(A/N: I have this feeling there are some people who don't read the Author's Notes at times, [I admit I don't] so, for the people who do read the ANs, let me apologize for not updating sooner since school just started last week. [not saying what grade/year I am now]. All I can say is that the homeworks are stressful. Anyways, I hope you like the chapter. PLEASE REVIEW! I'll try to update as soon as I can, okay? [but I make no promises on that])
NOW, ON TO THE STORY!
Overall it was a good birthday. Harry was quite pleased at that. Two weeks had passed since his birthday.
`•.¸(¨`•.• ¸.•´...×..¸.•´ ¸.•*´¨) ×
The next day, Harry woke up at 6AM, since he was very excited to go to Diagon Alley. He took a shower, and dressed quickly.. Then, at 8, he went downstairs. He looked at the clock. Mum and Dad were probably still sleeping. Harry thought, as he sat the couch and turned on the television.
His parents woke up to the sound of loud laughter 30 minutes later. James quickly got up and went downstairs with his wand, checking out what was going on. He was in the state of panic, but immediately calmed down when he saw his son rolling with laughter on the floor.
"What were you watching, Harry?" James asked, raising his eyebrows at his son sprawled all over the floor.
"Just For Laughs. It's this Muggle show where Muggles prank each other. Come, watch with me. It might give you ideas."
James' ears perked up to the sound of 'prank each other'. He joined Harry, watched a couple of pranks, and was soon laughing as hard as Harry. Their reactions were so funny, it made the prank even better. Lily, however, shook her head, as she saw them laughing on the floor. Of course, she knew about this show, and introduced it to Harry. I really regret showing Harry that show. Now he showed it to James, and now James will have tons of pranking ideas, thought Lily.
"All right, boys. Enough watching pranks. It's time for breakfast." Lily said as she quickly cooked their breakfast, which consisted of eggs and bacon with French toast. They both quickly ate their breakfast so that they could return to the TV again. Lily nagged each of them to take a shower.
"Mum, I already showered a few minutes ago. Plus, I'm already dressed. It's dad's turn." Harry said. Lily saw that he did shower already and he was off the hook. James, on the other hand, was told by Lily several times. She even threatened to cut off the cable. James quickly understood that (since Lily already explained to him what cable was) and showered.
"I like it when I win," she said to herself. Harry overheard this and laughed. She took a shower in the other bathroom (their house has 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, an attic, a rec room, a living room, a kitchen, a dining room, with 4 floors)
30 minutes have passed and the Potters were ready. They used the Floo powder to get to the Leaky Cauldron, since Harry can't Apparate yet. Once they arrived, Harry had a good chance to look around.
Lily said it was a famous place. Harry thought it was a little dirty and sad-looking. It wasn't really decorated with bright colors, giving it a depressing saw Hagrid sitting on a table near the counter, looking through assorted letters. He looked up as the fireplace glowed a green fire and went over to greet the Potters.
"Hello, James. Lily. Buyin' Harry's Hogwarts things?" Hagrid greeted cheerfully. James and Lily nodded, relieved to see Hagrid there. Both of them quickly introduced Harry to Hagrid, who has never seen him before. Harry noticed that Hagrid was a very tall man when he stood up. Almost like a giant.
Tom, the barman, went over to the table and asked if they all wanted something
"Can't, Tom, we're here helping Harry buy his school supplies." James replied.
The bartender seemed to look shock at James' words. He peered over to Harry and saw the lightning-shaped scar on his forehead. "Is this - Harry Potter?"
Everyone in the pub immediately stopped what they were doing and looked over at the family. It was so silent, that Harry heard a pin drop on the floor. Everyone then went over to Harry and shook both of his hands and introduced themselves.
"And so begins the people wanting to look at Harry." James quietly enough that only Lily could hear.
"Welcome to the Leaky Cauldron, Harry Potter," Tom enthusiastically said. More people came up. Some, who had just walked through the door, went over to the crowd to see what was going on. When they noticed the person in the middle of all of them, they did the exact same thing.
I don't know why people are acting this way right now, Harry thought. I've been to Diagon Alley a few times. Maybe it's because I haven't been to the Leaky Cauldron yet?
More and more people came, much to Harry's dismay. He walked on by and noticed a trembling man with a purple turban on his head. He stood near the counter, as if he was scared of being in the crowd. He introduced himself as Professor Quirinus Quirrell. Lily was contemplating how she knew that name. She tried to remember every first year named she remembered from the Sorting every year. Finally, something clicked, as she remembered what happened during Sorting in her 4th year.
