A/N: Hi again, here is the next installment. I realize that the conversion from Galleons to Sickles to Knuts is wrong in this chapter, but that conversion is dumb. Too much math involved.

In explanation, James Lestrange is essentially Grindelwald reborn into the future without his memories. He won't act entirely the same and he won't gain those memories back, but he has the same drive and power in later chapters/books.

Additionally, don't expect Harry and James to be constantly mean or moody with people due to this being a Dark! and Evil! Harry story. Harry and James are like neutral evil. They have their goals and will do ANYTHING to reach them. They won't be comic book baddies. They will be mean to people behind their backs and will also plan their evil deeds, but they aren't stupid. They don't want everyone to think they are evil. Smile and wave, boys, smile and wave. - Alex


Harry Potter and the Splinters in Time

"In real life, the hardest aspect of the battle between good and evil is determining which is which." – George R.R. Martin

Chapter 2: Much Shopping, Many Wow

Harry and James had just left Gringotts Bank when they realized they had no idea where to go or how to start their shopping. It was easy to tell the Professor to leave you alone, harder to actually know what to do now she was gone. James decided that they should probably get their wands first. What is a wizard without a wand? They both agreed that they would check out Hephaestus' wand shop before they went to Ollivander's. If they didn't like the Greek god's shop, then they could go to the regular store.

"Excuse me," James said as he asked a man with long blonde hair who was standing in front of them, "Can you tell me where Knockturn Alley is?"

The pale man turned slowly, revealing his pointed nose and snake walking stick. He looked regal to James and Harry, but also seemed very arrogant. He eyed the two boys skeptically, "And what could you two want with Knockturn?"

Harry spoke up, "We are looking for Hephaestus' Wandcrafting. We have heard he is the better shop."

"I wouldn't say that…" the man said, "But, his shop is directly to the left once you enter Knockturn alley over there." He pointed to a darker alley that had a small sign confirming to was Knockturn.

"Thank you, sir." James said as he locked eyes with the older man. The man rolled his eyes and beckoned them off while he went back to doing whatever he had been doing previously. Harry and James quickly made their way into the darker alley and to a door with a sign stating: Hephaestus' Wandcrafting: The Greatest Custom Wands since 900 B.C.

As they entered, they saw an older gentleman with, as it seemed to Harry, a limp walk to the front of the store. Harry also noticed that his eyes were a very pale blue, almost like his iris' weren't even there. The old man stopped and looked at the two boys, "Why aren't you two at Ollivander's? Isn't that where all first years are taken to get their wands?" He asked.

"We heard from a goblin that you make wands better than Ollivander's." James said as he peered over the shop counter.

"Ha. Getting recommendations from goblins now? No matter, do you wish to know why I am better than Ollivander?" Both boys nodded their heads in anticipation, "You see, there are two different types of people who build wands for wizards and witches. There are the wandmakers, like Gerrick Ollivander, and there are wandcrafters, like myself. Wandmakers are convinced that the wand selects the wizard, which is hogwash. They only believe that because they make the wands in advance before their customer ever steps foot in their door! But I, old Hephaestus, know the real truth: the wizard selects the wand. But not by how you're thinking. When a wizard or witch comes to my shop, I match them with each component of their wand. The wand wood, core, and length should complement the wizard and enhance their abilities."

"Let us begin!" The man clapped his hands together and summoned a multiple to potential parts from his storage, "So, Mr. Potter, please slowly pick up each block of wood and let me know which one you like the best."

He picked up each type of wood, some feeling extremely cold while others felt like there was nothing in her hand. As he made his way through, he finally picked the Yew brick. It felt extremely warm and inviting, almost as if there was an instant connection. "Ah, I thought you may choose this one. Now I have to measure you." As he did so, Harry stood there as still as possible, trying not to mess anything up. The old man brought his measuring tape to weird places on Harry: measuring the length of his shoulder to his knee, ear to mouth, nose to his shoe. He had finally finished measuring after some five minutes and said, "10 and 7/23rd inches, good length. Now Mr. Potter, the cores."

