(Diagon Alley)

Harry was getting frustrated. And a bit scared. Why? Because he had been trying to use so many wands and none of them worked so far. The boy was questioning whether or not he was really a wizard.

"None of the gloom and doom boy. A special wizard requires a special wand!" Ollivander shouted, thrusting another wand into Harry's hands, "This will be the one! I know it!"

The young backed away from the overly excited man. "Okay."

Harry performed the same twirl he had done over forty times before. His went wide as lightning roared to life from the tip of his wand. The element struck the ceiling of the wand maker's shop, leaving a mark as dark as the void in the shape of the scar that he had gotten as a toddler. "I'm so sorry! I'm sure I can pay for any damages!"

The elderly man crackled. "No worries, child! I have never seen such magic used the first time. Not even Voldemort could have done this at your age, even though your wands' cores share feathers of the same phoenix. Brother wands they are!"

Before Harry could announce his uncertainty about the wand he was given, Ollivander continued his ranting "Wands choose the wizard. And never have I seen a truer bond. No other wand will be usable to you."

"And your wand will not allow anyone else to use it. They will be thoroughly...shocked," the old man let out a laugh, while Harry just stared flatly, "No humor in you boy?"

Harry didn't hear the question, the words about his wand's connection to Voldemort and bond replayed over and over in his mind. "Sugar tits."

"Language child! Just because everyone believes you are the second coming of Merlin doesn't mean I won't put you over my knee and give you a proper spanking when you are being unruly!" Ollivander waved a finger at the boy. The elderly man noticed something strange about the wand he had given Harry, "Your wand, hold it out."

Harry did as requested so Ollivander could get a better look at the wand. The upper half of the wand was black, as if the wood had been burned. "A change I could not see happened. It seems some damage has been done. Stay still and be quiet child for a moment. I need to observe more."

Harry grimaced as the man stared at the wand and moved his hands in creepy circles around the wand. "Yes. Yes! Give it a swish again and aim at the mark you made!"

"Okay?" Harry waved the wand and more sparks erupted from it, straight into the bolt.

Ollivander rubbed his chin. "The wand is damaged. It will eventually become unusable. I must start a special project, just for you Harry."

"Uh, okay. How much do I owe you?" Harry asked, trying to get away from the possible deranged man as quickly as possible.

"Nothing. You have given me something much more valuable," Ollivander stated, staring at the mark, "Nothing money will ever get me."

Harry gave a glance at the door. "Thank you, Mr. Ollivander."

The wand maker just nodded as Harry ran out of the store, his attention fixated on the mark on the ceiling still. Sparks flew out, harmlessly striking his wand-filled cabinets. None of that concerned him, for he knew his works were safe. Changed maybe, but safe.

All he could focus on was the feeling in the back of his head, the arrival of new wand ideas and the reinvigoration of his body. "I feel like I'm back in my forties again. So young, so foolish."

He cackled madly, never noticing the hooded people outside his shop. One looked at the other and nodded. The pair left, already planning to come back while following the caster. They need as many as they can get for details for their reports.

Harry was back with Hagrid at this moment, explaining to the giant man how weird Ollivander was, nothing new to the half giant. Hagrid remembered his wand and how the wand maker said a big man with a big heart needed a big wand. Hagrid knew Ollivander knew he was half giant and the way it didn't bother Ollivander placed him on Hagrid's small list of good people.

"Ollivander is a strange one but a good man."

When Harry began to tell Hagrid about his wand, the man got worried. He got even more worried about the wand maker's speech. Harry was a special child, but surely not as powerful as Merlin! And the mark he left and damage to the wand? All this would need to be told to Albus. The man would know what to do. "A little accidental magic isn't too bad, Harry."

"But all I did was this!" Harry performed the same motions again with his wand, not thinking. Lightning struck twice for the boy. "Oops."

Florean, the owner of the magical ice cream shop, ran out of the store. "Who did this?"

Hagrid stood protectively in front of Harry. "It was an accident, sir. Harry just got his wand and was excited!"

"Harry Potter," the man said breathlessly, looking straight at the boy's scar. He then turned around to assess the damage. He touched the marked wall, jumping back as he got shocked.

"Everything okay?" Hagrid asked as a crowd began to form.

Florean turned to face them, a grin on his face. "Yes. Doesn't seem to be any structural damage. I'm sure I could contact Harry Potter later if something is damaged."

"Speak to Albus Dumbledore," Hagrid said as people began to mutter, "I got to take this tyke back home if you don't mind."

The shop owner waved the pair off, with Hagrid noting his behavior. Nobody noticed the still following hooded pair.

"Thanks Hagrid," Harry muttered as they walked away.

