A/N: To the guy who had a request for me (I'm not listing any names, but you know who you are). I read your message but I don't have a computer so I couldnt reply to your message. A friend of mine suggested replying using A/N so... yeah. Leave me another PM detailing your request and I'll tell you whether or not I can do it. I may even incorporate it into this story, if I like the idea and you give me permission to use it.

Italic writing= Lily's script.

Italic underlined writing= James' script.

Harry and Hagrid made their way into the Leaky Cauldron. There were a lot more people in the pub now than there were when Harry had come in with Professor Dumbledore. None of them paid any attention to him, though, except for an old barman who nodded at Hagrid as they passed. Harry deliberately caught sight of the sign he'd seen previously, when he came here the first time, to make sure nothing had changed. It read:

Affordable lodging available,

24x7 service

Harry had been overjoyed when he first read it. Then his mood soured when he remembered he didn't have a penny to his name. But then, all thoughts of his escape and money had been forced out of his head by the vision that was Diagon Alley. Then Hagrid took him to Gringotts, where Harry found that he did have money. Like, a lot of money.

That changed everything.

Provided he could afford a room, of course.

Soon, they found themselves on the sidewalk outside the Leaky Cauldron, where Hagrid turned to him and said.

"Take your wand out, Harry"

Harry furrowed his brow in confusion but complied anyway.

"Good. Now, hold your wand arm out"

'Wand arm' was what Harry assumed to be his primary arm. So he held his right hand- in which he was holding his wand- out and pretty soon, a huge purple blur appeared in front of him. Harry gave a yell of surprise.

Turns out, it wasn't a 'blur' but instead a huge triple-decker bus. It was purple colored and had the words The Knight Bus on its side and the front. The door to the bus opened and a man in a blue uniform was visible in the doorway.

"Welcome to the Knight Bus," The man said. "Emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard. Just stick out your wand hand, step on board, and we can take you anywhere you want to go. My name is Stan Shunpike, and I will be your conductor this evening- Blimey Hagrid is that you!?" Stan exclaimed.

"Hello, Stanley" Hagrid greeted the man.

"Blimey, it's been a while hasn't it? Come in, come in. I'm assuming you two called the Bus?"

Hagrid nodded and stepped in, though he had to duck to not hit his head on the ceiling. Harry followed him after stowing his wand back in his pocket, keeping his head down so as to not get recognized or gawked at because of his scar.

The inside of the Bus was larger than what Harry had expected. He was expecting this Bus to be different from the muggle ones. But it was pretty much the same- except the larger interior which he was sure had something to do with Magic. The seats themselves were spaced quite a bit. Probably to give the passenger some leg space.

There were people here. Not too many, though, and most of them were sporting a greenish tinge on their faces for some reason. Harry and Hagrid chose their seats near the back with Harry quickly slipping into the window seat and arranging his hair so that it covered the top half of his scar. He balled his fist and placed his cheek on it to cover the part that his hair couldn't, his elbow was resting on his leg. Hagrid sat next to him, and again, Harry noticed that the two seats next to him combined to form one big enough for Hagrid.

Stan made his way over to them with a notepad and said "So, it'll be 11 sickles for wherever you want to go. 13 if you want Hot chocolate. 14 if you want hot chocolate and a toothbrush of a color of your choice."

"We'll just take the standard ride, Stan. Thanks" Hagrid said, handing the man a galleon and 5 sickles.

"Very well then" Stan replied. "Destination?"

"Little Whinging, Surrey, for the kid" Harry started at being called a kid but kept his mouth shut. "And you can drop me off at Hogsmeade"

"Little Whinging, Surrey" Stan muttered while writing it down in the notepad "And Hogsmeade. Alright, then. Strap in, it may take a while" With that Stan made his way to the driver's cabin.

"What's Hogsmeade?" Harry asked Hagrid.

"A village outside Hogwarts. One of the few fully magical villages" Hagrid responded.

"Oh" Harry couldn't say much else because, at that moment, the Knight Bus shot off into the distance.

Half an hour later, Harry was thankful to feel the ground beneath his feet. He had gained a new appreciation for it during his ride. It wasn't that he disliked the Bus. He felt it might be rather fun, much like the carts at Gringotts. No, his problem was with the fact that the Bus stopped and started so suddenly, that it was impossible not to go flying out of your seat.

He also gained a new appreciation for seat belts and mentally thanked whoever it was that came up with the idea.

"Now, are you sure you got everything?" Hagrid asked him.

Harry nodded, not trusting himself to speak.

"Alright, then. You take care of yourself, Harry. I'll see you in September"

"Yeah, see you Hagrid. And thanks for today, it was fun" Harry said

Hagrid grinned at him and patted him on the shoulder. "It was fun for me too." With that, he went back into the Bus and took a seat. A few seconds later the Bus shot off again.

Harry was at the park he and Dumbledore disapparated from. Hagrid probably didn't know exactly where he lived since there were so many houses nearby. He went and sat on a swing and went over what he could do now, as he watched the sun set in the distance.

He had to leave. That much was certain. He could probably wait for a few hours to make sure Hagrid got to Hogsmeade before calling the Knight Bus again. Everything he needed to escape had just been handed to him on a silver platter. Money at Gringotts, a transport no one could detect (Hagrid had told him that the Bus had 'Notice-Me-Not charms' on it. Which meant it could go undetected, when in motion. And muggles outright couldn't see it, whether it was standing still or in motion), and a place to stay. Granted he didn't know how the rooms there would be, but it had to be better than a fucking cupboard, right?

He had another problem. School.

