Harry Potter and the Power of the Mind.
Disclaimer: J. K. Rowling owns Harry Potter and I do not write this story for any financial gain.
AN - This abomination takes place in 2010, in a more advanced world, where the muggles have much to offer in terms of scientific knowledge. I adjusted all dates and objects related to the cannon to fit the current date. I hope you enjoy it.
Chapter one - The boy who learns.
It was another day in the life of Harry Potter. In school, where Dudley's troop could get to him, he couldn't concentrate, but here, he was in peace. Harry closed another book, walking to return it to the librarian.
"That was rather fast, don't you think, Harry?"
"It was more of the same. What do you suggest for chemistry and biology?"
"Are you reading that far ahead? You're just entering middle school for god's sake."
"You know me, I already have the basics stored in here." Harry tapped to his temper and smiled.
"I wish I had your memory, well, let me get one I think you'll like it, it just came out the other day, although it may be a hard read."
Harry nodded and waited, eyeing the many books all around, his only escape from the hell that was living with the Dursleys, and if it wasn't for this, he'd have probably jumped off of a bridge.
This was all he had, and he couldn't wait for the day he could get older enough to work and sustain himself, but until that, there's nothing he could do but learn.
Harry stood silent, listening to his aunt Petunia complaining about his weird behavior, again.
"You're expected to at least answer someone properly when there's no way to stay out of sight. The next time you embarrass us like that in front of our friends, you'll stay locked for a month."
Harry sighed heavily, remembering the reason he refused to talk to such an unpleasant person. Uncle Vernon's friend was close to despicable by what Harry could observe, making racists and sexists jokes the whole time they were having dinner, so when he saw Harry trying to sneak his way out of the house, he asked about the boy, trying to be friendly, but the disgust made Harry unable to push himself to shake the man's hand. Harry knew better than wasting his time arguing with his aunt Petunia, so he kept a troubled expression, nodding while looking down, apologetic, hearing the giggles from Dudley who was sitting at the bottom of the stairs watching his favorite sport, Harry being humiliated.
"To your room, no dinner for you tonight." She pointed to the cupboard below the stairs and Harry marched slowly towards another hungry night.
In her dreams.
Harry closed the door and heard the lock, turning off his lights, staring at the light coming from the outside of the room for some time. Shortly after the Dursley went to bed, Harry sat straight, stretching his arms, cracking his joints, before taking a strange thick line and a weird metallic piece from one of his drawers. He swiftly passed the line through the only opening on the door commonly used to pass him food while he was locked away, and around the padlock that was currently keeping him locked, pulling the padlock closer to the gap. After pulling the padlock closer, he made a not, tying it to the handle to support the padlock in place, as he divided the metallic shape into two. He quickly inserted the metal piece in the keyhole and rotated the other one for a few seconds before:
Click.
The padlock went open, and he used the line to lift it off, opening the door.
He looked around with a bored expression, the house completely dark and the only sound being of Vernon's snores, the rainy night, and the frogs outside. He silently but swiftly went to the fridge, getting a bit of everything they had for dinner to make himself a plate, that he put in the microwave. For a few seconds, he sat at the table waiting for the food to get warm, hearing the gently sound of the drops hitting the windows until he got up to stop the machine before beeping. As he ate, he started fantasizing about his new life entering a new school in a few weeks, away from Dudley and his friends. The quality didn't really matter because he'd use his free time to learn by himself and read whatever he wished, but just the fact that he would be able to be in peace to do what he liked was a giant leap from his current situation.
Right before he finished his dinner, he heard the sound of the top board of the staircase, alerting him, making him sharpen his ears, and even though the noise happened, everything went quiet again, until Harry's voice cut the silence:
"For how long are you going to stay there? I already know that's you, Dudley."
His cousin wiggled from the hall, stopping right next to the kitchen's entrance, whispering:
"How did you know it was me?"
"By the noise made by the staircase."
"Yea, right. You don't need to lie about it. What is it, are you spying on us using something? Cameras?"
"Spying? It doesn't make any sense, why would I spy on you?"
"Then how'd you know?!"
"I already told you, by the noise. Aunt Petunia would've made the wood slightly creak, while Uncle Vernon would've made it squeak, and you are in the middle."
Dudley just frowned, trying to follow his logic.
"Whatever, if dad finds out about you leaving your room you'll be locked until next year."
"The only way any of them would find out about this is if you tell them."
"Exactly." Dudley smiled, turning the lights on, while Harry narrowed his eyes at the sudden glow.
Harry kept eating, while Dudley stayed there, eyeing him with a smirk.
"Go on." Harry said while taking the last bites of his dinner.
"You don't think I will?" The chubby boy raised his eyebrows with incredulity.
"I know you won't because you don't want to rat me out, you want something from me in return for your silence. I said go on about your request, I can at least hear it."
Dudley just kept shifting his weight from leg to leg, thinking about how to speak to his cousin, his weird cousin who slightly frightened him.
"I- Er- Borrowed something from dad, but I kind- I kind of lost it, so I want you to do your- Weird thing, so you can find it."
