Diagon Alley Part 2
You were currently in Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, getting fitted for your school robes. Madam Malkin had spent the last half hour going around you as you stood on a pedestal, collecting all your measurements.
"Alright dear, you can put your arms down now." Said Madam Malkin.
She finally stepped away, and you sighed in relief as you let your arms fall to your sides. You stretched them out to try to relieve the soreness. Madam Malkin waved you over, and you followed her over to the counter.
"They'll be finished within the week, and will be sent over to your address. If you would just fill out this form for me." She instructed.
"Oh, sure." You said with a nod.
You picked up the pen, and began filling out your information. When you finished, she took the form for you. You then gave her the money Hagrid left you to pay for your items, before leaving the store. You pulled out a piece of ripped paper from your pocket, to check over what you needed to get next. You and Hagrid had split up when you got to Madam Malkin's, as the fitting was going to take awhile. You had ripped you list in half, deciding to divide and conquer. Hagrid had set out to get the majority of your items, saying he'd have to go to Amanuensis Quills, Slug & Jiggers Apothecary, Potage's Cauldron Shop, and Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment. He mentioned something about your list missing some stuff, but that he would take care of that. He left you some of the wizard money, enough to pay for what you needed to get and some extra just in case, and gave you a quick explanation of wizarding money. You still needed to get your school books and your wand, and of course a pet. You were very excited to get a wand and pet, but decided to go to Flourish and Blotts first. Nothing would ever top your love for books and reading.
You followed the signs down Diagon Alley, until you came upon the book store. With a wide smile, you excitedly push opened the store. You stopped to take in the comforting smell of old books and parchment. The store was covered wall to ceiling in precarious piles of books, scrolls, and pamphlets. You walked through the maze of towered in awe, certain that this is the closest to heaven you'd ever been. You're personal afterlife of course, you pictured as a giant grand library with all the books in the world that you could spend eternity reading. Realizing you had slipped of into day dreaming again, you sighed solemnly as you were brought back to reality. Checking your list again, you began looking for the needed books.
The first book you found was a old sturdy brown book, with golden details. It was labeled The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1 by Miranda Goshawk. Form the tittle, you guessed this was part of a series, likey a book for each grade.
The next book you found was a thick grey book, with what looked like a wreath on it. It was labeled A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot. Now normally most people thought history was boring, but come on, this is Magic history. It'll definitely be interesting at the least, and you couldn't wait to compare it with your knowledge of human history to see if you found any secrets.
The next book you found was a solid black book with silver details on the spine. The label read Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling. You guessed this book delt with the soft science version of magic.
The next book you found was a fancy reddish brown book kept closed with a leather strap. It had golden details all over, and a red gem as a button on the strap. The label read A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch. Transfiguration was probably one of the kinda of magic, most likely having to do with changing things is some way, like water to wine or iron to gold or something like that.
The next book you found was an ornate book in a deep emerald color, with engravings of leaves, mushrooms, and plants on the cover. The book was labeled One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore. You tended to be more into animals then plants, but magical plants must be incredible. Did they change colors, or glow, or have cool effects or magical properties? You couldn't wait to read and find out!
The next book you found was a dusty grey colour with a black cauldron on the cover. It was labeled Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger. That was definitely going to be a difficult class, but you'd give it your best.
The next book you found was another solid black book. It was labeled The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble. You felt a mixture of both worry, and relief about this book. Worry for the dark magic and deadly creatures you were now exposed to as part of teg magic world, but also relief that you would get to learn how to protect yourself.
The last book you found was a large red book with gold details, including the golden shape of a unicorn head and some golden claw marks. The book was labeled Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander. This was definitely going to be your all time new favorite book! You loved animals, but magic animals? Fantasy Animals? You were in heaven!
With all 8 books in tow, in a precarious pile in your arms you brought them over to the store counter. The young gentleman maning the counter, was friendly, and quickly helped you check out and pay for you books. You ended up paying a little extra to have the books delivered to the orphanage, as you definitely wouldn't be able to carry those around all day.
After leaving the store, you headed over to Ollivanders. You were kinda nervous to get a wand, despite how exited you were. The shop was narrow and shabby, with peeling gold letters over the door of the shop that read: Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. The shop's display consisted of a solitary wand lying on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window. You entered the shop through the creaky door. The shop was tiny, empty except for a single, spindly chair in the corner. Thousands of narrow boxes most likely containing wands were piled right up to the ceiling of the tiny shop, and the whole place had a thin layer of dust about it. A tiny almost unhearable thud came from one of the shelves.
