Chapter Six:
Harry Potter arrived at Kings Cross Station with the rest of his classmates to head home for the summer. After waving goodbye to Hermione and Ron, he was immediately ambushed by Daphne. She slipped a notebook in his pocket and told him it was an easy way for them to communicate this summer. Harry thanked her and told her of his plan to get out of the Dursley house without arising any suspicion from Dumbledore. Her eyes lit up and gave him a fierce hug. He promised to contact her when possible.
He hauled his trunk and owl through the passage way and met a glaring Uncle Vernon who was waiting impatiently by the car. Harry didn't say a word and put his stuff in the car trunk and sat in the back. They drove off to Little Winging Surrey. Once they approached the terrible, but normal #4 Privet Drive, Harry had an idea that just might work. He cleared his throat nervously and said, "Uncle Vernon, I may have a proposition for you," Harry asked. Uncle Vernon glared at him from the driver's mirror. "What is it boy?" Harry calmed himself and said, "Well, if Headmaster Dumbledore really did put blood wards on your house to keep me here, I'm wondering if I could perform a small ritual to sever the wards. This will allow me to leave and you won't have to deal with me again." Uncle Vernon growled, "So no more summers with you boy, eh?" Harry nodded affirming the plan. "Well, what does this ahh, ritual do?" Harry nodded silently applauding Uncle Vernon using the correct terminology. "I will need Aunt Petunia for it, but I promise it won't hurt her one bit. All it will do will sever the ward." Harry could tell his Uncle was trying hard to use his overly large brain of his. "Fine! But do it quick so we can get rid of you!" Harry smiled triumphantly. He got his stuff from the car and set it on the front porch. His Uncle heaved his fat self from the car and waddled into the house calling for his Aunt.
Harry met Aunt Petunia in the kitchen. She was wearing a long sleeve purple dress with an apron already making treats for Dudley when he got home. Harry asked her if Uncle Vernon explained his idea, she nodded nervously and agreed to it, after all she was sick and tired of following Dumbledore's rules too. Harry walked her through her lines and pulled out his wand gently. Aunt Petunia flinched a little but looked straight into Harry's green eyes. He clasped his left hand with hers and began reciting the ritual in latin.
"Mea mater est sanguis per venas in tua. Etiamsi haec patria est mihi annis tenetur, inquam, et quo foedere earum magicae meis removeri. Sic fiat semper."
Technically, Harry didn't use a spell so the magic wasn't detected from his wand, he just preformed a Goblin ritual which didn't alert the 'trace'. Aunt Petunia's eyes widened at the display of magic eminating from his wand that swirled around their hands and then vanished almost instantly. The deed was done. Harry Potter no longer called #4 Privet Drive home. He was a free young man.
Aunt Petunia looked down at Harry and nodded in acceptance. Harry thanked her and asked them politely if the Headmaster came knocking to lie and say that he still lived here. They agreed as long as they didn't have to deal with him again and he took off down the street towards the nearest town. After a while he thought it would looks suspicious hauling his trunk and owl down the street. Harry whispered to himself, "If only I could have a house elf like Dobby right now". After a couple of minutes Harry almost jumped out of his skin. There on the street next to him was Dobby! Harry blinked a couple of times and stared at the little elf.
"Hello sir!" "Did young Mister Potter just call for Dobby?" The little excitable elf asked who was now bouncing on his heels. Harry almost didn't recognize the elf, he wasn't wearing those disgusting rags his previous masters forced him in, but a clean nice Hogwarts uniform. "I guess so?" Harry stammered not quite sure what to make of this new situation.
Dobby explained, "Well Mister Potter, you did wish to see me correct? We house elves answer to any call within our reach." Harry nodded and said "Well Dobby, I guess I did." "If you don't mind I am trying to get to a larger city to find a place to stay. I just managed to leave my Aunt's house." Dobby nodded and stated, "Well sir, if I can make suggestion?"
Harry nodded for him to go on, "You can always stay in Bellman's Hideaway. It is the lesser known wizarding section in London, England." Harry smiled at the idea, "Sounds perfect Dobby, could you take me there?" Dobby nodded and grabbed his trunk and his arm, Harry grabbed Hedwig.
