"Hello" Satori said in Japanese.
'Hello' Hailey thought in English.
"Good Morning," Satori said in Japanese.
'Good morning' Hailey thought, once more in English
"Goodbye"
'Goodbye'
"Boy"
'Boy'
"Girl"
'Girl'
In preparation for Hailey's new school, Satori was teaching her english… in a very Satori way.
Hailey had her head in Koishi's lap, with Koishi's hands on both her temples, while Satori's third eye hovered above her face, lulling her into a hypnotic trance. This process has been going on for hours, Satori randomly cycling through all the English words she knows, as her hypnotism and Koishi's subconscious manipulation imparted her understanding and knowledge of a new language.
"Inconsistent"
'Inconsistent'
"Random"
Random'
"Strange"
'Ramen'
Satori paused, and tried again.
"Strange?"
'Apples?'
Satori looked up at her sister.
"I'm Hungry." Koishi said cheerfully.
Satori sighed.
The method was not completely without flaw however, she's gonna have to fix that… after getting Koishi something to eat of course.
'Icecream cake?' Hailey thought, confused.
Satori, with Hailey holding to the back of her dress, and accompanied by Rin, stepped into the rather dingy establishment known as the Leaky Cauldron.
The early morning crowd glanced at the strange woman and her company. Their thoughts revealing that despite all sorts coming through, that Satori was an entirely new kind of odd, what with her third eye.
Thankfully the thoughts were not yet hostile, likely because they did not recognise what she was, and had yet to open her mouth and annoy them in the way she was want to. So with that in mind, she welcomed the scrutiny, especially since it kept it off her young, shy and unfortunately incredibly famous daughter, clinging to her as her eyes darted around nervously.
Before the trip with Koishi, Haileys entire world had been the manor and its grounds down in old hell, now today she had seen more people then she even knew existed. To say she was overwhelmed was putting it lightly. Her thoughts buzzed between wanting to go home and hide from all the strange people, and her curiosity at wanting to explore this strange place.
Satori from the knowledge she gleaned from Dumbledore and Mcgonagall, Hailey was likely to be mobbed with fans and wellwishers the minute it was revealed who she was, so Satori had taken special care to brush Haileys bangs extra low to better hide her most identifiable feature, her scar.
It was strange finding out your adopted daughter was a celebrity, they don't cover this in parenting self help books.
She caught the eyes of Mcgonagall, as the Deputy headmistress approached them from where she was waiting. Mcgonagall opened her mouth to speak, but Satori beat her to the punch as usual.
"Good morning Professor, yes I did find the place alright, the directions you gave me were more than enough, although I did have to avoid some of the more crowded streets, nevertheless I am confident I could find my way back if I had too." Satori said.
Mcgonagall rolled her eyes, and started thinking instead. After understanding more about Satori during the long discussion in the park, her general frustration at dealing with Satori's interruptions had downgraded to a more vague annoyance and resigned acceptance, which Satori appreciated.
'Where there any problems with muggles? You pass for human well enough at a glance, but your third eye is undeniably strange.' Mcgonagall thought.
"No problem, I have quite the knack for hypnotism, a little bit of eye contact and they suddenly don't regard me as worth looking at." Satori said, her third eye pivoting around her body, as if to show off how easy she could get someone's eye contact. "I don't work well with crowds however, so I did take a detour or two."
Satori then bowed respectfully. "I also apologise, as it seems that you have gotten the short straw in being my guide today."
Mcgonagall sighed, a passing thought wondering why, if Satori knows she is this annoying to deal with, why she doesn't make more of an effort to avoid it, before gathering her thoughts to think-speak in Satoris direction again. 'It was somewhat of a forgone conclusion, I already knew of you and your tendencies. And Dumbledore would draw too much attention if he came himself.'
She then spotted Hailey peering out from behind Satori, watching her with a nervous curiosity.
Mcgonagall's face softened at the girl's shy countenance. 'There is a small yard out back before we get into Diagon Alley proper, perhaps we should continue this conversation out there.'
Satori nodded and followed the teacher out the back door.
