Journey of the Potters

by amethystdreamstar

Instead of just having Harry, Lily and James Potter had 2 children, Harry and his sister Journey Potter. This has a huge impact on the wizarding world as we know it, along with its saviour.

5. Chapter 5: Giants Pigs and Goblins o my!

Disclaimer: I own nothing from Harry Potter, everything you recognize belongs to the wonderful J.K. Rowling. Everything that is underlined is taken directly from the book.

"talking"

'thought'

'written words'

Chapter 5: Giants, Pigs and Goblins oh my!

BOOM! Harry and Journey backed into the wall as the whole shack shook for a second time. Dudley jerked awake and shouted something about cannons just as Uncle Vernon crashed into the room. He was holding a rifle that Journey guessed came from the long package he bought earlier, and was shaking slightly as he shouted, "Who's that? I – I'm warning you … I have a gun!"

There was a small pause and Journey thought whoever it was had left before –

SMASH!

Whoever was behind the door hit it with so much force that it came right off its hinges and crashed into the floor.

Journey stared at fallen door fearfully with her heart beating a mile a minute, hoping that whoever it was that did that went after Dudley first so she and Harry could run. She slowly looked up into the doorway, dreading what she would see.

A giant-like man was standing where the door used to be. He had wild hair that looked like it didn't even know what a comb was never mind having actually used one. His beard was in the same wild state and covered a large portion of his face, leaving only his glinting black eyes. The rest of his body was covered in a long, black coat that ended just before the floor.

As the giant managed to squeeze his way through the doorway, Journey began to relax. If this man were actually a threat to her or Harry, she would know it. Even though he could easily have squashed all of them, judging by the way he picked up the door and put it back into its frame as if it were a puzzle piece, she felt almost … safe with him.

Her feelings about him not being dangerous to them were confirmed when he spoke. He had a loud voice that easily overpowered the sounds of the thunderstorm outside but at the same time wasn't at all threatening. "Couldn't make us a cup o' tea, could yeh?" he asked, "It's not been an easy journey …"

It took him two steps to walk over to the sofa where Dudley sat, petrified.

"Budge up, yeh great lump," the intruder said.

Dudley made a strange squeaking noise and ran behind his mother, who was having a strange coughing fit and was cowering behind Uncle Vernon, to hide. Journey was pretty shocked that both Aunt Petunia and Dudley could fit behind Uncle Vernon but didn't have time to dwell on it when the giant spoke again.

"An' here's Harry! Oh an' little Journey too!" the giant exclaimed.

Journey whipped her head around to look at the giant who she guessed was smiling considering the way his eyes were crinkled. 'How does he know our names?' she thought suspiciously.

The giant answered her question almost as if he knew she was thinking about it. "Las' time I saw either o' you, you were only babies," he said, "Harry, yeh look just like yer dad, but with yer mum's eyes. An' Journey seems like you couldn't 'scape the ol' Potter curse of havin' wild hair even tho' yer a girl. You look a lot like yer mum other than tha'."

Journey didn't even think to be indignant about the hair comment she was so shocked about what the giant had said. This was the first time anyone had volunteered any information about their parents and to hear that she looked like them … it gave her a strange feeling.

Uncle Vernon broke the moment with a strange rasping noise that Journey realized was supposed to be speech. "I demand that you leave at once, sir!" he rasped out. "You are breaking and entering!"

"Ah, shut up, Dursley, yeh great prune," said the giant. He reached one of his giant arms out over the back of the sofa and roughly took the gun out of Uncle Vernon's shaking hands. The giant then proceeded to easily bend the metal gun into a knot as if it were instead made of rubber and tossed it into the far corner of the room.

Uncle Vernon made a strange noise like something being stepped on, but Journey looked at the giant in awe. 'If this giant can scare Uncle Vernon that easily,' Journey thought, 'then he is definitely alright in my books.'

"Now then," said the giant turning back to the twins, "Harry firs' I'd like to wish yeh a very happy birthday. I got summat fer yeh here."

He reached into a large pocket in his overcoat and pulled out a slightly squashed box. Looking at it he said, "I mighta sat on it at some point, but it'll taste all right."

Harry opened the box with trembling fingers. Journey peeked over his shoulder to see a large cake with the words Happy Birthday Harry written in green icing on it. Both Harry and Journey were speechless at the sight of it. They had never gotten such a nice gift from anyone.

Harry looked like he was trying to say something. He tried several times before he was finally able to say, "Who are you?" Journey nudged him and he started before saying quickly, "Oh, and thank you!"

The giant chuckled showing he didn't care about Harry momentarily forgetting his manners before saying, "Guess I haven't introduced meself have I? Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts."

He held out his hand that easily dwarfed both of their hands. Harry's whole arm shook when he took his hand before he let go and the giant proceeded to do the same thing to Journey.

"What about that tea then, eh?" the giant asked rubbing his hands together. "I'd not say no ter summat stronger if yeh've got it, mind."

Journey was mildly amused that he was acting as if barging into where people were staying and talking about tea was perfectly normal. He somehow managed to start a roaring fire in the fireplace which made Harry and Journey subtly exchange excited looks. The warmth washed over them and they both shuffled a little closer to the fire.

They watched the giant take random objects out of his seemingly endless amounts of pockets. He not only made tea but also several sausages whose delicious aroma quickly filled the hut as they were being cooked, making Dudley fidget a little. Uncle Vernon noticed and sharply told him not to touch anything given to him, making the giant chuckle again.

"Yer great puddin' of a son don' need fattenin' any more, Dursley, don' worry."

Harry and Journey were both given a sausage from the giant, which after not eating for so long tasted absolutely wonderful.

They ate in silence for several minutes before Harry suddenly spoke. "I'm sorry, but I still don't understand who you are."

The giant took a gulp of tea before answering. "Call me Hagrid," he said jovially, "everyone does. An like I told yeh, I'm keeper of keys at Hogwarts – yeh'll know all about Hogwarts o' course."

Journey's suspicions were confirmed. This did have something to do with the letters. She was about to say something when Harry spoke quietly, "Er – no."

Harry quickly apologized at Hagrid's shocked look, but Hagrid had none of it. "Sorry?" he barked and turned to stare furiously at the Dursleys, who cowered further into the shadows. "It's them as should be sorry! I knew yeh weren't getting' yer letters but I never thought yeh wouldn't even know abou' Hogwarts, fer cryin' out loud! Did yeh never wonder where yer parents learnt it all?"

Harry smiled at Journey, they were finally going to learn about their powers. As soon as the excitement built within her, another feeling took her over. She suddenly knew that they shouldn't talk about their own abilities. She didn't know why , they'd been waiting for this moment since they figured out their parents likely had abilities as well, but this feeling was stronger than any other feeling she had had before so she wasn't about to ignore it.

Seeing Harry still looking at her, now with a confused look on his face, Journey shook her head slowly. She tried to send her feeling to Harry and she guessed it worked since Harry nodded showing he understood even if he frowned about it.

Hagrid didn't notice any of this as he had taken a long swig from his tea, but he definitely noticed when Harry asked, "All what?"

There was a moment of pause, before Hagrid started shouting. "ALL WHAT?" his voice thundered throughout the shack, "Now wait jus' one second!"

He jumped to his feet in anger. His presence filled the whole hut and Journey watched in awe as the Dursleys cowered into the wall before Hagrid as he growled at them. "Do you mean ter tell me, that this boy – this boy! – knows nothin' abou' – about ANYTHING?"

Journey snickered at Harry's indignant look. "I know some things," he said trying to show he wasn't an idiot. "I can, you know, do maths and stuff."

Hagrid waved his hand in dismissal and said, "About our world, I mean. Your world. My world. Yer parents' world."

Now Journey was honestly confused. She knew there would be people like them, but a whole other world? It seemed too fantastical to be true. Questions started swirling around in her head, but before she could form any of them into words Harry asked a question of his own. "What world?"

Hagrid's face went from angry to furious. Journey thought he was going to explode as he boomed, "DURSLEY!"

Uncle Vernon looked very pale as he whispered something that Journey couldn't make out. Hagrid looked wildly from Harry to Journey.

"But yeh must know about yer mum and dad," he said desperately, "I mean, they're famous. You're famous Harry."

Harry looked thunderstruck and Journey knew she wasn't much better. "What?" Harry asked feebly. "My – my mum and dad weren't famous, were they?"

