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A Helping Hand

Harry awoke, his head throbbing viciously. He rubbed his eyes but stopped when he realised his glasses were no longer covering them.

That was strange. He tried to regain his focus, but all he could see was darkness. Then everything came rushing back to him. The portkey to Diagon Alley and the events of Gringotts were now fresh in his mind. Damn. He just about remembered fainting as well.

He pushed himself off the cold floor and onto his feet. His legs wobbled slightly, feeling foreign to his body. He must have been out for a while, maybe an hour or two. Sirius and Remus were most assuredly worried.

After about a minute, Harry finally found the door he had come in from, having blindly wandered off in several other directions in the darkness. He opened it, glad to see a goblin holding a torch on the other side. The ability to see again was also brilliant.

"My Heir, I am glad to see you have finally made it out of the trial," the goblin snarled. It didn't look very pleased at all.

"Erm, how long have I been in here?" Harry asked, slightly taken aback by the goblin's venomous attitude.

"I have been standing outside this door for five days now, waiting for your arrival." The goblin was now looking Harry up and down, wondering whether he was worth the wait.

Harry was more than a little shocked. Five days? What had Merlin done to him?

"Where are Sirius and Remus?" he asked, trying to act casually.

"I do not know, I have been down here for five days, as I have already told you."

The goblin really did not look thrilled. Harry decided it would be best not to engage in any more conversation than necessary so it didn't try to throttle him.

"Can you please take me to Ragnok?" Harry asked politely.

"As you wish, my Heir." The goblin started walking down the dark corridor, muttering something about 'idiot stickmen' along the way.

Harry meanwhile, was observing his newly acquired crystal clear vision. Merlin did mention new power, and this was obviously part of it, but other than his eyesight all Harry could feel was a burning sensation running through his body. It wasn't unpleasant, and barely noticeable if he decided not to focus on it, but it was definitely there.

He decided to examine his body, pressing a hand against his bicep. Well, he definitely hadn't transformed into Hulk Hogan during his sleep, though he did feel larger. Not so much that it was noticeable, however.

He remembered Rowena and Merlin saying he had time to grow; to become the hero the world would need. Harry still did not know what that meant. Maybe there would be a new Dark Lord and he would have to defeat it? That was the only feasible reason he could think the world would need a saviour for. But then again, any old powerful wizard, like Dumbledore, could do that in his place. He was sure the Chief Warlock wouldn't let another situation similar to Voldemort arise again.

But maybe it was Voldemort the Founders had warned him of. There were rumours, whispers, or maybe just fear that Voldemort had not died the night that Rose received her scar. He had to be open to all possibilities, seeing as he was currently just making stabs in the dark. Harry would have to use his brain, which wasn't exactly loaded with useful information on fighting Dark wizards. That meant he would have to study. And train. Hard.

Padfoot was gonna hate this newfound determination that Harry was feeling.

The goblin and Harry arrived back at Ragnok's office. It looked at him with a disgusted sneer, but bid farewell politely, if so unwillingly.

Harry knocked on the door, pleased to find it quickly opened. It was Sirius on the other side, his face transforming from a look of shock to happiness.

"You're back!" he exclaimed, wrapping Harry in a tight hug. "You've got no idea how worried I was about you."

Remus was just behind Sirius, pulling Harry into a second hug. "I'm so glad you made it out. We were starting to think you had died in there or something."

Harry just smiled; he wasn't used to being embraced so warmly by his surrogate parents. To be honest, over the past 5 years they had lived like brothers more than anything. It was a nice change.

"What was the trial like?" Sirius asked.

"It was actually rather fast. All I did was enter the room and they decided I was worthy."

Remus was surprised. "That was it? Why were you in there for so long then?"

Harry laughed a little sheepishly. "Actually, I was told I'd get special powers and then I was knocked out. I've literally just been lying on the floor, sleeping."

"Wait, special powers?"

"Did the Founders mention anything about Merlin?"

"Do you realise how much power you have now?"

Harry sighed and sat down at Ragnok's desk, who was also looking at him curiously. He ushered Sirius and Remus to take a seat too.

"Alright, I'm going to tell you everything I can remember…"

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Hermione Granger had been really enjoying her time as a witch. Not only had she learned that there was another world out there she didn't even know about, but she had been told she was a part of it. It had made her feel important and special.

