Harry carefully complete the diagram with a curve. The chalk stood bright against the weathered black of the asphalt. It was simple diagram composed of only 3 runes. Central among these runes was the one for travel. He looked it over mentally comparing it to the diagram Sophia and Tom had devised, and which he had spent nearly an hour practicing. It looked correct. "What do you think?" He asked his companions.

"It looks good," answered Sophia. Tom agreed with a nod. "Let's give it a shot."

Carefully, Harry activated the diagram by completing the outer circle. Instantly he was blown back by an explosion.

It had been 3 weeks since Aunt Marge's trial. His uncle had been true to his word. Harry was kept so busy by chores that he hardly had any time explore the neighborhood. Occasionally, he would find a couple of hours to sneak away and practice with his dowsing rod. But that had become repetitive. His excitement for dowsing had been reignited once when it had helped him discover a 10 pound note that had been lost in a hedge. But that performance had not been repeated. After 2 weeks of increased chores, the only magical training he received consisted of time spent in his room working on runes in his notebook.

The excitement of having his new bedroom had not entirely left him. His old small cot had been replaced by a second hand bed, and Vernon's old desk was still in the room.

"Harry, I am sure that we can figure out a way to go to Diagon alley, " Sophia said, "but I am concerned. There are legitimate reasons why this house is still protected. Going out, being seen may not be safe."

Harry looked defeated. "I want to see magic; I want to do magic. You have shown me that it exists, I just want to see it," protested Harry.

"You'll have time for magic," Sophia answered trying to console him, "When you are eleven you'll go to Hogwarts and learn all about magic, you'll be able to perform magic thousands of time more wondrous than anything we have done together."

Harry shook his head in frustration. Tom spoke. "We, " he paused and smirked at Sophia, "are here to help you Harry, and to teach you. But you are in danger. Voldemort had many followers. Some who might still wish to cause you harm." Tom paused again and looked at Sophia, but she remained silent. "It is too much of a risk for mere sight seeing."

"I don't want to go sight seeing. Here nothing is magical. I have to literally scratch in the dust to see or learn any magic, but there are places that for mere pocket change magic can be purchased."

"Well," spoke Tom, "that is a little different. I suppose that if we were acting to further you education, and if we were suitably subtle something could be arranged."

"Really!" exclaimed Harry excitedly.

Tom looked to Sophia. She looked upset, but checked herself and visibly relaxing said, "It would be nice to get some reference books for you...," She became visibly more enthusiastic, "There are two two things we must do if you are to go to Diagon Alley. One, make sure you can walk among wizards unnoticed, and Two, figure out a way to get to and from Diagon Alley. I don't suggest asking your Aunt for a ride."

"There any number of ways to get there," explained Tom, "There are of course the Muggle ways. In the wizarding world, you would probably apparate or use the floo. There is also the knight bus. Some might even fly. A port key may be used, but no one one would do so, as there are so many easier ways to travel there."

"What can I do?"

"Honestly," answered Tom, "Muggle transport would be easiest. We would need to see if we could figure out a route to get us there. You may be able to learn apparation. If we became serious about you becoming an animagus, you might luck out and acquire a form that is able to fly."

Harry didn't have any time to respond to this as Sophia cut in, "Definitely no apparation. Ignoring the legality of it, it would be too dangerous for him to learn without supervision by somebody who could actually put him back together if anything went wrong. Animagus training perhaps...But I think I could probably figure out a way to floo there or use the knight bus."

Harry tried to answer or to express his gratitude or excitement. He opened his mouth, but stopped. What could he say? "I don't know. Its just... I want to see more. When you showed up and started teaching me things, I was overcome, but since I saw what was for sale at that store I have realized that what I have here is so little..." Harry paused, feeling embarrassed. "Thank you."

