Hi Everyone! Here's a bit of a long chapter, but they've gone to Diagon Alley. In the next chapter, they'll meet Draco Malfoy I've averaging a chapter a week now, and I just finished writing chapter 16. Hope you all enjoy!

ekrichards

***I do not own Harry Potter. Some of the lines written in Ollivander's shop are taken from the book, or from the movie. I trust that you know which ones they are. I do not own those, but merely the plot of the whole story.*****

Harry awoke the next morning, sighing as he opened his eyes and looked around the room. He snuggled closer to his pillow. His bed was very soft, and he didn't want to leave his bed. However, glancing at the clock, he realized how close to 8 it was. Severus had made it clear that he wasn't allowed to cook breakfast, but he was still nervous that he was supposed to and Severus was simply testing him. Harry was still pretty scared of him. He never wore anything other than black and his temper was short. Yet, Harry wondered why he had never hurt him. Severus had simply told him that he wasn't mad or that he didn't do anything wrong. He had also told him the truth about how his parents died.

Severus had been nothing but honest with Harry. That was the first time that had happened and Harry was in awe. He had become very respectful of Severus last night and he knew that while it would take a long time to completely trust Severus, he knew he was honest, and that was a point in his favor.

Harry headed down for breakfast, surprised to see Severus and Hermione already there. Hermione was swinging her legs and chatting with an already annoyed Severus. He only wanted to read the Daily Prophet in silence, how hard was that to achieve?

With a sigh, he set down the newspaper with a little more force than he wanted to and noticed Harry walk in the door.

"Ah, good morning Harry. Sleep well?"

Harry nodded.

"Sorry I'm late for breakfast, my bed was really comfortable."

Severus let out a low chuckle, followed by a smirk.

"You are not late. I can understand why you'd want to stay in bed. Please have a seat. Breakfast will be along shortly."

Harry sat down to the right of Severus right as Lucinda was hovering the waffles over to the table.

"Harry, Hermione, you have obviously met and interacted with Lucinda. She is a house elf, and she mostly handles people, cooking, laundry, etc. You have not yet met Bart. Bart is also a house elf, and you will not see him as often because his main duties include cleaning and outside work. Would you like to meet him?"

Harry and Hermione nodded eagerly.

"Bart!" Severus called.

With a small crack, another house elf appeared.

"Yes, master?" Bart asked.

"This is Harry and Hermione, my children. After our trip to Diagon Alley, will you show them the gardens this afternoon? I'm afraid I have an engagement with Lucius. Hermione was asking about them last night, and I'd like them to help you water the small garden and Potions ingredients garden as part of their chores today."

"Yes, sir," Bart said, looking a little dejected at the fact that his work was being taken away from him.

"Bart, your work is not being taken away from you and I am not displeased with you," Severus said, calmly. "I simply want them to do chores, and I know that the watering is harder for you to do, and I think it would be good for the children to get time outside ."

"Sir knows Bart well," Bart said before disappearing with a small crack.

Harry, Hermione, and Severus finished their breakfast quickly. Hermione needed to get ready for the day along with Harry, and Severus needed to shrink some clothes of his own for Harry to wear to Diagon Alley for the day before they got new ones. He refused to allow his son out in public in such disgusting things.

In about an hour, all three were ready to go.

"Each of you must grab an arm. Do try to not fall," Severus said, snapping into his sterner façade.

Severus apparated to the apparition spot right outside the brick wall in Diagon Alley. Not to his surprise, both Harry and Hermione fell.

"Miss Granger, are you incapable of following directions repeatedly told to you? Mr. Potter, since it is your first time apparating, I'm not surprised, but I thought that both of you would at least try to follow directions," Severus drawled.

Harry's eyes immediately fell to the floor. He had disappointed him; he had messed up and now Severus was going to send him back or beat him when they got home. Hermione simply looked shocked at Severus's changed behavior. She had done nothing wrong, all she did was fall, and it was an accident! Severus rolled his eyes. It was obvious he had to keep up an appearance. He pulled them over to a corner.

"Honestly you two, this is an appearance. I will always be unpleasant in public. I will make it up to you later tonight with a round of Gobstones or maybe I will teach you exploding snap, which is another game."

Hermione and Harry nodded, both feeling relieved that they hadn't messed up, although Harry was still very nervous at Severus's very sudden change in mood.

"Now, honestly, don't dawdle like toddlers in a candy store. Come," Severus snapped. "Let's get your robes. Your daily clothes as well Mr. Potter."

