Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any or any of its characters they belong to J.K. Rowling

Parts of this chapter are direct quotations from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Edited 6 February 2018

Chapter 3 Diagon Alley, London 31 July 1991

When his relatives arrived home Harry informed his uncle that he would be attending the school his parents went to, going out of his way not to mention words like "wizards" and "magic" to prevent a scene. "Magic" was a cuss word in Number 4 Privet Drive. His uncle reluctantly allowed it, (as if he could have stopped Harry) after Harry told him that it was all paid for and reminded him that he would be out of the Dursleys' way for ten months a year. Harry still had to find his own way to London for shopping and the train, but that was fine by him.

Harry decided to go supply shopping on his birthday as a treat for himself. He had thought about what McGonagall had said about his name and image being famous and decided to alter his appearance a little. He had heard her describe his father having wild black hair and glasses and his mom's bright green eyes. He couldn't do anything about the glasses before accessing his billions(!) of pounds at Gringotts, but he decided to get his hair trimmed shorter. He discovered that it did not look so wild cut short. It did, however, end up making the scar on his forehead more easily seen. He figured his scar was rather distinctive trait and that people might know about it, so he put on some of his aunts makeup over it and flopped on a cap for good measure.

Harry arrived at the Leaky Cauldron early that morning and marveled how such an apparently important landmark could look like such a dump. He followed a family into the back alley and watched as the mother tapped the bricks with her wand and opened the archway revealing Diagon Alley.

'Now this is a magical alley' he thought in appreciation looking in awe at the bright colors and activity happening in Diagon Alley. He had to consciously stop himself from gaping. Harry knew from his relatives, who were extreme xenophobes, that looking like a foreigner is not always appreciated. He figured some wizards might feel the same way.

While looking around (more discreetly now) he saw a sign over Flourish and Blotts that alarmed him. "HARRY POTTER, THE BOY-WHO-LIVED BIRTHDAY SALE" Harry stared at it shocked. 'I'm famous for living?' he thought incredulously. Harry began to realize that McGonagall's warning had been a massive understatement. He also began to feel stupid for coming here on his birthday.

Harry entered the shop with his head ducked and went over to the section labeled with his name and apparent moniker. He picked up a book Harry Potter Adventure Series: Harry Potter and the Ghastly Ghoul it had an illustration on the cover that was actually pretty close to what he looked like when he was younger, down to the round-frame glasses he had gotten in primary school.

He flipped the book over. The back advertised that the novel was about Harry's 5th birthday party when he rescued unsuspecting party-goers from a terrifying ghoul. 'Jesus Christ,' he thought 'are there any solicitors in the wizarding world?' he distinctly remembered hiding from Marge's dog Ripper in a tree on his 5th birthday, certainly not battling a ghoul. He glanced at some of the other books in this "Adventure Series" some of the titles included Harry Potter and the Dreadful Dragon and Harry Potter and the Horrible Hipogriff. 'Wizards sure seem fond of alliteration,' he thought wryly. He picked up a more educational looking book to see just what it was that he had become famous for.

"On October 31, 1981 He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named attacked the Potter's house. Little did he know he would meet his match in young Harry! Harry battled and defeated the Dark Lord ending his reign of terror leaving Harry unharmed except for his legendary lightning bolt scar. Every Halloween the wizarding world rejoices and celebrates the anniversary of the defeat of You-Know-Who." the book then continued, almost as if as an afterthought, "Harry's parents James and Lily Potter did not survive the attack."

Harry decided then and there that the wizarding world was, all-in-all, rather daft. He flipped through the book and learned about this He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. He decided if someone defeated this Dark Lord it certainly wasn't him. From what he heard from Professor McGonagall he had pretty normal cases of accidental magic, maybe a bit above average, but nothing of the "Dark Lord defeating" caliber. Harry thought it was much more likely his parents had done something, even if they ended up being killed. Harry decided to get to the bank and made a note to get in touch with a good solicitor.

There was photograph of his family that accompanied the talk about that night at Godric's Hallow. It was the first photo of his parents he could remember seeing. His father did look shockingly similar to him with black unkempt hair and wire-framed glasses. His mother had auburn hair and a slender frame, but he could not see her eyes in the picture as they were focused on the tiny black-haired bundle in his dad's lap.

