Their next stop was the robe shop. They saw a blond boy finishing his measurements there, but paid him no attention. He soon left along with his mother, neither saying a single word to the group. Harry still heard the boy mumbling "Mudbloods" while his mother frowned at him. Harry was sure there was some story there, but had no idea what it could be.
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Luckily, the adults could help with the clothing. Or maybe unluckily. Both Petunia and Jean checked all four children, ensuring the best fit and not skimping on quality. Susan seemed to bask in the attention of the two women, along with what Madam Malkin, the shop owner, gave her. Hermione seemed indifferent. The boys loathed it. Judging by the look on Dave's face, he fully agreed with them.
Discover moreFind Study AidsLearn a LanguagePrep for TestsRead Ghost BooksRead MythsThey left the shop empty-handed, though. Their new clothes still needed minor adjustments and would be collected later.
Their next stop was for trunks. Harry thought that a multi-compartment one would serve better and persuaded the others to buy such trunks despite the significant price difference. He chose one with seven compartments, one of which was set as a fully furnished apartment, in case one needed it. He planned to make another into a training gym, noticing that Hogwarts had no PE lessons.
Hermione chose a trunk with only four compartments. She felt confident that Harry could take any surplus that wouldn't fit in hers.
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Dudley and Susan chose a three-compartment trunk each. Neither wanted to carry as many books as Hermione, and didn't feel the need for more compartments. All the trunks could accommodate a single bed in one of the compartments in case of an emergency.
Discover moreFan fiction booksWriting softwareCreative writing coursesOnline writing communityFan fiction merchandiseHarry liked the feature that allowed him to shrink the trunk to pocket size and back, adjusting its weight accordingly, without using his own magic. He was sure he could have done it by himself, but that would have revealed his wandless magic, which he preferred to keep secret.
When leaving the trunk shop, Harry noticed a group of five redheaded children of various ages, herded by a plump redhead woman, probably their mother. He didn't think he'd like such a woman as his mother. Even Aunt Petunia seemed a nicer mother than that.
'Indeed, she seems to be quite overbearing. But with five unruly children, she may not have much choice,' Hermione spoke in his head.
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'They are all close to her. She doesn't need to speak loudly enough to be heard at the other end of the street,' he replied.
Hermione chuckled in his mind. 'True, but would you dare to tell her?'
Harry shuddered. 'No way! And I suppose it's even worse for her children.'
He could only sense a chuckle in return.
–..–
They didn't need to buy many books, yet Susan and Hannah needed to. The others had already bought most of the books they would need for their first three years at Hogwarts, at least. Still, some books were different or had new editions. They bought these.
They let Susan and Hannah go first at the cashier, not wanting them to notice how few books they bought. Since they then put everything into the trunk and shrunk it back to carry in their pockets, once they left the shop, it was unnoticeable.
Discover moreRead Sci-Fi BooksWatch Sci-Fi FilmsFind Family LawyerHire BabysittersTrack Pregnancy–..–
They found Sirius exchanging funny stories with Vernon when they arrived home. He turned serious as soon as they all settled down.
"I'm glad to inform you that Albus Dumbledore was removed from all his positions. He's now a retired old wizard with no official position and very little influence, having lost most of his followers. He's still a powerful and cunning wizard, which may make him even more dangerous now, when he no longer has any obligations. He's no longer allowed on Hogwarts grounds either, but I don't trust him not to find some way to enter even when disallowed."
Harry had to remind himself that Sirius was still oblivious to their abilities. He tried to reassure him without revealing too much. "Hermione and I bought many books at Diagon Alley since we learned we're magical. We found some shields there and studied them well. Now that we have wands, we may be able to cast such shields and keep them long enough to protect us whenever needed."
Discover moreAuthor collaboration toolsDigital book publishingStory writing promptsFan art commissionsWriting contest entriesSirius gave it a thought and then smiled with some mischief. "Technically, you can't be accused of underage magic before starting Hogwarts. That means that you can practice magic all you want and be within the context of the law, although not necessarily its spirit. I can train you, if needed."
That was a good surprise. Harry still wanted to be sure before disclosing anything. He used some Legilimency to check Sirius. He found some very good mind shields. They weren't good enough to stop him, but were more than good enough to stop others. Sirius frowned, though.
"Harry, what have you just tried?" His tone was grave and slightly menacing.
Harry shrugged. "I checked your mind shields. They're good, but not perfect. They're still good enough to withstand Dumbledore."
Sirius had to sit down. "Are you saying that you succeeded in performing Legilimency on me?"
Discover moreBook review servicesCrossover story ideasAnime merchandiseBooksRead Bestsellers"Sure. How else would I know?" Harry sounded quite smug.
Sirius needed a short while to clear his thoughts. "You must keep this ability secret, you know."
Harry smiled. "Sure, like all other abilities we acquired."
Sirius suddenly felt like he was riding a roller coaster. "What do you mean by that?"
Harry turned serious. "You know this is a secret that should not be told to anyone, don't you?"
