MY PLACE
Summery: After the Dursley's unexpected death Harry finds himself whisked away to a place unknown where he's adopted by people who are much more familiar than the area.
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and his wonderful universe don't belong to me, but to the real wizard, J.K. Rowling.
Author's Excited Note: Yay! Harry Potter 3 comes out in theatres today in Canada! My house (similiar to Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw idea) is going to see it! I'm excited!
Chapter 3: Auror Potter
The day after the auror's visit Harry found himself in a tight situation. It was his day to leave, and he had no where to go.
It was then that Harry recalled yesterday's words: "Okay then, but if you need anything you can always come to me."
Eyes widening Harry as was struck with a temporary idea. Snatching up the auror's card, and waving a hasty good bye to several nurses Harry marched out of St. Mungo's.
Out on the much deserted muggle street Harry started having second thoughts. Especially when he glanced down at the card he held.
It read in thin, cursive writing:
Auror Henry E. Potter
Work Address: 1 Ministry Road Diagon Alley
Work Floo Address:
Auror Potter
Harry gaped. Why hadn't he been told about these other relatives? They were magical too, and would therefore probably understand him better.
A hot swoop of angry filled Harry accompanied by grim determination to find these Potters. Straightening, Harry boldly faced his challenge: how was he to get to Diagon Alley?
Well, Harry reasoned he had been to St. Mungo's to visit Arthur last year, so all he had to remember was the streets they had twisted through to arrive at the magical hospital.
It was a difficult trek.
Four times Harry started down the wrong streets only to turn around when a glaring detail stared him in the eye. As Harry walked though his anger ebbed slowly away, and by the time Harry reached Diagon Alley he was cool like a cucumber.
A serge of panic soon welled up in Harry though. The problem was the wall. How was Harry to get in without his wand?
Desperately Harry paced-deep in thought. There had to be a way.
Perhaps he could slip in with someone else?
Or...or hadn't Harry seen Hagrid use his umbrella to get into Diagon Alley his first time? Maybe all Harry needed was a magical object to tap the pattern across the bricks.
Harry's eyes scoured the ground in search of a magical object. However, all Harry saw was some weeds, a trash can, and an old, wrinkled Daily Prophet. Those weren't of any use to him!
Frustrated Harry slid down the stone wall to sit at the base. He decided he'd just have to wait for someone to go through. Unfortunately Harry noticed (as no one came to go through the wall) that it was lunch time, and came to the fast conclusion that most people had already entered Diagon Alley for the day, or to eat lunch with friends.
Harry sighed as he waited, and idly tugged at a weed to play with. However, the weed didn't budge. Curious, Harry gave it a good tug, and still the weed held fast. This is when it occurred to Harry that this may be his ticket in.
If Harry couldn't tug the weed out there was a good chance the weed wasn't a weed at all. In fact, as Harry studied the leaves he thought the plant looked familiar.
The plant had purplish green leaves, and as Harry fingered them he thought he heard a soft rumble from beneath the earth. The rumble struck Harry oddly and caused his nose to bleed...that was when it clicked.
"The cry of the Mandrake is fatal to anyone who hears it..."
Harry's only encounter with a withdrawn Mandrake had been with a baby one...a seedling as Madame Sprout had put it. They were difficult to pull out then, and this one was quite steadfast...so that meant Harry was definitely not dealing with a seedling.
With this realization came another...this Mandrake had the potential to kill him, or at least mortally wound him if it turned out to be a teenager. Harry wasn't positive if just muffling the noise would be enough, so he had to basically make himself deaf.
Then Harry was struck by thought of all the other people who just walked casually by this area, lived in this area...the muggles...
Maybe Harry would just have to wait for someone to go through after all...but at this defeating thought Harry built up his determination...he wanted to see these Potters, and find out more about them...they were, after all, probably his only living family.
However, just as Harry was screwing his thoughts up into a rough plan the bricks clapped themselves out of the way to reveal Diagon Alley, and...
"Harry! It's good to see you're out of the hospital! Though I see you've already gotten yourself into a spot of trouble."
Harry stared dumbfounded at the person in the entrance to Diagon Alley, and swiped self consciously at the line of blood that dripped from his nose. His face lost its color, but he managed a weak smile; "Auror Potter,"
"Hey, what's wrong sonny?" Auror Potter asked kindly; "You look like you've seen a ghost."
"What happened to Diagon Alley?" Harry blurted staring past Auror Potter.
"What do you mean Harry? Nothing's wrong. Anyhow, I was just going for a bite to eat. Maybe you'd like to come..."
"No, no..." Harry muttered; "I mean...where are all the shops?"
Auror Potter sent Harry a perplexed look but chuckled regardless; "The shops? Well, Diagon Alley's still expanding Harry. You can't expect it to be some massive wizarding city yet-can you?"
Harry continued to stare though, so Auror Potter placed a firm hand on Harry's shoulder and guided him away-presumably for lunch.
During lunch Harry seemed to shake his momentary jitters at seeing how bare Diagon Alley had looked, and perked up considerably as he spent time with Auror Potter.
The Auror had a gentle sense of humor that unwound Harry quite a bit as they ate their burgers and fries.
"Ahhh..." the auror sighed deeply-gratefully; "There's nothing like some fattening muggle food to replenish your energy."
Harry smiled; "No there isn't." Though truthfully the Dursley's had never taken Harry to A&W.
"So what were you doing outside Diagon Alley?" Auror Potter asked; "Going to get some school supplies?"
"Well, yes, and no." Harry replied; "You see some spell went wonky, and I was transported to a different area. My school supplies all got left behind, so I need a new wand and everything."
"Hmm..." the auror said; "Where are you staying?"
Harry gulped guiltily; "Well, sir honestly I don't really know of any family in the area, but I saw your card...and you see, sir you have the same surname as me..."
Auror Potter's eyes twinkled with interest; "Really? I had no idea we had any other relatives, but there are lots of Potter's around the world I guess...so you don't have a place to stay, eh?"
Harry shook his head; "I was actually coming to see you about that. I thought you might have been a relative of mine, but...I-I guess I was wrong." Harry stood to leave, but Mr. Potter gently pushed him back into his seat.
"Now, don't you go running off there sonny. Us Potters have a motto, and that motto tells us about lending a hand here and there. You look like you could use a hand."
Harry looked up hopefully.
"My wife, son, and I have a few spare rooms, and probably too big of a house anyways."
Harry was now aware that his heart was beating almost painfully in his throat.
"How about you come stay with us, and sort yourself out a bit?"
Harry felt a prickling in his eyes, and overwhelmed he nodded tentatively; "Thank you...I promise I won't interfere. I'll get a job too if you need the money, and I'll help out around the house."
"Well, that sounds like a deal then, Harry." Mr. Potter grinned shaking Harry's arm; "I'll take you over to my house then after you've gotten yourself equipped."
"Okay, but I'll probably be a few hours. Uh...maybe you could meet me when your working day's over?" Harry proposed.
"Sure...may make for a bit of a long wait, and as you saw Diagon Alley isn't very big." Auror Potter cautioned.
At this Harry remembered back to their meeting, but pushing the worrisome thoughts aside he vowed to investigate while he was there; "I'm sure I'll be fine. I can go job hunting."
"Oh you don't need to get a job sonny. It will be a pleasure to have you under our roof." Mr. Potter said as he and Harry left A&W.
"Well, I'm sure I'll find a way to burn the time." Harry insisted.
"Good because I probably won't be out until five at the earliest."