Harry Potter and the Armies of the Dark Future Chapter 3: Into the Alley
The next day dawned brightly for Harry. He had never had a proper bed, or a window. The morning sun filled him with a life he had never felt before. He showered quickly and got into some of the better fitting clothes he owned.
'Have to do something about that today.' He thought as he collected the letter and headed down stairs to help his aunt with breakfast.
When he came into the kitchen he saw his aunt pouring orange juice into glasses and immediately took his place at the stove.
He flipped the bacon and spoke,"Good morning Aunt Petunia."
He heard her jump and a glass hit the floor. He quickly handed her a rag and went to get the broom and mop.
As his aunt sopped up the juice she asked,"So, not too good to help out are we?"
He returned with the cleaning gear and waited for her to stand. When she did he looked her in the eyes and said,"I don't expect special treatment. I will continue to help out around the house, just as I always have. But I do expect to be treated with respect."
He finished the cleaning as his aunt stood there with a blank expression on her face. As he finished preparing breakfast, including replacing the glass she had dropped, she spoke,"We just tried to raise you so you would turn out normal. We thought if we were hard enough on you than you wouldn't get mixed up in this nonsense."
Harry kept on setting up as he replied,"Thought if you beat me enough you could knock the magic out of me? Maybe if you insulted me enough you could shame me into being normal. Sorry to disappoint." He never let any emotion into his voice, but the meaning was clear.
Petunia was forced to reevaluate her actions toward Harry, and what she saw made her sick. She had believed it the right thing to do at the time, but now she had to admit, if only to herself, that what they had done to him was..
Inhuman, that was the only word for it.
Her self-loathing was interrupted by Vernon and Dudley entering the room. They took there seats with great care, almost as if they expected them to be booby-trapped. Harry set the last place, his, and started eating.
The other two males in the room ate sparingly as they watched this boy shaped time bomb before them. Petunia couldn't eat at all as her spirit was crushed under the weight of everything she had done in the name of normalcy.
When Harry finished he asked to be excused, just like normal. But was greeted with a nod from his aunt, as opposed to the usual grunt from his uncle. He went into the living room and flipped channels on the TV until he found a cartoon he really liked. Then he sat wondering when his escort for the day would show up.
Five minutes later Dudley waddled into the room and sat cautiously on the couch opposite Harry. He was utterly ignored by his cousin as he continued watching TV. Soon the pantomime pig turned to the box as well and got lost in the show.
While Dudley didn't understand what his parents were so scared of, he had been warned not to do anything to Harry. The Dursleys felt that it was better to just forbid everything as their son might not interpret anything less properly.
The show stirred something inside Dudley. The humor was just barely within his grasp, while the characters were something he could not quiet get. They were brave and all, kicking ass and taking names. But they were still smart, solving problems that Dudley could never have gotten. This started the vestigial intellect within the boy turning. This was not much, generations of selective breeding leaving it almost as useless as an appendix. But what little was there did enjoy the brief exercise. Harry thought to himself that if his cousin could come to enjoy anime, perhaps there was still hope for him. Harry had been introduced to anime one day when he had spent the day at Richard's shop while Neville couldn't make it. He had loved it, the quirky characters, the super science, the magic, and always the stories. There was one good thing about living with the Dursleys, Cable. They would have only the best, and that meant every channel they could get. Fortunately this had included four channels of nothing but anime. Harry had been used to watching only when his family was asleep, so he had missed much. But that should be changing soon.
There was a knock at the door and Harry went to answer it. Dudley did not even think about changing the channel, enthralled by the show.
Harry opened the door to find Neville and his grandmother waiting.
"For Commorragh!" He called to his friend.
"For the Hive!" His friend hissed back. They high fived and looked at Mrs. Longbottom.
She had a soft smile on her face as she looked at the two happy youths. She knew they, of all people, deserved it. "Are you ready to go Harry?" She asked.
"Need to let my Aunt know I'm leaving."
"How did they take it dear?"
"You didn't hear it? You must live farther away than I thought." He grinned at the joke and turned for the kitchen.
He poked his head into the kitchen and saw his aunt chopping vegetables with an absent expression on her face.
He waited until she had the knife clear of her fingers,"Aunt Petunia?"
She jumped a little and looked at him,"Yes?" There was a slight edge in her voice, but nowhere near the usual contempt.
"My ride is here." He hooked a thumb in the direction of the front door.
"Oh, Yes. Be home before dinner, no need to worry us too much." Her tone was less than sincere, but Harry decided to give her points for trying.
"I will, thanks."
He was gone.
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The ride to London was uneventful, with Richard driving and Mrs. Longbottom in the pasenger seat. Harry and Neville sat in the back discussing magic. Harry kept asking questions that Neville answered with as much enthusiasm as he had ever seen in his friend.
Finally Neville's grandmother said,"It's right here Richard."
"Sure thing."He said as he pulled into an empty spot along the sidewalk. The older woman and the two boys got out and closed the doors.
Then Mrs. Longbottom leaned into the window,"See you in about four hours, dear."
"You sure you don't need some help gran?" Richard asked.
"No, dear. We have someone meeting us."
"Later then."
