A Darkening World

by lironelle

Full Plot Inside. Takes place at the start of the Epilogue of book seven. A dark wizard discovers how to raise the dead. Calanthe starts wizarding school. Many characters to return: Tom Riddle, Sirius, Remus, Tonks, and many others. Not slash.

4. Diagon Alley

Chapter Two: Diagon Alley

Thirty Minutes Later

Twenty minutes later, Calanthe was on a train to London. Mr. Longbottom sat opposite her. She could barely contain her own excitement. Reluctantly, Calanthe's mother had agreed to stay behind at the house. Calanthe had begged her not to tell her brother about what was happening, and, to Calanthe's relief, her mother had agreed that it would be best not to tell Mike until Calanthe was far away. It wouldn't be hard to hide; Mike spent so much time at his friends' houses these days that it would be easy to move all of Calanthe's supplies into and out of the house without his noticing.

Calanthe stared out of the window, glancing every now and then at (as she should call him now) Professor Longbottom. She had so many things that she wanted to ask him… but at the same time her brain seemed clogged; her thoughts weren't functioning properly enough to let any questions through. So she sat still and stared out the window.

For his part, Professor Longbottom was just pleased that everything had gone so well. He felt rather obligated to break the silence, though, so he cleared his throat and asked her, "so, have you read your letter?"

Calanthe looked up from the window. "No," she said. "Not yet."

"Well, we have a few minutes before the train reaches London – why don't you pull it out?"

Frowning, Calanthe pulled her letter from her back pocket. The paper was stiff in her hands – like a cross between cardboard and regular paper. "What is this written on?" she asked absently, studying the envelope in her hands.

"That's called Parchment," Professor Longbottom said. Then he frowned, "What, do the Muggles – non magic people – use something different?" He hadn't heard of this, not even from any of his Muggle-Born friends.

"Yes," Calanthe said. "We use paper…" Parchment, she thought hard to herself. Parchment, parchment… She couldn't forget. It would be missing terms like that that would make her feel like an idiot – and make her seem completely dumb to all the Wizard-Born children that Professor Longbottom had told her about. Not that Calanthe was any stranger to being an outcast… But she had a dream of not being one in this strange new world that she was, suddenly, about to become apart of. Even though she didn't recognize it herself, it was her dearest wish to be apart of something, to find a place where she fit. Calanthe didn't want anything to tear that away from her.

Feeling Professor Longbottom's gaze still on her, Calanthe turned over her letter and carefully, so as to not damage the parchment inside, and slid it open. Gently, she slid a piece of folded parchment out of the envelope and began to read;

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HOGWARTS SCHOOL

Of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

Headmistress: Minerva McGonagall

Dear Ms. Rogers,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Minerva McGonagall,

Headmistress

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Calanthe read it through a couple of times. "Enclosed list of necessary books and equipment," she muttered softly to herself.

Professor Longbottom heard her anyways. "Look in the Envelope," he suggested helpfully.

Calanthe nodded, slightly entranced by the letter. She absently pulled the list out of the envelope and unfolded it.

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UNIFORM

First-year students will require:

Three sets of plain robes (black)

One set Dress Robes (Follows Dress Code)

One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear

One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)

One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)

Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags, and that clothing worn on Weekends need not always wear uniforms

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

A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch

Herbology Made Easy by Jessica Spant

Magical Drafts and Potions by Aaarsenius Jigger

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander

Simple Protection by Harry Potter

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 an owl OR a cat OR a salamander OR a Pigmy Puff OR a Squirrel. All students will be held responsible for the actions of their pets

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Calanthe stared at this for a long time, and then looked up to find Professor Longbottom looking at her. She had so many questions, but the thing that finally came out of her mouth was, "How will I carry all this?!"

Professor Longbottom leaned back in his chair and laughed, long and hard. "You'll have a trunk," he promised, eyes streaming.

"Oh," Calanthe said, blushing. "Um, where do I get that?" she asked.

"There's a place in Diagon Alley," he said.

Calanthe frowned. "Diagon Alley?" she asked, confused.

Neville smiled. "That's the Wizarding place in London, we all come there to buy things, get money out of the bank, and sometimes people live there."

"Oh, so a bit like a Shopping Center where people can live too?" Calanthe asked.

"What's a Shopping Center?" Professor Longbottom asked curiously.

Calanthe's mouth fell open. "Uh…" she said self-consciously. The last thing she wanted to do was start explaining Muggle life to Wizards. "Never mind," she said.

Professor Longbottom shrugged. "Okay," he said.

