Hello, and welcome to chapter 2 in my first attempt at fanfiction!
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these puppets I'm puppeteering around, except for the odd original characters I'll bring in now and then. I'll tell you when in these comments, though!
Warnings: Slight mention of child abuse.
The first chapter was so long ago, and it's been a rough going to finish this one. The christmas months are especially stressful for me, and I've been too busy to write. I'm not making any excuses, but since I like to know what the authors of the stories I follow are up to in general, I'll try not to be a hypocrite. Normally, I'd be sorry to make the story stagnate for so long, but I really haven't had the time to do research and stuff like that. In any case, I hope you enjoy!
Chapter 2 - Shedding Those Shackles.
"So my parents really didn't die in a car crash?" Harry was so confused, it was one of the only things the Dursleys had told him about his parents. That, and that they were drunkards and useless layabouts.
"Do you by any chance think that what I told you for these past 20 minutes was a fairytale? No. Your parents died to save your life, because they loved you more than themselves, even more than each other," Severus answered tersely. He then added; "So now that I have corrected that misconception, are you going to bombard me with any more questions before we enter Diagonal Alley for the things you'll need for school?"
They were sitting at an out of the way table in the Leaky Cauldron, eating lunch underneath a Silencing Charm and a Notice-Me-Not Charm. They were more or less finished with their sandwiches. Harry seemed to have a much better appetite, now that most of his injuries were healed. Somehow, he would figure out what the professor had done to heal them, but those questions could wait.
Harry thought about it for a few moments. "What did you do to me in the kitchen? It felt like you entered my head or something."
Severus looked seriously into Harry's eyes for a few seconds before answering. "I used Legilimency on you, Harry. It's mind magic designed to enter the mind of someone else and read their thoughts and peruse their memories."
At Harry's incredulous expression, he hastily added; "But the way I used it was to connect our minds, and then I pulled you into my mind. Since my mind is stronger than yours, due to decades of training, I controlled what we were watching. I know that it was a very roundabout way of at least get you to listen to me, but it didn't look like you were going to listen to me if I was just speaking to you. I could be anyone."
"You still could, though," Harry added shrewdly.
"It's nearly impossible to alter memories, and even the most green of novices would be able to tell the signs. I am aware that I may not look like the most trustworthy man, Harry, but please listen to me. There are dark forces rising once more, and the man who killed your parents may not have died the way that the public believes. When we enter the Alley, it is of utmost importance that you stick close to me. There shouldn't be that many people around yet, as most students go with their parents in the last week before the first of September. That's when the train to the school leaves. I digress. When we get to the Alley, we need to go to the far end, to the bank of Gringotts. There, we will withdraw money from your vault, and possibly talk with the goblin that has to do with your family, about your situation with the Dursleys. You can't go back there.
"Wait, sir, why should I have a vault in the bank? I've never been there before!", Harry said, panicking. "I didn't even know this place existed." Wait, goblins? Is that some weird slang for a bank worker or something?
"Your family created a trust fond for you when you were born, in case they met an untimely end before you were of age, Harry," Severus explained. "By now, it should have grown to a remarkable size."
Harry's eyes grew to the size of tea cups. "I have money? I actually have my own money?! Why wasn't I told of this before?" By the end of his tiny rant, Harry was seething with incredulity, 'Why wasn't I told, and why have I been living with those so-called relatives, if I'm a wizard?'
The older man eyed him with that look. Before explaining; "Usually, it's the headmaster of the school that the child is enrolled to that gets the magical part of the guardianship over the child, if there are no magical relatives available to take care of the child in question. As far as I know, your parents left no will, but we'll need to check that at Gringotts as well. Your magical guardian is the one who takes care of your economy, as well as your well-being. The fact that Albus left you at the Dursleys' house to get neglected and abused without even checking up on you, leads me to believe that the wards protecting you were faulty, if not broken."
