Ch. 5
Diagon Alley
Harry woke the next morning, but did not open his eyes. It had all been a dream, he told himself. He had only dreamed that a giant man had brought his sister back to him and told him he was a wizard.
Tap, tap, tap!
And that was Aunt Petunia knocking on his cupboard door to wake him up. But Harry did not want to wake up. It had been such a good dream.
Tap, tap, tap!
"Alright," Harry mumbled. "I'm getting up."
He sat up and Hagrid's massive coat slid off him. He was still in the shabby hut in the rock. The storm had passed and Violet was opening the window to let in a tiny owl. The owl hopped in, dropped a roll of parchment onto the floor and began attacking Hagrid's coat.
"Hagrid!" Harry cried, alarmed. "An owl is…!"
"Pay him," Hagrid muttered. "In the pockets."
The coat seemed to be nothing but pockets, but the bird calmed as Harry began his search. Keys, slug pellets, tea bags, a huge wrinkled orange poke-a-dot tie, balls of string, peppermints… Finally, with Violet's help, Harry withdrew a bunch of strange coins and put five of the bronze ones into the bird's carrier bag on its leg. Satisfied, the owl flew off.
Hagrid sat up, yawning and stretching.
"Best be off, you two. Lots ter do today. Gotta get to London so we can git yer school things."
"Can we go by Quality Quidditch Supplies too?" Violet asked as she rolled up her sleeping bag.
"I s'pose so."
But Harry as Harry looked at the coins from Hagrid pockets, a weight settled in his stomach.
"Um, Hagrid?"
"Hm?" said Hagrid as he pulled on his boots.
"I haven't any money. And you heard Uncle Vernon last night. He won't pay for my schooling."
"You don't need to worry about that," Violet said, zipping up her backpack. "Dad came from a pretty wealthy family."
"But of their house was destroyed…"
"They didn' keep their gold in the house, boy," Hagrid said. "First stop for us is Gringotts, the wizard bank. Get those sausages, they're not bad cold. And I wouldn' say no ter a bit o' yer birthday cake."
Violet fetched the cake while Harry divided the remaining sausages.
"Wizards have banks?" Harry asked in astonishment.
"Just the one," Hagrid said. "Gringotts is run by goblins."
Harry nearly dropped his sausages.
"Goblins?!"
"That's right. And it's protected by all sorts of spells, charms, and even dragons, so they say. So yeh'd be mad ter try and rob it. S'matter o' fact, I've got business at Gringotts. Hogwarts business," he said proudly. "Dumbledore often gets me the do important stuff fer 'im." He rubbed his hands together. "Got everythin'? Come on then."
Hagrid led the way outside. The sky was quite clear now and the sun gleamed in the warm sunlight. The boat Uncle Vernon had rented to get them to the island had quite a bit of water in it. Hagrid tipped out the water with no obvious effort.
"How did you two get here?"
"Flew," Hagrid replied. "But we'll use this ter get back. Not s'posed to use magic now I've got yeh."
They piled into the boat, Harry and Violet in the front and Hagrid in the back.
"Seems a shame the row," Hagrid said, giving them a sideways look. "If I was ter – er – speed thing a long, would yeh mind not mentioning it at Hogwarts?"
"Of course not," Harry said, eager to see more magic.
"Mum's the word, Hagrid," Violet promised.
Harry watched with great interest as Hagrid tapped the boat with his flowery umbrella. The boat surged forward steadily. Violet smiled as she ignited her hand and ran it along the water's surface, causing it to steam.
"Violet, what happened? Why did you leave?"
As the boat puttered along, Violet told him that she is pyrokinetic, which means she can summon and control fire. One day, shortly after Harry turned two, Violet lost control and accidentally set the living room curtains on fire. Naturally, Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia were furious. The Ministry got involved and it was decided Violet should live somewhere else until she learned to control her fire powers.
"But now that I can control it, I want to ask Auntie if I can live with you again."
"Why would you want to? You'd have to live with the Dursleys too."
She looked uncertainly back at the shack on the rock and then looked back at Harry and sighed.
"At least you wouldn't be alone."
Harry wasn't sure how to feel about that. Sure he wanted to live with her, but he would much rather live away from the Dursleys. He did not want his sister to go through what he had endured for the last ten years.
Hagrid turned a page of his paper.
