AN: This went from being the shortest chapter to the longest! I hope you like it!
"Alrigh' Hayden," Hagrid says after I've been fitted for my robes. "Now all yeh need is yer textbooks and yer wand." I deflate a little at that. I've never been able to pay attention to textbooks. I could read multiple novels in a day if I had the time, but using a textbook? I hadn't even read the list in my acceptance letter, already too nervous about what may be inside of them.
"Okay," I say as I struggle to keep up with the giant. He was kind enough to carry my brown trunk around for me, but he was hard to keep up with. He leads me down the bustling street to a shop with a sign out front saying Flourish and Blotts.
"The store is a little small fer me," Hagrid laughs. "Make sure yeh get all the books on yer list!" I feel the coins in my pocket before I look up at Hagrid.
"Could I get other books, too?" I hadn't been able to bring over any of the other books I loved to read other than my copies of Lord of the Rings. They were a gift from Laila that she snuck into my bag the night before I left.
"Of course yeh can, just be sure to save some money fer yer wand and for any extra supplies yeh might need."
"Thanks, Hagrid!" I smile up at him as I turn to make my way into the shop. It's bustling with people, and it takes me a few minutes to find a quiet corner to pull out my list. I feel a light weight on my left shoulder, opposite of where Rupert is perched. I turn to see Gollum peeking his head out of my backpack. It turns out a lot of shopkeepers don't like nifflers. I don't know why, Gollum has only been sleeping or cuddling since I first held him. Also, who wouldn't think the yellow and black knitted sweater he's wearing is completely adorable?
I look down to my list and groan when I see the number of textbooks. I look around the store to search for the first one, The Standard Book of Spells only to find a table filled with first year books. There are a few packs with brand new books, but my eyes are drawn to a set of used books, almost half the price of the new ones. Not only is it cheaper, but there might be notes from the last person who used these! I quickly count the number of books, nodding to myself when I count eight. I double check the titles, only to freeze towards the end of the list.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander. Was this the Mr. Scamander dad mentioned?
A large family is suddenly at the table and I grab the stack of books after double checking the last book, The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self Protection.
I walk around the store looking for novels, but I don't find any on the first floor. It all seems to be focused on Hogwarts textbooks. I struggle up the staircase with the pile of used textbooks in my arms. I sigh in relief once I'm at the top of the stairs, this floor of the shop is basically empty. It's here I can finally look around in awe of the shop. Books are stacked all the way to the ceiling!
"Is that a-"
"Niffler, I do say Giddy that it must be!" Two similar voices say. I feel my stomach sink as I turn to see two older twin boys standing beside each other.
"You seem awful young to have such a-"
"Difficult magical creature under control!"
"Gollum isn't difficult," I say quickly. "He's well behaved and he's staying with Hagrid."
"Hagrid you say?" The boy on the left says.
"Well, we must help you hide him then," his brother says.
"Do you always finish each other's sentences?"
"Sometimes," the boys shrug as one of them walks closer to me. He looks at Gollum over my shoulder who squeaks and hides in my backpack.
"A shy niffler?" The boy whispers to himself. "The ones at Hogwarts are right menaces," the boy tells me.
"Well Gollum isn't," I say firmly. Both of the boys crack similar smiles.
"Are you a first year?" The boy closest to me asks.
"Yeah," I nod, shifting the books in my arms.
"Why are you carrying all this by yourself?" The other boy asks as he pulls a wand out of his pocket. He mutters something under his breath while pointing it at my books. The boy next to me puts a hand on top of my books, stopping them from colliding with my face. Suddenly the heavy stack of books is lighter than a pencil in my hands.
"Woah," I say, looking down at the books. "That was so cool! Thank you!" The boy grins as he puts his wand away.
"Ah, the joys of being a seventh year," he grins at his brother.
"You're going to Hogwarts, too?" I ask the boys. They both nod enthusiastically.
"My name is Gideon-" the boy next to me says.
