A/N: The same things that I said for the last chapter apply to this one too, except for the fact that this one is from James' point of view. Oh, and if you have any suggestions for the upcoming chapters, please send them to either through email or through reviews. Thanks!
*
"Hey, Sirius! Hurry up! We've got to go to Diagon Alley!" yelled James.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm coming. Hold onto your broomsticks," replied Sirius.
They were also going to buy their things for school. Diagon Alley was a small cobbled street that was only accessible by witches and wizards. It was like the shopping complex of the wizarding world. Coming from a wizarding family, they knew all about how to go to Diagon Alley from the Leaky Cauldron, but at the same time, they had different means of getting there.
"Sirius, do you have the Floo Powder? We don't need much; it's just for the two of us. But don't forget to take some with you because we'll need to get back too," said James in a tone that resembled his mother's.
"You're starting to sound a lot like your mom. Stop lecturing me! I know what to do."
The two boys sprinkled some sparkling powder from a pouch onto the fire in the fireplace. Sirius put the pouch back on the table. It suddenly grew to be taller than they were and turned a bright emerald green. James walked up to the fire.
"Diagon Alley!" he shouted to it, as though there were someone inside the fire. Then, he walked straight through it. There was a whooshing noise, and James disappeared. Then Sirius walked through and did the same thing. Only one thing was missing. The pouch of Floo Powder had been left on the coffee table.
*
The boys spun around and around in a world of green flames and choking ash and smoke. A number of fireplaces circled around them. Suddenly, they started to slow down. And as suddenly as they had started spinning, they stopped and found themselves falling headfirst onto a tiled floor. Looking around, they found themselves in Flourish and Blotts, Diagon Alley's bookstore. Dusting themselves off, the two boys pulled out their lists of course books and walked up to the counter.
Behind it was a short, balding man with large spectacles that magnified his eyes to twice their actual size. At the moment, he was helping another customer, a girl with bright red hair, so both Sirius and James took a good look around the store.
"Look at this. Tantalizing Transfiguration: Do magic for your friends and for your enemies! I can't wait to learn that. Just think of what kind of pranks we will be able to play after we learn it! We can turn your sister's dolls into snakes and her teddy bears into worms…" James said with a dreamy look in his eyes.
"Yeah, after we learn it. Come on, that old bloke behind the desk's done with the redhead. Let's go and at least get our course books, before we start thinking about pranks. It's a good idea, though. I'm not arguing about that –" Sirius said, but he was interrupted by the shadow that he felt falling across him. Turning around, he saw that it was the shopkeeper.
"Can I help you, young sirs?" he asked, with a large toothy grin. "I don't believe I've seen you before, are you going to Hogwarts?"
"What? Oh, yeah. We need our textbooks. Hang on, I'll check the list…" said James. He was about to pull his list out of his pocket when the man interrupted again.
"Oh, you needn't do that. I've been selling books here for so many years (Sirius whispered, "You can say that again!") that I've nearly memorized the list. Now, let's see. This is The Standard Book of Spells Grade One, and if you'll come over here, I can give you some of the others," said the man. He had started to walk around the room, pulling various books off of the shelves.
The boys followed him around the room and through the numerous corridors, all lined with books, parchment and quills. Finally, they gave him the required amount of gold, and left, their arms laden with textbooks, parchment and quills.
"I don't reckon we're going to get time to do anything we want with so much work. What are those teachers trying to do, assigning us so many books?" Sirius asked himself furiously.
"Oh, come on. We've still got to get our robes. And Mum said I could get an owl, too. You've already got one, but I haven't," said James. He had always wanted an owl more than anything. For some reason or other, having an owl to send letters to others intrigued him almost as much as making fake wands with Sirius.
"Alright, let's go. Just be thankful we don't have to wear dress robes. I don't even understand why they were even invented…" Sirius said.
*
The two boys walked into the store next door, Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. This was where they would get their uniform. As they were just about to walk through the door, they were suddenly pushed apart by someone. As they stood up from where they had fallen on the concrete sidewalk, they saw that the person who had bumped into them was the very same redhead they had seen at Flourish and Blotts.