Professor Snape, as he had insisted that Harry call him, had already explained the bit about his mother's sacrifice, and the after effects that they thought it had on Harry's protection. Wards were difficult to grasp, even though the professor had explained it as simply as he could. Maybe there's a book store in the Alley, where I can buy some books on the subject, as well as on the magical world. It's kind of scary that I don't know anything, Harry thought. He wanted to know everything he could about this world he was entering, and the dour man seemed like he didn't want to baby him with his millions of questions.
-:HPSS:-
After another 30 minutes of talking and answering questions, they were finally ready to leave the Leaky Cauldron for the Alley. Going out back, making sure that Harry was still following him, he refreshed the Notice-Me-Not Charm on him. Tapping the bricks in the correct way with his wand, they waited for the archway to appear. Severus looked down on his protégé, not surprised at the completely flabbergasted look that was plastered on the boy's face.
With more than a little amount of amusement fluttering in his throat, Severus said; "Welcome, Harry, to Diagon Alley. Now, stick close to me, we'll look at the shops after we've withdrawn your money."
After what seemed like an hour of dragging Harry past the shop windows, they finally arrived at Gringotts. It appeared as if the hilariously surprised look on Harry was becoming a permanent feature of his face, but Severus didn't mind. Perhaps there is still time to mend the boy, he thought. As long as that meddlesome fool of a headmaster doesn't insist on me returning Harry to his so-called family.
They entered the main hall of the bank and approached the first available goblin. The goblin looked at Severus expectantly, as if goading him to make the first move.
"Mr. Potter would like to speak with the goblin in charge of his family's affairs", Severus said politely.
"And is Mr. Potter willing to prove that he is who he is, with a drop of blood?", the goblin answered, eyeing Harry with suspicion.
"Yes he is", Severus answered. He looked at Harry, as if to say 'everything is going to be okay, just do this'.
Harry nodded meekly, and Severus gently took his left wrist and presented it to the goblin. The goblin then grabbed Harry's hand and with a tiny knife, he cut along the tip of the index finger.
With a soft yelp, Harry drew back his hand, but to his surprise, the cut was nowhere to be seen. There was not even a faint scar.
"The goblins can craft magical weapons and tools with properties that humans can't even imagine. The knife you were cut with only takes a tiny blood and magic sample from a wizard, and the knife inscribes the name of the wizard upon its blade. Every wizard's magic is different and can't be faked, and the blood ensures that you have claim on your name."
"I think I understand", Harry answered. "So what does the blade say?"
The goblin flashed the knife, so that they could see the tiny letters on the blade; "Harry James Potter", it said.
Severus noticed the obvious display of relief on Harry's face, and swore that he'd ask him about it later.
"Come this way, please", the goblin said, and they followed him away from the main hall, and down a hallway.
After a few minutes of walking, a door on their right-hand side opened up, and they entered.
Inside was the most opulent room that they had ever seen. For once, Severus let his mask slip just a tiny bit, and pure surprise was showing on his face; of course, Harry was no better, his jaw had practically hit the floor. They quickly pulled themselves together, though, and noticed an aged goblin sit behind a grand writing table directly in front of them. This goblin seemed amused at their display of surprise, and he didn't care about hiding it.
"Welcome to my office, I am Griphook, and I am going to serve you today", the goblin said politely, after the moment of mirth had passed.
"Thank you, Griphook, I am Severus Snape, and I represent Harry Potter today", Severus said, gesturing to the scrawny boy next to him. Harry muttered a soft "Hello", he was obviously too shy to talk with Griphook at the moment.
"For your politeness, you may sit", Griphook said, waving his hand in front of him, and two chairs appeared, matching the opulence of the rest of the room.
"Thank you, sir", Severus said and gracefully sat down. Harry followed suit, and rather clumsily did the same. The chair was a bit too tall for him, even though it was shorter than the one Severus himself sat on.
