Disclaimer: Okay, so I don't officially own the Harry Potter characters. But, anything else not mentioned in the Harry Potter Books are my own inventions. That is, Kye, Nome, Nindi, Robbo, and Kat. Not to mention any magical pets mentioned in this chapter.
A/N: I am so sorry for the incredible long time it took me to write this chapter. I had so much homework, assignments and exams. So, I was kind of juggling the three things. And since I write everything on paper first, and then type it up on the computer, it takes me a very long time. I know most people tend to just sit there and type anything that comes to mind on the computer, but I like doing it the old fashioned way, and to me it seems to work out better.
As for dried-tears and Nikki101, thankyou so much for your reviews!! Much appreciated, and I hope you enjoy this chapter.
To everyone, I would just like to say that I have planned the plot for this story, but the only thing is, I have to write it!! So don't think this is one of those Never Finished Stories - because I could never do that to myself, or to anyone else for that matter!
So, sit back, relax, and enjoy! ;)
CHAPTER THREE: A trip to Diagon Alley.
HARRY'S POV:
Harry Potter was no ordinary boy. He was small for his age, and his slim figure stood out amongst the other students in the Great Hall. He had black wild hair, and wore glasses, but the one thing that set him apart from everyone else was his lightening shaped scar. The scar which he was famous for; surviving the deadly curse from the powerful dark wizard, Voldermort, who for thirteen years had lived weakly in the shadows until he re-emerged two years ago and once again sent the Wizarding World into chaos.
"How do you think they got here?" Ron Weasley his best friend asked him.
"Huh? Oh, er, sorry Ron. What did you say?"
Ron was seated next to him and for once, Ron wasn't wolfing down his food. He had red hair and was extremely freckly.
"I said, how do you think the girls got here?" Ron asked again, choosing at that precise moment to shove a large helping of quiche into his mouth.
"Might've been a Portkey, or something." Harry said.
The bushy haired girl sitting across from them joined in. "Maybe - but highly unlikely."
"What makes you so sure?" Ron asked.
"There was some type of power around them when they arrived. Portkeys don't do that." Hermione reasoned.
"We' wha femb?" Ron asked her through a mouthful of food.
"I don't know." Hermione admitted.
"What!" Ron cried. "You don't know! Never thought there'd be the day!" Ron exclaimed, getting a mean look from Hermione.
"Who cares how they got here." Harry interrupted. "I want to know who they are." And who that short girl was, Harry thought.
"Look!" Someone shouted suddenly, and the noise in the Great Hall slowly died down. Harry, Ron and Hermione turned to where everyone was staring at, the entrance. The five girls had entered, and were staring in amazement at the ceiling, which was reflecting the cloudy blue sky outside.
The tallest girl nudged her friend, and together they lead them across the hall. Harry spotted the short girl who looked completely nervous, and saw her looking over in Harry's direction - or the Gryffindor table, Harry couldn't tell. But whatever had caught her eye she pointed out to her friends and they immediately made their way over to the table.
There was a gap between Hermione and a group of third years, which the girls noticed, and made to sit there. By now most of the people in the hall had lost interest and continued their conversations, and those few others continued to stare curiously at the girls.
Funnily, the short girl spoke first - though that might have been because she was the closest.
Um, hi. Uh, do you guys mind if we sit here?" She asked. Unlike before in Potions, her voice was soft and shy.
Hermione smiled, "No, of course not. Go right ahead."
Ron thought differently though. "But they're not Gryffindors!" He exclaimed.
"Ron!" Hermione cried evidently appalled. "Be nice, they're new and they haven't been sorted yet." To the girls she said, "Don't mind him, he's just a bit stubborn at times."
"I am not!" Ron retorted, ears turning slightly pink with embarrassment.
Hermione ignored Ron and smiling brightly said, "I'm Hermione Granger, and you are?"
The short girl was about to reply, when another girl butted in.
"I'm Nerida, and this is Katrina, Naomi, Nicole and Kylie." She said for them, pointing at each girl.
"Oh! Yes and this is Ron Weasley, and Harry Potter." Hermione introduced them.
Ron muttered hi, and Harry managed a smile - any moment now they'll become wide-eyed and awestruck at the mention of his name. But it never came.
"What's that?" Nicole asked, pointing at the bread.
"Oh that's damper," Harry told her, and she took a piece and started biting into it. Harry then noticed she had a nose ring. "Uh, Nicole, er - what on earth do you have a nose ring for?"
