10. Chapter 7: The Letter Sender and Diagon Alley.
Chapter Warnings: Descriptions of child neglect and non-graphic abuse, mostly implicit. Racism against muggles. Racism against wizards. Also, the end of the chapter may confuse and or worry some readers. Fear not! All will be explained next chapter.
Chapter Summary: The Potter boys meet their wizarding representitive who was sent to deliver Harry's letter. Harry has his birthday, and they go to Diagon Alley.
Authors note: Apologies for having this at the top, but it feels more appropriate here. First of all, I appologise for putting this up a day late. I am in a different country, called Brunei! It is on the Isle of Borneo. I will be here for at least a month. The internet is very dodgy, and yesterday we had no power, so I couldn't post or do my usual replies. Secondly, there seems to be some confusion that I have tried to clear up at the beginning of this chapter. The letters came all week just like in the original Harry Potter books. Leon just wasn't very clear on that. It's there if you read carefully, but is not as clearly set out as it could be. However, this chapter is very long, and I hope you enjoy reading it.
Leon watched as his brother eagerly started to open the letter. It had been a highly unusual week. It troubled Leon that after years of Leon's training, Harry had not simply managed to get one of the many letters that had come that week. They had been such odd ways too. Letters in eggs, and down the chimney and practically fired through the letter slit in the house. And the owls! Uncle Vernon had become quite unhinged. Which was, Leon supposed, exactly why they were on a small rock in the middle of seawater. Maybe Uncle Vernon had read some of the folklore that said magic didn't survive running water, or that salt was a purification element? Not that Leon thought these measures would suffice against the unrelenting nature of the one who had been sending letters. Whoever it was seemed very determined that Harry receive one. So now they were in a broken-down house on a rock in the sea all alone for his brother's eleventh birthday. Leon had to admit that even yesterday he wouldn't have guessed this would be where they ended up for it. Which was too bad. He'd had to leave the rest of Harry's presents at home. He had no idea when they were going home, and what other madness their Aunt and Uncle might come up with to try and prevent Harry from receiving these letters. Much better to give Harry a letter on his birthday as he so wanted, and ride out the madness of their family. Eventually they'd go home, and he could give Harry the presents then. Harry, Leon though, was quite happy right now. Some one cared enough about them to be sending letters, and he had Leon with him, and the Dursleys were in an uproar, and over nothing he'd done. Part of Leon suspected that the reason Harry hadn't gotten a letter himself was that he just wanted to see how far it would go, and if he really could get Uncle Vernon to have a heart attack. He could be quite vindictive at times.
Harry had finished exploring the envelope and opened the seal by the time Leon was drawn out of his thoughts. Thunder outside boomed, and lightening crashed, and they both jumped, and then Harry smiled at him.
"Thanks Leon." He murmured quietly. "You didn't have to. I know you have a bad feeling about this." He looked at Leon earnestly. "But, my feelings tell me this is… something…" he looked like he was struggling to find the words to express himself, but when Leon opened his mouth, Harry shook his head fiercely, his eyes blazing. "The letters… they mean… something new! Something exciting. This is it Leon! I think this is what you've been waiting for. What you've been making me wait for. Our chance to change things." He looked at Leon earnestly, the letter lying limply in his lap as he gazed at Leon, his expression excited and hopeful. "I… I know, you're… you're uneasy about this." Harry bit his lip, and started to look concerned. "But you mustn't be scared Leon. This… this is a good change. I know it!" Well. He'd started off stuttering and uncertain, but by the end of his little speech, Harry was practically alight with fervor, lit from within with the power of his conviction. Leon could do nothing but smile at his brother's speech. Harry was right. He was uneasy about this change. And nervous. Accepting magic back into their lives meant that they'd be in more danger. And Harry had no idea.
"You're right Harry. I shouldn't be nervous. This is magic, and it is fun." He acknowledged. Harry beamed at him, and picked up the letter again, getting ready to draw out the contents. However, Leon's sense of unease, which had been acting up all day, now went haywire. Someone was coming, something… He put his hand on Harry's knee to warn him, and Harry stilled beside him. He trusted Leon's instincts too. They both tensed and strained their senses and in just a second…
Boom. Not thunder.
Boom. That sound again. No lightening flashed either.
