The Wand Core

Chapter Two In Which People Do Stupid Things

I turned and ran away from Borgin and Burks as fast as I could manage. My father was a Death Eater! How? Did Mother know? Probably not. I got back to Diagon Alley before anyone noticed that I was gone. Hermione noticed by sick expression, but I gave her an "I'll tell you later," look. 

"Guess who I saw in Borgin and Burkes?" Harry asked as we climbed the Gringotts steps. My heart stopped. Did he see...? "Malfoy and his father."

I let out a sigh of relief. No one would know that my father was a dirty rotten, no-good piece of crap. Big time. 

"Did Lucius Malfoy buy anything?" Mr. Weasley asked from behind us. 

"No, he was selling--"

"So he's worried," Me. Weasley said with satisfaction. "Oh, I'd love to get Lucius Malfoy for something..."

"You be careful, Arthur," Mrs. Weasley said sharply, "That family's trouble. Don't go off biting more than you can chew--"

"So you don't think I'm a match for Lucius Malfoy?" Mr. Weasley said, but he was distracted by Hermione's parents. They were standing awkwardly in the marble entrance hall.

"But you're Muggles!" Mr. Weasley said with awe. "We must have a drink! What's that you've got there? Oh, you're changing Muggle money. Molly, look!"

"Meet you guys back here," Ron said as they (and Harry) went inside Gringotts.

"I'll see you two later," Hagrid said as he went back into Knockturn Alley.

"So, what did you want to tell me?" Hermione said.

"Oh, um, nothing," I said. "I just thought that I saw something. Just a trick of the light."

I knew Hermione wasn't convinced, but she dropped the subject. She then asked me how my apprenticeship was going, and I told her that Uncle Ollivander mostly had me cleaning up his shop, workroom, and everywhere in between. She was telling me about Muggle life when the Weasley's and Harry came out of Gringotts, all looking a little green.

As people started moving off, Mrs. Weasley said, "We'll all meet at Flourish and Blotts in an hour to buy your schoolbooks. And not one stop down Knockturn Alley!"

Ron, Harry, Hermione and I wandered down the streets of Diagon Alley, getting school stuff, and Harry once bought the four of us a large strawberry-and-peanut-butter ice cream for each of us. Lots of stuff happened, but I was too engrossed by the image of Capricorn Ollivander with a Dark Mark. As a result, I almost bumped into an old witch, but Ron stopped me.

"Oi, watch where you're going," he said.

"Yeah, thanks," I muttered.

I stared at the line coming from Flourish and Blotts. "What's going on?" I said.

"Look, at that sign there," Harry said.

GILDEROY LOCKHART

will be signing copies of his autobiography

MAGICAL ME

today 12:30 P.M. to 4:30 P.M.

"Oh, great," I muttered.

"We can actually meet him!" Hermione gushed. "I mean, he's written almost the whole booklist!"

"You should hear my mum talk about him," I told her. "The way she went on this morning..."