Chapter two
The sunlight filtered through the warped glass of the windows. Harper felt the warmth on her cheek and opened her eyes. She took her time looking at the ancient, black wooden beams that held up the dilapidated room she had spent the previous night in. This certainly was a strange world she had jumped into. Of course, she took it in stride. That's what she had always done her entire life. The previous night, with very little explanation, Professor McGonagall had taken her to a dingy pub in London after an almost two hour train ride from Bristol. On the way, Harper said very little because the professor seemed very cross at having to rummage through her leather purse to count out the "confounded muggle money" for the tickets and while her face was always stern, this action seemed to make it more so. About half an hour into the train ride, Harper finally asked the first and last question of the trip:
"So, can we really find all this stuff in London?"
To which the reply was a sharp, "Of course. I will take you to Diagon Alley tomorrow, but tonight, I will get you a room in The Leaky Cauldron."
This seemed to diffuse the tension, but Harper still didn't know how to react to the whole adventure so she kept quiet. When they reached London, the Professor took her straight to a dingy looking pub that was nestled between a book shop and a record store. Harper's eyes were focused on the beautiful books on display in the book shop and didn't even notice the pub until the Professor led her to the door. As she walked in, she looked back and saw that no one else seemed to even see the old, black door. She wondered if maybe they couldn't. Harper shrugged it off and walked in. The dark pub was filled with odd characters dressed in similar robes to what McGonagall had worn at the river and a cloud of smoke from the pipes many of them were smoking hung over their heads. While the professor conversed with the bartender (she caught the name Tom), Harper watched all the people and took note of a few interesting conversations she heard. In doing so, she caught many terms and subjects she told herself she would look up when she got the means to do so. McGonagall put an arm around Harper's shoulders, effectively pulling her attention to their conversation:
"This is Harper. She was the Costellos' child. It seems they managed to leave her in a muggle orphanage before the attack."
"Poor dearie," the wrinkled old man looked at Harper with a deep look of pity, "That's a . They were both wonderful kids."
A pause, "As I said earlier, I will need to purchase a room for her to stay in tonight. We will be getting her school supplies tomorrow."
"Oh no, no. Her room is on the house tonight." Tom gave Harper a gummy smile.
"No. It's fi-"
"I insist Minerva. Really. It's the least I can do."
The professor finally gave in and turned to Harper "Well, this is where I say good night and good luck. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask Tom here. I will return for you in the morning."
Harper nodded quickly and McGonagall turned and disappeared into the crowd of people. Harper jumped when she felt Tom's wrinkled hand rest on her shoulder. He looked down, gave her another sympathetic smile then led her up a flight of stairs in the corner of the pub and down a hallway with rows of doors on either side. While they walked, Harper wondered how this many rooms could fit above the tiny pub and why the ceiling was slanted. Tom stopped near the end of the hallway, pulled a ring of keys out of his pocket, pulled one off, opened the door numbered "8" and ushered Harper inside, handing her the key as she walked in. Harper looked around the strange room. The ceiling was slanted in this little room as it was in the hallway and there was a very beautiful, ornate mirror above the desk in the corner. Out of the window, she could see a bustling alley lined with shops closing up for the day under the dusky sky. She looked back at Tom who simply bowed his head as he closed the door. Harper pulled out the over-sized t-shirt that she used as night-gown, quickly changed, put her glasses on the bed side table, and slipped under the covers of the surprisingly comfortable bed. She quickly fell asleep fully expecting to wake up back in her bed under the window.
When she woke up to the pleasant warmth on her cheek, she was surprised to be in the same room she fell asleep in. She did her morning routine of stretching every muscle in almost every pose possible while remaining in the bed. She was not a morning person and it always took her a long time to wake up completely. Finally, she put her glasses on, pulled on a clean simple, maroon t-shirt from her bag, the second-hand jeans she wore the day before, and her old converse. The silver flowery frame intrigued her and she went closer to the mirror to examine it. She caught her reflection in the mirror. She never considered any of her features out of the ordinary. Her face was girlish and well-proportioned. Her light brown eyes were surrounded by thick eyelashes and had flecks of gold when the sunlight hit them just right. The brown hair that fell on either side of her face was cut a little above chin-length so only two or three waves were ever present at one time and due to all the time she spent outside, the top layer was baked a golden color that melded back into its naturally dark state underneath. That time outside had also given her an even, honey-colored tan over her naturally fair skin. She did rather like the way her large, rectangular, turquoise-metal glasses framed her eyes and a pair of short delicate scars from being scratched by a cat as a kid marked her left cheek.
Her heart nearly stopped when out of nowhere, a polite woman's voice said:
"Untuck your shirt in the front dearie"
Harper stood straight up and looked around the room to find the source of the voice. No one else was in the room.
"Really dear, you should untuck your shirt."
The voice sounded as if it originated from the mirror. Harper just stared, wide-eyed.
