Harry briskly walks the streets of Knockturn Alley, dodging the occasional hag begging for coin. The vanishing cabinet is shrunken and secured in his pocket, but due to it's magical nature the spell will only last for a short while. It would be an absolute disaster to suddenly have it expand while it was still in his pocket. Harry keeps that thought in the back of his mind as he quickly makes his way back to Diagon.
It is not long before Harry sees the steps leading back up into the brightly lit Diagon Alley. Harry has to squint his eyes in order to see after so long in the dark and gloom that is Knockturn Alley, but does not falter in his step as he heads for Flourish and Blotts. He will pass Florean Fortescue's on the way, so he does not have to worry about accidentally passing Tom by.
Due to his brisk pace, it only takes Harry a few minutes before he is nearing the ice cream parlour. Harry slows his pace as he approaches and takes a few moments to observe the sight in front of him. Sitting innocently in a chair a few meters away, Tom sits happily enjoying his ice-cream. He is not exactly facing Harry directly, so he has not yet noticed his approach. A warmth begins to build in Harry's chest as he watches the simple sight Tom makes just being happy.
Shaking these thoughts aside, Harry approaches Tom. When he is only a few feet away, Tom finally notices his presence. Harry watches as Tom seems to stiffen a bit and tampers down his disappointment at the act. It is understandable for Tom to still be wary of him, they have only met today. Or at least, Tom's only known Harry for a day. Before Harry has the chance to say anything, Tom is already finishing his ice-cream and discarding it in the rubbish bin nearby before coming to silently stand in front of Harry, pulling his lightened trunk behind him.
"Right, well I've got everything I needed from Diagon today, so let's head to where we will be staying for the night." Harry informs Tom.
Tom makes no objection and they both start making their way back to the Leaky Cauldron. It is an awkward silence that lays between them. On Harry's part, it is because his new 'little brother' is baby Voldemort. While on Tom's part, it is because some strange boy with strange motivations has successfully sequestered him away from the only place he has ever known. The much-loathed orphanage.
Only when they have successfully made their way through the pub and out onto the streets of London does Harry pause. He still cannot use magic yet, and probably will not be able to until after a good night's sleep, so how does he get them to where they need to go. A ridiculous thought crosses his mind, but honestly anything is worth a try. Harry just hopes he does not look like a complete tosser when he steps up to the curb and raises his wand in the air. He can see Tom giving him a funny look from the corner of his eye. The expression is abruptly wiped from Toms face when a horrendously purple triple decker bus comes to a sudden, screeching halt in front of them.
Harry honestly did not expect that to work. Admittedly, he has very limited knowledge in many significant areas of study, his own fault entirely, so he really could not be expected to know something like the year when the triple decker bus was invented. It seemed luck was on his side for once because the Knight Bus was standing before him in all its brightly coloured glory. Nimbly hopping out of his seat, the bus driver opened the doors for them and bid them entry.
"Hello! My name is Ernie Prang and I'll be your diver this evening. Take a seat anywhere you please, but make sure to mind your head! It can be quite the bumpy ride." He spoke with a beaming smile. It seemed the surprises were not done yet because Harry honestly never expected to run into this man again so far out of his own time. As Harry and Tom board the bus and move to take their seats, Harry turns to look over Ernie's shoulder and into the front of the cab. Sure enough, hanging from the rearview mirror, is none other than the shrunken head.
"Oh, I see you've noticed my dear friend Dre! He's quite the interesting fellow! Keeps me company driving throughout the day and night. Great friend he is!" Ernie explains when he notices Harry's stare.
"You're darn right I'm a great friend! Keeping you from driving us all over a bridge!" The shrunken head cackles in response. "Not to mention all the little old ladies you've nearly paved the road with!"
Ernie blushes, but ignores the hysterical head. Harry can't help finding the entire situation amusing.
"Anyhow, where'll we be heading today gentlemen?" He directs the question at Harry.
"Hogsmead, if you can get us there. Or at least as close to it as you can get." Harry replies.
"Hogsmead? No problem! We'll get you there in no time. Take your seats quick and we'll be on our way!"
Knowing what is coming, Harry doesn't dilly dally and quickly ushers Tom into the closest seat. He slides Tom's trunk underneath the seats and instructs him to hold on tight just before the bus lurches forward and takes off. Harry barely manages to keep himself seated and when Tom goes flying out of his seat moments after the bus has taken off, it is only Harry's seeker reflexes that keep Tom from becoming a smear on the window.
