Edit: so, I got a couple reviews commenting mostly about Harry having two wands and the fact that Harry has yet to leave the Dursley household.
Well, not to sound salty because I'm not (these were actually really good questions that I had for myself but forgot to implement or were going to be implemented in later chapters) this is literally just the second chapter, and though I know that this chapter is very long, I can't get everything into one chapter, that takes several spread out.
I was planning for the first three-four chapters to be the establishing chapters, allowing for me to get everything out and to set up how the world will work, but it appears as it I have confused a lot of people with this chapter so I decided to mildly change this chapter and add why Harry has two wands right now.
Steamy: I just wanted everyone to know that I also have an ao3 account (for those of you who don't know, ao3 stands for Archive of our own; another fanfiction site) and will be posting all of my stories there as well. If there ever comes a time where I for some reason can't post here, just know that I have that account under the same name.
Now, moving on, I'm glad that people seem to be interested in this story so far and will work to update as soon as possible, just know that my updating schedule will be weird for this one and I will most likely only post something either every couple weeks or whenever I finish a chapter; this is mainly because I'm trying to get back into the grove of writing my other story and that story is higher priority because it came out first, and because I promised weekly updates, and since I've made no such promises for this story well, yeah, that's that.
Hopefully I will be able to get out chapters fairly quickly, I just happen to be pretty busy in real life so that's why my schedule is gonna be all wonky.
Anyway, onto the-
Review responses:
Geetac: Thank you, I hope you like this chapter
Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter cast or books/movies and anything that might belong to other people
Of letters and Magic
[July 24th, 1991]
Everything changed.
After years upon years of abuse and suffering and bowing his head it has all finally paid off.
Harry's Uncle had told him to go get the mail and as he did he found a letter among them that was addressed to him! It seemed to be something important as it had some type of crest on it, but he hid it within his clothes before he could get a good look at it, he didn't want his Uncle or Aunt, or, god forbid, Dudley to see it and most likely destroy it just to spite him.
'I'll look at it later,' he told himself resolutely as he made his way to the dining room, handing the stack of letters to his Uncle.
The man let out a grunt of displeasure as thanks and waved the brunette away and with a nod of his head Harry did so, moving over to the corner of the room, waiting for the family of three to either finish their meal or ask some other service of him.
It wasn't long before the family finished their breakfast and started getting up from the table and moving to go about their business for the day; luckily for Harry his Uncle had work today, and he himself was scheduled to go to the market and get the groceries, which was all fine with him, it just meant that he didn't have to be in the house for some much needed peace and quiet.
But first, he needed to get on with his after-breakfast chores.
So without further ado the boy quietly went to the table and started cleaning it of dishes and other things such as the butter and jam.
Once everything was put away where it belonged he did the dishes, knowing he had to move quickly if he didn't want to be punished by his Uncle for not being punctual, and by punctual I mean Harry was expected to clear the table and wash the dishes and then get to his cupboard door before his Uncle in order to receive his chore list for the day, if he was too slow he was punished, usually with food deprivation as his Uncle had to be leaving for work by then.
Fortunately for Harry he was able to finish early that day and he got to the cupboard door several minutes before his Uncle. The boy smiled to himself as he rocked on his heels, waiting for his Uncle to come by and shove the list in his face before cuffing him over the head as he left for the day.
As those thoughts flitted about a small hand absentmindedly trailed over the letter hidden beneath baggy clothes as the boy that hand belonged to started musing over what it could contain. Could it be a prank letter from Dudley or one of his friends? No, Harry shook his head, it couldn't be, otherwise Dudley would have been watching him in anticipation at the table, but he hadn't even acknowledged him today, much to Harry's relief, so that one was out. Maybe it was from some sort of school, maybe, and if it was it was probably one for misbehaving children, it wouldn't surprise him if his relatives or his school had decided that they didn't want to bother with him anymore and just get him out of their collective hair.
Shaking his head again Harry sighed; he wouldn't know until he actually read it, though he still had to ponder the wording on the letter….. It seemed a bit too specific for it to be all a hoax; it did, after all, say-
Mr. H. Potter, the cupboard under the stairs.
4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging
That was a little too specific for it to be a prank, a little too specific for it to have been a letter from any normal school or even from his relatives; for, while they reveled in his servitude they were also a bit in denial as they basically ignored the fact that Harry lived in the cupboard outside of when he was in there or being sent to it-Harry had come to the conclusion that this was because they didn't want to acknowledge the fact that they were keeping a child in a small supply cupboard, and had done so for basically ten years.
"Where are you looking off to, boy?" Harry nearly jumped out his own skin at the unexpected gruff voice of his Uncle sounding from right next to him.
Harry's body only twitched minutely though and he otherwise didn't outwardly react, a little way he liked to piss his Uncle off, not reacting the way the man wanted him to, and looked up at him meekly, quietly replying,
"Nothing, sir….. " Vernon snorted in disbelief but he left it at that, he had to get going after all.
"Your list for the day," he grunted as a sinister smirk made its way onto his fat face. Harry bowed his head and took the piece of paper while nodding.
Vernon once again snorted but this time he reached over and cuffed Harry over the head, hard enough that the boy lurched forward from the force of it, though he remained upright. The man grunted once more but he didn't bother with the boy, moving on to the front door, calling his goodbyes to his wife and son and saying his share of declarations of affection for the two of them; he might have slipped in a threat for Harry but the green-eyed boy didn't pay it any mind as he went about his chores for the day, an absent thought of Uncle Vernon being incredibly gifted at making lists passing through his head as he did so.
He first went about tending to the garden, since working in it early in the day was better than later as the sun wasn't at its most scorching yet so he was far less likely to be burned by its unforgiving rays. Then after gardening came sweeping, then vacuuming, then the washing of the floors and walls and then finally lunch, after which he had laundry, bedroom and bathroom cleaning mixed in with the preparation of dinner and the arrival of Uncle Vernon and so on and so forth.
But for now, it was time for Harry to make lunch, something of which he did quickly and served to his Aunt and cousin, who of course didn't thank him, though his Aunt did give him another list, this one consisting of the groceries he was to buy-so a pouch of money was also given to him.
"Make certain you get everything on that list, boy! That's dinner for tonight, if you don't or I suspect for an instant that you kept any of the change for yourself, you ungrateful freak, I'll be telling your Uncle and he'll have your worthless hide! Have I made myself clear?"
Harry nodded meekly," yes Aunt Petunia, I understand," he murmured in a demur voice, and, taking the list and pouch, he went first to his cupboard to put on his shoes then out the door, on his way to the nearby market.
A sigh of relief left Harry's lips once he was a block from the house, happy he was able to get out of that house for the time being. A happy skip entered his step as he made his way, a happy little tune vibrating from his throat as he made his way to the market.
On the way there he decided to take a look at that letter, so he pulled the envelope from within the folds of his oversized shirt and turned it over in his hands, noticing that it was closed with a wax seal that had some sort of four piece emblem on it with what looked to be four animals on it… Oh, they were a lion, a snake, what seemed to be a badger and some sort of predator bird.
He hummed in interest as he moved his fingers to start opening it, but stopped short when he heard a small noise.
Stopping in his tracks, Harry turned and looked down and saw a decent sized black cat that had a scar running up its left hind leg and onto its' back with silvery blue eyes.
Harry smiled.
"Hey there Blackie, haven't seen you in while, how're you? That hind leg of yours giving you any trouble?" Harry bantered cheerfully.
The cat, Blackie as Harry had called him, merely stood up and rubbed against Harry's leg while meowing. A giggle left Harry's lips as he leaned down to stroke the cat's fur and scratch behind his ears.
Once he finished Harry continued on his way with Blackie following, and, the boy started talking.
