Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.
The Time Meddlers
Chapter One - Diagon Alley
It took all the force of will Harry had in him not to run straight up to Hagrid and hug him tightly. As it was, he had to blink back tears of joy at seeing his first friend. He quickly got up and nearly lost his balance. He was used to being much taller and was a bit disoriented with his younger body. He grinned as the half-giant picked up the door and put it back in its frame. Harry couldn't resist being the first one to speak as he took a step forward.
"Hello, sir," he said politely. "Might I enquire what your name is?"
"I don't care who you are, sir!" shouted Vernon, enraged. "You are breaking and entering. If you do not leave at once, I shall be forced to fire upon you!"
Hagrid seemed to have not heard the overweight muggle as he responded to Harry's question. "There yah are, Harry. It's good ta' see yah again. I haven't seen yah fer ten years. Yah was just a baby, so I understand yah not rememberin' me. My name is Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts."
"GET OUT!!!" shouted Vernon Dursley, now pointing his rifle at Hagrid, who simply reached out and grabbed it and tied it in a knot, dropping it on the floor with a clatter. Harry's uncle seemed to shrink upon this turn of events and backed away.
The Boy-Who-Lived looked like he was remembering something. "Hogwarts? Isn't that the place where all those letters that Uncle Vernon keeps taking from me and burning are coming from?"
"Burning them?" snarled Hagrid as he glared at the Dursleys. Vernon looked like he was about to pass out from fear. He turned his attention back to Harry. "Yes. They're from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."
"He will NOT be going!" Vernon interrupted again, apparently having found his courage once more.
"And I suppose a great muggle like yourself is gonna stop him?" questioned Hagrid sarcastically.
Harry then allowed Hagrid to explain all about him being a wizard like before. Hagrid even gave him the cake as a birthday present, which Harry purposely let Dudley steal so that once more, his cousin would grow a pigtail. Harry laughed even harder this time. The next morning, they took off together for Diagon Alley, where Harry had a few plans on how to begin changing history.
-
Since he didn't want Hagrid to get suspicious, Harry did his best to act exactly as he had the first time as they rode the train into London and walked into the Leaky Cauldron. He even happily put up with the fuss made over him at the pub, with everybody shaking his hands. It was hard for him to stop himself from killing Quirrel right there, but he had other plans for him. Harry found it quite easy to pretend to be in awe of Diagon Alley, since he hadn't seen it like this for nearly five years - when he spent a week there after blowing up Aunt Marge. He didn't make it back again until after Voldemort's return had been made public, and it just wasn't the same after that.
He quietly walked into Gringotts with his companion, and let him do the talking as he wondered why Dumbledore would have Hagrid pick up the Philosopher's Stone in front of a student. Whatever the reason, it didn't matter this time because Harry already knew how he'd handle that. He did, however, ask to have a bit of his gold converted to muggle money, "So I'll have a bit of spending money." Hagrid didn't object to that, since it was just a small amount. Once they left the bank, Hagrid left Harry alone at Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, and Harry was about to meet Draco Malfoy for the first time - again.
-
While they were being measured for robes, Harry let his first conversation with Draco go the way it had until he asked about his parents, to which Harry replied, "They're dead."
"Oh, sorry," said Draco, not sounding sorry at all. "But they were our kind, weren't they?"
"They were English, if that's what you mean," said Harry, purposely misunderstanding.
"I mean if they were a witch and wizard," said Draco, sounding irritated.
"Oh," replied Harry. "No, they were what you call muggles. Very impolite word, if you ask me."
Suddenly, a sneer found its place on Malfoy's face. "Oh, you're a mudblood," he said nastily.
Keeping a neutral expression, Harry asked, "What's that mean?"
"It means that you're filthy because you don't have any pure wizarding blood in your veins, and don't belong in this world." Sniffing the air, he put on a sour expression. "I thought I smelled something foul."
Harry burst out laughing. "You sound just like that crazy muggle, Adolf Hitler, only for him it was Jews. That's probably where that madman Voldemort got his ideas. I read about him. He started getting power just after Hitler died."
"The Dark Lord did not get his ideas from a muggle!" shouted Draco as his face turned pink. "And how DARE you speak his name! He was powerful and…"
"…was defeated by a baby," completed Harry while still laughing at Malfoy, who stormed off angrily. Harry continued laughing. He'd quite enjoyed himself. He wondered how Draco would react when he found out he'd lied about his identity and parentage.
When his robes were completed, Harry left the shop to find that Hagrid had bought him an ice cream cone, which he happily accepted. From there, they went to Flourish and Blotts and the other shops where he needed school supplies. Once again, Hagrid bought Hedwig as another birthday present. Finally, they reached Ollivander's, where it took just as long as before for the brother to Voldemort's wand to choose Harry. After they finished there, Hagrid put Harry on the train home. However, that's not where Harry went.
-
At the first stop the train made, Harry got off. He took Hedwig out of her cage and said, "I live at Number Four, Privet Drive, in Little Whinging. Can you fly there and wait in a nearby tree for me to return?"
