A/N My respect for writers has grown for setup (intros) are challenging. I'm hoping I haven't flopped as I'm still in the middle of setting the stage for this story.

Updated: Thanks again Julie. Julie wants me to keep a lookout for a better beta.

A bugle call would be more relaxing than the chaos outside. The window in room eleven did not give the best view. Harry could see an oversized ginger cat chasing the rooster with a shop worker close behind. The roosters volume might be the same but the change in location threatened sanity. The poultry lacked brains because it tried to crow everywhere it landed. The bowlegged cat did make gains on every attempt, but the shop worker ended its chance. What a pity not to let the cat end the early morning misery. Harry vowed to charm the rooster silent if he could catch it.

Hedwig came back in the best mood Harry seen since Hogwarts. She preened her feathers and waited for Harry to get her treats. She dropped a letter from Professor McGonagall on the room's desk. Hedwig proved that she was a lady and would not beg for the letter that she found. Her antics endeared the owl to Harry as he watched her take flight to the Ancient Runes Professor.

Dear Mr. Potter,

Your requested elective changes were accepted. It is up to you to contact the professors directly for their approvals of self-study paces.

Septima Vector ~ Arithmancy

Bathsheda Babbling ~ Study of Ancient Runes

This is to be complete before the start of term. And enclosed is an updated book list.

Yours sincerely,

Professor M. McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

Harry's parents had anticipated and had him half way done with McGonagall's request. The required letter was penned and set aside to go over with his mum. A smile graced his face as he thought that it was normal to have parents check over work.

After completing his letter, Harry started his manuscript practice work. He wasn't ashamed of it, but why do it out in Diagon alley when there was time now. The practice work was contained in a closed pad. It could not be looked through like a book. Only completed exercises could be peeled away to reveal the next. The first exercise wanted a quick copy of a letter to set a baseline. The next looked simpler but challenging. The pad wanted a horizontal figure eight with ten copies layered on top without ink pools. An ink pool was created when you left the quill's nib somewhere for too long. The exercised cleared when not done correctly for an easy restart. It took Harry 9 tries to get the exercise completed. Balling the page Harry decided that manuscript practice would not be done in one sitting.

"Son, it does not appear to be the best time but we need to talk," James stated as he realized that Lily wasn't there yet. "Sorry, mmm… maybe I should of asked her if she was ready," James mumbled while looking sheepish.

"Ah, Dad, should I commission a portrait for Sirius?" Harry asked.

James shook his head no and stated, "We are only reflections son. We could never truly fill your late parents' places. We can't age and mature. In some ways we are like ghosts. I don't want to cause Sirius any more pain." James' look reflected Harry's heart in his sad eyes.

"James that's a little deeper than I thought we need to go," Lily commented.

"Mum, he was only responding to my question."

"Lily, I'm adapting for the moment," James stated. "Harry, we are neither good nor bad. It's your actions that will determine our effects. We can never replace someone that is living. Nor will we try but we can give you knowledge."

Lily added, "Harry, we realized last night that our current approach is based off of hopes and dreams of parenting you. We desire to be your parents and parent you but we will never be enough. We're not leaving you," Lily cried, "but you need to understand our limits." Lily took a moment to dry her tears, "Portraits were originally created to capture wisdom and be used as tools."

"What your mum is trying to say is we have a value, but we can't take a lead like a parent would in your life," James commented. "Both of us like to take the lead, but it would hurt you in the long run. We will figure out how to balance this, but we need to let you lead. And leading doesn't mean we can't advise you."

Harry did not know what to say.

"Harry, we didn't mean to overwhelm you. We know you've had to live in the moment as long as you can remember. I don't even know if you had the freedom to dream," stated Lily.

"Too deep dear, Harry, would this be simpler if we share what our dreams and hopes were for you?" James questioned as Harry nodded in agreement.

The makeshift family bonded as James and Lily explained their greatest hopes. Time seemed to slow as Harry started to understand his parents' hearts. James was action orientated, focusing on experiences. Lily was driven by character and personality. They both wanted Harry to have unlimited possibilities. Harry gathered, pondered and treasured everything.

"Son, you can think, but don't forget breakfast," James smiled as he sent his son from the room.