"I haven't been working with cases for a while, since I am only subscribed to the Potters and the Blacks, and for obvious reasons, neither family has been available to see me. Until now. Now, please tell me what matters you would speak to me about", Griphook said, in a matter-of-fact voice. Harry thought he sounded very businesslike.
"First of all, we would like to get an overview of Harry's accounts and vaults. After that, we'll need to take a look at the wills of Harry's parents, as I am sure they were not read. Last, but not least,we'll need to find a solution to Harry's living situation, as he can't stay where he is right now, with his remaining family."
Griphook looked at him for a moment, as if pondering how to go about his not-so-little task in front of him. This was going to take at least an hour, and he would need to file all of the paperwork himself, as he was the highest ranked goblin on duty today, so nobody else could take care of it for him.
Nodding his affirmative, he reached into his bottom drawer and pulled out two purple envelopes. "I will read the will of James Potter first, as any changes made by Lily Potter's will be binding. As you were both supposed to be invited to the original will reading, there wont be any problem about you being here as well, Mr. Snape. We discovered a heavily applied Confundus charm on several of our staff members, all of whom were supposed to schedule the original reading. As it was removed last month, we agreed to write to Albus Dumbledore, the current guardian of Mr. Potter."
Severus tensed visibly. "Someone cast a Confundus charm on the goblins of Gringotts? That's an outrage!"
"Yes. We have our best cursebreakers and forensic mages on the job to find out who cast it. Until then, would you let me continue?", Griphook answered sadly.
After a few seconds, Severus inclined his head.
Griphook sliced open one of the envelopes marked with 'James Potter' in intricate, gold lettering. Retrieving the aged parchment from the envelope, he started reading out loud; "I, James Harold Potter, hereby declare this my final will and testament. It will overrule any other wills I have written. I declare that I am of legal age and of sound mind. This last will expresses my wishes without undue influence or duress. I am married to Lily Potter nee Evans, hereafter referred to as Lily or my wife, and we have a son named Harry James Potter, hereafter referred to as Harry or our son. I bequeath the vast wealth of the Potter estate to my wife and our son. The contents of vault 352 will go to our son when he comes of age, or in the case that Lily and I are no longer able to provide for and protect him. An additional vault has been created, namely vault 687, and in it is a trust fond for our son, for when he has to buy school supplies. I want my son to know about his family's inherent magical talents at best convenience, in case that Lily and I are not there to talk to him about it. There are several tomes in vault 352 that will help him. In terms of his upbringing, should the worst happen to Lily and I, must he under no circumstance be placed with Lily's remaining relatives. This concludes my final will and testament."
Well, that was not surprising at all, thought Severus. The Potters had always been very secretive about the inherent magic of their bloodline. It wouldn't be a surprise to anyone if they'd all been a special breed of Animagi, or something like it.
While Severus was silently thinking to himself, Griphook read Lily's testament.
"As Lily hasn't made a single change compared to James, except for adding an item to the will for Professor Severus Snape, I'll be distributing the items immediately. A letter for Professor Severus Snape, and the keys to the Potter vaults to Mr. Harry Potter."
As the boy accepted his keys with a mumbled 'thanks', Severus thought to tell him "Harry, don't ever give these keys to anyone, and watch them with vigilance. I wouldn't be surprised if only you could enter any of the vaults, but it wouldn't do to have them stolen, in any case."
The boy looked up apprehensively, as if heeding his warning, and said "Thank you, sir, I'll keep that in mind."
Griphook handed Severus the letter from Lily, and proceeded to deposit it in one of his warded inner pockets, so he could read it later.
"Now, for the next item on your list, I would suggest that Mr. Potter gets himself emancipated," Griphook said slowly. "It would require a sponsor, of sorts, due to his young age. I am deeply aware that many people would clamour for the rights to adopt The Boy Who Lived, and that's the reason behind my suggestion. This sponsor would be like a mentor to young Harry, teaching about how our society works, taxes, the ministry functions, and such. It would also be required of said sponsor to provide a place for him to stay until he comes of age." He turned to Harry. "Would you be willing to do this? It said in your parents' Wills that you would be authorised to the full contents of the vaults if they were to leave this plane of existence, but by becoming emancipated, you would have the full legal rights to them. If you don't want to risk someone contesting your rights to the vaults, and thus having to expose your parents' Wills to the rest of the world, it would be the best course of action."
