Chapter 13 - School Shopping

(Word Count: 4,253)

In a burst of green fire, Harry stumbled down into the Leaky Cauldron, falling flat on his back. Sirius and Dora laughed, Remus just smiled in amusement. It was just them today, the Weasley's weren't able to come today.

Harry grumbled as he stood up, brushing himself off. “Shut it, you two.”

Dora just laughed louder. “How is it that you can be so good at magic, but fumble every time you floo travel?”

“It’s not my fault you have to fly by so many fireplaces so quickly! I'm lucky I can even arrive at the right place!” Harry said defensively.

“Okay, Okay… Though, you do know that it's an automatic thing, right? You don't have to do anything,” Dora asked smugly.

Harry just ran a hand through his hair, still as handsomely messy as ever, and walked past them, a faint blush on his cheeks.

They made their way out the back of the Leaky and into Diagon Alley.

It had been roughly three years since he had first come here. It was still as magical as ever. The buildings bent inwards or twisted, not following conventional wisdom of architecture. Why would they, when magic allowed wiccans to build as they wished?

Compared to the last few times he had been here, today the Alley was packed full of families getting in their school shopping, just like they were.

“Right. Check your list, what do you want to get first? Usually we would visit the trunk shop, but you’ve already got your trunk around your neck… Books?” Sirius suggested.

“Books!” Harry confirmed excitedly. One of the compartments in his trunk was a library, a 5x5 meters room lined with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves all around the room. When he had first gotten it, it was bare. Over the course of these past 3 years, Harry had rather enjoyed seeing the shelves slowly being filled in as he purchased more books. It was still mostly empty shelves, but he had a few books on each bookshelf, according to topic.

He had one shelf for each class: Charms, Transfiguration, DADA, Potions, etc. Then he had a shelf for miscellaneous books he found interesting, mostly fiction. Then he had the bookshelf that all the books he dumped into the trunk would go to. A temporary dumping ground where he would then sort them out to the appropriate shelf. Lastly, he had a separate bookshelf for the books he had from his parents. Their diaries and school books. He still had 3 more bookshelves that he didn't know what to do with, but he'll figure it out.

In the center, he had placed a sitting area with two couches, a beanbag, and a coffee table. A cozy place where he could sit and read. When he needs to be more focused in his studies he has a desk under the fold out stairs, making for a quiet nook to study in. 

It was his own personal library, and he loved it.

Harry led the way to Flourish and Blotts. As much as he loved regular bookstores, with their rows of shelves, Flourish and Blotts was overflowing with different piles of books. Any book that couldn't fit on the shelves would be piled up on any surface they could.

Harry took a deep breath, taking in the smell of paper and ink.

“Get done with your book list first before you start browsing on your own, Harry. We don't want to spend several hours here,” Remus said.

“Hey, I'm not that bad. I mostly just buy the books if I want to read them,” Harry said.

“Right, well, why don't I take Tonks and we can get your potion supplies?” Sirius said, “Remus, you can keep an eye on him, right?”

“You can go on ahead. Why don't we meet in one hour at Fortescue's?” Remus suggested.

“Wait, Sirius, I'll come with you!” Dora said. She didn't want to get stuck in the book store any longer than she had to, and Harry did spend a bit of time here.

They left, but Harry was already eying his list.

The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1, by Moranda Goshawk.

A History of Magic, by Bathilda Bagshot.

Magical Theory, by Adalbert Wafflins.

A Beginners Guide to Transfiguration, by Emeric Switch.

One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi, by Phylinda Spore.

Magical Drafts and Potions, by Arsentus Jigger.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, by Newt Scamander.

The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection, by Quentin Trimble.

Harry would have used his mother's books, but a lot of them weren't the same books, and those that were the same, weren't the same edition and he wanted to know what differences there would be. Harry already knew the layout of the place. The Hogwarts year books were usually all kept on the first floor. So, he quickly picked up a copy of each book and took them to the registrar. 3 Galleons less, he placed the books into his trunk and returned to Remus.

“That was quick, you really know your way around this place, don't you?” Remus said, impressed.

“Well, the faster I get the textbooks out of the way, the faster I can get to browsing the really interesting books. Speaking of, I'll be browsing. Just call me when it's time to go,” Harry replied.

Remus just nodded. “Right, well, take your time.”

