Disclaimer: Anyone want to buy me the rights? If not then no. Still don't own it.
A/N: *Skeleton has replaced the muppet* Tumblr: Ethrildragon
Reaching Through Time
Chapter 7: Diagon Alley
In the end Abraxas was able to get his parents to agree to let him wander around with Tom and Harry. It seemed to help the argument when Abraxas dropped Tom's last name.
The blonde boy may not have noticed, but Tom had seen it when the Abraxas' mother had looked surprised and his father had looked intrigued. It made Tom hope that there would be some answers in the letter that was safely stored away in his bottomless bag.
"So what shopping do you have left to do?" Abraxas asked Tom as Harry busied himself with eating some pink and bright green colored ice cream that he had been enamored with.
Tom let out a groan as he pulled out the list that he had already memorized. He assumed the role of annoyed pre-teen since that's what Abraxas was.
"Practically everything." At least they didn't have to wait around for the robes to be done.
"Well that sucks." Abraxas said as he glanced at the paper in Tom's hand. His parents had already said they would get his books, tools, and ingredients. All Abraxas had to get was his wand and familiar. He tapped a finger against the table in thought as he enjoyed his own ice cream cone. "Oh!"
Tom and Harry looked at Abraxas in curiosity as the boy turned to his parents. "Mother, would you and father be able to get Tom's things as well? Since you'll be going to those shops anyway."
"I wouldn't want to inconvenience your parents." Tom said quickly. He didn't like charity and he had been looking forward to exploring the shops with Harry.
"Nonsense!" Mrs. Malfoy quickly said from a table over where she was sitting with her husband. "It won't be any trouble! You boys just enjoy yourselves today."
"Absolutely." Mr. Malfoy added when his wife sent him a quick look. "Make sure to stop by the quidditch shop." Which earned a light smack from his wife who wasn't as into the sport as Malfoy senior was.
Money was never mentioned, but Tom expected them to ask for his portion of the funds. "Let me at least pay for my things." His voice was light hearted and he pretended to not have a care in the world as he began pulling out a few galleons.
A wave from Mr. Malfoy's hand stopped Tom before the boy had more than five galleons in his hand. "Don't worry about it my boy. We'll take care of the costs."
And that sealed it for Tom. Now he knew he had to keep Abraxas by his side if nothing else because his family would be useful.
Still Tom made his expression seem hesitant and he held the gold coins in his hands. "Are you sure? The list is quite extensive and I wouldn't want you to-"
"It's perfectly fine. Go! Enjoy the day!" Mrs. Malfoy made a shooing motion with her hand and Tom slipped the gold coins back into his bag.
Never let it be said that Tom didn't know how to manipulate people, especially adults, into doing what he wanted. He hadn't expected the offer for them to pay for his things to come, but he was grateful for it. Even with the large allowance Tom didn't like the idea of spending so much money.
Abraxas and Tom had finished their ice cream cones, having opted for a single scoop each, but Harry was still struggling with his double scoop.
"Oh Harry." Tom said with a sigh as his young friend grinned up at him with a pink smear of ice cream on his nose. With a fond smile he reached over with a napkin and cleaned his friend's nose.
The three, with Harry still working on his ice cream, left the parlor to wander down the street. Abraxas mostly led the way as they walked, but Tom made sure to note down where all the shops were and which ones he would like to visit later.
"Why'd they do that?" Harry asked once the majority of his ice cream was eaten. "Your parents. Why'd they offer to buy Tom's things?"
Abraxas smiled a bit. "Hmm. I suppose you would be too young to understand Pureblood niceties." That got a scowl from harry. "I guess you could say it is customary for pureblood families to buy things for each other when the opportunity arises. To show off." The blonde smiled brightly and shrugged at Harry's frown. "Since your parents are not present my parents are trying to gain favor by stepping in for them."
All that Abraxas was saying was useful information for Tom. Next time he got the chance he would have to pay for something for Abraxas in order to show off his own wealth if only to cement his place in the good graces of the Malfoy's.
