The Highwayman
Chapter Six
For JC, because somehow you inspired the blonde whirlwind - I named her after you.
There is another resounding boom and Dudley jerks awake, nearly kicking Hana as he does so.
"Where's the cannon?" He asks, brain addled from sleep. There is another loud noise as Uncle Vernon comes racing through from the other room, slipping and sliding on rainwater that has come through the ever-leaking roof, a rifle in his hands. Hana blinks in surprise – This is new.
"Who's there?" Uncle Vernon shouts, a tremor in his voice. "I warn you, I'm armed!"
There is a lull, and then the door is hit so hard that it flies off its hinges with a crash and crumples to the floor. The man standing in the doorway is huge, taking up the entire space, and more. His face is almost completely covered with a wild mane of hair and even longer beard. Were Hana not too busy reaching for a knife she might have compared his to a dwarf, y'know, if he were smaller.
The giant has to bend in order to fit through the doorway, and even when he is bent over, his head is still brushing the ceiling. He leans down, picks up the door, and slots it back into its frame which mutes the sound of the storm outside – sound that had increased while the door were on the floor. The giant turns to look at them.
"Couldn't make us a cup o' tea, could yeh? It's not been an easy journey..." He says, as if he has not just broken into their (temporary) living space. Hana stares at him in shock – the nerve. The giant moves to the sofa, where Dudley is curled like a hedgehog in fear.
"Budge up, yeh great lump," The strange man says, and Hana glowers at him. She might not hold any love for her cousin, but it's the principle of the matter. Dudley, the coward that he is (and maybe she's been a little harsh right now, but she's irritated beyond the norm) flees over the back of the sofa to hide behind his mother, who in turn is hiding behind Uncle Vernon.
"An' here's 'annah!" The stranger says, looking at Hana whose hand, hidden in the folds of her jumper, is clenched tightly around a dwarven-crafted dagger. The only thing that has stopped her from hurling the knife at the stranger is that he is smiling – that and the fact that she isn't entirely sure if it would be able to penetrate anything vital.
"Las' time I saw you, you was only a baby," The giant man tells her, and Hana flinches when he adds: "Yeh look a lot like yet dad, but yeh've got yet mom's eyes." Several feet behind where the sofa is sitting, Uncle Vernon starts choking on his own spit.
"I demand that you leave at once, sir!" He says bravely, hands shaking around the handle and barrel of the gun. "You are breaking and entering!"
"Ah, shut up, Dursley, yeh great prune," The giant says, and leans over the back of the sofa. He wrenches the gun from Uncle Vernon and then bends it into a knot with ease before chucking it in the corner. Uncle Vernon lets out a rather pathetic squawk, and Hana suddenly feels relieved she didn't try her knives on him – they might be dwarvern make, but this stranger is clearly an unknown.
"Anyway – 'annah," The large man says, turning to look at her. "a very happy birthday to yeh. Got summat fer yeh here. I mighta sat on it at some point, but it'll taste all right." Hana stares at him with wide eyes, as he pulls out a slightly squashed box. She doesn't take it. The silence is painfully tense as she slowly edges along the wall in an attempt to put more difference between the two of them.
"Is ev'rythin' alright?" He asks her, turning to Uncle Vernon. "Oi. What did yeh do to 'er?" He barks and Hana finally finds her voice.
"We've just spent the past week been harassed by some nutters who keep sending us mail and know where I sleep." She snarls in a low tone, eyes narrowing. "And now some mad man is breaking into the one place we found to hide and has destroyed our only weapon. No. Everything is not alright" The stranger looks a little hurt, but she isn't going to buy it. Nori has taught her better than to fall for that.
"Who are you?" She demands, voice strained.
"True, I haven't introduced meself. Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts." He says, holding out his hand, but Hana doesn't take that either. He's large enough that he could snap her arm like a twig and she'll take her chances where she is thankyou very much. Hagrid looks hurt for a moment, but quickly collects himself.
"What about that tea then, eh?" He asks, rubbing his hands together for warmth, and then adds: "I'd not say no ter summat stronger if yeh've got it, mind."
