Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and I would never dream of making any money off it. It all belongs solely to J.K. Rowling.
Chapter Two – School Shopping
By Shadow of the Blue Moon
The next morning, Harry rose at five-thirty in the morning, as that was the time he was used to waking up at. Aunt Petunia always woke him up at that time, so he could cook their breakfast for them and get to school on time. Then, he realised he wasn't at the Dursleys' and never had to go back to the Dursleys', as he had run away, and now he was staying in the Leaky Cauldron. He lay in bed for ten more minutes, trying to get some more sleep – and then, as it clearly wasn't working, decided to get up.
After showering with warm water for as long as he liked – something he'd never been allowed to do at the Dursleys' – he went back to his room to dress in another set of robes. These ones, instead of being black like the ones he had worn yesterday, were green. According to Madam Malkin, they made his eyes stand out more, so hopefully people wouldn't be drawn to his scar. Then, putting on a black hat that covered his hair – and more importantly, his scar – and taking his book, he felt ready to go.
Slipping his wand into his wand holster, before attaching it to his left arm – it was going to take some time for him to learn to automatically draw it out when he needed it – he decided to make his way downstairs and see if there was any breakfast ready. But when he made his way down, he found Tom had just begun to make breakfast, so he'd need to wait a little. "'Morning, Mr. Evans," Tom said when he noticed Harry. "Breakfast's at seven to nine, as it's a Sunday, but I can rustle something up for you as you're early."
"It's alright, Tom," Harry said. He glanced around the bar for an empty table to take a seat at, although there didn't seem to be one. There were many tables with only one person there, who would most likely be unconscious for a few more hours. Bottles of Firewhisky – the wizarding world equivalent of alcohol – were in front of many people, although they weren't drinking them currently. Eventually, Harry decided to just sit down on an empty seat and sat down to wait while reading his book.
"What do you want for breakfast, Mr. Evans?" Tom called when he noticed Harry had sat down. "It's the standard fare. You can either eat it here or you can eat it in your room. If you're not too fussed about things like cleanliness, here should be fine. If you don't like to stay here – and they won't be awake for a few more hours, especially after last night's party – I'd suggest your room. Evangeline will bring it up." He nodded to a blond witch most likely in her twenties, who was cleaning glasses nearby.
"I'll have breakfast in my room, if that isn't any bother," Harry said, glancing around at the drunken people occupying the bar's many tables. "Could I possibly have a slice of toast with some butter, along with a rasher of bacon and some eggs? I'll drink Butterbeer, but if you've run out, just water will be fine. How much is all of that?"
"That'll be 10 Galleons," Tom said. "But that's alright. Evangeline, deliver it to this guy when I'm done making it. He's in Room 12." Evangeline nodded, and Harry paid Tom before going back to his room. After about twenty minutes, a knock on the door came. Harry rushed to open it for the person who wanted to enter, which turned out to be Evangeline with a breakfast tray, who placed it on a small table in his room. He thanked her, and gave her a silver Sickle as a tip.
Then, he continued reading An Introduction to the Wizarding World – he had finished over half of the book by now, and had learned quite a lot about the 'basics' of the wizarding world – while eating his breakfast. His breakfast, while tasting nothing like the food at the Dursleys', was still surprisingly good. He finished it quickly, and while he wasn't that full, but wasn't that hungry either, decided against ordering even more. He could have a bigger lunch if necessary later.
.
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After he had finished his breakfast and taken the tray back downstairs, Harry went back to Diagon Alley to finish his shopping. While he had finished the majority of his shopping and bought the most important things, being his trunk, books, clothing and wand, he still had to buy a Potions kit, a telescope and stationery. He also had to pick up his trunk from Lucky Luggage, and there were several items he wanted to buy, even if they weren't on the Hogwarts list, such as a bookbag and some new glasses.
After he found out what the time was – he asked Tom, who showed him the Tempus Charm that told the time – he decided that he should wait for a while in his room. Mr. Porter said that 'any time after eight in the morning' was when he should pick his trunk up, meaning he still had to wait for about an hour. The shops probably weren't open yet, as it was a Sunday, so he finished reading An Introduction to the Wizarding World while he was waiting. At seven-forty-five, he set off to Lucky Luggage.
When Harry entered Lucky Luggage, at exactly eight, Mr. Porter was already there. He was currently busy with some 'parchmentwork' – the wizarding equivalent of 'paperwork', as they didn't use paper – behind the counter. As Harry stepped into the shop, Mr. Porter looked up from his paperwork. "Ah, so you're back, Mr. Evans," he said. "Your trunk's ready, as I promised, and it's a real beauty too. Would you like to take a look here, or would you like to take it to wherever you're staying without looking at it first?"
"I think I'll have a look here," Harry said. "I don't know how to 'work' these trunks, and I'd appreciate a walk-through."
