DIAGON ALLEY
Toka woke early the next morning. He usually did, but today he still wasn't quite awake yet, and he knew he had something important to do... But what was it?
He looked around, and got out of his bed, and made his way to his window to look outside to see the sun rise. He noticed something on his desk.
"That's it!" Toka finally began to wake up. "Hogwarts supplies today, yes, what an unusual evening..." He opened the window, and suddenly found himself in a flurry of feathers, as an owl flew into him. Toka recovered, and the owl flew to his shoulder. It dangled a newspaper in it's beak, along with a letter addressed to Hagrid. "Now that's unusual!" He shook himself completely awake, and walked downstairs to wake Hagrid.
He found him sleeping soundly on the couch, and with some difficulty, roused him enough to notice his letter, and the newspaper. Hagrid handed the owl some strange coins, and the owl flew upstairs and out of Toka s window.
"Blimey, what time is it?" Hagrid rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.
"About six fifteen." Toka yawned as he came back downstairs from his room. He was already dressed and ready to leave.
"Hrm..." Hagrid cleared his throat as he opened the papers. "Ah, now there's some good news, More o' Voldemort's old friends caught. Heh, it'll be Azkaban for them."
"Voldemort? Azkaban?" Toka asked, curious.
"Yeh, the Ministry of Magic's been tryin' ter round up the last of them rogues. Dark wizards they are Toka. And Azkaban prison is the most secure prison in the wizardin' world..." Hagrid shivered. "But times have changed, an' they don' use Dementors there anymore, so it's probably less nasty there. Dementors are monstrous creatures, to be feared fer sure."
Toka couldn't picture Hagrid doing anything bad enough to be placed in a prison, but from the look on his face, it seemed he had his share of experiences with the foul sounding place, so Toka changed the subject. "So when do we leave?"
"Yeh, well, we may as well set off now, an if yeh want, we can stop by yer friend David's to see if he would care to join us." Hagrid stood up and stretched.
David s sister Becky answered the door. She was wearing a long robe over her usual clothes, and was holding a small wand in her free hand, which she quickly hid behind her back.
"Oh, David, Toka's here, but hurry, we don't have much time..." She called over her shoulder.
David ran to the door. "Oh... Hey Toka, um... I'm kinda busy today, so..."
"Yeah, me too." Toka interrupted, "But I thought we might be going to the same place. We're on our way to pick up my school supplies."
"What?" David looked confused.
"You're going to Hogwarts too, right?"
"WHAT! You mean... You're a wizard too?"
Soon Toka found himself on the streets of London with Hagrid and David, heading for wherever their supplies could be found. He pulled the last sheet he had received from the envelope to see what he needed.
HOGWARTS SCHOOL
of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
UNIFORM
First-year students will require:
1. Three sets of plain work robes
2. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
3. One winter cloak
Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags
COURSE 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 (Updated) by Bathilda Bagshot
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 EQUIPMENT
1 wand
1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)
1 set of glass or crystal phials
1 telescope
1 set 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
"Um... I think we might have better luck finding these things in Los Angeles than in London." Toka thought aloud.
"Heh, yer jes' like Harry. Yeh jes' got ter know where to look." Hagrid smiled.
David stood silent and staring at Hagrid as he had done since meeting him, but now he finally spoke. "Harry?"
"T'was before yer time." Hagrid smiled. He stopped in front of a tiny, grubby-looking pub. "This is it, the Leaky Cauldron. It's a famous place." If he hadn't stopped there, Toka wouldn't have noticed it was there. The people hurrying by didn't glance at it. Their eyes slid from the big book shop on one side to the record shop on the other as id they couldn't see the Leaky Cauldron at all. David's parents walked in ahead of them.
For a famous place, it was very dark and shabby. A few old women were sitting in a corner, drinking tiny glasses of sherry. One of them was smoking a long pipe. The low buzz of chatter stopped when they walked in. Everyone seemed to know Hagrid; they waved and smiled at him, and the bartender reached for a glass, saying, "The usual, Hagrid?"
"Can't now, Tom, but we'll stop by after we've finished shopping for some school supplies." Hagrid smiled.
An old man sat near the old bartender. He turned when they walked in.
