AN: Standard disclaimer: Harry Potter and the associated rights belong to JK Rowling. I'm just playing with them!
Thank you all for your reviews, and special mention today to Vukk, who has the same thoughts about the canon Harry as I do!
And on with the story!
Chapter 7
Harry used Nagnok's office and a conjured mirror to fix his appearance, utilising his newly discovered Metamorphmagic skills to change his hair to a chestnut brown, with a silkier texture than his own hair. His original emerald green eye colour was normal enough that with the new hair colour and his scar almost invisible due to the removal of the Horcrux, Harry did not look like the Boy-Who-Lived at all. He also changed his glasses from the round black frames to a more modern squarer half-frame in silver metal. The new frames looked much better on his slimmer and sharper face than his old ones had, plus they didn't bring to mind the Wizarding World's Saviour.
After dressing back in his hand-me-downs and plain black robe, Harry charmed the clothes to fit him better before he and Severus headed out of Gringott's for a couple of hours shopping before they had to return to Hogwarts. The changes to Harry's appearance would be enough to fool most people, but they would have to get an oath from the shopkeepers they purchased from, not to reveal Harry's new status nor indeed his presence in Diagon Alley to anyone.
Walking down Diagon Alley, Harry decided that he did not wish to purchase new robes from Madam Malkin's, as the squat witch had seemed slightly false to him every time he bought new school robes. On explaining this to Severus, the older man guided them to Twilfitt and Tatting's, in the opposite direction from Madam Malkin's, across the Alley from Ollivander's.
The shop was quiet, and Harry started examining the fabrics and robe designs that were on display, while Severus rang the shop bell for service. The young man who melted out of the shadows obviously remembered the scary Potions Professor from Hogwarts, as he stammered initially before regaining his confidence.
Severus gestured to Harry, who was studying the difference between two open robes, and requested a private fitting to ensure the confidentiality of the identity of the young man being measured. The attendant nodded and agreed, as he could see no reason why not, although he didn't recognise the young man as someone who would need that level of privacy.. He was currently the only assistant in the shop, as the other assistant was off ill and the manager had gone out to a meeting with fabric suppliers.
He gestured the young man to a fitting room off to one side of the room, and set up privacy wards stopping anybody seeing or hearing anything coming from within 3' of the fitting room. Guiding a large mirror in front of him, the attendant collected the robes and some of the fabrics that his mystery client had been examining before joining the two in the fitting room area.
"Good afternoon sirs, I am Thomas, and I will be the only one dealing with you today. I understand that you require a complete wardrobe today sir? You were looking at these open robes, did you have a preference, or would you like to see them on first?"
As he spoke, he guided Harry onto a small dais in front of the mirror and helped him off with his own robe. A grimace he wasn't able to hide at the sight of Harry's baggy jeans and obviously secondhand though shrunk t-shirt passed over his face. Harry caught the grimace out of the corner of his eye, and responded with an answering grimace.
"As you can see, this is why I need a full wardrobe, both Wizarding and Muggle. For the Muggle wardrobe I'm happy to shop in the Muggle World, because, quite honestly, after the Quidditch World Cup, I'm not too impressed with the Wizarding World's idea of Muggle fashion! Let's get the Wizarding wardrobe sorted now though, please, including robes and casual wear for use at Hogwarts. However, I will have to ask you to swear a Vow of Secrecy, that you will not disclose anything you learn about me today."
Thomas could see how serious the young man was, so he nodded and pulled his wand. "I swear that I will not tell any of what I learn about the young man in front of me, nor his companion to anybody by thought, word or deed. I shall undertake to complete the order without allowing the identity of the client to become known to anyone. This I swear, so mote it be." The magic glowed a little around him, and Harry nodded solemnly in response.
Thomas watched as the young man in front of him slowly changed his hair colour to black, and suddenly Thomas understood the need for the Vow of Secrecy as he looked at the Boy-Who-Lived.
Severus and Harry both agreed later that the fact that Thomas merely nodded at the change, and held up the first open robe for Harry to slide on only increased the respect they had for him. Thomas did not change his behaviour, or fawn over Harry, he just carried on with the fitting calmly and as he would have done had Harry not shown his true self.
