Chapter 3 – Diagon Alley

Diagon Alley was always busy towards the end of the summer holidays, bustling with Hogwarts students and their families as they stocked up with books and robes and potion ingredients. Remus had wanted to do his shopping earlier in the summer when it was quieter, but given enough time before they went back to school he knew from experience that Sirius would have tried feeding his sopophorous beans to his owl, James would have spilt ink all over his textbooks, and Peter would have lost all his new quills – so he'd had to settle for doing their shopping in the last week of summer.

It was a sunny day, so he was glad they'd chosen to meet outside Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, where he could sit at one of the little round tables in the shade of the building, eating double chocolate ice cream and watching through the window of Ollivanders on the opposite side of the street. A first year girl had gone in there with her parents five minutes earlier and there were lots of bangs and flashes as Mr Ollivander pulled boxes down from the wall and handed her different wands.

Remus checked his watch. The other marauders were over twenty minutes late – not that this was surprising; despite Mrs Potter's best efforts, James and Sirius were just incapable of being punctual. Peter was usually a little better at time keeping, but rather less good with memory, so Remus suspected he was wandering around nearby trying to remember where they had agreed to meet.

Just as the young girl came out of Ollivanders clutching her brand new wand, Remus heard someone yell "MOONY" and turned his head towards the voice. James, Sirius and Peter were heading down the street towards him, and Remus felt a smile tug at the corners of his lips. It was barely a month since he'd last seen them, but that seemed like a long time when they spent most of the year in each other's near-constant company.

Abandoning what little was left of his ice cream, he stood up as Sirius bounded over and engulfed him in a hug that nearly made them both fall over. "Nice to see you too," Remus said, a little breathless from having the wind knocked out of him.

"Moony," James said cheerfully when Sirius had let go of Remus and was perching precariously on the edge of the table, looking artfully ruffled from having collided with his friend. Remus himself felt a bit more dishevelled, though he tried to at least straighten his shirt. "Figured you'd actually be where we planned to meet. Wormtail was off skulking around outside Gringotts."

"I wasn't skulking," Peter said indignantly. "Mum took me to get some money and then I was waiting for you all."

"You have excellent taste in ice cream, Moony," Sirius said, ignoring Peter's complaints and swirling his finger around the bowl, managing to splodge the brownish goop onto his jeans before eating it. He licked his finger clean and then pointed it at James accusingly. "I suggest you drag this one off to all your sensible shops first," he said to Remus. "He's after kitting me out in quidditch gear, can you imagine? Though the robes are rather fetching I suppose."

"Shouldn't you wait until after tryouts to buy quidditch gear?" Remus asked, raising his eyebrows and turning to James. He knew James would be an extremely competent Captain, but not everyone would see it that way if all his friends suddenly made the team. "McGonagall won't be happy if she knows you're appointing people without seeing them in tryouts."

"I've seen Sirius play enough times to know he's good enough to be a Gryffindor beater." James shrugged, though his tone was a little indignant. "Kingsley's been beater for years and he may be bigger, but Pads is faster. I reckon they'll work well together."

"Flattery will do wonders for you, Prongs," Sirius grinned, hopping down from the table and winking at James as the four of them started down the street.

He felt a bounce in his step as they walked, invigorated by the company of his friends and bustle of the streets. Everywhere he looked, families were rushing to and fro with their children, all looking duly stressed under the midday sun. Elsewhere were groups of older students similar to themselves, laughing together after a summer of isolation. Sirius spotted a couple of soon-to-be-seventh-year Ravenclaws that he knew by sight, if not name, already done with their shopping if the army of bags in their hands were anything to go by.

Remus had taken a list out of his pocket and was scanning it intently, subtly guiding them all towards Slug and Jiggers Apothecary. Sirius suspected that because Potions was not Remus' strongest subject, he was anxious to stock up so he'd be more prepared for it. He should really do the same, since he had also taken an option in Advanced Potions, and no longer had access to his parents' large stocks of ingredients.

Looking up from his list, Remus said, "Sirius and I need to go to the Apothecary for potions, then Flourish and Blotts is just across the street so we may as well all get this year's books, and after that -"

"Quidditch supplies," James interjected.

