July 31st, 1988
"Boy! Get up!"
Harry shot up, shaking violently as he remembered his life at the Dursleys. Ever since Remus had taken him away from his horrible relatives he had nightmares on the night before his birthday and would wake up violently. He checked his alarm clock and saw it was 5:15 in the morning. Thinking that he rather wouldn't wake up like that again, he started getting ready for the day.
As he put on his training outfit, he started listing in his mind what he needed to do once he got to Diagon Alley. He would need to get money from Gringotts, where he would get to see a goblin for the first time in his life. He realized that today he would be doing a lot of wizarding things for the first time of his life, since he was finally reentering the Wizarding World.
Once he had money he wanted to check out the bookshop, since it would probably be the longest stop of the day. He wanted books on every subject to start getting ready for his magical education, not only that but he also just wanted to read more about the Wizarding World in general, since it was the world he belonged to. He tried to pester Remus about what books he would need, but Remus only said that he would leave him on his own in the shop and let him search the shelves by himself. His reasons were that Harry needed to form his own opinion about the various subjects of magic, the informational value of books and what he needed to start his magical education, like he did in the Muggle world. Harry agreed immediately, thinking this kind of stimulation from his guardian was his way to prevent 'sheep' as Remus always so fondly says. 'Sheep' are what the bigger part of the Wizarding World consists of, according to Remus. Since the people ignore to form their own opinions and just go along with the prejudice that exists in the Wizarding World.
He also wanted to take a look at brooms and books about Quidditch. Remus had told him several things about his parents, including the fact that his father was a Quidditch player. This of course entailed all there was about the sport, with brooms; how did they fly ("Magic, duh!"), the broomsport itself; how many and which players there were and of course which position his father player. It's not that he wanted to have his own broom, since it wasn't possible to fly anyway; it's that he saw this as a thing to connect with his father. Knowing he had loved flying gave Harry the incentive to do well on a broom. Remus couldn't deny his charge any attempt at connecting to his parents so he quickly agreed and tried to come up with a way for Harry to learn how to fly.
He had negotiated with Remus to check out Knockturn Alley. When his uncle described Diagon Alley and tried to swallow the word 'knockturn', Harry tried his best to harvest every bit of knowledge about that part of the alley that Remus had. Remus, knowing he would never survive the continuous questions of a curious Harry, agreed to tell him about it on the condition that he would not go down that alley by himself. Harry for his part, agreed reluctantly since he wanted to know why Remus tried to deny him knowledge of something. As the first words came out of Remus' mouth, he was immediately interrupted by his charge….
"Knockturn Alley is a dark alley….." Remus started but Harry of course interrupted when anything was in any way unclear.
"What do you mean 'dark' alley? How can an alley be 'dark'? Is it that there isn't enough sunlight, are the buildings that high? Doesn't the alley have any lights, torches, or whatever you use for such a thing?" His 'nephew' asked him before he could continue.
Harry had taken to calling Remus 'uncle Remus' sometimes and as a result, Remus had started seeing and calling him his nephew.
Remus sighed, his charge really was intelligent. But sometimes it was hard on Remus when every misconception of wording or phrases was bombarded with questions where Remus usually had to reply 'it just is'. As usual, his nephew was correct, an alley can't be dark but Remus had at least some information on which way to continue.
"The alley isn't dark exactly, it's just that in that alley, several shops and vendors sell dark items. Items such as books on dark magic, magical paraphernalia such as cursed items, potion ingredients such as blood of a virgin, whores, slaves and who knows what else is sold there. These things are considered dark because they are frowned upon or even illegal in the eyes of the Ministry of Magic. There are more shops, places to stay overnight and other things for the 'dark wizard'. The alley can be a dangerous place, at night especially which is when most business takes place there. People are robbed, raped and killed in that alley if they aren't careful which is why it is not a place for a child to be wandering alone," Remus explained warningly.
Harry, though warned excessively, still hadn't lost his interest and couldn't wait to see the place. Though he knew Remus was not prejudiced, the ministry certainly was and Harry couldn't imagine why such a place would exist if it was all bad. He suspected that the alley would have things that the ministry would rather keep from the general public and prevented this by promoting the bad image of the infamous Knockturn Alley. The fact that the shops there were still open and running even with such a reputation meant that they would be selling quality things where people are loyal customers. Harry kept his musings to himself for Remus, though not prejudiced, would keep hammering the subject until he was pissing in his pants so to speak.
'If I recounted all the stories Remus has told about Diagon and Knockturn Alley, I should be able to make my way through there with my eyes closed', Harry thought. But he knew that the place would be something that he would have to take in for himself, some things just aren't possible to describe with words. He had already spoken about returning to the alley every once in a while to shop for new books, keep up with the wizarding news and other stuff available there. But to Harry, it was mainly a way to stay in the Wizarding World, his world.
