(Author's Note: OC Worldbuilding.)
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
Chapter 1 - The Birthday
In a small wooden cabin that splits out from Forest Lane, in Stratford, England, there lived a girl and her grandma. But they were not like normal people, almost…unnormal. And their neighbors say they have a pet owl that roams free most of the day. However, what the neighbors don't know was what makes them special – they are wizards.
Today was July the 31st. Like usual, she's woken by the old alarm clock by her bed that belonged to her great-grandpa, it can almost be considered ancient. The metal parts are mostly rusty, the red paint half peeled off and losing color, just as gloomy and boring as the weather outside. It was one of those typical days of England, clouds covered up the sun like a heavy blanket, and the air very humid.
Facing a piece off a mirror hung on the wall, the girl brushed her silver-blonde hair that falls down in great waves all the way to her waist. It was the girl's twelfth birthday, even so, she doesn't look excited at all. Birthdays were just far too unimportant than trying to make a living. few minutes later, she put on a blue blouse and her only trousers without a patch to get ready for today's work. The temperature's cold today, so she made a mental note to throw on her white shawl before she goes off to work.
Downstairs, Grandma's making breakfast, she's half veela, and still showed immense beauty despite her old age. That, apparently, is where Jade gets her silver hair. But the magic of the blood was slowly fading as generations grew, someday, when she's all grown-up, although her appearance doesn't change, her hair would take on a darker shade, like Mom's did.
The moment she appeared in the crooked wooden frame of the kitchen door, an owl hooted loudly in excitement of seeing her, and swooped down to land on her shoulder. She stroking the owl's head, she greeted it, not in English, but Italian – the language she spoke in the house. Her father was born and raised in Italy, and mother had first met him Florence on a work trip sixteen years ago. Of course they were both long gone, leaving Jade alone with her Grandma struggling to survive on the scarce amount of gold they had left them. Speaking Italian now feels like something done in remembrance of them.
Jade walked over to where Grandma's flipping the bacon on the pan with her wand. Old age had weakened her vision and bent her back. "Here, I'll do it." She pulled out her wand and began to fry the bacon proficiently as Grandma sat down by the stove. Thanks to the wizard protection law, they had always been able to perform magic at home without the muggles around them noticing. Bacon was always in the last storage shelf – something like a luxury to have on non-holidays. "I told you we could eat the leftovers last night," she said, "you didn't have to start something new."
Grandma let out a long breath, and answered: "Today is your twelfth birthday, we need to have something nice! I can't believe my little girl is already twelve, and going to Hogwarts!"
Jade's pretty face dropped immediately to a frown when she heard the phrase "going to Hogwarts," and sighed: "I don't wanna go! You need to be taken care of. I can still go to work at Diagon Alley, and if I need to know any more spells you can teach me. Like you always did!" She pleaded.
"No, you need to go, everybody needs proper education. And you can make friends when you are there!"
"Look, Grandma." Jade tried to reason with her, "I'm different from all the kids my age: I already have a wand and knows how to use it, I know how to fix things, cook and clean, and I have a job. I don't need to go to Hogwarts!"
"No, no, no, this subject is closed, you are going. You think you know a lot of magic, but let me tell you: young lady," Grandma pointed one finger at her threateningly, "what you know is only beginner's magic, not even close to one tenth. And as for your job, well, we don't need to talk about that. Besides, I don't know that much magic to teach you, I didn't take formal education."
"Well you just said yourself that you didn't take…"
"Young lady," Grandma cuts in, "You are still fairly new to the world," Jade raised her eyebrows slightly, "and does not know its evil, trust me, it won't hurt if you go. You will learn a lot, then you can come back to take care of me. And it will certainly help you with getting a better job!" She added at the end.
After breakfast, Jade swung on her bag and went out for her job. She walked gloomily through the blocks all the way till she was in the tunnel leading to the underground train station. Throughout breakfast, Grandma had covered and recovered all the benefits of going to Hogwarts, and surprisingly she even came up with a way to earn money for herself – selling knitted jumpers and scarves. Jade was completely beaten, she's going to Hogwarts, and that's that. Walking into the underground train station, she watched as muggles around her hurried around the station, trying to get to their destinations on time. Muggle things had always amazed her, as Jade never really knew how muggles survived without magic.
She spent half the muggle money in her pocket on the train ticket, and shortly after she got to the platform, the train arrived, and she hopped on. It was still quite early, and there weren't a lot of people on the train. After a few moments of wobbly uncomfortableness, she arrived at her destination. Just a few more blocks, turn right onto a small lane, and there it is – the Leaky Cauldron.
