Chapter 4 - Shopping Part 1

DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

sss blah, blah, blah sss Speaking to Snake.

By the time he left Gringotts, it was 11:30 am. He decided to head over to Madame Malkin's Robes for Fine Occasion. He needed a cloak with a hood as he was going into Knockturn Alley next. He had to go unnoticed as much as possible even with his current disguise. It never hurt to have extra protection, he thought. Harry entered the store and looked around a bit, he saw all manners of apparel and decided right there and than to make his first impulsive buy and get a complete new wardrobe. He noticed that they now had a whole section dedicated to muggle fashion. Finally a clerk came over and introduced herself as Stacy.

The clerk said, "Hi, may I help you?"

Harry smiled and said, "Yes, I'll need a whole new wardrobe and I need the following items." He gave her a full rundown of what he was looking for.

"I'll take 5 dress Robes. The first is to be black with jade green trims. The second will be royal blue with a sliver phoenix on the back. The third will be black with sapphire blues trims and a drawing of Stonehenge in the back. The fourth robe is to be burgundy with gold trims. The last robe will be emerald green with a depiction of the northern constellations embroider in blues and silver."

Seeing that the clerk was still writing he continued. "I'll also take 5 working robes, 5 cloaks with deep hoods, 5 heavy winter cloaks, 3 potion robes, and if you have them I'll also take 2 flying cloaks. I would like the best magical cloth that money can buy for all of my clothes. "

The clerk whose jaw had dropped was looking at him with a queer look said, "Well sir, our best cloth is Acromantula silk. It's very light and nearly indestructible."

Seeing a look of indecision on his face Stacy added, "It's resistant against many jinxes and curses."

She flipped the card over and while reading said, "This cards says that it's also temperature regulating."

Stacy looked at his present clothes and she narrowed her eyes at him and said, "Just so you know, this cloth is rather rare and highly expensive."

Harry looked into her eyes and seeing the sceptical look etched into her face and remembering his promises to his godfather said, "Don't worry about the cost."

Stacy looked at his face, and seeing that he was dead serious, couldn't believe her luck. She was going to make a killing on this commission alone.

Harry remembered Cho's clothes and added, "Before I forget, I would like you to include your entire charms package to all my clothes."

Harry picked up the charms list and gave it a detailed look. He made up his mind and said, "I would like the self cleaning, water repellent, and the self adjusting charm. I would like the cloaks to have an automatic disillusionment charm for the face area."

Harry felt stupid asking this but he decided not to take any chances and said, "I was wondering? Does your muggle collection come with any magical charms as well? "

"Yes sir they do. Our muggle line carries the same charms package as our regular magical wear."

"Very well, I'll take 8 sets of jeans. That will be 3 blue, 3 black and 2 beige. I'll also take 2 camouflage coloured pants, and 10 t-shirts. Make 5 of these black with the Runes package. Could I have two of the navy blue ones with the cobra drawings in the back? I'll also take two of the plain emerald ones with the black dragons' drawings in the back. Finally, I'll take the plain red looking one. "

Harry looked around some more and said, "I would also like a fishnet sports shirt, 2 black leather coats, 10 polo shirts, 3 black, 3 blue, 2 green and 2 red. I would also like 5 formal muggle pants, 3 cotton blue, and 2 charcoal wool. I'll finish off with 3 pairs of trainers."

Stacy was writing his order and added, "Just so you know, the trainers are magically charmed to repel water. They also have a permanent temperature control and have a silencing charm on them."

Harry looked up and gave her the o.k. to tally his bill.

Stacy doubled checked her figures and said, "Your final bill comes to 650 Galleons."

Harry simply nodded at Stacy.

Stacy quickly ran out back to show the order to Madame Malkin. A few moments later, they both appeared, and assured him that with such a large order they would make it their top priority and have it filled out later that afternoon.

"That fine, would it be possible to get one of my cloaks right away? I'll be back for the rest at around 3 pm, will that be acceptable? "

Madame Malkin thought about it for a minute and finally replied, "Yes, that will be fine, sir."

Stacy took about 10 minutes to make sure that she had all of his measurements and proceeded to ring up the bill. He paid, and waited another 20 minutes to get his cloak. He walked out of the store and noticed it was already 12:30 pm.

Harry was starting to get pretty hungry and decided to treat himself to Methos Fine Greek Dining. He remembered Cho mentioning an upscale Greek restaurant in Diagon alley. He walked another 12 minutes until he found the restaurant. He noticed that the establishment wasn't overly busy. He shrugged and decided to give it a try. The Leaky Cauldron was likely to be a lot busier and he risked being detected if he went there.

Once he was seated he quickly ordered a butter beer while taking his time perusing the menu. Harry decided to get himself a whole quarter brazed lamb with a Mediterranean lemon flavoured lentil/rice dish with black olives and chocolate mousse for desert. An hour later he walked out of the restaurant filled to the gills. He made sure he had his cloak properly fastened and carried on towards Knockturn Alley.

He looked at the list Griphook had given him. He was looking for Glenwald Street. It was one of the many little side streets off Knockturn Alley. The particular store he was looking for was named Earth Root. According to Griphook, it was a shop that had both magical pets and watches of all sorts. He finally entered Knockturn alley, and walked in with as much confidence as he could muster.

Harry decided to make himself as menacing as possible. This would help keep the less savoury characters from bothering him too much, or so he hoped. He needed to make himself angry in order to look menacing. That last part wasn't overly difficult; all he needed to do was to think of Dumbledore and his friend's betrayals. It didn't take long for a deep rage to well up inside him.

Unknown to Harry his eyes began pulsing with an eerie neon green glow. He proceeded down the alley, and to his surprise no one came near him. He wondered if this was because of his disguised looks or if it was due to daylight. Harry was pretty sure that it was due to daytime. The more nefarious life forms of Knockturn Alley tended to only come out at night.

Harry walked for about 2 blocks and finally noticed the entrance to Glenwald Street. He entered the street and walked another 10 minutes before he found the store he was looking for. Not knowing what to expect, he entered the store and decided to look around. The first thing he noticed was the low lighting; it gave the place a really creepy feeling. He noticed that the first part of the store carried all kinds of armbands, necklaces and all sorts of enchanted stones, watches and time keeps.

The second part of the store seemed to be dedicated to magical pets. There were snakes, bats, owls, scorpions and a few other life forms that he didn't recognize. He surmised that most of these weren't entirely legal. Looking at the animal section, he thought about getting himself another pet. He knew it would be a long time before he saw anybody, and surmised that Dumbledore would try his hardest to keep him isolated from everyone, like his previous summer.

