Ok, here we go. OK!
Chapter 2: Mr Flowt and Perelyn Arcade
It was soon after that in which the Grade 6 Graduation took place. Kamil, Scott and Sina all agreed that it was indeed, the dodgiest event of the 20th century.
Christmas had come and gone, as so had Kamil's birthday, which was his most enjoyable birthday, as he actually had friends to share it with. The memory of the letter had almost completely left his mind. Until one night at about the 28th of January, he found he couldn't sleep. He got up and went to his bookshelf. Kamil loved to read, and when he was bored, he could always bury himself in a good book. Accidentally though, he pulled out the booklist, and found himself simmering through all the old thoughts. Was this for real? Did these books really exist? Where could he find them? He lay back down again, re-reading the letter to himself, until he fell asleep with one thought in his head. 'These books must have been an interesting read.'
* * *
The next day, he awoke, showered and dressed as he always did, expecting nothing more than a thoroughly regular day. But, unbeknownst to him, but knownst to us, he's day would be anything but regular. As lunch had been eaten, he pulled a book ("The Phoenix and the Carpet"), off his shelf and settled down to read. But just then, the doorbell rang. Kamil, interested because they rarely got visitors, went into the hall so he could peak around the corner and see whom it was, he saw his father open the door, and almost yell in shock. Behind the door was a regular looking man. He's greying hair was cropped short and he looked as if he had recently shaven. But the clothes he wore wouldn't have been out of place at a Tolkien convention. The first thing that struck Kamil was the wide brimmed 'wizards' hat that sat neatly on his head, but it looked much more than a cheap costume hat. It was made of a sort of stiff felt, and the point wasn't straight up, it was more of a slant, and around midway, bent to the back. He wore what appeared to be a robe with a high collar, and the place where a tie would be practical, he wore a metal plaque with the same emblem that was on the back of the letter. Draped around his shoulders, was a grey cloak, it was pinned together on his chest by what looked like a silver broach, but on it, Kamil clearly saw the words "Keeper of Keys".
"Umm, may I help you?" Said John, clearly struck with awe. "Yes, actually." The man seemed to have a soft Scottish accent, "I presume you are Mr John Suwara?" John nodded quietly. "Good to meet you," Said the man, forcefully shaking Johns hand. "My name, is Gordon Flowt, but that'll be Mr Flowt to you boy." He said, with a smile, Kamil realized he had forgotten all caution, and allowed his entire head to come around the corner.
Gordon had allowed himself in and stated with importance. "I have come to talk to you two about something of great significance. Kamil Suwara's education." John seemed to wake up from his trance. "Oh, of course, would you like a cup of coffee?" "Yes please," said Mr Flowt, as if he had been dying to hear this question all day, "no sugar, but some Billy wig cream would be nice." My dad stopped in his tracks, completely perplexed at this last statement. But as Mr Flowt stepped into the kitchen, which was just opposite the entrance, he let out a sigh as if he had just realised something. "Oh of course, I forgot that this is a muggle house! Please forgive me if I've confused you at all, don't worry about the coffee, there is much to talk about." With that, he gestured at the table in the kitchen.
At this time, Peter had come around into the kitchen and gasped at the figure standing in the kitchen. As Mr Flowt noticed him, he smiled. "So," he said happily, "you are Peter, I suppose, then where's Joanna?" There was a loud sort of squeak behind Peter, as Joanna heard her name being said by the strange man in the kitchen. "She's behind me." Said Peter, somewhat forcefully, as if protecting her from a man who could pull an axe out of his robes any second. "Come in, both of you," said Mr Flowt, noticing the awkwardness, "lets all sit down, there is much to explain." Both Joanna and Peter entered cautiously. And soon, everyone was sitting at the round table.
"First of all, let me ask you, Kamil, if you remember your mother at all?" Kamil shook his head. "Alright, John." Mr Flowt turned to Kamil's father. "What do you know about Kamil's mother?" By the look on John's face, not all that much. "I met her at a train station, and she reminded me of Julie so much, that I had to talk to her, we found we had much in common, so we arranged to me at a later date. She used to work at a bookshop I think." Mr Flowt nodded. "The problem is, that I don't know where to start." After a small pause as Mr Flowt thought, he began to talk. "Kamil, you're a wizard!" He exclaimed, Kamil's eyes widened, thinking back to the letter he had received some time ago. "I am? How do you know, maybe there's been a mistake?" To his surprise, Mr Flowt chuckled softly.
"Well, Kamil, have you ever noticed how things seem to happen to you? Or rather, when you're angry or frightened, you seem to make things happen without even realising it." Kamil nodded slowly, confirmation clicking in his head, Mr Flowt smiled. "You mean to say," continued John, "That the letter we received was real?" Again Mr Flowt chuckled. "Yes, I quite believe so." "But," said Kamil, a million questions racing around his head. "What does this have to do with my mother?" Mr Flowt turned to him, becoming grave again. "Your mother, Silenya, was a witch."
There was a gasp from everyone at the table (except Mr Flowt). "A witch? What do you mean, witch?" "A certified witch," replied Mr Flowt, "She was a person of magical parentage, born to Kamil and Serena Hellion." At this point, Kamil noticed something strange, there was something behind Gordon's eyes as he spoke, but Kamil couldn't quite place it, and in a second, it was gone.
"I believe she was even taught at our institution, Elysium, College for the Magically Enabled." There was a silence all around, after a few moments, Mr Flowt continued. "Sometimes, a magical person is born without magical parents, we cannot tell why this is, magic is always passed down to children, and sometimes it comes in families that have no history of magic in their bloodlines. Though, sometimes there are the odd few people who believe that those of muggle parentage are lesser then they are, though, it is proven that this isn't even a factor."
Mr Flowt stopped speaking for a moment, allowing everything to sink in. "Um, Mr Flowt," started Kamil, "What is a muggle?" "Oh yes," exclaimed Mr Flowt, "A muggle is a person with not a drop of magic in their blood, such as your family here." Kamil slowly nodded. "Anymore questions?" There were none. "Righto, lets continue."
"While I'm at this point, I also need to state something. Magic is indeed a very powerful gift. As with all power, it must be taken as a responsibility. Every so often, there are those with a great power, and no sense of responsibility, this can be a very frightening combination. Many such people are what we call, Dark Wizards. These are wizards who are interested in one thing, gaining power, at all costs. Around the time of your birth, there was one extremely powerful Dark Wizard, whose reign of terror caused us all much trouble. Your mother was in hiding at the time, from him of course. She met your father and married him. I understand that she loved you both very much, and you as well, Peter." "D-did you know my mother?" Asked Kamil, chokingly. "We had met once or twice, I didn't know her very well, but the Australian magical community is considerably small, and most of us know one another. But your mother was a very kind woman, and I hoped to have known her better."
"Why did she leave?" Kamil asked again. "Well, as I said, she loved you all very much, and somehow, I don't know how, the dark wizard that was hunting for her, found out where she had been hiding. Silenya left for two reasons, the first was so that she could leave to hold you again, and the second was to save your life. She knew that if you were with her, then HE would kill you both."
"Kamil," said Mr Flowt, now putting his hand on Kamil's shoulder. "Your mother didn't leave because she didn't love you, or because she couldn't handle being a mother. She left, to save your life."
Finally, Kamil knew. All this time, Kamil managed to convince himself that she didn't leave because of him, but because she had a good reason. Now he knew, she left to protect him and his father. She left because she loved him, not because she didn't love him.
Kamil looked to his father, and he noticed that his eyes seemed to be straining against a flood of tears. "Um, what happened to her?" Asked Kamil. "Why didn't she come back?" "Alas," Sighed Mr Flowt, "I don't know. There is a chance that he caught up with her, but I suppose I would've heard about it if he did."
"But why didn't she tell me?" asked John, his voice shaking, "Why didn't she tell me why she had to go?" "Because, Mr Suwara," replied Mr Flowt Calmly, "Silenya didn't want to put you, Kamil, or Peter at risk."
There was yet another daunting silence, as sadness ran throughout the room. Mr Flowt turned to Kamil again. "She named you after your grandfather, you know, Kamil Hellion."
