Shopping Trip

It was late when the teacher the headmaster mentioned arrived to take Harry to the location for his school supplies, the same day, just about, as he met the wizards and the Hokage told him some more information about him that had been kept secret. Of course, he had only been told after making his choice.

It hadn't been a particularly hard decision.

If he turned them down he wouldn't have anything to do for the next year to advance his ninja career while if he did attend he would learn new abilities unknown to the rest of the hidden continent. What ninja worth the title could pass up such an opportunity?

The only issue was that nobody had mentioned how long he would have to wait for the teacher to show up!

He had heard rumours of a jonin who turned up to everything late, but felt certain that even they wouldn't have kept him waiting so long.

It made him wonder what sort of place he was headed to, that the shops were only open at this sort of time. It was almost enough to make him reconsider his decision.

Finally the door to the room he was waiting in opened, an immediate indicator that it was the teacher he was waiting for rather than a ninja, who would simply use the window.

"Good evening," she began, as Harry quickly examined and evaluated her appearance in the way that Jiraiya had taught him to on first sight of a potential enemy ninja or other combatant. His first thought was that he wasn't impressed, before he reconsidered, remembering that this wasn't a school for ninja, but probably closer to the schools that civilian children who didn't attend the shinobi academy presumably went to. Considering her appearance after that thought and he realised that she would seem intimidating to, to be fair, just about any student who hadn't been taught by one of the sannin, even with her ridiculous outfit of robes, that would only serve to get in the way of movement. These thoughts passed through his mind so quickly that he was finished before she had finished speaking. "I am here to take you to Diagon Alley to purchase your school supplies. Assuming you are," she hesitated briefly, "Namikaze Harry."

Harry nodded slowly. "That is me..." he trailed off to let her provide her own name.

"McGonagall Minerva-sensei, as you'd put it here. Although, while in the alley or at Hogwarts, it would be better if you call me professor McGonagall. A moment please," she drew a short length of wood from her robes and waved it in his general direction muttering a few strange words.

Harry drew away from her. "What was that?"

"Unfortunately, you use a different language here, and so I needed to cast a translation spell for you. It should allow you to understand any common language spoken around you. It is temporary, but when it is time to attend Hogwarts headmaster Dumbeldore will cast a better version for you, that will teach you English until you can understand and speak it naturally. Do you understand what I've told you so far?"

Harry nodded. It wasn't too unexpected, being told of the different way to address people at the school, and between the academy and Jiraiya he had been instructed to follow the clients version of manners or protocol, which this would be practise for. The language situation was more unexpected, but he was already thinking of ways it could be useful to learn himself. "Very well, professor," he responded respectfully. "But why are we heading to the alley so late?"

The professor sighed. "It is to do with the curvature of the Earth. While it is late here, it is early in England, where we are going. I'll make sure that someone explains it to you properly, but right now you only need to know about it is the difference between here and England. Are you ready to head out yet?"

"First, can I just check-"

She sighed. "Yes, we will be coming back after. I'll leave you with a portkey to return you to the station for the start of the year. It was eventually agreed that you would take the Hogwarts Express with the other students, for the first trip at the very least. Do you have your list?"

Harry shook his head. "I've memorised it. It's easier that way." He proceeded to recite the list, to prove it.

McGonagall nodded as he finished. "Very well. We have learned to manage students with eccentricities and this is nowhere near as bad as some we have encountered. If there is nothing else, I will need you to take hold of this," she held up an old looking book.

Harry hesitated. "Is that a portkey?"

"Not yet. I will cast the required spell once we're both holding it, to prevent incident. I will admit that travelling by portkeys can be uncomfortable, but it is better than the alternatives."

Such a comment didn't encourage Harry to follow her direction. "If that's the case, why couldn't I find somewhere closer to learn magic?"

The professor sighed. "There are reasons. I can't tell you what they are right now, but they were enough to convince me, and I had more questions than you are likely to about why you should still attend Hogwarts after finding home so far away. If you don't have any further questions?"

Harry reluctantly took hold of the book, which McGonagall tapped with the same length of wood as she waved at him earlier, muttering a quiet "portus".

Seconds later the world span away as the book dragged them through space.

[|]

Harry stumbled as he landed on an unfamiliar street, professor McGonagall managing to land much more steadily next to him.

Before he could much more than straighten up, she spoke.

"Welcome to Diagon Alley, the first true introduction to our magical world."

Harry struggled to take in the street before him. It was just... too different, even without the weirdness of going straight from evening into morning.

There were numerous people walking about, nearly exclusively in variants of the outfit the professor was wearing.

That would be bad enough as it was, but the shops lining the street were even stranger.

From the shops selling weird ingredients to those selling unfamiliar animals, through those selling items he could only wonder at the purpose of.

