And here comes the second chapter!

* Review Response:
ExecutionerKain, Tommy14, Volksbrot, davycrockett100, Horselvr4evr123, ALiveTodaytoWrite, lordamnesia, Guest, thank you for your reviews, folks!
Penny is wise, nice to hear from you. And thank you for finding the story enjoyable so far.
The Richmaster, Harry is going to have a different circle of friends here, that's for sure.
VizeerLord, no, the goblins won't be taking care of Harry, but they certainly will be doing more business with him that they did in canon.
deadal, yes, this story is indeed a third rendition of the one-shots you mention. But I'll certainly do my best to expand and improve upon what I had written for this idea before.

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own "Harry Potter" franchise. No profit is being made. Same goes for any books, video games, anime or manga I may or may not use for ideas.

"speaking"
'thinking'
written text

A Year Too Soon
Chapter II: Diagon Alley

The 'Knight Bus' was the absolutely worst way to travel, Harry decided. The damn purple triple-decker was loud as hell; the passenger seats weren't bolted to the floor and jerked around violently whenever this deathtrap on wheels accelerated or made a sharp turn; and one could only wonder where the driver got his license from. If he even had one at all that is. Magic making things jump out of the bus's way was the only reason it didn't suffer serious accidents every other minute. That said, according to professor Flitwick, the 'Knight Bus' was the only method of discreet transportation that was reliably available to underage or infirm wizards.

Of course, the 'Knight Bus' itself wasn't the only topic the diminutive professor had enlightened Harry on during their ride. He also fulfilled his earlier promise and told the young Potter about his family. Thus, by the time they arrived to Charing Cross Road in London, Harry finally had some idea what his parents truly were like. He was really happy to learn that they weren't unemployed drunkards like his aunt had been claiming for years, but he was also greatly surprised by the fact that the Potters, in fact, were a long and distinguished magical bloodline. And since Harry was the last living member of a Noble house, he will become Lord Potter when he got old enough.

Professor Flitwick also told Harry what he knew about the events of that fateful Halloween night nine year ago. And while Harry already suspected that his aunt had being lying to him and it wasn't a car crash that took his parent from him, learning that they had been murdered by a very powerful and very evil wizard was... well... shocking. What's more, the aforementioned dark lord then tried to kill him as well, but inexplicably failed and got vanquished instead. Because of that, the young Potter was widely known as the 'Boy-Who-Lived' and was a celebrity of sorts in the wizarding world.

Harry immediately decided that he hated that moniker. He also didn't want the people to stare at him like he was some exotic animal in a zoo. He hated being in the center of everyone's attention. And once he made that known, professor Flitwick agreed to help him a little: with a quick flick of his wand the diminutive wizard placed a glamour charm on the young Potter, making his appearance change subtly yet enough to make him much harder to recognize.

Harry was still staring in wonder at his reflection in the window, when the 'Knight Bus' finally made a stop at Charing Cross Road and professor Flitwick ushered him outside. Once there, the older wizard pointed at a tiny, grubby-looking pub.

"This is the 'Leaky Cauldron', Mr. Potter." The Hogwarts' Charms Master lectured as they entered the establishment. "This pub has been the gateway between the muggle and magical worlds since the beginning of fifteenth century. It's also a nice place to have a good meal, and you can rent a room in there." The green-eyed boy made a note of that: one day he might need a reprieve from the Dursleys, and this pub looked like a great sanctuary. Deep in his thoughts, Harry only noticed that they've reached a small walled courtyard, with nothing but a trash can and a few weeds in it. "This is where an entrance into the Diagon Alley is located, Mr. Potter." professor Flitwick said. "Once you have your wand, you will simply need to tap this brick with it three times, and..." He did that, and suddenly the bricks of the wall rearranged themselves into a wide arch.

"Whoa!" The young Potter breathed out in amazement as he took in the sight of a cobbled street where seemingly every house was a colorful magical shop. Entire crowds of wizards and witches of all ages were moving between the stores, looking for the best deal on whatever goods they needed.

"Welcome to the Diagon Alley, Mr. Potter." The Hogwarts' Charms Master drew Harry's attention back to himself. "We will be visiting a few of this shops later on, but our first stop is the Gringotts back." He said, while pointing at a white-marble building that towered over the other little shops. "Gringotts is run by goblins and is reputed to be one of the most secure places in Great Britain if not entire Europe." Still overwhelmed by the new experiences, Harry simply allowed the diminutive professor to lead him into the bank while trying to take in as much of the Diagon Alley as his two eyes would let him to.

Once inside the Gringotts back, professor Flitwick approached the nearest unoccupied goblin teller and exchanged several phrases with him, in a rough language that Harry couldn't understand. Eventually, the two finished speaking, and the teller turned his attention to the green-eyed wizard.

"Mr. Potter, in order to prevent thievery, we need to confirm your identity. Once it has been verified that you are indeed who you claim to be, all existing keys to your trust vault will be invalidated, and a new one will be forged." Harry nodded, somewhat absentmindedly, as he was still overwhelmed by what he was seeing around himself. "Do write your full name with the quill provided." The goblin said, while giving him a piece of parchment with the bank's seal, and a strange reddish-black quill.

