Chapter Four
He motioned for me to step in to the flames.
I complied and but a few moments later I stood in the Leaky Cauldron.
My presence was not questioned as the tiny pub was quite crowded. I stood to the side and my Master came in a few moments later.
When he arrived, he mouthed the word 'bow' so that I could see it.
Quickly I gave a bow, and he returned it.
"Come, Apprentice."
His voice was strong and clear, and the pub went quiet.
It has been decades since any of them had seen a master-apprentice here, if indeed any of them had even seen a pair.
I endured the stares and mutterings as we walked to the back and into Diagon Alley.
A few minutes later we were outside Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions.
"Well," I thought to myself, "Let's see if that's true. An apprenticeship was a rare occasion, but it still counts."
We walked in and my Master and I went over to Madam Malkin.
As he spoke, I noted that his voice was curt.
"I trust you still have your supply of apprentice robes in the back?"
Upon realizing that my companion was indeed a Master, she curtsied and led the way.
A little while later my Master was looking through the robes – there was quite a selection, and I was sitting in a wooden chair off to the side, waiting.
After about half an hour he stepped back and sighed, before turning to Madam Malkin.
"None of these are acceptable for our purposes. Do you perhaps have a catalogue?"
"Yes, sir. Of course." She scurried to the front and returned a few minutes later with a thick catalogue.
After locating the section on apprentice robes, she handed the catalogue to my Master.
"Would you care for me to get the measurements for you?"
"Yes, please." He gave a short bow and motioned for me to stand.
I did so and allowed my Master to sit.
"Master, would it be acceptable for me to look through the selection?"
He gave a short nod, and, flipping through the catalog, said to me,
"We're looking for something that has well-fitted sleeves and is of a dark color. Brown or dark green would be best. Also, ensure that it has bottomless pockets on the inside that will not reveal their contents to the outside. Actually," he paused as he looked again at the picture in the catalog.
"This one looks alright."
He motioned for me to come over, and I examined it, and it did look like what we needed.
It was dark green, and made of a stretchy cotton that was very soft.
"Madam?" my Master called out, and she came over quickly.
"Yes, sir?"
"Can we see an example of this one, please?"
She nodded and apparated to the maker's and was back within ten minutes with the robe in hand.
She handed it to my Master.
"Take off your outer robe, Apprentice."
I nodded and removed the black Hogwarts robe I still wore, despite the fact that the crest was gone.
As I removed the robe my Master examined the robe thoroughly, ensuring that it did indeed have all the features we wanted.
He nodded and handed it to me.
"Try it on, it looks promising."
I tried it on – it fit perfectly. The robe itself was a dark brown, and was very comfortable.
My Master nodded.
"Perhaps you would prefer a different color?"
"Dark Grey, Master. To match my eyes."
He nodded in approval, and muttered the appropriate charm.
I observed myself in the mirror and was pleased.
Madam Malkins was pleased and immediately went to get six more of them, and returned with them already turned to the color I had chosen.
"Thank you, Madam. How much will that be?"
"49 galleons, sir."
He pulled out a card and told her to charge it to his account.
She nodded and ran it through the machine.
"Thank you, sir."
Quickly she packaged the rest of the robes and shrank it before handing it to my Master.
My Master then handed it to me.
"Into your pockets."
I bowed shortly and put it in the pockets. As we had hoped, you could not tell I was hiding anything.
We left the shop – it was now about 11:00 AM.