My apologizes for how late this is but I've had a very busy week. I've had to send out many resumes and I've had two interviews this week with another one more coming this wednesday. I just got a job at Hot Topic and I start soon so expect to only so an update once a week for the foreseeable future. But finally we get to see the wizarding world. We get to see Marie get her wand, see her react to the wizarding world and the financial and currency system (which is confusing and unwieldy as heck, there is a reason that the gold standard isn't used anymore and there is a reason we initially used paper money and created national standardized banking) and maybe a cameo or two. I had to do a lot of research into wands so that Marie could have a wand that matched both the personality Danny Antonucci gave her and the depths of personality I'm giving her. If there is one major problem I had with how Antonucci worked his show it was that with the exception of the three Ed's, and even then that was to an extent, the characters were less like characters and more like archetypes. The stock jock character, the stock hot girl, the stock upstanding nerd, the stock over demanding younger sibling, the stock doofess and etc. Antonucci never really went beyond that, and I know that cartoons have had plenty of use from stock characters. Total Drama, Friendship is Magic and The Loud House use stock characters all the time, sometimes those stock characters are the main characters, particularly in the case of The Loud House. However, all of these shows that I mentioned gave their stock characters a lot more depth then having them be simple stock characters, especially if they had multiple episodes of development and they weren't used for a joke or if they were a villain, and Ed, Edd and Eddy never really did that, and the Kanker sisters got it the worst. The best I could get of the Kankers outside of some basic knowledge, like having different fathers, being poor and in the case of Marie, having artistic talent, is that Marie is jealous of other women being romantically interested in Double-D and that May is interested in both Ed and Double-D. Because of this, I and other writers basically have to invent a personally, heck we have to invent a person out of a bunch of feathers and a wishbone so that we can tell a story. So imagine how difficult that is when you have to make a wand for that invented personally. Thank god for .com, it was a big help and the guys and gals that spent their time writing up that info deserve all the thanks they can get (and yes, there was a musical reference in that sentence). So, I think I should wrap this intro up here, I know that this will look shorter on the site but it's taking up more than a page of space in my document files. So without further ado, enjoy the chapter, I do not own either Harry Potter or Ed, Edd and Eddy and the rights are held by J.K. Rowling, AT&T and WarnerMedia respectively.

Diagon Alley

The shining eyes of the dawn light peeked over the rolling hills and pastoral fields of the English countryside before raising its head slowly over the horizon, cresting the houses and skyscrapers of central London, flooding the sky with paints of orange and pink. As the sun invaded the streets and alleys, its long arm spread through the windows and doorways of the city, claiming the souls of its citizens from the kingdom of Morpheus and guiding them to the shining realm of Helios. It eventually battered through the dingy shutters of the Leaky Cauldron and blasted its shining lance into the eyes of a comatose blue haired girl, urging her to rise and face the day. Marie's eyelids fought a ferocious yet vain battle against the strength of the sun's forces, but they were eventually compelled to surrender to the waking light.

Marie did not have a good night's rest the day before. Homesickness and narcissistic moroseness had plagued her dreams, not helped by how uncomfortable she felt. Sure the bed didn't have any cheap springs in it and she had more room to move around in since she didn't have to share it with her siblings but the unfamiliar environment she was it just made it difficult to rest. Being alone in a room with a semi-sentient mirror didn't help either. She groaned as she slowly rose from the mattress and groggily shuffled to the mirror. 'God I look like a wreck.' she thought as she looked in the mirror. Her hair was a tangled mess with parts of it sticking up at weird angles, her eyeshadow had started to flake off during the night and the rumpled clothes that she had been wearing for the last two days were hanging loosely from her body. She sniffed her shirt and recoiled slightly from the stench. 'Definitely should changed my clothes last night.'

She quickly got a fresh outfit from her duffel bag and went to the washroom to freshen up. While she was surprised initially went she saw that the inn had showers, she cleaned herself up, changed into an outfit consisting of black jeans and a gray ACDC Fly on the Wall tour t-shirt, reapplied her blue eyeshadow and went out into the landing, grabbing her rucksack as she headed out the door. As she walked downstairs she saw that the main parlor looked better in the light. Tom had opened up the downstairs windows to brighten the room, giving the bar a washed out gray look. While it wasn't much of an improvement over the previous day, it did make the inn seem friendlier. She quickly descended the stairs and marched over to Tom, who was chatting with some early morning patrons.