Harry finished his stretches and run fairly quickly, and after a few sit-ups and pushups he decided to get a shower. Though he wasn't old enough to start a full training schedule because he was still growing, Remus had told him that it was important to keep up the strength of ones body. At first, it was a simple way to counteract four years of malnourishment, since it had resulted in some small growth failure. Growth at young age is very important, since it determines the growth of the body in the future years. Remus had discreetly consulted a healer and she advised some nutrient potions and lots of exercise. But after a year, when he was back on the average growth schedule, he decided to continue with his body training and chose to play some sports. He was only six at that time so it was a surprise that Remus agreed to let him choose for himself. He joined a martial arts sport called Tai Chi to improve his movements and soccer for team sport and conditional training. When his uncle told him that any sort of sport besides Quidditch and broom racing was alien in the Wizarding World, Harry wondered why they weren't all a bunch of fat people. When he asked that question, his werewolf guardian shot in a fit of laughter and after a few minutes gave his standard reply to such a question; "Magic."
When Harry excited the shower dry and clean he walked to the mirror to make his hair somewhat manageable for the day. He put in his Muggle contact lenses and the moment he saw his reflection, he screamed with all his might to hopefully do some serious damage to his uncle's werewolf hearing;
"AAAAAAAAAAH….. REMUS! GET YOUR WOLF ARSE HERE RIGHT NOW!"
Remus entered his nephews bedroom with a way to smug grin on his sleepy face and replied without missing a beat;
"What? Don't you like it?"
His normally black-haired, green-eyed nephew was now sporting longer blond hair and hazel brown eyes which reminded the werewolf of the eyes of the father of his charge. When he saw his charge was not amused with this latest prank which violated the pact made a few months back about shampoos and other personal care products, he started to explain.
"It's just a potion to hide your appearance for today in Diagon and a charm on your contacts. You'll get the cure potion when we get back tonight and I'll take of the charm. We don't want to let headmaster Dumbledore know you're in my care before we have to. I'll be hiding my own appearance under a glamour charm but since some people can see through those things, I had to think of something better for you. You look like the ultimate version of a pureblood scion, you should be proud of the way you look right now"
"I like my own look just fine, thank you very much," Harry replied. "But I suppose for a day it isn't too much of a problem," he said as he tied his long hair behind his back in a tail. He just hoped he wouldn't attract too much attention to himself with his new looks.
As Remus went back to his room to wash up for the day, Harry went downstairs to prepare breakfast for them. They didn't really have tasks in the house, just the normal 'clean up your room' order every now and then only when his room was full of open books and notes from his studies. But Harry saw it as a responsibility as a member of this 'family?'….. 'house?'….. Remus agreed to teach him the basics and left Harry by himself after that to develop his skills and ever since Harry had taken to cooking with regularity, whether breakfast, lunch or dinner didn't matter to him. He just wanted to be part of the household, and not a burden for his uncle to sustain his every need. Remus of course left him to his own devices saying it was never necessary to do these things since he would have to do them for himself anyway.
And so Harry had taken to being familiar in the kitchen or becoming 'a chef fit for kings' as Remus usually would say when eating his cooking. Harry had noticed that Remus usually found other things to do during the time when food would have to be prepared to get Harry in the kitchen, but in his eyes it was only another compliment to his skills.
Breakfast passed without incident and Harry started to get up until Remus decided to broach a subject which had been bothering him since he woke up from his nephew's screaming.
"Harry?" He started and motioned for him to stay sitting at the table while he himself got up and moved towards him.
"Happy eighth birthday, kid." Remus started rather apprehensively Harry noted while he hugged his uncle.
"There is something we have to discuss," Remus continued. "You know that I promised you that you could start your magical education when you turned eight but there is more to it then that. You are a Potter, which is an old pureblood family in the Wizarding World. It's not that the Potter men were or are pureblood fanatics; it's just that they found witches as their companion and as such stayed a pureblood family with its values and morals intact. You know when I explained that you're classified as a half-blood since your mother had non-magical parents?"
Harry nodded.
Remus continued, still apprehensively. "Well since you are a Potter, you have a choice regarding your wizarding education. I've always let you search your own way through your studies and only involved myself in keeping you up to speed about the normal Muggle education you would receive in school. But now that we are reentering the Wizarding World, I could teach you as you should be educated as a Potter, a pureblood scion of an old family. When you reach 17, the age of majority in the Wizarding World, you are eligible to take up the title of 'Lord Potter', which is the head of the Potter family. Would you like that?"
Harry thought about it and always gave a lot value to his surname since it was another highly valued way to connect to his parents. Though he was given the option to take the name Lupin when his uncle adopted him, Remus was in full support of him keeping the Potter name saying it was a birthright that he should keep.
"What would such an education entail?" Harry replied.
"I'm not entirely sure about everything because I wasn't raised as a pureblood scion of the Lupin family since I was bitten at the age of 9, but I know of some things. The education usually starts when a child starts displaying accidental magic, when they recognize the child as an heir since they know he isn't a squib. Usually this happens at the age of 8 or 9. You were already displaying accidental magic before you were one year old and even if you didn't your parents recognized you as an heir a few days after you were born."
Remus took a deep breath before going on with his explanation.