Hermione sniffed at this and Ron looked astounded.
"Blimey! That must have hurt!" He said loudly.
She laughed. "Not really and -" she shrugged, "because I like it."
Kylie grinned and said, "Robbo's into punk and rock."
Harry and Hermione understood, but Ron looked baffled.
"Punk?"
"It's a type of music - Muggle music that is." Kye explained.
Hermione raised a brow, "Robbo?"
"Oh that's her nick name." Nerida laughed. "We mostly call her pickles -" Ron snorted "- but the nick name has stayed with us, and Kye likes it better."
"Yeah and just so ya' know," Kylie continued, "We all prefer to be called by our nick names. We would have introduced ourselves by them, but Nindi had to do it the proper way."
"Oh well," Nindi shrugged uninterestedly.
Naomi was sitting the furthest away, and had been busily trying all the different type of food. At this she said, "Hi, I'm Nome, that's Kat, Nindi, Kye and Robbo."
Ron shared an 'okay then' look with Harry. Harry smiled; they were weird, but they made Harry feel at ease.
"That's the Transfiguration classroom." Harry said. He was showing the girls around the school, and right now, the girls looked utterly lost.
"I am never going to remember all this," Nindi told them.
"You're not going to! It takes me at least three weeks to memorise my own timetable!" Kye said panicking. "It would take me most of the year to remember all this."
Robbo snorted and muttered something under her breath.
"What?" Kye asked.
"I said it'd take you three weeks to get anywhere." She said, and the other three friends laughed knowingly.
Harry frowned. "Why?"
"Coz she's always late," She replied and Kye grinned embarrassed.
Nindi laughed. "Nah, she wouldn't be that late now. Besides, most likely we would wind up God Knows Where and starve to death."
"Yeah, and find out where in the hallway next to the one where we started," Kye added laughing.
"Hogwarts isn't that big - once you get used to it," Hermione smiled. "But you're old school would have had been large, too - right?" She asked.
"This is a maze compared to our old one," Nome said.
"Yeah and we come from Australia. No huge castles there like this one - 'cept for Oscean, our school - and that wasn't nearly as big." Kat said.
"What was it like there?" Ron asked interested.
"Um, well it was fairly large… and it was right near the beach," Kye told them.
"And most of the students would go for a swim on hot days," Nindi added.
"And surf," Robbo chimed in.
Harry knew of course that Ron hadn't a clue as to what surfing was - but when Ron commented with "Awesome!" - Harry knew better than to point it out.
Which is exactly what Hermione did. Rolling her eyes she said, "You don't even know what surfing is, Ron."
"Don't you know what surfing is?" Robbo asked surprised.
Ears turning red, Ron angrily replied defensively, "Well it's a muggle sport - why would I?"
"Only because it's really cool," Robbo said. "It's where ya lay on a board, paddle out to where the waves are, and then you catch a wave by paddling really fast, until your riding along with the wave - that's body barding. But real surfing is where you stand up on the board when you catch the wave, and you ride along with it…" Robbo explained, twisting her nose ring dreamingly.
"Right." Ron mumbled, clearly thinking all muggles were nutcases.
"And not only muggle borns would surf either. A lot of half bloods and pure bloods enjoyed it as well- though most of the guys liked it." Kat said.
"Purebloods!" Ron said astounded.
"Yes, even them." Kat said firmly. "You see, most of the magical kind in Australia are either half-blood or muggle born, and since there were only few from wizard families, they grudgingly went along with them." Kat explained.
"And coz of that a lot of them learnt muggle ways," Nome said.
"Oh wow! That's good." Hermione said. "Why can't it be like that here?" She complained.
"Because there's a lot of old fashioned families here, that's why." Nindi answered.
"And coz us Aussies are laid back, carefree and easy going," Kye said proudly.
"Er, yeah - whatever," Ron mumbled.
"So, what do you guys do for fun around here?" Kye asked, ignoring Ron.
Ron practically beamed. "Well, we play wizard chess, wizard snap, and stuff like that - but absolutely love our Quidditch."
"Cool! Any places?" Nindi asked.
"Well, there's the chaser positions on the Gryffindor team - I'm not sure with the other houses - but it really all depends where you're sorted." Harry told them. "Do you play?"
"Um, uh… kinda." Kye said.
"Well y' never know 'til you try." Ron said, which made Hermione snort - which she hastily managed to turn into a cough. Harry knew Hermione was referring to the year before when Ron lacked confidence with Keeping in Quidditch.
