Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus

[Dark Soul]

(OOC: An old idea revived; a ‘Charms Hogwarts Rp! I have calculated that Harry’s children go to school in 2017, so we can’t NPC them. Please write spells, curses and charms in cursive. We currently have me, Secad, Kerauno, Dwayna DragonFire, Tunduli and Carmen- RP closed~)

BIC:

There are several large wizardry schools in Europe too chose from. Three to be precise; Beauxbatons, Durmstrang and Hogwarts.
Beauxbatons, officially named ‘’Académie de Magie Beauxbâtons,’’ is located in France. It is a co-ed school that follows all the basic wizardry sections. The spoken language is French. This school has a reputation of good wizards. The castle itself is a magnificent palace that glitters in light.

Durmstrang Institute for Magical Learning, or Durmstrang, is located in Norway. The spoken language is Russian, and all the basic magic sections are taught. Durmstrang has a reputation of powerfull wizards, but Dark Arts are taught here too.

Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry is located in Scotland. The spoken language is English. All the basic sections of magic are taught here, with the addition of Muggle Knowledge. Hogwarts has a reputation of strong wizards and is currently the largest European school.

‘Oh, c’mon dad.’ Nathan said, who had turned eleven four days ago. ‘Like I even needed to read this. I don’t speak French well, I don’t speak Russian at all, I speak English fluently, you studied at Hogwarts. That pretty much stripes it down to Hogwarts, doesn’t it?’ His dad ruffled his white hair. ‘Glad to hear that, son. But I wanted to make sure you had read about everything.’

Nathan put the Ministry of Magic flyer away. ‘I can’t wait till I get to learn wizardry.’ He said. Johan, his dad, smiled. ‘You’ll love it at Hogwarts, I swear. The food is delicious, the castle is fantastic and there’s a huge lake around it for you to swim in.’ He said. Nathan frowned. ‘Isn’t there a giant squid swimming around there?’ His father laughed. ‘There is! But why should that prevent you from swimming? The squid is a friendly creature; He enjoys swimming about with students, sometimes even allows them on his back and he has also saved dozens of students from drowning.’ Nathan’s eyes brightened. ‘No way. That’s awesome!’ He said. ‘Just don’t go into the Forbidden Forest, and watch out for the Whomping Willow, then you should be fine.’ His father said, and stood up. ‘Well, that only leaves waiting for a letter from Hogwarts.’

‘Wait!’ Nathan said. ‘Can you show me one more spell, Dad? Please?’ Johan sighed, then smiled and took his wand out of his pocket. ‘Fine.’ He aimed his wand on a vase filled with blooming roses and said ‘Wingardium Leviosa!’ A white, fluid energy was came from the tip of the wand and hit the vase. The vase immediately rose up into the air. Nathan laughed. ‘Is that a spell they teach in the first year?’ Johan nodded. ‘It was in my time. If you have my talent, you’ll learn this in two lessons. This family has always been good at charms and spells, but we suck at curses.’

One week later, the moment arrived. It was Johan who found the letter, laying on the doormat as if it was regular mail. Nathan had immediately opened the letter, his heart pounding.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL
of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Minerva McGonaGoll



Dear Mr. Smith

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
Headmistress

The second page, with the requirements, said:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL
of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

UNIFORM
First-year students will require:
1.Three sets of plain black work robes.
2.Headwear for daily use, preferably pointed hat.
3.One pair of protective gloves; dragon hide or similar.
4.One winter cloak, preferably black
Please note that all pupil's 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 Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric 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

1 wand
1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)
1 set glass or crystal phials
1 telescope
1 set brass scales

Students may bring an animal, but there are exceptions:
-No harmful magical creatures of any kind
-No dogs, due to the amount of cats
-No dangerous creatures or insects.

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS.

Nathan felt like the happiest person in the world when he was done reading. He hugged his father, and ran off to his mother, who was sitting in the garden enjoying the weather, to tell her the good news. Johan smiled. ‘Hogwarts will soon have a worthy new pupil.’ He mumbled, and followed Nathan.

‘Mom! I got accepted! I’m going to Hogwarts!’ Nathan yelled and basically crashed into his mother Cynthia. His mother hugged him tightly. ‘That’s great news! I’m so happy for you!’

Peter, Nathan’s grandfather who was also sitting in the garden, looked at him. ‘Another wizard in the family.’ He said, seemingly disappointed. Both Cynthia and Peter knew about the wizard world, but Peter wasn’t very fond of magic. Nathan wasn’t sure if it was that it seemed so unnatural or if it bugged him that he couldn’t do it himself.

‘My little boy is growing up so fast.’ Cynthia said and ruffled his hair like Dad had done before. ‘I’m sure you’ll make a great wizard, sweetheart.’

-Five days later, London-

As a Dutch boy, Nathan hadn’t expected London to be much bigger then Amsterdam. But he had been wrong. London was a huge city, and beautiful too. London had a nice atmosphere.

That morning, they had arrived in London with a really short flight. Dad showed him the nice places before they went over to the Leaky Cauldron, which was the portal to Diagon Alley. The Leaky Cauldron was located in Charing Cross Road. It was a nice building, with a light brown front.

‘When I was your age, The Leaky Cauldron was an old, dirty pub owned by a man named Tom. Now it’s home to Hannah Abbot, who restored the place, and her husband Neville Longbottom, who is your Herbiology teacher and an old friend of Harry Potter himself.’ Johan said. ‘Really? Wow!’ Nathan said. ‘Does he have any children on Hogwarts?’ He asked. Johan scratched his nose. ‘Harry Potter? No, he doesn’t. I saw an article in the Daily Prophet, though. His oldest son turned five recently, so you might see his oldest son in your last year. Did you know that Harry Potter became the Head of the Auror department three years ago?’ Nathan shook his head. ‘I’d like to become an Auror one day. It seems like a fine job.’

His father nodded. ‘Aurors are an important part of the society, but as I said, our family sucks at curses. I wouldn’t be surprised if Defence against the Dark Arts becomes your worst subject.’ He patted Nathan on the back. ‘But there’s nothing to stop you from trying.’

They entered the Leaky Cauldron. Tables were arranged troughout the big room, and several people were eating and drinking, as well as smoking. A man and a woman were standing behind the counter. ‘Nathan, say hello to Hannah Abbot and Neville Longbottom.’ Johan said. Nathan smiled and gave a hand to Mrs. Abbot, a lady with long blonde hair who smiled back, and to Mr. Longbottom, a tall guy with blonde hair and a kind, round face. ‘A Hogwarts freshman? Pleased to meet you, Nathan. I hope you’re better at Herbiology then your father. I’ll always remember the time he got stuck in a Devil’s Snare.’ Johan laughed. ‘I think I still have marks somewhere.’ ‘Anyway, would you like something to drink?’ Neville asked. Johan shrugged. ‘Sure, we got time enough.’

