40Important Correction: I'd like to point out a correction that needs to be made. Thank you Spirel and Kei for pointing it out to me. The correction is that when they are in the bank, it is NOT run by trolls, but by GOBLINS. I honestly don't know where my head was. Thanks again Spirel and Kei, and I encourage the rest of you to please point any possible future errors that may occur, as well as provide bad or good feedback! I want to know if I screwed something up, if the characters are as they should be, if the story is good, or if I need to work harder on developing the plot. Thanks again!
Last Chapter: Ollivander stroked his chin thoughtfully, pale eyes shining like moons through the gloom of the shop, "Yes…I thought as much. I remember everyone who's ever bought a wand in this shop, and I have yet to come across her, though…she seems somewhat…familiar." He started, trailing off as he held her gaze.
She couldn't help but to fidget slightly, feeling rather uncomfortable under his scrutiny.
Oh, this was going to be so fun…
Magic is Just Around the Corner
Chapter Two: An Unknown Adventure
Silence filled the air for a moment and Ollivander's gaze had yet to waver from her. To say the least it was somewhat unnerving, the old man held such a strange aura that she couldn't decipher it adequately. It wasn't evil, that much she knew, but there was a certain thing about it that just…put her off.
"I have just the wand for you my dear, stay put while I fetch it from the back." He suddenly spoke, a small smile forming on his aged face before he turned and walked away.
She sent Harry a questioning stare, her head tilting in the direction Ollivander walked off to. He merely shook his head and shrugged, obviously just as confused as she was.
'Great, you're helpful…' she inwardly moped, allowing a small sigh to pass through her lips. She vaguely began to wonder if she should accept any wand he handed to her, unsure if it would cause trouble in future events or contain some strange type of curse. 'Stop it Kagome, that's the Feudal Era talking!' she berated, but any further thoughts were cut short when Ollivander returned, a long slender box held delicately across both hands.
"Here." He prompted, extending the box towards her.
She eyed it for a moment, before shrugging and lifting the lid from the top. There inside sat a smooth black wand, the back slightly bulky (perfect for grip), and the tip pointed but sanded down to a smooth rounded oval, sitting inside some tissue paper innocently. The wand pulsed, the magic unnoticed by all but her. Inside she could feel the soul call to her.
"Go on, take it."
Without further ado, she cautiously reached inside, the paper rumpling as she lifted the foreign object out of its' protective grasp. It was surprisingly light, for some odd reason she expected the weight to be much like a sword. Gripping the end she could already feel the magic pulsing through her, lulling her into security as the soul connected with her own.
Getting impatient, Ollivander sighed, "Well, give it a wave." He commanded, his hands moving forward in an urging manor.
"A…wave?" she spoke slowly, snapping back to the present, "Oh right, a wave." Before swinging her hand, the movement smooth as if the wand had become an extension of herself.
A sudden ball of gold sprouted from the tip, shooting to the top of the store before exploding into an array of golden sparkles that fell to the ground, disappearing on contact with anything it touched.
Ollivander smiled with a pleased look, taking the wand from her and placing it back inside the box, "I believe miss, we have found you your wand. Quite a lucky guess, but I had a feeling that this one would be yours once I saw you. Lucky indeed…this time half my store didn't get destroyed trying to find the right one." He gave Harry a pointed stare, who flushed in slight remembrance.
She bowed, "Thank you Mr. Ollivander, and the name is Higurashi, Kagome Higurashi." Before standing once more with a wide grin, "How much do I owe you?"
"Seven Gallons." He replied, staring at her a bit oddly. She chose to ignore his gaze and instead took out her money, handing it to him. All she wanted was her wand back in her hands. Now that she had felt the wand's presence, when it was gone she felt strangely…defenseless, almost as if she were missing something important.
….
The day had gone by surprisingly fast, and without further hassle. There was only one thing left on the list to buy, and that was a magical pet. She felt quite excited as they pressed on to the store, wondering what strange exotic creatures lurked inside.
