Chapter Three - Diagon Alley
The car ride to the Leaky Cauldron was very slow and Daniel was nearly bursting with excitement, he was on his way to collect his school supplies. Usually that would make him feel dread of the coming school year, but not this time; for maybe the first time that he could remember he was looking forward to school. He also realised that he would probably be on equal footing with the other children, as his previous education wouldn't be needed at his new school, and for that he was glad. He didn't like being considered a freak, or nerd just because of how smart he was. But at Hogwarts all that wouldn't matter he'd just be another kid.
Looking up, Daniel noticed they were pulling up next to a grubby looking building. That you wouldn't notice unless you were really looking for it. On the sign above the door it proclaimed the building to be the Leaky Cauldron. As soon as the car pulled to a stop Daniel jumped out eager to purchase his school supplies.
Once they were inside the gloomy looking pub, Daniel carefully made his way to the bar and asked the bartender how to get into Diagon Alley.
"Ah, you must be one of the muggle-borns. Going to Hogwarts are ya?" The bartender asked as he stepped out from behind the bar and started to walk out to the back door of the small pub.
"Ah, yes sir. What's a muggle born?" He asked looking up at the man.
"Oh, of course you wouldn't know. A muggle is a non-magical person. So a muggle-born is a witch or wizard born to non-magical folks," he replied as he stepped up to the brick wall at the back of the pub. Daniel watched with fascination as he pulled out his wand and tapped the wall in an intricate pattern, before stepping back. Daniel watched the wall with fascination as it carefully split and the brickwork moved to form an archway into the street beyond.
"This, lad, is Diagon Alley," he said before retreating back into the pub, but Daniel was too busy looking into the busy street to notice.
Daniel slowly stepped into the street, it was packed full of witches and wizards going about their every-day business. Looking up Daniel noticed a large white building proclaiming it was Gringotts, a wizarding bank. Daniel had never in his short life seen anything like it. Once the shock of the wizarding street had calmed down a bit Daniel and the Dratton's quickly made their way toward the bank to set up a vault for him, which Daniel had found out was run by goblins. Apparently Mrs Dratton's sister Leana had attended Hogwarts as a child so she knew a little about the wizarding world; she just preferred to keep as far away from it as she possibly could.
The night before they had talked a bit, and decided to set up a Gringotts account for him. So he would be able to pay his entire way through school. They quickly made their way towards the imposing building, as he approached Daniel noticed word engraved upon the doors, they said;
*/Enter, stranger, but take heed
Of what awaits the sin of greed,
For those who take, but do not earn,
Must pay most dearly in their turn,
So if you seek beneath our floors
A treasure that was never yours,
Theif, you have been warned, beware
Of finding more than treasure there./*
Daniel finished reading the sign before hurrying inside the massive building, wondering quietly to himself what you would find if you were to attempt stealing, though one thing was for sure - whatever it was would not be good.
The three of them quickly approached a desk where a strange creature was standing, Daniel could only assume he was a Goblin. "We wish to open an account under the name of Daniel Jackson, as well as exchange 120 pounds into wizarding currency." Mrs Dratton explained to the goblin.
Once that was sorted and the money deposited into his vault which he found out later was 3000 pounds, which he was told had to last the whole seven years of his education.
"Alright Mr. Jackson, the large gold coins are Galleons, the silver ones are Sickles and the bronze ones are Knuts. There are seventeen sickles to a galleon and twenty nine knuts to a sickle. You understand that?" the goblin asked him.
"Yes sir," he replied quickly taking my money bag and backing away from the goblin.
After that was sorted out, the three of them quickly left the bank. Once they were outside the Drattons pulled him off to the side to speak to him.
"Ok Daniel, we'll leave you to it, we will meet you back in front of the Leaky Cauldron at three." Mrs Dratton told him.
"Ok," Daniel replied quickly eager to get away and start buying his supplies. Seeing his restlessness the Drattons quickly said goodbye and left him to it.
After the Drattons left, Daniel quickly ran off as fast as he could, he was in so much of a hurry he hadn't seen the other boy until he had knocked him from his feet.
"Oh, sorry. I didn't see you there, my name is Daniel Jackson." Daniel said as he helped the other boy to his feet.
"Yeah, well, watch where you're going. My name is Severus Snape." The other boy replied dusting himself off.
"You want to come with me and get your stuff, I'm here by myself and I'm muggle-born so I've no idea about anything here. So what do you say Severus, you want to come?" Daniel asked him.
"Sure we'll go to the Owl Emporium first; that way we can get an owl to send the post." Severus replied, following the smaller boy along the street. His father had always made out that muggle-born's were beneath the Snape's, but there was just something about the other boy that drew Severus to him. Severus decided then that he would make every effort to be the other boy's friend. Even if his father did not approve. That decided, Severus quickly followed his new friend into the store.
