Chapter 14 – Diagon Alley

Disclaimer – I own NOTHING!

A/N – Sorry for the long wait but I had serious writers block and I was banned from my computer but its here now so enjoy and don't forget to review.

"I just wanted to know what they were like when they were alive" Harry explained

"Well Harry, your mum and dad were some of the nicest people I've ever known" Hagrid started

"Your dad was a bit of a troublemaker but he was still a good man and he had a good sense of humour"

"What about mum?"

"Your mum was the nicest witch in the school, always stood up for her friends and never left anyone out"

"Did you know them out of school?"

"Uh huh, you could tell that they loved each other just by they way they looked at each other" Hagrid smiled. "You've probably heard this loads of times but you look so much like your dad except you have your mum's eyes" Harry smiled.

"I was one of the first people to see you after you were born, Lily and James bought you to the school and showed you to all the teachers"

Harry was silent.

"I remember the first time I saw you, all wrapped up in a blanket holding onto the lion that Sirius had given you"

"Sirius gave me a lion?" Harry said, smiling

"Yep, I think he even charmed it so that it would sing to you"

"Can you remember what song?" Harry asked hopefully. Hagrid paused to think for a moment before shaking his shaggy head.

"No I cant, why don't you ask Sirius when I take you back to the castle" Hagrid shrugged.

The rest of the afternoon passed quickly and soon it was 9:45. Hagrid was walking Harry back up to the castle.

"So how do you like Hogwarts so far" Hagrid asked curiously

"I like it but I'll probably get lost" laughed Harry

"You wont get lost if you concentrate on where your going" Hagrid said wisely.

They had reached the castle doors. Hagrid pushed them open and they stepped inside. Sirius was sat on the stone steps, looking at his watch. His head jerked up when Harry and Hagrid entered the castle.

"Hi Sirius" Harry said cheerfully

"Hi Harry, Hi Hagrid" Sirius said as he walked over to them.

"I better get back and feed Fang, I'll see you soon" Hagrid said as he turned to leave

"Bye Hagrid oh and thanks" Harry said

"Bye Harry, bye Sirius" Hagrid called over his shoulder as he closed the door.

"You tired?" Sirius asked Harry as he yawned.

"Uh huh" Harry replied, looking at Sirius through tired eyes.

"Lets get you to bed then" Sirius said as he put an arm around Harry's shoulders and they started to walk up the steps.

"Sirius"

"Yes Harry?"

"Did you give me a lion when I was a baby?" Harry asked innocently

"Did Hagrid tell you that?"

"Maybe, did you?"

"Yes I did but why do you want to know?"

"Hagrid said that you charmed it so that it would sing but he couldn't remember what song it was" Harry explained

"Oh, well the song was…..um" Sirius said, trying to remember what the song was. Harry kept silent and allowed Sirius to think in peace as they climbed yet another staircase.

"I remember, it was a muggle song that your mother loved"

"What was it?"

"It was called 'You are my sunshine'"

"Oh" said Harry. They walked in silence until they reached Harry's room.

"Night Sirius" Harry said, breaking the long silence.

"Goodnight Harry" Sirius said. He opened his mouth to say something else but the next second he had snapped it shut again.

"Phoenix Fire" Harry whispered. The portrait swung open.

"Oh by the way either me or Remus will come and get you for breakfast tomorrow, ok?"

"Oh, ok" Harry said with a smile on his face.

"Well I'll see you tomorrow then" Sirius said as he turned to leave.

"Bye" Harry said as the portrait closed behind him.

He went straight into his bedroom. He pulled his shirt out from underneath the pillows and took his clothes and put his shirt on. He climbed into the bed and sunk into the mattress. Not 5 minutes later he was asleep.

A few minutes later Sirius and Remus were seated in Dumbledore's office.

"So when is Harry going to start his lessons?" Sirius asked Dumbledore.

"The day after tomorrow" replied Dumbledore.

"What lessons is he doing?" Remus asked sleepily

"Only the ones that he will be needing like Defence against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration….." he was cut off by Sirius.