Ten agonizing minutes later, the bus comes to a screeching halt. By this point, Harry's exhausted and unfortunately doesn't have the strength to keep himself nor Tom from crashing to the floor. Hard.
"I think I much preferred walking Mr. Pev- Harry." Tom quietly mumbles from somewhere underneath Harry.
Rolling to the side, Harry snorts out a laugh before slowly rising to his feet. "Yeah, me too Tom. Me too."
Harry helps Tom off of the floor and ensures he does not have any injuries before collecting his trunk and leading him to the exit. Ernie and Dre bid them both an exuberant farewell, which is returned with as much enthusiasm as can be mustered.
"Is all magical transportation like that?" Tom inquires as they make their way to The Three Broomsticks.
"If you mean by 'like that' as in horribly unpleasant, well I might be a bit biased, but yeah. I haven't really had any good experiences with magical transport. Well except flying. Brooms are pretty brilliant!" Harry replies.
"You can fly?" There was a hint of awe in Toms voice when he asked this.
Harry cannot help but smile at Toms astonishment. "Of course. You'll be able to as well one day. First, though, we've got to get settled in. But . . . maybe we can go flying together soon."
A small, hesitant smile tugs at the corners of Toms lips at hearing this. Harry's reluctant to turn away when it seems like they are making some progress in trust, but they have finally reached The Three Broomsticks. Harry tugs the doors open, leading Tom inside. He quickly spots an empty table in the back and leads Tom to it. It is not long before the barmaid who, unsurprisingly, is not Madam Rosmerta comes to take their order of supper. Harry also books a room for the night. Harry and Tom spend the evening quietly eating their supper and not much is said between them. Tom mostly spends supper quietly conversing with his snake friend, who has decided it was safe to poke his head out of the neck of Toms shirt. Harry was much too exhausted for conversation, especially since he still had a few more things to do, despite this being a prime moment to get to know Tom more. Although, it did seem as if the excitement of the day was getting to Tom as well. He nearly nodded off a few times throughout dinner and Harry had to gently nudge him awake.
When they completely finish off their supper, Harry and Tom make their way to the room they will be staying in for the night. It is a quaint little space, with two twin beds sharing a side table holding a candle, as well as a door leading to a small toilet and one large wardrobe just beside it. They did not have anything to unpack as they would just be staying for the night, so Harry quickly sent Tom into the toilet to get ready for bed as he rummaged through some of the clothes they just purchased for some sleepwear for Tom. He was soon victorious and quickly passed them off to Tom, so he could change in privacy. Having nothing else to do, Harry settles himself in one of the beds and relaxes for however long it takes for Tom to finish up.
A few minutes later, Tom emerges from the toilet and promptly gets comfortable in the one empty bed. Harry leans over and blows out the candle, plunging the room into darkness. It is less than ten minutes later when Harry hears soft snoring coming from underneath the covers of the bed beside him. Knowing now is the time to move, lest he fall asleep himself, Harry reluctantly rises from the bed. He is sure to keep his steps silent as he makes his way to the door. Harry manages to speedily open the door and slip out before much light can shine through, but he still waits a moment at the door, listening for any sign of Tom waking. When he does not hear any, he swiftly turns and heads back downstairs and out of the pub. In the time that he and Tom were inside, the sun has set, and a smattering of stars is all that lights the sky.
Harry ducks into the alley beside the pub and pulls his invisibility cloak, which had been tucked into his shirt up until this point, out. He carefully drapes it around himself, making sure to be completely covered, before silently heading to the Shrieking Shack. Although it does not go by that name in this point in time, Harry still cannot think of it in any other way. Though, consider the fact he has just purchased the property from the goblins, he should probably get used to calling it his own.
The night is somewhat chilly as fall will soon turn to winter in a few weeks' time, so Harry is thankful for the little extra protection his cloak provides. Soon enough the old building looms before Harry. It is not quite as decrepit as it is in his time, but it is still quite the sorry sight. Harry does not dawdle and promptly climbs the steps leading to the door, letting himself inside. Everything is coated in a thick sheen of dust. Harry can already feel his nose twitching despite the fact he has only been inside for a few moments.
"Right. Here's hoping this will work exactly as I need it to." Harry strides to the center of the room, peeling his cloak off on the way, and kneels down on the filthy floor. Reaching in his pocket, Harry carefully pulls the shrunken vanishing cabinet out from within his trousers and gently places it on the floor. He is cautious to make sure that there is not any furniture around that could cause an accident when the cabinet eventually expands and, when satisfied, swiftly rises from the ground. He spares a moment to dust off his knees before pulling his cloak out once more and replacing it again around himself.
