Author's Notes: i think this is an awesome chapter. and i added a nice little twist. the harry potter books...

Disclaimer: sadly, i do not own anything harry potter related.

Chapter 4: The Hidden Alley

Nathalie walked upstair to her room and looked at the window. To her astonishment, the beggar that always followed them was sitting in a tree. He seemed to be watching the kitchen. He had an odd expression, a mixture of sadness and relief. Nathalie stared at him a few minutes before she opened her Harry Potter book and started reading.

Soon, she was immersed in the wonderful world of HP. She was currently re-reading Prisoner of Azkaban, her favorite book of all for several reasons. First, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin were introduced. Second, Voldemort didn't make an appearance.

The next time Nathalie looked out the window, the beggar was gone. She sighed in relief. The idea of her family being watched so closely by that hobo appalled her.

She went back to her book, but for some reason she couldn't concentrate. Why was that guy following them home from school? Why was he now watching her family? Nathalie looked out the window to the tree the man had been sitting in. And where did he come from? I wonder what his name is... Nathalie felt sympathy for any poor soul with out a home, but by no means did she trust the beggar. He might be some kind of pervert for all I know.

David stared out the window in the living room. He sat, observing everything, his dark eyes slightly narrowed, giving him a cold, hard look. His eyes followed the beggar as he walked down the street. David looked in disgust at the matted hair and torn clothes. I bet he escaped from prison or something...he thought, glaring at the man's receding back.

"David..."

"Yes Dad?" asked David, without moving.

"Don't sit there staring out the window all day. The neighbours must think there's something wrong with you, you do that so much. Why don't you and Nathalie go to the play park?"

"Dad...I'll be 11 soon. The play park's for little kids."

His father sighed, exasperated. "Then why don't you go for a walk then? I don't care. Just go and do something outside for a change!"

"Very well." David stood and cast one last look out the window before going upstairs to get Nattie.

"Nathalie?" he asked upon entering the room. "Dad wants us to go take a walk. Stop reading that stupid book and come on before he gets mad."

Nathalie glared at him. "What's put you in such a bad mood? I'm about to get to the best part. And Harry Potter is anything but stupid!"

David rolled his eyes. "Magic isn't real. Just give up already. Like me. You'll be a better person for it."

"Oh yeah. You're a wonderful person, staring at the street all day and fighting with Mum and Dad!"

David's glare was murderous. He turned on his heel and walked back downstairs and out the door ignoring his mother's shout of "Be careful!"

David found himself walking towards the center of London. People payed him no notice as they speed walked, minding their own business. David crossed streets still wet from the last rain. After a while, he started looking around at the shops to try and find out where he was. He was just cursing his stupidity when a man walked right in front of him. David stopped suddenly to avoid a collision. His glare followed the man as he walked towards a gap in two buildings, muttering to himself. He paused seemed to reach for an invisible door and open. David nearly scoffed at the looney...And then...the man was gone. Vanished. David looked harder at the place where the man had vanished and was astonished to find that he was now looking at a dark and dirty little building. Above the door was a sign that read "The Leaky Cauldron". David stared. That name sounded familiar somehow...On an impulse he walked up to the door, pulled it open, and stepped over the threshold. His eyes took a second to adjust to the gloom.

"Good afternoon little master. Are you looking for someone?" A short, bent man appeared from behind the counter. "Was that your father that just walked in?" The barman narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Well?"

"Erm, yes, we were separated by the crowd. Can you show me where he went?" David lied brazenly. What did he have to lose?

The barman pointed towards a door in the back that David had not noticed before. "Thank you." David quickly walked out the back door just in time to see...bricks rearranging themselves? He darted through and they closed behind him. This day is getting stranger by the second. It's almost as if I've walked into Harry Potter... David had read the first three books with enthusiasm. But one day, he asked his mother if magic was real...She had assured him it wasn't. David had been crushed, never picking up another Harry Potter book...And now, here he was, in what he was beginning to suspect was Diagon Alley, as unbelivable as it seemed.

He looked around. Small shops lined the narrow street. People in dark cloaks hurried between them, no one stopping to chat. The atmosphere was fearful and cold. David shivered involuntarily. A boarded up shop in front of him caught his eye. "Ollivanders..." David was excited now. Could his mother have been wrong? Without stopping to think, he ran across the Alley and, looking to make sure no one saw him, wrenched open the door and slipped inside.

Beams of light came through the loosely nailed boards. Fortunately, it was just enough to see by.

The walls of the shop were all shelved. And in the shelves were thin long boxes. Hundreds of them, each containing as David suspected with growing hope, a wand. He stared around him in awe, hardly daring to believe it was real. Nattie was right! Magic is real! He thought, though he was sure his sister didn't know just how right she was.

Cautiously, David walked forward and stopped a foot away from the bookcase. I saw the Leaky Cauldron...What if...? Slowly, ever so slowly, he reached out a trembling hand and took a box off the shelf. Inside it was a dark wand, long, and slightly dusty. Carefully, he took it out of it's case and waved it. Nothing. He was slightly dissapointed, but he hadn't really expected something fantastic the first wand he tried. He pulled out a second. Same result. As well as a third, a forth, and fifth. On and on he went, hoping something would happen.

And on this tenth try, it did. As soon as David pulled the wand out of it's box, an insane sense of happiness caused him to smile in the gloom. This was it! He just knew it. He waved the wand and a jet of bright sparks erupted out the other end. David almost whooped with excitement. He was a wizard! Just like he had always dreamed of when he was younger. He waved the wand around a bit more before he noticed the sky was darkening. His happiness faded as a wave of panic washed over him. How long had he been gone?

Quickly, he put all the other boxes back and left the shop. He felt a little guilty about just taking the wand, but it had chosen him, he didn't have any money, and even if he did, there was nobody to pay. He walked quickly into the Leaky Cauldron but a man sitting at the bar got up and blocked his way.

"Just where d'you think yer going kid?"

David stopped. "I was going home, sir."

"Only Muggles live out there."

David tried desperately to keep the fear out of his eyes. "My family are Muggles."

The man grinned, making him look slightly insane. David noticed he had crooked yellow teeth. "But you ain't, are ya? If you was, there'd be no way you could be here."

"Can you please just let me go home?" pleaded David.

The man stared down at him and smiled with his crooked, yellow teeth. This time, the smile wasn't half crazed, but kind. "Do yer parents know about you?"

David looked at his feet. "No..."

"Then how do you know they'll accept you?"

David stared up at the man in shock. That thought had not occured to him. "They're my parents. They love me! They'll be thrilled!"

The man shook his head sadly. "My parents weren't, lad. They threw me out when I told 'em. You can go home and tell 'em if you like, but if they don' like it, you can come back here and go with me, see? I'm always here in the evenings, so you can find me, if you want." Then man winked and turned. He dissapeared with a resounding CRACK! leaving David gaping at the place where he had stood.

David ran down the street that he hoped would lead him home, thinking about what the strange wizard had said. What if his parents don't accept him? David knew that was a distinct possibility. His parents were very down-to-earth-no-nonsense people. They scorned punks, goths, and any other strange group that did their best to stick out. Would they hate wizards if they found out they were real?

David nearly stopped in relief as he passed the school. He knew exactly where he was now. A few minutes later, he stood outside his house. He took a deep breath and walked in, mentally preparing himself for explaining to his parents.

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-Moony