Urd, in miniature form, floated above the heads of the wizards and witches shopping in Daigon Alley. Nothing was going to keep her from officially being allowed to encourage romance, especially as paltry a matter as two true loves now sharing a single sex.
This would be easy. Harriet and her true love were both shopping for their upcoming school year. All Urd needed to do was plant the idea that they were destined for each other, and things would fall in place from there. She'd prefer to use a potion, but those two were too young for the activities her best match making formulas induced. Pity, really. Well, she'd take two pairs of true loves, throw in a magical device, and stir.
Three young girls, dressed in the muggle fashion, a small flying stuffed animal, and a giant of a man entered Daigon Alley.
"It just doesn't seem right," Kero insisted, happy he could fly along side Sakura and use a normal volume. Scoldings lacked force when they were whispered from inside a backpack.
"Don't be silly," Sakura replied, "Daddy didn't want it, and Eriol wasn't about to take it back."
"But you just shouldn't go around transferring people's magic power that way," Kero complained. It just wasn't done.
"It didn't hurt anyone," Tomoyo, "and this way I can go to school with Sakura!" Tomoyo's smile would have split her face in two if grew any wider.
"Now, now," Hagrid admonished, "Dumbledore said it was all right, but you're not supposed to talk about it. Some people might not exactly react well to finding out a wizard gave his magic to a muggle. Not that it bothers me at all," he hastily added.
Above the small party, Urd waved her hand and muttered under her breath. Tomoyo's gaze focused just beyond Sakura on the wares at an open air stall. "What's that?" she asked, pointing. The device was a round plaque of wood with a glass spiral set into the top. In the center a glass bulb contained a golden liquid, and next to various points on the spiral words were written, ranging from 'hated nemeses' to 'true love'.
"Oh, that's an amorotometer," Hagrid explained, "you hold onto it with a person, and it shows how compatible you are. Most wizards and witches use one before getting married. They say," he added, his tone lowering as if he was imparting a secret, "that you've done well if you manage to find a 'good match' let alone a 'true love'."
"It works like this?" Tomoyo asked, already holding the amorotometer and pushing it against Sakura's bare skin. The rest of the party watched as the gold liquid expanded, tracing its way up the spiral until there was no more room.
"I think it's broken," ventured Hermione. "Either that, or it's confused because you're both girls."
"No, I know a few blokes and lasses-" Hagrid began.
"You're probably right," Tomoyo cut Hagrid off, "but I want to buy it anyway," she said and paid the vendor. Hagrid kept an eye on the change she received. For some reason, the muggle-born could never make proper change at first, and some shopkeepers took advantage of that.
"Look, there's someone else in normal clothes," Sakura said, pointing. "Do you think they're going to Hogwarts, too?"
"There's only one way to find out," the third, previously silent, girl said, then ran over to three people in question. For muggle-born witches, Sakura and Tomoyo sure had a lot of exposure to magic. Maybe the boy or the girl would be more like her and new to this strange world.
Harriet blinked when a girl wearing regular clothes appeared out of the crowd around them. "Hi, I'm Hermione Granger," she introduced herself. "Are you starting at Hogwarts, too?"
"Yes I am," Harriet automatically responded, then remember herself. "I'm Harriet Dursley, and this is my brother Dudley and my mother."
"Pleased to meet you," Hermoine said as her companions caught up with them. "This is Sakura Kinomoto and Tomoyo Daidoji; they're going into their first year, too. And this is Hagrid, he's from Hogwarts and is helping us shop for school."
"Petunia Dursley," Harriet's mother introduced herself to Hagrid.
"You don't say!" Hagrid exclaimed. "I don't suppose we could chat a moment." Hagrid and Petunia formed the huddle common to all adults who don't want children listening to their conversation.
"What's that?" Dudley asked, pointing at the amorotometer. It looked fragile and easily broken.
"It's supposed to show how good a romantic match two people are, but it's broken," Hermione explained. Dudley quickly lost interest in something that was already broken.
"Broken?" Harriet asked.
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(Posted Wed, 27 Oct 2004 00:27)
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