Monday, 21st August

They stepped out of Ollivanders, and Harry took a deep breath, filling his lungs with the cool, slightly smoky air of Diagon Alley.

It was strange to think that in just a few hours, he'd have a wand - his own wand - that would finally feel like it truly belonged to him. The sensation he'd gotten holding the phoenix feather had, admittedly, been incredible, and the sense of pure and utter serenity he'd gotten when he first touched the elder wood had certainly not been unpleasant either.

Maybe this was why witches and wizards were so reliant on their wands - if it'd felt like that holding the wood and core separately, then he couldn't imagine how powerful he'd feel holding the finished wand, let alone actually using it to cast a spell!

And yet still, Ollivander's words echoed in his head.

It's really the wand that chooses the wizard. Phoenix cores are capable of the greatest range of magic but they also tend to be highly intuitive and rather picky about their owners. Elder wood has quite the reputation; deeply unlucky and related to death, containing some very powerful magic yet temperamental. It takes a remarkable wizard to keep its interest for very long, a highly unusual person indeed. It's a unique combination. Life and death.

Life and death…

"Oi!" There was a light nudge to his shoulder. "Don't get too distracted just yet, pup. We've still got a whole list to get through!"

Harry shook his head and pulled the piece of parchment from his pocket, giving it a quick scan to figure out the best place to go next. Common sense dictated that he get his school trunk first so that he would actually have something to store his school supplies in. And, if he remembered correctly…

"Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment is just next door" he said, turning to his godfather, "I can get my trunk there and probably some of this other equipment too".

"Lead on, then".

The dark blue storefront was indeed right next door to Ollivander's, and Harry was relieved to see that he could buy the telescope and set of brass scales that he needed there too. The shelves in the back of the shop were overflowing with trunks of all sizes, but he ignored Sirius's suggestions of finding the most expensive one and instead focused on the simpler, more sturdy ones.

After a moment's contemplation, he chose a polished oak and black dragon-hide trunk that contained multiple compartments - one of which had a special cooling charm that would come in handy for storing his potion ingredients in. It wasn't flashy, which caused Sirius to pout, but it was durable and practical, which earned him an approving smile from Remus.

Before they'd left Grimmauld Place, Harry had insisted on paying for his own school supplies, not wanting to owe the men any more than he already did, no matter how large a fortune the Black vault was rumoured to have. They'd agreed eventually, albeit very very reluctantly, with the sole caveat that they would be allowed to buy him a celebratory present.

Knowing Sirius, it would undoubtedly put a dent in that so-called fortune.

With his new equipment purchased and packed into his trunk - which very helpfully came with a built-in feather-light charm - they exited the shop. Next on the list was the Magical Menagerie, an odd, cacophonous place. The sounds of hoots, growls, and the rustling of scales and feathers filled the air. Cages lined the walls, housing a bewildering variety of magical creatures.

Harry went straight for the owl section. Hedwig would need plenty of food to last the school year, so he stocked up on high-quality owl treats and a large bag of mealworms - much to Sirius's mild horror.

"Mealworms? Really?" he asked, growing pale.

Harry shrugged with a smirk at his godfather's queasiness. "She loves them, and no matter what you think, Padfoot, Hedwig cannot live on bacon alone - she'd get too fat to fly if I left her diet up to you!"

After checking out, they made their way back out into the bustling street. Harry felt a sense of anticipation bubble up. They still had one of his favourite stops to visit: Obscurus Books. He'd spent quite a considerable amount of time there before he'd visited Remus at the café all those days ago, finding that it had a quieter, calmer atmosphere than Flourish and Blotts.

Once inside the door, the rich, velvety scent of aged parchment and ink washed over him. There was something about being surrounded by so many books that made him feel strangely at ease, though it probably helped that he was no longer sneaking around as he'd had to on his first visit.

"Alright" he muttered, pulling out his list once more, "What do I need…"

He was half-annoyed yet half-relieved to find that he'd already read a few of the books he'd be studying this year. His Potions book, for one, along with his Herbology, History of Magic, and Transfiguration textbooks. He hadn't read the Standard Book of Spells, Grade 5 yet and he hadn't even heard of the DADA book he had to get, but he found them on the shelves easily enough.

