Marian coughed as she came to a stop. It was the second time she'd traveled through their flue network, and she still needed to get used to it.

            "You might wanna move, Ms," a man said, taking her hand and pulling her out of the fireplace. A second later a large shape landed where she had been standing.

            "Good ta see ya, Golling," Hagrid said, slapping the man on the shoulder.

            The man smiled and rubbed his shoulder. "Likewise, Hagrid. Don't usually see you here this early in the year."

            "Here on Hogwarts business, Golling," Hagrid answered. "I'll talk ta ya later."

            Marian watched Hagrid warily. She still hadn't gotten over the shock of seeing someone that tall. While she and Dumbledore were talking about how they would help her begin her studies, he'd walked in. It wasn't every day that you saw someone who was easily nine feet tall. He was nice though, and had jumped at the chance to take her "shopping", as Dumbledore put it, for everything she would need.

            "This 'ere's Diagon Alley, Ms. Elvbow, best place to shop for supplies and what not. First stops gonna be Gringotts," he said, directing her towards a large building that seemed to me in the middle of the alley. "You'll need to get money for everything."

            "Marian," she corrected distractedly. She'd never seen so many strange things in her life. There were shops upon shops, windows packed full of things she'd never heard of, or even imagined possible. What amazed her the most was the ease with which these people moved around. All this was normal to them, and she was the odd man out. Absently she wondered what the exchange rate was from pounds to whatever kind of money they used. Thankfully, she bought everything she'd had with her, including some jewelry she didn't mind parting with if it came to that.

            "Ere' we are," Hagrid said, holding open the door.

            The first thing that entered her mind when she walked in was dust. There seemed to be a fine layer of it everywhere, even on the things, goblins, she corrected herself, themselves. They all seemed to be ignoring her and Hagrid too, almost running into them in their haste to get where they were going.

            "Can I help you?"

            She'd been so busy watching everything around them that she hadn't noticed that they'd stopped in front of one of the desks. The goblin was staring expectantly at them. The voice was deeper than she would have expected, coming out of something so small.

            " I need to exchange currency," she said quickly, and for a moment she remembered the first time she'd done this in London.

            The goblin looked her up and down. "And which currency will you be exchanging?"

            "I have pounds, and some other items that I'm sure will be worth something."

            He nodded. "Follow me, please."

            As she and Hagrid followed the small form she wondered if she would get enough to pay for everything herself. Dumbledore had been kind enough to allow her the use of Hogwarts credit line if she needed it, but she'd rather not. No sense in becoming that dependent early on.

            The goblin lead them to a small room, and he sat behind a desk that contained, among other things, a set of scales that looked like it had come out of the dark ages. "The pounds first, if you will."

            She opened the large bag she was carrying and withdrew several stacks of money. Twenty-three thousand pounds, the whole of her savings for the past ten years.

            To her credit, the goblin looked impressed at the amount, and began the painstaking process of counting every single note. Even though he was fast, and after what Dumbledore had told her, accurate, it still made her want to fidget.

            "You said you had other items you would like to exchange."

            Marian took out a small box, and handed it to the goblin. It contained one hundred diamonds, of various different shapes and qualities, but nothing large enough to be considered substantial; in fact, she could have held them all in the palm of her hand with room to spare. She'd bought them in India years ago, after she'd gone wandering to recover from loosing her spot on the Olympic team. The bag had cost her about a hundred US, so she had no idea what they were worth now.

            She and Hagrid watched as the goblin inspected each and every one of the jewels before weighing them individually on the scales.

            Several more items followed the box. An antique broach that had been a gift from someone she couldn't remember, an unset ruby that she'd kept in a safe deposit box for emergencies, and several smaller jewels that probably wouldn't be worth the time to get them out of her bank.

            "Is this all?" the goblin asked as she handed over the last small package.

            For a moment Marian let her hand travel to the pendant she wore around her neck. She'd taken it to several jewelers over the years, and none had been able to tell her what kind of stone it was. They'd all tried to buy it from her though. She let her hand drop. She wasn't going to turn it over to anyone. "That's it."

