June 15th, 1997, 9:00 a.m.
Ten days passed as Harry continued to rip his muscles to shreds. Since it was about the only thing he could do while in the Dursley's damn house, he was mostly confined to his weights. It was amazing what ten days of constant work did for Harry's body. He was already quite tall but when you add a good deal of muscle, he looked like a tank. Standing a little over six feet tall and one hundred and ninety-five pounds, Harry certainly looked different.
Fifty pound dumbbells rolled out of Harry's hands as sweat matriculated down his face. He breathed in heavily trying to catch his breath after a long workout. He sat up and hung his feet over the bed. His eyes caught Hermione's picture once again and sent him into a trance. He was rudely awakened from this trance when a quite crabby owl started to peck at his hands, drawing blood.
DAMN BIRDS! Harry took the package from the bird and ripped open the letter… from Ginny? Great… she's going to try and get things back together… I don't even want to bother with her anymore…
Dear Harry,
I hope you are doing well… I didn't really get a chance to talk to you after the funeral… I was hoping that you were still coming Bill's wedding tomorrow night at seven o'clock. I sent some muffins and other assorted goods for you, since I assume your relatives aren't feeding you. I hope you are doing well, and I can't wait to see you.
Love,
Ginevra Weasley
What is it with girls and love? Harry asked incredulously. He looked down at the chocolates and shoved a few into his mouth. I'm going to have to go down into town and get some money out so I can buy a new dress robe… I don't think that Uncle Vernon wants me to give Dudley another tail, so he should let me leave this time… or he's going to be laying six feet under for eternity…
Harry quickly showered and put on some muggle clothes before heading downstairs. He wasn't even going to bother asking Vernon; it was a lost cause with him. Harry headed out to the garage and saw a bike that looked like it hadn't been used… ever… Dudley sure knows how to use his things… He probably hasn't used this since he fell off of it when he was thirteen, claiming that it was defective… it couldn't be the fact that he was just fat… or big-boned as Petunia likes to claim… Harry chuckled to himself and threw his leg over the other side and pedaled off towards the nearest muggle village.
Harry walked into a sporting goods store and found what he was looking for: a skin tight suit that would not only protect his skin, but also extract any excess heat from his body. He bought three pairs with the little muggle money he had. Looks like I need to refill my moneybag… Harry made sure he was clear of all muggles and raised his wand straight into the air. Out of nowhere, a bright purple triple-decker bus careened in front of him.
"Diagon Alley, Stan," Harry said as he boarded. "I don't have any money on me right now, but you can take it out of my bank account," he said as he went towards the back of the bus.
Stan followed Harry to the back with a newspaper under his arm. "So why'd you do it?" he asked with eagerness.
"Do what?" Harry asked dumbfounded.
Stan unfurled the paper. The headline read, "Harry Potter joins Ministry Cause."
Harry could feel the anger rise within him. "I never joined the ministry for their 'cause,'" Harry's eyes scanned down the paper and saw the author, Rita Skeeter. Of course, whenever you see bullshit, it has to be Rita Skeeter. Harry threw the paper out the window and waited for the bus to stop at his destination.
Within ten minutes the magical bus was in front of the Leaky Cauldron. "The Leaky Cauldron!" Stan yelled throughout the bus. Harry quickly got up and exited. He almost sprinted through to bar so some stupid fan wouldn't stop him. He swiftly opened the passage to the Alley and walked in, feeling at home once again.
Harry's first stop was Gringott's Wizarding Bank in the center of the small vilage. He walked in and saw the almost repulsive goblins behind the counters. He approached the main counter and looked straight into the goblin's eyes. "I need a withdrawal from my account…" he said not breaking eye contact.
"Do you have your key?" he drawled.
Harry pulled it out and set it on the desk. The goblin's eyes popped out as he saw the crest on the key. "This way Mr. Potter…" he said, his voice begging forgiveness.
