Chapter Three- Of Alley Ways and Wands
The next morning was hectic, that much was certain. Getting off the rock was easy enough and after promising not to tell anyone that he used magic- Hagrid had been expelled, what for Hollis didn't know-, they made it to shore in record timing. During all this, Hagrid attempted to read the Daily Prophet and give Hollis a crash course in Wizard Culture. Most of the stuff was pretty easy to understand but Hollis learned very early on that wizards and witches weren't like the ones that she read about in books.
Next was getting onto a train for London. This wasn't as bad for Hollis as it was for Hagrid. Being used to the Wizarding ways, Hagrid complained loudly about the trains being slow. Getting off the platform had been difficult because of Hagrid's sheer size.
Getting into London was hard. It was very crowded and Hagrid had to take Hollis's arm more than once to prevent her from getting lost in the swarms of people.
"Okay, so the bank is called Gringotts and it's run by goblins. There are three different coins, galleons, sickles, and knuts. Seventeen silver sickles to a galleon and twenty nine bronze knuts to a sickle, right?" Hollis said to Hagrid over the din.
"That's right. Come on; let's get closer to the sidewalk. We're getting pretty close now," Hagrid said to her. Hollis followed obediently. She wasn't entirely sure what they were looking for but was almost positive that Hagrid knew where he was going.
Suddenly, a dark and rather run down old pub appeared between a book store and a burger place. Hollis gaped openly at it, dimly realizing that only she and Hagrid could actually see it. Hagrid pushed her towards it and they both went inside.
It was very dark indeed inside the pub- the Leaky Cauldron if she read the sign right- and it took a moment for Hollis's eyes to adjust to the lighting. Everyone inside was wearing strangely colored robes and other magic like accessories. The barman- a toothless, balding man who was quite pale- looked over in their direction and smiled and beckoned to Hagrid.
"Hello Hagrid! The usual I presume?" the barman asked good naturedly.
"Not today, Tom. I'm on official Hogwarts business," Hagrid said proudly, clapping a hand on Hollis's shoulder, nearly knocking her over.
Tom nodded and squinted at Hollis. His eyes widened to the size of dinner plates and he said loudly, "Bless my soul! It's Hollis Potter!"
The bar went eerily silent and all heads turned towards them. Hollis felt the sudden urge to hide behind Hagrid as her face went beet red. She wasn't used to this kind of attention. Sure, random people came up to her sometimes- hugged her, bowed to her, waved to her- but this staring, something that she hated with a passion, was quite unsettling for Hollis.
People rushed forward and Hollis was suddenly overwhelmed with people shaking her hands and introducing themselves.
"Doris Crockford Ms. Potter! I can't believe I'm meeting you at last!" one said in an excited voice.
"Dedalus Diggle, at your service!" another said in an awed voice.
Hollis suddenly remembered this man bowing to her in a shop once. He nearly fell over in delight when she voiced this aloud. Doris Crockford came back at least six times to shake her hand and Dedalus Diggle came back a dozen more. Many more came until Hagrid waved them off. Suddenly, a turban bearing man came very close to them and a strange smell graced Hollis's nose. It smelled almost like cooked garlic.
"Hello Professor, I didn't see you there! Hollis, this is Professor Quirrell. He's your Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher," Hagrid said.
"H-Hollis P-Potter, i-it's s-s-so nice t-to m-meet you," he stuttered.
Hollis smiled and held out her hand. "How do you do?" she asked politely. He pointedly ignored her outstretched hand and said in his stuttering voice, "Fearfully f-fascinating subject. N-Not that y-you n-n-need i-it, e-eh P-Potter?"
Hollis smiled brightly. Hagrid chuckled and said, "I think we have to get going, Professor. You know, lots to buy!"
"Bye!" Hollis said to the nervously smiling Professor. She and Hagrid exited out the back door and into a rather cramped Alley.
"You okay Hollis? You look kind of pale," Hagrid asked while producing his pink umbrella.
"Yeah, I'm okay… I guess everything's just really overwhelming right now. I used to be a nobody, you know? It's a big change. Where are we going anyway Hagrid?" Hollis asked.
"You'll see… Now, where is that blasted brick…? Ah, here we are," Hagrid mumbled. He tapped the third brick on the left with the umbrella three times and the brick wiggled. All of the bricks started trembling and shifting until the barrier was completely gone. Before them was a very crowded Alley lined with small shops that just reeked with magic.
Hollis felt her mouth drop open unceremoniously. Hagrid chuckled. "Welcome, Hollis, to Diagon Alley!"
I love magic.
They walked into Diagon Alley and Hollis wished suddenly that she had about eight more eyes. Hagrid didn't seem to mind her gawking. In fact, he seemed kind of amused by it. But Hollis didn't care.