Once they were in the relative privacy outside, Satori spoke. "Now is probably the time for introductions. Hailey, this is Professor Mcgonagall, who is a teacher at your new school. Professor, this is my Daughter, Hailey Komeiji."
Mcgonagall kneeled down and gave Hailey a reassuring smile, "It's nice to meet you Hailey, I haven't seen you since you were a baby."
Hailey gave Mcgonagall a shy little wave, her mind and eyes shimmering with a gentle curiosity.
"Professor, I would also introduce you to my pet Kasha, Rin Kaenbyou, also known as Orin, she is going to be Haileys chaperone." Satori said, gesturing to the catgirl.
"Pleased to meet nya." Rin said, giving a cheeky curtsey.
"Good morning… Nya?" Mcgonagall's brow furrowed as her thoughts caught on the odd pronunciation.
"Its a Japanese cat pun." Satori explained. "Nya is onomatopoeia for a cat's meow."
"Right, you mentioned she would be some kind of hellcat." Mcgonagall said, half to herself, as she eyed the ears and flicking tails. "Although-"
"Her primary form is that of a cat." Satori interrupted, Rin changing to a cat and back to demonstrate, "She can just transform into a humanoid form at will."
'So like a reverse animagus' Mcgonagall thought to herself.
Before she could react, Rin was suddenly in her personal space, giving her a few sniffs.
"Wha-?" Mcgonagall exclaimed, but Rin was suddenly back by her master's side.
"You smell like a cat. I guess Master wasn't joking when she said you were something of a cat person yourself." Rin said, grinning.
Mcgonagall could only blink. 'She is fast, very fast.'
Mcgonagall hadn't had her guard up, but regardless, she had barely been a blur, she doesn't think she could have stopped her from getting close even if she wanted to.
No wonder Satori chose her as a chaperone, and if they were being more honest, a bodyguard. most wizards would struggle fighting something that could close the distance that quickly.
"It was actually more of how personable she was, and how well she knows Hailey." Satori said. "Although I would be lying if her combat ability was not a factor. But regardless, I brought her here to practise chaperoning Hailey. I intend to make Hailey handle some of the transaction's today with Rin interpreting. Is that alright with you?"
'Seems reasonable, best to practise while you are still here to supervise, and make sure there are no problems.' Mcgonagall thought. 'Regardless, we should continue, there is a lot of shopping to do.'
She walked up to the brick wall. 'Now the way into the alley is through this wall, there is a specific pattern that has to be tapped in order to gain access,' she quickly demonstrated the pattern, but didn't actually touch the bricks, 'usually this has to be done with a wand, but most muggle parents are given special amulets or trinkets to use instead, and many magical creatures can use their fingers or similar extremities, could you check if you can do so?'
"Very well." Satori stepped forward, and perfectly copied the pattern, revealing the passage to Diagon Alley.
'Very good, this means you can come in without assistance.' Mcgonagall thought, 'Now come this way.'
The group stepped into Diagon Alley, and the first steps into magical Britain proper.
The three hell dwellers took in their surroundings, in all subtly different ways.
Satori largely looked ahead, but with a certain degree of discomfort walking through the thin crowds, her brain being forced to parse every inane thought that passed through all those she passed, she pursed her lips in order to avoid a grimace or a scowl. Her third eye however was scanning up and down the street, checking every shopfront they passed, making mental notes of every shop sign, contents of the windows, as well as any other obvious landmarks, using her perfect memory to construct a mental map of the street.
Rin on the other hand strutted down the street like a cat on the prowl, her eyes instead training on the various people in the street, her catlike stare sending inexplicable shivers down people's spines as she used her Kasha senses to feel out the moral character of those around her. She couldn't read minds like Satori, or read a person's life like the Yama, but to her, Wickedness and Sin carried quite the pungent odours, and her catlike eyes were sharp enough to pick up the shape of a man's character. Ever since the treaty prevented underground youkai from going above ground, and vice versa, she hadn't personally gone corpse hunting in quite some time. Her old instincts itched.
To contrast to the confidence of her mother and chaperone, Hailey's eyes darted around, trying to look at everything at once. This had been only the second time she had ever left the confines of her underground home. Everything was new to her, both the alley and the mundane city outside. Everything from the buildings, the people, the contents of the shops around her, even the sky was strange to her. She was still nervous of course, but her curiosity was steadily burning brighter.
