Chapter 3

Harry awoke to the sounds and smells of a cooking breakfast. At first he thought why are the Dursleys cooking? They have me do that for them? But then his head came round and his memories came back. He was lying in a massive feather bed and he had never slept better in his life. The warmth of the sun was streaming into through the window at an annoying angle, but Harry just accepted it and closed his eyes again. After a few minutes the smell of bacon roused him enough to get out of bed. His great mood was quickly snuffed out when he saw the Shinigami still sleeping in the corner. It was bobbing slightly in the air, and didn't seem to notice that Harry had awoken.

Harry noticed that someone had placed new clothes in the room for him while he slept. The pants seemed normal enough, if woolen, but the rest of the outfit seemed medieval. There was a thin undershirt, a black cotton over shirt, and what appeared to be a dark gray cloak or robe. He searched through his memories and recalled that Professor Dumbledore had been wearing something similar, but in blue and silver. He had been so floored by everything that had been going on that he had completely missed that this wizard dressed like something out of a King Arthur story.

So wizards actually wear this stuff? Harry thought as he looked at his reflection in the small wall mirror. He was quickly overheating in the wool, and it looked like he was wearing a superhero's cape. Amazingly, they fit perfectly, which instantly made this better than wearing Dudley's hand-me-downs. Before going downstairs, he took a final look at Vim and felt satisfied to spend some time away from it. The inside of his robes had large enough pockets to keep the DeathNote, so he stuck it in there for safekeeping.

His room was in a long hallway near a staircase, and not seeing anyone around he went down. It seemed that the smells were coming from a pub or restaurant the hotel had on the first floor, with a sizable group of people eating, drinking coffee, essentially everyday activities, but there were a few oddities. He saw a man in the back of the pub with an owl on one shoulder. A woman at the bar was handing what looked like silver and gold coins to the bartender for a very large and smoking drink. The fireplace randomly glowed green and people stepped out of it, brushing soot off of their robes. Everyone in the pub was wearing some sort of odd clothing, including some robes, some people still in flowing pajamas, and some in what appeared to be full leather. The only person looking out of place amongst this group was a man walking in from the street dressed like a banker. Harry saw Dumbledore sitting at a table in an out of the way corner and went over.

"Good Morning my lad. The clothes are a gift from me, and I see they are fitting splendidly. Sleep soundly I hope?" Dumbledore sounded exceedingly chipper.

" Yes. First time I've slept in a proper bed for some time." Dumbledore sighed.

"I must apologize for that Harry. It is time I told you about your family." Dumbledore spend the next hour telling him everything that the Dursleys had kept from him: That his parents had been a witch and wizard. That an evil wizard named Voldemort had murdered them. That Harry's scar came from an attempt on his life by Voldemort, which ended with Voldemort's spell backfiring and destroying him. That he was one of the most famous people in the magical world. Harry asked dozens of questions and by the end the biggest question he had was, "So why was I left with the Dursley's? If I'm so famous amongst the wizarding world, why couldn't I stay with them?"

"There is ancient magic that would protect you as long as you called the home of your blood relations your home. Your mother's sacrifice made this magic possible, and it was the best way to defend you from the followers of Voldemort, the Death Eaters. He had hundreds of angry followers who would have loved to kill you, so we had to act quickly. I wish to personally apologize for the torment you have suffered at their hands. It has only been in the last few years that the majority of Voldemort's supporters have been killed or imprisoned. Many times in recent months I have considered alternative options, but even now, it is not certain that Voldemort actually died on the night he killed your parents. That is why I had Arabella take you from their home as soon as they died. With their deaths, there would be nothing to bond you to that old magic, and you could be vulnerable. But you will be protected Harry. There is nothing to be concerned about. Ah, Breakfast." The wizened old barkeep brought over two large plates filled with eggs, bacon, toast, pancakes, syrups, and a pot of tea and cups.

"Here you are Albus. And would you mind me asking who you have with you today? Some new student from a muggle family again?"

"Thank you Tom. And may I introduce you to Mr. Harry Potter. I will be showing him around Diagon Alley today."

"Harry Potter!" Tom quickly kneeled into a bow. "It is an honor to have you at the Leaky Cauldron." The breakfast crowd had gotten larger as Harry and Dumbledore talked, and so when Tom made his large flourish, many heads started to turn and Harry was quickly besieged by shaking hands and bowing bodies looking to meet the boy who lived. It wasn't as much of a shock as it could have been if he didn't know that the world thought was important about him, but having this much praise heaped on him for something he couldn't even remember was still odd. Dumbledore seemed very happy to see the people giving Harry the attention he had never been given as a child, but shooed them away so that they could finish their breakfast and start the day.