Calanthe was beginning to get an idea of exactly how different the Wizarding World was. I will master this, she thought stubbornly to herself. I will! But in spite of what she told herself, the lives of Wizards were beginning to seem very, very far away. She wondered how she would ever catch up.

Lost in worry, Calanthe fell into silence. She stared outside of the window and watched the countryside and then, later, the buildings of London pass by. Soon, the train pulled to a stop. Professor Longbottom led Calanthe up onto the street. In spite of living so near London, Calanthe had never visited the city regularly herself. She had been there… maybe seven times in her whole life. That was it. Mostly, Calanthe went to the country to visit her Grandmother, Aunts, and Uncles, rather than visit the city.

After following the Professor through a tangled web of streets for what felt like forever but was really around half an hour, they arrived outside a decrepit little building with the sign "The Leaky Cauldron," hanging out front. Professor Longbottom, as if oblivious to the fact that the little building looked like it was about to fall down, went inside. Calanthe followed him hoping, as she did so, that the closing of the door wouldn't shake the structure so badly that it collapsed on top of them.

Inside, it was crowded, though, and well lit. A stooped bar-tended sat behind the counter smoking a pipe and occasionally filling glasses for his various customers by absently pointing his wand at the cup and watching it whisk off to do as he commanded. Very few people looked up when she and the professor entered, and they made their way out of the back door quickly, although Calanthe would have been happy to watch the various cups and glasses fill themselves for a few more minutes… or a few more hours. Professor Longbottom seemed to know what she was feeling, and he gave her a smile before leading her over towards a brick wall and tapping one of the bricks (Calanthe couldn't see which one it was) with a wand he had pulled out of his pocket.

And then, there were sounds of shouts, views of colors; the brick wall was gone. In its place, was a crowded street full of people dressed in robes of every imaginable color, holding shopping bags, standing or talking or struggling to get through the crowd.

"Diagon Alley?" Calanthe asked, feeling as though she was in a huge spot light, even though no one was really looking her way.

Professor Longbottom nodded. "This would be the place."

Calanthe had to give up trying to take in everything that was going on around her, even though she wanted to. It was just too much. All the new sights, all the new smells – it was way, way, way too much for her to handle all at once. What struck her most, though, was the magicness of it all. The people staring into broomstick shop windows or bartering over newt-tongues in the street outside an Apothecary. The children – some of them dressed in Muggle clothes, even though some of these had things like 'Go Hornets!' on the front – running underfoot and tripping everyone. There were even some children who looked around her age. Calanthe paid most attention to these. These might be my classmates, she thought to herself. She never saw any of these for more than a minute, though, so she never had a chance to find out any more about them.

"Where are we going first?" Calanthe called to Neville. He had a strong grip on her upper arm to make sure that they wouldn't get separated in the throng of shoppers in Diagon Alley.

"Gringotts," said Professor Longbottom simply. Then, remembering that Calanthe had no idea what in the world Gringotts was, he added "It's our bank. You can go there to change your money so you can buy your school supplies."

Comprehension dawned on Calanthe's face at his explanation, and she smiled. Her mother had given her a little extra money to spend on herself. Calanthe wasn't sure whether it was a little bit of guilt for not being able to stop Mike from tormenting her, or sadness that she would be leaving. It made Calanthe a little uncomfortable to think about so she avoided thinking about it as much as possible.

As they walked down the street, Professor Longbottom led her towards a large, elegant, white marble building. Calanthe had to crane her neck to see the top of it.

"Gringotts," the professor said, almost unnecessarily. He led Calanthe inside.

Inside the bank, Professor Longbottom led her up to a counter behind which a small, wrinkled, undeniably ugly, creature sat counting money. Calanthe gulped. She wanted to ask the Professor what on earth this was, but it would have heard her. Instead, she just stood behind him while he handled the money exchange. When he had finished, he almost sighed in relief. Calanthe looked at him questioningly.
"Thank you for not asking what he was," he said, clearly meaning the creature at the desk. "I'm so sorry, I should have warned you."

"But," Calanthe said in a low voice with a glance back at the creature, "what was he?"

"A Goblin," said the Professor. "They're very easy to offend, Goblins. It's better not to hurt their pride if you can help it. If you had asked me what he was just now, he might have gotten offended and trust me, that would not have been good for us."

Calanthe nodded; that was something else to remember. "Where to next?" she asked.

"How about we go get your books," he said. "And then we can stop at Madam Malkins for your robes and hat. You'll be wanting at least five pair of uniform robes at least. And a pair of Dress Robes. Those weren't required in my day but there are a lot more social events these days I suppose. Student gatherings. Oh, and with whatever left-over money you have you can buy a few pairs of colored robes for weekends and holidays and things. A lot of Muggle children still wear robes over the holidays too, to show off that they've been doing since they can't do magic. So you can get some of those if you want."

