My life - An adventure
Disclaimer: All Harry Potter works belong to J.K. Rowling.
AN: This story is an idea I got from "Harry Potter and the Memories of Old" by Snowy123. Some of spells are from the story "Harry Potter and the Unlocked Knowledge" by kmfrank.
Chapter 04
As I walk toward Magnolia crescent, I get the feeling that someone is watching me. I look around carefully while removing my wand. I need to get a holster. I reach the end of privet drive, when I hear a rustle in the bushes. A huge dog steps out and stares at me. I stare back. He sniffs around and moves closer to me wagging his tail. I slowly reach out to it as it smells my hand. I pet it and he licks me. A huge friendly grim like dog. Nice.
"I'm sorry partner, I can't take you in. I'm going on a vacation." He barks a soft woof. I see that he is starving as I can see the ribs.
"Dobby."
He pops in. "Harry Potter sir, called." The dog backs off a bit.
"Don't worry about him. Dobby is my friend." Dobby beams at that.
"Dobby, can you get any leftovers from Hogwarts? I need to go."
"Yes, Harry Potter sir."
He pops back in with food fit for 10 human meals. I set them aside in the bushes for the doggy to eat. He thanks me with a bark and I apparate to the ministry building to catch a portkey to my first destination.
Venice, Italy. The city of light. It seems to be a common occurrence for a teenager to get a portkey to a foreign country without an accompanying adult. I portkeyed to an Italian ministry building in Venice, where they copied the signature of my wand and my assumed name of James Smith. I'm under a minor glamour, changing my black hair to brown and hiding my scar. More than that and they might sense it.
When I first started my primary school, I was very interested in sketching and painting. But the Dursley's were strictly against such idiocracies and so nothing came out of it. Those few early years are probably the reason I am this good at runes. Now that I have my freedom and means to support myself, I plan to indulge myself in some memorable art by masters of yester years.
I change my glamour to look like a middle-aged adult and book into one of the junior suites at the Luna Hotel Baglioni, a 5-star hotel with direct access to the canals. The city is so beautiful, old and authentic. It doesn't have the hustle and bustle feel of London. It's kind of peaceful. After those 3 weeks of hard training, this is quite relaxing.
I spend my first 3 days taking in the sites. I visit some of the famous museums to check out their art. A couple of them even had a magical section. It's funny and exciting to have the artists, who were dead for centuries, talk about their paintings from their self-portraits. I tell one of them about my interests in art and also runes. He gives me the name of a shop in the magical section of Venice, which was supposed to have some very old runic books. Maybe I will find someone who will recognize the writing on the Peverell scroll. I relax on the water taxis as they move forward slowly. I even tasted a glass of muggle bear. I don't think I'm ready for that yet. It was too bitter. Give me butter beer any day.
I walk into an alley and touched the wall with my wand as instructed in my guidebook. I was sucked in and find myself in a very open courtyard. It's not as congested as Diagon. I walk slowly browsing from shop to shop. I stop at the bookstore I was told about. I show the owner the Peverell scroll. He asks me to take a seat and using a magnifying glass goes through it for quite sometime. He asks me where I got it and I tell him, it was something I found by accident. He hands me the magnifying glass and asks me to take a look at it.
"See those tiny markings in each letter? They are runes."
And it's the truth. This is fascinating. Each letter is made up of dozens of smaller runes, which I do not identify. A rune made of runes.
I ask the man if he knows what those smaller runes are? He says he saw one such rune before in Tibet, but do not know what it means.
Hmmm… Looks like I have another trip to plan soon. I buy a few rune books, which were interesting. Especially one book based on creating dimensional spaces.
I buy a few soverniers for my friends back home. A book on charms for Hermione and an antique bracelet for Ginny. I made sure to check it for any curses and such. I walk into the local Quidditch store. Their latest broom model is not as good as the firebolt. Few are. I buy Ron an Omniocular with a 20 year old world cup final game between Italy and Brazil recorded in it.