Journey felt a small twinge of pride that Harry didn't immediately latch onto his own fame. She didn't know what she would do if he grew a big head and ended up acting like Dudley, lording it over everyone.

Hagrid struggled to find the right words. "Yeh don' know … yeh don' know …" He ran his fingers through his hair while looking at the twins with a bewildered look on his face.

When he finally was able to speak, Hagrid said, "Yeh don' know what yeh are?"

Uncle Vernon somehow managed to find the stupidity to try and stop Hagrid from telling just what Harry and Journey were. Hagrid brushed him off like he was a fly and finally told them what they were: wizards. Well, Harry was a wizard. Journey was a witch since she was a girl.

When Hagrid told them indirectly that their mum and dad were great wizards, Journey felt something stir within her. She was going to make her parents proud by being the best witch she could possibly be, starting by finally reading the all-important Hogwarts letter.

Journey took her letter that Hagrid pulled out from another one of his pockets and tore it open. It read:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,

Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)

Dear Mr Potter,

We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.

Yours Sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

Journey immediately started asking questions. "Where is Hogwarts? How did they address the letters to know what room we were in? What's an Order of Merlin? Or a Mugwump? How many wizards are there if there's an International Confederation of them? Does that mean there is a wizarding government or something? How did Harry and I end up with a place at Hogwarts if we never knew about it? Where can we get all of our stuff? What does it mean, they await my owl?"

Harry had asked the last question at the same time as Journey and Hagrid looked stunned. He floundered for a minute before he suddenly smacked his and to his forehead with enough force to knock over a sign post. "Gallopin' Gorgons, that reminds me," he said as he reached into his pockets again. He pulled out a real, live owl, a long quill and a roll of parchment. He wrote a quick note before handing it to the owl, who clamped it in its beak, walked over to the door and threw the owl out into the storm. Then he walked back over to the couch as if this were a normal, everyday occurance.

Harry and Journey both gaped at each other before looking back at Hagrid, who tried to speak but was again cut off by Uncle Vernon, who said that he would not let them go to Hogwarts. The following argument was interesting. Journey learned what 'Muggles' were – non-magic folk – and that the Dursleys had indeed known that they were magical the entire time. Journey heard the jealousy in Aunt Petunia's voice as she spoke viciously about her sister before ending her little tirade about how all her abnormalness got her blown up in the end.

Hagrid was furious when Harry told her that she had always told them that their parents had died in a car crash. They had always known differently since Harry could remember the night of their parents' deaths in his dreams, but this was the first time anyone had actually told them about what had happened. He yelled at the Dursleys, making them cower back into their corner, but when Harry asked what happened, he became very anxious. After giving several words of encouragement, Hagird finally caved.

Hagrid told them everything. He told them about the wizard who went as bad as you could go, then worse than that: Voldemort. He spoke with a distant look in his eyes as he told them about how he was taking over and the fear that had filled everyone at that time, not knowing who you could trust. He told them about how everyone who stood up to him, besides Dumbledore, died or mysteriously vanished. He told them about how their parents were good wizards, some of the best he ever knew, head boy and girl even (whatever that was). He spoke tearfully about how Voldemort went after them, and then tried to kill Harry. He told them about Harry's scar, which they now knew was a cursed scar, and about how he was famous since he didn`t die when Voldemort tried to kill him. No one had ever survived when Voldemort had set their sights on them, many of the greatest witches and wizards had been killed by him, but somehow Harry survived. This made Harry rather famous in the wizarding world and he was given the title of the 'Boy-Who-Lived' which Journey thought was rather unoriginal but didn't comment.

Harry looked to be in deep thought after Hagrid had finished talking. Suddenly, Journey saw a flash of something. She saw in her mind's eye a blinding flash of green light, and a high, cold, cruel laugh that made her shiver.

Hagrid watched them sadly and said, "Took yeh both from yer ruined house I did, on Dumbledore's orders. Brought yeh ter this lot …"

Something about that statement struck Journey as being odd. She didn't even pay attention to Uncle Vernon who had started speaking again. 'Isn't Dumbledore the headmaster of Hogwarts? … then why is he the one to decide where Harry and I were supposed to live? I would've thought that … that we would have had … godparents or mum and dad's … will or … something …'

She only began to pay attention again when Harry asked what happened to Voldemort, or You-Know-Who. When Hagrid told them how he thought Voldemort was still out there, weak but alive, Journey felt something unlike anything she had ever felt. She knew Hagrid was right, but that was only the start. A deep, earthshaking feeling had latched onto her, filling her with dread. She couldn't determine what it meant exactly, but she knew that it had to do with Voldemort not being dead, which was definitely not good. She resolved to learn as much as she could so that when Voldemort came back, she would be ready and would protect Harry.

She was so busy thinking about her feeling and her new resolve to protect her brother that Journey didn't even realize that Uncle Vernon was talking again. She did notice when Hagrid started to argue back since his voice was so loud it startled her. He even answered one of her questions when he told Uncle Vernon that their name had been down ever since they were born. She watched as Uncle Vernon finally pushed Hagrid too far by insulting Albus Dumbledore and Journey's respect for Hagrid jumped up when he shot a violet-coloured light at Dudley out of his umbrella because of it.

If Journey's respect for Hagrid went up because of the light, it skyrocketed when she saw the result of it. Dudley now had a curly pig's tail sticking out from a hole in his trousers. The Dursleys ran out of the room in fear and finally left them alone.

Journey looked at Hagrid in awe. 'If magic can do stuff like that,' she thought, 'then I can't wait to go to Hogwarts … there must be a million ways to prank people there!'

She was too giddy at the thought of better pranks to really listen to the rest of the conversation. She heard a little bit about how Hagrid wasn't supposed to do magic since he was expelled and how he avoided Harry's question when he asked why he was expelled by making them go to bed but she didn't actively participate in the conversation.

Journey fell asleep quickly after Hagrid lent her and Harry is coat to sleep on and dreamt about all the possibilities magic could offer them.

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Journey didn't realize how tired she was until she was being shaken awake by Harry, who told her she had slept through an owl coming in and pecking him till he paid it with little bronze coins called Knuts for delivering a wizarding newspaper.

Journey smiled at Harry's enthusiasm, which was starting to rub off onto her. Today they were going to get their stuff for Hogwarts! Her enthusiasm dimmed a little when Harry brought it to their attention that they didn't have any money and Uncle Vernon wouldn't pay for them, but Hagrid assured them that their parents left them lots of money in the wizarding bank, Gringotts, which was run by goblins. When they asked about it, Hagrid told the twins about how Gringotts was the safest place in the world for stuff you wanted to keep safe (besides maybe Hogwarts) and that he too had business there.

Journey thought it was kind of strange that Dumbledore would be the one sending Hagrid to come and get them. Surely there would be a government of some sort that would be in charge making sure they were properly introduced to the wizarding world. 'Maybe since most of this is school related business it is his responsibility,' Journey thought, 'after all he his Sumpreme Mugwump so maybe he has a place in the government as well.' She was still slightly uneasy with some man she had never met having so much control over their life – placing them with the Dursleys, not checking up on them for ten years to see if they were being treated alright, then just in time for school fetching them again – but she didn't say anything.

The twins followed Hagrid out of the hut, where it was now quite nice outside. Journey gaped at Hagrid for a full minute when he told them he flew here. For one crazy minute Journey imagined Hagrid on a flying carpet like in a movie she had once seen battling his way through the storm, before she disregarded it as being ridiculous.

They took the boat back to the island with Hagrid using a bit more magic to speed things along. Journey gleefully thought about how the Dursleys were now stuck on the island, with Dudley's pigtail, until someone realized they were there and went and got them.

As they sailed across, Hagrid told them more about Gringotts. Harry and Journey sat in awe at the thought of there being real live dragons miles under the Underground guarding some of the vaults. They learnt there was a Ministry of Magic whose main job was to stop Muggles from finding out about magic, but that it always messed things up since the Minister named Cornelius Fudge was an idiot. Journey agreed with Hagrid when she said that wizards should be left alone, but her reasoning was that people might try and attack wizards out of fear rather than wanting magical solutions to their problems.