He actually liked going to school. Not just as a refuge from the Dursleys but also because he liked learning. He always had been a curious boy, but he'd quickly learned to keep that curiosity in check around the Dursleys. The teachers never paid attention to him but that was fine by him. He'd also been told- rather violently- that he couldn't score better than Dudley in the exams. So he just focused on learning as much as he could, while deliberately butchering his exams.

Speaking of, his exams were starting next month on the 3rd of June. He could score well for once. Oh, he didn't think he'd be able to get top of the whole grade or anything like that (He was smart, but not that smart). But he was confident he could make it to the top 10% or something similar.

The teachers were mostly carrying out revisions now. That much he could study by himself. But he did think he should, at least, show himself sometime before the exams. Dudley would probably be mad at him, but, if Harry managed to run away, then he would be able to fight back without fear of punishment from Vernon.

His school uniform was the only piece of clothing he had that fit him- his teachers had insisted he get his own set. But they weren't exactly the most comfortable so he didn't wear them anywhere outside school.

They were also back at Privet Drive. In the Cupboard under the stairs.

He could easily retrieve it. That was no problem. He knew where the spare key was and could get in and out of his cupboard in no time. But did he really want to? There was always a chance he could get caught. But, Harry reminded himself, I can fight back now.

Decision made, he looked at his watch- the one he'd gotten for free in a lost and found box- and was surprised when he noticed that it was almost 8:45 pm. He went into some nearby bushes and took his trunk out of his pocket, enlarged it, and withdrew the plain black t-shirt and grey trousers he'd purchased and changed into them. He also decided to wear his new belt. Don't want the trousers randomly falling off, he thought.

Logically, he knew they wouldn't, but after wearing ones that were several sizes larger than his for all his life, he decided to be cautious.

He shrunk and pocketed the trunk and took out the remaining stuff from Dudley's trousers' pockets and put them into his own. He then looked at Dudley's old clothes on the ground. He didn't want them, and they were so shabby, that he didn't think any orphanage would take them. Besides, he didn't know the first thing about donations.

So, Harry decided to do the next best thing.

He pointed his wand at the pile of clothes and concentrated on the heat in his stomach- that he now knew was his magic- and let it flow to his arm, giving him the familiar warm, tingly feeling. He focused his attention on the clothes and tried to funnel his magic through his wand with the intent of burning them with the blue fire.

Nothing happened.

Harry blinked and gripped his wand tighter while trying to funnel more magic into it.

Still, nothing.

What the fuck? Harry thought. Why wasn't this working? He didn't feel any resistance from the wand, nor was it unresponsive like the rest of the wands he'd tried. No, it was, definitely, still warm in his hand.

Shrugging it away, he pocketed his wand and repeated the same process, except, he didn't use a wand this time.

A small lance of fire shot out of his palm- causing his arm to recoil- and struck the pile. Harry watched them burn dispassionately and eventually the clothes were nothing more than ashes. The fire extinguished itself as soon as there was nothing left of the original items to burn.

With that, he started walking to Number 4 Privet Drive.

Upon reaching the house, Harry noticed the lights had been on. He peeked into the window only to see where the residents were. To his surprise, he saw Vernon and Petunia trying to cook. The kitchen was a horrid mess, a complete contrast to how Petunia usually wanted her house to look: clean and organised.

He had no sympathy for them. Those bastards definitely earned this. Harry made his way to the backyard, he decided he could hide in the shed and then take the spare key from under the flower pot to break in.

He waited for a few hours, all the while hearing Vernon and Petunia angrily shout at each other and Dudley's outraged whines because dinner wasn't ready. Eventually, they decided to order some food and soon the lights shut off.

Time to go, Harry thought and made his way to the front of the house. He tilted the flower pot on the porch and picked out the key. The neighbours had gone to sleep hours ago. Harry's stomach chose that moment to growl. It'd been doing that for a while now, but Harry was used to starving.

He slowly and silently opened the door- thankful that Petunia and Vernon frequently had people over to fix the door when it creaked- and crept down the hallway, toward the Cupboard Under the Stairs. He opened the door- ignoring the small, lumpy mattress- and grabbed his uniform. After a quick internal debate, he took out his wand and trunk, and packed his uniform in it. He shrunk it back and pocketed the trunk and wand as he made his way out of the cupboard and closed the door to it, and his old life.

Unfortunately, a voice stopped him dead in his tracks.

"Boy," Vernon said.

SHIT. SHIT. SHIT!!!!

Harry imperceptibly stiffened and turned to Vernon. Even in the low light, he could see his face flushed with anger and the throbbing vein in his forehead, hear the deep breaths he was taking, and notice the belt he was holding.

"Vernon!" He decided to greet him cheerfully, as though they were old friends. Harry didn't know why he was doing this. He should just turn tail and run the fuck away from the bloody place, but he couldn't deny it felt damn good. Vernon was looking at him strangely now. Harry knew why. He'd never spoken back like this. But then he started getting even redder.

"You hurt my son!" Vernon snarled.

"He was being an arsehole again," Harry shrugged. "You know how he is"

Harry knew he'd said the wrong thing when Vernon walked into striking distance.

Harry's self-defence instincts- ones that he'd deliberately ignored when dealing with Vernon for fear of the punishment getting worse- kicked in at full force.

When Vernon reared his arm back, ready to strike him, Harry dove to his right, in the direction of the living room. The belt missed him by a huge margin. By the time Vernon could process what happened, Harry rolled back to his feet.

He thrust his arm out, lashing out with his magic and Vernon flew back, hitting his back on the wall by the stairs.

Harry had a sudden inspiration. He decided to call on his magic and let it flow to his entire body instead of just his arm. He felt the same warm tingly feeling he felt when his wand chose him, the song was absent, but the feeling was far more intense this time. He knew that he was powerful. But right now, Harry felt powerful. And It. Was. Amazing.

