Chapter 1 has been revised to sound a little better.  I’ve noticed that a lot of people just read my first chapter before quitting the story.  Yeah, I know my writing is bad, and I apologize for that.  Chapters 2-5 have also been polished some more.  Not too many changes.  Some random stuff has been added in. 

Also, please let me know if I’m going into too much detail on things in this chapter.  I wrote this a little while back and I reread it, and it feels like I should cut down on some text.  This chapter will definitely be rewritten because it just feels poor.  Probably some stuff will be moved to chapter 7.

To that guest who left me the following review:  “If his mom is a greek goddess and his dad is british why the hell is his name indian”

Please learn about a country before you sound ignorant.  British is a nationality, not a race.  England has a huge Indian population, more than 1.4 Million people.

Thank you everyone for reading!

Chapter 6

               “Now, some final things that we need to go over.  Let me summon your sister over first.  She is carrying some of the things I was planning on giving you.  I wasn’t originally going to do the talk myself, but I couldn’t help it when I heard you call me mom.”

               I felt kind of warm when I heard that.

               Hecate snapped her fingers and Josephine reappeared.

               “Ah, you guys are done with your talk then?” Josephine smiled.  She was someone who could make the room happier just with her sheer existence.  I wonder if she is using magic on me.  “How’d the talk go then?”

               “Pretty good.  Mom just needs some stuff from you before we continue.  She also wants you to be involved in the conversation somewhat.”

               “Oh, so you decided to be a wizard then?  How interesting!  I’m very happy for you!”  Oh, she just hugged me.  Wow, yes, you are happy.

               “Thanks.”  I’m not sure about whether I like the fact that Josephine knows everything about me.

               “Moving along, Josephine, give me the letters.”  Josephine handed Hecate two different letters.

               “You won’t be needing this one.” She took the letter that had Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry printed on the top, and magically burned it to a crisp.  “You made your choice.  No going back now.”

               I couldn’t help but wonder what kinds of adventures I would have gone on if I went to school in America.  I know I might always have that question in the back of my mind, but there’s nothing I can do about it.  Some things are just too important.

               She handed me the yellowish envelope, and I saw my name written on the top with beautiful emerald green calligraphy.  I opened it and pulled out the letter.  It read:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorcerer, Chief Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confederation of Wizards)

Dear Mr. Khanna,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall,

Deputy Headmistress

“They await my owl?  What?  Wait, isn’t July 31st tomorrow?”  I think we are cutting it a bit close there.

“Wizards send mail with owls.  It’s similar to how people could send messages with pigeons, but the owls are smarter and magical.  They are usually able to deliver mail to any address once you give them the package.  Not internationally, of course, but that is still extremely impressive nonetheless.” 

A piece of paper appeared in front of Hecate and she handed me a pen.  She told me what to write down and told me to print and sign my letter.  Then she placed it into an envelope, snapped her fingers, and the letter was gone.

               “There, it’s been sent to a Wizarding post office who will mail it to McGonagall on our behalf and be on her desk later today.”  Wow, mom is efficient.  “Now, what were you saying about deadlines?”  Hecate arched a brow at me.  Wow, mom also holds grudges.  Like mother, like son, I suppose.

               “Yeah, yeah alright.  You’re the man—woman—goddess, whatever.  That’s one problem down.  What about this list?  Where do I get all of this stuff?”

               “There’s a place in London where magical people go shopping.  I would take you to the place in the States, but they won’t have the right uniforms or books in stock.  I don’t have time for multiple trips.  Also, I can only take you up to a certain point, and you will have to handle the rest.  The magic there repels me.”  Hecate was disappointed and I understood.  I want to explore magical things too.  “On the other hand, it also repels monsters, so the wizarding world is actually safer for you.”

               Nice!  No monsters for a little while!  That is always a plus in my books.

               Hecate looked at her watch.  “Sorry, but I don’t have much more time.  I have to return to work.  I can already feel the border between life and death becoming restless.  We are going to have to have to leave for London now, so go back to the camp and get all of your stuff.  Say your goodbyes to everyone, and let them know that you’ll be coming back next summer. I will let Dionysus know that you won’t be here until next summer.” 

               What?  We have to leave right now?  I wasn’t prepared for this!  I said goodbye to Josephine really quickly, and ran towards the camp.  I knew she wouldn’t mind because she had been getting ready to leave as mom and I were talking. 

               I stopped off at the cabin and gathered all of my stuff really quick.  Thankfully, I didn’t have much.  As I was heading out, I ran into Luke. 

               Luke looked surprised. “Why are you taking all of your stuff?  Where are you going?”

               “Hey Luke, turns out my mom is sending me to school on the other side of the world to learn magic.”  I decided I was going to surprise everyone next summer with my wizarding abilities. 

He looked concerned.  “You met your mom?  How did that turn out?”

“It definitely could have gone worse.  All things considered, it went really well.  Turns out, my mom has been protecting me all this time.” 

“She was?”  Luke was truly shocked this time. 

“Yeah, I was surprised too.  I did not see that happening.”  I understand how he feels.  I’ve been here for like a week, and I already feel like the gods are super unreliable.

