You have slept in your bed. HP & MP are fully restored.
The next morning Harry received an even bigger shock when his uncle told him that he would be moving out of the cupboard and into Dudley's second bedroom. While his uncle gave him some excuses, Harry knew it was because McGonagall had visited and the Dursley's didn't want her to come back if Harry complained to her. So that morning was spent cleaning out the bedroom and arranging all Dudley's toys. Most of them were broken or just discarded a long time ago. Dudley hadn't been happy to hear that he lost his second bedroom but no matter what he did or said; Vernon didn't budge and thus Harry moved into his new room that afternoon.
The rest of the day was spent doing some Daily Quests which suited Harry just fine as it gave him some extra spending money. Not that he needed more money now that he had access to his vault at Gringotts. Still, that was Wizarding money and he wasn't really sure if he could get some exchanged into Pounds.
'I will have to visit the Goblins again and find out.' Harry thought as he walked home. His thought process was interrupted however when out of nowhere he was tackled to the ground.
"Got you now, freak." A familiar voice said as Harry looked up to see Dudley and his gang standing over him. "Pierce, hold him down."
"You got it, Dig D." said boy nodded before pressing on Harry's chest with his hands.
"I'm going to enjoy beating the stuffing out of you, Freak." Dudley boasted.
Now Harry wasn't for violence but that sure as hell didn't mean he was just going to lay still and take a beating like that. Thankfully his strength had increase several levels since last time he got cornered by his cousin so he was pretty sure they were underestimating him. Grabbing Pierce by the arms, he pushed the boy away and then in one fell swoop, jumped up and swung out his leg in an upward trajectory between Dudley's legs. When his leg made contact with his cousin's family jewels, Dudley let out a loud scream before he dropped to his knees.
Stunned by their leader's defeat, the rest of the gang reacted too slowly as Harry quickly put some distance between them. Dudley was still on the ground nursing his bruised testicles so Harry used that time to take a good look at the others.
"What's the matter, Big D?" Harry asked. "Not so fun being on the receiving side? Do you want me to call your mommy?"
"How dare you do that to him?" Pierce yelled defending his friend.
"What? You want some too?" Harry taunted. "I got plenty more where that came from, rat face."
A special skill has been created through a special act.
Through continuous trash talking, a skill to anger an opponent, 'Taunt' Lvl. 1 has been created.
Harry quickly closed the screen in front of him, keeping his eyes on his opponents. While he was still hoping that they would pack up and leave, he wasn't going to back down this time.
"You'll pay for this, Potter." Another one of Dudley's friends yelled.
"Bring it, Perkins." Harry said strongly. "Those who want to end up on the floor like 'Big D' over there, please step right up."
[Taunt]'s level has risen by one.
What happened next wasn't pretty. Punches and kicks were exchanged and while Harry took quite a bit of damage, he was the one that remained standing by the end of the struggle. He had lost about half of his HP to them but he didn't care at the moment. He was proud that he had stood up for himself instead of running away.
"Now, if you ever try to bully me again I'll give you the same treatment." Harry told them. "You stay out of my way and I'll do the same. Don't bother me again or you'll regret it."
[Taunt]'s level has risen by one.
A special skill has been created through a special act.
Through standing up for yourself, a skill to fight an opponent, 'Brawling' Lvl. 1 has been created.
[Brawling]'s level has risen by one.
[Brawling]'s level has risen by one.
As he walked home, Harry started to feel a little bad about beating up Dudley and his friends. He hadn't meant to really hurt them but his patience was running thin with them. For years they had used him as their personal punching bag and it had to stop. He was sure that he would regret doing so if Dudley told his father about what had happened. Hopefully Dudley would be too embarrassed to tell them what really happened and make up some excuse like he always did.
As luck would have it, Dudley did make up an excuse and told his parents that they had been beaten up by a gang of bikers because they tried to defend a girl from being harassed. Never doubting their son's words, Vernon had launched into a tirade about these useless bikers that disturbed the peace of others with their loud machines while Petunia had grabbed her little 'Dudders' and held him tightly to her chest. Harry rolled his eyes and went to his new room so that he would be free of them for the rest of the evening.
"Well that was lucky." Harry realized. "Let's hope Dudley and his stooges leave me alone now."
Opening his status screen, Harry quickly opened the Skill window to look at the new skills he had acquired during the fight. He hadn't really had the time to look them over yet so he was kind of curious.
Taunt – Active – Lvl 3 – By using this skill, you can anger your opponent making him act rashly.
Brawling – Active – Lvl 3 – You have learned to defend yourself. It doesn't look pretty or refined but it will do the job.
'Hmm, not bad.' Harry thought. 'Both of them seem useful but not something that will be easy to level up unless I go out and start looking for fights; which I'm not.'
Opening his Inventory he looked at what he had added after his trip to Diagon Alley with McGonagall.
Plain work robes (black) x3
Plain pointed hat (black) for day wear x1
Pair of protective gloves (dragon hide) x1
Winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings) x1
The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) x1
A History of Magic x1
Magical Theory x1
A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration x1
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi x1
Magical Drafts and Potions x1
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them x1
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection x1
Wand x1
Cauldron (pewter, standard size 2) x1
Set glass or crystal phials x1
Telescope x1
Set brass scales x1
"I should read some of these books before I head to Hogwarts." Harry said to himself. "I don't want to arrive there and know nothing about Magic. If I'm as famous as McGonagall said, then all eyes will be on me from the moment I set foot into Hogwarts. I don't like it but I'm going to have to deal with this fame."
