Conquering Magic
Chapter 3: Shopping for school
"Master Potter, Master Potter" the house-elf that appeared in my room, shouted excitedly. "Gibby be delivering the letter master was expecting, here" the letter I took out of his hand was sealed in a parchment envelope. It was addressed to Mr H. Potter, the smallest bedroom in the house, 4, Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey. Upon opening it I saw the green Ink that was used by Professor McGonagall.
I skimmed over my acceptance letter and supply list and then took out my quill and a sheet of parchment. "Thank's Gibby, please wait here while I pen a reply" I told the elf. After writing Dear Professor McGonagall, I will come. Harry James Potter on my reply letter in neat calligraphy, I handed it to my loyal servant. Gibby disappeared with a quiet crack, leaving me alone in my room.
While I held my Hogwarts letter in hand I could not help but think about the past two years I spent here, in Privet Drive.
Following my first visit to Diagon Alley and the subsequent change in my sleeping quarters, I locked myself in my new room for one and a half weeks. Only appearing outside for breakfast, lunch and dinner or for visits to the toilet. Thinking back, I don't think I could ever be seen walking around the house without a book hovering in front of me 24/7. During the time I consumed magical knowledge like a madman, practicing every charm, curse, transfiguration and hex I read about.
Some were difficult, others easy, and some didn't work at all. Lumos, for example, made the tip of a person's wand light up. I, not possessing a wand, could not practice this spell. Complexer Lumos variants, where the light normally left the tip of the wand and hovered in the air, worked without any problems. Not having a wand was otherwise no problem for me at all.
After a month or so, Dobby visited me. He was accompanied by a young and enthusiastic house-elf called Gibby. He became my first elf, serving me dutifully in all of my endeavors for the past two years. Gibby was a bit taller than Dobby, he had smaller ears and his irises had a pitch black color, causing his pupils to always look widened. At first I thought he ate the forbidden mushrooms.
Besides providing me with delicious meals, although I did not know where he got them from, as he was forbidden from entering Petunia's kitchen, my trusty elf also turned into my preferred form of transportation for the better part of a year. Through Gibby, I was able to visit Diagon Alley a few times every week, without having to worry about getting lost in London.
I established contact with Susan after buying an eagle-owl, I called Mercurius. He had a relaxed and calm personality. Although he was a bit dramatic sometimes, I was glad to have him as my first Familiar.
Susan and I turned into friends quickly. Even though I only wanted to mold her into a loyal follower at first, I began to realize that a real friendship was starting to form between us. Eventually we started to meet each other every week in Diagon Ally. She even introduced me to her Aunt and her friend Hannah Abbot at one of our meets. Naturally her aunt quickly took a liking to me. The normally stern woman would warm up around me like I was part of her real family. Even Susan seemed surprised by her attitude towards me.
Hannah was a nice girl, but we didn't click quite as well. She had dirty blonde hair and dark brown eyes, her face was cute but a little plain. That, of course, did not mean that she wasn't pleasant to be around. Her cheerful and happy personality matched very well with the kind and level headed Susan.
Susan and I promised each other to spend Christmas together at Bones manor, in the holidays of our first year of Hogwarts.
Apart from Susan I also contacted Neville and Draco. I did not meet with them though, we just wrote to each other regularly. Contacting Draco might have been a risky move, but establishing contact with the entitled brat was necessary for my plans. He and his father were extremely important for my takeover of the magic world.
They were skeptical at first, but I was able to charm them in the end. The friendship that blossomed between myself and Draco was actually very pleasant and endeared my future follower to me. Of course I knew that Draco's father was very pleased about his son's new friend. The slippery fool was most definitely delighted to hear that his son was writing with Harry Potter. He was probably already planning to establish his family's power in the Ministry further using my influence.
Neville was a nice boy compared to Draco. He did not have the calculating nature his future year mate had and I was able to get along with him quite easily. The long standing alliance between the Potter and Longbottom families certainly helped in that regard. The future Griffindor was very interested in magical plants and botany, even before Hogwarts. Because of that we often discussed magical plant life in our letters.
By the time I was eleven I made friends with three important characters that I knew to be impactful in the future.