"The education is part of the raising process of an heir to teach the child about the way he should walk, talk, eat and manage family affairs. He will learn wizarding customs such as fencing, dancing for wizarding balls and pureblood etiquette for their posture and dueling. He or she must usually learn to speak one or several languages and learn of their family history, who they are related to, which ancestors are to be proud of and which they should be ashamed of. They will be given an heir ring and will be given access to the family grimoire at the age of eleven after they are taught rudimentary Occlumency."
"Occlumency?" Harry enquired eager for more knowledge.
"Yes Occlumency. It is one of the mind arts. Occlumency is the art of protecting ones' mind from external penetration through the offending mind art 'Legilimency'. A wizard capable of this, or a Legilimens if you will, can access ones memories and surface thoughts by looking into ones' eyes. Occlumency organizes the mind in a way where it will be easier to retain knowledge and keep your and your family's secrets under lock and key by placing one or several barriers around your mind with magic. Even though performing Legilimency on a minor is illegal, there are several well-known figures in the Wizarding World who use it discreetly on a regular basis. One of those known figures is headmaster Albus Dumbledore. It has been in practice for many centuries to teach ones' heir Occlumency to protect the secrets of a family." Remus finished with a slightly disapproving tone. He didn't want to set Harry against his old headmaster but he should know of the facts to be able to make his own opinion of the man.
"And you are capable of teaching me these things, even though you weren't raised to be an heir?" There was no doubt Harry's voice as he asked this, only mild curiosity as to how his uncle would have learned these things.
"Not all of them and there might be more to raising an heir of a pureblood family, but we'll think of something if you decide you want to learn these things," Remus replied.
"I think it would be best if I did," he started. "Even though I'm not sure that I want to take up the title of the head of the family, the education and etiquette required can only be a positive part in my own magical education." Harry answered with a thoughtful look on his face.
"Very well. I'll ask the manager of the bookstore in Diagon Alley and perhaps we might find something in Knockturn Alley today about pureblood customs and teachings. Though I'm not sure where in Knockturn we'll have to look," Remus said with plans forming in the back of his head.
Harry, recognizing the look on his uncle's face, decided to change the subject slightly and asked how they were going to get to Diagon Alley.
"We'll take the bus, it's not that far and parking in central London is impossible." Remus replied with a mysterious grin on his face.
After breakfast was cleared, they left their apartment in the south of London and walked towards the bus stop. As Harry was reaching the bench to sit down and wait for the bus, Remus motioned for him to keep standing and approach the curb next to the street.
"Are you ready to enter the Wizarding World kid?" Remus asked his nephew with glee, this would prove one of the things he could get over his charges' knowledge.
Harry, eager to match his uncle's enthousiasm, nodded energetically and was surprised when Remus took out his wand and raised it in the air.
"Bang!" The next second a triple-decker bus stood before him on the street and a young man stepped out with a card in front of his face from which he started to read. "Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard. Just stick out your wand, step on board, and we can take you anywhere you want to go. My name is Stan Shunpike, and I will be your conductor this evening." (1) Then he noticed his intended passengers, though Harry with still a slightly dazed look on his face. "Hello good sirs, where are you off to?"
Remus, seeing his charges state, decided to answer for them. "To the Leaky Cauldron please, Stan."
"Al'ight good sirs, that'll be eleven sickles each. For firteen you get 'ot chocolate, and for fifteen you get an 'ot-water bottle an' a toofbrush in the colour of your choice." (1)
Remus paid the man just the one galleon and five sickles, knowing he had explained wizarding money to nephew so he wouldn't attract attention in his pureblood looks but without knowledge of wizarding money. The werewolf shook his charge out of his stupor and stepped on the bus.
Harry looked around and saw that there were no seats; instead, half a dozen brass bedsteads stood beside the curtained windows. Candles were burning in brackets beside each bed, illuminating the wood-panelled walls. There was no-one else in the bus on this level at least, which wasn't odd considering it was still around 8 in the morning. (1)
"You two have these," Stan said and pointed at the two beds behind the driver who was sitting on an armchair behind the steering wheel. "This is our driver, Ernie Prang. Take it away, Ern."
Ernie Prang, an elderly wizard wearing very thick glasses, nodded to Stan and stepped on the throttle. There was another tremendous bang, and the next moment Harry found himself flat on his bed, thrown backwards by the speed of the Knight bus. (1) He looked toward Remus and Stan for any signs of panic because of some malfunction and saw them looking back at him with signs of great enjoyment. He looked outside and saw that they were practically gliding through the streets and traffic in a neighbourhood unknown to Harry.
"How come the Muggles don't see us?" Harry asked.
"Them!" said Stan contemptuously. "Don' look properly, do they? Never notice nuffink, they don'." (1)
Harry was still looking out of the window, feeling increasingly nervous. Ernie didn't seem to have mastered the use of a steering wheel. The Knight Bus kept mounting the pavement, but it didn't hit anything; lines of lampposts, mailboxes, and trash cans jumped out of its way as it approached and back into position once it had passed. (1)
Ern slammed on the brakes and the Knight Bus skidded to a halt in front of a small and shabby-looking pub, the Leaky Cauldron.
