Harry happily dug into his breakfast of porridge and fruit while Minerva read over some letters. He couldn't help but to eat quickly despite Minerva's thin lined mouth when he finished his meal far too soon. In the Dursley house, he had learned that the only way to keep food safe was to already have it in his stomach. He knew Minerva wasn't like them, but the habit was a hard one to break. The elder witch folded her correspondence back up and vanished his empty bowl with a simple flick. Harry stared at the spot in amazement; he didn't think it mattered how many times he saw magic, it would always leave him with a sense of wonder and cause his heart to leap in excitement.
"I'm glad to see you are feeling better, Harry. However, I do expect you will try to stop eating like a Tasmanian Devil." She chided him and he looked at her abashedly.
Harry wasn't sure how a Tasmanian Devil ate, but he was certain by her stern demeanor it wasn't meant to be a complement. He muttered out an apology and sipped at his pumpkin juice slowly in an attempt to be better behaved. After the woman's tender care of him during his illness and her unwavering defence in front of the headmaster, Harry was desperate to prove himself to his new guardian. Any modicum of guilt had ebbed away and became replaced with a need to remain beside the elder witch.
"Today, we will run a few errands around the village." Minerva announced and Harry looked up in surprise.
"I get to go too?" Harry asked in shock. He never was allowed to go out on errands. Aunt Petunia had always been too ashamed to be spotted out with her nephew. There was too much of a chance he would do something abnormal. No, it was much easier to lock him inside the cupboard.
"Of course." Minerva snorted, "I hardly think that you would like me to pick out your wardrobe for you. Unless, of course, you're fond of tartan."
Harry pictured himself running around in a kilt like he had seen in some of the photographs posted along the walls of the small cottage. He rather liked the overlapping colors, but he wasn't sure that he could wear a skirt. Dudley would have called him a poof and thumped him bloody if he ever wore such a thing. What would the children do in the magical world? He was sure they had much more inventive ways to get back at each other. Minerva had said his own father was a prankster. No, it would be much better off if Harry didn't make himself an easy target.
Minerva let him ready himself with a quick bath and a change of shrunken clothes. He had attempted to brush down his unruly hair, but it just kept getting into his eyes. He huffed in frustration as he played with the mop of dark locks.
"Have you given thought to the idea of cutting your hair since yesterday?" Minerva asked from behind him.
"I suppose I probably should." Harry let out a sigh in defeat. "Promise you won't let them make me look ridiculous?"
He looked up at her with pleading green eyes and she just shook her head. "Why would I ever do a thing like that?" Minerva countered and he shrugged. She let out a sigh of her own and locked her dark hazel eyes on his.
"I am not your aunt nor your cousin and certainly not your walrus of an uncle." She said firmly. "My goal is to give you everything you need to be a happy, healthy, and intelligent little boy. If I wanted to continue their deplorable behavior, I would have simply left you there with those sorry sacks of refuse."
Harry threw himself against the woman and locked her in a tight hug. She patted him gently on the shoulder. He didn't know what some of the words she had used meant, but the message was clear. He had an ally now, someone who simply wanted the best for him and that was more incredible than magic. The small blossoming of trust that had begun to develop between the pair tripled and Harry found he felt safe for the first time in his life.
They headed out to the village, his hand was firmly locked in Minerva's left hand. It might have been baby-like to hold hands with an adult, but Harry found he did not mind. The village was filled to the brim with bustling shops and small homes. Over the village loomed an old, decrepit looking shack that Minerva told him was believed to be haunted. The village itself was quiet on the sleepy Friday morning. She said the students would be down over the weekend from the castle and that Hogsmeade really came to life then.
They stopped first at a shop named 'Gladrags Wizardwear'. Harry found the name to be quite funny, but Minerva had quieted his giggling with a stern glare. The witch at the counter was a buxom, grumpy looking woman. She had dirty blonde hair that was piled upon her hair and wore a bright lilac robe with the store's emblem embroidered on the front.
"Professor?" The woman asked in surprise. "It's not often we see you around these parts during the school year. Especially with a little one in tow."
"Gladys." Minerva greeted. "I find myself taking a much needed sabbatical and my young companion here is in desperate need of a full wardrobe - both magical and mundane. I assume you can service him."