She looked around eagerly, keeping very close to Hagrid. There was a shop called Flourish and Blott's, a bookstore from the looks of it. Books of all sizes were lined up in the windows on red and gold plush pillows. An Apothecary was next to it and Hollis could see jars containing everything she could imagine and more. There was a woman standing just outside the Apothecary, muttering furiously to herself about Dragon's liver being eighteen sickles an ounce. There was a Magical Menagerie and Eeylop's Owl Emporium, where different sounds could be heard above the din. But largest of all was a large marble building with golden lettering that spelled out-
"Gringotts. That's our first stop," Hagrid said.
They walked up the great marble staircase and through the golden doors. They walked into a brightly lit marble- everything seemed to be made of marble in this place- floored foyer lined with high tables with imp-like creatures sitting at them.
"Yeah, that's a goblin. Best stay close. Goblin's are notoriously tricky and are not meant to be trifled with," Hagrid explained. Hollis moved closer to Hagrid after a particularly vicious looking goblin passed them hauling a wagon full of rubies and sapphires behind him.
They marched up to the front desk where an aged goblin was weighing emeralds. Hagrid cleared his throat and the goblin looked up. "Ms. Hollis Potter would like to make a withdrawal," Hagrid said.
The goblin looked down at Hollis and Hollis felt the sudden urge to shrink back. However, Hollis stood her ground, intuitively knowing that it was most likely not the best thing to do.
"And does Ms. Hollis Potter have her key?" the goblin asked silkily.
"Um, yeah, I have it," Hagrid said while digging around in his pockets for a minute. He pulled out a tiny golden key and set it down on the table.
"And, I have my orders to retrieve the you-know-what from vault you-know-which," Hagrid whispered while pulling out a pristine white envelope with the same curling lettering on Hollis's letter.
The goblin took the letter and nodded. "Very well," he said before waving to another goblin.
They were led underground to what looked like a streetcar. The filed in and the goblin- Griphook- pulled a lever.
They jolted forward and started speeding down the track. A couple of times Hollis swore that the cart either flew of the track or the track flew out from underneath them. A couple of times, a burst of flame would fly above their heads.
After a few minutes of mindless turns and speeding that Hollis enjoyed immensely, they came to a stop.
"Vault six-hundred-eighty-seven," Griphook said monotonously. Hollis jumped out of the car eagerly but she noticed that Hagrid looked quite green.
"Ugh, never liked them carts…" Hagrid mumbled while clambering out of the cart heavily. Griphook ignored Hagrid's sickness and Hollis's excitement, retrieved both the lamp and the key and waddled over to the door. He stuck the key inside and turned it. Hollis heard the grinding of gears and the hisses of clockwork as the door unlocked and swung open.
Hollis felt her eyes widen to the size of dinner plates.
Inside the vault were piles of gold, silver and bronze. Dusty but immense, the Wizarding money glinted some in the weak light.
"Your parents did leave you something," Hagrid chuckled. Hollis nodded numbly. She had known that her parents had left her some money; she just didn't realize that they left her this much.
She and Hagrid ventured in and collected some gold in a leather pouch. "Hagrid, what were those spurts of fire back there?" Hollis asked curiously as she slid down a pile of gold rather clumsily.
"Dragons most likely. You'd be mad to rob the place. They've got security systems everywhere, including dragons. Crikey, I would love to have a dragon," Hagrid said distantly as he helped Hollis up.
"A dragon? Aren't they dangerous though?" Hollis asked as they walked out of the vault. She may not have known much about the Wizarding World but she did know that dragons were dangerous and cunning creatures, like Smaug from The Hobbit.
"More like misunderstood," Hagrid said as they got back into the cart. There was no more room for discussion after they hurtled off again. They stopped again, the ride this time shorter than the last.
"Vault seven-hundred thirteen!" Griphook said dutifully. They once again got up from the cart and Hollis gave Hagrid a curious look but didn't ask him anything seeing that Hagrid wasn't quite up for talking, or opening his mouth in any manner.
"Stand back!" Griphook said while shoving the lamp Hagrid had given him into Hollis's arms. He dragged a long finger nail along a fine line, the screeching sound making Hollis's skin crawl and her hair stand end on end. The doors opened wide after a minute of hissing and grinding to reveal… a three inch package.
Hollis blinked. She had expected gold and jewels. Hagrid swiped up the package and stuck it in his inside breast pocket. He looked at her and said, "Best not tell anyone at Hogwarts about this."
"Okay," Hollis agreed.
***
Despite enjoying the cart ride, Hollis was glad to be out in the sun again. They walked down into the crowded street and Hollis took out her supplies list.
"Why don't you go into Madame Malkin's and wait for me there. Those Gringotts cars make me feel sick. You wouldn't mind if I went into the Leaky Cauldron for a pick-me-up, would you?" Hagrid said shakily.
