Amelia and Harry flooed to The Leaky Cauldron. Harry emerged from the floo with more dignity than usual.
Harry was dressed in dark green boy’s robes and his pointy hat. His round dark spectacles allowed him to see the clientele clearly.
They were not an impressive bunch.
The barman looked at Harry as though he recognized him. Then, when he studied all the scars, the round dark glasses, and the pointy hat, he decided that he didn’t know the boy.
A large hairy man jumped up from a booth. “DIRECTOR BONES! I AM TA TAKE CARE O’ HARRY FROM NOW ON.”
Amelia calmly placed her hand on the man’s chest. “Wait a minute, Hagrid. The boy is still in my custody, and I will go with you.”
“BUT DIRECTOR! PERFESSOR DUMBLEDORE SAID I WAS NOT’ TO LE’ ANYONE INTERFERE WITH ME SHOWIN’ HARRY POTTER AROUND.”
Amelia glared at Hagrid. “I will not interfere, but I will accompany Harry while he is shopping.”
Hagrid’s booming voice got everyone's attention in the dingy pub. Many were gathering around, obviously wanting to grab at Harry.
The DMLE Director glared around at them. They drew back, Amelia had a reputation when it came to crowd control, and they didn’t want to test her.
A pale twitchy young man braved Amelia’s glare and stepped forward.
‘Perfessor Quirrell!’ said Hagrid. ‘Harry, Perfessor Quirrell will be one of your teachers at Hogwarts.’
Harry froze; a voice spoke in a private part of his mind.
-ooOOoo-
“Harry! Don’t let him touch you! Don’t look at his eyes!
Something is wrong with his head. There is more there than there should be.
That turban is hiding another presence. I can sense that it is my old self. This creature before you is hosting Voldemort.
Help me, Harry!”
Harry focused on his Occlumency.
“Tom! Stay in your mindscape! Don’t panic! I haven’t sensed any Legilimency. You will be safe if you don’t panic and stay in your castle.”
“Don’t let him in, Harry!”
“Shut up!”
Harry put up his ‘Cell in Azkaban’ mindscape. It was a simple and effective barrier to his true mindscape.
-ooOOoo-
Harry was a master Occlumens. The years in the cell next to Augustus Rookwood had not been wasted. Gus taught Harry Occlumency and Legilimency. The endless hours, days and weeks had been used to practice and train until Harry had a mindscape that would keep out any Legilimens. Lord Voldemort could be kept out even if he casts the spell from point-blank range.
Harry’s home mindscape was Potter Hall. It was a Georgian manor similar to Stowe House. However, while building his mindscape, Harry found another one he didn’t make.
He had been walking the boundaries of his mindscape until he discovered a gateway Harry knew he didn’t put there. The gate opened for him. Harry followed a well-made road until he arrived at a massive castle.
The castle had no name. However, it didn’t take much effort to guess that the castle was Hogwarts. At the main entrance, Harry walked in. There was no one to stop him.
Harry called out, “Hello! Is anyone here?”
Footsteps came running out to the entrance hall. A tall, middle-aged man came running to a halt.
Harry said, “Who are you?”
“Ah! Yes! Who am I? I’m Tom Marvolo Riddle, your uninvited guest.”
Tom hurriedly explained to Harry, “I am one of Lord Voldemort’s soul shards. Voldemort had torn his own soul apart when he murdered your mother. Voldemort intended to make a Horcrux using this soul shard, but the creation spells backfired and destroyed Voldemort. The soul shard was accidentally embedded in your forehead resulting in your famous lightning-shaped scar.
Other people had guessed that a Killing Curse had caused your lightning bolt scar as it did not kill you. I am one of two people who know what really happened. Voldemort tried to make a Horcrux using a small Hogwarts Quidditch trophy belonging to your father. The trophy and Voldemort’s body were destroyed by the failed spell. The shard of Voldemort’s soul was embedded in your forehead without the Horcrux ritual, so I stayed Tom Marvolo Riddle, not Voldemort.