Harry began waving his hands over the cores similar to how he had found his wood. He slowly made his way over the cores, finally picking up three, "I feel the same warmth for these three, sir? Did I do something wrong?" Harry asked, feeling almost let down. He looked back at James, who was smiling ear to ear. He nodded encouragingly and Harry turned back towards the wandcrafter.

"Of course not, Mr. Potter, this is exceedingly unusual, however. I haven't had a dual-core wand in many centuries, but a tri-core wand? Never", Hephaestus mused to himself as he grabbed the Horned Serpent horn, Rougarou hair, and Thestral tail hair from the young man, "This is a most special wand, Harry. Tell me, have you ever been able to speak to snakes?"

"What?" Harry asked surprised, "I guess I have never tried, sir?" Harry looked at James who seemed just as confused as he was.

"Perhaps, you should try when you have time my boy." The old mand grinned at Harry, "If you can speak to snakes and your wand will be adept at parslemagic. I haven't had a Parselmouth in my shop since I was in Greece… Anyway," Hephaestus placed the three wand cores onto Harry's chosen wood and ran his hands over them, magic and power radiating off them. They slowly rose off the counter and combined into a single wand of Yew. He smiled at his work before extending the wand to Harry, "I sense that you will do great things with that wand, Harry. Terrible, but great things indeed."

Harry looked in awe at his new wand. He gave it a quick flick and sparks of red shot out, confirming his ownership. James beamed and took Harry's spot at the desk. James followed the same procedure as Harry, picking up each type of wood before he also landed upon Yew…

"Interesting, most interesting." Hephaestus questioned as James began to try and find his wand core.

"What is interesting, sir?" Harry asked after he had pocketed his wand.

"I will explain in a moment… Let us see if my theory is correct." Harry and Hephaestus watched as James grabbed both the Thestral tail hair and Rougarou hair cores, "I see I was correct. Let me measure you, Mr. Lestrange and I will explain…"

The old man once again measured James in different and weird ways. James couldn't figure out how knowing the distance from hi elbow to his temple helped with his wand, but as long as he got his wand, "12 and 5/11th inches." The man cut the word and placed the wand cores on top of the yew brick and began to combine them in the same way as he did for Harry. Soon, there was a solid wand of yew laying in front of him, "Here you are. Now, let me explain to you both. These wands are brothers and will be especially dangerous when working in concert with one another. They are powerful, two of the most powerful wands I have ever created. Adept at the darker types of magic, these wands will serve you well. I see it in your destiny… You both are like the moon; you have a darker side you show no-one but each other… Use it. Become as powerful as you are destined and do not look back…" He paused as he looked out the window where he could see the bustling of Diagon Alley.

"There will be those who try to stop you. Do not let them. There are those that will join you, trust them with all your being, for they will never betray you." He closed his eyes and breathed in, "You are connected. Always support one another. Now, leave this place for now. I will see you again, but next time, there will be other with you to whom you are getting wands for…" The boys listen intently as the man talked, but as he ended, they were transported out of the shop to the entrance of Bane's Magical Book Store, deeper in the heart of Knockturn alley.

"Wow." James breathed as they got their bearings back, "That was amazing."

"Yeah…" Harry replied as he quickly looked at his Hogwarts letter then the sign above him, "I'm glad we chose that shop. Well, looks like we are at a place where we can get our books!" The boys entered the older looking shop and were surprised by how clean it was. There was a younger woman sitting near the front of the shop, reading what seemed to be a newspaper.

"Oh, customers! How exciting!" she said as she noticed the two entering. She set down he paper and made her way over to them, "What can I help you boys with?"

"We are starting Hogwarts…" Harry started, but was quickly cut off by James who shouted.

"We want books on everything! Do you have a trunk I could put books in? I brought plenty of money!" James said as he looked around excitedly at the store.

The woman, who Harry now believed was likely a teenager, smiled at the paid before responded, "No, we don't sell them here, but there is a shop next door that has expandable trunks you can…" She covered he mouth and laughed as James ran to the exit and left the store to go to the trunk shop.

"We'll be right back." Harry said as he rolled his eyes and followed his friend who he found already talking to the trunk salesman.

"Like I said, I need a trunk that can hold a lot of books. Do you have one?" James said as he tried to spell it out for the man.

