Chapter 2: Meeting the Gentle Giant or Return to Diagon Alley

Disclaimer: I do not own any Harry Potter characters. They all belong to the amazing JK Rowling. If they belonged to me Ron would have been eaten by Hades Three-Headed pet hellhound, Fluffy, Ginny would have suffered psychological trauma from her first year and not returned to Hogwarts, Dumbledore would have choked on a lemon drop, named Tim, after everyone found out just how incompetent or evil he is, Sirius would have been found innocent by the ministry and would be set free to spoil his godson, right before minister Fudge turned into a bar of chocolate and Umbitch, pardon me Umbridge, was turned into a toad, and Hermione and Harry would have ended up as a couple, with maybe Luna joining them. Since, this didn't happened they obviously do not belong to me, but I digress.

A/N: I would just like to point out that when Hagrid and Harry are having a conversation I did take some words from the book. I hope that I got Hagrid's accent right because it is hard to tell how certain words are supposed to be. Whether it is supposed to be you or yah for instance. Again I repeat, I got some of the things they said from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by JK Rowling. I claim no credit for the parts I used from her book. I used the conversation between Hagrid and Harry to make a few points. Namely, that even though Harry is going to have to keep certain parts of the timeline intact, like the resurrection of Voldemort, he is going to totally ruin everything else. He started this by telling the truth of his childhood bedroom and ruining Hagrid's absolute faith in the Old Man.

I would also like to point out that yes, Harry now has a Ginny phobia. This is mainly because of the final week of his life. It is not an exaggeration to say the Potions Princess was getting extremely desperate. It only goes into one of her many attempts to seduce him. He was not up to the occasion because the soul bond was taking extreme measures before that last day when it couldn't stop him. It was not a lie when I said there wasn't enough blood in his potion-stream before he almost had sex with her.

Thanks to all those who added me to their alerts and favorites and sent me reviews. If you have any ideas you want me to add send me a review and I'll decide whether or not to add it.

I forgot to dedicate the last chapter so I will dedicate two stories this chapter. Last chapter is dedicated to "Death's Pride-H/Hr/L" by Paladeus. This chapter is dedicated to "Confrontations in the Common Room-H/Hr" by Seel'vor.


BOOM!

As Harry felt himself jolt awake, he couldn't help but feel a pounding in his head. He had never thought about it before but his eleven-year-old self was really weak. As he heard a pounding that had nothing to do with his head he slowly stood up to realize that he was back in the shack on the sea from when Vernon was trying to run from his owl letters. He was also back in his scrawny eleven-year-old body. As he turned to look at the door, he noticed Vernon skidding into the room with a rifle in his hands. As he stood there watching his uncle yelling at the door there was a pause and then -

SMASH!

The door swung off its hinges and took this chance to come crashing to the floor.

Standing in the doorway was a giant of a man, Hagrid. His face was completely covered by his shaggy mane of hair and his tangled beard, but Harry had no doubt it was his dear friend. Not that Hagrid knew that. As Hagrid squeezed his way into the hut and fixed the door Harry took this time to school his features into a mask of curiosity and caution. After all, it would do for him to reveal the truth to the gentle giant. For although he cared deeply for his friend he knew that Hagrid couldn't keep a secret to save his life and was fanatically loyal to Dumbledork.

As Harry finished ordering his thoughts he saw Hagrid's face crinkled smiling at him.

"Las' time I saw you, you was only a baby," said the giant. "Yeh look a lot like yer dad, but yeh've got yer mom's eyes."

Harry watch as his Uncle tried to bluster his way into getting Hagrid to leave, right before the giant bent Vernon's gun into a knot and threw it into a corner. As Vernon made a funny squeaking noise Harry had a hard time trying to keep a smile from crossing his face.

