Harry Potter Without Harry Potter (Role Playing Thread)

[Zerifachias]

"Welcome, Hannah, to Diagon Alley," a tall man said to the girl beside him, gesturing a hand out towards the marketplace-like expanse in front of him. The girl, a four foot figure in the presence of a six foot tall man, seemed completely in awe of the place in front of her. Her dazzling blue eyes seemed to sparkle with glee as she saw the many, many shops lined up neatly along the sides of the street. At the far end of the almost-straight road lay a huge white building made of stone. An array of carvings decorated the front of the building, with a large "G" in the middle of it all. The large double doors of the building had just been opened, and a man and a woman, both dressed in long, billowing cloaks, had entered.

From where the girl, Hannah, stood, she could see just about every shop available to her, as well as an ice cream store and a candy shop. There were a few other alleys leading to more shops, and one of the alleys had a huge sign in bright, neon green colors displaying, "WEASLEY WIZARD WHEEZES."

"Over there is the Gringrotts bank," the man from the ministry said, pointing to the large stone building in the distance. The man's name is Jake Stonewell. He is an employee of the Ministry of Magic, and is only there to escort Hannah around until she could do so on her own. "They hold money for all of the witches and wizards. You can exchange Muggle money for gold there as well, which is what we're going to do first."

"Gold?" Hannah asked, looking up at Stonewell, slightly confused.

"They're called Galleons. It's the wizard's form of currency, like how Muggles use paper money." Stonewell explained.

"Oh, okay." Hannah resumed smiling, stepping out into the street, her escort leading the way. Hannah is new to all of the wonders of witchcraft and magic, she was born into a normal family of muggles, or non-magic folk. She received a mysterious letter one day, after her birthday, extending an invitation to her to attend Hogwarts, a school of witchcraft and wizardry. At first, Hannah believed the entire thing to be a prank from a neighbourhood enemy, but when Jake Stonewell appeared on her doorstep, she knew that it was real.

Hannah stopped by the door of Gringrotts, perplexed by the strange writing upon the door. She tilted her head to the side and read aloud, "'Enter, stranger, but take heed of what awaits the sin of greed, for those who take, but do not earn, must pay most dearly in their trn. So if you seek beneath our floors a treasure that was never yours, thief, you have been warned, beware of finding more than treasure there.' Is that some sort of spell?" Hannah asked, looking up at Stonewell.

"That is a warning from the goblins who run Gringrotts." Stonewell answered, a frown set upon his face,, "You'd be mad to try and rob this place. Come, come, inside." Stonewell quickly ushered Hannah inside, who almost screamed in fright when she saw the creatures inside. They were all so hideous, Hannah couldn't believe her eyes. If Stonewell had not been there, she would have ran straight out of the place. Stonewall put his hand on Hannah's shoulder and eased her towards the goblin in the very back.

The goblin took his time noticing Stonewall, and when he did, a fairly large frown was set upon his face. Stonewall, when the goblin looked up, said, "Miss Hannah Rose would like to make a transaction."

The goblin paused for a moment before pulling himself up in order to look down at Hannah. She grimaced, not liking the stern look the goblin was giving her. "And does Miss Hannah Rose have money for the exchange?" the goblin asked. Hannah quickly grabbed the money from her pocket and held it up.

The exchange resulted in Hannah obtaining quite a bit of gold. Her parents had given her quite a lot of money for her to change into gold, seeing as she will need it to buy all of her supplies. Hannah now had her own vault and even a key to it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Okay, now this is basically just me starting everything. Everyone can post whenever they want, just be aware of other posts, as well as looking out for my posts. There might be a change in scenery or time or area, and you will have to follow that.

Go ahead and post.

[Silver]

It was amazing. He always knew this place exisisted, but he had never been there before. The innocent, light brown eyes of Quinn Hart stared down the Alleyway. There were so many shops, he didn't know where he could possibly begin. But he wasn't alone here. His mother, Stephanie Hart, was also there to help guide her son. Unsure of how or where to start, the boy looked up at the mother.

"W...Where do we begin..."

The mother smiled down at the young boy. She remembered her first time going down the Alleyway. She had had her mother and father and cousins and aunts and uncles to go along with her. But... events had prevented that. Not that it would matter as much. At least the boy had someone to take him.

"We'll start with the Gringotts Bank. We'll pick up a fair sum of Galleons there, and we'll head off to... Magical Menagerie... where we'll check and see if there are any pets there that may intrest you."

Quinn nodded, he figured pets would be a good place to start. Moving towards the bank, he noticed a girl and a man move inside. Maybe she was a new Hogwarts student, just like him. But his thoughts were pushed aside as his mother moved him inside and up to one of the Goblins. The goblin looked up at the mother and son, grimaced, looked down at his papers and then back up at them.

"I would like to make a withdrawl. The name is Hart."

The goblin grumbled to himself for a minute before leading the mother and son to the vault. As the bitter and annoyed goblin opened the vault, Quinn gasped. His mother had always said they had a small fortune, but this... this was amazing. There had to be at least enough for him to be three times the amount of stuff he needed.

"How much do you need..."

"Enough for a first year at Hogwarts. And a little more... just incase."

It all passed by so fast after that. It wasn't long before the mother and son were in the Magical Menagerie, with Galleons ready. Quinn was still in shock over the sheer amount of money they had. That and the variety of pets they had in the shop. There were cats of any color you wanted, a firecrab, poisonous orange snails. They also had enormous purple toads.

"Pick whatever you like. I'll let you know if there is a problem..."

