OoOoOoOoOoOo HP oOoOoOoOoOoO
Kami jumped out of bed and turned off her alarm. It seemed as if her head had just hit the pillow when her alarm had gone off, even though it had actually been several hours. She hurriedly crossed to where she had placed her things the night before and pulled on her clothes, brushing her hair as she descended the stairs.
Her mother was outside in the garden yet again, which suited Kami perfectly, because that left no one to question her about why she was hurrying so much. She practically inhaled her breakfast and was back down the hall and brushing her teeth in a flash. Just as she was finishing up, she heard the unmistakable sound of a car in the driveway. She grabbed her things, and pulled on her shoes on her way back out to the door. She arrived at the door, just as a tall thin man with flaming red hair was ascending the steps. She smiled, opening the door and shuffling over to the man.
"Umm… Mr. Weasley…?" ask asked nervously, unsure of what to say.
He looked at her. "Ah! You must be Kami!" He exclaimed. "Right then, come along, and I shall introduce you to every one"
"Just a sec, I need to tell my mom that we're leaving so she'll know that I've left"
"Of course, we wouldn't want your parents to worry"
Kami didn't bother to correct him. It had been a long time since she had last seen her father and she was unaffected by this mistake by now. She crossed the yard, said goodbye to her mother, gave her a hug, and returned to where Arthur Weasley stood, now accompanied by four boys, all of whom had hair to match Mr. Weasleys. Kami smiled politely at them. She always was one of the guys, and she felt completely at home with them already.
She learned that the eldest was named Percy, it was his fifth year at Hogwarts, and that he had been made prefect, which was sort of like being elected onto student council. The next oldest of the four was a pair of twins, Fred and George. It was their third year, and they were on the quiditch team, which they explained was a wizarding sport that sounded like a mix between baseball, basketball, and catch while flying. The last and youngest of the four was Kami's age. He was named Ronald, but everyone called him Ron for short. It was his first year too, but he had already been to Diagon alley before, so he and Kami would be going together. Percy would be going alone to do 'Prefect things' and Fred and George were to be accompanied by Mr. Wesley to ensure they stayed out of trouble.
After they had arranged this, they decided that they would stick together while they went to the wizarding bank so Kami could get her money exchanged, and the Weasleys could take some money out of their vault. They sat and talked the whole time they were in the old Ford Anglia that the Weasleys owned. Percy sat in front with Arthur, while Kami sat in the back between Fred and Ron. George was on the other side of Fred. After about a half-hour, Mr. Weasley stopped the car and they all climbed out. They were parked across the street from a small shabby looking building stuck between two bigger ones.
Kami followed the Weasleys into the building. They called it the Leaky Cauldron. They crossed the pub, and exited through another door, where they came out into a dead end. She looked around confused. Percy tapped her on the shoulder, and pointed to the wall in front of them where there was nothing but an old dumpster. Mr. Weasley pulled a long wooden something, ('Probably his wand' thought Kami) out of his robes and taped one of the bricks three times. The bricks belted away from the place where Mr. Weasley had tapped his wand against the brick, and now formed a large doorway onto a street lined with all sorts of colorful shops.
They wandered down the street, Kami attempting, and failing, to take everything in. Before she knew it, they were in front of a large white building which towered over all of the other shops. GRINGOTS WIZARD BANK was engraved above a set of bronze double doors. They walked through these, only to be met by yet another set of doors, this time silver with writing on 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.
Kami and the others followed Mr. Weasley as he walked up to a desk with what Percy told her was a goblin behind it. They had a short conversation, after which they followed another goblin through yet another set of doors, where they were met with a large cart. Kami climbed in, again beside Ron, and the cart took off like a shot down winding passageways, around hairpin turns, and stomach flipping drops. At last, the cart stopped, and Mr. Weasley and the Goblin got out and walked toward the vault.
"Whoa… This place is really confusing" Kami whispered in Ron's ear. She could tell that he could feel her breath, which must be pretty hot compared to the air down here, against his neck when she spoke, because he suddenly shivered and turned red, muttering something about it being really cold this far under ground before answering.
"Yea, you'd have to be mad to try and rob the place. Even if you found the right vault you were looking for, it would drive you insane trying to find your way out again…" At that moment Mr. Weasley returned along with the goblin and they commenced their ascent back to the surface, which cut off all conversation between the two.
