The next morning, Tom awoke to find sunrays bursting through all of the tiny cracks in the window shades. He also heard an unknown source of noise, which seemed to come from beneath the building. He got out of bed and changed into his only other pair of clothes- a fresh t-shirt and jeans. Tom yawned and ruffled his hair, then picked up his Hogwart's letter and exited the room. As he descended down the stairway, sticking his letter in his back pocket, a girl of about 10 rushed by, knocking him flat.
"Oh, I'm so sorry. I was in a bit of a hurry," exclaimed the girl, exasperated, as she helped Tom up.
"It's fine," smiled Tom, feeling self-conscious and shy, but excited at the prospect of making a friend, "Don't worry about it. I'm Tom, by the way."
"Hi Tom, I'm Daisy. I'm about to go into my first year at Hogwarts."
"Me too, maybe I'll see you there!"
"Yes," said Daisy, feeling relieved, "I hope so. It was nice to meet you, Tom."
"You too," replied Tom, finishing his descent down the stairway. He grabbed a steaming biscuit off a nearby table and walked up to the counter to get Rob's attention, as Emma had instructed him to.
"Excuse me, sir! Rob!" called Tom, grinning at the bewilderment on Rob's face as he tried to locate the source of the noise. "I'm right here. I think you are a friend of Emma's; She told me to ask you if you could show me how to get into Diagon Alley so I can get my school supplies."
"Sure thing, Tommy boy. Just follow me out back." Tom followed Rob to the far back of the Inn, and out a scrawny looking door. He noticed that the grass seemed to be the only thing in the clearing behind the Leaky Cauldron that had been preserved well. Rob took out a long, thin, wooden stick (Tom presumed it was a magic wand) and tapped a brick above the rotting trashcan.
"Just remember," muttered Rob to seemingly no one, "Three bricks up and two across." Tom was staring dumbly at the blank brick wall for a second, when the bricks started shifting and rearranging themselves, forming an archway to, what seemed to be, an entirely different town. "Right," said Rob, interrupting Tom's awe, "Well that's Diagon Alley for you. It's always packed with people of course. You best be off and get your things. Come 'round later and we'll have some supper ready for you; any friend of Emma's is a friend of mine." Rob winked, disappearing through the door that led back to the Inn. Tom, who seemed fairly dumbstruck, passed through the archway. People were bustling around, paying no attention to a boy who had just walked through an archway that used to be a solid, brick wall. They seemed to be muttering odd thing for shopping lists and such. As he glanced around, he saw a store filled with broomsticks (Quality Quidditch Supplies Shop), a store with boxes containing magic wands (Ollivanders), a shop filled with cages and animals (Magical Menagerie), and as he was just about to ask directions, Tom spotted a tall, leaning building with a sign that had started to crumble down, depicting the word 'Gringotts'. As Tom entered the building, it took all of his self-restraint not to shout in alarm. Miniature people, no taller than three feet, were scurrying across a polished, marble floor with their long, pointed ears sticking straight out of the sides of their heads. People were following them to other rooms in the building. Emma had failed to tell him that midgets ran the bank.
He sauntered up to an important looking creature (Tom assumed it was an elf or goblin) that was sitting behind a desk, and caught his attention by clearing his throat.
"Excuse me," asked Tom politely, "I'd like to withdraw some money from my vault, please." The goblin slowly looked up from his papers and stared Tom in the eye.
"Name?" inquired the goblin, cold and uninterested.
"T-Tom Riddle," stuttered Tom, taken-aback by the goblin's response.
"Does Mr. Tom Riddle happen to have his key?"
"Yes sir," replied Tom, as he withdrew the tiny, golden key from his front jean pocket that Emma had given him the previous day. The goblin took the key and examined it closely.
"Very well, I will have Guddentek take you to your vault." He signaled a goblin that looked rather young compared to the rest. The goblin advanced to the desk, retrieved Tom's key, and scurried away, beckoning Tom to follow. They passed through a wooden door, and suddenly were in a narrow passageway, lit by torchlight. Guddentek got into a wooden cart, and said in a high-pitched, squeaky voice,
"Get onboard, please. We're going to vault 213." Tom did as he was told, and suddenly the cart was hurtling down the passageway, making sharp turns to the left and right. They also seemed to be going further underground, as Tom had noticed a slight decline in the temperature. They finally stopped at a tall, wooden door with the shabby, metallic number 213 on its' front. Guddentek stepped off the cart, and inserted the key into the lock. There was a series of metallic clicking, most likely a mechanism to protect the vault, and then the door swung open. Tom's eyes widened at the sight inside; there were stacks of gold, silver, and bronze coins. If this was wizard money, then Tom felt sure he was rich. Guddentek kept staring at him, making impatient noises in his throat, and Tom came back to his senses. He grabbed a handful or two of gold galleons and stuck them into his pillowcase. Guddentek then handed him his key, and they returned to the cart and set back to the main complex where the entrance to Gringotts was located.
Once Tom was outside of Gringotts, he stared, wondering where he should start his school shopping. He took out his list and read the first item:
3 sets of day robes (black) with silver fastenings.
