Warning: The story will feature neglect, emotional abuse, PSTD, anxiety attacks, depression, that's why I rated it M. I'll try my best to convey how it feels to suffer from these throughout the story. It won't be a lighthearted story.
They're sensitive topics, and it's not everyone's cup of tea. If you suffer from any of these, please go to a mental health professional if the situation allows for it.
That being said, if you're staying, enjoy the story.
June 27th, 4 Privet drive
Harry was lying on his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. It had been yet another day where he had to do chores while he knew Dudley was having fun. It was even worse today, he had to work in the garden and Dudley stayed home. He had to work in the sweltering sun while he could see Dudley, in the shade. Smirking, sipping on his lemonade. Occasionally taunting him. He couldn't even respond to the taunts, he knew better by now. He would get punished, one way or the other.
And when he was done, what did he get? A glass of lukewarm water. It was one thing to have to do everything around the house. It annoyed him when Dudley taunted him. But not even being allowed to sate his thirst, that's what really galled him.
He longed to go to the Weasleys. After living one summer with them, he now knew what a normal vacation was like. He wondered what was worse. Experiencing the normalcy at the Weasleys and then coming back here, so he could feel how much worse it was, or never going there, never having those good memories so he wouldn't know what he was missing.
He wished to go to the Weasleys, but he didn't want to be the first to suggest it. What if he came across as needy? And he didn't want to burden them either. He knew that they were poor. He knew Ron had issues with that, he saw how Ron got uncomfortable whenever it came up. And if he went to the Weasleys, they had to feed another mouth. So unless Ron suggested it, unless it was ok with his parents, he wouldn't broach the topic.
Suddenly, he heard a hoot. He looked around before he found the source. There was a small brown owl pecking his window. He got had gotten his hopes up, maybe Ron finally sent a letter. But no, it wasn't Errol. It wasn't an owl he recognized.
But he got up, hoping to find something interesting to take his mind of the sweltering heat. He opened the window, and the owl immediately presented a letter tied to his leg. As soon as he took it, the owl flew to a nearby tree.
He unrolled the letter and started reading
Hey Harry,
This is Padfoot. How are you doing? Enjoying your vacation, causing enough mischief? I've found a place to stay, and I'm doing much better now. I still need to do some stuff abroad, however. I was going to make a holiday out of it, and was wondering if you wanted to come along. I missed so much of your life, I should never have gone after Wormtail that night, I should have taken you somewhere save. ̷I̷̷w̷i̷l̷l̷̷b̷e̷a̷t̷̷m̷y̷s̷e̷l̷f̷̷o̷v̷e̷r̷̷t̷h̷i̷s̷̷f̷o̷r̷e̷v̷e̷r̷.̷̷I̷̷s̷h̷o̷u̷l̷d̷̷h̷a̷v̷e̷̷b̷e̷e̷n̷̷t̷h̷e̷r̷e̷̷f̷o̷r̷̷y̷o̷u̷,̷̷a̷s̷̷I̷̷p̷r̷o̷m̷i̷s̷e̷d̷̷J̷a̷m̷e̷s̷.̷
Anyway, I want to be there in your life. I know I haven't been there for you after your parents died, and I'm deeply sorry for that. So I want to be there for you now. Maybe as a father figure, or as that cool uncle who lets you get away with things, whatever you want. So I want to catch up with you. Have fun, get to know you, experience things together, stuff like that. I also need to run some errands in some places, and some pleasant company along the way sounds great.
I'd completely understand if you want to stay with your family, however. My family was a heap of nutters, and I got the impression yours weren't very decent either. But I could be wrong, as I only saw them for a little while. I remember Lily complaining about your aunt, but time changes people, so who knows? Anyway, my point is that I would understand completely if you'd rather stay with your family, or if you have other plans. ̷I̷t̷'̷s̷ ̷n̷o̷t̷ ̷a̷s̷ ̷i̷f̷ ̷s̷p̷e̷n̷d̷i̷n̷g̷ ̷t̷i̷m̷e̷ ̷w̷i̷t̷h̷ ̷a̷ ̷f̷a̷i̷l̷u̷r̷e̷ ̷o̷f̷ ̷a̷ ̷g̷o̷d̷f̷a̷t̷h̷e̷r̷ ̷s̷o̷u̷n̷d̷s̷ ̷t̷h̷e̷ ̷m̷o̷s̷t̷ ̷p̷l̷e̷a̷s̷a̷n̷t̷ ̷a̷n̷y̷w̷a̷y̷.̷
But if you want to join me, you'd have to reply soon. I want to leave GB on July 1st, although I could postpone for a little while ̷.̷ ̷I̷ ̷d̷o̷ ̷n̷e̷e̷d̷ ̷t̷o̷ ̷l̷e̷a̷v̷e̷ ̷s̷o̷o̷n̷,̷ ̷t̷h̷o̷u̷g̷h̷,̷ ̷a̷s̷ ̷I̷ ̷d̷o̷ ̷n̷e̷e̷d̷ ̷t̷o̷ ̷v̷i̷s̷i̷t̷ ̷a̷ ̷h̷e̷a̷l̷e̷r̷ ̷s̷o̷ ̷d̷o̷n̷'̷t̷ ̷t̷a̷k̷e̷ ̷t̷o̷o̷ ̷l̷o̷n̷g̷.