Harry scowled at the thought of how people would react to him as he made his re-entry into the Wizarding World. He had no desire to be put under a microscope all the time and be treated like some kind of air-head celebrity. While he could understand that people were curious about him and no doubt were thankful to him but he rather not be reminded to the fact his parents were murdered by a madman.
It still hadn't really sunken in that his parents were murdered. For years he had believed the story that his relatives had told him about his parents dying in a car crash but now he knew better. He just didn't know how to deal with this new knowledge. As an eleven year old, he didn't really have the experience to deal with this kind of thing. He did know though that he was proud of them. According to McGonagall, his parents had fought bravely against this Dark Wizard and his minions in order to give him a better future. McGonagall had also told him that both his parents were very intelligent and strong so he was going to make them proud by being the best Wizard he could possibly be. He wouldn't let their sacrifice be in vain and just squander his chance at a good life away by goofing around.
'I'll make you guys proud, I promise.' Harry vowed to himself. 'Watch over me, mum and dad.'
Harry then took out one of his books and started studying. He learned how people needed a wand to do magic though some wandless magic is possible in extreme situations. However to do really good or powerful spells a wand is needed. He also learned that in order to do a spell, you need an incantation and perform a special movement with your wand. Spells were classified under several categories such as 'Charms', 'Curses', 'Hexes' or 'Jinxes'.
After reading for another hour, Harry put down the book in order to process the information he had just gained. It was a lot of information so remembering all of it was going to be a hard task. He wasn't stupid or anything but he was no genius either. Good grades took a lot of work he knew. He smiled however when a screen appeared in front of him.
Studying hard has caused your INT to go up by 1.
Studying hard has caused your INT to go up by 1.
'That was fast.' Harry thought but definitely not complaining. "INT is pretty important so leveling up is always a bonus. Now if I could find a way to increase my WIS stat as well.'
You have slept in your bed. HP & MP are fully restored.
The rest of the week went by as usual for Harry. Every day he received his Daily Quests from his uncle to complete and most of them had become routine so they didn't even take up much time anymore. He had even received another Quest from Mr. Jenkins which had taken two days to complete due to the large amount of work. It had earned him another 1500 EXP and 20 Pounds thanks to Mr. Jenkins' generosity. Harry was especially happy about the additional EXP that he received. Unfortunately, he couldn't see how much EXP he needed before he would level up. That was kind of frustrating.
Thanks to the manual labor he had been doing he had even increased his STR and VIT stats by one point each. He was pretty satisfied with his progress so far but he wanted more. There were only three weeks left till Hogwarts started and Harry wasn't about to slack off. Today however he would try to go to Diagon Alley again to get some other books and exchange some of his Wizarding Money to normal money. Thankfully Harry had picked up some brochures while he was at the bookstore with McGonagall and one of them was for something called 'The Knight Bus'. According to the folder, the bus could transport any stranded Witch or Wizard to their destination. All you had to do was put up your wand hand and think about them and they come pick you up.
That morning Harry left the house before the crack of dawn and went to the park as he knew nobody would be around at this time. Just like the folder had said, he raised his wand hand and thought about the knight bus.
Sure enough, not a few seconds later a large red double-decker bus stopped in front of him. Harry looked at the bus in awe and watched as the door opened up for him to get in. Inside an older man was sitting behind the wheel and Harry wondered if he could even see the road as he was wearing very thick glasses.
"Where ya headed?" Another man asked him.
"Diagon Alley, please." Harry said quickly.
"11 Sickles." The man grunted. "13 and you get a cup of hot chocolate."
"Euh, no thanks." Harry said quickly. Judging by the state of the bus and some of the other passengers, he didn't want anything to eat or drink. He quickly handed the 11 Sickles and sat down at the end of the bus. As soon as he sat down, the bus drove off at neck-break speed, weaving through traffic and ignoring traffic lights everywhere. Harry felt his stomach twist and turn and hoped he wouldn't get sick. He noticed some people staring at him but luckily he had thought about disguising himself a bit. He was wearing an old baseball cap from Dudley that covered his scar entirely. He hoped it would be enough to keep his identity hidden.
Half an hour later the bus came to a grinding halt and the conductor yelled out 'Diagon Alley' so Harry wasted no time to get out. Honestly, he was glad to get out of the bus and into the fresh air. He didn't particularly enjoy the ride all that much and he doubted he ever would. Still he had reached his destination in one piece so he couldn't complain too much. Now that he was in Diagon Alley, he made his way to his first stop, Gringotts.
When he asked the Goblins if they could exchange some Galleons into Pounds he was, quite rudely if he might say so, referred to the tellers at the entrance of the bank. After waiting for about 20 minutes, he finally made it to the front and managed to get some Galleons exchanged into Pounds. He was quite surprised at seeing how much money he had now and was already thinking about what he would do with it. For now though, he had some shopping to do in the Wizarding World. He still had a few questions that he didn't ask last time so he figured he might as well get the answers now.