"Hey Severus what sort of owl should I get, a barn owl or a snowy?" Daniel yelled out.
"Barn owl, snowy is too noticeable." he replied as he picked up a beautiful light brown owl, bringing it to the counter to pay for. Having made their purchases, both boys went to the ice cream parlour so they could think of names for the birds
"I'm going to name my owl Hunter." Severus told Daniel as they sat down.
"Cool, it suits her. Okay, what will I name you girl? I know, Ares." He replied, laughing at the look on Severus' face.
"Okay, come on, lets get the rest of our supplies." Severus said, pulling Daniel to his feet.
It took the boys about two hours to purchase the remainder of their school supplies, now all they had left to get were their wands. As they approached the store, Daniel noticed the sign above the door saying /Ollivanders makers of fine wands since 382 BC/. The boys quickly entered the shop looking around in awe, the store was filled ceiling to floor with small boxes which Daniel could only assume were wands. Looking up Daniel noticed the owner of the shop come in.
"Ah, Mr Snape, Mr Jackson. I've been expecting you." The man replied walking up to Severus and handing him a wand. Severus proceeded to wave it causing the ladder on the other side of the store to explode.
"Ah no, most definitely not," Mr Ollivander squeaked out, snatching the wand from Severus' grasp and replacing it with a dark black one which gave off beautiful golden sparks.
"Yes, yes. Mahogany, 11 inches, core of a phoenix feather" Mr Ollivander took the wand back and placed it in a box. Severus quickly paid for it, placing it with his other purchases.
Daniel quickly stepped forward and took the wand Mr Ollivander gave him, giving it a small wave and exploding one of the shelves holding the wands. This went on for almost an hour before they finally found a wand that suited him. It was made from a Fir tree, 8 inches long, with a unicorn hair for the core. He quickly left the store, glad to be finished with it.
"I thought I'd never find a wand," Daniel told the other boy as they walked toward the Leaky cauldron.
"Yeah, same here. Anyway, I've got to go meet Father, so I'll see you on the Hogwarts Express September 1st," Severus said as he wandered off to find his father.
Daniel quickly ran out the front of the Leaky Cauldron to wait for the Dratton's, he had had an awesome time shopping; he couldn't wait until September 1st when he could finally use all the things he had bought. Daniel looked up and spotted the Drattons parked near the small pub. Running quickly Daniel made his way to the car and back to his home, looking forward to school for the first time since he had started school.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
TBC
Hope you liked it read and review please.
The car ride to the Leaky Cauldron was very slow and Daniel was nearly bursting with excitement, he was on his way to collect his school supplies. Usually that would make him feel dread of the coming school year, but not this time; for maybe the first time that he could remember he was looking forward to school. He also realised that he would probably be on equal footing with the other children, as his previous education wouldn't be needed at his new school, and for that he was glad. He didn't like being considered a freak, or nerd just because of how smart he was. But at Hogwarts all that wouldn't matter he'd just be another kid.
Looking up, Daniel noticed they were pulling up next to a grubby looking building. That you wouldn't notice unless you were really looking for it. On the sign above the door it proclaimed the building to be the Leaky Cauldron. As soon as the car pulled to a stop Daniel jumped out eager to purchase his school supplies.
Once they were inside the gloomy looking pub, Daniel carefully made his way to the bar and asked the bartender how to get into Diagon Alley.
"Ah, you must be one of the muggle-borns. Going to Hogwarts are ya?" The bartender asked as he stepped out from behind the bar and started to walk out to the back door of the small pub.
"Ah, yes sir. What's a muggle born?" He asked looking up at the man.
"Oh, of course you wouldn't know. A muggle is a non-magical person. So a muggle-born is a witch or wizard born to non-magical folks," he replied as he stepped up to the brick wall at the back of the pub. Daniel watched with fascination as he pulled out his wand and tapped the wall in an intricate pattern, before stepping back. Daniel watched the wall with fascination as it carefully split and the brickwork moved to form an archway into the street beyond.
"This, lad, is Diagon Alley," he said before retreating back into the pub, but Daniel was too busy looking into the busy street to notice.
Daniel slowly stepped into the street, it was packed full of witches and wizards going about their every-day business. Looking up Daniel noticed a large white building proclaiming it was Gringotts, a wizarding bank. Daniel had never in his short life seen anything like it. Once the shock of the wizarding street had calmed down a bit Daniel and the Dratton's quickly made their way toward the bank to set up a vault for him, which Daniel had found out was run by goblins. Apparently Mrs Dratton's sister Leana had attended Hogwarts as a child so she knew a little about the wizarding world; she just preferred to keep as far away from it as she possibly could.