            Hagrid leaned over. "That's quite a lot of things you're partin' with, Marian. Dumbledore said you could-"

            "I'd rather start out on my own, Hagrid," she said, cutting him off.

            He looked like he was about to say something, but he just turned back around. They watched as the goblin began adding up the notations he'd been making in a large ledger.

            "The total amount exchanged comes out to seven thousand sixty six galleons, forty nine sickles, and twelve knuts."

            "Is that good?" she whispered to Hagrid as the goblin started making more notations.

            Hagrid nodded. "Real good."

            "Now, would you like to open an account at Gringotts?"

            "Sure."

            After what seemed like an eternity of filling out forms and signing things in what looked suspiciously like blood, she and Hagrid finally emerged from Gringotts. She had two hundred Galleons in her bag and no idea on where to go.

            "Dumbledore gave me a list," she said almost to herself, digging through her bag. She found the piece of parchment and began rattling the list off to Hagrid:

~ Three Sets of Plain Work Robes

~ One Plain Pointed Hat For Day Wear

~ One Pair Dragon-Hide Gloves

~ One Wand

~ One Standard Size 2 Pewter Cauldron

~ The Standard Book of Spells Grade 1 by Miranda Goshawk
~ A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch
~ A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshott
~ Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling
~ One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore
~ Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger
~ Fantastic Beasts and Where toFind Them by Newt Scamander
~ The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble

            "Please tell me you know where to get all this, because I don't have a clue."

            Hagrid smiled. "You'll probably want ta get all the big things outta the way, so it looks like we should head to the cauldron shop."

            Apparently the shop was at the other end of Diagon Alley, because they started making their way there. She watched as people greeted Hagrid as if it were normal to see someone his size walking around.

            Another two hours passed while they gathered everything on the list, and some things that weren't. Apparently Hagrid knew things she'd need that weren't on the list, and they raided the stationary shop for everything from ink to quills. At the moment they were stored in a leather carrying case that must have been charmed to keep to amount of space it took up small, because it looked empty from where she was standing, and she'd witnessed the short man behind the counter putting everything they'd bought there into different pockets. She'd wandered into a clothing shop and stared at some of the more ornate robes and dresses there before buying the standard plain work robes. She would have left it at that, but Hagrid refused to let her get away without buying some robes for herself, and practically hauled her back into Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. In the end she relented and bought several earth toned robes, shirts, and skirts, and a few in green since the color seemed to agree with her. No sense in having students running into walls while she was wandering Hogwarts.

            "Satisfied, Hagrid?" she asked as they walked out of the store.

            The giant smiled. "Knew you'd see reason in the end."

            Marian snorted. "Like I would have been able to get out with you standing like a roadblock in front of the door." She looked down. While she carried three large bags, which were a little heavy, Hagrid was lugging everything else, including what had to be about twenty pounds of books. He carried them as easily as if they were pillows, though. Guess most of that underneath that coat has to be muscle.

            Across from them was another shop that was different from the rest. It was all silver and pastels, and a sign over the front door read Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. "Let my buy you a sundae, Hagrid."

            The big man blushed. "No, you don't have ta,"

            "I want to. Please," she added.

            It didn't take long before they were up to their elbows in ice cream. She'd ordered a large triple cheesecake raspberry sundae without realizing how large it would be, and almost laughed herself sick as a teenager tried to carry out a bowl so large and full that hid his torso and face from view. The first layer of whip cream had to be a foot thick. Thankfully, Hagrid had only ordered a soda, and was helping her demolish the large amount of ice cream and cake.

            "If ya don't mind my askin'," he said when the bowl was half gone. "What'd ya have all that money saved up fer?"

            Marian slowed down her chewing to give herself time to think. What had she been saving that money for? "I grew up really poor, Hagrid. I guess that always made me afraid of being poor again, so I saved everything I could. I actually stopped checking my savings account some time ago, so I didn't even know I'd had that much saved."

