IV: Countdown to Hogwarts

August 3 - 31, 2010

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Madam Malkin,

Are quills really necessary? Will I get in trouble for using a pen or pencil?

Harry

Ps. My owl Kel.

Pps. Her full name- titles included- is: Daughter of the Moon and Queen of the Night the Lady Skyhunter Keladry of the Southern Isles Who Dances Before the Stars.

Ppps. ..I got a bit carried away naming her.

It was his first letter Harry had written, written in pen and on half a notepad paper- the notepad in question had been bought during his shopping spree of normal school supplies) then tied to Kel's leg with a piece of string, and he wished he'd written in pencil so he could have erased the second two postscripts.

(Non-magicals definitely did back to school sales better the magicals, Harry had gotten: a notepad, notebooks, lined paper, printing paper, index cards, folders, pens, pencils, sharpeners, erasers, highlighters, scissors, a calculator, a reading light, tape, paper clips, pencil case, sticky notes and flags and he still had regular money left over.

True, it wasn't as much as he'd hoped to use for food and he couldn't really buy a new set of clothes like he'd wished, but still . Comparatively to how much shopping for magical school things had cost, remembering that he started with less money for non-magical things, magicals practically sold a limb for their things.)

He was actually kind of surprised when the Lady Skyhunter returned with a letter- parchment- tied- a dark blue ribbon- to her leg on the third.

Harry, he read the neat, slanted writing after a moment of staring at the elegant curves.

Firstly, you don't need to refer to me as 'Madam Malkin' when you write me, it's perfectly alright for you to address me as Madelyn or Miss Madelyn if you prefer.

Secondly, yes quills are necessary. You'll need them for testing and homework- the same can be said for parchment- but you can use muggle things to take notes. I recommend you start practicing now so that you don't get points deducted for sloppy homework when at Hogwarts- also, muggleborn students have complained about cramps so, again, practice now before you loaded with work you have to use it for.

Thirdly...yes, you did get a bit carried away in naming your owl but I believe she bears the name- and titles- well, she truly is a "Queen of the Night".

Madelyn Malkin

Ps. How exactly did she get the name?

Harry stared, eyes darting around the parchment with it's neat writing that was at a slight angle- which made sense as there weren't any lines like with normal paper to keep the writer straight when writing- and a scarce scattering of tiny black dots where ink dripped onto it, until Kel called for his attention.

The owl's head tilted and she did a little side-hop, eyes firmly on the letter as she let out a warbling coo.

Do magical animal have an expanded vocal range to go with expanded intelligence? Harry wondered briefly before refocusing on the owl's - implied - question. "It's nothing. I just….it's the first letter someone wrote to me ," he said. "Not because they had to but because they wanted to. It's...nice."

It really was, having someone to talk to about magic and the odd world he'd been thrust into. It wasn't that Harry disliked Hagrid- no, he'd always be fond of the giant if only for the fact that he introduced Harry to magic let alone told him the truth about his parents and gave him the means to get away from the Dursleys, even if it were only temporary- but-

He blinked, "Should I write to Hagrid also?" he asked his owl.

Kel, despite being unable to talk, seemed to give him an affirming hoot (idly, Harry thought he should look up her breed of owl).

"Alright, I guess you can just deliver to whoever is closer first." He nodded, grabbing an extra paper and starting to write both adults. "Hey, do you think Hagrid will send me pictures of Hogwarts if I ask?"

The Lady Skyhunter, probably sensibly, offered no opinion.

On the seventh of August, Harry went sent to Mrs. Figg's house while the Dursleys went to visit a clinic (as Dudley still had the pig tail Hagrid had given him) and, in the time between his first letter and being dropped off at Mrs. Figg's, Harry had written three more letters- receiving two back from Miss Madelyn and one from Hagrid.

Miss Madelyn's letters had been full of little bits of advice ( 'you should leave early if you don't want to be late on your first day' ) and things about the Wizarding World ( 'there are other magical schools such as Ilvermorny, Durmstrang and Mahoutokoro' ) along with little things about her day ( 'Melissa- you remember my assistant, right?- got herself a boyfriend ).