Harry needed someone or something to talk to. He came to the conclusion that he required a snake. He loved Hedwig, but even thought she could understand him it seemed a one-way street from his viewpoint. He could actually communicate with a snake.

Finally a gentleman sauntered over and introduced himself as Vladimir Negev and asked, "May I be of service Mr?"

Harry looked at the offered hand and gripped it in a firm handshake, and replied "My name is of no consequence, I was referred to you by other elements of the wizarding world who have a keen interest in wizard finances."

"Ah, I see." The man replied with a curious look on his face.

Harry put on his best poker face and said, "Now let's get down to business, shall we? First I would like to acquire another pet, specifically a magical snake if you have them."

"Certainly sir, please follow me."

Harry followed the man and as he approached the snakes he could make out their chattering. Some were hungry and voicing their displeasure. Others were bored and seemed to chat about hunting stories. There were viper, cobras, pythons, black mambas...est., as he looked at them, Harry didn't see one that particularly appealed to him.

Harry turned towards the storeowner and with a very unimpressed look on his face said, "Is this all you have for snakes? I must say so far I'm not very impressed."

The man seemed to wrestle with himself and finally asked, "How do I know that you are not some ministry scumbag trying to score a raid?"

Harry thought about it for a moment and finally said "What can I do to prove to you that I'm not some ministry lowlife?"

"I have a vial of veritaserum. If you are willing to be interrogated under its influence, I'll be inclined to believe you."

"No way!" answered Harry. "This could be a trick on your part to gain information out of me that I do not wish to divulge."

Harry thought for a moment and said," Do you have anything else besides veritaserum?"

The man narrowed his eyebrows, and with a calculating look replied, "Well I do have another type of truth serum that will only work on yes and no answers. It only last half an hour but that should be sufficient for the type of questioning I have in mind."

"Let me warn you right now, sonny. If you happen to be a ministry agent you will not get out of this alley alive. "

Harry narrowed his eyes at the implied threat. He thought for a moment and felt he had to meet the guy at least halfway to get anywhere, "All right! I'll take your truth serum."

The man went into his den and came back with a yellow liquid. The owner said, "Four drops is all it takes." Harry held out his tongue and took the serum. Within seconds of taking the serum, Harry felt a slight tingling feeling in his body.

After five minutes the man asked, "Are you a ministry agent or Auror?"

"No."

"Have you ever worked for any wizarding agency?"

Harry answered "No."

"Do you have enough funds to carry out any business dealings with me?"

Harry made sure his hand made contact with his wand, and answered, "Yes."

The owner asked, "Are you a death eater?"

"No."

The owner seemed satisfied and gave him the antidote. Harry felt the slight fog lifting from his head and looked into the owners' eyes. The man gave him a calculating look and finally said, "Follow me."

Harry simply nodded and followed the man down a set of stairs. They stopped in front of a bare wall. The man uttered some weird incantation and door suddenly appeared. Harry surmised that it was an undetectable secret room. The owner waived his wand, and a blue light came on. Harry heard the door click. Harry entered the strange room. The place had very little lighting but enough to make out the contents.

Harry turned towards the left wall and immediately recognized the dragon eggs. There were several glass cages, which contained lethifolds, pixies, and some strange coloured snakes. He noticed one snake that was in a separate cage from all of the others. It was a beautiful four-foot long cobra. It was indigo in colour and had the deepest sapphire coloured eyes he had ever seen on a snake. On top of its crest there was some kind of black motif that resembled scorpion stingers? He asked Vladimir what type of snake it was, and all the man said was that it had been captured in some ancient Egyptian tomb. The only other bit of information is that it killed some young person in roughly 30 seconds.

Harry approached the snake very carefully, and noticed Vladimir was getting really nervous. Finally, Harry hissed.

sss Hello sss

The Snake whipped its head as if in great surprise and replied, ss You speak the language? ss

sss Yes, I'm a Parseltongue. I would like to extend my greeting to you and tell you that you are very beautiful. I can't help noticing that you don't look very happy? Do you have a name? sss Replied Harry.

The snake seemed very intrigued, and simply looked at him. Harry was starting to think that he had insulted the snake somehow. Snakes were very vain and shallow, he remembered.

The snake suddenly bowed its head in his direction and said, sss The old ones called me Anubis. Young one I am honoured to meet you. It has been so very long that a master has spoken with me. I have tried speaking to many humans since I woke up from the great sleep, but none of them understood me until now.sss

Harry was curious, sss I am sorry, but why are you calling me a master? sss

sss Because only snake speakers were our masters. Young one, my kind is born with the ability to have racial memories passed on to us by our forbearer. I can remember a time when snake speakers were common. I do not understand this new place.sss

Harry thought back to his care of magical creatures lessons, but could honestly say he had never encountered a snake like him before. Harry looked back towards the snake and hissed, sss I have never heard of your kind before. I can feel that you are magical though. sss

The snake bowed again and replied, sss The high masters of the hot sands created and bred us young one. We were created to protect our masters and the sacred temple of knowledge. sss

Harry hissed back, sss Where are these temples now? sss

sss From what I can remember, they were destroyed during the great war a very long time ago.sss

Harry was now very intrigued. If he understood the snake correctly the temples no longer existed. Their destruction must have happened a long time ago. This species must be incredibly rare to live that long, he thought.

The snake looked at the young human and hissed, sss Our ancient masters spoke middle snake such as you. They also discovered and learned high snake. This is our most ancient tongue. Magical snakes use it as a battle language. sss

Ritual parseltongue for waging battle if you are wondering+

sss Do you speak high snake young one? sss

Harry hissed back, sss I afraid I don't, but I would be honoured to learn it. You said that it is needed for waging battle what does this mean? sss Harry asked.

sss Learning the high tongue, would allow you to cast ancient dark spells. These spells will cast powerful hexes, jinxes, charms and call forth powerful dark creatures to fight on your behalf. sss

By then, Harry eyebrows nearly reached the top of his hairline and hissed back, sss Very impressive, great one. sss

The snake looked pleased with the compliment and hissed, sss We are capable of many feats young master. sss

sss Such as? sss Countered Harry.

sss Our creators gave us the ability to defend and augment our masters' mind. We can keep enemies from entering their mind while they sleep or wage battle. We can also help them launch mind attacks on their enemies.sss

That sounds like occlumency and legillimency Harry thought. He wondered what else the snake could do.

sss Great one, these are indeed powerful talents. What else can you do? sss Harry replied.

sss When bonded to our master, we can teach them to read and interpret magical auras if they are predisposed for the talent. I have already scanned your mind young one, and know that you possess this talent in its full form. sss