"Our first stop will have to Gringotts, the bank," McGonagall informed him, swapping the book for a golden key. "It would be best for you to hold onto the key for your vault. This way."

She led the way towards the end of the alley, giving him a chance to take in the shops either side.

They reached the building at the end of the alley without incident, and Harry examined its polished facade of white stone.

He frowned at the sight of the words inscribed over the entrance.

It said something about not taking from the vaults anything you didn't own, but there was something strange about it.

McGonagall saw where his gaze was, and sighed.

"One of the problems with translation spells is that they don't always work well with poetry. A word of warning before we enter. The bank is run by goblins, small humanoids, and they can be... startling at first sight. But as long as you act respectfully towards them you have nothing to fear."

She strode into the bank, Harry following behind, only to pause at the sight of an unusually large man in a brown coat, that seemed much more sensible in terms of clothing than that which everyone else wore.

"Hagrid? What are you doing here?"

The surprise in her voice was obvious enough that Harry felt sure he would have noticed without his training.

The man seemed freeze at her voice before relaxing somewhat as he turned to face her.

"Oh, er, professor McGonagall. I wasn' expectin' yer. After givin' the task," he said in a manner of trying to act subtle that caused Harry almost physical pain, "to yer, Dumbledore found me summat else ta do."

It took Harry a moment to realise just how badly this 'Hagrid' must be mangling the language for the translation spell not to filter it out.

McGonagall sighed. "Hagrid, I know why you wanted the job, but remember how the ministry gets about the idea of you leaving the country."

"I know, I know. 's jus, wha' with his parents..."

"Hagrid, we're in public. Keep a hold of yourself. If the headmaster gave you a job, it's because he knows you're the right man for the job."

"Yer right," the man nodded. "See yer at Hogwarts."

He turned back, to do whatever job he was here to do.

McGonagall sighed. "That was Hagrid, the groundskeeper at Hogwarts. An... incident while he was at school meant he never got to finish his education, but Dumbledore convinced the headmaster of the time to take him on."

"What was the ministry you mentioned?"

"The ministry of magic. It is their job to keep the magical world running," the professor informed him, a touch of sarcasm just about audible in her voice. "The ministry is the reason that the incident I mentioned prevented Hagrid from finishing his time at Hogwarts, even with all the evidence in his favour. In any case, we need to get on with why we are here."

She strode towards one of the tellers, Harry trailing after her.

The goblin, as Harry assumed the creature had to be, barely looked up at their approach.

"Name and business."

"Professor McGonagall with a student to access their vault."

"Unusual for a teacher to take a student with a vault to Gringotts, at least outside of term," the goblin added, with a toothy grin.

"He was raised outside the country."

"Very well. Present the key."

McGonagall turned to Harry, who was already withdrawing the key from his pocket.

The goblin glanced at the key, went back to his paperwork for a second, then looked back at the key in surprise.

"I see," the goblin muttered. "We have been waiting for you. Before I can take you to the vault there are certain... details, we need you to discuss with management."

McGonagall sighed. "Do we really need to deal with this now?"

The goblin ignored her. "This way. Not you," he immediately stated as the professor moved to follow him as well, "just the account owner."

"Why can't she come," Harry asked, not sure if he wanted to be stuck in a room with just goblins for company. "I mean," he instantly corrected himself, "I am unfamiliar with your customs and do not wish to cause insult. I am sure that professor McGonagall will be able to ensure that I do not cause offence."

"If the account holder wishes you to join us you may," the goblin reluctantly allowed. "Now as I said, this way."

He led them to a side door, ignoring the looks of curiosity that followed them from other customers of the bank.

[|]

It took a while, but the goblin eventually brought them to an office, the door labelled as belonging to an account manager with a different name.

Without stopping to knock the goblin shoved the door open.

"The Potter account holder," he announced to the much older and decrepit looking goblin seated at the desk inside.

The old goblin smiled, in a manner that gave Harry an uncomfortable feeling. "Excellent. Please, take a seat, mister... ah, first things first. What name should we use for you? Potter as you were born or Namikaze as you were raised?"

Harry glanced briefly at McGonagall, to see if this was a test, before looking back at the goblin when she didn't show any indication as to how he should respond. "Uh, Namikaze, if you would."

The smile reappeared, and the goblin wrote something on one of the pages in front of him. "Excellent. As I was saying, please take a seat, mister Namikaze. Oh, and you as well, professor... McGonagall I believe it was. I am glad to see you didn't have any difficulties joining us in this meeting. I know how you humans can get about unattended minors."

He paused while Harry and McGonagall sat in the chairs before his desk.

