Alright! Thanks everyone for reviewing, though *ahem ahem* a lot of people resisted the temptation of Honeyduke's chocolate….lol I know I wouldn't! 1008 people have clicked on this story so far, yet there are only 32 reviews! (Thank you to the reviewers who have reviewed since the beginning.) So this time I got my first real criticism, and I'm glad people mentioned it—
Animekidd675 said that it was too much like the real Harry Potter book—so did KenziCullen, and the reason is that I really wanted to make it like an actual Harry Potter—ahem Holly Potter—story. Girls aren't that different than boys, after all, so I'm glad everyone has reviewed so far, and please bear with me as we move on to bigger and better things.
Now I will respond to the reviews!
-Alex—I put up a poll on which house you want Holly to be in. Please vote in it! (I'll repeat again at the end). Hmm I haven't decided on the pairings yet, they're still 11, though it may show at the middle…who knows?
Frannienzbabe—Actually, I think Holly will…though her preferences will be different than Harry's.
Angelvan105—Thanks, I'm overwhelmed! Yes, I believe Diagon Alley will be pretty interesting…here Holly will actually get to make her own choices.
Gypsydancer529—Thanks for reviewing, and hopefully this chapter will be even better!
Allen Pitt—I declare, you are writing this story for me…lol. And yes, I think I'm going to do a chapter and a POV exclusively on Snape…*grins*.
Hermione Solo—LOL, I know, Snape will be soo fun to write, I can't wait. But look forward to…Diagon Alley!
So thanks everyone, I technically got 7 reviews, +1 by animekidd on the 4th chapter.
So…I present….HOLLY'S FIRST TRIP TO THE WIZARDING WORLD!!!
*EDIT* *Blushes* I had to still revise it because of reviewers pointing out mistakes...will anyone beta this?
Holly awoke early next morning—the sun shone on her face. She kept her eyes firmly shut.
"It was a dream, she told herself firmly. "I dreamed a giant called Hagrid came to tell me I was going to a school for witches—not bad witches. When I open my eyes I'll be at home in my bedroom."
There was suddenly a loud tapping noise.
And there's Aunt Petunia knocking on the door, Holly thought, her heart sinking. But she wanted to go back into the dream, so she still didn't open her eyes.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
"All right," Holly mumbled, "I'm getting up."
She sat up and Hagrid's heavy coat fell off her. The hut was full of sunlight, the storm was over, Hagrid himself was asleep on the collapsed sofa, and there was an owl rapping its claw on the window, a newspaper held in its beak.
Holly scrambled to her feet, so happy she felt as though a large balloon of relief was swelling inside her. She went straight to the window and jerked it open. The owl swooped in and dropped the newspaper on top of Hagrid, who didn't wake up. The owl then fluttered onto the floor and began to attack Hagrid's coat. Holly marveled at it for a second—she hadn't seen a single owl even at nighttime before—
"Don't do that." She said, advancing on the owl.
Holly tried to wave the owl out of the way, but it snapped its beak fiercely at her and carried on savaging the coat.
"Hagrid!" said Holly loudly. "There's an owl—
"Pay him," Hagrid grunted into the sofa.
"What?"
"He wants payin' fer deliverin' the paper. Look in the pockets." Hagrid's coat seemed to be made of nothing but pockets -- bunches of keys, slug pellets, balls of string, peppermint humbugs, teabags... finally, Holly pulled out a handful of strange-looking coins. Magic coins, she thought.
"Give him five Knuts," said Hagrid sleepily.
"Knuts?"
"The little bronze ones."
Holly counted out five little bronze coins, and the owl held out his leg so Holly could put the money into a small leather pouch tied to it. Then he flew off through the open window.
Hagrid yawned loudly, sat up, and stretched.
"Best be off, Holly, lots ter do today, gotta get up ter London an' buy all yer stuff fer school."
Holly was turning over the magic coins and looking at them. Suddenly, a horrible sinking feeling arose in her.
"Hagrid," she said miserably, "I don't have any magic money. I don't even have any normal money."
To her surprise, Hagrid chuckled. "For one, it's wizard money. An' don't worry about that," he said, standing up and scratching his head. "D'yeh think yer parents didn't leave yeh anything?"
"But if their house was destroyed --"
"They didn' keep their gold in the house! Nah, first stop fer us is Gringotts. Wizards' bank. Have a sausage, they're not bad cold -- an' I wouldn' say no teh a bit o' yer birthday cake, neither."
