Time passed quickly. Will had hardly come to Diagon Alley lately, which left Harry a little disappointed. But he knew Will was brewing some potion and learning new charms, and both took time and effort.
Harry was still having a wonderful time in Diagon Alley. His pockets were stuffed with Galleons, Sickles, and jingling Knuts. He could eat all kinds of treats without going hungry as he had at the Dursley family's house whenever Dudley was on a diet.
Mr. Strange always had plenty to teach him. Harry felt he had learned a lot over the holiday, and with everything Dumbledore had taught him in their special training, he expected the new school year to be a breeze.
Happy days flew by. Hogwarts students began arriving in Diagon Alley, and Harry ran into classmates and members of the High Tower. Seamus and Dean Thomas came together. The three of them spent an entire afternoon at Quality Quidditch Supplies gazing at a model Firebolt and excitedly talking about how great it would be to own one.
When Harry saw Hermione again, he got quite a shock—she was tanned all over. The three of them ate ice cream outside Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour.
"So you copied your summer homework from Will?" Ron looked at Harry enviously. "Harry, do you know how miserable it was doing mine alone? You have no idea how long I spent digging through Bill's old notes."
"You mean the notes of the Bill who got twelve Os on his O.W.L.s and became a Curse-Breaker at Gringotts?" Hermione looked deeply envious. "Goodness, Ron, those must be priceless."
"Priceless? What are you talking about, Hermione? Give me one Sickle and you can borrow them for a term." Ron sounded resigned. If he hadn't needed to finish his homework, he