"Um... Hello?" You called out into the seemingly empty shop.
An old man with pale silvery eyes and white skin, appeared from behind one of the shelves. He squinted when he saw you, raising a finger to point at you.
"You're a Muggleborn, aren't you?" He questioned.
You're eyes widened a bit in surprise.
"Oh! Um, yes. I am. How'd you know?" You asked curious.
He smiled a bit, as he approached closer.
"Because you have that look about you of course. Everything's so new, exciting of course, but a bit scary too, hmm?" He said with a friendly quirk of his brow.
He had eyes like someone who could see right through you. You rubbed your neck sheepishly.
"I am a bit nervous..." You admitted.
He waved you off playfully.
"No worries. Muggleborn or not, everyone's always a little nervous to get thier first wand." He reassured you.
This maded you smile, deciding you already liked this guy.
"Oh! I'm (Y/n), by the way." You said quickly feeling the need to introduce yourself.
He gave you a warm smile.
"And I, am Garrick Ollivander. Now, how tall are you?" He asked.
Now normally someone would be confused at such a random question, but being someone who also asked plenty of random questions, you didn't question the sudden change if topic. You told him your height, and he gave a small nod. He went over to one of the shelves, and pulled out one of the boxes. He brought it over to you, and opened the box to reveal a wand inside.
"This should do. Walnut, Pheonix Core, 12 inches, Stiff. Go ahead, pick it up, give it a whirl." He said.
You picked up the wand from the box, and gave it a little whirl. You were shocked when suddenly a mining firework shot from the wand, sending sparks everywhere. You accidentally dropped the want from the shock. You were quick to apologize, and retrieve the wand, delicately returning it to the box in case it was set off again.
"Hmm. Guess not then. Maybe this one." Ollivander said to himself.
He returned the box to the shelf, before grabbing another one. He presented you the next wand.
"Alder Wood, Dragon core, Unyielding, 15 inches." He explained.
This wand was much longer then the previous one. Hesitantly you picked it up, and at his insistence, gave it a little wave. You were shocked once again, as some kind of blast knocked down several of the boxes on the shelves. To your credit, you managed not to drop the wand this time. You placed the wand back in the box.
"No, no. That won't do." He muttered shaking his head, putting the box away.
"Sorry... I didn't mean to mess up you're shop." You apologized in a small voice, thinking he was mad at you.
He turned to you confused, before realization quickly took over his face.
"Oh, no, no. Happens all the time. Not your fault. It's the wand that chooses the wizard after all." He explained, waving you off.
This instantly sparked your curiosity.
"The wand chooses? How dose it do that? Is it sentient?!" You questioned with increasing curiosity.
"Semi-Sentient. Like people, each one is unique. The length, flexibility, core, and wood all add together to give it a personality all it's own. That's why it's so important to find the right match between wand and Wizard." Explained Ollivander.
A wide smile lit your face, eyes sparkling with intrigue.
"That's so cool! How many combinations are? How many woods?! Are certain cores better than others?!" You began to ramble excitedly, but stopped when he held up a hand.
His eyes sparked with mirth, a wide smile on his face as he chuckled.
"What a nice surprise! Not too many are interested in wandlore, you know. How bout this. Come around again sometime, and we can talk all about it." He offered happily.
You hoped and down overjoyed.
"Oh, yes! Yes! I would love that, Mr. Ollivander!" You cheered, making his give a hearty laugh.
"Then I look forward to your next visit! Now, let's find you a wand, hmm?" He said eagerly.
"Ok!" You agreed.
He turned to the shelf, and excitedly pulled out another one out.
"Ooh, let's give this one a go! Applewood, Unicorn Hair, Quite Bendy, 9 inches." He said, eagerly presenting you the next wand.
You picked up the wand, and gave it flick. A bright light flashed, temporarily blinding you both. When the light faded, the both of you gingerly blinked try to regain you sight.
"Well that was certainly bright. Curious, very curious." He said happily, as you returned the wand to the box.
As he returned the wand to the shelf, you heard a familiar thump from the shelf at the back of the shop, a little louder this time. Your mind was diverted back to Ollivander went he eagerly brought you another box.
"I think this one might do the trick! Chestnut, Dragon Heartstring, Whippy, 13.5 inches." He exclaimed, presenting you the next wand.