It was someone knocking on the door. The door behind them crashed open, and Uncle Vernon, armed with a shotgun, burst through into their room. He shouted a warning at whoever was on the other side. There was a pause. Anticipation hung in the air. Smash! The door was busted in, and a very large man squeezed into the small house. He carefully placed the door back into place. Leon stood to the side where he and Harry had scrambled as soon as Uncle Vernon came in waving a gun about. His thoughts frantically churned as he tried to remember why this man was familiar…
"Couldn't make us a cup o' tea, could yeh? It's not been an easy journey…" the man spoke, and Leon remembered. Hagrid! Hagrid who'd collected them from their parents house and taken them to that much nicer hut, and then to the medical staff, and then to Privet Drive where that Dumbledore had left them. Good natured, not that bright, careful with children, and very large and strong and rather intimidating to other adults. A bit simple in some respects, but not an imbecile or brain damaged. Leon could see exactly why he and Harry were to be introduced to the Wizarding World by this man. He was just the sort Harry would like. Even Leon himself did not mind this man. He'd prefer someone he could actually ask intelligent and thoughtful questions of about the Wizarding World as a guide, but this man, with his easy-going nature, faith in Dumbledore, and protective instincts, was exactly the sort that his ten year old brother would love. Instantly, he was suspicious of whoever had sent him. Hagrid himself was alright, but whoever was behind the scene, manipulating himself and Harry, had chosen this man carefully. Leon would have to keep a close eye on his interactions with Harry. Harry was excitable and tended to jump to conclusions. It was then incredibly hard to change his mind. Nearly impossible, in fact. Unfortunately, his instincts were usually right, so Harry never really saw any reason to change his mind. It was very frustrating.
By the time all this had gone through his head, Hagrid had already intimidated Dudley into moving from the sofa, and started to introduce himself to them.
"An' here's Harry and little Leon!" he said, beaming at them happily. Leon wrenched his full attention to the now, and concentrated on focusing on the very important meeting taking place. "Las' time I saw you, you was both only babies." He studied them both for a few seconds, very intensely. "Yeh look a lot like yer dad, but yeh've got yer mum's eyes." He finally pronounced to Harry. Harry looked inordinately happy with this. It was true enough though, Leon supposed. Harry was small and skinny from not getting as much as he should to eat, as was Leon. Appart from that, his face mostly looked like their dad's, and his hair was practically the same. Almost like someone had turned James' hair into a wig and then stuck it on Harry's head. It w
as as dark as their father's and stuck up all over the place mostly. He had glasses too. Leon usually forgot about them. Aunt Petunia had gotten a very cheap pair for him once, and it had taken ages for Leon to earn enough money for a pair of better frames. Then he and Harry had to book an appointment without anyone finding out, sneak Aunt Petunia's medical card from her purse, go to the appointment, pay for the appointment, and choose a pair of glasses frames. It was only then that they'd realized frames and the glasses in them were different, and had different prices. It meant that they'd had to get a much cheaper pair that Leon had originally planned. It had been a huge ordeal. Leon had been very relieved that everything had run smoothly, and quite distraught when he realized that they were supposed to do this every six months.
However, the tests were covered on the card, and Harry didn't need new glasses every six months. His eye problem seemed to be short sightedness, a genetic problem, and that hadn't changed since he was six. Leon and Harry had managed to place the card back in Aunt Petunia's purse, and she apparently hadn't paid that much attention to the medical bill statement that quarter. Still, they'd gotten very lucky there. And Harry still had to wear cheap ugly looking glasses. At least though, the prescription hadn't made them worse, as the pair Aunt Petunia gave him would have. If he'd continued to wear those, he'd have been ok for a little bit, but over the long run, they would have made his eyes that much worse, and nearly impossible to cure. Leon didn't really think his Aunt Petunia was aware of that. She'd simply gone out and gotten a cheap pair of glasses for her nephew who needed them. She didn't know anything about glasses, Leon knew. He'd asked her quite a few questions when Harry had first been given a pair, and she'd been flustered and annoyed because she didn't know. When she did know things, she enjoyed lecturing him for hours, and making him wish he'd never asked in the first place. He sometimes suspected it was revenge for all the 'why' questions she'd been plagued with by three toddlers when they were small.
Still. So Harry was small and skinny with a dark mop of hair and looked like their dad. Except for their mother's eyes. Well. That was a fairly accurate description. Harry had indeed inherited their mother's lovely eyes. Leon liked looking him in the eye, and seeing his emotions shimmering there, much like their mother. He'd seen her love as she looked at them, and it was soothing to see it reflected in Harry's direct gaze as well.
"As fer yeh, little Leon," Hagrid chuckled, "Yeh've got yer mum's looks. Bit delicate teh tell yeh the truth. An' her hair too. That dark red. Very memorable, that. Got yeh father's eye color though." He added, peering at Leon very closely. "Yeah. Brown, just like his." He sat back and beamed at them. By now Uncle Vernon had found his voice, and he demanded Hagrid leave. Hagrid dismissed him, and took the gun off him and made in unuseable before he tossed it in a corner.
