Disclaimer: I didn't create Harry Potter, nor do I own it, and I'm not making any money from this story.

Warning(s): None for this chapter.

Shoutouts: A huge, massive shoutout for Lady Elizabeth of New York for being the first to review this story! Thank you!

Recap:

Elizabeth couldn't believe it. Who wouldn't want a baby? Especially one as cute as Harry. She looked down and noticed that Neville had fallen asleep. She gently put him down in the crib next o Harry's. Hopefully, they would be as close as their parents were.


Chapter 2: To Diagon Alley, and Beyond

Ten years after their parents had been attacked, Harry and Neville were fast friends, and they were still living under the care of Miss Britcher. Even though they were relatively friendly with the other boys, they tended to stick together and keep to themselves.

Harry was in their room with his face hidden by a library book when he heard a sharp tapping on the window. He adjusted his glasses, looked up, and saw an owl waiting to be let in.

He crossed the small room and slid the window up. He let the bird inside and untied the two letters from its leg.

Harry jumped on his friend's bed and shouted, "Neville, they're here, they're here!"

"Bloody hell, Harry, you want to wake everyone up?"

"Sorry, Nev. I couldn't resist."

Neville rolled his eyes and sat up in bed. "We should go tell Miss Liz. She'll be happy to hear that we got them." Elizabeth had told the boys about magic once they were old enough to understand that it was to be kept a secret.

Harry and Neville exited their room and padded down the hallway to Elizabeth's office, which doubled as her sleeping quarters.

The now forty-three year-old woman lay on the pullout couch that was her bed, snoring lightly. The two boys shared a mischievious look before simultaneously jumping on her.

"My goodness, who is that?"

Neville said, "Sorry Miss Liz. We didn't mean to frighten you."

"Too much," Harry added.

"You know I couldn't never to angry at you two for long." Even though Harry and Neville were no longer the youngest boys at the orphanage, Elizabeth had a soft spot for them. "What is it?"

"Our Hogwarts letters came," Harry said.

"Well, have you opened them?"

"Not yet," Neville said. "We wanted to wait for you."

"Well then, go on and open them. Let's see what they say."

Harry and Neville broke open the wax seals on their envelopes at the same time and read the enclosed letters. They said:

Dear Mr. Potter (in Neville's case it was Mr. Longbottom),

I am pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Enclosed is a supply list detailing what items you will need for school. The school term begins September 1st. We wait your owl.

-Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress and Transfiguration Professor

The mentioned supply list was also inside the envelope, as well as a train ticket for the Hogwarts Express.

"It really is real," Elizabeth said in wonder. She had been hoping for a decade that it was. Or at least that she hadn't gone mad.

"Miss Liz, when can we go to Diagon Alley?"

"Can we go today? Please?"

Normally, Elizabeth organized an outing for all of her boys to get their school things on the same day, but that wouldn't work in this case.

"Could you boys go by yourselves? I'd hate to send you out into London on your own, but I can't possibly take the other boys with us."

"Of course, Miss Liz," Harry said, "We'll be fine." He and Neville had snuck into the city on numerous occasions, and he had a feeling Miss Liz knew of their exploits.

"Then why don't you get going? I can tell you're already anxious to leave." Elizabeth made sure to give the boys Alice Longbottom's directions.

Harry and Neville ran from her office, and returned to their room. The two boys pulled on their clothes, scribbled out replies on sheets of paper and attached them to the owl's legs, and then ran out the front door of the orphanage.

"Come on, Nev. Where do we go?"

Neville examined his mother's instructions. "That's weird. It looks like we have to go to that pub we saw the other day. The Leaky Cauldron."

"Yeah, that was it. On Charing Cross, right? But why would your mum send us to a pub?"

"I don't know, but she said the barkeep would help us."

"Brilliant! Let's go."

It took about a half hour for Harry and Neville to reach the Leaky Cauldron. Luckily, it was still quite early in the morning, so the bar was unoccupied, except for a man wiping out glasses and lining them up on the counter.

"Who're you?"

"I'm Harry Potter."

"Neville Longbottom."

"Blimey. About time you two came through here. Just got your letters, did you?" Neville and Harry nodded. "Good. I'm Tom, owner and proprietor of the Leaky Cauldron. What do you need?"

"We need to get to Diagon Alley," Neville said. "My mum's letter sent us here."

"That won't a problem. But Alice...right shame your parents died. Good witch and wizard they were. Your parent's too," Tom said, nodding in Harry's direction.

Tom let the boys out the back to a small courtyard. He pulled out his wand, tapped the brick wall in a seemingly random order, and the wall folded open to reveal Diagon Alley.