"What about Potions?" he asked worriedly

"I'm afraid so"

"What's wrong with Harry taking Potions" Remus asked, confusion written all over his face.

"First time that Snape and Harry met, Snape said some things about James and Harry got…err…a bit mad" Sirius answered sheepishly

"As I was saying Harry will need to take Defence against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Potions, Charms, and Occlumency"

"Who's going to be teaching him?" Remus asked casually

"Professors McGonagall, Flitwick, and Snape shall teach him their subjects, I shall teach him Occlumency and I was hoping that you two would teach him Defence"

"We'd love to!" said Sirius, who had a huge smile on his face

"Remus?" Dumbledore asked happily

"Course I'll help" Remus said, a smile creeping onto his face as well.

"Now that that's settled I suggest that we all retire to bed" Dumbledore said amusedly

"I think I will, I am feeling a bit tired" Remus said, trying and failing to conceal a yawn.

"Just a bit" Sirius mumbled. Luckily Remus didn't hear him.

They stood up and said goodnight to Dumbledore. As Sirius opened the door Dumbledore stopped them.

"Oh, one last thing before you go, tomorrow I'd like Remus to take Harry to Diagon Alley to get his wand and anything else that he needs"

"Ok, we'll go after breakfast" Remus said.

"Goodnight Sirius, goodnight Remus" Dumbledore said as they closed the door.

"What does he need to get apart from a wand?" Remus asked aloud.

"Robes, books, potion stuff, a cloak, gloves" Sirius replied, counting them off on his fingers.

"It's his birthday soon isn't it?"

"Yeah in about 2 or 3 weeks"

They carried on in silence until the reached their rooms.

"See you tomorrow then" Remus said sleepily

"Yeah, you better be up early of your going to Diagon Alley" Sirius said

"Night Sirius" Remus said as the portrait t his room swung open.

"Night Remus" as the portrait closed behind him.

Sirius said the password to his room and stepped inside. He went over to his couch and led down.

He sat there, silently, for a few minutes before reaching over and picking up a photo album that had been placed on the coffee table.

He opened it and flipped a few pages until he found the picture he was looking for.

It was a picture from the day they had graduated from Hogwarts. Him, Remus, Peter, James and Lily. They were all smiling and laughing.

You could see James holding Lily's hand behind their backs. A lone tear slipped down his cheek as he thought about how much he missed his old friends.

The album fell onto his chest as his gentle snores filled the room.

The next morning Harry was awoken by someone gently shaking him.

"Five more minutes" he mumbled as he turned over.

"Come on Harry" said a gentle voice "We've got a big day ahead of us"

Harry turned back over and opened his eyes to see Remus standing over him with a smile on his face.

"Ok, ok I'm up" Harry said as he searched around for his glasses. He felt them be gently pressed into his hand. He put them on and looked into Remus's face.

"What are we doing today?" he asked as he swung his legs over the side of the bed.

"I'll tell you when your ready, now get changed" Remus smiled "I'll wait for you in there" He walked out of the room and closed the door. Harry walked over to his wardrobe and grabbed some clothes then trudged over into his bathroom.

He dropped his clothes on the floor while he turned the shower on. He took his shirt and underwear off and stepped into the shower.

He groaned when the hot water hit his skin and woke him up.

10 minutes later he stepped out of the shower and dried himself off. Once he was dry and fully clothed he went into his living room.

"Ready to go?" Remus asked brightly as he stood up from the couch.

"Uh huh" replied Harry.

They walked out of the portrait and down the corridor.

"You never told me what we're doing today" Harry stated.

"We're going to Diagon Alley" Remus told him happily

"What's that?" Harry asked as they descended one of the many staircases.

"It's where Wizards go to get all their supplies" Remus answered.

"Supplies?" Harry asked curiously

"Books, Robes, Potion stuff, Wands"

"I'm getting a wand?" Harry asked excitedly

"Well how else are you meant to do magic"

A few minutes later they had reached the hall and were sat down at the high table eating breakfast.

"When does the term start?" Harry asked nervously

"September 1st" Remus replied

"Oh" Harry said, looking relieved.

