DISCLAIMER- I don't own the creations of JK Rowling
Will Harry meet his future wife today?
Chapter 11- Diagon Alley
The travel via floo station was now known to Harry. There was a large arched structure where a full-grown adult can stand straight; one had to throw a pinch of glittering powder and then shout the name of the destination. If green flames spring up, then the connection is established correctly. He shouted "The Leaky Cauldron" and then stepped into the green flames seconds later.
The sensation was like being sucked inside a giant sewer, with faint glimpses of other floo stations fleeting by. Yesterday, it had taken almost a moment to travel, today it was taking longer. He kept stiff and when his feet found solid ground, he moved forwards a few steps. He was at the floo station of the Leaky Cauldron, where an apparition spot and a cupboard for storing flying brooms were also present. Lupin appeared almost at the same time and led Harry out of the small room.
Harry was amazed just like yesterday. The transport point was in the street opposite to the Leaky Cauldron, in a small alleyway with a gas lamp that nobody in the bustling crowd around seemed to notice. In fact, Harry would have missed it too if Lupin and Tonks had not pointed it out to him. He and Lupin crossed the road and suddenly he could see a small door sandwiched between a large bookstore and a record shop, with a faint silvery shimmering sign of a smoking cauldron painted on it.
When he stepped inside, he was surprised at the rather large pub that lay on the other side. There were dozens of wooden tables and benches, with a row of private booths too. People dressed in odd clothes like cloaks and formals, with pointed or in short hats, i.e. people who seem to recognize Harry by his scar were sitting all around eating and drinking, reading newspapers and books, or murmuring in low voices. Bright sunlight was coming from the windows on one side, it was lighting up the whole pub.
Lupin went towards a bar, where a bald man was standing. He simply waved at the man and then stepped into a courtyard beyond. There was nothing more than a brick wall, a trash can and a few weeds there. Lupin smiled at Harry, then touched three spots at the wall. The bricks seemed to move, then dissolved away to form a huge archway, beyond which lay a crowded shopping street.
The scene was fantastic. There were witches and wizards wandering all around, there were a multitude of shops selling a range of fascinating things. He tried to look at the shops, all the signs, but it was too much and Lupin was moving rapidly. He asked "Where are we going to stop first?"
"At the wizard bank Gringotts. Your money is there, you have to get some of it first, no?"
"But the place is a hospital as you and aunt Tonks said yesterday."
"It is basically a goblin colony, the largest in Britain. They run the bank, have a hospital, have their residences and other utilities within it. You will see it from outside today, it looks great."
A few more steps and then they reached a circular patch of green. It was barricaded by hedges, had a few iron benches and had a fountain at the centre. Four roads seemed to go to four directions, but Lupin pointed at what lay just beyond. It was a large marble dome about two stories in height, a stenciled sign in capitals denoting the name "GRINGOTTS WIZARDING BANK" was slowly revolving around. They came near and saw a pair of semicircular entrances on the side they came from. Lupin went towards the door marked "Entrance". A goblin was standing there, dressed in chainmail and helmet, carrying a halberd. He reached up to Harry's chest and beyond him was a translucent glass door, with something written on it. The goblin bowed to the duo and opened the door. Harry tried to read what was, but Lupin pulled him in saying "It just says that try to steal from here, you'll regret it."
They descended down a flight of stairs and Harry immediately recognized the vast room down, it was where he had come yesterday. Today, he saw more of it. There were rows of counters, almost a hundred goblins dressed in formal clothes were busy in their jobs, there were many people waiting to be served, standing in queues. One side had too many doors to count; more goblins were showing people in and out of the doors. One busy impressive bank, thought little Harry. He also noticed the goblins now, they were short but had everything too long- fingers, nose, chin and had sharp canines.
Lupin talked to a free goblin "Good Morning. Young Mr. Potter here wants to make a withdrawal from his account. Hopefully your establishment will comply with his wish."
