I'm loving all the reviews on this story, thanks everyone! I hope you like the latest chapter.

I do not own Harry Potter.

WARNING: Again, there may be mentions of past abuse and the repercussions of said abuse. This will be a recurring theme throughout the story, so I may not put a warning at the top of each chapter, but just please be aware.

Chapter 4

When Harry awoke the next morning there was no moment of confusion, just a feeling of relief. He rolled over and snuggled into the warm blankets, chasing the wonderful dream he had been having, flashes of dark hair and dark eyes swimming through his vision. He knew it was still early by the way the sun was hitting his window, conditioned to wake up early by the Dursleys Harry relished in the chance to sleep in, even if he wasn't technically asleep. He had no real plans for today, he wanted to go shopping for some more personal items, the pub supplied soap and things of that nature but they weren't of the best quality and Harry wanted to go shopping for some things of his own. He also decided a trip to a bookstore was in order. He knew his knowledge of the wizarding world was woefully poor, but he was determined to change that. He finally had some free time to read what he wanted to, and he was going to make the most of it. It also helped that his soulmates were purebloods from an old family, and Harry wanted to better understand the world they came from.

His stomach grumbled loudly, and Harry remembered that he hadn't eaten lunch or dinner yesterday. A nice breakfast was definitely in order then. He climbed out of bed and walked over to his wardrobe. Marvelling at the fact that he even had a wardrobe filled with clothes. His new clothes were lovingly placed inside, and Harry carefully selected a new outfit- A soft cotton black long sleeve shirt and black jeans, he pulled a black robe over the top then eyed himself critically in the mirror deciding eventually that the all black number worked for him. He had forgotten to take his necklace off to sleep last night so was still in his other Harry persona. He ducked into the bathroom to scrub his teeth and straighten the long auburn hair before heading downstairs for breakfast.

As he entered the main bar area, he noticed the man who had cleared his plate the day before was serving. Harry gave him a hesitant smile before quickly ordering eggs on toast again, this time with a goblet of pumpkin juice before taking a seat at the same table as yesterday. Harry laughed at his own predictability.

The breakfast was just as good as the day before, though Harry didn't quite manage a whole slice of toast this time. He did manage a few more bites of eggs though and drained his whole goblet of juice happily. The man came to collect his plate again, giving Harry the stink eye at how much food was still left.

"Thank you, it was delicious" Harry said politely, and the man's harsh expression softened.

"You sure? You've barely touched it."
"Oh yes, I'm quite full" Harry responded, causing the man's eyebrows to furrow.

Harry knew that he didn't eat much, but he just couldn't help it. Years of living on barely any food at the Dursleys had conditioned him this way. No one at Hogwarts had noticed, or if they did, they hadn't said anything about it.

Harry stuck out his hand, "I'm Harry, it's nice to meet you."

The man gave his hand a quick shake, "I'm Julius, usually work the morning shift so if you're here for breakfast you will see me most days."

"Well that's good to know" Harry said with a smile. He wished Julius a pleasant day before walking out of the pub, intent on starting his errands.

Unfortunately, the universe seemed like making his morning difficult as he ran into someone standing just outside the door. Harry took a stumbling step back, flinching at the still lingering pain in his body, even if the potions had cleared up the worst of it. He shook his head and decided then and there that he was going to have to start paying even closer attention to his surroundings, this was the third time he had run into someone in as many days.

As he looked up, he was surprised to see that the person he had run into was Terence.

"Oh, hello Terence." Harry said surprised. "Sorry about that, I really need to watch where I'm going." Harry finished with a self-deprecating chuckle.

"Not at all Harry, that was just as much my fault as yours. How did the potions go for you yesterday?"

Harry froze for a moment, looking up at Terence to find him staring at Harry with an assessing look in his hazel eyes.

"Oh, they weren't for me. I was getting them for a friend." Harry lied. He didn't even know why he was lying, just that it had become so ingrained in him to lie about the abuse that he did it without thinking now.

Terence looked at him as though he didn't believe a word Harry was saying.

Quickly wanting to change the subject, "what are you up to any way Terence? Doesn't your grandfather need you in the shop this morning?"

Terence looked like he wanted to protest the change of topic but decided to let it go.

"Father is there at the moment, I am delivering some potions this morning," Terence explained.

"I actually have a few things to do myself if you want to walk around together?" Harry offered.

"Sure," Terence agreed easily.

"I hadn't actually been to Knockturn Alley before this visit," Harry said as they started to walk. "So, any tips or advice would be really appreciated." Harry decided this was the perfect opportunity to start scouting for details about Voldemort and his followers. Or at least get an idea on the inner workings of Knockturn Alley; his home for the foreseeable future.

