Disclaimer: Athena and all children during Athena's time belong to me. The
rest belongs to J.K Rowling.
Note: Athena's owl, Bubo, belongs to creators of the movie "Clash of the Titans" (I think)
Thank you for all your reviews!
Chapter 4: Meeting New People
"Hurry up, Mom!" Athena yelled eagerly at the front door in the next morning. She tapped her foot impatiently and stood near the door, ready to run out once her mother had opened it.
"All right, all right." Professor McGonagall said, trying to match her daughter's enthusiasm. She took out the house keys and opened the door. Athena zoomed out of the door like a Bludger. Professor McGonagall smiled and shook her head at Athena's eagerness.
***
"Hi, Mrs. McGonagall and hey Athena, where are you two going?." Ares asked as he bumped into Athena and her mother near a bookshop.
"Ares, I thought you said that you won't bug me for the rest of the summer the day before yesterday?" Athena asked, scowling.
"I can't help bumping into you, can I?" Ares asked back, grinning.
"Wherever we are going is none of your business." Athena snapped.
"Athena." Professor McGonagall said with a warning tone in her voice.
"But Mom!" Athena protested.
"We are going to buy Athena's school supplies." Professor McGonagall said politely, ignoring her daughter.
"Oh, which school is she going?" Ares asked.
"Err..I can't tell you. Sorry." Professor McGonagall smiled.
Ares looked bewildered. "Why?"
"I just can't. Sorry, we have to go. Goodbye." Professor McGonagall said and they bade goodbye to Ares.
"Mom, why don't you tell him that I am going to Hogwarts?" Athena asked when they were away from Ares.
"Sh!" Professor McGonagall said sharply and whispered, "We can't let a Muggle like Ares to know about us. He will tell everyone."
"A what?" Athena asked.
"A Muggle. That's the term for people who are not magical. If the Muggles know about us, they will either burn us or pester us for magic solutions to their problems. Ah, here's the Leaky Cauldron." Professor McGonagall said as they stopped between a big bookshop and a record shop. She opened the door and they went in.
"A pub? Mom, I thought we are going to Diagon Alley." Athena asked in confusion. She looked around at the people talking and laughing at their seats, drinking from their drinks.
Her mother didn't respond.
"Mom?" Athena found out that her mother was gone and she gone pale. Oh no, was her mother going to dump her here?
"Here I am."
Athena looked and stared in awe. Professor McGonagall had came out of the washroom, wearing an emerald cloak and a witch hat. "My, I have not wore this in years. It is so comfortable to wear my old attire again." She smiled and pulled down the brim to hide her face.
Athena just stared. "You look exactly like a witch." She managed to say finally.
"Well, I am one, am I?" Professor McGonagall said proudly.
Athena suddenly felt out of place in her white T-shirt and jeans. She stared at her own clothes uncomfortably.
"Diagon Alley is situated at the outside of this pub." Professor McGonagall said and steered Athena out of the pub and into the walled courtyard.
"Where?" Athena asked, looking at the blank wall.
Professor McGonagall didn't answer. She concentrated on the bricks for a while and took out her wand.
"Mom, is that your wand?" Athena asked, staring at the long stick that her mother was holding.
Professor McGonagall nodded and tapped the wall three times. The bricks wriggled and formed a hole. The hole grew wider and in the end, the wall had an archway that led to a street that twisted and turned.
"This is it, Diagon Alley." She sighed happily. "It didn't change a bit. Come on Athena, stick close to me and don't get lost into this crowd."
Athena held her mother's hand and looked at what the shops were selling: Cauldrons, owls, broomsticks, robes, telescopes, potion ingredients, books....
"Katie, look at this Nimbus 2018. I wonder what it feels like riding this..." A burly man with brown hair to a woman with blond hair as Athena and her mother passed the broomstick shop.
"Let's get a withdrawal first at Gringotts." Professor McGonagall said.
"Where?" Athena asked as she turned her attention away from a shop that sells potion ingredients (Snake Fangs-7 Sickles)
"Gringotts. It's the wizards' bank. Your father and I shared a fortune and I left it in Gringotts. " Professor McGonagall explained.
