Scion of Gryffindor
7 - Another Visit to Diagon Alley
By Crys
Harry / Tonks ship
The following morning during breakfast, Kingsley walked into the room and dropped a copy of the Daily Prophet in front of Harry.
The Boy Who Lived Inherits Millions
Harry dropped his head to his hands.
"What is being wrong, Master Harry?" Dobby asked in concern.
"Nothing, Dobby, nothing," Harry groaned.
Remus pulled the paper over and started reading the article.
"It is not being nothing, Master Harry," the elf chided him. "You should be telling Dobby what is the matter."
Kingsley answered as he poured himself a cup of tea. "There was an article in the paper about him."
"Does Master Harry wish Dobby to turn the bad Skeeter person into a bug and step on her?"
Harry looked up at Dobby. Dobby's expression of polite attention didn't tell him anything. "How did you know?"
Dobby gave him a toothy grin. "House-elveses know many, many things, Master Harry."
"Who would've thought that house-elves were gossips?" Tonks wondered aloud.
Dobby didn't answer but rather just smiled and got back to clearing breakfast from the table.
"How did he know what, anyway?" Tonks asked Harry.
"Skeeter's a beetle animagus," Harry explained.
The two former aurors raised eyebrows at that.
"Oh, really?" Remus muttered with a chuckle, still reading the paper.
"What?" Tonks asked.
"How bad is the article?" Harry asked in dread.
"Most of it isn't so bad," Remus assured him without looking up. "Skeeter was even good enough to cast some doubt on Sirius's guilt. No, it's the next article that's . . . um, controversial."
Reaching over, Tonks plucked the paper out of his hands and pulled it over the table, knocking over Remus's cup in the process. She found the article in question and started reading it, a smile quickly blossoming. "Oh, ho! This is something that wouldn't be out of place in Teen Witch Weekly."
Ignoring Harry's horrified gasp, she gleefully read, "' . . . addition to the millions he just inherited, the word on the street is that Harry Potter is one hot hunk. Known to have dated at least two witches in the past few years, he's consistently described by his female classmates in glowing terms. From his sparkling emerald eyes to his fly-away black hair, Mister Potter will no doubt make the eligible bachelor list now that he is of age.'"
She read silently for a moment. "Are you really twenty-five centimeters?" she asked in an innocent voice, looking up at Harry.
Remus and Kingsley sprayed tea. Harry turned red in mortification.
"Oh, no, Mistress Nimma," Dobby disagreed. "Master Harry is being much, much more than that."
Remus and Kingsley were now having trouble breathing. Harry contemplated using his cereal spoon to try to slit his wrist.
Godric Gryffindor walked into the dining hall of Gryffindor Keep to find one composed house-elf clearing breakfast, two wizards alternately coughing and laughing, one witch grinning in a truly disturbing manner at his heir, and the young wizard himself apparently attempting to spontaneously combust. "Okay, what'd I miss?"
Harry stood in place and stared at the wall behind the Leaky Cauldron.
"It's not going to open itself, Cub," Remus noted in amusement.
"Cub?" Harry asked, looking over at Remus and ignoring the real issue.
"I called you 'Cub,' and Sirius called you 'Pup.' I suspect your father would've called you a fawn, but your mother wouldn't let him," Remus explained. "Now stop procrastinating, and open that arch."
Harry sighed and raised the hood of his cloak before tapping the correct brick with his borrowed wand. The wall opened up and spilled the four onto Diagon Alley. Harry kept his eyes forward and moved quickly toward Gringotts.
He'd only made it just past Eeylops Owl Emporium when he heard, "It's Harry Potter!" shouted in a squealing, giddy voice.
His three guards immediately closed in around him, but it didn't matter very much. Fifteen girls aged twelve to twenty-five all moved toward Harry. The youngest ones were very shy and just wanted to look at him. The older ones were anything but shy. Before Remus could pull her off of him, one had whispered a suggestion into Harry's ear that threatened to permanently short out his brain, and two more had pressed scraps of parchment, or perhaps they were cloth, into Harry's hands. All the rest of them wanted to touch, or perhaps be touched by, the fabled Boy Who Lived.
"Enough!" a strong, feminine voice bellowed suddenly.
Mind still reeling, Harry looked over in the resulting silence to find himself looking at a very good-looking witch of roughly his age that he didn't recognize.
"Harry and I are trying to go for a quiet shopping trip. Please leave us alone," the dark-haired beauty growled out before firmly taking Harry by the arm and starting to steer him toward Gringotts.
Nearing a state of panic, Harry looked toward Kingsley. To his shock, Kingsley was smirking at him before the former auror turned and began breaking a path through the crowd. One hand on his wand, Harry allowed himself to be led through the scowling and muttering crowd of witches.
