Chapter Two: Learning
*word count this chapter: 3,000
*word count goal: 10,000
Notes: This chapter took me a while, which is why it took more than a week to upload. I wanted to get all the shopping and stuff out of the way, as fast as I could, but I also wanted details and interest, not just the usual 'rush' that most fics do when it comes to shopping. Additional Note: Completely failed the word count goal, mostly because I wanted to upload something.
Harry couldn't believe his luck. Not only was he leaving the Dursley's-hopefully for good-but he was going to be spending some of the summer with one of his friends, Neville. It was very confusing, and yet he didn't dare hope that this was actually happening and that he wasn't just asleep, dreaming in the back of his Uncle's car.
They left the platform through the Platform, but instead of coming back to the train station, they were redirected to Diagon Alley. Harry was startled, as he didn't know that such a thing could happen, and he was also aware that Augusta still had a firm grip on both his and Neville's hands as they began walking past various shops-and heading in the direction of Gringotts, he realized.
"First, we will get you out of those horrid clothes," Augusta decided. "I realize you likely only have your school robes, though that will be rectified. I understand your parents were wealthy indeed, perhaps one of the richest families in all the wizarding world."
"They were?" Harry asked, surprised.
Augusta sighed. "I will need to rectify your knowledge of your family, it seems. How have you been buying school supplies, Mr. Potter?"
"I have a key to my vault," Harry said, frowning.
"Vault?" Augusta almost hissed the word, sounding like an angry cat (almost like McGonagall, Harry absently noted), and Harry blinked. Neville was frowning at him, looking rather bemused by the whole situation-of which Harry didn't blame him for, as he felt pretty confused himself. "You should have more than one! Have the goblins not told you anything? Or have they only been doing as you request, and nothing more?"
"I don't know what your talking about," Harry said, bewildered. Neville seemed not only bemused, but also slightly bored. Harry had never seen his friend seem so mature, usually he was more interested in plants and sometimes he played chess with Ron, but…Harry's train of thought disintegrated as he came back to the present when Augusta sighed.
"A visit to the bank, as well as the tailors it seems." She considered, and said thoughtfully. "As well as the bookstore."
"Really?" Neville asked, looking hopeful.
Harry glanced at his friend in surprise, and Neville noticed. He shrugged sheepishly and said,
"I may not be as much of a bookworm as Hermione is, but I do still like reading, Harry." He admitted.
Harry didn't say anything, because he secretely liked reading too-but Ron had always harped about books and how boring they were, and he'd rather spend time with his friend in an enjoyable way, than being alone again in a library.
"The bookstore, the bank, the wand shop so that we can clean up your wand and get you your secondary wand, for I've a feeling you've only ever purchased just one," Augusta commented.
"Because it was the only one that actually worked with me," Harry explained. "I tried every single other wand in the shop, and none of them worked. I even set the countertop on fire," He said, embarrassed.
She blinked.
"Well, then you will certainly be a tricky customer for Angus," She said, amused. Harry frowned. "There's more than just one wand maker, Harry. There's at least six different wand shops, and if Ollivander's was difficult, perhaps one of them might be of use." She eyed him. "We will also get you some nice robes, and clothes, beyond what you currently are wearing. Those Dursley's never gave you anything nice, did they?"
"They gave me Dudley's second bedroom," Harry muttered. "But I think that was only because I couldn't fit into the cupboard."
And then he felt horrified when he realized what he'd said.
Augusta's eyes narrowed, and she looked suddenly quite dangerous.
"Cupboard?" She hissed, and Harry tensed.
"Gran, do you think that can wait?" Neville asked, rescuing his friend and Harry immediately kept in mind that he needed to get Neville an excellent Christmas present. "We're out in the open, and if the Daily Prophet gets a hold of this, then they'll have a field day." He added. Harry gave him a grateful look, Neville just gave him a small nod in return, and Augusta said finally,
"This conversation is not finished, Mr. Potter. We will continue this at a later date. As of now, however, we are moving straight to Gringotts first and foremost to discuss your affairs," Augusta spoke firmly, and they continued walking.
Within twenty minutes they reached the bank, and entered through the giant doors. Neville looked uneasy at being around the goblins, while Augusta just looked…well, Harry couldn't quite figure out what was wrong, but she seemed irritated and angry and upset, though she was obviously trying to hide it from the pair of them. Neville didn't either notice, or he was so concerned about other things-such as the goblins-that he wasn't paying much attention. Harry watched the goblins for a bit, and then Augusta spoke, startling the pair of them.
"Catwell!" Augusta called, and suddenly a rather tall goblin was in front of them. Well, he was taller than Harry and Neville, but he was only at half of Augusta's height.
