A/N: As of the time I'm writing this note, I have 9 favorites and 22 follows on this story.
I don't know if that's good, average or bad. All I know is that I'm fucking proud of it. Thank you so much everyone!!
Here's Chapter 3:
For once in his life Harry was grateful that he wasn't fed much, because right now, he felt as though he was going to vomit. Dumbledore apparently hadn't been kidding when he said this- whatever this was- was going to be 'extremely uncomfortable', if anything, he was understating the fact.
Harry closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths and found that it did help with the nausea. When he was confident he wasn't going to empty his stomach on the floor, he opened his eyes again.
He turned to his left and noticed he was still holding Dumbledore's arm. He let go and asked "What the hell was that?" He hadn't said it in a rude tone, it was just who he was. He swore a lot when he was emotional.
If Dumbledore disapproved of his language, he didn't show it. Instead he smiled and said
"That was Apparition. Each student will have the option to learn it in their seventh year. The muggles may know it by different term. Teleportation, I believe is what they would call it"
"Oh" Was Harry's eloquent reply. He didn't even know why he was surprised by this stuff anymore. "Why would anyone want to learn that?"
Normally, he wouldn't have dared to ask such a question to anyone let alone an adult, but something about Dumbledore's demeanor made Harry often forget that he was speaking to someone considerably older than him and not to a friend.
Thankfully, Dumbledore didn't seem to mind. In fact, he actually chuckled "Oh Harry, you wouldn't believe how many times I have been asked that very question. Take it from someone who knows, the feeling is far more bearable when you're the one doing the apparition. I must congratulate you though. Most people tend to vomit during their first apparition trip"
"Can't imagine why" Harry muttered, earning another chuckle from Dumbledore. "How does apparition work?"
"It is a rather tedious process, I'm afraid, but in short, you think about a place- preferably a place you have previously been to- and you sort of, let your magic guide you there. You may hear another term in regards to this called, disapparition. There is a difference between apparition and disapparition though. To put it in context: We disapparated from Surrey and apparated here. Does that make sense?"
Harry nodded. Basically, disapparition meant disappearing at one place and apparating meant appearing at another.
"Good. Now, Come along, Diagon Alley is quite the sight during the day" Dumbledore said and started walking towards the road that was visible from inside the alleyway they'd landed into.
Harry followed him and soon they found themselves on the sidewalk. Harry had never been to London, but he found the city quite impressive with it's tall buildings of various heights. He noticed that the pair (Him and Dumbledore) were getting a lot of odd looks. He should've expected nothing less really, what with Dumbledore looking like some posh old businessman and Harry like a poor homeless theif because of his clothes. Dumbledore didn't seem to notice these looks, or simply chose to ignore them. Harry didn't know which.
His musings were cut short when he realized he had no idea where they were going. "Where are we going?" he asked.
"The Leaky Cauldron" Dumbledore replied "It's a pub. Just a few meters around the corner and across the street. It houses the entrance to Diagon Alley"
Harry didn't know what that meant. But he figured he'd find out when they reached there so he just followed Dumbledore to their destination.
Dumbledore walked in first, and, as he made his way through the pub, Harry trotting along behind him, the gathering patrons stopped to watch him with unabashed interest, which caused Harry to slip by unnoticed.
The headmaster ignored all this and made his way to the back and opened the door there which led them into an open area surrounded by red brick walls on the other three sides.
The pair made their way to the brick wall in front of them, Dumbledore withdrew his wand and stopped walking. He then tapped it on the bricks in a circular pattern. Harry made sure to memorize the pattern, he could never know when he would need it.
A second after Dumbledore finished, the bricks started shaking and arranged themselves such that there was a huge archway in the wall that led to a street on the other side.
Harry couldn't help the gasp of air he sucked in. He knew he hadn't seen all that magic had to offer in the past hour but this went much beyond his imagination.
Dumbledore smiled as he watched the expressions flicker on his face. Harry assumed he'd seen many a child give similar expressions when visiting the Alley for the first time.
"Shall we?" Dumbledore asked, waving his wand and transforming- there was no other word for what he just saw- his suit into bright purple robes. It looked hideous and ridiculously out of place even in the Magical World, where he'd seen many people wearing robes, but for some reason it seemed to suit Dumbledore.
Harry could only nod as the pair set off toward the street in front of them. It wasn't narrow exactly, but it wasn't as wide as the London streets either. It also had buildings on both sides, much like London, but these buildings weren't nearly as tall, reaching up to three stories at the most. All these buildings also housed shops on the ground floor, and there were a lot of people bustling around, probably going about their day to day buisness or, in the case of the children, just looking at the numerous items on display. A few meters forward, Harry could see a large open area with a statue of someone- probably a wizard- with a long beard and long hair, wearing a pointed hat and had his wand held high.
