Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter


It had been a week since Harry had begun living at the Leaky Cauldron, and he was really beginning to enjoy being away from the Dursleys. He had more or less remained within his room, mostly only leaving to eat his meals. He had felt himself growing stronger now that he was eating regular meals, and he could feel that it was also having a positive effect on his magic.

Over the last few days he had been focusing on learning more about the world of magic. He had found out that his serpent was a male, and named him Bastille, which the snake had found acceptable. Bastille has also explained to him that he was no ordinary 'garden snake', as the man at the store had believed. He was actually a magical serpent, and had some Basilisk blood in him. While this did not grant him anything as dangerous as the gaze of the Basilisk, it allowed him to produce a venom that was just as powerful as a Basilisk's.

The boy had learnt that Salazar Slytherin was a wizard who had lived more than a millennia ago, and had been able to wield magic to such extent that he was one of the strongest wizards to have ever lived. The man had invented Parseltongue, a language that would allow him to speak to snakes. It was more a form of magic than an actual language, as it effected the person's words in a way that whatever they said could be understood by snakes if they so wished. The magical ability was then passed down through Slytherin's blood and magic.

At first Harry had thought that he was a descendant of Slytherin's, but Bastille had informed him otherwise. He stated that Harry only had the magic of Salazar, which made him a Parselmouth. How this was possible though, even the serpent was unsure of.

The young wizard had also perused the two books he had bought from Flourish and Blotts. He had first begun 'The Magical And You', which turned out to be much longer than he thought it would be, but it was benefitting him greatly nonetheless. He had learnt much about magic, the Ministry of Magic, and even Hogwarts. The name of Salazar Slytherin had come up once more while Harry read the book, as one of the four founders of Hogwarts.

The book also explained the unwritten hierarchy of the magical community. Purebloods, or those who were descended from a magical family, with no Muggle blood in them, were considered to be the top of the food chain. Under them fell those who were born to a person Pureblood and a person who was anything but a Pureblood, magical or otherwise. These were known as halfbloods, and the children of two halfbloods would also be halfbloods. And those who were born from two Muggles were known as Muggleborn, although there was a more derogatory term that was also used for them. 'Mudbloods'. Harry had been quite shocked to learn that even in the magical world, where things had the potential to be perfect, they couldn't be so. The book told of crimes committed by wizards and witches, both against their own race and other magicals.

He also learnt more about some recent history, relating to the past two decades. One of the most important events had been the rise and fall of the Dark Lord Voldemort. Imagine his surprise when he learned that he was mentioned in the book. The passage had read:

After the Ministry had failed on numerous occasions to defeat He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, the populace lost hope, and began to submit to the Dark Lord. That was, until the night of Halloween, of 1981. On this night, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was defeated by a mere infant, Harry Potter. When Aurors arrived at the scene, they found that James and Lily Potter had perished of the Killing Curse, a trademark of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's forces.

It remains unknown how the infant was able to bring an end to the Dark Lord's power, but the people of magical remain in gratitude for their saviour. Many have tried to contact the boy, but Albus Dumbledore, a friend of the Potters' has informed the public that he is being raised in an environment where he shall be safe and trained to the best of his magical abilities.

This text had greatly infuriated Harry for two many purposes. He was mad at the Dursleys for having told him that his parents were useless drunks who had gotten themselves killed in a car crash, especially now that he knew they were revered heroes who had died fighting one of the greatest threats to the magical world. And he was furious at the man called Albus Dumbledore, because he had apparently been the one who chose to put him with the Dursleys, and had been the one who chose to not inform him of his parents or his abilities. He had remained cross for nearly an entire day, merely sitting on his bed, glaring at the opposite wall, brooding.

But he had eventually gotten out of his funk, and was just glad that he had gotten away from the Dursleys.

He had continued speaking with Hermione on a regular basis, and he would often tell her about things that he learned in the book. She had been rather outraged when she learnt of the way the community saw Muggleborn such as herself, but Harry was able to convince her that whatever it was that Purebloods thought was not true, and that it shouldn't matter to her.

At the moment, Harry was getting ready to visit Hermione for a bit. In his hand, he had a brand new copy of 'The Magical And You', which he planned on giving to her as a present. He was also hoping he'd be able to teach his friend more about magic.

He wore black pants and a purple shirt, and over it was his cloak. Bastille once again slid up his sleeve, wrapping himself around the wizard's arm. Making sure that he was completely ready, Harry thought of Hermione, before concentrating on where she was. He then mentally commanded his magic to take him there, and the familiar feeling of weightlessness spread throughout his body, as he disappeared from the room.


Dumbledore was not having a particularly enjoyable day. He had just returned to Hogwarts after having to deal with some matters concerning the Ministry which required his presence. But after spending a few hours going over paperwork, and petting Fawkes, he turned his attention to a shelf that was on the left side of the office.

