Harry Potter: Rise of an Empire.
Disclaimer: If you recognize anything in this story, I don't own it.
"Text" - Speech.
'Text' - Thoughts.
Chapter 2: Magic
-Harry's P.O.V-
When morning came I woke to a thumping on my cupboard door, a frown crossing my face as my eyes snapped open, looks like I slept in. The last thing I remember is working on my magic for most of the night, before I got too tired to continue on. Luckily, I managed to increase my 'drawing' speed a lot last night, now I don't need to concentrate as much to draw on my power; the ball hanging around my neck helped out with that.
The pounding on my door draws my attention once more and I groan, just managing to roll out of bed as the door is flung wide open.
"You lazy little brat!" Petunia screeches, glaring down at me. "Do you know what time it is? Get out of bed right this moment and start cooking breakfast."
I glare back at her fiercely before exiting the closet, she tries to hide it but I can see her body shudder at my glare. Normally, I'd never notice but with my mind clear and my thoughts focused I noticed something about Petunia, she's terrified of me. She knows I have this power, she may not know that I can use it but she knows it's there, and it terrifies her.
Her fear turns into anger as she reaches out and smacks the back of my head, hard. I barely even feel it as a wall of red light, too faint and minuscule to be noticed, appears millimeters above my skin and intercepts the blow, it will take far more force then that to piece the shield protecting me. Petunia on the other hand, winces and clutches her hand in pain, her eyes are wide with shock but the anger soon returns and she storms off towards the kitchen.
"Get in here and start cooking freak!" She shouts from the kitchen, I cant help but smirk at the slight quiver in her tone as I follow after her.
Today is going to be fun.
As Vernon and Petunia finish breakfast and little Dudders is sent off to bathe, I decide to make my move.
I silently slide into a seat across from Vernon and glare at him, it only takes him a few seconds to notice and he returns my glare with one of his own.
"What the hell are you looking at boy?" He growls,setting down his fork and knife.
I ignore him and turn my glare on Petunia, who is watching the proceedings with a hint of fear and dread.
"We need to talk, dearest Aunt and Uncle." I begin, using a sickly-sweet tone. "We can start with you telling me everything you know about magic."
Petunias eyes widen and she stiffens while Vernon's do the opposite and narrow into slits, his face is already turning red with anger.
"You little shit!" He shouts, angrily standing from his seat. "How dare you use that word in this house, didn't learn from last time eh?"
"V-vernon!" Petunia squawks, drawing his attention. "H-he knows."
Vernon's eyes turn back to me and I give him my most malicious grin, which isn't that bad for a nine year old, it seems to spook him at the least.
"That's right, I know." I hiss, renewing my glare. "But it's what you know that's important right now, so I'll ask again, what do you know about magic?"
Vernon's face has turned a frightening shade of purple now and he begins making his way towards me.
"I don't give a shit what you know boy!" He growls angrily. "I'll have none of that freakish nonsense in my house!"
As he approaches, I snort and catch Petunia's eye once more, she must have noticed something in my eyes because she gains a look of horror and turns to Vernon, her mouth already open to speak.
I don't give her the chance.
I turn my attention back to Vernon, or the hand reaching towards me to be specific and my magic rises to my command before I even call on it, reacting to my subconscious thoughts. I can feel it flow through me and into the small metal ball on my necklace before it's directed by my intent. I want to stop Vernon's arm, maybe even push it back a little bit and that's what I direct my magic to do.
Too bad I forgot about the amplifying effect of my chosen focus however.
I do manage to hide my shock as Vernon's arm is violently shoved away, the force of the push dislocating the arm at the shoulder and causing him to stumble back. I really need to dial down how much magic I feed the ball at one time, while my magic may know the amount of power needed to cause the effects I want, it has no way of calculating for the amplification effect of my chosen focus.
Petunia's gasp draws my attention to the real world, and Vernon's pain-filled screams serve to keep me there. While his arm is dangling lifelessly at his side and his scream is filled with pain, Vernon's eyes burn with rage. However, I can see an inkling of fear beginning to creep in, he's starting to see me as an actual threat now.
"You should care uncle, because I know about my magic and I know how to use it." I sneer, glancing over his form. I find it hard to believe that I'd once been terrified of this fat tub of lard. "It's about time I got a little revenge don't you think? You know, to return the favor and all that."
Before he can comprehend my words, I glance at several spots on his form-
'Cut him.'
-and they all explode with blood as dozens of cuts appear on his form. I took care to use only the barest amount of my power this time so the cuts aren't too deep, they wont cause any permanent harm but there's enough of them to hurt and make him bleed.
"!" Vernon screams in pain, his eyes wide with shock as blood drips down his frame.
Ah, that felt good, nothing like a little revenge to brighten up the day.
A part of me feels that this is wrong, that I shouldn't be attacking him like this. That part is quickly crushed and sucked into the deepest, darkest parts of my heart-mind.
'Power is everything, the powerful rule over the weak and I refuse to be weak.' I focus on this thought and use it to calm myself.
