Hogwarts Reimagined

Content warning for mention of food.

Rhiannon and Hagrid didn’t have to go too far before they found familiar faces.
“Rhi! Rhiannon! Over here!”
Rhiannon looked up, squinting into the glare and her entire demeanour brightened as she caught sight of Hermione standing at the top of the marble stairs that led to Gringotts. Hermione bounced on the balls of her feet, then took off running down to meet them. Her hair had been freed from its’ protective braided style, so it formed a wonderfully thick kinky-curly mass around her face and shoulders.

“What happened to your glasses? And the rest of you... Are you feeling better? You look a mess but you’re walking better – oh, hi Hagrid! Are you headed to Gringotts? Mum and Dad are inside changing money,” Hermione chattered, her hands fidgeting at her sides as she resisted the urge to straighten Rhi’s clothing and brush off the debris that still clung to her.

“As- a-a-as soon as I’ve found Dudley and the Lovegoods,” replied Rhiannon. Hagrid snorted, and jerked his head back at the rest of the street. “Won’t have long t’ wait, then, here’s Xen and the rest now – oh and hey, Arthur, nice to see ye,” he said with a grin and a friendly nod to the others who approached.

Aside from Luna and Dudley, Xenophilius was accompanied by a cluster of redheads. One broke off and ran the last few metres to Rhiannon, panting. “There you are! Mr. Lovegood told us what happened – bloody Floo powder, you’d be surprised how often it happens. Mum had to call around to find where Fred an’ George fetched up the first time. Are you alright? You’re a bloody mess – well, figuratively, not like -” here Ron cut himself off, looking guilty. “Er, sorry.” he mumbled, ducking his head and pushing his hair back out of his reddening face.

By now the rest of the group – Lovegoods plus Dudley and by the looks of things, most of the Weasleys – had reached them. Xenophilius looked incredibly harried, his hair was in disarray and he tapped his fingers against eachother in a sort of squished steeple shape tucked against his chest.

“I’m so sorry Rhiannon – Floo’s risky like that, I really didn’t want to take the risk at all but we left it so late...” Xenophilius trailed off, biting his lip and vainly trying to neaten his hair. “Where did you actually end up?” he added.

Hagrid scowled. “Fished ‘er out’ve Knockturn Alley,” he responded grimly.

“Excellent!” said Fred and George together, grinning mischievously. “We’ve never been allowed in,” Fred added enviously.

“And for good ruddy reason!” Hagrid growled, glaring at the twins. He peered down the street, considering it for a moment. “Eh, best get an allowance out for Rhiannon here – Rhi, you mind sharin’ with yer cousin for now? We can sort a school supplies fund but did’na have enough time t’ do it yet. Anyway, allowances an’ then supplies, yeah? ‘s mighty busy at the las’ minute so we should p’raps split up after.”

A short red-haired woman who had to be Mrs. Weasley nodded, and turned to the man who must be her husband. “Fred, George, Ron – you stay here and mind your sister, no sense in all of us riding the carts.” she ordered. The twins groaned, evidently disappointed – Rhiannon remembered the roller-coaster cart ride and supposed the twins were the sort who’d enjoy that sort of thing. She herself grimaced, and shuffled her feet. “Mr. Lovegood, um – can you get mine? Hagrid has my ke-k-key, and you probably know better about how much I need... I really don’t like the carts, can I stay here too?” Rhi asked shyly.

Mr. Lovegood agreed, but Mrs. Weasley shot Rhiannon a none-too-subtly distrustful glance at the prospect of her staying behind with the Weasley children. Still, there was no real way to change the agreement without appearing rude, so Rhiannon was left standing at the foot of the Gringotts stairs with Ron and Hermione, the Weasley twins and a younger Weasley sister she didn’t know while the rest – Dudley, Mr. Lovegood, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and their oldest son Percy – went inside, leaving Hagrid outside with the children.

Hagrid coughed and dusted his hands on his shirt. “Gotta pick up some supplies – medical and the like. Ye’ll be good on your own? Fred, George – I know ye’re a pair o’ hoons but watch out for Rhiannon and Ginny, yeah? No draggin’ em off into yer schemes. I’ll be back before they’re done inside.”

That left the six of them standing awkwardly around the foot of the stairs. With Hagrid gone, Rhiannon finally had a proper chance to take in the youngest Weasley, Ginny. She shrank back behind Ron and her wide brown eyes flicked up to Rhiannon’s scars before flitting guiltily away when Rhi caught her staring.

Ron grimaced. “Ginny, don’t stare,” he chastised her sharply. Ginny flushed deeply and looked away. Ron just sighed. “Sorry, Rhi. Told you Mum was on a bit’ve a streak about it all.” he apologised, looking down at his shoes. The twins scowled, and Fred reached over Ron to ruffle Rhiannon’s hair teasingly.

“Us, though – nah. Didn’t think it’d be cool to crash your party or that, but hey – wolves are just like dogs, right? And dogs chase balls. Bet you’ll be an even better Seeker now,” said Fred. His brother swatted him, and Ron groaned. Hermione kicked him in the shin. “That’s great, but time and place?” she grumbled, gesturing around emphatically at the crowded street and busy shopgoers. Both twins and Ron looked guilty. “Sorry, Rhiannon,” Fred replied sheepishly. “But it’s still kind’ve cool, and we did want t’ make sure you knew we weren’t all weird about it,” George added on.