            "Ya weren't plannin' on usin' it fer something?"

            She shook her head and took another bite of sundae. "No. I just felt good knowing that if I needed money, I'd have it. I'm a penny pincher at the best of times, and it's been just me and Missy for years. I don't have a car, pay mortgage, or anything else. I wasn't a citizen, so I didn't pay taxes outside of what was on items I bought. I was just…" hiding… "Being careful."

            The big man nodded, seeming satisfied with her answer.

            They ate in silence for a few minutes before he asked another question. "What else were ya gonna give Sparkers."

            "Excuse me?"

            "The goblin, his name was Sparkers. Ye were gonna give him something, but ye changed yer mind. What was it?"

            Marian put down her spoon, reached into her shirt, and took out the pendant. It was the only thing her parents had left her apparently, with the instruction that it be given to her on her tenth birthday. Most of the time she was surprised that she'd gotten back at all. It was a large, emerald cut stone, about two inches long and an inch wide, that was a brilliant purple with a sliver of vibrant crimson in the center. It had been set in silver, and she'd hung it on a thin silver chain with the first money she'd earned. The stone glinted in the sunlight for a moment before she put it in Hagrid's large hands.

            He examined it for a moment, then stiffened. "What is it?" Marian asked.

            Hagrid looked from the stone, then to her. "It's a dragon's tear, Ms Elvbow.."

            "Marian," she corrected for the third time that day, then stopped. " Dragon's tear? As in a flying, fire breathing lizard dragon?"

            He nodded. "They're pretty rare, 'specially now a days. Dragon's blood pendants ye can find down Knockturn Alley, but tears? And it's so perfect too. It must've been dropped into a mold."

            She was confused. "Why do you say that?"

            "Once the tear dries, it can't be altered. Nothin' but the strongest spells can even chip 'em. I've never seen one this perfect though." He handed the necklace back. "Ye probably could've bought the whole a Gringotts with that."

            "Better keep it out of sight, then," she said, forcing cheer into her voice as she tucked it back into her sweater. "So, why are you at Hogwarts?"

            Hagrid looked so embarrassed by the question that she felt guilty. "Nevermind, I didn't mean-"

            "It's all right," Hagrid interrupted. "I'm keeper of keys and grounds, and fer the past two years er so I've been teachin' the Care of Magical Creatures course," he blushed. "I always wanted ta teach, and Dumbledore finally let me give it a shot."

            Marian nodded, and took out the crumbled list and looked it over one more time. " I still need a wand."

            Hagrid had the last spoonful of ice cream halfway to his mouth when he smiled. "That's at Ollivander's. I was savin' him fer last."

            The two of them gathered up their bags and walked until Hagrid turned her towards a small shop tucked into a corner beside the building where they entered the alley.

            "Maker of Fine wands since 382 BC?" Marian whistled. "That guy must be older than dirt."

            Hagrid laughed. "He's been runnin' this shop fer as long as I can remember. Fer as long as my Dad could remember too."

            The way in which he said it meant that Hagrid was a lot older than she thought.

            The inside of Ollivnder's was cool, with a single large counter opposite the door and a small chair and table against a wall. Every other space seemed to be filled with little boxes, stacked up to the ceiling.

            "I don't believe I've seen you before."

            Marian followed the source of the voice until she saw a man high on a ladder, his arms full of boxes that he was carefully stacking. He wasn't looking at her, but since there was no one else in the shop she assumed he was talking to her. "Hello."

            The man turned to look at them. "Hello Hagrid."

            "Ollivander. this 'ere's Marian. She's in need of a wand."

            The man's odd shaped eyes settled on her, and he placed the last box in the stack before starting down the ladder. "Marian. I don't believe we've met," he extended his gnarled hand. " Ollivander, Marian," he turned her hand over after giving it a firm shake, and began tracing the calluses there. "Used to working with your hands, eh?"

            Marian glanced at Hagrid, but he didn't seem fazed by the other man's actions. "Yeah. I'm supposed to get a wand."

