Harry's day out

Harry Potter opened his eyes a few hours later, winced and immediately closed them again, groaning. His limbs were sore, his head was pounding with a vengeance and everything seemed way too bright. Opening his eyes again he found himself in what looked to be a meadow and, judging by the light in the sky it looked to be late evening. Confused, he sat up suddenly; the pounding in his head increased making him dizzy. Clutching his head, he squeezed his eyes shut as he waited for the feeling to pass.

As he began to feel a bit normal, he opened his eyes again and took in his surroundings: the door standing at the far end as well as the way the meadow seemed to end abruptly reminded him that he was in the Room of Requirement. With this realisation, the memories of the past came back.

He briefly considered running away from the wizarding world, perhaps also writing a letter telling Voldemort that he was not interested in fighting him and getting him to agree to a ceasefire. He scoffed internally at that thought.

Dear Dark Lord, thought Harry sardonically,

How are you? I hope that your one attempt at possessing me and subsequent ejection from my mind did not cause you too much of pain and that this letter finds you in good mental health (relatively speaking).

Anyway, after the numerous sojourns that we have had with each other I have come to the realisation that fighting you is not really what I want to do. The only reason I hated you is because you killed my parents, people I now realise that I never knew much. As such since they also were the causalities of a war, and had chosen to fight against you and had lost, I find myself caring even lesser about that fact now.

Thinking back on it, I also find that the other reason for fighting you (that you tried to kill me as a baby) a bit silly as well. Looking back on it, I realise that you were actually trying to carry out an act of kindness in trying to spare me the agony of growing up without parents. So there really is no reason for me to fight you! And I realise that you have nothing personal against me.

Thus, I have decided to stop fighting you and let you continue on your quest for world domination. After all, it's not like I care about the fate of a million plus strangers. What have they done for me that I should care for their existence or continued happiness?

As a show of good faith, I will tell you the full prophecy and will be shortly moving to Australia. I will also include my address here too!

Yours faithfully,

Harry Potter.

Harry snorted to himself. Even in his head that sounded lame and naïve. He knew that Voldemort had taken Harry's continued existence as a personal insult. To him, Harry was the one that got away, the only survivor of Voldemort's numerous attempts to kill him. The fact that he wasn't even out of school was a further blow to Voldemort's ego.

The fact that Voldemort happened to be a megalomaniac only made matters worse. Harry also knew that Voldemort would not rest till Harry was dead and that he saw Harry still being alive as a "threat to his power".

Add in the fact that he believed in the prophecy, and thus finding the full contents of which would make him even more convinced that as long as Harry lived, he was a threat to his dreams of world domination, Harry was positively certain beyond a doubt that Voldemort would ensure that Harry died by his own hand.

Harry was sure that the mad man would have first taken over Britain before going after him. And then Harry would be royally screwed since Voldemort would have legitimate authority behind him.

Also, now that he thought about it, Dumbledore would also spend his time and effort in tracking him down too, since he too believed in that prophecy.

All in all, running away right now was more than trouble than it was worth. So Harry dismissed the option of just leaving everybody to Voldemort, as much as he felt that the wizarding world deserved it. Besides, he did have friends here, and he wasn't willing for them to suffer. And, come to think of it, he did not fancy living life on the run.

With this in mind, Harry started plotting ways in which he could bring down Voldemort. He knew that the Dark Wizard was more powerful and had a lot of experience, something that Harry had no hope of achieving. Harry knew that he himself was powerful; after all, he could produce a Patronus at thirteen, (something many full grown wizards had trouble doing) he also could resist the Imperius cast by Voldemort himself! (Again, something most wizards couldn't do.)

However, all that power wouldn't be of much help to Harry without experience, and there Voldemort had the advantage. Unless Harry mused, I can catch him by surprise ... get him when he least expects it and overwhelm him ... Harry trailed off, that plan could be looked into much later, in the mean time, perhaps it would be more prudent to look into training himself in fighting competently. Now that he thought about it, he supposed that he should be thankful that the Death Eaters had been so focused on the prophecy last night, or he was sure that he would've had his arse handed to himself.

With that in mind, Harry made a mental checklist. First off he obviously needed to get the appropriate books which he was sure wouldn't be found in the school library. Even if they were around, he was sure that Dumbledore wouldn't approve of his reading material. I bet that old twat would make some excuse and take those books away while acting as if he was doing me a bloody favour thought Harry scathingly.

With that thought, Harry got up, and as he took his first step, stumbled. Startled, he looked down. The ground looked farther than he was used to. He then noticed that his arms were sticking out by a few extra inches from the sleeves of his robes.

After spending a moment looking at his sleeves, the next thing that came to Harry's notice was his vision. Things looked a bit too clear to him. With a jolt, he realised that he was not wearing his glasses as he clearly could see the item in question at the corner of his eye (something that was impossible a few short hours ago).

Harry shrugged; he was used to strange things happening around him and as such couldn't find much to complain about right now seeing as he was rather pleased with the results. He absently noticed that his robes were a bit tight across his chest. His trainers also seemed a bit snug.

