{Few days later}
Dante yawns and stretches as he hears the scuffle of children getting dressed and ready for breakfast.
"Come on down you lot, it's time for breakfast. I have a number of parents coming and we want to be ready." the older woman called.
"Hey, there's a big man downstairs. Come on! Maybe he will adopt one of us!" a little boy stated excitedly to Dante after running back upstairs.
"As if he came for me." Dante replies.
"Well, ya never know." the boy replies before scampering back downstairs.
Dante remembers the fairy from a few nights ago, and looks at his pillow. He lifts it up, once again, to reveal another potion bottle with a letter which read: "Pour me on your cleaning supplies."
That's still weird... Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt using it, again. he thought as he pours the contents of the bottle onto the cleaning supplies and they suddenly animate, moving around the room, cleaning every nook and corner with ease. Well, that made last night's mess easier to clean... Thanks, Shaiya. he thought as he walked downstairs and then to the corridor.
The sounds of kids eating comes from the kitchen.
I need a bit of fresh air before I eat. Dante thought before walking outside to the large balcony in the back. "I wish that, just once, things would go my way and I could get out of here and be special." he whispered out loud. Just then, he gazes up toward where Shaiya had previously told him, for yet another time, and immediately notices something. What is that?
It gets closer and closer.
Dante squints his eyes as an attempt to see it better because the sun was beginning to get brighter. An owl flies towards the castle of an orphanage. It gets nearer and nearer and.. passes him, flying behind him.
As he turns around, a booming voice remarked, "You might be more special than you think, Dante."
Dante was in disbelief over the dark haired giant of a man at whom he was looking. "You're huge!" he shouted abruptly.
"Well, that's a quick observation." the man stated.
"I.. I'm sorry. It's just... Well... You surprised me." Dante replied with a nervous laugh.
"Hahaha! No worries, Dante."
"I guess the letter was for you." Dante stated with a sigh, starting to feel disappointed.
"Aw, now don't be so certain of that, Dante." the man answers as he hands the letter to Dante.
Dante looked at the sealed envelope. It read: On the edge of the balcony, overlooking the scenery below. He was shocked. "Whaaaaaaat? ..It says my name... Is.. is it really mine?" he asked incredulously.
"I came here to make sure you received it." the man replied. After a moment of silence, the man clears his throat, then asks, "Well, Dante, you ready to go shopping?"
Dante was confused. "Shopping? For what?"
"Why, your school supplies, of course!"
Dante fixed his attention to the man. A questioning expression crossed his face as he stared at the man. "But.. I don't have any money..." he admitted, feeling somewhat ashamed.
"Well, no need to worry about that, Dante. Whoever your benefactor is they have left you an account at Gringotts."
"I was never able to go shopping for myself before."
"Well Dante, things are about to change." he stated as a certain fairy watched from the rooftop above.
As they walk back inside, Dante asked, "Who is my benefactor?"
"No clue, Dante. Whoever it is, they don't want to be found. It happens sumtimes, so no need to worry. Sometimes, the rich wizards give to those in need. At least you know you have sumone looking out for you."
"But, why are you here? Don't students normally receive messages for themselves?"
"Well.. you don't have a caregiver, Dante, so the headmistress asked me to make sure you got it and to help you shop a bit."
Dante was still feeling confused, but said nothing. "Okay, thanks. What's your name?"
"I'm Rubeus Hagrid, groundskeeper at Hogwarts, and I also teach Care of Magical Creatures." he replied then noticed Dante's clothing. "What are these clothes? Oh, well. These will have to do until you get your wizard clothes, Dante. Plus, you can wear these anytime you go out... Well.. if you wanted to do so... Also, of course, you'll need more." he said as he looked ahead of him.
{Later}
Dante looks back at Hagrid's motorcycle noticing how cool it was before walking up to the sidewalk. As they step further towards it, Dante looks up and sees a sign reading: "The Leaky Cauldron".
"This place, Dante, is the front to the wizarding shops in Diagon Alley." Hagrid stated.