"But enough of that, there are more important things to deal with." "Like what?" asked Kamil curiously. Mr Flowt smiled. "When a child with magic is born, a special quill writes down his or her name and address. What it doesn't write, is wether he is a pure blood wizard, or a muggle born. We have to find this out on our own." John had become thoroughly interested, and without being able to stop himself, he asked. "How?" "Well," said Mr Flowt smiling, "we send an owl to each of those children the year before they are supposed to attend Elysium. If an owl is un-answered, then we assume that he or she is a muggle born, and I am sent to explain everything, and take them to buy their school supplies if they and their parents agree." "But I replied to your owl." Said Kamil rather sheepishly. After he had replied to the owl, he told his dad, needless to say, he wasn't pleased.
"Yes you did, and might I add, you caused quite some trouble." Said Mr Flowt with a hearty laugh. "But we have a contingency set in place for smart people like you. It seems that we can easily find out which people have or haven't bought they're school supplies. So, we assume that those who haven't bought their school supplies are either clever muggle borns or magical people with little time on their hands. Needless to say, you were the only person this year."
Mr Flowt was smiling broadly. "Perhaps it would be prudent to leave now." "Leave?" Asked Kamil. "Where?" Mr Flowt stood from his chair and walked to the other side of the table. "Why, to get your school supplies. I hope you still have the list." Kamil nodded. He walked to his room, his heart beating against his chest as he realised the only truth of the situation, he was going to be a Wizard.
As Kamil scurried through his room, looking for the letter, Mr Flowt struck a more serious conversation with John. What John had just been told, was enough to send any grown man insane. The mother of his son was a witch, who was hunted by a Dark Wizard of great power. "Who was he?" Asked John. "Who was who?" Mr Flowt already knew what John was asking, but he needed to keep John grounded in reality, he was at the verge of breaking down. "Who was the man who hunted my wife?" "I never met him. I do know that he attended our institute at some point in time. He referred to himself as 'The Master'." John nodded slowly, restraining himself. "Is he dead?" "I should think so, our greatest Aurors were chasing him, and many of them died. But he eventually disappeared, when a Dark Wizard disappears. It usually means they're not coming back.
"But," continued Mr Flowt; "there is a more serious matter that we need to discuss at his point in time. Do you consent to Kamil attending Elysium?" John looked up at Gordon suddenly, as if it was a ridiculous question to ask. "Well, I suppose I do. I'm not sure, really. I don't quite like the sound of it." Gordon nodded. "Would you like to come with us to get Kamil's supplies?" Peter stirred in his seat, attracting Gordon's eye. "Umm," he started, not quite sure how to talk to a wizard, "can we come too?" Gordon laughed out loud, "Of course, it would be like a family outing." "But where do we get the supplies?" Asked John hesitantly, still not sure wether this was some strange joke or not. "There is only one place in Melbourne where we can get all those things, Perelyn Arcade." "How do we get there?" "We have two choices, either you can drive us, or we can take the train." "You know where it is?" "It is in the City Centre." At that point, Kamil walked in with the supply list. "When do we leave?" He asked. Gordon glanced from Kamil to John and back again, laughing out loud he proclaimed. "Right now!"
* * *
The ride to the Melbourne City Centre was considerably enjoyable. It involved Mr Flowt and John sitting up front, John explaining to Gordon how a car worked and what all the gauges were for. Kamil, Peter, and Joanna sat in the back, laughing at the entire situation, a burst of laughter every time Gordon said, "The things these muggles do without magic!"
After John parked the car, they walked for about ten minutes, listening to John and Gordon discuss the inner workings of a parking metre. But when Gordon asked "is it eclectic?" It was the last straw for them, they fell about laughing, attracting some rather odd looks. Not that they didn't get any odd looks anyway, Gordon's outfit did seem out of place surrounded by the yup's and business men of the city. But when they finally did arrive at their location, they stared hard at it.
"Here it is!" Said Gordon, pointing to an utterly derelict shop, the sign above the door read "danger: do not enter", and looking through the windows, it didn't seem anyone would want to, there were empty shelves, coated with cobwebs, and a corner where the ceiling had collapsed. "Mr Flowt," started Kamil, "it's completely empty." At this Gordon laughed. "Oh, that's just a precaution. Go ahead, open the door." Kamil looked at the door, large bands of wood on the inside barricaded it. "Don't worry about that," continued Mr Flowt, "Just open the door, you'll know what I mean. Kamil reached for the doorknob, totally unaware that the next hour would change his life completely.
He was quite surprised to see that the knob turned easily, even more surprised that the door made no resistance to being opened, but when it was fully open, he couldn't move for shock. The inside of the seemingly derelict building was full of people sitting around at tables, eating and drinking, chatting away, or just standing in a shadowy corner discussing something private. After a moment or two, before Kamil had taken it all in, Mr Flowt had pushed him softly in the back and muttered "Go on." Kamil stepped in nervously, realising that everyone was dressed in a multitude of robes and pointed hats, none quite as grand looking as Mr Flowt's, but it was still pretty awe inspiring.
Kamil made his way, with difficulty, through the sea of Wizards and Witches, and one particularly ugly crone with a hunched back ("That's what we call a hag" whispered Mr Flowt) to the counter where a tall Wizard with a stumpy hat was serving drinks to a pair of youths who were ordering a glass of pumpkin juice and a bottle of butter beer. "What's butter beer?" Asked Kamil curiously to Mr Flowt, who was trying to attract the Barkeep's attention. "Oh, don't muggles have butter beer? Well, it's a really great drink, everyone loves it, except it's not good for you if you're on a diet, you're better off drinking pumpkin juice. 'Alright,' thought Kamil to himself 'so it's like a Wizard version of Coca-Cola.' "I'll get you some now if you want." "Well, I don't know..." Began John, for he was very much against soft drinks. "Trust me Mr Suwara," Interrupted Mr Flowt "When he goes to Elysium, he won't have a single chance to drink anything like this. John thought for a moment, and then nodded. Kamil looked again at the two teenagers, and to his surprise, they were dressed in muggle clothing, except for their cloaks, which had the Elysium emblem on the chest. "Mr Flowt," asked Kamil, "are they students as well?" "Yes, the boys James and girls Miranda. If I remember correctly, they're in their fourth year at Elysium." "Do you know every student by name?" "Not every, but the vast majority, yes. It's a pretty small school, and I guarantee that by the end of the year, you'll know every student in your year level by name."
At this time, the Barkeep had made his way across to them. "Hello Gordon, muggles are they?" "Yes David, another muggle born student for Elysium." "Well, that's the second one, I remember the old days when there really wasn't many muggle born kids around." David sighed, and then turned back to Mr Flowt "The usual then?" "Yes, and also a butter beer for young Kamil here." Suddenly, the entire place went quiet, as if someone had just turned down the volume. Kamil turned around to see every pair of eyes in the bar staring at them, even the shadowy man in the corner. Mr Flowt had a look on his face that seemed to show regret. David looked down at Kamil with an odd expression, as if he was studying a strange phenomenon. "That's a strange name you got there." "Well, he is muggle born." Said Mr Flowt, but he seemed to be saying this more to the entire pub then to David, who, still shrewdly looking at Kamil, began pouring the drinks. Slowly, the whole pub turned back to their drinks, but looking up at Kamil every now and then. "What was that all about?" Asked Peter. "I don't know." said Kamil, but he decided not to ask Gordon, he didn't want to dwell on it too much. Mr Flowt had quickly drunk what ever it was that was in his glass before Kamil had opened his bottle. "Come on, let's go to Perelyn Arcade."