"Weird! She seems to be going everywhere we go. Well, come on," Sirius was getting really impatient. When they finally walked in, they saw that they would have to wait again, as there was already someone being fitted for his robes. Neither James nor Sirius liked the look on the boy's face. He had something sneaky about him, as though he was hiding some great secret. His face was pale and his eyes black. They gave the impression of walking into a tunnel. His hair was also black, and it was slimy and plastered to his head. His nose was crooked, as though it had been broken.
"Are you getting your Hogwarts robes?"
The boys jumped, and looked around to see a young, petite woman. She asked her question again. James replied, saying yes, they were here to get them, and if they could get them as soon as possible.
"Oh, certainly. Only, you'll have to wait until the boy over there is done. He's been here for a while now; he kept complaining that we were measuring wrong and that we either made his robes too tight or too loose," said the lady.
"Oh, I'm sure he just likes to complain. I doubt it's anyone's mistake," said Sirius, who had seemed to have found his voice. The woman flashed a quick smile at him, and then turned around to talk to the other boy.
"What happened to you? You didn't say anything until you started talking about that guy over there? And what are you staring at like that?" James asked. Sirius had his mouth open, and was staring at the lady who had just been speaking to them. "Hey, snap out of it. She's probably ten years older than us. Besides, the chicks at school are bound to come kind of like that, right?"
"I'll take your word for it," Sirius said smiling. The boys waited for their turn to come. When they were finally called to be fitted, they saw that the other boy was still there.
"Alright, hon. Now just step onto the stool and we can start," the lady said. James stepped up and winked to Sirius. Then he looked to the boy next to him. The lady had walked off into the back of the store. James took advantage of his time to talk to the other boy.
"Hey, are you going to Hogwarts too?" asked James apprehensively. He didn't like the look of this guy. There was just something about him that turned his mind off.
The boy turned and looked at James with a puzzled look, as though the answer was obvious. "Well, where else would I be going? Living in London, I'm not crazy enough to go to Beauxbatons or Durmstrang, am I?" asked the boy. His voice was icy, as though his breath was coming from the cold of the South Pole. His expression was that of superiority, and James felt more and more as though the other boy was mocking him.
"No, I suppose not."
"Alright, Severus, you can go now. I'm done with you. Are you happy with it now?" the lady was back again. She was talking to the boy next to James.
"Something's better than nothing. Just give it here," Severus said, and marched off huffily after banging some silver on the counter. She picked up the money, stuffed it in her pocket and called Severus to stand on the abandoned stool to get fitted for his robes. She called another lady, Marian, to help with Sirius. However, Marian turned to be Marian Malkin, the owner of the store, and therefore she could be safely called a senior citizen.
Sighing, the lady said, "Never had a grumpier customer in my life. That Severus, he has never been happy with what we do for him. Always grumbling, always complaining, that's how he is. Mind you, he's not got a very good family at home. I've heard his family, the Snapes; they've been a supporter of the Dark Side for a long time now, maybe that's why he's turned out like this. You two had better keep yourself away from him. It isn't good to go missing with the wrong sort. There, that's you done. Now, off you trot!"
The two boys took their robes, paid the women that asked for them to come back again sometime, and left.
*
"I still have around twenty galleons left. Do you think that would be enough for an owl?" asked James.
"I suspect so. Let's go and see. Now where would a store like that be?" Sirius asked. They had never bothered to look for a store that sold animals, so they knew nothing about where they would be. Just then, Sirius spotted something familiar out of the corner of his eye.
"Hey, what's that over there? Wait, I know what that is! It's that weird redhead! And, she's got an owl! Let's go ask her where the store is," Sirius suggested.
"Are you crazy? Look at her, and those people with her. Can't you see that they're Muggles? It's not that I don't like Muggles, it's just that, well, can you think how stupid we'll look if we ask for directions from Muggles? I mean, this is supposed to be a wizarding place. We're wizards. At least, we will be after going to Hogwarts. Do you get what I'm trying to say?" James said, confusing himself and Sirius.