"Okay," Calanthe said simply. She followed Professor Longbottom (who was still keeping a tight grip on her arm) to a store called Flourish and Blotts, where a spindly assistant came over to her, grabbed her book list, and ran around the shop for a minute grabbing the books on her list for her. When he was finished, he brought the tottering pile over to her. He neatly placed the books onto the counter, and then asked her if she would like to have a regular shopping bag, or a better bag which she could use to carry her books around school. Calanthe looked at Neville for help, here.

"Go ahead and get one," he advised. "They're really useful – and everyone uses them besides." Calanthe chose a dark purple bag with an embroidered cat on it that chased its tail round and round.

"Anything else?" the assistant asked Calanthe gruffly. Again, she looked at Professor Longbottom.

"Do you want anything else. Since this is your first year, I'd wait, since we have just about everything you'll ever need in the Hogwarts library."

"No," Calanthe said the assistant. He gave a reproachful look to the Professor, and then charged her for her purchases. After paying, they left the shop.

Professor Longbottom then led Calanthe into a shop that was slightly musky. A stooped witch came in said "Hogwarts, dearie?"

Calanthe nodded, eyes wide. The witch gave her a toothy grin and pulled out a tape measure. After a few minutes of hemming and a few well-placed waves of her wand, The witch (who Calanthe guessed was Madam Malkins herself) had finished with her school robes.

"Now," said Madam Malkins, "You'll be wanting dress-robes. How about a nice light blue to match your eyes?" Madam Malkins went over to a cupboard and pulled out a set of very beautiful light-blue silk robes. They were beautiful.

Calanthe was slightly awed as the robes slid over her head. She looked… good.

"Very beautiful dear," said Madam Malkins approvingly. "Would you like these?"

"Yes," Calanthe squeaked and Madam Malkins laughed.

"Very well then dear, very well." Madam Malkins wrapped them in brown paper and added them to the bag of normal school robes. "Now then, dear, how about some normal colored robes?"

"Okay," Calanthe said. "Um, what colors do you think?"

Madam Malkins smiled and picked out robes of ivory, light pink, dark green, and amber. Around half and hour later, Calanthe left the shop with a very full bag of robes.

"Where to now?" Calanthe asked Professor Longbottom. She had been feeling much more cheery since her visit to Madam Malkins. She had really looked like a real witch in there!

"A wand, I think," said the Professor, wiping his brow.

At that point, Calanthe felt a bubble of excitement. A magic wand! This was what she had been waiting for.

Professor Longbottom led the way to a small shop that stood near the end of the street. Olivanders, the sign said. Calanthe looked up at the sign. It was very old, that was apparent. It didn't appear to be falling apart though. Calanthe felt rather quieted by the sight of it. She let the Professor lead the way into this shop.

Inside, there was a little man sitting behind the counter. He was clearly old, but the lively way he jumped out from behind the desk to wring her hand excitedly said otherwise.

"Hello," said the little man whom Calanthe assumed was Mr. Olivander. "Hogwarts? First year buying your first wand?" Calanthe nodded. "Excellent!" said Mr. Olivander excitedly. Calanthe glanced behind her. Professor Longbottom was not in the shop, but standing discretely outside. Calanthe made a mental note to ask him about it later.

Mr. Olivander was muttering. "Let me see, let me see," he said under his breathe. "Dragon Heart String and Holly. Give it a try, go on." He handed the wand to Calanthe, who just had time to pick it up before it was snatched away my Mr. Olivander.

"No, no, no," he said. Let me see. How about… Oak and Phoenix feather." He passed the wand to Calanthe, who only had to touch it before it was snatched away. After three more wands, Calanthe was beginning to feel discouraged. Suppose there wasn't a wand that fit her? Suppose she couldn't go to Hogwarts because no wand would choose her? Mr. Olivander, on the other hand, appeared to feel exactly the opposite. He was humming merrily to himself and flitting around the shop pulling down boxes and then taking them away when the wands inside didn't work. Calanthe wondered if it was normal to have to go through a lot of wands before finding the right one.

"Now," said Mr. Olivander, "try this one. Dogwood and Unicorn hair. Go on, give it a try."

Uncertainly, Calanthe picked up the wand and waved it; a shower of bright blue and silver sparks shot out of the end like fireworks.

"Excellent!" said Mr. Olivander. "Powerful wand, that one. Excellent for delicate situations. You'll go far with that one." He carefully wrapped up the wand. Almost in relief, Calanthe paid and left the shop. Now she understood why the Professor wasn't exactly eager to see Mr. Olivander. He was something of a strange character. Brilliant, obviously. But strange too.

