I won't keep you waiting any longer than needed so enjoy the story.
italics= Thoughts.
italics+bold= Telekinesis
Disclaimer: As always I do not own Harry Potter and it makes me sad.
ENJOY
Harry left the marbled halls of Gringotts with his hood pulled up, head slightly bowed and a plan slowly taking shape as he went along. Once he was in Diagon Alley proper he made a straight shot for Knocturn Alley making sure his hood partially concealed his face. As he made his way through the darker Alley Harry passed many a wayward character lurking about. The old toothless hag from the last time he was here the summer before his second year was still bustling about, peddling various dark arts supplies. Out of the corner of his eye Harry noticed an unnatural shimmer being given off by some of them, but when he looked straight on there was nothing. He would have given it more thought but his mind was preoccupied with the task at hand and mulling over the information given to him by Goblin Shecklenum. He saw the shop that he was told about by Griphook while they were visiting Harry's vault and stopped with his hand just a few inches away from the round handle, turned rusty with age. Harry took those few seconds to contemplate the wisdom in making such a rash and admittedly dangerous choice, but then he remembered what had been done to him and how much power the person/people who did had at their disposal, and with that realization he walked in. The store itself looked like it was dingy on its best day, and today certainly wasn't its best. It was bigger on the inside, as with most dwellings in the magical world with low lighting and an abundance of cobwebs. Most of the walls were lines with bookcases holding up dusty tomes filled with brittle pages turned yellow by time. Random items stood atop wooden pedestals. There was the oddly shaped vase with what looked to be some long dead language scratched onto its surface, a glass slipper with a wicked gleam to it of all things and at the center of the room, on a pedestal so reinforced with magic that even Harry could see it was a large obsidian tablet. Harry was mesmerized by the low hum of pure...magic emanating from every corner of this place till a rough clearing of a throat snapped him out of it. He looked to his left and spotted the owner standing behind a counter. He was a scruffy little man with short graying dark-brown hair, a bald spot and a pronounced scowl. He looked up and glared at Harry as he made his way further into the establishment.
"Can I help you?" The owner asked in a harsh scratchy voice to match his appearance. He had odd yellow eyes that were too round and too bright to be human, or at least completely human.
"Yes" Harry said calmly in a voice that sounded much smoother than it normally did. "I need a number of unwanted enchantments removed from my person. I was advised to use a qualified, my apologies a certified healer but then I would have a record with the Ministry…. I'd rather they not know what I'm up to. I hear tell from the goblins that you're the best man for the job…outside of Ministry jurisdiction that is"
"Why exactly is it that you do not want the Ministry to know you are having those spells removed?"
"I'd rather not discuss that right now…let's just say, it would not do well for certain people to know what I know." Harry replied icily.
"...who are you?" The shop owner asked, his yellow eyes narrowing as he observed Harry closely. Immediately Harry attempted to raise his Occlumency built defenses but no attack came. It seemed this strange dark man had at least this bit of decency about him. Harry felt a wary bit of respect blossom.
"..."
"...Of course. I must warn you though...it will be pricy, and once the cow's been milked there's no squirting the cream back up her utters. Since you are being so secretive I'm guessing you were not made aware of these...enchantments till just recently. Depending on what's been done to ya, you may not like what you become afterwards. Ignorance as they say, is bliss" He breathed fixing Harry with a skeptical look that immediately changed to an appraising one as Harry dumped a sizable amount of galleons on the counter.
"Will that do?"
The shop owner drew his wand faster than Harry could have thought, and gave it a sharp flick. The gold organized itself into neat piles and a small strip of parchment appeared. The shop owner glanced at the slip. "It will." The owner smiled evilly. It sent a small shiver up and down Harry's spine. The gruff looking man raised his wand and began muttering an incantation in a language that Harry did not recognize. He felt a sharp pain shoot through his body starting from his scar. Harry could tell when the tracking charms were removed because they left behind a calming sensation. Like that nagging feeling of being watched was alleviated before he was even aware of it being there...then down came the power blocks.
