Hi there! I'm back from my holiday and feeling particularly refreshed... Holidays do that to you. Haha. Anyway, I should be doing all the homework that I've yet to tackle, but I chose to write chapter eight instead. Heh. I should be getting back to my work now, though, so enjoy, and have fun. I'll update as soon as I can.
Chapter Eight – Shopping with Snape
Cursing one particular Lucius Malfoy under his breath, Snape hurried out of Knockturn Alley and into Diagon Alley, ignoring the curious stares he got along the way. Malfoy had insisted on holding Snape up, to discuss some (in Snape's opinion) half-crazed plan with him, not letting him off until he was certain that Snape knew every detail of the plot he was hatching.
As a result, Snape was late in meeting Harry. Hopefully, the young boy was not as apt to wandering around as some other students Snape had known before were. Otherwise, he could well be in one awkward position in any obscure place, and Snape would not know where to start rescuing him from.
Pushing the heavy door open, Snape scanned The Leaky Cauldron, heaving a sigh of relief when he caught sight of a messy head in the far corner. So Harry was better behaved then he had thought likely for a son of James Potter. Interesting. From all Snape had seen so far, Harry was nothing like his father, and he was turning out to be one enjoyable individual, something Snape had definitely not thought possible for any Potter.
"You're late." Harry offered the tall adult a lopsided grin.
Biting back a retort, Snape nodded generously. "So it would seem, though not by my choosing. Have you bought any supplies yet?"
Indicating the pile of bags hidden in a shadowy corner behind him, Harry tilted his head, "A fair amount."
Snape chocked. "Good grief, Potter, are you trying to buy the whole of Diagon Alley?"
Harry shook his head. "No, just Flourish and Blotts." Offering Snape an amused smile, he continued, "While I was waiting, my books and robes arrived. The other bag over there's my quills, and stuff. I think I'll need some help in packing."
"I'd say so too." Looking for Tom, Snape hailed the other man over. "Could you please take these bags up to Mr. Potter's room please?"
"Trying to buy the whole of Diagon Alley, are we, young master?"
"I wish people would stop saying that," Harry remarked plaintively, "I think I still need a wand." This was addressed to Snape.
"So you do. Well, off we go then." And Snape and his young charge entered Diagon Alley for the second time that day.
~*~
"D'you think I'd need a spare wand?"
Snape shot Harry an amused glance, "No, I do not. I hope you didn't see fit to purchase a spare set of textbooks too."
"No," Harry replied in mock regret, "I don't think I did. Perhaps I should go back and order a second copy."
Shaking his head, in bemusement, Snape ignored Harry's statement. "As for the wand, you could get another if you really wanted to, but it would be rather unnecessary."
Frowning, Harry shrugged. "If you say so…"
"Ah, here we are!"
This shop was rather narrow, and quite shabby. Peeling gold letters over the door read Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 BC. As Harry and Snape stepped into the shop, a tinkling bell sounded. A single spindly chair was placed carelessly in a corner, and neither Harry nor Snape sat on it, choosing to leave the flimsy looking creation where it was.
Looking around, Harry could see a shimmering layer, much like what he had seen at the entrance to Diagon Alley. Whistling softly, he shook his head in wonder. This was a lot of magic. The entire atmosphere was practically saturated with it.
"Good afternoon," called a soft voice, and Harry squinted to try see further into the dusty shop.
Snape on the other hand, looked barely surprised, as though he had been expecting such a greeting all along. A shadow moved forward, and Harry was able to see an old man. His wide, pale eyes shone oddly bright in the dark shop, reminding Harry of the moon.
Seeing how Snape did not seem inclined to say anything, Harry nodded. "Hello."
"Ah yes," said the man, "Yes, yes. Well. I thought I'd be seeing you soon. Mr. Harry Potter. You have your mother's eyes. Seems only yesterday, she was here buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work."
Mr. Ollivander moved closer to Harry, who raised an eyebrow, unsure of what to say to the strange man before him.
"Your father, however," he continued, "preferred a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power, and excellent for transfiguration. Well, I say your father favoured it – it's really the wand that chooses the wizard though, of course."
Mr. Ollivander was now so close that he and Harry were almost nose to nose, and the dark-haired boy wondered absently if it would be considered too rude to take a few steps backwards. Having someone's face in one's own, was after all, a rather uncomfortable situation to be in. Before Harry could decide, Mr. Ollivander had reached out with one pale, long finger to touch the scar on Harry's forehead.