The owl looked insulted at him questioning her like that.
"Alright, I know you're brilliant and shouldn't question you, girl. I have a feeling that we're going to be very good friends, Hedwig." The owl looked confused. "Oh, I'd like to call you Hedwig if that's alright. I think it's a beautiful name for a beautiful owl." She nodded her approval. "I probably won't be back until tomorrow morning," he commented, and the snowy owl flew off.
He managed to get the cage into his trunk and found a second-hand shop, where he bought a hooded cloak that he could completely cover himself with using the muggle money he'd gotten at Gringotts. That way, no one in the magical community would be able to tell if he were a boy, an elf, or a goblin so they should leave him alone. After finding a deserted alley, he put on the cloak and summoned the Knight Bus. After a bumpy ride, he found himself back at the Leaky Cauldron.
Keeping his cloak tight, Harry walked up to the bartender with his trunk. Disguising his voice, he said, "Can I get a room here, tonight?"
"Sure," said Tom. "There are rooms available. It'll be nine Sickles."
After Harry paid the man and stored his school trunk in his room, he hurried to Gringotts, hoping he wasn't too late. He found the bank still open, but without as many customers. He walked up to the teller and pulled back his hood just enough to reveal his scar to the goblin. He then handed him a note he'd written that told them that a dark wizard was planning to attempt robbing Vault 713. It said that he knew the vault had been emptied earlier, but that they should catch the fool that would try to break into Gringotts and make him face Goblin justice. "Could you make sure that a manager gets this?" The goblin nodded, looking at him appraisingly. "I'd also like to get more money out of my vault."
-
After Harry had gotten a great deal more money (both magical and muggle) out of his vault and put it in a bottomless bag he'd purchased there, he headed straight to Knockturn Alley, with his wand up his sleeve for easy access - just in case. He didn't plan on using magic until he had a chance to practice because he wasn't sure if he'd have to relearn spell work or not, but he did want to be able to defend himself. In any case, his disguise did get people who would not have feared a little boy to avoid him. The first place he came to was a broken down wooden building that looked like it should be condemned. The rather faded sign said Wendelin's Wands. He opened the door and entered.
A silky, sinister voice greeted him almost immediately. "I'm Wendelin. May I help you?"
Harry looked at the woman behind the counter. Her complexion was almost completely pale and her eyes pale green. Her long hair looked like it had been died black. Harry couldn't tell her age. She was wearing a black, pointy hat and black robes. On the counter, he saw two boxes. One was filled with little sticks while the other seemed to contain magical cores. What he assumed to be a dragon heartstring was at the top.
"Yes," he said with a disguised voice. "I would like a wand and an invisible wrist holster for it."
"The wand will cost a hundred Galleons, and the wrist holster twenty. Are you sure you have enough? I don't take kindly to people who have me make a wand and don't pay me for it." She was looking very threatening, although her voice was still eerily silky.
Harry replied, "Don't worry. I've got the money, but it had better be a top-quality wand."
"Absolutely the best. Much better than anything that fraud Ollivander can make, let me tell you." She then indicated the box of sticks. "Now, put your hand over that box while saying, mei talea."
Nervously, he did as she said. It was then that he noticed that both of the boxes were seemingly bottomless, and had more materials inside them than he could count. As soon as the word, "Talea," left his lips, one of the sticks from deep inside started making its way up until it finally shot straight into his hand. His Seeker skills immediately came into play and he caught it.
"Yew," she said as she took the stick from him. "Now, do the same thing with the core substances, except that you say, mei ortus." He complied and soon he was holding a, "Horntail Dragon heartstring," in his hands, but it wasn't the one from the top. This specific one had obviously climbed a long way up. Wendelin then put the stick in Harry's left hand while the heartstring was still in his right. He felt a strange surge of magic in his hands for a moment before she grabbed both pieces out of his hands. "Yes, they'll work together. I'll have the wand ready in an hour. Bye."
Realizing that she wanted him to leave for the moment, he turned around and walked out the door and headed to his next destination, which was in Diagon Alley. He noticed that it was getting dark as he approached Bernard's Custom Trunks, still wearing his disguise.
"Hello," said the man inside. "How may I help you?"
"I'd like a custom trunk. I'll need it to have multiple compartments, one of which should be a comfortable apartment. I also need it to shrink for easy carrying without having to perform a spell."
"I think I have just what you need, but it'll be very expensive. About five hundred Galleons."
"That's fine," said Harry, grabbing a handful of coins out of his bag to prove he had it.
"Alright," he said, pointing at a black trunk that looked like it had just been polished. "This is our latest top-of-the-line model. The trunk always weighs ten pounds in trunk form. It has nine different, magically expanded compartments. It's got a furnished apartment. It can always be opened from the inside so you can't be trapped in it.
"If security is important to you, let me tell you that it has a very secure locking system that can be controlled from the inside to make sure no unauthorized person can get the trunk open." With a wicked grin, he added, "They get hit with a strong stinging hex if they try." Harry grinned, although the shopkeeper couldn't see his face. "The trunk also can be disillusioned and stuck to its location. It can also be shrunk to a wristwatch that displays the time and has an alarm that only the wearer can hear. The watch, like the trunk, is magically impervious to water, physical damage, and most spells.