Hagrid's letter was equally light-hearted but almost entirely about Hogwarts, it's creatures and staff with a scattered mentioning of Harry's parents. Apparently Hagrid had asked one of the staff members - the teacher for 'Muggle Studies' who apparently owned a camera - to take pictures for him so Harry had various pictures of Hogwarts; the Great Hall, the Headmaster's Office and various hallways but also air shots (apparently from broom and rooftops) and many pictures of the grounds along with various creatures (which, really, made sense with Hagrid being the Grounds keeper).

Harry's letter to Hagrid had been sent off with Kel that morning, thankfully before Aunt Petunia had barged into his room and informed him that he'd be spending the day with Mrs. Figg.

Meeting with Mrs. Figg was kind of… awkward , at least for a little while.

Mrs. Figg had never been mean to Harry, she was in fact the kindest adult towards him after the Dursleys had convinced everyone that he was some kind of troublemaker, but she'd made sure to keep a careful distance. And the time he'd spent here before, when they'd watched cartoons together, had seemed to have broken whatever barrier that had been between them.

Or, at least Harry had thought so until Aunt Petunia dropped him off and he was shooed off to the living room once more as Mrs. Figg hurriedly left the room.

Well, he thought glumly as he idly petted the cat that had claimed his lap, that's disappointing. I'd thought…

Well. That he'd be able to have an amiable relationship – like he had with Hagrid and Miss Madelyn – with someone that he could talk to in person. That, when he'd inevitably have to come back to the Dursleys during the holidays, he'd have someone who wouldn't hate having him around- someone who could, possibly, be called a friend .

At least I'll have Kel, Harry consoled himself, finally reaching for the remote.

"Here we are," Mrs. Figg said as she bustled back into the room carrying a box. It was a rather large one, one big enough that he was surprised that she'd been able to carry it so easily- if not for potential weight then just because the size made it awkward to hold.

It was, also, in wrapping paper with a purple bow on it.

"…Mrs. Figg..?" he asked hesitantly, wondering if he should allow himself to hope or if that'd be greedy after Hagrid had already gotten him a cake and Kel.

She smiled at him, "I know it's late, but I haven't seen you before now to give this to you. Happy Birthday Harry."

"I…" he swallowed anything he might have attempted to say and grabbed the present.

It was surprisingly light and, after shooing the cat out of his lap, took up his entire lap and then some. The bow came off easily but he hesitated a beat at the wrapping paper, he'd seen Dudley open present before by tearing the wrapping paper but…Harry didn't want to. Kel was an amazing present and he loved her, but she wasn't really a proper present that he'd always dreamed about.

Harry slowly peeled the paper from the box, careful not to tear it, and meticulously folded it when it was completely detached before placing it next to him. He glanced at Mrs. Figg before he opened the box, and he caught sight of a kind of sad yet angry look on her face before it went back to a cheerfully patient expression and he wondered. Why did she look like that?

The box held three separate boxes along with three more wrapped presents, he pulled out the largest of the boxes which was something about solar power.

"I asked my son to help me pick out things and, well, I didn't want you to get in trouble for using elec-tri-city," Mrs. Figg said the word carefully, pronouncing it like one would a foreign word. Which was a bit odd , Harry's mind flashed to the trip to Diagon Alley and how Hagrid seemed to have trouble with 'muggle things', and suspicious . "So my son picked that out, he said you put it in the sunlight it'd make elec-tri-city and you could 'plug in' what you want."

Harry nodded, taking out the next box that was a DVD player before the third which was a movie projector.

Mrs. Figg was silent until he'd unwrapped the three presents- DVDs of the movies, How To Train Your Dragon, Spirited Away and The Golden Compass - then she said, "You enjoyed watching the telly and I thought, well, I couldn't buy you one because I doubt you Aunt would be happy, but if I got you a projector like they use at the cinema then that'd be fine. Of course my son mentioned it'd be a bit more then that…"

Harry swallowed, silent, and Mrs. Figg wrung her hands, "Do you not like the movies? I can get others if you don't but you like watching that dragon show and I remembered you telling me it was based off a movie and my son said if you like that you'd probably like the others…"

"It's not-…" Harry stopped then said, as earnestly as he could, " Thank you . I love it."

Mrs. Figg lit up, "Oh. Oh, that's good. I'm glad."

"Can we watch it now?" Harry asked, eager to try his new present.

