Deadly Magic
Chapter 8 : Surprises
"Mrs. Tensai? What else do we need?" Rin asked while trying to balance eight heavy books under her arm. One of the books fell out of place and she bent low to pick it up. She starred at the cover as she stood up. The Standard Book of Spells (Grade One) by Miranda Goshawk. Awesome! Rin smiled brightly and turned her head to Izayoi who was thoroughly looking at the list.
She looked around at the mean time. It was incredible! People of all kinds; with horns, animal ears and fantasy looking creatures, were busy throughout the streets. They all were buzzing through, trying to get to their destination. Shops were on each side of the street and there was hardly any room to do anything other than walking and maybe the occasional running. The sun reflected brightly off the windows and children were merrily cheering and eating candies.
Before she bought any of this, Izayoi first took her to an enormous bank known as Gringotts to get some money. To her amazement, she actually found out that her vault, 718, was something left behind from her deceased family. Rin looked confused but Izayoi had explained to her that her parents had once been into Hogwarts too. She tucked the information with glee and grabbed some gold and stuffed them into her jean pockets. There were tons of coins and it the pile was nearly half of the vault. Izayoi explained her how to use the money since it was completely new to her. "The gold ones are galleons. The silver ones are sickles and 17 of them make a galleon and those other ones are knuts, 27 of them make a sickle," Izayoi said once.
If Marcie was with her, she would've grabbed every single coin in her vault in the matter of seconds. She smiled wickedly at the thought. She was contained and maybe the wizards were torturing her with instructions.
Afterwards, they headed to a book shop known as Flourish and Blotts. There Rin was forced to stay at the counter whilst Izayoi fetched her books. She later then dumped the load onto her arm while she paid. Rin practically fell over at how heavy it was.
"You need a wand, a pet and robe, not to mention some potion supplies." Izayoi's voice broke the trance and tucked the list in her jacket and helped Rin with a few books.
"Potion?"
"Yes, you have to make potions too! Did you think it was only spells?" She laughed playfully at her confusion. They walked quickly to the nearest store; Rin following of course, into Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. A small but smiling witch quickly appeared in front of them and grabbed Rin's arm, nearly making the books topple over to Rin's fear. She put them on a desk once the witch stopped dragging her and went to fetch her materials. She stood on the platform with confusion in her eyes.
"Uh what do I need from here Mrs. Tensai?"
"Your uniform. Rin, will you be okay by yourself for a few minutes while I take care of something?" Izayoi settled her books beside the pile. She nodded and Izayoi sent a smile before she disappeared into the crowd outside.
The store was small and cozy and fashion off all kind decorated the walls and lifeless dummies. Other children were in the store with other witches trying on black robes. The woman came back and she gently told her to lift her arms. Rin did without argument.
"So getting ready for Hogwarts?" whom Rin now knew to be the one and only Madam Malkin.
"How'd you know?" Rin asked as Madam Malkin took her measurements.
She chuckled. "I noticed you have those books. Only Hogwarts students by those books." Rin smiled and let her put on the robe which she made it magically appear. The robe fit her perfectly and with a few minor adjustments to the fabric, it would better than perfect.
Another girl came through the door and smiled happily to Rin. She was cute and by the looks of it, Rin took into an immediate liking to her. Her black hair was pulled up into a high ponytail and she was dressed casual; long denim jeans and a black t-shirt with pink swirls. Madam Malkin asked Rin to give her a minute and Rin nodded while still smiling to the nice girl. The witch walked over to the girl and told her to stand beside Rin. She nodded and jogged.
"Hi!" She smiled at her and stood up at the platform.
"Hey," Rin smiled back.
"So you're in Hogwarts too?"
"Yep! My name's Rin Hanna, how about yours?"
"Sango Taijiya. I can't wait until Hogwarts! Dad was thrilled when he saw the letter!"
"Same here…" she trailed off when she didn't know what her parents could be like right about now. 'They should've been here with me today.' Rin unconsciously clenched her hands together with frustration. She blinked back tears threatening to fall.
"So did you see the new Nimbus?" Sango changed the subject when she saw Rin clenched her hand. It was obvious the subject disturbed her.
Rin inwardly sighed with relief at the change of subject and smiled softly. "No, what is it anyways?"
"You've never heard of the Nimbus? It's a broom and so far, people's been talking about it 24/7! It's like those state of the art brooms that cost so much."
"Oh my gosh... So did you get all your stuff yet?" Rin's fist slowly unraveled itself and she stuffed them in her pockets.
"Nope. I still have to get a pet and wand and some potion stuff. You?"