"There you go, Diagon Alley. And make sure to keep your heads down. Not too many folk up and about, but you two are famous. Go to Gringotts first, that's the best place to start. Big white building in the middle of the street. Can't miss it. And be nice to the goblins."

Tom wandered back inside his bar, and Harry and Neville stepped into Diagon Alley. The wall closed behind them.

Harry said, "This is wicked."

Despite the early hour, Diagon Alley was brimming with magic.

Sure enough, Gringotts Bank was in the middle of the street, a towering building made from white marble. Tom was right, it was impossible to miss.

"Where do you think we should go?" Harry asked once they were inside the bank.

"I don't know," Neville replied. "Let's ask a teller."

They approached one of the tellers, who sat high above them at his station. He was examining and which piles of glistening rubies. The goblin sneered at them, revealing two rows of pointed teeth. "Can I help you?"

Neville spoke up. "We need money for our school things."

"Do you have your keys?"

"Not really," Harry said, "We haven't been here before."

"What are your names?"

"Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom."

The goblin's eyes widened and he snapped his fingers. Moments later, another goblin appeared beside Harry and Neville.

"Griphook, please take Mr. Potter and Mr. Longbottom to Sharpclaw in the Office of Inheritance."

"Yes, sir. Come with me, Mr. Potter, Mr. Longbottom."

Harry and Neville looked at each other in bewilderment, but followed Griphook anyway. They walked down a long hallway until they reached a set of tall wooden doors. Griphook lightly pushed on the doors and they swung open.

"Please be seated," Griphook said. "Sharpclaw will be with you momentarily." He then left

Harry and Neville sat in the indicated chairs, and looked about the ornate office before another goblin entered.

"Hello, I am Sharpclaw."

Neville asked, "Excuse me, but why are we here?"

"The Gringotts Office of Inheritance is responsible for managing the wills of witches and wizards, as well as the inheritance of gold, property, investments, and other assets. In your specific cases, you are here for the wills of James and Lily Potter, Frank and Alice Longbottom, and Sirius Black. I will read the wills in order of their demise. First is the will of James Potter."

I, James Charlus Potter, am of sound mind, body, and magic. I hereby declare all previous wills null and void. I leave all of my assets to my wife, Lily Alyssa Potter (née Evans), my wife. In the event of her death, I leave all of my assets to my son, Harry James Potter. However, out of the Potter fortune, I leave 100,000 galleons to Remus John Lupin, in the hopes that he gets new robes and a girlfriend. I also leave 100,000 galleons to Sirius Orion Black and 100,000 galleons to Peter Andrew Pettigrew. In the event that Peter betrays us in his role of secret keeper, he gets nothing and I hope he rots in Azkaban.

"Who are Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew?"

"Friends, well, Mr. Lupin is a friend of your father's. Pettigrew was the one who gave your parent's hiding place away to Voldemort. Us goblins take betrayal very seriously. Now it's time to read the will of Lily Potter."

Lily's will essentially said the same thing as her husband's, and in the end, everything went to Harry.

Next was Alice Longbottom's will.

I, Alice Annemarie Longbottom, am of sound mind, body, and magic. I hereby declare all previous wills null and void. I leave all of my assets to my husband, Franklin Algie Longbottom. In the event of his death, I leave all of my assets to my son, Neville Franklin Longbottom.

Her husband's will was the exact same, except he left everything to Alice, and in the case that she died, everything would be given to Neville.

"And now, last but not least, the will of Sirius Black."

I, Sirius Orion Black, am of sound mind, body, and magic. I hereby declare all previous wills null and void. I leave all of my assets to my godson, Harry James Potter. I also reinstate Andromeda Elladora Tonks (née Black) back into the Black family, and welcome her husband, Ted Tonks, and her daughter, Nymphadora Isla Tonks, into the Black family. I hereby permanently expel Bellatrix Lestrange (née Black) from the Black family.

Neville asked, "Who's Bellatrix Lestrange?"

"I was afraid you would ask that," Sharpclaw said. "She was Sirius's cousin, and she was one of the three Deatheaters responsible for your parents' deaths. The others are Rodolphus Lestrange, her husband, and Rabastan Lestrange, her brother-in-law. Thankfully, they are all dead."

"Good," Neville said, "Otherwise I'd kill them myself."

"I understand, Mr. Longbottom. Those responsible for your parents' deaths received their due. However, if that was not the case, you would be with your rights as the heir apparent of the Longbottom to have them dispatched yourself."

"What do you mean by 'heir apparent'?"