They didn't have an assigned textbook for Astronomy, but he picked up a copy of Atlas of Celestial Anomalies by M. P. N. Carneirus anyway, since it was obvious he needed all the help he could get in that class. A quick flick through his Muggle Studies book had him making a face at how ridiculous some of the chapters were - "How to take a train", really?! - but thankfully, his Arithmancy book looked interesting enough and he grabbed a second supplementary textbook in that subject too since he had two years to catch up on.

With Care of Magical Creatures, he only needed to find one of the two books assigned since he'd already bought himself a copy of Fantastic Beasts weeks ago. Scanning the shelves, he finally found a green-covered book, emblazoned with the golden title The Monster Book of Monsters. Reaching for it, he pulled it down and-

The book lunged for his hand, sharp teeth snapping.

Harry immediately dropped it and automatically flung a "Stupefy!" in its direction, and with a flash of red light, the book fell to the floor with a thud.

The three of them stared at it.

"... You think Hagrid picked it?" Harry asked.

"Definitely" Sirius replied emphatically, "This shelf should come with a warning label!"

Remus was giving the boy a curious look. "Was that a spell I heard you cast, pup?"

"No" he said straight away, "Nope. Not a spell. What would I be doing with a spell?"

But now Sirius was starting to frown too. "Hang on, yeah! You cast the Stunning charm, didn't you? I could've sworn I heard you say-"

"You must be going deaf in your old age, Pads" Harry interrupted, reaching down to pick up the book, "It's quite common in dogs, you know".

"Oi! I'll show you old age-"

Once his mountain of books was wrapped up and paid for - and his godfather successfully distracted even though Remus was still looking at him somewhat oddly - they continued down Diagon Alley until they reached the corner leading toward Knockturn Alley.

Harry felt an immediate shift in the air - darker, cooler, and just a little bit quieter as if even sound didn't linger here. The entrance to the alley was unmarked, a shadowed opening that curved off the main street, but it beckoned him in like an old friend.

"Woah there, pup!" Sirius put a heavy hand on his shoulder. "Where d'you think you're going?"

"To Scribbulus Writing Instruments" he replied innocently.

"To Scribbulus- Why?!"

Harry stared at him. "... To go fight a mountain troll, Sirius, what do you mean why?! To get writing instruments!"

"In Knockturn Alley?!"

"Considering it's better quality and half the price, yeah" he shot back, "Don't tell me you're scared of the place!"

His godfather shifted from one foot to the other, his expression maintaining its fierceness even as the top of his cheekbones flushed slightly in embarrassment.

"It's not a good part of town, pup. There are things down there that- that you don't want to mix with!"

"I already did mix with them, remember? I spent a few days in an inn down here and I was fine! It's not half as bad as people make it out to be, I promise!"

Sirius still looked uncertain, but Remus, surprisingly, seemed far more at ease.

"We'll both be with him, Pads" he said, "And Scribbulus is only around the corner; it's practically still in Diagon Alley!"

"... Fine!" he finally, reluctantly, agreed, "Just- don't linger, alright? This place has always freaked me out… Wait, hang on. How in Merlin's name do you know where this store is?!"

Harry couldn't help but snort as they started down the alley, truly in awe of just how oblivious his godfather could be at times. How did Remus, a Dark magical creature, know where things were in the most popular Dark shopping area of wizarding London? He could hear the werewolf stammering and stuttering behind him, no doubt trying to come up with a "righteous" explanation that a pawn of Dumbledore would be expected to give. Honestly, the sooner those two accepted the fact that Dark didn't equate evil, the better all three of them would become.

Scribbulus Writing Instruments was just past the border, its windows lined with quills of every shape and colour. The air smelled of fresh parchment and fine ink, and Harry felt immediately at home as he wandered in. He took his time picking out supplies, ignoring Sirius's fidgeting.

He needed a complete set of quills, ink, and parchment for Hogwarts, having never gotten his own before and- really, why on earth did they have to use ink anyway? That sounded like an accident waiting to happen, carrying incredibly spillable and breakable glass bottles around in a school full of children and rowdy teenagers! If given the option, he'd happily stick with his notebook and pen, thanks.