Anyway, if you want to come along, write as soon as possible, and prepare. Get your trunk ready, pack some winter clothes too, because we'll be camping for some part of the trip and it can get a bit cold at night.
Also, how are your friends doing? I hope you guys didn't get in too much trouble for that night, and I wanted to thank you for believing me and helping me. I'm not sure if I could've made it out alive. Could you tell me a bit about stuff you'd like to visit? So, if you're coming along, I could plan out some things to do. Not that I planned everything out, I'm hoping to go with the flow of things, besides those few places I do need to visit.
Anyway, that's it. I can't think of anything to add, so I'm going to send it now.
Padfoot
He was happy and excited, because he had just gotten a way out, of escaping the Dursleys for this summer, and he'd get to see new places. Plus, another link of his parents wanted to talk with him. This reassured him, because he still had no idea why professor Lupin never mentioned that he was close with his father. Concerned for Sirius, because he was able to decipher the scratched-out parts, and they painted Sirius as someone who was hurting. He definitely wanted to go. Anything would be better than staying here. He scrambled to get a piece of parchment and a quill, and started writing.
Hello Padfoot,
I'm happy to hear you're doing better now. I'd love to go on a vacation with you. You're right, the Dursleys aren't great to be around. They hate magic and dislike me, so anything where I don't have to spend the summer with them sounds better. I don't have many likes or an idea what places I'd enjoy, since the Dursleys didn't really bring me anywhere. There are some that sound kind of fun, though. I'd love to see a beach once, and visiting a zoo without the Dursleys sounds great. I also want to see a professional quidditch match, but I'm not sure if that's a good idea since you're still a wanted man.
I'm looking forward to the trip, but am wondering when or how you'd come pick me up, or if I should come meet you.
Harry
As soon as he was finished, the brown owl came flying in again. Harry rolled the parchment and tied it to the owl's leg. "Bring it to Sirius, will you?" The owl hooted and flew away.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
June 29th, 4 Privet Drive
Harry was in a good mood. He had finished packing his trunk, and was looking forward to hearing back from Sirius. His relatives had noticed this, so they were extra unpleasant. It wasn't enough to detract from his good mood, however. He sent of a letter to Ron explaining that he was going to spend a bit of time with Padfoot, and that he wouldn't be able to reply to letters. He had a letter written down for Hermione as well. He explained that he was going to spend some time with Sirius, and asked if she could do his school shopping for the next year, and that he was going to pay her back at the start of the term. He planned to tell Hedwig hang around Hermione's house while he was away, and to come back with her to Hogwarts.
Harry hadn't sent it yet, because he was still waiting for a reply from Sirius. He looked outside his window for what felt like the hundredth time today, hoping to spot Sirius' owl. He saw a brown speck moving very slowly getting bigger. He tried not to get his hopes up too much, since the last few times he did that, it ended up being a brown pigeon. Didn't mean that he stopped staring at it, though. Finally, he could make out some of the features of the speck. Didn't look like a pigeon. He did a little dance out of excitement. Then immediately stopped, realizing that people could see him through the window. Didn't want to give his family more reasons to punish him. Finally, the speck was big enough that he could recognize it as being Sirius' owl. A few seconds later, it flew in through the window. It landed on the table, and presented a letter.
Harry took the letter, almost tearing it in excitement:
Hey Harry,
I'm so glad to hear that you want to come along. It would be much better if I came to get you, since I know where you live and can come as Padfoot to you, but you don't know exactly where I live and can't come here as stealthily. I'll come pick you up on the 30th and we'll go to my house first. We need to check if you have everything, and if we need to buy extra things here. Hopefully, I'll be there around 9 am. Since I'll travel a part of the way as Padfoot, it'll be hard to tell how long that'll take. Anyway, I hope you're prepared well, and doing all right.
Padfoot
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
June 30th, 4 Privet drive
Harry was trying his best to not nod off. He pulled a plant with his left hand, only to realize it wasn't a weed. His mind kept wandering to Sirius. He pulled another plant. Grass, good. This continued for a while, until he felt something wet on his arm. He tilted his head a bit to see what it was, and saw a big black dog. He looked much better than last time. He turned around and hugged it. The dog started licking his face, and Harry squirmed a bit.
Suddenly, the dog stopped and started walking towards the door. Not having a better idea, he followed him. The dog didn't stop until he got to Harry's room, at which point he transformed into Sirius in one fluid motion. Harry gaped; he still wasn't used to seeing it. He then hugged Sirius, asking if he was doing all right.
"Yeah," Sirius replied. "I'm feeling much better now. What about you? You seem a bit tired."
"Didn't sleep that well. I was too excited." He couldn't help but yawn after that.
"We can fix that later. Anyway, what did you tell your family?" Sirius asked, while walking towards the small, dinky bed in the room.