"Do we look like we have anything 'stronger'?" Hana asks him grumpily. Hagrid winces, remembering where they are. "We've been run out of our own home a'cause of those blasted letters."
"I am sorry abou' tha'." He says. "See, we didn't realize just how many letters were bein' sent until the quill that writes them up and died last this mornin'." Hana blinks, feeling very confused.
"What now?" She asks, watching the giant man bustle about by the fireplace, and within seconds, there is a merrily crackling fire in the grate. The room is suddenly filled with warmth and Hana hears Dudley sigh happily from behind his parents. That is of course, until Hagrid sits himself down on the couch (which groaned unhappily) and Dudley shrinks back behind his mother again.
All three of the Dursleys gape along with her as they watch Hagrid pull a myriad of things from the pockets of his large coat – sausages, a teapot, mugs, even a blasted tea kettle – which Hana admires the copper shine that lights up in the firelight – it's beautiful in an incredibly simplistic way.
Hana allows her mind to glaze over once she decides the giant is no serious threat, ignores the argument that kicks off between Uncle Vernon and Hagrid once it is explained that Hana knows nothing of her heritage – it's quite funny though, watching Uncle Vernon act like a mouse, and when Aunt Petunia kicks up a fuss, Hana is pretty sure that her mother is insulted somewhere in-between the screeching and jealous-tinged barbs that come out of her Aunt's mouth. The icing on the cake of everything is when Dudley receives a pig tail, and the Dursleys flee the room in terror. Hana knows that she won't be forgetting that anytime soon. Hagrid gives her yet another letter and she really struggles to not just burn it. She's read enough of them by now that she can recite the contents by heart and quite frankly, even Hargid turning up to explain that it isn't a joke, is not enough to stop her feeling sick at the sight of green ink.
She doesn't even bother to deny that she might be a witch, and listens patiently as Hagrid then goes on to explain the truth of how she ended up at the Dursleys, and while hearing about her parent's deaths hurts, it's more of a sad hurt – a hurt that comes from not knowing how to feel, because how can you mourn something you've never had a chance to love? Barring the sadness at the loss of opportunity, there really isn't a solution.
Afterwards, the two of them settle into a mutual silence in front of the fire which dances and crackles happily, and for the first time Hana doesn't feel comforted by the golden flames. Finally, Hana curls up into a ball in the corner once more, wrapped in her blankets and she stares into the fire dazedly humming to herself as sleep overtakes her. She is vaguely aware of Hagrid settling himself on the couch, using his coat as a make-shift quilt and his mumbling about shopping in the morning, and then her eyes close and she is asleep.
He's late and he knows it. Hana will be furious, and that thought makes Nori grin. She's adorable when she's ruffled – puffs up like a kitten, all fluff and little bite. He hadn't meant to be late, really hadn't, but the heist he had been about to pull quickly went out of control. He had less time to scope out the area due to the sudden news of a potential buyer and then had to go further afield than he had planned to resell it.
Nori's way of stealing is pretty simple. When dwarrow are cheated in their sales (and the buyer can easily pay the correct price) Nori goes after the piece, retrieves it, sells it for its true value, then returns the difference in coin to the original owner and keeps the original fee for himself. It's a win-win-lesson in his mind. He wins, the seller wins, and the cretin who cheated the crafter learns a valuable lesson. Don't fuck with Dwarrow.
He's lucky - this time he was able to bring home slightly more than usual, even if it did take longer than he would have liked. He'll even have some copper and bronze left over which he can use to cast some beads that he can sell and some for Hana. He's been thinking it over, and he's sure that some copper coils to twist into her braids will cheer her up over his absence.
He lets himself into the family home and strips off his soggy boots – leaving them to dry by the main fire before making his way into his bedroom. It takes him less than ten minutes to strip his muddy clothes, pile them beside the door and clean himself up. There is dried mud in his hair, and some leaves stuck in his braids, so he undoes them, piling the beads into a small pouch and setting them by his bed before taking a comb to the wild mess that he calls hair. Once done, he sets the comb down and curls up in his bed, drifting away before his eyes are completely shut.
