I see I have readers, but hardly anyone says anything. It's very discouraging... *sigh* ...I feel like a wandless Buffy!
Chapter Thirty
Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions
Discouraged, Buffy followed Professor Dumbledore and Vin and Sophie out of the wandshop. What if the Ministry was mistaken and she wasn't really a witch at all? What if her reaction to Tom's wand was a fluke and she was just a slayer? Shopping no longer sounded like fun to her. What was the use of purchasing all her other supplies if she didn't have a wand? Everything would be useless without it.
Behind her, Tom quietly closed the door and moved to her side. He didn't know what to say, but when she turned and looked up at him, her eyes filled with tears, he reached out and put his arm around her. Instantly, she moved into his arms and put her head on his chest. This was not the morning they were expecting.
"I want to go home," she whispered.
Pain rifling through his heart, he knew she meant her real home, where her family and friends were, not Vin and Sophie's house—but he held her anyway. He knew her words weren't meant to hurt him, even though they had.
Over Buffy's head, Tom saw Dumbledore watching them. He was talking to Vin and Sophie, but the man's blue eyes connected with Tom's and narrowed. It made Tom want to look away—to keep the man's nosiness at bay—but he didn't dare. Instead, he stared at him until the older man turned to respond to something one of the sisters had said.
The three adults gave Buffy and Tom a few minutes, then Sophie obviously decided to interrupt.
"Professor Dumbledore has decided to go back to the school to do some research," she said. "He says now that we've been here, we can come and go as we need."
Buffy frowned, wondering how when he'd used a wand to enter and they hadn't one, then shrugged. It wasn't like it mattered. "Okay," she said quietly, moving out of Tom's embrace.
"You should make the rest of your purchases, Miss Summers," Dumbledore told her. "You have your list and I'm sure Tom will assist you." His eyes went to the boy.
"Of course, Sir," Tom agreed, giving a nod. "Anything Buffy needs."
Dumbledore nodded, then eyed the girl. "Perhaps you could purchase your own owl, that way you could keep me informed about how you are fairing."
Buffy nodded, but looked down.
"Don't worry, a wand will be found...or created for you," the man said.
Buffy looked up. "Maybe the Ministry is wrong, Professor," she said. "Maybe I'm just...the Slayer."
The man chuckled. "You are not just anything, my dear. Don't fret," he said with a sympathetic smile. "Just be patient."
Buffy sighed heavily. "All right. I'll try. Patience isn't really a virtue I have though."
Dumbledore was still smiling when his eyes went to the sisters. "Have them fitted for their robes and uniforms," he said, his eyes going to Tom. "I believe you're in need of a new...everything."
Tom's eyes widened. He was surprised by the man's request, but he nodded.
Dumbledore pursed his lips and eyed the boy again. He'd gotten quite tall. "It's time you had what you need."
"Thank you, Sir," Tom said.
"I have a little shopping of my own, but I'll be in contact in a few days' time." This time he was looking at Vin.
Vin nodded—and they watched the professor walk off.
~oOo~
"All right then," Sophie said after the man had disappeared into the crowd. "There's still lots to buy. Books and clothing..."
"As well as cauldrons and potion ingredients," Tom added.
Buffy's eyes sparked with interest. "Can we look at clothing first? I could use some new clothing therapy."
Vin chuckled. "Certainly. Perhaps Tom could lead the way."
Shopping wasn't really his thing, but the idea of having a new uniform instantly interested him. "Of course," he said. "This way."
As they walked to Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, Tom wondered how this was going to work. He'd not seen Dumbledore give the sisters any money for him, but maybe they'd handled that inside the bank. He thought that was probably the case.
As they entered the shop, they were greeted by Madam Malkin herself.
"Welcome," the squat, smiling, mauve-covered, witch called out cheerfully before they could speak.
The shop owner was just finishing up with an extremely large woman in a purple dress that resembled a circus tent and a huge red hat. The woman was paying for her purchase at the counter, then picked up her tiny red handbag and hustled out of the shop—but not before looking Buffy up and down, then turning her nose up at her.
Buffy huffed. "As if my morning hasn't already been bad enough," she grumbled at the stranger's perusal.
"Welcome to my shop," mauve lady said again after the door had closed.
"Good morning. Madam Malkin, I presume?" said Vin.
The woman nodded. "Yes. How may I help you?" she asked, her eyes touching each of those who'd walked in.