“At least one of the gods stepped up for a change.”  I heard Luke mutter that to himself.  “It is because she’s originally a titan?  Are they really more trustworthy?”

“Um, Luke, are you alright?  What are you talking about?”  I was getting a bit concerned about his behavior and the things he just said.  Titans?  Where did titans come from?

“Forget it Krishna, it’s nothing important.  Are you sure you want to do this?  You just got to the camp, and I don’t feel like you are ready to leave.  You only lasted 2 minutes a few weeks ago, Krishna, do you remember?”

I shrugged again.  I had unsurprisingly been losing a decent amount of weight since I’ve been here.  Regardless of what Luke was saying, I was getting better.  “Hecate said that it’ll be relatively safe for me.  If I can’t believe her, who can I believe?”

I meant it as a rhetorical question, but Luke surprising answered me.  “No one, especially not the Gods.  Krishna, the things we have to worry about are different from what the gods have to worry about.  Even if they are trying to help, they tend to overlook things that can easily get us killed.  If we survive, they call it a “learning experience”.  If we die, they call us “stupid” or “weak”, and then forget about us.”

I was stunned.  Was it really like that?  I don’t feel like my mom is like that with any of her children, but I’m not so sure about how other gods would treat me.

               “Why?  Aren’t we all family?”

               Luke sighed.  “Maybe your godly parent might care for you a little bit, but any god that isn’t your parent won’t hesitate to throw you under a bus.  So it’s best to be careful.” 

“Great…so are you saying that it might not be any safer in here than out there?”

               “No, it’s definitely safer in here” Luke confirmed. “But only if you don’t do anything stupid and follow the rules.  Otherwise, then you are facing the gods instead of monsters.”

               That’s just peachy.  “What do you think I should do?”  If the other Gods would go after me, I definitely prefer to go to Hogwarts than stay here.  Monster and god free?  That’s so worth it!

“Stay at camp,” Luke suggested promptly.

“Can’t.  It’s a magic school for mortals, for a rare kind of magic I wouldn’t normally be able to learn otherwise.  My mom says I have to go to this school if I ever want to find my dad.  I can’t give that up.”

Luke looked into my eyes and saw something.  Maybe he saw determination, or maybe he saw desperation.  I don’t know, but I saw him struggle with something in his mind before he nodded in acceptance.

“Okay.  I get it.  I’d give anything to talk to my mom too.  Damn, I hate feeling like I’m sending you to your doom.  Here, take this knife.  It’s made of celestial bronze, so it might be able to save you in a pinch.  Just remember that it can’t do anything against mortals!”

He handed me a knife, and a strap.  It was simple, but beautiful, and most importantly, sturdy.

“I went to the Hephaestus Cabin and asked them to help me make it.  I want you to keep it on you at all times, under your clothes, strapped to your back, so that you have a final layer of protection.  Magic may be awesome, but a hidden knife can save your life.”

I was touched.  I couldn’t believe that he gave me something he made and cherished to me so easily.  “Thanks a lot Luke.  I really appreciate it.”

“No problem.  Demigods stick together.  Remember, everyone at camp has your back.  Try to keep in contact if you can.”

“I’ll try!  Tell everyone else in cabin that I’ll see them next summer. See you around Luke!” He waved goodbye as I rushed back to my mom.

“Ready to go?  You won’t be able to come back until next summer.”

“Yes ma’am.  I got everything I need.  It’s not much, but I manage.”  I never had a lot of belongings.  It’s too hard to move them from place to place.

She looked at my stuff, and just snorted.  Clearly she wasn’t impressed.  Probably because it was just normal mortal things. 

She took my hand, and smiled.  “Don’t worry, we’ll be there in a blink.”

Then, one second we were in camp, and the next we were in a sketchy alley.  We definitely weren’t in camp anymore.  We were in the city.

“Look across the street over there.  Do you see that place?  It’s called the Leaky Cauldron.”  She pointed to an old broken-down old shop that appeared to be a pub.  People passed by it without even noticing it was there.

Hecate saw the look on my face and explained.  “Don’t judge a book by its cover.  It only looks bad on the outside, but it’s nicer on the inside.  It’s disguised both in a magical and non-magical way.  It’s magically warded against normal people from noticing it.  Should that somehow fail, its shabby looking appearance makes sure no one wants to go in either.”

I nodded with understanding.  “Let’s go in.”

Hecate shook her head.  “I’m sorry, Krishna, this is as far as I go.  You’re going to have to do the rest on your own.”

My eyes must have popped out of my face.  “What?”

“Remember, wizard magic won’t allow me to get close, otherwise I would have directly transported us to in front of the shops.”

Oh yeah, that’s right.  Damn.  It just hit me that I’m in a foreign country, without any sort of identification, and the only person I know is about to leave me.  Or I’m about to leave her. 

“Don’t be nervous,” Hecate soothed me.  “Everything is going to be fine.  I wouldn’t make you go if I didn’t think it would be fine.  When you go in, tell them that you received your Hogwarts letter, and you need help getting into the alley.  Someone will let you in.  Also, school doesn’t start for a month, so you also need to ask for a room at the Leaky Cauldron until you have to go to school.  The owner is kind, so he will help you out.”

