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"You have, I think." Severus stated walking next to the boy. Harry definitely had grown since they had left. Must be the sun and the open air, Severus figured. After a nice breakfast and a few hours of rest, Severus decided to train with his sword a bit, something he had neglected while on vacation. He wanted to start working on the Wolfsbane as well, but he had to stop by at Diagon Alley first; he would need to get a pure silver cauldron for the potion and there was only one place that he knew of where such standards would be guaranteed. He pushed the door to the training area open only to realize he wasn't alone. "We had the same idea, I see."
"Oh, hi Dad!" Harry offered startled as he balanced his sword. Harry used a much smaller sword than Severus did but it was heavy nonetheless and the boy had already worked a sweat. The potions master had made sure all the swords in the room had been coated with a blunting charm of course, the very moment they had decided to start training. "I figured I had some catching up to do." The boy admitted as Severus nodded.
"We both do." They fell into training then, Severus casting the spell needed to activate the statue that served as their instructor after they had warmed up a bit. Two hours later and their granite tutor had deemed they could stop for the day. Severus had the distinct thought that they were getting better but it was hard to be sure with so many of his muscles sore. Well at least now I have muscles to be sore, he thought before they parted ways for their respective rooms and, after a quick shower, met at the kitchen for lunch.
"I was thinking I should spend some time at the western tower tonight." Harry said as they had dessert. Minnie really missed us, Harry thought, munching on the chocolate cake the house elves usually prepared for Christmas. "You know, put the new charts I bought to use."
"Fine by me if you feel up to it." Severus agreed smirking slightly. "Just don't fall asleep by the telescope again." He warned the boy good-naturedly before getting another bite from his cake; they should have it more often he decided. If Lupin had ever been right about one thing that would be it; chocolate did make everything better. Then again, Lupin was usually right about many things, Severus conceded, thinking of the one member of James Potter's group of friends he found tolerable. And speaking of Lupin… "I'll need to visit Diagon Alley tomorrow morning for the cauldron I've been telling you about." Severus stated, gaining Harry's attention immediately.
"From that specialized store? Milles & Trafford's right?" The boy asked, thinking back when he had first heard the name. It was the last night in the valley when Severus explained that high quality Wolfsbane was solely prepared in cauldrons of the purest silver. It was one of the reasons, according to -an admittedly very irate when explaining- Severus, why so many poorly produced Wolfsbane potions where out there on the market; they were barely effective but cheaper to produce.
"That's the one." Severus nodded. "They're the only ones I can trust for a solid silver cauldron." They ate the rest of their dessert -also known as half the chocolate cake- making small talk about their vacation, developing magic pictures, astronomy and the prospect of learning the recipe for the chocolate fudge cake they were eating. Harry did go to the western tower that night and would have fallen asleep too if he hadn't reminded himself of the trip to Diagon Alley due the next morning. He returned to his room and did his best not to fall asleep in his clothes, his body still getting used to the cooler temperature of Scotland.
The next morning found the two wizards occupying the castle in the kitchen eating the remaining chocolate cake, deeming it a great waste to let it undisturbed. After a scolding from Minnie -yous sirs should eat more than chocolate for breakfast!- they apologized profusely and decided to proceed with their trip to Diagon Alley, properly chastised and without mentioning their intention to visit Florian Fortesque's while there.
For the first time in a month they used glamour spells to conceal their appearance, Severus deciding Harry should appear a couple of inches taller than he had when they left, which was quite a loss from the total of eight inches he had gained since they had first started using the concealment spells. And certainly, neither of them was overjoyed with having to cover the tan they had acquired from their time in Morocco but sacrifices had to be made.
Diagon Alley was filled with families getting ready for the new school year -it was the thirtieth of August after all- and Harry had a blast from all the students cowering once catching sight of Severus. It must be the cloak, he decided and followed closely, doing his best to look demure and frightened himself. Appearances could definitely be deceiving, the green eyed boy thought as he compared the image Severus was projecting and his real self; he idly wondered what the reactions of these now frightful students would be had they witnessed the feared potions master as he truly was. The girls would get a kick out of it, he was sure.
They approached Gringotts and took a turn left where the road split; at the right side of the road where a few more shops, including Ollivander's and then Diagon Alley dissolved into Knockturn Alley. On the left side however, began a district of more specialized shops and -further down- of the buildings housing magical businesses such as Daily Prophet and the main offices of Nimbus Racing Broom Co. the company responsible for the Nimbus series.
The area was much less crowded and the average customers' age climbed from somewhere around fourteen to fifty or sixty. Milles & Trafford's, the shop they were looking for, was one of the buildings closer to Gringotts, only a five minutes walk from where the road split. Harry was busy following Severus and looking from one shop to the next mesmerized. He whished he could have an extra set of eyes so that he could take in more of the new images around him and almost missed the actual shop as his attention was turned to the building across the street that sold rare plants, the building looking something between a regular store and a greenhouse.
Milles & Trafford's was a stone-made building just like most of the shops in Diagon Alley and though the window Harry could see the great variety of cauldrons and other delicate looking equipment, be it made of metal or glass. Severus smiled softly at the awed look on Harry's face and led the boy in with a little nudge. Harry easily followed, wanting nothing more than to enter the building himself. The green eyed boy was easily the youngest customer in the shop and did his best not to touch any of the items around him while at the same time dying to ask what each and every one of them was.
The sage looking wizards and witches around him conversed over issues such as the latest developments in arithmology theories or the pending decisions of the Wizegamond and the boy listened rapturously, trying to take everything in at once. Severus was speaking with the owner explaining exactly what he required and neither he nor Harry noticed a wizard in luxurious dark purple robes spotting them from the other side of the store. But the old wizard had spotted them indeed and he was now approaching them with twinkling brown eyes and an excited smile.
"Very nice to see you again, Harry!" He exclaimed as he reached the two wizards. The boy turned around startled and regarded the older man confused before recognition washed over his face.
"Mr. Nicholas?" He asked with a shy smile, as the potions master observed the scene surprised.
HI GUYS IF YOU WANT READ 100 + CHAPTERS THEN VISIT
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