My actions are justified, this is simply how the world works. The Dursleys, who treated me like their slave at all times, have taught me well. The bullies, who picked on me simply because I was there, have taught me well. The teachers, who ignored the obvious signs of abuse, have taught me well. I will not be weak, I have power now and I refuse to be weak again.
'Never again.'
I manage to cut Vernon two more times and break the bones in his both left leg and right arm before Petunia snaps out of her shock and reacts.
"Wait, stop it!" She squeaks tearfully. "I'll tell you what you want to know, just leave him alone."
I sneer at Vernon's broken and bleeding form before turning to her with a smirk.
"I know you will Petunia," I reply, forgoing all manner of politeness. "You don't have a choice in the matter, maybe if you give a satisfactory answer I'll leave Vernon here alone."
She seemed startled at my higher than normal vocabulary skills, not surprising as her idiot of a son could barely put together coherent sentences and she considered him to be a 'little genius'. Still, that doesn't stop her from spilling the beans and telling me everything I want to know.
It takes well over fifteen minutes for her to tell me everything she can remember about the magical world, not a lot of time but as it turns out, she didn't know much.
Still, she spoke all about her sister -my mother- receiving her Hogwarts letter, her families first trip to Diagon Alley, as well as the location of said alley. This was followed with a few bits of random information my mum had told her many years ago, culminating with the events that led up to my being left on their doorstep.
"So, let me get this straight." I mutter, a brow raised incredulously. "I killed off some bad guy, one who murdered my parents and a bunch of others, and essentially saved everyone? And these people just left me on the doorstep?"
She nods.
"Go fetch the note." I growl.
I'm quite angry over this situation, this all seems like the plot to one of the stupider fantasy stories I'd skimmed through while doing research. Nevertheless, I'm quite upset with whoever left me on the doorstep with some, what did Petunia say they were? Muggles? Yeah, with some muggles. If my parents had both been magical then shouldn't I have been left with a magical family?
Petunia scampers off to do as shes told and I turn my attention back to Vernon, he's lost a lot of blood and seems to have passed out. I sigh in annoyance and cut him once more for good measure, now I'm just being spiteful. Luckily for him, I need him alive, I would probably get in some serious trouble if I leave him to him die.
With my need for revenge sated, I turn my magic and focus to healing Vernon's wounds, watching in fascination as the many cuts seal themselves shut one after the other. As the last of Vernon's wounds close with a sizzle and his bones mend with a painful sounding crack, Petunia enters the kitchen holding a thick piece of parchment.
She takes a fearful look at Vernon's form but calms down after she sees that his wounds are gone. Ignoring her obvious signs of distress, I snatch the parchment from her hand and read it over, I can feel my anger rising at every word but I just take a very deep breath and shove it all into my heart-mind.
"Alright, tell me everything you know about Albus Dumbledore, Lord Voldemort and magic wands." I mutter, focusing on the main issues that I cared about.
Petunia starts talking once more and I almost groan in annoyance from what I learn.
From what I learn about this Albus Dumbledore, I decide that I don't like him, not one bit. Dumbledore is the one who left me on the Dursleys' doorstep all those years ago with only a quickly scrawled note and a thin blanket for protection, it's because of this guy that I'm stuck living here. Speaking of which, since when do school headmasters have that kind of control over newly orphaned infants? This guy has never even bothered to drop in to check on me or tell me about my magic, I'm really starting to hate this guy.
There's also the fact he set up the 'wards' on this place. From what Petunia says, he's supposed to be the 'strongest of the freaks' yet he couldn't even do something about my scar or the black goo connected to it? At least I now have a name for the dome-shield thing, Blood Wards, I really hope they're not evil or dangerous as the name implies.
Regardless, whoever this Albus Dumbledore is, he and I will be having words should we ever meet.
Another issue in Petunia's tale is Lord Voldemort, the man who murdered my parents. From what she has to say, the guy seems like the stereotypical villain in every story, he even has the cliche sounding villain name.
Petunia doesn't know much about him, only what she'd read from the warnings my mum sent her, but she knew enough to explain a few things. Voldemort was basically the classic, fantasy villain, a stereotype in almost all the ways that counted. He had his little army of followers and minions who followed him around, obeying his orders as they murdered innocent people and caused all sorts of mayhem. Apparently, the guy was so bad and terrifying that people never spoke his name in public.
Yeah, a real bad ass. Until he went off and got beaten by an infant.
I still have trouble buying that story, I find it hard to believe that I could hurt anyone at that age, magic or no magic. My parents probably did something to kill him and I got the credit simply because I was still alive, man these people must be idiots. The more I hear about the other magical people, the more disappointed I am.
My hopes are still pinned on the fact that Petunia might just be embellishing because she hates them and not because they really are as pathetic as she says, her next few words serve to dash those hopes, apparently these people can't do any magic without their wands. According to her, the stuff I've been doing is supposed to be impossible, not hard or difficult but completely impossible. According to my mum, witches and wizards need their wands to do magic, without them they were completely helpless.