Finally satisfied with his selections, he added an additional bundle of parchment rolls and an extra set of inkwells in emerald green, midnight blue, and classic black, just in case. It was a bit pricier than he'd budgeted for, but he thought it was worth it; if the Dursleys had taught him anything, it was that you always prepared for the unexpected.

"Right, got everything?" Sirius asked, lurking by the door and looking far too relieved at his reappearance.

"Got everything" he confirmed, grinning as the man immediately spun on the spot and all but sprinted from the store. If he was this nervous surrounded by paper and feathers, he'd love to see how his godfather would react should he take him to someplace like Borgin and Burkes.

Harry let Sirius dash ahead while he hung back for a moment with Remus, waiting until the other man was out of earshot before turning to him.

"You need anything?"

Remus looked… uncomfortable. "What makes you say that?"

"I'm hardly the first person to put two and two together and realise what you are, Moony" he replied quietly, "And I can't imagine that many shopkeepers in Diagon Alley would be willing to serve you, the stupid bigoted idiots that they are. Stores down here, however… Well, they don't really care what you are as long as you can pay. So. Is there anywhere else you'd like to go before we catch up to that oblivious idiot?"

Remus huffed a laugh and shook his head. "No, pup, I'm good… You know, you really are far too observant for your own good".

"Hey, it hasn't let me down yet". He smirked, as they started to head back to the mouth of the alley where Sirius would no doubt be impatiently waiting.

"Now that, I find hard to believe" he countered with a wry grin, "You're honestly telling me that that smart mouth of yours has never gotten you into trouble?"

"... Well, when you put it like that-"

Remus laughed as they emerged back into the blinding daylight where Sirius was looking incredibly restless.

"What took you so long?" he whined, "Come on, we still need to get you a present, pup, and you still have to get your school robes and potions ingredients too!"

"School robes first" Harry decided, "Madam Malkin's is the closest".

Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions was a dark purple store with shiny cursive handwriting above the door.

Harry already had enough everyday robes, of course, but he still had to get three sets of plain black work robes, according to his letter, along with protective dragon hide gloves for Herbology. It was one of the few stores he hadn't visited before, however, so he was curious to see inside.

Stepping through the old wooden door, he glanced around in interest, only to suddenly be pulled up short by Sirius clamping a hand down on his shoulder tightly. Frowning, he followed his godfather's suddenly very grim gaze across the store to the back of the store where two others were standing.

A sharp-featured boy standing on a footstool turned a calculating eye at them, glancing Harry up and down once before seeming to dismiss him and turning back to the mirror. The woman next to him, regal and pale, kept her blue eyes pinned on Sirius, not even sparing him a single look.

Harry didn't bristle at that, didn't let anger or annoyance rise up inside of him. Instead, he felt almost amused, because he knew exactly who these people were - he'd recognise that particular shade of white-blond hair anywhere, and from all the stories that Rowle had told him about them, he almost felt as if he knew the Malfoys himself.

Sirius, however, was not so amused.

"Cousin Cissy".

The very corner of her mouth twitched and Harry knew immediately that she loathed that no-doubt childhood nickname.

"Cousin Sirius" she replied, just as evenly, although it was clear to everyone in the store that she'd rather be calling him anything else.

"It's been a long time".

"So it has".

"When was it… Oh, yes!" He snapped his fingers. "The day my ever so lovely mother blasted my name off of the family tapestry while you just stood there and watched! Much like how you just stood there and watched when your own sister was disowned as well!"

Remus gave a low, warning growl, and Harry wanted to join him. Cousin or not, this was most certainly not how you addressed the most powerful woman in the United Kingdom!

Sirius ignored him, instead keeping his furious grey eyes on Narcissa Malfoy.

"Yes. Well. My… sister was a blood traitor who married a muggle-born, and as for you-"

"As for me, what?" He took a step forward. "You turned your back on your own flesh and blood because I dared to speak out against what our parents were doing?!"

She sniffed. "What they were doing was protecting the wizarding world from the likes of those my sister sought company with. Who you yourself also sought company with if I'm not mistaken".

"Oh, and I suppose that makes you so much better than me, does it? Because you allowed yourself to be brainwashed into having a desirable pure-blood marriage to a man you barely knew?!"

