The Leaky Cauldron hid the secret passage into the wizard community in London. Hatori didn't think to highly of it. It was a dingy, tiny, grubby looking bar. Inside was just as dark and gloomy. Just as unattractive as the outside.
The bartender came over to them immediately. "Names' Tom. I take it that you're all first years?" he questioned. He got a fair amount of muggle born wizards passing through each year. With practice he had gotten rather good at picking out new Hogwarts students and lost tourists. However, this group in particular was a bit strange.
Akito nodded his head sharply in response to the question. "Yes, we will be attending classes at Hogwarts this year."
"All right, let me take you to the enterance to Diagon Alley." Tom peered around, looking an adult in their group. It was strange to see so many unsupervised children. "Where are your parents?" he asked.
Hatori stepped foreword quickly. "Our parents are very busy people. They didn't have time to come today." He had thought about their youthful appearence and the result was that he was slightly unprepared for the question. He crossed his finger behind his back and hoped that Tom didn't question them too much.
Tom shrugged. "Okay," he said. It was common for parents to be busy. They didn't have to follow their kids around. Although if they were his children he would keep a closer eye on them.
Tom led them out back to a plain brick wall. All of the regressed children waited patiently while the man tapped the bricks with his wand. Then, upon tapping one of the bricks and calling out a few words, the wall melted away, like a hold was burned into it.
"Wow," Momiji could be heard saying in amazement.
"Unbelievable. . . . . . ." Hatori murmured.
A bright road stretched out before them. Everywhere that they looked there was bustle. Men and women in tall pointed hats made their way among the strange shops.
The shops themselves were strange, Yuki found himself wandering foreword without the others. In the background he could hear Hatori thanking the bartender for helping them out. That was so like him, always the diplomat.
The nezumi passed several stores that were selling brooms, cauldrons, and strange ingredients. "Wow," he muttered, turning around in amazement. He had never seen such an unusal assortment of products to be purchased.
"Harry!" he heard a girl's voice shout. He turned his violet eyes towards the yelling girl. It was a bushy haired girl with warm brown eyes. Unfortunetly, she hadn't seemed to see him, and he didn't see her until it was too late. His eyes widened as she toppled into him.
POOF! There was a burst of colored smoke. The girl sat up slowly, holding Yuki's discarded clothes. The nezumi was gone.
"Hermione, what are you doing?" a red haired boy asked. The boy beside him was smiling slightly, his green eyes sparkling behind his round glasses.
"I . . . . . " she began helplessly.
The red haired boy laughed. "For once, the great know-it-all-Hermione, doesn't have an answer."
"Well, I can't answer everything. Whoever these clothes belong to is a new student though," Hermione said, collecting her wits about her.
"How can you tell?" Harry asked.
"That's easy. There's an equipment list in the left pocket," Hermoine said confidently. "Along with an acceptence letter. I wonder who this, Yuki Souma is. . ." she murmured.
Yuki, meanwhile, had gotten away. He entered Madam Malkins Robes for all Occasions and waited until he popped back into existence as a human. Then he dressed himself quickly and slipped out of the store, silently promising to return and pay for the clothes.
He headed straight for Gringots, the Wizarding Bank. He was bowed in by a goblin at the door - a rather unnerving experience.
At the counter he gave the goblin his account key. (Something that Akito had arranged as soon as he got his letter.)
Within a couple of minutes he had his stolen pockets full of money and was on his way back to the robe shop.
Entering he quickly approached the counter. "I'd like to purchase this robe, and several others," he said to the lady.
"Hogwarts?" the woman asked kindly. Yuki nodded and within moments he was being fitted for new clothes. He was also being very careful not to run into anyone.
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
Kyou was walking along with a sour expression on his face. Behind him trailed at least twenty stray cats, and all of the pet shops that sold cats were filled with the sound of meows. People were starting to look at him strange.
He scowled at anyone who dared to look for too long, but as an eleven year boy he was much less intimidating then before.
He tried to make the cats go away, but they wouldn't leave. "Go on, scram!" he snapped angerily at the furry cats. They looked at him and blinked their eyes lazily. Briefly, he considered making a break for it while the cats had their eyes closed, but he already knew how that would end.
After trying uselessly to escape, he did the only thing that he could. He went up.
It was in his nature to go to the highest area when he wanted to be left alone. With those instincts taking over, he spotted a tall white building and began to climb.
Gringotts had never been climbed like that before. A sea of furry cat bodies began to surround the base of the building. People began to gather, but no one could explain why the cats' were acting like they were acting.
Kyou didn't care anymore. He was safe from both prying eyes and the cats. Finally he had some peace and quiet. Now he could come up with a plan to defeat Yuki and finally be accepted into the zodiac.
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
Kisa was lost. Somehow or some way she had gotten separated, but that was okay. She was just looking around for her stuff. And the others would turn up eventually.
In fact, she had a feeling that Kyou was near the bank. Or at least the strange collection of cats assembled around there was indicating that.
She looked at the list in her hands. The list that had the stuff that Akito had ordered everyone to gather. She started to look for a shop that might sell some of the stuff that she was looking at.