"Thanks," Remus said to Ern and Stan and motioned for Harry to follow him into the pub. As they entered the tiny grubby-looking pub, Harry got the chance to look around before they moved on. There weren't many people in the pub, just some sleepy looking characters munching quietly on their breakfast and the old bartender, who was quite bald and looked like a toothless walnut. The customers in pub were rather nosy, because as soon as they had entered, people seemed to look up and check out who the new people were. Remus, eager to avoid unnecessary attention, nodded to the bartender and walked towards the back with a haughty stride, matching the expectations of the stereotypes they looked like. Harry tried to do the same, but had the feeling he failed miserably when he heard the bartender chuckle behind him. At the back of the bar they entered a small courtyard and Harry watched curiously as his uncle tapped the wall three times with his wand in places Harry memorized immediately. He watched in wonder as the bricks quivered and a hole appeared which grew wider and wider, a second later they were facing an archway onto a cobbled street that twisted and turned out of sight. (2)
"Welcome," said Remus, "to Diagon Alley." (2)
He grinned at his nephews' amazement. They stepped through the archway. Harry looked quickly over his shoulder and saw the archway shrink instantly back into solid wall. (2)
There were shops, all along the street, the nearest one with a stack of cauldrons outside. A sign saying 'Cauldrons — All Sizes — Copper, Brass, Pewter, Silver — Self-Stirring — Collapsible' hanging outside the shop. (2)
Remus, noticing his charge looking at the cauldrons, answered the question that was probably on his lips.
"Potions Harry, cauldrons of different sorts are used for the creation of potions. We'll get one for you to practice at home but I'll probably have to ward a room in the apartment against accidents before you can start alright?"
Harry nodded, still speechless from the sights in the Alley. He wished he had about eight more eyes, the Alley was larger than he had expected and everything was even more amazing than the stories his uncle had told him. There weren't many people milling about which wasn't strange, considering the early hour. There was an apothecary which was next to the cauldron shop which he supposed were for ingredients and potions itself. A low, soft hooting came from a dark shop with a sign saying 'Eyelops Owl Emporium — Tawny, Screech, Barn, Brown, and Snowy'. Next to it was a window with broomsticks on display. There were so many shops, he didn't know if even he could memorize this before he went to Hogwarts! There were shops selling robes, telescopes together with silver instruments Harry had never seen before, windows stacked with barrels of bat spleens and eels' eyes, tottering piles of spell books, quills and rolls of parchment, potion bottles, globes of the moon… (2)
It was then that Harry had the idea to look how much more shops there were further down the street and saw it. It was assuredly the most imposing building of the alley. It was very large and towering over the little shops with snow white, polished walls and burnished bronze doors. Next to the door was a small but fierce looking creature that Harry had never seen before.
"Gringotts, Harry. And that is indeed a goblin you are staring so rudely at," Remus answered Harry's inquisitive look.
Harry looked towards the goblin and saw it scowling slightly in their direction. While he didn't know what to do, he supposed it was polite to just apologize for staring and hope the goblin wouldn't feel offended anymore. He walked toward the goblin and the goblin bowed to the potential customers of Gringotts.
Harry saw the goblin bow before him and imitated the goblin before saying;
"I apologize for staring at you, master goblin. I have heard of your species before but was momentarily surprised at the warrior-like look you have for a person involved in banking."
The goblin, stunned at the apology, the title given by this child and the unknown compliment given for the way he appeared to this wizard, replied simply without its usual sneer for a goblin;
"You're forgiven, young wizard. Welcome to Gringotts."
Remus, shocked out of his stupor of the unusually kind reply for a goblin by the word 'Gringotts', decided to get their business at the bank on the way and nodded towards the goblin while directing his nephew towards the entrance hall. Now they were facing a second pair of doors, silver this time, with words engraved upon them:
Enter, stranger, but take heed
Of what awaits the sin of greed,
For those who take, but do not earn,
Must pay most dearly in their turn.
So if you seek beneath our floors
A treasure that was never yours,
Thief, you have been warned, beware
Of finding more than treasure there. (2)
A pair of goblins bowed them through the silver doors and they moved into a vast marble hall. Harry looked around the bank, taking in the amazing sight of a goblin-run bank. It wasn't very busy since it was early but there were still about a hundred goblins sitting on high stools behind a long counter, scribbling in large ledgers, weighing coins in brass scales, examining precious stones through eyeglasses. There were too many doors to count leading out of the hall and Remus and Harry made for one counter which was slightly higher than the others.
"Good morning senior teller, my name is Remus Lupin and this is my charge Harry Potter. We would like to meet with the goblin manager of the Potter estate," Remus spoke quietly so as not to be overheard.
The goblin, startled to hear about the Potter estate, looked towards the man whose glamour was easily pierced and the young wizard whom he detected no glamour upon and spoke up. "You're aware Mr. Lupin that we have a description of Mr. Potter from his parents?"
Remus replied respectfully and honestly, "yes, I am. He is currently under a potion-induced disguise. We do not want to be recognized by the general population and let the word reach certain circles that Harry Potter is under my care. We are here to enquire about the state of the Potter fortune, to make a small withdrawal for shopping needs and to discuss certain things with the goblin manager of the Potter estate."