"What? Aren't you afraid that a bank robber will rob the bank and.." Athena stopped when she saw her mother stifling a laughter under her hat. "What?"
"Athena, Gringotts is the safest place in the world. The robbers must be mad to try to rob Gringotts. Gringotts is hundreds of miles under London. And the dragons are guarding the high-security vaults."
"Dragons?!" Athena exclaimed, her eyes were as round as dinner plates.
"Yes, dragons. Here it is." Professor McGonagall said and stopped at the tall white building.
"Mom, what's that?" Athena asked, indicating the creature standing at the bronze doors.
"A goblin. Gringotts are run by them."
Athena stared at the goblin, which didn't resemble the one that she had seen in her storybooks a bit.
"Athena, it is rude to stare." Professor McGonagall said sternly.
"Sorry."
****
When Athena stepped out of Flourish and Blotts with books in her hands, someone crashed into her, knocking the books out of her hands.
"Oh no!" Athena groaned and bended down to pick up her books.
"Oops! Sorry!" A male voice apologized and a tall boy with blond hair began to help her with her books.
"Why don't you look where you are going, James Wood?" A girl with brown hair, who is as tall as the boy, asked and frowned.
"I was too excited about the new book that I saw on Quidditch, all right?" The boy snapped.
"That's not an excuse!" The girl said and turned to Athena. "Sorry about him. He's so obsessed with Quidditch." She said and rolled her eyes to the clear blue sky.
"So are you, don't pretend that you are not obsessed." The boy said, folding his arms.
The girl ignored him. "I am Elizabeth Wood, he's my twin, James. And you two are?"
Athena smiled. "I am Athena McGonagall and she's my mother." Professor McGonagall smiled under her hat.
"Hi, Mrs. McGonagall. Athena, are you going to Hogwarts too? James and I are on our 2nd year."
Athena nodded excitedly.
"Great! I wish I can talk more, but our parents are waiting for us at the broomstick shop........"
"Mom, yes, Dad, no. He can't bear to leave that broomstick shop." James grinned.
"Then we will find a way to drag him away from that shop. Bye! See you at Platform 9 3/4!" Elizabeth said and the twins went to the broomstick shop.
"Mom, what's Quidditch?" Athena asked.
"It's a sport." Professor McGonagall explained.
"What is it like?"
"I love to explain it to you but I can't remember the rules and regulations now. The last time that I watched a Quidditch match was around 13 years ago. Maybe you should ask Elizabeth or James." She sighed. "How I miss Quidditch..." She looked longingly at the broomstick shop.
"Mom, I still need a wand." Athena said, looking up from her list at her mother and saw her smiling.
"Hm, they are married.." Professor McGonagall said to herself as she looked in interest at the twins talking to the couple whom Athena had heard just now.
"Mom?" Athena asked.
"Yes?" Her mother turned the attention away from the couple and looked at Athena.
"I need a wand." Athena said patiently.
"Here's where you can buy your wand, the Ollivanders." Professor McGonagall said and bought Athena into a narrow and shabby shop.
"Excuse me! Mr. Ollivander?" Her mother called out and an old man came out quickly.
"Ah! A customer!" He said happily and looked at Athena closely with his silvery eyes. "Have I seen you somewhere? You look oddly familiar."
Athena smiled and shook her head. "No, I don't think so. I have been living in London for 11 years and this is the first time that I am here."
"Oh well." Mr. Ollivander shrugged casually. "Which is your wand arm?"
"Wand arm?" Athena asked slowly.
"She's right-handed." Professor McGonagall said and pulled down the brim of her hat further.
Mr. Ollivander took out his tape measure and it measured Athena, who had absolutely no idea what exactly the tape was measuring because it measured every part of her body. When it was done, Mr. Ollivander took out a long green box and gave Athena a wand.
"Try this. It contains a unicorn hair and made of willow. 10 inches. Give it a wave."
Athena waved a little and a few faint stars shot out of it.
"This is no good. Here, try this. Dragon heartstring, holly, 8 ½ inches."
She tried and a small flame of fire pop out of the wand.
"Definitely not. Here, unicorn hair, maple, 11 inches. Good for charm work."