The boy seemed to be pondering his situation for a long time, which surprised Severus. It shouldn't have surprised me that the boy would be mature enough already, as to not just jump into the first and best solution. He might make it into Ravenclaw yet, or maybe even Slytherin! He could hardly contain his pleasure at the thought of Harry becoming one of his snakes, and settled for a slight up-turning of the edges of his mouth. He wasn't heartless, after all, no matter what the students of the other houses thought of him. He was pulled out of his reverie by the boy finally answering.
"What would happen to my mother's protection, if I were to be emancipated?", he asked.
"Your mother's protection was not functioning properly in the first place, Mr. Potter. If it were, your relatives would've never hurt you the way they did. Goblins have a sort of Second Sight that allows us to sense the Old Magicks like the one your mother cast on you, and I sensed it from when you entered the room. I'm surprised you even knew about it, to be frank. I'm confident that the old magic inside you would grow and flourish, much like a flower, if you were to separate all ties to people, who hold power towards you."
The goblin looked grim at the last admission, but he also had a hopeful glint in his eyes, Severus noticed.
"That settles it, then," the boy said with more confidence than he had shown all day. "Griphook, I want to become emancipated. How long do I have to find and convince a suitable sponsor?"
The goblin seemed to think about it for a few moments, then said: "You have a month to choose a sponsor. You can choose more than one, though. It all depends on how many different viewpoints you want, really. You just need to contact either me, or the current representative from the Department of Magical Children Affairs within the Ministry of Magic, when you have chosen. Please sign these papers, and we may move on to your vaults for inspection." He handed Harry the emancipation papers.
After Harry signed them, he said with an honest smile: "Very well, Mr. Potter, shall we go? Will Mr. Snape be joining us?"
"If he wants to," Harry replied while looking at his dark companion in curiosity...
–:SSHP:-
The long and exhilarating ride down the tracks hadn't taken the breath out of Harry at all, in fact he was invigorated. He looked at his future professor and exclaimed "We have to do this again! It was the best thing ever!"
Severus, looking worse for wear, looked at Harry as if he thought he was insane, but didn't comment on the energetic outburst.
Griphook ushered them onto the platform in front of vault 687, and while Harry looked around in childish wonder, he noticed that this part of the caverns looked much older than closer to the entrance. As they approached the entrance to the vault, Harry handed over the key. A few moments later, as the vault doors opened, Harry was silently wishing for more eyes.
There was so much gold, more than he had ever seen! Severus held out a moleskin money bag charmed with a Featherlight charm, and what he had explained was called 'Wizard Space', or something sounding like it. The charm would expand to allow for any amount of money inside, but would never appear bigger on the outside. At Severus' prompting, he withdrew around a thousand galleons, more than enough for everything they would need to buy.
Confirming with the counter on the lining by the opening, Severus nodded, closed the bag and handed it to Harry.
"Keep this as safe as the keys, Harry, We wouldn't want you to be a victim of pick-pocketers on your first day in the Alley, now, would we?" he said with a slight grin. Harry nodded, and put the bag into one of the front pockets on his too-big, hand-me-down jeans that he was currently wearing.
Next off was the other vault, and although the trip was much shorter this time, much to Severus' relief, it was still as exhilarating for Harry. He felt almost like a child again, a feeling he was unsure he had ever felt before. He silently swore to get more opportunities to feel like this.
The vault was built much more like a series of storage rooms than a money vault, and there were more things than Harry was sure he would ever get to use. The left side of the entrance chamber was filled with exhibit cases with various weapons that looked like they came for some sort of fantasy novel or another. The right side had tall shelves filled with furniture from what Harry was told was from the ancestral Potter family mansion, since it was gutted at the start of The Great War. All of the furniture, tapestries, portraits of family members, armoury and of course the library had been vaulted for safety measures.
