The wind ruffled through his hair as he flew over Privet drive. Harry felt nearly overwhelmed with the sense of elatedness that comes with the heady rush of freedom. Ah! This is the life! No annoying Malfoys, no annoying reporters and most importantly-no Dursleys! After flying a few quick laps over the area, Harry felt it was time to put the third phase of his plan into action.
The only problem was he hadn't exactly decided on what it should be.
Well, really the first thing Harry needed to do was take care of his finances. It was difficult to do anything without money, which meant a visit to Gringotts and its goblins. Harry made sure his invisible cloak was wrapped tightly around himself and his broom. If Muggles didn't take too well to seeing a flying car, then they certainly wouldn't care to see a person on a flying broom.
Harry leaned forward on the broom and zoomed across the housing district. The wind whipped his face and tears stung in his eyes, but Harry welcomed it as a fresh change over being cooped up in his bedroom with only Hedwig for company. The time flew past him as quickly as he flew himself. Harry had not noticed any sort of passing length of time when he finally reached the Leaky Cauldron.
Still wearing his invisibility cloak, Harry made his way through the wizarding pub and entered Diagon Alley. Diagon Alley seemed a bit empty because of the absence of the regular hustle-bustle created by eager students returning from a Holiday or months at school. Maybe it was because most of the times he had been there was when students flocked to Diagon Alley.
Diagon Alley seemed very different from what Harry was used to. It seemed so much more spacious and so much more orderly. It was amazing how a bunch of school kids could make even the most orderly of places look unruly.
Harry pulled his cloak off, tucked it into the knapsack he had strapped to the broom's handle, rested the broom against his shoulder, and trudged towards Gringotts. Harry made sure that his hair covered his scar. The few people he passed barely glanced at him.
Without the bustle of people to surround the area, the wizarding bank seemed ominous to Harry. The imposing stone structure and huge iron gates seemed ancient and foreboding. This was not the first time Harry had been to Gringotts by himself, but he felt awkward and vulnerable next to the bank.
Harry mentally chided himself as he entered Gringotts. There was no reason to feel so vulnerable. Harry rather suspected the only other place in the entire Wizarding world that was as safe as Hogwarts was Gringotts, if only because he had an account here. From what he could remember of Professor Binn's lectures (when he wasn't sleeping through them), goblins were nasty little creatures to take on in a fight, and Voldemort never attacked them in his last reign of terror.
Harry walked over to one of the counters and looked over the edge at the goblin.
The goblin leaned forward and looked at Harry down the length of his substantially long nos. "May I help you?" he said in a voice that could have meant the goblin had plans to do otherwise.
"Yes," Harry said softly. "I--I wish to operate my vault." Harry pulled his key out of his pocket and set it on the counter surface. He hesitated a moment, recalling the various reports of himself in the Daily Prophet. "I'm H. Potter," he said finally. The goblin said nothing in reply as he picked up the key. Harry sighed in relief. It was nice to know the only thing goblins cared about him was that he had a key to a bank vault. At least some people didn't care about him as being the savior of the world.
The goblin grunted something, possibly in gooblegook, and another goblin walked over to him, almost the same size and make as the first goblin. The two of then could have been twins. It's difficult to tell with goblins. Harry had always thought they all looked the same. One probably needed to live among them for some time to really learn the peculiarities of mannerisms that was the prime reason behind individualism.
The second goblin escorted Harry to his vault without asking Harry for its number. It was amazing how the goblin could remember Harry's particular vault from the thousands of vaults at the Bank. Harry made a mental note to remember this aspect about the amazing memories of goblins. He had read in history (or maybe he had heard it from Professor Binns when he wasn't asleep, or was it something Hermione had mentioned at one time?) about how goblins remembered ancestral feuds and if any descendent of one of their ancestral enemies were to cross paths, revenge was paid back--with interest.
Harry made a mental note to never, ever try to cheat the goblins in any way.
Harry was unsure of how much his supplies would cost, so he grabbed a several handfuls of galleons and sickles, and stuffed them into a little string bag. He drew the drawstring tight, and then looped it over his head. The heavy bag of coins rested over his sternum and made a noticeable lump, but Harry did not care. In some ways, the weight was a comforting reminder that this was his; the Dursleys could not take it from him, and even these finances his parents left were another form of freedom altogether.
Harry's first stop was at Flourish and Botts. Hermione's domain that it was, Harry needed information that he would not be able to obtain from her. He walked around the stacked rows and shelves of books. Some were fresh and crisp while others were musty and old. Glances at their titles and summery on the back or the inside of the book jacket were quick to inform Harry that a lot of the books were books with content that ranged from funny and lighthearted, to bold and daring.