With that task done, Harry quietly exits the dilapidated building and starts striding toward Honeydukes. Luckily, due to the time, there is only the occasional straggler walking the streets, so Harry does not have to attempt dodging anyone. Harry maintains a brisk pace and only just manages to slip inside the shop as an employee is exiting and locking up for the night.
Harry makes his way down to the cellar and carefully opens the secret passage leading into Hogwarts. The walk through the tunnel into the castle is quiet, aside from the occasional drip of water and scurry of a rat. After around an hour of walking, Harry emerges into the third-floor corridor from the exit behind the statue of the One-Eyed Witch. He surreptitiously glances around the hall but does not see or hear anyone around. School only just started back up, so Harry must be extra careful of any wandering students, as well as any faculty patrolling the halls tonight.
"Now, if I remember correctly, the vanishing cabinet should be on the first floor." Harry hopes as he heads to the grand staircase and starts making his decent. "How I'm going to get it up the stairs is already a big enough problem in and of itself. I don't need to add a bloody scavenger hunt to the list."
Harry tiredly reaches the foot of the staircase and begins walking up and down the corridor in search of the cabinet. Miraculously, he still does not come across any teachers, nor any students wandering the castle past curfew. Harry finally spots the cabinet innocuously tucked into an alcove not far from the main staircase and he very nearly weeps tears of joy for small mercies. The smaller the distance he needs to haul the cabinet, the better. Harry opens the cabinet doors and grins at the sight that greets him. The locket is innocuously laying inside as if it has always been there. Harry uses the tip of his wand once again to pick up the locket and slip it into his back pocket. With one more quick glance up and down the hall, Harry begins the long process of dragging the enormous piece of furniture down the hall and up the stairs.
What must have been at least three hours of grueling labor later, Harry stands half collapsed against the side of the object of his torture. It probably would have been made slightly easier if Harry had allowed himself to remove his cloak while transporting the cabinet, but he did not feel comfortable standing out in the open without it. "Constant vigilance and what not." Harry reminded himself every time he nearly gave into the idea.
Nevertheless, the task is nearly complete, and then Harry will be able to return the pub for some much-needed rest. Harry pushes himself off of the cabinet from where he has been slouching, wanting to get this over and done with. Standing just before him was the entrance to the girl's lavatory on the second floor and Harry wastes no more time before pushing it open. He is ever so grateful he does not yet, and hopefully never will, have to worry about being spotted by Moaning Myrtle. As soon as he has the cabinet completely through the door, Harry shuts and locks it. Finally allowing himself to remove his cloak, Harry stuffs it back down his shirt and walks over to the line of taps. This is the one point he is not really sure on. Harry knows exactly what he needs to do and what he wants to happen, he only hopes that it is actually possible.
Taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly, Harry softly commands the tap, § "Open." §
Harry watches as the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets reveals itself. Taking a few steps forward, he stares down into the deep, dark pipe that will lead him down into the depths of Hogwarts. Harry can only hope that what he is about to do does not render all the work he has just done null and void. Harry pulls the cabinet forward, decreasing the few remaining meters that separate it from the pipe. With much struggle, Harry manages to lay the cabinet on its side and only gets nearly flattened about four times before it is in place. Ever so carefully, Harry slides the cabinet until the end of it hangs over the edge. "Well, here goes nothing. Hopefully, this doesn't turn out like when Peeves first broke the cabinet during my second year." With that thought fresh in mind, Harry sends out a prayer to any who might be listening and tips the cabinet over the edge. A moment later Harry jumps in after it whispering, § "close." § Moments later the light shining into the pipe from the toilet is swallowed up and Harry is plunged into complete darkness.
[This was supposed to be completed by New Years, but typing on a phone kept frustrating me so much I could only type a few words at a time. This was supposed to be the last chapter from Harry's point of view before we see what Voldemort has been up to, but instead we will finish up with Harry on the next chapter. Also, I apologize for the lack of conversation between Harry and Tom. No matter how hard I try, I feel like it all comes out stilted and unnatural. Hopefully, I can get that resolved for future chapters.
P.S. I cannot for the life of me remember if I mentioned Harry's cloak at all before this, so let's all pretend it's been stuffed inside his shirt this entire time. Thanks. *Blows Kisses*]