He sighed. This was a strange place; full of wizards and witches and whatnot. Toshiro could hardly remember why he was here in the first place, but the memory was recent and unlike others of his age, (which he found hard to believe that anyone alive was his age) he had a sharp mind and memory. Of course, being granted that as a child he was born with perfect memory, hardly needing the energy of studying 'hard' to get perfect grades at all. Here he was, at a place called the Leaky Cauldron, to protect a child named Harry Potter. From what he had read, Potter had been a mere infant when someone named Voldemort had attempted murder on with a spell, (the words of Europe were still foreign to Toshiro) called Avada Cadabra. It supposedly emmited a greenish light and could kill instantly. This spell was part of the 'Unforgivable Curses' which when performed on any individual, would result in an imprisoning to Azkaban. Toshiro was going to enter Harry's second year, and hopefully be placed in the same house as the famous wizard.
From what Toshiro had gathered, there were four houses, each with a different color and name along with traits. As much as Toshiro knew, he needed to be in Gryffindor and definitely not Slytherin, seeing as he can't protect a rival. He needed to buy a wand, robes, and other essential items that a wizard needed for their second year at Hogwarts. Before all of this, he had recieved a letter and was ordered to be here for one year. One year of torture and one year of Hogwarts. He sighed and leaned back against the bed. The worst part was the fact that he had to somehow get Harry Potter to trust an individual such as himself. That would be hard. Urahara didn't bother changing any details on the gigai that were similar to himself. (The bright side of this was that Toshiro had his normal strength, speed, and reflexes unlike his previous gigais) Trusting a boy who had white hair, teal eyes, who acted far older than he looked, and wasn't a very sociable person was going to be a bit of a challenge. Oh well, he had suffered much worse in his hundred and forty years as a shinigami.
Tomorrow he would have to buy his items and hopefully get on with the mission. The captain of the twelfth division had been kind enough to transfer Hyorinmaru's soul into that of a small ice dragon and could be transformed into a zanpakuto at will. Also, along with these traits, Hyorinmaru could be called forth without being in near proximity. This mission of his was already easier than his former undercover missions. (Which he enjoyed, and that was rare enough for the tenth squad captain to enjoy something) He looked at Hyorinmaru who simply nodded, letting Toshiro drift off to sleep for another day of this blasted mission.
Sleep wasn't as calming as he wanted it to be. What he dreamt of in the previous night had caused him to knock over an old lamp that had been sitting on the nightstand. He rubbed his eyes and his harsh breathing gradually slowed down to its normal pace. He dressed himself and called to the sleeping ice dragon, who opened its eyes lazily and glided over to his shoulder where it continued to sleep. Downstairs the inn looked much like a pub, which it was. A few patrons sat at each table, conversing quitely. Some heavy drinkers were slouched over some tables or were on the floor, moaning incoherent words. He snorted in disgust and continued walking. Papers scattered the old wooden floor and clung to his legs slightly. As for the owner of the shop (Who's name he couldn't remember) he was kind enough, he supposed. Calling him a child was aggravating and had nearly caused Toshiro to freeze 'Tom' over.
"Where is Diagon Alley?" He asked, tone crisp and clean as it always was. Tom looked over at him with a wide grin.
"Hey, kid. Go over to the brick wall over that-a-way, and tap the brick three up and two across." Toshiro looked at him placidly, eyes only offering his question. "Oh, you're a newbie, that explains. Here I'll show ya." He stumbled from behind the bartending counter and led the snowy-haired boy to a solid brick wall, which confused him. Then again, this whole wizardry confused him. He saw Tom pull out a small feeble looking stick, (Which he guessed was a wand) and tap one of the bricks. Toshiro's perfect memory instantly stored the image of which brick Tom tapped into his brain. The bricks slid in an odd pattern and revealed what the captain could only guess was Diagon Alley. Tom gestured with his hand and smiled at him.
"Thank you." He said curtly and stepped out.
