The Tangibility of Magic by Jolly Rancher
Chapter 3- Shopping in Diagon Alley
"That will be twenty galleons." Said Griphook.
"Oh yes, of course." Harry paid the goblin and walked outside the wizarding bank.
Harry stopped, and thought about where he wanted to go next. Should I shop in Diagon Alley first, then go to Knockturn Alley? He decided to shop in Diagon Alley and get all the essentials.
Harry walked outside Gringotts and put on his dark cloak. He then made the walk to Madame Malkins. The door gave a chime as he entered.
"Hello dear, how may I help you?" asked Madam Malkin.
Harry took off the robe. "Hello Madam Malkin."
"Mr. Potter? Why on earth are you dressed in that horrible cloak? And what's wrong with your voice?"
Harry gave her a wry smile. "I don't really want anyone to know I'm here. I don't want much attention right now."
The short witch smiled. "I understand Mr. Potter. Now, do you want your normal set of school robes?"
"No, actually. I was thinking of actually getting some real robes, in different colors."
"Of course, dear. What would you like?"
"I would like five robes for everyday wear. I want two of them to be red, two to be blue, and one to be a dark purple, almost black. I would also like three dress robes, with one a pure white, another black, and the last a silver." Said Harry.
Madam Malkin nodded, all the while taking down notes. "Very well. Step on the stool so that I can get your measurements."
Harry stepped on the stool, spread his arms out, and let the tape measure do its work. As it swept over him, he mulled over where to go next. Maybe I should go to Flourish & Blott's next. Or maybe Ollivander's. I am eager to get a new wand. I wonder if he'll let me get one. I hope he will. What am I talking about, of course he will. He must know of the Priori Incantatem spell, and he definitely knows that Voldemort's wand is my brother wand. He has to give me a new one. If I just expla-"
"That's it dear. You're done." Said Madam Malkin. "Your robes should be done in about an hour. That will be twenty-five galleons Mr. Potter."
Harry got out his credit card and handed it to her. She examined it. "I heard about these! Some clients have talked about them, but no one has ever used it before in my shop."
She got out her wand, and slid the tip along the magnetic strip. "Twenty-five galleons!"
Harry thanked her and put his cloak on before bidding the witch goodbye, and leaving the shop. He decided to go to a store that he had seen earlier, one that had advertised trunks.
He walked into the store and started to browse through the selection of trunks. He wanted a trunk like Moody's, but only found regular one-compartment trunks, or some two-compartment trunks. Finally, as he neared the end of the store, he reached the type of trunks he was looking for. There were only two types of trunks and he read the card for each.
Brucolli Trunk
Company: Brucolli Inc.
Furnished by the famous designer himself Francis Brucolli, this trunk is truly a work of art. Includes: normal compartment, living room, dining room, powder room, entertainment room, library, and an empty room.
Price: 400 galleons
The Kage Trunk
Company: Kage Inc.
This trunk contains seven compartments. The first two compartments are the size of a normal trunk, while the five others are 50 ft x 50 ft. The first two compartments are carpeted, the floor of the third is made from the finest holly wood, and the last compartment is stone all over and one can make the compartments into whatever they wish. There is a door in the last five compartments so one does not have to leave the trunk to go from one to another. The trunk also has an automatic shrinking charm placed on it.
Price: 100 galleons.
Harry decided to get the Kage Trunk, since he really didn't care for some guy decorating his rooms. Plus, it was much cheaper, and he could mold it into what exactly he wanted. He went up to the owner of the shop, who had been looking at him suspiciously since he came in, and asked, "Are there any more of the Kage Trunk's? If so, I would like to buy one."
The shopkeeper said, "Yes, as a matter of fact, we do. I'll get one from the storeroom right away. Please wait here for a moment."
Harry stood at the desk, waiting for the shopkeeper to emerge from the storeroom.
"Here you are sir. One Kage Trunk. I hope everything is to your satisfaction." Said the shopkeeper.
"Thank you. Oh, I have one question... how do you activate the shrinking charm on the trunk?"