It was there that Dumbledore led him to. He sat on a bench so Harry decided to follow his lead and took sat down on the same bench though he picked the seat that the was farthest away- he still wasn't completely sure whether he liked adults or not. The area- which Harry assumed was a courtyard- was wide and somewhat circular in shape. It was also surrounded by buildings on all sides and there were many other paths at different points all around the area.
Harry watched took all of this in with a look of wonder and absolute shock on his face. He did, however, notice that Dumbledore seemed to be looking for someone.
Sure enough, Dumbledore waved at a man as he came into view. He walked over and, as he did, Harry couldn't help but admire the man's height. He was the largest man Harry had seen. And Harry didn't mean Large like Vernon. No, he meant Large as in Tall.
The man was at least eight feet tall and he had long curly hair that fell to his shoulders and a large bushy beard that dropped down to just above his stomach.
"Hello Professor" The man said "Sorry, I'm late. The Thestrals just weren't cooperating today"
"No worries, Hagrid" Dumbledore replied. "though I do believe introductions are in order"
"Hello" The man said to Harry with a kind smile. "My name is Rubeus Hagrid, I'm the keeper of keys and grounds at Hogwarts. You can just call me Hagrid though, pretty much everyone does"
"I'm Harry" He introduced himself and offered him a hand to shake. Hagrid took it ans shook it gently, something Harry was thankful for.
"I must get going, I'm afraid" Dumbledore said to Harry apologetically. "I will, however, look forward to seeing at Hogwarts"
Harry nodded, he'd wondered when he was going to leave and found himself hoping that he wouldn't. Something that thoroughly surprised him. But still... "Goodbye, sir. And thank you for bringing me here"
The old wizard smiled at him "Trust me Harry, it was my pleasure. Oh, and before I forget" He reached into his robes and handed Harry the envelope that contained his Hogwarts acceptance letter and booklist.
Harry blushed furiously and took it from Dumbledore. It'd slipped his mind to take that with him. He wasn't forgetful. He was actually rather smart. But he was just too busy getting out of the house to do so much as think about it.
"Just to warn ya, Professor McGonagall is quite hacked off at the moment" Hagrid informed Dumbledore "Kept muttering something about unfinished paperwork and due dates"
Dumbledore visibly paled and gulped, but regained his composure soon. "Y-yes. Thank you for informing me Hagrid. I shall keep an eye out. Have fun, you two!" With that he spun on his heel and disapparated.
Harry looked at the spot the Dumbledore disappeared at for a second and then turned to Hagrid, who was looking at him with huge smile on his face.
"I must say it's nice to see ya again Harry"
Harry furrowed his brow in confusion. Surely he would remember meeting Hagrid before, right? It was impossible not to, given the fact that Harry didn't know any other Giants- which was what he assumed Hagrid was. But, try as he might, Harry couldn't recall seeing the man ever before.
"I'm sorry Hagrid, I can't remember ever seeing you before"
"Well, of course ya don't. You were just a little baby back then weren't ya"
Yeah. That actually explained it. He probably knew his parents. Hell, he might've been part of that organization against The Death Eaters that Dumbledore told him about. But that was something he didn't want to think about right now.
"Oh... Well, it's nice to meet you Hagrid" And it was true. He'd grown quite observant over the years, seeing as he had absolutely nothing better to do, and Hagrid seemed like a very friendly person. Besides, he was Professor Dumbledore's friend wasn't he? And Dumbledore was the first adult to treat him with something other than loathing, distaste or indifference. Harry even felt like he'd gained the man's respect when he demonstrated his abilities with Magic, but he was fifty percent sure he imagined it.
Hagrid practically beamed at him. "Why, thank you, Harry. Now come, we have to go to Gringotts. Did Dumbledore tell ya what it is?" He inquired politely as they started walking towards the path in the middle.
Harry shook his head no and Hagrid nodded in understanding "Gringotts is the bank of the Magical World. Safest place in England. Other than Hogwarts, of course. It's run by Goblins. Scary lot, they are. Always be polite to them, Harry. Always. Human-Goblin relations aren't exactly the best right now"
Harry started rather violently when he heard 'Goblin'. He'd known there would probably be other species here. This was a hidden world of sorts, after all. But to meet one now!? He was suddenly starting to grow increasingly nervous with every step they took towards the bank. That thought brought another problem to his attention.
"Hagrid!" Harry said and stopped.
"What's wrong?" Hagrid asked, stopping too.
Several things, he thought in morbid amusement. His whole life had been turned upside down and inside out in the span of an hour, but he decided to go with the most pressing issue.
"I don't have any money"
"Sure you do!"
Hagrid was staring at him as though he'd just sprouted another head. Harry didn't understand why, his tormentors never gave him any money other than to buy groceries with. He kept the spare change most of the time, saying that the prices had gone up, but he usually bought himself- and a few other stray animals- a loaf of bread with it. There wasn't much left for anything else. And they frequently complained about how much it cost to 'keep him alive'.