"Told 'em a friend would pick me up so I wouldn't have to spend much time here. They were glad to hear it."
"Good, good. And your friends?" Sirius was looking around the room, noting how everything was old or broken. He tried his best to contain a frown.
"Told them I was going to stay with you a bit, asked Hermione if she could take care of my school shopping for me." He looked away from Sirius. He wasn't sure if it was ok to tell his friends that. He didn't want them to get caught because of this.
"Great, hadn't thought about that. Anyway, take this," Harry relaxed and Sirius started rummaging in his pockets. Finally, he took his hand back, now containing a potion's vial. "It's Polyjuice, it'll transform you into a random Muggle whose hair I took."
"Hmm, looks a lot easier to swallow compared to the last time I saw it" Harry said, taking the vial.
"You've used Polyjuice potion before? Wait, never mind- Ok, so the plan is to transform you, and then we'll walk to outside the anti-apparition borders. I'll then apparate us close to my home, and then we'll go inside."
"Apparition? What's that? And how far are those borders? I don't think I can walk very far with my luggage."
"Never heard of apparition before? It's moving from one place to the other, without using the floo or a portkey. And don't worry about your luggage, I'll take it and transform back to Padfoot, so you don't have to carry it. You'll just have to follow me to the border. It's about 500 yards away from here."
"That sounds pretty neat. Where does my luggage go to when you transform?" He wondered if it became part of Padfoot.
"There are a couple theories about that, but I'm not smart enough to get them, yet alone explain. But we have to go now. We still need to do several things today."
"Ok, I'll tell aunt Petunia that I'm going, can you wait outside? She really doesn't like animals in the house." Harry started walking towards the door.
"Ok." Sirius grabbed the luggage and transformed back into a dog. He immediately transformed back. "Before I forget, I live at 12 Grimmauld Place."
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
June 30th, Grimmauld Place
2 people appeared in a desolate street with a loud POP, and the shorter one started dry heaving.
"Yeah, some people react like that to their first side along. It'll be over soon. Remember what I told you about where I lived. Follow me." He looked around and transformed into a dog when he saw that no one was looking.
Harry followed Padfoot till they reached an apartment block. Suddenly, the block started to morph. It seemed to split in two. And a new unit started to appear between the parts that were moving away. Slowly getting larger, until it was slightly bigger than surrounding units.
Padfoot went to the door of that unit and started pawing at the doorhandle. Harry pushed the handle to help, and the door opened. They entered.
Inside looked grimy and dark. Something moved, and Harry's head turned to stare at it.
Padfoot transformed back to Sirius. "Don't worry, that's just a doxy, stupid pest. Come to the kitchen, be quiet and watch your steps."
The kitchen table had an open trunk, some potion vials and a heap of wands.
"Good, we didn't wake up my dear mother. She can be a nightmare." Sirius said, placing Harry's trunk on the table.
"Your mother? You never mentioned her." Harry grabbed a chair to sit down.
"Well… More like a painting of her. She's dead. Bit the dust. Kicked the bucket. Pushing up daisies. If we're too loud, she'll start screaming at us, and trust me, we don't want that."
"Oh. I'll keep that in mind." Harry didn't know what to say.
"Don't worry, it couldn't have happened to a viler woman. Anyway, we can do magic inside and no one will detect it. Fidelius charm. But not outside, your wand still has a trace." Sirius started rummaging through his trunk.
"I've gotten used to not doing any magic in the summer. It's ok."
"But you'll need to be able to do magic in case someone spots us. And, you know, to make camping easier. Try out these wands, see if any works for you. They won't work as well as the one you have now, but they don't have a trace. Try a lumos with each of them."
Harry went through the pile, trying them out and continuously keeping the one that worked best. After a while, he was left with 2 of them. He pointed them to Sirius. "These work the best, but I can't feel one working better than the other."
"Try mending something, see if you find which one suits you better. If that doesn't work, try some transfiguration spells." Sirius got up. "I'll have to get some stuff upstairs; I'll be right back-"
When Sirius returned, Harry was done with the wands. "This one is easier to use." He held out the shorter of the two. "What determines how good a wand works for you?"
Sirius scratched his head. "Don't really know, to be honest. I know that it'll help if you get the wand from someone in combat, and I remember reading that family wands work a bit better. You'll have to ask Ollivander. Anyway, the plan. Let's see…" He grabbed a piece of parchment. "We'll check if you have everything you need, and if not, you'll go out to Diagon to get it. Or the Muggle side. We'll still have to stock on some amount of prepared food, so you'll have to go to Tom at the inn for that."
"One problem with that, I think I took the Polyjuice potion about an hour ago." Harry shifted around a bit. "And it still feels weird to walk around with another's face."
"Oh, don't worry about that," Sirius took a bracelet from the table and gave it to Harry. "This'll charm your face. It'll turn your hair and eyes brown. Couldn't use it myself today, because it tries to do the same when I'm Padfoot and it … looks odd. People freak out. So, food and items you didn't pack, and you'll need to convert some money to pounds. 300 Galleons should be fine-"
Wait, how was Sirius going to travel, then? "How will you travel if you can't charm your face?" Harry interrupted him.
