Disclaimer: I own nothing except my OC's
So I decided to put the petal to the metal and grind out this chapter since I'm sick today, yay.
Small dates and information may be shifted, if you have a problem with this please comment and say so.
Any locations listed in this chapter may not exist in real life or are not what they are stated to be, please keep that in mind.
Also, remember that this was 1991, and that many habits that are common and/or accepted today would have been frowned upon then.
Finally, I do not know the exact value of the pound, or how much money Harry has in his vault so I was make a general estimation.
Harry Potter, now eleven years old sits almost motionless in his now decrepit room. Time had not been kind to the orphanage, as Harry could well attest to. the cooling system had broken just last summer. The heating system was slow and cumbersome, with only certain sections of the building getting sufficient heating in the winter. Many of the children still in the orphanage were wearing hastily repaired or hand me down clothes.
Harry was looking down at his summer homework, wishing to get a head start on his upcoming arrival at secondary school.
Suddenly, he heard a scratching on his bedroom window. Harry was surprised to see a owl perching on the outside of the window, with what appeared to be a piece of paper in it's beak.
Harry opened the window, and watched bemused as the owl walked in. The owl stared at him for a moment, before dropping the letter that it carried and retreating a step to watch him.
"A smart one, aren't you?" Harry stared, amused by the owl's intelligence. "What do you have for me here?"
The owl did not respond obviously, but Harry did not pay it any attention as he stared down at the piece of paper, which he now realized was a letter.
To: Harry Potter
Harry's Room
122 Abbot Road
St Peter's Orphanage
Harry opened the letter, staring at the contents in befuddlement. The letter stated that he had been accepted into Hogwarts(Who names a school Hogwarts?) School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It had a list of requirements, some of which he did not know existed. The letter went on the say that he would need to send his confirmation by September 1st.
Harry put down the letter, and sat down on his chair to think. Yes, he knew that there was something strange about himself, something that set him apart from others in the orphanage. He saw things, that the others did not. Once, he saw a many walking down a street dressed in a woman's gown, but nobody appeared to think it strange that such attire was on a man. Harry had stared at him for a while, while others did not even look at him, and the crowd flowed around him like water to a rock. There were many other oddities that Harry had seen over the years, but that was by far the weirdest.
Harry could not lay judgement upon that man though, because he had his own share of quirts and 'strange' occurrences. He could always do things, like moving a penny across the desk, and having strange dreams about a woman, screaming while a strange man was pointing a stick at her. Harry thought nothing of it at the time, but now he thought that perhaps if magic was real, then his dreams may have some truth to them.
Harry shook his head, clearing away his contemplations. He looked at the own sitting patiently on the windowsill, before sighing to himself and writing his acceptance on a piece of paper.
He put the confirmation back into the envelope, and looked at the owl inquisitively before hesitantly handing the letter back to it. The owl snatched the letter with it's beak, and without a second glance flew out of the window, disappearing into the city mere moments later.
Harry spent the next 3 hours in a daze, vaguely aware of the crowds appearing as the midmorning rush commenced. He shook himself out of his daze as Ms. Chelsa knocked in his door.
"Harry" She began. "A lady showed up to see you, said that she is from a boarding school with your name on it's registry."
Harry opened his mouth to say something, but as the first words were about to leave his mouth another woman walked into view.
'Well she's intimidating' Harry thought, staring at the woman who by contrast overshadowed Ms. Chelsa.
"Hello Mr. Potter" The woman began. "I am Professor McGonagall; I was sent to introduce you to our school"
"I'll leave you two alone then" Ms. Chelsa stated, turning to leave.
As she vacated her spot in the doorway, harry reminisced on how she had changed over the last 4 years. Her hair had begun to grey at the roots, and she walked slower as of late. As the echo of her footsteps gradually grew softer, Harry turned his attention back to McGonagall.
"Is magic really real?" Harry spoke, already knowing the answer but needing confirmation.
"...Yes, Mr. potter" McGonagall began. "There are a select few people in this world, who are able to use magic."
"Do all magic people get accepted into Hogwarts?' Harry questioned.
"No, just British witches and wizards" McGonagall continued. "There are different schools for different countries, but you only need to concern yourself with Hogwarts."
