Disclaimer: I told you all before, I don't own anything related to the Harry Potter franchise nor am I making any money off of this fic.

Chapter 3:

Day Trip

It was at 7:30 the next morning when Harry awoke to the blaring of his alarm clock. He quickly shut it off, jumped out of bed, and as quietly as he could so as to not disturb the Dursley's, he headed to the bathroom to shower and prepare for his trip to Diagon Alley. Knowing Moody was out there with that damned eye of his, Harry sat at his desk, threw open his transfiguration book so as to appear like he was doing schoolwork. Instead, began a list of all the things that he needed to pick up on his shopping excursion.

Shopping List

1. Robes

2. A new trunk, preferably one like Moody's

3. Books

4. Another wand

5. The thing Dumbledore mentioned

Tucking the list securely into his jean pocket, he glanced at the clock, noticing the time to be 8:30. Pulling open his trunk, he took out his invisibility cloak, the pack he used for carrying his books at school, and one his cloaks that had a rather large hood sufficient enough to hide his face if he adjusted it correctly. Seeing as he had time, he took this moment to organize what was left in the trunk now that he had removed his books. As he was pulling out a bunch of Dudley's old clothing , something sharp at the bottom of his trunk cut the tip of his thumb.

"What the hell?" he muttered to himself.

Carefully removing an old shirt that seemed to cover whatever it was that hurt him, Harry found himself looking at the broken pieces of the two-way mirror. He had forgotten about it, forgotten about how he had been angry at Sirius and how he had 'conveniently' forgot about it. If he were to feel guilty about Sirius' death, this would have been why. Could he be blamed for it, for Sirius's death? At that moment he didn't know. There were a lot of things that went wrong that night, a lot of mistakes had been made leading up to that night.

He continued to stare at those broken pieces of glass, fighting down the pain that he had been suppressing for the past few days. 'Damn it, I don't have the luxury to deal with this right now!' Allowing his anger to take control, he chucked the pieces of glass back into the trunk and slammed it closed. He had work to do, and he couldn't afford to obsess about things that had already happened. A quiet chime noise drew his attention, so he turned around and glared at the clock. He started, realizing that he had actually been staring at the mirror for almost a half-hour. Further suppressing his anger and possible guilt for another time, he angrily slung his backpack onto his shoulders and threw on his invisibility cloak.

A minute or two after his clock displayed 9, he heard a crack that signaled Alastor Moody's departure. Keeping an eye out for Order members, he sneaked out the back door and left the yard of #4 Privet.

'Well,' he thought, 'that was far too easy!'

Once he was a good distance from #4, Harry tore off his invisibility cloak and stuffed it into his backpack. Securing his cloak and tossing the hood over his head, he stuck out his wand.

Bang!

A vivid purple triple-decker bus came to a screeching halt right in front of Harry. The door opened and the pimply-faced man that Harry recognized as Stan Shunpike came out. After throwing Harry a suspicious glance, he spoke.

"Welcome to the Knight Bus, transportation for the stranded witch or wizard. Fair is 1 galleon and 5 Knuts."

"Hey Stan, I need to take a trip to Diagon Alley." Harry quickly handed Stan the money, he followed Stan onboard and sat down. There was barely anyone on the bus, but those that were there kept tossing him weary looks. It would have once angered Harry to know that someone might actually think he was evil, now he knew better. Wryly he thought 'hell, they might actually have some reason to suspect such things after I am done shopping today.' He sat on the bus for about half an hour as passengers were picked up and dropped off. Finally, Stan called out Diagon Alley and he and about 3 other wizards got off the bus.

As soon as harry entered the Leaky Cauldron, the noise level seemed to drop off significantly. He could not help but smirk, knowing that people could not recognize him under the hood. "Idiots. If I were a Death Eater, I most definitely would not have come in looking conspicuous. Ah well, they have proven time and time again that they are nothing more than mindless sheep anyway.'

"Can I get you something to drink sir?" Tom the bartender asked warily.