Just as Harry was debating walking back to the dorm barefoot (as he refused to let anyone see Vernon's old socks on his feet), a new pair of trainers and socks suddenly appeared in front of him. Realising the significance of the room that he was currently occupying, Harry concentrated and a set of new clothes (right down to underwear) appeared in front of him.

Harry changed into these, discarding his old soiled robes and tatty trainers before leaving the room not bothering to take his old clothes and shoes; he had a vague thought that the room would be able to recycle those. Pocketing his glasses, he exited the Room of Requirement and headed towards Gryffindor Tower.

As Harry entered the tower, he found a nearly empty common room. A glance out of the window showed that it was actually late morning (despite the scenery Harry had woken up to in the Room). Harry remembered that today was a Hogsmeade weekend. The few first and second years that were looking at him warily further proved this theory.

Sighing, Harry went back out and headed outside. He had no desire to be gawked at by titchy little eleven and twelve year olds, nor did he feel like sitting in his dorm.

As he headed towards a secluded corner in the grounds, a flash of white caught his eye. Turning, he noticed Dumbledore striding across the grounds, with, Harry was surprised to note, Professor McGonagall, who was leaning on a cane. They were headed to the gates, deep in conversation. Harry followed at a distance and watched as Dumbledore bade the Deputy Headmistress goodbye before Disapparating.

McGonagall turned around and started as she found Harry Potter staring back at her. She absently noticed something different about him, but could not place her finger on it.

'Good afternoon Mr. Potter, how may I help you?' said McGonagall in a concerned tone, she had heard about what had transpired before and was worried about the boy in front of her.

'Afternoon Professor,' said Harry casually, 'I was just headed to Hogsmeade and I couldn't help but notice you and Professor Dumbledore. I gather that he has gone to meet Fudge again?' he said, the lie coming surprisingly easily to him.

McGonagall raised an eyebrow in surprise, 'The Headmaster is a busy man Mr. Potter, even more so thanks to recent events.' Harry flinched a bit at her words, 'He has been summoned by our esteemed minister for his advice on certain matters.'

'Will Fudge be giving Professor Dumbledore his old positions back then?'

'If Minister Fudge knows what's good for him, he would be doing that today itself,' said McGonagall wryly, 'Though, considering his track record of late that may be debatable.'

'It looks like Professor Dumbledore has a busy day ahead of him then.'

'Indeed, Mr. Potter, I suspect he may not be able to make it till midnight at the earliest. Was there anything you required of him?'

'Oh nothing really Professor, it was just idle curiosity,' Harry lied again.

McGonagall regarded Harry with concern. 'Are you alright, Harry? From what I have heard about what happened in the Ministry, I thought that it must have been rather traumatising for you, I for one did not expect you to be out and about today of all days.'

'I'm fine Professor. I guess that the reality of the situation hasn't sunk in yet. I just wanted some time alone for myself so I could think, and decided to take a walk in the village,' said Harry, putting his training with the Dursleys to good use. The previous revelations and events had gone a long way in destroying any lingering reservations he had of manipulating and lying to others for his own gains.

'Very well, Harry if you need anything, my door will always be open to you should you need help, don't hesitate to ask.'

'Sure, thank you Professor,' said Harry, he tried not to think about how "helpful" she had been when he had tried to share his concerns about the Philosopher's Stone, or how "helpful" she had been when people were spreading rumours about his being the Heir of Slytherin, or when Draco Malfoy had been distributing those badges in Fourth Year. He really did, but he was only human in the end. And currently rather ticked off at the moment.

Harry somehow managed to keep his face straight as he brushed by her. As he passed through the gates, he scowled before his expression changed to one of anticipated excitement.

Dumbledore was not in Hogwarts at the moment, and wouldn't be there for the whole day! Also, since the students were out in the village, Harry wouldn't be missed. Especially since his friends (he thought with a twinge of guilt) were in the hospital wing. In fact none of the teachers would be expecting him to show up at dinner either! Not that Harry planned on staying that long, but it was something to think of.

Harry furtively made his way to the outskirts of the village. He was jubilant that he hadn't been seen by anyone he knew or recognised by the throng of students mingling around.

However, that was short lived when the problem of actually getting to Diagon Alley came to him.

He initially thought of using the Knight Bus, but was leery as he knew that would draw a lot of attention. What with the racket that machine could kick up. The fact that it looked like Ernie Prang practiced playing Need for Speed a few dozen times before getting the job of driving that purple Triple-Decker monstrosity, coupled with the prospect of meeting Stan Shunpike (who considered it his sacred duty to stick his overly pimply nose into other people's business), Harry was understandably hesitant in using that mode of transportation.

The Floo was out of the question as he would need to get to the fireplace in The Three Broomsticks, where he risked being recognised. He could not exactly break into a house, as that would probably gain him even more attention than he needed. The Hogs Head also was out of the question as he was pretty sure that the bartender there was rather chummy with a certain meddlesome old man.

If only he could Apparate, he thought wistfully; then he would be able to get there in no time and with minimal fuss.

Lost in thoughts of being able to appear instantly at his destination, Harry did not notice a slight shift in his magic, busy as he was in imagining himself just at the entrance of Diagon Alley.