"I'm on my way to the market Blackie, just gonna pick up some things for dinner tonight, Aunty Petunia's orders," he laughed as the cat started to growl in distaste," yeah, don't fancy listening to her much myself to be honest, but I'd rather listen to her order me around than listen to her screeching, it does get quite annoying after a while."
Harry sighed, but then he smiled down at the cat that was looking up at him,
"But," he started again as he reached down to pat his head," with friends like you, who cares if my relatives are rubbish?"
Blackie meowed back and rubbed his body against Harry's leg once again; the boy giggled and pat the felines head again before he continued on his way in silence.
Which ended once the boy remembered he still had a strange envelope in his hand.
Raising the letter in the air, so that is was closer to his face, Harry called out a quiet," almost forgot," and started to pull at it again.
A questioning mew caused for Harry to look at his companion as he opened it. Harry smiled at the cat,
"Oh, wondering what this is Blackie?"
A meow.
"Well, this here is a letter all for me! Not entirely sure who it's from, but they seem to know of my situation, though I don't know how, anyways, it seems to be from some sort of school and, since I can't open it up back at the house I decided to open it while on the way to the market, see what it is y'know?"
Blackie flicked his tail in reply as he batted at Harry's leg; Harry laughed again," alright, alright hold your horses Blackie I'm getting to it!" he laughed again as he carefully pulled the envelope open and reached in to take out the parchment within.
Then, he started reading.
"Okay, what do we have here? Hmm, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry? What's that? Whatever, moving on….. Albus Dumbledore…. And a bunch of stupid titles that sound like they could be important but that I don't know anything about. Now, onto the actual letter…. Dear Mr. Potter, we are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry….."
His eyes roved over the paper as he fell silent, but Blackie seemed to get excited but also agitated as his tail violently swished back and forth, his eyes unwaveringly watching Harry.
The boy for the most part kept a neutral face, though it did break here and there as he moved from the first piece of parchment to the second, then, he was finished. He stopped walking and carefully put the paper back inside and closed it before placing it back within the folds of his clothes.
A quiet moment passed, then,
"Well it sounds a little out there and just a tad insane, but, considering that this is me, its most likely not gibberish and true-dammit." A harsh sigh left him as he started walking again, shaking his head and wondering why all the weird stuff always happened to him.
Then he started muttering.
"I'll have to find a way to get to wherever it is that wizards go to buy this stuff without telling Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia of course, I'll need to pool all of my money- wonder if they use normal money? If I take myself into consideration then probably not, damn, then after I do my shopping I'll need to tell dear Aunty and Uncle about this, can't just disappear for however long I'll be gone for no reason…"
His muttering continued as he made his way to the market where he absentmindedly told Blackie that," you can't come in with me, the employees would probably kick you out so stay out here okay?" the cat meowed in response and made himself comfortable on a bench near the entrance. Harry smiled then made his way inside, pulling the grocery list to his face while his mind drifted elsewhere, his subconscious taking over which allowed for him to get everything on the list without bumping into anyone.
After some time he was finished with his shopping and paying for the food items, he sighed in relief then headed outside, where he found Blackie and pet the cat for a moment, before he hid the groceries he got for his Aunt and went back inside the store, getting a couple things for himself, which he paid for with his own money, and then he was off, grabbed his other groceries and headed off back to 4 Privet Drive.
On the way back Harry started talking to Blackie again.
"Welp, Blackie, I think the store to get my school supplies from is probably somewhere in London; something inside me always felt like it was trying to pull me somewhere so I'm going to choose to believe it was the magic in me trying to get me to go to the magic in the city." He looked at the cat who meowed back," hopefully I'm right and I won't be wasting a perfectly good day that I could be spending doing something decidedly more fun if I turn out to be wrong and there isn't anything there for me to find," he sighed again while he adjusted his grip on the bags he was holding, Blackie once again meowed back but he also rubbed himself against Harry in a sort of comforting way which led to the green-eyed boy to smile,
"Thanks Blackie, I'd pet ya if my hands weren't so full, and if I didn't care whether or not Uncle Vernon took a belt to my hide because I got there after everyone got home, so this will have to suffice," and so he used his foot to pat the cat on the head and even scratch behind his ears before he started walking again.
Then, Harry was right in front of 4 Privet Drive and, with a sigh, he turned to Blackie," well, I guess this is where we go our own ways, but if I can I'll go out tonight and talk to you some more!" Blackie let out a meow that Harry thought sounded happy before he bounded away. The boy smiled but then sighed as he carefully made his way back into the house, bringing all of the bags to the kitchen and setting them on the counter," I'm back…." He called out in a soft voice; looking around him and seeing how empty the house was and how quiet too…
'Probably went out for ice cream…' Harry thought as he started putting what wasn't going to be used in dinner away and then moved to start preparing everything for that evening.
Dinner that night was going to be a tempting pork Wellington stuffed with spinach and cheese with a side of mashed potatoes drenched in garlic butter; and dessert was to be Chocolate Lava Cake, both were going to be delicious, but Harry would be able to survive until night without it-being a sneaky thief had its perks, like being able to sneak out in the middle of the night and cook food and do other random things.
Shaking his head Harry refocused on the task at hand, he had to prepare everything before heading off to do the rest of the house chores, and so, with a sigh, Harry got to work.
-6:45 PM-
Harry sat down on an old wooden stool in the kitchen with a breath of relief passing from his lips as he rubbed at the back of his neck.
He was finished with the rest of the house chores and dinner was just about ready to be taken out of the oven, the Dursley's had been gone for most of the afternoon, they hadn't come back at all during the time he had finished the last of the chores, which was strange considering they loved to bother him while he was working, really, they only did this if they decided to be a bunch of assholes and make Harry cook dinner only to make him save it all because they had gone out to eat that day.
Harry felt a displeased growl start to rumble in his chest, he really hoped that wasn't the case, because they only tended to do that when they were especially pissy at him which meant that he wouldn't have a day off tomorrow as they were all planning on going to the beach for a couple days-which in turn would make it harder for him to go to London in search of magic without tipping them off, which Harry really didn't want.
Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia would be annoying enough to deal with when he tells them that he would be going to Hogwarts, after taking care of all of his business, it would be soooooo much WORSE if he had to tell them before he was able to do anything; it would make his life that tiny bit more Hellish that just might push him over the edge once and for all.
If they weren't careful he might end up blowing up the house without a single care in the world-
"Boy, is supper ready?!"
Harry let out a quiet sigh of relief at the sound of his Uncles voice,' good, everything's going as planned,' he thought as he bowed his head so that his face couldn't be seen as he replied,
"Almost Uncle Vernon," he moved around the kitchen, swiftly pulling the cooked meat from the oven and plating it, then taking everything to the table and placed it where it belonged.
Just as he finished this the family of three came into the dining room, each with a different look on their face.
Aunt Petunia looked as if she had swallowed a lemon; Uncle Vernon almost looked disappointed while Dudley had a completely vacant look on his face; which soon change when he spotted the food on the table.
He gave a shout of glee and practically dove for the table; luckily nothing was in his way so nothing got knocked over. The Dursley parents chuckled at this, obviously finding it endearing, and maybe if Harry hadn't been forced to serve the ungrateful family basically his entire life he would have as well.
But anyways, soon the family of three were seated and digging into the delicious dinner that had been cooked for them, without a single care for the ten year old boy who had made it for them standing in the corner with a bowed head, not making any attempt to bring attention to himself.
Then, after some time, and after several instances of "asking" the green-eyed boy to get them things to make their dinning more enjoyable, the Dursley's were finished eating and were getting up from the table, not making it easy in the least for Harry to gather up the dishes to wash-
Oh.
Harry looked up at his Uncle, who had just grabbed his shoulder and who was looking back at him with a meaningful look in his eyes and Harry understood.