He went back inside, this time heading upstairs, away from most of the crowd. He wasn't really looking for anything specific at the moment, merely browsing to see if something caught his eye. And something did. Or rather, someone. Sitting down at the end of one of the isles was a small girl with bushy brown hair.

Hermione Granger. She was sitting cross-legged on the floor, a thick tome sitting on her lap. She hadn't noticed him yet, as she was reading intently. He took a moment to take in the sight. She was making a cute face, biting her bottom lip in concentration.

One of the descriptive features of Hermione in the beginning of the books were her front teeth. They were on the bigger end, but they weren't to the point of obscene like the books said. Children just had a knack for picking out a person’s insecurities and exaggerating it, making it worse. Children can be cruel like that. And Snape. Snape had no right to be a teacher.

He walked up to her.

“You know, it's bad for your eyes to read in this dim light,” Harry said.

“Eep!” Hermione startled, looking up at him in fright. Her big brown eyes met his emerald green. Harry smirked in amusement. She stood up, the thick book hugged to her chest, and glared at him in embarrassment.

“You shouldn’t sneak up on people like that!” Hermione scolded.

“I'm sorry for startling you,” Harry said, “I couldn't help but notice that you were reading in dim light, and trust me, you don't want to get poor eyesight.” Harry adjusted his glasses for emphasis. His eyesight had been improved a great deal due to the Animagus perk but, because of the Horcrux, he still needed glasses. He just wasn’t running blind without them anymore. Plus, he had some handy enchantments on them. 

“Oh, yes, I know. But… well, I just couldn't help it!” Hermione held out the book she was reading, showing him the title. It was Hogwarts: A History. “I wanted to read up on the school I'm going to, and it's just so fascinating!”

Harry smiled, “You're going to Hogwarts too? I'll be starting my first year there. It looks like we'll be classmates. My name is Harry Potter, what's yours?” He held out his hand to shake. She took it unconsciously, but her eyes widened in recognition.

“Are you really? I've read all about you, you know,” Hermione said.

“I hope you don't mean those adventure books. Those are all fiction,” Harry said.

“What? Oh, no. I meant the ‘Greatest Wizards of our Century’. You're in there, you know. It says you've stopped some dark lord they call ‘you-know-who’. Do you know who? Because I don't.” Hermione almost pouted at not knowing who they were referring to.

“Well, they should have put my mother's name instead of mine. It was her sacrifice that let me live against Voldemort's, you-know-who's, killing curse. Though I do hope that one day I will be worthy to be placed amongst the greatest,” Harry said.

Hermione didn't know how to respond to that, so they ended up standing there for a moment in silence.

“Anyway, It's nice to meet you, Hermione. Would you like to be my friend? It will be nice to have more friendly faces when we get there.”

Her eyes widened. “What? You want to be my friend?”

“Why not? I like reading, you like reading, we're both going to Hogwarts this year, it seems like we have a lot in common.”

Hermione smiled nervously. “Sure, I'd love to be your friend.”

“Great!”

“So… Would you like to read with me?” Hermione asked hesitantly. 

“I'd love to, but first do you have any questions about the magical world?”

Hermione's eyes sparkled and she smiled excitedly.  “Oh, yes, I have so many questions! I just feel so far behind, I mean, those growing up knowing about magic must be so far ahead of me! I have a lot of studying to catch up on! What would you recommend I do to catch up?”

“Woah, slow down there Hermione. I think you're on the idea that magical education starts at the same time as the non-magical. In the muggle world, primary schooling starts at 5 years old, right?” Hermione just nodded for him to continue. “Well, magicals’ education only starts at 11, with Hogwarts, so you're nowhere near as far behind as you’re thinking. They receive their wands at the same time as you do. At most, they've been tutored in their own house's business.”

Hermione gaped. She couldn't imagine not having school until 11. “But what about reading and writing? History? Math? Science? Are we going to have to go through all the basics all over again?”

Harry laughed at her horrified expression. “No, kids are mostly taught at home how to read and write. And I'm not sure, but I'm sure they're taught basic math beforehand as well. It's not a formal education system, it all depends on the family. Hogwarts doesn't really teach math or science either. The closest you'll get to that would be Arithmancy, an elective you could take in your third year.”

She bit her lip in thought. “Are you sure they won't know a lot more spells? Won't they be able to read their parents books about magic?”

