When did Harry get his watch?

[GulPlum]

No: HPFGUIDX 52870

Maria asked:

<snip>

>Then in GoF, he has a watch, it seems that a muggle watch. When
>does he get it?

I know this is a few days old, and we had a parallel conversation last 
week, but I've been musing on it some more, and have a further couple of 
comments.

The first instance I can find of Harry having a watch of his own is during 
the Polyjuice transformation in CoS, when he needs to loosen the strap 
having changed into Goyle (UK ed., p.163).

Although we have no exact canon one way or the other, I've changed my mind, 
and consider that the most likely time and place Harry acquired his watch 
was in Diagon Alley at the beginning of CoS. Although it's a wizarding 
world watch, it does nothing more than tell time. It's also probably not a 
particularly good one.

I am referring to this scene (UK. ed. p. 48):

"... [I]n a tiny junk shop full of broken wands, lopsided brass scales, and 
old cloaks covered in potion stains they found Percy, deeply immersed in a 
small and deeply boring book called Prefects Who Gained Power. [skip Percy 
conversation.] An hour later, they headed for Flourish and Blotts.

We have no details of what they did for that hour, but as no other shops 
are mentioned, there's an implication that they spent the time in that 
shop. The kind of place one would buy a watch which gives up after a few 
minutes under water.
:-)

--
GulPlum AKA Richard, who would like to remark that further to a recent 
comment about narration which departs from Harry's strict PoV, how does The 
Narrator know that Percy's book was "deeply boring"?) :-)