Harry Potter and the Ghosts of Hogwarts

Chapter 5

Books and Looks

Harry returned to Dumbledore's office during the next day and caught him alone. At that time he was given the happy news that for the last week of vacation Harry would be allowed to stay with the Weasley's at Diagon Alley. Harry noticed in silence that he was being placed in an area filled with wizards among some of Dumbledore's closest associates and he didn't mention any complaint of being overprotected as he would have in the past. He decided to choke down his prideful independence and allow himself to not act rashly. He took his trunk with him so that he could pack his school things in when he bought them on the alley. He couldn't wait to see his friends again, even if he had been avoiding them all summer.

Getting to Diagon Alley had originally been a problem because Dumbledore couldn't take him, as he was too busy. The worst lot of teachers had shown up early for the term so Harry knew that Dumbledore would choose the one that he trusted the most. To Harry's utter disgust he chose Snape.

So, for the whole train trip from Hogsmeade to Kings' Cross Harry had only Snape's company to enjoy, or hate. Harry had brought along another biography because he had finished the one on Godfrey Gooshank. Unwittingly Harry had chosen a book on a noted alchemist and thus he opened himself up for attacks.

"You can't impress me Potter," was the harsh greeting that Harry got as they sat down on the train for the trip back to platform-nine-and-three-quarters.

"Why would I want to?" Harry responded settling down in the seat next to the loathsome teacher.

"I know that in the past you have been praised by all that see you, but believe me this year will change all of that."

Harry did his best to ignore Snape, but his greasy existence was hard to ignore.

"Yes, the O.W.L. scores will change everything. I think that once your scores become known, as all the newspapers will almost definitely publish them, you will have a fall in public opinion. Everyone will see that Boy Wonder isn't wonderful at everything. What a shame."

"What makes you think that I will do badly on the tests?" Harry said with a cold look at the professor.

"Well Harry, life isn't fair," the smile on Snape's face could not show more vengeance and Harry could almost feel the veiled threat. He didn't know how to respond, he only knew that this year was going to be harder than he had thought.

The remainder of the train ride passed in angry silence and Harry was dropped at the Leaky Cauldron without ceremony. Snape left promptly without saying good-bye, muttering to himself about how he had ever turned into a delivery boy for the Headmaster.

When he walked inside he found that Ron and Hermione were waiting at a table for him to arrive.

"Harry!" Ron said enthusiastically as he sprang up to greet his best friend, "We were worried that Snape would do something nasty to make you a day late."

Hermione jumped up simultaneously and reached Harry, saying her hellos, as well giving him a hug that expressed her happiness at having him finally arrive.

"So when do you get here?" Harry asked them as he and Ron dragged his trunk up the stairs.

"We only arrived last night. Mum was glad that we would be able to spend more time here so that she could find the best deals on all our new school things. I've been given my money to buy things with this year so I don't have to live with her choice of dress robes."

"So what all have you gotten so far?" Harry asked when Ron paused for breath because he was too over worked for much talking at that time.

"Oh we haven't gotten anything yet," Hermione volunteered as she followed them below, "We wanted to wait so that we could do it together since it would be boring to go to all the same places again anyway."

Harry found that considerate because the last time that he had stayed at the Leaky Cauldron he had gone and gotten his books without them.

"You're going to have to do better than that if you want to get on the Quidditch team this year," Harry said to Ron, who was still panting from the exertion. Harry had already been looking for students that fit the bill for the house team as there was a spot to fill and he was hoping that Ron would be good enough to get it. There were a lot of things in which Harry overshadowed Ron and he hoped that Ron could learn to shine in Quidditch.

"I have been practicing all summer with Fred and George in the paddock. I just hope that I get chosen."

"I wouldn't hope for it," said Hermione as she followed them toward Harry's room, "With your study habits you'll need all the time you have to prepare for the O.W.L.'s."

"Thanks for all the encouragement," Ron said sarcastically over his shoulders.

"She's been on about the O.W.L.'s every day since we arrived last night," he whispered to Harry under his breath.

"They are very important!" Hermione said indignantly, overhearing him. Meanwhile they set down Harry's trunk by the bed.

"Man Harry! Your trunk is almost as heavy as Hermione's. It took both Fred and George and me to get it up the stairs."

"It's not my fault," Hermione said defensively to them as she sat down on Harry's bed, "I have to take all of my books with me or I might forget something important and not be able to look it up. I'm considering getting an extra trunk this year so that it will all fit otherwise I don't know what I am going to do. It is so packed inside there I couldn't fit one more thing."

"Maybe you will have to leave behind some of the precious things that you got in Bulgaria this summer. That should make enough room for you to fit everything," Ron told her moodily.