Harry shrugged. “I mean, it's possible. That's what I did after all. But I think you're overestimating their drive to learn. To us, magic is new and, well, magical. But to them it's homework or something that's taken for granted.”

“But it's magic!” Hermione reeled back, scandalized.

“They grew up with it, so it's just a normal part of life.” She still seemed unsure, so Harry continued. “If you'd like, we could meet up and we can practice some of the spells we'll be learning.”

“What? You'd do that for me?”

“Why not? If it helps my new friend feel more prepared to enter Hogwarts, then I don't mind helping her.”

She blushed. “Right, you're my friend. Thank you, Harry.”

After that, they continued to sit and read quietly together until Remus came to get him.

“Harry, there you are. Who's this? Did you find a new friend?” Remus asked.

“Yup! This is Hermione Granger, she’ll be coming to Hogwarts this year together with me. Hermione, this is Remus Lupin, my uncle,” Harry introduced them.

“Hello, sir. It's nice to meet you,” Hermione said standing up.

“It's nice to meet you too, Hermione,” Remus said.

“Hermione here loves books just like me, so I wanted to invite her over to see my library,” Harry said.

Hermione whirled to look at him. “You have a library!” She squealed in excitement. “Oh, wow! Please, you have to let me see! Are all the books about magic?”

Harry grabbed her shoulders to calm her down. “Easy there, Hermione, you'll get to see it soon enough, if your parents agree.”

“That sounds like a wonderful idea, Harry. Though it is nearly time to meet up with Sirius and Tonks. You'll have to arrange a meet up later. Hermione, do you need us to help you find your parents?” Remus asked.

“No, sir. Actually, I see them coming up the stairs now. Mom! Dad!” Harmione called happily.

Harry and Remus turned to look and saw the Granger parents approaching. Mrs. Granger looked like Emma Watson, if she were a busy suburban-mom dentist. Mr. Granger was a thin man with brown hair, wearing khakis and a dress shirt. 

“Hermione, who are these folk?” The dad asked, looking them up and down.

“Dad, this is a friend I made, Harry Potter. This is his uncle, Remus Lupin. Harry's going to Hogwarts too, but he's grown up with magic,” Hermione said.

Mr. Granger focused on him, and held out a hand. “Dan Granger.”

Harry shook his hand confidently. “Harry Potter, it's nice to meet you, sir.”

Mrs. Granger came forward excitedly. “I'm Emma. So, how did you two meet?” 

“I found her reading a really thick book,” Harry chuckled. “I don't know anyone else my age that enjoys reading as much as I do and so it caught my attention.”

“Mum! He has a library!” Hermione gushed. “Can we go visit? Please?”

Emma laughed. “Well, this is the first time you had a friend invite you over, so of course you can go.”

Dan didn't seem so sure. “Where do you live?”

“We live right here in London, 12 Grimmauld Place.” It wasn't under a Fidelius, so it wasn't a big deal.

Remus spoke up. “If you'd like, why don't you come over to visit as well? I'm sure as her parents, you have a lot of questions about what sort of place the wizarding world can be? We can go over them while Harry and Hermione read in the library.”

Dan nodded. “That sounds great. How do we contact you?”

“You can call me, here, let me give you my number,” Remus said, pulling out a blocky phone. It was a stark reminder to Harry that he was back in time. Cellphones were bricks in the 80’s and 90’s.

“Oh, you have a phone?” Dan asked, surprised. He wasn't expecting a wizard to be using muggle technology.

Remus nodded. “Yes, I've been making my living as a furniture or cabinet repair man in the non-magic world, and I needed some more conventional means for people to contact me.”

“I thought technology didn't work with magic?” Emma asked, confused.

“As long as a spell doesn't hit it directly, it should be fine. Though you will have to turn off your phone when you use magical transport or passing through powerful wards. If you're not careful, you can fry them.”

After that, Harry and Remus said goodbye to the Grangers and made their way down to Fortescue's. They found Sirius and Dora sitting at one of the tables enjoying some ice cream, with several paper wrapped packages next to them. 

“Harry!” They called. Sirius slapped one of the packages next to him. “We've got your supplies here.”

“Padfoot, I think you'd like to know that Harry here made a friend,” Remus said in a teasing voice, “A lady friend.”

