A New Potter - Chapter 4

Tom had a room ready for me once I got back. I found Hedwig waiting once I got settled in. The room had a nice perch for her, and I paid a bit extra for some nibbles for her. Empress Hedwig seemed pleased of our new living situation. She also didn't look to care that I hadn't written any letters in the last couple of days. It probably had something to do with the person was in a magically hidden location.

The rest of the day passed smoothly. Most of the students and families of the Independent schools didn't pay too much attention to me. I was just another teenager among many and that was fine. There wasn't anything pressing that I needed to get done today. The Order would come get me before the school term started. I had completed my shopping already, except for picking up my clothing order, and even destroyed the Vanishing Cabinet. Everything would be fine as long as they didn't show up until after I grabbed my new clothes.

My being in Diagon Alley rather at Privet Drive did make me wonder how things were going to play out. If the Dementors were sent to track me down, then there would be plenty of witnesses when they showed up. On the other hand, if they were sent to Privet Drive, I wouldn't be there and wouldn't need to use magic to drive them off. If I didn't cast any spells then there would be no inciting incident for the Ministry to take action against me. No threats of expulsion would mean there wasn't much of a reason to take me to that place the Order uses as a base.

The Fidelius Charm was annoying. I knew the location, I knew I knew it, but it always came up blank when I tried to voice the information. The only thing I could do was wait.

My mind started to wonder vaguely focused on the situation I had put in motion with Narcissa. Trying to negotiate with Voldemort was a lost cause. We both knew that. There was no real reason to prevent him from getting the prophecy. He was already focused on killing me, learning that he needed to kill me wasn't going to change things. Giving him the prophecy would mean that Arthur didn't get attacked, but it also meant that there wouldn't be a battle for Fudge to witness.

How did I give undeniable proof that Voldemort was back without the Battle in the Ministry? It was simple really, all I had to do –

~§~

I woke up still dressed in yesterday's clothes but had kicked off one of my shoes in the night. A quick glance at the window told me it was still dark out. I stripped off my clothes, hit them with a cleansing charm, and settled into bed. There had been something important before I passed out. I was sure I would remember what it was in the morning.

~§~

The sound of people moving around in the hall woke me. Judging by the volume and the multiple voices it wasn't the Order coming to get me. I got dressed in the shirt and pants of my school uniform again. The new wardrobe would be a wonderful thing. My uniform wasn't going to last long, even with the couple of extras I had.

I managed not to trip on the stairs as I made my way to the dining area. There was a smaller table made to sit two or three that was open. The assembled groups of Independent students had already filled the majority of the tables.

"What can I get you?" A waiter strode over to me.

I hadn't paid enough attention to the dining area aside from where I could sit. Up until now I had assumed that Tom did all the floor work. It made sense that he would have hired help.

"Coffee, cream no sugar, scrambled eggs, toast, and bacon." I said the order on instinct.

I must have given that exact selection many times in my other life.

"Oh." I held up a hand to stop them. "A copy of the Daily Prophet if you have one."

The waiter gave me a nod and hurried back to the kitchen. I settled into my chair. How long did it take to cook with magic? Did the time of the dishes change? A quick burst of magic to change freshly cracked eggs into scrambled? There were so many things I hadn't considered when I watched the movies or read the books.

Another waiter swooped over to my table to drop off my cup of coffee and the Daily Prophet. I picked up the paper to check out the headline. Thankfully, I hadn't taken a sip of my coffee yet. I did not want to choke on hot coffee.

Dementors Attack Wizard in Muggle Neighborhood
by Lewis Berkin

Last night in the muggle neighborhood of Little Whinging Mundungus Fletcher, wizard and known confidence man, was attacked by two Dementors. His body and four others, one squib and three muggles, were discovered to have been kissed. While Fletcher did have a long criminal record, he had not done anything that warranted Dementor involvement to such an extent that would threaten the Statute of Secrecy.

The DMLE were quick to begin their investigation. Evidence was found by diligent Aurors in a matter of hours. Two Dementors were given the task to kiss not Mundungus Flether, but another wizard. That being Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived. It is unknown why he was expected to be in the neighborhood at the time of the attack. Dolores Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minster of Magic, was the official who placed the order. She is presently being held awaiting trial.

Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge could not be reached for comment.

Turn to Page 5 for further charges to Dolores Umbridge
Turn to Page 3 for the arrest record of Mundungus Fletcher
Turn to Page 4 for the names of the Muggles.

Well, that answered that question. I put down the paper and sipped my coffee. Three familiar names were given half of line attached to the end of the article of Mundungus. It was easily overlooked, and the names were misspelled. The Dursleys had been Kissed. I wasn't sure how I felt about that. Whatever abuse they had done to Harry had been to Harry before I got here. They were names on a page to me. As were Mundungus and Mrs. Figg. I didn't have any true memories attached to them.

This was a good excuse for Dumbledore and the Order to find me. They would track me down as fast as they could once they saw the paper. I had no idea how long it would take to find me. Best bet was to get everything I needed to do today.

I finished the rest of my food quickly. It was tasty and well worth it since the meal was included with the room. I hurried up to my room and packed everything away in my new trunk. Hedwig watched me rush around the room muttering to myself.

"Head over to Sirius." I told her. "They'll come to get me soon enough."

Hedwig rolled her eyes at me, huffed, and the flew away. I watched her go before heading back downstairs. It wasn't too busy for Tom to see me leaving. I waved to the old man as a headed out the back toward the alley entry. Magic highlighted the bricks in a colorful pattern to indicate the order. It didn't appear that most other witches and wizards saw it. A moment of concentration was all it took for the magic to become visible to me. It took some trial and error to get the right among of willpower to find the optimal level. The magical energy would completely obscure my vision if I wasn't careful.

The alley was still crowded. Not to the extent as yesterday though. I made my way through the crowd to the clothing store.

"Hello, Mister Potter." Tully smiled brightly at me.

"Call me Harry." I chuckled. "I was planning on asking you to lunch, but my plans have changed."

"Oh." Her face went through a myriad of micro-expressions. "Well, that's a nice thought."

"Sorry." I shrugged. "Could I pick up my order?"

"I had it ready for you." Tully used her customer service voice.

She placed a neatly wrapped package on the counter. I placed the package of clothing in my new trunk then shrunk it all back down.

"Thank you." I placed a couple of sickles on the counter. "For the speedy service."

Her smile regained some of its authenticity. The exchange rate wasn't as confusing as it was in the books. One hundred Knuts per Sickle, and a hundred Sickles per Galleon.

"Most likely." I continued. "I won't be here much longer. It was nice to meet you."

"It was nice to meet you too." Tully sighed.

I left before things got too awkward. Members of the Order would show up the moment we sat at a table if I took her to lunch. They probably wouldn't get me until this evening now that I cancelled it. That's just how the world works.

The idea of trying to claim the Potter Lordship was interesting, but honestly, felt like it was too much trouble that it was worth. I would need to find out the details. Maybe Sirius could explain a few things to me once we met up. It was rather tempting to simply wait for them outside the safe house. I didn't know the exact address, but I knew it was somewhere around Grimmauld Place. The Fidelus Charm made it so that I could be standing right in front of it and not see it. That wouldn't matter if I was simply waiting for them to see me on the street outside. Though that would raise a lot of questions that I did not want to answer. Not that I could answer most of them. That and I was not in any rush to see how it felt when someone dug through my mind. I had an idea on how to deal with mental invasion, but it was completely untested. If I could flood my mind with mundane random thoughts then it would be hard for anyone to find what they were looking for. Even if was successful I doubted it would work for more than a second against a person who didn't care about subtly.

One place I had skipped yesterday due to the crowds was the bookstore. I was going to change that today. What better place to get lost in than a bookstore?

~§~

"Harry?" A haggard, hushed voice called to me.

"Hm?" I didn't bother looking at whoever it was.

A stack of books that was even with my waist floated along beside me. The topics ranged from Local and World History to books on Enchanting, Runes, and Household Magic. There were a couple of dueling ones in there as well. Pretty much anything that caught my attention was added to the stack. Plus, I wanted to see what damage I could do with 'harmless' spells.

