Waking up early in the morning was no trouble for Harry, since he had always been forced to get up to help with the chores. Washing and dressing quickly he had some toast with scrambled eggs while his aunt explained to Dudley that she had some errands to run and would be leaving him at his friend's house for the day. Dudley whined and complained, pointing at Harry and asking why the 'freak' got to go. Petunia just smiled and told him that Harry was coming along to carry everything. Which wasn't quite a lie, since he probably would be carrying everything while they were out. She then handed him a fairly large sum of money, for a twelve year old, and told him to go with his friends out to the cinema. With prize in hand Dudley lorded it over him, happy he was getting to do something fun and Harry would be forced to carry heavy bags all day. Of course he wasn't told that the elves would be stopping by again, and it was part of the reason he was being dropped off at his friend's house. Petunia loved her son but even she knew he could be grating sometimes.
Piling into the car Harry sat in the back with Dudley, trying to stay as far away from his cousin as possible. Once they had dropped the other boy at his destination they were off. Harry had only been to the large city a few times in his life. So when they went right past his aunt's usual shopping center he looked up at her in confusion. "Excuse me, Aunt Petunia… aren't we going shopping today?" He asked, his voice hesitant and filled with anxiety. The woman huffed at him. "I don't want the neighbors gossiping about all this." She bit out, although Harry suspected it was also to keep Dudley from finding out. It was just a hunch though, he had no real proof.
Leaning against the door he stared out at the buildings, streets, and trees they passed until they finally found themselves on the outskirts of the city. His aunt looked a little nervous driving so he kept his observations to himself and tried to pass the time by playing a solo version of I Spy. Where you picked a particular color first then tried to find something to match. It kept him occupied enough until they finally stopped outside of a large shopping center. "You, be on your best behavior. If I say we are leaving, we are leaving. If I tell you to try something on, you try something on. No… funny business, do you hear?" Frantically he nodded, hoping she would see his sincerity. He never actively tried to cause trouble, after all. It was only his magic acting up when he was frightened, anxious, or in pain that ended up causing strange things to happen.
Walking beside his aunt they entered the large mall and his eyes widened. It was almost like walking into Diagon Alley, but without the magic. There were two floors, with escalators leading up to the second. The shops were orderly, side by side, and mostly uniform in size. Everything from shoes, clothes, and chocolate, to toys, cutlery and furniture. Unlike Diagon Alley it seemed like everything was far more organized. Honestly it almost felt unnatural. His Aunt walked over to a directory and seemed to find what she was looking for. "Come along." She stated tersely. Quickly he followed her up the first escalator, careful not to stand too close. It was all so very awkward. Normally she had Dudley to drool over and he'd be forgotten until someone needed to carry things. "Here we are." Stopping in front of a store he looked up at the name. The Gap.
Entering the store his Aunt smiled at the clerk, ushering him over to a wall of shirts as she did so. Right away she started humming and making that clicking sound with her tongue when she disapproved of something. Pulling out a green and pale grey striped polo shirt she held it up to him and he winced. "Uhm, if it's no trouble, Aunt Petunia, can I have the red one instead?" It was hard for him to ask for what he wanted but he hated the idea of wearing Slytherin green, even outside of school. After a moment of scrutiny she put the green one back and picked up the red and yellow variant. Looking at it for a moment she seemed to find it acceptable and handed it to him. Following her over to another section he looked at different button ups and eventually pulled two down for him to try on. One navy blue with long sleeves and one pale green with short sleeves. It looked like he wouldn't be getting out of wearing green and he didn't want to speak up again. At least the color was very washed out. Moving over to the pants he was handed a pair of black slacks and a pair of khaki shorts that would probably end up past his knees. "Go try them on." While his aunt continued to look at clothes he politely asked a clerk if he could try on the clothes. Letting him into the change room she smiled at him. "My, you're so independent. Isn't it nice that your mother let's you do things on your own?" He stiffened slightly and gave her a shy, polite, smile. "Oh, th-that's my aunt…" He trailed off, a hint of pain and loss in his voice he couldn't quite mask. Though he hadn't known his parents he dearly missed them, or maybe the opportunity to know them. The woman looked apologetic and dropped the subject. "Just let me know if you need any different sizes, dear." He nodded and closed the door.
Taking a moment for himself he took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Looking at his appearance in the mirror he wondered how anyone could mistake him for Petunia's child. Shaking his head he changed into the long sleeved shirt and made sure to tuck the bottom into the black slacks. Honestly it didn't look bad and he smiled at his own reflection. Coming outside he showed his aunt who gave him a nod of approval before he tried on the other clothes. All in all it didn't take that long to find the right sizes and soon they were leaving the store, the bags securely in his hold. "We need to stop by one or two other places. Come along bo-Harry." He nearly tripped in surprise. He knew that his Aunt was trying to play nice for the important people who would be showing up to the house later that day but the fact that she used his name was still astounding. Maybe this trip wouldn't be so bad.