The first thing she spotted however was a broom. Not just any broom either. It was sleek and beautiful.
"This state-of-the-art racing broom sports a steam-lined, surefine handle of ash, treated with a diamond hard polish and hand-numbered with it's own registrations number. Each individually selected twig in the broomtail has been honed to aerodynamic perfection giving the Firebolt unsurpassable balance and pinpoint precision. The Firebolt has as acceleration of 150 miles an hour in ten second and incorporates an unbreakable Braking Charm. And it can be yours - if you have the skill to approach this!" a man said.
He pulled a tarp off of a cage revealing a snarling beast that greatly resembled a tiger. "Tame the beast and win the broom."
Kisa slipped in closer, watching wizards and witches try spell after spell to put the tiger to sleep or even, in a couple of cases, to kill it. They were starting to scare the creature.
It wasn't a tiger, at least not a usual tiger. This was a magical tiger, that much was obvious to the young girl by the feel in its emerald gaze. It roared loudly - causing several people to shriek.
**He's scared. . .** Kisa thought. She started for the latch to open the cage up, intending to slip in and help calm the creature. Her empahty with tigers was making it impossible for her to leave.
A tall burly man was yelling at the man who was holding the competition now. "What's yer problem? You're scaring the poor thing to death!"
"It's just a mindless beast, and it's part of the fun."
Hagrid scowled furiously. "Now you hold on one second-"
"I'll tell you what. Whoever tames this beauty will not only take home a Firebolt, but also the Fire Tiger!" the man said. Several people gulped visibly, and Hagrid set his jaw and turned towards the cage just as a small girl slipped open the latch and stepped inside the cage.
"Wait!" he shouted. Several people screamed as she placed her hand on the tiger's head and it sat down.
She turned towards the crowd, her honey colored eyes wide. "You're all scaring him. Go away," she ordered.
No one left. Instead they all stared at her in disbelief. Hagrid finally found his voice and forced the man to keep up on his promise. Then he led Kisa and the tiger away from the crowd.
"What's yer name?" he asked her. In the street they were being given a wide berth due to the unchained Fire Tiger that was following behind them.
"Kisa Souma," she responded quietly. She was holding the broom to her chest. "I'm looking for a store where I can buy these things," she said. She showed her list to Hagrid.
"Hogwarts, eh?" the big man said. "Well as it so happens I work at Hogwarts. I'm the Keeper of the Keys and the teacher for Care of Magical Creatures."
She turned her honey colored gaze towards him and brushed some of her hair out of her face. "Can you tell me. . . . .what are the people like there? The other students and teachers," she clarified.
"Oh, that all depends on the individuals, why?" Hagrid asked. The girl beside him was quite strange.
"No reason in particular," she said softly. She clutched the broom tighter, memories of the laughter of her classmates slipping through her mind.
"Tell ya what, why don't I introduce you to a couple of them, and you can make up your mind for yourself," Hagrid said. He had just spotted Harry, Hermione, and Ron. He started to wave them over, but stopped when he realized that they were heading straight for him.
"Hagrid, please tell me that this creature isn't going to be at Hogwarts this year," Ron said immediately.
Kisa cringed.
Harry noticed right away. "He's not talking about you. He's talking about that creature behind you."
Ron blinked, completely missing the frightened look on her face. All that he saw was the Firebolt. "Is that really a Firebolt?" he asked in amazement.
Kisa blinked. "Na-na-nani?" she stammered.
"Huh? What did you just say?" Harry asked.
"I believe that it's Japanese for 'what'," Hermoine said.
She tucked her chin to her chest and tried to disappear, but Hagrid clapped a huge hand across her back. "This is Kisa Souma, she's one of your class mates.
"But that's really a Firebolt!" Ron interjected. He stepped closer to her and reached his hand out.
"Ron, you should be a bit more considerate," Harry said. "I'm Harry Potter, and these are my best friends, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasely." He held out his hand to her.
"She's having a bit of trouble finding all the stuff that she needs," Hagrid said. "Maybe the three of you could help her out."
"What a great idea!" Ron exclaimed happily. "Can I hold your Firebolt?"
"Well, then, I'll see the whole lot of you at Hogwarts," Hagrid said. He patted Kisa gently on the shoulder and winked. Then he walked away.
"What's the first thing on your list?" Hermione asked.
"I need to get my textbooks. . " Kisa said.
"Well then, let's go. We have to get our new books too," Harry said.
It was only ten minutes later that they realized that the Fire Tiger hadn't followed Hagrid when he left. He was following Kisa and them as well.
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
Shigure, Hatori, and Ayame made there way to the Apothecary. Inside it smelled horrible, a mixture of bad eggs and rotted cabbages. Barrels of slimy stuff stood on the floor; jars of herbs, dried roots, and bright powders lined the walls.
Hatori went straight to the contour and asked for three supplies of basic potion ingredients.
Behind him he could hear Shigure and Ayame planning jokes already for the new school.
**How did this happen? I'm in hell,** he thought
"Let's buy this," he heard Shigure whisper to the snake. He tensed and risked a glance behind him. The dog was holding a silver unicorn horn.