The other person who knows what happened is Voldemort. He never told anyone what happened and doesn’t know I am living with you, Harry. If he did know, then he would not hesitate to torture me to hurt or kill you. But, so far, it looks like he will leave you to be dealt with later.”
Tom continued, “I’m Tom Riddle without Lord Voldemort’s full intent. The other Horcruces are copies of the original.
Voldemort imposed his full intent on them once he made each Horcrux. So, they have been trapped in their inanimate prisons, waiting for death.
They have no future. Their sole purpose is to keep Lord Voldemort in this mortal realm until he can find a way to gain a new body. But, even then, they will not be released. They will go on forever, trapped with nothing but their craziness to keep them company.
I am not a little copy of Lord Voldemort. Instead, I am what Tom Riddle could have been if he didn’t decide to become the Dark Lord.”
Harry felt no hostile intent from this person. Tom had been trapped in Harry’s scar for many years and had not harmed Harry. There were many ways in which harm could have been done. Tom had done nothing but build his Hogwarts Castle mindscape, hoping he could hide there if Lord Voldemort called one day. If Voldemort found Tom, he could be used to hurt and damage Harry. Tom would also be tortured to insanity for trying to hide from Voldemort. Tom’s only way to protect himself and Harry was to dig out deep cellars and hide away.
“Keep your mindscape strong, Harry. If you are strong, I might be able to hide behind you. But I’m not a whole person. You will have to protect me. If Voldemort starts to gain strength and finds you, I could be used to hurt you. I can be tortured to make you feel unbearable pain in your scar. In the meantime, I can help you with your education. I have all of Lord Voldemort’s memories until he murdered your parents. I will give you all the practical magic he learned and shield you from Voldemort's memories. You don’t need to know all the evil that he did.”
Tom Riddle became one of Harry’s teachers.
-ooOOoo-
“P-P-Potter,” stammered Professor Quirrell, grasping Harry’s hand, “c-can’t t-tell you how p-pleased I am to meet you.”
Harry wrenched his hand away from Quirrell.
“What sort of magic do you teach, Professor Quirrell?”
“D-Defence Against the D-D-Dark Arts,” muttered Professor Quirrell reluctantly. “N-not that you n-need it, eh, P-P-Potter?” He laughed nervously.
“You’ll be g-getting all your equipment, I suppose? I’ve g-got to p-pick up a new b-book on vampires, m-myself.” He looked terrified at the very thought.
Harry stepped back behind Hagrid. The turban wrapped around Quirrell’s head was too big. Harry realized he saw much more heat in the turban than should have been there. So, there was something else besides Quirrell living underneath the cloth wrapping.
Finally, Hagrid broke away from the mob. “Must get on – lots ter buy. Come on, Harry.”
They went into the little courtyard at the rear of the pub. The whispers followed them, “Harry Potter! Is that Harry Potter? He’s little. He looks weird.”
Amelia grimaced. Something was sure to be in The Daily Prophet in the morning.
Hagrid grinned at Harry.
“Told yeh, didn’t I? Told yeh you were famous. Even Professor Quirrell was tremblin’ ter meet yeh – mind you, he’s usually tremblin’.”
Harry knew why he was trembling. He was being controlled by the shade of Lord Voldemort.
“Is he always that nervous?”
“Oh, yeah. Poor bloke. Brilliant mind. He was fine while he was studyin’ outta books, but then he took a year off ter get some first-hand experience … They say he met vampires in the Black Forest, and there was a nasty bit o’ trouble with a hag – never been the same since. Scared of the students, scared of his own subject – now, where’s me umbrella?”
Hagrid used his wand disguised as an umbrella to open the portal to Diagon Alley.
The journey to Gringotts was slow. Hagrid gave a booming commentary on his favourite shops on the way. Harry’s name echoed back from every crooked shop front as they passed. Amelia sighed and shook her head. Harry looked around. He matched what he saw with the tutorials he had received in Azkaban.
