A/N: This is the longest chapter I have ever written in my entire life.
Over twenty pages! Hope you guys enjoy it!
CH3: Call It Insane
"Drove Downtown in the rain,
9:30 on a Tuesday night,
Just to check out the late night,
Record shop.
Call it compulsive, call it impulsive,
Call it insane.
When I'm surrounded I just can't stop.
It's a matter of instincts, a matter of conditioning,
And a matter-of-fact."
July 4, 1996
Harry sat on his bed, brooding as usual, and skimming through the Daily Prophet. A bright yellow advertisement caught his eye. Weasley Wizard Wheezes.
'Looks like their shop is going well,' he thought. 'Wish I could go up there and check it out.' He sighed dejectedly. 'But there is no way Dumbledore will let me out of my cell. At least, not without a whole army surrounding me. And never to Diagon Alley ....
'You'd think that, after last year, he'd learn that locking me up is not the way to do things! Half of the problems last year could have been solved if he would just tell me what I needed to know. If I had known about the prophecy, I would have known about the door ....
'There were so many important moments. If I'd opened the package with mirror on it. If Snape hadn't taught me Occulmency at all. Or if I even practiced what Snape told me. If I hadn't gone to the Department of Mysteries .....
'A world of "if's", but it makes no difference. What was done is done. If I could go back in time .....
'But I can't. The past is behind me. The best thing now is to stop looking over my shoulder. It's time to forget the past and look to the present and future.
'I can't let them control me anymore. I won't. Not Voldemort, the Order, my friends, and especially not Dumbledore.
'I'm not going to lay around and wait. It's time to take action. This is my fight and I intend to fight to the end.'
Harry looked down at the flyer he was holding and smirked.
'And I think I know how to start.'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Harry,
Congratulations on your remarkable progress in Occulmency. I always suspected you would succeed at it. I believe Occulmency and Legilimens were some of the powers Voldemort accidently transferred to you all those years ago.
Unfortunately, Remus has a mission to go on and will be unable to continue instructing you. I would have Severus teach you again, but judging by your .... interesting lesson with him the other day, I believe that would not be the best course of action.
Enclosed is a book on Occulmency that I think you will find fascinating. I ask for you to keep studying by yourself until your classes can be arranged.
If this in not what you wish, the other option is for me to come out there and teach you myself.
Write me back with your answer,
Albus Dumbledore
PS - In dire cases, if the nightmares get too bad, I am enclosing a bottle of dreamless sleep potion. Use it with precaution, too much will become addictive.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dumbledore,
I'll take my chances with the book.
Harry Potter
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
July 5, 1996 Harry strolled along Privet Drive, aware of the footsteps that followed him. It was Mundungus Fletcher. He was the only one who walked that slowly. And the steps weren't even: he'd always take bigger steps with his right than his left ....
Harry made a mental check.
'Afternoons from noon to four - Mundungus on duty.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
July 6, 1996
The Order of the Phoenix was worried.
Not a huge Voldemort-is-taking-over-the-world-run-for-your-life type of worried.
But something was up with Harry.
He had been walking. Just walking. He'd go to one end of his street, then back down, and back again. All day long.
Too say it was odd was an understatement.
A good chunk of the Order was sure the Daily Prophet hadn't been far off the mark: Harry Potter definitely had bats in his belfry.
Others thought he was taking a leaf out of Dumbledore's book.
They weren't sure if that was a good thing or not.
Still others thought it was some weird way to help him get over Sirius' death. And whatever helped him recover from his grief was alright by them.
But the final member .....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mad-Eye Moody watched his ward carefully as he absentmindedly wandered around.
No, Moody knew he wasn't dealing with a nutcase or some devastated child. He had met enough Slytherin minds to tell when he was faced with one.
The fact that it was in a powerful teenager just made him all the more worried.
"What are you up to, Potter," he whispered to himself. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
July 7, 1996
Harry packed up a picnic basket and headed out the door of Privet Drive, mumbling a good-bye to his aunt. It was time to put his plan into action.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Watch him like a hawk, Mundungus," Moody warned as he prepared to Apparate away.
"You're over-reacting, Mad-Eye," chuckled Dung. "He's just eating lunch."
"Right. But don't say I didn't warn you." With one last look over at Harry, he disappeared.
"Paranoid old man."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hey Dung," greeted Harry. He smirked as he heard Mundungus' muttered curses at being found out. "Want to sit down?"
"I'm on the job, Harry," came the reply.
"Come on, you've been working for awhile now." Nothing. "We could play a little poker .... "
The magical words. "Poker?"
'Jackpot!' Harry inwardly cheered. "Yeah, poker. A nice betting game between friends."
"I - I really shouldn't."
"I got the cards right here. Don't make a production."
"Alright, we'll play a little. It'll relax me."
"You won't regret this."
Dung's eyes glittered eagerly as Harry dealt out the cards. "So what are we playing for?"
"Whatcha got?"
"Er .... about two Galleons."
"Two Galleons it is then."
"Deuces wild?"
"Sure. Here - have some chips. Something to drink too, if you want."
"Don't mind if I do," Dung replied, munching happily on the food and guzzling down a water. "You know, we should do this more often."
"Whatever you say, Dung. Go ahea - " Mundungus hit the ground with a thud. "Wow, that worked fast. Too bad, I got three aces. Oh well." He sighed and recovered Dung with the Invisibility Cloak, dragging him out of the way of Muggle foot traffic.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Harry smiled as the Muggle bus dropped him off a block from the Leaky Cauldron. It had been ages since he had been to Diagon Alley and he was reveling in going back now.
He adjusted his Puddlemere United cap so his scar was totally hidden. 'Total anonymity,' Remus had said.
And Harry wanted just that.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Harry took a deep breath. 'Just blend in.' He pushed his way into the Leaky Cauldron ....
.... and was met by a wand in his face and a man stating to shout a hex.
Reacting instinctively, Harry ducked his head to avoid the beam of light, kicked out the man's kegs, and whipped out his wand. Within seconds, he had the man pinned to the floor with his foot, disarmed, and at the mercy of his own wand, as well as Harry's.
"What was that for?!?" Harry asked.
"I - I thought you was a Deaf Ear," the man slurred.
"Deaf Ear - ?" The it clicked. "A Death Eater? Are you drunk?" he laughed. No evil assassins, no death threats - just a paranoid tipsy man with a wand.
"Ma'be a li'l."
"What's going on in - ?" Tom stopped short at the sight before him and stared at the man on the ground.
