Through Small Eyes

Colin awoke a few hours later to the aroma of bacon sizzling in the kitchen. As he rubbed the eye boogers away he realized that he was no longer covered by the blanket. He looked over at Dennis and saw his brother completely wrapped like a mummy. All that would tip a person off that someone was inside was a small puff of hair at one end and a few toes at the other.

Colin got off the couch and went into the kitchen to see if he could "help his mum with anything", meaning of course that he was going to steal a piece of bacon if he could get away with it. He succeeded and was asked to wake his brother up for breakfast after he was finished with his ill-gotten gains.

"Wake Dennis up, will you dear? We've got a lot to do while you and Mira are gone today."

"Sure thing, Mum." Colin walked back out of the kitchen and stood in front of his sleeping brother while he licked the remaining grease from his fingers. 'Wake him up, huh? I can do that.' Colin took a few more seconds to figure out exactly where Dennis' most ticklish parts were under the blanket and he pounced.

Shrieks of laughter filled the room as Colin's fingers found his brother's sides and armpits. This was one of the most unfair assaults of all time since Dennis' hands and arms were rolled up and he was unable to defend himself.

"Colllllllinnnnnnn!!! Quit it!" Dennis yelled between laughs, but Colin drove on. He finally gave it up after almost five minutes and a warning from his brother that he was about to pee the couch. "That was mean, Colin," Dennis said with a smile on his face as he regained his breath.

"No, that was funny."

"Well, you had better find some sort of magical door lock at wherever you and Aunt Mira are going today because tonight I'll get my revenge, and payback is a --"

"Breakfast boys!" their mum called from the kitchen, stopping Dennis from saying the one swear word they knew. They both smiled at each other and then raced to the kitchen.

"Colin, you can chew your food, you know. Swallowing it whole won't make your aunt get here any faster," his mum told him after four pieces of bacon disappeared in a matter of seconds.

"I know, but I'm a little excited, that's all."

"I noticed." Sam had been trying to suppress a smile the whole time they were eating as she watched her oldest son bounce up and down in his chair like a superball. Another five minutes passed and he was done. "all right, all right. Go upstairs and get a shower before you shake the table apart. She should be here in in a little while." Colin was gone from the table so fast it seemed like something out of a cartoon. His fork spun around on his plate for a half dozen rotations and Sam could have sworn there were speed lines trailing behind him.

Monster sized footfalls could be heard running up the steps. Both pairs of eyes looked at the ceiling and followed the sounds. To the dresser in the far corner of the bedroom, to the bedroom door again, back to the dresser. 'Likely forgot his underwear," Sam thought. Back out of the bedroom and into the bathroom. Sam and Dennis were both grinning as the sound of water could be heard.

"I've not seen him this excited about anything since he got his first bike," Sam said. "You were maybe four or so, Dennis."

"Good thing I drank the rest of the chocolate milk then, huh Mum?"

"Yes. A very good thing."

Ten minutes at the most passed and Colin was back downstairs, dressed in a pair of denim shorts and a white t-shirt with an orange backwards 'n' on it, his favorite clothes. "I don't really have any wizard clothes, so I guess this will have to do," he announced.

"They'll be fine, Colin," his aunt announced from the kitchen door, apparently having just Apparated. "Not all witches and wizards wear robes anyway."

Now, it should be perfectly clear to all that Colin was already excited, but once he turned and saw his aunt standing there he somehow cranked it into another gear. A hundred or more phrases began falling out of his mouth, mostly garbled due to his excitement.

"Calm down, Colin. I'll answer all your questions. Don't worry." Colin quieted down. He was actually quiet as he sat down on the couch and started putting his shoes on. He looked up at her after he had them both tied, having just realized something.

"How are we going to get there? I can't disappear like you can, so how?"

"Oh, I think you'll find this way quite interesting as well. I considered driving over here but I decided that since you were going to Diagon Alley for the first time, we'd go in style. Plus, downtown London traffic is horrible this time of day." Colin looked at her with large questioning eyes.

"How?"

"Well," she said, pulling a small corked pot from one of her many pockets, "this is Floo powder." A giant question mark seemed to appear over Colin's head. "All we have to do is step into the fireplace and toss a handful of this at our feet and we're there. Quite simple, actually."

Colin looked over at their fireplace and after he found the space inside to be quite lacking, he looked back at his aunt. "Uh, I don't think that even Dennis would fit in there."

"Engorgio!" Mira said as she pulled her wand from her robes and aimed it at the fireplace. The three other people in the room watched in amazement as the fireplace grew to about ten times its normal size, easily enough for them all to step into at once. "There."