Harry could see that they were on the verge of an argument so he grabbed his Gringotts key and money pouch and suggested loudly that they go and get the things that they needed for school.

They went through the breakneck ride down to Harry's vault. It was Hermione's first ride down because she only ever had to exchange her Muggle money at the surface. She was not happy that she finally got the chance to whiz through the tiny tunnels below and she admitted that she had never been very fond of roller coasters. That sentiment was bit too late since they had already reached their destination.

Harry had once again tried to shield the blinding mounds of gold, silver and copper from his friends attempting not to let on his wizarding wealth, but he failed miserably. Usually Hermione had the most tact out of the three of them but the wealth of Harry's family astounded her.

"Harry, I never knew that you were so well off?" she said sounding genuinely surprised.

"It was a shock to me too," Harry said but he didn't want to get into especially in front of Ron so he tried to change the subject, "So what do we have to buy this year? Any more dress robes?"

"Let's hope not," Ron said sourly. His disposition has fallen from its former gaiety and he obviously didn't like either of the topics that they had the choice of discussing. Luckily the goblin revved up the engine and sped them wildly to the surface. After the bumpy journey they forgot all about the topics of before and moved on to the other things that they had to buy.

Unfortunately Harry did need a new set of regular uniforms and thus had to go to the best tailor on Diagon Alley who was also the most expensive.

Hermoine was still fine to use her set of robes for the year. It seemed that she had stopped growing at five feet six inches. So she looked through the catalog of dress robes to see what style she wanted hers to be in while Harry was taken to the back room to be fitted. Harry had no intention of buying a new set of dress robes; he had gotten his loose enough the previous year to not grow out of it already.

Ron on the other hand had to sit next to Hermione and give his opinion on each of the dresses she showed him. Madam Malkin looked at the book that held all of her customers' sizes and commented on how much broadened Harry's shoulders were. Never the less the time it took her to fit him wasn't very long.

Hermione hadn't chosen her dress by that time and neither of the boys wanted to wait around until she could make up her mind. It surprised them how much their best friend thought about clothes and they wondered how they could have missed it for all these years.

Next they had to stop by the Magical Menagerie because Hermione needed to get more food for Crookshanks. While they were in there and Hermione was having trouble deciding on what type of food would be best for her pet considering that she had never bought food at this shop before, Ron and Harry walked around the store looking at all of the animals. The coolest part that Harry saw was where they kept the snakes because he could talk to them and they spoke of how much they wanted to get out of the shop. Harry would sympathized with being caged but he know that the witch probably would be angry if Harry set them all free in the streets especially because they might escape to the Muggle world. Snakes with a mind of their own could be disastrous.

Ron on the other hand preferred the birds. He told Harry that they were less creepy. The all had different very unique abilities. One could sing anyone to sleep so it had it's beak held shut and another had knife sharp edges to his wings making him potentially lethal to those that couldn't handle him right he was held in magical bondage rather than the conventional cage. Harry came to look at them with Ron and then the shopkeeper walked up to them. Singing the praises as to how useful a lethal bird could be.

"The singing one interest me more," Ron said looking at the bird with interest though he knew there was no way he could buy it. Besides he already owned a perfectly useful owl.

"Unfortunately that one is already sold, but how much good could a singing bird do you when the razor sharp one could kill your enemies with a slash from it's wings.

The witch continued to try and sell the birds to them until Hermione announced that she had found the perfect blend for her cat. The woman went to ring it up at the counter when another girl walked into the shop. She had long wild, wavy blond hair and oval glasses set squarely on her nose. She looked as though she had just finished shopping herself from all of the things that she carried.

"I am here to pick up my bird," she said to the shop owner as soon as she caught her eye.

Hermione looked at her and said in an excited voice, "Holly!"

The girls traded friendly greetings as the bird was being prepared. They went on for a minute until Ron cleared his throat loudly.

"Oh," Hermione said remembering her manners, "this is Ron Weasley and you know who Harry is of course."

The girl smiled politely at them said a modest introduction that held none of the regular shock and excitement that a first meeting with the famous Harry Potter usually aroused. The woman tried to hand her the cage to with the sleeping songbird. She didn't have enough hands to grab it and Harry noticing her dilemma decided to step in and solve the problem.

"Here let me get that." She looked at him and hesitated for a moment but then she agreed to his assistance.

She directed him toward the leaky cauldron where her parents were picking her up, and they all made there way through the crowds of people toward the exit into the Muggle world. They dropped her off and went back inside so that they could get the rest of their school things.

* * *

By the end of the day they had almost all the things they needed for the school year. Ron had been rummaging through the used robe store and couldn't find anything good to fill his dress robe needs so they would have to go back the next day and look again. Harry thought about reminding the twins of their promise to buy Ron new robes when Harry and Ron met them in the hallway outside his room.