"Anyway – Harry, I brought summat fer you fer yeh birthday – I mighta sat on it but it'll taste jus fine." Hagrid said before reaching into his black overcoat and pulling out a slightly squashed box and handing it to Harry. Opening the box Harry remembered the first time this happened and how he had never gotten the chance to say ' thank you' to Hagrid. He knew he had to play the part until tomorrow but he couldn't help tweaking things a little bit.

Harry looked up at the giant and said, "Thank you. I've never gotten a birthday cake before. But who are you?"

"Wha do you mean, you ain never had a birthda cake?" Hagrid said while looking down at Harry. While looking at the boy who looked so much like his father he couldn't help but notice how skinny he looked. At first the giant had just assumed he didn't eat much but he looked so tiny for his age while Dursley's kid looked like a baby hippo. Headmaster Dumbledore had told him Harry was just small for his age but he looked much to thin for the giant's peace of mind. The boys' next words almost caused the gentle giant to get angry and very amazing feat.

"We-well. I've never had a birthday or a cake. I know Dudley's had one every year but while he has his birthday, I'm only allowed out to cook their breakfast and then they stick me back in my cupboard." Harry said quietly while looking down as if he were ashamed. He didn't like to use Hagrid like this but it was the truth and he didn't want to lie to the giant.

"Wha do you mean by cu'board Harry?" the giant said with deadly steel in his voice. Things were obviously not well if Harry was locked in a cupboard. Dumbledore had told him that Harry was being well looked after and that he was checking up on him often. Dumbledore had told him that Harry had everything a growing boy would ever need. But most of all Dumbledore had told him that Harry was safe and happy. Looking at Harry he didn't look like he was well looked after, he didn't look like anyone was checking on him, he didn't look like he was safe, but most of all he didn't look happy. He looked like a small child, who didn't get enough to eat, who was forced into wearing rags a house-elf wouldn't be caught dead in, and who had long ago seen the worst the world had to offer and was sick of it.

"Um, well… it's nothing?" Harry said in a nervous voice he had never told anyone about his childhood, not even Hermione, and he told her everything. Just thinking about his childhood made him want to hide.

"Harry, please tell meh." Hagrid said in a gentle voice. It was obvious to him that Harry was just a small boy who was afraid.

"Th… c…br…d…un…r…th…s…rs." Harry mumbled in an overly quiet voice. He thought he had gotten over this years ago but here he was, ashamed by his childhood.

"Wha did you say Harry?" Hagrid asked in a firm voice. He was used to working with skittish beasties and they were just like children. If you were kind but firm they were listen to what you said.

"The cupboard under the stairs. It's my room, or at least it was until I started getting those letters. When that happened they moved me to Dudley's second bedroom because they said someone must be watching the house." Harry said in a sad voice. It had happened to him years ago and yet he sit remembered it as clearly as yesterday. Even though they moved him though their attitudes didn't change they just became sneakier with their actions. Even in his sixteen-year-old body he had still had the scars from the beatings they gave him.

"THE CUPBOARD UNDER THE STAIRS!" Hagrid shouted before quieting as Harry cringed. He didn't want to scare the poor boy. The Dursleys on the other hand were in big trouble, you didn't treat people like that, especially not children.

Turning around he pointed his pink umbrella at the Dursleys and using all his concentration turned them into two pigs and a horse. Turning to Harry he said, "I'd appreciate if you don't tell anyone about that. I'm not technically supposed tah be doing magic."

"I promise Mr…" Harry said pointedly. The giant hadn't yet told him his name even though he already knew it. However, he couldn't use it without looking suspicious.

"True, I haven't introduced meself. Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts. But judging by wha you told me you don't know wha Hogwarts is." Hagrid said while looking at Harry sadly, before pulling out a letter and handing it to him.

"Hogwarts is a school fer witches and wizards ter learn how ter control their magic. Both of yer parents went ter Hogwarts. Yer mum was at the top of her class and yer father wasn' too bad either. It was a real shame what happen ter them." Hagrid said while pulling out some sausages and tea.