Of all the things he was expecting, Nori could never have anticipated the insanity that is Hana's tale. She isn't there when he first falls asleep, which is admittedly not too worrying. She's been known to stay up late reading with her flashlight before, and he is late. So when she joins him in the dream world, eyes wide and more than a little shocked, Nori is mildly alarmed. She takes one look at him and flings herself at him and he finds himself sprawled on the ground, his small friend clinging tightly to him.
Nori pushes himself up into a sitting position and situates himself against the wall, threading his fingers through her messy hair and untangling the snarls that have no doubt been caused by restlessness. There are other signs of her stress – her face is paler than normal, her hands shaky, and there are bags under her eyes which look rather lost. She doesn't speak for a long time, content to snuggle into him, breathing in his scent until the tenseness leaves her small frame.
"Nori," she says suddenly, "I'm a witch."
It's strange really – a single sentence changes everything as all the unusual events from her childhood make sense and reason clicks into place.
"You don't seem very surprised." Hana says after a moment of quiet, eyeing him suspiciously and Nori can't help but laugh. She's crinkled her nose up and it looks downright adorable – not that he will tell her that. She still has her knives after all.
"I did wonder lass," He admits, "I knew yeh had to have some sort'a magic in yeh."
"You knew?" she squawks indignantly and swats at his arm, he laughs again.
"I had a thought. Didn't know nothin' for certain." He nods, absent-mindedly twisting his fingers through the top layer of her hair before letting it fall loose, the ends of it tickling her shoulders. The way it falls gives him an idea and so he pulls a leather string from his pocket.
"So. How'd yeh find out yeh were a witch?" He asks as he slides his fingers down one of her braids and removes the bead from it, combing the hair loose from the twisted plait.
"The magic school sent me letters," She says sulkily as she leans back into his hands. "Don't laugh." She adds warningly because she knows that it sounds ridiculous.
"An' yeh just believed it?" Nori's eyebrows shoot up, his tone incredulous. He gathers up the top layer of her hair once more and ties it in a low ponytail, twisting it under itself and up through a gap in the hair until it fluffs out, forming a silken waterfall from the back of her head.
"No!" Hana protests, slapping at his leg. "A'course I didn't. They were stupid anyway – and they kept sending them after I ignored the first one."
"Odd," Nori agrees, "Yeh think they'd have thought to mebbeh send a body to explain."
"It was really creepy," Hana adds with a snort. "They actually knew where I'd been sleeping and everything." Nori tenses up, and so she hurriedly adds:
"Turns out the letters are written by a magic quill, so they weren't being perverts or nothin'. It's also why they didn't think to send anybody until it burnt itself out writing way too many letters." She's eyeing him warily, because if there is one thing dwarrow hate more than orcs or dragons, it's folk who would harm a child.
"I'm alright Nori, I promise." Hana insists and Nori slowly allows his body to relax, forcing his breathing to even out. He cards his fingers through her soft mane, tugging and twisting a small potion into a new braid and tying it off with the wooden bead again. He sighs deeply.
"Are yeh sure tha' yer okay though?" He asks her in a tired tone. She nods and then launches into the story of everything that has happened in the past week, tells him about the floods of letters and how they fled to the hut on the rock after the living room was stuffed full of the blasted things, about how Hagrid knocked the door down and then explained everything.
He nods approvingly when she proudly adds that she had her knives ready the whole time and that she let Dudley eat the food the stranger had offered first, and that simple nod makes her burn with pride. It takes a lot for her to suppress the wild grin that tries to bloom on her face and so she ducks her head and plays with the copper bead that always rests reassuringly over her right shoulder. When she is finished, they sit silently for a while, and then he says:
"Don't ye be forgetting how to use those pretty knives of yours though. Magic might be fun an' all, but a hidden blade will aid you just as well as any fancy stick they give you." Hana nods eagerly and promises, which earns her a smile.
