Chapter Four: Diagon Alley

Chapter Four: Diagon Alley

" Hurry up you two. Going awfully slow. First stop, Gringotts. Have to get your money first. Next stop, Gladrag's Wizard Wear. You'll need new clothes. Then I'll let you look around on your own while I settle my own affairs," Remus said cheerfully an hour later.

Gringotts was a bustle of activity. Run by goblins, the Wizard Bank was almost always open to any wizard or witch who had or needed an account.

" Black vault, please," said Remus. " You should have the key."

" Proof please," the goblin replied.

"Uh? Help, please you guys?" asked Remus nervously. They were beginning to attract some weird looks.

"Kev?" asked Kit, feeling very scared and alone, and moving towards her protective older brother.

The twelve-year-old cleared his throat and stared into the goblin's eyes, his violet eyes flaring a bright, blinding blue. Then, as swiftly as they had brightened, they dimmed, and the goblin shook his head.

" Ah yes, Luke and Samantha's children, am I right?" The kids nodded. " All right then. Griphook!" Yet another goblin came forth from behind the counter. " Take our customers down to Vault 17 please." Griphook nodded and beckoned Remus, Kevin and Katrina forward.

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An hour later Kevin and Kit stood in front of Gladrags Wizard Wear, a suitcase of new clothes, bought for them by Remus, in Kevin's hand. Remus had left them before they went inside, claiming he had personal business to handle at home.

"Where should we go now?" asked Kit, looking around.

" I dunno. Why don't we try to catch up on a bit of news, enjoy ourselves for awhile, and then tomorrow we'll hightail it to Hogwarts."

"Okay," said Kit. " Would you mind if I bought something?" she asked, her eyes straying to the Magical Creatures Shop down the way.

Kevin sighed. It was a well-known fact his sister loved animals.

"No, but try to keep the spending on the download. Don't come back with like, fifty items okay?"

" All right then. Meet you back here in about an hour?"

" Hour and a half. I want to explore," said Kevin with a grin.

Kit rolled her eyes and they split up.

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Ron Weasley was not happy. It was his first year at Hogwarts and he had to go to school in second-hand everything. He didn't even have a new wand, just Charlie's old, half-broken one.

He sighed as he sped through chimneys on his way to Diagon Alley.

Five minutes later he appeared in the Leaky Cauldron, the pub that was the gateway from the magical alley into the muggle world. Trotting out the door, he tapped one of the bricks on the wall outside, and headed into Diagon Alley.

It wasn't the first time Ron had been here. In fact, it was more like the eighth. The twins, Fred and George had already met another kid their age, a tall youth with shoulder-length, blackish-greenish-purplish hair, and extremely weird eyes. He looked like a complete trickster, one sure to join Fred and George's band of Mischief-Makers. Yet Ron had never seen him before in Hogwarts. Maybe he was in a different house.

With a sigh Ron turned towards the bookshop, his least favorite place of all time. He walked slowly in, his book-list clutched in his hand. Grabbing all of the books he needed, he dashed towards the counter, knocking askew dozens of stacks of books, and a girl. She looked like the kid outside that Fred and George were talking to. It was probably his sister. Yet, something attracted her to him.

" I am so sorry," Ron apologized, helping her pick up the books. " My name's Ron Weasley. Are you a first year too?"

" I'm Katrina Black, Kit for short, and no, I don't go to Hogwarts."

" Which school do you go to?"

" I don't go to one."

" Cool," said Ron with a shrug. He turned a few of the books over. There were Shades and Poltergeists, by Dr. G. Host, The Complete Guide to Animal Transformation by Ann I. Mal, Magical Creatures, from Merpeople to Vampires by Lorelei Count, among several other thick volumes.

The two chatted easily as they paid for their purchases, and walked out.

" I've got about twenty minutes before I have to meet Kevin, and I kind of want to go and get some sort of pet for the road. I need someone to talk to who won't talk back, just listen," Kit said as they stood on the sidewalk outside the bookstore.

" There's Eeylops, if you want an owl, but you don't look like a bird sort of person, so let's head down to the Magical Creatures Store, and you can look around there for awhile," suggested Ron.

" Good idea!" said Kit enthusiastically.

The store was filled with all sorts of animals, giant snakes, black rats, fat rabbits, a wide assortment of cats. There were also several kinds of magical pets, including Crups (a type of magical dog that looks like a Jack Russell Terrier, but with a forked tail) and Puffskeins (round, soft, ball-like creatures that make great wizarding pets for young children). Yet Kit couldn't quite find one she wanted. Just then a man entered the store angrily. Plopping a large, black, ferret-like creature called a Jarvey onto the counter, he roared for service.

"Yes sir?" asked one of the employees.

"I'm returning this creature. She's absolutely horrid," said the man.

"You can't return animals here sir," said the woman at the counter.

"I don't want her though!" the man was starting to get hysterical.

Just then Kit spoke up. "I'll take her."

The man whirled. "All right then, but don't come to me later with complaints about her. She's yours, and I never want to see the creature again!" With that the guy stormed out of the store.

"Cool," said Ron cheerfully, stroking the creature's head. "What are you going to name her?"

"Cassiopeia," said Kit.

"Awesome," Ron replied, grinning as the Jarvey curled around Kit's shoulder.