Harry went back out into the alley and saw an imposing building down the street that had to be bank and started towards it. He saw a sign on the building that read:

Enter Stranger, but take heed

Of what awaits the sin of greed,

For those who take, but do not earn,

Must pay most dearly in their turn.

So if you seek beneath our floors

A treasure that was never yours,

Thief, you have been warned, beware

Of finding more than treasure there.

Harry was not completely surprised to see to goblins at the tellers in the bank because he had seen a picture in one of the brochures McGonagall brought. (The pictures moved!) From what little he knew about goblins, Harry knew that the threat outside the bank was very true. Perhaps some goblins even wished for some fool to try to steal from them. He figured peacetime for warrior races must be rather dull. He moved to one of the bank tellers. When it was his turn he approached the teller holding out his key, "Sir, I would like to make a withdrawal and inquire about the state of my account" the goblin examined the key and looked at him with narrowed eyes. Worried, Harry prayed calling him 'sir' was not an insult to a goblin.

"Griphook!" the teller called out, another goblin came over promptly, "Take Mr. Potter to his vault and then to his account manager." Harry followed Griphook out of the room and onto what looked like a mining cart. The cart shot off at breakneck speeds. Harry had to grip his seat tightly to keep from toppling over. The cart took them speeding through twists and turns in the extensive cave system and- 'Wait, was that a dragon?' When they finally reached the vault Harry had really begun to enjoy himself.

Harry was floored when his vault opened with its green smoke billowing out. He had never seen so much gold in his life! After collecting himself he looked around at the mountains of gold, silver and bronze coins wondering how he was going to carry enough, he hadn't brought a bag. "We can offer a bag linked to your vault for ten Galleons," Griphook said as if in answer.

Harry turned to look at him with narrowed eyes, "That's a pretty steep price, what features would it give me" Griphook smiled, he seemed to approve of Harry's caution.

"There is a feather-light, anti-theft and anti-wear charm on it and being directly linked to your account you would not have to visit your vault each time you made a withdrawal."

Harry nodded if all that was true it seemed like it could be worth it. First though, he asked if there were any other similar items, he didn't want to be swindled and it would be a wise business tactic to offer the more expensive option first.

Griphook's smile widened, "There is another bag for 2 Galleons that is not linked to your vault but has all the other features so you would have to return to refill it and a credit card that costs 15 Galleons to set up and charges interest on payments."

Harry smiled. He was right, "I believe the second bag would do well for me. I will be in school most of the year so I would not need to withdraw a lot of money." Griphook nodded and produced a black bag from a compartment on the cart. Harry ended up putting in more than he thought he would need but he was hoping to exchange some of the money to buy some contacts in the muggle world or 'Perhaps there are eye care solutions in the wizarding world?' he thought. The ride back to the bank was just as fast even though it was up hill. He loved magic.

When Harry and Griphook got back up to the surface Harry was led to an official looking office, "Your account manager will see you now, good day Mr. Potter" Harry was taken aback. The literature had warned that goblins were not big on niceties and formalities and here just now there was a goblin wishing him good day!

"Thank you, Griphook" Harry responded a bit too late as Griphook had already walked away. Harry knocked on the door to his account manager's office and a voice beckoned him inside. The goblin sitting at a desk was older than Griphook or the teller and obviously of higher rank and his clothes were more elaborate. The sign on his desk read Gornuk.

"So you are here to discuss your accounts?" Gornuk asked.

"Yes, kind of, I actually wanted to meet with you today because I had just found out about the magical world recently," he called it the magical world instead of wizarding to sound more inclusive, "I hadn't even known I had a single account until I was given a key to it by a school official. I'm a little worried about why Hogwarts would even have my key to begin with and I wanted to know if I can see if there are any other keys in circulation."

Gornuk looked incensed and Harry prayed he wasn't being presumptuous, "You were not aware of your accounts here? Have you not been receiving our correspondence?"

"No, sir. My first correspondence with the magical world was my Hogwarts letter," Harry replied.

"That is highly unusual. As for the key, only legal and magical guardians should have access to your keys." Gornuk glared at Harry.