Mcgonagall started thinking about the itinerary for Satori, but Satori spoke up.
"Actually Professor, do you mind speaking out loud for now? As we are using this for Hailey's practice we should probably start including her in these conversations." Satori said. "I'll try my best and keep my interruptions to the minimum today."
Mcgonagall shot her a very annoyed look, wishing Satori would make up her mind, and wondering very loudly, if that was indeed an option, why she insists on interrupting people.
Satori only gives a 'sorry, not sorry' kind of expression.
Despite giving a sigh, Mcgonagall was all too happy to start talking normally again. "Our first stop will be Gringotts Bank. Haley's Parents had left her a substantial inheritance, so we will be going to reactivate the account, and withdraw some funds for our shopping."
"Good thing too, I wasn't sure they would accept one hundred and fifty year old Yen as legal tender." Satori said sardonically.
Hailey tugged at her dress. 'What's a bank?'
Satori looked down at her daughter. "Why don't you ask the nice Professor?" she said in an encouraging tone.
Hailey pouted, and tugged again a few times. 'Please Mama.'
"I'm not going to ask for you." Satori said, a bit more firm but still speaking kindly. "You need to practise when I'm not here to talk for you."
'Mamaaaa.' Hailey thought-whined, tugging a few more times.
When this produced no results other than an incredibly short staring contest, and a raised eyebrow from her mother, she extremely hesitantly let Satori's dress go, and started signing to Rin. [What's a Bank]
Rin then turned to Mcgonagall, who had stopped leading the group to watch the exchange. "Hailey asked 'what's a bank'."
Mcgonagall smiled at the rather cute exchange, before explaining. "A bank is a building where people put their money for safekeeping. Your original mom and dad had a lot of money before they passed, and now it belongs to you."
She then turned to Satori. "Dare I ask why she doesn't know what banks are?"
Satori shrugged. " It hadn't really come up, banks are not really a thing in old hell, we keep all our savings either in my home or in my work accounts. Would you trust literal demons with your money?"
Mcgonagall considers it, before nodding, makes sense.
The group then continued, until the bank was before them.
"Before we go in, I should warn you that the bank is run by goblins." Mcgonagall said at the bottom of the steps. "Do you or your kind have any problems with Goblins I should be aware of?"
"No, European Goblins were not common in Japan, so Satori and Goblins have no specific grievances I am aware of." Satori said, but smirked. "Mind you, I imagine, them being bankers, that they might have some grievances with me, seeing as how I am a being of truth."
"A being of truth?" Mcgonagall asked as they climbed the steps.
"Oh a Satori is a youkai of truth," Satori explained. "We will not lie, and nor will we allow falsehoods to be spoken in our presence. I strongly advise you to never lie in my presence, as even if it is for a good reason, It will take all my considerable willpower to not call you out, and even when I do, I am told it shows on my face."
"Like she's sucking a lemon while trying to work out who ripped an awful fart." Rin added, amused.
"Quite." Satori said flatly.
Mcgonagall made a mental note of that, briefly amusing herself with the mental image of Satori sitting in on a Wizgramot session.
"Ugh, politics." Satori grimaced.
Stepping through the doors of the bank, Mcgonagall led them to an unoccupied counter.
"Should we get Hailey to make the withdrawal herself?" Rin asked.
Hailey looked up at the high counters, and the goblins manning them, and shook her head rapidly. 'Please no.'
"We'll spare her this time Rin. We don't really know how this bank operates yet or any of Haileys accounts details, so it's best to leave it to Mcgonagall." Satori said, making Hailey sag with relief.
Mcgonagall nodded and went to organise the withdrawal.
After talking with the Goblin clerk, the group was led to a tunnel with a cart on rails.
Having extracted the information from both Mcgonagall and the goblin, she turned to Hailey, "Alright Hailey, we are going to be riding on that cart to where they are keeping your money. This apparently goes very fast too, so for safety I'd like you to sit in the middle."
