This is the first part of a perhaps overly ambitious trilogy that's been a
year in the making...I do hope that you all will enjoy this story...review
me and let me know what you think of it...
And I wish to thank all the following people for their help and understanding of my "little" obsession...Chelsea and Joni (my beta- readers)...Mora, Maggie, Reba, and my mother (for all the ideas they've given me)...Clay, Kalayna, Melissa, and all the aforementioned people (for putting up with my obsessive ramblings)...all the people involved in my HP RPG (for indirect inspiration - especially Veg {Snape} and Bu {Lucius} for their *very* interesting duel)...and, most especially, J.K. Rowling for writing her wonderful story and who owns Harry Potter and all its characters and ideas (only my original character are my property)...
Chapter #1 - A First Year in Diagon Alley
A rather pale, black haired eleven-year-old boy stood in front of the Leaky Cauldron. His name was Tom Riddle. He looked at the directions that had been included with his acceptance letter to Hogwarts and confirmed he was at the right place. He wished someone from the orphanage would have come with him to help him but they had all refused, though they had never really been all that nice to him anyway and now he knew why. Taking a deep breath, he entered the pub and glanced around at all the oddly dressed people, none of whom seemed to pay him much attention. He walked up to the counter and looked at the middle-aged, brown haired man behind it.
"Er.......excuse me..."
"New 'a Hogwarts?"
"Um...yeah."
"Edward," he said to a man a little ways down the counter.
"Yeah, I can take him." The man with a blue cloak smiled as he stood with a nod and smile. "Come on."
The boy followed Edward out a back door into a small, empty courtyard. He lead him to a metal trash can and took out his wand. He pointed at the brick at the top of the trash can and said "three up and two across", following his spoken directions with his wand, then tapped that brick three times, stepping back a little. The bricks suddenly began to move and shift until an archway formed. On the other side was a long street with shops lining each side. The two of them went through the arch and headed down the street.
"Do you have Muggle money?"
"Muggle?"
"Muggles are non-magic people," he clarified.
"Oh...yeah, I do have some Muggle money, but not much."
"Well, I'll take you to Gringotts and you can change it."
A slightly puzzled look came to his face. "Okay."
As the two of them walked down the street, Edward said nothing to Tom. The first year was too busy taking in all the wonderful sights anyway. The cauldron shop, wand shop, owlery, and book shop. It was amazing and too much for him to see all at once. He knew that he would be back at many of the shops, though, to get his school supplies. He soon was at a building that was the largest one on the street. A short, wrinkly creature nodded to them as they walked past him, entering the bank.
They went to up to the long counter and found a free goblin. "This lad needs to get some Muggle money changed."
"I see," the creature said, peering at him through his glasses.
"I...um," he fumbled in his pocket, "actually I have...this...this key."
The goblin took a small silver key from the boy's shaking hand. He studied it for a moment. "Vault four-hundred nineteen, I believe. Trundle!"
Another goblin hurried over. He took the key from the goblin behind the counter and turned to the boy, motioning for him to follow. Edward followed Tom as the goblin led them off, towards one of the many doors off of the large room.
"Where'd you get that," he asked, pointing toward the goblin that was carrying it off.
"It was my mum's. She was a...a witch. She left it to me when she died. Told the orphanage that it was a key to Gringotts. I had forgotten about it till you mentioned the name of the bank."
"Well." He seemed rather surprised. "Do you think you might need any more help?"
"Uh.no, I think I can manage." He smiled. "Thanks for your help."
"Not a problem. I was in your shoes once too, lad. Have a good first year."
With a pat on the back, Edward left the bank. The goblin led Tom down a stone passageway till they reached a small railway. With a whistle, a cart came up to them. The two climbed in then were off at an amazing speed down a maze of tracks. There were plenty of sharp turns and sudden dips. They were going so fast that it was making Tom's stomach churn. They suddenly stopped and he felt better instantly, though still a bit dizzy. He climbed out of the cart and followed the creature to a door. The goblin unlocked it and the door swung open. Inside were several piles of gold, silver, and bronze coins. Tom's eyes widened considerably.
"Take what you want," Trundle said.
Tom picked up a gold coin, looking at it, turning it over. "I don't know how much I'll need."
"Supplies for first years typically cost about forty Galleons, the gold ones. The silver ones are Sickles and the bronze ones Knuts." The goblin handed him a brown leather bag. "Twenty-nine Knuts make a Sickle and seventeen Sickles make a Galleon."