After getting off the boat, they walked through the small town to the station. Journey thought it was amusing to see everyone stare at Hagrid when he pointed at ordinary things like parking meters and loudly exclaiming how odd Muggles were to dream up stuff like that. When they finally got to the station, he told them about how he always wanted a dragon since he was a little kid and now that she knew about them, Journey agreed with him.

Taking the train with Hagrid was interesting. Harry had to help with 'Muggle money' and he took up two seats on the train as he sat there, knitting what Harry told her must be a canary-yellow circus tent. As they were on the train, Harry and Journey pulled out their letters and read the second page that was in them:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY

Uniform

First year students will require:

Three sets of plain work robes (black)

One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear

One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)

One winter clock (black, silver fastenings)

Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags

Set Books

All students should have a copy of each of the following:

The Standard Books of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk

A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot

Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling

A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch

One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore

Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger

Fantastical Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander

The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble

Other Equipment

1 want

1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)

1 set glass or crystal phials

1 telescope

1 set brass scales

Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS

Harry and Journey both wondered if they could really buy all of these wizarding materials in London and Hagrid told them that you could, if you know where to go.

Hagrid led them through London since neither Harry nor Journey had ever been there before. He parted the crowd easily and got a lot of looks from people. The twins followed behind Hagrid trying to keep up with his long stride, wondering where they were supposed to buy wands and cauldrons among music stores and cinemas.

Journey felt a strange feeling and looked up to see the Leaky Cauldron just before Hagrid pointed it out to them. The famous pub was rather grubby looking, but Journey didn't judge since she knew that more often than not she and Harry looked rather grubby looking. Journey knew they were the only ones on this street able to see the pub, and as she watched people walk by it without even glancing at it, she figured that you must have magic to see it.

Hagrid steered them inside, and Journey found that the inside was just as grubby looking as the outside, if not even more so. Everyone including the bald barman waved at Hagrid when he walked in.

"The usual, Hagrid?" asked the barman as he reached for a glass.

"Can't, Tom, I'm on Hogwarts business," Hagrid said as he clapped Harry and Journey on the shoulders with enough force to make their knees buckle.

The barman stared at Harry, "Good Lord, is this – can it be – ?"

The Leaky Cauldron suddenly went completely still and silent.

"Bless my soul," the old barman whispered, "it's Harry Potter … what and honour."

The barman ran out from behind the bar and hurried over to Harry and shook his hand, welcoming him back. Journey assumed he was welcoming them back to the wizarding world since she didn't remember ever entering the pub before.

The next twenty minutes were pure chaos. Tom's approach seemed to break all of the other witches and wizards out of their stupor. Everyone got out of their chairs and rushed over to the trio, trying to be the first person to shake Harry's hand. Harry was pushed from person to person while Journey was pushed aside, literally. Hagrid just stood their beaming the whole time as if this was perfectly normal.

Journey watched as everyone formed a line to shake Harry's hand. 'This is ridiculous,' she thought, 'he's been 'back' for not even a day and they've swamped him with no warning … can't they see he is bothered by this?' And it was true. Harry just stood there with a bewildered expression on his face, not knowing what to do other than stand there and shake everyone's hand. One man got so excited when Harry told him that he'd seen him before that he dropped his hat in either shock or excitement, Journey wasn't really sure.

Finally, they came across a rather strange man, who Journey decided immediately that she didn't like. He was younger than everyone else, wore a purple turban and was constantly twitching. He stuttered as tried to talk to Harry, but something was off about it. Journey had met someone who stuttered before, and he only stuttered over difficult words and at the beginning of sentence. 'Maybe there are different types of speech problems,' she thought.

When she found out that he would be her professor, of Defense Against the Dark Arts even, she nearly tripped over thin air. The man was afraid of his own shadow, and yet he was supposed to teach them how to defend themselves? 'Guess that's one subject I'll be learning independently,' Journey thought somewhat bitterly. It bothered her that anyone, especially someone as 'great' as Albus Dumbledore, would hire someone who was afraid of his own subject to teach children.

After ten more minutes of Harry shaking everyone's hand, Hagrid finally said over the excited babble, "Must get on – lots ter buy. Harry, Journey, let's go."

Hagrid led them through the bar and into a small, walled courtyard. It was quite unremarkable and only had a dustbin and a few weeds poking out through the stones. Hagrid talked while he looked for his umbrella about how he told them Harry was famous. He also told them about how Professor Quirrell, the man with the turban, was always nervous and stuttering and that he was not only scared of his own subject, but he was scared of his students too.

While her mind was swirling with questions about the wizarding world, she still thought that man was absolutely ridiculous. Finally, Hagrid found his umbrella and tapped one of the bricks in the wall three times. Journey watched, amazed, as the brick wriggled and a small hole appeared in the middle. The hole grew wider and taller until it turned into an archway that was even tall enough for Hagrid walk through comfortable.

"Welcome," Hagrid said as he grinned at their shocked faces, "to Diagon Alley."

Journey was floored. Diagon Alley was better than anything she could have ever imagined. The cobble-stone street was lined with an array of shops on either side and went on till it turned out of sight. Journey didn't even turn to watch the archway disappear behind them she was so amazed by everything. There was a shop that sold different types of cauldrons, an Apothecary (whatever that was), and even a shop that sold nothing but owls. There was a store that was crowded by a bunch of kids their age, which apparently held brooms of all things.

Finally they reached Gringotts. It was a snowy-white colour which was bigger than the other shops by several stories at least. Standing on either side of the large, bronze doors wearing a scarlet and gold uniform, was what Journey suspected to be a goblin. Hagrid confirmed her suspicions as they walked up the stone steps, allowing Journey to get a closer look at the one on the left. He was shorter than both Harry and Journey by about a head, which was saying a lot since they were both on the smaller side of average for their age. The goblin had long fingers and feet, a pointed beard and a clever-looking face that was currently sneering at her look. He bowed to them as they walked inside. Partly because she didn't want to appear rude to spear-weilding goblins and also just for kicks, Journey bowed back. She hoped to get a reaction out of them and was not disappointed.

Both of the goblins looked thunderstruck. They stared at Journey, then at each other, back at Journey, then again at each other without being able to do more than gap like a fish showing their rather pointed teeth. They spoke to each other in what Journey assumed was their own language, one that sounded very harsh and had a lot of hand gestures, before the goblin Journey bowed to ran inside the bank leaving the other one standing guard alone.

Journey realized that Hagrid and Harry had gone on without her, and ran through the doors to catch up to them. There was a second pair of doors which were silver this time, but Journey didn't stop to read the inscription on them since she didn't want to get left behind. Another pair of goblins who looked slightly disgruntled bowed at her as she passed through these doors but this time Journey didn't bow back since she wasn't sure if it would result in the same reaction as before, nor did she have the time to find out.

After she passed through the doors, she easily spotted Hagrid's giant form among the rows of goblins all in high stools behind several counters. She looked at all the goblins curiously as she walked briskly to Hagrid. There were goblins writing with long quills into books, other were weighing coins in brass scales and still others were examining precious stones through special eyepieces. There even a few goblins leading people out of the endless amounts of doors on either side of the hall.

Journey finally caught up to Hagrid just as he reached a lone goblin who not doing anything and said cheerfully, "Good morning! Mr. Harry Potter and Miss Journey Potter would like ter take some money outta their safe."

The goblin sneered at Hagrid and said, "You have their key, I presume?"

To Journey's amusement and the goblin's annoyance, Hagrid began to empty all of his pockets onto the goblin's desk in his search for the twins' vault key. The goblins around their station ignored them since they were too busy weighing precious stones, or were running around frantically.

Finally, Hagrid pulled out a small golden key which the goblin inspected closely. After confirming that it was indeed the correct key, the goblin was about to call another goblin when Hagrid spoke again.

"An' I've also got a letter here from Professor Dumbledore," he said with his chest thrown out in pride. "It's about the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen."

The goblin carefully examined the letter while Journey thought, 'they must get confused with all their You-Know-Whats and Whos … you'd think they'd be a bit more creative …'

A few moments later, the goblin called another goblin by the name of Griphook to escort them down to both of the vaults. While they were walking Harry asked Hagrid what was in vault seven hundred and thirteen but Hagrid refused to tell him saying it was 'Hogwarts business'.

