Thousands of miles to the North of London, through the rolling fields of Scotland and next to an expansive lake stood the mighty stronghold of learning that was Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The ancient castle had changed little in the thousand years that had passed since it had been created by the great Founders. There were a few more cracks here and there, the dust was a little thicker on a few parts of the castle and there was the odd squeaking stair on the third staircase about half-way up, but for the most part it was well tended to by the army of house elves that the school kept.

The headmaster of the esteemed school was currently sitting serenely behind his large oak desk inside his rather expansive office. The self-styled leader of the light, most respected, and most revered wizard in a thousand years was currently thumbing through a magazine. A muggle magazine to be exact that had a few disparaging pictures of young men in various states of undress. This was until a small orb beneath his desk started to flash red indicating that there was someone on their way up to his office. Hurriedly he stuffed the magazine into a nearby drawer just as there came a knock on the old wooden door.

The door opened without a word from the headmaster, garnering a slight twinge of irritation, to admit a strict looking woman with a tight bun under her pointed hat. She wore long sweeping black robes that looked well pressed and taken care of. Professor McGonagall strode confidently into the office of the headmaster of the school with her nose buried in a piece of parchment. A quill in one hand and the parchment in the other she seemed to be marking off a few names on the list and writing comments on the side of others. Her body was on autopilot as she moved to sit down in front of the large mahogany desk of the headmaster and simply waited.

"Minerva, was there something that you wanted?" Dumbledore spoke slowly, concealing the irritation that he was feeling at being interrupted, throwing on the extra bright twinkle and putting a slight disappointment into his voice as he spoke.

"Oh yes, of course Albus." She shuffled the papers until she had found the one that she wanted. "All of the non-muggle born letters have been sent out and received; most of them have sent back confirmation that they will be on the train come September first. I plant to visit several of the muggle borns this afternoon and give them their letters personally."

"What of Mister Potter's letter? Was it received and confirmed?" Albus sat back in his chair steeping his fingers in front of him. He knew that the Dursleys hated all magic and would never allow their nephew to get his letter so easily.

"Yes, Mister Potter replied saying that he would be happy to come to Hogwarts and would be on the train as scheduled." It was a good thing that she was not looking up at the moment she said this as it caused the aged headmaster to slip slightly in his chair and very nearly to fall off. As it was however he caught his balance and righted himself before speaking to her again.

"All the same, perhaps I should send someone to check on him, just to be sure that he is being treated well, of course." Albus stated quickly.

"I checked on him not too long ago. The house was decorated well and there was enough food to feed two growing children, nothing to worry about. I didn't actually see the boy, but there was evidence from the food and the amount of toys that more than one boy lived there." Minerva pulled out a sheet of well worn parchment and scanned it over before handing it over to the headmaster.

Dear Sir,

I would love to attend Hogwarts and will be going with my guardian to Diagon Alley as soon as possible to acquire everything on the list. Thank you for this grand opportunity to attend such a wonderful school of magic.

See you on the first,

Harry Potter

Albus was stunned, the letter was eloquent and to the point and seemed to be signed by the boy's hand. It mentioned nothing of the Dursleys, but said that they were taking him to the alley to get his supplies. As he glanced at the letter again attempted to discern some mid-direction he caught his instruments out of the corner of his eye.

Since Harry was born there were instruments sitting on various shelves in his office that monitored the boy's use of magic, his health, well being, and a few others. The instruments never stirred after he had been placed on the doorstep of Number four, Privet drive. Dumbledore remembered one instance where one of his instruments flared gold, but before he could figure out what it meant it was back to normal again. By all accounts the boy was alive, but malnourished and should be very afraid of the magical world.

"Yes, but all the same, I think I should have Hagrid go to check up on the boy." Dumbledore started, handing the letter back to his second in command.

"Really, Albus; Hagrid would scare the poor boy too much. I already looked in and everything seems to be perfectly fine. If he shows up on the first saying that he was being mistreated then we'll look into it." Minerva shook her head slightly and made to stand up.

"Oh, I'm sure that anything he says is just embellished anyway. Many first years have overactive imaginations anyway. I'm sure that he's just fine." Albus waved it off, knowing full well that he wasn't just fine, but not wanting to tip his hat.