"Madame Longbottom, it is ever a pleasure to meet you," The goblin-Catwell, Harry assumed he was called-said pleasantly. "And your son as well, and…" He blinked upon seeing Harry.
"I've come to assist Mr. Potter in his state of affairs, and to claim guardianship over him as well." Augusta said flatly. "I require a room that is warded against all, and I also require a Healer if one is available at such short notice. I apologize for the short notice." She added, almost as an afterthought. Neville and Harry glanced at one another, and then back at the goblin-Catwell-when he began to speak.
"Not at all, Madam Longbottom. It will be my pleasure to assist young Mr. Potter in any way that I can. He helped the Goblin nation a great deal when he defeated the Dark Lord nearly thirteen years ago." Catwell said with a bow to Harry, who blushed.
He then clapped his hands, and they were instantly transported to a room that was filled with marble floors and beautiful old oak desks and rather nice comfy looking leather chairs.
"Please, be seated. There is food and drink available-pumpkin juice for the pair of you?" He asked the two boys, who both nodded hopefully. A tray service of cakes, pumpkin juice, sandwiches, and other goodies appeared in front of them. "You may also read any book that captures your attention, but please be careful with them as well. Some are most valuable." He warned, and they nodded again.
As Neville's gran talked to Catwell the Goblin, he and Neville quietly sat. Neville dug out one of his old school books, and handed him one as well-rather subletly, and Harry saw with amusement that it was the last year's 'Defense Against the Dark Arts' book. He began to read, knowing that adults liked to talk for hours, sometimes, before they remembered the kids they had with them. It had happened enough with Aunt Petunia, and he'd noticed that it had happened with other normal children too, whenever he'd been out waiting somewhere. Finally, after what seemed an hour or so, the adults finally came back to attention to the two boys sitting quietly and reading.
"I apologize for keeping you two sitting and waiting, but this was important. Healer Sevik will soon be here, and she will be administering scans, the required potions, as well as checking to make sure that Mr. Potter has his immunities against wizard illnesses, and some of the normal muggle ones. While we are waiting for Healer Sevik, Catwell suggested that we go either get our wands, or that we get you your new familiars."
"New familiars?" Harry asked, blankly.
She sighed.
"Dumbledore has been lax in explaining things to you, I take it?" She inquired, and Harry nodded. "Very well, upon your third year, you are able to change familiars if you so desire, and bring magical familiars as well as more normal ones to the school. You can bring pets such as dogs, or perhaps other normal birds besides just owls. Or you can get magical pets like magpies, snakes, or anything else like that. Picking new familiars sometimes doesn't take long, so I think perhaps we'll do that first, and then go to the wand store."
"Don't you mean Ollivanders?" Harry wondered.
"There are other wand stores besides Ollivanders, Mr. Potter. Ollivander's is the required store for ministry officials, so that they can track a wizard's wand. Your wand, while unique, is not powerful enough to suit your needs, I believe. It is part of why Neville has been using his father's wand until he turns thirteen, so that he can gain his unapproved ministry wand, to have better control and power. Not because I do not think he is prepared enough for a wand of his own, as many of the students there believe." Augusta explained, and Harry nodded, thinking that it made sense.
As she was talking, she was leading them to the fireplace, and Catwell was opening the door for another client. They went into the fireplace, and Augusta shouted out,
"Familiar's Retreat!"
Harry almost laughed at the name, though it seemed apt enough when they finally came out of the fireplace into a store that seemed to be making all sorts of noise. He could hear some of them talking, and others were singing and a few were even whispering in dark, harsh tones. He made a mental note to stay away from that area, even as he exchanged an eager look with Neville who grinned.
"Very well, you two. Go, sense with your magic what your new familiar might be." Augusta informed them, with a smile.
They didn't need telling twice. Neville went off towards one area which seemed to be quite green-the walls were a deep green color, and he could feel that that area-while interesting-wasn't exactly what he was interested in. He moved, instead, towards a dark red area-not hearing Augusta's intake of breath behind him.
There were lots of snakes that he passed by, and he hissed a greeting towards them. They murmured a greeting in response, sounding content and relaxed in their cages. None seemed particularly interested in him overall, and he noticed that one of the signs read: cared for by an elderly man who speaks parsletongue. Should a snake be what you desire, please tap sign once with your wand.
Harry bypassed the snakes, and entered a deep darkish red/green area, where the walls seemed darker, the floor appeared to be made of dirt, and the ceiling was covered with clouds and moisture. It was fascinating, almost reminding him of the ceiling at the Great Hall on a rainy day.
He moved towards a corner of the room, and saw that there were even more giant snakes there-impossible to slip up his arm like some of the others that he'd seen. He considered them, before moving towards the other side, where there appeared to be jungle cats and exotic animals. He paused before one animal in particularly, knowing that it was on no leash or chain, and could easily attack him if he wasn't careful.
