"Now, you said you could get a toad yourself," said Charity Burbage as they exited Ollivander's wand shop. "So we'll go with cauldrons next."
"What's a 'cauldron' anyway?" asked Naruto.
"You'll see," said Charity, heading off. "First we get off the main strip. Not that way, as Knockturn Alley is somewhat unpleasant. This way."
"Where's this?" asked Naruto as they went up a flight of stairs.
"Horizon Alley," said Charity. "Not quite as upscale as Diagon, more reputable than Knockturn."
"Oh," said Naruto, not understanding but figuring this Professor seemed to know what she was about.
"Horizon Alley," said Charity, pointing at the sign, then at various stores. "That there is McMurdock's, he's a specialist in potions and oils and such. A little bit crazy though. Been sniffing his distilleries a bit too much I think. Over there is Mohawk Weapons, owned by a Mister E. Or Z. Or something like that. Enchanted weaponry... Mister Uzumaki?"
"What the hell is this?" asked the Ninetailed Demon Fox as odd ripples went through the chakra network of his host.
Odd itching sensations accompanied each one, and then It came.
It was cool and soothing on a hot day, it was tight control and disciplined edge.
It was clearly a weapon.
"Interesting," said Kurama as it examined what it could tell of the thing from his prison.
Destruction/Corruption/Chaos/Transfiguration
"Oh?" asked Kurama as the ripples of chakra briefly formed a set of sensations. Of course, if it was to withstand the chakra of the Ninetailed Demon Fox, it would have to be fairly tough - but it also sounded as if it had a penchant for blowing things up or slicing them apart.
Destruction/Devastation.
Both sounded intriguing to the caged Kyubi. Quite a few possibilities offered themselves with such a thing.
"Mister U-zu-ma-ki. WHY do you feel you need such a thing?"
"But... weapon... cool..." said Naruto, giving a very good begging-puppy-no-jutsu as he gestured towards the shop.
"No. You may not have such a thing. Not at Hogwarts. There is absolutely nothing at the school you would use such a thing for. Not to mention that you have no money with which to purchase such a thing." She had been a teacher for several years now and was quite good at resisting the whole "puppy eyes" hex.
"But..." Naruto's voice trailed off and he slumped in place.
Charity Burbage shook her head slightly. "Let's see, that over there - as you can see - is a stationary store for those with special needs in that field. I've met the proprietor - a Mister Peck and I believe the rumors about him acquiring some supplies through less than honest means are completely false."
Naruto glanced up, thinking he ought to tell Pervy-sage about that one. Looked like they sold scrolls there.
"Sorcerous Smokes is a tobaccoist, though he has also been known to acquire various herbs and magical plants," said Charity as they passed that shop. "I'm not sure where Colonel Smith acquired the nickname 'Hannibal' but one can usually find him playing chess or some other strategy game with regular customers if you fancy such diversions. No?"
"No," agreed Naruto. "Shikamaru's good at that sort of thing. I ain't."
"Well, then there's the pastries shop, a small cafe, and our destination itself," said Charity. "Shall we?"
"'Pinsetta Sundries'?" asked Naruto before following the professor into the shop. "What's a 'sundrie'?"
"After that we'll go to Madam Malkin's little shop. Overpriced unless you know how to dicker," said Charity.
Naruto hoped that didn't indicate something hentai.
Jiraiya sat back on a parapet and considered. Not too many of the young pretty eye-candy he liked to indulge in, but as a teacher in a school that sort of thing might get him thrown out before he was ready. So it was like an infiltration mission in that regard, except the amount of killing was vastly reduced.
As near as he could tell, the society here was generally very capable with their jutsu-use. In fact, the idea of enchanting objects to enhance their effectiveness was something he planned on investigating more thoroughly.
There were a lot of things he wanted to investigate more thoroughly. Unfortunately the lack of young pretty girls meant that was one thing he couldn't really investigate. Pity.
Fortunately, like the last time he'd been involved in one of these 'dimensional transfer' accidents - being translated to a new reality carried with it a dominant language translation. Occasionally a word or phrase wouldn't translate, or some section of writing on a page would remain squiggles that looked like they meant something, but for the most part things were understandable.
Still, even with the language barrier not being a problem, there were parts of this that made no sense to him at all. He lacked the references that this society assumed everyone had.
So, having him and Naruto pose as a foreign teacher and student (it being the truth made it easier to go along with) allowed them to ask why and what and how as they went along. Oh, they're foreigners and don't know any better. Which was good as trying to portray themselves as natives had been blown out of the water within minutes of arrival.
Flipping open his book, Jiraiya began reading. The fact that some of the text and certain pictures moved was somewhat interesting, but he had to establish his presence and identity here first.
Other research, much as it pained him, had to wait.
Naruto's eyes were glazed over within a minute of the lecture on cauldron construction and alchemical preparation.
Charity Burbage noted that and frowned slightly. "Miss Pinsetta? Do you happen to have some Baruffio's?"
"Ah, the child? Yes, as a matter of fact. With students going off to Hogwarts tomorrow, had to get extra stock in."
"Naruto, take a sip of this. No more than a sip," said Charity, handing a flask to Naruto and then turning back to the proprietor in order to pay for it.
Naruto looked askance at it. "'Baruffio's Brain Elixir'? What's this?"
"It isn't unheard of," Charity assured him. "I'm told the muggles even have a version of it called Attention Deficit Disorder. Also it happens when someone gets hit in the head repeatedly or confusion hexed or such. The potion merely makes it easier for someone to learn and concentrate."
"This is the latest version," said the plump saleswitch. "Less of an overall effect, but it completely eliminates the manic side-effect."
"Well, that's good," said Charity. "Though I think the muggle term is 'obsessive compulsive' or something like that. Actually thought that was a pretty good description."
Naruto tried a sip of the drink, making a face as it tasted... "How can it taste like an old scroll? How do I even know that's what an old scroll would taste like?"
"So, what use is a gold cauldron?" asked Charity.
"The making of certain potions require a gold cauldron, such as Polyjuice Potion, but overall they're useless since the charms keeping the metal from melting have to be renewed constantly," said Naruto, who then stopped and blinked. "Wha?"
"The elixir you just sipped is for focusing one's attention and being able to remember things," said Charity. "By any chance, were you hit with a curse when you were younger?"
Naruto thought of the fox instantly. "You... could say that."
"That's what I thought," said Charity. "Now we've got the cauldron and a supply of elixir to help you along. Next is:
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