Chapter 7- Its Shopping time Part 2
The trunk shop was just on the main street of diagon alley, so finding it was no hassle, upon opening the door; a bell rang telling the owner that he had a customer. Harry waited for the owner to show himself, in the mean while he was admiring the various different types of trunk placed on the shelves. They were divided into wood type, size, configuration, etc.
Should get myself a big one like Moody's, thought Harry while looking at a trunk which said it had five compartments, he was so engrossed in reading the pamphlet that he didn't notice the owner come up to him.
"Hello, my names Edward, I am the owner of this shop what can I get ya", Harry looked up to a see the owner, he was a relatively tall man, but was balding on the top, and had hands as rough as a rock, noticed Harry when he shook his hands, "Ya hi my name is Harry, I was wondering what different types of trunks do you sell, and what enchantments, charms, features, can you include in a trunk, I mean I want one of your best trunks available. Money is not a issue" upon hearing the last sentence, like any other shop owner the man was excited.
But then he became a little wary after noticing that his customer was too young to buy something expensive, he asked, "I don't want to be rude or anything, but lad how are you planning on paying, I don't want to make a trunk, and then realize you stun me and run away with it"
Harry hadn't expected that, but it did make some sense, so he pulled off his hood, and let the man see his scar, the man gasped and mumbled a apology, and asked Harry to follow him to the back of the shop, well at least my scar has it uses, mused Harry.
Edward took him to his workshop in the back of the store, there Edward asked Harry to make himself comfortable on a chair, while he was taking out a big catalogue. After placing the catalogue on a table between him and Harry he spoke, "Well normally I just show my customers the trunks I already have, but as you seemed to be interested in something different, I thought I should ask you if you would like a customized one suiting to your needs." Harry nodded to that and asked Edward to continue.
"Well now the basic requirement for a trunk is the wood type to be used, normally for school purposes I use something like cherry, or maple, they are light and quite sturdy, for normal day purposes, something like a teak wood, for auror's and hit wizards you need something more strong which can also withstand spells, so I use something like ebony. These are the usual I use, now there are more rarer trees available but the problem is that it is very hard to come by, one of them is fairy oak, it is by far one of the rarest material on the market, it can only be available deep inside forests, where most people do not wish to venture, the tree is said to be the home of fairies, and thus being a home to a magical creature has made the tree very resistant to all types of magic. I myself have only enough material for 3 trunks but customers for such trunks are very hard to come by" said Edward waiting for Harry to comment.
Harry didn't even think about it for a second and replied, "Mr. Edward I want to be honest with you, money really isn't a problem, I would even pay you extra if I could get the trunk sooner. You have to understand is that I need a state of the art trunk, a trunk like none before, with deatheaters and the dark lord himself out for my blood, a good trunk could save my life, now it is up to you to decide whether you want to swindle me, to get a lot of money, or you could create something which could be one of a kind, and could help save the entire wizarding population if I am saved by it"
When Harry was finished he noticed that Edward was lost in his thought, he mumbled something like "They killed my daughters family", Harry knew whom he meant by "they", and choose not to comment.
After breaking out of his thoughts, he had steel hard determination in his eyes, "Harry I think this concludes our business here, you can come back in a week to see your trunk complete, don't worry I will keep what you said in mind, and I ensure you the trunk will be a masterpiece, and the best ever created by my hands."
Harry was happy to see truth and determination in the owners eyes, to not let down Harry expectations, he knew he was being harsh when he said those things, but the truth is always harsh and cruel. Edwards asked for a down payment of 420 galleons, and gave Harry a bottomless bag for free, which he could also shrink, if he wanted after putting the items he purchased in it.
The owner shook hands one last time with Harry and told him to drop by the shop in a week, to take his trunk.
Coming out of the shop Harry noticed that it was already noon, he had left Privet Drive around 8, and now he had to hurry up if he wanted to finish with his shopping. He went to the pet shop to get Hedwig some owl treats, and then moved to Flourish Blotts to purchase his schoolbooks, and some other books he wished to buy.
