Chapter 17:
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: Harry's first Floo Powder usage to Diagon Alley. Well… Knockturn Alley because he messed up.
Normal Pov
Mrs. Weasley woke them all early the following Wednesday. After a quick half a dozen bacon sandwiches each, they pulled on their coats and Mrs. Weasley took a flowerpot off the kitchen mantelpiece and peered inside.
"We're running low, Arthur," she sighed. "We'll have to buy some more today... Ah well, guests first! After you, Harry dear!"
And she offered him the flowerpot.
Harry stared at them all watching him.
"W-what am I supposed to do?" he stammered.
"He's never traveled by Floo powder," said Ron suddenly. "Sorry, Harry, I forgot."
"Never?" said Mr. Weasley. "But how did you get to Diagon Alley to buy your school things last year?"
"I went on the Underground -"
"Really?" said Mr. Weasley eagerly. "Were there escalators? How exactly -"
"Not now, Arthur," said Mrs. Weasley. "Floo powder's a lot quicker, dear, but goodness me, if you've never used it before -"
"He'll be all right, Mum," said Fred. "Harry, watch us first."
He took a pinch of glittering powder out of the flowerpot, stepped up to the fire, and threw the powder into the flames.
With a roar, the fire turned emerald green and rose higher than Fred, who stepped right into it, shouted, "Diagon Alley!" and vanished.
* 41
"You must speak clearly, dear," Mrs. Weasley told Harry as George dipped his hand into the flowerpot. "And be sure to get out at the right grate ...
"The right what?" said Harry nervously as the fire roared and whipped George out of sight, too.
"Well, there are an awful lot of wizard fires to choose from, you know, but as long as you've spoken clearly -"
"He'll be fine, Molly, don't fuss," said Mr. Weasley, helping himself to Floo powder, too.
"But, dear, if he got lost, how would we ever explain to his aunt and uncle?"
"They wouldn't mind," Harry reassured her. "Dudley would think it was a brilliant joke if I got lost up a chimney, don't worry about that -"
"Well ... all right ... you go after Arthur," said Mrs. Weasley. "Now, when you get into the fire, say where you're going
"And keep your elbows tucked in," Ron advised.
"And your eyes shut," said Mrs. Weasley. "The soot -"
"Don't fidget," said Ron. "Or you might well fall out of the wrong fireplace -"
"But don't panic and get out too early; wait until you see Fred and George."
Trying hard to bear all this in mind, Harry took a pinch of Floo powder and walked to the edge of the fire. He took a deep breath, scattered the powder into the flames, and stepped forward; the fire felt like a warm breeze; he opened his mouth and immediately swallowed a lot of hot ash.
"D-Diagon Alley," he coughed.
It felt as though he was being sucked down a giant drain.
He seemed to be spinning very fast - the roaring in his ears was deafening -he tried to keep his eyes open but the whirl of green flames made him feel sick - something hard knocked his elbow and he tucked it in tightly, still spinning and spinning - now it felt as though cold hands were slapping his face - squinting through his glasses he saw a blurred stream of fireplaces and snatched glimpses of the rooms beyond - his bacon sandwiches were churning inside him - he closed his eyes again wishing it would stop, and then
He fell, face forward, onto cold stone and felt the bridge of his glasses snap.
Dizzy and bruised, covered in soot, he got gingerly to his feet, holding his broken glasses up to his eyes. He was certainly alone, but where he was, he had no idea. All he could tell was that he was standing in the stone fireplace of what looked like a large, dimly lit wizard's shop - but nothing in here was ever likely to be on a Hogwarts school list.
A glass case nearby held a withered hand on a cushion, a bloodstained pack of cards, and a staring glass eye. Evil-looking masks stared down from the walls, an assortment of human bones lay upon the counter, and rusty, spiked instruments hung from the ceiling. Even worse, the dark, narrow street Harry could see through the dusty shop window was definitely not Diagon Alley.
The sooner he got out of here, the better. Nose still stinging where it had hit the hearth, Harry made his way swiftly and silently toward the door, but before he'd got halfway toward it, three people appeared on the other side of the glass - and one of them was the very last person Harry wanted to meet when he was lost, covered in soot, and wearing broken glasses: Draco Malfoy.