The only spots left open at the late breakfast hour were booths. The booth made Harry feel lonely and wasteful. He ordered a bowl of porridge. It was simple and filling and required little thought. Harry's mind was racing with everything his parents said. Harry had enjoyed having someone who cared dictate what he need to do, even if it had only been for a short time. He did not understand the loss and gain he felt.

Harry snapped out of his thoughts as a girl spoke, "Excuse me, would you mind if I sit here?" She scooted in when Harry approved. "April Brown, and thank you. I wanted to avoid my brother. I'm not as brave as you I would never sit in a booth by myself," the girl continued to ramble.

"April, Oh!, hi Harry," Lavender exclaimed. "Aa… this is my cousin, I'm here to help my aunt with getting my cousins ready for Hogwarts." Lavender covered Harry's mouth before he could question. "Don't get her started again." The eleven year old was still rambling on to herself. "She's not that bad, but her brother, Paul can be worse than Malfoy."

"I doubt it and that's not very nice," Harry commented and Lavender rolled her eyes. That's when Paul started throwing a fit that would make Dudley proud. Harry whispered, "Sorry." Unlike Petunia, Mrs. Brown marched her son right out of the Leaky Cauldron.

"Harry, would you help us out?" asked Lavender.

"How?"

"Aunt Polly would let us go around ourselves if you went with us," Lavender pleaded. "She believes in groups of three."

Harry couldn't say no when it would put someone in a bad spot. That yes lead to Harry's first shopping trip with females. He was amazed how they could look at everything and still leave with only what they came for. Ollivandars was the only quick stop for April found her wand on her second try. Robes, books, parchment and quills took them 3 times the amount Harry spent with Hagrid on his first year trip.

They had a quick lunch before Lavender dragged them into a salon. She wanted a change to her fringe. Harry thought he was going to hide in one of the corners, but one of the Ladies had noticed him.

"Mr. Potter, I doubt you have ever had a proper haircut," the witch stated as she cast some spell.

Harry's hair was down to his knees and wild as it had been short. Hermione's bushy mess had nothing on his hair. Harry's face was red as he gave a pleading look to the witch.

"I only removed your hair charm," she looked at him like that was the most normal thing to do. "Let's trim it up for you."

Harry let her walk him over to one of the chairs. She started chatting away about how she had given James all of his cuts. And Harry had gotten the Potter's wild hair, but his mother's texture, something about silkiness. They were still working on Lavender when the witch pronounced that Harry was done. He wasn't sure that he could tell a difference, but at least he couldn't sit on his hair.

"It isn't going to grow out?" Harry questioned.

"Oh, no child, I've reapplied a hair charm," stated the witch.

Harry didn't understand why Lavender kept eyeing him when they left the salon. They returned and met Lavender's aunt at the Leaky Cauldron with Paul sulking.

Before they left Harry asked, "Would you use a potions tutor if we had one?"

"Harry, I don't know anyone who wouldn't," Lavender said as she waved goodbye.

Room eleven was covered in packages when Harry returned. His parents had caught his facial expression. It was delight, like a child in a sweets shop. He started unwrapping his new wardrobe. All of the new t-shirts and soft jumpers were inspected and hung. He had pants and slacks that didn't require a belt to keep up. The new school robes made him feel older. He no longer looked pudgy in them due to the new clothes. Everything was of the best materials and cuts, but most would still find the wardrobe modest. Harry had only gotten the quantities that Molly Wesley sent with her boys.

Lily interrupted, "Harry go ahead burn them." Harry blushed as he realized his mother caught on to what he was debating.

One by one Dudley's rags went up in flames. If only everything else relating to the Dursleys were as easy to discard. While they watched Harry relayed his shopping experience with the Browns. James was in stitch over the hair dresser. He explained Grandmother Potters thoughts on hair care. James like most boys did not like to sit still when he was young. His frustrations tended to let out accidental magic in the salon. He had changed the witch's hair color and even once set it on fire. Harold Potter never had another haircut after the first one his wife made him get. He had declared that there was nothing that would tame its wildness so why try.

Both of the guys didn't understand when Lily told them that the haircut had made a difference. "Now all you need is new glasses," commented Lily.

Harry was dumbfounded, why had he not thought about getting new glasses. He added glasses to his list of stuff to get in the alley.

The last oversized shoe was gone and Harry started frowning. "What's wrong son?" James asked.

