The Circle

Disclaimer: I own nothing...thank you for not suing.

'Thoughts'

Parsletounge

Mind Speech

"Foreign Language"

A/N: I noticed that I made the mistake of calling Anna a human in the last chapter and I just fixed it. I apologize for that. To clarify she is an undine a type of water elemental. Also for those that were wondering why no one has recognized him as the boy-who-lived it will be explained in this chapter.

Chapter 4: Mistakes and Shopping

Hogwarts: 1991 (two years ago)

Albus Dumbledore was at a loss. He knew that he should have checked on the boy at least once but he really hadn't wanted to interfere with his new life and family. He thought that the boy would be safe and loved with his relatives but now he wasn't so sure. The letters for this year's acceptance to Hogwarts had already gone out and almost everyone had sent a reply, everyone but Harry Potter.

Deciding that it would be a good idea to send someone to see if there was a problem he summoned his groundkeeper, Hagrid. It took the man a few minutes to get there and in that time the Headmaster wrote a letter to Harry Potter explaining about the wizarding world and who Hagrid was. When the giant man reached the Headmaster's office he was told that there was a student who hadn't sent a reply and that he would be needed to find out what was wrong. Hagrid was more then happy to go collect the student and set off as soon as the Headmaster had given him the letter and address. Once the half giant left, Albus sat back in his chair with a heavy sigh to wait for the news on the boy-who-lived.

Hagrid arrived in Surry and quickly made his way to Privit Dr. and started his search for number four. It took him a few minutes since the houses all looked alike. Once he found it though he walked up to knock on the door. A chubby blond boy answered the door. The boy gaped up at Hagrid before running away and into what looked like the kitchen. Hagrid was a little surprised at the boy's reaction but decided to wait until an adult came to the door. He didn't have to wait for long as a small worn looking woman entered from the kitchen. The boy was nowhere to be seen but Hagrid just shrugged it off and focused on the woman.

"'Ello there, the name's Hagrid. I'm 'ere to tell Mister Potter of 'is ac'eptance to 'ogwarts School of Witch Craft and Wizardry. If you'll 'ave 'im come 'ere I can explain what 'e needs to know."

The woman's eyes bulged as he was speaking and Hagrid was starting to grow concerned for her health. As he took a step forward to see if she needed any help the woman took a step back and started shaking slightly. She looked up at him but her eyes were oddly vacant.

"The boy isn't here. He ran away six years ago and I haven't seen him since. I'm sorry but I'm going to have to ask you to leave now."

Hagrid was shocked. He had never thought that Harry would run away. But there was nothing that he could do now so he asked the woman if she was alright and when he got a positive reply he headed back to Hogwarts.

When he arrived he went straight to the Headmaster's office. He was so out of it that he didn't even bother knock on the door and just went in. He stood in the doorway for a few minutes not even noticing that the people in the office where starring at him. After he got himself under control he turned towards the Headmaster.

"'E's not there 'Eadmaster. The lady, she said 'e ran away six years ago."

Hagrid just stood there looking at the Headmaster as if the man would say something and just like that everything would be fixed. Albus himself was shocked at the news and it took him a few minutes before he could respond. When he finally could he smiled at Hagrid and told the man that he appreciated the fact that he had tried. He said that he would start a search and that he was sure they would find him soon. Hagrid looked at him with shining eyes and smiled and left.

The Headmaster turned to his Professors that were still in his office and explained who it was that Hagrid was talking about. With a sigh he looked over each of the Professors and knew that he would need to do something or else everyone was going to lose hope. He told them that he was going to call a meeting of the Order of the Phoenix. Everyone was surprised. There hadn't been a meeting of the Order since You-Know-Who's downfall.

The Order meeting was called and people were sent out in search parties. A few days later Albus decided to see if he could get some more information from the Dursleys. He had Minerva McGonagall and Severus Snape go with him. They apperated from Hogsmead to Privit Dr. and walked up to number four. Albus knocked on the door and waited until it was opened by who must have been Petunia Dursley.

"Ah, hello there, my name is Albus Dumbledore. I am the Headmaster of Hogwarts and was hoping that you would be able to tell us a bit more about your nephew's disappearance."

The woman blinked up at him and then seemed to come back to herself. She said that she didn't know anything. She had woken up one morning to find her husband dead and her nephew gone. The others were disturbed by this; they hadn't known that Vernon Dursley was dead. They went into the house and sat down in the living room where a blonde boy was playing video games. The boy, Dudley, turned and let out a squeak when he saw the three people dressed in robes.

