FicWad

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Wednesday, July 25,1991

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"Um, sir?" Kaze asked a bit breathlessly, breaking into a jog momentarily to keep up with his elder's longer strides. "Do you know how much farther it is?"

Taka blinked, looking up from the watch-like device on his wrist for the first time in nearly five minutes. "That depends," he answered, glancing back down. "If the locus I'm tracking only contains a small amount of magic, we're practically on top of it. But if there's a lot of power... then we could be in for a walk."

The boy nodded silently, dropping back to follow behind his mentor. Truthfully, Kaze wouldn't mind if it were the latter option. It wasn't often that he got to leave the Citadel, to walk freely through the world he would someday protect, and he was enjoying the rare privilege.

The day itself couldn't be better. The skies were clear and blue, in itself a rarity for London. It was still early enough that the streets they traveled through were uncrowded, and Kaze delighted in the chance to look around without attracting attention. Presumably, Zephyr felt the same, but he'd taken off to explore as soon as they 'Ported into an empty alley.

Even if he wasn't delighting in the clothes they had to wear to fit in. The jeans itched, and the T-shirt left him feeling naked, compared to the tunic he normally wore. Not to mention he wasn't sure if he could get to the miniature lute in his pocket in a hurry if he had to.

Ahead, Taka slowed slightly, coming alongside his apprentice. "Did you know there used to be a magical village here?"

Kaze frowned. "/Here/? But I thought you said the wizards tried to stay hidden?"

Shrugging, Taka glanced upwards at his familiar, who soared high above them, keeping a keen eye out for trouble. "Well, it was a long time ago. Seven or eight centuries, at least. Back then, London was only a tiny, backward village itself."

"So, what happened to it?" Kaze asked, curious.

"St. Diogennes? I suppose London's grown over it. A pity, really. It was the friendliest place, full of magic..." the mage said, shaking his head sadly. "Ah, well. The past is past, and in time all that are left are memories."

The young boy bit his lip, not sure how to respond to the pensive mood his Master had fallen into. Thankfully, it turned out he wouldn't have to, as Taka glanced down at the tracker and stopped.

"Well," he said, looking around, "according to this we're here. But..."

Kaze blinked, glancing around as well. "I don't see anything."

Taka frowned. "Nor do I. There should be something. A wellspring with that much magic in it does not occur naturally."

"What about the Niagara Falls?"

"You know perfectly well that that's a magical /sinkhole/, not a wellspring."

"Oh." Sighing, Kaze walked over to a bench so he could study their surroundings a bit more comfortably. They'd left behind the neighborhood of warehouses they'd 'Ported to, and wandered into a maze of strip malls and privately-owned businesses. Directly in front of him was a large book shop, apparently popular with the younger generation by the number of teenagers walking through its doors. Next to it, on the other side of a dingy little pub, was a smaller record store that the boy wondered if he might visit later.

With a sudden frown, Kaze examined the pub more closely, suspicion welling up inside him as his eyes tried to slide away from the dirty façade. He stood, walking over to get a better view of the sign hanging in front of the pub: the Leaky Cauldron. "Um, sir," he called, "I think this might be it."

Taka walked up behind him. "Maybe. Wizards do seem rather fond of cauldrons." Sighing, he reached forward and opened the door. "Shall we, then?"

*

First, a quick rinse. Then, a casual swipe with a rag that he really ought to have tossed into the fireplace, another swift rinse, and the glass goes back on the counter to wait for the evening rush...

Tom looked up, blinking as light was abruptly spilled into the dark, musty room. He frowned thoughtfully, watching the two step cautiously inside.

They were quite obviously muggles, or muggleborn. The man was dressed in a simple pair of slacks and a polo shirt, brushing blonde bangs out of his eyes as he looked around with evident curiosity. The boy was looking around as well, one hand buried in the pocket of his jeans.

Tom moved forward, grinning toothlessly at the duo. Muggles were generally made at least uncomfortable by his bald head and gaping smile, when they weren't scared away outright. It wasn't likely they were truly muggles, or at least the boy wasn't, since only those with magic could find their way through the door and Hogwarts letters had gone out the day before, but it was best to be safe.

He'd never forget the trouble that Edward muggle had caused a few months ago. Honestly, the nerve of the American, trying to convince old Thadimus Binns to cross over!

"Can I help you gents?" he called out cheerfully. The two shared a quick glance, and the boy nodded cautiously. He put his free hand into his pocket- not the one holding his other hand, Tom noticed- and pulled out a familiar envelope. "Ah, Hogwarts, then. You'll be wanting to get into the Alley."

"Alley?" the man asked curiously, the first time either of them had spoken.

Tom nodded enthusiastically. "Diagon Alley. The heart of wizarding England. You'll find everything you need for school there, and then some." The bartender watched in puzzlement as the man mouthed "Diagon Alley" in bemusement. He seemed almost... pleased.

With a mental shrug, he turned towards the back of the pub, beckoning the others along behind him. "This way! This first time I'll let you in, but once you get your own wand you'll have to do it yourself."

He led them through a doorway, out into a tiny courtyard and to the far wall. As they watched, confused, he pulled his wand from his pocket and tapped the unlocking sequence. Before them, the bricks shifted, melting away in a bewildering dance that within a few seconds revealed a portal... and what lay beyond it.