“How do I pay for everything?  I don’t have any money.”

“I was about to get to that.  I have some things I want to give you.”  Hecate pulled out some papers and cards.  “The first thing I was to give you is some identification.  I already sent a document to the British Ministry of Magic, and had you registered as a student at Hogwarts that is going to be studying abroad for your education.  I already handled all the costs for your schooling until you finish, so you don’t have to worry about that.  I’m just giving you a copy of everything in case it is required, since you technically aren’t a British Citizen yet.”

“What is the Ministry of Magic?”

“It’s the wizarding government.  They make laws that the rest of the wizards have to follow and enforce them.  Most territories have them.”

I relaxed a little.  At least I wouldn’t be treated as some sort of strange American spy if I had all the legal paper work done.  Yes, that has happened to me before.  Don’t ask.  Just know that sometimes, paperwork gets “lost” (AKA they forgot to do it), and then chaotic things can occur.

Next, Hecate pulled out a pouch.  “The second thing is a magical pouch filled with money.  It has 40,000 galleons in it.”

“Galleons?  What’s that?” 

“Galleons are one of three magical currency that Wizards use.  Galleons are the gold coins, Sickles are the silver coins, and Knuts are the bronze coins.  They don’t use paper money or credit cards.  29 Knuts make up one Sickle, and there are 17 Sickles in a Galleon.”

“That’s really annoying.  Why would they do that?  It’s like they are trying to be difficult.  Why can’t they just use pounds like everyone else in London?”

“Don’t judge dear.  You don’t know anything about wizards yet.  There is a law called the International Statute of Secrecy, which basically separates magical and mundane worlds completely.  It’s the responsibility of each nation’s Ministry of Magic to keep the magical community hidden, whether it is controlling magical beasts, stopping underage or unlicensed use of magic, or hiding large wizarding events.”

“Wizards have governments and laws?”  That idea seemed so foreign to me for some odd reason.

“Yes dear, they aren’t savages.”  Hecate rolled her eyes at me.  “Even Olympus has laws that everyone is supposed to follow.”  I suppose that’s true.  “One of the things they did to keep the wizarding and non-magical worlds completely separate, was to create their own currency.  That way, magical people can’t influence the regular world markets and expose themselves.” 

I just nodded. Hecate seemed to have noticed that I didn’t really understand.

“Have you ever watched any cop shows on television?  To make it a little simpler, there isn’t a money trail that can lead to wizards because of this.”

Okay, I understood that a lot better.

“Of course, there is the exchange, where you can trade galleons for other currencies, but that rarely happens, as that costs a significant amount of money too.  If I were you, I would never use that place, unless I had no choice.”

I indicated that I understood.  I doubted I’d ever use that place.  If I got caught using money in the regular world, I’m not sure how I would explain where I got it.  I can’t say my legally non-existent mother gave me a bunch of money to spend.  It would definitely be suspicious.  Actually, it’s more suspicious that my mom has any wizarding money to begin with.

“Mom?  Where did you get all that money?”  I wonder if she robbed people.

“Wizards sometimes accidently drop some coins here or there over their history when they leave magical areas across the world.  I pick them up at these places.  A lot of it was also picked up from sunken wizard ships.  It was just a hobby, but it surprisingly came in use today.”  I feel kind of bad for those people who lost their money, but on the other hand, now I have money to spend, so I don’t really feel that bad about it. 

“Originally, I was only going to give you 20,000 galleons, but your birthday is coming up in a few days.  Consider the fortune I’m going to give you the birthday present for the rest of your life.  It’s only money anyways, and even though I can use it, there isn’t anything that I really want.  Even their books are useless because I can’t do magic the way they do and I can easily do everything they can.

I want you to go on a shopping spree and get all the things you both need and want.  You are going to need a new wardrobe too.  You can’t wear camp clothes to this school anyways.  I am giving you more than enough money to keep you through your seven years at Hogwarts and beyond.  Have some fun.  Of course, that’s no reason to spend like an idiot either.  After all, I’m giving you a fortune, and you’ll have to work hard in the future to keep it going.”

“Okay.”  I agreed readily.  I wasn’t really going to waste money anyways.

“You have a month here.  Make sure you open up an account at the bank once you’re done shopping and deposit the leftover money.  If you can, have them invest some of it for you, so that you can earn some money.  Oh, I almost forgot to also mention that the first thing you should buy is a trunk.  There’s a shop in Carkitt Market that sells them.  Get a really good one.  It’ll save you some time when you go shopping, so you don’t have to carry your purchases along with you everywhere, or keep having to drop off stuff to your room.  Trust me when I say things get heavy fast.  Plus, it will be worth it in other ways as well.  You’ll see and you’re going to thank me for it.”

I’m not sure what all the hype is about a suitcase, but sure, okay, why not. 

“I also took the liberty of placing ten drachmas into that bag as well.  Give the camp a call if you can.  You won’t be able to do it inside of the school, but outside, if you ever have some time where you are alone, give them a call if you want.”

