A/N
Kendermouse: Glad you liked it ^^
Brent Dax: I just assumed it's because Hagrid got there first and Sirius didn't want to risk hitting Harry with a missed (or rebounded) spell and possibly hurting or killing the last living Potter. (And I agree, Harriet is lazy…not to mention simply terrible)
And now back to the story:
Ten Years Later…
"Are you ready yet?" asked the dark-haired girl for what seemed like the thousandth time. "The train leaves in an hour!"
"Hold onto your robes, Holly" was the reply. "I'm just checking in on your uncle Moony. You know he hasn't been feeling well. Why don't you go over your letter again?"
Sighing with frustration, she pulled out the thick, heavy parchment and read;
Dear Holly L. Potter,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress
Holly couldn't keep the grin off her face. Ever since she had received her letter, it was all she could talk about. She was going to the best magical school in Great Britain, maybe even the world. Setting the acceptance letter aside, she opened the next page and read;
HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
UNIFORM
First-year students will require:
1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)
2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear
3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
4. One winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings)
Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags.
COURSE BOOKS
All students should have a copy of each of the following:
The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)
by Miranda Goshawk
A History of Magic
by Bathilda Bagshot
Magical Theory
by Adalbert Waffling
A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration
by Emeric Switch
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi
by Phyllida Spore
Magical Drafts and Potions
by Arsenius Jigger
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
by Newt Scamander
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection
by Quentin Trimble
OTHER EQUIPMENT
1 wand
1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)
1 set glass or crystal phials
1 telescope
1 set brass scales
Students may also bring, if they desire, an owl, a cat, or a toad.
PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS
ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICK
Yours sincerely,
Lucinda Thomsonicle-Pocus
Chief Attendant of Witchcraft Provisions
She looked at the owl her godfather had purchased some time ago. He was an old barn owl and his large yellow eyes gave the illusion that he was constantly surprised. Holly had tried to out stare him in the shop where they bought him and lost horribly. Since then, the name Blinky had stuck. Blinky cocked its head and hooted indignantly at her, still not forgiving her for the name after all these years.
"Don't worry, Blinky" she said. "I would never dream of replacing you with another owl." The owl hooted softly and ruffled his feathers, puffing out his chest. "If anything I'd get a cat. Then maybe there'd be less of a rat problem."
When she was five, Holly asked what had happened to her parents. All her godfather would say is that they had been killed by a bad man. He never elaborated and she eventually stopped asking, though she often wondered if that was how she had gotten her scar. When she thought back to that night, she thought she could remember a flash of green light, but more likely she was just imagining it.
"The world would be a happier place without rats," Sirius said darkly as he walked into the sitting room. "Got everything ready?"
"We're not using Polyjuice potion today, are we?" She asked, folding the shopping list and tucking it away in her pocket.
The first time he took her out into the public, they had been accosted by well-wishers and fanatics. Ever since then, her godfather would provide the both of them a dose of Polyjuice potion. He would become a tall man with short brown hair, glasses and a bushy moustache, and she would become a girl with long, wavy red hair and brown eyes. The hairs were taken from a muggle barbershop and preserved magically. Nobody in the magical world would recognize them, and they were free to go about their business in peace.
"Not today. You're getting your first wand and the magic in the potion can mess with the selection process," he said, walking to the fireplace. He grabbed a fistful of powder from a box on the mantle and threw it into the flames, instantly turning the crackling flames emerald green. "Wait ten seconds then follow me through. And remember to keep your elbows tucked," he said. At Holly's nod, he stepped into the green fire and said, "Diagon Alley!"
He vanished in a rush of ash, smoke and green flames. Holly counted slowly to ten before throwing a fistful of the powder into the fireplace. Stepping into the flames she closed her eyes and called out, "Diagon Alley!"
The sensation of spinning was, if anything, worse for having closed her eyes. After what seemed like hours, she found herself deposited from the floo network onto a wooden floor, leaving a trail of soot and ash in her wake. Dimly, she heard someone laughing as she pulled herself shakily to her feet.
"C'mon, pup." Sirius said, using his nickname for her, "There's more to see in Diagon Alley than the dirty floor of a pub, no offense Tom."
The bartender Tom just muttered under his breath as he waved his wand, sweeping away the scattered ash with barely a wave. Together they stepped out the back door into a small walled-in yard. Sirius pulled his wand out and began to tap the bricks on one wall, causing them to shift into an archway. No matter how often she saw it, she was impressed. Maybe the novelty would wear off once she got a wand of her own. She doubted it though. She'd never told her godfather, but once when she was seven, she took her mother's wand and tried to do magic while Sirius was sleeping in. His eyebrows took almost a month to grow back properly. He'd chalked it up to accidental magic, and she never corrected him.