"Wizards have banks?"
"Just the one. Gringotts. Run by goblins."
Holly nearly dropped the bit of sausage she was holding.
"Goblins? Er…what kind of goblins?"
"Yeah -- so yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it, I'll tell yeh that. What'dya mean, what kind? Only one—small, short, and truthfully, not very friendly. Never mess with goblins, Holly. Gringotts is the safest place in the world fer anything yeh want ter keep safe -- 'cept maybe Hogwarts. As a matter o' fact, I gotta visit Gringotts anyway. Fer Dumbledore. Hogwarts business." Hagrid drew himself up proudly. "He usually gets me ter do important stuff fer him. Fetchin' you gettin' things from Gringotts -- knows he can trust me, see.
"Got everythin'? Come on, then."
Holly followed Hagrid out onto the rock. The sky was quite clear now and the sea gleamed in the sunlight. The boat Uncle Vernon had hired was still there, with a lot of water in the bottom after the storm.
"How did you get here?" Holly asked, looking around for another boat.
"Flew," said Hagrid.
"Flew? Cool!"
"Yeah -- but we'll go back in this. Not s'pposed ter use magic now I've got yeh."
They settled down in the boat, Holly still staring at Hagrid, trying to imagine him flying.
"Seems a shame ter row, though," said Hagrid, giving Holly another of his sideways—rather shifty-- looks. "If I was ter -- er -- speed things up a bit, would yeh mind not mentionin' it at Hogwarts?"
"Of course not," said Holly, eager to see more magic. Hagrid pulled out the pink umbrella again, tapped it twice on the side of the boat, and they sped off toward land.
"Hagrid, how can a pink umbrella do magic?"
Hagrid didn't say anything, but she could've sworn that under his entire hairy beard, he was flushing.
So she switched tactics. "Why would you be mad to try and rob Gringotts?" She asked.
"Spells -- enchantments," said Hagrid, unfolding his newspaper as he
spoke. "They say there's dragons guardin' the high-security vaults. And then yeh gotta find yer way -- Gringotts is hundreds of miles under London, see. Deep under the Underground. Yeh'd die of hunger tryin' ter get out, even if yeh did manage ter get yer hands on summat."
As Hagrid read the newspaper, she impatiently fidgeted, bursting with questions.
"Ministry o' Magic messin' things up as usual," Hagrid muttered, turning the page.
"There's a Ministry of Magic?"
"'Course," said Hagrid. "They wanted Dumbledore fer Minister, o' course, but he'd never leave Hogwarts, so old Cornelius Fudge got the job. Bungler if ever there was one. So he pelts Dumbledore with owls every morning, askin' fer advice."
"But what does a Ministry of Magic do?"
"Well, their main job is to keep it from the Muggles that there's still witches an' wizards up an' down the country."
"Why?"
"Why? Blimey, Holly, everyone'd be wantin' magic solutions to their problems. Nah, we're best left alone."
At this moment the boat bumped gently into the harbor wall. Hagrid folded up his newspaper, and they clambered up the stone steps onto the street.
Passers-by stared a lot at Hagrid as they walked through the little town to the station. Holly couldn't blame them. Not only was Hagrid twice as tall as anyone else, he kept pointing at perfectly ordinary things like parking meters and saying loudly, "See that, Holly? Things these Muggles dream up, eh?"
"Hagrid," said Holly, jogging alongside Hagrid, "did you say there are dragons at Gringotts?"
"Well, so they say," said Hagrid. "Crikey, I'd like a dragon."
"Really? Are they nice?"
"They're wonderful creatures, bless 'em. Wanted one ever since I was a kid -- here we go."
They had reached the station. There was a train to London in five minutes' time. Hagrid, who didn't understand Muggle money gave the bills to Holly so she could buy their tickets.
People stared more than ever on the train. Hagrid took up two seats and sat knitting what looked like a canary-yellow circus tent.
"Still got yer letter, Holly?" he asked as he counted stitches. Holly took the parchment envelope out of her pocket.
"Good," said Hagrid. "There's a list there of everything yeh need."
Holly unfolded a second piece of paper she hadn't noticed the night before, and read:
HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
UNIFORM
First-year students will require:
1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)
2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear
3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
4. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)
Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags
COURSE BOOKS
All students should have a copy of each of the following:
The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk
A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot
Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling
A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emetic Switch
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore
Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble
OTHER EQUIPMENT
wand cauldron (pewter, standard size 2) set glass or crystal phials
telescope set
brass scales
Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad
PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS
"Can we buy all this in London?" Holly wondered aloud.