Harry just waved him off and continued to walk into the alley behind the Leaky Cauldron, tapped the correct bricks with his wand, and entered the shopping district. It was relatively early still, and many of the shops were just opening. Harry however, ignored these places as his first goal was to get to Gringotts. He made his way to the bank completely unmolested and, like the rest of the alley, was practically devoid of customers. Squaring his shoulders and trying to give an air of confidence, he walked straight up to one of the goblins sitting at the counters.

The short creature had its head buried in a ledger and either did not notice his approach or chose to ignore him. After standing there for a minute, he cleared his throat.

"What?" Not surprisingly, the goblin sounded rather annoyed. Unfazed, Harry immediately got down to business.

"I need to make a withdrawal from my account."

"Fine. Name and key."

"Harry Potter, and here is my key" Harry slid his key to the goblin while not breaking eye contact. The goblin gave no indication that his name meant anything and quickly examined the key, apparently checking its authenticity. The short creature paused for a moment before reaching for another, thinner ledger, and began skimming its pages.

"Very well Mr. Potter. However, it says here that there is some business that must be discussed as soon as possible with one of our solicitors. Would you like to take care of that now, or at some other time?"

"Really? Well, let's take care of it now. I don't really know when I will be able to stop by again."

"Very well," the goblin said nodding. "Follow me please."

The goblin hopped down from his stool and came around the front of the counter where Harry was and gestured for the teen to follow him. Harry followed the goblin back behind the front desks. They entered a door and Harry found himself in a room full of comfortable looking chairs that was obviously a waiting area. The goblin turned back to face him.

"Please, have a seat. It will be a few minutes." Harry silently nodded in understanding and took a seat next to a small coffee table with some magazines on it. The goblin that led him there left without another word, almost slamming the door shut behind him. He sifted through the magazines that were on a small end table, finding nothing of interest, he settled on the only one that wasn't about household charms, which was called Teen Witch. He proceeded to spend the next fifteen minutes learning all the fascinating aspects of summer robe fashion when he was saved from tedium by the sound of someone clearing their throat. Turning, Harry saw an older looking goblin looking at him from across the room.

"I take it Mr. Potter you find our magazine selection a bit limited?" the short creature said with a twisted, ridiculing smile. Harry could only nod sheepishly.

"Well, come along Mr. Potter, we have business to discus. You can bring the magazine with you if you like," he finished with another chuckle.

"Err, no, that's alright. Lets just get our business done with," Harry replied as he stood up and followed the goblin through a door and into a small office, where the goblin gestured for Harry to take a seat in the chair across from the desk.

Taking a seat behind the desk, the goblin shuffled through some papers for a few seconds before looking up at Harry.

"Mr. Potter, it is a convenient coincidence that you chose to stop by today. It saves us the trouble of having to owl you. You see, we have in our possession the last will and testament of a Mr. Sirius Black. Mr. Black was the last to hold the Black family name and therefore inherited the entirety of the Black family fortune."

"Excuse me, but I know that there are still members of the Black family alive, such as Narcissa Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange and as far as I know, Sirius was disowned by the family. Why was Sirius left the Black fortune?"

"Yes, I forget that you are muggle raised Mr. Potter. You must understand that both Mrs. Malfoy and Mrs. Lestrange married and that the dowry they received was their share of the inheritance. As for Mr. Black being the sole heir, since his brother, the first in line to inherit the fortune, is dead and the other surviving Blacks have received their share, the rest passes on to the sole remaining black. There are also some other odd traditions and laws concerning the ancient pureblood families, but they are not important. What is important is that Mr. Black is the sole heir and has left you with a sizable portion of the Black Family fortune."

"Ok, I get that, but how does this work if there is no body? I mean, I doubt the current administration would acknowledge his death." Starting to sound a little frustrated and Harry's lack of knowledge of the Wizarding world, the goblin never the less answered the question.