"Do your patrons regularly hex customers when they come in?" questioned Harry. Tom looked up. When he saw who was speaking, he had to repress a smile. Harry had gotten to know Tom during the summer before his third year and knew of the man's sense of humor: if anyone would find the irony in this situation, it would be Tom.
"Depends on if they are shady characters or not."
Harry lifted an eyebrow. "Do shady characters usually wear sporting caps?"
"Of course."
"Oh, I guess that makes me a shady character." He let the 'attacker' up and moved towards the bar.
"The shadiest," Tom nodded.
"Good to know."
"I haven't seen you around in a while," he said while he got Harry a Butterbeer. Harry nodded his thanks.
"Well, I figured if I came last year, the welcome would have been even worse than this one was."
Tom broke into a grin that Harry returned. "It's good to see you, Harry."
"You too, Tom."
"So what brings you here?" he asked as Harry sat down.
"Do I need an excuse to enjoy the fine qualities of the Leaky Cauldron food substances?"
Tom snorted. "Yes."
"Shopping."
"By yourself?"
"I will be sixteen at the end of the month."
"But what about everything that's going on with .... "
"Voldemort?" Harry asked. The room flinched.
"Don't say his name!"
"Fear of the name increases fear of the thing itself."
"Fine." Tom rolled his eyes. "But aren't you afraid that He is going to attack you?"
"If He's going to attack me anyway, I might as well go where I want to."
"I don't see Dumbledore letting you do that."
"Neither do I."
The bartender dropped the glass he was holding. "You snuck out?!?"
"Technically, no. The Dursleys knew I was leaving."
"Yes, but the Dursleys don't care what you do. No offense," he added.
"None taken."
"Does your guard know you left by yourself?"
"How do you know I have a guard?"
"The most evil wizard in years wants your head on a platter. Of course you have a guard."
"Maybe someone just forgot to inform them of my plans," Harry shrugged.
"Harry!"
"I was bored."
"Are you going to come here every boring afternoon?"
"Actually, I was bored this morning, but I had to wait until Mad-Eye was off duty. He's really hard to sneak past."
"Mad-Eye Moody?"
"The very same."
"He's going to be thrilled when he finds out," Tom said sarcastically.
"He might be. You can never tell with Moody," Harry pointed out.
"You do realize how dangerous this is, don't you?"
"It's not really that dangerous."
"Why not?"
"If I managed to sneak past the guard, I probably got past any Death Eaters that are watching my house. If they even know where I live. And, what are the chances that someone is waiting for me here. Nobody even knew I was coming out here today. So it's pretty safe," he explained.
Tom held up his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay, you win. But you do realize that Dumbledore won't be very happy when he finds out?"
"I don't really care what Dumbledore thinks," Harry growled.
"I thought you two were really close?"
"So did I."
"What happened?"
"I just can't trust him any more. Anyway, I really should get going, I don't have a lot of time. Have a good day, Tom." He started moving towards the door.
"Likewise. Enjoy your shopping, Potter."
"I will, thanks."
Harry turned back one last time and looked at the person who tried to curse him. "Sorry about flipping you over like that, I just wasn't expecting anyone to be pointing a wand at me."
The man stared on in shock as Harry entered the back alleyway.
'So much for blending in,' he smirked.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Going through the archway, Harry was met with the sights, sounds, and smells that were Diagon Alley. But one sound stood out above all others. A slight whimpering was coming from his left.
Harry looked down and saw a small girl with curly brown hair crying into her knees. He bent down to eye level with her.
"Hey, are you all right?"
The girl looked up, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I - I'm lost."
"Don't cry, it'll be alright," he said soothingly. "What's your name?"
"Kerrie Wood."
"Are you related to Oliver?"
"He's my brother. We were shopping and ..... I don't know where he went."
"Well, we'll just have to look for him then."
"You know Ollie?"
Harry smiled slightly at the name and nodded. "I played Quidditch with him at Hogwarts. My name's Harry, by the way."
"The - the Seeker Harry?"
"Yup."
"Wow! I want to be a Seeker, too!"
"How old are you, Kerrie?"
"Six and one half."
"Six and one half, huh? You have a ways off to go, but I'm sure you'll be a great Seeker when you get to Hogwarts. The best they've ever seen."
"Really?"
"Really. Now let's go find Oliver."
He held out his hand for Kerrie to take, but she ignored it and wrapped her arms around his neck. Startled, Harry picked the girl up and they set off down the road.
"Let's see, where do you think he'll be?"
She scrunched up her face in concentration. "Quidditch store."
"Quality Quidditch Supplies?" 'Not surprising,' Harry thought.
Kerrie nodded. "Mummy says he'd live there if they set up a bed in the back room," she replied matter-of-fact.
Harry chuckled. "Then to the Quidditch shop!" He broke into a gallop and Kerrie giggled, making whooshing sounds as if soaring through the air.
As they reached the shop, they found a crowd growing outside, a frantic Oliver Wood in the middle, asking if anyone had seen his sister.
He motioned with his hand. "She's about that tall. Brown hair. Blue eyes. Has - " Harry cut him off by clearing his throat.
"Loose something, Oliver?"
Wood whipped around and sighed in relief as Harry and Kerrie broke through the crowd.
"Kerrie! Where'd you go?!? I was so worried! I - " He stopped. He had tried to take Kerrie back, but she wouldn't budge.
"No. I wanna stay with Harry now."
"What - ?"
"My Harry." She hugged him tighter and Harry sat the two of them down on a bench.
"Ker, I'd love to keep you, but .... " He leaned in and whispered conspiratorially. "I'm not allowed to get another pet." Kerrie giggled, but didn't let go.
"If you want her, you can have her," Oliver offered, already getting over his panic. "She's a little brat most of the time."
"I'm not a brat!" Oliver snorted. "Harry says I'm gonna be the best Seeker at Hogwarts ever."
"Seeker? I thought you wanted to be a Keeper?"
"Now I wanna be a Seeker. Like Harry."
Oliver put on a mock-glare. "You've corrupted my sister!"
"Me? Corrupt?" Harry asked innocently. "Never."
"That's what they all say, Potter. That's what they all say." The name caught the attention of more than one shopper in the Alley. Harry inwardly groaned.
"Can we go get ice cream now?" Kerrie asked.
"It's not my responsibility anymore. Ask Harry."
"But, Ollie, you promised."
Harry put on his puppy dog face. "Come on, Ollie."