"What are they doing here?" Dudley asked his mom. "They're freaks. Dad wouldn't have wanted them in the house. Make them leave." The boy demanded, turning back to his game expecting the people to go away.

Albus was taken aback by the boy's tone of voice when he stressed the word 'freak'. It wasn't a good indication of their view on magic. Minerva pursed her lips while Severus glared at the boy. They decided it would be best to ask their questions after they put a mild truth spell on the woman. After the spell was complete they asked about the night that Harry disappeared. When they found she didn't know anything else they started asking questions about how she had cared for Harry. What they found out surprised disgusted them all. They were now looking for an abused boy who had probably lived on the streets for the past six years, if he had managed to escape his Uncle's murderer that is.

They all went back to Hogwarts to help with the search and prepare for the new school year. The search continued for a whole year but Harry Potter was presumed dead after that and the search called off. Of course everyone still kept an eye out just in case but there wasn't much hope of finding the boy. It saddened the entire wizarding world.

Present: (1993)

London was led through the hallways and back to the portkey room. The two professors were bickering the entire way there only stopping once they entered the room. Shane stayed with London while Gin went to a trunk that was against the far wall. Shane explained that she was looking for a portkey that would take them to Sunrae Plaza, the main shopping district in America. When Gin finally turned back towards them she was holding an empty soda can.

She strode over to them and held it out for the two to touch as well. London felt that same sensation of something pulling behind his naval and they were off. They landed in a room that appeared to be part of a shop though this one had other people in it; some were even just appearing as they had. Gin was already heading outside having put the soda can in a bin that said 'used' and Shane was waiting for him so London cut his observations short and headed towards the door.

Once outside the shop the two professors continued with their argument though a bit quieter and London had some time to look around. He was surprised to see that there were muggle shops mixed in with the wizarding ones. He had thought that Sunrae Plaza was going to be like Diagon and Knockturn Alleys with strictly wizarding shops and wizards. This Plaza seemed to be an even mix between the two worlds, there even seemed to be muggles and some that were quite obviously magical creatures among the people. He didn't know much about the wizarding world but since he lived on the streets of London he had been there a few times. And in England there was definitely a social barrier around the three groups that didn't seem to be here. He was used to all the prejudice that was in the British wizarding world and wasn't quite sure what to do now that it wasn't there.

In England the people were tense and suspicious of everyone else; it was like they were always waiting for something bad to happen. It hadn't mattered if you were in muggle London shopping for a birthday present or in Diagon Alley looking for a new broom or even in Knockturn Alley looking for the newest thing on the black market everyone seemed to be tense and on alert. The muggles thought that terrorists were attacking while the wizarding world knew the truth was that the Death Eaters had taken the war a step further and were openly attacking anyone in their way and the other magical races were stuck in the middle with both sides attacking them. In retaliation to the Death Eaters the Ministry of Magic started cracking down with strong policies on anything considered Dark. People who once fought on the Light side were now being hunted down and killed because they were 'dark' creatures; this in turn made other magical creatures fear the wizards so they started retreating from the wizarding world.

But here in Sunrae Plaza it was like nothing of the sort had ever happened to these people. At first London was angry, here were these people carefree and not worrying about anything while he and everyone he had known were in constant danger of being attacked. He quickly realized that there was no point in being angry with people simply because of their ignorance or their place of residence and tried to figure out how he would survive once the Death Eaters moved to America. He figured that by the time he was done with his shopping he would know exactly where the most defended and defendable areas were. When his professors calmed down he asked them where they were supposed to start.

Both of the professors turned to London in surprise. Usually new student were nervous around them and even people who had know them for years were cautious when interrupting them during an argument, an angry werewolf was something no one wanted to be around. This boy just talked to them like he was bored, without any concern for his own well being. They didn't know what to do, they both looked at the other for advice and finding none started off towards the bank. Gin looked over at London and saw the boy following so she decided to get some answers.

"How can you ignore our behavior? It is completely unacceptable for us to be behaving in such a manor around a new student and if I were with anyone else I would promise you that you would never see such actions again. I would however like to apologize to you for my behavior but I find that I have no manors when I'm around that great lummox."

Shane looked back and grunted at the lummox comment but said he wished to apologize as well. He explained that they hadn't been getting along very well lately and that it was still no excuse for their behavior. After his apology he went back to leading them down the road though it was obvious that he was waiting for an answer to Gin's question. London shrugged and explained as best he could.

"Well that's cause ya ain't serious in yer arguin' ya sound more frustrated then anythin'. Asides that it ain't none of my business why yer disagreein."

