Hello readers. Welcome to my new chapter of Reading Harry Potter and the Gift of Memories. For this one, the readers will read about Harry shopping for numerous books. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and the Gift of Memories.
Chapter 5: The Shopping Chapter
"And done," Lisa T said, closing the book. "Who's up next?"
"I will," Terry volunteered. Lisa T pass the book to Terry and he started reading.
"Chapter 5: A Shopping Trip to Remember…" Terry started.
It was nearly two hours after Harry had first entered Gringotts that he found himself standing outside of it's doors once more. The sunlight hit his face, forcing him to squint due to how much time he had spent in the darkened passageways where his vaults were held.
"Most wizards feel the same way," McGonagall said, "Especially if you're working there." All the magic-users nodded in agreement. They have all felt the same way after getting out of Gringott.
Taking out the Hogwarts letter from within his back pack, Harry pulled out and unfolded the second piece of paper that he had found attached to the first. It was a list of all the things he was required to buy for Hogwarts:
HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
UNIFORM
First-year students will require:
1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)
2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear
Lisa C snorted, "Talk about cliché," Anastasia, Hermione, Susan, Tracey, and Hannah giggle while Wei chuckled at that. The purebloods, however, look confuse at that. What do they mean by that?
3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
"Dragon?!" Anastasia exclaimed with wide eyes. Lisa C is also surprise. How big is the magical world if they got dragons of all things?!
McGonagall and pureblood children frown at that. Is it really that surprising?
4. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)
Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags
COURSE BOOKS
All students should have a copy of each of the following:
The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk
A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot
Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling
A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emetic Switch
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore
Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble
OTHER EQUIPMENT
wand cauldron (pewter, standard size 2) set
glass or crystal phials
telescope set
"A telescope set?" Anastasia said in confusion. That is something odd you would need for school "Why would you need a telescope set?"
"For astronomy," Hermione answered and then continue, "And don't ask me why, we don't really know the purpose for it."
brass scales
Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad
"An owl?" Lisa C said in confusion.
"A toad?" Anastia said, just as confuse. "And they allow a pet in a school?"
"Those are the two common pets in the wizard world," Hermione answered. "And yes, they do allow pets."
PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS
"Again, cliché," Lisa C said with a snort. The ones who know about the regular world giggle or chuckle at that while the purebloods remain confuse.
Harry frowned as he looked at the list. He turned his head to look at the back pack on his back, then back at the list. There was no way he would be able to fit all of that in his back pack, it was nowhere near large enough.
"That's why you got trunks." Neville said. It was real useful to use. Otherwise, he probably would've drop all those stuff.
Blowing out a soft breath, Harry decided that the first thing he would need was a trunk to carry everything in. Fortunately for him, he had seen a place that sold trunks on the way to Gringotts.
Harry Potter entered the shop known as Truckle's Trunks, and took a look around the basic looking shop. Well, he assumed it was a basic looking shop for a magical store selling trunks. It was quite a bit larger on the inside than the outside, at least a dozen square meters, something that Harry picked up on immediately.
"An enlargement charm was use on the stores," Daphne said as she saw the questioning looks from the muggles. "It is use to enlarge anything really. The more power into it, the longer and larger it gets."
Lisa C pouted in jealousy. She wanted magic now. She could use it to enlarge her room.
There were several isles, and each one contained rows upon rows of various trunks of all shapes, sizes and colors. Some of them were floating, a few were opening and closing. Harry even saw one that looked like it was undulating.
"That's kinda creepy," Lisa C said, as she saw the trunks floating. The adult muggles and Hermione noddedin agreement with the girl.
Shaking his head at the unusual sight, and bothered that he couldn't for the life of him figure out how something such as a trunk could undulate, he made his way to the desk where a middle aged man was sitting behind a cash register.
"Excuse me," Harry called out in a confident voice. The man with slightly graying hair looked down at him, blinking. Harry ignored the inquisitive and slightly incredulous stare and continued. "I'm looking for a trunk."
"Well you've come to the right place," the man said with a smile. "You are a Hogwarts student, yes? A first year?"
"That's right," Harry admitted with a nod.
"All of our standard trunks cost fifty galleons, if you want them to be made with something other than leather you will need to specify what you want it made from."