"A wizards will is a magical contract that is tied to the life of the person for whom the will is written. The fact that the will has, for lack of a better term, 'activated', means that Mr. Black is very much dead. Now, are there any more questions on the history of wizarding wills, or can we get down to business?"

"No, I think we can get started," Harry said, a bit taken back by the goblins increasing rudeness.

"Good. Now, as I said earlier, Mr. Black left you a sizable portion of his wealth, approximately forty percent of his monetary assets were left to you, along with a few odds and ends that are stated in the will. The other half has been given to a Mr. Remus Lupin. He has also passed you and Mr. Lupin co-ownership of the ancestral Black Family Home, though at the present time we are unable to determine its location. There is also a piece of undeveloped property in Hogsmeade that was owned by the Blacks. The ownership of that property was left to be disputed between you and Mr. Lupin."

"I see." Harry took a moment to process this new information before continuing. "So, how much did Sirius leave?" The goblin shuffled some more papers and focused on one before answering.

"Well, it would seem that the amount he left you rounds out to about ten and a quarter million galleons each to both you and Mr. Lupin after transaction fees." At this statement, Harry seemed a bit startled. 'Ten million galleons is a lot, but then, they were 'The Most Noble House of Black,' he thought sarcastically. Harry quickly turned his attention back to the goblin, who had started to speak again.

"There are also a variety of personal effects that both you and Mr. Lupin need to sort through however that will not be mediated by Gringotts. Now, would you like us to transfer your share of your inheritance to your vault or would you like to open a new one?"

"Uhmm, is there space in my current vault?" The goblin chuckled a bit at this.

"Yes Mr. Potter, I do believe your current account is physically large enough for the additional galleons."

"Well, if there is space, just put it in my current vault."

"Very good. Now, I need you to sign these papers stating that you have accepted your share of Mr. Black's fortune and I will need you to sign this sheet which will indicate that you are now co-owner of the Black Ancestral home." He said all this while shoving some pieces of parchment in Harry's direction.

"Is there a problem of me not being of age yet?"

"No Mr. Potter." The goblin seemed a bit frustrated with Harry's ignorance. "The property you are co-owning with an of-age wizard, and the rest of the inheritance is no different than any other Gringotts deposit. Any more questions?"

"Umm, no, sir." 'Okay, someone is grumpy this morning.' Harry turned his attention to the documents the goblin had slid him. Quickly skimming them to make sure he was not signing away his soul or anything, he signed both sheets and handed them back to the goblin.

"Well, it was a pleasure doing business with you Mr. Potter. Now, if you will follow me, I will show back to the lobby." With that, Harry followed the goblin out of the meeting room. As they were walking towards the lobby, Harry was struck with sudden inspiration.

"Excuse me sir, but I will probably be making some very expensive purchases today. How does one go about that without having to carry around a massive sack of galleons?"

"You will find Mr. Potter than most merchants have money-transfer sheets for you to sign in case of large purchases. As long as they are Gringotts certified, you can be guaranteed that all your transactions in this way are secure and private. Knowing your situation, I can imagine that you may wish some anonymity while shopping. In this case, you can merely write down your vault number and then tap it with your wand to confirm your identity. We do not share any financial information with the Ministry unless we detect fraud or fraud is reported, and then we only contact the Ministry if we wish to press charges."

"Oh, well that makes sense. I don't have to pay for this, do I?"

"No Mr. Potter. The merchant covers all fees associated with the transaction. It's really in their benefit as it smoothes the way for large transactions. However, you may wish to take a large amount of coin with you as some of the more disreputable shops don't bother with direct money transfers."

"Thanks for the advice. Unless there is anything else to discuss, I would like to visit my vault now."

"Of course Mr. Potter, follow me." The goblin led Harry to one of the carts and they began their trip to Harry's vault.

The ride down through the bowels of Gringotts was just like Harry remembered: long and bumpy. Once there, he retrieved two sacks of galleons and loaded his pockets with sickles and knuts. Once they returned to the lobby, he exchanged some money for muggle money. With his business at Gringotts completed, Harry again headed out into Diagon Alley.

