Chapter 2: Diagon Alley
The next Saturday after the letter from Hogwarts had arrived, Hermione and Nathan left for Diagon Alley. It was the first time Nathan had visited the Wizarding alley, since his mother had never set foot there after leaving the Wizarding world eleven years ago. She had contacted Harry and Ginny, who had contact Ron, and they would be meeting at the Leaky Cauldron to accompany them.
When they entered the pub she felt a surge of nostalgia. The Leaky Cauldron hadn't changed a thing in the last decade. Well, she shouldn't be surprised. The Wizarding world didn't evolve at the same pace as the Muggle world. They still used quills and parchments, amongst other things.
She scanned the tables searching for the familiar faces of her friends, and found them in a table at the back of the pub, surrounded by children wanting to meet the famous Chudley Cannon's Keeper and The-Boy-Who-Lived-To-Defeat-You-Know-Who. Ron was talking animatedly with his little fans, much to Harry's annoyance. Harry still had problems with his fame, even after all these years.
He gladly dismissed the children when he spotted Hermione and Nathan at the door of the pub. "'Mione, Nathan! Good to see you," he said from a distance.
"Hi, Harry!" she answered and crossed the space between them to hug him. "How are you, Ginny? Where are little Lily and Sirius?" she inquired while hugging Harry's wife.
"They're with Fred and George at the joke shop," she supplied. "Hi, Nathan! Ready to go to Hogwarts?" she added petting the boy on the head.
"Sure, I'm ready! I know everything about it already," he answered.
"Let me guess, your mother lent you her copy of 'Hogwarts, a History'," Harry said, giving Hermione a knowing look. "That makes you the second person to read it in the whole of Hogwarts' history," he said with a silly smile.
"Oh, stop teasing, Harry!" Hermione admonished, slapping his arm playfully. "You know how much important information I got from that book. You should have read it, too."
"True! But why would we bother, when you could tell us all the important information," said Ron, finally free from his little fans, and joining the conversation. "Oi, Nathan! Ready to buy your new broom?" he said, ignoring Hermione's murderous look.
"I don't know. It's written in the letter I got that first years aren't suppose to have brooms," was Nathan's answer.
"Nah! Harry was already Gryffindor's Seeker in his first year. Of course you need a broom," he dismissed.
"No Quidditch during the first year, Ron. That's the rule! Harry was an exception," she said, glaring Ron's way.
"Let's go into Diagon Alley, then?" Harry said, coming to the rescue.
Hermione and Ron had dated for as much as six months after the end of their sixth year, but it was a total disaster. All they did was disagree about everything until they finally agreed to break up, realizing they were much better as just friends. Ron never married but seemed very comfortable about it. One of his biggest fears, besides spiders, was become his father.
"Yes, let's go," Nathan answered, "before my mum decides it's time to use that wand of hers on Uncle Ron!"
And with that, they left the pub for the small courtyard that led to Diagon Alley. Harry tapped the bricks with his wand and the passage opened, reveling the Alley crowded like in their own first year. Now, with Voldemort gone for more than a decade, the Wizarding world was back to its normal pace. With not a thing to worry about, besides shopping, the streets were filled with families and laughter.
Nathan took in everything with his curious black eyes. He had heard of Diagon Alley many times, but his imagination didn't do the real thing justice. It was so much more than he expected. All those people wearing robes of all colors, and sparks of magic everywhere. The scent of the herbs and something he couldn't figure out filled the air near the apothecary they were passing challenging his senses.
Their first stop had to be Gringotts. He heard about the wizarding bank, too. They needed to exchange their Muggle money for the Wizards equivalent. Nathan thought the Goblins were a little scary but very efficient. They exchanged enough money for their shopping and left the bank.
Nathan was trying to take everything in at once; the shops, the people, the objects... Hermione was watching every reaction and grinning madly. She knew what it was like to discover this place for the first time.
"Well, let's start with Madam Malkin's, then we can go to Flourish and Blotts for the books," Hermione told her son, and added to herself in a low voice, "before those two drag you to the Quidditch shop and the joke shop." And so they went.
Nathan was really happy when they reached the book shop. He loved books! He inherited his love of books from his mother, many an evenings he had sat with her quietly to read and relax.
They were at the book shop for what seems like hours and Hermione felt like she was truly home. Everything is more than perfect! was her thought, until she caught sight of Nathan talking to a blond boy, discussing a book. She had no doubt it was a Malfoy and sure enough, none other than Draco Malfoy appeared behind the blond boy.
She was at her son's side in a matter of seconds and in an instinctive reaction she placed a hand on Nathan's arm and tried to pull him out of Draco's range without being recognized. "Come, Nathan! We have other things to do before lunch." But it wasn't a successful attempt.
"Granger? You're alive!" was all he managed to say, surprised to meet her after all those years.
"Malfoy," was her retort.
"So, Nathan, you said?" he asked the boy, "You were saying you're going to Hogwarts this year?"
"Yes, sir. I am," he answered politely.
"Well, I see you and my son, Devon, will be fellow first years, then," he added with a smirk directed to Hermione.
"I'm sure they'll be good friends," she retorted defiantly, and turning to her son she said. "Let's go, Nathan, we have other shops to visit and it's getting late."
"It was nice to see you healthy and alive, Granger. I suppose you went back to your Muggle world after the war was over," he commented acidly.