Wei frown, "Standards trunks? What other kind of trunks are there?" Terry chuckled as he read the next line.
Harry frowned as he noticed the wording the man used, and decided to question the clerk on it. "What do you mean standard? What other kinds of trunks are there?"
Everyone laugh at that, even Wei chuckled for repeating what Harry said. The two of them are alike in a few ways.
"We have trunks of all kinds and with all sorts of enchantments," the man exclaimed, his smile, if possible, getting larger. "Anything you could think of, we likely have it. Perhaps I can interest you in one of our seven compartment trunks made from dragon-hide and with enough expansion charms on them to make each compartment the size of a small apartment?"
Lisa C and Anastasia jaws drop. A trunk the size of an apartment?! That would be very useful to use!
Harry tilted his head quizzically at some of the unfamiliar terms that the man had just bandied about. Dragon-hide was easy enough to figure out, though the thought that dragons were actually real caused his mind to whirl.
"We know how you feel Harry," Lisa C said, with Anastasia and Hermion nodding in agreement. To think that dragons were real, makes you wonder how big the magic world is.
However, both the term 'expansion charms' and 'seven compartments' gave him pause. After a bit of thought, he was able to determine that an expansion charm likely did exactly as it was called, which would also explain why this store looked larger on the inside than it did the outside. He did have a bit of trouble figuring out what seven compartments meant, but figured there must be some kind of spell that allowed one trunk to contain more than one space for his materials. He didn't know how such a thing was possible, but vowed to find out.
Tracey snorted, "His determination in learning is as bad as Hermione's, if not worse." The first years laugh, as it was true, while Hermione glare at Tracey.
She isn't that bad! Okay, maybe she go too far, but not that bad.
"I was actually thinking of getting a custom made trunk," Harry told the man, interrupting the older male's sales pitch.
"A custom, eh?" the man's eyes lit up a bit, and Harry could detect the greed in them. Custom trunks must be expensive, he mused. It almost made him wonder why this man assumed Harry could actually afford the trunk when he was so young, but chalked it off to the man probably just assuming he was an heir of a well to do family or some such.
Anastasia shook her head at that. "It look like wizards aren't so different from people without magic." The purebloods look at her in curious, wanting an explanation. "Some of the store owners are just as greedy as well and had that same look in their eyes as that man."
The purebloods were surprised at that. So the muggles act like wizards and witches as well?
"Well, what exactly are you looking for?"
Harry was silent for a moment as he tried to decide what he wanted. Truthfully, he had at first only been planning on getting a normal trunk. But with the knowledge that he could get a trunk capable of storing vast amounts of items, he had decided that he might as well get the best. He had more than enough money after all.
"Harry won't be fine with regular things," Hannah said with a shake of her head. Everyone agreed. Harry seem to strike for perfection and more, for anything. Whether it grades, furniture, sports, anything.
"I would like a four compartment trunk. What sizes do your compartments come in?"
"We have three sizes, standard, that is to say, the average size one would expect from a trunk with no magical enchantments. Our next size is what we call closet sized, which is about the size of a walk in closet. And finally, we have our largest size, apartment sized."
Biting his lower lip for a moment, Harry pondered which size he should get. He didn't want the standard, as he would not be able to carry very much in them, and considering where he was going and what he would be doing, one never knew what sorts of interesting items he might pick up. That left closet size and apartment size. A part of him wanted to go for the apartment size, but having four compartments the size of an apartment seemed a little excessive, not to mention it was probably pricy, and while he didn't have any shortage of money, he had never been what one would call wasteful.
"While he doesn't settle for regular, he isn't wasteful either." Susan commented. "He's not like that. He always make sure something is put to use." Again, everyone agreed.
"I'll go with the closet size for all four compartments," Harry decided. He doubted he would need to something bigger, and on the off chance that he ever needed a trunk with a larger compartment, he could just come back and buy another trunk he reasoned.
"Very well, and what would you like your trunk to be made of?"
A pause. Harry tilted his head, considering.
"What are my options?"
"Well," the man started, rubbing his hands together in undisguised glee. "We have all the normal materials, leather, wood and such, but we also have several types of dragon-hide available as well, including Hungarian Horntail, Norwegian Ridgeback, Hebridean Black, and Ukrainian Ironbelly."