The bell hung over the door rang its joyful tone as she pushed open the door, the bar runner – Tom, looked up from his newspaper and greeted her: "Ah, Miss Argento! Yes, why you arrived just on time! Here's a letter for ya." He held out a pale yellowish envelope with a red wax seal on it. With one glance, Jade immediately knew where the letter is from and what it's about. She's seen lots of kids around twelve walking into shops with letters like this in their hands, excited to go to Hogwarts. Hogwarts, she thought. But she decided to obey Grandma, so instead of ignoring the letter, she answered it.
"Thanks Tom! Do you still have the owl?" Jade asked.
"Uh…yes. Would you like me to answer the letter for you?" Tom responded with a toothless grin.
"Yes please, that would be fantastic!" She searched her pocket for a kunt, "Hope your sales go well today!" Jade flashed Tom a smile and walked towards the back of the bar.
Compared to the ill-lit, rickety bar itself, the small hidden courtyard behind the backwalls was usually bright despite how grey the day is. Several trash tins stood against the moss-grown stone wall. Tap the correct brick on the wall three times with a wand, and the whole Diagon Alley will unravel before your eyes.
As she walked around the corner of Honeydukes - an infamous sweets shop, a curious sound made her turn to see what's happening in the dark side alley that branches out just beside Honeydukes, where a dozen of trash bins were lined against the alley walls. Some distance down the alley, there were the faint silouettes of three people, two of whom were pushing the third, tinier than the other two against the wall, slapping and punching him. The third figure was groaning in pain.
"Hey!" Jade called out, walking towards alley, "What are you doing?" She lit her wand and started walking towards the figures. The two bullies, seeing somebody coming down the alley, fled before Jade got in a recognizable range. The third leaned with his back against the wall, panting. Now she could see, for just a brief moment, a boy about her age, but skinny and ill-looking. His torn shirt with multicolored dust and mud, the worn sleeves and patches, the boots with holes, uneven socks. In his visible hand was a small chunk of bread, still freshly baked, unsuited to the boy's appearance. Despite the boy's pale yellowish face bruised from the punching and showing signs of malnutrition, it was a very pretty face, and his dark blonde hair were not patched, but was parted to one side and laid smoothly covering a bit of his forehead. He looks like a fallen angel suffering here on earth, Jade thought.
The boy looked up all in a sudden, his brilliant blue eyes filled with panic and fear, seeing Jade's figure walking closer to him, he ran down the other side of the alley, leaving Jade standing there stunned and calling for him to wait.
Five minutes later, Jade wandered to the door of the shop she worked for. Many people had already filled the alley, but still more will come. Jade knew by the years of working in this alley that after a few hours, the alley will be packed with people. The thought of the bullied boy kept coming back to her as she entered the shop with the worn wooden sign that reads: Eeylops Owl Emporium. Inside, her boss – William was already sitting at the counter.
"Good morning and happy birthday!" He shouted excitedly the moment he saw Jade walk in. He seems especially happy today, Jade thought, but he's also always happy.
"Morning!" Jade replied half-heartedly, "So what's my job today?"
"Today is your twelfth birthday," he paused, "a quite important one compared to the ones you've had."
"Sooo?"
"I have gifts for you!" he announced joyfully as he bent, disappearing behind the counter for a while, and popping back up with a small square parcel wrapped with brown paper.
"For you." He said with a smile as he handed the parcel to Jade.
"Thank you! You don't have to do this you know, you're the boss. And you really need to stop wasting your money like this." In Jade's opinion, William's always nice to people, sometimes too nice. And he doesn't give her the "boss" feeling, he's almost thirty but was still cheery like a kid. Sometimes to Jade he's almost somewhat like a big brother figure, he's too vulnerable to be a father. Since she had started working here, and William had got the chance to learn more about her past, he had always looked out for her and Grandma.
"It's never a waste investing in a bright witch like you, I already bought the books you need for school too!" He bends down to bring up a load of books, "Know you probably couldn't afford it, you know…ahh, there you go."
Well, I guess I am going to Hogwarts after all, thought Jade. However, she's still grateful for William's kindness, "Thanks for everything William!"
She looked up to see William's excited present-opening face, and untied the strings securing the wrappings. Opening it, she found, laid inside a square black box, a silver necklace with a small, pebble-shaped blue crystal. The crystal shimmered underneath the ray of sunlight that had shone through the shop window.
"Oh its beautiful!" Jade gasped, "Thank you so much! I have a feeling it must have cost you a fortune!"
"I thought you'd like it, and don't worry about how much it cost. You probably won't be getting a Christmas present." William grinned boyishly and said, "Anyways, let's get to work, shall we? There're some cages that needs repairing."
William shows Jade the six broken cages and she immediately got to work. The first cage was an easy fix as it's only the door that's broken.
"Reparo!" Jade said as she pointed the wand at the door. The metal straightened itself and the hinges popped back in place.
About twenty minutes later, Jade was done with all the cages, she brought them to William and asked for other things she can work on.
"Done already? There's not much to do today, I guess you can take a walk on the streets and gather up the things you need for school."