While Hagrid was doing this Harry had opened his letter and was pretending to read it. In reality though he was trying to figure out a way to make the conversation progress. He knew that he looked like any other eleven-year-old but his mind was that of his just turned seventeen-year-old self. When he was at the Fate Fixers office they had realized that he was having trouble recalling his last week of life and so the twins, may they fall into a pit of boiling lava, had poured a nasty concoction down his throat. The stuff had turned him into a black and gray ring-tailed lemur with long floppy ears and a small twisted horn on his forehead. Keres eventually turned him back but not before they had all fallen to the floor laughing and the twins had taken pictures. The only good things that came out of it was that he would never complain about Madam Pomfrey's potions again and that he remembered the week leading up to his seventeenth birthday, the day he died. Apparently, even with 10 times the recommended dose of love, lust & jealousy potions floating in his bloodstream he was still fighting off Ginny's sexual advances. On his birthday he had finally been about to give in. By that point though there wasn't enough blood in his potionstream and he had died before anything happened between them, thank the Fates. Dying from so many potions however had the unfortunate side-effect of wiping out the memories of his last week. Apparently by the end Ginny had gotten really desperate. She had even gone so far as to petrify him, strip him, force Viagra down his throat, and climb on top of him naked. Where she got Viagra from he would never know but he was eternally grateful that because it was Ginny he couldn't get it up. Ever since he had regained those memories he had gained an aversion to Ginny. Even thinking about her made him want to whimper and hide in a corner. Hopefully he would one day only shiver in terror of the redhead and not run in terror, or second year was going to be very difficult. Of course running and hiding from her would make it so he would never be close enough for her to potion him. Harry looked up to see Hagrid looking at him expectantly. Apparently he had gone so far into his own mind that he had missed the question.

"I'm sorry Mr. Hagrid. What did you say? I was just thinking that there must be some mistake; I'm not a wizard. I'm just Harry." Harry said quickly. He didn't want to hurt Hargid's feelings.

"Please, jus call me Hagrid. I am sure tha yer a wizard, just Harry. An' a thumping good one I'd imagine. Tell me something have you ever made things happen when you was scared or angry?" Hagrid said with a knowing look in his eyes. He knew that for children raised by muggles it was sometimes hard for them to believe they were magic. He watched as a knowing look came over Harry's face before continuing. "See, yah do know what I'm talkin' about. Harry Potter, not a wizard – you'll be right famous at Hogwarts. Now Harry do you have any questions?"

"What do wizards learn in school? Can you tell me about my parents? What did they look like? What were they like in school? What happened to my other relatives? Why was I left with the Dursleys? Didn't I have any other relatives? Were they happy when I was born? All the Dursleys ever told me was that they died in a car crash, and that they were drunkards." Harry rushed out. He was supposed to be a clueless eleven-year-old but even so he couldn't help but rush out his questions. He had never asked Hagrid about his parents in the last timeline, but he wondered what Hagrid thought about them.

"DRUNKARDS! CAR CRASH! Your parents were nothing o' the sort. They were some o' the nicest and bravest people you ever met and they loved you dearly. Yer mum had long red hair, that matched her fiery temper, an' yer father was a bit of a prankster when he was at Hogwarts. You look exactly like yer father but with yer mums eyes. They were so happy and excited when they found out Lily was pregnant; and James I had never seen him so nervous. Even though it was durin' a time a war all they cared about was making sure yah would be safe and happy. They loved you so much tha they died tryin ter save yeh from the foulest wizard ever born. A wizard so bad tha' even now ten years later no one dares speak his name. And it wasn't jus' yer parents, he tried to kill you, too. Wanted ter make a clean job of it, or maybe he just liked killin' by then." Hagrid said sadly with tears raining down his face. It was obvious that he was sad about remembering the past.

