AN: Hey, me again. Well to answer some questions, Alice will be important to Harry but most definitely won't be magical, that would make things to easy. Also I'm happy to see Harry with either as long as it's done well (which will be a challenge when I get to it), it's too early for me to start pairings yet, there might be a few small crushes though, but anyone could become a love interest.
AN2: I've also only just realised I uploaded the wrong version of chapter 3 :o that corrected version is now up , thankfully it was only a few mistakes in there so don't feel like you'll need to re-read it
Now hope you enjoy.
- HP -
Of Letters and First Meetings" What in blazes? No, no, no, NO!"
" I guess Harry finally told Dad then." Dudley said, only glancing away from the TV to see his mum's reaction. She was staring at the door as if it would help her hear what was going on.
" And finally, the most important rule of all. No matter how much they beg, no matter how much they cry, never feed them after midnight."
" Turn the telly down Dudley." Aunt Petunia told him, leaning slight closer to the door.
" I thought we were supposed to stay out of this." Dudley grinned. Harry had specifically stated that since this was her job, she wanted to do this her way with out any interference.
" My Dudley! My poor son!" There heard yelled from upstairs. Dudley hurried to put the film on mute. It seemed like Harry decided to take the chance to have fun with this.
" You can't do this to my family, we promised to stamp-"
" –out this nonsense when you took me in. Yes, I know, I've heard it all from Aunt Petunia." Harry interrupted shortly.
" Oh good you haven't infected my whole family, then."
" Oi." Dudley muttered.
" No, just corrupted your precious son and I'm thinking of asking Aunt Petunia to join the parents board to help out with the school."
Aunt Petunia sighed. She supposed this is what she got when not only agreed, but suggested, to leave those two alone together.
" Never! Do you hear me? Never! They won't have us, I won't let them ruin my family. Ha! We'll show them what us normal people can do." Dudley exchanged a worried glance with his mum as they heard the manic grin in Vernon's voice.
" Um, do you think maybe we should…"
" They're not that easy to avoid, you know. They have this awesome thing called magic" They heard Harry taunt.
" Just standing in the hallway, just in case, won't really count as interference." She reasoned. Without wasting a second, they both hurried up the stairs making sure to stay as quiet as possible, though it seemed like the effort was wasted at this point.
" – and magic carpets with honing spells, they track you like a missile, I heard they haven't quite got the brakes to work yet so they might actually be just like a missiles."
" Stop speaking of such things! There will be none of that in my house. You won't be going and that's final!" Vernon yelled, the nosy neighbours forgotten about long ago. They heard a thump from the main bedroom, with Harry laughing soon after.
" What on earth do you think your doing." She giggled. Dudley was startled slightly as he realised his mum had crept right up to the door and was peering through the opening in the door. Damn it, she was good. Dudley resigned himself to lying on the floor to see through as well.
A suitcase came flying passed his sight, landing on the bed with a slight thud, a few shirts and a pair of jeans quickly followed it. Twisting his neck he saw Harry swaying on her heels, fairly cheerfully. She was holding one of his dad's work shirts.
" Hm, this is a nice shirt, I'm sure I could spruce it up tough, a Hawaiian pattern would suit you, don't you think?" Harry joked.
" You think that's going to stop me? They can't take you if they can't find us." Vernon said smugly.
" That's you plan? To go on holiday?"
" Oh no, we going away, far away!" Vernon schemed. It was then that Aunt Petunia decided that she'd had enough.
" Put those back in the wardrobe, Vernon. You're sounding like a mad man." Petunia glared at Harry as she marched into the room.
" But, we can't let this go! We've got to beat them!"
" We've got to do no such thing. This is a part of her we can't get rid of, as she's already proved. You've just got to come to terms with it." She scolded.
" I do not! We don't have to put up with her madness, right." He turned to Dudley for support. Dudley instantly looked guilty.
" I'm sorry Dad, it's kinda good." He said quietly, not meeting his dad's eyes.
" I can't believe this, you've turned them all against me! You're a freak! This isn't right, why can no-one see it?" Vernon shouted. He got no reaction. " Fine, I'll be back when you lot come to your senses!"
With that, he closed the zip to the half packed duffle bag, threw it on his shoulder and stalked out the room. A few seconds later they heard the tell tale sign of the door being slammed shut, closely followed by the roar of the engine as he took off.
The silence was broken by a sniffle from Dudley. Aunt Petunia was by his side in seconds, wrapping him in a death hug.
