Chapter Three - Fenix Avenue
The Walkers were in their Muggle car, driving into downtown New York City to find a place to buy Josias, Kels, and Tak's supplies. Ophilia Montone knew of a place similar to London's Diagon Alley. It was called Fenix Avenue. Geoffrey Walker was following the Montone's car.
"You know," he began, "In all my years at the Department of Magic, not one witch or wizard I worked with ever mentioned this Fenix Avenue..."
"I know, honey," Jill replied as Josias chuckled. "You've told us a dozen times already."
"Oh, right. They should have a Gringott's branch there, but if not, I'm sure I have enough wizard money to pay for your supplies, son."
"Gringott's is that bank run by goblins, right dad?"
"That's right, son," his father answered, turning into a back alley behind a corporate building near Central Park. The Montones were getting out of their car.
"Where to now, Ophilia?" Jill asked.
Ophilia pushed on one of the bricks on the building face. The wall swiveled inward, revealing a rather wide street lined with buildings and a bright, clear blue sky overhead. A green sign inside read "Fenix Ave." Halfway down the street, Josias saw a large marble building with gold lettering. "Look, dad," he said. "Gringott's!"
"Alright. I'll go get some money and come back in a bit."
He walked to the bank at a brisk pace. Ophilia turned to Jill. "Jill, I've got to make a stop at Gringott's as well. Could you watch Kels for me? She's afraid of the goblins."
"Sure thing, Ophilia."
Ophilia took Tak and followed Geoffrey. Jill looked down at her son and Kels. Both looked nervous and remained quiet, even though Josias had been ecstatic at first to be in the wizarding marketplace. She thought for a moment. "Who wants something sweet?"
Kels and Josias both perked up a bit as they walked to a building labeled "The Crystal Shoppe". The store was filled with sugar-encrusted goods and various other candied delights in small boxes. Jill smiled as her son and Kels gaped at the wide selection.
"You may both choose one item worth less than a galleon," she told them.
"Alright, mom."
"Yes, Mrs. Walker."
The two children set off together, eyeing every shelf with equal wonder and scrutiny. Josias and Kels didn't talk much on their "quest", but they communicated nonetheless by pointing at different items or making brief, shy eye contact.
A few minutes later, they both returned with the same thing: a box of individually-wrapped chocolate frogs priced at 15 sickles a box. "A wonderful choice," Mrs. Walker said. "When I was a girl at Hogwarts, I loved chocolate frogs. I had quite a collection of the famous witch and wizard cards that came with them."
Josias shook his head. "Nuh-uh, momma. These don't have those kinds of cards..."
"Th-that's right, ma'am," Kels piped in.
Jill Walker looked skeptically from her son to Kels. "What do you mean?" she asked simply.
"The box says that only in North America, the company that makes chocolate frogs has decided to package the individual frogs with some sort of game cards. And...and there was a sign-"
"Yeah," said Kels, her eyes glowing happily. "It said that every kid who buys a box of them would get a free 'starter deck' as a gift from the store."
Though Jill was reluctant to allow her son and Kels to start playing a new wizard card game she'd never heard of, she couldn't resist their smiling, jubilant expressions. "Alright," she said, grinning.
When they got to the counter, she gave them each a galleon to pay for the boxes. "In case they only give the decks to individual customers," she told them.
Moments later, the trio emerged from the shop to see Geoffrey, with Ophilia and Tak, walking towards them. Tak also carried a package in his arms. "What did Aunt Ophilia get you?" Kels asked timidly.
"A wizard chess set," Tak replied, not sparing a single ounce of pride. "What did Mrs. Walker buy for you two?"
"Chocolate frogs," Josias hastily answered. "Each individual packet comes with a playing card for this new game. And since both of us got a box of them, the store gave us starter decks too."
Tak eyed the boxes in his cousin and friend's arms with a haughty air. "How...quaint."
Jill Walker turned to Ophilia. "Ophilia, have you ever heard of this card game?" she asked.
"I can't say that I have," was her response. "Oh wait! Yes, I have, and you have too, Jill."
"What do you mean?"
"Remember when we had that Ladies' Tea Hour earlier this summer? One of the older Muggles started talking about a Muggle card game her sons played."
"That's right! She said the younger one had been accepted into a magical school, but the older one hadn't," Jill added as they began to walk towards a robe shop: "Wallabee's Witch and Wizard Wear".
"Right. Well, the older son stopped playing after the younger one went away. The next summer, the younger came back home with his deck enchanted. After his seventh year, the two brothers went to raise money to mass-market the enchanted cards. I supposed they succeeded."
"Huh," was Jill's answer.
She, Ophilia, and Geoffrey watched as their children were measured for cloaks robes and hats. After paying for the items - a total of nine sets of robes, six cloaks, three hats, and three pairs of dragonhide gloves - the Walkers and Montones walked outside. "Where next?" Tak asked.
"I see a bookstore," Geoffrey said. "'Alexandria's Library'," he continued, reading the sign.
"What's on the list, Joey," he asked as they walked into the store.
Josias pulled out his supplies list a read, "The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk, A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot, A History of Magic in the Americas by Jim Ravenhair, Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling, A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch, Magical Herbs and Fungi of North America by Phillip Podmore, Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander, and a Guide to Dark Magic by Filius MacCreedy."