No matter what world a person was from, wealth was still a sure way to secure your position.
"My parents will probably extend an invitation to your family, Gaunt, to our end of Summer Gala." There was a small sigh added after that and Abraxas almost looked bored at the idea. "It would be nice if you were there."
With Harry walking between himself and Abraxas, Tom was able to internally chuckle at the seemingly eternal frown that Harry had adopted.
"Why did you call Tom 'Gaunt'?"
"It's fine if you call me Tom." The dark haired preteen quickly said to cover up Harry's question.
Since Smith wasn't exactly one of the sacred pureblood lines Abraxas wasn't exactly surprised that Harry didn't know some of the etiquette that was practiced.
"You can call me Abraxas." The blond responded to Tom's offer of first name use before answering Harry's question. "It is tradition that pureblood families use last names when addressing each other unless given permission. It's a sign of respect." he gave Harry a smile. "You can call me Abraxas as well if you would like."
It was an offer of friendship that the Malfoy heir was giving Harry.
"Oh, well...call me Hadrian. Or Harry. Hadrian makes me sound old." Harry stuck out his tongue at that. He understood why Tom had chosen it, to help deflect any memories or connections people could make about him. They were trying to keep the truth of who he was a secret seeing as how the people back at the orphanage still believed Harry Potter had been kidnapped by his repulsive relatives.
Abraxas chuckled and nodded. "Harry it is."
The three boys explored the alley after that, chatting about various things and learning about each other. For the most part Abraxas led them to shops that he himself enjoyed seeing as how both Tom and Harry didn't really know where to go first.
And then they found themselves outside a shop with a single dusty wand in the window. "It looks closed." Harry commented as he took Tom's hand nervously.
The shop was giving off so many different sensations that it left Harry feeling a little overwhelmed. It wasn't bad like Dumbledor, but it wasn't neutral like Gringotts. It was like...reaching into a bag full of all sorts of things with his eyes closed.
"Do you want to wait out here?" Tom asked softly as his little friend weaved a little before leaning against him for support.
Out of the corner of his eye Harry could see Abraxas watching them. "No. I'm fine." He took a deep breath before straightening up once more. With a bright smile for Tom, Harry stepped forward and pushed the door open.
There was a chiming sound deep within the building and within moments a middle age man appeared along with an older teenager following right behind him.
"Welcome to Ollivanders." The older man stated with a small smile. His pale eyes looked at each boy individually, his eyes stopping to look at Harry a little longer than the others. "Here for your wands then?" he rubbed his hands together and before any of the boys could say anything he waved the teenager towards one wall to start pulling boxes.
"Come, come! Let's get your measurements." Abraxas was the first to step forward. "Abraxas! Grown out of your training wand then? Let's get you measured." The man pulled out a length of thread that had, to Tom and Harry, no real way to measure things, and yet the man whipped it around Abraxas' dominant hand and arm several times. "Start with the cedar, there's a good lad."
Abraxas picked up the offered wand and waved it only for a few peacock feathers to be sent flying through the air.
"Close, but I don't think either of you would be happy in the long run." With a sigh the man took the wand and set it in the box. "Try this ebony and dragon heartstring. Both your mother and father have done well with their heartstring cores."
Several boxes flew off the shelves when Abraxas tested the wand only for the man to snatch the wand away. "Definitely not."
The teen and the man looked at each other for a long moment. The older man gestured for the teen to chose the next one and after a moment's hesitation the teen behind the counter opened one box and pulled out a long dark brown wand.
"Ah. Interesting choice." The older man took the wand and handed to to Abraxas gently. "Reed. 15 inches. With a very unique wand core." His eyes sparkled a bit. "White River Monster Spine. From my trip to America."
The moment Abraxas took up the wand Harry could feel the magic around him change. The magic of the wand sang mutely in Harry's ear and he could see the platinum haired Malfoy boy smile.
"Good to see that wand go to a good home then." The man seemed to release the breath he had been holding and nodded to the teen next to him. "Only one I've ever made with that core. Truly unique."
