Swept Into The Wind
By chocolateswirl88
That morning he awoke to the light knocking of his Aunt at the door. Yawning and scrubbing his face with the palms of his hands he satup drowzily, not wanting to get up just yet. Glancing at the clock, he could make out the numbers eight, two and a zero.
"Eight Twenty A.M." He muttered, throwing the covers back. He crossed his room and threw open his wardrobe. Picking a pair of light blue jeans, a pair of white socks, a nice fitting white tshirt, and a pair of nike tennis shoes. He took a quick shower, styled his hair, and was out the door just in time for breakfast.
"Ah, good morning Harry." Vernon said from behind his paper. "Do you have any plans for the day?"
"No, not really. I've go pretty much all the gardening done out back. The front dosen't need anything but a good watering. Maybe later in the day when its cooler I thought of going for a walk or a drive. But other than that, no. Why do you ask?" Vernon set down his paper.
"I thought we would take you to get your school supplies for the new school year. You're going to need new robes, books obviously, quills and ink, parchment, owl feed, and what not. So I think we should do that this early afternoon, and get it out of the way." Harry nodded, taking a bite of the piping hot porridge Petunia placed in font of him. "Does that sound alright?" Harry looked up.
"Yeah. Sounds good." He was distracted however, seeing the headlines of the Daily Prophet. "Blimey, they're at it again." He muttered.
"Who are at what again?" Dudley looked up from his breakfast, speaking for the first time that morning. "You've really got to be specific when you talk Potter." Harry grinned.
"Wizarding newspaper writters are trying to get information out of friends and teachers about my life living with muggles, trying to get anything juicey to discrimiate against me. You know, the usual." Petunia tutted and Vernon grunted, both his gardiens annoyed with the wizards again.
"I take it no one has said anything?" Petunia came over and looked at the paper, reading a few lines.
"I don't think anyone would dare. Teachers won't say anything, that's obvious. Remus isn't about to say anything, he's been written as my legal godfather now. The order can't say anything since I'm working for them, or against them. I'm not sure anymore. My friends, well, they've not gotten ahold on anyone dumb enough to say anything yet. So as of right now, I'm safe. Well, as safe as I can be." Dudley looked up again, his spoon halfway to his fat face.
"But we've not heard anything about Voldemort all summer. He's hiding or he's run off. Aren't you safe?" Harry shook his head.
"He's got a band of followers. And he's getting more. I may not be linked with him anymore, but I've got a good feeling he's regrouping. Wizard, Vampire, Troll alike. You know me Dudley, I'm Harry Friggen Potter. The Boy Won't Die. I'm never safe. Especially from the girls at the park." He shuddered, earning a chuckle from Vernon. Harry's brow furrowed. Petunia gasped as well.
"What is it?" Vernon set down his muggle newspaper and looked at his wife and nephew. "Come now, no secrets. What is it?"
"Something not good, obviously." Harry sighed. He handed the paper over the table to Vernon and Dudley. "Rita Skeeter has been let loose from Azkaban. She was a writter for the Daily Prophet my fourth year at Hogwarts and set up some really embarrasing articles about me in the paper. Well, she has her job back and started a new collum. It's blackmail. And she did a poor job of it."
" 'The Harry Potter Smash Out Collum'?" Vernon questioned, an eyebrow raised. "What kind of rubbish is this?"
"A lot." Harry replied, taking another bite. "Looks like people can write in and say anything they want about me. Skeeter knows I read the paper. She wants me to confess something that I'm not aware of. The woman has me confused beyond belife, but I try my best not to pay her any mind. This new collum is to throw flames at me and get my adoring fans to write love letters to me. It's supposed to humiliate me." He chuckled, to everyone's surpirse. "They can try." He gave a grin and finnished his breakfast, continuing to read the paper.
