Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, and I don't make any money from writing this. It's just for fun.

oooOOOoooOOOooo

Harry Potter had never been to Diagon Alley unattended before. That is to say, he had never traveled here alone. Today was different, and he felt invigorated to be away from the Dursleys. Harry had made it probably two hours into his summer before Aunt Petunia had oh so kindly reminded him that her freak sister was also a witch. A point that Uncle Vernon made sure to reiterate all week, with his belt.

Harry shuddered, thinking about the pain he endured through his so-called "Family". Even after recovering from the magical pain and exhaustion from his confrontation with Quirrelmort, there were few things that hurt more than the prolonged pain from the Dursleys. He was used to it, but that didn't stop it from being painful.

"...Harry? Harry Potter?" A tentative, calm voice snapped Harry out of his own head. Harry looked up towards the new voice. Harry's vibrant, emerald eyes met sorrowful eyes flecked with Amber.

"Just Harry, if you don't mind." Harry said, giving his usual response to people using his full name. Looking curiously at the man in front of him. His hair was a sandy, light brown with the occasional streak of gray or silver, Harry couldn't quite tell. "Who are you?"

"Oh, forgive me. My name is Remus Lupin. I was a friend of your parents." Remus introduced himself, looking around. "Where are your guardians?"

Oh, oh no. Harry thought on his feet, trying to come up with an excuse for being at Diagon Alley alone. It wasn't illegal but it certainly was expected for a child to have their guardian nearby. Think, think, think.

Remus seemed to just be staring at him, and waiting patiently for an answer.

"I'm uh, here with my aunt and uncle. I've no clue where they went off to, but we'll meet up at the ice cream parlor when it's time to go home." Harry tried to lie, looking right at the ground.

"Right." Remus said, looking at Harry kindly, but like he believed not a word that he just heard. "Well, how about we go there now and have some ice cream? You can wait for your family there."

Harry stiffened and made no move towards Florean Fortesque's Ice Cream Parlour.

"Your mother had that same look in her eyes when she was caught in a lie." Remus commented casually, looking at Harry with what seemed to be a hint of a grin on his face. "You look so much like your father. But not the eyes. You have your mothers eyes."

Harry didn't know how to respond to that. He'd rarely heard of his parents, but thought back to when he was looking into the Mirror of Erised. He supposed he did look like a Mini James Potter, but with the striking eyes of Lily Potter.

"Well, would you like to stop for ice cream anyways, while you tell me about what a young Harry Potter is doing unattended in Diagon Alley over the summer?" Remus commented lightly.

"Yes sir, that sounds nice." Harry's stomach rumbled as he spoke, "More than nice, actually."

"Remus is fine, Harry," Remus said, trying to conceal a laugh. "Let's head off, shall we?"

"Okay, si-, uh, Remus." Harry stumbled over using the adult's name. He wasn't quite sure that was allowed, being a kid, but he wasn't going to argue. Strange.

Walking down the Alley now, Harry noticed multiple shops that he hadn't last time he went school supplies shopping. The usually bustling alley was much quieter, and less packed. It was by no means deserted, far from that, but there was room to read the signs without being run over this time. So, on their way to Fortesque's Ice Cream Parlor, Harry took great pleasure in reading every sign he could and wondering what kinds of magic he could discover inside of those shops.

From the shops like "Olivanders" and "Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions", which he was already somewhat familiar with, to lesser known shops like "Amanuensis Quills", "Twilfitt and Tattings", and "Madam Primpernelles Beautifying Potions", Harry was enamored with all of the sights around him. He was halfway through reading the sign to Madam Primpernelle's when he saw a nearby witch take a sip of a chunky, vibrant red potion. Within seconds, her face bubbled and her acne disappeared.

"Whoa", Harry murmured. "I wonder what else they have around here."

"Well, Harry, the good news is that you are currently in Diagon Alley." Remus replied, chuckling. "You can always take a look around."

Harry looked up at Remus with wide eyes. He wasn't used to adults being so casual, and without worry. It was almost an unspoken rule to him that adults were always in a hurry to do something else, instead of what they were currently doing.

"Wait." Harry said flatly, almost in disbelief, "You're telling me that you, an adult, caught me, a child, alone in Diagon Alley and you're not sending me home after ice cream?"

Remus coughed and held his hand over his mouth, mostly to hide the snicker that was threatening to break free, and after taking a moment to compose himself, spoke again, "No Harry. I believe curiosity to be a beautiful thing, and don't approve of stifling it. Do your guardians at least know where you are, though?"