She tried and sent a box zooming through the air and it CRASH knocked over a lamp before it landed on a chair.
"Oops! Sorry!" Athena said as she put the wand down.
"It's all right, when Harry Potter tried his wands, he removed all my boxes and broke my vase with them." Mr. Ollivander smiled kindly. "Ah yes, his wand is holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple. That is quite a unusual combination.."
"Mom, isn't Harry Potter one of your students? Athena whispered.
She received a proud nod.
"...The phoenix gave a feather to his wand and another to his enemy's wand." Mr. Ollivander rattled on. "Yes, Voldemort's wand is 13 ½ inches, Yew and phoenix feather. It's a powerful wand, so powerful that it could even killed the great wizard Albus Dumbledore himself."
Athena felt that her mother's grip on her hand tightened. She looked up slowly and found that Professor McGonagall had a deep frown on her face.
"But it had been destroyed when Voldemort was defeated by Harry Potter." Mr. Ollivander ended.
Athena felt her mother's grip had loosened. "Voldemort? Defeated?" She heard her mother asking breathlessly.
"Yes, a few years after Dumbledore's death. Harry Potter's name is down on the History of Magic."
"Oh thank goodness." Professor McGonagall said in relief and sighed happily.
"It's a blessing that Harry Potter is our ally. Now Voldemort is defeated, we are not afraid to say his name anymore!" Mr. Ollivander said happily.
"Mom, who is Voldemort?" Athena asked.
Professor McGonagall glared at her with a stony look on her face.
"What?"
"You will learn about him in your History of Magic." Professor McGonagall said in such a cold tone that she scared Athena a little.
"Now for your wand, Miss...err."
"McGonagall. Athena McGonagall." Athena introduced herself.
"Miss McGonagall? Ah, there's once a witch named Minerva McGonagall. Her wand is 10 inches long, dragon heartstring with holly. She disappeared a year after Dumbledore's death. Nobody knows where did she go and her friends refused to say anything to the Daily Prophet. Now, your wand. Try this. 9 inches, phoenix feather with cedar. Excellent with Transfiguration."
Athena held it and it gave a scarlet glow.
"Ah! Excellent! This wand is definitely for you. 7 Galleons, please." Mr. Ollivander said as he wrapped up Athena's wand.
***
"Now, you still need an owl." Professor McGonagall said after they had stepped out of Ollivanders.
"Mom, why don't you tell him that you are Min.." Athena started and stopped when she saw Professor McGonagall's dark look. "All right, pretend that I didn't say anything. What do I need an owl for?"
"For posting. Owls are useful for posting mail in the wizarding world. Here we are, Eeylops Owl Emporium."
***
When Athena and her mother stepped into the shop, she saw a round-face man talking to a girl at around her age with red hair about his pet.
"When I was a boy, I had a toad named Trevor and he kept on hopping out of my sight.."
"All right, Athena, which owl do you want?" Professor McGonagall asked gently.
Athena turned her attention away from the man and to the owls. She stared from the snowy owls to the great horned owls to the eagle owls...unable to make up her mind. Then her eyes lies on a small barn owl with pale coloured feathers. "May I have that?" She pointed.
Professor McGonagall looked at the owl, which looked as if she was saying: "Pick me please!!!"
"All right."
Athena clapped in delight and when she got her owl, the owl hooted and flapped its wings happily.
"I think she likes you." The red-hair girl who Athena saw just now observed. "I'm Lethe Longbottom by the way. Are you new to Hogwarts?"
Athena nodded. "I am Athena McGonagall, pleased to meet you. I wish I can shake your hand but my hands are full with the cage."
Lethe laughed. "That's ok. I have to go now; my father is waiting for me outside. See you on Sept 1st." Lethe smiled and left.
"What are you going to name her?" Professor McGonagall asked, smiling as they headed back to Leaky Cauldron.
"Bubo." Athena smiled and the owl hooted as if she liked it. "Guess what, Bubo? We are going to Hogwarts!" she said excitedly to Bubo.
Professor McGonagall smiled sadly and didn't say anything.
"Mom, what's wrong? You have been behaving very strangely today." Athena asked in shock.
