Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor was packed full of magical parents with their magical children standing in a never ending line that wrapped around itself more than ten times. By the time the Potter's had arrived at the front of the line, they had waited over an hour for ice cream. Behind the counter, working with their wands scooping ice cream, was a group of teenage witches and wizards. Each teen sported a different hair color to go along with their monotoned outfits that looked like the fabric of each outfit was made out of ice cream.
"Hello! Welcome to Fortescue's Ice Cream, Now with over a hundred different flavors!" The teen behind the counter was sporting a bright orange sherbert hair color that matched his sherbert outfit. "Would you like to try our new Dragon Fire Raspberry Breath flavor or perhaps our Yeti and Alpaca Cookies and Creme?" The Potter's each got their own unique flavor with Harry getting the Wacky Tacky Taffy flavor, which changed color as you licked it, then James got the Arctic Minty Winter Freeze, which froze your tongue in the process of you eating it, and Lily got her favorite flavor, plain vanilla.
Lily's hopes were correct, when they strolled through the alley unnoticed by other shoppers, as they made their way to the end of the alley were sat a giant white marble building. As they approached the marble building they could see above in gold plated letters read 'Gringotts Magical Bank and Investments'. Walking up the white marble steps they could see two small magical creatures, with round heads and elongated noses, standing by two great big doors that led into the bank. The two creatures opened the doors without touching the handles and grumbled a "Good evening" as they entered the bank now seeing the monotone inside that matched the exterior outside.
Two long connecting desks guarded the sides of the entrance walkway with more of the small creatures sitting behind the desk with typewriters and piles of gold coins stacked on scales. "Mom, what are these people?" Harry asked as they started to see a small desk at the end of the walkway. "Goblins Harry, most trustful beings in all of the magical world with money. Don't stare though, its impolite", Lily said seeing that Harry and James were both goggling at the goblins who were working. Sitting behind the tiny desk at the end of the walkway was a very old goblin that had white tufts of hair sticking out of his pointy ears. "Welcome to G.M.B.I. how may we service you today?" The elder goblin looked up at the Potter's, taking in the new family, before a fairy flew in from around the corner and started to whisper in the goblin's ear. The fairy then flew away and the goblin grabbed a bronze microphone then spoke into it, "MTG down forty-two, YUG up one, PKM negate zero." The surrounding goblin workers all started to furiously type away on their typewriters and moved gold pieces off their scales then started to counter the weight.
"The Potter's here to make a withdrawal from the Potter main vault." The goblin snapped his fingers after Lily finished speaking and a file came flying from out of nowhere and landed in the goblin's hand. "Are either James Remus Potter or Harry James Potter here to verify the ownership of the vault?" The goblin looked up from the file at the Potter's and Lily answered back with a simple "Yes". With another snap of the goblin's hand, a single hair was pulled from the heads of Harry and James, then the two strands of hair landed on the small desk. Each strand started to glow brightly then stopped suddenly, "That'll do, please follow me." The goblin stood up from the small desk and walked towards the left side of the bank, where implanted in the wall, sat an overly round door with no handle on it.
The goblin took his small hand and placed the backside of it on the door. Loud clanks could be heard, along with a gust of wind as the door began to swing open to reveal a dual sided rail system with some four seater cart sitting on the track. "Watch your step as you find your seat." The goblin sat down in a suspended seat that sat in front of the four regular seats with a bunch of different levers and wheels that seemed to be the control system for the cart. As James' went to take his seat he couldn't help but be amazed by the cave system they had just entered. Above the track, on the ceiling of the cave, hung stalagmite that looked sharp enough to kill someone on impact, if they would fall. Harry and James took the two front seats and Lily sat behind them. "Try not to scream, the dragons dislike it." The goblin looked at both the boys as he said that then turned around to face the front of the cart and pulled an extra long lever.
With a loud BANG, the cart bolted forward, sending the Potter's father back into their seats as they exited the tunnel and entered a massive cave system. Multiple tunnels could also be seen leading to different places from this central cavern. James tried his best to take a better look around but the force pushing him back was too great for him to push against so his vision was restricted to whatever was directly in front of them. From James' left he could hear laughter as Harry was chuckling from the ride of their life. Without warning the cart abruptly came to a stop and the goblin turned around in his chair to address the Potter's, "Vault 387", then the goblin hopped off the cart and grabbed a nearby lamp to light the way. The Potter's followed the goblin to the vault door, trying to steady themselves after the rollercoaster of a ride they just had.