Absently, Harry knew that his eyes were the size of tea cups, but he didn't care. This was what was left of his family, and it was all his. He would make good use of this, one day.
"The Wills explained something about tomes that would help you. It seems like the library is over here," Severus said, pointing at the doorway further down the chamber to the left side.
Harry walked through it, and was once again stumped at just how much knowledge, his family had come to possess during the centuries it had existed. There rows and rows and rows of tall, intricately carved bookcases, all crammed full of ancient tomes. Harry wished he could stop time so he could read them all right away, but he knew it was impossible. Wasn't it?
He got distracted by a feeling of something.. someone? Calling him. Following the feeling, he ran past around ten or maybe fifteen rows of bookcases, and saw another exhibition case in a dark corner.
The case itself was well lit by a magic light inside it, and featured on emerald green velvet lay a tome more ancient-looking than any of the other tomes and books on the cases in the library. On the front of the leather-bound tome was embossed 'The Book of Potters' in a beautiful font, with some sort of magical creature underneath, it looked like a stag with feathery wings and the front legs of a bird. It was beautiful. Harry opened the case by turning the knob on the front, but when he touched the embossed creature on the book, he heard a voice, that almost made him withdraw his hand in shock.
"Finally got some company! I thought for sure that James left me in this godforsaken vault to die from the lack of magical stimulation!"
Taken aback, Harry merely thought "Magical stimulation? You suck magic out of people?"
The book seemed to laugh. "Only what I need to keep myself alive. You would never notice anything missing. Of course, I can offer so much more than the magic that I take from you, boy! How do you feel about the knowledge of ALL of your Potter predecessors, who all shared their knowledge with me about their life and their magic? I can give you all of this and more! Just keep me within reach for the time being."
Harry thought about this for a short time. "You must be what my parents were talking about in their Wills, they said that several tomes in this library would help me. But how do I keep you within reach at all times? I wont be allowed to carry a huge tome around with me all the time, you know."
"You just touch me and wish me to turn into my other form, the House Ring of the Potter Family. You wont be able to read through my pages while I'm in that form, though, but we can still have the best of conversations!" the book answered proudly, before continuing. "Wait, did you say your parents' Wills? James and Lily are dead?"
Harry thought the book sounded pained, but how could a book have any kind of personality?
"Harry, what are you doing back there?", Severus asked loudly, before rounding the last row of bookcases. Panicking, Harry once again touched the book, and it turned into an ornate ring, which he slid onto his small fingers. To his relief, the ring resized itself to fit him perfectly.
"I found the House ring that belongs to the Potters, sir. Can I bring it with me?", Harry asked.
"I don't see why not, Harry, just make sure it doesn't get stolen. Do you want me to charm it with a Notice-Me-Not Charm, like I charmed us when we entered The Leaky Cauldron? It should last much longer on an object made of metal."
Harry nodded, and so Severus did. The book kept whispering to him about all of the books he could use at his first year of Hogwarts. They ended up with more books than they could carry, so Severus transfigured one of his empty vials into a messenger bag and added a minor bottomless spell and a Featherlight Charm on it.
"Are you done with the vault, Harry?", Severus asked him when they entered the main chamber again.
"I think so, sir. It doesn't seem like there's too much else I can make use of, yet," Harry answered politely. "Do we get to go to the shops now, sir?"
"That would be a good idea, Harry. The shops are not open forever, and we spent quite a while hauling all of those books around. What do you need them all for, anyway?" Severus said, light curiosity in his voice.
"Booker told me they're more in-depth explanations for my family magic than what he provides." At Severus' surprised gaze, he quickly added: "The ring turns into a book, and he told me to call him that. Apparently my dad came up with the nickname. Isn't it cool?"
