"Nobby has the mail for Master, Sir." The house-elf gave a low bow in her tailored bed sheet robe. In her upraised hand were a couple letters from friends and family and on top, addressed in green ink a thick parchment envelope.
Not looking up from his paper, Solomon Nott remarked, "It's your Hogwarts letter. I'll send Tabby with you tomorrow to buy your supplies."
Thus robbed of the surprise Theodore Nott opened his letter without fanfare. He was too excited to care about anything else and he eagerly read through the required list of books. The Nott family had an extensive library, but he intended to have the latest editions of everything for school.
Finishing his letter and penning a quick reply which he handed to the elf, Theo piled bacon onto his plate and watched his father for a moment. "Sir?" He tried, "What is Hogwarts like?"
At first he was afraid the question was overstepping his bounds, after all the Senior Nott was reading and it was rude to interrupt. But instead of disciplining his son like he normally would he put down the Daily Prophet and gazed over his glasses at the eleven year old.
Theodore wasn't particularly outstanding in any way. He was smart, and witty, but didn't try hard enough to be exceptional. He was polite and formal, but not enough to be charming. He had good looks and took care of himself, but lacked the confidence to be handsome. He had plain blue eyes and plain brown hair. He had been entirely raised by house-elves after his mother had died, and Theo thought he could see worry in his father's eyes.
Solomon Nott answered with reluctance. "Hogwarts is... traditional in many ways. Founded thousands of years ago it's attempted to stay true to it's original concepts, the four houses. Ravenclaw the Wise, Gryffindor the Brave, Hufflepuff the Kind, and Slytherin the Cunning each took a house to their own, and as you know, the Nott's have always been Slytherins. In Slytherin you'll live in the dungeons, and I expect you to do well in the classes of importance. You can forget that herbology drivel."
Theo knew his father could never end such a long statement without something negative and took it in stride. He wasn't foolish enough to wonder what house he'd be in. Even though he admired the traits of the other founders he knew his family were Slytherins. Just like all his father's friends and business partners.
He also knew he'd pushed his luck with just one question, so Theo finished his breakfast quietly and looked forward to tomorrow when he'd be able to read his school books.
The next day, a house-elf wearing a bed sheet robe embroidered with the Nott family crest, a golden fox, apparated Theodore to Diagon Alley. His father had left more than enough money on the table for Theo to find and now he was free to spend the day collecting robes, books, and importantly, his first wand.
Once Theo had been allowed to wave his cousin's wand when he was little. He had made his father's wine glass explode and was since forbidden from playing with such things. Needless to say he was excited about being able to work magic. He had seen his father do amazing things, like turn a garden bench into a pony for Theo when he was young.
Of course he had been devastated when his pony had eventually been reverted to a bench, but he tried to push that from his mind. He had money and a book shop in front of him.
About an hour into his browsing, having had the store clerk collect his school books, Theo had a large stack all his own. He imagined it could never hurt to have extra books like "Simple Spells for the Beginner Wizard" or "101 Ways to Improve your Potions". So his stack grew until he was carrying too many to see over.
With a muffled "oomph!" he felt the knock back of having run into someone and several of his books toppled as he turned a corner without looking. He hurriedly put his books aside and turned to offer a hand to the stranger. "I'm terribly sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going," he offered.
A young girl about his age with hair like a tumbleweed and teeth like a beaver stared up at him. She took his hand and stood up, brushing herself off. "Quite alright, I wasn't paying any attention either. Let me help you."
Her voice was brisk, but friendly enough, and she helped him stack up all his books, and he noticed her looking interested at them. "I'm going to my first year at Hogwarts," Theo told her. "These are to help me get ahead you know? Read up."
She smiled at him crookedly. "Oh of course!" She sounded delighted, "I'm going to Hogwarts too. I do wish I could afford this many books, but the exchange rate is simply awful."