"My husband and I have been very happily married for almost two decades, dear cousin - which is far more than I can say about you".

Sirius's fingers twitched towards his robe pockets where Harry knew he kept his wand, so he decided it was probably about time that he intervened - that, and the fact he didn't want his godfather's childish insults to damage his own relationship with the Malfoy's any more than they already had.

"I believe that we've all gotten off on the wrong foot here" he announced, interrupting whatever the hell Sirius was about to snarl out next, "It is a pleasure to meet you, duchess. I apologise for my companion's… careless remarks".

He gave Narcissa a charming smile and a bow deep enough to show genuine respect - they may currently be on an equal standing when it came to politics, but she had been a duchess far longer than he had even been alive, so he was only ensuring his own survival by deferring to her.

Behind him, he heard Sirius start to choke and splutter, but Narcissa's flinty gaze was now firmly locked on him instead - as was her son's, from his place on the low pedestal beside her. Harry had referred to her as his equal, after all, so either he was incredibly stupid, and therefore easy to manipulate, or he truly was her equal, in which case there was a new dukedom that she wasn't aware of and that would Just Not Do.

"The pleasure is all mine" she replied slowly, "Lord…?"

"Oh, yes, please, forgive me. I'm-"

"-a cousin!" Sirius blurted and Harry mentally face-palmed.

Narcissa raised a solitary pale eyebrow at him, looking very unimpressed indeed, and it took the man far too long to realise that - oh yeah, they had the exact same cousins.

"... of Remus" he finished belatedly, and the werewolf in question actually did face-palm.

Lupin's father had been a pure-blood, after all, so she would have known if he had living relations on that side, and given that his mother had been a muggle, it was extremely unlikely that Harry could be one of her relatives while also a wizard while also, you know, a duke.

"Actually, I'm-"

"Pup".

Sirius's voice was low, closer to a dog's warning snarl than it was to anything human.

Harry understood his hesitation about telling Voldemort's pet pure-bloods who he was - perhaps he even understood the risks better than Sirius himself, but what his godfather didn't know, was that Harry planned to talk to said Voldemort at some point in time, and having an in with the Malfoy's would be his golden ticket in that regard, so-

"I'm Harry Potter" he finished brightly, "Pleasure to make your acquaintance".

Both Malfoys reacted with an understandable level of shock; Narcissa's eyes widened and her mouth fell ever-so-slightly open, while Draco's hand immediately went for his wand - Harry was quite impressed with his reflexes, if he were being honest, and made a mental note to keep an eye on the boy during their shared classes at Hogwarts.

"... Harry Potter" she eventually repeated, as if confirming what she'd heard.

"Harry Potter" he repeated back to her, more than a little bit amused, "I can show you the scar if you like".

While he definitely didn't like being famous, he had to admit that he still got a kick out of being recognized like this, especially since he had spent the previous fourteen years being told he was a nobody.

Her mouth opened and closed wordlessly once, twice, thrice, before she finally recollected herself, took a firm step forward, and held out a pale, dainty-looking hand - a move that made sure he knew that she held him in high regard. Whether that was actually true or not, was another story.

"It is an honour… Lord Potter".

His esteem for the woman immediately went up. If she could recognise that being associated with him would raise her political standing, despite her own personal feelings on the matter, then he definitely wanted her on his side, especially since she'd greeted him with a title only appropriate for those far above the Potter family's station - assuming, rather correctly, that there were forces at play here far beyond her understanding.

"Or Lord Gloucester, if you prefer" he replied without any heat, striding forward and bending down to lightly kiss the air above the back of her hand, before straightening back up with a smile, "Being the last of my kind has some advantages".

Her eyes narrowed, no doubt seeing through his political mask and charming, harmless appearance for what it was. That, and the fact that he clearly knew his nobility, which meant that he hadn't made a mistake by addressing her as his equal, which further meant that he was withholding important information made it very very clear to her that he was not someone to dismiss lightly.

He couldn't wait until the day she found out he was a duke thrice over.

"... I am not yet sure that there ever has been another of your kind, Lord Potter".

"You flatter me, duchess - but I won't disagree".

