2 Chapter 2 Gearing Up

Harry had reached level 57 after a year of training in the tutorial and the timer was nearly at zero. The tutorial took place in a basic village where he could do basic quests and gain levels and get stronger, though not without danger or risks. Monsters in the area weren't easy to slay when the game had the quality of real life and though he could return from death when killed, the process was indescribably painful. When he died he would lose a level and if he died when he didn't have a level to lose, five days of Tutorial time would be used up. When this first happened, Harry was made aware through a pop up warning that revival when dying at level one was only possible in the tutorial and would lead to permanent death if this occurred after the tutorial was finished.

During the tutorial, Harry's skinny, malnourished body changed to a full and healthy one and he gained visible muscles from running around and swinging a sword. For three months a drill instructor like Trainer in the village had him doing all kinds of things while feeding him fruits and such. Day by day his body healed and filled out at a visible rate and his malnourished form morphed into a high performance one in less time than should have been possible were it not for his Gamer's Body.

According to the FAQ part of the menu which came with his gift, his Gamer's Body was gained through the combination of becoming an Obscurus and awakening a Mutation at the same time along with some help. Harry asked his parents about this and his father informed him what an Obscurial was while his mother informed him what a Mutant was.

A normal Obscurial could shift back and forth between an Obscurus form and a normal form. Though historically the ability to control the transformation and the form were both questionable as all Obscurials were inherently unstable and almost guaranteed to die. Harry's body however was incapable of taking on the Obscurus form of a flying mass of semi-solid magic particles that could exude tremendous force and was nearly unstoppable.

A mutant was someone who would, often through great stress or trauma, gain an attribute, trait, or power outside of the norm that they were not born with. His mother however told him there had never been a mutant wizard. She said that wizards were hardier and the amount of stress needed to awaken a mutation was not something that a wizard could survive. Harry was likely not the first Wizard to be subjected to enough stress to kill him but come back to life, but the gene needed for a mutation to activate was not common so Harry lucked out.

His mother and father concluded after many tests they walked Harry through that his mutation allowed the traits of an Obscurial to fuse into his human form rather than have them set into an alternate highly unstable form.

Because of this, though his body appeared to be a bundle of organs inside a skeleton wrapped in muscle and skin, it only looked that way. His actual existence was composed of black ash like particles of semi-solid magic energy that came together and took a form that imitated the cells of Harry's body. When observed, you couldn't even tell there was anything special about the cells until they broke down. It was a flawless imitation.

What was special about this type of existence was that the amount of Obscurus particles that composed each cell was greater than the minimum required to imitate a cell. Should Harry's body receive damage, the excess particles of the body would be able to change form and take the place of the damaged cells. Moreover, as the damaged cells were just imitations of cells and not actual cells, the damaged cells would recover after a period. Truly harming Harry's form was like punching sand.

However, if Harry's body accumulated enough damage to exceed the excess of particles he had to replace the damage with, AKA his damage tolerance or total health, the integrity of his body would break down and dissolve completely into Obscurus particles and reform later at a lower density. Both processes were intolerably painful.

In other words, Harry's body was like a video game character's. Damage he took basically decreased his Health Bar without decreasing his physical abilities and if he took too much damage and died, he respawned later at a lower level.

His level itself seemed to be the concentration or density of the Obscurus particles and there were many things Harry could do to increase his level. At higher levels Harry's damage tolerance would be higher as well. Of course at a higher level his cells would contain more particles to imitate the cells so when he did take damage it was more severe. This meant that the amount of health he lost if someone was strong enough to damage him increased as his own health increased along with his defense. So getting stabbed at any level removed about the same percentage of health, but he was much harder to stab at higher levels.

The main source of Harry's Level ups had been defeating monsters that roamed around the Tutorial Village. Whenever a monster died, it dissolved into particles of grey light which was considered Death Energy and Harry could absorb them. Once he absorbed enough energy to reach a specific threshold, Harry's level increased. The FAQ stated that when Harry leveled up, his Obscurus particles would replicate themselves using the external energy they had absorbed. However, the Obscurus particles he was composed of could not absorb just any energy. The energy he absorbed had to be dominated first. The monsters around the village were composed of energy of the afterlife and defeating them was what allowed Harry to absorb them in a way that his Obscurus particles could replicate themselves. Of course this meant that Harry had to actually fight them.