A few hours later, the Dursley's along with Harry got into their S.U.V and drove off for The Leaky Culdron in London. They managed to get through the bar with ease seeing how no one recognized Harry. A few young wizards did, but they didn't say anything. Tapping the bricks with his wand, Harry opened up the entrance to Diagon Alley. They Dursley's had never seen the place, and were quite impressed. Petunia gasped and looked around with wide eyes.
"Welcome to the Wizarding communiuty." Harry said, leading the way to Gringotts. The white towering bank loomed overhead, various people were coming out and going in. His hand slid into his pocket and grabbed his golden key to his vault. "I'm going to warn you about Gringotts. Goblins run the place. They're touchy creatures. So don't say anything about how they look, and don't stare so much. Be nice and curtious to em. They'll be nice to you." He grinned inwardly by the scared look on Dudley's face and kept going.
The Weasley's and Hermione were coming out of Gringotts as Harry and the Dursley's were going in. All the redheads and busy brunette did a double take, confused and full of wonder.
"Was that-" Ron asked.
"No! It can't be! He didn't have a scar on his forehead. It couldn't have been Harry. Plus, the boy had short hair. I'm sure there are many guys in the wizarding world with eyes that deep of green. Come on, I'm hungry. Let's get an ice cream." And with that, they walked away. Ron still doubted his friend, but decided not to say anything.
Inside of Gringotts, Harry led the Dursley's into a waiting room while he went off to get some money to buy his things. He gave a special order to leave them alone, and to make sure they didn't leave untill he came back and was with them. Two Goblins guarded the door while Griphook lead him into the vaults.
The car made a sudden turn to the left and came to a screeching hault in front of the Potter vault. Inside, there was twice as much gold as they was his first five years at Hogwarts. In Sirius's will, he had split his money between himself and Remus. Harry owned the house, and Sirius's violin. Remus got various things as well as the money, and written down as Harry's new godfather. Gathering a few handfulls of galleons, sickles and knuts, he hopped back into the cart and was standing in the foyer of the bak with his money at hand. He collected the Dursley's and began his shopping.
Their first stop would be Flourish and Blotts for his list of books. Harry had done exceptionally well on his OWLS and was in remediate potions, Advanced DADA, Advanced Charms, Advanced Transfiguration, Herbology, Arithmacy, and Astronamy. Vernon insisted to carry the books for Harry and they went towards the Owlery. Inside, The Weasley's and Hermione were there, checking out some of the new animals.
Dudley was rather interested in the place, and curiously looked at all the animals there were in the place. There wasn't just owls, toads, cats, and rats, but many more animals that Harry didn't know the names of. A new stock of Faeries, Poogles, Jimbums, and Quimbey's were lined along the walls of the crowded store. Harry grabbed Hedwig's favorite owl treats and food, and caught back up with his family.
"Would you like to look around a bit? I can wait to pay for these." He grinned, noticing a pure white kitten next to a gorgeous looking faerie. Harry went over and looked at them. The kitten began to meow instantly, presing its back against her cage desperately wanting to be petted. The faerie too behaved oddly to the keeper. The stout man wobbled over.
"My dear lad!" He gasped, shaking Harry's hand. "You're the first person to ever have a faerie choose someone they want to be owned by!" Harry cocked his head, raising a delicate eyebrow. "You see, faeries are selective with their owners. If they can sence there's something about the miss or mister that they do not like, they will go invisible, meaning they will not be purchased. If they like you, they will dance, they will reach towards you, or they will sing. Judging by this little faerie here, she really likes you. As does the kitten." Harry grinned. "Would you like to buy both?" Harry looked to his Aunt and Uncle.
"Aunt Petunia?"
"It's alright by me. They certianly are very cute. Both of them." The faerie beamed and twirled.
"Uncle Vernon?"
"Go right ahead, son." He nodded his head. "I think you can handle two more pets. And yes, they are both rather sweet looking critters." Harry turned to the short shop keeper.
"I'll take both of them." The little man cried out excitedly and carefully levitated both cages with his wand and motioned for Harry to follow him back to the desk. The Weasley's were waiting there to be helped. "Could you please hold a minute? I would like to get these two to their new master as soon as possible here. Thank you." Harry pushed through to the counter, his black bag of money in his hand. "Can I have your name lad?"
