Reality Check
~* Hey everyone! Now that Harry's at Hogwarts, I like writing this story! Thanks to all who reviewed the last chapter! The part at Diagon Alley is mostly taken from the book, so don't sue me for plagerism! Here's chapter 7. *~
Chapter 7 ~ Friends
Harry had been taken to the Gryffindor Common Room, and been told the password, Fiddlesticks. His things had been transported to his dorm, and Dumbledore was organising a Professor to take him to Diagon Alley to collect his books and equiptment for the new school year. Dumbledore had also given him a check list of all the things he would need as a first year student at Hogwarts:
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Uniform:
First year students will require:
Three sets of plain work robes (black)
One plain pointed hat (black)
One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or other)
One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)
Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags.
Set Books:
All students should have a copy of each of the following -
The Standard book of spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk
A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot
Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling
A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore
Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble
Other Equiptment:
1 Wand
1 Cauldron (Pewter, size 2)
1 set of glass phials
1 telescope
1 set of brass scales
Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad.
PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS.
'I take it you're Harry Potter then? Fashionably late to the start of school year, I like that. Ron Weasley's the name, pleased to meet you.' The boy who had been reading over Harry's shoulder said. Harry shook Ron's hand.
'Yeah, good to meet someone friendly here. I have a friend who's already here, you may have met her? Caprice Jenkins?' Harry said. Ron's eyes widened.
'She's not the type of person I'd like to say I know.' He said and shook his head. 'She's in Slytherin, and friends with none other than Draco Malfoy.' Harry looked shocked.
'Oh no! The hat wanted to put me in Slytherin! I could have been with my best friend! Who's Draco Malfoy?' Harry said, outraged at his decision to not want to be in Slytherin.
'Draco Malfoy is the kind of person you don't want to be friends with.' Ron replied.
'But he's friends with Caprice, so he must be decent.' Harry replied.
'Just because he's friends with your friend, doesn't mean he's a nice person.' Ron told him.
'But Caprice is so innocent.' Harry said in her defence.
'She's not too flash in choosing the right sort.'
'What would you know? Do you actually know her? No! I didn't think so.' Harry yelled.
'Listen, Harry, I'm sorry that you're split from your friend, but it was her choice to be friends with Malfoy. They're in Slytherin, and we're in Gryffindor, so you should just learn to deal with that.' Ron said.
'Yeah, you're right, just because she's in a different house, doesn't mean that we can't still be friends.' Harry thought out loud.
'Actually, you wouldn't want to go flaunting a friendship with a Slytherin around the school.' Ron warned.
'And why's that?' Harry asked.
'There's this sort of rivalry between Slytherin and Gryffindor, and if you and Caprice are friends, that will mess up the whole system, ending in chaos.' Ron explained.
'So I'm not allowed to be friends with Caprice?'
'You are, but if I were you, I wouldn't go telling anyone about it.'
'Hey, it'd be just like a secret friendship! That would be cool!' Harry exclaimed.
'Yeah.' Ron said dully.
~***~
Harry had been taken to Diagon Alley by the Gamekeeper of Hogwarts, Reubeus Hagrid, who liked to be called Hagrid. Hagrid had shown him his parents vault with a small fortune inside. The tall man had also bought Harry an owl as a late birthday present.
Finally, the moment Harry had been dreading the whole time he had been walking around Diagon Alley, going to Ollivanders.
'Ahh, Mister Potter, I see you're back.' Ollivander said in his creepy voice.
'Good evenin' Mr Ollivander, Harry 'ere needs to get his firs' wand.' Hagrid explained.
'Yes, yes, right this way Mr Potter.' Ollivander said, leading Harry through the maze of shelves covered in wands. He pulled a long tape measure with silver markings out of his pocket. 'Which is your wand arm?'
'Er - well, I'm right handed.' Said Harry.
'Hold out your arm. That's it.' He measured Harry from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit and round his head. As he measured, he said; 'Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance, Mr Potter. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers and the heartstrings of dragons. No two Ollivander wands are the same. And of course, you'll never get such good results from another wizard's wand.'