Calanthe felt slightly strange as she and Professor Longbottom went to buy her cauldron, telescope, trunk, and protective gloves. She couldn't explain it. Perhaps it was just shock from so many new things in one day, but she thought that she could also attribute it to her visit to Mr. Olivander's shop. The way he had looked at her when she had gotten that wand… it was creepy. Calanthe tried to put it out of her mind.

"All right Calanthe, only a pet now, if you want one," said Professor Longbottom around an hour later. It was getting late in the day. Calanthe was tired, but the idea of getting an animal excited her once more. This was something she could choose! She wondered what kind of animal she would get, and regretted that her mother wouldn't let her get a squirrel. Maybe a cat or an owl. Calanthe had always liked cats, but owls sounded incredibly cool…

"Yeah, sure," she said. She followed the Professor into a shop with a huge variety of animals in cages in its windows. Inside, she shop smelled slightly musky. It was dim in there too – many of the windows were obscured by cages alive with activity. Calanthe made to peer into one of them, only to find live bats inside it which gnashed their teeth at her.

"Real Vampire Bats," said the man behind the counter in a bored voice. "They feed only on human blood. Have to be fed every few hours, too. Twenty eight sickles a piece, those."

"Um, no thank you," Calanthe said uncertainly.

Professor Longbottom looked at the shop keeper coolly until the man noticed him.

"What can I get for you today Sir," he looked at Calanthe again, "Ma'am," he said with a nod to her.

The Professor gave her a look which clearly said, "Speak up!"

"I'm interested in Cats and Owls, sir," Calanthe said, thinking it would be best to be polite. This man didn't seem very nice.

"Cats and owls," the man muttered, "cats and owls… you'd best look over there in the back of the shop. Yes, right over there." He pointed to a dark corner. Calanthe vaguely heard him strike up a conversation with the Professor, but then her attention was lost to the animals in their cages.

Get one only if you really want it, said the reasonable part of Calanthe's brain. It seemed a good idea; she had no idea how long these animals lived, but she was sure that it was quite a long time. She would probably be at least thirty before whatever animal she got died. She would have to be sure to take care of it all that time. Calanthe hated the idea of animal cruelty and knew that most of those cases were due to neglect. She wouldn't neglect whatever animal she ended up choosing, but it was always good to be sure that she would love it first. No harm in stacking the deck.

Calanthe's eyes passed over animal after animal. A tawny owl in its cage, head under its wing. A group of snowy kittens, all curled up together in their cage. A pair of beautiful copper eyes suddenly turned up and met hers. Calanthe caught her breath and realized that they belonged to a cat. A cat with long brown fur and literally copper markings around its eyes, face, and the rest of its fur. Its fur was matted, though, and it looked as though the cat hadn't been cared for in a long time. Calanthe stared at the cat. The cat stared back.

It's funny, Calanthe thought, when you think that something like a decision is going to be so difficult, and then it turns out to be the easiest thing in the whole world. She knew that this was the animal she wanted.

She called the shop keeper over, and left the shop twenty minutes later carrying the cat carefully in a basket, along with a brush, comb, and a bag of food. Professor Longbottom said that it wouldn't be necessary for her to feed the cat at Hogwarts, that the school elves would take care of it, but it would be quite a while until then.

It was time for her to return home. Calanthe felt both relieved and a little disappointed too. She had enjoyed her day in the magical world. Plus returning home meant seeing her brother. She wondered how she would explain the cat to him, especially with its unusual markings and coloring. She wished she could cast an invisibility spell over it all to hide all of her new wizarding possessions. The thought of having her brother know about her going to Hogwarts made her slightly sick.

Just as she was about to board the train back to her home, Professor Longbottom tapped her shoulder. "I won't be taking the train back with you, so I thought I'd go over some things before we part," he said.

Calanthe nodded, listening.

"Take the train at eleven o'clock from platform 9 3/4. You get onto it by walking straight at the barrier between platforms nine and ten. You needn't go to the train in your robes – those wait until the train gets going for a little while. You have some extra money?" Calanthe nodded. "Good. You'll want it when you're on the train. But since you're a first year, you won't need it while you're at school." Finally, Professor Longbottom smiled. "Good luck, Calanthe," he said. And then he turned in the air and was gone.

The train ride back seemed to take very little time at all. Her mother met her at the station, her eyes anxious and then relieved when she saw her daughter get off the train. Of only one thing Calanthe was certain; she could hardly wait to go to Hogwarts.