“Gringotts,” said Hagrid.
They were approaching the white marble edifice of the wizard’s bank.
Hagrid stared with some hostility at the uniformed goblin outside the doors.
“Yeah, that’s a goblin,” said Hagrid quietly. The goblin bowed to them as they entered the doorway. Harry nodded back to him.
The silver inner doors had warning verses engraved on them. Goblins did not like thieves.
“Like I said, yeh’d be made ter try an’ rob it,” said Hagrid.
Hagrid, Harry, and Amelia joined a queue for a bank teller. Amelia looked around and found Griphook. She nodded to him, and Griphook quickly moved off to speak to a senior goblin. The senior goblin took over the queue that Hagrid had joined. The customers before Hagrid were diverted to other tellers. Hagrid, Harry, and Amelia were suddenly confronted with the most senior goblin on the bank floor.
“Morning,” said Hagrid to the goblin. “We’ve come ter take some money outta Mr Harry Potter’s safe.”
“Do you have his key, sir?”
“Got it here somewhere,” said Hagrid. He started emptying his pockets onto the counter, scattering a handful of mouldy dog biscuits over the goblin’s books. The goblin wrinkled his nose and glanced at Amelia, who shook her head.
“Got it,” said Hagrid, finally holding up a tiny golden key.
The goblin looked at it closely.
“The key is in order, but something else is not. Are you, sir, Master Potter’s parent, guardian, or Magical Guardian?”
“Me! No! I’m not any of those.” Hagrid replied.
“Then why, sir, do you have Master Potter’s key in your possession?”
Hagrid puffed and huffed, “Perfessor Dumbledore, he gave me Harry’s key.’
“Is Headmaster Dumbledore Master Potter’s Magical Guardian?”
“Yes, he is. Everyone knows that he is.” Hagrid was getting indignant.
“Then Headmaster Dumbledore is the person who should be here at the bank presenting Harry’s key for him.”
The goblin waited for Hagrid to respond. No response came.
The goblin spoke again, “There is another issue. Master Harry Potter is eleven years old, is that so?”
Hagrid nodded.
“Then Master Harry Potter should have his own vault key. The money in Master Potter’s vault belongs to him. He is allowed to spend it as he wishes; is that so?”
Hagrid answered, “Yes, but Perfessor Dumbledore told me that he will keep Harry’s vault key for him.”
“I see. So, Master Harry Potter is not allowed to learn how to manage his own money; is that so?”
“Oh! Tha’s no’ right! Perfessor Dumbledore wants ta help Harry.”
“Headmaster Dumbledore has put you in a difficult position, Mister Hagrid. From this moment on, Master Harry Potter is to keep his vault key. Neither you nor Headmaster Dumbledore is to take it from him. If Gringotts finds that Master Harry Potter does not possess his vault key, then Gringotts regulations will be applied, and penalties levied.”
“WHA! YOU CAN’T DO THA’! PERFESSOR DUMBLEDORE TOL’ ME THA’ HE WILL KEEP HARRY’S KEY!”
“So! Headmaster Dumbledore is now claiming the right to dictate to Gringotts what the bank regulations should be. Is that so?”
Hagrid opened and shut his mouth several times.
The goblin spoke again. “Mister Hagrid, I advise you to return to Headmaster Dumbledore and tell him what I have told you. Master Potter may now visit his vault and withdraw the necessary funds.”
The goblin beckoned Harry forward and presented the golden key to him. “Keep this safe, Master Potter. If you lose it, tell the bank immediately. The old key will be taken off the key list. You must then ask for a new key which will cost you ten galleons.”
Harry nodded and put the key in his robe pocket along with his Bones vault key.
Hagrid glared at the goblin. “I got this letter from Perfessor Dumbledore about Vault 713.”
The goblin read the letter, then nodded to Hagrid.
Griphook was instructed by the senior goblin to take Hagrid and Harry to the vaults. Hagrid and Harry left for their cart ride. Amelia told Harry she would wait in the bank lobby until he returned. Amelia didn’t need any more Gringotts cart rides.