I guess their wands act as a focus for them just like my ball does for me, except that even if I lose the ball, I'll still be able to do magic. So, the wands are more like a crutch than a simple focus.
That's a bit of a let down but at the same time, it's a great relief. Now, I can leave this place without any worries, if I run into trouble with a magical person, all I would have to do is take away their wand. That should be easy enough since I can literally do it with a single thought, or so I hope.
A groan from Vernon draws me from my thoughts and I turn to address both him and Petunia.
"Alright, here's how things are going to go." I say with a frown. "My birthday is a month away, I'm going to stay here until then, afterwards I'm leaving and you won't have to see me again."
Petunia smiles slightly, excited at the thought.
Vernon groans again but I know he heard me.
"Until that time, you are to pretend like I don't exist. You will not talk to me or bother me in any way, you will leave me alone and I'll do the same to you." He ground out, fixing them with a focused glare. "If you don't, I'll just have to make the next few months unpleasant for you."
My threat seems to stick and she nods, I turn to leave but stop at the door and glare at her once again.
"I would also suggest that you keep Dudley away from me as well, you and your husband didn't seem to mind leaving me broken and bleeding." I mutter, just enough for her to hear. "If I'm old enough to be treated like that, I don't see why Dudley should be an exception. If he continues to bother me, I will break him."
With that, I turn and leave the kitchen, returning to my cupboard to think.
According to Petunia, I'm supposed to receive a letter to attend Dumbledore's school before I turn eleven, I don't plan on accepting. Instead, I think I'll just head to Diagon Alley and find out what I can about the magical world and their schools, if they can actually teach me something then I might consider attending a different school.
It takes me several minutes to remember a location near the Leaky Cauldron that I've been to before, luckily Petunia liked to drag me to a grocery store roughly a block or two from the place. Closing my eyes, I focus on the bathroom of the store and, with a surge of power, I'm there. Exiting the stall I appeared in, I make my way into the store proper and take a look around. The store seems to be mostly empty but it is just nine am after all, its only been open for about an hour or so.
I make my way to the exit and head towards the Leaky Cauldron, I can easily see the building in the distance and I'm surprised that I've never noticed it before, it only takes me a few minutes to reach it and I can tell it's the correct place as I feel my own magic reacting to the magic surrounding the building. The power here feels similar to my blood wards, just weaker and far more subtle, I wonder what it does.
My best guess is that it serves to keep the muggles away since no one else seems to notice the decrepit building, but I'm sure it has other functions as well.
'That could be very useful, I should look into what other kinds of wards these people can make.' I muse, glancing around.
I want to enter the building as soon as possible and learn about this whole new world but I can't go in as I am, if I'm as famous as Petunia said then people will definitely notice me walking around.
Standing still for a few seconds, I draw on my power and bend it to my will, smiling as I feel it complying. A moment later, I look into the glass window of a nearby store and the appearance of a different boy stares back. In an instant, my hair has grown down to my shoulders and is now light brown in color, it's also combed back neatly rather than the rats mess that it was before. My eyes have changed from a piercing emerald-green to a plain brown and the scar on my forehead, which had been slowly fading away since I woke, is now completely gone.
I frown as I take in my clothes and taped up glasses, but another thought handles them. My clothes, Dudley's hand me downs, shrink to a more manageable size, fitting me perfectly for once. The tape on my glasses vanishes as the many cracks and breaks on the frame seal together, leaving me with a pair of glasses that appear to be brand new.
'Hm, I should see about making a spell to fix my eyes,' I note, checking my new appearance. 'I don't want to wear glasses forever.'
Satisfied with my new appearance and assured that no one will recognize me, I enter the small pub.
My first impression of the building is disgust, my second is the same. Years of living with, and cleaning for, the Dursleys have made me a bit of a clean freak, I don't mind a small mess but I would prefer clean places. The pub is a complete dump, the floors look like they haven't been swept in years, the tables are covered in filth that has never been wiped, I can even see the bartender cleaning a dirty mug with an even dirtier rag.
Gross.
This place isn't even well lit, there are a few candles here and there but a majority of the building is cloaked in shadow, this must be what they mean when they refer to a 'shady pub'. Don't these people have magic for this sort of thing? I cleaned my cupboard on a fluke, shouldn't they have a spell for it? And the lighting as well, surely they have spells to better illuminate the place.
Needless to say, my first impression of the magical world is one of disgusted disappointment.
Ignoring the few patrons in the shadowed areas of the pub, I make my way to the back door, where the entrance to Diagon Alley is supposed to be located. While Petunia had forgotten the sequence of bricks required to open the gateway to the alley, I don't think it will be too much of a problem.
Drawing on my power, I latch my magic onto the back wall and ask it to open up. Much to my satisfaction and joy, the bricks begin to shift and move, forming a circular hole in the brick wall that leads into Diagon Alley. The alley itself brought up feelings within me, feelings I'd experienced in the pub just minutes ago, disgust and disappointment.
The entire alley looks like it was pulled out from the dark ages, it's like these people stopped evolving two hundred years ago.
This is the wonderful wizarding world? Where are all the advancements I expected?