He reached out with his hand and squeezed it almost shut, just like he'd seen Darth Vader do in the Star Wars movies.

And it worked, Vernon rose into the air and started clutching at his own throat with both hands.

"Doesn't feel good does it?" Harry hissed in a voice so cold, it caused shivers to go down Vernon's spine "Being at someone else's mercy"

"Please, stop," Vernon begged him in a small, choking voice.

Harry forced down the nausea he was feeling. For once he was the one in power. This man had beaten him, whipped him, thrown him in a cupboard whenever he felt like it. This man was responsible for the freezing nights, the clothes that didn't fit, the endless labour... He deserved no mercy.

"Why?" He hissed in the same cold voice and tightened his grip. "Why should I listen to you? You've made my life a living hell! Tell me, did you listen when I begged you for new clothes? Did you listen when I asked you to let me sleep in a bloody room!? DID YOU LISTEN WHEN I ASKED YOU TO LET ME EAT SOME MORE OF THE FOOD THAT I MADE!? DID YOU FUCKING LISTEN WHEN I TOLD YOU TO STOP HITTING ME!? I DIDN'T THINK SO"

'It's our choices that make us who we are.'

Hagrid's words drifted back to him for some reason, and his mind cleared enough for him to start thinking rationally. He opened his fist as his arm came down to his side, causing Vernon too crumple to the floor and take a huge gasp of air followed by a few deep breaths.

Harry himself was breathing quite heavily. Whether from the exhaustion or the realization of what he'd just done, he didn't know. He felt like the bottom had dropped out of his stomach.

The feeling only got worse when Vernon looked up at him. There was a deep fear in his eyes now, instead of the hatred, loathing, and disgust he was used to seeing. What was worse was that Vernon's fear was one Harry knew very well. It was the fear that he felt whenever Vernon would hit or whip him. The fear that your life was in someone else's hands, and that they could do with it whatever they pleased and it wouldn't cause them any trouble.

The tables had turned, though. Vernon was at his mercy now. Whatever Harry would chose wouldn't cause him any trouble. He could easily snap Vernon's neck and no one would be able to prove that it was Harry who did it. And Harry would be long gone. But was this the type of person he was? One who would murder another in cold blood? Would there be any difference between him and Vernon? Would he be able to live with himself if he did kill Vernon that way? Harry didn't think so. Besides, this wasn't the way he wanted to use his powers- the gift his parents had given him.

And, unlike Vernon, Harry didn't like seeing that fear in Vernon's eyes. Harry didn't enjoy it. He'd almost killed a defenceless person. Yes, Vernon had a belt and wouldn't hesitate to kill him with it, hell he'd probably relish the experience. But that didn't change the fact that Vernon had no way to fight Magic.

That Harry had chosen to stop only made him feel slightly better. Slightly.

He ran away then. He didn't register where he was going or how fast. He didn't know the time either. He simply pulled out his money bag and wand after checking he had everything- which he did.

He held out his wand and said "1 galleon" to the money bag. He didn't see the money this time, but he knew it worked because he felt a small weight in the bag. Soon there was a bang and the Knight Bus appeared in front of him. Harry wasn't startled this time, since he was ready for it. He pocketed his wand and took out the galleon from the bag, which he put in his pocket too.

The door opened and Stan Shunpike appeared in the doorway again. "Welcome-" he started.

"Leaky Cauldron, London. Keep the change. Oh, and I'll have the standard ride please" Harry interrupted him and tossed him the galleon. Stan caught it and raised an eyebrow at Harry who ignored him and made his way near the back of the bus and sat down on a window seat again.

Harry had the third stop this time. Much faster and easier than the last time. He thanked Stan and quickly got out of the Bus. He made his way into the Leaky Cauldron- which was still open- and to the reception area. There weren't any people there, due to the late hour but there was a man- who Harry assumed was a barman- cleaning a table with a rag.

Harry walked up to him and cleared his throat.

"You lost kid?" He asked Harry.

Harry shook his head "No, no. I just need a room to stay in"

The barman blinked in surprise. "If you're playing a prank, the hour's far too late for that-"

"I'm not," Harry insisted.

"Where are your parents?"

"Dead," Harry said, deciding to play for sympathy.

"Oh," The barman muttered. "I'm sorry"

"It's alright" Harry said. "Look, the people I stay with… they aren't the greatest of people, if you know what I mean. I'd just like a place to stay till I start at Hogwarts. I'll pay extra if you want"

The barman sighed. "Nah, don't worry about paying extra. Just the normal rates will do. I'll need your name, and some identifi- Never mind, you probably don't have any. Just tell me your name"

Well, shit, he thought

"Is it okay if I don't?" Harry asked.

The barman shook his head. "No name, no room. Sorry"

Harry sighed. "Fine. I'm Harry Potter"

The barman snorted "And I'm Albus Dumbledore. What's your real name kid?"

Harry scowled and brushed the hair away from the upper portion of his scar. "I am Harry Potter" He rubbed his scar furiously "The scar isn't painted or anything"

The barman's eyes bugged out. "Galloping Gargoyles! It really is you"

"That's what I've been telling you. Now, can I please get a room?" He said exasperatedly

"Oh, er, yeah. Of course, Mr. Potter. You want one till school starts, correct?" He asked. At Harry's nod, he went into an office and came back with a key. "Room 504. It's on the fifth floor. Recently vacated and cleaned. There's a decent view too. And before you ask, the upper floors are invisible to anyone from the outside"

Harry was about to thank the man when his stomach growled. Loudly. Harry blushed a little in embarrassment but the man only smiled kindly at him. "Hungry?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah"

The barman handed him a menu from a nearby table. "Order what you need. On me for tonight"

"Oh, er, thanks" He would've declined normally, but he didn't want to insult the man's hospitality, nor was he in the mood to argue.

