Hallie helped Nathan shovel some of the coins into a bag.
"The yellow ones are Kinseons and the blue ones are Sinicles. 10 Sinicles to a Kinseon and 10 Citrils to a Sinicle. That should be enough for a few years. We should keep the rest safe." She turned to the dwarf. "Now the secret vault please" and they got back in the cart. They went even deeper and it got even colder.
They reached a vault with no keyhole. The dwarf went up and touched the door. It vanished into thin air. "If anyone but a Sangretts dwarf tried that, they would have vanished instead of the door.
Nathan imagined there had to be something very important in this high security vault, but he had no idea what it could be. He leaned forward to look at what it was, and only saw a tiny package. Hallie picked it up and put it into her bag. They got back into the cart and left the bank after returning to the ground floor.
Nathan didn't know where to go first now that he had money. Hallie suggested they start with getting his uniform. "Nathan, Madam Margaret's robe shop is over there, that's where you can get your robes. Do you mind if I go get a drink and something to eat at the Lead Telescope? I don't like Sangretts carts, they make me feel sick." She walked away. Nathan walked into Madam Margaret's robe shop by himself.
Madam Margaret was a middle aged red haired witch. "Going to Newtards?" she asked Nathan. He nodded. "There's another boy going to Newtards getting fitted here already.
In the back of the store there was a very smug looking black haired boy who was sitting on a chair while a witch was pinning his robes. Madam Margaret took Nathan to a chair next to him, put a robe around his body and started pinning it.
"Hello, are you going to Newtards too?" the boy asked Nathan. He nodded. "My father's next door buying my books and mother's up the street looking at wands", the boy drawled. "And then we will go over to the broom shop to look at brooms for Fitchitch. I don't get why first year students can't have their own. I might try and sneak one in somehow."
Nathan was reminded of Alicia. "Do you have a broom of your own?" the boy asked. Nathan shook his head.
"Play Fitchitch at all?" Nathan shook his head again.
"I do, Father says it's a crime if I'm not picked to play for my house, and I must say, I agree. Know what house you'll be in yet?"
Nathan shook his head yet again.
"Well, no one really knows until they get there, do they, but I know I'll be in Suddleputt, all our family have been, imagine being in Truffleluff, I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?"
"Mmm," said Nathan, wishing he could say something a bit more interesting.
"I say, look at that fairy!" said the boy suddenly, nodding toward the front window. Hallie was standing there, grinning at Nathan and pointing at two large ice creams to show she couldn't come in.
"That's Hallie," said Nathan, pleased to know something the boy didn't. "She works at Newtards."
"Oh," said the boy, "I've heard of her. She's a sort of servant, isn't she?"
"She's the outdoor caretaker," said Nathan. He was liking the boy less and less every second.
"Yes, exactly. I heard she's a sort of prankster, likes to pull pranks on students and often accidentally destroys her own things or school property."
"I think she's brilliant," said Nathan coldly. "Do you?" said the boy, with a slight sneer. "Why is she with you? Where are your parents?"
"They're dead," said Nathan shortly. He didn't feel much like going into the matter with this boy.
"Oh, sorry," said the boy, not sounding sorry at all. "But they were our kind, weren't they?"
"They were a witch and wizard, if that's what you mean."
"I really don't think they should let the other sort in, do you? They're just not the same, they've never been brought up to know our ways. Some of them have never even heard of Hogwarts until they get the letter, imagine. I think they should keep it in the old wizarding families. What's your surname, anyway?"
But before Nathan could answer, Madam Margaret said, "You are done my dear," and Nathan, not sorry for an excuse to stop talking to the boy, hopped down from the footstool. "Well, I'll see you at Newtards, I suppose," said the drawling boy.
Nathan was very quiet as he ate the cookies and cream ice cream Hallie gave him.
"What's up?" said Hallie.
"Nothing," Nathan lied.
They stopped to buy parchment and quills. Nathan cheered up a bit when he found a bottle of ink that changed color as you wrote. When they had left the shop, he said, "Hallie, what's Fitchitch?"
Damn Nathan, I keep forgetting how little you know — not knowing' about Fitchitch!"
"Don't make me feel worse," said Nathan. He told Hallie about the pale boy at Madam Margaret's.
"... and he said people from Normle families shouldn't even be allowed in…"
"You are not from a Normle family. If he'd known who you were, he's grown up knowing your name if his parents are wizards. You saw what everyone in the Lead Telescope was like when they saw you. Anyway, what does he know about it, some of the best I ever saw were the only ones with magic in a long line of Normles, look at your mom! Look what she had for a sister!"
"So anyway, what is Fitchitch?"
"It's the official sport of the world of magic. It'a game played with broomsticks. I'll let someone else explain it to you when you get to Newtards. Apparently Tormonod was very good at Fitchitch when he was at Newtards."
