Author's Note: As some might notice, I do not have any beta readers. So at times I come back and fix things, and improve stuff as well. Meaning by the time the first book is done, a second read through might even be better.

Chapter 2

Shopping

The sun still shined brightly in the sky as Harry was dropped off in front of his house once more. He waved goodbye to Hagrid while gripping his bag of curiosities tightly in his hand, not wanting to let go for fear of losing it all in the wind. Unlocking the door he picked up his note on the table and was a relieved to see his relatives weren't home yet. Then he saw the broken couch and groaned. He had forgotten to ask Hagrid to fix it before they left. And was too distracted reading his new books on the bus ride home to remember. Plausible excuses and lies ran through his head for a moment before the extra-light books weighed on his mind.

I can do magic too.

There was even a spell in one of the books he skimmed through, specifically to repair things. He looked at the living room clock, since his digital one stopped working in Diagon Alley. It was only two pm, and no one would be back until eight at the earliest. He had six hours to learn one spell, something that he guessed might take months to perfect based on the light reading he'd done. Whatever the results, it sounded better than trying to come up with a lame excuse and still be grounded until he left for school. That was another question rolling around in his mind, will my relatives even allow me to go? Hagrid said he needed to speak with them about a few things next week, before they left, but even with his intimidating stature and magic, could he convince them? Maybe with my help he could...

Shaking his head at the extraneous thoughts he quickly ran upstairs and laid out the books on his bed. It took a moment to sort through them and find the spell again, then another to read the relevant chapter which was highly confusing. He skipped through the Magical Theory book trying to find any advice on practical applications but came up with little. Quicker than he probably should have, he read through the beginning of the spell books, trying to glean any hint of secret techniques or understandable methods to succeed faster. One even warned of trying to perform any new spell on your own unsupervised. That made him wary, slowing down to read more thoroughly, but didn't change his mind.

After rereading the basic instructions on the spell and how it was performed, then ignoring the rest, it finally can time to take out a wand. Staying on the safe side, he unwrapped the phoenix feather one, while wondering what an actual phoenix looked like. He practiced the simple wand movement, again and again until he had it down. Then repeated the incantation, which was even simpler. With great hesitation, he performed them together, pointing at his wall. When nothing bad happened, he continued, making sure it all felt natural by the time he was satisfied.

A brilliant notion struck before heading downstairs. He would test it out on one of Dudley's broken toys. It would be perfect, since most of them were hidden in his old room, the cupboard under the stairs, which no one ever opened except to throw another broken item into. Rushing down to pick one out, he grabbed the first thing he saw, a remote controlled airplane Dudley recently got for his birthday, with one wing hanging on by only a bit of plastic. Back in his room, he set it in the middle of the floor, and arranged his computer chair in front of it, sitting down to practice another few times. His anxiety built, skin prickling, itching, worrying about what might happen, what could go wrong, and how he might be punished even worse.

He breathed deep, closing his eyes and letting it all float away. He could feel the wand reacting to his increasingly relaxed state of mind, the tingling sensation on his hand returned, urging magic to flow. He let it, performing the spell and directing the feeling through the wand and at the broken toy sitting alone on the ground. It moved, jumping up into the air and falling back down, breaking the wing completely off this time.

"Well that's disappointing."

Speaking to the empty room he looked closer at the toy, seeing nothing different, he laid the pieces together to try again. But after repeating the entire process he only succeeded in sending it flying higher into the air. He tried a few more times without success. Checking back over the books again wasn't very helpful, especially once he got lost reading through the Standard Book of Spells, closing it to find he only had an hour left until his doom. His stomach growled, reminding him of a missed dinner, and of the girl in the bookstore.

Plodding down to the kitchen, he picked up a couple pieces of fruit and a half eaten sandwich leftover from the three Dudley had the day before. He placed a new biscuit tin on the coffee table and took a few out to match the enlarged one already hidden in his room. If he managed to get that spell down he figured it would make sneaking the good food a lot easier. While eating an orange one slice at a time, he headed back to his books, pulling out one he hadn't tried yet. Don't Panic, You're a Wizard Now was a lovely title, but it started out simply listing the easier ways wizards did things than muggles. Starting fires, cleaning dishes, growing food, traveling places, and his current problem, fixing things. It listed the spells commonly used for each, and some useful ideas for spells that even wizards commonly forgot about. Yet the reparo chapter was surprisingly boring, giving loads of useless ideas on what you could repair.

He kept reading, if only to occupy his mind from his forthcoming punishment and screaming lecture. Despite his success at stopping his relatives from hitting, nothing seemed to deter them from screaming. Except his appearance of being completely innocent, which wasn't likely to happen this time. Coming to the end of the list, he was nibbling on a piece of inflated biscuit and noticed a footer at the bottom of the page, referencing how to get liquids back in containers during repair. 'If you are having an especially hard time doing so, concentrate on and imagine exactly what you want to happen, in the exact order needed.'