I find myself sorely disappointed, on the verge of tears, as my expectations come crashing down. The pub I could have accepted as a fluke, one to throw off any muggles that may stumble in, this however is far too much. I'd expected, hoped even, that the magical world would be miles ahead of the muggle world, that it would be superior in every way.
After all, they have magic, they have power, they are superior.
I'm severely let down.
Throwing my turbulent emotions deep into my heart-mind, and allowing my magic to spread some calming warmth through me, I focus on my goals for today and enter the alley. My first stop looms in the distance, looking like a palace amidst a sea of filth, the wizarding bank, Gringotts.
The place looks more majestic than the rest of the alley it's situated in, with its pristine white walls and columns of marble stone, Gringotts resembles the temples of ancient Greece. While it's also out of its era, the building has a beauty of its own, one that almost makes up for the rest of the alley.
I make my way towards the bank, passing a few early risers, all dressed in the stereotypical ropes and hat of a witch or wizard. Just perfect, they even dress like they're from a fantasy story, how have these people remained a secret society for so long? I don't know but I bet a great use of magic is involved.
Shaking my head in annoyance, I focus on the bank once more.
Petunia had mentioned the bank in passing, she'd only been to Gringotts once and that was to exchange money for her sisters supplies. I was hoping my parents had left me some money here, since I don't have any money of my own to exchange. If it turns out that I'm wrong and I have no money to my name, well... I'm sure I can think of something, I can be quite resourceful when I set my mind to it.
Entering the bank, I made sure to only spare a quick glance at the Goblins standing guard. I'm quite interested in them of course, having never seen one before but all the Goblins in the stories I've read tend to be bad tempered and mean spirited. I don't feel like drawing attention to myself by accidentally causing an issue with the guards, who knows what they can do to me and get a way with.
I'm assuming a lot, since they happen to control this societies money.
The inside of the bank is just as clean and beautiful as the outside, with white marble covering the floors and walls as well as a few statues dotted here and there. It's also full of people standing in lines, all here to get their banking done early. Luckily, there are quite a lot of tellers so the lines are pretty short, something you would not see in a muggle bank.
Taking a quick look around, pausing once or twice to allow some bustling goblins to pass by, I join one of the shortest lines and wait my turn. It takes roughly ten minutes for my turn to come around and I walk right up to the tellers desk. The Goblin sneers down at me over his stand and raises a single brow in question.
Well, that's not a good first impression.
"Hello sir," I greet in as polite a tone as I can manage. "I would like to speak to an account manager please."
While waiting for my turn, I'd noticed that the four people that had gone before me had all been quite rude to the teller, a stupid idea if you ask me considering that these Goblins handle your money. I prefer to stay on their good side just in case.
The Goblin blinks and his sneer seems to grow softer, common courtesy and politeness can get you anywhere, I'll have to remember that.
"Where are your parents boy? We don't have time to waste on children." He asked in a gruff tone.
While the comment is a bit harsh, he doesn't seem to put much venom into it, I guess even Goblins need to keep up appearances.
"My parents are dead." I reply, adding a tinge of sadness. "I wanted to find out if they'd left me anything."
The Goblin blinks again and stares back for several seconds before nodding and turning to another Goblin behind him. He grunts out a series of harsh sounds in a language I don't quite understand and the other Goblin nods back. A few seconds later, the teller turns back to me and jabs a finger at the Goblin he had been speaking to.
"Fishclaw will take you to see a manager." He grunts with a nod, before his sneer grows hard and he turns his attention to the next client.
"Thank you." I say regardless before following behind the other Goblin, Fishclaw.
We pass through a series of winding corridors, eventually stopping at a small office where I was then introduced to Manager Ranglow, I bow politely since Goblins don't seem to be the hand shaking type and take an offered seat.
"How may I help you today?" Ranglow asks, his fingers interlaced on his desk.
"My name is Piers Polkiss and I just have a few questions," I begin, using a fake name.
I still don't want people knowing I've returned to the magical until I know who my allies and enemies are, you don't just kill off a major villain without gaining some enemies.
"What are your questions Mr. Polkiss?" Ranglow inquires.
"Will this meeting be kept between the two of us?" I ask curiously, wondering what the banks policies are on privacy.
If he's surprised by my question, he doesn't show it. Ranglow simply blinks before replying.
"The Goblin nation offers full discretion in all transactions." He begins with a slight frown. "In fact, all employees of Gringotts are forced to swear magical oaths to never disclose any of our client's information to anybody outside of the bank without the client's express permission."
I grin and allow my appearance to return to normal, much to the Goblins shock.
"That's good to know Mr. Ranglow, my real name is Harry Potter and I wanted to inquire about my parents accounts and whether they left me anything."
The Goblin simply stares back in shock for a full minute before his look turns inquisitive.
"This is quite fascinating Mr. Potter," he murmurs, brow furrowing in thought. "All offices are warded against all known forms of concealment, even a metamorphmagus would have been reverted to their natural form, how were you able to maintain your disguise?"