The goblin put the backside of his hand against the vault door and the unseen dark pattern lining the vault door shifted around loudly as the vault opened then released a wild gust of air from inside. As the vault door opened fully, a tune was starting to be heard from inside the vault, and with the inside torches lighting up to reveal the mountains of gold stacked inside the never ending vault, Lily started to recognize the tune.
Life is like a hurricane,
Here in, Duck-burg,
Race cars, lasers, aeroplanes,
It's a, duck-blur!
Might solve a mystery, or rewrite hist'ry!
Duck Tales! Oo Woo oo
Lily's eyes started to fill with tears but was quickly pushed away with laughter from a memory when James first took her to the Potter vault. Harry and James took in their new found riches and couldn't help but walk into the vault and pick up a handful of coins. "Is this, all our family's money?" Harry asked while running his hands through the spilled piles of gold coins. "All of the Potter's money, yes, I haven't seen this vault in a long while, but we have other vaults too with savings for both your futures." Lily opened the satchel that was slung on her right side and picked up a couple of handfuls of golden coins and placed them in her satchel. "Can we take some?" James asked, now looking at a hanging portrait of a man with a bushy beard and who was painted sleeping in a tall wooden chair, lined with a red velvet fabric. "Why not, just don't take too much." Lily watched as both of her boys filled a pocket each with gold coins and walked out of the vault with giant grins on their faces.
Once the Potter's walked outside the bank, Lily stepped in front and knelt down to meet her boy's eyes. "Now, before we start our shopping spree, a couple of rules so we don't get lost. Most of the businesses here offer instant delivery to homes, so we don't have to carry around the extra weight, so I want to make sure we keep each other's hands while walking down the alley. Second, keep in mind these things while in stores, things that say do not touch, don't touch. Manners go a long way so make sure to say your thanks to anyone you meet. Thirdly, have fun, this is a major start to your lives and it should be fun, just stay out of trouble." When Lily finished talking she put out her hands for each boy to grab ahold and they went on their way to the first shop on their list, Madam Malkin's Robes.
The outside of the shop was built from stone and had tinted yellow windows only letting the light from inside to peer out. As the door swung open, a chime, chimed its small tune and the Potter's were met with a fully packed store. Racks of robes lined the front of the store and dividing the store, right in the middle, was a checkout counter with a young female witch standing behind it, frantically ringing up customers as fast as she could so the packed establishment could free up some space.
"Now, do you boys want new robes or do you want to gander at the used selection?" Harry and James nodded at each other in silent agreement, "Used if you don't mind" James said, taking the lead to the section marked first years. Among the selection were robes with hoods, plain robes without hoods, robes with wand slots hidden in the sleeves, spelled auto fitting robes, removable sleeves robes, and etc. Harry pulled off the rack one of the robes with a hood and wand holster attached to the inside of the robe. "Too flashy?" Harry said sarcastically as all the robes were of the same color. James just shook his head and pulled off a robe with a hood, wand slots in the sleeves, multiple pockets on the inside with magically sealable flaps, and preset temperature charms for the user's preference."Don't worry about the charms, we can add more later if you want." Lily grabbed the robe cards for the extra sets put away behind the counter and walked with the boys to checkout.
While standing in line to checkout, James couldn't help but look around at the other shoppers and maybe see other kids his age going to Hogwarts. The door to the shop was forcefully pushed open with a loud bang, covering the sound of the chime, and a tall witch with black hair with white highlights walked in with a blonde boy standing behind the lady in her shadow. "Oh Great." Lily uttered seeing the witch enter the shop and began making her way to the checkout counter of the shop. "Move! Out of my way! I've placed an order so move it!" The witch brought attention to herself whether she liked it or not with the way she acted, her voice sounded like nails on a chalkboard but her features suggested movie star. "Pickup for Malfoy," The lady barked at the counter and a bag floated from around the corner into her hand and just as quick as the witch entered the shop, she began strolling back towards the exit demanding people to move out of her nonexistent way. The witch stopped in her place when she placed her eyes upon Lily Potter and then let out a laugh when she noticed the two boys standing beside her that reassembled James Potter.
"So the rumors are true, the Potter boys live, what a joy." The witch mocked the Potter's with an evilness to her voice and the boy standing behind her only became more cowardly as the witch talked. "Where'd ya find them Lily? In a shoe box out on the curve or did you just misplace them in the attic?" Lily's face turned red as the witch talked about her family. "If you would be so kind Narcissa to leave us alone, we're trying to shop." Lily tried her best to keep her emotions in check while the smug witch tried her best to get a reaction for Lily. "I just can't wait to hear about how MY Draco will run circles around your boys at school. Probably got yourself a pair of Hufflepuffs." Again the witch laughed but now everyone's attention in the shop was focused on Lily and Narcissa. Lily started to look at Draco Malfoy who was hiding behind his mother and just for a moment Lily caught a glimpse of the boy's eyes and saw a fog covering the boy's eyes. Before Lily could say anything the Malfoy family made their way out of Madam Malkin's.