"We'd better get going if we're to meet the others on time," said Kit, and the two kids, plus one Jarvey, left the shop.

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Meanwhile, Kevin was having the time of his life with Fred and George. They'd nearly bought out the entire store of Gambol and Japes, dungbombs, Filibuster fireworks, and many more "supplies", and were now on their way to the ice cream parlor, where the Weasleys were meeting up.

Kit and Ron were already there, and, much to Kevin's amusement, Kit had a Jarvey around her shoulders. He liked Jarveys because of the rude phrases they used when talking.

" Ready?" she asked as they bid good-bye to the Weasleys, their addresses in Kit's bag.

" Yeah, just let me go and get an owl or something will you? We'll need a form of letter carrying, both to family and friends," said Kevin, turning to wave as their friends left the Alley.

" I'll go and buy the two fastest brooms they have in this Alley while you do that, and then, well, do you suppose we need wands?" asked Kit.

"Of course. We'll meet up at Ollivander's," Kevin called over his shoulder as he entered Eeylops Owl Emporium.

He stared around, trying to get used to the sudden darkness.

" Do you need help?" asked a thin, bent-backed old man from the desk in the front.

" Uh, sure. I need an owl." Kevin replied.

" Just take the one you want, son. They're all quite friendly."

" Okay. Thanks," said Kevin, traveling up and down, looking for an owl that suited him.

A large, handsome tawny barn owl did the trick. Bringing him to the front, Kevin paid and quickly left the shop, back into the bright sun.

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Kit was having a hard time trying to choose the right broomsticks for them, so she bought some twigs and two handles and decided to make their own. It shouldn't be too hard, she thought. We're both clever enough to figure out how to make them go quickly, so we should be fine.

And with that she began to run down toward Ollivander' s, as the first summer rain began to fall.

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Kevin was huddled in his old, heavy coat inside Ollivander's, waiting for his sister. He couldn't see her through the mists surrounding the shop, but three seconds later he heard a muffled sound, and Kit strode through the door, Cassiopeia draped over her shoulders.

" Hey. Is anyone here?" she asked.

" I dunno. I haven't heard anything, so maybe-"

" Ahem!" Both children jumped. A frail, thin middle-aged man was walking towards them. " There most certainly is someone here, and I am ready to serve you both. Luke and Samantha Black's children, no doubt. You girl, hold out your arm. I'm Mr. Johnson, Mr. Ollivander's nephew, taking over for the job today, as he is ill," said Mr. Johnson, taking out a tape measure and measuring Kit's arm. He then left the tape measure to its job, measuring anything it felt needed. Taking the tape measure from Kit, he began pulling boxes down.

" Aha! This will be a fine one to start with- willow, dragon heart, very whippy, eight inches, good for charmwork. Wave it around. No. No. No. Simply won't do. Okay then, try this one, eleven inches, phoenix feathers and pine, good and stout for defense. Wave please, still no?" Mr. Johnson laughed, pulling out more boxes. " Now this, yew, nine inches, nice and supple, unicorn hair, noDifficult customer eh? No problem, it's the wand that chooses the wizard, remember. Ah, this ought to do - no? Wave please. No." He paused to grab yet another wand box. "Okay then, this, mahogany and dragon heartstrings, eleven inches, perfect for transfiguration." Kit waved it, and a shower of sparks exploded from the tip.

" Ha-ha! Wonderful! Allow me to wrap it up for you, just after I do this for your brother," said Mr. Johnson, letting the measure do its job again.

Carefully setting the wand in its box, he handed it to Kit with a smile. "Take care of it now. I'll give you some cleaner and a cloth, both of you," he said, as he began to pull down boxes for Kevin, whose wand ended up being "holly and unicorn, eleven inches, whippy, perfect for charms" according to Mr. Johnson.

" All right then," said Kevin as they headed out of Diagon Alley. " Let's find a place to sleep for the night, and then we'll see about the brooms you got. Which kind did you get?" Kit showed him the twigs and handles.

" These should work, shouldn't they?" she asked.

"Once we put them together yeah. Why couldn't you have just grabbed two already-made brooms? It would have been so much easier." Kevin replied with a sigh.

Kit chose to ignore him. " Sowhere're we going?" she asked, looking around the rainy London street.

"I dunno. Why do I always have to be the navigator? You choose for a change."

" All right then, fine. Why don't we put the brooms together and see if we can make a start on the trip to Hogwarts?"

" Okay. But what if we get tired?"

" Then we stop," replied Kit, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

" Fine. Give me the handles and stuff. I'll put them together while you stand guard. Okay?"

" Sure." Kit replied happily. She had been hoping her brother would offer to put the brooms together.

After three hour of yelling, cursing, threats, and spells, Kevin had the brooms together. Carefully Kit mounted hers to test it. It flew perfectly, light and fast. Quietly she landed and watched Kevin take his trial run. His worked fine as well.

" Ready to go?" Kit asked, doing her best to mask a yawn.

" No, and you aren't either. We're both too tired. We'll start in the morning. For now, let's concentrate on finding a place to sleep," replied Kevin, forever the protective and responsible older brother.

The two walked off, their new brooms slung over their shoulders, Kevin's owl, Scorpio, and Cassiopeia close behind.

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