'Wonderful' thought Harry as he stared blankly into the reflection 'of all the people I could end up looking like when I look like shit I look like Tom Marvolo fucking Riddle. God, please kill me now' Harry rinsed the blood off his face and out of his eyes and hair. He grabbed a towel and quickly dried himself. He felt hungry, but knew that walking outside would be disastrous without a good concealment job on his face. 'So' he ask himself 'What is the best way to not be noticed? Why of course be noticed!' Harry whipped out his wand and pointed it at his head. He mumbled some words and smiled as his hair became a very, very, blue. He made one eye pink and the other gold, before laughing at himself. His laugh must have carried into the shop, because Spencer came rushing in pale faced and scared. He looked at Harry sternly and Harry met his glare, before both started to laugh hysterically.
"It – suits you – well - Harry!" he managed to say between giggling fits. Harry placed his wand back into his pocket and walked with Spencer out into the main store.
"I'll be back later, Spencer. If I'm not, I probably found a very attractive young woman to spend my time with. She'll probably have green hair and orange eyes, but hey, who needs conformity?" Spencer smirked and waved as Harry left the store, entering the bustling street. He strode silently to Gringotts and exited ten minutes later with a small bag of a couple galleons and some sickles and knuts. He thought about where to go, and decided to go with something that he knew well. Harry made his way through the crowd to the Leaky Cauldron Pub and walked up to the barkeep.
"Tom, can I get a butterbeer, and how about some soup, anything you have is fine." Tom looked at him for a moment.
"Oh. Sure Mr. P---"
"White! Mr. White."
"Righ', jus' take any table yeh pleeze Mr. White. Yeh'r drink'll be wit ya in a flash." Harry smiled vaguely and took a table in a dark corner. He rested for only a minute before a large stein of butterbeer and a remarkably large bowl of soup were placed carefully in front of him.
"Thank you Tom."
"My pleazure" he stated before retreating into the lunch crowd. Harry sipped his butterbeer first, and immediately felt the warmth run lively again through his body. He sighed in relief, such as one would who has had the weight of the world lifted from them forever. Harry was surprised at how quickly he chugged down half of the stein and turn to his soup.
Whatever it was, it did not look appetizing. It was green and lumpy, and in the very dim light of the pub it looked a bit like mud. Actually it looked identical to mud. Harry, would not have tried it had he not known of the illusions of the magical world. Sure enough, it was the best green split pea soup he had ever tasted. It was creamy, chunky, soft, and had a decent amount of ham as well. It went down easy and seemed to warm him all over. It was as if the gateway to hell had opened up from a distance, and he was basking in the warmth. Harry, tried as he would, but could not remember ever tasting soup remotely as good as this. It was heaven in a bowl, and a huge bowl at that. In spite of it, Harry finished it too quickly, and was left full to the brim, yet begging for more, metaphorically speaking. Harry gulped down the rest of his butterbeer, letting the warmth gradually find its way back to his fingers and toes. He made his way up to the bar.
"Oi! Tom how much?" He yelled over the loud rumbling of voices.
"Four sickles, and seven knuts!" came an answer. Harry reached into his dragon-hide bag and left five sickles on the bar. He yelled to Tom a thank you before he left, and he went back into Diagon Alley.
Harry didn't feel like returning to Flourish and Blotts just yet so he wandered around, glancing into windows. His spirits lifted a little when he saw that his Firebolt was still dominating the front display of Quality Quidditch Supplies. Harry restocked his personal store of parchments, quills and ink before finding himself back in front of the bookstore. He smiled mischievously that he wasn't bothered by anyone. It was like he was the same magnet as everyone else, pushing them all away……"
"Look at this freak!" Said a very familiar and cold voice. The laughs of two large and stupid boys were audible as well. "Turn you trash, and let me see your face."
"Even if I didn't know you Malfoy, I wouldn't oblige. Go do some Death Eater fun with your father. And when you see him again, ask him for me, how blood tastes." Harry took a step to Flourish and Blotts but was spun forcefully and was now facing Draco Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle.
"What did you say Potter?" Said Malfoy threateningly. Obviously everyone was fearful. Few people ever could stand up to the Malfoys, who were known to be ruthless in everything.
"Fuck yourself Draco, but then again a twisted fag like you may actually enjoy it." Harry somehow, contained his anger, well, for the present moment of course. Draco took a long while to respond. His face turning almost as red as the Weasleys' hair. Because of the lack of response, even Crabbe and Goyle were looking at Draco questioningly.