"My weird thing is called thinking, and applying the deductive and inductive reasoning isn't weird, well, I already know where is the watch you stole from Uncle Vernon."
"Wha- I didn't steal it, I was just- I was-"
"Trying to impress the boys, I know, but you didn't lose it, Edward stole it from you."
"What?" The boy just stared in shock as Harry got up, proceeding to wash his plate while being the quieter he could, putting everything in the same place he'd found.
"He lost his watch when he came last time, remember? So he dared you to take uncles Vernon's, and you fell for it. After that, he stole it to replace the one he lost, so his mum wouldn't be mad at him."
"How- How do you know all that?!"
"I just heard it and saw it. The same way I saw when you did it. You're terrible at keeping things hidden."
Dudley just stared, shaking his head while Harry walked until they were next to each other.
"There you have it, now I'm going to bed so lock my door for me, will ya?"
"Are you sure about Ed?"
Harry just stared at him for a few seconds, not bothering to answer, walking inside his room, closing the door behind him, hearing Dudley locking it after a few seconds.
"All right, I'll talk to him tomorrow, and if you're lying, I'll tell mum and dad about what you did tonight."
Harry sighed at Dudley's pathetic threat.
"Yea, and there's nothing I can do to prevent you from talking about that. I mean, there's absolutely no way to make you keep your mouth shut about the things I did."
"You're dead right." The boy said, walking upstairs, not picking on Harry's sarcasm or his giggles at the absurdity he just heard.
Harry walked around the neighborhood, looking after the signs. He was allowed to leave the house after his chores were done and forced to be back at 8 PM, which would give him around four hours of free time every day. He used those hours to study and read the most he could put his hands on and by doing that, he learned about the reasoning method. It became some kind of obsession to the twelve-year-old, being able to meddle in people's lives, finding secrets from common answers, using what he had learned to feel something, a sense of relevance.
He looked around until he found what he was looking for, a green ribbon tied to a mailbox. His eyes shone while he glanced around just to be sure nobody was watching, taking the ribbon off and opening the box, taking the envelope that was inside before walking away quickly, until he was alone in an alley where he opened and read it:
Mr. Sr. Detective, I heard from my friend Callie that you can solve mysteries, well, my name is Lizzie and I would like to know where my bike is. Me mum got it for me and it was stolen a week ago. I will pay you my- I'll pay you half of my allowance if you find it, so please find it because it was a present from me mum.
He instantly ripped the letter and the envelope into tiny little pieces, dumping it in a trash can, walking towards the house he took it from.
For two hours, he stood outside the place, watching everything inside through the windows, until a man stationed his car in the parkway. Harry started analyzing the man, as he stayed inside his car longer than necessary, just sitting there, looking at the house. After getting off, he shut the door close, but the car's door was broken as it just came back open, making him curse before shutting it with force again. He walked inside and Harry saw the little girl who could be at least 8 or 9 years old, running to hug him, and his face went from his troubled expression to a warm smile.
Harry walked back to his house.
While washing the dishes from dinner that night, Harry asked aunt Petunia who was cleaning the kitchen while Harry worked on the dishes.
"Aunt Petunia, do you know where the Clearwaters work?"
"What?! Why are you asking me this? How do you even know about them? They live five blocks down the street."
"I heard a few neighbors talking about them." Harry lied, his attention fixed on the plates as he felt the gaze from his aunt.
"Ummm, what were they saying?" Even though Petunia hated when Harry asked questions, she couldn't turn down a good gossip.
"That something is wrong with them."
"Ha! They don't know half of it. The Clearwaters are broke! They're down their necks in debts, and Vernon said Jasper's company is this close to firing him. Veronica is trying to keep them fed, but her job isn't enough for the life they've been living."
"Ummmm."
She snapped her eyes to the boy as if remembering that she didn't like him.
"And why are you asking these questions? You know you're not allowed to ask things."
"Sorry Aunt Petunia, I just wanted to share what I heard with you." Harry said without looking at her, his tone down as if he was sad.
"Hmph." Petunia left the kitchen, but she didn't say he wasn't allowed to share any gossip again. Harry smiled to himself.
The next day, Harry waited in the driveway of the Clearwaters until he saw the car arriving. Mr. Jasper got out of his car, giving Harry an evaluating look before approaching.
"Are you lost, son? I never saw you around here, do you need anything?"
"I stay inside most of the time, and I have a letter for you, sir."
"A letter? Are you working for the mail-"
"No, sir. A man told me to give this to you, so he gave me a few pounds to deliver it."
"A man?"
"Yes, so there you go." Harry gave him an envelope and walked away.
The man frowned and looked at the boy until he disappeared around the corner, opening it and reading right there in the driveway. There were two sealed letters inside and a piece of paper where he could read the following:
"Greeting, Mr. Clearwater.