Nathan and his father sat down by an empty table, with a glass of Coke for Nathan and a Butterbeer for Johan. Butterbeer was a wizard drink, aka unknown to Muggles, and slightly alcoholic.
‘Well, let’s make a list of shops we have to go to.’ Johan said after taking a sip of Butterbeer. He took a piece of paper from his pocket, only to find that it was torn. ‘Well, damn!’ Johan said, and took out his wand. ’Reparo!’ He said, and a reddish energy streamed from his wand to repair the scrap of paper, even leveling the folds so it looked like a brand-new piece of paper. ‘A basic spell. You won’t have any trouble with his, I think.’ Johan said. He felt at his pockets. ‘Nathan, do you have a pen somewhere?’ He asked. Nathan shook his head. ‘Nuh, not a problem.’ He looked under the table and picked up a dirty cork, seemingly from a wine bottle. He put it on the table and pointed his wand at it. The cork, litteraly as if by magic, turned into a plain blue ballpoint pen. Nathan laughed. ‘That’s awesome!’ He said. His dad smiled. ‘Transfiguration. Harder than it looks, but can come in handy.’

When they were finished, they said goodbye to Neville and Hannah and went to the small yard, a little plain with a brick wall at the end. ‘Where’s the entrance to Diagon Alley?’ Nathan asked. His dad didn’t respond, but just tapped a brick. The brick suddenly seemed to disappear into the wall, and the bricks around it started moving about. The chain reaction of disappearing bricks formed a large doorway.

Nathan smiled. If the entrance was that awesome, how cool would the street itself be?

As soon as he stepped through the portal, he bumped into someone.

‘Oh, I’m sorry!’ Nathan said.

 

[Secad MS]

(OoC: She’s going to be a Ravenclaw, for sure, as this is essentially Secad as an eighth grader/first year, with some differences.)

Logan Secada was in Diagon Alley, clutching her list of things to get, her arms filled with her new robes, textbooks, and other goodies settled in her left, her new fifteen and 5/16ths ebony, dragon heartstring wand in her right hand, being examined. This place was strange to her, stranger than it is to most Wizarding children, as she was a Muggle-born. Her supervisor for this shopping trip, Mr. O’Hearly, was off a bit grabbing them something to eat from a stand. She was told to wait near the Diagon Alley entrance.

In the past, less than two days after her June 15th birthday, this eleven-year-old had a knock at her Manchester apartment home. When she opened the door, a pale-skinned man of average height and blonde hair entered, holding a letter, telling her he was from the Ministry of Magic. That was the visit that changed her life forever.

~@~

A loud rap was heard on the door of the Secada’s dark apartment door.

“Log!” Dad called from the kitchen, his American accent muffled over the bubbling of the pasta in the pot. “Please get the door!”

“Yes, Dad.” Logan said, putting down her copy of The Lord of the Rings. It was required reading for her year eight (OoC: Essentially an eighth grader in American terms, I believe. I’m basing this weird grading off my own life. I got skipped when I was young) in school. She was disappointed, the four-foot-ten, skinny girl making footsteps far too heavy-sounding for someone her size. Her dark brown hair swooshed around her mid-back, while Logan tilted her head backwards slightly to make her too-long bangs get in her eyes, which accompanied her expression of dislike.

As soon as she opened the door, Logan got a shock.

“Hello! I’m Travis O’Hearly, from the Ministry of Magic.” A man in strange dark green robes said. “Logan, are your parents home? I have something important to tell you.”

“Er…” Logan looked at the man’s attire, comparing it both to her own dark blue jeans, white socks, and black and blue striped sweater and her Dad’s usual outfit of a green polo and shorts/pants. This looked very odd. After a bit of ‘Err’ ing her thought processes stopped and Logan let the man in.

“Mom! Dad!” Logan called, her angled features showing confusion. “Some person from the ‘Ministry of Magic’, someone called O’Hearly that is, is here to tell us something.”

“The ‘Ministry of Magic?’” A woman with a slight Spanish accent called, walking into their living room entrance. “That makes no sense. Magic can’t be governed. I thought it was…oh.”
Ms. Secada was rendered speechless by the appearance of this strange man.

“Who are you?” The dark-haired, sharply-angled woman asked. Calling back to the kitchen, “Verrel! You might want to abandon the pasta for a bit.”

Mr. Secada walked out, wiping some sauce on his hands onto the khakis he was wearing. “Yes?” he asked the man. “O’Hearly, affirmative?”

“Yes, Verrel.” Mr. O’Hearly nodded. “Now, this meeting is about your daughter. You might want to sit down.”

“No, we shall stand.” Mom said, sensing that some big news was coming. Well, they could handle anything. “We’ll be fine.”

“Yes, yes, straight to the point. Your daughter’s a witch.”

“I know she can be a bit testy, but we wouldn’t go that far.” Mom said, jokingly.

“Mom!” Logan moaned. “We’ve been over this. Children with high levels of intelligence often try to press boundaries. That is no reason to in--“

“No, not that, but a real witch. With magical abilities. Like this in time.”

Mr. O’Hearly pointed his want near the kitchen, leaning over a bit to see the pasta pot, muttered a few words. Soon, the pasta accelerated its cooking, the rigatoni draining itself with no assistance and topping itself with marinara in just a few seconds.

The parents let out a few choice words in amazement, seeing that both their daughter could handle some utterances as well as thinking those words in their heads right then.

“Now,” the wizard said, handing the letter to Logan, “Logan has been invited to Hogwarts, a school of wizardry, in order to better her talents. Have you ever noticed anything strange with her, things that couldn’t easily been explained?”

“Yes.” Logan said, speaking up for the first time since the pasta. “Mom, remember that time last year where I literally passed a quiz with full marks by sleeping with a book for a pillow, you know, the day after I got sick? You chalked it up to luck, but I had literally no experience with the exports of Asian countries. And what about that time when I was little, where I managed to fall off the top of grandmother’s house getting a ball, without a single injury? And all the rats and birds seem to do what I want? And—“

“Logan,” Mr. O’Hearly said, cutting her off, “These abilities are all signs of untrained magic.”

“Huh.” Mr. Secada said, thinking. “We’ve known Log was different, but not that different.”

