Chapter 30: 28th July 1991, Sunday: Part 18

The Linwoods got back on the road and committed to finishing this back-to-school shopping gauntlet as soon as possible. The new approach meant no more messing around, overwise they'd be getting back to Yorkshire at midnight. By George's reckoning, the remaining shops should be relatively uneventful. He only had to focus on ticking off the rest of the Hogwart's requirements letter from now on. Any more specialised equipment shouldn't be hard to find, and Ellie should be significantly better behaved now that she finally had two new feathery friends to keep her company. This might be tempting fate, but George thought that the rest of Diagon Alley should be smooth sailing.

They first went to Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, where they purchased all of the school uniforms and dragonhide gloves. George had a glimmer of hope to find an invisibility cloak, but there wasn't any for sale. They could have been in and out within a couple of minutes but, Amanda was very insistent on buying the more expensive self-ironing and repairing robes. She was steadfast in ensuring George wasn't 'wandering around Hogwarts looking like he's homeless'. The more expensive option meant George had to stand on a stool and have his measurements taken for over twenty minutes. His only suggestion was to go for the extra elasticated option with the excuse that he needed room to grow.

Next was Potage's Cauldron Shop to purchase the pewter cauldron and crystal phials. The crystal phials were more expensive than the glass alternatives, but they were enchanted with a preservation charm which justified the cost in George's opinion. Since he could afford to spoil himself, George also got a few spare glass phials as well as a self-stirring copper cauldron. He went for the self-stirring option for literally no other reason than, why not. Some potions demanded hours of constant stirring, the potential carpal tunnel syndrome wasn't worth saving a few extra galleons.

Then they briefly stopped by Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment to pick up the brass scales and a telescope for a measly eight galleons. The store was predominantly filled with products related to fortune-telling and astronomy. This was the first and only shop that George didn't splurge out in and only purchased what was required for Hogwarts. The idea of having your future set in stone by fate was perhaps one of the only things that could genuinely terrify George, way more than death itself. Finding out that someone had used divination to predict his future would genuinely give him nightmares.

Although it wasn't listed as a required item, Remus recommended going to Amanuensis Quills. George will be forced to use traditional quills and ink at Hogwarts even though this oldy worldly method was incredibly inconvenient compared to the modern equivalents. Infuriatingly, most teachers would be awkward and ban bringing superior muggle equipment into their classrooms. So to make George's life a little easier, he bought a couple of self-inking quills that wrote a bit like a ballpoint pen. There was also a Quick-quotes quill for sale at a bargain price so he picked that up as well. A floating quill that can write notes by itself would be perfect in especially boring lessons like History of Magic.

The Linwoods also stopped by the Daily Prophet's Main Office so they could order two weekly subscriptions for George and Dominic. It only cost one galleon for a year's subscription which George considered very reasonable. Then again, it was well known that the Prophet is generally a mouthpiece for the Ministry. Perhaps the newspaper was discounted to help the propaganda be seen by more eyes. Then again, it's not like quality was the Prophet's top priority when the likes of Rita Skeeter's gossip regularly reached the front page. The more George thought about how terribly biased and fraudulent this paper was, the more convinced he was that they should be giving it away for free.

The gold coins began flowing again once they reached the penultimate shop, the Apothecary. Remus had stated that Hogwarts does provide potion ingredients to allow students to practise in their own time, but the quantities supplied were limited. Since George was going to be doing a lot more 'practising' than the rest of his fellow first years, he had no intentions of relying on Hogwarts for ingredients alone. His new magic battery, courtesy of Sheena Layla, was mostly made from alchemy materials. If George ever hoped to understand how it worked so he could apply it to his own goals, he needed an ample supply of the core ingredients to experiment with.

George would also like to ideally have the resources to make a vast array of potions just in case things went south. At Hogwarts, literally anything could happen. George wouldn't be so stupid as to assume his knowledge of the potential future would allow him to dodge every problem that was thrown his way. He needed something to fall back on, and there was nothing better than potions. They are infinitely useful and their effects were usually instantaneous, making them great for a quick escape or emergency self-defence. The only two limitations were the supply of ingredients, and the ability to craft them correctly.

Unlike learning magic and incantations, George had a method for mastering the art of potion-making with minimal time and effort. There was a potion book at Hogwarts that would advance his skill to heights only a sixth or seventh year could hope to achieve. George could simply steal it once he'd settled in at Hogwarts and reap the benefits. For now, he just had to buy all the ingredients that he might need for his advanced potion brewing. To be completely honest, this process was mostly guesswork since he barely knew anything about potion brewing at this current time.

There was a small hiccup when Remus seemed to notice that he wasn't just picking ingredients out at random. George knew that Remus had at least a moderate ability to brew potions. The werewolf must have practised a lot during his time at Hogwarts to learn how to make a particular potion, unsuccessfully of course. Therefore, George bulk-purchasing specific ingredients not commonly used by first years must have been quite suspicious. Ultimately, Remus chose to keep his observations to himself. Perhaps he intended on letting it lie for now, but George had to prepare an excuse if he asked about it later.

By this point in the afternoon, the crowds were finally starting to die down. George had spent just under four hundred galleons on school and personal supplies so far. There was only one shop worth going to left, and it was by far the most important.

Remus let out a yawn before saying, "pardon me. It has been a long day and I think I'm ready for an early night's sleep.

Anyway, Ellie has been telling me a bit about you George, and she said you're more than a little partial to a spot of light reading."

