Harry watched amused as Sirius finished his sixth plate of food. The man emptied plates quickly, and that hostess girl was making frequent stops at the table to ask if they 'need anything, anything at all.' Harry himself wasn't hungry in the slightest now, but he had gotten a plate so that Sirius wouldn't feel as if they had come to the restaurant just for him. They had, of course, but the man still seemed slightly nervous around Harry. He supposed that being treated to an early brunch by a near stranger who had almost killed you the day before would be a bit uncomfortable.
"Done, are you?" Harry grinned at Sirius, who hadn't gotten up for a seventh plate. From the look on his face, Harry suspected that Sirius was blushing in embarrassment under the glamour.
"Err, yeah. I'm done." Sirius replied, smiling slightly.
"Excellent. I need to get my school supplies, so next stop is-" Harry stopped and pulled the list of required school materials from his pocket. It didn't seem to list shops where the supplies could be purchased, and Harry wasn't nearly as familiar with Diagon Alley as he was with Knockturn. "-a store that sells books!" he finished. Harry stood and dropped some galleons on the table before making towards the exit.
"That'll be Flourish and Blotts," Sirius said with an amused grin as they left the restaurant.
"Right. So we'll just go..." Harry trailed off, looking both ways down the street.
"That way," Sirius offered, pointing left.
"That way it is!" Harry responded, and the two set out down the street. Things once again went silent between the two, so Harry made an attempt at conversation. "So...what's Hogwarts like?"
"Such a complicated question..." Sirius responded, but he seemed pleased to be asked. He launched in to a full description of Hogwarts, animatedly telling Harry about pranks that he and the 'Marauders' had played at each location. He told Harry about the four houses, the teachers, the evil caretaker, Filch, and anything else that popped in to his head. He was the most lively Harry had ever seen him. He would sometimes mention something that made him think of Harry's parents and he soured, only to brighten up again a moment later.
Harry found his stories and descriptions quite interesting. It seemed that Hogwarts was much more complicated than he had assumed. He would have to extract as much information from Sirius as possible. He didn't want to be caught out of his element when he arrived at the school in less than a week. He was particularly interested in the map that Sirius mentioned he and the other Marauders created in their last year at Hogwarts. A map that showed where every person in the school was would be most valuable. Then a thought occurred to him and he cut Sirius off.
"Wait, you say the map shows every person's name?" Harry asked slowly, furrowing his brow slightly.
"Well, yes. We managed to catch a Slytherin using Polyjuice with it once. It was brilliant." Sirius grinned devilishly. That answer very much disturbed Harry, though.
"What about my name? Will it show my true name as well?"
Sirius frowned, "Yes, I suppose it would. And mine as well if I enter Hogwarts grounds."
"Is there a way to make us immune to the map's magic?" Harry questioned. His mind was racing. If someone had a map like that it may very well reveal him at an inopportune moment.
"No, the map is tied with Hogwarts's magic. It has nothing to do with yours." Sirius responded. He was looking very put out now. "If someone has the map, there's no way around it."
"I take it that means you don't know where it is?"
"Filch confiscated it." Sirius replied thoughtfully. "I don't think he ever knew what it was, but he locked it away in his office with all that other crap he's taken. If Filch is still working at Hogwarts, I bet it's still with him."
"Nothing we can do about it, I suppose. I'll get it out of Filch's office next week." Harry said, frowning. It was disconcerting thinking that he could be caught and he could do nothing to stop it. "Do you think-" Harry began, but something stole his attention. Harry looked around Sirius to read the sign on the shop they were passing. Ah, exotic animals. That explains it.
"Harry?" Sirius questioned, following his gaze to the store.
A sudden idea struck Harry, and he turned to look up at Sirius. "Want to see something cool?" he grinned.
Sirius looked slightly weary, but nodded his head and cautiously followed Harry into the store.
Harry followed the sounds that had caught his attention straight to the back of the shop. Small cages lined walls on all three sides of him here, each one holding multiple snakes. Harry shot Sirius a wicked grin and turned his focus to a small brown snake to his left. "Hello," Harry said. He could tell by Sirius's wide eyes that he had successfully spoken in parseltongue.
Immediately, every snake in the vicinity responded with a hissed greeting. The snakes seemed excited to have a parseltongue in their midst. Some small fights even began breaking out as the serpents all competed for Harry's attention. It was a nice feeling to be wanted, Harry decided, even if they were all snakes. Harry stood there a moment, watching chaos break out all around him. Then a lowed hiss was issued and the snakes' attention was pulled away from Harry, all of them falling silent.
Harry raised his eyebrows in surprise. From what he could tell, the hiss hadn't even been a word. Harry followed the gaze of every snake in the room to a shadowed corner in the very back. Between the shelves, where the walls met, Harry peered down to find a single glass cage on the floor, isolated from the others. Harry knelt in front of the cage and spotted a lone white snake coiled in the center. The snake was thin and only a couple feet long. It appeared to be sleeping. Harry wondered why he hadn't noticed it before.
"Harry, maybe you shouldn't get so close to there." Harry heard Sirius's weary voice from behind him. Sirius couldn't have understood what the snakes had been saying, but he seemed to understand that this snake was dangerous.
"Just a minute, Sirius." Harry responded distractedly. Harry hadn't been speaking loudly, but the white snake gave a small hiss and opened it's eyes to stare up at him.
"So you're the one that caused that troublesome noise earlier," the snake hissed out lazily. It seemed mildly irritated.
"How did you silence the other snakes?" Harry interestedly questioned it.
"Straight to the point, aren't you?"the snake responded. It viewed Harry for a moment as if seizing him up, and then hissed out an answer. "They fear me."