"Okay," the salesman responded while taking a deep breath, "Since you are going to Hogwarts, you will need a trunk for your clothes AND books, is that correct?" James nodded eagerly and beckoned Harry to join him, "I have this one here. It is charmed to be feather light and you can go down into it. It has two rooms; both are 5 meters by 5 meters and are set up to be walk-in closets. However, for 5 galleons, I'll turn one of them into a library/reading room depending on the features. Would you like to take a look?"

James and Harry nodded so the man used the ladder to help both of them into the trunk, "This can be unlocked from both the inside and outside using a password you choose or blood. Does not unlock to normal unlocking charms," he said as he showed them the first room that would stay a closet.

"Wow. This is huge. I don't think I'll need this much room… Unless you want to share, Harry?" James asked as he surveyed the room.

"Sure, we share everything else. Half and half?" James nodded in agreement as the salesman gave them an idea of how the library could look. He suggested two chairs for reading space as well as some wall fixtures for better light and a fireplace. It turned out it was going to cost 25 galleons, but Harry and James were happy with it. The salesman led them back up to the showroom floor and told them the final price which was 125 galleons. Harry and James split it, and the salesman said to come back in 15 minutes or so and he would have the library set up.

The boys thanked the man and soon were back over to the previous book shop. They were met at the door by the young woman, whose name they learned was Danielle. She led them around the store, picking up the books they would need for their first year at Hogwarts and a few reference books. James said he wanted to keep looking, but Harry wanted to take a break, so she sat down with him.


"I have always loved reading. Mostly muggle young adult fiction. What about you, Harry?" she asked as James came up and asked about books with curses and darker magic. She helpfully offered that they would be against the back wall.

"I mostly just read what I am required to at my primary school. James is the one who likes to read. Our teacher said that he has a photographic memory. He can remember almost anything he reads from a book." Harry responded, watching his friend throw book after book about 'dark' magic into his cart. Dani, as she liked to be called, had said that most of the 'dark' spells were just battle spells from history, but the ministry had created a list that you weren't allowed to learn at Hogwarts. James had been really excited about forbidden knowledge and had immediately began asking questions.

"Yeah, there are a lot of people like that. I'm a muggleborn and I had to go the primary school as well. I'm currently finishing up my secondary school work since I stopped it to go to Hogwarts. I realized after going to Hogwarts that it's hard to find jobs in Magical Britain if you are a muggleborn." Dani said, wistfully looking towards the books, "In books, everything works out. The Good always wins. But it's not like that in the real world, even in Magical Britain. When I first came to Hogwarts, I was so excited. I thought I would be able to do whatever I wanted. However, its not that way for muggleborns. I couldn't get a 'respectable' job after I graduated. Everyone said they 'weren't allowed to hire muggleborns by management at this time'. So, I started by own bookstore. It's not that bad. I get a lot of poorer students who can't afford the new books."

"I'm sorry." Harry said, "I promise, when I am in charge, I will make it so that every person with magical blood can find a job."

"Thanks, Harry. I'm sure you will." She laughed as she patted him on the leg.

James came rushing over with two carts full of books as they finished talking. He seemed so happy to Harry, "Harry, I have all the books we will need for a few years. I'll read over them and create my own book with the best spells in it for us to use."

"Okay, James. Sounds great!" Harry said as he gave his best friend a thumbs up, "Ready to go? *James needed* Okay, I'll go over to the trunk place and grab our trunk."

James nodded in understanding and made his way over to the counter where Dani was getting ready to check him out. She looked at his car then back at her 'Dark Magic' wall and found that he had practically taken every single book, "Are you sure you want all these, James? Some of the spells in these books are very vile and evil?"

"Yes, ma'am. I think, if I don't buy them and know the spells, someone might buy it and use them against me. I can't have that." James responded resolutely, "Also, if anyone comes in and wants to sell you a dark magic book that I don't have, I'll pay to double what you would put it up for sale for."

"Alright, James. You have a deal." She smiled sadly at the paranoid boy, "I'll start checking you out. Hopefully, we can have all the books categorized by the time Harry gets back."