The shop was empty when he entered, must be because school has just ended, he noticed the usual stacks, and stacks of books everywhere, the latest edition of Hogwarts: A History put up on display on a rack. Maybe I can buy that for Hermione for her birthday.
The shopkeeper came up to him and asked him whether he required any assistance, Harry just asked "Well I need books on defense, charms, transfiguration, not only sixth year books but advanced ones as well."
Harry went to the section, which the shopkeeper had pointed to, and found the books that he needed. He first pulled out his sixth and seventh year defense books, then looked for something more advanced, spotting a few titles that caught his eye he picked them up as well, then he moved to the charms and transfiguration section, and did the same things, he even went to the potions section and picked a few books up. He went to the counter and dropped around 15 books that he found interesting. The shopkeeper choose not to comment, and added the books up.
When he was done, Harry inquired "Well I was wondering if you had any advance books that you normally don't keep on the shelves, I really need books out of the ordinary"
The shopkeeper looked at him suspiciously, to which Harry did the only thing that he thought could be of help, showed him his scar.
The man gasped first, then regained his composure, and asked Harry to follow him to the back, How come everyone takes me to the back of the store, cant they have keep it somewhere else.
The man asked Harry to wait for a second, and he started waving his wand on a painting, which moved aside when the man gave the password, and correct incantation. The he asked Harry to follow him.
The room, which Harry entered was huge and circular, and looked like it hadn't been cleaned in a while, there was cobwebs here and there, with many old and worn out looking books on the shelves next to the walls.
The shopkeeper told him to see if he found anything interesting, Harry went to one of the books, it was leather bound, with clasps on them, and looking very worn out, he gently opened it and noticed the words, Dueling Strategies by Godric Gryffindor.
To say Harry was shocked would have been an understatement, there were twenty books only written by his ancestor, on the shelves, along with two books by Slytherin, also various other old books like, Ancient and Lost Magic, Magic lost through the ages, Increasing ones power, and some dark art books. He also found some books written by Merlin. He looked to the owner standing on the side smiling at him, and asked whether he could borrow or buy these books from him.
"Well Mr. Potter I am usually fond of my collection, my family has been collecting them for years, it would pain me to lose them, but I know dark times are coming, and I have a feeling that you are the answer to the prayers of the wizarding populace, thus I will let you borrow fifty of my prized books, and when you are done with them, you can borrow the other fifty, some of the books here are of very dark nature so you must be sure of what you are getting into, and rest assured this arrangement is only between you and me, if others found out the existence of this room, my shop would be raided in a second. So I am trusting you to take care of them." With that said he left the room to let Harry browse the collection and pick the books Harry wanted.
He spend fifteen minutes in the room, picking up books, on dark magic, ancient lost magic, rituals for increasing ones power though not ones which were dark, the founders and the Merlin's books. He realized if he had to survive the war, and defeat Voldemort then he had to fight on the same ground, after all magic is not good or evil, it all depends on the intent. Also Voldemort had years of knowledge from traveling around the world, which he did after he left Hogwarts, and thus Harry had little time to try and catch up.
He shrunk the books and placed them in his bag, and walked out, and said his thanks one more time to the shopkeeper and left the shop.
Well this day is getting better and better, thought a very Happy Harry.
He went to the Leaky Cauldron, with his hood covering his face, and had some lunch. Luckily no one recognized him, though he did see a few giving him some cautious glances. Must be wondering if I am a death eater, did they think that a death eater would come here to have lunch then kill them so he didn't have to pay, what a bunch of idiots, thought an amused Harry.
After finishing and paying Tom, Harry returned back to the alley to go to the shop, which Angelina and Madam Malkins recommended for purchasing dragon hide.