Yesterday, she had visited Diagon Alley with Professor McGonagall, who would be her Transfiguration teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She was a strict woman, but Hermione had felt safe with her which was the most important thing. Seeing the magical world had been strange and wonderful at the same time. It was like everything around her was proof that the whole thing wasn't some practical joke. She felt like it was a second chance, a chance for her to fit in and make friends for once.

She had really wanted to visit the bookstore, Flourish and Blotts, but her parents had only given her enough to get her wand and Hogwarts equipment. When she came home, all she did was beg and beg to return to go to the bookshop. It would be so interesting learning about magical cultures, and Hermione was sure she'd want everything they had, as she had exhausted herself of normal books.

Finally, when Hermione had decided she wouldn't even let her parents sleep if they didn't take her, the Grangers gave in, promising to go the next day.

However, when they did get there, all Mr and Mrs Granger seemed to want to do was look at every other shop before the bookshop. Hermione did have to admit it was all pretty interesting, but to have to wait so long was like torture. It took only 10 minutes for Hermione to decide she would go off on her own in a world she knew practically nothing about.

She had managed to steal about 5 galleons from her father's pocket without him noticing, as he was immersed in Doctor Dazzle's Professional Teeth Whitening Kit in which all one had to do was place a pill on their tongue that would turn into an interactive mini-dentist and scrub every tooth a 'dazzling white' before turning back into a flavoured sweet. Hermione shook her head at how ridiculous that sounded.

She navigated her way through the crowd of shoppers and made it to Flourish and Blotts. She entered and took a deep breath, revelling in the familiar scent of fresh book paper. Excitedly, she hurried off into to the maze of bookshelves, unable to take the grin off her face.

Thankfully, she found that most books were around 10 sickles, meaning she could get more than a few. She decided that History of Magic was the subject she was most interested in, seeing that she couldn't perform any spells yet. And the books that were mandatory for Hogwarts seemed to have a large enough variety of the other topics for now.

She picked out a pile of as many as she could carry and approached the till. She could hear the accountant being yelled at by a girl, who sounded quite young. All she could hear was 'this is ridiculous' and 'you should be a lot sorrier'. It sounded like the girl was very stuck up and rude. Not the type she wanted to be around.

She turned the corner and caught sight of the girl, who had a very boyish face and almost crimson hair. She had a friend, also a ginger, though his hair was closer to orange and his face was covered in freckles.

Hermione neared the dramatics until she was right behind them. At this point the rude girl decided to give up her shrieking and turned around, bumping straight into Hermione who tumbled over, her books spilling everywhere.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," she said. "Ron, help her up."

The freckled boy offered his hand, but just as Hermione was about to take it he pulled away.

"I don't wanna get covered in bookworm slime," he told the girl. They both stared at each other before bursting into a fit of laughter.

They began to walk away, still giggling. Hermione felt tears fall down her face as she realised what had just happened. She had been rejected. People in the wizarding world were just the same as normal people. She would never find friends here.

Hermione was so distraught, she didn't notice someone enter and walk up to her. He collected all her books from the floor and offered her his hand. She looked up to see who was being so kind. It was a boy, with messy black hair and shining green eyes. He was smiling at her warmly, his hand still stretched out for her to grab onto. She pulled herself up, quickly wiping the tears from her face.

"I'm Harry," he began. "I saw you on the floor and it looked like you needed some help."

Hermione couldn't take her eyes off of the boy. He was being so kind, a polar opposite to the ginger pair that had made her so upset. She realised she had been staring a second too long when Harry spoke again.

"So, do you have a name?" he asked, that smile not wanting to drop.

Hermione cleared her throat. "I'm Hermione," she said. "Granger," she added.

"Potter," the boy replied. "So, I see you have a lot of books about magical history. Are you a muggleborn?"

Hermione nodded. She hoped Harry would still want to talk to her.

"That's cool," he said. "I can tell you what I know about magic if you want," he offered.

Hermione smiled excitedly. "I'd love that."

They left the shop after having bought all of Hermione's books, which were now in a feather-light bag, and walked in the direction of the Leaky Cauldron where Hermione's parents would be.

