CHAPTER 5:
DIAGON ALLEY'S NEWEST ADDITION
Harry removed his glasses and touched the reddened skin around his eye sockets. Surprisingly, his eyes felt no pain. They were just red. He ran over to Mrs. Weasley. "Mrs. Weasley," he said to get her attention.
"Yes, Harry?" she answered, turning to him.
"Do you know what's wrong with my eyes?"
Mrs. Weasley looked into Harry's eyes and gasped. "Oh, my!" she exclaimed. "Harry, what happened to them?" She removed his glasses and pulled him over to the sink. "Hurry! Rinse your eyes out, quick!" she ordered as she turned the faucet on.
Harry did as she told, placing his hands under the running water and gently soaking his eyes with it.
"Oh, dear," Mrs. Weasley lamented. "What did you get in your eyes, Harry? It's lucky you told me about them when you noticed how red they are, or you would have probably gone blind! They must burn like hell, don't they, Harry?"
"Actually, no," Harry replied as he dried his face with a towel. "Not in the least." He looked in the mirror and noticed that his eyes remained bright red. "And nothing got in my eyes, Mrs. Weasley."
"Oh, well, maybe their just red from your lack of sleep."
Harry seriously doubted this. He didn't think that lack of sleep could ever do something like this to someone's eyes. Deep down, he felt that this had something to do with that creature he saw last night.
There was a thud as Errol missed the open window and collided into the windowpane, several letters tied to his leg.
"Letters from school," Mrs. Weasley announced as she pulled the unconscious owl in through the window. She untied the letters and handed them to Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny.
Harry read the list of books he would need for this year, which contained two new ones, The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 6, by Miranda Goshawk, and The Revised Addition of the Monster Book of Monsters.
"I think these are our O.W.L.s." Ron said, brandishing three letters. He passed Harry and Hermione theirs.
Harry tore open the envelope, pulled out the parchment, and unfolded it. Scrolling down his subjects, he was surprised to see that he had passed them all, and by the relieved looks on Ron and Hermione's faces, they had to.
"Didn't expect that," Ron said out loud, a look of satisfaction on his face.
"Okay, listen up, everyone," Mrs. Weasley began. "I have to go do something for the Order...." "And what, exactly?" Ron interrupted.
"Do you actually think I'm going to tell you?! As I was saying, I have to go do something for the Order, but before I go, I'm going to drop you all off at Diagon Alley so you can pick up your school supplies. All right?"
They all nodded their heads, then made their way into the living room.
"Okay," said Mrs. Weasley. "I'll be back around noon. Do try to get back before I do. You know how much I worry." She took a handful of Floo Powder from the flowerpot, threw it into the fireplace, and an emerald- green flame ignited in it.
Harry said goodbye to Mrs. Weasley, stepped into the fire after Ron, and said "Diagon Alley," very clearly (not wanting to end up somewhere else, such as the moon, instead). He began to spin around inside the fireplace, and when he finally stopped, he found himself in a shop in Diagon Alley, not far from Gringotts. Ron was already there. Once Hermione and Ginny had clambered out of the fireplace, they made their way inside the wizard bank to obtain their money.
***
"Hogwarts?" the manager asked as they walked into Flourish and Blotts. Once again, his fingers were bandaged.
"Yes," Harry replied.
"Well, what'll it be?"
"Three copies of The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 6, one copy of The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 5, and three copies of The Revised Addition of the Monster Book of Monsters."
"Of...of course," the manager said, whimpering. He slowly moved towards a familiar cage containing books even wilder than the previous ones. Cautiously, he opened the cage, reached a bandaged hand into it, and all the books leaped out at once and attacked the manager like a swarm of ants on a helpless grasshopper. "Aaah!" he screamed. "Get 'em off me! Get 'em off me! Get 'em off me!"
Harry made to grab a book that scurried by, but it turned to face him, opened up, and breathed fire at his face, nearly singeing his eyebrows. Something then whizzed past Harry's face. Looking up, he saw that some of the books were throwing poop at him!
"Argh!" Another book had just spit a gooey substance all over Ron, literally gluing him to the wall.
The chaos continued for over half an hour until Hermione returned all the books back to their cage, one by one, with multiple summoning charms.
After finally ungluing Ron from the wall, they all paid the unconscious manager and walked out of the bookstore with their needed books, the monster books bounded tightly shut with leather straps.