Combat in the Tutorial Village had a steep learning curve for someone who never had muscles before but his spartan style trainer, someone who did not look like he belonged in a small rural village, said that was a good thing since it meant Harry didn't have any bad habits he needed to beat out of him. The village trainer showed Harry how to use a short sword and round shield and didn't bother questioning why a ten year old child was learning how to fight monsters.

And while the trainer taught Harry physical combat, and the meaning of the word sadist, his mother and father taught him the finer points of magic based combat. This was useful as the timer didn't move while paused but Harry's stamina and magic reserves wouldn't restore themselves while paused so if Harry exercised till he couldn't move and cast spells until he was out of magic then paused for a week, for that entire week he would still be so weak he couldn't move which sucked. Thanks to that he couldn't abuse the Pause Function to grind his physique or practice magic though he did become an expert in theoretical situations.

Although that made sense, it still bugged Harry to no end.

With his game like body, Harry had the Stats of Wisdom, Intelligence, Strength, Agility, and Luck. Each did as their game equivalent did.

Wisdom increased his magic restoration speed, made magic easier and faster to cast, decreased magic damage taken when attacked, and made Harry more clever.

Intelligence increased his internal magic reserves, made the effects of cast magics stronger, and gave him better memory and faster thinking speed.

Strength increased how much he could lift, how much force he could put behind a physical blow, how long he could fight without stopping, and also reduced how much physical damage he took when attacked better than a level up did on its own.

Agility increased his movement speed along with his reaction time and dodge rate.

And Luck of course increased luck.

When Harry increased in level he was able to gain five stat points he could distribute as he pleased, but he was warned against the stockpiling of Luck. Luck apparently affected real world chance and probability in a way that was hard to avoid. It didn't just increase his odds of winning at Casinos, it increased the likelihood that opportunities which brought danger would be forced on him. Harry decided to stick with an average person's level of luck and not distribute anything to it, but that was not the only way to increase his stats points.

When Harry first saw his stat page, the stats were abysmal. Not that surprising of course as a skinny nine year old twig a week before his tenth birthday. The village trainer practically dragged him to the training arena and took it upon himself to put Harry through his paces until Harry's Strength and Agility had both reached 10. Because his stamina didn't recover while paused, he could only spend real time exercising, but the benefits were worth it as it added stats to Harry's body without leveling up.

One thing Harry did abuse of the Pause Function was that he could spend as long as he wanted to study with his parents, thus increasing his Wisdom and Intelligence almost for free, though he definitely spent more time playing video games and watching TV with his parents than he did studying. Once Harry's Wisdom and Intellect both increased by 30 additional stats, it didn't move any higher and his parents couldn't think of anything else to teach him as no more books appeared in the classroom they could use. That in itself was fine, but the TV only showed reruns which he eventually grew tired of and you can only beat an old video game so many times before it is no longer enjoyable.

And although Harry was level 57, he could fight monsters that were level 70 or so thanks to his bonus stats. Harry spent far more time increasing his base stats through exercise and studying and increasing his path mastery than he did grinding levels. The reason was simple. When the tutorial was over, his level would return to one, but the stats he added through exercise, study, and practice would remain, so Harry would not return to earth with a twig body again. The fact that he wouldn't lose his Paths was also something to celebrate. This game didn't have specific skills and proficiency towards those skills. Instead, each skill was grouped into a Path and as the Path Rank increased, so did the effect of the skills contained without.

Each Path had a hundred Ranks and Harry had made progress on three Paths. His Magic Path was at Rank 12, his Warrior Path was at Rank 4, and his Scholar Path was also at Rank 4. The Magic Path strengthened Magic of course but Harry was surprised that he was only Rank 12. Although he lacked in practice, Harry still memorized the method and mastered the spell theory of every spell Hogwarts taught and he practiced up to the third year spells. By that ranking, Harry doubted that this Dumbledore character he heard about's Magic Path Rank was higher than 30. Of course, Rank did not represent percentage. It was in fact geometric much like the Richter scale used in earthquakes. Rank 20 was ten times stronger than Rank 10, and so on.

Harry gave his heartfelt goodbyes to his parents before unpausing for the last time here. It would have involved more tears but Harry figured out some time ago that the Lily and James Potter here weren't his parents, they were echoes. Lily and James Potter probably reincarnated long ago. Harry didn't think the echoes were aware of it and honestly he didn't mind as even if it was just a simulation, it gave him a childhood filled with love and everything he ever wanted.