He smiled back holding out his hand again as he put the last book on the pile. "I'm Theodore Nott by the way, are you a foreign exchange student?" She looked a little older than him.
The girl took his hand shaking it firmly and briefly, a polite handshake if Theo had ever felt one. "I'm Hermione Granger, and no I'm from Southwark. What about you?"
He told her he was from the countryside near Corwen in Wales, and they fell into talking as they browsed through both the books Theo had picked out, and the rest of the store. "Do you have any idea what house you want to be in? I've heard so little about them I'm not sure where I'd fit in." She admitted to him while flipping through "Potted Plants for your Magical Garden".
Theodore paused with his hand halfway to a book on the top shelf. "Well, I was under the impression we don't get much choice. I assume I'll be in Slytherin like the rest of my family."
She raised an eyebrow and considered that, "Oh is it a familial thing? Then I have no idea where I'll go, none of my family are magical."
A loud thump broke the flow of their conversation. Theo had dropped the book he had been holding. "You're..." he barely dared to say it out loud. "Muggle-born?"
His eyes were wide and searching, confused and scared. His father had told him Muggle-borns were tainted and evil. Sick nasty tyrants siphoning magic off the real wizards around them. He had never met one before in his life and hadn't even imagined they'd attend Hogwarts. This girl was so nice, how could such a thing escape his notice?
She laughed nervously, "Well yeah you could say that. My parents are dentists, they fix people's teeth when they get sick." She had stopped reading and could feel the tension between them. "I mean... Professor McGonagall said some wizards don't like muggle-borns but it's not a big deal right? We're both just students."
Her tone was hopeful but Theodore hesitated, "I just... my father told me that your kind are, well, evil. You're not evil are you?" He had scrunched his body away from her but watching her carefully he couldn't feel anything evil about the bushy-haired girl. She talked, walked, read, and laughed like a normal girl his age. Maybe even less annoyingly than the Parkinson and Bullstrode girls his father made him speak to at parties.
Hermione frowned now, looking at him a bit stony faced. "Well no, I'm not evil. I try to be very nice to people regardless of their background."
Theo forced himself to breathe and relax. Maybe Hermione was just magical and got orphaned with some muggles or something. She was obviously not the terrible beasts his father told him about anyways, so she ought to be safe enough to talk to he reasoned. "Look I'm sorry. It just... spooked me for a moment, but I don't mean anything about you. Did you come here by house-elf?"
She tilted her head and was back to smiling, "What's a house-elf? I was brought here through the underground by Professor McGonagall. She expects me to meet her back at the Leaky Cauldron in a few hours."
The two continued perusing the bookstore for a while longer, Theodore explaining the magical world and Hermione explaining the muggle one. It didn't sound awful, and the strange things she carried, ball-point pens and watches all sounded very innovative. Eventually Theo sent off his books through the floo to his house and they continued their shopping trip together. Hermione had already bought her cauldron, but they both got fitted for robes together.
They picked up potions kits, gloves, scales and telescopes before eventually turning to the wand shop. Ollivanders was blazoned across the top in faded gold paint, and the front window was dusty and unkempt. A single wand and box laid out across the shelf in the window. They rushed inside as if it were a candy shop. "Oh I cannot wait!" Hermione gushed, "That book on wand cores looked thrilling. I wonder what mine will be?"
Theo shared her enthusiasm until the old shopkeeper pulled a scare on them by popping out from behind a dusty shelf. They both startled and looked at each other askance. Eventually Theo stepped forward towards the old man, "We'd like to buy our first wands please."
The man, Ollivander, had piercing blue eyes and they watched every move the pair made. "Of course you would. I remember your father's wand Mister Nott. 10 inches, oak and unicorn hair. Sturdy. Yes, that suited your father very well." His gaze fell on Hermione. "You however shall be the first to take on a wand. I wonder what legacy you will leave."
