{Year 1} Chapter 1: Shopping At Diagon Alley
HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY
Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE (Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme
Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)
Dear Mr. Malfoy,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts
School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all
necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall,
Deputy Headmistress
________________________________________
HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
UNIFORM
First-year students will require:
1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)
2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear
3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
4. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)
Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags
COURSE BOOKS
All students should have a copy of each of the following:
The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk
A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot
Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling
A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emetic Switch
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore
Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble
OTHER EQUIPMENT
wand cauldron (pewter, standard size 2) set
glass or crystal phials
telescope set
brass scales
Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad
PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED
THEIR OWN
BROOMSTICKS
* * *
"First stop, wands!" Lucius announced with a hint of excitement, "A wand is a necessity for wizards, it's something that helps us perform our magic."
Draco glanced at his father, he can tell that he's low key excited about his son's wand. Draco himself is actually also curious about what wand would choose him...he had a feeling that something unusual will happen inside the wand shop...
"Wait. I would like to go in alone, Father."
"Is that so?" Lucius Malfoy raised his eyebrows. Draco can sense his disappointment, so he quickly changed the man's focus.
"You can help me buy my books at Flourish and Blotts, make sure to get me a copy of all the first year to fifth year books. You can also get my Potion supplies and other necessities. I'll get my wand and then go get fitted for my school robes at Madam Malkin's. We can meet up at Diagon Alley's Floo Network in 5 hours."
Lucius was surprised by his son's clear demands and instructions, but decided to let his son do as he pleased. Lucius trusts his son to behave properly, as he knows about how mature and talented his son is compared to others his age.
'He's such a mature child! He's only eleven but he can already shop on his own now!'
*Proud Malfoy Father Noises*
Draco walked inside the wand shop as his father disappeared into the crowds.
An old man with bright silvery eyes was at the counter.
"My, my, who do have here? Mr. Malfoy? You look just like your father."
"Hello Mr. Ollivander. I'm sure that I don't have to explain about why I'm here."
"Straight forward and blunt. So, which is your wand arm?"
"I'm ambidextrous."
"A rare customer! Let's take your measurement now."
Ollivander took out a long tape measure with silver markings out of his pocket.
The tape measure soon started to measure on its own. Draco calmly let the tape measure do its job as Ollivander went from shelve to shelve, gathering boxes of wands.
After the tape measure settle down on the floor, Ollivander came over to Draco with the wand boxes.
"Cherry and dragon heartstring. Eleven inches. Fairly flexible."
Ollivander handed a wand to Draco. "Now try it out."
"Lumos." The wand lit brightly up at the tip.
Ollivander was surprised, "It seems like you can already cast some spells Mr. Malfoy. I'm also surprised that you can use the wand with no problem."
"I feel a faint connection with it, but I don't think it is the correct one for me."
"Why yes, it is the wand that chooses the wizard, but sometimes, a wizard's intuitions can be more accurate. Here's another wand. Maple and phoenix feather. Seven inches. Quite whippy."
After going through quite a large number of wands, Ollivander became very enthusiastic and excited.
"Quite a picky customer. All the wands seems to be compatible for you Mr. Malfoy, but it seems like there you want one that's perfect for you. Fir and phoenix feather. Nine inches. Quite unyielding."
"I have all day." Draco whirled the wand, then he handed it back to Ollivander.
Ollivander chuckled, taking out another box. "Here, try this one. Silver lime and Curupira hair. Twelve inches. Elegantly fine."
"I'm assuming that it's genuine silver lime and not a scam. Curupira hair is also an interesting wand core."
"It seems like you have some knowledge about wands! And yes, this is indeed genuine silver lime. The Curupira hair is from a wizard that saved a Brazilian Curupira. The Brazilian Curupira was grateful and gifted one of its hair to the wizard, the wizard decided to donate it to Ollivanders, as the wizard himself love wands and also got his wand from here."
"There are plenty of books in the Malfoy Manor, I just happen to stumble upon them. That wizard is sure generous and kind."
"Indeed. Now, take a try Mr. Malfoy."
"Lumos." Draco said the Wand-Lighting Charm's incantation. This time, he felt a connection unlike the other ones. It was...comforting.
Ollivander looks at Draco expectantly, "So, what about it?"
Draco smiled, "It's the right one."
"Ah! Congratulation Mr Malfoy. You know, your the pickiest customer I ever had! I sincerely didn't expect it, you had gone through 365 wands before finally settling on this one! And it's also a quite unique wand at that, Curupira hair is for powerful and unpredictable wizards. You probably have an exciting and unusual future waiting for you."
"Thank you Mr. Ollivander. Now, how much do I need to pay for this particular wand?"
"Seven galleons! All my wands costs seven galleons, regardless of what kind of materials were used to make the wand." Ollivander replied brightly.
Draco paid seven galleons and said farewell to the enthusiastic silver-eyed old man.
"A silver lime and Curupira hair huh." Draco muttered on his way to Madam Malkin's Robes For All Occasion.
* * *
Harry walked inside Madam Malkin's shop, feeling nervous about being left alone in an unfamiliar place.
A smiling witch dressed all in mauve greeted him, "Hogwarts, dear? Got the lot here—another young man being fitted up just now, in fact."
Harry looked over to the back of the shop.
A blonde boy with a pale and expressionless face was standing on a footstool while a second witch pinned up his long black robes. Madam Malkin stood Harry on a stool next to him, slipped a long robe over his head, and began to pin it to the right length.
The pale blonde boy looked blankly straight in front of him, at particularly nothing. The boy moved swiftly when the witch pinning his robe told him so, otherwise, he didn't move or do anything at all. However, even though he didn't do anything, the boy seem to have an unusual natural charm. Harry can't help but be drawn to it as he stared dazedly at the pale boy from the corner of his eyes.