"Wicked," said the brothers Creevey.

"Shall we be off then, Colin?" Colin could only nod. "We'll be back in a few hours, Sam."

"Take your time, Mira. And Colin, you mind your aunt now. Don't go running off or anything."

"I will Mum. Don't worry."

"We'll be fine, Sam. I won't let anything happen to him, I promise." The look on her face made Sam certain that nothing would happen. A look of fearlessness might describe it. Control also.

"Come on, nephew of mine, let's get some magic in you," Mira said as she stepped into the fireplace and offered her hand out to Colin. "We'll go together this time." She reached into the small pot and pulled out a handful of dust. "On the count of three, Colin, say where we're going, all right?"

"Okay," he said as he tightened his grip on her hand.

"One...Two...Three....Diagon Alley!" Mira threw the powder and they were gone instantly. Only a small puff of smoke marked their point of egress in the Creevey household.

Colin's first thought as he was twisted through space was that he was in the middle of some huge rock concert as sound seemed to be pounding on him from all sides. His eyes caught glimpses of what he thought must be other fireplaces as they sped past them. His aunt gave his hand a reassuring squeeze and he squeezed back, hoping that this ride would quickly be over. Soon enough they shot out onto solid ground.

"How was it?" his aunt asked as she wiped a little bit of soot off her clothes.

"It was like I was riding the world's biggest roller coaster right in the middle of a concert hall. Pretty good overall," he said with a huge grin.

"I thought you'd enjoy it. Remind me to tell your mum to clean your fireplace though." Colin nodded affirmatively.

Colin began to look around the building he found himself in. Candles were lit everywhere; on walls, tables, some even hanging in mid-air. People were walking all around them, passing by like two people suddenly falling out of a fireplace didn't surprise them in the least. The furniture looked like things that his grandmother, an antique nut, would have in her house if she had the money.

"Your first time, I take it," a kindly old woman asked Colin as she stopped in front of the two of them.

"What gave him away?" Mira asked with a smile.

"Oh, it's the slack jaw and the eyes, mostly," she said with her own smile as she walked off.

"Nephew of mine, if you think this is something, just wait until we get outside." She wrapped an arm around his shoulder and they started out the door.

Colin Creevey had always been a boy with an active imagination, but what he saw when he stepped outside of the inn completely blew his mind. He had imagined a great many things about what Diagon Alley might look like, but this was like nothing in his dreams. Buildings filled his sight, each looking as they were breaking a half dozen laws of physics and gravity. Once he got past all the architecture, he noticed that the whole place was filled with people. Hundreds of them, each hurrying on in his or her own path. The closest Colin could come to describing it at the moment was 'a cross between a strip mall and a circus'.

"Hello? Anyone home in there?" Mira asked as she waved her hands in front of Colin's face.

"Oh, sorry. I was just looking at, well, everything."

"There's a lot to take in, huh?"

"That is an understatement. Where do we start?"

"Well, I guess we should first head to Gringotts. After that, I guess we'll just go where the crowds take us."

"And Gringotts is what?"

"Oh. It's a bank. I started an account for you the day you were born in case you were accepted. Dennis too."

"That was swell of you, Aunt Mira. Thanks."

"Think nothing of it dear. Let's get a move on."

The two of them made their way with the crowds toward the bank. Its structure dominated one end of Diagon Alley. Its gargoyles seemed to be watching all of the passersby with great prejudice.

"Aunt Mira, the statues up there, they're moving!"

"Of course they are, Colin. Those gargoyles are the bank's first line of defense against thieves. They are trained to look for anyone that might exhibit any signs of wrongdoing. I guess you could consider them something like the security cameras at your mum and dad's bank. Only those can't fly and attack you."

"Has it ever been robbed then? With all those gargoyles?"

"Only twice as far as I know. And one of those wasn't really a robbery. I'll explain that one later on." The two of them continues along the street and up the steps into the massive foyer of the bank.

"You could fit a football stadium in here," Colin said, eying where midfield would be.

"Oh, easily. I just don't think that the goblins here would be too happy about someone kicking a ball around in their bank."

"I guess not. They don't look overly friendly."

After speaking to a Mr. Hogglyrut at the main desk they were taken to a mine car. At first the ride reminded Colin of a few roller coasters that he'd been on with his father the last time they were on vacation. That soon changed as the mine car began to do certain things that seemed to not just defy the laws of gravity but openly punch them in the face and give them a wedgie. Colin decided while hanging upside down and screaming for all he was worth that he absolutely never call Dennis a wimp again if he refused to ride a ride at any amusement park.