"Giving flying lessons are we Weasley?" A drawling voice behind them interrupted.
Harry whirled around to see Malfoy flanked by his usual cronies, Crabbe and Goyle.
"What d' you want Malfoy?"
Malfoy smirked. "Losing your temper eh? Don't want to end up loosing our place on the Quidditch team again, do we potter?"
"Oh shut up Malfoy. We all know it was because of that stupid witch," Hermione said angrily.
"Crawl back to where you came from," Malfoy sneered, and Harry withdrew his wand, pointing it right at Malfoy's face.
"I'm warning you Malfoy; one move and I'll blast your face off," Harry said casually.
Malfoy laughed meanly. He then turned his attention to the new girls.
"Oh what fun - more Mudbloods!" He cried sarcastically, and Goyle and Crabbe chuckled cruelly.
"Mudbloods? What makes you so bloody sure we are?" Nome said clearly annoyed.
Draco looked at her and smirking he drawled, "Well, you definitely look it. Anyhow, you're either that or your like Weasel over there." He jerked his head towards Ron, whose ears turned pink from anger.
"And what's that?" Nindi asked.
"From poor pathetic Wizard families, no doubt." Malfoy answered. Then he snickered, "I guess that's why you get along so well."
Harry made a move to stop Ron from advancing and getting into harm - but it wasn't Ron who came forward.
"Hey Blondie, go eat shit!" Robbo snarled, and Hermione, Ron and Harry stepped back astonished.
Malfoy's face grew pink, brimming with anger. "You do realise that ring in your nose makes you look like a pig." He sneered.
Robbo's eyes grew wide, and looked about ready to pounce, but Kat laughed the snide remark off. "You wouldn't know style if it you in the face!"
"Why do you say that?" Kye asked her, pretending to be highly interested.
"Ha! Look at his hair!" She said.
The rest of the girls laughed at this, though Ron looked at them.
"I don't get it." He said.
"Well for a starters," Kye turned to Ron. "Malfoy here uses so much gel in his hair."
"And…?" He asked.
Kye laughed. "How many guys do you know spends that much time with their hair? I mean I know guys do try to look good. But that is just way too much time!" Kye turned to Malfoy. "Are you sure you were born a boy?? Or is there something you aren't telling us?"
Nindi coughed, "Gay!"
Harry and Ron snorted with laughter, and Hermione clutched her stomach - giggling madly.
Malfoy looked at Kye. "I am going to make your life a living hell!" He sneered and then turned, storming off down the corridor, with Crabbe and Goyle following dog-like behind.
"I'll be looking forward to it!" Kye called out after him.
Harry turned to the five girls who were grinning wickedly.
"How on earth do you do it?"
Nindi grinned. "It's called being crazy.
KYE'S POV:
Kye caught Nindi smiling to herself.
"What?"
"Oh - nothing." Nindi said in an annoying know-it-all tone.
Kye, Nindi, Kat, Nome and Robbo were following Professor McGonagall along the corridor.
"Oh, for god's sake! What is it?" Kye cried, when Nindi looked at her again.
Nindi turned to Kat and smiled knowingly. "Somebody has a crush on someone," She said.
Kye was completely lost.
"Who?"
"You do!"
Kye looked perplexed. "No I don't."
Nindi rolled her eyes, and Kat laughed.
Nome and Robbo decided to help.
"Okay, let's see… You go on about him all the time."
Robbo muttered, "Have fun teasing him?" She smirked at Kye.
"Who??" Kye cried frustrated.
The others exchanged glances. "Malfoy."
Kye's heart sank. "Malfoy!? You've got to be kidding!" She shouted, and then realising that Professor McGonagall was not that far ahead of her, quietened down. "Have you lost your head??"
"Kye," Nindi said. "You had a major crush on him - and you still do." Nindi told her.
"I do not!"
"Yes, you do," Nindi continued. "You liked him in the movies."
"Hello! Two words; Tom Felton." Kye said.
"And you liked him in the books," Nome grinned.
"And you kept going on about him every second of the day," Robbo joined in.
Kye frowned. "Not every second of the day."
Her friends raised their brows.
"That was the Harry Potter books I went on about!"
They continued looking at her unconvinced.
"Okay, okay. I liked him in the books - and the movies. But that doesn't mean I like him!" She said, referring to the mean blonde haired snob.
Robbo rolled her eyes. "Dude, we so know you. You like him."