"Hmm, first thing to remember about Knockturn Alley is that we take care of our own. Knockturn Alley is a safe place for a lot of people, sometimes criminals yes, but also people with creature blood. Or even people who are looking to escape a dire personal situation." Here Terence shot Harry a pointed look, which Harry promptly chose to ignore.

"Any issues that come up we prefer to deal with on our own, once the Auror's come in it creates a whole lot of problems, and I am telling you now no one will thank you if you bring the Auror's down around them."

Harry nodded in understanding looking serious, so Terence kept talking.

"A lot of the shops here are classed as dark, but that really just depends on your perception. I personally feel it's the intent in which you use something that decides whether it is light or dark. Anything sold along here has the potential to be dangerous, just like anything on Diagon Alley."

Harry was listening intently as Terence continued to talk. He had never thought about it before, but he had a point, the world wasn't black and white, made up of good and bad, light and dark. Harry knew that it was something that he was going to have to give some more thought to over the next few days. Right now, though, he needed to concentrate.

"Just be polite and stay out of other people's business and you shouldn't have too much drama."

"Drama seems to find me" Harry said wryly, and Terence chuckled.

"Right, where are we off to first?" Harry asked.

"First stop is The Bowtruckles Snare, it's a Herbology shop."

Off they set, Terence introducing Harry to the kind woman behind the counter when they arrived at The Bowtruckles Snare. While Terence chatted and handed over the potions, Harry was enchanted by a plant that looked a little like old mans beard, but it was carnivorous, though really only had a penchant for bugs and insects the sign said. The soft vines curled gently around Harry's hand and he couldn't bear the thought of leaving the poor thing in the shop.

The woman who ran the shop (Harry later found out her name was Veronica) wandered over.

"This fellow is known as Hangman's noose, very loyal to their owners but can be deadly to someone they don't like, though they are usually quite docile. Their vines can grow and shrink at will and they are happy to catch their own food."

Harry grinned and reached into his money pouch, buying the plant instantly. He carried the small pot in his arms for the rest of the morning while they shopped. Much to Terence's amusement, Harry decided to name the plant Herbert.

Their next stop was a beauty shop, that performed a variety of complex spells and administered different potions, to make people look younger, change hair or eye colour, they even did just simple plain haircuts. Of course, everything was temporary which is why people kept coming back and they were doing such a roaring trade. Terence pulled a small box out of his pocket and laid it on the counter of the shop, enlarging it for the shop's owner. While Terence went over the order with his customer, Harry wandered the aisles, Herbert tucked in his arms as he grabbed a variety of things. Shampoo and conditioner, a new toothbrush and toothpaste, soap, deodorant and moisturiser. Herbert helped him carry it all, holding the shampoo and conditioner in his vines. Terence lifted an eyebrow at Harry as he made his way back but didn't comment.

"So, do you have a favourite quidditch team, Harry?" Terence asked as they continued their shopping.

"Hmm, not really. I always went for The Chudley Cannons, but that was mostly because of a friend of mine. I think I will have to watch a few games and re-evaluate who my favourite team is."

"Well, if you'd like any company at the games, I would be happy to go with you." Terence offered. "My favourite team actually is The Chudley Cannons though."

"That would be great!" Harry said excitedly. "I've only been to one quidditch game before, outside of school, so that sounds really fun."

"Alright then, I will look into tickets for us."

Harry smiled brightly at that.

They did some more shopping, Harry getting a few interesting books and Terence introducing him to a few more people as he did his potion rounds.

"I have to head back to the shop soon" Terence said after he had delivered his last potion. "Did you want to grab some lunch first?"

Harry nodded, though he didn't feel hungry at all after eating breakfast.

They walked back to the Leaky Pickle and took a seat in the usual area. Harry sitting Herbert on the table beside him. The soft grey, green vines falling onto his leg and wrapping gently around his knee.

"So, how long have you been staying here?" Terence inquired.

"Oh, just a few days. Not sure how long I will be staying for though. Sorta have nowhere else to go at the moment." Harry said awkwardly, turning away from Terence' inquisitive gaze and starting to look over the menu.

He ordered a salad when Julius came to take their order, while the older ordered fish and chips.

That chatted for a while, Terence explaining about his potion work, and work at his family shop, while Harry offered a little generic information about himself.

When lunch arrived, Terence dug in with gusto, while Harry managed not even half of his salad before he was full. He knew better than to push himself, it wouldn't help if he ate too much and made himself sick. Instead, he tried feeding Herbert a tomato, the vines wrapping around the fruit for a moment before simply dropping it on the ground. Harry snorted in amusement, "OK so no tomatoes."