"Yeah… I think so. No, never mind. I don't. It couldn't hurt to just ask a humble question from a confused heart, can it?" said Sirius, trying to look as innocent as possible, which only made him look more like a dog that had to go outside.
"Of course it is, oh, not-so-poetic one. But, alright let's go and ask her." And so, the two boys trundled off to ask the girl.
"Mother, can I go with you to buy me something? Liliane can take care of herself if you're letting her go off to boarding school. Please?"
"Oh, not now. We still have to get Lily's wand,"
"Um, excuse me, Miss," said Sirius.
The three women jumped. One of them was the redhead girl whom they had seen all over the place that day. The shortest of the three was a blonde who must have been the redhead's sister, and the third could have only been the mother of the two girls.
"We were wondering if you could tell us where you got that beautiful owl from," said Sirius in his most pleasing voice.
"Oh, yes. You see, I was looking everywhere for the shop, but I couldn't find it anywhere –," said James, eager to say something.
"But we did see you, and since you have an owl with you, we thought that we should ask you if you could point us in the right direction," Sirius interrupted.
For a moment, they thought that the ladies hadn't understood them, because they were still standing stock still. But less than a second later, they realized that they were wrong.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah, they're going to curse us! They don't want to turn us into frogs; they want to turn us into owls! I don't want to be a bird! AMPHIBIANS ARE BETTER! HELP MOM, HELP!" the blonde girl yelled and she leaped into the air and ran behind her mother to hide. James and Sirius just stared. They knew Muggles were supposed to be stupid, but they never knew they were that stupid. James supposed that this one was just an exception.
"Oh, shut up, Petunia. They're not going to do anything to you. You've probably scared them more than they're scaring you, oh come off it," said the redhead. She seemed to be pretty smart, but James tried not to admit it.
"Well, yes. I can show you where the store is. It's down over there, next to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. You can see it from here, right there. It's called Magical Menagerie, and next door to it is Eeylops Owl Emporium. You can get an owl from either of them…"
While James listened to her attentively, Sirius couldn't resist whispering in his ear, "Is she going to go on like this all day?"
James jumped. "What? Oh sorry about that. Well, thanks for the information," said James, eager to go and get his owl. The two boys walked away and left the confused redhead, the shaking blonde, and their tired mother.
"And you thought I was obsessed…" Sirius said, half to himself and half to James.
"What are you talking about? Can't I even go and do a simple thing like buying an owl without you making stupid remarks that are irrelevant?" asked James, who was starting to get annoyed with Sirius.
"Here it is, Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. She was right; there are two animal stores right by it. Hey, listen, I'm not too keen on animals, so I'll just get us both an ice-cream each while you get your owl, okay? Thinking of owls and cats and toads and rats just makes me a bit sick… So what flavor do you want?" said Sirius in a rush.
"Triple-decker strawberry sundae with a cherry on top, the way I like it. And make it quick," James replied as he walked through the door of Magical Menagerie.
James' first impression of the small shop was that of a one-room zoo. Cages lined the walls from ceiling to floor, and a number of birdcages even hung from the ceiling itself, and a door in the far corner of the room could only lead to another room, and more animals.
Once again, James was more surprised than welcomed when he was greeted. This time, the voice seemed to come from one of the cages.
"And I suppose you've come to get an owl to take to Hogwarts?" said the voice.
James whipped around, yet saw no one. The voice came again, "Or would you rather take a look around at the other animals first?"
"W-w-who are you? W-w-where are you?" asked James shakily.
"I'm right in front of you. Here, step back and I'll show you." The voice came again.
James looked in front of him, turning his head this way and that, trying to see if the man who was speaking was behind the cages or in them. But as he was looking, he noticed that one of the rabbits in the cage was doing something extraordinary. It was apparently trying to unlatch the door of the cage, in an attempt to escape. James watched it, not knowing what to do. What if the rabbit escapes? Will the shopkeeper come in time to stop it?
When the cage door finally flung open, the rabbit jumped out – or rather, it was in the process of doing so, when it transformed into the shopkeeper himself.
"Ooh, I'm never getting inside one of those cages again. They're not very good for my back…" the shopkeeper grumbled.