The line of customers all went back to their normal chatter but now Harry and James could hear the mention of Potter among the other shoppers' conversations. After waiting through the line to checkout, the Potter's eventually left the robe shop. Lily made sure to grab ahold of each boy's hand and carried on their way to the next store. In the Potions shop they watched as some kids drank a purple potion from the middle of the shop and glowed a radiant purple for a second without anything else seeming to happen. At the botanical shop, the boys watched multiple plants grab or snatch at flies trying to eat. They finally stopped outside the oldest looking shop in the alley and the sign above read 'Olivanders Wands est.1818'. "I'm going to run a quick errand really quick while you both get your wands. It doesn't look like anyone is in their shopping right now, so I trust you two to keep watch of each other and to meet me right here when you're done." Lily then kissed her boys on the forehead and opened the door for them to walk into the shop.
Harry and James walked into the old dusty shop and saw bookshelves upon bookshelves filled with thin boxes piled on top of each other in messy stacks. The boys didn't see anyone around, no clerk at the counter or anyone in the back, "Hello?" Harry called. A loud sliding noise of old wood splitting against wooden wheels followed by a loud BANG! "I wondered when I'd be seeing the two of you, Harry and James." The old man spoke as if he knew the two boys and gave off an eerie vibe, like you couldn't quite trust the man. Both of the boys stayed quiet as the man descended from a sliding ladder, "Seems only yesterday that your mother and father were in here buying their first wand, Ah!" The old man started to move his finger down a zig-zag stack of boxes and pulled out a box from the middle and let the other boxes fall down. The man then opened the box and pulled out a wand then handed it to Harry, "Try this one". Harry took the wand from the man and held it with a firm grip. "Give it a wave!" The man said, impatient on keeping the process going.
Harry flicked the wand over towards a lamp and the lightbulb exploded, "Apparently not." The man went back to the bookshelves and grabbed another box then handed that wand to James. James took the wand and swung it towards a cabinet that instantly started to open and close rapidly while shooting out papers. "No, no, no and definitely not!" The man started to dig through piles and piles of boxes, picking some up to his ear for a second then tossing it away before picking up another box. After what felt like thirty minutes the man stopped by a chest with an old chain lock on it, "I wonder" The man said as he pulled out an overstuff keychain before sticking one in the lock and turning it with until a loud click was heard.
You really couldn't tell what was in the chest, as everything was covered in dust, but the man pulled out a larger size box and brought it over to the counter while taking quick glances at the boys. "Before I open this box, I should wonder whether this is mere coincidence or magic at work." The man then opened the box to reveal a set of wands made of holly and was about the length of eleven inches. The man handed each boy a wand and the instant they grabbed them a gust of wind came in from nowhere, swirling around the boys and stirring the dust in the shop. Both the boys felt a warmness fill their bodies and the wands felt like air in their hands. "Yikes," said the old man.
"I'm sorry but what makes you think that magic is at work here?" Harry asked. "Well, I don't know if I should be the one to tell you this but there are dark wizards out there and it just so happens that you just gained another connection to one of them." The old man spoke in a grave tone, making James wonder if he was trying to frighten them. "Another connection? Are we related to a dark wizard?" Harry said, answering back to the old man. "Oh, it appears you don't know how curious. Yes, another connection, for these wands came in a set of three and usually the sets go together like these two did today, but many years ago a very dark wizard came into my shop and at the time he was just a boy and I must've spent hours searching for wand only to find a wand in a set of three calling to him. That's the first, the second is a little more terrible." Both boys' attention was focused on the old man as he told them the story of the dark lord visiting them on their first birthday.
"You both were thought to be dead along with the dark wizard, just now rumors are spreading about your survival and there are always prying ears." The man sat down behind the counter and opened the cash register then handed the boys a receipt. "No charge for you boys, now run along." Before they could leave the shop Harry asked one more question before they left, "Do you know what his name was? The dark wizard." The man clearly remembered the name as he shuddered just thinking about it. "We do not speak it, it's a terrible thing to say, people are still haunted by the sound of it." The man was interrupted by a tapping on the outside of the shop and both boys turned around to see Lily standing outside with two owls in cages.
Outside both boys were amazed to find out that they each got their own pet owl. Harry's owl was a snow white bird with tiny black spots around her neck, so he decided to call her Hedwig. James' owl was gray with dark rings around the eyes resembling a racoon which gave him the idea to name him Bandit.