"Ah, good morning Marie. Did you have a good night?" Tom asked cheerily, looking over the bar with a grin that wouldn't be out of place on a hockey player. Marie gazed dwirelly up at him, some of the bags from the previous day still present under her eyes. "As good as it could be." she replied. If Tom noticed that she was being vague with her statement, he gave no indication. Instead he said to her, "That's good to hear. Was a bit concerned last night when you came in all listless and all, but I'm glad to see that you got some flush back in your cheeks." He served a customer a morning sherry before leaning over the counter. "Professor McGonagall just came in ten minutes ago. She's waiting for ya over there at the table by the door. Don't worry about paying for breakfast, the Professor agreed to take care of it."

Marie turned swiftly around and looked over her the door. If it weren't for the stern face, horn rimmed glasses and cat like eyes she wouldn't have been able to recognize her. Where she had once worn a dark green suit she now wore a long, flowing emerald green robe and complementary wizards hat. She looked regal, from how straight she sat to the slight uptick of her nose, which made her look out of place amongst the seedy customers. Marie reluctantly trudged over to her, grumbling maliciously under her breath. A chair scraps harshly across the wooden floor as Marie yanked it out and parked herself on the edge of it.

"I see that your attitude hasn't improved since we last met Miss Kanker." Professor McGonagall spoke sniffily. "Sorry if my attitude doesn't please you, we trailer folk tend not to care about what the well to do think about us." Marie replied snidely, drawing out every every word with as much venom as she could muster. McGonagall gazed harshly at the young child, as if she were a cockroach or some other unwelcome pest. "You're lucky that school hasn't started yet, otherwise I would have taken off a few points for your cheek." This left Marie confused, something that she couldn't keep from appearing on her face. "Points?" McGonagall's irritation receded from her face a bit as she patiently responded to Marie's inquiry. "When you arrive at Hogwarts you will be sorted into one of four noble houses; Gryffindor, Huffelpuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. You will be a part of that house for all seven years, living with fellow members of that house, going to the same classes with them and eating at the same table with them. While you are at Hogwarts your triumphs will earn you house points, while any rule breaking will cost you points. At the end of the year the house with the most points will win for their house the house cup, which is a great honor to achieve."

While it was a simple explanation to most, all this did was raise more questions for Marie. "I'm sorry but, first, what the hell is a Huffelpuff. Two, why is one of houses named after a freaking pun? Three, why are students are encouraged to compete against each other for a trophy. Doesn't that just foster a toxic environment? And finally, and this is more of a statement than a question, Ravenclaw can't be a name for a house, it is a term for a body part. How on earth is that noble?" McGonagall pinched the crease between her eyes. 'Merlin give me strength.' she thought, idly wondering what she had done to deserve this. "The houses are all named after the founders of Hogwarts, Godric Gryffindor, Helga Huffelpuff, Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin. As for the house points, it is believed that in order to encourage their students to do their best in their studies, the founders felt that it was in their best interest to foster friendly competition." Marie stared blankly at the Professor. "And how did that work out?" "Better than you would think."

Tom then came over with two plates of bangers and eggs and a pitcher of orange juice, which McGonagall thanked him for before pouring some of the beverage into her mug. "Now we have a long day ahead of us Miss Kanker, and I have a few things that I need to do before term starts so be sure to finish your breakfast quickly. I'm sure you want me out of your hair as soon as possible." Marie didn't refute what she said, instead choosing to silently eat her meal. Once they were finished McGonagall guided Marie towards a side door that lead to a barren and patched back area. McGonagall then drew out her wand as she approached a brick wall opposite the door. "Now," she began, turning her head to make sure that Marie was playing attention. "Be sure to memorize this, you'll need it in order to get into Diagon Alley in the future." She then turned and tapped a brick three up and two across and two up from a crack in the wall three times.

