Harry Potter and the Fifth Edition

by middlejourney

An Alternate Universe fix-it of Harry Potter using Dungeons & Dragons: 5th Edition as the basis for magic and a lot of aspects of the world. Brace yourself for an action economy of intrigue, hijinks, drama, and magic at Hogwarts School of Spellcraft and Sorcery.

2. Chapter 1: Depths & Diagon

Harry Potter and the Fifth Edition

Chapter 1: Depths & Diagon

July 31st, 1991.

"Yer a Variant Human, Harry."

From behind his glasses, Harry Potter blinked owlishly at the large man, Hagrid, he'd said. The lights overhead flickered as the storm and waves raged against this worn shack. He refocused on the bald man's looming figure. The man was massive, he'd taken off his brown duster jacket, reached up to one of the rafters of this rickety shack, and hung the jacket on a wooden beam.

Harry could see that Hagrid's pale skin was ashen, greyer than tan. He had markings up and down his entire body the color of slate and a big bushy black beard that was about as untamed as Harry's own hair. "Um... Mr. Hagrid, what... does that mean?"

The man scratched at his bald head; his bicep was easily bigger than Harry's whole head! "Ah, call me Hagrid, Harry, that's what everyone else does... How to explain... Professor McGonagall usually does this part, but you see your family over there?" Hagrid gestured at the Dursleys shaking in the back of the shack, "They might could learn to throw a punch or swing a sword, the young one could even learn to use a bow, I s'pose, but they're just normal humans in the end, they don't have that... ermm... magic, I guess? In our world, we call folks like them Muggles."

"Magic, Hagrid? Magic isn't real." Harry almost sounded defeated there, if there was one thing he'd learned in his time at the Dursleys', it was that life was nothing but ordinary.

"Not real?" Hagrid scoffed, briefly his gaze left Harry's and narrowed at the Dursley family, and he turned back to the boy in too large clothes, "Course its real! Did they not tell you about your parents?"

Harry felt the world spin, "M-my parents?" He numbly repeating the words he'd been told his whole life. "They died in a car crash."

Hagrid's face scrunched up, like he'd sampled a flavor he didn't know what to do with, "A car crash? James and Lily Potter die in a car crash?" His expression grew thunderous as he rounded on the Dursleys, "Y'kept his history away from him!? Y'told him they died in a car crash!?" Hagrid snapped his mouth shut with a click and Harry could hear his teeth grind. He exhaled out of his nose before turning back to Harry, Hagrid's voice was tight, "Your parents, were two of the bravest souls I ever knew."

"Y-you knew my parents?"

"Aye, considered them both to be good friends... Lily was probably the most brilliant wizard in the world, and James... He was a Paladin, people rallied behind his shield..." Hagrid's eyes were a little sad in memory, but he continued, "You look just like them too, Harry. You have James' hair and Lily's eyes."

After a deep exhale and a dab at his eyes, Hagrid continued, "Folks like you or your parents, are called Variant Humans, or Variants for short. That's why I have to deliver a letter to you." He handed an envelope to the young boy, sealed with a red wax by an unfamiliar crest.

Written on the exterior of the envelope in immaculate cursive was his name along with an address that read 'In Transit.' Gingerly, he broke the wax, and pulled out a folded piece of parchment.

Dear Mr. Harry Potter,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Spellcraft and Sorcery. All necessary books and supplies can be purchased at Diagon Alley.

Please provide your response to the school representative or send an owl by July 31st.

Term begins on September 1st, please see the attached school list.

Sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress
Transmutation Professor
Hogwarts School of Spellcraft and Sorcery

His eyes glanced off the letter to the beaming face of Hagrid, and Harry carefully pulled out the school list from the envelope:

Please acquire the following for your School Uniform and Studies:
- Arcane Focus
- Herbalism Kit
- Component Pouch
- Scholar's Pack (Or your own bag, paper, ink, and quill.)
- 3 sets of School Robes
- Cold weather clothing
- Sturdy leather gloves made of wyvern hide, Bulette leather, or some other capable material.

Booklist:
- The Monster Manual, 5th Edition by Newt Scamander
- The Hogwarts Handbook by Bathilda Bagshot
- The Material Plane: A History by Agnazzar Armitage
- Beginner's Guide to Potions, Alchemy, and Herbalism by Tasha Temult

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEAR STUDENTS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO BRING A BROOM OF FLYING.

Harry couldn't believe what he was reading, it couldn't be real, right? "Hagrid… what is all of this? Flying? Sorcery...?"

Vernon interrupted in a rage from the corner, "You're both freaks! I want you out! Get! Begone!" The irate man lunged at the two, hoping to collar Harry out of the shack.

Hagrid turned towards the red-faced man, a glint in his eye, "Eh? None o' that, Dursley." He twisted his umbrella towards the man, saying the word, "Rognamalis." A light flashed and suddenly a snarling purple ethereal warthog approached the family with malevolence and intimidation in its every action. Vernon slowly backed away from Harry, each step back mirrored by the approaching warthog. "Come now, Harry. I brought you a birthday cake back in the boat. Used some Dust of Deliciousness and everything." He led the young boy out of the shack and towards the rowboat.

Harry kept turning back, wide-eyed, to the sounds of warthog snorts and frightened Dursley yells. Hagrid winked, "Summon Beast, useful spell that, but it'd be a big favor if ya don't mention I did that?"

Harry, still mouth agape, beamed at the huge man, "That was wicked!"

A massive grin split the face of the bald man as he gestured for Harry to lead, after three good turns of the paddle, he broke concentration on his warthog beast spirit, Mildred. "Right then, let's be off. Diagon Alley awaits!"

