A/N: I had so much homework these past few weeks that it's been a while before I could find time to write. On the bright side, this chapter is a long one! About twice the length of my normal chapters, so I hope you like.
Chapter 2
The Mystery Revealing Diagon Alley
Harry cast wide eyes on everything they passed. Diagon Alley would never get old for him. Though the same shops were there, it seemed like every merchandise they sold had been vanished and replaced. Regulus gave his hand a warning squeeze too not tug more, but Harry couldn't help wanting to take everything in. Sirius walked easily beside them, throwing Harry amused glances.
"It's the new Nimbus Two-Thousand!" He saw a red-head boy squeal to his group of friends, his nose pressed against the window display.
As if reading his thoughts, Regulus said in that dry tone of his, "First Years are not allowed broomsticks." Harry almost stuck his tongue out like he would have if it was just Sirius. But for once, Sirius seemed to think that following the rules—at least until third year—was a good idea.
"Look! Rememberalls!" Another child was ogling a pyramid of small glass balls with a sign that read: 'Forgetting Something? Now You'll Know!'
Regulus led him away from the crowds of children, all seeming to have come to buy school supplies. Harry noticed that people gave them a wide berth, and there was much staring at Regulus—either venomously or with respect. Sirius also drew some glances, must most people seemed to like to pretend that he didn't exist.
"We're going to Gringotts first." Regulus said to Harry, ignoring the attention. Thankfully, no one paid Harry any mind. Harry breathed in the apothecary's interesting smells and the noise of cramped animals in the menagerie as they made their way up the front steps of the largest castle he'd ever seen. Gringotts, the wizarding bank, was imposingly majestic. It had walls of the finest white marble with small bronze guarded doors and stood taller than all the other shops combined.
They entered into the large hall to the squeaking of many instruments happily working away. Some counted galleons, others weighed precious stones, and one seemed to measure the value of magical pets. A purple boa constructor wound himself tightly around a lever refusing to let go and be measured properly. Two wizards with turbans were arguing over the exact amount of unicorn horn to trade.
Regulus stepped up to the closest open teller. Harry stared as the goblin beside him ran his claws methodically over a machine that weighed rubies the size of his fist.
"I wish to make a withdrawal."
The goblin blinked hooded eyes at him. "Your key?" The moment he spoke an enchantment blocked out the sound of the room and kept their conversation from being overheard.
Regulus muttered something under his breath and flicked his want before he reached into his robes and pulled a large silver key. It was the size of Harry's forearm and had the black family crest engraved on the edges. Sirius put a reassuring hand on Harry's shoulder as the Goblin looked at each of them suspiciously.
The teller, who inspected the key carefully. Then he ran his nose across the key professionally and sniffed a few times over the metal. Seeming satisfied, he shouted, "Griphook!"
A younger goblin appeared, stepping out from behind the counter. "Yes?"
"Please escort these two-" He broke off mid-sentence as he spotted Harry. His eyes flicked up to look at Harry's hand, and for the barest of seconds an emotion flashed across his face. Used to Regulus, he'd spotted it, but he couldn't identify the emotion. That was strange. He looked at his right hand-on his palm was the zig-zag shape of an old scar. "—three to the Black family vault." The goblin was back to being completely emotionless.
"What was that about?" He whispered to Sirius, who also looked stunned for a second. For the briefest of moments his eyes also flickered to his scar, and something like regret showed in his eyes. It was gone in a flash and he was back to looking bewildered.
He shrugged. "I dunno."
Harry looked at Regulus for his opinion too, but Regulus looked as confused as Sirius did. He was fairly sure they were keeping something from him. Interesting. This visit to Gringotts was better than he'd hoped since he'd already discovered one secret and this gave him a month before Hogwarts to get it out of them. He grinned, forming a plan.
They followed the goblin behind and down stone steps before getting on a small cart. "Hang on!" Griphood shouted above some roar that was echoing in the tunnels. With a lurch, the cart was off on its own accord, accelerating wildly. Roughly hewn stone of the earth sped past them on both sides. "The Black vault is one of the deepest!" He explained.