"Mad-Eye Moody! Well what brings you here?" Hagrid smiled in surprise. Toka looked and nearly jumped. The man's magic eye way careening about wildly across the room, giving the impression that perfectly matched his name.
"Ah, Hagrid, hello! Who are these two?" Moody turned his normal eye to Toka, and surveyed him carefully.
"Jus' some new Hogwarts students, Headmaster asked that I help Toka here with his school supplies." Hagrid indicated to Toka. "I needed to stop by 'ere anyhow, so I says what the heck."
"Well, good then. "Moody shifted his full attention (If you could call it full with his mad eye roving around the rest of the room) to Toka. "I taught very briefly at Hogwarts myself. Great school. Yeh'll do great." For a moment, his mad eye stopped on Toka, but then continued careening about the room.
Hagrid lead the way across the room to a brick wall. Toka was absorbed in watching the rest of the room chatter on, but noticed Hagrid counting bricks in the wall.
"Three up... two across..." he muttered. "Right, stand back now." He tapped the wall three times with the point of his umbrella, which he had been carrying under his coat since Toka first met him.
The brick he had touched quivered - it wriggled - in the middle, a small hole appeared - it grew wider and wider - a second later they were facing an archway large enough for even Hagrid, an archway onto a cobbled street that twisted and turned out of sight.
"Welcome," said Hagrid "to Diagon Alley."
Toka stepped forward, and didn't even bother to notice the archway behind him shrink back into solid wall.
The sun shone brightly on a stack of cauldrons outside the nearest shop. Cauldrons - All Sizes - Copper, Brass, Pewter, Silver - Self Stirring - Collapsible, said a sign hanging over them.
"Yeh got yer money Toka?" Hagrid asked. "We'll be needin' ter trade it first, ter buy yer school supplies."
"Yeah..." Toka had no idea how much money he would need, so he had brought as much money as he could.
"I suppose I ought ter tell yeh now Toka, how wizardin' money works, 'cause I m sure yer as lost with it as I am with Muggle money..." Hagrid started, but he was cut off by Toka's puzzled look. "Muggles? Ah, I forgot, tha's not the proper word anymore, I mean non-magic folk."
"You mean ordinary people?" Toka asked.
"Yeah, tha's righ'. Anyhow..." Hagrid pulled three coins out of one of his coat pockets. "The gold ones are Galleons, the silver ones are Sickles, and the Bronze ones are Knuts. Seventeen Sickles to a Galleon and twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle. It's easy enough."
They began walking alongside David and his parents, on the way to a shop called 'Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions', when someone caught Toka's eye.
"Nicole?" A girl fairly distant from them looked up and noticed Toka, and began to make her way through the crowd towards him. David turned to look. A few summers back, Toka had met Nicole when she had been visiting David's with her family.
"Hey, mom, dad, look, It's Nicole!" David waved to her as she came closer. "Wow Toka, I'm amazed you recognized her in this crowd.
"Hey David... uh, Toka?" Nicole's smile turned to a questioning look "David, I thought you said Toka wasn't a wizard? I had wanted to show you a new summon last time."
"Just found out he was one. Crazy eh?" David laughed. "I forgot, we're all so close in age, we'll all going to be attending Hogwarts together huh?"
"Yeah, this is so cool, it'll be great!" Nicole exclaimed.
Time flew quickly as they hunted down their supplies, and loaded them onto their carts. Toka got a nice set of brass scales on sale, and a collapsible brass telescope. Cauldrons too were on sale, and Toka was able to afford a very nice set of crystal phials, and all of his books.
"Just yer wands left, that'll be Ollivander's - only place fer wands, Ollivanders, and yeh gotta have the best wand." Hagrid pointed to an aged shop not too far away.
"I've got to go pick up a few things, but I'll meet yeh at the Leaky Cauldron when yer done gettin' yer wands. I'm gonna need ter stock up on a few things before the school year starts." Hagrid explained before rushing off toward another shop which had a crossbow bolt depicted on the sign.
"It's all right Toka, let's hurry." David called from the doorway.
Toka took a good look at the shop before entering. Peeling gold letters over the door read Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. A single wand lay on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window.
Nicole walked in behind them. "I'll stick with you guys a while."
A tinkling bell rang somewhere in the depths of the shop as they stepped inside. It was a tiny place, empty except for a single, spindly chair. Toka felt as though he had entered a very strict library; he looked around him at the thousands of narrow boxes piled neatly right up to the ceiling. The very dust and silence in here seemed to tingle with some secret magic.