He pulled cautiously into the traffic and then was gone in the flow. The group turned to look at the shops and Harry noticed something odd. Right between the book store and the record shop was an old pub he would have sworn wasn't there before. The sign read Leaky Cauldron as he was rushed inside. The older women said,"I do wish they would put in another entrance."
They were quickly herded through by there chaperon, but Harry still got a glimpse of a dozen patrons. His aunt and uncle would have been repulsed by the rustic look of the place, but he loved it. The people looked more 'real' than any he had ever met.
Through the back door he came to a halt in front of a brick wall in a closed alley. Before he could ask the witch produced a wand and started counting bricks. She finally tapped three times on a particular brick and stood back. The brick quivered for a moment then a hole appeared. It widened until it was the size of a high archway.
Neville spoke,"Welcome to Diagon Alley."
Harry could not believe his eyes to start with. The huge collection of shops clustered so closely that it felt like some of them were about to pop out into the street at any moment.
Harry's eyes settled on the form of a huge man standing just to the side of the opening. His first thought was 'whoa a Space Marine'. Then the giant turned and seemed to recognize him.
"Hiya Harry. Man it's been a long time since I've seen you." The giant boomed.
"Hagrid, thank you for meeting us." Mrs. Longbottom said.
"Not a problem. The headmaster needs me to get something for him anyway."
"Well Harry say hello." She nudged him forward.
"Hello sir." Harry spluttered, still waiting to see a storm bolter appear out of nowhere and mow him down.
"Just call me Hagrid." He turned to gesture down the alley,"Well, we best be about it."
"Quiet right."
They went down to the large white building at the end of the main alley and Harry recognized the name from his previous conversation. Gringrotts, the wizard bank. He wondered if they would see a dragon. Upon entering the twin sets of double doors he was slightly disappointed to see what looked like a normal bank. True the tellers were all goblins using old style gold scales, but all the other features reminded Harry of muggle banks he had visited.
Hagrid walked up to the counter and spoke to the goblin there,"We've come to get some money from Mr. Harry Potter's vault."
"His key?" The goblin asked.
"Right here." Mrs. Longbottom handed it over.
Hagrid handed over a letter,"Professor Dumbledore sent me to get the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen."
The goblin read the letter and handed it back,"Very well, a guide will be with you shortly." He rang a bell.
Harry leaned close to Mrs. Longbottom and asked,"Is there someplace to exchange wizarding money for muggle money?"
"Yes dear."She pointed,"That counter right over there."
He nodded as two goblins showed up."This way, please." One said to Harry, and the other to Hagrid. They parted ways.
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Half an hour later, following a wild roller coaster ride both ways, Harry exited the bank with a bag full of coins and folded a thick stack of bills into his wallet.
"Why do you need so much cash dear?"
"My aunt doesn't give me any money, and I think it would be nice to actually be able to spend some money in Rich's shop for a change."
She smiled down at him,"How you came out so sweet with a household like that is a wonder. Must be your mother's influence. She was the gentlest person you could imagine."
Harry felt the emotions well up again at the mention of his mother. He wanted to know about both his parents so bad.
Mrs. Longbottom sniffed,"We had better get going." They spent a couple hours getting everything without any real problems. They got trunks, robes, supplies and books. Hagrid even bought Harry an owl,"It's yur birthday soon, an yeh need a way to stay in touch with the rest of us."
Finally they got to the wand shop. They walked in and Harry felt like he was in a library. The rows of narrow boxes made him feel like he shouldn't touch anything.
"Good afternoon." A soft voice said from nowhere. Everyone jumped."Ah yes. Neville Longbottom and Harry Potter. I can remember when your parents came in here for their first wands."
He started measuring the boys with a tailors tape. After a few measurements he walked away but the tape kept at it, moving over Harry's body and then transferring to Neville. Ollivander went about taking boxes from the shelves. Once he had a full armload he said,"That will do." And the tape fell to the floor.
He handed a wand to each of the boys. Harry followed Neville's lead and gave it a wave. Before they could really do anything the wands were snatched out of their hands and new ones placed there. They went through this a few times until Neville's wand shot purple sparks.
Ollivander took the wand and wrapped it then continued the search for Harry's wand. After about twenty wands the old man started mumbling,"A difficult case, but not to worry, we can always find the right one."
He finally went to a shelf and pulled out a box, saying,"Maybe." He handed him the wand. Harry felt the power flow through him, focusing into his right hand. The wand felt a little off though, he couldn't quiet explain it but it was like he just wasn't holding it right. He flipped it around into a back arm grip and felt the click. The power started flowing into the wand and he saw a green glow as it coalesced into a huge blade. The effect faded as quickly as it formed, but he could swear that it was a mandrake arm-sword.
"Curious, most curious." Ollivander said before taking the wand and wraping it up.
Harry decided not to ask, he might not like the answer's effect on his friends.
They payed for their wands and exited the shop. Harry checked his watch,"Looks like we still have about half an hour to wait, how about some ice cream?"
"Yeah man, sounds great."
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That night Harry decided to take some time studying his school books. While he had been told he couldn't use magic in the muggle world unless there was no other way to keep himself safe, he hadn't told his family that. They seemed even more scarred now that he had his school stuff, but still hadn't made the connection between student and inexperience.
"Well,"He thought,"What they can't figure out can just go on scaring them."
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Thanks to my wife for reviewing this for me.