"My muggle guardians don't have a key or I probably would have empty vaults. Are you sure I have a magical guardian? I have never been in contact with anyone." Gornuk glared at him a bit longer and Harry stared right back refusing to back down. Letting out a sigh of frustration Gornuk seemed to decide that Harry was being truthful.

"Every child from magical families has a magical guardian even when they are orphaned. Muggleborn children receive them once they are sorted into the Hogwarts houses. If you have not been receiving mail or been learning about the magical community I'm afraid a great disservice has been done to you. We can do something about the mail and can recall all other keys. However, I'm afraid you will have to contact the Ministry to find out who your magical guardian is. Gringotts is a separate nation and we do not have access to that information. Your ignorance is especially worrying because you will become the Head of the Most Ancient and Noble House Potter when you turn fourteen." Harry's eyes widened.

"Wait, noble? Am I in the line of succession?"

"No, the Potters lost their status as British nobility once the Statute of Secrecy went into effect."

"So it's just an empty title then?" Harry said, disappointed.

"Certainly not. As a head of a noble house you have a seat on the Wizarding legislative and judicial bodies, as a Most Ancient and Noble Head you have a higher rank and hold more votes. Additionally you are provided with special protection by many laws."

Harry was blown away. Harry had always loved politics and secretly wished to someday be a politician. He never thought this dream would actually be realized but here in the wizarding world he apparently already had a government seat!

Harry left the bank in shock. Gornuk had given him reading materials on his financial duties as head of house and an account statement. Goblins could not remove wizarding enchantments (which seemed like a pretty stupid law but what's the saying? To the victor, the spoils.) Instead he was given a postal box that he could place mail in and it would be transported to a corresponding one in Gringotts and vice versa. Harry also found out he was extremely wealthy. His family vault held 703,903,342 Galleons 11 Sickles and 8 Knuts. The vault he had visited was a trust vault holding 20,000 Galleons and he thought that was a huge pile of gold! He had several properties across Europe and equity in several businesses.

Harry decided he should go to the robe shop next. He had received some dirty looks for his attire and Harry suspected some shopkeepers might try to swindle him if he was dressed like a muggle. At Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions Harry was getting fitted for a robe when a pale boy with platinum blond hair stalked into the fitting room. The boy seemed ill-mannered and spoiled and was obviously wealthy. Harry assumed he must have a high status from his entitled behavior and the way the employees tolerated it.

The boy noticed him and looked him up and down, sneering slightly, "Hello," said the boy, "Hogwarts too?"

"Yes," said Harry.

"My father's next door buying books and my mother's up the street looking for wands," said the boy. He had a bored, drawling voice, "Then I'm going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I can't see why first years can't have their own. I think I'll bully father into getting me one and I'll smuggle it in somehow."

'God this kid is annoying,' thought Harry. But Harry continued to feign interest in the conversation about brooms and quidditch because he had no need for enemies and this boy obviously held status.

Harry would not be able to tolerate this conversation much longer. However he felt a bit relieved that this boy was acting so unbecoming of his status because that meant Harry probably hadn't made too large of a social faux pas yet.

"Know what house you'll be in yet?" the boy asked.

Harry was glad the boy gave him a chance to take over the conversation. McGonagall had talked about house qualities (with a ringing endorsement for Gryffindor and a pinched, disapproving description of Slytherin) "Probably Slytherin," Harry shrugged, "but I suppose I could be suited for Ravenclaw" he doubted it he was ambitious and had plenty of cunning.

"I will be in Slytherin my whole family has been- imagine being sorted in Hufflepuff, I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?"

Harry honestly thought Hufflepuff got a bad reputation he was a hard-worker and loyalty was certainly valuable but you can't go around talking about teaching "the rest" and not expect to be considered a house for left-overs, "I wouldn't be pleased that's for sure," he said truthfully.

"Where are your parents?" the boy asked.

"Dead" Harry responded.

"Oh sorry," the boy said unapologetically, "But they were our kind, weren't they?"

Harry honestly didn't think this boy could make it in Slytherin, he was about as subtle as an oncoming bus, "Of course," he said.

Thankfully Madame Malkin interrupted informing the blond boy that his fitting was over. The boy stalked out of the store strutting off toward the quidditch shop.

