It Was A Normal Shopping Trip Until...
by Don't Make Eye Contact

Harry looked at his book list as he trudged down Diagon Ally, glancing around for any of the Weasleys. He was looking forward to seeing Ron and Ginny again but he would rather stay away from Mrs Weasley until the whole 'biscuit game' incident was a little further in the past. He blushed at the thought of it and almost didn't notice the flicker of light.

The ally had suddenly changed. There were a number of new shops there. A cabaret, a gun shop with frills around the window, a tobacconists with a decidedly pink decor and a display of disturbingly long cigars in the window. There was another flicker and the ally was back to normal. Harry peered around, trying to tell if any of the other wizards nearby had had something to do with this. But they seemed to be as confused as he. Could this be a nefarious plot by Voldemort.

A flicker and the other shops were back. Harry noticed steam puffing from a grate that hadn't been there before, the steam curled into letters spelling out "oh, oh, yeah." The shops were gone in an instant. A few wizards had their wands out now but no idea where to point them. Harry fancied he could feel a tension in the very stones of the street. There was another flicker and the shops were there, their bright colours and glamorous decoration at odds with the ancient stones of Diagon ally. For the next few minutes the shops flickered in and out of sight faster and faster, the heat and tension in the air was almost unbearable, the ground was trembling.

The tension suddenly burst, the ground shook and a fire hydrant that had appeared with the new shops burst, drenching everyone nearby. Harry almost gasped at the sudden release of heat from the air and stone. The shops were all still now, the new additions seemingly not going anywhere. The entire street seemed to almost sag with relaxation. Harry noticed puffs of smoke emerging from the door to the tobacconists. The spelt out the words "Diagon, honey, you were incredible." Harry nervously glanced around, still confused and noticed the Hogshead pub sign reading "So, Danny, what happened to that floozy, Four freedoms plaza?"

The neon sign by the cabaret that had been advertising the most outrageous drag show in the world suddenly started reading: "He means nothing to me, sweetie. You're all I want." Harry couldn't see a reply to that but he couldn't help but feel there was a sense of happy contentment throughout the street. Of course he didn't give it much thought. He'd just noticed Ron slipping into the cabaret and he realised he'd never been to a drag show before.

 

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