By the time Harry returned with the trunk, Dani had only gotten the prices of a third of the books in James' cart. It took another 15 minutes to get them all counted and priced out, "Okay, the total comes to 1547 galleons today. Are you sure you have that much? That is about two years of rent for this store…" Dani asked skeptically.

"Yes, ma'am. Do you have a bag that will count it automatically? I would hate to count out so much…" James answered, pulling out his money purse. Dani handed him a pouch with two 0s magically hovering over it. James put his hand on his bag and breathed, using his magic to summon 1575 galleons. Soon, there was a steady stream of galleons flowing into the pouch. After 2 minutes, the pouch reached 1575 galleons and James handed it back to Dani, "Hear you are, ma'am. I put an extra 28 in there for being so helpful."

"Wow. Okay, thank you, James." She said, shocked that James was actually good for it, "Please come back any time…" The boys deposited their books onto the floor of their reading room. They thought that they could organize it later. They said their goodbyes to Dani and as they were exiting, Dani yelled, "Wait, what are you last names?"

"I'm Harry Potter." Harry said as he inclined his head.

"And I'm James Lestrange. It was a pleasure to meet you ma'am." James replied as they left the store back into Knockturn alley.

"The pleasure was all mine, gentlemen." Dani said to her empty store. At that moment, Ms. Danielle Bane pledged to help those boys in anything they needed. It was her way to say thanks…


After a quick lunch in Diagon Alley, Harry and James diced to mark off the next thing on their list: robes. They had spotted several stores during their walk to the Bank earlier that day, so they began looking for them again. The first store the came across was Twilfit and Tattings: Fine Clothing. It reminded the boys of Harrods in London.

"Do we really expensive nice clothes?" James asked Harry as they stood in front of that wizarding shop.

"I don't think so. I need some new jeans and I don't they have any in there." Harry responded as the continued down the Alley. They had spotted another store down the road called Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. Harry wasn't sure if she would have muggle type clothing but might as well check.

The boys soon found themselves at Madam Malkin's being measured for their school robes. It was luckily a quick process only taking about 30 minutes, with Madam Malkin informing both boys that their required robes would be ready in an hour. They paid their bill and quietly left the store. It seemed that there weren't very many people trying to get fitted for robes on July 31st.

"What's left?" Harry asked as they approached the end of their school list.

"Looks like we have: 1 size 2 pewter cauldron, 1 set glass or crystal phials, 1 telescope, and 1 set brass scales." James responded as he read the list, "Oh, we can also bring a toad, owl, or cat to school with us."

"Okay, lets get the cauldron and whatnot first, then we can go to the pet store." Harry was eager to get home as his legs had begun to hurt from all the walking. They swiftly made their way to the store with a cauldron on the door named, Slug and Jigger's Apothecary. Harry had no idea if this was the right store, but he figured this was a good guess.

"Hogwarts?" the shopkeeper asked as the entered the door. Both boys nodded in assent, "Year?"

"Uhm. This is our first year, sir." James responded.

"Come on up, I'll get you checked out." The man retorted as Harry and James made their way to the front counter, "Need anything else?"

"Not yet, sir." Harry replied, looking around at all the interesting ingredients, "I'm sure we will need some eventually."

"Here. Take my catalog. If you send a letter with an owl to me, I can send you back ingredients." Harry nodded in understanding as the man handed them two sets of the required supplies after they paid, "See you boys around."

"So that's why owls are useful." James said as they exited the shop. They had been wondering why owls were such a big part of wizarding culture… They were the mail men, "You want to get an owl?"

"You want to share one or get two?" Harry asked as they walked back to Eyelop's Owl Emporium, which they assumed sold owls.

"I think we should get separate ones. What if we need to send two letters at once? Can't do that with one owl." James laughed as the entered the owl shop. Harry wasn't really surprised by this shop, unlike most of the others. It just sold Owls like the name said. Thus, James and Harry spent the next 15 minutes looking for their owls.

Harry found a snow-white owl with black speckles. The owl, which was a girl Harry found out, seemed to be drawn to him. Thus, Harry decided to purchase her. He couldn't figure out a name yet so he decided he would wait to name her.

James decided on a black owl with white speckles. This owl was a male James thought looked like the night sky. James had already picked out a name by the time he purchased him: Mars. Harry laughed when he was told the owls name, but he told James that it fit his personality. They both purchased cages for their new pets and some food before they placed the owls into their trunk in the empty closet.