'Yes mama.' Hailey said, dutifully getting in when the Goblin directed her to, with Mcgonagall and Satori on each side of her. The cart was getting a little cramped, so Rin elected to sit on Haileys lap, in cat form.
The goblin looked at the unusual cat, and cautioned. "Keep a hold of that cat, our carts go very fast, and Gringots does not accept any liability for lost or injured pets and familiars."
Hailey wrapped her arms around Rin as instructed, and just like that the cart launched down into the tunnels.
Hailey watched her surroundings with interest as the cart zoomed along through the winding tunnels and caves, and passed countless doors. She already felt more at home with a cavern roof over her head, and the speed reminded her of when Rin sometimes takes her on runs around the palace in her wheelbarrow. At the same time the environment was still different enough from home to feed her curiosity, the caverns they passed through being much smaller than the massive central chamber of old hell, and the chill in the wind buffeting her face was a solid contrast to the permanent dry heat from the eternal fires.
When they arrived at Haileys vault, Haileys nerves had receded considerably, and followed the goblin to her vault easily.
Satori on the other hand had to be helped out of the cart by Rin once she changed back to human.
"Satori are not built for speed." Muttered Satori as her legs wobbled like a young fawn.
The goblin put the key in the lock, and revealed the contents, mounds of gold silver and bronze coins.
Rin gave a whistle as she stepped up beside Hailey in the vault entrance. "Either inflation hit the wizarding world hard, or your old family was loaded, Hailey."
"How much do you think we should need for Hailey's school supplies," Satori asked Mcgonagall after she had regained her composure. "I admit I am not yet familiar with wizarding currency."
"Of course." Mcgonagall said, before starting a brief lecture on wizarding currency, and giving some examples of the value of some common items to give them a better idea of its value, including a good amount of money for today's shopping.
"...I advise you to take at least double that amount however. As you never know what additional expenses you might accrue, and it will save you another trip down here." Mcgonagall concluded.
Satori considered this, before taking triple the amount, and mounding it into a shoulder bag Rin was carrying.
She pointedly ignored both the smug expression and thoughts of the Goblin.
She really didn't like the cart ride.
Once more on the surface and out of the bank, Mcgonagall addressed the group.
"First off, here is Hailey's vault key. Dumbledore had intended to return it to Hailey when she reached school age, but seeing as you are her guardian, we shall intrust it to you instead."
Satori took the key, "Thank you."
"Now that we have funds allocated, it is time to go shopping." Mcgonagall said "We can start anywhere you like, although I suggest we start with buying you a Trunk first. First years need a lot of supplies to prepare for their seven years of school, and it will be easier to carry with a Trunk than without."
"That seems reasonable." Satori said. "But before we go…"
Satori then takes a small cloth purse with a clasped top, and hands it to Hailey.
"This is a purse filled with some wizarding money, if you see anything you want, even if it isn't on the list, don't be afraid to buy it. You can have anything you like, provided you buy it yourself."
Hailey accepted hesitantly. 'Alright mama.'
As they continued to the travel supply shop for the trunk, Mcgonagall pointedly thought something at Satori. 'Is it wise to let an eleven year old buy whatever she wants?'
"It's her money, besides Hailey is a good girl. The only thing I'm worried about is if she doesn't buy anything." Satori said.
At the point for the next few stops on their shopping trip went somewhat uneventfully, with Satori going down the list of Haileys school supplies, and making the purchases on her behalf. It wasn't until around lunch time, when they passed an ice cream parlour, that Hailey was reluctantly put up to bat.
"Come on Hailey." Satori gently coaxed. "Just pick whatever flavours you like, then tell Orin what you want, and then give the nice lady the money."
Hailey eyed the counter dubiously, as well as the patient-looking counter clerk. 'Do I have to?'
"You have to get used to it eventually." Satori said, "You'll be at school for more than half a year without me, and I need you to be able to interact with strangers without me there to hold your hand."
'I don't want to go though.' Hailey thought, looking at her feet.
"I know, but it will be good for you. You wouldn't be going if I didn't think this was important, and so is this, so please choose what ice cream you want." Satori said, stroking Haileys head.
'...alright.' Hailey thought after some minor inner turmoil.
