A/N: You guys are lucky that I am in a writing mood and that I am listening to a song that is inspiring me to write another chapter just days after I posted the last one. Also, I want to get this part of the story over so I can finally get into the storyline. Thanks again to all of you who reviewed! I am glad that you enjoyed the details about phoenixes. It took me awhile to think about how I wanted to go about having phoenixes in this story and that's what I came up with. Anyway, I digress. Here is the next chapter, the final chapter of the prologue, as it were. The next chapter will have Harry going to Hogwarts finally.
Chapter Twelve: Letter
"SEVERUS! MINERVA!"
Severus was the first to awaken from his slumber. He blinked at the sunshine that shined in his eyes and he gave the rays a halfhearted glare before he got up and padded out of his room. The Potion Master entered the kitchen and he was instantly attacked by his charge.
"I GOT IT! I GOT IT!" Harry exclaimed, jumping up and down.
"Got what, fledgling?" Severus asked. Even Harry's guardians used Fawkes' nickname for the black-haired boy. It fit better than any other nickname.
"My Hogwarts letter."
The older man ruffled the boy's short hair, causing the boy to stick his lip out in a pout as his hair was messed up again. "Of course you would get it. I would have been shocked if you didn't."
"As would I," a soft voice mumbled from the doorway.
The two turned to face Minerva, who was clad in a robe and a pair of sleeping pants. She smiled tiredly at them. "I will go head for the shower, Severus, since our little hellion has woken me. And, Harry, congratulations." She left the room.
Harry turned to Severus, smiling widely. "So, when do we go shopping for my supplies?"
"As soon as we all get dressed," Severus responded, heading towards the cupboards to make tea. It would be a long day indeed.
((((((_))))))
It wasn't Harry's first time to Diagon Alley. He would often tag along with one of his guardians as they picked up various supplies they needed. So, when they entered Diagon Alley through the secret passageway, he wasn't surprised to see the cobbled street that twisted in ways most streets wouldn't nor the strangely named shops.
"If you wouldn't mind, Minerva, I need to head to the apothecary," Severus stated as they stepped through the archway that was created from the brick wall behind them. "I will join you shortly." He patted Harry's shoulder and he strode off, black robes billowing. Several witches and wizards stepped out of his way.
"He certainly does attract attention, doesn't he?" Harry asked with a grin.
Minerva mirrored his grin. "Yes he does. Do you have your list, fledgling?"
The boy dug in his robe pocket and pulled out the sheet of parchment. He unfolded it and handed it to his guardian.
"First things first; we need to head to Gringotts to pull out some money for your supplies."
Severus and Minerva had told Harry that he had a small vault in Gringotts that his parents left for him, but they never told him that he had more than that vault. James and Lily earned (and inherited) enough money for Harry to live comfortably for the rest of his life. They set up a trust fund just for his school supplies and for his allowance. When Harry's guardians read the will the Potter's left, they learned of the vaults and all the contents inside, including deeds to several Potter estates and lands scattered all around the world. They agreed that upon Harry's seventeenth birthday to tell their charge about his inheritance.
Minerva and Harry approached the stairs that lead to the bank when they spotted Hermione Granger with her parents. Harry had received a letter from his friend that she had gotten a letter to Hogwarts. Her letter held a hint of nervousness, as if she was afraid he would no longer be friends with her when he discovered she was a witch. He wrote a letter back saying that he himself was a wizard and the two continued to be friends, sometimes even asking Neville to join with them on their outings.
"Hermione!" Harry called, waving his hand.
The bushy-haired girl turned and her smile broke out into a smile. She ran over to them, pulling Harry into a hug. "Harry! I wasn't sure when you would be coming here. My parents and I are trying to get our money exchanged into wizard currency…"
"I can help you with that, Hermione," Minerva said. She greeted Hermione's parents, Jane and Peter Granger. "Here, Harry. Take this and you two go get some ice cream. We'll be back." The older woman passed Harry some Sickles and escorted the Grangers into Gringotts.
"C'mon, Hermione, the ice cream shop here has the best ice cream ever!" The boy grabbed hold of the older girl's arm and they both ran down the zigzagging street.
(((((_))))))
"Will that be all, Severus? And you wanted it owled to your house?"
Severus gave a curt nod, handed over the exact money, and was about to leave the shop when he heard a familiar voice.
"Come Draco, let's get your…. ah, hello Severus."
Lucius Malfoy had pulled open the door to the apothecary and a smile was now spreading across his face. At his side, Draco Malfoy, his son, looked up to the man, his emotionless mask in place.