After buying their pets, Harry and James realized that they had completed their shopping list and now only had to wait until their robes were done. Consequently, they decided to get some ice cream from the ice cream parlor they had seen and take a break.

Once they were seated and had ordered, Harry asked James, "So, what are we doing once we get back to the orphanage?"

"I'm going to organize our library and place the books on the shelves. Then, I might start reading a couple of the books in bed. I bought an interesting book about the nature of magic and spell crafting, so I thought that would be a good place to start before we go." James responded, to which Harry was nodding along with, "What are you thinking?"

"I think that's a good idea, to be honest. I'll start reading the Wizarding History book and that way we cover two topics at once. We can mark the pages with the most interesting content on them and then talk about it later." Harry said as their ice cream arrived.

"Right, that's what I was thinking. I'm interested to know why magical people use wands instead of what we do."

"Same. Do you remember what Professor McGonagall said we were doing when she transported us here? Apparate, I think it was?" Harry supposed as he licked his spoon after taking a bite, "Do you think that is what I do?"

"Yeah, I believe so. I figure that everybody can do it, you just have to learn how. You are lucky since you discovered how to do it earlier. I think it is like everything we try to do, just requires will power."

"Right… Right… I wonder how spells work though. I'm sure we'll take about it later once you have read the book, but I wonder if its just will power or requires more based on the type of spell."

James ran his hand through his hair thinking before responding, "I feel like it has to do with imagining the effects. Like, we can create water, fire, etc. with our hands, but we just have to envision the end goal and our magic will do the rest. So, if I wanted to summon that chair over there to me, I would just have to use magic and will power to force it to come to me. But, like you said, we'll see."

They continued thinking along these lines for a while until they were fairly certain their robes would be ready at Madam Malkin's. They finished their ice cream then made their way back to the clothing store. It only took a moment to grab their robes and paid their bill before they were ready to leave.

"Ready to take us home, Harry?" James asked, "I guess, we should just apparate!"

Harry laughed as he grabbed James' hand and willed himself to return to St. Mary's Orphanage, Room 6. They made no noise as the left and appeared only with a whisper…


James received a letter from the Gringotts Inheritance Manager two weeks later giving them a portkey and instructions on when to hold onto the letter to be transported to Lestrange Manor. The young boys were excited to see the house and property, both of them hoping that it was in good shape and livable.

At the prescribed time, Harry and James grabbed the letter/portkey and were whisked away to the front gates of an expansive manor in the country. The found themselves standing outside a large wrought iron gate with a stylized L in the center. The goblin was smiling at them as they arrived and thanked them for coming, "Now, you must place your palm on the small circle below the L. The gate should then open to you." James did ask he was asked and placed his hand onto the metal. As he did, the gate began to glow and soon the locks clicked open. The gate creaked open, revealing a beautiful manor of white marble, "Welcome to Lestrange Manor…"

There were three quick pops of apparition as three house elves appeared. The biggest of the three and the only male looking elf stepped forward, "Hello, my Lords. I is being Doffy. This is being Mimsy *he motioned to the smaller female elf to his right* and this is being Moppy *he motioned to the smallest female elf*. We is being Lestrange house elves. How may we's serves you?"

"Hello there, how are you today? My name is James and my friend's name is Harry," James asked the creatures as he and Harry kneeled down next to them. Surprising both Harry and James, all three burst into tears at his question.

"Master is asking we's how we's are? Master is too kind!" Doffy cried as he held his ears, "Is Master going to be staying at the Manors? We's made sure manors is very cleans. Wes house elves no being lazy like old mistress says we's were."

"We may stay for a while. Can you give us a tour please?" James replied, smiling at the elves.

"I's do it!" squeaked the small elf in the front, obviously just a child, as she raised her hand.

"Okay, Moppy. Let's start!" James stated as he looked back to the goblin, "Goblin, thank you for your help. I don't think we will need your help any further." The goblin bowed his head and then activated a portkey, sending him back to Gringotts.