They made their way to what seemed to be the rear exit of the place. But when they walked through the door, they found themselves in a small square, brick walls on three sides and the bar behind them, "What a great Arcade!" Peter exclaimed sarcastically. "Look, can we go to that shop right their?" Peter was now pointing to a beaten up trash bin in the corner. Mr Flowt moved forward to the bin. "Sure, why not? But as for me, I got some other things I need to buy." Mr Flowt took a small stick from under his robes and said quietly "You had better be ready for this." Peter snorted loudly. Mr Flowt ignored him and tapped the bin three times, at this Peter snorted even more loudly. Suddenly, a crackling noise made them all jump. A brick on the wall behind the bin seemed to be rotating on the spot, it began rotating faster and faster until, it vanished, leaving an empty hole in the middle of the brick wall. Then all the bricks surrounding the hole began to follow with the same behaviour. This went on until there was a large archway left in the wall. Kamil and John stood, almost as speechless as when they entered the bar, needless to say, Peter did not snort.
Behind the archway was indeed an Arcade; it was crooked, filled with even more Witches and Wizards then the bar, and several more Students, and also dressed in muggle-ish clothing. Kamil turned to Mr Flowt. "What was that stick-thing you used? I recognised it from the Elysium Coat of Arms." "Oh yes," replied Mr Flowt, pulling it out, "this is a wand, from the day you start at Elysium, to the day you die, this will be your most useful tool. Never let it leave your side, Kamil. It could save your life. It's on your school list."
They began walking through the Arcade, passing several people who called out "Hello Gordon" or several students who would say "Hi Mr Flowt". Mr Flowt replied to all of them with a "Good morning" of his own, referring to many of them by name. However, there were a few people who gave the Suwara family some dirty looks. "Just ignore those," advised Mr Flowt "some Wizards don't like muggles. Most of the time, they don't have anything interesting to say anyway."
They walked to the very end of Perelyn Arcade. Where there stood a large white building. In bold black letters, the buildings name was powerfully shown above the large front doors. "Gringotts" "Gringotts, what's that?" Asked Kamil, but Mr Flowt had turned to John, who by now had a look of acceptance on his face. "Mr Suwara, how much money do you have?" John fumbled through his wallet a bit. "Three hundred dollars and change, why?" Mr Flowt, obviously oblivious to how much this was, stated. "Well, That will probably be enough for the books, but we need to discuss Kamil's tuition fee." "Of course." Grunted Kamil's father. "It falls down to four thousand Galleons." John blinked at him blankly. "How much is that in dollars?" Mr Flowt smiled. "Let's go find out!"
As the entered Gringotts, Mr Flowt spoke. "It's a bank, the last wizard bank we have left." They entered a large marble hall, more Wizards and Witches were walking around, but behind the counters were creatures that were obviously not human. They were short, pale skinned, long fingered, and had dark red eyes that stared shrewdly back at them. "Gringotts is run by Goblins, Kamil." "Goblins?" Kamil asked aloud, and received several strange looks in turn. "Goblins are very clever," continued Mr Flowt, "but never trust one, they'll tend to band together, rather then trust other creatures."
They walked across the marble floor and stepped in front of a teller "It's mostly empty now, very few people are purchasing their school supplies this late." A goblin appeared at the window, obviously standing some sort of booster. "Can I help you?" he asked, unsmiling, staring at them with a calculating look. "Yes," answered Mr Flowt, "we would like to see how much four thousand Galleons translates to Muggle gold." Immeadiately, the Goblin reached under the teller and pulled out an abacus, it was wooden, and divided into two. Still unsmiling, He muttered something, and pushed along four beads on the fifth row. As if by magic, a multitude of beads on the other half of the abacus moved around, even without the Goblins answer, Kamil already realised how much it was, and realised his father's reaction. "That comes down to 10,856 Dollars, sir."
John immeadiately turned to Gordon. "I can't afford that much a year! How do you expect regular people to pay for that?" Gordon looked at him calmly. "John," he said, "I know that is a lot of money, even in the wizarding world. So, we have a plan in place for this." "What plan?" John asked scrupulously. "We have a scholarship program." Mr Flowt carefully reached into his robes and extracted a large sheet of parchment, with loopy writing. "If you sign this, he can attend Elysium free of charge. The catch is that Kamil has to average a B+." Kamil was taken aback; his usual average was a C or a D+. But, if his father thought the same thing, he didn't show it. He slowly took the parchment from Gordon's hands, and read it carefully. After he had obviously reached the bottom, he turned to Kamil and asked, "Well, do you think you're up to it?" Kamil was about to say that he didn't think so. That no matter how hard he tried, he rarely scraped up more then a B. But then he saw himself standing in Mr Flowt's place, wearing those regal robes. Armed with a wand, who knew what he was capable of? He nodded his head. "I can do it." John smiled and, with a quill that the Goblin had passed him, signed the parchment. Peter looked as if he was about to say something, but didn't. Kamil knew what was on his mind, and was thinking the same thing. There was no-way he could average a B+.
The family had once again stepped out into the arcade. After John had signed the form, Gordon told him to exchange all the money he had on him, to Galleons. It was quite funny when John had pulled out his MasterCard. The goblin had rubbed a box along the black strip. John instructed the Goblin to withdraw three hundred Dollars, and then asked him to exchange that into Galleons. The result, one hundred and ten gold coins, followed by a bunch of bronze and silver ones, were dished out by a now grumpy looking Goblin. As they entered the arcade again. Joanna was still laughing. "There is no need to carry all this gold around, why don't you and these two," said Mr Flowt, pointing at Joanna and Peter, "have a drink at the bar where we came in, and I'll take Kamil to buy his things." Mr Flowt followed them back to the portal, so to open it for them, after they said their "see you later" sentiments, the portal closed behind them, Mr Flowt looked at Kamil. "Come Kamil, there's a lot to buy."
Their first stop was to a shop called "Xima's All Australian Robes." As Kamil and Mr Flowt stepped through the door, a plump witch had glided to them before the bell had rung. She looked at Kamil through small eyes, and Kamil got a distinct impression that she wasn't even looking at him. "Hello dear," she started, grabbing Kamil by the arm. "You must be a muggle born, I take it you're here for your robes, well of course, the only problem is the lateness, I hope I will be able to arrange something for you, unless I'm out of stock, then I may have to make some more, but that should not be a problem, you would probably get the owl tomorrow, stand here please dear." She had said all this in one flowing monologue, there were times when Kamil almost replied, but she just continued talking, now Kamil was standing on a stool looking seemingly foolish. The witch had returned with a tape measure and began taking Kamil's measurements. "Every single one of Xima's robes is perfectly suited for Australia, they are all charmed so that the hotter it becomes, the cooler you become. That is why no overseas robes survive in Australia, because Xima's robes are the only ones that are treated with love, care, tenderness, and tender loving care." "Oh," said Kamil, finding a niche. "I guess that's pretty coo..." Before he had finished, she began to talk again, after bustling to a nearby wardrobe. "Well, you really are in luck, we still have a selection of robes in your size, I advise you to get one in your size, and two in the next size, lord knows that you may yet grow, see here, let's see how you fit, oh don't worry, just put them over your things, that's how you're supposed to wear them, oh but put these shoes on."
The witch shoved the robes into Kamil's hands, who in turn took his shoes off, and put the robes on, then put on the black boots that also occupied the set. He also put on the pointed hat, which was just a black cone, and nowhere near as grand as Mr Flowt's hat. He looked in the mirror and was utterly taken aback. He looked particularly handsome, except for the silly looking black hat. He could really see himself as a wizard, and decided to, no matter what, do his best to keep up the B+ average.
After they had paid eight Galleons, Kamil and Mr Flowt went to another shop called "Slyxdexia Books" They bought all the books that they needed from a harassed looking wizard who grumbled constantly about a poltergeist that haunted the shop. Mr Flowt had quite a time getting Kamil to leave, there were so many interesting books, and Kamil loved to read. But after they left Kamil asked "A Poltergeist?" "Yes, they are like ghosts but can become corporeal at will. I forgot exactly why that is, it has something to do with the will of the spirit or something." "You mean, ghosts are real?" "Oh, yes. Gosh, I forgot about you living with muggles. Yes, indeed. In fact, there are plenty ghosts at Elysium." Kamil gulped.
After they bought a cauldron and a bunch of ingredients at "Ye Olde Potion Shoppe". They went to a small place that didn't seem to have any name, but it seemed to be an equivalent of a newsagents, the counter was littered with two different newspapers "The Australian Prophet" and "The Spell Binder" "These are the two largest newspapers in Australia". Said Mr Flowt as he bought a copy of each, while Kamil bought a quantity of quills, inkbottles, folders and a large amount of parchment.