"Alright." He looked at the pile, pocketing the one Galleon he had been holding. "I'll take a little more than that. I'm sure they'll be something else I'll need."
The first year took two large handfuls of Galleons then one handful each of the Knuts and Sickles. When he was finished, he turned to Trundle. The goblin nodded, locked the vault, then returned the key to Tom. They climbed back into the cart and were off. They soon arrived back to where they had first gotten into the cart and got out, returning to the bank. Tom thanked the goblin and left the bank.
For the rest of the afternoon, Tom went to each of the shops, getting his books, robes, cauldron, and other various items on his list. When he got his cauldron, he suddenly began to wonder if he would be able to carry it all since his cauldron could, in fact, hold all his books and more. He asked one of the witches in the cauldron shop about it and she just smiled, pointing him down the street to a shop that sold magical trunks. There, much to his relief, he found a trunk that said "Shrinking, Never-Heavy Trunk - No matter what is put in it, it never gets heavier! Shrinks when locked for easier carrying!" It cost fourteen Galleons and, counting how much money he had left, he decided to buy it, glad he had gotten out the extra money now. He shoved all his things into it, locked it, and lifted the now small trunk easily. He thanked the store's owner and left to go down to the wand shop in a bit of a hurry, seeing that it was getting quite dark. As soon as he walked in, he had to duck as a box came flying his way. He looked at the man that had tossed the box as he went for another, handing a wand to a girl with light brown haired who was standing on a stool in the middle of the shop.
"Willow. Nine and one-half inches. Dragon heartstring. Flexible." The girl waved it but the man grabbed the wand away and handed her another. "Holly. Ten inches. Unicorn hair." When she waved it, though, the window to the shop broke. The store's owner quickly took that wand, said something that made the window fix itself, muttering to himself about hard customers. The girl was looking annoyed. "Not to worry. We shall find your wand." He set that wand aside and handed her a third, which he did not even describe before taking it away and giving her another. "Oak. Seven and one-half inches. Phoenix Feather. Springy." She waved it but nothing happened this time. The man muttered to himself again, disappeared into the back of the shop for a moment, then came back with five new boxes. He gave her a fifth wand. "Let's try this one. Ebony. Nine and one- fourth inches. Dragon heartstring." Again, nothing. The man took away that wand and gave her another. "Willow. Eleven and three-quarter inches. Phoenix feather."
The girl waved the wand and a streak of dark blue light came out of it. She smiled and her mother paid for the wand immediately. The shop's owner gave a sigh of relief, setting aside the other three wand boxes in his arms. He always had at least one hard customer a year and she was hopefully the only one this year.
Tom bent over and picked up one of the wands that had fallen from the stool the girl was getting off. As soon as he did so, the man turned to him. With a wave of the wand, golden-red sparks came from the wand.
"Yew. Thirteen and a half inches. Phoenix feather." The elderly man walked to him. "Intriguing. It's rare someone gets their right wand on the first try. But it would seem, it came to you, young man."
The girl walked over to him and looked at him then the wand. "You mean he didn't have to go through all that hassle?"
"Apparently not, Miss Westbrook." Mr. Ollivander did not look at the girl, his eyes remaining on the boy as the girl behind him sighed heavily, obviously unhappy with that fact. The man studied Tom for a moment. "Your name?"
"Tom Riddle."
"Riddle...Riddle...hmm." He scratched his chin. "Not heard that name in a while. From a Muggle family, are you?"
"Mum was a witch, Sir."
"Ah...got your father's name have you?"
"Yes."
The man nodded. "Alright then. Wand's seven Galleons."
Tom gave him the coins and then looked at the girl, who was still staring at him and his wand. She was rather lovely, he thought. She had a certain air about her that made him smile at her. She seemed to have gotten over her disappointment and now just seemed curious about him. She reached out her hand, returning the smile.
"I'm Lena Westbrook, Tom."
"Lena..."
"What," she asked, looking around at her mother.
"It's rude to introduce yourself to strange boys."
"Oh, Mum."
"It's nice to meet you, Lena."
The girl turned back to him, smiling again. "See you on the first?"
"Yeah."
Lena's mother took her hand and dragged her out of the wand shop as she giggled slightly and waved good bye. Tom followed a little farther behind and went to the Leaky Cauldron. He stopped there and had dinner before he had to go catch the train that would take him back to Great Hangleton. When he left the pub and emerged onto Charing Cross Road then made his way to the train station to return to the orphanage.