The car screeched to a halt outside a vault and the goblin and his aunt hopped out of the car like it had simply gone across the street. Colin on the other hand wasn't sure if he should even attempt to move a muscle. He was sure if he did that he would vomit all over the car and that would be no good.

"Would it be all right if I just sat here while you two do whatever you are doing?" He called weakly.

"That's fine. We'll just be a moment and then we'll be on our way back."

"Back???" Colin thought to himself. "Great. Just great." Deep breath followed deep breath. He closed his eyes as the others got back into the car and it started moving again. Somehow he made it out of the mines or whatever they were riding through and Colin was greatly relieved. So relieved in fact that he decided to sit quietly on the ground and wait for his stomach to make its way out of the depths of the bank while his aunt did a little more business at the counter.

His aunt tucked a sack into her robes and tapped Colin lightly on the head. "Let's go. We have many more wonders to see today."

"They aren't any worse than that one, are they?"

"Oh no. That ride is one of a kind, I promise."

"Good."

They made their way out of the bank and back out into the bright light of the Alley. They were immediately swallowed by the Carnival atmosphere of the crowd. Everyone seemed very happy and busy. This was much better than the streets of London where most people seemed quite agitated. Mira led Colin over to a store that sold robes.

"Madam Malkin's is the best place to get robes in all of the Alley, Colin," she told him as they stepped inside. Bolts of fabric were everywhere, Colin saw as the door shut behind them. Mira led him over to a row of chairs while the current customer was finishing up.

After a few minutes Colin was waved over and took his place on the stand. Madam Malkin walked over to him and was just starting to measure him when she happened to look over and take a good look at Mira.

"Well blow me over with a feather! Mira. It's been far too long."

"Aye, it's me. How have you been?"

"I've been fine. Is this your boy, Mira?"

"No, but I'd gladly claim him. He's my nephew."

"When are you and Rajan going to settle down and have some children of your own? You'd have some powerful wizards, Mira."

Colin watched as his aunt's face went tight for a split second. He was the only one who saw it as Madam Malkin had gone back to measuring him for the time being. He had never heard that name before and it obviously pained her to hear it as well.

"Maybe someday, maybe someday." The conversation went on around Colin as he tried to puzzle out what that name might mean. He went extremely quiet and moved his arms and legs when asked as he listened. The robes were gathered after the measurements were completed and were paid for.

"I hope you have a great year at Hogwarts, Colin," Madam Malkin told Colin.

"I think I will. Thank you very much."

Colin and his aunt left the store. She was much subdued and Colin so much wanted to ask her what the earlier conversation was about but he was a bit afraid to. Mira noticed the look on his face within a few steps.

"Rajan was my boyfriend at Hogwarts, Colin," she started. "We were inseparable."

"You don't have to tell me this, Aunt Mira. You really don't."

"I know, but I will anyway. Let's go and grab a drink and I'll tell you what happened."

"You still don't have to, you know."

"I know. Come on, we can stop at that little shop over there."

Colin followed her over to the small restaurant and Mira ordered them two rootbeer floats. They settled into two chairs that looked out over the street. "Like I said, Rajan was my boyfriend back at Hogwarts. We both graduated at the tops of our classes, he from Ravenclaw and me from Gryffindor. He went on to work at an administrative position in the Ministry of Magic and I went on to be an Auror."

"What is an Auror, Aunt Mira?"

"An Auror is a Wizard who hunts down evil Wizards to keep them from hurting others."

"Oh."

"So anyway, shortly after I was commissioned as a full-fledged Auror, You-Know-Who started his rise to power. I, along with dozens of other Aurors, started rooting out his henchmen. I took down quite a few of them with my team and You-Know-Who didn't much care for that." Mira stopped talking for a moment to gather her thoughts. Colin looked on at her and seemed to not breath the entire time she thought.

"Rajan and I were long engaged. Shortly before we were to be married, You-Know-Who started to attack the loved ones of those who caught his followers. Rajan was one of the unlucky ones. I was away in Ireland chasing a group of Death Eaters when I heard the news. I raced back as quickly as I could but it was too late."

Colin looked as if he were about to cry after he heard about all that. "I'm sorry, Aunt Mira," he told her as he wiped a tear away.

"Thanks, Colin."

"Why didn't you tell Madam Malkin that he'd been killed?"

"I don't know, really. I guess I didn't want start down that road right then. I got plenty enough of it when it happened."

"I guess it is easier that way," Colin told her as he finished his drink. Mira finished her own and stood up.

"Come on, nephew of mine, we have a lot more shopping to do." Colin stood up with her and noticed that she seemed her old self again.