Diagon Alley

[acciomod]

The excursion to Diagon Alley took place on August 27th. Transport had been arranged via portkey, with groups of seven assigned a portkey every ten minutes from 9AM. They would be greeted by a second Ministry Rep, and given the instruction to wait until all Outsiders had arrived.

As they arrived at the Leaky Cauldron, each Outsider was provided a complementary drink and an item from the breakfast menu, as the two Ministry Reps handed out envelopes to each Outsider. Contained in the envelope, they would find a letter from Hogwarts School, a list of required books and supplies, and a simple map of Diagon Alley highlighting the shops to visit.

"As you're aware," one of the Ministry reps said, addressing them all, "the Assistance Fund is unlikely to cover everything listed were you to buy them brand new, and as such we would strongly advise seeking out second-hand items where you can. For those studying adult courses, Flourish and Blotts is the exclusive provider of the course materials - these are produced at a low cost, specifically to allow the grant to cover them.

"Please keep your letter with you. On visiting the wandmaker, Ollivander, you will need it as proof of identity, otherwise you will be required to pay full price for your wand."

"Once you've all had your breakfast, we'll be moving on to Gringotts, the Wizarding Bank, where you can collect a portion of your grant. From there, you may explore Diagon Alley as you see fit. Please ensure you have all items listed before we leave, as well as any additional items such as stationary and bags."

"Lunch will be served here, at the Leaky Cauldron, at twelve thirty. We will be leaving for the Hogsmeade camp from here at four thirty."

Comments

[nibelungvalesti]

[She is uncertain if this mortal guise requires food to sustain it, or if it is as divine in essence as her full glory is. Nevertheless, she can eat... though so boring is the food that she frankly regrets it.]

[The bank trip she tolerates with mild bemusement, finding the expectation of reliance on human implements a rather droll joke on her. It is only when the group somewhat disperses, and she is allowed her liberty, that she heads directly for the wandmaker's.]

[She suspects this is where this whole charade will come crashing down.]

[former_endboss]

[Ollivander's might not make the best impression. Because when she arrives there, another Outsider has already beaten her in the door, and is apparently trying to sell the old man some of her hair. Wait, what? This isn't a wig shop.]

I know I don't look the part-do you ever read the newspapers? Trust me, I have very magical hair, every bit of me is magic. Try some of it, I insist.

[nibelungvalesti]

...Is this a line?

[She doesn't know it's called a queue where they're at. She also only sounds impatient, brusque, and imperious -- that's her natural tone, more or less.]

[urnotafraid]

So... it's like a gun.

[ Once they had eaten - the food was okay but European and the wine was a little on the bitter side - and gone to the bank, Sho decided that the first thing he needed was to see one of those wands up close. He had seen a couple people wave them about - one of them was waved over his bleeding points of his body in fact - and he was curious. He just wasn't sure if he was suppose to accept things for face value or not.

Though the wand selling person had a pretty neat demonstration prepared. ]

You point one end at what you want and pull the trigger.

[ Of course, he was going to be a brat while making up his mind. ]

[goldbefriendedblade]

I don't think it's just that...

[The quiet little blonde girl had wandered over to the wand shop as well, at least while her friends were still within eyesight of it, and was looking over these...]

They seem like Storage Devices, but made of wood. And kind of small.

[urnotafraid]

Storage devices?

[ He just frowns at the bits of wood, and then shrugs. ]

Eh. Everyone's probably got something they look like to them.

[corruptedsouls]

[So, who thought it was a good idea to send this kid out with money and leave him to his own devices?

To his credit, Tobias had eaten the breakfast like an actual, normal human, without a panic attack to be seen even amongst the rest of the Outsiders. Even the bank trip had seemed to interest him and he had honestly been a perfect child the entire way through.

Things had only really started getting bad when the group had separated without him noticing, leaving him standing alone on the road in the middle of the alley.

Um.]

...Uh-oh...

[destined_to_go]

[Or not completely alone. Akira hadn't moved yet, just looked around at the shops and the people passing by. He processed each new piece of information fairly quickly now. There would, after all, be a lot more information to find out once they started at the school, but he still found everything pretty strange. He believed it because he now saw it with his own eyes, but... some part of him longed for the normalcy and life he had back in Japan.

It was only after he took in the surrounding shops and started to decide which one he would go to first that he noticed another person standing not too far off. He'd glanced at him earlier, when he was taking in the people passing by, but the fact that he was still there...

He could be waiting for someone, lost, or overwhelmed. He didn't look young enough to be starting the school year from a place around here, so he could be an 'outsider' as others have come to call them.]

Are you new here too?

[corruptedsouls]

[Gwah! Akira's voice nearly causes a heart attack in the jumpy boy and Tobias physically falls over, hitting the ground with a whump. It takes him a moment to realize that the green-haired male isn't a fangy terrifying monsters, and when this registers he stands slowly and painfully, like it's an immense effort.]

...Yes...

[a_real_soul]

[Chachamaru had gone straight to the wand-maker, curious to see what kind of material was being used to construct them. To her disappointment, they were similar in nature but unlike the actual wands of her own world. There were no stars or moons or planets dotting the top of a training wand, and they were certainly not fancy.]

I was expecting something fancier.

[windseye]

I was too.

[To be honest, Vaati had never used a wand before, but he'd heard of other magic users back in Hyrule who'd preferred them over staffs or their bare hands. But in any case, wands were supposed to look magical, not at all like these boring sticks of wood...]

How am I supposed to learn more magic with one of these?

[a_real_soul]

It seems like they prefer function over form. However it is not one I am used to.