Finding a pair of shoes was much more fun than the other errand they had run, which had been entirely embarrassing. Not that he wasn't grateful for the new underclothes. He didn't really have any preferences when it came to sneakers but the dress shoes were something he really wasn't used to. They were stiff and uncomfortable. Luckily the man helping him seemed to understand that this would his first pair of dress shoes. He grabbed a pair that were slightly on the big size, explaining that he would grow into them eventually. "Once you've worn them for a little while they'll be less stiff." The sympathetic look in his eyes told Harry all he needed to know.
The trip back home was a little less exciting and no less long. By the time they arrived Harry was quite hungry and Petunia already seemed to be at the end of her patience. "Go put on your new clothes. They should be here in a half hour for lunch." Shooing him upstairs she hurried into the kitchen to start making preparations for their guests. Harry, with nothing else to do, went upstairs and quickly changed. Standing in front of Hedwig's cage he opened the door and let her climb out onto his forearm, stroking her chest. This action soothed the both of them. "I'm not sure what to think anymore. Am I even a Wizard if I'm not human?" Biting his lip he let the snowy owl sit atop her cage as he sat on his bed. He wished he could pull out his wand and test if he could still do spells. It seemed like such a silly thing to want to do but he knew it would have made him feel better.
"Harry! They're here!" He nearly jumped when he heard his Aunt calling his name up the stairs. That urgent tone usually meant he was in trouble. "Coming Aunt Petunia." He called as he came out of his room and down the stairs. Walking up to the door he hesitated for a moment before opening the door. "Good afternoon." He said politely to the two elves standing on the front step. Both men smiled at him. "Mae g'ovannen. It is good to see you again." Letting the both of them inside he closed the door behind them. Wiping his slightly sweaty palms on his new shorts he glanced between the two of them. He wasn't quite sure where his aunt wanted them to go. "Oh, Harry dear, take our guests out to the backyard. I've just put out some lemonade and sandwiches for luncheon." With an almost imperceptible sigh of relief he smiled at the elves and invited them out to the backyard. The sun was high in the sky but the shade from the house was enough to keep them from becoming too hot.
The sandwiches were cucumber cream-cheese, ham and pickle, and tuna. Picking up the jug of lemonade he quickly poured for the three of them, aware of the lord watching him while he did so. Sitting down he sipped at the slightly too sweet lemonade and fidgeted. He wanted to take a sandwich but he worried it would be rude to eat before a guest. The other elf with the lord seemed to understand his predicament and quickly picked up one of the cucumber and cream-cheese sandwiches. With a smile he chose a ham and pickle one to nibble on. "So, Harry. Why don't you tell me about your school and friends." Blinking he relaxed into the seat and smiled. "Okay."
Between sandwiches he regaled the two elves with stories about Hogwarts and the kinds of things he and his friends got up to there. He did his best to avoid the major incidents that happened, not wanting to sour the fun things with the hard times. Every once in a while one of the two would ask him to explain something or to go into further detail. It was kind of nice to have adults around who actually wanted to listen to him. Eventually he mentioned the suits of armor with all their weapons. How many of them had swords, kind of like the one at Elrohir's waist. Glancing to their father the elf put a hand on the hilt of the sword. After a moment's thought Elrond nodded his head. Harry, who was feeling a little out of the loop at this interaction, was surprised to see the tall elf untying the sword from his belt. "Most of us know how to use a sword or bow. When you're older you'll also be taught- if that's what you wish." Slowly he unsheathed just the top two inches of the sword so that Harry could see the metal. "Woah." He said, looking at it with some interest. The sword he had pulled from the Sorting hat and killed the Basilisk with looked drab and gaudy in comparison. "It's a deadly weapon and difficult to master. When you take up a weapon you have to be willing to use it. In defense of yourself, your home, and your loved ones." Sheathing it he tied the scabbard back to his belt with nimble, practiced, movements. Taking another sandwich Harry thought hard on the words. He'd already used a sword to save himself and someone else. Biting his tongue he decided it was better not to tell them right now. Especially when his Aunt came out to the back to ask if they needed anymore lemonade.
"We're doing fine, thank you." Aunt Petunia gave a sickly sweet smile before bustling back into the house. It made him feel a little ill. The only reason she and his uncle were being kind to him was because they thought they could get famous, or rich, out of the situation. He still didn't fully believe he was Aragail, the Lord's lost son. But the more time he spent with them the more relaxed he felt. Was this what a loving family was supposed to be like? Listening to you when you talked, asked questions and showed interest in your favourite things, and never talked down to you or insulted you? A lot of thoughts were running through his head and he felt so lost.
"Ara- Harry, why don't you show us around the neighborhood? I'm sure you have a lot of places you like to play." Snapping out of his dizzying thoughts he blinked up at the two elves and smiled. "Okay."