"And I'm Fabian Prewett."
"Pleasure to meet you," they both say at the same time.
"You too. My name is Hayden Turner," I say. "Thank you for making my books lighter."
"Of course!" They say at the same time again. Gideon zips up my backpack over my shoulder, leaving only a small opening.
"It's best he stay fully hidden, don't want people to see you with him-"
"Not till you have your certification, at least!"
"Thanks," I tell the boys. I was too excited about having Gollum with me, having a piece of my parents with me, that I'd forgotten about the laws so quickly.
"No problem!" The boys grin, each pat the top of my head as they walk by me towards the stairs. "See you at school, firstie!" I shake my head as the boys walk down the stairs. Rupert hoots softly and I look up at him.
"Do you want to leave? I can get books next year." The owl nips my ear, so I take that as a no. I walk down one of the aisles of books, most of them are related to potions and I can't help myself from scrunching my nose up at them. Science was never a good subject for me, and if potions is anything like it, I'm screwed.
It takes a while but I eventually find the kid's section. I look around for a bit, nothing seems too interesting, but I do find one book. The Tales of the Beedle and the Bard. It has a sign above it saying 'the classic children's story, with special illustrations!' I pick the book up and add it to my stack. I find a couple novels that I find interesting too before I walk towards the other side of the second floor.
There's an entire section on magical creatures. There are books on everything from vampires to ghouls, to even dragons! I grab a few dragon books that look like they're for beginners before going further down the aisle. I grab a book on Bowtruckles just because the name is funny. And I eventually even find some Niffler books! I grab one of each book they have, thanking the back to school sale they have on all the books at the moment.
I also grab a couple books from the clearance section. One on werewolves, Lycanthropy: A Complete Guide, one on centaurs, and one on Goblins, A History of British Goblin Affairs. I find a few political books as well, A History of Wizengamot, Ministry of Magic and MACUSA affairs, and The Current Magical Creature Law Annotated. I never paid much attention to politics back home, but from the little I heard of Mr. Potter and Tom's conversations, I couldn't help but be curious about politics in the wizarding world.
I'm exhausted by the time I walk out of the store. Hagrid waves at me from across the street at an ice cream stand. I grin and walk over to him, carefully putting all my books in my trunk before sitting across from him.
"Let's get some ice cream before we get yer wand, yeh?"
"I think we're going to be great friends, Hagrid," I say as I look at the menu. The giant smiles as he looks down at me.
"I think yer right, Hayden."
"Alrigh' let's get yer wand," Hagrid says as he opens the door to a shop with the name Ollivanders written on top. The shop is empty when we enter it, the streets outside have started to clear as the sun starts to set.
"Just a moment!" A man's voice calls out from the back. I look up to Hagrid to see him shift slightly, hiding the umbrella he keeps in his jacket. "Ah, how may I help you?" A man with white hair asks as he walks from behind a shelf.
"I'm here for a wand," I say as I step up to the counter.
"We haven't met before, have we?" He asks and I shake my head. "My name is Garrick Ollivander, what's your name? Are you right handed or left handed?"
"Hayden Turner, and I'm right handed." He nods, looking at me for a moment.
"I think I have just the wand for you." He turns around back down one of the aisles of shelves. I hear him hum a few times, the sound of wheels moving across the floor, and then footsteps as he makes his way back towards us.
"Try this one," he says as he takes a wand out of a box. "Dragon heartstring core," I feel my heart soar at the mention of dragons. "And cypress wood." I hold the wand in my hand carefully and it's as if it fits perfectly in my hand.
"Well, give it a wave," the man says. I do as he says and a bright light comes from the tip of the wand. I feel warmth throughout my body before I feel completely giddy. I look up at the man who looks down at me with a smile. "A perfect match," he whispers to me. I can't help it, I let out a small laugh as I hold the wand.
"What does dragon heartstring and cypress wood mean?" I ask him. His eyes light up as he leans on the counter.