He was not the only person in the bookstore, because there certainly had to be the clerk somewhere, and a male customer roamed the bookshelves as well. Harry glanced nervously at the man, who was very tall at 6'3", and had shoulder-length black hair that disappeared behind the collar of his dark, long coat. Once again, Harry felt too aware of being vulnerable. He ducked into a dark corner and pulled his invisibility cloak out of his knapsack. He propped his broom against the edge of a shelf, out of sight from anyone who would pass through the area. He would come back to it later, but it was difficult to move unhindered through the bookshelves with the broom tucked closely at his side.
Now comfortable with the knowledge that no one could see him, Harry moved quietly through the bookshelves, once more searching for the information. He was not careful of paying attention to his surroundings, so when he stepped around the corner of one particularly large stack of books, he nearly ran into the man he saw earlier. Harry jumped back and bumped against a shelf. It rocked slightly and Harry clapped a hand over his mouth to force himself silent. The man stared sharply down the aisle Harry stood in, took a step forward, and craned his neck to peer over the top of the shelves and stacks of books.
The man had a clean-shaven face, deep black eyes, and a scar that ran from his left cheek top his chin. The scar gave the man a somewhat sinister look, but there didn't seem to be any hint of danger in the man's stance or eyes. After a moment of glancing around, the man shrugged and stepped away.
Harry remained still. He watched the man thoughtfully nibbled the inside of his bottom lip before purposefully turning and strolling down the length of the aisle directly across from Harry. At the end of the aisle was a small stack of musty, old books. The man picked up a book with a red cover off the top of the stack. The man opened the book, and touched the very center of the pages with his wand. Immediately, steps emerging into the ground appeared before him. Without a glance around, the man snapped the book shut, placed it back on the stack, and hurried down the stairs.
Curious of what could lay beneath Flourish and Botts, Harry hesitated only a moment before darting after the man and down the stairs before they disappeared. Secure and safe in the cloak, Harry felt no danger as he looked around the room, which was identical to the one upstairs.
While the man disappeared around a row of bookshelves in search of something, Harry went in the other direction to look at the books. While the room was identical to the one upstairs in looks, the content was very much different.
The Salazaar Slytherin book of Snake Spells. Spying Spells IV. The Secret book of Dark Sacrifices. How to become an Animagus: do you have it in you?
Realization of where Harry was struck him like a bolt of lightening. This is the secret restricted section of Flourish and Botts! Harry looked around himself with renewed interest. He silently went after the man he followed. The man was standing where the light was best from a dim lantern that hung from the ceiling. He held a book face-level and squinted at its words in the poor light. His sleeves feel backward to reveal the back of his wrists. On the man's left wrist was a superbly detailed tattoo of a coiled black cobra. Harry took a step back. That's got to be a surefire sign of a Slytherin or the dark arts, he thought.
The man shook his head and placed the book on the shelf.
Harry shrugged the matter off. The man was searching for a text, that much was clear. Harry wandered down the aisle in search of his own reading material. For all the books of different subjects and material, Harry felt himself drawn to a single point in a shelf off to his right. The book's cover was gray. Sparkling gold letters splayed down the length of its spine, proudly proclaiming, The Complete Book of Ancient Indian Magic- by Mrityanjaya Shastri. There was an odd sort of magnetism about the book that attracted Harry. He carefully reached out and traced a fingertip over the spine. A spark of electricity seemed to leap from the book and into his finger. Harry jumped back and clasped his other hand over the arm. The spark ran down the length of his forearm and stopped at the amulet Harry wore. The metal momentarily felt as if it writhed in delight from the contact.
Harry backed away from the book, his hand still clasped around his arm. He stared at the book in wonder, and knew that he had to get it. He reached over to grab the book and froze as the sound of footsteps came to him. He twisted to see the man coming to him, and scrambled out of his path.
To Harry's dismay, the man stopped before the book of Indian Magic and grabbed it off the bookshelf. The man stared intently at the title, opened the book, and flipped through several of its pages. With a sigh of relief, he slipped it into a cloak pocket, and then walked to another pile of books.
Harry grabbed the first book he saw--101 Charms for Improving Your Kissing by Cassidy Kasanova--and crept after the man. On top of one of the shelves was a disarray of various books. The man paused to glance over them, and picked one of the books up. With his attention centered upon the book. Harry carefully reached into the man's pocket and slowly pulled out book of Indian Magic from it. His heart pounded fiercely and he held his breath to steady his shaky hands. There was a great risk involved with this; Harry didn't think the man would take to being pick-pocketed all that kindly. But the man hadn't bought the book yet, so Harry reasoned that he technically wasn't stealing anything. He replaced the book of Indian Magic with the book on kissing, and silently backed away from the man.
