chapters 10, 11 and 12
Chapter 10 - don’t tell stories you weren’t around to witness
“So this is tulip.”
“Mhm, she's been with me for as long as I can remember. Which reminds me, do you want to have a look at what kind of pet you want?”
“Yes please! What kind can I have?”
“Well it depends. You can have an owl but they are primarily used for mail, and the school already has those so it's up to preference with them. You could also have a toad but that's a toad. It might just be my biased opinion, but I would go for a cat. They are more expressive, cuddly and can stay in your dorm with you. They will stay by your side as long as possible. But it's up to you at the end of the day.”
We stood there in silence for a few seconds before Harry made a decision.
“Can we go look at the cats?”
“Sure kiddo follow me.”
It had been so long since I had last stepped foot in Magical Menagerie. It brought back so many memories. Memories that hurt.
“Welcome to the Magical Menagerie, Harry. The place where you will finally meet your forever friend.”
“There's so many. How am I going to pick one?”
“You won't, the cat will pick you.”
“Huh?”
“Cats are great at sensing one's true nature. It will pick someone who they will be able to live with forever.”
“Oh okay, do I need to do anything specific like sit down and focus or?”
“No, no the cat will simply approach you on it's - oh looks like you have already been chosen.”
“What do you mean?”
“Look down.”
There at Harry's feet sat a beautiful dark burgundy coloured cat. It had white splotches all across its body with the longest fluffiest tail I had ever seen. It was long enough to wrap around Harry's ankle twice and their eyes were a milky white. Harry leaned down to pick them up and the second Harry's hands met the cat they practically melted into his embrace. (Have you ever seen those videos of cat owners picking up their cat and it just elongates? Imagine that.) Even after Harry had the cat held at eye level, their tail still reached the floor.
“Why are there eyes that colour?”
“It's because they are blind dear.”
We both jumped at the sound of another's voice
“Sorry didn't mean to startle you.”
“It’s fine, I was just expecting a different voice.”
Though the last time I was here I was even younger than Harry. It was silly of me to expect the owners to be the same person.
“Are you here to make a purchase? I see that Vulpecula has taken a liking to you.”
“Vulpecula huh.”
“Does the name mean something?”
“It is the name of the little fox constellation.”
“Oh, that's so cool! And we’ll take ‘em them? please?”
“They are a boy, and that will be 17 Galleons.”
“Here you go. Harry, do you want to hold them while we are shopping.”
“Yes please.”
“Thank you for your purchase, you two have a wonderful journey together, okay?”
“We will.”
After leaving the store, I set my sights on Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment walking over with Harry shortly behind.
“Right, we need 1 set glass of phials, that's 3 Galleons, 1 telescope which is 5 Galleons, and 1 set of brass scales that adds another 3 Galleons, which in total is 11 Galleons.”
“Is that all? I thought we would need more ingredients?”
“You do, it's just that the school supplies the rest.”
“That makes sense. How many more stops do we need to make anyway?”
“Three, Ollivanders for your wand, Potage's Cauldron Shop for your cauldron, and Twilfitt and Tattings for your clothes. This won't take long so we can go and get your wand next.”
I was in and out with the cauldron packed in the bottomless trunk in a flash, and was at the doorstep to Ollivanders in no time.
“Ollivander, you've got a customer in need of a wand.”
“I wondered when I'd be seeing you, Mister Potter. It seems only yesterday that your mother and father were here buying their first wands. Ah here we are … well give
it a wave.”
And then drawers proceeded to rapidly fly out of their place, though Harry placing the wand on the table with haste was amusing to watch.
“Apparently not. Perhaps this?”
And then a plant pot proceeded to explode.
“No, no definitely not!”
Another wand placed on the table.
“No matter.”
Ollivander walked further back and proceeded to look around. All that I could hear was a faint. I wonder. Making his way back he faced Harry and wordlessly handed him a wand. It only took a second for this wand to be identified as Harry's
“Curious, very curious.”
“S-sorry what's curious?”
“I remember every wand I have ever sold, Mister Potter. It so happens that the Phoenix whose tail feather resides in your wand, gave another feather. Just one other. It
is curious that you should be destined for this wand when-”
“Ollivander, are you going to go on for an hour about this story, or are you going to give Harry his wand?”
“My apologies, this old man seems to forget that not everyone has time for old tales. Here, that will be 7 Galleons.”