"Anyway, Harry-" Hagrid turned his attention back to them, "a very happy birthday to yeh. Got summat for yeh here – I mighta sat on it at some point, but it'll taste all right." He handed Harry a slightly squashed box. Harry opened it with fingers that trembled with eagerness and excitement. Inside was a large, sticky chocolate cake with Happy Birthday Harry written on it in green icing. It looked delicious. Leon leaned over to inspect it more closely. Harry on the other hand, looked up at Hagrid.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"Harry!" Exclaimed Leon. Harry gave a guilty start and looked ashamed of himself.
"Er.. I mean. Thank you for the birthday cake." He added hastily. Hagrid chuckled.
"Yer welcome. But it's true. I haven't introduced meself. Reubus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts." He held out his hand, which was simply enormous, and shook each of their arms.
"What about that tea then, eh?" he said, rubbing his hands together. "I'd not say no ter summat stronger if yeh've got it, mind." He said, and Harry grinned. He lit a fire in the fireplace, and started pulling things out of his pockets. Things that included frying pans and kettles and mugs and a package of sausages. He also took a quick sip of something Leon suspected was alcoholic before he started making tea. Everyone sat or stood in awkward silence while he worked. Still, with the fire crackling merrily away, the entire room felt warmer and cozy.
Harry and Leon were served the sausages and a warm cup of tea, which was delicious. Leon nibbled at his, and was going to offer his plate to his cousin, but his Aunt Petunia caught his eye and the glint in hers made him decide that manners could be sacrificed. So he was still nibbling on his second sausage by the time Harry had finished.
"I'm sorry, but I still don't really know who you are." Harry started off.
Hagrid looked at him. "Call me Hagrid," he said, "everyone does. An' like I told yeh, I'm Keeper of Keys at Hogwars – yeh'll know all about Hogwarts, o' course." Wow. Someone had seriously misinformed Hagrid. Leon was not terribly surprised by that. It merely added to his suspicions concerning that man.
"Er- no,' said his brother.
Hagrid looked shocked.
"Sorry," Harry quickly added.
"Sorry?" barked Hagrid, turning around to face the Dursleys. "It's them as should be sorry! I knew yeh weren't getting' ter letters but I never thought yeh wouldn't even know abou' Hogwarts, fer cryin' out loud! Did yeh never wonder where yer parents lernt it all?"
By now Harry was looking very confused. Hagrid was glowering at the Dursleys, and they were looking quite panicked themselves.
"All what?" asked Harry.
"ALL WHAT?" Hagrid's voice was like thunder. "Now wait jus' one second!. Do you mean ter tell me," he jumped up and continued, growling now at the Dursleys. "that these boys, that Harry! – knows nothin' abou' – about ANYTHING?" Leon watched in facination. As he had suspected would be the case, Hagrid was very upset about their lack of knowledge. He seemed to think it was their right to know, and that anyone denying them the knowledge of who they were was nearly a criminal offence. And he was getting angry on their behalf. It was nice to have a potential ally within reach. Harry, when he glanced at his brother, on the other hand, was looking a bit unimpressed. Well, he wouldn't like being accused of being such an idiot that he didn't know anything. He was quite intelligent, and Leon had pushed him to learn quite a few useful things. He could get a bit sensitive about being compared to Leon in intelligence and intellectual ability. He didn't seem to have caught the part where they were both apparently ignorant.
"I know some things," he said, with a bit of a cross pout. "I can, you know, do maths and..." he looked at Leon. "stuff."
But Hagrid simply waved his hand and said, "About our world, I mean. Your world. My world. Yer parents' world."
"What world?" Now Harry simply looked confused.
Hagrid swelled up in outrage. He looked like a frog. Or a puffer fish.
"DURSLEY!" he boomed. Huh. Patriarchal society then, if he looked to the man as the head of the house. Even though Aunt Petunia was their witch mother Lily's sister by blood, and should thus be the one to know. Uncle Vernon muttered something Leon didn't bother to pay attention to. Hagrid was looking frazzled and dazed and a bit wild by now. He certainly hadn't expected this, which was obvious. And he was bewildered by the facts that despite the fact that they had grown up in this world, they didn't know anything about their parents world.
"But yeh must know about yer mum and dad," he said. "I mean, they're famous. You're famous." Huh. Did he mean Harry in particular, or both of them? Why were their parents famous? Hadn't they been secret fighters in the war? Unless their famous personas had been a cover for their activities?
