July 31st, 1991
Leaving the bank, they checked his shopping list. Deciding that he should get a trunk first to carry all his items they headed to Tuttle's Trunks. The name amused Harry; he imagined going to a store just to look at some guy's pants collection.
Arriving at the store his confidence was bolstered by a sign stating "school trunks for all houses. Built sturdy for the negligent Gryffindor and the hapless Hufflepuff. With an additional library compartment available for purchase, perfect for your little Ravenclaw. We also do secret compartments for the sneaky Slytherin." Harry read the sign and turned to McGonagall. "I don't know exactly what it's talking about, but the sign is a little insulting... I think?" Minerva nodded curtly and said, "Indeed Mr. Potter."
Inside the shop there were dozens, maybe even a hundred different trunks arrayed in the room. It took Harry a moment to realize that there must be some magic space enlarging mojo going on. There was no way the room should be as big as it was.
"Can I help you?" An older man stepped into the room from behind a curtain. He kind of looked like Geppetto from Pinocchio. Harry nodded his head and said; "yes you can. I'm looking for a school trunk. "Very well. We have the basic trunk with a feather-light charm and a small space expansion charm. The next step up includes both of those charms but also comes with a rune engraved on the lock to shrink the trunk to the size of a matchbox. Finally, we have the deluxe student trunk. Same as before, all previous additions are included, and it also comes with a library section as a separate opening. Perfect to keep your school supplies and books separate from your clothes and personal belongings. The basic trunk will cost you 20 galleons, while the deluxe model will set you back 50. Which will it be?" Harry didn't have to think very hard. "I'll take the deluxe model, secret compartment too."
Leaving the shop with a shrunken trunk in his pocket. Harry went to Madam Malkins while Professor McGonagall collected his potions equipment and supplies. He only picked up his 3 black school robes. He decided to give the ghastly hat a pass. While getting fitted, he had a stilted conversation with a blonde moron named Malloy or something. He couldn't be bothered to remember the pompous kid's name. Leaving the robe shop he scampered to his next destination, a destination which he actually wanted to go to first, but alas you never argue with a scary old lady.
Arriving in front of Ollivander's Harry took a deep breath before entering. The door chimed as he entered into the dusty room. There was a musty smell in the air similar to the forgotten sections of a library, usually the law sections full of case studies and codes that were out of date a century ago. Harry walked up to the front desk and while looking around noticed a service bell. Staring at the bell he tried to fight the urge to ring it. He knew that if he rang it once he wouldn't stop until someone took it away from him.
He tried. He really did but after his Herculean effort, lasting a whole 8 seconds, crashed and burned; he repeatedly slapped his hand down on it in a furious pace. Changing the beat into a rough approximation of winter wonderlands rhythm he sang, out loud "sleigh bells ring are you listening." Before he could continue the verse, an arm reached past him from behind and snatched the bell off the desk. Harry whipped around, a hand shooting to his pocket where he kept his Swiss Army knife and an expletive slipping past his lips, to see an elderly man looking at him. With furrowed eyebrows and a perturbed expression on his face, the man said; "that will be quite enough. I don't wish to lose what little hearing I have left on such a racket." "Everyone's a critic" Harry replied, rolling his eyes.
"What can I do for you Mr. potter?" Harry gave the man a suspicious look after being recognized but replied; "I'd like to buy a wand. Anything that looks cool and can cause an explosion or a least mildly impressive fireworks will do." Ollivander looked askance and said "that's not how it works. The wand chooses the wizard, Mr. Potter." Harry just shrugged and made a get on with it motion with his hand. Ollivander then bustled off to a shelf halfway across the room and began to mutter to himself while collecting different boxes. Returning he said; "let's start with these."
Handing Harry, a wand he said, "oak with a unicorn hair core." Harry took the wand and just stood there. Not sure what to do with it he looked back at Ollivander with a questioning glance. "Well, give it a wave" Ollivander gestured with his hand. Harry started to wave it only for it to be swiped from his hand with a muttered "that won't do" from Ollivander. The next wand he was given was a white wand with grey marbling. "Poplar with a thestral tail hair." Harry jabbed the wand towards the shelf holding an assortment of wand polishing and care kits. An almighty explosion of blue and gold light rocketed out of the wand and made contact with the shelf exploding it and sending debris flying in every direction. Harry looked down at the wand in awe. He noticed a warm feeling coming from the wand and without a second thought said "sold!"