Harry rolled his eyes, "Yes, but why do they fear-"
"Can I help you, sir?" an angry voice came from directly behind Harry. He whirled around and stood up, surprised that he hadn't heard anyone approach. The person was a short middle-aged woman with greying hair and a scowl on her face. Harry wondered if she had heard him speaking parseltongue. He hated using memory charms, they were so easy to break if one didn't care about the person's sanity.
"Yes, I would like to buy this snake." Harry smiled, motioning towards the glass case that contained the ivory colored serpent.
"That snake is not for sale to you, boy." the woman snarled.
Harry frowned, "Why is that?"
The woman eyed him for a moment and took a step closer, "This snake is priceless, one of a kind."
"Since when has individuality been valued among snakes?" Harry raised an eyebrow.
"That's not what I meant, boy." she scowled in response. "Not only is this creature highly poisonous, but it has the ability to resize itself and constrict."
"Hate to break it to you, but other snakes can do that as well."
The woman gave a nasty smile, flashing yellowed teeth, and took a step closer. Harry stifled the urge to pinch his nose shut at the bad breath. "Yes, maybe, but combine the ability to become extremely large with this snake's other...properties, and it's worth more than you could ever comprehend."
Harry nodded at her, "Right. So how much do you want for it?"
"That snake is not for sale!" the woman snarled furiously, grabbing the front of Harry's robes.
"Okay, okay, calm down, lady." Harry pushed her off and shuffled around her towards the exit. "Lets go," Harry looked to Sirius, "We'll come back next week when she's off her period..."
"Do not return here ever again!" the woman screamed hysterically at their backs. Every customer in the store was now watching the argument as if it were a tennis match, their attention bouncing back and forth between the two parties. Harry just continued out the exit, the woman shouting profanities and threats along the way.
"Maybe you shouldn't have made that comment about her period," Sirius said as they left the shop, looking over his shoulder wearily.
"What? You think maybe she was pregnant? That would explain it..." Harry replied thoughtfully.
"I'm serious, Harry. We shouldn't be drawing so much attention to ourselves." Sirius looked increasingly anxious now, his eyes darting from person to person on the street.
"Okay," Harry sighed, "Don't have a panic attack in Diagon Alley, that may turn some heads. I'll send you back to the manor and finish up shopping myself."
Sirius nodded thankfully as Harry guided him in to an abandoned alley.
"Zhar!" Harry called out loudly, "Get out here! Damn stalker." The phoenix in question flew down from atop a near by building and landed softly on Sirius's shoulder, averting his gaze from Harry in indignance. Harry rolled his eyes, "Take Sirius back to the manor, would you? I'll be along in a couple hours."
Zhar gave Harry an angry look, and then the two disappeared in a bright flash of blue flame. Harry sighed, pulled the school supply list out of his pocket, and continued down Diagon Alley in the direction that he and Sirius had been walking. It was after noon now, and more children were in the alley shopping for school supplies. Harry tried to make himself as inconspicuous as possible. It wouldn't be good if someone connected him with the boy that would show up at Hogwarts next week, especially if they had seen where he stopped in Knockturn Alley earlier. Harry would have known if someone had been following him in Knockturn Alley, but one thing he had learned while living with Reginald was that you should always prepare for the worst.
After a few more minutes of walking along the side of the street, Harry spotted Flourish and Blotts. It was a large shop, but it obviously wasn't equipped to deal with the school year rush. There was a crowded line of students and parents leading all the way out the door. Harry sighed as he approached the store and took his place at the end of the line, behind a large heavy set boy. Harry tuned out the boisterous voices excitedly discussing their summer break and kept his face down to avoid any of the students' eyes. This worked marvelously for a few seconds, until one nearby voice amongst the crowd caught Harry's attention.
"Remember to get two of all your books, Goyle." Harry deftly noticed the large boy in front of him nod his head, and then the voice came again. "I told you why, Pansy. The funeral is today. I swear, you have the attention span of a two year old child."
Harry resisted the foreign urge to look around the boy in front of him and find the source of that voice, turning his eyes to the Flourish and Blotts display window instead. The window was full of large tombs with flashy, expensive covers. Harry scanned the assorted books, and his eyes rested on one particularly large book with a full silver cover. A word that Harry faintly recognized was reflected on the cover. Olivander's. Harry turned to the source of the reflection; a sign hanging above a small shop across the street. Upon seeing the shop, the word clicked in Harry's mind. He abandoned the line and strode towards the store's entrance, an idea forming in his head.
Upon entry Harry found that the door was dark and cool. He made his way past a large shaky stack of wand boxes and found a small, abandoned counter. Harry pushed the bell on the counter, and a moment later a pale, thin man appeared.
"May I help you?" the man that Harry assumed was Olivander questioned politely.
"Yes," Harry said, searching for the correct words to use in response. "Many years ago, a little over a decade now, a friend of mine requested that you craft a wand for him. He supplied you with the necessary materials for two wands, and you were allowed to keep the second wand as payment. Do you know what I speak of?"
The man's eyes widened slightly and he gave a short nod, looking at Harry with increased interest.
"If you haven't sold that wand, I would very much like to buy it from you." Harry pulled a small leather pouch of coins from his pocket and placed it on the counter.
Olivander stared at Harry for a moment longer, and then gave another small nod. "No, I haven't yet sold that particular wand."
A/N: Sorry that this chapter is kind of short, but I didn't want to cut it off at an awkward moment. This isn't a double post (sigh) so the character I mentioned in my last note won't appear until the next update. There have been some really good name ideas so far, but none that I think really captures the spirit of the character. I'd give a better description, but I would hate to ruin the surprise for you all. So if you have any other names, it's not too late, don't be afraid to put 'em up there.
Thanks for reading, and don't forget to review!