"No Hagrid, seriously. I don't" Harry countered.
"You do in the Magical World" Hagrid said. "We have a different currency here. And Lily and James made sure that, should anything happen to them, you would never have money problems"
"Oh" Was all he could say. The fact that his parents would have left him something never even occured to him. It should have. But it didn't. That thought made him feel like there was a blackhole of despair in his stomach. His parents weren't drunk idiots like his 'family' wanted him to believe. They were probably good respectable people who died doing what was right. Not for the first time he wondered how different his life would have been if they were here with him...
"Almost there" Hagrid said, unknowingly cutting off his musings. "That's Gringotts" he continued, pointing at the tallest building Harry had seen in Diagon Alley. It was five stories tall and white in color. Gold colored letters spelled the word 'Gringotts Bank' at the top of the ground floor. There were two goblins at the front door, probably the guards. The building itself was positioned in such a way that the path forked around it. Maybe he'd get to explore the area in the future.
When the pair reached Gringotts, the guards stopped them both and took out a golden rod of some sort and ran it over them with a distrusting scowl. Harry waited for something to happen, it would just be his luck, but nothing did. The Goblins simply stepped aside and bowed. Taken aback and confused by their behavior, Harry just hastily bowed back. This time it was the Goblins that were taken aback, but Harry didn't have time to pay attention to it since Hagrid had already left to go inside.
Upon entering, Harry noticed he was in some sort of room with doors in the front of him, and couches on either side. It was probably a waiting room of sorts, he reckoned. They were walking toward the second door when Harry noticed an inscription on it. It read:
Enter, stranger, but take heed
Of what awaits the sin of greed,
For those who take, but do not earn,
Must pay most dearly in their turn,
So if you seek beneath our floors
A treasure that was never yours,
Thief, you have been warned, beware
Of finding more than treasure there.
He wondered whether everyone in this world was so dramatic or if it was just the Goblins. Shaking his head at the thought and vowing to not rob Gringotts anytime soon, he made his way through as Hagrid opened the door.
The room he walked into was grand. The Goblins obviously knew how to leave an impression on someone. The room was more like a large Hallway with raised desks on either side where the goblin tellers- at least he thought they were tellers- sat. Beautiful chandeliers hung from the ceiling bathing the entire room in something akin to sunlight. There was a door at the end of the hallway. He didn't know where that went, but decided to ask Hagrid when they got out. There were elevators on either side of the door, wizards and goblins, going in and coming out of them
The goblins themselves were rather ugly and somewhat dangerous looking creatures- yes he was well aware of how he sounded but there was no other way to describe them- with pointy ears, beady eyes and ugly scowls on their faces.
Hagrid led him to a teller on the right side and cleared his throat somewhat awkwardly. The Goblin looked up from his parchment a few seconds later with a bored expression on his face. "What?" the goblin said in a gruff voice.
Harry blinked at his harsh tone. Hagrid wasn't kidding when he said the Human-Goblin relations were bad. Hagrid was probably used to this though, for he simply said "Harry Potter wishes to make a withdrawal"
The Goblin peered over his desk to look at Harry and said "Does Mr. Harry Potter have his key?"
"No," Hagrid said. "But I do," he added and handed the Goblin the key. The Goblin inspected it for a few seconds before standing up. "Wait," Hagrid whispered to the Goblin. He looked around and pulled out an envelope which he gave to the Goblin. The Goblin read the letter in the envelope and nodded.
"Go wait by the door there" he said pointing to the huge door at the end of the hallway "I'll send someone to accompany you to the vault"
Vault? Harry wondered, as he and Hagrid walked towards the indicated door. They didn't have to wait long though. A goblin, considerably younger than the teller, came to them.
"Good afternoon, sirs. I am Griphook. I shall be your guide for today" He said
"Good afternoon" both Harry and Hagrid greeted Griphook. Griphook nodded in response and opened the door which led to a circular room. It was painted in themes of white and gold and Harry noticed the top had a skylight. There was also a white circle with a golden outline on the floor. Griphook led them to this circle, and muttered something in a strange language.
Immediately, the white circle hissed and started descending. With a start, Harry realized that this was an elevator of some sort. Though it wasn't the ones he was used to seeing. The walls of the elevator were white with occasional horizontal gold lines decorating them.
Soon enough, the platform slowed to a halt and there was opening in the wall. The opening led out onto a large underground cliff. Beyond the cliff was a massive cavern. He could see a weird cart like vehicle on a track that stretched and branched out into various different tunnels all around the cavern. There were at least half a dozen Goblins standing guard at various places on the surface of the cliff.
Griphook led them to the cart and settled himself on the front seat. Hagrid occupied the right and middle seats, which combined to form a seat big enough for him, while Harry sat on the left one. "Ready?" Griphook asked. Upon receiving two hesitant nods. Griphook pressed a button and the cart started moving.