"What are you doing here?" The same voice pressed.

I finally looked up at the speaker and fixed them with a flat stare. Lupin flinched when our eyes met. Like me, he didn't look like the actor from the movies, but he was close enough to be recognized. Haggard, thinning hair, and hunched over so he appeared shorter than he actually was.

According to canon, he was supposed to marry Tonks, knock her up, and then try to run at the first chance. In that timeline, Harry talked the werewolf into sticking around. All that did was get Tonks killed. Canon also had him ignore Harry for years, which could be somewhat forgiven due to how the Magical World treated werewolves. They wouldn't be open to giving The Boy Who Lived to a werewolf. Still, that didn't explain why Lupin hadn't introduced himself the moment they met on the train. Or how the werewolf had slept through the approach of a bunch of Dementors.

He was not one of my favorite people. Lupin was going to have to earn anything beyond 'polite' conversation. Even then, he was going to have to work for that.

"I'm shopping." I motioned to the stack of books.

A muffled snort of laughter brough the rest of the group to my attention. I recognized this version of Tonks thanks to her purple spiked hair. The Weird Sisters band shirt and well-worn blue jeans helped too. She was attractive without it being too much and getting unwanted attention.

Moody gave me pause. He wasn't nearly as gnarled as I had expected. Sure, his face was a webwork of scars and he had a fake eye, but he moved smoothly without a hint that he had a fake leg. He looked to be around fifty with a wiry build.

"Come on." I waved them along as I took my stack of books to the counter. "I need to buy these before we leave."

"No time. We're too exposed." Moody grumbled.

"There are three exits." I didn't stop moving toward the counter. "Main door, back entry, and the front window. Each bookshelf is enchanted to withstand a group of people jumping on them. They block line of sight as well."

My previous life had left me with some interesting instincts. Honestly, it was bordering on paranoia. The vigilance could come from this Harry. He didn't exactly have an easy life. Either way, I had been clocking the points of egress, possible angles of attack, and rapid exit strategies with every building I had been in.

"There are four plain clothed Aurors patrolling the street too." I continued. "One is posted near the door to the shop."

"How would you know that?" Moody growled.

"Which part?" I flashed a smile at him over my shoulder.

"All of it." Moody replied.

"Constant vigilance." I shrugged. "That and a cop is a cop regardless of if they carry a wand or a gun. Once you learn how to spot one you can pick them out everywhere." I inclined my head to Tonks. "She blends in for now. I'm guessing, she's new to the job?"

"How could you tell?" Tonks nodded.

"You're not looking at everyone like criminals yet." I teased. "Give it a couple of months and you'll be jaded like the rest of them."

"Enough showing off." Moody growled. "We need to leave. Now."

I paid for the books and stored them in my trunk without another word. Tonks held out her arm to me. I took it. A moment later the world twisted, and I experienced the most unpleasant sensation of my life. I had just enough time to take a deep breath before it happened four more times.

Somehow I didn't get sick. I was going to aim for Tonks' shoes if I did.

"Here." She held out a piece of paper. "Read this."

I took the note and read it. The buildings in front of us shifted as a new house appeared.

"That sucked." I groaned.

"You did great." Tonks patted my shoulder.

"Harry." I offered my hand. "You are?"

"Tonks." She said quickly. "Just Tonks."

"Just Tonks." I raised my eyebrows. "Is that short for Justine or something?"

"No." Tonks narrowed her eyes at me.

"Nymphadora." Moody growled. "You missed three stops."

"Don't call me that." Tonks groaned. "It's Tonks. I've told you that."

"What's a Nymphadora?" I carefully kept the humor from my face.

"Watch it, Boy Wonder." Tonks shook a finger at me.

"It's her name." Lupin spoke up. "Nymphadora Tonks."

Tonks had her wand out and sent a stinger at Lupin in a blur. The werewolf yelped as the spell smacked against his thigh. I didn't miss the fact that it hit uncomfortable close to his twigs and berries.

"Got it." I nodded. "Tonks, it is."

"Smart boy." Tonks patted my head. "Now, come on. Everyone is worried about you."