"After that we'll let you and Sirius run rampant in the Quidditch shop," Remus agreed, smiling as they stepped inside the Apothecary.

It was a brightly lit shop, with every inch of its walls covered in shelves that held neatly hand-labelled jars. James wrinkled his nose as he peered at a jar full of what appeared to be small eyeballs. "This shop always gives me the creeps."

"We spend a night in the forbidden forest every month," Peter pointed out. "How come you're scared of some eyeballs?"

Before James could make a rude gesture at him, a shop assistant emerged through a door behind the desk. "Can I help you?" he asked, smiling.

Remus looked pointedly at Sirius, so he reluctantly put down a jar of some small, shiny insects – some of which still seemed to be moving – and followed him to the desk.

"We need all of these," Sirius said bluntly, grabbing the list out of Remus' hands and handing it to the shop assistant.

"Just starting NEWTs?" he inquired pleasantly, reaching beneath the desk and pulling out two pre-packed cases of potions ingredients. "I've started requesting the syllabus from Dumbledore so I can get things ready. You wouldn't believe the fuss otherwise, especially with the younger ones."

"When I was 12, I knocked over a huge jar of some sort of brains," Sirius agreed gravely. Most of the ingredients in the kits were thankfully dry: wormwood, asphodel, and some bark that was floating in a greenish liquid.

The man eyeballed him suspiciously, as if he remembered the incident well and was strongly hoping against a repeat performance.

"Two galleons is it?" Sirius asked, pulling out his wallet in an attempt to distract the man from James and Peter, who had started to shake a container of something purple and glowing.

"Three. More complex ingredients this year I'm afraid."

Sirius heard Remus make an annoyed sort of huff from beside him as he reached into his pocket, before they both handed over the requested money.

They headed out of the shop and across the road to Flourish and Blotts, where Remus felt far more comfortable – partially because he was surrounded by books but mostly due to there being far less potential damage for his friends to do than in a shop full of rare and interesting magical substances in delicate jars.

'A Guide to Advanced Transfiguration' was on display on a round table in the middle of the shop, and all of them except Peter picked up a copy.

"We do human transfiguration this year," James said with a grin as he flipped open the book. "Guess we'll pass that with flying colours, right?"

"Three years of studying it should definitely give us a head start," Remus said. "Though McGonagall might be a bit suspicious when you're able to turn yourself into a stag on the first try but can't turn into anything else."

"Nah, she'll be so impressed we won't have to do any work for the rest of the year," Sirius argued, flipping absently through the book. It had bright pictures and detailed instructions on the complex spells they would be learning over the next year. Sirius didn't mind these kinds of books, the ones that actually taught you how to do a spell step-by-step, unlike the rather more suspicious looking book that Peter had found and handed to James. Judging by the complex labelled diagrams and chapters of long-winded text that he could see over his friend's shoulder, Sirius was very glad that he was not taking Herbology.

"Charms doesn't look too bad," James said, piling another three copies into his arms and passing them out amongst his friends.

"I think I'm charming enough, really," Sirius replied, taking the book reluctantly. His stack was getting ridiculously heavy, despite only needing texts for the five subjects he would be studying for his sixth and seventh years. He didn't see why they had to be so thick.

"I'm done," Peter said, struggling under the weight of his own books. "See you at the till?"

Sirius nodded, before noticing that Remus appeared to have slipped away from them. Rather predictably, he was to be found hanging around the fiction section instead of going over to pay. "We're ready to go," Sirius said, apparently making Remus jump as he stuffed a book hastily back onto the shelf. "What's that?"

"Hmm?" Remus replied, picking up the books he'd neatly stacked on the floor and turning towards the desk where James and Peter were gathered. "Oh, nothing. Just a book I was looking at. Come on then."

Before following him, Sirius stopped briefly to pull out the book that his friend had been so interested in. Upon further inspection, he recognised the title as one that Remus had mentioned in his letters over summer – a new release from one of the few Wizard authors that Remus liked as much as the muggle books he'd grown up with.

