Chapter 8
The young wizard walked at the back of the bar until they reached a small, walled courtyard with a dustbin that surprised them all. He then tapped some of the bricks from the trash can, three up and two across. The wall went into a small hole first but then formed a large archway and everyone from child to adults was amazed at the view they saw.
Inside the Alley was an assortment of restaurants, shops, and other sights some even has tables out front with colored umbrellas. The location was packed with people who were in fact witches and wizards.
"Stay close to each other because it's so close to the start of Hogwarts and this place is packed with people who are coming to buy their school supplies. These shops are opened year-round but their busiest times are now and holidays."
"So, what are we going to visit first?" asked one of the eleven-year-old children extremely excited
"Well I was thinking of going to Gringotts Wizarding Bank is the only bank of the wizarding world and is owned and operated by Goblins there we will exchange Muggle money with wizarding money so that we can go shopping," he said and so they went there and the view did not disappoint.
Gringotts was an imposing snow-white multistoried marble building located partway down Diagon Alley, that towered over the neighboring shops. A set of white stairs leads up to a set of burnished bronze doors. The doors are flanked by a creature which they deducted was a goblin in a uniform of scarlet and gold. This was the entrance to Gringotts, and it leads into a small entrance hall and another set of doors. Engraved on those silver doors were the words:
Enter, stranger, but take heed
Of what awaits the sin of greed
For those who take, but do not earn,
Must pay most dearly in their turn.
So if you seek beneath our floors
A treasure that was never yours,
Thief, you have been warned, beware
Of finding more than treasure there.
Through those doors, also flanked with goblins, is a vast marble hall long counters stretching along its length with doors leading off to the vault passageways with around a hundred goblins sitting at them.
The view was breathtaking but also a bit of scary with the goblins there but it was very interesting all the same.
They followed the young wizard until they reached the goblin, they believed to be the main one who spoke to the wizard and nodded at what the wizard answered to him.
James Sirius turned to them and said:" So give the goblin the amount of money you want to exchange and then we will be on our way."
"But shouldn't you tell us the amount where are going to spend what if you don't have enough." said a mother
"Don't worry the goblins will tell you the right amount and if you don't have enough, in the end, I will cover the rest."
"What do you think we don't have enough money to be good enough," said Vernon in his usual way
"No, I don't but if the purchases go a little unplanned it doesn't it means I won't help Mr. Dursley," answered James Sirius not affected at all by the older man
Everyone nodded and Natalie Dursley ignored her father-in-law and walked to the goblins being the very first to do so and everyone followed her doing the same thing.
After everything was done, they walked out of the Bank and stared looking around getting everything in. They were so many shops and people of all ages and races everything was so very magical.
"So, I think we should go first to Olivander," said James Sirius" That's where we get our wands. Now let me tell you a bit of information about this shop Ollivanders is a wand shop founded in 382 B.C. it is owned by the Ollivander family, widely acknowledged to be the best wandmakers in Great Britain."
Everyone nodded and followed the younger man towards a small shop" Only the children will enter, in this shop because it's a bit small." as he and the others entered the shop.
Though it wasn't as magical as the other parts of the world it had a more magical feeling to it than anything they had ever felt before.
The shop was narrow and shabby with peeling gold letters over the door of the shop read: Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. The shop's display consisted of a solitary wand lying on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window. The shop was tiny, empty except for a single, spindly chair in the corner. Thousands of narrow boxes containing wands were piled right up to the ceiling of the tiny shop, and the whole place had a thin layer of dust about it.
The owner of the shop and a man who looked to be over a hundred years old came, form the back. He had silvery eyes that seemed to read all of their thoughts and feelings and pale white skin he also looked like he had gone through a lot of things in his long life.
" This is Garrick Ollivander is the best wandmaker in the world and many wizards and witches bought their wands from him for many years including my grandparents on both sides, my parents, my aunts, and uncles, almost every great witch or wizard in the history of Great Britain have taken their wands here."
"That's right and it's a pleasure to meet new witches and wizards who will get their new wands. Now you need to remember that it's the wand that chooses the wizard not the other way around." he walked towards the boxes and an hour later everyone had their own wand perfect for their personality.
They run towards their parents started showing off their new wands excited at the prospect holing the wand made all this all the more real for them.
" Well that was fast," said James Sirius
"Why it takes more time usually?" asked Natalie Dursley
"It depends on the person actually my father basically emptied the entire shop before he found his wand, I only tried one but that was because it didn't work seeing that I have the wand that belonged to my namesake."