It was a young and bright-eyed Harry Potter who stood with his new friend, Hagrid, at the doors to a dingy sort of pub called the Leaky Cauldron. Hagrid held out a hand to pause the pair's journey.

"Now, Harry. Things might be… ermm… chaotic in there." Hagrid said. Harry's eyes scanned the form of the big man, his grey-stonelike skin, the color of slate, Hagrid had these markings throughout his arms and even on his face; they were like faded tattoos of a darker basalt-like hue. Hagrid's wild unkempt beard was in stark contrast to his bald shiny head. The Keeper of the Keys wore a forest green tunic beneath a brown leather duster. The man was bigger than Harry's Uncle Vernon, but where Vernon's size suggested poor diet and a lack of exercise, Hagrid's only gave off the sense of raw strength.

"Um Hagrid...?" Harry started, "Why would it be chaotic?"

Hagrid blushed slightly, rubbing at the back of his neck, "Well… I… um… let's just go in, and we can talk about it after."

Unsure, but still excited, Harry followed the large man into the pub. The interior was dimly lit, filled with all sorts of folk in an assortment of styles and fashions. Several scruffier folks waved at Hagrid as the big man ushered Harry in.

"Ah, Albus roped you into doing Hogwarts visits too, eh Hagrid?" the bartender asked, a portly man with a full-bodied moustache and a receding hairline,

"Lo there, Tom, great to see you!" Hagrid boomed, causing the barkeep to grin back at him. "Harry and I need to get through to Diagon."

"Welcome to the Leaky Cauldron, Harry…" The man frowned, and peered closer to Harry, "by the gods… could it be...? Harry Potter." Tom, the barkeep, spoke his name with such reverence that Harry instinctually looked around for who this Harry Potter guy might be. When he looked back to the barkeep, he found the man was staring at the lightning-shaped scar that rest upon Harry's forehead.

"Eh Tom, none of that now, no need to cause a stir." Hagrid was looking around nervously.

The bartender's eyes widened, and he nodded, before whispering, "Sorry, Mr. Potter, it is a pleasure to have you in the bar. Enjoy your time in Diagon, y'hear?"

Harry nodded, wide-eyed, as Hagrid led him to a back door that opened into a bricked-in alleyway.

"What was that about?" Harry asked, still perturbed.

"Well... y'see... hmm... how do I put this...?" Hagrid mumbled slightly, "Did your aunt and uncle tell you anything?"

Harry shook his head in reply, and Hagrid mumbled something about, "should've let Mildred run wild..."

"Well… ten years ago, there were some dark times happening… A very evil sorcerer had begun tormenting many folks, y'see? He was so terrible that to this day, people still don't speak his name aloud. And ten years ago, on Halloween, he went after your family…" Hagrid's face creased in consternation, "Sorry Harry, it's just hard memories. That night he murdered your parents, and, he was going to end you too, but when he went to cast his most powerful spell, something strange happened... The spell rebounded on him and left you with that scar on your forehead." Hagrid looked vastly uncomfortable, but he continued, "A lot of folks were saved that day, Harry, and, well, they see you as their hero."

Harry blinked.

Then he blinked again.

"But I was a baby, Hagrid!"

"Well sure, I know that, Harry. But for a lot of people, they heard about you ending the Dark Lord, and they celebrated your name!" He explained.

Harry felt unstable for a moment, but he tried to focus on the more important information, "What… what was his name, the evil sorcerer?"

Hagrid immediately blanched, "Oh… erm… we still don't really say the name these days…" He peeked over his shoulder to double check nobody was around and whispered, "it was… Voldemort."

"Voldemort?" Harry murmured, not noticing Hagrid flinch, "Okay then… That's… wow." His voice squeaked out, "I'm actually famous!?"

Hagrid sighed, "That you are, Harry, that you are. Don't worry though, it's more that your name is famous, and the scar… Nobody will recognize you unless they knew James and Lily, or unless you go showing the scar off, I s'pose." The bald man pulled out his umbrella and tapped the bricks on the wall, "Just give me a moment and we'll go to the Alley proper." Hagrid then muttered some kind of nursery rhyme about a bunny flying over the moon and across three towns to get to the other side, poking certain bricks as the story got more convoluted.

Just as Harry was about to ask him if they were in the wrong spot, the bricks began to shake and then pop out one by one to rearrange into an archway opening to a bustling walking street. Hagrid grinned and announced, "Welcome to Diagon Alley, Harry!"

Diagon Alley was a rush of movement and magic. On one end, Harry saw some older kids crowding around a window for something called Quality Quidditch Supplies; further down the street he saw a store that was inverted so you had to enter through the attic window of the building, the name was upside down, but Harry eventually managed to read 'Philosopher's Portents'; another shop, Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Shoppe was, as advertised, just selling ice cream, but there seemed to be a preternatural cold that emanated from the shop.

Hagrid had a big grin on his face as he said, "Alright then, first stop, the bank!"

Harry's mind ground to a halt as he realized that, once again, he was not prepared for something on this wild (and insane) adventure, "But Hagrid, I don't have any money!"

Hagrid's brow furrowed once more as he looked down at the boy, "Sure you do, Harry. You think your parents left you without anything? Come on, we'll take you to Gringotts and get you sorted with your Hogwarts fund."

Harry blinked, suddenly taking five steps at once to keep up with each stride from Hagrid. He was starting to accept that he simply would not knowing what's going on for the foreseeable future, so he decided to just go along for the ride. He really wasn't sure how to break it to Hagrid; if he had had any money, then his aunt and uncle would've already siphoned every last drop.