            Ollivander nodded, and headed back behind the counter for a moment before emerging with a slim box. He opened it, and she saw a slim wand sitting on a tuft of cotton. "There you go. Give it a whirl."

            She was too busy looking at the wand to notice Hagrid and Ollivander moving backwards, giving her a wide berth. Gingerly, she picked up the wand and tapped it on the counter.

            She leaped back when she saw the large burn mark on the once smooth top of the counter.

            "No, not the right one," Ollivander muttered, taking the wand out of her limp grasp and returning it to the box. "Maybe something in ash."

            He presented her with another wand, this one slightly gray. Reluctantly, she picked it up and flicked it.

            Marian had never been so embarrassed in her life. She and Hagrid had been in Ollivander's for ten minutes, and she'd never seen such a mess. Boxes were strewn everywhere, papers were flying, and the small chair in the corner had been reduced to kindling. Ollivander, for his part, didn't seem fazed much. He just kept giving her different wands to try. Thankfully, the amount of destruction she could cause was swiftly decreasing, so hopefully that meant that she was getting close.

            "Maybe I just don't need a wand," she said.

            Ollivander looked offended. "Nonsense. Every wizard or witch needs a wand. Some just take a little more fine tuning than others before they can find the right one," with that the shop owner disappeared into the back of the shop.

            "This was a bad idea, Hagrid, look at the mess I'm making. It will take him days to put everything right."

            Hagrid just smiled. " "e's used te it, so don't let all this get ya down."

            "Ah! I think I've found it," Ollivander reappeared with another box. "I've had this one for some time. I always wondered who it would claim."

            He opened the box, and took out the wand. "Solid ebony, 10 ¾ inches long, with a core of ridgeback heartstring."

            Marian took the wand and gasped. A rush of heat went through her, starting from her stomach and moving up to her head and down to her toes. It felt like the first swallow of brandy when it hit the stomach.

            "Ah, very good."

            Marian blinked lazily. "What?"

            Ollivander smiled. "That, dear lady, is your new wand."

            She looked down at the long slender wand. "How do you know."

            "Mostly because everything's still in one piece," Hagrid laughed.

            Ollivander took the wand and put it back in it's box. "That will be eight galleons please."

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

            "Thanks for taking me shopping Hagrid."

            Marian watched as he dumped the cauldron and bags on her bed. "No trouble at all. Well, I'll be goin then," before he made it to the door he stopped. "Hey there Missy! How've you been?" Marian watched as Hagrid picked up the heavy snake and held her up to his face. " How's this room treatin ya?"

            She watched, fascinated. Missy usually tolerated people, but didn't let other people handle her. At the moment she was totally relaxed and began wrapping herself around the large man.

            After a few minutes he set the python on the bed. "She's a good snake."

            Marian snorted. "Yeah, until you live with her, then she lets all her little demons out."

            After Hagrid ducked out her door she started sorting through everything. Apparently Binky had been busy, because a large bookshelf and a desk were now in one corner. Most of the lower shelves were already taken up by her books, but there was a shelf right at shoulder level that was still empty. Marian glanced at the clock sitting on the mantel. It was almost four o'clock, which meant that dinner would be in a few hours. Most of those were spent arranging everything, hanging up robes, finding a place to put her cauldron, and doing other little things. She put the key to her vault at Gringotts in the small box Dumbledore had given her for it. It still made her laugh when the lid popped open at her password (tit-mouse). Finally, she just sat in the middle of her bed, holding her wand. It wasn't heavy, but it wasn't exactly light either. Carefully, she passed it in front of her and gave it a good flick.

            She jumped when the candles on her desk flew across the room and hit the far wall. She dropped her wand and looked at it guiltily.

            Okay, note to self, do NOT play with wand until you know what you're doing.

            Missy examined the wand with her tongue, and looked expectantly at her mistress. "What? You want one too?"

            Marian got up from the bed and headed for the bathroom, planning on taking a nice, long, hot bath before facing the masses.