“Yes. In addition, as neither of you are wizards, you, Logan, are a Muggle-born. This means you probably had some magical ancestors back in your bloodline many generations ago.”

“Muggles, eh?” Logan said, chuckling. “Sounds like a soft drink.”

“Well, then. That was the introduction!” Mr. O’Hearly sighed like he had gone through a difficult portion of an oral report. “Read your letter, and I’ll be here in three days to pick her up to get her school supplies if you want her to go. Any questions?”

“No, no.” Mom said, already thinking this through. “This is a great opportunity for her, and now that she knows she can do something, I doubt Logan would want to forget it. I think she should go. I’ll withdraw her from the middle school. Dear?”

“Hm?” Verrel was off in his own world. “Oh, yes, I think it sounds good.”

And that was how the Spanish-American-Briton came to know of her membership of an entirely different world. She thought she was weird enough being eleven and in year eight already.

~@~

“Oh, I’m sorry!” a boy said after he bumped into Logan, causing her to scatter her purchases.

“Hey!” she called, momentarily angry. Catching herself after that unnecessary outburst, “Oh, sorry, that’s okay. Let me retrieve my things.”

 

[Dwayna DragonFire]

((OOC: A lot of people in the RP seem to be choosing Ravenclaw, including myself.))

BIC:

The albino girl woke to the noises of a rapping on her window and some hooting noises, which caused excitement to race through her heart. She peered at the owl with her white eyes from underneath her white locks of hair, the sun shining on her pale skin and glittering off the lenses of her glasses. It was the summer time when this had happened, so she was happy to open the window to let the owl in so it could drop off the letter. Alexis White proceeded to give the owl a treat and send it back on it's way, before grasping the letter and bursting happily into the kitchen after she had seen who it was from.

"Mom!" she called, at which the older, blonde woman turned to look at her daughter excitedly holding the letter. "I got a letter from Hogwarts!"
"That's wonderful, dear," said Tempest White, as she plucked the letter from her daughter's fingers and opened it with her wand so they could read it together. Alexis gave a cheer when she read that she had been accepted into Hogwarts, hugging her mother tightly and begging to go to Diagon Alley to get her things already.

"Be patient, dear," said Tempest to her daughter. "We'll get your things nearer to the start of the school year. Until then, let me show you a few more spells..."

---

Being albino, it was no surprise when she got strange looks from people as she walked through the streets with her mother. However when they came to Diagon Alley, she felt like she fit right into the atmosphere, strange people tipping their hats to her or saying hello as they greeted the new witch. Some of the people recognized her mother, as Tempest had opted to wear her old Gryffindor colors for their outing today. Other people recognized her from the Ministry, congratulating her for having a witch for a daughter and giving their condolences for losing her husband.

"Some Muggles just aren't accepting of that sort of thing," said Neville Longbottom, who had been introduced as the Herbology teacher. "It's sad to hear he walked out on you when you finally told him, especially with Alexis on the way."
"Oh, we've done just fine for ourselves," replied Tempest. "I'm just happy that she gets to go to Hogwarts and enjoy herself, maybe even make some friends."
"Usually the best sort of friendships start in the House she's sorted into," he replied, turning to Alexis. "Have you given thought to the house you want to be in, Ms. White?"

"N-not really," she answered back timidly, as was typical of her. "My mom said the Sorting Hat knows best, and that no matter what house I was sorted into I would still be her daughter." She smiled pleasantly at this, knowing her Mom would stick by her through anything. Even if she were sorted into Slytherin, which she doubted she would be, as she didn't want to go into Slytherin and she was more on the side of Gryffindor, Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw.

After that they bid farewell to Professor Longbottom and went about their business buying things. The trip through Gringotts had been thoroughly exciting and fun, and going around to see all the shops was pretty cool too. Tempest had bought Alexis her very own snowy owl, which she promptly named Lily after she found that the owl was a girl. She was most excited about getting her wand though, and excitedly looked to Ollivander's as they approached the shop.

The old man greeted her and rambled off things about Tempest's wand, and promptly went about giving Alexis wands to try. He would snatch them out of her hand if they didn't work just how they were expected to, and it felt like hours that she was standing there trying out his different wands. The one that came into her possession was however a nice mahogany wand with a dragon heartstring core, "9 inches, pliable" Ollivander had said.

As soon as they got her some books she stuck her nose into Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, thoroughly interested in finding out more about the creatures her mother worked with. She heard some other children nearby and saw that a boy had accidentally knocked over another girl's books and things. Alexis was hesitant to go and help, but after a push from Tempest she walked towards the children and hesitantly cleared her throat.

"H-Hello there," she stammered. "I saw you dropped your things and wanted to help you pick them up... or something." A slight blush came to her cheeks from her bashful nature, but she still stood there with Tempest by her side, just in case.

 

[Dark Soul]

'Hey!' The girl shouted. 'Oh, sorry, that's okay. Let me retrieve my things.' She continued, calmer. Nathan was about to help when an other girl joined them. Her hair was white just like his, but Nathan could see that she was albino. Not that it really mattered in Great Britain though- Sun was scarce here, Nathan had noticed. Of course, England was even further north then The Netherlands, which didn't have a lot of great weather itself.

'H-Hello there.' The girl said. 'I saw you dropped your things and wanted to help you pick them up... or something.' Nathan nodded and the three of them picked up the girl's books and stuff. 'My name is Nathan, by the way. Nathan Smith. Are you heading to Hogwarts too?'

 

[Dwayna DragonFire]

"Y-yes," she replied to Nathan timidly. "M-my name... I'm Alexis White, though Mom sometimes calls me Lexy for short." She bit her lip slightly and looked back to Tempest, who smiled at her daughter encouragingly. 'Lexy' smiled back and continued to help the girl pick up her things, bashfully bowing her head to hide her face behind her hair a little bit. Even if her mother had been a brave Gryffindor, those traits hadn't fully passed onto the albino girl who was often scrutinized for her strange appearance.

"Do I know you from somewhere?" Tempest said to Nathan's father. "Either I know you from a job involving a rambunctious beast or you also went to Hogwarts. I'm Tempest, and I think it should be obvious what House I was in." She straightened her red and gold scarf, her ice-blue eyes piercingly cold as she looked to the man with a warm smile. It was quite the contrast, but that was the sort of person Tempest was over all.