My services were hired by your daughter Elizabeth to find her stolen bicycle, with the promise of half of her allowance as payment. Inside this envelope, there are two letters destined to Elizabeth, one containing the truth, that you sold her bicycle to pay some of your more urgent bills, the same as your wife's bicycle a few weeks ago, and your car a few days ago as well. The second letter contains a lie, that the bicycle was stolen and dismantled by a man who is currently in jail serving time for the exact same crime of stealing bicycles and that her bike was dismantled and sold for parts last week. You have at your disposal, the option to tell your daughter the lie or the truth. I will not interfere in your decision, and whatever you choose, I'd advise you to destroy the other letter. My opinion is that you should be frank to your family, especially to children, as Elizabeth was raised in a functional, wealthy ambient and is still stuck in that reality. Adults should protect their children, but they need to allow them to understand things so they can become responsible adults at the same time. Elizabeth needs to learn that problems may occur in life and that not everything can go her way. She must learn the value of things, and you have the chance to teach her that. This is my take on this matter, but again, I'm not ordering you to do anything, I'm simply giving you my piece. On the letter containing the truth, I abdicated of my pay as the first lesson for Elizabeth about the value of money, and on the letter containing the lie, I'm not abdicating my pay, as she will be kept in the dark and it would raise suspicious to deny the money.
If you ever need my services, wrap a green ribbon on your mailbox with a letter explaining your problems, and I'll find the truth.
Cordially,
Detective Fancy Pants."
The man just stared at the letter for a few seconds, looking around, searching for the boy who delivered this weird message. He read it again just to make sure he wasn't hallucinating and walked to his house's porch, sitting on a swing. There he pondered about the truth and the lie. He took one of the letters and placed it inside his overcoat, walking inside while Harry walked around the tree he was hiding while observing the man, positioning himself where he could look inside his house through one of the windows. He saw the man hugging Elizabeth as he did daily, but this time, he said something to her, sitting on their couch while tapping for her to follow. There, Harry saw the girl's expression becoming horrified and later, blank, before turning into one of understanding.
Harry turned around and walked back to his house, thinking that not all adults were shallow as the ones he knew, wishing he could find someone like that to be a part of his life someday.
Harry was arriving at his house and saw another green ribbon in the distance, but he had no more time today, deciding to go looking for it tomorrow, taking the Dursley's mail, and walking inside. While looking at the letters, he found one that made him halt before entering the kitchen, where Vernon, Dudley, and Petunia were starting to have dinner.
Mr. Harry Potter
The Cupboard under the Stairs
4 Privet Drive
Little Whinging
Surrey
Dudley leaned on his chair to look at Harry's frozen picture in the hall.
"Harry is acting weird again."
"What you doing, boy? Looking for bomb letters? Ha." He laughed at his own joke and Harry instantly dropped the letter with his name, using his foot to slid the weird envelope under his door, handling the rest of the mail to Vernon, who quickly glanced at the senders, taking one after ripping the envelope, quickly reading it.
"Marge is sick again, she ate some strange shrimp."
While the night went on, Harry kept thinking about that envelope.
'I'm not going crazy, that thing had my exact location. Who would know that I live in- Is there someone spying on the house? On me? Why? Well, I need to read it first before I make any assumptions, but how could anyone know?'
It was hard for Harry to maintain his usual behavior, but he managed, finally entering his cupboard a few hours later, hearing the footsteps from the Dursley, doors closing and after a few minutes, snoring from all three of them.
Harry took a portable light socket that he managed to buy with one of his payments from the detective work, and after plugging it in the socket, he quickly covered it with a sheet so it wouldn't shine too bright. He opened the envelope and thought he was inside a prank show.
HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
Headmaster: Albus Percival Ulfric Bryan Dumbledore
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorcerer, Chief Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)
Dear Mr. Potter,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall,
Deputy Headmistress
Harry unfolded the list of materials and frowned.
'All right, who- I mean, I don't even know enough people to be worried about this being made by an acquaintance. Then how does anyone know that I live under the stairs inside the cupboard- It makes no sense.' He sighed and read it all over again.
'Wizardry and Witchcraft? This is bollocks. If I could do magic, I would've left ages ago.' He tossed the letter aside and turned his light off, trying to ignore the clear attempt to mess with him. It took only a few minutes for the light to be on again.
'No, this is too elaborate to be a prank, and if it was, why pick me as the target? Is this a coincidence? Was I target for this? And what exactly are their intentions? Does this have anything to do with those weird things that happened to me?' Harry kept thinking and thinking until some weird things stood out.
'What in god's name is an owl? For sure it's not the animal, right? It wouldn't make any sense to send a bloody bird to deliver mail, so what does that mean? Is that some slang for something? A code? Who are Albus Dumbledore and Minerva McGonagall? I've never heard those names before in my life.'
Harry saw the first glimpses of daylight when he finally left that letter be. There was no way any of that was real, and the fact that he wasted a whole night speculating about magic and wizardry was straight-up embarrassing. He hid the letter under one of the loose boards of his cupboard and went to bed, trying to sleep as fast as he could and forget everything about that nonsense.
One month later.
It was a lovely night, heavy rain was pouring, lightning and thunder all around, and Harry was finally at peace. Harry loved storms because the deafening rain and thunder made the Dursley unable to speak properly to one another or him, as they just remained in their rooms, thinking it was the end of the world. Harry was reading the chemistry book he got from the library, concentrating because he was studying something really advanced.