"We're here with our...niece, Buffy," said Sophie. "And our friend Tom."
"Buffy is new to the area and needs...well, everything one might need at Hogwarts," Vin said, not quite sure what a student at a school of witchcraft and wizardry needed in the way of clothing.
"And Tom needs a new set of everything as well," added Sophie. "He's grown so much since last term."
Madam Malkin looked the students over and nodded. "Come, come along. We have everything for Hogwarts, my dears. We'll have you two fitted out right quick."
Hustling the four of them to the back of the shop, the woman pointed at a raised platform and said, "My assistant has gone to lunch, so...we'll do this as fast as we can. One at a time though. Ladies first. Up, up!" She smiled at Buffy, then helped maneuver her onto the platform when she didn't immediately go there herself.
Sitting down in a chair to the side, Tom watched while Madam Malkin began sizing Buffy, smirking when the witch slipped a long robe over Buffy's head, and began to pin it to the right length. She'd clearly never had clothing fitted for her before and looked awkward as she attempted to follow the woman's instructions.
In a blink though she was finished and gestured for Tom to step up onto the platform. He wasn't used to this either, as he usually bought secondhand garments, but he did as he was told—and managed to look like an expert compared to Buffy.
"All right. That's you done, my dear," she said, then looked at the women. "All right, three sets of plain work robes each and one pointed hat each. The hats are there," she pointed to a shelf in the far corner of the shop where the conical hats sat nested together.
Buffy laughed, then picked up a pointed hat and settled it on her head, then glanced at herself in the mirror and grimaced. "Um, this looks... totally ridiculous," she said. "It doesn't even have a brim. Hard to look cool in this. Do I really have to get one of these?" she asked.
Sophie cocked her head, then giggled. She had to admit it looked funny, but...it was on the list of things to buy, so... "I'm sorry, but...yes, I think so."
Groaning, Buffy rolled her eyes, then pulled the hat from her head.
"Don't worry, everyone else will be wearing them too," Tom put in, "so you won't look out of place."
"Oh great," Buffy said, "an entire school of kids wearing matching black dunce caps...makes me feel so much better."
Vin and Sophie chuckled at this.
"I think they looked rather nice, actually," said Madam Malkin. "You looked quite studious in the hat."
Realizing she was being rude, Buffy blushed and managed a polite smile. "I suppose I'll get used to it," she said. She was, after all, getting used to a lot of new things. What was one more?
"Now," Madam Malkin went on, "you'll have to decide on protective gloves. Most like the dragon hide, because it's the best, but...they are the most expensive, because...well... dragon hide. Quite difficult to procure."
Vin nodded. She'd read the supply list and hadn't really considered that dragon hide or similar really meant it was made from the hide of dragons. "Dragon hide is fine, for both of them," she said, not caring about the cost—they had more money, both Muggle and wizarding now, than they knew what to do with.
Tom's dark eyes widened with surprise. He'd managed to find a pair of secondhand dragon hide gloves two years before, but with as much as he'd grown in the last year, they really were too small.
The shop owner nodded and pointed so that Buffy and Tom knew where to look for the proper sized dragon hide gloves, then looked at the sisters. "How many sets of uniforms would you like for them?"
Vin frowned. "Well I...I don't know," she said, her eyes going to her sister. "What do you think?"
"At least five sets for each," Sophie said decisively. "Shirts, jumpers, trousers, socks for Tom and the same for Buffy, except blouses and skirts or dresses instead of trousers."
Standing over by the protective gloves, Buffy frowned. "Argh! No! Isn't it like... freezing cold in Scotland?" she asked with a shudder. "No dresses and skirts for me, please," she begged as she brought her glove-covered hands together as if she were praying, which caused Sophie to chuckle and Vin to smile.
"All the girls will be wearing them, Buffy," Vin said. She didn't know this for sure, but she assumed. And would they even allow her to wear trousers at Hogwarts?
Buffy huffed. "But...I'm used to pants and...I'll be cold."
Tom smirked. "We do have warming charms, Buffy," he said.
"As if I know how to use them," Buffy said.
"They're not difficult. You will learn," Tom assured her. "And you would look out of place in trousers." He didn't mention that she was going to look and sound out of place anyway.
Buffy ignored him. "Couldn't I have like...a few pairs of pants?" she asked. "I mean, obviously I like skirts, but...brrr." She shuddered again for show. "Please."
