Chapter Four
Shopping In Diagon Alley
After leaving Gringotts bank, Harry and Rosemary looked around Diagon Alley for a moment, trying to think of a proper 'battle' plan to get their school supplies.
"Do you think we should get our trunk and book bag first, so that we can carry the rest of our supplies around without carrying a bunch of bags?" Rosemary asked.
"Sounds like a good idea to me, I know I don't want to be carrying around all of your bags." Harry responded. So, having grabbed A Guide to Diagon Alley for the Visiting Tourists off of a rack next to the door of Gringotts, they followed it to one of the more upper class sounding luggage stores. Hagrid tried to convince them that a nice simple trunk and bag would be fine, but Harry and Rosemary both knew that they would be most likely packing away thier entire lives into those trunks and bags, and therefore would need to get ones with multiple protective charms on them. Thus they found themselves outside of Louis' Luggage for Lively Lifestyles.
Once they entered, they were greeted by a very flambouyant man named Louis the V, who seemed to sense that they were new and uncertain customers like a shark senses blood in the water. He happily led them over to the finer trunks, all of which had multiple compartments and locking mechanisms, with enchantments for featherlight, shrinkage, expansion, undetectable extension, self organizing, and many other 'bells and whistles'. Rosemary mentally shook her head as she began to examine the trunks one by one for multiple compartments including a walk in closet, library with a self updating catalog, potions supply closet, sports gear closet, the travelers dueling closet, a secured and thrice locked valuables closet, a writing closet for all their writing utensils, and two standard compartments. Having sorted out exactly what she wanted in the trunks she then began to go over what type of trunk she wanted. There were ones that were made of wood, metal, fabric, and some wth a combination of all three. She and Harry finally decided on a basic design to keep nosey people from thinking that they had something more than what it seemed to be. It would be a standard wooden trunk with leather wrapped around the outside, and metal fastings. On the inside of the majority of the compartments they would be lined with a soft but sturdy fabric that was thick and durable. Finally on the inside of the potions supply closet and the travelers dueling closet they would be lined with metal to keep any accidents from errupting from the trunk or damaging any of the other compartments, and the sports gear closet was wood lined with metal hooks for the gear to be supported on. After finishing her decisions and informing Louis, he then asked her about what enchantments, spells, charms, runes, and protections she wanted on her trunks. She and Harry both looked at each other, and then looked at Louis. The poor man had no idea what he was asking.
"I want our family crests to sit on the top of the trunks. I also want one crest that will be the Hogwarts crest, one that will change to our Hogwarts House Crest once were sorted, one Wizengamot Crest, one Hogwarts Board of Governors Crest, one Ministry of Magic Crest, and one basic crest with our initials in it. I want wach crest to be tied to a specific compartment, that we can set and change at our leisure. I want all of the compartments to be keyed to our magical signature and blood, which we will set on our own, as well as locked with different keys that can be used for now. Additionally, we want every possible protection and defense mechanism placed on our trunks, all of which will be keyed to us as well. I don't want to risk anything happening to any of our belongings, and I can assure you I am a very paranoid person. I also want all expansion and shrinkage charms as well as the featherlight charms. I don't want to feel like I am carrying anything more than an empty trunk. Ever."
Louis face both paled and lit up at the same time, resulting in a very strange looking face. Paling at the amount of work each trunk would need, and liting up at the amount of gold that he would be able to wring out of them for all of the work done to the trunks. Rosemary could practically see him thinking that the two of them were absolute suckers who had no idea what they were getting in to. She rolled her eyes and then went over to the book bags to find proper bags for Harry and herself to carry their day to day school supplies in.