As they walked inside, the smell of mead and food wafted up to Dante's nose. The room is full of people.
"So you are finally entering the wizarding world. What do you think, Dante?"
"Well, it smells umm.. interesting, so far." Dante replied.
Hagrid waves his hand and calls for someone named "Kron" before a man with pale skin and black, shoulder-length hair approached. The man's face hardened.
I am sure he has seen a number of fights. After all, there's even a large scar which goes from above his right eye down to the lower part of his cheek.Dante thought before noticing that the man's eyes were completely different from each other. He saw that Kron's left eye was gray with a black pupil, yet the other was gold with a red pupil, which confused Dante. I wonder how that happened... They're the same size, yet his eyes look different in so many ways... In fact, his right eye doesn't even look human...
"Greetings, Hagrid. What have we here?" Kron spoke. He stares into Dante as if looking for the secrets of the universe. "Strange..." he adds.
"What's that, Professor Dragoneye?" Hagrid asked.
Kron pulls Dante closer as if he has the answer to a very important question.
"Can I help you?" Dante asks nervously.
A man walks up and puts a hand on his shoulder. "Kron, you're scaring the boy."
Dante looks at the man out of confusion. He noticed that this one had short brown hair, brown eyes, and almond skin.
"Yes... My apologies." Kron states and walks away after a quick glance, his dark clothes qietly rustling with every step he took.
The man looked at Dante after fixing his dark brown glasses. "You will have to excuse my friend. He can be a bit on edge, sometimes. He hasn't fed yet, you see. He's a vampire."
"Wow a vampire? That's amazing!" Dante turns and looks at Kron. I have to remember not to get on his bad side... His eyes were crazy looking... So cool. Dante thinks as he tried not to get nervous. "Who is he?"
"Kron Dragoneye. He's the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher and head of Slytherin house."
"Oh, okay. He seems.. intense."
"He has his times, but he isn't always that way, I assure you." Hagrid added with a laugh at the end.
"My name is Jin Suzuki. I am the Potions teacher but my class will be held in Japan. We use a portkey to reach my classroom." the man said with a smile.
"Today'll be the first day of the rest of your life. From today on, you are now a wizard. Congratulations, Dante." Hagrid said.
"It.. it sounds so weird to hear that... I've waited for this day, but it really surprised me that it actually came..."
"You'll make a fine wizard, Dante." says Hagrid.
"Thanks, Hagrid." Dante says.
"You're welcome, Dante. Now, let's get a move on or we will miss the express to Hogwarts."
After Professor Suzuki walked away with a wave, Hagrid and Dante walk to the rear of The Leaky Cauldron.
"So.. this is where it leaks..."
"Haha! Dante, this is the entrance to Diagon Alley." Hagrid replied.
Hagrid taps a few blocks on the wall and it opens up before them. A number of shops and stalls run up the alley. "So, where we're going is up ahead, Dante... Gringotts."
They enter while a little fairy secretly follows them inside.
As they walk down the path, a large building grows as they travel closer toward it.
"Alright, Dante, come on. We don't have all day." Hagrid says as he opens the door. As they walk in, the goblins looking down from their workspaces stop to look up for a moment, then look back down.
As they approached the head desk, Hagrid says to the goblin in charge, "We need access to vault three hundred thirty-three."
The goblin looks up at Hagrid then looks over the table at Dante for a moment then replies, "Very well." before he gets down from his desk.
They walk down a corridor and come to a type of metal pulley seemingly run by a mix of electricity and magic.
"The wizarding world has made many improvements, Dante, over the past seventeen years. Finally making magic and travel much safer and comfortable." Hagrid says.
They get in the cart and it speeds off quickly. They see a large cavern around them as they zip by many vaults. There were so many twists and turns that it was surprising when they suddenly stopped. The speed with which they stopped made Dante think he would fly out of his seat, but nothing of the sort happened.