"Of course, Mr. Evans," Mr. Porter said. He quickly set his parchmentwork aside, laid his quill down and capped his ink bottle, before leading Harry over to the same section marked 'Wizard-Spaced: Grand'. It was the same section that Harry had chosen his trunk from yesterday, and he could see the one he had chosen, as it had a large red sign saying 'SOLD' in front of it, as well as several changes to how it looked yesterday, as it had a lock with a place to put your finger, instead of the standard lock.
"Now, the trunk is currently set to no fingerprint, and it's unlocked, but I'll show you how to lock it to yourself when we come out of the trunk," Mr. Porter said, opening Harry's trunk to reveal five compartments, all packed together and with black covers over each of them. However, there was one compartment which was already full, although it was small, which contained a copy of Hogwarts: A History, as well as a pot of ink. Mr. Porter tapped twice on the bottle of ink, and then thrice on the book
Immediately, the seven compartments began to squish together and a large hole opened with a staircase. "You've got to tap twice, then thrice, for it to work," Mr. Porter said when he saw Harry's questioning looks. "But don't worry, nothing will get broken, everything just gets shrunken and then it'll automatically get bigger when you come out, or when you decide to close the hole from inside your trunk, which I'll show you how to do later, once the 'tour' is done. Would you like to go in first?"
"Sure," Harry said, shrugging. He went down the steps, which led to a short hallway – lit with only one lamp – that ended at a sturdy brown door. It had a gold knocker in the shape of a lion, but as Mr. Porter explained, Harry could change it if he wasn't in Gryffindor to either an eagle, a badger or a snake by saying "Changeo Badger" or whatever animal he wanted it to be. However, it would only work for those four animals. There was a black doormat under the carpet, which said 'Welcome' in swirly gold letters.
Mr. Porter then showed Harry where to touch his hand to and what to say, so the door would accept Harry and Harry only as the rightful owner of the place. That meant only Harry could open the door now, and if anyone else tried, they would be immediately 'stunned' and Harry would be alerted. Mr. Porter then explained that 'stunned' meant they would be knocked unconscious by an automatic Stunning Spell, Stupefy, and an alert ward that was keyed to Harry would be triggered.
Harry then opened the door to see a large living room, which was, according to Mr. Porter, 3.7 x 5.5 meters in size, or 12 x 18 feet. The room was carpeted in rich black carpeting that reached from wall to wall, and the ceiling was 'charmed' to match the outside sky of wherever the trunk was. As it was a nice, sunny day, the ceiling was a sky blue and had white, fluffy clouds drifting across it. The walls matched the ceiling, and were 'charmed' to match the sky as well.
On the wall to the right of the entrance door, there was a window seat which spanned half the wall, with a window that was charmed to match the outside of wherever the trunk was. On the walls either side of the window seat, there were several white sofas. Next to the door and one of the white sofas, there was a shoe cupboard with an empty picture frame hanging above it. Opposite the window seat was a bookshelf that spanned the entire wall. Opposite the door was a hallway which led off to several more rooms.
The hallway had seven doors leading off it, as Harry found out when they stepped into the hallway. Instead of having candles, Mr. Porter had put modern lightbulbs around the trunk instead, like the ones that Muggles had. "I've used runes to make sure they work, and there's a null-magic area around the lightbulbs. You'll need to change them every so often, which I can help with," Mr. Porter said. "The electricity fees will be sent to Gringotts, who will pay for it with money from your account."
"Thanks, Mr. Porter," Harry said. "I don't mind that, as lightbulbs make the place much brighter and they're much nicer." The two headed to the first door on the left, which turned out to be a Muggle-style kitchen, with modern appliances such as refrigerators, a microwave and an oven. It wasn't very big – it was actually slightly on the small side – but it would do more than well enough for Harry. Aunt Petunia would have been very happy to have a kitchen like this, even if the size was a 'con'.
The kitchen was a sleek, modern kitchen like the ones Aunt Petunia was always reading about. There was a stove on the side opposite the door, with an oven and a microwave near the stove. On the walls on the left and right of the door, there were long counters with a sink on the left side and a refrigerator on the right. Above the counters were cupboards with glass doors that was filled with some food under a Stasis Charm, and under the counters were more cupboards filled with pots and pans.
Harry 'explored' it for a bit, testing the sink – "Your water fees will be sent to Gringotts, who'll use your money to pay for it," Mr. Porter explained – and the Muggle appliances to see if they worked. Surprisingly, they all did, although when tested, Harry couldn't cast any magic in about half a meter around those objects. "It's the null-magic area," Mr. Porter said. "I studied Ancient Runes to a Mastery level when I was at Hogwarts, and I'm using my knowledge to create these things. You won't find them anywhere else."
The next door on the left of the hallway was a bathroom. "You'll have two bathrooms and two bedrooms," Mr. Porter told Harry. "The bathrooms and the bedrooms are the same, practically copies of each other, except 'flipped' as they're on opposite sides of the hallway, so you don't need to tour them, really." Harry decided to take Mr. Porter's suggestion on board, as he knew he had a lot more shopping to do and not that much time to wander around here.
