Chapter 2
Rainy left the bank with a heavy wallet that was charmed with an Undetectable Extension Charm and made of dragon leather.
“What now?” they asked the Professor.
Snape seemed somewhat disgruntled over having to wait so long in the entrance hall for Rainy and Snippy’s talk to conclude.
Rainy was quickly herded through the necessary Hogwarts supplies. Snape seemed to know most of the clerks–especially the centaur that sold potion ingredients–and was familiar with what products were overpriced and which were worth the money.
Once they had completed their shopping and Rainy was trailing a blue trunk behind them, Snape asked:
“Is your orphanage by the bridge I found you?”
“Orphanage?” Rainy asked.
Snape stopped in his tracks. “Where do you live, Mr Baggins?”
“Oh, well the last two nights I spent under that bridge but the nights before that I spent on rooftops. They get warm sometimes when people have their heaters on, you know. It's nice.”
Snape didn't seem entirely sure of what to say. Rainy could have sworn she heard him mutter about how this was why he never volunteered for this sort of thing.
“Your inheritance test said you were 36,” he stated. “The magic the elves use for it is unable to lie–just as they are.”
“Yeah well, I was 27 before I turned into a kid again.”
“I… see… so you’ve been living as a child since then? It's quite obvious that you do have the mentality of a child, even if a little older than you seem.”
“Well, first I grew up. I went to university and everything before the same thing happened again!”
“You were hit with a rare spell of the dark arts, twice?” his voice rang full of unmasked disbelief.
“Hey, I didn't ask for this!” Rainy said defensively.
Snape rubbed the bridge of his nose in exasperation. “You will do well to keep this to yourself amongst other students.”
“Sure, I guess.”
He looked them over again. “Why aren't you wearing shoes?”
“Hobbits don't wear-” they cut themselves off as they looked down at their feet, “WHAT THE FUCK?!”
Snape made a face that clearly denoted his disapproval.
“My feet!” Rainy yelped, “They're gone!”
“No, they're not.”
“But they're so… small. Like human feet! Gross!”
The look Snape shot them seemed to say something along the lines of How in the fuck did you not notice that before or perhaps it said I have never met a person this stupid in my life. He was hard to read.
“You will require shoes at Hogwarts,” he said finally.
Rainy was still staring at their feet, experimentally wiggling their toes, but nodded distractedly, “Yeah I guess I’ll get some at, uh, the shoe shop. Is there a shoe shop? The only people I’ve ever seen acquiring shoes did so, uh, less than legally.”
“... I suppose our shopping is not quite over yet,” Snape said, looking like he hated the very thought of it.
Snape teleported–apparated–them to a muggle shopping district. According to him, wizards had a terribly impractical sense of fashionable footwear.
“You should buy at least two pairs,” he explained when they arrived at a store that sold a multitude of different shoes, “One pair of black half-shoes for Hogwarts. You will be required to keep them clean to follow the dress code so most students wear a different pair when they're out of uniform.”
They found a pair that fit Hogwarts regulations quite easily. Snape suggested just buying two pairs, one for school and one for leisure time but was shot down quickly.
“I got to have variety!” Rainy insisted.
They looked through a series of shoes before a salesman decided to attempt to end Snape’s suffering.
“What kind of shoes are you looking for, uh, sir?” the man asked Rainy.
“I’m not sure yet,” they replied, looking over the surrounding shoes with a cynical expression, “Something colourful, I think.”
The salesman led Rainy to a few different pairs but was shot down repeatedly.
The man sighed before seeming to have an idea.
“Wait here.”
When he returned, he was carrying an unassuming cardboard box.
“This is a prototype we received from the United States. It likely won't be released for a couple of years.”
He pulled out a pair of blue boots. They had laces all the way up, like on trainers. The tip and the bottom of the boots were made of white rubber. Most eye-catching, the entire rest of the boot was covered in colourful plastic rhinestones and different heart and peace-sign patches.
Snape made a pained face but said nothing.
Intrigued, Rainy tried them on and found that they fit almost perfectly.
“Stomp your foot,” the salesman instructed.
