Adagio: a tempo having slow movement; restful at ease

Beat: the unit of musical rhythm

Chapter Three: An Adagio Beat

Harry only spent a few more minutes in the vault after taking a minute to compose himself. He had gone through a few more of his mother and father's things before deciding to take the seemingly bottomless school bag, the Marauder's journals, his locket (fastened safely around his neck) a bracelet that was in truth a poison detector that had been created by his mother for his father's 20th birthday, and a few of his mother's potions and charms journals as well as a few transfiguration journals that his father had created. The journals were all placed in the school bag and the silver bracelet was clasped on his wrist securely.

They went to his trust vault, set up by his parents just in case they died and he needed money to pay for his school supplies and wasn't allowed to access the Main Vault yet. Harry learned that it was tradition for those of the Potter family to set up a trust vault for their children on their eleventh birthday so that the child could be taught how to properly wield and gain money. A thought popped into the eleven year old child's head.

Harry had been playing the piano and flute professionally for years, starting just before his eighth birthday. His Aunt and Uncle had created a bank account for him in the Bank of London and had been depositing the money he earned there ever since he was first paid to play. It surely had begun to add up after all this time considering the money was never touched. "Is it possible to link a muggle bank account to my trust vault?" Harry asked, grinning as he gave the goblin the story behind his muggle account.

"We cannot link the accounts so that you can withdraw from both using the other but we can make it so that any money put in this other accounts is exchanged and added to your Trust Vault." Wrathclaw told the Potter Heir, grinning nastily at the thought of the money that would be added to the already large account. There were already 40,000 galleons in the Trust Vault and that amount would certainly increase rapidly if Harry kept gaining money from his talents.

"Also I would like you to invest in a few companies…" Harry quickly told the goblin about the muggle businesses that had been on the rise lately.

"You have a good head for business," Wrathclaw cackled as he heard the explanation. "I will invest some money in this…Google for you."

"Thank you," came the shy answer from the child that wasn't used to being complimented in such a way but feeling pleased for being acknowledged for something other than his name or musical skills.

It was a pleased and happy Harry that appeared in the lobby of Gringotts to meet Professor McGonagall. He'd managed to get a money pouch connected to his vault and tied to him by blood. Harry would only have to think about the amount that he wanted before opening the bag to retrieve the money. He'd stored his Trust Vault key in the small bag as well so that there would be no chance for someone else to take the key to access his account.

"You look pleased, Mr. Potter," McGonagall noted as her charge appeared after nearly an hour of going over his accounts with his Account Manager. She had been told that they would be a while after she had enquired about him to one of the tellers. "I see that your discussion with your Account Manager went well," she smiled as she noticed the familiar bag she'd seen James Potter use many a times. The bracelet now resting on his wrist didn't go unnoticed either.

"I did," he grinned happily at her. "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting though," the child apologized.

"Do not worry yourself. This needed to be done and better now that later. I was perfectly fine waiting here and I managed to complete quite a bit of business during that wait." McGonagall assured the boy as she thought of the stone that now rested safely in a pouch around her neck. It was better not to take chances, after all. "Now shall we be going?"

Harry nodded and followed the woman out of the bank.

They purchased Harry's wardrobe first and McGonagall made sure that Harry was fitted for more than just school robes and was equipped with everyday wear for the Wizarding World as well. Madam Malkin was a patient woman and seemed pleased to be doing something other than the required school robes for once. Harry couldn't find it in himself to blame her as he knew doing the same thing over and over again got more than a tad boring after a while. It was the same for music, Harry thought to himself as the seamstress bustled around him with different fabrics in her hands.

"I do believe that he looks best in dark greens and blues," Madam Malkin hummed to herself as she threw another robe over his head. "Perhaps some gold embroidery on the edges…" she mumbled as Harry made sure to stand as still as his body would let him.

Two hours later and Madam Malkin announced that everything would be ready to be picked up in two days time or to be sent by Owl. Harry decided that having it sent by Owl would be for the best and made the proper arrangements with the impressed seamstress. It seemed that his lack of complaining and polite demeanor had made an impression on the woman.