"Oh, before I forget." McGonagall paused at the door. "Have you hired a new defense teacher?"

"Yes, I have interviewed and chosen a Quirineus Quirrel as the new professor. I shall hope that he lasts longer than the others." Dumbledore steeped his fingers again, leaning on the desk to give the twinkle in his eyes full force.

"Yes, let us hope so. The past several teachers have not lived up to a very good standard, Albus. Good day." McGonagall turned and left the office, not seeing the look of fury on the old man's features.

How dare she question my decisions like she's my equal? Dumbledore thought as he sucked on a lemon drop and stared out the window again. Potter should be ready to go by the train, then we can have some fun. His chuckle made a few of the portraits nervous, sliding out of their frames remembering the last time he laughed like that while alone.

XoXo

Mister Smith and Harry exited the large white marble building back outside to the bustling alleyway of the many shops. It was getting later in the day now and more and more people were coming out to do their shopping. A few proactive parents were shoving their children along to the different shops to get their school supplies while many other adults simply looked on and chatted about every day occurrences. The odd pair of man and boy seemed to draw a fair amount of attention because of their highly un-wizard like dress, however most people gave them a wide berth or simply ignored them for it. Harry was suddenly grateful that his dad had let him grow his hair a little longer that it now hid the scar on his forehead.

"Now then." Smith put his hands in the large brown trench coat he was wearing and spun around trying to look at everything all at once. "I do so love a little shop; where shall we go first; robes, potion ingredients, or should we just start with your wand?"

"Dad, you know I don't need one." Harry walked along beside him with his hands in the pockets of his matching coat. "And as for the cauldrons I can always use the one Mom made for me out of that alloy we found."

"It says pewter on your list, plus everyone needs a wand, it's why you're wearing that thing." He pointed down to the gold band that Harry was fiddling with on his right hand. Seeing him being caught playing with it, Harry stuffed his hands into his pockets again. "At any rate, when did you start calling her mom?"

Harry had to shrug here as he stopped to look in the window of Quality Quidditch Supplies, checking out the brand new brooms. "She's as much a mother to me as anyone else. I mean Aunt Martha and Uncle Jack are nice, but she's around me so much more and she takes care of me. Don't forget what she already took care of." Here his hand moved to the slightly fading scar on his forehead, shivering slightly at the memory.

"Hey, kiddo, I know. Remember, I was there through so much of it." Smith put his hands on the boy's shoulders and gave them a gentle squeeze. "Come on, we'll start on one side and work our way down and then back up, how does that sound?"

"Dad, what were those in the bank?" Harry asked as they moved down the street. "And what did he mean by taking care of me?"

"Well…." Mister Smith put his hands in his great coat and moved back and forth on his heels slightly, bouncing as he walked down towards another store. "It's a little difficult, long winded, and could take hours to understand." Seeing the determined look in Harry's eyes he sighed. "All right, goblins are an evolutionary off shoot of a species you've already met; they have their cousins' penchant for mischief and sweets, but are much better with money and finance." Seeing the light in the young man's eyes seem to brighten with understanding he continued. "They're not as vindictive as their cousins, but have still stirred up enough rebellions and wars to last a few centuries; you'll learn all about them of course in your history classes at school." Smith held the door open to the first shop, and ushered Harry inside.

The large bookstore that they had entered was covered from floor to ceiling in various shapes and sizes of shelving ranging from high quality walnut that seemed to carry heavy tomes, to small metal shelves that were near the floor and carried smaller books. Harry immediately started to walk around looking at everything; occasionally having to duck a flying book as it reshelf itself. Mister Smith on the other hand moved with purpose through the aisles picking out all the books on the piece of parchment in front of him. He was so caught up in his searching that he almost failed to notice the conversation going on nearby, almost, but as was his custom he always kept his senses open.

"Mother, I refuse! You will not be sending me to that horrid school; I don't care what everyone says about it." The voice was obviously female and by the pitch it seemed to be a young girl.

"Sweetheart, you know that we love you very much." The older female voice conveyed nothing of the emotion described. "We want what's best for you. You will be doing our family a great honor if you went to Hogwarts."

