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Chapter Two – Diagon Alley
The day after Harry's eleventh birthday was a bright, sunny and warm summer's day, and the Potter family were to be found entering Diagon Alley. Harry almost couldn't contain how excited he was; he was finally getting a wand, an owl, and everything he needed for school.
Their first stop was at Gringotts, a place which always scared Amy slightly; she didn't like the goblins, despite her parents always telling her that they needed to be treated with respect, because James didn't want his daughter to 'be the cause of the next Goblin Rebellion', which he often told her when they made their trips to the bank. Amy never paid much attention to this, and waited with Lily at the entrance to the bank while James and Harry went inside to get out some money.
Harry was desperate for his wand, so they went there next.
'Mr and Mrs Potter,' said Mr Ollivander when they entered the shop. 'It feels like only yesterday you were buying your own wands, just eleven yourselves… how time flies… and now it is the turn of your son. Very well … Mr Potter, which is your wand arm?'
'My right,' Harry replied, his excitement increasing every second.
Mr Ollivander's tape measure was now winding its way up and across Harry's arm, finding the right length and width, while Mr Ollivander himself took out one of the wand boxes from the shelves at the back of the shop. The tape measure crumpled to the floor, and Mr Ollivander handed the wand over to Harry.
'Eight inches, ash and dragon heartstring, just give it a little wave…'
Harry did, but Mr Ollivander soon snatched it back, and Harry knew why; that wand hadn't felt right at all. Mr Ollivander didn't seem fazed, and they continued with the search as the pile of tried and failed wands gradually increased.
Harry was starting to panic at this point. What if none of the wands in the shop worked for him? He glanced back round at his parents, who smiled at him encouragingly, and this calmed him a little.
'Maybe this one will work,' Mr Ollivander said patiently. 'Holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches.'
He handed the wand to Harry, who immediately felt a warmth start in his fingertips and move across the whole of his body. This, he knew, was the right wand.
Mr Ollivander nodded his head, Amy started clapping, Lily hugged her son, and James clapped him on the back. Harry felt extremely relieved and elated. He finally had a wand, the thing he had most been looking forward to get. Everything else wasn't so much of a worry anymore.
As they made their way to Madam Malkin's to get Harry's school robes, they ran into a young man whose light brown hair was thinning ever so slightly, and who gave them a small smile when he saw them.
'Moony!' James exclaimed happily. 'We haven't seen you for weeks! How are you?'
'I've been better,' Remus admitted, and he definitely didn't look nearly as cheerful as he normally did, but he still smiled warmly at Harry and Amy, both of whom beamed back at him.
'What's wrong?' Lily asked him. 'Is it your "furry little problem", as James calls it, or is it Nerin?'
'A bit of both,' Remus replied. 'But mostly Nerin. I'll tell you about it some other time, okay?'
'Okay,' said Lily. 'So how come you're in Diagon Alley?'
'Oh, I just fancied a bit of fresh air,' he replied.
'We're here to get my school things!' Harry piped up, and he showed Remus his brand new wand.
'That's excellent, Harry!' Remus said. 'What sort of wand is it?'
'Eleven inches, Holly and Phoenix feather,' Harry told him.
Remus accompanied them to Madam Malkin's to get Harry's robes, and to the Apothecary to get his Potions ingredients, before he told them he had to go to a job interview. They wished him good luck, and he hurried out of the shop.
'Poor Remus,' Lily sighed as Harry got a few more ingredients. 'He still can't get a job! How can his certain quality stop him getting a job? Unless it has to be done at night, I don't see the problem! People can be so prejudiced.'
'I know,' James said, but Harry and Amy didn't take much of this in, as they were mesmerised by all the different ingredients involved in making Potions.
'Are you looking forward to starting Potions?' Lily asked Harry as they left the shop. 'It was one of my best subjects.'
'I guess so,' Harry replied. 'But I'm most looking forward to Defence Against the Dark Arts, and Quidditch, whenever we can do that.'
'Wait, isn't Snivellus teaching Potions?' James interjected.
'James, don't call him that, we're not fifteen anymore,' Lily said.
'Yeah, I know, but still,' James shrugged. 'Old habits die hard.'
Lily rolled her eyes. 'We should invited Severus and his family round for dinner some time, you know.'
'They've already been round for dinner,' James pointed out.
'That was two years ago,' Lily reminded him. 'It's about time we invited them round again.'
'Fine, do whatever you want,' he finally sighed.
Next they went to get an owl for Harry. They spent a considerable amount of time in the shop, while Harry went backwards and forwards between certain owls, before he finally settled on a snowy owl.
'She's an extra, belated birthday present, okay?' Lily said as she handed the caged owl over to Harry when they left the shop, twenty minutes later.
'Okay,' Harry said. 'Thanks Mum, Dad.'
'What are you going to call her Harry?' Amy added.
Harry shrugged. 'I'm not sure yet.'
They spent the rest of the day shopping for the remaining items on the list, eating ice creams, and trawling through all the things in Quality Quidditch Supplies. They didn't return home until five in the evening, by which time they were all extremely tired. Harry spent most of the evening poring over his new books and examining his wand, while Lily made arrangements with Poppy for her and Sam to come over for tea tomorrow.
'So you want Severus Snape, his wife and their five year old to come round for dinner in three days, Frank, Alice and Neville to come round for lunch in two days, and you want Poppy and Sam to come tomorrow?' James asked her as she finished talking to Poppy. 'Oh, and Remus is coming for tea in four days. Where are all our free days?'
'In five days of course, James,' Lily replied.
Harry's excitement increased. He wondered if Sam would have his Hogwarts things already too. They would certainly have a lot to talk about.
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