When Hana wakes the next morning, it is too dazzling summer sunlight streaming through the cracked panes of the desolate looking window and a rather persistent tapping noise. She opens her eyes, and there is an owl at the window. She honestly isn't surprised any more – considering the owl from Private drive, and the one Hagrid had retrieved from a pocket last night to send a letter to… Dunderboor? She had zoned out for that bit, too interested in the sausages she had been given.
She opens the window and the Owl flutters in, drops its burden on Hagrid's head and proceeds to attack the coat he is using as a blanket. Hana says nothing – she just stares at it. How strange… Maybe there are mice or something in the pockets, and when Hana's ears pick up an audible squeak she thinks for a moment that she is correct. But then Hagrid rolls over dislodges the bird who lets out a disgruntled cry which wakes him up. The giant sits up, rubbing at his temples and yawning loudly. He looks through the pockets and digs out some bronze-looking coins which he puts in a pouch attached to the birds' leg. The owl hoots happily and flies back out the window once more.
Seeing the coins reminds Hana of something.
"Hagrid. How exactly am I supposed to pay for my school supplies? I don't have any money." Hagrid laughs, and then says.
"Of course you do. It's all in the bank where your parents left it for you." Hana blinks in shock, as she follows him out the front door, quite happy to leave the Dursleys behind. The morning sky is clear and there is a pleasant breeze, tinged with the briny scent of the ocean. They climb into the boat, and Hana pretends not to notice Hagrid doing magic to get it going – she's too busy gleefully wondering how the Dursleys will get home.
It doesn't take them long to reach the shore, and then Hana is bounding up a set of stone steps behind Hagrid and following him to the local train station. People stare at Hagrid a lot, but thankfully nobody makes a fuss (even with his loud remarks about muggles and his amazement over a parking meter, which Hana finds painful to watch) and they are able to board the next train to London without interruption.
London is busy, which means that Hana immediately falls in love with it. It's the kind of city in which she could just blend right in and nobody would ever notice her.
"I don't know how the Muggles manage without magic," Hagrid grumbles as they use a broken escalator to reach the street level and leave the underground behind. They walk along the street for several more minutes before Hagrid steers her into a dull looking pub called the Leaky Cauldron that nobody else seems to be able to see. The inside is dark, and a little bit dingy – as if it could do with a serious airing out.
There is a pair of old ladies in the corner, glasses of sherry in hand – one of them is smoking a pipe, which Hana finds a little odd. A man wearing a top hat sits at the bar, engaged in conversation with the bartender who is wiping out glasses with a rag.
"The usual, Hagrid?" The bartender asks him, apparently knowing Hagrid quite well.
"Can't, Tom, I'm on Hogwarts business," said Hagrid, pointing to Hana who is thankful that he hasn't slapped a hand down on her shoulder because she knows she wouldn't stay standing for long.
"Good Lord," the bartender says, peering at Hana, "is this - can this be -?" The room goes strangely still and silent at his words, and Hana winces. Oh no. Silence is never a good thing.
"Bless my soul," the man behind the bar says in a low tone, "Hannah Potter... what an honor." He rushed out from behind the bar, and Hana backpedals quickly. It isn't fast enough to stop him from grabbing her hand and shaking it furiously.
"Welcome back, Miss. Potter, welcome back." Suddenly everybody is around her and she's trying not to panic. Everybody seems to want to shake her hand, and she can only handle it for a few minutes before she's darting behind Hagrid and tugging on his sleeve. Thankfully one of the old ladies can take a hint and lambasts the lot of them.
"Knock it off. Can't ye' see the wee lass is fighten'd" She scolds them in an Irish brogue and Hana breathes a sigh of relief as everybody backs off looking rather sheepish.
"We'd best get going folk. Lots ter buy. Come on, Hannah." Hagrid grins at her, still happy, even after the tongue lashing the Irish lady gave everybody.
"Told yeh, didn't I? Told yeh you was famous." Hagrid says happily as they duck out the back and into an alleyway. Hana glares at him.
