I'll give a cookie to anyone who correctly identifies the reference in this chapter! Hint- it's not a reference to anything in the Harry Potter series, though it's quite obvious to anyone who already knows what it is. #Goes off humming "End of the World," in order to give further hints to those who might know what they're looking for when they see it#
Oh, and sorry it's so incredibly long, but there just wasn't a good place to split it! #apologies#
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Chapter XIV- Diagon Alley
Draco's suggestion, Harry decided as the little group arrived at the Leaky Cauldron, was actually a very good one. They needed to go to Diagon Alley anyway, to get their supplies for the year, but it also gave everyone the opportunity to have a bit of space after a rather stressful couple of hours. Even Neville seemed determined to have a good time, though he kept shooting nervous looks at Draco every few minutes. Harry had explained the whole situation again, but he had a nagging suspicion that Neville's discomfort was caused more by Draco's penchant for picking on him than by any ties Draco may or may not have had to Voldemort. Though Neville had become far more proficient during his practice with the DA, he still didn't quite have the confidence in his abilities to stand up to the Slytherin on his own.
For his part, Ron was doing his best to ignore the blond's presence while still talking to Harry. This was difficult, as Harry was usually next to Draco. They walked as a string of four on the sidewalk, with Ginny on Draco's other side, every once in a while shifting to allow Muggles to pass them, then fanning out again. The youngest Weasley was doing her best to make Draco feel welcome, asking him questions about the most mundane and ordinary things she could, and steering clear of 'sensitive' issues. Harry was grateful for this as well, as he was learning more about the blond through Ginny's probing questions. For instance, Draco had a serious fetish for Florian Fortescue's Double Chocolate Avalanche sundaes, and Mr. Ollivander gave him the creeps. Harry nodded in silent agreement at that. Before they knew it, they had arrived at the most un-noticeable pub in London. Mr. Weasley held the door open as they walked inside, herding them all in before letting the door close behind them.
Tom at the counter was cleaning one of the mugs, but nodded to them as they passed, giving Draco a suspicious look but keeping silent in the best tradition of bartending. One of the twins, Harry remembered Fred being identified as wearing the blue shirt earlier, so it must have been George, arrived at the alley wall first, and counted out the bricks that gave them admittance to Diagon Alley. Harry smiled at the sight of the busy street, realizing just how much he missed the wizarding world every summer. It was always so good to be back.
Their little troop paused as the bricks closed behind them, sorting out their destinations. Harry and Draco both needed to stop at Gringotts before they could do any shopping. Mr. Weasley had already visited the wizards' bank earlier that week, so the group decided to split up and meet in about an hour at Flourish and Blotts. Harry regarded Neville for a moment, as the boy was being quieter even than he was usually.
"Neville?" The boy's head snapped up at the sound of his name. "Did you need to go to Gringotts? You can come with us if you want." Harry offered, glad that Draco had the sense not to object. Neville looked grateful for the invitation, but shook his head 'no'.
"Thanks anyway, Harry. Gran gave me some money before I left, so I'm all set." Harry nodded, and Mr. Weasley placed a hand on Neville's shoulder.
"You're free to come with us then, or you can take care of anything you need to." Neville shook his head again.
"I'll go with you. See you in a while, then, Harry." The group split, leaving Harry and Draco standing there as the others headed off to take care of their shopping.
"Shall we, then?" Draco drawled, watching the points of red hair move off into the crowd. Harry nodded, and they set off.
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Blaise Zabini exited Eeylops' Owl Emporium, carrying a small bag with the Emporium's logo emblazoned on the side. His owl had been acting a bit peaky all summer, and he had finally gotten around to picking up some medicine for her. He turned to head back toward the Leaky Cauldron, perhaps stopping at Fortescue's on the way, when he stopped dead in his tracks. He could have sworn... He shook his head, but made his way through the crowd on the street a bit, trying to get a closer look. He had been right, and he nearly dropped his bag right there on the street. Draco Malfoy, wearing a Gryffindor t-shirt, was walking brazenly down Diagon Alley with none other than Harry Potter himself. Blaise contemplated this for a moment.