"James, do you remember Quirinus Quirrell?" she asked, as she pulled out a chair to sit across from James. James thought about it, and laughed out loud.
"You bet I do! I remember when he was being Sorted. It was one of the funniest! He spent about 5 mintues loudly saying that he doesn't want to be in Slytherin. The entire table was looking furious at him! When the hat said Ravenclaw, he shrugged and said, and I quote, 'Oh well, at least I get to be with nerds than be in Slytherin'. Oh, Lord, now the two tables were glaring at him! I don't think he even noticed!" James replied. Lily was laughing as well, but she was also a little shocked, since James remembered exactly what the guy said all those years ago.
"Wow. You still remembered what he said? That was, in like, 4th year or something!" Lily said in wonder.
"Well, my memory for the funny things is very good, Lily-Flower," said James, using Lily's old nickname again.
They were casually waiting until everyone was done shaking hands with their son. It was a bit annoying, really.
"Told yeh, didn't I? Yeh're famous, Harry! Even Quirrell was tremblin' ter meet yeh," Hagrid said.
"You know, Hagrid, James and I sort of knew that man," Lily said.
"Oh? And how did yeh know 'im?" asked Hagrid.
"Don't you remember? He was that bloke that insulted both Slytherin and Ravenclaw during the Sorting?" James replied. To this, Harry laughed out loud.
"Oh, yeah! Now I remember! That was one o' the worst Sortings." Hagrid chuckled.
"What happened, mum?" Harry asked and Lily explained. He was still laughing out loud once she finished.
They went to the back of the bar, and went inside a small room. All that was in the room was a few trash cans and a bare wall. Hagrid offered to open the brick wall for James and Lily, mostly because James never tried to go to Diagon Alley using the Undergound, and Lily wasn't paying attention when Professor McGonagall did the same thing before she started Hogwarts.
A few seconds later, the wall began to move, forming an archway. On the other side of the archway was Diagon Alley. One of Harry's now favorite places. They went through the familiar road and was in front of Gringotts, the wizard bank. Hagrid told them that he was going to go there, as well.
"Will you take something from a vault, Hagrid?" said Harry as he, Lily, and James headed over the Gringotts.
"Yeh, I sure am, Harry," said Hagrid.
James told Harry that those were goblins. They walked past a door with a poem that read:
(A/N: Yeah, for those with a copy of the Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone, you can look at the words there. I don't want to put them here.)
Once they reached a counter, they had a short, polite conversation with a goblin. After a few minutes, the goblin asked for their vault keys.
"I've got it," James said, as he looked around in his pockets for the key. Finally, he produced a tiny golden key. The goblin looked at it closely.
"That seems to be in order."
Hagrid also gave the goblin a letter from Dumbledore, saying it's the "You-Know-What" in vault 713. At this, the Potters looked curious and intrigued. What is it that's being kept in vault seven hundred and thirteen? Gold? An important historical artifact?
The goblin read the letter carefully.
"Very well," he said, handing it back to Hagrid. "I will have someone take you down to both vaults. Griphook!"
James looked happy at this, since his family had always been close to Griphook. Only James and Griphook knew this, though. Not even Lily nor Harry knew that the Potters had always been close to Griphook and his ancestors.
Griphook gave a certain look towards James which he understood completely. James nodded his head, and Lily looked a little confused. The four of them and Griphook went through another set of doors once more. Griphook whistled as loudly as he can and two carts came up to there were 3 people, one goblin, and a half-giant, they had to take two carts. One with the Potters, and one with Hagrid only. Once Hagrid went inside his cart, James whispered something in Griphook's ear, which made the goblin smile evilly. Lily gave James a look that was half-mad and half-curious. James shrugged and escorted his wife and son on the cart before going on himself.
Since Hagrid's cart was in front of the Potters', he had to move first. He was a little faster than the cart Lily, Harry, and James were on. Hagrid didn't even notice that they were very far behind. "What did you say to Griphook, James?" Lily asked sternly.
"What? I only told him to make Hagrid's cart a little faster than ours," James shrugged. Lily rolled her eyes and Harry was oblivious to the conversation.