The clerk, slightly confused at the seemingly one sided dialog, said. "I don't think I've ever met a kid who had to be convinced to get ice cream."
"She's just a little shy." Satori said.
After browsing for a while. Hailey eventually decided on mint chocolate chip, which she signed to Rin. After receiving her frozen treat, and with some more coaxing, paying for it herself, the group continued on with their shopping. But now with Hailey having to complete some of the easier transactions herself.
Eventually this led to possibly the most important stop on the trip, the wand emporium.
They stepped into the small, pokey shop. The walls are covered with shelves packed high with small rectangular boxes.
"Good Afternoon."
While Satori had felt the old man approach, Hailey most certainly did not, and she jumped, before clinging to Satori and looking around for the source, quickly spotting the almost ethereal silver eyed gentlemen.
"Ah yes," said the man. "Yes, yes. I thought I'd be seeing you soon. Hailey Potter." It wasn't a question. "You have your mother's eyes. It seems only yesterday she was in here herself, buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work." He got closer, as if examining Hailey. "Your father, on the other hand, favoured a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration. Well, I say your father favoured it, it's really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course."
Hailey clung closer to her mother, taken aback by the strange intensity, leading Satori to speak up.
"Excuse me, could you back off a little? you are frightening my daughter. And for the record, it's Hailey Komeiji now, not Potter." Satori said curtly.
Olivander glanced up at Satori, but did back away respectfully. "Ah, apologies, I understand I can be somewhat… overenthusiastic, and can forget my manners. I do not mean to intimidate."
He gave a gentle bow, "And speaking of manners, I am Olivander, Wandmaker. May I ask for your name Lady Satori?"
Satori raised her eyebrow, as this was the first Wizard she had met who was able to identify her species on sight. She didn't need her third eye to know that there was more to this old man than met the eye.
With her third eye… Well, everybody has secrets.
"My name as a matter of fact is Satori, Satori Komeiji, do not ask, it is not a pleasant story. And yes, I am Haileys mother, by adoption." Satori said, the last part answering the unspoken question. "I understand this is your normal procedure, but I ask that you tone down the theatrics a tad, Hailey is not used to dealing with new people yet."
"Very well, I will endeavour to restrain myself." Olivander said, nodding. "May Hailey step this way? I need to take her measurements."
Hailey looked up at Satori. 'Do I have to?'
Satori patted Hailey on the back. "Go on Hailey, I won't be far away. Let the slightly creepy but nice man measure you. He won't do anything mean, I promise."
Hailey very reluctantly entangled herself, and stood in front of Olivander.
"Don't worry Miss Komeiji, I promise I will keep discomfort to a minimum." Olivander said, before pulling out a tape measure, which then floated over to Hailey and started measuring her itself, which Hailey was thankful for, as it was less nerve racking than being measured by a stranger.
"Please hold out your wand Arm, thank you."
Hailey held out her right hand. Letting the tape measure do its job.
"Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance, Miss Komeiji. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers and the heartstrings of dragons. No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons or phoenixes are quite the same. And of course, you will never get such good results with another wizard's wand."
Satori could hear her daughter wanting to ask a question, but could not sign while being measured. She looked at her mother helplessly, who decided to relent on her stance to not speak for her, at this moment. "Hailey wants to know if you have any wands with Satori… bits in them."
At the unspoken question, she added. "Hailey is mute."
Ollivander nodded, and addressed Hailey. "No I'm afraid, but Youkai parts were rare in England even before the majority of them… went away. I have encountered a wand made with Satori lashes before, it was made from Momiji, or Japanese maple, one Shaku or roughly 12 inches in length, but I have never had the privilege of making such a wand myself." He looked somewhat wistful, as he took boxes off shelves, "Wands made from Youkai substances tended to be powerful, but very choosy of their masters, and often prone to mischief. That wand favoured an honest soul, but with a strong sense of justice, and was very good for charming the mind and senses."
Hailey gave another look at Satori, this time with a question for her. 'Doesn't it hurt to lose your eyelash?'
Satori smiles placatingly. "Eyelashes shed regularly and regrow quickly, although the lashes of our third eye don't shed as often as normal eyes, it is still perfectly safe to lose them."
