19th August 1992

Alex woke up early, to her wand vibrating loudly, waking up Ginny in the process.

"Merlin, Ally, what time is it?"

"About 6AM?" she answered, jumping out of the magically enhanced bed that she and Ginny shared.

"You're insane," Ginny mumbled, covering her head with a pillow, as Alex opened the curtains wide.

"Come on Ginny, wake up! We're headed to Diagon today! Aren't you excited?" Alex said, laying back on the bed.

"6AM's too early Alex," she grumbled, trying desperately to cling to her pillow.

"Morning girls!" greeted Molly Weasley as she entered Ginny's bedroom, holding a plate of bacon sandwiches.

"Food!" exclaimed Alex, running towards the plate, nearly tripping mid-way.

"Careful dear! GINNY, OUT OF BED NOW!"

"But mum-" she whined.

"Not one word, we need to leave early to avoid the crowd! And clean up your room, we don't need Alexandra landing in St Mungo's just because you don't know how to tidy your shoes!"

Ginny muttered something about 'insane mothers' and 'far too early for any normal human' as she kicked the offending sneakers to the other side of the room.

Alex munched on the tasty sandwiches, offering the younger girl one, to which Ginny gave a very rude hand gesture.

"Fine, more for me," Alex said, pulling another sandwich out of the tray.

Ginny tried to sneak her way to the bed when she was suddenly drenched in water.

"ALEX!"

Sheer robes worn on top of dress

Harry had somehow managed to miss Diagon Alley, instead ending up in Knockturn alley.

'Of all the stupid things to do,' thought Alex, as Mrs. Weasley fussed over Harry, who was standing beside Hermione at the edge of Gringotts.

"HARRY! MOLLY! ALEX!"

Sprinting up the crowded street were Ron, Fred, George, Percy, and Mr. Weasley.

"Harry," Mr. Weasley panted. "We hoped you'd only gone one grate too far. . . ." He mopped his glistening bald patch.

"Where did you come out?" Ron asked.

"Knockturn Alley," said Harry grimly.

"Excellent!" said Fred and George together.

"We've never been allowed in," said Ron enviously.

"I should ruddy well think not," growled Hagrid, who had rescued Harry from the clutches of the infamous street.

Alex rolled her eyes. "Honestly Harry, it's just the floo! How'd you manage to break your glasses, you galloping elephant?" She plucked the glasses off his face and fixed them for him, handing him them with a disgusted look on her face, maybe she should buy him some better looking ones.

These ones were positively revolting.

Harry was busy narrating Lucius Malfoy's visit to Borgin & Burkes, while the rest of the Weasleys took money from their vaults.

Alex had half a mind to use the Malfoy's money to buy her books (she had done it before anyways), after learning of Lucius's trip to the infamous store (perhaps she could buy some other... more frivolous items too), but settled for using the Potter vault, not giving into spite.

Anyways, anything was better than the Weasley's vault that had only a pitiful pile of sickles and a couple of random knuts.

The four second-years were enjoying their ice-cream, having being released from Mrs. Weasley's eagle eye for an hour, while Ginny got her necessities sorted.

Alexandra personally was adoring her scoop of Chocolate chip ice cream, topped with butterbeer fudge.

It did cost her five galleons after all.

The children carried on walking down the cobbled streets and Ron gazed longingly at a full set of Chudley Cannon robes in the windows of Quality Quidditch Supplies until Hermione dragged them off to buy ink and parchment next door. In Gambol and Japes Wizarding Joke Shop, they met Fred, George, and Lee Jordan, who were stocking up on Dr. Filibuster's Fabulous WetStart, No-Heat Fireworks, and in a tiny junk shop full of broken wands ,lopsided brass scales, and old cloaks covered in potion stains they found Percy, deeply immersed in a small and deeply boring book called Prefects Who Gained Power. He'd just put down a book titled 'Powerful witches through the ages', a strange choice.

"A study of Hogwarts prefects and their later careers," Ron read aloud off the back cover. "That sounds fascinating. . . ."

"Fuck off," snapped Percy. Alex's eyes widened at the use of expletives. What happened to perfect prefect Percy? Or P.P.P for short.

"Course, he's very ambitious, Percy, he's got it all planned out. . . . He wants to be Minister of Magic . . ." Ron told Harry and Hermione in an undertone as they left Percy to his perusal.

Now exactly an hour later, they headed off to Flourish and Blotts. The bookstore was packed! A large banner on the top of the store read:

GILDEROY LOCKHART

will be signing copies of his autobiography

MAGICAL ME

today 12:30 P.M. to 4:30 P.M.

Hermione let out a very not-Hermione like squeal, "We can actually meet him!"

Alex, Ron and Harry just stared at her.

"I mean, he's written almost the whole booklist!" she 'explained' blushing.

'Yeah right' snickered Alex.

Hermione flushed, sending Alex a withering look.

It seemed Hermione wasn't the only one taken with the wizard, the store was filled with many witches around Mrs. Weasley's age, who seemed to be in a long line to see the wizard.