With Abraxas taken care of the man turned to Tom and Harry. "My name is Ollivander and this is my son Geralt."
The teen nodded in welcome, but otherwise stayed silent. "So who's next?" When Harry and Tom looked at each other Ollivander noted the way Harry chewed on his lip. "You can have a wand no matter your age young man. If you want one that is."
Again those pale, pale eyes glimmered and Harry felt himself flushing a bit. They had only been planning on getting Tom his wand.
Tom liked the idea of getting Harry a wand though. That way, when Harry came to visit during the school year, Tom could teach Harry how to use his wand and how to cast spells.
"I'll go first." Tom whispered with a smile that was only ever for Harry. He waited until his small friend nodded before letting go of Harry's hand to go up to the counter.
"Dominant hand please." Ollivander wiggled his finger at Tom and once the pre-teen's hand was over the counter the old man was once again using that thread to measure Tom's arm. "May I ask your name? Family lines tend to stick to a type of core or wand wood."
"Gaunt."
Ollivander hesitated then, the thread slipping from his fingers. "Ah. I see." There was no look of interest in Ollivander like there had in the Malfoy's. Instead he looked contemplative and his pale eyes looked away. "Marvolo's grandson I wager."
As much as Tom wanted to hear more, Ollivander seemed to be rather tight lipped after his small statement about Tom's family.
He really hoped there would be more info in that first letter.
It didn't take three tries to find a wand for Tom. No, it took nearly a dozen tries before Ollivander turned to look silently towards the back of his shop. He looked conflicted, unsure, but after another minute or so he let out a long breath and wandered towards the back, slipping behind the curtain that separated the front of the store from the back.
Geralt was frowning slightly and his own pale blue eyes refused to leave the curtain that his father had disappeared behind.
Soon Ollivander returned with a thin box in his hands. "Yew. Phoenix feather. 13 1/2 inches."
It was a simple statement, one that seemed to have a great deal of meaning even though Harry and Tom couldn't understand it.
Tom didn't even have to take the wand to know it was for him. He wasn't as sensitive to magic as Harry was, but he could feel the way the wand was calling out to him.
The silence within the wand shop was only broken when Tom took the wand and all the boxes he had accidentally knocked around righted themselves. Tom didn't even have to wave or flick the wand and already it was doing exactly what he wanted.
"Curious." Ollivander's voice was soft and he was looking at Tom with a new interest. "Phoenix feather cores have a tendency of being particularly picky with who they choose. It takes a great deal to win the trust and power of a phoenix feather wand."
The man's words weren't awed, but he definitely was looking at Tom with a new interest in those pale eyes.
"Yew wood is best suited for fierce protectors." Ollivander told Tom gently.
Tom only nodded as he pulled out the necessary payment. Seeing the wand holsters to one side of the counter Tom also elected to pay for one of those as well.
"Now then." The tense air that had filled the shop vanished as Ollivander turned to young Harry. "Do you want a wand young man?"
Harry hesitated for a moment. If he got a wand where would he hide it? He knew he'd be able to take it with him back to his time, but would he be able to hide it from the Dursley's? He looked to Tom for his opinion and the two shared a silent discussion.
Ollivander's sharp pale eyes watched as the two boys worked things out silently. There was a connection there that was palpable to the wand maker. He'd spent so many years handling magical wand components that he'd gained a particular ability to sense connections between things and people.
He knew before Tom and Harry turned back to him that they had elected for Harry to pick out a wand. Ollivander had vanished behind the curtain long before a word left Harry.
"Try this one." Ollivander told Harry when he returned with another box similar to the one Tom's wand had been inside.
The magic coming off of the wand made Harry feel like he was reaching out to an old friend. It felt excited to be with him, as if they really did know each other. His grip was light as he lifted the wand up in admiration. Light surrounded him and a light breeze ruffled his already messy black hair.
