A Fantastical Alley
Chapter Two: A Fantastical Alley
Cepheus had only been to Diagon three times in his life, once with his grandmother before her passing, once with his father, and once with his auntie before the end of the war. All were between the ages of 2-4, which meant he remembered very little from the trips.
What he did remember, however, was the pure magic the Alley exuded. He looked around in controlled amazement, the Alley was just as beautiful and magical as his little self remembered. When he glanced over at his little brother, he smiled in slight amusement. Draco’s expression was open, showing his excitement and awe. The nine-year old had yet to learn control over his expressions. Cepheus found it endearing, he hoped he never needed to learn to control them. He turned to his mother, scanning her guarded expression.
“Mother, what is it we need to do first?” He asked, glancing at the list in his mother’s hand. Narcissa turned to look down at him, glancing at the list for a moment before answering,
“I believe we’ll go get your robes first, then while you get that sorted, I will grab your basic supplies. Then we shall meet outside Fortescue's and go to Olivander’s to get you your wand, does that sound alright, my heart?” Cepheus nodded once, a determined expression on his face, before grabbing his brother’s small hand and following his mother’s lead.
When they arrived at the robe shop, Cepheus couldn’t help but stare at the use of magic all around him. His mother and father often used magic around him, but it was never like this. Ribbons and fabrics moved around the shop in a flurry, dresses and robes being formed from nothing but imagination. A small smile formed on his face as he was led over to stand, a mirror laid in front him. An older woman came rushing over to them, a tensed smile on her face.
“Lady Malfoy, good day to you, is it Hogwarts then?” The woman asked, her grey, twisted wand resting in her hand. His mother nodded, resting her hands on Cepheus’s shoulders.
“That it is, Ms. Dagworth. I trust you received my requests for his robes?” Narcissa questioned, her eyebrow raising ever so slightly. Her expression was more closed off in front of this woman, Cepheus noted. Ms. Dagworth nodded, quickly, in confirmation.
“Very good, then I shall leave my sons in your hands for now, Ms. Dagworth,” Narcissa smiled, tightly at the woman, before turning to Cepheus and Draco with a more genuine expression,”I shall meet you both when you’re done, behave my loves.” Were her parting words before she exited the shop.
In her absence, Cepheus grew solemn, expressionless as the woman took his measurements. He was completely unreceptive to her attempts at conversations, only responding when she asked questions about his robes. When she finished with the measurements, she rushed off to complete the robes and bag them, requesting a few galleons as compensation. Cepheus dropped them in her hand, unceremoniously, before gently taking Draco’s hand and guiding him to Fortescue’s, where he knew his mother was waiting for them.
Just as Cepheus predicted, Narcissa stood in front of Fortescue’s, talking with a wild-haired man. The conversation seemed to be a bit negative, if Cepheus had to guess from his mother’s tense shoulders and cold expression. Cepheus approached his mother, quickly gaining her attention. Her expression lightened when she saw the two of them, her posture changing as she dismissed her conversation partner in turn for her children.
“Cepheus, Draco, I trust everything is well and sorted?” She asked, smiling softly at them. Cepheus nodded, giving his mother a small smile.
“She finished my robes quite quickly, may we go get my wand now, mother?” Cepheus asked, squeezing Draco’s hand slightly as he noticed the younger boy’s eyes had drifted to the wild-haired man. Cepheus’s eyes followed his, narrowing on the man. There was a strange familiarity in the man’s face, perhaps it was his glasses. Yes, that was it, his grandmother had a similar circular shape for her glasses. Cepheus shook his head, looking away from the man, nudging Draco to do the same.
“Yes, of course, let’s head there now, I’d like to get back to the mansion,” She said, placing her hand on Cepheus’s shoulder and leading the two boys away. Cepheus glanced at his mother’s expression as they got further away, before becoming distracted by the wand shop.
Olivander’s, where her mother and father and their parents had all gotten their wands. Cepheus calmed himself before entering the shop, smoothing out his expression. He glanced around the shop, noting the shelves of boxed wands and the shards of a shattered pot on the ground. He snapped to attention when he saw a white-haired man step from behind the shelves.
Cepheus assumed this man was Olivander, and his assumption was correct as he listened to his mother greet the man. The two exchanged a short conversation before Olivander turned to him.
“Your wand arm, lad?” He questioned, leading Cepheus to raise his left arm. From there, they cycled through a near dozen wands before settling on one. Cepheus admired the wand in his hand, the pale color of the wood was very pretty. He smiled at the wand that chose him, mentally promising that he’d use it well.
Cepheus’s attention was captured by Olivander once more, who’s eyes held an appraising look. “Cherry wood, 12 ¾”, slightly springy with a white river monster spine core,” He mused, tapping his fingers against the counter, “It was quite difficult to get the core here in Britain, and cherry wood is known to be quite difficult to pair. Treat your wand well, and in turn, it will treat you with respect, young heir.”
Cepheus nodded, a determined look finding its way to his green eyes, before he turned to look at his mother. Narcissa smiled at him, a proud gleam in her eyes. “Very good, my love, now let us return home, you must pack for Hogwarts,” She said, resting her hand on Cepheus’s shoulder, as she placed the galleons on the counter. It wasn’t long before she was steering both him and Draco out of the shop and towards the floo chimneys.
Cepheus kept his eyes on his wand the entire time they walked, he couldn’t wait to go to Hogwarts.