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“Drachmas?”  Another new thing.  Today is exhausting.

“Drachmas are the currency that we use back home among ourselves back in Olympus.  You can use it to buy things from the gods.  You’ll have to figure out a way to earn some when you get back home.  You can call the camp by throwing one of these coins into some mist or a rainbow, and ask Iris politely to connect you to the camp.  It’s like video calling, and it only lasts 10 minutes per drachma.”

“That’s…different.” 

“You don’t have any other options.  You can’t use a cell phone or the internet.” 

“I hope wizards don’t use cell phones or the internet or I’m toast.”

“No, fortunately for you, they do not.  Too big of a risk for hacking.  Can’t risk the International Statute of Secrecy over some online shopping.” Hecate smiled at me.  Sweet!  One less thing to worry about!

Hecate pulled a third bundle.  She held this one far more carefully and tenderly. 

“This last package is the most important.  Something I prepared, just in case.” 

She opened the bundle and showed me what was inside.  There was a long thick tree branch about two feet long, and some string.

“A stick and some string …wow…that’s so amazing…”  I didn’t see what was so special, so I just stared at her.

“It is amazing.  You just don’t know what you are looking at,” she said dryly.  “That tree branch came from a Greek Golden Pine that is taken care of by an Orieades dryad.  There aren’t that many of them like that.  Only the best trees that are related to your heritage would work for this.  I had to convince a bowtruckle to help me find the best kind of branch.  There are literally only a few branches in the whole world that have been approved by both and dryad and a bowtruckle.  Out of those, this was the one that I approved of for you.”

“That’s pretty cool, but what is the branch for?”

“It’s for your wand of course!  Why else would I need a bowtruckle?  Those little creatures are the best at figuring out what branches can be used for wands.  I probably could have figured it out myself, but if you can get professional help, and have it done better and faster, why bother?  Anyways, wizard magic isn’t my expertise, so I got help to find what you might need.  I’m glad I did too.  I definitely wouldn’t have found one as good for you alone.”

“My wand?”

“Yes, I don’t know if you’re going to be compatible with normal wands, so I giving you the parts, just in case.  If you don’t have to use them, that’s even better.  The less you stand out, the better.  The wood is good, and shouldn’t raise any eyebrows.  The core, on the other hand…”

“What’s wrong with the core?”  I took a look at the core my mom prepared for me.  It was just some string.  I took a closer look at it and I was surprised.  It was four interwoven metal strings that seemed to be fused to each other.  The glowed different colors:  bronze, golden, dark purple, and bright sliver.

“The core is this fused divine metal string I made just for you.  You should be able to recognize celestial bronze as one of the metals.  The other metals are far less common to see, but just as important.  There is also Imperial Gold, Stygian Iron, and Elysian Silver.  Imperial gold is similar to celestial bronze, except that it’s less stable.  Stygian Iron is extremely rare, and is found only in the underworld.  It’s special because it’s a metal that works on both mortals and the divine.”

“What?”  I was surprised.  I didn’t think there were any weapons that worked on both.  “Why don’t they give us weapons made with that iron instead?”

“Because there isn’t any reason for demigods to go around killing mortal like some crazy mass murderers.”  Hecate just rolled her eyes at me.  “Also, it’s hard to forge and the underworld has the monopoly.  Lucky for you, your mom works in the underworld and has access to some.  Otherwise you’d have a wand that doesn’t work on mortals, and that would be way too strange, even for the magical world.”

“Yeah, that would stand out.  I wonder what would happen…”  I mused.

“Nothing good I bet.  Lastly, and most importantly, Elysian Silver is the only divinely magical metal.  It’s so rare, there’s barely any in existence.”

“Barely any exists?  Where does it come from?”

“Elysian Silver is mined from the Elysian Fields.  It’s basically like where good people go when they die.   In the Elysian Fields, there’s an island known as the Isle of the Blest.  Those are where people who have lived heroic live, three times in a row.  Very few people live there because that is really hard to do.  The isle slowly generates bits of it over time.  I think all the Elysian silver in existence is maybe quadruple the size of your fist.”

“Wow!  Seriously?”

“Yes.  Fortunately for you, Elysian Silver isn’t ever used because of its weak nature, so I was able to get some.  To be precise, while it’s good at storing and conducting magic, it’s too fragile to be used for anything important.  As a result, it is an inferior metal overall.  Hephaestus finds it to be fascinating, but he doesn’t use it at all because he finds it to be too delicate and there isn’t even enough for one creation.”

“If it’s so weak, why did you make it into a part of the core?”  It feels like that silver is dragging down all of the good stuff.

“I added it because it is magical, of course.  The other metals are “divine”, but not “magical”.  Technically speaking, they are different.  All of the metals that make up the core are necessary and do something special.  The Elysian Silver is the magical part of the core.  The Stygian Iron is necessary so that your wand works on everyone like non-magical people, wizards, monsters, and even Gods.  The Imperial gold adds some raw power to the mix.  Finally, the celestial bronze stabilizes everything.  They all have other things that they do, but not as important as these functions.  I weaved them together to make a greater whole.  Your core is pretty amazing.”