"Interesting..." he muttered to himself, and turned once again to exit the Alley, deep in thought, and forgetting entirely about Fortesque's Triple Thick Whippy Choco-Banana Shake. "Veeery interesting..."
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Harry had never quite gotten over being intimidated by Gringotts. The building was massive and imposing, and even though he knew that the goblins weren't dangerous unless you were trying to steal something, he still got the feeling that the institution itself was out to get him. The two boys walked past all the tellers and up to the front desk. When they reached it, a goblin looked down at them with an air of perpetual distain.
"What is your business?" Harry opened his mouth to speak, but Draco beat him to it.
"Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter. We both need to make withdrawals." He didn't bat an eyelash as he looked the goblin straight in the eye. Harry was marginally impressed.
"Keys?" The goblin inquired shortly, obviously implying that he had better things to do with his day than deal with them. Harry rummaged in his pocket for a moment, finally coming up with the key that Hagrid had given him all those years ago. Draco had already handed his to the goblin, and Harry did the same. Impatiently, the goblin flipped through his ledger, looking up the vault numbers for the two boys. A moment later, he looked down at Harry again.
"Harry Potter, did you say?" Harry nodded silently, a bit intimidated. He heard Draco snort next to him, and had a sudden urge to elbow the other boy. "It seems you have some business to take care of." Harry had never heard such a mundane sentence said so scarily. For a moment, he wondered if he had done something illegal. The goblin's next words alleviated that fear. "It seems, Mr. Potter, that you came into an inheritance recently. What would you like to have done with your new account, Mr. Potter?" Harry was confused.
"New account...?" He echoed, questioningly. The goblin regarded him impatiently.
"Yes, Mr. Potter. Previously held..." The goblin flipped several pages in his ledger, "in the name of Black, Sirius. We received a letter from the Ministry transferring its holdings to you some weeks ago. What would you have us do with the account?" Draco heard Harry's breath hitch at the name, and turned to see the brunet's shoulders tense up.
"What are my options?" Harry managed to struggle out, unsure of himself. The goblin looked marginally annoyed.
"We can leave the accounts separate, as they are. We can also combine the accounts." Harry gulped, completely out of his comfort zone. He was still rather unused to having any sort of money at all, let alone two bank accounts, and had absolutely no experience handling financial matters at all, save withdrawing a few handfuls from his vault at the end of each summer. He looked over at Draco a bit helplessly, looking for any sort of assistance he could provide. And provide he did.
"Why don't you look at the contents of the new account while we're down there, and decide what to do with it then. If it's large enough, you may as well just keep two accounts. It's safer than having all your money in one place," he nodded deferentially to the goblin, "Even at Gringotts." Harry couldn't tell if the creature was pleased with the compliment or not, but he nodded his assent. It seemed like a better idea than making a decision right then.
"I think I'll do that, then." He said, now addressing the goblin, who looked pleased to finally have a decision about something. The goblin then turned his attention to Draco.
"And the young Master Malfoy, a pleasure as always." Harry wasn't sure if goblins could be sarcastic, but this one seemed to be doing a good job. "It seems that you, too, have come into a bit of an inheritance. Vaults 657, 819 and 924, I believe... yes, that's correct." It was now Draco's turn to have his breath catch, but for an entirely different reason. The numbers were eminently familiar- his mother's personal vault, his father's personal vault, and the Malfoy family vault. All...
"Mine?" He squeaked out, shivering slightly. He had always been rich, in the way that children can be rich. He had plenty of spending money, almost everything he ever wanted, but his parents were the ones with the real money. That it might suddenly be his was... shocking, though not wholly unexpected. The last two vaults were a surprise, however. "I thought the Ministry had requested that Gringotts freeze our family's assets." It was a statement, not a question, but a fairly accusatory statement anyway. The goblin clearly didn't have time for it.
