Chapter Four
Wandering the Alley
"The first thing we need to do is get this gold changed to the local currency," Ayeka said. "It says we can do that at a place called Gringott's."
They were getting ready to start shopping for Sasami's school supplies and Ayeka had taken charge. She was looking at the map that had come with the letter stating Sasami's acceptance to Hogwarts. A list of all the supplies she would need was also included, and that was what Sasami was looking at now. Ryo-ohki was asleep on the bed.
Sasami looked up from the list at her sister, "Don't we need to find the others first?"
It had been several hours since they had arrived at the Leaky Cauldron, and their group had spread out to explore the surprisingly large pub. The fight over where Tenchi would sleep had finally been resolved after several guests complained about the noise. Sasami, Tenchi and Washu were in one room, while Mihoshi, Ryoko and Ayeka were in the other. Ryoko and Ayeka were not at all happy about that, but after Tom the innkeeper threatened to throw them out, they relented. Ayeka was now throwing all her energy into Sasami's impending shopping spree.
Ayeka stared at the map for a moment and then frowned. "Figures," she snorted.
"What is it, Ayeka?" Sasami asked.
"It looks like Ryoko and Mihoshi are at the bar, getting drunk most likely. It's not even lunchtime."
"What about the others?"
"Tenchi's next door," she paused and scanned the map for a moment. "I can't see Washu anywhere. I wonder where she is?"
Sasami looked at the map for a moment and then asked, "When did the Leaky Cauldron get so big?"
Ayeka blinked. "I don't know, and now that you mention it the park we landed in isn't even on the map anymore." She turned it over and looked at the back, it was blank. "How odd."
"I guess it's magic," Sasami said.
Since they had arrived at the Leaky Cauldron Sasami had seen a few more examples of magic. The most surprising one had been when the mirror in her room had complimented her on the color of her hair. She was so shocked that all she could do was stammer a quiet "Thank you". Later she was watching Tom work behind the bar when he had to go attend to some guests. He took out a thin stick of wood that Sasami assumed was a magic wand and tapped the bottles. To her amazement they started mixing and shaking and stirring by themselves. Then there was the newspaper. Washu had shown one to her after Ayeka and Ryoko's fight had been broken up. It was called the Daily Prophet and was a sort of mix between reading the news and watching it on TV. In every picture the subjects were moving around in a sort of endless cycle, it was very interesting. The more Sasami saw of this fascinating new world, the more she liked it. She couldn't wait to see what the shopping was like. Ayeka was also obviously anxious to get started.
"Alright," she said, standing up. "I'll get the money and Lord Tenchi, you go get Ryoko and Mihoshi. If they're sober enough," she added under her breath. "Washu will just have to find us herself, I guess."
She found Ryoko and Mihoshi at the bar, just like the map said. Ryoko was drinking a brown liquid Sasami figured was whisky straight from the bottle and informing Tom of all the reasons why he really should carry sake. Mihoshi was sipping at a glass of wine.
"Hey, Sasami!" Ryoko said when she saw her. "Have a drink, it's on me!"
Sasami put up her hands, "Uh, Ryoko? I'm way to young to drink, you know that. Besides, it's time for us to go get my school supplies, do you want to come?"
"Ooh, shopping!" Mihoshi said. She jumped off of her stool, knocking her glass over and spilling it on the floor. She picked the glass up and bumped her head on the underside of the bar on her way back up. "Ouch," she said, rubbing her head and dropping the glass again in the process. "Can I come?"
Sasami picked up the glass while Ryoko pointed and laughed. "Of course you can, Mihoshi. Anyone who wants to can."
"Yah, I'll go," Ryoko said when she had finally stopped laughing. "It'll be fun."
"Not 'til yeh pay ye'r tab, ye'r not," said Tom, holding out his hand.
Ryoko blinked, "Oh... uh, charge it to our room all right?"
Tom looked at her skeptically, but nodded.
Ryoko bent down and whispered to Sasami, "Your dad is paying for this too, right?"
"How much have you had, Ryoko?" Sasami asked.
She stood up and laughed, waving her hands in front of her, "Not much, I swear. I was just asking, that's all. I think I'll go wash up before we leave."
She laughed again and headed upstairs. Sasami watched her leave and shook her head. She turned and looked at Tom.
"Excuse me sir, do you know how to get to Diagon Alley?" she asked.
"O' course, little lady," he said and pointed to the back door. "That there's the entrance, righ' outside that door."
She gave him a little bow, "Thank you, sir. Come on Mihoshi, let's see if the others are ready."
They met Ayeka, Tenchi, Ryoko, Ryo-ohki and Washu on their way down the stairs. Ryo-ohki meowed and hopped onto Sasami's head.
"Washu! where were you?" Sasami asked, patting Ryo-ohki.
"She was in her lab, she set up a subspace portal in our wardrobe," Tenchi said.
Washu laughed, "Hey, just because I'm on vacation doesn't mean I can't work, you know."
"So does anyone even know how to get to this place?" Ryoko asked.