"Um, sir? How exactly did you do that?" asked James in wonder. "Could you teach me how?"
"Alas, what you ask, I can not do. I am an Animagus. I am still a wizard, a human, but I can transform into a rabbit at my own will. I cannot tell you how, because it is against the law to do such a thing unless you are registered with the Ministry of Magic. Now, if I am not mistaken, you wanted to buy an animal?" the shopkeeper said, his eyes sparkling.
"Huh? Oh, that's right. I really wanted an owl… you know, to carry my mail and stuff," said James.
"Well then what are we waiting for? Follow me. I'll show you our owls. Come on, down this corridor over here…" the man said the directions out loud as he walked down the long corridor to the Bird Room, where all the owls were kept. When they finally reached, James couldn't help letting his jaw drop in awe.
Seeing James' expression, the shopkeeper said, "Yes, it is very amazing, isn't it? Magical Menagerie has bred and sold the most owls in the world. We have branches in Africa, Asia, and even North and South America. Not to mention in nearly every large wizarding city in England."
"So, can I get my owl?" asked James, unable to take his eyes off what he saw. The room was little less than a giant bird cage itself. There were bird feeders and water dishes all over, and droppings covered the floor, but what made it most like a birdcage were the birds that were in it.
There were birds of every species and colors, from immortal, fire-colored Phoenixes, to deeply sleeping barn owls, from squawking multi-colored parrots and sweetly singing red-bellied robins, to beautiful white snowy owls. James was so taken in with the beauty of all of the birds, that it was a few minutes before he realized that he had to do what he had come here for. He dreaded seeing Sirius face a few minutes later, thinking of how mad he must be now.
"What is it you want, my good fellow? I have eagle owls, barn owls, screech owls, snowy owls, you name it, and I'll have it." The shopkeeper seemed to be demonstrating an extra amount of courtesy towards James, and James appreciated it, though it made him feel a bit uncomfortable. Deciding that it would be best to answer quickly and go back next door, James said the first thing that came to his head, "A snowy owl, please."
"Good choice, my friend. Snowy owls are easily the most beautiful of the lot, especially since they aren't native birds. I've got just the one for you," said the shopkeeper excitedly. "Just hang on for a second, and I'll be back."
Starting to think that this shop was a lot larger than he had first thought, James leaned against the wall thinking of the day's happenings. But he had nearly no time at all to think, for the man was back again, this time carrying a golden cage. Inside this cage was the whitest owl James had ever seen. It was sleeping, since it was day, but James was sure that as soon as it became night, his owl would be one of the most active owls of all.
"You like her, yes? I knew you would. She's a pretty one, but easily offended. All owls are. But this one's strong, and she'll withstand a strong gale. She'll turn out well after she gets accustomed to you. Hopefully that won't take long, here you are then." The man handed over the cage to James, who paid him and left.
"Hey, that's a nice owl you've got there. I guess your owl has to be good if you take 30 minutes to buy it!" yelled Sirius, who was furious for having to wait with two dripping cones filled with scoop after scoop of delicious ice cream.
"Calm down. I'm done, so let's just go and get our wands, okay? Oh, you got the ice cream, didn't you? Well, let's eat it on our way to Ollivander's. Which one's mine?" asked James? He was trying desperately to make Sirius calm down.
"Neither. These ice creams are someone else's. You know that girl we saw?" said Sirius.
"Do you mean the redhead? Yeah, I remember her. She had a pretty weird family," said James. "What about her?"
"These are her ice creams. She came in here as soon as I got our ice creams, and she bought them, but she forgot her money or something like that, and she asked me to hold them for her while she went to get her mum," said Sirius in a rush.
"So where did our ice creams go? You didn't chuck them in the gutter because of her, did you?" asked James grinning.
"I ate them. You were taking so long, I ate mine, and then yours, and I was about to eat hers too, except… well, my sister screams a lot when she's mad at me, and I didn't want to take the risk. I'm already half-deaf because of Sara," Sirius said.
"You're scared of a little Muggle girl? What a joke!" said James, laughing.