Suddenly, pictures of the dragon was shown before them. Anastasia and Lisa C paled at the site of them. They look very intimidating, even if it's on a picture.
"And what are the benefits to using dragon-hide over normal materials?"
"Well, all dragon-hides are magic resistant. You can cast just about any spell at them short of a dark curse and they won't even receive a scratch. Dragon-hide is also much tougher than normal materials, strong as steel in some cases, such as with the Ukrainian Ironbelly. Course, the hide of a Ukrainian Ironbelly is much heavier than anything else, so it's a trade off."
"Then why don't we go with a happy medium? I want something durable, but not something that's too heavy for me to lift."
"In that case, why don't we go with the dragon-hide of a Norwegian Ridgeback?" the man suggested. "They're hides are more durable than the Hebridean Black's and the Horntails, but not nearly as heavy as either of them. Definitely one of the better choices, I believe."
"Wow," Anastasia said, shaking her head with a smile. "It's like two adults talking. A child would have just buy one of the biggest trunk and don't think about theresult." Hermione, Lisa T, Terry, Blaise, and Daphne look a little insulted at that. They wouldn't just buy one of the biggest trunk. They are not stupid.
Meanwhile, Tracey and Lisa C look away from the others since they would do something like that.
Harry thought for a moment, before nodding. "Very well, we'll go with that. Now what about security?"
"Security?" the shop keeper blinked, confused.
"Yes," Harry replied. "I don't want people trying to get into my trunk without permission."
"Smart," Mcgonagall said with an approving, "Luckily, it's provided with a magical lock." Anastasia and Lisa C look a little envious. They wanted one as well. Wei also see the benefits of having one as well.
"Ah, well, all our trunks come standard with a magical lock," the man answered. "It requires you to speak a password in order to open."
Harry raised an eyebrow. "Are there no other options available?"
"None, I'm afraid," the man shifted uncomfortably.
"Very well," Harry sighed, he had been hoping for something a bit more secure, like a lock that could only be opened with his own blood, or something of the sort. But if he had no other option then that's what he would go with, at least until he could create his own security. "I believe that will suffice. Now all we need to discuss is the cost and how long it will take for my trunk to be made."
"You're in luck," the man replied, grabbing the wand from the desk and making a swish and flick motion. Harry watched as a trunk made of a brown material that looked like leathery scales floated over to them. It set down directly in front of Harry, and the older male set his wand back onto the desk. "I already have a trunk with the exact specifications you are looking for."
Well that was convenient, though Harry assumed the man likely had many such trunks that were pre-made to fit exact specifications so anyone looking to buy a custom made trunk wouldn't have to wait.
"The trunk will cost five thousand galleons," the man told him. Harry raised an eyebrow at the price, noticing just how much more expensive getting a custom made trunk was from getting a standard trunk. This made him realize that it was highly unlikely that anyone except for maybe himself, and a few of the children from an Ancient and Most Noble family would have something like this. Still, he had more than enough money, and it wasn't like he had no intention of using his trunk to it's fullest.
Hermione pouted a little. She wish could get a trunk like that. But sadly, her family isn't that rich.
Reaching into his back pack, he pulled out the pouch inside of it that had been magically expanded to carry more money inside of it than he could possible carry on hand. He gave the man five thousand galleons, a not insignificant sum but not enough to even put a dent into the amount he had, and left with his new trunk in tow.
"Have a great day," the man said, waving at Harry as he left the shop.
It would not be a surprise to anyone who knew Harry that his first stop after receiving his trunk was the book store, Flourish and Blotts.
"No we are not." Everyone said. They all know about Harry desire to learn everything he could. With that eidetic memory, he could learn anything in a heartbeat.
"He always get up before any of us," Neville said, "And if he isn't exercising, he would be studying." The first years nodded in agreement.
Those who knew him knew that Harry had an insatiable desire to learn.
"His desire outmatched Hermione's and if you saw how many times she went in a library, that saying something." Tracey said, getting Hermione to pout.
"I'm not that bad." Hermione grumbled, getting looks of disbelief from the others. "Really, I'm not!"
Lisa had said it best when she had once commented that he was practically married to his books when he had spent an entire day at the library reading.