On my way out I see a pamphlet with a list of the world cup games and pick it up. Awesome. England is playing Italy in 3 days time in Rome.
On my way to Rome, I visit other historical sites like Milan, Turin and Florence. I portkey into Rome and get into a local hotel near the Quidditch stadium. The place is packed with wizards. I even see a red head, I swear is a Weasley. I browse the magical quarters and buy myself a nice dragon hide wand holster. I enquire if they have basilisk hide and the owner looked at me like I was crazy.
"Basilisks are near extinct, sir."
Hmmm… I wonder if I should tell him about the 60-foot one I killed.
I enter the Quidditch stadium and join the crowd near the ground. The match is about to start as I hear the commentator welcoming the crowd.
"Welcome everyone to the nineteenth match of the four hundred twenty second Quidditch worldcup. It's an important game for both England and Italy as they both lost a match each. And here comes the England team. The Keeper Eric Toole, the chasers Monica Melcose, Dorea McDoogal and the captain Osmosis smith, followed by the beaters Roderick Twonk and Hesper Beamish, and finally the seeker Thomas Willby."
I see the English team as they fly around in their firebolts. Mine is in my shrunken trunk in my pocket. The commentator welcomes the Italian team and the crowd, which is mostly of Italians, burst out in cheers.
And the match begins in earnest as both teams try to get the first goal. I immediately see that both the teams are evenly matched. England gets the first goal in and I cheer along. The 6 chasers on each team push their brooms to the limit as they fly at top speeds. 3 hours into the game England lead by 120 points. We are in a good position. If England can score 4 more goals without letting in any for the Italians, we will win even if we lose the snitch. There's a shout and I follow it to see the two seekers race each other to the snitch, which is fluttering near the ground. The crowd holds its breath. It's going to be close.
I wait under my invisibility cloak for the crowd to clear the ground. The cheers from the Italians can be heard for half a mile. England lost 670 to 700. We lost the snitch and England's seeker crashed into the ground. I hope he is all right. England needs to win the rest of its 3 matches, if there's to be any hope of qualifying for the Quarterfinals. Two of its 3 matches are with very good teams. Luxemburg and Transylvania.
I look around to make sure that the stadium is empty. I pull the cloak from around me. I enlarge the trunk, put the cloak inside and take out my broom. I pocket the trunk back and fly into the air. I still have a couple of hours of light and I plan to make full use of it.
I circle around the stadium to get a feel. Then, I let go. I completely give in to my instinct. I'm a bird in the sky. It's freedom. I play around for a while copying some of the chaser moves I saw earlier. I race up into the sky. The highest I have ever been, maybe 1000 feet… I then turn around and race to the ground. I push the broom to its top speed and beyond. It's a race of less than 6 seconds. I imagine I'm seeing a snitch. I reach out for it. I swerve as the imaginary bludger comes to knock me off my broom. I catch the snitch and pull up 5 feet from the ground. I whoop in joy. That was exhilarating.
I continue to fly at top speed, when I get an idea. Why not? Sure its crazy, but I can take care of myself. Time to completely let go. I put a sticking charm on my shoes and stand up on the broom. Yeah! Broom surfing. I rock.
And still the broom follows my will. I ride the winds, turning, twisting and even cartwheeling. I bend my knees directing the broom to the ground and as it nears it I level out and turn upside down. I stretch out and feel the grass as it skims my hands. What a rush. I think I became an adrenaline junkie.
I do one more wronski feint with the same intensity, while I do a sloth grip roll. I catch my imaginary snitch again and land on the ground. I kneel, while I breathe in and out with a smile. That was –
"Freakin awesome."
I turn around to see who my audience was. He was middle-aged man and he is striding toward me with a glint in his eyes. I get to my feet weary of him, when he slaps me on my back.
"Who taught you those moves? Standing on a broom and at that speed. And the wronski feint was perfect." He has a crazy smile on his face.
"I'm sorry. Who are you?"
He gives me his hand. "Terrance Waffling, the English coach at your service."