Harry craned his neck as Hagrid spun around and noticed he did look very green. He looked a little shocked that the Potters' cart was a few meters behind him, and that they didn't look uncomfortable. Finally, after what seemed like forever, the two carts stopped at last beside a small door in the passage wall. Lily, Harry, and James all stepped out of the cart normally. Hagrid got out and had to lean against the wall to stop his knees from trembling.
Griphook unlocked the door. A lot of green smoke came billowing out, and as it cleared, Harry gasped. Inside were mounds of gold Galleons, columns of Sickles, and heaps of little bronze Knuts. Harry had never seen the inside of the trust vault before. He had seen most of the family vaults, but never the trust vault. He also knew that his father's side of the family was very rich, but he never knew they were that rich. James stepped in and took out all the money they needed to buy Harry's school supplies. Once James took all that he needed, Griphook closed the vault and they all went back on the carts.
"Vault seven hundred and thirteen,now, please," Hagrid said to Griphook. "and can we go more slowly?"
"One speed only," said Griphook, while giving James a discreet wink. James grinned and hoped that neither Lily or Hagrid saw the exchange. Unfortunately, Harry did. He was planning to ask his father about that later.
Harry was looking around the cart and saw something shiny under the cart. He leaned over the side to see what it was. Lily saw what Harry was doing, and she yanked him back so that he didn't fall off.
"Don't ever do that again, Harry! You might've fallen off!" Lily exclaimed, and her words echoed around them. Harry mumbled an apology. After that they finally reached the vault. Griphook went over to the door and stroke the door gently with one of his long fingers and it simply melted away. One wild cart ride later they stood blinking in the sunlight outside Gringotts. Harry was very excited now that he had money.
"Might as well get yer uniform," said Hagrid, nodding towards Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. "Well, I best be off. I need a pick-me-up from the Leaky Cauldron. I hate those Gringotts carts.
So, Hagrid left the Potters after saying their goodbyes. Since it was crowded at Madam Malkin's, Lily and James opted to stay outside. He looked around for a spot to stand on. Luckily, he found one and stood next to a blonde-haired boy. Harry thought the boy looked familiar. He knew he had seen that boy from somewhere, but he just forgot how he remembered him. Hopefully the identity of the boy would come soon. He looks sort of intimidating. Harry had this strange feeling that he would be a bully when he came to Hogwarts.
"Hello," said the boy, "Hogwarts,too?"
"Yes," said Harry.
"My father's next door buying my books and Mother's up the street looking at wands," said the boy. He had a bored, drawling voice. "Then I'm going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don't see why first years can't have their own. I think I'll bully Father into getting me one and I'll smuggle it in somehow.
Harry was reminded strongly of Dudley.
"Have you got your own broom?" the boy went on.
"No," said Harry. "My mum is a stickler for the rules. No matter how much my dad begs, she won't allow him to buy me a broom."
"Ah. I see," said the boy. "Play Quidditch at all?"
"Yeah. I play Seeker."
"I do too. Father says it's a crime if I'm not picked to play for my House, and I must say, I agree. Know what House you'll be in yet?"
Harry thought the boy was made of Slytherin material. He can tell, but if he said he wanted to be in Gryffindor, who knows what his reaction would be? It's known throughout the Wizarding World (in Britain, that is) that Gryffindor and Slytherin didn't get along. So he decided to pretend he was Muggle-born and not know anything about the houses. Then, he realized the major flaw in his plan, since he already told the boy he plays Quidditch when Muggle-borns were not supposed to know anything about it yet. This was going to be hard. Maybe if he pretended to have come from parents of different Houses?
"I don't know yet. My parents came from different Houses, so I don't know which one I belong in," Harry lied diplomatically.
"Well, no one really knows until they get there, do they, but I know I'll be in Slytherin, all our family have been – imagine being in Hufflepuff, I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?"
"Mmm," said Harry, wishing he could say something a bit more interesting.
"I say, look at that man!" said the boy suddenly, nodding toward the front window. Hagrid was standing there, grinning at Harry, while James and Lily were beside him eating ice cream cones.
"That's Hagrid," said Harry. The boy looked a little shocked, but dropped the subject. He then decided to ask about Harry's parents.
"They're outside. My dad told me that mum was at Eeylops to look for owl treats."
"But they were our kind, weren't they?"