"We do!" Mihoshi said. "Tom says it's out the back door."
"Do we have everything we need?" asked Tenchi.
"I think so," Ayeka replied. "I have the money and the map and Sasami has her list, that's everything I think."
"Come on, you guys!" Sasami said, pulling on Ayeka's arm. "Let's go!"
Ayeka let her pull her down the stairs, "All right, we're coming."
Sasami led them across the floor and out the back door. They found themselves in a small, walled in courtyard with nothing in it but a trash can.
"Looks like a marketplace to me," Ryoko said, looking around at the small space.
Ayeka turned to Mihoshi, "You're sure this is the where the innkeeper said to go?"
Mihoshi was looking very confused so Sasami stepped up and said, "Yes, when I asked him how to get to Diagon Alley this is where he pointed."
"Let me see the map," Tenchi said. "Maybe it can tell us what to do."
Ayeka pulled the map out of her pocket and handed it to him. He unrolled it and studied it for a moment.
"This could be a problem," he said. "It says we need to tap the third brick from the left above the garbage can with a wand."
"But we don't have a wand yet," Mihoshi said. "That's why we need to get in there."
"Don't worry," Washu said. "All we need to do is go ask someone to do it for us. I'll be right back."
She turned and started to go back inside when the wall suddenly started to move. Sasami watched in amazement as the third brick from the left above the garbage can started to wriggle, then roll back so a little hole was formed in the wall. The rest of the bricks began to wriggle as well, and soon an entire section of the wall had rolled back, forming a large archway.
Washu shrugged, "Or not."
"Wow," said Mihoshi, "I thought we needed a wand."
"That's what the map said," replied Tenchi, staring at the hole in the wall.
Sasami wasn't looking at the archway, she was looking past it at the street beyond. The street twisted and turned until it was out of sight. On both sides shops protruded out at odd angles, some even stuck out over the street. Cauldrons spilled onto the street from the nearest shop.
"Wow," Mihoshi said again when she saw the street.
"Well I'll be," said Ryoko, staring, "now that's a marketplace."
They stepped through the wall and it instantly closed behind them so tightly Sasami couldn't tell there had ever been a hole. After a moment of staring around, Tenchi pulled the map out again and studied it.
"The first place we need to go is the bank," Ayeka told him.
"Right," he said, "it looks like it's down the street a ways."
They started down the street. Sasami had to strain her neck in order to see everything: the people shopping, the items on display outside the various shops, even the shops themselves were interesting. She saw one that looked like all it sold was broomsticks. These were obviously not made for sweeping the floor, though, they were very smooth and streamlined and highly polished. She stopped for a closer look and realized that they were made for flying. Hanging on one of the walls she saw a picture of some people wearing brightly colored robes flying around and tossing a ball back and forth between them. It looked like fun, until another ball came out of nowhere and knocked one of the players senseless.
"How brutal," said Ayeka.
"Looks like fun to me," said Ryoko. "Of course those brooms would slow me down way to much."
They continued down the street until they came to one building that towered over all the others. It was a huge, twisted, pale white structure with polished bronze doors that were guarded by short, squat creatures that Sasami figured had to be goblins.
Ayeka looked at the creatures with distaste, "This must be Gringott's." She turned to Sasami and said, "Why don't you wait out here with the others, Washu and I can take care of this."
That was fine with Sasami. Even though the building looked impressive enough, and the goblins looked interesting, it was still just a bank. Ayeka and Washu entered the bank, with Ayeka giving the goblins a wide berth.
"So what do we do now?" asked Ryoko. Tenchi shrugged.
Mihoshi was looking down the street. "Oh wow! Look at all those owls!"
They looked to where she was pointing. Eeylops Owl Emporium was overflowing with owls. Mihoshi ran over to the shop and began enthusiastically looking into the windows. Sasami and the others headed over at a slower pace. Mihoshi started to enter the shop and was so engrossed with all the owls that she walked right into a couple who were on their way out. Bags flew and they all went crashing to the ground.
"Oh my gosh, Mihoshi!" Sasami said and she ran over to them. Tenchi and Ryoko followed.
"Oh my goodness, what happened?" A girl about Sasami's age asked. She was standing behind the couple and carrying a cage with a large owl in it. She had dark brown, shoulder length hair and was wearing black robes.
"I am so sorry," Mihoshi said, getting up and helping the two to their feet.
"That's all right miss," said the man, as he helped his wife straighten up. He was tall with neat, dark hair and glasses. He was wearing a suit and tie.
"Are you all right?" asked the girl. "What happened?"
"It's okay, Liana," said the woman. She was wearing nice dark green robes and her brown, curly hair could be seen beneath a tall, pointed hat. "We just bumped into each other, that's all."
"It's my fault," said Mihoshi, "I'm always bumping into things."
Sasami and Tenchi helped them pick up their things. Tenchi handed them their bags and extended his hand. The man shook it.