I shake his hand, a bit stunned. He leads me inside into the dressing rooms.
"Come on, Mr…" I look at him blankly.
"Unbelievable..."
He stops and I stop with him. He looks at me pleadingly. "You are English, aren't you?"
I nod to him. He smiles broadly and again slaps me on my back. He leads me inside… I guess the English locker. We walk into a private room and we sit at a table facing each other. I wait as he writes something on a parchment. I wonder what's going on.
He gives me the parchment. "Sign this and you are the new English seeker."
What? "You got to be kidding me."
"Absolutely not. With such talent, I'll be doing England a disservice if I don't give you a chance. Especially with Thomas injured for the match in 2 weeks. And our reserve is no where in the same class as you."
Oh! This is not good. He sees a 25 year old man in front of him. Not a 13 year old who entered the country under a false name and is under a glamour. This is not good.
I put down the parchment. "There's a problem."
"I don't care."
I breathe in deep and take out my wand. I wave it over myself and remove the glamour.
He looks at me stupified for words. "You are a kid."
I nod. "That's the problem."
"You are Harry Potter."
"Yeah. That's a problem as well."
"This is great. Awesome." He claps his hands in glee.
"Wait, what?"
"Come Mr. Potter, I'll show you to your new team members and then we will go and get your guardians to sign the contract."
"You don't understand, sir…"
"Call me Terry."
"You don't understand, Terry. My guardians are muggles and I entered the country under a false name."
"Nonsense. You are the best I saw on the broom in a long time and by god I'll get you as the seeker. England needs you Mr. Potter."
It's really tempting. I can be known for once as other than the boy-who-lived.
"What about school?"
He waves it off. "It's been done before Mr. Potter. That shouldn't be a problem. I'll talk fight Dumbledore if need be."
I nod to him hesitantly. "All right. But you can't mention to anyone that you saw me here. Not even the team."
"That's all right with me. We are heading home tomorrow anyway. Can you join us at the stadium? Do you know where it is?"
I nod yes to all his questions. "I might need a place to stay until school starts."
"Harry, we offer accommodations for all the team members. You can stay there until school starts."
"All right then."
"I must warn you Mr. Potter, the training will be hard. It will be the toughest thing you ever did."
I smirk at him. "We will see."
He laughs and gets up from the table and shows me to the door. "Welcome to the English National Quidditch Team Harry Potter."
There goes my holiday plans.
I head down privet drive to #4. I waited until Marge was out taking her dog for a walk. I don't want to deal with that bitch, ever.
As I near the house, Hedwig swoops in on me with a letter.
"Hey girl, how are you? Thanks for staying at the school these few days."
I take the letter, which happens to be my school letter. A clever little owl I have. I open it to see the hogsmead form. I guess I have to get two forms signed now.
"Go on girl. I'm not staying here. Find me later tonight."
As she flies off, I walk up to the door and knock on it.
My aunt opens the door and hisses at me. "What are you doing here?"
I push my way through. "Don't worry, I'm not staying. I just need you to sign these two forms and I'll be gone."
She grabs the form and the pen from my hand. She scowls at them.
"What are these?"
"Nothing important. One is a form, which will allow me to visit a village near school during weekends. The other form states that you agree to let me play a magical sport."
At the m word, she growls at me. She signs the forms in a hurry and gives them to me.
"Now, get out. I don't want Marge to see you."
"Neither do I."
I tuck in the forms and wave to her. "Thanks. See you next summer."
She slams the door on my face. Bloody relatives. They will never grow up.
I land on my feet covered in sweat. I just finished my first training session with the team. When the coach said the training would be hard, he wasn't kidding. I don't think I would have survived if not for my 3 weeks of running 4 miles everyday.
The team was shocked when I entered the stadium, which by the way is brilliant, and the coach introduced me as the new seeker. They were skeptical about me replacing Thomas, that is, until I did a perfect wronski feint and my personal favorite 'broom surfing'.