"This robe is of twice woven cotton, making it thicker and sturdier than plain cotton. It is designed to hang open over your school uniform or casual Wizarding outfit, and has several pockets for dispersal of your personal items. Each pocket is charmed to lie flat against your body as you can see, and has a minor Extendable Charm increasing the amount you can store.
Now, this one here is plain black, with the option of placing either your school or house crest or Family Crest on the left breast pocket. It would do very well for your school robe. Others can be in a combination of colours and fabrics tailored to your liking. Or we have some in the same style with embroidery on the hems and sleeves, or the back.
With regards to school uniforms, do you need more of the shirts, trousers, and knitwear, or are your current available items sufficiently good condition as to wait until next summer when you shall undoubtedly have had a growth spurt?"
Thomas paused in straightening and pinning the robe hem an inch above Harry's heels, not sure whether he was hoping the young man required more clothing or not. On one hand, it would mean more money for the business and a bigger commission for him, on the other he had committed to completing this order on his own to ensure the client's privacy and more items would require more work.
"No, I believe that my current uniform is sufficient for now." Harry appreciated the collected manner and intelligent questions of this young man, especially compared to the fluttering and whispering that accompanied a fitting at Madam Malkin's.
"However, should the quality of the items you provide prove to be up to my standards then I shall certainly be returning here to purchase my uniform and any further wardrobe items required next year. For now I think that three of these black robes will be sufficient, with the Gryffindor house crest on, please. And some casual and formal robes, please. Anything else I need to take with me today Severus?"
"Just some dress robes I think, as there will be a Yule Ball at Hogwarts this year, where the Champions will be expected to lead the dancing. Other than that, we shall take a catalogue with us and you can peruse it at your leisure. I apologise for our haste, Thomas, however we have a lot to do today before returning to Hogwarts."
Thomas mused on the possibilities as he fetched some casual and more formal robes for the client to look at.
"Any particular colours you are looking for, or any to avoid, sir? And is there a Family Crest to place on your dress robes?"
Harry glanced at Severus, and smirked. Then he spun his right hand in the air, and Thomas nodded as he noticed the Head of House ring on Harry's finger.
"Oh! Of course sir, that crest can be applied with no problem, and naturally the knowledge of that is covered under my earlier oath." The assistant carried on quickly with the fitting, hoping that his calm and reticient behaviour was what the clients (even to himself he refused to admit the client's name in case somebody 'saw' it) required from him.
"And now sir, for your formal robes first. Perhaps these silk open robes in deep green with black scrollwork embroidery on the sleeves, hem and lapels? Yes? And then, these open robes in black matte satin with silver lilies on the lapels? Yes and then this rich dark purple silk closed robe with a silver gryphon on the back? Perfect.
And for the casual robes, this plainer double woven cotton robe in russet brown? One the same in a forest green, and one in a dark blue? Wonderful. I think that perhaps the brighter reds and oranges are not for you, but blues, greens, purples, burgundy and similar shades and then the blacker browns are the colours to aim for.
Now, with your colouring, for your Yule Ball dress robes, I think a dark blue-almost-black robe in Acromantula silk would be perfect, with no decoration other than your Family Crest. This formal robe with matching trousers, white shirt, and bowtie will make you look every inch the part of Head of your House." Thomas flung a drape of the fabric over Harry's shoulder, tweaking it to hang just so to show the way the robe front would hang beautifully and show off the outfit. The colour suited Harry beautifully.
"Absolutely perfect sir, even if I do say so myself. Now, I can have the three black robes, and the casual robes ready for collection today, in about 2 hours, but only one of the formal robes. Perhaps the green? And naturally I will supply trousers, shirts and ties to match.
The others I will make up and send to you, along with any others you choose from this catalogue. You will need shoes of course, for the Ball. You should visit Pattens Prime Footwear, just down from here. I would recommend, alongside the black shoes for school and formalwear, dragonhide boots which are resistant to spells, and other than that the Wizarding World has little in the way of footwear."
"That sounds sufficient for now, and we shall collect the items at," Severus paused to glance at his watch which read 3:40pm, then continued speaking. "5:30pm, if that is adequate time for you? I believe we need to get on, as we shall not complete everything otherwise."
"Quite," agreed Harry stepping off the stool and shrugging on his old robe before reapplying his chestnut hair colouring. "Many thanks for your time and your Vow Thomas, and for the catalogue. Goodbye."