At last, they had returned to the entrance hall, and the group made its way to the closest free goblin. "Excuse me" Mr. Weasley said to the goblin "We have some muggle money we wish to exchange"
The goblin asked for it and Kami handed over her moneybag that she brought with her. In return the goblin handed her money bag back to her, now full of large gold coins, odd silver coins, and small bronze coins. As they exited the building, they all agreed to meet back up at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor.
"Where shall we go first?" Ron asked, looking sideways at Kami.
"Umm…" Kami pulled out her supplies list and looked it up and down "I say we get our robes first, and then our cauldrons, potion ingredients, then our books, then wherever you can get an owl, cat, or toad, then get our wands, return for our robes, and meet up with everyone afterwards if there's no where you would like to look around in" She looked up at Ron "that way we get the measuring out of the way, and we can put our books and potion ingredients in the cauldrons, I need to get a cat, and then we get our wands together… unless you want to get them first?"
Ron looked dumbfounded. He shook his head "whoa, that's insane organization. I dunno how you do it. I think it's a good plan though." And so off they went to Madame Malkin's Robes for all occasions so that they could get that out of the way.
"Oh come in, come in! Hogwarts? Of course! Step right up here, I'll be right with you" She bustled away, only to return moments later with a tape measure, slipping extremely large robes over their heads. "Hold out your arms dears. That's it. Thank you." She took their measurements, and within twenty minutes, they each had some new robes for themselves.
"Here, hand me your robes"
"Why?"
"I'll carry them in my bag so our hands with be free"
Ron rolled his eyes, and handed her his robes stifling a smile. 'You know, he's kinda cut when he's smiling' Kami thought to herself. Then she realized what she was thinking and forced the thoughts out of her mind.
"Hmm…?" Kami asked stupidly, suddenly realizing that Ron had been talking while she had been fighting with herself about that random thought.
"The Apothecary next. That's where we get our potions stuff, so we need to go this way" Ron repeated.
"Oh yea! Okay."
As it turns out, the Apothecary is really gross and fascinating at the same time. There was a lot of slimy stuff, and scaly stuff, and buggy stuff all over the place, and as they made their way through the store, they saw a few people examining jars of they-didn't-want-to-know-what. They bought their potions kits from the woman behind the counter, and hurried out. It smelled somewhat, and they were glad to be outside. They continued on in the same direction they had been traveling, passing Fred and George on the way. They winked. It seemed that the twins had managed to lose Mr. Weasley in one of the crowds.
They came to a store labeled Flourish and Blotts which held shelves upon shelves of books. After some looking around, Ron suggested to Kami that they should ask the people working there if they could help them. Kami glanced over at him. For some reason, she was particularly drawn to this one book: Reading the Signs: a Guide to Dream Interpretation. Ron called the owner over, and Kami was forced to look away reluctantly.
"Hello there. What can I help you with?"
"Umm… we need…The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection, The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1), A History of Magic, Magical Drafts and Potions…" Kami started listing off the required books from memory. The book keeper nodded, reached up to a shelf above Ron and Kami's heads, and pulled one copy or their transfiguration books each, continuing down the rows and pulling books off shelves for them. Kami hesitated, then grabbed Reading the signs: A Guide to Dream Interpretation off the shelf, and hid it in her pile, among other books she thought may be interesting to learn in her spare time.
"I still think he made a mistake Kami… I mean, we got all of the same books, but yours cost more!"
"Just please give it a rest Ron?"
"No I will not give it a rest! It's unfair"
"Well... don't tell anyone, but…" Kami looked both ways before leaning in really close and whispering "I got a couple of advanced ones too…you know, like the one I had been looking at…" Ron just stared. He looked at her, and then smiled.
"Well… when you learn those advanced spells and stuff, would you mind teaching me?" He joked. Kami felt relieved. She grabbed his hand and pulled him up the street. She had just seen the two stores she had been looking most forward to.
They walked up the street, and Kami turned them into a store with all sorts of strange animals. She turned down one aisle, and then walked into the back corner of the store where there were a group of kittens and cats in cages. Kami gasped. She reached down into one of the cages. "Careful. That one likes to bite" Kami ignored the person behind the desk and picked up the little Siberian kitten. It purred in her arms and she pet it as she turned to the woman who was looking at her strangely.
"May I buy her?" Kami put on her best cute innocent little girl face.