"While the ministry has certain... problems they wish dealt with before they can cause problems, but there are other things I believe should be covered first. After the reason... unpleasantness," he continued in a tone that made it clear that whatever it was was far more than merely unpleasant, "you are left the only heir to the Potter account. Of course, you can't access the main vaults right now, and they will be maintained to our finest standard until you or your descendants are able to, but the problem is what name to keep the vaults under."

Harry hesitated. "I-I'm sure, but I'm not sure I understand."

"Of course. The Potters were, or rather are, a noble house. As such there are certain... factions within the ministry who would disapprove of the name disappearing. However, I can understand that you would not wish to have the difficulties associated with accessing a vault under a different name."

"When you said that I couldn't access the main vaults..."

"As became the custom at the time, your parents set aside a minor vault for any children they would leave behind, to ensure a comfortable life. You have access to this vault and its content."

"Would it be acceptable to leave the main, family vaults under the Potter name and change the name of the minor vault to Namikaze?"

"Of course. Now, onto the ministry business," the goblin lost all trace of his former smile at mention of the ministry, which somehow served to make Harry less comfortable. "I understand that you are living abroad. While we at Gringotts have no problem with this, even if we would prefer for you to use the local branch for any banking requirements, the ministry have imposed a certain tax rate for any money you take with the intention to spend outside their jurisdiction."

"I don't think the money would be valid there, so I wasn't planning on it anyway."

"That makes things simpler. The next matter is of your larger inheritances, properties and the like. The Potter family left a number of buildings out to rent. Due to the nature of the contract, we have been unable to collect the rent for these properties. There is also the estate. While it was left... in a less than pristine condition we have since seen it re...paired. The ministry have given us their concerns about leaving properties either up for rent without collecting the monies owed, or simply empty."

Harry thought about this. "I don't want to force people who can't find anywhere else out of where they live," he decided, "but it doesn't make sense to leave houses supposedly for rent open to people who aren't paying. Can you make it clear to those signed up to rent the properties that they will need to resume paying rent as of the next..." he paused and frowned, "periods was it? And what it be possible to see to maintaining the estate until I can be sure whether I should keep ownership or not."

The goblin made a note of what Harry had said. "A far more sensible decision than I have been used to from most wizards. I do believe that is all we need to discuss face to face. I'll let you get back to the business you came for."

[|]

Professor McGonagall remained quiet as they made their way to the vault.

The goblin teller guided them through numerous tunnels, rather than using the usual carts.

When the vault opened, Harry froze at the sight of the piles of gold within.

"Let me check, is gold ridiculously common here?"

The goblin scoffed. "What sort of currency is made of a common metal?"

"So I'm rich?"

It was a new experience for Harry. While he was treated as a hero back in the village, that didn't exactly translate to having huge amounts of money. He turned to McGonagall. "How much am I likely to need for now?"

McGonagall answered without hesitation, having clearly had a lot of experience with first year students, and Harry followed her advice, collecting hundreds of the coins into a small sack the goblin provided. He added a little extra spending money, just in case there were additional things he found that the professor hadn't considered.

With the funds withdrawn, Harry got his first experience with the normal means of navigating the depths of Gringotts.

The experience was easier than the portkey, at least for the same length of time. Unfortunately, it also lasted a lot longer.

It was only when they were outside again that McGonagall brought up something she had wanted to say.

"The goblins treated you much more politely than I've heard them treat a wizard before," she told Harry. "I was expecting to have to step in during the meeting, even if it would cause problems later. Goblins don't appreciate people speaking out of turn, and 'guests', those that aren't directly involved in the meeting, aren't typically considered to have their turn to speak, unless directly addressed."

"So I should have asked you for help? I'm sorry I-"

"That was complete beyond my experience with goblins, I wouldn't have been much help. In any case, where to go first..."

"Not the books or ingredients, I'll probably want more than were on the list and don't want to overspend early."

McGonagall nodded. "I had expected you would want more information on our culture if nothing else. Tradition would say getting robes and spending your time here in them, but I can tell you wouldn't be comfortable with that. Which leaves-"

"Wand and pet right? I don't see the point in getting a pet for school, so I guess we should head for the wand shop?"

"The animals are more than just pets. Owls, for example, are often used to carry letters. They are enchanted to be able to find anyone they know, wherever in the world they are. Some have further spells upon them to make them capable of making long distance journeys safely and within a reasonable time."

Harry considered. "Just how much safer do these spells make these owls? I mean, if someone else was trying to harm them..."

"Such attacks have become rarer in recent years, so few owls have the full range of spells. You won't need me when you find a wand, so I think I'll leave you at Ollivanders', he is renowned as the best wandmaker in the alley, and find an appropriate owl for you."