*RitR*RitR*
The next stop for Harry and Severus was the tiny shop next to Eylops Owl Emporium (which reminded Harry, he wanted to get Hedwig some more Owl Treats), the imaginatively named and decorated Argus All-Eyes, which had hundreds of little eyes dotted along the fascia, some staring at the passers-by, while others winked, blinked or rolled in their sockets. Harry could have sworn that he saw one pair ogle two pretty witches walking past!
Pushing open the door, Harry and Severus stepped in and were greeted by a brisk middle-aged witch in a white robe and glasses perched on top of her head.
As Severus explained Harry's eyesight problems to the Oculist, Harry examined the glasses frames on the wall, and then picked up a leaflet on magical contact lenses. Then Severus called to him, and he followed the two into the exam room.
"Good afternoon sir, I am Oculist Fovea, and I understand that you have had bad eyesight for as long as you can remember? And that is partly due to genetics, but also to a restrictive Hex and incorrect Muggle prescriptions?"
Harry nodded.
"Good afternoon. Yes, my Aunt brought the glasses home for me one day when I was 6, because the school told her I was having problems seeing the board. Any time the school complained, she would huff and complain about me 'costing money' and then a couple of days later there would be another pair of glasses and I could see a bit better than before, although they always worsened again after a while. She never took me to see anyone about my eyes or anything like that, there's just been a new pair of glasses every so often.
But I've never been able to see perfectly until Professor Snape cast a spell on my glasses this week. And we only just discovered that I had a Restrictive Hex on my eyesight today, which has now been taken off."
The oculist frowned several times during Harry's recital, and by the end was clearly fuming although her voice was gentle towards Harry.
"May I see your glasses, sir? And which spell was it you cast, Professor?" Madam Fovea turned to Professor Snape, as she took the glasses from Harry.
"Merely a temporary 20:20 Vision Charm, in order to aid Mr... " Severus paused a moment and met Harry's eyes with a fleeting glint of panic, and then continued smoothly. "Tofty until we could get here. Obviously, I was only aware of the general eye problems, and assumed that Hogwart's Madam Pomfrey was managing it. On discovering that this was not the case, I cast the spell and made the appointment with you.
Naturally, our discovery and subsequent removal of the Restrictive Hex only increased our need to have Mr Tofty's eyes properly checked."
Madam Fovea nodded, and turned back to Harry.
"Please, Mr Tofty, seat yourself on the chair, and I will examine your eyes. Now, this will feel a little odd, but I have to place my wand tip quite close to your eyes. I will not actually touch your eyes, but some of the diagnostic spells I use may sting a little. Try to sit as still as possible, please."
Harry perched himself nervously on the chair, and tried not to flinch when the oculist pointed her wand at him. The bright light shining out of the wandtip blinded him for a moment, then he felt a tingling sensation run across his eyeballs. The low voice of the woman was chanting steadily, and the hum of Severus's magic that Harry could feel reassured him that should anything go wrong the older wizard would not hesitate to step in.
Eventually the oculist drew away, and Harry blinked as she brightened the lights she had dimmed. Turning away, Madam Fovea read down the Diagnostic parchment before turning to Harry and Severus.
"Well, your eyes are certainly damaged. There is a potion however which can restore the damage caused by your genetic weakness, and this should have been done as soon as your poor eyesight was discovered. The Restrictive Hex should have been picked up at that point also, and then there would have been no need for the incorrect prescriptions but the potion will assist in correcting the damage there also. Any remaining weakness after taking the potion today will be repaired by a weaker variant of the potion, which will have to be taken daily over a two week period.
Now Professor Snape, I will provide you with the recipe for the potion for the two-week period, as I assume that you prefer to make your own rather than purchasing it.
I would like you, Mr Tofty, to take the initial strong potion now, and then I can check your eyes again and we'll see whether glasses may be required for a few weeks while your eyes adjust. Just swallow it down in one gulp, and you will feel considerable pain I am afraid, but there will be instant results."
She handed Harry a small vial containing a turquoise potion, and Harry checked with Severus before raising the vial to his lips. Draining the vial, Harry handed it back to Madam Fovea and then screwed his face up in pain. The sharp stabbing sensation in his eyeballs made him want to rip them out with his bare hands, but then it faded off to a dull ache.