"I'll wear something similar when we get out of the country. Don't want to risk it here, security is still tighter than normal. They shouldn't suspect you too much, most charms like this don't affect your height, and I'm a lot taller than you," He ruffled Harry's hair, smiling. "Pipsqueak."
"Stop that, my hair's already messy enough." Harry pushed Sirius' hand away. He knew he was short, didn't mean people should point it out to him. "So, what do we do after that?"
"Well, I have to visit someone in the Dutch Republic, so I guess we'll start there. I have a Dutch language potion for you, you'll have to drink it before we go to sleep tonight, and we'll go tomorrow. We'll pack our trunks after you get back later –"
"Wait, the Dutch Republic? I'm pretty sure it's not called that anymore. Or I didn't pay attention in class."
"Hmmm? Oh yeah, I think that tripped Lily up too. Since we separated from the Muggles in 1677, our borders aren't the same. If I remember right, they reflect changes till around 1700."
"I see. Anyway, how will I get to Diagon? I'm not sure where here is in relation to there."
"I'll pop you over, and you'll – one sec." Sirius ran upstairs and came back with a mirror. "This is a two-way mirror; you can call me with it. You'll just have to say Padfoot to the mirror." He gave it to Harry. "When you're done shopping, just call me and I'll pop over." He snapped his fingers.
They started going through Harry's trunk, while going over a checklist. The table became more and more chaotic.
"Hmmm, I think you'll need another pair of shoes. The ones you're wearing now won't do. Especially in rough terrain." He held the shoes like they offended him, before throwing it on the floor. "I recommend wizarding shoes, they are more comfortable, especially compared to new Muggle shoes. Ask Madame Malkin to refer you."
He pulled out a shirt, checking it over. It got thrown on the floor as well. "And if all your Muggle clothes are like this, I guess you'll have to buy some new ones. I don't know if there are any near Diagon, ask Tom. If there aren't, I'll take you to one I know. Oh, and 1 sleeping bag. It should be near the book shop."
"Everything else is fine, then?"
"Well, other than that, everything seems ok. Wait… Hmm, I think I'll go with you on the Muggle side. I still need to buy some stuff, like toilet paper. Much better than the cleaning charm. Not much more to pack, and I guess we can stop at shops abroad too. All the pressing things are here, we'll see along the way if we need anything else."
Harry suddenly remembered something. "Hey, wait. I think Ms. Weasley still has my vault key. She did my shopping last time since, well, you just escaped prison. I won't be able to shop on our side."
"What? Errm, try to get it back, you really shouldn't leave it with others for long periods. But don't worry," Sirius took a small booklet from his pocket and tore out several pages. "This is a creditbook, you just write out the amount and the store clerk will sign it. Oh, and convert 400 Galleons instead of 300 at Gringotts, will you?" He started signing the pages he tore out.
"And try to hide that you're not signing them. Don't want to give people ideas. Wait –" Sirius ran back upstairs, and it took a while before he came back. "This is a moleskin pouch. No one can open it besides the owner. And it's charmed so no one can take it from you without permission."
Sirius plucked a few strands of hair from Harry. "Yowch. Wha –" "I'll make you the owner of it, it's handy to have. You can store your valuables in it and no one can take it." Sirius pointed his wand towards the pouch and started casting spells softly after placing the hairs on top of it.
"All done. Place the credits in it. And your mirror too. When you buy stuff, you take one and write out the amount you owe, and make the clerk sign it. That's it, really."
"Thanks Sirius." He gave Sirius a dirty look. "But did you really have to yank out my hair?"
"No, but it was faster. And kinda funny" He chuckled. "Anyway, let's wait for the potion to wear of. Wouldn't want you to revert while people can see you." He looked like something just occurred to him. "Oh, before I forget, tell Tom you're going camping with 4 people for a week. That's how much food you need. Empty your trunk, you can place the items you need to buy there."
Sirius went upstairs and when he came back down with a wooden box, he saw that Harry was placing some items from his trunk into the pouch. He handed it over and Harry closed the trunk after placing it there. They waited for Harry to revert, talking. There wasn't anything relevant to do. Finally, after 10 minutes, it wore off.
"All right, we have to be outside to apparate." Sirius started walking.
They went to the hallway, and just as Sirius was about to open the door, the curtains of a painting parted. "FILTHY HALFBLOODS IN MY HOUSE! YOU DISSAPOINTMENT, WHY DID YOU BRING FILTHY HALFBLOODS IN MY HOUSE? KREACHER!"
Sirius rushed them outside. "Yeah, that's my mother. Horrible woman. Hopefully, she'll be quiet when we get back. Brace yourself –" Sirius apparated them away.
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June 30th, some place near the Leaky Cauldron
POP
Harry looked around, disoriented. He took some deep breaths. "I still need to get used to it, but it's better than last time."
Sirius grinned, "Yeah, it'll get better over time. So, Tom's place is not far away. Just walk straight and take the first left turn. It should be a few blocks away. Anyway, I have to get going. Call me with the mirror when you're done."