"Alright," Kamil said excitedly, "Now all we have left is my wand." Kamil had been looking forward to this moment ever since Mr Flowt had opened up the gateway to Perelyn Arcade. When he was browsing through "Slyxdexia Books" he had learnt that all magic requires the use of a wand. The shop was called "O'Loghlan's Wands" and in the dirty window was a sign that proclaimed "Making Wands for Australian Wizards and Witches since the First Fleet". Which was, as we all know, the fleet that had colonised Australia. As Kamil stepped in, he saw a dusty desk, full of all sorts of feathers and hairs. Though, on a stool near the window was a boy the same age as Kamil. He looked up at Kamil, he seemed pale and scared but when he saw Kamil his face brightened up abit. "Hello," He said in an almost meek voice. "Who are you?" "I'm Kamil," replied Kamil, "Kamil Suwara." The boy's eyes grew wide, and seemed to bulge out. "Really? Well, what kind are your parents?" Kamil, confused by this, replied. "What do you mean?" "I mean, what kind of Wizard and Witch were they?" Kamil didn't want to explain about being half blood, so he simply replied. "I'm a muggle born." At this the boys eyes seemed to restore to their normal size, and his nervous smile almost returned. "Really, well that's an unusual name!" "Yeah," Kamil replied, sitting next to the boy.
"Well, I'm Finch, Finch Fletcher," He shook Kamil's hand weakly. "My mum and dad are a witch and wizard. But they have a habit of doing last minute shopping, and the train leaves in a few days." "Train?" Asked Kamil, "What train?" "Why, the train for Elysium, we have to catch the train to get to Elysium. Are you starting your first year soon?" "Yeah." "Well, I don't know if I can handle being away from mum and dad for a whole year, but dad said that on the winter holidays we can go home for two weeks." In the car, Mr Flowt had explained to Kamil that it was a boarding school, and that he would be "living there" so to speak.
At this point two Wizards and Witch had entered the room through a door behind the desk. "Thank you Arnold, for the discount." Said one wizard, who was obviously Mr Fletcher. He and the Witch (whom Harry guessed to be Mrs Fletcher) walked to Finch. "Well, Finch dear, we just have to buy your cauldron and we'll go home... Oh, I see you've made a friend! How delightful!" Kamil, guessing where Finch stood in the social hierarchy, knew exactly how Finch felt, so, he stood up and held out his hand. "Hello Mr and Mrs Fletcher." Kamil thought of adding his own name, but he could guess what the reaction could be, but they didn't notice. Mr Fletcher shook Kamil's hand, as Mr's Fletcher squealed. "Oh, what a delightful boy. It's nice to see a young man with such noble manners. You must come from a line of noble pure bloods!" "Er..." But before Kamil could answer, she said. "No time to dally, we have much to do." The family walked out the door and Kamil waved goodbye to Finch, and he waved back. After the door closed, Kamil could hear Mr Finch. "There we go son, I told you that you'd get on swimmingly with everyone at Elysium!" And Kamil, remembering the pale face, sincerely hoped he would.
As Kamil looked back to the counter, he saw Arnold O'Loghlan standing there gazing at him. "Kamil Suwara" He said in a mysterious voice. "Ever since I discovered that Selenya had a son, I have been eager to meet you, and here we are." Arnold O'Loghlan was a seemingly very old man; he had on very old looking robes, but were well kept. He gestured for Kamil to come through the door. "Shall we?" As Kamil entered the room, he saw a wooden chair in the centre, and the walls were lined thousands of boxes, that were small and long and Kamil guessed they held wands. Arnold gestured Kamil to sit in the seat, which he did. Almost instantly, Arnold pulled a box from a shelf and gave Kamil the wand inside. Kamil sat there, holding the wand, feeling foolish. "Well, wave it, see how it likes you." Kamil waved the wand, a feeble spark emanated from the end. "No, obviously that isn't your forte, let's try something with a little more fire." Arnold had put the box back where it went, and walked to the other side of the room. When Kamil waved this wand, a small flame appeared on the end and almost immediately extinguished. "No, no, definitely not."
Kamil tried a lot more wands, all with different outcomes, though none lasted more then a second. During this time, they got to talking. "I recently went the international wand conference in Britain. The whole thing was organised by the popular British wand maker, Ollivander. He's family's been making wands for Millennia. Mind you, he's a great wand maker, but he takes his wands far too seriously." "Oh." Said Kamil, as a drop of water dripped from the end of his wand. "I sold your mother her wand you know." "Really?" "Yes, she was a very pretty woman, I kept in touch with her after she finished Elysium. But, I recognised you because you look much like your Grandfather." "You sold my Grandfather his wand?" Asked Kamil, looking astounded. "Dear me no, I was a young boy at the time, but it was a day I would never forget. It was a very powerful wand indeed. And if he had let it fall into the wrong hands..." Mr O'Loghlan sighed, and there was no more discussion after that. As Kamil's wand hissed for about a second.
"Aha!" Shouted Mr O'Loghlan, as Kamil's wand emitted a strange glow for about ten seconds. "It seems you favour an energy wand, but let's see if we can find one that more favours you. After about a minute of digging, Kamil waved another wand, but this time not just the wand, but even he glowed a pale blue glow. Not just for ten seconds, but for maybe a half a minute. "Yes, it seems that this wand, very good for charm work, has chosen you. That's forty centimetres, fairy wing, oak."
Kamil had payed nine Galleons for the wand, as Mr O'Loghlan gave him another piece of strange advice in his mysterious voice. "Many wand makers say that it is the wand that chooses the wizard, not the wizard the wand. But, in my experience, it is more of a symbiotic relationship, each favouring the other." Then he let out another sigh, and walked back into the back room.
Kamil had also bought a large suitcase to put all the things in. Even though Mr Flowt helped him carry most of it, he coveted the wand most of all. It was some time after he got home that he dared open the box, and even then couldn't rid the shroud of awe that prevented him from actually touching it. "Well, it's all done now, we have nothing left but to go home." Kamil didn't want to go home, he wanted to stay at this wonderful place for a while longer. It was partly because of this, and partly because of sincere curiosity, that he asked the next question. "What's that?"
Kamil was pointing to a shop he hadn't noticed before. It was called "Quidditch Is We". "Oh!" Said Mr Flowt, surprised. "I keep forgetting how little you know about our world." "Quidditch is a sport almost every magical person in the world follows. It is 'The Noble Sport of Warlocks'." "Yes," said Kamil, "But what is it?" "Well, it's a sport played in the air, on broom sticks. There are four balls. The first is the Quaffle, three chasers on each team have to put in the hoops on the opposite end, and the keeper has to block the other team from getting the Quaffle into his teams hoops. Then there are two Bludgers, these fly around trying to knock everyone off their brooms, there are two beaters on each team trying to keep the bludgers away from their own players. Then there is the Golden Snitch. When the seeker on the team catches it, the game ends and he earns his team 150 points. Most of the time, the teams who's seeker catches the Snitch wins, but not always." Kamil nodded slowly, he tried to imagine it, but couldn't. "Don't worry," said Mr flowt, reading Kamil's expression, "When you see it at Elysium, you'll understand."
Kamil was relieved to find that his dad was getting along well with David. They were sitting at the counter discussing electricity. Peter and Joanna were sitting beside them listening intently. Joanna was still looking a little frightened but Peter was looking slightly confident. Kamil found out later that Peter met an Elysium student his age, and they talked for a while.
On the drive back home, Mr Flowt leaned back to face Kamil. "This is your train ticket, make sure you stick to it." Kamil read the ticket "Limited Express Service to Elysium". For the first time he could remember, Kamil smiled on the outside, as well as on the inside. 'I think I might actually enjoy school this time.' He though to himself happily, clutching the wand box to his chest.
A/N
Well, this has really been a long time in coming; I hope it gets abit more reviews though.
HAHA! Slyxdexia Books, I was laughing for so long about that one.