"Hmph! Ministry of Magic mucking up things as usual," he muttered.
Harry blinked in surprise.
"There's a Minister of Magic?" Harry asked, amazed.
"Sure. It's their job to hide wizarding kind from the Muggles."
"Why?"
"Don't you know anything about history?" Violet asked him, surprised. "Muggles have hunted witches and wizards for centuries. We had to go into hiding for our own safety."
With that ominous statement, the boat bumped into the harbor wall. They climbed the stairs to the street but as Hagrid turned to leave, Violet stopped.
"Hagrid, you need to send the boat back to the island."
"Why?" Harry and Hagrid asked together.
Violet folded her arms across her chest and tapped her foot expectantly. Hagrid sighed.
"Fine."
He checked to make sure no Muggles were watching them and then reached down and tapped the tiny boat with his umbrella again. The boat slowly turned and pushed towards the island once more, fighting against the tide.
"Uncle Vernon would have left us out there if given half a chance," Harry muttered under his breath.
"Well, I'm not him," Violet said stubbornly.
Hagrid drew a lot of attention as they walked to the train station. He was enormous, but he also tended to point at perfectly ordinary objects and say things like "The things these Muggles come up with!"
"Hagrid," Harry gasped as he jogged to keep up. "Did you say there are dragons guarding the bank?"
"Well, so they say," Hagrid replied. "Crickey, I'd like a dragon," he added dreamily.
"You want a dragon?" Violet said, incredulously.
"Wanted one ever since I was a kid. Ah, here we are."
They had reached the station at last. Harry, being the only one of them who understood Muggle money, bought their tickets with notes handed to him by Hagrid. People stared even more when they got on the train. Hagrid sat in two seats while knitting what looked like a canary yellow circus tent.
"Still got yer letter, Harry?" he asked while counting stitches. "Violet?"
They nodded and Violet produced a letter identical to the one Hagrid had given Harry the previous night. Harry took out his letter as well and followed Violet's lead as she turned to a second page that Harry had not noticed before.
"Uniform," Violet muttered to herself as she looked down her list. "robes, dragon hide gloves, hat, cloak. Some books. Cauldron, wand, potion vials, telescope, scales."
Harry read further on his own.
Students may bring a cat OR owl OR toad.
Parents are reminded that first year students are not allowed their own broomsticks.
"Can we buy all of this in London?" Harry asked, his eyes lingering on the 'dragon hide gloves' on his list.
"If you know where to go," Hagrid said.
Harry had never been to London before. Violet seemed excited as well as they left the underground.
"I've been all over Hogsmeade, but I've never had the chance to shop in Diagon Alley before," she told her brother as Hagrid lead them down Charring Cross Road.
Hagrid was so huge, he easily parted the crowded pavement. All Harry and Violet needed to do was stay close behind him. They passed books shops, electronic stores, cinemas, and hamburger bars. But none of these places looked as though they would sell wands or cauldrons.
"This is it," Hagrid said at last. "The Leaky Cauldron. It's a famous place, yeh know."
It was a grimy looking pub. Harry glanced at his sister. She was eyeing the place with great interest as though it were the next stop on a tour. Harry looked around and saw the other people on the street did not seem to notice the pub at all. Their eyes moved from the book shop on one side right to the record store on the other. Could they really not see it at all? Before Harry could ask, Hagrid had steered them inside.
For someplace so famous, it seemed rather dark and shabby. A small group of older women sat in a corner drinking sherry. One was smoking a pipe. A tiny old man in a violet top hat was talking to the barman, a very bald and toothless man who looked a bit like a walnut. Everyone seemed to know Hagrid as many of the patrons greeted him with a cry or a wave. The toothless barman reached for a bucket sized tankard and asked, "The usual, Hagrid?"
"Not today, Tom," Hagrid said, his chest swelling with pride. "I'm on official Hogwarts business today. Got ter take the Potters ter get their school things."
All eyes in the pub moved to Harry and Violet and an unnatural hush fell over the pub.
"Bless my soul," Tom the barman said, placing his fingers to his lips. "Harry Potter, what an honor…"
There was suddenly a rush as the patrons crowded around them, each of them rushing to shake Harry's hand. Violet was shunted rather unceremoniously to the side. She frowned at the group and stood on her toes as she tried to keep a protective eye on her brother.