But he definitely noticed that his environment had changed. In front of him, instead of the hills surrounding Hogsmeade, he saw Diagon Alley with Gringotts rising up in the distance. Startled, he looked back to see the archway that would lead to the Leaky Cauldron.

Did I just Apparate? Thought Harry incredulously, from what he had heard from Fred and George when he had badgered them about Apparating, the process was supposed to be rather difficult accompanied by a sensation of being squeezed through a tube.

However, Harry hadn't felt that, nor did he feel any difficulty. In fact it just felt right. It was the same feeling he had when he had first flown on a broom. That he somehow (on some instinctual level) knew what to do, and had done it for quite a few times.

Shrugging, Harry set off toward Gringotts; he had more important matters to take care of and little time, he also needed money.

Entering the bank, Harry noticed that it being a Saturday afternoon, the bank was relatively empty. Moving towards the nearest free teller, he said with a hint of trepidation, 'Excuse me, I would like to access my vault please, but I don't have the key, so was wonder-'

'Name?' came the surly reply, cutting Harry of mid sentence

'Uh, Harry Potter,' said Harry stammering a little.

The goblin brought out a bronze disk and a knife and said, 'Place some of your blood here to verify your identity.'

Harry sliced his finger and squeezed out a few drops and handed the knife and disk back. He watched, startled, as the goblin licked some of the blood from the disk off.

Wearing a thoughtful look as if he was sampling a glass of vintage wine, the goblin finally said 'Very well, Mr. Potter, you are who you say you are. I will get somebody to escort you to your account manager. Griphook!'

'Did you just lick my blood?' said Harry incredulously, and not with a hint of disgust.

'Trust me Mr. Potter, I did not enjoy the experience,' said the teller impatiently. 'Now if you have do not have any more questions, please follow Griphook. If you have more questions, find someone else to annoy!'

'Alright, alright, no need to be so snarky,' Harry muttered under his breath, turning away. Hearing the teller snort, he turned back and saw the goblin tap his nameplate wearing a look of amusement. Looking at it, Harry understood the reason for the goblin's amusement. He snorted at the word Snarktooth written there and hurried to catch up to his escort.

Griphook led him through another door at the back of the bank and into a long corridor interspersed with more doors. Harry remembered his name of course (who wouldn't since that was the first goblin name he had heard) but didn't see the need to point that out. He doubted that the goblin would take kindly to it (or care). For all Harry knew, they may take offence to it. He silently resolved to look up goblin culture in the near future. After all, they did handle his money...

Near the end of the corridor, the line of doors stopped; leaving a blank stretch of walls that continued on into darkness. Harry wondered what there was at the end before turning his attention back to Griphook as he knocked on the slightly opulent door that said 'Gornuk'.

Entering, he greeted the goblin that was seated at the desk on the other side of the large and spacious office and was bid to sit.

Settling down into the large armchair, Harry got straight down to business. He figured from his earlier experiences that goblins did not waste time with pleasantries and liked to get to the heart of the matter. It also didn't hurt that he was currently strapped for time.

Leaning forward Harry said, 'Good day to you account manager Gornuk, I would like to inquire about the state of my accounts.'

'It's just Gornuk, Mr Potter, managing your account is just my job, not my title ... I was wondering when you would come in Mr. Potter,' said the large elderly goblin at the other end. 'I was expecting you on the day of your fifteenth birthday ... nonetheless you are here now, although, I do not see your magical guardian around, will he be joining us shortly?' he said looking at Harry inquiringly

Harry was surprised at this last statement; he didn't know that he had a magical guardian, but he had a sneaking suspicion as to who that could be. 'I had no idea that I had a magical guardian,' he said slowly, 'I came here on my own when I knew that I would be free and unsupervised.'

'You should have been informed about your magical guardian Mr. Potter,' said the elderly goblin. 'However, it is quite easy to figure out who it is. All Muggleborn children are assigned a magical guardian when they reach the age of eleven and are sorted into their house at Hogwarts. Normally, that person is the minor's Head of House, but considering your, ah, unique situation, the headmaster has seen it fit to take on that responsibility.'

'But I am not Muggleborn,' said Harry, strangely insulted at being compared to Muggleborns.

'Indeed not Mr. Potter,' said the goblin, 'but the since you were Muggle raised, it was considered prudent by all parties involved that you should be treated as Muggleborn. At any rate,' he continued, ignoring the sour look on Harry's face, 'the reality is that your magical guardian is Albus Dumbledore, but you should know that. It is his duty to inform you of that fact ... surely, he told you in one of your meetings?'

'What meetings?' said Harry nonplussed.

'The mandatory meetings that all wards have with their magical guardians during their first two years of schooling, of course,'

Then Harry remembered the odd times that Hermione Granger used to disappear for a few hours all those years ago. He never thought to ask her where she had gone and was quite happy to assume that she was in the library. Harry supposed that she might have had her scheduled meetings with McGonagall. Suddenly it made more sense to Harry on how she seemed to know a lot about of the magical world. McGonagall was teaching her.

It also brought a new meaning to all that waffle about "the House being family" that McGonagall had been spouting when she was talking to them before their sorting, now that he thought about it.

