HSWW And Us Chapter 2, a harry potter fanfic

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (And Us)
Chapter Two

When Minako had first done magic, it was her tenth birthday. She had blown out the candles on her cake without opening her mouth. Her mother had congratulated her on a nicely preformed Nox, and then proceeded to explain to everyone that she was a witch. Having been a Ravenclaw, it was easy for her to explain magic, Hogwarts, and the wizarding world in a way they could understand. That was almost two years ago. Now, with only a week left until school, it was finally time to head to London.

Minako was quiet as her mother helped her do her shopping. She was taking everything in. The three hours she had spent in Flourish and Blotts seemed to take only minutes. When there was something she didn't understand, she would politely ask a sales clerk. She had asked a man named Mr. Ollivander why she needed a wand when she could perform magic without it. He had seemed quite impressed, and told her it would help focus her abilities. So her mother paid for the long oak wand that had 'chosen' her as she wondered about the increase of her capacities.

There had always been an owl in the woods surrounding Minako's house, and now she knew why. Because her mother often used Almond, the large eagle owl, for her own wizarding communication. She offered to buy Minako her own and she chose a small owl, half the size of a cat, and named him Toffee. "Almond Toffee?", her mother smirked at the pun. "He's light brown like toffee, mother. And besides, he's so sweet!"

They were making a holiday of the few days before school, and laughed happily back to their inn. After they had supper and were settled into their room, Minako's mother allowed her to explore. She would have to return before dark, but Minako already knew there were a few school aged children staying at the inn. She set off for the ground floor, knowing she could find someone in the lobby or it's small café. Her eyes were instantly drawn to an older girl with bright red hair. She was sitting alone at a table drinking some hot beverage, with what looked like… "Excuse me, but is that… a live monkey?" A tiny creature, with large eyes and a long tail, the monkey could have easily fit into the palm of Minako's hand.

"Yup. This is Fhqhwhgads." The girl answered. "And my name's Merili! Hi!" She stuck out her hand for a handshake. Minako took it. "Fookhoowoogods?", she ventured. Merili giggled happily. "That's the closest anyone's gotten!" she replied, "But I usually call him Yoyo for short."

"Why Yoyo?" Minako asked, taking the empty seat opposite Merili and holding out her finger to shake hands with Fhqhwhgads. "Because it's easier to say." Merili answered matter-of-factly. Minako opened her mouth to rephrase the question, but decided not to. It was a good enough answer. Merili, apparently bored with the silence, struck up a new conversation.

The two of them talked until the sky outside the window turned a dark blue-gray. They had talked about pets, shopping, Diagon Alley, and Hogwarts. Merili was a fourth year in Gryffindor house. She had explained all about the houses, and Minako found her mother's old house intriguing. When she expressed the interest to Merili, though, the older girl looked saddened. "It's nothing!" she'd said, "I just hoped you'd want to be in Gryffindor with me! Ravenclaw's great, but they can be cold sometimes. And I thought we'd be friends!" Merili smiled kindly. Minako had the sudden impression that Merili made friends with anyone she met, and that the word 'enemy' was not in her vocabulary. A fourteen year old wanting to be friends with a little kid like her? Minako smiled. "We are friends. From now on."

They said their goodnights and promised to meet the next day before Merili had to return home. Merili scooped up Yoyo and vanished in the stairwell while Minako drank the remains of the hot cocoa she'd ordered some time ago. She returned to her room, kissed her mother goodnight (and Toffee too), and went to bed. If getting ready to go to this magic school was this much fun, she could hardly imagine what the classes would be like!

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