The Alley wound up and down, there were times when Harry felt like he moved faster than he should've around some bends, and other times where it seemed like he couldn't see an end to the long road. They passed a wild array of stores and offices until they reached a large Greco-Roman marble structure with a frieze depicting a dragon currently snoring around a pile of treasure. A thief in the frieze began to approach, and one of the dragon's eyes opened, and before the thief could steal even a single coin, the dragon awoke and swallowed the thief whole before going back to sleep again.

"Hagrid… what… exactly is this place, again?"

"Oh, Gringotts?" Hagrid responded, while staring at the frieze with wide happy eyes, "It's only the most secure bank in the world. Legend has it, it was founded by an ancient dragon long ago... I hear he still guards his massive hoard beneath to this very day." Hagrid's face broke out into a giddy grin, "Can you believe it Harry? A true dragon, nobody's seen one in centuries!"

Engraved on either side of the door was a script in multiple languages. Harry stared, searching for something familiar, finally finding the English:

"Enter stranger, but take heed,
Of what awaits the sin of greed.
For those who take, but do not earn,
Must pay most dearly, in their turn.
So, if you seek, beneath the floors,
A treasure that was never yours.
Thief, you have been warned. Beware,
Of finding more than treasure there."

Hagrid saw where he was staring, and laughed, patting Harry on the back, "Don't worry about it, Harry. It's not an issue if you are a customer." As Hagrid nudged Harry through the doors, Harry heard him mutter, "B'sides, it's much scarier in Giant…"

Harry turned his head as they walked into the queue, "Giants, Hagrid?"

Hagrid winced, "Ah, I didn't mean for you to hear that, we can talk about it later."

The pair walked up to the teller. Behind a tall podium was a middle-aged woman with a pointed face and her hair tied up in a very tight bun. Her glasses were like connected isosceles triangles, but her magnified eyes had locked in on their approach to the front. She wore a black blazer with gold trim over her blouse.

The teller smiled at their approach, though Harry noticed an edge to her expression. Her podium raised until she was Hagrid's height, and through clenched teeth she said, "Welcome to Gringotts Bank, how may I be of assistance?"

Hagrid chuckled, "Still mad about last week's Liar's Dice, eh, Weevil?"

The woman snapped at the man, "Who in their right mind would challenge three fives!?"

"I did, and took home a shiny gold piece for the night. Thank ye very much." Hagrid smiled shamelessly at the woman.

Rolling her eyes, the woman snarled slightly, "What do you want, Hagrid?"

"Doing a Hogwarts visit, and Harry here needs to get access to his Gringotts vault. Need to grab something out of the Hogwarts vault too." The woman peered over the edge at the eleven-year-old, and lowered the podium so that it was at a normal desk height.

In a complete reverse, her voice went from seething vitriol to oozing politeness, "Hello there, welcome to Gringotts, I'm Melinda Weevil, what is your name?"

Harry momentarily forgot that he was now 'famous' and spoke without thinking, "Nice to meet you, ma'am, I'm Harry Potter."

Melinda blinked, her eyes travelled up to his forehead, and she shook her head slightly, "Oh my." She shook her head again, "Apologies, ummm, Mr. Potter, do you have your key?" Nervously, Harry shook his head. "That... makes a lot of sense, hang on." She dug out a small, engraved stone from a drawer. "If you place this in your hand, it will react if you have an active vault with us."

She pressed a smooth stone into his hand, and the engraving on the other side began to glow a soft blue. Melinda spoke after a moment, "Indeed, you are one Harry Potter. Alright, this will be your new Gringotts Keycharm to access your vault, do not lose it." The stone began to remold itself like clay until all that was left was the body of the key, and the rest of the stone extended into a spiraling skeleton key. "Vaultkeeper Griphook, will take you to the vault and explain more about the Keycharm." She rang a bell before giving a sinister smile at Hagrid, "Remember, we charge if you vomit."

A small green person with long pointy ears approached the pair. He wore a white button-up along with blue pants; his light-blue tie had a design on it of a small moving golden ball with wings. It mainly hovered around the knot buzzing along the twisting path of the knot, creating flashes of gold here and there while the green-skinned being approached. Completing his look was a golden pocket watch chain dangling from his belt and golden hoops along the top of each of his long angular ears.

Harry had no clue what this being was. He said in a scratchy voice, "Alright, the name is Griphook, I'm told you two need a vault visit?" At Harry's open-eyed shock, the man's face turned exasperated, "Muggleborn?" he sighed, "Before you ask, I'm a goblin, there are people in this world who look different than you or your expectations, get used to it." The goblin glanced sidelong at Hagrid and sighed, looking back at Harry, "You like rollercoasters, kid?"

Harry shook his head, "I've never been on one."

"Yeah... that's what I was afraid of." He said as his hand pulled at his face. Griphook let out a strained sound, "Look, just… don't throw up… the boss put me on cleanup crew this week."

Harry wasn't sure why the conversation kept devolving to vomiting, but they arrived at a rickety mine shaft cart. The goblin opened the side door and gestured for Harry and Hagrid to get in. Looking down at the railing that disappeared into the dark mineshaft, Harry became aware of why they were discussing retching, and he grew keenly aware that this 'vehicle' lacked any sort of safety belts.

Griphook tucked in to his spot at the front of the cart, alongside the handbrake controls. The goblin intoned hollowly, "Please keep all limbs and bodies within the cart at all times. If I say duck, you duck, got it?"

Harry nodded rapidly, and Griphook rolled his eyes, "I wasn't talking to you, kid. Oi, big guy, you gonna duck this time?"

Hagrid laughed awkwardly, "I hope so! Those wooden poles hurt."

