Vivenne hadn't expected her grandmother to be recognized or approached by anyone while they were out today, and for a brief moment, she couldn't think of who could know her outside of their isolated highland home. She quickly chided herself, as of course there might be someone who recognized her grandmother. She used to be the head healer in St. Mungo's Magical Creature Injury department for crying out loud.
She tried to identify who had been calling her grandmother's name and was surprised by who it was. A mountain of a man, with dark, wild hair, dressed in boots and a huge brown coat approached them, two large ice cream cones in one hand.
"Rubeus, how are you?' Gran greeted, moving to one side so people could pass. It didn't seem to do much, because this Rubeus fellow took up a whole aisle, making people take a wide berth around him.
"Very good, very good. I'm taking a student around, getting his books and things today. Looks like you must be doing the same yourself."
"Yes, this is my granddaughter Vivienne," Gran said, bringing Vivi into the conversation by nudging her forward with her hand on her back. "Vivi, this is Rubeus Hagrid, he is the groundskeeper at Hogwarts."
She found that to be interesting but didn't know what to say about it. However, she luckily remembered her manners and said, "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Hagrid."
"Oh, you can just call me Hagrid, everyone does," he said, sounding almost bashful.
"You have a student that you are shopping with? That's not usual, is it?" Gran asked.
"No, it's not," Hagrid admitted. "But I suppose I can trust you. Part of it was Hogwarts business, but-"
Vivi thought that it was strange that Hagrid had that close of a relationship with her grandmother to specifically say that he trusted her, as nothing told her that they knew each other from St. Mungo's. Maybe they knew each other from when her mom was in Hogwarts, but how could that establish that kind of trusting relationship?
Hagrid had paused, as a boy joined him. He was a couple of inches shorter than Vivi was, had large circular glasses, but they had matching dark hair.
"Ah, right there Harry? This is Mrs. Beaumont and her granddaughter, Vivienne. This right here is young Harry Potter."
Vivi didn't hear her grandmother gasp, but they were standing so closely on the crowded street that she felt it. She thought that was completely odd, but was focused on the boy, as she was interested to see what a fellow Hogwarts classmate might be like.
Before she got a chance to even say hello, Gran had moved forward and grabbed Harry to squeeze him in a tight hug. Vivienne was so shocked that she made a face, and was glad that Harry didn't push her away, as that would have been too embarrassing to bear.
"Gran, are you ok?" Vivienne asked. Gran didn't answer, and she felt too helpless to make any more efforts to separate her grandmother from the poor boy.
She released him in her own time, pulling his hair back from his brow to peer into his face. Finally, she stepped back next to Vivienne, who was incredibly shocked.
"I'm so sorry, it was just… seeing you…"
"It's alright, truly," Harry responded, brushing it off so effortlessly that Vivienne wondered what was wrong with him.
"We must be continuing on, but it was so nice to meet you Harry," Gran said, taking Vivienne's hand again.
She was so mortified that she couldn't do anything but give a quick wave to the new boy.
They entered Madam Malkin's for robes and Vivienne asked again if her grandmother was alright.
"I know that was out of the ordinary, but he reminded me of someone that I used to know," Gran said, and wouldn't talk about it anymore.
After Madam Malkin's, Vivienne was already willing to shake off the really strange situation, and they went about the rest of the day. Flourish and Blotts was familiar to her, as was the apothecary. They picked up her cauldron, telescope, all her books, and ended at Eyelop's Owl Emporium.
"Is it still an owl you want?" Gran said. "Not a cat?"
"Yes, they are much more useful," Vivi remarked. "Especially because I'm going to want to write to you and Papa and Mum all the time."
Gran chuckled, "We'll see if you still feel that way once you are there. Hogwarts is a busy place for a first year."
Regardless, they made their way into the shop, and Vivienne had to let her eyes adjust to the dark.
"Hello," a voice cooed from behind the counter. "Hogwarts, I'm assuming?" The man himself reminded her of an owl with his large eyes and small mouth.
"Yes," Gran started. "We are looking for a mail owl."
"Very good, feel free to have a look, quietly."
He and Gran talked more about recommendations and things like that, but Vivienne pressed on. She found it sad that so many of these creatures were caged up, just to sit until someone came to buy them, but it all seemed humane. Cages were large and clean, so she supposed that they were at least taken care of while they were here.
Mostly, all she saw were brown birds, with a snowy owl or other color variation thrown in every so often, so she felt slightly overwhelmed and underwhelmed at the same time. However, toward the back on the left, was a sandy colored owl with a large white face, a small barn owl, snoozing in its cage.
She knew that one was the one she needed, in her heart. He seemed tiny, but she thought that he could do the job she was going to ask of him. As if reading her mind, he slowly opened his amber eyes, and Vivienne fell even deeper in love.
The man was nice enough to cover the owl's travel cage with a sheet after they bought it, and as they left, Vivienne felt more confident than ever that she was going to be just fine at Hogwarts.