Professor McGonagall swallowed. "Nothing."
Note: Athena's owl, Bubo, belongs to creators of the movie "Clash of the Titans" (I think)
Thank you for all your reviews!
Chapter 4: Meeting New People
"Hurry up, Mom!" Athena yelled eagerly at the front door in the next morning. She tapped her foot impatiently and stood near the door, ready to run out once her mother had opened it.
"All right, all right." Professor McGonagall said, trying to match her daughter's enthusiasm. She took out the house keys and opened the door. Athena zoomed out of the door like a Bludger. Professor McGonagall smiled and shook her head at Athena's eagerness.
***
"Hi, Mrs. McGonagall and hey Athena, where are you two going?." Ares asked as he bumped into Athena and her mother near a bookshop.
"Ares, I thought you said that you won't bug me for the rest of the summer the day before yesterday?" Athena asked, scowling.
"I can't help bumping into you, can I?" Ares asked back, grinning.
"Wherever we are going is none of your business." Athena snapped.
"Athena." Professor McGonagall said with a warning tone in her voice.
"But Mom!" Athena protested.
"We are going to buy Athena's school supplies." Professor McGonagall said politely, ignoring her daughter.
"Oh, which school is she going?" Ares asked.
"Err..I can't tell you. Sorry." Professor McGonagall smiled.
Ares looked bewildered. "Why?"
"I just can't. Sorry, we have to go. Goodbye." Professor McGonagall said and they bade goodbye to Ares.
"Mom, why don't you tell him that I am going to Hogwarts?" Athena asked when they were away from Ares.
"Sh!" Professor McGonagall said sharply and whispered, "We can't let a Muggle like Ares to know about us. He will tell everyone."
"A what?" Athena asked.
"A Muggle. That's the term for people who are not magical. If the Muggles know about us, they will either burn us or pester us for magic solutions to their problems. Ah, here's the Leaky Cauldron." Professor McGonagall said as they stopped between a big bookshop and a record shop. She opened the door and they went in.
"A pub? Mom, I thought we are going to Diagon Alley." Athena asked in confusion. She looked around at the people talking and laughing at their seats, drinking from their drinks.
Her mother didn't respond.
"Mom?" Athena found out that her mother was gone and she gone pale. Oh no, was her mother going to dump her here?
"Here I am."
Athena looked and stared in awe. Professor McGonagall had came out of the washroom, wearing an emerald cloak and a witch hat. "My, I have not wore this in years. It is so comfortable to wear my old attire again." She smiled and pulled down the brim to hide her face.
Athena just stared. "You look exactly like a witch." She managed to say finally.
"Well, I am one, am I?" Professor McGonagall said proudly.
Athena suddenly felt out of place in her white T-shirt and jeans. She stared at her own clothes uncomfortably.
"Diagon Alley is situated at the outside of this pub." Professor McGonagall said and steered Athena out of the pub and into the walled courtyard.
"Where?" Athena asked, looking at the blank wall.
Professor McGonagall didn't answer. She concentrated on the bricks for a while and took out her wand.
"Mom, is that your wand?" Athena asked, staring at the long stick that her mother was holding.
Professor McGonagall nodded and tapped the wall three times. The bricks wriggled and formed a hole. The hole grew wider and in the end, the wall had an archway that led to a street that twisted and turned.
"This is it, Diagon Alley." She sighed happily. "It didn't change a bit. Come on Athena, stick close to me and don't get lost into this crowd."
Athena held her mother's hand and looked at what the shops were selling: Cauldrons, owls, broomsticks, robes, telescopes, potion ingredients, books....
"Katie, look at this Nimbus 2018. I wonder what it feels like riding this..." A burly man with brown hair to a woman with blond hair as Athena and her mother passed the broomstick shop.
"Let's get a withdrawal first at Gringotts." Professor McGonagall said.
"Where?" Athena asked as she turned her attention away from a shop that sells potion ingredients (Snake Fangs-7 Sickles)
"Gringotts. It's the wizards' bank. Your father and I shared a fortune and I left it in Gringotts. " Professor McGonagall explained.