Harry immediately understood what the boy was referring to. He asked him if they were purebloods. If he told him his dad was, he would annoy him into telling about his mum. The boy sounded like he came from a family that supported pro-pureblood laws. Telling him that his mum was muggle-born didn't seem like a good idea. "Er, you could say that," he replied, hoping that he dropped the subject. Unfortunately, he was wrong.
"I really don't think they should let the other sort in, do you? They're just not the same, they've never been brought up to know our ways. Some of them have never even heard of Hogwarts until they get the letter, imagine. I think they should keep it in the old wizarding families. What's your surname, anyway?"
Harry's theories were proven true. The boy did come from a pro-pureblood family. He sounded snobby and annoying. He chose not to answer that question. He just kept silent. After a few minutes, before Harry opened his mouth, Madam Malkin said, "That's you done, my dear," and Harry, not sorry for an excuse to stop talking to the boy, hopped down from the toadstool.
"Well, I'll see you at Hogwarts, I suppose," said the drawling boy.
They bought Harry's schoolbooks at Flourish and Blotts since it was near Madam Malkin's store. Harry found countless books. There we so many books, some of them even had to be placed outside of the store. Even Dudley, who Harry now loathed thanks to the constant bullying whenever he went to his house, would have been wild to get his hands on some of these. Lily had to force Harry away from the Dark Arts shelves.
"I was trying to find out how to curse Dudley."
"Harry James Potter," Lily said in a stern tone, and Harry shivered a bit. He didn't like it when his mum would say his name like that. "We do not curse out relatives, no matter how much we hate them. If you really hate Dudley, just make voodoo dolls of him and tear his head apart."
James heard this entire conversation, and looked quite amused at his son's antics. Clearly, these were inherited from him. Although, he was quite confused as to what a voodoo doll was. He made a mental note to ask Lily about them later. Once Harry had the necessary things, they decided to go get the one last important thing Harry needed. A wand. Harry had been looking forward for this one for the entire day. Lily saw the excited look on her son's face and it reminded her of how excited she was when she got her Hogwarts stuff.
They headed down the road once more, this time, going to Ollivander's Wand store. It was a small place, and on the display was a wand sitting on a purple, velvet cloth. Rumors were flying around that the wand on the display belonged to Merlin himself. The Potters went inside. Since Lily was tired from all the walking, she sat down on a stool. James stood next to her, while Harry was standing alone in the middle of it all. He looked around and saw plenty of small box. Harry assumed that they contained wands. I wonder what kind of wand I would get, Harry thought. He was in front of the counter now, looking more and more confused as to when Mr. Ollivander showed up, when suddenly -
"Good afternoon," said a soft voice. Harry jumped.
"Hello," said Harry awkwardly.
"Ah yes," said the man. "Yes, yes. I thought I'd be seeing you soon. Harry Potter." It wasn't a question. "You have your mother's eyes. It seems only yesterday she was in here herself, buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work. Ah, you're here, Lily, and you too, James! Have you been taking care of your wands?"
Lily was surprised to know that, even after all these years, Ollivander still remembered the details of her wand. She looked over to James and he had the same expression as she had. "Yes, we have, Mr. Ollivander."
Ollivander seemed satisfied with this answer, and went back to Harry.
"Your father, on the other hand, favoured a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration. Well, I say your father favoured it — it's really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course."
"Yeah, that's right, I did favor it," James said proudly. Ollivander chuckled at this statement and went back to Harry once more. He then started measuring Harry in many places. He wasn't really sure why he had to be measured. Maybe so that the wand wasn't too heavy for him or something? Once he was done, he gave Harry the first wand he was going to try. It was beechwood and dragon heartstring and was nine inches. Harry waved it and boxes crashed everywhere. Mr. Ollivander immediately snatched it from him. Lily was glad Mr. Ollivander took the wand away. She had this weird feeling in her gut that she knew what we could've happened if Harry waved it too much. He tried another one. It was maple and phoenix feather and was seven inches. Same results as the first one.
The third wand he tried was ebony and unicorn hair, eight and a half inches. A pyramid of glass on the side on the store shattered and its pieces flew everywhere. Lily even hid behind James so that she wasn't hit with any piece. Harry tried. And tried. He had no idea what Mr. Ollivander was waiting for. The pile of tried wands was mounting higher and higher on the spindly chair, but the more wands Mr. Ollivander pulled from the shelves, the happier he seemed to become.