            "You have nothing to worry about," Dumbledore had told her before setting her loose with Hagrid. "You will be introduced to the students, that is all. I believe you are a little too old for the sorting hat."

            With the assistance of Binky, her bathroom and bedroom had been stripped of everything blue while she and Hagrid were out. The spigots in the bathroom were still stonework, but they were now tannish, more a light soapstone than anything, and that suited her just fine. She turned on the closest faucets and set the temperature, and watched as the others rumbled to life. In no time the bathtub was filled, and she sank into the hot water. Hopefully, she wouldn't be red when she got out.

            "Okay, I've tried you," she said, pointing to a long necked faucet. "How about you?" she swam over to a squat one and turned the handle. Yellow and orange bubbles came pouring out, and the scent of honeysuckle permeated the room.

            Marian floated listlessly in the water, wondering how she was going to fit into this new world. It didn't seem all that bad. In fact, in the short time she'd been there she'd felt more at home than she had in a long time.

            As she floated something bumped against her, and she screeched. She stood up and began looking around the tub. Swimming quickly away from her was the brown form of Missy.

            "You don't take baths with me, idiot," she said as she swam to the other end of the tub. One there she began the process of heaving the python out, a task that was made the more difficult by the fact that Missy really wanted to stay in.

            "Fine! Fine!" she yelled as Missy once again allowed the front of her body to fall into the tub after Marian had succeeded in getting the back part out. "You wanna swim, fine! If you go blind because of the soap, don't blame me!" That said, she picked up a handful of soap and began washing her hair.

             Stupid snake.

            She quickly finished washing and climbed out of the tub, glaring at Missy as she kept swimming lazily. Marian smirked, and pushed down on the lever that emptied the tub. The water began receding so fast that for a minute she was worried that Missy would go down the drain with the water, but to her relief the snake just settled to the bottom.

            Marian watched her pet flounder for a moment before she reared and dragged her large form out of the tub.

            "That wasn't fair, you know!"

            "Did you say something?" Marian asked absently as she grabbed a towel. Of course Missy hadn't said anything. Snakes couldn't-

            "I said that wasn't fair!"

            -talk.

            Marian turned around slowly. Missy was coiled next to the tub, glaring at her. "Did-"

            "I think this place is bad for your IQ."

            "Holy shit, she talks!"

            "Big deal, so do you."

            In light of everything that had happened to her over the past three weeks, Marian knew she shouldn't be surprised. Why shouldn't animals talk in a world of wizards? "Um, how come you never spoke to me before," she asked, trying to stay calm.

            "You never wanted me to. You would just think you were getting sick again."

            "So you know about that?"

            "I've heard you rant about it for the past two years. I know just about everything you know."

            Now that thought was more than a little disturbing. "Kay. So, what's your name."

            "Missyla."

            "That's what I named you!"

            "That's what I told you to name me."

            "Okay, Missy. This is something I really don't need right now, so could you not talked to me until I get back?" Marian tried not to sound like she was begging, but she was. Her life was getting stranger and stranger as time went on.

            "My scales are sealed."

            "Okay, remember, you are not going crazy," Marian repeated to herself as she slipped on underwear and a bra. She was not going to go commando, not that anyone would notice with the bagginess of the robes she'd bought. Which gave her something else to worry about. What the hell was she going to wear? It irked her that she actually cared. Usually, she just threw on a shirt and pants and left it at that, so why was she caring now?

            Maybe because you really want these people to like you? She asked herself as she pulled out a dark green robe. It was velvet, and it flattered her hair, her complexion, and her eyes. But she eyed the silver fastening with misgivings. Would that be too flashy for dinner?

            "Just put that damned thing on already!"

            "I thought your scales were sealed!"

            "Snakes prerogative."

            Marian growled. Now her pet was mouthing off to her.

            Wonderful.

Thanks for reading my drivel!!! Special cheese cake ice cream thanks goes out to Nataly Ravenlock and go-seaward for their reviews!!!!

PS Thanks for giving me Hufflepuffs name go-seaward J