Harry looked quickly around and spotted a large black cabinet to his left; he shot inside it and pulled the doors closed, leaving a small crack to peer through. Seconds later, a bell clanged, and Malfoy stepped into the shop.
The man who followed could only be Draco's father. He had the same pale, pointed face and identical cold, gray eyes. Juliunna was beside him, Mr. Malfoy's hand holding hers tightly as Juliunna looking around the shop closely.
Mr. Malfoy crossed the shop, looking lazily at the items on display, and rang a bell on the counter before turning to his son and saying, "Touch nothing, Draco. The goes the same for you Princess."
"You don't have to tell me twice, father." Juliunna smirked. Harry's eyes shone brighter.
Malfoy, who had reached for the glass eye, said, "I thought you were going to buy me a present."
"I said I would buy you a racing broom," said his father, drumming his fingers on the counter.
"What's the good of that if I'm not on the House team?" said Malfoy, looking sulky and bad-tempered. "Harry Potter got a Nimbus Two Thousand last year. Special permission from Dumbledore so he could play for Gryffindor. He's not even that good, it's just because he's famous ... famous for having a stupid scar on his forehead . . . ."
Malfoy bent down to examine a shelf full of skulls.
". . . everyone thinks he's so smart, wonderful Potter with his scar and his broomstick -"
"You have told me this at least a dozen times already," said Mr. Malfoy, with a quelling look at his son. "And I would remind you that it is not - prudent - to appear less than fond of Harry Potter, not when most of our kind regard him as the hero who made the Dark Lord disappear - ah, Mr. Borgin."
"Obviously you've had your eyes closed every time Harry's flown Draco. He's amazing." Juliunna said. Harry smiled thankfully, glad that she was sticking up for him.
50
A stooping man had appeared behind the counter, smoothing his greasy hair back from his face.
"Mr. Malfoy, what a pleasure to see you again," said Mr. Borgin in a voice as oily as his hair. "Delighted - and young Master and Mistress Malfoy, too - charmed. How may I be of assistance? I must show you, just in today, and very reasonably priced -"
"I'm not buying today, Mr. Borgin, but selling," said Mr. Malfoy.
"Selling?" The smile faded slightly from Mr. Borgin's face.
"You have heard, of course, that the Ministry is conducting more raids," said Mr. Malfoy, taking a roll of parchment from his inside pocket and unraveling it for Mr. Borgin to read. "I have a few - ah - items at home that might embarrass me, if the Ministry were to call ..."
Mr. Borgin fixed a pair of pince-nez to his nose and looked down the list.
"The Ministry wouldn't presume to trouble you, sir, surely?"
Mr. Malfoy's lip curled.
"I have not been visited yet. The name Malfoy still commands a certain respect, yet the Ministry grows ever more meddlesome. There are rumors about a new Muggle Protection Act - no doubt that flea- bitten, Muggle-loving fool Arthur Weasley is behind it." He said.
Harry felt a hot surge of anger.
"- and as you see, certain of these poisons might make it appear -"
"I understand, sir, of course," said Mr. Borgin. "Let me see. . ."
"Can I have that?" interrupted Draco, pointing at the withered hand on its cushion.
"Ah, the Hand of Glory!" said Mr. Borgin, abandoning Mr. Malfoy's list and scurrying over to Draco. "Insert a candle and it gives light only to the holder! Best friend of thieves and plunderers! Your son has fine taste, sir."
"I hope my son will amount to more than a thief or a plunderer, Borgin," said Mr. Malfoy coldly, and Mr. Borgin said quickly, "No offense, sir, no offense meant -"
"Though if his grades don't pick up," said Mr. Malfoy, more coldly still, "that may indeed be all he is fit for -"
"It's not my fault," retorted Draco. "The teachers all have favorites, that Hermione Granger -"
"I would have thought you'd be ashamed that a girl of no wizard family beat you in every exam," snapped Mr. Malfoy.
"That's pretty funny Draco. Seeing as if I had no problem getting great grades." Juliunna chuckled.
"Ha!" said Harry under his breath, pleased to see Draco looking both abashed and angry. Juliunna chuckled into her thickly gloved hand. Draco stood next to her and slapped her hand, and then Juliunna hissed at him.
"It's the same all over," said Mr. Borgin, in his oily voice. "Wizard blood is counting for less everywhere -"
"Not with me," said Mr. Malfoy, his long nostrils flaring.