He gazed at it lazily for a few moments, before jumping upright, and walking to it in a panic. He searched the entire shelf very thoroughly, before checking the entire office in case he had misplaced the object somewhere. When he still could not find it, he grew further worried.

"Fussy!" He roared rather impatiently, and immediately, a small House Elf appeared before him, bowing deeply.

"Yes, Headmaster?" The creature inquired timidly.

"There, there was an alarm on this shelf! It's gone now. It was of great importance Fussy, so I would like to know if you have any information regarding it." The man spoke in a more level tone, so as to not scare off the Elf.

The aforementioned creature looked up happily, with the answer already spouting from her mouth. "But yes, sir. That device brokes a week ago, and Fussy cleans it up like a good House Elf!" The creature squealed.

Upon hearing this, Dumbledore collapsed back into his seat, holding his head as he thought of this unexpected development. There was only one reason for the sensor to break. That the wards he had put up around Number 4 Privet Drive had fallen. And there were only two ways of that occurring. Either Harry did not consider the Dursleys to be his family, and did not think of the house as his home, or a wizard had forcibly destroyed the wards.

Dumbledore knew he had no time to waste, so he got up, dismissing the Elf with a wave of his hand, and straightened out his robes. He needed to look further into the matter immediately, and there was only one place where that was possible. With that thought, he Disapparated from his office.

The old man arrived in the neighbourhood, and was a stark contrast with the normalcy of the mundane street. His bright purple robes stood out against the dusty pavement, and if it weren't working hours, the residents would have flooded the street to gawk at the odd man, whose silver hair and beard were flowing past his waist. The man walked up to Number Four, before sharply knocking on the door.

He heard some commotion from within, but the door soon flew open to reveal Petunia Dursley, who was smiling nervously while flattening out the apron she wore.

Her smile fell immediately however as she saw who stood at her door. It was another one of them, the people who had ruined her entire life. She wrinkled her nose in disgust, before quickly slamming the door close. But as she turned around in the hall, she saw the man standing behind her.

"Forgive me for the intrusion, Mrs. Dursley, but I have come to you with an important matter to discuss, one that could effect not only you, but a great part of Britain. I must know, where is Harry Potter?" The man spoke, doing his best to reassure the woman.

Petunia let out a shrill cry in response, backing against the wall in surprise. "What the hell are you doing here? That freak of yours isn't here!"

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow at the language she used. He had always known that Petunia was rather envious of Lily's gifts, but he had never expected such irrational hatred.

"Ma'am, I am only here to check on a son of my friend's, and after that I shall be on my way. Now please, tell me, where is Harry Potter?" The Headmaster tried to assuage the tense woman, but she only seemed to get more infuriated.

"That freak disappeared, and good riddance too! Now leave my house, or my husband will kill you when he gets home!" The woman shrieked at the man, grabbing an umbrella and pulling in front of herself like a weapon.

The wizard grew even more distressed by these words. He knew he wouldn't be able to get any more information from the woman. Or at least not vocally.

He stared at her eyes, before using basic Legilimency to look into her mind. He wandered through her completely unprotected thoughts, before he arrived at a rather dark part of her mindscape, where he saw she had shelved memories of Harry. The memories were like small globes, clustered in a pile. He picked up the shiniest one, which was the most recent memory, before looking into it.

It showed a memory from Petunia's view. The woman was looking into the hall that Dumbledore had just been standing in from another room, the door opened just a crack. She watched as a tremendously large man threw around a small child, who was bleeding profusely. The wizard didn't need to be a genius to know that the child was the young Harry, and he could feel a great sense of rage building within him. This was not supposed to happen. The child was to be raised in a loving childhood, where he could cherish the blissful ignorance he had before he had to turn into the hardened warrior who would end Voldemort. The boy was not supposed to suffer.

But Dumbledore kept his eyes upon the scene in front of him, as he saw Vernon strangle the child while pushing him against the wall. What he saw next was amazing, as Harry simply vanished from his uncle's grasp. The man was dumbfounded, as he knew that Harry had not Apparated, which left him to wonder how the boy disappeared.

As the old wizard exited the memory, he stared right at Petunia Dursley with hatred that he had not felt in decades. He didn't even feel this emotion for Tom. No, for Tom, he only ever felt pity. But for the woman in front of him, he felt pure, unadulterated rage. He glared daggers at her, as she dropped her umbrella and whimpered in the corner, cowed by the ferocity of his anger.

"You, you and your husband have delivered upon an innocent child treatment that which I would not deliver upon my greatest enemy. For all your disgust at us and our kind, it turns out that you yourself are the true monsters. You used your hatred to justify such behaviour. It is truly a wonder how you can live with yourself." Although the wizard spoke in a steady voice, the woman could never miss the undercurrent of great outrage.