"But Hagrid, if they died protecting me from this evil wizard why didn't I die too? What happened to him? And how did I end up with the Dursleys?" Harry said while trying to hold back his tears. He had never known what Hagrid had felt for his parents, but hearing him talk about them and how much they loved him was effecting him more than he thought possible. He figured that being in eleven-year-old self was having an effect on his emotions. He felt things more deeply than when he was seventeen like he was a child again.

"Well yah see Harry, he disappeared, vanished. Same night he tried ter kill you. Makes yeh even more famous. Cause he was getting' more an' more powerful so why'd he go? Some say he died. Codswallop. Dunno if he had enough human left in him to die. Most of us reckon he's still out there somewhere but lost his powers. Too weak to carry on. 'Cause somethin' about you finished him, Harry. Tha's where yah got yer scar from. Never wondered how you got that mark. That was no ordinary cut. Tha's what yeh get when a powerful, evil curse touches yeh. He used a killin' curse at you, expecting to kill yah, but you didn't die. That's why yer famous, Harry. No one ever lived after he decided ter kill 'em, no one 'cept you, an' he'd killed some o' the best witches an' wizards of the age – an' you was only a baby, an' you lived. As fer the Dursleys, Professor Dumbledore left yah with them. Said it was the only place yah'd be safe. After meeting yah, however, I have meself a few questions for Dumbledore." Hagrid said with a frown. Every time he had asked Dumbledore about Harry he had said he was perfectly fine. Yet, the poor boy didn't even know what his parents looked like.

"Well, it's getting' late," said Hagrid loudly before handing the cooked sausages and hot tea to Harry. "Eat up. We've got lots ter do tomorrow. Gotta get up ter town, get all yer books an' that."

He took off his thick coat and grabbed some pillows from the bedroom the Dursleys turned animals were hiding in before handing them to Harry.

"You can kip under that," he said. "Don' recommend sleepin' in the bedroom with those animals. Don' mind if it wiggles a bit, I think I still got a couple o' dormice in one o' the pockets." He said before taking a large yawn and falling asleep on the old couch.

As Harry sat there eating the meal Hagrid had given him he thought back over his conversation with the half-giant. According to what Hagrid had said Old Man Whiskers had been telling everyone that he had grown up in a safe environment. Showed just what the old man knew. Than again Keres had said the old man was trying to control him. He could tell that Hagrid was starting to have doubt about Dumbledork. Every time they had talked about him he had gotten a large frown on his face. Harry remembered how in the last timeline Hagrid had believed in Dumbledore with an almost fanatical loyalty. Now with just a few words he had gotten the eternally loyal Hagrid to have doubts about the infallible Dumbledore. He couldn't help but smirk as he stared into the fire. Dumbledore had known about what the Potions Princess was doing and had even used them himself on him. He was going to tear down the old mans kingdom if it was the last thing he did. Knowing all that the old man had done to him he was now viewing him as more of an enemy than Voldemort. When he finally met Hermione again he was going to have to do something about her trust in authority figures. That, and her know-it-all attitude. He knew that she didn't mean to be that way but that was how others perceived it when in actuality she just didn't know how to react in social situations and so she fell into her know-it-all persona. It was really just a defense mechanism.

As the room started heating up and Harry snuggled into Hagrid's overly large coat he couldn't help but start feeling sleepy. His last thought before falling into the lands of Morpheus was 'I wonder what Keres meant when she had said see ya soon'.


Harry woke from the nightmares of his last week of life in a cold sweat. As he looked around trying to find what it was that woke him up he noticed the Dursleys, still in animal form standing in the door way of the bedroom. When they saw him watching them they all ran out of his line of vision. He couldn't help the snicker that came out as he noticed the glazed look in the aunt the horse's eyes. He figured being turned into a horse was probably a living hell for her, especially with her aversion to all things magic. As he continued looking for the source of his wake-up call he noticed an owl rapping on the window, newspaper in beak.