"This is a blood quill, Mr. Potter." Professor Flitwick said. "It writes in a person's very blood and is generally used for signing legal documents. This particular quill is enchanted to greatly reduce the effects it has on the writer. Even with those enchantments in place, however, writing with this quill will be rather uncomfortable, so I recommend you brace yourself." Nodding, Harry took the offered quill and started writing his name on a parchment, wincing from an unpleasant sensation of something invisible trying to scratch something onto the back on his hand. But he needed to do this to access his money, so he braved the discomfort...

Once he was done, the goblin teller collected both the piece of parchment and the quill and began examining Harry's signature. Apparently satisfied with what he could see, the goblin then used his magic to destroy the parchment. Then, he pressed one of the many runes inscribed on his counter and barked some orders in the goblin language.

"It appears that you are indeed Mr. Potter." The teller said, once again speaking in plain English. "The creation of a new key to your trust vault has been authorized. The key should be forged and delivered to you within thirty minutes." The young wizard nodded, while trying his best to sooth his poor hand. "Do you have any other business with Gringotts today?"

"Um..." Harry began awkwardly. "You said that you will create a new key to my trust vault. Does that mean that I – well,.. house Potter – has other vaults?" He asked then.

"House Potter currently has three vaults within our bank." The teller replied. "If you wish to learn more about those, I suggest you speak to your account manager. Anything else?" This time, it was professor Flitwick, who spoke up.

"Who is the current account manager in charge of Potter assets, and is he or she available at this moment?" He asked, this time speaking in English instead of the goblin language, presumably for Harry's benefit. The teller was silent for a few moments as he, apparently, checked whether the Potters' account manager was available right now.

"Account manager Silverclaw is available and agrees to see you now." The teller said finally. "Assistant Griphook will escort you there." One of the smaller goblins appeared seemingly out of nowhere next to the teller's counter.

"Please follow me, Mr. Potter." He said, making Harry look at the Hogwarts' Charms Master.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Potter, but I'm not allowed to accompany you." Professor Flitwick said. After a moment of silence, he continued with an advice: "If you are going to sign any documents, make sure that you completely understand what exactly is written in them. As you are the last of your bloodline, even if you aren't of age yet, the decision you make can and will affect your family's finances."

"O-Okay." Harry said as Griphook began guiding him towards one of the many doors leading out of bank's main hall...

Thankfully for Harry, account manager Silverclaw didn't ask his to sign anything and only provided him with the information about the state of the Potter assets. And, just like the teller in the main hall said, the house Potter currently had three vaults. One of those, of course, was Harry's trust vault. It was also the only vault the young wizard could access at the moment. The other two vaults contained monies and valuable items of house Potter respectively. Harry would gain limited access to those vaults upon becoming a heir to the house Potter, which could happen no sooner than on his thirteenth birthday. And to gain full and unrestricted access, he will have to wait until the age of majority.

Account manager Silverclaw also informed him about the properties owned by the Potters: a small manor in south-eastern Wales and a cottage in the village of Godric's Hollow. Alas, the former was little more than a foundation after a major fire in 1983, and the latter... Well, after that fateful Halloween night nine years ago, the Ministry for Magic decided to turn it into a monument, thus making it completely impossible for the young Potter to restore or rebuild it. In retrospect, he should have inquired, whether something like that was even legal, but back then he simply was too overwhelmed by everything to wonder about that.

Finally, account manager Silverclaw offered Harry the information about the shares in magical businesses that were owned by the house Potter. However, seeing as he could in no way affect those until he became a heir to the house Potter, the young wizards politely declined the offer. At that point, one of the assistant goblins brought a newly-forged key to the trust vault, and Harry excused himself from his account managers office to go and collect the gold he will need today for his school shopping.

As Harry finally emerged from the bowels of Gringotts, he found professor Flitwick waiting patiently for him in the bank's atrium.

"I take it, your business with Gringotts if concluded for today, Mr. Potter?" The Charms Master asked. Upon the green-eyed boy's nod, he continued: "In that case, let us start shopping for your school supplies. I suggest, we visit Redwood & Tanners' first; they sell various bags and trunks." That sounded like a very reasonable idea, so Harry nodded in agreement. "I would also recommend you to spend some extra gold on having the trunk of your choosing upgraded with additional security and protection enchantments. Adding a permanent featherlight charm to you trunk would also be a good idea." Once again, the that sounded like a very good suggestion, and the young Potter was intent to follow it.

In the end, Harry ended up buying a pretty large trunk with three compartments. It was not a basic model, so it came with a few enchantments already in place, but, following professor Flitwick's advice, he had several more of the useful enchantments layered onto it. Of course, that wasn't exactly cheap, but the green-eyed boy was sure that those were money well spent.

With a trunk acquired, it was the time for Harry to start hunting the other things he needed to buy for Hogwarts. Following yet another of his guide's suggestions, the next shop he visited was Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. And in addition to his uniforms, the young Potter also bought a couple of causal outfits of the kind that wouldn't stick like a sore thumb in a non-magical world.