"No problem, Harry, Don't worry about today. Dumbledor will handle it. Great man he is," the pair headed back to the Dursley's.

(Hogwarts: Headmaster office)

Albus Dumbledore mulled over his previous conversation with his groundskeeper. There were many things to be concerned about. 'I didn't think the prophecy would be so literal about Harry being Tom's equal. But according to Ollivander, the boy might be even stronger.'

'As much as I want to put his words as insane mumblings of senility, Ollivander recognizes talent. Hard not to be under his profession, especially one as wizened as him.' He thought, 'Then there is the fact that a child's magical core keeps growing until well into adulthood. Miniscule after the age of 16 usually.'

'And if Harry's power equaled Tom's when the madman attacked on that unfortunate night, that means Harry's power has been growing stronger for almost ten years now. If all this is true, which is unlikely, Harry's power will be tremendous.' Albus shook his head. He wished someone like Xenophilius Lovegood said this. 'The man might have unique insights into the world but so many of them are some sort of hallucination. It is easy to ignore his words.'

A knock on his door interrupted his thoughts. "Enter."

Minerva walked in, a frown on her face. "Is it already time, Minerva? I must have lost track while talking to Hagrid. He had a lot of interesting things to tell me."

"That I am sure of. I've already heard about the incidents at Diagon Alley," Minerva replied, "Has Florean contacted you?"

Albus shook his head as she sat down. "No, I owled him that I was open to discuss repairs."

"Let's hope he doesn't try to cash in on Mr. Potter's fame."

"Minerva, Florean would never! He's not like all the other merchants," Albus defended the man.

"You forget I went to Hogwarts with him, while you were only the transfiguration professor. He had a love of gold that would make you think he was a goblin in disguise," Minerva replied, "But it seemed marriage deeply humbled him. An opportunistic Slytherin and artistic Hufflepuff making ice cream shop is one of the strangest things I heard."

"Creating the first and only ice cream shop in Diagon Alley showed he didn't lose his snake like ways," Albus chuckled.

Minerva nodded. "And Mrs. Florence's unique flavors make it hard to compete with them."

The deputy headmistress drank some of her tea. "Hagrid has already spread word of Mr. Potter's power among the staff. It won't be long until Hogsmeade hears of it. Plus coupled with Daily Prophet reporting on it on Mr. Potter's first visit back to the magical world, there will be waves. This year's sorting will be interesting."

"It is unfortunate young Harry will not be able to have a normal education at Hogwarts," Minerva snorted at his words, "Do you have something to say?"

"Even if his visit today played out differently, we both know Mr. Potter would be scrutinized from the moment he took a step into Hogwarts," she said, "He never had a chance at a normal education."

'If what I observed stayed true, then he didn't have a normal childhood either,' Minerva kept those thoughts to herself. She didn't want to hear Albus talk about how family always sticks together, 'Can you really say that with how you and your brother act?'

The older man sighed. "You are right Minerva. We will have to closely watch him. I will step in if his power becomes unwieldy. I will need the rest of the staff's help to curate some lessons for him."

"Albus, is that really necessary?" Minerva asked, "Showing such favoritism will not be taken lightly from the ministry, considering your position."

"I have to consider not only Harry's safety but the other students also." Albus told her, "Now I do have a meeting with the Unspeakables soon."

(Hogwarts Great Hall)

Harry was happy, very happy. The last few weeks have been great. When Hagrid had returned him back to the Dursleys, his uncle had tried to take all of Harry's new stuff.

Too bad for Vernon, he got a shock when he tried to grab Harry's wand. The man was knocked off his feet and knocked out unconscious. Petunia had screamed while Dudley tried to hit Harry but both cowered when the wizard pointed his wand at the duo. A little light show was added for extra intimidation.

The Dursleys left him alone afterwards, not even giving him chores! Harry had spent his time reading and talking to his new pet, Hedwig. The snow white owl was very affectionate, curing the loneliness Harry felt at the house.

The books Harry read were a mixed bag. Some were too dry for his taste, like The History of Hogwarts. Others were a little advanced for him in the latter halves, like transfiguration. And then there were those he enjoyed, like Charms, Potions and defense against the dark arts. Harry enjoyed learning about Charms, since most of the spells would make life easier, such as the heating charm. Potions reminded him of some of the cook books he was forced to read by Petunia, never letting his aunt know he enjoyed them.

But Defence against the Dark Arts was his favorite. Learning how to defend oneself was something Harry deeply wanted. Plus some of the monsters were pretty cool to him and learning how to beat them was fun. It made him feel like a hero in those books some of the people had mentioned about him.

