章 7: New House?
*** 5 Months Later ***
Harry Potter had been extremely busy during the past few months. It had been exactly 6 months since the day he purchased his books from Diagon Alley.
During these 6 months, Harry had not slacked off even in the least with his magical training. Harry had managed to finish all the history books and was now extremely familiar with the History of the wizarding world of Britain as well as the laws that governed it. The best part of it all was that he had compiled all the history books into one massive version consisting of 500 pages. With this, there was no need to go through 99% of the history books separately.
Having completed the beginner stage of Hogwarts curriculum a month ago, Harry had started learning the more complex materials in the form of the Intermediate Level books.
Harry had found out after the first few sessions that he could progress only so far during the day in the subject of astronomy as it included following the stars.
Harry had not made any progress in the practical aspects of Potions and Herbology because he had not bought any materials for Potions and due to the fact he could not plant anything in the garden of the Dursleys for Herbology.
Harry, however, was not worried about this fact as he could practice Herbology at Hogwarts and Potions at home as soon as he bought the ingredients from the Apothecary in Diagon Alley.
His biggest advancement came in the form of his mastery in Charms, Transfigurations, the spells covered in the Standard Book of Spells from Grade 1 - 3, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Astronomy and Occlumency. He could easily top any examinations that were given to him in these subjects up to the third year of Hogwarts curriculum. As long as the it was the theoretical examination of Potions and Herbology, Harry would be not have any trouble with them either.
Harry's mastery in Occlumency allowed him to ward off the attempts of any average Legilimens due to the increased strength of his mind fortress. What he needed now was to purchase the Advanced Occlumency book to further mental prowess. During the short period of time training in Occlumency, Harry had found out that he had achieved a much clearer mindset with fewer stray thoughts and a greater degree of control over his emotions. This in turn had given him a small boost of his comprehension speed, thus further enhancing his rate of learning.
It was now Sunday evening and Harry had just finished reviewing his studies as per habit. He smiled in satisfaction after tidying up his books.
Noticing his grumbling stomach, Harry closed his room's door and went downstairs to the kitchen. There, he found the dursleys sitting around the dinner table happily conversing with one another.
Has was suddenly filled with Nostalgia as he remembered his own parents from his previous life. They too used to sit around the dining table, happily talking about life.
"What are you standing there for, boy," grumbled Vernon, noticing Harry standing by the door. "Hurry up and sit down."
"Dinner's about to be cooked soon, Harry," said Petunia, smiling at her nephew. "Another 10 minutes should do it."
"Mother's cooking turkey tonight," chimed Dudley, not wanting to be left out of the conversation.
Harry smiled faintly as he took his seat next to his cousin of this world.
Harry's relationship with the Dursleys had further improved when Vernon started making more money with Harry's suggestions that he thought possible. Following Harry's advice, Vernon had made a total of £300,000 in the last 6 months alone. Despite only being able to keep 30% of the money, Vernon thought it was still a huge amount, especially since it was only achieved over the span of 6 months.
Harry had returned the initial loan he had taken from his uncle and had placed the rest in his bank account. Despite this, Harry was quite stingy with his money. He would only spend on what was necessary and not a penny more.
"You mentioned a few weeks ago you were interested in purchasing a property," stated Vernon. The house next door will be available for sale at the end of the year."
"That's not for another six months," said Harry in surprise, as he looked at Vernon. "Why do they want to sell in the first place?"
"They're moving to America to join their family," replied Vernon.
"That's great!" said Harry in excitement. "Have they valued the house yet?"
"Not yet, but they will let us know as soon as they have done so," replied Vernon.
"That's great," said Harry, beaming. "Oh, I'll need to go shopping for more books with Aunt Petunia tomorrow."
"Have you already finished going through the pile of books you got during our last visit?" asked Petunia with a slight surprise.
"I've learnt the basics but I need to put them into practice to know how much I've actually learnt," replied Harry casually.
"I want to go too, this time!" chimed Dudley excitedly.
"I think ... it might be better if you went next time," said Harry with an awkward smile.
"Why? I want to go this time!" argued Dudley stubbornly.
"Harry's right Dudley," said Petunia with a warm smile. "We'll take you with us next time, alright?"
"Alright," said Dudley in a gloomy tone. "But you'd better being me lots of sweets! Got it?"
"Excuse me?" asked Harry, narrowing his eyes.
"I mean, can you please bring me some sweets like last time?" asked Dudley, sweating buckets. He hadn't forgotten how Harry single-handedly beaten up that group of bullies.
"Sure," replied Harry with a slight smirk. 'It seems I need to educate this family a little more.'
Harry's second visit to Diagon Alley was a lot smoother than the previous time due to the fact that Petunia was not as perturbed as she had been the first time around. In fact, Harry felt that she was slightly enjoying herself this time around.
Harey was initially planning to start practicing making Potions, but he put it off until the new year since he could freely make them once he bought the neighbour's house and moved there. He felt that he would constantly get disturbed by his aunt and uncle should they see him using cauldrons and fire in his room. Plus, by then, he would be skilled enough in charms to create a suitable environment in the garden to freely practice Potion making.
