Slow down, Harry!" Molly said with a laugh as she watched her son wolf down his third bit of toast, "You're going to choke if you continue to eat that fast!"
"I can't help it, mum!" Harry smiled back, "Today's the day!"
Molly smiled warmly at Harry as he began to eat his eggs with all the enthusiasm of a boy possessed; both Ron and Harry had received their Hogwarts letters the previous week and had been overjoyed when Molly and Arthur had promised to take the family to Diagon Alley to purchase their school supplies.
"Sirius and Andromeda both said they'll meet us at Diagon Alley later today," Arthur said from behind the paper he was reading, and both Ron and Harry smiled happily at the news; much to Molly and Arthur's bemusement, Sirius had taken it upon himself to spoil not only Harry but also the rest of the Weasley family, with gifts and other acts of altruism, despite Molly's assurances that such gifts weren't necessary; the previous year, Sirius had scored front row seats to a Chudley Cannons Quidditch match for Ron's birthday, and Ron had sobbed in happiness into Sirius' shirt in thanks.
While Sirius' visits always brought a smile to the children and, despite her best attempts to Molly as well, Sirius had also taken over as the unofficial trainer in all things mischief and prank-worthy to Fred and George, which made have contributed to Molly's graying hair.
Under Sirius' (and sometimes Remus' as well) tutelage, the twin's pranks had gone far and beyond what they once were, and it seemed that poor Molly received over a dozen owls a month from Dumbledore for some new prank that Fred and George had done and landed in
detention for.
"I'm looking forward to seeing Dora," Harry replied happily as he filled his plate yet again, "It's been too long since I've seen her last,"
"Well, you have to remember," Molly replied, "This is Dora's last year at Hogwarts, and she'll need full marks in her N.E.W.T.S if she wants to realize her dream of becoming an Auror."
Harry nodded in understanding, and Molly smiled warmly at her son; it had been five years since Harry had come into the Weasley's life, five years since he had shown up on their doorstep with nothing but an overgrown pair of clothes covering a body covered in bruises and scars.
Now, Harry was almost as tall as Ron, though Harry could change his height and appearance any time he chose, thanks to his metamorphmagus abilities. In contrast, before, Harry had been shy and withdrawn, always afraid of doing or saying the wrong thing lest he be punished; Harry was now a happy child who constantly brought a smile to his family by changing his appearance whenever he felt like it.
They had finally told the boy his story the previous year after carefully discussing it with Sirius and Dumbledore; needless to say, Harry was astounded at hearing why he was so famous in the wizarding world and said very little for several days afterward as he tried to process his history with Voldemort.
Currently, Harry was sporting messy shoulder-length red hair, combined with deep green eyes that seemed almost unnatural in their color, his current favorite, though Molly knew that that could change at a moment's notice.
XXXX
Vernon Dursley stared blurrily at the television in front of him as he filled his glass again with whiskey; he had lost track of how many times he had refilled the glass, even though it was not even noon yet; drinking himself into oblivion had become Vernon's routine ever since his wife had left him and his life had fallen apart soon after.
Vernon frowned as the memories that he tried to keep at bay with copious amounts of alcohol began to assault him; he had once been a man of great importance, in line for an outstanding promotion that would have carried himself and his family even higher into the upper echelon of decent society, that was until it had all been taken away from him by those freaks.
Vernon and Petunia had been forced to sell their home far below market value in order to escape the unnaturalness that contaminated it; not long after that, Vernon had been relieved of his position at his place of employment after someone let slip that his nephew had been removed from him and his wife's care for abuse., Vernon had no doubt who had been responsible for that, the freaks, of course!
For two years, Vernon and Petunia had lived in a filthy apartment in London, struggling to survive as Petunia was forced to take work as a waitress. Vernon had to suffer the indignity of being turned away ad nauseum from almost every place he applied to until at last finding work in a factory as though Vernon were nothing but a simple plebian.
Yet, despite how hard Vernon and Petunia worked, they simply could never seem to raise enough to pull themselves out of the hole that those miserable freaks had dropped them into, as every check came to the Dursley's far smaller than they should have been due to the debt they still owed for their supposed 'crime.'
A year later, Petunia finally decided that she had had enough and served Vernon with divorce papers, to Vernon's great disgrace and humiliation; Vernon had pleaded with his beloved wife not to go through with it, but his pleas fell on deaf ears, and Vernon was forced to endure the indignity of losing not only his marriage but also his son as Petunia had been granted full custody.
This final humiliation had pushed Vernon over the edge, and he had attacked Petunia in the courtroom in a blind rage, dealing significant damage to his now ex-wife, before he was hauled away by the court officers.
