Chapter 14

'Silent casting'

Saturday soon arrived and Harry and Neville had gotten ready to see their friends again, Harry had written to Gringotts to inform his account manager that he would visit the bank soon and he'd like to hear how the reconstruction of Potter Manor is going. Harry received a letter informing him that the reconstruction has been finished and they are waiting for him to set up the wards. Augusta had refused to let Harry go to Diagon Alley wearing the clothes his relatives gave him, she was not happy to hear all his clothes used to belong to his cousin. Neville had given Harry some of his robes to wear, once they were ready Augusta took hold of the two boys hands, knowing what was coming Harry prepared himself as they apparated to the Leaky Cauldron.

All three arrived at the apparition point and Harry almost fell but Augusta caught him, Neville chuckled but said "Don't worry Harry, you'll get use to it after a while and it'll be easier when you start apparating."

They had given a quick greeting to Tom the barkeep before heading for the entrance to Diagon Alley, once they entered, Harry thought they were going to head straight for the bank but instead Augusta led Harry to Madam Malkin's shop. Augusta had insisted that Harry would need new robes, she made sure his new robes had resizing charms on them so he wouldn't outgrow them. When they were done Harry and Neville now had their school robes and Harry was wearing new casual robes.

The three soon left for the bank, Augusta had reminded them to be polite to the goblins, she informed the teller about Harry's appointment and soon another Goblin came to lead them to Barchoke. Augusta insisted that Harry should go alone since this was family business and if he had any questions, he can ask them later. Harry thanked Griphook for taking the time to escort him to his account manager. Once they arrived at the office Harry knocked and was told to enter, inside he met Barchoke again.

Barchoke greeted "Good morning Harry, right on time." Harry returned the greeting and bowed before Barchoke continued "We have finished reconstructing the manor, now all that's left is for you to set up the wards, please grab onto this."

Barchoke pulled out a chain, Harry asked "What's that?"

Barchoke answered "This is a goblin portkey, it has a phrase that activates it and will take us to the manor, the difference between these and the ones the ministry uses is that these have been modified so regular anti portkey wards can't stop them. Please take hold of it." Harry grabbed the chain and Barchoke spoke "Potter Manor."

Suddenly Harry felt a pull behind his navel and he was sent into a tunnel of wind, soon they stopped and Harry fell to the ground, Barchoke landed without a problem. Once Harry stood up he followed Barchoke as they followed a dirt road, Barchoke explained they were already on the property but one of the wards they set up was that the house can't be seen by anyone so they needed to get close enough to enter that ward. Harry looked around at the land and trees he owned, he wondered if he could set up a garden there.

Harry felt as if he walked through something before hearing Barchoke say "Heir Potter, welcome to Potter Manor."

Harry looked up and was amazed at the building in front of him, a three-story building stood before them and Harry asked "How many rooms does it have?"

Barchoke smiled and answered "A three story manor with twelve bedrooms, nine bathrooms, two study rooms, two sitting rooms, a dueling room, a dining room, a dining hall, large kitchen, a library, and four storage rooms, all standing on four hundred acres."

Harry was left speechless, while the manor wasn't that different from Longbottom Manor, he felt amazed when he realized he owned this. Barchoke spoke up "Follow me Harry, we have the ward stone ready in the basement for you to set up."

Harry followed Barchoke into the manor and inside he noticed while there was some furniture and decorations it was mostly empty, Barchoke noticed Harry was looking around and said "Almost everything was lost when Potter Manor was destroyed and the dark lord burned it to the ground, this was everything James had agreed to add to the manor when we talked about rebuilding it."

Harry thought of something and asked "Barchoke I wanted to ask, do you know how the wards failed the first time?"

"That is something we are trying to figure out, when we examined the remains of the old ward stone we found that it had been destroyed by someone, whoever did it destroyed it using a potion since their magic shouldn't have been able to destroy it so easily."

This gave Harry more questions than answers, who could have destroyed the ward stone? What potion did they use? Why didn't the wards warn his grandparents someone entered the manor? Harry wondered if he'd ever find the answers to these questions.