Harry sat on Regulus' lap and hung on for dear life. He thought he saw a dragon, roaring in rage as five goblins advanced towards it, and was so distracted he didn't realize they were heading for a waterfall until he felt himself getting soaked. "Thief's downfall." Regulus said. "It has an enchantment to dispose of all glamouring magics."
They finally screeched to a half in front of a large vault door. Shakily, Harry descended onto the small platform with Regulus. Harry watched as Griphook stuck his key inside and ran a claw in an intricate gesture over the door. "If anyone other than a Gringotts goblin did that, they'd be sucked in through the cracks." Shared Griphook, with a gleam in his eye.
Harry suppressed a shudder. The vault opened with a click and his mouth dropped open. The Black vault was the size of a ballroom. It had everything valuable from piles of galleons to mysterious tables draped in black velvet, from portraits to golden chalices brimming with pearl necklaces, and bookshelves more than seven times Harry's height.
"Woah." He gasped. Regulus' lip twitched and led him inside. He looked at Sirius, who seemed content to wait on the platform outside chatting with the goblin. Regulus efficiently took out a moleskin pouch and started putting golden coins inside.
"This vault contains stuff centuries of Blacks thought was important enough to hide." He gestured at something under a large black sheet that was giving off a creepy aura. "Most of the stuff is dark and against all international law. But it's safe in Gringotts."
"It's so big." Harry said, getting over his shock. "Dark stuff is against the law? You use tons of dark stuff for your work."
Regulus' lip twitched. "I admit, it's one of the perks of serving the Dark Lord." At Harry's questioning glance, he elaborated. "The modified laws of wizarding Britain permits Ministry officials the use of Dark Artefacts in their line of work. But you must promise me something, Harry."
He looked up from examining everything and saw that Regulus was completely serious. "What?"
"Promise that you will not seek out dark artefacts, and if you ever have the fortune to have one, only use it if there is no other way. Promise this until you are thirty, at least."
He raised a brow quizzically.
"Dark artefacts give power that is very addicting. And it only gets more powerful the more you use it. It is too easy to get dependent on them. And once this dependence has occurred, it is almost impossible to break. Do you understand?"
Harry slowly nodded. A look of dawning awe in his eyes. "It's completely designed to make you reliant. The more you use it the better it works, so if you consider things from a time by time point of view, it's always more advantageous to use the artefact. However, as you use it more, the weaker your own magic will be, so you'll become even more reliant."
"And if something were to happen to it, your enemies investigate for example, you would be easily killed. And the artefact would happily continue existing with a new master."
"Woah." Said Harry. "Dark artefacts have an ingenious method of survival."
"Indeed. It is especially easy for young wizards and witches to fall under its thrall, because it will make the greatest difference. However, they will suffer the most because their own magical core will develop at a much slower rate. Proper development of your magical core will more than make up for the minimal increase in energy using a Dark Artefact will give you when you are young. Will you promise me, Harry?"
"Yes." He said without hesitation. No matter how much power any object could give him, he would not make the mistake of becoming reliant upon it. "I promise."
Regulus nodded with a small smile. "Griphook! We're done here."
They left the same way they'd come and soon found themselves on the brightly lit main road of Diagon Alley once more. Harry clutched Sirius in one hand and Regulus in the other, swinging himself between them. Sirius was just smiling and Regulus looked like he was wavering between protesting this unpureblood display or just smiling as well.
"Your choice—wand first or last?"
Harry thought for a bit. "Last."
He looked up to see Regulus' reaction. His face was completely devoid of emotion, as usual, but an eyebrow raised. "What are you thinking?" Harry asked as they walked down the street.
He went quiet as a pair of Aurors in black robes and the snakey skull insignia made their rounds past them, acknowledging Regulus with a nod and completely ignoring Sirius. He felt his Godfather stiffen. The entire street got quieter for a moment, but it passed quickly.