"Of course... She seems to like you, so I don't see why not." Kami set the kitten on the counter as she reached for her money bag. She paid the woman the three galleons, scooped the kitten up in her arms, and turned back to Ron. They exited the store, and Kami turned right to continue heading in the same direction as before. Ron grabbed her hand.
"Wrong way." He said. Kami looked at him blankly. "Olivanders' is down at the other end of Diagon Alley near Florean Fortescue's. Unless you don't want to get your wand?"
"Of course I do! We're going to need wands at Hogwarts you know" Kami replied, flustered. She let him lead her down to Olivanders and she sat in a slightly sagging chair with her cat to wait her turn. She internally decided that he would go first. That way, she would get to know how this whole process worked before her turn, since Ron had probably come with his brothers before and therefore already knew himself. Ron looked at her, alarmed that he had to go first. She gave him an encouraging smile.
"Mr. Weasley." Ron jumped and spun around, almost nose to nose with Olivander.
"Aargh!" Ron fell backwards onto the floor. "When'd you get there!?"
"Let's get your measurements, shall we?" He pulled out a tape measure. "Hold out your wand arm" Ron held up his right hand, and the tape measure began measuring. Shoulder to finger tip. Elbow to wrist. Finger tip to wrist. Elbow to Shoulder. Shoulder to floor. "That shall be enough" and the tape measure fell, limp, to the floor. Ron dropped his arm to his side.
Mr. Olivander returned from the masses of wands with an arm full of possibilities. He picked up the box from the top of the pile, opened it, and handed the dark colored wand to Ron, who took it in his right hand and flicked it towards the coat rack in the corner, which snapped in half. Olivander quickly replaced it with another wand, this time a cherry color, with similar results. Again and again they tried, until Olivander handed Ron a wand, light brown in color and a little over a foot long, from which a fountain of wine flowed when he waved it. "Excellent! Ash and unicorn hair, 14 inches" He turned to Kami.
"Kami Ace" She said, smiling.
Olivander nodded "Hold out your wand arm, and we'll take your measurements as well" Kami held out her left arm. The tape measure began measuring her, as it had with Ron, while Mr. Olivander roamed through the aisles pulling boxes out, returning with a few less that he had with Ron, but still almost too many to carry. The tape measure fell to the floor. Kami reached out for the first wand Olivander handed her which was a rose colored wood and she immediately turned to him, without waving it, and said confusedly "It doesn't feel right…"
Olivander looked at her, and turned to the pile returning with another, this time black. Kami took it for a moment then, doing as Ron did, she pointed it at something, which broke immediately. Olivander shook his head, and Kami passed him the wand, and he handed her another. This time when she took the wand, it no longer felt like a fancy stick. It felt warm and light in her hand. It was slightly smaller than the others had been, and it was made of more than one toned. It was almost white, with a cream colored handle. She smiled, pointed the wand at the wand box, and flicked it, the wand box rising into the air gently.
"Ivy and Cypress, 10 ¾ inches, Peruvian Vipertooth Heartstring. Interesting combination, but, the wand chooses the wizard, and this wand must have had a reason for choosing you" Kami broke his gaze, by looking to her hip and getting out the galleons to pay for her new wand, which she replaced in its box and then in her bag which was on floor beside Ron and Artemis. She decided to name her new kitten after the goddess of the moon and hunt. It just seemed to fit. She placed her cauldron carefully inside her bag, scooped the kitten up in her arms, and followed Ron out of the shop. Once she had to stop and rearrange her bag with all of her supplies in it, for it was getting somewhat heavy.
"Hey, Ron? Where's your wand?" she asked when they stopped yet again so she could readjust her book bag.
"Well, my older brother Charlie gave me his old wand, and it means a lot to him that I use it…" Ron mumbled, his ears turning red.
"Oh. I see…" They arrived to Florean Fortescue's just shortly before Fred and George, who had been found by Mr. Weasley. They still had a while to wait until Percy arrived, so Kami decided to buy everyone ice creams with her remaining money. She placed the ice creams on the table, and realized that she had forgotten one of her books back at Olivanders. She explained that she wouldn't be long and asked Ron to hold onto Artemis for her while she went to get it. She took her cauldron out of her bag so she could hide her book in there so no one but she and Ron would know about the extra books she had bought. She hurried back to Olivanders and rang the bell.