McGonagall had taken it upon herself to pick up the required books as well as the required cauldron, potion's ingredients and dragon hide gloves while he was being fitted. Harry thanked her brightly after silently promising himself to come back to browse the bookstore at a later date as he didn't want to take up to much of the busy teacher's time.

"I think that we've only a wand left, Professor," Harry informed her as he looked at his gathered items as well as the few other things that McGonagall had thought he might need to help his introduction into the Wizarding World. A few books of basic knowledge of the Wizarding World that was geared towards Muggleborn and Muggle Raised witch and wizards as well as a few basic instruction books in all the subjects. She'd even gotten his some books on magical creatures and wizarding fables. Harry was beginning to strongly suspect that the professor had been friends with his parents from what was obviously preferential treatment being given to him by the professor. Perhaps she had even known him as a baby?

It would certainly explain why she was acting a bit familiar with him, not that Harry at all minded. It was nice to have someone who'd known his parents around. His Aunt Petunia was only just getting over her psychological issues and Uncle Vernon hadn't ever really known his mother or father, having only ever met them at Aunt Petunia and his wedding.

So with more than a little excitement Harry entered Ollivanders to find an old man with silver eyes waiting behind the counter. McGonagall bent down and told Harry that she would be back in a few minutes before leaving him in the store.

And that was how it began. The wandmaker began with asking him which hand was his primary to which Harry answered that he was ambidextrous and was surprised as the man's eyes seemed to brighten at the news.

"It is rare for a wizard or witch to be ambidextrous," the wandmaker explained happily as he handed Harry another wand. "Makes them much harder to find a match for."

McGonagall came back at some point and stared at the mountain of ever piling wands before sighing and stating that she was going to run some errands and that he was to wait here for her. Harry grunted in agreement as another wand was shoved in his face.

Ollivander seemed to grow more pleased with every wand that Harry tried and failed to connect with. After an hour of searching Ollivander had gone through every wand he owned.

"It's been a long time since I've had to custom make a wand," Ollivander explained to the child as he led Harry back into the back room of his shop. "Now," the wandmaker directed the eleven year old to the table covered in wood. "Run both your hands above each and every piece of wood. You will know when you find the right one."

Harry did as he was told and ran his hands above the woods. He stopped as two flares of warms spread up his arms and settled into his chest. He picked up the two woods and handed them to the surprised wand maker. "Apple and Holly…yes, you are a most interesting character, Mr. Potter." Ollivander motioned to the next table. "The same thing, please."

Harry repeated the process over what he assumed would act as the wand core. The same warmth ran through his body as his hands stopped over a vial of liquid and a beautiful black feather. Ollivander stared at him in a mixed look of surprise and gleefulness.

"The feather of a Black Alicorn and the blood of a Devil Dog," the wandmaker's eyes gleamed as they looked at the two cores. "I do believe, Mr. Potter, that you will accomplish many great things. Great things, indeed."

Ollivander took the four items and moved into a side room that connected to the one they currently were in. Ten minutes later he came back with a wand that was made of to swirling, polished woods. "Eleven and a half inches, Holly and Apple with the cores of a Black Alicorn and the blood of a Devil Dog," Ollivander announce proudly. "Give it a wave," he motioned as he handed Harry the wands.

A beautiful blue and black light emitted from the tip of the beautiful wand. Ollivander clapped happily. "I've taken the liberty of carving the images of an Alicorn and Devil Dog into the handle," Ollivander motioned to the beautifully done carvings of the two animals. "It is my practice to add these carvings to any wand that requires two cores. I also do regular wands for a fee but for that masterpiece, the carving is free."

Harry paid the man twelve galleons and left the store to find McGonagall waiting for him. She looked more than a tad relieved to see that he had finally purchased a wand.

"Professor," Harry asked as the Transfiguration Mistress led him through the crowd. "What's and Alicorn and a Devil Dog?"

McGonagall stopped dead and turned to look at him. "An Alicorn, Mr. Potter, is the mix of a Pegasus and unicorn. They are rare and only a few hundred have ever been spotted in recent history. History paints them as evil or destructive but the appearance of an Alicorn has been recently discovered as a warning of great destruction. Devil Dogs, on the other hand, are the cousins of the Grim, a dog that predicts the death of those it appears before. Devil Dogs drive mad those they touch and their howl foretells of death. They are native to England but are rare and there hasn't been any record of a spotting for twenty years. They are also said to have to ability to run across the sky but that has never been proven."

