The dreamless sleep potion definitely worked.  Somehow the makeup of the potion managed to propel the recipient into a dreamless sleep.  But they would also sleep as long as needed.  Now, Harry (as previously mentioned) had forsaken his sleep.  So he slept a long time.

                It was early the next morning when our young protagonist awoke.  Looking at the clock on the wall he found it was just after seven.  He walked to the bathroom.  And over the next hour he preformed his ablutions.  Finally he emerged from the bathroom dressed, and was tying his hair into a ponytail with a black ribbon.

                Going to his trunk, he gathered some parchment, a quill, some ink, his wand, and his money sack, and put them all into his school bag.  He was ready to start the day.  Leaving his room, he went down the stairs into the main part of the inn.  Choosing a seat in the far corner of the room where he could observe everything he pulled out some parchment, his quill and ink and started to write a list of all the supplies he would need to buy. 

'2 sets dress robes 5 sets school robes 2 sets ordinary wear robes 1 school cloak 2 normal wear cloaks 1 winter cloak (fur lined) New hat Advanced study books Occlumency and legilimency books Potions supplies New trunk New school bag 7 pairs muggle pants (1 Kevlar/dragon hide) 7 muggle t-shirts 1 Kevlar/dragon hide vest 2 muggle sweaters 7 muggle long sleeved shirts 2 muggle jacket (1 Kevlar/dragon hide)) 3 pairs muggle footwear (Kevlar/dragon hide boots?) 1 knife New wand? Entertainment of some sort'

"Excuse me sir?" interrupted Tom.  "Will you be wanting anything?"

Harry looked startled for a moment.  "Could I have some coffee, and some toast please?"

"Of course.  Will you want that added to your bill, or will you be paying upfront?"

"Add that to my bill please." 

Tom turned and left, and an owl flew into the Leaky Cauldron.  He had never seen the owl before, and

was needless to say very surprised when the owl landed in front of him.  The front said "Urgent news-Gringotts".  He opened the envelope and inside there were two messages.  He opened the one on top first.

'Mr. Potter,

we at Gringotts have been holding something for you since the year 1980.  We were instructed to give it to you approximately a fortnight before your sixteenth birthday if your parents did in fact perish in You-Know

-Who's  Reign of Terror.  The information you need have been enclosed in a letter written by the late Lily Potter. 

Sincerely,

Gringotts Wizarding Bank.'

                "Well, that was interesting," remarked Harry to himself before opening the letter his mother had written him so many years ago.

'My dearest baby boy,                                                                                                             August 1, 1980

if you are reading this then I am afraid that your father and I are no longer with you.  I am writing to tell you how much we love you, and to tell you we hope you have had a happy childhood.

If what we fear most has happened, and you are placed with Petunia and Vernon, we sincerely hope that you can one day forgive us.  Don't judge Petunia too harshly, she hasn't always been this way.

I wish with all my heart that we could have  been alive to see your first Quidditch game, and to see you get your first wand, and to see you graduate, and marry.  But that will never happen.  I know there is so much that we don't know each other, and I'm sure you will want to know.  In your vault I have left picture albums and diaries that you can read if you wish.

I love you horribly.  You have only been alive for less than a day but already you have brought completeness to my and your father's lives.  We haven't left you for a minute, and your blue eyes are already looking up at us with recognition.

In this time of horror, you are a light, beckoning at us.  And we know that it is for you that we must fight this monstrosity.  It has been going on for 5 years already, and it doesn't seem to be abating. But it will be over sometime.

To insure your future, your father and I have both taken out million galleon  life insurance policies.  This will be added to your savings vault, which already contains 1 million galleons, on the occasion of our deaths. 

Now I must tell you the purpose of this letter.  Your father and I have a vault.  We're not certain about how much is in this vault in money terms.  But starting on your sixteenth birthday 1 million galleons will be transferred to your account on the last day of each month.  This will continue on, until you are 1 year out of Hogwarts.  Any of the money left over will be transferred into your account on your 20th birthday. If we were to die now, you would be worth approximately 40 000 000 galleons.

The Potters are one of the richest families in the wizarding world.  We beat out the Malfoys, and any other of the other families on this side of the world.  Use this money wisely, for if it is gone, there will be none left. 

I have to stop writing now dearest.  You are hungry and we are both tired.  I know now, as I have known for the past 9 months that I would give my life to save yours.

Lovingly yours,

Lily Potter.'

Harry did all he could do to stop himself from crying.  In an odd way his heart felt that it was being mended and ripped apart at the very same time. 

He then did what he knew he should do, to preserve his safety, he put both letters in the bag, and tucked his list in too.  And at that very moment Tom came over to the table and placed both the toast and the coffee down.  And he left with an "Enjoy your breakfast Mr. Dursley."

It took only minutes for Harry to finish his small breakfast.  He was soon into the back alley and with a tap of the bricks he entered Diagon Alley.  It was only 10:00, and yet the place was already packed full of the interesting sorts that frequented the area.  People were in stores haggling with the shop keepers over the prices of things.  At times like these, as long as no body recognized him he felt truly at home.  The first place to go would have to be Gringotts. 