"Dragon heartstring wands tend to learn faster than other wands, they're the wands with the most power," he says. "And while they can change their allegiance to another owner if they're taken, they form a strong bond with their current wielder." I nod at his explanation as I look down at the wand. It seems almost too big for me. I couldn't be that powerful. How could I work with this wand?
"Cypress wands have historically been linked to the brave," he says, pulling my attention away from the wand. He takes it from my hand carefully as he puts it back into its box. "A wand with cypress typically finds someone who is unafraid to confront the darkness inside others, and inside of themselves." I start to question my wand. Could I really live up to filling those big shoes? I quickly pay the man before taking the box from him. I carefully put the wand back in my trunk before turning to thank him. My thoughts swirl around in my head.
Soon, Hagrid and I are back outside in Diagon Alley. We walk in silence towards the way we'd entered the bustling shopping area. Kids walk along the streets with their parents wearing robes and tall hats. I feel a small pang in my chest. I can almost imagine myself walking this street with my own parents. But then I look up to see the giant walking next to me and smile. Even though my parents aren't here with me, I've got someone I can trust.
Hagrid taps the brick wall again and leads me back inside of the inn.
"Here's yer ticket," he says after he leaves my trunk at the edge of my bed.
"My ticket?" I ask as I hold it.
"Fer the Hogwarts express of course!" He smiles down at me. "Yeh can take a bus to Kings Cross, make sure yeh follow the time and place of the ticket exactly!" I hold the ticket a little tighter before I open my trunk to put it inside.
"Thank you, Hagrid!"
"No need ta thank me, Hayden," he says. "But I need ta get back to the school."
I bite my lip and nod before I pull off my backpack and open it fully to see Gollum blink up at me sleepily. I smile at the niffler and grab my dad's journal and my books from Laila out carefully, trying not to jostle him around too much.
"Hagrid is gonna take you to school, okay?" I tell the small creature in my backpack. He panics, rushing out of the bag and attaching himself to me. I feel the same panic he feels in my own chest, but I know he'll be safe. Hagrid and I talked about what he does at Hogwarts while we ate our ice cream. Even though he was the gamekeeper and keeper of keys, Hagrid also spent a lot of his time caring for magical creatures in and out of the forest.
"It'll be okay, Gollum! We'll see each other in just a few days!" I hear him sniffle as I rub my hand up and down his back. It takes a few minutes for him to calm down, but eventually he settles back into the backpack. I go to hand the bag to Hagrid, but Gollum holds something up to me.
It's a stuffed shaggy dog. Its ear barely hangs onto the rest of the toy. I take the toy carefully and hold it to my chest.
"I'll fix this up before school starts," I tell the niffler. I bought a small sewing set at the robes shop just to fix up the toys for him. And maybe my robes, too. He makes an excited squeak and I can't help but smile. Hagrid takes the bag from me carefully before putting it into one of his jacket pockets.
"We'll see yeh at Hogwarts, Hayden!" Hagrid says as he pats my shoulder.
"See you there, Hagrid." I smile as the giant ducks out of my room. I feel loneliness begin to creep in as soon as the door shuts behind him, but a hoot distracts me.
"Are you going to stay the night, Rupert?" I ask the owl as settles himself on the back of the desk chair. He hoots again as I sit on my bed. "Will you wake me up for dinner? I think I need a nap." He hoots again as he flies to land on the footboard of the bed.
"You're the best," I whisper as my head hits my pillow.
"You're just as bad as your father," Tom says as he walks by me. I grin up at the man before looking back down at my book on nifflers. I'd spent the last few days sitting at the end of the bar reading and taking notes on my books focused on nifflers. Rupert would nip at my ear whenever he thought I needed a break and Tom always made sure I ate enough. Everything feels so foreign here. But at the same time, I feel a familiarity in my chest.
Tom has told me more about my dad for the last few days. Early in the afternoon before the after work rush yesterday, he sat down beside me at the bar.