They only had one more shop to go, as Lily already bought their trunks and book bags for them, and it was Flourish and Blotts bookstore. The standard green on the outside of the building clashed with the setting sun in the alley. As they approached the front of the bookstore Harry and James were stopped by a rather large man who accidentally stepped in their way. "Ope, don't mind the gut, kind of got a mind of its own" The man's Scottish accent bellowed down at the boys and they had to strain their necks to see the man's bright red face, "We'll I'll be a manticore's uncle, if it isn't Harry and James Potter, good to see ya both in good health!".
"Hello Hagrid," Lily said, now hugging the giant man. "Boys, I would like you both to meet Rubus Hagrid, he's the groundskeeper at Hogwarts and a dear friend." Lily smiled at Hagrid then moved back to give her boys a shove towards Hagrid. "What are you doing out in the alley?" "Oh, just running an errand for Professor Dumbledore. Professor Snape is currently buying some books while we're here." Hagrid tried his best to stay to one side of the alley but the man's size made it nearly impossible for him to. "Well, I need to get the boys some books for the school year, so we'd better be off." Lily once again gave Hagrid a hug then led the boys inside the bookstore.
Inside the bookstore were, well, books. Harry saw a sign that read non-fiction and figured it would be best if they started there. As James pursued the shelves he saw stories like Snow White, Cinderella and The Ten Nights of Balls, Goldie Lockes and the three hungry hungry caterpillars, Queen vs Queen: The Magical War, and Alice in Wonderland. "Are these books in the right spot?" James asked his mother. "What? No, those stories actually happened." Lily really didn't want to do a history lesson today but knew that with the boys only having grown up in the Muggle world they would have it different at Hogwarts. "I'll explain later but just try to keep in the back of your mind that things aren't always what they seem around us witches and wizards." Lily found the books that were needed, having shopped for herself at this bookstore multiple times.
After browsing the bookstore, the Potter's stood in line and waited to check out. While they waited, James looked around at the small junk that most bookstores have in the front near the counter. There were small erasers, inkwells, small booklets, and something that caught James' eye. A small black screen with yellow bold text on the back that read 'TAKE CONTROL'. James picked up the small screen and instantly the screen lit up and text appeared on the screen 'The Muggle's Guide to the Wizarding World, written by other guide holders and continuing'. James couldn't see a price for it and brought it to the counter. The clerk behind the counter rang up their books and when he saw the guide, he scoffed and put it back down. "These are free" James picked back up the guide and looked at it again. He saw a small line around the edge of the guide and tried to flip it open. With such ease the guide flipped open and revealed a keyboard on one side and a bigger screen on the other. Text appeared on the screen that read 'Search any query or question and find the answer in simple terms for Muggle born wizards'. James type into the guide Snow White and hit enter then watched as more text appeared reading, Snow White was the queen ruler of the enchanted forest for over fifty years. Muggles may find that the common fairy tale shall fill in most information but a key detail that wasn't included in Muggle stories was Snow White's ability to use magic.
As James read the guide, he didn't pay attention to where he was walking and ran into a random boy, sending both of them to the floor. James got up and started to apologize to the boy he ran into until he realized it was Draco Malfoy. "Oh, sorry." James said a little scornfully and he watched as Draco flinched in fear at the boy's words. James didn't want to scare the boy, more or less giving off the tone of disappointment from their earlier meeting. "No, don't apologize, it was my fault. I'm too dumb to watch where I walk." Draco's voice was shaky and full of regret. James felt some shame for scolding this boy before actually getting to know him but knew that this boy's mother was someone he didn't want to know. "Look, we'll just agree it was both our faults and leave it at that. I'm James by the way, James Potter." James stuck out his hand for Draco to shake but the boy only looked at it like it was a gun.
"You don't have to shake it if you don't want to. I'm just trying to be friendly." James put his hand back down and saw that both his mother and Harry were waiting for him by the door. "Anyways, I hope we can talk at school, maybe become friends or something." Draco looked down at the ground, too afraid to meet James' eyes. "Yeah, or something" James walked out of the bookstore at that statement leaving Draco behind with his eye fogged over in a gray cloud, but for what Draco just experienced nobody would ever know, as his mind was off in a distant land, spinning away for gold.
AN1: Longer chapter for once, there was alot I wanted to get out in this chapter and I couldn't stop writing. Next chapter is going to break away from the Potters for a little bit and I'll just leave it at that. Appreciate the follows and favorites, feel free to comment any opinions on my story, some stuff may change due to story alignment but should stay the same, hopefully. -Weazy