Ch7. Surprise

Harry and Hagrid left Gringotts and proceeded to buy the needed supplies for Hogwarts. They were almost done, only a wand and robes were left from the obligatory school supplies.

"Harry, I still have something I have to do. Could I leave you to buy the rest by yourself?" Hagrid asked, his eyes momentarily shifting to the pet store. "We can meet up later at Ollivanders."

Harry couldn't help but reveal a slight smile when he saw his intentions.

"Sure thing, Hagrid." He replied.

"Oh, good!" Hagrid heavily patted poor young Harry on his shoulder, almost tossing him to the ground and pointed towards one of the shops. "That's Madam Malkin's Robes for all Occasions, Harry. She has the best robes available. As for a wand," He pointed to another shop across the street. "Olivanders is the best!"

…

Harry was left alone. He didn't want to go straight away to Madam Malkin though. He remembered the Malfoy should be there at the moment. That was an encounter he could gladly do without. Instead, he went across the street and entered the Blimburly Icecream shop where he sat down and watched the entrance to Madam Malkin's shop as he ate ice cream, waiting for Draco to leave.

As he waited, Harry suddenly felt something that made him stiffen. He widened his eyes from the sheer difference the approaching person exhibited from the rest of the crowd!

Harry might have been in a place filled with wizards only for a few hours but he diligently watched the wizards! He dutifully used his unique perception to measure their magic capacity. After all, he wanted to know what he has to surpass!

He saw hundreds of adult wizards in the alley during his shopping spree. And at first, he was surprised. Even if his core was unbound, the average adults still had around a hundred times more magic than him! The strongest wizard he saw in the alley had five hundred times more! But that was natural, he guessed. He was just eleven, barely entering the stage where his magical core starts to expand. He will eventually catch up and when his core finally frees itself, he will go far beyond any of them!

That's why he was so surprised by what he felt. The approaching person had ten times more magic than the strongest wizard he saw today. That was almost five thousand times more than what he had! He didn't know who the person was but the presence completely shattered his power-level measurements he gathered so far.

The fact kids are so much weaker than even average adult wizards was granted. Their core was not matured and during their stay at Hogwarts, they would get stronger by the minute as it matured. Even the laziest would, in the end, become hundreds of times stronger than they are at eleven. But, the magic capacity difference of ten times among adults? That was huge! It didn't really mean the person could win one versus ten, of course. That would depend on the skill, cunning, and many other things. Nevertheless, it does mean the approaching person can easily outlast more than ten adult wizards in magic casting!

Harry was excited to see who has so much magic in them. And for the first time in his new life, he was genuinely glad for having his unique perception of magic. He was sure the others can't really feel what he could. The closest thing to his ability would probably be a mage sight. Except he doesn't really see the magic in itself.

The person was about to enter Harry's line of sight when he was distracted by Draco Malfoy leaving Madam Malkin's shop. He momentarily forgot about the magic dam coming closer and took the young Malfoy's appearance. While there were some differences from the actor in movies, he was still blond, pale, and ferrety. His nose held high, mouth sneering at everyone and walking as if he owned the Diagon Alley. Any hope the Malfoy heir could be one of those cool and friendly characters from fanfictions was dashed by the first impression he left on Harry. He instantly understood, Malfoy will not be one of his friends. Not in this lifetime.

Harry was about to sigh and look for the mysterious person again when he heard a shout from across the street.

"Draco! Here." The melodious voice of a woman rang through the street. It was so cold and indifferent it almost sent shivers through Harry's spine.

Harry looked at the person who shouted at Draco and this time really froze. His eyes spotted Narcissa Malfoy née Black and refused to leave her. While there was no lust nor attraction to her from Harry's side, her beauty still left him gaping at her. The woman in front of him definitely did not even remotely resemble the actress!

She had such a fair complexion it put even vampires to shame! A lovely noble-looking heart-shaped face with high cheekbones that could tempt even eunuchs. And while her womanly parts were on the smaller side, they were definitely filled out enough to make men drool out a waterfall. Her beautiful pale long blond hair freely cascaded her back all the way until her shapely posterior as two bangs covered the sides of her face, ending a slightly lower than her chin. Arctic cold, pale sky-blue eyes glared at everything around in contempt. Clad in a black frilly victorian dress she walked forward with a high and mighty attitude. When Draco entered her sight, her eyes seemed to become a magnitude colder as her glare intensified and her small slightly upturned nose minutely sniffed in disgust. Her magic shifted and became more tensed, making Harry utterly baffled. While her minute expression shifts could be seen as nothing more than distaste at her son being in such a mudblood infested place such as Diagon Alley, her magic couldn't lie. Not to Harry.

Before his mind could even start to comprehend the signals, Narcissa grabbed Draco's shoulders and led him away, snuffing any protest he could muster with her harsh winter-cold glare.

It was only after she was long gone Harry's brain finally rebooted. He was processing what just happened when he realized it.

Narcissa. She was the mana beacon from earlier!