He had an appointment tonight.
Bowing his head once again, Harry moved over to the sink and quickly put everything in it and set about soaking all of it. Once the water was high enough he shut it off and moved over to wipe his hands on the washcloth on the counter, his heart was beating erratically and he was having a hard time controlling his breathing; it was always like this when he was informed he had an appointment, but, soon enough he would calm down again and be able to get it done and over with.
Taking a deep breath Harry forced himself to remain calm even as Vernon leaned over him, his hot breath ruffling his hair.
"Go to the second bedroom, boy," he spoke lowly.
Harry nodded; turning and moving through the house with a bowed head.
He didn't acknowledge Dudley's form sitting in front of the television.
He didn't acknowledge Aunt Petunia's disgusted and jealous gaze following him as he walked.
He didn't acknowledge anything.
He just walked through the house and up the stairs to Dudley's second bedroom; he undressed and kneeled in the middle of the room. Usually Uncle Vernon would undress him, but he was wearing his special thief gear underneath so he took the liberty of doing it himself, and so, he waited.
It wasn't long until the thumping footsteps of his Uncle were getting louder and louder as he made his way up the stairs.
Harry took in a breath.
The door was closed and locked.
Harry let out the breath.
He was thrown to the floor with a much larger body following after.
He closed his eyes.
A hand moved down his body.
He became numb.
Everything hurt.
He opened his eyes.
Something inside was torn and bleeding.
His wrists were bruised and raw.
His throat and jaw was sore.
Something wet was slipping down his inner-thigh.
But at least it was over.
Turning over so that he was on his side Harry mustered the strength to keep moving; absently, his mind registered the sounds of laughing and happy voices coming from the floor below.
His lip trembled and his eyes watered, but, he refused to let the tears fall, so, he pushed all his emotions away and just concentrated on breathing.
Some time passed and soon Harry was hearing the sounds of first Dudley then his Aunt and Uncle going to bed, but not before his Uncle grabbed him, dragged him down the stairs then threw him into the cupboard there, then he reached over and harshly grabbed a handful of Harry's hair, yanking on it he spoke,
"Remember, you have another appointment on Wednesday, make sure you behave while we're gone or you'll have to work on Saturday and Sunday too; have I made myself clear?"
Harry nodded his head and so, with a satisfied grin, Vernon let go of Harry's hair and closed and locked the cupboard before lumbering back up the stairs.
A half an hour passes before Harry starts moving again.
With a small grunt Harry pushes himself up and crawls towards the hole in the back of the cupboard, goes through it and the tunnel and gets out. He goes up to the second bedroom and grabs his thieving gear, leaving his clothes on the floor as he didn't care about them and turned away and went to the bathroom to wash up.
When he finished cleaning himself up he put on his gear which consisted of a black, long-sleeved shirt that had a mask hidden in the collar with buttons near his shoulders that allowed for him to shorten the sleeve and a strap that was part of a harness wrapped just below his chest that he could attach his ropes to, pants that has a special belt that is under the fabric which also had straps that made up the rest of his harness that helped even out his weight that were wrapped around just below his groin up to his hips, his pants also had various types of pockets strewn about them that he could stuff any tools he might need into, his pants could also become shorts via buttons like his shirt and his boots were in his cupboard.
Once he was finished putting his gear on he went to his cupboard and grabbed his hoodie and boots from it, put them on and left the house while stuffing his hands into the pockets.
He stiffly walked for a solid twenty minutes before stopping, and he only did that because of the cat that was meowing at him.
Harry looked over and recognized the black furred cat with silvery blue eyes and smiled," Blackie," he whispered and crouched down in order to scratch him on the head; the cat purred in response which then led to the boys smile to become genuine.
After a couple minutes of quiet petting Harry stood back up," I'm going to the bus station, gonna look at the schedule for tomorrow so that I can plan accordingly. Ms. Figg won't notice much, she hardly ever does, spends most of her time taking care of her cats instead of me so I might as well take advantage of that."
Blackie meowed in agreement as he flicked his tail, causing for Harry to continue talking, quietly of course,
"I just had another appointment tonight... Wish I hadn't, but hopefully that will tide Uncle Vernon over until he gets back from vacation… but anyways, I think what I'll be doing tomorrow is just look for the store or whatever it is, I don't think that I'll be going into it for now, just scouting it out before going in the next day; today is Wednesday after all and the Dursley's will be gone until Sunday so I've got plenty of time, don't you think so Blackie?" he asked as he neared a bus station.
Blackie mewed in response, a purr sounding from his throat. Harry chuckled and pat Blackie's head," thanks Blackie," and with that he walked right up to the bus schedule sitting on the wall outside. Staring at it Harry started to mutter about what he was going to do, again.
"So, there's a bus leaving at 6 AM… nope can't take that one….. 9 AM…? No… hmmm…. Hafta settle for 11, day after I can take an early bus but not tomorrow since the Dursley's are leaving somewhere between 9 and 10….."
Once he was finished Harry left and made his way to a nearby fast-food restaurant and got himself a couple burgers and fries with a large root beer in order to satisfy his hunger and then made his way to a park to eat, giving Blackie the occasional fry as he did so.
Once he was finished he threw away the trash and stretched," hmm, it's time that I head on over to the library, studying at night really is best, wouldn't you say Blackie?" the cat merely flicked an ear.
Harry grinned.
"Heh, right, well, better get going yeah?" and with that Harry made his way to the library to start his nighttime study.
[July 25th 1991]
*Bang, bang, bang*
"Get up, freak, you need to make breakfast!" a woman's voice woke Harry from his slumber, causing for him to sit up and start rubbing at his eyes while mumbling a demur,
"Yes, Aunt Petunia."
The sound of a lock unlatching alerted Harry to the fact that he could get out of his cupboard now, so without further ado he put on his glasses and pulled on his oversized clothes and pushed open the door, silently making his way to the kitchen so that he could start on breakfast.
"Go, move faster freak!" Aunt Petunia smacked him over the head, an irritable expression on her face; of course she was especially angry at him today, her husband had just the night before decided to be with her nephew instead of her again-house wrecker is what she called him, though she never made a move to stop her husband from doing such things, all she did was yell at him and hit him for it.
Harry merely sighed and got on to making breakfast while the rest of them went about finishing their packing for their long awaited vacation.
Harry was even more ecstatic than they were about it, a whole four days without the troublesome trio, it was almost like heaven.
Soon enough Harry was finished with breakfast and the Dursley family quickly ate it, then, Uncle Vernon grabbed Harry around the arm and instructed him to grab a few extra pairs of clothes for Ms. Figg's place as the house would be locked and he wouldn't be able to get back in until they were back (Harry snorted at that) and so the morning went by, ending at about 9:30 with the Dursley's leaving their home.
With a sigh Harry placed his clothes in the little bedroom that he always stayed in at Ms. Figg's place when he was spending the night. Harry then spent some time with Ms. Figg's cat's before he left for the day, telling the older woman that he would just be in his room or out and about the neighborhood to which the woman happily told him to have fun and then focused the rest of her attention on her cats who she was cooing at.
Shaking his head Harry headed up to the little room, took off his oversized clothes so that he was only in his thieving gear, grabbed his wallet and hoodie and then climbed out the window. He pulled on his hoodie then casually made his way to the bus station, making certain that he remained in the shadows and unseen.
It wasn't long before he got to the station and bought his ticket to London, then he went to the same fast-food restaurant as the night before and ate while waiting for his bus to get there, and once it did he was on and off to London.
While on the way there Harry realized that he had company," why, hello there Blackie, didn't see you following me; I should probably start paying a little more attention huh?" the black cat meowed back and rubbed his head against Harry's arm, the boy scratched behind his ears resulting in Blackie to start purring.