"If yeh know where to go," said Hagrid.
Holly had never been to London before. Although Hagrid seemed to know where he was going, he was obviously not used to getting there in an ordinary way. He got stuck in the ticket barrier on the Underground, and complained loudly that the seats were too small and the trains too slow.
"I don't know how the Muggles manage without magic," he said as they climbed a broken-down escalator that led up to a bustling road lined with shops.
Hagrid was so huge that he parted the crowd easily; all Holly had to do was keep close behind him. They passed book shops and music stores, hamburger restaurants and cinemas, but nowhere that looked as if it could sell you a magic wand. This was just an ordinary street full of ordinary people. Could there really be piles of wizard gold buried miles beneath them? Were there really shops that sold spell books and broomsticks? Might this not all be some huge joke that the Dursleys had cooked up? Even the Dursleys wouldn't treat her to such an elaborate joke on her birthday. "This is it," said Hagrid, coming to a halt, "the Leaky Cauldron. It's a famous place."
It was a tiny, grubby-looking pub. If Hagrid hadn't pointed it out, even Holly's sharp eyes wouldn't have noticed it was there. The people hurrying by didn't glance at it. Their eyes slid from the big book shop on one side to the record shop on the other as if they couldn't see the Leaky Cauldron at all. In fact, Holly had the most peculiar feeling that only she and Hagrid could see it. Before she could mention this, Hagrid had steered her inside.
For a famous place, it was very dark and shabby. A few old women were sitting in a corner, drinking tiny glasses of sherry. One of them was smoking a long pipe. A little man in a top hat was talking to the old bartender, who was quite bald and looked like a toothless walnut. The low buzz of chatter stopped when they walked in. Everyone seemed to know Hagrid; they waved and smiled at him, and the bartender reached for a glass, saying, "The usual, Hagrid?"
"Can't, Tom, I'm on Hogwarts business," said Hagrid, putting a hand on Holly's shoulder and causing her knees to buckle. Suddenly she felt her arm was very conspicuous.
"Good Lord," said the bartender, peering at Holly, "is this -- can this be --?"
The Leaky Cauldron had suddenly gone completely still and silent.
"Bless my soul," whispered the old bartender, "Holly Potter... what an honor."
He hurried out from behind the bar, rushed toward Holly and seized her hand (the one without the clawed mark), tears in his eyes.
"Welcome back, Ms. Potter, welcome back."
Holly didn't know what to say. Everyone was looking at her. The old woman with the pipe was puffing on it without realising it had gone out. Hagrid was beaming. "H-Hi." She said.
Then there was a great scraping of chairs and the next moment, Holly found herself shaking hands with everyone in the Leaky Cauldron.
"Doris Crockford, Ms. Potter, can't believe I'm meeting you at last."
"So proud, Ms. Potter, I'm just so proud."
"Always wanted to shake your hand -- I'm all of a flutter."
"Delighted, Ms. Potter, just can't tell you, Diggle's the name, Dedalus Diggle."
"I've seen you before!" said Holly, as Dedalus Diggle's top hat fell off in his excitement. "You bowed to me once in a shop."
"She remembers!" cried Dedalus Diggle, looking around at everyone. "Did you hear that? She remembers me!" Holly privately knew that she had only remembered him because he had looked so funny. She shook hands again and again -- Doris Crockford kept coming back for more.
A pale young man made his way forward, very nervously. One of his eyes was twitching.
"Professor Quirrell!" said Hagrid. "Holly, Professor Quirrell will be one of your teachers at Hogwarts."
"Ms. P-P-Potter," stammered Professor Quirrell, grasping Holly's hand, "c-can't t-tell you how p- pleased I am to meet you."
"What sort of magic do you teach, Professor Quirrell?"
"D-Defense Against the D-D-Dark Arts," muttered Professor Quirrell, as though he'd rather not think about it. "N-not that you n-need it, eh, P-P-Potter?" He laughed nervously. "You'll be g-getting all your equipment, I suppose? I've g-got to p-pick up a new b-book on vampires, m-myself." He looked terrified at the very thought.
But the others wouldn't let Professor Quirrell keep Holly to himself. It took almost fifteen minutes to get away from them all. At last, Hagrid managed to make himself heard over the babble.
"Must get on -- lots ter buy. Come on, Holly."
Doris Crockford shook Holly's hand one last time, and Hagrid led them through the bar and out into a small, walled courtyard, where there was nothing but a trash can and a few weeds.
