Madam Malkin’s Robes for All Occasions was a bit more mundane, much to Lina’s approval. After everything that had happened to her, a breather from new, strange magic was welcome. Madam Malkin was efficient in her measurements, as was her assistant, although they did ask a fair number of questions regarding the Inverses’ unusual clothing.
Lina managed to deflect most of the questions by asking Malkin to adjust her outfit properly to her reduced frame. Malkin’s eyes twinkled knowingly as she did so, and Lina left a great deal more comforted. The only problems were the demon blood talismans, which were a bit overlarge but not too bad, and her sword which felt a bit too heavy and hung a bit too low, scraping the ground every few steps. “I’ll need some extra sword practice to get used to the weight,” she muttered.
Harry decided it was a good idea not to question Lina’s situation too much and opened his letter. “Well, the robes will be ready soon enough. School uniforms,” he said disapprovingly. He shook his head.
“Y’ don’ have uniforms in that college o’ yers?” Hagrid asked.
“No,” Harry said, gesturing to himself and Lina. “We develop our own outfits that express our style best, and when we graduate we earn our Color, which is usually part of the outfit.”
“Unless the guildmaster is evil,” Lina muttered.
“Hagrid,” Harry said with a smile, “may I introduce Lina Inverse the Pink.”
Hagrid smiled. “Oh that’s such a cute color. You must be proud o’ yerself.” He changed his mind when he saw Lina’s face. “I mean, that’s a ‘orrible color that is. Cryin’ shame for yer ta be stuck with it. But no one here e’er need hear o’ it.”
Lina nodded. “Better. Harry here’s probably going to end up as ‘the Jade.’ I heard there are teams of students looking for a shade of green that is the perfect ‘inverse’ of pink, but most of them are too unwieldy for a proper title.”
“Harry Inverse the Not Very Bluish Teal,” Harry mocked sourly. Hagrid winced.
“What’s next on the list?” Lina asked.
“Um…robes we have. We got the hats and the cloaks. Protective gloves.”
“Done,” Lina said, holding up her gloved hands. “Mazoku hair over lake dragon hide. If it doesn’t do the job, I’ll break Xellos’s neck.”
“Xellos gave you his hair?” Harry asked, stunned. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Well, something happened and after the something I was in possession of a great deal of his hair.”
Harry ran that over a few times and winced. “Do you need him to be angry at you or something? Is that what this is?”
“You worry too much. Anyway you have those dragonhide gloves Luna made for you, too. Next.”
Hagrid sweated a bit. That students already had dragonhide gloves was unusual. That it sounded like Lina had personally acquired the hide was worse.
Harry looked at his list again, ignoring Hagrid’s increasingly disturbed look. “Schoolbooks, of course. Hagrid?”
“Flourish and Blotts,” Hagrid said, pointing. It was good to be back on familiar territory.
Hagrid knew that he was going to regret taking Lina along for years. He’d had twinges, but nothing had compared to that. “How could yer do that, Lina?”
Lina humphed. “It wasn’t my fault. All I wanted to do was buy a few extra books.”
“I tol’ you, First Years t’ain’t allowed ter buy Seventh year spell books. You need ter work yer way up to it.” He frowned. “Where’d yer books go?” Most students got trolleys to carry all their gear.
“In our capes,” Lina said reasonably. Hagrid accepted that; it was a strange place to put an Extension Charm, but at least it was a magic he understood. But Lina was still talking. “And I am up to it. There isn’t a single spell I haven’t been able to learn. Eventually. That I really wanted to. Mostly.”
Harry snorted. “She couldn’t get the hang of water shamanism.”
“I could too!”
“Not like fire.”
“So I like fireballs. Is that a crime?”
“Why don’t we ask the bounty hunters when we get home?”
“When’s lunch?”
Everyone looked at Gourry for a moment. Lina turned to Harry. “Next?”
“Umm…looks like alchemy gear. Cauldron, phials, scales. We have telescopes.”
“We do?”
“Okay, I have a telescope. Zel taught me some astrology. I bet the stars here are different, though.”
“Anything else?”
“Umm…wands and an option on a pet. Darn, no snakes.”
“Snake?” Hagrid asked. “Why would yeh want a snake?”
“Intelligent conversation?” Harry offered with a sly look at Lina.
Hagrid looked at Lina. “You can talk ter snakes?” Somehow, Lina being a parselmouth didn’t surprise him.
Lina sulked and shook her head. “Not me. I can’t figure out how he does it, but that’s Harry’s trick.”
Hagrid looked at Harry, stunned. “Yer a parselmouth, Harry?”
“I…guess?” Harry answered. “If that means I can talk to snakes, yeah.”
Hagrid nodded dully, mind whirling at this new bit of knowledge. With this sister and that ability, Harry was sure to be a Slytherin!
“Hagrid?”
Hagrid looked down at Harry. “Eh?”
“Wands?” Harry asked, sounding like he was repeating himself. Hagrid realized he had been lost in thought.
“Wands? Oh, right of course. Ollivander’s is the best you’ll find anywhere.”
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(Posted Mon, 08 Aug 2011 05:48)
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