As they are returning to the Alley, Harry looks up at Professor McGonagall, "Professor, would you mind if we found the wand maker before we do any other shopping. As it seems like that is the one item where reputation really matters. If it takes overly long, you would then be able to prioritise the other items to those that we would be less able to do when we return on our own."
Minerva wants to find fault with the request, or tell Harry that she's been doing this for over 20 years so she knows what order to do things in. However, the request and arguments are all reasonable, "We can do that. Though we will be seeing Ollivander first, even if he is unable to make the wand. He should know who to go to in order to have it made."
Harry and Morgana both share a glance before pulling mist around themselves. Neither of them trusts the insistence of going to see Ollivander. It doesn't take them long to reach the store front. Before they enter both Harry and Morgana look up at the peeling sign, the faded gold lettering on the green background reading 'Ollivanders, makers of fine wands since 382 B.C.' As they enter the store, the bright sunlight from outside barely illuminates the interior of the store, despite the plate glass window. The interior walls are stacked with wand boxes from floor to ceiling.
From a corner by the door, and old man calls, "Ah professor, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company."
Minerva jumps slightly before turning to face the old man, "The Danann family would like to commission a wand."
Ollivander starts to look around cautiously, "Tell them I can't help them."
Minerva's accent starts to show as she responds, "Vary well, where would you suggest we go instead?"
"If they must have a wand, send them to Jimmy Kiddell up past the bank."
As they exited the store Minerva turns to Harry and Morgana, "Oh my, I cannot believe that he was so rude ignoring you like that."
Morgana shakes her head, "He wasn't rude, he is blind. We both used a bit of Celtic magic to hide our magical presence, similar to the protections we have around our home."
"Are you sure, he never seems to have a problem with seeing people normally."
"Very, nobody else has had trouble with seeing us, only him." She waves her hand to indicate the people passing by, occasionally glancing at the talking trio.
"May I ask how you are doing it?"
"It is a skill that was developed when the Christians first invaded what is now Ireland as the Roman wizards with them hunted down our magical members, especially children. Every magical child was taught to use this skill from the age of 5."
"Is this something that anyone could use?"
Morgana nods, "With the right training, yes."
Minerva smiles wistfully, "If we'd known, the statute may not have been necessary."
"You have developed your own ways of hiding, as I had no idea that places like this existed in the country."
"They were developed by necessity, if we knew that technique then maybe it wouldn't have been needed."
"As were our own techniques. After my sister surrendered herself to save her people, and her people were destroyed anyway, we knew that they wouldn't let us live our own lives."
"You speak as though you were there."
"That's because I was. Now do you know where to find Jimmy Kiddell?"
As Minerva leads the way down the Alley, Harry pulls his mother into a hug as he knows she still finds it hard to think about those times.
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Jimmy Kiddell's is as different to Ollivander's as it's possible to get while being superficially the same. The painting on the outside is a fresh and clean blue with golden lettering proclaiming the name of the store. A sign hangs out from the building to advertise the store from a distance. Closer, the plate glass window shows a young man shaving different wand blanks with a spoke shave, and around the shop are bins full of wand blanks. Above the bins are neat drawers with the names of different wand cores listed on them.
As they enter, a bell tinkles above the door and the man looks up, "Professor, this is a surprise. Normally you take students to Ollivander's."
Minerva grumps, "We did try Ollivander's first, however the Danann's want a wand commissioned rather than pre-made."
The man looks at the other two, "You must be the Danann's, please call me Jimmy. Now before we start to talk about your commission would you mind if I practiced my art first?"
Morgana cocks her head to one side, "What is your art?"
Jimmy smiles, "Why the art of the wand maker, the ability to See the person and the materials. It allows us to narrow down the matches so that we're only working with possibilities rather than every single wand."
While Morgana starts, and then scowls, Harry smiles, "Go ahead, I would be interested in seeing what you come up with."
Jimmy closes his eyes and goes still for around 5 minutes, when he opens his eyes again he looks confused, "Professor, if you were coming for your first wand I would be inclined to try you with a fir wand and a thunderbird tail feather as a core. As for the two of you, I'm sorry but I couldn't sense you at all. It would probably explain why Ollivander turned you down. My master said that the number of commissions he took dropped once he lost his sight in the war. Even though he still makes wands, he relies on the sense that I was just using for everything now."