And the boy didn't move, at least not at first. But after a few seconds, he was moving about the shop. First he looked at the cats, and then he moved to the firecrab, and then to the snails. He steered clear of the toads however and instead moved to the back of the store. In the back, there was a tiny, possibly no older than a year, white rabbit.

"I've heard of magicians pulling rabbits out of their hats bu-"

As he said hat, the tiny white rabbit poofed, and suddenly it was a hat. Quinn gasped, thinking he had said something to it or done something. He was so shocked, but it returned to normal after seconds of his immeadiate shock.

"That's a cool trick... Mom!"

The mother moved over to her son, looking at the pet before him. She smiled. A Changing Rabbit. She remembered the one her great aunt had before she and it died. They were great pets, fun and highly affectionate. They attached to one person like glue, but unfortuneately, Hogwarts did not allow such pets for their lessons.

"Quinn... this Rabbit isn't allowed at Hogwarts for lessons... but... listen. I'll get her for you, but she has to stay home. You can spend time with her over the summer and on Holidays."

Quinn nodded. He knew that if he even thought about bringing an illegal pet he could get expelled and never come back. And he for sure didn't want that. So the mother bought the rabbit, and Quinn moved over to the few Owls they had. There was a smaller snowy one that seemed right. Gale was his name, it seemed fitting. As the two family members left the shop, Quinn looked up at his mother.

"Can we rest for a bit?"

"Sure, we can go to the other shops afterward, but let's not stay more than a few minutes."

[Cerani]

The picture of a rundown alley that Alessia had in her mind was nothing at all like what Diagon Alley was really like. It wasn't dark, it wasn't full of shifty looking people, none of that. It was a bit smelly though. Many interesting smells wafted about the crowded street as the small eleven-year-old meandered this way and that. She was trying to decide where to go first. It was pretty hard to settle on one place, they all looked so fascinating.

Alessia had been supplied with a map and a bag full of coins to buy school things. She decided to go by the list the school had sent with its letter of acceptance. Parchment and Black ink was first. Flourish and Blotts seemed like the place to go, and she could get her textbooks as well. She had to push her way through, following the sketchy map until she reached the right doorway. The place was full of kids about her age, and some older, all seemingly with their parents or some adult. Alessia kept her head down and moved along until she found reams of parchment and countless bottles of ink. There were thousands of pigments to choose from, but the list said specifically black ink. So she grabbed three bottles and about as much parchment as she could carry and waited in line.

When she finally reached the cashier (who was rather peculiarly dressed), she flopped her things on the counter, almost missing because she was than it was. "Um, how much is all this?" The lady rapped off a number in coins that Alessia barely understood. She dug in the bag and placed a handful of the shiny coins on the counter, hoping it would be enough. The strange lady snatched a number of them and waved her away. Alessia swept the coins back in the bag and grabbed her parchment and ink. She really needed somewhere to put all this stuff, like a cart or something.

Having no idea where to look for such a thing, Alessia left Flourish and Blotts to wander the crowded street, hoping someone would have the mercy to tell her what to do.

[Greycat]

“Ready, Jared?” Mom asked me. She was dressed along her usual fashion lines, one most people would consider deviant to say the least. A thick was draped around her neck and covered most of her face. Thick framed bottle lens glasses perched on her nose and her hair was caught up in a knob and held their by three long rods. One of these was her wand, which she pulled out and used to tap a brick. I had long since memorized its location; three up and two across.

Despite knowing what would happen, I jumped as the bricks folded aside to make an archway. From the cage in my hands, Gabby hissed her displeasure at being jolted from her nap. Normally, I would coo reassuringly at her, but my excitement made me forget that nicety. Crowds of adults and youngsters and all those in between milled about in alley, going about their business. In fact, everything about the place perked my interest, but first things first. I made a bee line for the store I had been dreaming about for months. Mom caught my collar as I past.

“Oh no you don’t!” she snapped, pulling me away from Weasley Wizard Wheezes. So close, yet so far. She tugged to smudged supply list from my pocket and attempted to press the worst of the creases from it. “Let’s see, most of the books are in my library so you can get those.” Both good and bad. Mom’s books all had interesting jottings in them from her research, but they were still hand-me-downs. “Lora already bought you the cauldron and phials as a gift.” Through, Dad’s sister got them for me and I normally loved he gifts, but this was school related. “You’re old telescope is still good…”

“Mom!” I protested. That was just pushing it. Sure it worked, but it had a habit of jumping out the window at odd times.

“Fine, one new telescope.” I couldn’t tell if she was joking or not. “Let’s head to the bank first.” I didn’t protest. For years Mom, Dad and their friends had been putting funds in a bank account that they claimed was mine. True, I had the key (it hung from a chain on my neck) but I never visited it. I was eager to it at last. And the rumored roller coaster ride to the vaults was an added bonus. Gabby had fallen back asleep, and the soft purrs coming from her supported my point.

“Mom,” I asked, “Can I go alone?”

“Of course, son,” Mom smiled. This time I could see the corners of her mouth above the muffler. She took Gabby’s cage from me and gave me a rough figure to withdraw. A few minutes later, I was on a wild ride to vault 478. It did not disappoint. I was exhilarated by the time I returned to Mom. She check my money bag to ensure I had enough and nodded, pleased. i grinned too, mostly because he missed the coins I had snuck out for, other things.

“Now that we have money,” Mom said. “What shall we purchase first?”

“Wand,” I said immediately.

“We could get robes-”

“Wand.”

“Or the-”

“Wand,” I said firmly and lead her down towards Ollivander’s.