Hagrid grinned at Holly.
"Told yeh, didn't I? Told yeh you was famous. Even Professor Quirrell was tremblin' ter meet yeh -- mind you, he's usually tremblin'."
"Is he always that nervous?"
"Oh, yeah. Poor bloke. Brilliant mind. He was fine while he was studyin' outta books but then he took a year off ter get some firsthand experience.... They say he met vampires in the Black Forest, and there was a nasty bit o' trouble with a hag -- never been the same since. Scared of the students, scared of his own subject now, where's me umbrella?"
Vampires? Hags? Holly's head was swimming. Hagrid, meanwhile, was counting bricks in the wall above the trash can.
"Three up... two across," he muttered. "Right, stand back, Holly."
He tapped the wall three times with the point of his umbrella.
The brick he had touched quivered -- it wriggled -- in the middle, a small hole appeared -- it grew wider and wider -- a second later they were facing an archway large enough even for Hagrid, an archway onto a cobbled street that twisted and turned out of sight.
"Welcome," said Hagrid, "to Diagon Alley."
He grinned at Holly's amazement. They stepped through the archway. Holly looked quickly over his shoulder and saw the archway shrink instantly back into solid wall.
The sun shone brightly on a stack of cauldrons outside the nearest shop. Cauldrons -- All Sizes - Copper, Brass, Pewter, Silver -- Self-Stirring -- Collapsible, said a sign hanging over them.
"Yeah, you'll be needin' one," said Hagrid, "but we gotta get yer money first."
Holly goggled at everything: the shops, the things outside them, the people doing their shopping. She wished she had a lot more eyes. She was in the magic—er wizarding—world now! A plump woman outside an Apothecary was shaking her head as they passed, saying,
"Dragon liver, seventeen Sickles an ounce, they're mad...."
A low, soft hooting came from a dark shop with a sign saying Eeylops Owl Emporium -- Tawny, Screech, Barn, Brown, and Snowy. Besides it, there was a pet shop. Several boys of about Holly's age had their noses pressed against a window with broomsticks in it. "Look," Holly heard one of them say, "the new Nimbus Two Thousand -- fastest ever --" There were shops selling robes, shops selling telescopes and strange silver instruments Holly had never seen before, windows stacked with barrels of bat spleens and eels' eyes (Yuck!), tottering piles of spell books, quills, and rolls of parchment, potion bottles, globes of the moon....
"Gringotts," said Hagrid.
They had reached a snowy white building that towered over the other little shops. Standing beside its burnished bronze doors, wearing a uniform of scarlet and gold, was -
"Yeah, that's a goblin," said Hagrid quietly as they walked up the white stone steps toward him. The goblin was about a head shorter than Holly. He had a swarthy, clever face, a pointed beard and, Holly noticed, very long fingers and feet. He bowed as they walked inside. Now they were facing a second pair of doors, silver this time, with words engraved upon them:
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.
"Like I said, Yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it," said Hagrid.
A pair of goblins bowed them through the silver doors and they were in a vast marble hall. About a hundred more goblins were sitting on high stools behind a long counter, scribbling in large ledgers, weighing coins in brass scales, examining precious stones through eyeglasses. There were too many doors to count leading off the hall, and yet more goblins were showing people in and out of these. Hagrid and Holly made for the counter.
"Morning," said Hagrid to a free goblin. "We've come ter take some money outta Ms. Holly Potter's safe."
"You have her key, Sir?"
"Got it here somewhere," said Hagrid, and he started emptying his pockets onto the counter, scattering a handful of moldy dog biscuits over the goblin's book of numbers. The goblin wrinkled his nose. Holly watched the goblin on their right weighing a pile of rubies as big as glowing coals. Her hands itched to touch them. So many riches!
"Got it," said Hagrid at last, holding up a tiny golden key.
The goblin looked at it closely.
"That seems to be in order."
"An' I've also got a letter here from Professor Dumbledore," said Hagrid importantly, throwing out his chest. "It's about the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen."
The goblin read the letter carefully.
"Very well," he said, handing it back to Hagrid, "I will have someone take you down to both vaults. Griphook!"
Griphook was yet another goblin. Once Hagrid had crammed all the dog biscuits back inside his pockets, he and Holly followed Griphook toward one of the doors leading off the hall.
"What's the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen?" Holly asked.
