Darkness and a Fairy
(Author's Notes: from this point on, any speech in another language will be in brackets. Any telepathic-type communication will be inside "++" symbols, or similar.)
Chapter 3
Diagon Alley looked just like an early Victorian Era street. Gas lamps lined the shop-fronts, people of different 'classes' generally ignored each other, and people in rags did all of the grunt-work.
"Professor Snape, what are those?" asked Hikari.
"What are what?" enquired Snape.
"Those creatures that look like someone tried to genetically-engineer a race of kicked puppies."
He looked confused for a moment. "Right, Muggle words. They're house-elves."
A nearby house-elf flinched at the realisation a Slytherin was shifting their attention to it.
"Those things are elves?" Hikari sounded incredulous. "I've seen elves. I can speak all 6 dialects of elvish. Which gods did their ancestors piss off to end up like this? It looks like a multi-generational curse."
"They know their place," said an arrogant voice. "Just a pity you mud-bloods don't"
"That's enough, Malfoy," said Snape, as he noticed Hikari's fist clench at the word 'mud-blood'. "She says her mother was a witch, so she's at least a half-blood."
Hikari turned to face this 'Malfoy' person. "Let me guess, the heir to some low-level noble family," she said. "I recognise the tone of voice. You know nothing about me, but assume based off appearances."
"Then perhaps you shouldn't be hiding your family crest under that burnt cape," said Snape. "You currently look like a common muggle street-thug, especially with those sunglasses, and the scar over your eye."
"Good point," replied Hikari. She teleported her cape back into storage, made her 'clothes' look freshly laundered, rearranged her 'hair' into a ponytail, and reconfigured her 'sunglasses' to look like regular glasses. "Better?"
"Quite," said Snape.
Malfoy gasped. Snape turned to face him again. "What is it this time?"
"Look at her, sir," he said. "She looks like a scrubbed-up version of Potter."
Snape looked back at his charge. "How does she resemble Harriet Potter, Malfoy? She's at least twelve inches taller, among other things."
"Professor Snape is right there," said Goyle, his eyes focused on two things in particular. "Harriet is definitely smaller." Hikari's eyes narrowed.
"Excuse me, Professor," Hikari spoke quietly. "We still need to go to the bank, before I can purchase those school supplies." She then turned to Goyle. "As for you, if you're so fascinated by breasts, you should ask your friend. The way he's eating his will be bigger than mine by the time he's sixteen."
()()()()()()
As they were headed toward Gringotts, Hikari turned back towards Snape. "What exactly is the purpose of a wand?"
"It has two purposes," he replied honestly. "It is a symbol of status, and a tool to channel your magic, and enhance your spells."
"Does it have to be that size or shape?" she asked. "Couldn't it be a ring or something?"
"I suppose it could," replied Snape. "However, if you were disarmed in a duel, you'd lose the finger. Also, other wizards wouldn't know how strong you were, and might issue a challenge out of ignorance or bravado."
"I'll just have to make sure I don't lose," she replied. So, the techno-organic circuitry woven though my armour is technically a 'wand' in this world. I'll need to make a decoy, for the 'status' thing.
They arrived at the doors to the bank. "This building is one of the most protected in the whole of Britain," warned Snape. "Do not try anything that could cause me problems."
As Hikari crossed the threshold of the door, the HUD on her systems monitor briefly flashed 'scan detected' before everything went dead.
Snape's jaw dropped. Right where Hikari was standing mere moments ago, now stood a strange suit of armour. A faint voice was coming from inside it. "Note to self. Set mana generator to four, and raise shields before entering this building again." There was a clang from inside, and the chest-plate of the armour swung open, revealing a six-inch tall humanoid. "Hello, Professor Snape," said Hikari. "It looks like you've just learnt another secret today."
As two of the goblin security guards closed in on the pair, Hikari flew around to a panel on the rear of her armour, and opened it. Tiny purple runes briefly glowed around her hand, and the internal lighting of her exposed cockpit lit up. "That should fully-reboot in about ten minutes." Purple runes then orbited her body.
Snape and the goblins were surprised to see a six-foot tall, red-haired Sylph. She was wearing the armour he had occasionally seen Muggle Aurors wearing, except it had that family crest on it.
"The tactical armour is the only human-sized stuff I own," said Hikari. Snape noticed the goblins backing away from her. "(I would like to have a word with your manager)" she spoke in Goblinese. "(That particular spell should not be allowed in a publicly-accessible area unless you put up a warning sign first. What would happen if one of your clients had a pacemaker?)"
"What is all the fuss?" called a voice, from an adjacent room.
"(Manager Griphook, we have a problem.)"
"(What sort of problem?)"
"(Someone who looks a lot like) Titania Sturmdrachen (is in our lobby.)"
Griphook ran for the lobby so fast, you could almost swear he left scorch marks.
()()()()()()
An hour later, and Hikari was walking out of Gringotts with a copy of her family's vault-key, a mind-wiped Snape, and a new servant/Familiar. So, Nina and myself weren't the first members of our family to dimension-jump, Hikari thought. I'll have to have a chat with Great Grandpa Wolfgang, about his mother, when I get back.
"What happened?" asked Snape.
"I think there was something in the family vault you weren't meant to see," lied Hikari, "They used ...Obliviate... on you."
"Who is she?" he pointed to the blonde woman, hiding behind Hikari. All she appeared to be wearing was Hikari's burnt cape.
"She's my Familiar," replied Hikari. "We're going to get clothes for her.
()()()()()()()
Flashback
"(Your vault is here, in the secure area)" said her guide. "(We just need one of these.)" He picked up some sort of rattle/noise-maker.