"What? Our – our mum and dad weren't famous, were they?"
"Yeh don' know… yeh don' know…" Hagrid seemed to be in shock.
"Yeh don' know what yeh are?" he said finally.
By now it seemed Uncle Vernon had recovered. He demanded that Hagrid stop. Apparently he didn't want them to learn the truth. Was he really such an idiot? Leon looked at his Uncle, who was quivering with both outrage and fear, and decided, yes, his Uncle really was that stupid.
"You never told him? Them? Never told them what was in the letter Dumbledore left fer them? I was there! I saw Dumbledore leave it, Dursley! An' you've kept it from them all these years!"
Realising what was about to happen, Uncle Vernon tried to forbid it, and Aunt Petunia gasped in horror.
Hagrid glowered at them both. "Ah, go boil yer heads, the both of yeh," said Hagrid. "Harry – yer and yeh brother are wizards." Harry looked at him, his eyes wide and round. Harry remained silent, thinking, probably, of all the magic he and Leon had ever done. Hagrid peered at him, and continued on. "Thumpin' good'uns, I'd say, once yeh've been trained up a bit. With a mum and dad like yours, what else would yeh be? An' I reckon it's about time yeh read yer letter." He continued his encouragement, and and held out a new letter, addressed to Mr H. Potter, The Floor, Hut-on-the-Rock, The Sea.
Harry opened and read this one without any of the ceremony he had used with Leon's. Leon's was still stuffed in the waistband of Harry's pants, Leon could tell. It would be safe there. While Leon was reading his letter, Leon watched as Hagrid wrote a message to Dumbledore, telling him what Hagrid was doing. Apparently they were going shopping tomorrow.
Hagrid explained what he knew about their parents, Aunt Petunia had a fit over their mother, feelings she seemed to have kept inside her for years, and Dudley narrowly avoided being turned into a pig by Hagrid by Leon. Much as he personally disliked his cousin, it wasn't fair to him to penalize hi for his parents mistakes through the use of magic. Still, as he fell asleep with his brother under Hagrid's donated coat, his mind whirled with possibilities.
Diagon alley was very strange. Going through the pub, they both shook hands with many people. It upset Leon that Hagrid didn't realise he should have stopped them, but only a little. Leon shook hands with the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, but Harry was too busy with others to do more than smile and wave at him. First was the bank. Harry and Leon were taken down with Hagrid to their vault, and they both filled a bag with piles of the money. Leon was careful to take some of the silver and bronze money, knuts and sickles, with him, especially when he noticed Harry went mainly for the gold. He kept a careful tally of his own bag, and made Harry count his. Then Hagrid had to pick up a parcel for Dumbledore, which Leon and Harry found most mysterious and intriguing. Once at the top, Leon exchanged some of his gold for muggle pounds, because, as he explained when Hagrid expressed his surprise, Harry might be going on in the Wizarding world, but Leon couldn't go for another year. After Gringotts, which Leon made a mental note to take Harry back to later, to investigate that vault properly, and get some useful information about; they were taken to Madam Malkins. Leon was not surprised that the nervous mouthy blond managed to upset his brother, but he soothed things over as best he could with introductions. The blond boy gaped at the fact that they were the Potter brothers, and then offered to help them 'find their way'. He was a bit of snobby brat, but the offer of help seemed to sooth Harry's ruffled feathers a bit. However the boy was remarkably like a skinny, snobby, more intelligent version of their cousin. Leon produced an address book, which he kept on his person, and a pen, and the boy wrote down an address they could owl him at. He was quite fascinated with the 'muggle' objects. They'd have to get an owl first, but Leon didn't mention that. Instead, Leon asked a question about the sport he'd mentioned, and he started off explaining all about it. Leon also didn't mention to Madame Malkin, who measured them for their robes, that he wasn't going to Hogwarts this year. She seemed to be in such a rush, with so many customers, that she was simply measuring all the children that came into the shop for Hogwarts robes. And Leon had plans for those robes anyway.
After their encounter with their first fellow student in the robes shop, Leon got more of an idea about why Hagrid was their guide. He quietly ate his own strawberry ice cream that Hagrid had bought from Florean Fortescue's for him as he listened to Harry's discussion with Hagrid. He reassured Harry that they weren't 'from a muggle family' as if that would be something to be ashamed of, and that they technically were, and when Harry mentioned the school houses, shot down Slytherin as house for evil people. It sort of made Leon want to join Slytherin just to be contrary, before he realized that was the 'Harry' voice in his head that egged him on to be stubborn or do stupid things just because he could. Hagrid was very much against Dark wizards, it seemed. Although he was using Dark as a synonym for Evil, which Leon was a bit doubtful about. Oh, he was sure there were evil people about, but he had a feeling the whole Dark and Light wizard thing was a lot more complicated than Hagrid made it seem.