"Do I honestly need to tell you a third time?"
Harper untucked the front of her shirt that had gotten caught in her jeans.
"Thank you dearie. Now you look presentable."
Harper was just wondering if the mirror was supposed to talk when she heard a knock on the door.
"Yes?" she asked as she walked towards the door, still staring at the mirror.
"Are you ready to go out? We have a lot to get done today."
Harper opened the door, "Yep… umm, is the mirror supposed to talk?"
"Yes dear, talking mirrors tell you what you need to do to fix your appearance."
"Ah, well that sounds like a genius idea."
"I thought so too," the professor sharply turned and walked down the awkward hallway and upon reaching the flight of stairs continued, "Our first visit shall be to Gringott's to withdraw some money. From there, Madam Malkin's for robes and Ollivander's for a wand. I fear the stores may be a bit crowded seeing as there is only a month until school starts," her hand rested on the brass doorknob of the large black door in the back of the pub, "I hope you don't display this lack of focus in my class Miss Costello."
Harper peeled her eyes from the dishcloth that had been wiping down the tables by itself "No Professor McGonagall, sorry."
"I understand this is all very new to you Harper, but do try and stay focused on the task at hand."
Harper nodded and the professor opened the door. At first, Harper's attention was caught by the shining surfaces of the cauldrons in the closest shop window. She could have sworn there were cauldrons of every metal and size imaginable in that store. Her eyes then quickly jumped to the signs hanging above each door. She wanted to go inside and explore each and every shop as she closely followed the professor. Harper heard so many very strange things as the two walked, that she stopped trying to keep track and allowed herself to be enveloped by the sights, sounds, and smells of the wondrous place.
Standing tall above the throngs of people at the end of the alley was a massive, leaning building made of beautiful white marble. Even stranger than the building however, were the creatures working inside it. Harper had noticed the one in a scarlet uniform standing guard just outside the doors. Only a little shorter than herself, these creatures had clever little faces with rather pointed ears and noses. Frankly, they sent shivers down her spine for some inexplicable reason
"Who… or what, are they?" she whispered.
"Goblins miss Costello. It would serve you well to keep your head down around them."
And she did just that. Focusing on the trailing robes of the witch in front of her, she noticed how shiny the marble floors were and saw the funny little goblins hastily filled out paperwork, inspecting jewelry and weighing rubies the size of her fist on brass scales from the corner of her eye. Earlier, McGonagall had mentioned getting money from this "Gringotts" so she assumed it was a bank. But Harper had no knowledge of having her own account so where would the money come from and how would they get it puzzled her. McGonagall abruptly halted in front of her and she didn't notice until it was almost too late.
"I have come to make a withdrawal from the account of young Miss. Costello here," she drew a small brass key from the folds of her robes, "This is her key," and placed it on the desk in front of an older goblin with small spectacles.
"Very well Miss. McGonagall. If you would follow me please," the goblin slid off his pedestal and lead the two witches to one of the many doors lining the great marble hallway.
Behind the door was an elevator. Harper didn't know what to expect seeing when the doors opened at the bottom, but it certainly wasn't what she saw. Rather than the pristine marble of the building, the walls were bare rock lined with torches that rather resembled a mineshaft with tracks for a cart running down the middle. There were huge vault doors lining the walls as far as her eye could see. The goblin gestured to the cart that sat on the railing. The three climbed in and the cart took off at a phenomenal speed that sucked the air out of her lungs.
"Vault seven-hundred and twenty-eight," the party got out and walked over to the vault where the goblin inserted the small golden key into the door, causing a whir of gears to hum inside.
When the huge black door swung open, Harper literally gasped. Harper never actually gasped at anything before, but she had never even seen a real ruby, sapphire or emerald before in her life, let alone such a huge pile. The rainbow of light that all the exquisite jewels reflected dazzled her to the very core of her being.
"This… This isn't… mine… is it?" Harper could barely find the air to speak.
"The late Mrs. Costello requested that her family's life-savings be kept in the form of cut and polished precious jewels. We all thought it a very odd request."
The professor smiled "She always did have a flair for the extravagant."
And so it came to be that Harper J. Costello possessed more wealth than she could have ever fathomed in her life at the orphanage. They only grabbed two small jewels from the vault and cashed them in on the top floor, providing them with more than enough money to purchase school supplies. With a large leather pouch full of coins jangling in her hand, she followed the elder witch out of the bank. On her way out, she re-evaluated the saying that was engraved just inside the door:
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.
After meeting the goblins, the threat did not sound empty.
Their next stop was Madam Malkin's robe shop. When they reached the door of the warm little shop, the professor left after explaining to the young girl that she would go collect the books required by the supplies list. When Harper protested saying that she really wanted to join, the wise witch simply said "Exactly" and put her hand out expectantly for the money that Harper begrudgingly handed over. Finally realizing how much of a comfort the professor had been, the butterflies started ramming her stomach walls the moment she stepped inside the shop. When a squat, smiling witch in all mauve robes asked her if she was going to Hogwarts, Harper could feel her cheeks burn.