Harry suddenly realised that the tape measure, which was measuring between his nostrils, was doing it on its own. Mr Ollivander was flitting around the shelves taking down boxes.
'That will do.' He said, and the tape measure crumpled into a heap on the floor. 'Right then Mr Potter, try this one; Beechwood and dragon heartstring. Nine inches. Nice and flexible. Just take it and give it a wave.'
Harry took the wand, and, feeling foolish, waved it around a bit. Mr Ollivander snatched it out of his hand almost at once.
'Maple and phoenix feather. Seven inches. Quite whippy. Try -' Harry tried - but he had hardly waved the wand when it too was snatched back by Mr Ollivander. Harry wondered if Caprice had gone through this as well while he had waited for her.
'No, no - here, ebony and unicorn hair, eight and a half inches, springy. Go on, go on, try it out.' Harry tried. And tried. He had no idea what Mr Ollivander was waiting for. The pile of tried wands was mounting higher and higher on the spindly chair, but the more wands Mr Ollivander pulled from the shelves, the happier he became.
'Tricky customer eh? Not to worry, we'll find the perfect match here somewhere - I wonder, now - yes, why not - unusual combination - holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple.' Harry took the wand. He felt a sudden warmth in his fingers. He raised the wand above his head, brought it swishing down through the dusty air and a stream of red and gold sparks shot from the end like a firework, throwing dancing spots of light on to the walls.
Mr Ollivander stroked his chin.
'Curious, how very curious.' He put Harry's wand back into it's box and wrapped it in brown paper, still muttering, 'Curious. . . curious.'
'Sorry, but what's curious?' Harry asked. Mr Ollivander looked at Harry with a pale stare.
'I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr Potter. Every single one. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather - just one other. It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when it's brother - why, it's brother gave you that scar.'
Harry swallowed.
'Yes, thirteen and a half inches. Yew, curious indeed how these things happen. The wand chooses the wizard, remember. . . I think we must expect great things from you, Mr Potter . . . after all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things - terrible, yes, but great.'
Harry shivered. He wasn't too sure that he liked Mr Ollivander too much. He paid seven gold galleons for his wand and Mr Ollivander bowed them from the shop.
~***~
When Harry had gotten back to Hogwarts, he was greeted by Ron and two other boys who he had not met.
'Harry, this is Dean Thomas, and Seamus Finnegan.' Ron said, introducing Harry to his two friends.
'Nice to meet you both.' Harry said, shaking the boy's hands.
'I heard you're friends with Caprice Jenkins.' Dean said.
'She's an ice girl that one.' Seamus added. Harry noticed how Irish the boy sounded.
'She's not! She's really nice, and if you had bothered to get to know her, you'd know that she's nice.' Harry said defending his friend once more.
'Guys, lay off about Caprice.' Ron said. Dean and Seamus looked quickly at their feet.
'Oh, you have to go and see my brother Percy, he's a prefect for Gryffindor. He has your timetable.' Ron said to Harry.
'Thanks, do you know where I can find him?' Harry asked.
'Sure, follow me, see you two at dinner.' Ron said, waving goodbye to Dean and Seamus, who walked off in the other direction.
~***~
Harry woke early Monday morning. He was excited about his first day of lessons at Hogwarts. All the other first years had already had the Friday's worth of lessons, and were one day ahead of him. Harry was eager to catch up.
'Good morning Harry.' Ron said sleepily.
'Sorry Ron, did I wake you?' Harry asked, rubbing his eyes.
'Nah, you're good.' Ron replied in the midle of a yawn.
'So what are you going to do about Caprice?' Seamus asked from his bed.
'I'm still going to be her friend, but we'll keep it a secret! It's always been fun pretending stuff with Caprice, she's the best really.' Harry answered. He was going to have fun this year, with Caprice, and without Dudley.