"And I stand by that fact." Lisa C, pouting. "I can't understand why would anyone want to spend all day at dusty library when they can play outside." Tracey and Hannah nodded in agreement while Lisa T and Hermione look a little insulted by that.
Flourish and Blotts was a lot different than any other book store or library he had ever been in. Like the trunk store this one was also much larger on the inside then it was on the outside, it looked to be around two or three times the size of the trunk store. All around the shop Harry could see rows upon rows of books. It looked like the books were organized categorically by subject. Charms. Transfiguration. Defense Against the Dark Arts and so on.
"I like that store," Hermione said, smiling at the memory of going there. "But Hogwart's library is better than Flourish and Blotts." The first years and McGonagall nodded in agreement. Hogwart's library have many subjects on most things.
Harry did not recognize any of those categories, but that was to be expected. While his parents had told them much about Hogwarts when he was a baby, most of it had to do with pranks and certain teachers. They had never really gone into great detail of the classes or subjects taught there.
"Can you tell me about the subjects?" Anastasia ask, curious about the subject. She really want to know what magic will there teaching there, even if she isn't magical. Wei look curious as well.
McGonagall nodded, getting into lecture mode. "There are several subjects in Hogwarts. Transfiguration, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, Potion, History of Magic, and Astronomy are the main one you have to get. You take flying only in the first year. In the third year, you get extra curriculum courses. Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, Muggle Studies, Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, Apparition, and Alchemy."
"Charms, Potions, History of Magic, Astronomy, Ancient Runes, and Care of Magical Creatures are self explanatory," Hermione continued for McGonagall mode, "Transfiguration is the act of transforming things. Herbology is taking care of magical plants. Defense Against the Dark Arts is learning to fight against dark magic. Arithmancy is kinda like math. Muggle Studies is learning more about muggles. Divination is a course of learning to gaze at the future. Apparition is teleporting, of a sort. And Alchemy is like advance transfiguration, but more complicated."
'Wow,' Anastasia though while Lisa C is having a brain overload, 'Those are amazing courses. Kinda sound fun to do.' And some of them sound useful for some task for some normal tasks.
That did not deter Harry, not in the least. The first thing Harry did was go through the store and search out the required books for his subject. They weren't that difficult to find, but after finding the books needed for school as required by the Hogwarts curriculum for first years, Harry discovered that he didn't know what else to buy. Granted, a part of him just wanted to buy every single book this store had,
"Like Hermione and every Ravenclaw," Tracey said, getting a glower from Hermione, Lisa T, and Terry. So what if they want to get every book? That doesn't mean Tracey had to point it out.
but he figured it would be better if he started out by getting books that would be relevant to learning what he would need to know about the wizarding world.
"If he's trying to find a book about wizarding culture and politics, I'm afraid he'll disappointed," Blaise said, "Purebloods doesn't want muggleborns to learn more about their culture." Hermione look a bit miffed at that, being a muggle born.
Therein lay the problem. Harry knew very little about the world of magic. In fact, aside from the bits he was told by his aunt and Professor McGonagall, he knew next to nothing.
He supposed it would be good to buy a few history books first. His knowledge of all that happened within the past century was lacking, and he needed to get caught up to speed with the current times.
He already had A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot. Chances were good he would be finished reading that one before he got to Hogwarts.
Hermione pouted once again. This book have to rub it in that Harry have eidetic memory does it?
He also managed to find Great Wizards of the Twentieth Century, Notable Magicale Names of Our Time, both of which would help him learn about the most prominent figures in the wizarding world. This would definitely be beneficial as it was always important to know whos who no matter which society you were living in.
Another book he found was Nature's Nobility: A Wizarding Geneology. It was a book that listed all of the pure-blood family lines, or so Harry thought. It was only after a quick scan of the first few pages that he realized it only listed lines that had gone extinct. Still, he figured it would prove useful and took it anyways.
More books included Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts, Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century, Modern Magical History, and A Study in Recent Developments in Wizardry. All of the books looked like they would prove useful in letting him learn the most recent history of the magical world. He only hoped they would be enough as their didn't seem to be much else that would provide the information he wanted.
"Nothing in there about wizard culture or politics," Daphne said/drawl. "Like Blaise said, purebloods keep their traditions to themselves."