"This is the place." Harry stated, motioning to the pet shop just in front of them. With a smile he grasped the cool metal handle of the door, swinging it open for her to walk through.
"Why thank you." she chuckled, stepping inside only to freeze.
Thump thump
Thump thump
Her breathing hitched, eyes widening. 'It…it can't be?' Her gaze scanned the store, searching for the one who invoked such emotion. 'There!' As if in a trance, she slowly walked forward, the loud noises of the store dying, everything fading into darkness but one cage.
Thump thump
Thump thump
The closer she was, the more her heart sped. If she wasn't careful she would cause another attack to occur. Taking a deep breath, she willed herself to calm before continuing forward, stepping just in front of the cage.
Thump thump
Thump thump
There, staring straight at her with the ever familiar beady crimson gaze, was Kirara, still the same as before with cream colored fur that was splashed with bits of ink on her tail and paws. It was unbelievable, inconceivable, and yet, there she was, as if time had no effect on her at all. The same Kirara she had known five hundred years prior.
"Kirara…" she breathed, hand pressing against the glass. Said neko moved forward, her own paw rising as a small mew of greeting erupted forth. For the first time in a long time, a true smile lifted her cheeks, eyes lighting like they once did in what seemed so long ago.
"I'll take her."
Harry eyed her oddly, "Are you sure? I would suggest getting an howl. They're asking a ridiculous price for it, I mean, ten gallons and two sickles? That's robbery!" he scoffed, eying the two-tailed with little interest.
She whirled on him in a second, "No amount of money would ever be enough of a price to pay. To me, Kirara is worth my life!" she raised her voice as loud as she dared, eyes blazing in sheer outrage. How dare he say Kirara was not worth it! Did he even understand who Kirara was?!
Harry's arms rose in slight defense, "Alright! I'm sorry; this…what was its name? Kiloma?" seeing her increasing rage, he was quick to correct himself, "I mean Kirara, right? Is worth anything you pay for it if its that important." Though, he didn't understand how the cat could hold so much value. Honestly, girl's were so weird, she even had a name already without knowing the gender…
"It's a girl." Came her small hiss, before she mentally berated herself. Of course he didn't realize what he was saying, he didn't know Kirara, no one did, other then herself of course. 'Amazing how easy it is to forget that such an important part of my life, is actually…a secret. In truth many wouldn't even believe it, call such a time a myth or legend. Really, it's more depressing then anything else.'
"Sorry, she's important." He corrected himself once again, obviously slightly annoyed with her attitude but thoroughly confused on how she knew if it was a boy or girl. Did she specialize in cats? He knew little about her personal life, so maybe she did? She was becoming quite the odd one, that was for certain…
….
Kirara mewed pleasantly; her crimson orbs alight with happiness as they walked out of the pet shop. The small 'kitten' sat perched on her shoulder much like a parrot, gazing at her surroundings with an aged look that was rather odd for a cat, much less a human. The two-tail purred soothingly, rubbing her small head against Kagome's cheek.
Harry didn't get it at all.
For a cat that had just been bought, it was awfully friendly towards the one who owned it. The two looked so comfortable together, so…happy. Which was weird, because cats didn't have expressions, or at least that's what he always thought. This one did though, somehow, with intelligent eyes that looked a little to deeply at him, as if assessing his company in a protective way. It was like he was an intruder, treading upon the feline's territory, waiting to be deemed non-threatening.
"What's wrong Harry?" Kagome asked in that accent of her's, though it wasn't strong which he was thankful for. He always found strong Japanese or Chinese accents hard to interpret.
"Nothing, just thinking." He replied truthfully, stuffing his hands into his pockets, "So, we have everything now? A cloak, a wand, a pet, and all the other non-important stuff in-between?" he joked with a small smirk, pleased when she laughed.
"Now Harry, you shouldn't say such things. Studying is important too! Books can hold such useful things!" her smiled widened when he cringed.