This behavior continued on to London, and when they got there both the boy and the cat jumped out of the vehicle and started walking around the city.
It wasn't until several hours later that Harry finally found what he was looking for.
He and his feline companion had spent the afternoon and early evening walking around the city with the occasional stop at random places that Harry was checking out to see if it was worth his time to steal from when they happened upon it.
Harry was looking around him when he spotted a hanging sign that proudly proclaimed in peeling paint that it was the Leaky Cauldron, and Harry felt like it was pulling him in, so, trusting his gut instinct, he walked right up to the door, quickly taking notice that no one else seemed to be able to see it, and walked inside.
Upon entering Harry and Blackie saw the inside of what looked to be an old tavern of some sort with a few scattering of people in clothing that was tattered and looked like it was from the 17th century.
Carefully pulling his hoodie lower on his face Harry walked up to the bar counter and climbed onto a stool and tapped the counter to get the bartenders attention.
The man turned to face him with a pleasant enough smile, though it was missing a couple teeth, he started talking,
"Hey there, I'm Tom, anything I can do for you lad?" he asked kindly. Harry allowed for a polite smile to come to his face,
"Hello sir, my name's Harry, if you could spare the time, would you tell me how this all works? Y'know, this whole, uh, magic thing?" he asked with much difficulty, hoping with his entire being that he hadn't walked into the wrong place. He let out a sigh of relief as the man looked at him in understanding and a tiny bit of sympathy,
"Ah, you're a Muggleborn then?" he asked kindly before speaking up again," wait, what I meant was you're a wizard who has non-Magical parents, that's what a Muggleborn is." Harry nodded his head in understanding before tilting his head to the side in confusion.
"I don't know. Y'see, I wasn't raised by my parents, I was raised by my, probably, non-Magical relatives, I was also told by my relatives that magic doesn't exist so I'm guessing that they aren't Magical in any way. By the way, what does Muggle mean?"
Tom smiled kindly," Muggle is just a word used to describe non-magic folk, don't worry it's not a derogatory term."
Nodding his head again Harry remained quiet for a moment, absently petting Blackie who had taken residence on his lap, and then he was struck with another question,
"Oh, um, are there any other terms like Muggle and Muggleborn that I should know?" he asked carefully with a tilt of his head. Tom didn't seem to notice Harry's cautious behavior and simply answered,
"Well, there are plenty you should know about before venturing into the Wizarding world! I already told you about Muggleborns and Muggles, then there are those who come from purely Magical families and backgrounds, these people are known as Purebloods and they generally think very highly of themselves because of this, most seem to think that being Pureblooded means that you are better than anyone with what they think is tainted blood, Muggleborns and Half-bloods, who are Witches or Wizards who have a Muggle or Muggleborn parent and a Pureblooded parent. Then there are Half breeds who are the combination of a human and some sort of creature-"
"Creature? What do you mean by that?" Harry quickly cut in, his curiosity piqued. Tom stopped for a moment in order to get his mind on this new thread of conversation before answering,
"Ah, yes, well a Creature is something like Giants and Elves and Vampires and the like; they're different than Beasts which are more like Magical animals, a Creature tends to be the more... Human-like beings, do you get it?"
Harry nodded his head with excitement as he gestured for Tom to continue talking, he couldn't help feeling giddy, to think, Elves and Vampires existed! How exciting!
Tom then explained a couple more concepts and terms used in the Magical world, like how most Wizards, including himself, weren't all that aware of what was happening in the Muggle world as none of them are particularly interested in anything that could be happening as well as the fact that the Leaky Cauldron was a way of getting into the Magical district of London, which Harry found was called Diagon Ally.
Near the end of his explanation Tom offered Harry a drink called pumpkin juice, telling the boy that it didn't taste just like pumpkins and more like pumpkin pie, to which then led to the boy to agreeing to try some, and, found that he quite liked it and wondered what it would taste like with a shot of whiskey in it, though he kept that speculation to himself and simply continued to listen to the bartender as he spoke of a couple more things pertaining to the Magical world before Harry finished his drink and told him that he had to get going as it was getting late, so, with a hearty farewell from the man and the promise of coming back tomorrow, Harry headed off to the bus station so that he could get back to Ms. Figg's house.
Once Harry arrived back at the older woman's house she told him that she was just about to go fetch him as it was supper time and he followed her into the dining room and ate before he sat in her living room for a time to spend time with her cat's before he headed up to his borrowed bedroom in order to plan out his next day.
[July 26th 1991]
Harry woke up bright and early in a delightfully good mood and he nearly skipped downstairs to Ms. Figg's kitchen and started making a delicious early breakfast for himself and Ms. Figg, carefully setting hers aside with a note telling her that he was going to be out of the house for most of the day again, doing some odd jobs and just walking around the neighborhood and wishing her a wonderful morning, then he was gone-but not before he gave some extra loving to the cats of the house of course.
He then made a quick stop in a secret location where he kept his extra money from all of his heists and took a small portion of it, which amounted to roughly 3000£ ($3800) and carefully put it in his wallet and then he stuck his wallet in one of his pockets and then he was off to the bus station.
It wasn't long before Harry with his apparent companion Blackie were off to London so that they could get to the Leaky Cauldron.
Once there Harry made his way to the Magical tavern and cheerfully greeted the bartender as he asked the man to help him get to Diagon Ally so that he could do his school shopping. The man was happy to help and opened the back up for Harry while telling him of the Wizarding Bank that Harry would want to go to in order to exchange his Muggle money for Wizarding money, the boy listened intently while memorizing the way he touched the bricks so that he could get into the place without having to ask for help the next time he came.
And then, the bricks were out of the way and Harry was struck speechless by the sight that he was greeted with.
The buildings were tall and smooshed together, the streets were narrow and full of lively, and strangely dressed, people, there were carts and booths full of interesting looking items for sale with equally interesting looking people running them.
With a laugh of giddiness escaping him Harry quickly thanked Tom and rushed into the crowd, making his way to the tall white building that Tom had told him about.
Harry and Blackie quickly and stealthily maneuvered their way through the crowd of people and towards Gringotts with a couple quick stops to take a peek at the items for sale, but Harry forced himself to keep going so that he would be able to actually buy things instead of just looking at them (he considered stealing something but held himself back, he didn't know what Magic could do so stealing would have to wait) and soon enough he and his feline companion were in front of the snowy white building.
He marveled at the building for a moment before he took in a deep breath and let it out slowly; calming himself he smiled and walked up the steps only to be greeted by two, strange, looking creatures that were dressed in red and golden armor. They opened the doors for him while bowing politely, which then motivated Harry to do the same back with a kind smile before he rushed into the building, not taking note of the surprised looks on the creatures' faces after he did so.
Harry swiftly made his way into the building, cautiously looking around at the gleaming white marble walls and floors; he had to admit, even with all the traveling he'd done and all the museums and mansions that he'd been to, Harry couldn't quite compare any of that to this beautiful building he now found himself in, though maybe that was just the excitement and awe talking...
He was brought out of his thoughts by the large silver door in front of him being opened for him, the same armored creatures as before holding the towering doors open for him. Harry was just about to thank them when one of them cleared its throat, gesturing above him causing for Harry's eyes to flick upwards.
He stopped, tilting his head to the side as he spotted words carved into the wall above the doorway, taking a moment to read what it said before he looked back to the armored creatures, smiled then bowed his thanks, mumbling a quiet," thank you," before he confidently walked into the main building, nearly stopping at the sight that greeted him there.
A large marbled hall with counters stretching out on either side of it with many strangely dressed people standing before each one, talking to the little creatures sitting at the counters, some of which were doing other things such as looking at and weighing precious gems (Harry licked his lips) and taking pound notes and exchanging them for bronze, silver and golden coins, Harry guessed that that was the currency that the wizarding world used.