Harry walked down into the basement and in the back there was a room that was covered in different symbols he didn't understand, Barchoke opened the door and inside he saw the ward stone, it was covered in what he assumed were runes but he had no idea what any of it meant. The ward stone was in the middle of a circle of runes, Barchoke spoke "You will need to place your hands on the stone while I activate it and the wards surrounding the area should be activated, since you will be recognized as the owner of the manor and the land then they will not affect you."

Harry walked forward and entered the circle, he felt like his magic was being drawn to the stone, Barchoke walked with him and told Harry which runes he needed to place his hands on. Once Harry was ready Barchoke began to speak but Harry didn't understand what he was saying, he guessed he must be speaking in his own language. Barchoke began walking around the stone and started to tap different runes and they started to light up, one by one Harry saw the runes light up and the circle around them began to glow. Harry felt a pull on his magic but he didn't feel it was anything dangerous, once Barchoke touched the last rune the stone started to glow, Harry felt a good chunk of his magic vanish and he felt the manor shake for a moment before everything calmed down.

Barchoke spoke "You can take your hands off the stone now."

Harry stepped back and he felt tired, Barchoke pulled out a book from his pocket, Harry guessed his pocket was expanded to hold more since the book was pretty big. Barchoke walked to the other end of the room and Harry saw a podium was there, Barchoke placed the book down and said "Now that the wards are set up they will keep everyone out except for you, this book is connected to the wards so if you enter someone's name then they can enter the manor, now we need to set up the fidelius ward."

Harry asked "I was wondering, what's the difference between the fidelius charm and the ward?"

Barchoke explained "While the fidelius charm can be cast by someone, if they are powerful enough, the secret keeper can't be in the area since the charm will slowly fall until it eventually collapses, the charm is meant to hide a property or people but it can't be used to hide the person keeping the secret. The fidelius ward is meant to absorb the magic around the area which will keep the ward repaired so even if the secret keeper is living here the wards will not fail."

Harry sounded amazed by this, he asked "How many have gotten a fidelius ward set up on their home?"

"Other than you there's only one other family that has it, I can't tell you which family, most choose to have their wards set up by the ministry and the few who come to us usually already have a list of wards they'd like so they don't know what else we can offer."

Barchoke pulled out a piece of parchment and a potion and said "Everything else has already been set up, all that's left is for you to become the secret keeper."

Barchoke told Harry where the location of Potter Manor was before pulling out a quill for Harry to write the location. Barchoke told Harry to add his magic to the quill as he writes, once Harry started to write he felt pain on the back of his hand and Harry saw it was being written in his blood. Barchoke explained what a blood quill was and it was needed for the ward, Harry finished writing everything down before Barchoke dragged his finger across the back of Harry's hand and healed the wound.

Once Barchoke was ready he pulled out a potion and held the parchment over it, Harry heard him start to mutter something and slowly he saw the parchment was falling apart and falling into the potion. Once the parchment was gone Barchoke swirled the potion around before stopping, reaching into his pocket he pulled out a vial and poured half of the potion into one. He handed one potion to Harry and said "Don't drink it yet."

Walking over to the circle on the floor Barchoke poured out the potion and Harry saw it start to flow around the circle. Once the potion completely covered the circle Barchoke said "Drink it now."

Harry listened and drank the potion, the potion was tasteless, once Harry drank the whole thing he felt as if his body absorbed the potion and spread it around him, the circle glowed brighter than before and Harry thought he felt the manor shake. The glow began to die down before fading completely and Harry felt a bit light headed but thankfully it went away. Barchoke spoke "The fidelius ward has been set up, right now even I don't know where Potter Manor is. If you ever want to invite anyone you'll first need to tell them the location then you must write their name in the book."

Harry felt relieved knowing the manor was well protected in case the worst happens, Harry walked over and wrote Barchoke's name in the book then told him the location. Harry saw a look of realization on his face as he remembered the location, Harry also decided to add Neville and Augusta's name to the book since he intended to tell them the location. Harry bowed and thanked Barchoke for everything he'd done, the two had left the room but Barchoke stopped Harry as they needed to set up one last security.