Chapter 2: Mr Flowt and Perelyn Arcade
It was soon after that in which the Grade 6 Graduation took place. Kamil, Scott and Sina all agreed that it was indeed, the dodgiest event of the 20th century.
Christmas had come and gone, as so had Kamil's birthday, which was his most enjoyable birthday, as he actually had friends to share it with. The memory of the letter had almost completely left his mind. Until one night at about the 28th of January, he found he couldn't sleep. He got up and went to his bookshelf. Kamil loved to read, and when he was bored, he could always bury himself in a good book. Accidentally though, he pulled out the booklist, and found himself simmering through all the old thoughts. Was this for real? Did these books really exist? Where could he find them? He lay back down again, re-reading the letter to himself, until he fell asleep with one thought in his head. 'These books must have been an interesting read.'
* * *
The next day, he awoke, showered and dressed as he always did, expecting nothing more than a thoroughly regular day. But, unbeknownst to him, but knownst to us, he's day would be anything but regular. As lunch had been eaten, he pulled a book ("The Phoenix and the Carpet"), off his shelf and settled down to read. But just then, the doorbell rang. Kamil, interested because they rarely got visitors, went into the hall so he could peak around the corner and see whom it was, he saw his father open the door, and almost yell in shock. Behind the door was a regular looking man. He's greying hair was cropped short and he looked as if he had recently shaven. But the clothes he wore wouldn't have been out of place at a Tolkien convention. The first thing that struck Kamil was the wide brimmed 'wizards' hat that sat neatly on his head, but it looked much more than a cheap costume hat. It was made of a sort of stiff felt, and the point wasn't straight up, it was more of a slant, and around midway, bent to the back. He wore what appeared to be a robe with a high collar, and the place where a tie would be practical, he wore a metal plaque with the same emblem that was on the back of the letter. Draped around his shoulders, was a grey cloak, it was pinned together on his chest by what looked like a silver broach, but on it, Kamil clearly saw the words "Keeper of Keys".
"Umm, may I help you?" Said John, clearly struck with awe. "Yes, actually." The man seemed to have a soft Scottish accent, "I presume you are Mr John Suwara?" John nodded quietly. "Good to meet you," Said the man, forcefully shaking Johns hand. "My name, is Gordon Flowt, but that'll be Mr Flowt to you boy." He said, with a smile, Kamil realized he had forgotten all caution, and allowed his entire head to come around the corner.
Gordon had allowed himself in and stated with importance. "I have come to talk to you two about something of great significance. Kamil Suwara's education." John seemed to wake up from his trance. "Oh, of course, would you like a cup of coffee?" "Yes please," said Mr Flowt, as if he had been dying to hear this question all day, "no sugar, but some Billy wig cream would be nice." My dad stopped in his tracks, completely perplexed at this last statement. But as Mr Flowt stepped into the kitchen, which was just opposite the entrance, he let out a sigh as if he had just realised something. "Oh of course, I forgot that this is a muggle house! Please forgive me if I've confused you at all, don't worry about the coffee, there is much to talk about." With that, he gestured at the table in the kitchen.
At this time, Peter had come around into the kitchen and gasped at the figure standing in the kitchen. As Mr Flowt noticed him, he smiled. "So," he said happily, "you are Peter, I suppose, then where's Joanna?" There was a loud sort of squeak behind Peter, as Joanna heard her name being said by the strange man in the kitchen. "She's behind me." Said Peter, somewhat forcefully, as if protecting her from a man who could pull an axe out of his robes any second. "Come in, both of you," said Mr Flowt, noticing the awkwardness, "lets all sit down, there is much to explain." Both Joanna and Peter entered cautiously. And soon, everyone was sitting at the round table.
"First of all, let me ask you, Kamil, if you remember your mother at all?" Kamil shook his head. "Alright, John." Mr Flowt turned to Kamil's father. "What do you know about Kamil's mother?" By the look on John's face, not all that much. "I met her at a train station, and she reminded me of Julie so much, that I had to talk to her, we found we had much in common, so we arranged to me at a later date. She used to work at a bookshop I think." Mr Flowt nodded. "The problem is, that I don't know where to start." After a small pause as Mr Flowt thought, he began to talk. "Kamil, you're a wizard!" He exclaimed, Kamil's eyes widened, thinking back to the letter he had received some time ago. "I am? How do you know, maybe there's been a mistake?" To his surprise, Mr Flowt chuckled softly.
"Well, Kamil, have you ever noticed how things seem to happen to you? Or rather, when you're angry or frightened, you seem to make things happen without even realising it." Kamil nodded slowly, confirmation clicking in his head, Mr Flowt smiled. "You mean to say," continued John, "That the letter we received was real?" Again Mr Flowt chuckled. "Yes, I quite believe so." "But," said Kamil, a million questions racing around his head. "What does this have to do with my mother?" Mr Flowt turned to him, becoming grave again. "Your mother, Silenya, was a witch."
There was a gasp from everyone at the table (except Mr Flowt). "A witch? What do you mean, witch?" "A certified witch," replied Mr Flowt, "She was a person of magical parentage, born to Kamil and Serena Hellion." At this point, Kamil noticed something strange, there was something behind Gordon's eyes as he spoke, but Kamil couldn't quite place it, and in a second, it was gone.
"I believe she was even taught at our institution, Elysium, College for the Magically Enabled." There was a silence all around, after a few moments, Mr Flowt continued. "Sometimes, a magical person is born without magical parents, we cannot tell why this is, magic is always passed down to children, and sometimes it comes in families that have no history of magic in their bloodlines. Though, sometimes there are the odd few people who believe that those of muggle parentage are lesser then they are, though, it is proven that this isn't even a factor."
Mr Flowt stopped speaking for a moment, allowing everything to sink in. "Um, Mr Flowt," started Kamil, "What is a muggle?" "Oh yes," exclaimed Mr Flowt, "A muggle is a person with not a drop of magic in their blood, such as your family here." Kamil slowly nodded. "Anymore questions?" There were none. "Righto, lets continue."
"While I'm at this point, I also need to state something. Magic is indeed a very powerful gift. As with all power, it must be taken as a responsibility. Every so often, there are those with a great power, and no sense of responsibility, this can be a very frightening combination. Many such people are what we call, Dark Wizards. These are wizards who are interested in one thing, gaining power, at all costs. Around the time of your birth, there was one extremely powerful Dark Wizard, whose reign of terror caused us all much trouble. Your mother was in hiding at the time, from him of course. She met your father and married him. I understand that she loved you both very much, and you as well, Peter." "D-did you know my mother?" Asked Kamil, chokingly. "We had met once or twice, I didn't know her very well, but the Australian magical community is considerably small, and most of us know one another. But your mother was a very kind woman, and I hoped to have known her better."
"Why did she leave?" Kamil asked again. "Well, as I said, she loved you all very much, and somehow, I don't know how, the dark wizard that was hunting for her, found out where she had been hiding. Silenya left for two reasons, the first was so that she could leave to hold you again, and the second was to save your life. She knew that if you were with her, then HE would kill you both."
"Kamil," said Mr Flowt, now putting his hand on Kamil's shoulder. "Your mother didn't leave because she didn't love you, or because she couldn't handle being a mother. She left, to save your life."
Finally, Kamil knew. All this time, Kamil managed to convince himself that she didn't leave because of him, but because she had a good reason. Now he knew, she left to protect him and his father. She left because she loved him, not because she didn't love him.
Kamil looked to his father, and he noticed that his eyes seemed to be straining against a flood of tears. "Um, what happened to her?" Asked Kamil. "Why didn't she come back?" "Alas," Sighed Mr Flowt, "I don't know. There is a chance that he caught up with her, but I suppose I would've heard about it if he did."
"But why didn't she tell me?" asked John, his voice shaking, "Why didn't she tell me why she had to go?" "Because, Mr Suwara," replied Mr Flowt Calmly, "Silenya didn't want to put you, Kamil, or Peter at risk."
There was yet another daunting silence, as sadness ran throughout the room. Mr Flowt turned to Kamil again. "She named you after your grandfather, you know, Kamil Hellion."
