Chapter 2 : Diagon Alley

The alley is amazing. Everything feels so alive, so happy and bright. There are people dressed in what I guess from what I read in my letter is called robes, adults and children in that attire, but there are also children who are wearing regular clothes like me and who are looking around with awe and amazement. I have a feeling, that just like me, they just learnt they were wizards. Children are running around from shop to shop and I can see parents trying to catch up to them with tender exasperation. So far, it seems that no one noticed that I was alone. Adults must think that my parents were following behind me.

I take a look around me and I see all sorts of shops. Pet shops, dress shops, bookstores and a shop called Ollivander's that seems to sell wands. Since I have no money, I decide to go look for the bank and see if what my aunt said is true and I can get some money. As I walk further in the alley, I see a tall building with the sign Gringotts. This must be the bank then.

In the entrance of the building I see two strange creatures standing guard. They aren't much taller than I am but they are heavily armed and they keep looking at people with disdain. I see some wizards walk into the bank without being stopped by the guards so I slip right after them. Neither of the creatures looked my way.

The hall of the bank was big and there were tellers lined up in the bank. I stand in the least busy line and I wait for my turn. When I get to the start of the line I lift my head and I see a creature like the guards at the door with the nameplate : Griphook. He looks at me disdainfully and I feel painfully shy. I start to question the wisdom of a child coming to a bank on his own. Maybe I should have begged aunt Petunia to come with me.

"Good morning", I say timidly,"I was wondering if you could help me, sir"

"What do you want child?"

"Well, you see, my parents died a long time ago and my guardians tell me that my father left me money in this bank. So I would like to withdraw some for my school supplies. Can you help me with that please?"

"Name?"

"My name is Harry Potter."

At this, the creature looks at me sharply, his eyes seem to be fixated on my bangs covered forehead. I don't understand why my name seems to have struck a chord with the teller. Maybe my dad was a wealthy customer for the bank. I hope I didn't come here for nothing.

"We will need to verify your identity', the creature says

"You mean I have to come back with a birth certificate or something?", I ask

"No, a few drops of blood will be enough."

"I'm sorry?", I squeak, blood?

Griphook extends his right hand, I notice that the fingers have sharp claws at their end. I keep staring at it until he makes an impatient gesture motioning me to put my hand in his. I tentatively reach out to him, mindful of the sharp claws. As his hand closes upon mine, he brings with his other hand a dagger and makes a small cut in my thumb letting a few drops of blood fall on a paper that appeared out of nowhere.

He then lets go of my hand and seems intent on the piece of paper. A few moments later he says : "Do you have your key mister Potter?"

"No sorry, I never had one".

"Alright, follow me."

He steps away from his desk and guides me through different corridors until we reach a cart. We both get into it and it speeds off with dizzying speed into darkness until it stops in front of a big door.

We leave the cart and Griphook handles the door with his claws, some ornaments on the door start moving before the door itself opens. Griphook turns around and says :"This is the vault that your parents set up for you for your school years. You will be granted access to all the other vaults once you are seventeen years old. Since your parents death we, the goblins have taken care of their finances and investments. You will receive monthly statements about these transactions now that you will be living in our world." He then explained the currency used in the magical world and gave me a pouch in which I can put the money I need for my school year and supplies.

I try to remember everything that Griphook is saying and yet I can't shake the feeling that this is a dream. I am a wizard, I can do magic and I am going to a magic school. Better yet, my parents left me enough money to support myself and attend this school.

I fill the pouch with money. I have no idea how much I will need, but when I asked Griphook, he said that I can come by anytime if I need to withdraw more.

I follow Griphook back to the main hall of the bank then I thank him profusely for his help. I bid him farewell and then I leave the bank.

My next destination is Ollivander's. I am supposed to get a wand. I walk into the dark shop, its walls covered in shelves full of boxes and dust was everywhere. I jump slightly when an eery voice sounds in my ear. "Harry Potter, I was wondering when I would be seeing you."

I turn around and I see an old man looking at me with piercing eyes that made me very uncomfortable. I ask "I am sorry, sorry but how do you know me?"

"My dear child, everyone knows who you are." I look at him astonished. He seems surprised and then he sighs "Oh my, you don't know."

"What is it that I should know, sir?"

"You are a very famous person in our world, child. You defeated the darkest wizard in history when you were just a baby."

"That …. that is impossible. I didn't defeat anybody. I was a baby when I started living with my relatives."