Facing the door to the room with the ward stone, Barchoke gave Harry a knife and told him to cut his palm and place it on the door, this will create a blood ward so only Harry can enter the room. Harry did what he was told and once he placed his hand on the door he saw the runes turn red with his blood before vanishing, he felt how the door was now protected. Barchoke walked to the left side of the door and tapped three bricks and Harry saw the wall shift and cover the door, to everyone it looked like a normal wall, Harry again thanked Barchoke for all he's done, Harry didn't want to risk something happening to the ward stone, especially after he heard what happened to his grandparents. The two left the property and once they were past the wards they used the same chain to return to Gringotts. Once they returned Harry had gone down to his vault to take out the money he'd need for their shopping, he took extra in case he'd need it. Harry had asked about the third vault but was told that he isn't allowed to access the vault until he's older, with that done he returned to the lobby where Neville and Augusta were waiting for him.

Looking at the time the three decided to return to the Leaky Cauldron for a late breakfast, as the three walked back to the pub Harry noticed a familiar head of blond hair and when he pointed it out to Neville the two saw it was Draco and an older man who Augusta explained was his father, Lucius. They noticed they left Quality Quidditch Supplies, they watched them for a while until they turned to go down an alley called Knockturn Alley. Augusta told Harry to never go there since Knockturn Alley was mostly full of sketchy people trying to buy or sell dark or illegal items. Augusta said that while most likely Malfoy was doing something shady he's too smart to let himself get caught so they avoided them and went to the pub. The three started to eat and Harry decided to tell them the location of Potter Manor and how he added their names to the book to let them in. For now Harry didn't see a need to go to Potter Manor since he'd be there by himself, maybe in the future if something happens he'll be there more often.

The time came for their friends to meet and Harry noticed the first person to show up was Sally-Anne, the fireplace turned green and she showed up with an older woman. Sally-Anne saw Neville and Harry and happily greeted them before introducing them to her mother, Christina. Neville and Harry greeted the blond woman, soon the fireplace turned green again and Harry saw Susan and Hannah arrived with an older woman who looked familiar until Harry realized she had a close resemblance to Susan. Susan and Hannah happily greeted the two boys, Hannah's greeting to Neville seemed more cheerful, the woman then introduced herself as Amelia Bones and she was Susan's aunt.

Amelia and Augusta started to talk and Harry learnt Amelia was the head of the DMLE, the two girls were asking Harry and Neville about their summer when the fireplace turned green again and out stepped Ron. Ron looked around before spotting Harry and Neville and rushing over to greet them, he was followed by Fred and George, Percy was next, then an older man who was slightly balding, finally a little girl and Molly showed up.

Ron greeted "Harry, Neville, I'm glad to see you again!"

Sally-Anne cleared her throat and Ron seemed to realize the girls were there before greeting them too, Fred and George greeted them too while Percy gave a simple greeting, soon the older man approached and said "It's a pleasure to meet you two, my name is Arthur Weasley, my sons have told me plenty about the two of you."

Harry noticed Arthur glanced up at his scar for a moment, Harry barely had time to return the greeting before he was suddenly pulled into a tight hug by Molly. Molly spoke "It's wonderful to see you again Harry!"

Harry tensed at the hug, while he's gotten used to Hermione's hugs, he wasn't use to other people touching him. Neville noticed this and since he knew how Harry was treated by his relatives he quickly approached and said "Nice to meet you Mrs. Weasley, Ron's told me so much about you!"

Thankfully, it worked and Molly let go of Harry to greet Neville, Harry stepped back and calmed down before greeting the rest of the Weasley family. He noticed the little girl was standing a bit farther back and Harry realized she must be Ron's sister. Harry smiled and held his hand out and said "It's nice to meet you Ginny, my name is Harry, thank you for the gloves you sent me for Christmas."

