Chapter 9: Diagon Alley
Bakura managed to convince Tonks to let them stop by a small diner to get some breakfast, and after a refreshing meal in which he was relieved to find food that was all blessedly normal, they went on to buy his supplies.
The first stop was Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, to get fitted for a new uniform. The one Bakura was wearing now was far too big, and every time his eye fell on a reflective surface, he saw just how funny it looked. He had a feeling someone in Hogwarts was going to discover one set of robes missing from his supplies.
A bell on the shop door jangled as they entered and a petite woman in brilliant, violet robes came out to greet them. This must be Madame Malkin.
"Hello, Nymphadora," she said. "In for more robes? Ah, and who's this? A nephew?"
Tonks had shown little emotion since Bakura had first met her, but for the first time, she flushed slightly and her mouth tightened.
"Didn't I tell you not to call me that?"
Madame Malkin sighed. "But it's such a beautiful name, dear. More beautiful than Tonks by a fair margin."
"It's Tonks," Tonks repeated.
Madame Malkin shook her head. "Just as you like. Now, what are you in for today? Do you need any adjustments?"
"I'm just here with him," she said, gesturing at Bakura. "He needs a fitting for a uniform."
Madame Malkin's eyebrows raised in faint surprised. "Hasn't the school year already begun? I've already filled all the orders for uniforms."
Tonks shrugged. "I guess he's starting late."
Madame Malkin went over to Bakura and gave him a quick once over. She clucked her tongue disapprovingly. "Where on earth did you get these awful things? Far too large around the middle, it's a wonder you can walk. A shabby job indeed."
Bakura shifted uncomfortably. "They're borrowed," he said, a bit lamely. "They weren't fitted for me."
Madame Malkin took a handful of the material and examined the stitchery. "Ah," she said. "That explains it. These are from this shop. I wouldn't be able to sleep at night thinking I had done such a job. Well, come here and we'll get you fitted. But first take those off. I can barely stand the sight."
Bakura pulled the baggy robes over his head. However, as he looked down he saw he was wearing a long black trench coat underneath. He drew it off and stared at it a moment.
The things the spirit buys, he thought. What would it be next, black leather?
Madame Malkin set his things aside, then stood him up on a stool and began pinning a long, nice looking set of black robes to the proper length.
The rest of the time was mainly spent in silence, and Bakura was glad when Madame Malkin was finally finished and he left carrying packages of his new clean robes. He reluctantly took the rumpled, probably stolen robes too, even though he had no idea what he would do with them. The spirit would have to deal with that. Throwing his trench coat over his arm they set off once again.
Their next stop was a book store called Flourish and Blotts. Bakura, who'd always been a bit of a book-worm, was delighted when he caught sight of the magnificent collection of the many sizes and colors of books, loaded on shelves reaching all the way to the ceiling.
They split up to find all the textbooks on his list and with the help of a clerk soon found everything they needed. However, Tonks had a bit of a time dragging him away when he stumbled across a book about wizard games and strategies, and he might have bought it if he had had any of his own money.
Yugi would love this, he thought, just a little wistfully.
They left the book shop and headed onto the next place. They moved quickly in and around clusters of tightly protective groups of witches and wizards until they found themselves back at the beginning, near the wall through which they'd entered the alley earlier.
Tonks took him to the cauldron shop Bakura had seen before, and they went inside. While Tonks picked up a pewter cauldron, Bakura went over to a display of scales. The list called for brass ones. However, as he was looking, his eye fell on a set made from solid gold that made him think of Shadi's Millennium Scales. He smiled despite himself.
After that, they went to the Apothecary. Tonks paused by a display of something called monkshood, sighing as she picked up a jar, before they managed to gather all their ingredients. She led Bakura out in silence to move on to the next shop.
As they walked, however, Bakura paused as a display in a shop window caught his eye. A bag of shiny gold marbles was sitting beside a picture of someone getting squirted in the face with a pungent green liquid. It was a wizarding game of some kind of the type he had read about in Flourish and Blotts. Gobstones, the plaque read. If Yugi had been here, it was just the sort of thing he would love to try out.
