Diagon Alley was both exactly the same and wildly different from Dudley's previous experiences of school shopping. Parents called after children who were plastered to the windows of chocolatiers, ice cream parlors, and joke stores, students-to-be begged for "just five minutes!" in pet shops, mothers dragged their whinging boys into the clothing stores for uniforms: it was startlingly familiar except that children wanted owls and toads instead of puppies, brooms instead of bicycles, and acid pops instead of lemon drops.
"Alright, we'll get books first, since everyone will need those for their year. Then Daisy, Albus, and Rosie can get their robes and wands whilst James, Teddy, and Victorie get their potion supplies and robes."
Ginny barked out orders like her mother used to, Molly now enjoying doting on the grandchildren too young to attend Hogwarts yet.
"When can we go to Uncle George's shop?" Asked a little Weasley boy, Humphrey or Hugo or something, Dudley thought.
"We'll head there after lunch," Molly assured him, "And Grandpa Arthur and you will go to the Leaky early to make sure we have enough seats for all of us. If you're good, he might even get you a Tongue Tying Lemon Squash or an Otter's Fizzy Orange Juice. Would you like that?"
The mop of red hair moved wildly as the child nodded his agreement.
"Onwards to Flourish and Blotts!" said Harry, fist in the air. His godson, whose hair was a mix of yellow and black today, rolled his eyes, but followed with the rest of the horde.
Anita was going up meet them later as she was stuck at a doctor's appointment. She had promised Daisy she would meet them soon and Poppy had been thrilled to be able to come along as they're was no one to stay home with her.
"Daddy," she said, "Can I go play with Hugo and Lily and Grandmother Molly?"
His eyebrows raised at the title she used for Molly, but nodded his assent. She squealed with joy and skipped off to join her cousins, all of whom were discussing what creatures they would take with them to Hogwarts when they turned eleven.
Dudley furrowed his brow, thinking of his mother and her sister and the magical gene that had been passed to one but not the other. He shook his head. Best not to borrow trouble, he thought before following the horde towards a bookstore with a large carved quill above the entrance.
~D~D~D~D~D~D~
Try as he might to appear unaffected by the magical stores, Dudley couldn't deny to himself that it was all, well, fantastic.
There were hairy books that were kept in cages, which he noticed Harry and Ron glared at, books that sang if you touched their spines, books that made him giddy to be near, and monstrous dusty tomes that looked as through they belonged in Cambridge.
Daisy picked up books on plants and spells and transfiguration and potions, then they went off to a place called Ollivander's which boasted an established date in a three digit year, which Dudley had a hard time believing until he walked inside. The store was chockabock full of small long boxes from floor to the ceiling. A man as old as Methuselah greeted them with an especially hearty greeting to Harry, though Dudley had come to expect that after spending the morning with his cousin.
Harry was apparently something of a celebrity, Dudley figured. Likely to do with being rich as Croesus.
Mr. Ollivander beckoned Daisy over and began to hand her wands.
"This one, is Elm, 12 ", supple, dragon heartstring core," he said in a raspy voice, handing her a beautifully carved wand with little lines and dots all over. Daisy gave it a wave and a book shot off of a shelf, making Anita jump.
"No, no, no," the old man muttered, "perhaps, maybe. Yes, try this. Vinewood, dragon heartstring, pliable, excellent for charms work," as he handed over a wand with a delicately curved handle.
This time, Daisy caused Harry's glasses to crack. Both Harry and Daisy yelped before Ginny laughed and mended his glasses.
That explains how his glasses were always pristine after he started school, thought Dudley, before chastising himself for being the reason his cousin's glasses were always in such poor repair.
"Perhaps, this? Yes, yes, yes, try this, my dear," Mr. Ollivander passed Daisy a new wand, smooth with a handle that looked to be covered in carved feathers accented with flecks of gold. "Willow, supple, 11 inches even, unicorn hair. Excellent all-around wand, though best for transfiguration."
Daisy's hair rose on end as a golden glow emitted from the tip of the wand. Her eyes widened and her face split into a grin.