Harry stayed quiet for several seconds, staying down at his lap in silent contemplation before looking at McGonagall again.
"Do you know where I could find the things listed on my letter" Harry asked
"There is a place where witches and wizards go to buy there supplies" McGonagall stated. "We call it Diagon Alley, and it is where I will take you today to gather your supplies"
"But I haven't any money" Harry started. "How will I pay for everything?"
McGonagall smiled, and the reaction was so out of place that Harry was momentarily stunned.
"You didn't think your parents would leave you with nothing did you?"
Harry stared down the alley full of vibrant colors and people wearing all manner of clothing. He did not expect when McGonagall brought him through a decrepit bar with dim lightning and a dirty atmosphere to end up in a place that could have come straight out of a children's book. He stared at the intermingling people, and wondered how he never heard of such a place before. He couldn't stare for long, as McGonagall began to briskly walk through the mob of witches and wizards and Harry hurried to keep up.
"If there are so many witches and wizards" Harry started. "Then how come nobody outside knows about this?"
"The statue of secrecy" Begun McGonagall. " was put in place centuries ago in order to protect both muggles and mag..."
"What's a muggle?" Harry asked.
"..A non magical person" McGonagall looked disapproving at Harry, who shrunk into himself slightly.
"now, as I was saying" McGonagall resumed. "The Ministry imposed the statue of secrecy in order to protect both magical and non magical people from conflicting with each other."
"But surely someone must have seen something magical since then?" Harry asked gob smacked. "Surely there had to have been some accident or something..."
"If any non magical person sees magic, then they are obliviated, which means having their memories altered or erased" McGonagall answered.
Harry was about to ask more questions, but his words died in his throat as they came upon a tall marble building, sitting tilted to one side ever so slightly.
"This is Gringotts" McGonagall Lectured "The best bankers in the wizarding world."
McGonagall continued up the steps to the front gate before stopping at the door and looking at Harry."
"Gringotts is run by goblins" She stated. "Maintain good decorum and try not to offend them."
Harry's eyes widened at that, and without waiting for his inevitable questions, McGonagall opened the door and walked in with Harry right behind her. As the two walked forward through the main lobby Harry saw many small creatures, with hard faces and mean expressions. Each one was busying themselves with either coins on their desks, or were interacting with what Harry assumed to be other patrons.
Eventually, the two arrived at the end of the large lobby where there was a goblin sitting atop a large desk.
"We are here to make a withdrawal from a Mr. Harry Potter" McGonagall stated
"The goblin make no visible recognition that someone had spoken to it, and spent nearly a minute finishing the form on it's desk before setting his quill down and looking at the two.
"And does Mr. Harry Potter have his key?" the goblin asked with a neutral expression, staring down at Harry with irritation.
"I have it with me" McGonagall interjected, holding up a small ordinary key.
The goblin took the key from her and stared at it for several moments before speaking to a goblin off to the side.
"Griphook" The goblin began. "Take these two to vault 687"
Harry stared at the interaction, before thinking about the key that McGonagall had. Shouldn't he have had such a key on his person, if the vault belonged to him?
"Excuse me Professor" Harry began. "But why do you have the key to a vault that belongs to me?"
"It was given to me by headmaster Dumbledore" McGonagall answered. "It has been in his possession since your parents passing."
"What happened to them?" Harry asked softly, staring at her with a sad, inquisitive expression.
McGonagall looked at him for a moment, before looking away with something that might have been sadness.
"Later" She answered
Arriving at the vault after the best roller coaster ride ever known to mankind, Harry got out of the cart, with McGonagall taking an extra second to catch her breath. He looked at the stone wall, covered by what appeared to be a heavily reinforced barrier.
"Key please." The goblin identified as Griphook stated, holding out his hand to McGonagall.
"Stand back please" Griphook said, inserting the key into the little opening in the wall. He turned the key, followed by the sound of gears turning. The barrier swung open, with Harry staring befuddled at the small mountain of golden coins the filled up the small vault.
"Are these all mine?" Harry softly asked, not believing that amount of money these coins must be worth.