"I really don't like being fussed over like that." She tells him, and his grin falters. "And I prefer to be called Hana." Hagrid nods, focusing on the wall in front of them. He taps a brick in the wall and stands back as the wall seems to resort itself, creating an arch in which they can walk through. On the other side of the arch, is a bustling street, packed full of people dressed in brightly colored robes.
"Welcome," Hagrid tells her, "to Diagon Alley." He leads her down the street towards the large white building with the name "Gringotts" embossed on the front and through a set of bronze doors attended to by short, reptilian looking figures.
"Yeah, that's a goblin," Hagrid says quietly as they walk through a second set of doors – these ones are silver. The inside of the bank is a large domed hall, with a number of doors branching off of it. Hagrid leads her to one of the counters and says:
"Morning, we've come ter take some money outta Miss. Hannah Potter's safe." The Goblin eyes him.
"You have her key, Sir?" Hagrid nods, and then proceeds to empty the entire contents of his pockets all over the counter in an attempt to find it. Hana is more interested in staring a nearby goblin who is weighing large rubies. They are beautiful – a lovely soft maroon and she absently wonders what one might do with rubies of that size.
"Got it," Hagrid finally says, having found the tiny golden key which is examined carefully by the Goblin.
"That seems to be in order." He says, and is about to call for an assistant when Hagrid mentions he has business for the Headmaster with a Vault 713. The Goblin nods, and calls for Griphook (another Goblin) to take them down to both vaults. Hana watches Hagrid shove everything back inside his pockets and then they follow Griphook to what looks like a mine shaft and climb into a cart.
The ride down to the vaults is dizzyingly fast, and Hana closes her eyes for a good part of it, dong her best to keep her breathing slow and controlled in order to prevent nausea. When they finally reach the vault, Hana climbs out onto shaky legs to follow Griphook, because Hagrid says that this is her vault. The door opens with a rush of green smoke and then Hana can see the piles of gold and silver inside.
"All yours," Hagrid tells her happily, having clambered out of the cart to stand behind her.
"The gold ones are Galleons," he says as she fills a bag with them, making sure to take more than they say is necessary. She knows that it is best to be prepared, and gold will go a long way in buying assistance.
"Seventeen silver Sickles to a Galleon and twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle, it's easy enough." Hagrid turns to Griphook, who is standing lazily by the cart.
"Vault seven hundred and thirteen now, please, and can we go more slowly?"
"One speed only," Griphook says with a sly grin, and Hana has a feeling that he isn't strictly telling the truth. They climb back into the cart, which hurtles even deeper, the air growing colder. They cross an underground ravine and Hana wisely sinks deeper into the cart, not wanting to fall down it. It takes a few minutes, but the pull up in front of the other vault rather quickly. Hana peeks out of the cart, and then does a double take. Vault seven hundred and thirteen has no keyhole. How fascinating.
"Stand back," Griphook tells them, and then strokes the door gently with one of his fingers – the door just melts away into thin air.
"If anyone but a Gringotts goblin tried that, they'd be sucked through the door and trapped in there," Griphook says in a creepy tone, and Hana makes a note to tell Nori to never try and steal from a Goblin.
Hana waits patiently as Hagrid collects his assignment and clambers back into the cart. They speed back up to the main floor and Hana decides to inquire about exchanging some gold for muggle money. She also clings to her vault key with a determined glare. It's hers, isn't it? So it should stay with her. Hagrid seems too ill to argue, and so, soon enough, Hana is back outside Gringotts in no time at all, cheerily waving Hagrid off as the poor man heads back to the pub. She looks around for a moment before settling on getting her robes first. She isn't even in the shop for a whole five minutes before the peaceful quiet is broken.
The girl is a whirlwind of energy, blowing into the shop like a summer squall; her silver eyes alight with joy. "Hi." She trills, darting forward to greet Hana and offering her hand. "I'm Jessica."
"Hana." Hana replies, trying to avoid telling anybody who she is. The scene in the Leaky Cauldron was by far enough for her and she has no desire for another to happen.