'I never had any of those meetings,' said Harry; he was a bit miffed at the headmaster's inattentiveness. It would have been nice to have some help fitting into the wizarding world, instead of feeling stupid whenever a subject he did not know of was talked about.

'That is rather irregular,' said the goblin, frowning. 'It is the duty of the magical guardian to help the ward to acclimatize to the wizarding world. It seems that Dumbledore has neglected his duties.'

It wouldn't be the first time, Harry thought bitterly, before a thought came to him, 'Has Dumbledore tried to access my accounts or withdrawn anything?'

'Let me see...' said Gornuk standing up and moving to a filing cabinet nearby, taking out a ledger, he sat back down and leafed through it.

'From your trust vault, the only withdrawals made were made by you on the summer before your first, second and third years, and by a Molly Weasley on the summer before your fourth and fifth years, correct?' he said looking up at Harry. Seeing him nod, he looked back down, 'From your family vault, your magical guardian has taken out two heirlooms; one Pensieve and one Invisibility Cloak. The Pensieve had been loaned by your grandfather indefinitely until he or his heirs (mainly you) decide to reclaim it. While the cloak was taken on the summer of 1998 before you began your first year; the reason being that it was to be given to you shortly. Did you receive The Cloak?'

Harry seethed, that old bastard! He takes my cloak from my family vault and has the gall to pretend that it was given to him by my father? Reining his emotions, he affirmed the receipt of the Cloak sounding rather calm.

'Also, in addition to this, a small monetary stipend has been set up for your caregivers, the Dursleys I believe?'

'How much, and who set that up?' said Harry, his voice quavering a bit as he tried not to explode.

'Around Five Hundred Galleons per month for twelve months for the first ten years between 1988 and 1997, this amount was reduced from '97 onwards to Two Hundred Galleons per month for three months. At the current rate of exchange, that would be Two Thousand Five Hundred GBP and One Thousand GBP a month respectively. It was done to cover the costs of your upkeep and wellbeing.'

Upon hearing this Harry became enraged. However, he knew that it would serve no purpose here. Automatically (as if his brain knew what to do) he found the rage being marginalised. This gave him a sense of tranquillity and an air of peace. The rage was there, but kept aside for awhile.

Focusing back on the goblin in front of him, Harry said, 'Is there any way I can recover all that money back? Because it seems that they have not used any of that money on me or my wellbeing.'

Gornuk narrowed his eyes, 'If you saying what I think you are saying Mr. Potter, then it looks like your relatives have breached their contract.'

Harry's mind filled with possibilities, the chance to get back at the Dursleys was pretty enticing, 'What can be done?'

'Your relatives have signed a magical contract when they agreed to raise you as it was written in their letter. A duplicate has been filed in a Muggle subsidiary of ours, the Bank of Scotland. I could get an investigation started and then alert the Muggle authorities, but that may take awhile. It's the only shot we have of prosecuting them,' Gornuk said.

'Get that done then, they shall pay for stealing from me!' said Harry.

'I will be more than happy to oblige Mr. Potter, as technically they have also stolen from Gringotts as well, and we do not like thieves,' said Gornuk with a feral smile.

'Though,' he continued disgruntled, 'we still haven't found that thief who broke into our bank five years ago.'

'Oh, I know what you are talking about!' said Harry suddenly. 'His name was Quirinus Quirrel, and he was the Defence against the Dark Arts teacher in my first year. I did not know that you were still looking for him, or else I would have said something...'

'And how do you know of the thief's identity?' said Gornuk with underlying excitement in his voice.

'He admitted it to me, and before you ask, there is no point looking for him since he is dead.'

'I am aware of that Mr. Potter,' said Gornuk, 'but how did he die?'

'I killed him,' Harry said simply. 'It was in self defence though,' he hastily added.

Gornuk looked at Harry for a while, an inscrutable look on his face, before he opened his mouth, 'Was his death long drawn and painful?' he sounded almost hopeful.

Thinking of the events of his first year, Harry replied with a small amount of relish, 'Oh yes, he was practically burnt to a crisp!'

Gornuk bared his teeth, 'Good, I will have the promised reward transferred to your vault as soon as possible.'

'Reward?' asked Harry blankly,

'Of course!' said Gornuk, 'You have done a great service to our bank, and we goblins never forget our debts, so as a token of our appreciation, we gift you with half a million Galleons. And we also will give you the full contents of the thief's family vault as a bonus for doing our job for us in killing him in such a fitting way. That vault currently has seven hundred and fifty Galleons in liquid cash and valuables.'

'Wait,' said Harry, 'Not that I don't appreciate the gesture, but what about the other members of the Quirrel family? Won't they suffer?'

'No need to fret Mr. Potter,' said Gornuk dismissively, 'the only surviving relative of the thief happens to be his widowed sister, a Mrs. Umbridge if I am not mistaken,' he said.

'Oh,' said Harry, her approval of him as a teacher making sense to him now. 'In that case, thank you!' said Harry with a vindictive gleam in his eye.

'It's Gringotts who should be thanking you Mr. Potter,' said Gornuk. He continued with a sorrowful tone, 'Though if I remember correctly, a dragon was grievously injured and the door of the vault needed to be replaced. It looks like we'll have to take out the remaining expenses from the thief's next of kin now that his vault is no longer available.' He sighed regretfully, though the glint in his eyes told another story, 'Poor Madam Umbridge.'