"It was a support beam, you blockhead! You collapsed an entire section of the mine. Took three days of cleanup!"

Hagrid blushed, and with that, Griphook snapped his fingers a few times beneath a lantern at the front of the cart, until the wick caught, and he disengaged the handbrake. The cart tilted forward slowly, like it was remembering that gravity existed. Each wheel gave drawn out squeaks as metal ground against metal. Within a moment, Harry had already forgotten about the squeaking, because they were now in complete freefall.

"I ASKED YOU TO DO ONE THING!" Griphook screamed at the man three times his size. The goblin's tie was being pulled towards the Hogwarts Groundskeeper; the point of the tie being pulled up by the golden ball on it.

Hagrid, for his part, still looked queasy and his face had an unhealthy pallor.

"And I did… Eurgh." Hagrid wiped his mouth briefly before managing, "I ducked when you said, didn't I?"

Harry, meanwhile, could still feel his heart racing, that had been the single greatest experience of his life. He never would've imagined the elation of a nosedive double loop, or that thrill of feeling your heart in your throat while the wind whips at your hair.

While Harry carefully stepped out of the cart, and around Hagrid's little spill on the ground, Griphook stormed over to the doors of Vault 687. The doors looked heavy and strong, built of a dark bronze-colored metal. A number of gears and mechanisms surrounded the vault, and disappeared into the cavern-like walls underground. Griphook's eye twitched as he barked, "Kid!"

Harry startled, almost falling into Hagrid's sick, but he stayed upright and walked the rest of the way to the little green man.

"Vault 687 is on the sixth level, which is considered a medium security vault. Included in your annual fees is an Alarm and Arcane Lock to be set and tied to your Keycharm." Harry saw a glint in Griphook's eyes, "Should you wish to protect your wealth further,we can discuss a higher tier of security… But, in the meantime, simply place your Keycharm within the lock, and the Arcane Lock will unlock."

"O-okay." Unsure, Harry inserted the key in the vault door, and he heard a number of mechanisms begin to click and gears began to turn. The door slowly swung open, and Harry found himself looking at a large pile of coins. His eyes bulged as he saw the torchlight glint against gold and silver within.

Harry picked up some of the different colored currency, each one shaped differently from the other color. He walked over to Griphook and Hagrid, "What are all of these?"

The vaultkeeper turned to Hagrid, exasperated, "Did you explain anything before bringing him here?" Hagrid started to speak, but upon opening his mouth, the man looked sick again. He sat back down in the cart and gave a pleading gesture for Griphook to handle it.

Griphook sighed, "Alright, the small square one with a hole in the middle, the…sigh… coppery colored one, is a Copper Piece, ten of those go into a Silver Piece. No, not that one… Yes, the silver one shaped like a triangle..." he muttered beneath his breath, "I fear for the future of this country..." Before continuing, "Take ten silver and they make a Gold Piece. Yes, it has round cut-outs on either side, and is gold. Seriously, kid, it's pretty simple."

Harry, a bit perturbed at the grumpy goblin, asked "What about this one?" and held out a circular coin that looked like it was made of silver, but had a small golden square in the center.

Griphook whistled, "Ooh, an Electrum Piece, don't see those too often. Technically, they are worth five silver. Though if they're old enough there are probably collectors who'd pay more." A wistful expression crossed his face, "Only ones rarer than that would be Platinum, which are worth ten gold. They are octagonal and a white metal, like platinum, if you see any."

Harry called back to his Hogwarts guide, "Hagrid? How much do I need for school shopping?"

Between dry-heaves, Hagrid said, "Umm, should be about 20 gold to get supplies, if I'm remembering correctly."

Griphook snarled, "You're not!" He turned back to Harry, the snarl still showing his teeth, sharper than expected, "A decent focus alone is 10 gold! A cheap staff is 5GP, and you'd be a laughingstock for having to swing around a staff like an elderly mage who threw his back out!" He turned back to Hagrid, "You're thinking of prices from nearly fifty years ago! Grab 40 gold, 20 silver, and maybe a couple copper for a treat or something."

Harry found a small sachet that was hanging on the inside of the vault and filled it to the vaultkeeper's specifications. He tightened the drawstring and stepped out of the vault. Griphook snarled something about a groundskeeper trying to do a banker's job as he closed the vault door. He glanced up at Harry, "Now, place the Keycharm back against the sigil to lock the door, and the Arcane protections will reset." Harry twisted the key, and once more all the gears shifted and turned until the vault made a hissing noise as the giant door went completely airtight.

The trio boarded the cart, once more dodging Hagrid's sick on the side, and Griphook said, "Keep your breakfast to yourself this time!" Before they took off deeper into the vaults of Gringotts.

They reached the Hogwarts vault that Hagrid needed. On either side of its vault entrance were two massive armor-clad statues with enormous shields on their forearms. Griphook called them, Shield Guardians. Hagrid pulled out a necklace from beneath his tunic that made Harry's eyes widen, on the amulet of the necklace, four gemstones interlocked upon the charm in red, blue, green, and yellow.

To Harry's surprise, each guardian nodded to Hagrid as he held up the charm, and he approached a massive stone door fully engraved with the crest of the school. Moving within the stone engravements were a lion on the top right frieze, an eagle beside it, and beneath was a snake on the left and a badger on the right.

Both shield guardians watched Griphook and Harry unflinchingly, as Hagrid fished out a key ring from his pocket and found a great key made of a white metal, platinum, Harry assumed. The key first had to be sniffed by the lion and badger before it could be placed into the door. Harry thought Hagrid crazy when he stroked the back of the two mammals and made some soft cooing noises to the snake and eagle. But all of them seemed to respond well to the attention. When he placed the key in the door, they all walked over to their proper place on the seal.