POP
Harry started walking. When he reached the first intersection, he went left. He continued until he saw the Leaky Cauldron and went inside. He saw some customers inside and gave them a nod. He started looking around, but didn't see Tom. Before he could ask any of the customers, one of them shouted. "TOM! HEY, TOM! Someone's here for you." Harry gave him a nod and then went to a barstool.
He saw Tom walking towards him in a brisk pace. "Hey."
"Hello. What can I get you? Anything to drink?"
"Errr … No. Me and a couple of mates are going camping for a week. We need some prepared food." He placed his trunk on the table and opened it. "Five of us. Could you prepare enough food to last us?"
"Shame, innit? Going camping but using prepared food only?" Tom grinned.
"Nah, we got unprepared stuff too. Just in case we are too tired or forget to cook. You know how it is." Harry took out a wooden box. It was heavily decorated on one side.
"Don't worry, I get it. You going to store it in that?" He studied the box for a moment.
"Yeah. Got some preservation charms on it, one of my friends borrowed it from his mum."
"So, how much do you need?" Tom started cleaning the glasses on his side.
"Not sure… Enough to feed 5 for a week once a day? So around 35 meals? How much would that cost?"
"Hmm, do you want some drinks with that? Butterbeer? Pumpkin juice? Maybe some tonic water? Firewhiskey?" Tom winked.
"Errr... Butterbeer sounds fine, thanks. So, how much?"
"Let's see… that's 35 meals, plus, 1, 2 cases of butterbeer? That'll be around 15 Galleons. You sure you got that?" He looked concerned. "Hmmm, make that 16 Galleons."
"Yeah, I have enough. How long will it take? I still need to get some things from Diagon Alley, so I can leave the box here and come pick it up when I'm done." He closed his trunk.
"Well, we're not busy during the morning, especially since the Hogwarts crowd aint here yet. Maybe an hour?" Tom stopped cleaning glasses. "And you sure you got 16 Galleons? Isn't the cheapest, you know? You sure you don't want to just get ingredients and prepare them when you're camping?" He peered into Harry's eyes.
"Yeah. Ermm… Fred's dad insisted that we get some prepared food, you know? Said he was worried we would forget to cook and then not eat enough." He tried looking sheepish for a moment. "Gave us some extra money."
"All right then. Well, I better get started then. I'll be done in less than an hour."
"Good. I'll be going then, I guess." Harry got up and started walking to the back.
When he got to the gate to Diagon Alley, he pressed his wand to the correct brick and it opened up.
He went to Gringotts first. He saw several rows of people and went to the shortest. Eventually, it was his turn.
"Morning. What do you need?" The goblin asked, never stopping to write things down.
"I need to convert some Galleons to Pounds. Do I do that here?" Harry shuffled around a bit, looking uncertain.
"Yes. 30 pounds per Galleon. How much do you want to convert?" The goblin asked.
"One moment," Harry took one of the credit papers from his pouch. Suddenly, he started looking sheepish. "Errr… Can I lend your quill for a moment?"
"Sure." The goblin handed over a quill to Harry.
He started writing 400G on it, and made a motion like he was signing it. He then handed it over to the goblin.
"That'll be twelve thousand pounds. One moment." The goblin called someone over and started talking to her, but Harry couldn't understand a word. She walked away quickly and came back a couple minutes later with a bundle of money.
The goblin took it, and handed it over to Harry, who started counting it.
"You don't trust us, boy?" Harry didn't know the goblin could look that scary.
"Eh." Harry clammed up. It took a few moments before he replied. "Eh, I trust you. But we're only huma– people, right? We can make mistakes, right? Better to make sure now than later and find out I got too much or too little." He chuckled nervously.
"Good. You got some common sense in you, boy." The goblin gave a nod, but still looked surly.
After a few minutes, Harry was done. "Everything is in order. Well, that's it, I guess."
The goblin replied. "Good. So, unless you need something else…" "No, that was all."
"Ok, NEXT." Harry started walking away. When he was outside, he let out a sigh in relief.
He started walking towards Flourish and Blots, thinking that the sleeping bag would be the quickest to get. He spotted the correct shop when he was almost there. The Wizarding Outdoors. He went inside to the counter, and as soon as the shopkeeper saw him, he greeted him.
"Hello, I'm Greg, and we have everything you need for staying outdoors. What do you need? A tent? A cooling box? A preserving one? A portable potty? A -"
"Just a sleeping bag, thanks." Harry interrupted him. "You got those?"
"Oh boy, do we? We have several versions. The extra deluxe one, it's simply the best one out there. It can warm up on cold nights, and cool down on hot nights. It's the most comfortable sleeping bag you can find. It even has a massaging feature, for muscle soreness you get when you go hiking. It can even resize for 2 people, if you know what I-"
"No thanks," Harry interrupted the grinning wizard, blushing a bit. "A normal one will do just fine."
"Ahh, the frugal shopper, I see. Well, that's just a Muggle sleeping bag that regulates temperature, you know? You sure you don't want a better one? You only buy one once, so it's all right to splurge a bit, you know." Greg was frowning.