Once Harry's fitting was complete Harry consulted with Made Malkin on what else to purchase and in what materials. He ended up ordering a lot things: both school wear and casual robes. He decided to go with one of the medium priced materials because he didn't want to look sloppy (and hell he had money to burn) but also didn't want to waste money on robes he'd outgrow in a year. Before leaving he changed into one of the sets of casual robes an emerald-green that apparently brought out his eyes, whatever that means.

Hogwarts, Unplottable Location, Scotland

Albus sighed. Things were not looking good for The Plan. Minerva and Mrs. Figg's news were concerning to say the least. From what Mrs. Figg said his Plan started to go wrong about three years ago. Apparently it seemed like the Dursley household's structure had seemingly flipped overnight. It had been discreet enough that no one but Mrs. Figg had really noticed, but her job was to keep an eye on them after all.

Albus was angry Mrs. Figg had not informed him of the change sooner but she had been pleased with it and didn't think it necessary to mention the positive change. What was he supposed to tell Mrs. Figg? Make sure the boy is meek, gullible and naïve? No he couldn't let anyone know his Plan. It was his burden and he would not wish it on another.

The fact that the household changed so quickly was concerning for entirely different reasons. Did the boy threaten them with magic? Albus experienced flashbacks to orphanages and flaming wardrobes. 'No, that much of Tom should not be able to influence Harry it had to be something else' he thought hoping he wasn't being naïve to do so. Minerva's report on the boy worried him for more manageable reasons. Apparently the boy was extraordinarily well-mannered and polite. However, he was sharp as a whip and perceptive. Her questioning him about why he had Harry's vault key was proof enough of that. He would have to amend the plan for next year, he couldn't have Harry catching on.

Albus sighed he felt as if a little more of his soul had just darkened, Fawkes crooned sympathetically. 'The things I do for the Greater Good' he mourned. He wished he didn't have to manipulate Harry this way but he had no control over fate and he no longer held any foolish notion from his youth that he could gain control over death.

Diagon Alley, London, July 31, 1991

Harry went to Flourish and Blotts next to get his required texts. Harry ended up leaving the bookstore with loaded down with books and with much lighter pockets (or he would have except, well, magic.) On top of his school books Harry bought a few books about wizarding tradition, history, the Wizengamot, and the Ministry of Magic. He also bought Professor McGonagall's suggested supplemental texts for potions which was essentially guidelines for how things reacted when mixed together and techniques for brewing.

At the shopkeeper's suggestion he went to buy a trunk next. He got a fairly standard trunk with a few special charms that made it feather-light and doubled its internal space. He bought his potions ingredients at Slug & Jiggers, quills from Scribbulus Writing Instruments, a cauldron from Portage's and a telescope, scales and vials from Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment. Luckily no one had recognized him so far.

Around noon Harry decided to treat himself to some Florean Fortescue ice cream. He sat outside to people-watch. He affirmed what he had seen earlier. Those dressed as muggles were often treated with disdain and street vendors were more likely to approach them. It also looked as if no one had bothered to tell them some nice magical features like feather-light bags. This didn't sit particularly well with Harry but not completely unfamiliar kind of behavior. When an Asian family moved into their neighborhood he had to endure a lot of racist and historically inaccurate rants from his aunt and his uncle's least favorite coworker was a younger black man whose only faults, from what Harry could determine, were being more successful than Vernon and not being white. Harry supposed it would be foolish and naïve to assume the wizarding world was without its own prejudices.

Harry also observed a lot of posturing on the part of the wealthier looking shoppers. He saw the blond boy and what he assumed were his parents (although they looked more like siblings than husband and wife). He gathered that they were an unpleasant lot and was no longer surprised at the boy's behavior. The whole family sneered and strutted across the alley. They rather reminded Harry of peacocks. 'Well perhaps albino peacocks,' he thought 'Although with that robe the Missus was wearing…'

After finishing up his ice cream Harry went over to Ollivander's. The shop looked dusty and ill kept although it was the only wand shop in the alley. 'Perhaps people pay for the experience?'

"Good afternoon" called a voice causing Harry to jump. An old man came out of the back of the shop his eyes shone in the dim lighting. He gave off a very disarming aura.