The door slowly swung open, letting a low fog wisp out. Within, Harry only saw darkness. Hagrid said, "Give me just a moment." and disappeared into the vault.

He came out with a small cloth bag that he stowed away in the inner breast pocket of his tunic.

Once they all got settled back in, Griphook directed the cart up and into these large pulley systems that raised the minecart back to the building level. After Harry got out, the goblin man growled at Hagrid, "Next time, don't eat anything beforehand!"

Afterwards, the two left the bank, and Hagrid directed the eleven-year-old towards Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. Hagrid said, "I'll meet you there after you get fitted, I need something to calm my stomach after all of that… banking business…" At Harry's nod, the poor man wobbled his way back towards the Leaky Cauldron, while Harry entered the clothier.

The bell over the door rang as he opened it, and a woman's voice called out, "Oh, I'm in the back, give me just a moment."

"O-okay." Harry called back.

He examined the various headless mannequins, all animated in their own right, moving in different positions to show off the robes they were wearing. In each corner of the shop were mannequins in robes participating in a dance-off or something, as they'd step and maneuver on their little podiums while gesturing at each other.

The voice from before came from the side, an older woman, with hair that seemed to be skipping grey and going straight to white, "Ah, the dueling robes caught your eye, young man?"

"Dueling robes?" Harry asked. Each of the four dueling mannequins had a different color coordination. Red, blue, green, and yellow; all dancing and gesturing at one another.

"Bit of an ongoing joke here with the Hogwarts Houses, we're in the middle of the pre-Hogwarts tourney." She gestured to a chalkboard behind her, split by one vertical and one horizontal line. Each quadrant had a different letter along with a number of tallies, currently: G-6, H-7, R-4, and S-7.

"…I don't think I understand?" Harry said.

"Nothing to worry about, Dearie. Are you an incoming first-year?" Harry nodded, "Excellent, come with me to the back, and we'll get you sized up and on your way."

He nodded, following the stout woman who led him to a small alcove with mirrors and a curtain. She held out a measuring tape, and spoke a single word with authority, "Magnificarium." And the measuring tape began to hum a little tune. Like a bad cover of the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy. The small tape danced all around him, recording a number of measurements the whole way.

"So, Dearie, are you excited for your first year?" Madame Malkin, he presumed, asked while writing down the occasional measurement.

"Uh, y-yes!" He tried as the tape had wrapped around his left arm and started making his arm gesticulate wildly. "I don't know much about it, so far though."

"Ahhh, a Muggleborn then. Well, it's such an important time for any young mage. You'll learn all your basics this first year. You'll learn all about cantrips and the various schools of magic in Arcane Studies."

"The school I'm going to is Hogwarts?"

"No, no, no, schools as in disciplines of magic. Transmutation, Divination, and the like." She chastised lightly, as the measuring tape began miming him to move in a running motion. Harry was fairly confused, "There's the basics like History and Herbalism too. I think they still have the Basic Survival course, along with Intro to Rituals."

Harry laughed as the measuring tape circled under his arms, tickling him. Madam Malkin smiled, "It's no laughing matter, child. Survival and Rituals are very handy, you see. Intro to Rituals becomes the basis for a lot of the later coursework you will take at Hogwarts. And there's too many dangers in this world to not work on survival either, why just last week, my niece encountered a Myconid colony in Cornwall, if you can believe it! Cornwall of all places having Myconids running about." Madam Malkin huffed with a smile, as Harry kept laughing at the measuring tapes tickling, "Kids these days. Alright, enough of that." The tape shot back, and she wrote down the final measurements.

Harry caught his breath, and managed a sincere, "Thank you."

She smiled again, "You're very welcome, now that I have your measurements, are you wanting the standard school robe package, or are you needing some other clothes as well?"

Harry thought about the coin he'd taken with him, Griphook had said he should have enough for supplies and getting some things for himself. He'd never had anything that wasn't a hand-me-down from Dudley…

"I'll take some casual clothes if you have them? Pants and shirts to go with the robes?"

"Oh! Of course, of course. Do you have a particular style in mind?" She whistled and a whole rack on casters rolled over to their location.

Harry, overwhelmed, meekly managed, "Whatever you think will work?"

Ten gold, four silver lighter, Harry left Madam Malkin's with not only his three sets of school robes, but also the required winter garb, and several bespoke outfits he could wear beneath his robes or even at home. As he stepped out on the street, he saw Hagrid there, the grey having returned to his slate skin.

"Ah, I can carry your bags there, Harry. Got us a cart to carry supplies… and I grabbed you a birthday present!"

Harry paused, "A present?" That was new.

Hagrid grinned and pulled a cover off a wicker basket with what looked like… incense, some charcoal, and a number of herbs like parsley or thyme. All tied in a red ribbon within a brass brazier.

Harry paused, not wanting to whine like Dudley, "I… don't know what to say..?"

Hagrid laughed boisterously, "I know you don't, Harry. Don't worry, once you start learning a bit more at Hogwarts, this present will make more sense. Just keep it safe, yeah?"

Harry nodded, dubious, but still trusting Hagrid, "Of course."

"I'll take you over to Ollivander's next, so you can get your arcane focus."

"Hagrid, what exactly is an arcane focus?"

"A focus? It's something you use to er… focus? Your magic, that is. You focus your magic through it."

"Like your umbrella?"

Hagrid paused, mid-step. "Well… Yes, but again, let's not mention that I cast through the umbrella, alright?"

