It took Harry one step inside of the Leaky Cauldron to realize that this day was not going to go the way he expected. His heart twisted itself into a knot… but he couldn't help but smile.
"I assume you're the prefect for today?" he asked.
Hermione Granger nodded eagerly, her bushy hair bouncing.
"I'm Hermione, Sir," she said. "Hermione Granger. Fifth year, Gryffindor."
"First time as a prefect, huh?"
Hermione nodded, chewing her lip.
"I'm sure you'll do great," he told her.
With Hermione walking just behind him, he gathered the first years into an orderly line. The first Diagon trip had gone smoothly, barring a few insults from Lord Greengrass in Madam Malkins. Harry could only hope today would be as easy.
It wasn't off to a fantastic start. The Leaky Cauldron was packed. One little girl nearly got lost when she veered off to pet a Kneezle sunning itself on the floor. The Kneezle woke up as she approached, hissing and swiping, but Harry had doubled back and pulled the girl out of the way. She let out a brief scream, causing a young man in exquisite silk robes to give them side-eye.
"Careful," Harry told the girl as he led her back to the others. "Things can be, ah, touchy in the magical world. Best to play it safe, until you know what might offend someone."
The girl nodded, pressing her lips together as she tried very hard not to sniffle.
Out back, while the entrance to Diagon was opening, Hermione turned to Harry.
"What's your name, Sir?"
He felt like face palming. It didn't even occur to him to introduce himself to Hermione… but of course he had to.
"Professor Potter," he said. "I'll be teaching Muggle Studies. Maybe I'll see you there."
Hermione turned pale. "I, uh…" she mumbled something too quiet to catch, followed by a much louder, "Sir."
"What was that?"
"I dropped it, Sir," she said despairingly.
Harry just chuckled.
"I'm not going to get angry about that," he said. "I wasn't even the professor. Now, if I had been teaching, and you still dropped it, then we would be having problems."
"Was that a joke?" asked one of the first years.
Harry looked down to find the girl he'd saved from that 'deadly' Kneazle attack staring at him. She had very large, innocent brown eyes that made Harry hurry to say, "It was indeed!"
The little girl nodded. She continued standing close to him even after the brick wall finally opened, the whole group filing into Diagon Alley.
"If you're a Potter, are you perhaps related to James Potter?" Hermione asked.
"You know him?" Harry said.
"He's a member of Wizengamot," Hermione said matter-of-factly. "And… Well… We've met a couple of times."
Order business, probably. Hermione was leaving out the details on purpose, hiding something, while her tone was a tad hesitant. Considering James seemed to be a prominent member here, and Hermione might have been connected with them through Neville, Harry thought it was a safe bet.
"Where are we going first?" asked the first year that had been sticking close to Harry.
The Apothecary was the closest shop. Harry glanced at its dingy structure. There weren't too many people inside, but it wasn't empty, either. Two men in their early twenties stood just inside the doorway of the shop, looking at something in the window display. Harry turned away.
"Let's start with Flourish and Blotts," he said cheerfully.
Hermione immediately perked up. He wondered if he would have to remind her that they weren't here to shop for themselves. More likely, the first years were about to get the most comprehensive tour they could have ever asked for.
Harry led the first years to the bookstore, allowing them to disperse once inside. Flourish and Blotts, at least, was one store they weren't likely to find anything dangerous in, especially without Lucius Malfoy on hand to slip Horcruxes into their school bags.
Hermione rushed around frantically— not because first years were getting into trouble, but because she wanted to give every last one their own book recommendations. Harry watched with a smile, standing beside the door.
Eventually, he glanced over his shoulder. It wasn't his first visit to Diagon, but he couldn't help but notice the life it was imbued with. So many wizards and witches going about their shopping with their heads held high.
Soon, the alley would possess a very different atmosphere. Voldemort was back. It was only the Ministry's insistence to the contrary, and Voldemort using that ignorance to his advantage, that allowed a scene like this. The young men that had been in the apothecary strolled past, walking in the general direction of Gringotts. One had sandy blond hair. The other's hair was dark brown.
"Hermione!" Harry said.
Her bushy head popped out from behind a large bookshelf. "Yes, Professor?"
"Can you watch the kids for a minute? Make sure they don't leave this shop. Thanks a bunch."
"Wait—"
Harry ducked out the door.