As Harry ran to open up the window he couldn't help the excitement building in him. Today was the first time he went to Diagon Alley. A small part of him couldn't help but remember the last time he had seen Diagon Alley. It had been almost completely deserted, and there had been an air of darkness and fear in the air. As he followed the owl to the large coat with pockets to search for some Knuts he just remembered to ask Hagrid about the owl before handing over to the owl the money that Hagrid had told him to. As the owl flew out the window he couldn't help but feel like their was something important he was forgetting. As he looked at his Hogwarts letter to make sure he hadn't missed something important his eyes zoomed to the last part of his letter. We await your owl by no later than July 31. That was today, shit, he knew he had forgotten something.

"Hagrid, what does the letter mean by, they await my owl?" Harry asked the sleepy giant, while trying to sound curious and not absolutely frantic.

As the question slowly permeated Hagrid sleepy mind he was jolted instantly awake. "That's what I forgot. I knew I had missed something. Just give me a minute." Hagrid said before reaching down for his overcoat and quickly pulling out an owl, a long quill, and some parchment. Writing a quick note and send it off with the owl all the while looking sheepish. "Whelp, best be off, lots her do today, gotta get up ter London an' buy yer stuff few school."

As Harry smiled at Hagrid he remembered that he was supposed to be a poor eleven-year-old. "Um, Hagrid I don't have any money and Uncle Vernon will never pay for me to learn magic. Especially with how hard they tried to stop me from learning I'm a wizard." he said in a timid voice.

"Oh don't you worry. Yer parents left yeh something. They left all of their gold in the wizards bank, Gringotts. Here's a sausage, they aren't bad cold - an' I could do with a bot o' yer birthday cake." Hagrid said while putting on his coat.

"I didn't know that wizards have banks?" Harry said getting into the act. If he was going to be a kid again he might as well enjoy it. Although this time he was going to actually work hard and not just ride on Hermione's coattails. It wasn't fair how Ron and he had treated her last time. She had worked so hard and they had just used her as homework help and had messed around. She was still his friend but he had always sided with Ron over everything and it didn't seem right to him.

"Well there is only one bank and tha's Gringotts. It's run by Goblins. O' course they have branches all o'er the world." Hagrid said while munching on some cake.

Harry acted like he was shocked as was cracking up inside. "Goblins?"

"Yep. Yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it. Never mess with goblins. O' course they like teh be shown respect, so when yeh see 'em don't forget a slight bow. Not to many wizards show them respect anymore. Gringotts is the safest place in the world fer things yeh want ter keep safe. I gotta visit Gringotts anyway. Hogwarts business. Well come on, then." Hagrid said as he finished his cake and walked out the door.

"How did you get here?" Harry asked as thought over what Hagrid had said. He hadn't to him to bow to the Goblins before. He wondered if acting different last night had made Hagrid try to tell him how he should act in the magical world because he now knew that Harry was clueless when it came to magic.

"Flew," said Hagrid

"Flew?" Harry asked as he thought about Sirius' motorcycle.

"Yep but now tha' I've got yeh I'm not s'pposed ter use magic so we'll ha' teh use the boat."

As they got into the boat Hagrid looked at Hagrid while trying to figure out what to say.

"Seems a shame ter row. If yeh mind not mentionin' it I could speed things up a bit." Hagrid said while giving Harry a sideways look.

"Of course I won't tell anyone," Harry said while smiling at Hagrid. He was already trying how to get Hagrid cleared so he would be allowed to use magic again. He wanted to help his friend and he remembered how last time nothing had really changed after the Chamber of Secrets incident.

As Harry looked at out the sea while the boat sped along he was contemplated what to talk to Hagrid about. Eventually he decided to just wing it.

"Hagrid, have you ever been on a flying motorcycle?" Harry asked while watching for any reaction from Hagrid. As he completed the question the Giant looked up from his newspaper so fast Harry swore he heard a crack.

"Why do yah ask Harry?" Hagrid asked while looking at Harry with shock. To the giant it sounded as if Harry remembered that day from 10 years ago.