They entered one of the numerous doors around the hall and Journey was surprised to see a stone passageway that was lit with torches and sloped downwards towards to what looked like small train tracks. Journey watched, amazed, as Griphook whistled for a cart that quickly came towards them. Everyone climbed in, even Hagrid though it was a struggle, and they sped off with a jolt.

The cart ride was amazing. Journey had never been on a rollercoaster, but she imagined it would be just like this. They almost flew through numerous twisting and twirling passages. They would turn so sharply that it almost seemed like they would hit the wall, yet it seemed like the cart knew where it was going since Griphook was not directing it. Journey was tempted to throw her hands up like she had heard people do on rollercoasters, but a sight of what looked like dragon fire quelled her urge to do so.

They progressed deeper and deeper into the earth. Harry had asked what the difference between stalagmites and stalactites was, but Hagrid was looking rather green and told Harry not to ask any questions since he might be sick.

Eventually, the cart came to a stop. Hagrid lent against a wall while Griphook took the key and unlocked a large door. Green smoke billowed out of the door and Harry and Journey both gasped when they finally saw what was behind it.

Inside was more money than Journey had ever seen in her whole life. There were three different types of coins in piles and mounds all around the vault, and Journey wondered what they were even worth.

Hagrid smiled when he saw their reaction. "Normally each child of the family gets their own trust vault," he said, "but yer parents didn' think it was really needed so they just made one. Only thing is that yeh have to share otherwise it will get split."

Journey didn't mind that she'd have to share since she doubted that she would ever be able to spend this much money. She felt a twinge of anger when she thought of how the Dursleys would try to take it if they ever knew about it before she thought of something Hagrid said.

"Hagrid, what do you mean by 'trust vault'?" she asked.

Hagrid looked slightly uneasy when she asked, which struck Journey as slightly suspicious. She noticed his fidgeting hands and knew he was searching for an answer besides the one he knew.

"Well you see … ah," he tried to say something but couldn't. He started muttering to himself thinking she couldn't hear him, "I don't see why they aren't supposed teh know … they should know since it's theirs … bugger …" He turned back to Journey and said, "A trust vault is a something a parent sets up for their kid. It gets money from the main family vault, and is refilled usually every year automatically once the kid turns eleven."

Hagrid explained the money system while he helped the twins put some of their newfound fortune into special bottomless moneybags that Gringotts gave them (for a fee of course). There were twenty-nine Kunts (the bronze coins) to a Sickle (the silver coins), and seventeen Sickles to a Galleon which were the gold coins. Before they left Journey asked Griphook if they could transfer some of this money into muggle money so that they could buy proper clothes. He told her that they could, but that they'd have to do it back in the main part of the bank.

They closed the vault behind them and sped off to vault seven hundred and thirteen. It was a rather normal looking vault except there was no keyhole. Griphook warned them away from the door before he gently stroked the door with his finger making it simply melt away. He gleefully informed them that if anyone else tried that they'd be sucked into the vault and would be trapped there until a goblin came in to check on the vault, which happened once every ten years.

Thinking that whatever was inside the vault had to be pretty valuable, Journey and Harry leaned forward to get a better look. Surprisingly all that was in there was a small, grubby looking package in plain brown paper. Journey knew she shouldn't judge by appearances, but she was still slightly disappointed by how normal it looked.

During the cart ride back to the surface, Journey wondered what could possibly be beneath the wrapping paper…

After finally reaching the surface, Journey quickly thanked Griphook when he directed her to where she could exchange Galleons, much to his shock. Journey waited several minutes with Hagrid and Harry in the small line. Before they knew it, they were at the front and exchanging Galleons into pounds. Journey got about 500 pounds just in case the Dursleys found out and tried to steal it … she didn't want to have too much money.

They were just about to leave Gringotts when several important looking goblins came up to them, blocking there way.

Hagrid looked very confused. "Uh, hello there … can I help you?"

The lead goblin, dressed in purples and golds, ignored and looked straight at Journey. "Miss Journey Potter," he said almost politely, "we would like to have a word with you."

The entire bank, even the goblins, had stopped what they were doing to watch the interaction. Journey felt very nervous and looked up at Hagrid. He looked just as confused but gave her an uneasy smile and nodded at her.

Journey looked back at the goblin and smiled nervously. "Of course, lead the way."

The goblin smiled, a truly scary sight. He turned and walked through a large, decorated door. The goblins that were with the leader gathered around Journey and guided her through the door. After the last goblin had walked through they closed it sharply behind her.

Looking around, Journey saw that they had entered another hallway that was much fancier than the previous one. Everything was still made of marble, but encrusted into the marble was many precious stones, giving it a dazzling effect. Everything that wasn't made of marble was made of either gold or what looked like diamond. Journey guessed that this one hallway was probably worth ten times what was in her vault.

The goblins didn't give her any more time to look around and quickly ushered her to another golden door. Once she had entered, they shut it behind her, leaving her alone with the lead goblin and a goblin in scarlet and gold uniform.

The leader goblin was seated in an ornate gold chair and gestured for her to sit in a slightly less ornate chair. It had a stiff back but was still really comfortable and Journey waited patiently for the goblin to speak.

He did not disappoint. "Earlier today you entered this bank. When you did this, you bowed to a goblin, why?"

He certainly didn't beat around the bush. Journey thought that maybe bowing back wasn't a good idea. 'Maybe it goes against their customs,' she thought worriedly, 'what if they need to punish me or something?'

She decided to play it safe while staying as close to the truth as possible. "Isn't it the polite thing to do? I wasn't sure if we were supposed to bow back or not, so I thought that I should bow back. Also, I have just entered, or rather re-entered, the wizarding world, and I'll admit I was curious to see how a goblin would react to a witch."

Journey was quite pleased with that answer. It was very close to the truth – she didn't know then that nobody ever bowed back – and she had been wondering how they would react, just on more of the terms of having a laugh at their reaction rather than honest curiosity.

The goblin sat back in his chair, folded his hands and stared at her. Journey was extremely nervous under his gaze, her heart began to race slightly and it took all her years of sitting through numerous meetings with the principal to not fidget under his gaze. She looked back calmly even though her insides were quickly turning into mush. If she had known that bowing to a goblin would cause this type of a reaction, she definitely wouldn't have done it.

After what seemed like hours but was really several minutes, the goblin smiled. 'He seems to smile much more than any other goblin I've seen so far,' she thought almost desperately thinking about how they leave men to rot for ten years if they enter the wrong vault, 'maybe I will only be left there for the rest of the day? Surely Hagrid will get help?'

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Twenty minutes later a stunned Journey walked back into the atrium with a new bottomless bag that had several bottomless pockets for sorting different objects and a new book on Gobbledegook. Apparently Ragnock, the head goblin, was quite impressed with her and gave her these items as gifts. His only stipulation was that she had better learn most, if not all, of the book on the goblin language by next summer, or else …

Hagrid and Harry hurried over to her as soon as they saw her and fired off questions. She was about to open her mouth and tell them everything but something stopped her. For some reason she didn't want Hagrid to know. Maybe it was because of the way he acted down at their vault, but for some reason she felt she couldn't trust Hagrid with this information. She fed them a quick half-truth, saying that they just wanted to ask her why she had bowed to the goblin at the doors. Hagrid bought it, he didn't even notice her new bag since it looked so similar to the one that they had already bought, but Harry gave her a look that said 'we'll talk later'.

They decided to go and get their uniform first. Hagrid asked Harry and Journey if they minded going on their own while he stopped for a quick pick-me-up at the Leaky Cauldron. Neither of the twins saw any problem with this since Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions was only a few shops down from the bank. Hagrid smiled at them before heading down the street and out of sight.

Journey wanted to explore the street now that they didn't have their minder anymore, but Harry didn't want to break Hagrid's trust like that. Knowing that he was right Journey quietly followed him to the robe shop.

Madam Malkin was very kind to them and took them to back of the shop where another boy was standing on a stool being fitted for Hogwarts robes as well. His blonde hair was slicked back and he had a pale, pointed face. Another assistant came to help Journey while Madam Malkin started to pin the robe she had slipped over Harry's head.

Journey's first impression of the boy was that he was a lot like Dudley, just thinner. The resemblance was especially strong when he talked about his father and smuggling in a broom and Journey couldn't resist butting in to his and Harry's conversation.