They got their quills and parchment and ink at the next store. Harry carefully considered his parchment, Leon noted with approval. In the end he chose high quality parchment that would be useful for letter writing in a variety of sizes, and a whole sheaf of cheap stuff for practicing. It was probably only because of Leon's long rants on decent paper, which wasn't readily available in the muggle world, for writing in their secret language, but that was better than not noticing at all. Leon shuddered when he noticed other students rushing in, grabbing the first lot of cheap paper they could find, and rushing out. There were also candles for dripping wax, and various sized generic stamps they could choose. Or, they could request a design of their own. Harry got a simple pre-made H, and Leon, on a whim, decided to have one carved with the Uchiha clan symbol and his first name under that. The shop assistant promised it would be ready by the time they were finished. Leon also got some parchment, which he intended to use for writing letters. He made sure he and Harry had decent sharp quills, and quality ink in a few different colours and thicknesses, including ink powder to make their own ink, which he felt was important. That included little bowls and measuring spoons, and stirring rods. There was fine sand for drying ink, which Leon had to point out to Harry, otherwise he would have passed it by. They also picked up blank books for school, one for each subject Hagrid said Harry would do this year, and some spares. They were apparently enchanted to be inkblot and ink smudge resistant, and tare resistant. Also, apparently they would never run out of pages. Hagrid thought that loose parchment was good enough, but Leon insisted. It was what they were used to in muggle school, and the transition would be hard enough without making it unduly strange, he explained, and Hagrid smiled at him and told him he was very clever to have thought of that. There were also small daggers, used for sharpening quills. Leon went through them, judging sharpness and balance and how well each was made, and picked out twelve of them he felt were very good quality. There were little sheaths to put them in too. Hagrid raised his bushy eyebrows at those purchases, but said nothing, even when the price was a bit high.
Next was the shop for trunks and bags. Harry was set only to get a standard trunk, but Leon insisted some more thought go into this. They would both like trunks with anti-theft charms, fire-proof protection, water resistance, password protection, and lots of space. Like the one in the shop window with a shelf for books, a little fold out table, a wardrobe, and a normal chest space. They would be using these trunks for years, he said pointedly to Harry, so it was best to get ones that would fit a lot in them. They were, once again, quite expensive, and they'd have to come back later that day for them. The trunks also came with small manuals with instructions and information in them. Leon and Harry also got some book bags, and Leon found pouches like the ones he'd used as a ninja. So he got some of those also. They were all leather, and hand crafted. Then they got potions equipment, and Leon was thankful he wasn't the one who had to talk Harry out of buying a gold cauldron. Hagrid though, was quite firm about buying the things on the list. Leon was absolutely fascinated with the Apothecary they visited next. There were many ingredients there, some of which he recognized from his previous life. He'd be able to make special chakra infused ink for tags now, and some healing potions. And two of the three poisons he preferred. He also found the special fish oil Kisame had liked to polish his sword with. For sentimental reasons, he'd added that to his collection of extras.
In Flourish and Blotts he got another set of the first year books, all the history books that mentioned them, and all of the others that wrote about the War with You Know Who. He also got several older history texts. There wasn't anything on the shelves that he could find that dealt with reincarnation, but he hadn't had a chance to scour the whole place yet. He also got several books written about Goblin culture and history that weren't written in their language. At the counter, while his purchases were being totaled, and then put into bags that had feather light charms put on them, he asked if he could mail order books. The clerk told him yes, and gave him several catalogues. Leon also asked the clerk if he knew which books were useful to muggleborn students entering the wizarding world for the first time. Apparently there was a starting kit package, and Leon asked for that as well. Harry and Hagrid helped carry his perchases.
Hagrid took them to Eeylops Owl Emporium, a shop full of owls. While they were choosing, he went to get their trunks. They emerged nearly an hour later with an owl in a large cage each, and some other bags. Inside there were owl treats, water and food dishes, and special brushes for brushing owl feathers. There were also several books on owl care, owl mail delivery history, and an instruction manual for registering owls in muggle residence areas. Leon had purchased all of these, although he'd used some of Harry's gold to do it. One was a gorgeous white snowy owl for Harry, and the other a fierce eagle owl with browny-red and white-flecked feathers for Leon. They both thanked him profusely, Harry stuttering like the teacher they'd met. Hagrid brushed off their thanks with an uncomfortable shrug and wave of his large hand, and a blush of his own.