"I need to do my school work," Harry said still frowning. He was looking at the boxes of new books.

"You've got my attitude, but your mothers know better brain," James stated as Harry set to work.

The neck brace was put in place. James chuckled at the box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans that accompanied the work. The next three hours were spent between the desk, the library and reading on the bed. Harry's stack of miscellaneous notes got smaller as he transferred them into his everlasting notebook. The editing and questioning helped reinforce his knowledge. Even the last rough for his homework was completed. The progress was rewarded with the ordering of dinner. And Harry took a small break.

Lily started, "Any thoughts on…"

Harry interrupted, "Not many mum, the only thing I know is that I want to get the Wesleys gifts that they won't refuse. And the school work plan is a good idea."

Lily smiled, "I have a few ideas that might work with the Wesleys. Your grandmother Potter had a tradition in the gift she gave to all the head boys or girls. Just keep with that tradition. And don't give the rest of the kids their gifts in front of their parents. It's overwhelming to see gifts for that large of a family all together. The Potter estate has a few ever-bearing fruit bushes that need to go somewhere. Harry, what I mean is for you to make Arthur and Molly's gift not look like a gift."

Harry was sure that his mum's plan would work. The idea refreshed him as he went back to the last of his work.

The Arithmancy exercise only needed the numbers from his name looked up and recorded in a grid format. The format was easy to accomplish with the tool his parents had him get. The grid board only lets you place numbers in the right spots to create the grid work. It was perfection every time and no need to try and juggle 2 rulers at once.

The Astronomy worksheets were overly easy, but they had been designed for a starting first year. Harry had finished eight before he realized what he had done. He switched to the last manuscript exercise. Two rows of o staying the same or getting better as you went. The page would reset if you blotched your ink. At that point Harry knew he was going to have a hate love relationship with the practice work.

"Alright, I'm going to need some help. Look at this I 'm not sure I'd even call it a book," Harry stated as he carefully held Hagrid's gift. Every second it seemed to feel like the book was going to get away.

"A monster book, you must have a professor with a sense of humor," James exclaimed.

"I think it's going to be Hagrid. So how is this biting book going to help?" Harry demanded.

James laughed, "Pet it on the spine. We sent one of those to Madam Pince as a prank."

"It wasn't funny," groaned Lily.

Harry started his illustrated creature book. He wondered what kind of creatures they would get to work with in class. The book went into detail about many things that Harry still didn't know about the magical world.

The study progress pleased Harry. He would never be Hermione, but maybe he had the chance not to always rely on her knowledge. He truly wanted this for himself. For once his aunt and uncle would not overshadow the start of his school year. Everything would not be forgotten like Harry had felt at the start of last school year. He was setting himself up for success.

Cleaning up his school supplies Harry found the letter he created for Professor Vector. After asking his mother for advice he rewrote it. His father had chimed in that Tom could send it off for him since Hedwig was gone. Harry had not meant to let it slide by but he had gotten caught up in the moment with Lavender and April. At least his parents were pleased with his human interaction.

After getting everything straightened Harry started on the new books. He had always liked books and his cousin had known it. Dudley would torment him by shredding books in front of him. And most times Harry would blamed for the damage. Hogwarts was the first time that Harry got freedom to enter act with books without oppression. The problem was Hogwarts was a first for lots of things. It was the people that had won Harry's time. His longing for companionship and friendship was finally filled. It was tough to set aside people for books. Then books always got overshadowed with excitement or adventure. His father's library could help with some of those distractions. Harry wondered if this was the reason Harold, his grandfather had set the entrances limits.

Four boxes of books from Irena were in the deliveries. Every one of the books needed to be individually added to the catalog. Harry planned on noting the personal sections with his first impressions. He was going to follow his resolve from the first day in Diagon Alley and take an active role in his belongings. To him it meant the time it took to do the job right. The library was a treasure and he would do all he could to treat it with respect.

The boxes and his parent's portraits were moved into the library. The boxes were laid out by the once bare wall. The catalog was moved to the desk for a better workspace. The variety of books were covered in a mix of leather, harden canvas and clipboard bindings. Inside the boxes a few volumes were hiding in brown paper wrappings. Harry decided it would be best to save the surprises for when he got to them.