"Maybe just a little", George replied with a cheeky smile.

Remus reciprocated the smile when he said, "if that's the case, then you should be very excited because our final location is Flourish and Blotts. It's the largest wizarding bookshop in England.

We will need to pick up some of your school books, but I don't see any reason not to overindulge. I may have a few suggestions but Mrs Linwood probably wouldn't approve."

Remus gave George an exaggerated wink before directing the family towards the shop in question. Flourish and Blotts was larger than most shops on Diagon Alley, having two large windows on either side of the main entrance. From outside, all George could see were hundreds of books unevenly organised as well as some piles stacked high to the ceiling. The owner definitely didn't have OCD to create such a health and safety nightmare, Amanda better keep Ellie on a short leash or risk another avalanche incident. Luckily, the owls were still keeping his step-sister's hands busy for the time being.

Upon entry, the Linwoods were baffled by the sheer quantity of books stuffed within a relatively small building. By George's calculations, over a hundred customers must have been in this store today, and yet there wasn't any sign of shortages. There wasn't a single direction they could look without having their eyes oversaturated with the various colours of bookbindings. Just like in the windows, the store's layout appeared to be a complete mess, the shelves had been overloaded and looked on the verge of collapsing. Some of the overflowing books had spilt out onto every surface such as the reception desk and the floor around it.

There was a stairwell that led to a second story, but from what George could tell from where he stood, it appeared to be just as chaotic. He didn't approve of the owner's storing technique in the slightest. George always believed a little bit of love and care can go a long way to ensure a tidy work environment. There was at least an attempt at maintaining order with the various signs hanging from the ceiling, but they were about as useful as a chocolate fire guard. George could only assume that the equivalent of a librarian Mad Hatter had to own this place to allow it to descend into such anarchy. Annoyingly, his persona's 'love for literature' had to overcome his organisational prejudice. He had to force himself to appear enthralled as he gazed around the unbearable room.

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Even though it was later in the day, this popular shop was still full of customers. There were more than half a dozen witches and wizards wandering around, most of them appeared to be examining book covers to determine if they were worth purchasing. This was a bookstore and not a library so nobody was technically reading the books. Perhaps there was a spell to prevent wizards from looking through the pages before they made the purchase. Regardless, these loitering wizards made it very difficult to even pass the threshold. It took some gentle pushing and careful climbing over mounds of books to make their way further inside.

George had kept an eye out all day for people he recognised, but he hadn't seen one familiar face. He had started to lose hope until he glanced at a woman standing at the back of the bookstore. It was a member of Hogwarts staff, who like all the other professors, stood out in their own unique way. She was a rather short and plump woman who was getting on in years, and she was wearing a straw hat and a loose brown dress that appeared to be covered in bits of foliage. Before George could even decide whether or not to approach her, Remus had taken the initiative on his behalf.

Remus walked up to the professor and introduced himself, "Professor Sprout, what a pleasant surprise finding you here. Still teaching Herbology at Hogwarts, I presume?"

Sprout didn't seem to recognise Remus at first. It took a few seconds before her face beamed with a radiant smile. Then she walked over to embrace him in a hug.

Sprout gave him a firm squeeze before taking a few steps back, "Remus Lupin, now that's a face I haven't seen for a few years?

You know Professor Dumbledore still brings your name up on occasion. He thinks you would make a good Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, but I keep telling him otherwise. You can't have a boy who can't follow simple instructions teaching something as important as the dark arts."

Remus appeared embarrassed by Sprout's lecturing, "now that's not very fair, I was tricked after all. If I had known a mandrake sapling's scream was so dangerous, I would have never taken off my ear muffs."

Sprout didn't seem too impressed, "you should have known better than to trust those friends of yours back then. Jokers, the lot of you."

There was a pause before she moved the topic along, "have you brought some new friends with you?"

Remus turned around to see the entire Linwood family standing in his shadow, clearly listening in on their conversation. Remus looked a bit upset by his history being further exposed. He had to take a deep breath before returning to his original optimism.

Remus pulled George forward as he said, "this here is George Linwood, he is a first-generation wizard and will be attending his first year at Hogwarts. George, this is Professor Sprout, she is the head of Hufflepuff at Hogwarts."

George and Sprout then shook hands, her grip was surprisingly firmer than Hagrid's. Her palms were dyed green and covered in calluses, it was a clear sign of a dedicated gardener.

Sprout suddenly appeared enlightened as she exchanged formalities, "a pleasure to meet you, Mr Linwood. I'll be looking forward to teaching you at Hogwarts, just remember to listen unlike Mr Lupin here. Speaking of which, it appears Professor Dumbledore was successful, when did he…"

Remus recognised Sprout's presumption and interrupted her, "this is just a favour for Professor Dumbledore. I just so happen to live close to the Linwood family, and he had suggested I deliver the acceptance letter.

You don't have to worry yourself, I have no plans on working at Hogwarts anytime soon."

Sprout looked a little saddened by this realisation but quickly hid it behind a smile. She probably knew that this was neither the time nor place to be having this discussion. Sprout then moved to one side and pointed at a child digging through a pile of transfiguration books. George's eyes sparkled after recognising the little girl with long curly hair and an insatiable interest in learning. She was by far the most important person he had to meet at Hogwarts. After all, his whole plan revolved around her.

Sprout introduced the girl, "and this bookworm is Miss Hermione Granger. She's also a muggle-born attending Hogwarts this year. Come on Miss Granger, get your head out of those books and say hello."

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