"Anytime, kid! Be sure not to stumble into the wrong alley, alright? See ya!" The bricks formed into a solid wall, looking as if they had never been touched in the first place. He scoffed and continued walking until he spotted Madam Malkin's Robes For All Occasions. He figured this was going to be exactly like the time he had bought his captain's haori. Horrible. He walked in and heard the small jingle of a bell placed above the door. A woman who seemed quite flustered, jumped up from under the counter, her head hitting the top, which then resulted in causing her to yelp in an un-womanly fashion. Toshiro held back a rude sigh and waited for the woman to get up.
"Hello, welcome to Madam Malkin's Robes For All Occasions, how may I help you?" She asked, her hair in a frenzied mess. He gave a look that could only tell what he was thinking. She seemed to have gotten the point. "Hogwarts, eh? First year?" She asked turning towards the back of the shop to fetch some robes.
"Actually, no. It's my second year." He said, crossing his arms together. She seemed surprised, which by now didn't even cause the captain to flinch.
"Really? Now, let's see..." The rest of what she said was tuned out by Toshiro who was deep in his thoughts. He assumed that she was commenting on his white hair, or the fact that she had never seen him before. She threw a robe onto him, which proved to be at least three sizes too large. In her eyes, she could see a small twinkle of humor appearing in them, which was squashed down to a normal gaze when Hitsugaya glared at her. She went into the back and pulled out a dusty robe that seemed his size. She patted it and shook it out like a pillow cover before putting it on him. It fit quite snugly.
"Good. Now that'll be ten galleons and three sickles." She said. He opened his wallet, which provided by the twelfth squad would give out the money that he needed at anytime. "Thanks for stopping by!" He rushed out. From there, he proceeded to Potage's Cauldron Shop, Slug and Jiggers Apothecary, Flourish & Blotts, and finally Ollivanders.
Ollivanders was an old shop with a sign that read Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 BC in peeling gold letters over the door. The only display in the window overlooking Diagon Alley was a single wand lying on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window. Toshiro opened the door cautiously, making sure not to knock over the towering shelves with many wands stacked upon them. Little did he know that those stacks of wands would come tumbling down in a few minutes. An only weary looking man that had greay hair and a pair of glasses seated upon his wrinkled face turned in chair to look at the newcomer.
"Why, hello fine sir. What is it that you require?" He said in a voice that could only respond to his age.
"A wand." Toshiro said simply, still pondering on how this shop had managed to hold up for so many years. The old man took out an old battered set of measuring tape and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.
"Hold out your wand arm." He commanded. Toshiro mentally shrugged and held out his right arm. "Is this your first year?" Ollivander asked.
"No. My second." Toshiro was getting fed up with these wizards. Ollivander looked down at him in a seemingly suspicious way. (The fact that he was looking down angered him)
"I haven't seen you around here before, boy." The elderly man commented, pulling away the measuring tape and swiveling the chair around, he left to get a wand.
"I'm a transfer." Toshiro responded with a slight huff. The man returned with a small rectangular black box.
"Try this." He handed the wand to Toshiro. "Ten and a half inches, maple, pheonix feather." The second that Toshiro's hand wrapped around the handle of the wand, he sensed that it immediately rejected him. After all, ice was more of his preference. "Well, give it a wave." He did, and felt foolish as he did so. A few other wands fell off of the shelves.
"I'm sorry, sir!" He said, putting the wand on the desk.
"No, no. It's okay. Let's find another. The wand chooses the wizard after all." He had a small smile on his face. He disappeared into the shelves again, leaving Toshiro back with his thoughts. "Here." This startled Toshiro. "Seven inches, birch, dragon heartstring." The white-haired boy grabbed the wand, giving it a small wave. The lightbulb in a lamp next to him shattered. "No, not that one. Hmm..." Once again the man left, coming back with a light blue box that had a small silver pattern engraved on its lid. Hyorinmaru grumbled. "Now, how about this? Fifteen and a half inches, white spruce, ice-dragon heart string."
Ollivander opened the box to reveal a white wand with pale blue vine patterns wrapping around the handle. The tip held a small diamond that was a aquamarine color. Toshiro put it in his hand and gave it a wave. The windows of the shop crusted over, and snowflakes sprung from the tip of his wand. The man seemed happy about this.
"Splendid!" He clapped slightly. "Now, that'll be thirteen galleons, five knuts, and three sickles." Toshiro handed him the money and walked out. This concluded his thoughts about wands. They were interesting.