Gathering himself, Harry strode resolutely to one of the counters that appeared to be a currency exchange station and waited for his turn, casually standing while his eyes took in everything-maybe he would be able to pull a heist here-and soon enough it was his turn.
Harry looked up at the little creature before him and smiled pleasantly, walking forward and going onto his tiptoes he began speaking," hello, the name's Harry, I'm a Muggleborn and would like to exchange some of my muggle notes for the wizard currency please," he reached into his pocket and pulled his full to bursting wallet out and took hold of his money, handing it to the creature.
The pointed nosed being raised a brow while taking the notes into his hand, looking them over-obviously making sure they were real-before he started quickly counting them out. Once he-she? It, whatever-was finished he raised his head and looked at Harry,
"Do you want all of this exchanged?" the creature asked, his voice high and gravelly. Harry nodded his head, smiling politely,
"Yes please, mister..." he then looked around the desk top, looking for some sort of name plate, and when he found it, continued," Bloodfang."
Nodding the creature then went about tallying up the correct amount of coins, and when he finished he snapped his clawed fingers and another creature popped up, took the parchment with the total sum on it and scurried away. Bloodfang turned back to Harry and the two of them waited for a moment, but that moment was broken as Harry decided to speak up,
"Excuse me, not meaning to be rude or anything, but what are you exactly?" he asked, tilting his head to the side in curiosity.
Bloodfang raised a bushy brow before answering," I am a Goblin, Master Harry, we are the ones who run the wizarding bank Gringotts and keep watch over you humans' money and keep it safe. Remember that before you do anything to anger us." He finished sharply, very obviously threatening the young boy.
Unfortunately for the Goblin Harry had gone through too much to feel intimidated and so only smiled in response," of course sir, wouldn't dream of it," he cheekily responded while interlocking his hands behind his back, rocking back and forth on his feet, looking for all the world as if he were the most disarming and innocent creature in the entire world.
"And it's just Harry, no need to add master," he cheerily added as he planted his feet on the ground and the Goblin from before returned with a small black pouch. Bloodfang took the pouch then tipped it over some, many golden coins falling out to land on the counter for Harry to see. The Goblin turned up his nose while he spoke,
"155 Galleons, 11 Sickles and 10 Knuts for you Mister Harry, one Galleon is worth 19 pounds, a Sickle one fifty and a Knut five pence. Does that suffice?" Harry quickly did the math in his head, coming to the conclusion that he wasn't being played and smiled up at the Goblin,
"Yes sir that will do just fine!" nodding Bloodfang started to put the coins back into the pouch, continuing to speak,
"Very well mister Harry, this pouch is a bottomless bag, you can put anything you want in here and it won't feel any heavier," he handed Harry the bag, then he smiled sinisterly," the currency exchange costs 2 Galleons and the bag 3, please hand over the money mister Harry~!" he held out a hand, his smile still in place.
Harry actually snorted in amusement before he pulled out the five coins, placing them in the Goblins hand," have to make money somehow, eh?" he asked rhetorically, only getting a wider smile in response. Harry laughed to himself before bowing to the Goblin," thank you mister Bloodfang, if there isn't anything else you'll like to rope me into, I'll be on my way," and with that he gave another deep bow, twirled around and walked out of the building, Blackie bounding after him.
Once he left Harry looked around while absently patting Blackie's head, looking at all of the crammed together buildings surrounding him. He looked at the names on each sign before making up his mind and jumping down the stairs with his feline friend following him, starting for a shop by the name of Flourish and Bloots, which he quickly found was a book store.
He bought all of the books that he was required to buy for school, but he also got more than that; anything he felt drawn to or caught his fancy he bought, uncaring of the large amount of books he was amassing, that and the book seller looked very pleased once he was finished, though he looked disapprovingly at his little companion.
From there he went from shop to shop, buying all of the required materials and more, happily taking everything he wanted. He on occasion spotted something that he didn't quite have enough Galleons to buy, but he reasoned with himself that he would be able to do so at a later time, he would just need to come by the next day with more money, luckily he had a lot of it to splurge.
Harry had just left the shop called "Madame Malkin's Robes for all Occasions" and let out a sigh of relief.
'Just a couple more shops left,' he thought to himself, twisting his neck with a satisfying crack. He opened his eyes and scanned his immediate area, searching for his next stop-he still needed his wand, but he wanted to make a stop at the pet store. Letting out a breath of air, Harry glanced down at his furry companion, smiling he playfully asked,
"Where do you fancy we should go next Blackie? Should I get my wand first or should I go to Magical Menagerie-"
Rrraow
Harry was cut off by the cat jumping onto his face and knocking him over, which only made Harry start laughing hysterically,
"Okay, okay! We'll go to the pet store first!" he said through his laughter. Blackie looked very pleased with himself and started purring while rubbing himself on Harry's face, who laughed again and picked up the cat while standing," heh, okay, let's go then," and made his way to the closer store.
Once he entered he looked around with Blackie in his arms, taking in the different types of animals that were inside the shop. It mainly consisted of cats, owls and toads but there were a couple interesting looking animals that weren't any of those and so Harry spent his time looking at all of them, carefully holding Blackie so that he wouldn't drop him.
Near the end of his excursion Harry came face to face with the most beautiful snowy owl he had ever seen.
Its feathers were pure white, except for the coal black speckles that were dotted here and there and the most beautiful, piercing yellow eyes Harry had ever seen.
"Hello beautiful," the green-eyed boy breathed, carefully inching closer to the magnificent bird of prey.
It slowly turned its head to him, a smart gleam glittering in its eyes and it seemed to be looking him up and down as well. Harry was about to reach his hand out to touch her, when something stopped him.
A large hand, it had to be larger than Harry's own head (though that wasn't saying much considering how small he is) reached over him and carefully pat the owls head. The snowy owl made a clicking sound before pulling away from the hand, turning from Harry and his new companion.
The boy looked to the side and his eyes traveled up, up, up the large frame until they landed on the scraggly, yet kind, face of a man that had to be ten feet tall at the least; he had jolly red cheeks and a thick curly black beard and hair, both seeming to reach his chest. His eyes were brown, yet soft and he smiled kindly at Harry.
"Fancy this 'ere owl, do ya lad?" the man asked with a thick accent. Harry nodded while tilting his head down, allowing for his hoodie to fall over his face so that the man could only see half of it.
"Yes sir, it's very beautiful," he replied politely, carefully, this man looked kind but he was probably very dangerous. Even with the kind smile adorning his lips, Harry still kept up his guard,
"Ay, tha' she is! I've had my eye on her for quite a while now, wanted to get her for someone, but, I think it would be best if you got 'er!" Harry looked back at the man in shock, not expecting that response. He tilted his face up just the slightest bit, allowing for both his eyes to connect with the giants,
"And why's that? Shouldn't you get her for that someone you mentioned?" he questioned cautiously, but the man only laughed heartily, saying,
"Ah, but she wants you! Not one day I've in 'ere has she looked at me quite like how she looked at you. She's your familiar, your animal soulmate if you will! She belongs to you and only you; from the time she was hatched to the time she dies, she will be yours and only yours!" Harry was startled by the large mans' voice, though he supposed he shouldn't have been. He finally turned his face all the way to his,
"You really think so?" he asked softly, feeling a strange emotion bubbling up in him; and when the man smiled and nodded, Harry couldn't help returning it, bowing his head he thanked the man," thank you very much mister..."
"Hagrid! Rubeus Hagrid, the Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"
"I'm Harry... You work at Hogwarts?" Harry carefully asked,
A grin," yep! I take care o' the grounds and the dear creatures on them! Make certain the students don't get to close to any of the less safe ones as well! If you want to have a cup of tea with me while you're there, I wouldn't mind at all 'Arry!" the boy couldn't help giggling at the mans' enthusiasm,
"Yeah, that'd be nice Hagrid, really nice," he smiled up at the man while hugging Blackie closer to him, causing the cat to start purring.