For his assault on Petunia, Vernon had been sentenced to eighteen months in prison and, upon regaining his freedom, had discovered that Petunia and his darling Dudley had fled to America, but to where he had no clue.
Because of his now besmirched record for assault on Petunia, Vernon's prospects had sunk even lower, if that were possible. In addition, Vernon now resided in a disgusting apartment that should have been condemned years ago.
Unable to find decent work, Vernon had resorted to panhandling, much to his shame and disgust, and what he didn't spend on rent went to his increasing addiction to alcohol to dull his senses and kept the memories at bay.
"It wasn't supposed to be this way," Vernon thought angrily as he took another deep drink, smiling at the way it burned down his throat, "I was a man of respect once, and that freak took it all from me!"
Vernon sneered as he thought of the boy who had caused all of this to occur; he would have turned eleven not too long ago, which meant that he would soon be going to learn how to become an even bigger freak than he already was if Vernon remembered correctly.
With a sudden snarl, Vernon threw his glass at the television, wincing in annoyance as the glass caused his only form of entertainment to explode in a shower of sparks and drink, it had taken him a month to save up enough for that television, and now it was gone.
As he sat in the silent room, Vernon's mind began to race as he came to one irrefutable conclusion, it was all the boy's fault.
Everything that had gone wrong in his life could be traced back to the day that damn freak had appeared on his doorstep; Vernon angrily gripped the arms of his chair as his mind raced with an idea, the boy would be starting school soon, and according to Petunia, those freaks used a train to get to there.
A cruel smile stretched across Vernon's face as he realized what he would do, he would be there when the boy showed up to meet the train, and he would do what he should have done years ago; as Vernon began to pour himself another glass, he suddenly began to laugh, the first time he had done so in a long time as he envisioned the pleasure he would receive from having his revenge on those who had wronged him.
XXXX
"Harry!" A voice called, making the boy's head whip up in pleasure as he saw his adopted sister bearing down on him with a massive smile on her face,
"Dora!" Harry called back as he wrapped his arms around his fellow metamorphmagus, and the two shared a great hug.
As the two pulled away, Harry beamed in pleasure as he took in Dora's appearance; she was dressed in a black pair of tight jeans and a dark red sleeveless top that showed her curves in a way that made Percy and the twins blush deeply; her hair was currently a violent shade of purple which was copied by her eyes.
"You didn't think I'd miss out on my little brother's shopping spree for his first year at Hogwarts, did you?" Dora asked brightly, making Harry giggle; a moment later, Dora was joined by Andromeda and Sirius. Both wore matching pairs of happy smiles as they gazed down at Harry and Dora.
"Hey Sirius, hey auntie Andromeda," Harry called happily, giving each a hug as the rest of the Weasley clan finally made their way to the group and offered hugs of their own to the group.
"To be honest, I was beginning to worry that I wouldn't make it," Sirius said wearily, making Molly raise an eyebrow in surprise,
"The ministry keeping you busy, then?"
"Always," Sirius said with a weary nod; since regaining his freedom and being named head of House Black, Sirius had taken his seat in the Wizengamot and a few other places of importance that his family had once held.
It had been thought by many that Sirius would try and regain his former occupation as an Auror once he was free, but Sirius made it clear that his only intention was to reform the name Black that his family had tarnished so severely over the last few decades; to that end, he had begun to use his considerable influence as well as the power and gold that his family's name held to begin sweeping legislation that not only began to chip away at the power that the pure blood family's had held for centuries but also began to give fair and equal treatment to magical species that had long been denied such rights. One of the first pieces of legislation that Sirius had bribed and bullied his way through gave werewolves the ability to find work again and returned to them rights that had been taken away when Delores Umbridge had forced through her own legislation. Sirius had gained eternal enmity from the toad lady for that. Remus had tearfully thanked Sirius for that, as it meant he could finally return to England and find actual work.
Sirius had almost been assassinated three times since his release from Azkaban, something that he was very proud of as it showed that he was "Finally getting to the inbred bastards, both in spirit and wealth," though almost everyone else refused to find it as funny as Sirius did.
"So what seems to be the cause of the ministry's newest headache?" Molly asked as the group began making their way to Gringotts to procure the day's funding,
"It's the new bill I'm trying to pass," Sirius replied wearily,
"The one that would allow muggleborn's the right to stand for office in the Wizengamot?" Molly asked, making Sirius nod quickly,
"Malfoy seems almost obsessed with seeing it die in committee," Sirius sneered, "The amount he's spent in bribes is almost awe-inspiring, really."
