2nd July 1971
Colin handed each of us a roll of parchment. Unrolling it, I read the following:
First year students will require:
Uniform
Three Sets of Plain Work Robes (Black) (3G)
One Plain Pointed Hat (Black) for day wear (1G)
One Pair of Protective Gloves (dragon hide or similar) (2G)
One Winter Cloak (Black, silver fastenings) (2G)
Please note that all student's clothes should carry name-tags at all times
Total: 8G
Books
The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk (1G)
A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot (2G)
Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling (2G)
A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch (1G)
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore (2G)
Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger (2G)
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander (2G)
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble (1G)
Total: 13G
Other Equipment
1 Wand (7G)
1 Cauldron (pewter, standard size 2) (15G)
1 set of glass or crystal phials (3G/7G)
1 telescope (5G)
1 set of brass scales (3G)
Students may also bring an Owl OR a Cat OR a Toad (10G)
Total: 43G/47G
Total: 64G/68G
PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS
"Woah." I whispered. "We can get all this stuff here?" Colin chuckled at my expression.
"We actually have to pay for them, mind you. Come along, let's go to Gringotts to change your muggle money to wizarding coins."
"Gringotts?"
"Wizarding bank, run by goblins."
"Goblins?!"
"You'll see."
Gringotts Wizarding Bank was an imposing, snow-white marble building. Unfortunately, it also looked like it was about to topple over. Strange, squashed little men with hooked noses poured over heavy tomes at each seat of the large U-shaped table. Colin guided us to a goblin on the left.
"Hi there, these Muggleborns have come to change their money." Colin announced cheerfully, waving his hand at us.
"That'll be five pounds to a Galleon." The goblin peered at us over old-fashioned glasses. "First years, is it? You'll need about… 70 Galleons, that'll be 350 pounds."
Lily and I each counted out the money from our pouches, provided to us by our parents. I winced slightly at the large amount of money in her pouch.
We each slid our notes and coins over the counter, and the goblin returned us two heavy pouches, filled to the brim with gold coins. I picked up one of the coins, and flipped it over. It was inscribed with the words, "Unus Galleon".
I looked up to thank the goblin, but it appeared he had made short work of ignoring us. "So… What's first?" I ask, attempting to remain casual, but I was secretly dying to get my wand.
Lily, however, seemed to have a different idea. "Could we go get our schoolbooks first?" she piped up. "The titles sound so different from what we're used to!"
Colin looked across the street at the bustling Flourish and Blotts, and sighed. "Perhaps we should get you fitted for your robes, first." He suggested. "The bookshop looks crowded, and I'm a little… claustrophobic."
"Oh, okay." Lily agreed slightly reluctantly. Colin led us right down the street to a rather large shop with the sign "Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions"
A tall, slim woman was already attending to several customers, a few of them being students. For the second time that day, I walked into someone.
"Oomph!" I nearly fell over, but the boy whom I had just bumped into caught me. I could hear Lily and Colin giggling at me, but tried my best to ignore me as I apologised to, and thanked the boy and righted myself.
"It's alright." He said politely. Then a grin broke out on his face. "Are you a Mud – Muggleborn?"
I nodded, wondering what he had been about to say before he corrected himself. His grin grew wider.
"Mother will have a fit, what with me associating with Muggleborns. " He laughed, jerking his thumb at an elegantly dressed woman, who was in the middle of yelling at the woman who I assumed was Madam Malkin.
"My son will be in Slytherin!" She screamed, not minding the stares she was receiving from the other customers. Like her son, she had rich black hair and patrician features. "I demand you give him Slytherin robes!"
"But, Mrs Black." Madam Malkin protested. "The boy has not yet been Sorted, it would be best to simply provide him with the standard black robes – they will be transfigured to match those of his housemates when he is Sorted."
Madam Malkin's protestations were to no avail, and Mrs Black dragged the boy out of the shop with green and silver hemmed robes under one arm and insults flying from her mouth.
"Slytherin?" I asked Colin. "And what does Sorted mean?"
"Slytherin is one of the four houses in Hogwarts, along with Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff." To my surprise, it was Lily who spoke. "You're Sorted into one of the houses based on the traits you possess and value most."
"Well, I can already tell I don't want to be in Slytherin." I snorted, expecting Lily to laugh along with me. To my surprise, she simply shot me a disapproving glare and shook her head.
Slightly put off, I kept my mouth shut as we were fitted for our school robes. Despite the incredible sight of flying measuring tapes taking my measurements, my excitement was dimmed by Lily's mood.
We left the shop with heavy robes and 8 Galleons poorer. Flourish and Blotts seemed to be clearing out, so we decided to head there next. Ceiling-high bookshelves were stacked with books of all shapes and sizes. Regrettably, the books we bought were all ordinary, paperback books save for their titles and contents. Despite most of the customers having already left, we still had to do a fair bit of jostling to pay for the books.
Speaking of jostling, I bumped into someone for the third time that day, giving myself a mouthful of light brown hair. As I readjusted myself, green eyes turned to face me.
At this, the previously stony Lily started giggling again. I turned around to shoot her a death glare before sticking my hand out to the boy. "Hi, My name's Naomi!"
"My name's Remus, it's nice to meet you too." Despite his reply, he seemed rather timid, and I couldn't help but notice his hand felt rather… rough?