That's what I was doing... wasn't it? He's thought back, remembering how he cast the spell, his whole process, and what he thought about. But couldn't, because he was simply expecting it to work, putting no effort or imagination into it. Now that he understood the point, he realized the other books said to do the same thing, yet in not so simple terms which he was ignoring, such as 'recreate the process by which the target is constructed. Allowing for standard deviation of intelligent feedback on visual and sub-visual levels.' Or at least it sounded like the same concept.

Looking at his now reset watch left him with fifteen minutes, and while he could never count on the Dursleys being on time, he didn't like his odds. Sitting back down in his chair he ran through his meditation once more, enjoying the feeling of magic rushing through him to get at the wand. With careful consideration, he opened his eyes and stared at the dismal looking toy. Imagining exactly how it should come together and stay that way. Replaying the thought in his mind as he cast the spell gave him a shock, as the exact movement was recreated in front of him. No flying, or falling, or further breaking this time. It was fixed.

Picking it up with a mistrustful laugh, Harry inspected it completely, turning it over and over in his hands and running his finger over the space where a seam ought to be, but felt nothing. He gave a triumphant cheer and headed down the stairs absentmindedly, to look for the remote in the cupboard. The idea of being able to fix every broken toy and device in the house had him giggling in delight, until what he did fully set in. He had cast a spell, with a wand. It was real magic.

As he was opening the cupboard door, lights passed by the windows, and the roar of an engine pulled up and stopped in front of the house. They we early, for once.

Throwing the plane in and closing the door, he bolted toward the couch, taking aim with his wand. His mind was screaming in panic about being caught, and was about to cast without thinking or even relaxing again, but forced himself to stop. His heart kept pounding, shaking his whole chest, racing, thundering past even the escape from Ripper, being chased up a tree. His hearing was drowned out, his hands trembling, and just like that time, he breathed deeply and took control. With a slow and measured motion, he swung his wand at precise angles, imagining the couch whole, restored fabric sliding back into place, mended wood fitting back together, and then let loose his magic, "Reparo!"

And there it was. Fixed, hovering two inches in the air.

He jumped on top of it as the front door opened up, letting in the noisy arrival of cranky relatives. Harry noticed the couch still wasn't flat on the floor, so he mentally pushed it down, flicking the light switch on across the room with a thought, and summoning the remote to turn on the TV. Remembering his room, he gently closed the door and locked it. With one last moment of clarity, he slipped his wand up a sleeve and changed the channel to something interesting.

"Not that again!" Dudley came charging into the living room, having obviously pushed past his parents from their annoyed groans, "Mum, Harry's watching Star Wars on our TV again."

Holding up his hands in surrender, Harry slowly stood, hoping the couch wouldn't move as he removed his weight. Petunia rounded the corner with a grim look, "Now what did we say about that insufferable show?"

"Sorry, sorry, I didn't think you'd mind when no one else was home. I'll just go to my room and read." He handed the controller over while Dudley plopped down on the couch, making sure it could never move again.

As Harry entered the hallway, Vernon crooked a finger at him once he managed to wiggle free of his jacket. "You haven't been up to any, funny business, while we were gone, have you? Because if I even smell-"

"I promise, you probably can't imagine how boring it was, but at least it was better than watching home movies about cats all day long. I'll get out of your hair now."

Vernon sniffed in agreement, making his way to the couch beside Dudley. Harry winced at the loud THUMP he heard while walking up the stairs, but there were no cracks or screams that followed. Unlocking the door to his room from the outside, he closed it behind him and slumped down in relief, his heart still thudding in his chest.

oOoOo

Nearly the whole week long Harry pretended to be sick, staying in his room, reading his books, and practicing magic. Making a list of what he wanted to do and buy on his birthday, while thinking constantly about the wizarding world, and what it all meant. It was hard for him not to race outside and catch a ride back to Diagon alley on the knight bus again, after reading a chapter on wizarding transportation that explained how to get its attention. However during the nights, he would sneak downstairs to gather broken things and repair them, wondering if savvy wizards bought up broken antiques to sell them back to muggles, as regular people were called. But from reading a bit about wizarding laws, there was probably one designed to stop that.

While some books caught his interest and absorbed his attention until they were read, others were so boring and made no sense that he saved saved them for later, most of which were for school subjects. Hogwarts, a History, was rather fascinating in some parts yet extremely dull in others, making him question the authenticity sometimes, or be baffled by seemingly outlandish facts included within. Such as how every founder just happened to have parents who loved alliteration so much they wanted to torture their children with it. Maybe that pain of related childhood brought them together, or maybe Stan Lee is really a time traveler. The more likely scenario he figured might be that it was simply popular to alliterate names in wizarding culture, since even the author suffered from that curse.

Not until the day before his birthday did Harry pretend to be getting better, asking Petunia and Vernon if he could talk to them about his school choice tomorrow. He mentioned it late at night, so they only grumbled instead of starting up a tirade about how ungrateful he was. That night he had trouble sleeping, if only in eager anticipation of what would come.

