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Author: Zelthian Story: Match Maker Rating: Young Teens Setting: Pre-HBP Status: Completed Reviews: 5 Words: 28,830
Diagon Alley was just as Harry remembered it, only a bit wetter. It had started raining early that morning and had only let up slightly as he walked up the street. He didn’t want anyone to fuss over him, so he got out of bed early, showering and dressing quickly. Mrs. Weasley was waiting for him in the kitchen, but she let him go after a small glass of orange juice and a bit of toast. He was able to Floo to Diagon Alley before anyone else woke. Upon arriving, Harry realized he didn’t have anything to wear for the rain. He jogged down to Gringotts to make a withdrawal, and then jogged back to Madam Malkin’s, where he bought a rain cloak which repelled water completely. While he there he bought himself some new boots to keep the rain off of his feet. Harry discovered he enjoyed shopping for himself this time; it seemed almost entirely natural to him to buy Wizard clothes. Feeling it was still a bit early for lunch, Harry decided to walk around and window-shop a bit. He remembered when he had first come through the wall from the Leaky Cauldron and saw Diagon Alley for the first time. He retraced his steps visiting all the shops he stopped in on that first school supply visit, amused at how normal everything felt now. Soon memories began filling Harry’s mind. He remembered when Hagrid bought Harry his owl Hedwig as a birthday present. He remembered when Hermione bought Crookshanks as an early birthday present for herself, and Ron’s annoyed reaction. There was the time in Flourish and Blotts when a particularly nasty schoolbook caused no end of trouble; he found out later it was for Hagrid’s class. He remembered the scene the day Lockhart was signing autographs. Mr. Weasley had exchanged blows with Lucius Malfoy, and Ginny had faced down Draco. Draco had teased Harry that Ginny was his girlfriend; Harry now found this immensely amusing. Harry pulled himself out of his thoughts as he realized he was now standing outside of Ollivander’s. Before he could stop himself, the memory of his conversation with Mr. Ollivander came flooding back. Harry sighed and turned around to find Mr. Ollivander standing beside him. “Dreadful morning, Mr. Potter. Would you care to step inside for a spot of tea?” Mr. Ollivander said, as best he could through the rain. Not wanting to be rude, Harry nodded. He followed Mr. Ollivander in, closing the door behind him and hanging his cloak on the rack. “So, what brings you to Diagon Alley this morning? Surely the Hogwarts letters haven’t gone out already?” Mr. Ollivander asked. “No sir. I’m just spending some time out and about.” “I see,” Mr. Ollivander said, as he made some tea. “I’ve been keeping tabs on your progress, Mr. Potter. I must say the last two years seem to have been particularly difficult for you. I’m pleased to see that you are still in one piece.” Harry smiled. “No more pleased than I am, sir.” “It seems that I was right when I said we could expect great things from you,” Mr. Ollivander said as he brought Harry his tea. “Little did I realize you would have achieved so much in so little time.” Harry took his tea and sipped it. “I don’t feel all that great, sir. I just did what anyone would have done in my situation. I’ve been very lucky is all. So far.” Mr. Ollivander nodded. “They say fortune favors the bold, Mr. Potter. Magic is not something that is merely packaged into a wand and sold for wizards and witches to use. The nature of magic runs much deeper than that. It permeates and binds together every aspect of life. The wand is merely a tool used to channel and focus the power of magic, but such a tool is a connection to the force of magic itself. It is my belief that you are still here because you have not yet faced your destiny and, I must admit, I take a certain amount of comfort from that.” Mr. Ollivander stood next to Harry and looked him in the eye. “You have faced the Dark Lord on five separate occasions, and on each occasion you came back relatively unharmed. Whether it was luck or not, you can not deny the fact that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has had five opportunities to destroy you, and he has failed every time.” Harry nodded, then turned away from Mr. Ollivander and stared at his tea. “I wish everyone who had faced Voldemort and his followers had been as lucky.” Mr. Ollivander paused, and then said, “It might surprise you to know this, but a wizard’s power is not determined by his ability to learn spells, nor is it enhanced by being chosen by one wand over another. A wizard’s power comes from his will, his heart, and his soul. You see, Mr. Potter, you care a great deal about the welfare of others and you bravely stand up against those who would use their power to their advantage. It is your character and inner nature which have made you the powerful wizard you are today.” Harry sighed. “Not powerful enough. I still lost the person I cared for the most.” “No wizard is all-powerful, Mr. Potter. Dumbledore would be the first to tell you. Only He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is foolish enough believe such a thing.” Mr. Ollivander put his hand on Harry’s shoulder. “Do not fear, Harry. Your destiny is still ahead of you, and you have great things yet to do. If there is anyone who can bring an end to You-Know-Who’s evil, it is you.” Harry smiled and stood. “I hope you’re right, sir. I must be going. My friends will have arrived by now. Thank you for the tea, and for your encouragement.” “Take care of yourself, Harry,” Mr. Ollivander said, shaking Harry’s hand. “I will sir. I promise,” Harry said. He put on his cloak and walked out into the street. The rain had let up a bit, but not completely. Harry walked back down the street looking for Ginny and Hermione. He spotted them coming out of the book store and heading for the ice cream parlor. By the time Harry got there, Hermione had ordered a vanilla milkshake and Ginny had ordered a hot fudge sundae. Harry stepped up behind them. “A double scoop of Neapolitan for me, please, and these two are with me,” he said to the clerk. “There you are, Harry. You didn’t have to do that,” Hermione said. “I know, but I felt like doing it,” Harry explained as he paid the clerk. “You got off to an early start this morning,” Ginny observed. “I wanted some time to my self alone to wander and think. I ended up reliving some memories.” “Good memories, I hope,” Ginny said. Harry smiled as he looked at Ginny. The image of her facing down Malfoy a few years earlier- eyes narrowed, jaw set- slipped back into his mind. “You could say that.” “Here you go,” said the clerk. Harry shook himself out of his thoughts as he, Ginny and Hermione grabbed their ice cream and sat at a table. “I hate to ruin your good morning, Harry, but the twins are out today,” Ginny said between bites. “If I know them, they’re out tracking down more ‘special ingredients’ for yet another invention, so the shop is closed.” “I certainly hope those two stay out of trouble,” Hermione said, with no little concern. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think they were actually working with Mundungus last summer. They may have found themselves a way to make a living, but I don’t think they realize exactly what they’re getting into with him.” Harry said nothing, but nodded and continued to eat his ice cream. “So, Harry, I was wondering if you’d be willing to help me today,” Ginny said, finishing her sundae. “Sure, Ginny, what do you need help with?” “Well, you see, before they left, Fred and George decided to give me some money to buy a new broomstick. They thought it was only fair since I did so well last year and Ron already got one. Would you come down and help me pick one out?” Harry smiled as he finished his ice cream. “Too right you did. It’s great they’re getting you a new broom. I’d be happy to help out.” “Great, let’s head down there now,” Ginny said, standing up to leave. “Alright. Coming, Hermione?” Harry asked. “No, you two go ahead. I need to get back to my essay,” Hermione replied, not sounding the least bit disappointed. Harry was going to say something, but Ginny waved him off quickly. “Okay, we’ll see you later,” Ginny said. Hermione headed to the fireplace, and Harry followed Ginny to Quality Quidditch Supplies. Ginny took her time looking, examining each model closely before finally looking at the price tag and frowning. “I have enough for the Comet, but I’d really like to at least get a Cleansweep like Ron’s. It’s not the best broom, but it’s certainly better than the school brooms,” Ginny said, running her finger along the top of a Cleansweep 11. “Oh, well, how short are you?” Harry asked. Ginny pulled out a piece of parchment, and then looked back at the price tag. “I’m five Galleons shy a Cleansweep. Rats.” Harry watched Ginny closely. “You really want that broom, don’t you?” “Yeah, but it’s ok. I can wait a little longer. Maybe I can do some chores around the twins’ shop and earn the five Galleons I need,” Ginny thought out loud. “Or, maybe you can take the Cleansweep home with you today and play some Quidditch with me when the weather dries up,” Harry said cheerfully. “Harry, I could only take it home today if I stole it or made five Galleons appear out of thin air,” Ginny explained. “Or if someone offered to cover the rest of it,” Harry said, examining the broom himself. “And just who would be going around offering schoolgirls five Galleons to help pay for a broomstick?” Ginny asked, getting annoyed. “Erm, me?” Harry said tentatively. Ginny’s face fell in near shock. “Harry, I couldn’t ask you to do that…” “You don’t have to,” Harry interrupted, reaching into his cloak and retrieving five Galleons. He held them out to Ginny who stared at this hand for a moment. “Please, Ginny, you really deserve that broom. After what you did at the Ministry and the things you’ve done to make me feel comfortable, I’m happy to help you out,” Harry said, pushing his hand closer to her. Ginny looked into Harry’s eyes, then put her hand on his and slowly took the coins. “I don’t know what to say. Thanks, Harry.” “You’re welcome. Just don’t mention it to anyone, alright? If anyone asks, the twins’ donation was enough.” Ginny smiled. “If you insist.” Soon Harry and Ginny were back at The Burrow. The rain had decided to follow them there, so Ginny went up to show Hermione her new broom. “I got it! I got it!” Ginny said excitedly as she close the door to her room. “I thought you still needed a few Galleons to get the Cleansweep,” Hermione said looking at the broom. “I always check the store to see if they came down on the price,” Ginny explained. “So they came down on the price, did they?” Hermione asked suspiciously. “Well… no…” Ginny said, putting the broomstick away near her bed. “You didn’t ask Harry to lend you the money, did you?” Hermione said, raising an eyebrow. “Nope, I didn’t have to. Harry offered.” Hermione’s eyes got wide. “He gave you five Galleons to help buy your broomstick?” “You should have seen the way he looked at me,” Ginny said, turning around. “He said I deserved to have the broom! That means he at least thinks I’m a decent Quidditch player, right? He doesn’t go around helping everyone buy a broom, does he?” Hermione thought about this. “You have a point. It was a nice gesture, but don’t read too much into it.” “Well, he did say he wants to practice Quidditch with me as soon as the weather clears.” Ginny said matter-of-factly. Now Hermione was a bit surprised. “Well, okay, there’s something I hadn’t expected.” Ginny got a sly smile on her face. “I wonder if I could beat him in a race.” “Ginny, Harry has a Firebolt. I may not know a lot about Quidditch, but I do know your Cleansweep wouldn’t be able to keep up.” Ginny held her smile. “What if I could get Harry to let me use his Firebolt for the race?” “I don’t like the look on your face, Ginny. I have a feeling you’re getting one of your devilish ideas again.” Ginny laughed. “Well, Harry’s no idiot, so he probably wouldn’t agree to race me on those terms anyway. I still think I can get him to let me take his Firebolt out for a ride, though.” Hermione got one of her McGonagall looks on her face. “Now you be careful, Ginny. Remember who gave that Firebolt to Harry. It means a lot to him.” “I know, Hermione. Besides, if I play my cards right, Harry will be going with me on the ride.”
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