"Kill him" he muttered so only the four of them could hear. Obviously not too smart, both Crabbe and Goyle swung at his head from different sides with different arms. The rage in Harry was uncontrollable. He stepped back quickly, just before the two bulky fists collided with each other. There was a howl of pain and the loud cracking of bones on both parts. Harry focused his anger on Draco who was now standing alone, facing a blue haired, pink and golden eyed Harry Potter. Suddenly, the colors returned to normal, black hair and green eyes. Harry's eyes flickered with wrath, and began to glow a bit like Rudolph's nose. The rest was a blur, no body could tell what order it happened in, but in the end, Draco Malfoy was a six foot long ferret, wearing robes that had somehow caught fire while flying back forty feet into the solid stone walls of Gringotts Wizarding Bank. The force of the impact set off an alarm and twenty wizards with wands drawn appeared from thin air.
They spotted the Ferret and allowed it to writhe in it's smoldering robes awhile before letting it out of the flames, and putting it in a conjured cage. The man who was obviously in command swung his wand and muttered some words. A ghost outline of the ferret in it's robes appeared, and moved backwards as the stunned into silence crowd watched again in slow motion. The ghost figure hit the wall and flew at Harry. They landed softly in front of him as a ghost of Draco Malfoy. Harry noticed that when the magic was done to him, the ghostly white changed colors. The ghost froze, before going through the same processes of hitting the wall and falling on the floor in flames. The entire alley was still in silence, so even the quietest talking amongst the security wizards was heard.
"Whas goin' on, boss?" one of the younger wizards asked, apparently confused as much as anyone else.
"Dis heya is de problem. We gots three differen' spells, right?" The young one grunted in agreement. The "Boss" held up his finger, pointing it up at the sky. "But, BUT, dey wasn't usin' no wands, see?" The young one nodded. "Which means we gots three powaful wizards about, who don't need no wand. Ya hear?" All the other security guards nodded and joined the conversation, after they had investigated the area. The boss's head popped up suddenly. "Hey anee body seen who did this here magic?" No one said anything, but all eyes turn to Harry, who unfortunately was looking like Harry, in the middle of a crowded street with thousands of eyes on him. He very slowly raised his hand.
"George! By Willy! I thought I'd neva. It's Harry Potter!" Said a red-haired middle aged man. The boss looked like he had won the Wizard Lottery, but quickly composed himself in his best artificial business like manner. He strode over to a now scared and embarrassed Harry, stumbling more than Neville ever could. Once he arrived in front of Harry, he seemed to have forgotten what to say he turned and looked around a few times, but nothing came to mind, so he faced Harry again.
"Hello Mr. Potter." He cleared his throat. "Whatcha raise yer hand fer?"
"Uhhhhh, you asked if anyone saw the, you know…" Harry motioned to Draco's cage "And I, I, I think that, I, well, maybetheonewhodidit." He spat out before he ran out of breath. To his surprise the man began to chuckle.
"You, one boy, do all three things without a wand, I doubt that." Harry was beginning to loose his nerve. This wasn't supposed to go this way. He was supposed to be punished jailed, scolded, told off, or escorted away. He was not supposed to be laughed at for telling the truth.
"Perhaps you would like a first person demonstration" Harry said in the lowest, most threatening voice he could muster. He braced himself for more laughter, but realized that George had backed up, staring wide eyed at Harry, like he was Voldemort himself. 'That was a mistake,' were the only words that could enter Harry's head as George backed away. He turned and began handing out orders.
"Take de ferret to St. Mungos to be retransformed. Pack up de stuff, we's goin' now." The twenty guards prepared to apperate.
"Wait!" Yelled Harry from across the square. "Don't I go to a trial, prison something! Expulsion? What's going on?"
"No mate," said an unnamed guard "that's for the ministry. We only take care of criminals in Gringotts. You wasn't breaking in, we can't touch you. Nice to meet you Mr. Potter." They all disappeared with small pops, and all eyes went to Harry. Not only was it the raw display of magic that startled them. This fifteen year old boy managed, though Harry didn't know it, to scare the bejesus out of the most fearless Security Captain Gringotts' ever had. And that was an accomplishment. Harry felt his face turn red in humiliation. He had let Dumbledore down, he had failed to control himself. So he fucked Malfoy up a bit. That was nothing, compared to the consequence. 'Maybe I need anger management classes' he thought slowly, as if worried his anger would take over again. He walked into Flourish and Blotts and fell into a chair in the back of the store.
"What happened?" asked Spencer as the James boy stocked one of the upper shelves nearby. James peered down interestedly. Spencer once again looked concerned, but unfazed.