"Can't tell yeh that," said Hagrid mysteriously. "Very secret. Hogwarts business. Dumbledore's trusted me. More'n my job's worth ter tell yeh that."
Griphook held the door open for them. Holly, who had expected more marble, was surprised. They were in a narrow stone passageway lit with flaming torches. It sloped steeply downward and there were little railway tracks on the floor. Griphook whistled and a small cart came hurtling up the tracks toward them. They climbed in -- Hagrid with some difficulty -- and were off.
At first they just hurtled through a maze of twisting passages. Holly tried to remember, left, right, right, left, middle fork, right, left, but it was impossible. The rattling cart seemed to know its own way, because Griphook wasn't steering.
Holly's eyes stung as the cold air rushed past them, but she kept them wide open. Once, she thought she saw a burst of fire at the end of a passage and twisted around to see if it was a dragon, but too late - they plunged even deeper, passing an underground lake where huge stalactites and stalagmites grew from the ceiling and floor.
"Hagrid, can you tell me," Holly called to Hagrid over the noise of the cart, "what's the difference between a stalagmite and a stalactite?"
"Stalagmite's got a 'm' in it," said Hagrid. "An' don' ask me questions just now, I think I'm gonna be sick."
He did look very green, and when the cart stopped at last beside a small door in the passage wall, Hagrid got out and had to lean against the wall to stop his knees from trembling.
Griphook unlocked the door. A lot of green smoke came billowing out, and as it cleared, Holly gasped. Inside were mounds of gold coins. Columns of silver. Heaps of little bronze Knuts.
"All yours," smiled Hagrid.
All Holly's -- it was incredible. The Dursleys couldn't have known about this or they'd have had it a long time ago before she could even say "Money". Wow! She was rich.
Hagrid helped Holly pile some of it into a bag.
"The gold ones are Galleons," he explained. "Seventeen silver Sickles to a Galleon and twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle, it's easy enough. Right, that should be enough fer a couple o' terms, we'll keep the rest safe for yeh." He turned to Griphook. "Vault seven hundred and thirteen now, please, and can we go more slowly?"
"One speed only," said Griphook.
They were going even deeper now and gathering speed. The air became colder and colder as they hurtled round tight corners. They went rattling over an underground ravine, and Holly leaned over the side to try to see what was down at the dark bottom, but Hagrid groaned and pulled her back.
Vault seven hundred and thirteen had no keyhole.
"Stand back," said Griphook importantly. He stroked the door gently with one of his long fingers and it simply melted away.
"If anyone but a Gringotts goblin tried that, they'd be sucked through the door and trapped in there," said Griphook.
"How often do you check to see if anyone's inside?" Holly asked.
"About once every ten years," said Griphook with a rather nasty grin.
Something really extraordinary had to be inside this top security vault, Holly was sure, and she leaned forward eagerly, expecting to see something very unique, something very special -- but at first she thought it was empty. Then she noticed a grubby little package wrapped up in brown paper lying on the floor. Hagrid picked it up and tucked it deep inside his coat. Holly longed to know what it was, but knew better than to ask.
"Come on, back in this infernal cart, and don't talk to me on the way back, it's best if I keep me mouth shut," said Hagrid.
One wild cart ride later they stood blinking in the sunlight outside Gringotts. Holly didn't know where to run first now that she had a bag full of money. She didn't have to know how many Galleons there were to a pound to know that she was holding more money than she'd had in her whole life -- more money than even Dudley had ever had.
"Might as well get yer uniform," said Hagrid, nodding toward Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. "Listen, Holly, would yeh mind if I slipped off fer a pick-me-up in the Leaky Cauldron? I hate them Gringotts carts." He did still look a bit sick, so Holly entered Madam Malkin's shop alone, feeling nervous.
Madam Malkin was a squat, smiling witch dressed all in mauve.
"Hogwarts, dear?" she said, when Holly started to speak. "Got the lot here—a young man being fitted up just now, in fact."
In the back of the shop, a boy with a pale, pointed face was standing on a footstool while a second witch pinned up his long black robes. Madam Malkin stood Holly on a stool next to him, slipped a long robe over her head, and began to pin it to the right length.
"Hello," said the boy, "Hogwarts, too?"
"Yes," said Holly.
"My father's next door buying my books and mother's up the street looking at wands," said the boy. He had a bored, drawling voice. "Then I'm going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don't see why first years can't have their own. I think I'll bully father into getting me one and I'll smuggle it in somehow."
"Racing brooms?"
"You know, Quidditch. Have you got your own broom?" the boy went on.