"Are you going to Hogwarts as well?" Jessica asks, still almost vibrating with excitement and Hana gets the feeling that she is dealing with an overly-hyper budgie. Hana nods, eyes fixed on the blonde who squeals happily.
"That's awesome. Do you know what House you want to be in?" Jessica asks and Hana is confused.
"House?" She says, nervousness starting to creep up on her. Jessica blinks, and tilts her head to the side, before starting to explain all about the houses, pulling Hana over to the stools where Madam Malkin stands, having finally returned with the girls' school robes (how she knew to bring enough for the both of them, Hana will never know). Hana climbs up onto the stool, still listening to Jessica who is rattling on at ninety to nothing, which is a little disconcerting to be honest; Hana has never met anybody so… so vibrant before.
The blonde never seems to pause for breath and so Hana finds herself nodding instead of actually trying to answer any questions that come her way. In no time at all Madam Malkin is done and the two girls hop down from the stool to pay for their robes.
"Mamma is picking up my books and Papa is making sure that all my potions ingredients are boxed up properly." Jessica explains handing gold to the shop assistant who is ringing up their uniforms.
"Do you want any help picking out a trunk?" She offers, "We can find you one that shrinks itself or has multiple compartments. It makes it easier to store stuff you see – one for your books, one for your clothes, one for equipment ectera." Hana's eyes go wide at the thought and she mutely nods.
They collect their packages – it seems that brown paper and string is a common thing to use in the wizarding world. Then the blonde whirlwind is leading her out the door and down the street to the trunk store. In a matter of minutes Hana's new friend has sweetalked the shop owner into selling them a lovely dark green trunk with burnished copper bands and locks for a discounted price. It's a lovely thing, not only does it shrink to the size of a small suitcase at the touch of a button, it has a dial on the lock – and when Hana clicks it to a new setting, (each setting marked in roman numerals) it opens a new interior. There are four settings all in all, and Hana doesn't even try to understand how this is possible, she just quietly thanks Jessica for her help and pays the man at the till. Before the leave, the man is kind enough to show Hana how to fold her new robes inside the trunk so they won't crease, and Hana presses the little button next to the dial in order to shrink her new trunk. Jessica beams at her, and off they go – The apothecary is amazing, although some of the things they buy there for her are a little creepy. All the little boxes go neatly into another part of her trunk as does the equipment they collect at the next store – a cauldron, telescope, weighs scales and such.
But what Hana loves best is when they enter the bookstore, it's amazing smelling of old leather and parchment. For a moment Hana thinks that she is in heaven, and she stares happily at the stacks and shelves of books. Jessica tugs on her hand.
"Come on, Mamma is over there," She says, pointing to a lovely looking blonde woman who is stacking up books on the countertop. "She'll help us find your books." Hana shyly follows Jessica over to the woman and stands there silently as Jessica excitedly tells her mother all about how they met and would she please help Hana find her books because Hana is here by herself.
Jessica's mother "Call me Elaine dear," smiles, (and what a lovely smile it is), and then leads them over to where the books for the first years are located and helps Hana reach the books that are on the upper shelves. It's a little embarrassing, because even Jessica is a few inches taller than her, but they are so nice about it that she barely minds. The books, once bought and paid for, fill the last compartment in her trunk and Elaine offers to take her with them to Olivander's because Jessica hasn't gotten her wand yet either.
Olivander is a strange little old man, quite like his shop which is full of long thin boxes that are piled in high mounds throughout the room.
"Hello," Hana says politely, trying to not let the old man see just how creeped out she is.
"Ah yes," Olivander says in an airy voice. "Yes, yes. I thought I'd be seeing you soon. Hannah Potter." Hana's gut clenches. Damn. Jessica's eyes go wide, and she and Elaine both stare at her in shock.
"It's Hana." Hana grumbles, eyeing the old man with a baleful glare, nut Olivander ignores her and starts to witter on about her parent's wands, which is cool – but still not enough to make up for outing her. She is ever grateful that Jessica and her mother have stopped staring at her, evidently deciding it is much better to be polite and treat her normally. Olivander moves closer and closer to her, looking at her forehead – why do people keep doing that?