"He's not as hot as Tom!" Kye protested.
They smiled triumphantly, and Kye knew she had slipped. "Alright, I give in. He's okay looking - and a jerk! - But yes, I have fallen."
"Nooo!" Nindi cried. "Kye's gonna betray us all!"
Kye shoved Nindi aside. "There's a difference between liking someone and having crush on someone!" Kye said angrily.
"Unfortunately you've been obsessed throughout the books." Nindi informed her.
Nome laughed. "In other words, the rules don't apply to you."
Kye looked at them all in despair. "Oh, leave me alone!"
They reached Professor McGonagall's office and she led them inside. "Now, here are your purses, and here is wizard money for each of you," She told them, handing them. "I have distributed the money between the five of you equally. I am sure you will spend wisely." She raised her brows.
"Of course we will Miss," Nindi told her sensibly.
Professor McGonagall seemed satisfied.
"Good. Now, since you have never travelled by Floo Powder before, I think it would be wise for you to all listen carefully, and do exactly as I say."
"You grab a small handful of powder. Throw it in the fire, which will then turn green." She demonstrated, the orange flames now burning a lime green. "One of you will then step into the flames, sprinkle a bit of powder and say the name of the place you are going to, which - in this case - is Diagon Alley." The Deputy Headmistress explained.
She looked from one girl to the other, examining them closely to see whether they had paid attention.
"So, which of you will go first?" She asked.
Nome looked at Robbo, who looked at Kat, who turned to Nindi.
Nindi grinned, looking over at Kye, "Kye can go first."
"God, you people are so predictable," Kye muttered angrily and grabbed a pinch of powder from the jar on Professor McGonagall's desk.
"Oh, and I will meet you at the Leaky Cauldron, at exactly four thirty," The Professor informed them.
"Okay," Kye answered.
She looked up the chimney. "Well, here goes nothing… Diagon Alley!" She said loudly, throwing the green powder onto the fire.
WOOSH!
Kye was sucked up through the chimney, and almost instantly, she started spinning. Unfortunately, Kye had forgot the advice from Ron in the second Harry Potter book, and didn't tuck her arms in. "Ow!" Kye cried when her arm hit the edge of one of the chimneys edge, and she quickly held her arms in tight around her. More fireplaces flashed by, and Kye could have sworn she saw a hag leaning over a cauldron putting in what had looked horribly like human ears.
Just as Kye was sure she'd burst, the spinning stopped; she tumbled out onto the hard timber floor.
She was just getting to her feet, when - "Oomph!" - something heavy landed on her.
She struggled to get up, and realised that the thing on top of her none other than Nome, who was shaking with laughter.
"Kye, that was so cool!" She cried gleefully, grabbing Kye by the shirt and shaking her madly.
Kye groaned. "Nome! Get off!"
"Oh, right - sorry," She jumped up, and grabbing Kye by the arm, she jerked her up happily. "Haha! That was awesome!" She cried, and in her excitement, she did a funny little jig.
"Uh-huh… yea, for you it was. I can see why Harry never liked it." She grumbled.
Nome abruptly stopped her dancing, and turned to Kye. "Where are the others?"
"Dunno," Kye shrugged. "Where are we?" Kye asked looking around the store. The shop wasn't very large, but wasn't small either. It was crowded with shelves and display benches, all full with different strange items.
"Ah, hello there! Welcome to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes," A voice said. Leaning against the wall, dressed in a turquoise robe, was a guy with red hair and freckles.
No, it couldn't be…
Nome smiled. "Hi. I'm Nome, and this is Kye. Cool place," She added, eyeing a wall full of shelves crammed with firecrackers, and sparklers of different shapes and colours.
"Thankyou. I'm Fred Weasley," He said bowing gracefully. "And this is my brother George," He said motioning to his brother, who had appeared beside him. He turned around, and smiling broadly, he gave a little flourish, presenting the room to them. "Take a look around. There are loads of our own made pranks; fireworks, crackers, and sparklers - you name it! Not all is for pranking, not all is for playing, and many are for having fun. Other items might interest you as well, as we have plenty of things that come in handy."
It is! Kye thought happily.
"What's your favourite things - what do you suggest?" Nome asked, taking an immediate liking to them.
"Well," Said George. "It depends on the situation." George too was wearing turquoise robes like Fred, though instead of the letter 'F' embroidered onto his robes, the letter 'G' was in its place.
