Chapter 9: The Return
"Vine wood, dragon heartstring, a fine combination." Ollivander smiled and nodded. "It usually chooses wizards who harbor lofty pursuits and great vision."
"That'll be two wands, fourteen Galleons."
(Note: This is only the cost of the young wizards' first wands. A wand is worth far more than this, and Hogwarts School covers the rest.)
Buying Hermione's wand did not take very long. Ollivander exercised his professional expertise and extremely quickly selected the most suitable wand for her.
Oh no, in Ollivander's words, it was this wand that expressed a strong desire to choose its master.
"Tsk tsk, dragon heartstring core, hms, a hot-tempered little witch." Su Er hugged his wand box as he walked out of the shop door, looking teasingly at Hermione.
Hermione rolled her eyes, her small foot forcefully stepping on the instep of Su Er's foot.
"Ouch." Su Er cried out in pain.
The hot-tempered little witch walked briskly along the street for a while, then hesitantly stopped.
"You..." She wore an expression of wanting to speak yet hesitating. "Your parents..."
"Mmh, that's right, they passed away." Su Er said. "Although I'm very curious about what kind of people they actually were..."
"Mmh..." Hermione fell silent for a moment, carefully raising her head to look at Su Er. "I'm sorry..."
Su Er flashed a brilliant smile at her. "It's alright."
"Look, Angel and Mum and Dad are waiting for us at the entrance."
"Big bro, you guys are really so slow." Angel puffed out her small face and muttered. Her ice cream cone had long since been finished.
"Sorry, sorry." Su Er squatted down and pressed against Angel's little face.
Madam Malkin was a short, plump, smiling witch wearing a set of purple wizard robes. She very warmly welcomed Su Er and the others inside.
"Are you buying uniforms for Hogwarts School, dear?" She asked with a beaming smile. "Oh, there's a little angel here too."
"We have many styles here, you can take a look around after buying the school uniforms."
It seemed this was the place where most Hogwarts students bought their school uniforms. Madam Malkin very skillfully measured Su Er and Hermione for their sizes.
It was still Su Er first, followed by Hermione.
After measuring Hermione's clothes, Madam Malkin whispered something into Hermione's ear. Hermione's face turned red, and she jumped down from the high stool, went over to say something to Mrs. Granger, and Mrs. Granger nodded repeatedly, the corners of her mouth lifting into a hint of a smile.
Then, the three of them entered a small room in the back hall of the clothing store.
While waiting, Su Er did not idle either, holding Angel's hand as he wandered back and forth inside Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. Just as she said, Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions was indeed very large, with many gorgeously styled clothes.
"Brother, a unicorn..." Angel cried out in surprise.
It was a cloak, hung on a mannequin and placed inside a display case, featuring floral trim embroidered with gold thread and a unicorn outline pattern drawn with silver thread.
But this was clearly a garment worn by an adult.
Su Er looked at Angel's pint-sized toddler size. This cloak would probably allow her to use it as a blanket until she was fifteen.
He wondered if Madam Malkin took custom orders here.
The little girl was very sensible. She did not cry out asking to want this garment, instead having Su Er hold her up to touch the unicorn on the cloak.
At this time, Hermione also walked out of the inner room with a red face and Mrs. Granger.
She was holding a small, tightly wrapped package in her hand.
"Once the school robes are completed, they will be sent over by owl. Please leave your home address here, the deposit is one Galleon, and the balance can be handed over to the owl when it delivers the goods."
Madam Malkin smiled and waved goodbye to everyone.
Right next door to the robe shop was a bookstore, named Flourish and Blotts. Through the glass storefront, one could see quite a few young wizards and adults selecting items inside.
Hermione started chanting again, "[Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1], [History of Magic]..."
Because the bookstore was not very large, and the group led by Su Er was too large, they were forced to separate at the entrance, with Mr. and Mrs. Granger and Mr. and Mrs. Ellison, who was holding Angel, waiting outside the shop.
Su Er found an opportunity to sneak back in.
Madam Malkin was somewhat surprised at why Su Er had come back again, but Su Er pointed at the cloak embroidered with unicorns in the storefront and said a few words.
Madam Malkin's face instantly blossomed into a smile.
That cloak cost ten Galleons, a huge sum of money. The custom price was the same, but with smaller fabric, she would make even more.