"Yes, after you defeated your parents killer. Did you ever wonder about the scan in your forehead?"

"How...", I whisper "how did you know?" my scar was hidden by my bangs. I had it since I was a baby. My relatives said I had it in the car crash during which my parents died, which I now know is a lie. The Dursleys didn't like seeing my scar as its shape was very unusual, so my aunt had me grow bangs since I was little to hide it. That is the way I kept my hair ever since. So, how did this man know about it?

He seems to read my thoughts for he smiles and says "The scar that you have is not an ordinary one. It is called a curse scar. The dark wizard cast the killing curse on you and yet he wasn't able to kill you. The curse killed him instead. You, mister Potter, are the only wizard to ever survive the killing curse. Everyone knows about you and our children grow up hearing stories about you. You are the Boy Who Lived"

I don't know what to say. Not only was I a wizard, but I was an unusual wizard at that. I now understand why Griphook was looking at me like that. I am not sure if I like the attention I seem to be having. I have to think about this. Understanding my reluctance to speak more about this, Ollivander says "Now, mister Potter, you came here to get a wand not to hear the ramblings of an old man. So let's get you a wand, shall we?"

We walk to his counter and he says "Usually I would have you wave different sorts of wands until you find the one for you, but Headmaster Dumbledore seems to think that there is one wand already for you. He grabs a box from under the counter and opens it. I see a black thin wand resting inside the box.

"Try this wand mister Potter."

I reach out my hand to touch the wand but I stop midway. I felt … nothing. This wand was just a piece of wood to me. I didn't even feel like touching it. Seeing my reluctance, the old man says "What is wrong, lad? Why don't you try it?"

"I don't feel anything. It just doesn't feel right, am I supposed to feel something sir?"

"Curious, very curious", he hums

"Excuse me, but what is curious?", I ask

"It is curious that this wand s the brother wand of the dark wizard who gave you your scar. The headmaster believed, and so did I, that you might have an affinity to this wand considering your history. But no matter. You said that this wand didn't feel right, so how about you close your eyes, and try to concentrate to see if a wand in the shop calls out to you."

I do as he asks, I take a deep breath and close my eyes. I feel humming in the air, that I subconsciously associate to the heavy magic in the shop. I tried to ignore all the humming in the air and reach out with my mind and that's when I felt it. A strong pull to the back of the shop. I can only follow it. I reach the darkest corner of the shop and I reach my hand to the top shelf to grad a black old box that I take back to Ollivander.

"I forgot that I had this wand. It has been in this shop for as long as I can remember. From when the shop was run by my grandfather. This wand chose no one. Try it mister Potter", he says as he uncovers the box and my breath catches in my throat. The wand was beautiful. Long, white and absolutely amazing. My hand reaches out of its own accord to touch it and I hear Ollivander's voice saying "11 inches, made of yew wood with the tears of Ice Phoenix, hair of unicorn and the blood of a basilisk."

At the very contact of my hand with the wand, I feel complete. Like some part of me was missing and is now filled. I feel warmth spread all over my body and I can feel the wand's magic humming contentedly in my hand.

Ollivander is now looking at me even more curiously. "This is a very powerful wand, mister Potter", he says,"Possibly the most powerful wand ever made. And it can only be used by an equally powerful wizard. I think it is safe to say that we can expect great things from you mister Potter. Great things indeed."

Still in a daze from what I learnt about my past and finding my wand, I pay Ollivander for the wand and wander into a shop called Madam Malkins For All Occasions where I buy different sets of school robes. Then I go to an apothecary to buy supplies for a subject that I will be studying called potions and that seems a bit like chemistry to me. My next stop is the bookstore. I start by getting my school books, then I decide to buy as many books as I can get. I am about to go to a world I know nothing about and in which people seem to know me. I better be as prepared as I can. If there is anything I hate, it is to feel ignorant and lost. So I wander from section to section grabbing any book that can help me understand this world better. From introduction to magic, to wizards ancestry, to wizarding customs, magical creatures, known and unknown magics, theories of magics and books that weren't in the syllabus but could help me with my schoolwork. I look down at the basket in which I've been piling books and to my delight I can see that it magically fit all the books that I want and seems to weigh nothing at all. I love this magic!

I walk to the counter and I hand the basket to the lady there asking her if she could make it so that the books aren't heavy, just like the basket. She kindly explains that there is a charm for that. She shows me the charm to reduce the size and weight of the books and how I can tap with my wand to get my purchases back to normal size.