"W-who are you?" said Lexy to the girl who had dropped her books. "You're obviously going to Hogwarts too, I saw your books." Lexy's observant nature also noticed that the girl seemed to be without her parents, but she suspected that they might be Muggles. It was okay by her if the girl was muggle-born, because she was half-muggle herself and she had been taught by her mother to be accepting of others and to understand that sometimes witches and wizards appeared in non-magic families. People from the Ministry like her Mom would go to the families and inform them of what their son or daughter was, and would also get financial help from the school.

"D-Do you know much about Hogwarts?" she asked timidly, hoping to be a help to the girl who might be a Muggle-born.

 

[Dark Soul]

'Nice to meet you, Lexy.' Nathan said.

Johan laughed like always. 'I'm not a big fan of magical creatures, they have a tendency to hate me. I think it's Hogwarts.' He told the albino girl's mother Tempest. 'Guessing by age, we must've been in Hogwarts at the same time. I was a Ravenclaw, althoug I had a lot of friends in Gryffindor, which my dad was in. So I think Nathan will be either Gryffindor or Ravenclaw...' He stopped. 'Weren't you the girl that calmed down a panicking Hippogriff once in the fifth year? I remember her having white hair, too.'

 

[Dwayna DragonFire]

"N-Nice to meet you too, N-Nathan," stammered Lexy, her bashful nature taking over a little bit in the presence of new people.

"That would have been me," said Tempest after giving a soft chuckle. "I always did have a knack with animals, and the Ministry noticed that too when they hired me on to the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. I changed my appearance to be blonde with blue eyes so people would stop looking at me funny, ended up getting myself a Muggle husband who turned his back on me the minute he found out I was a witch." A tsking noise came from Tempest as she rolled her eyes and smiled pleasantly, as if she had long since gotten over it and was perfectly happy now.

"I'll be proud of my girl no matter what house she gets into," said Tempest, "Though considering how bookish she is, I wouldn't be surprised about Ravenclaw myself."

 

[Secad MS]

"Oh, thanks." Logan said, gathering her things with the albino girl and the white-haired boy. Such rarities! It was amazing that such rare genotypes were next to her. However, things were different in the magical world, so this may have been common. "I'm Logan Secada, like cicada, but pronounced slightly differently."

"You're obviously going to Hogwarts too, I saw your books. D-Do you know much about Hogwarts?" the girl, Lexy, asked.

"Well of course I would know about--" Logan snapped, then stopped. She needed to work on her politeness. For once, this was something she didn't know a whole lot about. Chuckling, "Sorry, this is an odd situation for me. You know, being used to being well-versed in information. I don't know a whole lot about Hogwarts, but I do know that it is a boarding school with four houses, one for the hard-working, one for the brave, one for the cunning, and one for the smart. Obviously, I would want to be with others like myself."

Then someone who seemed like the parents of Lexy and Nathan appeared, chatting about hippogriffs and other creatures. She knew of hippogriffs only from stories! Who knew they were real?

Then Mr. O'Hearly appeared, puffing slightly, holding two burgers and a wire box, brown eyes glinting with something. "Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to take so long, but the burger stand was held up a bit." Giving a burger to Logan after she neatly arranged her things near her, he asked, "Don't you want to check to make sure I got what you wanted?"

"No, thank you, I'm sure you got it right." Logan replied, pushing back her hair before approaching to take a bite.

"No!" Mr. O'Hearly snatched it away from her and took off the top bun, revealing a white rat with some mustard on its head. "See? I got you a rat! I thought you would like her, as you mentioned rats at your home."

"Er..." Logan said, dumbfounded. Who endangered an animal's life by placing it in a bun?! Then it started grooming itself, eating the mustard off its paws. "Aw, she's adorable! But how is she going to last seven years? Rats only live for about three."

"This is a Wizarding rat, Log." Mr. O'Hearly said, "They're smarter and live longer."

"Oh." Logan replied, wiping off the rat's stomach as it stood on her hind legs in her free hand. "If they're that faithful to life, why shouldn't I call you Fi?"

"Oh, yes, this is Lexy and Nathan." Logan pointed to her new aquantences, then to their parents. "Those are Mrs. White and Mr. Smith."

"How do you do?" O'Hearly asked politely. "Haven't I seen you before?" inquired Travis to the blonde-haired woman.

Turning away from the adults, she turned to the other children. "Isn't she adorable?" she asked, placing the freshly groomed rat on her shoulder, her cage on the ground.

 

[Dark Soul]

(OOC: God, Sec, I wuv the stuff you do to make Logan look like yourself ^_^ Oh, and I'm dropping the Stygian owl- I came up with a better idea.)

BIC:

Lexy (Nathan was amused by the fact that one of the first things he had seen in Diagon Alley was a girl with the same white hair colour as his) asked Logan if she knew anything about Hogwarts. His father had described the houses, but not quite like Logan did it. He knew what she meant, though. 'Well, my father was a Ravenclaw, and that seems like a nice house. But I'm OK with anything- Well, not Slytherin, I think. I hope I get to be either Gryffindor or Ravenclaw, although Huffelpuf doesn't seem so bad either. What do you guys hope you get into?'

A blonde-haired man joined the group, holding two burgers. Logan was about to take a bite from one when the man snatched it back, showing the rat inside the bun. He explained that it was an enchanted rat, more clever and long-lived.

Logan introduced all of them, including the chatting parents. Nathan gave the man a friendly nod and so did his father, while the man started chatting along with the other adults. Logan showed Nathan and Lexy the white rat, which she named Fi, commenting on how adorable it was.

Nathan scrathed Fi's chin and smiled. 'Yeah, she is. The look in his eyes is so... sentient.'

 

[Secad MS]

"Well, my father was a Ravenclaw, and that seems like a nice house. But I'm OK with anything- Well, not Slytherin, I think. I hope I get to be either Gryffindor or Ravenclaw, although Huffelpuf doesn't seem so bad either. What do you guys hope you get into?" Nathan asked, petting Fi soon after.

"What's so horrible about Slytherin?" Logan asked, puzzled. "From what I hear, to some it's a place filled with evil people. However, that man, Mr. O’Hearly, who gave me the rat, says he’s from Slytherin and that house teaches the resourceful, smart, but less book-smart students. If I didn't want to be in Ravenclaw with other people like me, I would want to be in that house. Brains beat brawn!"

 

[Dwayna DragonFire]

"I-It's okay," said Lexy to Logan. "I would feel bad if I didn't know a lot about something, either. I won't spoil too much of the s-surprise and wonder of the school, but I will tell you more about the houses." She cleared her throat knowledgeably, and straightened her posture. This was something her mother had taught her long ago, so she was proud to share the information.