[Silver]

"Alright Quinn, now let's head to Flourish and Blotts for you're books, notebook, quill, and ink."

Stephanie led her son down the alleyway, passing several wizards and witches, a few others. It was what should have been expected from the start. As the small family of two began to reach the shop, Quinn accidentally bumped into a girl carrying a huge stack of paper and some ink.

"Oh sorry... Hey... um... do you need some help. Or wait... did you get books or do you have them already?"

Quinn didn't know the girl, but he felt as if he might need to remind her about the basic neccessity for school. Looking at his mom, he sent a silent signal, which told her to go buy the parchmant and then he would meet up with her. She nodded in return and left the children alone.

"So do you have books?"

[Cerani]

"Books? Oh no, I've forgotten!" Alessia bit her lip as she frantically glanced about. There was no way she was going to be able to carry all the books the list required she have, and all the other things she was going to need. Oh what was she to do now? And this boy in front of her was staring at her too. Alessia realized she looked quite different from most of the other children here. She was, unbeknownst to her, still wearing Muggle clothing and stood out against the crowd.

[Silver]

"Here, let me give you a hand with those."

Quinn quickly took half of the stack that the girl was carrying, and smiled slightly. He didn't know why he was doing what he was doing, he just was. The girl needed help and he was offering to help, that was all it was. But he couldn't do this all day.

"Do you have a suitcase or a bag or something?"

He doubted she had one, if she had one it would most likely be holding her stuff. He looked at her for a moment and decided that he better take it back.

"Nevermind. Do you have money to buy one? If you don't I'll buy you one. You might need it..."

[Cerani]

"Uh, well, I have some money, but I don't know how much it is. My parents told me it should be enough to get everything I need." She paused, making an awkward silence, as impossible as it seemed in the street. "Do I need a bag for all this stuff?"

Though happy he was being nice, Alessia was a little curious as to why he was. Her father always warned her of people who might want to take advantage of her ignorance, in anything.

[Silver]

"Oh don't worry about it, I wouldn't want you to end up not having enough money. In fact here. On me. No need to pay me back."

Quinn reached into his pocket, which was a pretty big feet for the amount of papers he was holding. He pulled out about fifty Galleons, the amount he thought neccessary for a decent magic bag.

"Oh. How could I forget? My name's Quinn. I only say because you seem to be going to hogwarts like I am. Am I correct?"

[Cerani]

Alessia nodded silently. She was quite taken aback that someone would just give her money like that. He probably wanted something from her. She sighed and guessed it wouldn't be too bad to know at least one person in this strange place, even if he wanted to take advantage of her naivety.

"My name's Alessia. Thankyou, and yes I am. Er, you are correct, rather."

She looked at her map, wondering where she could buy a bag. Obviously, she would need it before she bought anything else. A couple of the bigger shops might have the thing she needed, maybe one of the clothing shops. Or maybe the Apothecary? One needed somewhere to store potion-making supplies, right? Oh wait, maybe the boy might know. "Um, where would you go to buy a bag? I'm afraid I'm not sure which place would be best."

[Silver]

"Potage's Cauldron Shop might just have something. But I'm sure you could also look in the stalls. I've heard they changed since the days of before...."

Days of before. He didn't know what else to call it. The days back when Voldemort was running around killing people and making his dark army. Back then the stalls had sold scam charms and bobbles that were said to ward off werewolves, Dementors and Inferi. But now, they had improved, they sold Magic Mirrors and other important items.

"I think we'd best check the Stall, there is a better chance of us finding something. So... after you?"

[Cerani]

Alessia nodded back at the boy, Quinn, in agreement. If nothing else, she'd better act like she knew what he was talking about. She paced away, trusting him with her parchment, towards a stand of several stalls. They all seemed to be hawking some weird, fantastical object or another. One was dropping some sort of powder on an animal, showing off how it made the animal's fur change color. She searched them inconspicuously, and finally found a bag. The person at the stall (she couldn't tell whether it was a man or woman) was boasting about how it could hold anything you wanted, and named a price.

"32 Galleons! Helma's Hold-It-All Traveling Bag for only 32 Galleons!" He/she called into the passing crowd.

"I'll take it!" Galleons sounded like the old Spanish galleons, gold coins, so Alessia figured the Galleons this . . . person was talking about had to be the gold coins. She counted them out and handed them over, and in turn received a bag. Alessia walked a distance away and put the parchment and ink inside it. The bag didn't even bulge, which made Alessia smile. Now she could hold all the things she needed in here, and could relieve the boy of her things.

"Quinn!" she called when she found him. "Put the paper in here." Alessia opened the mouth of the bag wide enough for him to dump the parchment in.

[Silver]

"Good to see you found something!"

Quinn dumped the stack of materials into the bag, it still didn't bulge. It was a pretty good magic bag. He was unsure whether or not to ask how much it cost. In the end he decided against it. Knowing if he asked she'd give him the change back if there was any.

"Okay then. I'll catch up with you at Hogwarts. See you later Alessia!"

With that the boy sprinted off without much else. He found his mother at Potage's Cauldron Shop. All of his stuff from Flourish and Blotts neatly tucked in one of the two bags they had brought along with them.

"Now, let's choose a cauldron."

[Xenosaga]

Diagon Ally. A place for witches and wizards to do their daily shopping, amongst other things.

Rosa hated the place.