"No, sir, nor with me, sir," said Mr. Borgin, with a deep bow.
"In that case, perhaps we can return to my list," said Mr. Malfoy shortly. "I am in something of a hurry, Borgin, I have important business elsewhere today -"
They started to haggle. Harry watched nervously as Draco drew nearer and nearer to his hiding place, examining the objects for sale. Draco paused to examine a long coil of hangman's rope and to read, smirking, the card propped on a magnificent necklace of opals, Caution: Do Not Touch. Cursed - Has Claimed the Lives of Nineteen Muggle Owners to Date.
Draco turned away and saw the cabinet right in front of him. He walked forward - he stretched out his hand for the handle
"Done," said Mr. Malfoy at the counter. "Come, Draco -"
Harry wiped his forehead on his sleeve as Draco turned away.
"Good day to you, Mr. Borgin. I'll expect you at the manor tomorrow to pick up the goods." Lucius said, but Juliunna stopped in place at the door, stopping her father as well. He turned to her curiously. "What is it darling?"
"I'm sorry daddy. I'd just like to have a quick word with Mr. Borgin." Juliunna said. Both man raised their eyebrows, but Mr. Borgin recovered first.
"Of course. What is it you'd like to speak about?"
"Your, ahem, magnificent objects here. Do they all have permits?" Juliunna asked, taking her hand out of her fathers. She crossed her arms across her chest all business like.
"Excuse me?" Borgin said, and Juliunna brushed her father's hand off her shoulder.
"Oh, I'm just curious. Say if the Minister of Magic were to come in here and expect some of your objects. Would he be given the impression that some of the things in here would be illegal? Dangerous to the public? For instance, if my brother touched that cursed hand while my father isn't looking and became injured, would that be a negative jurisdiction on your part?" Juliunna said, snapping her fingers. "Leave it Draco-!"
Draco dropped his hand from the cursed hand in a hurry, staring at it in horror. Lucius grabbed Draco's shoulder and his daughter's. All the while Borgin was wringing his hands nervously.
"Um…Miss Malfoy, I wouldn't want any trouble. I'm sure if their was a danger to my customers, I would know-!"
"That will be enough. I'm sorry Mr. Borgin. Kid's these days, right?" Mr. Malfoy said. He leaned down and picked Juliunna up like a toddler. She smirked at Borgin as she was took out of the shop with Draco at her side. When the doors were shut, Mr. Borgin dropped the wheezy and oily voice and scowled.
Muttering darkly, Mr. Borgin disappeared into a back room. Harry waited for a minute in case he came back, then, quietly as he could, slipped out of the cabinet, past the glass cases, and out of the shop door.
….
One hour later at Flourish and Blotts with the Weasleys and Harry
"We can actually meet him!" Hermione squealed. "I mean, he's written almost the whole booklist!"
The crowd seemed to be made up mostly of witches around Mrs. Weasley's age. A harassed-looking wizard stood at the door, saying, "Calmly, please, ladies ... Don't push, there ... mind the books, now . . . . "
Harry, Ron, and Hermione squeezed inside. A long line wound right to the back of the shop, where Gilderoy Lockhart was signing his books. They each grabbed a copy of The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2 and sneaked up the line to where the rest of the Weasleys were standing with Mr. and Mrs. Granger.
"Oh, there you are, good," said Mrs. Weasley. She sounded breathless and kept patting her hair. "We'll be able to see him in a minute ...
Gilderoy Lockhart came slowly into view, seated at a table surrounded by large pictures of his own face, all winking and flashing dazzlingly white teeth at the crowd. The real Lockhart was wearing robes of forget-me-not blue that exactly matched his eyes; his pointed wizard's hat was set at a jaunty angle on his wavy hair.
A short, irritable-looking man was dancing around taking photographs with a large black camera that emitted puffs of purple smoke with every blinding flash.
"Out of the way, there," he snarled at Ron, moving back to get a better shot. "This is for the Daily Prophet -"
"Big deal," said Ron, rubbing his foot where the photographer had stepped on it.
Gilderoy Lockhart heard him. He looked up. He saw Ron and then he saw Harry. He stared. Then he leapt to his feet and positively shouted, "It can't be Harry Potter?"