Harry was speechless. He definitely had to develop that one. This could really help in duels. He was brought back from his thoughts by more hissing.

sss My scan shows your magical aura to be blinding mix of green and white mixed with black and red.sss

Harry whose curiosity was now fully peeked hissed back, sss What do the colours mean?sss

sss Young master this means that you are very powerful magically.sss

sss I must say, I'm very impressed with your talents so far.sss

The snake hissed back, sss There is more to our talents young one. When bonded we also create a telepathic connection to our master. This gift allows us to talk to each other over great distance. Our primary role is to defend our charge and obey all commands. We also scan people who are in contact with you for harmful thought or treachery.sss

Harry hissed, sss Your talents would indeed be very useful to me. sss

sss Young one my scan have revealed that you have many of the qualities that the ancients highly prised from their pupils. You have intelligence, cunning, bravery and are very powerful magically. It would be an honour to bond with you young master. If we bond, my venom will not be able to harm you.sss

Harry quickly realized the benefits of bonding with such a powerful snake. He would be a very valuable companion to have. He could certainly help him protect his mind, until he got a decent grasp of occlumency and legillimency. The most obvious benefit he could see what that he would be able to learn ancient and powerful magic. Harry knew he had been very lucky in his encounters with Voldemort. One thing for sure, the next time he met Voldemort, he wanted to have a few aces up his sleeve.

Harry finally hissed, sss What do I have to do to bond with you great one?sss

sss Take a knife and nick your finger. Let five drops of your blood spill into my mouth. This will ensure that my venom will never harm you.sss

Harry asked the storeowner if he could sterilize a small ritual blade and lend it to him. Vladimir shook himself out of his stupor, nodded and went to a small cherry cabinet and pulled out a small platinum blade with small diamonds in the hilt and cast a sterilizing charm. Harry did as he was told, and let five drops of his blood seep into the snake's mouth. Within seconds, the snake glowed a deep burgundy red aura for about ten seconds and then it faded. Vladimir whose face seemed to have gone a shade paler quickly cast a healing charm on his finger.

sss Repeat the following words SaaaassssSeeeekkk SassssSeeesss Saaaakkkkouuurrr. Never reveal Tiamat teachings to the infidel and may our bond last into the afterlife. sss

After the sacred ritual words were intoned, there was an indigo glow surrounding both of them for several seconds and then it was gone. He then asked Anubis if he would like to wrap himself around him for warmth.

sss Yes master, this place is cold and I feel lethargic.sss

Anubis crawled up his arm, and twisted himself such that his head was resting comfortably on his shoulder. In this fashion, Harry was able to hide him easily by simply pulling his hood up.

While this was going on, Vladimir was shocked to see the young man speak parseltongue. This was indeed a boy he didn't want to double cross. He remembered reading about parseltongues. He knew of two other parseltongue. One was He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and the other was the Potter boy. This young man would be the third parseltongue that he knew off. It was a very uncommon gift, he remembered.

Harry looked up toward Vladimir and said, "I have another question to ask you?"

"Go ahead" Replied Vladimir.

"Well you see… I need to buy some time, if you know what I mean?"

Vladimir sat there looking at the boy for a good minute and finally said, "I see, well there are certainly ways to get around that, perhaps if I show you what I have?" He went back into another room, and opened up a safe. He took out a large mahogany box and made his way back to the counter.

"Come here young man." Harry obeyed and made his way towards the box. He definitely recognized the instruments lying in its velvet containers. He had seen similar model in his third year at Hogwarts.

"I see you have several time turners. What is their maximum range?"

Vladimir replied, "The best ones can only go back three days. According to my sources, the ministry has more powerful ones, but they are nearly impossible to acquire."

Looking at these time turners, Harry knew that they weren't what he was looking for. He needed a lot more time than what the store owner had to offer. "I'm sorry Vladimir, but these are simply not adequate. I need a lot more time than what your models can provide."

Vladimir looked at the young man and wondered why he needed more time than these models could offer. He asked Harry, "Son, why are you looking for a lot more time?"

Harry looked at the man for a minute, and decided that he would lose nothing by loosely working the truth, and replied, "You see sir, my whole family was killed by death eaters, I swore a blood oath to avenge them, but I need time to train so that I can kill them."

Vladimir absorbed the young man's explanation, and his face seemed to take on a faraway look. He remembered his young daughter Elena. She had been visiting a friend on her birthday16 years ago. Her friend's parents had been fighting the dark lord for many years. There had been a raid by death eaters the day of her visit. The manor had been destroyed and his only daughter had been captured. They had tortured and killed her. On that day a part of his soul had died.

He knew he wasn't a strong wizard, but he wanted to avenge his daughters' killers at any cost. He vowed that some day, he would find a way to pay them back using the skills he knew he had. He was a good negotiator, and over the years had acquired many interesting objects to help fight these bastards. This young man may be what he was looking for to avenge his daughter. He might even be able to get a good deal out of it.

Harry noticed the faraway look on the storeowner, and said in a bit of a forceful manner, "Sir!"

Vladimir was suddenly brought back to the present. After a bit of an internal struggle, he said," I may have something for you, but just so you know, this is a one of a kind item, it is extremely expensive, and the reason I didn't bring it out is that I have not had anybody who has had the need to use it, nor the coin to afford it."

"How much does it cost and what is it?"

Very well Vladimir answered, "The cost is 200,000 galleons. I know the price is steep, but it's one of a kind. As I said, the ministry can't trace this type of magic."

Harry pulled out his bank slip to show him how much he could spend. Vladimir's eyebrows nearly went to his hairline. "Very well," he said, "I'll be right back."

Vladimir went back to another storeroom, and pulled up an old beat up carpet. He then cast a few spells, and suddenly a trap door appeared out of nowhere. He pulled out a special key and put it the lock. He opened the trap door, and disappeared. After about five minutes, he came back out carrying a 5 foot mahogany box. Intrigued by the box, Harry slowly made his way to the counter. Vladimir looked at Harry, and opened the box. Vladimir pulled out the most interesting and beautiful crystal contraption that Harry had ever seen.

Harry was looking at a four-foot high pedestal, which was holding a large crystal. The base was in the shape of a Horntail's front paw. The end where the crystal was attached looked like a three-clawed hand. The shaft of the pedestal was about 2 inches in diameter and was made up of the blackest material that Harry has ever seen. There seemed to be all sorts of runes inscribed on it. The clawed hand was made of some bluish silver type material.