"So how about that Harry? Enjoying being famous?"

"Not really. I mean they're all nice, but its just not who I am, you know?"

"Well at least something good came from being stuck with those awful family members of yours." Dumbledore said flatly.

"And what's that?"

"You don't have a massively inflated ego. Your father was always cursed with one. You look exactly like him, you know. Except for the eyes. You have your mother's eyes."

Harry and Dumbledore paid for their meal with the same gold coins that Harry had seen earlier, and Dumbledore explained that they would need to get Harry some of his money before they could buy him his school supplies.

"I have money in the wizarding world?" This shocked Harry almost as much as they idea of wizards. Magic was abstract, strange, and took hours to really understand. Even after seeing things floating, fires being started with wands, and some magical creatures like Vim, it still wasn't as immediate as the idea of a bank account. Harry had never had a pound in his life, and so it grabbed his interest. He wondered when the world would stop shocking him enough to have an hour of calm.

"Your parents worked as Aurors, wizarding detectives that work for our ministry. It is a very well paying job, and Gringotts vaults last for 100 years."

Harry readied himself for whatever he was going to see in this wizarding shopping street, and it was still amazing. It was a weekend around 11 am, so the street was packed. There were shops for everything in the muggle world, but with a wizarding twist, plus shops he could never have imagined. There was a grocery shop selling entire animals and massive vegetables, seemingly grown with magic. There was a sporting goods store that sold broomsticks, balls, and padding. There was a bookstore advertising books that would make the reader speak a new language when they were finished. There was even an art store selling paintings that moved. Diagon Alley was a place that no description could cover in a single telling.

More people recognized Harry as they went down the street, but Dumbledore kept them moving. Harry saw several people reading a newspaper called the Daily Prophet with a headline saying, "Harry Potter's family murdered again! Where is the boy who lived?"

They arrived at Gringotts and Harry got his second taste of magical creatures. The place was swarming with beings Dumbledore called goblins, which made him think back on Vim. Harry asked Dumbledore, "Um, Professor, I have a question about a magical creature. Is there any kind of creature that is all black, creepy, floats around, and can't be seen by some people?" Dumbledore suddenly grew grave.

"Why? Have you seen something like that recently?"

Harry was suddenly afraid. If Dumbledore did know about the Shinigami, then would telling him about this just get him exposed? He decided to only say, "A few years ago, yeah. Why?"

"There are creatures called dementors, Harry, that can only be seen by magical people and creatures. Did the world feel cold and hopeless when you saw this thing, and were all the muggles ignoring it?" Dumbledore had stopped right in the middle of the bank to ask his questions. It seemed very important to him, so Harry tried to back out of his lie as easily as possible.

"No nothing like that. It was just kind of creepy, that's all. It was really small and had wings."

"Hmmm, well I'm not sure what you saw Harry, but I think you would know what I meant if it really was a dementor. I'm sure its nothing. If you do see anything mysterious while in the muggle world Harry, I would ask you to tell me. Dementors are supposed to stay at the prison of Azkaban, which is why I was so worried when I heard your description." Now Harry knew he couldn't ask Dumbledore about Vim now. He was too suspicious and worrisome. Maybe he could find a book in that magic bookshop.

Dumbledore sent him down into the caverns of the bank. He said that he had to meet someone there, but that you couldn't be safer in Gringotts than with a Goblin. Along with a goblin named Griphook, he made his way to his vault deep underground and was left to marvel at his wealth. The piles of gold were everyway, more than enough to live off of for many years.

"This is really quite a load you've got here, isn't it" Vim popped up right over Harry's shoulder and made him jump right into a pile of coins.

"What are you doing here?" Harry yelled in shock. "You've been sleeping all day and you suddenly show up when I'm all alone?"

"Hey calm down there. You'll hurt my feelings. Weren't you taught to be nice to girls? I thought that's what humans did? At least when I last checked a century or two ago."

Harry looked confused. "You're a girl?" The shinigami was so monstrous he couldn't have even tried to assign a gender to it, though the scratchy voice had made him assume Vim was more male than not.

"Not like it matters. Gender only exists on a superficial level for my kind. So, kill anyone since I saw you last night?"

"Of course not!" Harry was starting to get annoyed.

"Well, give it time. You may find yourself tempted at any time." Vim was wandering amongst the gold, picking up pieces and playing with them in her long fingers.

"Don't touch that, its mine?"