Harry had never seen a goblin act like this before, but just followed because he didn't really care. They snaked through the underground tunnels until they came to a sudden halt outside of Harry's vault. The small dwarfish creature jumped out of the carriage and stuck the key into the door as it opened. He pushed the door open and motioned for Harry to go inside and get his business done.
Harry was collecting his gold when he saw a set of daggers and swords in the corner. What the hell is this? He crept up on the weaponry and cautiously picked up the sword. The sword fitted itself to his grip and grew in length. A sheath appeared at Harry's side and he carefully slid this new blade into its home as the entire thing shrunk to the size of a dagger to conceal itself. Harry looked down at his shoes, well where his shoes formerly were. In its place was high black boots with a pair of dagger sticking out of each. Harry bent over and took out the twin blades, that form fitted to his hands as well. He put them back into their sheaths inside his boots and turned back to his gold.
"Is there any way I can get some sort of card that will allow me to have an unlimited amount of gold with me without having to come back here every time I need money?" Harry asked the tiny goblin.
The goblin thought for a bit, scratching his head. He broke out of his trance after a few moments. "I have created a pouch that will attach to your belt. When you reach your hand inside of the pouch, the amount of gold you need shall appear. If you find you have too much, you simply put the excess back into the bag and it will be deposited back into your account…"
"What about theft?" Harry asked skeptically.
"The bag has charms on it that will only allow someone who has permission or yourself into the bag. If you find that it is missing, all you have to do is think about the bag, and it shall return to your side." The goblin pulled out a black bag from his coat. "Stick your wand inside the bag and it will lock itself with your magical essence."
Harry did as he was told and stuck his wand inside the bag as it rumbled.
"Now think of the bag, and it will be in its resting place…" he said sticking the bag behind his back.
Well this is quite foolish… it's worth a shot though… I need my moneybag… he thought. Sure enough, the bag appeared at his side. Harry was, to say the least, surprised. "How much for this?"
"Free of charge, Master Potter."
"What? That can't be, how much do I owe you?" Harry asked, not believing that it were actually free.
"It costs nothing." The goblin bowed and led him back to the carriage. "Just kill that son of a bitch, he-who-must-not-be-named, and we'll call it even."
Harry rolled his eyes as they came back to the entrance of Gringotts. "Thank you for your help…"
"Ragnok," the small goblin finished. "Have a good day, Mr. Potter," he said in farewell.
Harry turned and left the bank en route to Madam Malkin's robes. He walked in and approached the counter. "I need robes for a wedding, preferably black," he added at the end. The witch behind the counter quickly went to pick out some things he could choose between while tape hovered around his body measuring.
The small witch returned with four sets of robes. One caught Harry's eyes. It was more of a suit with cape, but it looked quite dashing to him. It had black pants with a white dress shirt and a gold vest. The ensemble had black gloves to add to the effect. The final part was the black cloak with red trim.
"See anything you like?" the worker asked.
Harry pointed to the cloak and suit and the young woman showed him to the dressing room. When Harry had finally completed putting the complicated garment on, he turned around. When he saw the cape on his back his breathing hitched. On the back in a clear red was a gryphon with a serpent in its mouth. Well that's a cool feature, Harry mused to himself. Harry didn't even need to try on anything else. He quickly stripped and changed back into his normal robes and left the changing room, moving towards the counter.
"I'll take it," he announced.
The witch went over to the register and quickly started pressing buttons as it chimed. "That'll be a hundred and fifty galleons."
Harry reached into his bag, and sure enough, one hundred and fifty galleons appeared in the pouch. He put them on the counter and bid farewell. He exited through the leaky cauldron and out onto the London street where he called the bus and quickly got on.
(A/N) Heyo! Well I got another chapter out. Hope you guys enjoyed it. Don't forget to REVIEW, it helps me to keep writing. If you have any questions, IM me or send me an e-mail and I will try to answer them. I solemnley swear I am up to no good.