"Well ever since I was little I've had this dream, more like a memory. In it I'm crying and my head is hurting because of this green light. As I'm crying a man with black hair to his shoulders comes and picks me up. The man is a silly man and I don't like to see him cry. Than as he's walking out of the house a big fuzzy man comes and wants to take me from the crying silly man, but I don't want him to go. I can tell something bad will happen to him if he's left alone. But he hands me over to the big fuzzy man and gives him a flying motorcycle. As I'm crying I start to feel sleepy because the big man is holding me and he's warm. And that's all I remember." Harry said as he stared at Hagrid. This time he wasn't twisting the truth at all. He'd had the dream since he was a baby at the Dursleys but had stopped talking about it after a rather severe beating with the buckle of Vernon's belt and the fireplace poker.

"That really happened Harry. Yah were jus' a small tike. Tha' was the night of yer parents deaths. October thirty-first, nineteen-ninety-two. I'm tha one who took yah on tha motorcycle." Hagrid said while looking over Harry shoulder. It was like he was looking at something far away.

"Who was the man with the black hair?" Harry asked as he watched Hagrid. He wanted to see if Hagrid would talk about Sirius. After all, Hagrid had been the last one to see Sirius Black before he supposedly murdered Peter Pettigrew.

Hagrid looked down at Harry as if he could find something there that would help him choose what to say. Finally he sighed a long sigh before saying, "Tha was Sirius Black, the one who betrayed yer parents to You-Know-Who. Dumbledore tol' meh to go ter yer house cause the monitors on yer parents house had gone off and he wanted teh know wha' had happened and I was ter bring back any survivors. When I got there he was carryin' yah out of the ruined house while yah both were cryin'. I went over to him and told him tha Dumbledore had ordered me to take you to him. At first he didn't let me, but after talkin' a bit he handed yah over and told me tah take his motorcycle. Later on, he was arrested for being betrayin' yer parents to You-Know-Who and killin' Peter Pettigrew and a dozen muggles."

As Hagrid was telling the story all Harry did was sit in silence watching him, committing every word he said to memory. As he listened to the story he couldn't help but notice there were a few things didn't add up to what he knew to be true. One of which was if the house was ruined how come he was alright with only the cut on his forehead. He knew that when Voldemort tried to kill him he had been in the upstairs nursery. If he had been upstairs and the house was destroyed how come he wasn't more injured.

As Harry sat there ordering his thought Hagrid was doing the same. He wondered if he had left baby Harry with Sirius would Sirius have still gotten himself arrested. And if he had left him would Harry have been forced to live in a cupboard as he had at the Dursleys. He also wondered why if Dumbledore had monitoring charms on the house why he had sent him to search for any survivors. He hadn't sent him to make sure everyone was okay but to bring back survivors. As he thought this out shivers were chasing themselves across his skin. If what he was suspecting was true than Dumbledore had known that they had been attacked and thought that no one was left alive. As both of the people in the boat chased thoughts around in their heads they both stopped as the boat lurched onto the beach.

"Well Harry, come on time ter go. You still got yer letter?" He asked as they climbed out of the boat.

Harry nodded as he took the parchment and started looking over the list of items he needed. As he read it over he realized that there were somethings he would have to get without Hagrid noticing.

"Where would we buy all this in London?" Harry asked aloud while silently modifying his list with things he would really be getting.

"It's easy if you know where ter look?" Hagrid said as they walked side-by-side to the station. "Come on, into the train, we'll be there in no time."


As Harry walked with Hagrid in the direction of the Leaky Cauldron he noticed that Hagrid didn't seem as excited as in the last time line. The last time he kept pointing at ordinary things and talking about the things muggles came up with. It seemed as if this time his thoughts were in another galaxy. They had almost walked right past the Leaky Cauldron before Hagrid realized where they were and pointed it out to Harry. Harry had known what it was but knew he had to still hide his future knowledge to just followed Hagrid's lead.

