Okay, I forgot the disclaimer in the last chapter, but I shall try not to from now on.
No, sadly, I am not J. K. Rowling. Please refrain from pointing this out to me, or I may sic a rabid Chihuahua on you.
Yeah, this took forever to write, mostly because I had a ton of schoolwork to do. I'll try to update more, but no promises.
"Are you sure this thing is safe?" I eyed the bike dubiously. "It's kind of, eh, rusty." That wasn't the only thing about it. It looked like it was a million years old, and it was loud. It was worse than jets flying overhead.
"This is as safe as anything! Was give to me by me good friend Sirius Black! Now, yeh can put yer trunk in the back o' the sidecar. Plenty o' room. Yeh can hol' the cat's cage." I slid the trunk holding my clothes into the white sidecar.
"His name is Lux. He hates being called 'cat,'" I said icily. I didn't really like this man. He was nice enough, I guess, I just didn't like him. But right now, he was the only one who I knew in this new world.
"We best be off, then," he said. I looked up at him with wide eyes.
"Mr. Hagrid, I want your honest opinion. Do you think I have any chance of making it through this year? Do you think I'll fit in?" I was terrified of standing out, even though I loved my ink. I kept them (mostly) under clothes for a reason. "This is really scary."
"Yeah, it can be scary. An' I think yeh can fit in jus' fine. Yer kinda unique, though. No one is overlooked for firs' year, bu' you were." Yeah, that helped a lot. Unique is not a word I like. It just puts a positive spin on weird.
I shoved my long black hair up under the helmet Mr. Hagrid handed to me. Only the very ends of the shorter, multicolored front stuck out. We dyed them a few years ago, and they'd stayed the same length and didn't fade, for some reason. The colors were kind of a mockery of my insane name, Raynebowe. Who the hell names their daughter Raynebowe? And why not just spell it like a normal person, Rainbow? As you can see, this is something I'd hated for a long time; I insisted my friends call me Ray or Rayne (never Bowe).
Anyway. I climbed into the white sidecar and Mr. Hagrid climbed onto the huge turquoise bike and kicked it to life. We took off down the street and then he hit a button. The bike lurched into the sky and started going at a phenomenal pace. It scared the crap out of me and I think I screamed, but I couldn't hear it over the roar of the engine and the wind. I lost track of time and space, and the only things I could feel were Lux's cage biting into my lap, the seat pressed against my back, and the wind whipping my hair out from under the helmet.
After a time, I felt us descending. Below us were the twinkling lights of London. Well, what I could see through the fog/clouds. It was around dusk, and the city was coming alive. No one seemed to see us as we landed in front of a slightly rundown pub with a sign that said "The Leaky Cauldron." On the sign was a stereotypical witch stirring a cauldron with a crack in it.
While Hagrid's back was turned, I opened Lux's cage and slipped him into my bag. He was used to this, as I carried him around like this quite often. He snuggled down into my things and went to sleep. Hagrid opened the door and we stepped into a dark, dusty room.
"Hey there, Hagrid! Have the usual today, will you? What'll the young miss have?" The man behind the bar greeted Hagrid warmly. I rolled my eyes. There was no way I looked old enough to drink, in the Muggle world or the wizarding world (Hagrid had explained the basics before we left my house). Looking seventeen was beyond my reach.
"Nothin' today, Tom. Official business o' the school. Jus' passin' through." Hagrid looked like he was blushing under his giant beard. "C'mon, we gotta meet someone, R-" I hit him in the side.
"No, don't you dare say my full first name. It's Ray, okay?" I looked around slightly impatiently. "You said we were meeting someone?" No one in the pub looked like they were waiting for an eight-foot tall man with a bushy beard and a girl with strange hair.
"He's waitin' in Diagon Alley. I'll leave yeh with him, an' I'll take yer things to the school." He muttered something under his breath.
"Hm? What was that?" I was sure he'd said something insulting to whomever we were meeting. If possible, he started blushing a brighter red.
"Nothin', nothin! Well, we'd better get along." He hurried out the back door into a chilly courtyard. He whipped out that freakish pink umbrella and tapped some bricks. They melted away and formed an arch leading to a lane filled with people.
"Oh my god! This is amazing. Ya know, this is really one of the coolest things I've ever seen in my life! Jesus!" I felt like I was going to break my neck trying to look at everything at once. Hagrid cleared his throat.
"This here's Draco Malfoy, yer new bes' friend." He gestured to a short-ish platinum blonde boy with grey eyes and a smirk that looked permanently plastered to his face. "An' his father, Lucius Malfoy." Behind the smirking boy was a tall man with the same color hair, only longer. He looked kind of intimidating, and he had a walking stick with a snake capping it. They were standing next to a little book store and looked as if they'd been waiting a while.