Hollis assured him that she would be fine, seeing how ill Hagrid looked. She walked into Madame Malkin's nervously. Madame Malkin appeared moments later, wearing a kind look on her round face as she led Hollis to one of the stools. She measured Hollis carefully while muttering crossly to herself about how thin she was.
"I'll be with you in a moment, dearie," she said sweetly before she bustled off to go get the robes.
There was another child there, a boy with platinum blonde hair and a pointed chin. He was quite snobbish, but that was all Hollis could pick up from his aura.
"Hogwarts too?" he said. He had a drawling, bored sort of voice and Hollis was suddenly reminded of Dudley, only a much thinner and more spoiled version.
"Yes," Hollis said curtly. She really didn't like this boy.
"Father's buying my books next door and Mother's up the street looking at wands. Then, I'm going to drag them to look at racing brooms. I think it's stupid that the first years can't have them. I think I can make my father get me one. I'll smuggle it in somehow," the boy said.
Once again, Hollis was reminded of Dudley.
"Do you have a broom?" the boy pressed.
"No," Hollis said, feeling utterly ridiculous.
"Play Quidditch at all?"
"No," Hollis said while simultaneously thinking 'What on Earth is Quidditch'.
"I do and Father says it's a crime if I'm not picked for the House team. I am pretty good. Do you know what house you'll be in?" the boy said boastingly.
"No," Hollis said going slightly red.
"That's okay, cause no one really knows until they get there, do they? But I know that I'll be in Slytherin. My family's been in Slytherin for ages. I think I'd leave if I was in Hufflepuff, wouldn't you?" the boy pressed on.
"Mmm," Hollis said in false thought. She had no idea what this snobby boy was talking about, but she wished feverishly that she could say something other than one word phrases.
"Oh my, God! Look at that man!" the boy said suddenly. Hollis looked out the window and saw Hagrid waving to her from the ice cream shop, smiling happily at her, pointing to two huge ice creams.
"Oh, that's Hagrid. He works as Hogwarts," Hollis said, feeling slightly pleased that she knew something.
"Oh, yeah. Isn't he like the servant or something?" the boy asked.
"He's the gamekeeper," Hollis said, her eyes narrowing. She was really starting to dislike this boy now.
"Exactly! He's some sort of savage. He lives out on the grounds, gets drunk and then tries to do magic and sets his bed on fire!" the boy laughed.
"I think he's brilliant," Hollis said coldly while looking the other way.
"Really? Why is he with you? Where are your parents?" the boy said with a slight sneer.
"They're dead," Hollis said shortly, not wanting to go into details.
"Oh, sorry. But they were our kind weren't they?"
"They were witch and wizard if that's what you mean," Hollis said. She was really starting to lose her temper with this kid. If he kept this up, he might end up with his hair on fire. After all, it looked greasy enough to set on fire.
"I don't think they should let the other kind in. They don't grow up knowing about our world and such. Hey, what's your surname anyway?" the boy asked.
Before Hollis could answer, Madame Malkin came back and shoved some robes into the boy's hands. He waved jauntily to Hollis before sauntering out of the shop.
"I have your robes and uniform, but would you like some new clothes as well? We have a nice selection of Muggle clothing," Madame Malkin said, eyeing Hollis's old sweatshirt and jeans with some distaste. Hollis couldn't resist.
A moment later, Hollis came out laden with packages of her new clothing and robes. It wasn't a lot. She got the staples, stuff that was truly her own, but she knew that she would still have to wear some of Dudley's old clothing.
She trotted over to Hagrid, a slightly depressed look on her face. She ate her ice cream- which was quite good- in silence but before long, Hagrid had coaxed the story out of her. She told him of the pointed face boy and their discussion. Hagrid told her not to worry about it and tried to explain Quidditch to her but failed miserably.
Hollis cheered up slightly when they found a bottle of ink that changed colors as you wrote as well as the staple black and green colors. When they went into the parchment store, Hagrid let her buy some trinkets that included a diary and a new sketchbook. Hagrid wouldn't let her buy a solid gold cauldron though, but she did buy a very nice set of scales to measure potion ingredients with and a collapsible telescope for Astronomy. When they went into Flourish and Blott's, Hollis thought that she had died and ascended into heaven. She flitted around gleefully, looking at different titles as Hagrid asked for the first year course books. She got a couple extra, just for background information, including Hogwarts, A History.
They left Flourish and Blott's and went into the Apothecary to purchase Potion ingredients. The Apothecary was as interesting as it was smelly. Jars of picked brains and unicorn horns lined the shelves and Hollis found herself picking at a shovel that was buried under dead beetles.
After they left to the Apothecary, Hagrid started counting off what they still needed to buy. "Okay, so we still need a wand and I still need to buy you a birthday present," Hagrid said.
Hollis felt herself go very red indeed.
"You don't need to do that," Hollis stuttered out hurriedly. Hagrid waved his hands.