"There's a clock inside the trunk apartment that acts and looks like a large version of the watch head and a view screen of the outside in the furnished living room that looks like a muggle telly with audio to hear outside. I actually got the design from muggle televisions - but you use a wand instead of a remote control to turn it on and adjust the volume. A large bookshelf inside the apartment has available access also as one of the compartments in the trunk. The other compartments are closets in the apartment. It has a kitchen furnished with muggle-like appliances that work on magic. The refrigerator has a cooling charm, but the `freezer' isn't cold. Instead, it actually has preserving charms that could keep food fresh for up to a year."
"That sounds perfect!" Harry declared.
With a wink, the shopkeeper added, "Magic inside is undetectable, so any illegal spells or underage magic can be done inside it without alerting the Ministry."
Harry paid for the trunk, and had to donate a drop of blood for a security spell that was put on the trunk. When he put it on his wrist, he saw that he still had twenty minutes until his wand would be ready, so he took a little stroll to Borgin and Burkes.
"May I help you," asked the owner in his oily voice.
"Yes," Harry, still in his cloak, replied in his fake voice as he stepped inside. "I would like to buy that cabinet," he said, indicating the vanishing cabinet that had later brought a group of Death Eaters into Hogwarts and contributed to the headmaster's death - NOT THIS TIME!
Borgin shrugged his shoulders indifferently. "That's been here for a long time. It'll be good to get rid of it. I'll let it go for only a thousand Galleons."
"I'll bet you don't even know where the matching one is - if it even exists," replied Harry. "I'll give you five hundred Galleons."
"I won't take a Knut less than nine hundred!" he replied icily.
"I guess you want to keep it here for another twenty years. How many offers have you had on that in the last ten years?"
Borgin's feet shifted on the floor as he said, "Many people have looked at it…"
"…and never offered to take it off your hands," Harry replied confidently.
Looking upset, the shopkeeper said, "Fine. Five hundred Galleons."
"It's a deal," said Harry happily.
He then counted the money out of his bottomless bag and handed it to Borgin, who took it greedily before saying, "It can't be shrunk, and I'm not delivering it."
"You don't need to," said Harry as he took off his watch. He laid it on the floor, touched it and said, "Trunk." The shopkeeper seemed mildly surprised to see the watch morph into a full-size trunk. Harry then opened up one of the compartments. "Would you mind giving me a hand getting this cabinet into my trunk?"
Without a word, Borgin flicked his wand and the cabinet floated into the trunk. It barely fit in, but it made it into the apartment undamaged.
-
After turning his trunk back into a wristwatch, he made his way back to the wand shop, figuring his spare wand was ready by now. Once he entered the shop, Wendelin, with her silky voice, said, "I just completed your wand." She then showed him the finished product. It looked polished. "Do you have the money?"
"Right here," Harry said, and he counted out the hundred Galleons for the wand, and took out the extra twenty he'd need for the holster, but put it in his pocket.
She gave him the wand, and the moment his fingers gripped it, a light show much more spectacular than what his other wand did - something more along the lines of magical fireworks that Fred and George would make - exploded from the tip of the wand, lighting the place up.
"An excellent fit," she commented, acting like there was nothing strange about that reaction. However, Harry could see surprise and a hint of fear in her eyes. "Now, you said you were also interested in holsters."
A few minutes later, Harry left the shop with his new wand in an invisible holster attached to his left hand. To retrieve his wand, he simply had to say, "Release wand," and the wand would shoot right into his hand for him to catch. Figuring it was too late to do any more shopping, he made his way back to the Leaky Cauldron.
-
Harry got up early the next morning and, after putting his school trunk into his apartment trunk, went shopping yet again. He picked up some extra books at Flourish and Blotts, including the one on hexes he'd noticed with Hagrid as well as an advanced Transfiguration book that explained how to remove Dudley's tail. He then found a shop that carried the last expensive thing he wanted to buy - a Pensieve. He figured that he'd get a lot of good use out of that. He also picked up a copy of the Daily Prophet, which had a story on the front page that said the goblins caught and killed Professor Quirrel for attempting to break into a vault. It had a rather graphic picture on the front that showed what he looked like after the goblins got through with him. Harry figured that no one who saw that newspaper would ever consider breaking into Gringotts, and got very nervous when he remembered that a Horcrux was inside Bellatrix's vault. He had no idea how he would retrieve that.
He then entered muggle London, where he bought a month's worth of food, as well as a few other useful muggle items including new clothes that fit, and put it in his trunk apartment. He then summoned the Knight Bus and arrived at Privet Drive at about 10:00, where a snowy owl immediately flew to his shoulder. Harry smiled brightly at his familiar as he pet her. "Good morning, Hedwig."
-
Please review. Thank you to those who have.
I freely admit that I used the same kind of wand holster I invented for `Harry McGonagall.' I happen to like that design very much.
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