She kept to herself, that with how Satori used to be treated, it would be a miracle if that eyelash was given willingly.
However Ollivander, as if reading her mind instead of the other way around, said. "Indeed, and in addition, the eyelash was likely either found discarded or given to the wandmaker. Another reason Youkai wands are so rare is because… taking a substance without permission from an intelligent youkai…" Satori heard the original statement was going to be 'killed or butchered for' but Ollivander was still being mindful of Hailey's sensitivity. "... results in a cursed wand, often extremely fickle, holding long grudges and are likely to betray its wielder. While these wands can still be won over with the right kind of soul, it is extremely rare, and most masters of these wands meet very unfortunate ends. Thus most wandmakers avoided such materials, and only took was could be found, given, or bartered for."
Satori was surprised, to think there was once a human wandmaker who was close enough to a Satori to be given an eyelash, she almost wishes she could have met him. It also begged the question of how old Ollivander was to see such a wand, as unless it was an Heirloom, there had only been two Satori left for at least two centuries… Although she can't disregard the possibility that the eyelash could have been Koishi's…
"That will do." Ollivander said, causing the tape measure to fall to the floor unceremoniously, and derailing Satoris' train of thought.
"Right then, Miss Potter, we are going to start trying out wands now." Ollivander said, explaining more than he usually would to ease the nervous girl. "Now most of these won't work, but eventually we will find a wand that works well with you. Just give them a wave, and we'll see what happens."
Hailey nodded, a little less nervous then she was at the start now that she had acclimatised to the odd wandmaker.
"Since we were speaking of Youkai wands, here is one I do have. Tail Hair of a wolf tengu, walnut, ten inches, plenty of give. I doubt it will favour you, it prefers a sharp mind and bold temperament, but since you were interested, I thought you might like to give it a go."
Hailey took the wand, and looked at it, before giving it an experimental wiggle, to no effect.
As Ollivander took the wand back, Satori, curious, focused her third eye on the wand. There was no mind there so to speak, no thoughts to be read or conscious mind to examine, but there was the slight sense of Ego to the thing, like an emerging Tsukumogami who had yet to fully develop a soul. She wondered if this was all wands or merely youkai ones. The wand felt snooty and prideful, fitting, as it came from Tengu.
"As expected, you seem somewhat too gentle for this wands tastes. If you are curious, I won the Hair in a dice game with a young Tengu during some of the travels of my youth, a fascinating material to work with, albeit its pickiness makes it difficult to sell. Pity it's impossible to find youkai nowadays, had I known about the disappearance beforehand, I would have spent more time in Japan…" Ollivander was once more wistful, before returning to the present, "No matter, perhaps this dragon string wand will suit you better…"
What followed was a lengthy procedure of Hailey being handed wand after wand, her hesitant waves provoking very little response. Satori watched interested as Ollivander systematically crossed multiple wands off his mental list with each failed attempt, narrowing down available options and reshuffling the remaining ones as he approached what he believes to be Haileys ideal wand, before eventually settling on one, although Ollivander gave it to her with a smidge of hesitation, and a sense of inevitability, and Satori couldn't help but frown when she saw why.
"I wonder… well why not. An unusual combination, Holly and Phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple."
As Hailey, who was half zoning out by now, the monotony of wand testing having lulled her into a trance, took the wand. She nearly flinched when she felt a new sensation of warmth up her arm, she lifted the wand to look at it closely. With a little wiggle, the tip gave a very soft glow, like an ember.
"Oh, very good!" Ollivander said, jovially, "You were trickier than most, but we always get there eventually." He took the Wand back and put it back in its box. "Treat this wand right and it will serve you well… The Phoenix who shed that feather only ever gave one other, and the wand it produced went on to do many great things… That will be seven Galleons please."
Satori paid and Orin led Hailey out with her new wand in hand. Satori however hung back to talk to Ollivander.
"Can I help-" Ollivander began, but Satori cut him off.
"Should I be worried about the wand relation thing?"
'Can't hide things from a Satori can I?' Ollivander thought wryly. 'For the most part, no. Wand brothers will not willingly harm one another. However I suspect that is not what you mean.'