***
"No way," Harry breathed in amazement as he looked across the cobblestone path. Standing in front of him was a new store with an overhanging, brightly colored sign bearing the store's name: Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes.
"Can't believe it, myself," Ron admitted. "You should have seen the look on Mum's face when she found out that Fred and George left Hogwarts early to start on this place! And then you should it when she realized how much of a profit they were making!"
Harry entered the joke shop and found that it was packed with kids from his school.
"Nice of you to drop by," a deep voice said from Harry's right.
"Yeah, we've been wondering when you'd turn up."
It was Fred and George Weasley, wearing their expensive dragon-skin cloaks, their faces looking as boyish and mischievous as always.
"Hey, guys!" Harry greeted. He looked around the packed shop. "Er...how's business?"
"Oh, we're on the verge of a second Great Depression," George replied sarcastically. "Business is booming, of course!"
"I hear that old toad, Umbridge, is finally gone," said Fred.
"Yeah," Ron replied with a satisfactory look on his face. "And it's a shame you missed her grand exit, being chased from the grounds by Peeves with McGonagall's walking stick."
The twins laughed gleefully.
"Some of your Portable Swamp's still left over," Ginny informed them with a giggle. "Probably in your honor."
"Hey, Harry," Fred began. "What happened to your eyes?"
George noticed Harry's reddened eyes as well. "It looks like you ate a dozen of our Pinkeye Pellets."
"I know," Harry replied. "I think it had something to do with that creature I saw last night."
"Hey," a small boy gestured to the twins. "How much for the Flatulence Flakes?"
"Two sickles," said George.
"Creature?" Fred repeated. "What creature?"
And Harry told them all about the red-eyed phantom creature he encountered that night.
"Scary," George remarked.
"Yeah," Fred agreed. "Almost as scary as Mum when you cross her."
"Hey, Harry," said Hermione, looking at her watch. "It's almost noon. We'd better be heading back."
"Oh, okay," he replied. "Hey, good luck with the store, you two," Harry said to the twins.
"Thanks, but we don't really need it," George answered. "At the rate we're going, we could end up as good as Zonko's by next year!"
"Say 'hi' to Mum for us," said Fred.
Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny then headed towards the Weasley twins' fireplace and took the Floo Network back to the Burrow.
TO BE CONTINUED
DIAGON ALLEY'S NEWEST ADDITION
Harry removed his glasses and touched the reddened skin around his eye sockets. Surprisingly, his eyes felt no pain. They were just red. He ran over to Mrs. Weasley. "Mrs. Weasley," he said to get her attention.
"Yes, Harry?" she answered, turning to him.
"Do you know what's wrong with my eyes?"
Mrs. Weasley looked into Harry's eyes and gasped. "Oh, my!" she exclaimed. "Harry, what happened to them?" She removed his glasses and pulled him over to the sink. "Hurry! Rinse your eyes out, quick!" she ordered as she turned the faucet on.
Harry did as she told, placing his hands under the running water and gently soaking his eyes with it.
"Oh, dear," Mrs. Weasley lamented. "What did you get in your eyes, Harry? It's lucky you told me about them when you noticed how red they are, or you would have probably gone blind! They must burn like hell, don't they, Harry?"
"Actually, no," Harry replied as he dried his face with a towel. "Not in the least." He looked in the mirror and noticed that his eyes remained bright red. "And nothing got in my eyes, Mrs. Weasley."
"Oh, well, maybe their just red from your lack of sleep."
Harry seriously doubted this. He didn't think that lack of sleep could ever do something like this to someone's eyes. Deep down, he felt that this had something to do with that creature he saw last night.
There was a thud as Errol missed the open window and collided into the windowpane, several letters tied to his leg.
"Letters from school," Mrs. Weasley announced as she pulled the unconscious owl in through the window. She untied the letters and handed them to Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny.
Harry read the list of books he would need for this year, which contained two new ones, The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 6, by Miranda Goshawk, and The Revised Addition of the Monster Book of Monsters.
"I think these are our O.W.L.s." Ron said, brandishing three letters. He passed Harry and Hermione theirs.
Harry tore open the envelope, pulled out the parchment, and unfolded it. Scrolling down his subjects, he was surprised to see that he had passed them all, and by the relieved looks on Ron and Hermione's faces, they had to.
"Didn't expect that," Ron said out loud, a look of satisfaction on his face.
"Okay, listen up, everyone," Mrs. Weasley began. "I have to go do something for the Order...." "And what, exactly?" Ron interrupted.