And so they were led by a small goblin who was ordered, in a strange language that Harry didn't recognize, to escort them. They followed through one of the doors in the back of the hall and along a wide corridor with doors on both sides, names engraved in the wood of the doors. They were shown entry to a door with 'Potter' upon the door after knocking by the goblin and the bark of 'Enter' from the office behind it.
The office was large and various weapons lined the walls on one side, from plain daggers to gem-encrusted swords. The other wall was lined with two cabinets, one with files and another with several items that Harry didn't recognize. A fierce looking goblin with an annoyed expression sat behind the office desk, though he was a bit taller than the senior teller in the hall, and his face was buried in files and reports with numbers on it.
Remus spoke up respectfully. "Good morning master goblin, my name is Remus Lupin and this is my charge Harry Potter. We are here to enquire about the Potter estate and some things you can hopefully assist us with."
The goblin looked up sharply when he heard the name 'Potter' and looked towards Harry with that same piercing expression that the senior teller gave him. When he didn't get any sort of reaction, he stood up and walked towards a cabinet where he got a piece of ancient looking parchment and a special kind of dagger that Remus instantly recognized. He placed the parchment and dagger before Harry and motioned with his hand towards the dagger while he finally spoke up.
"To prove you are who you say you are, place three drops of blood with the dagger onto the parchment. Your name will appear plus any vaults you are eligible to control."
Harry looked towards his uncle and saw his reassuring nod as a positive sign and did as he was told.
When the three drops of blood disappeared into the parchment, Harry saw his hand heal on his own. "Ritual dagger," Remus whispered in his ear. After the parchment was blank once again for a second, words started to write themselves as if someone invisible was writing them with a quill. As the words appeared, Remus moved back and motioned for Harry to stay where he was while he explained.
"This is private information Harry. Things such as this should stay in your family and though I adopted you in the Muggle world, I am not, nor will I ever be part of the Potter family."
Harry saw the resolve in his uncle's eyes and nodded silently. He looked at the parchment and saw the names he expected plus one more.
Harry James Potter – born July 31st 1980
Eligible for vaults:
Potter family vault (at 16 years old):
516,761 galleons, 14 sickles, 2 knuts
Various heirlooms; books, wands, jewellery, weapons and other memorabilia
Lily Evans vault:
23,412 galleons, 7 sickles, 21 knuts
Several items collected from the house in Godric's Hollow
Potter trust vault:
50,000 galleons (to be reset at this amount yearly from the family vault starting at the age of 11)
Gryffindor family vault (at 17 years old):
15,000 galleons (minimum amount required to be in the vault at the time of passing on the vault)
Several items (unknown due to security)
Eligible for inheritance of deeds:
Potter Manor
18 Ignotus street, Godric's Hollow
Eligible for inheritance of stocks:
15% Nimbus racing broom company
10% The Daily Prophet Newspaper
15% Wizarding Wireless Network
He was floored, he had expected that his parents had left him some money so he could pay for his education but he didn't expect this. He was rich! The goblin had been looking at the parchment also and hummed as if admitting he was wrong in thinking the wizard in front of him was not Harry Potter. He looked up, and started talking.
"Very well Mr. Potter, I am Sharptooth. I've been managing your holdings here at Gringotts, and I can safely say they've grown quite admirably. As for your deeds, both Potter Manor and the residence in Godric's Hollow have been abandoned since the attack on your parents. I would recommend you to hire an elf to maintain these properties." Remus nodded from the back when Harry looked towards him and the goblin continued. "Your stocks are doing fairly well, with a rise in income every now and then when Nimbus develops a new broom. Your only expenses are to the account of the Potter family vault for the current residence of your mother in St. Mungo's hospital. Now what can I help you with Mr. Potter?"
"First master goblin, please call me Harry. And could you explain to me why these names," here Harry pointed towards 'Potter family vault' and 'Gryffindor family vault', "have different age restrictions behind them?" Harry asked the goblin politely.
The goblin was momentarily surprised by the request to call this young wizard by his given name but recovered quickly to answer the question.
"The Potter family vault is the one of your father, Lord Potter. As such, you can normally enter this vault when you reach the age of majority as with the other vault. However since your father has perished, the title of head of the family comes to you, which is at the age of 16. You will automatically receive this title at that age and take up your family's seat in the Wizengamot or, should you desire so, appoint a representative in your place."
"The Wizengamot is the wizarding house of parliament, correct?" The goblin nodded. "Who controls that seat now?" Harry asked with a tone of disapproval he got when one abused power.
The goblin, recognizing that his client's ire was not directed at him, answered after checking the ledger in front of him.
"That would be your current magical guardian, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. He currently holds the key to your trust vault and thus is in control of the finances you can access, which is, according to him, only the Potter trust vault."
"Did he ever withdraw money from this vault? And why not my mothers vault," Harry asked as politely as possible, trying to hold his ire in the back of his mind.