"Yes Mr. Potter" McGonagall answered, hiding a small smile. "Your parents made sure you would have everything you needed in here."
"Did my parents have a vault too?" Harry asked.
"Yes, James Potter had a family fault with his families possessions. Yo will have access to that vault. when you turn seventeen, as per ministry law."
Harry stared for a moment, before turning to look at McGonagall with a confused look on his face.
"How much is all this worth?" Harry finally asked.
"Well, there are seventeen sickles to a galleon(which are the gold coins), and there are 29 knuts to a sickle. This means that there are 493 knuts to a galleon." McGonagall responded.
"But how much is a galleon really worth?" Harry questioned.
"Well, most wands don't cost more than 15 galleons, and you can buy decent meals for several sickles.
Harry continued to stare at the mound of gold, still awestruck by the sheer amount of money he must have inherited.
"I believe a galleon is worth around 17 British pounds" McGonagall continued. "Many muggleborn families have trouble converting their money into galleons. especially with the new ministry laws prohibiting the goblins from dealing with anyone other than witches and wizards."
"The goblins must not have liked that" Harry spoke. "I would have been angry with the ministry if I was in their place."
Neither one of them noticed Griphook outside the vault turn his head to look at them for a moment, before returning his head to an unobserving position.
Harry stared for a moment, before asking McGonagall another question.
"How much money do I need for Hogwarts?" He asked
"I'd say about 100 galleons would be more than enough for everything" She replied.
Harry stared at all the gold, and wondered how he was to carry all of it without begin mugged.
As if sensing his query, McGonagall held out her hand in which there was a small sack.
"This bad has an extension charm on it" She stated. "It should be able to hold all the galleons you need."
Harry looked at her, nodded his head in thanks before putting in the recommended amount of gold. He also added a few extra galleons for good measure, before rising and with one last glance around the vault, he departed with McGonagall.
On the ride back to the surface, Harry wondered just how much money he had in his vault. He knew that there were at least thousand of galleons in his vault, maybe even tens of thousands. He turned his head to McGonagall wit ha question poised.
"Can I hold on to my vault key?" He asked.
McGonagall turned her head to face him, and looked a bit bemused that he would want to hold onto the key.
"Students are not allowed to leave Hogwarts without permission of the headmaster" She started. "There is no reason for you to have the key, you are too young."
Harry stared for a moment, gob smacked by the blunt refusal before deciding to perhaps take another approach.
"it's just, the key is the only real thing of have to remind me of them" He pleaded, with big watery eyes. "It would make me happy to have something that they created."
McGonagall let out something that sounded vaguely like a sniffle, before looking away from him.
"...Maybe it could be given to you at the start of next summer, if you are responsible." She softly said.
The rest of the journey was silent
Once they had arrived at the surface and had left through the main entrance, the two walked a short distance before McGonagall turned to harry and asked him a question.
"I have a matter to attend to" McGonagall spoke "could you go and purchase all of your school requirements while I take care of it?"
Harry looked around the alley, still as full of people as it had been when he had entered.
"I'll...…manage." He spoke at last, a big overwhelmed by the sheer volume of people meandering about.
Just as he finished speaking, Harry heard a 'crack' from his right. When he looked to see what it was, McGonagall was gone without a trace.
'Did she just teleport?' Harry thought, bemused.
'Huh, so where to first.' Harry debated, looking at the long list of requirements that he needed.
Deciding to get the easy stuff over with first, he sought out the apothecary, where he purchased his potion cauldron, and all the necessary ingrediants that he needed. He then travelled to Flourish and Blotts, where he picked up his school books. While collecting his required reading material, Harry also found several books that caught his interest. Such books ranged from magical history, to basic charms and jinxes, which sounded interesting to him.
He then headed to Madam Malkin's, in order to get his school uniform. Harry did not like the idea of a school uniform, but found that it was too small of a annoyance to waste his potential. Walking through the front door, a woman hurried over.
"Hogwarts too?" She asked. "Got a whole bunch of you today."
"Yes Ms." Harry replied.
"Just stand over here" She motioned him over onto a stool next to a blonde boy.
Tape measures and other equipment started to fly around Harry, measuring him and he stood there in bewilderment.
