A New Dawn: Part 2
By midnight that night, they were halfway across the Atlantic Ocean. By then Aurora was cold and numb enough to ask if there was a warmth spell.
"Why didn't you ask sooner? Poor child. Here you go." Said Minerva, performing the spell.
"Professor?" Aurora murmured.
"Yes?"
"Can…can people turn into animals?" Came the sleepy, timid response.
Minerva was surprised, to say the least. "Well, yes…but only those very talented and experienced in transfiguration can become an animagni. Except…"
"Except who?"
"Birth-Animagni. They are born with another form, and it is usually because their parents were animagni."
"Were mine?"
"If they were, they weren't registered. But I always had my suspicions about James. We were in the same year, your parents and I."
"So I could be a Birth-Animagni?"
"Well, yes, but unless you've already transformed, I doubt you are. You're a bit old to be showing the signs."
"So I'm not crazy…" Aurora murmured sleepily, and drifted off to dream land.
'I wonder…" Minerva thought. "I'll have to ask her…"
When Aurora woke up, they were flying over beautiful English countryside.
"Where are we, Professor McGonagall?" Aurora asked, rubbing sleep from her eyes.
"Nearing Cambridge. We'll land outside town and take the train from there to King's Cross Station. That way we won't be spotted by any Muggles."
"What are Muggles?"
"Muggles are non-magical beings. Like those girls you lived with." Minerva explained.
"Oh. Where are we going to get my school supplies?" Aurora wondered.
"It's a surprise." Was the terse response as Minerva maneuvered around a few trees to land in a small field outside town.
"Good. I like surprises. Like yesterday." Aurora grinned.
"It's a short walk from here into town. Then we'll take the bus to the train station. I think you'll like it in London. It's a bit quainter then New York, but an interesting city in it's own right."
"Cool…Professor, do you know anything else about my parents?"
Minerva was startled "A-yes, of course. We were good friends. Lily was such a darling girl…" Her eyes looked far away. "And James…he was handsome, and quite talented. He was a bit of a troublemaker. Also one of the best seekers I've seen."
"Seeker?"
"A position in the game of quidditch."
"Oh."
By now they'd arrived at the bus station near the center of the town. Minerva looked a bit out of place in her robes, which Aurora found extremely funny.
Once they got to King's Cross Station, they took the Underground to Piccadilly Circus. They walked along Piccadilly, until they came to what seemed to be their destination.
"Waterstones sells books on MAGIC?" Aurora wondered out loud.
"No, not there. The shop between it and the HMV shop." Minerva pointed it out.
"Oh…The Leaky Cauldron?"
"Yes."
They went in. Minerva led them up the bar.
"Hello, Tom.
"Why, hello, Minerva. I haven't seen you in a while."
"Yes, we've been rather busy…getting ready for the new school year and all that."
"Ah…and who's this?" Tom asked, peer at Aurora.
Aurora rubbed her scar nervously.
"You look just like a girl I once knew…Lily Smith Potter." Tom peered at her closer. "Blimey! You're not…She's not…is she?"
"Yes…this is Aurora Potter. We've finally found her." Said Minerva, putting her hands on Aurora's shoulders.
Tom wiped his hands and walked around the bar.
"What an honor, my dear Miss Potter. To see you alive and well, and standing my own bar…" Tom said grabbing her hand and shaking it vigorously.
All the people sitting near them came over to greet them and soon the whole place had come over, just to say "hello".
"Doris Crockford. I can't believe my luck, meeting Harry here and now you…what an honor." Doris exclaimed shaking her hand.
"Er, nice to meet you too." Aurora said a bit nervously.
"Did you hear that? She's glad to meet me!" Doris crowed.
All of the people in the bar shook her hand. All, that is except for a tall, silvery haired man with cold blue eyes and his son, who looked to be about her age. The boy was quite handsome, in a slightly cool way. But his blue eyes were warm and alive. Aurora wondered who he was and felt herself go pink when she realized he was staring at her.
Finally, after what seemed to be HOURS of hand-shaking and polite hellos, Minerva managed to get them outside, to the back courtyard.
"I tried to warn you, but even I wasn't expecting them to be like that." Minerva murmured, fishing for her wand in her deep robe pockets. "Aha! Here it is. Now…three bricks up and two across…Tada!" She exclaimed, tapping said brick with her wand.
For a moment, nothing happened. Then, slowly the wall opened into an archway. "This," Minerva proclaimed, "Is Diagon Alley."
"Wow…" Aurora breathed, looking around at all the people in robes, and feeling somewhat out of place in her muggle clothing. "Are they all like us?"
"Yes. Now first things first, you need money."
"Um…Professor?"
"Yes?"