"Welcome back, Mr. Potter."
"Doris Crockford, Mr. Potter. Can't believe I'm meeting you at last."
"So proud, Mr. Potter…"
"Always wanted to shake your hand. I'm all of a dither."
"Diggle's the name," said the man in the violet top hat. "Can't tell you how delighted I am."
"I remember you," Harry said to Diggle. "You bowed to me in a shop once."
"He remembers me!" Diggle cried to the crowd. "You hear that? He remembers me!"
Harry shook more hands. Doris Crockford kept coming back for more. As Violet finally pushed her way back to Harry's side, Hagrid waved to a young man in the crowd.
"Harry, Violet, this is Professor Quirrell. He's yer Defense Against the Dark Arts professor."
The man seemed rather pale and one of his eyes was twitching.
"Nice to meet you," Harry and Violet said together.
"P-P-Potter, c-c-can't t-t-tell you how p-p-pleased I and to m-m-meet you." He looked from Harry to Violet, the only person in the crowd to even look at her so far. "You'll be g-getting your school things then? I-I've got to g-get a new b-b-book on v-v-vampires, myself." He looked terrified at the prospect.
The crowd would not let Quirrell keep harry to himself. After another round of shaking hands, Hagrid finally cleared his throat loudly.
"Must get on, lot's ter buy. Come on you two."
Diggle came back for another handshake and Hagrid steered them to a small stone courtyard behind the pub. Hagrid smiled down at Harry.
"Told yeh, didn't I? Yer famous. Even Quirrell was twitching to see yeh. Mind, he usually twitching."
"He's always like that?" Violet asked uncertainly.
"Yeh, bless 'im. Great mind. He was fine when he was studying his books. But then he decided to travel the world, get some first hand experience. I heard he had a nasty encounter with a vampire in the Black Forest and then some trouble with a hag. Hasn't been the same since, poor bloke. Now, where's me umbrella?"
Harry looked around the courtyard, but only saw a pair of dust bins. Hagrid took out his flowery umbrella again and he tapped the brick two up and three over from the larger dust bin. The brick quivered as a small hole appeared. And then, to Harry's astonishment, the hole grew bigger and bigger until it formed an archway large enough for even Hagrid to pass through. An archway leading onto a cobbled street that had not been there a minute ago.
"Welcome to Diagon Alley," Hagrid said with a grin.
Harry suddenly wished he had more eyes. There was so much to look at! One store had stacks of cauldrons outside the door with a large sign advertising a sale. Further on was a woman shaking her head at the price of dragon liver. Another store had large windows to show the latest in robed fashions. A darker shop held many owls in cages. Violet rushed to join a group of boys gathered in front of the window of a store called Quality Quidditch Supplies. Hagrid plucked her by the collar and pulled her away.
"But Hagrid, the new Nimbus 2000 just came out!" she protested.
"We can come back later," Hagrid promised her. "We've got to go to Gringotts first."
Violet frowned and looked back at the shop wistfully, but she followed along in his wake. They turned the corner and Harry found himself staring at a most imposing building made of gleaming white marble. He did not need the large gold lettering on the outside of the building to know that must be Gringotts, the wizarding bank run by goblins. Standing by the bronze doors in uniforms of scarlet and gold was…
"Yea, that's a goblin," Hagrid confirmed quietly.
A creature about a head shorter than Harry with a swarthy beard and rather long hands and fingers opened the door and bowed them in. They entered a foyer and a second pair of silver doors were engraved with large lettering.
ENTER STRANGER BUT TAKE HEED
OF WHAT AWAITS THE SIN OF GREED
FOR THOSE WHO TAKE BUT DO NOT EARN
MUST PAY MOST DEARLY IN THEIR TURN
SO IF YOU SEEK BENEATH OUR FLOORS
A TREASURE THAT WAS NEVER YOURS
THIEF YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED, BEWARE
OF FINDING MORE THAN TREASURE THERE
"See, Hagrid said. "Yeh'd be mad to rob it."
Another pair of goblins bowed them into the bank. A hundred or so goblins worked at stations along the wall weight stacks of coins and jewels, scribbling in ledgers, and examining precious stones with eyeglasses. Other doors led off the main corridor with more goblins going in and out of those doors. Hagrid led the way to the counter where an elder goblin was looking at a large gold coin the size of a hub cap.
