Chapter Two - Diagon Alley
By the time summer holidays began, the incident with the vanishing kid had blown over and was practically forgotten. School was done, for which Harry was glad. He'd much rather be out riding his broom or with his friends. And the fact that he could now avoid Mason and his gang was another reason to be happy. The older boys preferred staying downtown, where there was more chance for causing trouble.Ten-year-old Harry Potter made his way groggily into the kitchen where the smell of good food met his nose. He sat at the table across from Remus, who was reading the Daily Prophet. Remus lowered the paper and smiled.
"Good Morning. Or should I say afternoon?" he said. Harry grinned and stifled a yawn. He glanced at the clock on the mantel. It was already a quarter to twelve. "Afternoon, I s'pose," he said.
"After lunch, we're going to Diagon Alley. We both need some new robes and muggle clothes," Remus said.
"And the new Nimbus 2000, right?" Harry asked.
"Nice try," Remus said, as Laertes set a plate of food before him and Harry.
"Thanks Laertes," Harry said.
"Yes. Thank you, Laertes," Remus said. The little elf bowed and left the room. Harry was about to begin eating when a familiar tapping noise met his ears.
"Harry, could you get the post?" Remus asked from behind the paper. Harry stood and walked over to the window above the sink. He pushed it open and in flew a grey eagle owl. It perched itself on the back of Harry's vacated seat and extended a leg with a letter attached. Harry took the letter from it. A huge grin spread across his face as he saw that it bore the Hogwarts seal. He began to tear open the letter, but was stopped by an angry peck to his finger.
"I expect he wants a reward for delivering the letter," Remus laughed as Harry swatted the bird away from pecking him again. Harry took a box of owl treats from the cupboard and gave a few to the bird.
"Bloody thing," he muttered under his breath.
"Hogwarts letter?" Remus asked.
"Yeah," Harry said tearing it open. He pulled out the first piece of parchment and read:
Dear Mr. Potter,We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on September 1. We await your return owl by no later than July 31.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall Deputy HeadmistressHarry smiled broadly. He couldn't believe he was finally going to be going to Hogwarts. Remus had been telling him stories about it since he could remember. He passed the letter to Remus and took out the next piece of parchment. It was a list of the supplies he would need for school. After a quick look at it, he handed that too to Remus, along with the train ticket.
"I can't believe you're starting at Hogwarts already," Remus said.
"Less than two months away," Harry said and rolled his eyes when it looked like Remus was going to cry.
"Don't start that. You've still got me for seven more years," Harry reminded him.
"Lucky me," he joked, "We'll get your things in Diagon Alley today. I guess we'll be a little longer than I thought we would be."
After lunch, Harry went upstairs to shower and get dressed. Then he and Remus traveled by floo powder to Diagon Alley. Harry emerged from the fireplace, soot-covered as was customary. A quick wave of Remus' wand fixed that, though.
"First stop. Gringotts," Remus said and Harry followed him down the cobbled street and into the tall stone building. Remus presented one of the goblins with the key to his and Harry's account. He led Harry and Remus to one of the carts.
Harry always liked the wild cart ride down the winding dark paths. He always kept an eye out for dragons. He heard they were used to guard some vaults and hoped to see one. As they passed a dark cavern below, Harry stuck his head over the edge to look. Remus lightly cuffed him around the head and he pulled his head back in quickly.
"Why must you always do that?" he asked. "Sorry," he said, hiding a smirk at his father's protectiveness. He sat back and watched as the cart took various turns and forks. He had the first good many memorized, having been down so often, but there were so many that it was impossible to memorize even half of the route.
The cart slowed to a stop and the goblin got out. He opened the vault with the key and Remus took from it a fair amount of galleons. Another fast cart ride later, and they were back at the main floor of Gringotts. When they stepped back outside, the light seemed very bright after being inside the dark wizarding bank.
"We'll get your school robes first," Remus said. He and Harry walked across the street to Madam Maulkin's. A tall brown haired witch fitted Harry for his school robes while Remus picked out some casual robes for himself.