For the life of him, Hatori couldn't imagine what they were planning on doing with it. So he did the only thing that he could think of. "What are you doing to do with that?"
"Use it in a joke of course," Shigure said. "We need some beetle eyes too. This is going to be great."
Hatori's eyes widened when he saw the wide array of things that they were purchasing. **I don't want to know** he thought. **I really don't want to know**
He turned back to the counter and finished purchasing the required ingredients. Then he waited while Shigure and Aya purchased their prank materials.
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
Momiji trailed behind Tohru as they entered Flourishes and Blots. He had realized that everyone was getting separated and had attached himself to Tohru's arm. Hana and Uotani were also with him.
"Tohru, look at all these books," he gasped.
"Yeah, look at the prices . . . . ." Tohru added. She still had her plans to finish high school on her own, but this was too much for her.
"If psycho boy wants to pay for the books, then let him," Uotani said dissmissively. "He's entitled to do what he wants, and it's partially his fault that we're here like we are."
"Uotani, is right," Hana said. She turned to the man behind the counter. "We need four copies of each of these books," she said.
The man gulped visibly as she turned her creepy gaze onto him. He took the list from her hands and quickly raced off to find the required books.
She stopped beside a collection of curses. "I should send some of these home to Megumi," she said. She was referring to her younger brother.
Tohru looked at the books, a slightly shocked expression on her face. Name curses; how to make them last longer by Oumi Nom. "I see, that's right, Megumi does like curses. . . ." she said.
"Who's Megumi?" Momiji asked brightly. He was bouncing around the store looking at everything.
"My little brother," Hana said.
He stopped bouncing when her gaze fell on him. Quickly he crept closer to Tohru. Hana still was freaky, and he wasn't sure if she was a friend of his despite living with her. "Uhmmmmm, didn't Akito have Ha'ri," he made a cutting off motion with his left hand.
Hana's facial expression didn't change. "He certainly did, but it didn't work on my family."
Momiji swallowed hard. "Right, well, I'm going to see if anyone needs my help," he said. He quickly raced further into the book store to help the man getting there textbooks.
Uotani laughed. "Great going, you scared him."
Tohru laughed lightly with her friends. This was going to be fun. She was going to a new school in a different country. She was going to get the opportunity to meet all sorts of new people.
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
"Kyou if you don't come down right this second, then I'm going to come up to you!" Kagura shrieked. She was standing at the foot of Gringotts bellowing at the top of her lungs amidst a sea of purring cats.
Several people looked over at her, but she didn't pay them any attention. "Get down here NOW!" she shouted.
There was no response from the top of the building. "THAT'S IT, NOW I'M MAD," she shouted. Then she was rapidly climbing the building.
There were the sounds of a scuffle from the roof, and seconds later a young boy with orange hair came leaping from the top of the building. He landed in the amidst of the cats and took off running.
Moments later Kagura was chasing him down Diagon Alley.
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
Hatori watched Kagura chase Kyou off the roof and down the street. He turned his attention back to Aya and Shigure. "They were in Weasely's Joke Shop. A shop that sold wizarding jokes, and they had been there for the better part of an hour.
The two wizards who ran the shop - twin boys with fiery red hair - had just graduated the year before. Both of them were interested in someone taking up the cause since they weren't at Hogwarts anymore.
He didn't want to know what they were being told.
Finally he cleared his throat. "We still have to get our wands, and it's getting late. It was nice to meet you - "
"I'm Fred and this is George," one of the boys said. Hatori didn't comment. He could see the difference between the two of them rather easily and knew that the one who had spoken was George, not Fred.
He forced a smile. "Aya pay for your stuff then lets go," he said.
"Aya quickly paid. "Bye-bye," he said and pranced out the door behind Hatori.
"What's the deal with that bloke?" George asked Shigure.
"Oh, do you mean Ha'ri? He keeps us from getting in too much trouble for our jokes when we get caught, and the rest of the time he stops us from getting caught."
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
Haru cursed silently. Somehow he had ended up alone with Akito again. As soon as they had entered the alley everyone had disappeared. Yuki had left first, and Haru had moved to follow him, but Kyou had pushed past him and gotten him turned around.
When he looked to where he had last seen the rat, all he saw was a couple of boys and a girl.
Then he had turned to see it the others had any idea where Yuki had gotten off too. There had been no one there except Akito. "Damm," he had cursed under his breath. That hadn't been his intention at all.
They had went to the bank first, noting the crowd of cats at the bottom, and gotten some wizard money. Then they headed straight for the book store. They had gotten the books. Then they got their potion supplies, followed by a brass scale and two pewter cauldrons.
In fact they got everything they needed in barely anytime at all. Everything that was except their wands.
Ollivanders Wand Shop was the last place that they went. Opening the door, they were greeted by a small fish eyed man who spoke quietly to them. "Let's see. . . .wands," he murmured.
He started with Akito. "Which is your wand arm?" he asked.
"My right hand," Akito said coldly. He wasn't sure if he liked the little man with the big eyes and wispy gray hair.