"But enough of that, there are more important things to deal with." "Like what?" asked Kamil curiously. Mr Flowt smiled. "When a child with magic is born, a special quill writes down his or her name and address. What it doesn't write, is wether he is a pure blood wizard, or a muggle born. We have to find this out on our own." John had become thoroughly interested, and without being able to stop himself, he asked. "How?" "Well," said Mr Flowt smiling, "we send an owl to each of those children the year before they are supposed to attend Elysium. If an owl is un-answered, then we assume that he or she is a muggle born, and I am sent to explain everything, and take them to buy their school supplies if they and their parents agree." "But I replied to your owl." Said Kamil rather sheepishly. After he had replied to the owl, he told his dad, needless to say, he wasn't pleased.
"Yes you did, and might I add, you caused quite some trouble." Said Mr Flowt with a hearty laugh. "But we have a contingency set in place for smart people like you. It seems that we can easily find out which people have or haven't bought they're school supplies. So, we assume that those who haven't bought their school supplies are either clever muggle borns or magical people with little time on their hands. Needless to say, you were the only person this year."
Mr Flowt was smiling broadly. "Perhaps it would be prudent to leave now." "Leave?" Asked Kamil. "Where?" Mr Flowt stood from his chair and walked to the other side of the table. "Why, to get your school supplies. I hope you still have the list." Kamil nodded. He walked to his room, his heart beating against his chest as he realised the only truth of the situation, he was going to be a Wizard.
As Kamil scurried through his room, looking for the letter, Mr Flowt struck a more serious conversation with John. What John had just been told, was enough to send any grown man insane. The mother of his son was a witch, who was hunted by a Dark Wizard of great power. "Who was he?" Asked John. "Who was who?" Mr Flowt already knew what John was asking, but he needed to keep John grounded in reality, he was at the verge of breaking down. "Who was the man who hunted my wife?" "I never met him. I do know that he attended our institute at some point in time. He referred to himself as 'The Master'." John nodded slowly, restraining himself. "Is he dead?" "I should think so, our greatest Aurors were chasing him, and many of them died. But he eventually disappeared, when a Dark Wizard disappears. It usually means they're not coming back.
"But," continued Mr Flowt; "there is a more serious matter that we need to discuss at his point in time. Do you consent to Kamil attending Elysium?" John looked up at Gordon suddenly, as if it was a ridiculous question to ask. "Well, I suppose I do. I'm not sure, really. I don't quite like the sound of it." Gordon nodded. "Would you like to come with us to get Kamil's supplies?" Peter stirred in his seat, attracting Gordon's eye. "Umm," he started, not quite sure how to talk to a wizard, "can we come too?" Gordon laughed out loud, "Of course, it would be like a family outing." "But where do we get the supplies?" Asked John hesitantly, still not sure wether this was some strange joke or not. "There is only one place in Melbourne where we can get all those things, Perelyn Arcade." "How do we get there?" "We have two choices, either you can drive us, or we can take the train." "You know where it is?" "It is in the City Centre." At that point, Kamil walked in with the supply list. "When do we leave?" He asked. Gordon glanced from Kamil to John and back again, laughing out loud he proclaimed. "Right now!"
* * *
The ride to the Melbourne City Centre was considerably enjoyable. It involved Mr Flowt and John sitting up front, John explaining to Gordon how a car worked and what all the gauges were for. Kamil, Peter, and Joanna sat in the back, laughing at the entire situation, a burst of laughter every time Gordon said, "The things these muggles do without magic!"
After John parked the car, they walked for about ten minutes, listening to John and Gordon discuss the inner workings of a parking metre. But when Gordon asked "is it eclectic?" It was the last straw for them, they fell about laughing, attracting some rather odd looks. Not that they didn't get any odd looks anyway, Gordon's outfit did seem out of place surrounded by the yup's and business men of the city. But when they finally did arrive at their location, they stared hard at it.
"Here it is!" Said Gordon, pointing to an utterly derelict shop, the sign above the door read "danger: do not enter", and looking through the windows, it didn't seem anyone would want to, there were empty shelves, coated with cobwebs, and a corner where the ceiling had collapsed. "Mr Flowt," started Kamil, "it's completely empty." At this Gordon laughed. "Oh, that's just a precaution. Go ahead, open the door." Kamil looked at the door, large bands of wood on the inside barricaded it. "Don't worry about that," continued Mr Flowt, "Just open the door, you'll know what I mean. Kamil reached for the doorknob, totally unaware that the next hour would change his life completely.
He was quite surprised to see that the knob turned easily, even more surprised that the door made no resistance to being opened, but when it was fully open, he couldn't move for shock. The inside of the seemingly derelict building was full of people sitting around at tables, eating and drinking, chatting away, or just standing in a shadowy corner discussing something private. After a moment or two, before Kamil had taken it all in, Mr Flowt had pushed him softly in the back and muttered "Go on." Kamil stepped in nervously, realising that everyone was dressed in a multitude of robes and pointed hats, none quite as grand looking as Mr Flowt's, but it was still pretty awe inspiring.
Kamil made his way, with difficulty, through the sea of Wizards and Witches, and one particularly ugly crone with a hunched back ("That's what we call a hag" whispered Mr Flowt) to the counter where a tall Wizard with a stumpy hat was serving drinks to a pair of youths who were ordering a glass of pumpkin juice and a bottle of butter beer. "What's butter beer?" Asked Kamil curiously to Mr Flowt, who was trying to attract the Barkeep's attention. "Oh, don't muggles have butter beer? Well, it's a really great drink, everyone loves it, except it's not good for you if you're on a diet, you're better off drinking pumpkin juice. 'Alright,' thought Kamil to himself 'so it's like a Wizard version of Coca-Cola.' "I'll get you some now if you want." "Well, I don't know..." Began John, for he was very much against soft drinks. "Trust me Mr Suwara," Interrupted Mr Flowt "When he goes to Elysium, he won't have a single chance to drink anything like this. John thought for a moment, and then nodded. Kamil looked again at the two teenagers, and to his surprise, they were dressed in muggle clothing, except for their cloaks, which had the Elysium emblem on the chest. "Mr Flowt," asked Kamil, "are they students as well?" "Yes, the boys James and girls Miranda. If I remember correctly, they're in their fourth year at Elysium." "Do you know every student by name?" "Not every, but the vast majority, yes. It's a pretty small school, and I guarantee that by the end of the year, you'll know every student in your year level by name."
At this time, the Barkeep had made his way across to them. "Hello Gordon, muggles are they?" "Yes David, another muggle born student for Elysium." "Well, that's the second one, I remember the old days when there really wasn't many muggle born kids around." David sighed, and then turned back to Mr Flowt "The usual then?" "Yes, and also a butter beer for young Kamil here." Suddenly, the entire place went quiet, as if someone had just turned down the volume. Kamil turned around to see every pair of eyes in the bar staring at them, even the shadowy man in the corner. Mr Flowt had a look on his face that seemed to show regret. David looked down at Kamil with an odd expression, as if he was studying a strange phenomenon. "That's a strange name you got there." "Well, he is muggle born." Said Mr Flowt, but he seemed to be saying this more to the entire pub then to David, who, still shrewdly looking at Kamil, began pouring the drinks. Slowly, the whole pub turned back to their drinks, but looking up at Kamil every now and then. "What was that all about?" Asked Peter. "I don't know." said Kamil, but he decided not to ask Gordon, he didn't want to dwell on it too much. Mr Flowt had quickly drunk what ever it was that was in his glass before Kamil had opened his bottle. "Come on, let's go to Perelyn Arcade."