The barest twitch that meant Regulus was smiling. "It will be interesting to see whether you get sorted into Gryffindor or Slytherin."
"Slytherin, of course!" Harry said, keeping his tone even. "I love you, Sirius, but if I had to live in a house with fifty of you in various ages, I'd go bonkers."
Regulus' eyes laughed at that and Sirius mock pouted but they said no more.
They acquired all the first year's required reading and Regulus let him buy an extra book about interesting potions that did all sorts of practical things like treat small rashes or remove dandruff with a drop and even counteract most poisons. At the last, Sirius just said, "Or you could just shove a bezoar down their throat."
Harry giggled.
When they got three scoops of each potion ingredient instead of the usual one, ("You can never have too many potion supplies" Regulus said) Harry also asked for a couple of bezoars.
Harry happily bought everything on the list, taking in the interactions between people around them, as they were mostly ignored. Crystal phials, pewter cauldrons ("More stable.") and star charts were all bought, shrunk, and put in Regulus' pocket before they made their way to Madame Malkins. Sirius was led into a backroom to be fitted for his formal robes which needed to be in-season.
Regulus watched from the wall as Harry was assaulted by measuring tape at the front of the shop. The happy chatter in the room died when a commotion sounded outside. Suddenly, everyone felt themselves go cold, terror and painful memories came to the forefront. "What's happening?" A wizard that was new to diagon alley cried.
A witch drew out her wand and growled. "Dementors. They're doing their rounds."
"Harry, stay here." Regulus said, "Expecto patromist." A silver mist shot out of his wand and circled around Harry, hugging him. The cold faded away as he basked in the comforting embrace. "It's a weak dementor shield. It should keep the worst feelings away". Harry watched, wide eyed, through the window of the shop.
Two tall dark figures in robes of deepest black glided down the street. The sky darkened against them and what remained of the happy youngsters running around buying things were small groups of shaking children. The golden 'dementor lines' shone, still in power, making sure that they could only glide down a small strip of land in the center of the road. The two dementors glided peacefully between the lines down the center of the street, respecting their barrier, happily drinking in the fear of the street, but making no moves to do anything worse. Regulus glanced around with sharp eyes.
A furious Lucius Malfoy came out of the next shop. "What is this commotion? They're behind the line and just going through the regular patrol." His distain was clear in his next piece of practical advice. "As you've done for the last ten years since their implementation, merely cast a patromist and stand still for a few moments while they pass."
"Lord Malfoy, what marvellous advice," a sycophant wizard came out of the shop behind him. "Truly, Lord Malfoy-"
"Lucius." Regulus cut through. He spoke quietly but his voice carried in the silence. He watched with frown as the dementors passed, "Don't dementors usually travel in threes?"
Their eyes met and both of their wands moved in the normal large arc of a pattern for a particular detection spell. Lucius' spell was done a second before Regulus'. As Regulus' face paled, Lucius mouthed, "Harry?"
And Regulus turned in horror back into the clothes shop. A tear streaked Harry was unconscious in the grip of a dementor. Bony hands came up to take off its hood. Everyone else in the shop was cowering in fear or in their own hysterical fear-induced worlds.
There was no other choice. Regulus shouted, "Expecto Patronum!" A silver panther, sleek and deadly, shot out of his wand and cantered into the wayward dementor at a fierce speed. The dementor screamed, a screeching sound that held all the terror of a city of people. "Force him back behind the line." He growled, anger so consuming that the terror didn't even make him flinch. The panther attacked with a ferocity and viciousness that had the dementor streaming out of the walls of the building in strands and only reforming back behind the line. The other two forms glanced back at their comrade but didn't stop. His patronus circled the wayward dementor until they were out of his sight.
A pop! at his side made his wand move of its own accord, only to point at a smirking Lucius. That man- it was supposed to be illegal to apparate in Diagon Alley, the large density of people made falling on top of someone likely- could get away with a lot, and knew it too. His sycophant across the street was considering whether he dared to walk across the street to them, risking moving through the lines.