"Hi, it's a pleasure to meet you, Draco Malfoy, Mr. Malfoy!" I widened my eyes and spoke in a fake overeager voice. Shaking their hands vigorously, I tried to keep myself from laughing at their startled looks. I took a step back and almost rolled my eyes as Lucius tried to wipe his hand on his leg discreetly. He didn't succeed.
"Mm, yes. We have many things to do, so don't dally about." The man spoke with a conceited, nasally voice that grated on my nerves. He strode off as if we were going to automatically follow him.
"The Malfoy family's bin elected to sponsor a Muggle-born, which happens to be yeh. I'll see yeh back at the school. Good luck!" I gave Hagrid a quick hug and sprinted after the Malfoys. These people gave off vibes that said they were way too into themselves.
We stopped in front of a store, a nice shop with a large curved bay window. Above the door was a sign that read OLLIVANDERS: MAKERS OF FINE WANDS SINCE 382 B.C in peeling gold paint. The Malfoys strode in like they owned the place. I reluctantly followed. These were not the kind of people I liked to associated with. As soon as I could, I'd ditch them and wonder around on my own for a bit.
"We're looking for a wand, Ollivander," said Lucius imperiously. I looked around. There were thousands of thin boxes like really slender shoeboxes. I'm guessing they were wand boxes. Seeing as they were the only thing in the store, the announcement was unnecessary.
A white-haired man wheeled a ladder from between the shelves and stepped down. He dusted off his hands and one out for Lucius to shake. Lucius looked at it disdainfully and glanced around the shop, as if nothing was worthy of a full-on stare. I was really starting to not like this guy. He was as snobby and stuck up as some of the people I knew back in Ohio.
"Hello there, Mr. Malfoy. A pleasure, as always. Who is this charming young lady? I've never seen her here before, and she seems a bit old to be getting her first wand. Who did you go to?" Mr. Ollivander, as I assumed this was, cast his attention my way, offering me his hand.
"Um, my name is Raynebowe Prodigioso, sir. And actually, this is my first wand. Blip in the system." I shook his hand, ignoring the eye roll from the youngest Malfoy. "This is a very nice shop you have, Mr. Ollivander." The older Malfoy took a step forward and grasped my shoulder. He steered me toward the shelves.
"We don't have all day to talk to shopkeepers. Come, Ollivander, help her find a wand." He stepped back and wiped his hand on his leg again. I really didn't like this guy. Mr. Ollivander rolled his eyes and gave an exaggerated bow. I got the feeling he didn't like him either.
"As you wish, Master Malfoy. Let's see if we can find your match, Miss Prodigioso." He pulled a box out and handed it to me. "Try out that one. It's holly with a dragon heartstring core. Good and sturdy, a great wand for a person new to magic."
I carefully took the lid off the box and unwrapped the wand. It was whitish and quite warm in my hand, almost as if it were alive. Wrapping it firmly in my hand, I moved it a bit. It flew out of my hand and knocked a box to the ground. Mr. Ollivander picked up the stray wand and the box it knocked off.
"Hmm… Try this one. Most things happen for a reason." I stood there staring at him. "Go on, it's not going to bite." Under his breath, he muttered, "Probably." I was startled, but took it anyway.
"If this one bites me, I'm going to be royally pissed. I'll probably throw it at you. Just so you know." I waved it a bit. Nothing happened. "You know, I would have been happier if it had bit me. At least something would have happened."
I set it down cautiously, just in case it had decided to bite me, and it flew at a shelf and knocked another one off the shelf. That was getting old, fast. Not even waiting for the aging Mr. Ollivander to get there, I picked it up myself. It was pale red, almost pink, and I could almost see a fantastical white hair inside. As soon as I touched it, the air around me surged. A blinding light surrounded me and the wand, and it just clicked. Without realizing it, I sat down in the middle of the shop and cradled the wand to my chest. Lux came out and curled up in my lap, purring.
"This is my wand." It wasn't me asking, it was me stating. This was mine, and no one else's. Behind me, I heard coins being passed from one hand to another. I assumed that Mr. Malfoy was paying for the wand. Behind me, there was a noise, like a silver bell being rung. "What's that sound?"
Draco reached inside his robes and pulled out what I assumed was his wand. It was a dark brown, and was glowing as brightly as mine was. Mr. Ollivander made a clicking noise with his tongue.
"It would appear that your wands are brothers. They share a common core source. Interesting, very interesting." He let the coins fall from one hand to the other in a careless gesture and walked away. Lucius made a harrumphing noise and disappeared in a swirl of cloak. Draco scampered after him.
Sliding Lux back into my bag, I ran after them. I'd snatch some of their cash, which they seemed to have a ton of, and go wander off. From behind, I sized them up quickly. It seemed like the older Malfoy would be more likely to guard his money closely, and have a nasty surprise for a pickpocket. The younger one, however, seemed like he'd flaunt his money and just assume no one would dare mess with him. If I was ever going to get away with it, I'd have to get it from the younger Malfoy.