Dudley was in trouble and he didn't know how to handle it. When putting away his socks, Aunt Petunia had discovered the bag of every flavor beans. She'd promptly confiscated it, and to Dudley's utter confusion, he had been grounded for a couple of days. He was not allowed out with his friends, and he was even forbidden from spending any time with Harry. His screaming and pouting had gained him nothing but an additional day added to his punishment. He lay on his bed and eyed his possessions with annoyance. there was too much junk in his room. Too many of his toys were broken, some of them were recent victims of his tantrum. His parents had been talking about giving him his dad's study so that he could store some of his possessions there, but that was not going to happen now that it was Harry's bedroom. And there was no chance that he would put toys there if it was Harry's room, ...only... Harry did show me the magic...

Suddenly possessed with a thought, Dudley jumped up, standing on his bed and gestured expansively with hands, "Zzzap." He pointed at several of his toys and a photograph or two, "Zap! .. Kabow! .. Zap!" He looked at his hands, the speaking aloud to himself said, "Why can't I be a wizard? Harry said that your parents have to have magic, but aren't we family?"

Dudley jumped off his bed and picked up an articulated action figure. It did not move like the one they had found in the shop. he still wished that he'd had enough money to have purchased the little animated figure. His mother probably would have confiscated it was well, but he still wished that he had it. His action figure was one of his few toys that was not broken. This was because he had received it as a present and had barely given it second thought. It did not beep or light up, like his other toys, and so held little interest to him. He played with it now. Imagining that it could move like the other one did.

Palying with the toy, Dudley forgot that he was being punished.

-------------------

Harry was grateful that Dudley was being punished. Truthfully, the injustice of his Aunt and Uncle towards himself hurt, and he took pleasure in seeing Dudley receive some of the same for once. Even better, with Dudley being grounded, His Aunt didn't want him around the house, and so he was "excused" from the regime of chores that he had been assigned. Harry happily breathed the sweet air of his freedom. He was making his way to the pharmacist with money carefully guarded in his pocket.

Sophia and Tom were currently visible. Harry felt like they were arguing, but he could not point to the words or what they were arguing about. The first detail of his plan to visit Diagon alley was going to be fulfilled. Sophia had explained that Harry's scar was his truly identifying mark. She believed that with makeup he would be able to conceal his scar and pass unnoticed. That is, as unnoticed as a young unaccompanied minor can be.

It was on that point that Tom had reassured him. He had confidently told Harry that he would be able to navigate the wizarding world, regardless of his age, quite unnoticed. Though he had not said so, Harry had the feeling that Tom found the idea that merely masking a scar would be enough to conceal Harry's identity was silly. Harry felt it was a little silly as well. He normally left his long unruly hair hang over his scar anyway, so most people would not see it anyway. He wasn't about to mention this to his companions. Tom seemed willing enough to embark on the trip to Diagon Alley, but Sophia not so much. he did not want to lose her help.

Unfortunately the first store did not have what he needed, unless he wanted to paint his entire face an unnatural shade of white or purple. he was however able to find the makeup he needed at the second store he visited. He was sitting at the curb outside the store, enjoying a rare treat - ice cream, when Tom broached the second issue, "Harry has his makeup now, " Tom said to Sophia, "how is going to get there? You suggested the Knight Bus or Floo?"

Sophia, who, with a smile, had been watching Harry his ice cream turned to Tom and answered, "Yes. I have given it some thought, and I believe that the Knight Bus will be the best option. Using the Floo would require gaining access to a connected fireplace. We could do it in a pinch, but the Knight Bus is much more public."

Harry paused from his ice cream, "The Knight Bus requires a wand to summon doesn't it? How am I going to do it?"

"There is an enchantment on the carriage ways of Britain. This enchantment exists in a careful balance that is very easily disturbed. When the balance is disturbed the enchantment suffers a local collapse. This pulls the Knight Bus to that location. It is the Knight Bus that restores the enchantment to the location. Wizards can call the Knight Bus simply by pointing their wand over a road. This disturbs the balance of the enchantment and ends up summoning the Knight Bus. You don't have a wand, but we should be able to arrange an alternate channel with which to perturb the enchantment."