"You weren't getting worried were you?" Remus asked casually

"A little" replied Harry

"Don't be, doing magic is easy when you get the hang of it" Remus said reassuringly

Harry smiled and began helping himself to some Bacon and eggs.

"Where's Sirius?" he asked suddenly, realising that Sirius was no-where to be seen.

"He can't come today so I thought that he could sleep in" Remus explained

"Ok" Harry said. They were silent for a few minutes. The other teachers along the table were talking. The doors opened and Dumbledore walked in. He walked up to the table and sat down next to Harry.

"Looking forward to today?" he asked him brightly

"Yeah, I can't wait to get my wand" Harry told him. Dumbledore smiled and picked up two pieces of toast and began to eat.

10 minutes later they were standing in front of a fireplace, getting ready to floo to Diagon Alley.

"You know what you've got to do now?" Remus asked

"I think so, step into the fire, say where I want to go and it will take me there" he said nervously

"That's it!" Remus said happily "But maybe I should go first just to show you how it's done." Harry nodded and stepped back. Remus moved to the fire and took a handful of floo powder from the pot on the mantle.

He threw it into the fire and stepped into the emerald flames.

"Diagon Alley" he said clearly and he was gone.

Harry stepped into the fire just as Remus had done and said as clearly as possible;

"Diagon Alley" And he too was gone in a whirl of emerald flames.

Moments later Harry had to throw his hands out to stop himself landing face first on the floor.

"So did you like your first time?" Remus asked as he helped him to his feet.

"Not really" Harry said as he dusted himself off.

"Come on then, we've got a lot to do" Remus said as he led him away from the fireplace.

It was only when Remus led him away that Harry realised they were in a dingy looking pub.

"Where are we?" he asked as they made their way to the back.

"The Leaky Cauldron, it's the entrance to Diagon Alley" Remus replied closing the back door behind him.

"Um, what do we do now" Harry asked confusion written all over his face.

Remus said nothing; instead he smiled and pulled his wand out of his pocket. He raised it to the wall and tapped some of the bricks.

The bricks slid away to make an archway. Harry's mouth fell open in amazement. Behind the wall was a bustling street packed full of wizards and witches.

Remus set off down the street with Harry following him.

"What are we getting first?" Harry asked excitedly

"Well first we have to get some money out of the bank then we have to get your books, robes and your wand" Remus said, smiling.

They had reached a white stone building. They walked up the stone steps and through the doors.

They were walking down a long marble hallway with counters on either side that had what Harry had thought were men behind them. As they walked up to one of them Harry gasped.

"What is that?" He whispered in Remus's ear.

"That's a goblin, they run Gringotts" Remus whispered back to him. Harry nodded to show that he had understood.

"Good morning" Remus said to a free goblin "We've come to take some money out of Mr Sirius Black's safe"

"Do you have they Key?" Remus dug a hand into the other pocket of his robes and pulled out a tiny golden key.

A minute later they were seated in a cart that took them down to Sirius's vault.

The cart started and almost sent Harry flying forward from the speed of it. He looked over at Remus who was sitting there as if he did this every day. As they stepped off Harry had to take several deep breaths to keep himself from being sick.

The goblin walked over to a door that was opposite them and placed the key in it. The door opened and Remus led Harry in. Inside the vault was hundreds of gold, silver, and bronze coins.

"Why are we getting money out of Sirius's vault?" Harry asked curiously

"Sirius said that he would pay for all of your school stuff" Remus answered casually

"Oh". Harry stood by the side of the vault while Remus piled coins into a small leather bag. He stood up and the clambered back into the vault, this time Harry copied what Remus was doing and held onto the side instead of just sitting there like he had done last time.

"What are we getting first?" Harry asked eagerly as they stepped back out into Diagon

Alley.

"What do you want to get first?" Remus asked him

"The wand!" Harry said excitedly

"Thought so, well then we had better go to Ollivianders" Remus said, pointing to an old shop opposite them.

They walked across the street and into the shop. Remus walked up to the counter and rang the bell that was placed there. A ladder came into view from behind a shelf with a man stood atop it.

