It's been too long, hasn't it? Well, I apologize from the deepest regions of my heart. There have been several reasons why I couldn't update: I've been out of town often with no access to my files/Internet; when I was home, I couldn't access said files; I've had some difficulty with posting; and I've been just plain busy. Once again, lo siento. (And thank you, Yoshinator, for your concern: I have been feeling a little under the weather, but I'm better.)
Disclaimer: The usual.
Chapter 9: Diagon Alley
Nagini's eyes roved the list of supplies: robes, potions ingredients, quills, parchment, ink, a telescope, brass scales, pewter cauldron, books, and a magic wand. She looked up at McGonagall, her excitement shining through. "Where do I get all this, professor?" she asked, though she knew the answer—right here in London, down Diagon Alley.
"Here, in London," McGonagall answered. "If you're ready, we can go now." Nagini nodded, her father's words ringing in her ears once more. Don't refuse their help, even if you don't need it. It will only make them suspicious.
McGonagall walked to the door, and Nagini followed her. They were both silent as they made their way out of the orphanage and to the gate. Once the gate had closed behind them and they were walking down the street, Nagini asked, "Where exactly are we going, professor?"
"To Diagon Alley," she replied. "It's actually not too far from here, as a matter of fact."
She fell silent, and Nagini contemplated the passersby as they hurried about their business. How many of them were witches and wizards, she wondered. Probably very few, she reasoned. After all, if they were magical, they wouldn't need to walk, but then again, she thought, she and McGonagall were walking, weren't they? "Professor," spoke up Nagini, "I have no money. How am I supposed to pay for my books and things?" The thought had just occurred to her, and she began to worry, but McGonagall spoke up.
"Not to worry, Ms. Ferestael. There is a fund at Hogwarts for students who need financial assistance." From a bag, she pulled out a small pouch to show Nagini before putting it back. "If you're careful, it should last your entire time at Hogwarts." Nagini nodded, feeling relieved.
They were quiet again as they walked down the street, turned left, and continued walking. Nagini sensed that McGonagall was not a person who liked to fill the air with meaningless chatter. "Professor?" Nagini asked, wondering if the woman was tired of her questions yet. It appeared not.
"Yes, Ms. Ferestael?" said McGonagall looking down at the girl.
"What do you teach?"
"Transfiguration, the art of transforming an object or animal into something else."
Nagini nodded. "What other classes are there?" she asked. She figured as long as McGonagall would answer her questions, she would keep asking them.
"Well, there are Potions, Charms, Herbology, History of Magic, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Astronomy. Of course, when you are a third-year, you can take additional classes," she added.
As Nagini thought of what to ask next, McGonagall stopped and put her arm out to stop Nagini. "Here we are," she said quietly. Nagini looked around. They were standing in front of a small, rather dingy-looking pub. The sign out front read The Leaky Cauldron. Her eyes widened, and she looked at McGonagall.
"Can—?" she began, but McGonagall shook her head.
"Muggles can't see it. The Leaky Cauldron here is the entrance to Diagon Alley. Come along." She walked into the pub, and Nagini followed her. Compared to outside, the room was very dark, and Nagini had to squint to make out anything. A few tables were occupied. A wizard sat reading a newspaper while stirring a cup of tea. Two witches in a corner were comparing purchases. Behind the bar, a bald man dried used glasses with his rag.
"Morning, ma'am," he said nodding to McGonagall. "New student?" he asked, tilting his head at Nagini.
"Yes, Tom," said McGonagall, navigating the tables and chairs. "We're buying school supplies today."
"Well, have fun," he told them as they left.
"Who was that?" asked Nagini once they were outside as she hurried to catch up to McGonagall, who was striding toward a brick wall.
"That was Tom. He's the proprietor of The Leaky Cauldron." They stopped in front of the brick wall, and Nagini watched McGonagall, wondering where they would go from there. McGonagall drew her wand out from her sleeve and tapped the brick wall three times. McGonagall stepped back, and Nagini watched as the bricks melted away, revealing a bustling alley on the other side.
They stepped through, and the bricks re-formed behind them. Nagini looked around in awe. Everywhere she looked, she saw witches and wizards going about their business, much like the Muggles on the streets of London. There were shops and stands selling all sorts of things. Nagini saw piles of cauldrons—bronze, silver, gold, copper—under a sign reading Cauldrons: All Sizes, Self-Stirring, Collapsible. There was a shop with baskets of grasses, berries, powdered minerals, miniature black rocks, and what looked like frog eyes, among other things. Nagini saw a shop that sold only telescopes and other silver instruments, many of whose purposes she could not even begin to fathom. Everywhere, there were witches and wizards, both adults and young children, bustling about. And in the distance, there was a large white and gold building that towered over all the shops like a castle over the peasants' huts.