Ollivanders was a shop that seemed to go for cheap theatrics. The man impressed Harry with his creepiness, but not Leon. He was old and odd and reminded him of a soothsayer or fortune teller. Very unimpressive. And dangerous. The process of finding Harry's wand was quite dangerous as well. Harry nearly managed to set Leon on fire before he dodged, and he seemed to destroy random property with each flick of a different wand. After they had Harry's wand, with the old man's warning ringing in their ears, Hagrid took them both back to muggle London. Harry and Leon and Hagrid struggled with all their parcels and packages and two owls through the underground and to Paddington Station. Once there, they had hamburgers with Hagrid before their train back to the Dursleys. Hagrid offered a very quiet and tired Leon and Harry some advice, gave Harry his ticket for September first, and said to write to him if the Dursleys were a problem. Their owls would be able to find him, no problem. Leon resolved to make sure that he and Harry wrote to the man anyway.
When they got home that night, laden down with all their shopping, Aunt Petunia met them at the door with a disapproving frown. She sent them straight off to bed with a lecture on how disruptive they were. Once in their room, Harry and Leon put their things away carefully in their new trunks. Indeed, Harry put nearly all his belongings in his new trunk. His clothes and shoes went in the wardrobe, his textbooks on the middle shelf of the bookshelves, and his blank ones underneath that. His parchment and writing equipment was packed securely into the desk drawers. They could only open one trunk at a time in their small room. It was very squishy. Leon made sure that he put some bandages and cream and food and water in both trunks, and put most of his new things in his trunk too. Then the trunks went into the now mostly empty cupboard in their room. Leon cajoled Harry into doing their exercises, which they hadn't done in the morning, and they went to bed without talking.
The next morning when they woke up, Leon knew they had a lot to do in the month they had left. As he'd woken first, just before first light, Leon woke Harry up, and they did their morning exercises. Then they did their morning chores for the Dursleys, who still seemed to be pretending they didn't exist. When they finished they went back upstairs, and Leon suggested Harry write a thank you note to Hagrid, while he read some of the books. Leon started with the instruction manual, and set his password in Japanese. Sasuke. I'm ok. While he did that, Harry sat down to write. He soon discovered he wasn't very good at mixing ink, so he decided to stick with the pre-made stuff. His first attempt was an awful blob on the page. It took him a while to get the hang of writing words with a quill using ink that he dipped the quill in. At first he tried to move the quill as a brush too much. Once he got the hang of making the quill and ink work on parchment, he practiced writing the alphabet. This was where his practice in calligraphy was useful. Once he knew how to hold the quill balanced correctly, and got a feel for when he should re-ink, words flowed smoothly across the parchment. Then he wrote his note first as a draft copy, and then on the better parchment. By this time, Leon had gone on to the registering an owl in a muggle area book. It wasn't very complicated. All they had to do was send their address in a letter to the Department of Muggle Communications by either owl or floo, with a feather from the owl or owls to be registered. They even helpfully had a couple of standard letters one could copy straight from the book. So Leon had Harry write that next. After they sent that, the Department would send the necessary muggle papers back, and they could post them the muggle way through the post for registration. If the muggles sent a letter saying a representative would come to check, they were to notify the Department, who would send a witch or wizard to make sure there were no problems. While Harry carefully copied the letter template Leon thought they should use, Leon read the muggleborn starter kit. Or at least he flipped through it.
Then Harry had to write a letter to the Malfoy boy thanking him for his friendly advice the other day. Harry scowled and muttered that he didn't really think the boy had been helpful, but Leon made him write it anyway. It was, he lectured, like going to church each Sunday. Meanwhile, Leon himself flipped through the goblin books, trying find out if sending a letter was offensive to the Goblins, and if not, what was the politest way to go about it. Harry called a break for lunch, and then they had to weed the garden, and wash two cars for different neighbors, and weed next door's garden too. They'd already promised to do those chores for extra money. They got home late that afternoon, and Leon made Harry read the start up kit books while Leon did some writing. It took him far less time to master the quill and ink, and he made his own too, with easy practiced motions familiar to him through his past life. He added his thanks to Hagrid, and checked the one for the owl registration, and added his thanks under Harry's writing to the boy they'd met. Then he composed his own letter to the Goblins about their account. They weren't called down to dinner that night, and Aunt Petunia didn't shove anything under the door, although she did come up and lock it after they came back and had finished showering. Leon and Harry read the owl care book together, and carefully pulled one feather off each owl. They were both rather good about it, all told, especially after Harry explained why they were doing it to them. Magical owls, Leon supposed, were rather like summons. More intelligent than they might appear.