Oliver glared at him, but relented. "Fine. But if Mum asks, we did not have ice cream for lunch, got it?"
Kerrie nodded happily and squealed when she and Harry stood up. "I'm the tallest girl in all of Diagon Alley!"
Harry grinned. "You're the Princess of the Alley."
"That makes you my Knight."
"And what is our dear Ollie?"
"The Jester!"
Harry burst out laughing and Oliver let out an indignant "Hey!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Eenie, Meenie, Minee, Moe!" Kerrie pointed to some of the thousand different names on the sign, trying to decide which flavor to get. "That one!" Unfortunately, she was pointing to the words 'A sickle a scoop'.
"That's not an ice cream flavor, Kerrie," pointed out Oliver.
"It should be!"
"I'll look into that," said a voice behind them.
"Mr Fortescue!" Harry exclaimed. "How are you?"
"How many times must I ask you to call me Florean, Harry," he smiled.
"At least once more," he answered automatically*.
He chuckled. "Who are your friends?"
"This is Oliver Wood and his sister, Princess Kerrie."
"Ruler of Diagon Alley and Future Seeker," added Oliver.
"Princess of the Alley? Well, then I must insist you get your ice cream for free."
Harry sighed. "We can easily pay for this - "
Florean cut him off. "Every time you come here, Harry, we go through the same thing. You'd think you would learn that you can't win by now."
"Yet you keep insisting that I call you by your first name."
He rolled his eyes. "I give up. But you're still getting free ice cream. Have you decided, Princess?"
"I want this kind and this kind and this kind."
"Pumpkin Peel, Mint Tapioca, and Banana Bread?"
"Sounds appetizing," Oliver said sarcastically.
"What about you, Harry?" she asked.
"Hmmmm, I can't decide. What do you think?" he asked Kerrie.
I think you should get this one and those two and that one. Oh, and that one!"
Florean marked the new names down on a pad of paper. "Blueberry, Pineapple, Carmel, Cherry Cream, and Waffle."
"You have waffle flavored ice cream?" Harry asked in amazement.
"We have every kind."
"Wow."
"I think I'll just stick to Chocolate," said Oliver.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Harry watched Kerrie fondly as she got orange smears all over her face.
'I wonder if I'd have any brothers or sisters if my parents were never killed. Guess I'll never find out. Still, it might've been nice ..... '
Harry was shook out of his musings by a distant clock striking one.
"Oh no! We're supposed to be home by now! Come on, Kerrie!" Oliver hastily tried to clean his sister up to no avail. "I'll see you around, Harry."
"Bye!" Kerrie called over Oliver's shoulder as they headed towards the Leaky Cauldron. Harry waved.
"Bye, Princess!"
Harry got up, left some money on the table (knowing Florean was never going to take his money directly) and headed towards Gringotts. He had work to do.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hi, I'd like to take some money out of my vault."
"Name," the Goblin asked, clearly bored with the proceedings.
"Harry Potter." At the name, the Goblin piped up a bit more and heads all down the counter (wizard and goblin alike) turned to look at him. Harry gritted his teeth. He wished people would stop doing that.
The Goblin didn't take his eyes from Harry's forehead. "Do you have your key, sir?" he asked politely, with a smile that looked strange on his narrow face.
Harry pulled the small gold key from his pocket and placed it on the counter, slightly puzzled by the teller's abrupt change in demeanor. The Goblin inspected it closely before hailing another goblin over.
"Gaklav! Please escort Mr. Potter to his vault. Oh, and explain to him the new ..... additions."
Gaklav eyes widened and he looked awfully smug with himself.
Harry wasn't sure he wanted to know why.
"What new 'additions'?" he questioned cautiously.
"You'll see."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A cart ride later found Harry and Gaklav in the bowels of Gringotts.
"Here we are, Vault 529," Gaklav declared. "Go on, have a look."
Harry slowly made his way up to the door and turned the key. Once the familiar green smoke had cleared, he saw ......
Gold. Mountains and mountains of Galleons. More money then he had ever seen in his entire life.
"What the - " Harry gasped. "Where'd all this come from?"
"Your inheritance of course."
Then he remembered. 'Mr. Black's assets' ..... '4.7 million Galleons' ........ 'split evenly' ...... 'his godson, Harry Potter'.
Swallowing the lump that appeared in his throat, he realized Gaklav was still talking. "..... with the money Mr. Black left you, you're one of the richest men in Great Britain!"
Harry surveyed his surroundings. No wonder the goblins had been treating him so well. He tried to keep his voice calm as he addressed Gaklav, not wanting to let anyone see the pain even the mention of Sirius' name brought him. "What are those?" he asked, motioning to a couple dark, black trunks piled by the wall.
"Some family heirlooms."
"Could someone come down and check these out? The Blacks aren't exactly known for having the most ... savory items lying around."
Gaklav nodded. "I'll get one of our Curse Breakers down here right away." He took a small, silver whistle out of a pocket and blew into it. Although it didn't make a sound, it must have done something. A cart arrived within minutes, several people aboard.
But it was the red-headed one that made Harry groan.
"You're not supposed to be here, Harry," said Bill Weasley, as he climbed out of the cart.
"Er ... " Harry began.
"Well?"
"Thiiiiis is alllllll a dreeeeeam," he said, in a voice eerily reminiscent of Professor Trelawney.
Bill snorted. "Nice try."
"Couldn't you have selective memory?" Harry suggested. "Forget you ever saw me?"
"Now why would I do that?"
A wicked smirk spread across Harry's face. "'Cause if you don't, I might just forget not to tell your mother what Fred told me last August. About you and Fleur in your office. Involving your wand - "
A red faced Bill cast a Silencing Charm on Harry, but not before his companions heard. Thus, the cave filled with laughter. Harry even saw Fleur in the cart, suppressing a smirk.
"What happened to the Un-flappable William Weasley?" called out a brown- haired man.
Harry shook with silent laughter and his thoughts wandered to something Professor Flitwick had said in Charms. 'A Silencing Charm is easily breakable if you have the will power to do it. Which is why few wizards resort to using it in battles, to stop their opponents from saying spells.'
'I broke through the Imperious Curse', Harry thought. 'So why not this.'
Concentrating, he motioned Bill closer to him.
"Something to say, Harry?" Bill mocked. "What? I can't hear you? Speak up."
He felt something snap in his mind. Bingo. "DON'T EVER HEX ME, WEASLEY!" Harry shouted into Bill's ear, causing him to fall backwards, and stare up at the black-haired boy with a dazed expression. Harry stuck out his tongue for good measure. "So there!" he said, in a childish voice.