'Indeed,' chuckled Harry imagining Umbridge's face when she found out. It looked like she had made enemies with her bankers ... foolish of her really, Harry mused.

'Anyway, back to business,' said Gornuk briskly, rubbing his gnarled hands. He reached out and took out a piece of parchment. Tapping it, he turned it to Harry, 'This is the current status of your vaults, including the reward that you have earned,' he gave Harry a minute to peruse it before continuing, 'As you can see, your net worth happens to be around Five Hundred and Fifty Million Galleons. Admittedly, the Potter fortune has dropped in value since it has lain dormant for all these years as some investments have not done so well, but now that you are of an age where you can claim the vaults and manage them, it can be reactivated. I have many plans for it. Hopefully, your family will regain its billionaire status by the end of the next fiscal year.'

Harry was stunned, he knew that the Potters were an ancient and wealthy family after having researched everything he could about them the first chance he got (after all who wouldn't?) but this was staggering. Well, at least he wouldn't need to work to earn his living.

His thoughts were diverted as Gornuk pushed some sheets of parchment towards him. 'You will need to sign these to get full control of your vaults,' he said, 'and you need to sign these to void any claims your magical guardian has over you, since he has proven to be ineffective.' He added, taking out another sheaf.

As Harry started signing, Gornuk continued, 'As your account manager, I will be able to make decisions which will help build your wealth, as your fortunes are tied in with mine, it will be mutually beneficial to both of us. Also, as my first act as your account manager, I have compiled a list of investments that I recommend you authorise, along with a list of businesses that you are either the investor of or included as partner.'

Harry spotted a name in the list and exclaimed, 'Weasley's Wizard Wheezes? They made me their partner?'

'Indeed Mr. Potter, after all, you did give them money to help their business,' said Gornuk. 'A fine investment, I predict that their inventiveness may give Zonko's a run for its money. Speaking of which, here's a list of investments that have gone bad or are not going to be of benefit to you.' he said, giving Harry another list.

Harry cleared his throat, 'Is there a way to replace my vault keys? I am afraid that I no longer am in possession of them since Mrs. Weasley has forgotten to return my trust vault key, and I have never been given my family vault key. I would also like to make a withdrawal.'

'You should be careful with your keys, Mr. Potter, you never know when a person could get hold of it and use it to help themselves to your money,' admonished Gornuk with a frown.

'At any rate,' he continued, after watching Harry squirm a bit, 'Sign here and we will issue you a new set of keys. Your family vault keys are with me and will not be needed after the wards to the vault are calibrated to your touch.'

After Harry signed the latest batch of forms, Gornuk said, 'Excellent, everything is in order; I will carry out the instructions and start making the necessary transactions, and we can start rebuilding your fortunes.'

At that moment, somebody knocked at the door. When bid to enter, the person turned out to be another goblin. Upon looking at the occupants inside, he said, 'Ragnok has requested your presence. The both of you.'

Surprised, Gornuk stood up and strode towards the door, Harry following him. Harry noticed that this time they had gone to the far end of the corridor where a single ornate door stood, guarded by two burly goblin guards. Entering, Harry saw an office as big as the Dursley house. At the far end behind a large desk, sat a richly appointed goblin, in front of whom was another elderly goblin.

Ragnok stood up from behind his desk and said in a gravelly tone, 'ah Gornuk, so glad of you to join us, and Mr. Potter as well ... Come, sit!' waving his hand at the surly looking goblin in front of him he said, 'This is Grimjaw, the head of the Black accounts.'

'Good to meet you too sir,' said Harry politely, 'May I ask what this is about?' he added in a slightly curious tone.

Ragnok and Grimjaw gave Harry an appraising look appreciating his display of manners and directness.

'It has recently come to our attention that the last male member of the Black family has passed away,' said Grimjaw in a serious tone. 'In a previous visit to the bank, he had made a will naming you as his heir and entitling you to the entire Black estate and all its titles. However, Lord Black was aware of the fact that only male members of the Black family may inherit the title. So in anticipation of that, had decided to perform a blood adoption ritual taking you in as his son. He had informed me that he was planning on carrying out the ritual sometime before your sixteenth birthday.'

Harry was stunned Sirius planned on adopting him? On making him his own son?

Harry's deepest wish was to have a real father, and to know that Sirius had considered him as his son to the point of making it legal touched a long dormant part of him. He felt elated, and yet this made Sirius' loss even more profound. Realising that there was work to be done, he quickly filed his emotions away, and concentrated on the situation.

'But Sirius died before he could adopt me,' he said.

'That is obvious' drawled Grimjaw, 'However, your godfather was prepared for just this situation and has left a vial of his blood under a stasis charm,' saying this, Grimjaw took out a large vial that held about a litre of blood. 'This will be more than enough to carry out the ritual making you his heir by blood and magic. Lord Black, however, had instructed me to inform you that it is your decision whether or not you wish to carry out the ritual.'

To Harry, there was only one answer to that question, 'Yes I will do it,' he said.

