Thanks." Harry said as he pulled out his pouch and counted out the galleons for the glasses.
The man accepted them, also sweeping up his old glasses and tossing them in the rubbish bin. Harry smiled and left enjoying the feeling of glasses that actually fit his prescription and face.
.-.
The next stop down Diagon was a hair cutting salon surprisingly. As he walked in he was immediately ushered to a chair and his hat pulled off.
"What did you want?" The woman asked stonily, facing his reflection.
"Um…What can you do?"
"Anything." She snipped.
"Can you make it grow longer?" He asked thoughtfully.
Longer might make the mess a bit easier to manage as it might weigh down the messy pieces. The woman picked up a long comb and started to run it through his hair. Harry watched in interest as the locks got longer and longer with every stroke of the comb. When the hair was at mid-back he asked her to stop. She did so. His hair hung in long thick waves. It shined slightly and the waves gave it a wild look along with the flaring ends.
"I want my bangs longer."
She grew them to his chin and styled them so they always stayed to the side. He examined it in the mirror.
"That's good. Can you teach me to braid?"
She nodded and slowly braided his hair so he could see how it was done. Then she gave him a soft incantation to do it magically. He thanked her and she shooed him from the chair when he was finished. He returned to the front counter and paid, leaving a tip for the woman.
As he stepped outside he reached inside his satchel and pulled out a muggle notebook and pen. He had started a list of what he wanted to do and get. He added 'buy hair ties' to the list and stuffed the item away, heading off down the street. He stopped a few more stores including the trunk one to find his luggage set finished. The wheel suitcase, the hand held suitcase, and the duffle like bag he left at the store to pick up when he was finished shopping so he didn't have to carry them everywhere. He also found a magical carpenter and designer store where he made plans to hire them once he had bought the house he wanted.
.-.
Harry finally found himself wandering down Vertical Alley and walking into almost every store. He found himself buying a painting set, a drawing set, and some large packs of paper from the art store. It had been, to his disappointment, just a regular art store, muggle really.
Harry found himself wandering into the large bookstore next door next. He found himself buying a large selection of magical fantasy books, a bunch of magic books, and some other odd books which he paid for and had wrapped in a brown paper package, nicely shrunk for him.
The music store was his next stop. When he'd been younger he'd taken up the Piano. In grade school they had been expected to try and learn at least one instrument. Most kids had chosen the Piano but none had tried very hard. Harry had been talented at it. His teacher had often spent recess with him in the music room teaching him songs and keys. He'd been good but finishing elementary had put an end to his practicing.
As he walked in the brightly painted music store he found himself facing an old man who reminded Harry uncannily of Ollivander. The man eyed him with an odd look.
"Yes, yes." He said to himself. "Feel free to look around Mr. Potter."
Hmm. Very like Ollivander. Harry took his advice though and started to look around. Some very beautiful instruments had been set upon racks and Harry took the time to look them all over. After a few minutes he selected some music books from a shelf and made his way to the counter. The man stood behind it rang up the books.
"I'd also like that black piano over there." Harry said pointing to one of the piano's on a raised platform.
The man eyed him and the instrument.
"You don't feel an attraction to it though." he frowned.
Harry scowled. What? No he hadn't felt a pull to it but he'd never felt a pull to anything other then his wand. He'd chose the black one because it was a beautiful work of art and not overly grand. The man suddenly turned and strode into a back room. Three minutes later he returned carrying a small wooden box. He slid it to Harry and rang up the price. Harry paid him, slightly stunned and was shooed from the shop.
Once outside he opened the case and gasped at the very tiny instrument in a velvet outline. The piano was a deep red wood color with swirls of black that made a pattern of a large feather on the sides. He careful tapped one of the keys with his nail and smiled at the soft sound. It was a beautiful piano, shrunken but nice. He quickly put it away and vowed to try it out later as he headed down the street. He was finished in this alley for now. He just had to grab his luggage kit before leaving.
.-.
Once on the muggle side of London Harry found himself with another hour to kill. He started to wander down the street looking for some stores to browse. He found one in the form of a huge bookstore. He spent at least half an hour in there loading up on story books, fiction novels, text books from various classes of muggle secondary school, and other such things.
As he exited the store, sagging under the weight of the books, he ducked into an alley and shoved the books into his quickly filling shoulder bag. When they were out of sight he ducked back into the streets of London and started walking. He spotted a tattoo and piercing shop but quickly decided not to enter. He didn't want to get something he might regret and be stuck with.
He spotted a store next to it though, that grabbed his attention. As he walked inside he found himself surrounded by old antique furniture ranging from huge old wardrobes, to tacky looking lamps. Harry walked amongst the silent furniture and eyed every piece. Some of it was quite beautiful.
"Can I help you?" Came a looming voice.
Harry looked up at the man who had spoken. H e looked about thirty at most, with long dark brown hair, lightly tanned skin, and blue eyes. He loomed over Harry, hands folded behind his back and his clothes all black. Harry was struck by how much the man looked like Snape though he was missing the black hair, the hooked nose, and the pale skin.
"I was just browsing sir." Harry said evenly as he eyed a beautiful high back chair. "Out of curiosity though, if one bought something could it be held in the store until they were able to pick it up?"
"…Yes. We can hold sold items for up to one month." He answered fluidly.
Harry glanced around.