He continued to stare even as the boy got down from his stool and paid for his uniforms.
The boy was about to turn around and head toward the door, but his silver eyes suddenly made eye contact with Harry's green ones.
"You know, it's rude to stare at someone." The blonde said in a disinterested and lazy tone, surprising Harry.
Embarrassed, Harry quickly apologized, "S-sorry! Something just suddenly came over me and I just—"
"Whatever," The blonde interrupted him. "I'll let this go by lightly since I'm in a good mood today. But still, since you kept staring at me, you'll have to compensate me."
The boy had said that in the same disinterested and lazy tone.
Madam Malkin quickly tried to stop the small commotion, "Now, Mr. Malfoy—"
"This doesn't concern you, Madam Malkin." The boy—Malfoy?—interrupted Madam Malkin as well. He then turned to Harry, "Anyways, to compensate, chat with me."
Harry and Madam Malkin were both surprise about the boy's demand. Madam Malkin especially, as she knew who the boy is. She had thought the young Malfoy would had made a more extreme demand.
"You can continue with the fitting Madam Malkin."
Madam Malkin snapped back to focus at the pale boy's words.
Harry looked at the boy nervously.
"So, are you a first year as well?"
"Ah?"
"I'm asking about whether it's your first year at Hogwarts."
"Ah, yes."
"Same here, so house do you think you'll get?"
"What?"
"Do you think you'll be in Hufflepuff? My father seems to despise Hufflepuff quite a bit, but I think it is a nice house, although it’s not my ideal one. Father dislike it, so I guess I should make sure I don't get in it, but I doubt that I'll be a Hufflepuff in the first place."
The boy kept his disinterested and lazy demeanor even as he chatted with Harry.
"I'm pretty sure I'll be in Slytherin, it's the house that matches me the best. I sincerely hope that I won't get in the other houses, it's like a tradition for everyone in my family to be in Slytherin. I have a relative that got sorted into Gryffindor, he was despised by his mother and even removed from the family tree."
Harry don't know what the boy is talking about, so he just continued to listen.
"You don't seem to be very talkative huh."
"Ha...I just don't get along with others that well..."
"Since you don't want to talk about houses, what do you think about playing Quidditch?"
"Ah?"
"Are you not interested? Most first year male students would all be interested in Quidditch, complaining about how first years were not allowed to play and whatnot." The boy asked Harry.
"Heh..."
"Is that...who I think it is?"
Harry look over to where the boy was looking at.
It was Hagrid. He was standing by the front window, grinning at Harry. He pointed at two large ice cream cones to show he couldn't come in.
"That Hagrid," Harry told the boy, pleased that he finally had something to talk with the boy about. "He works at Hogwarts."
"I thought so. Rubeus Hagrid..."
"He's the gamekeeper."
"I guess he's with you?"
"Yes."
"Hmm...I should leave now. To be honest, it wasn't very fun to talk to you. I guess I shouldn't have raised my expectations..."
The boy commented as he walk out the exit.
* * *
Harry was rather quiet as he ate the chocolate and raspberry with chopped nuts ice cream Hagrid had bought him.
"What's up?" said Hagrid.
"Nothing," Harry lied.
They stopped to buy parchment and quills. Harry 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, "Hagrid, what's Quidditch?"
"Blimey, Harry, I keep forgettin' how little yeh know—not knowin' about Quidditch!"
"Don't make me feel worse," said Harry. He told Hagrid about the pale boy in Madam Malkin's. He made sure to exclude the boy’s name though, he doesn’t think that he should poke into his identity because from Madam Malkin’s reaction, the boy seem to be someone important...
"—he seems like he was disappointed."
"If he'd known who yeh were—he's grown up knowin' yer name if his parents are wizardin' folk. You saw what everyone in the Leaky Cauldron was like when they saw yeh!"
"So what is Quidditch?"
"It's our sport. Wizard sport. It's like—like soccer in the Muggle world—everyone follows Quidditch—played up in the air on broomsticks and there's four balls—sorta hard ter explain the rules."
"And what are Slytherin and Hufflepuff?"
"School houses. There's four. Everyone says Hufflepuff are a lot o' duffers, but—"
"I bet I'm in Hufflepuff." said Harry gloomily.
"Better Hufflepuff than Slytherin," said Hagrid darkly. "There's not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin. You-Know-Who was one. The boy yeh met doesn't seem to be a bad one, but who knows?”
"Vol-, sorry. You-Know-Who was at Hogwarts?"
"Years an' years ago," said Hagrid.
They bought Harry's school books in a shop called Flourish and Blotts where the shelves were stacked to the ceiling with books as large as paving stones bound in leather; books the size of postage stamps in covers of silk; books full of peculiar symbols and a few books with nothing in them at all. Even Dudley, who never read anything, would have been wild to get his hands on some of these.
Hagrid almost had to drag Harry away from Curses and Countercurses (Bewitch Your Friends and Befuddle Your Enemies with the Latest Revenges: Hair Loss, Jelly-Legs, Tongue- Tying and Much, Much More) by Professor Vindictus Viridian.
______________________________
Wizarding currencies reminder (for the readers AND me, the author):
1 golden Galleon = 17 silver Sickles
1 silver Sickle = 29 copper Knuts
So I did this free (did one that's free because I'm broke as hell) test about what your wand would be and here's the wand I got:
"9 inches, Vine Wood, Thestral Hair Tail. Your wizarding wand would be nine inches long, made from vine wood with a Thestral tail hair core. The wood used to create this wand is given to those who have great purpose and who are intelligent and selfless. The core is one of the most unstable substances to use; it takes a special kind of person to wield the wand."
Thestral core. That's quite interesting.