She nodded, "Oh, yes. Do you want to try out the projector-thing also?"

" Yes ." He said fervently and Mrs. Figg laughed.

They wound up watching How To Train Your Dragon on the wall in the guest room; it was amazing .

Harry spent the days following his day with Mrs. Figg away from the house- being sure everything was packed in his trunk and taking the shrunken trunk with him- because the Dursleys were angered that the doctor they say couldn't remove Dudley's tail and Aunt Petunia refused to let Dudley leave the house with it present.

He took up his former routine that the Letters had interrupted and, on the first day, when he went to the park he was bombarded by one of the friends he'd made earlier.

"Where've you been?" Dean demanded as soon as he saw Harry.

Harry, who hadn't thought he'd befriended the Londoner (Dean's grandmother lived in Surrey so his family visited every summer) enough to cause such concern, startled a bit. "Oh, uh, my uncle took us on a trip and we didn't get back until recently- we went by the ocean."

"Oh," Dean said, "Well, I'm glad you got back before my family left. It was close though, we're leaving on the tenth!"

"Oh," Harry mimicked, "I'm glad I came before you had to leave."

Dean lifted his football, "You, Harry, owe me a football game for leaving me without an opponent!"

"Huh?" Harry blinked as he obediently followed his friend- I have a friend my age, Harry thought with glee- to the grass area where they could kick the ball around. "I thought you had siblings."

"Yeah," Dean pulled a face, "But the twins, Aaron and Bailey, already went back to Uni and Cody called football a 'kid game' ." This was said with great disbelief. "And the other three- Erica, Forrest and Gabe- are too young to actually play ."

Harry stared, "Did your parents…"

"Decide to make an alphabet out of our names," his friend said, " Yes . I don't know if I'm embarrassed or not, at least when we write things we just have to put our letter. Now, let's play."

The game ended, as they always did, with Harry on his back panting and Dean, victorious, sitting next to him, cheerfully talking about his family as he caught his breath. "-wants to become a doctor, a brain surgeon apparently, but Aaron is studying to be a lawyer. Cody's been planning to work with computers ever since his second year in Secondary."

"What do you want to do?" Harry cut in.

Dean started a bit but answered, "I want to be an artist- I really like drawing so i figured...What about you?"

"I dunno," Harry frowned, "I never thought about it before…" Which was true, given he'd only been focused on away from the Dursleys instead of what he'd be doing once he was away, plus the whole you're a wizard affected everything. "I like animals, so maybe something with them?"

They talked back and forth about animal-related careers they knew- which wasn't much just veterinarian, zookeeper, trainers, wildlife sanctuary worker and the people who stop animal cruelty- until it was time for them to both head back to their houses.

The next day when Harry went to the park, Dean was carrying something wrapped in newspaper.

"Um." Harry stared when the newspaper-wrapped thing was offered to him.

Dean flushed, "Well, it's not actual wrapping paper, I know, but- well, I-"

"Thanks." He cut the other off, taking the present and tearing the newspaper away to find a book. A sketchbook to be specific, it had 'Harry' written on the black cover in white and he opened it to find that there were already drawings in it.

"I thought that I could make you something so I drew some things in it already," Dean hastily added, "But I made sure there was still empty space for you to draw!"

The very first picture was of a cat laying on it's side, face turned towards him with it's yellow eyes opened and tail curled slightly into the air behind it. It was colored black, though there were parts that looked dark blue like the inside of it's ears or edges of its fur, and there were stars drawn on it's fur- Harry even saw the little dipper constellation.

Above it, in very nice cursive, was Faithful the Cat .

"My ma wrote that for me," Dean explained, "I remember you talking about a cat who helped that lady knight who was actually a cat constellation- I still don't get that- and I figured it'd be a good first picture."

The next four were drawings of foxes, wolves, lions and a boa constrictor ("Since you talked about them when you mentioned going to the zoo," Dean said).

The foxes were a trio of a red fox (laying down in the background, sleeping), an arctic fox (sitting in front of the red fox, hiding some of its side) and a fennec fox (which looked so tiny curled up in front of the red fox's tail). The wolves were of a black and white wolf howling, the black standing up while the white one was sitting down next to it. The lions were also a duo, a walking mother lion carrying a lion cub in her mouth like Harry had seen Mrs. Figg's cats carry their kittens.

