Chapter 2 "Leads to Another"
A/N: Okay, I'm not going into huge detail in the some parts of the story simply because I'd be rehashing material you already know (such as the trip in Diagon Alley and the arrival at the school before the Sorting Ceremony). The scene in Ollvianders is the same, however I will emphasize that Harry DOES NOT meet Malfoy in Diagon Alley (because due to the Harry receiving his letter earlier he is in Diagon Alley on a different day than Malfoy), and Dumbledore's letter gives Harry most of the answers to his "interesting history" and the basics of the wizarding world such as how to get into Diagon, money conversions, what an owl does, and how to get onto Platform 9 ¾ as well as a password to get into his money vault at Gringotts.
Harry awoke the next morning, shocked first of all to find himself still on top of Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon's bed. Everything came back in a rush however with one glance at the paper still clutched in his hand, green ink made moist and staining his sweating palms form clenching it so tight.
Stretching, Harry got up and proceeded downstairs.
Upon reaching the kitchen, Harry was somewhat pleased to see the looks of apprehension on his aunt and uncle's sleep deprived faces.
"Boy, we need to have a talk…"
"Okay," Harry said, false cheerfully, sitting down at the table across from the couple. "What about?"
Vernon looked strained as if he were doing something he felt was the worst choice of his life, but there was a slight smile as if he were still hoping on playing an ace up his sleeve "I believe you received, a, um, a letter yesterday regarding going to a – a school."
Harry nodded.
"We have decided that we will allow you to go…"
Harry couldn't help breaking into a smile.
"IF!" Vernon added, "If, you pay for everything yourself. Every last book."
Vernon looked satisfied, confident that this limitation would prevent Harry from going, as Harry had never received pocket money in his life, much less enough for school supplies.
Vernon however had forgotten what exactly Dumbledore's letter had said.
Harry nodded. "Okay then. Can one of you drop me off in London then? I believe I need to find a place called Diagon Alley."
Harry had firmly decided he loved being a wizard if nothing more but the fact that his aunt and uncle seemed terrified of him and were more than willing to take him to London. Probably they were petrified that Harry may have another outburst as he had the day before, but with more disastrous results than a sore back and broken table.
The letter from Dumbledore proved to be the most valuable piece of information Harry had ever been given. It gave a general explanation of many of the things Harry would have been lost without. After being dropped off, he quickly found The Leaky Cauldron and following the instructions made it into Diagon Alley. From there he went to Gringotts and presented his letter to what he assumed to be a goblin (as the letter told him to do). Half an hour later, he emerged with his pockets full of wizarding money.
His next stop was to the post office to owl his response.
Going from shop to shop, Harry couldn't help but stare at all that he saw. No letter could prepare him for all that he this, or people's reactions when they saw him.
However, as he browsed through everything he began to realize that there were a few things he didn't understand. Trying to figure out how to remedy this problem he decided to try his luck at the bookstore. As the clerk helped him collect his school items, he gave it a shot.
"Erm, I was raised by Muggles," he rushed feeling his face turning red even as he spoke. "Are there any books I could buy to help me, I dunno, fit in a bit better?"
"This outta' do it," the clerk said dumping an additional book onto Harry's pile, Why Is My Child Calling Me a Muggle?. "It's really for parents but it outta' 'elp," the clerk explained.
A few hours later, Harry was picked back up by Vernon and rode home, his newly purchased trunk loaded with supplies, wand clutched protectively in his hand, and book propped open in his lap.
His car ride to King's Cross was similar, with the exception of Dudley, sitting as far away from Harry as humanly possible in the back seat. This didn't bother Harry at all, who was quite pleased with this development as it gave him breathing room from his cousin's wide girth.
The moment the car stopped Harry rushed out, impatiently waiting for his uncle to unload his trunk. As soon as it was on the trolley, he took off.
"Good-bye, Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon! See you this summer!" he called over his shoulder.
He didn't stop until he reached Platforms Nine and Ten. Of course both his letter from Dumbledore and the book he bought told him what he needed to do but the prospect of running strait into a wall wasn't exactly appealing. What if it didn't let him in and he had to call the Dursley's and tell them it had all been a mistake? That thought was almost unbearable.
Glancing at the clock he saw that he had a little less than a quarter hour.
Now or never, he thought steeling himself.
Starting at a run he barreled toward the wall. Faster now, the trolley was out of control, he couldn't stop as his brain screamed at him he was going to crash. Gritting his teeth he waited for the impact…
That never came.
He opened his eyes and stared once more in wonderment.