"Okay. I guess I can use a trip to Gringotts anyways." She replied.
"See ya later!" William said cheerfully as Jade walked out the door.
Standing outside the shop, Jade finally opened the letter from Hogwarts. Without reading the pages that says she's accepted by the school, she jumped straight to the list of things needed. Most of the things she already has at home, plus all the books William gave her. But she still needs: a brass scale, plain work robes, and a hat. And a pet, well, that's something to worry about later. First of all, before buying all those things, she needs money, and the money is in the wizards' bank down the street not far from the shop.
Soon, Jade arrived at the doors of a towering building that's built entirely out of white quarts – Gringotts. It's about the safest place in the world, the vaults are deep under the ground, way deeper than the muggles' underground trains, and were protected with numerous spells, enchantments, and some even fire-breathing dragons. Standing beside the brass-framed doors are two goblins – small creatures with a clever face and pointed-beard, long fingers and feet, and they all wore the same Gringotts uniforms, scarlet lined with gold.
She was bowed inside to face the silver doors with engraved words that says:
"Enter, stranger, but take heed
Of what awaits the sin of greed.
For those who take, but did 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 treasures there."
This was placed only for those who's stupid enough to have the nerves to try and rob Gringotts, it's probably one of the safest places in England.
Behind the silver doors was a vast marble hall lined with long, marble counters each with a goblin sitting behind it, carried away with their daily business.
"Good morning!" Jade greeted one of the goblins. The goblin placed down the gem he was examining and looked up at her, "Good morning. What can I do for you today?"
"I would like to take some money out of my vault please, the name's Argento, Jade." She reached into her collar and retrieved the golden key fastened around her neck with a string and handed it to the goblin.
The goblin examined the key carefully for a minute, then called out to another goblin, handing out the key, "Schule!"
Schule, the other goblin, walked Jade down in the narrow stone passageway that leads to the mine carts which takes them on a sickening ride all the way down to Vault 483.
The goblin opened the vault with a click of the lock, and inside the door lay all of the Argentos' money. A small stack of gold galleons Jade had earned through years of hard work, three stacks of silver sickles, and a pile of knuts.
Her parents had not left her with a fortune when they died, they had spent a lot of money on charities, and any sort of works that fought against the Dark Lord. When they died, Jade was left with only a stack of sickles, and Grandma worked hard to kept them both alive. Now as Grandma's getting older, Jade had taken over the responsibility of winning bread for the both of them.
She took out a small leather pouch and dropped a handful of coins in. This should do for the rest of the week.
Walking out of Gringotts, Jade decided to go to the robe shop first, she knew most of the shop owners in this alley, but not the clothing store owner. If it's going to be a bad deal, she'd rather do it first.
Just as she walked up to the store, somebody happened to come out. It's a boy, a bit taller than her, with sleek icy blonde hair, pale skin and cold grey eyes. He was followed by who Jade assumed to be the boy's father, also thin, tall and pale holding a fancy looking cane. They were both wearing black, and by their flawless clothing and well-groomed hair she can tell that they were very rich.
As the boy came out of the store, his eyes lingered on Jade for a while with a somethat surprised expression, Jade gets that look too often. Then his eyes swept down to the patch on her blouse, and his face showed a hint of disgust as they walk away.
She didn't mind too much, it's true that her white shawl doesn't look exactly white anymore, and her shirt does have a palm-sized patch in it, but still: Your outward appearance doesn't matter much, the important is the inside. Jade thought, comforting herself a little.
Inside the shop, the manager lady was still measuring somebody else, so she walked around for a bit, looking at the dresses for formal events.
Just as she was getting bored, the shop owner came around and asked what she wants: "Hello dear! What can I do for you today?"
"Hello!" Jade greeted, "I would like to buy three sets of plain black work robes. And a hat." She added.
"Oh, going to Hogwarts, aren't you?! Now, would you please stand on this stool for me?"
About half an hour later, she got everything she needs for school, and started heading back to the pet store.
She was in a pretty good mood on her way back, until she reached the door of their shop and she can tell that they have guests.
A gigantic figure that blocks the entrance entirely, and Jade recognized as soon as she saw him – it's Hagrid, the Hogwarts Gamekeeper.
"Hagrid!" Jade exclaimed, "So good to see you again!"
"Oh Hello Jade! Good to see ya too! Didn't even notice ye, I kinda ferget ye work here, not been here fer awhile ye know. An'hey William! Nice to see ya too!"
"Hello Hagrid! How are ya doing? How's work at Hogwarts?" William walked over from the counter and grasped Hagrid's giant hand.
"Been pret'y nice, got plenty good squash this year. An' I brought a friend o' mines today!" He moved to the side to reveal a thin boy about Jade's age, with unrulely black hair and emerald green eyes behind round, cracked glasses, "This's Harry, Harry Potter."