"You're not from around here, are you?" Fred asked Kye.
She smiled. "Nope. We're Aussies."
"Really?" Fred asked interestedly. "So what brings you to our humble homeland then?"
"We transferred," Nome answered.
"Yeah, we're in our Sixth Year. We arrived late, so we have to get our things today before dinner." Kye told them.
"Oh really?" George asked, handing Nome the blue bubble, which she had been looking at.
It turned out to be a high proof water bomb, but instead of bursting, it absorbed over the target, so that they'd be submerged in water for hours. And, if someone tried to pop it, it would divide into two, swallowing the next person as well.
"Yeah, we met your brother Ron today, with Hermione and Harry," Kye said.
"How is the person supposed to breath?" Nome asked, looking at the bubble cautiously.
"Oh it has a charm on it, so the air can pass through the bubble and out; allowing the person inside to breath normally. It's great for annoying people, as they can't exactly do anything until the bubble wears out after a while, and it pops drenching everyone in sight." Fred grinned wickedly.
"And that can be within ten hours, up to two days!" George laughed. "And they'll have a bit of cleaning up to do afterwards."
Kye laughed. "You know what you should do! Invent some type of paper, where you write on it, and it sends a message to the other person."
"Oh! Like instant messaging!" Nome said eagerly.
"Instant what?" Fred Asked.
"Um, never mind," Mumbled Nome.
"And we have something a bit like that anyhow!" George told Kye with a wink.
"Right this way ladies." Fred gestured.
NINDI'S POV:
"Would you look at al these cool books!" Nindi exclaimed.
"I like books and all, but damn! This is way too many," Robbo muttered.
They were in the bookshop, Flourish and Blotts and there were books piled high on shelves all over. Nindi was browsing through books in the Defence Against the Dark Arts section.
"If only we could somehow get money from our parents in our world." Kat complained, looking longingly at a pile of books she had stacked on the floor, which were her favourite books so far. The mound was already extremely high.
"Ha! My parents would hardly by books for me before! Everything had to be distributed between me and my younger brothers and sister." Robbo said bitterly.
"Maybe if we get only the best ones with spells and the like…" Nindi trailed off thoughtfully.
"What?" Robbo asked, flicking through her Grade 6 Spell book.
"Well, we don't know which is the best book for practical, right?" Nindi said.
"And…?" Kat asked.
"We should ask the manager." Nindi finished off lamely.
"I have an idea," Kat offered. "How about other than just our books for our classes, we could buy one extra book each and since Defence against the Dark Arts and Charms are the best ones, we should get them." Kat smiled brightly at her brilliant idea. "And we can buy DADA, and Nome and Kye; Charms."
"Oh, and share!" Nindi said happily.
"Fascinating," Robbo muttered.
"Okay, let's ask!" Nindi said. Putting on her most charming smile and sweetest voice, Nindi walked over to the manager of the store and asked him advice on the best Defence Against the Dark Arts books.
"Ah! Right this way." He told them eagerly, leading them into the ancient part of the shop.
KYE'S POV:
"Nindi! Oi! Over here!" Kye yelled, causing an old lady nearby to give her a disapproving look.
"Hello my lovelies!" Nindi cried. Kye raised a brow.
"What?? It sounds cool." Nindi said defensively. "Anyhow, we got you your books."
"You did?" Nome said gloomily.
"Yup! And you have to pay us back." Kat said, holding out her hand.
"I hope you didn't pay too much for them." Nome grumbled.
"Hey! Those aren't on our list!" Kye exclaimed. "Kye looked at the Advanced Charms for Advanced Students, and the Grade 7 spell book. "Grade 7!" She cried.
"Oh yeah. Well, we need to study hard to catch up, right? So, I thought a bit more study, and we'd rule the school!" Nindi told them.
"Hey, I had nothing to do with this," Robbo said, holding up her hands.
"Besides, more DADA should be good." Kat commented. "And knowing more magic would be cool!" She reasoned.
"I'm not so sure if I agree," Nome said unconvinced.
Kye smiled, seeing what Kat and Nindi were getting at. "Nome, think of all the chaos we could create!"
Nindi looked shocked. "Nice, sweet Kye is turning bad! Who'd have thought?"
"Oh shut up!" Kye laughed.
"Well, what else have you got to get?" Robbo asked.
"We have everything except for our wands. How about you?" Kye asked.
"Same."
