To say that the Dursleys were not pleased with Harry's reappearance would be a gross understatement. They also did not take too kindly to Harry's-new look. Gone were the rags he used to wear, and in their place were clothes blacker than night. Along with the change in wardrobe, his looks had changed as well, long raven hair that seemed to absorb any light that hit it, skin as fair as snow, and lips that looked as if they were coated in blood.
After Harry's return, the Dursleys attempted to live as if he had never disappeared. They put him back into the cupboard under the stairs and gave him a list of chores that reached the floor. Much to the Dursley's chagrin, Harry did not seem to mind anything that they threw at him. Tasks were done in record time with no complaint and no visible distress, and he took to the cupboard with no resistance even with his increased size. He seemed to fold himself in at the end of each day and unfold the following morning with no visible signs of discomfort.
One night, when Petunia went downstairs to get a drink of water, music softly drifted from inside the cupboard. Suitably unnerved by this newest oddity, Petunia hurried back to bed without investigating. Other than his initial introduction, Harry didn't speak. If he were asked a question, he would stare at the asker in eerie silence; when he was ordered to do something, he complied with not a sound. So the days passed in uncomfortable silence at the Dursley's, until one fateful day, when an owl came with an envelope emblazoned with Harry's name.
The morning that the owl came was quite an uneventful one. Harry had awoken and gotten to work on the chores as usual. He was working in the garden when the owl arrived; it swooped down and held out its leg, to which an envelope was attached with some twine. He stared for a moment before collecting the parcel and proceeding to open it.
I will avoid sharing the topic of the letter, for we all know of the contents; besides, it's rude to read someone else's mail. The contents of the message did intrigue Harry, though, and he promptly told the Dursleys that he would be making an outing. While they were flabbergasted, Harry just walked out the door and started off down the street.
The occupants of The Leaky Cauldron paid no mind to the young boy that entered unaccompanied and calmly made his way to the back alley. Without a wand, Harry just tilted his head at the bricks and twitched his fingers; the stones shuddered and parted way for him. A colorful, busy street was revealed to him, and he was not impressed. Glancing at his list, Harry started off into the crowd to find the bank.
Finding the bank proved not to be an issue; however, conducting business was another matter entirely. After waiting in line for an age, he finally spoke to a teller and discovered that he was supposed to have a key to his vault, whose existence was unknown to him. After explaining that, no, he did not have a key, and no, he didn't give it away; the goblins decided to make him a new one for a fee, of course. Following the creation of a new key was a rollercoaster ride to his vault, where he picked up some money-apparently called galleons-and a magical bag to hold said money. He then departed from the bank to acquire his supplies.
Madam Malkin's was a nightmare, and Harry resolved to find another tailor before his next year. He had been manhandled within an inch of his life and was talked down to the entire time by an arrogant blonde. Having finally received his items, Harry hurriedly left to search for his next stop, the wand shop.
Walking into Ollivander's, Harry could tell someone was watching him. Instead of calling him out, Harry proceeded to look around the rather dusty shop. The store was a little cramped, with every available wall and surface covered with boxes of similar size, presumably containing wands. He could feel a tension in the air around him; something for him was in that shop. He was distracted from the feeling when a man appeared from the shadows; he must have been the one Harry felt watching him.
"Hello, Mr. Potter, I've been awaiting your arrival for quite some time." The man spoke in a raspy voice.
"Mr. Ollivander, I presume. You cannot have been waiting too long, I am only eleven after all." Harry retorted.
Ollivander parted further from the shadows, revealing a wispy elderly man with eyes that seemed to see straight through Harry. He regarded Harry for a moment of charged silence before abruptly turning and stalking back into the shadows muttering about destiny.
Harry resumed analyzing the room while he waited for the eccentric man to return. With light steps and soft grumbling, Ollivander reappeared, arms laden with long, thin boxes. He gently placed them on the desk before gesturing to Harry to come closer.
As he approached the desk, Harry could feel one of the boxes giving off an energy that called to him. Ignoring Ollivander's words and the other boxes upon the desk, Harry reached out and brushed his fingers over the rectangular case housing the energy. It seemed to vibrate under his touch, sending a warm buzzing sensation up his arm.
"This one is mine." Harry said in a hushed voice.
Ollivander tilted his head with a skeptical expression upon his face. "And how, may I ask, can you possibly know that?"
Giving Ollivander an extremely unimpressed look, Harry picked up the box and removed the wand. As soon as the smooth wood slid into his hand, ribbons of light burst from the tip of the wand and lit up the room around them.
After the feeling of immense euphoria had somewhat abated, Harry looked down to examine his new wand. It was a light sandy color with thin dark lines breaking up the color. Harry could feel the core in the wand connecting with his magic, creating a bond that would be very difficult to break.
"Interesting. I had expected a different wand to be your match; perhaps there is more to you than we expected." Whispered Ollivander. "That particular wand is one of the more unique wands that I have crafted. It was made during a period when I was experimenting with more uncommon wand cores. The wood used is fir, and the core is made from the horn of a horned serpent. I can tell that you will have a perilous ahead of you, ."
Harry just gave the cryptic wandmaker a stony glance and dropped a few galleons on the desk before taking his leave. His next order of business was to acquire a trunk to stow his newly obtained belongings before gathering the last of his items and heading back to the Dursleys.
The Dursleys were undoubtedly unamused when Harry returned from his outing-to clarify, they were not dissatisfied with his sudden departure but rather his safe return, as they had hoped he would disappear again- however, the Dursleys are seldom happy, so this was not a surprise.
The remaining days until the first of September were whiled away with chores and sleep. The Dursleys eventually gave up attempting to make Harry miserable, considering their actions were having absolutely no effect. Subsequently, the Dursleys resorted to ignoring the existence of their young charge unless the moment arose that he was needed.
Then, at long last, September first arrived. Harry awoke early that morning, as he usually did, and retrieved his magical belongings before traipsing out the door without a word of warning. Now, how Harry arrived at the train station is beyond even my own understanding; for the moment, we shall just say that he appeared suddenly at Kings Cross Station between platforms 9 and 10. After a moment's contemplation, he turned his head toward the right and slowly approached the column that awaited there. It seemed to buzz lightly at Harry's senses like an electrical current- if you have ever toyed with one of those electric prank devices, such as the fake gum packet, then you have an idea how it felt- it seemed that this column was more than it appeared. Harry waved a graceful hand toward the stones and watched as they seemed to ripple before revealing a transparent view of another platform. Harry gave a slight nod before stepping through the false image and onto the magical platform.
Hello again, my darlings! It seems that every time that I attempt to keep to an updating schedule, I fail! However, I have recently started a new job that leaves me with quite a bit of time on my hands. So hopefully, I will be more successful from here on. I hope you enjoyed this chapter; it was tough to write, considering I have been in a grueling battle with the dreaded Writers Block! Wish me luck in this ongoing struggle, and keep sending me love and support so that I may gain the upper hand and continue to deliver more content! I hope everyone has been staying safe and is doing well. Let me know what you think of the chapter, and I will see you all in the next one! (^-^)
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~ Allure Crimson ~