"The hard-working Hufflepuffs also value tolerance, loyalty and fair play. Their house mascot is a badger, the colors are canary yellow and midnight black, and the house ghost is the Fat Friar. The house was named after its founder Helga Hufflepuff, of course... I find it interesting that all of the founders have alliterations for their names.

The brave Gryffindors also value courage, loyalty, nerve and chivalry. Their house mascot is a lion, the colors are scarlet and gold, and the house ghost is called Nearly-Headless Nick, which isn't his real name but more of an apt description. The house was named after its founder Godric Gryffindor, and one of the most famous wizards of all time was also in Gryffindor.

The cunning Slytherins also value ambition, leadership, resourcefulness and pure wizard blood, though not all Slytherins have the last one apply to them. Their house mascot is a serpent, the colors are green and silver and the house ghost is the Bloody Baron. The house was named after its founder Salazar Slytherin, and tends to have a bad reputation as most evil wizards came from Slytherin.

Finally, the smart Ravenclaws also value creativity, learning and wit. Their house mascot is an eagle, the colours are blue and bronze, and the house ghost is the Grey Lady. The house was named after its founder Rowena Ravenclaw. See what I mean about the alliterations? I..." she blushed bashfully after her long speech, hoping she hadn't bored the girl. "I h-hope that helps, at least a little bit."

"Tempest White," she said to Mr. O'Hearly, "Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. You must be an official from the Ministry that the school sent because most of the other teachers were busy. I suppose that means the girl has Muggle parents? Hopefully they reacted nicely about it as opposed to my former husband."

Lexy looked at the rat and smiled, pointing towards her snowy owl excitedly. "Th-this is Lily, my owl," she said, with a bit more vigor than usual. "V-Very useful for the post, and great companions."

 

[Secad MS]

"Tempest White," The blonde-haired woman said to him, "Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. You must be an official from the Ministry that the school sent because most of the other teachers were busy. I suppose that means the girl has Muggle parents? Hopefully they reacted nicely about it as opposed to my former husband."

"Yes, yes, I am." Travis responded, puffing out his chest slightly in pride. He loved his job. "I'm Travis O'Hearly, from the Muggle-born division of the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes. You know, a Muggle-born left alone could certainly cause one," he said chuckling. "She does have two non-magical parents. Logan's parents responded very well at first, soon developing into a fretting mess because of all the changes this would cause, but I helped sort that out. However, nothing seemed negative about their daughter being a witch, meaning they took it well."

"You don't have to worry about spoiling suprises." Logan said non-chalantly. "I dislike them, anyway."

"The hard-working Hufflepuffs also value tolerance, loyalty and fair play. Their house mascot is a badger, the colors are canary yellow and midnight black, and the house ghost is the Fat Friar. The house was named after its founder Helga Hufflepuff, of course... I find it interesting that all of the founders have alliterations for their names.

The brave Gryffindors also value courage, loyalty, nerve and chivalry. Their house mascot is a lion, the colors are scarlet and gold, and the house ghost is called Nearly-Headless Nick, which isn't his real name but more of an apt description. The house was named after its founder Godric Gryffindor, and one of the most famous wizards of all time was also in Gryffindor.

The cunning Slytherins also value ambition, leadership, resourcefulness and pure wizard blood, though not all Slytherins have the last one apply to them. Their house mascot is a serpent, the colors are green and silver and the house ghost is the Bloody Baron. The house was named after its founder Salazar Slytherin, and tends to have a bad reputation as most evil wizards came from Slytherin.

Finally, the smart Ravenclaws also value creativity, learning and wit. Their house mascot is an eagle, the colours are blue and bronze, and the house ghost is the Grey Lady. The house was named after its founder Rowena Ravenclaw. See what I mean about the alliterations? I..." she blushed bashfully after her long speech, hoping she hadn't bored the girl. "I h-hope that helps, at least a little bit."

"It does." Logan said thankfully. "Lily is really nice. Since I hear owls mail letters here, how do they do that? Are they trained? Or are they just special like the rat?"

 

[Dwayna DragonFire]

"I myself work in the Beast division of my department," replied Tempest. "It's good that her parents accept her for who and what she is, then." She nodded slightly, smiling pleasantly as she looked at the children interacting. She was proud of her daughter when Lexy explained more about the houses of Hogwarts, finding no need to encourage her anymore as she seemed to be making friends on her own.

"Post owls are sort of magical too," said Lexy, "But most of it is attributed to their excellent intelligence. Somehow they know wherever they need to deliver things to get it to who it needs to be delivered to, and they rarely ever fail to do so. If you want, since you have Fi as your school pet, if you need to send letters you can always ask Lily nicely and give her a treat." The owl hooted knowledgeably and puffed with pride at Lexy's speech, causing the girl to give a soft giggle.

"They can understand us, and most of the time students can understand their pets right back. Might be the magic between the two of them, though."

 

[Dark Soul]

Nathan nodded. 'I know that Slytherin brings forth powerfull wizards, but I don't think I'd fit into the atmosphere of that house. I know that not all Slytherin people are bad, but that's were He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named comes from.' He said.

Lexy helped out by reciting the descriptions of the houses- From memory. Clearly she had been doing quite some research. Or maybe it was normal for children like Lexy; Wizarding children who had both parents- Or in Lexy's case, her mother- Working in the wizard world so they had little to do with the Muggle world. His father Johan was a pure-blood wizard, but having a Muggle as mother Nathan had lived most of his life as an ordinary Muggle, with the exeption of his father showing off magic when Grandpa wasn't around.

Their conversation subject changed to owls. Nathan wasn't too fond of owls after meeting a pesky Daily Prophet deliverer, but he still found them imposing animals. 'I heard they had owls at Hogwarts for mail delivery, so I'm going to try and find some other nice animal. Maybe something small and cute like Fi, but I prefer larger animals like reptiles. How cool would it be to have your own snake or something?' He said.

 

[Dwayna DragonFire]

"Came from, you mean," said Lexy. "Everyone knows Harry Potter killed him all those years ago." She wasn't afraid to refer to the wizard in question as Voldemort, but she respected that others still feared the man even though he was dead. He had caused so much death and destruction while he was alive, it was no wonder to her why people still feared him.

"S-Snakes can be dangerous," she replied to Nathan. "So they wouldn't be allowed at Hogwarts. I suggest maybe a tortoise or iguana if you're looking for reptiles, or any amphibian type pet. Toads are the most commonly used for pets at Hogwarts, so maybe think about that." She looked at the boy curiously for a moment, before speaking up again. "You seem to not have any books yet, s-so perhaps we should let you get on your way to get your things."