Once the vault visits were over, Amelia joined Harry and Hagrid in the sunshine outside the bank. Harry was weighed down by his full money bag.
“Might as well get yer uniform,” said Hagrid, nodding towards Madam Malkin’s Robes for All Occasions.
“Listen, Harry, would yeh mind if I slipped off fer a pick-me-up in the Leaky Cauldron? I hate them Gringotts carts.” Harry nodded; Hagrid was now a funny colour.
Harry and Amelia entered Madam Malkin’s shop.
Madam Malkin bustled up to them. “Hogwarts, dear?” she said, “Got the lot here – another young man being fitted up just now, in fact.”
In the back of the shop, a boy with a pale, pointed face and slicked-down hair stood on a footstool while a second witch pinned his long black robes. Harry recognized the boy from the descriptions of Lucius Malfoy given to him by his Azkaban tutors. He was Draco Malfoy, heir to the Noble House of Malfoy and one of Harry’s planned targets for the year.
Madam Malkin stood Harry on a stool next to Malfoy, slipped a long robe over his head, and pinned it to the correct length.
“Hullo,” said the Malfoy, “Hogwarts too?”
“Yes, Heir Malfoy, I’m going to Hogwarts,” Harry replied.
Malfoy puffed up like a fancy pigeon at being recognized by a total stranger. Harry gave Cousin Bella full marks for her assessment of the Malfoy family. The Malfoy scion was a vain pretender, full of his own importance.
Harry continued, “Allow me to introduce myself; I am Harry Potter, heir to the Ancient House of Potter.” Harry offered his right hand to Malfoy.
Malfoy was momentarily stunned. Draco’s father had given him the task of getting an introduction to the Potter heir. Malfoy Senior knew how wealthy the Potter family was, and Harry was the last Potter. If Draco could connect with Potter, financial benefits could flow to the Malfoy vaults. It would take swindling and thievery, but that was what the Malfoys did best.
Draco grabbed Harry’s hand and shook it. He gripped it as hard as he could, as though he was giving a secret handshake.
“I’m pleased to meet you, Heir Potter. I’m Draco Malfoy, heir to the Noble House of Malfoy.”
Harry wasn’t strong enough to fight back but endured the hand wrestle without grimacing.
“My father, Lord Malfoy, is buying my books, and my mother is looking at wands for me. They would both enjoy meeting you, Heir Potter. I know that you have guardians. Who has come with you today?”
“Call me Harry, please. May I call you Draco?”
“Yes, of course!”
“To answer your question, Draco, I am in protective custody. I am being supervised by DMLE Director Amelia Bones, who is watching me today.” Harry pointed behind him.
Draco slowly turned to see Amelia glaring at him from the doorway.
Draco’s face became a haughty mask. He turned away from Amelia.
“Which house do you want to be in at Hogwarts? My family was always in Slytherin.”
“My family was always in Gryffindor.” Harry felt Draco ice over. The boy had no Occlumency, and Harry could read him like a book.
“But I wouldn’t mind any house; they all have advantages. I enjoy learning magic, so Ravenclaw would be good. My life has been dull and isolated, so Hufflepuff would be interesting. I have heard that they have the best parties. Gryffindor is full of brawny louts who make life-long enemies by staging stupid pranks. They are also easy to manipulate. That leaves Slytherin. The Sorting Hat will place us all; I’m happy to wait for the sorting.”
The conversation touched on brooms and Quidditch. Harry acknowledged he had no actual experience with brooms or Quidditch. He did that to give something to Draco that he could feel superior about. Manipulating him would be easy; terrifying him would be entertaining.
Draco started to get personal. “Why are you wearing such dark glasses? You don’t need that inside. Where did you get all those scars?”
Harry sighed to himself. A well-behaved noble would never make such personal comments to someone he was trying to impress.