"Good morning and how can I help you today?" the man asked he climbed down from the ladder.

"Harry needs to get a wand" Remus replied. The old man turned to look at them. When he saw Remus his face lit up.

Remus Lupin" he said, walking around the counter to stand in front of Remus "How's your wand, 12 inches made of ebony and unicorn hair of I remember correctly?"

"You remembered correctly" Remus answered with a smile on his face.

"Did you say that you needed to get somebody a wand?" the man asked

"Yes Harry needs one" Remus said, looking at Harry.

"Harry Potter is it?" the man questioned curiously

"Um…yes" Harry answered awkwardly

"Come over here then and we'll get you your wand". Harry walked over to the man. He pulled a tape measure out of one of his pockets.

"Which is your wand arm?" the man asked him

"Um…this one" Harry said, raising his right arm. Harry almost jumped when the tape measure flew out of his hand and started measuring him.

After he had been measured, Mr Ollivander started handing him what felt like every wand in the shop. Finally Mr Olliviander handed him a wand that he didn't snatch back from him. Harry waved it about a bit and to his relief red and gold sparks shot out the end of it.

"Is that the one then?" Remus asked happily from where he had been standing in the corner.

"Yes I would have to say that it is" Mr Olliviander said quietly. He held out his hand for the wand which Harry passed to him. He said nothing as he placed it back in the box and passed it back to Harry. Remus handed him over some Galleons and they all said goodbye. Once they were out of the shop Harry looked over his shoulder to see Mr Olliviander staring at him curiously.

"He's staring at me" Harry whispered nervously to Remus. Remus looked over his shoulder.

"He's not there Harry" Remus whispered back, confused. Harry looked back at the shop once more and saw that Remus was right; Mr Olliviander was nowhere to be seen.

Harry shook his nervousness away and followed Remus down the street.

The rest of the morning passed far too quickly for Harry. They had been to nearly every shop they could find. Remus couldn't stop smiling, not just because he was happy but because Harry had given the man in The Apothecary the wrong amounts and had to shout to Remus to help him.

"Where to now?" Harry asked. Looking ready to collapse.

"We're done, unless you want to go to the leaky cauldron and get a drink before we go back?" Remus asked casually

"Yeah, sure" Harry said, happily. Harry trudged behind Remus all the way back to the Leaky Cauldron.

"Do you want me to go and get a table?" Harry asked trying to be helpful.

"Yeah, but try and get one near the back". Harry nodded and set off to the back of the dingy pub. He quickly found a table right at the very back. He sat down and tapped his fingers on the dirty table surface.

Without Harry noticing Remus managed to sit down opposite him and plonked a bottle of butterbeer down in front of him.

"Hello, Harry?" Remus said as he waved his fingers in front of his face.

"Huh? Oh sorry just thinking about something" Harry said, shaking his head.

"What about?" Remus asked as he took a sip if his drink.

"About Shane and the others, I was just wondering what they would be doing now" Harry said as he picked up his Butterbeer, sniffed it and proceeded to take a large gulp from it.

"You miss them" Remus said knowingly

"Yeah" Harry said slowly. Sensing that the Harry didn't really want to talk about his friends and his old life Remus quickly changed the subject.

"So are you looking forward to starting school?"

"Kind of" Harry said awkwardly

"Anything you're not looking forward to?"

"Sirius said something about being sorted into a house at the start of the term……"

"And?" Remus asked curiously

"Well what if I get sorted into a house and I don't make friends with anyone, I'll be all by myself" Harry said, his cheeks going bright red

"Oh Harry! You don't have to worry about your house, your mum and dad were both in Gryffindor so you probably will be to" Remus said smiling

"They were?" Harry said happily

"Yes, so were me, Sirius, and Ron and Hermione are in there to"

"Oh well that's ok" Harry said, taking a gulp of his drink. They continued talking about the school until they had finished their drinks.

"We had better be going then, I think Dumbledore wants to talk with you and Sirius will be getting worried if we're late" Remus said, standing up.