The crystal itself was the most intriguing part. It has the shape of a Hexagonal sphere. It was about 8 inches in diameter and the crystal itself was a deep sapphire blue. At the centre of the crystal, there was a pitch-black ball about 2 inches in diameter. Silver filaments were connected from the Hexagon points to the centre of the ball.

Vladimir said "You see I acquired this object through one of my merchant friends living in Russia about 5 years ago."

"The creator of the object was an old acquaintance of mine. He asked me to find a buyer for his unique creation. You see, my friend thought that Russia being in the throes of rebuilding itself could not provide him with the sale of it. He felt that he would have a much better chance of finding a successful buyer on the outside."

"So I made a deal to find the right buyer and get the best price for him. The deal was for me keeping thirty percent of the profits and the remaining seventy go to his family."

Vladimir went on to explain that a wizard genius by the name of Dimitry Vorlonsky crafted the unique timepiece. He dedicated his whole life to the concept of time and manipulating its energies. Dimitry called his creation Odin's Eye. What can I say; he was a fanatic for Norse mythology.

He then explained that it was a magically constructed Sapphire. Apparently, the crystal creates a stable time capsule from a 50 to a 1000-foot radius. With the little black knob at the base of the claw, the controller dials in the enclosure that they need. Odin's Eye creates a time flux energy web, which uses the owner's magical energy.

The crystal transforms and amplifies that person's magical energy many times over. It warps a stable time capsule within the universal time stream. Vladimir then described the function of the gold knob on the other side of the claw. Its function allows the time capsule to cycle from one up to a maximum of thirty days.

Vladimir explained why you couldn't cycle beyond thirty days. According to Vladimir, Vorlonsky was considered one of the greatest arithmancy masters of the century. He calculated that the maximum amount of time that a flux capsule would remain stable in relation to the normal time stream was thirty days. The calculations include a host of variables such as the moons rotation around the earth, earth's gravity, its distance to the centre of our galaxy and magical core energy to name a few.

Vladimir told him know that most of the written theory was in the instruction manual. To keep the normal time stream from being disrupted, the crystal automatically deactivates after thirty days. It will not reactivate until one full 24-hour period normal time has elapsed.

Vladimir said, "As best as I can understand, the crystal causes every object and living creatures within the time capsule to relive the same day over and over for up to a maximum of 30 days. Since the time capsule is based on the casters magical energy, that person will be the only one who ages true time. If the crystal is set for a maximum time of 30 days, then for every normal day spent in real time, everybody caught in the time capsule will have lived 30 days flux time but only age 1 day in real time except for the caster."

Vladimir seeing that his client was still paying attention continued, "You must understand sir that with this magic, the caster repeats every day in flux time. The difference is that a magical person will be able to remember every day as unique and do anything he wants within that flux time. You must remember that the caster will age as if 30 actual days had occurred, while only one day expires in real time."

Vladimir explained the most critical point however, "You will have to store everything in magical storage spaces, since everything non magical will revert back one day – all your writing and whatever else will erase from the time streams. For example, the air you will breathe will revert back to being oxygen high. The time capsule is a death sentence otherwise.

Vladimir noticed that his young charge raptured by his explanations, continued, "The caster obviously has to be a wizard or a witch, since the crystal only works on magical core energy. When you cast the time capsule you will feel fatigued for the first day until your core energy is recharged."

Vladimir gathered his thoughts and finished by saying, "Obviously the longer the time flux, and the bigger the time capsule, the steeper the magical drain will be on the caster. You must remember that any magical creature will also experience time flux as you do. Only muggles and non-magical things will be repeating the same day over and over within time flux. They will be unaware that they are repeating events."

Harry stood there with his jaw hanging. This would be so much better than a time turner. He remembered two years ago while he was fixing the Dursleys their supper, he had caught glimpses of the American movie that they had been watching called Ground Hog Day. This object would essentially recreate the same conditions as in the movie. If only muggles knew?

He couldn't believe his good fortune. This was exactly what he was looking for. Who cares if after two months and a bit he will be 5 years older. He had already done a quick mental calculation and figured that he would have roughly 67 days until September 1. This meant that he would be able to train for 67 months. He would be able to spend 14-hour days on his training. This would amount to over 25,000 hours of training.

God he thought where do I sign. Harry immediately took out his bank slip and wrote 250,000 galleons. He then imprinted his magical signatures to the bank slip. He handed the slip to the man and asked him to do the same.

Vladimir looked at the slip and said "Sir the price was for 200,000 galleons?"

Harry replied, "If you are wondering, the extra 50,000 galleons are for your silence. I want your magical oath that you will never reveal to anyone that I was ever here."

"Your secret is quite safe sir" Vladimir conveyed. He then put his thumbprint on the slip and spoke the wizard's oath, "I solemnly swear on my magic, that I will never reveal to anyone your appearance in my shop."

Harry then asked if there were any protection charms on the object. The merchant assured him that it had a full set of protection charms put on it. Harry satisfied with his purchase, and then bought some owl treats for Hedwig and some mice for Anubis. Harry took out his trunk and made sure that his new procession was properly secured.

Harry exited his trunk, and reduced it. After securing his trunk inside his cloak, he looked at the merchant and made sure to let him know that if the object didn't work he would be coming back for a full refund. Harry thanked Vladimir and left the store.

Before exiting the street, Harry made sure that his hood was pulled up, and that Anubis was well hidden in the folds of his cloak. He pulled Griphook's list of contacts to see where he was going next. After quickly scanning the list, he made his way back towards Knockturn Alley and proceeded to find Borgin's and Burke's.

Harry clearly remembered the place. He had landed there in his second year when he made his first attempt at floo transportation. He had been so nervous that he had mispronounced Diagon Alley and ended up in Knockturn Alley instead. He remembered hearing Malfoy Sr. talking to Borgin regarding some questionable items he wanted to get rid of.

He finally reached the store and mentally re-examined how he should approach the oily merchant. He knew that coming off with an attitude and a hate for the ministry would go a long way in getting to the more questionable items he wanted to get at. One quote he remembered is that money talks and bullshit walks. With that in mind he entered the store. The first thing he noticed was the gloomy and foreboding look of the place. Apparently, the place hadn't changed one bit from his last experience?

Harry stepped up to the counter and noticed a man with a corduroy vest and a plaid shirt. He was balding and had some nasty looking teeth. He kept his hood on, and marched up to the man. He waited at the counter to be noticed. Borgins' however, seemed to completely ignore him. Harry finally had enough and bellowed," Is this how you treat all your costumers. With your level of service, I'm surprised you're still in business."

The man slowly put his magazine down, and took a good look at Harry. He said in a low growl "May I help you?" Harry looked directly into the oily bastards' face, and decided that a direct show of force would be best to deal with this clown. He pulled back his hood and started speaking parseltongue with his new familiar.