"Excuse me; I have a few questions about Gringotts." Harry asked the teller.
"Well make it quick, time is money." The Goblin snapped.
"Okay. What are the protections on a vault? What happens to the old key when a new one is made? Can I get an overview of the contents of my vault?" Harry quickly asked. "Did my parents or family have any vaults here besides the one that they opened in my name?"
"Our vaults are protected by the latest security spells. Anyone trying to gain access to a vault that they aren't keyed into will regret doing so. The higher the level of protection, the more expensive it gets. Currently, your vault is protected by standard level security spells. Should you want to upgrade, you'll have to make an appointment with our Chief of Security." The Goblin explained. "When a new key is made, the old key is automatically destroyed so there are no double keys. Also every key is spelled so that only that key can open the vault. Should anyone use a key that is not compatible with the spells on the vault, they will not enjoy the consequences. An overview of your vault can be requested. It will cost you 2 Galleons and the results will be mailed to you by owl. Do you wish to have an overview?"
"Yes please." Harry nodded politely.
"The cost of the overview will be deducted from your vault." The Goblin informed him. "The Potter Family has been a client of Gringotts for many years; the Potter family vault has been closed till you reach majority. Currently you have no access to that vault so don't try. Your Trust vault will have to serve you till you reach age 17 so spend it wisely."
Seeing that his Trust Vault had been filled by stacks of gold, silver and bronze coins, Harry doubted that he would ever need to worry about running out of money. Still, it wouldn't hurt to be careful and not splurge it on unnecessary things.
He thanked the Goblin for his help and bid him a good day. The Goblin in question just grunted and called the next customer.
'So rude.' Harry thought as he exited the bank.
His next stop was the Magical Menagerie as he still needed a pet. Hogwarts allowed for students to have one pet that they could take with them and Harry wanted one as well. He hadn't had the time with McGonagall but now he could take his time and choose one. He had thought about getting a cat or an owl, as either would be a cool companion. He knew however that his relatives would never allow an animal in the house.
Entering the shop he started browsing all the different kind of animals that were on display. He passed the Owls, Toads and Cats but no matter what he tried or did every animal seemed to reject him. Whenever he tried to approach them, they would start to hiss or try to scratch him. On owl even tried to bit him in the fingers. Feeling a bit heartbroken and being denied by every animal, he moved on to the other sections. A snake seemed interesting as he could speak to them but he knew that Snakes had somewhat of a bad reputation so he passed on those as well. He knew he shouldn't just dismiss something because of general convention but seeing that he would already be under a microscope when he arrived at Hogwarts, he didn't want to add oil to the fire.
The next animal he saw however immediately had his interests. It was a white Falcon, a Gyrfalcon to be exact and Harry loved it. Its eyes showed the intelligence of the species and it looked absolutely marvelous. Cautiously he approached it and watched as the falcon studied him. Seeing that the falcon didn't react violently to his presence, Harry raised his hand and softly caressed its plumage and head. The falcon seemed to approve as it pressed its head into his hand.
"Oh, she likes you." A voice behind him said, scaring him a bit. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to scare you."
"No, it's okay." Harry quickly said. "I was admiring this beautiful bird and was lost in the moment."
"Yes, she's magnificent isn't she?" The man smiled. "I'm a bit surprised as she normally doesn't allow anyone to touch her. She has quite the temper."
"How much for her?" Harry asked.
"She's expensive, let me warn you." The man told him. "100 Galleons to be exact."
That was pretty expensive indeed but Harry had been sold the moment he had laid eyes on her. He honestly couldn't care less about the cost; he had enough money to be able to afford her. Turning towards the falcon he addressed it.
"What do you think, girl? Want to come with me?" Harry asked it.
The Falcon let out a cry and flew to his shoulder before nuzzling his neck in affection. Harry laughed loudly and forked out the 100 Galleons to the man. He also bought some stuff to take care of her while the man explained a bit about how she would always be able to find him and how he could use her to deliver letters.
As he left the store, Harry told her that they would pick out a name for her later and that she could go and hunt if she wanted as he still had some shopping to do. The falcon gently nipped his ear in affection and flew off. Harry watched happily as she flew out of sight. He was smitten with her and he knew it.
'Alright, next stop is the bookstore.' Harry said getting back to business.
For the next few hours, Harry wandered around Diagon Alley, buying everything he thought that could help him. He bought several more books on Wizarding History, Magical Theory and others. Deciding that he had bought enough books to keep him occupied till the start of the school year, Harry left the bookstore and went back into the Alley.
There was still a lot to see and he didn't even cover half of the Alley so far. To his surprise the place was a lot bigger than he had anticipated and he was anxious to discover the rest of the Alley.
He grinned when a message appeared in front of him.
Quest
Explore Diagon Alley and [Observe] every shop
Reward: Map of Diagon Alley
Some areas of Diagon Alley will not be accessible till you have reached a higher level.
Harry accepted the Quest and got start. Figuring it would be best if he started at the beginning, he walked back to The Leaky Cauldron. Once there, he turned around so that he faced the main road of Diagon Alley. From there he slowly walked around and made sure to use [Observe] on every shop that he found. Once he used [Observe] on a shop, he received a message saying that the shop had now been added to the map of Diagon Alley. Not only that but it also gave him a good idea just what some of these shops sold as sometimes it was hard to guess judging by the names.