The goblin looked at Harry for a moment, then said "Sure, you would like to talk to Griphook? He has been in charge of the Potter accounts since the last heir was alive."
When Harry met the goblin, he was a middle-aged one with graying hair. He summoned Harry and Lupin to his own office and told them that Harry could access only his educational trust fund till he turns seventeen. He gave Harry a blood quill and asked him to write his own name in a parchment, then proclaimed him to be the son of James Potter and Lily Evans. Then he gave Harry a ring and told him it is a key to his vault. They had a thrilling ride down stone tunnels with torches lighting up the wall and when they reached the vault, Harry touched the door with his ring to open it and was gob smacked to see the handsome pile of gold coins that he owned but took Lupins' advice on how much to withdraw.
Harry was impressed with the service. Griphook gave him one extendable weightless pouch, he was amazed by what magic can do- it would store a lot of coins and not have much weight. He was also given a small book that would record the financial transactions over time. Finally, Griphook bowed them out.
Lupin then led Harry back to the small patch of green and began consulting the booklist. Harry looked at the signpost pointing to 4 different directions. Lupin first spoke "You should begin with the clothes and trunk shops. They are made according to your specifications and then you collect them later. Let's go."
"Will you please explain what do these 4 signs point to? What are the 4 alleys for?"
"All right. This sign points towards Diagon Alley, you have seen what it is. This one as you can see is Serve Alley, you will find it very boring at your age. This houses the magical service sector as you can say- Gringotts, Gringotts Central, The Magical Business Association and the Post Office are specific ones. Else there are law and accountancy firms, the wizard stock market, a window for wizards to invest in muggle economy, places where you can book tours to magical places globally and get port-keys, businesses that can set up specific protective wards around places and exterminate magical pest infestations, I do not know everything else present there. But you had to go to the Post Office now and send a letter to Hogwarts, telling the Depute that you have accepted the offer. Don't worry, I did that yesterday when you were having the health check-up."
Harry thought that it did sound boring and asked "Okay, now what is Diplomatic Alley for?" the road was off-limits by an impressive iron gate, with the sign stenciled on the gate too. The gate was closed; nobody was seen near it, unlike the crowd that was visible in Diagon and Serve Alleys.
"It houses the diplomatic missions by the other magical governments of the world, at least what the British Ministry maintains relations with, just like the muggle government. You cannot enter the place unless you have been issued invitations by someone living there. The British Ministry can force in when some emergency condition arises, else the place is off-limits."
"That leaves Nocturne Alley. The name itself suggests something related to the night, no?"
"Actually it is related to dark magic objects and shady people. The entrance can show you places to hire servants or place bets, but you will see other shops. They may sell unusual pets, dangerous objects, some shops don't keep a sign but you can guess what it sells and there are certain shops with blank windows but have customers. One shop sells hunting cloaks to vampires. If you can see a person's face, that can be a disguise. I would advise you to forget about the place till you get older, Harry."
That sounded interesting, but now they had to shop. First, they went to the trunk shop and he was fascinated by the customizations available, apart from the colour and internal compartments. Magical trunks could hold much more inside than outside, cancel or reduce the effect of gravity, can have legs to walk about following recognized voice commands- all had different add-on costs. Harry settled for a simple lock, three compartments, a double-space expansion charm and asked to make it weightless.
Next they went for the school uniform at a shop named Madam Malkin's. Again Harry was impressed by the magical qualities that can be added to cloths- simple, colour-changing, multi-mode, changeable as per customer wishes and magical features carried their own costs too. Lupin asked Harry to get the measurements, while he himself would buy the telescope and potion kit in the meantime.
A middle-aged woman approached Harry and asked "Beginning Hogwarts, dear?"
When he nodded, she continued "Let's start with your winter cloak. Another young lady is getting fitted with hers too right now. Lucy, take this lad and start with the cloak section."