It was as Harry was going through the isles searching for any more history books that he found something which both intrigued and bothered him. Inside of the History section of Flourish and Blotts was an entire section dedicated to him. Harry saw books with titles such as Harry Potter and the Egyptian Black Dragon, Harry Potter and the Warlock's Spell, Harry Potter and the Trip Through Time, and sixteen other books with similar titles.
"Is he that popular?" Anastasia said in wonder, with Lisa C wondering the same thing. Nineteen books of him. And wait a minute, this was in the history section?! Harry never done that!
"Yes, he's that popular." Terry said. "When you hear his name or see the scar, everyone pay rap attention."
Harry was not sure what disturbed him more, the fact that people were writing books about him, or the fact that there was an animated toy that looked nothing like him save for the scar on it's head that came complimentary when you bought one of the books.
Picking up the one titled Harry Potter and the Banshee's Breath, the person who the book was written about opened it up to the first page and began to read.
What he saw didn't just disturb him. It angered him. This book was apparently a story book about him traveling through Ireland. He didn't even need to read more than the first page to know that the book was about him supposedly defeating this 'banshee', and it didn't take a large leap in logic to realize that all of the other books were about similar adventures he had supposedly had.
"No wonder he's angry," Wei said, angry himself. "These people are making money by making this fictions of Harry and saying it was history. And did so without his permission." Lisa C and Anastasia are also a little angry as well.
Harry did not know if the people who had written this truly thought he had accomplished these things, but one thing he did know was that this blatant use of his name without even getting his permission to use it caused a wellspring of black rage to surge up into his soul.
"Oh dear." Most of the readers said. An angry Harry is something you do not want to see.
Realized he was close to blowing his lid, Harry closed his eyes and began to empty his mind. It would not do for him to blow up the shelves containing his books in a fit of rage. Not only would it cause questions to be asked, and more then likely get him kicked out of the store, but he didn't need that kind of attention on himself.
"Good," Wei said, nodding in approval while the others sigh in relief. That was a close one. The one who is most relieve is Hermione, since the books won't be destroyed.
He focused on his breathing while imagining his mind as a blank space, a void of white. He breathed in through the nose, held it for five seconds, then out through the mouth. The process was repeated several times before he felt sufficiently calm. That still didn't stop him from glaring at the books the moment his eyes were opened, but at least he could think without wanting to blow the books to kingdom come.
"Good," Hermione said, nodding her head. "No blowing up books." The others roll their eyes at Hermione. She treat books like they're her childs.
Without hesitation he grabbed a copy of every single book on the shelf and put it into his basket.
"Why?" Lisa C ask in confusion, "If he hates the book, why is he going to buy them?" Some of the others are confuse as well, since it doesn't make sense.
It was as he finished putting the last book, Harry Potter and the Wanering Vampire, into the basket that he realized another problem. His basket was beginning to get too heavy for him to carry, and that was not even considering how he was lugging around his new trunk behind him. At this rate he would not be able to get even half of the books he wanted.
Hermione groaned. She had the same problem when she went to the bookstore. Eventually, she had to limit the books she needed. She didn't like it, but it was necessary and she couldn't get all of them in one bag.
It only took him a moment to think of a way out of this predicament however, and the moment he did Harry set off towards one of the people who looked like they worked there. It was a young female that Harry guessed was in her late teens. She was quite attractive, with dark black hair pulled into a bun and a few stray strands framing a heart shaped face. Green eyes were complimented by the green robes she was wearing. The reason he could tell she worked here was because she was wearing an apron with Flourish and Blotts written on it in gold lettering.
Lisa C, Susan, and Daphne frown when Harry said the woman was attractive. Anastasia giggle when she saw the jealous look on the three faces. That is just so cute.
"Excuse me," Harry came up behind the girl and tapped her on the shoulder. Despite being above average height for a kid his age, this girl was a head and shoulder taller than him, and when she turned around the young woman blinked in surprise, before tilting her head down to look at him. Casting the female worker a charming smile he said, "I was wondering if you could help me with something."
Lisa C gasp in shock, "Harry Potter, asking for help?!" Tracey grin a little and decided to play along.
"I didn't even think he uses the word!" Tracey exclaimed in fake shock. Then the two started laughing, making everyone roll their eyes at them.