The next morning he woke to a incessant hammering on his door, having overslept his alarm. He jumped up in frantic search for respectable clothes he could blend in with, called out in answer that he'd be up in a moment, and threw back on his grey hoodie which he had altered to hold his wands securely up his sleeves. The hammering never ceased as he finally answered it in frustration.

"What?" But it was only Dudley and his gang, come for a round of insults, thinking to corner him in his room so no one would get hurt falling down.

That was Harry's favorable discouragement which worked to persuade Dudley from early attempts at 'Harry Hunting', yet they still manage to brave their past scrapes and bruises, in order to taunt him and try getting him in trouble. It took effort trying to curb their mob mentality, even with his blase approach to their insults.

They stepped back at his vehement question, not sure if this was a good idea or not. One in the back felt less vulnerable and piped up, "Where's the nutter going today? Back to the loony bin he grew up in?"

Harry chuckled along with them, "Good thing I grew up here, so that'd be a short journey, but actually I have other plans. You're welcome to stay if you like, there's free straight jackets in Dudley's room, and I'm sure you'll fit right in."

Being bigger and stronger, they didn't budge at his attempt to push past them. "Hey mong, how'd you get a new cine-cam, did ya nick it?"

"Oi! That's mine!" Dudley shouted, pushing Harry away as he barged into the room and grabbing it off his table.

Rolling his eyes, Harry complained, "Well thanks for ruining the surprise Dennis. I was fixing it for when he left for Smeltings, but now that's all cocked up. Better go outside to test how well it works." He ushered them out of his room, following along behind the confused bullies, down the stairs, and out into the back yard where he locked the door behind them.

Making his way back to the kitchen, he caught Petunia and Vernon there and sat down at the table. "About my schooling... I got an offer to go to a prestigious boarding school far away." He held up his hands to stall their comments, "Don't worry, it won't cost you anything, completely paid for by a special scholarship. But the thing is, there's a staff member that wanted to come by and talk to you today. He'll be here in about ten minutes."

The outrage and indignation started bubbling out of uncle Vernon as petunia appeared shocked and unprepared by an unexpected guest in her home. She began cleaning up while Vernon lambasted him with scathing remarks, "Why you ungrateful, bothersome, useless... smarmy... did you say 'far away'? But still, we take you into our home, feed you, put clothes on your... did you also say 'paid for'?" His red faced impression of a puffer fish didn't last long as he considered things and Petunia took over.

"Why didn't you say something about this yesterday, you unruly, spoilt brat! I could have been cleaning all morning, but here you wake up after breakfast, throwing this nonsense at us-" She stopped mid-scrubbing and looked up worried, "What did you say the name of this school was?" unable to keep her voice from cracking at the end.

"You don't have to worry about cleaning, he just wanted to talk for a minute or two. And I think it best to leave describing the school up to him." Harry observed her strange behavior carefully, noting her jaw trying and failing to form words.

"VERNON!" She finally screamed, "It's that school he's talking about!"

Jolted out of is contemplative sip of tea, Vernon flew unnaturally up from his seat. His face and body began to twitch in disgust and extreme aversion, as if he was being shoved head first down a sewer pipe. "You mean... where they learned it all!? - NO! I will not have it in my home!"

Harry sat there amused, understanding it all at last. The early revulsion at his curious questions, the fear and unease any time he would do something strange, and the complete unreasonable anger at his reading fantasy books or magic tricks. They knew there really was magic, yet tried to deny it everywhere, even in him. Then the doorbell rang. "Would you like me to get it?"

Their eyes flared open in dawning horror as Vernon scrambled down the hallway and Petunia seized a rolling pin. Harry chuckled, and got up to calmly walk towards the door as well. It was already locked with a large mass of yellow striped blubber leaning against it in panic. The doorbell rang again, and then a weighty knock vibrated the door right after. "Go away!" Shouted his uncle, squeezing his eyes closed in prayer. Harry walked up and then kneeled down to look him in the eyes.

"Uncle Vernon," His eyelids shot open in alarm, "you already know I can do magic, you've known it for four years. I may not have known what it was called, but we both have come to accept what I can do, if not out loud." Vernon gritted his teeth and held on for dear life as the whole wall shook with the next knocks on the door. "You're only making this harder for yourself, and for your family when you resist the inevitable." Harry looked back at Petunia, Dudley, and his gang, all staring at them in worry. Vernon Shook his head vigorously and snarled his defiance at an unjust reality as more vigorous knocks vibrated the house. Harry shrugged in return and stood up, "If that's how you want to act, then you're just in the way." The door unlocked on its own as Vernon looked up in terror. The doorknob began to turn and his hands latched on, trying to keep it still, but only started turning with it. Finally the door cracked open, slowly squeezing his mound of flesh to the side, as he struggled and whimpered in futile arm waving.

"Mornin', bit sluggish today aren't we?" Hagrid's massive head bent low to peek into the house.