Harry said, sss Anubis, I'll be asking this man some questions and I want you to let me know if he is lying.sss

sss Yes master. sss

By this time, Borgin had a look of total bewilderment written on his face. Harry noticed this and narrowed his eyes and said with venom, "Ah, I take it you are admiring my little friend here? I love snakes don't you? They understand me you see, and they are very wise creatures."

Harry looked in Borgin's face, and was suddenly very happy with his performance. Looking at the little rat, he had managed to completely unsettle the man.

Harry hissed softly, "Now let's get down to business shall we? I'm not from your accursed country. I am supposed to be attending a school called Hogwarts starting in September. I wish to train up this summer for eeerrrh an upcoming ceremony if you get my drift."

Seeing that Borgin was still listening Harry continued, " I'm a full year away from gaining my legal status in your country. Unlike this backward hell hole, where I'm from underage magic isn't an issue. Therefore, I need to make sure that I can use magic without being detected by your blasted ministry."

Seeing Borgin's sceptical look Harry added, " Don't worry, I'm not a ministry Auror or some other government sycophant."

"How do I know that?" Spat Borgin's.

Harry remembering his previous encounter pulled out his bank slip and wrote 2,000 galleons, and handed it to Borgins'.

Harry said, "Put your magical signature on this slip, and I'll transfer the funds immediately into your account."

Borgin, with a surprised look on his face, looked at the bank slip to make sure this wasn't a joke or some ministry trick. Finding nothing wrong with the slip and realizing that no business had even been done recognized that he couldn't get into trouble. He proceeded to transfer the credits.

Harry continued, "As you can see, how many ministry pukes have ever come in you shop with this kind of coin?"

Harry could see Borgin's eyes take on a greedy look. Borgin suddenly looked up, and with a crooked smile plastered on his face and said, " To answer your questions, none."

Harry smirked back and replied, "On top of my little wand problem, I'm also looking for some questionable reading material if you catch my drift? I'm not interested in the claptrap you have over there on those bookshelves but the good stuff."

Borgin's with a look of interest on his face said, "How much do you mean?"

"A lot and I'll make it worth your while" replied Harry.

Harry had no doubt in his mind that he was going into another hidden room. He would bet Sirius inheritance that the ministry had no idea what was really going on in these back alley shops. Harry was taking no chances and decided to make sure that the pathetic little rat wasn't going to best him.

Harry said, "Before we get started, I must warn you that should you decide to double cross me or attempt to injure me. My little pet here is immune to all dark magic. I have already instructed him to kill you in a most gruesome manner if you double cross me. This is a magical Egyptian cobra and can kill in less than 30 seconds. I've already given him instructions should an unfortunate incident happen during our business dealing. DO I MAKE MYSELF PERFECTLY CLEAR?"

Borgin looking at the snake and getting chills running along his spine replied in a quacking voice "Don't worry sir; anybody who is willing to do business in your league is perfectly safe with me. After all, I want to make sure that we can do more business in the future. Wealthy clients such as you don't exactly fall off a tree."

With that said Borgin took his wand and cast a revealing charm that Harry had never heard off before. Suddenly a blue glow in the shape of a hatch appeared for a few seconds and when it was gone a trap door was made visible. Borgin opened the door and Harry followed him down this old wooden staircase until they reached the basement. Bookshelves lined the back and the left side of the wall. The bookshelves were filled with books from top to bottom.

The entire right wall of the basement was filled with shelves containing dark arts objects ranging from runic stones to daggers of all sorts. There were also quite a few shelves that were filled with potions of all types. Harry assumed that there were all manners of poisons and antidotes. Looking at the middle of the basement was about half a dozen crates and what looked like some kind of Egyptian Sarcophagus.

Borgin said, "Let's remove the ministry tracking charms shall we? You see the ministry of magic track wizards and witches in two ways. There is a tracking charm that is put on all wands made in the U.K."

Seeing that his customer looked interested he continued, "When a wizard or witch gains adulthood, these charm are automatically removed. There is also another charm that is put on every witch and wizard when they are born. This is done on the baby's first check up. This charm is put on them to alert the ministry of illegal apparition. That charm is removed when you take your apparition test at the ministry."

Now the counter charms do not require a lot of power to remove but they are tricky to understand. Here, give me your wand. Harry did as he was told. Borgin then carried out a tetrahedral wand pattern just above his wand and chanted, "Remelus -Enemata." He then drew a rune in the shape of an eye, suddenly there was a purple light on his wand, and after a second, it vanished.

Borgin gave him his wand and asked him to cash a spell. Harry took his wand and cast at the sarcophagus Wingardium- Leviosa. The object lifted in the air and Harry levitated the object for a closer look.

Borgin said "Great, no owls as you can see."

Of course, he was in a basement and very much doubted that a ministry owl could find him down here. However, strange as it may seem, he did feel different. It was as if some sort of pressure had been removed from him.

Borgin then said, "Let's remove the last charm shall we." He then carried out a diamond type wand pattern and chanted "Bantus -Decenniums."

Now Borgin said," If there is anything else that you would like please let me know." Harry decided to get a closer look at the sarcophagus, as he got closer, Anubis hissed Master, You Have Found the repository of the ancients' knowledge.

Our kind was created to guard and train the worthy. You must get the repository of ancient knowledge master. I will show you how to open it.

Harry couldn't believe the turn of events. First, he finds an ancient Egyptian magical snake, and then a repository of ancient magical knowledge. Harry began to think that fate might be intervening on his behalf for once. He trusted Anubis completely. He also knew that Anubis possessed a great deal more knowledge than he did where ancient magic was concerned.

Harry replied, "I'll do as you ask great one."

Harry was thinking hard and fast. If Anubis is right, then this might very well be the largest discovery of long lost magic in a very long time. Harry then asked Borgin what he knew of the coffin. Borgin explained that he had bought it from one of his contact in Egypt. He had been trying for close to 8 months to open it, but had failed. Borgin explained that with all of his ancient books and knowledge on dark and light magic he had been unable to open it. Failing by using magic, he had moved on to muggle means and tried to blow it apart but it seemed that nothing could penetrate the blasted coffin.

Borgin then said, "Before I forget." He went to one of his shelves and pull out a thin book. He brought it back and said, "This book contains a replica of all the writing found in the tomb where the sarcophagus was found."

Harry took it and quickly skimmed through it. The book contained about thirty pages and seemed very detailed in its explanations. The book had a description of each wall and it's relation to the tomb and the sarcophagus. At the end of the book, there was flat crystal, which contained a silvery like substance in it.