The girl returned his smile with one of her. "Of course, what do you need help with?"
"I was gathering some books that I thought looked interesting that I felt would help me learn more about the wizarding world," Harry began his explanation without any further prompting. "I'm muggle-raised you see, so I don't know much about the wizarding world and was hoping to learn as much as I could before going to Hogwarts."
"You're a first year then?" asked the girl, blinking a bit in surprise.
"I think most of the wizards and witches thought that," Lisa T said, "Me and Terry thought that as well when we saw him." All the first years and Lisa C nodded in agreement. All of them thought he was older when they saw him.
She looked him up and down once more. He noticed that she looked at his bandana, which he knew looked out of place, but ignored that since she didn't ask him any questions about it. "I thought you were at least a second or third year with how tall you are."
"Ah, well, I'm a bit tall for my age," Harry admitted with a shrug, before plunging on with his request. "However, while I was gathering books I realized that they're getting too heavy for me to carry, and at this rate I won't be able to buy all the books I want. I was wondering if you could help me with this, and maybe answer a few questions so I can find out what books I still need."
"I think I can do that," the girl said. She then looked at the large trunk he was dragging behind him. "The first thing we need to do is get rid of that trunk. You won't be able to carry all your books if you're too busy lugging that thing around."
Harry frowned. "Where should I put it?"
"Why don't you take it to the Professor showing you around so they can look after it?"
"Oh dear, Harry might confuse the girl," McGonagall said, shaking her head.
"Actually, I'm here on my own," Harry corrected. Upon seeing the look of surprise on her face he hastily added, "the person I live with, my aunt, knows about magic so I guess they felt I didn't need one. It's just that because she's a muggle I wasn't able to take her to Diagon Alley with me." Harry honestly wasn't sure if it was possible for a muggle to enter the Leaky Cauldron or not. Uncle Vernon hadn't even seen it, so he assumed that was the case. He only hoped he was right.
"You are wrong about that Harry," McGonagall said, "With help from another wizard or witch, they can enter the Leaky Cauldron."
"Oh," the girl frowned a bit, before shrugging. "I guess that makes sense, sort of. I wouldn't know since I'm a half-blood myself and both my parents were magical."
"Same here," Harry said with a smile, before frowning. "So about the trunk..."
"We'll just place it behind the counter for now," the girl told him. She pulled what Harry recognized as a wand out of the folds of her robes, and he watched as she made a 'swish and flick' motion. "Wingardium Leviosa."
"Is that one of the spells we learn at Hogwarts?" Harry asked curiously. It was basically like his levitation magic, only with a wand instead.
"But yours is more advanced than that charms spell," Lisa T said. Everyone agreed. Harry levitation magic is more advance than that charm.
"Yes it is," the girl looked at him, slightly confused. Harry assumed it was because he had told her he was muggle-raised, yet wasn't surprised or awed to see her using magic. Then again, it could be something else entirely, though he doubted it. "This is actually a first year spell, the Levitation Charm."
"Neat," said Harry, looking over the spell curiously. He glanced at the girl's wand and noted it was pointed at the trunk. Did that mean that in order to maintain the spell she had to keep it locked onto the trunk at all times? Or perhaps she used her wand to direct where the spell went. How interesting. While it looked slightly limited at first, Harry could see how that would be useful. He could only control where the objects he floated moved by giving them a preset destination, or giving them a loop to follow. That was part of the reason he made them orbit his head. He could only make them travel in a circle, or straight one way.
"Even so, Harry's ability is something purebloods could only dream of learning." McGonagall said. The other purebloods don't have the skill to do the magic Harry does.
The girl looked at him oddly, but quickly shook off whatever she was thinking and led him down to the counter, where she set his trunk. What followed next was Harry telling the girl what he was looking for in the books he wanted as the two of them traveled the bookstore collecting books.
In the end Harry ended up getting a large number of books on wizarding laws, including but not limited to The Dark Arts: A Legal Companion, The Dark Arts – A Legal Compendium, Legal Guide to Proper Use of Magic, Magical Misdemeanors in the Modern Law, Magical Moral Perspective, Unforgivable Curses and their Legal Compunctions. It was his hope that these books would help him not only know what the laws were, but also find legal loopholes to use if he ever needed to break them.