Harry paused alongside him, "Oh, are Variant Humans not supposed to cast at normal people?"

"Well, no, they're not." Hagrid made an unidentifiable noise in his throat, before starting, "Okay, so, Variants aren't supposed to cast in front of any Muggles, er normal folk, Harry. And, well, I'm not a Variant human anyway. I mean, my pa was, but my mum, she's a Stone Giant."

He seemed to pause, waiting for something, but Harry just nodded along. "Okay, but you can still do magic?"

Hagrid's eyes blinked and he nodded back, the wrinkles in his head easing slightly, "Well, yeah, Harry. Some Giants are really good at magic. Actually, my mum makes sculptures 'neath the Highlands. Since I'm half-giant, I get called a Half-Giant sometimes, but usually we prefer the term Goliath."

"Oh, sure… Hagrid? Why are you telling me this?" Harry wasn't positive if he was supposed to do something with this information, but he could tell that Hagrid seemed to be sharing a heavy topic with him.

"Well, you see, Harry, some Variants think of Goliaths as being rather monstrous or bad. Not the Headmaster though, he stuck up for me and got me this job. Great man, Dumbledore." Hagrid sniffled slightly, and Harry finally understood, they'd discussed this in his old school. Discrimination.

"Don't worry about it, Hagrid. You're already worlds better than my relatives or anyone else I've ever met. I know you're an adult, but I like to think that we are already friends."

"Blimey, Harry. I'd like that." The bald man sniffled and gave Harry a pat on the back. "I'd like that a lot." He paused, grabbing the cart with the shopping bags and the basket of supplies, "Alright, nuff of that talk. Let's go to Ollivander's and get you your focus!"

Ollivander's Arcane Foci Shop was a small unassuming location in Diagon Alley. From what Harry saw, it was filled with boxes upon boxes of items. Hagrid told him that purchasing a focus was a private occasion, and said he'd wait for him outside. The eleven-year-old tentatively approached the counter, "Hello?" He called out, before seeing a bell, along with a sign, 'Ring for Service'. His finger tapped the button atop the bell, and as it rang, Harry heard a voice appear behind him… "Ahhhhh, I am Garrick Ollivander, and welcome to my shop… Mr. Potter."

He spun, seeing a tall elderly man with pointed ears and wild white curly hair. "Just like your father you are, ringing with your right index finger… His first focus was a wand… yes, Mahogany, excellent for transforming the world to your needs." The old man's eyes narrowed, once more on Harry. "Ah, but your mother, her first focus was not the willow wand she used to save your life... no... That was her third, her first two were actually crystals. How peculiar..." His irises were light grey, the pupils contracted to mere dots within. "I think... you will be a tricky customer, Mr. Potter."

"I-I'm sorry, sir?" Harry said.

Ollivander grinned, an almost too-wide smile on his narrow face, "Oh, don't be. I love a good challenge." He pulled out a rolled-up canvas and unfurled it over the glass counter. He began steadily placing a number of crystals and wands on the table. Several of them were outright rejected before Harry saw what they were. Harry only heard him mutter words like, 'ridiculous', 'imbalanced', or, one time, when Ollivander laughed aloud while holding a crystal ball before placing it back in its box.

Soon the canvas had half a dozen items laid out on it. The old man sat back in his chair, and he said, "Go on... try to feel which one might be right for you."

Harry tentatively poked an orange crystal that glowed slightly at his touch, but otherwise remained inert. His eyes flickered to the old man, "Was that what we want?"

"It is... a start. Try the other foci." the wizened man urged.

"Okay..." Harry muttered, his hand found the next crystal, one as clear as quartz, had no reaction to him whatsoever. The one after that was a deeply warped wand that twisted towards its tip, and it seemed to sigh in relief when he didn't choose it. "Mr. Ollivander, are these... alive?" Harry had pulled his hand back as the thought came to him.

"In a sense...?" The old man spoke cautiously, "They are not... sentient or awakened even, but anything with magic is alive in some sense of the word. Sometimes you might feel an emotion through a focus, or maybe an enchanted item keeps vanishing away from someone who misuses it. Some say it is just the luck of the world, while others, like myself, see it as proof of life. There are, of course, some rare items that are sentient... Be very careful of those, Mr. Potter, as they often are quite powerful, and even more dangerous."

Harry took the warning with a nod and continued testing the next two items, the fourth was another crystal ball that he couldn't tell if it actually managed a glow or if that was the light from the shop window reflecting off of it.

As Harry approached the fifth and final item on the cloth, he felt something different in the air. The strong smell of the polish used in the shop was dispersed by an overwhelming scent of ash and soil. His fingers wrapped around the carved piece of holly, the wand smooth to his palm and something clicked within. A white spark played along his fingers to the wand, and it was like, for the first time, he felt something other than blood surge through his limbs. Harry felt... powerful. Lifting the wand into the air, the sparks followed, the scent of ash grew stronger. A wind picked up as Harry moved the foci through the air in a triangular pattern.

Unbidden and beyond Harry's direct awareness, words came to his lips, "Versalvis." An electric surge crackled in his left hand for a moment before dispersing into the air. Harry came out of the trance, blinking, staring at the wand in his hand.

Ollivander's unblinking eyes bore into the boy before him, "It is quite rare, Mr. Potter, that any first years enter my shop knowing a single cantrips or spell." He snorted slightly, "Though I suppose it is poetic, the Boy-Who-Lived being able to Spare the Dying." Harry seemed to snap out of whatever trance he was in.

Ollivander began to pack away the other foci. Harry stood blankly, still trying to catch up, "Did... Did I just use magic?"