Ten year old Harry appeared at a park he somewhat recognized as one close to where he used to live. The sun was just beginning to rise and the park was empty of anyone there to see how he arrived.

[Tutorial Complete. Enjoy your new life.]

Harry opened up his stats menu to see his level one stats and inventory. He was pleased that the former was not as bad as he thought it might have been but that sadistic trainer did put him through the ringer and his body certainly wasn't normal anymore.

[Harry Potter

Level 1 Age 10

STR 32 AGI 36

INT 38 WIS 34

LUK 10

Warrior Path Rank 4

Scholar Path Rank 4

Magic Path Rank 12]

His dad told him many times to hide as much about his new abilities as possible, so the fact that someone a week from their eleventh birthday was three times stronger and smarter than an average adult was something that he would have to be discreet about. Harry's inventory included his current clothes which matched what he wore before. A plain white shirt and tan pants which still fit him though he had grown several inches since his death. He also no longer needed glasses which was something he was thankful for.

Out of curiosity, Harry used the Pause feature and found the world silent, grey, and frozen. Harry was able to move around, but only a few feet from what he was. Anything he touched felt like cold stone so it was not very comfortable. When he unpaused, he found himself back where he was when he paused though he had moved while the Pause was in effect. Harry paused again and opened his Inventory. He noticed earlier there was something else in there.

According to the see-through display that his Inventory took the form of, he had about 300 British pounds, the local currency, and a small present icon in one of the Inventory slots. Harry tapped on it which caused it to vanish and two Inventory slots filled out, one contained a letter and the other contained a train ticket. The Inventory content however felt different from what he expected.

In the game, items and such were simple things and when Harry placed them in his inventory, he got the details about them such as weight, length, balance, and quality and such. He didn't need to read those details, he simply knew them. His inventory wasn't available when Pausing in the Tutorial as during the Tutorial, Pausing caused him to be with his parents so he never placed any of the books Lily and James taught him in his inventory so he had no idea what was happening now was a feature.

Although Harry had not taken the letter out of his inventory, he knew the exact contents as if it was memorized. He even knew the texture of the paper even though he hadn't touched it yet.

Harry couldn't take the letter out while paused so he unpaused and took out the letter and the content he seemed to have memorized vanished, though he did remember what he went over. As a test, Harry placed the letter back into his inventory and once more, he seemed to have memorized it. Harry went over the content of the letter a few times and removed it again. Though he no longer knew the exact details, what he went over was still retained.

Although Harry couldn't place and remove things from his inventory while paused, this was still the ultimate cheat for studying and knowledge retention because he could take as long as he wanted to memorize a book while paused.

*Ping* [INT +1]

Harry smirked at the familiar ping in realization he could still gain bonus stats after the tutorial. Yes, Harry had some ideas to try out now. Then of course there was the letter itself. It was his Hogwarts acceptance letter and was actually dated for the next week and included all the required school supplies he would need for his first year. His mother told him that Hogwarts letters for first years were always mailed out on their eleventh birthday and somehow Harry got his a week early. He even got the train ticket that should only have been mailed to him after he mailed his response to the admission letter. Not that he was going to complain about it.

The game system included a map that Harry was able to zoom in and out of and although it was grayed out past a certain point, the whole of Surrey was highlighted and the places of interest were marked. Harry quickly made his way to the bus station.

Harry wasn't sure how to describe it, but the normal world felt weird. Well, perhaps not weird. Boring? Something like that. Harry kinda missed the sky of that tutorial world where he would occasionally see gigantic things flying higher than mountains soaring from one end of the horizon to the other. They never descended near the village but their silhouettes could be made out from their massive forms. Flying leviathans with multiple sets of wings. Massive flocks of enormous birds capable of blocking out the sun. Illusionary beasts that radiated color and left a rainbow like trail as they flew off.

Yes, the normal world was boring, or maybe it was just the suburban area. Hopefully it was just that.

Harry was questioned by the ticket vendor at the bus station why a minor was going to London but Harry told him he spent the night with a friend who had an emergency and couldn't get him home so he gave him money and dropped him off at the station.