"No need"

Harry quickly looked through the menu and decided to order a chicken stew, which turned out to be the most delicious chicken stew he'd ever tasted. Granted, he hadn't tasted many, but still. He quickly finished his dinner- he really was quite hungry- and the barman showed him to his room.

The room wasn't all that grand, or luxurious. It was medium sized. There was a comfortable looking bed in the corner, with a bedside table next to it and a fireplace and a rug in front of it. There was a door in the opposite wall to the entrance that led into the bathroom. There was a wardrobe facing the bed and a desk and chair next to the wardrobe.

"It ain't much-" The barman started.

"Nah, it's bloody perfect," Harry said.

"Well, good. Listen, breakfast starts at seven and lasts till eleven. You can come by and grab a bite anytime you want"

"I will. Thanks" Harry said.

The barman nodded and was about to close the door when Harry stopped him.

"What's your name?"

"Aberforth," The barman said. "Aberforth Dumbledore"

Harry Potter didn't want to wake up. He was having an amazing dream. Magic was real, he was rich, and he'd ran away from the Dursleys.

He laid there for a few seconds. Before realizing that his mattress wasn't lumpy.

With a start, he opened his eyes. And couldn't hold back a gasp.

He wasn't in his cupboard. He was in a room. The room from his dreams. Wait, then that meant...

It wasn't a dream.

He remembered now, meeting Dumbledore, seeing the Alley for the first time, meeting Hagrid, Gringotts, Ollivander's, The Dursleys...

HE WAS FREE!!!!, he thought, with a strange giddiness in his chest

He'd finally gotten his freedom. The freedom to do what he wanted. The freedom to live. The one he'd dreamed of for so long. He knew it was up to him to make the best of it. And he would.

With that thought, he made his way to the bathroom and took care of his... erm, buisness and took a quick shower. He changed back into his clothes after he was done and decided to try on a robe from his trunk- which he had taken out last night before falling asleep. He kept his Vault Key and Chequebook in the trunk, too, while the Money Bag rested on the bedside table with his wand.

The robe was quite comfortable. And it certainly looked good with the clothes he was currently wearing. It would take time to get used to it though. The robes and the size-fitting clothes. The pockets of the robes were much deeper than the ones in his trousers, though, thank God.

He needed to go on another shopping trip. He needed more clothes, and a toothbrush that wasn't provided by the hotel. He also needed to check the trunk his parents left him at Gringotts. He couldn't go to school today. Maybe he'd take the Knight Bus there tomorrow though.

He tapped his wand to the trunk, which instantly started shrinking. He took it and put it in his left robe pocket along with his Money Bag, while his wand got the pocket on the right side all to itself. That done, he left the room, locked it, and made his way downstairs.

"Morning" Abeforth greeted him. Harry just smiled and nodded at him in greeting. He'd been rather shocked to hear that Professor Dumbledore had a brother, but he could see the resemblance, especially in the eyes. Harry learned that Aberforth worked at the Leaky every other month. Once Harry had gotten over the shock he asked Aberforth not to tell anyone that Harry was staying here. He sounded offended that Harry would think Aberforth would sell him out like that, so Harry wasn't too worried on that front. It was nice to see that the pub was empty for now, though.

Harry ordered a plate of bacon and eggs for breakfast. It was, once again, bloody fantastic.

"So, you excited about Hogwarts?" Aberforth asked him

It was then that Harry realized he had no idea how to get to Hogwarts. Aberforth would know though, he reckoned. He had to. He was the Headmaster's brother, after all.

"Er... Aberforth" He started. "How do you get to Hogwarts?"

Aberforth looked at him and burst out laughing.

Harry scowled. "What?"

Aberforth sobered up slightly. "You're serious? You don't know?" Harry shook his head. "Oh, well, sorry for laughing. Thought you were pulling my leg. You get on a train. The Hogwarts Express. It's on Platform Nine and Three Quarters. You just run at the barrier between Platforms 9 and 10, and you'll get there"

Harry nodded. That sounded like something the Magical World would have. "To answer your question, yeah, I can't wait to start learning."

Aberforth grinned at him. "Good."

"Say Aberforth. Do you know any places I can get some clothes to wear? T-shirts, jeans, and the like"

Aberforth frowned. "Well there aren't any in the Alley that sell a lot of those. We mostly stick to robes. But there's a shop on the Muggle side. A supermarket they call it, I think. Yeah, it's just around the corner if you turn left from the exit of the pub."

"Thanks, and, when does Gringotts open?"

"It doesn't close. Unless there's a Goblin Rebellion"

"Goblin Rebellion?"

"Don't worry about it" Aberforth waved a hand dismissively "The last one was decades ago. You'll learn more at Hogwarts"

"Oh" Harry didn't know what else to say. Goblins rebelled? Why? Was this why the Goblin-Human relations were bad? Harry sighed, he had too many questions and not nearly enough answers.

Shrugging mentally, he bid Aberforth goodbye and made his way toward Gringotts. All his stuff was currently on him. He just needed some Pounds and he'd be fine. Okay, maybe a wallet too.

He made it to Gringotts without incident. It was still early, most shops hadn't even opened yet. He noticed that the Guards today were different than the ones he'd seen yesterday. The guards scanned him with that golden rod of theirs again. Just like last time, they didn't find anything and stepped back to bow to him.

This time Harry was expecting it and bowed back more confidently than he had previously. They were surprised again, though Harry still didn't know why.

"Why are you surprised every time I bow to you?" The Goblins looked at him but didn't say anything. "Can you answer me? Please?" He decided to add, just to be polite. He didn't fancy getting murdered by them, and they did look bloody menacing.