Arthur scowled as Sirius so easily spoke of the corruption in the Ministry, something that Arthur found distasteful,
"He can't afford to let this bill pass," Andromeda said quickly, "He's already lost quite a lot of power from the other bills you've passed the last few years. If he allows this one to pass, he risks losing face and even more of the power that he is so desperate to hoard."
"Let's not speak of such things," Molly interjected, "Today is a happy day! Ron and Harry will finally be going to Hogwarts, and we have quite a lot to purchase for them!"
The adults smiled down at the excited pair, and Sirius let out a bark-like laugh as he slapped a hand on Harry's back,
"Too right!" Sirius laughed, "So let's go shopping!"
The children cheered at this, and Harry and Ron beamed with pleasure as the group began to ascend the stairs to Gringotts. The twins started a hushed conversation with Sirius, the three grinning wickedly as Molly rolled her eyes at the thought of another year of headaches brought on by their incessant pranks.
XXXX
Several hours later, Harry was having the best day of his life; years ago, the Weasley's might have been unable to afford to purchase school supplies for five children, but thanks to the money they had received over the years from Dumbledore for caring for Harry, that was no longer a problem and the children were now able to purchase all their supplies with gold to spare.
"Sirius, why don't you take Harry and Ron to get their robes while Andromeda and I go buy their books," Molly said as she looked down the list, "Arthur should already be there with Fred, George, and Percy, so we can all meet at Ollivander's when you're done if that sounds alright."
"Sounds brilliant, Molly," Sirius said with a smile as he began to steer the kids toward the robe shop,
"Mum, can I go with Harry?" Dora asked, "I already got all my books, after all,"
"I see no reason why not," Andromeda replied warmly, "We'll meet up to purchase the boy's wands when you're done."
Dora nodded happily before she hurried after the boys as Molly and Andromeda watched with warm smiles; a few moments later, Sirius' good humor vanished as he saw Lucius Malfoy sitting in a nearby chair watching a young boy, who could only be Lucius' son, be measured for robes.
"Well, well, well," Lucius sneered, "I thought I smelled an animal enter,"
"And a good morning to you as well, Lucius," Sirius smirked back, "I'm surprised to see you here, run out of puppies to drown?"
Lucius glared at Sirius at the words before his face fell into an arrogant mask,
"You look weary, Black; perhaps you should consider taking a vacation for your health,"
Sirius grinned at the thinly veiled threat before issuing a slight chuckle,
"Appearances can be deceiving, Malfoy; I'm as healthy as I've ever been, and despite the continued attempts of you and your kind to have me killed, I promise that I'm just getting started on fixing the cock up in which our government has become."
"How dare you insult my father like that!" The boy on the pedestal cried angrily, stopping once Lucius raised his hand at him,
"That's enough, Draco; there's no need to dignify Lord Black's insinuations with a reply,"
Sirius' grin seemed to grow at the words as though he was being told the best joke in the world,
"It's only an insinuation if it's false, Malfoy, and we both know it was you who sent those two assholes to kill me. Did you enjoy the gift basket I sent you as a thank you?"
"You are unworthy of your title, Black," Lucius replied scornfully, "It's a pity the noble house of Black has fallen so far; your house used to stand as a beacon to the rest of our society."
"A reputation that I am happy to destroy once and for all," Sirius replied with a sneer, "It's far past time that the sins of my family were repaired, and the many bills I've put forth are doing exactly that!"
"Your newest bill will never be passed, Black!" Lucius snarled, "I'll see it die first!"
"Good luck with that, Malfoy," Dora said with a laugh, "Hasn't worked out for you so far, has it?"
"How dare you speak to me, you filthy blood-traitor!" Lucius spat as he turned to the metamorphmagus, who turned red with anger, which was matched by Harry a moment later,
"You're all done, dear!" Madam Malkin said suddenly, making Lucius turn to his son,
"Good, come then, Draco, we have wasted enough time amongst these lowly people; the air stinks of poverty and dishonor,"
"If that's what you smell, Malfoy, then perhaps you should bathe more often," Sirius replied with a smile as Lucius sputtered with rage before grabbing his son's hand and dragging him out as Harry, Ron, and Dora laughed.
"What a git," Ron said with a smile,
"Seems like young Draco is a mirror copy of his dear dad," Dora added as Sirius approached Madam Malkin,
"Good morning, my lady," Sirius said warmly, "I have two boys here who need their robes for Hogwarts if you please,
"Certainly!" The lady replied, motioning for Harry to follow her, "Right this way, my dear."
