Tris was very familiar with Diagon Alley.
With five older brothers coming here year after year, it would have been strange if he weren't.
But although he visited often, he rarely got to buy anything.
Molly and Arthur doted on their precious daughter Ginny, but as for their sons... well, keeping them alive was enough.
When Percy and the others bought their school supplies, Ginny sometimes got a little trinket she liked as well. Tris and Ron, meanwhile, could only feast their eyes.
Finally, it was our turn to spend some money!
At that moment, Ron was like a husky let off its leash.
"A Nimbus 2000! That's a Nimbus 2000!"
Ron, who adored Quidditch despite never having seen his favorite team win, immediately spotted the beautiful broom in the window of Quality Quidditch Supplies.
"That really is a nice design." Charlie glanced at the broom, and his eyes couldn't help lighting up a little too.
He also loved Quidditch, but he had it a little better than Ron. At least his favorite team was always a serious contender for the championship, unlike the Chudley Cannons, who were basically just there to make up the numbers.
"All right, stop staring. Let's buy our books first!" Tris had nothing but disdain for Ron and the twins, who couldn't budge once they saw a broom.
Two members of the Weasley family weren't particularly interested in Quidditch. One was Molly, and the other was Tris.
Molly at least had some interest in the sport itself; she just wasn't as passionate about it as the rest of the family.
Tris genuinely had no interest in Quidditch whatsoever.
Twelve people rode around on sticks, apparently unafraid of crushing their balls, and risked having iron balls smash their brains to mush while fighting over a wooden ball in midair. And they were so enthusiastic about it, too.
He couldn't understand it, and he couldn't respect it either.
Since he felt nothing for Quidditch, flying broomsticks naturally held no appeal for him either.
Tris much preferred Flying Carpets.
Unfortunately, the morons at the Ministry of Magic had banned them. Fucking idiots.
"Yes, stop staring. Let's get our shopping done," Molly said too. "But let's buy the owls first."
"Mum, I want a new owl. You promised me," Percy said.
"Yes, I know." Molly nodded, then looked at Tris beside her.
Tris kept pretending not to notice.
At Eeylops Owl Emporium, the Weasley family bought two owls.
Tris ended up paying after all.
He couldn't help it. The moment Molly entered, she patted his shoulder and said, "My son earned some money from his writing, so he's buying a few things for the family today."
Under the shopkeeper's approving gaze, Tris simply couldn't bring himself to refuse.
Besides, Percy had helped Tris plenty of times. If he had to buy him something, so be it.
An owl could serve as a pet, which meant Percy's original pet was now available.
Molly suggested that either Ron or Tris could "inherit" the rat, while the other could have a toad bought for him.
Ron didn't like toads, so he chose the rat.
Tris didn't like rats-especially this particular rat, who was actually a transformed human-but he didn't like toads either, so he said he didn't want a pet.
Pets were optional for Hogwarts students, not compulsory. Tris couldn't be bothered to look after one, so he simply passed.
There was another advantage to this: he could share Ron's rat when the time came.
Tris had long had plans for this human-turned-rat. Once school started, he intended to find an opportunity to expose him.
Disrupting the plot had never been among Tris's concerns. All he worried about was keeping his own secret and not affecting his family.
Exposing the rat at home could be dangerous.
At Hogwarts, though, he had nothing to fear. Hagrid had famously said that Hogwarts was the safest place in the world. Tris chose to believe him.
After leaving Eeylops Owl Emporium, their next stops were Flourish and Blotts and Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions.
With their finances improving, the Weasley family could now afford a set of new school robes for the children!
As always, the Weasley family had never been stingy. Most of the time, they simply didn't have any money.
Now that they did, Molly had no intention of scrimping.
Upon hearing that they were buying new clothes, Ron evolved from a frolicking husky into a frolicking beagle, bouncing around and making a racket.
Tris couldn't be bothered to get fitted for clothes. Flourish and Blotts was what interested him most in Diagon Alley, and now that he was here, he didn't want to leave. "Ron, get measured for me. We're about the same build. I'll stay here and read."
Tris and Ron had very different faces, but their builds were similar. Ron could easily stand in for him to have his measurements taken.
"Well..." Molly hesitated. She knew her youngest son liked reading, so it wasn't surprising that he couldn't tear himself away from a bookshop. Still, she was a little worried about leaving him here alone.
"I'll stay here too," Percy said. "I've bought everything I need."
As new students, Ron and Tris got to buy new robes. Percy didn't receive that kind of special treatment-even though he'd become a Prefect this year.
Getting a new owl was already more than enough.