"Hey Harry! Glad that Snape didn't lose you on the way here," Fred greeted him.

"Yes, do you think that you are ready for the season ahead?" asked George.

"Luckily I got to use the field while I was at Hogwarts and I think that I am ready to start again with a little more training. I just hope that we can find someone good to replace Wood."

"Yeah, I hope that someone turns up that can play."

Ron looked anxious around this conversation. Harry could tell that he really wanted to become part of the team.

"Oh Ronny," said George as he turned to his brother, "while we were shopping today we picked up a little something for you."

Fred picked out a package and tossed it to Ron. "We saw it and thought of you. We just had to get it."

Ron unwrapped it and found that inside were brand new dress robes in the same shade of maroon that the others had been but without the lace around the edges. Ron was so aghast the he could only sputter his thanks while starring at his new robe not believing his good luck.

"We figure they will do for an early birthday present," George said to him in response, "after all, you usually only get one from the two of us."

Harry smiled at them and Fred winked.

"Oh, Harry when you get a chance, drop by our room. We have something to talk about with you." He whispered in his ear.

With that the two sidled toward the room that they were sharing with Ron. Harry walked into his own room to put away his things and found himself running into the same problem that Hermione had. He had bought several extra books this year that weren't on the list for school and with all of his presents he didn't know where he would put all the things he had bought.

When Ron went downstairs to find Hermione, Harry started to shove the extra books in so that no one would see them. Harry had made a point of hiding them amongst his other purchases so that Ron wouldn't find them. Harry didn't want the twins to find out he was doing extra reading. He wouldn't hear the end of it for months. He planned on reading them out by the lake where no one would bother him.

In the middle of the concealment process Harry's door opened and he found himself looking at the twins, who were giving him an odd look because of his curious actions. Harry did look guilty.

"Whatcha doing Harry?" Fred said suspiciously.

"Nothing," Harry made a point of shutting the trunk and sitting on it, "I was just packing."

"Right," George said taking a seat on his bed still eying the trunk Harry was sitting on,

"We saw Ron leave your room and we thought that we would talk while he wasn't around. This is a matter solely between the three of us."

Harry could tell that the only thing that they would need to talk to him about privately was the money that he had given them at the end of the pervious year.

"You understand that we can't just take all that money from you," Fred told him.

"But I don't want it," Harry protested.

"We figured you would say that," George added, "and to tell you the truth we could really use it to buy supplies."

"So what's the problem?" Harry said hoping that he could close this matter before it got too big.

"It's the principle of the thing," Fred told him seriously. It was odd to see the twins serious.

"We refuse to take this as a gift. This is too much even between good friends like us."

"So we came up with an idea that will satisfy both of us," Fred said with a smile.

"We originally planned on having on two partners in Weasleys Wizard Wheezes, but now that you have gotten mixed up in it we will have to add a third."

"What?" said Harry in confusion.

"You, my dear Mr. Potter are the third partner to Weasley Wizard Wheezes. We figure that we will leave the name how it is because Potter and Weasley Wizard Wheezes doesn't have the same ring. But you are going to be a legal part of the organization."

"This isn't necessary..." Harry began, but George cut him off.

"Yes it is Harry."

"This means that you will get one third of the money that we earn, and that you get to be on the ground floor of the development process," Fred added.

"You also are safe of all pranks because it could break up our company if we turn on each other," George assured him.

"But I don't know the first thing about making the products. You have been working on it for years," Harry said wondering how he would find the time to help with this and do all that he had to at school.

"Don't worry about it. You funded us and we will think up all the products."

"If you have any ideas, we wouldn't mind, but other than that all you have to do is sit back and wait for us to make it big," Fred told him.

Just then Ron opened the door and found the odd collection of people within. He gave them an odd look. His brothers and Harry usually didn't have private conversations, at least to his knowledge and he was wondering what had suddenly changed.

"Well now that we have that settled there is nothing more to be said. We will give you a paper once we arrive at school to finish it up."

Fred and George got up to leave walking straight past their bewildered brother.

"What was that all about?" Ron asked Harry as soon as they left.

"Oh you know, this and that." Harry's evasive answer didn't satisfy Ron in the least but he could tell that Harry didn't want to talk about.

"Everyone is gathering for dinner downstairs."

"I'll be there in a minute I just have a few more things to do in here." Harry gave Ron a look that said I don't want you to watch me as I do it either.

Ron caught the hint and left the room shutting the door reluctantly behind him. Harry then hurried to fit all of his items inside the trunk and put on a numbered lock so that it wouldn't be able to have the lock picked. Harry wouldn't put it past the twins to try and break into his trunk. That done he left to dinner and spent the whole night getting odd looks from Ron across the table.