"Good afternoon," said a soft voice. Toka saw David and Nicole jump in surprise, but was not startled himself.
He had always been hard to startle.
An old man was standing before them, his wide, pale eyes shining like moons through the gloom of the shop.
"Hello," Toka, David, and Nicole said in awkward unison.
"Hmm..." said the man. "Yes, yes. I didn't expect I'd be seeing you today, Nicole." It wasn't a question. "Maple and phoenix feather. Fifteen inches. Quite strong, and also very good with summons, much like your mother. It seems only yesterday she was in here herself buying her first wand. Fifteen inches long, swishy, made of holly. Phoenix feather. Very good for summoning."
"Your father was actually a decent summoner himself, but he favored a Yew wand. Twelve inches. Unicorn hair. Also fair with summoning, but good for charms too. Well, it's really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course."
He then diverted his attention to his immediate customers.
"David. You're first." Ollivander indicated to the chair. "Which is your wand arm?"
"Um, Mr. Ollivander, sir, I can use both." David said quietly.
"Ah, ambidextrious, eh... Well, let's measure you up." Ollivander wasted no time in measuring up David, and continued talking while doing so. "Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers, and the heartstrings of dragons. No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons, or phoenixes are quite the same. And of course, you will never get such good results with another wizard's wand." Toka watched as the tape measure, which Mr. Ollivander had long abandoned, was still taking David's measurements, and was currently measuring the distance between his eyes. 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, try this one." David tried each, and all were an utter failure with him. They didn't even seem to react to his touch, but Mr. Ollivander was persistent, and after each failure, dashed up with a new wand to try, but still no sign of anything working. By the time David had gone over nearly all of Ollivander's inventory, and still, not a single wand reacted to him. Wands were cluttered all over the small table, and just when David began to doubt himself, Ollivander stopped with a look of realization on his face.
"Aha... That's what you are. I remember every wand I've ever sold. Every single wand. It so happens that I have never met a wizard who could not use a wand, however, My father once told me of a time, long ago, before even my great grandfather's time, a young wizard came into his shop, who was incapable of being paired with a wand. He was, however, quite capable of magic even without a wand. He purchased a false wand to keep his peculiar skill secret, and I believe became a great wizard dueler. David took a few seconds to absorb this, then realized what Mr. Ollivander was saying.
"Are you saying I don't need a wand?" David asked cautiously.
"I'd recommend your purchasing a false one, just in case. A wizard without a wand is likely to be distrusted." Ollivander warned. He held out a lightweight, fragile looking wand to David. Mr. Ollivander turned to Toka "I'm afraid I don't know your name young man."
"Toka Lombard sir." Toka stepped forward slowly.
"Toka, hmm... Ah, yes... I received a letter from Hogwarts about you. I think I know just the wand to try first for you!" Mr. Ollivander sprung to the shelves, and snatched up a wand, gave it a flick, and all of the wands that he had taken out to try David flew back into their boxes, and onto the shelves again. He flitted across the newly stacked shelves for a short while before finding what he was looking for.
"Try this one." He held out the wand to Toka.
However, the moment Toka touched the wand, it began to sputter and flash dangerously in many colors, as if it were threatening to burst into flames. David and Nicole covered their eyes, and Ollivander snatched it from his hand immediately.
"Impossible, I've never seen a wand damaged simply by someone touching it." He held up the wand, which was now black where Toka had held it. He began muttering to himself.
Toka was surprised. For the first time in his life, he became aware of a power within him, and felt it could, now awakened, be put to use. Mr. Ollivander suddenly went stiff, and he turned sharply to face Toka once again.
"That power..." Mr. Ollivander turned around, staring at Toka with a look of extreme surprise on his face.
Toka looked around himself, and noticed David and Nicole were on their feet, and staring at him intensely.
"What was that Toka?" David asked silently.
Toka reached again for the power that had been awakened in him, this time, drawing it out, and trying to focus it. David, Nicole, and Mr. Ollivander's eyes all went wide as they sensed the power that Toka was calling from himself. It wasn't very much power, If he had tried this outside in the alley, it wouldn't even have been noticeable.