Sirius smiled. "Didn't I say the same a moment earlier? Sure, I'll keep this secret. Do you want my magical vow?"
Harry shook his head. "No. I trust you to do your best."
He looked around. Only the Dursleys were present. The Grangers parted in London as soon as they finished their shopping. "The three of us – Dudley, Hermione, and I – are able to do much more than expected of childrenour age or even adult wizards and witches. We can already do most of the spells taught during the first, second, and third years at Hogwarts without wands or incantations. We also have very effective wards that we can carry with us wherever we go. One of them saved Uncle Vernon during a robbery. Without it, he could have been injured or even killed."
Sirius needed a long moment to wrap his mind around the new information. He then sighed and followed it with a hesitant smile. "I don't need to know any more right now. I'm only glad you're so accomplished and can really protect yourself and the ones you care about."
Harry frowned for a moment. "I really need to make such a ward for you, too. How long are you staying?"
Sirius checked the time. "I can stay about an hour, maybe a bit longer. I promised to meet someone in less than two hours."
Harry smiled. "That should be enough. I just need to go out and find a pebble of the right size. Clean it too, if it's dirty."
Sirius got intrigued. "May I watch?"
Harry shrugged. "Why not?"
Sirius joined Harry, who walked out and searched at the curb until he found a pebble about as large as a small candy. Sirius wondered how it could even carry a small rune sequence but said nothing.
They returned home, and Harry went to his room, taking Sirius along. He put the pebble on his desk and looked at it. The pebble seemed to lose some dirt that clung to it, and then turned around to be fully cleaned and inspected. Harry then put his hands near the sides of the pebble and closed his eyes. Sirius could see nothing for a minute or two. Then, the pebble started glowing blue. The glowing aura widened and grew, turning into a ball shape that almost filled the room, encompassing both Harry and Sirius. It then shrank back as if absorbed into the pebble.
Harry opened his eyes and turned to his godfather. "Hold the stone, please. It's almost finished. I only need to key it to you."
Sirius did as requested. He felt the pebble heat momentarily, and then it cooled back. He saw no change, but his magic felt something that he couldn't understand.
"Keep it with you at all times from now on. It will hide you from enemies, prevent magical travel of any kind at a safe distance from you, and reflect all incoming spells back to the casters. If you can think of any additional protection you might like, just tell me."
Sirius felt a bit overwhelmed. "Where have you found how to make such wards?"
"We didn't find any book about such wards, but we studied the goblin wards cast on this house and then added what we considered useful. We found a way to reflect any spell to its caster. It was mostly Hermione's work, but Dudley and I also contributed."
Sirius needed to ask. "What if I'm not alone? How can I protect whoever is at my side?"
Harry smiled. "Whoever you touch is also protected, probably whoever they touch, too. We haven't quite checked that far."
Sirius looked at the small pebble. It looked no different from millions of other pebbles, except it was probably much cleaner. "May I mark it to make it easier to find if I drop it by mistake?"
"How do you want it marked?" Harry asked.
Sirius shrugged. "I'm not sure. Anything that would help me distinguish it from other pebbles along the roads. A patch of colour or something like that should work fine."
Harry smiled. He looked at the pebble and it changed to sport the Black crest in red and green inks. "Is that good enough?"
Sirius could not talk. While preparing the ward was impressive, it didn't change anything physical, so it could be easily ignored. Embedding the crest with so fine details in what was basically hard stone was a very remarkable feat. He was sure he couldn't replicate it even with a wand. His appreciation for this child grew exponentially.
Harry felt happy to have impressed Sirius so thoroughly. He thought this could also take some worries off the man, allowing him fuller recuperation.
"Let's join the others. Ask Vernon to tell you about the robbery. He likes telling that story, and it grows with each telling." He was glad to see Sirius laugh at that.
–..–
It took only a few more days for August to end.
On the first day of September, Harry shrank his trunk and put it in his pocket, as did Dudley. He then took Petunia's hand while Dudley took Vernon's. They then faded to platform 9 at King's Cross, bypassing the barrier between the Muggle and the magical parts.
None was surprised to find Hermione already there. "I saved us a compartment in the middle car. Come, I'll lead you."
They left their trunks there after returning them to normal size and returned to their parents. Hermione took both her parents' hands and faded away with them, returning alone seconds later. Dudley did the same with his parents. If any magical person noticed, they would probably think it was the adults who used apparition. Nobody would think of such young children as capable of using such magic.
Susan joined them about ten minutes before the set time, along with her friend Hannah, whom they had met during the shopping trip.
Then, with less than a minute to spare, the redhead family arrived and boarded the train as it started moving. Harry shook his head in dismay. How could anybody be so irresponsible?
The train ride was uneventful. The children enjoyed each other's company, talked, played a bit, and had fun.
At some point, they were interrupted by a boy looking for his toad. Harry silently summoned the toad and was then glad to "find" it near him. They invited the boy, Neville, to sit with them for the rest of the ride. Since he'd already met both Susan and Hannah, he agreed.
By the time they reached the end station, both Neville and Hannah were becoming good friends with the others.