The bathroom had a large bathtub opposite the door, which had a shower at the wall and a black curtain that could be pulled around it. There were several taps around the bathtub, which were all marked with letters. There was a toilet to the left of the door, with a marble sink opposite it. A large mirror the width of the sink which stretched to the ceiling was above the sink. A bath mat was placed on the ground and there was a towel rack on the right of the toilet, next to the bathtub.
"What are all the taps for?" Harry asked, pointing at them.
"Oh, those are just for fun, really," Mr. Porter said. "The letters correspond to the thing that comes out of the taps. For example, 'B' means 'Bubbles', which will immediately fill the tub. You should have fun testing all of them out, as they're based on the ones in the Hogwarts Prefects' Bathroom." Seeing Harry's confused face, he explained, "At Hogwarts, there's a special bathroom for the prefects. There's a bathtub there the size of a swimming pool, with about a hundred taps around it."
The next room, a bedroom, was very comfortable. There was a large window on the wall opposite the door, and a decent-sized bed was right next to the window, with the 'head' of the bed against the wall on the right of the door. Next to the bed was a set of drawers and a large desk with several drawers. Next to it was a wardrobe that spanned the length of the wall. The floor, like the living room, was carpeted in black, while the walls were also 'charmed' to match the sky, like the living room.
After 'touring' the bedroom, Harry went to the library. The library was at the very end of the hallway, and felt like it was the largest room so far, excluding the living room. "It's also a storage room, actually," Mr. Porter said. "At the end, there's a door which leads to another, small room where you can store your unused things. That's why it's so big." That was because there were several shelves, which were empty. Windows went down one wall, letting in some natural light. Beanbags were scattered about the library.
Finally, Harry went to the dining room, which had a door that directly faced the kitchen door. (He decided to skip the second bedroom and bathroom, as Mr. Porter had said that it was exactly the same as the ones he had already toured.) Inside, there was a long wooden table with four chairs on each long side and one at either end. Another of those 'charmed' windows let in some light, but there were still a ceiling lamp with those lightbulbs. There was a picture of a large castle, which Harry learnt was Hogwarts.
Then, they made their way back out into the living room. "This place is rather large, don't you think?" Harry said. "How did you do it? I know the trunk can't be that big."
"It's actually another dimension," Mr. Porter said. "I learnt Enchanting when I was younger, and one of those topics that we learnt about was dimensions. Once I learnt house-elves can Apparate into other dimensions, I longed to be able to travel into other dimensions. Sadly, as I found out through more research, it's impossible and anyone who has ever traveled into an unknown and unexplored dimension has either never come back or has come back broken and mad.
"But I still wanted to be able to travel into other dimensions. Instead, I decided that I would make my own dimensions, which would be safe for everyone to go to and use, in the form of mini 'homes' at the largest, and simple rooms at the smallest. So, really–" Mr. Porter then stood and spread his arms out "–this is another dimension. We're not on 'Earth' anymore, we're somewhere else now. And I suppose this could be called 'Potter's Dimension', or something. You'll learn about this stuff if you take Enchanting."
"It sounds quite fascinating," Harry said. "Oh, but weren't you going to show me how to close the 'hole' from the inside?"
"Oh, of course!" Mr. Porter said. "Watch me carefully, and then you can have a go."
Once Harry and Mr. Porter were back up the stairs and properly back in Mr. Porter's shop, Harry turned to Mr. Porter. "Thank you, Mr. Porter," Harry said. "It's very well done." Taking out his money pouch, he pulled a hundred and fifty Galleons out of it and handed it to Mr. Porter. "Here's the other half of the money I owe you for this trunk," Harry said, upon seeing Mr. Porter's surprised expression. Mr. Porter, once he put the Galleons into his own pouch, handed Harry the trunk and the two bid each other goodbye.
.
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Once Harry had dropped the trunk off in his room at the Leaky Cauldron, he made his way back to Diagon Alley so he could finish his shopping. Even though he had already bought the main things – clothes, books, a wand and a trunk – he still had other things to buy for Hogwarts, the largest and bulkiest of which was the Potions kit that he needed for Hogwarts. Plus, that required a bit of wandering around, so he might be able to pick up other supplies on his way.
According to the list of Hogwarts supplies, he needed a kit of potions ingredients, a set of glass or crystal vials, a set of brass scales and a pewter cauldron, standard size 2. First, he went to buy the cauldron, as there was a cauldron shop opposite the Leaky Cauldron's entrance to Diagon Alley – the one he had seen on the first day. Even though it had a prime position, there were very few customers inside the small shop, which was crowded full of cauldrons of different sizes, shapes and materials.
"It's my fault for making the cauldrons last so long because of the high quality," the owner grumbled to Harry as he helped Harry shrink the cauldron he had bought. "That's why there are no customers – it's because no one needs a new cauldron for a very long time, and besides, most people don't bother with making their own potions after they've graduated from Hogwarts. They'd rather buy their potions from proper shops, and those shops have got their own cauldrons and don't need to bother with mine."