"Your father was Lord Longbottom, and your family has a seat on the Wizengamot. You can officially assume your title and seat, if you wish to do so, at age fourteen, as there is no one else who has claim to your position. The same goes for you, Mr. Potter. The Potter and Black families also have unoccupied seats on the Wizengamot."

Harry asked, "How does the Wizengamot work?"

"There are families who have seats on the Wizengamot base on heredity, and you must be pureblood to hold one of those seats. They vote on laws ad make some court decisions. Half-bloods and Muggleborns are not allowed to serve on the Wizengamot."

"But my mother's a Muggleborn," Harry said with a frown.

"Actually, your mother was a pureblood. This was discovered when she came here with your father right before they got married. She was actually adopted into the Evans family, but she is actually from a insignificant pureblood family from France. The family went broke in the early 1800s, so there is no wealth or power to speak of."

Sharpclaw snapped his fingers, and the wills disappeared. With another snap of his fingers, two leather-bound books appeared in front of Harry and Neville.

"These are your family account books. They hold the records of your family's gold, property, investments, and assets. For your convenience, Mr. Potter, the Potter and Black accounts are listed separately, but they are in the same book. The books are spelled to recognize magical signatures, so only you two can open your respective books."

Neville asked, "But what do we do with them?"

"They are useful for you to have. You should evaluate them and examine your financial situations, and plan for the future. You will be able to make financial decisions once you turn fourteen, but until then, I recommend that you speak to your family's portraits for advice."

"There are portraits of our families?" Harry asked in amazement.

"And we can talk to them?" Neville added.

"Yes. If you did not know, magical paintings can move and talk. Prominent families often have portraits painted of each member, and they are charmed to be activated upon the person's death."

"So since our parents are dead, we can talk to paintings of them?"

"Correct, Mr. Longbottom. You have paintings of your mother, father, and grandmother in your vault. The portraits of other relatives reside in Longbottom Manor. Mr. Potter, you have the portraits of your mother, father, and godfather are in your vault as well. Potter Manor has the portraits of other members of your family."

Harry asked, "I have a manor?"

"Yes, as I said, both of you do. I believe a number of house elves still survive, so both homes should be in decent shape. You both also have other properties, as listed in your family account books."

"Excuse me, but where do we get money for school?" Neville asked.

"Both of you have trust funds, set up by your parents. They are to be used during your school years and after you graduate, the remaining funds will be transferred into your family's main vault. Griphook can take you down there now. Would you also like to see your family vaults?"

Harry and Neville looked at each other for a moment, and then Harry said, "Not now. We're a bit overwhelmed with everything. Is it okay if we come back before we start school and see them then?"

"Of course Mr. Potter. I don't wish to rush you. I suggest that both of you look over your books so that you know what you're dealing with."

"Okay. Thank you."

Sharpclaw snapped his fingers another time and Griphook reentered the room.

"Please take Mr. Potter and Mr. Longbottom to their trust vaults, Vault 516 for Mr. Potter, and Vault 518 for Mr. Longbottom."

Griphook nodded before saying to Neville and Harry, "Come this way." He led them back through the bank and to the carts that would take them into the tunnels of Gringotts. Harry and Neville quite enjoyed the cart ride, and whooped and hollered the whole way to their vaults.

They stopped abruptly, and Griphook said, "Vaults 516 and 518." The two vaults were standing side by side. Griphook produced a golden key, and slipped it into the door of Harry's vault.

Piles of shining coins met Harry's eyes.

"The gold ones are galleons, the silver ones are sickles, and the bronze ones are knuts. There are seventeen sickles to one galleon and twenty-nine knuts to one sickle."

Neville asked, "How much are they worth in Muggle money?"

"One galleon is equal to five pounds."

Griphook then opened Neville's vault and the boys scooped coins into the provided money bags..

Once the boys finished, Griphook closed their vaults and they piled back into the cart and returned to the surface.

Once they were back out on the street, Harry asked Neville, "Where do you think we should go first?"

Neville pulled out the supply list. "How about we go back to that robe shop, Madam Malkin's? I'm pretty sure I saw Hogwarts robes advertised in the window."

Harry and Neville walked back up the street and entered Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occassions. Another boy was already up on a stand, being measured for robes.

A squat, but severe looking woman bustled over to Harry and Neville and asked, "You off to Hogwarts, dears?" Once they nodded, the woman said, "Up you go. I'll have them done in a jiffy."

Both boys found themselves draped in plain black robes.

The other boy asked, "Who are you?" He had short blonde hair, gray eyes, and a haughty, but aristocratic face.

"Harry Potter."

"Neville Longbottom."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm Draco Malfoy." He reached over and shook hands with both Harry and Neville. "My mother's buying my potions things and my father's getting my books. Are you here with anyone?"