A scarlet steam engine was waiting, and a few students were standing around with their parents or friends talking and laughing. Hearing a faint whoosh, he turned around to find another student had just (quite literally) fallen through the wall behind him, her trunk spilling a few books and other items across the ground. Steadying herself she looked up at Harry and smiled.
"You would think you could lean against a bloody wall without falling through it," she stated, good-humoredly, as she began to collect her things.
Harry helped her pick up her things, although she had already collected most of it. Picking up what appeared to be a deck of cards he jumped when the jester moved on the cover.
The girl laughed. "Not used to wizarding decks?" she asked.
Harry shook his head, as he handed it back to the girl. She took it with one hand and extended the other, which he noticed both of her hands were wrapped in black dragon hide gloves, the fingers and thumbs cut off.
"I'm Thunder."
"Harry," he said taking the girl's hand.
She looked at him quizzically with her brown eyes and looked on the verge of asking something when a voice called.
"Oh Rose, are you okay?"
Thunder rolled her eyes.
"Mama, I'm fine…"
But the lady continued talking brushing off the girl's shirt.
"I tried to come in right after you, and it was obvious you tripped, but this family of Muggles came up and if I had followed you they would have seen me and gotten suspicious. Where is your headband?" she asked suddenly stern.
Thunder, or Rose, reached sheepishly into her pocket and pulled out a silver headband and put it into her short hair. Her hair was probably her only truly odd feature. It had been cut so short Harry doubted that her sandy locks were as long as his. They stuck up as if gelled.
"You'll be sure to remember to wear that at school, right?" her mother demanded.
"Yes, ma'am," she sighed, but then cheering up reached up and gave her mother a hug and kiss. "I love you. I'll see you at Christmas."
"I love you too. Please, try to stay out of trouble."
"I won't be in trouble if I don't get caught."
"Rose…"
"Mama, you'll be late for your meeting," Rose said beginning to lose patience and climbing onto the nearby car signaling to Harry to come with her in just a moment.
"One last hug!" which the mother took, reminding her daughter to write as soon as she got to school.
"I will. Love you."
"Bye, Rosey!" she called before reentering the Muggle world through the wall.
Rose flushed red at the name, but waved.
As soon as she was gone Rose ripped out the head band and turned Harry.
"Sorry, 'bout that. She's mental about me leaving for school, only child and all. Come on, we can get a compartment together," she extended a fingerless-gloved hand to Harry, who took it and entered the train. After settling, which consisted of Harry sitting down and Rose/Thunder pulling out her worn cards out of a pocket and begin shuffling them in her hands, she continued. "My full name is Rose Thunder Moon. That's why Mama kept calling me Rose back there, but I prefer Thunder. What about you? Harry your first name or middle?"
"First, my full name is Harry James Potter."
The cards stopped mid-shuffle.
"The Harry Potter?"
Harry could feel a slight blush rising. "Um, yea."
"Well, then I guess that explains that," she said indicating his lightening scar.
It was a bit awkquard for a few moments before Thunder broke the silence again.
"Do you know how to play Wild Jokers Poker?" she asked beginning to shuffle the cards again.
Harry looked at her. "Where the jokers are anything you want?"
Thunder shook her head. "Not quite, this is a wizarding game. Only works with wizarding cards."
As she spoke she dealt five cards to each of them.
"Now this works better with more people, but each player gets five cards. The winning cards work the same as Muggle poker." She looked up at him, "You do know how to play Muggle poker at least right?"
Harry nodded, eager to learn. Why Is My Child Calling Me a Muggle explained Quidditch and Wizard's Chess, but not this game.
"Good. After you get your five cards you can change up to three… No not like that!"
Harry had begun to pull three cards from his hand but paused.
"Just hold the number in the corner for a second. When you get really good at it, you can do it without anyone noticing which is good for bluffing, but don't try anything funny. The cards are enchanted and if you try to cheat it makes the word "Joker" follow you around in the air for forty-eight hours. Now, if we were betting we would make first round bets now. You can change one or two cards after first round bets, and then come second round bets and show of hands. Now, neither one of us got a joker," she said lowering her hand, revealing a diamond flush creaming Harry's pair of sevens. "If you get a joker it's a wild card, but if it's red it'll change your opponents' decks after second round bets. Black will change your own. I play Twins, which means I have all four jokers in the deck. Singles is what you play when you have either a huge group or major money at stake, one black joker and one red. Got it?"
"I think so," Harry said just as the train began to start.
They played several rounds before the witch with the food cart came around, after which, Thunder insisted that they play for the candy and chocolate frog cards.