Gladys got a greedy glint in her watery blue eyes and flicked her wand to change the shop sign to closed. "Come on, love. Let's get you sorted then."
Harry peeled himself away from Minerva with some hesitation and stood upon a small oval platform. The store's witch cast a few spells around him. He was stunned as an army of measuring tapes wrapped around him with gusto and several bolts of fabric flew from the shelves and floated beside him.
"Tiny little thing, aren't cha?" She scribbled down the measurements on a floating piece of parchment and Harry just watched everything happening around him in wonder. "Let's start with the robes."
Four bolts of fabric floated forward, each of a unique material although Harry had no idea what they actually were. Gladys was happy to explain each to her two customers.
"We have your standard wool here." She pointed towards a thick, scratchy looking cloth. "We also have cotton." She pointed towards a smoother, but thinner looking cloth. "This here is velvet." The cloth she gestured at this time was shiny and somewhat fluffy looking. Harry had the distinct urge to run his hand over it, but resisted. "Our newest offering is what the muggles are calling viscose." The final bolt shimmered even more than the last.
Harry looked to Minerva and she peered over each of the bolts carefully with a small frown. "Four of the wool for winter wear lined with the viscose. Six of the cotton for everyday. Which would you like for formal wear?" She looked at him curiously and shyly he pointed at the velvet. Minerva shook her head knowingly, "One velvet for formal wear."
Gladys seemed over the moon with their selections and hurriedly banished the bolts while scribbling down their selections. "Colors?" She asked.
Minerva looked at Harry, "Nothing outlandish." She cautioned and Harry smiled. She didn't need to worry - he wasn't the headmaster after all. Gladys gave him a large variety of patterns and colors, some of which he questioned the sanity of. Bright pink with lime green polka dots? He didn't know who would walk around wearing such a thing. He glanced over at Minerva who was dressed in a dark green robe with a tartan cloak and then to Gladys with her bright purple robe.
"For the winter ones can I do this," He pointed at a dark navy and Gladys nodded.
"What would you like for the lining, love?" She asked. Harry chewed his lip in thought before pointing at a bright looking silver. Gladys smiled at him. "Seems we have quite a fashionable young man here! Now for the casual, I can do one color for all of them although that might be a little boring. How about you select three of your favorites?"
Harry flipped through the book before selecting a dark green like Minerva's, a rich chocolatey brown, and a warm grey. Minerva nodded in approval and Harry smiled at her in relief. Picking clothes was hard, especially when there was so much to choose from. He found he was drawn to the more natural looking colors. The artificially bright ones reminded him too much of his aunt and the headmaster. He didn't want to draw more attention to himself, he just wanted to blend in.
"Lovely! Now onto the formal." Gladys looked at Minerva this time.
"I think black will do for now." Minerva answered and Harry nodded in agreement.
Gladys scribbled down the rest of the details and with a pop the parchment disappeared. They went through his mundane wear next which was a lot easier as the witch simply presented him with a catalog of muggle styles to choose from. Minerva helped him pick out several t-shirts, button ups, and slacks along with two sets of jeans and a set of jogging clothes. The unmentionables made Harry blush something awful, but Minerva didn't make a fuss of it. She got him a dozen new pairs of pants and several sets of socks in black cotton. Harry was thrilled when she added on a new pair of trainers, a pair of dark grey boots, and a pair of black dress shoes.
Harry's eyes boggled at the amount by the end of their transaction and nearly begged for Minerva not to bother. Even though he had no idea what wizard currency equated to in British pounds he was certain it must've been thousands. However, she simply brushed him off and said that it was her obligation as his guardian. He almost brought up how the Dursleys had never bothered to get him clothes, but thought better of it as he remembered her impassioned lecture from the morning.
They left the shop empty handed except for his new trainers and a warm charcoal travelling cloak which he wore proudly. It felt nice to not have his shoes pinch in odd places and to have relief from the biting fall wind. Next, stop was the barber shop - a place he was dreading like no other.
A/N: Sorry for the delay! I've been needing a break from technology and this story sat on the back burner. Hopefully this little foray into Hogsmeade will make it all worth it. More regular updates to come soon. Thank you all for being so patient and for your support!