As Harry straightened up from the doubled-over position he had adopted, Madam Fovea ushered him back into the chair, and passed her wand over his eyes again. Harry felt the tickling sensation again, but much diminished due to the ache from the potion.
Madam Fovea nodded to herself, then turned to Severus and asked for 'Mr Tofty's' glasses.
"Well, I am happy with the improvement of your eyes, Mr Tofty. You will have slightly blurry vision, and I recommend you do not look at bright lights for the rest of today. Tomorrow you may find that your eyes will feel sore, or that they may get strained during the day. I have adjusted your glasses so that they better fit your eyes currently, and they should adapt automatically to the changes during your potion regime. You do not need to wear your glasses all the time, but if your eyes start to ache you must put them on."
Harry nodded, blinking his eyes in an effort to clear some of the blurriness, then accepted his glasses back and placed them on his nose.
"Er, Madam Fovea? Would it be possible to get a spare pair of glasses? I don't want to break these while I'm taking the potion, and since I play Quidditch, that's a possibility!" His sheepish grin and laugh got an answering laugh from the oculist, and she guided Harry and Severus out to the waiting room and to the wall of frames on display.
After picking a pair of silver-rimmed squared spectacles similar to the ones currently on his face, Harry paid, thanked Madam Fovea profusely, and promised to return in three weeks time to have his eyes checked again, to ensure that the potion had worked fully. The brand new glasses would do for his Tofty personaily while he was taking the potions, and once his eyes were fixed, he could stop wearing them completely. Unfortunately, he would have to continue wearing glasses as the Boy-Who-Lived, but would be able to transfigure the lenses into plain glass at the end of the two weeks.
"That was quick thinking there, Severus. Now we just need to come up with a first name for my Tofty side!" Harry smiled at Severus after they left, switching his glasses, and returning the old ones to their original round-framed dark metal look.
"Indeed! I almost panicked, until I remembered that you had inherited the Tofty estate through your mother." Severus paused, then continued. " As for a first name, I had a baby brother for a very short while, unfortunately he was very sickly and did not live beyond three months old. His name was Reuben. It would be an honour if you would use that. I promised Lily once that I would use that name for a son, and for you to use it seems a fitting use of that promise."
The seriousness of Severus's voice made Harry blink, until he remembered the feeling of 'home' he felt whilst leaning against Severus on the cart ride in Gringott's. He nodded, unwilling to use his voice to break the moment, and unsure of what to say in any case! He did settle for a slight lean into the older man, a way to demonstrate both his awareness of what Severus had admitted, and his willingness to use the name of Severus' apparently treasured baby brother.
Then he and Severus hurried to Flourish and Blott's, for the last of their shopping before they collected Harry's new wardrobe and returned to Hogwart's. Grabbing a basket, Harry picked up books on Defense, Charms, Transfiguration, Astronomy, Arithmancy and Ancient Runes. Severus added texts on Potions, Occlumency and Legilimency, and several on Law, Politics, and the Traditions of the Wizarding World. As they travelled through the bookshop, Harry picked up books on several topics including Wandless Magic, Auras, and many others, choosing any that interested him as he meandered, and Severus did the same with books he would do well to read and learn from. By the time they reached the tills, there were over 100 tomes, and the assistant gasped as the total exceeded 300G. Shrinking down the bags, Harry tucked them into his pocket and paid using the Money Bag given to him by Nagnok.
As they left Flourish and Blott's, Harry turned to Severus.
"Professor, I did notice that my wand, when I cast the shrinking charm and the other spells I've used since we left Gringott's, seems to not fit me as it used to. Is there time to ask Wandmaker Ollivander to check it for me, please? I think I would need to do something with it if I am to survive this Tournament."
Severus checked the time, realised they had a little time before they were due to re-enter Twilfitt and Tatting's, and agreed.
Pushing open the door to Ollivander's, Harry noticed that funny tingle in the air he had noticed before when Hagrid brought him in, but it was more somehow. He wondered whether maybe his magic being finally fully free and his own (shuddering inwardly as he thought of the Horcrux) made a difference, and resolved to ask Severus when he could, and about being able to sense Severus' magic too.