" Oh, don't worry Dudley, this isn't the first time he's pulled such a stunt when things don't go his way. He didn't mean to put you down"
Harry rolled her eyes at the lack of support being thrown her way. Her Aunt obviously couldn't say the same to her.
" I've never disappointed Dad like that before, it's always been Harry. Is he going to hate me too?" Dudley sniffed again as he questioned. Harry felt slightly guilty at this, she hadn't been thinking of Dudley when she brought him into it.
" No, he just says a lot of things he doesn't mean when he's angry, and trust me I will be having words with that man when he gets back. Mark my words, he'll be back by the end of tomorrow, ready to spend the night on the couch." She let Dudley go as he finished collecting himself. She glanced over at Harry who felt even worse.
" Sorry." She murmured. Dudley smiled at her.
" Don't worry, it was quite funny. I was thinking of getting him a Hawaiian shirt for Christmas, you've ruined that for me now." He joked. Harry was relieved that there were no hard feelings. Her Aunt cleared her throat as she walked over to Harry nervously and put her hand on her shoulder.
" It'll be okay." Harry hid her cringe at the awkwardness. She was grateful for the attempt at least.
" Thanks." She reply, just as awkward. Aunt Petunia removed her hand and moved on to put the rest of the clothes and suitcases back in the wardrobe.
" Oh and Harry, next time you're given a task, try to do it a bit more maturely. You're lucky it was only clothes that were being thrown about." Aunt Petunia gave her a pointed look. Harry laughed nervously.
" Haha, right. Well, I'd better go, do chores, yeah." She ran out of the room before her Aunt started on any of the many other things that she messed up on there. She glared at Dudley on the way past as she heard him chuckle.
" Smooth." She heard from her pocket. Great, she couldn't escape the mocking anywhere now days.
- HP -
True to prediction, Vernon had returned home the next night, just after tea, slightly resembling a kicked puppy. Harry was shocked to discover that not only did he apparently have emotions, but he had a look that didn't annoy the hell out of her. Shame it wasn't ever directed to her.
After a stern talking to from her Aunt, Vernon apologised to Dudley while still managing to impressively ignore and insult Harry at the same time.
Since being informed by his wife that once Harry would be gone for most of the year after September 1st Vernon had given into the idea of her going to the school.
He now tended to just avoid being home at the same time as Harry as much as possible, though he managed to get away without much trouble from Aunt Petunia by claiming that he was doing it for the over time.
Just over a week later, her Aunt sat her down to talk about her 'situation', as she called it.
" Go on Dud, I'll catch up with everyone another day." Harry told him as he hesitated about leaving for the park still. Truthfully, Harry was happy enough that she hadn't ruined their relationship with her previous stunt.
Satisfied with her answer, Dudley hurried out the door. She joined her Aunt in the sitting room, hoping she hadn't changed her mind about supporting Harry. She'd been extremely useful at holding Vernon back as she had promised.
" Harry, I know I told you before that I have very limited knowledge on your world, but there are a few things I remember, it was hard to avoid sometimes." Harry ignored the slight jealously in her Aunt's voice.
" I do remember about how your mum had someone show her around the Wizarding World so I finally wrote to them yesterday to get them to send someone to explain everything to you." Harry looked surprised at this. " Oh get that look off of your face, I don't even know how to get to the place for your school supplies, they should have at least considered this. Thankfully they respond quickly at least, so someone will be here soon to talk to you."
" Already? How did you get in contact with them?" Harry asked.
" They had an owl spying on us in the back garden." She saw Harry's unbelieving look. Harry had gotten used to her Aunt's slight bias.
"Fine, it was waiting for the reply to say whether you were going. It took a lot of effort to convince your Uncle not to shoot it down mind you. Then again, my father had a very similar reaction" She smiled gently at the memory. Harry cleared her throat.
" So they were just going to leave me high and dry? I mean if they knew enough about you to know to leave me with you, they'd obviously know you're not a witch wouldn't they?" Harry questioned.
" Yes, you'd think so but like I told you, Wizards and Witches aren't always known for they're common sense. Got too many things to replace it with." She criticised.
" Oh yes, how considerate of them. Well, I'm not going to make this easy for them." She huffed, crossing her arms. Alice laughed from in her pocket. Harry wondered momentarily how no-one had managed to find her yet.
" Harry." Her Aunt warned, though she failed to hide her smile.
" Don't worry, ill just act like the unknowing muggle that I could have been. I'll just give them my honest reaction." Harry smiled sweetly.