"Of course sir. All you have to do is place your hand on the top of the trunk, and say 'Reducio!' The trunk should shrink to the size of a playing card deck. To enlarge the trunk, you have to put your hand on it and say 'Engorgio!'" He said.
Harry nodded and put his hand on top of the trunk. "Reducio!"
The trunk immediately shrunk, and Harry put it into his pocket. He nodded to the owner, and walked outside.
Harry set off for Flourish and Blotts. As he entered the store, he noticed that it was mostly empty. Just one or two people buying some books. He automatically went towards the schoolbook's section, before remembering that he needed to get something more advanced than the normal stuff. He needed things past
what they taught in Hogwarts. Besides, he didn't want to get bored in his classes. He looked around the store, and went to the advanced Transfiguration section. He searched the racks for a few minutes before choosing three of the many books.
What They Don't Teach At School – Mirabelle Stewart
From Rock to Dog – Anthony Hopkins
Self-Transfiguration – Selena Gale
He then went to the Potions section. His dreams of being an auror had completely vanished. This was partly due to the fact that he knew that he would never get an Outstanding in his Potions OWL, but mostly because he had seen how corrupt the ministry was. Rather than a democracy, it was more like a dictatorship. Fudge controlled everything, even the press. They all think that their superior to muggles, yet who discriminates against races? Muggles are years ahead of wizards, at least in terms of these silly prejudices. And at least muggles give fair trials, don't wizards know of the term "innocent until proven guilty?"
He got a few books out of the Potions section and proceeded to the Charms section. He got a couple books on charms-mainly ones on conjuring objects, and also took some books from the Defense Against the Dark Arts section. He finished up his shopping in the bookstore and went up to the cashier to pay for his purchase.
As the man at the front desk tallied up the books, Harry asked, "Excuse me, but why is Diagon Alley so empty today? Every other time I came here, it was always bustling with action."
With a little trepidation, the man said, "It's because of You-Know-Who being reborn again, sir. Most people now place their orders my owl order, rather than take the risk of Voldemort attacking while they shop," He shrugged, "It's what happened during the last war."
Harry pondered over this for a moment while the cashier finished up. "The total is twenty-four galleons and eight sickles, sir."
Harry handed him his card and watched as the man ran his wand across the magnetic strip. The cashier handed the card back and Harry exited Flourish and Blotts. He decided to go to Ollivander's to get a second wand.
Harry entered the store, causing a soft tinkle to echo in the empty store. He looked around, but he couldn't find Mr. Ollivander. "Hello Mr. Potter. I trust that you and your wand are well."
Harry jumped slightly at the raspy voice of Ollivander. He smiled slightly, I should know that I would never be able to find him. I swear, he's like an owl; you never hear them until it's too late. He turned around and said, "Hello Mr. Ollivander. I am very well, thank you. My wand is also working fine."
"Then why are you here Mr. Potter? Do you require a cleaning agent for your wand? Or perhaps a wand holster?" said Ollivander.
"No, actually, I'm here to get a new wand. Although a wand holster doesn't seem too bad." Said Harry.
Ollivander blinked in surprise. "Oh, I am sorry Mr. Potter, but I'm afraid that I cannot sell you a second wand. Only aurors, or Ministry-approved personnel can own more than one wand. You can own a wand holster though. I have a great selection here, if you could-"
Harry interrupted him. "Please, Mr. Ollivander. I absolutely need a new wand. You yourself said that Voldemort's wand is my wand's brother. You must know that Priori Incantatem happens whenever we duel. Last time I dueled with him, it saved my life, but I fear that Voldemort will somehow use this against me, now that he knows about it. Please, I beg you."
Ollivander said in surprise, "Yes, I do know that your wand is the brother to Voldemort's, but when did you duel the Dark Lord Mr. Potter? And furthermore, how do you know of the Priori Incantatem spell? That is not a spell that they teach at school."
Harry's jaw dropped open. "You mean you haven't heard of the events of the last task of the Tri-Wizard tournament? I thought everyone had known about it."