Harry shook his head. "We managed to find it on our own. And why are you sorry?"

"My father was a Deatheater," Draco said. "He went to Azkaban. He says that he feels bad for everything he did. He's been doing a lot to make everything right again."

"I've been trying to." Harry and Neville looked up from their conversation with Draco to see a man that was the spitting image of the blonde boy. "Lucius Malfoy, at your service. It's quite clear who you two are. Both of you look just like your parents."

Neville asked out of curiosity, "You were a Deatheater?"

Lucius sighed. "Yes, unfortunately I was. It was the worst decision I ever made. But I've been trying to make amends. It's the least I can do. Have you been to Gringotts yet?"

"Yes," Harry said carefully.

"Then I would like to offer my help. I already give Draco lessons in how to handle himself on the political stage. I extend the same offer to both of you."

"What do you get out of it?"

"Nothing. It's a well known fact that the Potters and Blacks have seats on the Wizengamot, and the Longbottoms do as well. I know for a fact that Sirius was your godfather Harry, so you would have inherited his family's seat as well."

"So you do stand to gain something," Neville said. "If you help us, we'll owe you something."

"Not exactly. I offer my help because I do stand to gain something in return. If you allow me to help you learn about our world, and give me the support of the Potter, Black, and Longbottom families, I'll get my reputation back. No amount of good works on my part can get that for me."

Harry asked, "So an alliance, of sorts?"

"Yes," Lucius said, "One that will be beneficial for all of us."

"Then we agree," Neville said. "Just because you made a mistake doesn't mean that it can't be fixed."

"Thank you," Lucius said gratefully.

Soon Madam Malkin's assistant finished making Draco's robes and he hopped off the stand. "I guess I'll see you at Hogwarts?"

"Well, actually, I was wondering if you would like to stay at our home before school starts. Maybe for a day or two," Lucius said. "My wife would love to meet you."

"Can we get back to you on that?" Neville asked.

"Of course."

Lucius and Draco swept out of the shop and headed down the street.

A few minutes later, Harry's and Neville's robes were finished as well and the left the shop carrying their bags of clothes. From there, they went to Flourish & Blott's for their books, since it was right next to Madam Malkin's. In addition to purchasing all of their texts for first year, Harry and Neville also picked up Basic Potions Theory by Adele Swyheart, From Crib to Cauldron by Frances Hitchcock, as well as several books on hexes and jinxes.

After finishing their shopping at Flourish & Blott's, the boys went to the shop next to it and bought quills and rolls of parchment. Harry treated himself to an eagle feather quill, while Neville treated himself to color-changing ink.

Neville asked Harry, "Where do you think we should go next?"

"Why don't we go get out things for potions? I think the apothecary was the first shop coming into the alley. And then all we'll have left are wands and pets."

"We should probably get some better clothes too," Neville said, glancing down at his shirt. At the orphanage, all the boys wore second-hand clothing. "After all, did you see how the Malfoys were dressed? We're not going to impress anyone looking like this."

"True. We can see if there's a clothing shop down the other way."

Harry and Neville went to the apothecary next, and bought the first year potions kit, as well as a few extra ingredients. By this time, they were loaded down with bags and parcels, so the proprietor gladly shrunk all of their purchases for them. All Harry and Neville would have to do is tap the things with their wands, and their purchases would return to normal size.

Across the street from the apothecary was a shop selling all kinds of magical equipment. Cauldrons of all sizes and materials lined the shelves, as well as telescopes, crystal balls, and sets of scales.

Harry pointed at one of the cauldrons. "Look Neville, there's a gold one."

"Our list says pewter, though."

Harry rolled his eyes, but asked a saleswoman to pull down two of the medium-sized pewter cauldrons. They each also got a set of brass scales and a brass telescope. Once their things were shrunken and paid for, Neville and Harry left the shop and headed back down the alley.

They were going to go get their wands, but they were distracted by a crowd outside of a store whose sign read: Quality Quidditch Supplies.

"Look, it's the new Nimbus 2000," one boys said.

"It's the fastest broom in the world," said another.

One redheaded boy pleaded, "Mum, please, you don't have to buy me anything else! I'll go to school without books!"

"Don't be ridiculous Ronald. You know your father and I can't afford to buy a broom, let alone one like that. Now let's get to the second hand shop and see if we can find you a decent pair of robes."

The boy followed behind his mother, whining the whole way.

Harry and Neville forced their way through the crowd and into the store. They approached one of the people working the floor and Harry asked, "Excuse me, but what's Quidditch?"

"Oh, are you Muggleborn?"