Sirius grinned wolfishly. “Oooooh, Harry! Not even at Hogwarts and already getting the birds.” He sniffed in false melancholy. “They grow up so fast, don't they, Moony?”

“Shut it, Padfoot,” Harry said embarrassed. “She's just a new friend that will be in the same year as me. Nothing more.” He shot a glance at Dora, not wanting her to get the wrong idea.

Sirius and Remus shared a knowing look.

“Well, let's get you boys some ice cream then finish up all the boring school stuff!” Dora said standing up. “Then we can get to the fun shopping!”

A little while later, they were walking down the street again. 

A beautiful snow owl caught his eye. ‘Hedwig!’ Harry smiled. “Wait just a moment!” Harry called out and he dipped in. He couldn’t just leave the best owl ever.

He came back out moments later, carrying Hedwig in her cage, and a big bag of owl treats and owl care products. Harry held her up to present her to the group. “This is Hedwig! She’ll be my personal owl!”

“Don’t you already have an owl?” Sirius asked.

Harry waved him off. “That’s the Potter family owl. I can use that one for house business and stuff. Hedwig will be for personal letters. Now we only have my robes and wand left, so it should be quick,” Harry said, as he finished off the last of his cone.

They quickly entered Madam Malkins. She's contracted with the school to provide the uniforms, so every Hogwarts student needs to come here to get them. This ended up with a long wait time. Luckily, Harry was basically the poster boy for Madam Malkins, being a frequent customer. Since Madam Malkins already had his measurements, his uniform and robes were already waiting for him.

He entered the store and stopped in surprise, seeing Draco and Narcissa Malfoy. Draco was getting his measurements taken by Madam Malkins, having never been there before. Narcissa was sitting off to the side, her displeasure at the store was obvious. 

This was a scene from the books, the first meeting between Harry and Draco, but he hadn’t been expecting it to happen because it definitely wasn’t the same day as the OG Harry had gone with Hagrid.

Was this some twist of Fate, or the plot trying to reassert itself on the world? He had definitely read enough stories where this happened for it to be a concern.

Draco glanced over and caught Harry frowning at him. “Potter! What are you doing here?”

“I’m here to get my school uniforms, same as you. We’ll be peers together in Hogwarts! Isn’t it great?” Harry said sarcastically.

“Tch.” Draco was about to say something more but Narcissa cut him off.

“Now, Draco, let’s behave,” she chided. Narcissa turned to Harry, her face a cool mask. “Hello, Harry.”

“Mrs. Malfoy,” he nodded.

Sirius wasn't so restrained. As soon as he came in and noticed them, he groaned. “What are you doing here?” He bit out. 

Sirius and Narcissa haven't gotten along at all since he had become Lord Black.

Narcissa, having learned of Sirius becoming Lord Black, and Harry becoming the next heir, had come to the Black Manor to confront Arcturus. She was furious that her son was being passed up in favor of Harry, whose only Black blood came from a great grandparent.

Sirius had wanted to use his position to disown Narcissa from the Black family, and thus remove any claim they had to the inheritance, but Arcturus stopped him. Narcissa hadn't broken any of the Black family's rules that warranted being cast out. This, of course, led to them not getting along very well.

However, at the news that he was bringing back Andromeda and her family into the Black household, she was surprisingly joyful. She had missed her older sister dearly. Since then, Narcissa would visit her when she could. Of course, things were still rather tense between them, with Narcissa being very much a believer in blood purity.

Narcissa merely raised an eyebrow at Sirius. “Getting Draco's school uniforms.” She then turned to Dora when she came in behind Sirius, and gave her a small smile. “Hello, Nymphadora, it's good to see you again, dear.”

“Don't call me that! You’re as bad as mum!” Dora said, nearly yelling.

“Why ever not? It's a lovely name your mother gave you,” Narcissa had a slight smirk.

“It's a horrible name. Call me Tonks, like everybody else.”

“Not everybody,” Sirius smirked.

Remus elbowed him. “Not the time, Sirius.”

Dora ruffled Harry's hair. “Who can deny cute little Harry here? I couldn't say no when he asked to call me something else. Everyone else can only call me Tonks.”

Harry forced himself not to show any of his embarrassment. Though he did have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand she called him cute. On the other hand, it meant that she saw him only as a young boy. He sighed inwardly.

Instead of showing any reaction, Harry greeted Madam Malkins. “Hello again, Madam Malkins. Is my order ready?”