Rainy did as told and the boot lit up in colourful lights.
“Absolutely not,” Snape declared but was drowned out by Rainy excitedly stomping both feet on the ground.
“These are the ones!”
Wearing his new atrocious boots, Rainy made his way back towards the bridge he had first met Severus under.
Severus waited as the child who was not entirely a child went to retrieve something.
They returned with the black cat that had run towards him earlier that day. Upon closer inspection, he could see that the cat was not entirely black but had a white marking on its chest.
“This is Cowboy,” Rainy said proudly, “I found him in a dumpster.”
Severus was not sure what answer they were expecting but it seemed like they were not expecting any at all as they continued:
“The letter said I can bring a cat, so I’m bringing Cowboy.”
At this point, Severus just wanted to return to Hogwarts and inform Albus of the situation. It had been a long day.
He apparated them to the Leaky Cauldron and helped Rainy book a room for the time remaining before Hogwarts–Tom offered a student discount without needing to be prompted.
“Make sure he gets that cat checked over,” he told the man when Rainy had disappeared towards their room.
“Sure, professor,” he said amicably, “You staying for a drink or two?”
Snape ordered a bottle and left with it. One day he would get Albus back for all the bullshit he had to put up with.
Rainy spent the rest of their time before the start of Hogwarts in and around Diagon Alley.
They had bought as many history books as they could at Flourish and Blotts Bookseller in an attempt to gain a better understanding of this new world. (He’d actively skipped over the Hogwarts section. Surely he’d learn enough about the school when he was actually there.)
In addition to Flourish and Blotts, Rainy had also found a charming store in Knockturn Alley that sold incredibly interesting books–amongst other things.
Aside from shopping, Rainy was also convinced by Tom the bartender to go get Cowboy checked out.
“Just to be sure,” the older man said.
Rainy dutifully brought the little guy to a pet shop that apparently also functioned as a vet because wizards were just like that.
The salesman/pet doctor declared Cowboy a healthy feline and talked Rainy into buying a travel container for his furry friend.
“Trust me, lad, it will make your train ride to Hogwarts much easier.”
So now Rainy’s room was full of books, wizard candy, and one big crate that Cowboy had gotten surprisingly fond of.
At the moment, Rainy was having tea with Snippy. They had made a habit of visiting the elf at their place of work, to the point of the other elves no longer bothering to acknowledge them more than a kind greeting when he walked past them on the way to Snippy’s office.
“Are you packed yet?” asked Snippy.
“Mostly. I kind of forgot the trip was coming so soon. Fionn reminded me.”
Snippy nodded in understanding. Rainy had told them about the time spent with the centaur, discussing the different properties of magical ingredients and getting into philosophical debates along the way.
“You should be aware that your headmaster likely knows all that Professor Snape learned here,” the elf warned.
“Who's the headmaster?”
“An old wizard named Albus Dumbledore. He’s a little strange, you’ll probably get along.”
“Cool,” Rainy remarked, snatching a biscuit from a tray between them. It had been Rainy’s turn to bring biscuits for the two of them.
They talked about numerous different topics, got into a few petty arguments, and eventually parted with a final hug.
“Say goodbye to your little beastie for me,” the elf requested.
“Will do!”
Rainy waved as he left the bank, numerous elves calling out farewells.
Rainy arrived at Kings Cross station and immediately went and got a trolley for their trunk and Cowboy’s crate. The trunk could technically be shrunken with a little dial on the side but the crate was too big for it to be convenient to carry without a trolley.
They pushed the trolley through the crowds of people towards platforms nine and ten. Snape had told them that the way to the Hogwarts train station was located behind a magic barrier disguised as a wall between the two platforms.
(Rainy briefly wondered if muggles just saw a normal brick wall or if they couldn’t see the wall at all.)
It seemed that Rainy was early, as only small clusters of people were at the station. Still, the train was already there, so they unloaded the trolley, pushing it to the side where others were forming a small line already.
The trunk was promptly shrunk down and stashed in a coat pocket as Rainy heaved the crate back up to carry towards the train.
Rainy entered the second to last door of the train and sat down in an empty compartment. He placed the crate on one of the empty seats and closed the door of the compartment so he could open the crate.
