Chapter Three: Shopping Trip, Tom!
Disclaimer, Key, and Warnings are all in Chapter One.
A/N: Thanks to all reviewers! Don't worry WynterRavenheart, I was just iffy about it. He's going to be more of a mentor, with someone else adopting him. I know people have made that type of thing work before, but I don't think I could pull it off. livvie333: Yep! Nice little Dark Harry indeed. alianna-kyprioth: Here it is!
The next morning as Harry came to, he felt silk surrounding him. At first thought, he was sure he was still dreaming, so he kept his eyes shut tight. It was such a good dream and he didn't want it to end so soon. But when he opened his eyes, he'd be back in his cupboard at the Dursleys, and he'd have to cook the hog's breakfast. When he slowly opened his eyes, however he could see that his room wasn't a dream; he never had dreams this nice.
The Heir suite of Slytherin Manor was his new official room. It was the size of at least 10 of his old cupboards, and even had an en-suite bathroom, walk in wardrobe, linen storage closet, and sitting room that didn't count as part of the bedroom. The floors were polished oak beams, the walls were the same smooth-hewn dark stone as most of the castle, and the color scheme of the entire suite was done in greens and blues with offsets of black and silver. He had several of his own wall hangings and tapestries, with an order that they be replaced as soon as he found something that suited him better.
One whole wall along the back of the room was devoted to empty bookshelves and display cases 'for the things you'll gather later on', as Lord Voldemort said. A couple of the cases looked like they were built to hold swords, daggers, and other various weapons. That probably had to do with the whole 'train your body' thing.
Remembering the Dark Lord's promise of a shopping trip, Harry jolted out of bed. He was eager to see more of his world, so he merely grabbed a random outfit out of his apparantly magical wardrobe, not even looking at the fine trousers, button-up shirt, and robe as he pulled them on with fresh underthings, socks, and loafers. After brushing his teeth, running a comb through his hair, and taking a last look at himself in the full mirror, he hurried downstairs to the dining room.
"Ah, good morning, Harry." As soon as he stepped through the door, he was greeted by the black-robed wizard reading the newspaper at the head of the table. "Sleep well?"
"Good morning, Tom. I slept like a baby." Sharing a smile with the older man, Harry sat down and dug into his breakfast of sausage, toast, and eggs.
The two wizards got along famously, and Voldemort was quite pleased with Fate's gift to him. Harry was brilliant, eager to learn, and his eyes held that inner fire that spoke of power. He absorbed everything he heard the first time he heard it, apparently, and now had a great deal more understanding of his rightful world. This would be a good chance for the Dark Lord to gain not a follower, but an equal. But first, the boy had to look like it, hence the shopping trip.
"Good." Checking the clock on the wall, Tom hurried Harry along. "It's nearly nine! I want to have plenty of time to shop before the crowds get there."
"Fine. I can't wait to see Diagon Alley, anyway." the boy finished his last bite and stood to face Tom. "Ready."
"Stand still." Aiming his wand, and with a quick wave, in Harry's place stood a taller boy with longer hair and blue eyes. "There. Now me." Tom merely changed his eye color to blue and altered his facial structure a bit; very few people would recognize him anyway. Then, he conjured a mirror and showed Harry his new look.
"Nice! I look older!"
"That was the point. Now, you don't have to suffer through being treated like a child." Dragging Harry to the Entrance Hall, he shoved him into the fireplace, handed him the Floo powder, and waved him off. With a calmly uttered 'Diagon Alley' he was gone, Tom quickly following. They met again in the Leaky Cauldron, where Harry was waiting, and Tom took the lead, cleaning the ash off of them with a wave of his want and pointing out the places he had described yesterday to Harry as they passed through the morning bustle until the huge marble building named Gringotts was in front of them.
Harry, for his part, barely kept the awe off his face, and Tom couldn't keep a smile off his. He was back to his old self, but he was freer than ever. With just Harry, there was no one to pass judgment, no one after him for his beliefs, and no one looking up to him to change the world in a day. He could be normal, for once in his life. Even if he had only been back for a day, he felt like a whole new person.
"Gringotts. We'll get your keys and head down to your vault." As they passed the goblins guarding the doors to the bank, Tom prompted Harry to nod politely. It was never too early to make a good impression.
Inside, they headed to a free goblin halfway down the line, and Harry took the initiative. "Sir, I would like to visit my vault."
"Do you, sir, have your key?"
"No."
"Then you cannot visit your vault."
"Excuse me," Tom stepped in "But you know very well who both of us are. Goblin magic isn't fooled by ours. Harry has no legal guardian as far as we know, and his is the Head of his family."
The goblin stretched his long fingers and pondered the two in front of him before answering shortly. "Fine. Mr. Potter, hold out your hand and wish for your vault keys to be there." Raising an eyebrow, the boy complied. Soon, the had a set of four keys, two bigger and more ornate than the others. "Our keys all have summoning charms on them that work for the family Heads. The large keys are your Family vault and storage keys. The other two are your trust fund and school fund keys. I suggest you don't lose them, but if you do, you now know how to find them agian. Now, Blackridge! Next!"