In a flash, Harry landed with a jerk at Bellman's Hideaway. Trying not to vomit he steadied himself and glanced around the place. It was huge! So much bigger than the tiny Diagon Alley. It was like it immersed itself in muggle London, but still secluded to witches and wizards. The place just seemed to go on and on. Dobby appeared to be drinking in his surroundings as well.
"So Dobby, have you been here before?" He shook his head no with his big ears flapping. "No young sir, I only heard about it from the other house elves at Hogwarts." "I do have to go back to Hogwarts sir, I am happy to be at your service of the Great Harry Potter any day." Dobby bowed low and then disappeared again.
Harry shrunk his trunk and owl cage and let Hedwig fly a bit to stretch her wings. He then proceeded to the nearest shop in sight to gather more information. The shop was called, Garrison's Delights, it appeared to be a bakery. Harry stepped in and asked the nearest worker for a map or places to stay. The older lady smiled and pointed him south, she told him he could stay at Pauleen's Inn. Harry thanked her and went on his way. After a mile or two he made it, the tattered sign read Pauleen's Inn, Harry hoped it wasn't too shady. He walked in hesitantly and looked around. He noticed the setup appeared slightly different than the Leaky Cauldron.
There was an older man stationed on his left behind a desk flicking his wand to organize stacks of parchment. Harry approached him and asked for room and board. The price was 10 galleons a night. Harry paid for three nights. The fee included breakfast at the Inn's restaurant. The older man flicked Harry his key and told him his room was on the second floor down the hall. Harry wandered his way up to find his new room, 18. It was nicely tucked away on the end of the second floor.
Harry dropped his trunk and cage on the floor and flopped on the bed. It was comfy with nice cotton sheets and a two extra quilts for warmth. Not really needing to accomplish anything else today Harry drifted off to sleep. Harry woke up feeling more refreshed than he had in a couple of months.
He changed into his second set of casual robes and grabbed his money sack from Gringotts. Before leaving the bank, they gave him an expandable money pouch for his immediate needs. Harry tapped his wand, it looked like he slept through the night it was now 8:30 AM.
He headed down to breakfast and ordered bacon and eggs. Afterwards Harry wanted to explore Bellman's Hideaway so he asked about the best places to visit. The staff told him about a couple of neat places and Harry headed out for a nice day. He decided to do a loop around the south portion of Bellman's Hideaway and saw a couple of shops such as Earl's Bar, Louie's Restaurant, and Danielle's Dessert. It seems most of the places in this portion enjoyed naming their businesses after their own names. Harry continued on until he spotted a more interesting alleyway that contained a bookshop and a creature shop. Harry decided to visit the creature shop out of curiosity.
Harry looked around amazed, it was quite different than the one in Diagon Alley. The shop was long and had different enclaves of a variety of breeds. The shop had everything from owls, toads, snakes, rabbits, and other magical creatures Harry did not even existed.
Harry poked around and wandered to the back of the shop. He then felt a tug on his magic from two of the creatures. One was a bird of some sort, another appeared to be a small to medium size wolf. Once he stepped closer Harry stared at the bird who cocked his head looking at him curiously then the bird coughed out a couple of blue flames. Gaping, Harry couldn't believe his luck, it was a Phoenix! Smiling at the rare creature, Harry held out his hand it cooed at him and he nudged closer. Not wanting to be left out the small wolf like creature growled and wagged its tail as Harry drew closer. Just as he touched the Phoenix he was startled to hear a voice talking in his mind.
"Hello dear one, it seems that our magics are already wishing to establish a bond." Harry gasped and stroked the beautiful Phoenix. Harry asked its name, "Well young one, no one has named me before, so I shall give you the honor if you would like to?" The deep voice said, which sounded male to Harry. Harry nodded eagerly and thought it over for a minute. "How about the name Vale?" Harry asked. The handsome phoenix's bright blue eyes sparkled at the name, "Vale, now that's a handsome and strong name." Harry smiled and held out his arm the phoenix, now respectfully named Vale flew down and nudged his ear. Harry then turned to the young wolf cub that kept winging at him. He knelt down in front of it and held out his hand.
