Chapter 6
September 9th, 1988- Diagon Alley, London, England
As usual the ride down to the vaults was equal parts exhilarating, frightening and nauseating, even with the Anti-Nausea potion from the Leaky Cauldron still working. They stopped at the Stimpson vault first. It was in the new section of vaults but it was one of the largest there. Both the Stefanov and Floros families were well-off in their countries of origin and the size of the Stimpson vault reflected that fact.
Every time that Patricia had been to the vault before she had gone straight for the climate-controlled cases of old books. She spent as much time as she could working her way through them, but she had only finished reading one book about using runes for healing. This was because she refused to take the books out of the vault for fear that she'd lose or ruin them. Really it was sensible of her, and she decided that when she was eight, but I think she was really holding herself back.
When she entered the vault this time she looked longingly at the books before taking a moneybag off a hook on the wall and went over to the stacks of coins in a shallow depression in the middle of the floor. "How much do you think I'll need?" she asked Remus.
"Let's have a look at your equipment list." he suggested. Patricia took her Hogwarts letter out of her pocket and pulled the second piece of parchment out of the envelope. She and Remus read:
HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
UNIFORM
First-year students will require:
1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)
2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear
3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
4. One winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings)
Please note that all pupil's clothes should carry name tags.
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
Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling
A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore
Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander
The Wizard's Guide to Defense Against the Dark Arts by Aegle Jinn
OTHER EQUIPMENT
1 wand
1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)
1 set glass or crystal phials
1 telescope
1 set brass scales
1 set standard potion ingredients
Students may also bring, if they desire, an owl OR a cat OR a toad.
PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS
ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICK
Yours sincerely,
Lucinda Thomsonicle-Pocus
Chief Attendant of Witchcraft Provisions
"Well," Remus decided "we can't get your uniform because you'll grow between now and next September. I am not letting you have a wand so soon before school starts, don't look at me like that." Patricia had just attempted to give him puppy eyes, which had stopped working on him in his seventh year (don't ask why). "We already talked about potions ingredients and I'm buying you an owl… Take forty Galleons, just to be on the safe side." Patricia nodded and began counting out exactly forty Galleons in Galleons, Sickles and Knuts.
When they got to Remus' vault he stacked up some of the money that he had changed from Muggle notes. He then went to the back of the vault to fetch the shrinking, self-cleaning owl perch that he knew was there. He let Patricia have free run of his vault while he was looking for it, so he wasn't surprised to see her looking through his old Defense textbooks when he got back. He left her with the books while he went to talk to Griphook, the goblin who had taken them down to the vaults.
"Griphook, I was wondering about that search that you mentioned last year…" Griphook grumbled. He was seriously regretting mentioning the search that the Goblin Nation had started to this werewolf. It had only been a year and the man kept nagging him for information every chance he got. He did have a personal interest in the search, which was the only reason that Griphook had told him about it, but it was quite annoying that he kept asking about it when Griphook had already sworn to himself that he would tell him.
"Just as last time we spoke, Mr Lupin" Griphook snarled "the Goblin Nation has made little progress. We have not found Harry Potter." What a coup it would be for them if they did! Of course, they wouldn't keep the boy. No, they would make sure he was taken care of, hand him over to Remus Lupin perhaps, and milk the Ministry of Magic for every bit of recognition and reward they could.
Remus sighed. "Thank you, Griphook."
"You're welcome." the goblin snapped.
Once they were back aboveground Remus was surprised that he didn't have to stop Patricia from running to Flourish and Blotts. In fact he actually had to get her to move because she stopped at the top of the banks stairs to look about the Alley.
"I was looking for Professor Babbling." she said as an excuse.
"We're meeting her at Flourish and Blotts, remember?" Patricia nodded slowly. "Let's get the rest of your school stuff, and then we'll head there for your books."
Patricia readily followed Remus from shop to shop. They bought a cauldron ("Don't go all Macbeth witches with this." "I'm going to have to leave it at your house anyway!") at Potage's Cauldron Shop , a set of crystal phials ("They won't break as easily as glass. Trust me.") and a set of brass scales at Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment, and a telescope from a French witch running a stall by Madam Malkin's ("French astronomy equipment is much better than ours."). Then they went to Flourish and Blotts.
At that time of year the shop wasn't busy and it was easy to find Professor Babbling where she was sitting in the back corner of the building reading a novel. She looked up when they arrived and cracked a smile when she saw Patricia carrying a stack of books and Remus lagging behind with all their other purchases piled into a caldron. "I was wondering when you'd get here."
"We were at Gringotts longer than I'd expected we'd be." Remus apologized. "I hope we haven't made you late."
"Not at all." Bathsheda rose from her seat in one graceful movement and put the book she had been reading back on the shelf to her left. "I've actually finished teaching for today; Professor McGonagall just wants me back by curfew." Remus laughed.
"Some things never change."
Patricia went to the counter to pay for her schoolbooks. When she came back to the two adults carrying the bag of books, Remus and Bathsheda were discussing the teachers at Hogwarts.
"Snape is teaching Potions?" Remus asked incredulously. Bathsheda nodded. "How's that working out?"
"We've already had five cauldrons explode and a fifth-year Hufflepuff is in St Mungo's." Remus winced.
"What was Dumbledore thinking?" Bathsheda didn't have an answer for that.
After they left Flourish and Blotts, with Patricia and Professor Babbling talking amicably about Patricia's parents, Remus took them to Eeylops Owl Emporium. As they entered the dimly lit shop several owls began hooting loudly. A middle-aged wizard with fluffy sideburns rushed towards them.