Tonks noticed he'd fallen behind and came to a stop, turning back. "You coming?" she asked tonelessly.
Bakura took one last look at the stones, then hurried on.
"What's next?" he asked as he came up beside her.
"Just your wand," she said vaguely. "Can't go to Hogwarts without a wand...Oh, great." She added a word that wouldn't been repeatable in polite society.
They had come to a stop in front of a shabby little shop advertising in peeling gold letters Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 BC. It looked abandoned.
"I forgot about Ollivander being gone," she said. "Doesn't matter, I suppose, we'll go somewhere else. But Ollivander is the best."
Tonks led him down a side street, and once again he noticed all the crowds around walking fast in tightly knit clusters. A few glanced in his direction, and their eyes roved over his silk black scarf and shock of uncombed white hair. Bakura decided to keep his eyes on the ground.
"Here," said Tonks, gesturing to the shop in front of them.
Bakura raised his eye to the shop. It had an oddly modern look that clashed spectacularly with the quaint old-style English buildings around it, with white walls and lots of glass. Bakura tried to get a look at the name, but it was obscured by a sea of purple fliers and wanted posters. He and Tonks went on in.
Inside was an open, airy space with white walls and rows upon rows of industrial shelves, stacked with long boxes of a uniform size and shape. It was definitely bigger than it had appeared from the outside.
A woman stepped out from between the shelves, high-heeled shoes clicking on the linoleum. Her hair was a short, angular style that would have seemed more fitting in a corporate office back in Japan than a shop selling magic wands, and she wore white robes with a high, starched collar.
"May I hep you?" she asked, just the slightest edge to her voice.
"Yes," said Tonks. She nodded her head in Bakura's direction. "He needs a wand."
"Wand from Ollivanders break, did it?" she said, heading toward one of the side shelves. Her tone was polite, but with just a hint of frostiness. He remembered what Tonks had said about Ollivander being the best, and wondered if the other wandmakers resented being thought of as second rate backups.
"No," said Tonks. "This will be his first."
The wandmaker's demeanor immediately changed, and suddenly she was all smiles. "Oh," she said. "That's wonderful. Your first wand, how exciting. My name is Rachel Sands, and I run this shop. We'll find you just the right fit. And your name was...?"
"Ryou Bakura," he answered.
"Ryou," she said, smiling. "Welcome to our shop." She began picking her way along a row of boxes, tapping one here and there as she studied serial number labels on the sides.
"I apologize if I seemed a little short at first," she said. "It's just since Ollivanders closed, I've gotten so many in complaining of his being gone, and see taking one of my wands as settling with the next best thing. The next best thing! I have a great respect for the man, he's obviously a genius at the craft—but our wands here have their own strengths. Ollivander always took great pride in never having made two wands alike. Here, our wands are produced to exact standards, so you are able to choose the exact length, wood type and core to fit your precise needs. Of course, we still keep a wide selection of wands that are completely unique, as we know many witches and wizards who still prefer the novelty of having a wand specific to them. Do you have a preference?"
Before Bakura could answer, Tonks spoke up, "He wants a unique wand." Like at Madame Malkins, again her normally dull, toneless voice had taken on just a hint of annoyance.
Ms. Sands was quiet for a moment, then said, "Very well. Then come here, young man, over to this side."
As the wandmaker led the way to the far end, pulling ahead a little, Tonks muttered, "Industrially made wands. She must be muggleborn. I don't have anything against muggleborns, but...honestly. These muggle ideas. Why would anyone want a wand that's like a hundred other wands out there?"
This was more emotion than Tonks had shown thus far, and Bakura gathered that wizards and witches regarded their wands as almost sacred.
"Here we are," said Ms. Sands. "Our one-of-a-kind selection. First, we'll have you measured to see what length range suits you, then we'll let you try a few."
She snapped her fingers and a tape measure appeared from seemingly out of nowhere and, floating on the air and moving of its own accord, began measuring the length of his arm and around his head and everywhere else the object could find, until the wandmaker snatched it from the air and pocketed it. "There, that will do."