The crowd parted, whispering excitedly; Lockhart dived forward, seized Harry's arm, and pulled him to the front. The crowd burst into applause. Harry's face burned as Lockhart shook his hand for the photographer, who was clicking away madly, wafting thick smoke over the Weasleys.
"Nice big smile, Harry," said Lockhart, through his own gleaming teeth. "Together, you and I are worth the front page."
When he finally let go of Harry's hand, Harry could hardly feel his fingers. He tried to sidle back over to the Weasleys, but Lockhart threw an arm around his shoulders and clamped him tightly to his side.
"Ladies and gentlemen," he said loudly, waving for quiet. "What an extraordinary moment this is! The perfect moment for me to make a little announcement I've been sitting on for some time!
"When young Harry here stepped into Flourish and Blotts today, he only wanted to buy my autobiography -which I shall be happy to present him now, free of charge-" The crowd applauded again. "He had no idea," Lockhart continued, giving Harry a little shake that made his glasses slip to the end of his nose, "that he would shortly be getting much, much more than my book, Magical Me. He and his schoolmates will, in fact, be getting the real magical me. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have great pleasure and pride in announcing that this September, I will be taking up the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"
The crowd cheered and clapped and Harry found himself being presented with the entire works of Gilderoy Lockhart. Staggering slightly under their weight, he managed to make his way out of the limelight to the edge of the room, where Ginny was standing next to her new cauldron.
"You have these," Harry mumbled to her, tipping the books into the cauldron. "I'll buy my own -"
"Bet you loved that, didn't you, Potter?" said a voice Harry had no trouble recognizing. He straightened up and found himself face-to-face with Draco Malfoy, who was wearing his usual sneer.
"Famous Harry Potter," said Malfoy. "Can't even go into a bookshop without making the front page."
"Leave him alone, he didn't want all that!" said Ginny. It was the first time she had spoken in front of Harry. She was glaring at Malfoy.
"Potter, you've got yourself a girlfriend!" drawled Malfoy. Ginny went scarlet as Ron and Hermione fought their way over, both clutching stacks of Lockhart's books. Juliunna walked down the large case of spiraling stairs and stood behind her brother. She peered over his shoulder at Harry and nodded to him politely. He waved at her. Draco rolled his eyes and scowled, and upon Juliunna taking a step forward, held his arm up, keeping her from going forward.
"Oh, it's you," said Ron, looking at the two twin Malfoys as if they were something unpleasant on the sole of his shoe. "Bet you're surprised to see Harry here, eh?"
"Not as surprised as I am to see you in a shop, Weasley," retorted Malfoy. "I suppose your parents will go hungry for a month to pay for all those."
Ron went as red as Ginny. He dropped his books into the cauldron, too, and started toward Malfoy, but Harry and Hermione grabbed the back of his jacket.
"Draco!" Juliunna snapped. Draco snickered.
Ron!" said Mr. Weasley, struggling over with Fred and George. "What are you doing? It's too crowded in here, let's go outside."
"Well, well, well - Arthur Weasley."
It was Mr. Malfoy. He stood with his hand on Draco's shoulder, sneering in just the same way.
"Lucius," said Mr. Weasley, nodding coldly. Juliunna sighed, reaching up to put her hand against her forehead.
"Busy time at the Ministry, I hear," said Mr. Malfoy. "All those raids ... I hope they're paying you overtime?"
He reached into Ginny's cauldron and extracted, from amid the glossy Lockhart books, a very old, very battered copy of A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration.
"Obviously not," Mr. Malfoy said. "Dear me, what's the use of being a disgrace to the name of wizards if they don't even pay you well for it?"
Mr. Weasley flushed darker than either Ron or Ginny.
"Daddy. Even if they are poor, you shouldn't make fun of them for it." Juliunna said. Harry raised his eyebrows in shock. Ron gasped at her. "How dare you-!"
"Oh! That's not what I meant to say! I just meant that the ones less fortunate then us shouldn't be treated as vermin. But-! I wasn't saying you were poor-!"
"Silence!" Ron snapped at her. Fred and George crossed their arms at her. Harry frowned.
"She wasn't making fun of you guys." Harry said.
"Be quiet Harry." Fred whispered to him, and then gestured silently to Lucius and Arthur, who had continued to talk to each other.