Something deep inside Harry snapped very nearly breaking him in half, and suddenly the dam broke, the great force of the weight it held back rushing forth. Harry felt a tingling begin from his fingertips then steadily spread through his body. Every cell of his being began to hum and Harry felt himself getting hotter and hotter. The room was getting brighter and brighter, chasing away the shadows. The low hum of magic in the room raised to an audible buzz. Harry wondered where the source of all this light was coming from till he realized...it was him. The bottom of his stomach fell out and he raised his head skyward.
Harry screamed. He screamed and screamed till his voice broke, his throat bloodied and he fell to his knees. Then, he felt the flush of power. It was the most intoxicating sensation Harry had ever experienced. The sheer force of it weighed on him. He let out a hard breath and he could see it. The kaleidoscopic swirl of colors was mesmerizing. He could feel the wash of foreign and familiar magic reassert itself within him, falling back into place, completing a puzzle that Harry wasn't even aware was unfinished. His body and magic were one again. Harry had a feeling that if he willed it, his magic would make it happen. He felt alive...He felt powerful.
'This must be what Voldemort feels like everyday...'
It was with that thought that Harry snapped back to himself. He realized that he was back on his feet...no, still on his feet. The falling, the screaming...the light...it was all in his head.
"Hmm… I see someone was keeping tabs on you. Those were exceptionally complex tracking charms placed upon you, only a very powerful witch or wizard could have performed them." The man scrutinized Harry, frowning slightly. "There are power blocks as well." He began to chant again. When the shop owner stopped chanting the pain ebbed away and Harry felt a great pressure lift from his shoulders. He felt his magical core surge with the new found power as he dropped his hood releasing his dirty blonde shoulder length hair; he no longer had the scar on his forehead. The yellow eyes of the shop owner fixed with eyes of deep blue and Harry raised his rudimentary mental shields to full strength as he felt the telltale push of Legilimency. Harry took no offense to the attempted intrusion and simply willed his magic to brush the attack aside. The shop owner surveyed Harry with a calculating glare.
"I see you're one for getting straight to the point." Harry said fixing the shop owner with one of his own calculating looks.
"Who are you?" The man asked once more suspicion coloring his words.
"Gregor Evans, and you?" replied Harry steeping closer towards the counter and holding out his hand to the other man bending into a slight bow.
The shop owner took a moment longer observing him before grasping Harry's hand and replying "Fallius Eckle." Inclining his head slightly.
"Well Master Eckle, I thank you for your services. I hope if and when you are needed once more I can call upon you."
Fallius gave Harry another appraising look then mumbled "We shall see."
Harry looked into his eyes again. Not meaning to, there was a twinge of pressure behind his right eye and he plainly saw the image of mounds of gold falling into Eckle's hands. This bit of insight into the man's expectations didn't faze him in the slightest. If money was what it took to have such an obviously skilled and powerful wizard on his side then that was what he would give. He had too much of it anyhow. And Harry was sure that before long he would need to do things that would not sit well with his wholesome friends in order to get from under Dumbldore's thumb.
Harry left the shop and Knocturn Alley back onto Diagon with a more selfish and frivolous purpose in mind. He was going to shop till he couldn't stand it. If he had to take on the role of an aristocrat he needed to look the part. First stop Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. As he was making his way down the alley someone bumped into him with the force of a speeding brick wall, rushing in the other direction.
"Sorry dude." The young man called back with an accent Harry had only ever heard on the telly, never breaking stride for a moment. Harry never got a chance to see his face, just a wild bush of reddish-brown curls as he entered what looked to be Flourish & Blotts.
The moment he entered the clothing shop rubbing his sore but already healing shoulder Harry was accosted by Madame Malkin herself.
"Good afternoon, how may I be of service dear?"
"Hello Madame, I would like to purchase a whole new wardrobe."
"Alright then, what sort of budget are we working with my dear?"
"Money is no object; I put my faith completely in your capable hands." Harry said bowing his head slightly to her flashing her a charming Sirius worthy smile.
"Oh, well, very well then please come with me." Madame Malkin smiled ushering Harry over to a fitting stool and standing him on it. She suddenly got a serious, focused look on her face, there was no denying it, Madame Malkin was in her element.
"Alright we'll begin with your standard robes, I assume you're still at Hogwarts then?"
Harry nodded.
"Ok we'll keep the standard frame and add a bit of more to it...let's see a bit of black velvet trimming will give them that extra boldness. They will stand out but only to enhance your appearance. Now the tie, what house are you my dear?"
