Thank you all for reading. I'm really sorry that I am updating so sporadically now, but life is incredibly busy nowadays (curses!) :( What I would give for time-turner... too bad they are all smashed :/

(SeverusDmitri18) I wish I could update more often.

(forTheLoveOfHades) Not really :) Well, since Sherlock won't be in the shop, he can't prank him directly, though I am sure it's possible some of his products will reach Sherlock ;)

(creepyLotRfangirl55) Sherlock is too busy figuring out how hard is to blend in the wizarding world when he is all alone and too stubborn to visit the shop where Ron might be... and don't worry, George actually haven't offered John and Ron anything explosive ;)

(Maia Longhorn) Thank you. I like Ron and his family too :) You're right about the potions, Harry and Ron both told him about it (ok, Harry more or less shrugged it off, thinking there is no point in arguing since at most Sherlock can only mix all the stuff together), hope this chapter will clear it all out - and Sherlock won't be amused :) It's a lovely idea about the chess match... maybe they can play when they (finally) start getting along... it would keep Sherlock from being too bored (and I am sure John would be eternally grateful to Ron if he managed to engage Sherlock in activity that doesn't consist of shooting the walls)

(titan616) thanks, I am glad you think so :)

(Sarah) Thank you

(Guest) Thank you and I apologize, if there are any mistakes. The fic has beta readers though, but of course if you find anything that seems incorrect, just let me know (because I don't t know where to look otherwise) and it will be looked over and corrected.

(KG86) Well, he is back now, because we need to know how he is faring (hint: definitely worse than John)... Ah... it's nothing too new, I assure you :)

(FotoDi) :D I am so glad. I definitely have fun with this, even though I have less time now. I never really thought how Hogwarts school system should work to be honest, but Culture Class might certainly be helpful

(lulu) Honestly? There is no visit to Burrow planned right now, but that means absolutely nothing since there was no second visit to Diagon Alley planned when I started with this story... so who really knows if they will go there. Sherlock will see in this chapter that perhaps getting along with Weasleys will be preferred over being a prat (even if it might be only for convenience sake at first).

(Hi. Pot. And. News) I am glad you gave the story a chance, though I think it's rather fair to warn you that Ginny will be among the characters that are scheduled to appear at one point or another, though of course it's Harry and Ron who are the main wizarding characters. I will try to pay attention to that when things get 'rambly' :) Thank you.

(Applejax XD) Well, he is... shopping (with varying degree of success). Yeah, I am sure they would :D

(PaperPen. Inc) Couldn't get it out sooner :(

(cflat) Thank you :) It should be soon in their timeline, but considering my updating pace is atrocious, it might be some time till I get there. James is 8, Al (and Rose) 7 and Lily 5 (and it should actually be the age they would have in canon in 2013 - or close to that)

CHAPTER 23

As Sherlock left John behind, he wondered about his words. Maybe he really should have kept things to himself. Alienating Weasley would not play to his advantages in the wizarding world, that's why he tried to stop him from leaving. But the man was getting on his nerves about as much as Anderson did, even though there was virtually nothing those two had in common.

He decided that his friend was right; a quick apology would definitely be helpful in this situation, even if it was something he usually didn't do, but that would need to wait.

Right now he found himself in the bank with Goblins. If he was to be honest with himself, he was definitely feeling wary (and that was about as much as he was willing to admit about the impact their ruthless and calculating appearance had on him). But of course, no one who saw him would be able to guess that. He didn't blame John in the slightest for getting out of visiting this place again.

He tried to make the transaction as fast as possible, but of course the Goblin that was assigned to him, went through the money Sherlock wanted to exchange very carefully and thus extremely slowly. As if he would try to swindle them!

He barely managed to stop himself from drumming his fingers on the counter impatiently, but then after all that excruciating time, it was over and he left the building with pockets full of gold and silver.

First, he wanted to find the wand shop. He knew it would be a long shot, trying to persuade the seller to give a wand to him, but he was certain that he would manage it with the right kind of argument. He just hoped that he had enough money for that. John would surely disapprove, but there was no need for him to ever see the wand.

Before he managed to locate the place he was looking for, he discovered a side alley that was directly across Gringott's. It was curious that Harry didn't mention it the day before, and what was more, people that walked around there, did so quickly, deliberately looking ahead. It also had a sort of dark and gloomy look, the exact opposite of sunny and spacious Diagon Alley so Sherlock concluded that a shady business might flourish there. (The name – Knockturn Alley – didn't speak in favour of the place either.) But he still wondered what it looked like further in and almost entered, his curiosity winning against his better judgment, but at the end he decided it was not worth the problems it might cause and returned to his previous plan. After a quick search he found the wand shop – Ollivander's – further behind the bank.

For a place that was so important, it was rather shabby looking and the simple old cushion with a single wand on display was downright pathetic. The detective was really expecting something more grandiose.

But no matter, maybe he wouldn't even need to cajole the person inside to accept his money all that much. He entered without hesitation, the bell announcing his presence.

An elderly wizard pinned him down with the most unusual pair of silvery eyes, upon entering, which unnerved the detective quite a lot. Usually it was him who managed make people nervous with a single stare.

"Good afternoon," said the man politely. "How may I help you?"

"Good afternoon," replied the detective. "I wish to get a wand."

"I must admit I do not have many customers around this time of year. Looking at you, it is a bit late for your first wand, and yet I do not remember selling you any. Have you perhaps purchased it elsewhere and were not satisfied, Mr…?

"Holmes," replied Sherlock uneasily. The man had yet to blink.

"Well, what is your wand hand?" he was asked as the man fished out a tape measure.