In the back of the shop was a selection of muggle clothes for witches and wizards that needed them. Harry grabbed a few pairs of loose fitting jeans and plain black, gray, and white t-shirts. He didn't wear much color, figuring he already drew enough attention in the wizarding world just being who he was. It was funny, he thought, how he could be so famous in one place and such a no one in another. In the muggle world, if you said the name Harry Potter, people would ask, 'who the hell is that?' but in the wizarding world, they lined up to shake his hand. He hated that attention, though. He was famous because Voldemort killed his parents and disappeared after. Why should that make him famous?
Remus paid for their purchase and they left the shop to go to the next for quills, parchment, and ink. Then to the next for a telescope, glass vials, and cauldron. In the apothecary, he stocked up on potion ingredients. The next shop in the row along the street was the Magical Menagerie. "I think it's time I had my own owl now, dad," Harry said, stopping at the window and looking in. "You can use Rifta," Remus said and kept walking. Rifta was the family owl. She was going on ten or eleven years and Harry was sure the far trip to Hogwarts just might do her off. He pointed this out to Remus. It wasn't very hard to talk Remus into letting him get his own owl. After no more than a minute, Remus gave in.
"Thanks," Harry said, hurrying into the shop. He walked up and down the rows of birds, looking for the best one. He had supposed he would get an owl, but when he saw the sleek black raven, he knew that was what he wanted. The bird trilled softly at him and nuzzled its beak against his fingers when he slid them in the cage. He picked up the cage and took it over to where Remus was looking at an amber barn owl. "I found one," Harry said. Remus turned to see and frowned at the bird.
"A Raven?" he said. Harry nodded enthusiastically.
"I don't know, Har. They're really hard to train," he said.
"Not this one, sir," a blond witch clad in navy blue robes, the owner, said, "Sly has already been trained by his previous owner. His old master passed away only a month ago." "How old is this bird?" Remus asked.
"Six months," she answered, "Ravens are very smart, especially this one. And they make very loyal pets." "I don't know about a Raven," he said.
"Please, dad," Harry implored. Remus thought for a moment and shrugged.
"Okay," he conceded. The raven gave a short trill as if it understood. The shop owner gave Remus the bird's papers and a guarantee of satisfaction and Remus paid. Harry walked down the alley with his new pet, proudly. He had originally wanted to name the bird himself but he was happy with the name that had been already given to her, Sly.
"Book shop, now," Remus said, "I'll go in and get them. They won't allow you to take Sly inside." "Okay. I'll wait at Florean's. It's right next door," Harry said. Remus gave him a few sickles for an ice cream and went inside the shop. Harry ordered a chocolate sundae and sat down to eat it. Sitting at the table next to him were a few older boys, admiring their friends new broom.
Only a couple feet away from the ice cream shop was the entrance to Knockturn Alley. Harry'd always wanted to see what was down there but Remus forbade him even to go near it. He watched two red haired boys off to the side of the alley talking quietly. They looked around quickly before sneaking towards the entrance of the Alley. But as soon as they stepped foot off the cobbled street, an angry looking stout woman appeared out of the book shop.
"Fred! George! What do you think you're doing?" she yelled, seizing each boy by an ear and dragging them away. A young red haired girl and boy about Harry's age followed behind sniggering, while an older boy walked beside the mother, tutting. Harry laughed at the boys being led away while their mother scolded.
"I told you not to step foot near the place! A dozen times over, I've warned you! But do you two ever listen? Never had problems with Charlie, Bill, or Percy!" she continued on up the alley.
"Just having a peak," one of the twins muttered.
"Wait until I tell your father about this!" her voice faded as she walked away.
"Can I join you?" came the voice of Remus as he sat with Harry. He had a bag in one hand and an ice cream in the other.
Their last stop of the afternoon was Mr. Ollivander's for Harry's wand. Harry had been most envious for this. They stepped inside the shop and Harry thought he could feel the place giving off a magic aura. The walls were lined with shelves of hundreds of different wands.
"Mr. Potter!" came a low voice, making Harry jump. An old man, Mr. Ollivander, stepped out from among the shelves, "At last, we meet. I was awaiting the day I would see you."