"Well then," Hagrid perked up again, smiling for all he was worth," let's get you that owl, hmm?" and without a response from him, reached over and plucked the owl from her perch, grabbed a couple of essentials for the creature and then made his way to buy it, all within a couple seconds.
Harry stood there dumbfounded for a moment; the magical world was really messing with his reaction time as he wasn't fast enough to shake himself out of his shock and tell the giant of a man that he could buy her before the transaction was over and done with, a smiling Hagrid looking at the green-eyed boy.
"'Ere you go 'Arry! All ready to go!' and he pushed the supplies into his arms, making Harry drop his feline companion, and then handed Harry the cage holding his owl," take good care of 'er, y'hear? She's a good lil companion to have at Hogwarts, plus she'll be able to deliver any letters you have to anyone you want! Well, I have to get going now, business to attend and all tha'. See ya around 'Arry!" and with a pat to his head and a wave over his shoulder, the strange man known as Rubeus Hagrid was gone.
Harry stood still for only a moment before he shook himself out of his trance and gave a mighty sigh,
okay, I really need to retrain my reaction time, this is just ridiculous, I should be able to react faster than that!' he mentally scolded himself, shaking his head and putting all of his new supplies in a bottomless bag, opened the cage and let his owl out, put that in the bag too and then urged her to hop onto his arm, picking Blackie up with the other.
He smiled at the bird softly, gently running his fingers through her plumage and cooing to her softly," you're such a beautiful owl, and no doubt you're very smart; I need to think long and hard on what to call you, beautiful girl," the owl clicked in response before nuzzling her face against Harry's own.
Harry giggled.
"Yeah, you need a special name..." and he continued to talk to her softly as he made his way out of the store, through the street and to in front of Ollivander's wand shop, but, before he could go in, a commotion caught his attention.
To the side of the store was a group of redheads; there were six in total, a woman that was kindly and a little on the plump side who Harry figured was the mother of the group. Then there were two identical boys that were taller than the woman but with young faces, they were probably in their early teens, another older looking boy with something resembling a small afro on his head, a younger boy with a straight nose and freckles all of his face and a girl that was younger than him with longer hair reaching the middle of her back.
What was causing the commotion was the younger boy, who seemed to be arguing with his mum about something; and seeing as he was gesturing at the wand shop, Harry had an idea as to what that was.
He casually moved closer to the group in order to listen in on the conversation, bringing Blackie closer to his chest while his owl jumped onto his shoulder as he did so and listened.
"... and Fred and George too! Why can't have just one thing that isn't a hand-me-down? I'm not asking for much mum, I just want my own wand! Is that too much to ask?" the boy asked in exasperation.
Harry had already taken in their attire and had come to the easy conclusion that they were either poor or were just scraping by.
"I'm sorry Ron dear, but we only have enough money to buy a couple things, maybe next year?" the mum tried to reason, smiling apologetically. The boy, Ron, vigorously shook his head,
"No! Next year Ginny will be going to Hogwarts! She'll be the one getting new robes because she's a girl! Can't I have something this year? Please?" Ron pleaded with his mother, but all the woman did was sigh sadly, shaking her head which caused for the boy to deflate,
"I'm sorry Ron, but we just can't afford a new wand right now. You'll just have to make do with your brothers' old one, I'm sorry dear…." Ron shook his head and turned away, a dejected aura coming from him and to Harry, who sighed in exasperation,
'Talk about a drama queen!' he thought as he turned to the family of redheads, making his way over to the group while pulling his hood down more so that it would shadow his face, then he smiled as he tapped one of the twins on the shoulder.
The older boy turned around and raised a brow at him as he elbowed his duplicate who also turned around," take a load of this Gred, a shady little kid just tapped me on the shoulder," one of them said, the other hummed thoughtfully,
"Really Forge? Who do you reckon he is? What does he want, do you think?" he replied. Harry raised his own brow at the two of them, but didn't let their odd way of talking get to him,
"I'm Harry. Y'see, I was just about to head into the shop here, but I'm a Muggleborn and don't understand much about the Magical world yet; do you think you could spare your little brother there so that he can answer some questions I have? He's my age after all; it'd be less awkward that way." Harry smiled disarmingly up at the two, playing up his innocence so they wouldn't see him as anything but harmless.
The two looked at each other for a moment, seemingly communicating telepathically, but then they nodded in unison and turned to their mother,
"Oh mother dearest~" Forge called out with a grin,
"Oh mother~" Gred followed, inching closer to the woman,
"We have a little friend to show you~" they spoke at the same time, then they were turning and pulling Harry forward, showcasing the child to the plump woman.
"This here is Harry! He says he's a Muggleborn and he wants ickle Ronnikins to help him with Wizarding knowledge, since he's about to head into Ollivander's~" they again spoke at the same time, shit eating grins on their faces. The woman suddenly looked at Harry with sympathy, which made the boy uncomfortable and started speaking,
"Oh, you poor dear, of course Ron can help you with any questions you might have, can't you Ron?" she turned to the named boy, who only shrugged his response,
"Yeah, I guess so," he mumbled while crossing his arms disinterestedly. The woman smiled before turning to Harry again,
"There you go Harry dear! I hope he'll be of help to you!" Harry nodded while tilting his head down some, shadowing his face but smiling while doing so,
"Thank you, Misses…..?" he left off meaningfully, which then caused for the woman to gasp in mortification.
"Oh! Where are my manners? I'm Mrs. Weasley dear, that there is Ginny, she's a year younger than you and Ron, and you already know which one he is, and these are the twins Fred and George. And my third eldest Percy! Now, then, run along you two, the rest of us will get what we need while you help him Ron dear, okay?"
Sighing, Ron nodded his head then turned to Harry, attempting at a friendly smile and mildly succeeding.
"Let's be off then," he muttered and started walking to the door when Harry nodded. The green-eyed boy politely bowed to Mrs. Weasley then hurried after Ron, entering the shop with the other boy.
Looking around Harry took in the dark, dusty and quiet front area and decided that it had a curious, yet calming effect on him, as if calling for him to relax and get comfortable for something exciting was coming.
Smiling Harry took in the old chair sitting in front of an equally old looking front counter which was situated in front of many tall shelves that had boxes upon boxes stacked on them haphazardly.
Harry walked up to the counter and stood on his tiptoes so that he could reach the bell on it, and once he tapped it not one second later an older man with wild white hair, nearly white eyes and nice, but disheveled, clothing arrived, rolling over on a ladder.
The boy smiled politely up at the man, bowing his head a little as he introduced himself," hello sir, I'm Harry, a Muggleborn, or at least I was raised by Muggles, and I would like to get a wand please."
His eyes widened some as he jumped down, a strange gleam in his eye, while walking over to the pair of boys. His lips twitched up into a smile, a look that told Harry that the man knew something that he didn't, but he started speaking before Harry could question him," well hello, mister, ahem, Harry, I am Garrick Ollivander, the creator of these fine wands that you see before you. Now, are you left handed or right handed?" he asked as he walked forwards, pulling out a measuring tape.
Harry tilted his head to the side while sticking his right hand out," I can use both pretty well, but I'm primarily right handed," he replied and watched as the man started to measure him in odd ways, ranging from his foot to his arm to his elbow to his hand.
"Well, then," Mr. Ollivander started while walking away, snapping his fingers to stop the measuring tape, Harry jerking as he realized that it had continued to measure him even though Mr. Ollivander had walked away, but after getting over his shock he merely smiled, even more excited to find out just what magic would add to his life now that he knew about it.