“I have little normal sight. These spectacles are magical. They give me more sight than I would otherwise have. They are magically kept in place. They can’t be taken off unless I allow it. I don’t talk about the scars.”
The fitting was completed, and the robes were finished for the boys. Hagrid appeared outside the shop. He was carrying an ice cream cone for himself, one of which he waved towards Harry.
Draco snorted. “Who is that oaf? Do you know him?”
“That’s Hagrid. He’s the Gamekeeper at Hogwarts. Headmaster Dumbledore sent him to take me around Diagon Alley.” Harry waited to see if Draco had another silly comment to make.
“Oh! A servant, not someone that I would associate with. See you at Hogwarts.”
“Yes, Draco,” sighed Harry, “see you at Hogwarts.”
“The little ponce doesn’t know when to keep his mouth shut,” whispered Tom.
Draco moved away.
Harry had a conversation with Amelia. “I’m getting tired. Can we speed this up?”
Amelia took Harry’s list. “Yes, Harry. I’ll take your list and finish it for you. Meanwhile, let Hagrid take you to Ollivander’s for your wand.”
Hagrid insisted on getting Harry a birthday present. So, Harry chose a snowy owl from the Eeylops Owl Emporium.
He later named her Hedwig. The name was old high German, made up of the words for ‘battle’ and ‘fight’; she bit Harry’s finger until she drew blood.
Ollivander was as creepy as he had been informed. Harry came away with a holly and phoenix feather model. It was nice but felt throttled back compared to his prison-made pine twig wand.
Harry retired to a loo in The Leaky Cauldron to send his next message to Sirius.
“I got my Hogwarts wand today. I can safely send a Patronus from The Ossuary now. Don’t panic. I met a Hogwarts professor. He seems to be carrying an extra soul hidden behind his head. I’m pretty sure that it’s Voldemort. I didn’t detect any Legilimency. Can’t be certain until he tries it.”
When Harry had safely returned to The Ossuary, he crashed for two hours of sleep.
-ooOOoo-
Susan and the others in Harry’s gang had their equipment and wands. Luna was not going to Hogwarts this year but had her grandmother’s wand. She used it for months, and it worked well for her.
Muggle-born students were strictly informed not to use their wands until they went to Hogwarts. However, the more curious among them could not stop themselves and started practising the first examples given in their textbooks. The authorities did not pursue these rule infringements unless magic was performed before muggles not covered by the International Statute of Secrecy.
Students living in magical homes were safe from prosecution. This is because the magic that traced students' spells did not notice magic performed in known magical houses.
In the safety of The Ossuary, Susan practised some simple spells from her first-year books.
“Lumos!” A tiny gleam came from the tip of her wand.
“You try, Harry.”
“Lumos!” The tip of Harry’s holly wand glowed brightly.
“Why is yours so bright?”
The time had come for Harry to use some of the advanced wand-lore that Gus and Rod had taught him. Rodolphus was a murderous torturer. But disturbingly, he also had a large store of magical knowledge.
Harry responded with a measured look at Susan. “It’s because I am more confident about my magic.”
Hannah, Luna, and Neville tried. Hannah had the same result as Susan; Luna was brighter; Neville had no result.
“Let me see your wand, Neville.”
Neville handed his wand to Harry. Harry could sense the reluctance of the wand to work for anyone but its master.
“This isn’t your wand, is it, Neville?”
“It was my father’s wand. Gran said that I should be proud to use his wand. He was a great wizard.”
“No one can pick up another’s wand and use it as well as their own. It will always be reluctant to work even if you are the owner's son.”
Harry considered the situation. “Someday, when you can get your grandmother’s attention, you must get a new wand. Until then, let me try something to help the situation.
Hannah, Luna, and Susan, can I get three strands of your hair? That is one strand from each of you. Make them the longest you have.”
Tiny grooming scissors were used to snip one strand from the girl's hair.
Harry stuck the strands to the base of Neville’s wand, wound them around the length of the wand, and stuck the strands to the tip.