After buying the cauldron, he walked for about ten minutes before he found a small shop which sold sets of glass and crystal phials. Again, there were few people to be found in this shop, and Harry thought that this time it was because of where it was situated – not on the main street, but tucked away in a spot which required quite a bit of walking through alleys to get to. However, the owner was adamant that it was because of the time – "It's not yet August," the owner said. "That's why there ain't many folks here."
Once he made his way back to the main street of Diagon Alley, he went to Slugs & Jiggers Apothecary. Though the name was a bit odd, many people went in and out of the apothecary, carrying bulging bags and chatting about their purchases. Inside, Harry found a pretty good potions ingredient kit, complete with several rare-sounding ingredients such as 'unicorn horns'. When he went to buy it, however, the cashier warned him that as a first-year, he wouldn't be using all these ingredients.
"Why not?" Harry asked. "Doesn't potions use a lot of ingredients?"
"Well, in this set, there are some ingredients here are only used in potions that are rather complicated," the cashier explained. "As a first-year, you definitely won't be mixing any of those potions yet. For the rarer ingredients, you'll only be using them by fourth year at the earliest, and that's only if you're very good at Potions. Are you still sure you want to buy this set, or do you want to buy the first-year's set?" He picked up another set, which was much smaller and much more simple.
"No, I think I'll buy the second-year's set," Harry said. "I'm not planning on coming in here for a while, and I might need some extra ingredients."
"You can always ask for it by owl," the cashier suggested. "For example, say you're running out of belladonna. Then, you can owl us a complete mail order form – Hogwarts has some owls if you don't have your own to use – and request more, as well as sending the money for it. Here's the catalogue if you want it, and a mail order form." He picked up both and handed them to Harry, who eventually decided to buy the first-year's set. The cashier shrunk it, handed it to Harry, who paid for it and left the store.
Afterwards, Harry headed to a shop called Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment to buy his brass scales, passing a shop named Eeylops Owl Emporium. Even though he had only been in the wizarding world for a day, he already knew the importance of owls. I should buy an owl as well, Harry thought. Even though he had no one to write to, he might still like to have an owl – it would be a nice companion, anyway, and more convenient than using the post office's owls. He decided to buy his owl later.
After stopping in Wisacre's Wizarding Equipment, he headed to Twinkle's Telescopes to buy his telescope for astronomy, choosing the most basic telescope. He had no intention of pursuing a career in Astronomy, and buying a complicated telescope would be a waste of time. As he went on his way to the check-out counter, he paused to look at a perfect, moving model of the galaxy. With that, he would never need to do any work in Astronomy, but when he looked at the price, he was shocked and left it alone.
The final stop before going to Eeylops Owl Emporium was Scribbulus Writing Implements. This, too, was a busy shop with plenty of customers wandering in and out, showing off their purchases to their friends and chatting about them. It was a large store, and many people were looking at stationery and oohing and aahing over a section marked 'Latest Arrivals'. Apparently, the theme was currently 'Sunny Summer Stationery', as proclaimed by a banner just below the 'Latest Arrivals' sign.
Harry wandered around that shop for about half-an-hour, picking up quite an amount of stationery along the way. By the time he got to the counter, he needed a basket to hold all his purchases: a dozen quills, a dozen large bottles of black ink, a few bottles of blue ink, fourteen medium-sized notebooks, seven binders, seven zip-lock folders, a magical paperweight which looked like a model of the galaxy, two rulers, a pair of scissors, a giant stack of parchment and a pencil case with several pockets to store everything in.
After putting all his stationery down on the counter, he asked the sales assistant if they stocked bookbags here. However, he was told that they did not, as 'this was a stationery shop, not a luggage shop, and anyway, they were never big sellers in this shop'. But when he asked for possible places to buy a paperweight, he was directed to several shops that sold luggage of different sorts, one of which was Lucky Luggage. Harry mentally made a note to himself that he needed to go back there, perhaps after lunch.
Next stop was Eeylops Owl Emporium, located at 521 Diagon Alley, on the north side. While there were many different colours and species of owls in cages outside the shop, which stared curiously at passersby, the inside of the shop was rather small and dark, as Harry noticed when he walked in. Immediately, he felt himself being pulled to a snowy-white owl, which had a larger cage that was situated right next to the counter. A middle-aged man sat behind the counter, doodling and occasionally looking up at the owl.
"I'll take the snowy-white one, please," Harry said, walking up to the man behind the counter. "How much is the owl?"
"Well, she's fifteen Galleons, but there's also the cost of a cage, a perch and treats to account for," the man said. "But it's not really about the cost, as she also bites hard. She's bitten me several times when I've given her a couple of treats. She bites everyone, come to think of it." The two looked over at the owl, who 'clacked' her beak at the man, although she seemed to simply stare at Harry. "Are you still sure you want to buy her, or would you like to select another owl? We have several snowy owls."
"Thank you for your concern, but I just have the feeling she's the perfect owl for me. I'll take her," Harry said. "How much is a cage, a perch and a year's worth of owl treats?"