Gilderoy Lockhart himself was a rather handsome wizard, if not somewhat plastic. He was surrounded by a number of photographers and reporters who crowded around the desk, taking pictures of the man at every possible angle.

"Out of the way, there," a photographer snarled at Ron, moving back to get a better shot.

"This is for the Daily Prophet —"

"Big deal," said Ron, rubbing his foot where the photographer had stepped on it.

Gilderoy Lockhart heard him. He looked up. He saw Ron — and then he saw the twins. He stared.

Then he leapt to his feet and positively shouted, "It can't be the Potter twins?"

Harry looked confused, this washis first experience with the Papparrazi, Alex realised. As the camera panned towards the duo Alex let out a polite smile and a little wave while Harry blinked through the flashing lights, covering his eyes.

"Put your hands down and smile," Alexandra said through her teeth as she made her way to the front of the line.

"There are lights flashing in my face!" Harry whisper-shouted, "Why do you think I want to blind myself?"

"Harry, it'll be over as soon as we leave the bookstore, will you please just smile?"

Harry slowly removed his hands from his face, but kept his eyes squinted, in a worse compromise than expected.

Oh well, at least they can see his face.

The twins reached the front of the line and were dragged forward by Lockhart individually.

"Nice big smile, Harry," said Lockhart, through his own gleaming teeth. "Together, you and I are worth the front page."

After the photo session was complete, Lockhart started,

"Ladies and gentlemen," he said loudly, waving for quiet. "What an extraordinary moment this is! The perfect moment for me to make a little announcement I've been sitting on for some time!

"When the young heroes here stepped into Flourish and Blotts today, they only wanted to buy my autobiography — which I shall be happy to present them now, free of charge —" The crowd applauded again. "They had no idea," Lockhart continued, giving Harry a little shake that made his glasses slip to the end of his nose, (maybe they would break and she could replace them, hoped Alexandra) "that they would shortly be getting much, much more than my book, Magical Me. He and his schoolmates will, in fact, begetting the real magical me. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have great pleasure and pride in announcing that this September, I will be taking up the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"

The crowd cheered, and Lockhart handed the siblings twin stacks of his complete works. Staggering slightly under their weight, he managed to make his way out of the limelight to the edge of the room, where Ginny was standing next to her new cauldron.

"You have these," Harry mumbled to her, tipping the books into the cauldron. "I'll buy my own —"

Alexandra's heart warmed, even if Ginny would be forever obsessed and start ranting about Harry's kindness for weeks to come.

"Bet you loved that, didn't you, Potter?"

Alexandra whipped around and sure enough she was face-to-face with Draco.

"Famous Harry Potter," said Malfoy. "Can't even go into a bookshop without making the front page."

"Draco!" exclaimed Alexandra, knowing all about their petty feud.

"Leave him alone, he didn't want all that!" said Ginny. She was glaring at Malfoy.

"Potter, you've got yourself a girlfriend!" drawled Malfoy. Ginny went scarlet as Ron and Hermione fought their way over, both clutching stacks of Lockhart's books.

"Draco stop it," scolded Alexandra.

"Don't tell me you've begun to associate yourself with blood traitors, Alexandra?" said a taller man, sneering.

Alex had never liked Lucius Malfoy, he always seemed like he was up to something and never showed any hint of fondness towards her, despite Alex spending over four years as a resident of Malfoy Manor. It was Narcissa who had insisted on her staying. However, Draco did look remarkably like his father, except for the eyes. Draco's eyes weren't the Malfoy pale blue, they were grey like the clouds and mist that shrouded London in winter, not that Alex had been staring.

"Lucius," said Mr. Weasley, nodding coldly.

"Busy time at the Ministry, I hear," said Mr. Malfoy.

"All those raids . . .I hope they're paying you overtime? "He reached into Ginny's cauldron and extracted, from amid the glossy Lockhart books, a very old, very battered copy of A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration.

"Obviously not," Mr. Malfoy said. "Dear me, what's the use of being a disgrace to the name of wizard if they don't even pay you well for it?"

"I think we should leave-" Alexandra tried, tugging on Mr. Weasley's arm.

"Silence, child." snapped Mr. Malfoy. "Leave this to the adults, if you're done with saving humanity."

Alex flushed redder than her hair.

"We have a very different idea of what disgraces the name of wizard, Malfoy," said Arthur Weasley.

"Clearly," said Mr. Malfoy, his blue eyes straying to Hermione's parents who were watching apprehensively. "The company you keep, Weasley . . . and I thought your family could sink no lower —"

Alexandra stayed silent. She walked over to Draco.

"What on earth are you two doing here?" she hissed.

"A wizard can't be found in a bookshop?" questioned Draco, raising an eyebrow.

"Not the wizards that frequent Borgin and Burkes!"

Draco stiffened.

"How do you know about that?"

"You're not even going to deny it!" she exclaimed, shocked.

There was a loud thud, Ginny's new cauldron had gone flying. Were they... catfighting?

Sorry not a very original chapter! It'll be better from now on