Minerva looks surprised at the confirmation he's blind, "I wasn't aware of that, how is it that nobody has noticed?"
Jimmy shakes his head, "It's because he's not blind, he just can't see. How do I explain this… The sense that we use is as good as our own eyesight when practiced to a level that is required for wand makers. I myself am only a Journeyman wand maker, part of that is down to the fact I cannot use that sense all the time. I digress, wizards use magically conductive material for everything, from the parchment that we use to the quills and ink we write with, and the materials we use for our construction, potions, and brooms. A consequence of this is that a tiny amount of magic is left in everything we handle, and even if the magic has dissipated, when we pick up a letter or object we can't help but push a little magic into it. This means that while Ollivander is in a magical area, he is able to see as well as you or I."
"I see, and is this a skill that anyone can learn?"
Jimmy nods, "It is, though it takes a lot of time before you can even see results so most don't know about it, let alone practice it. Every book on wandlore has the exercises needed written in them somewhere."
Morgana sighs, "It seems that you will be unable to help us after all."
Jimmy looks upset, "Why is that?"
"All of the components for my sons wand are virgin items freely given. I had hoped to have a wand made so that it is still in a virgin state when Harry first holds it, untouched by any magic but his own."
Jimmy sighs, "It is said that some of the grand masters could do that, however whatever skill they used is lost to time. I would imagine that it's somewhat like whatever you are doing to conceal your magic from the world. It is rumoured that Ollivander could do this, and when you went in for your wand he would hand you the perfect match first time every time."
Minerva nods, "That's how I got my wand the first time. Does that mean that the matches aren't as good now?"
Jimmy shakes his head, "Not at all, the match is still perfect, well as perfect as you can get with only three core choices, it's the bond that is affected. While it will grow to the same extent that it might have done before. It will never be as strong as if it had never been touched by magic. Then there's the blasted spells the Ministry demands we place on all premade wands. Don't get me wrong, I understand the need for them after Grindelwald, but they play havoc with the bonding process."
"Isn't the trace necessary to keep the statute?"
Jimmy laughs, "Despite what the Ministry says these days, the trace existed long before these spells have been added to wands. The spells just serve to identify the wand used, so the Auror's don't have to investigate. It's why we have to send the Ministry details of any custom work we do. It's not as reliable, but it helps, especially if it's a rare combination."
"Should you really be telling us this?"
"Why not? It's not like it's a secret, as it's a legal requirement for all wand makers in this country."
Harry looks at the dark look on his mother's face, and decides to take a chance, "Mr Kiddell, if we taught you our technique, would you be willing to take our commission?"
Jimmy looks surprised, "Uh, sure, I won't give you a discount though, as I still need to eat, and the lessons will cut into my time spent making blanks for other wand makers."
Morgana's face goes from dark to thunderous so Harry places a hand on her arm, "Mum, they're not Romans even though they use Roman magic. Given them a chance, please."
After a moment Morgana forces herself to relax, "Very well son, you can teach him. I'll be here to correct you if you make any mistakes, but this is your decision and you'll bear the consequences."
Jimmy looks relieved at that news, "How long will it take to learn this skill?"
Harry frowns, "It took Mum two weeks to teach me spending an hour a day in practice. When I first got it, it would take me nearly an hour to do it right, and that was without distractions. I can now pull it around me in a few seconds."
Jimmy nods while he does some calculations in his head, "Presuming you have all the needed materials, your wand will cost 20 Galleons, as I will need to make a new batch of glue just for this."
Minerva raises an eyebrow, "How much does a commission normally cost?"
Jimmy shrugs, "12 to 14 Galleons depending on if I need to cut a new wand blank or not. If I do, then I need to source the wood for the blank, and that takes time."
"Why so much compared to the premade wands?"
"Part of it is that I can't work in batches, when I'm just making blanks or carving runes, I can do 4 or 5 blanks in an hour. However, when I'm doing a commission I have to do the setup for each step one after the other, and I can't usually afford to make a mistake as I only have the one blank and core. That and the Ministry pays us 2 Galleons to add the necessary spells to the premade wands."