Next, Harry stopped at Flourish and Blotts to acquire the textbooks he will need for his classes. After some thinking, he decided to buy some books the explained magical law and customs as well: something was telling him that he might find himself in the need of that knowledge before long. And professor Flitwick appeared to be silently approving of his thoughtfulness and thirst for knowledge.

After that, the shopping became something of a blur to the young Potter – he barely remembered visiting an apothecary to get the potion ingredients and vials, or Potage's Cauldron Shop to get, well, a cauldron – and before he knew it, he had everything he'll need at Hogwarts, except for a wand. And was there any better place to get one than Ollivanders'? The Hogwarts' Charms Master didn't think so, and Harry decided to once again trust his judgment.

"Good afternoon." A soft voice said almost as soon Harry and professor Flitwick entered into the store. A few moments later, Mr. Ollivander revealed himself as he stepped out of the storage area at the back of his shop. "Filius Flitwick, aspen and unicorn tail hair, eight and a half inches, swishy. I hope, it serves you well." The aged wandmaker inquired.

"It does." The diminutive wizard confirmed. Nodding, the shop owner turned his attention to Harry:

"Mr. Potter? I must say, this is a surprise. I wasn't expecting you for another year." The green-eyed boy found himself unsure of how he should respond to this since he had no idea why he got enrolled into Hogwarts a year earlier than was normal. Thankfully for him, Mr. Ollivander decided that he wasn't really interested in an answer to that question. "Shall we find you your wand, Mr. Potter?" Upon Harry's nod, he asked his next question: "Which is your wand arm?"

"Uh... Well... I'm right-handed, sir." The young Potter replied.

"Hold out your arm." He requested while pulling a measure tape out of his robe's pocket. "It seems only yesterday your mother was in here herself, buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work." The wandmaker reminisced as he measured Harry from shoulder to finger, then from wrist to elbow, from shoulder to floor, from knee to armpit and, finally, round his head. "Your father, on the other hand, favored a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration. Well, I say your father favored it – it's really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course."

"It does?" The green-eyed boy asked, a little confused. After all, he couldn't really believe that a piece of wood with something inside possessed a will of its own and could 'choose' its wielder.

"Indeed, Mr. Potter." Mr. Ollivander replied. "Wands made from different woods and different cores will prefer wielders with different temperaments and different strengths." Pausing for a moment, the aged wandmaker continued: "Now, let's see what wand will choose you as its owner, Mr. Potter..." He walked behind the counter and took down several boxes from the shelves. "Why don't you try this one, Mr. Potter: beechwood and dragon heartstring. Nine inches. Nice and flexible." He said, while handing one of those wands to Harry. But before the young wizards could even wonder, how he was supposed to know, whether this wand was a good mach for him, Mr. Ollivander snatched it out of his hand. "No, no, this won't work." The shop owner commented as he gave him another wand to try. "Maple and phoenix feather. Seven inches. Quite whippy."

That wand didn't work for Harry either. As didn't the next two dozens or so. But the challenge seemed to only inspire Mr. Ollivander: the man seemed to be getting happier and happier as the pile of the tried wands grew.

"Tricky customer, eh? Not to worry, there's the perfect match for you somewhere..." He said as he picked yet another wands from the shelves. "How about this one? Fir and dragon heartstring, ten and a quarter inches, reasonably springy." As Harry took this wand, he finally understood what the old wandmaker might have been looking for: the wand seemed to inexplicably resonate with him. And when he tried swishing it, a stream of golden sparks shot from its end. "Yes, it seems like we've found your match, Mr. Potter." Mr. Ollivander stated straightforwardly. "This wand would be seven galleons."

"O-okay." Harry said as he laid the wand onto the counter and pulled his money bag out of his pocket.

"I would also recommend you get a wand-care kit, Mr. Potter. After all, a wand that is kept in a good shape will serve you well and faithfully. Ignore it, however, and you might find it acting up at the worst possible time." Deciding that this was a sound advice, Harry agreed to buy the kit as well.

"Seems like you've got everything you'll need, Mr. Potter." Professor Flitwick said, once the two of them stepped out of Ollivander's shop. "I believe, it's time I take you back home." That made Harry pause. While his home life had improved quite a bit after his aunt and uncle decided that he will be attending to Hogwarts, he still wasn't exactly eager to return to #4, Privet drive.

"Sir-?.." The green-eyed boy spoke up. "You said that I can rent a room at the 'Leaky Cauldron', right? Perhaps, you could just leave me there?" He asked then hopefully. The Hogwarts' Charms Master, though, seemed to be in a disagreement with this idea.

"That isn't something I can do, Mr. Potter. I'm obliged to bring you back to your home after you finished shopping, and I will do so." He said surprisingly firmly. "But I have no control over you afterwards, so, if you really want to taste freedom, you can always escape your relatives' care after I leave." He then added rather mischievously.

"O-okay... Thank you, sir." Harry said after an uncomfortable pause.

"Now, let us be on our way back to you home, Mr. Potter." Professor Flitwick replied as the two of them headed towards the exit from the Diagon Alley.

That's all, folks!
Read and review.