Lexy started thinking about going to school and learning spells, sighing softly that they weren't allowed to do magic outside of school until they were seventeen years of age.

 

[Dark Soul]

Nathan laughed.'Yes, came, of course. Sorry for my English, I'm actually Dutch.'

Lexy explained about reptiles at Hogwarts. 'Yeah, I didn't think they would be allowed either. The idea, though...' He smiled. 'Well, tortoises aren't really my thing, and neither are toads. Maybe an iguana or bearded dragon.'

Lexy noticed that he didn't have any books yet. 'Yeah, the first thing I did here was knock into Logan. I think it's a good idea to get going. Dad?' Johan nodded. 'Mrs. White and Mr. O'Hearly, it was nice meeting you, but I need to buy the Hogwarts stuff for Nathan. I hope I'll see you again somewhere, at King's Cross perhaps?'

Nathan shooks hands with Logan and Lexy. 'I'll see you again at Hogwarts, I guess. It was nice chatting with you!' He said, and Johan and Nathan waved at them before going their own way.

'What's the first shop we're going to, Dad?' Nathan asked. 'Most important things first, Nathan. Let's go to Ollivander's for a wand.'

 

[Dwayna DragonFire]

"It's fine, there's a lot of people from every culture at Hogwarts," said Lexy. "But most of us speak English very well so I'm sure you'll improve on you're already great English." She didn't want to seem rude to the boy, so this was the way she decided to word her sentence. She figured a more rude way would be to say something like 'you'll learn to speak English better in no time', so she thought before she spoke.

She nodded slightly at the bearded dragon comment, and smiled when he was to be set on his way. "Bye, N-Nathan. Maybe we'll even see each other on the train. Hope we see each other in Hogwarts even if we get sorted into different houses." She waved to the boy as he got on his way, turning back to the girl Logan and smiling at her as well.

"I'm sure he will be bringing you to the platform," she said, nodding at Mr. O'Hearly, "So maybe we'll see each other again. For now I think we need to go since I have all my things. Be seeing you." She went to her Mom and tugged on her hand, signaling that she wanted to walk away now, and Tempest was always happy to oblige for her daughter. She bid farewell to Travis and went on her way as they carted around Lexy's things through the Alley and headed to a hotel they had rented in Scotland until the school year began.

It was only a matter of time, and Lexy couldn't wait.

 

[Secad MS]

(OoC: I have computer issues for a weekend and this happens? I like those posts, guys! A question, though. Are we going to 'fast-forward' to 9 3/4 or something else?)

"Well, thank you for letting me use your owl in the future." Logan said, scrunching up her shoulders as Fi climbed up on her head.

After hearing about people named Harry Potter and Voldemort, the notion that she was going to have to learn another world's history struck her. That was going to be fun. Then the conversation switched to acceptable reptiles for school. She didn't have much to say about that, as for all she knew now, snakes had some addition like wings.

"Well, we better be off, then." Mr. O'Hearly said. "Logan, we have to pick up a few more things. I hope to see you both again soon, and your well-behaved children as well. I abhor unpleasant ones."

"Bye, Nathan, bye Lexy!" Logan called, picking up her things and arranging them into a more suitable travel position. In a rather mediocre attempt at a joke, "Don't get poisoned by your new pet, Nathan!"

 

[Kerauno]

(OoC: God, I'm the slowest person in the world! I was on vacation, no Internet, blah, blah, blah... Anyway, I'm not hopping on the bandwagon with Ravenclaw. Gryffindor all the way!)

“Okay, Xandra, I need to go to Gringott’s, you go to Ollivander’s okay?” Carolyn Larons told her daughter.

“Uh-huh. Okay.” Xander replied, blatantly ignoring her.

Mrs. Larons ripped the earbuds of her daughter’s iPod from her ears. “Xandra, if you aren’t going to take this seriously, you can forget about Hogwarts!” She threatened.

Xandra’s eyes widened and shouted, “No! I have to go! Please! I’ll go to Ollivander’s, I promise.”

“Good. Now, I’ll meet you there in ten minutes.” Carolyn strode off in the other directions. Xandra lifted the letter from Hogwarts she’d received a few days earlier. She remembered how this all started...

-Three days earlier-

Xandra was sitting in the recliner in her home in London, when a loud bang sounded on the front door. Startled, she hopped up and grabbed an umbrella, and went to investigate. She carefully unlocked the door, and then yanked it open.

Sitting there, on the front mat, was a snowy owl, holding a letter in its beak. Xandra scratched her head, wondering why an owl would come to her door. Unless it was from...

Xandra whirled around, causing her black hair to fly in a million directions. “MOM! THE OWL IS HERE!”

“WHAT?!” There was a loud clanking from the other room and her mother burst out, covered in salsa. “It’s here? Really?”

Xandra pulled the letter from the owl’s mouth and it flapped away. She ripped open the letter and read what was inside.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL
of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Minerva McGonaGoll



Dear Miss. Larons,

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
Headmistress

The second page, with the requirements, said:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL
of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

UNIFORM
First-year students will require:
1.Three sets of plain black work robes.
2.Headwear for daily use, preferably pointed hat.
3.One pair of protective gloves; dragon hide or similar.
4.One winter cloak, preferably black
Please note that all pupil's 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 Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric 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

1 wand
1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)
1 set glass or crystal phials
1 telescope
1 set brass scales

Students may bring an animal, but there are exceptions:
-No harmful magical creatures of any kind
-No dogs, due to the amount of cats
-No dangerous creatures or insects.

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS.

Xandra started hyperventilating from happiness, and rushed upstairs. Once she reached the first floor landing, she ran into her brother, Xander.

“Hey, whatcha got there? He said, munching on a chocolate bar.

“What’s it to you, mush-for-brains?” Xandra said hotly.

“Everything.” Xander said, snatching the paper away. Before she could react, he was done reading.

“Really? You’re a witch? Whatever. You couldn’t even handle holding that potion Mom made. You aren’t fit for a wizarding school.”

Xandra snatched the paper back and yelled, “Says you!” She ran to her room and locked the door.

She read the paper once more, and then danced around a bit. Then she pulled her sea turtle, Dribble, from his bowl.

“Oh, Dribble! We’re going to Hogwarts! Aren’t you excited?” Xandra cried.

Dribble just pulled his limbs into his shell.

-Present Day-

Xandra stalked to Ollivander’s Wand Shoppe, and pushed open the door. A smell of must and wood greeted her. An elderly man appeared from behind a tall shelf of little cases.