After the best ten minutes of Harry's life the cart stopped. Griphook seemed unaffected by the trip, Hagrid's face had taken on an interesting puce color and Harry had a huge grin on his face.
Griphook got out of the cart and onto a platform in front of a large set of doors. Harry and Hagrid- still a little wobbly on his feet- followed him and watched as he inserted the key in a socket beside the door, turned it and muttered something in the same guttural language he used on the circular elevator. "Come here" He said to Harry, who did as he asked.
"Place your hand here," Griphook said, indicating a horizontal white surface attached to a section of the wall of the cave.
"What happens when I do?" He decided to ask cautiously.
"This is a test to see whether or not you truly are Harry Potter. If you are, then the vault doors will open. If you aren't then... well let's just say that you will regret lying to us" Griphook explained with a grin
Harry gulped. Hoping that Professor Dumbledore hadn't picked the wrong Harry Potter, he placed his hand on the white surface. He felt a pulse of something- he assumed it to be magic- in his body, and the white surface glowed slightly.
He heard a hiss from the vault doors and looked over in time to see them open. He breathed a sigh of relief and made his way to the Vault.
What he saw inside caused his jaw to drop open. The inside of the vault was so massive it was a cave in itself. There were 3 huge piles of coins in the vault. One bronze, one silver, and the last and largest being gold. This was probably the currency Wizards used.
"See" Hagrid said, grinning "Told ya they'd leave you money" It was then that he remembered his parents- his parents!!- had left him this vault. This huge fortune. He put that information aside, unwilling to deal with the emotions right now.
Thankfully, Griphook grabbed his attention. "Mr. Potter would you like to know the contents of the vault?"
Harry swallowed and nodded. Despite everything he genuinely was curious. "This trust vault has a total of 20,000 galleons, 10,000 sickles and 5,000 knuts. It replenishes itself every 3 months from the Potter Family vault which you will inherit at the age of 17. There is also a trunk that was left to you by your parents. It's contents, however, are unknown"
"How does the currency work here?" It sure sounded like a lot of money. And that trunk was something he vowed to come check the next time. For now, he didn't want to delay Hagrid just in case the man had other things to do.
The goblin had an expression of approval on his face, though Harry couldn't figure out why. "1 galleon equals 29 sickles and 1 sickle equals 17 knuts. You can also exchange galleons for Muggle money. One galleon gives you five pounds. Though that can change in the future"
Harry ran a quick calculation in his head and realized he had over 100,000 pounds in this vault. And would have even more once he turned 17, which he assumed was when Magicals came of age. So, he was suddenly super rich? It was all incredibly frustrating and hard to believe. Knowing that he had this much money, yet he had to starve because two pieces of shit deemed he wasn't worthy to eat the food he himself made, he'd been reduced to staying in a bloody cupboard for his entire fucking life, when he had more money than he could ever use in 3 months, he had to steal just so he wouldn't bloody starve to death. He didn't register that the coins were ominously shaking till Hagrid shook him by the shoulder.
"Harry!" he called.
"What?" he snapped. "Sorry" he hastily added seeing Hagrid's hurt expression. "I'm not angry at you, I'm just..." he shrugged "angry. In general"
Hagrid had a sympathetic look on his face. "I'm sorry, Harry," he said. Probably because he felt Harry was missing his parents, which, while true, wasn't the reason for his outburst.
"It's okay," Harry responded with a sad smile. "How much do you think I should bring out?"
"Well, I dunno. Never had this much money myself" Hagrid said, rubbing his chin.
"May I make a suggestion?" Griphook interjected. Harry nodded. "Starting this year, we provide a chequebook to clients who have 1,000 or more galleons in total, and an infinite money bag to clients with 10,000 or more galleons in total, that can summon the money directly from your vault. If you want, I can arrange either or both of these for you for a simple one time payment of 100 galleons for each one. 170 if you're getting both"
Harry considered this. He knew it was a sales pitch, that much was obvious. But this wasn't bogus. And it would be bloody useful having both.
"What's to prevent someone else stealing it and using the money from his vault?" Hagrid asked curiously. Harry had thought of it, but he just thought it would have magical security of some sort.
Sure enough, "There are security measures, Mr. Hagrid" Griphook replied. "Both items are Gringotts issued, as such, if they are stolen or lost, they can be summoned to the branch with zero cost, provided you can prove yourself the owner of the item with a blood test. If you want to catch the culprit, Gringotts will send a letter to The Department of Magical Law Enforcement on your behalf. As for prevention of theft from the vault itself, the money bag will not work if it does not detect your voice, and the chequebook requires you to place an imprint of your magic on each leaf to declare it active after writing down the amount. If the magical signatures do not match then... again, let's just say you would regret it. And there is no way to fake a magical signature"
Oh, yeah. That was secure, all right. He didn't know how effective this Department of Magical Law Enforcement was compared to it's Muggle counterpart but if he could just get the item back, it wouldn't even matter to him.