Sophia stopped speaking and Tom looked thoughtful. Harry took a couple more licks of his ice cream, but as the silence continued he had the feeling that Sophia was waiting for him to say something. "I don't have a wand, but I need something to disturb the spell?"

Sophia nodded.

"It's going to be runes again, right?" asked Harry.

"That's right. I think that I can show you a self powered seal that should draw enough power from the enchantment to induce a collapse. We'll need some chalk..."

Petunia hadn't left her room in 3 hours. She had already missed 2 of her favorite soaps. Another was going to start in 20 minutes. She hadn't missed that one in 4 years. Even on vacation she had managed to keep up with it. Now it was not even on her mind. Her problem was Dudley. He wasn't accepting his punishment well. Every time he heard her moving around the house, he started screaming again.

Hesitantly, Petunia walked to her dresser and opened her top drawer. No, she decided. Dudley was not her problem. She stared at the accursed thing hidden within. This was her problem. She recognized what it was. It was something that she and Vernon had vowed would not enter their home. But here it was, and she had been the one to accidentally bring it in when she forget to dispose of it with the newspaper.

Petunia felt a stab of paranoia. She couldn't simply throw it away, not from her own home. Did she dare even carry it somewhere else? What if she was caught with it? There was only one thing to do. She opened her closet and stretched to reach the darkened corner of the upper shelf. Her questing fingers found what she was looking for. She took down a small locked box. Vernon didn't even know about its existence. She had been told many long years before that it would be unnoticeable to anyone but herself. There was a large flower drawn whimsically across the lid. She didn't have a key for the box, but when she touched it with her finger, it clicked open.

It had once held many other things, but now it was nearly empty. She placed the bag of Bertie Bott's every flavor beans into the box where it joined an envelope of photos that would never be looked at and single parchment with emerald lettering. She locked the box again and returned it to its hiding place.

She knew how magical items were hidden out in the open, noticeable only by those with magical ability. That the boys had been able to find those items proved that Harry had inherited his parent's gifts. As if that was ever in doubt. She conceded to herself. Another thought occurred to her as well, one which she quickly quashed. Maybe Harry hadn't been the only one to see the magic.

It was the explosion or else Harry's own startled surprised, but he landed on his back and cracked his head painfully against the ground. His vision swam around distressingly and Sophia's concerned questioning seemed muted and distant. After several moments, Harry lifted an arm and felt the back of his head. He could already feel a goose egg beginning to develop. Sophia's voice started to become more distinct.

"I'm okay." Harry mumbled.

"I'm so sorry, " Sophia apologized, "That was too close."

Tom chuckled a little, "That was impressive. You're just dabbling child and nearly get yourself killed. I hope you don't make it a habit."

"No, " answered Harry sarcastically, "I will not get in the habit of getting myself killed."

"What are you doing down there?" asked a voice from above. Harry noticed a large, purple triple decker bus had appeared in the street in front of him. "Are you okay?"

He was being interrogated by a woman in an odd uniform. She looked at him quizzically. "Did you call for the bus?"

"Yeah, I did." Harry tried to get up, and it took him several tries to do so. "I want to go to Diagon Alley."

She continued to give him a strange look. "Sure, that will be 11 sickles."

"I don't have any wizarding money, " Harry explained and gave her a 5 pound note, "I hope this will do."

The conductor looked at the note with some distaste and hesitantly took the money, then entered the bus. Harry saw her show the money to the conductor. He saw him take it and examine it carefully. Harry even thought he saw the man lick it.

The woman returned. "That'll work. Do you want any..." but she paused and continued, "come on aboard."

Harry risked a quick glance towards the seal he had drawn on the asphalt, on a couple of lines remained. It looked like it was sufficiently destroyed. He struggled up the steep steps, and smiled when he saw the oddly dressed passengers. Unexpectedly the bus jumped forward with a jolt.