"Well, shows how stupid you are. You actually believed me!" said Sirius, who was also laughing. James was furious that Sirius had been joking, but the thought of where they were going next was enough to sustain him from dumping both ice cream cones on Sirius' head. The two boys went to Ollivander's Wands. This was the moment they had both been waiting for, the moment when they would get their magic wands.
"Do you reckon the redhead's going to be in there, too?" asked James as he opened the door. A small tingling noise met their ears when the door shut itself behind them.
"No, I doubt it. If she is, it's probably just a coincidence," replied Sirius.
The two boys walked in. There seemed to be something eerie about the place they had just entered, as though even the dust on the counter top was tingling with the magic that was emanating from the wands that were sold there. To their relief, the Muggle girl wasn't anywhere in sight. There was no one in the room, but there seemed to be noises coming from the back, where row after row of shelves had been placed, all lined with what looked like miniature shoe boxes. James and Sirius walked through an aisle, and found themselves looking at a man hunched over a crate in which there were even more boxes.
"Ah, yes. You boys will have come to get your wands. Am I correct?" the man said, as he looked up and turned to face the boys. Neither of them replied.
The man was old, and the wrinkles on his face were so fine that they looked as though they had been drawn with a needle's point. His blue eyes seemed to be laughing constantly. His hair and beard were as pure and white as the feathers of James' new, snowy owl, and were so long that they nearly swept the floor as he walked.
"Just wait here a moment and I will go and fetch Mr. Ollivander," said the man. And with that, he swept out, past the shelves and into a hallway that ran off the side of the room.
"That must be Dumbledore. You know the headmaster of Hogwarts. My sis told me he looked something like that, the blue eyes and the long, white hair and beard. And I think I have a Chocolate Frog card of him too," thought Sirius.
"Wonder what he's doing here," said James.
"Don't know… He probably just had to talk with Mr. Ollivander about something."
"Hello, gentlemen… I trust you both are doing well. Well, let's get straight to it. First I'll take your measurements, and then you can start trying out the wands," said Mr. Ollivander as he strode into the classroom.
"Was that Dumbledore?" asked Sirius.
"What's that? Oh, yes, that was Professor Dumbledore, Mr. Black. He was here to see me about… my products," replied Mr. Ollivander.
"What about your wands?" James asked curiously.
"Well, if you must know… I'm sure you two know about He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Well, the feather in his wand was actually supplied by Dumbledore's phoenix. The headmaster was wondering if there was any way I could… well… replace the Dark Lord's wand with another, but I'm afraid to try to do something like that. But that's enough about Dumbledore. I was going to take some measurements. Now where's that measuring tape gone?" While Mr. Ollivander searched for it, James and Sirius whispered to one another.
"I guess they're trying to replace it so that Voldemort won't be able to use it as well. I don't know how they'll be able to though…"
"Yeah, I suppose you're right. I can't believe everyone's scared of him though…"
"You don't know why they're scared of him? They're scared of him because he has so much power and so many followers, and because he's practically a serial killer. Only worse, because he isn't one of those stupid Muggles that use sharp objects or metal wands instead of curses."
"Alright boys, now which of you is going first?" Mr. Ollivander had returned. James stepped forward, and almost immediately, a measuring tape sprang up and began to measure nearly all parts of his body. Within five minutes, it was lying limp on the floor again, having finished its job. By this time, Mr. Ollivander had brought a number of the miniature shoeboxes out and was piling them up in front of James.
"Ah, come here young lady. Sit down and I'll help you out as soon as I'm done with these two fine gentlemen here," said Mr. Ollivander. James and Sirius both turned around, and to their surprise, they saw that it was the redhead, her strange sister and their mother. The three of them just sat down and waited. It seemed as though the redhead was watching the two boys with interest.
"Now, just pick up a wand, and wave it around. Take this one. It's made of holly, rather an interesting substance. Its core is of dragon heartstring, and the length is around fourteen inches. It's a bit springy too. Try it and see how it works."
So James tried… and failed by a lot. Instead of showering sparks over the room, he ended up stunning Sirius, who fell over and lost consciousness.
"Oops… I'm sorry about that. Sirius, get up! I know you're just pretending! Get up!" he said. Apparently, he thought his friend was acting. But, when he didn't get up, he got genuinely concerned.