Harry said nothing. The man's eyes did the usual flicker to his scar and rested on his emerald eyes. Harry was relieved when he caught sight of Remus and looked away. His silvery eyes were rather disturbing.
"Ah, Mr. Remus Lupin. Phoenix feather, maple, nine and a half inches. I remember every wand I've ever sold," he said. He turned back to Harry, "Your mother, ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. But your father. He preferred mahogany. Eleven inches. Excellent wand for Transfiguration." Again, Harry said nothing.
"Which is your wand hand?" Mr. Ollivander asked.
"My right," Harry said.
"Let's get you measured," he said, taking a yellow roll from his pocket. He began measuring Harry and within seconds, the tape was going on its own, while Mr. Ollivander brought over a wand for Harry to try.
"Unicorn hair. Maple. Ten and a half inches," he said. He handed the wand to Harry but it was snatched back in an instant.
"No. No. No. That's not it," he muttered and brought out another. Again, it was snatched back. Another was brought out, and that, too, was snatched back. Dozens of wands made their way into Harry's hands and out again.
"Yes. He's a tricky one. Very hard. Let's see," he said, seemingly happy about the difficulty of finding a wand for Harry. He brought out another and another. The pile of tried wands beside Harry grew ever larger.
"I wonder..." Harry heard Mr. Ollivander say quietly. He brought over a dusty, tattered box and opened it, "Let us see, Mr. Potter. It would be ever so curious." Harry took the wand and instantly felt the magic course through him. Red and Gold sparks shot out the end as he gave it a wave.
"Very curious. Very curious indeed," he whispered. Harry and Remus exchanged puzzled looks. He continued to mutter as he put the wand in it's box and wrapped it in brown paper.
"Sorry, sir, but what's curious?" Harry asked.
"That wand Mr. Potter has a phoenix feather core. The phoenix who gave the feather gave only one other feather. And the other wand that holds it is owned by none other than the one who gave you that," he pointed a finger at the thin scar running down Harry's head. Harry involuntary shuddered.
"This wand is the brother of Voldemort's?" Harry asked. Mr. Ollivander winced at the saying of his name. Harry had been taught by Dumbledore that he should not fear to say that name.
"I remember every wand I've ever sold. Yew, thirteen and a half inches. I'm afraid that wand went into the wrong hands. I'd never have sold if I'd known what it would do," he said, "We should expect great things from you Mr. Potter. For he-who-must-not-be-named had done great things. Yes they were terrible, but great." Harry shivered. He found Mr. Ollivander to be rather creepy.
"How much will it be, Mr. Ollivander?" Remus asked. Harry was grateful. He wanted to leave the store. Remus paid for the wand and they left. Harry didn't say anything as they walked back to the Leaky Cauldron and his step didn't even lag when they passed the Quidditch Shop with the Nimbus 2000 on display in the window. When they arrived home, Harry was about to go upstairs to his room, but Remus stopped him.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"Fine," Harry shrugged.
"If I were to believe that, I'd be crowned worst parent," Remus said, "Now, come on. What's up? You've been like this since Ollivander's." "So then you know what's bothering me," Harry said.
"I have the general idea. But why don't you tell me exactly?" Remus prompted.
"I want you to tell me the whole story," he said, "Everything that happened. Like why Voldemort killed my parents and why I'm famous because of it."
-----------------------------Remus sighed. He knew this would come. They day he would have to explain everything to Harry and not just give him the broad explanation. He motioned for Harry to sit down and took the seat opposite him."From the beginning Remus. Everything," Harry said. Remus nodded. He knew he shouldn't do it, but he skipped the actual beginning of the story. The part with Sirius and Peter. He didn't need to know that. Not now. Maybe never.
"It started a long time ago, I suppose. When Voldemort came into power. That was about twenty years ago now. We were in our third year. Dumbledore started a group that fought Voldemort. Your parents were part of it," Remus said.
"Were you?" Harry asked.
"Yes," he answered, "This group fought Voldemort. Your parents had battled with him three times and had come out the better in all three, and others had done the same. For some reason, Voldemort picked out your parents specifically to be murdered. Through spies, we found out beforehand and tried in so many ways to protect them, but we failed. Once Voldemort decided to kill someone, he did it."