I blink in surprise, I really need to look into what sorts of things wards can do and find a way to tell them apart, I can feel the magic in the air here but I can't tell what it's meant to do.
"Oh, I just wanted to remain concealed and my magic did the rest." I reply with a shrug, he can't really tell anyone outside the bank about it so I don't care whether he knows that tidbit of information.
He stares back with a blank look.
"That is some powerful magic Mr. Potter, we will have to add your magical signature to the wards so we can monitor your comings and goings, for security purposes of course."
"Of course." I shrug again, I don't really plan to visit this place much, I just want to get as much money as I can before leaving. "Can we get back to my question now?"
He nods and walks over to a nearby cabinet, a few seconds later he come back with a thin book which he slides over to me. The book is dark red in color with golden bindings on the spine, on the cover is a red and gold checkered coat of arms with a stylized letter P in the center. The book is also locked with a golden clasp.
"The Potters are an old family, one of the oldest in fact, dating all the way back to the Gryffindor and Peverell lines, this means they have a high security account." Ranglow begins to explain. "All high security accounts are handled by a member of the Goblin High Council and all copies of the main account ledger are filled automatically. Regardless of its authenticity or not, I'll require a drop of your blood on the lock in order open this ledger."
I nod back and prick my finger on the lock, there's a loud click and the lock opens. I make a note to look into this as well, this is the second thing I've come across that involves blood, my wards being the first. I need check where this society stands on blood magic, not that I really care how they view the practice, its just that blood magic is usually illegal or forbidden in most of the books I've read but it does seem to have its uses; such as a lock only you can open.
Ranglow nods and begins reading the ledger.
In the meantime, I channel my magic to the cut on my finger and smile as it closes with a steamy hiss. Ranglow looks up at the sound but only a raises a brow in curiosity before turning back to the book, it takes him a few minutes to skim through the book before he begins speaking.
"There are a total of two vaults belonging to the Potter line, the Potter family vault which was merged with the Gryffindor and Peverell vaults centuries ago," He explains, turning the book towards me and pointing out a series of words and numbers to me. "And the Potter trust vault, which was created by your parents just over a decade ago."
"The Potter trust vault contains roughly ten thousand Galleons, thirty-five hundred of which is reserved to pay all seven years of your school tuition, the rest is yours to spend as you please and should be enough to last until you graduate."
"What's the conversion rate on Galleons to pounds?" I ask curiously, those are some big numbers he's using.
"Five pounds to the Galleon."
My eyes widen slightly as I do the math. That's fifty thousand pounds in the vault, seventeen thousand five hundred for school with thirty-two thousand and five hundred left over. That's quite a bit of money for someone who's never had any before.
"Continuing on." Ranglow says, pointing to another set of numbers. "The Potters were once one of the wealthiest families in magical Britain, but they were also well known for financing many war efforts. Much of the fortune was used up in the last two wars against Grindelwald and He-who-must-not-be-named."
I nod at that, frowning in displeasure, why would a single family finance a war effort? Isn't that the government's responsibility?
"The Potter family vault contains roughly five hundred thousand galleons and several heirlooms and artifacts." He continued, oblivious to my thoughts. "Due to your being a minor, access to the family vault is denied until you turn of age or receive consent from your current guardians."
I stare back at him with a blank face, two and a half million pounds, after financing two wars? How rich are the other old families for mine to be called poor in comparison with that kind of money?
'Not now, think about this later.'
"My guardians?" I ask, already planning on having Petunia sign a note of consent.
"Yes, the form must be signed by either your magical guardian, one Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore or by your muggle guardian, a Petunia Rosalyn Dursley née Evans." Ranglow replied.
I nod back, it should be easy enough to get Petunia to sign.
What bothers me is that Dumbledore is involved once again, why am I not surprised, at least this gives him some leeway on where he placed me. Don't get me wrong, I still dislike the man, this just means that he had legal right to place me with the Dursleys. It doesn't change the fact that he left me on their door step, during one of the coldest months of the year, where anything could have happened to me.
"Property wise, there is not much to note." Ranglow continues, flipping to another page in the book. "Potter Manor in Devon was destroyed over two centuries ago during the war with the Dark Lady Mayreth, it was never rebuilt. Potter cottage, your parents' home, has been made into a national memorial after You-Know-Who was defeated there."
That was fine as well, I can easily buy a new home after I gain access to my family vault, I don't see the need to live in a large manor and living in the very building where my parents and Voldemort died is just asking for trouble.
"Lastly, there are also a series of investments owned by the Potters but they are all doing quite well, I estimate that they earn you roughly twenty thousand Galleons a year, the average salary of a high ranking ministry employee." Ranglow continued, flipping through the last few pages and closing the book. "Was there anything else you needed Mr. Potter?"
"No, that should be everything." I reply with a smile, as long as I'm careful with it that money will last me a long time. "Is there any chance I can withdraw some money from my vault?"
"I'll have Fishclaw take you down." Ranglow nods, standing from his seat.
"Thank you." I reply, reapplying my disguise.