"That's a lot of books, Joey," Kels whispered to him.
"Don't worry, Kels," Tak interrupted. "I'm sure they won't give us too much work. We're only first year students."
Kels was comforted by Tak's suddenly reassuring voice. Josias was unaffected. The adults chatted merrily away as they searched for the books, while the children waited in a sort of serious silence. The store was not crowded; only one other family was there shopping: a couple with their two daughters, the eldest of who appeared to be the same age as Tak, Kels, and Josias. She looked about as bored as they felt. As she perused the aisles with her family, she caught sight of the three and made her way to them.
"I take it you three are shopping with your families too?"
They nodded.
"Accepted into Hantelep, right?"
They nodded again. The pretty, black-haired girl stuck out her hand. "Same here!" she suddenly exclaimed, startling Kels and Josias, but eliciting a smile from Tak, who shook her hand. "My name is Samantha Ventre, but you guys call me Sam...please."
"My name is Tak Montone," Tak replied, bowing slightly. "This is my cousin, Kels, and my best friend, Josias Walker."
Sam shook hands with Josias first, then with Kels, to whom she said, "Wow, girl, your eyes are different!"
Kels blushed fiercely. "I, uh...I was born that way," she muttered.
"Well, it's nothing to be ashamed of," Sam replied. "Look at this."
She pulled her hair out of its ponytail to reveal a wide strip in the front the color of blood. "It always freaked people out when I went to Muggle swimming pools during the summer. So, where are you guys going next?"
"Wand shop, probably," Josias mumbled. "Then the pet shop after that."
"Me too!" Sam exclaimed. "Well, except for the pet shop, I've already got one. My dog, Tinker. He's so sweet. Anyway, you'll love the wands we get to use. Mom and Dad say that the wands double as broomsticks," she added in undertone.
"I see you've made some friends already, Samantha," her mother said as they approached, the Walkers and Ophilia close behind.
"Well, since it looks like none of our kids have their wands yet," Geoffrey observed, "Let's go to the wand shop together."
"Sounds like a plan. Duke Ventre, my good man," Sam's father interjected, sticking out his stiff hand, which Geoffrey shook. "Madam Hart Fleetfoot owns the best wand shop on this street."
"Uh, alright, Duke. My name's Geoffrey Walker, this is my wife, Jill, and our neighbor, Ophilia Montone."
"Dad and mom are kinda stuck up," Sam whispered to Kels and Josias. Kels giggled.
"Rosalie Ventre," Sam's mom introduced herself. "It's a pleasure. You may think us arrogant, like our girls do, but we're nothing compared to those horrible Malfoys and their wretched son, Michael."
The Walkers and Ventres' eyes had darkened. Obviously, both sets of parents had had bad experiences with Malfoys. Ophilia cleared her throat. "Let's head to that wand shop, eh?"
So, the three families made their way to Fleetfoot's wands. Once inside, Jill immediately asked, "Where are the wands?"
The store had nothing that resembled what Geoffrey and Jill Walker considered a wand. An elderly Native American woman walked from the back of the store with a staff in her hands. "This is a North American wand," she said, gesturing to the staff.
Seeing the look of confusion on Geoffrey and Jill's faces, she continued. "You two must be from England. Well, here in North America, about three hundred years ago, broomstick carriers got hung on a daily basis. Anyway, witches and wizards spent fifty years devising a new, inconspicuous way to carry their wands and broomsticks. Eventually, they turned to the Native American shamans. And now the wands are what you see here. Instead of using magical items inside the wood, they are endowed with the elemental spirits of water, earth, wind, fire, darkness, and light."
"Ah," Jill said. "And, how do they choose the magic user?"
Madam Fleetfoot smiled. "You'll see."
She beckoned Kels forward. "Close your eyes and think of the thing that is most important to you."
Kels closed her eyes. Almost immediately, a six-foot staff rattled itself off a shelf and stood, on its own, in front of Kels. "Now," Fleetfoot continued, "Take the wand and wave it once."
Kels did so, and a spurt of water came from the head of the wand and splashed to the floor. "Water. Element also determines house position at Hantelep."
One by one, she motioned the children forward to receive their wands: Kels - water, Tak - light, and Josias - water. Sam, however, had difficulty. When she first closed her eyes, every staff on the water and fire shelves rattled slightly. The second time, a gnarled oak staff emerged from under a stack somewhere between the two elements. "Now this," Madam Fleetfoot said, "This is a very old wand. This should be interesting..."
Sam waved the wand as had the three before her. A red, gelatinous material spurted from the head of the wand to the floor. Immediately, it burst into bright blue flame. "Very interesting indeed," Madam Fleetfoot said, her eyes twinkling. "Take the wands, free of charge; I have important things to do," she continued, shutting the door behind them.
"'Very interesting indeed'," Geoffrey said, mimicking the elderly woman. He ducked a punch aimed by his wife and said, "I'll go get the other supplies. You guys head on and get pets for the kids."
Duke looked at his watch and said, "Actually, we've already got everything we need. We should be getting back home. Say goodbye to your new friends, Samantha."
Sam waved goodbye and said, "See you guys in September!"
The Montones and Walkers continued onward to purchase the final supplies in preparation for the school year at Hantelep...