I thank her and I walk to my last stop, getting a pet. I don't stop at the owls room in the shop as I don't think I need an owl. I never had anyone I wanted to correspond with. So I walk further in the shop and even though several animals looks cute and adorable I didn't feel like buying any of them. At last I reached the very last cage in which I see a tiger cub. Even small as it is, it seems to give an aura of danger, daring anyone to disturb it. And I decide that I want it. So I look at it and looking into its eyes I say :"Hey there, would you like to come home with me?" It looks at me intently for a minute then approaching the bars of the cage it seems to sniff the air around me before nodding it head. The shopkeeper comes my way saying:"Excellent choice lad. That is a magical tiger cub that bonds with its owner once it matures and then you can share a mind link with it that allows you to call it anytime and know where it is at all times. In a year, it will hit its maturity and reach its full size."

I nod my head expressing my consent. Once the cage door is open, the cub jumps down and walks a few circles around me before sitting at my feet. I shake my head when the shop owner mentions a collar and I buy treats for the remainder of the summer.

It is only when I decide to go home that I remember that I can't have a tiger cub follow me around or take the bus so I look at the small animal saying. "Listen little guy, well I suppose I can't call you little guy all the time, how about Sangha?" It seems to ponder for a while before nudging my leg with its head. I take that for approval and smile saying :"Alright then, Sangha. I am afraid that you cannot be seen walking around in the streets or people will panic. We have to find a way to get you to my house. The way I see it, you either have to become invisible, or we get you to become small enough to fit in my pocket. I made a few things shrink before, accidentally, but I've never tried with animals, what are we to do?" I definitely don't want to hurt my new friend so I try to think of something while Sangha looks at me patiently. Resolutely, I nod my head and pat the tiger. "Trust me", I whisper. Then, closing my eyes, I focus on wishing Sangha to be small and praying for it to work. And it does, now Sangha looks so small I can fit fit him in my pocket. Which I do. Then quickly I step back into the Leaky Cauldron and then leaving the magical world behind, I walk to the nearest bus stop and go home.

As soon as I reach home, I go straight to my room and take Sangha out of my pocked. Focusing in it again, I wish it back to its real size and Sangha is back. I am so relieved to see it unharmed that I get down on my knees and hug it desperately. It licks my face as though reassuring me that it is fine and I am so happy about it.

I then unshrink my books and sort them to decide which to read the first.

=== Time Jump ===

I spend the summer holed up in my room reading my books and trying to learn as much as I can before going to school. Magic sounds fascinating, I love reading about transfiguration, charms, potions, herbology and the rest of the subjects. The only thing upsetting me is the things written about me in some of the books I bought. They make me out to be some sort of a hero and I don't like the idea of that. I am planning to attend school like any regular student and being just Harry, nothing more.

The Dursleys are avoiding me more than before now. They don't talk to me anymore, and Sangha scares them so much they couldn't even scold me for buying it. I only leave my room when it is meal time and this arrangement seems to suit all parties.

The morning of September 1st, to my surprise, uncle Vernon says that he is taking me to Kings Cross station. He says that he doesn't want the neighbors to see me leaving the house with my freakish things and dangerous animal, what will they say about the family. So I take all my stuff to the car and slide in the backseat with Sangha.

Once in Kings Cross, my uncle waits until I take all my stuff before leaving without even letting me thank him and tell him goodbye. The letter I got from Hogwarts said that I needed to go to Platform 9 and ¾. I never heard of such a platform and I don't think it's a good idea to ask anyone, somehow, this seems to be something only for wizards. So I take a look at the pillars between platforms 9 and 10. There are 3 and the air around the third seems to be humming like the air in Diagon Alley so I knew that what I needed to do has to do with that pillar. Now, do I need to touch it? Walk through it? I don't have to wait long before I see a family of three with a son a bit older than mine and an owl on his shoulder walking right through the pillar and nobody around notices. That settles it then, I push my stuff and walk right through as well. And I step straight into another platform next to a bright red train. It says Hogwarts Express. The area is full with children and parents helping their kids with their luggage. I can hear teary goodbyes and mothers recommending their children to write them regularly.

I board the train and I settle down with Sangha in an empty compartment closing the door behind me. Sangha puts its head in my lap while I pull a book on theory of magic. I hear the train give a last whistle before it starts moving.

"Sangha", I say to the sleeping tiger,"Looks like we are going to Hogwarts."