"Same here, after this shop I'm going to head over to that wand shop next door." Rin looked at Madam Malkin who was walking over with more materials for Sango. Already they were talking to each other like they've known each other for years. 'Heck, it's good to have a friend!'
"You want to come with me?" Sango offered. She was beyond happy that she found a friend- well that's what it seems like -. It was already a great start since she knew she would most definitely have trouble finding a friend like Rin.
Rin smiled and nodded quickly. Malkin smiled and told Sango to hold out her arms. She did that while they both were talking to each other.
Soon after, Malkin switched onto Rin she applied some stitching and handed her some extra robes of the same thing, a pointy hat and a cloak. She browsed the shelves of gloves she needed to buy while she waited for Sango to finish. Rin paid her items including the leather dragon gloves for school and stood by while Sango was at the counter. Izayoi entered the shop just the time when Sango was paying.
"Sorry Rin for being late. My son was having trouble finding the right shop," Izayoi looked at her apologetically. She smiled in response. Izayoi helped her with the books. "So you're ready to go?"
"Umm in a minute. I'd like you to meet someone first." Rin offered. Sango paid her merchandise and stood beside her. "Mrs. Tensai, this is-"
"Sango Taijiya. I know her father. He works at the same department as me. Nice to me you Sango-chan," Izayoi smiled warmly. "Sango, do you want to come with us and get our stuff?" Izayoi noticed the missing items the students required. She nodded merrily and carried her items with Izayoi's help. "So Ollivanders? Do you still need a wand?" Sango nodded once they were out into the busy streets. They made their way to the dark store beside the Robe store.
A wand ('It's a wand?!' Rin asked loudly) was laid on a purple cushion and from the dusty windows, Rin made out thousands of boxes stacked up which reached up to the ceiling. The bell chimed in their entrance and Sango, Rin and Izayoi laid their load on the counter. A man walked up to them, brushing off dust on his overcoat and grinned brightly. He was pale and his white hair was a mess but it didn't stop people from liking him. Izayoi smiled to him.
"Izayoi! My dear, how long has it been when you last escorted students?" His deep voice was mixed with happiness as he surveyed the nervous girls.
"Quite long, I can assure you. Well Mr. Ollivander, work your magic. These girls need wands for Hogwarts." Izayoi laughed when he bowed dramatically. Rin looked questionably to Sango who returned the same look. "Well I've got to go for a few minutes. My son is probably beating up his brother. I'll be back to pick them up Ollivander!" With a wave and a chuckle she disappeared.
"Ahh now this is the first time I've seen this young survivor," Mr. Ollivander said with a grin. "Now let's see, two girls. I'll start with you." He pointed to Sango who nodded, thrilled. Rin looked down at the dirty wooden floor. 'He also knows about the whole surviving thing…… who else knows?' Mr. Ollivander walked into the shelves and left the girls alone for the moment.
"Hey Rin, what did you survive?" Sango asked quietly.
"I have no idea but some people seem to know me very well. Did you hear anything like this before?" Rin asked anxiously. Sango nodded.
"Yeah I heard once that this girl had survived an attack but that's all. I didn't know much then 'cause I was young. The papers said she was famous for being the only survivor and not to mention the last of her family but that's all," Sango informed her. Rin smiled, appreciating the explanation and directed her attention to Mr. Ollivander who arrived with Sango's wand.
"Ah here you go Missy. Try this out and see if this works." He made his way around the counter towards stack of boxes. He picked out a box and opened it. He hurried over to Sango and told her to flick it. She did and sparks of fireworks erupted.
"Ah now that is a very good wand for you Miss. An eight 3/4 inch maple wand with the mane strand of a beautiful female unicorn as its core. Yes, she was very kind enough to grant me one after I saved her herd from a few nasty grindylows in a river. Yes it's a fine wand indeed, very good for charms and transfiguration." He admired the wand in Sango's hand for a moment and grinned widely. Rin was inching closer to Sango ever so slowly. It was unclear that she liked Mr. Ollivander. "Ah now! We have to find you a wand Miss Hanna!"
'Okay…… I never told him my name before…. How did he know that?' Rin stood, stunned and Sango looked at her questioningly. The stare she gave her was as if transferring a quiet message between them. Rin nodded when she studied her eyes. 'Is this guy nuts?'
Mr. Ollivander hurried back and picked out a box after a couple of minutes and told her to do the same like Sango. The results were horrendous to say at the least. Black ink spurted out and left a stinky mess. Sango instantly covered her nose. The wand maker cleaned up the mess quickly and looked for another wand for Rin.