"Come, Remus. We're done here." A wizard, who appeared to be Remus' father, suddenly appeared next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. He smiled warmly at us before exiting the store with his son, with Remus voicing a quiet goodbye.
After we paid, we headed to Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment to pick up the remaining items we needed, including glass phials (why waste money on crystal ones?), a brass telescope (it makes colours brighter!) and brass scales. They even threw in a free cauldron ("Pottage's Cauldron Shop is in partnership with us"!)
Finally, we were going to get our wands! Lily perked up considerably at the thought of finally having an instrument with which to do magic. "It would be amazing to do the spells in our books! And did you see the stuff in that joke shop!" she gushed, practically dragging me to a small shop called "Ollivander's".
Ollivander was a wizard rapidly approaching old age, most of his hair having already turned gray. Regardless, he still moved about agilely, and when we entered his shop, he greeted us enthusiastically.
"Muggleborns, are you? Wonderful, wonderful. That means I won't know what to expect!" He shot us a wink. "Oh, and Colin! Colin Wood, Alder, Unicorn Hair, 10 and a half inches, slightly bendy, wasn't it? I do believe it's working well for you?"
"Yes, of course, Mr. Ollivander" Colin replied with a grin. "Polish it almost as often as I do my broomstick." Broomstick? I raised my eyebrows questioningly. Later, he mouthed.
"So, who are you, my dear?" Ollivander had turned to Lily.
"Lily, sir, Lily Evans. How do we choose a wand? We don't know the first thing about them."
"Why, Miss Evans. The wand chooses the wizard, not the other way around. Try this one – Apple, Unicorn hair, 10 inches, Rigid,"
Lily swished the wand he presented her with, resulting in his glasses, cracking. Without bothering to repair his glasses, he snatched the wand out of her grasp, muttering under his breath. He passed her with a slightly longer wand. "Willow, Dragon Heartstring, 10 and a quarter inches, bendy."
She had barely taken hold of it when he retrieved it from her. "Almost there, Miss Evans, almost there." He gave her yet another wand of similar length. "This should be the one for you! Willow, Fairy wings and Unicorn hair, 10 and a quarter inches, swishy. Good for charmwork."
She grasped it, and it started glowing with a red light. "It feels… right." She breathed, staring at it in wonder.
"Now, for you, Miss…?"
"Witte, sir. Naomi Witte."
"Well, Miss Witte. Try this one. Ebony – rare, of course, but it suits your hair, don't you think? Phoenix feather, eleven inches, flexible. Good for transfiguration."
I held the wand up, but it felt odd in my hand. "No, not that one, then. Maybe a different core…" Ollivander muttered, pushing another wand into my hand. "Fir, Dragon heartstring, eleven and a quarter inches, bendy."
The moment I picked it up half a shelf of wand boxes collapsed. "Whoops, wrong again." He said apologetically. "Maybe a combination to counter the heartstring? Here, Ebony and Fir, Dragon heartstring, eleven and a half inches, sturdy."
Finally, I knew what Lily meant. The wand seemed to fit in my hand effortlessly, and gold sparks shot out the end. It was odd but quite beautiful, with black handle and red body.
"Wonderful, wonderful! Well, Miss Evans, Miss Witte, that will be 7 Galleons each."
We left satisfied and amazed, and I hardly noticed as a pudgy boy with equally pudgy parents entered the store behind us, whom Ollivander greeted as the Pettigrews.
"Colin, what's a broomstick?" I demanded.
"Well, we fly on them. It's not a conventional method of transportation, but we use them to play Quidditch, which is a wizarding sport. Something like football. Look, the broomstick shop is just over there, I'll show you."
I practically sprinted to a large, well lit, museum-like shop known as Broomstix. A huge, thick broom with neat bristles stood on display in the shop window. 'The Cleansweep 4 – Neat, fast, reactive, and reliable, this Cleansweep is an improvement on the Cleansweep 3, with sharper turns and steeper dives. It is also remarkably polished, and only requires maintenance every few months." I read, eyes widening as I took in the fact that this broomstick could fly, turn, and even dive.
Next to me, a messy-haired, spectacled boy was also ogling the broom. "Too bad first years aren't allowed to play Quidditch – Might have convinced Mom and Dad to buy me this beauty otherwise. My Shooting Star is getting rusty." He lamented to me.
"Don't even think about it, James." A tall, elegant woman strode up to him, smoothing his hair down. She spared me a smile. "Making friends?"
"Oh. Hey – I'm James!" The boy seemed rather abashed at his lack of manners, but did not motion to shake my hand.
At this point, Lily caught up to me and helped me to introduce myself. "She's Naomi, I'm Lily." She panted as an amused Colin looked on.
"Lily, Naomi, are you ready to go? Good day, Mrs Potter!" He steered us back towards the Leaky Cauldron.
Lily and I chatted animatedly about the various wonders around us as we were led back to the fireplace in the bar, and continued after we had arrived safely back at the Post Office.
After I had reached home, I couldn't help but wonder why Lily was so on edge when I joked about Slytherin House.
AN: Okay, this was a filler chapter. Boring and tedious to write, and probably boring and tedious to read, too,
Regardless, I would appreciate reviews, because I need to learn how to write filler chapters well.
Next chapter expected within a few days!