Harry took a deep breath inward and decided lying probably wouldn't get him anywhere here, so he would just be as plainly honest as he could, "No si-, Remus. My relatives don't really like me around, so after I finished my chores I snuck into m-, the cupboard under the stairs to do some of my summer homework. I read about the Knight Bus in 'Hogwarts, A History' which I borrowed from my friend Hermione and I decided to try it out when I heard my Cousin Dudley come home with his friend Piers. Their favorite game is 'Harry Hunting'."

"Ah," said Lupin, who was now frowning, with something very sad lurking in his amber-flecked eyes, "I take it your home life is… rough?"

"It's not that bad," Harry shrugged noncommittally, "They feed me sometimes."

"Well, I'll supervise your Diagon Alley trip today," Remus decided, "And you're free to Owl me if you ever need a getaway as well."

Something hopeful bloomed in Harry's chest. He'd been through this many times before. With his grade school teachers, the social workers that came to the house every few months, even Dumbledore, but he'd never been offered direct help so easily before. Harry smiled widely as they arrived at the Ice Cream Parlor.

oooOOOoooOOOooo

It was bright and hot outside today, and Harry was a bit concerned as he watched Remus order two ice cream cones from who he assumed was Mr. Fortesque. Harry himself was seated at a comfortable, well worn chair at one of the tables outside of the parlor. Shaded by the umbrella that seemed to be a part of the table and not simply fitted inside, Transfiguration probably, Harry voiced as much to Remus.

"Oh, Mr. Fortesque is famous for his work in Charms, actually. He may not look it but he's got his Mastery in Charms. He developed the refrigeration and freezing spells that most Magicals use today. It's much more convenient than using stasis charms on everything, they can be unpredictable with non-magical ingredients." Remus explained, "They're applied to the ice cream when served, so you can eat it at your own pace."

"So if I don't eat it, it'll never melt?" Harry asked, looking at his ice cream in wonder.

"It will still melt, just very, very slowly." Remus said with a chuckle, taking a horrifying, whole bite of his ice cream cone.

Harry watched Remus in horror for a moment, wondering how he could handle that much cold on his teeth all at once, before giving his ice cream cone a lick.

"What is this? It's delicious!" Harry got out between licks, enjoying the smooth tingly flavor of the ice cream.

"Hm? Oh, right you'd be entering your Second Year soon wouldn't you? This is Butterbeer flavored. It's a fairly common drink, though this ice cream is thankfully non-alcoholic. There isn't much in butterbeer anyway, but still." Remus paused to take another bite of ice cream, "You'll get a chance to try the real stuff in your Third Year when you're allowed to go to Hogsmeade."

Harry nodded appreciatively, focused on his ice cream, but taking his time to smile up at Remus every few licks. Before, you know, watching Remus take another horrifying bite of ice cream and looking directly back down.

oooOOOoooOOOooo

"So, has any store caught your eye the most?" Remus looked quizzically at Harry as they departed from their very late and distinctively sweet 'lunch'. Remus pulled out his wand, a handsome stick of Cypress, and tapped it to his wrist, "Tempus."

Harry watched in Fascination as ghostly numbers coalesced from the air, above Remus's wrist, spelling out '17:58', before dissipating a moment later when Remus lowered his wand.

"I'd say we have time for one or two shops before I escort you home," Remus said, pocketing his wand, "It'd be too dark for an 11 year old to be out and about alone."

"I turn 12 in a week, Remus." Harry proudly proclaimed, "I can handle the dark."

"Oh I'm sure you can, Harry, but all the same I think I would also escort a 12 year old home after dark."

"Oh," Harry paused, "Well okay then. We could go to that shop!"

Harry pointed a bit down the street, at a store aptly named "The Junk Shop" in a shadowy doorway of the Alley. From the look of the sign and the window display, it appeared to be a secondhand shop for more than just books or clothes, though it certainly held those items as well.

"That shop is closed right now Harry, see? 'Closing Hours: 6 PM'." Remus pointed out, before smiling kindly, "But we can go to that one next time."

'Oh," Harry said, a bit glumly. He hadn't been able to see the hours sign with his current glasses. Thinking about it for a moment, Harry decided to ask Remus since he'd been only helpful and patient too. "Do they have any magical eye doctors in Diagon Alley?"