"I thought so." Ollivander leaned away from the three boys and his eyes looked tired. "You two," He pointed at Tom and Harry. "have brother wands. The phoenix feathers for your wands came from the same phoenix." Seeing how the boys didn't understand Ollivander explained. "Most magical creatures only give enough for a single wand. It was quite a shock when the phoenix that gave a feather for that wand," he pointed at Tom's wand. "Also gave a feather for that wand."
"I think we can expect great things from you." Ollivander reached up to push back his graying bangs. "From both of you."
The group left the wand shop with wands and holsters for each of them.
"Brother wands! That's amazing!" Abraxas, who had been silent almost the entire time they had been within the shop, finally spoke up. He was grinning as he looked between Tom and Harry. "They say Castor and Pollux had twin wands and that they could defy death itself when they worked together!"
Abraxas continued on like that for some time while Harry fixed his wand holster so it fit more comfortably on his left arm.
"You're lucky you got a wand now. Father says the ministry is going to pass a law soon that will keep children from buying wands until their 11th birthday." That got Tom and Harry's attention. "Ridiculous if you ask me. And unfair."
"Why would they do that?" Harry asked. Now that he knew he might have been banned from getting a wand early he was glad that he had decided to get it.
Abraxas rolled his eyes. "Because the ministry is trying to crack down on the statute of secrecy again. My father doesn't talk about it front of me, but I listened in the other day and he said something about Grindelwald becoming a real problem to the statute."
There were so many questions that Tom wanted to ask, but he knew if he did Abraxas would think he didn't know anything about the wizarding world. He had already figured out the youngest Malfoy was being nice because he thought Tom had been raised with the same knowledge as him. Thankfully Harry stepped in with his own questions.
"Grindelwald?"
The look Abraxas gave Harry then was clearly one of 'such an innocent child'. "A dark wizard that believes the statute should be lifted and that muggles should be hunted." Abraxas shrugged a little. "I mean I understand not wanting to hide away like we do, but I don't think all muggles can be bad. Why else would we get so many muggleborns?"
Harry so desperately wanted to ask about muggles and muggleborns, but the grip Tom had on his hand stopped him. They would hopefully find out more later.
"Hey! How about we take a look at familiars?" Abraxas grinned as he pointed towards a shop with a sign stating 'Magical Menagerie'. "My family has a bunch of owls already for the post, but I think I might want something else as a pet you know? Maybe an exotic cat or something."
The only thing Harry heard in all of that was 'exotic cat'. He loved his snake Ladon, but sometimes he wondered what it would be like to have another animal. Harry loved animals, but he couldn't exactly keep pets with the Dursleys or at the orphanage with Tom.
Just like Ollivanders, there was magic all over the place. This time though Harry didn't feel overwhelmed; he was distracted by all the amazing animals that were crammed into every space available.
"Look at this Tom!" Harry let go of his friend's hand to hurry over to a cage that was full of orange butterflies that were humming sweetly and giving off a gentle warm glow. The closer Harry got the closer the closer little critters fluttered towards him.
"7 sickles each." Tom read the price of the little creatures. "I doubt one would make a good familiar though."
Abraxas simply grinned and nodded. "Of course not. They're mostly good as potion ingredients."
Harry pouted a bit, but he at least didn't ask for one. He turned away from the cage to look at another of the many animals only to freeze and become ghostly pale.
"Harry?" Tom asked in concern as his dearest friend's eyes went wide in fear. There was a sharp bark and instantly Tom knew what was wrong.
Abraxas hadn't noticed the sudden change in the two boys until he was several feet away looking at a very blue striped cat. "What's wrong?"
Tom had pulled Harry into his arms and was pressing him against his chest. "Harry was attacked by a nasty dog years ago." He nodded his head towards the jack russel terrier puppy that had a weird split tail. "Neither of us are fond of dogs now."
At least Harry wasn't shaking in fear. He mostly became petrified around larger breeds like pit bulls. This fear was mostly from the initial shock of seeing a dog so suddenly. After a few quick breaths and soft assurances from Tom, Harry was able to pull himself together. So long as he didn't get close to the dog he would be fine.