And I wish to thank all the following people for their help and understanding of my "little" obsession...Chelsea and Joni (my beta- readers)...Mora, Maggie, Reba, and my mother (for all the ideas they've given me)...Clay, Kalayna, Melissa, and all the aforementioned people (for putting up with my obsessive ramblings)...all the people involved in my HP RPG (for indirect inspiration - especially Veg {Snape} and Bu {Lucius} for their *very* interesting duel)...and, most especially, J.K. Rowling for writing her wonderful story and who owns Harry Potter and all its characters and ideas (only my original character are my property)...
Chapter #1 - A First Year in Diagon Alley
A rather pale, black haired eleven-year-old boy stood in front of the Leaky Cauldron. His name was Tom Riddle. He looked at the directions that had been included with his acceptance letter to Hogwarts and confirmed he was at the right place. He wished someone from the orphanage would have come with him to help him but they had all refused, though they had never really been all that nice to him anyway and now he knew why. Taking a deep breath, he entered the pub and glanced around at all the oddly dressed people, none of whom seemed to pay him much attention. He walked up to the counter and looked at the middle-aged, brown haired man behind it.
"Er.......excuse me..."
"New 'a Hogwarts?"
"Um...yeah."
"Edward," he said to a man a little ways down the counter.
"Yeah, I can take him." The man with a blue cloak smiled as he stood with a nod and smile. "Come on."
The boy followed Edward out a back door into a small, empty courtyard. He lead him to a metal trash can and took out his wand. He pointed at the brick at the top of the trash can and said "three up and two across", following his spoken directions with his wand, then tapped that brick three times, stepping back a little. The bricks suddenly began to move and shift until an archway formed. On the other side was a long street with shops lining each side. The two of them went through the arch and headed down the street.
"Do you have Muggle money?"
"Muggle?"
"Muggles are non-magic people," he clarified.
"Oh...yeah, I do have some Muggle money, but not much."
"Well, I'll take you to Gringotts and you can change it."
A slightly puzzled look came to his face. "Okay."
As the two of them walked down the street, Edward said nothing to Tom. The first year was too busy taking in all the wonderful sights anyway. The cauldron shop, wand shop, owlery, and book shop. It was amazing and too much for him to see all at once. He knew that he would be back at many of the shops, though, to get his school supplies. He soon was at a building that was the largest one on the street. A short, wrinkly creature nodded to them as they walked past him, entering the bank.
They went to up to the long counter and found a free goblin. "This lad needs to get some Muggle money changed."
"I see," the creature said, peering at him through his glasses.
"I...um," he fumbled in his pocket, "actually I have...this...this key."
The goblin took a small silver key from the boy's shaking hand. He studied it for a moment. "Vault four-hundred nineteen, I believe. Trundle!"
Another goblin hurried over. He took the key from the goblin behind the counter and turned to the boy, motioning for him to follow. Edward followed Tom as the goblin led them off, towards one of the many doors off of the large room.
"Where'd you get that," he asked, pointing toward the goblin that was carrying it off.
"It was my mum's. She was a...a witch. She left it to me when she died. Told the orphanage that it was a key to Gringotts. I had forgotten about it till you mentioned the name of the bank."
"Well." He seemed rather surprised. "Do you think you might need any more help?"
"Uh.no, I think I can manage." He smiled. "Thanks for your help."
"Not a problem. I was in your shoes once too, lad. Have a good first year."
With a pat on the back, Edward left the bank. The goblin led Tom down a stone passageway till they reached a small railway. With a whistle, a cart came up to them. The two climbed in then were off at an amazing speed down a maze of tracks. There were plenty of sharp turns and sudden dips. They were going so fast that it was making Tom's stomach churn. They suddenly stopped and he felt better instantly, though still a bit dizzy. He climbed out of the cart and followed the creature to a door. The goblin unlocked it and the door swung open. Inside were several piles of gold, silver, and bronze coins. Tom's eyes widened considerably.
"Take what you want," Trundle said.
Tom picked up a gold coin, looking at it, turning it over. "I don't know how much I'll need."
"Supplies for first years typically cost about forty Galleons, the gold ones. The silver ones are Sickles and the bronze ones Knuts." The goblin handed him a brown leather bag. "Twenty-nine Knuts make a Sickle and seventeen Sickles make a Galleon."