"Hello," Harry said awkwardly, put off-balance by Ollivander's strange presence.

"Ah yes," said the man, "Yes, ye. I thought I would be seeing you quite soon. Harry Potter," It wasn't a question, "You have your mother's eyes. It seems only yesterday she was in here herself, buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work."

'Yeah people definitely pay for the experience maybe some "let's go haze the kids" thing' Harry thought. He was glad he was the only one in the shop. Ollivander was the first to recognize him all day.

Ollivander moved closer to him never once blinking his large silvery eyes, "Your father on the other hand, favored a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for wand-transfiguration. Well I say your father favored it- it's really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course."

Mr Ollivander came so close that he and Harry were almost nose to nose. Harry could see himself reflected in those misty eyes.

"And here, under your hat, that's where…" Mr. Ollivander reached up with a long, white finger and touched Harry's hat right over his scar.

"I'm sorry to say I sold the wand that did it," he said softly. "Thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Powerful wand, very powerful, and in the wrong hands… well if I had known what that wand was going out into the world to do…" He shook his head. The store lapsed into silence

"Er, well I'd like to buy a wand for myself today. This is my wand hand," Harry said holding up his right arm hoping Ollivander would take the hint. A tape measure began measuring everything it could find. Ollivander talked about wands and their cores and dismissed the tape measure when it started measuring Harry's nostrils.

An hour later Harry felt like he had tested the entire shop Ollivander kept getting more and more excited when finally, "Holly and phoenix feather, nice and supple." When Harry grasped this wand a warmth spread through him and golden sparks shot from the end of it. "Oh bravo! Yes, indeed, oh very good. Well, well, well… how curious…how very curious" He continued to mutter "curious" over and over.

"Sorry," said Harry, "but what's curious?"

"I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Potter. Every single wand. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather- just one other. It is curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother- why, its brother gave you that scar."

Harry swallowed.

Harry left the shop a few Galleons lighter after buying his wand and a wrist holster. Next Harry headed towards a shop he had noticed earlier, Onella's Ocular Solutions. When Harry opened the door, the bells at the top of the door rang out. Harry puzzled over whether this was a muggle influenced addition or just something shared in common.

Shortly after entering the shop a woman came out of a side door to what Harry assumed was her office. She appeared to be middle aged with red hair and prominent brown eyes, "Hello, I'm Onella. How may I help you today?" she asked.

Harry pointed at his glasses, "I was wondering what options are out there to help with my vision."

"Are you a new customer?" she asked.

"Yes."

"Then we'll just have to create a file for you. Your name and date of birth?"

Harry paused but decided to be honest as there was no one else in the shop and hopefully wizards had some sort of patient-doctor (er—healer) confidentiality agreement, "Harry James Potter, 31 July 1980," Harry said with some reluctance.

Onella's brows raised and she gave Harry another look but, to her credit, didn't say anything or start freaking out. She smiled, "Mr. Potter, you already do have a file here. It is good to see you again. You and your father were both patients of mine."

"Oh, well that's lucky I guess," Harry said.

Onella frowned, "I suppose you could say that. We will have to update some information. Who should I list as your emergency contact?"

Harry gave a small forced laugh, "What's the likelihood my treatment here will cause an emergency… should I be scared?" he joked, a bit nervous.

Onella looked at him seriously, "Highly unlikely but it's required."

Harry identified Vernon as his emergency contact and gave his phone number (and had to explain he had no floo or "normal" ha! means of contact.)

They finished creating Harry's file and went back into her office which looked remarkably similar to a normal doctor's office.

"Mr. Potter, I examined you when you were so young due to an inherited eye illness the Potter family and other magical families are known to suffer from. The disease is known as Maugris' Disease."

"So what does that mean?" Harry asked, alarmed.

"Although there is no perfect cure, Maugris is a treatable condition that often will require a special kind of glasses later in life although other options exist when one is younger, before the degeneration has progressed," she said, "I'm going to cast a diagnostic charm on you to see how your vision is now," Onella pulled out her wand and waved it in a dizzying pattern. After she finished glowing symbols that Harry could make neither heads nor tails of appeared.

