Thank you for all the reviews!
Part Two
Harry cheered as he laid down the stirring rod and saw the bright blue color in the cauldron. The potion had worked! It had taken some more tries and some wasted ingredients, but at least the cauldrons hadn't exploded again, and the house had guided him through some of the mistakes so that he wouldn't make them twice.
Now he had a potion that should guide him to where other magical people in London were, and that meant where Gringotts was.
Harry bit his lip as he stared at the potion. He had gone out into the garden to hunt and pick fruits and vegetables, of course, but otherwise, he hadn't left Grimmauld Place since he'd appeared here. It was scary, thinking of going around all those other people.
But he couldn't just give up. He really did want some bread and sweets, and he had to have magical money to buy that.
Making up his mind, Harry dipped a flask into the potion the way the book had said, then tilted it back and drank.
It tasted awful! The book and the house hadn't said that! Harry dropped the flask on the table that held his extra stirring rods and other potions stuff and staggered back and forth, coughing. It felt like he'd stuffed burning earwax down his throat.
But gradually, the feeling lessened, and Harry stood up with a bright smile. He could feel the location of other magical people. He knew they were some way away, but that was all right. He could walk.
It was strange, like having a lead weight in his stomach, Harry thought, as he went up to his bathroom to brush his hair. But he was sure he would get used to this feeling, too, like he had the burning in his throat from the potion.
Meanwhile, he was going to brush his hair neatly and make sure his robes didn't have wrinkles and that he had the nicest pair of the shrunken shoes the house had given him. He didn't want to look weird.