"How may I help you?" He asked, clearly confused as to why she was back so soon.
"Umm… my friend, you know… The one I came here with? He didn't buy a wand did he?" Olivander shook his head. "I thought not. Would you mind if I bought it for him, as a birthday present? He said something about his brother Charlie giving him his old one, but it's just not the same at all! And I think he really does deserve a wand of his own, don't you?"
Olivander smiled "Of course… Would you happen to remember which wand it was?"
"Ash and unicorn hair, 14 inches" Kami replied confidently. Olivander looked taken back by this. He obviously hadn't thought she would remember, so he could pull his 'I remember every wand…' speech. But she did.
"Ah yes. Ill be right back." He disappeared momentarily and returned with the wand box, handing it to Kami. She reached into her pocket that she had hidden the money to buy this with in her pocket. She really was clever when it came to planning things such as this. She placed Ron's soon to be new wand in her bag and waved a goodbye to Olivander.
When she returned, Percy had just arrived, and the Weasleys were preparing to leave. She grinned. She couldn't believe she was pulling this off. George noticed this, however and gave her a look as if to say 'what are you looking so I-just-pulled-off-the-perfect-plan about?' Kami just grinned even more and walked past him whispering in his ear "Tell you in the car" and continued as if nothing happened between the two.
Ron came over and handed her the cauldron and Artemis. "Here, don't forget these"
"Thanks"
"No problem" He said, turning red again. 'He seems to get embarrassed a lot…Huh… Probably nothing.'
The party retraced their steps back through the brick archway, through the Leaky Cauldron, and to the Ford Anglia. This time, Ron sat on the passenger side, Fred between him and George and Kami on the Drivers side beside George so she could easily tell him without Ron overhearing.
"Okay well… We were in Olivanders, right?" George nodded. "I made Ron go first, and there was this really beautiful wand that was "ash, unicorn hair, 14 inches'" Kami imitated Olivanders voice telling them Rons wand. George nodded again. " Ron left without it, and when I asked him about it, he just mentioned something about his brother Charlie giving him his old one… but just any wand is just a fancy stick to you if its not YOUR wand, you know? So I kinda… well… went back and bought it. I had bought some extra books at Flourish and Blotts, so Ron would know that I would spend more anyways, and when he mentioned Charlie's old wand, I just pocketed some money, used the rest up so no one would suspect anything, seeing as I was out of money I couldn't buy anything more… and went back and bought Ron's wand. I'm planning on giving it to him for his birthday or something as a gift" She smiled.
"Wow. All of that while you were walking to Florean Fortescue's!? You could turn out to be a great prankster some day." George laughed silently. Now, only he knew of her plan. "Ron's birthday is in March by the way, so I would give it to him before then, like Christmas so he can get used to it"
"That's a good idea, thanks"
"Your welcome." And then, they were arriving at Kami's house. Her mother had gone inside by now. "If you like, we can help you bring your things in…"
"Umm… sure… if you want…" She said awkwardly. So Fred and George picked up her cauldron and potion kits separately so they wouldn't break accidentally, and Ron took her book bag. Kami carried Artemis inside and lead the boys down the hall to her room. She opened her bag and pulled out Ron's robes. "Before we forget you're going to need these" They smiled at their little inside joke that wasn't even all that funny. "I guess we'll see each other at Hogwarts in… what... one week."
"Yea. Guess we'll see you then?"
"No, of course not, what was I thinking?" Kami joked sarcastically. She then smiled gave each of the three hugs and said goodbye, winking at George on his way out, who winked back.
Kami sat down on her bed and pulled out her books, spreading them out on her bed. There were seven books. One for every day until Hogwarts. She decided she would read them if the following order: The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk, A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch, Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander, One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore, A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot, and finally Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling. She would bring the others with her and read them at Hogwarts.
She piled them up beside her bed, with The Standard Book of Spells on the top, and Magical Theory on the bottom. Artemis jumped up on her lap and curled up into a tiny ball whilst Kami grabbed her Charms textbook and began reading. It was extremely fascinating. The first chapter was mostly an introduction to charm work. As she read, she made mental note of which ones she absolutely needed to learn, such as Alohomora, and that one with the warm fire that you could put in a jar. She ended up falling asleep with her charms book open on her chest, and Artemis curled up in the crook of her neck.