From behind him, came a scoff and then another choked sound, as if something had decided to cut off Sirius's air supply. Narcissa studied him closely for another moment before turning her head slightly to speak over her shoulder, all the while her gaze remained locked with his.

"Draco, darling, allow me to introduce the Marquess of Westminster to you".

It was terribly unsubtle, as far as questions go, but Harry didn't mind letting her know that her son wasn't about to inherit two dukedoms. The blond did as told - albeit somewhat awkwardly, as he was currently dressed in a robe that had been stuck with a countless number of pins.

"Lord Potter" he greeted stiffly, obviously unhappy with having to treat someone younger than him as his superior. Well, that, and the fact he'd just cheated him out of the Black inheritance.

As far as he was concerned, they were on the same food chain, after all, but having an earldom as well as a claim to the Black dukeship made Harry just that little bit higher than him on the political tier.

"Good afternoon, Lord Malfoy" he replied easily, "I believe you and I are going to be classmates this year".

"Is that so? Joining fifth year, are you?"

It was a blatant challenge, not to mind a subtle dig about his magic ability - or lack thereof - but Harry refused to rise to the bait.

"I am, indeed. I don't expect the coursework to be much of a challenge, although I will admit that I've heard quite a number of off-putting rumours about moving staircases… I might need some assistance in finding my way around the castle, should you be willing".

He gave his mother a side-eyed look, his hatred of the Boy Who Lived no doubt conflicting with the pure-blood mannerisms Harry was currently displaying, and she gave a nearly imperceptible nod in response.

"I would be glad to be of help, Lord Potter, although I'm afraid to say that there are quite a number of moving staircases between the Gryffindor and Slytherin common rooms".

Harry bit back a smirk and instead widened his eyes in a convincing surprised manner. "Oh? But who said anything about me being in Gryffindor?"

The blond paled, his fingers twitching towards his pocket once more - although what he hoped to achieve with a spell right now, Harry wasn't sure - but before either he or his equally shocked mother could reply, there came the sounds of rustling fabric and footsteps behind them.

"Apologies for the wait, Your Grace, I thought we were out of sage for a moment, but-" The squat, smiling woman came to a sudden stop when she saw them. "Oh. Hello, dear. Are you here for new Hogwarts robes as well?"

"If it's not too much trouble" Harry replied politely as he turned to her, "But I'm a… transfer student, of sorts, so I'm afraid you won't have my measurements on file".

"Oh, not to worry, dearie. Just take a step up on that platform over there and I'll set a measuring tape on you. Now so, Your Grace, here are the different shades you requested".

Remus remained near the door, taking a seat in one of the waiting chairs there, but Sirius refused to let Harry get any closer to the Malfoys without backing him up and no matter how much the boy hissed at him to calm down, he kept his hand near the wand holster on his opposite arm - which reminded him; Harry would need to get a holster from Ollivander's too when he returned to collect his wand. He already hated how fragile the wooden sticks were and the last thing he wanted was to make it even more breakable by storing the wand in his back pocket or somewhere else equally ridiculous.

Madam Malkin handed the sage green fabric to a shop assistant for Lady Malfoy and her son to examine before holding out a long black robe to Harry, asking him to put it on so that she could pin it to the right length.

"A transfer student, you said, dearie?" she asked, making idle chatter as a measuring tape whipped around his arms, neck, and chest all on its own.

"Yes, ma'am".

"My, how interesting! I don't think I've ever heard of someone transferring to Hogwarts before. What school did you say you were coming from?"

"I didn't" he replied, "I was, uh… homeschooled".

He expected to hear a snort from Sirius at that, but the man still had his flinty gaze locked on the Malfoys across the room.

"Oh? And your parents have decided to enrol you now? That's a bit strange, isn't it?" Madam Malkin asked, before her eyes flickering over to his godfather, "No offence meant, of course!"

"None taken". Harry smiled at the good-natured woman. "It was a bit of a spur-of-the-moment decision, to be honest, but they wanted me to take my O.W.L.s with my other classmates, so…"

He shrugged and gave a what-can-you-do kind of gesture.

"Ah, yes, I see. Well, it'll be nice to be around others your age, won't it? Any idea what House you'll be sorted into yet?"