Peeking around the corner of a nearby bookcase, Mister Smith saw an older woman admonishing a younger version of herself. The girl had long black straight hair that came down between her shoulder blades, she seemed to be wearing an elegant black robe that brushed the top of her well polished short heeled shoes. The girl seemed to be slightly uncomfortable in the getup and was playing with the front of her robes as her mother tried to smack her hands away from the action.

He moved out from around the bookcase and started to move towards them, catching the eye of the young girl he smiled gently as he came up closer to the pair of them. He had also caught Harry peeking around a nearby aisle and decided that he needed to intervene before things turned even more interesting.

"Excuse me, ma'am. I couldn't help but overhear, seeing as I was standing over there and your voice seems to carry so well in this old shop." He caught the girl's slight snort and winked at her behind her mother's back.

The older woman looked disdainfully down her nose at him and seemed to gather herself slightly. "See here, you scruffy man, you have no business talking to myself or my daughter."

"Come now, Madam Greengrass, there's no reason to be like that. I simply thought that your lovely daughter here would want to meet my own son who will be attending Hogwarts in the fall." Smith smiled genially at the astonished woman, but she huffed slightly and turned from the group, seeming to ignore her daughter was not with her. Turning, he addressed the now abandoned young girl. "Would you care to be introduced, young lady Greengrass? I'm sure my Harry can keep you entertained."

The young girl seemed completely confused. Not only did her mother just walk away without her, but this man seemed to know exactly who she was, but that was impossible, she'd never met anyone like this before. "Pardon, Sir, but I seem to be at a loss. You seem to know myself, but I know nothing of you."

He smiled and waved for Harry to come over and stand next to him. "Oh, me…I'm John Smith. I recognized you and your mother through the bridge of your nose, the shape of your nostrils as well as the hair. It's very distinctive…plus…" He smiled and paused. "…your family crest was on the inside of your mother's robes." He smiled as the girl fought back a giggle, not letting herself succumb to something childish. "Ah! Harry, I want you to meet the young lady Greengrass, her mother seems to have walked off unexpectedly. You think you two could finish up your shopping in here?"

Harry rolled his eyes pointedly at his father and smiled gently to the girl, sticking out his hand to her in greeting as well as giving a courtly bow. "My Lady Greengrass, such a pleasure to meet your acquaintance." The girl seemed shocked for a second and then smiled as well.

"My Lord Harry Smith, it would be a pleasure to accompany you around for the rest of our shopping." She giggled slightly and then stuffed it behind a façade of cool and calm. Harry smiled and nodded.

"We're alone, you can act like a child now." He whispered as indeed the adults seemed to have left them to their own devices. She visible sighed and seemed to loosen up somewhat.

"You have no idea how hard it is to keep that up all the time. I can't imagine how I'm going to keep it up in Slytherin this year. Oh, I'm Daphne by the way." She smiled and moved among the books pulling out those that were on her list.

"You're going to be in Slytherin, you're sure?" Harry asked as he walked next to her, pulling off books at random to read titles and then put them back.

"My whole family has been in Slytherin for years, some say dating back a few centuries even. My mother would love for me to get into that house like the rest of them." She spoke almost disquietly about her own future.

"Well, what do you think? I mean, you're the one that has to live there for seven years, do you think that you belong there?" Picking a book off the shelf, Harry nonchalantly twisted his hand around it and flung it towards the back of the shop like a Frisbee, watching as it righted itself and then soared around the corner of the aisle disappearing into the next.

"Well…I…." Daphne seemed to have just realized what he did, but shook her head slightly and tried not to think about it. "I don't really know. I'm sure being in that house would help me greatly with the other families, especially when I'm older and marriage contracts come into play."

"No, you're not listening to me. What do you honestly want; right now, not in the future?" Harry had picked another book off the shelf and repeated his actions of before, watching it soar around the corner and disappear into the next aisle.

"Right now?" Daphne seemed to think for a few seconds. "Ice cream."

"Really, I was thinking the same thing." Harry smiled as his dad came around the corner with a smile as well and watched the two young children speaking.

"Are you two all done here?" He smiled and nodded to the two as they started to walk towards the exit of the small shop. "Daphne, I've already gotten an extra set of the required books for you so you don't need to really worry about it."

