Chapter 7
PERCY
"Wow. This is seriously cool."
Percy had never seen anything like Diagon Alley before. When his mother had 'apparated' him to London, the first thing they had visited was The Leaky Cauldron.
The guy called Tom had given them rooms, and Percy had dumped all his stuff in the rooms.
"Now what?" He had asked his mother.
Sally smiled slyly. "Now for your books and other equipment. You won't need much. You're only going to Hogwarts for a year."
"Why only a year?"
"Because you're one of a kind. Half demigod, with one of the most powerful Gods as your father. And half wizard. It also helps that you're descended from Ignotus Peverell."
"Igno who?"
His mother gave him a look before continuing, "There is special blood running through your veins. You have already mastered in learning the gifts of your father. Now it's time for you to learn the skills from my side. You only need one year, because you will progress much faster than others. Haven't you ever wondered why your dyslexia and ADHD was extreme even for a half-blood?"
Percy had wondered that, multiple times.
"It's because you are also tuned in to learn the magic of wizards. The books we'll be buying are written specially for you, in Ancient Greek, since that is the only language you can read. Your brain will be seven times faster than the others when it comes to wizarding magic."
Percy had received a whole lecture of half an hour before they went down to Diagon Alley.
And to say that Diagon Alley was interesting was an understatement.
The colors glaring at him were dazzling and everywhere he looked, a wacky shop was present.
Flourish and Blotts
Eeylops Owl Emporium
Madam Malkin's Robes for all Occasions
And... Gringotts.
It was a huge building with a few strange creatures standing around.
"Those are goblins." his mother explained. "Gringotts is run by them."
They went into Gringotts. Percy looked around the huge room, before realizing he was in a bank.
His mother went straight ahead to a desk where a goblin was sitting.
"Yes?" he asked.
His mother just removed a key from her robes and gave it to him.
The goblin took the key and examined it, before his eyes widened. He looked at Percy's mother with an expression of what Percy realized, was recognition.
He wordlessly led them to a dungeon, where a cart was sitting ready. They went and sat in the cart, and Percy waited for something to happen. Suddenly, he was jerked forward and riding a cart at the speed of a train.
This is just like a roller coaster, he thought. Except for the safety precautions.
A minute later, the cart stopped and Percy's mother stepped out. She took her key and inserted it in a small hole on a wall.
It's not a wall, he realized. It's a door.
The door was camouflaged to look like a wall. Suddenly it creaked open. What Percy saw inside was so shocking that he almost buckled to his knees.
There were mounds and mounds of gold coins, and even bigger mounds of brass and silver coins.
If he melted the metal and sold it, he would definitely have enough money to build that temple Annabeth had wanted to design on the hill of Camp Half Blood.
His mother took out a bag and scooped some money inside. Soon the bag was bulging, but the vault didn't even look a little less fuller than it was before.
After they were out of Gringotts, they spent the day shopping for his books. He had to but books for all seven of years. He wondered how he was going to finish all of this just one year. His mother may not have doubted his brains, but he himself surely did.
There was a special order for him at Flourish and Blotts. The shopkeeper peered at him as he handed over the books.
After they were done there, he got new robes at Madam Malkin's.
Slowly they finished off whatever tasks were left. By evening, only one thing was left: his wand.
As they reached the door of Ollivander's, his mother told him to go inside alone.
"Go without me. Getting a new wand should be a solitary experience."
And so he went in. The bell on the door rang as he stepped in, and a man appeared. His face was confused when he saw Percy.
"Who are you? You've never bought a wand from my shop before, I remember every wand I've sold. And you're too old to be buying a wand for the first time."
"Actually," Percy spoke up. "It is my first time in this shop. I'm a special case, you see. My mother is sending me here for a year."
Ollivander scrutinized Percy's face.
"Look," Percy hesistated. "My mother's standing right outside. You can see her from here."
Ollivander looked out to see Sally reading a newspaper with moving pictures on it. His face changed to one similar to the expression that the goblin had had earlier that day.
Without a word, he went and got a box from inside. He removed a wand and gave it to Percy.
"Hold it." he ordered.
Percy did. He felt nothing. Ollivander gave him at least ten more wands which gave the same emptiness on holding it.
Finally, he removed a wand from an old dusty corner.
"This may be it." he muttered. "This wand is even more special than Harry Potter's."
He have Percy the wand. Percy held it, and suddenly, the room felt more clear, as if someone had switched on auto brightness in the room.
Percy looked down to see himself glowing. This is sort of like getting claimed.
Ollivander looked at him intently before he said, "Ten inches, made of pure teak, and the core..." he trailed off.
"What about the core?"
"A hair from the tail of a centaur." he whispered. "There has only been one wand in existence of this sort of core, and now you are it's owner."
He looked at Percy with a fearful expression. Then he cleared his throat. "Ten Galleons, please."
Percy paid up and left the shop. His mother was waiting for him there.
"How was it?" she asked, much more cheerful than she had been before.
He narrated the experience while they walked back to The Leaky Cauldron for dinner.
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
They had roast chicken and Yorkshire pudding for dinner. Sally had it ordered for room service though.
"We don't want to go out many times. Many people have already recognized me, but the correct time for us to reveal ourselves would be your first day of school."
"Yeah. When is the first day, anyways?"
"First of September."
"Hold on. That's..." Percy's eyes widened. "That's the day after tomorrow!"
His mother shrugged. "Suprise. Go pack your stuff in the trunk. Tomorrow, we'll finish the rest of whatever you need, and then tomorrow night, I'll tell you about your family."
Percy raised his eyebrows at the word 'family', but didn't say anything and went to pack.