Terence eyed Harry's nearly full plate critically as they stood to leave but thankfully didn't say anything. They made plans to catch up again another day and Harry headed back to his room with a small smile on his face, silently celebrating that he may have made a new friend. It was also exciting, not only that he had made a new friend, but he had started to understand the workings of Knockturn Alley a little better, as well as the people that live and work there. He thought it much more likely that he would be accepted if people saw him with Terence, the older teen was obviously very popular and knew everyone well, judging by his interactions all morning.

When he made it back to his room, he plopped down on his bed exhausted. He sat Herbert on his bed side table in the sun, before getting him a drink of water. He then tipped all his shopping onto the bed and started sorting through it. Putting his new personal care products in the bathroom and lining his new books up on his bedside table. He had got books on a variety of topics. One on soul marks and soulmates, another on wizard culture and customs, another on pureblood traditions and lastly one on wizarding laws and how the Wizengamot works. He hoped the four books would begin to fill in the vast gaps of his knowledge, it was nearly embarrassing how little he actually knew about the wizarding world. No one had ever bothered to explain, and he had never bothered to investigate further. It was like a whole side of their world was unknown to him and Harry was determined to learn more.

He felt exhausted from his busy morning and could tell his body was still fighting an infection from his injuries, so before settling in with one of his new books he took the last potion he had to fight off infections. He would see how he was feeling in a few days and go back and see Terence if he found he was still struggling.

He laid back down on the bed, enjoying the warm feeling that overtook him as the potion made its way through his system.

When his head felt a little clearer, he reached over for his book on soul marks and soulmates, settling in to spend the afternoon reading. It wasn't a large book, small and thin, with an emerald green cover and gold swirling writing. The book was so small that it only took him a little over an hour to read the whole thing. Harry guessed that there was really only so much one could say on the topic, and it seemed that the instances of soul marks were so rare that there just wasn't a lot of information available. They weren't non-existent, but only a few were reported every generation. They had become something of a fairy tale, told to the young or romanticised in books.

What Hermione had told him had been the basics of it all. As Harry read, different parts jumped out at him.

The submissive in the partnership, or triad in Harry's case, would receive the soul mark on their 16th birthday. The dominant would not get a mark but would be drawn to the submissive once they meet, after the submissive turns 16. This pull would get stronger the longer they were together, resulting in the soul bond forming. It would be physically and mentally damaging for them to be separated for long periods of time, especially during the early stages of the bond forming, this would hold particularly true for the submissive in the relationship. The dominant will feel nearly an obsessive need to ensure that their mate is safe and protected. This desire will only worsen when the submissive falls pregnant.

Harry had nearly choked on his own spit when he had read that. At first, he thought they had been talking about female submissives, but nope apparently when one was with their soulmate, anything was possible, including a male falling pregnant. Apparently when he fully accepted the bond his body would change, making it possible to fall pregnant.

He liked the idea of a family someday, but that day was a long way off.

Many soulmates develop extra abilities, though these vary greatly between bonds. Some develop the ability to feel their mate's emotions, while others can speak telepathically. No one knows how or why these extra abilities develop, though it has been speculated that is a way for the dominant to better protect their submissive.

Harry liked the idea of being protected and kept safe. He didn't think he had ever truly felt safe before. He supposed he had with his parents but that was a long time ago and couldn't remember it.

After finishing the book, he sat and processed for a few minutes. Aside from the whole being able to get pregnant thing there hadn't been anything that was too much of a surprise. Once they met, Rabastan and Rodolphus would start to feel drawn to him, to the point that being away from each other for very long would become difficult if not impossible. He supposed that would be helpful as he actually didn't even have a clear idea of what his soulmates looked like. The only pictures he had seen of them had been the ones that had appeared in The Daily Prophet after their escape from Azkaban. He still didn't have any real plan; he was hoping perhaps that they would come to Knockturn Alley sometimes or that he would pick up word of where Voldemort was hiding out and try to visit them there. Perhaps he should try to get some more up to date pictures of them, though he supposed if they went out at all at the moment it would be under heavy glamour's, or a charmed necklace like what he wore.

He ran his hands wearily through his hands, let's hope for them visiting Knockturn Alley plan. He didn't know how he was going to convince Voldemort not to kill him, aside from hoping that Rabastan and Rodolphus could persuade him.

One problem at a time, he told himself firmly as he picked up his book on wizarding culture and customs and began to read.