"Yeah, that's all right. Don't have too much saved up for the trip, you see?" Harry replied.
"Ok. That'll be 1 Galleon and 2 Sickles." Greg said, grinning again. "Lemme get one for you. Any specific color you want? We got grey, black, brown, blue, green-"
"A grey one is fine." It didn't really matter, as long as he could sleep in it. Harry was rummaging through his pouch and retrieved a letter of credit. He wrote the amount on it and waited for Greg.
When Greg came back, he said "Here you go. That'll be 1 Galleon and 2 Sickles, unless you need something else." Harry shook his head and handed over the letter, which Greg signed. "Nah, this is everything I need."
"Ok, have a good day, lad."
Eventually, Harry came outside after placing the bag in his trunk. He started walking towards Madame Malkin's shop.
Inside, he found her, busy sorting some rolls of cloth.
"Madame Malkin? I need some new shoes, and a friend said to ask you where I can get them."
She turned around. "Well, hello dear. Well, you can go to Twillfits, but since you're still young and your feet still grow, it's not worth it to spend that much money on shoes." She glanced at his clothes. "Scintillating Shoes is much cheaper for the same quality. You know where that is?"
"Err, not really. Don't think I've seen that in Diagon Alley." He laughed nervously.
"Oh, Muggleborn, are you? You walk past Eeylops Emporium and take a right turn into Vertic Alley. It should be right around the corner."
"Thanks, madame Malkin. I'll go check it out." "No problem, dearie. Do you need anything from here? It's a good idea to go clothes shopping before the Hogwarts letters get sent out. Much less hustle and bustle, you know."
"No, thanks. I already planned to do my shopping when the letters arrive." Harry said, disappointing madam Malkin. He didn't want Sirius to wait too long for him.
"I'll see you then, I guess. If you go to Scintillating shoes, tell him Glenda sent you."
"Ok, I'll do that. Thanks for the help, bye." Harry walked out quickly.
He browsed the streets till he was in front of Scintillating Shoes. He frowned. The shop looked very run down. There was mold on the walls. He hesitantly stepped inside.
It was much, much better inside, although a bit cramped. He saw the shopkeeper, who nodded towards him.
"Morning, Welcome to Scintillating Shoes, we have footwear for all occasions. What can I help you with?"
"Hey," Harry answered. "Madame Malkin said you sell high quality shoes?"
"Yep, high quality at an affordable price. What do you need? School shoes? I'm Cuthbert by the way." The now named Cuthbert grinned.
"I need some sturdy shoes for hiking. Do you have those?" Harry asked.
"Of course, I do, otherwise I wouldn't be selling shoes for all occasions, init? What color do you want? Lemme grab some models from the catalog, feel free to sit down on the bench." Cuthbert pointed towards a bench with a big mirror in front.
Harry sat down, looking at himself in the mirror. He hadn't seen his face since he wore the bracelet. His eyes looked a bit dull. He looked closer. They were dark brown. But the biggest change was his hair. It was brown, and looked longer. Bangs covered a large part of his forehead. Well, the mirror showed that, he could feel that there were no such bangs. He was just about to get up to look even closer, when he heard Cuthbert return.
"Got these models, you just pick a model and a size, and I'll resize one of them for you. What size did you say that you wore again?" He placed the shoes in front of Harry.
"Err, size 6, I think. These shoes are, uhh …" He took of one of his shoes to check the size "6 and a half, but they're a bit large. And just black ones are fine."
"Ok, one size 6. They have charms on them which resize up to a half size up and down. Can't do bigger resizes, otherwise I'd go out of business, these shoes last forever." Cuthbert chuckled.
Harry looked at the shoes. They all kinda looked the same. He pointed at the 2nd from the left. "That one looks all right. Can I fit it to see if it's comfortable?"
"Sure." He gave them to Harry. "Just put them on and I'll resize them." When Harry was done, Cuthbert pointed his wand at the shoes and said something unintelligible. Harry felt the shoes getting a bit tighter. He looked down, and saw that they were black now.
"Ok, run around the shop a bit, see if they're comfortable. Although, I doubt that they won't be." He pointed his wand at the remaining shoes and they flew into a small room.
Harry ran, and soon started smiling. These had to be the most comfortable shoes he ever tried on. "Wow. These are the most comfortable shoes ever."
"Thanks, lad. I know. So, satisfied?"
"Yeah." Very.
"Ok. These are the base model. They resize a bit up and down, and they have temperature control charms in them. And extra charms for comfort. We can add a charm to vanish sweat, those are good for hiking. We can also make it so you never have to clean 'em, but that's a bit pricy."
"Ok, I guess I'll add the one that vanishes sweat. How much would that cost extra?" Harry asked.
"A Galleon. Oh, and you'll need a cleaner and a dirt repeller if you're going to use them for hiking. That's pretty cheap, 10 Sickles together."
"Sure, add those too. How often do I use them?"
"Well, normally, you'd use them both every month or if you notice them getting dirty. If you're hiking, I recommend using them before you do so each time."
"Thanks, how much will it be together?"