~* There's the chapter guys. Hope you liked it, and don't forget to review! I'll have the next chapter up as soon as possible! *~
~Gryffindor Gal~
~* Hey everyone! Now that Harry's at Hogwarts, I like writing this story! Thanks to all who reviewed the last chapter! The part at Diagon Alley is mostly taken from the book, so don't sue me for plagerism! Here's chapter 7. *~
Chapter 7 ~ Friends
Harry had been taken to the Gryffindor Common Room, and been told the password, Fiddlesticks. His things had been transported to his dorm, and Dumbledore was organising a Professor to take him to Diagon Alley to collect his books and equiptment for the new school year. Dumbledore had also given him a check list of all the things he would need as a first year student at Hogwarts:
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Uniform:
First year students will require:
Three sets of plain work robes (black)
One plain pointed hat (black)
One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or other)
One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)
Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags.
Set Books:
All students should have a copy of each of the following -
The Standard book of spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk
A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot
Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling
A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore
Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble
Other Equiptment:
1 Wand
1 Cauldron (Pewter, size 2)
1 set of glass phials
1 telescope
1 set of brass scales
Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad.
PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS.
'I take it you're Harry Potter then? Fashionably late to the start of school year, I like that. Ron Weasley's the name, pleased to meet you.' The boy who had been reading over Harry's shoulder said. Harry shook Ron's hand.
'Yeah, good to meet someone friendly here. I have a friend who's already here, you may have met her? Caprice Jenkins?' Harry said. Ron's eyes widened.
'She's not the type of person I'd like to say I know.' He said and shook his head. 'She's in Slytherin, and friends with none other than Draco Malfoy.' Harry looked shocked.
'Oh no! The hat wanted to put me in Slytherin! I could have been with my best friend! Who's Draco Malfoy?' Harry said, outraged at his decision to not want to be in Slytherin.
'Draco Malfoy is the kind of person you don't want to be friends with.' Ron replied.
'But he's friends with Caprice, so he must be decent.' Harry replied.
'Just because he's friends with your friend, doesn't mean he's a nice person.' Ron told him.
'But Caprice is so innocent.' Harry said in her defence.
'She's not too flash in choosing the right sort.'
'What would you know? Do you actually know her? No! I didn't think so.' Harry yelled.
'Listen, Harry, I'm sorry that you're split from your friend, but it was her choice to be friends with Malfoy. They're in Slytherin, and we're in Gryffindor, so you should just learn to deal with that.' Ron said.
'Yeah, you're right, just because she's in a different house, doesn't mean that we can't still be friends.' Harry thought out loud.
'Actually, you wouldn't want to go flaunting a friendship with a Slytherin around the school.' Ron warned.
'And why's that?' Harry asked.
'There's this sort of rivalry between Slytherin and Gryffindor, and if you and Caprice are friends, that will mess up the whole system, ending in chaos.' Ron explained.
'So I'm not allowed to be friends with Caprice?'
'You are, but if I were you, I wouldn't go telling anyone about it.'
'Hey, it'd be just like a secret friendship! That would be cool!' Harry exclaimed.
'Yeah.' Ron said dully.
~***~
Harry had been taken to Diagon Alley by the Gamekeeper of Hogwarts, Reubeus Hagrid, who liked to be called Hagrid. Hagrid had shown him his parents vault with a small fortune inside. The tall man had also bought Harry an owl as a late birthday present.
Finally, the moment Harry had been dreading the whole time he had been walking around Diagon Alley, going to Ollivanders.
'Ahh, Mister Potter, I see you're back.' Ollivander said in his creepy voice.
'Good evenin' Mr Ollivander, Harry 'ere needs to get his firs' wand.' Hagrid explained.
'Yes, yes, right this way Mr Potter.' Ollivander said, leading Harry through the maze of shelves covered in wands. He pulled a long tape measure with silver markings out of his pocket. 'Which is your wand arm?'
'Er - well, I'm right handed.' Said Harry.
'Hold out your arm. That's it.' He measured Harry from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit and round his head. As he measured, he said; 'Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance, Mr Potter. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers and the heartstrings of dragons. No two Ollivander wands are the same. And of course, you'll never get such good results from another wizard's wand.'
