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Author's Note: This adventure is loosely based on a plotline that was run in a roleplaying game that I play; White Wolf Changeling. My character in that genre is a seven-year old boy named Cody DeDannan, who had an adventure in a realm that is based on what people dream. In this realm, he found Hogwarts Castle, and was able to go through the first two years of it, along with the students from the Harry Potter stories. (We haven't gotten to the other years, yet!) And so, that inspired me to write this.
This story contains the HP stories seen through Cody's eyes. Please realize that as this takes place in the same time frame as Harry's years at Hogwarts, this fanfic involves a great deal of direct quoting in order to show things through the main character's eyes. Any descriptions, I have put into my own words, but a great deal of the dialogue is quoted.
Furthermore, that which I have directly quoted, I lay no claim to whatsoever, and the same goes for any characters that are taken from the books. My original creations (that is, my character concepts, which I use in other capacities), however, I do claim. No one may use them without my permission.
And so I come to my plea: Ms. Rowling (and those associated with her), please don't sue me! I claim nothing that came from you, whether it be a scene, a character, a place, or a story. I have written this fanfiction because, frankly, it's what I always wished would happen. (Yes, I am a 28 year old adult.) I have written this fanfiction because I love your world and want to be a part of it, and so I made my character in order to enjoy it. : ) I certainly make no money with this, only the enjoyment of sharing my imagination with others.
Oh, and to all you who might live in the U.K.: In trying to keep the whole setting accurate, I have done a lot of research online, as well as asking my dad (who is from England) and my friend (who lived in England for a year) about things like slang, terms, weather, and the like. So if I screw something up, please don't lynch me! :grin: Though if anyone does spot that kind of mistake, feel free to let me know!
Note: The first two years are not my best...but come third year I started getting a little more comfortable with my main character; I get to know him a little better and things start to flow a bit more. The first two years are still good; I just think the later ones are better! And don't worry, I don't make any ridiculous changes in the storyline!
And so, with that, I invite you to enjoy this story!
YEAR ONE
Chapter 1: Muggle Magic
Even Muggles know of magic. Most grow up and forget how it works, but children know of magic, and Muggle or Mage, they can use the most basic, natural forms of it. Any child who plays pretend, or reads an exciting book is using this magic without even knowing it. Even television and movies create this sort of magic, though it's a weak form of it. It is sad that when Muggles grow up, they forget how to travel to other worlds, and even some children stop believing far too early.
Then there are those who are quite a bit more proficient in this kind of travel than in others. Like one boy who lived near the beach, and loved to read.
This is his story.
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Cody DeDannan was a seven year old boy who lived in the United States of America, in the state of Florida, which he thought was a great place to live. There were tons of thunderstorms, and it never got very cold. He lived with his mother and his little sister, Samantha, near a small stretch of woods, or at least he did since he turned seven. Before that, he had lived in an orphanage. Cody loved his new family, and considered himself the luckiest boy in the world. His mom was great; his sister was a pain sometimes but he loved her too, and would never let anything happen to her.
Cody liked a lot of things, and all were things that let him pretend to be whatever it was he wanted to be at the time. He loved ThunderCats, in fact he had a toy Sword of Omens that his father had left with him at the orphanage (so he assumed), the only thing he had that belonged to him. He also loved pirates, and spent a good deal of time pretending to be one of those, sword fighting, and saying "ARRR" a lot. The Harry Potter book series was another one of Cody's loves, and he often wished that he could go to Hogwarts, too!
Like most children and some very lucky adults, Cody knew that imagination was powerful. It was one of the most powerful things in the entire world, and it could make anything happen. It was people that didn't believe in magic anymore that forgot this fact. A lot of people didn't see the things he did, and even fewer people realized that those things were real. He realized that most adults never really noticed anything anyway unless it made logical since, and sometimes not even thenThat was one reason Cody had decided that he was never going to grow up.
It was summer vacation, which was Cody's favorite. He did not like school very much; everything was so rigid and boring. He liked learning, he just did not like school. The only time he really liked it was when they did art stuff, and when they went to P.E., and when they read. Cody read quite well for a child his age, and he loved to do this more than anything else in the world (although eating dessert was a close second!)