" That's what worries me." Aunt Petunia muttered. The door bell rang and Harry's grin grew.
" Oh dear." She brushed down her peach shirt and went to answer the door while Harry started to plot.
" Harry dear, this will is one of your teachers from the school." Her aunt interrupted her lovely thoughts. She took a good look at the women in front of her. Long green jacket covering a pin striped black suit and wiry grey hair held up in a bun, it may not have been the most fashionable outfit but she looked mostly normal.
" Hello Miss Potter, I'm Professor McGonagall, I'm here to check up on you." Harry saw her Aunt barely hold back a snort from behind the Professor. " And to tell you about our world. I'll also be your Transfiguration teacher when you start Hogwarts."
Excellent, she had given her a perfect opening. The aging professor looked fairly strict, though not unfriendly, Harry almost felt sorry for her.
" I'm sorry, my Aunt has only just informed me of this meeting. And I'm sorry that she's wasted your time." Harry apologised.
" So you do know about the wizarding world then." The professor smiled in relief.
" Oh no, I've decided that I won't be going." She explained.
" What? But why on earth not! You've been down for Hogwarts ever since you were born!" McGonagall exclaimed.
" It's very simple really. You hit me. In the head. With a letter… That's not very friendly in most cultures you know."
" So it's nothing to do with the magic, or any views?" She hinted.
" Nope just the physical violence your staff inflicted on me." Harry explained cheerfully.
" Staff? Miss Potter we use owls to deliver messages."
" Yes I know, your hired owl had very bad service, that was quite a paper cut I got." McGonagall was looking slightly distressed by now.
" But you can't not attend Hogwarts over a paper cut! That's –" She seemed to stop herself before she could say anything potentially insulting. At least she had manners. "unheard of."
" Well, I'm also quite partial to this other school, Smeltings, that my cousin will be attending. It offers some excellent courses and extra curriculum activities." Harry only felt slightly bad as the professor look positively insulted by this.
" Courses? Hogwarts offers every course that a first year student would need in the magical world! You'll be learning magic! You'd really rather go to a muggle school?" She could hear the implied 'are we really that bad' and wasn't sure whether she felt bad for the women or that the wizarding world should get over themselves.
" Weellll," Harry dragged out, " I suppose it does sound fairly interesting. But your school is yet to explain to me why I should attend, much less anything else."
Both she and her Aunt held back their laughter as the women in front of them spluttered in shock, unable to form a reply immediately.
" I hadn't realised you felt like that Harry dear, I apologise. Perhaps we should sit down for this." Aunt Petunia said as sympathetically as she could manage, leading the professor to the arm chair.
" I'm sorry also Miss Potter, I was under the impression that you already knew about the magic world." Yeah, because we called you hear to discuss my bank account. Oh my god! They probably have banks! McGonagall mistook her look of shock as a reaction to her statement.
" I'm afraid I'm unsure as to how much you know about magic, Miss Potter." She stated.
" We haven't told her anything, except about her parents lately." Her Aunt informed her honestly. Harry smirked internally at her Aunts' slyness. McGonagall looked disappointed at this and was looking suspiciously between the two. Harry decided it was her time to bail out her Aunt.
" Yes, I'm very grateful too." McGonagall looked shocked again at this statement. "It was very upsetting to find out the true nature of their deaths, I'm glad my Aunt was here to sit me down and explain it."
She hated the pitying look she received at this. She had a feeling many people in the wizarding world was going to annoy her.
" You're parents were great Wizards, Harriett. I taught them, too, they were wonderful people. When you get to Hogwarts you'll find many people that you can talk to about them." She said sincerely.
" I'm sorry, but you still haven't explain why I should go."
" But it was what they would have wanted." Had Harry not already believed that Professor McGonagall was sincere in her answers, she would make sure that everyone knew how much she disliked that statement. It seemed far too much like playing the guilt card, which many people would probably be ready to do, she realised. She took a deep breath before replying.
" I appreciate knowing what my parents would have wanted for me, but I need to live my own life also." Harry stated tensely.
" Of course," McGonagall nodded. " I'm sorry for making this too personal."
" Well, the first year courses consist of Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Herbology and History of Magic as your core subjects. You will also get the option of Flying practise if you wish, there will also be a number of other clubs running such as the school choir, study groups and shiftboarding, though if you get enough people together it's easy to start up any activity."