"Well, I expect they've been unfrozen, haven't they? What would you like done with the accounts?" Draco thought for a moment.
"Combine vaults 657, 819 and my personal vault. I'd like the contents moved to a new high security vault as soon as possible. Leave 924 as it is, but notify me of any withdrawals." The goblin made a note in his ledger.
"Very good. Any special requirements of the new vault?" Draco thought again.
"No admittance to anyone besides myself, including blood relatives. Any changes to that instruction..." He thought carefully for a moment, then smiled as he came up with the perfect limitation, "Any changes must be delivered in writing, and signed by myself and by Headmaster Albus Dumbledore. That's all." Harry blinked. It did make sense, he supposed, what with the fact that Draco's father probably would escape from prison whenever he felt like it, but it wasn't exactly the sort of action he expected from the other boy.
"Wait here please." The goblin took Draco's key and disappeared for a moment, returning with another key that Harry hadn't seen before and a piece of parchment. The parchment was handed to Draco, who scanned it briefly, then folded it and put it in his pocket. The goblin clapped his hands together twice, and another goblin appeared at his side. Instructions were hastily given, and the new goblin gestured hurriedly to them.
"Follow me, please." It hurried off, forcing the two boys to jog a few steps to catch up. A few moments later, they were seated in one of the famous Gringotts carts, hurtling around corners deep below the streets of London. Eventually, the cart came to a stop, and Harry recognized his vault. He stepped out after the goblin, who opened the vault for him. It never ceased to amaze Harry what a large pile of gold his parents had left him. He looked for a moment, then grabbed a few handfuls of Galleons, Sickles and Knuts. Draco snorted, and Harry turned to look at him.
"What?" He was genuinely confused. He was aware, of course, that his vault probably contained nowhere near the amount of money Draco's did, but it certainly wasn't empty. Draco, however, wasn't laughing at the contents of the vault, but rather, the amount Harry was taking out.
"Take more than that. You have plenty, and anyway, I'm taking you to get some proper clothing. Everything you own is red and gold or five sizes too big." Harry knew that the blond had a point, but he was still a bit miffed that he felt the need to point it out so obviously. Nevertheless, he took a few more handfuls of Galleons off the pile, feeling a bit of sticker shock at the amount of money he was now carrying on his person. Another moment, and they were back in the cart again, heading down further into the depths of the Gringotts vaults.
Their next stop was also for Harry, the new vault that he had suddenly inherited. Draco sat in the cart, leaving Harry to inspect the new vault himself. The goblin opened it with the new key, the one Harry hadn't seen before. There was a puff of dust from the inside, which apparently hadn't been touched in several years. Once the dust cleared, however, Harry couldn't help but gape at the sight that lay before him. The vault was large, larger than his parents', and was almost filled with heaps of gold, silver and bronze coins. Draco leaned forward in the cart to see, and looked almost as shocked as Harry did. Then again, he realized, it would make sense for this vault to be so full. It contained the Black family fortune, collected through the generations, and, even though the son in question had been erased from the family tree, passed down to the next male heir. It was not nearly as large as the Malfoy fortune, but it certainly was impressive. Harry just thanked the goblin and got back in the cart, still not quite comprehending what he'd just seen. Draco felt it best to give him a minute, and instructed the goblin to continue on to his vault.
It took a while to get to the high-security vault that Draco had just ordered, even at the high speed with which the Gringotts carts traveled. He was pleased with the security, which, Harry noted, bore quite a bit of similarity to the security of vault 713 that he could remember from his first year. The sheer amount of money in the vault was astounding, easily four times as much as was in his new vault. Draco calmly collected a few fistfuls of coins, then stepped out, nodding to the goblin to close the vault again. It did so, and soon they were back on the surface again, with Harry coherent enough to talk.