The night before they had talked a bit, and decided to set up a Gringotts account for him. So he would be able to pay his entire way through school. They quickly made their way towards the imposing building, as he approached Daniel noticed word engraved upon the doors, they said;
*/Enter, stranger, but take heed
Of what awaits the sin of greed,
For those who take, but do not earn,
Must pay most dearly in their turn,
So if you seek beneath our floors
A treasure that was never yours,
Theif, you have been warned, beware
Of finding more than treasure there./*
Daniel finished reading the sign before hurrying inside the massive building, wondering quietly to himself what you would find if you were to attempt stealing, though one thing was for sure - whatever it was would not be good.
The three of them quickly approached a desk where a strange creature was standing, Daniel could only assume he was a Goblin. "We wish to open an account under the name of Daniel Jackson, as well as exchange 120 pounds into wizarding currency." Mrs Dratton explained to the goblin.
Once that was sorted and the money deposited into his vault which he found out later was 3000 pounds, which he was told had to last the whole seven years of his education.
"Alright Mr. Jackson, the large gold coins are Galleons, the silver ones are Sickles and the bronze ones are Knuts. There are seventeen sickles to a galleon and twenty nine knuts to a sickle. You understand that?" the goblin asked him.
"Yes sir," he replied quickly taking my money bag and backing away from the goblin.
After that was sorted out, the three of them quickly left the bank. Once they were outside the Drattons pulled him off to the side to speak to him.
"Ok Daniel, we'll leave you to it, we will meet you back in front of the Leaky Cauldron at three." Mrs Dratton told him.
"Ok," Daniel replied quickly eager to get away and start buying his supplies. Seeing his restlessness the Drattons quickly said goodbye and left him to it.
After the Drattons left, Daniel quickly ran off as fast as he could, he was in so much of a hurry he hadn't seen the other boy until he had knocked him from his feet.
"Oh, sorry. I didn't see you there, my name is Daniel Jackson." Daniel said as he helped the other boy to his feet.
"Yeah, well, watch where you're going. My name is Severus Snape." The other boy replied dusting himself off.
"You want to come with me and get your stuff, I'm here by myself and I'm muggle-born so I've no idea about anything here. So what do you say Severus, you want to come?" Daniel asked him.
"Sure we'll go to the Owl Emporium first; that way we can get an owl to send the post." Severus replied, following the smaller boy along the street. His father had always made out that muggle-born's were beneath the Snape's, but there was just something about the other boy that drew Severus to him. Severus decided then that he would make every effort to be the other boy's friend. Even if his father did not approve. That decided, Severus quickly followed his new friend into the store.
"Hey Severus what sort of owl should I get, a barn owl or a snowy?" Daniel yelled out.
"Barn owl, snowy is too noticeable." he replied as he picked up a beautiful light brown owl, bringing it to the counter to pay for. Having made their purchases, both boys went to the ice cream parlour so they could think of names for the birds
"I'm going to name my owl Hunter." Severus told Daniel as they sat down.
"Cool, it suits her. Okay, what will I name you girl? I know, Ares." He replied, laughing at the look on Severus' face.
"Okay, come on, lets get the rest of our supplies." Severus said, pulling Daniel to his feet.
It took the boys about two hours to purchase the remainder of their school supplies, now all they had left to get were their wands. As they approached the store, Daniel noticed the sign above the door saying /Ollivanders makers of fine wands since 382 BC/. The boys quickly entered the shop looking around in awe, the store was filled ceiling to floor with small boxes which Daniel could only assume were wands. Looking up Daniel noticed the owner of the shop come in.
"Ah, Mr Snape, Mr Jackson. I've been expecting you." The man replied walking up to Severus and handing him a wand. Severus proceeded to wave it causing the ladder on the other side of the store to explode.
"Ah no, most definitely not," Mr Ollivander squeaked out, snatching the wand from Severus' grasp and replacing it with a dark black one which gave off beautiful golden sparks.
"Yes, yes. Mahogany, 11 inches, core of a phoenix feather" Mr Ollivander took the wand back and placed it in a box. Severus quickly paid for it, placing it with his other purchases.
Daniel quickly stepped forward and took the wand Mr Ollivander gave him, giving it a small wave and exploding one of the shelves holding the wands. This went on for almost an hour before they finally found a wand that suited him. It was made from a Fir tree, 8 inches long, with a unicorn hair for the core. He quickly left the store, glad to be finished with it.
"I thought I'd never find a wand," Daniel told the other boy as they walked toward the Leaky cauldron.
"Yeah, same here. Anyway, I've got to go meet Father, so I'll see you on the Hogwarts Express September 1st," Severus said as he wandered off to find his father.
Daniel quickly ran out the front of the Leaky Cauldron to wait for the Dratton's, he had had an awesome time shopping; he couldn't wait until September 1st when he could finally use all the things he had bought. Daniel looked up and spotted the Drattons parked near the small pub. Running quickly Daniel made his way to the car and back to his home, looking forward to school for the first time since he had started school.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
TBC
Hope you liked it read and review please.