Suddenly, Harry heard a strange noise, it was almost like a heavy thing, like a train, stopping and leaving, and after a few seconds, nothing more. Harry resumed his study when he heard another noise, it was almost as if someone had just closed a door. Harry was now alert, closing his book and starting to get up to see through the gap in his door, but before he could even get up, he heard a knock on his door.
His whole body froze because he found that knock weird. It wasn't as powerful as Vernon, as irritating as Petunia's, or as loud as Dudley's, so what were the options? He opened his door to look up to a man he never saw in his life, well, calling this giant monster a man wasn't really accurate. The monster in front of Harry was at least 8ft tall, large and round, his head hitting the ceiling, his face almost hidden beneath a mess of hair and beard, but the thing that caught Harry's attention first was his eyes. His eyes were strangely warm and his voice, while wild, was full of a composed tenderness:
"Hello there, Harry. I hope I didn't scare ya."
Harry could only stare at the man who was clearly trespassing, his mind racing through all the possibilities. A robber? A murderer? What the hell was going on? How did he get in? How did he know his name?
"You don't need to worry, I won't hurt ya. My name is Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of the keys and lands of Hogwarts." He introduced himself proudly.
Harry's brain started working again just to receive another punch when Vernon came running downstairs after hearing the man's voice, followed close by Petunia and Dudley who was hidden behind them, trying to see anything.
"Who- who- who the hell are you?! What are you doing inside my house?! Explain yourself or- or-"
"Or what? Sit down before you fall down the stairs, Dursley, I'm here for Harry." The giant walked towards the couch and sat, breaking it like it was made of paper, which crumbled under his weight.
"Opsie. I'll handle that later. Now, I knew something wasn't quite right when your owl didn't arrive, Harry, and as I suspected, they were keeping you from contacting the school."
Harry's mind was analyzing every word, taking pieces and placing them in the right place, understanding that this wasn't a joke. This was happening and the letter that he thought was a prank was now coming back to bite him in the arse.
"What are you talking about?! What letter?" Vernon asked, but Harry's gaze shifted to Petunia's face, as she looked around with a concerned expression, as if she was worried about something.
"Don't play dumb, Dursley, I knew you'd never allow Harry to attend-"
"They don't know about the letter." Harry finally found his voice, walking to face the giant man that was still taller than him even while practically sitting on the floor.
"What? Why?" He frowned, confused by Harry's words.
"I didn't believe in it. Why would I believe in it? There were things about magic and wizardry, I know I'm only twelve, but are you looking down on me? I'm not dumb enough to believe there's such a thing as magic-"
Before Harry could finish, the giant man took a pink umbrella out of his clothes, that he pointed to the fireplace before sending literal globes of fire towards it, lighting it ablaze in a heartbeat, the heat spreading through the room as if they had turned on a heater. The Dursleys gasped and Harry just stared in complete shock, but suddenly eyed the weird object.
Hagrid noticed his look and offered him the umbrella, which he hesitantly picked and turned around, looking for the device used to create and send fire. There was nothing, it was just a simple umbrella.
"Are you some kind of illusionist?" He asked while returning the umbrella, trying to see anything in his sleeves.
"Illusionist? Harry, don't tell me you don't know anything about yourself, don't tell me you don't know that-"
"STOP!" Vernon shouted, and Harry frowned at him, hearing the next words as if he was dreaming.
"When we took him in, we swore to put an end to this dangerous stuff, I forbid you from telling him anything."
"And a big muggle is going to stop me, isn't it?"
Everyone just frowned at that weird word, but nobody understood what it meant.
"I already said that I forbid-"
"Aw, go lick a brick, you are a wizard, Harry."
Harry wasn't even looking at the man named Hagrid, he was staring at Petunia and Vernon.
"Is this real? Did you know about this? Did you know these things existed-"
"Of course we knew, how could you not be just like her, being weird as you are. The perfect Lily. One day she received that same letter and went somewhere far away, coming back turning cups into rats, levitating things, and everyone clapped, but I was the only one who saw her for what she really was, a freak, and then, she decides to go and blow herself up with that Potter-"
The boy felt other pieces falling into place, his expression horrified.
"You lied about- You said they died in a car accident-"
"Car accident? A car accident killed Lily and James? This is outrageous, this is an insult!"
"It doesn't matter, the boy ain't going."
"I'd like to see a big muggle like you try to stop him."
"What is this muggle thing that you keep calling him?" Harry asked, unable to keep hearing the word without understanding what it meant.
"Non-magical people." Hagrid said with a hand dismissal.
And then everything made sense.
The jump to the roof, the hair growth, the glass disappearing, and the chat with the Boa Restrictor.
And the way he was treated in this family.
Everything made sense if he could just throw common sense out of the window. If he could, for a moment, ignore the rules of the world, everything he learned in his life and could believe in this fairytale, in everything he read in that letter, then everything would make sense.