Ollivander shook his head in a negative. "I'm sorry Mr. Potter, but there was nothing in the paper about you having fought He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."
Harry began telling the story of the last task. "During the last task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, a Death Eater created an illegal portkey out of the Tri-Wizard Cup. It took me and Cedric Diggory to a cemetery," Harry winced as he recalled the death of Cedric. "Cedric died, and Lord Voldemort was reborn by a ritual using my blood, a servants flesh, and his fathers bones. Voldemort dueled with me after he called his Death Eaters, to show that I was a pushover. We both shot curses at each other at the same time, and they collided, causing the Priori Incantatem to occur. And I'm sure you can guess what happened next."
Ollivander was delighted to be hearing the story of Voldemort's rebirth. The ministry had sent owls to everyone explaining that Voldemort was back, but they had never told anyone how.
"Yes, I can. You're father and mother appeared, didn't they?"
Harry nodded. "So can you give me a new wand in light of this?"
Ollivander nodded. "Yes, yes, I suppose that I could get you a new wand. There is one condition. You must not tell anyone of this. The ministry will close down my shop if they ever heard of this. You must very careful so that no one recognizes that you are using a different wand."
"Yes, of course Mr. Ollivander. No one will know.that I have two wands."
"Very well, wait here while I fetch some wands for you to try out." said Ollivander.
He went to the back and got a few wands off the shelves. Harry tried them all, but none of them seemed to match him. Ollivander went back and got more wands, but still, none worked with Harry. This went on for almost an hour. "That's it! I'm sorry Mr. Potter, but there doesn't seem to be a wand in the shop that matches you."
Harry rubbed his wrist, the flicking and swishing for almost an hour straight had made it sore. "Damn. Can you make a custom wand? One that matches me perfectly?"
Ollivander said, "Yes, I could, but the only magical core that seems to suit you is the phoenix feather, and I'm afraid that those are very hard to get. That is why your wand was so expensive, because phoenix's rarely give up their feathers."
Harry thought for a moment. "Wait a moment, since I can speak parseltoungue, wouldn't a snake-related magical core suit me?"
"Yes, it would Mr. Potter, but unfortunately the only snake magical enough to be used in a wand core is a basilisk, which, unfortunately, is too rare and dangerous to get. Perhaps a runespoor, but that's a Class A non-tradable material, and I need ministry approval to make it."
Harry grinned. "What would you say if I said that I could get you a full grown, thousand-year-old basilisk?"
Ollivander gasped. "Are you serious Mr. Potter? You can get me a basilisk? If so, you wouldn't have to pay a knut for your wand, the parts would be more than enough."
"Yes, the basilisk is actually in Hogwarts right now, but I'm sure that I can get it for you in a few days." Said Harry.
"In Hogwarts you say? Why the devil is a basilisk in Hogwarts?"
Harry told Ollivander the story of his second year in Hogwarts, albeit a bit condensed.
Ollivander shook his head in disbelief. "Well Mr. Potter, you certainly are even more powerful than I ever thought. My word...for a twelve-year-old boy to defeat a thousand year basilisk...absolutely amazing."
Harry blushed from the compliments. "It wasn't just me, you know. Fawkes helped as well. If he hadn't gorged the basilisks eyes out, I could never have beaten the monster."
"Nevertheless, you are quite powerful Mr. Potter. Your choice of wand proves that. Now get me the scales of the basilisk, its venom, and its fangs. After I have them it should take about a full day for me to finish making your wand." Said Ollivander.
Harry nodded his consent. "Okay, I'll get it to you the day after tomorrow. Goodbye, sir."
"Farewell Mr. Potter."
Harry exited the store and readied himself to go into Knockturn Alley.
A/N: Well, here's the next chapter of Tangibility. To the reviewer that asked about pairings, I'm sorry but it's not going to be any of those. It's not going to be Harry/Ginny or Harry/Hermione either though! I have nothing against those, but they are just way too common. Thanks for the reviews.
Next Time: Knockturn Alley
Comments welcome. Even flames.