The hot shower feels good on my tired muscles. The coach was surprised with my stamina. Who knew running from Dudley and his gang from since I was 6 could be so helpful. I must remember to be kind to him next year. Maybe I'll transfigure him into a pig so he can eat all he wants. That's a very nice thought to sleep on. Dudley the pig running around as my aunt and uncle chase him. He he he.
I wear a casual muggle dress. I don't particularly fancy robes when I don't need them. As I exit the locker, I spy Dorea and Monica stepping out of theirs. Seeing them makes me wish I were a few years older. They have such nice curves. I hope I hit puberty soon.
They see me and grin. They have a peculiar glint in their eyes as they march toward me.
"Well, well, well… who do we have here Monica?"
"I think its Harry Potter, Dorea."
"Isn't he our new seeker, Monica?"
"You are right, Dorea and isn't he supposed to do something?"
"I think he is supposed to buy us drinks."
They each take a hand and march me toward the floo.
I eye them wearily. "You know I'm thirteen, right?"
"That shouldn't be a problem Mr. Potter. Us ladies will handle it."
As I grab the floo powder, they give me the address of a wizarding pub. Monica smiles at me with her cute dimples. "Don't worry Harry, the rest of the team will be there as well."
It's a clear night. I sit at my desk in a cozy 1-bedroom apartment. I finish my letters to Hermione and Ron. I give them to Hedwig and she takes off.
I came back from the pub about 1 hour back. It was fun. The first time I've been to a pub. There was dancing, drinking and snogging. I didn't drink or snog, but did a jig or two. No one recognized me as I covered my scar with a cap I decided to always keep with me. Both Monica and Dorea are pretty good dancers. I just wish they would stop calling me cute. I'm a basilisk killer and dark lord destroyer. I'm not supposed to be cute. Dashing, daring, handsome. A Rogue. That's more like it.
I lie down on my bed and think about the match we play in 12 days. Luxemburg is a very good team. They lost to Argentina yesterday though. As it stands, Argentina is well on their way to the quarters having won their first 3 matches against Spain, England and Luxemburg. They will most likely win against Japan, which is the only weak team in our group. England needs to win all its three matches against Luxemburg, Japan and Transylvania for us to have any chance of getting into the quarters.
I take out my firebolt from its case and set it on the table. I press on the nose guard of my glasses to see the magic flowing through the broom. I see the different runes carved into it. I need to find their properties, so that when I carve my own set, the broom doesn't go haywire. I have an extra firebolt, which the team provided. So if something happens to my own, I have a backup.
Why do I want to mess with it in the first place? Because I can't use my wand during the match. The only magical tool you are allowed is the broom. The magic it can have doesn't have any limitations as long as it only affects the rider. And I'm not going to make any huge changes to it. Just a simple rune set, which activates a sticking charm at my command.
A lot of things go through my mind as I note down the runes on the broom. Mostly about the match. We decided not to let anyone know about me playing seeker until we play Luxemburg. The only person who knows about it other than the team is Ludo Bagman from the ministry and he was sworn to secrecy. We had to tell him as the ministry was providing for the team accommodations and also to get my passport. Incidentally I also got an underage magic waiver until the cup is done with or England exits the tournament.
I also wonder what everyone will think. I don't really care though. Looking back I know I cared too much on what others thought of my actions. That's how the Dursleys raised me. But not anymore. I have the magic, the knowledge and all the money I'll ever need to support myself. The only things I care about are in this room. I like my friends and do somewhat care about them. But honestly? I knew them for less than 2 years. I don't have that much of an attachment. After watching Pettigrew give up his friends to Voldemort, I am a bit weary about whom I trust.
I am Harry James Potter. I survived the killing curse. I survived for 10 years in a cupboard. I burnt a dark lord with my hands. I killed a basilisk with a sword. I'm the youngest player ever to play in a Quidditch world cup. This is the mantra that I repeat in my head to keep my nerves calm.
It's the 20th of August. I stand alone at the back of our team as we wait for the commentator to announce us. This is it. D-day. Time to prove to the world that there is more to me than being the boy-who-lived.