"Great, another Hermione, just what I've always wanted." He drawled, eying her with a deadpanned expression. Honestly, was it a girl thing or something to love books? It seemed every pretty girl he ran into, was always book-smart!
Kagome blinked at his words, "Hermione? Who's that?" she questioned, curious as ever. Whoever this Hermione person was, they sounded like someone she'd like to meet. Someone else who could appreciate the art of studying and hard work!
Harry flushed slightly, "Oh right, you haven't met her yet." he laughed, somewhat awkward, "She's a good friend of mine who's really smart. Ask her anything and I bet she'd either have the answer on hand, or spend a night researching it just so she could learn it." He chuckled in slight remembrance of how hard she had tried to help him during the tournament, before the thoughts slowly floated away.
Kagome smiled, "She sounds like someone I'd like to meet." She stated, her hands shifting to gather a better grip on her numerous bags.
"You will really soon, tomorrow at the train station. Anyways, we should probably head back to the Pub to get rid of this stuff. Besides, there are some people I want you to meet." He declared, also shifting the bags in his hands. He had forgotten how much stuff a new student needed to buy…
"Um…Harry." Kagome suddenly ventured out, her demeanor shifting to shyness as her cheeks flushed slightly, "Could you do me a favor?"
Raising an eyebrow Harry watched her closely, "What is it?" he asked her cautiously, not liking the change in mood. She seemed to awkward, whatever it was it couldn't be good.
Eyes turning to the side she nibbled on her lower lip, "Don't tell the others…that I'm sick." She finally managed to spew, hues shifting back to look at him with an unreadable expression.
Harry frowned, but shrugged nonetheless, "I don't understand why, but it's not my place to really question now is it? If that's what you want then I'll respect your privacy." before he glanced at his wristwatch, "Now that we're clear, we really should be heading back before Mrs. Wesley dies of a heart attack."
Smiling Kagome nodded, thankful for his assurance before the last of his statement caught her attention. Again with this Mrs. Wesley person, was she truly such a frightful character?
….
"She's absolutely adorable!" the plump red-head gushed, eying her sweetly. It was easy to see the lady was refraining from hugging her outright, what with her still being a stranger and all. Was this the infamous Mrs. Wesley that seemed to put so much fear in people's hearts?
The lady's gaze then suddenly turned sharp as they swerved over to another of the red-heads, a boy who appeared to be around Harry's age. It was easy to see that red hair and freckles seemed to be the family trait of the Wesley household.
"As for you Ronald Wesley! How many times must I tell you? No sneaking chocolates before dinner!" her voice rose from the gentle motherly tone to a high shrill, her eyes blazing in warning as the one now known as Ron shrunk away from his angry mother.
Frankly she couldn't blame him.
The sudden change in mood was rather frightful all on its own, but her anger seemed to remind her of herself when she was about ready to 'sit' Inu-Yasha. Man…she never knew she could be so scary! Was this what it was like on the receiving end? 'Poor Inu-Yasha…' her thoughts abruptly cut as a sudden image rose; golden eyes holding pure betrayal as they gazed hatefully towards her.
'No…' her hands fisted, and she buried the memories with ruthless force. She would not think of such unspeakable things.
"Anyways, him, over there Kagome, the one getting yelled at, is my good mate Ron." Harry suddenly introduced, his hand motioning towards the red-head from earlier.
A meek smile crossed her lips, "Yeah…would never have figured it out, what with all the yelling of his name and all." She laughed, cringing as Mrs. Wesley screamed at him some more after he muttered a rather crude word towards her.
Harry laughed as well, "Heh…yeah that's Ron for you, always getting in to trouble that one." He smirked as Ron came towards them, sulking after his mother's abuse.
"Bloody hell, thought she was goin' to explode there for a moment…" he moped, before his gaze shifted to Kagome, "So this is her eh?" he assessed, staring at her boldly before leaning towards Harry, "Damn she's hot! Think she has a boyfriend?" he whispered with a cheesy grin, and she fell completely silent, having caught every word.