Harry entertained the idea that his parents were part of this world that was now presenting itself to him, and that could be the reason Petunia hated him so much. The Dursleys were the dullest people that ever existed, so it wouldn't be wrong to assume that Petunia hated him just because she hated her sister. Was it for envy? Did something happen? It actually didn't matter, but he understood now. His parents died, and they were from this strange world, and Harry was left with the only person who would hate him just because he remembered her of the person she really hated. How petty could she be? It was so unfair. Harry always wondered why he was hated so much, but now, discovering it wasn't even his fault, made him more sad than angry. He was sad for himself, for all the abuse and suffering he endured thinking it was his fault, but now he could truly see the nature of those in front of him.
"This boy has a spot in the best school of Magic and Wizardry of the country, where he's going to be instructed by the masters-"
"Please, stop, sir." Harry's voice stopped Hagrid's outburst, and he eyed the boy.
"Harry, my boy, I know this is too much to take in, but-"
"How did they die?"
Hagrid just swallowed loudly.
"I don't know if I'm the best person to tell you about this- I mean, there are details that even I don't know. It would be better if-"
"Please, I just wanna know." Harry's expression wasn't angry, sad, or desperate, but a mix of all of them.
"They- They were murdered, Harry, by an evil wizard, and this wizard tried to kill you too, that's what that scar on your forehead means, it means you were hit by a very powerful spell, an evil one, that should've killed you, but it didn't, reflected towards the evil wizard instead, who vanished."
Harry was just hyperventilating now, looking from Petunia's stone face to Vernon's disgusted expression, to Dudley's curious look. He didn't know what to do, so he just walked into his closet, closing the door behind him, leaving everyone looking confused.
"Harry?" Hagrid called but started hearing noises, until Harry got out carrying a backpack with everything that he owned and could carry, walking by everyone without a word, opening the door, and disappearing towards the stormy night.
"HARRY! HARRY, STOP!" Hagrid kept calling the boy who just kept walking, his clothes and backpack already soaked from the heavy rain.
"You're going to get sick, let's go back-"
"BACK WHERE?!" Harry shouted while turning to the weird giant.
"To your home." Hagrid answered surprised by the boy's outburst.
"MY HOME?! I'M NEVER GOING BACK THERE, AND NO ONE CAN MAKE ME LIVE UNDER THE SAME ROOF AS HER! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT THEY'VE DONE TO ME? HOW THEY TREATED ME? I DID NOTHING WRONG! NOTHING!" He kept shouting through the rain as Hagrid just stared back at the twelve-year-old that looked and sounded more adult than many men he knew. Were those tears or water from the rain? He couldn't really tell.
The lights started blinking, and suddenly at least three of them exploded, making Harry look up confused.
"Calm down, your magic is getting out of control. Look, even though you're right, you can't just up and leave, where'd you go?"
"Anywhere. I'd rather live under a bridge than go back to a place where I'm treated like a vermin. I DID NOTHING WRONG!" He shouted again as if trying to make himself believe in that.
"All right, let's at least get off the rain so we can talk."
Harry looked around, trying to find any structure to stay under, but found it weird to see the giant just raising one arm while looking at the empty street.
"What are you doing?" Harry asked, his fury diminishing.
"Calling our bus, I hope they're still around."
Harry didn't care what he said made no sense, he just stood next to the giant, feeling the big drops of water against his face and head, the cold taking over as he stood still, but none of that bothered him. He was numb to anything at that moment, lost in a haze of rage, disgust, and regret, regret for being so passive, for allowing that to happen for so long. He felt the tears coming up and bit his lower lip, imagining if there was no one in this world for him, not a single soul that would look at him and smile, a person who he could trust and say I love you, anyone who could treat him like the twelve-year-old boy he was. He was so lost in thoughts that he didn't even notice the noise, and suddenly, he looked to his left just to see a giant bus simply materializing out of thin air.
"Back so soon? We're just around the city center, you got lucky. Welcome to the night bus, the transport for lost-"
"Let us get off the rain first, will ya?" Hagrid said while pulling Harry inside the strange vehicle.
Harry analyzed everything, starting with the fact that when he entered, he felt a shift in the notion of space and depth. The bus was two times wider and at least three times longer than it appeared from the outside.
"How is this bus like this on the inside?" He frowned while seeing the bus simply squish itself to pass between two parked cars.
The young man that greeted them just frowned while looking around and turned to give him a dubious expression:
"Huh, magic?"
"And no one can see it?"
"Oh, the muggles? They can't see anything very well."
'So this magic can alter one's sense of space? Or maybe it can actually manipulate space directly, but that would go against all laws of physics.' He didn't verbalize his doubt, wondering if the man that looked like a teenager would know the answer to that.
"Where to?"
"The Leaky Cauldron." Hagrid said while drying their clothes, and Harry tried to hold tighter to one of the many bars inside the bus, as his home was left behind.
Harry looked at the ceiling of the inn he was staying in the night. This looked like a movie set, the structure was like from an old movie, but at the same time, something weird was emanating from everywhere. It was like everything around him had this strange aura, as if the world itself was breathing. This feeling was what Harry defined as magic, and as he speculated about what he was going to do from now on, he doze off, and after what felt like a few minutes, he opened his eyes and it was morning. He heard Hagrid calling him to eat breakfast.