Ollivander looked at the destruction and winced. He turned back to Harry and said, "no that's not the right one either." Seeing him reaching for the wand Harry quickly cradled it to his chest and replied "no! I want this wand. Tell me how much I owe you."
They bickered back and forth for 10 minutes before Ollivander threw up his hands and said "fine! Have it your way. Just don't come crying back to me when it doesn't work for you! That will be 7 galleons." Harry then picked up a green leathery wand holster that had been tossed near him from the earlier explosion and added that to his purchase. Leaving Ollivander's, smiling he ran into Professor McGonagall where he proceeded to inform her of his wand's attributes and its' amazing performance. He never saw the look of panic that was emanating from her eyes as she looked at the utter ruin of Ollivander's shop and at the thought of the pure chaos that may befall Hogwarts.
The final stop was for a pet. It was explained to harry that it was best to get an owl since they would carry mail and deliver owl order products to him. Harry just shrugged and set off to Eeylops Owl Emporium which was also attached to the Magical Menagerie. Same owner same building he figured. He was low key excited to get a familiar maybe he could teach an owl to attack people or possibly if he got a big enough one, he could have it eat Ripper, Marge's little terror. Revenge would be sweet, probably pretty gross but sweet, nonetheless.
Entering the store, he was immediately assaulted by a flurry of noise and smell. Owl's barking, rats squealing, cats meowing, snakes... being well snaky.
Harry eyed up every animal he passed looking for one to stand out. He was starting to lose hope when a beautiful snowy owl landed on his shoulder and hooted at him. He found his familiar, or it found him. "No," he thought, "it sounded better the first time." He found his familiar. After asking his bird what she wanted for a cage and stand, apparently his owl had impeccable standards, expensive too. They left the shop and headed for the Leaky Cauldron.
After grabbing a quick meal at the Leaky Cauldron McGonagall informed him on where the platform was located one last time. Reassuring him again that walking into the pillar was not a prank they walked outside into muggle London, and they linked arms. McGonagall Looked at Harry and said; "Now, you're going to feel a squeezing sensation but don't worry. It will only last a moment." Harry nodded but gave her a side eyed glance wondering what she meant by a squeeze… "oh that's terrible." Harry gasped out.
Falling to his knees and dry heaving. Through his utter anguish and no he was not exaggerating, he regained his faculties enough to say; "I'm never doing that again." McGonagall laughed internally and said out loud; "it's much better doing it yourself. Side along apparition can be jarring the first few times." Harry looked at her and said, rather sarcastically, "you don't say."
Deciding he had enough to ponder over today Harry bid his new professor a good day and thanked her for taking him to Diagon alley. "I look forward to seeing you in my class Mr. Potter." And with that she disappeared with a crack. Harry decided that going back to the Dursleys would be useless since he was sure to be yelled at for tossing a rose bush into the neighbours hot-tub earlier in the day, so he decided to take the night bus back to the Leaky Cauldron to rent a room for the remainder of summer.
When the Dursleys arrived back home they didn't even bother to look for their wayward nephew, that is until a thunderous banging on the door and their neighbours yelling caused them to search out the little miscreant. Finding the house empty they gave up looking for him and answered the door. Standing there red faced and apoplectic was their neighbour Joshua Barns holding a rather shabby rose bush.
It turned out that earlier that day Mrs. Barns had gone out for a spa day and Mr. Barns was entertaining a guest in their new hot tub. While said entertaining was reaching its peak an entire rose bush landed between them and rather ruined the moment. Vernon just stood there listening to the angry man describing how removing thorns from his ass was not how he would have preferred to spend his day.
As it would turn out Mrs. Barns had come out to see what all the yelling was about and soon she too was yelling. From there, Vernon's day just kept getting worse. Having a marital breakup in his front yard and being hit in the face by a rose bush from a rather inaccurate swing by Mrs. or he guessed ex-Mrs. Barns was not how he saw this day going. When he got his hands on that little freak, he would... Vernon's train of thought was derailed when a bloody and cowering Mr. Barns ducked behind him for cover. Vernon soon started receiving blows from an angry, possibly deranged lady.