"Doesn't matter what I say. It'll be smeared all over the front page of the Daily Prophet tomorrow. There'll probably be a sub-section describing the healthy color and texture of my shit. Goddamn it, why can't I be normal. Why can't I just be average?" Spencer didn't respond, and James had lost his curiosity. 'But you can' the little voice in Harry's head shouted 'You're not special wiht the Dursley's, in the muggle world, are you? No, there you'll be safe and hidden from the prying eyes of the wizarding world.'
"Shut up!" he yelled, earning him a shocked look from James, who almost fell off his ladder, and more of a sympathetic look from Spencer. "Spencer. I'm sorry about my behavior today, but it is not entirely my fault. I'm going home now, don't pay me for today either. I'll be here tomorrow." Harry walked over to the barrel by the fireplace, and pulled out a pinch of powder. He threw it in and shouted "the Dursleys" before he disappeared and tumbled out of the fireplace at number 4 Privet Drive.
"I've been waiting for you Harry." Harry jumped to his feet and pulled out his wand pointing it at the intruder, who was sitting quite comfortably on the sofa in the living room.
"Professor Dumbledore!"
"Yes Harry, I have some matters to discuss with you." The stress on the you alerted Vernon and Dudley that now would be a good time to leave the room, which they did with surprisingly little hostility. "I was informed yesterday of your employment, and from the way you look, I will bravely guess it did not go well. Yes, before you start I did receive your owl and came to see you about it, but I am getting the feeling there is something else." Harry felt his eyes go straight to the floor.
"Yes sir." When no response came, Harry knew he was to continue. "Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle cornered me. Crabbe and Goyle neutralized themselves. I was angry, Malfoy actually told them to kill me. I felt it go through me, but I don't know what it was. I was too angry to care. Honestly, I have no idea why I did it. Years of suppressed rage towards him, Voldemort ordering the killing Cedric, Pettigrew betraying my parents. I, I, I lashed out. I'm not clear on everything, but he became a large ferret, and his robes lit on fire. He flew back into Gringotts, and the security wizards came. The guy in charge, George, I think, asked if anyone knew anything. I raised my hand, and he came to talk to me. I told him I did it and he laughed at me. I got mad again. I, I don't know what I did, but he became scared and they left. I was tired and came home." All of the shame and guilt began to settle, and Harry felt it's wait. He didn't know why, but he began to cry. "I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have done it. It was wrong, but, it was like I lost all control. It just happened. I tried to stop it, but it didn't work." Harry was now crying openly, and he made no attempt to hide his tears. "And, and after the attack, I went to the bathroom and I looked just like Him, Just like Riddle. It scared me. I don't want to be like him. I don't want to look like him." Harry continued his tears and sobs, and felt arms go around him. He knew he should feel awkward about Dumbledore holding him while he cried, but he cared little for such formalities. It was a while before Harry could bring himself to actually pull away from the friendly embrace. Dumbledore was uncharacteristically happy. Harry supposed he never had a son to cry on him. Typical, Dumbledore always finding the joys of life in every aspect.
"Some say tears cleanse the soul." Dumbledore said warmly.
"Then I guess my soul's pretty clean, huh?" Harry smiled a little, it felt good to get it out.
"Harry, I don't want to make this sound like a test, but when Tom was your age, he had some violent outbursts as well. He regretted it, as you have, but he was never able to express his regret. That is what separates you from him. You can let out your emotions, and that is why I am no longer worried, that you may take the same road as him. At least not nearly as far." He smiled warmly. Harry knew it made him feel good. Maybe it was a fatherly smile, it sure as hell could be. "Harry, about your job, I think you should take a few days off. I know Hermione has invited you to stay with her for a few days…"
"What?" Harry asked, perplexed by this statement. "Hermione didn't invite me anywhere."
"Are you sure Harry?"
"I think I would recall if Hermione asked me to go somewhere." He said thoughtfully. Dumbledore sighed.
"This is worse than I thought Harry. It is now clear to me that your post is being read by unwanted eyes. This changes everything. I can prevent this from happening with Hedwig, but it would limit all of your letters to just Hedwig. That would limit your flexibility greatly, but I have solution, if you are willing. I can produce a pair of Speak-O-Graphs for us." He got and uneasy look in his eye, and he made sure Harry caught on.
"What are Speak-O-Graphs?" said Harry, playing into the role.
"They are similar to the muggle contraptions hand-held radios. However it is a secure voice connection between only the two Speak-O-Graphs. You cannot connect to anyone else's other than it's twin."
"Oh. Then what's the problem?" The uneasy look returned to Dumbledore's face.
"It requires the use of one of your fingernails, as well as mine. The entire fingernail, in one piece. And they can be quite painful to…remove." Harry sat down while contemplating the new twist of events.