"Ahem." Harry jumped. He'd forgotten that Gaklav was there. "I believe there was something you wanted done?"
"Oh, right," Harry responded, helping Bill up. "The trunks."
"You can go back upstairs, Gaklav. We'll take Harry back up," Bill said, once he was on his feet again. Gaklav looked strangely reluctant, but did take his leave.
A still giggling Fleur came over to them as soon as he was gone. "How are you, Harry?"
"Good," he answered. "You're English is getting a lot better."
"Thank you. I've had a ... good teacher." She stole a look at Bill and Harry suppressed another chuckle.
"Don't say a word, Harry," threatened Bill.
Harry raised an eyebrow. "Now why wouldn't I?"
"Fine," he sighed. "I won't tell anyone about you being here."
"I knew you'd see it my way."
"You're lucky I like you."
The brown-haired man spoke up again. "Aren't you gonna introduce us, Bill?"
"Oh yeah. Harry, this is Conner" he motioned to the brown-haired man "Sarah" a girl with black hair "and Pat." A short man with blond hair waved. "Everyone, this is Harry Potter. He's an old friend of the family." The group's eyes flicked upward to Harry's sporting cap. He thanked whatever higher being was listening that he was wearing it. "Now, Harry, what are we doing here?"
"There are some trunks that .... that Sirius left me," he said quietly. "I just want to make sure they're safe to open. After all the stuff we found last year ..... "
"No problem. Just wait out here." He entered the vault leaving the rest alone outside.
"So." Harry turned to Fleur. "How's Gabrielle been?"
"Good. She asked about you," she said with a sly smile.
"What?"
"She's taken quite in interest in reading the papers lately. It's strange considering she swore she'd never read them again last year. I wonder what changed her mind."
Harry felt the heat rise in his face, knowing full well the praise the Daily Prophet had been lathering him with. He never noticed the other three in the room having a quiet conversation of there own.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SARAH'S-POINT-OF-VIEW
'He's certainly not what I expected', Sarah thought. 'He's just so ...... normal.'
She'd had always thought that Harry Potter was a larger than life being. He'd be kind of a mini-Dumbledore. The whole hero thing.
But this boy was just a teenager.
"That's weird," she heard Pat mumble.
"What is?" Conner asked.
"Look at how he acts around Fleur."
Sarah took a closer look. She had seen Fleur cause men to melt like butter when she walked into the room, but ..... Harry wasn't. He was acting as if she was a normal person.
"Strange."
There definitely was something strange about Harry Potter. But what?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BACK-TO-HARRY
Harry couldn't help but blush at Fleur teasing that her sister had a crush on him.
"Giving Harry a taste of his own medicine?" Bill chuckled from the entryway of the vault.
"Hahaha," Harry said sarcastically.
"Anyway," Bill continued. "You were right to call us down. Most of those trunks have some kind of curse on them. I'll work on breaking through them later, but it's going to take some time."
"Most?"
"This one doesn't." He handed Harry a small box. "You can open it if you want. It's perfectly safe."
Harry slowly pulled off the cover to find a small flat silver disk. It didn't mean much to him, but it apparently did to everyone else.
"Wow," whispered Pat. "Is that an .... Interpres?"
"Looks like it," answered Bill in awe.
"A what?" Harry asked, puzzled.
"An Interpres, Harry. It ..... well, it's basically a translator. With this, you can understand and speak as many languages as you want."
"Really? How does it work?"
"You put it on."
"Funny. I mean, how can just know the languages?"
"You don't just 'know' them. You have to learn the basics first. The Interpres just makes you remember it automatically."
"There are side effects, though," Fleur warned. "My grandfather had one of those. Every now and then, he'd trail off in a different language and he never even realized he was speaking it."
"Seems like it's worth it," Harry said. he looked at Bill. "So how do you work it?"
"Here." Bill took the disk from the box and pressed it into Harry's temple. "Devincio!"
Harry felt the metal mold into his skin and disappear. "Wicked."
"Wahlah! Anyway, I assume you came down here for money." At Harry's nod, he continued. "Gather some up and then we'll leave."
Harry started back towards the vault door, but stopped abruptly. "Bugger, I forgot my money bag."
"You know, you don't have to carry around a money bag."
"Hmmm?"
"You could always get a Magicard."
"A what?"
"It's like a Muggle Credit card. Let's go talk to Gaklav about getting you one."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Harry strolled down Diagon Alley after bidding Bill and his friends good- bye, armed with new purchasing power. This would fit his plans quite nicely.
He stepped into Flourish Blotts, planning on getting his hands on as many Defense books as he could. But something else caught his eye first. Or rather, someone.
Alicia Spinnet, ex-Gryffindor chaser, was ringing up customers at the counter. He smiled wryly to himself. 'Is there a Quidditch convention in town or something?'
"Gavin!" Alicia called out as the last person in line had left. "I'm going on break, okay?" Muffled words answered her from the backroom. She left her post to go browse some books in the corner.
Harry cautiously snuck up behind her and read over her shoulder. "'202 Ways To Make Him Sweat'," Harry said aloud and Alicia jumped. "Never took you for a tease."
Alicia's eyes widened as she realized who was addressing her and she swatted the black haired boy on arm. Harry winced in mock-pain. "Don't scare me like that!"
"My apologies, Lady Licia." Harry swept a deep bow, while Alicia giggled at him. "May I inquire as to what you are doing right now?"
"Talking to you, living, breathing .... "
"As long as it isn't important, would you like to accompany to lunch to make up for the injustice I delivered on you by startling you?" Harry wasn't sure where this all was coming from - it certainly wasn't how he spoke to Cho. But maybe it was because he didn't like Alicia that way .....
"Of course, good sir." She curtseyed. "Just let me - "
"Alicia! Where do you think you are going?" A balding man entered from the door behind the counter.
"Er, - out to lunch, Gavin?"
"Not today you aren't!"
"Sorry, Harry." She sent him an apologetic look.
"No problem," he assured her. "What time do you get off?"
"3:30."
"That's not to long. I'll wait."
"Oh no you won't." Gavin glared at Harry. "No dawdling around my shop."
"I won't be dawdling. I'll be shopping." He wandered into the back sections. "Pay no attention to the man behind the bookcase.**"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------
* = long running joke between me and my friends. You have no idea how happy it made me to hear it in 'Pirates of the Carribean'.