"Mama, couldn't I just stay home?" she asked the woman holding her hand, looking up at her. Her mother just sent her a disapproving look and would have probably whacked her on the head if she was the type to. Rosa pouted, making a futile attempt at the puppy eyes. Her mother just turned away and continued walking, pulling her child along. Rosa looked down to the side with narrowed eyes. "Che." But she didn't pull her hand away and allowed the woman to drag her. It wasn't like she was scared of getting lost or anything.

At first, it had been decided her brother was the one who was to go shopping with her to get her first year material. However, her brother ended up being sent to China to visit their relatives. Her father was busy with work so that just left her mother. Rosa had never felt so horrified in her life. Her mother had said it would take about an hour and a half but knowing her, Rosa wouldn't be able to see home until eight in the evening. Not to mention, they never stopped walking. Rosa looked down at her feet. Poor feet.

Instead of going to Gringotts, like most people in the wizarding world did when they went to Diagon Ally, her mother tugged her right toward Madame Malkin's. Her parents always had some wizarding money on hand, believing it to be a hassle to go to Gringotts every single time they needed to go buy something. Rosa found herself agreeing with this. Though, if they ended up running out, Rosa knew she would, maybe, have a choice between going to Gringotts to get more money or using her brother's stuffs. She frowned. She couldn't remember what sort of things her brother had that would be useful to her. Going to Gringotts sounded good. She always wanted to meet the goblins there.

The child nodded to herself, happy that she thought of the answer beforehand. And was nearly hit on the head for it. Blinking rapidly, it took her a moment to realize she was in the store and being measured by Madam Malkin's herself. Rosa began to shift her eyes, furrowing her eyebrows. She didn't even notice. It didn't take long for the Madam to finish taking the measurements and hurry away. Rosa stared after her before looking toward her mother. Her mother was looking through the different cloaks available. Rosa just hoped she didn't end up buying the puke green one. It looked scary.

Rocking back and forth on her heels, Rosa waited impatiently for the madam to return. There was really nothing to do. Deciding to check out the merchandise with her mother, Rosa hopped off of the little stool she had been standing on and skipped over to her mother. Without a word, she watched her mother, eyes unblinking. Her mother didn't seem to mind the staring, continuing what she was doing. They stayed like this until the madam returned, three black cloaks of her size in hand. Her mother thanked the madam and took the material, folding them and dropping them into a bag the madam handed her.

"One down, so many more to go," Rosa mumbled under her breath as she took hold of her mother's hand and followed her out of the store. She was sure to thank the madam but did so in a small voice that could barely be heard. Looking up at her mother, the child had to ask, "What are we getting for me next?"

"We should be near Potage's Cauldron Shop," her mother answered, glancing back at her. Rosa's lips thinned into something like a frown. Seeing the look, her mother seemed to roll her eyes. "We'll go to the Magical Menagerie instead then. It'll at least keep you occupied."

"Magical Menagerie?" Rosa repeated, slipping on the last word a few times.

"A pet shop," was all her mother said.

". . . . Do they have cats?" the child asked in a hushed whisper, eyes wide. When her mother didn't answer, Rosa puffed out her cheeks. She could always annoy her into telling but Rosa decided to let her mother off just this once. Gleefully, she began to imagine what sort of cats there were. She wanted a black one. Yes, a black one would do. With yellow eyes. Oh, it would be so cute. . . .

"Ting Ting?"

"Yes, Mama?" Rosa quickly returned her attention to her mother, eyes sparkling with anticipation. Her mother only laughed and smiled and pointed. Following the direction of the finger, Rosa nearly tripped herself in her haste to run in and find the section with the cats. Quickly regaining her balance, the child hastily entered the shop, just barely knocking into some of the cages situated neat the entrance. Mumbling a quick apology to the store keeper, her eyes locked onto the cats and she bodily launched herself at them.

Peering into the cages, Rosa stared at the little animals in awe. It ranged from all kinds of cats, big, small and multiple colors. She had always wanted a feline of her own and just looking at all of them was a dream come true. Taking some time to calm herself, the child began to slowly examine each and every one of the cats, wanting to pick the one she would like the most since her mother would likely never buy her another pet. Other than an owl, anyway. She missed the hawk she used to take care of back in China.

"I wish I could take all of them home. . . . ." she mumbled to herself, disappointment clear on her face. When she grew up, she was definitely going to be one of those people who breed Kneazles and half-Kneazles, if only to keep them around. She would feel sad to see them go though. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Rosa refocused her attention of the felines. After what could have been considered forever, she narrowed it down to two choices.

"Big cat," Rosa pointed at the cage holding a Kneazle as she said this. The Kneazle seemed to give her the evil eye before returning to its nap. "Little cat." She pointed at a tiny black kitten at these words. The kitten, just old enough to open its eyes, blinked and stared at the finger. "Big cat." She pointed back at the Kneazle. "Little cat." And back to the kitten. She did this several more times and it was on the third time she realized the kitten was following her finger. Curiously, she held her finger in front of it, slowly moving it around.

The kitten stared at her finger with large yellow orbs and it was then, Rosa got an idea. Bringing her two pointer fingers together, she began moving them both in figure eights before stopping right front of the animal and pulling her fingers apart. The kitten tried to follow them both but ended up confusing itself and it shook its head. It then stuck out a paw, making as if to hit her. Rosa laughed, unable to take how cute it was.

"Mama, I want this one!" she called out to her mother, who was holding a conversation with the shop keeper. Her mother turned to her and walked over, eyes following in the direction her child was pointing in. At the sight of the kitten, she narrowed her eyes.

"You won't be allowed to bring that to school with you," her mother said in an almost scolding tone. Rosa looked absolutely devastated. "It's too young. You'll be taking classes."