"Even if you did manage to smuggle it in," she said making him look at her, "you'd never be able to fly. Someone would see you. Your precious broom would be taken away and you'd probably get a month's worth of detentions if not worse, making the whole effort useless."

The boy glared at her and Journey just smiled back knowing she was right. He didn't say anything and just turned back to Harry. She didn't say anything for the rest of the conversation, although she was dearly tempted to say that she'd leave if she ever got into Slytherin with him. She wanted to punch him when he insulted Hagrid (who was outside with ice-cream) by calling him a servant and a savage, but she was afraid if she moved her arms too much she would stick pins into herself.

When he started talking about her parents and how they shouldn't let the 'other sort' in, she finally couldn't hold back her comments.

"Well it seems," she said cutting him off just as he was asking another question, "that even though you're from an old wizarding family, you have absolutely no manners or any sense of tact. You are quite rude to talk about our parents like that and to insult someone who is obviously our friend. If all wizards are as rude as you, I think I prefer Muggles, at least they have manners."

The boy looked very shocked. 'Seems like no one has ever told him that before,' she thought with a grin. Harry smirked at her, knowing that many of the Muggles that they'd met didn't have manners either but didn't say anything.

At that moment, Madam Malkin told them that they were both free to finished and could go back up to the front to pay for their robes. Journey also bought herself a pair of emerald-green everyday robes, just in case they ever needed to visit the alley again she would blend in, that had several inches worth of lengthening charms on them so she could grow into them for a few years at most. Harry thought that it was a good idea and bought a pair of navy-blue ones for himself.

They ate their ice-cream with Hagrid while Journey fired off questions about all the things the boy said. They learnt about Quidditch, which turned out to be a very popular wizarding sport and about the Hogwarts houses which Slytherin and Hufflepuff were a part of. Hagrid basically told them that Slytherin was the 'evil' house but Journey argued back saying that if it were truly as evil as he said it was, wouldn't the house have been cut out of Hogwarts? Hagrid took a step back and actually thought about it, but still held to his beliefs with a slight variation, most Slytherins were evil. His reasoning was that Voldemort was from that house, so it must be bad. Journey tried to tell him that she didn't think a house could turn someone evil, but Hagrid quickly told them it was time to get the rest of their supplies.

The first thing they got was their writing supplies. As soon as she saw that the wizarding world still wrote with quills and parchment, Journey decided that as soon as they got back into the Muggle world she was going to go to a stationary shop and buying a year's supply of pens, pencils and notebooks. 'I may have to write out all of my assignments with quills,' she thought as she eyed a particularly vibrant quill with disdain, 'but until I am used to them I am going to write all my notes in pen.'

Next they went to go buy their trunks so that they could put all of their shopping into it. Hagrid wanted them to just get a normal trunk but Journey wanted to get a fancy one saying that if they were going to use it for seven years, they might as well buy a nice one. Hagrid was still hesitant so she decided to try something new.

She sighed and looked down sadly. "Okay Hagrid," she said in a small voice, "we'll get a normal trunk. I just –" she sniffled quietly for effect, "I just wanted to buy something nice for myself you know? The Dursleys never bought us anything nice or brand new, and I just wanted to finally be able to get something that was mine and not something that used to be Dudley's or a hand-me-down."

She walked over with her head down to the normal trunks where Harry was gaping at her. She was looking over a black trunk when she heard Hagrid speak behind her.

"Wait, Journey," he said. He seemed to be struggling with himself. "I didn't know them Dursleys were like tha'. They're rotten aren't they?"

Journey nodded sadly, "Dudley got thirty-seven presents this year and he complained about it. Last year for our birthday Harry got a coat hanger and I got a pair of Uncle Vernon's old socks."

Hagrid's face didn't look like it knew whether to be sorrowful or filled with anger. In the end he just said in a harsh voice, "Those Dursleys," before his expression turned sad. He smiled sadly to Journey and said, "Journey, you pick out whatever trunk you want."

Journey beamed at him. She felt a little bad for manipulating him like this, but all of the stuff she said was true and no one got hurt from it. She ran over to Hagrid and gave him a huge hug even though her arms could barely fit around his waist. "Thank you Hagrid!" she almost squealed excitedly as he patted her back.

Journey didn't get the most expensive trunk in the store, but she was sure she was close. Her trunk had five compartments, each that would opened by tapping the trunk with her wand and saying that compartment's password. The first compartment was just a normal compartment that had an expanded inside so she could fit more things than she should be able to. The second compartment would be for her books. She could enter this compartment from the small ladder that was on the one side, or she could say the name of the book or the subject and tap the small red rune that was on an indented board on the other half, and the books would come out of the small slot that was above the rune that was similar to the book return at a library. To enter books into the trunk she just had to slide them through that slot. The books would sort themselves based on subject, then alphabetically by either author or title which she could change by tapping a blue rune that was beneath the red rune.

The third compartment was similar to the library-like compartment except it would be used to store potions ingredients. It kept all the ingredients fresh by keeping them in a stasis and could also be used to keep plants fresh if she so desired. It would sort everything alphabetically unless she desired otherwise.

The fourth compartment was probably the most useful to Harry and Journey. It opened up to a bottomless pantry, fridge and freezer charmed to keep the food constantly fresh. When she tapped the side with her wand, a cabinet would open up from the lid with plates, bowls and different utensils. To be perfectly honest that compartment was the reason she bought the trunk since she could stock it up with food for when they were at the Dursleys.

The fifth and final compartment was a simple closet to keep her clothes from getting wrinkled. There as an ironing charm on the compartment that would activate whenever she hung something up so she never needed to worry about wrinkles ever again. Aunt Petunia would be so delighted.

Harry got a similar trunk except he didn't bother with the last two compartments. The shopkeeper said that if they ever so desired, they could come back and they could add more compartments or change the ones she had, but there could never be more than seven compartments since seven was a special number. Both of their trunks were shrunk by the shopkeeper, who told them that their trunks were also charmed to be able to shrink and resize at the tap of a wand on the yellow rune on the top. Journey thanked him for his help and walked out of the shop sixty galleons lighter.

Next they went to the bookshop called Flourish and Blotts. When they entered, Journey thought she died and went to heaven. There were books of all shapes and sizes, some with recognizable writing on them and some with strange symbols. Journey wanted to buy more than the required books on the school list, but wasn't sure if Hagrid would let her so when he was talking to Harry about the school books, she slunk off to the clerk at the desk.

He was fairly young, not much older than her, with dirty blonde hair and had a kind smile that lit up his gray eyes. "What can I help you with?" he asked pleasantly.

"I was wondering if there was a way I could carry a lot of books while I browse," she said with a faint blush on her cheeks. No one besides Hagrid or Harry had ever been that kind to her, even the man in the trunk shop was more business-like than kind.

The clerk nodded and reached beneath the counter. He pulled out an ordinary blue bag that said 'F & B' on it and handed it to her. "This bag is a special Flourish and Blotts bag," he said, "just place as many books as you want in it and it will never fill up or get heavier. When you're done come back here and I can ring you up without even taking the books out of the bag. If you buy more than twenty books the bag is free of charge but if you buy less it will cost a couple galleons."

Journey beamed, this was perfect. She said a quick thank you before rushing to the closest shelf, which was on transfiguration. She bought Transfiguration: It's All About Visualization, Cool Tricks For Transfiguration Beginners, Pranks Involving Transfiguration, The Theory of Animagi, and after much deliberation she finally decided to get Transfiguration in Dueling. The rest of the books looked much too advanced for her so she didn't pick out any more.

The next section she went to was charms where she bought Charming Pranks, Cooking and Cleaning: Household Charms, Enchanting for Beginners and Tricky Spells That Not Many People Know but Wish They Did just for the fun of it.

Potions was next. In this section she bought, An Idiot's Guide to Potions, Chopping and Cutting: What's the Difference and Why is it Important, A Complete Compilation of Potions Ingredients and their Properties, Fun Potion Pranks, and finally Poisons and Antidotes.

Seeing that Hagrid was starting to look for her, she quickly ran over to the Defense Against the Dark Arts sections where she grabbed books at random. She ended up getting Cruses and Counter Curses, Dueling For Dummies, Shielding: Protect Yourself, How to Counter Dark Curses, Jinxes and Hexes, and The Best Defense is a Good Offense: A Book on Offensive Spells.