I exit the bank thirty minutes later with a thousand gold coins stored in a bottomless bag, a useful item that makes me interested in the art of enchanting, and head towards the book store. While the other stores look interesting, they don't really draw my attention as much as the book store. Books hold knowledge and knowledge is power, I'm hoping to get some interesting books, to both learn about this community and get a grasp on my own abilities.
Entering the building, I take a moment to look around at the various sections before heading to the one that interests me the most, Defense against the Dark Arts.
According to Fishclaw, this is the one section that deals mainly with spells for attacking and defending, I'm hoping that some of them will give me a few ideas when it comes to defending myself.
An hour later and a quick trip through the store, I make my way towards the checkout counter with a small pile of books. Despite the tens of hundreds of books on the shelves, I only chose to buy a total of eight books.
Dueling's Top 100: This is a magazine rather than a book but it's chock full of dueling information, as well as a list of the one hundred most popular spells used by the worlds best duelists. It's mostly a pleasure read rather than an instruction manual since the magazine doesn't tell the reader how to cast the spells, however, I'm more interested in the effects of the spells than I am the wand motions and spell words.
A Wizards Guide to Charming the World: This book is simply a compilation of charms of all kinds, many of which are only theories instead of created spells. A bonus with this book is that it also contains a list of the most popular wards in use, since wards fall under the charms branch, which should provide me with all the information I need on wards and their effects.
Transfiguration: A Masters Guide: This guide focuses on the higher tiers of transfiguration, the more difficult techniques and rules of the art. Transfiguration is an interesting art but it's also one of the easiest for someone like me, I can pretty much transfigure and conjure objects with a thought. Still, I want the book for the many theories and rules it contains.
The Dark Arts: Recognition and Avoidance: This is a Defense Against the Dark Arts book containing a list of defensive spells as well as the effects of many dark spells and how to avoid or counter them. This book is like the dueling magazine, in that it only contains the names and effects of the dark spells, but I don't need to know the wand motions so it's enough for me.
An added bonus is the small section at the back devoted to Curse Breaking. There are a few paragraphs on popular Curse Breaking techniques, followed by a small list of spells often used to identify wards or break the basic ones, I'm hoping it will teach me enough to handle more advanced wards on my own should the need ever arise.
The Hypocratic Oath: While the name is a tad deceiving, this book has everything I would ever require about the Healing Arts. It has information on not only the human body but on the spells and potions required for various injuries and maladies. My natural healing ability is usually enough to take care of things but I've never been fatally injured before and I don't really want to risk it, it's better to know it but not need it than to need it but not know it.
Enchanting for Beginners: This one contains information on useful enchantments such as the one on my bag, I mostly picked it up because it contains a large list of enchantments, enchanted items and items suitable for certain enchantments.
Runic Sigils: The Lost Art: This is a book about Ancient Runes and its use in wards, enchantments and rituals. It came highly recommended by my enchantment book and I'm looking forward to learning runes, they're usually talked about in many of my fantasy books and there's an almost endless use to them.
I'm also interested in some of the rituals the book comments on, such as the ones to increase ones magical power or gain certain abilities. There are only a few comments on them as those rituals are classified as Dark and I couldn't find any real information about them in the store. Apparently, anything related to the dark arts is illegal in this society, which frustrates me to no degree. I'd stopped seeing the world in black and white, light and dark, a long time ago. There aren't any good or evil people in the world, only the strong and the weak. Shunning one half of magic because it's dark or evil would just end up making me weaker in the end, I refuse to be weak.
There isn't much point making a fuss about it here though, this store carries none of those books but they have to be somewhere and I'll just have to keep my eye out for them.
The last book was titled The Mind Arts: A Warlocks Guide: This is a book on all spells that involve the mind such as the memory charm and compulsions. What interests me the most however, is Legilimency, the art of mind reading, that sounds like a useful skill to have. I grinned widely when I discovered that my meditation exercises had somehow helped me learn and master Occulumency, the art of defending the mind. The book also had a few useful ideas to help me improve my own barriers.
There were a few subjects that look somewhat interesting but not interesting enough for be to be interested, namely Potions, History, Astronomy and Divination.
Potions I have no interest in because it requires far too much time, ingredients and work for something I can probably accomplish with my magic alone. Sure, there are a few potions that look far more useful than any spell but those are the extremely complicated ones that require a masters touch. I don't want to risk blowing myself up like that, besides, I can just buy any potions that I need.
History is a subject I've never had much interest in before, I had less interest in magical history after flipping through a few books. The books were dry and the information all seemed to be biased, either for the human side or the light side depending on the conflict at the time.
I did take a moment to memorize the family trees of the Old Families, the Potters, Blacks, Malfoys, Longbottoms, and Gaunts, each one starting from an even older line such as the Le Fay, Slytherin, Gryffindor, Peverell, Ravenclaw, Emrys and Hufflepuff lines. I'm not too sure what the family lines mean exactly but I paid attention to the last three generations of each line in case I ever meet one of the members.
The last of my interest in History died as I looked over a list of Ministry laws, some of these laws are so backwards or even blatantly racist that I slammed the book shut before I gained a headache.