"We really are sorry about this, my name's Tenchi. You already met Mihoshi," Mihoshi waved sheepishly and apologized again. "This is Sasami and she's Ryoko," he said, pointing to Ryoko, who was standing behind him. She waved.
"I'm Mark Collins, this is my wife, Cynthia, and this is our daughter Liana. She's starting at Hogwarts this year," said the man. "Are you starting this year too?" he asked Sasami.
"Yep, we're getting my supplies today," said Sasami. "My sister Ayeka is in Gringott's getting some money right now, she'd love to meet you."
"Oh wow!" Mihoshi said, looking at the owl Liana was holding. "Is this your owl?"
"Yes, we just picked him up"
Sasami bent down and looked at him. He was large and brown, with black spots all over.
"What's his name?" she asked.
Liana thought for a moment and said, "I don't know. I'm terrible at thinking up names so I haven't given him one yet."
"Well, I think he's gorgeous, even if he doesn't have a name."
"I'm taking him to Hogwarts with me. Do you have an owl?"
Sasami shook her head and pointed at Ryo-ohki, "Nope, I have Ryo-ohki. She's my best friend."
"Oh," Liana said, scratching Ryo-ohki's chin, "she's so cute!" She looked up and said, "We're going to go to Ollivanders to get my wand next."
"Ooh," Mihoshi said, "a magic wand shop. I can't wait to see that!"
Mrs. Collins looked at them and asked kindly, "This is your first time to Diagon Alley?"
Tenchi laughed and scratched the back of his head. "Actually this is our first time for all of this. We didn't even know about any of this until about a month ago, and Sasami only got her letter yesterday."
"Why did you get it so late?" Mr. Collins asked. "Liana got hers weeks ago."
"I'm not sure. It probably took the owl a long time to get to our house, it was pretty tired when it arrived."
"Where do you live? If you don't mind my asking."
"I don't mind. We're from Japan."
"Oh wow, I've been there once!" Liana said. She gave them a little bow, "Konnichiwa."
Tenchi laughed and bowed back, "Konnichiwa."
"I took her there once on a business trip and she's been fascinated with it ever since," Mr. Collins said. "Your English is excellent, by the way, I couldn't tell."
"We had a good teacher," Sasami said.
"I know, I know, I'm the best," Washu said, walking up behind them. Ayeka was right behind her.
"Washu, Ayeka," Tenchi said, "This is Mr. and Mrs. Collins and their daughter Liana."
Washu shook their hands, "How do you do? I'm Washu."
Ayeka bowed and said, "I'm pleased to meet you. I'm Sasami's sister, Ayeka."
"Nice to meet you too," Mr. Collins said. "Well, it looks like you're ready to start your shopping, and I'm getting hungry, so I guess we'd better get going."
"Can they come with us?" Liana asked. "They're new here and we could show them around."
"That's okay," Tenchi said. "We have a map and we don't want to intrude any more than we already have."
"Oh, that's all right," Mrs. Collins said. "If you haven't already eaten we'd love to have you for lunch."
"Thank you very much," Ayeka said. "But we already ate at the Leaky Cauldron, and we really do need to get Sasami's supplies now."
"We could meet them after lunch," Liana said eagerly.
"Yah," Sasami said. "We could get our wands together. She said that was where they were going next, and I can't wait to get mine!" She already liked Liana and wanted to get to know her better. Besides, she had about a million questions about the wizarding world she wanted to ask her.
"I guess we could get Sasami's robes while you eat, and then meet later," Ayeka said.
They agreed to meet at Ollivanders in an hour and then parted company. Tenchi led them down the street to Madam Malkin's Robes for all occasions. Madam Malkin was a short, round lady dressed in mauve robes.
"Hogwarts dear?" she asked Sasami when they walked in.
"Yep," she said.
"All right then," she said, "follow me." She led Sasami to the back of the shop and had her stand on a short stool. She slipped a large robe over her head and began pinning it up.
After her robes were properly fitted they picked out her hat and winter cloak. Sasami was amazed at how many choices there were for black hats. They finally came across one that looked right on her, although she still thought it looked weird. She was glad that she was still wearing her hair down, or it would have been flattened by trying all those hats on. It was easier to choose her winter cloak. Ayeka went straight for the fanciest one, and since Madam Malkin said it was approved for Hogwarts use, they got it. Sasami liked it, she was not adverse to fancy clothes, owning many elaborate outfits herself. It was made of thick wool, with large, intricately etched silver fasteners, and when she tried it on she found it heavy, but not so heavy that it was a burden. It would definitely keep her warm come winter. They had no choice, however, when it came to her uniform. All students had to wear the same thing, white shirts and ties with gray slacks for boys or skirts and knee socks for girls.
By the time they were finished in the uniform shop an hour had passed so they headed for Ollivanders. They found the Collins waiting outside the narrow, shabby shop. The sign above the door read Ollivanders: makers of fine wands since 382 BC in peeling gold letters. They all entered the shop together. A small bell tinkled in the distance as the nine of them piled into the tiny shop. Washu was forced to stand on the only chair in the room and Tenchi and Ryoko finally decided to wait outside with the bags and the owl, they left the door open so they could still hear what was going on.
