Chapter 3: Auror Supplies and Old Acquaintances

By twelve o'clock Harry had signed all the necessary documents and asked the goblins at Gringotts Wizard Bank to hand over ten thousand gold Galleons to Mason and Hutt, and was ready to visit Ron and Hermione. He found the shop easily – a large black and gold sign above the door read S.P.E.W.: Free the House Elves. It looked rather strange beside the shop next door, where the writing was a bright cat-sick yellow – Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.

As Harry pushed open the door a doorbell rang and Hermione, who had a lot of bushy brown hair, stepped out of a back room. "HARRY!" she yelled. "It's so good to see you again! We got your letter!"

Harry smiled. "Yeah. Well done on your results."

"You too Harry. RON! Harry's here!"

Ron Weasley, Harry's best friend, came sidling out of the back room. He had longish, red hair, freckles and was wearing bright orange robes with a speeding cannonball sprawled across the chest. Underneath were two words – Fingers Crossed.

"Hi, Harry. Take your hat off. Good summer?"

Harry removed his pointed wizard's hat and put it down on the counter, obscuring a large picture of a house elf beating itself with a broom, and nodded. "Yes. Ron, you have to come to Auror College. Please."

"Don't worry, mate," smiled Ron. "Hermy's already sent off my application. D'you want to get the stuff this afternoon?"

"'Kay. I was planning to go and see Fred and George. I've bought a house by the way! In Godric's Hollow."

Hermione looked at him. "Wow! That's amazing! It's one of only seven communities in the UK where Muggles and wizards live in harmony. Only parents of Muggleborns, spouses of wizards and witches and Squibs of course. Not just any old people."

"Oh," replied Harry. "Great. I was planning on visiting Fred and George – want to come?"

"Alright. They haven't left us alone all summer! Coming, Hermione?"

"I can't leave the shop, Ron!" said Hermione indignantly.

"We get, what, three visitors a day? Come on, it can't hurt to leave for a few minutes!"

"If you say so, Ron, but fifteen minutes at the most."

"Then we'll go to the pub," whispered Ron.

"Mind the doormat!" warned Hermione as they entered Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. "They've got a new one."

"AAAAAAAIIIIIIIIEEEEEEE!" Harry was catapulted ten feet into the air, sped around the tops of the shelves, did three somersaults and landed with a "FLUMP!" on his backside in front of the counter.

"Welcome to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, 93 Diagon Alley, London, for all the tricks you want, served with a smile. We are the new purveyors of magical mischief-makers. Weasley's Wizard Wheezes – making life feel funnier!" said Fred, as antlers erupted magically from his head.

"Hi, Harry," said George.

"Hi," breathed Harry getting to his feet.

"Don't worry," smiled Fred. "The mat only does that on your first five visits."

The shop appeared to have changed somewhat since Harry's last visit the previous summer. The walls were now bright pink and the shelves were filled with even more mysterious looking items. "Where's Remus?" asked Harry. Remus Lupin worked at the shop – he was a werewolf and had problems getting a job.

"Behind you," said a voice. Harry span around to see a wizard with greying hair, though he didn't look nearly as tired as he had last time Harry had seen him – the previous summer, when he had taken on the job. "Good afternoon, Harry."

"Hi. How ya doing?"

"Never better," replied Remus. "And you?"

"Great."

"Oy, Harry," said George. "Ron, Hermione. Listen. There's something we've got to tell you!"

"What?" the three asked in unison.

"Well," said George, "you know the Quidditch World Cup?"

"England are playing the US in the quarter-finals next week," continued Fred.

"And we've got tickets for the game. It's in Turkey. Now, we've got six tickets, so that's one for each of us and another for Remus – it's his fortieth birthday. Don't tell him – he doesn't know."

"Well, he does know it's his birthday. Just not about the present."

Harry looked around. Remus was at the other side of the shop, showing a small boy some grey coloured beans.

"What are they?" asked Harry. "The things Remus has got?"

"Werewolf Wonders," answered George. "They were his idea. They turn you into a wolf for a few minutes. You keep your mind, of course. Really good for scaring your parents."

"Right," said Harry. Ron had gone over to a shelf of brightly coloured joke books that were giggling amongst themselves – Hermione was wandering amongst the items on sale, marvelling at the charms which Fred, George and Remus had been using. "How are your parents doing?"

"They're okay. So's Ginny."

Hermione gave a yell as an entire shelf caught fire, disintegrated and then appeared on the other side of the shop.

"Better be going," said Harry. "I'm going to Andros Auror Training College, you know."

A few pints of Firewhisky later, Harry and Ron stumbled back out into Diagon Alley. "What do we need to get?" asked Ron. Harry pulled out a slip of paper from a pocket in his robes and read aloud:

Students at Andros will require:

3 sets of work robes in black, dark grey or blue

2 sets of sports robes in red, yellow or orange

1 pair of protective gloves

1 winter cloak of any colour

1 Invisibility Cloak

The following books:

'The Art of Disguise'

'Dark Wizard Capture'

'Magical Theory'

'Encyclopaedia of Further Charmwork'

'Always Watching: How To Stay Safe'

'One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi'

'A Compendium of Common Curses and Their Counter-Actions'

'The Dark Arts Outsmarted'

'Guide to Advanced Transfiguration'

'Practical Defensive Magical and Its Use Against the Dark Arts'

'Self-Defensive Spellwork'

'Advanced Potion Making'

'Staying Alive: Recognising Poisons'

'Create Your Own Magic: Self-Invention of Spells'

1 wand

1 cauldron (extra-thick pewter, standard size 3)

3 sets glass or crystal phials

1 set brass scales

A set of quills and parchment

1 pocket-sized Sneakoscope

1 small Foe Glass

1 small Secrecy Sensor

1 two-way mirror

1 magical penknife

1 Revealer

1 Time Turner

1 broomstick

Students may bring one small pet.

Please show this letter to shopkeepers as proof that you have license for these items. Misuse of any of these items will result in immediate expulsion.

"Wow," breathed Ron, as Harry fell to the floor in exhaustion. "That's a lot!"

"I know," panted Harry. "But we've got half it already. Where are we meant to find the rest? Knockturn Alley?"

"I dunno," said Ron. "Maybe. We've got till October though. Maybe we'll be able to get some things in Turkey."

Two hours later, Harry and Ron returned to the S.P.E.W. shop and dumped their shopping on the counter, which greatly annoyed Hermione and her cat, Crookshanks, who had been sleeping where Ron put down his new Invisibility Cloak, which they had bought from a small shop at one end of the alley, along with most of the other Auror equipment. They still had a lot left to purchase – Flourish and Blotts didn't seem to sell a lot of the books and the Auror shop was full of some thick smoke so it was immensely hard to breathe. Harry had kindly bought most of Ron's things for him, and the money in his Gringotts vault was incredibly low. He had decided to get a holiday job to get a few more Galleons.

"Bye, then," he shouted to Ron and Hermione. "I've got to go to my Apparition test – back soon!"

"Bye!" replied Ron and Hermione shouted, "Be careful!"