No sooner had he finished talking than he scurried back among the dusty shelves filled to bursting with wand boxes. He came back levitating an armload for each of them. "Come on now, try some!" He nearly shouted at them presenting them each with a box.
So they tried and tried. Both of them went through at least a dozen wands, then another dozen. Hermione was getting visibly frustrated and started slamming them back into their boxes when they refused to produce any effect for her.
Another armful from the back of the shop later, Theo felt one warm in his hands. He felt his world light up and as he brought it down in a swish golden sparks sizzled at the tip. He was smiling at the beautiful colour and the sheer feeling. It was as if something was right and good in the world and nothing could change it. The wand wood was a dark reddish wood and had thin red leather at the handle for grip.
"Ah very good!" Ollivander cried as the sparks lit up the store, "9 inches, Cherry and Hippogriff feather, an excellent wand for Transfiguration. Flexible."
He immediately began to package up the wand and even wrapped a nice bow around the box. Hermione sat down on the only chair in the place, looking like she was about to cry as she continued picking up and swishing wand after wand and tossing them away again. Taking his wand box Theo thought it best to leave her be. She'd find her wand and Mr. Ollivander could help if she needed it. Frankly he had no idea what to say to her anyways.
His father had taught him that muggle-borns needed to steal magic from others and he worried that maybe she just wasn't magical enough to make one work. He wouldn't know what to do then, she had already bought all her books and supplies. Would she be forever doomed to know about magic but not be able to perform it? That sounded awful to Theo. He imagined being a squib was bad enough, but to know you could have been a witch if you had only gotten a wand? He shuddered and browsed the shelves.
None of the wand boxes were labeled. Either Mr. Ollivander picked them at random, or he had memorized every last one of them. He was able to identify every single one Hermione was had tried. As Theodore was brushing dust away from a shelf he heard a loud exasperated huff from the girl. Mr. Ollivander was shuffling through the shelves muttering.
"Oh very well, I suppose I've been wrong before," he said seemingly to no-one.
He pulled a single box from a shelf behind his desk and Theo turned to watch as Hermione picked it up. He smiled as her face shifted from despair to delight. She jumped off the spindly chair and brought the wand down in a huge ark, sparks in rainbow colours draped themselves over her.
Ollivander told her the wands properties as she jumped for joy and giggled, "Ah, how strange. That wand is 11 inches long, birch wood. Inflexible. Phoenix feather core. A very powerful light wand."
Hermione was undoubtedly taking in all this information though far too pleased to give Mr. Ollivander the time of day. She handed over her payment and practically floated out the door with Theo following. "Our wands sound really cool," he mentioned.
She grinned at him. "Yes they do, I was beginning to get worried I wouldn't find one at all. I felt like I was trying on clothes for my parents Christmas parties."
Theo chuckled nervously, he hadn't been sure she'd find a wand but was glad she had. "Hey, is there anything left on our list?" His house-elf Tabby had his, and she was waiting at the Leaky Cauldron.
However Hermione was prepared and with a prim tone he knew she had practiced, she listed off the items. Books, cauldrons, robes, everything seems in order. "We don't have pets, or well," she glanced at Theo. "At least I don't. I'm not sure I want one."
Theo had never had a pet, and now he would be allowed his very own familiar. It was a very old wizarding tradition to befriend an animal and have them serve as pets. The wizards magic would extend the life of the animal, and in return the beast would provide a service like mail delivery or pest control. Though nobody was quite sure what function toads served, they were traditional, and supposedly they'd eat flies if a wizard forget his fly-be-gone charms.
"Well I'd like a familiar. They're dead useful. I'm not sure what kinda animal I want though. Definitely not a toad!" Theo stuck out his tongue in disgust and Hermione giggled.
"They're also kinda warty. I wouldn't want to touch it. I like kitties, but I don't think I can afford something like that." She sounded a little put off but not upset. "Maybe if I save my birthday money I can get one next year."