"Lucius, Draco," Severus greeted, offering the older man his hand. Lucius took his proffered arm and grasped the man's elbow. They never broke eye contact, gray eyes clashing with black. "Out getting school supplies?"
"Might as well get it done early, so we don't have to worry about accidents," Lucius said smoothly.
Out of habit, Severus broke eye contact with the blonde. He had never been comfortable around the older man. When Severus started Hogwarts, Lucius was already a sixth year and took the half-blood Slytherin under his wing. Even when Lucius left Hogwarts, he kept in contact with the younger boy and was one of the reasons he became a Death Eater.
"I will leave you to it, then," Severus replied stiffly. He sidestepped the Malfoys and made a quick escape from the apothecary.
"Curious," Lucius muttered to himself.
(((((_))))))
"Oh, Harry, look! 'How to Successfully Breed Unicorns'! It sounds really interesting!"
"Trust me," Harry said, taking his eyes off of Curses and Counter-Curses (Bewitch your Friends and Befuddle your Enemies with the Latest Revenges: Hair Loss, Jelly-Legs, Tongue-Tying and much, much more), "unicorns are very hard to breed by yourself. Leave that for certified breeders."
Minerva shook her head, a smile on her face. "Finish your browsing, children. We still have yet to start on robes and wands."
Peter and Jane were in awe at the kinds of books Flourish and Blotts had and were engrossed in books about how to care for your teeth using spells and potions. So far, all of Hermione's purchases were safely in their car, thanks to Minerva. Every time Hermione had a bag or box, Minerva used a spell to send it to their car.
What seemed like an hour later, the three managed to pull the two from the store and they headed over to Madam Malkin's to get their school robes. Hermione and Harry were instantly put on stools and fabric draped all over their bodies.
"Harry is certainly growing, Minerva," Madam Malkin said, sending her assistant to attend to Hermione. "Are you sure you don't want additional robes?"
"Not today, dear. I might be back here before school starts to get him something to grow into."
Madam Malkin chuckled. "I remember when James would always come back here with his mother every year. He shot up like a rocket, especially in his fifth year."
"Maybe I'll rival his height some day," Harry said, grinning.
Both women laughed.
The bell above the door chimed, signaling that there was another customer.
"If you are here for school robes, you'll have to wait," Malkin called.
"What if I pay you extra to get my son done right now?" a silky voice drawled.
Minerva rolled her eyes. "Still impatient aren't we, Mr. Malfoy?"
Harry peeked around Madam Malkin to see Lucius Malfoy with a near identical twin next to him, only much smaller. The boy didn't even reach the height of the man's cane.
"Well, well," Lucius drawled. "If it isn't Professor McGonagall. Have you met my son, Draco? He'll be going to Hogwarts this year."
"Hello Draco," Minerva said, catching Draco's gray eyes. Draco bowed and kissed her offered hand. "It seems that unlike your own father you have raised a wonderful boy."
The older blonde stiffened but relaxed a little. "I accept your thanks, Professor. May I ask why you are here?"
"I am taking two students to get their things," she replied, not elaborating.
It was at that moment that both Hermione and Harry stepped down from the stools, having been measured. Lucius' eyebrows rose up, almost disappearing into his high hairline. "You are Harry Potter's guardian, Professor?"
"Certainly not," Minerva lied. "His guardian sent me to escort young Mr. Potter to get his things. His guardian is a very busy man and often asks me to watch over the boy." She turned to her newest students. "Are you finished?"
"We need to pay for our robes, but otherwise yes," Harry said.
She nodded. "Harry, Hermione, this is Lucius Malfoy and his son, Draco. Draco is going to join you this year."
Harry and Draco traded their greetings and Hermione blushed when the blonde boy kissed her hand.
"Are you pureblood?" Draco asked.
"Uh, my parents are Muggles, if that is what you are asking," Hermione said nervously.
Draco looked shocked.
"Up here, Mr. Malfoy," Madam Malkin barked. "It was nice to see you again, Minerva, and you too, Harry. I will see you soon." She offered the boy a smile. "My assistant will ring you up."
The three paid for the robes and left before Lucius could get another word in. Severus was waiting outside the shop, his hip braced against the building, Peter and Jane behind him.
"I see you have met Draco and his father," Severus said, his eyes on his charge.
"You are right about them," Harry said, wrinkling his nose. "Draco may be fine but his father…."
"I never claimed to say that he was a nice person."
The group made their way across the street to Ollivander's wand shop. Both Harry and Hermione were shaking with nervousness. What if they couldn't find a wand to use? The shop seemed empty but Minerva approached the desk and rang the bell on the wooden surface. Immediately, a white-haired man appeared.