Remus looked up for a second, before nodding, and turning around on his heel, "There is one, over here."

Harry quickly turned and caught back up with Remus, and fell into step with him just as they arrived at their mystery destination, which was none other than Madam Primpernelles Beautifying Potions.

"I thought this was like a magical makeup store." Harry said, a wary look on his face.

"It is, in a way."

"Then why are we here?"

"To spare you an overly long explanation, they work with eyes a good amount of the time."

Remus then opened the door to the shop, a small, light bell "clinked" throughout the shop.

"Be right with you!" Someone called from behind a counter.

Harry took a moment to look around the shop, the entire store was much calmer than he had expected. The walls of the store were a calm, minty green and ivory. There were potions racks filled with various potions of many colors, topical creams, bubbling cauldrons with vapor rising out of them, mannequins with wigs, and beauty supplies cluttering the shelves in every corner of the store. Harry scrunched his nose up and waited.

"Sorry about that, how may I help you?" The witch behind the counter asked, "I'm Madam Primpernelle and here we attend to all of your beautifying needs, as long as it pertains to potions."

"Hello Madam, My name is Remus Lupin, and this young lad is Harry." Harry noticed Remus didn't use his last name in his introduction, "We're just here with a few questions today, if you don't mind."

"Of course not, go ahead." Madam Primpernelle said, looking curiously at Remus and Harry.

"Well to start, do you deal with Optometry?" Remus inquired.

"Pardon?"

"Ah, do you handle matters of glasses, eyesight, and the like?"

"Oh! I didn't know there was a word for it. We don't deal with glasses most of the time, unfortunately, but I do have some alternatives available." Madam Primpernelle said, already walking across the store to retrieve the aforementioned potions.

"Here at Madam Primpernelles Beautifying Potions, we try to customize our potions to the customers needs. Usually, that includes minor additions to the base potions themselves. A dash of Bat Spleen for eye bag swelling, Billywig Wings for laugh lines, Horned Slug in acne potions, you can count on us to fine-tune our potions to satisfy your needs." Madam Primpernelle said, in a well rehearsed example that she has to have said countless times before, "But for many years, Eyesight has been an issue fixed only by spectacles. Though, my Wife and I have been working on a potion-based solution for many years now."

Harry waited patiently and watched as Madam Primpernelle brought a small, crystal phial to the counter of the store. Within he saw a few drops of black, tar-like sludge, almost bubbling and moving on its own within the closed phial. He grimaced, but waited patiently to hear more.

"This is Eyelight Elixir." Madam Primpernelle said with no small amount of pride in her voice, "A topical potion derived from the base Polyjuice Potion, but with a fraction of the brewing time. This is just a sample bottle, but the potion works by taking the 'bit of you' that Polyjuice Potion requires, some Eel Eye, and a few other ingredients to rearrange your eyes for a prolonged period of time."

"What's Polyjuice Potion?" Harry asked, looking up between Madam Primpernelle and Remus.

"It's a potion that allows you to look like another person for one hour," Remus said,

looking down at Harry, before looking up at Madam Primpernelle, "How long does the Eyelight Elixir last?"

"Each Application lasts around 7 days. About one week, give or take a few hours." Madam Primpernelle said, "You're free to try this free sample phial, young man."

Harry nodded, and reached for the Phial, "So how do I use it?"

"It's very simple, you need to put one hair or eyelash inside of each batch and shake it around a little bit, and then you can take out the dropper and drop it into your eyes. Three drops per eye works best."

Harry plucked out a single eyelash and dropped it into the phial before restoppering it and shaking it gently. Holding it up to his face, he watched as the black, bubbling tar liquid thinned out into a less-than-viscous, emerald green syrup.

"Wicked," Harry breathed out.

"Indeed it is, young man. Now, three per eye." Madam Primpernelle said kindly.

"Right," Harry said, taking off his glasses and opening the now beautiful liquid again. He held it above his left eye and dropped it in three times, and then shut his eye tight.

That burns, Harry thought, already moving on to his other eye. Three more drops later and he had both eyes closed tight.

"Uh, Remus, can you hold this?" Harry held out the phial blindly.

"Sure, Harry" Remus said from his left, taking the Phial while Harry felt his eyes shifting underneath their eyelids. He waited until it stopped, and then waited longer.

"You can open your eyes now, Harry."

oooOOOoooOOOooo

Author's Note: Hey! I'm not very experienced in writing fanfiction, so any reviews are appreciated!