He thought he saw a grimace on the face of his companion, but it was gone before he could make sure. "Your dad was always giving people and things nicknames, whether they wanted it or not. Much to the detriment of many at the school," he said, pain not completely hidden from his face.
That made Harry think. "Did he give you a bad one, then? I mean, you know so much about both of my parents, you must've gone to school with them, at least at some point."
Severus looked at him, pain clearly written in his eyes. "We were all from the same year. I'll tell you all about it when I can be less partial, okay?" he asked.
"Okay, sir. Sorry for causing you to feel pain," Harry said, feeling bad for bringing up his parents to the older man.
"You're a good kid, Harry. You never need to feel bad for bringing them up, you weren't the one bringing me pain. It's all ghosts of the past, anyway. Just promise me that you'll never be cruel to whoever might mark you as their rival," Severus said softly.
Still feeling guilty about the pain in his elder's eyes, he replied in a voice that was almost impossible to hear: "I promise, sir."
The ride back to the surface was subdued due to the still-present pain in his companion's eyes, but Harry felt much better, when they exited the bank. The alley was almost empty of people, though all of the shops were still open. They went into 'Tattle's Trunks and Bags' to buy Harry a school bag and trunk embossed with his initials, 'Madam Malkin's Robes for All occasions' to get him fitted for his school robes, which they ordered four of.
As they passed the store named 'Magical Menagerie', Harry heard slithery voices calling out to him. He stopped so suddenly, that Severus almost bumped into him, and with a muttered "sorry, sir", he went into the big shop. He followed the voices until he came to a large terrarium sporting no less than twenty snakes! One of them even had two heads, and was slightly smaller than the rest of them.
"What's your name, names?, little one?" Harry asked the two-headed snake. He wasn't that surprised when the snake? Snakes? Looked up at him in what seemed to be rapture.
"We don't have a name yet, ssspeaker. We are honoured to meet you, sssir. What is yoursss?" The strange snake answered, both heads seeming to speak in unison.
"I'm Harry Potter, but just call me Harry. What kind of snake are you? I've never seen a snake with more than one head," Harry said, curiosity written all over his face.
"We are part runessspoor, ssspeaker. Usssually runessspoorsss have three or more headsss, but we are not of pure blood," the snake answered mutedly. It strangely thought that it was worth less because of its heritage. Harry did not understand.
Having watched the whole conversation from a distance, Severus was thoroughly surprised. When Harry looked up at him curiously, he could see it written on his face plain as day.
"I didn't know you were a Parselmouth, Harry." At the boy's uncomprehending look, he continued. "The ability to speak with snakes is a very rare and wonderful gift, only a handful of people in the last two centuries are known to have the gift."
"It's really that rare? I thought most wizards could do it too," Harry said.
Eyeing the snake Harry had talked with, Severus asked "Do you want that one? First year students are normally only allowed to bring owls, cats or toads, but with the permission from me or the other Heads, you are allowed to bring pretty much any creature you fancy. So how about it?"
Harry really wanted the part-runespoor, but he didn't know if he could afford it. Sharing his worries with his future teacher, the older man just chuckled and said "Well, it should be close to your birthday, how about an early birthday gift?"
A few moments later, an ecstatic ten-year-old and a content-looking thirty-one-year-old left the menagerie, with a palm-sized runespoor in tow, currently residing in a smallish heat box. The rest of their purchases went along fine, they got Harry's first cauldron, Potion supplies, books for school, and enough "light" reading to fill up a big portion of his trunk. Harry was so glad that it had a permanent 'Wizard Space' enchantment woven into the fabric, or they would never find room for his future clothes. Severus promised to take him shopping for clothes another day, since it was getting rather late, and they still needed to get his wand.
Pausing in front of 'Ollivander's Wand Shop', Harry suddenly started to get nervous. What if no wand chooses me? What if this has all been some mistake, and I'll be forced to live on the streets, or even worse, the Dursleys?