"If you're going to Hogwarts, I'd say that six months' worth is enough," the man said. "A cage'll be two Galleons, a perch two Galleons and six months' worth of owl treats will be ten. So... twenty-nine Galleons then. If you buy something else, it could be thirty. A water bowl, maybe?" Harry agreed with everything, and handed over the thirty Galleons to the man and took the cage, perch, owl – in its new cage, owl treats and water bowl. Then, he returned to the Leaky Cauldron to put everything down, as well as eat lunch.
.
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Back at the Leaky Cauldron, Harry set everything down in categories of what they were, and opened his trunk. He had already decided that Hogwarts things would go in the compartments at the top of the trunk, while everything else would go into the apartment, so it would be more convenient for when he was at Hogwarts. Textbooks would go with textbooks, while non-textbooks would go with non-textbooks, and so on. There was also a way to label the compartments, which Harry decided to make use of.
Firstly, the largest section went to clothing. Surprisingly, there wasn't much Hogwarts clothing that he owned, as the list only said 'three sets of work robes (black), one plain pointed hat (black) for day wear, one pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar), one winter clock (black, with silver fastenings)'. That didn't take up much space in the section, although when Harry added another black hat, another winter cloak, underwear, socks, pants, shirts, pajamas and a pair of shoes, it did take up the whole section.
The next largest section went to the books. There was The Standard Book of Spells by Miranda Goshawk, A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot, Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling, A Beginner's 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 and The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble, all necessary for Hogwarts classes.
The next section went to his Potions kit, as it was rather large and he didn't want to break anything, and his Astronomy equipment. That meant there was a set of crystal phials, a set of brass scales, a telescope, a cauldron and his potions ingredients kit there. It all fit perfectly fine, but after consulting The Standard Book of Spells for a similar spell, he decided to cast a Cushioning Charm around the section. That was just in case, as his Potions kit and things were surprisingly expensive.
The last section went to his stationery and his owl treats he had bought for his owl – who he had named 'Hedwig', a name which he had found in one of his textbooks, A History of Magic. Everything he had bought was simply stored there – no need for sorting the stationery or the owl treats out into sections of 'Hogwarts' and 'personal' as all the stuff Harry had bought was for Hogwarts. There was still space, which Harry left for his soon-to-be-bought bookbag. Again, he cast a Cushioning Charm around the section.
After sorting and labeling everything, Harry decided to transport the rest of the things into his apartment, as there was quite a lot of non-Hogwarts things he had purchased. He first shrunk everything again, carried it all down and 'Finite Incantatem'ed everything again. First was the books, which he put into his library by category, then by alphabetical order. The shelves still looked rather empty, but that was okay, as he knew the library would fill up as time went by and he bought more and more non-Hogwarts books.
Next was the clothing. He decided to keep all his clothing and personal effects in the first bedroom and bathroom next to the kitchen, and use the opposite side as a 'guest' bedroom if necessary in the future, or if he needed somewhere else to stay as something had gone wrong with the bedroom or bathroom he was currently using. He had a slight problem when it came to organising the clothing as he had never done that before, but eventually decided to organise it by what they were – pants with pants and so on.
Once he was done, Harry surveyed each room, as well as the hallway – he simply loved the electricity and the running water. They all looked rather empty, as he seemed to have a lot less things than he thought he would, but he hoped that over time the apartment would become more full and feel more like 'home'. He found he was satisfied with that, so he climbed out, re-locked his trunk, and decided to go to Flourish & Blotts first to buy some more new books to fill his library up.
So, back to Flourish & Blotts he went. The assistant that had helped him yesterday was still there, and she greeted him cheerfully. "Hello, dear," she said. "Have you come back to buy more books to read, or are you just browsing?" When Harry replied that he wanted to buy some more books, she went on, "My, you certainly do love reading. Is there anything you're looking for in particular or any special topics? We're still having a sale on those Harry Potter books, so might I suggest those?"
"I'm looking for some Muggle books to read, as well as maybe some Harry Potter books," Harry said. "Could you lead me to the relevant sections? I'm also looking for wizarding fiction books to read that aren't just Harry Potter books, like what teenagers or pre-teens would usually read in the wizarding world. I don't necessarily want any more non-fiction books, but if there are any that I come across that I like, I think I might like to have a look at books that talk about the same or similar topic or topics."
"Of course, we have a wide range of topics and books," the sales assistant said, leading Harry around. In the Harry Potter section, he chose books published by Obscurus Books and written by Roy E. Locket-Hargild (the publisher and author of Harry Potter: The Boy-Who-Lived); in the Muggle section, he picked out several old classics that Aunt Petunia liked to read (Little Women and Pride and Prejudice) and in the wizarding world's section, he picked out a couple of books that looked good.
When Harry took the books up to pay for them, he found a book titled A Guide to Letter-Writing. He thought that might be useful, so decided to buy that as well, bringing the total up to ten Galleons. Once he had paid, he had them shrunk, and headed to Lucky Luggage to buy his bookbag for Hogwarts. Even though it wasn't on the list of required supplies, Harry still thought it might be useful to have, so he didn't have to carry his books around in his arms all day long.