After Harry successfully booked a room at the Leaky Cauldron for the next 4 weeks, he decided to start reading some of his schoolbooks. While reading through 101 charms he practiced along with each new spell until he could do them well enough to not need the incantation. One would think that only a powerful wizard or at least a wizard older than 11, could do silent casting. The trick was in just knowing how the spell felt and replicating that feeling enough times to where the magic just did what was wanted.
Not having been told that the incantation was essential, Harry wasn't concentrating too much on the incantation, just the end result. Trying to pronounce every syllable and wand movement wasn't entirely needed. This would, in the years to come, be one of Harry's greatest advantages when it came to schooling. Sometimes showing your work can just muddle things up and end up taking more time and effort than is really required. Of course, showing your work helps you to figure out where you're going wrong; but Harry didn't really care if his Lumos charm was glowing a sickly green. It was glowing and that was good enough for him.
Harry continued studying and preforming magic for the next 4 weeks. While not solely held up in his room he did manage to carve through a decent number of books. So much so that he made multiple trips to Flourish and Blotts throughout his stay. He of course also managed to get through 45 out of some 500 flavours of ice cream at Florean Fortescue's ice cream Parlour.
Before he left for Hogwarts Harry had already set a goal to try and eat every flavour of ice cream before he graduated. It would be difficult. Maybe even impossible but as Audrey Hepburn once probably, possibly, said; nothing is impossible, the word itself says 'I'm possible'! Harry thought that in this case those were words to live by.
Harry had also taken the time to stop at a magical eye glass store and learned he could have his eyesight fixed through a rigorous 3-day potion regiment. After taking the first potion he almost regretted spending the 2000 galleons to have his sight corrected but after the 3rd potion he was sure that this is what regret felt and tasted like. Still though there was no turning back now and he begrudgingly followed through. Now being able to see perfectly he could admit, if only to himself, that it had been worth it.
September 1st, 1991
Harry was staring at a brick wall. Well, a pillar if you wanted to be pedantic. Harry was staring at a brick pillar. Between platforms 9 and 10. It looked like a solid wall, pillar. Some plump red head was telling him to "give it a bit of a run if you're nervous." Harry wasn't nervous and he resented the implication. Still though, what did he have to lose. Well, a few teeth he supposed, but he was fairly sure magic could just fix them if anything happened.
With a shrug and a wince, he leaned into the wall, no pillar. Running into a pillar was daft, leaning against a pillar was cool. It was less cool when you fell backwards through a pillar and hit your head on the ground... but hey, no broken teeth. A win is a win Harry thought. Collecting his bird cage with a disgruntled owl named bob in it, he quickly moved onto the train and into a compartment with a few other first year students. Bob all the while second guessing her decision to go with this little menace a month ago. At least he was somewhat entertaining, much better than being stuck in a store all day.
Looking around the compartment he had entered there were 3 other students, all appeared to be about his age and were looking at him curiously. Harry mentally shrugged and said, "Um hi. Can I sit in here with you?" The two girls and one boy shrugged. One of the 2 Indian girls said "sure, my names Padma and this is Terry Boot and my sister Parvati." Harry lifted the owl cage and set Bob in the overhead luggage compartment and sat down. Extending a hand, he shook Terrys and waved at Padma and Parvati saying, "hi I'm Harry." They after the pleasantries were over, they started talking about which house they would be in.
Terry and Padma thought Ravenclaw would be the best fit and Parvati wasn't sure but didn't think she would fit in Ravenclaw well. Harry just said; "which ever house I can learn the most in would be good with me, so I guess Ravenclaw it is." After a little more chatting they felt the train start to move. "And we're off like a herd of turtles." Everyone in the compartment gave an amused look at Harry who was just oozing excitement at finally being away from the Dursleys and starting his new life as a wizard. Oh, sure he hadn't been to #4 in a month, but this made it official. He was starting a new chapter in his life, and he wouldn't look back.