"Mind sharing the joke?" Regulus asked as he moved to go to Harry. "And to think I'd feared that your long acquaintance with dementors had sucked any humour possible out of your countenance."
"If anyone else said that to me, they'd be in Azkaban." Regulus stayed silent as he first checked Harry's breathing and pulse, then cast a multitude of diagnostic spells on him. He quickly healed a bruise or two. "Though," this time his voice had a tinge of amusement, "You might still end up there for breaking the treaty and casting a patronus charm."
"He crossed the restriction line. The mist shield was easily brushed aside; there was no other way to save a life. Kretcher, some chocolate." The next second, a bar bigger than his head appeared in his hand. He rolled his eyes at over exuberant house elves while casting "Enervate" on Harry.
"The penalty for casting a patronus charm is a sentence to Azkaban." Lucius said, still amused.
A shocked Harry stared with unblinking eyes at them. "Regulus?" he croaked. Then his eyes widened. "Lord Malfoy!"
Malfoy put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "You've been attacked by a dementor. No doubt you know of their effect." Harry merely blinked at him. "Each some chocolate." Harry stared with frightened eyes at the chocolate, then blinked. Mechanically, he took a few bites. Slowly the cold eased out of his body, filled with some tingling.
The adults stood up. "You would have done the same in my place." Regulus said quietly.
Lucius cast some privacy charms. "Perhaps." They both knew he agreed. Draco meant everything to the blonde. "I know dementors from working with them. They are greedy, independent creatures. Impose restriction, it is acceptable. But take away their prey, they'll hold a grudge for centuries and wait for the moment to pounce. I took the thing years, but it eventually found Salzar Slytherin in his old age and consumed his soul. They never forget their prey."
"So Harry is in danger."
"You must hunt down that dementor and kill it." Lucius said bluntly, as if he wasn't suggesting something more illegal than what just happened. "Dementors are solitary creatures. They do not care if one of them dies."
"I'll move to get that permission tonight. It broke the treaty, after all." Regulus said sadly. "If I survive the interrogation."
A hand was on his shoulder. "I will stand by you for this. We need to make it clear that pureblood heirs are off limits."
Regulus looked into grey eyes. He nodded again. "We'll need to go into the office to orchestrate this and to smooth over the other political repercussions." His political mind started whirling at a thousand miles per hour.
"Regulus?" Asked Harry shakily. "What's happening?" The privacy barrier allowed them to hear everything outside, but not the other way around.
He undid Lucius' powerful charms. "I cast an illegal spell in order to get the dementor away from you. Lucius and I need to go to the office to smooth things over." He put a hand on Harry's sweaty, pale forehead. "How are you feeling?"
"Much better now. Chocolate really helps." Regulus stood up slowly, still watching Harry. Other people in the store were slowly getting back up, but they gave the two men in black robes a large berth.
"I'm sorry I won't be with you for your birthday. Would you still like to finish shopping?"
Harry looked up hopefully. "Could I? I promise not to get in trouble. It's just a wand after this."
"Sirius can take you. Kretcher!" called Regulus. The house elf appeared looking worried. "Please stay here and look after Harry and Sirius, until one of them sends you away."
"You'll be okay?" Asked Harry shyly. Regulus merely sent him a small smile. It was gone in a second, Regulus style, but it made him feel better. "Be careful." He said, awkwardly patting his uncle's hand.
The next second, Lucius had a hand on his shoulder and the two of them were gone in a pop.
The next second, a frantic Sirius came out of the back room. "Harry!" he cried when he saw him.
Tripping a bit, Harry threw himself into Sirius' arms. Shockingly, he found himself in tears again. "Dementor… I remembered… terrible things…"
Sirius' strong arms clutched him tight. "Harry, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."
"Didn't think… I remembered… the night… James and Lily died…"
Sirius blanched. Slowly though, with soft murmurs or nonsense, Harry began to feel better.