With a smile Harry waved him inside, as scuffling feet could be heard running away behind him. "Got off on the wrong foot this morning, but everything should be alright now. Would you like a cup of tea?"

"Don' mind if I do." The door slammed shut behind him with a dumbfounded uncle Vernon sprawled out in front of it. Hagrid looked back in reproach, "Dursley." He nodded at Petunia's rolling pin and made his way to the living room, once again breaking the already weak couch.

It only took twenty minutes to explain how things would work, coming home for summers, being taken to Diagon Alley to buy school supplies, and leaving on September the first for Hogwarts. Meeting little resistance from an already defeated uncle, crouched despondently in his chair, and an aunt who was too flabbergasted by the giant man sitting on her ruined couch, daintily drinking tea from her best set. The boys looked in the window once, but ran away again as Hagrid waved hello. He admonished Harry's relatives for not explaining about his parents, or his heritage, but couldn't keep going for long at the pitiful looks they were wearing. Finally informing them he was taking Harry out for his birthday and shopping, which they'd be back sometime near dark. They didn't even get up, until Harry repaired the couch one more time in front of them, right after Hagrid exited out the door. Vernon nearly choked as Petunia screeched in such a high pitch that a window pane cracked.

Quickly grabbing the purses of money and canvas bag hidden in his room and locking it after, Harry met up with Hagrid on the curb. "Mind if I try this time?" He asked while taking out his wand. A grin and a nod of approval was all he needed, within moments of a simple wand wave came a familiar exciting BANG in front of him. The violently purple triple-decker bus appeared, opening its doors as it came to a stop, and they were off.

oOoOo

Passing through the dim pub and through the back door, Harry's stomach grumbled at the pleasant smells of bacon and eggs they just passed. Hagrid put one enormous hand on his shoulder and turned him back around, directing him to one of the barely lit booths off to one side of the room. "Can't have yeh playin' all day on an empty stomach, now can we?" He easily got the attention of a waitress and ordered two breakfasts with some pumpkin juice for Harry. Drinking and eating with his hood still up gave him a feeling of being watched; uneasy, he scanned the room but spotted no one starring. They ate quickly, both enjoying it and hungry enough for the rather generous portions before them. Hagrid paid and thanked Tom and the waitress on their way out.

"Want ter try yer hand at this one too?" Hagrid pointed at the brick on the wall.

With a pleased expression, Harry got out his wand again, "Sure." and tapped three times as the archway opened before him. Back were the smells and sounds of a bustling wizard center, welcoming them once again. The street was crowded tighter than last time even for so early in the morning, but following close behind Hagrid made travel easy.

Entering the cauldron shop first, they browsed around, looking at all the different types and features. Hagrid suggested the basic pewter model for the price, but Harry latched onto a collapsible one with spill resistant sides, which happened to be on sale for not much more. Next was a potions supply shop, where Harry got some plain glass vials, a silver knife, mortar and pestle, brass scales, and dragonhide gloves, not seeing the need for anything special there, except a self grinding mortar and pestle kit; as any other added features were extremely expensive. Outside Harry examined the gloves carefully, trying to imagine them attached to a real dragon at some point, while making their way down the busy cobble street.

Stopping in Scribbulus Writing Implements, Harry reluctantly purchased a few quills, some ink, and parchment, inquiring why they didn't use pens or pencils. Hagrid didn't know, especially because he'd never heard of either. While some of the inks sounded useful, others were merely decorative, yet pretty. He bought a small bottle of self correcting ink, just to try it out, and wandered around the shop, fascinated by all the expensive quills from different magical and non magical birds with special enchantments on some.

A strange man in a turban bumped into Hagrid outside, apologizing profusely with a rather annoying stutter. Hagrid clapped him on the back with a smile, "Why professor Quirrell, good ter see yeh out an' about. Gettin' more books before yer finally prepared?"

"Why y-y-yes, just f-f-finishing up. And y-you?" He peered around nervously, like he was afraid of some monster about to pounce.

Harry hid on the other side of Hagrid, valuing his anonymity while pretending to examine a shop window. Glancing around quickly, Hagrid caught sight of what he was doing, "Shoppin' is all," He held up the few packages he was helping to carry and shook them, "Best get to it though, got lots ter do. Was nice seein' yeh." The man walked away reluctantly, and then picked up speed soon after, making for The Leaky Cauldron.

"You're not going to tell me he's the professor of pronunciation at Hogwarts are you? Because there's a limit to how much irony I can take in a day." Harry asked as they walked towards an apothecary.

"Nope, Defense Against the Dark Arts. - Not much better, I admit, but he knows his stuff, otherwise Dumbledore wouldn' have hired him for it."

