That winter wasn't very cold, but his clothes were in no condition to keep him warm during his early morning runs, which were now taken even before sunrise. Luckily, running kept him warm and his aunt made sure to have some tea ready for him. Nothing weird happened near him that winter, as even Dudley and his gang were not up to staying out in the cold just for a slim chance of beating him. This helped keep his uncle in a less unpleasant mood than before, which was also a kind of improvement.
Harry kept visiting the library. By now, he could also find books unrelated to magic, if he wanted. He read some more books about fitness of body and mind, some of which he barely understood, being directed at adult readers. These helped him vary his morning routine to include a few more exercises, making him the fittest boy in class, without showing it. His too large clothes were also helping in hiding this.
As his control was becoming better, he noticed that he could find some "special" books just by thinking about what he wanted. He found a booklet explaining about summoning object and another about banishing and even vanishing them. Another book, describing some simple potions, stuck out of the stack of books on a corner table after his aunt mentioned that no cleaning agent she could find was good enough at cleaning some of the stains on Dudley's clothes.
He was allowed to take that book with him this time as well.
A few plant ingredients, easily found in a spice store, were bought by his aunt when he mentioned a cleaning potion. She even stayed with him, trying to understand what he was doing, as he followed the instruction. He read everything out loud for his aunt, as this book also turned to be unreadable by her.
It didn't turn too well the first time. Instead of creating a clear potion with some vegetable debris floating on top, it became a mixture of green and red thick liquids. Yet the book addressed this problem and explained how to avoid it. Petunia wrote the instructions down in her own neat handwriting as Harry was reading them out loud, so she could better supervise the next time.
This one turned perfect. Once cooled, there was enough there for a few washing machine loads. It refreshed the clothes, making them look almost new. It even seemed to restore some of the clothes Harry was wearing into almost presentable form.
"Lily excelled in potions," Petunia told him. "You may have inherited her talent."
It made him proud to hear that.
There were other household potions in that book, some of which looked very useful, yet most used ingredients which were nowhere to be found. Petunia had an idea. "I know where your mother used to go for such things. I can take you to that area, but you may need to lead me once we come close. Just like these books, that place is protected, yet you should be able to see it."
"Where is it?"
"It's in London, not too far from Kings Cross train station. I'll talk to Vernon. I need to upgrade my wardrobe and he'd be glad not to have to carry my shopping for me."
Vernon acted predictably. It was Harry's first ride on a train and he enjoyed it very much. It was exciting to see the landscape passing by the window at such a high speed. Not having to deal with Dudley and Uncle Vernon was also helping.
He'd only fleetingly seen a bit of London through the car's windows once, when he was really small and the Dursleys couldn't find a babysitter. This time he was walking at his aunt's side, trying to keep in pace with her, yet enjoying the feeling of seeing new things.
"We first need to buy you some clothes. You can't wear these rags now. You'll have to change to these on our way back, though. Neither Vernon nor Dudley should know of this," his aunt said, taking him into a clothing store for children.
They didn't spend much time there. Petunia chose some clothes for him that would do nicely for the rest of the day and could also be useful for his daily running. She also bought him some new underwear and a pair of comfortable snickers, also useful for running. Harry basked in the attention. Never had he gotten so much attention from his aunt. Had he not known better, he would have thought she loved him.
Soon enough they were walking towards what looked to Harry like a shabby pub.
"I know it's somewhere around here," Petunia said, "but you need to look around and direct me. There should be a pub nearby, yet all I can see is some closed bookshops."
"You mean 'The Leaky Cauldron', don't you?"
"Well, it sounds right. Where is it?"
Harry grabbed her hand and walked forward. They were almost at the door when his aunt stopped. "I can see it now."
She held his shoulders and turned him to look at her. "This is the entrance to what, according to Lily, is a wonderful place. I've never been there, and frankly – I'm not sure I should. Yet I don't dare send you alone there. Hold my hand the whole time and keep your mouth shut, unless I ask you to speak. Keep your cape on, to hide you, if there's any danger. Run for cover if anything happens to me. Understood?"
"Yes. I'll try my best, Aunt Petunia."
They walked in. An old barkeeper welcomed them. "Hello. What can I do for you?"
Harry looked around. The pub seemed empty, yet it was lighted with candles that were floating in the air and some torches, fixed to the walls. He saw bottles of a liquid named "Butterbeer", if he read it correctly, and others which read "Firewhisky". Such weird names!
"Let's go!" his aunt urged him. He missed her discussion with the barkeeper, but the man was walking in front of them to the backyard, taking a stylized stick out of his clothes. They stopped in front of the back brick wall. The man tapped a few bricks with his stick. "Welcome to Diagon Alley," he said, turning back to the bar.
Harry looked in fascination as the bricks moved, rearranging themselves in an elegant arch above an opening, revealing the most wonderful street he had ever seen. It looked like he had stepped into a fairytale, with most people wearing robes of different colours and some wearing pointed hats. The shops also looked interesting, yet his aunt was dragging him mercilessly towards the large white marble building which dominated the street.