She looked around the store, taking her time looking at the smaller travel bags and the over the shoulder bags and the basic book bags, and simple purses. She wanted something that she could easily carry around from class to class without being harped on by teachers, or embarrased by the basic general uglines. In the end she went with a basic masculine black leather cross-body messenger bag for Harry, because he didn't want any kind of design on his, and a tom-boyishly feminie (tom-boyish design, with a feminie style of cut and pockets and fit) camo green faux suede cross-body messenger bag. Both bags came with undetectable expansion charms, featherlight charms, and at least 20 pockets for assorted items, as well as being the standard (before enchantments and charms) 9'' x 11'' x 4''. She also made sure that they got all of the same protections on the bags as they did on the trunks, but the bags would have their names embroidered on them in black thread, instead of having any of their crests. Niether she nor Harry even bothered to look at the total price of the bags and trunks when they swiped their debit cards after finalizing all of the work, and making sure that everything was up to snuff. All in all the process took about an hour and a half, and they still had the whole rest of Diagon Alley to go through. At least now they would have a proper bag and trunk for each of them to put their new belongings in.
They left Louis Luggage for Lively Lifestyles and consulted their guide as well as their school supply list.
"Shall we get our uniforms next, then?" Harry asked.
"We're not just getting the basic uniforms. We're going to a brand new place to make a brand new start Harry. We are going to get an entire wardrobe. Everything from the inside out, bottom to top. And don't complain, I'm not looking forward to this any more than you are, but neither of us are going to go there in Dudley's old clothes, we'd be a mockery. Especially considering that he is the size of a baby whale, and his clothes are falling off of us, nevermind they're falling apart at the seams." Rosemary said firmly.
"And how are we going to explain these nice new clothes to the Dursleys?" Harry asked pointedly.
"Simple. We'll tell them that Hogwarts has an Orphan Fund for students like us, whose parents are dead, and that these clothes were on the list, as well as the uniform because Hogwarts is a very prestigous school and refuses to have students wandering about in clothes that don't fit or look proper to the high society eye. Therefore a small stipend was alloted on the condition that we immediately return any change and all reciepts." Rosemary replied looking over the guide. Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions seemed like a good place to go, but there was also Seraphina's Wardrobe Creation and Tailoring. Rosemary hesitated, then decided that they would take a look at Seraphina's first since it was closest.
They walked in the door and first thing they were met with was a front desk made of what appeared to be mahogany. Just behind the desk were isles filled with racks and shelves of fabric swaths in every texture and color imaginable as well as all kinds of different types of fabric. Hanging on the wall were samples of hand stitched embroidery work, and different types of stitches. The building was bright and airy and colorful, but very organized. Looking down the isles was like looking at a gradually shifting rainbow comprised of different types of fabric. Everything was organized first by color, then by texture, and finally by fabric.
A beautifully dressed woman in her mid thirties came out from behind an isle and smiled brightly at the twins.
"Welcome to Seraphina's! How can I help you today?" she asked warmly.
"We were wondering if you could help us with our Hogwarts Uniforms, as well as a complete wardrobe. We're basically starting from scratch here, and we want to make a good impression, you know?" Rosemary said, suddenly second guessing herself. What did she know about revamping a wardrobe. She didn't even have one. But the lady looked at her warmly and kindly, seeming to know exactly what was causing the young girl such uncertainty.
"Of course. Why don't the two of you come step up on my stools in the back. We'll start by getting your measurements. And don't worry about growing out of your clothes. I can charm several inches of fabric to extend the dimensions appropriately as you grow. After that, we can pick out some colors that the two of you like to fill your wardrobe, and then we will decide on the fabrics. I understand that most of the hogwarts clothes are in black, and thats fine, but the shirts and blouses are of course going to be white, and then you have the camisoles and undershirts that you will wear under that, and those will have to be white or nude as well. We will also have to get you measured for your Hogwarts ties. But outside of the uniforms you will be able to wear whatever colors you like, so its good to have plenty of options, and you will need a few dress robes as well for any formal events. Hogwarts doesn't have many, if any, but occassionally you might get invited to something by a classmate. Now do either of you know what your budget it?" She asked the twins warmly.
"Ma'am, I can assure you, that we wont get anywhere close to our budget, unless we spent a year here and got a new custom ordered hand stitched and embroidered outfit of the absolute finest quality for every day, and night, as well as two extra outfits a day just for the fun of it. We will be alright. We're not even going to worry about the budget." Harry responded firmly in his still quiet voice.
"You make call me Sabrina, Seraphina was my mother, and I got this shop from her. She taught me everything I know, but please don't call me ma'am. It makes me feel old." Sabrina smiled brightly. Rosemary smiled just as brightly back.