"Probably Slytherin". He grimaced, obediently raising his arms when she asked. "Although personally, I'm hoping for Ravenclaw".

"Well, both are fine Houses!" she replied diplomatically, "I have a niece starting this year; Rose. Rose Zeller. She wants to be a Ravenclaw as well, although, between you and me, she doesn't have half the brains for it. Far too gullible that girl, but loyal to a fault. She'll be put in Hufflepuff, you mark my words".

Making some last-minute adjustments, she finally declared, "That's you done, my dear" and he gladly took off the warm black fabric.

"I'll just wrap this up for you at the front of the store" Madam Malkin said, already bustling off, "You need gloves too, I suppose?"

"And a winter cloak as well, please" he agreed, subtly shoving Sirius towards the checkout counter and away from the Malfoys.

"Oh, of course! Just a moment, dearie".

A few minutes later, he was safely storing his new uniform in his school trunk which Remus had held onto for him, and with a polite nod in Draco Malfoy's direction and a smile for his mother, they were outside once more.

Sirius immediately pulled him down the nearest alleyway out of earshot from any passerbys.

"Who the hell are you and what the hell have you done to my godson?!"

From behind his godfather, he saw Remus roll his eyes and lean back against the brick wall. Evidently, he expected them to be here for a while then.

"We don't like the Malfoys, Harry!"

He frowned. "Why not?"

"Why no- Why not?!" Sirius exclaimed, "You mean aside from the fact that dear Cousin Cissy in there comes from the same deplorable branch of the family tree that produced Bellatrix Lestrange?!"

"... Yes".

He stared at him. "They tried to take my title, pup. Our title! They were going to steal it!"

"You were sentenced to life in prison for multiple homicides and I was all but legally declared dead" Harry replied dryly, "Quite frankly, Padfoot, they were entitled to it".

He reeled back as if struck, his hand clasped to his heart as he gasped in betrayal. Remus, bless him, decided to intervene before his partner could recover from the blow.

"If you're quite done terrorising the poor boy, Pads, we do have other things to buy today and it's going to start getting dark soon".

Sirius immediately whirled on him. "Don't you take his side!"

"I'm not taking anyone's side". He sighed, straightening up. "Although you could've been a bit more polite, you know. What in Merlin's name has Lady Malfoy ever done to you?"

He opened his mouth to retaliate, but before he could, Remus quickly added, "Aside from simply exist", and the man's mouth shut with a snap.

"Yeah". Remus sighed once more. "That's what I thought. Come along, pup; we've got to get your potion ingredients yet. Perhaps we should've asked Severus about them before he left on Saturday…"

The mention of Snape was evidently too much for Sirius to bear and he trailed behind them, pouting fiercely, as they made their way down the street to Slug & Jiggers Apothecary. On the way there, they passed a small store with familiar-looking brooms in the window, and Harry suddenly realised how he could cheer his godfather up as well as kill two birds with one stone.

"Hey, Pads?"

"Yeah?" he mumbled, not looking up from where he was staring at the cobble-stoned ground.

Harry had to bite back a laugh. "Remember how you said you wanted to get me a present? For getting accepted into Hogwarts?"

"Yeah".

"Well, as you know, I have to take flying lessons this year since it's technically my first year at Hogwarts and the brooms back at Grimmauld Place are quite old and the bristles are falling out so-"

A huge blinding grin suddenly spread across his godfather's face.

"I can get you a broom! And a Quidditch helmet! And goggles! And a cleaning kit! And your own golden snitch! And-"

"Just a simple, beginner's broom" Harry corrected firmly, "I don't want or need anything else!"

"... We'll see" Sirius replied noncommittally, his eyes having already latched onto the store they now stood outside, tracing the sign above the door that read Quality Quidditch Supplies, "Wait here".

And with that, he all but ran into the store, immediately assaulting the poor checkout boy working there today, no doubt making a list of demands and asking questions that the poor soul would have no chance in hell of being able to answer.

Harry grabbed hold of Remus's cardigan and, raising a finger to his lips, pulled him away from the door and towards the store directly next to it - Flourish and Blotts. It was only once they reached the door of the bookshop that Remus realised what he'd done, and a mischievous grin took over his expression before he quickly cleared his throat and did his best to look stern.