Discreetly, Sirius slipped the book onto his own pile.

They each relieved their aching arms by dumping their piles of books onto the counter, where a cheerful witch added up the prices and wrapped up the books into four large parcels. She called all of them "dear" and "honey" as she took their money and gave them their change, and she even remembered that Remus had come shopping here last winter for Christmas presents.

Once they were outside again, James and Sirius started prodding Remus in the arm and chanting "quidditch!" enthusiastically. Remus rolled his eyes, feeling like a parent trying to control his children. "Alright, but afterwards we need to get some parchment and quills, maybe some new robes too."

"Alright, Professor Lupin," Sirius teased. He reached into the magically lightened stack of books beside him and pulled out the thin paperback he'd bought for Remus, "got you this," he said brightly, tossing the book into Remus' arms.

Not expecting anything to be thrown at him, Remus reached out a little too late to catch the book, almost dropping it before he managed to rebalance his other purchases and make a grab for it.

"Did you buy this?" he asked, surprised.

"Nah, nicked it didn't I," Sirius replied, looking at him completely seriously while James chuckled quietly. "Course I bloody well bought it, don't rush to thank me will you?"

"You didn't have to -"

"Remus."

"Okay, okay," Remus smiled, slipping the book into his bag. "Thank you, Sirius."

"You're most welcome Moony, now let's get moving before James explodes. He can only cope without seeing a broom for so long before he gets cravings."

"That's true," Peter put in, already a few steps ahead of them as they walked along. "Remember that time McGonagall confiscated his broom and he cried?"

They arrived at Quality Quidditch Supplies quickly, hurried along by the crowds and usual excited groups of children congregating outside the shop. Inside though, there were rather less people than Sirius had expected. He supposed that really the only people who needed to come in here were the Quidditch teams – first years and their younger siblings were relegated to staring longingly at the products through the window.

James immediately headed for the display of the Cleansweep Sixes – the newest model on the market.

"Pads," he said seriously, "with one of these, you can't fail to get on the team."

Sirius glanced curiously at the price tag, which would put him out of pocket a little more than he'd have liked, but with the return to school coming up it wasn't as if he'd need much money in the coming months. He ran his hand along the smooth frame as James practically bounced beside him.

"You have to get it! And get a Jersey! The Gryffindor ones are over here -"

James darted off to the other side of the store while Sirius gestured for the shopkeeper to wrap him up one of the Cleansweeps. He seemed shocked that someone was actually purchasing one, probably given their rather excessive price.

"Here!" James said the moment Sirius stepped up to him. He held a jumper against Sirius' chest, examining it carefully. "It's the same size as mine and that fits you, so you should be fine. Oh and you should look at these bats, the school ones are a bit -" James turned around when Sirius didn't immediately follow him, momentarily confused to see his three friends stood stock still, staring towards the door.

Sirius couldn't remember how to move. He'd glanced over at the door as he heard it open and been completely horrified by the familiar figure he saw walking in with a friend, heads bent low and deep in conversation.

James came up behind him, craning his neck around Sirius' shoulder to see what he was looking at. The murmured "oh, shit" in his ear was enough to bring Sirius jolting back to reality.

Regulus had only just spotted him, standing a few feet away with an equally troubled expression on his face as he stared at his brother.

"Thought you'd be too busy tugging on mother's apron strings to shop by yourself," Sirius spat.

"That's funny," Regulus said, a dark look in his black eyes, "I was hoping the weight of your own ego would have crushed you by now. Obviously not."

"Sirius..." James said gently, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder, "maybe we should -"

"I used to wonder how you could stand it," Sirius said, ignoring James. His words were tumbling over each other, his cheeks glowing feverishly. "Then I realised. You're just like them. You'll be up to your eyes in dark magic before you're seventeen."

"And you, abandoning your family for the sake of blood traitors and mudbloods? No wonder you're such a disappointment."

"You're going to end up dead!" Sirius yelled. He was suddenly so worked up that he felt trapped. Ripping himself away from the grip James had on his shoulder, he pushed past his friends towards the exit, shoving his brother hard in the shoulder as he went.