Mr. Oliivanders pulled a long tape measure with silver marking out of his pocket. "Hold out your arm," he commanded. He measured Akito from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit and around his head.
"Every Ollivander wand has a core of powerful magical substance, Mr. Souma. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail features, and the heartstrings of dragons. No two wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, phoenixes, or dragons are the same. And of course you will never get such good results with another's wand."
He gestured to the tape measure to drop and started to flit around the store, pulling boxes off the small narrow walls.
The door opened and Kagura and Kyou stepped into the shop. Akito looked at both of them sharply and they stepped up beside Haru, watching Olivanders search for a wand for the head of the Souma family.
Within the next several moments Yuki arrived wearing brand new clothes - all of it was new. Momiji, Tohru, Hana, and Uotani were not that far behind him.
Akito brought another wand swinging down only to have it snatched from his fingers as Olivaders decided that it wasn't the right kind. He frowned angrily at the aggressive nature of the little old man.
Hatori entered with Shigure and Aya reluctantly trailing behind him.
"Try this one, twelve inches oak with unicorn hair," Olivanders was saying. He handed a wand to Akito and cheered in delight as the wand let out a trail of red and gold sparks.
Akito knew immediately that the wand was his. "How much?" he asked, his fingers closing around the hilt. He paid immediately and then tucked the wand into his sleeve.
The others were all situated with their wands quickly. Tohru ended up with a wand that was ten and a quarter inches long. Swishy and made of willow with a phoenix feature core.
Uotani on the other hand ended up with a sixteen inch wand made out of oak with a unicorn tail.
It took Mr. Olivanders a long time to find a wand that was suitable for Hana, and in the end she had picked one out herself. Nine and a half inches. Dragon heartstrings with a black ebony wood.
Somehow those who knew her weren't surprised. "That's a good wand for curses," Mr. Olivanders commented.
"Not to mention the color. . . . it's black, and that's Hana's favorite color," Uotani said while touching a couple of the wands.
"Don't touch! Don't touch!" he had squawked. He pushed her hands away and turned to Yuki and Aya.
Yuki and Aya ended up with twin wands. Or at least the unicorn tails the cores of their wands were made off were from the same unicorn. Yuki's was thirteen inches and ash. Aya's was eleven and three quarters of an inch and made of holly. Yuki wasn't pleased to have twin wands with his brother, but the owner insisted that the 'wand chooses the wizard'.
Aya was really happy. He decided that the wand thing proved that they were finally getting closer as brothers.
"This is soooo great. You guys are finally getting to know each other better," Tohru said happily.
"This is horrible," Yuki muttered as Aya tried to get him to hug him.
Shigure bounced about with the owner when it was time to buy his wand. "This is so exciting," he cheered. He had a long dogwood wand - seventeen inches to be exact - with a phoenix feature core. "And to think, it's dogwood," he added.
Tohru smiled brightly at him. "Well, I guess it really suits you," she told him.
"I wonder if my will by bunny wood!" Momiji piped up causing Kyou to hit him in the head. That of course dissolved the small boy into tears.
Mr. Olivanders wasn't phased at all though. He just rubbed his hands gleefully to gether and turned his measuring tape to Kagura and then Kyou.
Kagura received a mahogany wand, ten inches, with a phoenix feature core. Kyou got a yew wand that was five inches long.
"Well, I guess that proves how big you are," Yuki said softly.
"Dammit! Take that back!" Kyou roared. He was pulled off balance by a happy Kagura though, and couldn't fight with the rat.
Mr. Olivanders found the perfect wand for Hatori on the first try. Viate, fourteen inches, with a dragon core," the old man said.
As soon as his fingers closed around the wand he felt warm and tingly and . . .different, like he had just woken up. He decided that it was just the feeling you got when you got a new wand.
"Me next, me next!" Momiji hollered loudly. He ended up with a swishy willow wand that was good for charm work with a phoenix feature core.
"That leaves just Haru-san," Tohru said.
"And Kisa, but she's not here," Yuki said.
"Kisa Souma already came in earlier," Mr. Olivanders said while he was measuring Haru. "She left with a maple and unicorn hair, rather springy. Eight inches and good for transfiguration."
"That's nice," Akito said dismissively. "Hatori, let's return to the motel now. I'm feeling rather light headed."
With those words most everyone left the shop. Haru was left alone with the creepy old man and Hana who was watching everything with interest.
Eight hours later his arms were starting to hurt, and Mr. Olivanders had yet to find him the perfect wand.
"He needs two wands," Hana finally decided.
Mr. Olivanders, who looked really happy, raised his gaze to hers and nodded. Haru shivered as some silent understand was passed between the two of them.
They started handing him wands in combinations. Mr. Olivanders was humming, and Hana looked pleased. They were sitting in a pile of discarded wands. Every wand in the store was on the floor. Haru had touched them all at least once.
Finally he had two wands that both lighted up and heated his fingers.
One of them was a deep black ebony with a fiery phoenix core, fourteen inches long. The other one was slightly shorter and made out of a light ash with a unicorn core.
"Two wands for one wizard. I must say that this is most unusual," Mr. Ollivanders said.