The blonde boy looked over at him, as if weighing his value.
"Hogwarts too?" He asked. "What house do you think you will be in?"
Harry stared at the boy, wondering at what these 'houses' were.
"I don't know." Harry responded. "What house do you think you go to?"
"Slytherin of course." The boy responded. "The best house in Hogwarts, way better than all the others."
The boy thought for a moment, as if a new thought had just hit him.
"I guess Ravenclaw wouldn't be so bad, but Hufflepuff is the worst, and don't even get me started on Gryffindor." He continued.
Harry wisely chose to stay quiet, and when the boy was done rambling, he looked at Harry questioningly.
"I don't think I have ever seen you before" He stated, holding out his hand. "Draco Malfoy."
"Harry Potter" Harry replied, shaking his hand, but actually wanting to distance himself from the now identified Draco.
"Potter? So your family was our sort, right?" Draco asked, looking at him in a new light.
"If you mean they were magical, then yes." Harry responded.
"Good, I don't think they should allow the other sort into Hogwarts." Draco continued. "You know, the one's from muggles."
"Then where would they go" Harry asked, beginning to become irritated with this boy's obvious bigotry against anyone relating to the nonmagical.
"I don't know, maybe Beauxbatons." Draco said. "They already cater to half breeds, adding mudbloods shouldn't be much of a problem."
Harry didn't know what a 'half breed' or a 'mudblood' was, but he knew that it was nothing good, so he decided to keep quiet.
Soon after, the measurements were all set, and the uniforms were done. Harry paid the necessary costs, and tried to leave as quickly as possible before Draco could irritate him any more, but it was not to be.
"I hope you associate with the 'right' sort, if you catch my meaning." Draco called as Harry quickly left through the door, and made his way to the last place he needed to go before he meet back up with McGonagall at the Leaky Cauldron.
Harry moved toward a shop labeled Ollivander's, where he was told to purchase a wand. He opened the door and walked in to the vaguely lit room. Cases upon cases filled up the shelves around the room, with the rows and columns spanning the length of the entire shop. Harry waited a moment before making his way to the desk, upon which he noticed a bell that he proceeded to ring.
A man walked into view, and the first thing Harry noticed about him was that he was very old. His hair was completely white, with his skin old and his eyes hard and analyzing. This was who Harry assumed was Ollivander. He located Harry and cracked a small smile.
"Ah, Mr. Potter" He began, moving closer to get a better look at the boy.
He looked at Harry for a moment before turning to one of the shelves and browsing the cases.
"I remember when your parents came in here for their first wands." He recalled, removing one of the cases and placing it on the table.
He opened the case and removed what appeared to be a long stick from it, at which point Harry realized that it was in fact a wand.
"Well give it a wave." He stated, after Harry stared at it for several moments.
The lantern proceeded to explode.
"No, No, absolutely not!" He stuttered.
A good fifteen minutes later, after 3 failed wands and several galleons worth of damage to the shop in which Ollivander refused to take compensation for, he pulled out another wand. He looked at it for a moment, before proceeding to slowly place it down on the table.
"I wonder, Mr. Potter" He spoke quietly. "Try this one for size."
harry took hold of the wand, expectant of yet another failure. He was therefore surprised, when the sound in the room ground to a halt, and not even his breathing could be heard. It lasted for only a moment, before the sound returned, but in that moment Harry knew that this wand was for him.
Ollivander realized this as well, and proceeded to charge him for the wand (and coincidentally left out the price for all the damage).
Before leaving, Harry turned to Ollivander, a question on his tongue.
"Mr. Ollivander?" Harry started. "What is this wand made of?"
Ollivander stayed quiet for a moment.
"That wand is 10 and 3/4 inches, is slightly springy, and has a core with a phoenix feather. It is enclosed with Sycamore wood. A very twitchy combination, one that yearns for new and exciting experiences. Many witches and wizards who lead more mundane lifestyles find that these wands burst into flames when repeatedly forced to execute repetitive or weak spells. The true match for a learner or adventurer."
"Thank you sir." Harry said, before turning to leave with Ollivander's eyes on his back.