.
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Mr. Porter was surprised, but pleased, to see Harry again. "Hello," Mr. Porter said when Harry walked in. "Have you come to buy something else today, or is there something wrong with your trunk?" Surprisingly, Harry wasn't the only one in the store this time – there was another girl, who looked about Hogwarts-age, who was there with a woman that was probably her mother. She had long, black hair and black eyes, and pale skin, so was probably Asian. She winked at Harry as she passed by him, who blushed.
"I'm looking for a bookbag for Hogwarts," Harry said. "I'd prefer one with compartments and can hold more than it looks from the outside, but if you don't have one like that, I'll settle for a normal bookbag like the ones Muggles have, although they call it 'schoolbags' when they use it for school."
"Ah, I see," Mr. Porter said. "Well, we have some splendid bookbags here in Lucky Luggage, and you should probably be able to find one that suits you. Come over, and you can choose one from these, which suit what you want – some have compartments, and all of them have Undetectable Expansion Charms on them." He led Harry over to a shelf where many leather bookbags that were either brown, black or white stood, separated by 'Has Compartments' and 'Has No Compartments'. "So, which one would you like?"
Harry walked up and down the shelf for a few minutes, before pointing to one on the 'Has Compartments' side. "I'd like to have a look at that one, please," he said. Mr. Porter took it down for Harry, who had a look at the compartments and the style, before saying, "Yeah, I'll take this one. Can you help me add the things like a Featherweight Charm, my name and things like that, just like you did on my trunk? I'd like to have the Featherweight Charm, the Hogwarts crest and my name, please."
"Of course, I can do that," Mr. Porter said. "You'll have to come and pick it up in an hour's time, though, so about... three-thirty to four? Of course, if you're unavailable then, you can always pick it up tomorrow if you want. I'll have it done in an hour's time, anyway. Do you still want the Notice-Me-Not over your name for now, that can be removed by another 'Finite Incantatem', or should I simply just not bother with the Notice-Me-Not this time?"
"I'll take the Notice-Me-Not," Harry said. "How much do I owe you for this bag?"
"10 Galleons," Mr. Porter said. "Again, you can pay me 5 Galleons now, and pay me it later when you come to pick it up. I find that way gives both customers and myself assurance, as in the case they decide to cancel the order, I still have half the money, and they don't worry I'm not going to deliver, as they know I'm still waiting on the other half of the money they owe me for the bag or trunk or whatever they've bought." Harry nodded, and handed over the five Galleons.
The next thing Harry decided to do was find an optician, or the equivalent in the wizarding world, so he could get new glasses. He was alright with his old glasses, but as they were rather grubby and had been broken and taped back together several times, he didn't want to show up at Hogwarts with those. In the wizarding world, though, it looked like everyone that needed glasses could afford them, so they couldn't be too expensive as they all looked nice and new.
Unfortunately, it was more difficult than Harry thought to find a glasses shop or an optician, so he eventually decided to ask a passerby. "Excuse me, ma'am, but is there a shop that sells glasses nearby, or is there an optician nearby in the Alley?" Harry asked a woman who looked nice. She was also one of the very few that looked friendly and wasn't currently with a friend, or a group of people that surrounded her, all chatting animatedly.
The woman smiled. "Of course, dearie," the woman said. "The only opticians are at St. Mungo's, but you'll need an appointment as well as your magical guardian. So if you're looking for an optician, I'd say you'll have a chance of getting an appointment within the next week or so. But if you're in a hurry, there's a glasses shop, Super Spectacles, owned by Mr. Ollivander. He's the brother of Ollivander, who works at the wand shop." She pointed north to show Harry the direction.
"Thank you, ma'am," Harry said. Following the woman's directions, he soon found the Super Spectacles shop. It was a small, white shop, although some of the paint had chipped away, revealing the grey stone underneath. The sign read 'Super Spectacles' in swirly writing and had glasses on the edge of the sign for decoration. There was a door with an 'Open' sign in the window, with a faded grey 'Welcome' mat underneath. As it was such a small shop, there was no display window.
Once Harry entered the shop, he was greeted with a brightly-lit shop with shelves upon shelves of glasses. There were a few chairs on the side, as well as a 'consultation area', which was basically the same as a Muggle optician's consulting area, but the chair a usual optician would have was replaced by a chair that was rather like a Muggle dentist chair. Once he stepped in, a bell tinkled and an old man turned from where he had been tidying the shelves to greet Harry.
"Hello, young man," the old man, who was presumably Mr. Ollivander, said. "Are you here to have a look– dear me, that simply just won't do!"
"Pardon?" Harry asked. "What won't do?"
"Your glasses, of course," Mr. Ollivander said. "They're Muggle ones, which simply don't work for us wizarding folk unless they're charmed. But the ones you're wearing have no charms whatsoever on them, as well as being of poor quality even compared to Muggle glasses." He took a step closer to Harry. "Also, if I'm right, those glasses are a poor match for you. I can always check my hunch with magic, and then you can buy a new pair of glasses. May I take a look at your glasses?"