The shop was filled with shelves that stretched from floor to ceiling and were crammed with thin little boxes. It was very dusty and felt like an old library.
"Goodness, what a crowd," said an old man as he appeared from the back of the shop.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Ollivander," said Mrs. Collins.
"Cynthia, Cynthia Hersey. How's your wand doing? Willow, right? Eleven inches, with a dragon heartstring?"
"That's right, sir. It still works perfectly, thank you. And it's Collins now," she said, nodding at Mr. Collins. "My daughter needs a wand, she's starting at Hogwarts this year. Her friend needs one as well."
Mr. Ollivander peered over the counter at Sasami and Liana. "Well, let's see what we can do about that, why don't we."
Sasami handed Ryo-ohki to Washu, and Mr. Ollivander led the two girls behind the counter where he produced a tape measure. He looked at Liana and asked her, "Which is your wand hand?" She held up her right hand and he measured her from shoulder to fingertip, elbow to wrist, knee to armpit and around her head. He went through the same motions with Sasami.
"Let's start with you, miss Collins," said the old man. He walked over to one of the shelves and pulled a box down. He removed a wand from it and handed it to her. "Try this one," he said. "Birch, eight inches, with a phoenix feather. Go ahead, give it a wave."
Liana looked at Sasami and gave her a little smile. Sasami wasn't sure what she was supposed to expect, but she still felt a bit exited for Liana as she watched her wave the wand a few times. Mr. Collins immediately took the wand from her and handed her another one.
"Try this, Beachwood and dragon heartstring, ten and a half inches." She had hardly moved her arm when he snatched the wand from her and gave her another one.
"Ebony and unicorn hair, nine inches. Try it."
She tried, but it to was snatched and replaced with yet another. And another. And another. Sasami was beginning to wonder if he would ever find what he was looking for, but Mr. Ollivander seemed to be getting more and more optimistic.
Finally one of the wands reacted. Sasami had been looking idly around the shop and getting quite bored when a sudden shower of sparks erupted from beside her. She squealed and jumped. Liana must have been surprised as well because she had dropped the wand, but Mr. Ollivander and her mother both shouted out and clapped.
"Very good… Yes, very good," Mr. Ollivander said. "Yew, with a unicorn hair. Ten inches. Very nice wand, good for charms."
Liana picked her wand up and examined it. She waved it a few more times but nothing happened this time. She handed it back to Mr. Ollivander. He took it over to the counter and wrapped it in brown paper. Mrs. Collins paid him for it and placed it in her handbag. Mr. Ollivander turned to Sasami.
"Now for you, young lady. What's you name? I don't recognize your family."
"I'm Sasami. Sasami Masaki," she said with a small bow. "I'm the first one in my family to go to Hogwarts," she explained.
"Ah," said the old man, "a challenge then." He brought out his measure again. He held it up to her and then turned to his shelves. Sasami watched as he climbed a ladder and started searching through the boxes on an upper shelf. She was surprised to find that the measure was busy measuring her by itself.
"We'll start with these ones, then," Mr. Ollivander said after a minute. The measure had moved to Sasami's nostrils.
"That's all I need, thank you," he said as he climbed off the ladder. He waved his hand and the measure fell to the floor in a heap.
"Try this one. Mahogany with a phoenix feather. Ten inches." He handed her the wand and she gave it a tentative wave. He immediately took it from her and handed her another one.
"Cherry and unicorn hair. Seven and a half inches."
The process started all over again, with Sasami waving the wands and Mr. Ollivander handing her new ones. She quickly lost count of how many she had waved. After a long while the pile of discarded wands was starting to grow quite large. During one of his trips up the ladder, as Sasami massaged her arm, she could hear him muttering softly to himself. She had noticed that the enthusiasm he had displayed earlier as Liana tried her wands had faded. He seemed to be getting discouraged. She looked over at the others; Ayeka, Mr. Collins and Liana looked bored, Mihoshi was leaning over the counter, asleep, Washu was busy typing away on her computer and Tenchi and Ryoko were talking outside. Mrs. Collins was looking a little worried as she watched Mr. Ollivander climb down his ladder. Sasami was beginning to wonder if she was going to get a wand.
"You are a tricky customer, eh?" he said, as he returned with another armful of wands. "We'll find one for you, though. I've never come across someone yet I didn't have a wand for."
Sasami moaned inwardly as she started waving wands again. She had long since stopped expecting sparks to come shooting out of one of them at any moment, and her arm was growing numb. They were nearing the end of the batch when one of the wands Mr. Ollivander was trying to grab from her slipped and fell to the floor. Sasami bent over to pick it up and her key fell out from the inside of her shirt. It landed on the floor with a thump. Ayeka perked up and Mr. Ollivander looked at it curiously. It was small and shaped to fit in her fist, with a band of purple sticking out on top. It had been formed from the sap of her tree, Tsunami, shortly after they had been bonded and she always carried it with her. Sasami picked both it and the wand up and handed the wand over to Mr. Ollivander.