"Now, if I remember correctly, Hogwarts Uniform consists of three sets of plain work robes, one plain pointed hat, one set of protective work gloves, and one winter cloak, correct?" Sabrina asked.
"Correct." Rosemary said.
"Is there anything for the uniform that you want to add to that?" Sabrina asked.
"Definately. Three sets of robes wont last long, even if you clean them properly and carefully, the wear and tear will build up naturally. Lets go ahead and add four more sets of work robes to give us one for each day of the week, 14 blouses and shirts in white to go with the robes, 7 each in long sleeves and short sleeves. Lets add 7 sets of casual wear each in summer, fall, spring, and winter styles, to give us a few outfits to wear during the weekends and breaks. We'll add four jumpers to keep us warm in the winter, and two jackets to keep us comfortable in the spring and fall. Lets also go ahead and get three sets of formal robes for any special occasions that might unexpectedly crop up on us. Two more winter cloaks, two each in cloaks for fall and spring, and three summer cloaks. Oh, and three formal cloaks to match the formal robes. We'll aslo need two sets each of winter gloves, fall gloves, and spring gloves, as well as a set of formal gloves to match each formal robe. Two pairs of trainers, one pair of protective boots, one pair of winter boots, and a neutral pair of formal shoes that we can match with any of our formal robes. I don't think I'm forgetting anything, do you?" Rosemary finally trailed off. Sabrina's quill had been taking notes over everything she said, while another quill had been taking notes of all of their measurements that a tape had been charmed to take. Sabrina looked over the list.
"Close, we're just missing a few things, but I will help you get those sorted out, not a problem at all deary. Now, do you know what colors, besides black, nude, and white that you would like your clothes to be in?"
Harry just shook his head, but Rosemary thought for a moment.
"Lets go with the darker jewel colors and tones, like emeral and saphire and ruby. Nothing too bright or out there, just the deep colors. Neither of us like the brighter end of the spectrum all that much."
"And absolutely no yellow." Harry said firmly. Rosemary nodded along with that statement enthusiastically. Neither of them looked good in yellow of any kind. Sabrina nodded and they went through the isles, getting all of the winter clothing in heavy cotton and fleece, with the summer clothing in light cotton and a thick type of linen so that it wasn't see through, with the fall and spring clothing being a mixed combination. Rosemary found herself heaped with skirts and dresses as well, that apparently young ladys were expected to wear. She was frustrated at that, but Sabrina also pointed out that pants were only good for some events, and at school she would be expected to wear skirts almost all the time. By the time that they left the store they had over 150 new peices of clothing each, including the clothes Sabrina had recomended they wear for the rest of the day so that they wouldn't stick out like sore thumbs.
Harry was now dressed in black pants with black trainers, a white undershirt and emerald green short sleeved shirt with a black jumper over it. It was a set from the casual wear, but now he didn't look like some muggle street kid. Rosemary was also wearing a new outfit. Sabrina had helped her pick out a full length deep blue skirt, with a ligth blue long sleeved blouse and a nude camisole. She had also paired it together with a pair of black casual flats, and a dark blue hair scarf that she had shown Rosemary how to put on and wear, pulling her hair back, and tying it to the side at the bottom to show a little under her hair, but not look completely preppy. Rosemary had acted like she despised the feminity, but had adored the attention and having a woman talk to her about girl things.
From there they headed to the apthcary, to get a full set of high calibre potion masters scales, a proper pewter cauldron, a set each of stirring rods and knives and cutting boards, as well as the entire list of potion ingredients, with plenty of spare ingredients each. They also got two full sets each of glass and crystal vials, tubes, tins, and other assorted potion, poltuce, and paste containers so that there would be no wasting of any potions that the twins did successfully make, and paid the extra to ensure that all containers were charmed unbreakable to insure that no matter what happened (Rosemary was a known clutz, and Harry was known to just throw things in his bag when he got frustrated) the potions would still be okay and viable.