Harry suddenly realised that the tape measure, which was measuring between his nostrils, was doing it on its own. Mr Ollivander was flitting around the shelves taking down boxes.
'That will do.' He said, and the tape measure crumpled into a heap on the floor. 'Right then Mr Potter, try this one; Beechwood and dragon heartstring. Nine inches. Nice and flexible. Just take it and give it a wave.'
Harry took the wand, and, feeling foolish, waved it around a bit. Mr Ollivander snatched it out of his hand almost at once.
'Maple and phoenix feather. Seven inches. Quite whippy. Try -' Harry tried - but he had hardly waved the wand when it too was snatched back by Mr Ollivander. Harry wondered if Caprice had gone through this as well while he had waited for her.
'No, no - here, ebony and unicorn hair, eight and a half inches, springy. Go on, go on, try it out.' Harry tried. And tried. He had no idea what Mr Ollivander was waiting for. The pile of tried wands was mounting higher and higher on the spindly chair, but the more wands Mr Ollivander pulled from the shelves, the happier he became.
'Tricky customer eh? Not to worry, we'll find the perfect match here somewhere - I wonder, now - yes, why not - unusual combination - holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple.' Harry took the wand. He felt a sudden warmth in his fingers. He raised the wand above his head, brought it swishing down through the dusty air and a stream of red and gold sparks shot from the end like a firework, throwing dancing spots of light on to the walls.
Mr Ollivander stroked his chin.
'Curious, how very curious.' He put Harry's wand back into it's box and wrapped it in brown paper, still muttering, 'Curious. . . curious.'
'Sorry, but what's curious?' Harry asked. Mr Ollivander looked at Harry with a pale stare.
'I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr Potter. Every single one. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather - just one other. It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when it's brother - why, it's brother gave you that scar.'
Harry swallowed.
'Yes, thirteen and a half inches. Yew, curious indeed how these things happen. The wand chooses the wizard, remember. . . I think we must expect great things from you, Mr Potter . . . after all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things - terrible, yes, but great.'
Harry shivered. He wasn't too sure that he liked Mr Ollivander too much. He paid seven gold galleons for his wand and Mr Ollivander bowed them from the shop.
~***~
When Harry had gotten back to Hogwarts, he was greeted by Ron and two other boys who he had not met.
'Harry, this is Dean Thomas, and Seamus Finnegan.' Ron said, introducing Harry to his two friends.
'Nice to meet you both.' Harry said, shaking the boy's hands.
'I heard you're friends with Caprice Jenkins.' Dean said.
'She's an ice girl that one.' Seamus added. Harry noticed how Irish the boy sounded.
'She's not! She's really nice, and if you had bothered to get to know her, you'd know that she's nice.' Harry said defending his friend once more.
'Guys, lay off about Caprice.' Ron said. Dean and Seamus looked quickly at their feet.
'Oh, you have to go and see my brother Percy, he's a prefect for Gryffindor. He has your timetable.' Ron said to Harry.
'Thanks, do you know where I can find him?' Harry asked.
'Sure, follow me, see you two at dinner.' Ron said, waving goodbye to Dean and Seamus, who walked off in the other direction.
~***~
Harry woke early Monday morning. He was excited about his first day of lessons at Hogwarts. All the other first years had already had the Friday's worth of lessons, and were one day ahead of him. Harry was eager to catch up.
'Good morning Harry.' Ron said sleepily.
'Sorry Ron, did I wake you?' Harry asked, rubbing his eyes.
'Nah, you're good.' Ron replied in the midle of a yawn.
'So what are you going to do about Caprice?' Seamus asked from his bed.
'I'm still going to be her friend, but we'll keep it a secret! It's always been fun pretending stuff with Caprice, she's the best really.' Harry answered. He was going to have fun this year, with Caprice, and without Dudley.
~* There's the chapter guys. Hope you liked it, and don't forget to review! I'll have the next chapter up as soon as possible! *~
~Gryffindor Gal~