During our correspondence, I began to notice that they were real people with real feelings, dreams and desires. They weren't just characters in a book or movie, but real people!
This realization caused me to treat and view them differently and allowed me to establish a real connection with my future classmates. It definitely did not affect my plans and ambitions for the future. Only strengthening my resolve to create a better future for my friends and magical society as a whole. Under my rule they would be able to live a happier and safer life than ever before, that I swore to myself.
My magical prowess improved by leaps and bounds over the last two years.
I was able to implement the teachings of Jace Gunham effectively and built an impressive protection for my mind. Different from my initial guess, Mind shields were made up of different layers. First the barrier that protected surface thoughts from being read. Second the defensive shield that repelled an attacker in the case of a direct assault. Third, fake memories that confuse the attacker in the case of a breach. And lastly the inner shield, which was thick and hard to break. The inner shield protected the real memories and feelings of a person and was therefore the most durable of the four layers.
I hoped that the protections I built would be strong enough to keep Snape, Voldemort and Dumbledore out of my mind. At least long enough to give me a chance to escape or break their line of sight.
Sadly I was not able to improve my Legillymency to the same degree. Books on invading the mind were extremely difficult to find, due to the illegality of the subject. I did not manage to find a single book, neither in Diagon Alley in any bookshop, nor in Knockturn Alley.
I tried to self study the subject and was not really successful. I only managed to read surface emotions, but did not manage to find out how to access memories or break into the mind. Sadly I had to settle for waiting. Hogwarts' restricted library section or the Room of Requirement were sure to hold at least some information about the forbidden art.
Mind-reading was not the only forbidden practice that interested me though. Over the course of the last two years I also studied Rituals to the best of my abilities.
I hoped to perform a puberty ritual in my first term of Hogwarts. The ritual was quite simple, it stimulated growth and made sure that a witch or wizard reached their full potential upon reaching adulthood. Some variants also affected appearance, they caused the user of the ritual to develop into an extremely beautiful witch or handsome wizard during puberty.
In the past the usage of puberty rituals was very common. It was normal for children to perform the ritual before or after their first year at Hogwarts, but the Ministry of Magic banned all rituals sometime in the last 200 years.
The appearance altering rituals had the consequence that witches and wizards were far more attractive than non magical people. This, in turn, led to a lower number of marriages between Magicals and Muggles. keeping the Statute of Secrecy intact. Over the course of the last 200 years, where all rituals were banned, this changed and marriage between Muggles and witches and wizards became far more common.
I already decided that I would use the Potter House puberty ritual, if one existed. Family rituals were oftentimes more potent, powerful and better suited for members of the family. Houses with long histories guarded them fiercely, not wanting to share the superior effects of their rituals with non-family members. Hopefully the Potters had such a ritual in their family vault, I thought.
My magical power has risen dramatically over the course of the last few years. Whereas I could only levitate a few small rocks at the beginning, I was now able to make hundreds of rocks float at the same time. The maximum weight I could levitate was around 4 tons. I was able to lift two midsized cars without breaking a sweat.
My biggest struggle at the moment was managing to fly. I could apparate easily after practicing for a few months but flying seemed to be impossible. When I tried it, my magic did not follow my commands like it normally did. I tried to lift myself in the air again and again with different methods but nothing worked. Not even levitating the clothes I was wearing worked! I suspect that there was some mental block in my head that prevented me from achieving my goal.
I checked myself in the mirror and saw a healthy boy look back at me. A slight smile was gracing my lips.
My face and skin were much healthier than they were two years ago, when I first possessed this body. My skin was fair and glowing, my hair looked less scruffy and the bags I had under my eyes disappeared. A little bit of baby fat was still on my cheeks, Susan's Aunt liked to pinch them when we saw each other.
My clothes fit me like a glove. Over the past two years I had a small growth spurt and filled out my childish frame a lot better. The potions and regular exercise helped me build a body, any other 11 year old could be jealous of and I was tall for my age, Susan who was nearly half a head taller than me when we first met, was now a lot shorter than me.
Still my body was that of a 11 year old kid, it had not yet started to develop into that of a young man.