They made there way slowly through Diagon Alley, stopping at all of the stores along the way, even if only for a moment, dodging the resturants because they stopped at the Leaky Cauldron for lunch, and weaving their way from one side of the alley to the other, making sure that they had a complete surplus of all of their supplies, and anything else that caught their eyes, including a 26 quill set of Dicta-Quills for note-taking. They each had bought one, as well as several pots of ink in almost every shade of color to color code their notes (Rosemary had hammered in color coding school notes during their previous years at school to make studying for each test easier, and Harry found it was easier to just go along with her on this than it was to try to argue or avoid it). Rosemary also insisted in spending the extra money on quills with metal nibs so that they wouldn't have to sharpen them as often, as well as how-to guides for writing with the quills, and a few copy books for re-learning how to write their letters with the new writing instruments, though Rosemary swore she would pick up a dozen pen packs before they left for school. Finally all that was left was a wand, a pet-which they had talked Hadrid out of on the promise that he could come back on August 20th and they would meet him here to pick out a pet for each of them since he was so determined to get them something for their birthdays-, and their booklists (ignoring the fact that they had already begun filling their portable librarys with any books that caught their eyes in the different stores around the alley).
"What do you think Harry, wands before books, that way we wont have to worry about forgetting to grab them before we need to head back to Gringotts? We can spend the whole rest of the day in Flourish and Blotts after we get our book lists then." Rosemary asked, practically begging. Harry sighed, knowing that he would probably find something to read to occupy his time while his sister bought up the whole store.
"Fine, wands first, then you can have free reign in the book store." Harry said. Rosemary beamed, then practically skipped all the rest of the way to Ollivander's. Harry just shook his head mutely as he followed his now near hyper-active sister to the dusty and dark looking shop.
As they walked into Ollivander's they waited for their eyes to adjust to the dim lighting. When they could finally see clearly again they were astounded at the vast amount of wands filing every shelf. Hanging on racks near the door were also a large quantity of wand holsters of varying types. There were holsters for arms, legs, waists, thighs, all depending on where you prefered drawing your wand from. On the counter was a simple hand-written sign that read 'Commissioned wands only upon request'.
"So, should we have our wands commissioned, or should we get a pre-made wand?" Harry asked quietly.
"It is possible to get both, though few ever do." a steady voice said from their right. Both twins jumped at the voice and turned to look for the owner. Mr. Ollivander stepped down from his ladder and approached them.
"Then we'll have both, better protection that way." Rosemary stated with a confidence that she didn't feel. Ollivander nodded solemly. They started going through the pre-made wands while Ollivander talked about having sold their parents their wands. Finally a wand choose Rosemary. It was Aspen with a Thunderbird Tail Feather. Quite a few more wands later, one finally choose Harry as well. It was Holly and Pheonix Tail Feather.
"Curious, very curious." Ollivander said under his breath.
"Excuse me sir, but, what's curious?" Harry asked nervously.
"I remember every wand i've ever sold, Mr. Potter. The pheonix whose tail feather resides in your wand, gave another feather, just one other. It is curoius that you should be destined for this wand, when it's brother gave you that scar. I believe that we can expect great things from you, Mr. Potter. After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things. Terrible, yes, but great."
Harry and Rosemary just looked at each other. Neither knew what to say to that. But Rosemary very much looked like she would like to tell Mr. Ollivander that he was as insane as he looked, however, she bit her tongue and shook her head, rolling her eyes.
"Well, follow me to the back. Lets find what calls to you for your wands." Ollivander said. He led them to the far back of the shop, where he had a workstation set up, before he pulled out drawer after drawer of strange things.
"Lets start with the wand cores, shall we? I want you to close your eyes and let your hand hover over each core. When you feel a core call to you, open your eyes and tap the drawer, but don't look in it. I will tell you what the cores are when you're done. Don't worry if more than one core calls to you, it doesn't happen often, but it is possible. Now, Mr. Potter, you first."
Harry did as instructed, slowly walking by the drawers. He went back and forth, one row at a time, very slowly. In the end, he had tapped two drawers.
"Ah, Horned Serpent Horn, and Thunderbird Tail Feather. A very unusual and powerful combination." Ollivander said, before waving Rosemary up to take her turn. Rosemary went even slower, just to make sure, and in the end she also had tapped two drawers. "Strange combination, Ashwinder Ash and De-Venomized Basilisk Fang."
