Three Hallows' Eve || Harmione & Jily

Chapter 14.4

His attention was successfully pulled away from the Nimbus when they entered Eeylops. Mum and Dad had given him his choice of pet (though they had recommended against a toad), and he found himself drawn to the utility of an owl. The outlet was well named for it certainly was an emporium rather than just a mere shop. Where, from the outside, it had looked like any other establishment in terms of size and decor, the inside seemed like one impossibly large room. The ceiling was so high up that Harry almost had to lean backwards to see it all, and it felt like he'd run out of breath before he could run to the back wall if he was so inclined to try.

Dozens and dozens of owls perched wherever there was an available space: on several hand-crafted perches dotted here and there, atop crossbeams like they were the branches of trees, atop crossbeams that were shaped like the branches of trees, on shelves, on window-ledges, everywhere! And in all colours and sizes too! There were big tawny owls, tiny grey owls, regal looking black owls. A pretty looking screech owl on a shelf behind the desk stretched out its huge wingspan, disturbing a napping little scops owl in the process.

As he spun around admiring all of the majestic birds, he noticed a set of wide brown eyes staring directly at him from high above. He met the gaze to find the most beautiful looking snowy owl he'd ever seen regarding him unblinkingly. Its plumage was stunningly white without a speck of any other colour and nary a feather out of place. His eyes moved up to meet its gaze again, and even from as far as he was, he could see hints of great intelligence and pride in its eyes.

The owl blinked finally and puffed up its chest importantly, and Harry grinned widely. With no doubt in his mind he raised his arm in front of him as an offering and watched as the owl cocked its head slightly before leaping from its crossbeam and swooping down to land on his forearm.

'Hello,' he whispered reverently, 'I'm Harry,' and the owl chirped at him as though returning his greeting.

'A right beauty, that one, en't she Mr. Pottah?' asked the shopkeeper, who Harry hadn't even noticed was watching him alongside his family. 'And she dun't come down from there very of'en, either. As a matter o' fact, I reckon you're only the second person she's ever come down for at all.'

Harry smiled as the owl seemed to puff her chest up again at the praise. 'Who was the first?' he asked the shopkeeper.

'A young girl, prob'ly 'bout your age with righ' curly hair. Came in here a couple o' weeks ago. Di'nt end up getting anything in the end, but took to that there bird. Called her Hedwig, if I remember rightly.'

'Hedwig,' Harry echoed softly. 'That's a good name. Dignified. Proper. What do you think?' he asked of the owl, who chirped again in clear agreement.

'Well that settles it then,' said Mum. 'We'll need a nice cage and some food for Hedwig.'

There were only two shops left to visit after they left Eeylops with Hedwig and her things, and it was traditional to get your wand last so it was finally time for Harry to visit Flourish and Blotts Bookshop, which would easily be the second best part of the whole trip. Dad placed a hand on his shoulder and stopped him from entering just as they reached the door. 'Bookshop ground rules,' he said and Harry sighed.

The bookshop ground rules were something that he'd had to abide by for years now, and it looked like he wasn't going to get a free pass on his birthday either. Every time Harry entered a bookshop, he was given a time limit and a spending limit, and if he went over either of them, the excess would be taken off of his next trip.

Dad checked his wristwatch before looking him in the eye. 'I'll let you get away with going over time last month because it's your birthday, but we've got to get to Ollivanders and then home in time for dinner so you can't go over today. Forty-five minutes-' Harry groaned despairingly but Dad didn't relent. 'Forty-five minutes and ten galleons on top of your Hogwarts book list. Does that sound fair?'

Ten galleons was quite a bit more than he usually was allowed to spend which did slightly soften the blow of the short time limit, but then again he'd not have a lot of time to figure out what to spend them on. 'Can we at least make it an hour?' he asked, quickly adding on a 'Please?' when Dad raised his eyebrow at him.

Dad pretended to think about it for a moment. 'I suppose it is your birthday...' he drawled, then smiled at the hopeful expression on Harry's face. 'An hour,' he agreed. 'No more, though.'

Harry nodded enthusiastically and sped into the shop, ignoring Dad's comment of 'He's definitely your son,' to Mum.

Helpfully, Flourish and Blotts always had a couple of shelves reserved for the Hogwarts book lists once they were sent out, so that part was just a matter of finding the first year texts on the shelves.

The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk, check.
A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot, already got at home (signed).
Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling, check.
A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch, check.
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore, check.
Magical Draughts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger, check.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander, already got.
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble, check.

He checked the clock that was hung above the counter and found that he'd already been in here for five minutes. It was a good thing Dad had agreed to give him longer. With his book list taken care of, it was time to search the shelves for some new additions to his ever-growing collection. The first he found was the new edition of Quidditch Through the Ages by Kennilworthy Whisp. He already owned the 1987 print, but apparently this one had more details and stories about some of teams that were no longer in the League, and Whisp had also managed to uncover some long-forgotten rules from before the fifteenth century.

After that came A Runic Retrospective by Frederick Linnaues, which detailed how magic used to be cast using runes and how Elder Futhark had come to evolve into the modern Aolvdarnic script that was most commonly used today. He wouldn't be able to study runes at Hogwarts until his third year, but that didn't mean he couldn't do some reading on the subject beforehand.

The Animal Spirit by Amytis Daniel was the next book he chose. Practically every adult in his life had forbidden him from even attempting to begin the Animagus process until he was at least into his fourth year, after which time he'd be allowed to pursue it under the watchful eye of Aunt Minerva, but he figured they'd all be okay with him reading this book. He flicked through it quickly and it didn't seem to detail or even describe the process itself at all. It was just a collection of accounts as to how different animals awakened different instincts, behaviours, and senses in the Animagus after they'd completed the process.

Checking the time again, Harry found he had five minutes and two galleons left to get one last book, and quickly settled on one he'd seen upstairs earlier: Why I Didn't Die When the Augurey Cried by Matt Larona which was a relatively short but fascinating looking book about the Auguery's cry and the history behind it being an omen of death.

With his time almost up he raced back down the bookshop's spiral staircase and practically skidded to a stop in front of the counter where Dad was standing and theatrically watching his watch.

'Thirty seconds early,' Dad said with a smirk and helped him haul the books onto the counter in front of Mr Flourish, the owner of the shop, who was knowingly chuckling at their antics. Far too soon, they were leaving the bookshop, with Harry the owner of ten new books, and making their way back up Diagon Alley towards Ollivanders.