Harry declared competition unfair four hands later as Thunder laughed scooping up the loot (including the last of Harry's Bernie Bott's Beans). However it didn't really matter as Thunder told Harry to help himself to her leftover candy. They talked about the classes they were looking forward to and their families. Thunder lived alone with her mother, and claimed to be a full-blooded wizard. "No Muggles for a while going on both sides. Not that that really matters, at least in my opinion." They exchanged humorous stories of their accidental use of magic and when Harry mentioned the incident about the boa constrictor, Thunder paused again.
"You talked to it?"
"Well, yea."
"You're a parlsemouth then?"
"What's a parslemouth?"
"Someone who can talk to snakes," she deadpanned. "Not a common gift. And please don't take this the wrong way, but there are a lot of people who would kinda' freak if they knew you could do that. It's the same stupid stereotype that they give to werewolves and vampires."
"Why? What stereotype? Why would they freak?" Harry asked confused.
"Because, You-Know-Who could do it." She paused, both her constant shuffling and her voice. "The stereotype is some bloody reputation that anyone who can speak parseltounge, or is a werewolf, and some even say if their Muggle born or a Squib that something's wrong with them. It's a lot of crap."
Neither said anything for a while.
"I'm going to go change," she said.
Thunder arrived back a few moments later, dressed in her uniform and cursing her tie.
Harry helped her with it, but she had loosened it up again five minutes later.
"I think I'm going to take a nap before we get there," she announced, stretching out on the seat.
"I think we must almost be there," Harry said.
Rose looked at her watch. "Eh, probably another half hour. I guess I won't have time for a nap."
Suddenly a boy with dark brown hair stuck his head into the compartment.
"Hey, we need some more people for races, from here to the front of the train, and back to the end! Wanna play?"
Thunder grinned and stood up. "Yea, come on, Harry."
The boy smiled. "I'm Blaise."
"I'm
Thunder, this is Harry." She
paused. "Harry Potter."
"Blimey…" Blaise said starin g at Harry for a moment. Then snapping out of it he said, "Well, come
on! They're going to start without us
if we don't hurry! And I don't want to
lose just because they got a head start!"
The train arrived soon after the third race, which Harry and Thunder were still in an argument over who had won.
Together Harry, Thunder, and Blaise rode the boat across the lake and then waited until at last the Sorting Ceremony began.
(A/N: Okay, I just have a desire to point out a few random things, like you can sing the Sorting Hat song to the tune of Gilligan's Island! Go on! Sing it loud sing it proud! You're a hopeless Harry Potter geek and you know it! Also, just to point out the blatantly obvious, Harry hasn't met Hagrid, Draco, or Ron. Just so you remember! Now back to the twisted story!)
"Oh, you many not think I'm pretty,
But don't judge on what you see,
I'll eat myself if you can find
A smarter hat than me.
You can keep your bowlers black,
Your top hats sleek and tall,
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat
And I can cap them all.
There's nothing hidden in your head
The Sorting Hat can't see,
So try me on and I will tell you
Where you ought to be.
You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart;
You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true
And unafraid of toil;
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
If you've a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;
Or perhaps in Slytherin
You'll make your real friends,
Those cunning folk us any means
To achieve their ends.
So put me on! Don't be afraid!
And don't get in a flap!
You're in safe hands (though I have none)
For I'm a Thinking Cap!"
Harry waited anxiously in line, feeling that they would never call his name. What house would he be in? He had no idea, brave, ambitious, loyal, and smart didn't feel like anything he'd use to describe himself at that moment. Looking around at the decorations in the Great Hall he saw a lion, a raven, a badger, and finally a snake, where he allowed his gaze to linger a moment.
"Moon, Rose!" Professor McGonagall called.
Rose blushed. "Actually it's Thunder! Not Rose!"
The students laughed, as Rose looked out apologetically from under the hat before dropping it over her head.
It sat there for quite a while before announcing, "SLYTHERIN!"
There was applause and before Harry knew what was happening it was his turn.
"Potter, Harry!"
Whispers erupted from the tables as various students craned forward trying to get a good look at him before his eyes were covered with the hat.
"Hmm," said a small voice in his ear. "Difficult. Very difficult. Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind either. There's talent, oh my goodness, yes – and a nice thirst to prove yourself, now that's interesting. . . . So where shall I put you?"
Harry shifted on the stool. "I really don't know, I don't know anything about the houses. Just put me where you think I need to go."
"That I will do," the hat said to Harry. "I believe you will well in SLYTHERIN!"
Harry heard the last word shouted out loud and amidst loud applause joined his house table grinning as Thunder gestured to a place on the bench across from her.