He entered the bank, and half an hour later he came out with a full 2000 galleons more.  He wasn't sure how much he would need.  But, if he had taken too much he could always return it, and if he had taken too little he could always take more.  After all, he did have at least a week in the alley. 

The first place that Harry went was Madam Malkin's.  He went in, and through the help of one of the clerks, all his stuff was chosen.  His school robes were slightly fancier than that of the average student, but they fit him well.  His school cloak was nice, but with platinum  clasps instead of silver.  It was more lycanthrope friendly, and you could only tell if you were looking closely. 

His dress robes were similar in style to that of his school robes.  One pair, matched his eyes.  You couldn't go wrong there.  And the second pair was black, but with silver- coloured thread holding the robes together. 

His normal wear robes Harry particularly liked .  One pair was a royal blue, the other pair was grey.  It wasn't the colours Harry particularly liked, it wasn't the design either.  It was just the fact that they were extremely comfortable.    The normal wear cloaks were in those colours as well.  So Harry wouldn't have any trouble co-ordinating colours.

But the best of Harry's purchases at Madame Malkin's was the winter cloak.  This cloak would be good for just going outside for a walk in the winter, as well as extremely cold temperatures.  The cloak itself was made of blood red material.  But the inside was lined in fur.  Harry wasn't quite sure what type of fur was on the inside, but it was warm and it would do.

Harry also picked up a new hat.  It was a nice hat.

For the potions' supplies, Harry had to go to the apothecary, Snape being the sub-par teacher that he was, didn't tell anyone what the proper ingredients for anything were until they ended up making the potion or got fed up and looked it up.

This was a disadvantage.  Especially for Harry's wallet, like Tom had said.  Potions weren't so cheap anymore. 

And at random stores through out the alley Harry picked up his trunk.  Made of mahogany wood, the metal was platinum.  And the inside was lined with black silk.  There were two compartments.  One was for storing clothes, and another for his books and other stuff. 

Flourish and Blotts was another quick stop.  He grabbed a book on Advanced Potions, a copy of Moste Potent Potions, Advanced Transfiguration, Advanced Charms, Advanced Herbology, Occlumency and Legilimency for Beginners. 

This trip cost a lot.  By the time he was done with his shopping in the alley he had spent upwards of 500 galleons.  Now it was time for him to bring his stuff to his room and convert some money into muggle money. 

In almost no time Harry had dumped his stuff in his room, and had traded in the rest of his money for muggle money.  In Harry's experience, muggles were expensive things. 

Muggle London was very opulent.  He was walking down Charing Cross Road when he noticed something out of the ordinary.  It was a small store tucked at the far end of the road.  The sign above the door read Velvet Dreams and Liquid Skin.  It seemed a good enough store to shop in.  Harry however had never been shopping on his own.  Little did our protagonist know that he was way over his head.

As he walked into the store, he noticed that it was empty, save for one person sitting behind the counter.  The shopkeeper was of the female gender.  Her red hair sparkled in the little light of the store.  She seemed to be as pale,  if not more, than Harry, and she was dressed from head to toe in black.  She wore baggy pants, and a tight shirt that showed off her navel piercing. 

"Can I help you?" she asked in a soft voice.

"Yeah, umm, I'm looking for some clothes." was the 'eloquent' response.

"Well then.  I guess you came to the right store.  We seem to sell clothes here."  she responded. "I'm Sheilagh. Do you need any help here today?"

"Uh… yeah.  You see I've never been shopping before.  I've only ever owned hand me downs. I'm Harry by the way."

"Okay, where should we start?" 

"Well, I pretty much need 7 of everything.  Pants maybe."

"Well, the pants are over here." said Sheilagh leading Harry over to the pants.  The first pair she pulled out Harry really liked.  They were baggy black denim with a  red spider on the front of the right leg, and webs on the back of the right and the front and back of the left leg.  The next three pairs of pants she pulled out were baggy black cargos.  One pair were tight with what appeared to be suspenders hanging down at the legs.  Harry could have sworn that she called those 'bondage pants'.  Another pair were black and fitted with red stitching.  Et la piece de resistance.  The last pair of pants were leather.  Not skin tight, but relatively tight around the hips and butt area.  Just like any good leather pants should be.  All the pants were black.  They all fit.  He bought them all.

He bought seven t-shirts with funny sayings on them.  One of the funnier sayings was "the robots made me do it".  Harry wasn't quite sure was a robot was, but he had a faint idea.  The long sleeved shirts were all pretty much the same.  Except for one.  It was black with loose sleeves that went ¾ down his arms.  "Chasing Pirate Booty" this shirt proclaimed. 

At this store he bought only one coat.  The coat was long, and black.  It covered his entire torso, and went down to his ankles.  All and all he was pleased with the day.  Just as he was leaving the store he bumped into someone he never thought he would see- "Ginny?"

A.N:  Sorry for not updating in such a long time.  I really don't have an excuse, so I won't make one.  This chapter was really just about the hat.  (It's page 3 here, so it will be near the end). 

          Well, enjoy.

Ta.

Eireann

Next chapter: Kevlar.  And Dragon Hide.  YAY!