"He did not and since your mother is still alive, he cannot access this vault since it is not a part of your magical guardianship. However, when your parents announced you as their heir here at Gringotts, they gave you access to this vault. The key to this vault has been in our custody since the attack, recalled from the residence in Godric's Hollow in case your mother is cured." The goblin replied and slid the key across the desk.
Harry picked up the key and inspected it, while asking something he suspected already. "I assume my monthly statements are being sent to headmaster Dumbledore, where my trust vault key resides?" The goblin nodded, so Harry continued. "And if I were to request this key be recalled, he would know of my presence here at Gringotts?" Sharptooth nodded once again.
"Okay, then I have a question," Harry started as he passed the parchment to the goblin and motioned for Remus to return next to him so they could discuss the next subject. "I am currently 8 years old and starting my magical education as of today. My 'uncle'", here he waved his hand towards Remus, "has asked me if I wanted to be raised like the son of a pureblood family that I am and I agreed. I wish to become worthy of the title of 'Lord' and will devote my life to that goal. It is my goal to learn as much magic as I can to hopefully one day cure my mother. What I hope to gain from you, master goblin Sharptooth, is any book you can give about the goblin species and the language you speak, for a fee of course, and together with any advice you can give me regarding my education."
Both the goblin and Remus looked up at Harry startled at the request for my advice. "You request my advice, why if I may ask?" The goblin spoke in harsh tone that Remus didn't like one bit, but he knew his nephew and decided to remain quiet.
Harry heard the tone of the goblin and decided to ask forgiveness. "I apologize if I offended you, but considering the fact that your species is in charge of wizarding finances, you must be knowledgeable. You and your fellow goblins deal with Lords and Ladies regularly and therefore will have an idea of what such an education might entail. Therefore, your advice will hold reasoning behind it that we might not have and will be worth a lot to me. I do not know much of your species and strive for knowledge which is why I enquired about any books you consider informative about your species."
The goblin thought about his client's answer and considered the unusual amount of respect this wizard showed him. He treated others like an equal and demanded the same in return. The goblin decided to give in to his request and pulled a book out of his cabinet. He spoke directly towards Harry;
"As advice, I can only give you a list of books which will help in your education towards becoming a noble Lord. However, this book," he held up the beautiful, leather covered book with no wear or tear visible, "describes the language of the goblins and goblin etiquette such as formal greetings, dealing with different rankings within the goblin nation and the history of our species from our perspective. It is impossible to learn our entire language from a book, however over time and through dealing with goblins, it is possible to learn it through the passing of tongue. Should you desire it, you may borrow this book for a fee of 500 galleons for the time period of one year."
"Done," Harry replied before Remus could start his protests that he saw were coming.
"Very well. Do not damage it, for you will find yourself 'persona non grata' in the goblin nation if you do." The goblin told him in a warning tone.
"I won't, you have my word," Harry replied and stood up to offer the goblin his hand.
"You have much to learn from that book, young wizard. A goblin in the corridor will escort you towards the vault you hold the key of. I assume you wish this visit to remain a secret from your magical guardian?" Harry nodded gratefully. "Very well, I will have that list ready for you in the hall when you return from your visit to the vault." The goblin replied as his clients moved out of his office.
Their visit to the vault happened without incident. Only Remus' uncomfortable look as they filled up a bag each with galleons. Harry only said that Remus worked for their living in the Muggle world and since it was available, they might as well use the money from this vault to pay for their things in the Wizarding World. The items collected from Godric's Hollow were largely left alone, except for a small album with photos of Harry's parents that Remus recognized, picked up and handed to Harry without saying anything. After looking at the first page with a photo of his parents on their wedding day, Harry kept the album close to himself the whole day.
As they left the bank with the list and bags of gold, Harry turned towards Remus with an eager expression. Remus, recognizing the look on the definitely future Ravenclaw, just pointed towards Flourish & Blotts. Harry looked to where his uncle was pointing and was already on his way before Remus could look back towards his charge. He laughed all the way towards the shop and followed him in after looking around for familiar faces.
It was still relatively quiet in the bookstore even though it was already 10am. Remus decided to check the time they spent in the bookstore, knowing his charge wouldn't make it in just a couple of hours. He himself went looking for books about raising a pureblood heir while Harry would start looking over each of the categories to start his magical education.
Harry was in heaven. This was the first magical bookstore he was in but it was everything he ever dreamed of. The store was categorically divided in the different subjects of magic; there was even an entire section of magical novels and other fictional books. He walked through the store once to form a plan of attack before starting with the 'Magic in general' section. Here he found 'Magical Theory' by Albert Waffling, a strange looking book called 'The Legend of Magic' and a fairytale book called 'The Tales of Beedle the Bard' by Beedle the Bard which he thought would be interesting. A small part of the magic in general section contained several autobiographies of famous witches and wizards which Harry had no interest in except to pick up 'Great wizards of the twentieth century'. The section next to that part, which was the last section before entering the 'educational Hogwarts categories', had books such as 'Practical Household magic', 'Important Modern Magical Discoveries', 'A Study of Recent Developments in Wizardry'(all of which he picked up out of curiosity) and various cookbooks which Harry didn't glance at for more than a second.