Harry had to admit that she was impressed with the change of topic, and information, though she was slightly disappointed as McGonagall slipped into professor mode as she spoke about the school. She hadn't realised that that had been the professor loosened up.
" In third year, students will get the option to select three or four courses to take at O.W.L level, Ordinary Wizarding Levels that is. They will take these until fifth year, where they will get the option of dropping courses, and if they have proven themselves able, pick up other courses. They will then take these for N.E.W.T level, Nasty Exhausting Wizarding Tests, during their seventh year."
" We do have a broacher for the school after it was suggested some years ago, though I have been informed before that our grading system is fairly similar to the muggle one. There are also some booklets I can hand you as an introduction to the wizarding world."
" So you do still do that, then?" Aunt Petunia cut in tersely. " I thought they had stopped after Harry didn't receive anything, though the broacher does sound like a good idea."
" Yes, I'm afraid we presumed too much with your situation, I'll be finding out why this has happened later. That's all the information I have for now, I'll collect the leaflets for you to look over and leave you to it."
" Actually, I'd like to give my reply now if that's okay."
" Of course, you'll need to write it down still, however, as Hogwarts runs on a documentation system."
" Oh that's fine. Aunt Petunia, would you be able to get me some paper while I find a pen, please?" Harry asked sweetly. She was attempted to be ignorant, not rebellious after all.
" Of course Harry, biros are in the draw beneath the telephone." Her Aunt replied as she walked out into the kitchen. Harry knew she was wondering what her plan was. With the items gathered, Harry set about writing her perfect reply.
" Okay, I'm not entirely sure if it's been worded right but it should get the message across." Harry told McGonagall as she folded the paper in half, before passing it to her.
The Professor visibly held her breath as she opened the letter, quickly scanning it through.
" Excellent. I'm sure that you're going to love Hogwarts " She smiled, " Though I will have to get back to you on the exchange program idea, the Hogwarts hasn't held such a thing in over 50 years."
Harry could admit that she was surprised, not only because that was the part McGongall had decided to pick up on, but also because the wizarding world had done this at one point. Maybe they really were living backwards and would enter the bronze ages soon.
" That's good to know, thank you. But I was also wondering when I would be able to get my things, as I said, my Aunt doesn't know about the Wizarding world enough to take me."
" As a muggle-raised student, you can have a professor introduce you to the wizarding world. There aren't any other professors available today, but if you are willing to wait for an hour while I file your reply then I would be more than happy to show you around."
" That would be amazing, thank you Professor! And before you go, would it be possible to keep a copy of that letter, I like to keep receipts and copies of things organised, you see." Harry replied as cheerful as she could. She was rewarded with a wary look.
" Yes, well, it's the least we could do now, you can have that copy now." Harry was startled when the Professor simply waved her wand over the piece of paper and pulled a copy away from it. She would have to get used to people talking literally. " I'll take my leave now and be back soon."
And with that, she disappeared with a pop.
" She jumped!" Harry squealed excitedly, bouncing on the spot.
" She what?" Her Aunt questioned.
" Nothing." She'd forgotten that no-one else knew about that. " Don't you want to see the letter that I held back especially for you?" She waved the letter towards her, knowing that her Aunt's current curiosity would over rule her worry for her sanity.
" Let's read that then." She said taking it out of Harry's hand. Harry pushed her Aunt's hand out so that she could also read along with her and admire her handiwork.
Dear Headmaster, your Supreme Mugwump,
I am writing to inform you that I have received your invitation to your school and to inform you of my decision regarding it.
Firstly, I would like you to know I was quite upset when I realised I had been completely missed when you were sending out teachers, my Aunt doesn't know a lot about the Wizarding world because of being a muggle, I think they're called, so I have very limited information and could have easily missed out on the opportunity completely.
I can only assume that the person who placed me with my Aunt's family must have failed to inform you of this important detail and would like you to know that I do not blame you for this mistake. There are many people that merely do not keep on top of these things, one of my favourite sayings is 'An unorganised mind, an unorganised life' as it tends to help avoid major problems.
While I have the chance to contact you, I would also like to talk about your staff. I admit to having very mixed feelings at this moment in time. Up until a few hours ago I found myself not wanting to attend Hogwarts due to the aggressiveness of your staff, though the teacher, Professor McGonagall, that you sent has been more than helpful and I can only hope that the rest of your staff are like her. My highest appraisal to her.
I was also wondering if there was any information available about other wizarding schools, both in the United Kingdom and other countries, as I am very interested in seeing what they are like in comparison to Hogwarts. Seeing what other schools teach and what they are like may be very beneficial after all.