When Harry went to the room and was standing on a stool, the assistant took a length of cloak and began to pin it to the proper length. In another stool, stood what seemed a porcelain doll with light blue eyes and honey-blond hair pulled back with a simple black hair-band but Harry noticed that it was blinking, so she was human, a girl. The face was strangely like a statue, devoid of any expression.
He felt brave, tried to strike a conversation and said "Hi, Hogwarts too?"
The girl frowned at him for a moment and then replied in a dignified voice "Good day to you, sir. Yes, I am beginning my studies at Hogwarts School this year."
Harry felt the reply was odd, but the girl now seemed to look at his clothes and raised an eyebrow, then asked in the same voice "Muggle-born, I assume?"
He mumbled for a reply but decided to speak the truth "Er, no, I am not. My parents were a wizard and a witch as far as I know."
She frowned again "May I know your name please?" and by that time her measurements were done; the sales girl aiding her helped her to step down from the school.
Harry tried to speak confidently "My name is Harry Potter."
The girl's eyes went wide for a moment, but she again frowned; then resumed her blank expression. She however bowed to him and then said "Pleased to meet you. I am Daphne, maiden of the house of Greengrass. Maybe we will meet again at school, but we may not be in the same house. Have a nice day, Mr. Potter." She then strode out of the room before Harry could say anything.
Harry's mind had an odd sensation. The girl was nothing like anybody he had seen before, but why was that bothering him? However, he shook the thought off his head and went on to give the measurements of his shirt and trousers, then bought other things like caps and waited for Lupin.
When Lupin guided him to the wand shop, "Ollivander's wand-crafting and service", he was again impressed. Mr. Ollivander was a supposed master wand-crafter of Britain and made wands suited to his customers, but there were shops in Nocturne Alley that sold readymade cheap wands. When he entered the shop, he was surprised that the silver-haired man had a thick glass-encased book made of parchment pages that seemed to understand his words and soon, details of his parent's wands appeared on the open page even as their names were spoken.
The wand making process was rather amusing to Harry. Apparently, a wand had three parts- the wood, core and handle. Ollivander measured Harry's hand and a wooden handle appeared on the table, a perfect match for Harry's grip. It was the easiest part of the three, Harry learnt.
He was then led to the back of the shop. Outside, he found a small forest full of trees in an open space. Ollivander asked him to close his eyes and walk a few steps on the dirt track. Within seconds, Harry felt a faint pull within him, turned his face towards the direction and opened his eyes. He was staring at one of the trees, Ollivander simply said "Elm wood then" and ushered him inside.
Ollivander suddenly made three glass boxes appear on the table. One had a long feather with red and gold streaks, another had a strand of fine hair seemingly made of sliver and another had a string that seemed to reflect the light of the room. He asked Harry to touch each of them; the feather glowed automatically when touched while others remained the same.
"You have an affinity for phoenix feather Mr. Potter. Interesting, people who bond with this type of core have both the wish and capacity to develop themselves. Now, I have to be more specific."
Moments later, the three boxes vanished and several phoenix feathers appeared on the table. Harry was asked to simply place his hand a little above the table and close his eyes. Soon, one of the feathers flew to his hand and every strand of it glowed. Ollivander then produced a block of wood out of nowhere and asked Harry to place the feather on it. He then looked at the wood for a moment, then picked up all- the handle, the feather and the wood and vanished through a door, to reappear five minutes later.
"Phoenix father and elm wood, fourteen and half inches- that's the perfect match for you. Take it Mr. Potter and give it a single wave to confirm that it has suited you. Then I will give you a proper wand holster for your wand, made of dragon-hide leather."
Harry had just taken the wand in his grip when it hummed strongly. He gave it a wave, bright sparks shot out of it with a crackling sound. The wooden stick suddenly felt part of him for some reason.
Ollivander then brought out a wand holster for him and muttered to the book, as if updating records. He frowned at the writing formed on the page and then muttered "Why, it's very curious indeed."