Harry looked at Borgin and pointing at the crystal said, "What's this?"

"Oh! Sorry sir, that crystal there, creates a three dimensional image of the tomb as it was found. You use the spell written underneath the crystal to activate it."

Harry looked at Borgin and said, "I'll take it. This looks like the kind of thing that could keep me busy during my school weekends."

Borgin thinking he found a sucker said, "That sarcophagus and the book will run you and even 8,000 galleons." Harry not wanting to appear too eager took his time before starting to negotiate on the price. They landed on 3 thousand galleons since harry had already given him 2,000 galleons already.

Harry continued with his shopping and after carefully looking at all of the old tomes, decided to pick up the following books:

Complete guide to Ministry controlled Charms, Wards, Jinxes, Apparition, and Portkey creation.

Complete works of Hellguard the Magnificent on Ancient Blood Magic, Rituals, and Charms.

Hit Wizards Fight Dark, Fight Dirty, and Fight to Win.

The real Auror fighting guide

Power Enhancing Rituals

Long Lost Runes Alderan

Body Magic and Martial Arts the step-by-step training guide.

Ancient Arithmancy and Spell Creation by Dimity Vorlonsky

Occlumency and Legilimency the complete training guides by Ulric the Insane.

All 6 Tomes of Viking Black Magic by Necron, The Ice Lord (Recently excavated out of Norway.)

The Tome of Magical Theory

Lost Potions of Rohan. A complete guide to light and dark potions.

The Ancient Runes of Amazons

He was very pleased with his book purchases, and decided to further treat himself. After looking at the weapons section, he decided to get an enchanted blade. The blade itself was made from magical metal and was charmed to be unbreakable and permanently sharp. The magical metal itself would prevent any magical healing from taking. Any wound incurred from the blade would have to heal the muggle way. The blade itself was about 8 inches long and was in the same shape as a Japanese Katana but much smaller. It came with its own dragon hide holster and could also fit in Dragon hide boots.

The last thing he bought was a pensive. This one looked to be fairly new and it could prove very useful in the future. Finally, Harry said "What the Bill, boss."

Borgin tallied the bill and replied, "4,500 galleons including the sarcophagus."

Harry shrugged and pulled out his bank slip. He wrote the correct amount and stamped his magical signature to the slip. Borgin did the same and they watched the glow fading indicating that the transaction was complete. .

Once the transfer was complete, Harry removed his trunk and expanded it. He took all of his purchases and carefully stored them in their appropriate compartments. After another 20 minutes, he came out and shrunk his trunk. Harry then made sure that his wand was properly holstered, and his cloak fastened. When he was done, they both made their way back to the main floor.

Back on the main floor, Harry turned around and said "Mr. Borgin, I was never here. If someone comes looking for me, you never saw me, are we clear!"

Borgin replied, " No worries my mysterious man, I wouldn't be in business with loose lips."

Harry sneered but gave him a slight nod and proceeded out of his store. Once in the alley he took out his list to see what was next. He was glad that the remainder of his shopping would be done in Diagon Alley. He looked at his watch and it was now 3:30 pm. He decided to go to Madame Malkin's and pick up his new clothes. Once he was done there, he wanted to get to Ollivander's and see about getting another wand. Looking at his list, and noticed that his final stop for the day was at the magical trunk store. What he had in mind was quite unique, but if it was feasible then his accommodation problems would be solved.

It was now 4:15 pm and Harry had just picked up all of his new clothes from Malkin. Harry immediately set out for Ollivander's. After about ten minutes of walking, Harry found himself standing in front of the shop. He entered and waited for Mr. Ollivander to make his entrance. Harry took his time to look around and thought to himself that the shop hadn't changed at all from his last time in the shop.

He mused that from the look of things it had probably not changed much since the time of Christ. 'Well,' he thought, 'let's see if I can get another match.' Harry proceeded to the front counter. There was nobody there so he waited, after about 10 minutes he decided to make him self-known.

"Is anybody here?" he asked.

Harry could hear a shuffle from the back. Ollivander came out to greet him. He looked at Harry for a few seconds and with a creepy smile said "Ah Mr. Potter, how may I help you?"

Harry tried not to look too shaken at the fact that Ollivander's had recognized him though his disguise and after a few second said "How is it you recognize me through my disguise sir? I thought I was very well concealed."

Ollivander suddenly chuckled and said "Well dear boy, my glasses have, shall we say, some very specialized magic on them."

"You see Mr Potter due to my business and the dangers due to certain elements of our world; I have to be able to see through concealment disguises, polyjuice and other concealment effects."

"Now Mr. Potter how is you wand, lets see ah yes, 11 inch holly with a phoenix core. I remember every wand I have ever sold Mr. Potter."

"My wand is fine sir, but you see I had some trouble in the past. You see, eerrr.. Voldemort wand and mine have a certain connection due to them being brother wand and all. Last time we duelled, I found my self not able to properly cast spells due to the priori encantatum effect. You see sir I need to be able to purchase a new wand so that I can fight him properly."

Ollivander thought about it for about 10 seconds and said " I'm sorry Mr. Potter, but only Aurors are allowed a second wand, and with Ministry approval to boot. I'm afraid that an underage wizard such as you would have no chance of getting another wand from me."

"Sincerely Mr. Potter, I do understand you dilemma, but you see I also happen to be one of the few ministry sanctioned wand distributor for all under age wizards and witches in the U.K. You see, ministry auditors carefully monitor wand cores and magical wood supplies. If I was caught selling another wand to somebody who is not ministry approved I would loose my entire business"

Harry's shoulders sagged. He had always assumed that it wouldn't be that big a deal to get another wand. He then tried to play the sympathy card and said out loud "Well that's just great! I'm supposed to save the fucking wizarding world from Voldemort, but some how that's not enough to warrant a second wand. How the hell am I supposed to duel with the bastard if my wand will not work with him?"

Ollivander looked at Harry and thought to himself, 'If half the stories about him are true, then there is no doubt that he'll be one of the biggest players in the second phase of this war. God knows he was the key in the last one. Maybe I can meet him halfway without compromising my self.'

"Mr. Potter, I may have a solution that you might find acceptable. You see my family have been wand makers for centuries. All of the knowledge on wand making and all of its intricacies have been passed down from one generation to the next."

Seeing that he had Potter's attention, he continued, "Now I may not be able to sell you another wand, but I have several copies of the Ollivander wand making apprentice book. I have just finished updating my thoughts to the family book. I dare say I could sell you a copy of my book on wand making. It is very thorough in both theory and practical application of wand making. I would allow you to purchase my book if you are willing to take an oath on your magic, that you will never divulge the contents of this book to anyone else."