"So, you're asking if I'm willing to give a fingernail, the entire fingernail, to have and everlasting secure way of communicating with you, whenever, wherever. Is that it?"
"Put simply yes, but I do not want you to be pushed into any more pain than absolutely necessary. That is why I am loathe to suggest it, but it is an option, and in these times we need to consider all of our options."
"And what are the others?"
"Those two are the only one's I can conceive of without in-depth research, and they are the only two I can take care of now, and here. I do not like it, but those are our choices. What do you suggest?" Harry stared down at his feet and hands, closely examining his hands.
"I hope I can find a good manicurist, lets do them. Both of them." Dumbledore let out a deep breath and pulled out his wand. He looked into space for a second.
"Harry, hold onto your chair. I'm not going to lie, this will hurt a lot. Which finger?" Harry examined both hands for a few long seconds.
"Left hand, ring finger."
"Right, I'm sorry Harry. Make a fist it will help, just leave that finger sticking out." Harry banished all doubt, and placed the lone finger on the armrest of the chair. "Here we go…"Harry took in one long breath and held it as Dumbledore pointed his wand and shouted "Accio." Harry felt his whole finger and body jolt under the effect of the spell, and it was slow and torturous, as the fingernail was torn from the flesh, and flew into Dumbledore's outstretched hand. He winced as the pain set in. He watched in disgust as his blood slowly escaped the bare flesh. Dumbledore made to bandage it but Harry waved him off, afraid to open his mouth because he was shore a scream was just waiting to be let out. Showing pain in front of the Dursleys would be another bad thing to do.
He focused on the pain, and the growing amount of blood seeping slowly out of the open wound. Harry didn't know how, but even more painfully, a new fingernail appeared and grew out of the finger until it covered the entire wound left by the other nail. His jaw was still clenched tightly, as he touched the new nail gingerly. There was a sharp and unwelcome pain, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it had been.
"Let out your breath Harry, you're changing colors" Harry reluctantly agreed, and let it out. He was panting, but surprisingly felt fine, as long as he didn't touch anything with his newly grown fingernail. Dumbledore had watched the entire event with great interest. "You shouldn't push yourself so hard so soon. You are only beginning to develop magically. You must pace yourself Harry. Do you feel at all drained or tired?"
"No. Not at all. I actually feel pretty damn good. Your turn, though isn't it?"
"I do not need to rip mine out though. I can control it on my own. Watch closely, you'll be able to do this someday." Harry watched, awestruck, as Dumbledore's nail grew very quickly, and fell out, the new nail already in place. "Mmmm, haven't done that in a while. It does ache rather much. Alas, the disadvantages of aging" Dumbledore winked. The fingernails were placed next to each other. The aged Headmaster swished his wand methodically, while muttering words under his breath. It was amazing to watch the nails merge and explode in a bright red flash. "Harry, go into the next room. Just touch your new fingernail. It is a toggle, on off. Then just talk normally." Harry couldn't suppress his excitement as he ran into the kitchen. He touched his ring fingernail on his left hand and winced slightly at the pain.
"Hello?" Harry said timidly.
"Harry, so good to hear from you." Dumbledore's voice sounded in his head. It was loud and clear.
"This is really weird. I like it. You can call me too at need, right?"
"If necessary, I can, the same way you called me. Now, try to cut the connection."
"Yes sir." Harry braced and touched his fingernail again and marched back into the living room.
"Harry, If I could just conceal Hedwig, before I go. I must be on my way soon."
"Right," Harry sprinted up to his room and grabbed Hedwig's cage. He jogged back down with her hooting indignantly. "Sorry girl, it's for the best." He said lightheartedly as her cage swung drastically in his hand. Dumbledore stroked her gently behind her head, and muttered more indistinctive words. She nibbled Dumbledore's finger affectionately, jumped on top of her cage, and flew it back up to Harry's room. "Thank you, professor."
"Harry, stray not too far from home or work. I want you to relax a few days before you return to work. Take it easy, and keep alert. Good Bye." He took a box out of his pocket and opened it revealing a small muggle candy.
"Good bye sir." Dumbledore touched the candy and disappeared. Harry slumped over in disappointment. He had enjoyed his headmaster's company, and he had so many questions yet to ask. What was going to happen at Azkaban? What did Hermione try to invite him to? What did Dumbledore mean this was the beginning of his magical development? He had already developed a lot, hadn't he? He was strong enough to produce a Patronus. Doesn't that count for something? Harry trudged sulkily up to his room. 'Damn' he thought 'now I have to stay home. Can't think of anything else more boring.'
'What about if you couldn't use magic. That would be worse, would it not' His brain argued.
'True' he shook his head sadly, 'too true.'