"A young girl getting the wand brother of her parents' killer's wand feels a little too much like fate for my liking." Satori said, frowning.
'Perhaps' Ollivander thought, packing up the rejected wands back into their shelves, 'but as you most likely know, It was the wands choice, not my own. Besides, the fact that you are here now is proof enough that nothing is set in stone.'
"And what is that supposed to mean-" Satori started, but the old man had vanished, and it said a lot that, even with her unblinking third eye trained on him beforehand, she cannot pinpoint the exact moment he did so.
"That covers most of Hailey's school supplies." Satori asked, "Any more stops you recommend before we get some of the more unwieldy supplies?"
"Well, Hailey is allowed to bring a pet to school, perhaps getting her an owl would be a good idea. The School has owls that can be lent to students, but a personal owl is best."
"Well if that's what it takes to get mail delivered around here, I suppose we must." Satori said.
'I'm getting a pet owl?' Hailey thought.
"Only if you want one of course." Satori said, patting her on the head. "But Owls are important in Wizarding society, as they can send messages, so you might need one so you can talk to me when you are at school."
Hailey pondered, as technically this would be the first pet that was hers, specifically. Her mother had a lot of pets of course, but they were… well her mothers. And apparently she can use them to talk to her mother, which she apparently would not be able to do without one.
'I think I want one mama.' was Hailey's eventual conclusion.
Satori smiled, and nodded to mcgonagall. The group then proceeded to the owl emporium.
Satori then kneeled in front of Hailey. "Now, you go look around and find an owl you like, take Orin with you. Don't worry I'm not going anywhere, I Just want to look around myself as well."
Hailey nodded, with a 'Yes Mama' before wandering away, peering into cages as she went, Orin in tow.
Satori then started doing the same, slowly walking down the rows of cages. Mcgonagall watching from the door.
Then to both the Professor and the store keeper's surprise, she started talking to an owl. "Hello there, might I have a moment of your time?"
The Owl gave a soft hoot, seemingly in response, and turned on its perch, apparently giving Satori her full attention.
"How is life in this store suiting you?"
There was a pause.
"That's good to know, when I saw all the cages I was a little concerned."
There was another pause.
"Understandable. I am curious, how do you feel about large caverns?"
Pause.
"Very large, huge even, with a very tall ceiling. I also keep Ravens and they have no problems living down there."
Pause.
"Quite warm actually."
…
"I see, well, thank you for your time."
And then Satori moved on, and then struck up another similar conversation with a seemingly random owl.
The shopkeeper looked both puzzled and concerned, and looked to Mcgonagall, who could only really nod her head to placate him.
This went on for a few more minutes, with Satori having seemingly one-sided conversations with a random assortment of owls, until Hailey came back.
"Found one you like?" Satori said.
Hailey nodded, and led her over to a pure white Snowy owl.
Satori was impressed, as with only a glance she could tell that this owl was a cut above the rest.
"Hello there, it seems my daughter is interested in purchasing you."
…
"I see, I should warn you, that we leave deep underground, the cavern is spacious, but this was a deal breaker to a lot of owls here."
…
"It's also fairly warm, possibly warmer than you might be comfortable with."
The Owl hooted dismissively.
"Very well, then, give us a moment."
Satori then turned to the shopkeeper. "I would like this Snowy Owl, please."
"Very well that will-" The shopkeeper started, but Satori was not finished.
"As well as that Eagle Owl over there, and that screech, and that Desert Tawny." Satori said, pointing out the additional three owls.
"O-oh, all four of them?" The shopkeeper said, stumbling a bit, he glanced at all the luggage they already had, not sure how they were going to handle carrying four cages as well.
"Indeed. And don't worry about the cages, just release the owls and we can put the cages in the trunk." Satori said.
"...Are you sure?" the man said, eyeing her sceptically.
"Quite sure." Satori said, putting the required money on the counter.
The man was still dubious, but since they were paid for, he did as instructed.