He still recieved no answer.

He sighed, and walked into the bank, there was no sign of anyone in the reception area except for a single Goblin, who glanced at him as he entered. Harry was so busy talking the sight of Gringotts yesterday, that he hadn't even noticed there was anyone else here. That, or Hagrid had unknowingly blocked his view.

He made his way over to the Goblin on the desk who scowled at him. Harry was slightly intimidated but that wasn't about to stop him today.

"Hello, sir." He greeted the Goblin, much to the Goblin's surprise. "I'd like to convert some of my Galleons into Muggle Pounds. Can you please tell me where I can go for that?"

It took the Goblin took a second to respond, but when he did, it was without the usual scowl "First Floor. You may take the elevator. There will be an area marked 'Currency Conversion'. You can take your galleons there or sign a form giving us permission to withdraw the required amount from your vaults"

"Got it. Thank you, sir" Harry said and walked over to the second set of doors. Just as he was about to reach out to open them, the doors opened themselves.

Harry looked back to the receptionist, a question on his lips, but the Goblin simply nodded at him politely and withdrew his hand from a buzzer like object. Harry realized that buzzer was probably a switch for opening and closing the door. He smiled at the Goblin and went in to the main lobby.

There were no humans there, so Harry's nervousness increased considerably, but he made his way to the elevator to his right in one piece.

The the elevator was larger than what Harry expected. It was a square shaped box that could comfortably fit over two dozen people in there and a lot more Goblins than that. The box itself was made of a very high quality steel- that much was obvious just by looking at it- and there were railings on the other three walls. There was also a mirror on the wall opposite the elevator door. There were no attendants in the lift though.

The buttons for the elevator were on the right side and were labelled as:

0: Main Lobby

1: Banking

2: Share Market

3: Adventurers' Guild

4: Office of the Director of Gringotts.

Harry was very curious about the Adventurers' Guild. He'd always wanted an adventure, but now wasn't the time to go looking into those things. He pressed the button for 'Banking' and waited for the elevator to take him there.

Upon reaching, Harry saw that there were several cubicles to his left and onward, with potted plants and benches to his right. He rightly assumed that the design would be mirrored if he were to exit from the left. There were humans and Goblins both working in this department- much to Harry's surprise. The floor was massive. There were chandeliers hanging from the ceiling here too. The chandeliers had a different design but they gave off the same type of light. Almost everyone poked their head out their cubicles, but seeing just a kid, went back to work again.

That was only too okay for Harry, who wandered his way over to the back of the back of the floor where he'd seen a sign declaring Currency Conversion in golden colors.

There were counters with a glass window on it behind which the attendants were sitting. These attendants, however, were humans not Goblins. He chose to go to the one directly in his path. The attendant behind the glass was young, in her early twenties probably, with dark brown hair, and black eyes.

"Good morning. Welcome to Gringotts. Can you tell me why you're here?" She asked him in a polite voice with a kind smile.

Harry almost asked her if she'd forgotten which department she was working in, but then he remembered he was just a kid. Instead he said "Good morning, ma'am. I'm here to convert a few Galleons into muggle Pounds"

The woman raised an eyebrow at him, clearly not believing him. God, he was so tired of people not believing him.

"What's your name, dear?" She asked.

Harry sighed. No time like the present to drop a proverbial bombshell on someone. He pushed his hair aside so that his scar was on display. He even rubbed it to prove he wasn't some dumb kid playing a prank. The woman's eyes went wide and her mouth fell open "I'm Harry Potter"

She swallowed and gave him a small rectangular piece of parchment with a glowing golden square on it. "Place your finger here" She said, indicating the square.

He complied and felt the pulse of magic. Ink became visible on the parchment, and started forming letters on it. His name, his age and his vault number became visible on it.

"W-wow, er..." The woman stammered, clearly in shock. He hadn't expected his name to have this effect on people.

Harry decided to take pity on her and asked "Could you help me convert some galleons into muggle pounds?"

She started and hastily nodded. She got out of her seat and went into an office behind her. She came out soon after with two forms and passed him the one on top.

"Just fill out the amount of pounds you'd like. If it's a large amount, then sign the second form. Would you like a quill or a pen?"

Harry blinked. A quill!? What was this? The middle ages? He chose a pen and she gave it to him. Harry thanked her and decided to withdraw 500 pounds. He wrote down the amount and gave her the form.

She looked it over and gave him the second form, which he was expecting her to do. He read it over, and found that it was an exact copy of the form he'd gotten yesterday, except this one was asking for permission to withdraw 100 galleons instead of 170.

He signed it and handed it to her. She looked both forms over now. "Well, it looks like it's all in order. I'll be back soon" She said, and left to go to the office at the back.

She came back 5 minutes later with ten fifty pound notes that she passed to him. "All done, Mr. Potter. And have a nice day"

Harry nodded as he put the notes into his other pocket "Thank you ma'am. And you too"

She smiled and waved at him as he left to go to the elevator. He pressed the button to the Main Lobby and very quickly made his way out of the Bank, all the while avoiding the horde of people that had now accumulated in the lobby.

He got quite a few curious stares from the people, both in and out of the bank, as he made his way to the Leaky. Thankfully, no one called him out, even though he did hear quite a few gasps as he walked by.

He entered and exited the Leaky as quietly as he could and started walking down the London streets. It was about 8 in the morning now and there were many people walking up and down the streets, talking on their flip phones- Harry wanted to get himself one of those- or reading the paper, while the rest just enjoyed the morning breeze. He followed the directions Aberforth had given him and soon found himself facing a Muggle supermarket. It was a lot like the ones in Little Whinging. Huge glass doors that automatically opened whenever one got too close and huge glass windows that allowed you to see unrestricted into the shop. After the day he'd had yesterday, it was nice to be in familiar surroundings for now. Sighing, he walked into the store.

