Chapter 3: The Wonders of Diagon Alley

I don't own Digimon or Harry Potter.

"Well, look who finally decided to join us," Jun teased as she, Daisuke, and Veemon sat at a table in the Leaky Cauldron, watching Harry and Herissmon walk down the stairs and over towards them. The young boy rubbed his eyes and let out a long yawn.

"Sorry, guess we slept in," Harry shrugged, sitting in the spare seat with his partner, jumping into his lap with a giggle.

"Don't worry about it. As long as we're staying here, you can sleep as long as you like. Just don't get grumpy if you sleep so much you forget to finish the last of your holiday schoolwork," Jun said.

Harry and Daisuke shared a groan making the older girl chuckle. "Groan all you want, but you will be finishing your homework, or I'll tell Aunt Natsumi when we get to Hogwarts." She warned as Tom arrived with their breakfast.

After they finished, the group headed out the backdoor into the small alley behind the pub. "Care to do the honours?" Jun asked Daisuke.

"Right," she said and retrieved her wand before tapping the bricks in the pattern she had seen others do before, and like magic, the solid brick wall slowly began reshaping into the archway that led into Diagon Alley.

"I'm never going to get tired of that," Harry said happily, following them through the archway with Herissmon behind him.

After a quick visit to Gringotts, the three humans and two Digimon walked down the alley, ready to enjoy themselves.

"Now, time to enjoy ourselves." Daisuke chirped, grabbing Harry's hand, and they ran off with their Digimon chasing after them, and Jun sighed.

"Those two…" she rubbed her forehead. "They'll be all right. I just know they'll give me a headache at some point…."

Daisuke and Harry slowed to a stroll once they were far enough away from Jun, both sharing a giggle. "She's going to be mad," Harry said.

"Nah, she'll be fine. She knows we can look after ourselves." Daisuke reassured him.

"And you've got us both to protect you, too," Veemon said proudly, he and Herissmon puffing their chests out together.

"Our heroes," Harry said with a grin.

Walking past a café, they overheard some wizards and witches speaking in hushed whispers about Sirius Black. "I won't let my children out alone until I know he's safely locked up in Azkaban." One spoke.

Daisuke and Veemon shared a worried look before turning to Harry, only to see he had walked ahead to the Quality Quidditch Supplies shop with a huge crowd outside. "Harry, wait for me!" Herissmon called, running off after his partner and catching up to him as Harry squeezed his way through the crowd and into the shop.

"I wonder what's got them all so riled up," Veemon said, crossing his arms.

"Probably a new broomstick or something. And it's going to be expensive too. No way just anyone will be able to buy it." Daisuke said.

"Seems we agree on something after all, Ainsworth," a familiar voice drawled, making Daisuke spin around, and she locked eyes with someone she had not wanted to see until Hogwarts.

"Draco Malfoy," she said with a frown. He looked the same as he had always done, his platinum blonde hair slicked back, his eyes trying to pierce right through her, and that smug little grin on his face made her want to drive her fist into it again. "What're you doing here?"

"School shopping. My mother insisted we get it done early to avoid dealing with the riff-raff," he answered. "I see you had the same idea."

"Well, given how my cousin, brother, and I are staying at the Leaky Cauldron until the start of term, we figured it would be a good idea to do our shopping before we forgot," Daisuke replied.

Draco blinked. "Brother? I didn't know you had a brother."

Daisuke smiled and nodded. "Well, I do since the end of our second year. Perhaps you've heard of him. His name's Harry Potter."

"What!" Draco shouted, causing a few wizards to turn and look at the Malfoy heir, who flushed slightly. He then grabbed Daisuke's arm and dragged her out of the street under the awning of a small shop, and Veemon followed them. "Potter's your brother?" he hissed.

"Adopted brother," Daisuke told him. "Now, keep your voice down." She told him. "I don't want to start fighting before term starts, and I would appreciate it if you didn't try to pick fights with my friends or me this year either,"

"And why would I do what you say?" he asked.

"Because deep down, I know you are a good person. It's high time you started acting like it rather than trying to be like your father," She answered softly.

He stepped back before looking over his shoulder, and he huffed. "See you at school," he stormed off, and Daisuke sighed deeply.

"That could have gone better," Veemon said. "Do you think he'll consider what you asked?"

"I doubt it," she answered before walking off to the Quidditch shop to try and find Harry and Herissmon.