It was up in his room one afternoon, when he discovered just how powerful imagination was. He was reading, for the fourth time, the first of the Harry Potter books. A screech at his window made him look up from his book, and he stared in delighted astonishment. An owl struggled to maintain a sort of hover outside his window, clearly wanting inside. The child leaped from his bed, shoved his window up as hard as he could, and struggled to pop the screen from its frame. After a few moments, he managed it, and the screen fell to the ground below.
He took a step back, wide-eyed, as the bird soared into the room and lit on his bed. The child stared at it for nearly a full minute, before asking it in a shaking voice who it was. In answer, the pretty gray bird held out its leg. Cody frowned and looked at it, and realized that there was some rolled-up paper on the large owl's leg. He bit his lip and took a step forward. He did not know a whole lot about owls, but he knew that all birds like them, birds that hunted other animals, had very sharp beaks and could hurt a person. Still, this one did not seem keen to attack him, even when he got right up next to it.
Summoning his nerve, the little boy reached out towards its leg. The owl simply stood there, looking a bit impatient, as Cody slowly un-worked the slim leather thong that held the paper to the owl's leg. Once it was off, the owl spread its wings and soared back out the window.
Cody stared after it for a few moments, then eagerly unrolled the paper. His eyes got very wide as he looked at the writing on the paper. Parchment, more like. "Dear Mr. DeDannan," he read slowly, frowning at the strange, fancy printing. "You have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizard...ry?" But how could this be? Cody ran to the window and stared out of it, searching for the owl, but it was gone. Was someone playing a trick on him?
But no, how could they get an owl to deliver a message? Cody frowned down at his letter, wondering how he was going to get there. It was in England, wasn't it? Not to mention how he was going to get all the supplies that were in the letter.
After a moment, he shrugged. He would find a way. If they asked him to the school, then a way would be provided for him to go, right? He had faith in that. And refusing to go was definitely not an option. One did not deny adventure when it landed right under one's nose!
Once he had read the letter three whole times, the child carefully put it in his dresser, and went back to reading his book, this time with a new purpose. He was paying more attention to the things the students did at the school, to prepare himself for what he might be experiencing. It never occurred to him that this was highly unusual; impossible, as the adults would say. His mind was not yet anywhere close to being shut tightly, as the adults' were. He simply accepted what happened, and anticipated the adventure to come!
It turned out that the way to accomplish his goal was presented the very next day, as he went outside to play after breakfast in the nearby woods. A tremendous BANG made him scream in startlement, and spin around, only to see a hideously purple, triple-decker bus careening towards him. The child yelped again and dove behind a tree, only just avoiding being squashed by the vehicle. Wide-eyed, he stared at it, actually more fascinated by the fact that the bus had three stories, than by the fact that it was purple, or even that it had appeared out of nowhere.
A teenage boy, perhaps seventeen ot eighteen, stuck his face out of the folding door and looked around. "Oy!" called a nasal voice. "'Ey! There someone out there?"
Cody tentatively stepped out from behind his tree, his eyebrows raised, a half amazed, half delighted smile on his face. "Yeah," he said in answer.
The teenager, who sported many pimples on his face, and a very scrawny body, gestured to him. "Well, get in, then," he said impatiently. The teen had an accent so strong that Cody nearly could not understand it. Any stronger or any more slang-ish a dialect, and Cody would have sworn he was speaking an alien language.
Cody hesitated only a moment. Would his parents be mad if he went? They were always telling him about "stranger danger", and even at school, they taught him that. But then, this couldn't possibly be included in all of that, could it? This was real magic. It had come out of nowhere, hadn't it? Again, he had faith that things would turn out the way they were supposed to, and simply took the opportunity for adventure.
"'Bout time," the teen grumbled. "Go on an' 'ave a seat."
"Okay." Staring at the teenager, Cody felt his way back until he came across a plush armchair, and climbed onto it. Only then did he take his eyes off the front of the bus. He asked how much fare was, and was told that his fare had already been covered. The boy wondered about this, but accepted it. His eyes widened, and he clutched the arms of the chair he was in as the bus started with a mighty BANG, and a lurched violently ahead.