He strode into the middle of the alley, pausing to stretch and enjoy the feeling of the sun on the back of his neck. He finished his walk across the street, settling down at one of the outdoor tables of Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor.
"I love that flavor," he told the man who was already sitting there. "Careful not to spill, though. I don't even want to imagine how expensive it would be if you stained those robes!"
"Who the fuck are you?" said the man.
He was roughly twenty-three, dressed in fine robes that would've cost three months of Harry's professor wages to purchase. His face was angular and haughty, with a curved scar across the bridge of his nose. He'd probably gone to school with Harry. He looked twenty-three at the oldest. This was the man who gave the first year a dirty look in the Leaky Cauldron. He'd been halfway into a meal there, but somehow he' had already moved on to dessert.
"That's what I wanted to ask you, really," Harry said. "But forget about it. I figure you're not in the mood to give me many answers, so I should focus on the questions I'm most curious about. What drives a person to do something like this?"
"You're crazy," said the man.
"And you're amateurs. When you're staking out a location, dress like the locals. No one who can afford clothes that nice has eaten inside the Leaky Cauldron in at least fifty years. And don't even get me started on your friends."
Harry's eyes picked out the blond and brunette who he'd last seen approaching Gringotts. They were walking past Flourish and Blotts, openly glancing at the store as they walked back the way they came minutes earlier. Harry turned to the young man beside him.
"I just want to know," he said. "Why?"
The young man regarded him across the table with beady brown eyes.
Harry sighed. "Fine. If that's your choice, all I can say is… Think twice about this."
"Are you scared?"
"Of wizards who pick fights with kids? Nah, not really."
There was movement under the table. Harry heard a wand being drawn. It was a shame, then, for the rich pureblood across from him that Harry's wand was already out.
The man's strawberry-and-peanut-butter ice cream leapt out of his hand, stuffing itself in his mouth. Whatever spell had been on his tongue was buried beneath a sugary avalanche. The man's wand shot out of his hands and into Harry's palm. Coughing, he managed to spit out the ice cream, only for his eyelids to get heavy. He leaned forward slowly, his forehead landing on the table, sound asleep.
Harry had already stood up, excusing himself when the man's eyes first started closing. Behind him, he heard other customers talking.
"This isn't a public park!" said one woman. "Who does he think he is, using it as a place to nod off!"
"Oh, leave him," said Florean Fortescue kindly, bringing ice cream to another table. "The lad is probably tired."
Harry crossed the street, re-entering Flourish and Blotts.
"How's it coming?" he asked.
Hermione whipped around, looking excited. Behind her, every one of the first years was carrying a stack of books so large that it reached their chins, their arms shaking under the weight.
"They'll definitely be ready for Hogwarts with these!" said Hermione.
It took Harry reminding her that not all first years could afford that many books, and that Hogwarts scholarships only covered required texts, for her to cave and put most of them back. The first years left the shop with much more manageable loads, marveling at the Featherweight Charms Harry put on their bags. A few of the boys were playing catch, feeling like superheroes as they tossed around thick books like nothing.
The man Harry put to sleep was still out cold. The other two that had been tailing them had disappeared… but only for a moment. As Harry led the first years past Gambol and Japes Joke shop, which featured a large flapping banner showing a young wizard chasing his peers around with Dungbombs and Stinkpellets, movement caught his eye.
Eight men emerged from the entrance to Knockturn Alley, including the two that Harry had spotted earlier. Looking directly at the first years, they drew their wands.
"Brazen…" Harry muttered.
"What was that?" asked Hermione.
"Just thinking about where to stop next," he said, facing her with a smile.
Behind his back, Harry's wand swished.
The cloth poster tore loose from the front of Gambol and Japes, fluttering across the alley. It landed directly on top of the men who had just entered Diagon, blinding them and causing them to shout.
The owner of Gambol and Japes rushed outside when he saw his advertisement floating away. Seeing the damage it caused… he proceeded to bust a gut laughing. This was the owner of a joke shop, after all.
"Can we go in there!" asked a boy, pointing at Magical Menagerie's windows, filled with owls and a single sleeping cat.
"Sure, we can take a look," Harry said.
"Pets aren't required either," Hermione reminded him.
"It doesn't hurt to let them see inside, though."
"But compared to extra books—"
"It's just a bit of fun, Hermione," Harry reminded her. "It won't cost them anything."