They stayed up reading, Harry choosing his history textbook, and Leon reading One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi. Once the Dursleys were asleep, Leon and Harry broke out of their room, got some food from the kitchen, and sent off their owls with the letters. Harry's went to Hagrid and the boy, since they didn't know where he lived, or how far away Hogwarts was. Leon's went to Gringotts and the Ministry of Magic, since they were both in London, and they wanted fast replies from those letters. Then Leon took Harry to the park. It was deserted at this time of night, and they'd used it for years as part of their training ground. Once there, they only spoke their secret language. It was a time for just them, together against anything. It was Leon's favorite place to be with his brother. They did some warm up exercises, and Harry spoke as they sparred. Giving him something active to do usually seemed to help him focus.
"They all knew our names. Knew all about our parents and everything." Harry said, as he threw a clumsy punch. Leon ducked it and rolled out of Harry's reach, not saying anything. Harry needed to rant. "They all think we're special, that I'm going to do great things. We don't even remember what we're famous for." He added bitterly, and Leon bit his lip to keep from replying that he remembered. Unhappy now himself, he started to attack, keeping his brother so busy he didn't have time to say anything any more. Eventually they stopped sparring and moved into cool down exercises.
"What are you going to do about Stonewall High?" Leon asked. "I have to start there this year. We were in the same class together. You're going to Hogwarts instead, but I'm still to go there." Harry looked at him in horror.
"I hadn't even thought of that!" he cried. Leon smiled at him.
"Yeah, I noticed." He said. "Besides, I was really careful to make sure we were, you know, in the system, so we couldn't just disappear. I read the muggle starter kit, and it'll be easy for you. All you have to do is notify the school you've transferred your registration. I still have to go, because I wasn't invited to Hogwarts this year. Next year, I expect." Harry looked at him in worry.
"Still, you'll be ok without me for bit, won't you?" he said. "I mean, it's just one year, and then you're with me again." Leon smiled at his brother.
"I'll be fine." He said. "I'm more worried about you. Like I said, I went to all that trouble, and now you're disappearing from the system into the magical world. I don't like that. I'd rather have the option to return here, if something happened." Harry looked at him in fond bafflement.
"Why would you choose here over magic?" he asked. Leon just looked at him. "I'm not staying here!" Harry exclaimed. "We've talked about this, how we were going to leave and never come back! Now's our chance, and you want to stay here?" He demanded with scorn.
Leon glared at him. "I didn't say that!" he snapped back. "You saw that place! We could run away to that world. That pub sold beds upstairs, I noticed. We could live there and never see the Dursleys again! But I'm not going to risk running off their and closing all our options in this world. We've worked too hard to just vanish! What if it's worse there? What if you decide you don't like it there, and want to come back? It's hard to go back to school once you've dropped out. And I know it seemed like a lot of money in the vault yesterday, but how long would it really last? Can we afford to live without jobs in either world for years? Because at the rate of conversion from galleons to pounds, I don't think we could afford to live here for too long on that gold." Harry glared at him, but didn't tell him he was wrong either. The Wizarding world called strongly to Leon's brother, he could see that. But Harry wouldn't abandon Leon, and if Leon chose to stay here… Harry might hate him forever, might never forgive him. But he'd stay, if Leon asked. So Leon could never ask. It would cost them both too much.
Instead, he offered a compromise. "You could do both." He suggested. Harry gaped at him before he began spluttering. Before his brother could work up to actual words, Leon showed him what he meant. His fingers came together in seals familiar to him, and he carefully fed his chakra through his body until… poof! In a flash of smoke, a clone of him appeared. Harry gaped some more. "It's a technique I've been practicing for a while." Leon said. "It lets you be two places at once. As long as no one touches the other you too hard, it'll stay. You could make one of these each night, send it from your school, and it could do the day's work. It goes home, does the homework, and then destroys itself. You get the memories of what it did that day, and make another. Then when you make the next, it goes from the school to here, does the next day, and you repeat. That way everyone still thinks you're at school here. You tell the Dursleys you changed your mind and aren't going, and then you sneak away and send the clones each night. What do you think?" Harry gaped at him a bit more, and then flung himself at Leon in a big hug.