"Wow," she murmured.
McGonagall smiled down at her. "Shall we start with your wand?" she asked. When Nagini didn't respond, McGonagall took her by the arm and led her down the street. Nagini barely paid attention to where they were going, too busy gazing at everything around her. They passed a shop full of broomsticks of various types and another shop of owls, cats, toads, and other animals. Then they passed a shop that made Nagini's eyes widen even further: the bookshop. Inside, shelves stretched from floor to ceiling, and as far as Nagini could tell, the shop seemed to be a maze of shelves. Several books were displayed in the window, among them How to Train Your Dragon, Top Twelve Transfiguration Tips, Curses and Jinxes: Malevola's No-Fail Guide to Revenge, and Island Brewers: A History of England's Potion Masters.
A moment later, Nagini almost ran into McGonagall (again), who had stopped in front of another shop. "Sorry, professor," muttered Nagini stumbling a bit. McGonagall didn't comment but, instead, gestured at the shop in front of them. Nagini looked up at the sign hanging above the window: Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C.
"Ollivander's is the best place to buy a wand," McGonagall said, pulling out the pouch she had shown Nagini earlier and handing it to her. Nagini accepted it silently and followed McGonagall into the shop. It was very dark. Long, narrow boxes covered shelves lining the walls at the back of the room, and a few wands were displayed in the window. There was a single desk with a lamp and yet more boxes on it. In front of the desk there was a single chair, on which McGonagall sat leaving Nagini to wait in the center of the shop. Nagini felt her fingers tingle and her hair buzz with electricity. She gripped her locket out of habit. Obviously, with all the wands there was a great deal of magic in the shop, she thought.
Suddenly, a man appeared from behind a curtain in the opposite corner from the door. "Good morning," he said quietly. "Minerva! How nice to see you!" he exclaimed seeing McGonagall. "And who is this?" he asked coming towards Nagini.
"Nagini Ferestael," Nagini answered clearly.
"Nagini Ferestael," he murmured to himself. "I don't believe I've heard your name before."
"I doubt you would have," Nagini answered. "Ferestael is a ward name."
He looked at her, considering. "I suppose you're here for your first wand?"
She nodded. "Yes, sir."
"Well, let's see what we can do for you? Which is your wand arm?" he asked pulling out a tape measure from his pocket.
"Well, I'm right-handed," replied Nagini uncertainly, but Mr. Ollivander had already disappeared, flinging aside the curtain to reveal even more shelves with wands. Nagini realized the tape measure he had pulled out was currently measuring the distance from her shoulder to wrist on its own. Ollivander returned with one of the long, narrow boxes in hand.
"Oak and dragon heartstring, nine and a quarter inches, very strong," he said pulling out the wand and handing it to her. "Give it a wave."
Nagini did, indeed, give it a wave, and a dozen boxes tumbled off the shelf behind the desk. Ollivander shook his head, "Not this one, then. Let's see. . ." He pulled down another box from a shelf and handed her the wand. "Cherry and phoenix feather, eight and a half inches, supple. Give it a try." Nagini waved the wand, and this time the pile of boxes on the desk crashed to the floor.
"Hmm," Ollivander murmured, "tricky customer, ehh? Don't you worry, though. We'll find a wand that you like, or rather a wand that likes you, for as I always say, it's the wand that chooses the wizard. Or in this case, witch." The corners of McGonagall's lips twitched as if she was fighting a smile, and Nagini wondered if he said the same thing to every customer.
"The wand chooses the wizard?" she asked.
"That's right," he responded as he dug through the boxes that were left on the desk. Interesting, thought Nagini. Who would've thought?
Nagini tried wand after wand, and each time another set of boxes would crash to the floor, though once she did make the lamp explode, causing Ollivander to murmur, "Most certainly not that one," before snatching the wand in question away from her quickly. After several failed attempts, Ollivander paused in his search and stood in the middle of the shop, thinking. "I've got it!" he cried suddenly and hurried over to the desk. He pulled open various drawers and rummaged through them. Finally, he straightened another box in hand.