The ride was nothing less than terrifying, lurching forward at great intervals, making chairs slide all over the floor of the bus, and often scattering the occupants and their belongings. It was fun, but very difficult to keep oneself in the chairs!
After a while, Cody got used to the bus' erratic journey, and was able to sit back and enjoy the scenery. Once they got across the ocean (and he never stopped to wonder about the strangeness of taking a bus across the water), more people got on and off the bus. Most were dressed in robes and cloaks, and none seemed to give the small boy a second glance. Witches and wizards, Cody realized. He saw wands in some pockets and bags, and many had pointed hats.
The countryside grew more and more unfamiliar, made up of moors and fields of the greenest grass Cody had ever seen. He saw old fashioned houses and manors, and even thought he saw a castle as the bus sped by! For quite a while, Cody could not stop staring in awe.
But as the trip droned on, Cody began to yawn, and curled up in the armchair to have a little rest. He was still young enough to take naps on occasion, and was a little tired from all the excitement. And except for the initial lurch and the screech each time the bus stopped, the motion was actually very lulling. He closed his eyes and dozed.
It was an hour or two later when the bus screeched to a halt, and the pimply-faced teen's loud voice woke the sleeping child. "Oy, Cody DeDannan!" he called. "'Ere's your stop!"
Cody sat up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "Huh?" he said, looking bewildered. A moment later, he was wide awake, remembering where he was. "Oh neat!" he exclaimed, jumping out of his armchair. He ran past a bedraggled looking witch and a wizard in an overcoat. "Where are we?"
The teen gave him a strange look. "Where d'you think? Diagon Alley!"
"Diagon Alley?"
"Well, the Leaky Cauldron, at any rate. 'Uo've got to go t'rou it to get to Diagon Alley." Cody's wide eyes got yet wider, and he jumped eagerly from the bus, waving to those inside as he did. He left Stan Shunpike standing in the doorway of the bus, shaking his head, before they zoomed off once more.
The Leaky Cauldron was a dingy little pub on a London street, and Cody looked up at it for several moments, feeling a slight surge of fear. He was in England. He looked around, and saw that the Knight Bus was already gone, and bit his lip. Had it been there at all? What if he couldn't get back home? What if someone realized that he was here alone, in a completely different country? Would they try and take him to the police? Try to contact his mother? She would surely want to know how on Earth he had gotten to England, and Cody wouldn't be able to tell her! The London street suddenly looked very intimidating.
Cody took a deep breath, and looked nervously back at the little pub, squinting to see what was inside, all he could see through the filthy windows were vague shapes moving about. Finally, he scowled. Did he believe in magic, or not? Yes. And so he walked forward and with a bit of difficulty, pulled the heavy door open.
The pub was not much lighter inside as it had been through the dingy windows, but it was fascinating. Cody's doubts were immediately put to rest as he looked at the assortment of cloaked and robed figures sitting at the tables and at the bar. A few turned to look at him, but most seemed uninterested in the small visitor.
Nervously, Cody walked up to the bar and climbed with some difficulty up onto a barstool.
"Hello there, lad," said the man behind the counter. "My name is Tom. What can I do for you?"
"W-well," said Cody, unsure how to proceed from here. "I-I have to get to Diagon Alley, but I don't know how to."
Tom raised a brow and looked the boy over. Cody was dressed in red shorts and a blue T-Shirt with a faded picture of a ThunderCat on it. He supposed he did not look much like a wizard. "Where are your mother and father?" the barkeep asked.
Cody shook his head. "I'm here alone." He hoped that saying this would not make things difficult. He frowned, and then brought out the letter he had gotten the previous day, holding it out to show the man. "I have to get this stuff for school."
The man raised a brow, gazing at the letter. "How strange. Even most of the older students are accompanied by their parents..." For a moment he seemed like he was trying to make a decision of some sort, but finally shrugged and pointed to a door at the other side of the room. "That door there leads to a little courtyard outside. Go on outside, I'll be there in a moment to let you through the gateway."
Unsure of what else he could do, Cody only nodded, and climbed down from the stool. He felt very conspicuous and a bit uncertain as he pulled open the back door and walked outside.