"W-What if I get permission?" the eleven year old stammered, looking a little pale. "I promise I'll take real good care of him! Please, Mama, please! We're allowed cats so please!? I-I'll love him and hug him and feed him and cuddle him and play with him and and and and and-!"

"You won't stop being annoying until you get what you want, will you," her mother stated more than questioned in a defeated sort of tone. Rosa clasped her hands and promptly got on both knees. Her mother would have facepalmed if she were the type. Grabbing hold of her daughter, she forced Rosa back on her feet. "This is the only pet I'm ever going to allow you. Understood?"

"Yes, Mama!" Rosa nearly shouted, giddy from her happiness and triumph. Her mother watched her coo over the kitten with a look of disapproval before waving the shop keeper over. In less than five minutes, they were out, Rosa carrying the kitten in a basket lined with woolly blankets because she refused to put the poor creature in a cage. Her mother held written instructions on how to care for the kitten, ordering her daughter to memorize them.

"Now, let's head to Potage-"

"Mama," Rosa suddenly interrupted, looking up from her kitten. She hadn't torn her eyes off of the currently sleeping kitten since she got it. "Can I go to Ollivander's?" Her mother froze, forcing her daughter to stop as well.

"I. . . . . know I'm going to regret this," her mother murmured before sighing. "Here, hold onto this bag and give me the kitten." Rosa instantly gaped and backed away from her mother. Her mother narrowed her eyes. "Unless you want that kitten to have a heart attack, give it here." Not understanding but fearing her mother's wrath, Rosa reluctantly forfeited the basket, make little sniffling sounds the entire time. She took her bag of clothing and hugged it to her chest, staring longingly at her kitten. "Here, this should be enough to cover the cost of the wand." Rosa barely had time to react before her mother shoved the gold into her cloak pocket with surprisingly speed. "Whatever you do, try not to get hurt in there."

"Um, okay, Mama," Rosa nodded, still confused. She had never seen her brother retrieve her wand but from what she had heard, it was a pretty shocking experience. Now, she was nervous. Waving good-bye to her mother, the eleven year old began her short walk toward Ollivander's. Reaching the shop within minutes, Rosa stared up at the peeling gold letters. "This place is. . . . old." Turning her eyes to the door, she grabbed hold of the handle and pulled. Almost instantly, a thin cloud of dust floated out and Rosa stared. "I'm . . . glad I didn't bring kitty." Swallowing hard, she entered the shop as quietly as possible. ". . . . . . Hello?"

[Zerifachias]

A small bell tinged when the door opened to the quaint shop. Hannah stepped through the door quickly, Stonewell following behind, closing the door. Hannah approached the desk, looking around in wonder. There were shelves upon shelves of small cases stacked on each other. For such a small shop, there sure were a lot of wand cases. "Wow..." Hannah said, putting all of her thoughts into that word.

At the sound of her voice, an old man came out from a row of shelves, looking down at her suddenly, "Yes, who is it?"

"I-uh..." Hannah stammered, looking up at the odd old man. She had never expected the owner of the shop to be so old, but nonetheless, he must have been rather good at his job. "My name's Hannah Rose, I'm looking for a wand." She said, still stammering slightly.

"Mr. Ollivander, Miss Hannah here is Muggle-born, so she wouldn't know anything of wands." Stonewell said, Ollivander didn't seem to hear him, though. He had gone back into one of the many rows of shelves and came back, holding a small case. He opened it and handed Hannah the wand inside.

"Here you go, try this out. Elk with phoenix feather. 9 inches. Go on- give it a good wave." Ollivander said, motioning for her to hurry up. Hannah waved the wand around aimlessly, almost poking herself in the process. Ollivander soon snatched the wand away and put it down, going back on his search for wands.

"Um...what exactly am I doing by waving these sticks around?" Hannah asked slowly, wondering if Mr. Ollivander would be insulted by her words.

"The wand chooses the wizard! Or witch, in your case Miss Rose. Every wand is different in order to suit the different witch or wizard. There are three main cores of a powerful magical substance used for wandmaking, and those are phoenix tail feathers, unicorn hairs, and dragon heartstrings." Mr. Ollivander explained. Hannah looked at her fingers with widened eyes as she attempted to keep up with the large amount of information. It wasn't until Ollivander slipped a wand into her hand that she broke from her trance, feeling a rush of warmth through her fingers and all over her body.

"Woah..." She said, once again summing up her thoughts into one word.

"Yes, I thought as much." Mr. Ollivander said, nodding at the wand. "That's 9-and-a-half inches of mahogany with a unicorn tail. Nice and sturdy too. Powerful, no doubt, you're a lucky one."

"So...this is mine now?" Hannah asked, looking up at the wandmaker.

"For seven Galleons, yes." He replied. Hannah was quick to take out a few gold coins from her pocket and hand it over to him, overjoyed that she had found her wand in only two tries. "Off you go now, you have plenty of other stores to visit."

"Okay-" Hannah began to thank Mr. Ollivander when she heard someone else enter and say "hello." Hannah turned around to look at what seemed to be a girl her age, maybe Chinese. Hannah blinked a few times before saying, "Um...hi. My name's Hannah. Are you going to Hogwarts too?" Hannah's wand was in clear view of the other girl. She hoped this girl was friendly.

[Xenosaga]

"Oh, uh," Rosa blinked, eyes seeming to stare at the girl before she quickly averted them to the side. "H-hello." She paused, completely still. After a moment of silence, she slowly moved her gaze back on the girl. "I'm going to be a first year in Hogwarts." She glanced at the wand in the girl's hand. "I'm guessing you're the same?"