Ginny's face turned as red as her hair before standing behind her mum, Fred spoke up "She's been wanting to meet her hero."

George continued "We couldn't get her to stop talking about it."

Ginny became mad and yelled "Shut up!"

Molly spoke up "Boys don't pick on your sister!"

Molly seemed to give Ginny a push towards Harry, she couldn't meet Harry's eyes but she tried to speak "H-"

"Harry!"

Another voice cut her off, Harry turned and saw a rushing Hermione coming towards him, the moment he saw her a smile appeared on his face before Hermione wrapped Harry in a tight hug. Harry returned the hug before Hermione started speaking "I've missed you, I hope your summer hasn't been too bad, I was worried something might have happened, I'm glad Neville let you stay with him, how are you feeling?!"

Harry chuckled before saying "I'm ok Hermione, my summer wasn't too bad, Neville and his gran have taken good care of me, I've missed you too."

Hermione finally let go before turning to greet Neville and the others, she didn't notice the look of shock on Ginny and Molly's face before Molly seemed to frown. Five people approached and Harry heard another familiar voice say "I'm here too."

Harry looked over and saw Fay with four adults. Fay smiled and greeted Harry while Hermione finished greeting everyone, Hermione turned back and said "Oh Harry, I want you to meet my parents."

The woman approached and said "My name is Emma Granger, this is my husband Daniel."

Harry extended his hand and said "It's nice to meet you Mrs. Granger."

Emma shook her head and said "None of that Mrs. Granger stuff, please call me Emma."

She shook Harry's hand before Daniel approached and crossed his arms, he had a stern look on his face and spoke "You can call me Mr. Granger."

Harry felt a bit nervous at seeing the look Mr. Granger was giving him, however Emma elbowed her husband and said "Dan!"

Harry noticed Daniel's lips twitch as he tried to keep his stern look before a smile appeared and he said "Come on Emma, our daughter finally introduced a boy to us, I should get to play the tough dad at least once."

Emma gave her husband a look before he nodded and turned to Harry and with a smile said "You can call me Daniel or Dan, it's nice to finally meet the boy my daughter can't stop talking about."

Hermione's face turned red as she said "Dad!"

While Harry and Dan shook hands Fay tried not to laugh at Hermione, she decided to save her and say "Harry these are my parents, Ella and Jacob."

Harry greeted the two, he noticed that Jacob had the same eyes as Fay but he looked tired and he had a few visible scars, Ella on the other hand seemed more cheerful and while she did have a scar below her right eye it wasn't that bad. Once everyone was ready they left the Leaky Cauldron to get to their shopping, they decided to get most of their shopping out of the way first since they heard there was a book signing happening soon and many of them wanted to be there to meet Gilderoy Lockhart. Hermione was shocked to find out Gilderoy Lockhart was going to be there and looked excited, Augusta and Amelia on the other hand looked disappointed and considered skipping it.

While the Weasley parents and Ginny went to Gringotts Harry had gone with the rest of his friends to get the rest of their supplies, Augusta had taken Harry to have the extra compartment added to his trunk and more runes were added to keep potions under a stasis charm. Harry decided to look at the different options that could be added to their trunk since he had time, Harry saw with magic they could turn a trunk into a house if he paid enough money, while he considered the idea he decided not to in the end. The group of friends had restocked their potions supplies and were heading for another shop when they heard a voice call out "Mr. Potter, Mr. Longbottom, may I have a moment of your time?"

Looking over they saw Ollivander was standing outside of his shop, walking over they greeted the wand maker as he invited them into his shop. Ollivander turned to Neville and asked "How has the new wand been treating you Mr. Longbottom?"

Neville smiled and answered "It's been amazing, I don't feel like I have to force my magic anymore and I feel like this wand understands what I'm trying to do, I really love my new wand!"

Ollivander smiled, it always brought him joy to hear how much people love the wands he sold them, Ollivander spoke "I'm happy to hear that Mr. Longbottom, you have a good friend in Mr. Potter for going out of his way to help you."

Neville patted Harry on his back and said "I know, I'm glad I have a best friend like him."