"Well, that was nice." was Harry's only comment as they followed the named goblin to the appropriate door, a large black one marked with spidery gold runes.
Tom just brushed it off, "They don't like it when everything isn't perfect. Don't worry about it."
"Welcome." The older goblin than the one they'd met before, Blackridge, bowed them into a cart. "Which vault first, sirs?"
"School vault, please." Harry answered, sitting down beside the man he considered his first friend, for all of the oddities in both their lives.
Blackridge nodded politely, stepped to the front of the cart, and pressed a series of buttons that neither wizard could see. "Then hold on tight, we go only one speed." Around five minutes later, they were stepping out at the landing to Vault 418: Harry's school fund. The goblin took the keys Harry handed over, scrutinized them for a moment, and chose the one for the vault, handing the boy the rest. "Here we are, sirs."
The vault was stacked full of gold, silver, and bronze piles, with the gold being the most prominent. But this came as no surprise; Tom had explained about James Potter being the rich pureblooded Heir, and this money was expected. Leaving the two others standing in the doorway, the child quickly grabbed a bottomless and weightless bag from a hook to one side and set to filling it with stacks of coins that jangled noisily as they were stuffed into the soft velvet purse. He only stopped when he figured he had well over several thousand Galleons in his hands.
"Can I have this vault closed and placed into my Family Vault, please."
"Of course. If I may have the key, then?" Harry passed it back over to the goblin's outstretched hand, and when Blackridge snapped his fingers, the small key had vanished. "This contents will be in your Family Vault in a number of hours, sir."
Tom smirked at the Harry's half-awestruck look, and outright grinned when he got a mock glare in return. Settling down and returning to the cart, Harry requested the trust fund be moved also, and gave up the other small key. Then, they headed off to Vaults 720 and 721: the Family Vault and storage vault. These were more high-security and much deeper within the depths of the bank. Harry got his first experience of turning a corkscrew with four wheels, and both humans were looking rather green before the cart lurched to a stop. Tom figured that the goblins just got used to it.
After being told that the Family Vault merely contained money and lists of properties, investments, and other boring papers, Harry opted to go to the storage instead. He did request copies of the papers be sent to him via owl to look over, but otherwise ignored that patch of stone. Taking the large golden key with inlays of ruby and emerald, Blackridge unlocked the vault and pressed a hand to the wall in verification. The door melted away to leave an archway behind, which the three of them stepped through.
Harry was stunned. It seemed that here was the contents of an entire mall, which he had only seen in stolen glances at the telly. But this was better because he owned it, it was magical, and it was rightfully his in every way. His parents must have placed all their valuables in here when they went into hiding.
There were stacks upon stacks of books that he could fill his young head with, from The Seven Greatest Magical Wonders of the World, 999 Ways to Clean a Home, and Magical Horses: Friend or Foe?, to Hexes for the Hexed, Human Transfiguration for Dummies, and The Dark Arts: An Intro Guide for Beginners. An earlier Potter must have had an intrest in the Darker aspects of life.
Racks and stands of fancy hats, scarves, cloaks, robes, and muffs stood with the shelves of scrolls and parchment, some of which looked positively ancient but still in perfect condition. Furniture, enough to fill a mansion, covered most of the floor space, and then there, hidden in the back of the room, was what caught his eyes the most. Standing between two suits of shiny armour stood a glass display case. Following his eyes around piles of artifacts until he stood right in front of it, Harry could see awards for various things made out to various people mingled with curious trinkets and weapons.
Those weapons, or ones something like them, must be what Tom wanted him to learn to use. For held in holders just like the empty ones he had in his own room at home were daggers, throwing knives, broadswords, scimitars, rapiers, katanas, lances, darts, nun chucks, wakazashis, and many other things that he had no inkling of a name for. Each one was beautiful in it's own right, silver, steel, and iron mixed with gold, jewels, and soft leather to form works of art.
"I'm going to learn how to use those." quietly, more to himself than anyone, Harry promised, staring at a deadly-looking katana.
"Yes. And you'll have some of the best teachers." Tom stated. "You'll always be able to defend yourself."
Lost in thought, and still incredibly shocked, Harry barely noticed as Tom used a spell to move the books, the weapons, and choice items of the clothes and furniture into a trunk, shrunk it, and placed it in his pocket. This was what he had meant when he said he wanted Harry to personalize his room. He was out of it as Tom steered him out through the archway, and back to the cart where Blackridge was waiting, and he heard none of the goblin and Tom's conversation. But his mind stood up and took interest in the people, places, smells, and sounds in front of him when they reached Diagon Alley again.
"Harry?" Tom nudged the boy with an elbow. "Where to first? What do you want?"