As Moppy was leading the two children and two elves up the hill towards the regal looking house, she was pointing out all the features of the grounds, "There is being the garden! Mimsy and Moppy takes care of that. There is also beings a Quidditch Pitch behinds the house. Old Master and Mistress didn't use the Quidditch Pitch, but yous can! There is ALSO beings a bigs pool with a roof so it can beings used in cold times."

Harry laughed at the excitable creature. It seemed happy to have a master again. As they walked, he took in the sights of the grounds. It was indeed a beautiful place. The gardens were immaculately kept and contained at least a hundred different flowers. There was a small pond where it seemed several animals were drinking, and the grass seemed to extent for miles. The house itself appeared to be taken directly from a Southern Living magazine. Harry believed they were called 'Plantation' style homes. There were four large marble pillars in front of the door while the rest of the house was a gorgeous red brick.

"Okays, nows we's going insides." Moppy said as they arrived in the entrance hall, "This is the floo fireplace." She pointed to the large fireplace directly to the right of the front door. The floor was also marble with streaks of greys, blacks, and golds embedded into it. There was also a large Lestrange family crest that had been fixed onto the marble in the center of the hall, "There is being two staircases that leads yous to the living quarters. There is being two master bedrooms and eight regular bedrooms. Each bedrooms is havings its own bathroom."

James and Harry followed the small elf as she led them into the room to the left of the front door, "This is beings the dining hall. It cans alsos bes the ballroom if the tables is removed. The kitchen is attached overs there." She pointed the door on the other side of the large room. She beckoned the boys to follow her as she led them back to the entrance hall and to the right-side door, "He is the greeting room and living room. The library, office, and family rooms are beings off this room as well. Well, that's it. Feels free to explore if yous want. Call one of ours names or say elf and we's will comes." The little elf bowed and popped away, leaving to two stunned boys. This was a lot to take in.

"Doffy!" James said loudly, trying out what Moppy just said. The male elf then appeared and bowed his head.

"Master is calling Doffy?"

"Yes, I have a few questions. How do we get into the manor if we leave?" James asked.

"Master can pop in or master can floo using the fireplace. Has master never used the floo?" Doffy asked, surprised by the lack of understanding.

"Harry and I were raised by muggles, we don't have very much experience in magical transportation." James shrugged.

"Popping is easiest. Can master pop?"

"What is popping?" Harry asked, confused by the creature's terminology. Doffy began apparating around the room, showing what popping to him was.

"Ohhh. I understand. I can't pop yet, but Harry can." James said, pointing to his friend.

"All master has to say is 'Harry is able to pop into the manor' and the manor protections will allow him to enter." Doffy said, smiling at the pair. James followed the directions of the elf and soon Harry was able to apparate around the manor.

"Doffy, what can you do for us?" Harry asked as he stopped apparating around, "Like, a list of things please."

"We elves are able to cook, clean, run errands, purchase food, withdraw money from the bank, deliver messages, spy on enemies of Lestrange family, fix broken things, and many other things Doffy forgets!"

"Wow, you are really useful!" James said as he walked back through the entrance hall from raiding the kitchen for a snack, "So, you can cook?" Doffy nodded in excitement. He hadn't made food for masters in very long time.

"Harry, you know what I am thinking?" James smiled at Harry evilly. Harry nodded and smiled, "I think we should move in and leave the dump of the orphanage behind…"

"I agree. This would be a much better setup. Plus, it has its own library." Harry said as they both made their way towards the expansive library room. It seemed like it had every book that the book shop they visited earlier had.

"Alright, then let's do it. You want to apparate back to the orphanage to grab our things?" James suggested. Harry nodded and they soon were back in their old room at the orphanage. The two boys quietly gathered all of their things into their trunk and made their bed. They each left a note on their pillows explaining their disappearance and thanking Madam Coons for everything.

Harry apparated them back to the manor and they settled into their new lives. They now had their own castle on the hill. Now it was time to learn…


A/N: That's the end of this chapter. Sorry if you felt it was boring. I felt that it was getting boring also. Next chapter will get into the nature of magic in my story. Basically, Harry and James will be reading and studying about how to better harness their magic. I have tried to allude to it in this chapter but magic in my story is much more about willpower and focus rather than incantations and wand movements. Please leave a review - Alex