章節 20: A First-Year's Gamble
"Are you ready?" asked Perenelle as she clucked and scuttled around like a mother hen, "Do you have your pouch of galleons?"
"Yes, I—" began Cyrna.
"Your portkey there and your portkey back?"
"Yes—"
"Do you remember the words to activate the portkey? What you need to buy? Oh, and what happens if you get lost! Are you sure you—"
"Dear Merlin, Perenelle!" Nicolas finally exclaimed. "She'll be fine! She's an adult, not some child that requires fussing over! You've trained her well, she'll be able to hide her magic, she knows the details of Diagon Alley from the books… I presume you'll be able to find your way around?" Nicolas' gaze shifted to Cyrna for confirmation.
"I'll be fine," said Cyrna, sharing a small smile with the alchemist.
"And if something happens?" prompted Nicolas to appease his wife's worry.
"I'll portkey back immediately."
"We could always come with you! I'll just grab several Polyjuice Potio—" started Perenelle.
"No, no. Really. It's fine. I'll have Prince with me," Cyrna reassured them. Prince meowed in response.
"And there you have it," finished Nicolas, herding Perenelle away from his slightly overwhelmed student.
Cyrna touched the silver bracelet on her wrist. "Come along now, Prince," she said, waiting for Prince to leap onto her shoulder. If everything went according to plan, she'd meet the titular character of the book series today. Cyrna's plan was to stick to Harry in the first year, then distance herself in the following years. Actually, Cyrna had first planned to make no contact at all—But then Nicolas had pointed out—"What if the books were wrong?" What if the universe written in the books did exist, but the events which occurred were not completely accurate? So she'd stick close to Harry for the first year, without affecting the canon too much, make sure everything was happening as it should be, and then ditch them once she confirmed that the books were correct.
"Diagon Alley," she said, activating the portkey.
Cyrna landed with a jolt on the busy alley, just in time to see a young boy with sleeked-back platinum hair strut arrogantly out of a store labelled Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. She wasn't even bothered by the condescending look Draco shot her when she passed him because it was hitting her all at once that she had really made it into the world of Harry Potter. Like, sure, she'd known that when she and Perenelle were throwing spells at each other, she'd been more aware when she'd met Dumbledore. But all of that was different from being here—in person—in one of the most iconic locations of this universe. She could hear snippets of strange conversations around her, there were owls flying above, dusters charmed to sweep the windows in a little dance, and everybody here was wearing robes of all different styles and colours. It was jarring how different this society was to her past.
Taking a deep breath and wiping off the wide-eyed look of wonder from her face, Cyrna hurried to the store Draco had just exited from, hoping that Harry would be there.
And to her delight, he was.
"Hello! How may I help you today?" Madam Malkin asked in a crisp voice.
Instantly, Cyrna decided that sharply contrasting from Draco, who Harry hadn't been impressed with, would give her the advantage. Keeping her body language closed—timid-Cyrna rounded her shoulders slightly and put her head down just enough to avoid eye contact. She shuffled over with small steps. "Well, I was… um… wondering—"
"Uniforms for your first year at Hogwarts, dearie?" The shopkeeper practically gushed over the little girl whose shiny black hair fell in a rather adorable mop over her shoulders, reaching her mid-back. Her eyes were a beautiful shade of blue that she had not seen before, and the shyness in them as the child meekly nodded her head in a way that had her wanting to coo. "Of course my dear. You're in the right place. Just let the cat down and step right up onto this stool—Oh, Mr. Potter, you wouldn't mind terribly if I did my measurements on her first before grabbing the robes for both of you from the back room?"
"I don't mind," said Harry, looking curiously at her.
"Perfect!" The shopkeeper finished the measurements in only a handful of seconds, and briskly, she headed to the back of the store to collect the uniforms.
In the silence that followed, Cyrna turned to Harry. She made sure to hesitate visibly before greeting him. "Hello!" she blurted out—as if it had taken all her courage to speak.
Harry blinked. "Hi! Uh, are you going to Hogwarts too?"
Cyrna brightened. "I am! You wouldn't believe how excited my parents were when I got my letter!" She blushed, shifting uneasily from her excited outburst.
Harry gave her a crooked grin. "Seems like we're both in first year."
"Mhm." After a beat of silence, Cyrna took a deep breath, as if to gather her determination, and thrust her cat over to Harry. "This is Prince, my familiar."
Her cat puffed its tail, flattening its ears when Harry tried to pet it. It hissed and Cyrna had to stop a small snort of amusement because of course they didn't get along. "Sorry. He's not the best around strangers." This time, Cyrna's laugh was genuine. Knowing that timidity was not a personality she could maintain for the entirety of Hogwarts, she took advantage of the moment to slowly open her body language. She quirked a tentative smile and said a bit more confidently, "Have you gotten a pet yet?"
Privately, Harry thought that the cat's hatred was pretty pointed towards him; it hadn't reacted to the shopkeeper, after all. Harry gave another wary look at the cat before shaking his head. "No—what options are there?"
"Toads, Cats, Owls—those are the most common ones, I think," Cyrna gestured vaguely. "Owls are the most popular; it saves you the trip to the owlery and they can deliver letters for you."
"Maybe I'll get an owl," said Harry after some thought.
"I think that's a really smart choice. I'd have gotten one too, but we're only allowed one familiar at Hogwarts... so..."
"Then why did you choose to get a cat?" Harry asked curiously.
"The question is rather—" she paused as if hesitant to joke—"Why did the cat choose me?"
Green eyes rounded from behind too-large glasses. Then Harry chuckled. "Alright, then why did the cat choose you?"
....
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