Slowly a small hole appeared in the wall, growing wider and wider with each passing second. It consumed the wall as it grew, brick and mortar vanishing into thin air until eventually a large archway materialized, leading to a twisted cobbled street. "Welcome to Diagon Alley." McGonagall said as easily as if she were a hotel greeter welcoming a new visitor, and indeed it might have been, but as Marie entered the street, she might as well had shown her the inside of Busch Gardens. The bedlam of chaos filled the alley, with dozens of witches and wizards busiling from shop to shop, looking at their wares with curiosity through a window or rushing from door to door in order to get the necessities they need for the week. There was so much activity going on that Marie was twisting her head constantly to try to see everything. One shop was selling various cauldrons of copper, pewter, silver and brass, another had barrels of bat spleen and eel eyes outside their windows and yet another had a small crowd of boy peering through windows at what seemed to be a set of broomsticks. So many sights and sounds that she had never experienced before overwhelmed her senses, to the point that she was only vaguely aware of McGonagall grabbing her arm and guiding her through the crowd.

McGonagall lead Marie to a crooked snow white building, towering corinthian columns holding up a marble overhead fifteen meters above them as they went up the stairs to a set of burnished bronze doors. Marie come back to her senses when she noticed a small, wrinkled looking creature wearing an ornate scarlet and gold uniform. The creature had a swarthy, clever face with a well trimmed pointed beard and very long fingers and feet. He bowed them through as Marie and the Professor passed, grinning smugly at Marie dumbstruck face as she disappeared through the threshold. As they passed the two of them came to another set of doors guarded by a pair of those creatures. "Professor, what are they?" Marie asked inaudibly. She wasn't sure if the guards would be offended, but she wasn't taking any chances considering that both of the guards were carrying halberds. "They're goblins Miss Kanker. Best not to cross them if you can, as they are a rather proud and unforgiving race, with grudges that last many generations. You do not want a goblin as your enemy." McGonagall then pointed towards the door, which had a grim poem that looked like something Edgar Allen Poe would write.

Enter, stranger, but take heed

Of what awaits the sin of greed

For those who take, but do not earn

Must pay most dearly in their turn.

So if you seek beneath our floors

A treasure that was never yours

Thief, you have been warned, beware

Of finding more than treasure there.

"Well, no legacy is so rich as honesty I guess." Marie squeaked, now really hoping that those halberds were as far away from her as possible. She barely noticed the two guards bowing as she entered the main lobby. White marble reflected the sunshine that was blasting down through the skylight dome high above the main hall. Over a hundred goblins sat at a pair of giant counters that spanned the room from end to end. Some scribbled notes and figures into large ledgers, other weighed stacks of coins on brass scales and others were peering at precious jewels of green, red and blue under eye glasses. On each side of the room dozens of doors lead to various parts of the bank, with other goblin guards leading dozens of people in and out of them. In fact Marie was so captivated by the hustle and bustle of bureaucracy that she didn't even realise that McGonagall had dragged her to an open counter until the teller at it was talking to them.

"Professor McGonagall, how nice to see you again." the teller snarked sarcastically. "Let me guess, another muggleborn that needs to exchange her pounds for galloens." He then looked over at Marie, sneering at her hair and her punk clothing. Marie glared back, used to people like the teller looking down on her just because of her lifestyle choices. McGonagall didn't miss how the goblin was looking at her new student and her eyes quickly turned to ice. "No actually, Miss Kanker here is coming to make a withdrawal from her account." The teller scoffed, clearly not believing her. "Well then, Miss Kanker just has to give me her key and I'll have one of my associates take her to her vault." Marie smirked as she reached into her pocket and drew out her golden key, relishing the shock and disbelief that consumed the teller's smarmy face as she reached up and put it on the counter. The teller examined it vigorously, determined to find some fault that would identify it as a fake, Marie's smirk growing with each increasingly desperate attempt. By the time the teller slumped forward in defeat, Marie looked as if she had just gotten Double-D coerced into being lab partners for the year.

"Everything seems to be in order." the teller muttered grimly. "I'll have an attendant take you to your vault. Griphook!" On his command another goblin came over, bowed and silently ushered them to one of the doors that lead from the lobby. Expecting another marble corridor, Marie was surprised when instead they were taken through a narrow, torchlight passageway that sloped downwards. Marie had to carefully edge herself down due to how steep the slope was, at one point grasping onto the railing when she slipped on a particularly wet patch of rock. Eventually the tunnel lead to a set of rail tracks on the floor. There Griphook whistled and a small cart zoomed down a passageway towards them. McGonagall politely declined getting in the cart, saying something about how she had done that enough times for a lifetime, leaving Marie to take off in the cart with her temporary chaperone.