They made their way to what seemed to be the rear exit of the place. But when they walked through the door, they found themselves in a small square, brick walls on three sides and the bar behind them, "What a great Arcade!" Peter exclaimed sarcastically. "Look, can we go to that shop right their?" Peter was now pointing to a beaten up trash bin in the corner. Mr Flowt moved forward to the bin. "Sure, why not? But as for me, I got some other things I need to buy." Mr Flowt took a small stick from under his robes and said quietly "You had better be ready for this." Peter snorted loudly. Mr Flowt ignored him and tapped the bin three times, at this Peter snorted even more loudly. Suddenly, a crackling noise made them all jump. A brick on the wall behind the bin seemed to be rotating on the spot, it began rotating faster and faster until, it vanished, leaving an empty hole in the middle of the brick wall. Then all the bricks surrounding the hole began to follow with the same behaviour. This went on until there was a large archway left in the wall. Kamil and John stood, almost as speechless as when they entered the bar, needless to say, Peter did not snort.
Behind the archway was indeed an Arcade; it was crooked, filled with even more Witches and Wizards then the bar, and several more Students, and also dressed in muggle-ish clothing. Kamil turned to Mr Flowt. "What was that stick-thing you used? I recognised it from the Elysium Coat of Arms." "Oh yes," replied Mr Flowt, pulling it out, "this is a wand, from the day you start at Elysium, to the day you die, this will be your most useful tool. Never let it leave your side, Kamil. It could save your life. It's on your school list."
They began walking through the Arcade, passing several people who called out "Hello Gordon" or several students who would say "Hi Mr Flowt". Mr Flowt replied to all of them with a "Good morning" of his own, referring to many of them by name. However, there were a few people who gave the Suwara family some dirty looks. "Just ignore those," advised Mr Flowt "some Wizards don't like muggles. Most of the time, they don't have anything interesting to say anyway."
They walked to the very end of Perelyn Arcade. Where there stood a large white building. In bold black letters, the buildings name was powerfully shown above the large front doors. "Gringotts" "Gringotts, what's that?" Asked Kamil, but Mr Flowt had turned to John, who by now had a look of acceptance on his face. "Mr Suwara, how much money do you have?" John fumbled through his wallet a bit. "Three hundred dollars and change, why?" Mr Flowt, obviously oblivious to how much this was, stated. "Well, That will probably be enough for the books, but we need to discuss Kamil's tuition fee." "Of course." Grunted Kamil's father. "It falls down to four thousand Galleons." John blinked at him blankly. "How much is that in dollars?" Mr Flowt smiled. "Let's go find out!"
As the entered Gringotts, Mr Flowt spoke. "It's a bank, the last wizard bank we have left." They entered a large marble hall, more Wizards and Witches were walking around, but behind the counters were creatures that were obviously not human. They were short, pale skinned, long fingered, and had dark red eyes that stared shrewdly back at them. "Gringotts is run by Goblins, Kamil." "Goblins?" Kamil asked aloud, and received several strange looks in turn. "Goblins are very clever," continued Mr Flowt, "but never trust one, they'll tend to band together, rather then trust other creatures."
They walked across the marble floor and stepped in front of a teller "It's mostly empty now, very few people are purchasing their school supplies this late." A goblin appeared at the window, obviously standing some sort of booster. "Can I help you?" he asked, unsmiling, staring at them with a calculating look. "Yes," answered Mr Flowt, "we would like to see how much four thousand Galleons translates to Muggle gold." Immeadiately, the Goblin reached under the teller and pulled out an abacus, it was wooden, and divided into two. Still unsmiling, He muttered something, and pushed along four beads on the fifth row. As if by magic, a multitude of beads on the other half of the abacus moved around, even without the Goblins answer, Kamil already realised how much it was, and realised his father's reaction. "That comes down to 10,856 Dollars, sir."
John immeadiately turned to Gordon. "I can't afford that much a year! How do you expect regular people to pay for that?" Gordon looked at him calmly. "John," he said, "I know that is a lot of money, even in the wizarding world. So, we have a plan in place for this." "What plan?" John asked scrupulously. "We have a scholarship program." Mr Flowt carefully reached into his robes and extracted a large sheet of parchment, with loopy writing. "If you sign this, he can attend Elysium free of charge. The catch is that Kamil has to average a B+." Kamil was taken aback; his usual average was a C or a D+. But, if his father thought the same thing, he didn't show it. He slowly took the parchment from Gordon's hands, and read it carefully. After he had obviously reached the bottom, he turned to Kamil and asked, "Well, do you think you're up to it?" Kamil was about to say that he didn't think so. That no matter how hard he tried, he rarely scraped up more then a B. But then he saw himself standing in Mr Flowt's place, wearing those regal robes. Armed with a wand, who knew what he was capable of? He nodded his head. "I can do it." John smiled and, with a quill that the Goblin had passed him, signed the parchment. Peter looked as if he was about to say something, but didn't. Kamil knew what was on his mind, and was thinking the same thing. There was no-way he could average a B+.
The family had once again stepped out into the arcade. After John had signed the form, Gordon told him to exchange all the money he had on him, to Galleons. It was quite funny when John had pulled out his MasterCard. The goblin had rubbed a box along the black strip. John instructed the Goblin to withdraw three hundred Dollars, and then asked him to exchange that into Galleons. The result, one hundred and ten gold coins, followed by a bunch of bronze and silver ones, were dished out by a now grumpy looking Goblin. As they entered the arcade again. Joanna was still laughing. "There is no need to carry all this gold around, why don't you and these two," said Mr Flowt, pointing at Joanna and Peter, "have a drink at the bar where we came in, and I'll take Kamil to buy his things." Mr Flowt followed them back to the portal, so to open it for them, after they said their "see you later" sentiments, the portal closed behind them, Mr Flowt looked at Kamil. "Come Kamil, there's a lot to buy."
Their first stop was to a shop called "Xima's All Australian Robes." As Kamil and Mr Flowt stepped through the door, a plump witch had glided to them before the bell had rung. She looked at Kamil through small eyes, and Kamil got a distinct impression that she wasn't even looking at him. "Hello dear," she started, grabbing Kamil by the arm. "You must be a muggle born, I take it you're here for your robes, well of course, the only problem is the lateness, I hope I will be able to arrange something for you, unless I'm out of stock, then I may have to make some more, but that should not be a problem, you would probably get the owl tomorrow, stand here please dear." She had said all this in one flowing monologue, there were times when Kamil almost replied, but she just continued talking, now Kamil was standing on a stool looking seemingly foolish. The witch had returned with a tape measure and began taking Kamil's measurements. "Every single one of Xima's robes is perfectly suited for Australia, they are all charmed so that the hotter it becomes, the cooler you become. That is why no overseas robes survive in Australia, because Xima's robes are the only ones that are treated with love, care, tenderness, and tender loving care." "Oh," said Kamil, finding a niche. "I guess that's pretty coo..." Before he had finished, she began to talk again, after bustling to a nearby wardrobe. "Well, you really are in luck, we still have a selection of robes in your size, I advise you to get one in your size, and two in the next size, lord knows that you may yet grow, see here, let's see how you fit, oh don't worry, just put them over your things, that's how you're supposed to wear them, oh but put these shoes on."
The witch shoved the robes into Kamil's hands, who in turn took his shoes off, and put the robes on, then put on the black boots that also occupied the set. He also put on the pointed hat, which was just a black cone, and nowhere near as grand as Mr Flowt's hat. He looked in the mirror and was utterly taken aback. He looked particularly handsome, except for the silly looking black hat. He could really see himself as a wizard, and decided to, no matter what, do his best to keep up the B+ average.
After they had paid eight Galleons, Kamil and Mr Flowt went to another shop called "Slyxdexia Books" They bought all the books that they needed from a harassed looking wizard who grumbled constantly about a poltergeist that haunted the shop. Mr Flowt had quite a time getting Kamil to leave, there were so many interesting books, and Kamil loved to read. But after they left Kamil asked "A Poltergeist?" "Yes, they are like ghosts but can become corporeal at will. I forgot exactly why that is, it has something to do with the will of the spirit or something." "You mean, ghosts are real?" "Oh, yes. Gosh, I forgot about you living with muggles. Yes, indeed. In fact, there are plenty ghosts at Elysium." Kamil gulped.
After they bought a cauldron and a bunch of ingredients at "Ye Olde Potion Shoppe". They went to a small place that didn't seem to have any name, but it seemed to be an equivalent of a newsagents, the counter was littered with two different newspapers "The Australian Prophet" and "The Spell Binder" "These are the two largest newspapers in Australia". Said Mr Flowt as he bought a copy of each, while Kamil bought a quantity of quills, inkbottles, folders and a large amount of parchment.
