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(P).(A).(T).(R).(E).(O).(N)
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Harry loved both his friends, but they had their faults.
He sighed and stood. He popped his trunk open and dug through to try and find all his spare change from the year. He found some sickles and a galleon or two. No muggle money. So no taxi or bus. Harry straightened and blinked. Bus…
Harry quickly shut his trunk and pulled his wand from the pockets of his hand-me-down trousers. He saw a few people on walks casting him odd glances but ignored them. He was glad for the fact he'd let Hedwig fly home instead of riding in her cage. It would have been hard to fit in with an owl in a cage with him. He raised his wand straight out in front of him and pointed it up. In a 'bang' a familiar purple bus appeared. Harry grinned happily in relief. He'd almost thought it might not appear in areas with muggles. But as it appeared everyone around seemed not to see him or the bus.
The doors of the bus swung open and Harry turned back to his trunk in a moment of brilliance. He yanked it open and pulled out the standard black pointed hat he'd bought first year as his list had said. He pulled it on, pulling it low and letting the rim hide his face. He snapped the trunk shut once again and quickly stepped on to the bus, dragging his trunk with him.
"Welcome to the Knight bus, transportation for the stranded witch or wizard." Stan Shunpike said in monotone, looking bored. "I'll be your conductor for the day. Eleven sickles for the ride, or fifteen and you get a hot chocolate-"
Harry counted out the money and dropped it in the older teen's hand.
"Diagon Alley please."
"Sure kid. What entrance?"
Harry blinked.
"Entrance?"
"Yeah. Do you want to get in through the Leaky Cauldron, through Talon's Inn, or through Nightingale Cage?"
"What's the difference?" Harry asked, still surprised.
"What's the difference, he asks." Stan snorted. "The Leaky Cauldron leads right into Diagon Alley. Talon's Inn leads into Knockturn Alley. And Nightingale Cage leads into Vertical Alley. They're all inns."
Harry blinked and briefly wondered what Vertical Alley was.
"Um…Nightingale Cage please."
"Sure. Take her away Ernie!"
Harry grabbed one of the poles just as the bus took off at high speed. Hs trunk slid into place under one of the many beds and Harry flopped flat on one, gripping the edge to hang on.
Five minutes later Harry was stumbling from the bus in front of a large blue building. It was a corner building with water blue walls and large windows that you couldn't see in. Harry quickly entered the building and looked around. He was in a restaurant area. The inside was greens and blues. There was a thick green carpet and the walls were a teal blue. Small round tables were spread about, metal wrought chairs pushed into them. Birds of many painted colors flew across the walls, paintings on the deep blue. Harry hurried past the tables to a small counter in front of a hall. A tall woman with curly blonde hair smiled at him.
Hello Sweetie. Can I help you?"
"Um, yes please. I'd like to get into Vertical Alley."
"Oh! Of course dear! Follow me."
He followed her down the hall until they reached an arch way leading outside. They stepped into a beautiful courtyard of white stone with a small fountain in the middle. Benches and gardens surrounded the courtyard. Straight across from the arched doorway was a large beautiful metal gate that had small birds designed into it. The lady hummed and tapped it with her wand. It swung open and she stepped to the side.
"There you go dear. Need any other help."
"Can you point me towards Gringotts?"
"Of course. Just follow this alley to the end where it meets up with Diagon Alley. You should be about three stores down from the bank then."
"Thank you." Harry said dragging his trunk through the gates.
"You're welcome. And here."
She tapped his trunk as it passed and he blinked in surprise as it suddenly became as heavy as a feather."
"There you go. Trunks can't be shrunk because of certain magical properties and the things inside, but you can make them lighter." She winked. "Have a good day."
Harry nodded to her and took off down the street, curiously glancing around. He decided after seeing the first couple stores that this alley was not an alley you shopped at for supplies for school or home. It had music stores, art stores, cafés, portrait stores, pet stores, dress stores, jewellery stores, and other indulging stores. Everything in this alley was also light and cheerful, painted bright colors and with gardens on the sidewalks and window sills.
Harry finally exited the beautiful alley into the more plain Diagon Alley. He found himself recognizing the area and wondered how he had never noticed the entrance to Vertical Alley as it was as wide as a small building. Harry shook the thoughts away and quickly headed for Gringotts.
No one would notice he was missing from the Dursely's for a few hours at the very least. And that's only if they checked up on him after Vernon got home. He doubted that would happen. No one would probably know he was gone all summer if he hid himself well enough. One spotting in Diagon or by any other magical people he knew or recognized him and he would be labelled missing. But until then he would be safe.
Harry quickly walked into Gringotts pulling his trunk behind him. It would be a bother to carry it everywhere but he had no choice. He spotted an empty teller quite quickly and hurried over.
"Excuse me." Harry said softly. "I'd like to withdraw some money from my vault."
The goblin eyed him.
"Name."
"Harry Potter." Harry said softly.
The goblin raised a brow. Then he yelled at another goblin in an odd language. The goblin strode over and eyed Harry before nodding.
"Follow me." He sneered, leading Harry over to cart area.
Harry scrambled in pulling his trunk with him as the goblin sat in the driver's seat. He took off down the tracks at the regular speed and Harry actually relaxed at the fast pace.
"Which vault would you like to visit Mr. Potter?" The goblin asked.
Harry blinked.
"Um…my vault?"
"Funny." The goblin said deadpanned, with a sneer. "What vault."
Harry scowled now, upset that the goblin was teasing him.
"I said my vault." He stressed. "I only have one vault."
He huffed as he finished. Before he could react the cart screeched to a stop and Harry had to grab his seat as to not be flung out of the cart. The goblin turned to him and Harry's breath caught as he recognized the movement as what Vernon had done earlier. He flinched as the goblin stared.
Loving the story so far? There's a whole world of magic and mystery waiting for you with over 85+ chapters still to come! By supporting my Patreon.
You not only get early access to new chapters but also exclusive content, behind-the-scenes insights, and special perks just for fans like you.
Join us on this enchanted journey and help shape the future of the tale. Your support makes all the difference—discover more and become part of the adventure today!
http//patreon.com/BLAKE025
(P).(A).(T).(R).(E).(O).(N)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~