While Harry walked down the stairs, he realized what just happened last night, seeing the most awkwardly dressed people, in a strange place, accompanied by a giant man. After his outburst, now he could see what he had done, and for a second, Harry felt terrified of what was going to happen from now on but tried his best to suppress his feelings, as that was his specialty after living twelve years with the Dursleys. He saw Hagrid sitting, and the man waved at him, making Harry walk hesitantly towards the strange man.
"Well, it was nothing like I imagined, but at least we made it here. We need to hurry because you have to buy your things and send your owl to Hogwarts as fast as you can."
Harry eyed the giant who was devouring what looked like an entire apple pie and suddenly, a man came by, his front teeth missing, and asked Harry what he'd like for breakfast, and the boy simply said bacon and eggs, making the man nod and return to what Harry deduced to be the kitchen. Harry then turned his gaze back to Hagrid and asked the one million question.
"Er, Mr. Hagrid, what does owl mean?"
"Eh? Owl means... Well, it means owl. Don't you know what an owl is? I thought muggles taught things about that in their schools."
"No- I mean, I know what an owl is, but are you really talking about an owl? A bird? A real bird?"
"Yes."
Harry just stared while giving Hagrid his most concerned look.
"Don't worry, you'll get used to it right away. I'm going to teach you everything I know." Hagrid said with a smile while finishing the pie and Harry narrowed his eyes, seeing the man that he heard being called Tom, arriving with a food tray. Harry ate for a few seconds and then, his curiosity took the best of him.
"Why are you doing this, sir?"
"Huh? Doing what? And you don't need to call me mister or sir, just Hagrid is fine."
"All right, Hagrid. Why are helping me? Why were you in our house- in their house last night looking for me?"
Hagrid raised his eyebrows while explaining.
"Well, you're a special case, Harry, and I knew your parents, so this also counts as a favor to their memory. It is something I'd do for any of my friends."
Harry just nodded, wondering if this was really the only reason.
"Also, the headmaster instructed me to take care of your situation."
"The headmaster? Albus Percival Ulfric Bryan Dumbledore, right?"
"Yes, the greatest wizard who ever lived after Merlin."
"Merlin was real? I thought he was just fiction."
"Well, he was a little odd, not that I knew him, he lived centuries before us, but all books say he liked to meddle into muggle affairs, trying to initiate them into the magic world or something, but it never worked."
It was absurd, but Harry couldn't deny this world existed any longer, as he saw a broom cleaning the common room they were by itself, moving around making small piles of dust. He kept looking back at that thing to try to understand it, but like everything else, it made no sense. Harry decided to let go of that expression for now, because if he was going to understand what this world was all about, he would have to believe this higher force called magic existed and that normal people didn't know about it. To understand it, he would've to admit to things his mind would call madness. He chose to do so, for now at least.
"We should get going, you finished? We're going to be busy all day getting your things in order."
"Yes, I'm ready." Harry answered while getting up, eager to find more answers to his many questions.
"Welcome to the Diagonal Alley, Harry." Hagrid said while the brick wall that was in front of them opened into an archway, and after they entered the strangest street Harry ever saw in his life, he heard the brick wall closing behind them, turning to witness the solid wall getting back in place brick by brick. He made sure to memorize the bricks Hagrid touched with his umbrella just in case.
"They have all you need to attend Hogwarts- Look, there you'll find your books and parchments- And there you'll find your potions." Hagrid kept pointing while they walked by shops with strange signs.
[Dragon livers for 50 galleons the pound. They went insane!]
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"Sir- Er, Hagrid, how do I pay for all of this? I mean, I won't ask the Dursleys for money, and I don't have enough on me to buy all these things, even though I don't know their price." Harry counted only fifty pounds, that he accumulated through his years, working in his neighborhood.
"Oh, don't you worry, Harry, we're getting your money right away. You didn't think your parents left you with nothing, right?"
"I have something?"
"Of course you do. There, there's where your money is." Hagrid pointed to a very white building in the middle of the street, creating a forky intersection.
"Gringotts, the wizard bank."
As they approached, Harry saw a tiny creature with huge ears and nose, remembering him of gremlins or something. Hagrid noticed his horrified expression and whispered before they entered.
"Those are goblins, Harry, they are a very intelligent and very proud race, but they get offended easily, so don't stare too much. They run most of the financial system of the wizarding world and are the richest among all races."
Harry quickly deviated his gaze as they crossed the archway, being greeted by two goblins at the entrance, who bowed to them.
The boy kept following Hagrid close, but his eyes were everywhere, looking at the impressive amount of coins and jewels the goblins were bringing and taking away from a row of counters. They arrived at the end of the giant room and faced the one Harry deduced to be the leader, sitting in formal attire, using tiny half-moon glasses. The goblin switched his attention from the notes he was writing to the newcomers.
"Hello there, We'd like to make a withdrawal in the name of Harry Potter." Hagrid said and the goblin suddenly leaned over the balcony to eye Harry, who sustained his glare.
"And does Mr. Potter possess the key?"
'Key?' Before Harry could ask what that meant, he saw Hagrid searching in his pockets.
"It's around somewhere- Oh here it is." He placed a small brass-colored key on the counter and the goblin nodded once.