You grabbed the wand, and gave it a swish. A fire ball shop from the end of the wand, leaving a scotch mark on the wall it hit. You let out a breath of relief, glad that it didn't set the shop on fire. You put the wand back in the box.
"This is exciting, isn't it? Now, which one to try next?" He excitedly declared, putting the box back.
You expected someone to get frustrated with so many failed attempts, but he just seemed to be getting more excited. It was then, that you once again heard a thump from the back shelf. Quickly looking over, you could have sworn you saw one of the boxes move. Ollivander was to enthralled with his excitement to see to notice however. He popped another wand before you.
"Pine Wood, Dragon, very flexible, 11.5 inches. Give it a flick!" He exclaimed.
His excitement contagious, you grabbed the one, and gave it a hearty flick. Thunder growled out if the wand, as a small light bolt shot from it, striking the ceiling. He took the wand from you, quickly putting it away.
"No, definitely not that one. I haven't been challenged like this in quite some time!" He said seemingly growing years younger.
Again, another thump. You looked over to notice one of the boxes was hanging precariously half way off the shelf. Ollivander seemed to take some time to consider his next pick, hesitantly grabbing another box.
"Hmm. Tricky. Maybe this one?" He muttered as he brought it over to you.
"Sycamore, Unicorn hair, Brittle, 7.5 inches." He said presenting it to you.
You grabbed the wand, and gave it a shake. Not much happened, other than a small poof of smoke. You put the wand back, and he put the box away.
"What to try next?" He asked himself.
He eagerly scanned the shelfs for the next one to try. A loud thump caught both of your attentions this time, as the box finally fell from the back shelf. Ollivander pause suddenly Serious, eyes squinting suspiciously at the box. Slowly he walked over, and picked up the box. He held it in his hands, starring at it in deep thought.
"Intriguing. I wonder if it's..." He mumbled.
He brought the box over to you and opened it. The wand inside seem to tremur slightly as you looked it over.
"Dogwood, Dragon Heartstring, Slightly springy, 14 inches." He said, closing watching you.
Tentatively, you reached out to grab the wand. The moment you held it in your hand, a stream of warm traveled through you. It felt right. As if to agree with you, a high pitched whistle emitted from the wand. The whole grew louder, and wind began pouring out from the tip of the wand. The breeze wrapped around you, encircling you completely, the air playfully making your hair fly eveywhich way. You giggled a bit as teg wind tickled. The wind soon disappeared, the whistle fading soon after.
"Ho, oh! Wonderful! Alwayysuch a treat matching a dogwood wand." Exclaimed Ollivander joyously, clapping a bit.
You smiled just as wide.
"Really?! It's mine?! It chose me?!" You asked exitedly, jumping a bit and you clutched the wand close to your chest.
"Yes, yes. It's yours!" He confirmed with a smile, both of you feeding of eachothers joy.
You were so happy. It chose you. It chose YOU. It's the first time anything had chosen you really, chosen you permanently. Thinking about it, made tears gather in the corners of your eyes. You quickly wiped them away, as Ollivander guided you over to the counter. You went through the process of paying for the wand, and we're now all set to leave.
"Um, I'll see again soon... Right, Mr. Ollivander?" You asked hesitantly.
He smiled.
"Yes, of course. Come by anytime." He assured you.
You smiled brightly, and gave him a big wave. He waved back, and you left the store. The last stop on your list was to get a pet. When discussing it with Hagrid earlier, you both decided an owl would be the best choice. You thought they were awesome, and Hagrid was against the other ones as he's allergic to cats, and toads are apparently out of fashion. With in mind, you headed to your last store, Eeylops Owl Emporium. The store was relatively small, and you could tell how dark it was inside through the display window. There was a sign outside the shop that read Eeylops Owl Emporium – Tawny, Screech, Barn, Brown and Snowy. You entered the dimly lit store, and saw many cages hanging from the ceiling, filled with different kind of owls. Some watched you curiously, and others continued to watch the people walking past the window. Some slept, some preened, some flew around the store as there cages were unlocked, and some chilled on perches around the store. You were in awe, owls being one of your favourite kind of owls.
"Hi, there! Do you what kind of owl your looking for?" Asked a young women chipperly from behind the counter.
"Oh, um, not yet." You answered akwardly.
She nodded with a smile.
"Well, feel free to take a look around! Let me know if you need anything!" She said happily.