Their first stop was at Gringotts the Wizarding bank, a large white marble building that towered over everything else in the alley. Holly waited in the Lobby while Sirius gathered the money from his vault. She glanced at the goblins behind the counter and shivered slightly. Their all black eyes gave her the creeps.
"Hi, are you waiting too?" A girl asked. She had long, straight light brown hair and blue eyes. "My mother never lets me come along to the vault, says the cart is too dangerous. Are you going to Hogwarts? I'm starting this year myself and I can't wait! I hear the Headmaster is crazy, but he's supposed to be really powerful too. Do you know what house you'll be in? Oh, I wonder what house I'll be in. I hope its Gryffindor; they're supposed to be great! Although Hufflepuff wouldn't be as bad as say, Slytherin, and Ravenclaw is probably full of stuffy book snobs. I'm Fay by the way, Fay Dunbar. What's your name?"
Holly raised an eyebrow at the girl but said, "I'm Holly."
They talked for another half hour, or rather Fay talked and Holly tried to keep up, catching half the words as they were spoken in rapid succession. Finally a woman with the same light brown hair and blue eyes put a well-manicured hand on Fay's shoulder.
"Come along, dear." She said to Fay, then to Holly she said; "I hope my daughter wasn't bothering you."
"Not at all Ma'am." Holly said with a smile.
"See you on the train to Hogwarts?" Fay asked before her mother could reply.
"Definitely!" Holly said waving as Fay was dragged out of the bank waving back.
"What was that all about?" Sirius asked; amusement in his voice.
"Just making a friend." She replied. "Can I get my wand now?"
Sirius chuckled and took the shopping list, giving Holly a sack of galleons to pay for the wand. "And just for the wand." He warned. "I'll meet you at Ollivander's when I finish the shopping and then we can get you sized for school uniform at Madam Malkin's."
Peeling gold letters over the door of the shop readOllivander's: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. Inside, the shop was cramped full of shelves, each stacked high with small wooden boxes coated in a thin layer of dust.
"I was wondering when you would come," said a soft voice behind her. Holly jumped and wheeled around to face an aged wizard with unkempt white hair and wide, pale eyes shining like moons through the gloom of the shop. "Come now, let's get started."
Mr. Ollivander led Holly into a sitting room just off the main room and pulled a long tape measure with silver markings out of his pocket. He measured Holly from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit and round his head. Holly suddenly realized that the tape measure, which was measuring between her nostrils, was doing this on its own. Mr. Ollivander was flitting around the shelves, taking down boxes.
"That will do," he said, and the tape measure crumpled into a heap on the floor. "Beechwood and dragon heartstring. Nine inches. Nice and flexible. Take it and give it a wave."
Holly gave the wand a short wave which sent boxes flying off the shelves.
"No, no I think not." Mr. Ollivander said, taking the wand from her hand and reaching for another. "Ebony and unicorn hair, eight-and-a-half inches. Springy." This time he took it from her before she could even try it. "No, no. Well, not to worry. I'm sure we'll find you a fit soon enough."
He grabbed another box and handed the wand to Holly. "Maple and phoenix feather, seven inches."
Holly waved the wand causing a jet of blue fire to erupt from the tip. Scared, she dropped it instantly.
"Definitely not." Mr. Ollivander said; extinguishing the flames and putting the wand back. "I wonder…"
He pulled another box down and looked at it longer than he had the others. Without a word he handed it to Holly. The instant it touched her fingers, the room was illuminated with golden light as a strange, beautiful sound filled the air, filling Holly with a rush of warmth and happiness.
"Curious," Mr. Ollivander said. "Truly curious."
"Sir?" Holly asked as the light and sound faded. "What's curious?"
"I remember every wand I ever sold." He said. "And it just so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather resides inside that wand gave another feather. Just one other. It is curious that you should get that wand, when its brother gave you that scar."
Holly looked aghast at the wand in her hands, the warm, pleasant feeling it had given her now turned her stomach sour. "I don't want it." She said. "Give me another."
"I'm afraid it doesn't work that way, Miss Potter." Mr. Ollivander replied softly. "The wand chooses the witch, not the other way around. I expect we'll see great things from you. After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things. Terrible, yes. But great."
Holly cast the wand a look of anguish before pulling out the sack of galleons to pay. The bell above the shop door rang as Sirius came inside carrying the bags from his shopping. "Did you get your wand, pup?" He asked brightly.
"Yeah." Holly said, tucking it away without a second glance. "I got it."
A/N: Wow, sorry for the long chapter. It kind of got away from me there. She'll be on her way to Hogwarts in the next chapter.