"How about we start with this one," he started up again, catching Harry's attention. He saw the man come closer and hand him an opened box with a slim stick inside it. Reaching in Harry picked it up, looking at the man in question, his answer being a smile and a quiet," well, give it a swish," causing Harry to do so, only for something in the back of the shop to explode.
Harry looked startled for all of one second before a very pleased smile came to his lips, a giggle escaping him as he handed the wand back to the white haired old man who mumbled about how it wasn't the right wand before grabbing another.
Quite a bit of time passed as Harry tried wand after wand after wand before, finally, he resonated with one.
It was brown and nearly a foot long, it wasn't all that intriguing to look at but Harry felt a strange warmth fill him once he touched it, not noticing the golden glow enveloping him. He looked at the wand in surprise for a time, basking in that strange warmth for a moment longer before, with a start as a hand touched his shoulder, looked away from the wand and into the face of the man that had given it to him.
Ollivander smiled down at the boy as he pulled his hand away from his shoulder, a strange gleam in his eye, his mouth opening to say something, but was interrupted by the nearly blinding light the suddenly enveloped the shop for a split second; it causing the crazy haired man to whirl around, staring into the back of his store, a small breeze blowing past him, seeming to be pulling him into the back of the store and the man followed it, moving into the back of the store and through a darkened door, disappearing from view.
Harry and Ron exchanged a quick glance, but no words were exchanged as the man was back, holding in his hands another box but this one was older, more wrinkled than the one holding Harry's new wand.
Ollivander stood in front of the two teens for a time, contemplating, bouncing from foot to foot for what felt like hours to Harry; until, finally, he gave a resolute nod of his head and presented Harry with the new box.
The green-eyed boy stared at it, his eyes darting from its surface to the wide, white eyes of the man presenting it to him several times before, with a sharp breath, he mumbled," always has to be me," before reaching out, taking the bow from the man and opening it, peering into this new, yet old, box.
Inside the container, sitting delicately on plush velvet, sat a wand; an interesting wand. It was strangely mixed, part subdued beige and part honeyed brown twirling around each other along the length of it; small lines crawled around the handle that almost looked like Tolkien elvish.
Harry stared at it a time, but then he shook his head and picked up the wand, a mild tremor running up his arm as he did so-this somehow felt more important than his other wand and he didn't quite understand way, but that feeling went away with what happened next.
As his finger wrapped firmly yet gently around the handle of the wand soft ribbons of light twirled from the tip, circling his wrist and arm, then his body, then covered the entirety of the store, pulsing warmly for a moment then, it all rushed back to the green-eyed boy.
Harry sucked in a breath as an even stranger warmth filled him, and he then realized that a strange feeling was filling him and he suddenly knew everything that had ever happened in the store up until that very moment and he knew that all he would have to do was focus on the feeling in order to see every single person who had ever set foot within the store, and every single person that had ever bought a wand from the Ollivander family.
But he shook his head, literally, and told himself that he would look into this new information later, turning to look up at the old man in front of him.
Ollivander stared at Harry while raising a brow, a strange smile coming to his face," well well, it would appear that you are an oddity mister Harry," said boy merely pursed his lips, an annoyed expression taking over his features-it always had to be him-which caused for Ollivander to laugh as he continued,
"I haven't met anyone who has needed two wands; though my grandfather had a long time ago... he told me that only those who have a single wand that has a single purpose are granted with two at one time-that first wand you took has a single purpose and will no doubt be destroyed from it, which is why you have another one, one that resonates seemingly better than the first with you...
"But, that is unimportant, allow for me to tell you about your wands instead," he gave another smile, and then he was pointing to Harry's first wand.
"that first one you have is made from Holly wood, eleven inches long with a single feather from a Phoenix who only gave one other feather, that feather going into the wand of, well, You-Know-Who, who used it for great things-horrible things-but great."
"Now that one," he motioned to the other wand," is made from an English oak and Willow that grew next to and entwined together once they reached maturity, it too has a phoenix feather core but it's a much older one and I was told by my grandfather that it was a special brand of phoenix that had blue and white feathers instead of the normal red orange and yellow that most of these birds have. They say that these Blue Fire Phoenix's fire is even hotter than that of the normal phoenixes and their tears even more potent, it's also eleven inches. Curious, that you should have two wands that want you now; that the second is not waiting for you to lose the first in order to except you, curious indeed..." he trailed off as he walked behind the counter.
Harry looked back at Ron for a moment, who only shrugged in reply, and then his attention was back on the strange man who had returned to Harry with an interesting looking thing that reminded Harry of a gun holster, only the opening was smaller and looked to only be able to fit a wand.
Ollivander smiled as he spoke," well, it would appear that you are the owner of these beauties mister Harry; that will be 27 Galleons! I'll give you a Dragon hide wand holster for your Holly wand and a secret wand holster for your second wand free of charge!" Harry thought over the price for a moment before he nodded and paid the man, carefully taking the wand holsters from him and watching carefully as he demonstrated how to put them on.
Harry had his Holly wand strapped to his wrist, as it would be easier to access from there, and his Oak/Willow wand strapped to his leg, with an added spell that allowed for him to take it out without having to stuff his hands down his trousers.
After he was finished with that Harry turned to Ron, a questioning look in his eye," well, are you going to get your own wand or have you already gotten yours?" he asked, acting as if he hadn't any idea that the boy neither had one nor could he afford one.
Ron merely shook his head, looking to the side he huffed," no, my family don't have the money to spare to buy me a new wand so I'll just have to wait till another time," he said stiffly, obviously upset with the whole ordeal but trying not to let it show.
Harry tilted his head, as if he were confused, then he looked away for a moment, and then started talking,
"Well, Ron," Harry started while tapping his chin," if you can't afford to buy your own wand maybe I could, y'know, buy one for you and you-"
"I don't want your bloody charity!" the redheaded boy suddenly growled, a heated scowl on his freckled face as he turned to look at him. Harry looked back at him in surprise but amusement started to color his features as he chuckled; the redhead suddenly felt intimidated by this green-eyed boy who was shorter than him.
"Charity?" he questioned with a laugh, making Ron flush in embarrassment," who said anything about charity? Maybe you should've let me finish before getting your knickers in a twist, yeah?"
Ron's cheeks took on an even darker shade of red as he more or less pouted at the brunette, causing for another chuckle to come from Harry who tilted his head to the side, highly amused, asking," will you let me finish now?" the redhead nodded, so Harry continued,
"Thank you! Now, if you, Ron, can't afford your own wand then I can pay for it in exchange for information."
Ron looked confused by his proposition," information? What do ya mean?" Harry smiled at the taller boy,
"Well Ron, I was muggle-raised Y'see so I know diddly-squat about the Magical world, and even though I plan on reading many books on this part of the world it would be great if I could learn a little bit now before heading on to Hogwarts, understand?"
"Yeah, I think I do," he responded with a nod. Harry's smile got wider,
"Good, now, why don't you get your wand and when you're finished you can tell me about the four Houses, alright?" he asked, and smiled when Ron nodded in reply.
After that the redheaded boy went through almost the exact same treatment as Harry had in order to discover his own wand, and after a couple minutes, was able to find his, a warm, reddish glow surrounding Ron, making Harry smile happily, glad that the other boy was able to find his rightful wand.
After that Harry paid Ollivander, bowed his head and said his goodbyes while gesturing for his owl to land on his shoulder and picking up Blackie, leaving the building shortly thereafter with Ron in tow.
Once they were out in the street again, Harry turned to his human companion and asked," where do you want to go? Your mum isn't back yet so do you think we should stay here or hang out somewhere else?" he asked, tilting his head to the side.