"So quick to feel that this gold is yours. You didn't know you were rich until this morning and you're already trying to keep me away." Harry quickly grabbed a hundred coins, shoved them in his pack, and went out. Vim followed and said, "This is all quite interesting here. I never knew about these goblins up in the shinigami world. I wonder if the DeathNote works on them? Could you try one?"

"Shut up." Griphook gave Harry an odd look for his outburst but just shrugged it off. When Harry made his way back to the Gringotts lobby, he saw Dumbledore talking to a man, or what at least looked like a man. He was about 3 meters tall, and looked to be about 300 kilos. He had a massive beard and was laughing at something Dumbledore was saying, after handing Dumbledore a small package.

"So this must be Harry!" The massive man said as he saw him approach. "It's wonderful to meet you! Names Rubeus Hagrid!" Hagrid lifted Harry into the air with every handshake.

"Harry, this is the gamekeeper of Hogwarts. I hope you will not mind, but as he was already on business here for me today, I have offered to have him shop with us." Dumbledore did seem to actually be asking if Harry was ok with it.

"Sure, its fine with me." Hagrid beamed at him.

They spent the next few hours going around to get Harry's list of school supplies completed, but Harry managed to get a few extra things. Hagrid loved spending time with Harry. He was a constant joker, and Harry warmed up to him quickly. In the shops he made it difficult to get around, but he definitely made an easier path on the street with people clearing the way for him. Hagrid decided to get Harry an owl as an "early birthday present". Harry tried to pay him for it, now that he had more than enough money, but Hagrid insisted. It was a beautiful snowy owl, which cooed when he petted her.

By mid-afternoon, Dumbledore left to discuss something with a red haired man, which left Harry and Hagrid alone to shop for some extra things. He managed to find a book on the history of dark magic. This got a strange look from Hagrid, but he felt that it might have some information on the DeathNote. He also found a quill that never ran out of ink, a record player, and some records of wizard rock bands. Harry had always been a fan of British rock, but had never been allowed to put on the kind of music he liked. It was amazing to see the strange disconnect between Wizard technology. They didn't seem to have any electricity, but they still had radios and records, possibly running on pure magical energy. Hagrid was a great help in carrying everything. Getting his wand was an especially odd experience, especially with Vim picking up things, making the shopkeeper think the wands were going haywire. Eventually he found a holly wand with a phoenix feather core that worked for him. The shopkeep, Mr. Ollivander, seemed to revel in telling him that the wand was a pair to the wand of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. He was left confused, but made sure to ask Dumbledore later.

Back at the leaky cauldron, Dumbledore was still talking to the red haired man, who had been joined by a red haired woman and a tall African man.

"Harry, come over here." Dumbledore beckoned when he saw them. Hagrid kept off the people interested in shaking Harry's hand so he could go over to the group. "I would like you to meet Arthur and Molly Weasley, and Mr. Kingsley Shacklebolt. They have accepted my request to have you stay at their home for the remainder of the Summer, and take you to the train to Hogwarts when the time comes."

"We are so excited to have you with us." The woman Molly was full of smiles. "I am so sorry to hear about your family, but we will make sure you are taken care of. We have a son your age, and I'm sure you'll hit it off."

"It's wonderful to meet you Harry Potter!" Arthur Weasley shook his hand very loosely, as if in reverence. "I hear that your family were muggles? I'm sure you'll be able to tell me all about them at our house."

"So how does that sound Harry? I will be assigning Mr. Shacklebolt here as your guard. He is an Auror, and one of the very best." Dumbledore said, looking very proud. "He was one of my best students."

"Very pleased to meet you Mr. Potter." Mr. Shacklebolt seemed a kind, but very professional sort of man.

"It sounds great." Harry was very interested in getting the chance to live with a wizard family. "I'll just need a few minutes to arrange my things."

The group of wizards left Harry alone in the room he had been in last night to organize his new possessions. It had been the best day of Harry's life, and it wasn't over yet.

"So are you interested in living with these people?" Vim said. "I hope they have some apples…"

"Of course I'm interested. A real wizarding family."

"Full of people watching you everyday, possibly finding the notebook, noticing something I do. Get you revealed…"

It felt like a cold rag was rung over his head.

"You wouldn't dare."

"Or what? It's not like you can hurt me little boy." Vim was right up in Harry's face now. "Perhaps if you make a deal with me, I can promise to help you stay safe and out of prison"

"What kind of deal?" Vim got close enough that he saw his face reflected in the shinigami's eyes.

"I'd like you to kill someone for me."