"So THAT's it." Mr. Ollivander exclaimed appDavidching Toka cautiously. "You don't need a wand, you need... something else..." He came very close to Toka's face, and gazed piercingly into Toka's eyes, as if affirming some idea running through his mind. Toka stopped focusing, and the tension left the room. Mr. Ollivander scuttled to the back of the room, and opened a small shelf that Toka had not noticed. Mr. Ollivander pulled a long staff from within the closet, and handed it carefully to Toka.
"Try to focus through the staff." Ollivander instructed. Toka did, and it became quite apparent when the staff began to glow a light blue. Mr. Ollivander nodded in approval. "Amazing."
"You don't necessarily need the staff, but it helps you to focus your power. I think we can expect great things from you."
Toka was not charged for the staff, which Mr. Ollivander had said was just like any common stick, and David paid a Sickle for his wand. They met Hagrid at the Leaky Cauldron for a break. The Leaky Cauldron was empty except for the Bartender, who occupied himself shining glasses.
David and Toka were absorbed in watching Nicole summon small fairies, which flitted about the room for a short while, before vanishing in a flash.
"Once I tried summoning a pixy," Nicole shivered. "It took both my parents to contain it and dismiss it, even then, it had caused all sorts of damage to the house." A bright blue fairy flitted around Toka and remained for a considerably long time before finally flying off and vanishing.
Toka found himself wondering the location of Hogwarts. A wizard school would be a hard thing to miss... "Hagrid, how will we be traveling to Hogwarts?"
"The Hogwarts Express o'course. Didn' yeh see yer ticket in yer envelope?" Hagrid asked.
Toka reached into his pocket and pulled out the envelope, and sure enough, a small train ticket was tucked into the corner of the envelope. He had missed it when he had first opened the letter.
David's parents took Toka and David home after they finished and had said "Goodbye (for now)!" to Nicole. Toka walked the short distance from David's house to his own, and that night lay in bed, thinking and impatiently awaiting the day for him to go to Hogwarts.
For the remainder of the vacation, Toka and David studied for the upcoming school year, their first at Hogwarts!
"Sad that first years can't bring their own brooms." David complained, holding a slightly battered broom labeled "Nimbus Two-thousand".
"I saw that on our papers... Why would they bring them in the first case?" Toka asked.
"Quidditch of course!" David replied, surprised. "Oh, but wait, you wouldn't know about quidditch, would you? I guess I'll have to explain it for you..."
"Quidditch is easy enough to understand, even if it's not too easy to play. There are seven players on each side. Three of them are called Chasers." David motioned with his hands, "The Chasers throw a ball called a Quaffle to each other and try and get it through one of the hoops to score a goal. Ten points every time the quaffle goes through one of the hoops. The Quaffle's about the size of a soccer ball, and it's red. Got it?" David continued, "There's another player on each side called the Keeper, they fly around the hoops and try to keep the other team from scoring. There are also two Beaters per team... They try to knock two smaller balls called Bludgers toward the other team. The Bludgers rocket around, trying to knock players off their brooms. The last member of each team is a Seeker. They try to catch a small ball called the Snitch. It's fast, and near impossible to see. The Seeker who catches the Snitch scores their team one hundred and fifty points, and ends the game. I think that's it."
David suddenly looked like he remembered something, "Oh, and players can choose their own uniforms, so long as they match team colors, and they can also choose how much protective gear they wear, since it has become a requirement for a medic to be at every game. They used to have official uniforms, but they've gotten more lenient. Also, it is possible for first years to make the Quidditch Team, but they seldom do, since the upper classes have more experience."
"That's a lot, but I think I can remember it all." Toka nodded, taking it all in.
"You want to try out my broom?" David offered.
He showed Toka how to lift off, and use the broom for flight. Toka imitated using his staff, since he didn't feel quite ready for the challenge yet...
Suddenly, as he imitated David's liftoff, the staff jumped into the air, carrying Toka with it.
"Toka! You can get around the rules! Your staff is just as good!" David shouted, smiling with surprise.
He touched down again, and waited for David to join him.
"Wow, I'll bet you can go faster on that than a Firestorm One!" He exclaimed. "That's the most recent model. Faster than a Firebolt 3000, and much more maneuverable." The rest of that day was spent between the two practicing Quidditch.