"Does that happen often?"
"Well, a wand can change their alliance when you lose a battle but not in the way mine after their former master has died it's extremely rare and that makes it very special."
They nodded and said," So where are we going next?"
"I thought we go to Flourish and Blotts to get the books that you need."
Everyone again nodded in agreement with what he said.
Flourish and Blotts was like every other shop from the outside extremely unique on the inside it, was, filled to the brim with books. Shelves upon shelves line the walls, from ceiling to floor. The books are of all sizes and different verities. There were in fact so many books that various signs were posted throughout the shop, as a means of helping customers find what they need. The front windows contained displays of gold-embossed spell-books the size of paving slabs.
" Flourish and Blotts were first established in Diagon Alley in the year 1654 and since then every Hogwarts student has bought their books here," said James Sirius like always informing them of every little thing
"Hello," said the manager" How can I help you today?" asked the older man smiling at them
"Hello, we are here to get the books for the first years if you please," said James Sirius
"Yes, yes of course." he walked in the back of the room and then started coming out with a number of books giving each of them to James Sirius who put them in the magically extended bag that he had brought with him and that fascinated everyone while each parent paid for their children's books.
He then turned to everyone and said:" How about we go to Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions so that you can buy the robes you need for school and maybe a few reserves."
"Can you tell us something about this shop?" asked one of the parents, it was excited for them too because when they had learned of this magical world they had been afraid they would lose their children but the more they learned the closer they felt to their children's' future.
"Yes, of course, Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, also known as Madam Malkin's Robes or simply Madam Malkin's is a shop where students get their Hogwarts school uniforms and wizards and witches can also purchase dress robes, traveling cloaks, and also, on very rare occasions, invisibility cloaks."
"There are invisibility cloaks?" asked one of the children with wide eyes
"Yes, but they are exceptionally rare and very expensive and valuable in the wizarding war. They only last a few months at the most so I don't think they are really with it unless you want to become a robber." everyone chuckled
As they entered the shop an older woman walked from the back of the shop smiling at everyone" This is Madam Malkin the owner of the shop." Madam Malkin was a squat, smiling witch who was dressed in mauve clothing. She had white hair, pale skin, and blue eyes and like the owner of the wand shop, she was very old.
They visited a few more shops excluding those that were for Quidditch because as first years they weren't allowed to have got everything they wanted some of them including Violet even bought an owl to communicate with their parents.
James Sirius turned to everyone and said:" Now I am going to show my favorite shop in the entire world."
"What is it called?" asked Violet amazed as she looked at the building in front of them.
The building was big with two stories with a glass door and big windows. There were extraordinary decorations the most surprising was the big statue of a redhaired man wearing a striped suit and holding a hat at the very top with golden-colored writing it read Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes as they entered the shop it was even more breathtaking than from outside it was exactly like entering another world entirely.
James Sirius spoke" Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes" the name struck a chord with the Dursleys through they didn't say anything "also known as Weasley & Weasley is a joke shop founded by the twins Fred and George Weasley in 1995 after their seventh year of Hogwarts, it is one of the youngest shops here but it is just as famous. During the war, it was one of the only shops left open despite the danger."
"It was open until the night of May 2, 1998." said a voice from behind as they turned they saw a man with sported flaming-red hair and freckles, he was somewhat stocky and fairly tall with many scars that most believed to be from the war mentioned before but the most glaring scar was the fact that he was missing his left ear.
He smiled at them and turned to look at James Sirius saying" So little nephew, how is it going?"
"You know I am fifteen not so young anymore right, Uncle George." said the younger wizard glaring at the red-haired man
He chuckled and said" Definitely your mother's son." he then turned to the first years and said" Because you are here with one of my favorites nephews chose something for free." after he said that he left
"What happened on May 2, 1998?" asked Liam
"It was the night of the final battle and he and his twin brother were both fighting there it was the night his brother died," he said pointing to the painting of a young man who looked exactly like George would have looked in his twenties but with both of his ears
"Is it there where he lost his ear?" asked Natalie
The black-haired young man shook his head and said:" No, it was in a previous battle a few months before that."
"So, he is your uncle." said Harper" You don't look like him."
"He is my mother's brother and I do take my looks from my father's side of the family." he looked around and said" Now why don't you look around and chose something my uncle is not usually this generous. That includes all of you almost everything here can be used in the Muggle world." as soon as he said that every one of them started running around and looking at everything. "But take the fact that he said I'm his favorite nephew with a grain of salt because he has four others that is only mentioning the blood-related one."