As they entered the pub Harry kept looking around at all the people remembering how many died before he had come back to the past. So lost in his thoughts was he that he failed to notice Hagrid talking to Tom. At least he failed to notice until everything in the Leaky Cauldron when completely still and silent. It was at this moment that Harry remembered the swarms of people that had come up to him the first time he had entered the Cauldron. But by this point it was too late.

"Bless my soul," whispered Tom as he ran from behind the bar and seized Harry hand, tears in his eyes. "Harry Potter... what an honor. Welcome back, Mr. Potter, welcome back."

As everyone was staring at him he was trying to come up with escape plans for what he knew was coming next. As he glanced at Hagrid to see if he could use him as a shield he noticed that although Hagrid's face was beaming his eyes looked like they were about to start overflowing with tears. It looked like Hagrid was forcing himself to smile, but the only reason Harry was able to tell was because of all of the time he had spent around Hagrid in the last time line. He was about to ask him what was wrong but lost the chance when their was a great scraping of chairs and Harry remembered where he was. Harry found himself shaking hands with everyone in the Leaky Cauldron as they converged on him. Some people he was sure he had shaken their hands at least twice, and that old woman he was positive had shaken his hand at least four times. All of them were congratulating him and thanking him.

Outside he had a smile on his face and acted like he was used to shaking strangers hands, he even commented on how he remembered meeting Dedalus Diggle. Inside however he was becoming extremely skittish. In his last life he had eventually grown used to being around large crowds. However, this was his younger body and his younger instincts that were used to fleeing from crowds and not getting noticed unless he wanted to be beaten were taking over. The last time he had accidentally drawn a lot of attention to himself he had been given such a beating that he had eventually been sent to the hospital because of broken bones and internal bleeding. This much attention was making his younger instincts beat his older common sense into submission and he knew if he didn't get out of the crowd soon he would not be able to stop his actions. Just as he was about to bolt Hagrid loud voice broke through his thoughts.

"Professor Quirrell!" said Hagrid. "Harry, Professor Quirrell will be your Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

As Harry forced himself to smile and offered his hand to the professor who would be known as Quirrellmort he made sure not to look in his eyes. As he engaged in a polite conversation he noticed that unlike last time Quirrell was avoiding touching him, it was like he was afraid to get a sickness from Harry. The crowd soon swept Quirrell away as they all tried to get a piece of their savior. It took ten minutes for the crowd to get away from him and in the end it was Hagrid who saved the day, by this point Harry was having trouble not fleeing let alone hexing everyone in range.

"Sorry everyone must get goin', lots her buy. Come on, Harry." He said said while putting a hand on Harry's shoulder.

A little old lady shook Harry's hand one last time, before letting Hagrid lead his away from the bar and into a small, walled courtyard, with only some trash and a few weeds.

Hagrid grinned at Harry while patting him on the back.

"Told yeh you was famous. You looked a little overwhelmed there Harry."

"Yeah, I don't like being crowded in like that it means there's no escape route." Harry said without thinking.

"Escape route? Don't worry Harry I don' think it will happen again. They were just a little overenthusiastic. Remember you saved them all from You-Know-Who. This is their first chance to thank you, it won't be so bad next time."

'Great, next time' Harry thought sarcastically to himself. Maybe next time he ought to bring a rabid dog.

"Three up... two across..." Hagrid muttered as he ushered Harry back.

He tapped the wall on three different stones with his umbrella.

As he put his umbrella away the stones wriggled as they moved to form an archway large enough for the both of them to go through. As Diagon Alley shown through the archway Harry couldn't help the huge smile that crossed his face. This Diagon Alley was the deserted place of the last time he had visited. This one was the vibrant one that he remembered from his first visit.

"Welcome, to Diagon Alley." Hagrid said in his booming voice, while smiling at Harry's amazement.


A/N: Again thanks to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and alerted. If you have any suggestions sent them to me. I recommend checking out the dedications. I will try to add another chapter soon.