Tiptoeing into the store, Rosa's eyes took the time to examine the interior. It was filled to the ceiling with rectangular boxes and almost nothing else. A thin layer of dust covered everything and Rosa resisted the urge to run back outside in order to breathe. Ollivander really needed to get someone to clean the place. She looked back at the girl with the wand and bowed slightly.

"I'm sorry if I'm interrupting anything," she quickly mumbled an apology, scratching her palms. "I'm. . . here to get a wand." Suddenly, she flinched, eyes widening slightly. "Oh, right. I forgot to introduce myself. Uh, you can call me Rosa." The young girl gave the other a nervous smile. She always used her English name when introducing herself. She didn't like it when people other than her family said her Chinese one.

[Greycat]

Bubbling over with excitement, I skipped down the street, my pocket jingling slightly as I moved. Money destined for a wand. For my wand. I grinned I wondered what kind of wand I would get. Wand lore was always an interesting read, so I new that the wand would literately choose me, not the other way around. Of the three cores Mr Ollivander used, I hoped a phoenix feather cored the wand that choose me.

Eagerly, I pushed open the door and hustled inside. The shop was cluttered, unevenly and disorderly stacked high with boxes that I was certain held wands. The air was a tad musty and had the scent of dust. All in all, it reminded me a bit of my room at home. That was all I got to notice before bumping into another customer. A girl.

"Ah, Sorry!" I said hastily. "My bad!"

[Zerifachias]

Hannah smiled slightly at the girl. She seemed rather nervous, though for what reason, she didn't know. "I was just about to leave." Hannah said, "I'll see you at Hogwarts then, Rosa." Hannah moved around the Chinese girl and exited the store, smiling even more now that her back was turned. She had met her first classmate. She hoped they would get to meet more.

"I suggest we visit Flourish and Blotts. You can get all of your schoolbooks and supplies there." Stonewell said. He hadn't interfered when Hannah had stopped to talk to the girl. He knew that Hannah would be having trouble making friends, considering her blood status. Hannah nodded in response, turning towards one of the larger stores with large, painted letters of the store name.

Within the span of two hours, Hannah had managed to get every bit of item she needed for school. All that was left was to get an owl. Hannah would prefer to have her own owl that she and her family could use to send letters and gifts and such. She wanted to show all of her siblings the wonders of the magical world, and pictures of her and her friends as well. First, however, she needed to know where to go for the owl.

"The Magical Menagerie has quite a lot of different animals you can keep as a pet. On your paper, it should say that an owl, a cat, or a toad will suffice." Stonewell explained when Hannah asked, "I suggest getting an owl. Dead useful those are."

"Right." Hannah said, smiling as she looked around for the shop. Stonewell soon grabbed her shoulders and pointed her in the right direction. Slightly embarrassed, Hannah quickly marched off towards the shop.

Hannah's first impression was the terrible smell of a dung heap. Someone's cage needed to be cleaned. Badly. Ridding that thought from her mind, Hannah skipped directly over to the section of owls. There were many different colored owls, ranging from white, brown, tan, and even a yellow one. Hannah quickly edged away from an owl that had tried to bite her finger when she got too close, and came face-to-face with a beautiful tan owl. It was more silver than it was tan, but Hannah didn't care, it looked amazing to her, and she wanted it.

"Excuse me!" Hannah waved over to the store owner, then pointed to the owl in question, "How much for this owl?"

"Hm...You want Gretel?" The storekeeper moved closer to Hannah, eyeing her. He seemed to frown at one point, but it quickly vanished, "She'd be about 25 Galleons." The old man seemed certain that Hannah would refuse, but to his surprise, Hannah pulled out the gold coins and showed it to him.

The old man paused for a second, then began grumbling about something and reached his hand out to take the coins. Stonewell lashed out his hand and grabbed the old man by the wrist. The sudden attack surprised Hannah, and she managed to drop most of the coins in her hand. Hannah frowned down at them and began to pick them up, one by one as Stonewell looked at the old man sternly.

"25 Galleons for an owl? You must be barking mad to charge that sort of price." Stonewell growled.

"Hands off of me," the clerk snapped his hand away, glaring back up at the man, "I refuse to sell to Mudbloods." The old man glared down at Hannah, who's back was currently turned, she was still picking up her coins.

Stonewell pulled out his wand and pointed it at the clerk's chest, much to the old man's surprise, "The Ministry of Magic allowed you to put your shop here, and we could very easily take it down. I suggest you be fair to everyone before you end up unable to sustain yourself." Stonewell growled, putting away his wand as Hannah stood up.

"Here you go!" She said, holding out the coins she had dropped, a smile on her face. The old man paused, glaring up at Stonewell, then walked away.

"Fine, take the owl. I don't want that thing in here anyway." The clerk said aloud, resentment in his voice.

"Really? I can have it!?" Hannah was overjoyed. she immediately picked up the cage and held it up to her face, looking at the sleeping owl inside. "You're coming home with me buddy! Isn't that great!?" Hannah exclaimed.

The owl showed an enormous lack of excitement. Little did it know, however, that it was going towards a new home, and a new master.

[Xenosaga]

"Bye. . . ." Rosa mumbled, waving after the girl. Once she was gone, Rosa slumped, heaving a great sigh. She was never good at meeting new people. Though this girl looked quite nice. Hopefully, they could be friends. Just the thought cheered her up immensely and she stood up straight.