Haru didn't say anything. One way or another he had been forced to purchase two extremely expensive wands.
Thank-you for reading,
Kissa-chan
The bartender came over to them immediately. "Names' Tom. I take it that you're all first years?" he questioned. He got a fair amount of muggle born wizards passing through each year. With practice he had gotten rather good at picking out new Hogwarts students and lost tourists. However, this group in particular was a bit strange.
Akito nodded his head sharply in response to the question. "Yes, we will be attending classes at Hogwarts this year."
"All right, let me take you to the enterance to Diagon Alley." Tom peered around, looking an adult in their group. It was strange to see so many unsupervised children. "Where are your parents?" he asked.
Hatori stepped foreword quickly. "Our parents are very busy people. They didn't have time to come today." He had thought about their youthful appearence and the result was that he was slightly unprepared for the question. He crossed his finger behind his back and hoped that Tom didn't question them too much.
Tom shrugged. "Okay," he said. It was common for parents to be busy. They didn't have to follow their kids around. Although if they were his children he would keep a closer eye on them.
Tom led them out back to a plain brick wall. All of the regressed children waited patiently while the man tapped the bricks with his wand. Then, upon tapping one of the bricks and calling out a few words, the wall melted away, like a hold was burned into it.
"Wow," Momiji could be heard saying in amazement.
"Unbelievable. . . . . . ." Hatori murmured.
A bright road stretched out before them. Everywhere that they looked there was bustle. Men and women in tall pointed hats made their way among the strange shops.
The shops themselves were strange, Yuki found himself wandering foreword without the others. In the background he could hear Hatori thanking the bartender for helping them out. That was so like him, always the diplomat.
The nezumi passed several stores that were selling brooms, cauldrons, and strange ingredients. "Wow," he muttered, turning around in amazement. He had never seen such an unusal assortment of products to be purchased.
"Harry!" he heard a girl's voice shout. He turned his violet eyes towards the yelling girl. It was a bushy haired girl with warm brown eyes. Unfortunetly, she hadn't seemed to see him, and he didn't see her until it was too late. His eyes widened as she toppled into him.
POOF! There was a burst of colored smoke. The girl sat up slowly, holding Yuki's discarded clothes. The nezumi was gone.
"Hermione, what are you doing?" a red haired boy asked. The boy beside him was smiling slightly, his green eyes sparkling behind his round glasses.
"I . . . . . " she began helplessly.
The red haired boy laughed. "For once, the great know-it-all-Hermione, doesn't have an answer."
"Well, I can't answer everything. Whoever these clothes belong to is a new student though," Hermione said, collecting her wits about her.
"How can you tell?" Harry asked.
"That's easy. There's an equipment list in the left pocket," Hermoine said confidently. "Along with an acceptence letter. I wonder who this, Yuki Souma is. . ." she murmured.
Yuki, meanwhile, had gotten away. He entered Madam Malkins Robes for all Occasions and waited until he popped back into existence as a human. Then he dressed himself quickly and slipped out of the store, silently promising to return and pay for the clothes.
He headed straight for Gringots, the Wizarding Bank. He was bowed in by a goblin at the door - a rather unnerving experience.
At the counter he gave the goblin his account key. (Something that Akito had arranged as soon as he got his letter.)
Within a couple of minutes he had his stolen pockets full of money and was on his way back to the robe shop.
Entering he quickly approached the counter. "I'd like to purchase this robe, and several others," he said to the lady.
"Hogwarts?" the woman asked kindly. Yuki nodded and within moments he was being fitted for new clothes. He was also being very careful not to run into anyone.
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
Kyou was walking along with a sour expression on his face. Behind him trailed at least twenty stray cats, and all of the pet shops that sold cats were filled with the sound of meows. People were starting to look at him strange.
He scowled at anyone who dared to look for too long, but as an eleven year boy he was much less intimidating then before.
He tried to make the cats go away, but they wouldn't leave. "Go on, scram!" he snapped angerily at the furry cats. They looked at him and blinked their eyes lazily. Briefly, he considered making a break for it while the cats had their eyes closed, but he already knew how that would end.
After trying uselessly to escape, he did the only thing that he could. He went up.
It was in his nature to go to the highest area when he wanted to be left alone. With those instincts taking over, he spotted a tall white building and began to climb.
Gringotts had never been climbed like that before. A sea of furry cat bodies began to surround the base of the building. People began to gather, but no one could explain why the cats' were acting like they were acting.
Kyou didn't care anymore. He was safe from both prying eyes and the cats. Finally he had some peace and quiet. Now he could come up with a plan to defeat Yuki and finally be accepted into the zodiac.
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
Kisa was lost. Somehow or some way she had gotten separated, but that was okay. She was just looking around for her stuff. And the others would turn up eventually.
In fact, she had a feeling that Kyou was near the bank. Or at least the strange collection of cats assembled around there was indicating that.
She looked at the list in her hands. The list that had the stuff that Akito had ordered everyone to gather. She started to look for a shop that might sell some of the stuff that she was looking at.
The first thing she spotted however was a broom. Not just any broom either. It was sleek and beautiful.