"How about one pair...just in case?" Vin offered.
"Three," Buffy countered, turning her tone to one of pleading.
Sophie and Vin looked at each other, then said, "Two!" at the same time. "And a few pairs of wooly tights?"
Buffy rolled her eyes, then shrugged. "All right. Fine. Whatever."
Sophie smiled then picked up three pairs of trousers anyway—then went to the shelves where there was black scarf upon black scarf neatly piled. "What is it with all the sodding black? My goodness, haven't you people heard of color? Black is just...gastly!"
This caused Buffy to break into laughter. "Isn't that the truth," she said, but scooped up several scarves that, to her, all looked the same.
"They'll shift to House colors after she's been sorted," Tom told them, then pointed at the scarves. "This one has thin stripes...and this one wide."
Buffy and the sisters leaned in to look and nodded when they saw the slightly different stitch.
"Watch," Tom went on. Then, unfurling a scarf, he slung it around his own neck and it instantly changed from all black to green and gray. "I am in Slytherin House, so any Hogwarts scarf that I put on that might be mine instantly changes to green and gray."
Sophie grinned. "That's...brilliant!" she said, her eyes going to Vin. They were both quite intrigued by all the new things they were seeing.
Buffy went over to the pile and poked at one of the scarves, then picked it up and looked it over—wondering if she'd get a hint at her House if she put one on.
Watching her, Tom smiled. "It won't work until you're sorted," he said, somehow knowing what she was thinking.
Buffy huffed. "That blows. All the waiting is torture."
"The concept is genius though," Vin said. "How else could anyone buy everything they needed for school before attending the first time?"
Madam Malkin nodded her agreement. "Their ties will do the same," she said, holding out several ties for the sisters to take. Like the scarves, the ties had subtle differences in the stripes. Some had narrow stripes, others quite a bit wider.
Buffy grimaced. "Oh! No! Ties?" the blonde complained. She'd never worn a tie in her life and didn't want to start wearing them now. "But...I'm a girl."
"Sorry?" Vin said with a smile.
Buffy snorted. "You don't look or sound sorry at all," she accused.
"Guilty as charged," said the dark-haired sister.
Tom laughed at the exchange—and received a glare from his friend.
"Laugh it up, buddy," Buffy said, giving the boy a poke hard enough to cause him to wince, then winking at him. "You'll be sorry when I look like every other girl at Hogwarts. Won't that be boring."
"Buffy, it is not possible for you to ever look like every other girl," he countered. "I promise you, you are going to stand out."
Buffy frowned, unsure if that was a good thing. Did she want to be stand out girl? Because of her nature, she often had trouble fitting in. Being the Slayer was already something that set her apart from all the others. But now she was in a different time and place. She knew there was no way that she could be incognito girl. She'd tried to be at Hemery. She'd tried it again at Sunnydale High, but it hadn't lasted—not even for a week. And she didn't think it would last at Hogwarts either.
Frowning, she picked up two ties and held them up to her neck. "Thick or thin stripes?" she asked.
Vin smiled. "Why don't you select one of each," she suggested, pointing out that there were several others from which to choose.
"You as well, Tom," Sophie added.
Vin nodded. "Yes, let us get everything you both might need today," she said, turning to Madam Malkin. "Is there a way to have everything sent to our home?"
Madam Malkin frowned. "Wouldn't you rather take everything home with you today?"
Vin and Sophie glanced at one other, then at the growing pile of clothing on the counter.
"That's going to be quite a few packages to carry," said Sophie. "Perhaps too many on top of everything else we have yet to buy."
Madam Malkin gave them an odd look—and Tom realized she didn't know the sisters weren't wand-carrying witches who could just shrink their purchases.
"If you would be so kind as to wrap everything up for us," he said, gesturing like he was making something smaller and hoping the shopkeeper would take the hint, "I believe we will be able to manage it from there." He looked at the sisters and nodded, hoping that they wouldn't immediately question him.
Madam Malkin blinked, then nodded. "Of course. I will finish sizing everything, then shrink it all, so that you can carry it out." She looked at the rather large pile and nodded again. "It shouldn't take very long. Perhaps you could finish your other shopping and return in...an hour?"
The sisters nodded. "Yes, that sounds perfect," Sophie said for the both of them.