The goblin gets out and asks Hagrid for the lantern. He flips a knob on the lantern and a brilliant light fills the area, revealing a strange looking vault.
"Wow, I've never seen one like this..." said Hagrid.
"Key." says the goblin.
Hagrid hands the goblin the key and he attempts to open it but, surprisingly, nothing happens.
The goblin stares blankly at it for a moment, then looks at them, then back at the key. "This key is unmistakably the the one to this vault." he states while in thought.
"Hmm..." says Hagrid.
The goblin looks at the vault studying it intensely. "This is strange, this writing... This door opens for no wizard..." he says.
Dante walks up to it and touches it, saying, "This door opens for one wizard."
"Maybe Dante should open it." Hagrid suggests.
"Hmm... Let us see if that is the case." the goblin says as he hands Dante the key then stands back.
Dante looked at the key with "333" engraved on it. He aligns it with the keyhole and breathes deep. As he lets out his breath, he turns the key. Lights shine all across the door, spreading outwards as the door parts and slowly begins to open. As Dante pushes the door open, nothing but blackness greets him.
"Well I think you were meant to open this door, Dante. Never seen anything like this, though." Hagrid says.
The goblin walks ahead of Dante and Hagrid with his lantern held up high.
As they walk, Dante notices the fine designs on the floor. "I can't see any walls or the ceiling."
Hagrid nods. "Yep, it must be pretty high."
Dante sees a strange looking stone and steps on it, and, with a blinding flash the room is suddenly lit. There were mounds of gold. Treasures, books, and magical items filled the room, as well.
"Well, I've never seen the like... Who would've left all this to you, Dante? Strange, indeed..." Hagrid says as he wonders about it.
Dante looks and sees mountains of galleons.
"Well, you're rich, Dante. Well, if I need to borrow some money, I know who to ask." he said with a laugh.
Dante laughed in response. As they walked further into the vault, they find a number of items that may be of use in the future. But, what stands out is a set of clothes, a cauldron, and magical utensils needed for Dante's education.
"Well, I guess whoever your benefactor is, they were extremely prepared for this day. You won't even need to get a lot of things. Wow, are these special editions?" he says after looking at the books. "Ahem, well, all you need now is a pet, some ingredients, and a wand."
Dante finds a nearby bag.
"Careful what you pick up, Dante. There's no telling what most of these do. Don't want you losing a hand or worse."
"I don't think any of this will hurt me, Hagrid."
"Still best to be careful, Dante."
Dante takes the backpack and puts it around himself. It's a nice fit. he thought as he then took it off and puts a few items inside it. He then looked and didn't see them. Dante was confused. Huh? Where did it- he thought as he opened it wide, then saw what he was thinking of rise to the top. "Wow, this is gonna be useful!" he said with a small laugh as he puts the books into his bag. "Great they have everything I needed, but there's even more..." He looked at the cover. "How to Enchant Everyday Objects" the book cover said.
Hagrid takes one look and says, "That's not an entirely legal book, Dante. I haven't heard of any book like that in a long time..."
"Oh, okay, Hagrid."
Dante puts it in his bag anyway, along with anything of use he could find. For a moment, he put the bag down. He thinks, Wouldn't it be useful if everything in here was inside my bag? and with a loud whoosh, it all gets sucked inside and it closes.
"Well, I guess you could do that, too. Hahaha." says Hagrid. "It's quite a useful bag you got there, Dante. It's a strange kind of magic to be able to carry everything here... Strange, indeed... Well, I guess you're ready. Then Dante, let's head out."
They walk to the vault's entrance. The massive room is now empty.
Looking back, Dante wondered who left this for him. Well, no matter. I will find out, one day. he thought.
As they open the door, the goblin stands waiting. Dante takes the key from the door and it closes behind them, sealing itself. Hagrid helps the goblin back into the cart and hands him the lantern. After they are safely in the cart, it races on its way.
At the front of Gringotts, Hagrid says, "Okay, Dante, now it's time to get to shopping."
(To be continued.)