The first shop Harry stopped at was Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. While his disguise worked well enough to get him to the Alley, he would need something a bit more convincing and secure if he planned on making a trip into Knockturn Alley. The Alley itself was a bit busier than when he went into the bank, but still acceptable. He quickly made his way through the street to the robe shop, breathing a sigh of relief when he found no one else inside Madam Malkin's.

As soon as he entered, a middle-aged woman greeted him hesitantly.

"Excuse me, but may I help you?"

"Yes, please. I need new school robes, dress robes, everyday robes, and some nice dueling robes."

"I see. What, may I ask, is your name?" Lowering his hood, Harry responded.

"Harry Potter." He held back a chuckle as he saw the surprise written across her face.

"Mr. Potter, what a splendid surprise! I would assume by the way that you are dressed that you do not wish to be recognized?"

"Yes ma'am." Feeling uncomfortable with the rather loud attention he was getting, he decided to try and change the subject back to business. "Anyway, how about those robes?"

"Oh yes, of course. Here dear, lets get you measured," and she lead Harry into the side of the store and began taking his measurements.

"So Mr. Potter, you want basic school robes…"

"Actually ma'am, I am sort of spoiling myself today, so perhaps something nicer than 'basic,' if you please."

"Very well then Mr. Potter. What sort of price range are you looking at?"

"Well, I don't want to spend more than a thousand galleons, but I do need a complete wizarding wardrobe."

"Really?" she said surprised. "Well then, we can do quite a bit with that kind of money. Well, I'm done with the measuring, let me get you some cloth samples and we can get to work!"

After he was measured and had picked out the different types of materials he wanted his robes made out of. He bought six sets of school robes, all made of a very expensive, black silk type material. He grabbed some nice generic work robes, which were ideal for gardening, potion making, and whatnot. The clerk had also convinced him to buy a few sets of 'lounge' robes, which were made of fine silk. They were too informal to wear to, lets say, the office, but too delicate and fancy to be work robes. The entire point of these robes was so that one could look fashionable while spending the evening in ones manor (these were apparently very popular among the pureblooded elite). He didn't object to purchasing them because he decided that it would be nice to actually be able to wear something of quality while he was not in his school uniform.

While not required, he also picked up two new sets of dress robes. One of them was pure white with a shimmering gold trim and highlights around the neck and cuffs. The other set was green like his old ones to match his eyes with silver trim. He also picked up four new cloaks; a black winter cloak, a white one to match his dress robes, a silver one to match his other robes, and a blood red everyday set. The last types of robes he bought were his dueling robes, or as the store clerk corrected "combat robes," as in an official duel protective equipment was not allowed. These were made of a flexible dragon hide mounted over a light but durable material that harry could not quite place. The dragon hide covered his shoulders and wrapped around his torso, much like cuirass, while finely crafted strips of hide also protected his arms except at the joints. Four large pieces of hide protected his legs, two on each side of him and one that came down in front of him and one that came down behind him.

Like the dress robes, he decided to only purchase two sets (he would have stuck with one, but he couldn't decide on the colors). Both were made of black dragon hide, where as the exposed clothe was a crimson red on one set and a bright, vibrant yellow on another. He felt the red ones made him look intimidating while the yellow ones merely reminded him of a bee or a wasp. To complete his wardrobe, he bought two pairs of polished black dragon hide boots and two hats. One of the hats was the standard pointy wizarding hat that they had to wear at Hogwarts as part of the uniform. The other hat was more muggle in origin. The best way Harry could describe it was a classy pimp hat. It was made of a stiff black felt-like material with a wide brim and a rather flamboyant red feather slid between the red silk band that encircled the tall part of the hat. He left wearing one of his black school robes (it did not have the school crest on it yet), a pair of his new boots, the red cloak, and his, as he was now referring to it, pimp hat. His dueling robes would not be ready until the evening nor would his lounge robes, so, after signing a monetary transfer sheet (which came to fifteen hundred galleons, a bit more than he planned), he decided to pick the rest of his robes up later when he came back.