"Now, now dear, no need to be shy. Just come back here and get your robes fitted. There is no one else back there at the moment so don't you worry," the witch smiled sweetly which seemed to calm Harper down marginally.
Following her, Harper entered a small room with multiple floor to ceiling mirrors and two platforms. She stepped onto on of the platforms and tried to take deep breathes. The kind woman had pulled a robe over her head and deftly started to pin up the fabric when the bell at the door rang. She noticed the fabric was still being adjusted even though the one she assumed was Madam Malkin had gone over to greet the other customer. After a moment of inaudible mumbling, a boy walked into the room and stood on the other platform. His slicked back, platinum-blond hair, pale skin, sharp features and choking arrogance that exuded from the very sway of his stride gave Harper the impression that this boy had an enormous superiority complex. She assumed that this would make him ignore her entire existence and she was perfectly fine with that.
"Hogwarts?" the bored, drawling voice of the boy seemed to perfectly match the contemptuous aura that surrounded him.
A blank stare from Harper, "…what?"
He raised a blond eyebrow, "Will you be attending Hogwarts this year? I assume you are being fit for school robes."
Another burning of her cheeks "Oh! Ya... Hogwarts… School."
She could tell he thought she was not all there, "Ah. Well, first year I presume?"
"Uhh, yes,"he lifted an arm when a floating needle prodded her.
"Mine as well. What house do you think you will be placed in? I know I will be placed in Slithering. It has been a family tradition for generations," his face was smug.
"House?"
The boys eyes went about as wide as they could go and it seemed the air seemed to go cold, "You… you're not… a muggle-born are you?" He spat out the word "muggle-born" as if it were a poison on his tongue.
"Umm,'muggle' meaning non-magical people correct?"
A slow nod from the boy assured Harper that he thought her mad.
"Well, I know that both my parents went to Hogwarts so I don't think so."
"You don't think so? How do you not know at least that much about the people who raised you?"
Harper looked at the ground, "I never met my parents. I'm pretty sure they are dead by the way everyone talks about them. I grew up in what Professor McGonagall called a 'muggle orphanage'. In fact," a nervous chuckle, "I'm still trying to get used to all this magic stuff."
The boy's face was one of utter incompetence. The needles had to prod his arm a few times before he noticed and complied with their demands.
"Well dearie, that seems to fit right and proper. Nothing pinching or poking anywhere?" Madam Malkin appeared and gently pulled the robes off the girl's shoulders.
"Uhh, no ma'am."
"Good, good. Now, let's get you set up with your robes up front shall we?"
While Madam Malkin put her arm around Harper's shoulders and led her back to the front room, Harper took a look back at the strange boy who simply watched her leave with one eyebrow raised. After Harper got her robes and paid the shop-owner, she walked out and looked around for professor McGonagall. When she couldn't find her, she went to a nearby ice-cream vendor and got a cone of green-tea ice cream with cherry sauce drizzled on it (she had never tasted either before). Sitting on the store-front steps working on the delicious treat on her hand, she saw a huge, hairy, lumbering man pointing to the sign above her head. His other hand completely swallowed the shoulder of a scrawny boy with round spectacles and a mop of black hair. The boy then made his way to the shop by himself, his hands nervously fidgeting and his bright green eyes wide with amazement. Harper chuckled to herself because she recognized that expression as the same one she wore whenever she looked around the place and assumed that he was new to the whole magical world like her. She wondered for a moment what the meeting between he and the pale boy inside would look like as she savored the last bite of her now favorite kind of ice cream cone.
"Are you finished here Miss. Costello?" Professor McGonagall had just weaved her way out of the crowd with an armful of textbooks.
"Yes I think so. Where should we go next? The pet shop looked interesting. Why don't we go there?"
"I'm afraid not. The essentials are more important right now. You still need a cauldron, some quills and a wand."
And so, the two visited the store that had caught Harper's attention first. Of course, Minerva didn't waste any time getting only what the supplies list called for, refusing to let Harper buy the small silver one that caught her eye. Then, they went over to the quill shop which was again, dull because the professor remained strict and would not allow Harper to spend any money on the quill that had been charmed to check spelling. Carrying all her supplies in the cauldron, Harper followed the professor down the alley. Suddenly, the older witch stopped and turned to Harper.
Her tone was extremely serious when she said "Now Miss. Costello, your wand will be the most important thing you will ever own. I hope you take the task of finding the correct one very seriously," her serious demeanor slackened slightly, "In our world, most wizarding parents would give anything to be there when their child receives his or first wand." She gently placed a hand on Harper's shoulder, "Don't be nervous. You will understand when you speak to Mr. Ollivander."