Morgana asks, "How many wands do you sell?"
"Oh, probably 2 or 3 a week. Most of my income comes from selling wand blanks to Master wand makers and other journeymen who gather cores for their income."
"When would be the best time for your lessons?"
"Mornings are probably the quietest time, as most accidents that require a new wand happen later in the day. Either that, or they require a visit to St Mungo's first."
Minerva grumbles softly, "I don't understand how people can be so irresponsible with their wands."
Jimmy smiles, "It's not a matter of responsibility, working in construction, farming, or crafts is always risky. All it takes is for a beam to fall the wrong way, or an animal to brush against you and, snap, there goes your wand. I make a little coin servicing their wands, and they are usually some of the best maintained wands I see. The worst are the Ministry flunkies who couldn't tell their arse from a teakettle without a map."
Harry frowns, "Why would a wand need servicing?"
"If it's well cared for, it won't. However, in normal usage it's common for them to pick up dings and abrasions. Part of the wand makers art is being able to smooth in new wood to the affected areas. If it's just normal wear and tear, then it would only cost a few sickles to repair. If the core has been exposed, then you're looking at several Galleons, and if it wasn't a custom wand I'd recommend just replacing it. I also recommend that everyone buys a wrist or waist holster for their wand. Not only does it provide protection from knocks and abrasions while you're not using it, it also makes it more accessible once you've got used to its location."
Morgana nods, "Thank you for your time, I believe that we have other things on our itinerary this afternoon. We will see you in the morning at around 9am."
Jimmy waves his hand, "I understand, and it was a pleasure. Most people don't really want to talk about the art, they just want their wand and to get on with the rest of their day."
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As they step outside, Minerva looks up and curses, they only have a couple of hours before the stores start to close. Turning around she makes a quick decision, "Harry, Morgana, we appear to be running later than I expected. As such I would like to show you the dress makers that provides the Hogwarts uniforms, we can then visit the Trunk makers, apothecary, writing supplies, and finally buy your telescope. If we have time after that we can visit Flourish and Blotts. With that done, our last stop will be a short walk to Kings Cross station, where the entrance to Platform 9 ¾ can be found. Hopefully it will be busy so that I can demonstrate the entrance, otherwise I will just have to describe it to you."
Morgana frowns, "Why would it need to be busy?"
"It is easier for the magic of the entrance to divert attention if it's busy, as people are more focused on where they're going than people disappearing from the platform."
"What do you do at the start of term?"
"The DMLE provides a contingent of Aurors to lay a temporary ward over the station that dulls curiosity. That's why the platform opens at 9:30 and closes at 11:05 that day. They'll also do a once around for any stragglers that missed the train for whatever reason, so that questions aren't raised about children wearing strange outfits and carrying pets that may be uncommon in the muggle world."
"Why the train though?"
"I haven't had that question in a while. It's because the trainline goes through the only gap in the secrecy wards around Hogwarts and the surrounding village and forests. While there are secondary protections on the area for the rare time a hiker passes through that passage, it is the primary way that the area is hidden. While magical families could just use the floo, apparition, or a portkey, muggleborn families have no such options. I believe that there are similar stations in Cardiff and Manchester for the other two schools. This is the luggage shop, I'd normally suggest just buying a standard trunk, however as yours is a magical family you don't need to worry about muggle relatives finding out that your trunk is bigger on the inside."
The two of them look at the store, 'Stow and Packers Magical Bags'. Inside, the store seems to sell a variety of handbags and briefcases. Once they enter, a well appointed woman walks over, looks them up and down and then spots Professor McGonagall.
"Hogwarts I suppose. Well, this way to the trunk shop."
As they're led through to a small courtyard with a workshop on the far side, the woman calls out, "Simon, students here for their trunks."
The woman sniffs haughtily as she turns back to the bag store. Out of the back room comes a middle aged man with balding brown hair. Seeing the customers he quickly rubs his hands on his leather apron before holding out his hand, "I'm Simon, I'm sorry about my wife, she has a thing about blood purity. Anyway, how can I help you?"