"Alright." He looked at the pile, pocketing the one Galleon he had been holding. "I'll take a little more than that. I'm sure they'll be something else I'll need."
The first year took two large handfuls of Galleons then one handful each of the Knuts and Sickles. When he was finished, he turned to Trundle. The goblin nodded, locked the vault, then returned the key to Tom. They climbed back into the cart and were off. They soon arrived back to where they had first gotten into the cart and got out, returning to the bank. Tom thanked the goblin and left the bank.
For the rest of the afternoon, Tom went to each of the shops, getting his books, robes, cauldron, and other various items on his list. When he got his cauldron, he suddenly began to wonder if he would be able to carry it all since his cauldron could, in fact, hold all his books and more. He asked one of the witches in the cauldron shop about it and she just smiled, pointing him down the street to a shop that sold magical trunks. There, much to his relief, he found a trunk that said "Shrinking, Never-Heavy Trunk - No matter what is put in it, it never gets heavier! Shrinks when locked for easier carrying!" It cost fourteen Galleons and, counting how much money he had left, he decided to buy it, glad he had gotten out the extra money now. He shoved all his things into it, locked it, and lifted the now small trunk easily. He thanked the store's owner and left to go down to the wand shop in a bit of a hurry, seeing that it was getting quite dark. As soon as he walked in, he had to duck as a box came flying his way. He looked at the man that had tossed the box as he went for another, handing a wand to a girl with light brown haired who was standing on a stool in the middle of the shop.
"Willow. Nine and one-half inches. Dragon heartstring. Flexible." The girl waved it but the man grabbed the wand away and handed her another. "Holly. Ten inches. Unicorn hair." When she waved it, though, the window to the shop broke. The store's owner quickly took that wand, said something that made the window fix itself, muttering to himself about hard customers. The girl was looking annoyed. "Not to worry. We shall find your wand." He set that wand aside and handed her a third, which he did not even describe before taking it away and giving her another. "Oak. Seven and one-half inches. Phoenix Feather. Springy." She waved it but nothing happened this time. The man muttered to himself again, disappeared into the back of the shop for a moment, then came back with five new boxes. He gave her a fifth wand. "Let's try this one. Ebony. Nine and one- fourth inches. Dragon heartstring." Again, nothing. The man took away that wand and gave her another. "Willow. Eleven and three-quarter inches. Phoenix feather."
The girl waved the wand and a streak of dark blue light came out of it. She smiled and her mother paid for the wand immediately. The shop's owner gave a sigh of relief, setting aside the other three wand boxes in his arms. He always had at least one hard customer a year and she was hopefully the only one this year.
Tom bent over and picked up one of the wands that had fallen from the stool the girl was getting off. As soon as he did so, the man turned to him. With a wave of the wand, golden-red sparks came from the wand.
"Yew. Thirteen and a half inches. Phoenix feather." The elderly man walked to him. "Intriguing. It's rare someone gets their right wand on the first try. But it would seem, it came to you, young man."
The girl walked over to him and looked at him then the wand. "You mean he didn't have to go through all that hassle?"
"Apparently not, Miss Westbrook." Mr. Ollivander did not look at the girl, his eyes remaining on the boy as the girl behind him sighed heavily, obviously unhappy with that fact. The man studied Tom for a moment. "Your name?"
"Tom Riddle."
"Riddle...Riddle...hmm." He scratched his chin. "Not heard that name in a while. From a Muggle family, are you?"
"Mum was a witch, Sir."
"Ah...got your father's name have you?"
"Yes."
The man nodded. "Alright then. Wand's seven Galleons."
Tom gave him the coins and then looked at the girl, who was still staring at him and his wand. She was rather lovely, he thought. She had a certain air about her that made him smile at her. She seemed to have gotten over her disappointment and now just seemed curious about him. She reached out her hand, returning the smile.
"I'm Lena Westbrook, Tom."
"Lena..."
"What," she asked, looking around at her mother.
"It's rude to introduce yourself to strange boys."
"Oh, Mum."
"It's nice to meet you, Lena."
The girl turned back to him, smiling again. "See you on the first?"
"Yeah."
Lena's mother took her hand and dragged her out of the wand shop as she giggled slightly and waved good bye. Tom followed a little farther behind and went to the Leaky Cauldron. He stopped there and had dinner before he had to go catch the train that would take him back to Great Hangleton. When he left the pub and emerged onto Charing Cross Road then made his way to the train station to return to the orphanage.