About three hours later Harry entered his room at the Leaky Cauldron, completely exhausted. He had three bags worth of supplies currently resting in his trunk, which apparently had a fixed weight when shrunk, and so, wasn't all that heavy.

He took the trunk out of his pocket along with his wand to revert it back to it's original size. He did so at the foot of the bed.

He only had 127 pounds left from the original 500. He'd be the first to admit that he'd gotten a little carried away, but shopping was fun if you could find whatever it is that you wanted.

And, boy did he find things.

He had a total haul of 4 trousers, 7 jeans, 13 t-shirts, and 3 jackets. He also bought himself a wallet, a toothbrush and a new wristwatch, since his old one had stopped working in the store.

He hoped he would be able to fit everything in his trunk, though. He wasn't too worried- the trunk Hagrid had chosen for him had the best extension charms of all the models- but still. This was the first time he'd owned anything and he didn't want to leave anything behind. Hell he couldn't leave anything behind. Where would he keep it? He was homeless now.

Shaking his head off the thought he decided to wait till lunchtime by reading his school books. Specifically, Magical Theory by Albert Waffling. From the title it seemed like a book Harry would need to read to understand how to do Magic with a wand.

Two hours later, his head was spinning with all that he'd learned. He'd devoured half the book within the two hours he'd spent reading. And, he found the book extremely interesting.

He'd managed to do the Wand-Lighting Charm (Lumos) on his first try and he was bloody proud of it. It was an easy spell, regularly used by children to get used to the feeling of magic. But the one he'd produced nearly blinded him. The reason for that was that he'd put a shit ton of power into it. His second charm: The Wand-Light Extinguishing Charm (Nox) had been perfectly executed. Since then he'd learned to control the amount light the wand tip gave off. He was also able to take it a step further by detaching the orb of light from the wand and have it stay at a place or float around in the air. Nox extinguished that as well.

There were also Power levels for Humans as a whole species which he learned about

There was Muggle/Squib which meant you couldn't do magic at all. A Squib was someone who had a magical parent or ancestor(s), but couldn't do any magic.

Then there was Witch/Wizard also known as Mage. They were the ones who could do magic.

Lastly, there was Warlock. Magic was easier for them, and they were said to be capable of near impossible feats of Magic. There was a noticeable difference between the spellwork of a Fully Trained (Hogwarts Graduate) average Warlock and a Fully Trained (Again, Hogwarts Graduate) average Mage. Warlocks were rare though. Only a Handful were born each generation

But just because someone was a Warlock didn't make them brilliant by themselves. They had to work just as hard to acheive their best selves. They also had their own struggles with too much power. You couldn't just rely on Power and ignore skill. That would turn you into a failiure.

A Mage could become a Warlock, if they worked hard enough. It was rare, but it happened. Basically if you trained your magic like a muscle for long enough, it would adapt and evolve. It was a very personal and somewhat spiritual jorney, though, and it couldn't be taught, you had to figure it out yourself. The last person to have completed this process was Gellert Grindelwald (The Dark Lord before Voldemort. Professor Dumbledore defeated him).

What really interested him, however, was the chapter on the type of magic Harry could do: Wandless Magic, it was called. Harry had snorted at the 'clever' naming choice. His amusement however was short-lived.

Wandless Magic was a separate branch of Magic. It was impossible to cast with a wand. Just like it was impossible to cast spells without a Wand. It was an almost forgotten branch because fewer and fewer people were capable and/or talented enough to do it with every new generation. In fact there were only a handful of people in the last 700 years who could: Albus Dumbledore (No surprise there), Gellert Grindelwald, Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel (Two very accomplished Alchemists who were rumored to have created The Philosopher's Stone- a stone that gave the Elixir of Life, which caused you to be immortal if you drink it regularly- before their disappearence some 630 years ago), Credence Barebone (Harry had no idea who that was. And there wasn't much information on him. Just that he was an obscurial- He had no idea what that was either), Voldemort (No introductions needed), Newt Scamander (Yes, the author of the Fantastic Beasts book), and Sirius Black (Widely hailed as one of the four heroes of the British Wizarding War, Sirius Black was said to have been the most capable practitioner of wandless magic who wasn't a Warlock. He disappeared on Halloween 1980. The night Voldemort was vanquished. No one knew what happened to him). And now, Harry. Though no one knew that he could yet, and he was still contemplating whether or not he should hide it...

Anyway, Wandless Magic was fluid and free. It depended on the intent of the caster. It could do what the caster wanted- within a limit, of course- and it needed no incantation, only raw magical power, and a powerful enough intent.

The problem was that chanelling this energy was... difficult. More so for non-Warlocks. It was quickly being forgotten because there were no more books or any learning materials about it. And people just preffered a wand nowadays.

'The Wand' had been invented by Richard Ollivander III in 356 A.D (He had to bring out the History textbook for this one). It was for personal use only, though. In 382 A.D however his son had opened Ollivander's (Yes the very same one that Harry had gotten his wand from, though the shop had been relocated a lot, especially during the middle ages when Mages were being hunted), and the sales had been nothing short of astounding. Everyone wanted a wand. It was created during a time when the amount of wizards that had been able to channel magic was rapidly declining.

A wand acted as a medium. Let the magic flow into it, and it would do the work for you, provided you gave it the required trigger for the action. The trigger being the correct wand movement and incantation. Most spells were derived from Wandless Magic.