"Ah, hello Minerva," the man said, bowing and kissing the woman's hand. "It has been awhile. I see that you have Severus with you as well. And look! You have two students." He smiled widely. "Ladies first."
Hermione stepped forward.
((((((Five minutes later))))))
"Perfect!" Ollivander exclaimed as sparks flew from the wand in Hermione's hand. Her parents clapped, their faces matching their daughter's: full of awe and surprise.
She paid for her wand and bounced over to Harry, beaming. "I got a wand!"
"Good for you," Harry said, smiling with you.
"Up here, Mr. Potter," Ollivander barked.
Harry approached the desk, feeling as though he ate live butterflies and they were still in his stomach.
"I vividly remember the day your parents came into my shop," the man began, eyeing the boy up and down. "Your mother picked a willow wand, ten and a quarter inch long. It was a wonderful wand for charm work, something she excelled at. Your father, however, had a mahogany wand, eleven inches long. Perfect for transfiguration spells. Wasn't that right, Minerva?"
"Yes," the older woman said. "James was the top student of his year in my class. Most of the Potters before him were also excellent in Transfiguration."
Ollivander began browsing the several boxes of wands on the walls. He pulled a box down and passed the box to Harry. He opened it, revealing a dark red wand.
"Give it a wave," the old man said, smiling.
But before Harry could even complete the move, Ollivander snatched it from his hand. He tried to ignore Hermione's giggles coming from behind him.
(((((Several minutes and wands later)))))))
"I wonder…."
Harry found it hard to not feel frustrated after the umpteenth wand was pulled from his hand and tossed back into the box it came from. He knew some witches and wizards had difficulty finding wands and eventually found it, but this was getting ridiculous. Maybe it was because of his wandless ability that made him unable to hold a wand? No, because his father had the ability and still got his wand.
Ollivander came back, holding a dusty box. He flipped the lid off and delicately extracted a wand. Harry didn't even need to touch it to know that this was his wand. He could feel the power pulse. The moment the wand touched his skin, it emitted several red and gold sparks.
"Oh, wonderful!" Ollivander exclaimed, clapping. "How curious, though."
"What's curious, if I may ask?" Harry asked, his eyes still on his wand.
"It's curious, Mr. Potter, that you should be destined for this wand, when its brother gave you that scar on your forehead." The old man smiled, his silver eyes slightly glazed. "I remember every wand I sell, Mr. Potter. As you are aware, the wand chooses its master. No one knows why they do." His eyes went back to Harry. "It is clear, though, that you were meant to do great things if this wand chose you. After all, the carrier of your wand's brother did great things too. Terrible, yes, but great."
Harry was slightly shaken. Severus and Minerva had told him about how his parents died at the hands of Lord Voldemort ten years ago and how he had managed to survive being killed with a thin scar shaped like a lightning bolt. Now with him being a phoenix, his survival was easy to explain, but how he got the scar was another thing. Fawkes had a theory that it had to do with what Lily Potter did for her son that left the mark on his forehead. He couldn't explain, however, why the mark took on the shape of a lightning bolt.
He paid for the wand and the group of six left the shop, silent. Hermione sent a questioning look to her friend and he told her that he would tell her later. They finished the day off with dinner at the Leaky Cauldron (Minerva's treat) and the Snape-McGonagall-Potter family watched the Grangers leave.
"It really is curious that I got the brother wand of the Dark Lord's wand," Harry said. Severus had firmly drilled that name into his charge's head. Dumbledore had stopped by once and the boy (he was eight at the time) had gotten attached to calling the Dark Lord by his name. Severus scolded the headmaster and got to work on his charge.
"It may be a blessing in disguise too," Minerva replied, heading back inside the Leaky Cauldron to use the Floo. "If he ever rises again, and you decide you want to duel him, the wands won't work against each other. No one claims to know what happens when brother wants are forced against each other."
"Not like I want to duel him either," Harry remarked. He grabbed a pinch of Floo powder from his adoptive mother's pouch and threw it into the fire.
(((((_)))))
End of chapter
I'm so proud of myself. I'm putting out longer chapters with this story so far. Maybe it will be a trend. Who knows, right? Thanks again, guys, for reading and reviewing! Please stay tuned for the true story to be revealed. This all was foreplay, I swear to it.
Next chapter: Harry, Hermione, Ron, Neville, and Draco head aboard the Hogwarts Express. What adventures await these first years? Will they be friends? Or sworn enemies?