"I don't HAVE any."
"I think," Minerva said with a smile, "You'll be surprised."
They walked down the street towards a big white building, which gleamed in the warm sun.
"Where are we going?" Aurora asked.
"Gringotts, the wizarding bank."
"We've got a BANK?"
"Yes, and our own money system, too. Well, here we are."
They walked up the steps. At the top there was a pair of bronze doors which were guarded by "A goblin?" Aurora whispered.
"Yes."
The goblin bowed as they went inside. Next there was a pair of silver doors on which was inscribed a rhyme: Enter stranger, but take heed
Of what awaits the sin of greed,
For those who take, but do not earn,
Must pay most dearly in their turn.
So if you seek beneath our floors,
A treasure that was never yours,
Thief, you have been warned, beware
Of finding more then treasure there.
A pair of goblins opened the doors for them and bowed. They were now in an enormous marble hall, the likes of which Aurora had never seen. Minerva steered them over to a free teller.
"Yes?" He drawled.
"I've come to take some money out of Aurora Potter's safe. And," Minerva fished her pockets again, then held up a tiny golden key, "Here's the key!"
The goblin took the key, eyed it closely, and proclaimed it authentic.
"Oy! Dimclaw! Over here!" Said the goblin.
"Coming!" Yelled a goblin on the other side of the room.
Dimclaw took the key from the key from the other goblin and led the two witches over to a bunch of carts. "Get in." He barked.
They climbed in the cart and it shot off down a roller-coaster like tunnel.
"WEE!!!! This is so cool!" Aurora screamed, her voice bouncing off the walls of the tunnel.
"Where to?" Asked Dimclaw.
"Vault 414." Minerva managed to say. She didn't much like roller-coasters.
"Those are my lucky numbers!" Aurora exclaimed.
"How odd..Maybe I am right about you having the gift of prophecy…" Minerva murmured, as they came to a screeching halt in front of vault 414.
Dimclaw unlocked the door, and held it open for them. Minerva took out a small leather purse, and filled it with gold, silver, and bronze coins.
'The big gold ones are gallons," Minerva explained to Aurora on the cart-ride back, "the medium sized silver ones are sickles, and the tiny bronze ones are knuts."
Next they went to Madam Malkin's, for robes. "Ah, another Hogwarts student, correct?"
Aurora nodded.
"Well, follow me." Madam Malkin said.
She led Aurora to the back of the store, then fussed over the fitting of her plain black Hogwarts robes. Finally, after about a half an hour, Aurora paid for her robes and left.
She met Minerva outside the shop. "Where to now?" Asked Aurora.
'Flourish and Blotts." Responded Minerva, pointing to a little shop down the street. They went inside and Minerva pulled out a list of books.
"We need A Standard Book of Spells, Grade 4…" Minerva said to the clerk, who rushed to get the books. They paid and went outside. Then they went to the Apocathery, and got potions supplies, most of which made Aurora gag.
"Now for your wand." Minerva said, eyes glowing, for this was the most exciting part of getting ready for Hogwarts. They walked down the street to Ollivander's. When they went in a little girl and her parents were paying for a wand.
"Minerva…Oak, Dragon's Heartstrings, 11 inches, flexible, good for transfiguration." Said Mr. Ollivander.
"Yes, I'm transfiguration teacher at Hogwarts now."
"You're here for Aurora's wand, are you not?"
"How do you know my name? And yes we are here for my wand." Aurora butted in.
"Child, I've been expecting you for four years. I never thought you were dead. And look at you…You look like your mother, so beautiful, she was." Mr. Ollivander, pulling out some tape measure. "Hold out your wand arm."
"I'm right handed, if that's what you mean." Aurora replied, holding out her arm. Mr. Ollivander measured her arm, her hand, her fingers, then folded up the tape measure.
He went into the back room and returned with long, thin boxes in his arms. "Here we are," He said, opening a box, "Maple, unicorn tail hair, 9.25 inches, quite flexible, good for all sorts of magic, with a strong inclination towards magic with animals." He proclaimed handing it to Aurora.
Instantly, her hand felt warmer. Pleasant shivers ran up her arm. She swung her arm up over her head and a rainbow of sparks flew overhead.
"Interesting match. I didn't expect it to work. The core of your wand is from the Queen of the Unicorns herself. This wand is part of an agreement between the unicorns and the wizarding peoples. We shall expect great things from you, Aurora Potter…"
Author's note
Hi, folks! Just wanted to ask you to r/r! Please no flames. I will simply ignore them. Also, who do you think the boy is? Prize to the correct answer (no…just personal satisfaction ^_*). Please tell me what you want to see in this story.
Thanx,
~*Aurora*~