'Good, but be warned, the ritual will be a long and painful process. Depending on the situation, it may take a day to complete.'

Harry thought for a while and said, 'How complex is this ritual? I want to know because I need to be in Hogwarts before nightfall and was wondering if I can do the ritual myself.'

Ragnok hesitated and said, 'Mr. Potter, blood rituals are strictly regulated in Britain. While the blood adoption ritual is not exactly banned, it is a risky business legally speaking. However, Gringotts is goblin territory and that law is not observed. But should you do this outside, and be discovered, there may be severe repercussions, and you may not be recognised as a legitimate heir.'

Harry thought for a while and then said, 'What if Gringotts officially states for the record that the ritual happened in here? Then in the eyes of the Ministry, the ritual would be legal.'

The goblins looked at each other and after a brief conversation in rapid Gobbledegook, turned back to Harry. Grimjaw said, 'Well, you still won't be able to perform the ritual on your own as some of the parts require outside assistance. However, as you are pressed for time, perhaps we can come to Hogwarts and set it up. And you do not need to worry about us being detected; we have our methods of remaining undetected.'

Harry thought on that for a while and said, 'Very well, I will contact you soon and we can set up an appointment.' Harry thanked them and made his leave with Gornuk escorting him.

They had nearly reached the end of the corridor when Gornuk remarked casually, 'You know Mr. Potter, there is an interesting person at the end of Knockturn Alley who is very talented. Many Purebloods go to his shop to avail his services ... something that might interest a person in your current position...'

'Thank you, I will be sure to visit him.' said Harry after a pause.

'I never told you to visit him; after all, what he does isn't legal. No, I just said that there was an interesting man who goes by the name of Alberich at the end of Knockturn Alley and that if hypothetically, anyone who wanted to meet him, they should knock on the door three times and show him this ring.' he held up a ring, 'Not that you would be interested ... oh well, might as well dispose of it, I have no use for it.' With that he casually tossed the ring over his shoulder where it landed on the floor near Harry's feet.

'Now when you go outside, be sure to talk to Snarktooth, he will have your new keys and two debit cards calibrated to your vaults. The card will be valid in the Muggle world as well, and the one tuned to your family vault has a limit of ten thousand Galleons per month till you turn seventeen.'

'Well, Mr. Potter, I will now take my leave, I trust that you can make it out on your own?' Seeing Harry nod, Gornuk turned around and left for his office.

Harry picked up the ring and put it in his pocket with a grin. Moving out, he went to Snarktooth, who gave him his new keys and cards. Pocketing these, Harry left the bank.

Stepping outside, he noticed with surprise that it was still an hour or so before noon. He supposed that the goblins may have used a time distortion charm or something in their offices. It seemed plausible as they were the sort who would squeeze their money's worth from every second they could get. Either that or it might have been the amount of information that he had to process in a short time.

Following Gornuk's "advice" Harry made his way to Knockturn Alley. Raising the hood of his cloak, he started walking in long confident strides, avoiding eye contact with the other denizens of the street, focused on his destination. It would not do to appear to be lost or vulnerable after all.

Near the end, Harry spotted a door with an elaborate carving of a woman seducing a horde of demons at her feet and holding an amphora. Knocking thrice caused the woman's eyes to move and look at him. Unnerved, Harry held up the ring.

The woman's eyes flashed once before the door opened. Entering, Harry saw a small shop filled with odd trinkets and baubles. At the counter sat a man with flowing blonde hair and deep blue eyes.

Harry nervously swallowed and gathering his courage said, 'Alberich, I presume? I was told that you would be able to help me.'

The man raised an eyebrow and said in a deep melodious voice, 'It depends on the type of help one is looking for. If you happen to be an individual who wants to hide from ... people ... then, yes I can help.'

'What can you do?' asked Harry curiously.

'I mainly specialise in stealth and anonymity. The charms I know are unique and an invention of mine so cannot be duplicated, detected or broken. They are specifically targeted towards ministry sensors, and as such the ministry will not be able to find my clients should they, say, use magic in a non magical environment, for example,' said Alberich. 'And if the customer happens to be underage, I can also help remove The Trace without the ministry knowing a thing.' He added with a knowing look on his face.

'I also can analyse a person's magic and possibly take care of any problems within, all for a price of course.'

Harry now understood the secrecy behind meeting this man, he was sure that the ministry was oblivious to this man's existence along with the most of the wizarding population. With the obvious exception of a few purebloods, and other wizards (possibly assassins) who, Harry was sure, had used this man's services to avoid detection.

'I would like to have The Trace removed, and would also like my magic masked so that it cannot be detected. And, if you can manage it, I would like something that would help me blend in but not make me truly invisible. I am tired of having people stare at me, and at the same time have no desire in avoiding bumping into them. And if you could do that diagnosis thing of yours, I would appreciate that as well.'

'Very well,' said Alberich after a pause, pulling out his wand, he began to mutter a long string of a language Harry did not understand.

Lowering his wand, the man frowned and said, 'I cannot remove The Trace.'

Great, Harry thought with trepidation and a little resignation, barely anything could go right with him, 'Why not?' he asked nervously.

'That is because The Trace is no longer on your person.' Said Alberich thoughtfully, 'did you have it removed by someone else?' he asked suspiciously.