Shane nodded but Gin arched an eyebrow at his continued usage of improper grammar. She asked London if he would mind speaking more clearly since it was hard for her to understand him. Since he head to talk properly for school he told her that he wouldn't mind.

"Thanks. I was also wondering if you knew that it was a bad idea to interrupt an angry werewolf. I know that we both do get frustrated and angry at each other when we are arguing and sometimes one or both of us have snapped and done something stupid when someone interrupted us. I promise that we will be on our best behavior for you but be careful next time ok."

London looked thoughtful for a moment and wondered why she was telling him to be careful. He decided that she was probably worried he would get hurt and they would get in trouble so he thought it would be best to reassure her.

"No worries I might not be able to stop him yet but if I ever get a werewolf mad at me I can always kill them."

The casual way that he said it made the hairs on the back of Gin's neck stand up. It didn't sound cocky or anything like that it just sounded like he was stating a fact. She looked over to see how Shane had reacted and was surprised to see the thoughtful look on his face; he was obviously taking the boy seriously.

"And how exactly would you kill a werewolf my size that was angry at you?" Shane asked sounding interested.

London punched Shane in the chest right were his heart was and Shane froze. Gin was worried at first but then she noticed that London still had his fist pressed to Shane's chest and the man was just still, not injured.

"Liquid silver would have been injected straight to your heart if I hadn't stopped it. It's very fast and very effective so if I'm quick I don't have to worry about too many injuries."

London pulled his fist back and Gin saw a streak of silver slip up his sleeve.

"Of course the needle is also pure silver so you might want to take it easy for a little bit since it was in your heart."

Shane nodded and told London that he couldn't wait to get him in Defense class. London had a small smile on his face and he looked a little eager himself. Gin looked at the two and laughed, she couldn't help it the two of them were so caught up in their talk of fighting. After a few minutes of watching them talk Gin decided it was time to interrupt them so they could continue on to the bank. The two kept talking about different tactics they had both come up with when facing different situations as they continued on their way until they reached a large white stone building that had the word 'Gringotts' on it. Shane led them up to the doors but stopped and turned to London.

"This is the bank. I'm not sure how much exposure you've had to different magical races but Gringotts is run by goblins so please try not to stare." Shane told London.

"I've met goblins before don't worry. Other then goblins I've only met a few magical races so you'll have to give me a warning before hand if there is going to be something new."

They went inside the marble building and got into a line behind a man that looked to be a muggle. There were two more people in front of the muggle man so Gin took the time to explain about the bank to London. She told him about the money system and what exactly would happen when the goblins tested him. While she was explaining the line was moving and by the time she finished with what he should expect it was their turn. Shane walked up to the goblin that was behind the counter and asked to see someone who could check if London had a family vault or not. The goblin snapped his fingers and a smaller goblin appeared. This goblin seemed a lot more timid then the others that were at the counters. He seemed to be something like a servant instead of an actual employee.

The new goblin gestured for London to follow him and lead the way down through a complex maze of hallways finally ending in front of what looked like an office. They entered the office and London noticed the silvery items placed on the desk. The goblin behind the desk looked important as he was dressed in expensive cloths. As he heard the click of the door closing the goblin gestured for him to come closer. The goblin picked up a dagger and a shallow bowl off the desk and placed them in front of London.

"You need to cut your palm and fill the bowl with your blood. I will then use it for a summoning ritual and we will see if you have a family vault here."

As the goblin was explaining London took the dagger and cut his palm and watched as the blood flowed into the bowl. When the bowl was mostly full he closed his hand and brought it to his mouth. He licked the wound and watched as it healed. The goblin, who had introduced himself as Stoneblood, picked up a vile of purple and blue swirling liquid which he then poured into the bowl. As he was doing this Stoneblood was also chanting in the goblin language. As soon as Stoneblood stopped chanting four keys appeared on his desk in the bowl where the blood used to be. The goblin looked surprised to see them and he looked up at London suspiciously. When London asked him what was wrong Stoneblood shook his head and started explaining about the keys.

"Nothing I suppose since I'm sure that I preformed the ritual correctly. It's just rather interesting that you would have these particular keys appear." Stoneblood picked up the keys and went on to explain. "These keys open the Slytherin, Potter, Black and Eldicar vaults. All of these vaults are from very prestigious families and none of them are related which is what I find interesting since the ritual was supposed to determine only a family vault."