Looking up at Tom gleefully, Harry replied, "Everything!" and led him off into the crowd. Now he acted like the kid he was, pulling Tom from one shop to another, until the older man decided to make up his mind for the boy, and forcefully dragged him into Madam Malkin's: Robes for All Occasions. There, robes and clothes were ordered for both formal and casual dress, and in many different colors, styles, and fabrics. Accessories and underclothes to match found their way into the shopping basket, too.
Next, in Flourish and Blotts, Harry ran from one aisle to another, browsing through the many books while Tom did the majority of the shopping. He gathered up the books that he remembered needing for Hogwarts and bought them, along with a few covering the main events of the past few years that he planned on reading for himself. Harry had his own pile. Later, Harry insisted on stopping in for a double-scoop Raspberry Fudge Brownie Delight ice cream at Florean Fortescue's, and took thirty minutes savouring it. Tom was sure he could have eaten it in moments if he wanted to, but let the child have his fun.
Taking command again, Tom restocked his supplies and bought more for Harry at the stationary shop, the Apothecary, and the cauldron shop. His lab might be cleaned, but that didn't mean that his ingredients were fresh. Then, a broom caught Harry's eye in Quality Quidditch Supplies. Knowing he was in for it, Tom followed the boy in, reluctantly of course. Shockingly, Harry seemed interested, but not madly obsessed. It seemed he liked the idea of flying, but decided that Apparating was the real way to travel. That amused Tom to no end. After buying an Eagle Owl from Eeylops, which Harry promptly named Leto after a name he'd read once, they headed back to the Leaky Cauldron.
"Now, we'll order you a wand from the old wandmaker Gregorovitch for you to use for the next couple years. Ollivander asks too many questions, and knows too much." Tom stated right before Harry went through the Floo.
"I'll bet that's upsetting." Harry smirked, just as he disappeared. Tom, of course, didn't grace that with an answer.
A/N: Guh. I keep halfway forgetting he's supposed to be five. That bothers me. But if I change it, the whole thing would be ruined. He's growing up soon, I promise you that. I like shopping scenes, which amuse me, but I went more in detail about the Bank because it seemed more important than what color robes he bought. REVIEW and tell me what you think, or I'll just be mean and take forever to update.
Now, tonksiscool: I thank you very much for your long review. It made me think. Plus, you brought up a lot of great points. I apologize if any of my assumptions cause you not to enjoy the story. So, here's the answers, or as good as I can come up with, to your questions.
I'll answer the easiest question first. Using my admittedly overactive imagination, I decided to forget all about Horcruxes, and even make the reason Tom lost his body different from the books. I'm not using Horcruxes in this story at all, so they'll be no diary, no Slytherin locket, no Hufflepuff cup, etc. Also, if Tom lost his body because he felt remorse for using the Darkest curse and only wanted Harry's forgiveness, I thought it made sense for him to appear only when he had that forgiveness. I just made him appear in England because that was where Harry was at the time, and the only reason Tom left at all was because he was afraid his bodiless form might be discovered. The curse set upon Tom was that no human could see his spirit flying around; those friendly Albanian vampires, who amuse me, could see him. The only thing they agreed to was to help train Harry, join Tom publicly, and fight in one major battle in return for being left alone after the war.
Next up, I agree that the whole idea of having poor Harry stay up talking all day and night wasn't thought out, but I've already stated that I suck at dialogue. Leaving it as it is, Harry had at least some understanding of the way things worked in the Wizarding world, and I didn't have to type dialogue for Tom to explain things on this shopping trip. But isn't the beauty of fanfiction is that you pretend? Just for my sake, let's imagine that those potions truly are magical and worked instantaneously.
Last, but certainly not least, the smartness/library issue. I'd like to think that Harry could've snuck away with his Aunt's card, maybe she had a romance novel fetish; or the librarian felt sorry for him and helped him get a card. This isn't a Super!Harry story by any means, but it is sort of a Powerful!Brilliant!Harry story. He's certainly more smart than in canon. Like I said, the whole reason for me making Harry so smart was so I could have him be more mature and hold more mature conversations. In this story, he understands more than the average child, but he certainly isn't reading up on quantum mechanics in his spare time. I consider advanced to mean more along the lines of around a middle school/early high school level. But I based his learning abilities on my own experiences. I'm much more of a reader than a writer, and it must show, but when I started kindergarten at five, I was reading and comprehending at a 8th grade reading level. I didn't understand anything so complicated as physics or anything, but I honestly could grasp the material that I read and pass reading tests over it. That didn't make me a child prodigy, just above average, because if I had been tested on the subject itself, I'd have failed miserably. Let's just go along with the nonsense, and imagine that Harry can read and grasp more complicated material, but he can't comprehend it in a way that necessarily lets him be an expert at it and apply it; he reads and comprehends, but not always fully understands. If that makes any sense.
Damn, that was one long A/N.