'Er, no,' said Harry,

Alberich studied Harry for a while and then said, 'Let me see if I can get to the bottom of this,' his eyes then started glowing as he stared at Harry intently.

After a minute or two just as Harry was becoming uncomfortable with all the staring, Alberich closed his eyes and said, 'Interesting.'

'Er what is?' asked Harry nervously,

'It seems that your core has undergone a massive overhaul and has practically been reset,' said Alberich opening his eyes. 'I sense some recent changes, nothing bad.' he added looking at Harry's worried face, 'basically any foreign magic placed on you has been obliterated by your magic, not only has the trace been removed but an advanced tracking charm as well and something that vaguely looks like a hole has been plugged, I am not too sure of that as whatever it was that the hole led to no longer ... exists ... it is centred around your scar though.' He said vaguely, looking at Harry's forehead, 'I have also noticed that it has undergone a massive expansion and if I am not mistaken your core will be growing a bit more by the time you reach your mid twenties. You are a rather powerful wizard, and possibly may be the most powerful one of your generation.' He paused for a while considering Harry, and then said, 'Have you undergone any great magical stress recently?'

Trying not to think too much of the events of the past night, Harry said, 'Yeah, I did fight off a possession shortly after a battle for my life against superior numbers, and then,' he continued with a little embarrassment, 'I fainted a little while later because I had released a large amount of magic as the events caught up with me.' Noticing the look of slight disbelief on the man's face, he snapped, 'Read tomorrow's Prophet, you'll figure it out!'

Holding his hands out in a gesture of peace, the man said, 'I believe you Mr. Potter, though you must admit, that isn't something you hear every day.'

Harry snorted, 'No it isn't,' he said wryly, not bothering to ask how the man knew his name.

'At any rate, the good news is that the Trace is no longer on you and there is nothing wrong with your core. Now I can still do the other things you asked of me, if you wish?'

Upon receiving Harry's nod, the man then showed Harry a few chains and necklaces. Harry picked out a thick linked silver chain, upon giving it a closer look he noticed small diamonds placed discreetly within the links and the clasp. Satisfied, he handed it over to the proprietor. The man held the chain in his hands and closed his eyes, causing the chain to glow white for a second.

Handing it back to Harry, he said, 'this will keep you from being noticed should you choose it.' Harry nodded his thanks and put on the chain, which fit snugly around his neck Harry fingered it for awhile getting used to feeling the cool metal against his skin.

'There are limitations to this however, while you will be unnoticed by those around you, you will not be truly invisible. So if you do something that is highly suspicious or impressive, the charm will be rendered useless. Though it will come back into effect the minute you become incognito. Also, if a person who was specifically looking for you were to see you, you will have but a few minutes before they break the charm. But avoiding eye contact and possibly covering your face may keep you undetected.'

Pausing for a while to let his customer digest this, he continued 'You can however, still use magic and be unnoticed, as long as you are discrete about it and are not seen doing it blatantly. People will look at you but will not give you a second thought when the charm is in effect. Apparating out in front of a person will not break the charm as long as it is done quietly, the same goes for Apparating in on a busy crowd.'

The man then picked up a similar bracelet, enchanted it and said, 'This will ensure that tracking charms cannot be placed on you without your consent. It will also block the ministry's sensors from picking up your magic. This will be on as long as you are wearing the bracelet, so you won't have to think about activating it.'

Harry put this on his right wrist. 'When the coolness wears off, they will be fully charged and attuned to your magical signature and can only be used and removed by you,.' said Alberich.

Harry thanked the man and left, around five hundred Galleons poorer, but extremely satisfied. He idly wondered why Alberich wasn't too suspicious about him entering his shop. Surely, a ring couldn't be the only identifying factor! Especially since what he was doing was illegal. Shrugging, Harry moved on, perhaps there was a Foe Glass or something in the back room or the Door was warded, he mused. At any rate he didn't really care, it was that man's headache as far as he was concerned. With that, Harry made his way to Diagon Alley, making a mental note to thank Gornuk for his recommendation.

Exiting Knockturn Alley, Harry immediately set off towards the Muggle world. The first thing on his mind was to get decent clothes. He wasn't sure how long the magically conjured clothes would last and did not want to suddenly find himself starkers in the middle of a busy street when they suddenly disappeared. He could already see the headlines that scene would cause; Boy-Who-Lived, becomes Boy-Who-Streaked, or Harry Potter Shows his Magic Wand, though The Boy-Who-Lied Bares All sounded like another possibility.

Shuddering, (was it his imagination or were his clothes feeling lighter?) he made for the Leaky Cauldron and the Muggle world. The fact that his cloak disappeared the minute he removed it only served to lengthen his strides.

Harry hurried down Charing Cross Road towards the Underground at Tottenham Court Road, where he had first gotten off with Hagrid. Certain that there was a clothes shop near there.

However, on reaching the station, he noticed with dismay that the clothes shop was now taken over by a music store.

Cursing his luck and trying not to panic, Harry furiously thought of a plan. He looked down the street and noticed an array of shops; perhaps he could walk down and find something?