"Right," she said, though she still looked unconvinced that this could be more important than the supplementary reading the first years had been 'robbed' of.
Behind them, the men managed to tear free from the poster just in time to watch the last of the first years file into the pet shop.
"Hello there!" greeted an excitable young witch with an owl perched on her messy blond bun like a nest. "How can I help you folks?"
"We're just taking a look around," Harry told her with a smile.
The inside of Magical Menagerie looked like a pet shop designed by a mad scientist. There were cages in the windows, and glass enclosures all around the interior, but hardly any of them were simple. They were like glass highways, going in every direction with different magical creatures inside. There were enclosures on the ceiling with bats hanging inside of them, and others on the floor that you had to hop over, where tortoises slept beside various rodents. Owls roosted on perches, and Kneazles prowled outside the glass, eyeing the rodents within.
"Go on, explore!" Harry encouraged them.
As the students scattered, the same witch that greeted them suddenly said, "Hello there!"
Four of the pursuing wizards entered the room. Hermione looked at them strangely, probably because they weren't looking at the pets at all, but at the first years. Their wands were drawn. They brushed right past the witch who greeted them, splitting up to prowl among the aisles of cages and exotic animals.
"Professor, I'm not sure about those— Professor?"
Harry heard Hermione's voice, but he'd already slipped down an aisle himself.
He silenced his footsteps casually. As he walked down the aisle, he peered through the glass of a rodent enclosure at the wizard on the other side. While two first years stroked a cat, who reluctantly accepted their adoration, the man raised his wand.
Harry's wand swished. A conjured mouse appeared from thin air, directly on top of the wizard's head. The cat's eyes narrowed. At the sound of squeaking, multiple owls woke up. The predators converged, leaping up and swooping down to fight for the meal directly on top of the wizard's head. He dropped his wand in a panic, trying to shield his face. When he finally got free, his face scratched up, Harry was directly in front of him.
"Stupefy," Harry muttered, his wand so close to the man's chest that the red beam was just a brief, miniscule flash.
As the man dropped onto the floor, Harry Disillusioned him. It was nowhere near true invisibility like his old cloak, but when used on a stationary target, they all but disappeared. The first years turned around.
"Was somebody there?" one asked.
"Just me," Harry said with a smile. "See anything you like?"
While they excitedly told him about the pretty kitties and stranger, more exotic pets they'd discovered, Harry listened with a smile, watching two more of the wizards in the background.
They were approaching another of his students, who was reading the information plaque below a large, sleeping green lizard perched inside a glass case, snoring like a man.
Before they could cast a single spell, twin tripping jinxes hit sent the wizards sprawling forward. They would have fallen on the poor first year, if the eleven year old wasn't suddenly pulled a few feet toward Harry. The adult wizards hit the cage with the lizard in it, getting their hands up just in time to keep from smashing their faces.
The cage rattled fiercely, sending the lizard off of his perch and waking it up. The reptile's eyes opened, revealing odd golden eyes. It's neck puffed up. A moment later, it breathed what looked like a cloud of sand.
The glass separating the wizards disappeared. The sand rushed out, swarming their faces and making them cough. They swayed, then fell the rest of the way to the floor, snoring soundly. The strange lizard had already gone back to sleep. By the time anyone looked over, the glass had reappeared, back in place.
"Professor Potter…"
Harry looked back to find Hermione staring at him. She hadn't seen everything, but she'd seen enough to be giving him a truly funny look.
"One moment, Hermione," Harry said pleasantly.
The last of the four wizards had noticed his allies dropping. Looking around and finding himself alone, he chose to retreat, quickly. Turns out, people who pick fights with defenseless kids are cowards. Who could have guessed?
He sprinted to the door, shoving over the witch who worked there on the way. He burst through the door using his hip, running to meet up with the four others who were waiting outside.
Nothing happened to him. He made it outside. The door closed behind him… but at the last second, if you looked close, you could see him fly off of his feet.
The Banishing charm hit his back, sending him headfirst into one of his friends. They both fell to the ground, concussed or unconscious.
"Alright everybody!" Harry clapped his hands to attract the first years' attention. "It's time to go!"
There were a lot of groans. "Already?" someone complained.
"We're short on time," Harry said grimly. "We just have to go and get you all your wands now… Terribly sorry…"
Before you could blink, every last first year had run to the front door. He smirked.
