He made his way up to the top of the West Tower to the owlery. He decided the best way to get off of the grounds would be to fly away as an owl. He made sure there was nobody around when he arrived, then made the transformation. He rose into the rafters and spotted his snowy white companion. He greeted Hedwig and explained that he was off to run an errand in Diagon Alley. When she offered to fly with him, he told her that he wouldn't be flying the whole way, just far enough off the grounds to change back into human form before apparating the rest of the way.
So Harry set off. He flew through one of the windows set high atop the tower and soared off into the open sky. There were scattered clouds this morning that were currently hiding the sun, but they were not enough to put a damper on the beautiful day. There was still bright blue sky to behold, and there was hardly anything in the world that could take away from the joy of flying. Harry soared on the air currents, letting them carry him out above the lake. He circled a bit, occasionally beating his wings to correct his flight, and thoroughly enjoying the freedom flying always offered.
After a couple minutes playing above the lake, he resumed his course to the outskirts of Hogsmeade, where he used to apparate during the summer when he wanted to play in his animagus forms. When he reached a secluded enough spot, he reverted back to human form still covered in his invisibility cloak. It was nifty how anything you were wearing would change with you when you transformed. He shrugged out of the cloak and quickly stored it in his trunk which he kept in a pocket on his person at all times.
He needed to change his appearance before he could head into Diagon Alley, so he changed his hair color to the light brown color he had used over the summer. He shortened his hair considerably, leaving it so short that his hair couldn't even act up on him. He applied a glamour charm to the scar on his forehead as a finishing touch. He conjured a mirror to check his appearance and found that he looked nothing like his usual self, except his eyes. He almost forgot to change his contacts. He quickly made the switch and found brown eyes now staring back at him in the mirror.
Satisfied, Harry vanished the mirror, placed his trunk back in his pocket, and apparated to Diagon Alley. He found the street relatively deserted with just a few shoppers moving between stores. Paying them little heed, Harry started towards the apothecary. It didn't take him long to find everything he needed, and ten minutes after walking into the store, he exited with the ingredients stored in his trunk.
He still had plenty of time before he needed to be back at Hogwarts, so he decided to walk around a little. As he walked past Gringotts, he noticed a horridly brightly painted shop in green and pink on his left hand side. As he walked closer he realized with a start that today was September the 14th, making tomorrow the grand opening of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. Before he even saw the sign he knew what store he was looking at. No one other than Fred and George would ever paint a shop such flashy colors.
He walked by the shop and glanced in the windows as he passed. He saw Fred and George hard at work, stocking shelves and setting up displays. They must be preparing for the opening tomorrow. He was tempted to watch them for longer but really didn't want to call attention to himself, so he decided to continue walking for a bit. When he reached the end of the alley, he decided it was probably time to start heading back.
He apparated back to the spot he had left from, returned his appearance to normal, and changed into an owl in less than a minute. He took the time to really enjoy his flight this time around, knowing that he had the time to spare. After flying about the school grounds for about 10 minutes he was joined by Hedwig. The pair could be seen flying in tandem, circling each other, chasing each other, and flying in synchronized patterns.
Harry was having the time of his life, flying with his most loyal and stable friend of the past six years. Hedwig had been with Harry through everything since he had been introduced to the wizarding world. Even when he was stuck with the Dursleys, she was always there with him. And she was there throughout his transformation this summer, both in the literal and metaphorical sense. She probably knew more of his secrets than anybody else, Sirius included. Even before he learned to converse with her, he had always talked to his owl. He had always felt like she understood him somehow. When he learned to talk with her, he wasn't so much shocked that she understood everything he said but more of the fact that she was able to converse in her own way. He had never suspected that.
After flying about with Hedwig for 20 minutes, Harry decided that it was time to head back to his office. He did have classes to prepare for, after all. He and Hedwig flew together into the owlery. Hedwig perched on one of the rafters while Harry soared gracefully to the ground. He scanned the room carefully during his descent for anyone but found the place to be empty. So when he landed, he reverted back to human form and threw on his invisibility cloak yet again.
He carefully made his way back to his office. The halls were busier than they were in the morning, so he was forced to move slowly so as not to make any noise or bump into anyone. As he approached the corridor that housed his office, he heard some familiar voices up ahead of him.
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