"4 Galleons, 8 Sickles and 3 Knuts."
"Hey, do you sell shoes you wear everyday too? I'm definitely coming back another day, if those are as comfortable as these." He took out a letter of credit from his pouch. He grimaced. He really should've stopped to get a quill. "And can I lend a quill? Forgot to bring one."
"Sure, lemme grab one. And I told you, didn't I? We sell shoes for all occasions." He went to get a quill. When he came back, he gave it to Harry, who wrote the amount owed.
"Here you go, thanks for the help." Harry said. "Oh, before I forget, I was wondering why the outside of your shop looked so run down."
The shopkeeper grimaced. "Well, I can't afford the rent in Diagon, so I have to rent here. And my target market being what it is," He glanced at Harry's clothes. "Mostly Muggleborns and the occasional pureblood wizard with not much money to his name, having the shop here is unfortunate. The professors rarely shop outside Diagon when they bring Muggleborns, maybe in frug alley if the Muggleborn in question doesn't have a lot of money. So I make less money than I could, given the quality I sell. Repairing outside would take a lot of money, and I'm saving up to move to Diagon one day."
"I see. Well, good luck then, I hope you manage to move one day." Harry said. Cuthbert certainly deserved it, with how comfortable these were.
"Thanks. I hope so too. See you around, then."
Harry exited the shop. He had everything he needed on the wizarding side. He took out his mirror and called Sirius.
"Padfoot, hey Padfoot?" He waited a few seconds, and then Sirius' face appeared in the mirror. His hair was frazzled and there was some soot on his face. "Hey Harry, done shopping?"
"Yeah, I'm going to the place you dropped me off. What happened to your face?" Harry asked, his eyebrows rising.
"Ehh, a bit of an accident. Trying to make some emergency portkeys in case we get spotted or something. Don't worry, everything is fine now, and I didn't get injured."
"I see? What is a potkey?" Harry asked. "A portkey, not a potkey. It's another way to travel, much easier to use when you need to transport a group, and much easier to use in dangerous situations. Don't have to concentrate like you do with apparition."
"Ahh, all right. Anyway, I'll be at the spot in 10 minutes." The mirror turned back to normal, he could see his own face on it again. After placing it in his pouch, he started walking quickly. He walked past madam Malkin's shop and gave her a nod. He kept on walking till he reached the Leaky Cauldron.
Tom was behind the counter this time. Handing a glass of butterbeer to someone. He waited for Tom to finish, before he said something. "Hey, Tom. You finished with the meals?" "Yeah, the box is in the kitchen. Let me get it for you." Tom started walking away. He came back carrying the box Harry gave him earlier.
Harry took one letter of credit. He was just about to ask Tom for a quill when he spotted one on the counter. He asked Tom what the total amount would be. "16 Galleons."
The man drinking his beer choked and started coughing. Harry wrote out the correct amount on the credit letter and handed it to Tom. "Everything in order?" He asked. After glancing at the parchment, Tom replied. "Yeah. Hey, I added a bonus for you. Don't use it all by yourself, will you?"
"Ehh, Sure. What is it?" Harry asked, while placing his trunk on the counter. "You'll see," Tom grinned. "Just don't check it in front of your parents. It's nothing bad, I promise."
Harry placed the box inside his trunk and closed it. He was going to check it as soon as he was back at Grimmauld place. "Thanks, I guess. Anyway, I got to be going, my friend's dad is waiting for me. Thanks for doing this on such short notice."
"Wasn't a problem. But next time, try to ask in advance, yeah? We're not so quiet every day."
"I'll do that." Harry took the trunk and started going outside. He walked the same path he did to go to the Cauldron. A bit quicker this time around. Eventually, he spotted Padfoot. The dog looked around, and seeing no one around, he transformed back into Sirius.
"Hey, Harry. Got everything?" He asked. Harry replied affirmative. "Ok, then let's bring the trunk to Grimmauld, and we'll go shopping on the Muggle side after." He took Harry's hand. "Brace yourself." In a blink of an eye, they disappeared.
Only to reappear before Grimmauld Place. They went inside and eventually reached the kitchen.
"Take out what you bought; we'll repack everything later. One moment-" Sirius left the kitchen. Harry removed the sleeping bag and his boots from the trunk. He was considering wearing the boots now, since they were much more comfortable. And, if he had to admit it to himself, much nicer looking than the hand me down from Dudley. Sirius reappeared and placed a ring and a passport on the table. It was small, silver band with no decoration. "Wear this," Sirius said. "It's a voice activated portkey. The activation phrase is Walburga is lovely." He did his best to contain his face. "Walbu-" "Don't say it now, it'll transport you. Say it if we ever get spotted or if we need to make a quick exit."
Harry took the ring and placed it around his finger. "Thanks. Why that phrase, though?"
"Well, Walburga is my mother's name, and I doubt I'll ever call her lovely. We don't want something we can accidentally say in a conversation."
"Well, I was going to do this tonight, but I think we should think about our cover story. So we don't say different things when we talk to people. Can you think of a name? A name that's different from Harry, but something you'll react to."