"Sir, is there a meaning to the wand cores?" Rosemary asked.
"Oh, yes. Every wand core has meaning and power behind them. The Horned Serpent Horn is known to be exceptionally powerful and sensitive to parseltongue. It is said to be able to warn its owner of danger by emiting a low musical tone. The Thunderbird Tail Feather is known to be powerfull but difficult to master, and is particularly prized by transfigureers. This to can sense danger, however it has been said that wands with this as a core have been heard of in dangerous situations of casting curses on their own. The Ashwinder Ash is a good core for love magic, much like the eggs of an ashwinder are a main ingredient in love potions. This particular core often bonds with witches and wizards who often get lost in their thoughts and fantasies. However, it is a powerful core when dealing with fire spells because of the ashwinders connection to fire. The Basilisk Fang is a core that is often misunderstood. It is a core that excells at Combative, Martial, and Defensive Magics. If the owner of such a wand were to go into healing however, they would struggle to learn the spells, but once the spells are learned, they are known to be as potent as the venom that runs through the fang before it is devenomized. This core, once bonded to its chosen weilder can become ver aggressivly protective of its weilder and has been known to shoot out stunners on its own when the weilder is particularly upset as well as heat up the wand when the weilder is in danger. However, it is a very picky core, usually only bonding to witches or wizards gifted in parseltongue or beast tongue, and this has given it a very bad reputation. The wand woods also have meaning of course. Speaking of, over here please."
Ollivander led them to another case with just as many drawers, if not more so, and they repeated the process. Again Harry went first, ending up with Chesnut and Fir, while Rosemary found Hornbeam and Ebony calling to her. Harry of course snickered at the irony of a wood that Rosemary shared a name with would call to her, but Ollivander just nodded again.
"What do they mean?" Rosemary asked.
"Interesting choices, very interesting. Chestnut is a most curious and multi-faceted wood, and it varies greatly in its characteristics depending on both its core and the personality of the wielder. Typically it is attracted to witches and wizards who are skilled with beasts, herbology, and those who are gifted fliers. Fir, according to my grandfather, is the survivor's wand, because he sold it to three different wizards who went through mortal peril and passed through it unscathed. It is one of the more resilient woods, and it demands staying power and strength of purpose from its owner. It tends to be particullarly suited to those who are skilled in Transfiguration. Hornbeam, is the wood that my own wand is made from, and it selects for its life mate the talented witch or wizard with a single pure passion that will almost always be realized. It will adapt more quickly than most other woods to their weilders personal style of magic, and will personalize so quickly than other people will find them extremely difficult, if not impossible to use. Likewise this wood tends to absorb its weilders code of honor, whatever that may be, and for go or for ill will refuse to perform acts that do not follow their weilder's principles. Ebony has both an impressive appearance and reputation, being highly suited to all manner of combative magic, as well as Transfiguration. It is a wood that is happiest with weilders who have the courage it takes to be themselves, no matter the opposition or political climate, even going so far as to be non-conformist and highly individual with complete comfort in the status of outsiders. In my experience, the perfect match to an ebony wand is a weilder who will hold fast to their beliefs, no matter the external pressure, and will not be swayed lightly from their purpose."
"That's a lot of expectation to bear the weight of." Rosemary said softly. Again Ollivander nodded.
"Now, I will send an owl when your wands are ready to be picked up." With that Ollivander hurried them out the door, barely giving them time to pay in his excitement, though Rosemary put her foot down and insisted on two wand holsters each for Harry and herself, giving them one for each wand, as well as a proper wand maintenance kit. With that, they were promptly shoved out the door so Ollivander could begin working on their wands.
"Well, he was kind of scary in a rather excitable, creepy way." Harry said quietly. Rosemary nodded, then dismissed it from her mind as she focused on their next destination.
"Flourish and Blotts finally, right?" she asked, suddenly resembling her eleven year old self properly. Harry nodded feeling rather self-sacrificing in that moment.