He approached Nagini slowly, opening the box, so she could see the wand inside. "Hawthorn and unicorn hair, thirteen inches exactly." Nagini took the wand from him slowly. The tingling she had felt in her fingertips spread throughout her entire body. Nagini knew this wand was the right match. Her body felt feather-light, as if she could float away at any moment. McGonagall watched patiently as Nagini waved the wand. This time, silver light burst from the wand, swirling in the air.
Ollivander clapped. "That's it! We found your wand." Nagini looked down at the wand and smiled. Already, she felt a connection with the slim stick of wood in her hand. "And it is quite the wand," Ollivander continued. Nagini looked up at him. "Oh, yes," he said, seeing her reaction, "that wand is over one thousand years old. It's said that it was crafted by one of the Four Founders of Hogwarts, even."
"Really?" asked Nagini, wide-eyed.
"Well, that's just legend," said Ollivander shrugging, "but it is a very old wand, and it would have been around at their time."
"How is it that it still works?" Nagini asked puzzled. "If it's over a thousand years old."
"The best wands are the oldest," he told her cryptically. "Many secrets of wandlore have been lost, and while we have tried, we have not been able to recover them."
Suddenly, he walked away from her. "Fifteen galleons," he said. He seemed to be wrestling internally. "Quickly, now. I don't have all day," he snapped.
Nagini stared at him in shock but then fumbled for the money pouch McGonagall had given her. She handed over the fifteen galleons without looking at Ollivander. "Have a good day," he said as she hurried out of the shop behind McGonagall. Nagini quickly glanced back to see Ollivander staring at the wand in her hand. Shivering, Nagini turned away. She forced a bright smile on her face for McGonagall.
"Where to next?" she asked.
Nagini and Professor McGonagall went from shop to shop that morning without further incident. They bought robes, potions ingredients, parchment, quills, inks, a telescope, scales, and a cauldron. After a couple of hours, all that was left were Nagini's books. When they stepped in the bookstore, Nagini pulled up short. She stared around in amazement. There had to be thousands of books in here, she thought. The answers to every question I have lie between the pages. She wandered up and down the aisles, stroking the spines and glancing at the titles while McGonagall handed her booklist to a shopkeeper, who proceeded to collect the books Nagini needed. In the corner, a girl with bushy brown hair was reading a book while two adults, presumably her parents, found the books on her list. She had glanced up briefly when Nagini and McGonagall entered but quickly returned to her book.
Nagini shivered. There was just as much magic here as in the wand shop, though of a different kind to be sure. She leaned against the bookshelf and closed her eyes. If only she knew everything that these books did. . .
"Miss Ferestael?"
Nagini jumped. McGonagall was looking at her, concerned. "Are you alright, Miss Ferestael?"
"Oh, I'm fine," Nagini replied shaking it off. "I'm just a bit tired."
McGonagall nodded but narrowed her eyes all the same. Nagini pretended not to notice and, instead, reached for the stack of books that McGonagall held.
"Well, come along then, Miss Ferestael," said McGonagall slowly. "You must be getting back to the orphanage."
They left the bookshop, Nagini's supplies in hand. Nagini could barely see where she was going due to the stack of books she carried in front of her face. She was almost knocked over as a redhead boy but jumped back just in time, only to almost be run over by another one. McGonagall chuckled and shook her head. "Those two," she muttered. "You can't get away from them." She didn't seem irritated though, just amused.
McGonagall then guided her along the alley and back through the Leaky Cauldron into Muggle London. They slowly made their way back to the orphanage, and McGonagall helped Nagini carry her packages up to her room. "Remember," she said placing the potions kit on Nagini's pillow, "the train leaves on September first at eleven o'clock from King's Cross, platform nine and three quarters."
"Nine and three quarters?" asked Nagini, wondering if she had heard right.
McGonagall nodded. "Just walk through the barrier between platforms nine and ten, and you'll be able to figure it out from there." She stood and looked down at Nagini. "I'll see you when term begins. Don't get into any trouble before then."
Nagini smiled. "I won't, Professor. And thank you."
"You're very welcome." And as Nagini watched, McGonagall turned on the spot and with a crack, she disappeared.
Well? Thoughts? Comments? Concerns? I welcome them all. Please?
Have you noticed that I have the tendency to make the wands of my characters special in some way? I've done it here with Nagini, and I did it with Emily Freeman, too.
Until next time, then! (Hopefully, it won't be as long of a wait, but once again, I'm going to be out of town for a bit coming up.)