"Your father used to sit in this exact seat," he said as he tapped the bar in front of me. "I remember him reading this book early on as well."
"How'd you really know dad?" I asked, looking up from my book, A Guide to Nifflers.
"He lived here during his summer breaks after his family disowned him," Tom said gently.
"They did what?"
"The Turners were a pureblood family mainly from America, but the branch in Britain started to turn towards the dark arts."
"The dark arts?"
"Magic that intends to cause harm," he said as he settled in his seat fully.
"But what does that have to do with dad getting disowned?" I asked as I closed my book.
"Because he was against the dark arts, he even graduated number one in his year in defense against the dark arts." Tom said as he stirred his drink.
"What happened?" I asked, afraid of the answer. "When he got disowned?"
"He blew himself off the family tree before his parents had the pleasure."
"He blew himself off the family tree?" I squeaked. "How is that even a thing?"
"It's how purebloods track their lineage and to show how there's no muggles in the family, from what I've heard it's normally on a wall in the family home."
"I guess it can fit on one wall since it doesn't fork, then." Tom spat out his drink over the bar before he folded in half, laughing.
"T-that's your family too, kid."
"Nope, dad blew himself off the family tree, remember?"
"Smartass," he snorted.
"Better than a dumb one," I grinned up at him. "Now, what else can you tell me about him?"
The next hour Tom took his time to tell me everything he could remember about dad. He even dug out some of the old letters dad had sent him. He talked about how excited dad had been after he met mom, apparently he practically fell on his face after seeing her for the first time. How involved he was in keeping up with the ministry and their regulations. His favorite color was yellow, one of the colors of his school house, Hufflepuff.
Everything was going fine until I asked my last question of the night.
"Hey, Tom?" I asked as I started to sew the toy dog's ear back on.
"Yeah?" He asked as he reached down for a glass.
"Did they really die in a car crash?"
"That's what the reports said," he said as he looked me straight in the eyes. He didn't believe the reports.
He'd kept newspaper clippings from the time. He showed them to me. I didn't believe the reports either. It looked as if a bomb went off in the car. My mind whirled with the possibilities, but one thing was for sure.
My parents were murdered. And their killer could very well still be on the loose.
"You got everything?" Tom asks as I stand at the end of the bar. "Wand? Robes? Books?"
"I've got everything, Tom," I say as I look up at the tall man. "I double checked the room." Although I feel like I'm missing something. That's likely due to the missing weight from my shoulder. Rupert left as soon as he saw I was dressed and ready to go. I guess he decided he finally needed to go back to Hogwarts.
But I still missed him.
"Alright, well have a good school year, kid." Tom says as he awkwardly leans against the bar. I look at him for a moment. And then I rush forward to wrap my arms around him.
"Thank you for everything," I whisper into his robes. I fell his hand pat the top of my head.
"You don't have to thank me, brat," he says. "I called the knight bus for you, it should take you straight to the station. Be sure to follow the other kids, alright?" I nod against him before I pull away from his hug. He hands me a ticket for the bus before I grab my trunk. I pull it behind me as I head towards the front door of the inn. But something stops me at the door. I turn around and look at my unlikely friend? Mentor?
"Can I write you?" I hate how small my voice sounds. A warm smile appears on his face as he nods.
"I expect a letter once a week, don't get into too much trouble. And if you do, don't get caught."
"I wouldn't dare," I say as I clutch my chest with my free hand. Tom rolls his eyes as he makes a shooing motion. I grin at him one more time before I turn and walk out the doors of the refuge the Leaky Cauldron has been for me the last week.
It's September first. It's time for me to go to Hogwarts.
It turned out that I took an early bus. Only one family was on it with me. They quickly made their way off the bus and into the crowds at the station. Meaning I couldn't follow them. My head still spins as I walk through the station, pushing my trunk on a cart in front of me. How is that bus even legal? Was it legal? I start to question my taking it as I come up to platform ten.