Both Harry and Lupin asked the reason, the answer was disturbing to Harry and was ringing out in his ears even when he went out of the shop. Lupin, however did not seem disturbed after a short while.
"Mr. Potter, my family always created the best quality wands from phoenix feather, unicorn mane and dragon heartstring. Every wand core is unique, just as each one of these magnificent creatures is unique. Now, a feather from the same phoenix was used only once, in my father's time. The owner is the person who gave you that scar. Same core and length, but made of yew- very powerful in the hands of the wielder. It's the wielder's choice to do right or wrong. We must expect you to be a great wizard; after all He who must not be named was a terrible wizard but a great one indeed."
Lupin guided Harry to an ice-cream parlor in the Alley and asked him to choose from the menu card. He chose vanilla with chocolate topping, but was still worried. Lupin noticed him and said "Still worried, Harry? Why can you not see the simple fact that the wood that suited the two of you is different? That does mean that the two of you have different natures as far as I know. "
Harry suddenly felt better. He could not yet trust Lupin fully but suddenly felt an urge to talk of the girl he met in the robe shop. When Lupin heard it all, he shrugged it off "She was just being formal with you; it seems that she is well trained in wizard etiquette."
"And the school house she was referring to?"
"The school has four houses; students are sorted into them when they attend the school. They are named after the four founders. It often runs in families, your parents were in Gryffindor, as well as I. Slytherin house is the most infamous one. It had turned out many wizards and witches who went bad, that Lord himself and many of his followers in recent times belonged to that house."
Harry gulped, but now focused on the ice-cream, which was very good. After that, he visited the book store and then wanted to spend a long time on it, but Lupin advised against it. "Let's get your school books now, Harry. If you read that extra book that I have given you, then you will learn more about magic and know what to look for. Else, it is like moving through a dense forest at night. Let's place the order for the entire first-year list, but I have to show you something you may like. Else, you will be totally lost. Come this way with me, I have something to show you."
They proceeded to the children's section and Harry was surprised beyond his wits when he found a gallery of comics bearing his name. He rummaged through a few, apart from the moving pictures; those showed him hazel-eyed, the colour of James's eyes and doing things that he never did. His scar was showed prominently, he absent-mindedly touched the bandage on his forehead.
Next, they visited the trunk and robe shops, those were ready by now. Lupin then took him to Eyelops Owl Emporium and ten minutes later, they left the shop carrying a tawny owl within a cage, supposedly with the money left by Andromeda. Lupin told him that species native to Britain does not stand out, snowy owls are pretty but not local and raise doubts for observers. Harry wanted to thank his aunt while Lupin told him the difference between ordinary and magical owls. Magic owls are used by wizards to deliver letters, they have been used for a long time.
Magical owls may look like ordinary owls, but they understood human speech far better and have an amazing sense of direction. The most unique feature was that they can sense magical signatures and if they know the magical core of a person, they can find that person anywhere on earth, though it takes more time with distance. Other birds are also used for same purpose sometimes.
They stopped for some time at the Leaky Cauldron, the place seemed to serve good food. Harry had a good lunch with Lupin, then felt heavy hearted when he realized that he had to go back to Privet Drive. Lupin then handed him an envelope that contained a ticket for the Hogwarts Express that departs on September first, then took him to the alleyway opposite the pub again and taught him how to get back.
"I am now showing you how to summon a Knight Bus. They are a fleet of buses that ply throughout Britain, transport for the stranded magical. The total number is a tiny fraction of the number of muggle buses, but you can go anywhere on Britain. The bus will directly take you or contact another bus to continue your journey. Surrey will take just one bus from here, Hogwarts a few more. Stick your back to the wall and point your wand upward like this, be careful the first time."
A minute later, Harry had several questions in his mind. How did the huge Purple Knight Bus fit into the small alleyway when summoned? It was also absurdly fast and how could the muggles not see it in full daylight while it gave no consideration to lane and speed? He held on to his seat firmly, else it would have been a nightmarish experience.
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