"You're already dead to us, brother," Regulus shouted at his back, the words tainting the air like poison. "You have been for a long time."

The door swung shut behind Sirius, leaving the shop in momentary silence.

"Shit." James repeated. "Here," he said, tossing his wallet to Remus. "Pay for this stuff, I'll go after him."

With James gone, Remus hesitantly went over to pay for the Quidditch jumper and broomstick, Peter trailing behind him. Even the shop assistant had gone quiet, glancing worriedly between the two pairs of boys, probably hoping they weren't about to start another argument.

While the Gryffindor jumper was being wrapped up, Remus watched Regulus and the other fourth year boy, whom he recognised as Evan Rosier, as they surveyed the Slytherin section of Quidditch gear. Regulus was paler than usual and his hands seemed to be shaking slightly, though when he glanced up and noticed Remus looking, he clenched them tightly into fists.

Remus pursed his lips, wondering whether he should say anything, but he decided it wasn't fair to interfere in Sirius' relationship with his brother. He merely handed over the money from James' wallet and thanked the shop assistant, then gave Peter a tense smile and started to leave.

Regulus and Evan Rosier were having a whispered conversation when Remus passed them, but despite their lowered voices he heard Rosier say, "He's a blood traitor, Reg. Your family are better than that."

"So I should be happy that I'm supposed to hate him now?" Regulus said sharply. "I don't want to hear it."

Remus kept walking past them and didn't hear the rest of the conversation, but he felt a twinge of sympathy for Regulus; between his Slytherin friends and his pureblood parents, he was undoubtedly facing a lot of pressure to be, well, the exact opposite of his older brother.

Peter was the one who eventually spotted Sirius and James, the latter leaning against the wall behind Eeylops, while Sirius paced in front of him, hands constantly moving between wild gestures and raking through his hair.

"Don't," Remus and Peter heard him snap at James as they approached. "I can't stand it, Prongs."

"I know," James replied, moving as though he wanted to touch Sirius in some way, to offer some sort of comfort, but his friend shrugged away from him.

"Can we just, can we just pretend none of this happened? At least until we get home. There's still shops to go to and -"

"And you owe Prongs a load of money," Remus put in, sensing Sirius would appreciate the distraction. He handed the broom and packaged jersey to Sirius, and threw the wallet back to James.

Sirius smiled briefly, looking at Remus with eyes that were wide and slightly glossy. "Cheers, Moony."

James slid his wallet back into his pocket and knocked shoulders with Sirius. "C'mon, let's go to the sweet shop."

Shaking his head, Sirius said, "We should get the stuff left on Moony's list. Quills and whatever."

Remus smiled. "We can get it later," he assured him.

Sirius hesitated, rocking back on his heels, and James guessed that he wanted to get their shopping trip over with as soon as possible – but he knew Sirius would be even worse once he was back at James' house, forced to either be shut up alone in his room or pretend he was okay to James' parents. The best chance of cheering Sirius up even a little bit was while the marauders were all together, so James was going to prolong their time in Diagon Alley for as long as he could.

"Mum wants me to get her some toffee," James added, which wasn't entirely untrue; she hadn't asked him to buy any, admittedly, but she was always talking about how good the toffee in Sugarplum's Sweets Shop was. "She says it's even better than the stuff from Honeydukes."

Shrugging, Sirius shoved his hands in his pockets and started walking towards Sugarplum's. James fell into step next to him, with the others following behind, and started talking about Quidditch, not pausing between his musings – about who the new Hufflepuff captain would be and whether he could convince McGonagall to put all the Slytherin players in detention every time they scheduled a practice session – so that Sirius didn't have to add anything to the conversation.

Inside the sweet shop, Peter immediately went over to the Every Flavour Beans, which he had a strange partiality for despite James being able to list at least six times when they'd made him throw up. James spotted the shelf of toffee and turned to Sirius to get him to help choose what to buy, but he and Remus were already wandering in the opposite direction, towards the chocolate frogs. Noticing that he looked a little less tense now, James smiled and went to pick the toffee himself.