XXXX
A half-hour later, Harry and Ron entered the one shop they had been looking forward to all day; at first, the wand shop seemed deserted until Ollivander suddenly appeared out of nowhere, making everyone jump.
"Do you HAVE to do that?!" Sirius asked as he rubbed his hand over his heart, "Almost gave me a heart attack, old man!"
"My apologies, Lord Black," Ollivander replied as he bowed, though the grin on his face led Harry to believe that he wasn't sorry in the least, and Ron and Harry shared a grin as Ollivander rose back up and turned towards the two boys.
Good morning Mr. Weasley's. I've been expecting the two of you. Shall we begin, then?"
Harry and Ron both shook their heads eagerly, and Mr. Ollivander beckoned Ron forward first before the older man began measuring his arm and fingers. Then, a moment later, he started pulling boxes off the shelf.
For a while, it seemed as though no wand would choose Ron as everyone that Mr. Ollivander handed Ron was either immediately snatched away or else made something nearby explode, much to the trepidation of the watching adults; only Fred and George seemed to enjoy the chaos and began to cheer their little brother on to destroy something else until Molly gave them both a smack to the back of the head.
"Here we are," Mr. Ollivander said a moment later as he handed Ron his next wand, "14' long, made of willow, with a core of unicorn hair; see how this one treats you,"
as Ron raised the wand, a golden light suddenly shot out of the tip, making the crowd cheer happily as Ron smiled and held the wand as if it were the most precious thing in the world.
"Marvelous, simply marvelous!" Mr. Ollivander said with a happy clap before turning to Harry, "Now, Mr. Weasley, I have been waiting for you for a long time. Shall we begin?"
"Yes, please, sir," Harry replied excitedly as Mr. Ollivander began the exact measuring that Ron had gone through; Harry's selection seemed to take twice as long as Ron's had, and before long, a small pile of wands lay scattered across the tabletop, but rather than seem annoyed, Mr. Ollivander seemed pleased by the length of time it took to find Harry's wand,
"A tricky customer, eh?" Mr. Ollivander laughed, "Don't worry, we'll find you the right one."
A moment later, Mr. Ollivander's face took on a very strange look as he drew a box from the shelf and blew the dust off of it,
"Hmm, I wonder…."
The tension in the room seemed to rise as Mr. Ollivander slowly approached the boy and handed him the wand,
"Try this….11' long, made of Holly, with a phoenix feather core."
As Harry's fingers closed around the wand, he knew immediately that he had found his wand as warmth shot through him and a glow shot out of the wand's tip, making the watchers clap happily, everyone except for Mr. Ollivander.
"Is there a problem? Andromeda asked, noticing the strange look the older man was giving Harry,
"That depends entirely on your point of view, madam," Mr. Ollivander replied softly,
"What do you mean, sir?" Arthur asked,
"I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Weasley; it just so happens that the phoenix that gave your son its feather as the core for your son's wand gave another feather. Just one other."
"And who owned that particular wand?" Sirius asked with a raised eyebrow,
"We do not speak his name, Lord Black, you know that, but it was the wand that killed the boy's parents and gave him his scar."
The temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees as the words registered with everyone,
"You mean to say that Harry's wand is the twin of the Dark Lord's?" Andromeda asked in a whisper as Harry looked at the wand in sudden trepidation.
"Choose another, Harry," Molly said suddenly, "I don't care how long it takes; we'll wait,"
"I'm afraid that's impossible," Mr. Ollivander said quickly, "His wand has already chosen him; another will not."
"I will not have my son using a wand that mirrors a madman!" Molly retorted as Sirius stared at the wand in Harry's hand with an expression of sadness and fear,
"Just because He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named used his wand to commit atrocities does not mean that Harry will do the same!" Arthur said quickly, "Be sensible, Molly. Harry's wand has already chosen him."
Molly tried to come up with a counterargument to this as the children edged closer to get a look at Harry's wand; finally, slumping her shoulders in defeat, Molly nodded that they'd take it as Mr. Ollivander observed.
"No one can say what the future may hold, my dear," Mr. Ollivander said softly, "Harry's choice may one day prove fortuitous,"
Harry said nothing as his parents paid for his and Ron's wands and stared at the stick in his hands with a mixture of fear and awe; for so long, he had wanted a wand, but now that he had one, he suddenly felt very nervous at hearing that it was the twin brother to the man who had massacred so many innocent people.
"Who's up for some ice cream?" Sirius asked as they exited the wandmaker's shop, hoping that the promise of sugar would distract everyone from what had just happened. As the laughing adults watched, his wish was granted as the kids began to race one another to the ice cream shop.