"I'd like to have both, please," Harry said.
Griphook grinned. "Excellent! Follow me"
He led them out of the vault and the doors automatically sealed shut. He gave Harry the Vault Key as they followed him to the cart. Another ten minutes later, they were in the main lobby of Gringotts. Hagrid, this time, was sporting a green tinge on his face.
Griphook called another Goblin and they started speaking in the strange language again.
"Say Hagrid, What language are they speaking in?"
"Gobledegook" Hagrid answered
"What?" Harry said. Surely Hagrid wasn't insulting their language was he?
"Gobledegook" This time it was Griphook who answered. The other Goblin was walking toward the elevator on the left side "It's the name of our language, Mr. Potter, not an insult"
"Oh" He noticed Hagrid nodding beside him.
"Now, you can go to the reception area outside. I shall make the arrangements for your chequebook and money bag. It will take 10 minutes at most, but I shall try to make it quicker. I will also bring your item from Vault 711 Mr. Hagrid"
They both nodded and followed Hagrid to the reception area which Harry previously had assumed was a waiting space.
Almost five minutes later, Griphook arrived. "Here is your money bag, Mr. Potter" he said, handing him the item. It was an elegant pouch, Harry noted, made of the finest material Harry had ever touched. It was black in color, decorated with golden dots and stars in random places.
"And your chequebook" he continued, handing him the other item when Harry gave the pouch to Hagrid. The chequebook felt a lot like the envelope from Hogwarts, except this was a different material. It was rectangular in shape- Obviously- and it was white in color. with a large golden G in the top left of the rectangle. There was a small golden square near the center right that seemed to be glowing. The bottom fourth of the rectangular book was a darker shade of white, not quite gray but not as white as the other part. The darker part also had a golden line outlining its top. The back was the same, except it was completely bare.
The bottom fourth also had writing on it. It read: Harry Potter. Trust Vault, 687. Balance: 20,000 galleons, 10,000 sickles, 5,000 knuts.
Griphook seemed rather pleased with their reactions, and rightly so, Harry thought.
"May I?" Griphook asked, reaching for the chequebook. Harry gave it to him and Griphook muttered something in Gobledegook. "Place your thumb on the golden square. It will take your magical signature. It will feel like it did on the sensor outside your vault" Harry complied and felt the same pulse. He heard a hum from the book and knew that it'd worked when Griphook handed it back to him.
"The bag please Mr. Hagrid" Griphook said
"Of course," Hagrid replied, handing him the pouch.
"This is a very important step Mr. Potter, I need you to say something when I finish my incantation. Do you understand?" At Harry's nod, Griphook repeated the words he'd used on the book and then nodded at Harry as if to say 'Start Speaking'.
"Er. Hello?" Harry tried. He heard the same hum again, this time from the bag.
"Excellent!" Griphook said, handing him the pouch which he pocketed along with the chequebook. "Just one more thing". He took out a piece of paper- parchment, rather- and handed it to him. "I need you to sign here so that we may take 170 galleons from your vault as payment."
The parchment was just what he said it was. There was nothing much written on it just the Terms and Conditions, which Harry read, and a receipt.
He also noticed that Griphook silently handed Hagrid a package. It looked like there could be a rock inside of it. Though Harry couldn't figure out why anyone would store a rock at Gringotts. Shaking his head mentally, Harry asked for a pen and signed his name.
"It's been a pleasure doing business with you Mr. Potter" Griphook said, bowing.
"You as well Griphook" Harry said bowing back. There was a surprised expression on his face just like with Goblin guards outside.
Harry and Hagrid left the building and were a large distance away when Hagrid turned to him and asked "So, how was it?"
"Brilliant!" He replied enthusiastically with a grin. And it really was. Gringotts surpassed his expectations so thoroughly that Harry hadn't even been able to hide his expressions as he used to back at Privet Drive, which was quite the surprise to him.
Hagrid grinned back and they both reached the large circular area which Harry realized must be some sort of courtyard.
"So, where to now?" Harry asked
"Now" Hagrid replied "We get you a wand"
Harry's grin nearly split his face in two.
Ollivander's was one of the older looking shops, Harry noticed as the shop came into view. It only had three stories and the third one looked as though it was only recently made, though not new by any means. The entrance/exit of the shop was in the left corner, a large window to it's right with the writing Ollivander's, since 382 A.D. on it.
Hagrid had gone off to get his other supplies- books, a trunk, set scales and the like- in the nearby shops, all of which were visible to him even from here. Hagrid had insisted on paying for it himself
"Wasn't able to get you a birthday gift so let me at least do this for you" He'd said. Eventually Harry caved in and let him pay for it. It didn't hurt Harry in any way and if it made Hagrid happy, who was he to begrudge him that?
Even still, it was with a lot of well hidden nerves that he entered the shop.