Only to be nearly knocked off her feet.

Frantically, Rosa reached out to grab onto something, but considering the fact that there was nearly nothing in the place except for shelves and shelves of boxed wands, she ended up hopping forward on one foot until she fell flat on her face. At her fall, a cloud of dust wafted up into the air. Twitching slightly, Rosa blinked rapidly and once her mind caught up with her, scrambled to get back on her feet. She coughed, waving off the dust to face the person who had knocked into her.

"I'm fine!" she quickly reassured, hiding a wince. Rosa took off her glasses and wiped before putting them back on, pretending they hadn't just dug into the bridge of her nose. "Happens all the time." The eleven year old gave a quick smile. "No need to worry. Uh. . . . . Are you okay?" Another new person, Rosa felt like she was on a streak. Hopefully, she wouldn't be too reserved this time.

[Greycat]

I hesitated, but looked at her with concern. This girl was... I didn't know how to put it. Our meeting was, interesting to say the least. Interesting bordering on awkward. At least I didn't break her glasses or anything that extreme. That would be a tough one to explain. I pulled a face rag from his robe pocket, light green to match with the rest of his outfit, a green polo with a travel robe thrown over it,at gave it to her.

"I'm good," I told her. "You have a bit of dust on your face. Cheek" I pointed to the spot, careful to avoid actually touching her. Most of the girls I meet were a bit touchy on that subject. "Since you're here, I'm guessing that you are anew Hogwarts student too?" I grinned at her and instantly regretted the goofiness in it. "I'm Jared Lawson. Nice to meet you!"

[Silver]

Quinn and his mother walked out of Pottage's Cauldron Shop, a fancy slef stirrable Cauldron in tow. They were almost at the end of their money, but it wouldn't matter, a wand was the last thing they would need. A wand would be the last thing he would need. As the young future wizard entered the shop, his mother stayed behind. She knew it would be great to watch him get his first wand, but... there was a rule for the family. Everyone got a wand by themself.

Quinn could care less about tradition or his mother coming in. He just wanted the last item. The wand. The thing that would truly make him a wizard. For without it, he would be severely limited when it came to casting spells and charms and such. So, with out further ado he entered Ollivanders, noticing the two students already in there. He didn't want to just barge in, but it seemed that the others were taking their time in who will go get there wand. So he moved past the two and continued up to Ollivander.

"I would like to get my wand please."

Ollivander merely nodded, and moved far into the back of the shop. He returned with a maple case, and opened it, Quinn taking the wand eagerly. He quickly waved it arounf a bit, not really feeling anything special about it. He looked up at the shop keeper.

"Maple. Unicorn Hair. 8 and a half Inches."

Ollivander took the wand from Quinn, put it back in its case gently. The older man shuffled to the back of the store once again and returned with another case, this one oak. He opened it to Quinn, who once again eagerly took the wand and tried it out. Nothing any different than the last one, not even a slight shock.

"Oak. Unicorn Hair. 9 Inches."

Ollivander once again took the wand and placed it back in its case. Grumbling slightly as he shuffled back to the back of the store once again. He returned with an cherry case, opening the compartment to the young wizard. The boy barely touched it before he felt a jolt shoot up his spine and his whole body felt warm.

"Woah..."

Ollivander smiled at the young wizard. Whether he was happy he found the right one, or whether he was happy he didn't have to go back to the back again was uncertain. He closed the case, looking at the wand for a second. He spoke quietly.

"Cherry. Thestral Hair. 9 and three quarter Inches."

Quinn smiled excitedly. He had completely forgotten about everything else. This was his wand. His wand. Oh it was so great hearing that. The very sound of it was sweet, sweet music to his ears. But as he got lost in a short fantasy, hearing the money in his pocket jingle, he was reminded. It wasn't his just yet.

"How Much?"

"6 Galleons."

Quinn took out the last of his remaining money. He had just enough. He smiled at Ollivander and handed him the money and took his wand with him. He was just about to exit the shop when he saw the two kids standing at the front door.

"Are you going to be first year Hogwarts students? If so. I'm going there. I'm Quinn... Quinn Hart."

[Xenosaga]

"Eh, really, where?" Rosa instantly brought her hands to her cheeks, searching for the dust in question. Feeling something, she quickly wiped at it, only just noticing the face rag in the boy's hand. "Oh, sorry. You don't need to lend me that, thanks for telling me." Feeling nothing more, Rosa removed her hands from her cheeks and looked at the boy. She gave a nervous smile. "First year, Hogwarts. I was just about to get my-hey!"

Rosa had just turned her head toward Ollivander only to find another boy was already there. She tightened her lips, teeth pressed firmly together. What horrible timing. Seeing no point in complaining, she had been loitering around after all, Rosa continued her conversation with the boy in front of her.

"Looks like we'll have to wait for our wands," she whispered to herself, the words not even forming fully. She then switched to a louder voice, he wouldn't be able to hear her if she continued in the whisper. "Uh, you can call me Rosa." She glanced back over at Ollivander. "You can try for your wand first. I don't mind waiting. I have to wait for Mama anyway."

Here, she backed away slightly, as if trying to give him space to move over to the wand maker. It was then that the boy trying out for his wand finished and walked over to them. Rosa blinked, staring at him for a split second before quickly averting her eyes. Slowly, she looked back at the two boys.

"Same," was all she could really say. "Uh, you can call me Rosa. Oh, hey, Jason, Olli's free now, you can go try for your wand." She pointed at the old man, who seemed to be reorganizing his things. "Don't mind me, I'm fine. Now go and try not to hurt yourself." She paused and after a moment of thought regretted her words. She probably just made him a tad nervous.