"Try this," he said after the fifth time. It took almost 15 minutes and the results aren't getting any better. It was either red ink or paper or some unknown substance that was too nasty to even be mentioned. A gigantic fire erupted from the end when she flicked it lightly. Rin dropped the wand in surprise and the fire disappeared.
"This is getting no where……." Rin said, wide eyed and shocked and handed the wand to him. Sango looked horrendous. The store look like it was a massive heap of chaos. SO much damage with only a flick of the wrist. Mr. Ollivander wasn't concerned with the store and was more into finding the perfect wand.
"Hmmm…. One more try and let's see…" he said while he starred at her. After a minute of quiet he bustled out and took out a box. He opened it and handed the wand inside to her. "Maybe just maybe…" he whispered quietly.
A surge of warm energy tickled throughout her body and her hand instinctively flicked. A rope of thin fire erupted from it and encircled around her. The rope of fire danced merrily yet angrily. Finally the flame instantly died only to be replaced by a bright blue light that illuminated the store. After a couple of seconds, it was ceased. All of them were dumbfounded by the experience. It then became a contest of who would break the uncomfortable silence first. Slowly she lowered her wand.
"Well that was certainly entertaining," Mr. Ollivander said cheerfully. "Well we have now found your true wand."
Rin slowly looked at those silver eyes of his. "Umm does this always happen?" Her experience with the wand was unimaginable. All the wands rejected to give a show like this so what made it different?
"Well to anyone who found their perfect wand, a show is suppose to happen to indicate it but… this is the first I had ever seen a wand give a spectacular show. I had remembered every wand that was purchased even the wands that your parents bought. Your mother's was a good one, a flexible holly with a unicorn hair and your father's was cherrywood with a phoenix tail feather. Their indications were nothing more than a couple of fireworks and all of my other customers either have bright light or sparks. But… your wand is very different from the rest."
"How is it different Mr. Ollivander?"
"Your wand was supposed to be experimental to say at the least. Usually, catastrophic events would occur if a wand was tempered with but this- this wand it unique." He paused and continued after Rin encouraged him with a concerned visage.
"All wands are supposedly to have one magical property of a creature be it a phoenix, dragon or a unicorn as its core. No two wands are the same-remember that like no two unicorns are ever the same. However, I conducted a little experiment of my own to see if a wand would be allowed to contain one more magical property. Most of the experiments had gone wrong and much money was wasted but I had a hunch that something was bound to come forth. One day, after six failed experiments, I accidentally put a handsome unicorn's mane hair and a horntail dragon heartstring together with silver birch wood. Usually it would cause a devastating reaction since those two creatures have opposing forces but they were combined into this wand."
"So would it have any accidents if a true wielder uses the wand?"
"Not necessarily, the wand has already chosen its wielder. It is very strange though that this wand has chosen you where every customer before you that had tried this wand had a devastating side effect. But then, every wand chooses its wizard Miss Hanna. No one knows why but each wand has its own soul to share with the wielder. And it seems you have been destined to wield this special wand."
"Let's say it does…" Sango inserted rapidly. Her concern for her new friend heightened up each passing moment. First this guy knew her name which she was sure no one told him anything. Secondly, this guy was experimenting on wands. Was that even allowed?
"If it does, which I highly doubt it-" he wanted to stress it but once he looked at Sango's glare of Do-it-or-something-bad-will-happen glare, he thought better. "Something will happen. I'm not sure what since this is the first the wand has chosen its master."
"Will it harm her?"
"I don't know. It all depends on how it is used. But nonetheless, from the looks of it, you'll succeed in every spell you perform. Ten inches and a very fine wand indeed, very good for dueling too."
"Dueling…? Like actual dueling?" Rin asked hesitantly. Her wand arm shivered slightly at the thought of attacking people with spells and God knows what!
"Of course, its tradition wizards go dueling often."
"Okay there… umm can I buy this wand?" Rin asked, smiling up a little.
After an extra ten minutes, both Sango and Rin left the store; Rin with a grin and Sango with a frown. Sango was thrilled to buy her wand for only a mere seven galleons but when she was about to step outside to wait for her friend, she overheard them talking about Rin's wand price. She immediately turned back and fussed. They finally left the store with two wands ("Why would you pay fifteen galleons for a wand!?" Sango hollered). Needless to say, Sango thought Olive ("I can't say his name properly!" Sango said) ripped Rin off and she was beside herself for that.
Izayoi met them in the next store they were suppose to go, the Cauldron shop near the Leaky Cauldron and quickly bought their items before she had to leave again. Rin, most desperately, wanted to buy a silver cauldron with gold trimming and when she flashed her money to show Izayoi she could afford it, the shopkeeper's eyes went wide with greed.