Only after we left the shop did Harry speak up about what had happened.
“Why did you cut him off? I was interested in the story he was going to tell.”
“I was too when I got my wand, but ended up staying for two hours. Not worth it.”
“Oh, guess you saved me a long story huh.”
“You have no idea.”
Chapter 11 - a new friend
“All that's left now is your uniform and casual wear from Twilfitt and Tattings.”
“Casual wear?”
“Yep, for the weekend and non-school oriented activities. Robes aren't the only things wizards wear Harry, so don't worry about that. It's nice to have some comfy clothes to just lounge around the dorms in.”
“Is there anything in particular I should look for? I'm not that good with fashion.”
“Me neither, but the witch running Twilfitt and Tattings sure does. She will get you a wardrobe of clothes that suit you perfectly.”
Twilfitt and Tattings was so starkly different from the last time I visited, but I suppose that is to be expected, seeing as fashion changes all the time. I wonder what the trends are now.
“Ah! Um, my apologies, but can you not bring those cats in please?”
“I'm sorry, but I need to stay within the same building as the kid here, as he is under my care. But I can stay in the lobby with the cats while you take Harry into the back for measuring.”
“I suppose that should be fine. What is it that you need?”
“Three sets of plain school robes, in black, and one winter cloak in black, with silver fastenings. As well as one plain pointed hat for day wear, one pair of protective gloves, dragonhide, some everyday wear, and pyjamas.”
“Very well, please be patient, this will only take a few minutes.”
She then proceeded to drag a dumbfounded Harry to the back of the shop. It wasn't even a full minute before Sev and Draco arrived, just as I had planned.
“Aunty, what are you doing here?”
Draco asked in puzzlement. A stark contrast to Sev’s deadpan question.
“Where's the kid?”
“He's in the back getting his measurements taken.”
“Who is?”
“Harry Potter.” we both said in unison. Draco then proceeded to blue-screen, unable to mask the shock on his face.
“What is Harry Potter doing with you?!”
“I was tasked with showing him around and taking him school shopping, since I'm going to be teaching at Hogwarts this year.”
Draco has his mind blown.
“You're going to be teaching at Hogwarts!?”
“Draco, don't yell, you're going to cause a scene.”
Where Draco would have usually responded with a ‘Sorry Uncle’ there was instead silent staring. He then quietly muttered.
“Aunty is going to be a teacher. Am I dreaming?”
“Nope, and you can thank Sev over there for my predicament.”
“Uncle, thank you.”
“For what?”
“Just, thank you.”
“Oh, hey Harry, that looks good on you.”
There at the door in the back stood Harry. He was wearing an intricately patterned, long sleeve, cream coloured sweater, dark maroon trousers, and a pair of comfy, but still fancy-looking, shiny-black, ankle boots. They suited him quite well. Though Harry seemed quite nervous, whether it be because of the new clothes, or the intrusive stares he was receiving from both Sev and Draco.
“You two good?”
“I’m Draco!” he suddenly yelled, throwing his arm out for a handshake.
Harry was stock still.
“Harry, this is Draco, Draco this is Harry. Hope you two can get along. You'll be going to Hogwarts together after all.”
“Nice to meet you, Draco?”
“Pleasure is all mine.”
It was amusing to see Draco try and act very proper after such an energetic introduction, but judging by the bright shade of red his ears were turning, it was clear he was trying to do some damage control.
“And this guy is Severus.”
“That’s your brother right? It's nice to finally meet you.”
“Pfft”, it was funny seeing Draco get jealous at Sev, especially at something as trivial as a difference in Harry's response.
“What are you laughing at? Nice to meet you too, Harry.”
“Now that introductions are over, what did you two come here for? I'm going to assume it was for your school uniforms, and not me.”
“Obviously, now Draco, you and Harry go to the back and get your clothes sorted. Draco has been here plenty of times before Harry, so he knows what to do, now, be
on your way.”
The second they both left my sight, I casted a muffling spell. This was important info that others should not hear, but I could not wait any longer to tell Sev.
“Quirrell was there, he was watching Harry like a hawk.”
Chapter 12 - so what now?
~ Harry’s point of view ~
“Um. So how do you know Professor Sìleas?”
“She's my aunt.”
“So you're Severus's kid?”
“What! No, no, we're not biologically related, they're just close friends with my parents. Uncle Severus is my godfather, actually. I’ve been close with them ever since I was a baby, and it's just a show of familiarity.”