Meanwhile, inside the shop, Harry and Herissmon continued squeezing through the crowd, pushing through any space they could find. Eventually, Harry glimpsed through a gap between two wizards and looked at the most magnificent broom he had ever seen.

"Just come out, a prototype," one wizard told his companion.

"It's the fastest broom in the world, isn't it, Dad." a young boy squeaked as he hung onto his father's arm.

"Irish International Side's just ordered seven of these beauties!" the shop owner told the crowd. "And they're the favourites to win the World Cup!"

A witch moved out of the way allowing Harry and Herissmon to read the sign next to the broom.

"The Firebolt…" Harry whispered, reading the broom's name and staring at it, transfixed. "It looks amazing…"

"Are you going to buy it?" Herissmon asked him, tilting his head. Harry looked down at the Digimon before looking at the sign again.

"Price on request? I can't buy it unless you want me to empty my vault of all the money inside it. I don't think anyone would be happy to hear I did that," he answered.

"Well, it won't hurt just looking at it then," Herissmon chirped, and Harry nodded before both left the shop, pushing through the crowd, still admiring the new broomstick.

Waiting for them outside were Daisuke and Veemon. "So, buy anything?" Daisuke teased, and he flushed.

"No. My Nimbus 2000 broom works just fine. I haven't lost a match with it yet," he said softly. Daisuke smiled and nodded, and they walked off, first to Madam Malkin's, to buy some new robes. Harry's robes had become a few inches too short due to his recent growth spurts, thanks to his more nutritious and healthier eating habits thanks to Natsumi caring about what her family ate.

They then went to the Apothecary and replenished their potion ingredients before heading to the bookshop to grab their new books for the school year. There they were met with an odd sight, rather than the usual sight of spellbooks the size of paving slabs filling the window. Instead, an iron cage held around a hundred copies of The Monster Book of Monsters.

Torn pages flew everywhere as the books snapped at one another, like wild beasts instead of the books they appeared to be.

Daisuke and Harry looked at their booklists and saw they would need one of those books each for the Care of Magical Creatures class they would be taking this year. "Whose idea was it to have books like this?" Daisuke asked as she and Harry entered the shop with their Digimon waiting outside.

Almost immediately, the manager of Flourish and Blotts ran over to them. "Hogwarts shopping, yes?" he asked them abruptly.

"Yes, we need…." Daisuke began.

"Out of the way!" he cut her off, pushing past her and Harry as he walked to the cage. He slipped on a pair of thick gloves and opened the cage. He reached in and wrestled two copies of the Monster Book of Monsters out of the cage. "Blasted things!" he shouted, stomping on one of the books as it tried to bite his ankle.

Daisuke and Harry watched in shock at the brutal way he handled the two books before he picked them up and handed them to the duo. "I am never stocking these again, never! It's been chaos! We've not had this bad luck since we spent a fortune on 200 copies of The Invisible Book of Invisibility. We've not found them since!" he ranted, walking past a small dust-covered sign.

"Who buys invisible books?" Harry asked.

"Never mind that. Do you need anything else?" the manager asked them impatiently.

"Uh, yes. I need Unfogging the Future by Cassandra Vablatsky," Harry answered.

"I need Ancient Runes Made Easy by Laurenzoo and a Rune Dictionary," Daisuke said.

"Ah, starting Divination and Ancient Runes, are we?" the manager asked, removing his gloves and leading both to the back of the shop, where there was a small corner devoted to fortune telling. The manager climbed up a small ladder to fetch the book.

Harry's eyes soon laid upon a book on a small table. Death Omens: What to Do When You Know the Worst is Coming. On the cover was a black dog as large as a bear with gleaming eyes that seemed to be staring right at Harry.

Daisuke saw what he was looking at, and she pulled him back. "Harry, are you okay?" she asked, snapping him out of it.

"Oh, um yeah." He answered, glancing back at the book again.

"Here you are," the manager said, handing the book to Harry before he saw the book the young man was looking at. "Oh, don't worry yourself with that book, kid. You'll start seeing death omens everywhere you turn." He warned.

Harry gulped and nodded. "Oh, um, we also need Intermediate Transfiguration and the Standard Book of Spells Grade Three."

Both soon emerged from Flourish and Blotts with their new books under their arms. "Well, that was quick," Veemon spoke up.

"Yeah, the manager helped us out. Though he made it quite clear he is not a fan of these books," Daisuke said, showing her partner The Monster Book of Monsters, which currently was docile, but for how long that lasted, she couldn't say.