Inside the shop, Harry marveled at varied parts from all kinds of creatures, magical or otherwise, while trying to ignore the pungent smells. One side of the room stocked jars of frog brains, baskets stuffed full of glittering fairy wings, and bundles of dark werewolf fur. Bowls of assorted animal eyes were stacked on shelves in the center of the shop, next to tubs of colourful eggs underneath, with bottle after bottle of assorted fluids on top. Some of those held viscous and bright red bloods, or yellow, black, and clear venoms, while others contained the dull green mucus of slugs, and something called a flobberworm. On the other side, he looked through dried herbs and powdered roots stacked in the window display, beside preserved flowers and fresh clippings of unique plants. Hagrid ordered the first year set of ingredients from a shop clerk while watching Harry inspect all the claws, fangs, and feathers hanging above their heads. The shop was constantly busy with witches and wizards moving in and out of isles, gathering much needed supplies, with the constant babble of lively people.

Noticing many of the ingredients he saw in his potions book, it made Harry wonder how long they lasted for, and what method was used to find new potions. The old fashion style of the shop also had him questioning if anyone had ever tried automating the potion making process, at least until the wand waving part. The cash register rang, bringing him back to the present to receive his change for the purchase.

Leading them to the next stop on his mental list, Harry found it easily from the directions Ollivander gave him the other day. It was a large leather shop, which carried all variety of dragon hide clothes and gear, along with a few other varieties of unique leather as well. Searching all around, he finally spotted a scant few wand holsters in a far corner. One attached on the hip, another fit under the arm around the chest, and the last gripped below the wrist with a simple mechanism to send it quickly to your hand like a sleeve gun from a James Bond movie. Knowing exactly which one he wanted, Harry looked for a second to match, but found none. One would have to be enough for the present.

He had a bad feeling about bringing it to the front counter without a price on it, and wasn't disappointed when finding out how much they asked. While trying to haggle the price down a bit, the manager extolled all it's virtues, such as the slim profile, a notice-me-not charm on it, how the wand was held by a retractable wire, and that it was enchanted to protect it from any manner of mischievous spells. Although it wasn't until Hagrid came to tower over the conversation that the man lowered the price to something reasonable. Harry eventually talked him down a little more and bought it, putting it on with his wand already locked in place.

They exited out into the late summer morning, birds chirped in the distance, and a street vendor pushed his cart by, along with the smell of fresh buttery popcorn. Hagrid waved him down the next moment, purchasing two bags to stave off hunger until lunch. "Jus' yer clothes left, - an' what would yeh say ter a pet owl fer a birthday present? Dead useful for carryin' post, an better than a simple toad by any means."

Harry coughed on a piece of popcorn but quickly recovered, "Oh, that's okay... I wasn't really wanting a pet yet. I'm not much good with animals anyway..."

Looking a little downcast, Hagrid tried again, "No pet... - how about a gobstone set, those are always popular?"

"A what?"

"Ah, forgot yeh don't know any wizardin' games. I can't jus' get yer clothes, that's not much of a present, now it's it? Got anything yeh might be wanting lately?"

Adjusting his glasses, he looked up at Hagrid, "Now that you mention it... I have been needing a new set of glasses, but I don't suppose there's a way to fix people's eyes magically, is there?"

"Er - not that I'm aware of, healin' spells only gets yeh back ter the way yeh was before. But there's bound ter be all kinds o' improvements on muggle glasses. Let's check after gettin' yer uniform." He opened the door they just arrived at, waving Harry in. Only to be cast back out again by an unknown spell, with the door closing in their face. A blank sign on the door flooded with angry red letters, 'No Food Allowed!'

"Huh, that's one way to tell people." Harry gave a mirthless chuckle.

Hagrid guffawed at the sign but shrugged his shoulders after a bit. "No use fightin' it, I can wait outside with the popcorn." Harry nodded and handed off his bag to enter the shop alone.

Walking up to the counter, a stocky witch who seemed to be the manager looked at him levelly, "Can I help you with something?"

"I need a Hogwarts uniform please, and I was wondering what enchantments could be put on them?"

She perked up at the first part, but shook her head at the last, "I'm sorry, Hogwarts robes are not allowed to have special enchantments. But come this way, we'll get you fitted up. And take off that silly hood, this isn't Knockturn Alley." Harry complied reluctantly, and when the lady finally noticed his scar she stopped suddenly, "Oh..." But instead of gushing over him like the last man to figure it out, her smile only grew and she continued working. Measuring here and there, as the bell rang to announce another customer. "Would you get that Marry, I'm with a customer already." She called out to the back, and a pretty young woman in a simple red dress stepped out from behind a curtain with a smile plastered on her face.

It turned to shock seeing the new customers, she gulped and looked towards the manager and then caught sight of Harry's scar. Her eyes grew bigger than seemed possible, becoming very nervous and glancing between the new customers and him, as if wanting to run for her life. She was able to croak out a few strangled words, "Madam Malkin! It's them!"

Glancing up impatiently, the older woman noticed the worried expression on the girl's face and nearly fell over when seeing who entered. Harry glanced around as well but only noticed a stuffy middle aged woman and her son with his back to him. Madam Malkin jumped up and pulled harry with her towards the girl. "Take him into the dressing room, and finish up. I'll handle this."

