A Year at Hogwarts

chapter 2

 The following day, everyone except Mrs Weasley went to Diagon Alley. The first stop after arriving there was to Gringotts where Sirius withdrew money from the main Black vaults. The goblins knew Harry was safe through his dealings with the Australian branch and confirmed that no-one had been allowed to poke their noses near his vaults. The stop after that was Florish and Blotts to buy the school books. Ron, the twins and Ginny looked stunned at being brought brand new books. Bill explained to Harry later on in private that the Weasley family were so poor, they had to rely on a scholarship type scheme from Hogwarts to get the children through but it only stretched to buying second hand books and robes. "Charlie and I send a bit of money when we can which helps a little." Then the next stop was to Madam Malkin's to purchase school robes for Harry, who was in a very foul mood about it. It was the first time he could vent his frustration about the whole situation – he wasn't going to take it out on the Weasley family because it wasn't their fault, but he knew that if he saw Minister Fudge or Delores Umbridge anytime soon, he would hex them and so hoped, for their own sake, the whole issue was sorted out as soon as possible. He realised Dumbledore did what he thought was best considering what he believed but was angry because he didn't do enough. Madam Malkin sympathised with him. "I know you don't want Hogwarts robes Harry," Sirius explained, "But it's best to go along with it for now until the custody case is heard, following which, you will be able to return to your old school." New robes were brought for the others too. Ollivander's was the next stop. "I wondered when I would be seeing you here Mr. Potter. It seemed only yesterday that your parents were in here buying their first wands." The wand maker said. He gave Harry the creeps.

"I already have a wand sir. My aunt brought it for me in Australia." Harry said. "May I see it please?" Ollivander asked. Harry handed it over and it was inspected. "A fine piece of work here. Did you get it from a man called Yarkanos?" Harry nodded. "A fine wand maker, he is. Take good care of this wand Mr. Potter, it will serve you well." He then turned to Sirius, "I never saw this wand Lord Black." Sirius stepped forward. "We're here to buy new wands for the Weasley children." There were looks of shock and they were about to protest, but Sirius held his hand up. "I said I was going to buy the supplies and that is that." Within an hour, Fred, George, Ron and Ginny stepped out of Ollivanders with brand new wands. Previously, the twins had been using the wands of Molly Weasley's elder brothers (both twins), Ron was using Charlie's wand while Ginny was using her grandmother's wand.

While everyone was occupied with the wands, Harry slipped away. He didn't trust that pinkhaired Auror to tell his friends what was going on, so he would raise the alarm himself. He went to the nearest shop which was Madam Malkin's. "What can I do for you Mr. Potter?" she asked him. "This is an emergency – I need to make a Floo call. Can I use your fire please?" he asked. "If it's an emergency, go ahead." She said, pointing it out. She left the room. Harry had no way of knowing Sirius had warned her to expect his visit, suspecting he might want to call someone who could help. Harry took some powder from the side and threw it into the fire. "Australian Embassy, Office of Jeffery Ramsey." Harry knew he'd never be able to make an international floo call, so would call someone who would be able to. He stuck his head through the fire. "What can I do for you?" an attractive secretary asked. "I need to speak to Ambassador Ramsey regarding a matter of the utmost importance." Harry said. "I'm afraid he's in a meeting right now. Is there anything I can help you with?" the secretary asked. "Yes. I don't have a lot of time however. My name is Harry James Potter, an Australian resident who lives at 22 Stardust Street, Sydney. Two days ago, at the Quidditch World Cup, held here in England, I was abducted by English Aurors on the orders of Albus Dumbledore, and am being forced to live with a family called Weasley at a home called the Burrow, Ottery St Catchpole, and attend Hogwarts until my guardianship is dealt with. Here is a letter with all the details and Pensive memories of everything, including a farcical criminal trial I was subjected too. I'm one step close to being sent to Azkaban." He had written the letter and extracted the memories while using the bathroom before the Diagon Alley. He was lucky he wasn't searched before the trip. He passed them over to the secretary, whose attention had been attracted the moment he used the words Australian resident and abducted. "That is very serious Mr. Potter - I'll get Ambassador Ramsey onto this at once!" She said. "Thank you. I have to go – if I'm caught making a floo call, it'll be straight to Azkaban." Harry said as he removed his head. He thanked Madam Malkin and made his way back to Ollivanders. Luckily, they were still sorting out a wand for Ginny and no-one had missed him.