"Harry" he said, trying and failing to sound disapproving, "Harry, did you just lie to your godfather so that you could spend more time shopping for books?"

"Well, I mean, technically, none of what I said was a lie" he countered, "I do need a broom for Hogwarts, and I didn't do it so that I could spend more time book shopping, I did it so that we could spend more time book shopping".

Remus's eyes flickered back towards the Quidditch store where Sirius was no doubt talking the ear off of the shopkeeper, before forcing a very put-upon sigh and turning back.

"... Oh, alright, but just this once!"

They shared a wide grin before dashing inside.

Truth be told, Harry did need a broom, and he did want to spend more time book shopping, and he knew that Sirius didn't particularly enjoy book shopping so he wouldn't have wanted to join them anyway - and even if he did, he would've asked why Harry needed more books given that they'd already gotten all of his textbooks earlier on. Truth be told, the books that Harry now wanted to buy were books that his godfather would not, necessarily, approve of.

Leaving Remus in the magical cookbooks section, he made his way to the back of the store where Flourish and Blotts' appallingly small section of Dark Arts books resided. Many of these were already in the Black library of course, but that library hadn't been updated since before Harry had been born and he was sure there had been similar publications since.

Case in point - he reached forward and pulled out a set of three books that were on sale when purchased together. Curses and Counter-Curses by Vindictus Viridian, Jinxes for the Jinxed by Cauã Nemerus, and-

Harry grimaced. Basic Hexers for the Busy and Vexed sounded incredibly dull and, well, basic, but the other two looked promising, so he returned to the checkout counter with his winnings, not surprised in the least to find Remus already in the queue with a new baking book under one arm. He smiled at Harry as he approached, but that smile promptly froze as he caught sight of the books he was carrying. To his credit, he only looked panicked, worried, and somewhat scared for a split second, before he gave him a slightly concerned yet curious look, nodded once, and then said no more.

Harry thought it was cute that the man thought he needed his permission to buy Dark Magic books, but a small tiny shrivelled-up and well-beaten down part of him preened under the approval anyway.

As expected, Sirius was still harassing the employees in Quality Quidditch Supplies when they finally returned to the store - Harry's latest purchases already hidden in the depths of his school trunk. It took some quiet prompting from Harry and a rather pointed look from Remus before Sirius reluctantly paid for what he'd gathered and left. The boy behind the counter was very obviously relieved to see the back of him.

Naturally, Sirius had not stuck to their agreement of just buying Harry any old functioning broom and had instead bought him a Broomstick Servicing Kit along with an actual bloody Firebolt.

"Sirius" he said, staring at the hastily wrapped package, "Sirius, that is not a simple, practical broom. That is a monster!"

"Yeah, but it's a fast monster".

"What happened to just getting a beginner's broom?!"

"Well, if you remember correctly, pup, then I didn't actually agree to that" he replied, grinning, "And besides, you're hardly a beginner! You're a natural at flying if I've ever seen one, and you need a broom that represents that!"

"For flying lessons at Hogwarts?!"

"Who knows? Maybe you'll join the Quidditch team".

Harry stared at him. Then down at the broom. Then back up at his godfather.

"This is too much".

"It's a present, pup! You don't get to decide if it's too much or not; you just have to accept it!"

Harry sighed, sharing an exasperated glance with Remus, who only shook his head with a smile.

"You don't have to go crazy with it, pup. Keep it at its lowest speed if you like" he said with a shrug, "It's yours now, so it's only you who gets to decide what you do with it".

"... Alright, fine" he relented, carefully tucking the package under his arm, "But if I end up out-flying the teacher and getting detention, you're to blame!"

Sirius grinned even wider. "Blame? You'd make me proud!"

He couldn't help but laugh at that as they continued to make their way down the street. Darkness really was starting to fall by now and streetlights were turning on one by one, casting them in a warm, golden light. Once they got his potion supplies and ingredients, they'd just have to return to Ollivander's to collect his wand and then they'd be done.

Then he'd be done, Harry realised, spying the sign for Slug & Jiggers up ahead, and with all of his school supplies bought, he would finally be ready to head off to Hogwarts at last.