"Good morning. We've come to take some gold from Mr. Potter's vault."
"Do you have his key, sir?"
"Got it here somewhere, I think."
Before Hagrid could start digging through his pockets, Violet reached into her pocket and took out a tiny golden key. She handed it to the goblin who studied it carefully for a moment.
"That seems in order."
"I've also got a letter here from Professor Dumbledore," Hagrid added importantly. "It's about the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen."
The goblin took the sealed letter Hagrid offered him and read it carefully.
"Very well. I will have someone take you down to both vaults. Griphook!"
A small goblin stepped forward as the elder goblin handed back the letter and key. Griphook led them to one of the doors off to the side. Instead of more marble, this area looked more like an old mining shaft. Griphook led them to a cart and ordered them all in. Once they crammed themselves in, which was not easy with Hagrid's bulk, they sped along the tracks at breakneck speeds. Hagrid moaned despairingly as Violet, sitting at the front of the cart with Griphook, shouted gleefully as if she were on an amusement park ride. Harry tried to keep track. Right, right, left, right, middle fork…
But the cart moved too fast to remember every turn. Soon the cart stopped in front of a large vault door. They climbed out of the cart, Hagrid was rather shaky and clutched the wall for support, and approached the vault door. Griphook held his hand out to Violet.
"Key please."
She dug the tiny gold key from her pocket again and handed it to him. He unlocked the door and opened it. The vault room was massive, likely larger than the Dursley's whole house, and it was loaded with mounds of gold, bronze, and silver coins. In a corner closest to the door was a large cabinet with several beautiful and probably antique pieces of jewelry. Harry gazed at the treasure in wonder.
"How…?"
It was all he could manage. Violet began filling two money bags with the strange coins.
"We come from a long line of potioneers," she explained. "Our family still holds the patents on potions like Skele-grow and Pepper-Up Potion. Grandpa Potter created a whole line of beauty potions and then sold the company around the time dad was born. So, yea, between all that, and some smart investing, we've kept a healthy sum for several generations."
Harry stared in awe at what his sister considered 'a healthy sum.' She handed him one of the money pouches.
"That'll be enough for school supplies and a few goodies that might catch your eye." She weighed her own money bag in her hand thoughtfully. "I want to make sure we have enough for lunch on the train to school as well, though."
"If you need more, you or Ms. McGonagall can write to us," Griphook said.
She nodded and tucked the bag into her pocket. They climbed back into the cart.
"Can we go a bit slower?" Hagrid asked.
"One speed only," Griphook answered with a rather wicked grin.
They zoomed even deeper into the maze or tracks and vaults until the reached vault 713. They climbed out again.
"Stand back," Griphook said importantly. He ran his sharpened fingernail down the middle of the door and it melted away. "Anyone other than a Gringotts goblin tries that," he told the kids as they watched in wonder, "and they will get sucked inside."
"How often to you check to see if someone is inside," Harry asked.
"About once ever ten years," came the nasty reply.
Harry and Violet exchanged nauseated looks, but they quickly turned their attention back to the now open vault. Whatever was in here must be extremely valuable. Yet when Harry looked inside, it seemed to be empty. Finally, he noticed a small, grubby looking package on the floor. Hagrid scooped up the package and placed it carefully in one of the many pockets in his coat. He gave Harry and Violet a shifty look.
"Best not to mention this to anyone. Hogwarts business."
Though desperately curious about the absurdly small parcel, the kids nodded. Another thrilling cart ride saw them back to the bank lobby. With a pocket full of more money than even Dudley had ever seen, Harry found the shops even more thrilling than before and couldn't wait to set off.
"Harry," Hagrid said. "Violet, would yeh be okay getting' yer uniforms on yer own while I get a pick-me-up at the Leaky Cauldron. Those Gringotts carts don' sit ter well with me."
He did still look rather green. Violet assured him they would be fine and that they would meet him outside the clothing shop. Violet led the way to a shop called Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. Just outside the shop Violet quickly brushed Harry's bangs over his scar, hiding it from view.
"Don't want to get mobbed again, do you?" she teased.
Madame Malkin was a squat, smiling witch that greeted them as they entered.
"Hogwarts?" she inquired professionally.