And sure enough the owls, when released, all flew over to Satori, two landing on her shoulders, and one landing on Rin. The Snowy owl instead perched on Hailey. The cages all stowed away in the Trunk
At Mcgonagall's questioning glance as they left the shop and the befuddled shopkeeper, Satori said. "I am very good with animals, and these Wizarding owls are abnormally bright. Most wild owls, despite being associated with wisdom, are phenomenally stupid. I wonder if it's breeding, or their magical nature."
Mcgonagall sighed, deciding to file it under another weird thing about Satori.
She then caught Satori's gaze lingering on the magical menagerie across the street, and decided to hurry things along.
Authors Notes:
Well… I'm back, sorta?
Let me get the chapter specific notes out of the way first, and then I will talk about what's been happening and where I've been.
Honestly, when I was writing the five chapter for each story (explained in the general notice if you haven't read it yet), one of the bigger bottlenecks in my creative juices was having to write the Diagon Alley shopping trip four Doggam times. Because for the most part they were basically the same story beats again and again, with very little room to put my own spin on it. I even started copy pasting Olivanders entire speech at times. That said, this one I could at least make slightly more interesting by Hailey being mute and a smol bean must protec.
But yeah, as some people asked about the language barrier, they basically taught her English by subconsciously implanting the language in her brain, which I thought was a fun and interesting way of addressing the problem, although not without hiccups though.
Also all bow to Satori, Owl whisperer, pet hoarder, Mcgonagal is right to fear her.
Now for the more general things, like where have I been? Well, short answer is life stuff, but longer answer is this:
I struggle with organisation, planning and motivation in general, and often when big events like travelling, or helping my parents with building the new house, and random events can completely throw me off my groove for often weeks or months at a time. Not only that but I have a certain condition that makes it harder for me to focus and organise, and occasionally it's hard to get my medication thanks to supply line issues and the remoteness of where we live.
And honestly, it was really hurting my self esteem. I felt really bad not only leaving these stories unfinished, but letting down all you readers waiting for updates. But I didn't really know how to fix my unreliable muse. Then I remembered back in Uni, where I used to release chapters for another website, not only regularly, but weekly. Before my life got super chaotic. Obviously I fell off that wagon hard, but I think one of the things missing from back then was regularity, I often had several chapters written in advance as a backlog/buffer, that I could reliably edit and release once a week, and I think that structure helped me keep motivated to keep writing on the regular.
So that's when I decided that I was going to write 5 chapters of every story I currently have on this website in one big lump before releasing them one at a time, once per week, that would leave me with 40 chapters, and roughly ten weeks of releases. So not only guaranteeing you guys get something from me regularly, but it might give me the structure and motivation to write on the regular with both a loose deadline, but without the paralysing guilt of not having written anything to post.
So I knuckled down and within a span of 2-3 months, I managed to get like 80% of all the chapters done, and well on track for getting it done by the end of last year for a christmas release…
…And then I ran out of my meds… And then there were supply line issues… And then my permit to get new prescriptions expired (which I didn't even realise was a thing)… and then my Psychiatrist had moved practices… and that practice no longer handles patients with my condition.
It took me half the goddam year to see a new psych and get my meds back.
I am now back on my meds and writing again obviously, but right now we are at a critical point in the new house finally nearly actually being built (only took 4 years, but who's counting-_-) and my dad needs my help getting things ready, I don't have a lot of free time right now consequently, and it might be a while for things to settle down, But I thought you guys deserve something, even if it will set me back a bit on my five chapter plan, so I struggled through what little free time I had to make sure each story had one chapter ready to post, and dropped them altogether to let you all know that things will be happening soon.
They will probably be a little rough as I didn't have time or energy to properly proofread it, but I will probably come back to fix it when I actually start my writing again for real.
I am going to be getting serious about writing btw, as I have come to the semi-depressing realisation that writing is one of the few skills I have that I can claim to be good at without qualification. Once I prove to myself that I can actually maintain a weekly update schedule or maybe even a twice-weekly one, I will probably try and open a patron or similar service, and see if I can make writing a career.
Sorry for how long this took and how long this Author's note is, but I hope you enjoy the chapters.
I will be posting this general message on every story, just so everybody can see it. If you read more than one of my stories, after the chapter specific notes you can probably skip this bit after reading it once.