The boa constrictor, though, is what made him pause, it was hanging on a tree branch and in a forest.

I hope he made it to Brazil, Harry thought briefly before moving on.

"Thank you," Harry said once he was done- the rest were drawing of the three starters of the first three generations of pokemon with Eevee and Pikachu added- looking. "This is amazing."

Dean grinned, "I'm glad you like them, you have no idea how difficult it was trying to finish before your birthday. It's actually a good thing you weren't here then, it gave me more time to finish off the pokemon and figure out how to do the stars on Faithful.."

A pause and Harry huffed, "Want to play a game of football?"

" Yes ."

Harry came the next day despite knowing Dean would be leaving, and it was a good thing he did because Dean was waiting for him.

"Good, you're here!" Dean said, relieved. "We were supposed to leave already but I managed to convince Da to wait a bit more."

They both paused, suddenly awkward in the reality of Dean leaving for London. Until Harry, who'd quite gotten used to writing letters, said, "Where do you live? I can mail you."

"Yes," Dean nodded before rattling off his address, "What's yours?"

Harry hesitated a moment before giving Mrs. Figg's address, he didn't trust the Dursleys not to rip up the letter or to send back a mean one claiming to be him. "So..."

"So." Dean agreed, glancing back when someone called his name- it was a teenager so likely his older brother, Cody- and blurted. "I'll see you next year Harry."

"Next year," Harry agreed, the words sounding like a promise. "Bye, then."

"Bye," his friend said before walking to where his family was waiting, though he called back, "Next year Harry, don't forget!"

Harry didn't say anything, just waved until the car was out of sight before heading to Mrs. Figg's house to inform her about his friend sending letters.

Even though Dean had left, Harry had gone back to the park- though it wasn't until August fourteenth that he worked up the nerve to visit with the knowledge no one would be waiting on him.

Evidently, he was wrong when the brothers, Colin and Dennis, bombarded him the moment they saw him.

"Where were you?" Colin asked, "Did you talk to Dean before he left? He said he had a present for you- we don't but our dad, he's over there, promised to get us all ice cream to celebrate next you came- did you get it?"

"We helped him!" Dennis, who was eight and two years younger then Colin, added. "We didn't draw but we gave Dean ideas on what to draw when he was finished with the snake- did you really see the one that got free? Were you there when it got free?"

Harry raised a hand to stop them, feeling a little dizzy, "My uncle took us to the ocean for a surprise trip, I got back a few days ago. Yes I saw Dean before he left, he did give me my present- thanks for helping him. Yes I saw that snake and was there when it got free- no it didn't bite anybody." Harry thought back then added, "And your dad doesn't have to get me ice cream."

"It's alright," he started when another voice spoke and noticed that a man, obviously the brothers' father, had came over. "My sons really wanted to do something special for your birthday, they seem quite taken with you."

Harry flushed. It wasn't that he'd really did anything, sure he convinced Dean to let them play football with them, played the games they came up with occasionally and pushed Dennis on the swing once...but that wasn't really something for their level of enthusiasm towards him.

Wizard or not, he was just Harry.

"C'mon," Dennis said, tugging on his hand and dragging him from his thought, Colin seemed to be doing the same for their father. "Ice cream!"

It was when Harry was accepting an ice cream sandwich that it hit him, the brothers' father was the milkman who delivered the eggs that had contained twenty-four letters to Hogwarts in them. Harry opened his mouth- to say what he didn't know- before closing it as he recalled that the man probably didn't know about magic and to inform him would be illegal.

Harry, after promising the brothers', came back to the park the next day though he made sure to come earlier then the boys said they'd be there.

He did this for a very specific reason, to set up his present from Mrs. Figg without them seeing him unshrink his trunk. Part of Harry's idea to set up the movie projector was because he wanted the chance to show off his present- since he couldn't with the Dursleys and didn't have the time for Dean- but the other was that he was tired, as he spent a bit too much time last night reading The Tales of Beedle the Bard , and he was a bit scared of the thought of trying to keep up with them in his current state.

"Woah!" Dennis exclaimed as Colin investigated the movies, "This is the coolest! You got this as a birthday present?!"

"Yeah," Harry said, "Did you decide, Colin?"