"Tricky customer, eh? Not to worry, we'll find the perfect match here somewhere — I wonder, now — yes, why not — unusual combination — holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple."
Harry took the wand. He felt a sudden warmth in his fingers. He raised the wand above his head, brought it swishing down through the dusty air and a stream of red and gold sparks shot from the end like a firework, throwing dancing spots of light on to the walls. Lily, James, and Mr. Ollivander cheered. James cheered the loudest, since the colors represented the house of Gryffindor. There was no doubt in his mind that his son would be Sorted into Gryffindor.
Mr. Ollivander was still praising him. "Well done, Mr. Potter! Curious... curious... Harry asked him what he was talking about. Mr. Ollivander fixed Harry with his pale stare. "As by what I have mention about your parents' wands, I remember every single wand I've ever sold. The phoenix, whose tail feather is in your wand, gave only one other feather. It's curious that's your destined for this wand, when it's brother gave you that scar." (A/N: Sound familiar?)
Harry's parents paled at these words. They were in total shock. Harry had the same wand core as Lord Voldemort? They exchanged a look filled with shock, unable to speak, let alone make any noise at all. They were shocked for just a few more minutes, until Harry stopped the sort of awkward moment when he swallowed.
"Yes, thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Curious indeed how these things happen. The wand chooses the wizard, remember… I think we must expect great things from you, Mr. Potter… After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things — terrible, yes, but great." Harry shivered. He wasn't sure he liked Mr. Ollivander too much. He paid seven gold Galleons for his wand, and Mr. Ollivander bowed them from his shop.
With their day of shopping done, the Potters went home and spent the remaining days spending much time together until Harry went to Hogwarts. Once in a while, they went to the Burrow and played with them. Other times, Lily and James took turns teaching Harry some basic spells that they learned when they were in first year. They told Harry that his teacher usually taught this within the first week of school.
"Okay, Harry. This is the Levitation Charm," Lily said, as she, Harry and James were at the 3rd floor family room (the biggest one in the house) to practice Charms. Lily was standing with Harry near the table, while James was on the sofa watching them. They both took turns in teaching the subjects to Harry. They weren't sure if Harry inherited his mum's Charms ability, his father's Transfiguration skills, or both at the same time. "The incantation is Wingardium Leviosa. The way your move your arm is a swish and flick." Lily demonstrated the said movement. Harry did the same until Lily was satisfied. "Now, I want you to concentrate hard and try to levitate the feather on the table."
Harry nodded his head, stepped towards the table, and held his pointed his wand towards the feather, and, while swishing and flicking, said "Wingardium Leviosa."
Unexpectedly, the feather rose up slowly. Harry's parents had a shocked look on their faces. Harry set down the feather on the table and turned to look at his parents. He paled when he saw their expressions, fearing he might have done something wrong. "Did I do something wrong?" he asked fearfully.
James shook his head. "Wow, Harry. You did the Charm on your first go. Even Lily had difficulty on the first try. It wasn't until her fifth try that she got it. Maybe you got the Charms powers?"
"Not yet, James. We still need to test his Transfiguration skills." With that said, Lily sat on the sofa while James headed towards Harry with a proud smile on his face.
"Don't worry, Harry. What you did was exceptional. I wouldn't be surprised if you were the top of your class." At these words, Harry blushed slightly. He mumbled something about getting started on Transfiguration. So, Harry had to transfigure the matchstick to a needle and it was very hard work. After 10 or so tries, Harry finally got the spell.
"It's okay, Harry," Lily encouraged. "You're still in first year. You still have a long way to go. You'll be learning much more spells. For now, though, I think we should end there. We only agreed to learn the very basics."
"That's right," James interjected. "You got it after 10 tries. That's better than our other classmates before. They never even got it. In fact, those same classmates still can't do it until now."
"How is that possible? If they can't change it from a matchstick to a needle, how did they pass Transfiguration every year?" inquired Harry, confused.
"Oh, they can do the other transfigurations just fine. Like from animal to human, or thing to animal and so on, but just not from matchstick to needle."
"Umm, okay. I find that weird." Harry said and they all shared a laugh, and so ends another wonderful day. Harry got his school stuff, as well as he practiced a few spells. He was excited to show Ron what he learned.
(A/N: if you see any grammatical errors or misspellings, I apologize. I'm only human, after all. Everyone makes mistakes. I hope you PLEASE REVIEW! :D)