"What? Aren't you afraid that a bank robber will rob the bank and.." Athena stopped when she saw her mother stifling a laughter under her hat. "What?"
"Athena, Gringotts is the safest place in the world. The robbers must be mad to try to rob Gringotts. Gringotts is hundreds of miles under London. And the dragons are guarding the high-security vaults."
"Dragons?!" Athena exclaimed, her eyes were as round as dinner plates.
"Yes, dragons. Here it is." Professor McGonagall said and stopped at the tall white building.
"Mom, what's that?" Athena asked, indicating the creature standing at the bronze doors.
"A goblin. Gringotts are run by them."
Athena stared at the goblin, which didn't resemble the one that she had seen in her storybooks a bit.
"Athena, it is rude to stare." Professor McGonagall said sternly.
"Sorry."
****
When Athena stepped out of Flourish and Blotts with books in her hands, someone crashed into her, knocking the books out of her hands.
"Oh no!" Athena groaned and bended down to pick up her books.
"Oops! Sorry!" A male voice apologized and a tall boy with blond hair began to help her with her books.
"Why don't you look where you are going, James Wood?" A girl with brown hair, who is as tall as the boy, asked and frowned.
"I was too excited about the new book that I saw on Quidditch, all right?" The boy snapped.
"That's not an excuse!" The girl said and turned to Athena. "Sorry about him. He's so obsessed with Quidditch." She said and rolled her eyes to the clear blue sky.
"So are you, don't pretend that you are not obsessed." The boy said, folding his arms.
The girl ignored him. "I am Elizabeth Wood, he's my twin, James. And you two are?"
Athena smiled. "I am Athena McGonagall and she's my mother." Professor McGonagall smiled under her hat.
"Hi, Mrs. McGonagall. Athena, are you going to Hogwarts too? James and I are on our 2nd year."
Athena nodded excitedly.
"Great! I wish I can talk more, but our parents are waiting for us at the broomstick shop........"
"Mom, yes, Dad, no. He can't bear to leave that broomstick shop." James grinned.
"Then we will find a way to drag him away from that shop. Bye! See you at Platform 9 3/4!" Elizabeth said and the twins went to the broomstick shop.
"Mom, what's Quidditch?" Athena asked.
"It's a sport." Professor McGonagall explained.
"What is it like?"
"I love to explain it to you but I can't remember the rules and regulations now. The last time that I watched a Quidditch match was around 13 years ago. Maybe you should ask Elizabeth or James." She sighed. "How I miss Quidditch..." She looked longingly at the broomstick shop.
"Mom, I still need a wand." Athena said, looking up from her list at her mother and saw her smiling.
"Hm, they are married.." Professor McGonagall said to herself as she looked in interest at the twins talking to the couple whom Athena had heard just now.
"Mom?" Athena asked.
"Yes?" Her mother turned the attention away from the couple and looked at Athena.
"I need a wand." Athena said patiently.
"Here's where you can buy your wand, the Ollivanders." Professor McGonagall said and bought Athena into a narrow and shabby shop.
"Excuse me! Mr. Ollivander?" Her mother called out and an old man came out quickly.
"Ah! A customer!" He said happily and looked at Athena closely with his silvery eyes. "Have I seen you somewhere? You look oddly familiar."
Athena smiled and shook her head. "No, I don't think so. I have been living in London for 11 years and this is the first time that I am here."
"Oh well." Mr. Ollivander shrugged casually. "Which is your wand arm?"
"Wand arm?" Athena asked slowly.
"She's right-handed." Professor McGonagall said and pulled down the brim of her hat further.
Mr. Ollivander took out his tape measure and it measured Athena, who had absolutely no idea what exactly the tape was measuring because it measured every part of her body. When it was done, Mr. Ollivander took out a long green box and gave Athena a wand.
"Try this. It contains a unicorn hair and made of willow. 10 inches. Give it a wave."
Athena waved a little and a few faint stars shot out of it.
"This is no good. Here, try this. Dragon heartstring, holly, 8 ½ inches."
She tried and a small flame of fire pop out of the wand.
"Definitely not. Here, unicorn hair, maple, 11 inches. Good for charm work."
She tried and sent a box zooming through the air and it CRASH knocked over a lamp before it landed on a chair.