He had even learned a spell or two, like the knockback jinx. He remembered when he just did the necessary movements and imagined pushing someone back. He hadn't said the words because he read that casting spells while underage and out of Hogwarts was a criminal offense.

That little bit of practice had still created a gust of wind! He had waited a few days and nothing happened. He repeated his actions and made a gust of wind again. He was so giddy and tried harder the next time. A stronger gust of wind was created and hit the wall.

Vernon burst into his room, fully purple. He screamed at Harry about casting magic and reached for the young boy. On instinct, Harry twirled his wand in previous movements, which set Vernon flying down the hall. The Dursley's never spoke of this incident.

Even when Vernon dropped Harry off at the last moment for Hogwarts Express, he was able to make it due to Ron's mom. He got to make some possible friends through ROn, Hermoine and Neville.

When Harry's name was called, he excitedly got to the ignored the strange look Mcgonall gave him before he sat down.

'Well, I heard from Hagrid that you were supposed to be the second coming of Merlin, but I see some truth in his words,' a voice spoke, which scared Harry, 'Don't fret boy. I'm the sorting hat, speaking in your mind.'

'Now let's see where you should go. You want to belong in a group, Hufflepuff would be a good choice but two people you like are in another house. You can be studious but only when it's something that interests you, so not Ravenclaw.'

'I see you have a history of trying to help people that you do not know and standing up for yourself, regardless of your consequences. A good fit for Gryfindor.'

Harry smiled, thinking of his friends and parents. 'I would like that please.'

'You are a parsel tongue! You have a bit of a mischievous side to you and seizing opportunities to make your home life easier, You would do good in Slytherin,' The hat said.

'Not Slytherin!'

'Merlin himself was in Slytherin, being the personal apprentice of Salazar Slytherin,' the hat whispered.

'I said not Slytherin!'

The hat chuckled within Harry's mind. 'I see. It wouldn't do you any good to tread the same stepping grounds of him. Plus, not many children have the guts to stand up to me. It's usually a lot of begging. Better be...'

"Gryffindor!" the hat announced. Shouts and clasps erupted from the great hall as Minerva pulled the hat off Harry's Head. Harry jumped out the seat and ran to the table draped in red, his wand falling out his pocket.

Minerva sighed, picking up the wand. When her hand touched the wand, she got a nasty shock. Not enough to hurt but it did create visible wisps of lighting for everyone to see. She shook her hand as everyone stared at her and Harry approached her. "Sorry Professor. I didn't mean to leave my wand or shock you. Mr. Ollivander did warn me that no one else would be able to use my wand."

She gave Harry a stern stare, making the boy fidget as he retrieved his wand. "Make sure no one else touches it. We do not need students injured because of your carelessness."

Harry's cheeks went pink at the light reprimand. "Yes Professor."

She shooed him away as she called the next person for the sorting ceremony. Many patted Harry's back and warmly welcomed him to the house. Harry grinned and nodded before the Weasley twins grabbed him and announced they got him like a trading card.

The shenanigans ended when the person after Harry was sorted. Harry had chosen to sit beside Hermione and Neville. The three smiled at one another as the sorting continued. Ron joined later after he escaped the clutches of the twins giving him noogies, Percy being the one to save him.

Harry had never felt so welcomed before in his life and he held strong against the need to cry. His eyes had become a little wet but he was able to hide them under his bangs. Luckily, food had appeared on the tables so no one would notice.

(Staff Meeting Room)

The headmaster sat at his slightly bigger chair in the meeting room. "Everyone is here. What is the first thing on the list?"

"We need to speak about Mr. Potter and his wand," Minerva said, "Why would Ollivander sell the boy such a thing?"

"Potter's light show is just an attention grabbing prank," Snape grumbled out, "He's just like his father and is using someone else's name to cover himself."

All of the staff simultaneously groaned, while Minerva glared at the potions master. "Severus, this is not the time for your petty grudge?"

Snape curled his lip at her. "Petty?"

"Yes, petty. I could understand what you still hold against Black," she spoke the name with such venom. that even the dreadful Snape was shocked, "And Lupin, but not against Harry. He is not James, no matter how much you wish it to be true."

"We still need to have some sort of protocol for the boy's wand and learn why it acts that way," Snape grumbled after being chastised. He hadn't faced Minerva's wrath in almost a decade, he usually had Dumbledore's protection. 'She made me feel like a damn child.'

"Ollivander has already informed me that Harry's wand is a temporary situation," Albus said, "He is working on something more suitable for the young boy. Minerva, Quirinus, and Filius, please monitor young Harry when spell casting is done. Report anything out of the ordinary to me."

With that, the meeting moved forward to more mundane subjects that needed to be discussed.