The man awaited no reply, and simply walked to the door, which was flung open with a small motion of his hand. Before he was off the driveway, he Apparated once more, at that point not caring if he was seen.


When Harry opened his eyes, he was once again in Hermione's room, the book clutched within his grip. This time though, the girl wasn't inside. Harry took the moment to take a better look around in the sunlight of day.

He had learned over the past week of Hermione's passionate love for books, and more so for knowledge. Therefore he wasn't too surprised to see an enormous bookcase that completely covered one wall, and seemed to be filled to the brim with books, ranging from great works of literature to books upon science and even philosophy.

Harry was also enthralled by the painting on the opposite side of the room, next to the door, as it showed horses running across a landscape with a towering castle in the distance.

He heard voices from below, and stepped out from the room into the small corridor. The floor was also carpeted, and he saw a landing down to the right. On the other side were two more rooms, each of which had doors just like the one to Hermione's. He quietly made his way downstairs to find that Hermione was sitting on the couch in the living room, watching some television. The couch was placed in a way that he was directly behind her, therefore she didn't notice him until he stepped around the sofa.

The bushy haired girl nearly shrieked, jumping into the air, but before she could she recognised the face in front of her. In turn she leaped at him, squeezing him in a tight hug. "Harry! It's so good to see you."

The boy in question however was finding it difficult to even draw a breath. "Too. Tight. Hermione!" He managed to wheeze out. The girl quickly released him, blushing sheepishly while spouting out an array of apologies.

"It's fine, I'm just not too used to hugs like that." Harry said, trying to reassure his friend. It was strange for him as well. Usually, he hated having to come close to other people, but he had felt happy hugging Hermione. He subconsciously thought that it might be because of something related to the crystal necklaces that hung around both of their necks, before pushing the thought out of his mind.

"So, where are your parents?" The boy questioned. He had liked the two older Grangers when they 'met', despite the fact that Hermione's father had been more than a little tough on him. He understood that the man had just been worried for his daughter. And to be honest, it wasn't as bad as what Harry was used to courtesy of the Dursleys.

"Both of them are at the clinic right now. They're dentists, so they're usually busy on weekdays. They used to get me a babysitter, but since I've turned nine, they think I can handle being without one." Hermione replied, before her attention turned to the book that the wizard held in his hands. "What is that?"

Harry suddenly remembered that he still held the book he had brought for her, and quickly pushed it in front of himself, presenting it to her. "I just thought you might like this book. It's kind of an introduction to the basics of the magical world."

Hermione graciously accepted the gift, looking it over with eyes of adoration, grinning madly. Harry smiled to himself slightly as well, happy that she was pleased. But before he could say anything, he was once again tackled by the girl who was more than a few inches taller than him, and found it difficult to stay on his feet. Luckily for him, the witch showed more restraint this time, and didn't hug him nearly as tightly. Harry slowly returned the hug himself, feeling rather pleased with himself.

After nearly an entire minute, Hermione drew back, holding the book firmly. "How about we go upstairs and read some of this together?" She offered, to which Harry nodded with agreement, before they both rushed upstairs to Hermione's room.


Dumbledore had never been as unsure of himself as he was at that moment, sitting in his office, still thinking of what to do regarding the disappearance of Harry Potter.

The first matter his mind was focusing on was the treatment of the boy at the hands of his so-called relatives. And no matter how he looked at it, he was at least partially responsible. Minerva had warned him that they weren't the best people, but he had ignored that in favour of the safety that the wards placed there would offer. That was his greatest mistake, for he had never even anticipated that very safety being compromised from within the wards themselves.

And even then, he should have ensured the boy was safe. He hadn't, in fear that young Harry would not yet be ready to learn of his abilities as a wizard.

But now he had even more pressing matters to face. The boy was missing! The entire magical community had entrusted him with Harry, and he had lost him. Now he couldn't even turn to anyone for help. He had to find the boy, who could be anywhere in Britain, or maybe even the world, singlehandedly.

He cradled a small bottle of Fire Whiskey in his hand, pouring himself yet another glass, before proceeding to down most of it in one gulp. It had been quite some time since he had been as inebriated as he was right now, but at the moment he required it. He held the empty glass up, peering over its edge to see his familiar staring at him.

"Ah, Fawkes. It must be wonderful to be a phoenix. No worries of how your actions may affect others. No fear of death." He bemoaned, before placing down the glass in a deft motion. "I must confess Fawkes, I was wrong. And now, I must make amends, or the world will pay for my mistakes." Dumbledore sighed, before standing up from his chair, and once again straightening his robes out with his hands to the best of his abilities.

"Well, there is no time like the present. If I shall work on making things right, I have no time to waste." He spoke with grave determination, before glancing towards his familiar.