She was about to put her key back inside her shirt when he asked her, "Would you mind if I took a look at that?"
She stopped and looked at him. "No, I don't mind," she said carefully.
She held it out to him and he took it. He examined the key closely, turning it around in his hands.
"Exquisite work. I've never seen anything like it before, what kind of wood is this from?"
Sasami looked over at Ayeka. She shook her head slightly and looked worried.
"I'm not sure," she lied. "It's a family heirloom."
"Hmm... interesting... how fascinating. Yes, why not? It's worth a try." he mumbled. He turned it over a few more times and handed it back to her. "Can you wave that for me, please?"
Sasami looked at him, confused. She slowly waved it in front of her. Red and green sparks immediately shot out from the top. She jumped, shocked. That had never happened before. Ayeka jumped as well, Mihoshi woke up with a start, and everyone else turned to watch. Washu put away her computer and leaned forward enthusiastically.
"Now, this is truly amazing. I've never seen anything like this before, not like this."
Sasami was confused. "What do you mean?" she asked.
"Every wand we make has a core of a powerful magical substance. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix feathers and dragon heartstrings. Just like no two unicorns, phoenixes or dragons are the same, neither are two wands the same. The reason I have you try so many different wands is because the wand chooses the witch or wizard who will use it. It appears that the reason no wand would choose you, Miss Masaki, is that you have already been chosen... by this," he said, pointing at her key.
Sasami was beginning to understand what was happening. She glanced over at Ayeka, and she also caught Washu's eye, they both looked intensely interested. Mrs. Collins looked confused.
"But, how?" she asked, turning back to the old man. "You said that magic wands have magical cores, this is just a piece of sap." She knew that wasn't true, but she didn't want Mr. Ollivander to know that.
He shook his head, "No, it's more than that, I think. There's magic in it, or I don't know a magic wand from a toothpick." He leaned close to her and fixed her with his misty eyes, they seemed to see straight through her. "You keep a hold on that. If they give you a time about you using it, tell them I said it's fit for magic and that it's chosen you."
Sasami nodded silently, avoiding his eyes. She thanked him with a bow and they all filed out of the shop.
Liana ran up to her once they were outside the little shop.
"Wow! So you had a wand all the time and never even knew it?"
Sasami held up her key and looked at it again. It shined bright white in the sunlight.
"I guess so," she said.
"Wow, that is so beautiful. What is it?"
"I thought it was just an ornament," she said, continuing her story. "It's made from sap."
"Is that what they make wands from in Japan?"
"I don't know. I don't know anything about the wizard's world."
"That's right! I forgot. So you really don't know anything?"
Sasami shook her head, "Nothing. How long have you known that you were a witch?"
"Oh, I've always known. My mum's a witch, so it was almost guaranteed that I would be one too."
"What about your dad?"
Liana giggled, "Dad? He's a muggle. Mum and I love to tease him about it."
Sasami wasn't sure she heard right, "Muggle?"
"Sorry, it means non-magical folk. Some people don't like the word, but nothing's meant by it."
"When did he learn about your mom?"
"I don't know, but it was before I was born. I think he's still getting used to it though. Today's his first time coming here too, but he's heard all about it."
Sasami thought he had seemed a little out of place, just like her own family. Now she knew why. Mrs. Collins called to Liana and she excused herself. Washu came up and walked beside Sasami.
"So he liked your key, huh?"
"Yes, he said it was magical," Sasami replied, remembering Mr. Ollivander's penetrating eyes.
"Well, in a way I guess he's right. Especially since yours came from Tsunami."
"I know, but it's never done anything on its own before. Not like that. It acted just like Liana's wand did when it chose her."
"Yes, that was interesting. I got a ton of information today. It'll take me a while to wade through it all. I'm planning on comparing the information I got from her wand with your key's. I'll let you know what I find out, okay?"
Sasami nodded.
Liana came hopping back up to them. "We're going to go get my books next, do you want to come?"
A bookstore didn't sound very interesting, and her mind was still on her key. But she did need to get her schoolbooks, however, so they headed over to Flourish and Blotts. The moment they walked through the doors she was glad she came. They were the only customers. It was the largest store Sasami had been in yet today and was unlike any bookstore she had ever seen. It was two stories of almost nothing but books. The shelves were stacked from floor to ceiling, and books were crammed into every possible corner, they were even stacked on the floor, leaning and twisting at impossible angles. The center of attention, however, was the iron cage on display behind the large front window. Inside were about fifty books, all fighting with each other. The books had handsome green covers and The Monster Book of Monsters was written in gold letters on their fronts. Pages flew everywhere as the books hopped around on their sides and tore at each other.
Mihoshi was amazed, "Wow! Look at those books! How do they do that?"
Ryoko peered at the cage and laughed, then she looked at Ayeka. "This book's not on Sasami's list is it?"