"I'm going to pack some of my new things."
After she walked away to her rented room (Kirara following after a promising glare), Harry elbowed Ron in the side, "Idiot." He muttered as Ron went back to moping, rubbing the abused skin with a confused expression, "What? I was only joking!"
…
"Platform 9 and ¾? Is there really such a thing?" she questioned later that night to her visiting company, having read her ticket for the first time. How strange to have a ¾ platform, but maybe it was just an English thing? Who knew? Certainly not her.
Fred smirked, "Well, in the muggle world there isn't, but in our world there is!" he boasted, and she blinked in confusion, "Muggle?"
George stepped in, "Yes, er…it's a term used to describe non-magic users. Yeah know…muggles!" he explained rather crudely, scratching his head awkwardly. It felt weird explaining things that were already common knowledge.
Her mouth formed a small 'Oh' of understanding, "I see, so there are different terms even in the wizarding world." She smiled, now understanding more. 'Just like the Feudal era, there were some Japanese words and terms I hadn't heard of before there too.'
George nodded, happy that his explanation was understood, "Yeah, there are a lot of different things in the wizarding world."
Seeing an opening, Fred moved across the bed and slung his arm across her shoulders, "One of those things we just so happen to specialize in."
Smirking, George copied the action on her opposite side, "And it just so happens that these things will, without a doubt, benefit you in your future attendance at Hogwarts!"
Fred nodded sagely, "It's a must for any new student. In all honesty it should be put on the list of supplies." His mouth curved into an almost maliciously evil slant, and she was more then scared when George's expression turned much the same.
Feeling her impending doom approaching, she glanced around the room for a means of escape. Her eyes suddenly shifted to the clock and she blinked, slightly surprised at the time, but also somewhat grateful, "Crap, I'm late." She murmured, slipping out from between the two before moving off the bed.
The twins sent her an odd stare, "Late for what?" Fred questioned with obvious disappointment as he watched her dig into her suitcase. George crawled across the bed to get a better look at what she was doing.
"Oh, just some stuff I need." She brushed them off a bit, pulling out what looked like a puffer and an upside down spray bottle, "If you would excuse me, I'll be back in just a few moments."
The twins watched with curious eyes as she departed for the bathroom just down the hall. "What do yeah suppose that's all about?" George inquired, and Fred merely shrugged in response, "Dunno, but when she gets back we'll have to try again. I mean we almost had her!"
George stroked his chin thoughtfully, "I'm not to sure, I think we came on a bit to strong. We'll have to change our tactic."
Fred nodded, "Agreed. I say we just spring it on her; she'll be to surprised to say no."
Smiling almost cruelly, George nodded, "Brilliant! But first we should lure her into a false sense of security; she'll be expecting it when she gets back."
…..
Kagome sighed, turning on the bathroom light before closing the door with a soft click and locking it behind her. "This sucks…" she moped, staring at the objects she carried with little enthusiasm. Not only was she completely exhausted, but she had to switch her medicine times to fit with this one, otherwise she'd be getting up at four every night. I mean it was bad enough even taking the stuff, why make it more of a pain in the ass?
Lifting the object that looked like a puffer, she shook the bottle a bit before exhaling, placing the open end in her mouth and pushing down on the top. Instantly the nasty tasting gas filled her mouth, and she hastily breathed it in, eager to get the cloud off her tongue.
Making an icky face in the mirror, she proceeded to pick the second object up, the upside down squirt bottle, before shoving the long nozzle to the back of her throat. Her hand then pulled the trigger and liquid goop seeped down, burning as it came in contact with the poison, before finally it settled. She grimaced slightly, quickly running a glass under the tap before gargling and spitting. Ah…sweet relief.
Rubbing her throat she sighed, her gaze somewhat distant as she stared at herself in the mirror, "How long has it been, since then?" she murmured, setting the glass down before picking up her toothbrush. Squirting the paste onto the tip she proceeded to brush her teeth vigorously, using the tool for more of a taste cleanser then an actual plaque remover.