On her way back to Hagrid she picked up several books along the way. She ended up getting So You're A Wizard: A Muggleborn's Guide to the Wizarding World, An Introduction to Runes, Is It Just Math or is it Arithmancy, Dangerous Magical Beasts, Wizarding Law, and Modern Magical History.

Hagrid looked frantic when she got back and she felt a little guilty. He asked her where she'd been and told him that she wanted to pick up a few extra books so she wouldn't be so behind, holding up Modern Magical History in her hand to probe her point. Hagrid simply nodded and put all her school in her Flourish and Blotts bag. The clerk tapped her bag with his wand before tapping a special ledger. He smiled a bit when he saw how many books she got, 25 plus her school books, but thankfully didn't say anything besides the price. He also handed her an owl-ordering catalogue free of charge (it usually costed a couple Sickles) with a wink when Hagrid wasn't looking.

Next, Harry and Journey bought their dragon hide gloves, a collapsible brass telescope each and a nice set of scales for weighing potions ingredients. Harry wanted to buy a solid gold cauldron, but Hagrid wouldn't let him. Journey bought and extra one just in case anything happened to hers, and bought a set of crystal vials along with her glass set. After that they headed to the Apothecary for their potions ingredients. It didn't smell very nice (a mixture of bad eggs and rotten cabbage) but it was quite fascinating so Journey put the smell out of her mind. There were herbs in packages and jars, powders, dried roots of various plants, fangs and claws were strung from the ceiling and many slimy in barrels that Journey wasn't sure she wanted to know the name of. While Hagrid asked for a standard potions ingredients set for the twins, Journey went to another sales clerk and bought an owl-order catalogue for 4 Sickles.

After leaving the Apothecary there was only one thing left on their mandatory list, a wand, but Hagrid wanted to get them a birthday present.

"Tell yeh what," he said, "I'll get yer animal. Not a toad, toads went outta fashion years ago, yeh'd be laughed at –"

"Can I get a cat?" Journey asked eagerly. She'd always wanted a cat ever since she was little and now she actually had a chance to get one.

Hagrid looked unsure, "well I dunno … I don' really like cats, they make me sneeze."

Journey gave him the best puppy dog eyed expression she'd ever given, and he laughed at her.

"Alrigh, alrigh," he said with a chuckle, "just don' give me those eyes. Harry I'll get yeh and owl so that you'll be able to send yer post. Dead usefull owls are."

Ten minutes later they were walking out of the Magical Menagerie with Journey's new kitten which looked almost like a small fox. Her fur was mostly a reddish colour besides the area around her face (which was slightly pointed like a fox's as well), on her belly and the tip of her tail which were white, and her paws and ears which were all black. Journey named her Aurora because of her bright, light-yellow eyes that reminded her of a picture she had seen of the Northern Lights. The shopkeeper couldn't explain her colouring but said she seemed smarter than the average cat, or even kneazle, and one day had just shown up. Before Journey came along, she wouldn't let anyone buy her and would hiss whenever anyone got too close. They also bought her a magical cat carrier which was larger on the inside than outside for the kitten's comfort, along with food and toys for her (she'd sleep on Journey's bed).

Next they were heading to Eeylops Owl Emporium, which was rather dark (Journey guessed it was for the owls' nocturnal nature) and filled with owls. Hagrid let her and Harry look around while he purchased a beautiful snowy owl who had taken a liking to Harry, if you can call flying over to land on Harry's shoulder and pecking anyone who got to close 'taking a liking to'.

While she was looking, Journey was startled to have a raven suddenly fly down onto her shoulder. She had never seen a raven close up before and it was larger than she thought it would be.

"Well aren't you beautiful," she said as she reached up with her other hand to stroke the bird's feathers. And it was true. The feathers that Journey was currently running her hands through were a glossy black and its eyes looked like pieces of onyx. It seemed to understand her praise for it stood up a little straighter and lifter its head up higher.

Looking over Journey saw that Hagrid had finished paying for Harry's owl and was walking outside to where Harry was waiting.

Journey looked at the bird on her shoulder. "Too bad I couldn't take you too," she murmured sadly, "well off you go." She walked over to a free perch and gestured for the raven to hop onto it.

It didn't move. It sat there on Journey's shoulder and didn't seem to be in a hurry to get off. "Come on," she said, "I have to go. I'd love to take you home with me but I'm not allowed to have a cat and a raven."

"GET AWAY FROM THAT BIRD!"

Journey jumped in shock and the raven cawed out as it tried to steady itself. She turned and saw the shop owner rushing over to her with a look of fear on its face. Owls screeched from the sudden disturbance and when he finally reached her, the man stopped short staring at the raven on her shoulder.

"Are you okay?" he asked her warily.

Journey was more than a bit confused. "Of course," she said slowly, "why wouldn't I be?"

"That stupid raven!" the man exclaimed in a fluster, "He's attacked everyone that's tried to approach him, and even several random customers! I haven't been able to get rid of him because of it!" The man took a deep breath before he looked hopeful and said, "He seems to like you though."

He looked at her hopefully, and Journey was caught. She didn't want to disappoint the man and she really like this raven, but she didn't want to break school rules before she even got there. The rules said she was allowed to bring an owl OR a cat OR a –

Her train of thought stopped short. 'It doesn't say anything about not bringing a second animal after you've brought one of the first three … and if I don't buy him a cage and let him fly to Hogwarts I won't technically be bringing him will I?' A grin began to form on her face almost against her will as she thought about it.

"I'll take him," she said and the shopkeeper looked so relieved that Journey knew she did the right thing, "but I won't need a cage or anything." The shopkeeper didn't even question her he was so happy to get rid of the bird. He gave her a quick rundown about how the raven will always be able to find her after she named it officially making him her property which was part of the magic. She immediately named him Shadow for his colouring, and he cawed to show that he liked the name. The shopkeeper also told her that he will likely be able to get past owl protection wards since he wasn't actually an owl and how to address a letter to someone all she needed to do was write their name on the envelope.

Before leaving the shop she spoke to the raven, "I'm not supposed to have you, so you will always need to stay out of sight. Don't deliver me anything when I am around anyone else. The only person right now that you can allow to see you is my brother, Harry. When I open the door I want you to fly out and meet me at my home when I get there, okay?"

The bird looked at her with an intelligent eye, and Journey knew he understood. Her intuition was a priceless gift when it came to animals, as she had discovered when she was younger. Harry was slightly jealous of her intuition in this regard because with it she almost always knew how to deal with them and whether or not they understood her.

As soon as she opened the door, the raven flew off and was quickly out of sight, making Journey smile. She didn't know why it was important no one knew about Shadow, just that it was. Since her encountering magic (even before she knew it was magic), her feelings had been getting stronger, and she was not about to ignore them.

Hagrid turned when he heard the door opening, but was too slow to see the raven. Journey walked up to him and thanked Hagrid profusely for her gift, as did Harry.

"Don' mention it," Hagrid said gruffly, "I know you've never gotten anything nice from them Dursleys. Jus Ollivanders left now – only place fer wands, Ollivanders, and yeh gotta have the best wand."

Harry and Journey shared a smile. That's what they'd been waiting for all day, a magic wand.

The shop itself wasn't much to look at. The gold letters over the door that read Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 BC were peeling and the windows were all dusty.

A bell tinkled when they opened the door from somewhere in the shop. Journey thought they had just entered a library, but instead of books there were thousands of narrow boxes piled neatly to the ceiling on numerous shelves. Hagrid sat on a small chair, the only piece of furniture in room, to wait.

As they waited, Journey felt the hairs on the back of her neck begin to rise. 'Someone … or something is in here …' she thought, looking around. The room seemed to tickle her senses, 'magic' something in her mind told her, 'there's magic here …'

She was about to look at Harry to see if he was sensing the same thing, when her senses suddenly flared. She turned on the spot to see an old man with pale eyes about to open his mouth to speak. He seemed rather shocked that he had spotted her.

"Good afternoon," he said softly. Harry jumped from the voice having not seen the man and it seemed that Hagrid had jumped too because there was a crunch and Hagrid quickly moved away from the chair.

For a moment the man just stood there looking at them, making Journey feel slightly awkward, especially when she realized she wasn't staring at them, he was staring at her. Staring with at her with his silvery eyes in a way that made Journey feel rather uneasy.