But, where Wandless Magic was fluid and free, Magic with a Wand was fixed and rigid. The incantation was a must. The wand movement however was a different story. You still needed one to act as part of the trigger. But, eventually, with a lot of practice you could, apparently, cast the most complex spells with a single flick, or a jab, or a wave of your wand. Whichever was easier. There were some exceptions to this, but you could reduce their wand movements from 12 or 14 moves to, say 3 or 4.

This, too, wasn't something that could be taught. This was something that could only be achieved through your own skill. On your own. So, as long as you could do magic and were willing to do the work, you could achieve this level of ease.

And Harry really wanted to do just that.

He didn't know if he was a Warlock or not, but there was a test you could do, and Harry was planning on getting that done himself.

Harry's stomach chose that moment to give a loud growl. It had been doing that a lot in the past few minutes so Harry decided he better go have some lunch.

Besides he knew why he was suddenly so hesitant to leave his room.

After lunch he was thinking about going to Gringotts. He wanted to see what was in the Trunk his parents had left him. But he wasn't sure if he was emotionally ready for it. He also knew that his curiosity would probably eat him alive if he didn't go soon.

Which was why, after a quick lunch, Harry found himself being scanned by the Goblin Guards from this morning. They stepped back and bowed to him after they didn't find anything and, for once, weren't too surprised when he bowed back. Though he did see that they were pleased.

Harry entered the reception area, there were two witches talking to each other, who stopped when the door opened. They looked at him but, thankfully, didn't recognize him, as they couldn't see his scar from where they were standing.

He inclined his head politely to greet the Goblin receptionist who responded in kind and pressed the button to the door, which started opening. This time the two women did gawk at him, but he quickly made his way into the lobby and to an unoccupied teller.

"Good afternoon" He greeted the Goblin "I am Harry Potter" he said in a low voice. "I would like to visit my vault" he also made sure to hand the Goblin his Vault Key which Harry had taken from his trunk.

The Goblin inspected the Key and told him to go wait by the door at the end of the Lobby which housed the lift that took you down to the vaults.

His Guide this time was Griphook again. Harry made sure to give him the usual greeting he gave Goblins. He was again surprised, but this time Harry wanted some answers.

Harry waited till Griphook led him do the Circular platform and muttered the usual phrase in Gobledegook. Again, it hissed and started moving downward.

"Griphook, may I ask you a question?"

"Of course, Mr. Potter"

"Why do you guys act so surprised every time I bow to you? Or I dunno, greet you politely?"

Griphook sighed. "That has a long story attached to it. I assume you know that Goblins and Humans don't get along?" At Harry's nod, he continued "Well, there are a lot of reasons for it. Most Humans are generally greedy. More so, than us Goblins, even. Before the invention of The Wand, Magic was distributed freely. Everyone could learn whatever they wanted. Humans could learn Goblin smithing, or Elven Magic and we could learn theirs. We helped and supported each other. Then Richard Ollivander's son started selling wands. He was a prejudiced man, though. And he only made them, such that, any creature other than a Human, couldn't use them. No one knows how to create one that works otherwise. He started spreading rumors that Humans were the superior race, since only they could use a wand, and even though it wasn't true, humans believed him. They started demanding we pay them for sharing land with them. The elves decided to rebel, but, a Dark wizard cursed all the elves with a very powerful wand. Some say the existence of that wand is but a rumor, but I don't think so. The elves were bound to serve humans for as long as they lived. These new creatures are called house-elves. The Dark Wizard was killed soon after by another Human, but the curse hasn't lifted. The Wizard's death gave us Goblins the courage to 'rebel'" He spat the word out like an insult, as they walked away from the platform and towards the cart. "And that is why us Goblins wage wars with your kind. And the reason we are surprised by your behavior, is that you seem to treat us like an equal. We are not used to that kind of treatment, especially not from one so young. Albus Dumbledore and a few of his friends are the some of the wizards who treat us with respect. The purebloods look down on us or ignore us. The rest are so scared they can't form sentences in our presence."

"Can you blame them?" Harry quipped, before slapping himself mentally.

Thankfully, Griphook only chuckled at his joke. "No. I really can't" Harry couldn't help but feel like he'd dodged a bullet. No need to start a war just because he couldn't control his tongue.

An hour later, Harry was sitting on his bed, facing the fireplace, his parents trunk in front of him. The trunk itself was rather small and very light. He wasn't able to shrink it but he did manage to bring it up without much hassle. The trunk was dark brown in color, and was completely bare of decorations except for a design of a stag's head on the top of the trunk and a lily flower between it's antlers.

He'd been staring at it for the past half hour. Ever since he'd gotten back. His mind was at war with itself. One part was telling him to open while the other urged him to wait. His inclination was to follow the former part, and he'd just managed to convince himself that whatever was in there would only help him.

To open the trunk, you had to put some of your blood on the Lily flower. Harry had already done that, and, much to his surprise, the stag and lily glowed a beautiful golden and the trunk gave a hiss. Griphook told him he could now open it whenever or wherever he wanted.

So, Harry did. The first thing he noticed in the trunk, was an envelope with the words 'For Harry Potter's eyes only' resting on a neatly folded fabric of some sort

He assumed this to be a letter from his parents and decided to read it after he'd finished looking through the trunk. He took out the envelope and set it aside.

Harry reached out to touch the fabric and softly gasped at how smooth it was. It was like touching water, though he knew the material was made of some kind of silk. He noticed that it was a cloak now that he'd unfolded it and had it in his hands. He didn't know if this was significant in some way. Whether Magical parents gave one to their children at a certain age or something, but he was grateful to have it.

Placing it on the other side, he peered into the trunk again. This time, there were two books facing him. Both of them were copies of the same book: Standard Book of Spells (Year 7).

Furrowing his brow, he grabbed the one on the right. He opened it and would have dripped it in surprise, if every muscle in his body body hadn't just been frozen.