From within the cage the wolf licked his hand and wagged its tail. Then it raised its paw and placed it on Harry's hand. "Hi, I'm excited, you're my first human bond!" It wagged its tail and Harry smiled. The wolf cub was a beauty with its gorgeous gray and white fur mix. Harry extended their bond so he could talk to her. "What is your name young one?" Harry asked. The wolf cub shook her head and like Vale, she didn't have a name yet. "Hmm, how about Thea?" She shook her head and licked his hand. Harry got up and found the store owner.
"Hi, I would like to purchase this phoenix and this wolf cub here." Harry asked the man. He was thin with long gray hair and a mustache. He pointed at the phoenix and said "That one there will cost you 100 galleons and the wolf cub will cost you 50 galleons." Harry's eyes rose at the price but decided against bargaining. It was London after all. He paid quickly along with a couple of extra cages and walked back to the inn he was staying at to drop them off.
It was now around 11 o'clock in the morning so Harry headed back to the bookstore that looked appealing to him. The bookstore shop was more ancient looking than the one in Diagon Alley, the name, Wilshire Nook. It looked small on the outside but something kept pulling him to go in and look around. Once Harry stepped inside he was startled to see how well organized Wilshire Nook looked. Categories included Magical Creatures, Spell Casting, Ancient Ruins, Charms, Transfiguration and the like. Harry grabbed a basket and picked up intermediate to advanced texts on his school subjects and then perused the aisles further. He picked up some texts about the inner workings of the Ministry, Law, and Magical Jobs.
Further back he found a more interesting section on Obscure Magicks. Harry picked out the ones he liked ranging from Beginner to Advanced. Some of these topics included Weapon Making, Art of Elemental Magic, Animagus Theory, Occluding the Mind, Defensive Tactics, Advanced Dueling, The Art of Spell Creation, Practical Ancient Ruins, and Shadow Casting. Harry decided that would be enough for today.
He hauled his basket to the register. The young lady widened her eyes as she saw his load, Harry reassured her that he had enough to cover the cost. She nodded and quickly tailled up the charges. All in all, his bill came to $130 galleons. Harry felt satisfied and hauled his bag back to the inn.
It was about 3'oclock when Harry decided to get a bite to eat. The resturant was called Jackelyn's Bite. He had a hot bowl of chicken soup and salad. Harry then asked the staff if there was a luggage shop in Bellman's Hideaway. The waiter nodded and directed him to Kingston Trunks and Travels. Harry thanked him, paid for his meal and went off to find the luggage shop.
Kingston Trunks and Travels looked more modern on the outside than the couple shops Harry had already visited that morning. He walked in and was blown away by the selection of magical trunks, backpacks, side handbags and other practical traveling items a witch or wizard might need. Harry poked around and wandered to the more fancy looking trunks. He was astonished that they could be modified and created just for the user's individual needs. Harry found the Specialty Trunk Catelog and pulled it closer to read about the specs. He took out the Customer Card and began filling out what he would need for his new trunk.
Name: Harry Evans
Levels: 7
Level 1: Living room, entertainment room
Level 2: Kitchen, food pantry, dining room
Level 3: Master bedroom, washroom, wardrobe
Level 4: Guest bedrooms & washrooms
Level 5: Expandable Library with study rooms, personal office, study
Level 6: Greenhouse, Potions Lab, ingrediant stockroom
Level 7: Gym, Dueling room, vault storage
Trunk Decoration:
Hard Case: Metallic Gray
Emblem:
Potter/Ether Crests
Wards:
blood ward, password protected, anti-theft, lightweight charm, shrinking charm
Harry felt satisfied with his order and headed to the man running the shop. His name read Greg Kingston, Store Manager. The man raised his eyebrows and stared at Harry for a full minute. "So…you are looking to purchase one of our luxury trunks here, eh boy?" Harry nodded expectantly. "You look quite young lad, are you sure you have enough to cover the fee, it will cost you a pretty galleon." Harry replied, "I have enough to cover the fee sir, if you need a down payment I can do that as well." Mr. Kingston seemed impressed by him so he waved it off trusting Harry to come up with the full price. "Well young lad, one last question for you now… Is your name really Harry Evans or Harry Potter?"
Harry winced at the now obvious mistake, it seems this man was sharp as a tack. "Yes, sir, I am Harry Potter, I am just trying to keep a low profile." The Store Manager let out a barking laugh and smiled at Harry. "Well, you look just like your father, but your eyes are all Lily!" Harry stood there stunned not expecting running into anyone who knew his parents personally. "You, you knew my parents sir?" Harry stammared out running a hand through his hair.