"That's right," Violet said. "Three sets of work robes each, please. And we also need black pointed hats and dragon hide gloves. Also, do you have any pajamas in stock? My old ones are getting a bit short."
"Of course, dear. Let's start with your school robes then. I've got another young man here being fitted now."
She led them to the back of the shop where another boy with blonde hair and a pale pointed face stood on a foot stool while a second witch pinned his robes. Harry and Violet stood on footstools as well and Madame Malkin and another assistant pulled long robes over their heads and began pinning them to the right length.
"Hullo," the pale boy said in a bored tone. "Heading to Hogwarts?"
"That's right," Violet answered him.
The boy looked her up and down and smiled in a way that made Harry want to punch him. He wasn't sure why, but he did not like the expression on the boy's face as he looked at his sister.
"My father is next door buying books and mother is down the road looking at wands. "Then I'm going to drag them to the quidditch store to look at brooms. I don't see why first years can't have their own brooms. I think I'll bully father into getting me one and then I'll try and smuggle it in." He spoke in a way that made Harry think he was trying to impress Violet which made Harry like him even less. He seemed just as spoiled as Dudley. "Do you play quidditch?"
"Yes," Violet answered as Harry said, "No."
"Have you got your own broom?"
Again, Violet and Harry answered again with a Yes and No respectively.
"What kind?"
"Nimbus 99."
The boys raised an eye brow, apparently impressed.
"What position do you play?"
"Chaser. My dad was seeker for his house team."
"What's your team?"
"Kenmare Kestrels."
Harry stared between the two of them at a complete loss for anything to say.
"Father says it a crime if I don't get picked for my house team and I quite agree. Know what house you'll be in yet?"
"No," Harry and Violet said together.
"I suppose no one really knows until they're there, do they? But I know I'll be in Slytherin. My whole family's been." Violet rolled her eyes. "Imagine being in Hufflepuff. I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" Harry wasn't sure what Slytherin or Hufflepuff meant but Violet seemed highly annoyed by the boy. Before she could answer the boy looked out the window. "I say, look at that man!"
They followed the boy's gaze to the window. Hagrid waved at them and held up the ice creams to show why he couldn't come in.
"That's Hagrid," Harry said, relieved to finally be able to contribute to the conversation. "He works at Hogwarts."
The boy sneered.
"Oh right. I've heard of him. He's a sort of servant, isn't he? My father said he's a savage that lives on school grounds."
"I think he's brilliant," Harry said, coldly.
"Do you? Why is he with you? Where are your parents?"
"They're dead," Violet said shortly.
"Oh, sorry," the boy replied not sounding sorry at all. "But they were our kind weren't they?"
Violet glared at the boy, her body rigid with fury.
"They were a witch and wizard, if that's what you mean," Harry answered.
"I don't think they should let the other kind in. They just aren't the same. They haven't been taught our ways. Most of them have never even heard of magic before getting the letter." Violet's hair crackled with rage. "What's your status then?"
"Blood traitor," Violet replied venomously.
The boy scowled at her but before he could reply Madame Malkin cut in.
"That's you two done. Hop down and I'll show you the gloves we have up front."
Neither Harry or Violet bothered telling the pale boy good bye. The more he talked the less Harry liked him. He really had not liked the way the boy first looked at his sister either. And for her part, Violet was literally fuming over the conversation. Harry could smell her smoking as they walked towards the front of the store to pick out dragon hide gloves. Finally, Violet picked out a pale green peignoir set and they left, finding Hagrid outside waiting with peanut butter sundaes. The conversation in Madame Malkin's weighed heavily on both of the children as they ate their ice cream quietly.
"What's up?" Hagrid asked.
Violet and Harry exchanged looks.
"Hagrid," Harry said after a moment, "what's quidditch?"
"Blimey Harry! I keep forgetting how much yeh don' know."
"Don't make me feel worse," Harry grumbled.
He and Violet then told Hagrid about the pale boy in Madame Malkin's.
"And then he said people from Muggle families shouldn't be allowed at Hogwarts. And Violet told him we're 'blood traitors.'"
"Yeh didn't come from Muggle families," Hagrid reminded him, soothingly.
"No, but mum did," Violet said angrily.
"And yeh shouldn't call yerself a blood traitor either."
"What does that mean?" Harry asked.
Hagrid sighed.