"This is their bank," she explained in a whisper. "They use different money here and we need to change our pounds to be able to buy anything in one of these stores."
She stopped in front of the bank, gulping nervously. Harry looked up, noticing for the first time that the bank had guards that looked like nothing he had seen. They were only roughly human-like, with long claws to their fingers and sharp teeth showing even with their mouths closed. Despite not being any taller than him, they looked powerful and ruthless. He felt as if they could tear him to pieces just by looking at him.
"These are Goblins," Aunt Petunia told him in a whisper. "They are the bankers of the Magical World, at least in Britain."
Getting her courage up, she stepped forward, mounting the stairs, with Harry dragged at her side.
The interior was just as magnificent as the exterior. It was a large hall, about four times as high as the tallest man, with teller booths lining the wall opposite the door. Petunia approached a teller who seemed free.
"Excuse me, sir. How can I change money from the non-magical world to the money used here?"
The teller looked at her contemplatively. Harry shuddered. It looked as if the teller was considering if she was good enough for a meal or not worth the trouble.
"Do you have a vault here?" he finally asked.
"I don't, but my sister used to have one and my nephew may also have one. I'm not sure."
"Names?"
"Lily Evans was my sister, later becoming Lady Potter. My nephew is Harry Potter."
The goblin seemed to become a bit interested at hearing the names. Harry's curiosity was also piqued by the "Lady" part. Maybe, if his aunt was in a good mood, she could tell him a bit more about his parents?
"Let me check. I'll be back in a moment," the teller said, stepping down from his stool and walking out of a back door.
He returned a moment later, carrying some parchment and a small dagger. "We seem to have something, but we first need to verify your identity. We need a drop of your blood on this parchment." He put the dagger and a piece of parchment on the counter.
Petunia looked apprehensively at it.
"Don't worry. The cut will seal itself as soon as you let a drop of blood out," the goblin assured her.
She took the dagger and cut the tip of her left thumb, letting a drop of blood fall on the parchment. The small cut was sealing itself as soon as the drop left it. A few seconds later there was no sign it ever was there.
"Now the child," the goblin said, replacing the parchment with a fresh one.
"Do you need help?" Petunia asked him.
"No. I can do it alone," Harry answered, not quite as sure as he pretended to be.
It still went as quickly as with his aunt.
The goblin grabbed the parchments immediately, taking the dagger back as well. "Wait here," he said, going out again.
It took him much longer to return and he looked more reserved now.
"Mrs. Dursley, I'm sorry, but you can have no access to your late sister's vaults. Young master Harry can have limited access to his trust vault, though. How much do you need now?"
Petunia wasn't sure. "My nephew found a book of household potions. We want to buy some ingredients and try them. I'm not sure how much they cost, though."
The goblin thought for a moment, tapping his teeth with his claws. It wasn't very settling to see this. "Do you have the list of ingredients?" he finally asked.
Petunia took a folded paper out of her handbag and gave it to the teller.
"Well, twenty Galleons should be plenty for this, and even cover lunch and dinner for you two. We can give you this and charge his vault, no problem."
The goblin proceeded by counting twenty gold coins and putting them on the counter, for Petunia to take. He then looked at them both. "You should come back here after Harry's tenth birthday. He may then gain control of his finances."
"Thank you, sir. I'll keep that in mind." She stopped for a moment, unsure how to proceed. "What is the greeting one should say before leaving here?"
The goblin smiled, baring all his sharp teeth, a frightening sight all by itself. "It is: 'May your gold flow in just as your enemies' blood flows out.' You can use variations on that."
"Thank you again. May your gold flow and your enemies perish. Good day!"
The goblin nodded his amusement, watching the two walk out. He would have some stories to tell his family.
It was clear to Harry that his aunt didn't feel comfortable there. She quickly found an appropriate shop, bought the ingredients and almost ran out of Diagon Alley, not letting Harry even glance at most of the window shops.
She calmed down once they were back in "normal" London.
"We should have some lunch and then start the shopping we're supposed to do, I think," she told Harry, leading him to a small restaurant serving British dishes.
The food wasn't very tasty, but Harry enjoyed his meal tremendously. He had never been taken to a restaurant. He barely even had a decent meal at home. Now he could choose and eat his fill. His aunt even seemed to enjoy seeing him eat so heartily. They also took a tea each, to help the meal down, and then went back to the cold.
Harry didn't mind spending the time on shopping. He liked the shops. They were warm and elegant. His aunt even asked him of his opinion about some of the clothes she considered buying. He didn't mind helping her carry it all, and she rewarded him with a hot chocolate drink before boarding the train.
"You should now go to the toilet and change back to your old clothes," she told him, halfway through the ride. Harry didn't mind. It was the best day he had since... ever, and as the sun had already set, there was little he could see through the windows anyway. By the time they returned home, it was a humble Harry who followed Petunia, carrying as many packages as his hands could hold, yet he had several gold coins in his pocket and one of the packages was going to end up in his cupboard.