"Harry Potter." Harry said, ignoring the gasps and instant whispers from the Weasleys.
"HARRY JAMES POTTER!" Mrs. Weasley hollard, trying desperately to get to him. But Vernon, Petunia, and Dudley quickly came up behind him and blocked him from view. The shop keeper looked befuddled.
"My my Mr. Potter. You sure have changed." He seemed amused. Harry grinned.
"It happens." He remarked, opening the bag.
"Yes yes indeed." The short man smiled kindly at his aunt and uncle. "Since you are the very first person to receive a faerie, I want to make sure I have the owners name to keep in contact on how things are going. Alright, for the faerie and the kitten, that will be 150 galleons and 23 sickles." Harry raised both eyebrows but decided not to complain and counted out the money respectively. He thanked the man and walked out of the building, both Petunia and Vernon guarding him.
"Where to next?" Vernon asked, checking his list. "Ah, you need robes."
"Madam Milkons." Harry said, pointing to the small shop down the alley. He grinned as he spotted Nevile through the shop window being fitted for new robes himself. The one geeky, chubby boy Harry had known since first year seemed to have really changed. There was a lot of confidence in his eyes as well. "Nevile!" Harry said, waving at his friend.
"Harry? Harry my goodness you've changed!" Nevile grinned, not moving for the sake of being pinned by Madam Milkons.
"So've you." Harry smiled. "You look great mate. How'd you do it?" Nevile gave a smirk.
"Got a pass to a muggle gym. Gran liked the idea and let me get one. I've gone everyday since school had let out. What about you?"
"My own personal work outs, gardening, running. I used an old spell to get rid of the scar. It's so nice to be disconnected from Voldemort's mind." Nevile winked and yelped as the little woman accidently pinned his shin. "Ready for this year?" The boy shrugged.
"I'm not sure. Ron and Hermione have spotted me once already today. I've gotten quite the yelling-to when she figured out I had been writing back and forth to you all summer. I didn't even tell her straight out, but she still figured it out. I take it you stopped replying?" Petunia went over to Madam Milkons once Nevile was done and told her Harry's size.
"Only to Ron and Hermione." Harry said, thankfull he didn't have to be measured. Aunt Petunia made several clothes for him recently and knew how he measured. "Everyone else I'm still in touch with. For the most part anyway. I can't really send a lot of owls to Ginny, Fred, and George without Ron and his mother finding out. I'll send them to Dumbledore and he gets them to them in his name, when they're from me. This way, Ron and Hermione won't be any more suspicious of me. They'll question Dumbledore." Vernon chuckled and clapped Harry on the shoulder. Nevile laughed.
"Here you are Harry, dear." Petunia handed him several wrapped parcels. "New school robes, quidditch robes, and dress robes."
"Thanks Aunt Petunia." Harry took them, only to have Dudley take them and carry them for him. "You really don't have to do that Dudley." Harry said. "I can carry them.
"No, I'll do it. You still have a lot of things to get anyway, plus you're holding your new pets." This was the first time Nevile noticed the cat and faerie.
"Ah! You have a faerie do you?" He bent to look at it through its small cage bars. "She's very pretty. Ironically both of them are white. Do they have names?" Harry's eyes widened slightly, realizing in embarrasment he hadn't named them yet.
"Well, no." He said slowly, looking at both of them. "I wouldn't chose a usual name for a white cat. I think I'll call the kitten Olivia." He turned to the faerie. "Veronique." He said suddenly, watching the faerie dance with happiness. The kitten began purring. "Well, looks like I picked good names." The Dursley's and Nevile chuckled.
Then, as if they all apparated, the Weasley's burst through the door to Madam Milkons, each red head was out of breath from what seemed to be vigerous running. Petunia grasped Harry's shoulders in a motherly protective fashion.
"Uh oh" Nevile muttered. "The storm has arrived."