“Wow!  I bet I’ll hae the strongest wand ever!”

“No Krishna, never make that mistake.  Magic comes from the wizard.  The wand is just a medium to make it easier.  If I have to guess, your wand will be about the same as everything else.  Just because the metals are rare, doesn’t mean it’s more powerful.  These parts are just extremely suitable for you.  Of course, other demigod wizards with different godly parents are still able to match with normal wand cores, so it is more than likely you will also match with one of their wands.  I just wanted to make some preparations.  At best, I can take them back if you don’t need them, and at worst, even those won’t be useful for making your wand.”

I felt really warm on the inside.  My mom took the time to do all of this just for me.  She put in so much effort in making sure that I would be ok when I go to school.  If I thought that she didn’t love me before, that thought was completely gone now.  I know she explained all of this to me because she wants me to know how she feels about me.  My mom loves me.  I guess Luke was right.  Having a parent that accepts you makes a huge difference.  I really hope the others can feel this too.

“Thanks, mom.  Thanks for everything.  For all of this.  Thanks for giving me the choice to be a wizard.  Thanks for letting me go to this school to see my dad one day.  Thanks for setting everything up here for me.  I swear, I’ll make you proud.”

“I know you will dear.”

We stood in together in a peaceful and happy silence for a moment.  Then it was broken.

Hecate heaved a sigh.  “It’s time for me to go now Krishna.”

“Will I see you again anytime soon?”  I was dreading this moment.  I had heard about how the gods rarely see their children.

“I don’t know Krishna.  Maintaining both the mist and the boundary between life and death are basically two full time jobs for gods.  I might not see you for decades, forget years.  I wish I received help from Olympus, but they are indifferent to the people they rule over.  That’s why I set you up for the next 7 years of your life in the wizarding world.  I gave you a fortune in wizarding money, just in case I wouldn’t see you again for a long time.  I don’t know if I will be able to meet you anytime soon in the future.”

I just looked down at my feet.

“Write me a letter if you ever feel like you want to talk to me.  Just draw one of my circles on the envelope and send it by owl.  The letter will find me.  Also, I…I’ll try to pick you up when school ends, but I can’t make any promises.  Just know that if I can’t make it, someone will definitely come to pick you up and take you back to camp.”

“Okay!  Sounds good!”  I smiled.  Hope is better than no hope at all.  Even if she can’t pick me up, I’ll know that she tried. 

“Goodbye Krishna!  Try to stay out of trouble!” 

“Bye mom!”  Hecate waved to me, and disappeared in a blink of an eye.  “I’ll miss you…”

I was alone again.  I took a deep breath and then left the alley.  I crossed the street to head towards the Leaky Cauldron.  It was nested between a normal bookshop and a record store.  I quickly, and somewhat “covertly”, walked up to the door.  In retrospect, I was probably pulling attention to myself, but I was nervous. 

I went inside and closed the door behind me.  Inside the pub, it was dark and shabby, with a bar and a number of tables in the shadows of the corners.  The place had people dressed in strange and colorful robes and old fashioned hats.  I saw an old looking bald man with a little bit of a hunchback standing behind a bar chatting with a few people.  I summoned up my courage to talk to the Quasimodo look-alike and went on over. 

“Hello sir, my name is Krishna, and I just received my Hogwarts letter.  I was wondering who I would have to ask to book a room here for the month.”

“An American?  That’s strange.  Can’t say I’ve heard of an American ever attending Hogwarts.  Where are your parents?”

“I’ve never had parents.  Father was some English wizard who left us a long time back, and my mother, well, she had a lot of issues so she wasn’t able to raise me.  I came here alone.”  I recited the back story my mom gave me.  It was best to establish that right away.  I didn’t want people asking to see my mom for a parent-teacher conference.  That just wouldn’t happen.  Could you imagine Hecate talking to my teachers about anything?  Yeah right.

Tom frowned when heard that last part.  “I see.  You’re speaking to the right person.  Call me Tom, everyone else does.  So you want a room for a month?”

“Yes sir.  And if you could give me one of the least expensive rooms, I’d be grateful.”  I don’t want to waste any money.

He eyed me closely and then smiled.  “You know what?  I’ll give you one of our smallest rooms.  It’s the cheapest, but it’s comfortable.  I’ll even throw in a Hogwarts discount.”  He must have noticed the state of my clothes.

“That’s okay, I can pay the full price for the room.  I have enough money.”  My mom gave me money and I didn’t want any charity.  God knows Tom will probably find out about how much I’m spending sooner or later.

“Nonsense!”  Tom appraised my determined and confident look.  “I’m sure you do have enough money, but I still want you to consider it to be a welcoming present to England.  No one can ever say that I didn’t know how to treat a guest!  Especially a child from America that came all the way here alone to go to Hogwarts!  Anyways, barely anyone ever rents out this room because it’s so small, so don’t worry about it.  Let me show you to your room!”