Nindi, excited at getting a wand, couldn't control herself, and she started singing. "OH! We're off to see the Wizard, Oll-iv-and-er; maker of Wands…"
Robbo looked sharply at Nindi.
"Sorry."
The five entered the old, dusty store, and looked in awe at all the shelves covered with small thin boxes.
"Wow," Kye whispered, moving over to a shelf plagued by thick cobwebs. "I bet these haven't opened in a while." She said quietly.
"Why on earth are you whispering?" Robbo asked her.
"Coz it's creepy in here." She continued whispering.
"You can say that again," Nome muttered.
Something moved behind them, and Nome and Kye jumped startled. They turned to see an ancient man with pale silver eyes staring at them.
"Hi!" An unnerved Kye squeaked and Kat coughed, stifling her laughter.
"Your not from around here." He stated.
"Um, no." Kye said feebly.
"You five look highly unusual," He commented.
"Uh-huh," Robbo said nervously.
"Well, who would like to go first?" He asked them.
Kye looked sharply at the others, clearly not wanting to go first.
Kat sniffed and moved forward. "I will."
"Right. Now which is your wand hand?" He asked her, peering into her eyes with his moon-like orbs.
"Uh, um - right." She stuttered, faltering under his gaze.
'Okay. Now hold out your arm while I measure…" The tape measure whirled around while Mr Ollivander talked. "So, you are the girls from Australia."
"Uh, yes." Nindi said, watching the tape. The tape dropped, when he said stop, and he glided over to the dusty shelf, where Kye had been looking.
"How, how did you know?" Kat asked.
"Professor Dumbledore informed me," He answered briskly. "Now, I'm afraid this will take a while, as there are five of you." He told them, handing Kat a wand.
"Ten and a half inches, maple, phoenix feather." He handed Kat the wand.
She looked at it hesitantly, and swished it around. A great bolt of energy came forward, and for some reason it veered off to the right, hitting Robbo flat out in the stomach.
"Er, no not that one." He said helping Robbo up from the floor, who glared angrily at Kat.
"Sorry," She replied.
After about ten minutes, Kat had her wand. It was eleven inches, mahogany, and with a phoenix feather.
Next up was Nome, who found hers with the fifth try - Ash, nine and a half inches, with a unicorn tail hair.
Nindi went forwards, and after the fifteenth try, Ollivander found her a match from that back room.
Her wand was made from Rosewood. It was eleven inches, with a rare phoenix feather from an Augurey.
"Very strange indeed." He had said. "I rarely use Augurey feathers for wands, and it is even more strange it chose you."
Robbo went next and it took quite a while, until Mr Ollivander pulled out a wand from the back, once more.
"Try this. There are only two others with this magical core. I wonder, I wonder…" His voice trailed off, and he looked at the girls, lost in thought.
Robbo gave it a swish and blue sparks flew out the wand.
"I knew it would be for you," He whispered, and the others shivered slightly from his eerie manner, while poor Robbo could do nothing else except stare into his glowing eyes.
"It has the tail hair from the rare magical beast, the Re'em. It is quite remarkable you gained this, because it usually choses very powerful wizards." He held the wand lightly in his hands. "Yes, twelve inches; made of Willow."
He seemed to come out of his reverie for he said, "Right and now for you." He inquired to Kye.
Kye grasped her hands together nervously. "I'm right handed," She said softly.
"Hmm…" He took the measurements of her arm, hands and fingers.
"I'm pretty sure… Yes - I'll be right back," He turned abruptly and left a baffled Kye. He returned with a small package, took out a wand, and gave it to Kye.
She gave it a flick… and turned Nindi's hair green.
"Oops."
Nindi immediately ran over to the shop's windows, and looked at her reflection. After scrutinising at her reflection in the mirror, Nindi announced to everyone she thought it looked pretty cool.
"Nindi. You do realise your ears are green too, right?" Robbo asked her.
Nindi's face turned as red as a tomato when she realised that Robbo was right. "Kye!" She screamed.
The old wizard took out his wand and with a quick flick, fixed Nindi's ears and - much to her disappointment - her hair.
"Obviously not this one," He said and once more left the room.
He returned carrying another box. Unlike all the other boxes, this one was silver. He took out a short wand, and handed it to Kye, who gave it a rather large wave. A bright green light exploded from the wand, bathing the room green.
"Aha!" He said happily. "Holly, eight inches, nice movement, and with a Thestral hair." He murmured taking her money.
"A what?" Nome asked.