Harry stood up and followed him over to the fireplace that they had arrived in. Remus took down a pot from the mantle and held it out to Harry. He gladly took a handful of the powder and threw it into the fire, which burst into an emerald flame.

"You go first this time, but say Hogwarts Great Hall" Harry nodded his head and stepped into the cool flames.

"Hogwarts Great Hall" he said clearly and in a whirl of colours he was gone.

He landed ungracefully on a hard stone floor. He got up and brushed himself of and immediately realised that he wasn't in the Great Hall. He was infact in a much smaller room. There were a few portraits on the wall and the fire behind him was crackling merrily. He stepped away from the fire and over to the door on the other side of the room.

He was considering going through it when the sound of someone coming out of the fireplace caused him to whip around. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Remus standing in front of him.

"Come on the hall's through there" Remus said walking over to the door which Harry was still standing next to. They went through the door and into the Great Hall.

"You could've told me that I wouldn't actually come out in the Hall, I thought I'd got out at the wrong place" Harry said smiling

"Don't worry, I'll tell you next time" Remus said, laughing a bit. They made their way up the many staircases of Hogwarts once more. They came to a stop in front of Dumbledore's office.

"Dumbledore wants to talk to you about starting your lessons so he said to go straight up when we get back"

"Oh ok" Harry said

"Right, give me all your stuff and I'll take it up to your room for you"

Thanks" Harry said happily as he handed over lots of tiny bags which Remus had shrunk for him.

"Fizzing Whizbee" Remus said directly to the statue of the gargoyle. At once it started revolving upwards. Harry quickly jumped onto the steps and waved goodbye to Remus who had set off down the corridor.

He jumped off at the top and knocked on the door.

"Come in" came the voice of the ageing Headmaster. Harry slowly pushed the door and stepped inside.

"Ah, Harry come and take a seat" Dumbledore said, motioning to the chair opposite him. He walked up to the Headmaster's desk and sat down in front of him. He waited for him to finish reading the piece of paper that was in front of his eyes.

He set the paper down and looked at Harry through his half-moon glasses.

"Well Harry as you know you will be starting your lessons tomorrow"

"Uh huh" Harry said happily

"I wanted to talk with you just to make sure that you are ok with all the lessons that you will be doing"

"Oh ok"

"Well then, the lessons that you will be doing are: Defence against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Potions, Charms, and Occlumency"

"Ok" Harry said slowly

"Do you have any questions about these?"

"Yeah what's Occlumency about?" Harry asked curiously

"Occlumency is a very powerful magic that teaches you how to er block things from coming into your mind"

"When you say things you mean Voldemort, don't you?" Harry asked knowingly

"Yes"

"Thought so, ok so who's going to be teaching me all this"

"Well Professor Flitwick will be teaching you charms,, have you met him yet?"

"No not yet"

"Professor McGonagall will be teaching Transfiguration"

"Oh, I spoke to her for about a minute yesterday!" Harry said brightly. Dumbledore laughed.

"Professor Snape will be teaching you Potions". Harry's head whipped up.

"Does he have too?" Harry pleaded.

"Yes he does but I think that Sirius may be joining you when you have that" Dumbledore said smiling.

"Oh"

"I will be teaching you Occlumency" Dumbledore continued. Harry smiled.

"And Sirius and Remus will teach you Defence"

"Sirius and Remus?" Harry asked in disbelief

"If that's ok with you" Dumbledore said smiling

"Course its ok" Harry said, grinning from ear to ear.

"Well then now that that's all over why don't you go and meet Sirius and Remus and go outside for the rest of the day" Dumbledore suggested

"Ok, I'll see you soon then" Harry said as he stood up from his chair

"And if I were you I would get a good nights sleep tonight" Dumbledore said wisely

"Oh ok, bye Professor" Harry said, opening the door

"Goodbye Harry". He shut the door behind him and made his way back down the stairs. To his surprise Sirius and Remus were waiting at the bottom for him.

"Hi Harry" Sirius said brightly

"Hi" Harry said as he jumped off the last step.