"Err…" Harry paused. "Ron? I think I'd react if someone called Ron, because he's usually around. He was with me the night you escaped with Buckbeak."
"Hmm, sounds good. I guess that I'll go by… Remus then," He gained an undecipherable face for a moment. "for similar reasons. Remus Padfoot, doesn't sound too bad. You'll be Ron Padfoot, then." He started chuckling. "Better get used to it, Ron."
"Ok, … Remus. Hmmm, you think this'll mess with us, when we're around Ron and Remus?" Harry bit his lip.
"A bit, maybe. You might react a bit stronger to the name, but it'll go away soon. Anyway, we still need to decide on a back story. I can say that I'm a mechanic who works on bicycles. I enchanted one to fly, and I had to learn how everything worked, so I can fib about if needed."
"And me? Just a student sounds fine, right?" "Yeah. So, here's what I'm thinking; I'm your uncle, and your parents are the Dursleys. I know what they look like and a little about how they behave."
Harry pulled a face. "Don't we have other options?"
"Well, unless you know a family we both know, not really." Sirius shrugged. "It's not like it'll come up often, and we're just pretending." Sirius took his wand and pointed it at the passport. The passport glowed for a few seconds. "I charmed it to Ron Padfoot. Keep that on you at all times."
"All right, then. I'll try to keep that in mind." Harry took the passport and added it to his pouch.
"Well, I guess we'd better get going. Can I have the Muggle money?" Harry took out the letters of credit and the bundle of money. When he handed it over, Sirius stopped for a moment. "Hmmm, you should keep the credit letters, never know when you might need it. Use it for emergencies and stuff. And some Muggle money would be good too." He returned the credit letters and a few bills.
After Harry placed them back into his pouch, he went to grab his trunk. "Nah, leave it here. I just thought of something – It'll look weird if we travel with our trunks every time. Especially you. Better to buy some bags too, so we can place the items in there."
"That makes sense. It would be easier to walk with one too."
They both went outside, and then apparated away. Only to reappear in an abandoned street.
"An Asda should be nearby; they should have everything we need." Sirius took the lead and started walking. When they got inside, Sirius took a basket and gave it to Harry. "Go find the clothing section and select some of everything. I'll go grab some toilet paper and meet you there."
Harry looked around, till he saw the correct section. He browsed around, and was a bit overwhelmed. He'd never saw such variety, and he never went clothes shopping. He usually just got Dudley's old clothes. He placed a couple of shirts that looked like they'd fit him in the basket. Sirius returned and did the same for the toilet paper he had with him. He looked at what was already in there. "Pick some brighter colors too. Grey, black and dark blue fit with almost everything, yes, but some brighter colors are nice too." Harry looked around and picked a couple brightly colored shirts, and placed them in the basket. "Don't forget to check if they fit, they should fall a couple inches below your belt. Some jeans and shorts too. While you're at it, some underwear and socks as well. I'll get another basket, need to get some for myself too."
Sirius went to grab another basket and started looking around while Harry was selecting stuff. After he was done with the clothes, he went to grab 2 bags and wallets. He returned to see Harry coming out of a fitting room. "I went and got bags and wallets too. Did you get everything, and do they fit?" When Harry nodded, he continued. "It might be a bit strange that we got so much stuff. If the cashier mentions something, we'll say that someone robbed us, all right?" Harry nodded again.
They finished checking out without a problem and returned to Grimmauld place. They packed their trunks and bags, discussing Sirius' immediate plans. They ate one of Tom's meals and talked till it was late. Eventually, Sirius yawned. After a quick Tempus, his eyes widened. "Damn, time flies when you're having fun. I guess we'll go to bed now. Wait. Before I forget-" He went to the kitchen only to return with a potion vial. "This is the Dutch language potion. Take it before you get to bed. It'll give you a splitting headache but it'll get better after a day or 2. Good night, Harry."
When Harry reached his room, he drank the potion. After a few seconds, he dropped the vial and clutched his head. "Damn. Sirius wasn't kidding. This really hurts." He groaned and went to bed. After a while, he fell asleep.
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AN: All right, this is my first story. I'd love to get some feedback on it, so please review. My initial thoughts are that while I feel that my sentences are mostly grammatically correct, they have a certain choppiness to them. They don't "flow". I can't lay my finger on it, and I hope that's just something that I'll get better at over time.
Besides that, I'm having trouble with transitions. Going from scene to scene. For example, I have no idea how I should transition from the conversation in Harry's room to the kitchen with Petunia. I'll have to look into that.
And my final problem seems to be pacing. Well, "problem". I'm not certain what should be a scene and what should just be a narrative summary.
It might not be noticeable, but English isn't my first language. While I like to think that it's good enough to communicate with others and to understand technical texts, it's definitely not at a level I'm comfortable writing stories with.
Also, I'd love to have a proofreader. Mostly for stylistic purposes to address the issues I mentioned, and just someone I can bounce ideas off.
And lastly, I'll try to update at least every 2 weeks. This chapter took a little less than that, and that included background research and outlining the plot. So the next one should take less time, hopefully.