Harry stepped outside first, just in case. But the three remaining wizards were too busy checking on the two who just bashed heads — and figuring out how their friends just lost a fight with a pet shop — to stop them. Harry led the way down the street to Olivander's without interruption.
The wand shop was the same as ever inside. Old Olivander spent a while making the impressionable youngsters feel awed before taking them one by one to find the perfect wand. Harry watched with a smile. He loved the giddy look of excitement on each first year, the moment they tried a wand and knew that this was the one.
Hermione stood next to him by the door. She didn't seem to share his joy. She kept sneaking glances at him, before finally saying, "Those men are up to no good, aren't they?"
"The ones who are about to walk in here?" Harry said. "Surely not."
The door opened. "I'll be with you in a bit!" Olivander called over.
The three men that entered didn't spare him a glance. They walked straight forward, raising their wands.
Or tried to raise them, anyway. Harry was faster. They found their wrists glued to the sides, trapping their wands. Before they could come up with a countercharm, the latest wand a first year was trying out flew from his fingers.
"Sorry!" the first year said as it rolled away.
The wand kept rolling, until one of the wizards mistakenly stepped on it. He immediately fell forward into a shelf, causing a cascade of boxes to rain down on top of him and his friends. Somehow, how not a single box touched the students. No one noticed three wands — each belonging to the men — slide conveniently out of the pile, skidding up to Harry, who pocketed them casually.
"A little clumsiness is nothing to be embarrassed over," Harry told the boy that 'dropped' the wand. "Look, even adult wizards suffer from it!"
"Oh dear," said Olivander, eyeing the pile. "What a mess."
He finished matching the last couple first years with wands before beginning to help the men that had been in the accident. Hermione was looking at Harry without saying anything now. That was how he knew there was no fooling her anymore.
Oh well. The first years were none the wiser, and that was what he'd really been after.
"We'll swing back around to the Apothecary, and go to Madam Malkin's last—" Harry started to say, when he felt a sudden chill down his spine. "Oh, Look, he's got a dragon on a leash!"
Harry pointed behind the First Years, who all spun around to get a look. When they did, Harry turned sharply.
One of the two men he made collide outside the Magical Menagerie stood in the street. He was bleeding from his lip, with a big bruise on his forehead, but he was up and moving. He raised his wand— not looking at Harry at all, but rather at the nearest of the innocent first years, standing with their backs turned.
"Avada—!"
A bludgeoning charm knocked his hand straight up in the air. A Jelly-Legs Jinx dropped him onto his knees. Next, as if Hagrid had grabbed the back of the man's head and pushed, he was driven face-first into the cobblestones with a resounding smack. He didn't stir. All of this happened in the time it took the first years to realize they had been fooled. By the time they turned back, Harry was smiling.
"You lied about the dragon!" accused one of the first years.
"Of course he did," Hermione said. "Nobody keeps dragons as pets. Well, most people don't. And definitely not adult ones…"
"Dragons are scary," Harry agreed. "Some things in the magical world are dangerous. Dragons, for one, and other dark creatures. Just look at that man over there. He was so scared that a dragon was here, he passed out!"
Harry pointed to the dark wizard he'd rendered unconscious, causing the first years to look over.
"So why'd you say there was a dragon?" grumbled the boy who'd been most excited to see one.
"To prove a point," Harry said. "You're going to see a lot of new things soon. It's good to be curious, but don't forget to be careful, too. Dragons are cool in story books. They're less cool when they're trying to eat you. It's the same thing with spells. Everyone wants to be able to cast curses, but it takes a lot more skill to heal the damage a curse has done. I hope you have tons of fun at Hogwarts. But remember to have a little bit of caution, especially these days."
He was definitely the wrong person to be giving this lesson, but they didn't have to know that. And it was true. These kids had already become a target just because of how they were born and what they represented… even if they didn't know it. They would need to be patient, careful, and maybe a little bit lucky in order to live through what was coming.
He couldn't say how much the lesson really sank in, but he did get a couple of somber nods. Smiling, he turned to Hermione.
"I know it's a lot to ask," he said, "but would you mind helping them finish their shopping? I've got something urgent that really needs to be cleared up."
Hermione looked at the man lying unconscious in the street, then looked back at him. She nodded.
"You're the best," Harry said.
It was a bit sooner than expected, but he had a feeling he was in for a second meeting with a certain redheaded DMLE official.