"And that's where…" he shook his head in regret. "I'm sorry to say I sold the wand that did that. Thirteen and a half inches. Yew. Powerful wand, very powerful. In the wrong hands… if I'd known what that wand was going out in the world to do…"
Sensing Harry's discomfort, Snape coughed lightly to the side, and Mr. Ollivander's attention snapped to him. "Ah, Severus Snape. Lovely to see you again. You still have that wand don't you? Twelve and a quarter inches…"
"Yes," Snape interrupted smoothly, "I do. Mr. Potter is here to get his wand today, if you could perhaps?"
"Of course," Mr. Ollivander turned back to Harry. "Well now, let's see." He pulled a long tape measure with silver markings out of his pocket. "Which is your wand hand?"
Harry frowned. "Well, I can use both hands so…"
Mr. Ollivander froze for a moment. "Both hands?" he breathed, as though caught in some memory. "Well, Mr. Potter. It is not something I have never seen before. To work then." Clapping his hands together, he disappeared into the depths of the shop, starting to pull out boxes while his tape measure flitted around, measuring Harry's arms but ending with trying to measure the circumference of his neck.
With a highly annoyed look at the tape measure, Harry pulled it off, and left it on the counter, where it lay limp and unmoving.
A noise to his side caught his attention and he turned to find himself face to face with the mysterious wand maker once more. A wand was shoved in his hand, and Harry stood still, holding it and feeling remarkably confused. "Well, what are you waiting for? Give it a wave."
Throwing Mr. Ollivander a rather suspicious glance, Harry waved the wand, trying to ignore the smirking Potions Master standing in the corner. Before he could complete that arc, the wand was wrenched out of his hand, and another was handed to him. "No, no, not that one. Perhaps this…"
Nearly half an hour later, Harry was no closer to finding his wand as before. Oddly enough, the more wands the old man needed to pull out, the more cheerful he seemed. "Difficult customer, aren't you?" he called from the top of a crooked ladder, "no matter, we'll find a wand for you."
Sighing, Harry turned to the side, studying the area above the counter, where another row of wands was piled haphazardly. At the rate at which he was going, it would probably take the rest of the day to find a wand. The wands shimmered, and Harry entertained himself for a while, looking at how the different lights played across each other, leaving the shelves pulsating softly with a multi-coloured hue.
Something in the corner caught his attention, and fixing his gaze on it, Harry called. "Mr. Ollivander. Sir."
Popping up next to Harry with his arms full of wands, the wand maker thrust a few at Harry at one shot. "Here. Try these."
Harry shook his head. "I was wondering if I could try that wand."
"Eh, which one?"
"The one in the corner, second from the bottom, and third from the left."
Mr. Ollivander looked dubious, but none the less moved in that direction. "I doubt," he announced, as he retrieved the box and returned to where Harry was standing, "that a wild stab in the dark at finding your wand, Mr. Potter, would achieve much more than what I've done so… Oh my."
For when Harry had claimed the wand, a silvery mist had shot out of its end, enveloping Harry for half a minute or so, before it faded, and silver and black sparks shot out the end of his wand. Snape leaned forward in interest. "It would appear," he said silkily, when Mr. Ollivander seemed to shaken to speak, "that Mr. Potter has found his wand. Well done, indeed."
As the old man rang up the purchase, he shook his head, muttering "Curious, curious," under his breath.
"I'm sorry," Harry interrupted, rather shortly, "but what's curious?"
Ollivander stopped with his hand halfway to the drawer and fixed Harry with a pale eyed stare. "I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Potter. It seems curious, that you should be destined for this wand, when its brother… why, when it's brother gave you that scar. The phoenix who donated the tail feather for this wand, only ever donated one more, Mr. Potter. Only one."
Although they were alone in the shop, Harry had the odd feeling that he was being watched by someone other than Snape. Fighting that feeling down, he handed over the money for the wand, deciding to forgo a spare. "Yes," he said curtly, "curious."
~*~
"I must say," Snape commented to no one in particular, "that you're a very interesting person, Harry," as they exited the shop, still watched by Ollivander.
Harry shrugged, uncomfortably, looking back in time to see the large-eyed gaze disappear. "He's weird."
"Ollivander?" Snape sounded amused. "That he is, though he does make splendid wands."
Harry nodded, frowning. What he had seen while being encased in the mist disturbed him, but he wanted more time to mull over his thoughts before he decided whether or not to share that experience with Snape. "Can I have a pet?" he asked, rather irrelevantly, before Snape commented on his silence.
In response, Snape stepped into Magical Menagerie, stopping near the side of the door, to let Harry explore. Walking around, Harry ignored the cats and the mice, turning one full circle, before stopping before Snape. "What pet d'you think I should get?"