The interior, much like the exterior, was old looking. There was a sitting area in the right corner with a fireplace and a few couches. The shop was completely empty right now though. So Harry made his way to the counter and rang the bell twice: urgent, but not rude.
A few seconds later, as Harry was preparing to ring the bell again, an old man came out of the corner and approached the counter. "Harry Potter" The man greeted him. "I have been expecting you"
Harry was about to ask how the man knew him, but then he remembered that his blasted scar gave him away. So he addressed the second part of the man's statement "You have?"
The man nodded "Oh yes. It is quite the honor to meet you young man. Oh, forgive my manners, I am Garrick Ollivander"
"It's nice to meet you Mr. Ollivander," Harry said. Even though he wasn't sure about it himself. The bloke seemed rather creepy, though he wasn't sure whether that was his ingrained dislike/wariness of all adults or just the man himself being creepy.
"Thank you, Mr. Potter" Mr. Ollivander responded, mercifully oblivious to the thoughts in Harry's head. "But enough chit-chat, you are here for a wand, are you not?" At Harry's nod, the man quickly reached down and opened a drawer, rummaged a bit and probably took something out. He made his way in front of the counter and said "Hold your arms out"
Harry complied and the man took out his wand and tapped it to a device he probably took out of the drawer. It was a measuring tape, which sprang to life and, much to Harry's surprise, started measuring him. By itself.
Ollivander was simply watching with a thoughtful expression on his face as the tape started measuring his arms, legs, fingers, shoe size, palm size and all sorts of other weird things. He didn't know why he was being measured for a wand but, seeing as he wasn't the wandmaker in the room, kept his mouth shut.
Eventually, the measuring stopped and Ollivander gestured to him that he could put his hands down. Which he did almost immediately.
There was some circular object attached to the measuring tape. Ollivander was holding the object and apparently reading something from it. He then tapped his wand to the object which caused the tape to curl itself around the object's circumference.
"Give me just a moment Mr. Potter," He said and ran back behind the counter. He deposited the object back in the drawer and closed it. He then ran back to, what Harry assumed was a storage room. He returned a few minutes later with at least two dozen boxes floating behind him, much to Harry's surprise. He jabbed his wand in the direction of a nearby table and the boxes quickly arranged themselves on it.
"Now," Ollivander said, rubbing his hands together in an expectant way. "Let's get started"
An hour later, Harry was getting angry and scared at the same time. Angry because for the past hour, Harry felt like he'd tried Every. Single. Wand in the bloody store and he still hadn't found one that chose him- because that was apparently a thing.
"The Wand chooses the Wizard, Mr Potter. Do not worry, there will be one for you here. I'm sure of it" Ollivander had said.
That had been fifty minutes ago. Since then Hagrid had returned with all his supplies- except his robes and other clothes and an animal, if he wanted one- inside a special magical trunk that had expanded storage space and could shrink to the size of a small sized toy train when you touched it with your wand. Said trunk was currently resting in his pocket with his Money pouch and Chequebook.
Scared because he didn't want to go back to the Dursleys, and if he didn't get a wand, they'd probably say that they were mistaken and Number Four Privet Drive was exactly where he'd be going. He'd probably have to leave this world alone, but he liked this world a lot better than the muggle one, and he didn't want to leave.
Ollivander was having the time of his life, though. Harry was expecting him to be disappointed or angry with him. To his surprise Ollivander had taken it as a personal challenge to get him a wand. Every failure drove him to find Harry the perfect wand. There was thankfully no sign of people outside. Probably because it was late, nearing six. This worked in his favor because if he was famous then there was a good chance he'd get mobbed. And he hated having attention on himself.
"Try this one" Ollivander told him, handing him yet another wand. "Ebony wood, Thunderbird feather, 9 inches"
Harry had learned a lot about wands in the past hour. His views on Ollivander had changed too. He was actually a pretty decent bloke once you got to know him, he was just very awkward. Ollivander had told Harry that wands were made of a certain kind of wood and that they had magical cores. Said cores were usually something harvested from a magical animal. For example: Feathers from a bird, or Hair/Fur/Scales from a mammal, or scales from a fish or reptile. He'd heard the names of a lot of animals, but had no idea what most of them were. He'd been able to recognize Phoenix, Dragon and Gryphon though so... that was something. Anyway the cores and wood type gave the wand certain characteristics, much like a person. If the characteristics of the person and the wand were... compatible, for the lack of a better word, then the Wand would choose that person. You could use a wand that didn't choose you, but the results were apparently less than those desired or expected.
"It would be a lot like trying to funnel a brick through a narrow pipe. The brick being your magic and the pipe being literally any wand that hasn't chosen you" Ollivander had said.
Harry was about to wave the ebony wand Ollivander had given him, when Ollivander snatched it out of his hand "Nope. This won't do" he said, and packed the wand back in it's box and set it aside.