"Yes, Mr. Potter, and the cantrip you managed is quite... Curious." He stowed away the bundle of foci, and turned to face Harry, his countenance contemplative, "That wand is from the heartwood of a Holly tree, though some woods can act as a focus in and of themselves, Holly is too temperamental on its own. This wand's core was made from the freely given tailfeather of a phoenix." He saw Harry's confused look, "The importance of a freely given core is that it augments the magical capacity and effectiveness. The other methods are far more... corrupting, in nature." Harry's eyes widened at the shopkeeper's insidious tone, "Oh yes... You understand, there are ways to usurp the magic from these fantastic creatures. This phoenix I met, offered me two feathers. One which sits in the wand you hold in your very hand... The other... Yes, quite fascinating, the other tailfeather was in a wand I sold nearly fifty years ago. A wand whose caster surprised me with a sudden Witch Bolt," the old man pulled at his collar to show a crescent shaped Lichtenberg scar over his clavicle, Harry flinched at the sight of the red scar, "And... yes... Almost ten years ago now, that brother wand scarred you as well."

Harry wanted nothing more than to get a new focus, honestly, he wanted to go to a different shop that didn't serve the monster who killed his parents. Just as he was questioning the whole endeavor, he felt a small jolt from the wand in his hand, again. Harry stared at the finely carved piece of holly. His voice carried, though it was just a whisper, "I, no, we, won't be like him."

Ollivander seemed taken aback, but then another smile stretched across his fair features, "I never said you would... The focus chooses the mage, Mr. Potter, and that wand, way back then, chose a mage who would satiate its thirst for greatness, and though his mage was a terrible man, he undoubtedly achieved great things..." Harry must've had a horrified look on his face, since Mr. Ollivander's features softened at last, "Do note, Mr. Potter. While your focus may be related to that of a terrible man, it didn't choose him, but instead chose you. And that should be far more important."

Harry's own features softened towards his wand, another small jolt passed through him, carrying a warmth up his fingers. "I'll take good care of it, Mr. Ollivander."

"Excellent, excellent." The old man smiled, his intensity dialing back to that of a normal shopkeeper, "That will be ten gold pieces for the wand."

Harry counted out the ten pieces of gold and passed them across the counter.

Harry left the shop, finding Hagrid on a bench waiting for him. The goliath was apparently having a spirited discussion with a man with fiery red hair.

"I'm telling you, Hagrid, you must come down to the reservation! We got all kinds of wyverns and other dragon-kin about." The man said, he had leather riding boots on, with his trousers tucked within, and dark brown suspenders that sat over his open button-up exposing a bronze medallion on a leather-string necklace.

"I dunno, Charlie, Romania is pretty far, and I only get the handful of vacation days a year..." Hagrid trailed off in thought, but saw Harry approaching, wand in hand, "Harry! Ye got a wand! Very nice!"

"Yeah," Harry replied not wanting to bring up the wand's relations, "It was... weird."

"Ollivander's a strange fellow, isn't he?" The redhead asked rhetorically before sticking a hand towards Harry, "I'm Charlie Weasley."

"Oh, yes, he is. I'm Harry, um... Just Harry." He tried and winced at Hagrid's disapproving frown.

"Nice to meet you, 'just' Harry." The man responded, not unkindly.

Hagrid chimed in, "Charlie graduated from Hogwarts a couple years ago, but he has a brother your age, Harry. He's taking him Hogwarts supply shopping. I thought maybe you'd want to meet one of your future classmates?"

"Oh... Sure?" Harry agreed, glancing around. "Where is your brother?"

Charlie laughed, "If I had a copper for every time somebody asked me that... Ah, Ron wanted to pick up his schoolbooks himself. Something about," he threw his voice up an octave, "You'll only pick out books on monsters!" Hagrid jovially laughed at him, and Charlie shrugged, "He wasn't wrong."

"While we wait, Charlie, why don't you bring Grendel out?" Hagrid asked with an eager glint in his eye.

Charlie shook his head, chuckling, "I can't summon Grendel in a place like this, Hagrid."

Hagrid's expression fell, "She wouldn't hurt anyone, though." Harry looked on in amused confusion at the by-play between the two.

"Charlie?" A voice called out from further up the alley. And the trio turned to see a redheaded boy around Harry's age come running out of a shop towards his brother, a wide smile on his face, "Charlie! They've a bag of one thousand ball bearings! We could prank Fred and—" He came running up to the group and his eyes went wide in surprise stopping his idea, "Oh erm... hello there."

Charlie laughed and gestured towards the other two, "Ron, this is Harry and Hagrid," Hagrid waved with a cheeky grin, and Charlie gestured back towards Ron, "Harry this is my brother, Ron. You'll both be starting Hogwarts together this year." Ron was half a head taller than Harry, and it took Harry a second to process that Charlie was also pretty tall, just next to Hagrid, nobody seems that tall.

Harry extended a hand in greeting, "Hello, nice to meet you."

Ron reddened at the awkwardness of being introduced to anyone by your sibling, but managed a, "You too."

Charlie clapped his hands together, "We figured we'd go swing by the apothecary and get you both your Herbalism Kit and necessary component pouches."

"Harry, I went ahead and grabbed the books while you were getting your wand."

Harry blinked, "Thank you, Hagrid."

"You've got a wand!?" Ron started, excited, "Oh wow, can I take a look?"

Harry held out his wand and Ron ecstatically leaned in close. He started to reach for it, but Charlie coughed slightly, causing Ron to redden, "Sorry."

"No problem? What kind of focus do you have?" Harry tried, not sure he understood what Ron was sorry for.