I join the rest of the team in the sky as the crowd goes silent. The English crowd gets over their initial shock and cheer for us. I wonder if I'm part of that cheer.
We give our magical oaths to the refrie stating that we don't have any magical objects or tools other than our brooms. He flies down and throws up the quaffle. And there goes the whistle. Osmosis gets to it and passes it to Dorea, who throws it to Monica who's flying toward the goal hoops. Intercepted.
I keep a lookout for the snitch and the other seeker, all the time flying around the stadium, ducking quite a few bludgers. It seems I'm an unknown quantity to Luxemburg and they want me off the field.
Five minutes into the game and the score is tied between England and Luxemburg at 20 each. I see Monica set for a catch from Osmosis. She doesn't see the chasers flying to intercept the catch from behind her. I am the closest and shoot toward the chaser like a bullet. I block his path to the quaffle. Monica scores and I go back to seeking.
2 hours into the match, I see a spec of gold 500 feet below me. Luxemburg is leading by 30 points. It looks like it's coming down to the seeker. I race toward the snitch at the same time as the other seeker. 400 feet. 300. 200. 50. 30. 20. We both are close. He has a larger reach. I need an edge.
10 feet from it, the snitch takes an upward turn, away from us. This is it. I do a sharp inverted u-turn and a sloth grip roll. My lightweight helps. The other seeker is not far. The snitch is just a couple of feet in front of me. Holding the broom with one hand, I swing myself free of it. I land my feet on the broom. I activate the sticking rune. I lunge at the snitch. I do a cartwheel. I catch it.
I close my eyes. I lose myself in the moment. I let the momentum carry me for a few more cartwheels before I level with the ground. I open my eyes and hold the snitch for the world to see.
The Leaky Cauldron is buzzing. It seems I became the talk of the town yet again. The daily prophet has a huge photo of me standing on the broom and lunging for the snitch. The coach held a press conference after our match with Luxemburg, where he told them how I came to try my firebolt at the stadium and caught the coach's eye. The Luxemburg team tried to make a big deal out of me adding the sticking rune to the broom. There was nothing illegal about it and the refrie said so.
I'm disguised under a glamour and have my hood up as well. Today's the 31st of August and I'm meeting the Weasleys and Hermione for lunch and to get our supplies. Tomorrow we leave for Hogwarts. The Weasleys came back from Egypt just the day before and I got an owl asking to meet for lunch. I have one more practice session today before school starts.
After tomorrow, it would dependent on my schedule. I will go for training on every weekend and at least 2 to 3 weekdays. Our next match is with Japan in November and then Transylvania in January, which is the last league match in our group. If we do end up winning both we will be at 3 points. Most likely we will end up playing a tie game with either Luxemburg or Transylvania as Spain lost another match to Transylvania. And if we do win the tie, then it's the quarterfinals in March. Semifinals in May and the Finals here in England in July.
The coach talked to Dumbledore and arranged for my training and subsequent travel out of the country. It seems that with Sirius Black out on the run, I need security. I wonder how the hell the ministry bungled that. Pettigrew who was a death eater got an order of Merlin and Sirius Black who fought for the ministry as an Auror was thrown into Azkaban for treachery and for killing Pettigrew and some muggles.
I tap on the bar to get Tom's attention.
"What can I get for you lad?"
"A butter beer please."
I take my drink and walk to an empty table at a corner with the whole view of the pub. I set my backpack beside me and sip the refreshing drink. I haven't heard anything from Brimspear regarding the pensieve. I hope he finds one soon. One of those blasted memories escaped into my dream and turned it into a nightmare last night. I could hardly get a wink.
As I take my final sip, I see the Weasleys and Hermione floo in. Ron and Hermione walk toward the bar and I guess ask Tom if he saw me. He answers no and they look disappointed. Ron especially looks excited. I doubt that it's about anything other than Quidditch.