Harry's mother didn't appreciate that his father insisted on teaching Harry how to come up with a believable lie on the spot, but Lily had no way to deny its usefulness as long as it was not abused. The fact that his mother loved to watch crime dramas that demonstrated all sorts of lying skills didn't help her argument.

He took a bus to London and once his map filled out he headed from the station to the Leaky Cauldron. Before entering he cast the most overpowered spell his parents could think of teaching him, the Notice-Me-Not.

The Notice-Me-Not charm was a seventh year spell and one of the few that his parents insisted on Harry mastering before the end of the Tutorial. It was the same spell that prevented non-magicals from noticing people walking into Platform 9 and 3 Quarters at King's Cross Station and was picky with how it was cast.

The spell only allowed you to prevent people from noticing one specific thing and the more specific it was, the longer it lasted. Like people walking into and vanishing into a brick wall.

Harry cast it on himself with the intention to prevent people from noticing his black hair color. People still saw him entering and if they wanted to speak with him there was nothing to stop them. But if seen it wouldn't register in their minds that he had black hair and if asked to describe him later they wouldn't remember what color his hair was. Harry's mother insisted Harry learn this as Harry looked much like James did at that age and she didn't feel comfortable that people might recognize him before he could prepare himself.

Harry once tried the Notice-Me-Not while grinding monsters to prevent them from noticing his presence, but Harry learned the hard way that wasn't how the spell worked. The best Harry could do was prevent monsters from noticing Harry was not a monster. And even that didn't work very often as many monsters would attack each other. Also, the stronger the magic of those who are prevented from noticing, the quicker the spell ran out and needed to be recast. There was no way for example to use it for longer than a few seconds against a powerful wizard and it would only last a minute or so on a seasoned Auror according to Harry's dad and even less on groups of Aurors.

Luckily the pub was filled with average wizards and not Aurors. No one was specifically looking for him so a quick glance was as much if not more than most would give. This many magicals though and Harry would need to recast it soon but Harry had enough magic to cast it three times thanks to his bolstered stats even at level one.

Harry made his way to the back and tapped on the bricks his dad told him about which opened up the wall to Diagon Alley.

The alley itself did remind Harry a little of the village in that every building had its own unique aspects but it seemed as if they cared about the wrong details. Was it impressive that a building could lean further than should be structurally possible without falling over because it was held up by magic? Not really to be honest.

Harry recast the Notice-Me-Not charm just as it was flickering out and hurried down the cobblestone street to where his dad said Gringotts was located.

The fact that a structure called the Wizard Bank was run entirely by Goblins was a point Harry felt might have been lost on most wizards. Then again, if they called it the Goblin bank, Harry doubted they would have as much usage in the alley. The Notice-Me-Not charm fizzled out the moment Harry stepped into the bank showing that many beings whose attention could not be avoided were staring at him. Harry didn't bother reapplying the charm, he simply walked up to an empty counter and said, "I'd like to speak with my account manager Rocksheer."

The Goblin leaned over to look down on Harry and said, "And what account would that be?"

Harry gave a flat look and answered back, "One of Rocksheer's. That's all you need to know."

Harry's dad told him that talking to a Goblin was like speaking to a tiger. Never let them see your back and show no weakness that gives them a reason to pounce.

The Goblin took no offense and called a runner. He told Harry, "Follow Deeptooth here and Rocksheer will meet you soon."

Harry gave a barely noticeable nod before following the other Goblin to a waiting area.

It did not take long for another, much older Goblin to come forth. Harry expected that on habit, Goblins would force wizards to wait some time before getting to them, but Harry was different as the Goblins had some expectations onto his identity and would not exercise patience in acquiring the answer just to stick it to an unknown wizard.

Rocksheer looked over Harry for a moment before irritably stating, "I am Rocksheer. There are but two accounts handled by me and both are considered dead."

Harry smiled, "A mistake I'm certain. I'm Harry Potter."

Rocksheer narrowed his eyes and said, "We shall see. Follow me."

Harry followed the Goblin through a series of hallways to his office where there was already a parchment on the table and a knife. The Goblin held out the knife and said, "This blade will draw only a few drops of blood. Cut into your finger and let the blood fall on this parchment. If your claim is true, this will give proof. If not.." The Goblin gave a toothy sneer. It seemed he did not appreciate the possibility of someone pretending to be Harry Potter.