They walked into Madam Malkin's Robe Shop and sat down, waiting to be called on. Madam Malkin noticed Severus come in and immediately came over to greet him when she had finished with her last customer.

"Oh, Professor, how good to see you! Your robes are still holding up well, I trust?"

"Indeed, Madam. I would like sets of Hogwarts robes for each of them, and a full wardrobe for Mr. Potter here," Severus drawled.

"Of course," she said with a nod, "Will you come here, dearie?"

She gestured to Hermione to get up on the stool. A tape measurer started measuring Hermione for her size and within 10 minutes, Hermione was done and her robes, both Hogwarts and everyday, had been shrunk to fit in Severus's cloak pocket. Hermione had asked if she could wear one of her everyday cloaks. Black, of course, but it went with her jeans and lavender colored shirt. Within minutes, Harry was up on the stool, getting measured for robes, shirts, pants, shorts, winter gear, and the most embarrassing, undergarments. By the time Harry was all measured, she had already drawn up colors for Harry to choose from.

Harry had chosen red, green, blue, black, and white. He had t-shirts, button downs, regular non-school robes for when he was home, khakis, jeans, black pants, and new, clean, underwear. No more holding them up by a string! Harry was so happy that he asked Severus if he could go and change into some of his new clothes. Severus obliged and he was greeted by the sight of Harry wearing jeans, a red striped t-shirt, and one of his new everyday cloaks.

He had immediately thrown his old, dirty clothes away in a bin that Madam Malkin had provided for him and given his borrowed clothes back to Severus. He was very happy. The happiest he had been in a long time, actually. Severus paid for their things and ushered them out the door and down to Flourish and Blotts. The trio went on in. Severus sent them on a mission to find the books that they needed for the upcoming school year while he browsed the bookshop for new potions books and informative books on the wizarding world. He had picked up Hogwarts, A History for Hermione and Tales of Beedle the Bard for Harry. It was a bit young, but Severus had determined that Harry never got the chance to be 'young'.

By the time that Hermione and Harry had gotten all of the books they needed, Severus had 20 books to buy. 2 new potions books for him, and 9 for Harry and Hermione each. Severus had the books sent back by the help of Lucinda and Bart, who each had to make 2 trips to carry the books back.

"Just set them on the table. I'll sort them out later," he had told them.

Before getting anything else, he took Harry and Hermione to the eye healer, who had tested Harry's vision.

"Once the lad is full grown," the healer said. "We'll be able to fix his eyesight and he can live without glasses. For the time being, here is his prescription."

Severus helped Harry pick out a set of rounded, rectangular black frames. The round wire ones had been thrown away almost immediately. Everything was clear! Harry could see everything perfectly and he'd never seen things in such detail. Aunt Petunia had simply given him these glasses to shut him up about his blurry vision as a child. She had plucked them from a thrift shop and given them to Harry, telling him to "get on with life and stop bothering her."

Next, he took them to the apothecary, where they would be getting all of their potions supplies and cauldrons. He himself had run out of a few things that could not be grown in his garden, so it was necessary that he picked them up today. After they had gotten their cauldrons and basic potions, he took them off to Ollivander's. It was time for them to get their wands.

As they walked into the dusty shop, Harry and Hermione glanced around the shop. It seemed rather unkept. As they peered around the shop and at the wands that were piled into the shelves, Mr. Ollivander came around the corner, startling them.

"Ah! Professor Snape, how are you today?"

"I am well. These two have come to get their wands. This is Ms. Granger and Mr. Potter," Severus said, already impatient with the man.

"Ah, Mr. Potter, I wondered when I'd be seeing you. And Ms. Granger, how good it is to meet you."

"You as well sir," Hermione said, giving Ollivander a timid smile.

"Oh Merlin, get on with it!" Severus snapped.

"Very well," Ollivander said.

He handed each of them a wand. Neither worked. He continued to give them wands of varying length, flexibility, core, and wood. Hermione was chosen by a wand quicker than Harry was, however. She had a vine wood wand with Dragon Heartstring and was 10 and ¾ inches long. The wand suited Hermione. It had emitted a soft glow and slight wind when she had held it for the first time. Hermione was quite content, as it was the first wand that hadn't shattered anything in Mr. Ollivander's office.

No wand seemed to suit Harry, though. Severus could tell that he was getting a bit discouraged the longer he was at it. Finally, Ollivander stared at the boy, muttering under his breath before returning with a wand. This wand looked vaguely familiar to Severus, but he couldn't place his finger on where he'd seen it before.

"Here, Mr. Potter; Holly, Phoenix feather, 11 inches. Give it a wave."