Colin nodded eagerly, holding out Spirited Away, "This one! Mom talked about getting it once but hasn't yet."

It became a new routine, one that various other kids who went to the playground joined in- along with the adults or older siblings who brought them- and by the nineteenth, Harry was in charge of an impromptu outdoors movie theater.

Since Harry brought the movie projector, the others had unanimously decided that they were in charge of bringing other stuff.

Colin and Dennis, along with a few mothers who took part, brought sheets and blankets so they wouldn't be sitting on the floor along with old pillows for extra comfort. Originally, the brothers' father brought snacks for them but then a few mothers got together and started bringing picnic baskets of snacks- crackers, fruits, vegetables, small sandwiches but also some candies and other junk food- which had the men (there was another father who brought his kid to the park, though he had a daughter named Sarah who was Dennis' age) dragging iceboxes of drinks that consisted of water bottles, juice boxes and Capri suns.

The other kids brought their favorite movies, though Harry had to hurriedly implement a schedule to prevent fights over whose was first and a rule of three a day depending on their length.

What made Harry really pleased, though, was when a teen- a nine year old named Jamie's older brother- brought the first season of Digimon. Which, of course, had an older sister bringing episodes of Fruits Basket to show.

(After Harry had gotten his first letter from Dean - he made sure to swing by Mrs. Figg's everyday to check and, luckily, was always given something to eat - he had sent back a letter explaining what was happening. Dean wrote that he was jealous of him and sad that he was missing it and that Harry better do the same next summer.)

It was because of this that Harry started thinking about his non-magical schooling, since the closer to the end of August it got the more everyone had started talking about heading back to school (he was kind of sad he couldn't offer much beyond a 'boarding school my parents went to'), and how he'd be able to keep up with it at Hogwarts.

Eventually, on the twenty-seventh, it bugged him enough to write to Miss Madelyn about it and what she wrote back was;

I know Ravenclaw muggle-borns tend to keep up with their muggle schooling but it's entirely independent, they have their parents ask their schools for stuff for 'distance education' that the parents owl to their children. The children owl back work to their parents who turn it in to their teachers who in turn give the parents more work for their child and so on.

Hufflepuffs, however, have a different system where the older students teach the younger ones which might be your best bet if you don't think your aunt and uncle will be comfortable owling you your work.

I don't know if they- Hufflepuff House that is- do this for other houses but it can't hurt to ask, they're nice folk so the worst you'll get is a 'sorry no'.

Either that or you can ask your Head of House to arrange something.

As was planned on the thirtieth, Harry got to the park early morning to set up everything and, by the time he was finished, Dennis and Colin were spreading out their giant sheets over the grass as their father and mother set up hot plates- the kind used to keep food warm at buffets- for the people who'd be bringing food.

It had been Dean's idea, actually, for them to have a 'last day of summer' party and everyone, when Harry mentioned it, took to the idea with great enthusiasm.

Already there were families lugging pillows, blankets and cushions or containers of food or disposable things like plates and forks; Harry didn't know how things were set up since it was the adults who had hashed out plans on who'd bring what to their 'park party'.

Jamie and his older brother arrived, carrying speakers- it became evident quickly that, while it worked for Harry and the Creeveys, the projector's built in speakers weren't loud enough for everyone and Jamie's brother volunteered to bring his to use- and Harry quickly set about connecting them.

When Harry was done, he was faced with a grinning Dean.

"You- but- London!" Harry sputtered, staring at his friend.

Dean laughed, "When I heard you were going to do the party idea, I asked my ma if I could go and here I am! Look, there's my family- everyone but the twins!" He said, pointing to a group of people spreading out a blue-white picnic blanket over the sheet. "Ma insisted on bringing food too, you'll have to try it later!"

The next surprise, was Mrs. Figg showing up with a young couple and two children.

"This is my son, Adam." Mrs. Figg introduced, "And his wife, Sally, with their children Maxwell and Samantha. Everyone, this is Harry."

Mrs. Figg's son's hand engulfed his own, "It's nice to meet the infamous Harry my mother keeps talking about."

" Infamous ," he sputtered though he didn't get an answer beyond a light-hearted laugh.

The third surprise, which might have been the greatest surprise, was Miss Madelyn showing up.

