Meeting Of Swords and Wands

Chapter 5: I Go Wizard Shopping

'I. Am. NEVER. Doing. That. Again.' I thought as I exited the Floo. It's bad enough that the floo fire reminds me of Greek Fire, but I also seem to have all the grace of a drunken Lystrogarian trying to do ballet. I shot out of the floo on my back with a light dusting of ash on me. I took a quick look and found that I have entered a library or book store of some kind. 'Great, another reminder of Wise Girl' I thought to myself as that familiar pang hit me.

"Hard landing there, eh?" Mr. Weasley said as he bent down, a smile playing on his lips.

"Just a little." I replied. The smile grew on his lips.

"Learning to come out still standing is a skill." Mr. Weasley laughed as he reached out his hand. I barely got to reach up before the fireplace erupted in green flames. I barely got to register what was happening before Nico came shooting out and landed on top of me.

"You ok Nico?" I asked.

"Yeah," he groaned, "Thank gods your chest is soft." I started laughing as Nico lifted his head. I instantly stopped as I noticed that Nico was incredibly close to my face. Not only was he close, I noticed that he looked incredibly cute. Everything from his light tan to his boopable nose to those dark brown eyes that hold so much danger and mystery like the shadows themselves. I was so buried in Nico's eyes that didn't even notice my heart rate quicken or my face heating up.

"Are you two ok?" A voice asked, snapping me out of my thoughts. Apparently, Nico was also lost in thought as he jumped in surprise. I looked over to see George and Fred looking at Nico and I.

"Yeah, just getting used to floo travel." I replied as my face started burning.

"Really, from where we're standing, you certainly look like you got caught." George commented. I only then realized I had a racing heart and burning face and Nico's face was practically tomatoe red. Fred held out his hand, which Nico gladly took. Mr. Weasley held out his hand and I took it, my head and thoughts spinning. 'Why did I react like that?' I mentally asked myself. 'Probably just the proximity' I reasoned as the rest of our group came in.

"Welcome to Florish and Blotts!" Arthur said as he swept the shop with his hand. Even though I wasn't that interested in books, especially thanks to my dyslexia, I couldn't help but be impressed. The whole shop looked like it was pulled from the Medieval Era with the wooden design and stacks of seemingly hand-bound books. The smell of old paper certainly sold the aesthetics of the place. I was impressed.

"Alright then!" Arthur said, snapping me back to the here-and-now, "First stop on our trip, the bank!" He then led the way out of the bookstore and out onto the street.

If I wasn't sold on the idea of Florish and Blotts coming from the Medieval Period, I was sold as I saw the street. It looked exactly like what the illustrations of a Medieval cobblestone street showed in my history textbooks. Stone and wood buildings lined the narrow streets that were jam packed with people wearing robes that looked exactly like that period's fashion.

"Hey Percy, Nico, do you have everything for the school year?" Hermione asked. Nico and I looked at each other, then back at her, confused. "Do you even have money?" She asked.

"We do have this." I said as I reached into my pocket and pulled out the large baggy of Drachmas-looking coins as Nico did the same.

"Wow mate, your sponsors are looking out for you!" Ron exclaimed as he saw the baggies.

"Really? It looks like a bunch of coinage to me." I said.

"You don't know Wizarding currency, do you?" Harry asked. Nico and I shook our heads. "It's ok, I had to learn too. I'll explain after I pick up my money from Gringotts."