"Oh," Harry wondered what it meant to have both as his wand core. "What do Holly and Apple wood mean?"

"Holly signifies rebirth and death and is associated with the magicks of prophecy, animals, protection and healing. Apple signifies choice and is useful with healing magicks." McGonagall looked at Harry's wand carefully. "Perhaps it would be best if we purchase a wand holster for you. I do not think that such a wand should be treated with anything but care. I shall head back to Ollivanders to purchase the holster and servicing kit while you pick out what animal you wish to bring back to Hogwarts."

Harry gave a stunned nod as he was direct into the animal store (he hadn't caught the name before he was already inside) and was greeted with the sight of animals everywhere. A snowy white owl landed on his shoulder as Harry approached the owl section of the store.

The shop owner laughed. "You'll be having to get that one now," the man chuckled. "That owl has done and gone chosen you. She'll not be accepting no other to buy her now. I'll go get you a cage and some owl care products. Will you be getting something else?"

Harry frowned and was about to tell the man that he would be find with just the owl (she was rather magnificent) before he remembered Dudley. His cousin had seemed to be fine with Harry going to a different school but they had always been in the same class. While Dudley would have Denis and Piers it wouldn't be the same since Harry had always lived with him. And his cousin had always wanted a puppy…

Harry's eyes locked onto the small puppies in the corner of the room and the man nodded in acknowledgement. "I'll be including some puppy care supplies in your purchase as well, then." Harry nodded and wandered over to the corner. It seemed the owl was getting jealous as talons started digging into his shoulder.

"There's no need for that," Harry told the owl as he wondered why he was so certain the animal would understand. His question was answered quickly as the owl gave him a disbelieving look. "My cousin always wanted a puppy and he's going to be lonely when I leave for Hogwarts," Harry told the owl. He would really have to name her soon.

The talons eased as the owl decided that getting his cousin a puppy was acceptable. Harry looked at the small things and smiled at the white puppy that was trying to engage his sibling in a game. He reached in and plucked the small puppy up and took him to the counter. The total sum for it all was twenty galleons and four sickles but Harry thought the price was worth it. The owner shrunk down all the supplies and told him that to return it to size he would have to tap it three times. The puppy sat happily in his arms and the owl seemed pleased with her place on his shoulder.

McGonagall seemed surprised at the presence of the puppy but didn't ask as she escorted Harry to Saint Mungo's to deal with his Glaucoma.

Harry was surprised at how quickly he was checked over and the Healer (they didn't call them Doctors or Nurses, it seemed) announced that the muggle doctor had been correct in his diagnoses and prescribed him a regimen of one potion every morning to make sure that the illness didn't progress. Harry was more than pleased to know that he'd no longer need the eyedrops he'd been using.

He was then given a few potions to take to vaccinate him from the Wizarding Diseases before he was told that he was a perfectly healthy young boy.

"I'll send his file to Pomfrey later," the Healer told McGonagall as Harry happily pet the puppy and owl in turn. "You'll have to request his muggle file from his guardians, however."

"Thank you Healer Jones," McGonagall nodded to the man who waved off the thanks. "I believe it is time for you to head home, Mr. Potter."

Harry nodded and they left the hospital a few minutes later.

Dudley was waiting for him when they got back, all of Harry's purchases in hand. Petunia peeked out of the kitchen and nodded a greeting to her nephew.

"You got an owl!" Dudley stared at the animal perched on his cousin's shoulder.

"I wanted to be able to send letters while a Hogwarts," Harry nodded before grinning. "I got you something as well!"

The puppy began squirming in his hand and Dudley finally noticed the white furred canine. "You got me a puppy!" Dudley gasped. Petunia, hearing the exclamation, appeared fully from the kitchen and studied the small puppy that was licking her son's face.

"I didn't want you to be lonely when I left," Harry blushed at the approving glance his future teacher gave him. It seemed that she hadn't been expecting what Harry would do with the puppy. "You can name him too. The store manager said he was a husky.

Dudley looked at the puppy for a long minute before nodding to himself. "Arctic. His name is Arctic."