"Oops! Sorry!" Athena said as she put the wand down.
"It's all right, when Harry Potter tried his wands, he removed all my boxes and broke my vase with them." Mr. Ollivander smiled kindly. "Ah yes, his wand is holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple. That is quite a unusual combination.."
"Mom, isn't Harry Potter one of your students? Athena whispered.
She received a proud nod.
"...The phoenix gave a feather to his wand and another to his enemy's wand." Mr. Ollivander rattled on. "Yes, Voldemort's wand is 13 ½ inches, Yew and phoenix feather. It's a powerful wand, so powerful that it could even killed the great wizard Albus Dumbledore himself."
Athena felt that her mother's grip on her hand tightened. She looked up slowly and found that Professor McGonagall had a deep frown on her face.
"But it had been destroyed when Voldemort was defeated by Harry Potter." Mr. Ollivander ended.
Athena felt her mother's grip had loosened. "Voldemort? Defeated?" She heard her mother asking breathlessly.
"Yes, a few years after Dumbledore's death. Harry Potter's name is down on the History of Magic."
"Oh thank goodness." Professor McGonagall said in relief and sighed happily.
"It's a blessing that Harry Potter is our ally. Now Voldemort is defeated, we are not afraid to say his name anymore!" Mr. Ollivander said happily.
"Mom, who is Voldemort?" Athena asked.
Professor McGonagall glared at her with a stony look on her face.
"What?"
"You will learn about him in your History of Magic." Professor McGonagall said in such a cold tone that she scared Athena a little.
"Now for your wand, Miss...err."
"McGonagall. Athena McGonagall." Athena introduced herself.
"Miss McGonagall? Ah, there's once a witch named Minerva McGonagall. Her wand is 10 inches long, dragon heartstring with holly. She disappeared a year after Dumbledore's death. Nobody knows where did she go and her friends refused to say anything to the Daily Prophet. Now, your wand. Try this. 9 inches, phoenix feather with cedar. Excellent with Transfiguration."
Athena held it and it gave a scarlet glow.
"Ah! Excellent! This wand is definitely for you. 7 Galleons, please." Mr. Ollivander said as he wrapped up Athena's wand.
***
"Now, you still need an owl." Professor McGonagall said after they had stepped out of Ollivanders.
"Mom, why don't you tell him that you are Min.." Athena started and stopped when she saw Professor McGonagall's dark look. "All right, pretend that I didn't say anything. What do I need an owl for?"
"For posting. Owls are useful for posting mail in the wizarding world. Here we are, Eeylops Owl Emporium."
***
When Athena and her mother stepped into the shop, she saw a round-face man talking to a girl at around her age with red hair about his pet.
"When I was a boy, I had a toad named Trevor and he kept on hopping out of my sight.."
"All right, Athena, which owl do you want?" Professor McGonagall asked gently.
Athena turned her attention away from the man and to the owls. She stared from the snowy owls to the great horned owls to the eagle owls...unable to make up her mind. Then her eyes lies on a small barn owl with pale coloured feathers. "May I have that?" She pointed.
Professor McGonagall looked at the owl, which looked as if she was saying: "Pick me please!!!"
"All right."
Athena clapped in delight and when she got her owl, the owl hooted and flapped its wings happily.
"I think she likes you." The red-hair girl who Athena saw just now observed. "I'm Lethe Longbottom by the way. Are you new to Hogwarts?"
Athena nodded. "I am Athena McGonagall, pleased to meet you. I wish I can shake your hand but my hands are full with the cage."
Lethe laughed. "That's ok. I have to go now; my father is waiting for me outside. See you on Sept 1st." Lethe smiled and left.
"What are you going to name her?" Professor McGonagall asked, smiling as they headed back to Leaky Cauldron.
"Bubo." Athena smiled and the owl hooted as if she liked it. "Guess what, Bubo? We are going to Hogwarts!" she said excitedly to Bubo.
Professor McGonagall smiled sadly and didn't say anything.
"Mom, what's wrong? You have been behaving very strangely today." Athena asked in shock.
Professor McGonagall swallowed. "Nothing."
