ghost stories - h. potter

Seventeen

Belle took as much time as she could in Diagon Alley. She bought presents for each of her friends, hoping that they'd enjoy them as much as she think they would.

For Hermione, Belle bought a plethora of both muggle and wizarding books that all focused on the same subject - fantasy. Belle knew Hermione was more of a practical person and could only hope that with the recent discovery of Clairvoyancy being a very real thing, the books about creatures that existed only in fairy tales would interest her for they too were no longer just fables.

For her Mum, Belle bought a series of new records and an entirely new record player, as her Mum was the whole reason Belle's love of music was so strong. Each record was a different muggle band that she had hoped her Mum had not yet listened to, such as The Rolling Stones, the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, The Beatles, Guns 'N Roses and Rage Against the Machine. Belle was terribly glad that she'd thought of using an undetectable extension charm on her bag before leaving her house as there was no way she'd have been able to carry around a whole record player without attracting some kind of attention or tripping over at least once.

For Clarice, Belle had decided to buy a few magical plants, to spruce up her office. It was quite often she heard her complaining about how boring it was, but didn't want to go overboard with the decorating just in case she was going to end up leaving at the end of the year - something she desperately hoped she wouldn't be doing. It seemed as though everyone was enjoying having Clarice as a teacher as she was still young and was, as some of the students called her, very relatable. She knew just how to keep them all entranced in her lessons and there hadn't once been a boring one that they had had. Belle was incredibly proud to hear that she had been labelled the best Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher they'd ever had, right up next to Remus.

For Luna, Belle had invested in buying a series of books on magical creatures and how to take care of them - even managing to find an original manuscript of one of Newt Scamander's books. The Magical Menagerie had even been so kind as to allow Belle to take a replica of the suitcase that Newt himself had once had, filled with creatures that were not real, but incredibly life-like. She supposed she could have always gone and visited Newt himself as he knew Belle well and was also one of the reasons why she had become so entranced by magical creatures, but she didn't want to impose on him and his family at this time of night. Belle knew how much Luna loved getting lost in her own world and could only hope that she'd enjoy getting lost in a whole new one, filled with creatures that would absolutely adore her.

Ron was indefinitely easier to buy for, as Hermione had mentioned just how much the boy enjoyed chocolate frogs. Harry, however, was much more difficult. She left many stores empty-handed, finding nothing that she believed would interest the raven-haired boy. 

With no one left to buy for as she figured she would return the next day to find something for Harry, she set off down the street towards Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. Her heart pounded wildly in her chest and she felt sick with nerves as she entered the surprisingly quiet store, though it could have been due to the fact that it was almost eight at night and most families were back in their homes.

Going straight up to the main counter, Belle came face-to-face with a blonde witch. She was surprisingly young, looking as though she were only a few years out of Hogwarts and had short hair that curled just around her ears. She was surprisingly pretty and gave Belle a small smile as she made herself present.

"How can I help you?" The girl, who's name was Verity, as told on her name tag, asked Belle.

"Er, is George Weasley here?" Verity excused herself for a moment and moved a pair of wine-colour, velvet curtains out of the way, her head disappearing behind them. The sounds of low chatter filled her ears before Verity pulled her head out and motioned for Belle to come around the till.