As he reached Gringotts once more, he made his way over to the side road of Diagon Alley but when he wanted to go there, a message appeared.
Danger! This area should not be accessed until you have reached Level 20 or higher. Entering the area with a lower level will have grave consequences.
'Yikes. Okay, I'm going to wait a bit to explore this part.' Harry thought.
When he asked a woman what was in that part of the Alley, she warned him that he should never go there. That part was called Knockturn Alley and only the bravest Witches and Wizards go there. She told him that almost every shop there was devoted to the Dark Arts and filled with shady people like hags and the likes. She also told him that more than one Witch and Wizard had disappeared while shopping there and were never seen or heard from again.
After thanking the woman for her help, Harry continued mapping out the main street of Diagon Alley. He now had a full map of the street (except the Knockturn Alley part) with the names of every shop mentioned. He had found a few shops that he would like to visit sooner or later. Since it was getting close to lunch, Harry decided to go get some food and then explore Muggle London a bit. As he exited The Leaky Cauldron, Harry found himself at Charring Cross Road and from there it was only a short walk to a big shopping centre. Now that he had some money, he wanted to buy some decent clothes that actually fit.
For the next hour or two, Harry tried on everything from jeans, t-shirts, sweaters and even suits. By the end of his little shopping trip, his arms were filled with clothes making the lady behind the counter look at him curiously. She didn't seem to believe he could pay for all these clothes but when he took out his wallet and place a neat stack of bills on the counter, she quickly changed her mind and started tallying up the clothes.
'At last, I have some clothes that I don't have to be ashamed about.' Harry thought happily. Looking like some hobo hadn't been very good for his self-consciousness. Satisfied with his day, Harry took the train back to Surrey as he wasn't in a rush and he'd rather not take the Knight Bus again if he could help it.
You have slept in your bed. HP & MP are fully restored.
Today was the day he would be going to Hogwarts. The rest of the summer holiday had gone by way too fast for Harry. Once he had gotten home from his shopping trip to Diagon Alley, time had flown by it seemed. Every day he did his Quests, studied his books and played with Shirohime, his falcon. He had given her that name as it meant 'White Princess' in Japanese. It was quite fitting as his new pet was white as snow and she had the grace of a princess. Not that to mention the character of one too. She was quite spoilt by Harry and she loved the attention.
As he packed his stuff into his inventory, he opened his status menu to look at the progress he had made over the last few weeks.
Level: 3
HP: 300
MP: 258
STR: 10
VIT: 8
DEX: 11
INT: 9
WIS: 7
LUK: 5
Status Points: 2
Status: Boy-Who-Lived (+25% Experience), First Year Student (additional +2 VIT, +1 INT per Level)
While he still hadn't leveled up himself, he was quite happy with how he was getting stronger. No doubt he was still weak compared to other Witches and Wizards but he was sure he would catch up quickly. For some reason he had a feeling that, once he started Hogwarts, he would receive a lot more Quests that would earn him EXP.
As he was about to go down and say goodbye to his relatives, a screen opened up in front of him.
Life Quest
Get on the Hogwarts Express before 11 am today.
Reward upon completion: 1000 EXP
Bonus achievement: Get on the train without being recognized.
Reward: 750 EXP
'What the hell is a Life Quest?' Harry wondered. As he thought of this a new screen appeared in front of him.
Life Quests: a Life Quests is an event that can be completed for rewards. Some quests can be optional and some have to be completed no matter what. All quests come with rewards upon completion.
'Huh, interesting.' Harry thought. 'So if I get to the Hogwarts Express on time and without being recognized I get 1750 EXP in total. That's always nice. '
Excited at the prospect of earning some much needed EXP; he finished his packing and went down to the kitchen where he knew his relatives were eating breakfast.
"I'm leaving for Hogwarts." Harry said. "See you next year."
With that he simply walked out the door, not even bothering waiting for a reply. Getting to King's Cross station wasn't all that difficult once he reached London an hour or so later and he had quickly found the tracks. However, he wasn't able to find any track that said 9¾ anywhere. When he asked one of the people, he got chewed out by the man for trying to make fun of him. Looking at the time he found that he still had a few hours to get on the train so he wasn't worried just yet. Surely, someone would show up soon enough and show him what to do.
'I'll just use [Observe] on people that pass by. There should be at least one Witch or Wizard in this sea of people.' Harry thought.
For the next hour or so Harry used [Observe] on loads of people but had no luck in finding anyone that might be able to help him find the Platform 9 ¾. Starting to get frustrated he searched the crowd in order to find some people of interest. Suddenly he noticed a small family that had one child that looked to be his age pushing a large trolley. Using [Observe] on the young boy, he grinned as he saw the screen mention the word 'Wizard'. Calmly he made his way over and followed the family and watched as one by one, they ran into the wall that separated Platform 9 and 10. He gasped as he saw them disappear into the stone wall.
'Okay, that's neat.' Harry grinned. 'Magic is so cool.'