"You have to buy the Pewter one; it didn't say anything about silver!"
"Actually I'll just buy what you said…" Rin answered quickly when she eyed the male shopkeeper with a lusting look. Sango grabbed double sets of telescopes, glass phials, scales, potion supplies and dumped them at the counter while the frustrated shopkeeper rung them up. They soon made their way to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour for a few scoops.
"Mrs. Tensai? Are people allowed to experiment on wands?" Sango asked the question that was plaguing her. She licked her chocolate ice cream before Izayoi explained.
"Well, it depends. If it's in the muggle world, then it's illegal. In the magic world, its okay."
"Muggle world?" Rin asked, finishing off her mint sundae.
"Non magic people's world," Sango explained and threw the ice cream cone away.
"Oh."
"Mrs. Tensai, is it okay that I show Rin the Nimbus, and buy our pets alone?"
"Sure, just meet me at the Leaky Cauldron when you're done," Izayoi smiled warmly and handed the list to Rin. Sango grabbed their items and dragged Rin's arm towards the crowded street and near to a shop, Quality Quidditch Supplies.
"See Rin, this is the new Nimbus!" Sango exclaimed. Sango let go of her arm and stuffed Rin's stuff in the girl's arm and started to admire the case which had a broom.
"It's just a very good looking broom," Rin stated, wondering why a broom was on showcase.
"It's a flying broom and the fastest one yet! You seriously have no idea what's going on in the wizarding world!" Sango smiled widely. Rin looked through the list while Sango kept starring. At the end, it stated 'PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS.'
"We're not even allowed to have a broom Sango!"
"So? It doesn't mean I can't look at it! I can afford this easily. Hogwarts must be nuts for not allowing us to have our own broom!"
"Why waste your money now though? I mean sooner or later something new and improved is bound to come out."
"True," Sango admitted and reluctantly took her eyes off it.
"Come on, let's go get our pet." This time, Rin grabbed Sango's arm and dragged it to the Magical Menagerie. Screeches and meows of cats echoed on the walls which left the girls nearly crying out for quiet.
"Holy! It's so friggin' loud here!" Sango hollered.
"What!?" Rin shouted back.
"I said, IT'S SO LOUD HERE!!"
"WHAT?!"
"NEVERMIND!"
The red haired shop keeper stepped over and waved his wand. Loud noises were gradually quieting down and both girls sighed in relief.
"Thank you so much!" Rin said gratefully. The old man smiled and walked away. Sango ran towards a section while Rin browsed the cat section. There were many kinds but all of them were quite menacing. The hissed and the ones that were lying contently purred but their visage were still menacing. Rin's hope waned on a pet cat until she saw a black kitten.
Her emerald eyes pierced through her soul, filled with fear but with a tinge of hope. Its black short hair was messy and coarse, her cage had the stench of blood mingling in the air, and her feeble, scrawny position indicated she was starved. The poor kitten was brittle, like a twig about to snap if not handled with extreme care.
Rin slowly inched forward and the kitten backed away with fright. Ever so slowly, she rose up a little finger and put it in front of the cage. After a few minutes of examining the finger, the kitten slowly crawled up and sniffed it. It finally licked it when she sensed no ill will from the girl. Rin giggled at her. She smiled brightly once she decided she wanted to save her from this place. Her perfect pet, a kitten.
"Excuse me, can I buy her?" Rin asked another coming clerk. This time it was a grey haired clerk and he looked disdainful and disgusted at the small kitten.
"Take her if you want, she's no use for me." His voice was filled with poison and spikes. Rin cringed from the chill he sent through her back. He waved to the red haired clerk to take the kitten.
"I'm surprised you like this kitten Miss." He said calmly as he took out a key and unlocked the cage. "Most people would've ignored her or punch her cage since she's always hissing."
"Really? She didn't hiss when I came."
"She must like you then. The manager always wanted to starve her to death ever since she was brought here a few months ago. It was a bit harsh really and the only thing that kept her from dying were the bugs in this place."
"That's just cruel. Starve her just because she hisses?"
"True, I don't like her that much either," he stated as the kitten hissed violently at him. He handed Rin the kitten quickly and it settled contentedly in her arms. It snuggled in the gap of her elbow and purred. "Wow, I never thought she'd like you this much."
"That's because I don't starve things to death," she whispered coldly as she petted the cat softly.
"What?" The man took the cage down but it was so noisy that he couldn't hear what she was saying.
"Nothing," she lied.