The phoenix flew from his perch, before diving toward the old man. Just as Fawkes flew over him, Dumbledore raised his arms and touched the bird, before they both burst into a large inferno.

Moments later the fire died to reveal that no sign of either was left, other than a few cinders and a small pile of ash.


Harry and Hermione were snacking on some sandwiches that he had managed to make. Hermione had been shocked that Harry actually knew how to work around in a kitchen. The two had spent almost two hours just talking about the book as they read it, before they had decided to take a break.

"So, what's it like, living in the magical world?" Hermione asked, as she finished her sandwich.

"It's actually really fun. I haven't really talked to many people, but I can read as much as I want, so that's good."

Harry saw Hermione give him a slightly envious look at the prospect of being able to read as much as you want, which caused him to chuckle. "Don't worry, Hermione, I'll keep bringing you books that l know you'll love. Plus, maybe you can also visit Diagon Alley with your parents sometime, and then you can even find those books for yourself."

The promise served to satisfy the girl for now. After having gotten to know the Muggleborn over the last week, Harry had grown more used to her love for books. Admittedly, he also liked to read, especially when it was about something that caught his interest or might be useful to him, but Hermione could read and absorb just about anything.

Once Harry had finished his sandwich and cleaned the plates he'd used, he once again found himself whisked away by Hermione back to their discussion of 'The Magical And You'. And if he was completely honest, he wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

It was a rather upsetting goodbye, but Hermione knew that Harry had to go back to Diagon Alley. She had more fun with him than she ever did playing with others in the park. She was glad she finally had a friend, and to add to that the fact that her new friend was a magical just like her was icing on the cake. So, after making Harry promise that he would continue to tell her about everything he read and saw, she allowed him to teleport away.


Harry marched down the stairs of the Leaky Cauldron, and headed straight to Tom, who was stationed behind the bar. "Tom, I know my stay expires in a few days, but I would like to extend my stay by another month."

Tom smiled at the boy, who had been a perfect guest at his inn. "Well, no trouble whatsoever, Harry, we would be happy to have you. The rates are the same, so it'll be four galleons for the stay, and four galleons for food and housekeeping." The boy withdrew the amount from his pouch, and handed them over to the man. He then thanked the innkeeper, before rushing back to his room. He'd come downstairs in a few hours for dinner, but until then, he had something he wanted to do.

Harry's month at the Leaky Cauldron had proven to be both informative and amusing. He had finished reading 'The Magical And You', and had also read a similar book he got from Flourish and Blotts, titled 'Hogwarts: A History'. He had been amazed by how impactful Hogwarts was to magical Britain.

But what was probably most important was the fact that he had started reading his mother's diary. The leather bound book he had found in Vault 687 was indeed written by his mother after her graduation from Hogwarts. It had a lot of work on potions and charms, though it was far beyond his scope of understanding. What was more important to him were the parts where Lily wrote about her life outside of Hogwarts, and about the life she was living with his dad. He felt as if this allowed him to get to know his parents much better than he could ever have imagined.

He had learnt that his mother had been something of a genius when it came to Potions and Charms classes at Hogwarts, and his father had been a Transfiguration prodigy. He had promised himself that he would do his parents proud by proving that he was just as good in at least those subjects. It was with that desire that he dressed up, prepared to go out into Diagon Alley. Reading about his parents and their endeavours had inspired him to immediately get some of the things he would need to learn more about magic and its practical uses.

He had begun reading through 'The Art Of Wandless Sorcery', and was shocked to discover that wandless magic was not as common as he had thought. Most people were completely unable to perform any wandless magic, and those who could use it were only able to perform basic charms or spells. Only a handful of extremely powerful wizards could actually use wandless magic with some mastery, including Albus Dumbledore, and - before his demise - He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

The way he understood it, wandless magic was just considered too difficult to execute by the vast majority. Most people just stuck with their use of wands, not bothering to learn wandless magic. The book was not very helpful for practical purposes, but rather it offered a theoretical explanation for wandless sorcery. It all boiled down to how well the witch or wizard could manipulate their own magic using their will and imagination. But other than that, the book did not give any information on how to improve one's own wandless magic, or how to practice it.

Having taken a quick shower, Harry donned his cloak, allowed Bastille to slither up his sleeve, and moving out of the room, made his way to Diagon Alley. He wanted to get any equipment he would need on Potions, Charms and Transfiguration as soon as possible, so that he could start working on them. It would give him something to do, and help him form some sort of connection with his parents.


Author's Note:

This is still me just trying to bring all my fanwork together. But I have already gotten to work on multiple chapters of multiple fanfics, which I will begin to post soon.

So until then, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and I will see you later with more. Feel free to PM or review with any questions, and favourite and follow.

Peace Out

Kofukuna Shi No Kami