Ron looked up in thought for a moment then looked at Harry," why don't we go to Florean Fortescue's Ice cream Parlor? Its right over there," he pointed towards the shop, Harry followed his finger and nodded,
"Yeah, I think that's a good idea, I'd like some ice cream right about now anyway," smiling, the two headed off to the ice cream parlor, which once they got there the two each ordered something and went and found a seat, Harry placing Blackie next to him on his seat and his owl landed on the back of his seat, turning her head to the side and putting it under her wing, seeming to fall asleep.
While that happened Harry looked expectantly at Ron, smiling encouragingly," so, what can you tell me about the four Houses, and please, give me a completely unbiased opinion please!"
Ron stared at the boy with a blank expression for a moment, then he shook his head and nodded," Okay, hmm, well I'll with this first; certain families tend to mostly end up in certain Houses, personally my family, the Weasley's, we are Gryffindor's, another example would be the Malfoy family, they tend to be in Slytherin, the slimy snakes-!"
"Yes, yes I can see that you don't take well to Slytherin, which is why I asked you to give me an unbiased explanation of the four Houses, if you could carry on with that?"
"Oh, uh okay, umm….. Gryffindor is known as the House of Bravery and Chivalry, Ravenclaw is the House of Intelligence and Knowledge, Slytherin is the House of Cunning and Ambition and finally, Hufflepuff is the House of Hard work and Loyalty. That's the basic end of it at least; from what I've heard from my parents and brothers who've all been to Hogwarts the Gryffindor's tend to be stubborn but loyal, they protect each other from anyone who might try to make them look bad or calls them stupid just cause they say that bravery is really important; Ravenclaw's are a bunch of stuck-ups who think they're all that just cause they're in the "Smart House"," Ron made air quotes at this, causing for Harry to stifle a giggle, Ron smiled,
"But once you get to know them their not that bad, just a bit snooty about things. Then the Slytherin's are really dark and mysterious; they almost always keep to themselves and really hate Gryffindor's, though Gryffindor's aren't their biggest fans either, and both Houses get into at least two fights a year, at least that's what Bill and Charlie told me. A lot of Slytherin's were on You-Know-Who's side during the War eleven years ago so people don't really trust them that much, 'specially since they haven't made any effort to change their image, least that's what Percy said when he came back from school a couple weeks back, I don't know much more on them though..."
Nodding in contemplation, Harry asked," who's this "You-Know-Who" you mentioned? Also, there was a war recently? Was it a Wizard only war?" he questioned, tilting his head.
Ron looked surprised for a moment before he shook his head, laughing about something while rubbing at his neck," ah, forgot that you were raised in the muggle world….. Well, this war, it ended about ten years ago and was really bad, at least that's what my parents said. There were these bad people called-" he suddenly cut himself off, looked around in suspicion then leaned closer to Harry, raising a hand to block anyone from seeing his mouth, Harry leaned closer to the boy, turning his ear to his mouth.
"They were called "Death Eaters" and they followed a man called V-V-Voldemort…. M-most people call him You-Know-Who or He-Who-Should-Not-Be-Named….." Harry heard the audible gulp from Ron as the boy leaned back in his chair, looking a little pale.
Harry tilted his head to the side, looking confused as he asked," why'd you whisper all that? What's so bad about saying Voldemort?"
Ron wasn't able to answer as almost everyone in the shop suddenly gasped in horror, surprising Harry into turning to look at them. Disgruntled murmuring started up as Harry turned back to Ron, looking even more confused.
Ron sighed while shaking his head," mum said that there was some sort of curse on his name, that if you said it something bad would happen….. I don't know if that's actually true though, most people just don't like to say his name, say its bad luck and all that. Mentioning just about anything from the war makes people upset so most people just don't….."
"Well, that's weird. I don't really care but I guess I'll just have to look into it more later." Harry shook his head with a sigh," but anyway, just tell me more about the next House, Hufflepuff was it?" Ron smiled happily before he started up again,
"Yeah, well, Hufflepuff aren't really outgoing, least that's what I've heard. They're nice and caring and really loyal people, like, really loyal, but they don't really stand out much besides that, nothing wrong with being more reserved and all that, but they don't seem to try and bring all that much attention to themselves," he shrugged," there isn't much else for me to say about them, they're nice and all but I don't know anything about them; I'd have to ask one of my brothers if I wanted to know more..."
Harry simply nodded his head to that before he smiled winningly at the boy, finding it amusing as he spotted the red rising up his neck and over his cheeks. He continued to smile as he said," thanks Ron that was really useful information that I will keep in mind when the first day of school starts."
Just as he finished speaking their orders were brought to them, and the rest of their time in the shop was spent talking about random things, mostly about Ron's experience growing up in the Magical world and what it was like and Harry telling the other boy what the Muggle world is like and all the things that Muggles have invented over the years, making Ron excited and wanting to learn more about them; Harry promised that he would get some books and bring them to Hogwarts and look over them with him, regardless if they shared a House or not.
Sometime later they were found by the twins who informed the two that the Weasley matriarch was about to go insane with worry over not being able to find them, they all left the shop and helped the woman calm down, Harry made certain to make it very clear that it was his fault that Ron and he weren't where she thought they would be, before he bid the family goodbye and made his way away from them, just barely catching Ron's excited words as he told his mum that he had his own wand, a light smile lighting the green-eyed boys face.
He pulled Blackie closer to his chest, carefully walking so that his owl would be able to remain on his shoulder comfortably and not have to flap her wings in order to keep her balance.
And then, he spotted a new street that had a sign hanging above it "Knockturn Alley" written on it. Harry peered down the street and noticed that it was far darker than Diagon Alley, but before he could start walking towards it Blackie started to growl, sinking his claws into the boys arms and looking up at him in desperation, silently pleading with Harry to not go down there.
Gently lowering his head, Harry placed a gentle kiss on Blackie's head, softly murmuring that he wouldn't be going down that street, at least not yet, and then made his way back to The Leaky Cauldron and ate an early dinner/late lunch there before he finally left London for the day, reluctantly placing his beautiful snowy owl in her cage before doing so.
About an hour later, and after telling his owl to fly over to his current bedroom window and hiding away everything that was magic so that Ms. Figg wouldn't be able to see it, he was back at Ms. Figg's house, walking into the building and greeting the older woman who thanked him for the breakfast that he had made for her that morning, simply telling her that it wasn't a big deal.
Then after another meal Harry made his way up to his temporary room and let his owl in through the window, and then he took out one of his new books and started reading through the night.
[July 27th 1991]
The last days of Harry's freedom from the Dursley's was spent mostly with him going back to Diagon Alley and purchasing more things, like extra fabric and a book on Magical Sewing that he was going to use to make his thieving gear even more useful and finding blueprints on many of the buildings in Diagon Alley.
He also found a book in Knockturn Alley that had many interesting-and likely illegal-facts about the Wizarding world and how to outsmart them.
Which is the reason why Harry found out about the existence of Traces that are placed on a persons' wand until they are of legal age, tracking any and all uses of Magic that someone uses with their wand, but only if they aren't in a heavily Magical area as the surplus of Magic dulls the Trace to the point that it became dormant until outside of an area with a lot of Magical use; the book also told him how to take the Trace off of a wand, so Harry did just that, knowing that he had to if he wanted to play around with his Magic before school started.
He wanted to get as much done as he could before the Dursley's came back, before he had to attend to the appointment he had when they got back; not only that but he was preparing himself for the freak out his relatives would have when he told them that he was a Wizard and that he would be going to Hogwarts.
He was not looking forward to that at all.
Steamy: and an abrupt ending. I wasn't entirely sure how to end it without dragging it on so I decided to end it here. Next chapter will be out at some point, I'm not entirely sure when as I've just started it and all that so who knows, it'll be out when I finish it.
I'll get back to you at a later date.
