Disclaimer: Everything you recognise is J.K.Rowling's property. I do not own Harry Potter and am not making any money out of this.

Chapter five: shopping

He had never been to a pub before, being way too young, but on occasions he had glanced through the front window of the one in his street, and as far as he could tell, it had nothing in common with this one.

It was quite small, and it looked old and about to collapse. There wasn't a lot of people inside, probably due to the early hour, but the ones who were there seemed to have just gotten out of a history book. They wore weird clothes, colourful long robes, even the men, and many even had pointed hats. Behind the bar, a strange bald man waved a stick, and the chairs immediately rearranged themselves. Alone. He didn't touch them, carried them, or pushed them. Magic. It was true, then. Dumbledore wasn't a crazy man, he was telling the truth. Which meant that Han really was a wizard…

Somehow, that wasn't a revelation for him. He felt as if he had always knew, deep inside. All those years ago, when his so-called family told him he was a freak on a daily basis, he knew it was because he was different. Because he could do things the others, 'normal people', couldn't, his relatives were afraid of him.

He shook his head. He was thinking about them way too often these days. Usually he avoided it like the plague. Why couldn't he just forget them? He had heard that people usually didn't remember their early childhood. Would he be able to forget he had ever been with them one day? Would he be able to erase the memory of the day his uncle beat him almost to death? He sure hoped so.

Thankfully the bald man noticed him and approached, saying in a friendly voice:

"Hi kiddo! I'm Tom. What's your name?"

"Han. Could you please show me the way to Diagon Alley?"

"Sure! This way."

Han followed him into a little court outside the bar, surrounded by walls, where there were only a few trashes and some weeds. The boy was beginning to think it was all a trap, or a bad joke, when the man got his wand out and tapped one of the walls three times.

Han blinked, checking that he wasn't dreaming. Where seconds before there had been a wall, there was now a street, which he guessed was Diagon Alley. Shaking his head under Tom's amused gaze, he thanked him and entered the Alley, looking around in stupefaction. The street was full of people wearing hats and colourful robes, just like inside the bar.

He had much things to do, though, so he quit staring and headed to the nearest store.

…………………………………………………………………………………

Three hours and a half later, he had already decided that the shrinking charm was his favourite. That was his weirdest day ever. He had gone to a bank held by Goblins, changed normal money for pieces of gold, and bronze and silver, and spent it all in things like books (in which the pictures were moving!), cauldron, robes, parchment and quills. Now, the only thing left on the list was a wand.

Ollivander. That was to be his next stop. He pushed the door open and waited for the owner to finish with the other customer, a boy around his age. Strangely, he was alone, just like him. It was strange because all day long he had seen mothers and fathers fussing about their sons and daughters, paying for them, buying them sweets atop of all else…

But this boy was alone, and Han felt empathy for him. Maybe he didn't have anyone who cared about him either?

Then he turned, and empathy turned to horror. Han didn't know this face, but Harry did. Right before him stood Dudley Dursley, tall and healthy blond boy of eleven, with pure horror on his face, for he had recognised his cousin too.

"H-harry? He asked, his voice trembling."

"Hi Dudley", Harry said without thinking, as incoherent thoughts ran through his shocked mind.

Dudley was there. They were going to go to the same school. Dudley would tell everyone not to befriend Harry. Dudley and his friends would make his life miserable.

But then he thought again. He's all alone. Maybe his mum abandoned him too. After all she never could stand magic. He's lost a lot of weight. Maybe he didn't have anything to eat on the streets.

Another part of him just didn't care. His cousin didn't mean anything to him after all this time. It was just another customer. His voice grew cold, as did his eyes, when he asked:

"Are you finished, then? I have to buy myself a wand."

His cousin seemed a little lost for a second, but then he grabbed his new acquired wand and left the store without a word.

Then he didn't have any time to think about it, because the old wizard turned to him.

"Well, well, well. What is it we have here? Harry Potter himself! Yes, Albus told me you were coming. I must say you look stunningly good, for someone who just spent five years who-know-where."

……………………………………………….

An hour later, Han could at least get out of the shop. He had tried nearly every wand in store (or at least it seemed this way to him) before finally finding the right one, which he quickly hid under his clothes. Even if he didn't know any spell yet, it could come in handy.

He had everything he needed to go to school, and the train left the next morning. His things would apparently go back to their normal size as soon as they were in his room at Hogwarts, which was very handy but came with a disadvantage: he couldn't read any book before going to school.

He was excited. He was finally going to school, the thing he had wanted more than anything since he left his aunt's house. He was still a little shaken up after the encounter with Dudley, but he told himself it didn't matter. He was going to school!

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