The shop was on the corner of Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley, upon entering the shop, the first thing that Harry noticed was the smell, the smell of tons and tons of dragon hide lying around, he noticed pants, gloves, hats, jackets, breast plate, body armour, etc, on the walls for display. He walked around admiring them, while also looking for the shop keeper, he found the man putting up some more displays of wand holsters, on the back of the counter. The man looked almost like Hagrid, with wild bushy hair, huge body, but not as tall as him. He introduced himself as Max, and Harry introduced himself, he thought if he wanted better service he might as well use his fame.
Max didn't act like the other shop keepers, looking at his scar whenever he introduced himself, he just said "It's a pleasure to meet you Harry, What can I do for you?"
"Well Max, I need the strongest Armour you have, I need a jacket, body armour, pants, and boots as well, with every enchantment you can add, also I was wondering whether you have any invisibility cloaks available" Harry added the last item as a after thought, when he remembered that his fathers was getting a little short for him.
Max he didn't have any invisibility cloaks right now, since they are very hard to come by, but he did ask Harry to follow him to one of the displays on the wall, "This Harry is the hide of a Hungarian Horntail, and this is the strongest I have."
The hide was very black, rough, but relatively light in weight.
"Are you sure you don't have any other material which could be stronger, I heard Basilisk Hide is one of the strongest" asked Harry when he remembered the wand holsters that he bought from Ollivander's.
Max was deep in thought, and then replied, "Harry Basilisks, are rare and very dangerous creatures, finding the hide of one is very difficult, and it is a treat to make a armour out of it for someone like me. Sadly I don't have any available at the moment, and I don't think it's readily available either."
Harry remembered the basilisk in the chamber of secrets, which he defeated in his second year, "What if Max I could get you the material, would you make one and several extra's for me"
Max had a ecstatic look on his face, "Harry if you get me the hide, I would readily let you buy every armour I make, I just want to work with one, its been many years, since I have made a armour, the only thing I could ever make was wand holsters, since the material I got wasn't enough for making a full battle armour."
Harry nodded and told him, he would get the material as soon as possible, in the mean while he would purchase the Hungarian Horntail Kit including the jacket, the body armour, pants and the boots, with every charm possible to be put on it.
Max included common charms, which would not be repelled by the armour like one to prevent the armour from giving of odour, for something like boots, to prevent them from making any noise and helping in stealth, etc.
He wore the boots and the armour, which was under his shirt; he kept the jacket for later purposes. At first the armour was uncomfortable, but Max told him that it will take time for the armour to fit to his body size, and then it will be comfortable.
Harry paid the man, and told him he would return some other day, and left.
Harry went straight to Madam Malkins to get a set of his clothes, which she promised would be complete by noon end. One set of robes were complete as well as a muggle shirt and pant. He wore the shirt on top of his armour, and after putting on his pants, was told by Angelina that the pockets had double the size usually possible. But the best of all were his robes, it was plain black, with a hood just like the sample piece, but in the inside it had many pockets, pockets for small potions, knives, wands, whatever Harry wanted to put in there. He preferred to call these his Assassin Robes, since no one would realize what Harry would have in them, and they looked like everyday robes.
He thanked both the ladies for a job well done, and told them he would be avidly waiting for the rest of the clothes, whenever they were ready, and left the shop to go to the destination which he had been putting off for later, Knockturn Alley.
Authors Note:Thank you for your reviews, i will be keeping in mind, everything that has been suggested, for a writer such as myself suggestions help to improve the things in which i am lacking.
paula:Well paula when i started this story i only had the fighting scenes in mind, i am actually building a story around that, so i am sorry if i am going a little fast, but i will try to add more details here and there
Icy Tears :Thanks for the suggestions will keep it in mind
athenakitty: I didnt understand what you meant by that
SeekerTlk:Thanks i must have missed that when i reread the story
Aloavi:Hmm you have a point will make the H/G a little slower, but nt much ;), my 1st through 5th chap is a indication of what the story is going to be like, so if you read them you should understand what plans i have
uten:the blacks did wake up, Sirius came to Harry rescue to talk to his parents didnt he
I am starting with the next chap now, hope you like this one, and remember please review ;)