"Don't be silly. I don't expect that the Dursley's gave you many presents anyway. But what to buy you… Ah! I know what to buy you! I'll buy you a pet!" Hagrid said excitedly.
They entered the Magical Menagerie moments later and after meandering around, Hollis found a very pretty snowy owl. She fell in love with her almost immediately. Hagrid nodded approvingly and gave Hollis a smile and a thumbs up. He started to say that owls were dead useful and what they could do but Hollis tuned him out as soon as she set eyes on a feline-like animal.
She crept closer to the cage and saw that it was a beautiful kitten. She was snow white with gold and black splotches all over her thick fur. Her eyes were a pretty ice blue and they sparkled merrily. The kitten started purring at her and started pawing and kneading at her hands. Hollis caressed her silky head and the kitten started purring even louder.
She wasn't entirely sure what had drawn her to this particular animal but she felt something between them.
"It looks like she likes you, Hollis," Hagrid said from behind her. Hollis whirled around and came face to face with his smiling face.
"I guess she does. I don't know… it feels like we have a connection or something…" Hollis said, feeling stupid as she said it.
"Then you should get her. You're an Elemental, Hollis. Something like this was bound to happen. Normal witches and wizards have only one familiar most of the time. Elementals are strange like that. They can have multiple connections to animals. I think that you should get her," Hagrid goaded softly.
Hollis looked at the kitten that was pawing at her limp hand once again.
A moment later, Hollis exited the store with Hagrid with her new owl and kitten. She was thanking Hagrid profusely who was nodding with understanding.
"It's really no problem. It is your birthday after all. Now off to Ollivander's," Hagrid said while leading Hollis to the end of the Alley.
They came upon a shop that was rather old and had only one window. There was faded lettering on it that read Ollivander's, Makers of Fine Wands since 389 B.C. Hollis thought with sudden apprehension that the wand and faded purple pillows in the window looked like they were from 389 B.C.
They walked into the dusty but mercifully empty store. Hollis set down the two cages carefully by a small bench that Hagrid had sat himself on with some difficulty. She walked up to the front desk and looked around expectantly.
Suddenly, a misty looking man appeared from around the tall shelves and looked at Hollis with moon-like eyes.
"I'd wondered when I'd be seeing you, Ms. Potter," he said lightly with a strange but slightly sardonic smile. Hollis could only smile nervously. He walked up to the front desk armed with his own wand and a tape measure.
"It seems like only yesterday that your mother and father were in here buying their first wands… Ah Hagrid! It's good to see you again! Now, Ms. Potter, which is your wand arm?" Ollivander said, briefly stopping to wave to Hagrid.
"Um, well, I'm right handed," Hollis said while raising her right arm to prove the point.
"Yes, that's it," Ollivander said while tapping the tape measure with his wand. The tape measure sprang to life and started measure every aspect of Hollis's arm and body. Ollivander himself puttered around a couple of shelves for a minute and just before the tape measure started to measure the space between her nostrils, he said, "That's quite enough, thank you."
The tape measure crumpled to the floor.
Ollivander placed many different boxes on the table, and picked the topmost one up and handed the wand inside it to Hollis. Almost a moment later, he stole it back, muttering that 'it wouldn't do'.
They repeated this cycle many more times. Hollis was starting to feel very exasperated. Why couldn't she find a wand that would suit her? The pile of useless wands was piling high.
"You are proving to be a tricky customer! No matter, I think I have the wand for you…" Ollivander muttered before returning to the back room of the shop. He took a deliberately long time and Hollis could have sworn that she heard him say 'I wonder'.
He returned to the front with a very dusty, slender box. He removed the wand from inside it and said to her, "Holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches. Nice and supple."
She took the wand into her right hand and she felt an immediate rush of warmth spreading from the palm of her hand to the rest of her body. She waved the wand in a high ark, producing a shower of gold and red sparks. Hagrid whooped and Ollivander applauded politely. Hollis gave back the wand and Ollivander packed it up.
"That's curious… very curious," Ollivander said as he traded the wand for seven galleons.
"What's curious, sir?" Hollis asked questioningly.
"I remember every single wand I've ever sold, Ms. Potter… every single one. It just so happens that the Phoenix, whose tail feather resides in your wand, gave another feather. Just one other. It's curious that you should be destined for this wand, when its brother, gave you that scar," Olivander said quietly so Hagrid couldn't hear him.
Hollis felt her insides go cold. So Voldemort's wand was brothers with her wand.
"Yes… it was a very powerful wand… I remember it well. It was thirteen and a half inches. Yew. The wand chooses the wizard Ms. Potter. It's not always clear why. But, I think it is clear that we can expect great things from you. After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things. Terrible! Yes… but great," he whispered.
From that moment on, Hollis decided to avoid his shop for all she was worth.
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