The air here was cooler than he was used to at the beginning of summer, and he wished he had worn pants. He looked around the tiny "courtyard", which looked to him like a concrete patch surrounded by brick walls. He could hear a great deal of activity beyond one wall, and cocked his head to listen.
He looked up just then to see the barkeep coming out of the pub, with what Cody realized to be a wand in his hand. He watched in fascination as Tom tapped a few bricks in a very specific order, and Cody's astonished eyes watched a hole begin to materialize in the wall. It got bigger and bigger, until it was a great, wide archway. "Wow," Cody breathed, and then looked up at the man, who was watching him curiously. "Cool! Thanks!"
"You're welcome, lad. Tell me, are you American?"
Cody nodded.
"How strange; well I suppose stranger things have happened. Good luck, lad."
"Thanks..." Cody smiled a little and looked through the doorway, and then stepped through.
This was Diagon Alley, all right. For the moment, Cody could only stand and gape at the fascinating scene before him. It's just like in the book, he thought excitedly. Exactly. Witches and wizards milled everywhere, browsing the windows of exotic shops, and going in and out of old-fashioned doorways. Cody laughed and ran into the street, eager to begin exploring.
The whole area was the dream of any imaginative child. Stores selling everything from secondhand robes to shiny new broomsticks were everywhere Cody looked. He looked in every store that he passed, gazing at the fascinating products of the street. He grinned up at the warm sun as he ran along the cobbled street, and smiling at anyone that looked at him. He did draw a few strange looks, but then he was the only one on the street dressed like a Muggle. He looked down at his cargo shorts, sandals, and his ThunderCat T-Shirt, and shrugged, giggling. Of course his age and the fact that he did not seem to be with a parent might contribute to the looks he got as well. He thought that being in such a strange place alone would intimidate him, but he found he wasn't scared in the least.
As he paused outside an ice cream parlor, he began wondering how he was going to get wizard money to pay for everything he needed for Hogwarts. But that question was immediately answered, as a pretty little black owl startled him by landing on his shoulder, and pecking at his hair.
Cody blinked, and looked up, and the owl stuck out her leg. Frowning, Cody took a tiny package off the owl's leg, and then watched it fly off. "Thanks," he said quietly, looking down at the little package. It had his name on it. He eagerly opened it, and was puzzled to find a small key. After a moment, he looked at the parchment the key had been wrapped in, and it said simply, "Vault 118". The child's brows rose, and he looked around, finally spotting the imposing edifice that was Gringotts bank. But why would he have a vault there?
But then he shrugged, and headed in that direction. Who was he to question the adventure he was being presented with?
When Cody approached the great doors of the bank, he had to struggle a moment to get them open. When he managed to slip inside, his eyes widened at a small man with a strange, rough face, who stood next to another set of doors. Cody stopped short at the sight of this creature, who could only be a goblin, but the goblin only opened the second set of doors for Cody, who sidled nervously through them.
Once over his shock at seeing a goblin right there in front of him, the boy took in a breath at the sight that greeted his eyes. A great chamber stretched before him, reminiscent of the sort of building that existed in England many years ago. The ceiling arched high above, and great, tall desks lined each side of the room. Seated at these desks were creatures that peered malevolently at him as they worked on their ledgers. Most of them were his height or smaller, but were so alien in appearance and hostile in nature that they made for quite frightening beings.
The goblin that sat at the far desk looked at him with a sneer twisting his wide mouth. "Yes?"
Cody swallowed hard, summoned his courage, and stepped up to the desk, which had a top he could not even reach if he stood on his toes. "I-I c-came to visit my vault," he said. The goblin looked suspiciously at him, and Cody supposed it wasn't every day that a Muggle was seen in Diagon Alley, period, without coming to the wizards' bank to make a withdrawal. But then this brought up the question: was he a Muggle? For that matter, wasn't he too young to attend Hogwarts? He knew school was different in England, but he knew that you didn't start the higher grades there until you were eleven. But then Dumbledore wouldn't have made a mistake, would he?