"A year and four days." She smiled, softly, after cleansing her mouth out with another round of refreshing tap water. Rising her brush and cleaning the tube of toothpaste, she gathered her supplies and headed back to her rented room where the twins were visiting.
Opening the door she sent them a welcoming smile, "Hey guys, sorry about that." before closing the door behind her with a soft click. The two watched her as she went to her bag, placing the supplies back inside before zipping it up.
"So…" Fred started, "What's Japan like?" he finally asked, deciding to break the silence that had unknowingly settled upon the room. Kagome eyed him rather suspiciously, cautious about the odd change of topic from earlier.
Noticing the suspicious stare, George nodded eagerly, "Yeah, is it really crowded like everyone says?"
Shrugging, Kagome decided to let it go, "Boy is it ever! People normally walk or ride their bikes to get places. It's because everything is so close together that driving through such a cluttered mess isn't very convenient." She explained, once again sitting on the bed beside them, "You can't move an inch without seeing someone in front of you."
"It'd suck to be claustrophobic there." George breathed, and Fred merely nodded.
Smiling Kagome chuckled, "I'd imagine it would be." before a rather noticeable yawn passed her lips. Flushing, she covered her mouth before sending the two boys a weak smile, "Seems I'm still adjusting to the time here." She murmured, sighing.
Fred gave her a small pat on the back, "No worries! We'll leave yeah to rest." He assured, sliding off the bed to stand on the cool wood floor.
George was quick to follow, "Yeah, G'night Kagome." He waved, and then the two departed, nearly at the door when, "Oh Kagome!"
Startled she jumped slightly, head snapping towards them, "Eh?"
They were both suddenly right before her, strange objects that were pulled from their pockets now shoved right in front of her face, "Fancy buying one of these?" Fred prompted, smiling brightly.
Moving closer, now deep within her personal bubble, George took her hand and placed something that looked like deformed candy into her open palm, "This one is our most popular, you just suck on this and then you'll get sick!" he boasted, clearly thinking she'd be impressed.
"The teachers will send you to the hospital wing, and when you're a safe distance away you just pluck this into your mouth," Fred continued, handing her a second piece of odd looking candy, "And poof, your supposed 'sickness' is gone!"
Smiling proudly George finished off the act, "Guaranteed to get you out of any unwanted class! And only for the cheap price of two sickles and a gallon!"
Both beaming at her, and now sitting on the bed at either side of her, each with a single arm slinked around her shoulders they asked at the same time, "So, what do you think?" the merchandise held pointedly and unnecessarily close to her face.
Completely befuddled she mutely nodded, her tiered mind registering one thing out of her sudden culture shock 'I want to sleep, make them go away.' Almost robotically she reached into her dresser jour and pulled out the required amount, handing it to Fred who eagerly took it, leaving George to place her new acquired supplies onto the nightstand beside her bed.
Standing at the same time the twins smiled gleefully down at her, "G'night!" they spoke together again, Fed adding a, "Pleasure doing business!" before the two of them finally walked out the door to leave her in peace.
"Goodnight…" she spoke weakly in late response to the empty room. Upon realizing their departure a small sigh escaped her and she fell back, head landing on the cotton-filled pillow. For a while her gaze was set upon the dirty ceiling, no real thoughts crossing her mind as she simply enjoyed the peace that felt like forever.
A small excitement settled over her at the realization that tomorrow, she would really be heading into a magical school. It was indeed not some cruel and sick joke that she stupidly allowed herself to fall into. This place was real, this magic business was real, and even more so her new life was real. No more doctor visits or over-protective parenting, no more people treating her like glass…for she was no see-through fragile glass that everyone tried to fill with happiness instead of the void that smothered her. Instead she was a durable weed, yes a weed, a weed that even when cut down would grow again and thrive in any condition presented…a weed that even the wind could not break.