The door to Magical Menagerie let off a soft tone instead of a bell as they stepped inside, although it was instantly drowned out by the sound of a raven cawing maniacally. The shelves were lined to bursting with cages and pens of all shapes and sizes. The largest held some large scruffy dogs that looked like German Shepherds, the smallest held tiny puffy balls of fur in bright colours. There we owls, cats, rats, toads, snails, turtles, and a slew of other creatures. In the corner a small monkey scuttled around a large winding cage.
Hermione was instantly taken with a fluffy orange beast who sat grumpily in a cage set into the wall. It looked like a cat but was monstrously large and Theo suspected it was half-Kneazle. He looked fairly young, but definitely too old to be interesting to most buyers. The shop keeper took him out- taking great pains and several scratches- to let Hermione pet and cuddle him while Theo looked around for a something he liked.
Eventually he came upon a cage filled with kittens. They looked like Siamese cats but were significantly larger. Undoubtedly kittens, but the size of Boston terriers. A few rolled around in a wrestling pile, while another pounced on the tail of it's sibling causing an indignant yowl and swat of revenge. They were adorable.
"Excuse me?" Theo called to the shopkeeper, "What are these kittens?"
The man, middle-aged and kindly looking walked over, "Those are half-Kneazle kittens. Mother was Kneazle, father was a Siamese, as you might imagine. Usually they breed them the other way around, keeps them smaller. But I couldn't say no to these precious faces."
Indeed, now that the man had come over all the kittens were eagerly mewing around their food bowls. They were already half full, but that didn't deter the kittens from trying. "I think I'd like one of these. How can I tell which one is good for me?" Theo asked curiously.
The man scratched his chin, "Well that's easy, just stick your hand in and try to pet them. If one doesn't claw you, it likes you."
Theo gulped. "Well that's... comforting."
Undaunted however he undid the door to the cage and went to pet the first kitten he could reach. He was rewarded with very sharp little teeth digging into his thumb before he could snatch his hand back. Steeling himself and scrunching his eyes shut he tried again. This time instead of claws and teeth, made contact with soft fur. A tiny purr issued from the cage and he opened his eyes to a tiny striped cat with seal points rubbing happily against his fingers.
It was obviously the runt, but Theo loved that kitten the instant he saw it's little face splayed against his palm begging for scratches. Hermione came over, orange beast in her arms and cooed over the kitten. Theo scooped it up and turned to the shopkeeper. "Is this one a boy or a girl? How much?"
After a quick check to ensure the kitten was healthy, and to find out that "it" was a girl, Theo paid out for the kitten, cage, food and toys without blinking. Hermione on the other hand sadly handed back the fluffy monster she affectionately called "Crookshanks". Although the dark eyes set deep into it's squashed head look fit for a fire-breathing abomination, the cat did seem sad to see her go. Quietly she petted him through the cage bars and apologized for not being able to afford him.
Not having enough to buy the other cat outright, Theo did ask if there was anything he could do to ensure the cat would be around next year. The owner replied, "Well, a cat that old will never sell here. I was going to have to either pass him off to a breeder or put him down. I suppose I can keep him around for another year though."
Theo passed him all the change he had left. "Please do. I'm sure Hermione will come back for him. Here, to help cover his care for the year."
Although the coins would only cover cat food for a few months, the owner happily took them as a deposit on the animal. He assured them both that "Crookshanks" would be well cared for until they returned. Happy with that prospect Hermione helped carry the kittens supplies out and down the road to the Leaky Cauldron.
The two new students shook each others hands happily as they said their goodbyes outside the pub. "I'll see you at Hogwarts right?" Theo asked.
Hermione smiled and her buckteeth shone in the afternoon sun. "Yeah of course." She hesitated, "Maybe we could sit together on the train there?"
Theo smiled and nodded. They went inside together and waved as Professor McGonagall, a tall strict looking woman dressed in tartan robes came to collect Hermione and Theo called for Tabby to apparate him home.