“Ah, you must be another student for Hogwarts! Allow me to introduce myself. I am Mr. Ollivander.” The man said while bowing.

“Pleased to meet you. I’m Xandra Larons.” She said while curtsying.

“You must be here for a wand. Please come this way.” Mr. Ollivander swept down an aisle and pulled a small, long case from the shelf in front of him.

“Look at this one. Eight inch Ash, Chimaera Scale center. Try swishing it towards the door.”

Xandra took the wand from him and swished a long stroke to the door. It promptly exploded.

“Oh God! I’m so sorry!” Xandra cried, dropping the wand.

“Oh, quite alright.” Mr. Ollivander said in his soft voice. “It happens from time to time. Try this one. Eight inch Maple, Phoenix Feather center.
He handed her a medium sized wand, adorned strangely with little stars. She swished it back towards the door, and it repaired itself. The wand gave a soft glow and settled in her hand.

“Ah, I see this one works for you. You should buy it.” Mr. Ollivander smiled warmly. He told her the price of six gold Galleons. Xandra payed the price and thanked him and left.

Her mother was waiting by the door, with a cart filled with items. A cauldron, several books, a few robes, and a gray messenger owl.
Xandra hugged her mom and thanked her for finishing the shopping. Then she picked up a book titled, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
She read off the different beasts and had no idea where she was going. With a loud “UMPH!”, she tripped over a large mound in the street.

“Hey! Watch where you’re going, will ya?” The person she tripped over shouted.

“I’m so sorry. I had no idea where I was going.” Xandra apologized to the person.

(OoC: First of my posts. Whoever is next, I tripped over you. Sorry. I had to end it somehow; this is what I came up with. Peace out.)

 

[Dark Soul]

(OOC: Secad: Yeah, I guess. Carmen will join us later.

Ollivander himself was very old. Like, really, really, really old. But somehow, that didn’t seem to bother him. He walked with firm steps, and he looked around restlessly with his owl-like face. ‘Ah, welcome to Ollivander’s. I assume you’re here for a wand.?’ He asked Nathan. Before he could answer, Ollivander locked eyes with his Dad. ‘Well, well. Johan Smith. Douglas, 32 centimeters, very bendable, heartblood of a dragon. Am I right?’ Johan took out his wand. ‘Have you ever been wrong?’ He said, smiling, and gave his wand to Ollivander’s. ‘Apparently not. I see you’ve taken good care of your wand.’ Ollivander said and gave it back. ‘You might want to use some more polish, though.’ He turned to Nathan. ‘Well, it’s good to see you have a healthy son now, Johan. Let’s find this young lad a good wand, shall we?’

He grabbed a measure tape from his pocket, which drifted from his hand and started taking measurements of pretty much anything from the length of his arms to how wide his nostrils were. Nathan didn’t really know why Ollivander needed to know that. ‘Er, let’s try this. Yew, 34 centimeters, Unicorn hair, quite bendable.’ He gave the wand to Nathan and also laid out a book on the countertop: Newt Scamander’s Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them. ‘Point the wand towards the book. Concentrate on a dragon.’ Nathan called upon an image of a roaring dragon in his mind and flicked the wand. The book rose into the air, did a somersault and flew back to under the counter. ‘Merlin’s pants! It’s never done that before.’ Ollivander said, and took the wand back.

‘You sparked a reaction, but it’s still not the right wand. You are a special case, mister.’ He said. Nathan frowned. ‘Um, is that a good or a bad thing?’ He asked. ‘Actually, that’s pretty good. I’ve never told anyone, but when I was young-‘ He took out a small wooden case from under the counter. ‘I once did an experiment with Veela hair. A very unusual core, and I found that the wand was so temperamental I decided not to use it anymore.’ He took out the wand. ‘Holly, 32 centimeters, quite bendable and of course Veela hair.’

He opened the case and gave the wand to Nathan. ‘Flick it like a whip, towards the window.’ Ollivander said. ‘Imagine something like breaking it, dissolving it, or damaging it in any other way.’ Nathan nodded, and came up with something cool. He flicked the wand towards the side window. Immediately, the glass changed into a thin wall of water, that crashed down to the floor. While Johan retransformed it, Ollivander asked; ‘Was that what you had in mind?’ Nathan nodded. ‘Then I guess this is your wand now. I thought I’d never lose it.’ He packed it into a small cardboard box. ‘This wand is excellent for spells and charms, lad, but beware of it’s temperament. Never. EVER. Lose control or you will seriously hurt yourself or someone else.’

On that happy note, they left after paying Ollivander the price. ‘That was awesome. What’s next?’ Nathan asked. ‘We’ll see. Let’s go to Fernando Fortesque’s Ice Cream Parlor. It used to be called Florean’s, but his son took over after Death Eathers killed him. Then we’ll go for your books and stuff.’

 

[Secad MS]

(OoC: Oh my goodness, I am so sorry for my hiatus taking longer than planned. After my vacation, my household decided to change our cable service. As it was bundled, that meant we had to get new internet as well, for some reason. We had a lot of drama with setup, employee issues, and other fun stuff.)

"Busy day." Logan said to Mr. O'Hearly with a grin. Her new rat was taking a ride on his green bowler hat while they carried her new supplies from Flourish and Blotts. "Quills, ink, parchment, new people...Geez, this is going to be interesting, especially with the switch from pencil and paper to this old-time stuff, at least to my Muggle upbringing."

"Eh, don't worry." Travis replied, boosting up the levitating trunk next to him to prevent it from catching on his waistcoat. Funnily enough, Logan had never had a trunk before. When she traveled, she normally took suitcases. "Lots of kids are Muggleborn, like you. I'm sure some older year students have tips."

"Mm. Adaption. Goodness, if I was an amoeba in the primordial soup, I would have surely been killed when the predator amoebas decided to get two cells."

Mr. O'Hearly just grimaced and said, "That was a horrible joke."

That made Logan grin. "I know. I love them."

 

[Dark Soul]

(OOC: 'S okay, Secad~ It doesn't matter if things freeze a little. Alright fellows, we all need to end our Diagon Alley sessions, then I will do the first post on the Hogwarts Express~)

BIC:

At Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, Johan and Nathan gave the featured lady a hand. ‘It’s good too see you again, Ms. Malkin.’ Johan said, after they had introduced themselves. ‘So this is the little Mr. Smith. It’s nice to meet you, Nathan.’ Ms. Malkin said, looking at Nathan. ‘You’re just as thin as your father, my dear. My assistant will do some measurements.’ She continued, and a petite red-haired woman appeared with a measuring tape. ‘I’d like to do them myself, but old age has finally gotten to me.’ Johan chuckled. ‘You’ll never be too old to lose your charm, Madame.’ Ms. Malkin blushed little and flicked her hand. ‘Good to see you still have your manners.’

