Diagon Alley

Diagon Alley, a cobblestoned wizarding marketplace, was located behind the Leaky Cauldron on Charing Cross Road. Tapping the right brick on the courtyard wall opened a path into the bustling alley.

Inside were varied establishments like restaurants, shops, and other wizard-worthy sights. Harry remembered purchasing his first-year requisites there.

"I don't like this place so much," Ron complained. "Been coming here since I could walk. There's not much left to see. And it's always so crowded; the shops are so clumsy."

However, for Harry, everything was still a wonder. He saw shops for robes, potion instruments, beast body parts, spell books and stationery, wands, and joke shops.

"Still… rent is quite high, you know," Hermione explained with a chuckle. "A fortune, in fact. A hundred galleons a month."

Ron's eyes widened.

"But the market is expanding," she said, pointing towards the Gringotts junction.

Knockturn Alley, Horizont Alley, and Carkitt Market were extensions, or to be precise, offshoots of Diagon Alley.

"Why did they bring us here instead of Hogsmeade?" Harry asked. He was not complaining, just curious.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Well, Hogsmeade is still closed off because of the Lethifold scare. Even though ministry officials personally visited the villagers and assured them that the danger was gone, they wouldn't believe it. We can expect Hogsmeade to be closed for a few more days. So McGonagall brought us here via the floo network."

"That was fun," Harry chirped, remembering the magical trip. His robes were caked with floo powder.

Hermione stopped speaking, slowed down, and peered at the first-year crowd before them.

"Come on, move faster, or you'll be left behind," Harry urged, looking back at her.

"Wait... Where is-"

"She won't listen to you, Harry," Ron quipped. "She goes all fuzzy in the head when she thinks about Riddle. He's like a love potion to Little Miss Brains." He sniggered.

"What!" Hermione exclaimed, blushing to a deep red. "Ron! One day I'll smack you in the face for speaking such utter nonsense!"

The redhead frowned and inched away from her. Hermione would have cursed him if she had her wand out.

"Well then, what is it?" Harry asked.

The little witch calmed down and shrugged. "Well, yeah, it's about Tom. But it's not what Ron thinks. Aren't you concerned he'll be led astray by Malfoy? Why did Snape have to send him to Slytherin?"

"See. Told ya, mate," Ron said smugly. "She'd be delighted if he were to come back to Gryffindor, and she can fawn over him all day."

"What's your problem, Ron?" Hermione fired, reaching for her wand. But the Weasley boy would not back down this time.

"My problem is that we are supposed to be classmates," he mouthed seriously. "Tom led us into danger last night, or did you magically forget that? If you still want us to hang out with him, you are as weird as he is! No wonder you don't have any friends!"

Harry thought Hermione would explode in anger and curse Ron. Instead, a tear escaped her eye. She turned and disappeared into the crowd.

"Good job communicating, Ron," Harry muttered. "Tom saved my life from the Living Shroud. At least I owe him some concern. Malfoy might really get him into trouble."

Ron sighed and turned away. "I'm going with Dean and Seamus to Quality Quidditch Supplies. You can come along." He looked back twice, and when Harry didn't follow, the boy went out of sight.

Harry really wanted to visit Quality Quidditch Supplies, but he was worried about Hermione. She might do something extreme and get herself into trouble. The boy waded through the crowd, looking for her.

Finally, he found Hermione standing in front of Gringotts bank.

"You chose a great place to be emotional. The goblins are known to understand sentiments well," he joked. The contrary was true, as Goblins were mostly severe-looking and calculative.

Hermione turned around to face Harry. Her tears were already dry, and her face was animated. "I'm not crying, you fool!"

"You found something?"

She nodded and pointed. "I saw Malfoy and Tom take a turn in front of Gringotts bank."

Harry scratched his head, trying to make sense of the direction they would be heading. "That would be-

"Knockturn alley!"

"Why would they go there? It is forbidden to underage wizards."

Hermione gave him a knowing look. "Don't you see what's happening? Malfoy is up to something evil, and he's roped in poor Tom."

"What do we do? Shall we inform a teacher?"

The girl shook her head. "That way, we won't know what Malfoy's plan is. Let's follow them and find out."

Harry gulped. He had heard terrible things about the place.

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Hermione?"

The little witch smiled nervously. "This is a terrible idea, Harry! But desperate times, desperate spells."

"I dunno…"

"I promise we'll run back at the smallest sign of trouble. We'll even inform a teacher. I promise."

Harry sighed and pricked the glasses up his nose. "Fine. But won't we be spotted easily?"

Hermione winked at him. "I have a plan."