Harry thought about it for a minute and seeing that he had no other alternative replied, "I solemnly swear on my magic, that I will never divulge the contents of Ollivander's wand making knowledge to anyone else."

Ollivander nodded and replied, "If you study my book you should have no problem fabricating you self a powerful new wand Mr. Potter."

Next time he met Voldemort, he wanted to be ready and that meant a new wand. He could only hope that the book would be easy enough to follow and allow him to fabricate his own wand.

The next thing he said was "How much for your book sir?" 100 galleons later, Harry was back in Diagon Alley with a book on wand making safely stored in his trunk.

'Well,' he though bitterly, 'nothing has ever been easy for me, why the fuck should this be any different.' Who knows, maybe if he liked making wands, it could become a new hobby someday. That's if he lived long enough to practice that particular hobby.

Harry looked at his watch and noticed it was now 5:00 pm. He was going to make one more stop at Chromatics Trunks and Satchel. He hoped that they had what he was looking for. Harry reached the store and walked in. He quickly located the reception counter towards the back of the store and slowly made his way there. He took his time getting there; he wanted to look at all the various trunk and satchels on display.

He saw trunks in all colours, sizes and numbers of compartment. He approached a short and portly balding man and said "Sir, how do you do?"

The gentleman put his magazine down and with a somewhat fake smile said "Hello, my name is Terry O'Bannon, and how may I help you today?"

Harry looked at him to see if he could some how gage this man and finally said "I'm fine sir, I am looking for a very specific trunk and I was wondering if you could help me?"

The man answered, "Well sir we have a wonderful assortment trunk with a variety of functionalities."

Harry replied, "I remember an Auror friend of mine and he had a trunk with 7 compartments. If I remember correctly the last two compartments had quite a bit of room available. I'm looking for something quite particular in fact. Tell me sir, have you ever received a request for a trunk to double as a fully functional home inside?"

Seeing that the clerk was still listening Harry said, "You see, for some one like me who is constantly on the road, being able to carry a fully functional home in my pocket would be a huge advantage. Not to mention extremely safe."

The salesman looked at Harry as if he had grown three heads. "I'm afraid, sir, that we do not carry any trunk with such functionality. It's not that it can't be done you see, but the magical material and the time necessary for one of our crafters to carry out such a project would be far too extensive to our mass assembly mentality. You are probably talking about a one of a kind item sir. We limit our selves to decorate and furnish one or two rooms at best. "

Seeing the disappointment in the young man's face the clerk added, "I suppose that you could put in a special order and we could get it done for you. However just so you know, with our current back log, we can get it done only by next year."

Damn Harry thought, this was the perfect answer to his home problems, but he couldn't make it fly. Well he thought he did say that it could be done but that they themselves didn't have the time to do it. He remembered his little experience at Ollivander's and decided to change his approach.

"Sir, where do you guys learn to create permanent magically enhanced trunks?"

"Oh, we just have our hires go through a self study program with our company trade book. Why do you ask?"

Harry ignored his question and said, "How good is this trade book of yours?"

The clerk smiled and said, "Well, its very detailed sir. The experience contained in the book has been passed down in my family for over ten generations. It takes the apprentice through all of trunk making theory. It fully explains in details the theory and practical application of the various expansion, replenishment, utilities, security and artistic charms. The theory and practical applications extend to the transfiguration of construction material, duplication of furniture's, and the creation of portals."

Harry thought, 'What the hell, it looks like I'm going to have to do this the hard way also. Fuck, at the rate this is going, I'll be done studying by the time I'm a hundred.

Harry looked at the man for a second and said, "Well sir, how much would it cost me to buy one of your apprenticeship books? Now to put your mind at ease, I have no intention of going into business for my self or mass producing magical trunks."

Seeing that the clerk wasn't protesting Harry continued, "However I do think that I need to fully develop my ideas. It truly is the best solution for me, therefore I beg of you to please give me a price and I'll buy your apprentice ship book."

The man looked at him as if determining whether he was worthy or not and finally said, "Very well sir, if you want one of our books I'll have to hit you for 1,000 galleons. You will also give me a wizard's oath, stating that you won't open your own trunk store."

Harry sighed, but agreed to the terms and paid the man. He made his oath, and paid the fee. Harry made sure to store the book in his trunk and proceeded out of the store.

He looked at his watch, and noticed it was now 6:15 pm. He decided to call it quits, and went back to the Leaky Cauldron and to get himself a room. He would have to finish his remaining purchases tomorrow. He began walking back to the leaky Cauldron when he noticed a sign called The Magical Menagerie.

It looked like a store dedicated in providing wizarding utilities and kitchen supplies. He walked in and immediately noticed the bright lighting and the homey atmosphere. They seemed to cater into all sorts of cooking and kitchen supplies. They appeared to have a large variety of Ice Boxes. Thinking about how he wanted to avoid his relatives at all cost, and remembering the constant state of near hunger when he stayed there he decided to get one of the little jewels.

Harry figured that if he got his own magical Ice Box, he would never go hungry and would be able to supply himself with all of the nutrition that his body needed for what he planned. He would be doing a lot of magical and physical training and he needed all the nourishment he could get. He noticed a man at the back and sauntered over to get some information.

"Hello, I would like to know more about your charmed Ice Box?"

The man smiled and said, "Hello, my name is Ken McFarland, and to answer you question, we have a vast array of magical ice boxes. Your only limit depends on how much you are willing to part with my dear good man."

Harry thought about this for a while and decided to let this pretentious little fellow know that money was not a problem. He had long ago figured out that a healthy body is worth its weight in gold.

"Well sir, I'm looking for and Ice Box and pantry to help provide me with full size meals in English, Greek and Italian cuisine." answered Harry.

The salesman replied, "Well, we have a wide variety of Icebox and pantry models that provide a fantastic selection of meal plans. Our top of the line Ice Box/Pantry is the Excalibur Menagerie.It provides up to a 3-year food supply. After three years, you simply purchase a replacement charm. At that point you can decide to try other ethnic foods."

Harry was still looking at the man, when he added, "Each icebox contain up to 50 recipes. The recipes cover breakfast, dinner and supper. They are the pinnacle of Haute Cuisine and provide extremely nutritious meals. The only downside to our top of the line Ice Box is the price. Each box goes for 1,500 Galleons."

Harry thought about this particular offer, and decided that this summer he would be dammed if he let the Dursley control his food portions. "All right I'll take two of them. Now I would like the second icebox/pantry to contain French, Arabic and Japanese meal plans."