Morgana smiles, "Harry here is heading to Hogwarts, so we would like to talk about what options you have for trunks."
"To be honest, unless you want a basic trunk with no enchantments on it, it's less a matter of what options you want and more a matter of what you want and how much you want to pay. If you want to come to the back of the workshop, I'll show you the family home. I think that more than anything else will drive the point home."
They follow Simon into the workshop to a large steamer trunk similar to the sort used before the invention of the aeroplane. Simon opens the lid and climbs over before starting to walk down a set of stairs. Harry and Morgana share a surprised glance before they follow. As they descend into the trunk, Harry is unable to hide his amazement at this feat of magical engineering. Just knowing how to do this would have probably saved his p…, saved his mothers people.
"Sir!"
Simon turns around, "Just call me Simon, after all I work for a living."
Morgana and Minerva smile at the joke while it goes over Harry's head, "Um, ok Simon. Erm, what do you need to know in order to make something like this?"
Simon turns around and leans against the dining room table, "Well, to start with you need to have good NEWT's in Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, Transfiguration and Charms. Then you either need to get an apprenticeship with someone like me, or spend a fortune on books and research to learn the 5 or 6 runic languages that go into making something like this. If you go the research route, you may as well get a mastery in Runes while you're at it. Then, and this is the hard part, you need to get a degree in muggle mathematics specialising in topography and dimensional math. Once you have all that, you should have the skills needed to plot out the arrays used in a trunk like this."
"Really?"
Simon smiles, "Yep, of course you don't need most of that to do the job, which is why we have apprenticeships. However, without the apprenticeship that's what you need in order to learn everything you need."
Morgana laughs at the look of wonder on Harry's face, "Yes, I'll make sure you can complete your GCSE's and A levels. I'm home schooling you anyway so that shouldn't be a problem. I'm sure that some of your aunts and uncles would help you with the math, Danu knows I'm not good at it."
Harry groans, "Not your husband, please not him."
"What's wrong with my husband as a teacher?"
"As a teacher, nothing. It's just that he keeps trying to get me to persuade you to return to his bed."
"Ah, I see. Well, he knows the conditions of doing that, and until he has fulfilled those conditions his bed will remain empty."
Simon coughs, "Sorry to pry into family matters, but what happened?"
Morgana gives a sad smile, "He was unfaithful to me. Until he restores his honour by presenting her as his second wife, or presenting me with her body, I will not share his bed."
"Youch, and I'm guessing it's a magical wedding so you can't find another man yourself."
"Something like that."
"Well, moving away from family stuff. Have you thought about what you want with your trunk?"
Harry looks around thoughtfully, "Would it be possible to have it appear to be a normal trunk unless I open it with a key?"
"We can do that, it's a common enough feature."
"In that case, I would like a Library with a study desk, a room for meditating and introspective arts, and a training room with a weapons rack and dummies."
"How about amenities like a bathroom, kitchen, bed?"
Harry looks to his mother. Morgana thinks for a moment, "No, I don't think that will be necessary. This is supposed to be a school trunk, so I don't want Harry to be able to isolate himself from his friends."
Simon nods, "That makes things a little easier, I think I could have this done for you last week of August. If you pay half the cost now you can take one of the bags in my wife's store."
"How much are we looking at?"
"200 Galleons."
Morgana nods and waves her hand over her money pouch, as she does a stream of Galleons leaves the bag to land in neat piles on the table. Ignoring the looks from the two wizards, she closes the pouch again, "There you go, that should be 100 Galleons."
"How did you do that?"
"Celtic magic and lots of practice."
Simon shakes his head, "Maybe if I was younger. Right, let's get you your bag. Will you want it, or do you want one for your son?"
Morgana thinks while she's climbing the stairs, "Probably for Harry. I do a lot of business outside the magical areas of the country with my Archaeology and lecturing."
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Harry ends up leaving with a powder blue leather messenger bag with a pink and blue diamond pattern on the flap. The inside is advertised as bottomless, but actually holds about 3m
3. The bag has a decidedly feminine feel to it, but Harry preferred it over the darker and more practical looking bags.
It doesn't take long to buy the equipment and ingredients for the first year potions class, or the writing supplies. Though Harry is sorely tempted to buy some good quality notebooks and a box of biro's for note taking. Leaving the parchment and quills for homework and assignments. The only thing they splurge on is a self-blotting quill. Finally, they come to buy a telescope.