His hat easily covering his scar and the shadow cast by it making his face harder to see, he walked back out into Diagon Alley. Without the ominous cloak shrouding his head, people were no longer giving him odd looks. 'I suppose odd hats are common. Just look at Neville's grandmother!' Whistling a TV jingle he had heard the other day when he had gone down to dinner, he went to go pick up a new trunk.

He entered the same shop he had gone to get his first trunk for Hogwarts. The store was clean and there were a few patrons, mostly parents with their youngsters trying to get a jump-start on their Hogwarts shopping. Harry let the other patrons get their business done while he wandered around the shop, looking at the displays. Soon after most of the other patrons had left, he saw a store clerk approach him out of the corner of his eye. As soon as Harry turned to face him, the clerk cordially greeted him.

"Good morning sir! " the man said with far too much enthusiasm. "May I interest you in a new trunk?" Harry didn't want to be rude and point out that he wouldn't have ventured into the shop if he wasn't but decided it was best to hold his tongue.

"Yeah, actually. I am looking for something similar to a trunk that a former professor of mine had. It had multiple compartments, and one of these compartments was actually as large as a room. Do you have anything like that on stock or is that a custom job?"

"Actually sir, we have many trunks that fit your description. They vary by the number of compartments, materials, size of compartments, and security features. If you will follow me, we have quite a selection on display," he said, leading Harry to another section of the shop.

"Here we are sir," the clerk, showing him one that looked almost exactly like Moody's trunk. "This one here is eight hundred galleons, is very rugged, and has seven compartments, with the last one being a stone chamber which is ideal for storage. Now, as with all our specialty trunks, you can spend an extra hundred galleons for the upgrade, which comes with slightly bigger compartments, customized exterior, and enhanced protection charms. Now, we have these trunks over here, which will just amaze you as they have separate…"

Harry listened to the man drone on and on about the different luxury trunks for the 'pampered traveler.' After seeing the price tags for these extravagancies, he went ahead and bought the upgraded version of Moody's trunk, choosing a nice polished mesquite wood finish with polished steel reinforcements. Once again signing off on another transfer, he headed out, carrying his trunk along with him. Pulling out his list, he saw that his next stop was books, so that meant Flourish and Blott's.

Flourish and Blott's was, unsurprisingly, empty of patrons. 'Can't buy books early if you don't know what to buy.' Harry headed immediately to the section simply labeled DEFENSE. He picked up advanced books on dueling tactics, defensive shields, and protective wards. He tried looking for books on occlumency or legilemency, but found none. When he asked someone who worked their, she informed him that Occlumency was a rather obscure art and usually was usually only passed on from a teacher to a student. Legilemency, because of its invasiveness, was labeled a dark art and highly restricted. Granted, it was also an obscure art and thus most at the ministry probably didn't even know it existed, but that was just a little detail.

He hit the CHARMS and TRANSFIGURATION section next. He also picked up some potions books, specifically ones that focused on healing. After his O.W.L testing, he felt that he was a pretty decent potion brewer when he did not have Snape prowling around him. All together, he must have picked up some thirty books. After paying the hefty sum of 340 galleons, he set them all in the first compartment of his trunk and headed out to Olivanders.

Harry passed the apothecary on his way to the wand shop and decided to restock on his potion supplies. After merely replacing the ones he had used in previous years, he decided to see what else was there. He spent a good hour in there, flipping through all the potion and healing books he brought, trying to make sure he gathered the necessary ingredients to attempt all the potions at least a couple of times (not that he actually thought that he would get around to it, but if had the money, he was going to be prepared). He also picked up some other odds and ends, such as powdered veela hair or a new silver cauldron, if only because it would be neat to say he had them Once that distraction had been taken cared of, he continued on his way to Olivanders.

He entered the dusty shop only to find it empty.

"Hello? Mr. Olivander?" Not getting a response, he wandered around the area in front of the desk, peering between the rows upon rows of wand boxes, trying to find the old wand crafter.