Today was the day I would reintroduce the Wizarding world to their hero. After I brushed my hair to the side, revealing my distinctive scar, I applied a spell that held my hair in place. Then I disappeared from my room with a quiet crack.
Diagon Alley was very crowded today. Families were shopping for school supplies, friends were meeting up and the usual odd witch and wizard was visiting the alley. No one paid me any attention, yet. Unbothered, I took out my supply list and made my way to the apothecary.
After taking a few steps it happened. A small girl, around 5 years old, noticed my features and scar and shouted "Mommy Mommy! Look, it's Harry Potter! The Boy Who Lived is here!". The mother looked like she wanted to berate the young girl, before her eyes found me.
"Hi little Lady" I greeted the girl with a smile, "Hello! I read all of your books! Please can I have an Autograph? Please please please!" the excited child answered immediately. Naturally, I agreed and approached the mother-daughter duo.
The little display attracted attention. After a few moments witches and wizards were surrounding me, wanting to shake my hand or get an autograph. I took all of the attention in strides, it was exactly what I wanted to happen. Children, witches and wizards alike were elated to come into contact with their hero. Today's experience was a memorable moment in their lives and I was doing my best to imprint myself as a nice, forthcoming and kind figure in their minds.
After about fifteen minutes the first reporters arrived and started to swarm me with questions. "Mr Potter, where were you the past ten years?", "Harry, are you attending Hogwarts this year?", "How did you beat the Dark Lord?" and "What is your opinion on last month's legislation?" were just a few of the many questions I was bombarded with. I endured the onslaught and charmingly smiled for their cameras.
"Sadly, I will not be able to give interviews today, as I'm currently shopping for my school supplies. Hogwarts will welcome many great witches and wizards this September and I'am lucky enough to be able to join them for my first year of schooling. But I will accept requests for interviews, just write me a letter and we may be able to work out a time and date to hold an interview. During my first term of Hogwarts I will sadly not be able to give any interviews! After Christmas, interviews during the school year might be possible." I said charmingly but in a tone that left no room for debate.
Having left the crowd behind after shaking everyone's hand and giving out tens of autographs, I entered the apocracy and bought all of the needed potion supplies for the first year. I only did this to keep up appearances, not because I actually needed the stuff. I practiced potion brewing very intensely for the past years, although my talent did not lie in this field of magic. Then I visited a shop that sold parchment and quills and later another for a new pair of dragonhide gloves.
Finally I arrived in front of Ollivanders. I was still pretty much surrounded by witches and wizards that stared at me like I was their savior. I thought about my image in the people's eyes and smiled when I thought about their adoration of me. Soon enough they will all be my subjects, I thought while entering the Wand Shop.
The shop was overflowing with boxes and smelled of wood and old parchment. I immediately used my magic to sense my surroundings. What I "saw" amazed me, the whole shop was glowing like a christmas tree. Every light represented a potent magical energy and every single one had a distinct aura, color and feeling.
Most of the wands glowed blue, silver or white. They were probably the Unicorn Hair-core Wands, most of them felt happy or soothing.
A few of the wands glowed in a fiery red or orange. I tipped those where the Dragon Heartstring-core Wands. Their aura felt almost "hot", they seemed to be very temperamental.
Only a few wands were glowing in a golden light. The Phoenix Feather-core Wands seemed regal and proud.
"Hello young Potter" a strange looking man said, stopping me from further analyzing the wands. I greeted him back and told him that I wanted to buy my first wand today. The man nodded in understanding and disappeared between one of the wand box stacks. He brought a few boxes with him when he returned. "Try this one first!" while he handed me a sleek long wand. "Cherry with Dragon Heartstring" he said while I flicked the wand in my hand. Before something could happen Ollivander snatched the wand out of my small hands and muttered "No,no,no, definitely not this one". This process repeated itself for the next 40 minutes.
"You really are a tough customer Mr. Potter. But don't forget, the Wand chooses the Wizard!" the overly excited man said to me. He was enjoying this!
"Maybe this one" the old man said while handing me a familiar looking wand. It was the one the original Harry would have used in his fight against Voldemort. Holly wood and Phoenix Feather-core. I took it and felt… absolutely nothing. No warmth and no positive feelings. It was just another wand, like all of the others I tried.