"Some people place a lot of value on the supposed purity of blood. The idea is that pure blooded witches and wizards are better than Muggle-borns. But it's not true. Some of the best witches and wizards I knew are from Muggle families, like yer mum. A blood traitor is a term from the old days. It refers to someone pure or half blood who disagrees with the pureblood superiority idea. Like I said, it's a load of rubbish."
"So what is quidditch?"
"It's our sport," Violet said. She seemed a great deal more cheerful at the thought of the sport. "It's played on broomsticks. You just wait! You'll get to see it at school."
"And what are Slytherin and Hufflepuff?"
"School houses," Hagrid answered. "There's four. Some say Hufflepuff is full of duffers, but…"
"I bet I'm in Hufflepuff," Harry said gloomily.
"There's nothing wrong with Hufflepuff," Violet said.
"Better Hufflepuff than Slytherin anyway," Hagrid said. "Hardly a witch or wizard who went bad that wasn't in Slytherin. Even You-Know-Who was a Slytherin."
"To be fair," Violet said as she licked hot fudge off her hand, "Merlin was a Slytherin and he wasn't evil."
"Vol- Sorry, I mean You-Know-Who went to Hogwarts?"
"Years and years ago."
Next they bought their school books in a shop called Flourish and Blotts. Hagrid wouldn't let Harry buy a book of hexes to curse Dudley with.
"Yeh can't use magic outside Hogwarts. Beside yeh couldn't do any of those anyway. Yeh need lots more trainin' before yeh can work those spells."
Hagrid and Violet also vetoed Harry's idea of buying a solid gold cauldron.
"Yer list says pewter," Hagrid reminded him.
"Besides, gold can react negatively to certain potions," Violet added.
Violet did allow him to splurge a bit on a nice telescope and brass scales set though. He also bought a set of obsidian Gobstones. Violet bought an amethyst set. At the apothecary, Violet bought far more ingredients than Harry.
"I've been reading up on potions and want to try a few," she said.
"Just be careful. Potions can go badly wrong when yeh don' know what yer doin,'" Hagrid warned
Hagrid took Harry into an owl shop and bought him a beautiful snowy white owl. Harry couldn't stop babbling his thank yous.
Finally, there was just one last stop.
"We still need wands," Violet said as she checked their lists.
"Let's go to Ollivander's then," Hagrid said. "Best place in Britain fer wands and you'll need the best."
He led the way to a small shop. Once they entered the shop Harry and Violet stopped their chatting. The whole store seemed to vibrate with some secret magic of its own. Mr. Ollivander came from the back of the shop and smiled when he saw Harry.
"I wondered when I would be seeing you here, Miss and Mr. Potter." He acknowledged Violet, but kept his eyes on Harry. "You have your mother's eyes. It seems only yesterday that she was in here buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy and made of willow. Excellent for charm work."
Ollivander moved closer to them and finally took proper notice of Violet.
"Your father favored a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A bit more powerful and excellent for transfiguration. I say your father favored it. It's really the wand who chooses the wizard, of course." He looked back at Harry. Harry wished the elderly wizard would blink more. Those silver eyes were creepy. Mr. Ollivander ran a slender finger along Harry's scar. "I'm sorry to say I sold the wand that did that. Thirteen and a half inches. Yew. If I had known what it was going out into the world to do…"
He shook his head and spotted Hagrid.
"Ah, Hagrid. Sixteen inches, oak.
"Yessir."
"It was a good wand," he said sadly. "But I suppose they snapped it when you were expelled."
"Y-yessir. I've still got the pieces.
"But you don't use them?" Ollivander asked shrewdly.
"No sir." But he tightened his hold on his flowery umbrella.
Ollivander turned back to the kids and looked at Violet.
"Right then, which is your wand arm?"
"Left."
The wizard began taking measurements of her arm length, length of each finger, circumference of her fist. After a few moments, he retreated to his shelves while the tape measure continued taking measurements on its own. He returned with a few long, thin boxes as the tape measure measured the length of her left ear.
"That's enough." He flicked his wand and the tape measure dropped to the floor. He carefully unboxed a wand and handed it to her as Harry prodded the now limp tape measure with his toe. "Ash and unicorn hair core." Violet took the wand but the elderly wizard took it back almost at once. "No… Hm… This one then. Juniper wood with a phoenix tail feather." Violet accepted the wand uncertainly, but again, Mr. Ollivander took it back almost at once.