"A Thestral is a winged horse that you can only see if you've seen someone die," Kat informed her.
"Weird," Nome said.
"Yes, very strange. As are the five of you…" He said mesmerised by the wand. "Well, that is it then! I bid you farewell and have a good day." He bowed and left the girls, heading into the back of the shop.
The girls walked out of the shop, and at once Kye exclaimed, "Was he weird or what?"
"Yeah - he practically told us to get lost!" Nindi agreed.
"He said we were strange…" Kat remembered.
"Yeah! You think he knew about us?" Robbo asked.
"Yup! And I have a feeling he knows a lot more than we do." Kye told Robbo.
"Okay… Let's for get this freaky thing ever happened, and go to the last place." Nindi said.
"Where?" Robbo asked. "We've got all our things."
"No we don't!" Nindi exclaimed.
"Yes we do…" Robbo said confused.
Kye smiled at her. "She means we haven't got any pets yet."
"Oh," Robbo said.
"To the Magical Menagerie!" Nindi yelled.
The magical Menagerie was crowded with cages, which held animals of all types and sizes. The place reeked of stale air and animal smells. Kye looked around in excitement; there were black rats in a cage playing hopscotch, ferrets doing back flips, hamsters were tap-dancing, and in the corner of the shop there were a group of frogs croaking the alphabet.
Kat wandered over to the ferret cage and the others followed.
"I wonder if they bite," She said hesitantly.
"No dear, these animals are all trained," The owner said, who had just come from the storeroom.
"Oh, they are so cute!" Kat said who was completely smitten.
The witch smiled and said, "Are you interested in buying a ferret then?"
"Um, I'm not sure." Kat replied. "I was wondering what type these are - I was hoping for something rather peculiar."
"Well, if you're interested in Ferrets, then I suggest you would want a half-breed. That is, if you don't mind it being crossed with Jarvey." She inquired.
"Jarvey?" Kat frowned.
That's a magical beast that looks a lot like a ferret but can speak, though only rude phrases - if at most." The lady told her.
"Cool!" Kat exclaimed. "Where are they, please? I'd love to see them."
"Follow me," She answered, and led the girls into the back room, where even more animals were. These animals were obviously of half-bred as they had unusual features about them; there was what looked like a dog crossed with a dragon. " How on earth did they manage that!?" Nindi asked.
Robbo moved to the cage, and muttered something along the lines of "Don't mind me..."
The witch opened a cage at the back corner and instantly a golden-brown ferret leapt out. It was slightly bigger than most ferrets, and it cried, "Whur bin?"
The lady chuckled and held him up in front of Kat. "Boreas say hello."
"Hi" it growled. " Hello Boreas, I am Kat. Nice to meet you." Kat beamed.
The half Ferret, and half Jarvey crawled into her arms, and climbed up onto her shoulder.
"Oh he's so cute!" Kat cried.
The witch left Kat to play with Boreas, and saw Robbo staring adoringly at the Dragon-Dog.
"That there is a cross breed between a rather small dragon - an Antipodean Opal Eye - and a Dingo." She told her. Australia has been using extensive grounds to cross breed animals with expert control, and I must say, their program is working. They have successfully bred here what they now call a Drage (pronounced Dray-g). He can breathe fire and fly."
Robbo moaned longingly. "What's his name?"
"Hugo," The lady said. Instantly the dog looked up and barked eagerly. "He is three years old, and was trained as a pup, which he still is - and they can live up to thirty years."
"Oh, but he's probably so expensive." Robbo said in a sad, mournful voice.
"Yes, well, no-one has been interested in buying this one - probably because how he looks." She added. "So, I guess I might be able to come to an arrangement. And I'm getting new animals in soon, so I need to sell these in here pretty soon." She motioned around the room.
"Thanks!" Robbo said gratefully. She turned to grin at Nindi and show her good luck, but found she wasn't there.
"She's over there," Kye pointed.
Nindi was sitting on the ground with a blue snail in her palm. The lady walked over to her, with Kye and Robbo in tow.
"That is Kahj. He is what I call a Tiny Invisible Snail." She chuckled to herself at the name.
"Why do you call it that?" Kye asked.
"Coz of this," Nindi answered, and held up Kahj, who immediately vanished, and then reappeared ten seconds later. "Pretty neat huh?"
"Cool." Kye told her, and then turned to Robbo with an exasperated look on her face.
"Hey where's Nome?" Kat asked suddenly.