Not wasting any time, he secured the cap that he had on in order to conceal the famous scar and ran into the wall. When he opened his eyes he saw a bunch of people pushing around trolleys and trunks and he had to move out of the way as one girl seemed to be hell bent on running everyone over with her trolley. Keeping his head low and not trying to make any eye contact, he marched towards the train and ducked inside. The train was pretty awesome and he would love to explore it a bit longer but since more and more people were arriving he needed to find a compartment. Finding an empty one at the end of the train, he sat down and closed the door. As he sat down a screen popped up in front of him.
You have successfully completed the Life Quest:
Get on the Hogwarts Express before 11 am today: COMPLETED
Reward: 1000 EXP
Bonus: Get on the Hogwarts Express with being recognized: COMPLETED
Reward: 750 EXP
"Awesome! 1750 EXP in the bag." Harry cheered as he closed the screen. To his joy another screen appeared.
Your level went up by one.
Level: 4
HP: 400
MP: 322
STR: 10
VIT: 10
DEX: 11
INT: 10
WIS: 7
LUK: 5
Status Points: 7
Status: Boy-Who-Lived (+25% Experience), First Year Student (additional +2 VIT, +1 INT per Level)
"Okay, so I leveled up so I got another 5 Status Points which gives me a total of 7 now. Plus each time I level up, I get an extra 2 point for VIT and 1 point for INT." Harry said. "Maybe I should use some of them to increase some of my other stats. Let's see, STR and DEX is easy enough to level up. All I need to do is work-out like I've been doing. VIT is important but I get 2 points extra now per level so that should be enough for now. WIS and INT are the most important ones. WIS affects my INT while INT affects my MP. So if I increase my WIS, then my INT will receive a boost which in turn will increase my MP. So I'll put 5 points in WIS for now, bringing it up to 12."
As he studied the new stats, another window opened up in front of it.
VIT has reached Level 10. Additional 10% increase in HP per level
"Cool, so I can get extra bonuses when some of my stats reach a certain level." Harry noticed happily as he closed the window. "INT has reached level 10 as well but no bonus there. That's too bad but maybe I'll get a bonus when I reach a higher level."
He then spends a few minutes looking at these stats before he closed the screens.
'I should probably take out my trunk. I would be suspicious if I have no luggage at all.' Harry realized so he quickly pulled his trunk out of the [Inventory] and stored it underneath his seat.
He then settled into his seat and looked out the windows at the gathering crowd of students and families. He became a little bit sad at seeing how all the kids were there with their families to say goodbye and wish them good luck. For a moment he wished his own parents were there to see him off. He wondered what it would be like if his parents hadn't been killed. Would he have any brothers or sisters? A lone tear rolled down his cheek before he shook his head. It was no use to be stuck in the past after all. His life was different from the people on the platform and he knew that. He would have to deal with it to the best of his capabilities.
Looking at his watch he saw that it was getting close to 11 and so the train would be leaving pretty soon. Taking out a book, he started reading and tuned out the noise outside.
A few moments later the compartment door opened and a young boy stood shyly at the entrance. Harry looked up from his book and smiled at the boy standing there. He noticed that the boy seemed conflicted and was hesitant to enter. Putting on his best smile, he tried to reassure the boy.
"Hi, it's okay to come in." Harry said smiling. "No need to be afraid. I don't bite."
"O-oh, thank you." The boy nodded and dragged in his trunk. "I don't want to bother you."
"Nonsense, there's plenty of space for both of us." Harry said standing up to help the boy with his trunk. "I'm Harry, what's your name?"
"I'm Neville Longbottom." The boy said.
"It's nice to meet you, Neville." Harry greeted. "Are you a first year as well?"
"Y-yes, and you?" Neville answered.
"Yep, so we should be seeing each other a lot." Harry said excited. Neville seemed like a good guy. A bit shy but nice.
"I guess." Neville nodded. "Sorry, I'm kind of nervous."
"Yeah, me too." Harry admitted. "I didn't know I was a Wizard until one month ago. Let me tell you, it was quite a shock when I received my Hogwarts letter."
"S-so you're a Muggleborn then?" Neville asked interested.
"Muggleborn? What's that?" Harry asked not having heard that term before.
"It means that your parents don't have magic but you do." Neville explained nervously. "Not that there's anything wrong with that."
"Oh no, my parents were both a Witch and Wizard." Harry quickly said. "But I grew up with my aunt and uncle and they don't have any magic. My parents died when I was a baby."
"Sorry, I didn't mean to…" Neville stammered.
"No worries, you didn't know so don't feel bad." Harry smiled. "My dad was a Pureblood but my mum was a Muggleborn."
"So that would make you a Halfblood then." Neville nodded understanding.
"Halfblood? Do people really care about that?" Harry asked.
"S-some do." Neville nodded before he started explaining how some people, namely Purebloods, found the idea of Muggleborn Witches and Wizards offensive. He also explained that those who did were in the minority and that most people didn't really care all that much. It was mostly the older families that had existed for several generations that thought like that.
"Well, my dad was a Potter and from what I heard they were pretty old. I don't think he cared about my mum being a Muggleborn at all." Harry answered.
"P-Potter? Y-You're Harry Potter?" Neville asked shocked.
"That's right." Harry acknowledged. "Breathe Neville, no need to get all nervous."