"Harry, are you okay?" Herissmon asked his partner, seeing he was staring off into the distance.

"Hm? Oh yeah…I'm all right. I just saw a book in there." He answered with a shrug.

Daisuke wrapped her arm around his shoulders and smiled. "Don't let it get to you. That book's just nothing but nonsense." He nodded slightly, and they headed off to the Leaky Cauldron to put their books in their trunks. Along the way, they bumped into Jun, who was waiting for them by the archway leading back to the pub.

"Didn't get into trouble, I hope?" She asked them with a smile.

"Not at all. What about you?" Daisuke asked.

"You know me. Nothing bad happens to me," her cousin chirped. "I'm a trouble repellent."

"Ah, so you and Percy are a perfect match after all," Daisuke teased, turning the older girl's cheeks bright pink. "I bet you can't wait to see him again," she, Harry, and their Digimon burst into laughter, making her blush intensify before she stormed off ahead of them back into the Leaky Cauldron.

The following day, Harry was in his room, looking out the window with a small smile. Hedwig was perched on the chest of drawers hooting softly, while Herissmon was asleep on the bed, snoring loudly.

A small growl made him turn and look at his copy of The Monster Book of Monsters. It was held shut by a thick leather strap with a silver clasp. He walked over, picked the book off the floor, and held it in his arms. The book growled and twitched as he examined it.

"Well, you don't look so bad…" he muttered, running his hand over the cover, making it growl. "Okay…you don't like it when I do that, good to know." He set the book down, but as he did, the clasp holding the strap together broke, and the book started growling and snapping angrily at him.

Herissmon awoke to the noise and saw Harry jump onto the bed, and both watched as the angry, sentient textbook hid under the bed. "Oh, it's cranky,"

"What was your first clue?" Harry quipped as he leaned over the bed and looked under it. The book was motionless before suddenly charging towards him. He pulled himself back onto the bed as the book emerged and looked around for him before growling and hiding again.

Harry frowned before an idea struck him. He quickly untied his sneaker and held it over the side of the bed. He then dropped the shoe. Instantly, the book emerged, snapped down on the shoe, and began shaking it apart. Harry jumped off the bed and slammed both feet into the book, making it yelp and go still.

"Yes!" he cheered in victory. The door to the room swung open as Daisuke and Veemon walked in and saw him standing on the book.

"Fighting your textbook?" Daisuke asked her brother with a sigh.

"Hey, the book tried to eat us!" Herissmon whimpered as Harry pulled his sneaker free from it and put it back on.

"Well, you should have stroked the spine," Daisuke said.

"What?" Harry and his Digimon asked in shock.

"Didn't you know that?" Daisuke asked.

"Um, no, we didn't," Harry answered. "How did you figure that out?" he asked.

"She dealt with her book earlier, but instead of stomping on it, she figured out how to make it docile," Veemon chirped proudly, and his partner giggled.

"It wasn't that hard. I just used my head,"

"Ah, you headbutted it?" Herissmon asked with a grin making the other three sweatdrop.

"Not very bright, is he?" Salem drawled as Daisuke's cat strolled out of the room between Daisuke's legs with a purr.

"Oi, I'm smart!" Herissmon shouted with a pout as the cat chuckled and walked down the hallway. "I don't like him,"

"Eh, he'll grow on you. He mostly sleeps all day and doesn't bother anyone. He's rather insightful when he wants to be," Veemon reassured his fellow Digimon.

They then saw Jun as she walked out of her room, but as she did, a rat scurried along the hallway, chased by a giant orange cat that almost tripped her over.

"What the heck was that." She shouted.

"Either a cat or a small tiger," Harry shrugged. They walked down the hallway and overheard two familiar voices arguing.

"I'm warning you, Hermione, if you let that beast come anywhere near Scabbers again, I'll turn it into a tea-cozy!"

It was Ron and Hermione, looking just the same as ever, Ron holding Scabbers in his arms while Hermione held the giant orange cat from earlier in her arms.

"That's rich coming from you,"

"From me? I'm not the one who bought that monster and set it loose. Just look at Scabbers. He's been dreadful since Egypt."

"Oh please, that old brush looks the same as ever." Hermione scoffed. "It's all right, Crookshanks, just ignore that mean little boy,"

Ron grumbled and rolled his eyes before spotting his friends watching them from the stairs. "Harry, Daisuke!" he said happily, making Hermione spin around.