Harry and Morgana both stop and stare at the telescope that looks like it should be in a museum rather than in a shop for school children. As they are looking at it, the owner of the shop comes over and chuckles at their expressions.
"I bet you're wondering why we don't use the telescopes you can find in the mundane world."
Morgana nods, "It had crossed my mind."
"Magic. My grandfather found that the refractor style telescope was the best for enchanting as we were able to work on the inside, and the inscriptions would last at least 50 years. Course, we buy the lenses from a company outside, but most people don't care to know that." Minerva's eyebrows rise at that confession, "If you look on the barrel of the telescopes here, you'll see a couple of inscriptions. If you touch your wand to them it will switch between lens sizes. Running down the barrel is another set of inscriptions, and these change the internal length. The Hogwarts ones come with two sizes for each, as well as a sodium light filter if you want to use it at home. The Default size is a 6 inch objective lens and an 18 inch barrel length, The second size is 8" objective, and or a 36 inch barrel length. Of course, by special order, we can get lenses up to 24 inches, and we can make the barrel as long as you want, though you wouldn't get that telescope for a couple of years."
Harry stumbles slightly before responding, "Erm, I think I'll be happy with the standard Hogwarts one. Erm, I think that mundane telescopes can come with a small motor to keep the telescope on track, would you have something similar?"
"This is why I like muggleborn sonny, we do indeed though most don't know to ask. It will be an extra 10 Galleons as we need to enchant the mechanism separately. For most people, each touch of their wand will keep it going for 20 minutes."
Morgana frowns, "That's the same price as the telescope."
The shopkeeper nods, "It is, we can enlarge the barrel of the telescope while we're working, but we can't do that with the motor as it needs to stay in alignment. Also bare in mind that the telescope only comes with 1 eyepiece. If you want more they're 2 Galleons each, and I'd recommend buying a long and short focal length eyepiece at least. The long one will give you a lower magnification, and so the wider angle will allow you to find your target quicker, and the short focal length will allow you to zoom in on planets more."
They end up going with the recommendations they were given. Once they've stowed the telescope in Harry's bag, Minerva walks them past Flourish and Blotts, and out of the Alley to Kings Cross Station. When they arrive rush hour is just starting so it becomes difficult to follow Minerva through the press of people. Finally they reach an unremarkable wall between two platforms.
"This is the portal to the platform, if you don't have a ticket then it might as well be a brick wall." Minerva fishes a booklet with a golden ticket sticking out of it, "This is your ticket, don't lose it as you'll need it every year. Even with a ticket, the portal will still feel solid, so for most people we recommend having a bit of a run up and then closing your eyes before you hit the wall the first few times."
To her surprise, both Harry and Morgana stride through with only the slight resistance that the barrier provides. Quickly she follows through before the portal solidifies again.
"That was surprising, have you done something similar before?"
Morgana nods, "Some parts of my home can only be reached by someone who believes it's there."
"I see, well, as I said earlier, the platform will open at 9:30 on the 1
st, and the train leave at 11am on the dot. If you miss the train for whatever reason, just wait by the portal or on the platform and an Auror will find you. Do read that booklet, as it contains details about the customs and traditions in the magical world, along with the more important laws. There is also a page with the more common terms that are used. Apart from the shopping you know you need to do, I think that's it. I would also recommend buying yourself an owl, if for no other reason than being able to write each other letters during term time. Do you have any questions before I summon the knight bus?"
Harry shakes his head, while Morgana says, "We do not need the Knight Bus now we know where we are. If you wish you may return to our home as it is probably closer to Hogwarts than here."
Minerva opens her mouth and then pauses, "I think I will take you up on that."
With a nod, Morgana waves her arm in a circle, mist boiling out of nowhere in the shape of a gateway. As her arm reaches the starting point, the courtyard of the house becomes visible.
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In the suite assigned to the supreme mugwump, an old man tries to remove whatever enchantment has attached itself to the Gringotts keys.