"That I did son, and it was such a shame when I heard that You Know Who got to them on that night. They were both quite talented. I went to Hogwarts with them you see, no one could best James at Transfiguration and well Lily, she was the top of her year." Harry smiled now eager to hear more about his parents from this man. Upon seeing Harry's eager expression, Mr. Kingston sighed and crossed his arms, "Unfortunately young Potter, that is all I know…I would tell you more if I could, but I wasn't among their tight group of friends. Maybe if you can find him, contact a man called Remus Lupin. He would be more of a help to you than I would." Harry nodded accepting his assistance.
After placing his order with Kingston he began making his way back to the inn he was staying at until another shop caught his eye. Harry wandered over to the next shop, he knew his wand fairly well and it worked okay, but something was off about it. It was almost as if it strenghtened the connection between him and Lord Voldemort. His Holly and Phoenix wand was making more vulnerable to Lord Voldemort's cursed magic.
Harry Potter wandered over to the wand shop and met bright fellow named Tristan Pallman. He had darker skin, and looked to be in his mid 40's. "Hello sir, I am here to get a new wand, mine doesn't appear to be the right fit." Harry exclaimed to the store owner. Mr. Pallman smiled and nodded to the young lad in front of him. He then in a manner that this young lad would understand explained how he fitted wands to witches and wizards.
"If I may ask some preliminary questions first, then we can get started on finding you a proper wand, how does that sound, young lad?" Mr. Pallmn asked his new customer. Harry nodded eagerly.
"Where did you acquire the wand that you know have in your pocket?"
"Diagon Alley at Ollivanders when I first started at Hogwarts." Harry replied.
"Ahh, that might be your issue, see what young Hogwarts students are not told about Ollivanders and other wand shop such as his, is that those wand makers buy bulk material such as Dragon cores, creature feathers, and the like along with typical wood that bends to magic creators and hope that they match a little over 50% of a young witch or wizards magic core." Harry gasped at this, this totally made sense of why his Holly wand might not be the best fit.
"My wand shop is somewhat controversial in the eyes of the 'commercial wand sellers'. My wand lore philosophy is to allow my customers to pick out each material individually and then add ruins and other unique attributes to the wand per customer request." Harry smiled at this, Mr. Pallman certaintly knew his stuff!
"Sounds great, sir! Where do we start?" Harry asked politely. Mr. Pallman brought him to his work area where he had all sorts of materials and wand lore books. He had several boxes labeled wand cores, wand woods, magical creature feathers…etc., stones, gems, and more. Mr. Pallman told him to place his wand hand in each box and feel for his magical core. This would allow to see if any pieces would work.
-wand wood mix:
Red Oak (ideal master is light of touch, quick-witted and adaptable, often the creator of distinctive spells, and good person to have beside in a fight) &
Laurel (known to perform powerful and sometimes lethal magic)
Wand core:
-thunderbird tail feather
Wand Additions:
-protection, defense, power, and recovery ruins
Mr. Pallman whistled at Harry's wand choices. "Well Mr. Potter, it seems that you are a young powerful wizard!" Harry winced, it appeared that Mr. Pallman already knew who he was when he stepped in his shop. He chuckled, and said, "Never fear, Mr. Potter, I won't reveal your name to anyone. You're wand will be ready by tomorrow afternoon." Harry thanked the man and left the shop.
Harry felt tired and drained from his long shopping day. He walked back to the inn he was staying at after climbing up to his room he unlocked his door and was greeted by his new familiars. Vale his phoenix, and Thea, his wolf cub. He let Thea out of her cage and she yipped and jumped on his bed wagging her tail. Harry laughed and gave her some attention. Vale took a more serious approach, "You sir, need sleep, Thea child, let the poor lad sleep" Harry chuckled and ran his hand through Vale's handsome feathers. Vale responded with a hum. Harry let Thea curl up by his feet after changing into his PJs and promptly feel asleep.
Author's Note: Thank you all for your patience, I hope it was worth the wait! I hope you enjoyed Harry's trip to Bellman's Hideaway.