Madam Malkins paused her measuring and smiled at him warmly. “Hello, Harry dear. Yes, your clothes are right there on the counter all wrapped up.” 

As Harry fetched the packages, she sniffed. “Oh, it seems just like yesterday that you first came here, such a small thing, and now here you are going off to Hogwarts! Time flies by so quickly.” She came over and gave him a pinch on the cheek. “Good luck, Harry.”

“Thank you, Madam Malkins.”

They gave some quick farewells and left. “Well, that was quick,” Harry said, “Now onto Olivanders! Time to get my own wand!”

It was awesome that he was able to use his mother’s wand without issue, but he wanted his own. Plus, he was curious to see what type of wand he would get.

“Harry, would you like us to wait outside? Getting your own wand is a very special experience. We would understand if you wanted to do this on your own,” Remus said.

“It’s because it's a special moment that I want the ones I care about to be there,” Harry said. They all smiled warmly at him.

“That’s wonderful, Harry. I'm so proud of you,” Sirius said.

They entered the shop. Just like in the movies, it was a dusty, cramped space with shelves full of boxed wands. There were even numerous cobwebs. Harry sighed again. What was it with wizards not cleaning their shops?

There was no one here, so he rang the bell at the desk. The old man Olivander appeared, sliding into view atop a rolling ladder. ‘Just like in the movies… again,’ Harry noted. 

“Ah, I wondered when I would be seeing you, Mr. Potter,” Olivander said as he came down. “It seems only yesterday that your mother and father were here buying their first wands. Ah, Mr. Black. You were a reed wand, 15 inches, rigid, dragon heartstring. Mr. Lupin, cypress wand, 10 and a quarter inches, pliable, unicorn hair. Ms. Tonks, almond wood, 12 inches, mildly flexible, with an ashwinder ash core.”

‘Was this some sort of autistic tick?’ Harry had to wonder. In his previous life he had worked for a brief stint as a substitute teacher, were he had worked with some autistic children and they loved reciting facts like that. 

“Yeah, we get it, you have a long memory. Let’s focus on Harry,” Dora said.

Olivander turned back to him. “Yes, of course. Hold out your wand arm, Mr. Potter.”

He took some measurements, then went back to the shelves and began perusing.

He grabbed one, and returned. “Here you are!”

Harry took the wand. On his status screen, he could see the “wanded” status appear, but no perk. This was not his wand. Curious, he gave it a wave anyway, and lines of drawers burst out.

“No, no that wasn't it,” Olivander said.

They went through a couple more wands before Olivander said his iconic line: “I wonder…” and he brought out the OG Harry’s Holly wand.

When Harry took it, it immediately lit up in a warm golden glow. He got a perk:

Harry Potter's Wand: This is Harry's wand to aid him in his destined fight against Tom Riddle. +10% to Charms.

It was definitely due to the prophecy that he got this wand. He was not like OG Harry at all. Though with the system, literally anyone could AK him and it would remove the horcrux, so he didn't have to worry about wand lore in order to survive.

“Awesome wand, Harry!” Dora said. 

“Yes, yes, it is a wonderful wand,” Olivander said, “but it is very curious. I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Potter. It so happens that the phoenix whose tailfeather resides in your wand gave another feather... just one other. It is curious that you should be destined for this wand when its brother gave you that scar.”

Everyone's eyes but Harry's bugged out.

“No way!” Sirius roared angrily. “Let's find a different wand, Harry! You won't be taking that wand.”

“Are you trying to say Harry's like You-Know-Who!” Dora demanded.

“Guys! Calm down, it's not about my similarities or not, it's a useful bit of wand lore. Having a brother wand to Voldemort makes it that much harder for him to hurt me. It's okay,” Harry said. “Besides, his is a yew wand, while this one's holly. They're opposites.”

“So You-Know-Who represents the dark, and you represent the light? That’s a bit poetic, if you think about it,” Dora said with a thoughtful look on her face.

Sirius grumbled a bit before calming down.

With that spectacular out of their way, They paid and left. Harry already had two wand holsters and wand maintenance supplies, gifts from christmas and birthdays, so he didn’t need to buy them at the moment. His mother’s wand was now tucked in the holster on his left arm, and he tucked his new wand into his right.

Hogwarts shopping was done, and now he was ready for the coming school year and what it will bring.

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