Not wasting any more time, Harry walked into Diagon Alley as casual as Dudley walking into an ice-cream parlour. the Dursleys followed hesitantly, led by Uncle Vernon. The swarming crowd of peculiar-looking people wearing robes and carrying odd object were really too much for the Dursleys. Harry was sure Aunt Petunia was going to faint when they passed an old, wiry-haired witch selling mint humbugs outside the apocathery.
"Harry!"
Harry turned irritably at the voice, clearly was distracted by Aunt Petunia and Dudley's petrified faces. But his face went bright again at the sight of his two best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger waving at him excited.
"Hi Harry!" Hermione greeted him. "How nice to meet you again!"
"Hi Hermione", Harry beamed. "Bought your new books yet?"
"Nope, we're supposed to buy it together remember?"
"Hey Ron", Harry called at his other friend.
"Hi", Ron's freckled face beamed. "Thank goodness you're finally here. You saved my ears from Hermione's gloat on her prefect badge!"
"So you're a prefect eh, Hermione?" Harry asked.
Hermione took a silver Hogwarts badge with 'Prefect' under it from her pocket and showed it to Harry. "Isn't it beautiful?" she gushed.
"In a way, yes", Harry muttered. The badge was so shiny Harry was sure he could see his face reflecting clearly on it. Hermione clearly had polished it over and over again since the day she received it.
"She's been going on about it for the past two and a half hours", Ron moaned. "And I thought Percy was the worst."
"You're just jealous", Hermione said briskly.
"Oh duh, I'm not jealous of you if you pay me, Hermione", Ron rolled her eyes.
'Uh-Hum!" suddenly Uncle Vernon cleared his throat loudly to get Harry's attention.
Harry smirked. "Yeah, guys. This is Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia and my cousin Dudley."
Hermione gave a weak smile while Ron smirked at Dudley. Harry had told them about Dudley's coming to Hogwarts.
The Dursleys only looked at the two. "Okay. Let's start our shopping. We've got loads to do", Harry called, annoyed. It was more than enough that the Dursleys treat him like some sort of filth, they didn't have to treat his friends the same way too.
"Mum's at Gringotts with Hermione's parents. C'mon", Ron said, and led the way.
"Gringotts?" Uncle Vernon suddenly asked. "What in tarnation is Gringotts?"
"Wizards bank", Harry said simply. "You'll have to change money there."
"Change money?"
"What, you don't expect to use pounds and pences to buy spellbooks, do you?"
Uncle Vernon looked taken aback at Harry's answer. Harry was determined not to be bullied by Uncle Vernon anymore. This is his world. Uncle Vernon will have to do as he says. Uncle Vernon didn't answer, but continued to walk haughtily.
Arriving at Gringotts, Harry caught sight of Ron's mom talking to Hermione's mom. Ron's little sister Ginny was next to them. It appears that Mr. and Mrs. Granger finally managed to get along with wizards and witches just fine. (Hermione's parents are Muggles, by the way)
"Getting friendly eh?" Harry asked.
"Well, mom's getting particularly interested about Muggle dental treatment", Ron said.
"Ah, here's Harry!" Mrs. Weasley greeted warmly as she saw Harry.
Harry smiled embarrasedly when Mrs. Weasley gave him a hug, then grinned politely at Mrs. Granger.
"Hello Harry. Hermione told me a great deal about you", Mrs. Granger said to him.
"Good things I hope", Harry murmured, and they laughed.
"And this must be?" Mrs. Granger asked, noticing the Dursleys.
"My uncle, aunt and cousin", Harry said.
"Katrina Granger, how do you do?"
"Vernon Dursley. And this is my wife Petunia and son, Dudley."
"You must be Muggles too. I've never seen you anywhere here before."
"Yes, we are norm- I mean Muggles. But my son is starting at Hogwarts this year."
Harry noticed Uncle Vernon said this with a tone of pure shame.
Mrs. Granger's face changed slightly.
"Excuse us for a moment, Mrs. Granger. But we must get our money now", Mrs. Weasley said quickly.
"Sure, Hermione's father is changing Muggle money as well. Why don't you change yours, Mr. Dursley?"
Harry decided to leave the Dursleys as quickly as he could. So he grabbed Ron's arm and they headed for the counter, where a goblin was summoned to help them.
When they got back, Harry's leather bag was jangling merrily with Galleons, Sickles and knuts. He saw the Dursleys was still there by the counter waiting for him. Uncle Vernon and Dudley were looking at the wizard money as if they're something from outer space while Aunt Petunia tried to cock up a conversation about how mad the wizarding world is to Mrs. Granger.
"-And Muggles? How could they call us such a name, don't you agree Mrs. Granger?" Harry heard Aunt Petunia said.
"Well, I think that name is great", Mrs. Granger replied firmly. "A lot of useful things here really, Mrs. Dursley. My Hermione always send us Stringmints- a kind of sweet that helps clean the teeth- very useful as my husband and I are both dentist."
Aunt Petunia didn't answer, she simply nodded meekly.
It was quite a shopping trip. Harry got himself new books, new robes and new Potions supply. The Dursleys got Dudley his too, thought Aunt Petunia wrinkled her nose at the sight of Dudley's new uniform. She actually half-fainted when they went to the apocathery and had to buy scallywags and frog-spawns and all sorts. Dudley squealed with anger and pain when Ron put a live water-beetle into his shirt, which Uncle Vernon trod on and make it looked like a crunched cookie.
"Ah, it doesn't matter", Ron murmured to Harry after being scolded by his mom for "frightening the poor boy". "I'll have loads of fun with that pig at Hogwarts."
The last thing bought for Dudley was the wand. And his was "eight feet, yew and dragon's poo."
"Well that's something", Harry muttered as Ron rolled with laughter when he told him. He glanced at the Dursleys. "You never told me dragon's poo is actually magic, Hermione?" he asked Hermione.
"It does. The problem with you two is that you never want to pay attention in Potions", Hermione said abruptly.
"Do you think we've got nothing better to do than look at Snape's oily face?" Ron said, holding his side to prevent it from bursting.
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