When the red-haired lady was done taking measurements, they went to the counter. ‘I guess you want the normal Hogwarts clothing, Mr. Smith?’ The assistant asked. ‘Eh, everything except the three work robes, please.’ Ms. Malkin, who looking trough some boxes at the other side of the desk, looked up curiously. ‘No offense or anything, but I think I will buy some Protego robes at Weasly’s Wizard Wheezes, ‘cause, y’know, you can never be too sure.’ Both Nathan and his father hated awkward scenes like this, but Ms. Malkin smiled. ‘That’s okay, dear. It’s main season so there’s more money than I can handle anyway.’ Johan gave a relieved sigh and when the assistant was done, they paid the bill and left. ‘Okay, now let’s some more school stuff. We need scales, a cauldron, phials and a telescope.’ Nathan said, looking at the list.

After they got the brass scales, some glass phials and a pewter cauldron (‘Still the same old, Nathan.’), they checked the list again. ‘Hm, all we need to do now is go to Weasly’s and get you an animal.’ Johan looked at him, biting his lower lip. ‘Have you been thinking of what you want? An owl, perhaps? Or a rat?’ Nathan shook his head. ‘Rat’s are cute, but not really my thing. And Hogwarts has its own owls, so I won’t really need one. Y’know, I’d really like to have a reptile. Mom wouldn’t let me have one at home, but now that I’m going to Hogwarts…’ Johan laughed. ‘A little sneaky, but I guess you deserve it. Let’s go to the Magical Menagerie.’

The Magical Menagerie was a cramped, smelly place, but Nathan took great joy in studying the animals in the cages; There were wizarding rats like Fi, but also toads, cats, and other animals. ‘Can I help you?’ The lady behind the counter asked them. Johan nudged Nathan, who cleared his throat. ‘Yeah, we were looking for a reptilian kind of animal, but a tame one.’ The lady’s eyes grew excited, as if she suddenly thought of something. ‘Do you mind if is a little large?’ She asked, and stood up. Nathan shrugged. ‘As long as it’s not too big to carry around.’ The lady smiled and disappeared trough the doorway behind the counter. After the sound of rattling cages, she came back.

With in her hands: The most beautiful reptile Nathan had ever seen. It was a sleek salamander, the size of a young alligator, and covered in beautiful marine blue scales. On the spine, from the head to the tip of the tail, were translucent fins of slightly lighter colour blue. The creature eyed him curiously and gave a cute growl. The owner put him on the table and he sniffed Nathan’s hand. ‘Completely harmless. No poison, no claws, no anything. His character resembles that of a kitten; He’s a bit curious but very sweet. He is very clever though, and he’s been trained to listen to commands.’ Johan bowed down a bit to study the creature. ‘I’ve never heard of such a creature.’ He said. The lady scratched behind her ear. ‘He’s the only one. A young wizard tried to transfigure a salamander, but failed. This guy was the result. The Ministry of Magic got their hands on him first, but didn’t know what to do with him so they gave him to me. He needs a lot of space though, which I don’t have here, so I’ve been trying to sell him for a while. Nobody’s interested, though.’

‘I suspect that he’s rather expensive?’ Johan asked, and Nathan held his breath as he petted the awesome reptile. The lady laughed. ‘No, he may be unique but he’s not very special, and I’ve been trying to breed him, but it seems the spell made him uninterested in females. Let’s go with the price of your average owl…’

Minutes later, they were walking towards Weasly’s, Nathan with the magnificent salamander that had clambered up his back with his front paws over his shoulder. He looked around as if he enjoyed it thoroughly. Nathan couldn’t take his eyes of him. ‘He’ll need a name, Nathan. Have you thought of anything?’ Johan asked. ‘If he were a girl, I would’ve named him after the moon; Luna. But he’s a boy, so I guess I’ll have to choose something else.’ Nathan answered. Johan scratched his chin. ‘Or you make it sound male. Like, Luno.’ Nathan’s eyes lightened up. ‘Luno! That’s perfect, Dad!’

Weasly’s Wizard Wheezes was without question the most wonderful shop in Diagon Alley. The shop was chockfull of people, especially around his age, and the whole shop was like a festival- Colours, fireworks, odd smells and so many products to choose from. ‘I’m not going to get you anything that might get you into trouble with Filch, Nathan.’ Johan said, ruffling Nathan’s hair. ‘For your own good.’

Suddenly, someone tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around to see a tall man with orange hair and wrinkles around his mouth that told Nathan that the guy smiled a lot, although his eyes were a bit sad. A prominent feature was one missing ear. Johan saw him too and blinked in surprise. ‘Why, hello George. Nathan, this is George Weasly, the man who runs this store. Nathan gave a hand and introduced himself. ‘What I wanted to say is, please keep an eye on that reptile of yours.’ He said, as he petted Luno on the head. ‘I don’t want him having the Pygmy Puffs for lunch.’ Nathan smiled. ‘I’ll make sure nothing happens to them, Mr. Weasly.’ He said. George nodded and walked away to help a customer who was ensnared by the vines of a Portable Swamp.

Johan shook his head. ‘Poor George. He and Fred Weasly were world famous for their joke items- But Fred passed away in the Battle of Hogwarts. Since then, George hasn’t been quite as happy and careless as he used to be.’ Nathan nodded. ‘Not very surprising. I can imagine that losing your twin sibling is like losing… half of your soul. What happened to his ear?’ He asked. ‘It was severed by Severus Snape in an attempt to move Harry Potter to a safe place. The same battle where Mad-Eye Moody, the famous Auror, lost his life.’

Nathan ended up with a good variety of items. Three Shield cloaks, regular black ones, a Self-inking Quill (‘I can’t believe we didn’t have that in my time, it’s the best invention I’ve ever heard of.’), Canary Creams, Sticky Trainers, a Rubby O’Chicken (Worst. Dance. Ever!), and a Demon Box, which his father needed some time to think about first. ‘Oh, come on, Dad. It’s just a trick box. The warning is fake, meant sarcastically.’ Was what Nathan had to explain to his father before he got it.

‘We’ve got everything, Dad.’ Nathan said, checking the list one more time. ‘That’s good.’ Johan said, checking his watch. ‘We can catch a boat after we have lunch. Let’s go home and wait for the vacation to end.’