"We have a very different idea of what disgraces the name of wizard, Malfoy," Arthur said.
"Clearly," said Mr. Malfoy, his pale eyes straying to Mr. and Mrs. Granger, who were watching apprehensively. "The company you keep, Weasley ... and I thought your family could sink no lower-!"
There was a thud of metal as Ginny's cauldron went flying; Mr. Weasley had thrown himself at Mr. Malfoy, knocking him backward into a bookshelf. By accident, Juliunna got hit by Lucius's metal cane as he was pushed back, and she was sent falling to the floor.
"Ah!" She cried, covering her face. Draco leaned down to help her.
"Ha! Karma!" Ron snapped at her. Harry pushed him. "Ron just stop it. Are you okay Jules?" Harry asked. He leaned down and helped Malfoy propped Juliunna up. She winced horribly.
"No. It hurts!" She snapped. Harry winced too as he leaned out to touch it. There was a red mark on her face. A drop of blood oozed from the scratch the snake totem on Lucius's cane gave her. Draco pushed Harry and he fell.
"Get away from my sister." Draco snarled at Harry, as if he had caused Juliunna's bloody wound. Juliunna clutched the wound on her face tightly, wincing in pain.
Over by the bookcases, Dozens of heavy spell books came thundering down on Lucius and Arthur's heads; there was a yell of, "Get him, Dad!" from Fred or George; Mrs. Weasley was shrieking, "No, Arthur, no!"; the crowd stampeded backward, knocking more shelves over; "Gentlemen, please - please!" cried the assistant, and then, louder than all of them, was Hagrid.
"Break it up, there, gents, break it up!"
Hagrid was wading toward them through the sea of books. In an instant he had pulled Mr. Weasley and Mr. Malfoy apart. Mr. Weasley had a cut lip and Mr. Malfoy had been hit in the eye by an Encyclopedia of Toadstools. He was still holding Ginny's old Transfiguration book. He thrust it at her, his eyes glittering with malice.
"Here, girl - take your book - it's the best your father can give you -" Pulling himself out of Hagrid's grip he swept over to Draco and Juliunna. "My eye hurts." She said, and Lucius sighed.
"We'll stop by the Apothecary shop on the way home. We'll heal it there. I'm sorry." Lucius said as Juliunna swept forward. Harry still hadn't moved from his spot on the floor as Juliunna strode pass the laughing Weasleys. Well, Ron was the only one laughing. But the other ones were staring at her. When the Malfoys had left the shop, Harry stood up, and brushed himself off. He walked over to Ron silently.
"Well it serves her right-!"
Harry lifted his wand and pressed it hard into Ron's nose. Ron stopped mid laugh. 'Um, Harry-!"
"Don't talk to me right now." Harry said angrily. "You need to respect her more Ron. You know she's my friend. Don't give me a reason for defending her honor. Because you and I both know you wouldn't want that to happen." He took his wand off of Ron's nose and walked next to Mrs. Weasley,. She was still fretting over Mr. Weasley.
…
Rhianna and Severus were sitting next to each other in the library. Silently.
Lily had found them like that the eve of the Hogsmead visit. She frowned.
'What's going on?" She asked them curiously. Severus looked up slowly, his eyes smoldering and sneering.
Severus lifted the notebook he had currently been writing on off of his lap and lifted it onto the table.
"We're working on a sort of project you see." He said. Lily smiled and then looked to Rhianna, who was staring outside the window.
"What… What are you doing?" She asked Rhianna.
"We're working on a project. I'm monitoring the current and highly likely and dangers of this experiment." She said.
Severus jerked forward suddenly. His arm burning.
Rhianna and Lily tuned to him.
"What?"
"I just remembered." He said, standing up. He started to backpedal towards the library double doors. "Remember what?" Lily asked.
"He just remembered he had to meet someone down in the common room. A teacher." Rhianna said, standing up too. Severus nodded.
"Oh. Well have fun Severus." Lily said. Rhianna grabbed Lily's arm to keep her from going anywhere.
"Let's go hang with your friends." Rhianna said, grabbing the notebook Severus had currently been reading. He left the room in a flurry of robes, fear on his face at the prospect of being late. Lily nodded.
"Yeah, I want to show you the Gryffindor Common room. I have a feeling your going to love it."
Don't worry. The next Chapter in the past will be more interesting.