Though, after passing a few cafes, a McDonalds, a pub (which did a marvellous job of reminding him that he was hungry) Harry's anxiety started to increase. Sure there were a few stores that sold clothes, but from what Harry could see from the outside, they looked rather girly. He briefly considered going into the Gap Store he had spotted across the road at one point, but one look at the mannequins outside disabused him of that notion, he wasn't that desperate ... yet...

Harry took a few deep breaths at this, trying to calm his thoughts. He cast his mind back six odd years trying to remember what that shop looked like. Suddenly, the store's name came to mind. Focusing on what the sign looked like, Harry felt confident that he could Apparate there directly.

Looking around at the busy street, he concentrated on becoming unnoticed. A shiver of magic ran down his neck, signalling that the charm had activated. The sudden decrease in the stares he was beginning to attract confirmed that theory.

Closing his eyes, and praying that it would work, Harry silently disappeared.

Opening his eyes, he found himself in front of a Debenhams. Looking around, he noticed that nobody had given him a second glance. Spotting a Muggle surveillance camera, he tensed up a bit before relaxing. He was certain that the charm would prevent Muggle cameras from noticing him while active.

Harry entered the store, and quickly made his way to the men's section, where he picked up a few random T-shirts and jeans that caught his fancy, and after some consideration, a pair of boxer shorts, barely giving a second glance to the designer labels on them.

Trying them on, he then paid for what he liked (after dropping the charm) and ducked back into the nearest trial room, where (after removing the underpants from its packaging) he changed into his new clothes. And not a moment too soon as the conjured clothes along with his trainers disappeared, leaving his old glasses on the floor. Sighing in relief, he pocketed his glasses (idly noticing without much surprise that the ring was now missing) and walked out of the trial room.

He may have been barefoot, and the pair of black boxer shorts he had just bought may have outlines of aeroplanes in green on them, but at least his feet were the only part of him exposed. Well, that and the underwear, his new jeans were low waist and by a miracle of gravity were still on his hips leaving his bum almost fully exposed.

But Harry didn't mind, he rather liked his new clothes and actually felt comfortable, the t-shirt was also long enough to cover his underwear, so he didn't feel too exposed. Besides, judging by what he had seen so far, it seemed that displaying your pants for the world to see was completely acceptable. Though he made a mental note to get a belt, as he pulled up his slipping trousers for what felt like the nth time ... after getting a pair of trainers of course...

With that in mind, he headed to the footwear section. Attracting the attention of a salesman, he got his feet measured, and found to his surprise that he was now a size twelve. Looking around, he found a nice pair of black trainers adorned with what looked like white graffiti on the sides and a big DC at the back in his size. After trying them out, he indicated that he would like to wear them out.

The salesman smiled and said, 'Sure thing sir, I'll just pack your old shoes in then, shall I?' Looking around, he asked confusedly, 'Where are your shoes anyway?'

After a bit of an awkward pause, Harry had a brainwave; hoping this would work, he tried to bring his magic out by projecting an air of complete confidence and authority and said, 'You don't need to look for my old trainers.'

Harry was rewarded with success when he saw the salesman's face go blank as he repeated what Harry had said in a monotone. Pleased, Harry then continued saying, adding in a hand gesture he thought appropriate for good measure, 'You already have packed in my old trainers and will be selling these new ones free of charge by paying for them out of your pay check. And then, you will forget all about this incident.'

Immediately, the man gave him the empty box with the spare pair of laces and said, 'Here you go, free of charge,' in a monotone, before wandering off, leaving a smirking Harry behind.

After paying for a few pairs of socks, and a wide leather belt with a big fancy buckle, Harry felt like a new man with his jeans firmly secured. Relaxing a bit, he browsed the store for a bit and basically bought himself a few more clothes, after all, he did like wearing new clothes of his own and he also had enough money to buy them. The fact that they were all designer labels, (and judging by the price tags on them) the height of fashion and would thus make Dudley really jealous was icing on the cake for Harry.

Harry also tested out and bought a few bottles of expensive perfume that caught his fancy. After all, why not smell good when you can more than afford it?

After spending close to a thousand quid, and discreetly shrinking the bags and placing them in his pocket, Harry walked out in search of a place to eat.

Spotting a Nando's nearby, he made his way over there. He had always wanted to try the food there after hearing his fat cousin rave about it once. Belly full of some really spicy chicken and excellent red wine that he had (literally) charmed the pretty waitress into selling him without asking questions, Harry activated the charms around his necklace an hour later and Apparated back to Diagon Alley.

Wasting no time, he quickly selected a few books on Duelling, Charms, Defence, and Transfiguration from Flourish and Blotts, and after some browsing, a book on stealth and eavesdropping. On his way to the till, he noticed a certain book he had coveted for nearly five years but hadn't seen the point in buying. Now, however, considering the changes that had occurred to him in the past few hours, Harry added the book to his sizeable pile grinning maliciously. Dudley was sure going to have an interesting summer this year...

Shrinking his purchases and noticing that it was nearly five, Harry quickly Apparated to Hogsmeade, and made his way to Hogwarts, blending in with the mass of students making their way back by making use of his necklace, satisfied with the progress he had made so far, yet knowing that there was more work to be done.