Ms. Sands took a box from on top of one of the stacks and opened it. "Here," she said. "Try this one. Made from Birch, dragon heartstring core, eight and a half inches. Just trying waving it around a little."
Bakura gazed down at the box, and saw a slender stick, so polished it gleamed in the fluorescent lights. He gingerly took it, then flicked it as he was told, but nothing happened.
"No," she said, taking the wand back. "No, not that one. I don't think dragon heartstring suits you anyway. Here, try this one, ash and unicorn, ten inches."
Bakura took it and drew a circle in the air with the tip, but again the wand gave no response.
"No," she muttered, taking the wand back and shoving another at him. "Cottonwood and phoenix feather, thirteen inches," she said. "We've got to be getting closer."
Bakura took the wand and dutifully waved it. "When you say dragon heartstrings and phoenix feathers—do those come from real dragons and phoenixes?" he asked.
"Of course," said Ms. Sands, though her eyes were on the wands as she snatched back the last one and exchanged it for another.
On and on it went, Bakura waving a wand and Ms. Sands taking it back, until it seemed they had pretty near exhausted the unique section.
Bakura was just starting to think the mass-produced wands might actually be the best suit for a personality like his, when Ms. Sands pulled off a box from the very end.
"You're a hard fit," she said. "But here, try this one. It's a little exotic and hasn't suited anyone else, but maybe it might work for you. Basswood and phoenix feather, twelve inches."
Bakura peered down at the polished light brown surface. He picked it up and held it, waiting expectantly to see if something would happen this time.
After a moment, Ms. Sands sighed, sounding disappointed.
"Ah, well, that one is a bit unusual, I suppose. Perhaps we can go look at some of the wands in the other section. Many of the wands there are commonly suited to many wizards. There's nothing wrong with using a wand like other wizards use. As I always say, it's you that makes your spells unique; your wand is just a tool."
Bakura nodded and started to replace the wand in the box, but stopped. He felt a stirring in the back of his mind, a wave of giddy emotion that was not his own. Then, without warning, he felt his arm move of its own accord, raising the wand above his head. In a sudden motion, his arm cut downward, slashing the wand through the air like a sword. Black and gold sparks ignited from the tip, leaving trails of electric fire dancing in the air.
"Ah, so that is the right one," said the wandmaker, satisfied. "I thought so."
Bakura gazed down at the wand in his hand, and a strange sensation came over him. He felt warm, like he and the wand were connected, like all his life they had always meant to be together. But there was just a touch of unnaturalness about it, too. Like it wasn't really his own connection he was feeling.
He blinked and shook his head, shaking off the feeling. "What did you say made this wand unusual?" he said curiously.
Ms. Sands took back the wand and placed it in the box, and began wrapping it up as she rung up the sale. "Like I said, it's a bit exotic. The core comes from a Bennu—that is, an Egyptian Phoenix. Very rare creatures, especially in this day and age. But they don't seem to suit many people. This particular wand has been here for years."
As Tonks pulled out a handful of Galleons and Ms. Sands handed over the wrapped box that contained Bakura's new wand, she added absently to herself, "Now, if only we could sell the other Bennu wand..."
Bakura placed the wand with his other supplies and he and Tonks headed out.
It had certainly been an interesting day. Perhaps he hadn't asked for the spirit to dump him here and would a thousand times rather be back in Japan with Yugi and the others, but there was something fascinating about this place. Not everyone got to visit a magical world and get fitted for robes and pick out a wand.
Egyptian, he thought, touching the box in his bag again. In spite of all the strangeness of this place, he couldn't help but feel his own world of magic was closer than it seemed.
"It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that."
A/N: [May 2015] So, that's the end of the rewrites. (Also did some tinkering with the wandmaking scene, but I'm still not too sure about it...) I had to make some changes to the beginning of chapter 10 to make it fit with the changes here, and I've read through the entire story and made changes here and there to ensure everything lines up (I hope), but for the most part everything after this is staying as it is. (From now on I hope my rewriting is going to be mainly limited to chapters that have not yet been posted.)
Thanks so much for reading, and if you get a chance, please leave a review! :J
Rewrite posted September 2015