Now I must thank you for taking the time to read my letter, and would like to accept my place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Thank you very much for you time,
Harriett Rosalie Potter.
Looked at her Aunt for a reaction but she was currently just staring at the letter.
" Well I thought it was very well written for someone my age, it's exactly like how we were taught to write letters" Harry grinned.
" Your pushing your luck with that letter." Her Aunt sighed and stared at her. Harry stared back.
" Fine, you did well preparing for trouble." Aunt Petunia grinned at her. " And I would love to be in the same room as the old man when he reads this, I could have easily missed out on this opportunity altogether. Ha! It'll send him into a mad panic." She chuckled.
" I knew you'd see the brighter side of things." Harry laughed. She was fairly proud of her work.
" I know I said to take certain pre-cautions but even I hadn't thought that you'd start this early. They'll never know what hit them."
- HP -
The following hour had been filled with a few more laughs at the expense of the controlling Headmaster, but mainly Aunt Petunia had been reminding Harry of her list of things to be careful of.
1. No talking to strangers, taking candy from strangers or heading off with strangers.
2. You may be a little bit famous so watch out for creepy fans.
3. Adults are the ones that start feuds with each other, they are not perfect. Be cautious of everyone.
4. You have money, a lot of it, people are going to try to take this from you or attempt to control it so be smart with it.
5. Harry was sure there was a number five but seemingly just nodding was a good enough response for this one.
" Are you listening to me?" Aunt Petunia gazed at her suspiciously.
" Of course I am, you've already told me everything before, you might as well just give me a summary sheet and a pop quiz and we'll be done here."
" Enough of your cheek, I'm worry about this trip enough as it is. It's one minute until she comes back now, and she's going to be on time, these representatives like to be on time but don't be fooled into thinking that that's a regular thing." She warned. It seemed to Harry that her Aunt wanted her to know that the wizarding world held all of the same faults that theirs did.
" Yeah, they're not gods. Never have been, never will be and I won't be either. I get it, really." Harry said exasperated. " Stop worrying so much, it's a day trip to a shopping centre, you can give me a grand recap before I head of to Hogwarts. For now-"
Pop.
" Ahhh! Damn it! That still surprises me." Harry exclaimed, she saw her Aunt put her hand on her chest in an attempt to calm her own heart.
" My apologies Miss Potter, as you're not connected to the floo network this is the best way for me to arrive here." Professor McGonagall stated. Harry blinked.
" Okay I really hope those leaflets will explain about that. But I have to ask, robes? Really?" During the time that she had been gone, McGonagall had changed into a slim green robe, similar to her previous coat, and was now bearing plain black trousers and a white shirt.
" I can assure you that you will get used to these, many muggleborns are unsure about them at first but they are a part of most outfits." She replied. Harry still looked fairly unsure, dresses had never suited her that well and she didn't think these would be that different. Aunt Petunia was also eying the robes with slight disgust.
" If that's all of the questions, are you ready to leave?" Harry nodded. " Very well, we'll be back in a few hours Mrs Dursley. Now, if you'd just grab my hand, Miss Potter."
Pop. It felt like the wind had been knocked out of Harry and she struggled to catch her breath.
" Deep breaths now, the first time's never pleasant, it will get easier to more you get used to it. Come on, deep breaths."
Harry concentrated on the voice as she became more aware of her surroundings. She could hear the murmurs from the rest of the room, and jumped as a fire flared for a few seconds to her right. She looked up to see an old, wooden bar tended by an old man. He smiled at them, revealing a number of lost teeth.
" Morning Professor, Hogwarts I guess?" He asked. " Don't worry about that kid, you'll learn to ride with it so it only feels like a pulling sensation. Don't fight it next time."
" Good morning Tom, it's good to see you again but I'm afraid we must keep moving." McGonagall replied politely.
" 'Course, 'course. Have a good day won't you." He nodded to them before moving down the bar to serve some customers.
" Follow me, this will take us to the entrance of Diagon Alley." She hustled Harry impatiently.
" Hey I can walk." Harry scowled from into front of the Professor.
" It can't be." She heard from the bar. This came from the large man that had just been served, he was staring at her in amazement. " Harriett, it's really you."
Before Harry could even question just why Professor McGonagall was shaking her head in dismay, she was ambush by the patrons from all sides.
" Miss Potter it's an honour to finally meet you."