After a few moments, he seemed to break out of his trance. "Forgive me," he said, "I'm not used to having people notice me before I introduce myself."

Journey nodded in acceptance. 'It makes sense,' she thought, 'nothing gave away his approach … he made no sounds or anything … he just sort of … appeared … the only reason I knew he was there was because of my intuition.'

The man turned to Harry and began to speak to him. He told them about their parents wands and Journey eagerly soaked up the nugget of information about them. Mr. Ollivander also told them about the wand that gave Harry his scar, Voldemort's wand. Journey had to smile when they talked about Hagrid's broken wand, which Journey knew without knowing was in his umbrella.

Harry went first to get his wand. A tape measure was set up by Mr. Ollivander to randomly measure Harry, and Journey wasn't sure it was actually supposed to do anything but didn't question it. As he was looking through the boxes for wands, he told them about wands and how no other wand will give you quite as good results as a wand that chooses you.

Eventually, the tape measure stopped measuring and Mr. Ollivander began to give wands for Harry to try. Harry would barely be able to wave it before Mr. Ollivander would snatch it from his hand and give him another one. A small mountain of wands was slowly building beside Harry and Journey was tempted to start trying those wands in case it took her that long to find a wand as well.

Finally, after a virtual fountain red, gold and emerald-green sparks, Harry received his eleven inches, holly and phoenix feather wand that was 'nice and supple'. There was a scary moment when Mr. Ollivander told them that it was the brother wand of Voldemort, but Journey quickly told Harry that that was only because he was just as powerful as him, not as evil. Harry sent her a grateful smile.

Finally, it was Journey's turn to get a wand. She went through the same measuring process that Harry did before she started trying out wands. Pretty soon, her pile was just as big as Harry's had been, and was still growing. Wand after wand she tried, but no wand matched her.

Just as uncertainty started to creep into her (what if a wand didn't match her, would she still be a witch?) Mr. Ollivander paused. He had been so excited to have two tricky customers in one day that Journey almost thought he was purposefully not finding their perfect match.

Mr. Ollivander turned to her before looking at Hagrid. "I think the wand for you is in the back of the shop Miss Potter. Hagrid would you mind if I took her to the back to see it?"

Hagrid looked startled but quickly nodded. Mr. Ollivander beamed and quickly led her along the rows of wands and through a small door tucked almost behind a shelf. The room he led her to was quite amazing if not bizarre. There were feathers and tail hairs everywhere including on the table in the middle of the room, and in jars along the right wall were what Journey assumed was heartstrings. Along the opposite wall were branches of various types of trees. There were shelves along the back wall that held boxes like the ones in the front of the store, and Journey hoped one of those were her wand.

Mr. Ollivander walked over to the wands and began to speak. "Every so often," he began in a strangely quiet voice for having been so excited earlier, "I make a wand that does not seem … complete if I may use that word. In those cases I must take special actions to make sure the wand will function to the best of its abilities. Sometimes I must intertwine another type of wood, other times I must use a dual core – that is having more than one unicorn hair or phoenix feather. I don't keep these wands out in the front because it is so rare for a witch or wizard to need one, but I believe that you may need one. Tell me, how long have you been able to know things?"

Journey was stunned. 'How … how does he know?' she thought staring at the wandmaker, who was still examining the boxes. "I-I don't know," she began to stutter in her shock, "I don't know what you mean."

Mr. Ollivander turned and smiled at her, strangely looking more human than before (probably had something to do with the fact that he finally blinked). "Of course you don't," he said turning back to the shelves, "you have not yet discovered your true gifts. You see Journey, ever witch or wizard is born with certain gifts, talents you could say. Some talents are just being proficient in certain areas of magic like transfiguration or potions, while others are truly gifts. Many witches and wizards never discover their gifts anymore, simply because they are too lazy. One of my gifts is being able to see exactly what gifts and talents, discovered or not, that a witch or wizard has, which is why I chose to become a wandmaker. I can see which wand will suit a person best, because I can see their talents … and I can see your talents as well Miss Potter."

Journey suddenly felt almost naked before Mr. Ollivander. It sounded as if he could see her very magic, which for some reason that made her feel very exposed. She didn't have time to ask what her gift was when Mr. Ollivander handed her a wand handle first. It was dark brown, almost black and quite different from the other wands she had seen since it had small tiny symbols etched along it in a spiral so small you could barely see them. The handle was a lighter colour and also had symbols etched into it and when Journey looked close enough, she saw that the symbols formed the shape of a dragon's head on both sides of the handle.

Hesitantly, she grabbed the wand from Mr. Ollivander. For a moment nothing happened and Journey was just beginning to feel disappointed before something happened.

There was a small jolt in her hand and Journey felt her magic react. It rushed out to reach the wand and when it did, Journey nearly dropped the wand in surprise. Heat filled her, so hot it was almost scorching before it seemed to be dowsed with ice-cold water. Her hair flittered about her in a slight breeze as rainbow coloured sparks (silver and blue violet being the most prominent) shot out from her wand so thick it almost seemed as if it were liquid and Journey's magic seemed to sing.

Journey smiled. This was her wand. It seemed as much a part of her as the rest of her body, and she knew she would likely never find a wand better for her than this one.

"I must say, that was quite a reaction."

Journey looked up, startled, at Mr. Ollivander who was smiling. She had completely forgotten that he was there the moment her magic reacted to her wand.

"That is quite a powerful wand," he told her seriously, "quite powerful. Made of ebony, it contains the blood of a kelpie which is a water dwelling creature that changes its shape as it pleases, along with something that I have never used in any other wand. There was once a creature called the Egyptian Black Dragon, some call it the most powerful dragon in the world. It had the capacity for human speech, was as large as a Roc and could carry off elephants, and some people say that it was able to harness magic to do incredible things such as see the future. No one knows what happened to them, they disappeared in almost the same manner that Atlantis did – one day they were there and the next they weren't – so they were also given the nickname Atlantean Black Dragon.

"The reason I am telling you this is because your wand contains a fang wrapped in a heartstring, the fang and heartstring of two different Black Dragons if my scans were correct. Usually wandmakers only use hearstrings since they are powerful and easy to work with. Parts such as scales, claws or teeth are hard to fit into a wand so they aren't commonly used. However, this fang was connected to the still-bloody heartstring that appeared on my desk many, many years ago. I could not separate them since the magic holding them together was so strong so I used the entire thing to craft this wand. However, I needed to counter the strong fire element that the wand possessed so that it wouldn't burn whenever the user tried to cast magic, so I put in the blood of the kelpie. But since the two elements were so opposite it was so unstable that I needed to carve runes into it using a griffin talon infused with magic to stabilize it.

That wand is very powerful, just like your brother's is. Phoenix feathers are rarely ever used in wands, people just think that they are used often because they are always mentioned. The truth is, phoenix feathers are very rare and powerful … very powerful … and many times they burn the wood of the wand while it is being made. For both of you to have these particular wands … both of you are destined for great things …."

After finishing his speech, Mr. Ollivander began to move to the door. He was almost there when Journey stopped him. "Mr. Ollivander, what are my gifts?"

He smiled mysteriously at her. "Alas Miss Potter," he said jovially as if the entire previous conversation didn't happen, "part of the curse of my gift is that I cannot say what I see."

Journey sighed, 'Of course there is never an easy way to anything.'

"But," he said slowly and Journey looked back up at him, "there is a shop that will sell you the information needed to research most gifts. It's right beside Knockturn Alley and it's very, very easy to miss. Tell them Ollivander sent you if they ask."

Journey beamed. "Thank you Mr. Ollivander!" She moved to put her wand away when she realized, she didn't have anywhere to put her wand. "Mr. Ollivander, where am I supposed to put my wand if I don't have any pockets?"

He smiled at her. "Most robes have special wand pockets, but some wizards choose to use a wand holster, especially in duelling. You can also get special enchantments on them as well."

'Perfect,' Journey thought. She quickly bought two wand holsters for a person's wrist, one for her and one for Harry's birthday present. They were charmed to turn invisible when they were on and to prevent someone from summoning their wand while it was in their holster. It also had charms on the straps to grow several inches, like the robes they bought at Madam Malkin's, so they would last a good while.

Journey quickly paid for her purchases and stuffed them into her bag before heading back to the main part of the store. After Harry paid for his wand they quickly left the store. Before heading out of Diagon Alley, Journey told them that she left something in one of the stores and that she'd meet them in the Leaky Cauldron before she rushed off.