"But you're the Boy-Who-Lived." Neville exclaimed loudly. "Y-You're famous. Everyone knows about you."
"Believe me Neville, I'm just Harry." Harry insisted. "I'm an 11 year old boy who is on his way to learn how to be a Wizard. I don't want to be special so please don't treat me any different from other people."
Neville nodded and seemed to relax a little bit. They quickly started talking some more and Harry used this opportunity to ask Neville a whole bunch of questions about the Wizarding World. Neville did his best to answer all his questions but he didn't have all the answers. That was fine for Harry; there would be other people at Hogwarts he could talk to. While they were talking, the train had filled up with all the students and now students were hanging out the windows saying goodbye to their families. A few minutes later the whistle sounded that it was time to depart and both Harry and Neville seemed very excited.
"Well Neville, this is it." Harry said happily. "We're on our way to Hogwarts. It's going to be great, I can feel it."
"I-I hope so." Neville nodded.
"Come on Neville; where's your sense of adventure?" Harry asked. "We're going to be good friends and we'll have lots of fun together."
"Y-You want to be friends with me?" Neville asked surprised.
"Of course, I want to be friends." Harry smiled. "I never had any friends at home so I'm planning to make lots of friends here. And you can be the first."
"I-I would like that." Neville said with a big smile on his face.
As they were talking, the door opened slightly and a face appeared in the opening. Harry and Neville turned to see a girl looking in and both smiled trying to be friendly and inviting.
"Hi, you want to come in?" Harry asked the girl.
"Is it alright?" The girl asked nervously.
"Of course it is." Harry said while Neville just nodded.
"Oh thank you." The girl smiled. "I tried two other compartment but the people were kind of rude and wouldn't let me inside. I'm Hermione Granger, by the way."
"Well, you're more than welcome here." Harry said. "I'm Harry Potter and this is my friend, Neville Longbottom."
"Nice to meet you both." Hermione said shyly.
"So are you just as nervous as I am about all of this?" Harry said trying to break the ice.
"Oh yes, I hope I'm good enough, I have read all my books but still I don't think it will be enough." Hermione answered shyly. She didn't want them to start laughing at her because she had already read her books like her former classmates did all the time.
"Relax, there's nothing wrong with being prepared. I read my books as well; of course, I still know next to nothing but you have to start somewhere, right? I even bought several other books for reading material." Harry said shrugging.
"Really? You like reading too? I'm reading 'Hogwarts, A History' right now and it's really fascinating." Hermione beamed at Harry. Maybe just maybe she had found her first real friend.
"Oh, I bought that one as well but haven't read much of it." Harry said which made Hermione start an in dept conversation about her favorite books and subjects. After a few minutes Hermione wanted to ask a question but didn't know how to ask it without offending her new friend. Harry seeing her getting nervous about something asked her what was wrong.
"Well, I want to ask you something but I'm not sure if I should" she said hesitant.
"Don't worry, you can ask. I won't bite you know." Harry joked trying to reassure her. He had an idea about what the question could be.
"Are you really Harry Potter, the Harry Potter who defeated the Dark Lord Voldemort?" She asked.
"So I have been told." Harry nodded. "But I don't remember anything from that night so I can't really tell you what happened. Personally I think all this Boy-Who-Lived stuff is ridiculous. I'm just Harry nothing more, nothing less. I definitely don't need any hero worship or groupies." Harry finished.
"I understand, Harry. Don't worry I won't bother you asking about all of that. I just wanted to know, I'm very curious I'm afraid." Hermione said glad that Harry was just a boy like any other.
"Being curious is not a bad thing. To tell you the truth I'm very curious as well. So what do you think is going to happen when we arrive at Hogwarts?" Harry asked her.
With the ice broken, the three youngsters started talking about Magic and Hogwarts. They seemed to get along very well and they had a nice time just talking and laughing. Harry was eager to try out [Observe] on both of his new friends but decided to wait until later as he didn't want to reveal his secret by accident.
A few hours later they finally arrived at Hogwarts, and almost all of the first years were trying to look outside the windows trying to see the castle. Unfortunately they couldn't see a thing since it was already dark and the castle just wasn't visible from the train.
As they hopped of the train, a loud booming voice could be heard over the noise of all the students.
"First years, follow me." A large man yelled loudly. "I'm Hagrid and I'll take you to the castle by boat."
Harry didn't really know why the first years had to take the boats to get to the castle while the older students got to ride the carriages but he figured it was just tradition. From what he had seen so far of the Wizarding World it was clear to him that traditions were very important and change was slow and somewhat hindered by the people in charge. It seemed a bit like the opposite of the Muggle world where older traditions were slowly disappearing and change happened every few years, if not months.
After Hagrid got all the kids onto the boats they departed for a trip across the dark, cold lake which seemed to go on forever before they finally turned a corner and they saw the castle lights in the distance. Harry and Hermione were holding their breath waiting to see if the castle was anything they had imagined in their head thanks to 'Hogwarts, A History'. When the castle was clearly visible both of them just sat speechless in the boat staring at the beauty of the castle. It was nothing like they thought it would be, it was several times more majestic and overwhelming than that. The towers who were lit with light from inside, the moon gave the castle a mysterious glow that made them think about a past long ago with knights and princesses. Harry immediately felt a connection with Hogwarts, it felt like a welcome home kind of feeling and for the first time he felt right at home too.