"Y-You don't know why, though?" Harry asked. It was obvious he was fighting back tears. Remus tried to hug him, but Harry stopped him, "There's more. I know it. How did he lose his power? Was it something my mum or dad did?"
"I guess it was your mother that did something. Your father tried to fight him off. He told your mother to take you and hide. Voldemort killed him and went after your mother and you. Your mother died trying to protect you. According to Dumbledore, it did something to ensure your safety from him. When Voldemort tried to kill you next, the curse backfired on him and he lost his all power and life. He tried to kill you, but failed. That's why you're famous, Harry. You're the only person to survive once Voldemort tried to kill them. It was you that ended his reign of power."
"M-me?" Harry asked. Remus nodded. The tears Harry was holding back now fell down his face and he let Remus pull him into a hug this time. After a few minutes, Harry pulled away, slightly embarrassed.
"Are you alright now?" Remus asked.
"Yeah," Harry said. Remus let it go, though he wasn't sure Harry was.
"Is masters ready for dinner?" Laertes asked, entering the kitchen.
"Yes, please," Remus said. After a supper that Harry barely ate, he went upstairs to his room, claiming to be tired. Remus cleared the table of dishes and put them in the sink, before going up to bed himself.
-----------------------------Harry awoke suddenly with a shrill cry. Again, he'd had one of those dreams with the flash of green light and screaming. He lay in a small, dark enclosed place cringing into the corner as footsteps pounded down the stairs above him.A moment later, a door was flung open and dim light shown in. Harry cowered away further into the corner. It was no use as an arm reached in and pulled him out by the leg. A large angry face was before him, yelling. "Boy! You woke Dudley again with that damned screaming!" Harry received a slap to his face.
"I tell you, I won't it!" the man made a fist and throw it into his side with enough force to make Harry see stars. He whimpered and tried to cower away. The man threw him back into the enclosed space, slamming shut the door, to complete the total darkness. Harry curled up and cried softly into the raggedy blankets.
-----------------------------Remus was awoken by loud, piercing screams that came from down the hall, from Harry's bedroom. He jumped out of bed, pulled on his robe, and ran down the hall. It wasn't that infrequently that he was awaken like this. Only a few weeks ago, he had been awoken twice in one night. Harry would say little to nothing about his nightmare, and Remus would stay with him until he fell asleep or sometimes all night.He was at Harry's bedroom in seconds. He opened the door and saw Harry on the floor, curled up into the corner of his room.
"Harry?" he walked over to the boy and put a hand on his back, Harry flinched.
"Please! Don't!" he shrieked. He buried his face further into his hands and cried harder.
"Harry, it's me. I'm here," Remus said. Harry looked up at him and blinked. Then he wrapped his arms around Remus.
"Dad," he cried into Remus' shoulder. Remus held him close, rubbing his back soothingly. "It was the bad man," Harry said childishly. He would never tell Remus about this dream, just that it was 'the bad man'.
"Calm down. It was only a dream. Dreams can't hurt you, remember. They aren't real," Remus tried to comfort him.
"But I think it is real," Harry sobbed, "It's real. I felt it." "What do you mean you felt it?" Remus asked.
"I mean, when he hurt me, I felt it. And I felt the darkness, and the hate," Harry whispered.
"Harry, I know you don't like to tell me about these dreams, but maybe you should. Maybe I can help you," Remus said. Harry sobbed and nodded into Remus' shoulder.
"It starts where I wake up from a bad dream with green light. I wake up and I'm in this dark spot. It's like a little box. I was crying and I hear loud footsteps and then this door opens and some man drags me out," Harry stopped and took a few breathes before continuing, "He yells at me 'Boy! You woke Dudley again with that damned screaming!' I don't know who Dudley is."
Dudley, Remus thought. He knew who Dudley was. And now he knew who the bad man was. Oh god, how could he have been so blind to it. He should have known what the terrible dreams were.
"The man hits me. He hits me and punches me, then shoves me back in the box and closes it," Harry finished.