"Oh, for fuck's sake!" He exclaimed, Unknowingly waking Hagrid who'd been enjoying a nap on one of the couches. Really this had been getting more and more annoying. He wasn't pissed at Ollivander taking the wand out of his hand- Again, Harry wasn't the wandmaker in the room- he did that a lot actually. Harry was pissed because he hadn't felt anything from a single wand he tried. Things had broken, shattered or outright exploded- thankfully Ollivander knew enough Magic to fix the damages- but he Still. Felt. NOTHING. "Are you even sure I can find a wand!?"
"As I said, Mr. Potter-" Ollivander began only to be interrupted.
"The Wand chooses the Wizard, yeah, I know," Harry said. "But surely it can't take this long, can it?"
"Well, I confess it has been a long time since I've seen a wand take so long to choose someone, but it isn't something I'm too surprised by, given who you are and all..." he trailed off, eyes going wide and a slow grin of excitement creeping onto his face. "I wonder..." he muttered before running off into the storeroom again.
Harry and Hagrid shared a look but were unable to do anything else as Ollivander chose that moment to come back with two boxes in his hand.
He placed one of them on top of a pile of boxes on a table and opened the other one and handed the black colored wand to Harry.
The moment Harry curled his fist around it, bright golden sparks came out of the wand and Harry felt a warm tingly feeling all over his body- the kind he felt during when he performed magic without a wand- and heard the faint echo of a beautiful music, it was so beautiful, Harry thought he would never forget it. He looked up at Ollivander with a question in his eyes.
But Ollivander seemed to be lost in a world of his own, absently rubbing his chin. "Curious," Ollivander finally murmured. "Very Curious"
"Why is it curious?" Harry asked, even Hagrid seemed to have no idea what Ollivander was talking about.
Ollivander violently started and dropped the box he was holding on the floor. Harry picked it up and handed it to him.
"Thank you," Ollivander said. "What did you say before?"
"I asked why it's 'curious'" drawing little quotation marks with his fingers when he said curious.
"Ah. Well... You see, the Phoenix whose feather resides in your wand gave two other feathers that I know of. It is rumored he gave another since the creature is so ancient, but I have no idea if that wand even exists..." he trailed off and shook his head. Neither Harry nor Hagrid had any idea what Ollivander was talking about and exchanged concerned glances. "My apologies, it seems I managed to get a little side tracked. Where was I? Oh, yes. So the Phoenix gave two other feathers that I know of. One of them resides in the wand in the other box I brought with me. It's Holly wood, 11 inches, and unyielding. The other, however resides, or rather, resided, in the wand that gave you your scar"
It took a while for the full implications of what he said to sink in. But when it did, all of Harry's elation evaporated, he felt as though he was going to be sick. He shared a wand core with Voldemort!? Like, seriously? He couldn't share it with anyone else? Sharing one with Dumbledore or Hagrid would be loads better than sharing one with the guy who fucking murdered his parents.
As though sensing his thoughts Ollivander gently placed a hand on Harry's shoulder. He flinched and stiffened under the unexpected contact but looked up at Ollivander anyway.
"Just because you share a wand core with him doesn't mean you will go bad like he did" Ollivander informed him. "He had a yew wand. Owners of yew wands have a reputation of being notorious. Most Dark Wizards have a wand of yew. That doesn't mean everyone with a yew wand goes dark, mind you, but the facts still stand. He also had a Phoenix feather core which might have chosen him because he was quite powerful and had a strong sense of purpose. The same reason yours chose you. Your wood type, however, is Rowan. Rowan wood itself is in staunch opposition to anything evil. There has been no reported witch or wizard who's gone bad with a Rowan wand. It also means that you will probably be a fierce duelist and a protector. But I can say for certain that you don't have any Dark tendencies"
That hadn't been what Harry wanted to hear. But it did help, ever so slightly. But there was another question gnawing at him. "What if the other one chose me?"
"The reason for the Phoenix feather core would be the same. Power and a strong sense of purpose. Holly wood may have chosen you because of the fact that it is also against evil. It is nearly impossible to match with a Phoenix feather, but I managed. And let me tell you whoever gets that wand, will be nearly unstoppable"
Harry just nodded. Ollivander was right, the core didn't make him evil. Phoenix feather cores were attracted to power. Not evil. Power. And Dumbledore had told him that the amount of control he had on his magic was practically unheard of. Yeah, he could understand why that core would choose him. Suddenly feeling a bit better, he asked "So, is there anything else I should know about this wand?"
Ollivander chuckled "Well, it's 12 inches long and unyielding. The length of the wand doesn't matter much. It's just so you can use it comfortably. But the fact that it's unyielding means that the wand is unlikely to change allegances. It also means you have a strong sense of character. So, I doubt you have anything to worry about"
Harry sighed in relief and asked how much it would cost. "Seven galleons," Ollivander said.
Harry decided now was a good time to test his Money Bag so he pulled it out of his pocket. He looked into it and said firmly "Seven Galleons" He noticed some shimmering in the pouch and then the galleons appeared. He turned the pouch upside down and the Galleons fell onto the countertop.