Onella sat down on her stool, "Luckily your case does not appear to be severely progressed which is fortunate since you have not seen a magical healer in over 10 years. At this stage your vision can be corrected by eyeglasses or temporary corrective potions. Once it is further progressed, which will likely only happen once you reach middle age, the special lenses will be required as potions will no longer be able to fully correct your vision."

Harry found this news slightly daunting, but hell on the balance of good vs. bad news today, he would take glasses when he got older in exchange for a freaking government seat.

"What would you like to do to correct you vision at this stage?" she cast another charm over his glasses, "Your glasses would work for likely another couple years or we could look into the potion."

Harry asked to learn more about the potion which he would have to put drops of into his eyes once a week. Thinking of how similar he looked to his father with the glasses and how annoying glasses could be, he decided to go with the potion. He signed up for that option and learned that his potion would be delivered to Hogwarts by owl monthly.

Harry's last stop in the alley was Eeylops Owl Emporium. He had saved it for last because he doubted any shop keeps would be thrilled if he tried to bring an animal into their shop. He had decided that an owl would be by far the most useful pet. When he entered the shop an owl immediately caught his eye. It was a beautiful snowy owl and unlike the other owls it was sitting calmly in its cage staring right back at him. Harry knew that this owl would be easily identifiable which could cause problems but he was entranced. He bought her and named her Hedwig. When he told her this she hooted in what seemed like approval.

Harry spent the rest of the summer practicing writing with a quill and reading the books he bought. Harry ended up sending Hedwig to order more books about politics and to subscribe to the Daily Prophet, some magazines, and some political journals. Harry spent some time reading old political journals and essays.

He was a bit surprised to learn that wizarding politics had not changed all that much in the past centuries. The Wizard's Council was created at the beginning of the 12th Century and was lead by powerful wizarding families. The families heads of households were given seats on the Council and were given the title of lords. Over time different families joined the Council or died out although older families were given more power. With the imposition of the Statue of Secrecy in 1692, the Council found itself unable to keep up with all that it now needed to to and the Ministry of Magic was formed and the Council tranistioned to the Wizengamot in 1707. The Wizengamot created legislation and acted as the government's judiciary and elected the minister. There was no equivalent to the House of Commons and no position was elected by the general public. Families could only gain seats in the Wizengamot if it voted to accept them. Individuals could gain seats for their lifetimes if they were awarded Orders of Merlin First Class.

Culturally, the wizarding world was also behind muggle Britain. Ironically, if not for the magic thing, Harry thought the Dursley's would fit right into the wizarding world. Harry was able to discern, as it was not explicitly stated anywhere, that women seemed to be expected to stop working once the married and continuing to work after they had children and before they left home was nearly taboo. Wizards seemed very xenophobic towards muggles although race and nationality didn't seem to be as big of a deal. The anti-muggle prejudice seem to gain support leading up to, during and following World War II (which Harry found out a Dark Lord named Grindelwald was involved in.) Some wizards considered muggles to be filth and muggleborns were the lowest rung on the social ladder. Blood purity was a major political issue and the basis of You-Know-Who's campaign (he couldn't find this guy's name anywhere which surprised him because if any name should be feared he would have thought it would be Grindelwald. Much more people were killed during his rule and muggles hadn't even noticed You-Know-Who's actions). more books on the current political scene and read up on the Potter family and their allies and foes.

After having found out about the whole Boy-Who-Lived phenomenon Harry had elected not to contact the Ministry yet to ask about his magical guardian. It would probably cause a big scandal if the news got out and he wanted to avoid that. Harry also decided to wait until the school year to ask around for a good solicitor. He wanted those Harry Potter Adventure books off the shelves or, at the very least, a significant portion of their profit.

Finally, after what felt like ages, it was the 31st of August. Harry was so excited about Hogwarts he hardly got a wink of sleep that night.

AN: Apologies for harassing you with updates, for now not much has changed but I will later be restructuring the timeline a bit which did not allow me to keep chapter breaks the same. I have to restructure things because one the things that really caused me problems later was the fast pace of everything happening in the first couple months at Hogwarts

Dumbledore already suspects Harry is a Horocrux. What else could he have meant in Second year by he thought Voldemort had transferred some of his powers to Harry?