He realized that the goblin in front of him had asked him something, and was giving him quite a glare for having failed to answer. Cody took a step backwards, his eyes wide. The goblins were intimidating enough, without deliberately glaring down at him! "Wh-what?" he said.
"I asked if you had your key, child," the goblin said. "And I need to know your name."
"C-Cody DeDannan," the boy stammered, holding out his key in his shaking hands. "A-and I have a key. It's...it's vault 118."
The goblin examined the key, nodded grimly, then called to one of the other workers in the bank. "Take this one to his vault," he commanded, handing the key back to Cody. He peered at the boy. "Follow."
"Y-yes, sir," said Cody, slinking away towards the second goblin, who was shorter than Cody and whose countenance was far less grim.
The ride to his vault was like the best roller coaster ride he had ever taken, and quite effectively dispelled his foreboding. There were no safety restraints, no seats, just a mine car and a goblin companion who seemed utterly unimpressed by the exhilarating ride. Cody screamed and laughed with delight the entire way, holding on for dear life to the front of the mining car.
He was a little dizzy when he climbed from the car, but a big grin was plastered all over his face, and he didn't think it would leave soon. When the goblin requested, "Key, please," in an all-business voice, Cody handed it over.
When the vault was opened, Cody looked in with surprise on his face. There was gold in there! Gold, and silver, and bronze. A good amount, in fact! Enough to get Cody through seven years at Hogwarts, for sure. "Wow," he said, the grin he'd thought would be there all day fading to a look of astonishment. "Is that all mine?"
The goblin raised his hairless brow at Cody. "Well I hope so, this vault is in your name, and you've got the key to it, haven't you?"
"Yeah...but - how much should I take?"
"Well, if you don't know, I certainly don't. Please hurry, I've other tasks to accomplish."
Sheesh, Cody thought, but he stepped into the vault, anyway. After careful consideration, and looking at the list that he had been sent, he scooped out an amount of the gold, silver, and bronze into his pockets. He had to get a money pouch, he decided.
After the equally thrilling ride back to the lobby of the bank, Cody stepped again out into the bright sunshine of Diagon Alley. Now: what did he need?
First of all, a wand, he decided. That was what he was most eager to get. He had not seen the wand place from the book yet, and it took a little asking around to find it. It was weird being around so many people with English accents! But then, since he was the only American, he supposed he was probably the one with an accent. An American accent? That seemed awfully strange to him.
Ollivander's shop was a small, dark, dusty place with a big, old-fashioned counter in the front, and shelves upon shelves of long, thin boxes. Just like I always thought it looked like, Cody thought to himself. Exactly. But there seemed to be no one minding the store. "Um, i-is...is anyone here?"
An old, wrinkled face appeared among the shelves of what Cody assumed were wand boxes, and looked him over. The man, dressed in a robe of deep crimson, emerged from the ancient gloom of the shop, and peered at Cody. "A little young to be buying a wand, aren't you?"
Cody blinked, as this was the first person to question him so bluntly on this point. But then in the book, the wandmaker seemed to have this creepy way of knowing way too much about people. Still, Cody didn't mind, and he shrugged with a grin. "Well, I'm going to Hogwarts, right?" he said, showing the old man the papers.
Ollivander peered at them, and nodded slowly. "Yes," he said. "I suppose you are. Well then. We'll have to find you the wand that fits, won't we?" He took out a tape measure from under the counter and began measuring Cody's body Everything from his arm length to his head size was being measured, and after a moment, the old man left the tape to measure on its own. Cody watched in fascination for a few moments while Ollivander began searching the shelves.
After a moment, the old man told the tape measure to stop, and it did, falling to the floor. Ollivander then handed Cody a box, and told him to wave the wand that was inside it. He did so, and very little happened. Another wand was tried, and another, and another.
It actually only took about a dozen tries before Cody was startled by a shower of silver sparks spraying the ground from the wand when he waved it. He gaped at it, wondering distractedly if it was possible for a person's eyes to fall out from getting too wide open too often. If so, he was in danger of it! He laughed in sheer delight. It was a little wand of redwood, eight and three-quarter inches long, with a phoenix feather at its core.
"Well, then," said Ollivander. "Seems that this is your wand, little wizard. A strong wood, very sturdy. That will be seven gold Galleons."