Neville rolled his eyes and said, "I'm Neville Longbottom and this is Harry Potter."

The man's eyebrows shot up. "I'm so sorry. Pleased to meet you. So you want to know about Quidditch? I'm Charlie Weasley, by the way."

Harry nodded.

"Well, it's a wizarding sport, obviously, and it's played in the air on broomsticks. There are two teams, with seven players per team. Three chasers, two beaters, a keeper, and a seeker. You're following so far?" Once Harry and Neville nodded, he continued. "The chasers pass a ball called the quaffle and try to score on three hoops at either end of the pitch. Each goal is ten points. The keeper tries to stop the Chasers from scoring. The beaters hit balls called bludgers with their bats to try to knock players on the opposing team off their brooms. The seeker has to catch this little golden ball called the snitch. If they catch it, the game ends and their team gets 150 points."

"Awesome," Harry said. "Do you play?"

"I used to. I played seeker for Gryffindor at Hogwarts. I got a few offers to play professionally, but I've been putting it off to get my Magical Creature mastery. Right now I'm trying to get a job at a dragon preserve in Romania."

"That's so cool," Neville said. "To bad we can't get brooms."

"Oh, I forgot, you must be first years. This is going to be my brother Ron's first year too. He's been a bit of a brat lately, though. You'd think he'd understand by now that no means no."

Harry asked, "Do first years ever make their house teams?"

"It's really rare. I think there hasn't been a first year in at least fifty years. Might be longer. You'd have to be really good, since first years can't even bring brooms to school."

Harry and Neville thanked Charlie and left the store. They wandered back up Diagon Alley. They decided to forego pets until they finished getting everything else. They found a store that looked rather high end. It was called Twilfit & Tattings.

"Can I help you, or do you need to find your way back outside?" A man stood in front of them with his nose in the air.

"Actually, we need proper wardrobes," Harry said.

The man sneered. "And how are you two going to pay for 'proper wardrobes'?"

"With our money," Neville said slowly.

"Well, we do not serve unaccompanied children. Now out you go." The man shooed them away with his hands, and moments later, Harry and Neville found themselves back out on the street.

"That went well," Harry grumbled.

"We'll just have to try another day. How about we go get our wands now?"

Harry and Neville walked down the street and entered Ollivander's wand shop.

A strange man popped out from behind a wall of shelves. "Hello, Mr. Potter and Mr. Longbottom. I'm Mr. Ollivander. I was wondering when you would step into my shop." He had wild grey hair and eerie moon-like eyes. "I remember both of your parents coming in their first wands. Who wants to go first?"

Harry stepped forward, and a measuring tape began to measure him of its own accord. Ollivander disappeared behind the shelves and returned a few minutes later, carrying several rectangular boxes.

"That'll do." The measuring tape stopped measuring between Harry's nostrils and dropped to the floor.

"Here, try this one. Ebony with a core of dragon heartstring. Twelve inches. Pliable. Give it a wave."

Harry felt a bit silly, but he held the wand and brought it down in front of him. Silver and gold sparks shot out of the tip and Ollivander clapped his hands, but he seemed disappointed.

"Your turn, Mr. Longbottom. Try this one, holly with a core of phoenix feather."

Neville tried the wand but nothing happened.

Ollivander took the wand away with a sigh. And handed him another one. "Cherry with a core of unicorn tail hair. Twelve inches. Supple."

Neville waved the wand around and gold and silver streams of light left the tip of it.

"That will be seven galleons each," the wand maker said.

After leaving Ollivander's, Neville and Harry decided that this would be a good time to get their pets and then return home.

They went straight to Eeylop's Owl Emporium, seeing as it would be quite useful to have an owl to carry mail. But besides owls, the store had other birds such as vividly colored parrots, ravens, and various birds of prey.

Harry settled on a snowy white owl, and Neville got a stately eagle owl.

Once they left the shop, carrying their owls in wire cages, both boys decided that it was high time that they head home. As they were about to exit the alley though, one last store caught the boys' eyes. It was some kind of luggage store, filled with trunks, rucksacks, and bags.

Neville and Harry decided to get matching trunks that were black with silver trim, and had their initials, H.J.P. and N.F.L. embossed in silver on the sides and their surnames embossed on the lid. They also treated themselves to brand new leather satchels for school.

They unshrunk their purchases while they were still within in the safety of the alley and put almost everything in their new trunks. Their books went into their new satchels, which were charmed to be bottomless and weightless.

They then left Diagon Alley and returned to the St. Nicholas Orphanage for Boys.


And that's Chapter 2! Hope everyone liked it...review and let me know!