Harry Potter and the Dark Family

Chapter Eight: Diagon Alley

"Father!" Hydrus called as he came into the study.

"Yes, Hydrus?"

"We got our letters," Hydrus showed Tom the letters. "Will we be going to Diagon Alley tomorrow?"

"We can. I'll polyjuice myself to look like your 'Uncle Vernon' so that I may accompany you," was Tom's reply. 

(Time Skip)

Hydrus and Aquila as Harry and Hermione, Tom as Vernon, the Grangers, and the Weasleys shopped around Diagon Alley the following day. They had all of their supplies except the books purchased, and they are headed to the crowded bookstore to buy them. 

  GILDEROY LOCKHART 

will be signing copies of his autobiography 

MAGICAL ME 

today 12:30P.M.to 4:30P.M. 

"We can meet him!" Hermione squealed. "I mean, he's written almost the whole booklist!" 

The crowd seemed to be made up mostly of witches around Mrs. Weasley's age. A harassed-looking wizard stood at the door, saying, "Calmly, please, ladies...Don't push, there...mind the books, now..." 

Harry, Ron, and Hermione squeezed inside. A long line wound right to the back of the shop, where Gilderoy Lockhart was signing his books. They each grabbed a copy of The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2 and sneaked up the line to where the rest of the Weasleys were standing with Mr and Mrs Granger and Tom. 

"Oh, there you are, good," said Mrs. Weasley. She sounded breathless and kept patting her hair. "We'll be able to see him in a minute..."   

Gilderoy Lockhart came slowly into view, seated at a table surrounded by large pictures of his face, all winking and flashing dazzlingly white teeth at the crowd. The real Lockhart was wearing robes of forget-me-not blue that exactly matched his eyes; his pointed wizard's hat was set at a jaunty angle on his wavy hair.   

A short, irritable-looking man was dancing around taking photographs with a large black camera that emitted puffs of purple smoke with every blinding flash.   

"Out of the way, there," he snarled at Ron, moving back to get a better shot. "This is for the Daily Prophet —" 

"Big deal," said Ron, rubbing his foot where the photographer had stepped on it. 

Gilderoy Lockhart heard him. He looked up. He saw Ron — and then he saw Harry. He stared. Then he leapt to his feet and positively shouted, "It can't be Harry Potter?" 

The crowd parted, whispering excitedly; Lockhart dived forward, seized Harry's arm, and pulled him to the front. The crowd burst into applause. Harry's face burned as Lockhart shook his hand for the photographer, who was clicking away madly, wafting thick smoke over the Weasleys. 

"Nice big smile, Harry," said Lockhart, through his gleaming teeth. "Together, you and I are worth the front page." His father was laughing at his plight. 

When he finally let go of Harry's hand, Harry could hardly feel his fingers. He tried to veer back over to the Weasleys, but Lockhart threw an arm around his shoulders and clamped him tightly to his side. 

"Ladies and gentlemen," he roared, waving for quiet. "What an extraordinary moment this is! The perfect moment for me to make a little announcement I've been sitting on for some time! 

"When young Harry here stepped into Flourish and Blotts today, he only wanted to buy my autobiography — which I shall be happy to present him now, free of charge —" The crowd applauded again. "He had no idea," Lockhart continued, giving Harry a little shake that made his glasses slip to the end of his nose, "that he would shortly be getting much, much more than my book, Magical Me. He and his schoolmates will be getting the real magical me. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have great pleasure and pride in announcing that this September, I will be taking up the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"   

The crowd cheered and clapped, and Harry found himself being presented with the entire works of Gilderoy Lockhart. Staggering slightly under their weight, he managed to make his way out of the limelight to the edge of the room, where Ginny was standing next to her new cauldron.  

"You have these," Harry mumbled to her, tipping the books into the cauldron. "I'll buy my own —" 

"Bet you loved that, didn't you, Potter?" said a voice Harry had no trouble recognising. He straightened up and found himself face-to-face with Draco Malfoy, who was wearing his usual sneer. Draco did wink unnoticed though. 

"Famous Harry Potter," said Malfoy. "Can't even go into a bookshop without making the front page." 

"Leave him alone, he didn't want all that!" said Ginny. It was the first time she had spoken in front of Harry. She was glaring at Malfoy. Both parties found it rather amusing. 

"Potter, you've got yourself a girlfriend!" drawled Malfoy. Ginny went scarlet as Ron and Hermione fought their way over, both clutching stacks of Lockhart's books. 

"Oh, it's you," said Ron, looking at Malfoy as if he were something unpleasant on the sole of his shoe. "Bet you're surprised to see Harry here, eh?" 

"Not as surprised as I am to see you in a shop, Weasley," retorted Malfoy. "I suppose your parents will go hungry for a month to pay for all those." 

Ron went as red as Ginny and winked at Draco. He dropped his books into the cauldron, too, and started toward Malfoy, but Harry and Hermione grabbed the back of his jacket. 

"Ron!" said Mr Weasley, struggling over with Fred and George. "What are you doing? It's too crowded in here, let's go outside." 

"Well, well, well — Arthur Weasley."   

It was Mr Malfoy. He stood with his hand on Draco's shoulder, sneering in just the same way. Something was wrong though. 

"Lucius," said Mr Weasley, nodding coldly. 

"Busy time at the Ministry, I hear," said Mr Malfoy. "All those raids...I hope they're paying you overtime?" 

He reached into Ginny's cauldron and extracted, from amid the glossy Lockhart books, an ancient, very battered copy of A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration. 

"Obviously not," Mr Malfoy said. "Dear me, what's the use of being a disgrace to the name of wizard if they don't even pay you well for it?" 

Mr Weasley flushed darker than either Ron or Ginny.   

"We have a very different idea of what disgraces the name of wizard, Malfoy," he said. 

"Clearly," said Mr Malfoy, his pale eyes straying to Mr and Mrs Granger and to Tom oddly, who were watching apprehensively. "The company you keep, Weasley...and I thought your family could sink no lower."   

There was a thud of metal as Ginny's cauldron went flying; Mr Weasley had thrown himself at Mr Malfoy, knocking him backwards into a bookshelf. Dozens of heavy spellbooks came thundering down on all their heads; there was a yell of, "Get him, Dad!" from Fred or George; Mrs Weasley was shrieking, "No, Arthur, no!"; the crowd stampeded backwards, knocking more shelves over; "Gentlemen, please — please!" cried the assistant, and then, louder than all — 

"Break it up, there, gents, break it up —" 

Hagrid was wading toward them through the sea of books. In an instant, he had pulled Mr Weasley and Mr Malfoy apart. Mr Weasley had a cut lip, and Mr Malfoy had been hit in the eye by an Encyclopedia of Toadstools. He was still holding Ginny's old Transfiguration book. He thrust it at her, his eyes glittering with malice. 

"Here, girl — take your book — it's the best your father can give you —" Pulling himself out of Hagrid's grip he beckoned to Draco, who was slightly confused and swept from the shop.   

(Time Skip)

A week before school was set to start, Lucius comes rushing into Tom's study. 

"Tom! My Lord! Forgive me, but we have a problem! I do not remember anything from a week ago until now, and I checked the diary, and it's gone. It's gone, Tom. I don't know where it could possibly be, but it's got to be at Hogwarts. Do we go and get it ourselves? Do we send the children? Are they safe? The Basilisk! Do you think someone will let it out? Tom, what do we do?"

"First, calm down. Here's some tea," Tom hands him a cup of tea. "Now, I think it's best to let the children retrieve it. Both Hydrus and Aquila are parseltongues. The children will be relatively safe."