Cody nodded, and carefully counted out the Galleons, and handed them to the man. "Thanks!" he said as he carried his wand, again in its box, outside the shop.
He wanted to start experimenting with the wand right away, but he feared he might do something that he didn't intend, and either break something, or hurt someone. He was going to have to wait, as hard as it was, until he got to school.
Now what? A cauldron. He located this shop and asked the witch at the counter about where the kind he needed were, and was pointed towards the back. There were other youths there, older than he, also buying their cauldrons. None of them said anything to him about someone so young was buying what seemed to be Hogwarts supplies, but he did get a few strange looks.
The cauldron was not entirely easy to carry around, and Cody was delighted to find a place that rented carts for carrying around purchases. To the boy's amazement, these carts hovered, and were self-propelling. Magic, of course! He set his cauldron and wand on it, and rode the thing around for a while before tiring of the novelty, and continuing his shopping.
He had to figure out what the heck "phials" were, found out it was an old word for "vials", and then had to find out what those were. Then he got the ones he needed, along with the telescope and scales.
Now, the books. There were eight or so that he needed as a first year, although most looked fairly boring to Cody. Schoolbooks, of course. One, "Fantastic Beasts, and Where to Find Them" looked fairly interesting, though, and he paged through this. Pens and quills were also available in the immediate area, and he got some of these as well. And then he proceeded to write his name in all of his books. At first, he got ink all over himself and his books, but he did manage to get a somewhat legible "Cody DeDannan" written on his books' inner covers.
The last thing that Cody had to buy was his uniform. Three sets of robes, a pointed hat, dragon-hide gloves – did they make those in his size? – and a winter cloak.
The robe fitting was fun; he stood on a little platform, and the witch there, Madame Malkin, tried a few robes on his frame. "We're going to have to get a smaller size for you, child," she said to him. "And put a Hogwarts patch on them. We don't get many students your size in here." And Madame Malkin did just that. She fitted the boy for his robes, and told him to come back in ten minutes or so, and they should be done. Tired out by this point, Cody opted to slump on one of the benches to wait.
"Hey, kid, you're going to Hogwarts?"
Cody looked up; a black boy of thirteen or so, with dreadlocks in his hair, had sat down next to him, and looked curiously down on him. He nodded.
"What's your name?"
"Cody DeDannan," said Cody. "What's yours?"
"Lee Jordan." If the older boy noticed Cody's eyes threatening once more to pop out of his head, he made no mention of it. "Don't usually see kids your age in the school," he went on. "But if you've been invited, and accepted, then there's a reason for it." He grinned at Cody, but Cody was not entirely reassured by this. For the first time, he thought, well, what if I don't do well? What if they kick me out? What if they don't kick me out? I can't spend a whole school year away from home, can I? Mom would freak out!
But then he thought for several moments, and the familiar sense of faith reasserted itself in his mind. Everything would be fine; like Lee had said, there was a reason for it! He thought again how imagination could do anything, make anything real, and nodded. "I hope I do okay."
"Well, you are awful young. But it's okay, I'm sure you'll do fine." He looked up as Madame Malkin called him over to try his new robes on, and answered. "Be there in a minute!" Lee looked back at Cody and grinned. "You'll do fine. See you at Hogwarts."
Cody could not help grinning back. "Okay!"
About five minutes later, he was also called to try his altered robes, found they fit perfectly, and nodded to Madame Malkin. Once these robes were bought, and a winter cloak purchased along with them, he carried these packages out to his cart. Now he needed two more things: he needed a trunk to keep his stuff in, and he needed a pet. Yes, definitely a pet.
The trunk was easily taken care of, and the boy ended up getting a neon green one. It was obnoxious, but it was bright, and it was fun. He put all his things in it, save for the cauldron, and nodded in satisfaction. And now...the pet.
This proved a little more difficult to accomplish. He did not want an owl. They were useful for carrying mail, and they were very pretty, but he was never someone who liked birds a lot. And so he passed the owlery without going inside. He didn't think that he wanted a rat or a toad, and he wasn't sure about cats. The letter said a cat, and owl, or a toad, but were other pets allowed? This seemed an important thing to know! They must be, he thought, thinking of Ron Weasley's rat.