Smiling she rolled onto her side, flipping the disheveled covers onto her from before reaching to turn off the bedside lamp. The room was plunged into darkness as she slowly closed her eyes, "Yes…goodnight." She murmured again, thoughts drifting over to her family at home.
'I hope mom isn't to mad at me.' Was the final thought that crossed her mind, before she allowed herself to drift into the dark corners of dreamland.
…
The next morning she awoke rather grudgingly, eyes still stinging with needed sleep as a loud yawn sounded through the room. Sitting up, allowing the covers to limply slide off her form, she blinked blearily as she glanced towards the electric clock that was buzzing annoyingly towards her.
"Seven…that means it's nine pm in Tokyo." Her lip twitched somewhat at the realization as her hand moved to turn off the rediscovered discovered hatred that was her alarm clock.
She had arrived in London at nine am, having left Tokyo at eleven pm, only to stay up until ten pm London time which meant that she had stayed up for nearly twenty-four hours. To top it off she only was able to have nine hours of sleep, during which, she kept waking up at random moments do to sheer excitement and unrelenting adrenaline, before having to get up to prepare to leave for this train on platform 9 and ¾ (which she still had issues believing existed). All in all, she was rather tiered and when that happened, rather irritable.
"Curse you global time difference!" she yelled as loud as she dared, hand shaking towards the ceiling at an invisible presence only known to her. Deciding she was wasting time with her groaning and moping, (why did she do this again?) Kagome reluctantly forced herself out of bed before proceeding down the hall in her PJ's to brush her teeth and take her meds (in secret of course).
Once that was all done she returned to her room, proceeded to dress, before making sure she had packed everything by doing the ritual circle of her rented sleeping space. When it seemed like all was accounted for she zipped up her suitcases (having been forced to buy another two to carry her new items) and (with great difficulty) plundered into the hallway before proceeding down the steps of death to the meeting area.
With some surprise she found herself to be the first one prepared, no one else waiting in the chosen area that she recognized. It wasn't until fifteen minutes later did anyone else blunder down the stairs, and soon after them the rest of the remaining crew.
Once everyone had gathered the adults wasted no time on getting everyone moving out the door to their destination. They (strangely enough) boarded a bus (which she could have sworn was not there, or anywhere in site for that matter, two seconds ago) that she assumed made a rather loud crack when it arrived. Perhaps they needed to check their engine? She didn't feel the least bit safe going onto this strange mobile device.
Her worry proved correct in the long run, but perhaps not in the way she had imagined it. The seemingly innocent bus turned into a ride far scarier then a rollercoaster, and more unbelievable then the existence of a time portal well. If she had been anyone else she would have sworn it was some twisted dream of hers, but alas, she was not and knew for certain that all these events were very much real. Yes…cars and street signs were in fact jumping out of the way of the speed drunk bus…
To say the least she was quite thankful when they arrived (in a rather and appreciated short time span from when they boarded) at the train station. Soon she would figure out the mystery of platform 9 and ¾.
Taking a deep calming breathe she steeled herself and followed the rest who went ahead with growing nervousness. This was it, this would be the day she boarded a train on a magical platform that would take her to a magical school where she would learn how to do magical things with a magical stick that somehow magically connected with her soul. That wasn't weird, of course not. Heck, she was the protector of a magical gem from a sort of magical world no one thought really existed that she got to by falling into a magical time portal well. Magic was not a new thing in her life.
Just in the modern world it was.
…
Well that was it, the second chapter! Jeez that took so long to get out, I'm sorry. Even worse is that it's a filler . ' And I'm sorry for this not being fully accurate to the sixth book. Back when I actually started the original story the sixth book wasn't even out. I know I restarted it and yes I have read the sixth book now but that was a while ago and I've forgotten most of the more detailed aspects of it. I will keep to the general plotline of the sixth book but it won't be the same in every way, as you can already tell. I will try and get the third chapter out as soon as possible! Thanks to all my reviewers and until next time!