** = shamelessly stolen and adapted from the 'Wizard of Oz'.
CH3: Call It Insane
"Drove Downtown in the rain,
9:30 on a Tuesday night,
Just to check out the late night,
Record shop.
Call it compulsive, call it impulsive,
Call it insane.
When I'm surrounded I just can't stop.
It's a matter of instincts, a matter of conditioning,
And a matter-of-fact."
July 4, 1996
Harry sat on his bed, brooding as usual, and skimming through the Daily Prophet. A bright yellow advertisement caught his eye. Weasley Wizard Wheezes.
'Looks like their shop is going well,' he thought. 'Wish I could go up there and check it out.' He sighed dejectedly. 'But there is no way Dumbledore will let me out of my cell. At least, not without a whole army surrounding me. And never to Diagon Alley ....
'You'd think that, after last year, he'd learn that locking me up is not the way to do things! Half of the problems last year could have been solved if he would just tell me what I needed to know. If I had known about the prophecy, I would have known about the door ....
'There were so many important moments. If I'd opened the package with mirror on it. If Snape hadn't taught me Occulmency at all. Or if I even practiced what Snape told me. If I hadn't gone to the Department of Mysteries .....
'A world of "if's", but it makes no difference. What was done is done. If I could go back in time .....
'But I can't. The past is behind me. The best thing now is to stop looking over my shoulder. It's time to forget the past and look to the present and future.
'I can't let them control me anymore. I won't. Not Voldemort, the Order, my friends, and especially not Dumbledore.
'I'm not going to lay around and wait. It's time to take action. This is my fight and I intend to fight to the end.'
Harry looked down at the flyer he was holding and smirked.
'And I think I know how to start.'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Harry,
Congratulations on your remarkable progress in Occulmency. I always suspected you would succeed at it. I believe Occulmency and Legilimens were some of the powers Voldemort accidently transferred to you all those years ago.
Unfortunately, Remus has a mission to go on and will be unable to continue instructing you. I would have Severus teach you again, but judging by your .... interesting lesson with him the other day, I believe that would not be the best course of action.
Enclosed is a book on Occulmency that I think you will find fascinating. I ask for you to keep studying by yourself until your classes can be arranged.
If this in not what you wish, the other option is for me to come out there and teach you myself.
Write me back with your answer,
Albus Dumbledore
PS - In dire cases, if the nightmares get too bad, I am enclosing a bottle of dreamless sleep potion. Use it with precaution, too much will become addictive.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dumbledore,
I'll take my chances with the book.
Harry Potter
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
July 5, 1996 Harry strolled along Privet Drive, aware of the footsteps that followed him. It was Mundungus Fletcher. He was the only one who walked that slowly. And the steps weren't even: he'd always take bigger steps with his right than his left ....
Harry made a mental check.
'Afternoons from noon to four - Mundungus on duty.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
July 6, 1996
The Order of the Phoenix was worried.
Not a huge Voldemort-is-taking-over-the-world-run-for-your-life type of worried.
But something was up with Harry.
He had been walking. Just walking. He'd go to one end of his street, then back down, and back again. All day long.
Too say it was odd was an understatement.
A good chunk of the Order was sure the Daily Prophet hadn't been far off the mark: Harry Potter definitely had bats in his belfry.
Others thought he was taking a leaf out of Dumbledore's book.
They weren't sure if that was a good thing or not.
Still others thought it was some weird way to help him get over Sirius' death. And whatever helped him recover from his grief was alright by them.
But the final member .....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mad-Eye Moody watched his ward carefully as he absentmindedly wandered around.
No, Moody knew he wasn't dealing with a nutcase or some devastated child. He had met enough Slytherin minds to tell when he was faced with one.
The fact that it was in a powerful teenager just made him all the more worried.
"What are you up to, Potter," he whispered to himself. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
July 7, 1996
Harry packed up a picnic basket and headed out the door of Privet Drive, mumbling a good-bye to his aunt. It was time to put his plan into action.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Watch him like a hawk, Mundungus," Moody warned as he prepared to Apparate away.
"You're over-reacting, Mad-Eye," chuckled Dung. "He's just eating lunch."
"Right. But don't say I didn't warn you." With one last look over at Harry, he disappeared.
"Paranoid old man."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hey Dung," greeted Harry. He smirked as he heard Mundungus' muttered curses at being found out. "Want to sit down?"
"I'm on the job, Harry," came the reply.
"Come on, you've been working for awhile now." Nothing. "We could play a little poker .... "
The magical words. "Poker?"
'Jackpot!' Harry inwardly cheered. "Yeah, poker. A nice betting game between friends."
"I - I really shouldn't."
"I got the cards right here. Don't make a production."
"Alright, we'll play a little. It'll relax me."
"You won't regret this."
Dung's eyes glittered eagerly as Harry dealt out the cards. "So what are we playing for?"
"Whatcha got?"
"Er .... about two Galleons."
"Two Galleons it is then."
"Deuces wild?"
"Sure. Here - have some chips. Something to drink too, if you want."
"Don't mind if I do," Dung replied, munching happily on the food and guzzling down a water. "You know, we should do this more often."
"Whatever you say, Dung. Go ahea - " Mundungus hit the ground with a thud. "Wow, that worked fast. Too bad, I got three aces. Oh well." He sighed and recovered Dung with the Invisibility Cloak, dragging him out of the way of Muggle foot traffic.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Harry smiled as the Muggle bus dropped him off a block from the Leaky Cauldron. It had been ages since he had been to Diagon Alley and he was reveling in going back now.
He adjusted his Puddlemere United cap so his scar was totally hidden. 'Total anonymity,' Remus had said.
And Harry wanted just that.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Harry took a deep breath. 'Just blend in.' He pushed his way into the Leaky Cauldron ....
.... and was met by a wand in his face and a man stating to shout a hex.
Reacting instinctively, Harry ducked his head to avoid the beam of light, kicked out the man's kegs, and whipped out his wand. Within seconds, he had the man pinned to the floor with his foot, disarmed, and at the mercy of his own wand, as well as Harry's.
"What was that for?!?" Harry asked.
"I - I thought you was a Deaf Ear," the man slurred.
"Deaf Ear - ?" The it clicked. "A Death Eater? Are you drunk?" he laughed. No evil assassins, no death threats - just a paranoid tipsy man with a wand.
"Ma'be a li'l."
"What's going on in - ?" Tom stopped short at the sight before him and stared at the man on the ground.