When he entered the educational section for the second time to select his books, he started with 'An Appraisal of Magical Education in Europe' and 'Hogwarts, A History' by Chroniculus Punnet.After that, he went on to the History section where he picked up as much as he could find that was interesting; reasoning he probably had a lot to catch up with. The titles included 'Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century', 'A History of Magic' by Bathilda Bagshot which was filled with goblin rebellions, 'Modern Magical History', 'The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts'and 'Notable Magical Names of Our Time' which was slightly more modern than 'Great wizards of the twentieth century'. He decided to limit the books on wand-based subjects to first-year books only for now and asked for the list at the counter. Checking to see if he missed any books for history (which he didn't), he picked up 'The Standard Book of Spells, grade 1' by Miranda Goshawk for Charms, 'A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration' by Emeric Switch for Transfiguration and 'Practical Defense for the Young Witch and Wizard'together with 'Defensive Magical Theory' by Wilbert Slinkhard for Defense Against the Dark Arts. Staying on subject he checked to see if there were books on the Dark Arts, but there weren't any at all. He considered that they might have to look for them in Knockturn Alley. He did pick up 'Basic Hexes for the Busy and Vexed' and 'Jinxes for the jinxed' along the way to the next section though.
That only left the non wand-based subjects Herbology, Care Of Magical Creatures, Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, Astronomy and Potions. He decided to leave Potions for last, since it was the subject he was looking forward to most, considering it was the only subject of magic he could practice at this time.
The Herbology section added 'Goshawk's Guide to Herbology', 'One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi' by Phyllida Spore and 'Magical Water Plants of the Mediterranean' to the basket. Arithmancy only added 'Numerology and Grammatica' and 'New Theory of Numerology' which was the advanced version of the former beginners guide to Arithmancy.
Ancient Runes was something Harry didn't know anything about. He had read in the Muggle Egyptian history books that the Egyptians described historical events in this script, but never was anything mentioned about magic or sorcery as they called it then. But after reading the introduction to 'Ancient Runes Made Easy', he realized that it could be an underestimated subject of enormously powerful magic. He added that book to his growing collection together with 'Magical Hieroglyphs and Logograms' and 'Spellman's Syllabary' but decided to leave the advanced books, since the introduction he had just read warned excessively against uninformed experimenting.
Astronomy, he quickly realized was much more advanced in the Muggle world and Harry decided to check out the telescopes later to see if it was the same for those. He only picked up 'Unfogging the future' by Cassandra Vablatsky for Divination as he passed it because he didn't have much faith in the subject. He promised himself though, that he would read it properly and not be prejudiced in any way. He saw the 'Magical Creatures' section was filled with books of specialization on different kinds of animals/beasts he had never heard of, so he picked up 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' by Newt Scamander as an introduction to this subject. He would come back later for the specific animal/beast books if he was interested, he reasoned to himself and continued on to the next subject.
"Potions", he moaned disappointed as he stood in front of three different books for the section. It wasn't a cleaned out section, there just wasn't any more. Only 'Magical Drafts and Potions' by Arsenius Jigger, 'Advanced Potion-Making' by Libatius Borage and 'Alchemy, Ancient Art and Science' by Argo Pyrites was visible on display. He added those quickly and walked towards the counter. The man behind the counter saw one of those long-time customers approach in the form of a roughly ten-year-old kid, a basket filled with piles of books and a non-matching disappointed look on his face.
"Excuse me sir," Harry started in his most polite tone that didn't fool the man for a second.
"Yes?" The man answered in a tone that told Harry he wasn't buying the innocent child look he was going for.
"Do you have any other potion books?" Harry asked, completely stopping the extreme polite tone since it wasn't working anyway.
The man behind the counter, recognizing that this was just a kid with an eagerness to learn, decided to explain the problem as it was.
"No, there are specialized potion books about for instance Healing potions but general potion books are hard to come by. Small improvements are discovered continuously and there are not many books published with the changes since it only adds to the known results given in the books already. For more information about the newest potions and improvements, the Potions Guild publishes a magazine, 'Potions Monthly', which contains other things as well such as every apprentice taken on that month, who has their potion masteries completed and the yearly 'top potions master' list."
"Okay," Harry replied disenchanted. "Thank you for your help."
He left his basket next to the counter since he was almost finished anyway. He walked around the store one more time, picked up 'Quidditch Through the Ages' by Kennilworthy Whisp and 'A Vampire's Monologue' by Amarillo Lestoat and 'A Healers Guide for Beginners'but didn't see anything else that caught his attention.
Remus encountered Harry a few times in the store but was finished much more quickly and told his charge he'd pick him up here later in the early afternoon. All Remus found in the store was 'Nature's Nobility: A Wizarding Genealogy' which contained pages full of family trees with family names lost in the male line; 'Wizarding customs throughout Britain' which described important dates in the year such as the annual ministries' Christmas ball, Samhain and Halloween to name a few and 'Common Magical Ailments and Afflictions' which described pretty much everything that could happen in the raising process of a magical child.