Pulled along into a fancy dressing room with mirrors everywhere, he watched the nervous girl try to breath. "I take it this doesn't happen very often?"

The girl gave a sudden snort, "No, I should say not. A former... and the boy... never mind." She shook her head wearily while doing the same measurements over again with shaky hands. Harry's look of confusion seemed to halt her words but he couldn't tell why. Obviously she wasn't comfortable discussing it.

He moved on, "I take it pretty much everyone around here went to Hogwarts, any advice for a new student?"

"Umm..." She bit her nail while stopping to think for a moment, "I guess you should study more than I did. Joining clubs are fun, and don't get caught up in all the drama of house rivalries. Even though everyone makes fun of Hufflepuff and talks bad about Slytherin, they're just normal people. Although you might want to watch out for a few bad eggs, no matter which house they get in. - Oh, and avoid Peeves, and Filch and his cat if you can, nothing good ever comes from getting close to them."

"Thanks, I'll remember that. By the way, do you know why enchantments aren't allowed on the school uniform? I would imagine that would be the best place for them."

"Hum, I think it's something about keeping things fair, price and what not, maybe so posh kids don't show off and no one's singled out. But that happens anyway, even by teachers. That reminds me, don't get on the bad side of Snape. He was a teacher for most of my time there, and made it quite painful for those who irritated him. And don't get too close to any defense professor either. Something always goes mental with them." She was finished with her measurements ages ago but kept close, peeking at his scar now and then.

Madam Malkin burst in, scanning the room to make sure everything was okay. She let go of the scowl she was wearing and replaced it with a cheerful smile. "Well now that that's over with, let's get your uniform. Maybe add in a protective charm or two." She gave a conspiratorial wink and ushered him into the main room, as Marry wore her stunned expression again.

oOoOo

Outside and with his canvas bag nearly full of everything but books, Harry found Hagrid munching on a fresh bag of popcorn in his hand, the other two long gone. He wore the new school cloak over his plain clothes at the recommendation of Marry to blend in better, and hide his scar. So Hagrid didn't recognize him until he said hello. With Harry's refusal of more popcorn, they traveled to a specialty lens shop that apparently even Dumbledore himself frequented. That got Harry a little excited, but he felt too cool in his new cloak to show it.

Taking a few minutes of searching down the far end of the street, they finally arrived at a extremely tidy shop, full of assorted glasses, binoculars, cameras, and telescopes. That's when Harry remembered he needed one of those as well. The shopkeeper called out from the back after hearing the bell, "Be right with you." As things could be heard being put away. Harry strolled around, inspecting the different items behind glass displays, similar to a fancy jewelry shop. While Hagrid tried to stick to the center so he wouldn't break anything.

Antique cameras were set up in one area, yet some looked brand new. Old fashion microscopes in many styles were displayed on shelves, and a wide array of magnifying glasses sat on a green felt table, waiting to be examined. The number of frames for glasses were nearly endless, hung up on the walls around the whole shop, with many unique designs. Hagrid grunted, "Wonder what those are fer. So tiny." He was carefully bent over a glass display with something on top.

Harry wandered over to see what he was talking about. It was a tray of tiny lenses on their own, some stood on their side to show how extremely thin they were, and appeared to come in pairs. They were labeled 'Conspecs' and had a special notice, 'Never before seen, New Item. Please inquire for details.'

The shopkeeper entered wearing a brown waistcoat, multi-lens glasses and spoke with an unsure tone, "May I help you, kind sirs?"

"We were wondering what these were." When Harry looked up at him, his demeanor changed to one of supreme confidence in his field, and extreme pride at the work he did.

"Of course, those are a new product line I invented, made specifically to avoid the need for frames like yours, have almost zero chance of breaking, correct your entire field of vision, and have no need for expensive enchantments like glasses do to keep them in place, or to stop fogging up. It may seem too good to be true, but there is only a minor inconvenience to achieve all this."

He hesitated to keep going, so Harry interrupted, "So they're contacts?" And the man's head dropped dejectedly.

"...Yes... I suppose you already know you don't like them. It's almost impossible to get wizards to try new things these days. Even with so many improvements, and useful ideas I've had. And muggleborn don't even consider wizard glasses let alone wizard contacts when they have optometrists everywhere. Not even changing the name helped, or offering lifetime guarantees. Can you imagine, the only thing wizards fear more than the dark arts, is something touching their eye?" He lamented pitifully, swaying in a dispirited manner about the shop. Hagrid squinted away in distaste at the thought of what he said.

Harry almost laughed at the severe bipolar personality this man had, but held back. "Actually, I would like to hear more, I've never got to try contacts before, just getting a new pair of glasses now and then has been enough so far." The man was back again, smiling and clasping his hands together in abject glee.