" I can't believe you're here, right in front of me."
" Harriett, I can't tell you how great this moment truly is."
" Will you bless my baby?"
She was shaking hands in all directions, people seemingly didn't care if they were shaking a hand that was tangled past her other arm or over her head. It seemed that she was more than a bit famous, and she was fairly sure this constituted for creepy fans. So she screamed, loudly.
There was silence.
" Thank you very much. Professor?" She turned to McGonagall as if she had had something to say.
" Oh! Well, I'm sure you're very excited to meet Miss Potter but I'm afraid we have things we have to be getting on with, though I'm sure she appreciates all of you're best wishes." Harry was sure there was a small glare under the Professor's stern exterior being directed directly at her. Oh well, she was the responsible adult here.
" Yes, thank you all, though I'm just a normal person too like Cher." It was till silent. " Oh and I would like to say now that I don't bless people or anything so please never ask again, I'd probably end up accidentally cursing them." She figured she'd better get that one out of the way before it caused problems.
The crowd slowly shuffled away, and the few patrons that attempted to shake her hand again were sent away with a firm glare from Professor McGonagall. Eventually they were left alone and McGonagall reluctantly directed Harry over to the large sniffling man.
" That was well handled Harriett." No thanks to you. " You're mum was good at keeping a clear head too."
" You knew them?" Harriett asked, surprised. Since finding out that her parents were considered heroes, she'd forgotten that they would have had friends and acquaintances when they were alive.
" O' course, sorry let me introduce myself. I'm Hagrid, Keeper o' Keys, I knew your parents when they went to Hogwarts." He grinned at her.
" Did you go to school with them?" She asked.
" Nah, I was the Grounds Keeper then too, always having to chase your dad away from the forest. Your mum was more interested in the magical creatures though, we used to have tea sometimes." Hagrid smiled before taking a moment to examine Harry.
" You're just like you mother, you have her eyes you know," He sniffed. " I bet you hear that all the time though."
" No, I actually I don't. I don't know much about them." Harry replied quietly. Truthfully it was one of the only things she had ever heard about her mum due to her Aunt's refusal to talk about her.
" Yeah, you do, and you look kinda like your dad too. Got his nose you have." That was slightly less pleasing. Great, out of everything I could possibly inherit. " And your hair, his was uncontrollable too." Lets hope people will focus on that instead.
" Hello again Hagrid." Harry almost jumped as McGonagall returned.
" Ah, professor McGonagall, great to see you again. How you doing?" Hagrid greeted warmly. Harry wondered if he ever stopped smiling.
" Just fine, thank you Hagrid. I'm afraid I'm going to have to take Harry to get her school things now though." His smiled dropped slightly but still stayed on his face.
" Oh right. That'll be good, you'll love today Harry. I suppose I should get on with a few things as well, yeah I'll go do that. Hopefully I'll meet you later then, Harry." He said hopefully. Harry couldn't bear to let him down, he was like a giant teddy.
" I'm sure we can meet up later, right Professor?" She asked McGonagall.
" Of course," She agreed easily. " How about we meet you for at Florean Fortescue's at 2?"
" That sounds perfect, give me time to get that thing and have another drink." He replied, standing and grabbing his coat. " Think I'll just go chat to Professor Quirrell over there first."
" Of course you will." Professor McGonagall sighed. " Come on Harry."
Harry watched Hagrid disappear to the other side of the bar before moving to catch up with Professor McGonagall. She rounded the corner to face – a stone wall.
Harry peered around McGonagall to see if there was a secret switch somewhere.
" Don't worry, we're in the right place." McGonagall smiled. " The Wizarding World likes to hide it's entrances from prying eyes, should a muggle somehow end up in the Leaky Cauldron, it would be far less damaging, and more obvious, if they were kept in the pub rather than let out into our shopping area."
Harry was surprised at the small amount of comment sense finally displayed by the Wizarding World. It really gave support towards her reversing society idea.
" Now, to get into Diagon Alley you need to just tap this brick here with your wand, two across and three up from the dark brick." She demonstrated by pressing said brick. Harry watched in amazement as the bricks seemingly pulled back on themselves to form an archway into the magical alley.
" Welcome, Harry, to Diagon Alley."
- HP -
Okay I know that I said this chapter would be at Diagon Alley, but it seems I just couldn't let McGonagall have it easy ;) I thinks it's safe to say that the next chapter will be Diagon Alley though.
Next chapter should be up a lot quicker, it's already been started.