"Can you make him come back to life? I didn't mean to knock him out…"
"Oh, certainly I can. You haven't knocked him out. You've merely petrified him. Now watch closely. Enervate!" With that, Sirius woke up.
"What happened? Ouch, my head hurts! James, did you do something?" Sirius asked confusedly.
"I didn't do anything. I just knocked you out. No, wait. I didn't knock you out, I 'petrified' you," James said, grinning.
"Sheesh… your vocabulary is getting worse by the day," mumbled Sirius.
"Okay, try this one then. An 'oaken' wand, measuring fifteen inches, and it has a core of dragon heartstring. It might work it might not. Try it out."
This time, James tried to point his wand in as opposite of a direction from Sirius and Mr. Ollivander as he could. This time, however, the wand blasted a hole in the roof.
"Oh, jeez, I'm sorry about that, Mr. Ollivander," James said guiltily.
"That's alright, my boy. It always happens. Here, take this rosewood wand. It measures sixteen inches, one of our longer wands. The core is of, well, we've used the hair of a Veela, something I don't normally do. This is because they then tend to be rather, over-excited, shall we say."
"Well, I'll try it," said James, eager to prove Mr. Ollivander wrong. But, it turned out he was quite right. For this time, he ended up spraying him with water, which shot out of the end of the wand at a very high speed.
"Not quite what we wanted there, but never mind. Now take this one. It's made of mahogany, measures a good eleven inches, very pliable, containing a single unicorn hair… a good wand for Transfiguration, if you ask me, for the unicorn hair supplies a lot of power. Try it and see how it works for you."
James took the wand, reluctantly, in his hand. He felt a tingling sensation, and before he knew it, the wand in his hand was glowing brightly, and thousands of green and silver stars shot straight out of the end.
"Well done, Mr. Potter. You've found your wand!" said Mr. Ollivander. James had the impression that he was more relieved than impressed with the aftermath.
"Yeah, whatever you say. Can I try now?" Sirius asked again.
"Certainly, well come here. You can try some of the wands Mr. Potter couldn't use, and then I'll start you on some new ones."
So Sirius tried to make the wands work. He tried, he tried, and he tried. But for some odd reason, he just couldn't find a wand that worked for him. He tried wands of mahogany and rosewood, wands with unicorn hair, and a phoenix tail feather, even a couple with the hair of a Veela. But, he still couldn't find the right wand.
"Oh, you are a tricky customer, aren't you!" said Mr. Ollivander, excitedly. "Here, try this one. A wand of holly, fourteen and a half inches long, with a single unicorn hair. Nice and whippy, that's what this wand's like. Take it and see."
So Sirius took it, and almost immediately, he knew it would work. He slashed it through the air, and a number of dark blue and yellow stars shot out towards the ceiling.
"Yes! We finally got it! Congratulations, Mr. Black, you've finally gotten your wand."
"Miss Evans is it? You may come and try for a wand now. Mr. Potter and Mr. Sirius, you two may leave. Good luck on your journey through the wizarding world," called Mr. Ollivander.
When the boys were outside, they were quiet for a moment. Then Sirius suddenly shouted out.
"Hey! What's with that girl? She's, like, there everywhere we go! What's up with her? I mean, I don't even know who the hell she is, and she's getting to be more annoying than my sister is! And things like that rarely happen… believe me."
"How am I supposed to know? And what's it to you that she chose today to get her Hogwarts stuff? Don't let her get to you, okay? Just ignore her and everything will be fine. Just be cool, like I am. It's not like she's going to end up in our house, and take all the same classes we are, right?" said James, logically.
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Then, punching his best friend in a friendly way, he added, "But that doesn't mean you still think she's cute…" Sirius ran as fast as he could, for he knew that James would soon be on his tail.
"WHAT! Where the hell did you get the idea that I liked that stupid git? I don't even know her name! Get back here Sirius Black!"
"Even if you don't now, I know you will!"
"Oh, yeah? Well, I probably won't even see her, let alone speak to her, so there!"
But he was wrong, terribly wrong.
*