Harry sat, eating the small meal that he had ordered from Tom, the barkeeper of the Leaky Cauldron. he ate sullenly, with many questions on his mind but not knowing how to ask them. Finally, he turned to McGonagall with a question he needed answered above all else.
"What happened to my parents?" Harry spoke quietly, the dim lighting in the bar further darkening the atmosphere of the room.
McGonagall looked away for a moment, before turning fully to face harry.
"There is something you need to know Mr. Potter, something very important" She began. "Not all witches and wizards are good. Some are bad, and many years ago one of the worst wizards in history started a war" She paused.
"He gathered many other witches and wizards to his campaign, where he preached pure blood supremacy over all and called all inhuman or non magical beings inferior."
"You parents were part of the group that fought against him" She continued. "they risked their lives everyday in order to protect the nonmagical and fight for equal freedom of all."
"What happened?" Harry questioned. "What happened to my parents?"
"Lily and James Potter" McGonagall begun. "Were two of the brightest individuals of their generation, and were invaluable to the war effort. But they gained the attention of the dark lord, and so they were forced into hiding."
"Were they found?" Harry wondered.
"They were betrayed." McGonagall stated, here eyes turning hard for a moment. "They were betrayed by one of their best friends. Sirius Black, the one guarding their locations betrayed them to the dark lord, who sent his underlings to torture and kill them. Sirius escaped, and preceded to kill another friend of your parents, Peter Pettigrew before being captured and sent to prison." She concluded.
"What happened to the ones who killed by parents?" Harry finally asked after a moment of silence. "Were they captured?"
"The aurors(magical police) arrived at their house as your parents were struck down by the two death eaters."
"Wait, what are death eaters, and who were the ones who killed my parents?" Harry asked, overwhelmed by all the new information he was being exposed to.
"Those that followed the dark lord and were branded with his mark are known as death eaters." McGonagall answered. "And your parents were killed by the two Lestranges, Bellatrix and her husband Rodolphus Lestrange.
Harry asked no more questions, and the two sat in reflective silence, the only sound being the mutter of conversation around the rest of the Leaky Cauldron.
Harry walked briskly through King's Cross station, moving at a rapid pace in order to reach the Hogwarts Express in time. He recalled how McGonagall had instructed him how to reach platform 9 and 3/4, and made sure to have his ticket with him in case anything happened. A he moved towards the barrier between platforms 9 and 10, he saw a large family of redheads approach the barrier two, and decided to wait for them to go first.
Upon closer examination, the family appeared to be struggling financially, with many of the children wearing patched or oversized clothing. Still unlike many other families that Harry had observed, this group was jovial and clearly had a very strong familial bonding. There were no frowns, or arguments, no anger. Just a content family, the picture of happiness.
Suddenly, the patch clothes and oversized outfits did not appear as bad. Harry felt a twinge of something in his chest, and he realized that what he was feeling was jealously.
The feeling lasted only a moment, and by the time the family of redheads had disappeared through the barrier(EPIC!) the feeling was gone.
Harry shook his head, and moved through the barrier, shutting his eyes at the last moment as his body expected to impact with a brick wall. But there was no impact, and harry opened his eyes to the sight and sound of happy families waving their children off school. There were families hugging, children crying, and younger siblings complaining about how unfair it was that they couldn't go as well.
Harry saw a family that was normally dressed, with the two parents hugging their daughter off. What struck Harry as odd was that there was another girl who looked identical to the one being hugged, who seemed to be upset about something. As Harry passed them he saw a watch on the man and woman's wrists, and realized that they must be muggles. He wondered why the other sister was not going as well, but then realized that maybe she was not a witch.
'That must be terrible.' Harry thought. 'Being exposed to the wonders of magic but not being able to do it yourself.'
Harry cleared his head, and moved onto the train, spending the last five minutes before departure trying to find an empty compartment. After several minutes of searching, Harry had almost given up on a peaceful ride, when he found a empty compartment near the middle of the train. He put his trunk on the rack above the seats and sat down, not a moment too soon as the warning whistle shrieked out a last minute call to the platform.
As the first jolt of the train rocked harry to his side, he smiled. A true, heartfelt smile that he had not given for many years.
'A real adventure.' Harry thought.