As Harry returned to the counter from his last trip through the store, he saw Remus waiting there with a young but fairly strong looking and restless snowy white owl in a cage. His uncle signalled they would talk outside and left the store with the restless owl, waiting outside for Harry to ring up his new library of books. He asked the man behind the counter politely to shrink them, as Remus told him they wouldn't need to bring a bag because of this option.
Harry exited and immediately kneeled before the beautiful owl, asking; "And who is this then?"
"I don't know, but since you're starting your education I thought it a good idea to have an owl for letters and owl ordering at home. I haven't named her yet, but I thought you might want to have her as a birthday present," Remus replied slightly apprehensive for his nephew's approval.
"Sure, thank you. But she's an energetic one; we'll have to think of a fitting name." He turned towards the owl, "how about 'Katie'?" The owl seemed to take on a thoughtful look to the astonishment of Remus before screeching negatively. "No it might be a bit common, I agree. Okay, a more reverent one then. What about 'Hedwig'? I found the name in 'A History of Magic' and it was a famous witch who did something…."
The owl was silent for a few seconds before cooing and lovingly nipping the fingers of its new master through the bars of the cage.
"Unbelievable," Remus muttered under his breath.
"Okay Hedwig, I'm assuming you don't like to stay in this cage?" The owl seemed to shake its head and Harry immediately opened the cage without regard to Remus' protests. The owl jumped out of the cage, took a small flight in a circle, before landing incredibly gently on Harry's left shoulder and softly nipping thankful on his ear.
Harry shook his head towards Remus and muttered "no faith" under his breath before turning to his new owl. "Okay girl, we're going to have lunch and shop around for the afternoon, before taking you home in the cage for one time so you know where we live. If you want, you can look around the alley and I'll signal you down when we leave, is that okay?"
The owl nodded, took flight and landed on the rooftop of one of the shops, watching and following her new master with her eyes intently. Remus just shook his head and motioned for Harry to follow him back towards the Leaky Cauldron where they had a bacon sandwich and soup for lunch.
They returned to the Alley at two in the afternoon, where Harry immediately raised his arm in the air. After a few seconds, Hedwig landed on his arm and was fed a few pieces of bacon before returning to her lookout on the rooftop.
Their shopping continued after that without much incident. At Slug & Jiggers Apothecary, a smelly shop that made up for it by having all kinds of interesting ingredients to Harry, they picked up the beginner, intermediate and advanced potion kit and a Potions Monthly magazine. They bought a pewter cauldron set with different sizes at the cauldron shop though none were too expensive like the ones made from gold. Harry reasoned they would probably only be necessary with certain potions or ingredients. As Harry suspected, the telescopes were severely outdated and he decided to pick one up in the Muggle world. Remus insisted they pick up a few quills, ink and parchment for Harry, saying he needed to get used to it for his pureblood education.
It was only when they went to the magical menagerie to buy owl treats for Hedwig that something unexpected happened. Harry, curious about what kind of pets wizards kept, walked through the shop all the way towards the back where he saw the most interesting kind. He had already encountered a weird type of cat, 'kneazle' the sign read, mice, rats, toads, normal cats, a weird type of worms, and beetles. But in the back was the reptile section, with all kinds of snakes, both Muggle and magical he realized. He even saw a snake with three heads that were arguing with each other and seemed not to notice that Harry had approached.
"Hello," he hissed silently so as not to interrupt rudely and be impolite.
"A speaker," the three heads hissed at once with reverence.
"You mean I can understand you. Indeed I can, isn't that a common trait amongst my kind?" Harry asked inquisitively.
"No, most of us never meet a speaker, I've never even heard of one of my kind to meet a speaker." The middle snake he hissed proudly.
"Well, my name is Harry. It's nice to meet you." He hissed back and was suddenly grabbed from behind and pulled by his uncle out of the shop.
"Remus, what…" He started to ask but was interrupted before he could finish.
"You're a parselmouth, you can speak to snakes," he started to explain. "I have no idea how you came to have this ability but there is something you should know about it. The evil wizard named Voldemort, whose followers attacked your parents, was a parselmouth also. For centuries the language of parseltongue, the language of snakes, has been seen as the sign of a dark wizard. You should keep this ability a secret, for people fear it and fear the people who have that ability. It's another prejudice of course but one that can have too many undesired consequences." All the while explaining this, Remus spoke in soft hushed tones to avoid being overheard in the now busy alley.
They continued through the Alley, briefly checking the window of the shop which sold broomsticks, for it had many children admiring the newest broom available: The Nimbus 1700, a broom which had improved the newest Comets' top speed by 8 miles per hour. They also stepped into Madam Malkin's robes for all occasions to get a robe for remaining inconspicuous when they visited Knockturn. Remus suggested to maybe get a few different kinds of robes for his education, but Harry denied saying he didn't like the fabrics. They had everything that they could have gotten from Diagon Alley and decided to head for Knockturn before returning home.
(1) Scenes (partly) taken from 'Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban', they are not all mine.
(2) Scenes (partly) taken from 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher stone', they are not all mine.
Titles of books are largely selected from the Harry Potter books itself.