"Of course I was going to come to your party," Miss Madelyn laughed, "I've never seen a muggle movie so I hope you picked some good ones!"

It was then that Harry realized that everyone was waiting on him , since very early on everyone came to the agreement that only Harry would touch the equipment since the majority was his, and he scurried over to put on the first movie in the queue they'd worked out: Howl's Moving Castle .

After the last movie- Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew - Harry said goodbye to Mrs. Figg's family (Dean's had left earlier, after Digimon: The Movie ) and the Creeveys, then to Jamie and his brother as they left with the speakers.

"I'm glad I came," Miss Madelyn told him from where she sat next to him on the grass. "It was an amazing experience, these kinds of things don't happen in the magical worlds."

Harry, who'd started putting things into his trunk after the witch cast some spell to keep them unseen, blinked, "Wizards don't have parties?"

"Oh we do," she told him, "But nothing like that. It's either pre-planned balls with music and food and dancing or spontaneous parties- these are pretty frequent at Hogwarts- with whatever snacks and drinks people decided to bring. This was...something else."

"That...sucks." Harry decided, he may not have ever been to a party but their spontaneous neighborhood party was really fun. Harry had never been this full before. "Did you like the movies?"

Miss Madelyn threw her head back and laughed, "Did I? They were amazing! I can't believe muggles make things like that all the time! I really like the one with the lion, the kids and the wardrobe but I think the first one will always be my favorite since it's my first one. You?"

"The Digimon movie," Harry answered without hesitation. "It was really cool since we were able to watch the show before the movie- unlike with the pokémon movies." He closed his trunk and paused before asking, "Um, where is Platform 9¾?"

She blinked at him, "Oh, right, I forget you're like a muggle-born sometimes. Tell you what, if you come here at ten tomorrow, I'll take you to the train myself."

"Really?" Harry, who'd thought he'd have to ask they Dursleys and hope they'd be kind enough to drop him off at the station, asked eagerly.

Miss Madelyn nodded, "Yeah, unless you think your family would prefer to drop you off?"

"No," Harry shook his head, "They have to take Dudley to the hospital for something, I was actually worried I wouldn't make it."

She frowned briefly then smiled, "Tomorrow then?"

"Tomorrow." Harry agreed.

.

Omake - Returning

"Boy," Uncle Vernon called as soon as Harry entered the house, idly he wondered how exactly the Dursleys got off the island. "Where's your freakish stuff."

Harry put on what he called the Miserable-Grump look, "I...they said they'd keep it with them until school starts..."

"Hmph." His uncle, contrary to his noise, looked pleased. "Well, I suppose even freaks can be smart at times. Go to your room."

He did so readily and, once he had locked the door, unshrunk his trunk before opening the window for his owl who flew into the room and perched on the bedframe. "I knew the shrinkable trunk was a good idea."

.

Omake - Naming

"Keladry is a good name," Harry declared, glancing at his owl. "What do you think of that?"

His owl- potentially Keladry- let out a soft hoot, very different from the barks she made when she had disagreed with his previous name choices.

He glanced back at the book, "Well, she has 'of Mindelan' added to so maybe 'Keladry of Surrey'?" That earned a bark. "No, you're right. How about Keladry of the Southern Isles? No, better yet, what about Lady Keladry of the Southern Isles? Or-..." Harry kept muttering to himself until some time later when he turned to his owl, who had started preening herself, "I dub you Daughter of the Moon and Queen of the Night the Lady Skyhunter Keladry of the Southern Isles Who Dances Before the Stars!"

His owl stared at him, head still tilted in it's potion of preening.

"Kel for short," He added.

She Who Dances Before the Stars gave a soft hoot of agreement.

(The things I do for my human, the female owl huff to herself as she went back to her preening)

.

Omake - Letter

"What's that Hagrid?" Flitwick's voice had him looking up from his letter.

The Charms Professor also captured the attention of the rest of the staff who were having lunch in the Great Hall, Sprout also looked interested, "Oh, did you get a letter after breakfast?"

"Yeah," Hagrid said, "It's from 'Arry."

The Headmaster is the one who spoke next, "Harry, as in Potter?"

"Yeah," Hagrid grinned, his grin widening at the shocked expressions. "He's a good kid, wants to know 'bout Hogwarts."