Once they made it through to Gringotts and found a miraculously clear lobby, Harry stepped sideways and dropped the items the crowd of girls had pressed into his non-wand hand. He carefully did not look to see what it actually was as he turned to face the woman who'd entered with him. "Thank you for getting them all off of me, but I'd appreciate you not trying to take their place," he said firmly.
She pouted. "Aw, Harry. Don't you love me anymore?" Before a bewildered Harry could say a word, her hair flashed to pink and then back to its previous black.
"Tonks?" he gasped out. He looked around, trying to find Tonks and instead only saw an amused Remus and a laughing Kingsley.
"I've seen her pull that stunt before," Kingsley explained to Harry's sour look.
Calming down, Harry turned back to Tonks. "Sorry. It's just with all of this . . ." He waved his hand vaguely.
Tonks nodded. "I should have thought of it before we got here, honestly. If you're obviously in the company of a date, your groupies are less likely to attack."
Harry considered objecting, but discarded it as a juvenile reaction. She was, after all, trying to help. "So you're my date?" he asked instead, offering his arm.
Her smile brightened, and she threaded her arm through his. "If my Lord wishes," she answered flippantly.
Harry turned with the metamorph on his arm and moved toward the nearest teller. "Please don't call me that, Tonks," he requested in a low voice.
"Oooh," she purred. "Is the big, bad Lord Potter-Gryffindor mad at little ol' Tonks? If I keep calling you 'Lord', do you promise to -" Whatever else she may have said was lost as she tripped over her own foot and fell with all the grace of a pole-axed hippogriff.
Harry immediately banished the unflattering comparison from his mind. "You alright, Tonks?" he asked, bending over her prone form.
"Ouch," she responded eloquently.
In the vault, Harry first gathered a bag full of galleons. Next, he searched for a few minutes to find the vials of hair that he hoped were available to him. Eventually he opened one trunk that had a note on top of a stack of parchment and miscellaneous objects.
Harry,
This trunk contains some of the more personal of the Potter treasures. Nothing of particular value, but more along the lines of keepsakes as well as personal copies of contracts. Longer letters from your mother and I are also enclosed.
Your Father
Closing his eyes in an attempt to keep his emotions under control, he rifled through the contents and spotted the two vials he'd been looking for. Shrinking the entire trunk, he pocketed it.
Knowing that their next stop would be Ollivander's, Harry also reluctantly returned his borrowed wand to its place in the Potter Vault. With three dedicated bodyguards around him, he felt slightly better about walking down the street without a wand.
"Mister Potter," intoned Ollivander an instant after Harry set foot into the shop. "Holly wand of eleven inches, as I recall. I trust it is in good condition?"
Harry suppressed the reaction he got around the slightly creepy man and shook his head. Pulling out the pieces of wand that Dumbledore had let him keep, he placed them onto the countertop.
Ollivander sighed with his eyes on the broken wand. "Pity. That was a magnificent wand, that was."
"Yes," Harry quietly agreed. "It saved my life from Voldemort more than once."
"I presume you are here for a replacement, then?" Ollivander asked, looking up at the younger wizard and fixing him with his eerie eyes.
"Among other things."
Ollivander set to work at once, quickly bringing a veritable mountain of wands for Harry to try.
Eyeing the stack of boxes warily, Harry said, "Before we start trying these out, Mr. Ollivander, I should tell you that I've been encouraged to find another with a phoenix feather core."
Looking slightly put out, Ollivander asked, "Encouraged by whom, Mr. Potter?"
"That brings me to our second item of business. I trust anything that I say here will remain confidential?"
"So long as you do not attempt to buy two wands from me, everything else we discuss remains confidential if you wish it, Mr. Potter."
Nodding, Harry pulled a parchment out of his pocket and handed it over.
Ollivander blinked at the crest impressed into the melted wax before breaking the seal and reading the letter from Godric. Once he was done, he looked up and nodded. "Understood, Milord. Godric said I could speak freely?"
Harry nodded again. "You know Grandfather, then?"
"Yes, we've met a few times. The last time was when he came in with your grandfather William. I assume you know what he asked of me?"
"Bracelet as a magical focus, yes. I'll be gathering the hairs over the next few weeks. How soon do you need everything?"
"Your hair and blood now as well as your old wand. The other hairs I don't need for at least a week. It will take that long for the item - a bracelet you said? - to be produced. After that, I'll need a few days to do the baseline work with this feather," he tapped the broken wand, "and the ingredients from you personally. After that, you can bring the other ingredients, and the final steps will take no more than another hour. For now, I will inform Madam Flanner that you are coming, and you can see her about the base item you would like. Is this acceptable?"
Harry almost smiled at the novelty of being asked for his opinion. "Yes, that sounds fine. How much will I owe you?"
Ollivander looked scandalized. "Nothing, Lord Gryffindor. None of the ingredients will be coming out of my stock, so I have no expenses. As for my time? The challenge of doing it is more than adequate recompense for me." He smiled. "This will only be the fourth magical focus that isn't a wand I've ever produced, you know. All of them, incidentally, went to wizards with the surname of 'Potter.'"