"What's supposed to happen?" Harry asked.
"You'll see," Hagrid said with a grin.
They went through a dozen more wands and finally Mr. Ollivander knelt down and looked Violet squarely in the eye. Though uncomfortable by his unblinking stare, Violet returned the intense gaze. Finally, he stood again and went to a rather dusty shelf behind the counter. A moment later he returned with an equally dusty box.
"Composite wands do not usually match well, which is why I have not made many of them in all my years." He took out a beautifully crafted wand made from two types on wood, one light and one much darker. The colors spiraled together for the length of the wand. "Blackthorn wood and hawthorn wood, wrapped around a dragon heartstring core. The wood of a warrior and the wood of a healer, bound by a fiery spirit."
He held the wand out to Violet. Slowly, she reached out her hand and took the wand. Golden sparks shot out of the wand tip. Hagrid clapped excitedly as Mr. Ollivander smiled.
"An unusual wand for an unusual girl. I shall be interested to see what you do in life." He turned to Harry. "And now for you, Mr. Potter."
They began the process again. First the tape measure jumped to life taking seemingly random measurements. Ollivander gathered wands from around the store for Harry to try. But Harry did not touch a wand longer than a second before it was pulled away again. Violet went through a dozen wands. Harry's pile of tried wands soon dwarfed that of his sister. And yet Mr. Ollivander never became discouraged. On the contrary, it seemed the higher the rejected pile of wands grew, the more excited he became.
"Tricky customer, eh? Not to worry. We'll find the right one. I wonder… Yes, why not?" He disappeared into the back of the shop and returned several minutes later with an ancient looking box. "Holly and phoenix tail feather. Eleven inches."
Mr. Ollivander seemed to hold his breath as he handed the wand to Harry. At last, the golden sparks shot from the wand tip. Hagrid and Violet both applauded him.
"Bravo," Mr. Ollivander said. "Oh very good indeed. Curious. How curious…"
"What's curious?" Harry asked as he handed the wand back.
"I remember every wand I ever sold, Mr. Potter. The phoenix whose tail feather resides in your wand gave another feather. Just one other feather. It's curious that you are destined for this wand when it's brother gave you that scar."
Harry felt his stomach flip over.
"Surely it's a coincidence?" Violet asked somewhat uncertainly.
"Wand lore is a tricky business, Miss Potter. Never forget that it is the wand who chooses the wizard. It is never always clear why. But I think we can expect great things from you, Mr. Potter. After all, H-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things. Terrible, yes. But great."
Harry and Violet shared a look as Mr. Ollivander wrapped up their purchases and they came to a silent agreement. They weren't sure if they liked Mr. Ollivander or not.
The late afternoon sun hung in the sky as Hagrid escorted Harry and Violet out of the Leaky Cauldron and back onto Charring Cross Road.
"Got time fer a quick bite before yer train leaves, Harry."
"Are you coming back with me?" he asked his sister.
She shook her head.
"I'm finishing the remainder of the summer holidays with Auntie. But at the end of summer term next year, I'll be going to the Dursleys with you."
Hagrid led the way to a hamburger place.
"How will you get back?"
"Floo powder," she said simply.
Harry did not know what that meant, but he was too preoccupied to ask. Hagrid watched him carefully as they ate their lunch.
"You alright, Harry? Yer awfully quiet."
Harry chewed his food as he considered the question.
"Everyone thinks I'm special," he said at last. "All those people in the Leaky Cauldron, Professor Quirrell, Mr. Ollivander. But I don't know any magic at all. I mean, I'm famous and I don't even remember what I'm famous for."
"You'll learn soon quick enough," Violet said. "Look at me. I grew up around it but I've never cast a spell before either. Everyone starts off the same."
"Violet's right. Yeh've been singled out and that's not easy. But yeh'll have a great time at Hogwarts. I did. Still do."
Violet gathered her packages and said farewell to Harry before going back to the Leaky Cauldron. Hagrid saw Harry onto the train and handed him an envelope.
"Here's your ticket to get to school. Be at King's Cross station at eleven on September first."
The train pulled away from the station. Harry wanted to watch Hagrid but when he looked back at the platform, Hagrid had vanished.