This animal appeared very beautiful-a basic black with vivid green eyes, it stared at him as it laid on the branch that was intwined with the wall, looking utterly bored. Harry stared at it for a bit, wondering what it was. It was almost like a black jaguar, but it looked different, somehow. He saw a sign on the floor, and read: a rare type of magical animal, this beautiful creature is actually a golden panther. Golden panthers can change their color to suit the enviorement, and their healing and magical powers are extremely rare. The Golden Pantther costs 5,000 galleons, and is usually very helpful at capturing more rare creatures when going on exotic journeys to other countries.
"Wow," Harry breathed, awed. The Golden Panther raised its head, and Harry quickly said, "Er, sorry. Didn't mean to disturb your nap." It nodded once, and then laid back down and appeared to sleep. Harry studied it a bit, and sighed before heading to the deeper part of the wooded room, passing all kinds of cool creatures as he went.
Hagrid would love it here.
Harry moved from there to the darker area, a deep mix of red and green-so deep a mix, that you couldn't tell what color it was, except that it looked nearly black. He noticed he was in more of the green than red, though, as there were signs that indicated which area was which. He wondered the significance of it, and shrugged before coming to a stop in front of a particularly young black pup, who looked like it was sitting and waiting for something…or someone.
"Aren't you beautiful?" Harry said softly, marveling at it's shimmering sleek black coat of fur, and its deep greenish black eyes. The creature did nothing but stare at him, and Harry didn't bother looking at the sign this time, instead he held out a hand and the creature appeared to consider him. A moment later, it hesitantly came up to his hand, and sniffed it.
As soon as the beast touched his hand, a magical shock went through him, startling him so that he stumbled backwards before regaining control. It took him a moment to adjust, before he reached out tentatively once more, and this time there was no shock.
"Fascinating," Harry breathed, and the young pup seemed to like him as it licked his hand. "Come on. I think you're the familiar I was looking for," He said, and the pup followed him to the front of the store.
Once they reached the front, Neville was already there, a deep blue bird sitting perched on his shoulders. Harry wasn't sure what the bird was, only it looked a lot like an owl. He wondered if Hedwig would like the bird. As soon as he appeared in front of his guardian, she gasped.
"Oh, my." Augusta said, staring at the young pup.
"Wow, Harry!" Neville said, awed.
"Congratulations, young master. I take it you didn't read the sign, however?" The man who'd greeted them earlier scolded.
Harry blinked.
"What sign?" He asked, confused. The man sighed.
"Well, in that case," He grumbled, but smiled down at the pup. "I'm glad you finally found your equal, young one. Though I will miss you," He said, and the pup yipped once, as though in acknowledgment. "Now then, young Master. Do you know what familiar it is that you have? I have waited to explain both of your familiar to one another," He added.
"No," Harry said, and Neville shook his head as well.
"We will start with young Longbottom's, then. His familiar is a Blue Owl, one of the rarest owls in existence. It's magical abilities is unheard of. It can track down any person, and fly through magical shields without trouble. It is said that it can even fly through the Fidelious Charm," He said, and Neville looked awed. "It is a pricely bird, one worthy of a young prince," He said. "It shall cost five hundred galleons, and no less. Bonus material such as books, perch, food, and things are included within the price, if you should so desire."
"Yes, please." Neville said quietly, petting the owl who gave a very satisfied hoot.
"Now," The man turned towards Harry. "You're particular familiar is a very rare one. It is Hellhound, one of the last of its kind. They were hunted down during the Salem Witch Trials to near extinction because of their supposed 'evil ways'. You may have trouble getting it into Hogwarts, as many parents should they hear of your familiar will be quite unhappy with it. Hellhounds grow fast, and are quite magical. I expect you've some fey and demon blood in your family history somewhere,"
"Demon blood?" Harry asked, startled.
"It's not uncommon, with ancient families, and once you accept your title, you will become Lord of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter," The man explained. "Perhaps you should ask the goblins at the bank to do a family background check, and see what inheritences you might gain upon your acceptance as Lord of the family." He added.
"I'll be sure to do that. How much?"
"Easily two thousand galleons for your familiar, books and food and everything as I mentioned are thrown in as a bonus," He informed him, and Harry winced at the price.
"Don't worry, Harry. We've got enough until we get back to the bank," Neville informed him, grinning.
They paid for their familiars, and instead of using the fireplace, Augusta took both boys and their familiars out of the shop, and down the street to finish the rest of their shopping.
End Chapter Two
Notes: I know it's short, but I'm hoping chap3 will actually be as long as I want it to be. It'll contain the rest of the shopping, amongst other things. Thanks to all those who've reviewed and stuck to the story so far.