The clerk seemed very pleased and said, "Please follow me out back sir, I'll get your order ready. I forgot to tell you that our top of the line models come with voice activated shrink and enlargement charms."

Harry was very pleased with these purchases. He couldn't wait to try out all of the different ethnic meals. He took a bank slip and paid the clerk. When he was done with the transaction, he took out his trunk, and carefully stored his icebox. Harry noticed that space in his trunk was becoming an issue. Geez, he thought, at the rate he was going, he'd be running out of room soon. After storing his merchandise he exited the store and looking at the time made his way to the Leaky Cauldron.

Earlier at 12 Grimmauld Place Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix

Tonks apparated into the kitchen at headquarters. She found that she was not alone. There was a fairly good contingent of the order present including Dumbledore, Arthur, Molly, Bill, Charlie, Shaklebolt, Remus and Moody.

"Ah, Nymphadora how are you this morning?" Dumbledore asked.

Tonks cringed at hearing her full name. Damn, what the heck was her mother thinking giving her that stupid name? She looked up and said, "Fine sir, except for an incident between Harry and the Dursleys."

"Oh?" Suddenly Dumbledore eyes stopped twinkling and his face looked a little more serious.

"What happened?" He asked.

"Well sir, there was this altercation…and then he picked his uncle up by the collar and just pounded him in the face. He threw him on the couch and then had a little chat with them. I didn't hear everything, but he certainly let them know that he wasn't going to take any crap from them anymore.

Let me tell you Harry is not someone I want pissed at me right now. There is a lot of anger there. You should have seen his eyes they were like Neon floodlights and there was this white aura surrounding his whole body, the air was just crackling with magical energy sir."

Dumbledore sighed and put his hands to his cheeks in the hope of rubbing away his weariness. Finally, he looked up and said, "Well, we're going to have to monitor his house more closely. He has got to learn to control that temper of his."

By this time Remus had had enough and yelled, "For God Sake Albus! Why the hell do you keep doing this to him, year after year? You know his muggle relatives hate him. Hell, he can't stand being around them either. He has just lost the only father figure he has ever had, and he has no one to help him deal with his grief. You keep sending him back there against his wishes for the sake of some ancient blood protection that his mother gave him. Surely the lad's mental well-being is worth more that this protection."

Remus continued his rant and upped the volume. "There are just too many inconsistencies in your plans Dumbledore. You send him to his aunt for this supposed protection, yet that very same place is crippling his spirits and emotional well being."

Dumbledore acted as if he wasn't listening to any of it, which only infuriated Remus even more. He growled and said, "What kind of a fighter are we going to have if he can't muster the will or the care to fight because he is to emotionally burdened? I happen to know about this prophecy you have. Yeah! James told me the whole spiel. I have never told a soul. I happen to know that he will be instrumental in the defeat of Voldemort. Yet you decide to prepare Hermione and Ron. You let them train with Auror and leave Harry to rot with his relatives and do nothing to prepare him to face Voldemort, why?"

Remus took some deep breath to calm himself and said, "I can just imagine what he thinks of you after waiting five years to reveal the prophecy to him. I find that you are keeping way too many secrets. I'll tell you right now, if I find out you have used him as just another of your pawns, I'll personally come after you."

Dumbledore gave him one of his patented grandfatherly smiles and replied, "Remus, I am only looking out for his safety. He has managed so far and I believe that Harry will bounce back very soon from his ordeal. He is the most resilient young man I have ever met. We have already sent a fair warning to the Dursleys and it seems that Harry gave them his own private warnings. He is free to relax this summer and recuperate."

Albus stopped to collect he thoughts and looked directly into Remus eyes and continued, "The reason I have not allowed him to train is that he needs to control his anger. We do not have wards powerful enough to prevent ministry detection if he gets into one of his rages. You have seen what he was like last year. He has to learn to control his anger. Besides, when he is back at Hogwarts, I'll personally make sure that he gets the training that he needs."

Albus was partially listening to Remus. He had reviewed his initial link plan and decided that he was putting too many eggs in one basket. There would be no harm in letting Harry train the way he should come September. This way if his theory on the growing link failed, he would have his back up plan.

Remus shot back, "How can he control his anger Albus, he has no outlet, God you won't even let him go outside for some physical release. He might as well be put in a Gringotts vault or Azkaban for all the good staying there will do him."

Albus now felt he needed to quell this argument lest others see the minor contradictions and bellowed, "I have heard your arguments Remus, but my decision stays."

Remus slammed his hands on the table and said "FINE! But don't come crying when Harry comes to the realization that he is nothing but your weapon. When he finds out he'll turn away from you and you are going to have another powerful enemy against you. You are going to lose him. I hope you can face James and Lily's music when your time comes Albus. I don't think they are going to be too impressed on how you treated their son."

He stood up from the table and walked off.

Moody then turned his magical eye to Albus and said, "Remus is right, I don't know what games you are playing at Albus but you are in the process of making some real blunders. If you don't take some steps to help Harry now, you and the rest of us are going to really regret it".

"The only emotion the kid has right now is hate. I'm sure you're aware by now that he is going through his magical growth. From what I can already discern, the kid is going to become one hell of a powerful wizard. The last thing you want is another future dark lord on your hands."

Bill Weasley had been listening to the arguments. What Remus said, made him re-evaluate Dumbledore's actions. Since the Triwizard tournament, Bill's respect for Harry had increased dramatically. The kid had been thought hell and back. He had also overhead the twin's story about Harry's second year. They had rescued him from the muggles. Apparently his room had bars on his window.

'What kinds of people do that to a child?' he thought. There is no doubt in his mind that the muggles have been mistreating Harry. For Bill it came down to a pretty simple concept. Harry had saved his baby sister from certain death, plain and simple. If it came down to a showdown between Harry and Dumbledore, he knew whom he would pick. He needed to talk to his brother Charlie and find out where his loyalties were. As far as he was concerned, the Order needed him a lot more than he needed them.

Ron and Hermione looked at each other, as if wondering what prophecy. Hermione began having a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. She wished that she could just contact Harry. She wanted to know how he was doing. Dumbledore forbid them from sending any correspondence for the rest of the summer. The headmaster felt that Harry needed his space to grieve over Sirius properly.

Ron felt bad for his friend being stuck with his hated muggle relatives and all. On the other hand he was also glad that Harry was out of the picture for a while. He was getting to know Hermione a lot better, and he was finally getting something over Harry. Harry would be really surprised when he found out that he could beat the pants off him in DADA. This summer was shaping up to be his best ever. Sucks to be Harry, but hey that's life for you.