Harry reached for his money sack. "How much-"

"No need for that, mister Namikaze. When the headmaster was selecting one of us to bring you here Hagrid insisted that whoever it was should buy you a suitable owl, as a 'welcome back' present. He got along with your parents, more so than with most students. This way," she told him, and led him towards the first shop.

She went her separate way before he entered, giving Harry his first solo experience of the magical world.

An elderly man was behind the counter as he entered.

"Ah, Namikaze-san," the man greeted him, "I've been expecting you."

Harry shifted uncomfortably. There was something off about the man. "Can you explain what the purpose of a wand is?" He asked the question mainly to distract himself.

"A wand is a tool, to enable it's wielder to shape magic into a spell. Without using a spell, or other alternative, magic tends to be rather unpredictable. Well, until you become familiar enough with the nature of the spell to recreate it without the aid of a wand of course. Now, I would normally be doing a certain set of measurements to help me choose suitable wands for you to try, but something tells me your training would cause a bit of a problem with that, instead I'll use a bit more guesswork. Which is your dominant hand?"

"Right. What do you mean, suitable wand to try?"

"The wand chooses the wizard. Wands grant their allegiance only to the wizard they choose, and those that are able to best their chosen wizard. And sometimes not even them. Try this one, Holly and Unicorn hair, give it a wave."

Harry took the proffered wand, but before he could do more than twitch it a little the man took it back with a muttered 'no, too short'. "You say wizards, but what of witches?"

"No difference, it just gets annoying saying 'witch or wizard' each time. Here, Dragon heartstring and Yew."

Again the wand was rejected before Harry could do much more than touch it, with a mutter of why it didn't match, followed quickly by many more.

The man only seemed to get happier as Harry proved more and more challenging to find a match for. "No, traces of wandless magic. Maybe..." he trailed off in thought, before moving into the stacks of wand boxes in the back of the shop to dig out one particular wand.

"Dogwood and Phoenix feather," he stated. "An unusual mix, the Phoenix being very specific about its master and Dogwood seeking a sense of fun from its wielder. I couldn't say why I made this wand but... let's see."

Harry took the wand carefully. He had been receiving an impromptu lesson on wandlore, but the shopkeeper hadn't described a wand quite so extensively previously.

This time, however, the wand felt... right, for lack of a better word, in his hand, and the man nodded.

"As I thought. When I am driven to make an unusual wand like that one there is always a specific wielder it is waiting for. But how curious for that wand to choose you. The Phoenix that donated that feather did the same for only one other feather. And the wand I made with it... is the reason you were raised outside the country. My only solace is that it is the wizard that decides how to use their wand, and he would have done the same whatever wand he had used..."

Harry felt cold run through him at the reminder that his parents, his birth parents, had been killed by someone from this world. Heat ran from wand to dispel the feeling, and he glanced down at it in surprise.

"A very loyal wand indeed, if not one people will expect."

[|]

A couple of hours later Harry was back in the village with his new purchases, including a snowy owl he hadn't yet found a name for, and a portkey in the form of clock with an alarm set for a few minutes before it would transport him.

In a trunk, that was somehow larger inside than outside, he had all the items listed on the school letter, with extra ingredients for potions and many extra books he thought would be interesting or useful.

All he had to do was wait, and remember professor McGonagalls warning not to use his wand outside of school.


AN: not had a lot of time to write, but here we are, the trip to Diagon Alley. I tried to skip anything too unimportant, and hopefully the bank scene wasn't too boring. Also, as it should be about a year in story before I use them again, I will probably not be keeping to my spellings for the ninja ranks and possibly other Japanese words. Simply because there are so many ways to spell them in the latin alphabet, and the stories I read seem to use all of them.

On to other matters.

I have come up with a challenge, for all those who wish to take it on (especially those with no stories on the site. I have seen people start with a challenge and write the story well).

The idea for the challenge: team 7 fail the true genin test, and are placed into a remedial class, to take those who should be able to be ninja and train them so they can be on a team, to help explain how there are so many ninja in the village when you can expect only 9 genin a year otherwise.

One way to approach this could be Naruto trying to get the team to work together early on, only for Sasuke (and so Sakura) to refuse, failing them. Kakashi drops Sakura from the program (causing her to try seriously to prove she can be a ninja so as to get back to Sasuke, dropping her more annoying tendencies), Sasuke sees this as holding him back and defects while Naruto complains about failing the teamwork test by his teammates refusing to work together.

Another way could be Sakura realises the nature of the test but is ignored by the boys, they get put into the remedial program and end up on different teams.

All that I require for it to count as this challenge is team 7 to fail the true genin test and continue their stories. Oh, and for the author to contact me so I can mention it on my profile.

If you accept the challenge: get writing! You could soon overtake me!