"Gryffindor."
"Ah excellent, high quality red satin with gold dusting. It will be fabulous! Now the dress robes, I would recommend Acromantula silk, it's the softest yet most durable fabric. Well suited for standing up to the wear and tear of student life. Let's go with a dark green to make those blue eyes pop...Is that you're natural hair color dear?" she asked pointing to Harry's blonde locks with a spark of mischief in her eyes.
"Oh, no." Harry laughed nervously. He looked around to make sure no one was paying attention.
"Oh no need to worry dear." Malkin tittered pointing down at the stool under Harry's feet. "Proximity activated Notice-Me-Not perception filters. Even if they were looking you right in the eyes no one would know you were standing there. Top of the line privacy.
"That's brilliant! But how come you can see me?" asked Harry.
Madame Malkin lifted a seashell necklace that was hanging around her neck. "This little beauty is spelled to key my senses into every dressing stool in this establishment. The other shop employees have one as well though they can only see a customer if they are the ones doing the individual's fitting.
Harry whistled looking thoroughly impressed.
"I know."
"This is a new feature right? I don't recall not being able to see the other customers last time I was here." said Harry thinking back.
"Oh no, it was only implemented a fortnight ago. Courtesy of a rather odd young man. He spoke of such wonderful nonsense. Thin as a rail with a doozy of a chin. He had a rather unhealthy obsession with bow ties. Not a galleon to his name but fabulous hair mind you so I went along with it. Haven't regretted the decision since...Now, hair color dear?"
"Oh." Harry began concentrating and changing it back to its original black messy state. His eyes brightened to their usual vivid green and the scar reasserted itself in the middle of his forehead.
"Ah, I thought not Mr. Potter...If I must say, that is an impressive bit of wandless magic you've mastered. I have been clothing your family for three generations now so I know you aren't a metamorphmagus. It must come in handy when you don't want to be noticed."
"How the bloody hell did you know it was me. Matter of fact how did you know I was hiding?" asked Harry.
Madame Malkin laughed.
"Oh my dear, when you've been in this business as long as I have you develop a sixth sense for these things."
"Alright but how did you know I wasn't using a glamour?"
"The nose knows" Malkin replied tapping the side of her nose with a finger and winking, "now how about a delicate midnight blue, how do you feel about white?...good then we'll do an off-white with gold trimming...what are your thoughts on polka dots"
Harry kept his mouth shut and stared at her.
"Oh very well. No polka dots. " Malkin sulked pouting a bit. "One of these days Im going to convince you fashionless victims that polka dots are it." she quipped snapping her fingers to emphasize the last word.
"Can you put Auto-fitting charms on the robes?"
"No problem dear. Now about cloaks..." Madame Malkin continued on in this manner for another two hours suggesting styles, patterns, colors, trimming and added features. By the time she was done with him Harry had 5 new school robes, 14 dress robes, 6 work robes, 15 cloaks with matching hats, scarves, and gloves (all outfitted with temperature sensitive stasis charms). 25 sweaters all with temperature stabilization charms, and 10 pairs of trainers that went well with them.
"Ok dear your purchases will be ready in about 2 hours."
"Thank you Madame." Harry said, more than a bit exhausted and ready to flee this den of fabric flinging insanity.
Harry got off the stool and walked out of the shop breathing a sigh of relief. After a tick he began making his way to Ewelop's Owl Emporium, where he purchased Hedwig a bag of their most expensive Owl treats. He also bought her a new cage that was self-cleaning. Next Harry bought a brand new trunk; the store clerk said it had five compartments. The first one was just like a normal trunk for his school things, the second compartment was a combat room the size of Gryffindor common room, the third compartment was a one bedroom flat with bathroom and kitchen. The kitchen came with a refrigerator that came fully stocked and had a refilling charm on it, when he asked about that particular feature the store clerk informed Harry that the food was provided through a grocer in Glasgow. A monthly maintenance fee would be deducted from Harry's Gringott's account based on what and how often the refrigerator was restocked. The apartment's window could show you any skyline you wanted to see. The fourth compartment was a potions lab that was stocked with basic potion ingredients that had preservation and replenishing charms on them, also provided through the Magical Menagerie. This particular feature came with a two-way parchment pad. All Harry would need to do was fill out a request form for any potion ingredient that wasn't included in the lab storage and the Menagerie would reply with the ingredient's availability and pricing. All the compartments except for the first one were all interconnected and came with a limited built-in time turner feature that could be controlled from within. Harry inquired about the extent of the time turner's capabilities and was told that set to maximum he could spend an entire 24 hours in the trunk and only an hour would have passed in real time. He could spend nearly an entire month inside his trunk and only have been gone a day. The trunk also included Imperturbable charms, and a wide range of powerful protection spells on it. It cost close to 800 thousand galleons but Harry had the feeling it would be worth it. He stopped by Flourish and Blott's to look at journals. He learned that the heads of all the prominent houses kept journals for future descendants to learn from. When he finally left the book store he was carrying several thick journals which he carried in his pocket after the store owner shrunk them after taking pity on him. Harry thanked him but held a sneaking suspicion that he may have been able to do it on his own.