It took a while to find another Hogwarts student, but after about twenty minutes of searching, Cody did manage to bump into a girl entering her seventh year. He asked her if other pets were allowed at Hogwarts, and she said that so long as they weren't too much bigger than a cat, and if they weren't dangerous or illegal, that they were allowed. He thanked her, and returned to a shop that had caught his eye.
In here, there were somewhat more unusual animals. There were lizards and other reptiles, like snakes. He thought that considering how bad a reputation Slytherin and snakes had in general in the wizarding world, that getting a snake might be a bad plan. He was tempted, especially looking at the fantastic colors and patterns on the snakes, but he did not end up getting one.
There were ferrets and rats, bats and little simian creatures. He saw an animal that he recognized as a lemur; they had them at the zoo that Mom sometimes took him to. They even had a koala bear! He hesitated over this, but then he saw that it was a lot more money that he cared to spend, and so he ruled that one out.
What Cody ended up falling in love with was a young fruit bat that was hanging upside down in a corner of the shop. The pretty little creature flapped down from its perch to land on Cody's shoulder, digging its claws into Cody's shirt and hanging down against his body. Cody giggled happily, and knew that this creature, without a doubt, was meant for him. He took the bat to the clerk and paid for him, and he did not end up costing so much. People did not like bats so often, the clerk explained. "I'm glad this one has found a home."
"How long will he live?" Cody asked him.
"Fruit bats live about twenty years, normally, if there's nothing magic about them."
"Is this one magic?"
"Not sure, young sir. You usually don't find out unless they exhibit some sort of abilities within their lifetimes."
"Oh. Is this one a grown-up? And is it a boy or a girl?"
The clerk peered at the bat, took it gently from Cody's shirt, and looked it over. "Well, it's a little boy, and no, actually, this one's still a pup. He'll get a deal bigger, about nine inches. He's trained to deliver mail already, though, as good as any owl! Can't handle large packages, of course, but anything else should be fine."
"Cool!" Cody exclaimed. "Thanks!" He paid for the animal, got a big cage, food, and water feeder for him, then after a moment decided to get him a leash made for such creatures...just in case he needed it for some reason. He had the feeling that this bat would not leave him on purpose, though. They had been meant for each other.
And now, Cody had finished his shopping, and could hardly wait for the school term. He suddenly realized that he had no clue when that was! He supposed that he would be contacted when the time came. But for now, he was hungry. Should he stay here, or go home first? If he was gonna stay at Hogwarts, he did want to bring some of his stuff along, so he supposed he should go home. But how?
A loud BANG and the sight of a purple triple-decker bus arriving on the scene answered that question for him. He giggled as he climbed aboard, looking down at the cart. Should he return it? He should, he decided. With great difficulty, he dragged his trunk and his bat's cage onto the bus, told the teen driving it "Hold on a second!" and sprinted with his cart to return it to its shop. He waved to the attendant, then ran back to the bus and collapsed in one of the chairs.
The ride back home was as interesting as the ride to Diagon Alley. He did not nap this time around, but he was very tired by the time he got home! The bus dropped him off in front of his house, and Cody was amazed to see that it was early, yet, and that he didn't feel tired anymore. Well, he supposed, magic was like that!
He was still hungry, though! He dragged his trunk inside, made it to his room unnoticed, and ran downstairs to where his mother was cooking dinner. It was almost done, she told him, and he was to wash his hands before coming to the table. They were very dirty. She mock-threatened him with a bath later, as well.
Over dinner, Cody excitedly told his mother and sister about his day at Diagon Alley. Both were very used to the child's forays into imagination, and listened with interest. To his mother, it was a glimpse into another world, a world she no longer remembered how to get to. To his sister, it was like listening to stories, which was one of her favorite things to do. Neither of them could know, Cody realized, how real this adventure was. Even more real than his normal journeys!
After dinner, he did bathe, then went up to bed. For once he gave no argument for this, and curled up in his nice, soft bed. He let a sigh of contentment, even too tired to feel much of his excitement over the coming school term. The real adventure was yet to come!