"And that's where..." He trails off. "My dear, where is your scar?" He asks, befuddled. Hana stares at him. What the hell? Is he talking about the strange lightning bolt on her collarbone? The one Aunt Petunia claims she got in the park after falling (read: probably pushed by Dudley) from the monkey bars?
"On my collarbone," Hana says icily. "What on earth does that have to do with my wand?" Olivander backs up hurriedly and turns to Jessica's mother in an attempt to ease the obvious tension.
"Elaine Newman, Walnut and Unicorn hair? Eight inches? Sturdy?"
"It's Lovelace now, but yes – it was." She agrees, smiling softly. "Now, the girls?"
Olivander nods, and sets a magical tape to measuring Jessica who happily steps forward when Hana doesn't budge. He treats them to a spiel about how wands are never alike, and how they choose their masters, but Hana is more interested in staring at the tape measure – did it just measure the gap between Jessica's nostrils?
It doesn't take long for Jessica to find her wand – a surprising mix of Cherry and Billywig stingers (nine inches and with a lovely spring to it), which Olivander tells them is a very happy, albeit slightly bipolar wand. The Cherry being a cheerful and willing type of wood with consistent results and being very favorable for pretty much every branch of magic, and the Stingers (imported from Australia of all places) are common among those who are light of heart and enjoy jokes – but have a very unpredictable nature, often changing between doing exactly as the wielder wishes and then suddenly flipping to causing trouble.
Hana's wand takes a little longer and they go through almost every wand in the store. Olivander looks particularly upset when a Phoenix father and Holly wand does not take to her, so upset in fact that he has her try it three times, before the shop window shatters into tiny pieces as the wand expresses its displeasure.
Finally, she tries a Hawthorn wand, containing the tail feather of an Augurey ("eight inches, rather inflexible") and the store lights up as a shower of blue sparks blossoms from the tip of the wand. It's perfect. Olivander wraps it up for her and she pays the requisite seven galleons before sliding it into her trunk, neatly positioned ontop of her new school robes.
She follows Elaine and Jessica back to the Leaky Cauldron where Hagrid is waiting for her. Thankfully, the pub is now mostly empty and Hana is able to set her trunk down on the table where Hagrid is sat without being besieged by well-wishers. There is a clatter, and Hana looks up to see Jessica pulling a man who must be her father over to meet her. He smiles at her, and they exchange pleasantries while Hagrid pays his tab.
"I'd best be getting you back to yeh family then 'ana?" Hagrid says, and Hana is grateful that he's quickly caught onto the fact that she doesn't like to use her given name. Of course, it's entirely possible that he's feeling guilty about earlier.
"Don't worry about me," Hana tells him. "I changed some galleons at the bank so I could go and get some new clothes that actually fit me. I'll have enough left over for a train ticket too." Hagrid tries to protest until Elaine intercedes and points out that Hana will also need to get underwear because she will be away from home for many months, and Hagrid turns a funny shade of pink before agreeing to leave her to her own devices. It's nice, knowing that Elaine has that confidence in her, and Hana decides that she likes the Lovelace family. When Jessica insists that she'll write to Hana everyday if she likes, Mr. Lovelace nods and says that the family owl could do with the exercise. Hana waves goodbye and heads out into London, trunk tucked under her arm. Today has been… an adventure. She can't wait to tell Nori.
General Notes
I'd like to start by apologizing for any issues anybody might have had with my tumblr. I was trying to fix the coding this week and it just… Well, epic fail. I'll try and get it fixed asap. From now on, updates will be on Thursdays. Why? Because I love Thursdays. Also because of the sheer amount of crap I have to trawl through in order to write this. I hate blending canon. It used to be fun, but now it kills my inspiration.
You can now (hopefully) access Character pages on my tumblr. I've added family trees and mapped out character designs for four characters from Earth. No Nori page yet – that's coming next along with Bofur and Ori. Then Fíli and Kíli… I'm trying okay, I really am.