They turned the corner, to see a white dragon chained to the floor.
If Hikari was a Yuki-onna, the temperature of the room would have reached sub-zero temperatures.
"(Unchain... Her... Right... Now...)" growled Hikari.
"(I-I don't understand)" said the goblin. "(That dragon is bank property.)"
Purple runes surrounded the dragon. A moment later, a naked woman cowered on the floor. The only clue that she wasn't human, were the two broken horns coming from her head.
"(Then, she's my property now,)" stated Hikari. "(Withdraw the appropriate fees from my account. I'm allowed a Familiar at Hogwarts, after all. Just be grateful I saw this, and not my mother.)"
"(Why should we be grateful?)" said another goblin. "(It's only a magical beast.)"
"(Because my little sister is what you would call a dragon animagus)" replied Hikari. "(My mother would have turned this bank into a) radioactive (crater, surrounded by a plain of glass.)"
End Flashback
()()()()()()
"These clothes feel weird," said Kemuri. "Do I really have to wear them?"
"Yes you do,"said Hikari.
"This body feels weird," said Kemuri. "What is the purpose of these things on my chest?"
"They generate milk, to feed your young," replied Hikari. "They also attract potential mates."
"Oh. Why do I have this jewellery? If I'm your slave, I shouldn't have something so valuable."
"The pendant is technically an ownership tag. If anyone messes with you, they have to answer to me."
"But I'm a mighty dragon?"
"Who's more dangerous? You or me?"
"...you, mistress..." Kemuri whispered. "Why do I have this other device?"
"It's my translation device. You'll need it more than I do. Dragon grunts and roars would only draw attention."
"Are you done yet?" complained Snape, from outside the fitting room. "People are already going to comment about your choice of Familiar. Why couldn't you have just chosen an owl, or a cat?"
Because it would instinctively try to eat me, the moment I stepped out of my armour, thought Hikari. "Are you saying the heir of the Sturmdrachen family isn't worthy of having a dragon as a Familiar? You said appearances were important. I do believe I need to procure books next. Kemuri, no burning anyone without my orders."
Snape noticed Lucius Malfoy signalling him from outside.
"I suppose that I can trust you to make your way back to Hogwarts on your own. I have some business to attend to."
()()()()()()
Hikari and Kemuri walked through the gap between platforms 9 and 10, to witness the organised chaos of families being loaded onto a train, for the first day of the school year. There were plenty of parents giving young 11-year-olds tearful goodbyes. Many of the older students had congregated into their little niche groups.
A cluster of redheads, obviously members of a large family were talking with a couple of girls. One of them had a scar above her right eye, and was probably the 'Potter' girl Malfoy mentioned.
Speaking of Draco Malfoy, he could be seen because of his henchmen, looming above the others his own age. Not that she was one to talk about 'looming' her exo-armour (and Sylph form) were around six feet tall. She was going to have the body of a curvy sixteen-year-old for the next five or six hundred years, if the rest of her family was anything to go by, even if she was only six inches tall.
He was sneering at anyone that he deemed 'unworthy' of whatever values his parents instilled in him.
...and he spotted her... "Oh look! Another redhead wizard who is barely better than a Muggle!" he called, drawing attention first to him, then to her.
"Hi, Hikari!" Luna waved both her arms to get her attention. "Over here!" Hikari headed over. "Who's your friend?" she asked.
"Luna," Hikari whispered. "This is Kemuri. She's my Familiar."
"You can't have a person as a Familiar," she whispered back.
"Actually, you're not supposed to use other humans as Familiars. Kemuri is a dragon."
"I didn't know they could be Familiars. Interesting choice. Dumbledore has a phoenix."
()()()()()()()
Luna, Hikari and Kemuri had a carriage to themselves, so Hikari decided to spend some time outside of her armour. Luna was briefly surprised to see she was a fairy, but didn't care as long as the Nargles stayed away. Currently, she was in Sylph-form, with Kemuri cuddling up to her. All three of them were eating food from the cart.
"Why don't you stay this way all the time, Mistress?" asked Kemuri.
"My natural magic resistance dispels it after a few hours," replied Hikari. "Hopefully, the more I use it, the longer I can make it last." First Daisy, and now Kemuri. I'm starting to wonder if I'm Shaft's reincarnation.
The carriage door slammed open. "It's Loony Lovegoo- what is that girl doing to you, O'Reilly?"
It was Malfoy. Kemuri looked towards the source of the voice. "Jealous?" she asked. "Maybe you'll attract a mate or two, if you ditch your boyfriends. A girl won't let just anyone fertilise her eggs."
"What the fu-" WHACK! Malfoy was slapped over the back of the head by Snape.
"Mister Malfoy, Mister Crabbe, Mister Goyle. You should be changing into your robes. Miss Lovegood, Miss O'Reilly you and your ...servant... should too."
()()()()()()
Hikari and Kemuri sat through the Sorting Hat ceremony. Hikari was grateful Professor McGonagall spared her the embarrassment of being lumped in with the eleven-year-olds. Unfortunately, it meant they didn't have a house assignment yet. While Principal Dumbledore was announcing some inter-school event they were hosting, McGonagall took them aside.
"We're going to sort you into your House, up in Principal Dumbledore's office. While we're at it, we're going to be discussing your 'living arrangements' with Kemuri.
"That's easy," said Kemuri. "I'm sharing Mistress's bed!"
"Actually," said Hikari, as they reached the gryphon statue. "The living arrangements and House both need to be discussed." Hikari opened her exo-armour.
"You definitely won't be welcome in Slytherin, looking like that, will you?" she dead-panned.