~oOo~
Outside the shop, Buffy smiled. "Thanks, you guys! Shopping really did the trick," she said, her eyes shining as she fiddled with the fringe on the black scarf she'd taken with her. "I mean, no wand yet, but... clothing! Yay!"
Sophie chortled. "Agreed," she said as she adjusted the hat she'd purchased. It was canary yellow with bright blue feathers that matched her eye color exactly sticking out of the band above the brim. Before leaving Madam Malkins, she and Vin had chosen hats—Vin had picked a white one to go with her favorite dress. The hat had a huge bright pink flower on the hat band that Madam Malkin promised was charmed to never wilt. Both of them had also ordered a set of robes—just for the hell of it—thinking it would be fun to have them, just in case they ended up spending any time in the wizarding world. It was doubtful, but not impossible now that Vin was reacquainted with Albus Dumbledore. And, well, because of Buffy.
Pulling on the end of her scarf, Buffy said, "You know. I was thinking that—"
"Thinking? You?" teased Tom.
Buffy glared at him. She even growled a little, which caused her friend to snicker.
"As I was saying, before I was so rudely interrupted, I was thinking that maybe Professor Dumbledore could bring the Sorting Hat to me...so I don't have to wait until September to find out what House I'm in," Buffy said as she watched them for a reaction. "It would be just... slightly less stressful to know beforehand, you know? What do you think?"
Vin and Sophie glanced at each other and shrugged. "It would probably be nice to know, of course," Vin said.
"But...none of the other students know before going, so..." Sophie paused. "I'm not sure it would be fair."
Buffy huffed. "Is it fair that I had to wait all these years to be invited to attend Hogwarts? Is it fair that I'm the Chosen One and will likely die young? Is it fair that I've been ripped away from my family and friends...and country? Is it fair that—"
"All right," interrupted Vin. "You have a point." She and Sophie nodded, then looked at Tom.
"What do you think, Tom?" Sophie asked the boy. "Do you think Professor Dumbledore would consider it?"
Everyone frowned at the boy. He was in his own world again. That happened when he started to brood—and the brooding always started when there were reminders about the length of Buffy's life—or possible lack of length of it—and/or her stay here in 1942. He did not like any reminders.
"Tom?" Vin said with concern.
But Tom didn't hear them. His thoughts were racing and he was starting to panic again. He wasn't sure if knowing Buffy's House immediately was what he wanted. Of course, if they found out she was in Slytherin, he'd be relieved—and overjoyed beyond measure. In that case, the rest of the summer with her would be so much easier. And he could start preparing her for what was to come. She had to be in Slytherin!
If, however, it turned out she was sorted into one of the other Houses, he'd have to start preparing himself to lose her sooner. Like immediately! It would be better for both of them if they found out now, so they could part ways—or, at the very least, not get any closer. But what would he do without her? While it was true that being around her was turning him on end, he couldn't imagine her being gone.
"Tom?" Sophie tried, her eyes shifting worriedly to Buffy.
Buffy bit her lip and moved into Tom's personal space. "Hello?" Buffy said as she waved a hand in front of the boy's face. "Earth to Tom."
He blinked—and she grinned when his eyes focused on her and she saw recognition in them. "Are you...okay?" she asked, her head cocked to the side.
Tom sighed. "Er. Yes. I am fine," he said, though he was far from fine.
Vin frowned. "So what do you think? Do you think Albus would bring the hat to Buffy, so that she can be sorted before school starts?"
"Honestly, I can't say," said Tom. He shook his head. "It isn't something that has ever been done...to my knowledge. I'm not sure if the hat can leave the castle, but you could ask, of course."
Buffy huffed with disappointment.
Sophie nodded, then looked at Vin. "I think we should ask. It would certainly be a relief to know." Her eyes went to Tom, wondering what the boy was thinking. Buffy's House seemed so important to him. Or rather, Buffy being in his House. But what if she wasn't?
Buffy grinned at Sophie's words and clapped her hands like an excited child who'd just been given a shiny new toy.
Beside her, Tom attempted a smile, but it didn't reach his dark eyes. In fact, his eyes were swirling with emotion. He was so conflicted and anxious—two things he loathed being.
"Just don't be surprised if Albus says no, Buffy," Vin warned.
"If this sorting hat must remain at the castle, then so be it," Sophie added.
Buffy nodded, but she fully intended to convince the old man. How, she didn't know, but she needed to know her House now! Or, at the very least, before arriving at Hogwarts.