There's no platform nine and three quarters. I look around, a sense of panic rooting in my chest. I can't just ask one of the workers in the train station, what if they're not a witch or wizard? I watch people as they walk by me, helpless. If I can't make it to the train in time, I won't be able to go to Hogwarts. If I can't get to school how am I going to-
"Well if it isn't our favorite firstie!" A hand claps on my shoulder. I look up to see one of the Prewett twins beside me. The other twin comes to stand on my other side as they lead me towards a dividing wall between the platforms.
"Thank you," I tell them. I feel my shoulders relax as the boys look down at me with matching grins.
"Fabian! Gideon! What are you doing running off- Oh!" A woman with fiery red hair looks at the three of us. Beside her is a man a little taller than her with light brown hair. Beside him stand a younger woman with red hair, a man stands beside her, his arm wrapped around her waist.
"Mum this is Hayden Turner-"
"A firstie we met at the bookshop-"
"Hayden, this is our mum, dad-"
"Sister, Molly, and her husband, Arthur-"
"And our nephew, Bill!"
"It's nice to meet you," I tell the group as I feel my cheeks heat up.
"Oh, you must have been so confused! No worries dear, Fabian and Gideon can show you how to get onto the platform," the boy's mom says. She puts her hand on my shoulder as one of the boys starts running towards the brick wall.
"Of course he'd forget to take the trunks! It was supposed to be his turn!" The other twin, I think Gideon from the extra freckle above his eye, says. He moves to grab a cart with two trunks on it as his brother runs through the brick wall!
"Woah!" I whisper to myself. The mom beside me laughs lightly as Gideon runs towards the wall after his brother.
"Alright dear, it's your turn, we'll be right after you!" I look up to the woman as my stomach starts to turn. I line my cart up with the brick wall and take a few deep breaths.
And then I run. I brace myself to hit the brick wall. I haven't done any magic yet, what if they're wrong? What if I'm not magical after all?
But I don't hit the wall. I run through it and I open my clenched eyes as I slow down. The platform I'm on now isn't as crowded as the other ones. I look to see Fabian and Gideon waving at me, bright smiles on their faces. I walk over to them before turning back and seeing it.
A bright red train. Hogwarts Express is clear on both the front and side of the first train car. I can't help it. I start laughing in relief. One of the boys pulls me into a side hug as the rest of their family makes their way onto the platform. I feel tears burn at the back of my eyes.
"Alright you three, make sure you change into your robes at a decent time, don't spend too much time eating sweets."
"Why mother-"
"We would never-"
"Right Hayden?" The boys finish looking at me.
"You two might not, but I plan to eat as many new sweets as I can," I grin up at the boys. They burst out into laughter as their mother shakes her head at us, a small smile on her face. The twins leave my side to hug their family goodbye and for some reason I'm pulled into hugs as well.
"I know things are scary right now," Molly says in my ear as she hugs me. "But things will be wonderful when you're there."
"She's right!" Arthur says as he gives me a side hug. Their small baby reaches out to grab my hair, bringing a smile to my face. "If you have any troubles or need someone to talk to, go to your head of house."
"Thank you," I tell the young couple as I step back from them. I wave at the baby before I'm pulled away by one of the twins.
"Come on! Let's get you settled so we can set up a prank on the Ravenclaws," he says in my ear.
"Why the Ravenclaws?" I ask as we get closer to the train.
"Gotta keep them out of their books for at least part of the term." I shake my head at the boys as they start loading my trunk into one of the rooms.
"Don't worry about carrying your trunk, it'll show up in your room once you're sorted." One of the boys says.
"Thank you!" I tell the boys as they stand by the door. One of them ruffles my hair before leaving the room.
"Find us if you need anything!" He calls over his shoulder. The other brother waves as he leaves the compartment, running after his brother. I look out the window and see barely anyone on the platform so I reach up and grab my niffler book from my trunk before sitting down.
At least I know I won't be getting pranked yet.