"Isn't it late to be buying an owl for school?" he asked, looking frazzled. He had been pulling all-nighters in order to be fully stocked for the Hogwarts students rush and had yet to catch up on his lost sleep.
"I'm not going to Hogwarts till next year." Patricia told him. "I'm just getting an owl to send letters to my family."
"Oh." The man raked his fingers through his hair, making it stand even more on end than it had been before. He looked at Remus, and then at Bathsheda. "Well you folk are welcome to look around, but we have a small selection right now."
"That's fine." Remus said. "Thank you."
The three of them began looking around the shop while the man retreated into the back room to start unpacking a shipment that they had just received. He was correct in saying that the selection of owls was small; all they had was three barn owls who were gathered in one corner like a group of mean girls at a Muggle high school, an extremely loud screech owl, and a grey snowy owl that was chirping at them sadly from its perch.
Patricia stopped at the snowy owl's cage. Unlike the other owls, the snowy owl didn't have a price marked on its cage. The owl stared at Patricia with big yellow eyes and Patricia stared back. "Hello." The owl hopped closer to her and bumped its beak into her nose.
"Hoo-oo." the owl said.
Remus poked his head into the back and waited while the man levitated a box of boxes of owl nuts onto a shelf. "Excuse me, how much is the snowy owl?"
The man whipped his hands on a rag. "Him? He's only twenty days old. His brother pushed him out of their nest. You'd have to feed…" Suddenly the man's eyes widened. "Oh bloody hell! I've forgotten to feed him!" He rushed frantically around the shop and eventually arrived at the snowy owl's cage with a box of what looked like chopped up whole mice. The owl gave him what was clearly a withering look, like he was asking the man how he had just figured out that he hadn't eaten. "Sorry mate."
The owl snapped up bits of mouse from the man's hand and gave him a hard nip. "Ow! I said I was sorry!" The owl hooted. The man turned back to Remus. "Like I said, you have to feed him by hand. And he won't be able to carry letters for a few more months." He saw the way that Patricia was looking at the owl and made a quick decision. "You can have him for five Galleons."
Patricia's eyes widened. She blinked at the man like she wasn't sure she had heard him properly, which she was. "Really?" All the other owls in the shop cost ten or fifteen Galleons.
"Really. You'll need to buy some mice to feed him though, those are extra." Patricia looked up at Remus who looked at the man who looked at Bathsheda, having apparently somehow come to the conclusion that the blond woman was Patricia's mother, who looked at the owl who was looking at Patricia.
"You've got a deal." Remus told the man.
"You hear that?" Patricia whispered to the owl "You're coming home with us." The owl hooted happily.
About ten minutes later Remus, Bathsheda, Patricia and the owl were sitting around a table on Fortescue's patio. The three humans were eating ice-creams and Patricia was trying to get the owl to agree to a name for himself.
"Ariel?" The owl hooted his dissent. "Puck?" No. "Luke?" Still no. "Han?" The owl shrieked and shook his head. "Okay, definitely not."
"What about Benvolio?" Remus suggested. That was the name of one of the only male Shakespeare characters that he could actually stand.
"Benvolio?" Patricia asked the owl. He appeared to think for a moment before obviously nodding. "Great! Benvolio it is." She smiled at the newly named owl.
After a moment Bathsheda spoke up. She wanted to know if there was anything else Patricia wanted her to tell her about her parents. Of course, Patricia had about two dozen more questions and Remus was interested in learning what Bathsheda knew about the rest of Patricia's family, so the three of them, plus Benvolio, spent a mostly quiet afternoon sitting and talking outside of Fortescue's.
It very quickly came to suppertime and Bathsheda suggested that they eat together at the Leaky Cauldron. Remus and Patricia (and Benvolio) agreed. They continued talking all through the meal. Patricia eventually ended up enthusiastically telling Bathsheda (the woman insisted that the girl call her by her first name after the third time she called her "Professor Babbling") all about her Muggle school and her friends. Bathsheda was glad that her best friend's daughter was happy, even if she was literally living in a prison. Remus told her in hushed tones about the letter Stanislav and Pythia had left him and the rune magic that Stanislav had worked to make sure his daughter would be properly taken care of. Bathsheda confirmed his nagging feeling that that type of magic was exploiting about a dozen loopholes in magical law and warned him that it wasn't the best idea to tell just anyone about it. Remus told her that she was the only person other than him and Patricia to know anything about it.
They left the pub half an hour before Hogwarts curfew, and way past Patricia's bedtime.
"I'll write to you." Bathsheda promised Patricia, giving her a hug. "And you write back when it's safe for Benvolio to travel."
"I will." Patricia replied. Bathsheda shook Remus' hand, gave Patricia a wave, and Disapperated.
Patricia and Remus had to take the Knight Bus back, which was even more unpleasant than usual because of the many bags and packages they were carrying. The ride was bumpy and frightening, and they were both glad when they stumbled off the bus in front of Remus' house.
"So, did you have a nice time?" Remus asked Patricia. She nodded, yawning.
They had only meant to leave their more peculiar purchases inside and then Remus was going to drive Patricia back to the Nest. However, Patricia fell asleep on the chair in front of the fire and Benvolio refused to let Remus wake her up. Remus chuckled, and then he went to the phone so that he could call the prison. They would be short one 'inmate' that night.
Disclaimer: The Hogwarts equipment list is a slightly edited version of the one in "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone". It is not all my own work.
A/N: ... Yeah, I just wanted to have an A/N. Patricia will be at Hogwarts soon.
-Cynder2013