"No, what's Quidditch?" said Holly.
"You don't know what Quidditch is? Are you a Mudblood?" The boy sneered.
"Dunno what you mean by Mudblood," Holly said coldly "I don't think it sounds very nice though. And what is Quidditch?"
"Ha! Mudblood means you're Muggleborn."
"My mum and dad were both wizards and witches."
"Oh, good. Well Mudbloods are stupid and useless. They're not as good as us purebloods, though I suppose that half bloods are ok."
"What's wrong with being Muggleborn?"
"Excuse me?"
Holly repeated it slowly and clearly.
The boy narrowed his eyes. This girl was not a Mudblood, and pretty, but she dared to defy him?
"Their blood is dirty. It's MUGGLE blood!"
"I don't think it's fair to judge people on whether they're a wizard or not, Mr…"
"Malfoy," the boy said with a sneer.
"You can't choose whether you're Muggleborn or not, Mr. Malfoy. So I would advise you to stop that prejudice that you obviously have."
"Do you." The boy said, not smirking anymore. This girl wasn't a Weasley, that was for sure, and she still was a Muggle Lover? He had to tell Father.
He changed the subject. "What house do you think you'll go into?"
"House?"
"Don't tell me you don't know, I know I'LL be in Slytherin. I think I would leave if I was in Hufflepuff."
Holly didn't get to reply, because just then Madame Malkin finished fitting her robes, and she slipped off her chair.
"Well, bye, Mr. Malfoy," she told the boy.
"You never told me your name," he said sneeringly.
She didn't respond, but went outside where Hagrid was, waving and smiling.
Holly was rather quiet as she ate the ice cream Hagrid had bought her (chocolate and raspberry with chopped nuts).
"What's up?" said Hagrid.
"Nothing," Holly lied. They stopped to buy parchment and quills. Holly cheered up a bit when she found a bottle of ink that changed color as you wrote. When they had left the shop, she said, "Hagrid, what's Quidditch?"
"Blimey, Holly, I keep forgettin' how little yeh know -- not knowin' about Quidditch!"
"Don't make me feel worse," said Holly. She told Hagrid about the pale boy in Madam Malkin's.
"--and he said people from Muggle families shouldn't even be allowed in."
"Yer not from a Muggle family. If he'd known who yeh were -- he's grown up knowin' yer name if his parents are wizardin' folk. You saw what everyone in the Leaky Cauldron was like when they saw yeh. Anyway, what does he know about it, some o' the best I ever saw were the only ones with magic in 'em in a long line o' Muggles -- look at yer mum! Look what she had fer a sister!"
"So what is Quidditch?"
"It's our sport. Wizard sport. It's like -- like soccer in the Muggle world -- everyone follows Quidditch -- played up in the air on broomsticks and there's four balls -- sorta hard ter explain the rules."
"And what are Slytherin and Hufflepuff?"
"School houses. There's four. Everyone says Hufflepuff are a lot o' duffers, but better Hufflepuff than Slytherin," said Hagrid darkly. "There's not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin. You-Know-Who was one."
"Volde-, sorry - You-Know-Who was at Hogwarts?"
"Years an' years ago," said Hagrid.
They bought Holly's school books in a shop called Flourish and Blotts where the shelves were stacked to the ceiling with books as large as paving stones bound in leather; books the size of postage stamps in covers of silk; books full of peculiar symbols and a few books with nothing in them at all. Even Dudley, who never read anything, would have been wild to get his hands on some of these. Hagrid almost had to drag Holly away from "Jinxes, Hexes, and Cool Tricks—Turn your Enemies into Toads!"
"I'm not sayin' that's not a good idea to learn jinxes, but yer not ter use magic in the Muggle world except in very special circumstances," said Hagrid. "An' anyway, yeh couldn' work any of them curses yet, yeh'll need a lot more study before yeh get ter that level."
Holly eyed the book "How to Make Yourself Shine, and get Wizards to Notice You!" and blushed, looking determinedly away. Hagrid didn't notice.
Hagrid wouldn't let Holly buy a solid gold cauldron, either ("It says pewter on yer list"), but they got a nice set of scales for weighing potion ingredients and a collapsible brass telescope. Then they visited the Apothecary, which was fascinating enough to make up for its horrible smell, a mixture of bad eggs and rotted cabbages. Barrels of slimy stuff stood on the floor; jars of herbs, dried roots, and bright powders lined the walls; bundles of feathers, strings of fangs, and snarled claws hung from the ceiling. While Hagrid asked the man behind the counter for a supply of some basic potion ingredients for Holly, Holly herself examined silver unicorn horns at twenty-one Galleons each and unicorn hair, 7 galleons an ounce. Outside the Apothecary, Hagrid checked Holly's list again.