"That just proves I was right." I mutter darkly. "Even in the magical world, the weak are trampled by the strong."
Astronomy and Divination are subjects that I have absolutely no interest in, I know enough about the stars to find my way north and that's all I need. Divination itself is pointless for me, since only people born with 'The Sight' can use it and I'd never received the prophetic visions or signs written in the books.
As I brought my selected books to the front counter, I received a strange look from the dark haired girl standing behind the counter.
"This is some pretty advanced stuff you have here." She commented, looking the pile of books over. "Most of this isn't even taught until you graduate Hogwarts, are you sure you have the right books? I can help you with a list of the first year books if you want, though you look a little young to be starting school already."
I stare at her with wide, innocent eyes and giggle childishly.
"They're not for me silly." I say in a sweet tone, earning a smile from her. "They're for my mum, I'm only nine so I can't go to Hogwarts yet."
She giggles at me and passes the books over.
"Well, aren't you just the cutest thing, helping out your mummy with her shopping." She says with a wide smile. "That'll be 5 Galleons for all the books hun."
I make a point of counting out the coins and give her six with a wide grin, she smiles back and thanks me.
"Have a good day cutie, be careful okay?" She shouts as I'm leaving the store.
I turn back with a grin and wave.
"I will, thanks nice lady."
My grin turns into a smirk as I turn and leave the store, that was far too easy.
Lugging around eight books of varying shapes and sizes is quite the bother however, I need a backpack or something so I head for the luggage store next.
It doesn't take me long to find something that suits my needs, a Mokeskin Pouch.
The pouch is like my bottomless money bag, except only the owner can take things out of it and anything put inside can be recalled with a single thought. Of course, it was also very expensive, since they are rare and the owner only had six of them in stock.
It cost me eight hundred galleons but it was a worthy purchase.
With my books inside the pouch, and the pouch hanging from my belt, I head for the nearest clothing store, Madam Malkins. If I plan on leaving home in a month, I need a set of robes in case I come through the alley in disguise.
Luckily, they have several off the rack robes that I can buy without needing to be measured first, so I'm able to buy a set of five black robes and a hooded cloak, black as well. The sizes don't really matter to me since I can just change them with magic but I want to have the materials in case I come across any wards that would make conjured robes vanish.
After Madam Malkins, I head for my last stop in the alley, the pet store. A lot of the fantasy books I've read talked about wizards and their familiars, usually some type of rare magical creature but there are also a few mundane animals. I'm not sure if familiars are important or not in this society but I've always wanted a pet and now I can get one.
The inside of the store is filled with hundreds of cages, each containing a different animal from a variety of species. I walked by the cages, looking inside a few in search of a good pet. A majority of them are filled with owls, cats and toads but there are a few snakes and some small creatures I've never seen before, most likely magical.
I stop as I pass by the snakes, they all look nice and colorful but none of them interest me and I've never been a big fan of serpents before. The owls also looked exotic and smart but an owl isn't really a pet you can take wherever you go, well not outside the magical world at least.
The toads are a no go as well, with their slippery skin and loud croaking, there's no way I'm going to buy one of them. I ruled out all the magical critters too, they are more unusual than owls to carry around and quite frankly I have no idea what exactly most of them are.
That leaves me with a cat.
I don't really mind cats, I've spent enough time around them at Ms. Figgs so I know how to take care of them. They are also good pets to have since they aren't as energetic or as loud as dogs and they can care for themselves to a degree.
I spend a few minutes looking at the different cats before settling on a specific one.
The cat in question has short, black hair; total cliche right there, a wizard and his black cat. It stares back at me lazily with its yellow-green eyes, there's a spark of intelligence in those eyes and it appears to be very well behaved. It isn't as excited as the other cats, some of which are jumping about in their cages, it was just laid back and relaxed.
"Excuse me, sir?" I call, walking up to the store clerk, an old man with short, grey hair.
"Need some help there lad?" He asks, smiling at me.
I nod and point to the cage holding my chosen pet.
"I wanted to buy that cat sir."
He nods and pulls out a ring of keys, it takes him a few minutes to find the right one but he soon opens the cage and pulls out the animal. He hands me the cat but its too heavy for me to carry while shopping so I set it down beside me.
I kneel in front of it and scratch behind its ears which earns me a purr.
"Well aren't you a handsome cat." I say with a smile. "But you need a name."
He meows in reply, purring as I switch to his other ear.
"Well, if I'm going with a cliche cat, how about a cliche name." I chuckle. "You remind me of that one cat from TV, he had black hair as well and yellow eyes."
The cat meows and looks at me, his posture straight and his demeanor no longer lazy.
"How about Salem?" I ask. "Salem Saberhagen."
Salem seems to like his new name as he meows and rubs his head on my hand.
"Alright Salem, I'm Harry." I pause and look around, no one within earshot. "Harry Potter."
I get another meow in reply as I stand.
Salem is far bigger than I first thought, reaching up to my knees standing but he doesn't seem to be too much of a bother, he just follows me around the store.
At least he's as intelligent as I'd suspected.