While they were staring at the castle, they had arrived at the bank of the lake and Hagrid told them to get out of the boat and follow him upstairs. Still in a daze the kids followed speaking loudly about the thing they saw along the way, they saw moving portraits, speaking statues and much more. For those who had grown up in the Muggle world this all seemed so fantastic and new so they were very surprised by all these things while kids who came from the magical world had been used to all this. Hagrid led them into a large room and told them to wait right there until someone came and get them. He wished them the best for the sorting and left the room.
Harry and Hermione were whispering about how great Hogwarts was until a blond boy made his way over to them. Harry recognized the look on the boys face from miles away. This guy would be trouble, Harry just knew it, and he could feel it too. The blond boy was obviously quite confident and arrogant by the way he strutted over towards them with his head held high and his nose in the air. Harry sighed, he knew this type of person all too well, he was one of those people who thought they were better than most people because they had more money, prestige and wealth and viewed anyone as trash unless they were of the same standing. It was clear that this boy was from a well off family judging by his clothes and his arrogance.
"So, it's true then? Harry Potter has come to Hogwarts." The blond boy sneered at Harry. Immediately most of the kids started whispering and staring at Harry who just sighed. He just had to say that aloud, why was him being here such a big deal to these people he wondered.
"My name is Malfoy, Draco Malfoy." Draco said while sticking out his hand. Harry snorted inside, if this guy thought they would become friends he had a wild imagination.
"It's important for people like us to have the right connections; I can provide you with that. You shouldn't bother with these low class losers, they will only hold you down." Malfoy continued acting like he was the most important person in the whole castle.
Harry would have just ignored him had he not insulted his new friends and that was something Harry wouldn't allow, not from a stuck up blond twit who thought that he was God's gift to mankind. He was going to nip this in the bud before this became a too big problem to deal with. He turned towards Malfoy and stared him right in the eyes not blinking just waiting for Malfoy to react. It didn't even take 5 seconds before Malfoy started to feel uncomfortable and looked away. Harry took a step forward so that he was right in front of Malfoy.
"Malfoy was it? Look, I'm not sure why you think that Neville and Hermione here are losers but I can tell you already that they are not. Both of them have been nothing but friendly and courteous towards me. I enjoy their presence and I'm sure we'll become great friends. I'm guessing that you are one of those people that care about blood purity and all that drivel but personally I couldn't care less about that. I'm not letting anyone tell me with whom I can be friends or not. That decision lies solely with me." Harry said politely. "I'm all for making new friends since I don't have many so if you treat me and my friends right, then you're free to join our group. I'm sure Hermione and Neville will be delighted to make more friends as well. However, if you're a bully or a bigot then I'd prefer if you stay away from me. I have no patience for that at all. Seeing that you've insulted both of my friends within the first few minutes of being here, I think it would be best if you just walked away."
"Who do you think you're talking to Potter? I'm a Malfoy, one of the oldest pureblood families so you should show me some respect and be glad I offer you my friendship." Malfoy said trying to save his imago. It wouldn't do to be humiliated on the first day.
"I don't care who you are or who your family is. For all I care you're the Queen of England, I don't like people that treat people differently because of their blood or any other stupid reason for that matter. To be honest, I know your type. You think you're so much better because you're rich and as such your friendship doesn't interest me. Now leave us alone and don't bother me again." Harry calmly said. He wouldn't let this guy walk over him but he wouldn't provoke him either.
Malfoy was about to say something, probably an insult but just then the door opened and Prof. McGonagall walked in telling them to follow her to the great hall where they would be sorted. Hermione quickly followed Harry amazed at how he had handled the situation with Malfoy. She was a little scared of how Harry would react to Malfoy's offer but once again Harry had proven himself to be a great guy and an even better friend. She also wondered how Harry stayed so calm and confident when he confronted Malfoy, if she had been in his place she would have been terrified of standing up for herself. It happened all the time in her previous school where she was often the victim of teasing and bullying.
Those thoughts just disappeared when they entered the Great Hall, she was completely blown away by the magical feeling she felt inside the Hall. It was everything she thought it would be and maybe even more, amazed she looked at Harry and Neville who had the same expression on their faces. They looked around not wanting to miss the smallest detail of the place where they would eat and have fun for the next couple years. Prof. McGonagall told them to stand in front of the large table were the other teachers were seated and explained how the sorting was done. After her explanations she started calling the students one by one and placed the hat on their head. One after another students were sorted in Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin and when Hermione was called she nervously made her way over. Harry wish her good luck and told her she would do fine, she gave him a small smile and sat on the small stool before the hat was placed on her head. A few minutes later the hat loudly called out "Gryffindor" and Hermione made way over to the Gryffindor table.
When Neville's name was called, Harry gave him an encouraging smile and a pat on the back. Neville made his way over to the little stool, almost tripping along the way, and pulled the hat on his head. It took a bit longer but once more the Hat called out "Gryffindor". Harry cheered for his friend as he walked to the table and sat down next to Hermione who smiled as well.
Suddenly a screen appeared in front of Harry and he quickly read the message.
Life Quest
Get sorted into a House.