Harry started sobbing like mad again into Remus' shoulder.
"Christ, Harry. I never knew. I didn't think you remembered at all. I never wanted you to," Remus said.
"Remember what?" Harry asked. He choked back his tears.
"When your parents died, you didn't come right to here. You were sent, not by my choice, to live with your mum's sister and her husband and son. It had to be like that. No one knew what they were. God, Harry, I'm so sorry," Remus cried. "You never told me?" Harry asked.
"I wanted you to forget. I wanted to forget. We didn't find out what they did until a year and a half later. You were two. I went and took you away to live with me as soon as I found out," Remus said.
"So then the dream was real," Harry said. Remus nodded.
"I'm so sorry," Remus said. Harry said nothing, only cried against Remus, cried himself to sleep. Remus picked up the distraught boy and carried him to his bed. He laid Harry down and pulled up the blankets around him. He sat in the chair beside Harry's bed, knowing it would be unwise to leave him alone for the night.
-----------------------------For a moment, Harry was surprised when he saw Remus sleeping in the chair beside his bed. Usually, he only slept with Harry when he had a nightmare. Then the events of the previous night hit Harry quickly and rather hard. The man in his dreams was his Uncle. His mum had a sister. He was sent to live with her and they abused him when he was a baby.Quietly, he crawled out of bed. He grabbed some clothes and went into the bathroom to dress. He grabbed his Cleansweep six from the closet in his room. He needed to get away. He needed to clear his head. A nice, long fly through the woods in the back always did that.
He went downstairs and scribbled a small note to Remus, telling where he'd be and set it on the table. Then he went out into the backyard, mounted his broom, and took off into the early morning sky. The wind whipped at his face, and through his hair.
-----------------------------Remus woke from his very uncomfortable sleep. His neck was stiff and his back ached. He was sleeping in Harry's room again. Another nightmare, but this time Harry told about it and Remus had figured out what it was.. He turned and saw that Harry's bed was empty. He jumped up and immediately regretted it, as a pain shot up his back. He'd forgotten to put a comforting charm on the chair last night. It slipped his mind, naturally, with all else that happened."Harry!" he called as he walked out of the room. He checked the bathroom and his own room for him. He walked down the stairs. Harry wasn't in the living room. What if he ran away? What if all that information was too much for him to handle yet? Remus thought frantically. He opened the door to the study and looked. No Harry in there either. Them he went into the kitchen and when he found it empty, his heart jumped into his throat. He was ready to call and have a team of aurors looking for him when he saw the piece of paper on the table.
Dad, Out for a broom ride. Be home by lunch.HarryRemus sighed with relief when he read it. He should have known Harry wouldn't do something like run away. He remembered how whenever James was feeling stressed or needed to clear his head, he would go for a broom ride. God, how he missed him, Lily, and Peter. And even Sirius. Not the traitor Sirius, bu the old Sirius. The one he knew when he was kid. The Sirius Black he loved. No, he thought, Don't do this. You can't dwell on the past. That part of his life was over and it only caused him pain to think about it.-----------------------------Harry checked the watch on his wrist. It was eleven o'clock. He had been out riding for four hours. Out clearing his head for four long hours. He turned his broom back toward home. He didn't want to have Remus worrying as wasn't so uncommon. He probably panicked when he woke and saw I wasn't in bed, Harry thought. He landed the broom in his backyard and walked to the house. Remus was waiting on the back porch for him. Harry grinned and shook his head.
"How was your fly?" Remus asked.
"Good. I'm a bit hungry, now," Harry said.
"There are sandwiches in on the table," Remus said. Harry set his broom against the wall, and went inside. Remus followed him.
"I guess we need to talk," Harry said, seeing the look on Remus' face.
"If you think we need to," Remus said.
"Look, I'm as okay as I could be with all I found out. It's all in the past. No use dwelling on it, right?" Harry said. "I guess not," Remus said, "You're sure you don't want to talk about it?"
"Positive. There's nothing to talk about. You can't change the past and I'm here with you now.
That's all that matters," Harry said.
"And if you ever do need to talk--" "You're always there," Harry finished, "Thanks, dad."