Ollivander nodded and said "Speaking of, Mr. Potter, you did not have to give me so much to bring Mr. Longbottom his wand, I would have done it even if you had just paid the regular price for a wand. Since you had paid so much please allow me to do this."

Ollivander went to the back of his shop where they heard a bunch of stuff being moved around, soon Ollivander came back and he was carrying a few small packages and handed one to each of the students. Ollivander explained "In each of these I have placed a wand holster you can strap to your arm and a proper wand care kit."

The kids were amazed by this, Harry tried to say "Mr. Ollivander, this is too much, we can't-"

Ollivander cut him off "Nonsense Mr. Potter, I have heard from Professor McGonagall about your training and having a wand holster will come in handy, I still expect great things from you Mr. Potter, you and your friends, so please allow me to help you with that."

Harry could see Mr. Ollivander wouldn't take the gifts back and his friends all seemed excited so Harry and his friends thanked the wand maker before they continued with their shopping. The group of friends continued to browse different shops and it wasn't until Harry and Ron were busy admiring the new Nimbus 2001 in Quality Quidditch Supplies that Ginny and her parents caught up to them. Harry felt tempted to buy the new broom, with the money in his vault he could afford it, however he reminded himself that McGonagall had bought him his broom with her own money so Harry decided against buying the new broom. Hermione and Neville eventually managed to get Harry out of the shop while Fay and Sally-Anne were dragging Ron away from some Chudley Cannons merchandise, soon the group of friends left the shop.

Since they still had some time before the book signing Harry suggested they'd all get ice cream at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, while the adults sat at one table the kids sat at their own. Ginny didn't get to join since Molly took her to get her own wand, once they all had their own ice cream Harry started to tell his friends about Dobby stealing his letters and the warning he gave him. Hermione looked horrified when Harry mentioned the abuse Dobby was going through and said "That's horrible! How could someone treat him like that, why doesn't Dobby just leave them?"

Neville answered "House elves like to serve a family they are bonded with, many families always treat their house elves as part of the family and love them as one but some families see them as nothing more than a creature meant to serve them."

Hermione spoke "It's still horrible, it's nothing but slavery, they should be set free!"

Neville and Susan glanced at each other, they were the only ones of their friends that owned a house elf so they silently agreed not to tell Hermione they had one until she understood more about elves. Thankfully Harry spoke up "Since Dobby said something was going to happen at Hogwarts this year we've decided to keep an eye out for what might happen, we're going to tell the teachers about the warning we got so they can keep an eye out too, hopefully whatever is going to happen it can be stopped before anything bad happens."

They all agreed and started to wonder what might happen, after a while Ginny and Molly came to join them. Hermione greeted Ginny and invited her to sit with them, once Ginny sat down and got her own ice cream the friends started to talk about what they might expect for their new school year. Ginny had mostly stayed quiet but the few times she did talk she glanced over at Harry and spoke in a quiet voice, whenever she was quiet she mostly watched Harry. Fay and Sally-Anne were whispering between each other before Fay smiled and nodded, turning to her other side she whispered to Harry "Hey Harry, I know Hermione really likes the ice cream you have, why don't you offer her a bite?"

Hermione was talking with Susan about her aunt's job when she felt Harry tap her shoulder and say "Hey Hermione, do you want to try my ice cream?"

Looking over Hermione saw Harry was holding up a spoon of ice cream for her, Hermione's eyes widened and her cheeks turned pink, she looked over and glared at Fay and Sally-Anne who were looking too innocent. When Sally-Anne had visited during the summer the two girls got Hermione to admit she had a crush on Harry and while they agreed they wouldn't tell Harry, that didn't mean they couldn't try and give the two a push while also teasing them. Seeing Harry was still offering his ice cream Hermione leaned in and ate the ice cream and thanked Harry. Hermione again glared at her two friends who wore wide smiles on their faces, unknown to her Ginny was glaring at Hermione. Once they were all done with their ice creams they saw the time and realized the book signing would start soon.