"You should move that to a high-security vault, you know. That much money, it's a wonder it's not in one already." The last part of the statement was mostly Draco mumbling to himself, but Harry understood his point.
"That's probably a good idea, isn't it?" He looked for one more reassurance from Draco, which he got, and headed back to the goblin they'd spoken with before, who was just finishing up with another customer.
"Back again, I see. Has Mr. Potter decided what to do with his vault?" The goblin was almost leering, and Harry felt distinctly uncomfortable again. Draco sighed and rescued him.
"He wants the contents of the new vault moved to high-security, same conditions as mine." Harry shot him a thankful glance.
"Very well." Harry was now sure that the goblin was doing his best to sound put out at having to deal with them. Once again, the goblin pulled his disappearing act, this time reappearing with a sheet of parchment for Harry, and requesting the new key be returned. Harry handed it over, and was handed the parchment in return. He scanned it much the same way Draco had, but was utterly lost by the third line. He resolved to ask Draco to explain it to him later. All transactions accomplished, the goblin set about ignoring them. The two boys left Gringotts, and Harry felt he'd never been so happy to see the sun.
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They were a few minutes late getting to Flourish and Blotts, but Mr. Weasley assured them it was fine, and did they bring their letters? They had, and both pulled them out. The books for sixth year students were in one section, and so the three boys, Harry, Draco and Ron, set off to pick theirs out. Mr. Weasley went to help Ginny with hers, and the twins disappeared further into the store. It didn't take long to find the books they needed. One of the store clerks who had seen them come in approached them cautiously as they were scanning the shelves.
"Mr. Potter?" Harry turned, and saw that the clerk seemed to be carrying a letter of some kind. "Your updated booklist, sir. Delivered just this morning!" He handed over the paper, and Harry thanked him as he looked it over. It was more than just a booklist, it also had his updated schedule. Just his luck, there had apparently been room in the Advanced Potions class after all. He groaned as Draco stole the letter from him.
"Excellent. Here you are, then." He handed Harry the letter back, along with a copy of a book that must have been three inches thick, titled "Advanced Potion Making." Harry groaned again. Ron stared at him.
"Potions? What're you doing taking potions, Harry? I thought you swore it off, end of last year." Ron sounded confused, and Harry couldn't blame him. And then, to top it all off, Draco couldn't help but throw in his two cents.
"I talked him into it. Waste of talent if he didn't. Oh, here's the new Transfiguration book." He pulled three copies off the shelf, pulling a used one for Ron and handing it to him without even a look. Ron reddened a bit, but didn't comment, placing the book in his basket with his others.
Their books collected, they purchased them and had the lot sent to the Leaky Cauldron for them to pick up on their way out. With that part of their school shopping completed, they split off again, with Draco dragging Harry toward the much more expensive end of Diagon Alley in order to find 'proper' clothes.
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They entered a shop Harry didn't recognize, but one Draco apparently shopped at often, given the attention he received when he walked in the door. Harry vaguely heard him explaining that he needed a completely new wardrobe, and that Harry was to be outfitted in similar fashion, and then everything became somewhat of a blur. He couldn't remember ever wearing so many clothes in his life, and the sales clerk who had whisked him off to the dressing rooms kept producing more and more outfits for him to try, aided and abetted by Draco, who kept adding helpful remarks, including that coral tones were completely wrong for Harry's skin tone. An hour later, Draco had managed to find several tons of clothing for himself, and another ton or so for Harry. The brunet's eyes widened as he viewed the piles they had collected.
Draco, who had changed out of the Gryffindor t-shirt at the first opportunity and was now dressed elegantly in flat-front slate grey trousers and an emerald green shirt made of some shimmery material, viewed Harry with disgust. "We spend all this time picking these out, and you insist on wearing that." He gave Harry a 'look'. The 'that' he spoke of was the same t-shirt and jeans that Harry had been wearing when they'd entered the store. "Absolutely not." The blond scanned Harry's pile for a moment, then pulled several things out and tossed them at Harry's chest. "Go. Change. Now. I'm not letting you out of this store like that." He then turned and ignored Harry's protests, watching as the sales clerk rang up his purchases.