"What can I do for you today Mr. Potter? Certainly you don't need a new wand?"

Harry jumped as he heard the slightly creepy voice speak behind him. He turned to find Mr. Olivander giving him a questionable look. He did not even give second thought to the fact that Olivander recognized him

"Err, sort of, sir. Actually, I kinda needed to get a second wand." He looked at Mr. Olivander hopeful that it would not be a problem.

"So your first one is not broken?"

"No, actually. I have it right here." With that, he pulled out his wand and showed it Mr. Olivander.

"Good." The old man sounded strangely relieved. "Since it is intact, why do you want a new one?"

"Well, you see, umm, mine doesn't exactly work against Voldemort." Olivander let out a bit of a hiss at the Dark Lord's name, but otherwise kept a neutral expression. "And, well, I thought it might just be prudent to have a back-up in case I ever got disarmed."

"Yes, brother wands do have a tendency to be uncooperative with each other, though you must remember Mr. Potter that in all likelihood, you can effectively duel a brother wand as long as you do not cast at the same time. If anything, you could look at it as a useful defensive measure. As for your second concern, well…" He paused for a moment before continuing. "I am afraid that I can not legally sell you a second wand, Mr. Potter, unless yours is broken or you trade your old one in. I would gather that is not an option?" Harry shook his head in the negative. He was rather fond of his wand, and had even served him well, even when it didn't work against Voldemort. Actually saved his life that time.

"Very well then. I do have a solution, a loophole in the law, if you will. If you are looking for another magical conduit to use, I suggest you visit the shop that a friend of mine owns. It's called Tapio's. I believe it is somewhere in Knockturn Alley."

"Knockturn Alley? I thought that area was where Dark Wizards hung out?" Even though Harry had already planned on taking a trip there, he felt it was best to play the naïve and innocent boy.

"Do not be so naïve Mr. Potter. Knockturn Alley is for the smaller specialty shops, especially ones that carry dangerous items. I will not deny that some shady dealings happen there, but it is not as bad as many make it out to be." Harry gave him a questioning look, one that Olivander picked up on.

"Most stories are made up by parents who don't want their children wandering around and touching things they really shouldn't. As for the place I'm sending you to, this is one of those shops. The proprietor caters to a very select group and does not see the point of operating out of Diagon Alley. However, like I said, the area can be a bit shady. It would be best not to wonder around there at night."

"Thank you sir, for the advice and the information. Uh, could you not let anyone know I was here? I am trying not to be noticed."

"With that hat, Mr. Potter?" the old man said with a slight grin.

"I once heard some muggle say something to the effect of 'the best place to hide is in plain sight.'" With that, he left Olivanders.

It was already almost 1:30 and he was going to head back to the Leaky Cauldron for lunch when he saw what appeared to be a wizarding café in the opposite direction. The place had a small outdoor dining area fenced off from the rest of the street. Deciding he did not want to dine in the rather dark Leaky Cauldron, Harry decided to head there. The place was called 'Expecto Espresso.' Shaking his head and the rather ridiculous name (something wizards seemed to have a knack for), he went inside. A few minutes later, Harry sat at one of the outside tables, munching on a delightful turkey sandwich and sipping from a bottle of butterbeer.

He took the moment to just enjoy the sights. From his seat, he watched the witches and wizards bustle around, running here and there, making purchases. Though they now knew of the threat of Voldemort, they seemed to be willing to continue on with their lives, which would probably last until the public attacks by Death Eaters started. Pushing these thoughts out of his mind for now, Harry was content to just live in the moment. He rarely got to see the wizarding world normally. The last time he had gotten a chance to thoroughly enjoy and appreciate the world he was apart of was after the Sirius incident before his third year. Quickly moving his thoughts away from Sirius, he finished his sandwich and drink. A house elf quickly appeared and took away the dishes right after harry had stood up. His stomach contently full, he decided it was time to finish his shopping.