"I –" started Sherlock, but decided that he wouldn't be able to keep the charade at all. "I am a Muggle and…"

Ollivander's eyes widened. "By Merlin! Do not touch anything," he cried.

The dark-haired man was rather surprised by this violent reaction. He never expected the elderly gentleman to possess such agility as he displayed when he snatched two or three forgotten boxes, so Sherlock wouldn't even be able to dream about getting to them. Only when everything was safely out of reach, did the man speak again.

"May I ask what are you doing in Diagon Alley? You do understand, this is rather unusual situation and I need to know more before proceeding in any way."

"I was called in by Harry Potter to help with an Auror investigation," explained the detective sourly and fished out his silvery plate, using it for the first time since he received it. "I am allowed into all magical places."

"Ah," nodded the man, inspecting the piece of metal carefully. "Harry Potter, of course. He still refuses to reveal how he can use his wand after it was damaged so much. I saw it with my own eyes! Broken in half! And yet…" he lamented as if Harry did him a great injustice. "Holly, with a phoenix feather as a core and eleven inches long. An unusual combination, but then Mr Potter is an unusual man, wouldn't you agree? I said great things could be expected from him, and it seems that he still manages to surprise. Now he is making changes to the Statute of Secrecy? Not just anyone would attempt that."

"That is all very well, but I don't understand why you took away those wands," said Sherlock. "I am prepared to pay any price. If you would just sell me one…"

"Absolutely not!" replied Ollivander, glaring at the younger Muggle for even daring to suggest something like that. "Do you know what a wand is?" He didn't give Sherlock any time to answer though. "It's a magical instrument carefully crafted to be a vessel for an individual's magic. And what is more, the wand needs to bond with its owner. Muggles cannot possess such an instrument, because they have no magic. The reaction of the wand would be less than pleasant. So, if you do not wish for injury, or even worse, you should not touch any wand."

"But…" protested Sherlock as he snatched the plate from the man and pocketed it.

"I do not jest." Ollivander raised a warning finger. "Forget about this notion, wands are simply not created to be held by non-magical beings."

The detective nodded tersely, knowing very well that he lost. "Of course, I understand." He turned around to leave…

"However," Sherlock stopped in his tracks, upon hearing the man's voice, "I can help you when you decide to pursue theoretical knowledge. Not many wish to invest their time in such meticulous work as wandmaking, but you do seem like a man who appreciates small details that create a bigger picture. If that is the case, and you decide to read up on the subject, I can help clear up some points for you. Of course, there are still secrets that I refuse to reveal to anyone."

"I will… think about it," replied Sherlock and left the shop in hurry.

This was not going as well as he expected. It seemed that it would be for the best if he didn't reveal that he is a Muggle to anyone else. Though, if wands really reacted violently to people without magic, and worked only as a vessel, then he had no use for it except for quenching his scientific curiosity, which left him wondering how a piece of wood could behave like that – it must have some sort of magic of its own, otherwise it would be impossible.

He wondered what other limitations he would encounter later. Clearly the spells worked on Muggles the same way they worked on wizards. It was possible to use Apparition (as long as someone magical took them) and the Floo method as well; otherwise Harry wouldn't have offered it to them…

Speaking of Harry, he felt foolish now, for trusting him that he could try potions. It should have been obvious when he gave in too easily. The final stages always required the use of a wand, so all he could do now was mix things in a pot and at most destroy the ingredients in the process. And why was Weasley thinking it might end up as a disaster? If anything, it would be a failure, nothing else.

But that still wouldn't stop him from trying to learn about the properties of all the ingredients he read about. Especially the magical ones – he really wanted to get his hands on dragon blood and look at it closely, as well as substances taken from other creatures that he had no idea existed. But even the plants, some of which he knew very well, were sometimes described in a different fashion than he was used to and he wanted to inspect them now that he knew about their magical use as well.

If he couldn't go about it the wizarding way, he would use all the scientific means he had at hand. Why he had abandoned this approach before was beyond him. He must have been too overwhelmed by magic itself.

With this in mind he decided to skip Potage's Cauldron Shop and go directly to the Apothecary, which he remembered was not far away from the Leaky Cauldron's entrance.

Soon enough he was greeted not only by a shop assistant, but also by a stench that forced him to wrinkle his nose (which was saying something, considering he was used to unpleasant smells, visiting the morgue and working with chemicals quite often).

It seemed that unlike in the wand shop, he wouldn't have a big problem making his purchase here. When his turn came, after a woman that entered before him, he listed a few items that he had his mind set on and the shop assistant gladly got him everything he asked for. Despite that he blundered a lot, which irritated him to no end. There were items he hadn't read about in the books yet and when he asked for them, he wasn't always correct with naming them – that was mostly true with ingredients kept at safe distance from customers, so he had a harder time reading the small notes that identified them.

But things went more or less smoothly until Sherlock managed to ask about dragon eggs (thinking he would be able to have look at it along with blood and liver he managed to buy without problem), which earned him a flat look at first. Thankfully, the shop keeper took it as a joke (the detective went with it when he understood that it was one of the Non-Tradeable Materials that people only get on black market) and let it slide, shaking his head about such nonsense request.

Sherlock then proceeded to pay for his purchase and left the shop, as he had no intention of making more mistakes and letting the man figure out he was not a wizard. What if he took back everything he sold to him?

Once he was outside, he figured there wasn't anything else to do, because he didn't have any intention to visit the broom shop that fascinated John so much yesterday, the pet shop, the one with clothes, or the Weasley joke shop he glimpsed. (What a business, he rolled his eyes…) There was simply nothing else that was worthy of his attention, so he decided to head back to the Leaky Cauldron, somewhat selfishly hoping that John had a similarly horrid time.