[Greycat]

"Jared. But Jason is a good name too," I said happily. Rosa seemed a bit rattled, but everyone handle stress differently. But, just watching someone getting their wand was exhilarating, and I was impatient to get my own. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, I thanked Rosa and stepped forward. Mr Ollivander already had a few boxes ready for me to try.

"Here, Hawthorn and unicorn hair. 9 inches." I tried it. Nothing. I looked at Ollivander and he smiled. "Nothing to worry about! Chestnut and unicorn hair." This time, something did happen. A ladder propped against a shelf zoomed to crash into the wall. He hastily plucked the wand from my hand.

"Ah, opps?" I said shyly.

"Hmm... Holly and unicorn hair; 11 inches. Cherry and phoenix feather; 7 and a 1/4 inches. Vine and dragon heart string; 8 and a 1/2 inches. Willow and unicorn hair; 9 inches." He placed and plucked wands in and out of my hand like my father did ties in the morning.

Finally, I hit the jackpot, had an epiphany, struck gold, how ever you want to put it. "Ash and dragon heart string." The moment it touched the tip of my fingers, my already light green hair glowed and fluttered and the tip of the wand let of sparks to match. It was like magic. Oh, wait... it was.

"Wow," I sighed as the light faded. I felt all tingly and nice. I managed to questioning enough that Mr. Ollivander volunteered the price.

"7 galleons. A lovely wand too. 10 and 3/4 inches. Swishy but pliable. Good for both charms and transfigurations, wasn't easy getting the core either. A Romanian Longhorn. He was quite the feisty one... but let me not bore you with the details." Despite longing to here the story, I payed for the wand and cleared the way for Rosa.

[Cerani]

Alessia stood, lost in thought for about 20 minutes, before she realized people really were beginning to stare at her. She hastily drew the drawstring on the bag tight and went on back inside Flourish and Blotts to buy her textbooks. Before, she hadn't realized just how musty the place smelled, quite a bit like a library, but one filled with noise. She'd been so intent on finding paper, Alessia hadn't even realized that some of the books moved or made sounds. There were about a dozen books on her list, but she had no trouble finding them. It seemed they had been put up front for the school season. The line also seemed to be moving much more quickly now, leaving Alessia feeling like she'd been swept out.

'No matter.' she thought. All the books went in the bag, still without any bulge or weight added. 'Now, what's next?' Robes, it said. Specifically, black robes. Madame Malkin's was closest, and was also garnering the most customers, so the girl settled on that destination. Once inside, the lady wasted no time in measuring her and swiftly left Alessia standing there with her arms outstretched, without a single word. Alessia let her arms dropped, clearly mystified when the woman returned with a large, squishy bundle of clothing. "How many are those?" Alessia asked.

"Four." The lady smiled, though Alessia wasn't quite sure if it was sincere. "I figured you could use a little more. Are you sure you wouldn't want to buy anything else more . . . suitable?"

Alessia quickly realized what the woman was talking when she looked down at herself. Her clothes were quite different than most others in the store, and that might've been why she was getting many glances. "Um, yes please. I-I think two would do." Exactly two of what she wasn't sure, but it would probably be better if she did have them. The lady obliged in a matter of seconds with a pair of dark blue and white . . . robes? They called them robes. Whatever, they still looked pretty, and Alessia happily thanked and payed the nice lady.

The robes also fit nicely in the bag, though Alessia thought she noticed a slight increase in its bare weight. Ah well, next stop -- Potage's, for a cauldron. The idea of magic and having a cauldron almost made Alessia laugh. She supposed, while she walked, that it would only make sense that a witch or wizard (a real one) would have to have one. But that made her wonder what else was true. Like, can witches ride broomsticks? Hmm . . . one never knew.

Potage's was one of those interesting places one would think that would be the exact opposite. Well, at least for Alessia. There were all kinds of cauldrons, ranging from dinky iron ones to extremely expensive gold ones and ones that could be collapsed, all sorts of things. Fortunately, Alessia didn't have to spend all day wondering which one she would get, she only had to buy the one she needed for school. It was a good thing as well that the man who ran the store seemed to have an endless supply, because there certainly seemed to be an endless line of children that were buying size 2 pewter cauldrons. Luckily, Alessia seemed to have walked in when there were more people going out than in, so she didn't have to spend too much time in the line and was out the door in good time.

What next? "Hmm . . . an owl isn't a necessity, but it would be nice." The man from the ministry that had talked to her parents had briefly explained the wizardly way of posting mail. Besides, she'd never seen an owl up close before. 'To the Magical Menagerie!'

[Silver]

Noticing that the other two wizards were ignoring him, Quinn left without much else. He met his mother outside, who quickly grabbed him and moved towards Madame Malkin's. Quinn realised that he had forgotten about three important items needed for School. His broomstick, his robes, and his telescope.

The mother quickly rushed her son through all three shops. It seemed like they were moving at the speed of light. In the very end he had school robes and special event robes (Nice white ones), a very promising Nimbus Excel broomstick, and a polished Lucid Telescope. With nothing more to buy, Stephanie was eager to get her son to the train, but he refused.

"I want to go check out the Magical Menagerie one last time."

The mother sighed slightly, but let her son go. The result was his darting off towards the shop, the lightweight magic bag and Gale's cage in his hands. He was happy to find the girl he met earlier, Alessia had entered the shop.

"Hey Alessia!"

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