The minute Harry had the wand in his hand, the atmosphere in the small room changed. The tip of the wand began to emit light and wind began to blow, harder than it did with Hermione. Clearly, this was Harry's wand.

"Curious…" Mr. Ollivander muttered.

"I'm sorry, what exactly is curious?" Harry asked.

"I remember every wand I've ever sold Mr. Potter. You see, this wand has a brother. It is curious that this wand is destined for you, when its brother gave you that scar."

Mr. Ollivander's chilling voice had made Harry nervous. Severus took this as his cue to pay and leave the shop.

Harry and Hermione were excitedly talking about their new wands as they walked down Diagon Alley. He quickly got their attention and ushered them into the pet shop.

"Pick a pet of your choosing. This will be your birthday present from me, Harry and Hermione. I can assure you that owls are the best companions and are very useful. A toad is useless so I will not allow you to get that. A cat…" he hesitated, "has its uses, I suppose."

Harry and Hermione nodded as they spread out around the pet shop. Severus needed to pick up some treats and food for his own owl, Odette. She was a Snowy Owl with splashes of grey and black all over her feathers. He found the name appropriate for her, as she was sweet to him, but to anyone who was rude to Severus, it was typical that she would nip them and scratch them rather harshly.

Meanwhile, a pure white Snowy Owl had caught Harry's eye. She was absolutely gorgeous and took Harry's breath away. She was the only one like it in the shop, and Harry was already quite taken with her. Harry's green eyes had met amber ones, and Harry knew that she would be the best companion possible for him to have at school.

Hermione, however, was struggling to find an owl that she felt she could bond with. All of the barn owls sat and stared at her, hooting as she went along. She had almost rounded the store and given up when she noticed a beautiful brown and white spotted owl in the corner. That owl was unique. It was not hooting at her, but simply watching her with interest as the time went on. The white seemed to freckle its brown feathers perfectly. Hermione asked for a store attendant to lower the cage for her. Once the cage was at eye level, Hermione opened the cage and tentatively petted the owl's feathers. She had noticed the owl began to relax a little, and Hermione seemed to befriend the owl almost immediately. She and Harry locked eyes and brought the owl cages over to their father.

"I like this one, Severus. I like her and she likes me. Well, I hope that it's a she," Hermione said with a small giggle.

"This one is unique," said Harry, smiling at the owl, "I like her. Are you sure it's okay if I get her? I don't want to be a burden on you."

"Yes, it is perfectly alright. I wanted you to get pets that you bonded with. I already got them their food and treats. Now put them on the counter so I can pay for them," Severus said, suppressing a small smile.

Once the owls were paid for, Severus sent the owls home, shrinking their cages, after he knew they were going to go to Prince Manor. Severus checked his pocket watch. It was almost noon.

"We are going to eat at the Leaky Cauldron before we go to Gringotts, the bank," Severus said, "I will then take back to the Manor. You still have your chores to do, I believe."

Lunch and the trip to Gringotts did not take long. Severus had opened accounts for each of his children, and put 5 galleons in each to start them off. He knew that the Potter's had a bank account that Harry had inherited, but he did not have the key nor the proper identification to get it opened. He meant for these to be their accounts that they would receive once they graduated from Hogwarts, so they would not be completely moneyless when they left school. Their allowance would go in their vaults as well. Soon, after getting Harry and Hermione to sit down and relieve their headaches from the Gringotts carts, they were ready to head back to the manor. As they exited Diagon Alley, Harry turned around to look at it one last time before they disapparated back to the manor.

"Magic is really cool, sir," Harry said, glancing up at Severus.

"I'm glad you think so. Now grab my arm. We do not have time for idle chit chat," Severus said, glancing apologetically at Harry.

Severus disapparated. Amazingly, Hermione managed to stay on her feet this time, yet Harry fell again.

"Sorry, sir," Harry mumbled.

"That's alright," Severus said, "I want to apologize for my attitude in Diagon Alley. In school, I keep up the appearance of a cold-hearted dungeon bat who hates people. Imagine if a student was in Diagon Alley and they saw me being nice. Oh, the rumors."

"That's okay, Severus," Harry said, still feeling like he had messed up somehow, and Hermione nodded in agreement.

"Why don't you two go see if your owls arrived and try to come up with names for them," Severus said, relieved that they weren't scared or angry with him, although he could see the tension in Harry's shoulders and eyes. "I myself need to send an owl to my friend, Lucius. I want to see if his son will come over on Thursday and join us in our trip to Hogwarts."