"Every time we read this, I would question if he's muggle raised." Blaise said. Harry really got the qualities of a noble wizard.
He was a bit disappointed to learn that there were no books on etiquette and how one was supposed to act in formal functions within the Wizarding World. When asked, the girl who was giving him a hand had told him, "sorry, but as far as I know there aren't any books on things like that. From what I understand learning etiquette and whatnot is learned through word of mouth. However, we do have a book on wizarding traditions." That particular conversation had ended up with him getting the book A Traditional Look at Wizarding Traditions. He only hoped it would be enough until he found someone who could teach him how to act in wizarding society.
"I wonder who did," Daphne said, with the other magic users curious as well. Harry must've learn it from someone, considering his ability in wizard politics.
Books on law and tradition were not the only books he ended up buying that day. He also ended up getting more books on subjects taught at Hogwarts such as Herbology. Charms. Defense Against the Dark Arts. Transfiguration, which Harry learned through the pretty girl helping him was actually what his Transformation magic was called. And Potions. For good measure, he also ended up getting books on subjects that were not taught at Hogwarts, subjects like Defensive and Offensive spells, Dueling, General Spellbooks, Alchemy, Goblins, and a few books on Magical Theory. All in all Harry felt that he had made a pretty good haul.
Everyone either had wide eyes, jaws on the ground, their mouths' groaning at the number of books, or in Hermione case, a severe case of jealousy. Tracey was the only to respond, "Holy shit that is a lot of book."
"Language Tracey."
"Right, sorry."
"I'm not sure how you plan on fitting all this in your trunk," the shop assistant half-joked after they had finished their excursion for the books he was looking for. Of course, she was half joking because there was simply no way Harry would be able to fit all of those books in a normal trunk.
"My parents left me a lot of money," Harry said with a shrug. "So I ended up buying a custom trunk to store books and other things I felt I would need."
"Oh..." the girl shifted uncomfortably at that reminder. Harry had told her he was muggle-raised, which meant he had been unable to be raised by his parents for whatever reason. In this day and age that was not uncommon due to Voldemort's purging of many magical families that had opposed him. There were a large number of orphans in Britain due to the few families that had children that had managed escaped the Dark Lords wrath.
McGonagall look down, remembering the lives that were lost in that war. The one that hurt the most was Lily and James. Lily is an excellent witch while James is a skilled wizard. She wish there life wasn't taken from them.
She probably, and correctly, assumed that he was one such orphan. "Well, why don't I just ring you up then."
The total cost for all the books Harry had decided to get came to a grand total of five hundred galleons. Not nearly as pricy as his trunk, but still pretty expensive. Still, the money he had used was money well spent in his opinion. Knowledge was power, and right now he had a distinct lack of it as far as the wizarding world was concerned.
Daphne, Blaise, Lisa T, Terry, Hermione, and McGonagall nodded in agreement. Harry is right. Knowledge is power.
"Thank you very much," Harry gave his appreciation to the girl who had helped him with a slight bow of his head. He did not like asking for help often, but when he did he was more then willing to show how grateful he was for the help. It was important to let people know you appreciated what they did for you. Building bridges is what he believed it was called. "I don't believe I ever got your name miss..."
"Well aren't you a little gentlemen," the girl said with a smile. "My name is Cassidy Fergand."
McGonagall smile a little. She remember that girl. A Ravenclaw.
"Cassidy," Harry tested the name before offering the girl a smile. "Thank you for the help. I won't forget it." And unlike other people Harry really wouldn't forget it. He also wasn't one to just let this go. He was indebted to this girl for helping him, even if she was only doing it because she was paid to she had gone far beyond what her job called for, and he would be sure to pay her back some day.
"And he will definitely remember that," Hannah joked, everyone knowing the Harry got Eidetic Memory.
Offering one last wave to Cassidy, and getting a 'thank you and please come again' from said girl, Harry, lugging his trunk behind him, left the store.
"And that's the end." Terry said, putting the book down. "Who else want to read?"
And that's the end. Also, do you think that Dumbledore should appear on chapter 5 or when they get to the part of Harry getting on the train? Review, Follow, and Favorite and I will see you later.