The puppy newly named Arctic barked in agreement and began his previous quest of licking Dudley's face all over again. Petunia smiled at the laughter coming from her son and was more than proud to think that the relationship between Harry and Dudley wouldn't suffer as she thought it might from Harry going away.

Harry pulled out his purchases from the animal store (he still didn't know the name and felt almost stupid for not asking) and tapped them three times. A dog bed, two food and water bowls, a few toys, and a collar appeared. Attached to the collar was an instruction book. Harry quickly read them and picked of the collar and tapped it with his wand before saying, "Arctic. Property of Dudley Dursley of Number Four Privet Drive Surrey." The lettering appeared in the metal of the collar and Harry clasped it around Arctic's neck. "There! Now if he gets lost people will know where he lives!"

Dudley laughed as Arctic sniffed the new collar before deciding to explore his new home. "We'll go pick up some dog food later," Petunia told her son fondly. "Why don't you help your cousin take his stuff up to his room?"

Dudley nodded and accepted a few bags from the relieve teacher and the three of them made their way up the stairs and to Harry's room.

McGonagall placed the bags on the bed and turned to study the room. Blue walls were covered in picture, both drawn and taken, and McGonagall was surprised to see a piano sitting against the wall by the door. Cloths and books were scattered on the floor and a desk was covered messily in school work and sheet music.

In all, it looked like a normal room used by a normal child. McGonagall was pleased with it. It seemed that Dumbledore had been correct in his placement of the young Harry and she was proud to say that it looked as if the eleven year old was thriving with Lily's sister's family.

"I shall leave you to organize your things," McGonagall told the boy kindly. "I shall see you September 1st Mr. Potter."

With that, she left.

Harry was lying in bed that night, almost not believing what had gone on that day. Hedwig, his owl, was perched on the stand he'd put next to his window. The window was left open so that she could come and go as she pleased and he'd even removed the screen with his Aunt's permission. Her cage and treats were stored in his wardrobe where they would be out of the way and Harry's other things were packed in the trunk that Petunia had brought down from the attic. His Aunt told him that it had been his mother's and was the only thing that had survived the fire that killed their parents due to Fire wards that his mother had explained to her protected an item from flames. Petunia admitted to being slightly impressed with such a thing when she gave it to him.

The trunk was magical and had three compartments, including one just for books. Harry had only had to place his blood on the lock to key it to him. Petunia told him that re-keying it would only work for him because he was Lily's son and was also magical while Petunia herself had only ever been able to open it. It seemed his mother had left it with her sister just in case anything had ever happened to her and it had been filled with books on the care of magical children as well as instructions in dealing with Accidental Magic. His aunt admitted that they had come in handy for when she had started taking active care of him.

The books had been removed and Harry had placed all of his school books in the library compartment already. He'd place the other books he wanted to take in there when it was closer to September 1st. He'd already packed all of his other supplies in the second compartment which doubled as a large storage area.

The first compartment would be where his robes would go when he received them, as well as socks, shoes, and underwear. Harry had already packed fountains pens and replacement cartridges (he didn't see why he couldn't use them in replacement of quills) as well as pencils, erasers, and a lot of journals and paper. All of his parchment was placed in the storage compartment a long with the quills and ink he'd bought.

In all, Harry couldn't wait for September 1st to arrive.

And the third chapter is out! This was actually a bit harder to write because I wasn't sure whether or not Harry would discover the limited class choices at Hogwarts and finally, I settled on having the impact of finding his parent's things and the curiosity of entering a new world override any questions he would have on curriculum. While my Harry is smart he's also an eleven year old and I know I didn't care about what classes were taught when I entered a new grade at eleven. Truthfully I was more interested in the fact that I would be getting a new teacher. Harry is entering a completely new world so I figured that his reaction would be much stronger than of just entering a new grade. Add on finding out about his parents and their deaths and I think Harry can be excused for no realizing everything that wasn't on his school list. It helps that McGonagall purchased a lot of it without Harry seeing and he hasn't yet done anything with it other than pack it in his mother's (now his) trunk.

The reactions to the Potter's Will should be in the next chapter and we'll get to see more of Denis, Piers, Dudley and Harry interacting.

You're all amazing and thank you for the wonderful reviews!

~MisteryMaiden~