"You don't really have anything to worry about with the Crup." Abraxas told the young boy gently. "They're bred to be extremely loyal to wizards. Even when they have masters they aren't likely to attack other wizards unless threatened."
Still Harry wasn't all that interested in getting closer. Instead he went to the other side of the shop to look at the colorful birds that were in cages of all sizes and shapes.
In the end Abraxas picked out the blue striped cat with glowing yellow eyes which turned out to be some sort of crossbreed. Tom made sure to pay for it before Abraxas could even pull out his coin purse. The creature cost a lot more than Tom would have liked, but he needed to keep up appearances. At least he saved some money by not having to buy all of his school supplies himself.
The cat came up to Abraxas' knees and was more than happy to walk side by side with the Malfoy boy. It even showed interest in Harry and when the green eyed boy reached out a hand the cat lightly bumped its head against the offered appendage.
"I think our robes should be done by now." Abraxas commented while looking at his watch. "My parents are that way as well. They probably finished the rest of the shopping."
Sure enough when they returned to Madam Malkin's the two elder Malfoy's were waiting outside with two trunks next to them.
"Boys! There you are!" Mrs. Malfoy called out as the three came up to them. "Oh my! What a lovely creature." She cooed at the blue striped cat that preened with pride.
"He's a gift from Tom." Abraxas replied happily.
Tom felt his cheeks color a little when the two older Malfoy's smiled at him. He had made the right choice in paying for the feline.
The group of 5 wandered into the robe shop where the two pre-teens could pick up their robes. Thankfully they didn't need to try on the robes and were just handed the packages. Tom had also ordered a couple travel robes and every day robes along with the formal robes and school clothes. he was nothing if not thorough.
As it turned out one of the trunks contained all of the supplies that the Malfoy's had bought for him. It had been enchanted to shrink and un-shrink with just a couple taps of his wand and after he locked it for the first time it would only unlock for himself and whomever he gave permission to open it.
The Malfoy's had definitely spent a great deal of money just to try and show off their wealth to a boy with an important wizard name.
"I'm not sure if Abraxas told you, but we are holding an end of Summer Gala on the 30th of August. It would be marvelous if you and your parents could join us." Even though Mrs. Malfoy was speaking to Tom the invitation had been directed to both himself and Harry.
Ever since Abraxas had first mentioned the party Tom had been contemplating how to give a response. He'd been going over both the pros and cons about telling the truth about his living situation. They couldn't tell them the truth about Harry and he had no idea how they would respond if they knew Tom himself was an orphan.
If he told them he would consider the invitation how would he tell them yes or no later on? If he did go to the gala then how would he be able to explain away his parents not showing up?
He'd finally settled on the old saying 'honesty is the best policy' and hoped that the Malfoy's wouldn't think less of him.
"I am honored that you would extend your invitation to myself and Harry, but..." he hesitated and looked away from the elder Malfoy's. He felt Harry grip his hand in support. He may have looked remorseful about it, but really Tom was setting things up so that the Malfoy's might feel sympathy for his situation. "I'm afraid we cannot accept your invitation on good conscious."
Tom quickly continued before Mrs. Malfoy could insist. "Hadrian's relatives live quite a ways away and we do not...get along well." He took a deep breath before revealing why he himself could not go. "And my guardian does not know of my magical ancestry and abilities."
"Your...guardian..." Mr. Malfoy responded carefully.
Mrs. Malfoy held up a hand then and glanced around to see if anyone was listening in. "I think we should move this conversation to a more private setting. How about we bring you boys home for supper?" The offer and her expression made it clear that she would not take 'no' as an answer. "We'll make sure you get home safely afterwards."
Since they had no other real option Tom shrunk his trunk down and took Harry's hand. With a quick explanation that involved something about 'apparating back" the adults took the hands of all the boys and with a crack they were gone from the alley.
A/N: Special thanks to: Louise To, Maurey