She saw a sign that pointed towards Knockturn Alley, and quickly headed towards it. Looking down at the alley, it seemed to be a rather dodgy place and Journey was glad she didn't actually have to go in the alley. She looked around for the shop Ollivander was talking about, but none of them seemed to fit. All there was were and eyeglass store, a fancy-looking robe store, a cauldron shop, a tiny shop selling strange and rare magical items, a plant shop–

'Hold the phone,' Journey thought, looking back over the shops, 'that magical items shop wasn't there before…' Journey glanced back over them, but she didn't see the magical items shop. But wait! As she looked between the cauldron shop and the plant shop, she saw a slight shimmer. Looking closer she saw a tiny, crooked store with a sign saying 'Strange and Rare Magical Items'. 'No kidding it's hard to miss,' Journey thought, 'it's freaking invisible unless you look directly at it and know it's there.'

Journey entered the store, which currently had no one occupying it and looked around. There were many items around her, some obviously magical like a floating, rotating model of the universe, while others looked completely ordinary. Journey's attention however, was drawn to the books. Many were in languages she couldn't read, but a few like True Magical Theory: What the Ministry Won't Tell You, Animal Totems: Unleash the Real Power of Animagi, and one titled simply Wandless Magic.

Journey had pulled out the book on Magical Theory and had only just dusted it off when a voice suddenly spoke behind her. "What the bloody hell are you doing here you stupid, little girl? Did you get lost?"

Journey nearly dropped the book she was holding she spun around so fast. Standing in a doorway she had not seen was another old man, but could not be any more different from Mr. Ollivander if he tried. His gray hair was slicked back and he wore classy robes that made him look very sophisticated. His brown eyes were narrowed into a glare as he waited for her answer.

Journey did not let herself look intimidated, even though she really was. "Mr. Ollivander sent me," she was proud her voice did not quiver in the slightest, "he told me to ask you about something to do with discovering magical gifts."

The man's eyes widened before they narrowed again. "Of course he did," he said almost dangerously, "do I look like an idiot to you?"

Despite the situation, Journey was dearly tempted to say yes. Many of the very posh people she knew had almost zero intelligence, and he reminded her a lot of them, so yes, he did look like an idiot to her.

Journey crossed her arms. "You can go ask him," she said, "he'll tell you the same thing."

While she waited for the man to try and call her bluff, Journey went back to the bookshelf. She was just about to put away the book she took out when something caught her eye. A tiny book, no bigger than her catalogue, was sitting in the empty slot that her book created. If she were to put her book back, she wouldn't even be able to see the other book. 'Why would anyone want to hide this book?' she wondered. She could barely see the title, Marauder's Guidebook to Hogwarts, Pranks and Animagi when the shopkeeper spoke again behind her.

"Let me see your wand," he demanded.

Journey smirked, 'if he knows anything about wands he's about to be in for a shock.' She flicked her wrist like Mr. Ollivander had shown her, and caught her wand as it popped out into her left hand. She turned it around in her hand with a small twirl and handed it to the man handle first.

The man took the wand and ran his fingers over it, muttering to himself about time wasters. After about ten seconds he paused, his eyes going wide. He looked at Journey then back at the wand several times before he finally settled for just looking at Journey, who held her head up and looked him straight in the eye. 'That's right,' she thought, 'my wand could probably kick your wand's arse … now let me get what I need so I can get out of here, I've had enough with weird old men for one day.'

Finally, the man spoke. "P-pardon me," he said with only a slight stutter, "I had not realized that you had this particular wand Miss …?"

Journey thought about giving him a fake name just in case he decided to go tell people she had been here, but rationed that if this man had taken such great pains for his shop to not be noticed, then it was highly unlikely he would be going around and boasting that the sister of the Boy-Who-Lived had been there. After a moment's pause she said softly, "Potter … Journey Potter."

The man nodded, not reacting at all to her name, and handed her back her wand. He walked over to her, before going past her to the bookshelf. He grabbed a book from the very top, tapped it with his wand and murmured something. Journey watched, amazed, as the symbols on the book turned into the words 'Magical Gifts and Talents'. He handed it to her and said, "Eight Galleons."

Journey thought this was rather expensive for a book but didn't complain. Instead of reaching for her moneybag she grabbed the other books that had caught her eye, including the Marauder Guidebook. "I'd like to buy these as well."

The man looked at the books and arched an eyebrow. "Twenty-three Galleons," he said shortly.

Journey quickly paid him, shoved the books into the bag the goblins gave her and ran off. She glanced back over her shoulder when she was halfway down the street, but the only thing that remained was the small ripple in the air where the shop should have been, invisible unless you look directly at it. She caught up with Harry and Hagrid at the entrance of the Leaky Cauldron into Muggle London where they had been waiting for her. She waved off their inquiries about where she had been and simply told them she had left something in the robe shop. Hagrid bought it easily, but she knew that Harry saw right through her lie, he always did.

Harry was rather quiet their entire trip back. He didn't speak about what was troubling him until they had stopped for something to eat, and what he said nearly broke her heart.

"Everyone thinks I'm special," he said quietly, "All those people in the Leaky Cauldron, Professor Quirrel, Mr. Ollivander … but I don't know anything about magic at all. How can they expect great things? I'm famous and I can't even remember what I'm famous for. I don't know what happened when Vol – sorry – I mean, the night my parents died."

Hagrid tried to comfort Harry, but she knew his words weren't enough. As soon as Hagrid had finished speaking Journey got up from her seat, walked over to Harry and threw her arms around him.

"Oh, Harry," she whispered, "You are special. You don't need to do any 'great things' to prove that, or live up to any of their expectations. You're special without any of this celebrity garbage … and when you go to Hogwarts you'll find friends who think the exact same thing."

Journey released him and saw that Harry had tears in his eyes. Deciding that the situation needed a little lightening up Journey put on a mischievous grin and said, "And let's not forget that you're special because you're my brother."

It was just what Harry needed. He cracked a smile as Hagrid let out a booming laugh from behind him, and Journey's grin turned into a true smile, happy that she could soothe her brother's worries.

After they ate, Hagrid gave them their train ticket to get to Hogwarts from King's Cross and a promise that they would send him an owl if the Dursleys were bothering them. They hoped onto the train and waved to Hagrid before they sat down in their seats. Deciding to watch Hagrid until he was out of sight, the twins both rose from their seats and looked out the window, but Hagrid had already vanished.

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amethystdreamstar: Holy cow that was a long chapter, 14000 words! Only two people have reviewed about Journey's name and they both said to leave it or that it didn't really matter so for now I will leave it but I will still leave the option open for a few more chapters.

Did anyone notice that in the book, it says on Harry's list that he must get '1 wand' twice? It may not show up on the newer copies but mine definitely has it. I was like ? Harry needs two wands?

Also, Platform Nine and Three Quarters is isolated from the rest of the station, so how come on the cover of the book you can see another train in the background behind Hogwarts express? I just thought that was kind of weird.

Sorry if I made Journey's wand too powerful. I made it so that phoenix feathers were really powerful, but I didn't want to give her another phoenix feather. The dragon was completely made up, and though powerful, was still nowhere near the same league as a phoenix feather wand, so I added the other parts to the wand. Too me, phoenixes are probably the most powerful magical creatures ever even if they hardly ever fight. They live forever and their tears can heal basilisk venom (which is more deadly than any jellyfish which kill more people a year than any other animal and certain types can kill you with their venom in half an hour) so phoenixes must have a lot of magic in them. These extra elements make Journey's wand just as powerful as Harry's or Voldemort's wand, give or take a bit since they are all specialized for different things.

The books the Journey bought will not all be read at once. She will read some of them before Hogwarts and some of them during, but she definitely won't finish them all … especially the 'special' books she bought. Most of those won't come into the story until later, I just wanted her to have them now instead of having to go find them later.

I would really appreciate a couple more reviews. I don't know if anyone really likes this story since I've only had six reviews and most of them from the same person (who is totally awesome for reviewing almost every chapter). I don't know if you guys like these longer chapters, or if you would rather I write it how the first few were written (around 5-6 thousand words). I would really appreciate it if you guys could take a few seconds out of your day to just tell me what you think :)

August 17th 2011