The Professor sensed Harry's nervousness, and put a slender hand on the child's shoulder. "It'll be fine, Harry, you'll do fine. Do you trust me?"
Harry looked up into the eyes of the tall man, and nodded slowly. They entered the shop, which was so full of clutter and tall bookshelves filled with cardboard cases behind the cashier's table, Harry didn't even know where to start looking. The shop's owner didn't even seem to be here, so Harry started fretting again.
Suddenly, the owner appeared from between two bookcases; He was a wizened, elderly man with hair even wilder than Harry's. The owner smiled, and introduced himself as Mr. Ollivander.
"I was wondering when we were going to see you here, Mr. Potter. Seems only yesterday your parents came in to buy their first wands," the old man said.
"We're quite busy, Mr. Ollivander, so let's get straight to the point. Bring the wood and core samples, if you would, please?" Severus said tersely, but not without respect. Harry was starting to like his professor even more, Mr. Ollivander was starting to unnerve him.
"Of course, Mr. Snape, of course. If you would excuse me for a few moments," he said, as if put out by the professor's words. Maybe he liked to sound mysterious?
A couple of minutes later, he returned with an armful of cases, some filled with branches and heartwood of different kinds, others with small glass jars of different objects and what seemed to be body parts in them.
Harry was told to close his eyes and hover his right hand over the branches, and grab the one he thought felt right. Feeling a good pulse, he grabbed a piece of juniper heartwood.
"Good, very good, Mr. Potter. The juniper tree is said to hold great power, and wands made of it's heart have been known to be a great in healing and curse-breaking, as well as protection magic. Considering your history, I understand why this piece chose you," Ollivander said, a happy glint in his watery eyes. "Put it down now, and we'll get on to the core for it."
Harry did as he was told, and repeated the hovering motions over the cases with wand cores. This time, he picked up a jar filled with what looked like a light grey paste. He looked questioning at Ollivander, no doubt the man had something to say about whatever this was.
"Curious. Very curious. This core material is ground sphinx tooth soaked in the tears of a phoenix. To be honest, I thought for sure that you would get the brother-wand to You-Know-Who, since his wand was the one that gave you that scar," he said, looking directly at Harry's forehead. "Oh well, apparently the Juniper and sphinx tooth wanted you more. It so happens that I have a wand of that very combination, I made it this morning. Care to try it out?" he said, going to the back of the shop with the cases. When he came back, he had a slender, reddish-brown wand with pink flecks on it. It was intricately carved, with a handle made of green stone, which Ollivander briefly explained was serpentine.
"This is one of the best wands I've made yet. Let's see what it says," Ollivander said, handing Harry the wand. It felt incredibly light, yet sturdy in his hand. "Well, give it a wave!"
Harry waved the wand, and dozens of sparks in green, purple and blue colours came out of the tip.
"The wand chooses the wizard, Mr. Potter. It seems as if this wand chose you. I wish you good luck," Ollivander told him solemnly.
They exited the shop, Harry carrying his new wand in a black leather forearm holster on his left arm.
"Where to now, sir? We've got everything on the list," Harry said apprehensively. He really didn't want to go back to the Dursleys ever again.
Sensing Harry's agitation, Severus simply said "We're going to Hogwarts. I know that I'm robbing you of the first magical view of Hogwarts from the lake, but we need to talk to the Headmaster about the new developments in your social status, and find a place for you to stay until the first of September. No matter what, you're never going back to your relatives, those beasts are going to pay for what they did to you!" Severus seemed really angry near the end of his small tirade, which surprised Harry.
He knew the dour man at least partially cared for his well-being, but he seemed really incensed. It touched his heart, and he thought that he had found the first candidate for a sponsor.
"So how do we get there?" Harry asked, feeling as if he wouldn't like the answer.
Severus eyed him mischievously and answered "We apparate. It's like teleportation in muggle science fiction, only much more uncomfortable. Grab my arm, Harry," he said, and they disappeared with a soft pop.