Disclaimer 1: This is fanfic. That means I do not own any of it. I just borrow it to play with for a little while and let people see the pathetic results if they really want to.
Disclaimer 2: I'm not making any money from it. It's just for fun.
Disclaimer 3: What isn't borrowed is all made up. None of this is real or most likely at all realistic. Please don't trust any of the information in here. Most likely you know more about whatever I'm writing about than I do.
Disclaimer 4: Attitudes, views and opinions expressed by the characters or in the story are not necessarily those of the author. Even when writing Science Fiction or Fantasy I do not tend to attempt to create perfect/better worlds in which everybody gets a happy end ... or whatever is best for them. Please accept that some characters will have a bad ending or be unhappy.
Disclaimer 5: I intend no insult to anyone. If I offend anyone I'm very sorry. Please understand that it was an accident as I tend to be very clumsy in these things.
Notes: Dragging all three children to the bank to go to Harry's vault and get the stone? I think not. - Also: It's not Harry's birthday and Hagrid can't just buy him a gift and not the other two, so what to do about Hedwig?
Harry No. 5 and the Philosopher's Stone
Chapter 5: Diagon Alley
The hovercar stopped in front of a shabby looking pub, that their teachers at the primary institute would probably have kept them far away from.
"That can't be Hogwarts institute, can it?" Justin asked Harry.
It was Hagrid that answered him, though.
"Oh no," he said. "That's the Leaky Cauldron. A famous place. Before you go to Hogwarts you have to have wands, you see. And you have to try those out yourselves. Not every wand fits every wizard. Besides you each got some money from your parents as a transfer gift, so we'd best visit a few shops where you can buy yourselves something nice for it."
He handed each of them a strange leather pouch and explained that there were 'galleons', 'sickles' and 'knuts' inside.
"I had some business at Gringotts for Dumbledore this morning, so I went and exchanged your money for you while I was there anyway. Don't spend it all right away, though," he warned them. "Let's have a look at the shops first and afterwards you can decide what you liked best and we'll go back for it."
"I got money, too?" Harry asked surprised when Hagrid handed him his pouch.
"But of course." Hagrid sounded slightly puzzled by the question.
"But who sent it?"
"Why your parents of course."
And then Harry realised that Hagrid probably didn't know that he knew that his parents were dead. He wasn't supposed to be told anything about them before he was 16 after all. But where had this money come from? And what about the birthday and Christmas gifts he'd received every year? Did the institutes buy those for orphans like him so they'd have as much as everybody else?
Harry puzzled over that question all the way through the Leaky Cauldron, into Diagon Alley and to 'Olivanders' which Hagrid claimed to be the very best wand-shop in all of England.
Only when he was sitting on a stool in the dusty little shop watching Hermione try out one wand after the other did it finally come to him: The gifts and money must have been from his aunt and uncle, of course! He would have to thank them when he was 16.
Picking out a wand didn't seem to be very difficult as there always was a clear signal when you waved the right one, but it took a very long time, especially for Harry who had to try almost every wand in the shop before a holly and phoenix feather one finally chose him.
At first Harry was overjoyed, but then Mr. Olivander told them that it was the brother of Voldemort's wand.
"But he's a murderer," Harry said disappointedly.
"He certainly has abused his wand terribly," Mr. Olivander agreed. "But that doesn't mean that there is anything wrong with the wand itself, or the phoenix that donated the feathers for both wands. It is You-Know-Who that made the decision to kill not the wand he used."
Harry was not quite sure he understood what Mr. Olivander meant, but luckily Hagrid explained it better.
"It was a different wand," he said. "This wand has never done nothing bad, and in your hands I'm sure it never will."
That helped, though Harry still wished he could have had one that had nothing at all to do with Voldemort.
Next they went to Florean Fortescue's ice-cream parlour to strengthen themselves.
"Ah, new Muggle-borns?" Mr. Fortescue said and gave each of them an extra scoop to welcome them 'home' to the wizarding world.
They saw two other groups of white-clothed transferees walk past while they ate their ice-creams and shouted and waved at them, but neither group came over to talk with them.
"Can't get the groups mixed up, or someone might get lost," Hagrid explained. "You'll get to met them on the bus later."
Next Hagrid took them to a sports equipment shop that sold brooms of all things, an apothecary that was full of disgusting things that Harry certainly wouldn't buy, a bookshop full of actual, real, paper books that delighted Hermione and finally a pet shop where they discovered that they could bring a real, living animal with them to the institute!
"A toad, a cat or an owl," Hagrid explained. "I suggest you get owls, though. They carry mail, you see. Toads are boring and cats ... well, a lot of children like cats a lot, but they aren't at all useful."
Harry took that advice to heart and bought a beautiful white owl, but Justin didn't like the look of the owls' beaks and claws and after he found out that cats had claws, too, he decided that he'd rather buy a big stash of sweets than an animal.
Harry, too, wanted to get some sweets for the little money he had left, but Hermione insisted on returning to the bookshop so she could buy some books.
"I just have to have 'Hogwarts, a History' and 'History of the Magical World'," she declared and was very disappointed that she didn't have enough money for a third book.
"There's a big library at Hogwarts," Hagrid assured her, but Hermione wanted to own the books anyway.
"I just had to leave behind all the books in the primary institute's library," she said. "I don't want to lose these as well in a few years."
Harry didn't understand her. They'd be at Hogwarts Institute for at east five, more likely seven years. That was an eternity, after all.
"Well, then," Hagrid announced when Hermione had finally paid for her books. "We've got just enough time left for that trip to the sweets shop before we have to run to the bus."