The room I was given was really small.  In fact, it only fit in a single sized bed, and there was a small bathroom attached to the room.  There was nothing else.  On the other hand, I didn’t actually need anything else.  It was also more space than I got when I lived in cabin 13, so it wasn’t a big deal.  Anyways, there was far more to do than just sit in the inn this month.  I needed to start gathering different things for school.  I decided I would go get a trunk.  That way I could store all of my stuff in there.  Actually, I’m ok with just tossing all my stuff in the room and dealing with it later, but mom told me to get a trunk first, so that’s what I’m going to do.

So…where do I go to actually buy this stuff?  I figured it would be best if I went down and asked Tom.  People in the service industry always know things like that.

“Hey Tom, where can I go to get all these things for school?”  I showed him my list.

“You need to go to Diagon Alley!  That’s the place to go for all magic goods.”

“How do I get there?”

“Oh!  I forgot you were new to the area!  Follow me!”

Tom led me through the bar and out into a small, walled courtyard, where there was nothing but a trash can and a few weeds.

“Watch me.  It’s three up and two across.”  He tapped the wall three times with the point of his wand.

The brick he had touched wriggled until in the middle, a small hole appeared.  It grew wider and wider until a huge an archway onto a cobbled street appeared.  The road twisted and turned out of sight.  It was amazing.

“Welcome to Diagon Alley.” said Tom cordially.  “Have fun shopping!  You’ll have lots of fun looking at all of the different things, especially since it sounds like you’ve been raised by muggles.”  

I nodded in affirmation.  “I didn’t know that I was a wizard until I got my letter.  From what I was able to dig up from people, my mom was an American witch, and my father was supposedly a wizard from Europe.” 

He looked at me and shrugged.  “Regardless of whether you are pureblood wizard or a Muggleborn doesn’t matter to me.”

“Muggleborn?  What’s that?” 

“Muggle is our word for non-magical folk.  Muggleborn means that you are a wizard who was born from two non-magical parents.  There’s somewhat of a stigma against Muggleborns in high society, but most people just don’t care.”

Great…somehow, that doesn’t sound pleasant.  Is that considered racist?  “Well, I’m glad I don’t have to worry about that.”

“Whatever you say.  Just keep out of trouble and have fun.  Feel free to explore anywhere except for Knockturn Alley.  That place is filled with the sketchy sort of people.  Forget about the worst, the nicest people there are criminals.  Even worse, people are known to go in, and not come back out.  Don’t ever go to that place.  Anyways, come back to the inn whenever you feel like it!”  Tom waved and went back inside.  The archway shrunk instantly back into solid wall.

Note to self, avoid Knockturn Alley like the plague.

When I turned the corner, an amazing sight greeted my eyes.  It was amazing.  There were people everywhere shopping for the strangest things.  The shops, the things outside them, the people doing their shopping, it was all incredible.  I saw a shop selling cauldrons and another selling potion ingredients.  There was a store that apparently exclusively sold broomsticks, but I’m not sure why.  Unless they are like the broomsticks that witches fly on Halloween, I don’t see the point.  I decided to come back later and check everything out in detail.  First, I was going to buy that trunk.

While I looked at all of the shops and people, I finally found a side street leading to Carkitt Market.  There was a blacksmith, clockmaker shop, musical instrument shop, and even a fireworks place here.  I finally found a place that seemed like it might be what I needed.  It was called Stowe & Packers Magical Bags.  I stepped inside, and I was greeted by the attendant right away.

“Welcome to Stowe & Packers Magical Bags for all of your traveling and storage needs.  How may I help you today?”

“Hi, I would like to buy a trunk.”

“What kind of trunk would you like to buy?”

“I don’t know.  I was raised by…Muggles, so I don’t know what is available.  What kind of trunks do you have?”

“Ah I see.  Well, let me do a full explanation then.  Let’s start with the standard four compartment trunk.  These are different from the Muggle trucks you’ve probably experienced before.  Each compartment is fitted with an Undetectable extension charm.  That means that the space inside is greater than it looks.  These basic compartments can all each hold about one room worth of stuff.”

“What about the other trunks?”

“Well you can make it so you can enter the trunks like a mobile home.  It can have far more rooms for storage, or even have specialized rooms.  You can also have it customized to a sturdier, longer lasting wood and leather.  That’s basically the extent of it.”

A trunk that can function as a home?  That’s my kind of trunk.  I wasn’t interested originally, but now, it’s different.  These trunks have a lot of potential.  I want a trunk with a bedroom.  This way, I won’t have to sleep in a cramped place like cabin 13 anymore.  Mom definitely had the right idea.

“I kind of have an idea of what I want.”

“Oh, do you want one of the standard trunks?  There’s a before school sale going on for them right now!  Only 50 galleons!  They’ll last you a lifetime!”

“No, I want a custom trunk.”

He looked at clothes, and for a moment, I saw a hint of pity.  “Are you sure?  I don’t wish to be rude, but I don’t believe that it will be in your price range.” 

I really need to get new clothes fast.  “Let’s just see how much it costs before I decide.  At worst, I won’t be able to buy it.  At the least, I can afford the trunks you have on sale.”

The shopkeeper nodded.  “Alright then.  What do you want in your custom trunk?”

“I want the kind of trunk that can work as a home as well as a trunk.”