"All right, then." Molly nodded. Her third son and her youngest got along well, since both liked reading.
With Percy here, she really had nothing to worry about.
Tris felt a little awkward. With Percy around, it wouldn't be easy to pull any little tricks.
But he soon realized he didn't need to worry about Percy. His brother quickly found a bookshelf, picked out a book, and began reading.
Tris glanced at the title from a distance-Prefect, Head Boy, Minister for Magic: A Life in Three Stages.
Impressive!
That's Percy for you!
Seeing how absorbed Percy was, Tris turned away to find what he needed.
First, Hogwarts: A History (Unofficial). Sold!
Memoirs of History's Famous Dark Wizards. Sold!
The Changing History of European Dark Magic. Sold!
The Connections Between European Dark Magic and African Witchcraft. Sold!
A rich man could buy whatever he pleased!
He had already cashed his fifteen-hundred-Galleon royalty cheque at Gringotts, depositing most of it and carrying only a small portion with him. The owls had cost just a tiny fraction of that amount, and the rest was still in Tris's pocket. Buying a few books was no trouble at all.
But these books all dealt with culture, history, or biography. They were very useful for helping Tris understand history, but they contained none of the spells he needed most.
He called over a shop assistant, paid, and instructed him to send the books to Hogwarts after September first-his mother mustn't see him buying so many books. Then he lowered his voice and asked,
"Hey, do you have any books on advanced spells?"
The assistant had been languid from the start. He earned a fixed, very meager wage, with no commission for selling more books, so he had little motivation. At Tris's question, he listlessly pointed to one side. "Over there."
Tris glanced at that bookshelf.
He'd already looked there. It held only basic spells, less useful than the old books and notes Bill had left him.
"They don't have what I want." Tris shook his head. "I'm looking for something more advanced. More sophisticated."
The assistant yawned, looked Tris over again, and scoffed. "You little brat, do you even have a wand? Have you started school? Have you learned the Levitation Charm? And you already want something more advanced?"
Tris was speechless.
This was his biggest problem at the moment. He was too young, and nobody took him seriously.
After a moment's thought, Tris pulled a handful of Galleons straight from his pocket. "I just want some books like that. As for where they come from or who sells them to me, I don't really care."
"Hmm?" The assistant's eyes immediately lit up. He understood what Tris meant.
A horse needed extra fodder to grow fat, and a man needed money on the side to grow rich.
People in the wizarding world understood that principle too.
"What would you like, young sir?" The assistant immediately disregarded Tris's age and asked with a broad smile.
"Advanced spellbooks. At least beyond the level of N.E.W.T. textbooks," Tris said.
"Well..." The assistant looked troubled. "Those books aren't common. You only find ordinary spell textbooks on the market. Books on advanced spells and Dark Magic are scarce. They're usually passed down within wizarding families."
Tris smiled. Since the man had taken the bait, he clearly had a way. His current reaction was merely a bargaining tactic.
"I'm sure you can find a way?"
"Hmm... heh heh." Sure enough, the assistant's eyes darted around, and he lowered his voice. "The shop certainly doesn't have any more advanced spellbooks, or anything related to Dark Magic. But..."
He looked around again to make sure nobody was paying attention, then lowered his voice further. "There's another alley behind here. You might find something there."
"Knockturn Alley?" Tris frowned.
He knew Knockturn Alley was right next to Diagon Alley. In the films, Harry had wandered into it by mistake in his second year, and had luckily run into Hagrid.
But that wasn't a place an underage wizard like him should visit right now.
"Oh, you know about it?" The assistant was rather surprised. It was quite unusual for an underage wizard to know about Knockturn Alley.
Still, that saved him an explanation. "That's right. Knockturn Alley might have what you need, young sir. But it might not be suitable for you to go there yourself.
"It's just a matter of the price..."
That was all he needed to say.
The assistant wanted to act as a broker, which was exactly what Tris needed.
It just wasn't appropriate with his current identity.
"I don't intend to get involved with a place like that." Tris shook his head, feigning regret. "If you don't have anything here, never mind."
With that, he turned and went back to reading by the bookshelves.
Now that he'd gotten the man talking, there would be plenty of opportunities later. Just not now.
The assistant was a little disappointed, but said nothing more. It was perfectly normal for an underage wizard to want nothing to do with Knockturn Alley.
The opposite would have been strange.
His disappointment at missing out on some extra cash lasted only a moment before he slipped off to one side to slack off again.
As Tris leafed through a book, he pondered how to get what he needed without revealing his identity.
Just then, Ron rushed in from outside, his face full of excitement. "Tris, Percy, come with me! Quick!"