Brushing against him, I reached into one of his pockets and grabbed the sack of heavy metal I felt in there. Dashing off, I ducked into an alley. Pouring the coins into my hand, I found about twenty gold coins, and a handful silver ones. Hagrid had told me that the gold ones were Galleons, the silver ones were Sickles, and there were another type that were bronze called Knuts. There were 17 Sickles in a Galleon, and 29 Knuts in a Sickle. I didn't see any Knuts here, so I had approximately 25 Galleons.
Pulling the letter from the school out of my back pocket, I wondered around looking for a bookshop to buy my textbooks. I got a few strange looks, but I ignored them. I usually only got looks when I wore short-sleeves and people got a look at my ink, but most things just rolled off me. Unless someone said something extremely vulgar or rude to me, I probably wouldn't hit anyone. Eventually I found a store that seemed busy, called Flourish and Botts. I strolled in and took a look around.
"Can I help you, miss?" There was a harried-looking man standing in front of me, obviously trying to get the comparatively strange customer (me, it would seem) out before the others noticed. "Looking for in particular?"
"Yes, actually. I'm looking for these books." I handed him my booklist. He raised an eyebrow, but I didn't offer any more information. He led me to them and then to the cash register.
"Will this be all, miss?" He told me the total, 20 Galleons*. I handed over the money and took my books. I continued to wonder around until I ran into the Malfoys again. They didn't even seem to know I had gone missing.
"Oh, you've gotten your books, I see," said Lucius haughtily. "What does that leave left to buy, Draco?" Draco pulled out a list he had.
"Uniforms, a cauldron, a phial set, a telescope, and brass scales." I half thought that one of them may offer to help carry my things, but no. I carried everything until we finished. Including some things they picked up for no reason. By the time we had crossed everything off the list, I was really, really tired. We moved into an empty alley and stopped.
"Um, what are we doing now?" This was the second time I'd talked to them at all, and they seemed a bit startled. "How are we getting to Hogwarts?" Draco smiled evilly.
"Oh, you'll love it. It's called Apparition." Draco held onto his father's arm, and I held onto the other. Lucius visibly squirmed under my touch, so I held tighter. He turned on the spot.
It felt like I was being squeezed through a toothpaste tube. I couldn't breathe, and I thought my brain was going to come out my nose. Suddenly, it stopped. I collapsed and coughed violently. All my things fell into the dirt, but until I got my breath back, I wouldn't care. I never wanted to do that again.
"That was terrible. Never. Again." I swear to God, if that conceited little shit was laughing at me, I'd punch him in that smug mouth of his. I looked up and balled my hands into fists but kept them hid under my sleeves. He was smirking, but there was no laughter in his eyes.
We were in front of a large gate. Behind the gate was a tall, thin man with silver-white hair and a matching beard. He had piercing blue eyes and crescent-moon glasses and a vibrant crimson robe. He unlocked the gate, but we didn't walk through until he motioned us in. I felt something snap back up behind us, and twirled around.
"What was that?" All this new stuff was making me a wee bit paranoid. I wanted to know what everything was, and I wanted to know right then, damn it. It was scaring the heck out of me, not that I would admit that to present company.
"That was the wards being replaced. They had to be lowered for you to Apparate so close to the school." The man smiled at me kindly. His eyes twinkled.
"Okay. Everything's just kinda thrown me off. It's the combined surprise of today, I guess." I blinked and looked at my watch. That wouldn't do me any good, seeing as I forgot to set it to this time zone. "Does anyone know what time it is? My watch is still set to Ohio."
The tall man tapped my watch with his wand. The screen went blank for a second, but came up right away. The numbers were different, and I had no doubt that they were correct. We walked up a long path to a huge castle, then down a staircase, and then down another staircase. Draco showed me to a room. He told me that there was a bathroom between our rooms, but I wasn't really listening.
"That is the biggest bed I have ever seen!" I dropped my stuff and jumped into it. "It's as big as half my room back home! It's so soft!" I sighed contentedly and closed my eyes. "Sorry, what were you saying?"
"Nothing. Goodnight." He gave me the first honest smile I'd seen since I met him and shut my door quietly. I fell asleep almost as soon as the door latched, my last thought of that one true smile I'd seen today.
That's the chapter. Yes, I know it took forever, and may be a huge disappointment, but that's all I got for that. I promise to try to get the next one up soon, but it may take a bit. I'm going to Ohio in for Christmas break, so I'll have plenty of quality computer time (about 14 hours) and that'll help a lot, but it may take a while.
* About the cost of the books, I have no idea what they'd cost, and I don't feel the need to research that much.
Review, and there shall be cupcakes for all! =33