“I see.  A trunk like that comes standard with a small bedroom and closet.  It also comes with a small functioning bathroom and kitchen with freezer.”  The shop attendant began to write things down.

“Can I have a large bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen?”  I don’t want it to be too small.

“Of course, But it costs a bit extra.” 

“I figured that was the case.  Make the bathroom and kitchen spacious and fancy.”  If I have the money, I plan on using it to enjoy myself.

“No problem.”

“Can I have more rooms?”

“Indeed you may, young man.  What would you like?”

“Let’s see, I would like a room to hang out in when I just want to relax.”

“Alright, I’ll add large recreation room to the list.  Anything else?”

“Let’s see…I saw that we are going to have a class on Herbology and Potions, so I would like a room to do potions and another one to grow plants.”

“I’ll add a potions room, and a garden to the list.  Understood.  What else?”  The shopkeeper’s expression became a bit strange.

“I plan on buy a lot of magic books and stuff, so maybe a big room for each?”

“You want a library and magical article room?”

“That sounds right.”  I nodded.  “Can you make the library really big?  I plan on getting a lot of books.” 

The shopkeeper smiled.  “Looks like we have a budding Ravenclaw in our midst.”

“Ravenclaw?  What’s that?”

“You don’t know?  Ah, I see.  You are an American.  You will learn all about the different houses when you go to Hogwarts.  Don’t worry about it.  It’ll be better as a surprise.”

“Okay.”  What else was there to say?   If it was something bad, I’m sure he would have told me.

“Anyways, I got it.  Extra-large library.  Anything else?” 

“Hmmm…we are going to be using a lot of magic in school and other places.  Can you make a room that can be used for practice of magic and other kinds of combat?”

“Other kinds of combat?”  He raised an eyebrow at me.

“I plan on learning some combat with things like magical swords or other weapons.  I want the room to be self-repairing if possible.”

His expression seemed to bug out.  “Why in the world would you want to do that?  You’re a wizard!”

I just sighed.  “I know, but it’s a family thing.  Back home, my family makes sure that everyone can defend themselves without a wand if necessary.  I’m a hundred percent sure I won’t be able to get out of it when I return home for the summer.”

He looked at me with understanding.  “That’s strange, but I’ve heard of worse.  Some of the families rooted in the dark arts do twisted things.  Learning muggle combat is harmless in comparison.”

Look buddy, if you want to think that demigod combat is harmless, I am not going to disillusion you.  That, and I’m not actually allowed to tell you about demigods, but still.  “That’s true.”

“You want one large, I assume, self-repairing magical combat room.  Got it.  Anything else?”

I thought for a while about things that I saw in Diagon Alley.  I remembered that people could have all sorts of pets and creatures.  I guess I could always get one too.  “Can I get a room for random animals or pets?”

He looked at me with some hesitation. “What kinds of animals do you plan on getting?”

“I don’t know.  Could be anything.”  I shrugged.

He sighed.  “This sounds like a bad idea, but I’ll add an extra-large nature room.  It looks and sounds like you don’t know whether you are even small or large animals.  Don’t do anything too dangerous.”  His expression continued to change.  I guess he didn’t really believe that I would have many requests.

“Is there anything else?  Maybe a Quidditch stadium while you’re at it?”  He said in a voice that was clearly laced with sarcasm.  Too bad for you, I choose to ignore that.

“What’s Quidditch?”

He looked at me like I had grown a third eye, and then he remembered that I was raised by muggles.  “It’s basically the only sport that wizards play.  I don’t want to explain all of the details to you right now.  I’m sure if you go to one of the broom shops, they can explain it to you in full.  Regardless, I can’t actually make a Quidditch stadium.”

“Oh.  No, I don’t think that I want anything else.”

“Give me a moment.”  He walked behind the counter and grabbed a number of different forms from different piles.

He came back and handed me all of the papers.  “Fill all of these forms out.”

“What are they?”  I hate paperwork after my time at social services.

“Customizations for each of the rooms you mentioned and a bit more.”  It sounds fun yet horrible at the same time.

I went through the sheets.  The first one was about the kinds of wood and leather, and other protections on the case.  I hadn’t thought about that yet, so I looked over the choices.  There was an option for a magical thousand year ironwood tree that was nearly indestructible by normal means.  I also choose the Swedish Short-Snout dragon hide and scales as the protective covering.  Apparently, all dragon hide works about the same to repel magic, so I chose the one I liked.  The Silvery blue color was nice.

There were a number of other choices I had to make and I went through the entire list.  I asked the attendant a lot of questions throughout the entire thing, and he was very knowledgeable about everything.  I gave a description of each of the things I wanted, so they could find appropriate matches and tally up a total.  Selected the best of everything, because I wanted to see what the price would turn out to be. 

The attendant tallied up the total on all of the forms.  “With tax, your total comes out to be ten thousand galleons…I think you need to rethink a lot of your choices.  Maybe you should take out the rooms like nature room or the magic article room.  Also, if you remove a lot of those premium options, the price should drop substantially.”