Harry stepped back from Sirius only to find himself bombarded with a pile of chocolate that appeared with a pop. He gave a small smile. "Thanks Kretcher!" Harry sniffed a bit more, but grinned at Sirius sheepishly. "Sorry about that." He only just realized that Sirius had a privacy ward around them.
Sirius shook his head. "I don't know what the ministry was thinking, letting dementors walk down crowded streets with children. They suck all the happiness in the world out of you and recall your deepest fears. It's a terrible thing for anyone." He turned his serious eyes on Harry, "It just turns out that you have worse memories than most."
Harry's eyes widened as he realized how hopeless his godfather sounded. Like dementors patrolling diagon alley would never change. Well he would change that, Harry decided. He would work hard and get a ministry position just like his uncle and learn the game of politics until he could guarantee that what happened to him would never happen to a child again.
Sirius looked at him, getting back to being playful. "So I guess it's my turn to take you shopping, yes?"
A soft bell chimed as they entered another dingy store. Harry sneezed as they passed some boxes flying through the air. The back of his neck prickled as he sensed a presence nearby.
"Good afternoon." Said a soft voice. Harry jumped. "Nasty things, dementors, aren't they?"
An old man was standing behind the counter, gazing steadily at Harry, his eyes glowing like moons in the darkness of the shop. The dusty tranquility seemed to be filled with its own type of magic.
"Er."
"Mr. Potter, I wondered when I would be seeing you. It seems like only yesterday when your mother was here, buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work."
"Potter-Black." Harry corrected quietly.
"Indeed." The man said, "I see from the darker hair and sharper features that the adoption ritual has gone well."
He moved his eyes away from him to gaze at Sirius.
"Sirius Black. Your friend, on the other hand, favoured a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. Little more power and excellent for transfiguration."
The eyes focused back on Sirius and Harry squirmed, the eyes getting a little creepy.
"And yes, Sirius Black, blackthorn wand. Twelve and a Half inches. Slightly yielding, was it?"
It seemed the man freaked out Sirius too. He nodded slowly. "We're here to buy Harry's wand."
"Your wand arm?" The old man enquired.
"I'm right handed." Measuring tapes zoomed out of the shelves and wound themselves around him. When he saw the little scar on his right palm, the man made a little noise.
They tried wand after wand after wand, the old man's delight only increasing at having such a "hard customer".
Those eyes grew brighter as some idea popped into his mind. "I wonder…"
Olivander reappeared minutes later with a very dusty box that had obviously been in some special place. "It's almost been seventy years—but I'd hoped." He took out the wand and held it out to Harry. "Eleven inches, holly, phoenix feather, nice and supple."
The moment Harry touched it, he felt a warmth through his body as every fiber bonded with the wand. Sparks shot out of the tip as his hand moved of its own accord to slash through the air. He felt the first smile since the dementor attack grace his lips. He was glad that he'd saved wand shopping for last.
"Curious. Very curious."
"Excuse me, but what is curious?"
"I remember every wand I've ever sold. And this phoenix gave only one other feather. Thirteen inches. Yew. Your wand's brother went off to do great things. Terrible, but great."
"Terrible, but great?" He leaned closer to the man, and asked, "Who?"
"Voldemort, he now calls himself. The Dark Lord. Curious, that its brother would choose you, Mr. Potter."
Olivanders accepted the galleons for the wand from a silent Sirius. For the third time that day someone's gaze travelled up to look at his scar. "Curious indeed." He said.
Not knowing what to think of that, they made their way out of the depressing shop.
"What do you think of that?" He asked Sirius.
"That we need to get home as soon as possible or else the cake will have melted into a puddle by now."
"Nice segue."
"Let's go home to enjoy your birthday cake that the elf has been working on for a week. Then we can worry about all your school supplies that will get thrown with your uncle into Azkaban if he ends up there, since he never took them out of his pocket."
Before he could form a coherent response to that, they left the mystery-creating diagon alley with a pop.
A/N: Oh no! Regulus should have invested in a remembrall when he had the chance. Now Harry might never get his supplies back again.