"Really? Why that's marvelous, there might be hope for the next generation yet. Let me explain it all. Every set comes standard with a self cleaning charm, so there is absolutely no worry about infection. Some have an anti-theft charm so only you can summon them to take them out, and the very best hover right over the eye so they never need to be taken off." He picked out one set near the top, "And these are my masterpiece. They include all the other features, and a special adaptive vision spell, fitting to any person's eye as they try to focus. From extremely near, to exceedingly far, and even allow you to see in the dark." Giggling at his own achievement, he set them down again in front of Harry.

"Er, How much would somethin' like that go fer?" Hagrid inquired, seeing the interest on Harry's face.

"Oh, for a lifetime fitting like these? I couldn't take less than one hundred galleons!" Seeing the incredulous reaction on Hagrid's face, the shopkeeper once again deflated into remorse at his own words, "But, but, the standard modules are only forty five to start." Hagrid shook his head again, barely able to comprehend why anyone would spend that much on miniature pieces of glass.

"Harry... I, um, don't -"

"It's okay Hagrid, I understand" He wiped the sweat away from underneath his cloak, finally feeling the effects of the winter piece he wore. "I can get-" But he was interrupted by the frantic shopkeeper this time.

"Are you really? I can't believe it, before by very eyes! Harry Potter! The boy who lived!" He looked around nervously, and taped his fingers together, then picked up a camera from behind the counter. "Tell you what, forget the price, you can have the very best, if I can just get a picture of you putting them on. With Harry Potter wearing my conspecs, they might actually sell! I could put an ad in the Daily Prophet, get people coming in to see them even. What do you say?"

Harry looked up at Hagrid and they both shrugged, "Alright," said Harry, "but maybe hold off on the ad in the paper until school starts? I'd like to stay anonymous for as long as possible.

"By all means, I've waited two years to sell one of these, another month isn't going to hurt."

This time it was Harry's turn to hesitate, "These are safe though, right? You've tested them out?"

"Oh my, yes. I've been wearing my own since I first made a pair, but the only other person I've managed to convince to try them is my wife, and it took a long time for that."

"Uhh, have you always been so... excitable like this? Or could it be more recent, like since you started wearing these?"

He gave a hearty laugh at the question, "Oh, no, I've always been a little as you say, excitable. My wife claims that's the reason she married me, getting two people in one." Then he began giggling again.

A brief demonstration was all it took for Harry to try them on, and get a couple pictures taken at the same time. Opening his eyes and blinking a few times to let things come into focus brought on a whole new world. "WOW! Everything's so crisp and clear! Is this how everyone sees?"

The shopkeeper squeezed his lips together in contemplation, "It's hard to say, since it took my eyes months to fully adjust, getting better all the time. While my lovely wife only took a day or two. The focusing spell used is quite unique, and is very costly to get put on. But it does work wonders, doesn't it? Eventually you will be seeing better than all your friends, so do let them know where they can get some of their own, won't you?"

Still looking around in wonder, Harry nodded absentmindedly, "Of course, these are amazing!"

oOoOo

It wasn't until they were out the door with a modest brass telescope in hand as well, that Hagrid spoke up again, "Got anythin' else yeh might want?"

Harry gave a sheepish grin, "Sorry about that, but why don't we get lunch and think it over? It's..." Harry pulled out his watch, only to see it stopped again, "time to get a new watch apparently. That's right, I remember reading that electronics don't work around magic."

"Now that's a birthday present - everyone needs ter be on time fer school." He clapped Harry on the shoulder happily and they went to lunch, back at the Leaky Cauldron. Where they were greeted with another brilliant meal, succulent prime rib sandwiches with loads of chips, and a large slice of bakewell tart to end it with. Hagrid had a pitcher of specialty mead to wash it down and while Harry liked the pumpkin juice from earlier, he tried some gillywater instead, to be adventurous.

The next stop on their outing was to Grand Tempi's Clock Shop, drawing them in by the soaring clock tower atop the roof, like a beacon in the middle of a street. Every inch of the shop front was covered in one type of clock or another. Hanging wall clocks with dragons carved into them, elegant grandfather clocks with detailed cabinetry and the phases of the moon displayed on top, stately glass anniversary clocks with silver or brass mechanisms whirring inside, and a diverse mix of metal sun dials, all finely crafted to look very expensive. The inside was much the same, yet had a lot more variety, including a massive display table, featuring hundreds of wrist and pocket watches to tantalize the eyes.

Voicing his concerns outside, Harry offered to go somewhere else that might have a simpler selection. But Hagrid grunted happily, explaining he knew the owner well and he would give them a fair price. Upon opening the door, they heard a small popping sound over all the ticking, seeming to alert the shopkeeper to a new guest. A man in fancy gold wizarding robes and pointed hat wandered over from one corner to burst into laughter, "Why Hagrid my old friend, what a surprise to see you! Dedalus was in here a mere hour ago, commenting on how you were helping a very special student around-" He saw Harry come into view with his hood up and the words caught in his throat.