"If you make sure to get a copy of each book for each of us, I will make sure that we have a blank journal for each book, and in different colors for each subject." Harry said, thinking that it would make his job easy since he wouldn't have to then wander all over the store, just make sure that they had enough journals for every book she wanted. Rosemary happily nodded her assent, she absolutely loved bookstores!
Neither of them could possibly have expected from the outside just how large the size of the bookstore would be inside. And it was jam packed full of shelves that were in turn full of books. To top off Rosemary's excitement, there were three whole floors.
"Welcome to Flourish and Blotts. What can I help you find today?" an unlucky and unsuspecting sales associate greeted them. Rosemary grinned predatorily at the poor sod.
"We're here to get our Hogwarts books, as well as a few others, and anyting else that catches our eyes. We will also need a blank journal for every book that we decide to get, and the journals need to be in different colors depending upon the subjects, so that we can keep our notes organized. We will also need one planner for each of us, with mothly, weekly, and daily places for notes about homework and classes." The sales associate was already ringing up the bonus that he would get in his check for this kind of a sale. The poor man had no idea what kind of pandora's box he had just opened.
"Ah, what year for Hogwarts, we'll start there." the clerk said. Rosemary smiled evily at him.
"All of them. And not just for Hogwarts. I want the books on all of the school book lists. Including all of the elective courses as well. And we will need books with supplementary reading for the subjects so that we can properly understand the material, as well as all of the books on this list." she said, finally handing him a copy of the suggested reading list that Griphook had written up for them. The sales associate finally paled as exactly how much work he had just signed himself up for sunk into his mind.
"Of course, and you said that you wanted a blank journal for each book, in differing colors depending on the subject? Can I get you anything else?" he asked hesitantly, not really looking for even more work on top of what he could tell might in fact be a very long afternoon.
"One copy each of every book that mentions the Potter Twins. And if you have folders in varying color, I want four each in colors that match the journals." Rosemary said. "Outside of that, just two copies of whatever catches our eyes."
The sales associate went back behind the counter and got out 12 book order lists, one for each of the 11 major schools, and one for the local community school, Queens Community School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. They walked the isles, one by one getting two of every book on the book lists, as well as two of each book on the reading list, and two of any book that caught Harry or Rosemary's eye. They also got journals to match the subjects, and had already planned out the colors. Red for Transfiguration, blue for Charms, purple for Defense Against the Dark Arts, green for Potions, grey for History, amber for Healing, salmon for Ancient Runes, gold for Arithmancy, bronze for Muggle Studies, lime for Divination, evergreen for Wizarding Law, Customs, and Etiquette, aqua for Wards, seagreen for Spell Creation, periwinkle for Music Studies, teal for Muggle Art, violet for Care of Magical Creatures, wine for Alchemy, lilac for Ghoul Studdies, lavender for Magical Theory, brown for Spell-Weaving, and white for Elemental Awareness. They also got twelve black journals for daily use.
They also got in depth books on History of Magic, not just the basic books, as well as any other books that might assist them in their abilities and understanding their inheritances and soon to be responsibilities as a Lord and Lady. They also got the full encylopedia sets for Herbology, Potioneering, Astrology, Geology, Magical Creatures and Wards. It was as they were leaving the section called Defensive and Offensive Magics that Rosemary spotted a book that caught her eye, called Mastering Magics of the Mind; A Complete and Extensive Guide to Occlumency and Legillimancy. Reactivly she grabbed two copies. The sales clerk however, caught sight of her.
"We don't normally sell books like that to minors..." he said hesitantly.
"If you sell it to me, I'll pay double the price on the tag." Rosemary said boldly. She saw the greed light up in the clerk's eyes.
By the time they finished their shopping it was late. They ate a quick dinner at the Leaky Cauldron, and bid Hagrid farewell, re-promising to meet him here again on the 20th. Then they headed back to Gringotts to begin their two week healing process.
They spent most of the next two weeks reading and studying between taking potions, and doing physical therapy. Rosemary threw herself into her studies vigorously, getting ahead quickly despite doing what she saw as the required background reading first, and taking extensive detailed notes (once she re-learned how to write with the quill), and by the end of the healing process found herself about halfway through her first year books. Harry was more relaxed about it, but even so, found himself a good third of the way through his book list for first years.