London just shrugged and asked if Stoneblood wanted to redo the ritual to see if there was indeed a mistake but the goblin shook his head and said that he was sure it would come up the same. Stoneblood handed the keys over to London and told him that it would probably be for the best if he didn't tell people which vaults were his or how many he had since the family names where all so well known. He also asked, out of what he said was purely curiosity, what London's real name was. London considered the goblin for a moment before deciding that it wouldn't hurt to answer the question since he didn't know anyway.

"I don't know my real name. All I know is that my parents are dead and I was sent to live with my muggle relatives."

Stoneblood's eyes widened when he heard the word muggle. He knew that the only one of the families that would have allowed muggle relations were the Potters and their baby was the savior of the wizarding world even if he was presumed dead. His eyes flickered up to look at London's forehead but couldn't distinguish a lightning bolt shape among the scars on his face.

"Do you happen to have a lightning bolt shaped scar on your forehead? I can't see since you have that other set going across your face."

London absently ran his fingers across the three lines that went diagonally down his face. The first one started a little past his hairline, leaving a mark in his short black hair, to continue going down his temple and a bit on his neck while the other two ran over his eye to stop at his jaw. At the start of the lower two was another scar though it was obscured and blended in with the other.

"Yes I had one shaped like that but it has blended with my scar from an encounter with a werewolf. How did you know?"

The goblin nodded. He had thought that the wizards would have placed him somewhere safer then with muggles but that wasn't his concern. Since he was a Gringotts employee his concern was the money in the vaults and this boy currently had four very important vaults in his possession.

"Well that's easy to explain. I knew about the scar because the Potters had a child that should be about your age and you got that scar by defeating the Dark Lord Voldemort. You are quite famous in the wizarding world for that by the way though you were presumed dead a year ago."

London blinked then he blinked again and just stared for a good five minutes before finally coming to his senses. He laughed a little and then said that it figured. He told Stoneblood that he expected the goblin to keep silent about his identity and exactly which vaults he had acquired.

"I want a way to access the money in all of my vaults without having to come back here and I also want a complete inventory of what is in each vault. You are to be the only one that knows my real name and which vaults I have. The next time you see me make sure you remember that my name is London."

Stoneblood watched the boy cautiously for a moment before agreeing. He had felt slightly like he was being threatened but the boy had done nothing overtly threatening so the goblin was a little confused. He decided that he didn't want to chance it and that he would take precautions when dealing with the young vampire.

"There is a money pouch that will let you have access to your vaults no matter where you are. It costs twenty five galleons but I suppose that you don't mind the price. I can also give you the inventory you requested though it will take me a few minutes to get them if you will wait here I can get them both for you now."

London told Stoneblood that he would wait and that he appreciated the goblins cooperation. It took about twenty minutes for the goblin to return and in that time London had come to terms with his true identity. He had read some books about the defeat of Voldemort and knew that he was indeed famous but he also knew that he didn't want that fame. It was something that he didn't deserve and therefore he wasn't ever going to use his real name. He was more comfortable as London the street rat then the famous Harry Potter anyway. When Stoneblood came back London took the papers and the pouch and thanked the goblin for his time before heading out the door.

The more timid goblin that had led him to the office was there and they walked back to the entrance in silence. As soon as they got to where Shane and Gin were the little goblin left back the way they had came. Gin smiled at him and asked how it went.

"It was fine. I have a vault so the school doesn't have to pay for my stuff."

Shane nodded and turned to head out but Gin looked at him happily and asked if he found out anything about his family. He told her that he found out their names but that was it, he said he didn't really care that much about them since they were dead and there was no real reason to know about them. Gin got a really sad look on her face and her eyes watered a little.

"That's a terrible thing to say. They are your family even if they are dead. Don't you wan to know what they were like? What kind of people they were?"

London looked at her weirdly for a moment before starting off with Shane. Gin fell in step with them and they made their way out into the Plaza to look at the shops.

"They were my family for a very small portion of my life. Before they died and I was sent to live with some relatives a vampire found me and turned me. From then on I didn't consider them my parents. Their son had already died they just weren't willing to accept that. When they died I was sent to some muggle relatives of theirs until I was five and old enough to leave."

Gin looked shocked at what he had said and he turned to Shane for help. He didn't understand why she was reacting like this. Shane looked between the two and shook his head. The werewolf decided to help them both out.

"It is rather useless to explain things like that to her. She is an Elf. Their social structure is so different from anything you would be used to that it's just pointless. Elves are very protective of their families; they would do anything to protect a family member or to preserve the memory of one. To an Elf family is the most important thing in their life." Shane explained though he said the last part a bit bitterly.