As Harry made his way back to Madame Malkin's he swore that the first thing he was going to do was learn how to shrink objects wandlessly. He walked into the cllothing store and became extremely confused.
"Ah good to see you're a punctual one, just give me a minute while I finish up with this young man right here." Madame Malkin said as Harry made his way to her. She was currently pinning up robes for a boy that looked to be Harry's age and height. He had lightly tanned skin, curly reddish-brown hair, a rugged handsome face that was dotted with a number of freckles, and pale blue eyes. He currently had a look of utter annoyance etched onto his features.
"Madame Malkin?" Harry called, grabbing her attention as he stared the young man up and down.
"Yes dear?"
"I thought you said that there were Notice-Me-Not perception filter charms on those stools"
"That's right there are. Why do you ask?" Malkin's eyes narrowed as she watched Harry watching the young man, who looked to be getting confused by the exchange.
"You can see him can't you?"
"Yes I can."
"Oh wonderful. These charms haven't even been in use a month and they're already in need of repair. Ah well...Alright my dear that's you done. As for you young man I'll be right back with your order." Madame Malkin said to the boy then Harry, sparing a second to eye his hair which he had changed back to it's shoulder length blond.
The curly haired young man stepped off the stool and sent a small smile Harry's way. "Sooo, that was odd but I swear by all that is good and decent in this world, if she says 'dear' one more time I'm going to hex her into next week." The boy exclaimed rolling his eyes skyward. Harry bit back a laugh but a snort escaped before he could catch it. The boy turned his full attention to Harry. At a closer look Harry found that this boy was taller than him by an inch with broader shoulders. There was something else about him that was familiar. Harry realized...
"Hey. You're the bloke that nearly ran me over in the Alley back there."
"Oh, Yea...sorry about that dude, I was in kind of a rush. I didn't hurt you did I?" The young man asked, genuine concern coloring his voice and posture.
"No, Im peachy. Just caught off guard a bit." Harry said looking at some hanging fabric as he discreetly eyed the other young man...there was something about him. It put Harry on edge but there was definitely something about the aura around him that was trying to put Harry at ease.
"I'm Kristopher, Kristopher Winters by the by." The young man said smiling and holding out his hand for Harry to shake. Kristopher had an obvious American accent Harry decided, but it was punctuated with a light southern slur.
"Gregor Evans." Harry replied grasping his hand and giving it a firm, steady shake just as he had overheard Uncle Vernon telling Dudley when two men were greeting each other. 'A man should have a strong handshake, any man that doesn't is probably a filthy bender and deserves a good thrashing'. Vernon had lectured to a barely listening Dudley. Harry fought to keep his eyes from rolling as the memory surfaced. Only Vernon Dursley could manage to turn a wholesome father/son moment into an excuse to spread his special brand of hate...but he was getting distracted.
"Are you really?" Kristopher asked his eyes sharpening with amused suspicion. For a fraction of a second they flashed toward Harry's forehead then back to look him in the eye. "It's nice to meet you."
"Likewise." Harry gave him an appraising look. He had a nagging feeling Kristopher knew exactly who he was, but since they had never met before he let it pass "Are you Hogwarts?"
"Yes, this is going to be my first year."
"Really? You don't look 11." Harry said tilting his head to the side in confusion.