Snape shrugged. "A matter of personal choice, but owls are always a good choice."
Harry frowned. "D'you think I could bring more than one pet?"
Snape eyed Harry suspiciously. "If you really wanted to, I suppose…"
"Well then," Harry started to walk deeper into the shop, "I guess I shall."
Stopping by the owls, Harry studied the lot. None of the owls really caught his eye except for an odd looking bird out to the corner which didn't quite look like an owl. Frowning, Harry moved closer to it, but stopped when he heard a voice from behind him call out. "Careful there, boy. Raven there doesn't quite take to strangers." The shop owner chuckled. "In fact, he doesn't quite seem to take to anybody."
Ignoring the voice, Harry moved closer to the bird, until he was almost eye to eye with it. "That, Harry," Snape announced from the side, where he had silently moved to, "is a falcon."
Raven studied Harry intently, head cocked to one side, and when Harry held out one hand, he flew to the side of the cage, watching Harry silently. "I like him," the boy said, "would I be allowed to keep a falcon?"
Snape frowned. "I'm not quite sure… but I do think I can work something out with the headmaster."
Flashing Snape a quick grin, Harry hailed the owner over, and a few minutes later, he was exiting the shop, an empty cage beneath his arm and Raven perched on his shoulder.
"Anything else?" Snape asked, striding quickly along.
"I don't think… oh."
"Yes?"
"I forgot to get my potions ingredients."
Giving Harry a mock scowl, Snape led the way to the apothecary's saying, "Which is why, Harry, you should count yourself lucky that I'm with you."
"Oh," Harry murmured, as he hurried in Snape's wake, "I do count myself lucky that I've met you. You don't know how lucky."
And if Snape heard, he said nothing more of the matter.
Well, here's this chapter done, there's no Draco, but there's plenty of Snape. And of course, Harry.
To all my lovely reviewers, thanks a million, and I hope this chapter's to your liking! : )
athenakitty - Yep, Harry got his wand. I didn't touch on Draco in this chapter, but you'd probably see him in the next chapter or the one after. I'm not too sure, I haven't sorted out everything yet.
Serpent of Light - Haha, yes. Sometimes I just write, but I'm a little too lazy to go through and edit and post it. Ah well. I do try update often enough, but because of my family vacation, I couldn't work on my story for quite sometime. Not really, anyway, since I was totally exhausted every night. But that just encourages me to keep writing, no? Thanks! :)
whitewolf628 - Thanks. And I hope you like this chap too.
gaul1 - Keeping it up, as best as I can! :)
ER - Here's a little update, hope you like!
Tourmaline - Haha, I agree. I know he's the hero and everything, but he can be so annoying. Lol. Hm, Harry's only got his falcon thus far. (which oddly enough is called Raven, heh) but he's going to be hanging around in Diagon Alley a fair bit, so he's not quite done with all his shopping yet. Thanks for the help with the snake. I was going to make him get one this chap, but I changed it in the end. Of course, he's already decided that he wants two pets. And he does need a bird to carry his messages... so that means he might just be getting a snake in the upcoming chapters. *smiles* I shall say nothing more. Yeah, that is one rich kid...
And Harry'll be having his problems, no worries. He is definitely *not* perfect. Oh, and yes, he is definitely going to be straight, that's one thing that's confirmed, and it's not going to change, even if the story does. (which mind you it probably won't... ) Lol. Thanks, and happy reading.
Iced Flame - Yeah, he's got one pet.. and well. For the other. *twiddles thumbs* I think Harry won't be dark in the sense of being a death eater, but since he had a completely different upbringing from canon Harry, he kind of puts things in a totally different way. So he's not evil. But he's not wholly opposed of using 'dark' magic where it's necessary, since to him, the end almost always justifies the means. Any means. Hope that clears things up a little.
down-right-mystical - Yeah, go evanescence! Haha, I've got the album too. :) I used to hate Linkin Park, and I still don't like their previous album. But Meteora is ok I guess, it's not my favourite album, by far. But I'm ok with it. My friend, who's into all this kind of music too, didn't like the earlier songs, but in his words, "Meteora is... ok." Lol. Haha, a fair number of my friends are into pop, so I don't really talk to them much about music and stuff. But the friend I mentioned earlier, it's quite amazing, cos we can end up talking about music for hours on end.
tati1 - Thanks! I'm really, really glad you like it. Here's another update... hope I didn't keep you waiting for too long. :)
To everyone else, thanks for reading, and drop a note, review. Come on, just let me know what you think, and I'd be grateful. Heh. Till another update, bye! And have a wonderful new year.