"This state-of-the-art racing broom sports a steam-lined, surefine handle of ash, treated with a diamond hard polish and hand-numbered with it's own registrations number. Each individually selected twig in the broomtail has been honed to aerodynamic perfection giving the Firebolt unsurpassable balance and pinpoint precision. The Firebolt has as acceleration of 150 miles an hour in ten second and incorporates an unbreakable Braking Charm. And it can be yours - if you have the skill to approach this!" a man said.
He pulled a tarp off of a cage revealing a snarling beast that greatly resembled a tiger. "Tame the beast and win the broom."
Kisa slipped in closer, watching wizards and witches try spell after spell to put the tiger to sleep or even, in a couple of cases, to kill it. They were starting to scare the creature.
It wasn't a tiger, at least not a usual tiger. This was a magical tiger, that much was obvious to the young girl by the feel in its emerald gaze. It roared loudly - causing several people to shriek.
**He's scared. . .** Kisa thought. She started for the latch to open the cage up, intending to slip in and help calm the creature. Her empahty with tigers was making it impossible for her to leave.
A tall burly man was yelling at the man who was holding the competition now. "What's yer problem? You're scaring the poor thing to death!"
"It's just a mindless beast, and it's part of the fun."
Hagrid scowled furiously. "Now you hold on one second-"
"I'll tell you what. Whoever tames this beauty will not only take home a Firebolt, but also the Fire Tiger!" the man said. Several people gulped visibly, and Hagrid set his jaw and turned towards the cage just as a small girl slipped open the latch and stepped inside the cage.
"Wait!" he shouted. Several people screamed as she placed her hand on the tiger's head and it sat down.
She turned towards the crowd, her honey colored eyes wide. "You're all scaring him. Go away," she ordered.
No one left. Instead they all stared at her in disbelief. Hagrid finally found his voice and forced the man to keep up on his promise. Then he led Kisa and the tiger away from the crowd.
"What's yer name?" he asked her. In the street they were being given a wide berth due to the unchained Fire Tiger that was following behind them.
"Kisa Souma," she responded quietly. She was holding the broom to her chest. "I'm looking for a store where I can buy these things," she said. She showed her list to Hagrid.
"Hogwarts, eh?" the big man said. "Well as it so happens I work at Hogwarts. I'm the Keeper of the Keys and the teacher for Care of Magical Creatures."
She turned her honey colored gaze towards him and brushed some of her hair out of her face. "Can you tell me. . . . .what are the people like there? The other students and teachers," she clarified.
"Oh, that all depends on the individuals, why?" Hagrid asked. The girl beside him was quite strange.
"No reason in particular," she said softly. She clutched the broom tighter, memories of the laughter of her classmates slipping through her mind.
"Tell ya what, why don't I introduce you to a couple of them, and you can make up your mind for yourself," Hagrid said. He had just spotted Harry, Hermione, and Ron. He started to wave them over, but stopped when he realized that they were heading straight for him.
"Hagrid, please tell me that this creature isn't going to be at Hogwarts this year," Ron said immediately.
Kisa cringed.
Harry noticed right away. "He's not talking about you. He's talking about that creature behind you."
Ron blinked, completely missing the frightened look on her face. All that he saw was the Firebolt. "Is that really a Firebolt?" he asked in amazement.
Kisa blinked. "Na-na-nani?" she stammered.
"Huh? What did you just say?" Harry asked.
"I believe that it's Japanese for 'what'," Hermoine said.
She tucked her chin to her chest and tried to disappear, but Hagrid clapped a huge hand across her back. "This is Kisa Souma, she's one of your class mates.
"But that's really a Firebolt!" Ron interjected. He stepped closer to her and reached his hand out.
"Ron, you should be a bit more considerate," Harry said. "I'm Harry Potter, and these are my best friends, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasely." He held out his hand to her.
"She's having a bit of trouble finding all the stuff that she needs," Hagrid said. "Maybe the three of you could help her out."
"What a great idea!" Ron exclaimed happily. "Can I hold your Firebolt?"
"Well, then, I'll see the whole lot of you at Hogwarts," Hagrid said. He patted Kisa gently on the shoulder and winked. Then he walked away.
"What's the first thing on your list?" Hermione asked.
"I need to get my textbooks. . " Kisa said.
"Well then, let's go. We have to get our new books too," Harry said.
It was only ten minutes later that they realized that the Fire Tiger hadn't followed Hagrid when he left. He was following Kisa and them as well.
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
Shigure, Hatori, and Ayame made there way to the Apothecary. Inside it smelled horrible, a mixture of bad eggs and rotted cabbages. Barrels of slimy stuff stood on the floor; jars of herbs, dried roots, and bright powders lined the walls.
Hatori went straight to the contour and asked for three supplies of basic potion ingredients.
Behind him he could hear Shigure and Ayame planning jokes already for the new school.
**How did this happen? I'm in hell,** he thought
"Let's buy this," he heard Shigure whisper to the snake. He tensed and risked a glance behind him. The dog was holding a silver unicorn horn.
For the life of him, Hatori couldn't imagine what they were planning on doing with it. So he did the only thing that he could think of. "What are you doing to do with that?"
