In The Shadows² ★ Draco Malfoy

*Something's wrong

The Saturday after Harry's 16th birthday, the Weasleys, Lupins, Harry, and Hermione were all heading to Diagon Alley to get their supplies since their book lists had finally arrived. Since they had, Briar and Harry hadn't stopped offering Harry quidditch tactics as he was the new quidditch captain.

When they arrived at the Leaky Cauldron they were surprised to see Hagrid there, but apparently he had been sent as security by Dumbledore. And the first thing he spoke to Briar about was how grateful he was to have Buckbeak back now that she owned 12 Grimmauld Place and had decided to return him to Hagrid

Diagon Alley had changed. The colourful, glittering windowdisplays of spell books, potion ingredients, and cauldronswere lost to view, hidden behind the large Ministry of Magicposters that had been pasted over them. Most of thesesomber purple posters carried blown-up versions of thesecurity advice on the Ministry pamphlets that had been sentout over the summer, but others bore moving black and white photographs of Death Eaters known to be on the loose.Bellatrix Lestrange was sneering from the front of the nearest apothecary. A few windows were boarded up, includingthose of Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. On the otherhand, a number of shabby-looking stalls had sprung upalong the street.

Remus, Briar, Mr and Mrs Weasley, and Ginny headed to Flourish and Blotts to collect everyone's books, while Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Hagrid went to Madam Malkin's

And afterwards they all assembled to go to the Apothecary and Eeylops before going to Fred and George's joke shop: Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. None of them had ever been before, but it was very easy to find

Set against the dull, poster-muffled shop fronts aroundthem, Fred and George's windows hit the eye like a fireworkdisplay. Casual passersby were looking back over theirshoulders at the windows, and a few rather stunned-lookingpeople had actually come to a halt, transfixed. The left-handwindow was dazzlingly full of an assortment of goods thatrevolved, popped, flashed, bounced, and shrieked; Harry'seyes began to water just looking at it. The righthand windowwas covered with a gigantic poster, purple like those of theMinistry, but emblazoned with flashing yellow letters:

Why are you worrying about you-know-who?

You should be worrying about u-no-poo

The constipation sensation that's gripping the nation!

Inside the shop it was absolutely packed with people, and Ginny, Hermione, and Briar immediately ran towards the nearest shelf and made their way deeper through the shop. The products that Briar liked the most were definitely the Defence Against the Dark Arts ones like shield cloaks and hats

"Haven't you girls found our special Wonder Witchproducts yet?" asked Fred. "Follow me, ladies..." Near the window was an array of violently pink productsaround which a cluster of excited girls was gigglingenthusiastically. "There you go," said Fred proudly. "Best range of lovepotions you'll find anywhere.

Ginny raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Do they work?"

"Certainly they work, for up to twenty-four hours at a timedepending on the weight of the boy in question -" 

"- and the attractiveness of the girl," said George,reappearing suddenly at their side. "But we're not sellingthem to our sister," he added, becoming suddenly stern, "notwhen she's already got about five boys on the go from whatwe've -" 

"Whatever you've heard from Ron is a big fat lie," saidGinny calmly, leaning forward to take a small pink pot off theshelf. "What's this?" 

"Guaranteed ten-second pimple vanisher," said Fred. "Excellent on everything from boils to blackheads, but don'tchange the subject. Are you or are you not currently goingout with a boy called Dean Thomas?"