Hermione talked a little about her muggle upbringing and her parents being dentists, but she was much more interested in Harry's life. He had left his parents when he was 6 years old, for reasons he wouldn't mention, to live with two men called Moony and Padfoot. Apparently, they had gone travelling around the world for the last 5 years but had finally come back on Gringotts business. The girl that had bumped into her had been Harry's twin sister, Rose, but he said they didn't get on at all.

Harry told her a lot, but Hermione was still curious about some things.

"Harry, what's that ring on your finger?"

"Oh this, it's a Ring of Heirs. It's just something the Heirs of an Ancient and Noble House wear."

"Wow, a Noble House. You must be pretty important then, and pretty rich."

Harry smirked inwardly at how correct she was. "Every ring has the House emblem on the orb. I'm the Heir of House Black."

"Black," Hermione muttered. She looked at the skull with the crow on its head. "It doesn't look very nice."

"For a long time it wasn't very nice. But Padfoot is the Lord now, so it's no longer a family you have to be afraid of."

"What about your real family?"

"My father's the Lord of House Potter, another Ancient and Noble House, and my sister's the Heir." Harry grimaced when he said this, which Hermione picked up on.

The two walked for a little longer, talking about the different magical cultures Harry had seen. It had all been very interesting for Hermione and she really liked talking with Harry, so when she did spot her parents, who were looking very worried due to her absence, she didn't want to go.

"It looks like your parents are looking for someone," Harry smiled. "It was nice meeting you. I hope you enjoy Hogwarts."

"Are you not coming?" she asked, suddenly scared of losing her first friend.

"I will, just not straight away."

Harry was just about to turn away when Hermione blurted out, "Please write to me!"

He looked at her face, so desperate and concerned. He thought it was cute how much he already meant to her. It was then that Harry decided it would be nice to have a pen pal until he went to Hogwarts.

"I'll write to you," he confirmed, causing Hermione to gleam and attack him with a hug.

It wasn't too long before she pulled away. "Thank you," she said smiling radiantly. After one final look, she turned around and ran to her parents, a bag full of books in her hand.

Harry was rather pleased. He was in London, he was the Heir of Emrys, he was very rich, he had met a girl, and the girl had liked him. And the day wasn't even over.

He made his way to Ollivander's, where it was agreed he would meet up with Padfoot and Moony. They said they wanted to get him a birthday gift, which Harry thought was very sweet of them.

The shop was just a door accompanied by a pair of cylindrical windows concealed in curtains, with a strip of wood running through the middle. However, the wood had been elegantly carved with the writing:

'Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 BC.'

He opened the door and stepped in, getting attacked by an army of dust in the process. Coughing, he stepped forward into the open, where the air was cleaner. Padfoot and Moony weren't there, so he was early. The two did let him have a bag full of galleons, so Harry decided there was no point in waiting.

He walked to the till and rang the bell. It took only a couple of seconds for a reply.

"Wow, simply incredible… I must admit, I was not expecting you, Mr Potter, to be visiting my shop any time soon."

A man stepped out from the shadows, his aged face matching his aged voice. There was also a mysterious, almost creepy look in his eyes.

"Hello," Harry said boldly, not wanting to show how uncomfortable he felt. "I'm here for a wand."

"Of course you are, Harry Potter, for why else would The Missing Boy visit my shop."

The man walked forwards, looking as if he was analysing Harry, like an artefact in a museum.

"The Missing Boy?" Harry asked, not knowing what that meant.

"Of course. The famous Potter twins. The Girl Who Lived and The Missing Boy. To say I was disappointed by your sister would be an understatement, and that is rather unfortunate. However, it looks like there is a second chance with you. Now, wait here one moment. I shall find you a wand."

And Mr Ollivander did find Harry a wand. Many in fact. But every single one had felt cold in Harry's hand and done destructive things to Ollivander's livelihood. Though he would not accept money or an apology, constantly repeating the fact that he had never failed to pair a wizard with a wand.

Then Ollivander gave Harry a strange look, with some sort of finality behind it, before rushing into the back once more. He returned with a case, dustier than all the others, and opened it.

"Holly, 11 inches long, with a phoenix feather core," the old man practically whispered.

He handed it to Harry, whose hair shot upwards immediately and an array of coloured sparks flew out of the wand. A warmth seemed to envelop the whole room, confirming to Harry that this was definitely the right one.