Upon his second visit to Flourish & Blotts, Harry found a small number of books on Occlumency and Legilimency - five in total - that he had not found before. This made him extremely happy as he knew raising his mind attributes were a lot harder than his physical attributes.
The second set of books that Harry joyfully found were on Human Transfiguration. The one book that caught his attention the most was Human Transfiguration Gone Wrong by Milenda Servathal. Just by reading the summary of the book, Harry knew he would avoid a lot of misdirections once he was ready to start Self-Transfiguration. He remembered that during the Triwizard Tournament in the original book, Victor Krum had used Human Transfiguration to turn himself into a shark, but had only succeeded with his head.
Harry did not have any problems with Transfiguring a selective body part, but he wanted to do it by choice, not due to lack of skill.
On top of this, Harry had Petunia pester the store owner on books on Animagus and had managed to buy the only three volumes available. Harry had noticed how he was being eyed with increased suspicion by the store owner for reasons he could not understand.
Including buying a few more new books on Theory of Magic, and Ancient Runes, Harry and Petunia left the bookshop and headed for the ice cream parlour they went to last time.
"Aunt Petunia, there's one more store I want to visit before going back home," said Harry casually.
"That's alright," replied Petunia cheerfully. "Just wait until I finish my ice-cream and we'll go together."
"It's alright, take your time," said Harry. "I won't take long. Enjoy your ice-cream. Here's some more money in case you want to order anything else. I won't take long. Wait for me here. I'll be back as soon as I finish."
"Are you sure?" asked Petunia with a worried glance. "I don't want you getting lost."
"Don't worry, Aunt Petunia," said Harry, reassuringly. "I'll be fine. See you in a bit."
Not giving his Aunt a chance to object, Harry quickly walked away. Not long after, he was standing in front of a sign that spelled out Knockturn Alley. He entered the gloomy looking Alley and made his way throough the cobblestone streets, maintaining a higher degree of vigilance. As he walked on, Harry felt glances on himself and he subconsciously willed himself to be unseen.
Shortly after, Harry was standing in front of a store that had the sign Borgin and Burkes hanging overhead. Taking in a deep breath and slowly exhaling, he pushed the door open and walked inside.
***
'Sigh ... business hasn't as good as when the Dark Lord was in power," thought Burkes with a deep sigh. 'My only regular customer is that arrogant Malfoy.'
Caractacus Burke - one of the co-owners of Borgin and Burke's store - was having a dilemma; his store's sales have been in a steady decline. He has been trying to find various ways to increase business, but he had come slightly short everywhere he turned.
As Burke was wallowing in his thoughts, the store's door suddenly chimed. His eyes suddenly brightened as his gaze turned towards the door.
Burke immediately frowned as he noticed a small boy wearing a large hat that covered most of his face. From what he could see, the young boy had a slim, yet well-built figure.
'Now that's peculiar,' thought Burke as he eyed the boy. 'There aren't that many wizards that have such defined muscles. He may be covered, but I can tell he truly looks after his body. I wonder what his family background is.'
***
Harry was staring at the man in front of him. He was amused at the emotions that ran across the man's face. There was a brief silence that drifted throughout the store as the man and Harry studied each other.
"Good afternoon, my name is Mr. Burke," the man said, breaking the silence. "What can I do for you, Mr. ...."
"Augustus Ambrosius," replied Harry, slightly altering his voice to sound deeper with his magic.
Burke's eyes slightly shot up in surprise. This young boy standing in front of him was truly a surprise. He stood there in front of Burke in a dignified manner that resembled that of a nobility. He appeared proud, yet no trace of arrogance could be sensed from him. There was confidence that oozed out of him that almost seemed contageous.
Simply hearing the tone the boy said his name in made Burke instinctively stand straight and become more serious; almost like when standing in front of a man you did not want to disappoint.
'What's happening?' Burke asked himself, his mind running at lightning speed. 'Who's this child?'
"I want information on four influential families," stated Harry, continuously lacing magic in his voice.
"Which families, Mr. Ambrosius?" asked Burke, carefully assessing Harry. If there was anything he had learned during the many years running his store, it was his ability to appraise both artifacts and humans. It had become second nature to him, something that that he now did subconsciously. It was this very appraisal ability of his sending him warning signals that this boy is not someone ordinary.
"First, I want to know how extensive your inteligence network is?" asked Harry, his tone becoming more serious.
"You can rest assured, Mr. Ambrosius," said Burke. "It is fairly extensive. What is it that you wish to know?"
"What I want is ..."
クリエイターの想い 
Profound1
Profound1 Hey guys I hope my novels hasn't been dropped. Super sorry for the really late release. It has not been easy for me the last couple of months. Feedback is important for me. Really, especially Harry's interaction with Burke. I want you readers to be involved in the novel and your inputs will help better shape the story. Look forward to the next few chapters as I will be introducing that early new character interaction I mentioned in earlier chapters.
Point out any mistakes for me to fix - ENJOY!
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