"Yes, I went. I was just trying to avoid people like you, Malfoy!" And with that she took Nathan by one arm and dragged him to the counter to purchase their books. Soon, they were back in the street.
"Mum, why were you so rude to Devon's father?" Nathan was used to his mother temper and sharp tongue, but he rarely saw her become so angered without strong provocation, and he couldn't figure what it was Mr. Malfoy had said that had infuriated her so.
"The Malfoys are not good people, Nathan! Draco, Devon's father, caused too much trouble when we attended Hogwarts together and I don't think he has changed much."
"So, I can't be friend with Devon? He seems an okay guy to me."
"You can be friends with everyone. I just want you to be careful when it comes to the Malfoys."
"I will." Nathan knew that was no good pressing the matter any longer. What was so terrible about the Malfoys, anyway? I'll have to ask Uncle Harry… he thought.
Soon, they finished their shopping for the school supplies and headed to Weasleys Wizard Wheezes, the joke shop Ron's brothers owned. Nathan had met all the Weasleys some years ago during a Christmas party at the Burrow. He enjoyed every second of their time there. The twins were very funny and since his mother had decided they would be shopping in Diagon Alley this weekend he couldn't stop thinking about their joke shop.
The shop was crowded. There were so many things on the shelves that it was hard to decide what to look at first. That was when Lily, Harry's daughter, came and took Nathan's hand to give him a tour through the shop, leaving Hermione to herself.
She took the time to talk to Harry about Malfoy. "Harry, what do you know about the Malfoys these days?"
The question took Harry by surprise. He wasn't expecting Hermione to take interest in Draco after all these years. "Why do you ask?"
"I just had the displeasure of meeting Draco and his son at the book shop. I want to know how dangerous the boy is. He'll be starting Hogwarts this year as well, and I want to make sure Nathan won't have any kind of problem with him," she informed her friend.
"Oh, I didn't know the Malfoy brat was Nathan's age!" he said with honest surprise. "I don't think he's a problem, 'Mione. The Malfoys lost most of their influence when Voldemort fell." And after a few moments of silence, he added, "But I wouldn't mess with them all the same. I'll see what I can find out about the brat and I'll let you know. Meanwhile, you should tell Nathan to be careful around him."
"I already did," she agreed.
Seeing his friends preoccupation hasn't subsided, Harry assured her, "He'll be fine, Hermione. He's a strong young man. I'm sure no one will be bullying him and getting away with it. He's too much like you were at his age, if not stronger."
"I know, Harry. It's just…" she trailed off, not wanting to voice her worries about her son's departure to Hogwarts. She couldn't tell Harry how worried she was about Nathan meeting his father for the first time. And now a Malfoy was going to be there, too. There were so many things her son didn't know… didn't understand…
"He'll be fine," Harry assured her once more. "Not even Snape will be able to make him flinch, let alone a Malfoy brat!" he said matter-of-factly.
Snape… How will Severus Snape treat Nathan? she thought. What if he treats him worse than the other students because he's my son? He doesn't know Nathan is also his son, after all! Hermione was distracted from her musings by Nathan's call from the other end of the shop.
"Mum! You got to see this! They look like plain marbles, but when you squeeze them, they expand and explode in different smoke colors and smells. Isn't it cool?" Nathan was really taken with all the magical products in the shop. Hermione had never abandoned magic completely, but she didn't have many magical artifacts in their home. She chose to raise Nathan in the Muggle world and thought better than filling the house with magical objects.
Some time later, they left the joke shop with more items than Hermione thought healthy for a first year at Hogwarts, but most of them were gifts from Nathan's many 'uncles' and she couldn't deny him the treat. Their last stop was the owl post to send the letter confirming that Nathan would attend Hogwarts next September. As soon as the owl was sent on its way, they left Diagon Alley and the Leaky Cauldron, and were back into muggle London heading home.
There was a little more than a month until September 1, when Nathan would be leaving his home - and his mother - to start his life as a wizard at Hogwarts. It was time enough for Hermione to prepare him to the challenges of a wizard's life, and first on her list was cautions of a certain Potions master. She had to try to prevent any hatred between them, but without telling the whole truth. It wasn't an easy task, but Hermione wasn't famous for the easy tasks she performed. She was famous for her brain work on what people called 'lost causes', and that's the kind of effort she was going to apply to the task at hand.
A/N: I just want to add a note for the kind readers who took a little of their time to leave me a review. I'm really overwhelmed with your kind words of encouragement! After that, I can't even think of abandoning this story and you'll have it updated weekly (every Friday, I believe). Sooner or later all your questions will be answered. Just keep reading… and reviewing:0)
Oh, and I won't have to make you suffer through my English mistakes anymore. I have a beta reader now! Thank you Snarkyroxy for taking the job! And thank you Stegijsa, azulkan2, Cherdy the Molologist and SlytherAway who also volunteered. I was really touched with your offer and if I ever need more help with this fic I'll let you know. :0P
By the way, a couple of reviewers (Deep Shadows and EckoStalker) were curious to know what my first language is. Well, it's Portuguese! I'm Brazilian… :0)
Thank you all, and keep reviewing. It's reeeeeeeally great to hear from you!
FerPotter
Coming next… Nathan arrives in Hogwarts, catching the attention of a certain Potions Master.