"And I- Uh... Have a letter from headmaster Dumbledore about you know what in the vault you know which."
Harry saw Hagrid handing the goblin a sealed letter and turned his gaze away, trying not to be rude.
"Very well. Grumpy!" The goblin shouted and another one, shorter, came to guide them.
"I hate these things!" Hagrid shouted while they went into high speed through the set of caves, turning all around. Harry felt his eyes burning, but he kept looking where they were going, decided not to miss anything.
When they finally stopped, they disembarked in front of a corridor with five giant vault doors. Harry saw inscriptions on top of it and noticed that it was a strange font for the name Potter.
"Key, please." Grumpy asked, and Hagrid handled the key while Harry looked behind them. After the goblin opened the vault door, he noticed Harry's gaze towards the place they came.
"You can't find the exit, that's why Gringotts is the most secure-"
"Huh? Oh no, I already know how to leave, I just thought I saw something moving over there." He said while walking towards the door, but the goblin stopped him, standing in his way.
"What did you say?"
"Er... That I thought I saw something moving over there?" Harry frowned while pointing, but the goblin shook his head.
"You know how to leave? That's impossible. Only goblins can remember-"
"When he got into the cart, we went straight for two intersections, two left, straight for six intersections, left, straight for nine intersections, right, straight for thirteen intersections, right, left, straight for three intersections, right, and here we are, so if we revert that we'll find the exit." Harry said while looking at the ceiling, remembering the way with perfection, and when his eyes met with the goblin's, he saw only surprise.
"How- I mean, you're wrong, that's not the right way."
"I know that I'm not mistaken, and I just thought that since this is my family's vault, I had to at least memorize where it was, sorry if that was rude." Harry said with an apologetic tone, walking in slowly, leaving Hagrid and the goblin with their mouths open while he tried to see inside. The moment he entered, his jaw dropped to the number of gold piles the vault had. It was big, the area inside the vault was almost the same as the bottom floor of the Dursleys, but with no walls, and there were mountains of gold, almost reaching the ceiling. Harry thought for a second that this had to be a fortune, so he looked back at Hagrid and asked:
"How did they- How they had so much? I mean, this has to be much even for the wizard's standards, right? I mean, how much is this converted to pounds?" He gestured to the piles frantically.
"I don't know, Harry, but your father's family was wealthy, and they left him a good amount, also, all bounties and rewards on You-know-who were sent to the one who did get rid of him, you."
"You have close to 2 million galleons the last time a balance was taken, and a few items that weren't evaluated into gold pieces." The goblin said and Hagrid gasped.
"For Merlin's bear, that's a lot of gold."
"I shouldn't disclose this information to anyone but the owner, but since he is a minor- The Potter household gave the previous Lord of the House an inheritance, but with the condition to give him full access only when he'd finished school, so after that, the gold was sent to Mr. James Potter, and later, Mrs. Lily Potter also had her gold sent to the Potter vault, but the amount of gold you're seeing is the result of the fall of the Dark Lord, as all the bounties and gold spent trying to hire someone to finish him, were sent to Mr. Potter, and now you have it."
"And I have to wait until I'm finished with school to withdraw anything?"
"No, the previous Lord Potter dismissed the incantation, allowing the next Lord to do whatever they want."
"Er, Mr. Grumpy, could you tell me how much this vault has in pounds? What is the current exchange?"
"Well, for the muggle currency, it is a 1:25 ratio, so a galleon equals 25 pounds."
Harry didn't even have to make the math for that, he could say he was a millionaire, but somehow, that didn't make him euphoric or ecstatic, it simply made him sad, while he looked down at the few notes he took out to put into perspective. Three years of working, and he had equivalent to two golden coins, while in this vault he had more money than he could ever need in his life. Why? Why was he sent to suffer in that house if he had ways to grow in a place of his own? Did he have any guardians? Did this place had a government? Don't they have a sector to handle this kind of thing? What happened? Who was responsible for his allocation with the Dursleys? Harry shook his head a little, trying to take that out of his mind, for now, returning to the task at hand.
"I see. Well, how much will I need for the list? I don't know anything about prices." Harry said while taking one gold coin to inspect from up close.
"Let's say... I think 100 galleons will be enough to buy all materials, so take 150 to buy other things too."
Harry frowned and wondered about something.
"Hagrid, how many years will I spend in school, I mean, before I can earn my own money?"
"7 Years at least, Harry." Hagrid said confused.
"And the money in here is all mine, right? I mean, I don't have any siblings or parents or something like that?"
"I don't think so."
"Then I'd like to take more gold if it's all right." Harry said while turning back to face Hagrid, not really wanting to ask for permission, to not create a weird precedent, but also not wanting to be disrespectful to Hagrid who was accompanying him.
"I don't know, Harry, the headmaster told me to help you with the basics, and you still don't know about our money good enough to be taking more- You want to buy something you saw?"
"No, I actually don't know what I want to buy, but I have enough here to attend school for at least 500 years, and the first thing I'd like to do is to rent a room at the Leaky Cauldron or another place, and I know that takes money, money that I have now. So, since I'm staying in a new place, I don't know the expenses I'll have, so I'm just trying to cover it."