"Do your patrons regularly hex customers when they come in?" questioned Harry. Tom looked up. When he saw who was speaking, he had to repress a smile. Harry had gotten to know Tom during the summer before his third year and knew of the man's sense of humor: if anyone would find the irony in this situation, it would be Tom.
"Depends on if they are shady characters or not."
Harry lifted an eyebrow. "Do shady characters usually wear sporting caps?"
"Of course."
"Oh, I guess that makes me a shady character." He let the 'attacker' up and moved towards the bar.
"The shadiest," Tom nodded.
"Good to know."
"I haven't seen you around in a while," he said while he got Harry a Butterbeer. Harry nodded his thanks.
"Well, I figured if I came last year, the welcome would have been even worse than this one was."
Tom broke into a grin that Harry returned. "It's good to see you, Harry."
"You too, Tom."
"So what brings you here?" he asked as Harry sat down.
"Do I need an excuse to enjoy the fine qualities of the Leaky Cauldron food substances?"
Tom snorted. "Yes."
"Shopping."
"By yourself?"
"I will be sixteen at the end of the month."
"But what about everything that's going on with .... "
"Voldemort?" Harry asked. The room flinched.
"Don't say his name!"
"Fear of the name increases fear of the thing itself."
"Fine." Tom rolled his eyes. "But aren't you afraid that He is going to attack you?"
"If He's going to attack me anyway, I might as well go where I want to."
"I don't see Dumbledore letting you do that."
"Neither do I."
The bartender dropped the glass he was holding. "You snuck out?!?"
"Technically, no. The Dursleys knew I was leaving."
"Yes, but the Dursleys don't care what you do. No offense," he added.
"None taken."
"Does your guard know you left by yourself?"
"How do you know I have a guard?"
"The most evil wizard in years wants your head on a platter. Of course you have a guard."
"Maybe someone just forgot to inform them of my plans," Harry shrugged.
"Harry!"
"I was bored."
"Are you going to come here every boring afternoon?"
"Actually, I was bored this morning, but I had to wait until Mad-Eye was off duty. He's really hard to sneak past."
"Mad-Eye Moody?"
"The very same."
"He's going to be thrilled when he finds out," Tom said sarcastically.
"He might be. You can never tell with Moody," Harry pointed out.
"You do realize how dangerous this is, don't you?"
"It's not really that dangerous."
"Why not?"
"If I managed to sneak past the guard, I probably got past any Death Eaters that are watching my house. If they even know where I live. And, what are the chances that someone is waiting for me here. Nobody even knew I was coming out here today. So it's pretty safe," he explained.
Tom held up his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay, you win. But you do realize that Dumbledore won't be very happy when he finds out?"
"I don't really care what Dumbledore thinks," Harry growled.
"I thought you two were really close?"
"So did I."
"What happened?"
"I just can't trust him any more. Anyway, I really should get going, I don't have a lot of time. Have a good day, Tom." He started moving towards the door.
"Likewise. Enjoy your shopping, Potter."
"I will, thanks."
Harry turned back one last time and looked at the person who tried to curse him. "Sorry about flipping you over like that, I just wasn't expecting anyone to be pointing a wand at me."
The man stared on in shock as Harry entered the back alleyway.
'So much for blending in,' he smirked.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Going through the archway, Harry was met with the sights, sounds, and smells that were Diagon Alley. But one sound stood out above all others. A slight whimpering was coming from his left.
Harry looked down and saw a small girl with curly brown hair crying into her knees. He bent down to eye level with her.
"Hey, are you all right?"
The girl looked up, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I - I'm lost."
"Don't cry, it'll be alright," he said soothingly. "What's your name?"
"Kerrie Wood."
"Are you related to Oliver?"
"He's my brother. We were shopping and ..... I don't know where he went."
"Well, we'll just have to look for him then."
"You know Ollie?"
Harry smiled slightly at the name and nodded. "I played Quidditch with him at Hogwarts. My name's Harry, by the way."
"The - the Seeker Harry?"
"Yup."
"Wow! I want to be a Seeker, too!"
"How old are you, Kerrie?"
"Six and one half."
"Six and one half, huh? You have a ways off to go, but I'm sure you'll be a great Seeker when you get to Hogwarts. The best they've ever seen."
"Really?"
"Really. Now let's go find Oliver."
He held out his hand for Kerrie to take, but she ignored it and wrapped her arms around his neck. Startled, Harry picked the girl up and they set off down the road.
"Let's see, where do you think he'll be?"
She scrunched up her face in concentration. "Quidditch store."
"Quality Quidditch Supplies?" 'Not surprising,' Harry thought.
Kerrie nodded. "Mummy says he'd live there if they set up a bed in the back room," she replied matter-of-fact.
Harry chuckled. "Then to the Quidditch shop!" He broke into a gallop and Kerrie giggled, making whooshing sounds as if soaring through the air.
As they reached the shop, they found a crowd growing outside, a frantic Oliver Wood in the middle, asking if anyone had seen his sister.
He motioned with his hand. "She's about that tall. Brown hair. Blue eyes. Has - " Harry cut him off by clearing his throat.
"Loose something, Oliver?"
Wood whipped around and sighed in relief as Harry and Kerrie broke through the crowd.
"Kerrie! Where'd you go?!? I was so worried! I - " He stopped. He had tried to take Kerrie back, but she wouldn't budge.
"No. I wanna stay with Harry now."
"What - ?"
"My Harry." She hugged him tighter and Harry sat the two of them down on a bench.
"Ker, I'd love to keep you, but .... " He leaned in and whispered conspiratorially. "I'm not allowed to get another pet." Kerrie giggled, but didn't let go.
"If you want her, you can have her," Oliver offered, already getting over his panic. "She's a little brat most of the time."
"I'm not a brat!" Oliver snorted. "Harry says I'm gonna be the best Seeker at Hogwarts ever."
"Seeker? I thought you wanted to be a Keeper?"
"Now I wanna be a Seeker. Like Harry."
Oliver put on a mock-glare. "You've corrupted my sister!"
"Me? Corrupt?" Harry asked innocently. "Never."
"That's what they all say, Potter. That's what they all say." The name caught the attention of more than one shopper in the Alley. Harry inwardly groaned.
"Can we go get ice cream now?" Kerrie asked.
"It's not my responsibility anymore. Ask Harry."
"But, Ollie, you promised."
Harry put on his puppy dog face. "Come on, Ollie."
Oliver glared at him, but relented. "Fine. But if Mum asks, we did not have ice cream for lunch, got it?"