Remus, standing near the door, smiled at Harry's embarrassment.
Ollivander quickly (and painlessly) gathered the items he needed from Harry and then helped the young Potter heir find a new wand. After two holes in the roof, three blasted stools, a blinding flock of pink butterflies, and a near miss that almost took off Tonks's left ear, Harry finally found a new wand that matched up with him.
Ollivander looked pleased. "Ten and a half inches, pine, phoenix feather. As I know you will be asking, Mr. Potter, your new wand does indeed have three brother wands. One is still in my stock. I sold one to Regulus Black and the last to Gideon Prewett."
Harry blinked. "Sirius's brother Regulus?"
Ollivander, Remus, and Tonks nodded.
"Where have I heard the name 'Gideon Prewett' before?"
Tonks answered quietly, "Molly's maiden name was Prewett."
Remus finished the description, "Remember Moody showing you the picture last summer? Two of them were Gideon and Fabian Prewett."
The answer sobered Harry. Shaking off the threatening mood, Harry nodded solemnly to Ollivander. "Thank you for telling me, Mr. Ollivander. How much do I owe you for the wand?"
Quickly concluding their business at Ollivander's, the four went to Flanner's Jewelry, which was only three storefronts down. Fortunately, they weren't outside long enough for the crowds to notice Harry.
Once they were through the door, Remus blandly said, "Let's hope the Prophet doesn't have a picture of you walking into a jewelry store with a lovely young witch on your arm, Harry."
Tonks smiled very widely, and Harry flushed in embarrassment. In a doomed bid to hide his reaction, Harry immediately moved toward the counter only to run into an even larger problem. Behind the counter was none other than Alicia Spinnet.
"Harry!" she called in greeting when she recognized the wizard coming at her.
Remus and Tonks started laughing.
Harry's former quidditch team mate looked at them curiously for a moment before her eyes widened. "Professor Lupin?"
Remus smiled. "Hello, Miss Spinnet. Just graduated, haven't you?"
"Yes, sir," she responded before turning her attention to Tonks. "Er, hello," she said, clearly trying recognize her. Based on Tonks's apparent age, she just HAD to know who this was.
Adopting an accent that defied all description, Tonks strode forward and took her hand. "Hello, Miss Spinnet, isn't it? Any friend of Harry's is a friend of mine. I'm Griselda Wojehowitts."
"Pleased," Alicia responded with a slight frown of confusion. She turned to Harry with a clear question in her eyes.
Harry was saved from terminal embarrassment by an older, portly woman coming out from the back. "Ah, Mr. Potter. I was just warned that you'd be stopping by. Thank you, Alicia, I'll take it from here. Please come into the back, Mr. Potter."
"Nice seeing you again, Alicia," Harry called as he followed the woman behind the counter.
Once the back door was closed, Remus broke into laughter. "Tonks, you just confused that poor girl. Now she doesn't know if you're a girlfriend or something else."
Tonks smiled impishly but didn't respond.
Smiling at the byplay, the rotund witch introduced herself to Harry. "Mr. Potter, my name is Elizabeth Flanner. Hector said you wanted a custom piece made?"
Harry and Madam Flanner spent ten minutes discussing what he was interested in (an armband instead of a bracelet as it turned out) and settling on materials, design, and price. Once they were done, Harry and his entourage again wandered out onto Diagon Alley.
Tonks immediately pulled Harry into a small storefront that specialized in leather and dragon hide items. Inside, she badgered Harry into buying an auror style wrist wand holster. It held his wand against his right forearm and could be retrieved quickly with a simple wrist flick. The holster also shrunk the wand itself, so the length of the wand didn't make it uncomfortable to wear.
As Harry was practicing his quick draw, Remus quietly suggested a protective dragon hide vest. Seeing the practicality of this, Harry got himself and all three of his companions measured for the items.
Remus tried to decline, but Harry wouldn't take no for an answer when it came to everyone's protection. Remus finally gave in when he realized that Harry had inherited a full measure of his mother's stubbornness. Tonks and Kingsley took it in stride as they'd occasionally worn such things during their auror duties.
After making arrangements for the bank draft and when to pick up the vests, the four again headed out.
After a quick stop at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes to see what Harry's Tri-Wizard Tournament winnings had helped finance, and quickly leaving again at the twins' merciless teasing of Harry on his "date," Tonks dragged Harry into a different store. This time it was Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions.
Harry turned a pleading, panicked look onto Remus and Kingsley.
Remus just raised his hands in surrender and moved toward a spot near the front door.
Kingsley, not even trying to hide his laughter, stepped back out to stand his post outside as he'd done for most of the morning.
"Traitors," Harry muttered before giving in to the inevitable. Tonks, Madam Malkin, and a younger saleswitch all swooped down on him when he turned to them.
A bunny for this chapter was brought to you (well, okay, brought to me) by Dale.