The shaking cart moved with a mind of its own, moving up, down, left, right, corkscrew, loop the loop, round corners, between stalagmites and stalactites, there were even times when the cart was flipped upside down and Marie was loving every moment of it. The ride reminded her of the one time her mother had taken her and her siblings to a theme park called Mondo a Gogo down at the shore of Lake Superior, when she rode the many roller coasters that dotted the park. The wind blowing through her hair, the rush of adrenaline that came with every move of the cart and the exhilaration with every plunge into the miles of caverns beneath the surface made keeping her from throwing her hands in the air difficult, but she was able to manage it until the cart came to a sudden halt beside a door resting inside an alcove in the wall.

The two of them exited the cart and Griphook approached the door with the key. Marie's nerves were trembling in a combination of anticipation and dread. She didn't know how much money her dad had left behind, so as the green mist oozed out of the opening vault door, she was worried that there wouldn't be anything in there. But when the smoke cleared, she might as well have entered the cave of wonders. Towers of gold coins stretched from wall to wall, columns of silver coins covered ornate tables, cabinets and chairs and mounds of bronze coins covered every inch of the floor. With all the wealth in that vault she was probably worth more than Bruce Wayne. She was so shocked as she went in the vault and let the coins part between her fingers like sand, she forgot to be angry.

"The galleons, that being the golf coins, are the most valuable currency we have." Griphook explained, breaking Marie out of her greed filled gaze. "The sickles are the silver coins and the bronze coins are knuts." Marie bit her lip, as she didn't trust herself not to giggle after finding out that there was a coin called a knut. "The value rate is 29 knuts for every sickle and 17 sickles for every galleon. Now,`` he stated as he drew out a brown leather bag and filled it up with a healthy variety of sickles and galleons. "This should be enough for a day and some more. I don't expect you to need to purchase much while at Hogwarts, but best to have something and not need it than to need it and not have it." He then gave the bag to Marie, who gazed at it with some sort of masonic reverence. Griphook looked at her weirdly. "Are you alright miss?" "I'm sorry, I've just never had this much money before in my life, and to know that this is mine, I just…" She didn't really know what to say, but Griphook seemed to understand as he gently guided her back to the cart.

Leaving the bank with McGonagall was like a teenager going to the mall to the first time with their parents credit card. If she didn't remember that she needed to purchase the stuff that was on her list when McGonagall slapped her hand away from a gold cauldron, she would've spent it all on frivolous nonsense. But she was able to get her cauldron, potions ingredients, scales, telescope and a few dozen rolls of parchment and pairs of quills without issue and only slightly resisted being pushed into a shop called Madam Malkin's Robes for all occasions.

"Ah Minerva," a small witch dressed in a mauve robe exclaimed in barely restrained joy. "I see you brought another one this year." "Last one for this year Janet." McGonagall responded friendly, a tone that was so jarring to Marie that she had to pinch herself. "After this it's getting ready for term." "Indeed, indeed." Janet chuckled as she guided the two of them to a platform stool. "I swear this time of year keeps coming up on me faster and faster. So much to do and too many people to do it for. I was working on another young lady just before you came in. If you can get up on the platform deary, I'll be with you in a minute." Marie got up onto the platform with only a small amount of confusion and discomfort before looking over at the platform next to her as she waited to be condemned to an hour of stiff backs and pin pricks.

On the platform standing next to her was a girl about her height with long, wavy platinum blonde hair, cold icy blue eyes and a bored expression on her face. She was currently being fitted by a second witch as Janet Malkin was busy getting Marie's measurements. When she turned to Marie, her gaze was analytical and sterile, as if she was being scanned by an MRI machine.

