrid sat on to wait. The Twins felt strangely as though they had entered a very strict library; they both swallowed a lot of new questions that had just occurred to them and looked instead at the thousands of narrow boxes piled neatly right up to the ceiling. For some reason, the back of their neck prickled. The very dust and silence in here seemed to tingle with some secret magic.
"Good afternoon," said a soft voice. Harry and Finnic jumped. Hagrid must have jumped, too, because there was a loud crunching noise and he got quickly off the spindly chair.
An old man was standing before them, his wide, pale eyes shining like moons through the gloom of the shop.
"Hello," said Harry awkwardly.
"Ah yes," said the man. "Yes, yes. I thought I'd be seeing you soon. Harry and Finnic Potter." It wasn't a question. "You both have your mother's eyes. It seems only yesterday she was in here herself, buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work."
Mr. Ollivander moved closer to Finnic. Finnic wished he would blink. Those silvery eyes were a bit creepy.
"Your father, on the other hand, favored a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration. Well, I say your father favored it — it's really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course."
Mr. Ollivander had come so close that he and Finnic were almost nose to nose. Finnic could see himself reflected in those misty eyes.
"And that's where..."
Mr. Ollivander touched the lightning scar on Finnic's eyebrow with a long, white finger. He turned to Harry and touched Harry's own scar on his forehead.
"I'm sorry to say I sold the wand that did that," he said softly. "Thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Powerful wand, very powerful, and in the wrong hands... well, if I'd known what that wand was going out into the world to do..."
He shook his head and then, to the Twins relief, spotted Hagrid.
"Rubeus! Rubeus Hagrid! How nice to see you again... Oak, sixteen inches, rather bendy, wasn't it?"
"It was, sir, yes," said Hagrid.
"Good wand, that one. But I suppose they snapped it in half when you got expelled?" said Mr. Ollivander, suddenly stern.
"Er — yes, they did, yes," said Hagrid, shuffling his feet. "I've still got the pieces, though," he added brightly.
"But you don't use them?" said Mr. Ollivander sharply.
"Oh, no, sir," said Hagrid quickly. Harry and Finnic noticed he gripped his pink umbrella very tightly as he spoke.
"Hmmm," said Mr. Ollivander, giving Hagrid a piercing look. "Well, now — Mr. Harry Potter. Let me see." He pulled a long tape measure with silver markings out of his pocket. "Which is your wand arm?"
"Er — well, I'm right-handed," said Harry.
"Hold out your arm. That's it." He measured Harry from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit and round his head. As he measured, he said, "Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance, Potter Twins. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers, and the heartstrings of dragons. No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons, or phoenixes are quite the same. And of course, you will never get such good results with another wizard's wand."
Harry suddenly realized that the tape measure, which was measuring between his nostrils, was doing this on its own. Mr. Ollivander was flitting around the shelves, taking down boxes.
"That will do, measure the other one" he said, and the tape measure flew up to Finnic's head and started measuring, just as it did with Harry. "Right then, Mr. Harry Potter. Try this one. Beechwood and dragon heartstring. Nine inches. Nice and flexible. just take it and give it a wave."
Harry took the wand and (feeling foolish) waved it around a bit, but Mr. Ollivander snatched it out of his hand almost at once. He gave a box to Finnic and Finnic barely held it before it was ripped away from him.
"Maple and phoenix feather. Seven inches. Quite whippy. Try —"
Harry tried — but he had hardly raised the wand when it, too, was snatched back by Mr. Ollivander.
"No, no — here, ebony and unicorn hair, eight and a half inches, springy. Go on, go on, try it out."
Finnic tried. And Harry tried. Then they both tried. They had no idea what Mr. Ollivander was waiting for. The pile of tried wands was mounting higher and higher on the spindly chair, but the more wands Mr. Ollivander pulled from the shelves, the happier he seemed to become.
"Tricky customers, eh? Not to worry, we'll find the perfect match here somewhere — I wonder, now — yes, why not — unusual combination — holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple."
Harry took the wand. He felt a sudden warmth in his fingers. He raised the wand above his head, brought it swishing down through the dusty air and a stream of red and gold sparks shot from the end like a firework, throwing dancing spots of light on to the walls. Hagrid whooped and clapped and Mr. Ollivander cried, "Oh, bravo! Yes, indeed, oh, very good. Well, well, well... how curious... how very curious..." He looked at Finnic, "Curious..."
Mr. Ollivander gave Finnic the second wand he grabbed. Silver Lime and phoenix feather, eleven and a half inches, pleasantly springy"
Finnic looked at Hagrid, who nodded, and waved it in a circle in front of him. Similar red and gold sparks flew through the air and increased the lighting in the room. Hagrid once again clapped and Mr. Olivander smiled and cheered.
He put Harry's and Finnic's wand back into its boxes and wrapped it in brown paper, still muttering, "Curious... curious..."
"Sorry," said Finnic, "but what's curious?" Mr. Ollivander fixed on Harry with his pale stare.
"I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Finnic and Harry Potter. Every single wand. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feathers are in both of your wands, gave another feather — just one other. It is very curious indeed that you two should be destined for this wand when its brother — why, its brother gave you those scars."
Harry and Finnic swallowed.
"Yes, thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Curious indeed how these things happen. The wand chooses the wizard, remember... I think we must expect great things from you two... After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things — terrible, yes, but great."
They both shivered. They weren't sure they liked Mr. Ollivander too much. They paid seven gold Galleons for their wands, and Mr. Ollivander bowed them from his shop.
The late afternoon sun hung low in the sky as Harry, Finnic and Hagrid made their way back down Diagon Alley, back through the wall, back through the Leaky Cauldron, now empty. Neither twin spoke at all as they walked down the road; they didn't even notice how much people were gawking at them on the Underground, laden as they were with all their funny-shaped packages, with the owl asleep in her cage in Finnic's grasp. Up another escalator, out into Paddington station; they only realized where they were when Hagrid tapped Harry on the shoulder.
"Got time fer a bite to eat before yer train leaves," he said.
He bought Harry and Finnic hamburgers and they sat down on plastic seats to eat them. Finnic stared at the owl and Harry kept looking around. Everything looked so strange, somehow.
"You all right, ye two? Yer very quiet," said Hagrid.
They weren't sure either of them could explain. They just had the best birthday of their life — and yet — they chewed their hamburgers, trying to find the words.
"Everyone thinks we're special," Harry said at last. "All those people in the Leaky Cauldron, Professor Quirrell, Mr. Ollivander... but I don't know anything about magic at all. How can they expect great things? We're famous and we can't even remember what We're famous for. I don't know what happened when Vol-, sorry — I mean, the night our parents died." Finnic nodded at the explanation, it summed up exactly how he felt.
Hagrid leaned across the table. Behind the wild beard and eyebrows he wore a very kind smile.
"Don' you worry, you two. You'll both learn fast enough. Everyone starts at the beginning at Hogwarts, you two will be just fine. Just be yerselfs. I know it's hard. Yeh two have been singled out, an' that's always hard. But yeh'll have a great time at Hogwarts — I did — still do, 'smatter of fact."
Hagrid helped Harry and Finnic on to the train that would take them back to the Dursleys, then handed them each an envelope.
"Yer tickets fer Hogwarts, " he said. "First o' September — King's Cross — it's all on yer tickets. Any problems with the Dursleys, send me a letter with one yer owls, she'll know where to find me... . See yeh soon, Harry, Finnic."
The train pulled out of the station. Harry and Finnic wanted to watch Hagrid until he was out of sight; they rose in their seat and pressed their noses against the window, but they blinked and Hagrid had gone.