Smiling, Tom turned so he could see the strangers' faces. This was the part he loved about introducing muggleborns into their first real taste of the magical world, the awe and wonder of realizing this was /theirs/, now, was, so to speak, enchanting to watch. And sure enough, there were the wide eyes, the excited grin...

Beautiful.

He let them have a few seconds, before he coughed discreetly. Almost instantly, both of their gazes were on him. "Now, there first thing you'll want to do is head on over to Gringotts. That's our bank, so you'll be able to change money into Galleons and such there."

"Galleons?" the boy asked.

Tom nodded. "We use Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts. There's seventeen Sickles to a Galleon, and twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle, so a Galleon's worth four hundred and ninety-three Knuts." He grinned as they both winced. "Don't worry, it's an easy enough system once you get used to it."

Over them, the warning bell rang, announcing that the doorway was about to close. "Well, I'll let you get going, then," the bartender said cheerfully, stepping back. "Have a nice day, you two. If you need any more help, just come ask."

As the portal closed, the boy turned and bowed politely, calling a quiet "thank you, sir" through the gap. Then the wall was solid once again, concealing them from the eyes of an utterly shocked Tom.

When the boy had bowed, the long strands of hair that covered his forehead had fallen away, making Tom's jaw drop as underneath was revealed a lightning-bolt scar.

It was a full minute before he could rouse himself from his stupor, and walk back into the pub and over to the fireplace. A few more seconds passed as he tossed a handful of Floo powder into the flames, and cried out his destination.

"Hogwarts!"

*

"There's so many of them," Kaze murmured, tightening his hold on Taka's sleeve as they wove through the crowded boulevard.

"Yes, but they aren't as powerful as they once were," the mage replied, trying to resist the urge to reanimate the cotton in the robes of a group of hags blocking their way. See if they'd dawdle around in the middle of the street with their clothes trying to crawl off them!

The boy blinked. "They aren't?" he asked. From what he could see of the Alley, they were doing well enough for themselves, but obligingly he began to study the witches and wizards more closely.

Reluctantly, Taka used his apprentice's question to keep his mind away from the slumbering consciousness of the fibers. He shook his head. "These days, wizards draw their magic from two sources: themselves, and their wand cores. The power in the wand cores varies, but only within a certain, rather small range. They're really just used to focus, and sometimes amplify the magic inherent within the wizard."

He sighed in relief as they finally made it past the road-blocking crones. "And there's the problem. The kind of magic found within a witch or wizard is of a very specific kind. There's a finite amount of it, as a sort of check on how many wizards there can be. It's really only meant to be a trigger, a way for them to access other kinds of magic. Which, for the most part, they've forgotten how to use. Now they just use the key magic for little, petty enchantments, and wonder why it goes wrong when by doing so they warp the fabric of the entire affair."

Kaze looked at him thoughtfully. "You don't really like them, do you?"

Taka bit his lip. "It isn't really a case of dislike, as much as... pity. And exasperation. I'm afraid I feel the latter quite often."

The boy chuckled, before looking around. "Um, where are we going?"

"That bartender said Gringotts is still standing. If the goblins are still running the place, then that vault I opened back in the fourteenth century should be available. If not, we'll just exchange some of the gems the Citadel made for their currency."

Nodding silently, Kaze let himself relax slightly as he watched the bustling street. He'd thought there were a lot of people outside in London, but it hadn't even come close. Though, it was probably just the relatively small size of the Alley that gave that impression, since he knew there were far many more Normals than magic-users in his world.

Soon, they reached the end of the street, pausing before a rather large, Romanesque building. The duo walked up the steps and through an enormous set of bronze doors. As they stepped through, Kaze glanced curiously at the two beings- the aforementioned goblins, perhaps- that guarded the doors.

Inside was another set of doors. Above them, a gold-lettered inscription was emblazoned on the wall, and Kaze frowned as he read it.

Enter, stranger, but take heed
Of what awaits the sin of greed,
For those who take, but do not earn
Must pay most dearly in their turn.
So if you seek beneath our floors
A treasure that was never yours,
Thief, you have been warned, beware,
Of finding more than treasure there.

As they came closer to the doors, the young Guardian felt his eyes widen involuntarily as he realized they were made of silver.

Silver, the metal that took to spells and magic most readily, and which the goblins apparently knew judging by how many warding spells were set into the doors' matrix.

"The... the goblins really believe in security, don't they?" Kaze asked, his voice dry, as he belatedly recognized the incantation for what it was.

Taka glanced down at him and smiled. "You mean the invocation above the doors? Ingenious, isn't it? Every time someone reads it, they cast it unintentionally." He shook his head in admiration. "So, yes, the goblins believe in security. They're some of the most dependable people on the planet." The mage considered that for a moment. "Which can be good or bad, depending on whether they like you. If they don't, then there's nowhere you can hide for long."

Nodding in agreement, Kaze couldn't help but feel a little nervous as the silver gate clanged shut behind them.

This wasn't a place he'd want to have to get out of in a hurry.

*

Across the length of Diagon Alley, Headmaster Dumbledore Flooed into the Leaky Cauldron, along with half the staff of Hogwarts.