"Do you want this cage?" Rin nodded as she set her eyes on him. He looked away and gathered some more cat things for her. Rin grabbed a few treats and toys for her new pet too. She found Sango with a cat too except it was white with black markings and bands and red eyes. Her condition worse than her pet's
"That's a cute cat Sango."
"Yeah it is, those clerks should've taken better care of her, and she's been tortured from the looks of it."
"I know, that's why I got this little kitty." Rin showed her the black cat and she marveled at how cute it was.
"After this, I swear, I'm going to complain to father about this. He'll definitely put them up straighter." Sango giggled as she picked up a chew toy.
They quickly bought their pet's needs and their pets with several galleons and sickles and hurried out of the store. Both cats were sleeping in their owner's arms and they didn't mind since they were now safe. They both decided to sit down for a while before deciding what to do next. Sango pulled Rin inside the Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour and bought another ice cream cone.
"You've already had another ice cream Sango!" Rin exclaimed. She set her bags down and sat across from her while petting the kitten.
"I know but I love it. It's not my fault they make the most delicious ice cream in the wizarding world." Her white cat lifted her head to the sweet aroma of chocolate ice cream and Sango let her lick her cone.
Rin sighed disapprovingly and looked at her cat. So what should I name you? As if Sango heard her she immediately asked.
"I don't know I'm still thinking," she ticked her ear and she purred happily. "So what are ou going to name yours?"
"Hmm, I was thinking of Kirara since it's a cute name and all."
"Go ahead, you should."
"Alright then, Kirara it is." She smiled towards her kitten and fed her some more ice cream.
"I just hope you don't poison her," Rin whispered jokingly.
"Ha ha," she laughed sarcastically. "Kirara won't get sick, she's a magical property."
"Okay… well we've got to go to another shop too."
"Oh yeah what's that?" Sango asked as she tossed her remaining ice cream in the trash can nearby.
"I've gotta get clothes. Lots of clothes," she stated blankly, starring at her.
A wide grin spread throughout Sango's face as she leapt up happily. Rin looked strangely at her friend and wondered if she just was on high. Curse those sugar stuff. She grabbed their bags and dragged her arm to a shop which was unknown to Rin.
For nearly two hours, they emerged from the shop, tired, with at least a dozen of bags in Rin's hand. Rin struggled with the heavy weight; beads of sweat ran down her forehead.
"I really love that black shirt you know," Sango remarked. She was referring to the merchandises they bought. The top was made to fit her and when she first looked at it, her immediate thought was 'This is going to be my favourite shirt'. The black top was form fitting and it had several silver butterflies across the chest section. Glitter decorated the trails of butterflies and some moved occasionally. Hey, after all, it is from the magic world.
"Yeah, that's my favourite top." Rin smiled at her and thanked her for helping. The kitten purred in her arms.
"So what are you going to name your kitten? I already named mine Kirara," Sango stated.
"Hmm…" she trailed off as the kitten lifted her head and looked at her eyes. Rin thought back to the time when they first met. Her eyes were reflected fear and hope. Hope… it sounded nice but she wanted to have a unique one too. "Mikomi."
"Mikomi huh? Sounds nice. What is it suppose to mean?" Sango looked at Mikomi with gleeful eyes.
"Hope but in another language," Rin answered.
"Japanese?" Sango looked amusedly at her.
"Yeah, how'd you know?" Rin looked at her.
"Just a hunch." She grinned widely. "Can we have a quick glance at the new broomstick first before we go back?" Rin nodded, smiling. The sun was setting above the horizon and the sky was painted in a cascade of blue, pink and orange. The stores were closing one by one and people emptied the streets gradually.
Both Sango and Rin sprinted towards the case and caught a quick glance. They both admired it for a moment before turning back.
"You know, I never thought I would find a friend like you Sango. I'm just glad I did." Rin smiled to her friend. She returned it softly.
"Let's go back." Rin nodded and walked side by side with her. A glimpse of silver caught her eye and she turned. A mane of silver hair swayed lightly in the wind. The person reminded greatly of InuYasha and 'it' appears to be conversing with a couple of people. A boy with hair in a ponytail and brown tail ("How can he have a tail? Oh wait… we're in the magic world"), a girl with green earrings and a feather in her hair, and a menacing boy who greatly reminds her of a spider.
"What are you looking at Rin?" Sango stopped walking as she noticed her friend.
"Umm wait a minute will you?" Sango nodded and Rin headed to the silver haired person. "InuYasha? Is that you?" Her voice held a tinge of nervousness. The person slowly turned around.
TBC...
Well sorry for the long wait but I hd some things to attend. My apologies to those who waied long. I'll try to update often especailly in the summer break... if I'm not dragged to vacation or something
Thank you!