The first book Harry took was vol. 5 of Saxons Guides to Defense. It irritated Harry that only the next 3 volumes could be seen in the box. The catalog astonished him on his first entry, pulling up the volumes 1 - 4 and presented their complete listings. Harry was glad that he followed his self-imposed rule and hadn't wasted time searching for the books. The listings were exploited as an example that Harry did his best to match. Harry missed muggle copyright pages that offered quick details. Wizards were not that uniformed or logical in book organization. Thankful most new books at least had a table of contents and footnotes or references.

If it wasn't for the other waiting books Harry would have consumed the defense volumes. The shelves made room for the new entries. The books pulsed with magic when first placed in the stacks. Harry found books like Wizard's Customs for Muggleborns, Guide to Wizard's Holidays and Wizarding Social Class (an outdated system). The theme seemed to change to bulky Government tomes, A Youths Guide to Government, a self-updating Book of Law and a book pinned by the current Minister of Magic. Harry speculated on how many of the volumes were filled with propaganda.

Harry's second box had some irregular sized books like The Greatest Artist of Last Century, Wizard's Most Famous Artist and a beautifully illustrated copy of What's Charming with detailed pictures of wizard architecture. Harry started laughing at the post it notes that started popping up on things that need explaining. Irena captured Harry's need for results when she included stapled guides. Harry agreed with her claim that they were more practical than multiple in-depth books. The Guide to Wizard Music was only 12 pages, but it held more than Harry need to know.

The genealogy books seemed pointless to Harry as he unloaded and recorded them. One of the authors didn't even include half-bloods let alone muggleborns. Areas were skipped until the author declared descendants pureblood again. Some families were more intertwined than a hillbilly.

The first brown paper mystery was saved for after the boring bloodlines mess. The package was marked To Harry Potter in care of Irena Irwin. The package had not missed out on the post it note treatment. Irena thought it was best to let one of her male friends make the selections on personal care. Harry pulled out things like A Young Wizard's Guide to Growing Up. It was anything but an innocent title, Harry was bright red by the time he declared the catalog could be detailed later. He laughed at How to Catch a Girl and Keep Her. And Everyday Appearance Charms might be useful for the mornings he'd run late.

Irena had gathered the entire Goblins printed introductory books. She informed Harry that the books detailed what books to purchase to get more detailed information. The goblins didn't make any book that were self-updating as they valued their profits. The first page of How Not to Start a Goblin War had Harry rolling in laughter. Not a book to show Hermione as the author claims to have written most of the book sitting in Professor Binn's Class.

The post it on the house elves stated that the selection was complete unless house elves wrote. Irena didn't want redundancy. She had added a few broader books like Types of Elves and Where to Find Them and Elf Magic. Harry was pleased with the selected works, but was shocked to see that Hogwarts had nothing on the topic of house elves. He would have to share with Hermione.

The last brown paper package contained a few of the American parseltongue journals. The journals had articles on snake care, hatchlings, healing and parselmagic. It shouldn't have stunned Harry that he found an article relating to him. Could Hogwarts Basilisk been Saved, was the article Harry didn't wait to read. It was a balanced article comparing the value of the beast and its dangers. The article did not begrudge Harry of his actions. It referenced a few other encounters with Basilisks. Harry was glad that everyone did not have the same sentiments on parseltongues. He might have to submit something as the journal had an open call for entries.

The last box wasn't new as Irena had Dobby get it from that family vault. She guessed by the inscriptions that the books were received as shower gifts. Harry stared at the children's books and Lily stated telling him about her friends. James had gone crazy when he found out they were pregnant. He had bought anything that was needed for a baby. Harry's godmother who still wanted to give a baby shower had come up with the book idea. Molly Wesley had even given one. Tucked inside of that book was a picture of Bill holding newborn Ron. James explained how many of the books were childhood favorites. Lily explained how different Wizards Lore was to Muggle.

It was after midnight when Harry had finished shelving and entering all of the books. James uses a silly poem about why you shouldn't be up after midnight and sent Harry to bed.

It's easier for me to work with named people so I'm adding mini-characters. They will not be taking pivotal roles. (Unless you're in Ravenclaw, then Irena may be very pivotal)

My little inspiration thinks that wizard kids would act like muggles do before kindergarten. (April and Paul)

I have a soft spot for books J