Kerrie nodded happily and squealed when she and Harry stood up. "I'm the tallest girl in all of Diagon Alley!"
Harry grinned. "You're the Princess of the Alley."
"That makes you my Knight."
"And what is our dear Ollie?"
"The Jester!"
Harry burst out laughing and Oliver let out an indignant "Hey!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Eenie, Meenie, Minee, Moe!" Kerrie pointed to some of the thousand different names on the sign, trying to decide which flavor to get. "That one!" Unfortunately, she was pointing to the words 'A sickle a scoop'.
"That's not an ice cream flavor, Kerrie," pointed out Oliver.
"It should be!"
"I'll look into that," said a voice behind them.
"Mr Fortescue!" Harry exclaimed. "How are you?"
"How many times must I ask you to call me Florean, Harry," he smiled.
"At least once more," he answered automatically*.
He chuckled. "Who are your friends?"
"This is Oliver Wood and his sister, Princess Kerrie."
"Ruler of Diagon Alley and Future Seeker," added Oliver.
"Princess of the Alley? Well, then I must insist you get your ice cream for free."
Harry sighed. "We can easily pay for this - "
Florean cut him off. "Every time you come here, Harry, we go through the same thing. You'd think you would learn that you can't win by now."
"Yet you keep insisting that I call you by your first name."
He rolled his eyes. "I give up. But you're still getting free ice cream. Have you decided, Princess?"
"I want this kind and this kind and this kind."
"Pumpkin Peel, Mint Tapioca, and Banana Bread?"
"Sounds appetizing," Oliver said sarcastically.
"What about you, Harry?" she asked.
"Hmmmm, I can't decide. What do you think?" he asked Kerrie.
I think you should get this one and those two and that one. Oh, and that one!"
Florean marked the new names down on a pad of paper. "Blueberry, Pineapple, Carmel, Cherry Cream, and Waffle."
"You have waffle flavored ice cream?" Harry asked in amazement.
"We have every kind."
"Wow."
"I think I'll just stick to Chocolate," said Oliver.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Harry watched Kerrie fondly as she got orange smears all over her face.
'I wonder if I'd have any brothers or sisters if my parents were never killed. Guess I'll never find out. Still, it might've been nice ..... '
Harry was shook out of his musings by a distant clock striking one.
"Oh no! We're supposed to be home by now! Come on, Kerrie!" Oliver hastily tried to clean his sister up to no avail. "I'll see you around, Harry."
"Bye!" Kerrie called over Oliver's shoulder as they headed towards the Leaky Cauldron. Harry waved.
"Bye, Princess!"
Harry got up, left some money on the table (knowing Florean was never going to take his money directly) and headed towards Gringotts. He had work to do.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hi, I'd like to take some money out of my vault."
"Name," the Goblin asked, clearly bored with the proceedings.
"Harry Potter." At the name, the Goblin piped up a bit more and heads all down the counter (wizard and goblin alike) turned to look at him. Harry gritted his teeth. He wished people would stop doing that.
The Goblin didn't take his eyes from Harry's forehead. "Do you have your key, sir?" he asked politely, with a smile that looked strange on his narrow face.
Harry pulled the small gold key from his pocket and placed it on the counter, slightly puzzled by the teller's abrupt change in demeanor. The Goblin inspected it closely before hailing another goblin over.
"Gaklav! Please escort Mr. Potter to his vault. Oh, and explain to him the new ..... additions."
Gaklav eyes widened and he looked awfully smug with himself.
Harry wasn't sure he wanted to know why.
"What new 'additions'?" he questioned cautiously.
"You'll see."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A cart ride later found Harry and Gaklav in the bowels of Gringotts.
"Here we are, Vault 529," Gaklav declared. "Go on, have a look."
Harry slowly made his way up to the door and turned the key. Once the familiar green smoke had cleared, he saw ......
Gold. Mountains and mountains of Galleons. More money then he had ever seen in his entire life.
"What the - " Harry gasped. "Where'd all this come from?"
"Your inheritance of course."
Then he remembered. 'Mr. Black's assets' ..... '4.7 million Galleons' ........ 'split evenly' ...... 'his godson, Harry Potter'.
Swallowing the lump that appeared in his throat, he realized Gaklav was still talking. "..... with the money Mr. Black left you, you're one of the richest men in Great Britain!"
Harry surveyed his surroundings. No wonder the goblins had been treating him so well. He tried to keep his voice calm as he addressed Gaklav, not wanting to let anyone see the pain even the mention of Sirius' name brought him. "What are those?" he asked, motioning to a couple dark, black trunks piled by the wall.
"Some family heirlooms."
"Could someone come down and check these out? The Blacks aren't exactly known for having the most ... savory items lying around."
Gaklav nodded. "I'll get one of our Curse Breakers down here right away." He took a small, silver whistle out of a pocket and blew into it. Although it didn't make a sound, it must have done something. A cart arrived within minutes, several people aboard.
But it was the red-headed one that made Harry groan.
"You're not supposed to be here, Harry," said Bill Weasley, as he climbed out of the cart.
"Er ... " Harry began.
"Well?"
"Thiiiiis is alllllll a dreeeeeam," he said, in a voice eerily reminiscent of Professor Trelawney.
Bill snorted. "Nice try."
"Couldn't you have selective memory?" Harry suggested. "Forget you ever saw me?"
"Now why would I do that?"
A wicked smirk spread across Harry's face. "'Cause if you don't, I might just forget not to tell your mother what Fred told me last August. About you and Fleur in your office. Involving your wand - "
A red faced Bill cast a Silencing Charm on Harry, but not before his companions heard. Thus, the cave filled with laughter. Harry even saw Fleur in the cart, suppressing a smirk.
"What happened to the Un-flappable William Weasley?" called out a brown- haired man.
Harry shook with silent laughter and his thoughts wandered to something Professor Flitwick had said in Charms. 'A Silencing Charm is easily breakable if you have the will power to do it. Which is why few wizards resort to using it in battles, to stop their opponents from saying spells.'
'I broke through the Imperious Curse', Harry thought. 'So why not this.'
Concentrating, he motioned Bill closer to him.
"Something to say, Harry?" Bill mocked. "What? I can't hear you? Speak up."
He felt something snap in his mind. Bingo. "DON'T EVER HEX ME, WEASLEY!" Harry shouted into Bill's ear, causing him to fall backwards, and stare up at the black-haired boy with a dazed expression. Harry stuck out his tongue for good measure. "So there!" he said, in a childish voice.