"I think I've got the smartest younger brother ever." He said. So Leon tried to teach him the shadow clone technique. It was a highly classified jutsu for a reason. It was dangerous to learn, and easy to over-extend your abilities on. Chakra burnout was a severe danger usually. No Jounin trainer would consider teaching it to his genin. They used chakra too casually, too often. And it was an obvious cheat. If another you could learn something at the same time, then you could goof off while your clone did your training for you! However, it wasn't that simple. A lot of training genin went through involved their bodies. Shadow clones might do a day's exercise, and then at the end of the day when it was destroyed, so did you, but training was used for building muscle memory. If your clone did the work, your body didn't remember it. It was better for information gathering. It wouldn't work on building spirit energy either, for the same reason. Meditating through a clone calmed the clone's energy, not yours. And the energy released in making a clone didn't come back when the clone was destroyed. It was simply gone. Shinobi needed a lot of power to make the jutsu. Uzumaki's insane ability to create hundreds of the things was a fluke no one could reproduce. They'd die, killing themselves just to keep up. He housed the Kuubi, the Nine Tailed Demon Fox, within him. However, Harry wasn't a shinobi. He didn't reach for chakra first, and didn't use it all the time. He had good reserves, enough to do this, but it would be tiring at first. Leon would be monitoring him closely. It was a good chakra building exercise for him to do. Clones could be living a muggle life, while Harry went away to do magic. It could work, if it was done carefully. And Leon would be around to make sure that things did.
It took Harry about an hour to produce a solid shadow clone. It dissolved as soon as any pressure was applied, but he'd managed it. As soon as it disappeared, his eyes rounded. "Wow." He breathed. "That's, wow." Knowing exactly what he meant, the extraordinary feeling of thinking that you existed and seeing things from your own point of view until, pop! You didn't exist anymore, and the experiences you just had went rushing back to your original.
"Clones are good for studying." Leon said. "So, from now on I want you to make a clone and hold it as long as you can. When it gets destroyed, make another. Keep doing that. If you feel that you're too low on chakra, stop and ask me. I'll be able to tell." With that, he set to practicing making his own clones. He made one, and had it read the book he'd made sure to bring to training. It was one of the history books. Leon felt it was important to know what other people believed about them from the books. Also, he was interested in the other history surrounding their story as well. After the first was made and he settled to read, Leon made another. The second one wasn't as good as the first. Leon started to do a kata, and the clone mimicked him. Good enough. He'd see how long he could hold the second one before it disappeared. After a couple of hours the boys and their clones snuck back into the house. Leon and Harry went to sleep, and the clones settled down to read by torchlight.
By the end of the week, Hagrid and Malfoy had replied to their thank you letters, Harry could hold a clone for nearly a whole day, although it still looked a bit funny, and Leon's seal had been delivered. Also, the owl registration papers had come through. Harry had posted them to the appropriate muggle authorities, who'd issued papers in a package back, but hadn't visited, and the Goblins had replied. They were happy to list the vaults the Potter boys owned, and how much was in them, and give a thorough accounting of the last ten years. Leon went through the stack of documents they sent, checking that everything was in order. Leon wrote a note thanking the Goblins and asking for books they recommended on information on themselves and their language. When their reply came he ordered more books on the Goblin language, and bought muggle books on learning latin. He drilled Harry in it constantly too. He also arranged for their muggle textbooks and equipment, and made sure that they both sewed name tags into Harry's clothes. He sent an owl to Saint Mungos, the Wizarding hospital, asking about an eye examination, and booked one for a week before September first. He kept up on training their stamina and chakra reserves, and planned out and made sure Harry followed, a reading plan for both the magical and muggle textbooks for school. He tore through them all himself as well. When it was time for the appointment, he let Harry and a clone of his sneak away, while he and Harry's clone stayed behind to prevent suspicion. Harry and the clone made it back, Harry bubbling with excitement that he might be able to get rid of his glasses in a few years if he took a steady list of rather expensive potions for the next three years. He'd already agreed, and begun the treatment. The money would go straight from the vault to an account already held by their family for generations; he said he'd been told when he asked. Leon was happy for him.
When the Dursleys heard that Harry said he'd be going to Stonewall high and not Hogwarts, their reactions had been surprising. Aunt Petunia had been most unhappy, and Uncle Vernon had been very surprised. They seemed jumpy all summer, like they expected some wizard to show up on their door and demand that Harry go away anyway. They didn't relax until September arrived, and Harry appeared to simply go to Stonewall each day with Leon, and no-one came to yell at them. After that, they even warmed up a bit to Harry. There were no more ridiculous punishments, and Aunt Petunia let up on all the chores now that they were at comprehensive 'because they needed to concentrate on their education.' Uncle Vernon offered to drive them to school each morning, and Aunt Petunia even packed them lunches. Harry and Leon (mostly Leon) still did jobs around the neighborhood, and life went on smoothly at number four Privet Drive.