Old Borgin who was there did not spare him a second glance and Harry bought a few Dark Arts books and then walking to a tall cabinet, opened it and peered inside.
"It is a very good cupboard sir." Borgin spoke in an oily voice behind Harry that startled Harry so much that he jumped and hit the corner of the cupboard. He cursed and turned to the part owner of the shop and nodded curtly.
"I think I will take it. How much is it?"
Borgin told him and after indulging in a fair bit of haggling for the price for this as well as the books, Harry left with a shrunken carton, very happy with his day. He walked up to the apparition point and apparated to a remote place and removed his glamour and casting invisibility spells on him apparated to a small alley near The Leaky Cauldron. He cancelled the invisibility charms and walked into the pub and took the floo to Grimmauld Place. Sirius and Remus had not yet come and Harry spent the time to set up the vanishing cupboard, in a corner of his room and started warding it with blood wards. Then he locked his door and opened the door of the vanishing cupboard and went inside.
Harry knew how to operate the cupboard and he simply stepped into its brother cupboard and removing his invisibility cloak from his robes, Harry put it on and gingerly opened the door. It opened into the staff room of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Harry felt jubilant. This was fantastic. Harry went out slowly walking cautiously, his invisibility cloak firmly fastened and then went into the cupboard once again to walk out into his room at Grimmauld Place. Once back in his bedroom, Harry sat silently for a while before flicking his wand and making the cupboard look more attractive. After he changed the outside of the cupboard, Harry opened the door and conjured shelves and placed a lot of his books into the cupboard.
After the books, came the wards that Harry placed all around the cupboard, making sure no one would think of removing the shelves and the books he had placed in it to venture inside. The most important ward he placed was inside the cupboard, where he stopped by means of another blood ward, the entry from the other vanishing cabinet to this one.
After this Harry was largely quiet, simply waiting for Dobby to come and tell him not to go to Hogwarts. He had no connection with his friends and he knew Sirius and Remus were angry as the days went by without any response especially after his birthday, but since Harry had been very normal and totally unaffected and had not written after that first round of letters, he had sent, they could not say anything and they kept quiet.
Harry had made copious plans of starting the potions and also spent a lot of time studying his second year books. A week before Harry was to leave for his second year, Dobby popped into his room one night.
This was once again a change from the previous time, when Dobby had come to the Dursleys much earlier. Harry had placed silencing charms in his room after his birthday so that no one would hear if Dobby screamed and wailed unless Sirius and Remus were with Harry in his room at the time.
Dobby came in very late at night and he simply stood there staring at Harry with his big eyes full of wonder at having met the great Harry James Potter. Harry stared back at the elf that had saved all of them and had died in the process. He swallowed the sudden tightness in his throat at the sight of the faithful elf and smiled.
"Who are you?" Harry asked him very calmly, though his heart was bursting with happiness to see yet another person who was alive, and one whom Harry himself had buried.
"Dobby sir." The elf squeaked.
"Hello Dobby. Why have you come here?" Harry asked him and this set Dobby off.
"Yous is really great Harry Potter sir. Yous asked me how I am. Harry Potter is really great sir." He wailed, big fat tears leaking out of his eyes as he looked at Harry worshipfully.
Harry grinned; Dobby had not changed after all. "I really am not great or anything Dobby. But thanks all the same. Now, what was it that you wanted from me?"
"The great Harry Potter is so humble." Dobby cried loud and long and then slowly sobered and stared at Harry with his tennis balls eyes. His expression was serious and very intense.