After the two agreed that this custom small unicorn cloak would be delivered together with the school robes, Su Er sneaked back into Flourish and Blotts.
Mrs. Ellison noticed this scene, looked at the unicorn cloak in Madam Malkin's storefront, and then looked at Angel in her arms who was looking around.
A trace of gratified a smile climbed onto the corners of her mouth.
Hermione had already bought all the textbooks needed for school, including Su Er's share.
Then she began picking and choosing in the bookstore, wishing she could move the entire bookstore back home.
"So, why are you buying this book?" Su Er pointed at the thick tome that was as thick as an upright palm, [Wizarding World Laws and Precautions --- Written by Cornelius Fudge, leading Ministry of Magic member]. The name on the book cover shone with a golden light.
"And, this one book costs five Galleons!" Su Er said, helplessly supporting his forehead.
Hermione's face turned red, but she still argued with a justification, "If we don't buy this book, what will happen if we accidentally break the law?"
"We'll be at Hogwarts for seven years, and with the school rules in place, where would you even go to commit a crime?" Su Er retorted.
After some tug-of-war between the two, Hermione very reluctantly put the law book back in its original place.
Yet she still bought a few extra ones, such as Significant Events in the History of Modern Magic, The Charm of Potions, The Origin of Magic, Travels with Trolls... and so on.
Aren't I the one who'll have to carry these books in the end? Su Er dragged a huge, wrapped bundle of books with a speechless expression, laborously pulling them toward the exit of the Bookstore.
The clerk at Flourish and Blotts smiled as brightly as a blooming chrysanthemum, and he kindly offered a suggestion, "There's an Owl Post not far away; you can entrust them to help deliver these books back for you."
Su Er adopted this advice and dragged the books out of the Bookstore. Mr. Granger and Mr. Ellison stepped forward together to lift the heavy books, which weighed around a few dozen pounds, over to the Owl Post.
Minus thirty Knuts.
"So expensive." Hermione paid reluctantly, "That's enough to buy an ice cream."
"Who told you to buy so many books." Su Er rolled his eyes at her.
"Oh, please, have some mercy. We know nothing about the Wizarding World, and the best way is to learn about it in advance from books." Hermione snapped back, "Did you think everyone is as lazy as you?"
The four adults strolled along behind, watching the boy and girl bicker back and forth.
Mrs. Granger and Mrs. Ellison exchanged a glance, both wearing knowing smiles.
After finishing the purchase of the cauldron, telescope, dragonhide gloves, and brass scales, Hermione flipped through her purse. After deducting the money needed for the school robes, what remained was not much.
It seems I really did buy too many books? Hermione thought.
"We also need an owl," Su Er said, "so we can keep in touch with our families."
"But is our money still enough?" Hermione asked with worry, lowering her head in embarrassment. Because of the books she bought, she had just spent over a dozen Galleons, and that copy of Travels with Trolls alone cost one Galleon and six Silver Sickles.
Su Er leaned in to take a peek at the purse. Perhaps he was too close, because a delicate scent belonging to a young girl drifted past the tip of his nose.
He rubbed his nose uneasily and gave a cough.
"It should still be enough," he said.
Yet they clearly underestimated the price of owls. The most expensive snowy owls actually cost upwards of a hundred Galleons, so they could only settle for the cheapest option: a tawny owl.
It was just going to be used to stay in touch with their families anyway.
During their time at the pet shop, Hermione took a fancy to a ginger cat. In Su Er's view, this cat was truly quite ugly-its eyes, nose, and mouth were actually all on the same plane.
But Hermione simply liked it, stroking it affectionately several times and finding it hard to put down.
The pet shop clerk endlessly recommended this cat to Su Er and his group. This was a supreme opportunity, because ever since this cat arrived at their shop several months ago, nobody had asked after it.
Hermione wanted to buy it, but she had been scared off by the dozen or so Galleons price tag.
A thought stirred in Su Er's heart. Before leaving the pet shop, he asked the clerk for an address; if this cat was still here this Christmas, giving it to Hermione as a Christmas gift seemed like a pretty good choice.
It seemed he would have to find a way to "burglarize" the pocket money of those rich kids in the castle.
Following that, the group bought a large pile of snacks, spending their remaining loose change down to the very last coin. This made Angel so happy she was beside herself, completely forgetting what her brother had said about being able to buy a Unicorn here.
The sky was nearing dusk, and they embarked on the journey back.
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