"Of course," Harry said, handing Mr. Ollivander his glasses. "I'd actually quite like to buy a new pair of glasses today."
Mr. Ollivander took them, pointed to the chair in the 'consulting area' and said, "Sit down there, please. I'd like to have a look at your eyes, and then the glasses." Once Harry had sat down, he waved his wand at Harry's eyes and muttered a few spells, frowning when he was finished. Then he cast some spells on the glasses, before handing the glasses back to Harry. "Well, I have to say I was right about the 'poor match' thing," he said. "They're a very poor match, and do nothing to help your eyes."
"Well, as I'd like to buy new glasses today, I suppose you can help me buy a pair that actually do suit my eyes?" Harry asked.
"Of course," Mr. Ollivander said. "You've come to the right place if you want that. Come on, you can wander amongst my shelves and choose a frame that you like. If you like the style, but not the colour, I can change the colour for you, so there are no worries about that. Just focus on the style you do like, not the colour, and while you do that, I'll get my Charms folder. You can then use that to pick out some Charms you'd like me to put on your glasses permanently, such as the Self-Cleaning Charm."
Harry rose from the 'consulting chair' and looked around the shop. Shelves literally covered the entire shop's walls, holding many different types, styles, shapes and colours of glasses. Soon, one caught his eye, an oval shape with a silver frame and arms. He took them down from the shelf and took a look at himself in the mirror in the 'consulting area', finding that he rather liked how they looked on him. "How do I look?" Harry asked his mirror-self, and was shocked to hear the mirror reply that he looked good.
Next, he decided to buy a pair of sunglasses, just so they could shield his face. While they all looked similar, he ended up trying on several pairs before finding a style that he thought looked good on him and he liked – a style named 'Ray-Bans'. There was a single, wrap-around lens, with no frames except for the top, and black arms. It hid the most noticeable part of his face – his bright green eyes – and therefore, made it much harder for anyone to recognise him.
By now, Mr. Ollivander was back, holding his Charms folder, but was simply watching Harry choose his glasses. Harry picked up the 'Ray-Bans' he had been holding, then went over and picked up the oval glasses, before going back to the 'consulting area'. "I'll take these two styles, please," Harry told Mr. Ollivander, handing the two glasses over to Mr. Ollivander. "I'd like the sunglasses to also be adjusted to suit my eyes, if that's possible, but if not I'll simply have them unsuited to my eyes and unchanged."
"Very well," Mr. Ollivander said. "I'm sure I can adjust the 'Ray-Bans', though. I'll just adjust the lenses to suit your eyes, but while I'm doing that, you can take a look at my folder and choose some Charms you'd like me to apply onto your lenses. There's no maximum, although it's safer to have less – 'Less is more', as I've learnt – because some Charms may conflict with each other." He handed Harry a slim white folder with 'Charms' written onto the front, and disappeared through the door in the 'consulting area'.
After ten minutes, the old man returned, holding both the glasses and sunglasses. "Have you chosen yet, or would you like me to give you a little more time?"
"Yes, I've chosen," Harry said, handing the folder back. "I'd like to have the Impervious, Self-Cleaning, Anti-Legilimency and the Self-Repair Charms on both the glasses and the sunglasses, please. When should I pick up the glasses and sunglasses, or should I just sit here in the shop and wait for you to finish?"
"Come back in an hour and I'll have these ready for you," Mr. Ollivander said. "You can pay me then, and the total will be about 15 Galleons, in case you need to get some more money out of Gringotts." Harry nodded in agreement, and then left Super Spectacles and Mr. Ollivander.
.
.
Harry then spent the next half-hour sitting in Florean Fortescue's shop, Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlour. It sold ice-creams, as its name suggested, and Harry decided to buy a chocolate-flavoured ice-cream with chocolate chips on it, medium size. After all, there were so many good things to celebrate: it was summer, Harry was free from the Dursleys, he was rich and could afford to buy anything he wanted. Then, once he was done with his ice-cream, he made his way down to Lucky Luggage to pick up his bookbag.
When Harry walked into Lucky Luggage, Mr. Porter welcomed Harry enthusiastically. "I must say, it's a very good bag, one of the best I've ever done for any student," Mr. Porter told Harry. "Would you like me to show you how it's like and how it works, or do you just want to take it?"
"It would be nice if you showed me how it's like," Harry said. Mr. Porter then picked up a mint-green box that had been lying on the counter, with a tag saying 'H.P.' on it. The box looked like a fancy shoebox, but it was larger and had the Lucky Luggage symbol on the top. Opening it, Mr. Porter revealed the bookbag Harry had chosen, packaged in pale-gold tissue paper. Mr. Porter then carefully unwrapped the tissue paper and brought the bag out.
