But the other four were standard compartments. He now had a potions compartment complete with racks, cabinets and shelves for storing everything he needed for his potions class plus his own private brewing and experiments.
Another was a decent sized library with an index book and an automatic sorting spell that would place any book he put in there on the shelves in the correct place as well as bring forward any particular book he wished to read or had a need of. Even if the book was a muggle book, the catalogue would sort it onto a shelf for him.
The third compartment was a wardrobe compartment. Even though he could really only wear his uniform at Hogwarts, Harry had finally taken care of getting himself some decent clothing and replaced almost all of Dudley's hand-me-downs except for the outfit he'd wear to board the train.
The last compartment was a catch-all compartment. It was designed to be similar to a gathering room with shelves and tables and even brackets on the wall to hold his cherished broom. All in all it was a nice trunk befitting his position in this society and was one that would last him several years before it needed replacing.
He thought about visiting a clothier to replace his school robes and uniform but decided not to. He thought his current things would easily make it through this year as he really didn't see himself hitting the growth spurt so many of his peers were experiencing. He could but it was unlikely he'd grow enough to where a simple spell couldn't add an inch or two to his current wardrobe to solve the problem. And he knew beyond any doubt this would be his last year at that death trap masquerading as a school. So he wouldn't need the clothes when this year finished.
One of the things Harry had decided over the last year or so was that he needed to take charge of his own education. It didn't matter that his teachers didn't want to teach him or that Dumbledore wanted to limit his exposure to all things magical. What mattered was whether or not Harry would let them keep him dumb and ignorant. It was time to finally begin improving his understanding of things. In a way, he'd been doing that all along since each summer had seen him making unscheduled trips to the Alley to purchase more books.
But now he wouldn't be holding back in the classroom either. He would do his best in his classes whether the teachers would give him his fair grades or not. After all, grades only told others how bright or compliant you were. Usually complaint since to get high grades you had to listen to the teachers and do as they told you to when they told you to. Which was why Granger got such high scores. She always listened to the teachers and was eager beaver to show them she'd done what they asked of her. But grades didn't really say how much a person actually knew or could do with what they knew.
He finished his business on the Alley and returned to the hotel in time for a decent dinner and a good night's sleep with no problem. He didn't know he had impressed the people at the hotel with his quiet but well-mannered behavior as he settled into the small dining room and ate his quickly ordered dinner before retiring to the room he'd rented.
They'd watched him settle into the room he'd rented and then leave for whatever business he had in the city. Then he'd returned and didn't make a mess even as he'd seemed loaded down with packages. Nor was he loud or drunk or stoned. He was quiet and polite when he spoke to someone and even left the waitress a good tip for bringing him his meal. He spent the evening putting away all his purchases before deciding to have an early night.
.....
The next morning he easily made it onto the train and smirked as he settled his trunk into the rack. He placed a privacy shield along with a Notice-Me-Not charm on the cabin and a high level locking spell on the door. He knew there were a couple of students who could still invade his chosen cabin but those students weren't any of his so-called friends.
Luna Lovegood, a fourth year Ravenclaw he'd somewhat befriended back in his second year, and a few seventh years sprinkled among the school could work their way through all his spells but no one else could. Simply because Harry had both more magical power and a higher level of knowledge than they did. It was doubtful Luna would though as she knew better than to approach him anywhere their fellow students could see her do so.
She had a hard enough time in the school. She didn't need association with him making things worse. And the seventh years had no reason to as they'd assume it was a couple of their own year mates inside the cabin enjoying a bit of private time before arriving at the school.
He felt very satisfied with himself. All summer now he had taken care of himself and proved once and for all he wasn't half as immature and irresponsible as people thought he was. As Hermione was always claiming he was. He'd even remembered to do his summer homework. Well, he'd never really forgotten to do his summer work no matter how much Hermione tried to claim he had or Ron excused his own failure by pointing to himself. He sat down with his new Potions book which he actually found fascinating though he'd never let the teacher know that. One of the cornerstones of his world was that Severus Snape hated him because his last name was Potter. Always had and always would. And in his world what few reliable things that existed really needed to remain as they were.
But one of the things Harry had found out over the summer was why exactly the Weasley clan had been so intent on separating him from others under the guise of making him a part of their family. Why Ron always complained to him about how he was rich and could afford things Ron could only dream of having. Why Molly had been practically throwing her daughter at him during that long ago visit.
Why she, Ron and even Ginerva had seemed intent on making him realize how hard pressed her family was. And the reason behind that out-of-the-blue invitation to accompany them to the World Quiditch Game that was held before fourth year. They were all trying to hitch a ride on his robe ends and publically tie him to their family. No wonder Ron had been furious with him for not accepting that invite when fourth year had begun. That game was a chance to show everyone not connected to Hogwarts Harry Potter favored the Weasely family.
At the end of last year, the twins had come clandestinely to visit him in the infirmary to congratulate him on winning the Tournament and surviving another year of games. They'd been doing so every year and were true friends uncaring of what the rest of the school said about him. They'd even spent their hard earned pocket money to purchase a three way set of speaking globes after he nearly died rescuing their sister in his second year so they could talk to Harry without anyone knowing they were.
That way Harry wasn't quite as isolated as everyone believed him to be. The globes were the magical answer to a telephone only they allowed the parties using them to see each others faces as they conversed. You held the globe in front of your face when you were using it and when the other parties on the connection were calling you, it would change color to let you know. You could also set it to make a soft chiming noise or to vibrate when you had an incoming call. So Harry felt the twins really were his friends and not just people trying to make a buck off what they could con him out of.
Harry had given them his winnings from that God awful Tournament to open their prank shop, which was their cherished dream, so long as they agreed to tell no one where they got the start-up capitol from. In return, they'd dropped a birdie in his ear to keep a close eye on his bank accounts and to maybe do a little digging into things financially if he could. They claimed they didn't known for certain and couldn't prove anything. But their brother had been spending money during the summers they couldn't find a source for ever since he'd started school. A lot of money. So had Ginny and after the way they plus their Mum had behaved that time he came for a visit, they had their suspicions. Not to mention the invite they'd tried to force Harry to accept to the Quiditch game. So Harry had resolved to check up on his accounts over the summer.
...
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