Cowboy opened one eye to look at the new surroundings before continuing to nap in his spot.
Rainy busied themselves with a novel as they waited for the ride to start.
A couple of chapters later, the compartment door opened again.
“You a first year?” asked a red-headed boy.
“Uh, yeah.”
“Mind if we sit with you?” asked a second, identical, red-headed boy.
Rainy looked at Cowboy, who was still sleeping.
“Sure.”
“Thanks, mate,” said Twin One.
“Our brothers are all sitting with their friends,” said Twin Two.
“So we wanted to branch out,” the first one concluded.
They both took a seat on the other side of Rainy, closing the door behind them with a look at the cat.
“I’m Fred, by the way,” Twin One said once they were seated.
“George,” supplied the other.
“Rainy Baggins,” they introduced themselves. (It was polite for a hobbit to introduce themselves with their full name). “How long have you guys known about Hogwarts?”
“Oh, our whole lives,” Fred told her.
“Our mum and dad went too,” said George.
“Basically everyone in our family did.”
“But I think we had a second cousin in Durmstrang.”
“And our uncle’s mother-in-law was in Beauxbatons.”
“Are you muggle-born?” Fred asked.
Technically? Maybe? “Yeah, sure,” they nodded.
The twins exchanged a look but didn't call Rainy out on their weird wording.
“Do you know about the houses?” George asked them.
“Only Slytherin.”
“Really? That's the one with the worst reputation,” Fred said.
“Dad did a year in it, though, so I don't think they're all that bad.”
“They let you switch?” Raimy asked. There had been houses in his university (Hugh Hudson Academy) as well but they had been finite.
The twins nodded.
“They re-sort you almost every year. The entire first week is just sorting of different grades,” George explained.
“So what other houses are there? There's four, right?”
“Yes,” Fred nodded, “Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin.”
“Everyone in our family gets sorted into Gryffindor first year,” said George.
“It's pretty much family tradition,” agreed Fred.
“But most spend at least a year somewhere else as well. Mom was a Hufflepuff for two years.”
Rainy recalled the coat of arms that was on their Hogwarts letter. “So, Slytherin is the snake and Ravenclaw is the Raven?”
The twins nodded.
“Gryffindor is a lion,” said Fred.
“Guess they didn't want two bird heads on the logo and Ravenclaw called dips,” said George.
“Why is Hufflepuff a badger then?” Rainy asked.
“The age-old question,” Fred nodded sagely, “No one truly knows the answer.”
“Tonks–a friend of our brother's–says it's because they're unassuming but tough,” George admitted.
“Maybe whoever decided on the animal just really liked badgers,” Rainy proposed.
The twins shrugged and there was a lapse in conversation.
They eventually fell back into small talk–interrupted only by the arrival of snacks–and kept the conversation up until they were getting closer to Hogwarts.
Then there was a knock on the door.
A red-headed boy a few years older than them, maybe around fifteen or sixteen, opened the door and stuck his head in.
“Fred? George? You better put on your uniform. We’re getting closer.”
They made an identical displeased face but got up to get out their uniforms from their trunks.
There were small changing rooms along the train–courtesy of expansion charms–and the twins left to get changed.
The unknown redhead stepped aside to let them pass before returning to the door.
“I’m Charlie, by the way. Fred and George are my little brothers.”
Rainy nodded. The twins had mentioned their other siblings.
“I’m Rainy Baggins,” they introduced themselves.
Charlie smiled, “Welcome to Hogwarts, Rainy Baggins. Make sure to get changed before we get there.”
Rainy agreed and Charlie left again.
By the time the twins returned, Rainy had changed as well. Reluctantly, they had also switched their light-up boots with the black half-shoes that were required as part of the uniform.
“Dad would go crazy over those,” George commented as they watched Rainy put the boots away.
Rainy laughed, “I doubt they'd fit him.”
“Well, the man can dream,” Fred snorted.
They fell back into easy conversations. Cowboy ended up deciding he needed to zoom through the compartment, and they spent the rest of the trip entertaining the black cat.