Ginny hangs around with Mrs. Weasley. She has grown. She tied her hair in a ponytail for a change. She looks around the pub and catches my eye. She squints her eyes trying to look through my hood. I enter her mind. Her shields are as strong as ever and I don't 'poke' them. Two accomplished leglimens can communicate through their minds. I use this and whisper to her.
"It's me Ginny. Bring them to the table."
Ginny raises her eyebrow at that. She whispers something to her mother who calls for Ron and Hermione and they walk toward me. Ron and Hermione look confused at first that is until I removed my glamour. And Then –
"HARRY", both rush toward me. It was lost in the noisy pub. Thank god.
My bushy haired friend gives me a hug and Ron slaps me on the back.
"Harry… congrats. How was Luxemburg? Did you see their historical museum?"
"Mate, tell me all about the team. How's the firebolt? Charlie saw the match… How did you stand up on the broom?"
I laugh. Typical Ron & Hermione. "Hold your horses. We will talk later in the train."
"Ronald Weasley. Where are your manners? Don't shout. Harry dear, how are you?" asks Mrs. Weasley as she gives me a hug, which is always nice. She looks keenly at me and nods her acceptance.
"You look much better, dear. You have grown as much as Ron. And I'm so proud of you. Playing for England and at such an young age… Just promise you will be careful. It can be such a rough game…"
"Yes Mrs. Weasley."
Ron rolls his eyes, which Mrs. Weasley sees and gives him a mouthful. As Hermione watches that with amusement, I glance at Ginny.
"You look well, Ginny."
"Thanks, Harry. Egypt was nice."
I nod and we stare at each other. There is a sort of tension between us. We both have our secrets to hide.
As Molly calms down, we break our stare. Ron is a bit subdued. Molly tries to hurry us into alley, but I stop her. "Please have a seat Mrs. Weasley. I want to discuss something with you all." They all take a seat and looks expectantly at me.
"You remember the basilisk I killed?"
Molly shudders and they all nod yes. "I made some enquiries and it's worth a lot. My guess would be around 400,000 galleons."
They look stunned at this. "According to ministry salvage rights, all those involved in the killing of a dangerous creature are fully entitled to anything the carcass might bring in the market."
I glance at each of them. "And the four of us are equal partners in it."
Molly starts to protest. "But Harry dear, you killed it."
I shake my head at that. "Without Hermione's help, we wouldn't have known it was a basilisk. Without Ron's, Lockheart would have wiped my memory. And you Ginny suffered the most. If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't have gone down to the chamber. So you all deserve it."
They all take in the news. 100,000 galleons is a lot of money. I pick up my backpack and remove 3 bags of galleons and give one to each of them.
"That's ten thousand galleons each. I thought you might want to use some money today. Think of it as a loan against your share. You can pay me back later as it will take more than a year to sell the whole thing."
They look stunned at the moneybag. Molly gets up and gives me a big hug with tears in her eyes. "Thank you, Harry. You are a good friend."
It's not like I need the money anyway. I made 300,000 galleons with my first match. It's what I make for catching a snitch in a league game. It's 750,000 for a quarterfinal. 1.5 million for a semifinal and 4 million for a final. Yeah, I was surprised as well.
Molly turns to Ron who's eyes the galleons with glee.
"Don't you dare spend it on anything stupid, young man. You need to save it for your future. We will open vaults for you both and deposit the money in that."
Ron looks at her scandalous. "But mom, I always wanted a nice broom…"
Molly struggles a bit but finally accedes. "Fine. 1000 galleons and nothing more." She turns to Ginny. "What about you Ginny dear?"
"I'm fine mom. Maybe a new wand."
Molly smiles at that.
I glance at Hermione to see her eyeing me with curiosity. I think I'm in for a round of questioning when we three are alone.
Molly urges us to move on saying setting up the vaults and shopping will take time.
Ron and Hermione lead the way to the bank, with me on their heals. As we near the bank, I hear Ginny saying to her mother that she can have her share for the family.