“Right, Neville, hold your wand normally and say this incantation, ‘Ligare Quattuor In Unum’”.
Neville stumbled over the unfamiliar words.
“That didn’t work. Practise it a couple of times, then say it slowly and clearly. Think about making your wand your own when you repeat it.”
Neville practised and then held his wand up and recited the incantation.
A faint white glow wrapped around the wand's length, and the three strands of hair disappeared.
“Oh! Magic! I did magic! What did I do?”
Harry stared steadily at Neville. “You performed powerful magic, Neville. You overpowered the wand’s original ownership and replaced it with new magic. Now! Let’s see your ‘Lumos’ again.”
Neville held his wand up and said, “Lumos!”
Brilliant white light burst from the wand tip. Neville and the girls had to hide their eyes.
“Say ‘Nox’, Neville!”
“NOX!” Neville shouted. The light went out.
The girls were whimpering, “Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!”
“That was plenty of power, Neville. Next time, hold back your intent and don’t push as much magic into your wand.”
“Can we do that for our wands?” Hannah asked.
“Sure! The hair strands must come from three others, so Susan will have one from Hannah, Luna, and Neville.” Harry instructed.
“But Neville’s hair is short.” Said Susan.
“That doesn’t matter. Clip one strand from his hair. Get it as close to his scalp as possible without stabbing him.”
The girl’s wands received their human hair additions. Harry didn’t tell Neville or the girls where that ritual and incantation came from. He did, however, give them a big hint.
“From now on, your wands can never be used to harm each other. If anyone picks up one of your wands and tries to use it to cast a harmful spell on one of you, the wand will refuse to work. The binding magic would never have worked in the first place to bind those hairs to your wands if you did not already have a certain kind of bond magic in place between the four of you.”
“That’s true. The four of us are in related families or formal alliances.” Hannah stated.
Harry didn’t add that the bond he talked about was far more potent. The ritual and incantation were ancient magic. This magic came from ancient times when witches and wizards depended on each other for protection. There was no central authority, no magical government to police criminal activity. Witches and wizards had to protect each other. They had no choice.
Harry didn’t need Legilimency to know that Amelia was already aware of how far the process had gone. The four of them were continually seeking each other's company. Their personal relationships may never develop to be more than friendship, but what they had was enough for the full power of the ancient magic to be uncovered.
-ooOOoo-
A day later, packages started arriving for the girls, Harry and Neville. They were new brooms.
“Who bought Susan a new Cleansweep Seven?” Amelia demanded as she stared at Harry.
“I think you know the answer to that, Aunty. I bought them for Neville, Hannah, and Luna as well. I have also hired Mervyn Wood to give us all flying lessons when we visit Longbottom Hall. I don’t want us to be complete novices when we go to Hogwarts.” Harry answered.
“Why didn’t you discuss this with me?”
“Because it is easier to beg for forgiveness than to get permission,” Harry answered. He didn’t smile, but Amelia guessed that Harry would be grinning now if he could smile.
“What about Augusta Longbottom? She doesn’t let Neville do anything.”
“Exactly. When we all turn up with brooms, ready to fly, Regent Longbottom will be put under pressure to let Neville fly. The added pressure will come from having a professional flying coach to teach us. I believe that Mervyn Wood is the older brother of Oliver Wood, the Gryffindor Quidditch captain. Mervyn is the flying coach at the Tutshill Tornados.”
“What about you? What did you buy for yourself?” Amelia demanded.
“A Nimbus 2000, and I bought fifty Cleansweep Six brooms for Hogwarts to replace the old student brooms. I was told that the old student brooms should be cut up for firewood. The Cleansweep Six brooms are outdated, but they will be safer for students than the ones they have now.”
“Who have you been talking to about this?”
“I wrote to The Daily Prophet Quidditch reporter. He wrote back with the list of what had to be done at Hogwarts. He also told me which brooms to get for us.”
Amelia threw her hands up in the air and marched off.
ns 15.158.61.21da2