“Oh sorry.”
“It’s fine, an honest mistake.”
“Um, do you know much about Hogwarts? It's a school of witchcraft and wizardry. I mean I'm not sure what to expect.”
“Well, it depends on who you ask. While nothing is physically different besides the dorms, everyone perceives Hogwarts a different way. That's what Aunty Sìleas told me. She said that for her, Hogwarts was too noisy during the day, so places like the library made up for the negatives. She also never spent much time in the dorms because Ravenclaws have bunk beds, and she didn't like having people in her space. There's tons more that she said, but I don't remember it all.”
“Do you know about the other dorms?”
“Well both my parents and Uncle Severus are Slytherins, so I only know about those two. The Slytherin dorms are located at the dungeons, so they are below ground. The common room has windows that show the river around Hogwarts. They're big rooms with king size beds, one for each kid, four kids per room, and that's all I got. They didn't want to tell me too much because it might ruin the surprise.”
“Do you think you'll be a Slytherin too?”
“Yep, every member of the Malfoy family has been a Slytherin.”
“You guys must be master potion makers then.”
“You bet, I'm a prodigy, and Uncle Severus has been tutoring me for a while now, so I'm definitely getting into Slytherin. What about you?”
“That's so cool. And Professor Sìleas said that I would most likely be a Gryffindor because I am more physically inclined, just like my parents.”
“So you'll probably be a Quidditch player.”
“A Quidditch player? What's that?”
“It's a wizarding sport. You play on brooms and In Quidditch, each team is made up of 7 players. One Seeker, one Keeper, two Beaters and three Chasers – each of which have a specific task. The Chasers are there to try and keep possession of the Quaffle and to score a goal by throwing it through one of the opponent’s three hoops. They can pass the ball between each other but only one is allowed to enter into the scoring zone at any one time. The two Beaters throw Bludgers and these are thrown at the opposition to disrupt them. The other side’s Beaters, in turn, throw them back with the same intention. The players in this position are usually the strongest and most physical within the team. The Keeper is a defensive player, and is tasked with defending the team’s hoops. Lastly, the Seeker is the team member whose job is to capture the all-important Golden Snitch.”
“That sounds complicated. You seem to know a lot about Quidditch, do you play?”
“No, I'm not old enough yet, but I plan on making the house team.”
~ Sìleas point of view ~
“Quirrell was there, he was watching Harry like a hawk.”
“So my fears weren't unwarranted after all.”
“How did a Death Eater end up becoming the defence against the dark arts teacher anyway? There's measures against that right?”
“Most definitely, but the Merlin knows how many years the old serpentine-demon-god-who’s-using-him-as-a-vessel probably has ways around those measures.”
“Touche. Let's just hope he hasn't noticed that we know about his scheme.”
“You have the Philosopher's Stone?”
“Tulip has safely delivered it to Uncle.”
“Well that's one thing out of the way.”
“What’s the school going to do with the mirror of erised now that Uncle has the stone?”
“I don't know, Dumbledore has the last say.”
“Of course the old git gets the last say.”
It wasn't long after that when the boys were done in the back, and it only took a minute or so more until we were on our way to get lunch. As homey as the three broomsticks is, it is more of a pub than anything else.
“I was thinking about going to the Nine Lives Cafe. Is that alright with the rest of you?”
“I see no problem with it, truth be told, I have not been there in quite some time.”
“Um sorry to interrupt, but you said I could get my ears pierced after all the shopping.”
“Don’t worry Harry, I didn't forget. The plan I had was to send Sev and Draco to the cafe to reserve seats and order food, while we go and get your ears pierced. It won't take long, trust me. I have a menu for the Nine Lives so you can pick out what you want."
After handing the menu over to Harry, I turned around to meet Sev's questioning gaze. I merely shook my head as a sign to not ask questions. He looked rather annoyed so I made sure to note that I would tell him later.
“What's a clu- cluzi- cluziolal chocolate cake?”
“Oh, a cluziolal is a kind of berry that grows alongside river edges. It's a common berry around Scotland but it's rather rare in other places. It has a subtle sweetness to it with the texture of a citrus fruit. It goes well with chocolate.”
“Um, can I have that and a glass of milk please.”
“Absolutely, and I'll just have my usual, now let's get to it. See you guys again soon.”