Harry nicked his finger and a few drops of blood fell. Harry could still bleed when injured but the actual drops of blood would return to magic particles after a few minutes. Before that point however they were still drops of his blood and would act like it. The parchment the drops fell upon filled out with strange patterns and words Harry did not recognize.

The Goblin reviewed the words and patterns for a few moments before saying, "Congratulations on returning from the dead Mr. Potter. Gringotts has no prejudice against mutants."

Harry frowned and asked, "That paper shows you I'm a mutant?"

The Goblin nodded and placed the paper over a candle, setting it ablaze. He calmly answered back, "It does, though the nature of the mutation cannot be inferred through this means as we have no precedent before yourself. You are the first mutant wizard my kind has come across though. I shall assume the nature of your mutation relates to the source of your unlikely revival from a failed Obscurial transformation. It matters not. The fact that you are indeed Harry Potter and currently alive is all that Gringotts is concerned with."

Harry asked, "Why does it sound like everyone knows about my death?"

Rocksheer commented back, "You have not stepped foot into the magical world since that day have you? Very well, I shall give you your answer. The events of that night twelve months ago were felt throughout Greater Magical Britain. The Minister of Magic ordered the Department of Mysteries to send a group of Unspeakables to investigate using Time Turners to go back and determine what happened. They learned that Harry Potter had grown up in an abusive household and had died while transforming into an Obscurial. Originally the Minister tried to silence the news but word got out and the next day everyone knew that Harry Potter had lived in an abusive household and was dead."

He opened a drawer and shuffled out a few pieces of paper. He took one and said, "And although recently dead, your family's assets remain yours. Many daughters of the Potter line were wed out and many families share your blood and all of them have been trying to inherit your family's assets. As there was no Will, Gringotts' policy is to wait two years for any and all contenders to come forward and the one with the closest blood relations would inherit. As you have returned, that is no longer necessary."

Harry ignored the last part and was deep in thought. He remembered those people standing outside his door the night before his death which always wonder about. That being said, he was now more confused. His parent's knowledge of events after their death only included things Harry knew. His father did ask him to check on Sirius Black as the man had not died and was Harry's godfather so the echo of James Potter asked Harry to check on him once he returned.

Harry said, "This is my first time in the wizarding world and everything I know of it I learned from a letter I found written by my father." This was a part of a cover story James and Harry had come up with to account for all the things they would let other people know that Harry knew without revealing the impossible truth. That being said, it hadn't take into account Harry's fame. Harry questioned, "Why would my death matter to the world?"

Rocksheer pondered the question and decided to answer the best he could. "From the wizards' perspective, you are responsible for ending the reign of Voldemort. You know of him don't you?"

Harry nodded. His parents did tell him loads about that blighted bastard.

Rocksheer continued, "You were taken to St. Mungo's once found after your parents were killed and they found that you were hit with the Killing Curse, something that no one survives but you did somehow. It was guessed that Voldemort killed your parents and used the curse on you, something prevented it from working and somehow the man hasn't been seen since. Many wizards hope he has died though there is little conclusive evidence to support that. You were given the moniker 'Boy-Who-Lived' and treated as a hero by Wizards even though you personally couldn't have done anything as a fifteen month old child and no one actually has any real idea of what happened that night outside of mostly wild and a few educated guesses."

Harry looked at Rocksheer for a few moments to see if the Goblin had been joking. When the serious expression didn't break up into laughter, Harry realized Rocksheer had been serious and Harry suddenly felt that the Wizarding world might not be all it's cracked up to be.

Harry asked a few more questions such as why he was taken to his relatives and told about the blood wards set up by Dumbledore. As long as Harry was near a relative of Lily's, the wards would protect him from any magical being seeking him with ill intent. It was revealed in a public hearing later that Dumbledore never took into account the possibility that one's blood relation would treat another as anything but family. Harry was not left there with ill intent but it was considered neglect, as Harry was never checked on and his situation was assumed to be healthy. Dumbledore resigned from his post as Chief Warlock and Supreme Mugwump afterwards once he realized how blind he had been.

Harry didn't like the man but honestly couldn't hate him. He certainly would have felt different if things had not turned out the way they had but for now he would at least give the old man the benefit of the doubt.