Hagrid's mouth fell open again as he heard the boy talking, he was twelve, right? They didn't send him to take care of a short grown-up man, did they?
"This seems... Right. How much do you want to take?"
"Well, since 100 is enough to buy all the things on that list, I want to take an additional 500 to buy things I don't know I need yet, and also to pay for my room for- Almost a month, I think. I believe it would be enough."
"That's a lot of money, but I think I get it why you want more- Well, I'll trust you'll handle your money with care. I know you have a lot of gold, but don't go out buying stuff just because they are interesting, or shiny, or new, okay?"
"Don't worry, Hagrid." Harry said, pressing his lips together to that assumption, understanding that although Hagrid was an adult, he still wasn't very sure of how to do things. He was starting to understand that Hagrid was a kind person, but not a very smart one, not that he was trying to do something shady, he was just trying to understand how things stand.
Harry took a leather bag but before starting picking coins, he saw something.
"Hagrid, this is a galleon, right? The one made of gold. What are these other two called?" He took a silver coin and a bronze coin and showed them to Hagrid.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you about it. The silver ones are called Sickles. 17 Sickles make a Galleon. The bronze ones are called Knuts, and 29 Knuts make a Sickle."
"All right, so... 493 Knuts make a Galleon, although that's an exorbitant amount of bronze for a simple golden coin. I guess Knuts are like real coins in here, just for accurate numbers and change purposes." Harry said more to himself, as he started stashing golden coins inside his bag. While taking more piles, Harry saw a strange thing lying next to a pile of sickles, taking it in his hands to show Hagrid.
"What is this?" He was holding a strange-looking ring, made of white gold, ornate with blue metal and a tiny blue gem on top of it.
"I have no idea, Harry, but I guess is one of the many gifts people sent to the one responsible for defeating You-Know-Who."
Harry kept staring at the ring for a few seconds before wearing the ring with his middle finger. At the moment the ring touched the base of his finger, he heard Hagrid's shout and turned.
"DON'T!"
"What is going on?"
"Take it off! You don't know if this thing is cursed or not- Every treasure people sent you went to your vault, but not all of it is safe. Gringotts is bound to store anything you own, but they don't differentiate about good or bad objects." Hagrid said quickly, gesturing around Harry's vault, practically jumping in place because he could not enter it.
"Oh, sorry, I just thought it would like nice." Harry was really sorry, feeling dumb for doing a thing like that without asking. Of course, it could possess curses, he forgot for an instant that he was in this insane place. He pulled the ring to place it back into his vault, but the ring wasn't moving.
"Er- Hagrid? I think there's really something wrong with it."
"What?! Come here, let me have a look."
Harry turned and showed his hand to Hagrid, who took the ring and started pulling off, just to hear Harry's shouts.
"Ow! It's not coming loose, stop, please." Hagrid let go of the boy, who started massaging his almost broken finger, jumping in place.
"Bollocks, I should've been more careful, the headmaster won't be happy- How are you feeling? Are you ok?"
"I think so, I don't feel weird, or sick, or cursed." Harry was actually feeling good, as if the ring was an elegant object that was pretty in his hand.
"Well, we'll ask the headmaster about how to remove it when you get to Hogwarts, in the meantime, if you feel anything- ANYTHING, let me know and we'll take you to St. Mungus."
"St. Mungus?"
"Our hospital for everything related to magic accidents."
"Oh, all right."
"Take your gold and let's go, we need to keep moving. Don't pick anything else!"
"Sorry again." Harry said and went inside to retrieve his leather bag, now full of galleons.
Harry was sighing, wondering if this was necessary.
"I'm sorry, Harry, they are really secretive about these vaults containing- Well, containing things people shouldn't know exists."
Harry was blindfolded by the goblin to make him unable to trace the route to this area, full of maximum security vaults. When they arrived, Harry was told he could take his blindfold off. He looked around curiously and saw something that made his heart stop. With his hand shaking, he pointed to the far end of the cavern, to the end of a strange moving tail, bigger than Uncle Vernon's car.
"Wha- What is that?"
Hagrid looked and his face illuminated with a smile as he turned and started walking towards it.
"You have one here in this section?! Oh, I bet it's beautiful- Albino as well. Which race is it?"
"Hagrid? What is it?"
"A dragon, Harry."
Harry looked back to the tail, seeing it vanishing as the supposed dragon pulled it away from view.
"You're joking, right?" Harry asked, imagining what the answer would be. Of course, there were dragons. To his surprise, Grumpy was the one who answered.
"They're called maximum-security vaults for a reason. We're here, step back!" He warned them as he touched a giant door, and it simply dissolved itself, as if turned into sand.
"Wow."
Harry didn't want to pry, but they were in the maximum-security wing, so of course, he snuck a glance inside just in time to see Hagrid taking a small package, placing it inside his vests before quickly getting out. The rest of the vault looked empty.
"Don't tell anyone about this, Harry, secretive Hogwarts' business." Hagrid said while they were loaded into the cart.
"Okay."
"Now, let's get to the shopping, shall we?"
AN: I'm doing this for my own amusement, but I hope you enjoy it.