"Thank you, Mr. Potter. It has been a pleasure" Ollivander said.
"And you Mr. Ollivander" He responded.
Hagrid bid his goodbyes and they left to go to Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, which was on another road.
The trip there was uneventful, and both of them were lost in their own thoughts. The shop was impressive though. Three stories high and very recently renovated. The interior was also quite spacious. There were quite a few robes on display and even a few t-shirts that Harry liked, none of which were his size, unfortunately.
The attendant quickly measured him, or rather, an object similar to the one Ollivander used, measured him. She got him three pairs of black school robes his size along with the described winter cloak. He also decided to get a t-shirt his size- it was the only one the shop had that he liked- along with a pair of trousers and a belt.
That whole haul cost 3 galleons and 4 sickles. Hagrid paid this time, while Harry put the items in his trunk, which he shrunk again and pocketed.
They made their way back to the courtyard area, where Hagrid stopped him.
"It doesn't matter, you know"
"What?"
"Your wand core" Hagrid clarified. "You won't go dark Harry just because you share a wand core with You-Know-Who. I can feel it. And Dumbledore once told me that it's our choices that make us who we are. Not the cards we're dealt"
Harry blinked in surprise. He hadn't expected to hear that from Hagrid since he'd been so quiet before. For some reason it meant a lot to him that Hagrid thought so and Harry made sure Hagrid knew that.
He received a wide smile in return which disappeared when Harry asked him his next question.
"Why did you call Voldemort, You-Know-Who?"
The effect was immediate. Hagrid's eyes bugged out and he (Hagrid) flinched. Hard. "Don't say that name" Hagrid said
Harry furrowed his brow. "Voldemort?-" He began, only to be interrupted
"Don't say that name"
"Why not?"
"Look Harry. All words and names have a magical power. The more unique ones like Voldemort have more power than the rest. If you speak the name it causes a ripple in magic which is why you can track where the word was spoken. I forgot the name of the spell. But Professor Dumbledore explained all this to me once. How much has he told you about the war Harry?"
Harry shrugged. "Just the basics"
Hagrid nodded. "Well, it was always the brave and powerful ones who spoke his name. The same ones who caused the biggest problem to his side of the war. People like your parents. The rest of us just used You-Kno-Who or some other synonym. Whoever spoke his name was killed by You-Know-Who himself once he found them. And he could find them through any number of protective enchantments. Lost a lot of people before your mother figured out what was happening and then even they stopped doing it"
"Oh. I'm sorry Hagrid" That was a damn good reason to be scared of a name "I didn't know-"
"It's alright Harry. There was no way you could have. Just don't do it again. At least not in front of me" Hagrid said.
"Got it" Harry nodded.
"Good. Now let's get ya back home".
"Yeah," Harry said. He felt horrible about lying to Hagrid. But he had no other choice. "Let's"
Little did Hagrid know, Harry had no intention of staying at Privet Drive.
A/N 2: First off, I am so sorry for the absurd length of the scenes at Gringotts and Ollivanders. I just went with whatever came to me and... yeah.
Second, you may have noticed that I took quite a few liberties with Diagon Alley, Gringotts and the shops in the alley. Well what can I say, I wanted to try something else. Hopefully it worked well (Please tell me if it did. I'm sorta freaking out right now).
Third, Hagrid's accent. He does have one. I haven't changed that. I just can't write it well. So I decided to write what Harry translated from Hagrid's sentences. I'm probably gonna do the same thing with Fleur.
Fourth, The Money bag and Chequebook. So, story time: I was writing the changes in Diagon Alley when it occurred to me. What would happen if, say, you wanted to buy a house and they asked you for 10,000 galleons? Would you hand them 10,000 gold coins? Or would you give them a check or credit card? Exactly. As for the money bag... It's a similar principle. But for smaller amounts. Instead of counting the money you simply say the amount and it just... appears. Goblin magic is completely AU territory so I'm pretty sure I can do it.
Fifth, No this is not a "helpful Goblins fix everything" story. They're just somewhat polite with Harry because he respects them and eventually they will respect him too (Though whether that will happen between the end of the story and the epilogue is still up for debate). Griphook and Harry will have a friendship/acquaintanceship that will start from the next chapter. It will get deeper (Not romantic in any way) toward the end of the fic. It won't be focused on too much. But it will be there.
Sixth, Yes, I know Ollivander is supposed to be the creepy old man. But I wanted to write him different.
Seventh, Harry's wand. Again, I wanted to try something different. If you haven't guessed who's getting the holly wand... well I won't spoil it for you. But it's not for some sappy romanticized 'we can't hurt each other because of our wand cores reason'. It actually has a purpose. And yes, I did modify the flexibility of the Holly wand to fit its new owner.
Again, thanks for reading. And please leave a review. Byee!!