Harry settled the remaining matters with Rocksheer and took possession of the Potter Manor on Highrock in the north. Harry's father told him during the war the spell to hide it couldn't be used unless it was empty and it contained the Potter family library. Harry had no intention of letting that go to waste. Harry acquired a moderate sized bag of gold and purchased from the Goblins a necklace that would cast a simple Glamor that changed the color of his hair from black to dirty blonde. Harry's lightning bolt shaped scar had started healing during the tutorial and was not noticeable without looking closely. Without the scar, his glasses, or black hair, Harry felt he should be able to safely move around Diagon Alley though Rocksheer did mention that Ollivander the Wand Maker would likely recognize him.

After settling a few more matters, Harry asked, "What of my Godfather, Sirius Black?"

Rocksheer scowled and said, "Lord Black remains imprisoned in Azkaban for these last ten years."

"What?! Why is he there and how is he a lord?"

Rocksheer answered, "They say he was the Secret Keeper of your parent's home in Godric's Hollow and the right hand man of Voldemort. It is also said that he killed Peter Pettigrew and thirteen muggles though he has never been formally charged and no trial has taken place for him. As for the Lordship, it was only recently that his mother, father, and grandfather died and with his other siblings and cousins dead or incarcerated after legitimate trials, Lordship has fallen to Sirius Black."

Harry held his face in horror at the realization of what the man had gone through. He said, "My parent's secret keeper was Peter Pettigrew. How can we get Sirius out?"

Rocksheer shook his head and answered, "It would not be simple. Pettigrew has been posthumously given an Order of Merlin Third Class. Without incontrovertible evidence, there is little that can be done. I believe gold has been spent by Death Eaters aware of your Godfather's innocence to prevent his matter from going to trial. Should Sirius Black die in Azkaban, the Black Family properties and vault shall be inherited by Draco Malfoy after two years. He is the son of a known Death Eater and the closest male by blood of the Black Family."

Harry sighed at all the information that didn't make sense and directly asked, "If someone is a known Death Eater, how are they not in Azkaban?"

"They claimed to be under the Imperius Curse during their own trials," he answered in a flat tone.

Harry shook his head and asked, "Anything else you think I should know?"

The Goblin gave it some thought and said, "Dumbledore and the whole of Greater Magical Britain looked quite terrible after your death so rumor has it they are going to do something big and stupid to make up for it. No word on what it is yet but expect the unexpected."

Harry thought that sounded foreboding but hoped nothing would come of it. He was still Level One after all!

The final matter he got to which his mother insisted on was getting himself a non-magical identity and background to be used should he leave the magical world. Both his parents agreed it was too small for Harry to stay in forever. Although he could arrange for such things later, the earlier it was made, the better it looked. Luckily Harry was born in a mundane hospital and at least until a year ago went to a mundane school. Harry asked the Goblins to set up his non-magical identity showing he was placed in the system after his relatives died and became a genius shortly thereafter and was enrolled into a high end self paced school. Harry watched enough crime dramas to know that suspicious people always had their past looked up and Harry wanted something for others to find that was independent of magic and looked as normal as possible for his circumstances.

Once finished, Harry put on the necklace turning his hair dirty blonde and left the bank.

*Ping*

[First Quest! Acquire Class Materials

-Acquire: Books from all seven years

-Acquire: A full set of potions ingredients

-Acquired: High quality potion crafting equipment

-Acquire: Four sets of quality robes

-Acquire: False Wand

-Acquire: Special Familiar]

Harry had to do a double take when he saw items five and six. He did wonder how he was going to do the wand thing as he never needed one. Turns out even the Quest was saying he didn't need one but better to pretend he did. The special familiar was also interesting. Would he get a Phoenix or perhaps a Fairy Dragon? Maybe some rare and obscure mythical beast?

Harry selected the first item on the quest and his map tagged the area and led him to a store called Flourish and Blotts. From what Harry understood, most subjects used the same book over several years so he needed only a few for each class. Magic books were among those his parents could not produce in the classroom they taught him in but they did tell him what they remembered. Thanks to that, Harry was able to get all the books they spoke of and a few others they recommended such as Moste Potente Potions. It could be found in the Hogwarts Restricted Section but could also be purchased from the book store though it was far more expensive than standard books. Harry was quite pleased that none of the book store employees questioned why he needed so many books.