Arriving at the shop they saw how crowded it was but the kids were able to move closer while the adults had to catch up, Harry heard Fred and George joke about how their mum fancied Lockhart, they managed to get to the front where Harry saw there were reporters there taking pictures of Lockhart. Harry saw Lockhart was smiling for the cameras and seemed to love the attention, he saw how his clothes looked brand new and just as Augusta said he looked too clean to have done everything he claimed he did. Harry looked at Neville and from the look on his face it seemed he agreed however when he turned to Hermione he noticed how she seemed to be admiring Lockhart, for some reason it annoyed Harry.

"I don't believe it, it's the Harry Potter!"

Harry was surprised and faced forward to see Lockhart was staring right at him, he started to approach and Harry started to step back to get away however he felt one of the reporters shove him towards Lockhart. When he was close enough Lockhart grabbed onto Harry with a tight grip and turned him towards the crowd and said "When Harry Potter came here today he hoped to buy my newest book, I've gotten so many letters from him saying how huge of a fan he was!"

Many cameras flashed and blinded Harry, he tried to say "I ne-"

Lockhart cut him off "However he didn't know not only was I going to give him signed copies of all my books but he was also getting me! Starting September first I will be the new defense against the dark arts teacher!"

The crowd seemed to go wild at that announcement as Harry tried to get Lockhart to let go of him, he didn't want to be there anymore. Suddenly Harry had several books shoved into his hands before Lockhart finally let him go, as the crowd approached and started to ask questions Harry used that chance to get away. Harry tried to calm himself down, however he was disturbed when he heard "Bet you liked that didn't you Potter!"

Harry recognized that voice and groaned as he saw Draco Malfoy, Malfoy continued "You must love having all that attention, can't go anywhere without a crowd going wild for you, you just have to be the center of attention!"

"Leave him alone!"

Ginny appeared and glared at Malfoy, Malfoy looked at her before saying "What's this Potter, did you get tired of your other girlfriend and decide to get a better one? Although I doubt you can say a Weasley is better, she's just as filthy as the rest of her family."

Ginny's anger grew at that comment, Harry saw the smug look Malfoy was giving her so he spoke up "At least I can get a girlfriend, and cute ones at that, tell me Malfoy, is daddy going to need to pay someone to tolerate you enough to be your girlfriend?"

Malfoy's face turned to anger as he faced Harry, Harry didn't notice Ginny's face looked shocked before it turned bright red. Malfoy yelled "Shut it Scarhead!"

Harry smiled at seeing how angry Malfoy was, it looked like Malfoy was about to reach for his wand but was stopped when he felt a hand on his shoulder and said "Draco, this is not the proper way to act."

Harry saw the older man he believed was Draco's dad, the man turned to Harry and said "Lucius Malfoy, it's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Potter."

Harry placed the books down before facing Lucius, he decided to do the polite thing and shake his hand however Lucius pulled him closer and said "You shouldn't hide your scar." He moved Harry's hair to show his scar, he continued "It's quite a famous scar, almost as famous as the wizard who gave it to you, you should show it with pride."

Harry spoke "Voldemort was a coward!"

Some flinched at the name before Lucius spoke "You aren't afraid to say his name, you clearly don't know the greatness that was the dark lord."

Harry stepped back and glared before saying "Funny, for a man who claims to have been controlled by him you do seem to talk highly about him, I would imagine after being controlled by him you'd dedicate your life to destroying everything he stood for and cursing his name."

Lucius eye's narrowed at Harry, however they were interrupted when two women showed up, Augusta spoke "Hello Lucius."

Amelia continued "I hope you aren't causing trouble here."

Lucius spoke "I would do no such thing." Lucius noticed Arthur showed up to stand by Ginny, Lucius decided to say "Arthur, I'm surprised to see you're here, I would've imagined you were off raiding another proud family's home."

Lucius reached and grabbed a book from Ginny's cauldron, examining the book Lucius said "All that extra work and the ministry is still paying you so poorly, did you have to sell that shed you call a home just to afford these battered and worn-out books?"