Harry made his way back to the dressing rooms, not even looking at what Draco had picked out for him until he got there. What he found when he did look was a pair of exceptionally fitted dark blue jeans that he barely remembered trying on, and a short sleeve, grey knit top that felt like it had some silk in it somewhere. He put the articles on, then looked at himself in the mirror. He blinked. Actually, he admitted to himself, he didn't look too bad. The shirt, though, felt like it was clinging to his skin. He picked at it a bit nervously for a moment, then lifted his hands over his head, stretching skywards. Just as he had expected, the shirt rode up, revealing at least three inches of his stomach. He relaxed, pulling the shirt back down. He wasn't quite sure about this. He folded up his other clothes carefully and exited the dressing room, heading to the counter to tell Draco that the shirt was obviously far too small.
Draco beat him to the punch, however. He was leaning back on the counter, two large bags by his feet, and another two sitting on the counter itself. He looked Harry up and down as he approached, carefully judging his handiwork. He caught Harry's apprehensive look, and decided to have some fun. Harry's head shot up from his reexamination of himself at the low wolf whistle from the blond, and he issued a glare in Draco's general direction, but found himself blushing for some unknown reason. Draco just grinned at him.
"Much better. I can stand to be seen in public with you now. Pay for yours and we can get out of here." Harry looked questioningly at the bags. Draco gestured to the ones on the counter. "That one's yours, and that one's half yours and half mine. But we're having them sent to the Cauldron for us to pick up later, anyway. Come on. I need a new trunk, and we still need quills and such." Shaking his head at the blond's sudden urgency after they had spent an hour trying on clothes, Harry requested the total. Then requested it again. He shot Draco a look of pure loathing.
"You can't be serious. That much for clothes?!" Draco rolled his eyes at him.
"It's not like you don't have the money. Pay, and let's go." Harry counted out the required Galleons almost painfully, glancing every so often at the one-and-a-half bags of clothes that probably cost as much as his precious Firebolt.
As soon as he was done, Draco dragged him out of the store and back up toward what Harry now thought of as the 'sanely priced' end of the Alley. It took only another half hour for them to get their basic supplies; quills, new rolls of parchment, etc, then Draco spent another chunk of time at Madame Malkin's selecting new robes. He had all of that sent to the Leaky Cauldron for pickup as well, then dragged Harry to yet another high-priced store to get a new trunk.
Harry counted himself lucky that he got to rest for a moment, as he was apparently not needed in the Search for the Perfect Trunk. He made a mental note to never shop with Draco again (it was exhilarating, but tiring and expensive!), and occupied himself by looking out the window at all the people going by. He scanned the street for several seconds before his eyes came to rest on the storefront of Eeylops. A little part of his brain twinged, and he suddenly remembered a conversation from several days before. He fought with himself for a moment before checking to ensure that Draco was well occupied, then headed out the door. It was sort of traditional, or at least he felt it was. And anyway, as Draco himself had said, it wasn't as if he couldn't afford it. It never occurred to him how strange it was to be buying a gift for someone you had hated not ten days earlier.
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Draco finally finished selecting a trunk and headed back to the front of the store to find Harry. He found him standing by the door with a cage at his feet. Inside was a spotted owl that blinked at Draco with bright, clear eyes. He looked at it again, then back up at Harry, who looked a bit uncomfortable. When he mumbled something about 'don't expect much for your birthday', it took all Draco had not to hug him.
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A/N- Did anyone notice how their new shirts match the other's eye color? When I dressed them in my head I didn't even realize it, but then I typed it out and noticed. Fun, huh? Oh, and the shirt that Harry thinks has some silk in it probably does, but I imagined the clingy-ness to be something like a lycra blend. #rolls eyes at herself for sounding like some clothes junkie#