Mister Smith led the two youngsters away from the bookstore and back through the rest of the alley. The shopping trip seemed to be much more enjoyable for Harry at least with someone his own to talk to again. He felt like it had been ages since he was able to talk to someone his own age again and it felt good to get a few of the more childish tendencies out and let them loose. His father was great in raising him, but he was a little lacking in what children really needed as a social environment.

True to form, the trio did get some ice cream and enjoyed it greatly sitting on the veranda of the small shop and watching others pass by or scurry off towards their other destinations. At the robe shop both Harry and Daphne were a little wary of letting the bubbly teenage witch measure them, even more so when they had to look into undergarments, but the tension passes as they moved on to the apothecary and then to Olivander's to get their wands.

Buying a wand was straightforward business, at least it should have been. Normally when a new witch or wizard gets their first wands they simply have to wave a few and find the one that really fits with their magic and their personalities. Not many people knew, but wands really did have a personality and some a penchant for mischief. Daphne was easy to match within a few tries she had her nine and three quarter inch ash wand with griffin claw, but Harry was taking much too long for some of them.

"Why don't you take Daphne to look at animals, dad? I can pay for it myself and you don't' need to stick around, Daphne." The pair agreed to come back and pick Harry up in a few minutes time once they had sorted through the animals at the magical menagerie to find two suitable for the children.

Once the pair had gone and the shop seemed to be empty except for Olivander and Harry, the younger man fingered the gold band around his right ring finger. After that the wands were much easier to narrow down, wood, core, and even length. Before too long he had a ten inch holy wand with a phoenix feather core. Mister Olivander remarked that with or without the gold band around his finger, he would have received the same wand, but it was nice to know to whom he was giving the brother wand to.

After a quick explanation of what had happened to his dad, without Daphne overhearing of course, the pair of oddly dressed men moved out into the alley to find where Mrs. Greengrass might have disappeared to. It took them a few circuits of the alley before they found her back in Flourish and Blotts waiting impatiently for her daughter tapping her foot.

Daphne bade a quick goodbye and a thank you to the pair of father and son for the shopping trip as well as everything that they had gotten for her. In her pockets she had a shrunken trunk filled with her robes and her books, her wand in a new holster strapped to her wrist, and a black owl sitting on her shoulder sleeping with its head under its wing. Telling Harry that she would see him on the train come the first of September the mother and daughter disappeared back out into the alley and down towards the floo in the Cauldron and to home.

"Well, what did you think of our little outing?" Smith asked his son, keeping the conversation light as they headed back down the alley towards the Cauldron as well.

"Daphne is nice, I got to learn a lot of what people around here think of magic, but no one really seems to know what it really is." Harry stroked the white feathered object on his shoulder. The beautiful snowy owl seemed to pride her on being on his shoulder, and didn't want to leave no matter what. The owl had already proven how smart she was by flying directly to Harry after Smith and Daphne had picked him up from Olivander's; consequently she didn't seem to want to move off his shoulder anytime soon.

"You'll get that a lot, especially the purebloods that think they are better than everyone else specifically because they can trace their family back centuries. A few will even claim to be an heir of a founder, but no one really knows for sure." Smith gave a wink to the boy as they crossed through the dingy pub and out into the London streets. Like Daphne, all of Harry's things were shrunken down and in his pockets, not that it really mattered in the long run since they were in his pockets.

"Why are they so prejudiced around here? I mean, from what I was taught before magic is simply magic." They down the street towards a dark alley where a blue box was parked seemingly out of the way next to a dumpster.

"Unfortunately it's the way they are. I tend to think that they'll change their ways once they realize that it's no longer the 15th century, but who really knows. Some of it comes from the biased history that they are taught." Smith unlocked the wooden door to the box and stepped inside. Harry shook his head slightly at the stupidity of people and followed his father inside.

"Oh, what are you going to name the pretty girl that we've found here?" Smith's voice echoed out of the box.

"I think she would appreciate it if I named her Hedwig, what do you think?"

"Yes, I think she would really appreciate that, Harry" The voice came again as a groaning/wheezing took over.