We enter the bank and Molly directs Ron, Ginny and Hermione to where they can open their accounts. As they do that I visit Brimspear and urge him to speed up finding the pensieve as soon as possible. He says the fastest way to acquire it with hundred percent surety is to order one from a Rune master. It will cost a lot more than a preexisting one and will take at least 3 months. I ask him to do that. If I find one before then, I'll just keep both for now. We discuss the size of the pensieve, its features and the price.
All 5 of us finish our business and step out of the bank. We go to Madame Malkins first. I remove my hood and she recognizes me. She asks if I can sign an autograph for her 10 year old nephew. I oblige and ask her to keep it quite. I don't want to be mobbed by crazy fans. Ron and Ginny bought new robes for the first time. Ginny looks unconcerned and Ron stares at his clothes in joy.
We finish our book shopping where Hermione bought books on all the offered subjects. I look at her book bag curiously wondering why she wants to take muggle studies.
"Hermione, why are you taking muggle studies?"
"It will be interesting from a wizarding point of view."
I sigh in exasperation. "You do realize that wizards don't really know what it is like to live as a muggle? You are going to waste your time. And divinition?"
"Exactly Harry. Maybe we can point out the obvious. And Divinition might be informative…"
Ron pitches in. "I still can't believe you want to take runes and arthemancy, mate."
I smile at him. "They are very interesting Ron."
He shrugs to that. "Your funeral."
They both get the monster book of monsters. The clerk nearly cried when they asked for 2 copies mumbling something about them tearing the store apart. I got mine from Hagrid as a gift. I wonder if he was involved with the book assignment.
Ron bought a Nimbus 2001 and we step into Ollivanders to get Ron and Ginny their first wands.
Ollivander sees us and steps out. "Welcome."
He glances at Hermione first. "Ms. Granger. Vine wood and Dragon heartstring from a horntail, 10 inches. Good for Transfiguration. Is it working well?" Hermione smiles and nods.
He glances at Molly. "Molly Weasley. 13 inches, Ebony and Dragon heartstring from a female fireball."
Molly blushes a little. "Yes, Mr. Ollivander."
Finally he glances at me. "Harry Potter. Yes. A very interesting wand. Can I see it please?"
I nod and give it to him.
Hermione sees it. "Harry that's not your wand is it?"
"After the chamber incident my old wand wouldn't work for me. So I got a new one this summer."
Ollivander pitches in. "Yes. It's a very interesting wand. One of a kind."
Everyone looks at me curiously as Ollivander gives it back to me. I stay silent. Some secrets are better not said.
Ollivander glances at Ron and Ginny. "Are you here for your wands? I don't remember selling one to either of you?"
"This will be their first wand, Mr. Ollivander." Molly tells him.
He nods and starts with Ron. After a couple of dozen tries he finds a good fit with a 10 inches willow and unicorn hair. Ginny took a little longer but at the end got her match with ebony and phoenix feature, 11 inches. As we move out, I whisper to Ollivander that I'll see him in a few days. Now that I'll be out of the castle for training, I can drop by sooner and give him the 3 fangs I promised.
On the way back to the leaky, Hermione stops at the pet shop to buy her first pet, which happened to be an ugly looking half Kneazle named Crookshanks. It promptly tried to eat Scabbers, Ron's rat. I mean seriously, what cat wants to eat a rat.
As we finish our lunch, I ask Ron if he wants to see the stadium and meet the team later in the evening. That was a silly question. Of course he wanted to. Ginny and Hermione wanted in as well. I said goodbye and told them to floo in around 4. I promised Molly to meet her at the station tomorrow.
I introduced the three of them to the team and they got a first hand experience on how grueling my daily training sessions are. Ron took his nimbus and my spare firebolt for a ride around the stadium. They flooed back to the burrow in the evening.
I got into the cool shower thinking about Hogwarts tomorrow and all the stares I will get. But this time it's not because of stupid hyphenated name, but because of my own talent. I can live with that.
AN: That's chapter 4 folks. We move into 3rd year now. Will be a nice exciting year. I'd say maybe 4 to 5 chapters to take us to the world cup. Please review. Thanks.