You gave her a nod, and began wandering around. You came upon the Brown owl section, seeing a sign.
Their binocular vision and superb directional hearing make brown owls great night hunters - rodents and voles beware.
They we're nice, but they were also really big. You decided to keep looking. You next came upon the Tawny owl section. You read the sign there.
Tawny owls have excellent hearing and are famous for their 'twit-tawoo' call between females and males.
They were definitely cute, but still didn't feel like the right one. The next section you came upon was for Screech owls, and you read the sign there.
Screech owls are extremely agile and regularly feast on rabbits, voles, rats, mice and reptiles.
They guys were ginormous, and the tuffs didn't really do it for you. You decided to keep looking. You next came upon the small Snowy owl section, only to be disappointed to find none of the beautiful creatures in stock. With the section being so small, and the fact there was no sign, lead you to believe that they probably didn't usually have Snowy Owls for sale. The next section you went to, left a wide smile on your face. The Barn Owl section. You loved Barn Owls, all of the different Tyto species, though you did have a soft spot for Tyto Alba. It seemed like Tyto Alba was the only kind they sold anyway. You read the sign for posterites sake.
The Barn Owl is common in Europe and has an acute sense of hearing.
You decided to get a Barn Owl, and began looking at the different individuals to see which one you could get. That's when you noticed one cage off to the side, hidden in a corner. It had a black cloth covering more the half the cage, only a third of the cage visble. You saw a dark figure huddled up inside. It moved it's head slightly, a large black eye starring intently at you. It had a greyish face, with grey/white spots all over. You began to approach the cave, was a voice called out to stop you.
"Careful there! That one doesn't like people, likes to bite and claw anyone that gets to close. The owners giving up on trying to sell it." Warned the worker lady.
The owl in the cage glanced to the worker lady, giving her what you thought was a glare. It's feathers puffing up in agitation, and it gave her an angry screech, a screech that sounded like that of a Barn Owl. It did look like a Barn Owl, but it wasn't Tyto Alba.
"What kind owl are they? Are they a subspecies of Barn Owl?" You asked curiously.
The owl looked back you, once again locking eyes, and seeming to calm back down.
"Oh, it's a female Greater Sooty Owl, Tyto Tenebricosa. They're pretty rare. It was rescued by authorities, from poachers who took from the Montane rainforests of New Guinea. That illegal pet trade can be rotten sometimes. It was given to the owner in hopes of homing it, but everyone who buys the thing keeps returning it do to it's attitude. But if you like the Tyto family, we have a lot of lovey Barn Owls for sale." Explained the lady.
Through the whole explanation from the lady, your eyes didn't leave their starring match with the Greater Sooty Owl. You saw yourself reflected in the deep black eyes of her heart shaped face. However, when the lady was recommending one of the other owls for you to buy, the Greater Sooty finally looked away from you. It turned it's head back to the corner, seeming to shrink a bit as it's feathers flattened down. You felt your heart pang, relating all to well to this owl. It was pretty obvious why she had an attitude. You turned to the lady at the counter.
"Actually, I want to buy her." You said confidently.
The lady raised a brow in surprise.
"Seriously? The owner doesn't want to deal with anymore returns for this one. Save us all some time, and get one you'll actually keep." Advised the lady gently, but also triedly.
For once in your life, you actually felt a bit angry for once. You're eyes narrowed a bit, feeling even more confident in your decision.
"I'm not going to return her. I'm going to keep her." You said determined.
Glancing over to the Greater Sooty Owl, you noticed it was starring at you again, standing up taller. The lady sighed.
"Alright then, if you're sure. Come with me and we'll get you set up with everything you'll need." The lady said.
You smiled and went over to her. The lady helped you get everything you would need to take care of your new owl, including treats, vitimins, grooming tools, a decent size cage that doubled as a carrier cage, a water bowl, a bird perch, some cuttlebone for beak sharpening, some toys, and some cleaning supplies. She also provided you with a small training pamphlet. She was also nice enough to give you a generous discount for your trouble. Hagrid showed up shortly before you payed for you items, which was fortunate, as you didn't have enough money on you. Once everything was payed for, Hagrid helped you carry things, and you began making your way back to the Orphanage. Hagrid nodded to the Owl in the cage you carried.
"She's a beaut! Did ya decide what to call her?" Asked Hagrid.
You nodded, with a smile.
"Ya. I'm going to call her, Nightingale."