This book is the property of James Potter were the words written on the title page of the book. Harry blinked away the sudden sting of tears he felt behind his eyes and turned the page. It told him that there were spells on the last few pages of the book that were created and/or modified by James himself. He turned to the denoted page and found that there were indeed spells and their descriptions. He didn't dare try any though. These were pointers for Transfiguration. And it sounded Incredibly complex. He couldn't understand any of the sentences, so he decided to put this book aside and take out the other one.

This one was his mother's. The tears he'd been holding back while reading his father's book threatened to break out now. But he held them back and opened the book. Again, it told him to open it to the last few pages. This time, however, the spells were charms. Charms weren't nearly as complex as to perform as Transfiguration. He would try a few of his Mum's spells later, he reckoned.

The book had the instructions for several charms. Levicorpus hung the target upside down by their ankle, the counter-charm for it was Liberacorpus. Both were to be performed silently only. Harry didn't known how to perform those type of spells though, so he opened the index page hoping there would be a section on it. And there was.

Silent or non-verbal spells were performed by thinking the incantation in your mind. It was taught in Year 7, though students were encouraged to try their hand at it in previous years, as well.

Just thinking it wouldn't do it though. You had to mean it. You had to mean to cast the spell. That was required for any spell, verbal or non-verbal, but, it was emphasized here, so Harry assumed you had to really mean it.

Vowing to try to learn Silent Magic, Harry put his mother's book aside and took the envelope. He quickly opened it and took out the letter inside.

Dearest Harry,

Hi. This is Mum. We're writing this with a dicta-quill, so it'll just write down what we're saying in our respective handwriting. So, if you see another one, it's your Dad's.

I'll confess, neither of us have any idea what to say. As, I'm speaking, you're snoring soundly in your sleep. Not an hour ago, you were crawling after Padfoot. It's hard to think all of that could just... go away.

We don't even know when you're reading this. Maybe you're 10, just gone down to your trust vault, only minutes ago. Or maybe youre 17, and Sirius has spoiled you so much, you never had to go down there until now. Or maybe you're married with kids and just stumbled upon this.

What we do know is that if you're reading this, that means we didn't make it. We weren't there. There to raise you, or support you, or watch you fall and get up again. Or give you girl advice, James!! Sorry, sorry!

But, basically, yeah. We weren't there to tell you all those things. So that's why we're writing this letter. It's the best thing we can think of right now. Lily and I pray every day that you do not have to read this. But we have no control over fate. All we can do, is be the best parents we can.

And that is what we will do. We are in hiding now. But Voldemort has been able to find others before, so... yeah.

The reason we're writing this, Harry, is because we want you to know that we love you. Very much.

Know that, whatever happens, we would be proud of you. Unless you decided to be a Dark Lord. James. Fleamont. Potter!

Jokes aside, though, your mother's right. We love you and we're proud of you. Always remember that Harry.

We've left you a few things in the trunk. If you're anything like me, you've already looked through the trunk before reading the letter. But just in case you haven't...

We've left two copies of The Standard Book of Spells (Year 7). It has a section for Year 7 students to write down spells created/modified by the students. Those are our copies, as you will see. James' copy is filled with Transfiguration, since that was his best and favorite subject. Mine has loads of Charms that would help you in a duel, or household chores, or to just have a laugh.

There's also a piece of family history in there, kiddo. The Cloak is not just any high quality cloak, it's an Invisibility cloak, though I found there's a bit more to it than just that. I've explained my theory in my journals, which are in the main Potter Family Vault (No access till 17, if you didn't know). But for now, use it to have fun.

If you're still young and haven't started Hogwarts yet, then remember to have fun, try out for Quidditch if you like, play pranks if you want-Dumbledore's really lenient about that. Don't forget to study, but don't drown yourself in it, either. Make friends and hang out with them. But most importantly, find someone to love. Someone who gets and understands you, not some dumb bimbo. Oh, for the love of... you see what I have to deal with everyday, Harry? Oi!

Anyway, your baby self has woken up now, Harry, so I guess I should wrap this up. James has gone to get him- you- now. Do consider his advice, though, Harry. He really is a great dad. He may not have put it the best way- that's just who he is, and I love him for it- but his advice is sound.

With Love,

Lily and James!!

Harry's tears had started falling long ago, and this time he made no effort to stop them. After he was done reading he put the letter aside and curled up into a ball. Eventually he started sobbing, softly. No one else was on this floor, something Harry was greatful for, because he didn't know how long he sat there crying for.

This was proof. Proof that they were real and that they loved him, and each other. Proof that they would have loved him, had Voldemort decided not to kill them. They would have been proud of him. Maybe he would have had a sibling, or two, as well.

But he would never have that life now.

It was far too late for that.

A/N 2: So.. Another chapter done. I was gonna upload this yesterday, but it was too long for me to finish.

Thanks for reading this far and I hope you liked it. If you did please leave a review.

The Harry vs Vernon scene was something I thought of like an hour ago, so I apologize if the writing seems... off. Or if the scene itself is too weird. It was basically Harry's "too much power" moment.

I hope you understood my take on Wandless Magic. It's kinda like The Force from Star Wars, except... well, more.

I also hope you understood everything about the different power levels. It's a little confusing but basically I'm trying a blend of the canon magic and the fanon magical core trope. If you didn't, you can let me know in a PM or a review, and I'll adress it in the A/N for the next chpaer.

I apologize if there are any grammatical errors, but I don't really have a beta and I proof read this on my own.

Next chapter is the one I've been looking forward to writing the most. I hope I can do a good job of it, but I can't go too overboard since the characters are only 10 and kinda shy at first :(

Byee!!