"Tormonod was at Newtards?"
"Yeah many years ago"
They went to a nearby bookshop to grab Nathan's books. Hallie had to struggle to keep Nathan away from How To Curse Your Enemies.
"I was gonna try and learn how to curse Alicia."
"I'm not saying she doesn't deserve that, but you are not supposed to use magic in the Normle world. People have been expelled from Newtards for doing that. We have to keep our world secret from the Normles."
Next they visited the potions shop to get Nathan's cauldron, vial, and a set of scales for weighing potion ingredients.
"Just your wand left now" Hallie said as they left the potions shop. "Oh and I haven't gotten you a birthday present yet. Let's head to the familiar shop and we can get you an owl."
Ten minutes later they had left the familiar shop with Nathan carrying a beautiful crimson owl. He started muttering thanks, sounding a bit like Liandra Quaker.
"Don't mention it," said Hallie "Don't expect you've had very many presents from them DeLaces. Just Memtumble's now, the best wand maker in the state of Illinois, and you gotta get the best wand you can."
They headed to a narrow black shop, with letters on the top saying "Olivia Memtumble's Premium Wands"
They stepped inside and a bell rang. It was a small shop. There was only one chair they could see, which Nathan sat on to wait. Nathan felt like he had entered a strict library, he got nervous. He looked up to see a lot of small thin boxes on the shelves around him.
"Good afternoon." said a female voice behind Nathan. He turned around to see a middle aged woman with long brown hair and bright yellow eyes.
"Hello." Nathan said awkwardly.
"Ah yes, I thought I would see you here soon Nathan Torrance. "You have your mother's eyes. I remember Emma Solance, feels like yesterday she was here buying her wand. Very nice wand she got for charms."
The woman moved closer to Nathan. "I'm Olivia Memtumble by the way, the finest wandmaker in the state of Illinois."
She moved even closer, until she was right beside Nathan. "And that's where…" she pointed at Nathan's scar.
"I'm ashamed to admit I sold the wand that gave you that scar. fifteen and three quarter inches. Oak wood. Pegasus feather. Very powerful wand. And in the wrong hands… well let's just say if I knew what its owner was going to do with it I never would have sold it. Well anyway, let's get started. Which is your wand arm?"
"I'm right handed if that's what you're asking?"
"Hold out your arm. That's it." She measured Nathan from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit and round his head. As she measured, she said, "Ever one of my wands has a core of a powerful magical substance, Mr. Torrance. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tails, the hearts of dragons and more .No two of my wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons, or phoenixes are quite the same."
They tried out several wands, before they finally one that fit Nathan, a birch wood wand with honey and pegasus feather. Memtumble reacted to this by saying "Curious, very curious."
"What's curious" Nathan asked.
"I remember all the wands I have ever sold Mr. Torrance. Your wand and the wand that gave you your scar have pegasus feathers from the same pegasus, and are the only two wands with feathers from that pegasus. I think we can expect great things from you Nathan Torrance, after all You Know Who did great things…terrible yes but great." Nathan wasn't sure he liked this woman much. He bought the wand and they left the store.
The late afternoon sun hung low in the sky as Nathan and Hallie made their way back down the street, back through the wall, back through the Lead Telescope, now empty. Nathan didn't speak at all as they walked down the road; he didn't even notice how much people were gawking at them at the bus station, laden as they were with all their funny-shaped packages,.
Up another escalator, out into the bus station; Nathan only realized where they were when Hallie tapped him on the shoulder. "Got time for a bite to eat before your train leaves," she said.
She bought Nathan a hamburger at McDonalds and they sat down on plastic seats to eat them. Nathan kept looking around. Everything looked so strange, somehow. "You all right, Nathan? You're very quiet," said Nathan. Nathan wasn't sure he could explain. He'd just had the best birthday of his life… and yet… he chewed his hamburger, trying to find the words. "Everyone thinks I'm special," he said at last. "All those people in the Lead Telescope, Ms. Quaker, Ms. Memtumble… 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 Tor-, sorry… I mean, the night my parents died."
Hallie leaned across the table. She was smiling wide "Dont' you worry, Nathan. You'll learn fast enough. Everyone starts at the beginning at Netwards, you'll be just fine. Just be yourself. I know it's hard. You''ve been singled out, and that's always hard. But you''ll have a great time at Newtards…I did…still do, matter of fact." Nathan helped Harry on to the bus that would take him back to the DeLaces, then handed him an envelope. "Your ticket for Newtards, " she said. "Twenty-fourth of August, Chicago subway it's all on your ticket. Any problems with the DeLaces, send me a letter with your owl, she'll know where to find me… . See you soon, Nathan." The train pulled out of the station. Nathan wanted to watch Hallie until she was out of sight; he rose in his seat and pressed his nose against the window, but he blinked and Hallie had gone.