"As you can see, Mr. Evans, it's made of black leather," Mr. Porter said. "But while it's made of black leather, it feels much more like a soft and buttery type of leather, as it is a type of leather that is basically leather combined with mokeskin, which can only be found in the wizarding world." Harry took it and looked at it, turning it over for a while. There was a zippered pocket on the front, with the Hogwarts crest and his name, which according to Mr. Porter had a Notice-Me-Not on it that could be 'Finite Incantatem'ed.
Then, the larger section was also zippered. "The zippers can be blood-locked to yourself, like Gringotts' coin pouches," Mr. Porter said. "I daresay you know how?" Harry nodded in agreement, and then opened the bag. Inside were ten compartments, with smaller zippers inside so nothing would fall out or get mixed up with the things in the other sections. One of those was designed to fit stationery such as quills in. It also could hold a lot more stuff than it seemed to, as Harry could nearly stick his whole arm in.
"That's because there's an Undetectable Expansion Charm there," Mr. Porter explained to Harry. "I've also put a Permanent Featherlight Charm on it, so you can carry as many books as you like in there and it won't feel extremely heavy or almost curve your spine with the weight of the books you're carrying. And believe me, I have seen some people like that, if they're carrying too many books in a bag without a Featherlight Charm on it. Is this bag good enough for you?"
"Yes, thank you," Harry said, paying Mr. Porter the remaining five Galleons. Mr. Porter then zipped the pockets of the bag up, re-wrapped the bag back in the pale-gold tissue paper and placed it back inside the mint-green box, before handing the box with the bag inside to Harry.
After he had picked up the bookbag, he asked a passerby for the time and watched them cast the Tempus Charm – a charm which displayed the time of wherever you were in bright red numbers. It turned out that it was four, an hour since he had gone to Super Spectacles and picked out his glasses. He headed back towards Super Spectacles immediately, keen to pick up his new glasses so he could get rid of his current, broken glasses which Dudley had broken so many times.
At the small shop, Mr. Ollivander greeted him, holding Harry's chosen glasses and sunglasses. "Hello, young man," he said. "I've fitted your glasses to suit your eyes, as well as applying all the charms that you chose on them. Here, have a look." He passed Harry the glasses and the sunglasses, and took Harry's old glasses as Harry took his old glasses off so he could don his newly purchased glasses. Immediately, Harry exclaimed that everything was so clear.
"Of course," Mr. Ollivander said, smiling. "Your old glasses were a very poor match for you. I'm guessing that you haven't gotten new glasses since you were very young, considering that it's a poor match and that rather a lot of tape seems to be holding it together?"
Harry sighed. "Yes, that's true," he said. "My cousin never liked me and constantly played a game were he would catch me and punch me in the face, breaking my glasses."
"Well," Mr. Ollivander said. "I hope you're alright, then. You know, if anything happens like that again, you can always contact the Floo address here." He produced a pamphlet titled 'Child Abuse and What to Do'. "This is given out by the Department of Child Services, and I suggest you have a look at it." Harry took it and put it into a pocket of his robes. "Anyway, if they're fine, they cost fifteen Galleons, as I told you before." Harry handed over fifteen Galleons, noticing his supply of money was dwindling.
So currently, he had spent about six hundred to six hundred fifty Galleons, leaving about four hundred Galleons. As he was done buying all his school supplies and necessary items now, the rate of his money spending should decrease as all he had to pay for was his stay at the Leaky Cauldron, his meals and maybe some treats for himself, he should be fine. Plus, he wouldn't need to pay for anything at Hogwarts, so he probably wouldn't need to get any more money out for a while.
After he was done, he returned to the Leaky Cauldron to start studying. He had figured out a schedule for himself: in the mornings, he would buy anything he needed to, as few people would be in Diagon Alley; in the afternoons, he would study the materials he needed to learn for Hogwarts; and nighttimes would be 'downtime' for him to relax and have a bit of fun. It was currently four-twenty in the afternoon, so it was time to start studying once he had figured out a study schedule. He decided to study Potions that day.
Then, once he was back at the Leaky Cauldron, Harry disappeared into his trunk's bedroom so he could study at the large desk he had seen. Then, at dinnertime, he ordered from room service as he had no wish to encounter the drunken witches and wizards, and spent the evening reading a wizarding world fiction book, The Mystery of the Missing Time-Turner, one of his 'leisure' books. Then, deciding to sleep in his bed in the trunk, he lay down and reviewed his mental to-do list for the next day.
.
Hey guys!
Thanks so much for all the reviews, follows and favourites I got for the first chapter! I've answered all the reviews, so check your inbox if you haven't received it yet. I love you guys (and your reviews, follows and favourites). So... what did you think of this chapter? This chapter's a couple thousand words shorter than the first one – but again, I actually liked writing the first one more as it's much more fun to write Harry buying the larger things first, rather than wrapping up the loose ends from the shopping trip.
But it was also fun to write the description of the trunk – did you like it? Please review, and I'll hopefully have my next chapter out quickly! (Note from September 18, 2018: I'm finally done with editing this chapter, after almost a month!)
Shadow of the Blue Moon x
Chapter Word Count (rounded to nearest 100): 8,900