Sasami exchanged glances with Liana. She hoped not, she had no desire to be attacked by a book. She handed Ayeka the list.
"What's it called again?" she asked.
Washu looked into the cage, "The Monster Book of Monsters, that's an understatement."
"Oh, good." Ayeka said, relieved. "It's not on here."
Mrs. Collins looked at her own list, "That sounds like it's a book for the Care of Magical Creatures. If I remember right, that class doesn't start until the third year."
Liana leaned over to Sasami and whispered, "They're going to have a hard time reading that one. Half the pages'll be gone by the time they can get it open."
Sasami giggled and replied, "If they don't loose a finger first.''
Just then the manager came walking up. He was carrying a chewed up walking stick and a pair of heavy gloves, he looked very tired and anxious.
"Hogwarts?" he asked quickly, pointing at Sasami and Liana. "Come for your new books, right?"
"Yes sir," said Ayeka. "We need..."
"Yes,yes,yes," he said impatiently as he pulled on his gloves and moved towards the cage. He looked at the girls again and said, "I suppose you'll be needing two of them, right?"
Before Sasami could say anything Tenchi spoke up.
"Wait a minute, sir. We don't need that one."
Washu looked disappointed. The manager sighed and pulled off his gloves. "Never stocking those ruddy things again, if they use it next year they can bloody well get it somewhere else." He banged the side of the cage with his stick, hard, then looked up at them and smiled. "So! What can I get for you fine people today?"
Mrs. Collins handed him her list and pointed out the books. "We'll need two copies of each, please."
He looked it over and said, "Ah! First years I see. Well, if you'll follow me we'll get you taken care of."
He led them to the back of the store and showed them where the books for first years were kept. Ayeka and Mrs. Collins spent the next several minutes with Sasami and Liana going through the books making sure they had everything they needed. While they were looking through the schoolbooks, the others wandered the store. Tenchi and Mr. Collins wandered the isles and talked, while Washu eagerly explored the store's selection. Mihoshi and Ryoko quickly got bored and drifted back to the caged books.
After they had selected their schoolbooks Liana led Sasami to another section of the store. She pulled a book off of the shelf and handed it to her.
"If you want to learn more about the wizarding world you need to get this book, it's great."
Sasami read the cover. It was large and bound in green leather. On the front, in fancy gold letters (which seemed to be the preferred color for titles) were the words Quidditch Through the Ages, by Kennilworthy Whisp.
"What's quidditch?" she asked, rereading the title.
Liana's eyes brightened, "It's the best sport in the world. The players fly around on their brooms and try to put a ball through one of three hoops."
Sasami remembered the poster she saw in the broom shop and mentioned it to her.
"That's it, doesn't it look great?"
"It looks dangerous," she said, "a ball knocked one of them off his broom."
"Oh, that?" Liana said. "That's the bludger, that's what it does. The beater should have stopped it."
Sasami was about to ask what a beater was when a loud crash came from the front of the store. They ran to where the sound came from. Liana shouted in surprise as they came around the shelves and saw what had happened. The large iron cage that housed The Monster Book of Monsters was laying open on the floor. Mihoshi was up on the shelf where the cage used to be and about twenty books were at the base of it, hoping around and growling at her. The rest were trying to get at Ryoko, who was floating in the air, just out of their reach.
"Ryoko!" Sasami shouted. "What are you doing?"
Ryoko looked up. She stared at them for a moment, then gasped in recognition when she realized Liana was staring. She quickly landed on the floor and hopped onto the shelf next to Mihoshi. Liana was about to say something but was interrupted when the monster books turned their attention on her and Sasami. Sasami tossed the book she was still holding at the nearest attacking book (which caught it in midair and proceeded to tear it to pieces) and the two of them hopped onto a nearby reading bench.
"What is going on here?" shouted the manager as he came running up to them. All the others were right behind him.
"Whoa!" Tenchi yelped, skidding to a stop.
Ayeka screeched and jumped onto the bench next to Sasami and Liana. "How did this happen?" she asked Mihoshi and Ryoko.
"I don't know!" Mihoshi said desperately. "They all jumped against the side at the same time and it just tipped over."
Mr. Collins stepped on one, trapping its covers shut. "Were you teasing them?" he asked.
Ryoko looked at the ceiling and scratched the back of her head. "Of course not," she said nervously, "why would you say something like that?"
The manager was in a panic. "They're tearing up my store! We have to stop them!"
And indeed they were. Many of the books had given up on reaching Mihoshi and Ryoko and had turned their attention to the easier to reach books on the lower shelves. Pages were flying all over the store and the monster books were starting to spread out. Mr. Collins removed his belt and picked up the book he had trapped. He wrapped the belt around the struggling book and fastened it tight. Tenchi, who already had two under his feet, also pulled off his belt and wrapped them up, cover to cover. He looked around.
"I don't think we have enough belts," he said.
"We have some wrapping string in the back," said the manager. He ran off to the store-room.
Mrs. Collins brought out her wand and pointed it at the group of books at the base of the bench Sasami, Liana and Ayeka were standing on.