"Hogwarts I take it?" she asked, her emotionless drown as cold as her face, making her almost doll like. "Yes." Marie responded politely. The girl looked at her with a bit of curiosity. "You're not from around here are you." she stated. Marie looked at her, slightly irritated. "No, I'm not. I'm from Wisconsin." "Ah, you're a Yank then." the girl emotionlessly asserted. "I thought there was something odd about your accent." Marie took a moment to touch her lip. She knew that she had a bit of a midwestern accent but it wasn't that pronounced was it? "I do wonder, though, why are you coming here when most of your kind would be going to Ilvermorny." For some reason Marie was getting more ticked off with this girl, maybe it was because of her haughty attitude or the way she looked at her like some puzzle piece. "My father went to Hogwarts and he wanted me to come here, so here I am." she replied frostily. The girl rose an eyebrow, unperturbed by her attitude.

"What house was he in?" she asked suddenly. "What?" Marie asked. "What house was he in? My family has been members of Slytherin house for hundreds of years, as well as the families we associate with, so it's not often I meet someone that had a parent in another house." Marie looked at her weirdly, wondering if she should really answer this question. "I don't really know what house he was in, but my mother described him as a courageous, if brash man that fell out with his family over ideology." She saw the blonde girls widen slightly, as if some lost clue had fallen into her lap. "Forgive my manners, but I never did get your name." She turned and offered Marie her hand. "My name is Daphne Greengrass, heir to the Most Ancient and Noble House of Greengrass." Marie, now completely on the back foot as she realized that she had been talking to a blueblood the whole time, cautiously extended her hand. "Marie Kanker." "Kanker?" Daphne stated as they grasped hands. "That's dutch isn't it?" "Yeah, old name from my mother's side." Daphne smirked for some reason at that.

"You're down dear." Ms Malkin said, stepping back to allow Daphne to jump off from the platform. As her she got her purse out to pay for the robes, she continued to talk to Marie. "I hope you do well at Hogwarts, Kanker. It's not often that I find someone that I actually like." Marie thought she saw a small smile on Daphne's face as she exited the store, but at that moment she was jabbed in the hip with a needle, so she couldn't be sure. She got her robes shortly afterward and then went with her to get her books from a shop called Flourish and Blotts.

There were tomes and pamphlets stacked to the ceiling, shelves filled with books of every color and size and layout. So many people had crowded into the shop that Marie saw a chubby looking boy with blond hair stumble and nearly knock over a book stack. It might as well have been heaven if Double-D had been here. Trying to squash the rising feeling of melancholia that was building within her, Marie quickly bought her books and left with McGonagall.

"Alright, this is our last stop. I trust that you'll be able to make your way back to the Leaky Cauldron without me." Marie looked up and saw that the two of them had stopped outside a rustic and black shop. Above them a faded sign with golden letters said Ollivander's: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C.E. Pulling out her list from her pocket she saw that indeed a wand was the only required item left on her list. She looked up at McGonagall with resignation. "Well, see ya." Marie tried to turn so that she could enter the store, but was stopped when McGonagall grasped her shoulder. "Before we part, I have to give you the name of the school train." She gave her a small business card laminated in gold leaf. Marie took the card and looked at the single line of serif lettering on the front. "Platform 9 and 3⁄4? You can't expect me to believe that such a train exists, right?" When she didn't get a response, she looked up and saw that she had been left alone in the crowded, twisted street.

"Crazy old bat." she grumbled as she stomped through the door to Ollivander's. "Leaving me high and dry without even telling me how to get onto the platform, who does she think she is?" She looked around and saw nobody at the front desk of the cluttered and ramshackle shop. "And the receptionist is on break. Just my luck." Feeling she had nothing better to do, she went over to a small, spindly sitting stool that looked as if it had recently supported someone too large for it to hold up and settled in for a long wait.

"Ah, welcome." Marie shot out of the chair as she turned towards one of the cabinets to her right. Staring down from a ladder was an old, withered looking man with large pale eyes that shone in the dark of the shop. "I thought I'd be seeing you soon. My name is Garrick Ollivander, master wandmaker." He climbed down from the ladder and vigorously shook her hand. "It is a pleasure to meet you Miss Kanker. Dumbledore wrote to me about you, an ambitious mind and stubborn temperament and well." He gestured to all of her. "I can see he was right about that. Something that you inherited from father, along with your eyes." He walked behind the desk and brought out a measuring tape. "Can you tell me what your wand arm is?" "Um, I'm left handed." Marie relied cautiously, as Ollivander's eyes were giving her a bit of the creeps. "Hmm, not the most unusual response. I've had a few tell me that they were ambidextrous. Can you extend your arm, that's it." He measured her from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, knee to armpit, shoulder to floor and around her head.