All the clocks seemed to tick louder and louder until Hagrid finally spoke up, "Clagan, as yeh heard, this is Harry Potter. And Harry, this is Clagan Tempi, a good friend. Who's very discrete." He nodded meaningfully at the man.

"Hmm? Oh. Oh yes, of course. It is a pleasure to meet to young man, a real pleasure." Bowing regally and grinning awkwardly, he continued, "I guess you didn't come by to just say hello, so what can I do for you two today?" He regained his composure and waved his wand at the door which locked with a closed sign flipping around. "A dignified family clock for instance?" He indicated a giant lion's head wall clock with a flourish of his hands, "Or perhaps something simple like a bedside alarm?" Proffering a smaller glass box containing hundreds of spinning gears, bouncy springs, and swaying counterweights only displaying the time. "Maybe even a grand exhibition piece for Hogwarts?" He pointed at the huge rotating ceiling clock, illustrating the movement of the solar system relative to the time of day and shape of the moon, as well as highlighting planets within view.

Harry smiled at the continued eccentricities of these shop owners, or perhaps it was all wizards. "Actually, I needed a new wristwatch, preferably something that isn't too flashy."

"Flashy? We don't carry those type of gaudy things in this kind of shop, do we Hagrid?" A sarcastic smirk peaked from beneath Clagan's long mustache as Hagrid gave a good humored chuckle. "We do only have the best of the best though, right this way." Leading them past a towering shelf full of multiple sized hour glasses, he picked one up and circled around the large counter of timepieces. Setting down the hourglass, he twirled his wand and every wristwatch floated into the air, presenting the simply designed ones up front.

With a wave of his hands towards the items, he gave a sales pitch, "Each one is enchanted to keep perfect time, the day of the week, and month, which should last for a century. Most all come with multiple alarms, and unbreakable charms to keep them running smoothly. Others have stopwatch capabilities, phases of the moon, compasses, or can perform simple spells when activated, and the most impressive can become permanent portkeys. Although each one can be improved at a later time by replacing specific parts, but is costly to do. - So, which one would you like to try on?"

Gold watches sparkled while silver ones flashed in front of Harry's eyes. Some had emerald or ruby gems set in the frame while few contained glowing dials and second hands that seemed to leave colourful trails as they spun around. One seemed to even be made of bone with small fangs around the edges, and another was crafted entirely out of glass. There were antique sorts with fancy numbers and gears showing, creative types with unique plants or animals moving about the insides, and then Harry saw a simple bronze one with black leather straps off to one side. "What about that one?" He pointed.

"Ah, a very good choice indeed, although some prefer that style after attending Hogwarts." Clagan let the rest settle to the table and brought the single watch over to float in front of them. He kept talking but Harry became distracted after putting it on.

Assuming it was a cheaper model at first, Harry had a hard time believing his newly crystal clear sight as the center of the watch curved deeper than was possible for the thin bit of metal. Inside was a dark blue night with a sea of white stars floating in the background. Stuck in the very center was an eerily realistic earth, with white clouds dotting the landscape and a dark crescent forming on the edge, appearing to show the night horizon. The equally detailed moon sat off to the side, with it's own shadow crescent giving stark contrast to the cold bluish light that reflected off it's surface. Around the outside a small asteroid circled the entire scene, slowly revealing the minutes as they passed. The earth had a similar satellite creeping gradually around it, but this one cast a thin ray of light outwards to denote the hour. Faint lines in the glass revealed the numbers and lines along the edge, and was the last thing he noticed before Clagan slipped it away to ring it up. "But!" He looked up in concern.

Hagrid laughed at him, "Yeh were staring fer a good five minutes. 'Bout time we buy it so Tempi here can get back ter work. Yeh do want it, don't yeh?"

"Yeah... thanks." Said Harry sheepishly. Hoping it wasn't too much, he watched the chat they had about the price, but instead of money being handed over, it was a meager wooden box that Hagrid pulled out of a pocket and gave to the grateful watchmaker. Something appeared to glow through the cracks but that even confused Harry more.

As they exited the shop another distinct pop was heard after waving to Clagan. Hagrid handed over the wrapped package outside the door, "Happy birthday! - Go on, might as well wear it." Unwrapping it eagerly, Harry once again marveled at the enthralling scene after putting it on, but Hagrid interrupted him again. "Where to now? Or have yeh had enough shoppin'?"

Harry shook his head vigorously, "Books."

And so the wonderful day continued, going from bookshop to bookshop, gathering an ample supply to last the rest of summer holidays. Ending with another stop at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour to celebrate with a giant ice cream cake of many different flavors. It took a while to eat it all, but when done it was finally time to head home. On the bus ride back Hagrid thankfully remembered to hand Harry a ticket to the Hogwarts express at the last moment, and waved a fleeting good by as the last BANG of the night brought an end to the day.

Dusk soon came with the dimming light of the quiet little neighborhood. Harry stood there with all of his packages on the pavement in front of him, looking around at the normal world that wasn't quite as mundane anymore.