"Alright," Kamil said excitedly, "Now all we have left is my wand." Kamil had been looking forward to this moment ever since Mr Flowt had opened up the gateway to Perelyn Arcade. When he was browsing through "Slyxdexia Books" he had learnt that all magic requires the use of a wand. The shop was called "O'Loghlan's Wands" and in the dirty window was a sign that proclaimed "Making Wands for Australian Wizards and Witches since the First Fleet". Which was, as we all know, the fleet that had colonised Australia. As Kamil stepped in, he saw a dusty desk, full of all sorts of feathers and hairs. Though, on a stool near the window was a boy the same age as Kamil. He looked up at Kamil, he seemed pale and scared but when he saw Kamil his face brightened up abit. "Hello," He said in an almost meek voice. "Who are you?" "I'm Kamil," replied Kamil, "Kamil Suwara." The boy's eyes grew wide, and seemed to bulge out. "Really? Well, what kind are your parents?" Kamil, confused by this, replied. "What do you mean?" "I mean, what kind of Wizard and Witch were they?" Kamil didn't want to explain about being half blood, so he simply replied. "I'm a muggle born." At this the boys eyes seemed to restore to their normal size, and his nervous smile almost returned. "Really, well that's an unusual name!" "Yeah," Kamil replied, sitting next to the boy.
"Well, I'm Finch, Finch Fletcher," He shook Kamil's hand weakly. "My mum and dad are a witch and wizard. But they have a habit of doing last minute shopping, and the train leaves in a few days." "Train?" Asked Kamil, "What train?" "Why, the train for Elysium, we have to catch the train to get to Elysium. Are you starting your first year soon?" "Yeah." "Well, I don't know if I can handle being away from mum and dad for a whole year, but dad said that on the winter holidays we can go home for two weeks." In the car, Mr Flowt had explained to Kamil that it was a boarding school, and that he would be "living there" so to speak.
At this point two Wizards and Witch had entered the room through a door behind the desk. "Thank you Arnold, for the discount." Said one wizard, who was obviously Mr Fletcher. He and the Witch (whom Harry guessed to be Mrs Fletcher) walked to Finch. "Well, Finch dear, we just have to buy your cauldron and we'll go home... Oh, I see you've made a friend! How delightful!" Kamil, guessing where Finch stood in the social hierarchy, knew exactly how Finch felt, so, he stood up and held out his hand. "Hello Mr and Mrs Fletcher." Kamil thought of adding his own name, but he could guess what the reaction could be, but they didn't notice. Mr Fletcher shook Kamil's hand, as Mr's Fletcher squealed. "Oh, what a delightful boy. It's nice to see a young man with such noble manners. You must come from a line of noble pure bloods!" "Er..." But before Kamil could answer, she said. "No time to dally, we have much to do." The family walked out the door and Kamil waved goodbye to Finch, and he waved back. After the door closed, Kamil could hear Mr Finch. "There we go son, I told you that you'd get on swimmingly with everyone at Elysium!" And Kamil, remembering the pale face, sincerely hoped he would.
As Kamil looked back to the counter, he saw Arnold O'Loghlan standing there gazing at him. "Kamil Suwara" He said in a mysterious voice. "Ever since I discovered that Selenya had a son, I have been eager to meet you, and here we are." Arnold O'Loghlan was a seemingly very old man; he had on very old looking robes, but were well kept. He gestured for Kamil to come through the door. "Shall we?" As Kamil entered the room, he saw a wooden chair in the centre, and the walls were lined thousands of boxes, that were small and long and Kamil guessed they held wands. Arnold gestured Kamil to sit in the seat, which he did. Almost instantly, Arnold pulled a box from a shelf and gave Kamil the wand inside. Kamil sat there, holding the wand, feeling foolish. "Well, wave it, see how it likes you." Kamil waved the wand, a feeble spark emanated from the end. "No, obviously that isn't your forte, let's try something with a little more fire." Arnold had put the box back where it went, and walked to the other side of the room. When Kamil waved this wand, a small flame appeared on the end and almost immediately extinguished. "No, no, definitely not."
Kamil tried a lot more wands, all with different outcomes, though none lasted more then a second. During this time, they got to talking. "I recently went the international wand conference in Britain. The whole thing was organised by the popular British wand maker, Ollivander. He's family's been making wands for Millennia. Mind you, he's a great wand maker, but he takes his wands far too seriously." "Oh." Said Kamil, as a drop of water dripped from the end of his wand. "I sold your mother her wand you know." "Really?" "Yes, she was a very pretty woman, I kept in touch with her after she finished Elysium. But, I recognised you because you look much like your Grandfather." "You sold my Grandfather his wand?" Asked Kamil, looking astounded. "Dear me no, I was a young boy at the time, but it was a day I would never forget. It was a very powerful wand indeed. And if he had let it fall into the wrong hands..." Mr O'Loghlan sighed, and there was no more discussion after that. As Kamil's wand hissed for about a second.
"Aha!" Shouted Mr O'Loghlan, as Kamil's wand emitted a strange glow for about ten seconds. "It seems you favour an energy wand, but let's see if we can find one that more favours you. After about a minute of digging, Kamil waved another wand, but this time not just the wand, but even he glowed a pale blue glow. Not just for ten seconds, but for maybe a half a minute. "Yes, it seems that this wand, very good for charm work, has chosen you. That's forty centimetres, fairy wing, oak."
Kamil had payed nine Galleons for the wand, as Mr O'Loghlan gave him another piece of strange advice in his mysterious voice. "Many wand makers say that it is the wand that chooses the wizard, not the wizard the wand. But, in my experience, it is more of a symbiotic relationship, each favouring the other." Then he let out another sigh, and walked back into the back room.
Kamil had also bought a large suitcase to put all the things in. Even though Mr Flowt helped him carry most of it, he coveted the wand most of all. It was some time after he got home that he dared open the box, and even then couldn't rid the shroud of awe that prevented him from actually touching it. "Well, it's all done now, we have nothing left but to go home." Kamil didn't want to go home, he wanted to stay at this wonderful place for a while longer. It was partly because of this, and partly because of sincere curiosity, that he asked the next question. "What's that?"
Kamil was pointing to a shop he hadn't noticed before. It was called "Quidditch Is We". "Oh!" Said Mr Flowt, surprised. "I keep forgetting how little you know about our world." "Quidditch is a sport almost every magical person in the world follows. It is 'The Noble Sport of Warlocks'." "Yes," said Kamil, "But what is it?" "Well, it's a sport played in the air, on broom sticks. There are four balls. The first is the Quaffle, three chasers on each team have to put in the hoops on the opposite end, and the keeper has to block the other team from getting the Quaffle into his teams hoops. Then there are two Bludgers, these fly around trying to knock everyone off their brooms, there are two beaters on each team trying to keep the bludgers away from their own players. Then there is the Golden Snitch. When the seeker on the team catches it, the game ends and he earns his team 150 points. Most of the time, the teams who's seeker catches the Snitch wins, but not always." Kamil nodded slowly, he tried to imagine it, but couldn't. "Don't worry," said Mr flowt, reading Kamil's expression, "When you see it at Elysium, you'll understand."
Kamil was relieved to find that his dad was getting along well with David. They were sitting at the counter discussing electricity. Peter and Joanna were sitting beside them listening intently. Joanna was still looking a little frightened but Peter was looking slightly confident. Kamil found out later that Peter met an Elysium student his age, and they talked for a while.
On the drive back home, Mr Flowt leaned back to face Kamil. "This is your train ticket, make sure you stick to it." Kamil read the ticket "Limited Express Service to Elysium". For the first time he could remember, Kamil smiled on the outside, as well as on the inside. 'I think I might actually enjoy school this time.' He though to himself happily, clutching the wand box to his chest.
A/N
Well, this has really been a long time in coming; I hope it gets abit more reviews though.
HAHA! Slyxdexia Books, I was laughing for so long about that one.