After another hour I suspected that something was not normal. Something must be interfering with my bonding, I thought. Concentrating on my magic I tried to understand what was going on. Soon I found the problem. My magic was too whole, too lively and too healthy for a wand, as absurd this sounded.
Wands were magic conductors. They functioned like a crutch, helping inexperienced magic users to draw on their full magic power without having to connect with their magic completely. This allowed every wizard and witch, regardless of their talent for magic, to perform magic without much practice or understanding.
Since my magic was connected to me very strongly and my understanding of magic was very thorough, I did not need a conductor. Therefore my magic was instinctively repelling it.
Thinking about it, I realized that it made sense. Walking with a broken leg was faster and easier with crutches. They helped to stabilize and made it easier to move. With healthy legs crutches were a hindrance. They slowed you down and you simply didn't need them.
It was the same with wands and magic. When Magic is weak or unwhole it needs the wand to function efficiently. A whole and healthy Magic is slowed down and weakened by a wand.
I broke out of my musings and asked Ollivander: "Do you have Wandwood samples in the back? I think they might work". The Wandmaker looked at me surprised but motioned for me to follow him.
In the back I saw neatly stacked pieces of wood, sorted by wood-type and age. It was a stark contrast to the untidy state of the front of the shop.
Reaching out with my magic again, I felt the blocks of wood that were laying in front of me.
Finally I sensed a strange connection from one of the woods. I walked towards the corner of the room and found a small piece of wood on the floor. It had a dark color and a violet sheen when I looked at it from a certain angle. It felt hard and heavy in my hand and somehow felt like it belonged to me. Behind me I heard Ollivander gasping.
I turned around and said "This is the wood that called out to me. Can you craft me a wand from this? Without a core, I don't need one" to the shocked wandmaker. He nodded slowly before asking me in a shaking voice "Mister Potter, do you know what kind of wood that is?"
I shook my head in reply. I no longer cared about my wand, now that I knew that I had no actual need for one. I only wanted a wand for appearance sake. It would be weird when I, a first year at Hogwarts, performed wandless magic effortlessly, I thought. Because of that I decided to use a stick and hide my talent. For now.
"This is the wood of an Amaranth, more commonly known as Purpleheart or Violet wood. It was gifted to me by a good friend of mine, who searched for magical artifacts and knowledge in Aztec ruins. I was never able to uncover the strengths of this Wand wood, simply because it did not accept any core I tried to pair it with." the old man began. "It is rumored that in the ancient Aztec civilization, only those who were destined to be kings were chosen by this wood. I never Imagined that this wood would accept anyone during my lifetime".
Naturally I was caught off guard by Ollivanders explanation. The symbolic meaning of the Amaranth wood fit perfectly with my goals for the future of Magical kind.
I never believed in destiny or being fated to achieve something. But the peculiar Wand wood made me wonder, if my path had already been laid out for me from the beginning.
"It will be my pleasure to craft a wand for you, your majesty" the wandmaker stated in a voice that made me wonder if he was serious or just joking around. He levitated the wood out of my hands and flicked his own wand a few times in a circular motion.
The wood chipped itself magically away from the block, until only a thin rod was left. It still had the previous dark tone, but the purple was more pronounced now. Ollivander handed it to me after he was done.
It was beautiful when I held it in my hands. It was 15 inches long and quite rigid. Carved laurel wreaths formed a beautiful pattern on the stick, giving it a regal appearance. Although it did not connect with me, I somehow felt good when I held it.
"Well, young man, you owe me 15 Galleons, do you want a holster with that?"
When I woke up the next morning a Newspaper was lying on the floor next to my bed. The title read Harry Potter is back! Young Hero charming the masses in Diagon Alley! A small smirk adorned my lips when I picked it up and started to read.
Gibby interrupted me during my reading and placed a huge amount of letters in front of me. "These are all the interview requests for Master Potter!" he said, quickly disappearing again. It seemed like I had a lot of work to do before Hogwarts finally started.
Author notes: Hello everyone. Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter. Leave a Follow, Fav or Review if you are interested in seeing Harry's arrival at Hogwarts in the next chapter. I would be glad for any support.
What house will Harry end up in? Let me know about your guesses!