Well folks I'm not dead, extinguish your torches O angry mob and lower your pitch forks here's your update dear friends. This should have been posted a coupla weeks ago but I've been distracted by life and 'Once Upon A Time' (with which I've recently become obsessed) I hope this makes up for things.

IX: The First Day of the Rest of His Life

It was nearly midnight by the time the Sirius and Chloe left; the Lupins had left early because Mary's small girl metabolism meant that she fell asleep at half past nine. After the Black's had disapparated Lily sent Harry and Poppy straight to bed. His little cousin stopped him outside his bedroom.

"Did you really spend ten whole years with them?" she asked, referring to her immediate family

"Yeah" he nodded

"Wow" Poppy blinked. "They got rid of me after six"

"I'm sorry Poppy" Harry told her. "Sorry that either of us had to spend time with your mum and dad and the pig"

"The pig?" she asked, cocking her head quizzically

Harry chuckled. "Yeah, I always thought Dudley looked a bit like a pig in a blonde wig"

Poppy laughed, and Harry wished all the more that Poppy had been in his old world. The younger girl stopped laughing and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek. "I'm glad you've come back Harry- they used to talk about you a lot and I always wished you'd survived that night"

Harry wasn't sure how to respond to that; he was still getting used to the idea of having people who loved him, and loved him for who he was, not because of the fame that he didn't want; fortunately, Poppy saved him the trouble.

"G'night Harry" she yawned before turning in the direction of her own bedroom

"Night" he replied as he entered his own room.

Harry woke late the next morning- the clock on his bedside table told him that it was a quarter-to-ten. Harry was astonished, he'd never slept that late, ever; he'd never exactly been allowed to. Ever since he could remember he'd been expected to cook breakfast for the Dursleys, and then, after starting at Hogwarts he'd not wanted to stay in bed, even on the weekends. Shaking his head he stretched lazily and got out of bed.

There was a small pile of clothes at the foot of the bed. Harry stifled a groan at the sight of them- he thought he'd escaped the hand-me-downs; however it wouldn't do to appear ungrateful so his hands moved to undo the buttons of his pyjama top.

"Morning Harry, honey" Lily smiled as her son entered the kitchen- he was wearing a pair of Will's old jeans which actually nearly fit him, a T-shirt that looked like a tent on his small frame, and a faded denim jacket. Chloe had dropped the clothes off when she came to pick Poppy up for school.

"Morning mum" he replied, through a yawn. "What've we got for breakfast?"

The answer came in the shape of the huge pile of bacon, sausages, fried egg, French toast, baked beans and fried onions, which she placed on the table. "Eat up, we've got a long day ahead of us, you know"

"Hmm?" Harry looked up from his breakfast but didn't stop shovelling it into his mouth

"Chew your food dear" Lily said, smiling indulgently. She was so happy to have her baby boy back. "What do you want to drink? Tea? Pumpkin Juice? Milk?"

Harry swallowed his latest mouthful. "Juice please"

Lily placed a glass of pumpkin juice before him. "When you're done we're going to be Flooing to the Leaky Caldron then into Muggle London to get you some decent clothes and get your eyes tested. Then we'll head into Diagon Alley and pick up your school supplies early so we aren't in a rush over the Christmas holidays before you go back."

Harry paused, the glass half way to his lips, and asked. "Can I get an Owl? I had one before I came here and I miss her"

"It's ok love, you don't need to justify yourself to me" Lily smiled, smoothing his hair and pressing a kiss to his cheek

"Mum!" He winced, as all boys of his age did when kissed by their mothers and wiped his cheek with his cuff. He put down his glass and looked up at her. "I'm done"

Lily waved her wand over his dirty pots and they flew into the sink and proceeded to wash themselves

"Ready to go love?"

Harry nodded

Lily handed him a cloak and proffered the pot of Floo powder. "Let me go first, ok"

Harry nodded again and she stepped up to the fireside, threw the powder into the grate. "Diagon Alley" she declared and stepped into the emerald flame.

The Leaky Caldron was quieter than it had been the last time he'd been there. However, the moment Harry followed his mother out of the fireplace, the crowds converged upon him. Lily had been forced to use a shield charm to keep the crowds away from her son.

"Leave him alone" she snarled, revealing to Harry where he got his temper from. "Professor Dumbledore has released the story to the Prophet so if you want to know what happened to bring my son back, read the paper and leave the poor child alone. Now, I'm going to lower the barrier and you're going to allow us to go about our business unmolested, comprendez?"

And the two Potters left the pub to do their shopping.

Hours later an exhausted Harry flopped on his bed, dressed in some of his new clothes; a dark green long sleeved T-shirt and black jeans. The world had a new, almost crystal clarity thanks to his new glasses (purchased from a shop in Diagon Alley that he wished that Hagrid had taken him to in his old world) they were charmed to be perfect for his visual needs, and, unlike the cheap NHS lenses that the Dursleys had provided didn't pinch the bridge of his nose.

During the shopping trip his mother had spent vast amounts of both Wizarding and Muggle money on him without so much as batting an eyelid, even opening a muggle and Gringotts bank account in his name that he wasn't to touch until he came of age at seventeen. His new owl, a tawny who he had named Ayden, was asleep in his cage. His room was beginning to feel like home. He had a number of posters, new curtains and bedspread and more clothes than he had ever had before (and every last garment was brand new and exactly his size.) His new school supplies were put away until the time came for him to begin his catch up lessons- his mother had not bought him any school uniforms stating that they could wait until December.

There came a tapping on his bedroom window. Sitting up Harry saw an owl sitting outside the window, a letter clamped in its beak, he rolled off the bed and crossed to let the bird in. The letter was written in a hand that he was used to seeing scrawled in faint pencil on his essays, he ripped open the envelope and devoured the contents.

Dear Harry.

How are you settling in at your new home? I hope you're doing ok.

You're lucky that you've got a sister like Robyn, she and her friends are lovely- I'm an only child. What's a Wizarding household like? My parents are Muggles, dentists (teeth doctors) so I can tell you about growing up in a Muggle home.

I can't wait for you to come back to Hogwarts, it'll be nice to have a friend in class.

Your friend

-Hermione

Harry smiled as he read Hermione's questions. Since he'd first entered the Wizarding world it had seemed that everyone had already known more about him than he did. He wasn't the Boy Who Lived in this world; he was going to like it here. He sat at his desk and pulled parchment and quill towards him to pen a reply.

There you go friends and potter-fans. Next time we'll be back at Hogwarts and we'll learn some more about what made Chloe the witch that she is.

Until then, please drop me a review :)