As Harry walked toward Wanda and Wandel's shop, or rather toward the shop of Wanda and Wandel's descendants, Harry mulled over a number of options that he might use to deal with Big and Bigger. Harry was somewhat confident that they weren't Order members. He was also reasonably sure that they weren't from the Ministry-Moody seemed to be in charge of investigating Cygnus's assassination, and he knew how to contact Harry. The only other feasible option was that they were agents of Voldemort.
He strode into Wanda and Wandel's cheap wand shop and rang the bell. The woman, whose name Harry recalled was Wendy, emerged from the back. She recognized Harry and seemed happy for a business opportunity. "Welcome," she breathed. "Have you decided to replace your wand?"
"Not precisely," Harry said curtly. "I wish to purchase a case of your wands."
"A case?" Wendy asked, very surprised.
"Yes," said Harry an entire case. "How many wands is that?"
"One hundred and fifty," Wendy replied. "At five galleons a piece, that comes out to-"
"One hundred and fifty galleons," Harry said.
"You're mistaken, dear," Wendy rebutted. "It's seven hundred and fifty."
"No," said Harry. "I won't pay more than a galleon for each wand. I know full well where you get them and how worthless they truly are. At one galleon a piece, you're still making a profit equal or greater to what you would during a slow month."
"One galleon for each is rather low," Wendy said, wetting her lips.
Harry knew full well that he could press his offer and back it with some well-placed threats, but he wasn't in the mood to dicker with the woman over the price. "Two hundred galleons for the case of wands," he said. "Final offer."
Wendy caved and the money exchanged hands. Harry accepted a case of wands from her and departed, resisting the urge to glare balefully at Big and Bigger who were loitering outside of the shop, waiting for Harry to emerge. Harry had been planning on one last stop to a shop in Muggle London, but he was now thoroughly annoyed with his tails and decided to delay the visit, lest they stopped following him too soon. He now wanted to nail them.
The next destination was the Leaky Cauldron where Harry set his newly-acquired case of wands on a chair, occupied another, and ordered dinner from the barkeep. The loiterers were forced to follow him in, and they too occupied a table and ordered drinks.
Harry made dinner a long affair as he toyed with the two wizards that had apparently been assigned to follow him. Whenever it seemed like he was done and about ready to leave, Harry would order a dessert or drink while he thumbed through the newspaper. Clearly, the watchers were frustrated, but for one reason or another, they were willing to stick to their prey.
Eventually, the sun went down, and Harry was ready. Neither of the wizards had left his sight, so Harry was confident that he had only the two of them with which to deal. There was little chance that they had found a way to summon other friends. Abandoning his table, Harry grabbed the case of wands and stepped into the bathroom. He pried it open and retrieved one of Wanda and Wandel's specials.
Harry secured the case, exited the bathroom, and handed it to the barkeep, requesting that the case be held until he called for it later. Then, unwrapping the wand, Harry slowly and deliberately stepped out of the pub and made his way into Diagon Alley.
Sure enough, the two watchers abandoned their own table and casually made to follow Harry. Smiling grimly, Harry discarded the wrapping from his new, shoddy wand and set a brisk pace down Diagon Alley toward Knockturn Alley as he drew his yew and phoenix feather wand and placed it in his right hand. He held the wand of indeterminate material in his left hand.
Just as the entrance to Knockturn Alley came within Harry's sight, Big and Bigger exited the Leaky Cauldron and realized that Harry had increased his pace. They began to move quickly so that they could make up for lost time.
Deliberately, Harry looked over his shoulder and made eye contact with them. Doing his best to look surprised and distressed, Harry turned his head forward and started running. Realizing that their cover was officially blown, but also feeling confident that they could chase down Harry successfully, Big and Bigger also started running.
Harry rounded the corner into Knockturn Alley and increased his pace, now paying close attention to his surroundings, looking for the perfect place to make his stand, or rather, lay his ambush. Big and Bigger were now in Knockturn Alley and were keeping Harry within view, though they were having difficulty closing the gap between them and him.
A couple of shops sparked Harry's memory of other visits to Knockturn Alley, and Harry suddenly knew where he wanted to ambush his followers. Taking a panicked look over his shoulder that was calculated to urge the pursuers on, Harry darted around a corner and raced toward a t-shaped intersection.
....
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