As he measured her, he started to gab. "Every Ollivander wand has a powerful magical substance, Miss Kanker. We use unicorn hairs, the tail feathers of phoenixes and dragon heartstrings. No two wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons or phoenixes are the same. For example, your father favored a twelve inch English Oak wand, courageous and loyal. Though I should say that the wand favored him, as it the wand that chooses the wizard afterall." Marie noticed then that the measuring tape, which was now measuring the distance between her eyebrows, was doing this on its own, as Ollivander was busy getting boxes off the shelves.

"That'll do." he said, the measuring tape dropping to the floor as if it were a puppet whose strings have been cut. "Here, try this one. Blackthorn and dragon heartstring. Eight inches. Good for defensive spells and jinxes. Just give it a wave" Marie took the wand and prepared to swing it. 'This is stupid.'she thought as she looked at the wand. She waved it for a second before Ollivander yanked it out of her hand. "No, definitely not." he muttered as he got out another wand. "Here try this one. Applewood and unicorn hair. 9 and ¾ inches. Great for charm work." Marie tried again, but she had barely raised it before it was snatched out of her hand. "No, no-here. Cedar and unicorn hair. 8 and a half inches. Loyal and intelligent."

This continued in the same way for a good ten minutes. Cherry and phoenix feather, Cypress and dragon heartstring, Hornbeam and phoenix feather, Pine and unicorn tail and on and on and on. With every failed wand added to the pile, Ollivander got more and more giddy. It was like looking at a kid in a candy store. "Tricky customer eh? Not to worry, I've never failed to find a wand for a wizard that's come through my door. Ah, let's try this one. Dogwood and phoenix feather. Fourteen inches. An excellent wand for those willing to have fun and excitement." Marie took the wand and felt a sudden warmth shot up her arms. She twirled the wand and a blast of wind shot from the wand blowing the wands off the desk and onto the floor. "Ah excellent, excellent. I dare say I'll be hearing so many stories about you whenever I see Minerva again. That will be seven galleons and have a pleasant afternoon."

Marie left the shop, her arms laden with bags as she walked down the street. She stopped outside a small cafe for lunch, ordering a plate of standard fish and chips. As she ate she watched the various witches and wizards go about their day, a sea of greens, blues, purples, browns and blacks passing by her vision as she sat under the umbrella that shaded the table.

It was hard for her to believe that any of this was real. Everything was just going too fast. She pulled a handful of coins out of the pouch Griphook had given her and started to caress them between her fingers. All of this was hers, and she had no idea how to feel about it. Anger at the fact that she had a fortune at her fingertips for ten years without realising it, exasperation at her mother for not telling her about it so that she could help with the bills, smugness for being able to do something that her sisters would never be able to do, depression for having to spend the rest of her schooling in a different school than her sisters and Oven Mitt, excitement to learn magic and wonder on everything surrounding her clashed in a ferocious roar of cannon and rifle shot, each trying to destroy the others in order to become the dominant emotion. Unexpectedly, the emotion that would win was resignation.

'I can't go back.' she concluded, letting the coins fall one by one back into the bag. 'Too much has changed for me to return to those times. I need to try to move forward with this.' She looked down at her wand. 'That means accepting this.' She put the wand between her hands. 'It would be so easy to snap this.' She rolled it between her thumb and her finger. 'But that wouldn't solve anything. All it would do is cause me to go back to that creepy old man and cost me another 7 galleons to replace it.' She pocketed the wand, grabbed her bags and walked back to the Leaky Cauldron. 'Best to just make do with what you have.'

ARGHH! I did not intend for this to take this long to complete. Let this be a lesson, don't get on an Oblivion kick and spend six days when you should be working goofing around. Right first off, I had to make up what Sirius's wand is like, as his bio didn't tell me anything about it, so I went with the best combo that I could make that matched his personality and power. As for Daphne Greengrass, she'll be a minor character for the first two books, only showing up once in a while or in passing but she'll be a more central character afterward. I won't say anything more. Well, I'll see you next week. Don't intend to slack off on this one again. At least now that I'm getting to the central story I'll be able to write faster.