"Curious, very curious…" the wandmaker seemed to mutter.

"Sorry, but what's curious?" Harry asked.

"That wand has a brother of the same core, and it just so happens that the brother was the one to mark your sister's cheek."

It took a couple of seconds for Harry to clock what Ollivander had told him. His wand had a brother, and that wand had belonged to Voldemort.

Not sure what to think of the situation, he placed the galleons on the till and left. Ollivander had implied that he might become just as powerful as the Dark Lord, or just as evil. Either way, he had been trusted with a great responsibility and didn't feel like betraying it any time soon.

Outside of the shop, he waited a couple of minutes for Padfoot and Moony, who were taking an incredibly long time. It was whilst he was being stared at by passers-by for his extravagant clothing that he decided he was too uncomfortable to stand around and do nothing any longer.

He started to walk back towards the Leaky Cauldron, really wanting to know what the other two would think about his wand. However, only half a minute in, Harry could see a man running down towards him, yelling something and causing quite a commotion. The man got close enough so Harry could hear what he was saying, then ran straight past him.

"Sirius Black and Remus Lupin!" was what had been coming out of his mouth.

Immediately, Harry felt panicked. Padfoot and Moony had been caught out, a major reason why they had avoided England for so long. However, they hadn't done much to conceal themselves. They had stayed away from any sort of glamour and worn good clothing only out of Ragnok's request. It would have been smart of them to disguise themselves after leaving Gringotts, but they had been a bunch of blundering idiots and decided they would be safe.

Harry started to run in the direction of the chaos, as many others were doing. People were looking to watch the action, but Harry was planning on getting involved.

When he could just about see Padfoot and Moony, he slowed down. There was no point rushing in just to get caught himself. The two were still duelling the Aurors, though it looked like they were going to fall after every spell.

He could see his father as well, which caused Harry to flinch out of reflex. It looked like he was leading the Aurors, and seemed to be enjoying taking down his former best friends. It was disgusting to Harry's eyes, though the public didn't seem to think so.

He could see his sister cheering the Aurors on, which caused Harry's dislike towards her to increase alarmingly.

He started to run towards the fight, pushing people out of the way and trampling on a few that swore at him. The rage inside him had completely overtaken any logic he had been using. He clutched his wand, drawing it from his pocket. Harry didn't know any spells, but the raw magic flowing through him felt like it would destroy anything in his path.

He was so close now. He could see his father, with all of that disgust on his face that made Harry want to tear him to shreds. Padfoot and Moony were somehow still going, though their bodies were about to give up on them. He would have to do something. He would do anything for those two; the ones who had risked it all for him and still wouldn't back down.

However, just as he was about to raise his wand and bellow as loud as he possibly could, a hand pressed against his chest, stopping him in his tracks. He looked up sharply, surprised that someone would think it wise to prevent him from wreaking havoc. He was just about to yell at the person's face, but the eyes he saw prevented him from doing so.

It was his mother, her emerald eyes perfectly mirroring his own. She smiled at him warmly, causing his heart to skip. It had been so long since he had seen that smile; it was always so precious.

She pressed something against his chest. It was large, but Harry paid no attention to it, instead focusing on controlling his emotions.

She leaned down and pressed her lips against his forehead. "I love you," she whispered. "Stay strong."

Harry just about caught a tear slide down her cheek before he found himself flying away, the crowded shopping alley disappearing beneath him.

He had an urge to simply not care as the portkey carried him away, but his mum had told him to stay strong. Effortlessly, he rode the winds as if he were on a broom until they started to die down.

His thoughts were swirling as he floated to the floor. He had just seen his mother, but lost Padfoot and Moony in the process. The Aurors would have captured them by now and soon they would probably be put in Azkaban.

He picked up the portkey, which was a cage holding a beautiful snowy owl. At least his mum had given him some company.

He looked around, trying to figure out where he had landed. It was a busy street. Definitely muggle. Next to him was a Wendy's, so he narrowed it down to America. He noticed a lot of yellow vehicles, all with the initials NY printed on them. New York. The city by the looks of it.

Harry sighed. His day had been so eventful that it was hard to think straight. His main priority, however, was to find a roof to stay under in a city that wasn't the most forgiving.

This was a challenge Harry hadn't been prepared for.

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