"Use it in a joke of course," Shigure said. "We need some beetle eyes too. This is going to be great."
Hatori's eyes widened when he saw the wide array of things that they were purchasing. **I don't want to know** he thought. **I really don't want to know**
He turned back to the counter and finished purchasing the required ingredients. Then he waited while Shigure and Aya purchased their prank materials.
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
Momiji trailed behind Tohru as they entered Flourishes and Blots. He had realized that everyone was getting separated and had attached himself to Tohru's arm. Hana and Uotani were also with him.
"Tohru, look at all these books," he gasped.
"Yeah, look at the prices . . . . ." Tohru added. She still had her plans to finish high school on her own, but this was too much for her.
"If psycho boy wants to pay for the books, then let him," Uotani said dissmissively. "He's entitled to do what he wants, and it's partially his fault that we're here like we are."
"Uotani, is right," Hana said. She turned to the man behind the counter. "We need four copies of each of these books," she said.
The man gulped visibly as she turned her creepy gaze onto him. He took the list from her hands and quickly raced off to find the required books.
She stopped beside a collection of curses. "I should send some of these home to Megumi," she said. She was referring to her younger brother.
Tohru looked at the books, a slightly shocked expression on her face. Name curses; how to make them last longer by Oumi Nom. "I see, that's right, Megumi does like curses. . . ." she said.
"Who's Megumi?" Momiji asked brightly. He was bouncing around the store looking at everything.
"My little brother," Hana said.
He stopped bouncing when her gaze fell on him. Quickly he crept closer to Tohru. Hana still was freaky, and he wasn't sure if she was a friend of his despite living with her. "Uhmmmmm, didn't Akito have Ha'ri," he made a cutting off motion with his left hand.
Hana's facial expression didn't change. "He certainly did, but it didn't work on my family."
Momiji swallowed hard. "Right, well, I'm going to see if anyone needs my help," he said. He quickly raced further into the book store to help the man getting there textbooks.
Uotani laughed. "Great going, you scared him."
Tohru laughed lightly with her friends. This was going to be fun. She was going to a new school in a different country. She was going to get the opportunity to meet all sorts of new people.
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
"Kyou if you don't come down right this second, then I'm going to come up to you!" Kagura shrieked. She was standing at the foot of Gringotts bellowing at the top of her lungs amidst a sea of purring cats.
Several people looked over at her, but she didn't pay them any attention. "Get down here NOW!" she shouted.
There was no response from the top of the building. "THAT'S IT, NOW I'M MAD," she shouted. Then she was rapidly climbing the building.
There were the sounds of a scuffle from the roof, and seconds later a young boy with orange hair came leaping from the top of the building. He landed in the amidst of the cats and took off running.
Moments later Kagura was chasing him down Diagon Alley.
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
Hatori watched Kagura chase Kyou off the roof and down the street. He turned his attention back to Aya and Shigure. "They were in Weasely's Joke Shop. A shop that sold wizarding jokes, and they had been there for the better part of an hour.
The two wizards who ran the shop - twin boys with fiery red hair - had just graduated the year before. Both of them were interested in someone taking up the cause since they weren't at Hogwarts anymore.
He didn't want to know what they were being told.
Finally he cleared his throat. "We still have to get our wands, and it's getting late. It was nice to meet you - "
"I'm Fred and this is George," one of the boys said. Hatori didn't comment. He could see the difference between the two of them rather easily and knew that the one who had spoken was George, not Fred.
He forced a smile. "Aya pay for your stuff then lets go," he said.
"Aya quickly paid. "Bye-bye," he said and pranced out the door behind Hatori.
"What's the deal with that bloke?" George asked Shigure.
"Oh, do you mean Ha'ri? He keeps us from getting in too much trouble for our jokes when we get caught, and the rest of the time he stops us from getting caught."
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
Haru cursed silently. Somehow he had ended up alone with Akito again. As soon as they had entered the alley everyone had disappeared. Yuki had left first, and Haru had moved to follow him, but Kyou had pushed past him and gotten him turned around.
When he looked to where he had last seen the rat, all he saw was a couple of boys and a girl.
Then he had turned to see it the others had any idea where Yuki had gotten off too. There had been no one there except Akito. "Damm," he had cursed under his breath. That hadn't been his intention at all.
They had went to the bank first, noting the crowd of cats at the bottom, and gotten some wizard money. Then they headed straight for the book store. They had gotten the books. Then they got their potion supplies, followed by a brass scale and two pewter cauldrons.
In fact they got everything they needed in barely anytime at all. Everything that was except their wands.
Ollivanders Wand Shop was the last place that they went. Opening the door, they were greeted by a small fish eyed man who spoke quietly to them. "Let's see. . . .wands," he murmured.
He started with Akito. "Which is your wand arm?" he asked.
"My right hand," Akito said coldly. He wasn't sure if he liked the little man with the big eyes and wispy gray hair.
Mr. Oliivanders pulled a long tape measure with silver marking out of his pocket. "Hold out your arm," he commanded. He measured Akito from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit and around his head.