"Did you like Diagon Alley?" Sirius asked

"Loved it"

"So did Dumbledore tell you that we're going to be teaching you?" Sirius said, looking at his feet.

"Yeah and I'm sure you'll be fine so don't worry" Harry said, laughing a little

"How did you know I was nervous?" Sirius exclaimed

"I didn't, I guessed". Sirius raised his eyebrows. Harry smiled innocently

"So what do you want to do today?" Remus asked casually

"I don't mind" shrugged Harry

"Why don't we……." Sirius looked around hoping that something fun would spring to mind. He scanned the corridor, as if thinking an idea would jump out at him from behind a wall.

"Don't wizards ride broomsticks?" Harry asked curiously

"Yeah, why?" Sirius asked

"Well, you could teach me how to ride one" Harry replied, looking from Remus to Sirius.

Remus looked at Sirius, who was bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"Of course we can, of course we'll have to borrow the schools brooms but they'll do just fine" Sirius said happily, grabbing Harry and Remus by their arms and pulling them down the corridor and into the entrance hall, all the while chattering about Quidditch.

As they neared the Quidditch Pitch, Sirius released his grip on their arms and slowed down.

"You know Harry; your father was on the Gryffindor Quidditch Team" Sirius said, sounding proud of his dead best friend.

"I know Sirius, you said it like a hundred times as we were coming down here" Harry laughed

"Did I?" Sirius asked wildly

"You did Sirius" Remus said casually

"Oh" Sirius said, a bit downtrodden. They stood there in silence for a few moments before Remus spoke up

"Why don't I get us some brooms" he said, casually raising his wand in the air and summoning three brooms from the school.

"Right, hold your broom like this and mount it" Sirius said, showing Harry the right way to hold his broom.

"Okay" Harry said, jumping onto the broom "Now what?"

"Well now you fly it"

"How?"

"Well you……" Sirius was cut off as Harry started rising slowly from the ground

"Well you do that" Remus laughing at the look on Harry's face. When the broom had first gone up Harry had jumped and was holding onto the handle so hard that his knuckles were turning white, and there was nervousness written all over his face.

"Okay, but how do I come back down?" Harry asked quickly

"You lean forward when you want to come back down, and don't go to high, we don't want you zooming off" Sirius answered. Harry let himself go up a few more feet before coming back down.

"How did that feel?" Remus asked him when he was firmly on the ground

"That felt……amazing! Can I do it again?" Harry asked, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"I guess you could but remember don't go to high" Sirius said, handing the broom back to him. Harry eagerly took it off him. When Sirius had made sure that he was holding it right he quickly rose into the air.

"Harry what did I say about going to high?" Sirius shouted when he had gone up over 20 feet. But Harry had other ideas. Without looking back at Sirius and Remus, he sped off, circling the inside of the Quidditch Pitch.

Sirius gasped. He had known that Harry would be good at Quidditch, after all James was his father, but he hadn't expected him to be able to fly like that on his first time.

"Wow! He's good" Remus said, standing beside Sirius as the watched Harry loop in and out of the stands. Sirius said nothing, all the colour had drained from his face. A few minutes later Harry touched down in front of them.

"Did you see how fast I was going?" He asked breathlessly, looking from Remus to Sirius.

Remus was grinning from ear-to-ear, but Sirius was a different matter. Some of the colour had returned to his face but he looked scared about something.

"Sirius what's wrong?" Harry asked innocently

"Harry what did I tell you? You could have fallen off and killed yourself!"

"I know but I didn't" Harry said with a cheeky smile on his face. Sirius was silent.

"Are you mad at me?" Harry looked at his feet

"No I'm not mad, I was just worried that's all" Sirius said, forcing himself to smile.

"Great, lets go get something to eat I'm starving" Harry said, grabbing them both by their arms and pulling them in the direction of the castle.

Remus waited for a bit longer to watch them. Sirius had his arm around Harry's shoulder and was talking to him about his dad. Remus smiled and shook his head.

'Harry's going to do fine here' he thought to himself. He smiled again and ran up the lawn to catch up with them.