Chapter Two: Meeting Up and Shopping

They were spat out onto a wooden floor and each other.

"Get off me!" Gwen moaned from somewhere under the pile. On top of her lay a disoriented Kevin, on top of him laid a nauseas Ben on top of who lay a very dizzy Julie for whom the room was currently spinning.

"First time flooing huh?" a young, clearly amused, voice spoke from somewhere above them and then Gwen felt the weight crushing her beginning to leave as that same young voice introduced himself, "I'm Harry, Harry Potter. You four must be my bodyguards. You're wasting your time though." Kevin was finally moved off her and she stretched out every bone in her body before getting up and being able to see their charge. He was about as tall as her, maybe a few inches shorter and was rail thin almost sickly looking. His hair was jet black and he had green eyes that rivaled her own. They were of course behind a pair of glasses. On his forehead was his famous lightening bolt shaped scar.

He smiled and extended his hand, "I'm Harry. You're Gwen right?"

She smiled and shook hands, "Yes. How did you know?"

"Dumbledore said the one with the Weasley hair is Gwen Tennyson…"

"Weasley—?"

"You'll meet them soon enough." He motioned to the building they were in, "Welcome to the Leaky Cauldron, gateway to Diagon Alley your one stop magic shopping lane"

She nodded before looking at her comrades. Kevin was in a chair, eyes closed and head back, Ben was in a chair with his head between legs, and Julie was actually lying on her back on the floor with her eyes closed and her arms outstretched as if she were making a snow angel.

An older man, thin and tall and gray-haired with a handlebar mustache, came with a tray of tea.

"This's Tom," Harry introduced helpfully, "he's the innkeeper; drink the tea, it really does help."

Kevin and Ben were able to do so but Julie, still very thrown off by their means of transportation, had to be held up and the cup lifted to her lips.

"You're the elite fighting force that's 'posed to keep me safe?" Harry asked incredulously.

"I'm human and that was very spin-y-ish," Julie rebuked, falling into a less than elegant speech pattern than per usual, as soon she finally could manage on her own, "I'm used to smooth interplanetary travel not a whirlpool of green fire okay?"

"Alright…" he looked unconvinced before changing the subject, "Ready to shop?"

"Yes, but we need somewhere to get our money converted—"

"Gringotts bank's right 'round the corner and the goblins don't bite, just snap. You can get your Yank dollars converted to pounds and then to galleons, sickles, and knuts."

"What?"
"Wizard money." Harry fished some strange coins from his jacket pocket. There were four, two were small and bronze, a third was medium and silver and the fourth was golden and very large, "This is what wizards and witches use; they've no concept of paper money. The big golden one is called a Galleon, seventeen silver Sickles equal one Galleon and twenty nine of the small bronze Knuts equal one Sickle. Got it?"

"Yeah." Kevin nodded quickly, having always been quick to pick up financial knowledge.

The other three nodded as well.

"Good," he nodded, "then let's go, I've been cooped up in this place for days."

The boys stood up and then Julie, who wobbled just a bit, and they followed Harry out into Diagon Alley.

"Holy Hera." Gwen swore before a delighted smile spread over her face, "I think I'm in love! No more running around the world—!" she continued to blabber and jump around almost spastically.

"Is she okay?" Harry asked Ben quietly.

"Yeah, just happy she knows where to shop now." Was the reply

Two hours later they were enjoying ice cream.

"So…" Harry began cautiously, "Dumbledore says you're powerful enough to defeat Voldemort…how powerful are you?"

"We're aliens, partly anyways," Ben answered calmly.

"No, seriously…"

"Seriously." Ben looped through his, normal, available aliens, Kevin absorbed the table they were sitting at, and Gwen went pink eyed and lifted Harry from his seat and manipulated him for a few minutes before setting him down gently.

"And you?" he asked, wide eyed, of Julie. She smiled, "I'm human and I can do magic, other than that. Ship. TS-5." A bracelet she had been wearing covered her form, beeping and blipping happily, and she was soon encased in Ironman armour. 'Ship' just as quickly receded back to her bracelet.

"And we do magic." They all chorused, before Ben, Kevin, and Julie stated, "Gwen taught us."

"It's easy for me, I get to cheat," she said modestly, "I'm made of magic you see; I'm made of the universal energies themselves. I get a kick-start but I still have a lot of studying to do…All those extra books I bought were because of that. I don't need a wand but it does make it easier." She procured her wand with a flourish, twirling it with her fingers like a baton, and pointing it at her empty glass of water instantly making it refill.

"The laws that your government has against underage magic; we've been given a pass for them." she explained calmly, pocketing her tool.

"You didn't say anything though!" Harry sputtered.

She grinned, "A sufficiently trained witch or wizard can do magic silently. They'll no doubt teach you how at Hogwarts as you learn. But again, I've learnt on my own."

"Harry!" a female voice screamed and Harry was assaulted by a mass of messy brunette hair. The force of her hug knocked him and his chair back. And then the two were separated, the girl being encased in a pink bubble as Ben ordered, "Identify yourself!"

"Hermione Granger," The girl knelt, prodding at her prison inquisitively.

"Harry…?"

"She's my best friend guys and it's definitely her, let her down."

Gwen did as bid and Hermione smiled, holding out her hand in greeting, "You four must be his bodyguards."

They all shook hands and Harry pulled up another chair for his good friend.

The four Americans surveyed the two. They sat together closely, talking animatedly and began to finish each other's sentences.

Soon a grouping of redheads appeared. And so the four Americans were introduced to, and consequently adopted by, the Weasleys.