SWNOVELXO Chapter 443: Diagonally
The Leaky Cauldron wasn't the seediest of places, as far as dingy pubs usually went— it was always well lit and well aerated despite the large crowds it usually served, but today, it was all but empty— save for the Weasley family members, Harry, Hermione, the two Greengrass girls, and Hagrid, their bodyguard for their shopping trip.
Under ordinary circumstances, Oleandra liked to pay attention to her surroundings when entering a new area— it was her first time passing through the Leaky Cauldron to reach Diagon Alley, since she usually employed the Floo Network to get there to buy her school supplies— but she couldn't help but think about the question she'd asked Harry earlier, on the car ride through London.
Not that Oleandra would have known the difference between the pub's usual and current states, even if she hadn't been distracted— it wasn't as if Oleandra's frame of reference was especially extensive, when it comes to establishments whose main goal is to make its patrons drink themselves under the table…
"What do you mean, you can't tell me about the prophecy you retrieved from the Department of Mysteries?" Oleandra asked Harry, repeating the same question she'd asked him earlier. "You can't, or you won't?"
Harry shrugged helplessly.
He'd gently hinted to her that this wasn't the sort of thing he wanted overheard, least of all by some Ministry car driver that he didn't know— but now that they were relatively alone, hanging behind the rest of the group in the courtyard behind the Leaky Cauldron, he had no more excuses to avoid the subject.
"Dumbledore made me promise not to tell anyone," said Harry contritely. "I swear I'd tell you if I could."
Oleandra's pupils briefly morphed into golden hearts, as her Mystic Sight activated itself for a fraction of a second. Harry had been lying about the first part of his sentence, but he'd been truthful about the second.
"But you have told someone," Oleandra insisted. "And if I had to guess, I'd say you shared the secret with… Ron and Hermione?"
Harry felt horrible about withholding the contents of the first prophecy from Oleandra, who'd saved his godfather when everyone else had given up on him.
"I…" Harry began, but a series of short rapping sounds caught his attention.
Up ahead, Hagrid had begun tapping the wall at the end of the courtyard with his umbrella— he was trying to find the specific brick that would open the way through the wall to Diagon Alley.
"You're right," said Harry, an idea germinating in his head as he gazed at the rest of the group, who were waiting impatiently for Hagrid to hurry up. "I'll ask Ron to tell you— Dumbledore hasn't made him swear anything."
Dumbledore had forbidden him from telling anyone about the first prophecy's contents, but he'd given him his blessing about telling his two Gryffindor friends. And if they told other people, then it wouldn't really be his fault, innit?
"Thanks, Harry," said Oleandra gratefully.
Eventually, Hagrid found the right brick, and the bricks around the keystone swivelled inwards, forming an archway through which they could cross through the wall, so Oleandra and Harry quickly rejoined the group as they stepped through the entrance.
The first thing Oleandra noticed upon entering Diagon Alley was the wanted posters pasted over the various shops' window displays. They were everywhere— moving photographs depicting known Death Eaters on the loose. It reminded Oleandra of Hogsmeade right after the winter holidays, just after the mass breakout from Azkaban.
And without Dementors to guard the Wizarding jail, Oleandra held no illusions that the Death Eaters who had been arrested a few months ago during the scramble battle for the Prophecy Record would soon be on the loose once again…
As they passed by Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlour, which had been boarded up, Oleandra broke away from the group and knocked on the planks blocking the window. Tracey had made the abandoned building her new home after refusing to flee to America with her parents, and Oleandra was worried about her.
"Anyone in there?" Oleandra called out, but no response came— Tracey didn't appear to be home.
Oleandra tried reaching out to Tracey with the Faraway Communication Galdr, to no avail— not only was she not in her house, she wasn't even in this part of London, either.
"Don't stray too far, dear!" Mrs. Weasley called out worriedly, noticing that Oleandra had separated from the group. "It's dangerous!"
"Coming!" Oleandra called back, before returning to the fold.
The group continued making its way through Diagon Alley, shooing away as they went a veritable army of street vendors, who had set up their temporary stalls in front of the actual brick-and-mortar stores.
"One for your little girl, madam?" one of the street vendors called out at Mrs. Weasley as they passed in front of his cart; jingling a silvery bangle in her direction. "Protect her pretty neck?"
Oleandra examined the short Wizard's wares carefully with her Mystic Eyes, but nothing of interest caught her eye. His baubles were barely magical enough to glow in her eyes— in all likelihood, this man was taking advantage of the atmosphere of fear and paranoia to make a quick Knut, by selling trinkets to the scared, the stupid, and the desperate— or any combination of the three.
"What's this symbol supposed to mean?" said Oleandra critically, eyeing the bangle in question. "Is it supposed to be Elhaz…?"
The instant Oleandra pronounced the magic word, the street vendor yelped in fright and dropped the bangle, which had spontaneously burst into flames.
"Oi! What is it exactly that you're trying to sell to my wife, mate?" shouted Mr. Weasley, his complexion turning ruddy red. "On duty or not, I could have you arrested for this!"
As the amulet seller began stammering out excuses, Astoria stooped down and nudged the red-hot item with the tip of her wand— there were letters inscribed on the inner side of the metallic band.
"Made in Britain," Astoria read out loud. "Well, that certainly explains things…"
"I scarcely believe that was the source of the problem," said Hermione disdainfully.