The man did not notice what just took place. He gently tossed back the book he was looking at and walked down the length of one of the aisles to a stack of musty books. This stack looked exactly like the stack of books the man had taken the red-covered book off and used to open the passage to this room. Sure enough, the man picked up a book identical to the red-covered book from earlier, opened it, and tapped his wand against the pages.
A flight of stairs appeared before him, heading upward into the floor of the room above. Harry shook his head at how he would never understand Wizarding architecture. He retraced his steps back to a book he noticed earlier. How to become an Animagus: do you have it in you?
With both books firmly in his grasp, Harry echoed the man's movements in opening the flight of stairs. Harry nervously emerged into the top floor of the store, hoping nobody saw the stairs opened without anyone coming up them.
Luck seemed to favor him. No one was around when the stairway disappeared behind him. Harry walked back to the corner where his Firebolt was lodged. There, he pulled it and propped it against his shoulder. He walked back to the main aisle, glanced around, and walked down its length as he walked over to the counter to pay for the books. He stopped next to a stack of books when he saw the man from earlier standing there. The man's face burned a bright red as he stared down at the book of kissing Harry had given him as the clerk cheerfully wrapped it in crinkly tan paper.
The door to Florish and Botts swung open. Harry stumbled back a step as Lucius Malfoy entered the store. The man glanced sharply at Lucius, threw some coins on the table, and grabbed the book out of the clerk's hand before it was even finished being wrapped. The man ducked his head low and hurried out of the store, avoiding Malfoy's eyes the entire time.
Lucius Malfoy glanced over his shoulder after the man, his upper lip drawn back in a sneer. With a toss of his head, Lucius headed directly to Harry. Panic filled Harry with a rush. He stumbled out of the way and froze as Lucius paused beside the stack of books Harry crouched next to. Harry held his breath and pressed a hand against his trembling mouth. After a moment, Lucius walked away. Harry carefully glanced around the stack of books in time to see Lucius' blond head bob over to where the red-covered book that led to the restricted section was located.
Deciding that discretion was the better part of valor, Harry kept his cloak on as he inched over to the clerk, who was stacking books next to the counter.
"Excuse me," Harry said softly. The clerk jumped and dropped the armful of books he held. He whipped about and glanced around.
"Wh-who's there?" the clerk demanded.
"Me," said Harry helpfully. He tried to make his voice lower and quieter, so the clerk would not rightly suspect Harry was still a student. Harry didn't think he would be able to buy the books otherwise.
The clerk scratched his head. "Who?"
"Well, I'm invisible at the moment," said Harry. "Because Mister Malfoy's here, and I don't want him to see me."
The clerk sighed and nodded. "Yes. He's that sort of man. I understand." He squinted in the direction from where Harry's voice came from. "May I help you?" he asked.
"I want to buy these two books." Harry's hand emerged from the depths of the cloak and carefully set the books down. The clerk coughed and hurried around the counter. He picked up the books and glanced through their titles. He opened the covers and glanced at the left corner, where the prices were written in neat numbers.
"This is a good selection," the clerk said as he wrote the numbers down and added them for the total. He squinted at Harry's direction. "That will be seventeen galleons."
Harry winced at the price, but he did not complain as he carefully opened the purse, which still hung from his neck, and carefully withdrew the coins he needed. He tossed the money onto the table. It clinked as it landed. The clerk nodded and began to pick the coins up. "Would you like the books wrapped?" he asked politely.
Harry shook his head no, and then realized the clerk couldn't see him. "No," he said. He reached out and picked the books up. "Thank you," he said as he gently placed them into the knapsack. He quickly left Flourish and Botts. After a quick duck into a near-by alley, Harry pulled the invisibility cloak off. He glanced carefully around and hoped Lucius would be staying in the forbidden section of books for a long time to come.
Before he returned to 4 Privet Drive, he bought a bag of food (there were a few small sacks of dried fruit, but the majority of the food was really just sweets), and some new robes, which he had trouble stuffing into his knapsack since the bag of food took up most of the room. He stopped and glanced at the brooming equipment, including the latest broom to storm the magical market-the Whirlwind 1. Harry, satisfied with his Firebolt, had a feeling that he was going to be seeing the Slytherin Quidditch team supplied with this new broom.
Weighed down with his heavy knapsack, Harry made slow progress back home. The sun was just setting, and he hoped everything was all right, and that his day's actions did not land him into trouble.