Once a check mark was next to the quest item and all of the books were in Harry's Inventory, Harry followed the map to one of the Apothecaries and purchased a fair amount of each ingredient and two cauldrons, one for class and the better one for personal use as the Admissions Letter specified the one for class needed to be pewter. Once Harry had finished getting each ingredient, his map marker changed to a location further down the alley to get the remaining ingredients he needed. Harry made his way through the shiftier part of Diagon called Knockturn Alley and found another Apothecary, this one a bit shadier but as Harry was only buying ingredients that were considered legal if uncommon, the owner didn't make a fuss about it. Another check mark down.

Next stop was the robe shop marked on his map called Twilfitt and Tattings which looked far more humble compared to the one he passed called Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. Harry guessed this one had better quality though since his map led him here instead. The seamstress was surprised to see a young child on his own requesting several sets of robes as even rich purebloods wouldn't buy their children's Hogwarts apparel here. Her hesitation vanished of course when Harry showed her he had the coin needed. She started measuring him up and deciding on colors to match his eyes and hair, but Harry told her he would be changing his hair color to black for family reasons later which she luckily didn't question. She did subtly ask if he wished for his family crest to be sewn into the robe though. The question indirectly asked if Harry was a Pureblood as Twilfitt and Tattings catered more towards Purebloods than it did others. Harry thought about it and asked if that was allowed for school robes before deciding against it. Since Harry hadn't denied having a house crest, the seamstress let the point drop and finished her measurements.

Harry left the shop more than a little surprised that it had taken two hours and that the robes had cost more than all his ingredients and potion supplies put together, but the robes did look nice. The seamstress was silently pleased with herself as she noticed Harry had a well developed form for a child and she lessened some of the usual slack in the robes to better give an outline of Harry's physique when he wore them. She wondered if her customer would have a girlfriend before Christmas time.

Harry's next map blip for the fake wand led him to a broom shop where Harry picked up on what he needed and purchased some pieces of wood. He used a carving spell to round and narrow the wood and used some sandpaper and polish he bought from the broom shop to finish it up until it had a nice sheen.

A check mark appeared next to Fake wand and with some anticipation, Harry followed the map to the last check mark, the Special Familiar.

Harry found two shops next to each other, Eeylop's Owl Emporium and Magical Menagerie. His quest tag led him into the latter. The shop was filled with wall to wall cages and only about a third of them were filled with creatures Harry somewhat recognized. Wait, scratch that, a fourth. That turtle's shell was covered in jewels, so not a normal turtle.

Harry looked around in anticipation and followed the map mark to the cage containing his target. It was an orange female tabby cat.

Harry quizzically stared at the cat as if daring it to be more interesting, but she simply sat there and stared back. Harry backed away and walked around the store a bit more but the map was definitely pointing at the cat. That being said, the other animals didn't look that interesting. Sure there were crabs that set themselves on fire, rabbits that transformed into top hats, and every type of bird and snake imaginable. But Harry didn't look twice at them compared to the orange cat. Besides, it was a good looking cat.

Harry asked the shop owner, "Anything special about that cat?"

The man looked over at the tabby and said, "The orange one in the corner? No, it's just a cat. We got some kneazles and half kneazles if you want. Frightfully clever and loyal. Keen to sniff out suspicious things, kneazles are."

Harry asked, "Then why do you have that orange one up for sale?"

The Magical Menagerie employee answered back, "Well we got tricked truth be told. Thought it was some rare breed or hybrid. Heard some strange rumors told by the one who sold it, but I've never seen anything odd about it. If you're really interested, I'll sell it to you cheap. She used to spend time with another orange cat, an old half kneazle one. But some family bought it last month so this girl has been a bit lonely."

Harry went over to the cat and said, "You want to come home with me?"

The orange tabby looked him in the eye for a moment and meowed and lifted her paw, scratching lightly the cage she was in. Harry smiled and opened the cage. The cat was calm as Harry picked her up and brought her over to the desk where the cat got down on its belly and waited for Harry to finish.

Harry thought it was a very chill cat and liked her even more.

The advertisement for ginger and tabby cats was nine galleons but the employee sold her to Harry for seven which Harry thanked him for.

*Ping*

[Quest Complete: Acquire Class Materials

Reward: Familiar Bond]

[Bonded Familiar:

Name: Goose, Race: Flerken, Age: 217 years]

Harry wondered what he had just gotten himself into.