"Immobulus!" she said loudly. There was a flash of light and the books instantly froze in their spots, even the ones in midair.
They climbed down off the bench. Washu had clamped one book shut between her hands and was studying it closely with a look of pure joy on her face. She looked up.
"Hey! That's a neat trick!"
Mrs. Collins nodded at her, "Thank you," she said with a satisfied smile.
"Hey!" Ryoko cried. "What about us?"
Mrs. Collins looked at her and Mihoshi for a moment. "I think you can wait until the manager gets back with the string. You're not in any danger, I think."
Washu cackled, "I believe you're right, Mrs. Collins. Maybe it'll teach them a lesson."
Ryoko made a gesture at Washu that caused Sasami to cry "Ryoko!"
Half an hour later the last book had been rounded up and placed back in its cage. Tenchi and Mr. Collins helped the manager put the cage back in the window and they left the store with Sasami's books and many apologies (not to mention considerably lighter pockets).
After they picked up the rest of their supplies (crystal phials, some brass scales, a telescope, and a cauldron) they headed over to the apothecary. Mrs. Collins wanted to stock up on her potions ingredients. Sasami wanted to see what the potions shop was like, so Tenchi, Mihoshi, Ryoko and Ayeka (who would not let Ryoko go anywhere with Tenchi alone) took her and Liana's supplies back to the Leaky Cauldron while she and Washu went with the Collins'. The Apothecary was a large, dusty shop stacked to the ceiling with all sorts of strange potions and ingredients. Liana's mother had taught her a lot about potion making, and she was more than happy to share her knowledge with Sasami.
"This is wolfsbane," she said pointing at one jar. "And this is vervain, it's used in love potions," she said with an important nod.
"What's this?" Sasami asked, pointing at a jar full of a muddy brown substance.
"Oh, you don't want to touch that," Liana said with disgust, "it's bat's blood."
Sasami stepped quickly back. "That's horrible. Who'd want a jar full of that?"
"It comes in handy in all sorts of potions," Liana replied. "It's supposed to help you see in the dark."
"It's still disgusting."
They spent the next several minutes wandering the shop while Liana pointed out several interesting herbs, animal parts and instruments. They bumped into Washu near the back of the store. She was closely studying a book and mumbling quietly to herself.
"To think, I'd been doing it wrong all these years."
"Hi Washu, what are you reading?" said Sasami
Washu looked up, surprised. "Oh! Hi Sasami. I was just looking through this book of potion recipes. It's really something."
"What do you mean you've been doing it wrong, Miss Washu?" Liana asked.
"Huh? Did I say that out loud? Well… I'm something of a scientist, and I just found a formula I've been working on for years in here, that's all."
Liana studied her for a minute then said, "Oh, alright."
They started to leave when Washu called out, "Oh, and Liana?"
They turned. "Yes, Miss Washu?"
"Call me 'Little Washu' won't you please?"
She stared for a moment, confused. "Okay, Little Washu," she said slowly.
Washu smiled and buried herself in the book again.
"What was that about?" Liana asked as they continued down the isle.
"That's what she likes to be called," Sasami explained.
"Why?"
Sasami thought for a moment. "It's a nickname, we call her that because she looks so young. In Japanese what we say is Washu-Chan, it's what we call little children."
"Oh. How old is she?"
"Twenty …" Sasami clamped her mouth shut. She had been about to say "Twenty thousand."
"About twenty," she said quickly.
"Wow," Liana said. "I hope I look that good when I'm that old."
Sasami nodded her agreement. She really hoped she looked that good when she was as old as Washu.
They found Mr. and Mrs. Collins at the front counter. Mrs. Collins was paying for a rather large bag of supplies. Mr. Collins was shaking his head and looking in his wallet. He was mumbling something that sounded like, "never heard of Visa?" Mrs. Collins turned and looked at them.
"Hello girls. Find anything interesting?"
Sasami nodded. Liana shrugged. Mrs. Collins put her change away and handed the bag of potions to her husband.
"Well, that's all I need right now. We should head back to the Leaky Cauldron, it'll be dinner time soon and we need to clean up after chasing down those dreadful books. Honestly, what kind of teachers do they have there now, if they're using textbooks like that?"
By the time they made it back to the Leaky Cauldron Ayeka had already packed Sasami's things away. She met them in the bar and invited the Collins to eat dinner with them. "Our treat, of course, to thank you for showing us around this afternoon," she said, acting every bit the Princess.
Tom the innkeeper had to push three tables together to accommodate the large crowd. Sasami felt rather strange sitting in the large wooden chairs. She had eaten while sitting in a chair plenty of times before, of course, but those had usually been formal dinners at the palace or in a fancy restaurant. At the dinner parties on Jurai everything had been quiet and sophisticated, with everyone dressed up in their fanciest clothing. Here it felt like a regular family meal at Tenchi's house, with everyone talking and joking as they ate. It took her a little bit to get used to the silverware as well, since Tom couldn't find any chopsticks for them. Liana kept laughing as she watched Sasami fumble with the fork. All throughout dinner, she was asking Sasami questions about life in Japan. Sasami didn't mind answering her questions, but it didn't give her much of a chance to ask about the wizarding world.