Gin noticed his slightly bitter words and told him that werewolves were the same way. They protected the pack at all costs. Surprisingly it was London that answered her while unknowingly preventing an old argument from starting.

"That's not true. Werewolves are nothing like that. Though you were right when you said they protect the pack no matter the cost. If a pack member threatens the safety of the pack by being too reckless or too weak or too stupid or too old or in any other way the alpha will kill the pack member. It's the duty of the pack to protect each other especially the cubs. If there is anyone or anything around that is a threat to the pack it is the alpha's responsibility to remove it or organize the pack to take it out. I don't think that Elves and werewolves are that similar so I'm not sure if you can understand the differences."

London explained it in a way that Gin wasn't offended and she said that she would think about it and try to understand. Shane looked a little surprised both at the fact that Gin was willing to accept that there were such differences and because London had explained it so well. He asked London how he knew so much about werewolves and London replied that he had spent time with some.

They continued on there way with Gin leading them from store to store picking up his school supplies. They had gotten most of his stuff when they came to a clothing store. Gin told him that he was going to need to buy a bunch of clothes and that this was the best place to do so since they carried a wide variety. Since the Academy accepted students from such a varied array of backgrounds there was no particular dress code to follow. He went through the store and took his time picking out clothes that he liked instead of just anything that would help him blend in like he usually did. He ended up getting quite a lot of clothes and was glad that he had already bought a trunk to put everything in. They decided to skip the wand shop since London was a vampire and would be focusing on wandless magic. When they were all done they headed back to the shop they arrived in. Gin pulled out a necklace she was wearing and told them both to grab on. She activated the portkey and they were soon back at the Academy.

As soon as they entered the room they noticed a girl sitting on a chair next to the fireplace reading a book. Gin cleared her throat to get the girls attention. The girl placed a bookmark to keep her place and stood up. She was of oriental decent and looked a little younger then London.

"Hello Professor's, I was told to wait here for you so that I could escort the new student to his room." Looking at London she continued. "Hello, my name is Yuri."

London nodded at her and introduced himself. He took a few minutes to examine her. Yuri only came up to his chin and even though her pink eyes and pink streaked hair gave her a cute look it was obviously that she could take care of herself. 'Hmm…I wonder if she would spar with me. She's a werewolf so she should be able to put up a fight, even if it is just the wolf taking over to attack a vampire.'

The two students said their goodbyes to the Professors and made their way into the hall. They walked silently down the hall for a few minutes before Yuri broke the quiet with a question.

"Are you an orphan too? That's what Anna says anyway. I am too you know. That's why you're going to be rooming with me and my friends. We're all orphans you know everyone in our rooms anyways. When I first came here it wasn't like that and there were lots of fights 'cause the other students don't understand certain things. Now though all of the orphans are in rooms together you don't mind do ya?"

Yuri stared up at him with a concerned look. London just shook his head; he figured it would be better then rooming with someone that would annoy him. He gave her a little half smile and asked her how many orphans there were.

"Oh, hmm…in our room there will be seven including you, don't worry though the room is huge. With you there will be four boys and three girls. Let's see there are Sunny, Tyler and Allen for the boys and Satsuki, Rachel and me for the girls. Sunny is a vampire like you, Tyler and Rachel are both human, Allen is a were-cat, Satsuki is part fae and well you already know I'm a werewolf. So what do you think? Can you get along with everyone?"

London just shrugged. He wasn't sure how everyone acted so he couldn't say for sure but he knew he wouldn't have a problem with them because of their race except for maybe the humans. He still wasn't sure about humans in general and decided to keep some space from them.

"Well here we are. You have to be keyed into the wards or else you won't be able to enter. Here cut your palm and place your hand on the door and I'll key you in ok."

He placed his bloodied hand against the door and watched as Yuri frowned in concentration. All of a sudden he felt something click and knew she had finished. She looked up at him and smiled. Then she opened the door and led him into his new room.

TBC…

Well here it is finally. Yay! We got to see Dumbledore's reaction to Harry missing. At this point he has no clue that Harry is a vampire or that Vernon was killed by a vampire just that he is dead. He won't find out about the vampire thing for a while. Also there probably won't be much more mentioned about Hogwarts for a while so sorry if you wanted more but Hogwarts will be back later so no worries.

Also sorry about taking so long to get this chapter out but I'm not exactly sure how I'm going to do the next few chapters so it might take a little while between posts. Sorry for that but if anyone has any ideas for the next few chapters they are welcomed.