His musings were interrupted by Mr Ollivander, who appeared out of the gloom once again. His silvery eyes gazed at the two wizards, and Harry suddenly thought of that odd Ravenclaw that Ginny hung around with occasionally. She had that same far-off gaze, that note of not-quite-here-and-yet-fully-present that Ollivander had.
"Ah, Professor Snape, birch wood, with a core of unicorn hair and dragon heartstring, 13 ¼". Not one of mine I believe? And Mr Potter, holly and phoenix feather, 11". What seems to be the trouble with it?"
Ignoring Severus' scowl at Ollivander's reproving words in a misty voice, Harry proffered his own wand for Ollivander's inspection.
"I recently discovered that some of my core magic and talents were blocked, and since the unblocking, this wand is not fully responding to me. Is there anything you can do sir, or will I need another wand?"
"Ah, I see, yes Mr Potter. I can retune your wand, if you would accompany me to my workroom?" The old wandmaker flipped the sign on the door to closed as he turned, and walked down an aisle between two towering shelves of wandboxes. Harry glanced at Severus, and followed, unsure of what might happen.
Ollivander opened a door hidden in a wall of boxes, and the three men walked into a large room, with a large worktable in the centre of the room and tea-chests around the outsides, filled with all sorts of mysterious items. Natural light spilled in through skylights, and Harry was amazed by the amount of magic he could feel flitting about the room. Severus noted the reactions from Harry and made a mental note to query the boy later.
"Now, Mr Potter, just wander around the room, and pick up any items – carefully! - that call to your magic. I will see what I can do to incorporate them into your wand." Ollivander seemed very excited, and both Harry and Severus were a little bemused by this.
Harry nodded, and walked towards the nearest shelf, which held blocks of wood, with colours ranging from a pure white, through reds and browns, to the blackest wood that Harry had ever seen. As he trailed a hand along the shelf, a reddish wood slid out of the pile and fell onto his knuckles. Shaking his hand a little, Harry placed the wood block on the worktable, and returned to the shelf. No more woods leapt at him, so he moved onto the boxes and drawers.
A small jar from the fourth tea-chest caused a spike in Harry's magic, and he carefully lifted it out and examined the scales inside which flickered between purple and green as he tilted the jar. Placing it on the worktable, he had been around the workroom and almost back to where Severus and Ollivander were standing when another item caught his attention. A vial of irridescent white liquid glimmered in the light, and Harry was entranced by it.
Ollivander carefully took the vial from Harry, and examined all three items now on the worktable. He seemed very satisfied with the collection.
"Now, the wood you chose was mahogany, like your father's wand. Excellent for Transfiguration. The scales are from a Basilisk, from a shed skin, and this," swirling the opalescent liquid in the vial, Ollivander looked straight at Harry. "What is in here are the tears of a phoenix, an Ice Phoenix to be precise. A very precious item, given freely by the Phoenix to my great-grandfather Arden, at the beginning of his wand-crafting life."
Harry blinked, reminded suddenly of his second year, and the fight with Tom Riddle and the Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets. Basilisk scales and Phoenix tears, even if they wren't from the particular ones he knew, seemed to fit him well. And he would have to take Severus down to the Chamber, to harvest the Basilisk. Maybe Salazar Slytherin had left more than just a snake down there. He returned his attention to Ollivander, who had been murmuring to himself about the properties of the scales and tears. The elderly wand-crafer turned to the two wizards, and ushered them out of the workroom, and then out of the shop.
"The algamation of the new pieces, and the calibration of your wand is best done without an audience. Please return in 30 minutes."
With that, Ollivander ushered the two out of his store, and closed the door firmly behind them. Harry felt slightly naked without his wand, and turned to Severus.
"Shall we go collect my wardrobe then, Severus, before returning for my wand? I'm getting rather tired I admit, and would like to get back to school soon."
"Indeed, that seems to be the plan now. Your Muggle wardrobe will have to wait till another day, but I'm sure you will claim a Saturday morning detention with me very shortly!" The biting tone of Severus' voice was almost indistinguishable from his usual teaching tone, but Harry picked up the subtle undertone of amusement and realised that it was an order so that they could organise further plans of attack without hindrance. He smirked to himself, realising that Potions lessons would never hold the same horror for him now that he could pick up on Severus' subtle sarcasm!