"Just yer wand left - A yeah, an' I still haven't got yeh a birthday present."
"That's very nice of you, Hagrid. You don't have to --"
"I know I don't have to. Tell yeh what, I'll get yer animal. "What do you want? Yeh can get a toad, cat, or owl."
Holly sat down and thought. "I want a cat, Hagrid."
"Alrigh'," Hagrid said, grumbling, "but they make me sneeze."
Twenty minutes later, they left Crookshank's Cat Corner, which had been dark and full of light footsteps and glowing eyes. Harry now carried a large cage that held a beautiful tawny kitten, fast asleep, and looking very small. "T-thank you so much, Hagrid."
"Don' mention it," said Hagrid gruffly. "Just Ollivanders left now - only place fer wands, Ollivanders, and yeh gotta have the best wand."
A magic wand... this was what Holly had been really looking forward to.
The last shop was narrow and shabby. Peeling gold letters over the door read Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. A single wand lay on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window.
A tinkling bell rang somewhere in the depths of the shop as they stepped inside. It was a tiny place, empty except for a single, spindly chair that Hagrid sat on to wait. Holly felt strangely as though she had entered a very strict library; she swallowed a lot of new questions that had just occurred to her and looked instead at the thousands of narrow boxes piled neatly right up to the ceiling. For some reason, the back of her neck prickled. The very dust and silence in here seemed to tingle with some secret magic.
"Good afternoon," said a soft voice. Holly tried not to scream. Hagrid must have jumped because there was a loud crunching noise and he got quickly off the spindly chair.
An old man was standing before them, his wide, pale eyes shining like moons through the gloom of the shop.
"Hello," said Holly awkwardly.
"Ah yes," said the man. "Yes, yes. I thought I'd be seeing you soon. Holly Potter." It wasn't a question. "You have your father's eyes, though the shape is your mother's. It seems only yesterday they were in here. Your mother's wand was ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work."
Mr. Ollivander moved closer to Holly. Holly wished he would blink. Those silvery eyes were a bit creepy.
"Your father, on the other hand, favored a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration. Well, I say your father favored it -- it's really the wand that chooses the witch or wizard, of course."
Mr. Ollivander had come so close that he and Holly were almost nose to nose. Holly could see herself reflected in those misty eyes.
"And that's where..."
Mr. Ollivander gripped Holly's arm, and touched the claw mark.
"I'm sorry to say I sold the wand that did it," he said softly.
"Thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Powerful wand, very powerful, and in the wrong hands... well, if I'd known what that wand was going out into the world to do...."
He shook his head and then, to Holly's relief, spotted Hagrid.
"Rubeus! Rubeus Hagrid! How nice to see you again.... Oak, sixteen inches, rather bendy, wasn't it?"
"It was, sir, yes," said Hagrid.
"Good wand, that one. But I suppose they snapped it in half when you got expelled?" said Mr. Ollivander, suddenly stern.
"Er -- yes, they did, yes," said Hagrid, shuffling his feet. "I've still got the pieces, though," he added brightly.
"But you don't use them?" said Mr. Ollivander sharply.
"Oh, no, 'course not," said Hagrid quickly. Holly noticed he gripped his pink umbrella very tightly as he spoke.
"Hmmm," said Mr. Ollivander, giving Hagrid a piercing look. "Well, now -- Ms. Potter. Let me see." He pulled a long tape measure with silver markings out of his pocket. "Which is your wand arm?"
"I'm right handed," said Holly.
"Hold out your arm. That's it." He measured Holly from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit and round her head. As he measured, he said, "Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance, Ms. Potter. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers, and the heartstrings of dragons. No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons, or phoenixes are quite the same. And of course, you will never get such good results with another wizard's wand."
Holly suddenly realised that the tape measure, which was measuring between her nostrils, was doing this on its own. Mr. Ollivander was flitting around the shelves, taking down boxes.
"That will do," he said, and the tape measure crumpled into a heap on the floor. "Right then, Ms. Potter. Try this one. Beechwood and dragon heartstring. Nine inches. Nice and flexible. just take it and give it a wave."
Holly took the wand and (feeling foolish) waved it around a bit, but Mr. Ollivander snatched it out of her hand almost at once.