"This is it, isn't it?!" she cried.
"Yes, yes it is," said Mr. Ollivander, taking the wand and placing it back in the box. He wrapped it for purchase and chatted to Harry, but Dudley and Anita weren't paying attention.
"Wow," Anita whispered, her head leaning on his shoulder. "She's really magical, isn't she."
"She really is," said Dudley, not thinking of her abilities but rather the smile on his little girl's face. Magical indeed.
~D~D~D~D~D~D~
Once Daisy had everything on her Hogwarts list, and the family had enjoyed a hearty meal of cornish pasties and roast chicken, they made their way to a brightly colored shop with a red-headed head lifting and dropping a top hat over a rabbit that would appear and disappear each time.
"Uncle George! Uncle George!" Lily cried as they made their way into the crowded shop. Dudley and Anita scanned the shelves as intensely as their children, though Dudley blanched when he saw a display of Skiving Snackboxes. He pulled Daisy towards a group of pink and purple fluffy critters, hoping that she hadn't seen the Puking Pastilles and Ton Tongue Toffees.
Anita just barely swept Poppy away before she accepted George's offer to sample Hiccuping Honeycomb. Molly could be heard scolding her son as they made their way to the second floor.
There, they found little spinning toys and mechanical dragons that walked and blew fire. Poppy was mesmerized by everything around them.
"Mummy, can I have a Piggy Puff?"
"There called PYGmy Puffs!" Lily giggled at Poppy.
"I can call mine Piggy. Then it will be a Piggy Puff."
"Can I get a Kill-Me Puff?" Albus grumbled. He skipped away lightly as the girls both turned to swat him, off to find a quiet corner as was his usual hiding spot. Daisy meandered over and giggled as Lily and Poppy made gagging noises over the love potions then made an "icky" face as well.
Thank God for small favors, thought Dudley. I don't think I could handle her liking boys as well as being magic.
~D~D~D~D~D~D~
After the girls were tucked in, exhausted from their day in the Alley, Anita grabbed out the nice wine glasses, beautiful Waterfords her parents had bought them for the wedding, and cracked open a bottle of wine.
"What's the occasion, 'Nita?"
"Were you not there today?" she asked, wide eyed with panic that he'd seen on his mother's face a hundred times before. "There were biting books and flying broomsticks and, and, and…"
"Yes, yes," said Dudley, taking the bottle from her and pouring two glasses. "Quite a lot to take in, to be sure."
"It's all real." She continued, as though she hadn't heard him. "It's all so real. I knew it, but seeing it… I mean, we've seen it at your cousin's and his friends' but that? There were so many of them! And they all acted like it was perfectly normal."
"Hey!" He said, taking her shoulders firmly. "Yes, it's wild. It's unbelievable. I was terrified of it as a child, and to be completely honest, it still makes me a bit weak in the knees now. But this is our daughter. Our child. This is her world now. And you and I will continue to support her in this as we would if she had been non-magical. I will not let our child's abilities shake this family, and neither will you."
His gaze burned into her eyes and she saw that strength that made her fall in love the first time.
"Yes," she said, with a large swallow of wine. "Yes, of course."
"Feeling better?" he asked, after a few more sips from her glass.
Anita didn't get the chance to answer because, at that moment, there was a loud tapping on the glass of the kitchen window.
Standing, Anita made her way over to the window and opened it. In hopped a small, fidgety owl and a much larger barn owl, which dropped a note from its beak.
"Dear Daisy,
I hope you enjoy Aurelius, he can carry your mail to your parents. His little friend is Pygmalion, who is quite fond of little sisters. We hope you both enjoy.
Love,
Cousin Harry and Aunt Ginny"
"RUDDY! OWLS!" Dudley bellowed as Pygmalion left a less pleasant gift on the counter.
A/N: Hi guys! This chapter is especially special as it is a (unfortunately late at this point) birthday gift for the ever motivational Clare. Thank you my dear for keeping me on task and updated. Happy, happy birthday!
As always, comments and reviews are greatly appreciated. Thank you all for reading!