Chapter Two
School Shopping, Continued
Unlike Ollivander's, which was relatively empty, the inner streets of Diagon Alley were filled with even more people than usual. The standard mild set of passers-by that go about their business was now a crowd so dense that Mum and Da insisted on holding Courtney's hands after leaving the wand shop.
A young-looking bespectacled witch with short red hair turned to them, holding a stack of papers. She handed one each to Mum and Da with a thin smile. "End the Dark Wizard Path today," she recited. "Show support for the Light Magic Movement."
When the young witch moved on to pass fliers to the next people, Da took a look at the paper. "The Light Magic Movement? Does anyone even support the Dark Wizard Path anymore?"
Courtney looked at the flier. The words "Light Magic Movement" were at the top in bold letters. Below it was a photograph of a dark-haired young man looking straight at them. The picture was still and flat - Muggle photography. Contact information was at the bottom and quotes were on the side.
"I'm not quite sure," Mum admitted. "Dark wizards are usually the ones who use Dark magic. Unforgivables, permanent sacrificial rituals, curses without cures, that sort of thing, and there's not a doubt that plenty of wizards do such things. But 'Dark wizard' has meant so many things that I suppose there could be plenty who support such a path."
Courtney cast her gaze to the rest of the crowded streets. "There are a lot of them," she said, then clarified, "The Light Magic Movement people handing out fliers."
Mum nodded. "Good eye… That would explain why Diagon Alley seems more crowded than usual."
Da shrugged. He had figured the crowd's density was normal for the beginning of the Hogwarts term.
Mum hated to admit that buying a pewter cauldron for Potions was necessary. A lot of the textbooks and materials were the same as from her own first year, so Mum could just pass hers down, but Courtney needed a new cauldron since Mum's had been thoroughly destroyed in second year.
"So how did that happen?" Courtney inquired.
"I'll tell you when you're older," Mum said quickly.
She waited a few seconds. "I'm older now."
Mum smiled and shook her head. "I decide when you're old enough, and you're not just yet."
There were a couple children in Potage's Cauldron Shop, standing beside adults - probably parents - and looking through the assortment. A blonde boy who was having difficulty picking up a cauldron but still kept trying and a darker girl who silently walked through the shop, looking at the wares.
The black pewter cauldrons, being a required item for first-year students, was fairly easy to find, not hidden at all. Once it was paid for, Courtney and her parents departed without any issue.
On 1 September, a mere two days before the term began, Courtney double- and triple-checked her school supplies list. Cauldron, check. Robes, check. Quill, check. Each required schoolbook, check. Wand, check.
There seemed to be nothing missing. Everything was all packed, and Courtney was prepared to go in two days.
Author's Note: This story, admittedly, is nothing special in the early chapters. Just a standard Harry Potter fic, really. It's not until the later chapters that the true reason for this fic's existence becomes clear. Since you, the Harry Potter fandom, likely already know the details of purchasing school supplies, this will be pretty much glossed over. In fact, many details that we all already know from the books are going to be abbreviated for the sake of both pacing and keeping the interesting details in the forefront. The brief cauldron shop scene in this chapter will not be a common occurrence.