During a brief pause in the conversation, while Liana's mouth was full of meat pie she was able to ask her about Hogwarts.
"Mum's told me all about it," she said between bites. "She went there when she was a kid, of course. It's great, they have ghosts and a giant squid in the lake and everything."
"Ghosts?" Sasami asked in awe.
Liana gave a big nod and swallowed. "Yep, there's a bunch of 'em."
Ayeka perked up when she heard this. "You never said anything about the school being haunted," she said to Washu.
Washu laughed and scratched the back of her head. "Didn't I? It must have slipped my mind."
"Don't worry," Mrs. Collins said, "they're harmless, Dumbledore wouldn't let them stay if they weren't."
"What kind of man is Dumbledore anyway?" Ayeka asked Mrs. Collins.
Mrs. Collins laughed. "That's a hard one to answer. He loves children to start with. He's been at Hogwarts for as long as I can remember, though he was a professor when I went to school. He likes to have fun, and can be eccentric at times. He's also probably the greatest wizard alive. When You-Know-Who rose up, Dumbledore was the only person he was scared of."
Tenchi looked confused. "You-Know-Who?"
Liana was shocked. "You don't know who You-Know-Who is?"
Tenchi shook his head apologetically and set down his fork, "Sorry."
"I'm sorry," Mrs. Collins said. "It's easy to forget that not everybody knows about that."
"What are you talking about?" Ryoko asked.
She took a long drink before she answered. "About twenty years ago there was a wizard who tried to take over. He gathered up a bunch of followers, who called themselves Death Eaters, and went on a rampage, killing anyone who didn't agree with his ideology. Dumbledore organized a resistance, but they were outnumbered and ill-prepared. Hogwarts was the only place that was safe from him and his Death Eaters. You-Know-Who didn't dare attack it while Dumbledore was there. Just when things were looking hopeless something happened that ended the whole thing in a single night. Ever since then, we don't speak his name out loud. The memories are still to strong."
"That's horrible!" Ayeka said, covering her mouth. "What happened to... uh... to You-Know-Who?"
"Nobody knows for sure. About thirteen years ago he attacked one family, the Potters, at home. He managed to kill the mother and father, but when he got to their baby boy, Harry, the curse backfired. The house was destroyed and most people think he was killed, but not everyone believes that. Whatever happened, one thing is sure, no one ever survived after You-Know-Who decided to kill them, but Harry Potter did."
"He tried to kill a little baby?" Sasami asked, horrified.
"I'm afraid so," Mrs. Collins said. "Unfortunately, young Harry was not the only baby he tried to kill, but he was the only one to survive."
"Harry'll be there at school!" Liana said excitedly.
"He started a few years ago," Mrs. Collins said. "He's already making quite a name for himself. They say he even saved the school last year. Something about a monster and an old artifact."
"Yah!" Liana added. "And the year before that he stopped You-Know-Who from stealing a stone that would help him get his powers back."
"Wow," Mihoshi said. "So he's like a hero, huh?"
"Well he's certainly famous," Mr. Collins said. "Even I've heard of him."
Ayeka turned to Washu and asked, "Did you know about any of this?"
"I had heard of this guy," she replied, "his name was Voldemort. But I was never able to get the full story." All three Collins cringed at the mention of his name.
"It's not something we usually talk about," Mrs. Collins said. "Most of the adults were around when it happened, and the children grow up hearing about it. And it's not a good idea to go around saying his name like that. Most people aren't accustomed to hearing it."
The rest of the evening was spent discussing the next few days. The start of the term was only two days away now, and they needed a way to get to the train station. The car Mr. Collins had rented was barely large enough to hold all of Liana's supplies, so they decided that he and Tenchi would go out the next day and rent a van large enough to hold nine people and two large trunks. Mrs. Collins promised to show Ayeka and Mihoshi a few of the nicer clothing stores in Diagon Alley and Sasami wanted to see more of the shop she had seen the flying brooms in (which Liana told her was called Quality Qudditch Supplies). Liana also promised to show her "the best candy store in London." All Ryoko wanted to see more of was the bar's selection, since they didn't have any "proper" baths.
After dinner they all trooped upstairs to their separate rooms. The Collins had a room near the front of the hallway. Ryoko made one more attempt to get Tenchi to sleep in her room, but it didn't go very far after she remembered that Ayeka and Mihoshi would be sleeping in the same room. As soon as Sasami, Tenchi and Washu entered their room Washu strode straight over to the wardrobe and entered her lab. Sasami opened the trunk at the foot of her bed and went through all the things they had bought that day. After she had refolded and put away the last of her robes she crawled into bed with Ryo-ohki and said goodnight to Tenchi. She fell asleep that night feeling happier than she had in months.
End of Chapter Four