"Ahem." Harry jumped. He'd forgotten that Gaklav was there. "I believe there was something you wanted done?"
"Oh, right," Harry responded, helping Bill up. "The trunks."
"You can go back upstairs, Gaklav. We'll take Harry back up," Bill said, once he was on his feet again. Gaklav looked strangely reluctant, but did take his leave.
A still giggling Fleur came over to them as soon as he was gone. "How are you, Harry?"
"Good," he answered. "You're English is getting a lot better."
"Thank you. I've had a ... good teacher." She stole a look at Bill and Harry suppressed another chuckle.
"Don't say a word, Harry," threatened Bill.
Harry raised an eyebrow. "Now why wouldn't I?"
"Fine," he sighed. "I won't tell anyone about you being here."
"I knew you'd see it my way."
"You're lucky I like you."
The brown-haired man spoke up again. "Aren't you gonna introduce us, Bill?"
"Oh yeah. Harry, this is Conner" he motioned to the brown-haired man "Sarah" a girl with black hair "and Pat." A short man with blond hair waved. "Everyone, this is Harry Potter. He's an old friend of the family." The group's eyes flicked upward to Harry's sporting cap. He thanked whatever higher being was listening that he was wearing it. "Now, Harry, what are we doing here?"
"There are some trunks that .... that Sirius left me," he said quietly. "I just want to make sure they're safe to open. After all the stuff we found last year ..... "
"No problem. Just wait out here." He entered the vault leaving the rest alone outside.
"So." Harry turned to Fleur. "How's Gabrielle been?"
"Good. She asked about you," she said with a sly smile.
"What?"
"She's taken quite in interest in reading the papers lately. It's strange considering she swore she'd never read them again last year. I wonder what changed her mind."
Harry felt the heat rise in his face, knowing full well the praise the Daily Prophet had been lathering him with. He never noticed the other three in the room having a quiet conversation of there own.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SARAH'S-POINT-OF-VIEW
'He's certainly not what I expected', Sarah thought. 'He's just so ...... normal.'
She'd had always thought that Harry Potter was a larger than life being. He'd be kind of a mini-Dumbledore. The whole hero thing.
But this boy was just a teenager.
"That's weird," she heard Pat mumble.
"What is?" Conner asked.
"Look at how he acts around Fleur."
Sarah took a closer look. She had seen Fleur cause men to melt like butter when she walked into the room, but ..... Harry wasn't. He was acting as if she was a normal person.
"Strange."
There definitely was something strange about Harry Potter. But what?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BACK-TO-HARRY
Harry couldn't help but blush at Fleur teasing that her sister had a crush on him.
"Giving Harry a taste of his own medicine?" Bill chuckled from the entryway of the vault.
"Hahaha," Harry said sarcastically.
"Anyway," Bill continued. "You were right to call us down. Most of those trunks have some kind of curse on them. I'll work on breaking through them later, but it's going to take some time."
"Most?"
"This one doesn't." He handed Harry a small box. "You can open it if you want. It's perfectly safe."
Harry slowly pulled off the cover to find a small flat silver disk. It didn't mean much to him, but it apparently did to everyone else.
"Wow," whispered Pat. "Is that an .... Interpres?"
"Looks like it," answered Bill in awe.
"A what?" Harry asked, puzzled.
"An Interpres, Harry. It ..... well, it's basically a translator. With this, you can understand and speak as many languages as you want."
"Really? How does it work?"
"You put it on."
"Funny. I mean, how can just know the languages?"
"You don't just 'know' them. You have to learn the basics first. The Interpres just makes you remember it automatically."
"There are side effects, though," Fleur warned. "My grandfather had one of those. Every now and then, he'd trail off in a different language and he never even realized he was speaking it."
"Seems like it's worth it," Harry said. he looked at Bill. "So how do you work it?"
"Here." Bill took the disk from the box and pressed it into Harry's temple. "Devincio!"
Harry felt the metal mold into his skin and disappear. "Wicked."
"Wahlah! Anyway, I assume you came down here for money." At Harry's nod, he continued. "Gather some up and then we'll leave."
Harry started back towards the vault door, but stopped abruptly. "Bugger, I forgot my money bag."
"You know, you don't have to carry around a money bag."
"Hmmm?"
"You could always get a Magicard."
"A what?"
"It's like a Muggle Credit card. Let's go talk to Gaklav about getting you one."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Harry strolled down Diagon Alley after bidding Bill and his friends good- bye, armed with new purchasing power. This would fit his plans quite nicely.
He stepped into Flourish Blotts, planning on getting his hands on as many Defense books as he could. But something else caught his eye first. Or rather, someone.
Alicia Spinnet, ex-Gryffindor chaser, was ringing up customers at the counter. He smiled wryly to himself. 'Is there a Quidditch convention in town or something?'
"Gavin!" Alicia called out as the last person in line had left. "I'm going on break, okay?" Muffled words answered her from the backroom. She left her post to go browse some books in the corner.
Harry cautiously snuck up behind her and read over her shoulder. "'202 Ways To Make Him Sweat'," Harry said aloud and Alicia jumped. "Never took you for a tease."
Alicia's eyes widened as she realized who was addressing her and she swatted the black haired boy on arm. Harry winced in mock-pain. "Don't scare me like that!"
"My apologies, Lady Licia." Harry swept a deep bow, while Alicia giggled at him. "May I inquire as to what you are doing right now?"
"Talking to you, living, breathing .... "
"As long as it isn't important, would you like to accompany to lunch to make up for the injustice I delivered on you by startling you?" Harry wasn't sure where this all was coming from - it certainly wasn't how he spoke to Cho. But maybe it was because he didn't like Alicia that way .....
"Of course, good sir." She curtseyed. "Just let me - "
"Alicia! Where do you think you are going?" A balding man entered from the door behind the counter.
"Er, - out to lunch, Gavin?"
"Not today you aren't!"
"Sorry, Harry." She sent him an apologetic look.
"No problem," he assured her. "What time do you get off?"
"3:30."
"That's not to long. I'll wait."
"Oh no you won't." Gavin glared at Harry. "No dawdling around my shop."
"I won't be dawdling. I'll be shopping." He wandered into the back sections. "Pay no attention to the man behind the bookcase.**"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------
* = long running joke between me and my friends. You have no idea how happy it made me to hear it in 'Pirates of the Carribean'.
** = shamelessly stolen and adapted from the 'Wizard of Oz'.