Tom glanced around and then headed towards Monsieur LaBusche's Everyday Wear, which appeared to sell wizard's robes. As he entered the shop, a short, stubby man greeted Tom and requested he stand on a platform so they could acquire his measurements. Tom complied, and upon stepping onto the platform, to his bewilderment, found tape measures supported by nothing starting to take his measurements, as they rattled around his arms and legs.
"Yes, amazing aren't they?" stated the man, who appeared to have caught Tom's gaze. "They just came out- the prototype." Tom nodded, and waited as the man found the right sets of robes to fit him properly. Once he got them, he thanked the man, paid him five galleons, and went to Flourish and Blotts for his schoolbooks. He had all ready decided not to buy free reading books, because he assumed that Hogwarts, like most boarding schools, was certain to have a library with a vast collection of books. After buying his books, he went to the Apothecary to buy potions ingredients, hurrying out as soon as possible. The sights and smells to be found in the Apothecary did not agree with him, or his stomach. He stopped at Evelyn's Eatery for a quick snack, and was off again to continue his shopping.
As Tom spent the day getting his supplies, he slowly checked off the items on his list. Finally, there was only one thing left, and Tom had been looking forward to this the most- a magic wand. He carefully stepped inside Ollivanders, which appeared to be empty, and placed his bulging bags filled with various school supplies in the corner. He walked up to the counter and was just about to ring the bell when a man appeared behind the counter. He had wiry, auburn hair, and bloodshot, silver eyes.
"I've been expecting you, Mr. Riddle," the man said quietly, his lips barely moving.
"You have?" Tom replied weakly.
"Oh yes, with all the talent your mother had... and you look just like her." Tom swelled up with pride. "All right then- onto business. Which is your wand hand?"
"Er...Well, I'm left-handed by nature." Mr. Ollivander stared at Tom, as though an odd surprise had caught him off guard, for a few moments. Tom knew left-handed people were rare, but he had never had this affect on someone before. Mr. Ollivander recovered himself quickly, saying,
"That's very interesting, Mr. Riddle. I know of only one other wizard who is left-handed, just one other. He is a great friend of mine, actually. We went to Hogwarts together. Also, bare-in-mind, I know many wizards, Mr. Riddle." There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment, which was interrupted when Mr. Ollivander began to rummage through the wand boxes. He selected one and handed it to Tom.
"11 and one half inches, willow and dragon heartstring. Rather bendy, give it a try." Tom grabbed the wand, only to have it snatched away by Mr. Ollivander a few seconds later. "No, that will never do." He set the wand down and gave Tom a penetrating stare. Tom, who had never had much attention, found it uncomfortable to stare this stranger in the eye, and therefore let his eyes wander around the shop, avoiding the strange, mysterious man in front of himself.
"I wonder..." He grabbed a slender wand case, and handed it to Tom. "13 and one half inches made of yew and phoenix feather. Very powerful and excellent for transfiguration." As Tom picked it up, an inspiration soared through his body, and warmth came to his fingertips and down to the tips of his toes. Multi-colored sparks started showering through the air as Mr. Ollivander applauded.
"Excellent, but very interesting. Very interesting."
"What's interesting?"
"Well, my friend I told you about, the other left-handed wizard, owns a phoenix. It so happens that the very same phoenix feather that resides in your wand belongs to his phoenix." Tom nodded, now intently curious as to whom this person was. "Indeed, this is a very powerful wand, Mr. Riddle, and unless I'm much mistaken, you will be a very powerful wizard." Mr. Ollivander rang up the price, studying Tom closely, and Tom handed him some gold. He grabbed his wand and school bags, and returned to his room at the Leaky Cauldron. He delicately placed his wand on the polished bedside table, and placed his school items in his newly bought trunk. He had, in addition to buying wizard's robes, also bought some t-shirts and pants, so he could dress comfortably, in what he supposed were called 'Muggle Clothes' by the wizard population, until Emma came to pick him up the following week.
He headed down to dinner, which he enjoyed (ham biscuits and pea soup), and then went back to his room and fell asleep, feeling truly happy for the first time in a long while.
Throughout the next week, Tom followed the same schedule. He awoke in the morning, took his new wand out back, and tapped three bricks up, and two across, above the trashcan in order to access Diagon Alley. He spent the morning exploring the grand Alley, and would then buy lunch at one of Diagon Alley's many food shops, eating it outside underneath the glorious and sparkling sunrays. He spent the afternoon reading his schoolbooks, most of which he found fascinating, then returning to the Leaky Cauldron for supper.
He also met many Hogwarts students, such as Daisy, throughout the week. Henry Jones, a 5th year with sandy blond hair, introduced himself to Tom informing him that he was a Gryffindor prefect, and looked forward to seeing Tom at school. Rosy and Peter Smith were sister and brother, two years apart, and in the Ravenclaw house, both of whom Tom found to be incredibly witty and funny. Tom enjoyed the company of the fellow Hogwarts students that he met very much.
One morning, September 1st to be more exact, Rob awoke a disgruntled Tom, who was rather uncoordinated and disjointed in the mornings. "Tommy Boy, you have a visitor." Rob exited the room with a huge smile spreading across his face.