[She looked over at Vaati and nodded politely.] You are part of the Outsiders I take it from your disbelief in design?

[chibi_tanuki]

[Hayate had broken off to the menagerie, pushing her wheelchair towards the place. Damnit Diagon Alley, why can't you be more wheelchair accessible? It wasn't like she needed it all the time, but staying on her feet for more than an hour exhausted her still.

Squishie mage indeed.]

[no1troll]

[The first thing Tavros did in Diagon Ally was buy a robe with a high collar and a wide-brimmed hat (with special holes cut in it for his horns to poke up through). He felt a lot less out of place now that no one was staring at him.

He had his nose pressed as close to the window of Magical Menagerie as his hat allowed when she arrived. He didn't notice her until she was quite close.]

Oh! Uh...

[He raised his hat slightly to get a proper look at her and her chair, and she might have caught a glimpse of orange eyes before he let it fall again.]

You're one of the Outsiders, aren't you?

[pinkbefriendingbeam]

*Nanoha really shouldn't have been surprised at all the stuff that was in Diagon Alley. But sure enough, she was surprised. It looked like there were shops for everything.

She knew that she was going to have to get some of the items second-hand, but that didn't really bother her all that much at all. As long as whatever it was that she got worked like it was supposed to, that was really all that mattered, right?

Either way, Nanoha could be see all-over Diagon Alley. Maybe you watched her almost blow up a wall in Ollivander's? Or see her standing outside Quality Quidditch Supplies, looking on at amazement at the brooms and the fact that people were supposed to fly on them?

Or she could be at Flourish and Blotts, staring at the books that were acting more like wild animals than any books she had seen before. Or elsewhere. Nanoha had an entire shopping center to see, after all.*

[goldbefriendedblade]

[Anyone not expecting Fate to stay close by her friends had obviously not observed Fate in an unfamiliar place before. At the moment, she's leaning in with Nanoha to take a close look at the brooms.]

So I guess these are so anyone can fly?

[former_endboss]

*Flourish and Blotts, fine purveyor of books and writing materials. The later is one of these things that most people don't need in quite the quantity that Mir has bought, but the diaries she has picked up ought to be perfect for her hobbies. Now there is only one obstacle left-the Monster Book of Monsters. She recognized one of the kids staring at it-hadn't she been eating toast and jam this morning?*

That's quite the sight, isn't it? I mean, wow. Talk about in advisably applied magic.

[windseye]

[Vaati spied one of the younger Outsiders standing in front of the 'Quidditch' store, gazing avidly inside. He made a beeline towards the shop too, stopping short when he saw what the girl was staring at. No wonder she looked so amazed.]

I really want one.

[He didn't usually like to strike up a conversation, but his excitement at seeing a broom that could actually fly overcame his normal tendency to lurk around by himself.]

[windseye]

[Vaati hadn't really felt all that hungry, so he'd only picked at his breakfast, more eager to get going and explore this 'Diagon Alley.' He didn't know what he was more excited for- getting his wand, or getting lost in the fabled bookshop. The choices, in fact, were endless.

Eventually, after actually getting lost a few times, he wandered over to the wandmaker's. The place was....creepy, to say the least. Very creepy.]

[corruptedsouls]

[Does it help that THERE'S SUDDENLY A TIGHT GRIP ON YOUR CLOAK?]

[no1troll]

[Tavros, freshly clad in concealing robes and a wide hat (with his horns poking conspicuously through carefully cut holes in the brim), was feeling a lot less out of place than he did when he was being constantly stared at. As long as he didn't attract attention, he hoped no one would notice he wasn't just another human being.

Although he explores as much of Diagon Alley as he can, he spends most of his time gazing longingly at the wares of Magical Menagerie, Eeylops Owl Emporium, and Quality Quidditch Supplies. He's devastated to discover that even 2nd Hand Brooms doesn't have anything in his price range.

It's probably a good thing that no one can see his face, since he's sulking pretty heavily. Of course, the robe does nothing to conceal his body language.]

[pinkbefriendingbeam]

*Nanoha's also outside Quality Quidditch Supplies, frowning at the costs of the brooms.*

Wow. These... really cost a lot of money.

*Not that she would've been allowed to have one anyway, but flying! Nanoha blinked, looking over at the boy next to her, who was really sulky looking.*

I wonder how much work has to go into these for them to cost this much...

[unerasable]

[Hovering just inside the door of the Magical Menagerie is a boy in a red coat. For whatever reason, in this cramped little shop packed to bursting with exotic magical creatures, he only seems to have eyes for one small cage sitting near the entrance. The fact that it's full of kittens might have something to do with it.

He knows he should pull himself away - he hasn't bought a single textbook yet, he doubts this grant will stretch far enough to cover a pet, and he's squarely in the way of anyone who wants to get in or out of the menagerie. But those cats look like they're calling out to him...]

[chibi_tanuki]

[Hayate's there just within the entrance of the store. Several people were giving her a wide berth because of her status in the wheelchair, but she's playing with one of the kittens with the cage. She's giggling as a yellow tabby is playing with her finger.]

Cuuuute.

[windseye]

[Vaati, who was standing a little further back in the shop, eyed the cats a lot more warily. He definitely hadn't liked them as a Minish, and even now he went out of his way to avoid them. They didn't seem to particulary enjoy his company either.

But the boy in the red coat seemed to be fascinated by the kittens near the door, at least. He couldn't understand why.]

I don't know why you'd bother with cats when you have everything else to choose from.

[He made a vague gesture around the shop- he himself was next to a cage of fire crabs, which kept spitting flames at each other.]