Reward: 2500 EXP
'Well that seems like a pretty easy thing to do.' Harry thought closing the screen. 'Still, nice to receive another 2500 EXP for something that's going to happen anyway.'
Finally it was his turn to be sorted. As the professor called out his name, the entire hall fell silent for a few seconds before everyone started whispering about him. He ignored it and walked calmly to the professor and sat down. As soon as the Hat was placed on his head he heard a voice.
"Well well; what do we have here?" The voice said. "The last of the Potter family. Interesting, yes very interesting. That's quite a mind you have there, young Potter. You would do well in Ravenclaw, no doubt. But that's not where you belong. Cunning and sneaky too. Yes, Slytherin would do nicely. But no, you are not interested in going there are you? Loyalty, oh you have plenty of that. You would fight for your friends and those who need it. Yes, Hufflepuff would be happy to have you. But I feel that you want to be with your friends, no? Courage, yes plenty of that too."
'It would be nice to be with Neville and Hermione.' Harry agreed.
"Very well, better be GRYFFINDOR!" the Hat yelled.
Harry nodded and returned the Hat to Prof. McGonagall, thanking her and walked over to his friends. As he walked over to the Gryffindor table a screen popped up but he just closed without reading it. He knew that it was a message saying he had completed the quest.
Both of them seemed very happy to welcome him. The rest of Gryffindor seemed ecstatic at having him join them and he had to give out quite a few handshakes and received a numerous pats on the back. After that the sorting went pretty quickly and finally it was time to start diner. Harry was famished and couldn't wait for the food to arrive. He saw the old man in the middle stand up and assumed that this was Dumbledore.
"Welcome to our new students and welcome back to our old students. There's a time for talking and this is not it. Enjoy the food." And he made a big gesture with his arms and the food just appeared on the table. Harry didn't have to be told twice and started filling up his plate with delicious looking food. All the students were having a great time talking to each other about their holiday adventures or getting to know each other, people were laughing and having fun. Harry looked at his right and saw Hermione enjoying some pumpkin juice and a bit further a redheaded boy was attacking a whole plate of food all by himself, it looked like he hadn't eaten in days by the way he was shoveling food into his mouth.
After a while Harry started talking with one of the older students called Percy Weasley and he started asking about the teachers eager to get to know who was who and Percy started by describing them one at a time. But when they came to the resident Potion Master called Severus Snape things got a little weird because once Harry looked over to him he found the man staring at him. Harry was surprised that the man had a hateful look in his eyes, a look of pure dislike and contempt, a look Harry knew all too well thanks to his relatives. He wondered what he had done to make the man hate him or dislike him that much, couldn't be something bad since he had never met the man. He asked Percy a bit about the Potion Master and the things he heard weren't reassuring to say the least.
Finally everyone had stopped eating the Headmaster started talking about how glad he was that everyone was there and he gave a few warnings like not to go into the forbidden forest or the third floor which was strictly forbidden this year. After that he made every student sing the school song, which sounded horrible thanks to everyone just singing off key and with wrong timing but Dumbledore seemed to think it was just wonderful. He then dismissed them sending them to their beds since classes started early the next morning.
After being shown the way to their common room and being assigned their rooms, the students all got ready for bed. Harry was glad to see that he would share a room with Neville and a few other boys. They all seemed pretty nice and while he had to give them the same speech as he had given Neville and Hermione about who he was, they seemed to be accepting it pretty good. They were still a little star-struck but Harry hoped they would get over that pretty soon.
Seeing that all his roommates were already asleep, he took advantage to use [Observe] on all of them.
Name: Neville Longbottom
Status: Pureblood Wizard
Characteristics: Shy, Kind, Lack of Confidence.
Level: 3
Name: Ronald Weasley
Status: Pureblood Wizard
Characteristics: Lazy, Inferiority Complex
Level: 3
Name: Seamus Finnegan
Status: Halfblood Wizard
Characteristics: Friendly, Confident
Level: 2
Name: Dean Thomas
Status: Muggleborn Wizard
Characteristics: Sports Fanatic
Level: 2
'Oh, that's interesting.' Harry mused while reading. 'I'm already higher in level compared to Neville and Ron. In turn they seem to be a bit stronger than Seamus and Dean; who are a Halfblood and a Muggleborn. I guess that's just because Neville and Ron know more about the Wizarding World then the others, having lived there all their lives.'
[Observe]'s level has risen by one. [Observe] has now reached Level 10.
You can now see more detailed information about the people or objects you observe.
'Sweet!' Harry smiled before using [Observe] again on Neville.
Name: Neville Longbottom
Status: Pureblood Wizard
Characteristics: Shy, Kind, Lack of Confidence.
Level: 3
HP: 280
MP: 160
'Okay, so now I can see his HP and MP Stats as well.' Harry nodded. 'Interesting details to know. I'll probably be able to see their other Stats when [Observe] has leveled up a bit more.'
Harry then decided that he had gone through enough excitement for one day and closed his eyes. It had been a long day and as he lied in bed, he couldn't help but think that Hogwarts was everything he had thought it would be. He was sure that he would be able to have some great adventures here and hopefully make a lot more friends over the years. He almost couldn't wait for the next day to begin. But first, some sleep was needed.