"Every Ollivander wand has a core of powerful magical substance, Mr. Souma. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail features, and the heartstrings of dragons. No two wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, phoenixes, or dragons are the same. And of course you will never get such good results with another's wand."
He gestured to the tape measure to drop and started to flit around the store, pulling boxes off the small narrow walls.
The door opened and Kagura and Kyou stepped into the shop. Akito looked at both of them sharply and they stepped up beside Haru, watching Olivanders search for a wand for the head of the Souma family.
Within the next several moments Yuki arrived wearing brand new clothes - all of it was new. Momiji, Tohru, Hana, and Uotani were not that far behind him.
Akito brought another wand swinging down only to have it snatched from his fingers as Olivaders decided that it wasn't the right kind. He frowned angrily at the aggressive nature of the little old man.
Hatori entered with Shigure and Aya reluctantly trailing behind him.
"Try this one, twelve inches oak with unicorn hair," Olivanders was saying. He handed a wand to Akito and cheered in delight as the wand let out a trail of red and gold sparks.
Akito knew immediately that the wand was his. "How much?" he asked, his fingers closing around the hilt. He paid immediately and then tucked the wand into his sleeve.
The others were all situated with their wands quickly. Tohru ended up with a wand that was ten and a quarter inches long. Swishy and made of willow with a phoenix feature core.
Uotani on the other hand ended up with a sixteen inch wand made out of oak with a unicorn tail.
It took Mr. Olivanders a long time to find a wand that was suitable for Hana, and in the end she had picked one out herself. Nine and a half inches. Dragon heartstrings with a black ebony wood.
Somehow those who knew her weren't surprised. "That's a good wand for curses," Mr. Olivanders commented.
"Not to mention the color. . . . it's black, and that's Hana's favorite color," Uotani said while touching a couple of the wands.
"Don't touch! Don't touch!" he had squawked. He pushed her hands away and turned to Yuki and Aya.
Yuki and Aya ended up with twin wands. Or at least the unicorn tails the cores of their wands were made off were from the same unicorn. Yuki's was thirteen inches and ash. Aya's was eleven and three quarters of an inch and made of holly. Yuki wasn't pleased to have twin wands with his brother, but the owner insisted that the 'wand chooses the wizard'.
Aya was really happy. He decided that the wand thing proved that they were finally getting closer as brothers.
"This is soooo great. You guys are finally getting to know each other better," Tohru said happily.
"This is horrible," Yuki muttered as Aya tried to get him to hug him.
Shigure bounced about with the owner when it was time to buy his wand. "This is so exciting," he cheered. He had a long dogwood wand - seventeen inches to be exact - with a phoenix feature core. "And to think, it's dogwood," he added.
Tohru smiled brightly at him. "Well, I guess it really suits you," she told him.
"I wonder if my will by bunny wood!" Momiji piped up causing Kyou to hit him in the head. That of course dissolved the small boy into tears.
Mr. Olivanders wasn't phased at all though. He just rubbed his hands gleefully to gether and turned his measuring tape to Kagura and then Kyou.
Kagura received a mahogany wand, ten inches, with a phoenix feature core. Kyou got a yew wand that was five inches long.
"Well, I guess that proves how big you are," Yuki said softly.
"Dammit! Take that back!" Kyou roared. He was pulled off balance by a happy Kagura though, and couldn't fight with the rat.
Mr. Olivanders found the perfect wand for Hatori on the first try. Viate, fourteen inches, with a dragon core," the old man said.
As soon as his fingers closed around the wand he felt warm and tingly and . . .different, like he had just woken up. He decided that it was just the feeling you got when you got a new wand.
"Me next, me next!" Momiji hollered loudly. He ended up with a swishy willow wand that was good for charm work with a phoenix feature core.
"That leaves just Haru-san," Tohru said.
"And Kisa, but she's not here," Yuki said.
"Kisa Souma already came in earlier," Mr. Olivanders said while he was measuring Haru. "She left with a maple and unicorn hair, rather springy. Eight inches and good for transfiguration."
"That's nice," Akito said dismissively. "Hatori, let's return to the motel now. I'm feeling rather light headed."
With those words most everyone left the shop. Haru was left alone with the creepy old man and Hana who was watching everything with interest.
Eight hours later his arms were starting to hurt, and Mr. Olivanders had yet to find him the perfect wand.
"He needs two wands," Hana finally decided.
Mr. Olivanders, who looked really happy, raised his gaze to hers and nodded. Haru shivered as some silent understand was passed between the two of them.
They started handing him wands in combinations. Mr. Olivanders was humming, and Hana looked pleased. They were sitting in a pile of discarded wands. Every wand in the store was on the floor. Haru had touched them all at least once.
Finally he had two wands that both lighted up and heated his fingers.
One of them was a deep black ebony with a fiery phoenix core, fourteen inches long. The other one was slightly shorter and made out of a light ash with a unicorn core.
"Two wands for one wizard. I must say that this is most unusual," Mr. Ollivanders said.
Haru didn't say anything. One way or another he had been forced to purchase two extremely expensive wands.
Thank-you for reading,
Kissa-chan