The boy called Kristopher chuckled. "No I'm going to be in...sixth year I believe. I just moved to England with my Uncles a couple weeks ago. Honestly the whole European educational system structure is a bit confusing from where I'm from."
"Where are you from?"
"Baltimore." Kristopher announced proudly.
"I, uh, where is that?" asked a very confused Harry.
"In North East America. Actually, I lived in Baltimore but I attended the New Salem Academy of Magic. Uncle Yurric got transferred though so now I'm here." Kristopher finished bitterly.
"You don't sound too happy about that." Harry offered cautiously.
"Well duh!" he muttered heatedly "I basically had to give up my entire life. All my friends, to be honest there weren't that many but the few I did have were the best of the best. And then not to mention all my classes. And on top of all that I'm not allowed to use magic outside of school. I mean seriously? How fucking lame is that? No magic outside of school? How do they expect us to retain anything we learned all year? And ya know I bet that rule was only put into place for the students from non-magical families. But of course backward ass Great Britain has to make it so the rest of us have to suffer...aaand Im babbling. Sorry. I tend to do that sometimes, especially if Im nervous. And usually my right hand Bella would have told me to shut my face by now but she'd not here and I am still going. Im gonna shut up now."
"You're allowed to use magic outside of school in America?" Harry asked, his interest suddenly piqued. He found Kristopher's babbling to be very charming and it put him at ease. He was just a kid...Just Kris in a brand new place and completely hating it...
'Lucky bastard'
"Oh sure. The American Ministry is very lax when it comes to underage magic. They feel it's important to a child's magical development and what not. They don't care if you use magic outside of classes, as long as it's not unregistered dark magic and its not used around or on Non-Magicals, or rather muggles." Kristopher said.
"Unregistered Dark magic?"
"Yea. That's another thing that America is waaayy better about than this place. There are families that openly practice Dark Magic. It's registered with the Federal Ministry and loosely monitored. In New York City the Upper West Side is one giant Dark Magic community."
"That's soo..."
"Modern? Cool? Humane?"
"Weird. Dark magic is illegal here. What they teach us about it makes us think that even just dabbling makes you evil."
"There are definitely some families that go...insane with the power, but the same could be said of Light magic. I suppose it's all about perspective." said Kristopher watching Harry's reactions carefully.
Harry shrugged. There was a small part of him that was curious about the workings of Dark magic, but he had seen too much damage done by it to seriously consider dabbling.
At that moment Madame Malkin appeared with Harry's purchases.
"Here you are deary" Madame Malkin said handing him a single thin leather bag with the shop name printed in an elaborate blue design. Harry was confused for a minute before he remembered. Magic...makes things bigger on the inside.
Harry thanked her then turned back to Kristopher.
"It was really nice meeting you, unfortunately I must be off , maybe I could owl you sometimes, so we could continue our discussion…you do know about owling right?"
"Please. of course I know about owling" Kristopher shot back a look of amused annoyance on his face. "We yanks aren't complete barbarians you know." He teased in what was obviously his best British accent with a smile on his face.
Harry laughed back good naturedly. "Well until we meet again. Good day Mr. Winters ."
"Jeez." Kristopher cringed. "Mr. Winters is my Uncle, call me Kris".
"I'll be seeing you then Kris".
"Until we meet again Gregor Evans". Kris said shooting Harry a quick wink while going into a sweeping bow with that horrible British accent. Harry laughed a little nervously.
'Yea, he knows...but how?'
Harry turned to enter Diagon Alley again. Once outside in the sunlight again he decided to put the Kristopher Winters mystery to rest. He should really be making his way home, the only problem was his adamant refusal to ride the Knight Bus back to Little Whinging. Harry watched as witches and wizards made their way to and from the apparition point close to the Leaky Cauldron entrance. He smiled recalling a bit of information he recovered during one of his Occlumency exercises. Harry walked over to the apparition point, turned on the spot and disappeared.
A/N: So there you have it the third chapter. I gotta say I had way too much fun writing these characters, particularly Madame Malkin. And the funny thing was all of the things she said just kind of poured out, it took me about five minutes to write her bit. Does anyone reading this recognize the references I made in this chapter? lol, like I said way too much fun. I hope you all liked it as well. As always REVIEW! It helps me write faster, not to mention thorough reviews help keep me focused.
-Aubrey