Ron reddened slightly, "The Weasley Family Scepter… I left it back home, but it's a big staff with an orb on top."

"That's cool though!" Harry said, "Your whole family used it?"

"Yep." Ron sighed, before reciting, "Used by Nathaniel Weasley during the 1853" Charlie coughed, '43' and Ron continued, "1843 vampire uprising."

Charlie and Hagrid hung back slightly, pushing the carts full of school supplies, while the two kids started chatting. Ron awkwardly started, "Sorry about earlier, I was hoping Charlie would get some supplies to help me prank our other brothers."

Harry had wanted to get back at Dudley enough times that he could relate to that, "How many brothers do you have?"

"Five, I'm the sixth, and I have one little sister." Ron rolled his eyes, "She never gets pranked though. It's recrimination, is what it is."

Charlie chimed in from behind, "It's discrimination, and no, Ron, it's not. The last time George pranked Ginny, she stole Bill's silver crest and slipped it in George's coat pocket hanging near the door. Bill gave George the most severe talking to ever, and then got him punished with both mom and dad. She's too dangerous of a target, Ron."

Hagrid whispered, "Sounds like a Rogue in the making there, Charlie..."

"Yeah... we're all a little worried." Charlie winced.

Ron grumbled, "Stupid sister."

Harry asked, "What's a silver crest?"

Ron perked up, "You don't know?" At Harry's shaking head, he started explaining, "So Bill is a full-on adventurer, he's a wizard who just joined a guild in Cairo. He got his silver crest two years ago; it lets him go on dangerous crypt dives and things. He's this close," He squeezed together his thumb and forefinger, "to getting a golden crest, and then he'll be leading his own party!"

"Whoa." Harry said. "That's awesome. Do a lot of ummm Variants? Become adventurers?"

Ron blinked in confusion before his eyes widened, and he glanced over to Charlie, "Ohh yeah, so, not really? Bill is the only one in our family to do so, at least, dad works for the Ministry, and mum stays at home. Charlie's a Drakewarden. Our neighbors the Diggory's? The dad in that family works for the ministry too." The redheaded boy turned a confused look to the adults behind them, "Do most adults work in the ministry?"

Hagrid sniffed slightly, "Eh, if you graduate from Hogwarts, it's usually easy enough to get a Ministry job. They don't like half-casters like me and Charlie though, even the Auror department want Paladins who were full casters in school, which is just silly."

Charlie patted Hagrid on the shoulder, "The DMLE could sure use a Ranger's approach to things instead of this smite first, ask questions later nonsense."

"Ain't that the truth?"

Harry and Ron exchanged glances and shrugged at each other and kept going. The group made their way to the upside-down shop he'd seen earlier, Philosopher's Portents, and they entered through the attic window, stepping through the portal and into the shop itself. The building had a walkway down the middle and stairs that led up either side of the pitched roof. Shelves and shelves of potions lined the shelves, and above all of them, the ceiling (or floor depending on perspective) was completely made of glass. Forming a giant skylight above them.

The group approached the front counter, and almost like a bookstore, the potions within were divided into genres. Categories ranged from spell mimicry to physical augmentation. He saw one that looked like bottled flame; another had a shining pearlescent liquid within.

A young shopkeeper, no older than Charlie, with blue eyes and dark brown hair tied back in a ponytail, greeted the group. "Welcome to Philosopher's Portents, my name is Perenelle Flamel, can I help you find anything today?"

Author's Note:

Hello everyone! This is exciting, I've been able to put more words to paper this NaNoWriMo than any other before, and I'm super excited to already have the first chapter of HP&5e out already. Whew, not a lot happened in terms of personal life developments since the prologue's release, because it's only been a week and a half! Isn't that crazy?

Anyway, this chapter has a lot of continued fun with this magical world of Variant Humans. Hagrid gets introduced, and he's a Goliath Ranger! I'm still feeling smug about this, but yeah things in the story are definitely AU even though there are still some things that keep that classic Harry Potter vibe. I've clearly changed several plot points about the Diagon Alley visit and hopefully the last line successfully got across that this won't just be a retelling of the first book either.

My wife was super adamant that if I'm doing this then I need to embrace the freedom to change things that were not great about the original books, and I think the first big thing I really changed is Gringotts. As everyone knows by now, making it so that a single people/race only do one job has been a no-no since Rudolph met the elf who wanted to be a dentist. But seriously, when I thought about it more, I really wanted other fantasy races to still exist in this world, but I also wanted to keep the magic of the bank. In D&D terms, what is more magical about the place that hoards the wealth than being owned by a Dragon!

I'm still mapping a lot of things out, but the scene with Ollivander was also exciting. I'm super pumped to introduce a multitude of foci, as well as more backstory involving Ollivander and Riddle. I'm super interested to see if anyone knows what class Harry is yet.

Towards the end of the chapter, I introduced the first Weasley's into the story! I think it expands upon Ron's character to have a sibling he actually really likes, and, more so, one who also seems to legitimately like him in return. It also will make some of his other traits make more sense; after all, his favorite brother is often away in Romania.

Let's see, so far, only one review, and it is from merendinoemiliano on , asking if this is still Urban Fantasy. The answer is yes! It is a hard process to adapt a lot of 5e to work in a more modern setting, but I'm doing my best! I think such a story would be amazing to do (whether with 5e or not) to have HP set at the founding of Hogwarts instead. I always wish I could get better stories with the founders, since so much of that is just left up to guesswork in the HP canon.

As always, I hope everyone enjoyed the first official chapter of Harry Potter and the Fifth Edition, and please send any reviews/comments, I'm happy to read them!

Sincerely,

Middlejourney