"Maple and phoenix feather. Seven inches. Quite whippy. Try --"
Holly tried -- but she had hardly raised the wand when it, too, was snatched back by Mr. Ollivander.
"No, no -here, ebony and unicorn hair, eight and a half inches, springy. Go on, go on, try it out."
Holly tried. And tried. She had no idea what Mr. Ollivander was waiting for. The pile of tried wands was mounting higher and higher on the spindly chair, but the more wands Mr. Ollivander pulled from the shelves, the happier he seemed to become.
"Tricky customer, eh? Not to worry, we'll find the perfect match here somewhere -- I wonder, now - - yes, why not -- unusual combination -- holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple."
Holly took the wand. She felt a sudden warmth in her fingers. She raised the wand above her head, brought it swishing down through the dusty air and a stream of red and gold sparks shot from the end like a firework, throwing dancing spots of light on to the walls. Suddenly, a red and gold lion emerged, roaring, before it faded. Hagrid whooped and clapped and Mr. Ollivander cried, "Oh, bravo! Yes, indeed, oh, very good. Strong magic, you have. Well, well, well... how curious... how very curious... "
He put Holly's wand back into its box and wrapped it in brown paper, still muttering, "Curious... curious…
"Besides that it's made of holly, what's curious?"
Mr. Ollivander fixed Holly with his pale stare.
"I remember every wand I've ever sold, Ms. Potter. Every single wand. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather -- just one other. It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother why, its brother gave you that mark on your arm."
Holly swallowed.
"Yes, thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Curious indeed how these things happen. The wand chooses the witch, remember.... I think we must expect great things from you, Ms. Potter.... After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things -- terrible, yes, but great."
Holly shivered, but her heart was pounding. She was thrilled. She wasn't sure she liked Mr. Ollivander too much, though. She paid seven gold Galleons for her wand, and Mr. Ollivander bowed them from his shop.
The late afternoon sun hung low in the sky as Holly and Hagrid made their way back down Diagon Alley, back through the wall, back through the Leaky Cauldron, now empty. Holly didn't speak at all as they walked down the road; she didn't even notice how much people were gawking at them on the Underground, laden as they were with all their funny-shaped packages, with the cat asleep in its cage on Holly's lap. Up another escalator, out into Paddington station; Holly only realized where they were when Hagrid tapped her on the shoulder.
"Got time fer a bite to eat before yer train leaves," he said.
He bought Holly a hamburger and they sat down on plastic seats to eat them. Holly kept looking around. Everything looked so strange, somehow.
"You all right, Holly? Yer very quiet," said Hagrid.
Holly wasn't sure she could explain. She'd just had the best birthday of her life -- and yet -- she chewed his hamburger, trying to find the words.
"Everyone thinks I'm special," she said at last. "All those people in the Leaky Cauldron, Professor Quirrell, Mr. Ollivander... but I don't know anything about magic at all. How can they expect great things? I'm famous and I can't even remember what I'm famous for. I don't know what happened when Volde-, sorry -- I mean, the night my parents died. I don't feel like I should be famous."
Hagrid leaned across the table. Behind the wild beard and eyebrows he wore a very kind smile.
"Don' you worry, Holly. You'll learn fast enough. Everyone starts at the beginning at Hogwarts, you'll be just fine. Just be yerself. I know it's hard. Yeh've been singled out, an' that's always hard. But yeh'll have a great time at Hogwarts -- I did -- still do, 'smatter of fact."
Hagrid helped Holly on to the train that would take her back to the Dursleys, then handed her an envelope.
"Yer ticket fer Hogwarts," he said. "First o' September -- King's Cross -- it's all on yer ticket. Any problems with the Dursleys, send me a letter, here, I'll give yer an owl of mine..."
And Hagrid took out a rather disheveled owl out of his pocket. "See you soon, Holly."
The train pulled out of the station. Holly wanted to watch Hagrid until he was out of sight; she rose in his seat and pressed her nose against the window, but her bangs got into her eyes, and she blinked. Hagrid was gone.
Longest chapter yet, probably forever…lol. Soo did you like the Holly-Malfoy encounter? And everything else? Please review, review, and review! 10 reviews please this time for this loooong chapter, at least. Oh, did I mention? E-PYGMY PUFFS TO ALL REVIEWERS!
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P.S Oh yeah…if you vote on the poll that's on my profile (which house Holly should go to), you can get another Pygmy Puff. See you!