I pick up a cat carrying cage with a weightless enchantment applied, self-refilling food and water bowls, a self-cleaning litter box and some food he seems to like. I also pick up a few toys that seem to interest him and a few books on pet grooming spells and a guide to various magical creatures.
Altogether, my purchases come up to thirty-nine Galleons and I soon walk out the store with all my items tucked into my pouch and Salem following close behind me.
Outside the store, I take a look around the alley, more people have started filling the streets but its still quite early. I don't see any more interesting stores and I'm about to teleport myself and Salem home when something catches my eye.
I turn my attention to it, 'it' turns out to be another alley branching off from this one. However, where Diagon is somewhat neat and the bright sunlight illuminates the entire street, this other street is dark as night and the entire area looks creepy and suspicious. The sign beside the entrance labels it as Knockturn Alley and the few people I can see entering it are wearing hooded cloaks that hide their appearance.
I glance down at Salem who looks away from Knockturn alley and stares back at me.
"Want to bet I can find books on the Dark Arts in there?" I ask him.
I receive a meow in return.
"Let's take a look then." I say, but I frown as I take another look at the alley. "It doesn't really look like a safe place for kids though."
Salem meows in agreement.
Looking around, I see a small alleyway beside the pet store and its neighbor. I duck in there, where no one can see me, and focus my thoughts inward. My magic spikes and I shiver as I feel it covering my entire being, my first idea was to make myself older but honestly that could have severe consequences. Instead, I cover myself in an illusion that makes me appear taller and older than I am, it works perfectly and I can see the illusion interposed on my form in a nearby puddle.
I pull out my new cloak from my pouch and slip it on, my illusionary double does the same, this is a pretty useful spell, I have to remember it for next time.
Fully cloaked, I leave the small alley and make my way towards Knockturn Alley, Salem following hot on my heels.
Knockturn, unlike Diagon, isn't a shopping district. Its mostly full of pawn stores, pubs, brothels, tattoo parlors, motels and some apartment buildings. The main problem with the area is the people that hang out here, there are a few shady characters leaning on the walls as well as a bunch of old, wart covered women walking about with plates of fingers.
Other than the inhabitants and the constant darkness that covers the area, its not a bad place. That doesn't stop me from walking quickly and keeping to myself, I also keep an eye on Salem just to make sure he's safe. Ignoring the pubs, brothels, tattoo parlors and motels, I make my way to one of the better looking pawnshops, Borgin and Burkes.
This looks like the right sort of place to find Dark Arts books, the store is dark and gloomy with shelves of dangerous looking objects, there's even a human skull and arm on one of the shelves.
"You want something mate?" A gruff voice asks from across the store.
I see a man standing behind a counter, tall and gaunt with dark eyes and hair.
I tilt my head, staring at him from within my hood, causing him to fidget. I guess he gets a lot of dangerous looking types through here, I should probably reply before he gets too spooked.
"Mr. Borgin or Mr. Burke?" I ask, my illusion naturally filtering my voice to make it sound deeper, although it comes out as a monotone.
"Borgin." He replies, "You need something?"
"Yes," I answer, stepping into the store and closing the door. "I need a few books on both the Dark Arts and Rituals."
Borgin snorts and nods his head towards a bookshelf in the corner.
"Everything I have is on there," he says. "I should also add that if anyone catches you with those, you'll be in Azkaban faster than you can say 'Expecto Patronem."
I nod back and turn to the shelf in question, there are quite a few books on the shelf but only a few catch my eye.
Rituals of Empowerment and So You Want To Be A Dark Lord, the first containing a long list of rituals both light and dark, while the second is just another list of dark spells.
Grabbing the two, I make my way to the counter and hand them over to Borgin, he stares back with narrowed eyes.
"How do I know you ain't an Auror?" He asks suspiciously.
'Auror, what the hell are those?' I wonder in confusion. 'Maybe some sort of magical police?.'
I roll my eyes and reply.
"I swear on my magic that I'm not an Auror, nor am I affiliated with the Ministry of Magic."
Magical oaths are something I saw mentioned in a history text earlier, they seem to be magically binding and have fatal consequences if broken so there was a warning to use them carefully. I took a special interest in magical oaths and life debts from that book, normally, I don't trust people but if I can get them to swear an oath? That's just perfect.
Borgin raises an eyebrow in question but nods and completes the oath. "So mote it be."
There's a flash of light and I grimace as I feel my own magic constricting me, verifying the truth of my oath. Its quite the unpleasant and uncomfortable feeling. A few seconds later the feeling vanishes and my magic returns to normal, filling me with comforting warmth.
"Well, that settles that." I say, nodding to Borgin, he nods back and looks at the two books I've chosen.
"That'll be three Galleons." He grumbles after a moment.
I raise my own eyebrow in question but he can't see it so I just hand him the coins, those two books cost more than my other eight separately.
Placing the books in my pouch, I turn and exit the store, Salem loyally following behind.
Outside the building, I take a look around and seeing as no one is watching, I pick Salem up and flicker home.
It's been a long morning.