"Do you actually think I'm going to tell you?! As I was saying, I have to go do something for the Order, but before I go, I'm going to drop you all off at Diagon Alley so you can pick up your school supplies. All right?"
They all nodded their heads, then made their way into the living room.
"Okay," said Mrs. Weasley. "I'll be back around noon. Do try to get back before I do. You know how much I worry." She took a handful of Floo Powder from the flowerpot, threw it into the fireplace, and an emerald- green flame ignited in it.
Harry said goodbye to Mrs. Weasley, stepped into the fire after Ron, and said "Diagon Alley," very clearly (not wanting to end up somewhere else, such as the moon, instead). He began to spin around inside the fireplace, and when he finally stopped, he found himself in a shop in Diagon Alley, not far from Gringotts. Ron was already there. Once Hermione and Ginny had clambered out of the fireplace, they made their way inside the wizard bank to obtain their money.
***
"Hogwarts?" the manager asked as they walked into Flourish and Blotts. Once again, his fingers were bandaged.
"Yes," Harry replied.
"Well, what'll it be?"
"Three copies of The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 6, one copy of The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 5, and three copies of The Revised Addition of the Monster Book of Monsters."
"Of...of course," the manager said, whimpering. He slowly moved towards a familiar cage containing books even wilder than the previous ones. Cautiously, he opened the cage, reached a bandaged hand into it, and all the books leaped out at once and attacked the manager like a swarm of ants on a helpless grasshopper. "Aaah!" he screamed. "Get 'em off me! Get 'em off me! Get 'em off me!"
Harry made to grab a book that scurried by, but it turned to face him, opened up, and breathed fire at his face, nearly singeing his eyebrows. Something then whizzed past Harry's face. Looking up, he saw that some of the books were throwing poop at him!
"Argh!" Another book had just spit a gooey substance all over Ron, literally gluing him to the wall.
The chaos continued for over half an hour until Hermione returned all the books back to their cage, one by one, with multiple summoning charms.
After finally ungluing Ron from the wall, they all paid the unconscious manager and walked out of the bookstore with their needed books, the monster books bounded tightly shut with leather straps.
***
"No way," Harry breathed in amazement as he looked across the cobblestone path. Standing in front of him was a new store with an overhanging, brightly colored sign bearing the store's name: Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes.
"Can't believe it, myself," Ron admitted. "You should have seen the look on Mum's face when she found out that Fred and George left Hogwarts early to start on this place! And then you should it when she realized how much of a profit they were making!"
Harry entered the joke shop and found that it was packed with kids from his school.
"Nice of you to drop by," a deep voice said from Harry's right.
"Yeah, we've been wondering when you'd turn up."
It was Fred and George Weasley, wearing their expensive dragon-skin cloaks, their faces looking as boyish and mischievous as always.
"Hey, guys!" Harry greeted. He looked around the packed shop. "Er...how's business?"
"Oh, we're on the verge of a second Great Depression," George replied sarcastically. "Business is booming, of course!"
"I hear that old toad, Umbridge, is finally gone," said Fred.
"Yeah," Ron replied with a satisfactory look on his face. "And it's a shame you missed her grand exit, being chased from the grounds by Peeves with McGonagall's walking stick."
The twins laughed gleefully.
"Some of your Portable Swamp's still left over," Ginny informed them with a giggle. "Probably in your honor."
"Hey, Harry," Fred began. "What happened to your eyes?"
George noticed Harry's reddened eyes as well. "It looks like you ate a dozen of our Pinkeye Pellets."
"I know," Harry replied. "I think it had something to do with that creature I saw last night."
"Hey," a small boy gestured to the twins. "How much for the Flatulence Flakes?"
"Two sickles," said George.
"Creature?" Fred repeated. "What creature?"
And Harry told them all about the red-eyed phantom creature he encountered that night.
"Scary," George remarked.
"Yeah," Fred agreed. "Almost as scary as Mum when you cross her."
"Hey, Harry," said Hermione, looking at her watch. "It's almost noon. We'd better be heading back."
"Oh, okay," he replied. "Hey, good luck with the store, you two," Harry said to the twins.
"Thanks, but we don't really need it," George answered. "At the rate we're going, we could end up as good as Zonko's by next year!"
"Say 'hi' to Mum for us," said Fred.
Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny then headed towards the Weasley twins' fireplace and took the Floo Network back to the Burrow.
TO BE CONTINUED