"Well, it looks like some things never change," Daisuke quipped with a grin as she and Harry hurried down and hugged them both. Soon, the four were sitting together at the long table on the ground floor, with Ron showing the two a moving picture of him and his family while they were in Egypt.

"What's it like?" Harry asked, watching the picture move with a smile.

"It's great if you don't mind the mummies, sand, and constant sunburn. Everyone enjoyed themselves, even Scabbers." Ron answered.

"You know the Egyptians used to worship cats, right?" Hermione asked him smugly.

"Yeah, along with the Dung Beetle," Ron replied.

Salem hopped onto Daisuke's lap and purred, "I would appreciate it if you did not compare me to those bugs. Thank you,"

"Right, sorry, Salem," Ron said with a smile. "Oh, check this out," he told Harry and Daisuke before pulling something out of his pocket. "Check it out. My new wand, 14 inches long, willow and unicorn hair."

Harry and Daisuke smiled at their friend before Fred and George walked over. "Not still showing that picture to everyone, are you, Ron?" Fred asked, grabbing the picture.

"I was just showing Harry and Daisuke. Besides, I haven't shown everyone!"

"Of course not. You've only shown Tom," George said.

"The day maid," Fred chimed in.

"The night maid,"

"The cook,"

"That bloke who fixed the toilet,"

"And that wizard from Belgium," the twins sat at the table with matching grins.

"Nice to see you two haven't changed," Daisuke said with a chuckle making the twins beam at her.

"Us, change? Never would perish the thought." They spoke.

"Though having your sister and Percy as Head Boy and Head Girl will make things less fun," George said.

Daisuke blinked. "Jun's Head Girl?" She asked, turning to her sister, who was down the table cuddling up to Percy, a small badge clipped to her jumper just like the one clipped to Percy's sweater. "Huh, that's new,"

"Probably wanted to surprise everyone," Fred grumbled. "Those two are going to be no fun this year. Good thing you've got us both to cover for them." He then chirped.

"Just don't prank us, and we'll be good," Harry told them before he stood up when he saw someone approach. "Mrs Weasley." He greeted the woman, who hugged him tightly.

"Good to see you, dear. Now, are you all packed? All of your books and all of your clothes?" she asked, patting his cheek.

"Yeah, it's all upstairs," he replied.

"Good boy," she said before moving on to dote or scold her children as her husband stepped forward.

"Harry Potter," he greeted.

"Mr Weasley," Harry shook his hand.

"Harry, might I have a word?" Arthur asked him.

"Yeah, of course," Harry answered, following the man away from the table, and Herissmon walked off after them. "Oh, this is my Digimon partner, Herissmon," he quickly introduced.

"Ah, a pleasure. Always fascinating to meet another Digimon," Arthur said, and Herissmon smiled widely at the wizard. "How was your summer? I trust you've settled in well with the Ainsworth family."

"Yeah. They're amazing. This has been my best summer ever," Harry answered honestly.

"Good to hear. Now then," Arthur began speaking in a hushed whisper. "There are some in the Ministry who would strongly discourage me from divulging what I'm about to reveal to you. But I thought it best you should know the facts." He gently guided Harry away as some others walked by. "And that is you are in grave danger."

Harry and Herissmon shared a look before Harry saw a wanted poster of Sirius Black on the wall. "Does this have anything to do with Sirius Black, sir?"

"What do you know about him?" Arthur asked.

"Only that he's escaped from Azkaban. And my dad…Alexander seems shaken up by it." Harry answered.

"Do you know why?" when Harry shook his head, he continued. "Thirteen years ago, when you stopped…."

"Voldemort."

"Don't say his name." he corrected Harry quickly. "When you stopped You-Know-Who, Black lost everything. But to this day, he remains a faithful servant. And that is why, even after all this time, in his mind, he believes the only thing stopping You-Know-Who from returning to power is you. And that is why he has escaped from Azkaban…to find you…." Arthur grabbed Harry and pushed him into a darker corner of the room.

"And kill me?" Harry asked, making Herissmon whimper.

"Harry, whatever happens, whatever you hear or find out, I want you to promise me you won't go looking for Sirius Black," Arthur told him.

"Mr Weasley…why would I go looking for someone who wants me dead?" Harry asked, confused.

"Just promise me,"

"All right. I promise I won't go looking for Sirius Black." Harry said, and Herissmon nodded.

"I'll protect ya, Harry, don't worry." He promised.

"I'm counting on it, bud," Harry said, gently patting his Digimon's head.

The End of the Chapter

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