Kye's eyes grew wide. "She was right here…" She started, looking around.
"Actually I don't think she ever followed us in." Nindi said unconcerned, watching the snail move from hand to hand.
Kye, Robbo and Kat walked back into the shop. Nome was over at the kittens' cages, content with patting a kitten through the bars.
"Oh she's adorable!" She cried, when she noticed the others.
The witch opened the cage and pulled the small kitten out. It was black all over, except for its right paw, which was white. It had the curious of blue eyes, and when it purred its whiskers sparkles with blue.
"Her name is Maudrid," The witch told Nome with a smile.
"Oh, I am so getting her!" Nome squealed with delight. "Hello Maudrid," She cooed, waving its paw.
"Okay then, if you will all come to the counter, I will fix you up." The witch said.
As soon as she said that, Nindi emerged from the storeroom, and bounded over to the counter happily.
The girls left the shop all happy and pleased with themselves. That was until they realised Kye didn't have a pet.
"Kye!" Nome exclaimed suddenly.
"That's my name," Kye said.
"You don't have a pet!" She told her.
The others stopped.
"You've got to get a pet!" Nindi cried.
"Yeah you never had one at home, so you need one now." Nome told her firmly.
"I couldn't have one - I live in a townhouse." Kye reminded her.
"But… But we must go back! You didn't get one!" Nome protested. "You have to get a pet."
"What makes you think I'm not getting one?" Kye asked.
"Coz you didn't -"
"I am going to a different a shop," Kye said.
"Where?" Robbo asked.
"Yo Eeylop's Owl Emporium, of course." Kye replied.
"Oh… You're getting an owl!" Robbo exclaimed.
"That's good. We can use her owl for posting letters." Kat said.
Nindi looked at Kat. "Who the hell do we know to send letters to?" Nindi cried.
"Oh, right." Kat said. "Well it'd come in handy all the same," She reasoned, as they entered the store. It was full of cages with all different types of owls hooting, and asleep.
Kye looked around; there were so many to choose from.
"How about a snowy owl?" Kat asked her.
"No - it's like Harry's." Kye said. "I want something different - I mean, all your pets are cool."
"Something different then?" A voice asked behind her.
Kye jumped about a foot high. Out of the shadows appeared a tall old man with short greying hair.
"Yeah, if it isn't too much trouble." Kye sat.
"Right this way," He told her. He went over to the far side of the room, and removed a blanket covering the cage.
"This is an unusual owl. His parents were an eagle owl and - a phoenix." He said.
"What's his name?" Kye asked.
"Oh, he hasn't got one yet." He smiled.
"Oh okay then. I'll take him," She said.
"Right. That would be seven galleons then… with the cage." He said.
"Seven galleons!" Kye yelled. "Uh, sorry. I don't have that much left. All I have is three galleons and 18 Sickles." She looked miserable.
Nome looked at Robbo, Nindi and Kat, who all instantly shook their heads.
"Oh come on…" She said. "What kind of friends are you?"
"It is okay. How about five galleons?" The wizard asked.
"Yeah, okay then." Robbo said, and reluctantly chipped in - a little.
Nome, Kat and Nindi handed over some of their money as well, and Kye practically engulfed them all in a huge hug.
"Thankyou!" She cried. "Thankyou, thankyou!"
The aging wizard looked at Kye. "He's all yours," He told her pleasantly.
Kye carried the owl out of the store, holding the cage happily. She let him out of the cage, putting him on her left arm and ruffled the golden-brown and white feathers on his wings.
"I think I'll call him… Falkor."
"Ooh! After the luck dragon in Never-Ending Story!" Nome exclaimed
"Yup!" Kye said.
"Good choice!" Nindi commented. "Now, I believe I see a mad Professor McGonagall over there." Nindi pointed at the archway where the Diagon Alley Entrance was, and an angry looking teacher.
Kye gulped, as they got closer. "Guess we're late huh?" She asked the teacher, who looked ready to blow steam out of her nostrils.
"Yes, Kylie, I believe you are!"
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Oh, and just to let you know - my next one won't be quite as long. It's just many events took place during this chapter - the girls have only just been introduced into the school so they would have had many different things happening on their first day - and so I preferred to write a long chapter, rather than doing two chapters for that one morning.
Well, again I hope you have had fun reading this, and feel free to comment on it. Bad or good, I don't care, as they all will help me improve anyways.
Oh, and enjoy the Prisoner of Azkaban!! It looks good. ;)
Kye