Damn.  10,000 galleons is a lot of money.  I can technically afford it, but that’s just stupid to spend a fourth of all my money here on a single purchase.  Even though this trunk can act as a home, it doesn’t mean that it will actually replace a home, so I should tone it down a little.  Maybe I should follow some of his advice.

The attendant saw me wavering.  “You know, you can always modify the trunk when you get older and learn more magic.  You don’t need to get everything right now.”

“I can?”

“Of course.  You’ll already own the trunk at the time, so it won’t matter.  Although the Ministry of Magic regulates these trunks, once you have one, whether it has one extendable room or a hundred extendable rooms, it doesn’t make a difference.  Once it’s discovered by muggles, it’ll break the statute of secrecy.”

It was strange that the attendant was actually trying to convince me to get something cheaper, but I guess he was just nice.  Knowing I could modify it later is what really got me moving.  I think I’ll just take off the nature room and see how much the price drops by.  Regardless, even if I get a bunch of pets, I won’t have the money to feed them all forever. 

I took it off the list and asked him to update me.  It went down to 5000 galleons.  Taking it off made the price of the trunk drop by half.  Apparently, the nature room as was expensive as hell.  It had a lot of different options that required a lot of different charms and wards that created different environments like a forest, jungle, plains, desert, and winter land with a central lake and mimicked all of their weather patterns.  The room was also abnormally large to suit large magical creatures.  Most importantly, it was meant to keep everything alive for a very long time.  Actually, according to the attendant, 5000 galleons for a nature room was already as cheap as they could go, with a very minimal profit.  He also went on to tell me that most people, such as magizoologists, who studied animals, made their own nature room.  Obviously, I couldn’t do that yet, but one day, I would.

I decided to keep the magic article room because I was also a demigod.  I knew that there was going to be random stuff that I would accumulate on both sides of my heritage.  I toned down the size of the bedroom to a nice medium, and kept all of the luxuries.  Same thing with the bathroom.  It had everything, just not for ten people.  That dropped the price substantially again to 4200 galleons. 

I also reduced the size of the potions room to a comfortable medium size, and took off some of the more advanced equipment.  That dropped the price again to 3800 galleons, which entered the affordable range.  Everything else I wanted and kept the same.  At the end of the day, I can always modify the trunk after I purchase it, according to the attendant.  I can even resize the rooms later if I learn how to use the proper charms proficiently.  It’s just that most people don’t learn how to do it, and they buy it from this shop instead.  3800 galleons is also extremely good for what basically amounts to a mobile home that handles all of my magical needs.

“Are you sure that you don’t want to remove some more rooms and options?  It’s not really necessary to get all of that stuff for a Hogwarts trunk, you know.”

“I know, but it will be more useful when I go home for the summer back to America to have my own space.”  Space is truly a precious commodity back at camp for demigods that weren’t one of the children of the privileged 12 Olympians. 

“Alright I guess. It’s your money.  Speaking of money…do you actually have enough?”

“Yes.  Do I pay now or later?”

“You can pay half now, and half when you pick it up tomorrow.”

“It’ll be ready tomorrow?”  That was surprising.

“Yes, I have a trunk that already has a number of things that you want.  The rest of it should be done by tomorrow.”

“How do I pay for it?  In cash?  Or we go to the bank?”  I was curious.  3800 galleons would end up being a small mountain on the ground.

“Gringotts handles the transactions.  Since trunks are regulated, they have to be properly documented with the ministry, and Gringotts has to prepare a copy of the transaction so I can submit it to the correct department later.  If you pay by cash, we may be suspected of illegal selling of these trunks in the future, so we don’t do that.  Also, if there are any problems with the trunk that was not some sort of accidental or deliberate damage, we will be obligated by contract to fix it for free.”

“I don’t have a Gringotts account yet,” I admitted.  “Can I pay you in full tomorrow at Gringotts?”

“Are you sure you have the money?  Making this trunk requires a lot of money, and requires a deposit.”

I decided actions were better than words.  I took the pouch and poured out some money from it, and then put it back.  The spectacle was enough.  “Yes, I have enough.”

The attendant hesitated and then nodded.  “Yes, I suppose that is fine.  You seem like the trustable sort, and since you spent the entire day picking out your trunk, I suppose you won’t renege on it.  At worst, I’ll just be making an excellent trunk I can display to higher end customers.”

All day?  I looked outside and turns out, it was evening.  I literally spent the entire day here.  Filling out forms and talking to the attendant about random things.  I feel bad that I made the attendant stay with me the entire day.  On the other hand, this store is about to make 3800 galleons off of me, so I guess I really should not.  Now that I think about it, I also kind of hungry, since I haven’t eaten all day.  I better wrap this up fast.  “When do we meet tomorrow?”

“Is noon okay?  I’ll set up an appointment with my account manager, and he will contact whoever they assign as your account manager so we can get it done quickly tomorrow.”

“Sounds good.” I said goodbye to the attendant and headed back to the inn.  I got some food, and promptly went to bed.  The excitement of the day had gotten to me.  From the conversations with my mom, to coming to England, and then working on customizing my entire trunk/mobile home.  If today was this exciting, I wonder what tomorrow will be like.  Truly satisfied, I fell into a deep, comfortable sleep.