Arthur glared at Lucius but before he could say anything Hermione joined them and stood next to Harry, Lucius looked at her and a look of disgust appeared before saying "You must be the Ms. Granger I've heard so much about, those must be your parents over there."

Many turned to where he was gesturing and saw Dan and Emma were looking through a few books, turning back they saw Lucius put the book back in Ginny's cauldron before he continued "It's a shame to see how much the wizarding world has fallen now that they're allowing you and your kind here."

Harry glared and said "It's a shame that some people think blood status is more important while they lack knowledge and skill, something you're a clear example of."

Lucius glared and said "You don't know what you're talking about Potter, I'd be careful if I were you."

Augusta and Amelia were prepared in case something happened but Lucius simply turned and said "Come Draco, we shouldn't waste our precious time with them anymore."

Draco followed his father but glared back at Harry, once the two were gone Augusta asked "Are you alright Harry, I'm sorry I couldn't help you earlier when Lockhart grabbed you, I couldn't get through the crowd."

Harry took a deep breath before saying "I'm alright Augusta."

Augusta shook her head and said "What was Albus thinking hiring Lockhart, his incompetence will cause the grades of many students to suffer."

Hermione turned to her and said "What do you mean, Professor Lockhart has done many great things, I'm sure he'll be a great teacher."

Augusta shook her head and said "Trust me Ms. Granger, you won't learn anything from those books, I bet he hasn't done even half the things he claimed he's done in those books, they won't teach you any spell and if you look closely at them and stop fantasizing about him, you'll notice how some things don't add up."

Hermione seemed troubled with the idea that the books are wrong, Harry remembered his books and picked them up before placing them in Ginny's cauldron and said "Here you can have them, I don't think I'm going to need them."

Ginny was surprised, when she looked at Harry her face immediately turned red and she looked away but managed to say "T-t-th-thanks."

Once everything calmed down they continued with their shopping, however Harry refused to buy a single book from Lockhart and Neville didn't bother getting one. Augusta had picked out books that would teach them proper spells although Hermione was conflicted that Harry and Neville weren't getting the right books. Harry looked over and saw Lockhart was done signing books and was about to leave, Harry frowned at Lockhart but then looked around to make sure no one was watching him, once Harry knew no one was watching he kept his arm down but pointed his hand in Lockhart's direction, 'Frictionless', Lockhart was smiling brightly for the cameras but when he took a step he let out a yell as he suddenly slipped. Harry smiled as he saw Lockhart fell in front of everyone and he was struggling to get up, Harry continued to search for new books to help him.

When they were all done buying their new books they returned to the Leaky Cauldron where they had to say their goodbyes, the first to leave were Sally-Anne and her mother. Fay thanked Hermione for letting her stay with her and hugged her before leaving with her parents, as they left though Harry did notice when Ella's hair shifted slightly she had what looked like claw marks on her back. Susan and Hannah said their goodbyes before leaving with Amelia. Hermione had to leave but before she did she hugged Harry again and said "I'll see you on the Hogwarts express!"

Harry smiled, he hugged her back and said "Definitely!"

Dan and Emma looked at each other and smiled, Molly and Ginny didn't look happy though. Once the Grangers were gone it was time for the Weasley's to leave, Ron and his brothers said their goodbyes but then Harry turned to Ginny, he gave her a smile and said "I hope you'll enjoy your time at Hogwarts."

Ginny looked down and her face turned red but she managed to mumble a thanks before following her parents to the fireplace. With their shopping done Neville and Harry took hold of Augusta's hands as she apparated them back to Longbottom Manor, once they were back Augusta took out everything from her pocket and changed them back to their right size. Augusta helped the two boys pack all their stuff and she made sure Harry packed all his potions in the new compartment, once they were done Augusta decided to let the two boys have some fun so she let them use the dueling room. Harry and Neville looked excited and grabbed their wands, Augusta joined them in the dueling room and watched as the two boys showed her how much they've learned.

Please comment and let me know what you thought of the chapter.