Story Notes
So… I wasn't intending to add an OFC, but Jessica sort of wrote herself in. Seriously. I didn't even notice until AFTER I was done with that scene. Then I sat back and went "What the hell? Where did blondie come from?" Jessica is pretty much a bottle of champagne wrapped in a storm and covered in charisma. She's bubbly and bright, you can't say no to her, can't help but like her – she's a freaking force of nature.
The trunk? Well, I figure that women might think more about how to get their stuff around with minimum fuss. I know I've always been careful about what I pack/don't pack. Plus, she's a rather rich witch from an old family line with a trust fund. It makes sense that she can afford this.
The change in Hana's wand? Well, it is an AU and I do indeed have a cunning plan. Prori incantartum? Yeah… Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies. I've thought that out and I promise there is madness to my method. :3
Hawthorn – There is a unique ritual associated with the harvesting of hawthorn for wandwood- they are only cut in symbolic prunings at Beltane. It is an excellent DADA wand, as it symbolizes protection.
Augurey tail feather - Augureys, or Irish phoenixes, were once associated with powerful Dark wands, as their cries were thought to signify an upcoming death. However, they were in reality never a strong Dark core, and were more accurately a powerful core for Divinations. Misunderstood students may find themselves bonded to an augurey wand, although these wands are altogether quite rare.
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Steve Notes
As always, anything that involves Steve is probably heavily influenced by Grant. Because chilled-hippy-characters don't come easy to me and he is a genius. To 'Don' .Myself' Getting your review asking if Steve was Crocodile hunting made Grant and I laugh so hard that we cried. It's certainly a thought for a later date. Again, I was going to add Steve's Omake but it's proving to be difficult to write. I have the framework, but I'm beginning to think I should write it as part of the outtakes – a set of off-screen oneshots that don't feature in the actual story.
Reviewers
Pretty much everybody.
Thankyou so much for your support, it means the world to me. :)
+ Sour [Guest]
It would be really handy if you had an account so I could just respond, but I'll post here instead. Steve introduced himself twice because I was half asleep when I wrote that scene. I do a lot of late-night writing with just a mug of hot cocoa for company (and the demon that proclaims to be my cat).
Right – the main point, Hana. I think what you missed that she was under a lot of strain. She's very dependent on Nori at this point in time and she's been suffering from separation anxiety (which isn't fun I promise). On top of that, she's been harassed and driven from her home (if you can call it home) by some stranger, (who knows where she sleeps, which is really, really creepy.) sending letters en masse.
By the time she's in the hut she's exhausted emotionally and mentally, she's cold and tired and very, very scared. It's not really aggression, but more… twitchiness. She's spent a good year or two handling knives so she sort of treats them like a comfort blanket when Nori isn't around. Lord knows, I'm 20, and I still have my comfort blanket (now more like rags) from when I was a child. I don't really understand the Tarzan reference, so I'll just leave that be.
"but honestly like re read your work and the hp books and just like think abt it for a bit"
I shall admit that this particular line made me bristle and I spent a good half an hour ranting to my Namadith about it. I have indeed read every single book of the Harry Potter Canon along with the companion pieces numerous times and seen every single movie. I also happen to have been a student of Psychology for a few years, and so I like to think I can measure human behavior quite well. I reread every chapter before I post and check for inconsistencies and I know I have some to fix. Hana's little aggression-cum-cornered-animal piece won't be changing though. It's something that will play into a larger plotline.
I'm really glad you like Nori, he's pretty much my favorite Dwarf. I literally sat there one time and watched DOS just to stare at Nori's hair and watch it slowly get messier and messier. My mom was beyond pissed at my commentary.
Actually, I'm pretty sure LotR is where Rowling got the idea for the Horcrux(s). The One Ring was pretty much a Horcrux, holding a part of Sauron's soul and all. So [possible spoiler here] Hana will probably take one look at the ring and go "Oh hell no. We are not doing this again. Nori, get your mace, we're taking the Hobbit to Mordor and getting rid of this thing."