Rhiannon looked down at her shoes, biting her lip. She hugged herself and shifted from foot to foot – she’d really not considered that it could be something cool. Sure, her immediate friends and her adult supports had been even-keeled about it, but at no point had she really had a chance to think of lycanthropy as anything other than a curse and she lost a battle to the laughter that bubbled up inside her.

Still grinning, Rhiannon shook her head at the twins. Only Ginny was really left out of the loop, and Rhi caught the younger girl staring at her scars again.
“You’re a were-?” Ginny began to inquire, only to splutter indignantly as George shushed her firmly. She stomped on his foot and glared at her older brother. “What? I was just asking – I’m not stupid, I heard Mum and Ron arguing.” she retorted. She looked at Rhiannon directly this time, biting her lip. Fred ruffled Ginny’s hair and grinned at Rhiannon. “She still thinks you’re hot, you know – I think Mum was expecting that to die down when she heard you were a girl and now with all this,” he teased and dodged his sister’s angry swipe, chortling.

Both Rhiannon and Ginny flushed scarlet and avoided looking at eachother. Hermione too was flustered. “I mean that’s just objective – anyone can see Rhi’s pretty,” she replied in Ginny’s defense. The twins cackled, and even Ron grinned.

Thankfully Rhiannon was saved from further embarrassment by a returning Hagrid and soon after the rest of the group rejoined them. They all meandered off down the street following the school supplies list, and stopped to stare at the absolute horde of people spilling out of Flourish and Blotts. Rhiannon blanched and backed away, and a few of the others had a similar reaction – among them Xenophilius, Luna, Hermione, Mr. Weasley and Ginny.

Mrs. Weasley noticed and took charge, casting Rhiannon another sideways glance as she did so. “That’s going to be a right beast of a time. Rubeus, you and I can handle books for everyone. Xenophilius, you wouldn’t mind if Arthur and my lot tag along with yours for the rest? I don’t think we’ll be getting inside any time soon.” she said, with a rueful look at the enormous queue.

Rhiannon breathed a sigh of relief as she joined in with the others in moving away from Flourish and Blotts. When they found somewhere quieter, Mr. Lovegood turned to Mr. Weasley and considered the rest of the street. “Arthur, could you pick up the potions ingredients and practical supplies for us if I take Ginny to get her wand and uniform? I’ll give you money for ours, and I presume your Fred and George want to go and stickybeak at the restricted items.” he said, grinning at the twins who assumed innocent expressions. Arthur frowned, and knotted his hands together. “Not sure we can afford that... it was a stretch for Ron’s new wand last year,” he said regretfully.

Xenophilius shook his head, smiling faintly. “Consider it our late birthday gift for young Ginny, then. New robes and new wand, they’ll last longer – I’ll make sure Madam Malkin makes them with room to take out.” he replied. Arthur Weasley spluttered and flushed red to his eartips just like Ron did sometimes. “We can’t accept – that’s too much -” he protested. Xenophilius shook his head. “It’s not pity charity. You’re old family friends.” he said quietly.

There was no polite way for Mr. Weasley to decline further, so he and the twins split off along with Hermione and Dudley – who had no particular need of a wand and much more interest in potion supplies; leaving the rest of them to wander along the street in search of the dimly-lit wandmaker’s shop. Its sign was even tattier than Rhiannon remembered, and she slunk back behind Ron rather than face the peculiar proprietor.

Unlike the last time, Mr. Ollivander was seated behind the shop’s counter and greeted them immediately. “Ah, Xenophilius! Yours is starting this year?” he inquired, then scrutinised Luna. A silver tape-measure unfurled from within his robes and started prodding and measuring Luna just as Rhiannon remembered it, while Mr. Ollivander’s attention remained on the rest of the group.

“A-aa-and Ginny, too,” Rhiannon stammered, seeing that the taller red-haired girl was still unnoticed. Mr. Ollivander’s luminous silver eyes fixed on Rhiannon then and she looked away under the scrutiny.

“Ah yes... Miss Harry Potter. Back again and somewhat changed... that is not your name now, is it?” said Ollivander. Just as he had the year before, the wandmaker seemed to see right through her. “N-no. I’m Rhiannon, now.” Rhi replied quietly. The wandmaker’s face split into a broad grin, and she saw him mouth the name again to himself.
“A fine name, and far more fitting. Does your wand still serve you well? Willow and phoenix feather, twelve inches as I recall.” said Mr. Ollivander. Rhiannon nodded a silent affirmation, and the wandmaker turned his attention to the others.
“Ah, yes, a Weasley... Ginny, was it?” he asked. Ron coughed and shuffled his feet in the dust, and Mr. Ollivander fixed him with a stern glance. “Master Ronald, you know my policy on fidgeting.” he said sharply. Ron turned red and mumbled an apology, and he tried to slink away to stand with Rhiannon in the corner.

“For no particular reason... is your wand still working for you? Black walnut’s a sensitive wood and even volatile with a dragon core like yours – sensitive to honesty, they have been known to trouble a bearer who deceives themself.” Mr. Ollivander mused, his piercing gaze pinning Ron in place. Ron flushed darker and one hand went to the pocket where he kept his wand. “’s fine,” he mumbled, shifting away from the storekeeper’s uncomfortably sharp gaze to hide with Rhiannon.

While its’ owner was interrogating Rhi and Ron, the silver tape measure had measured Ginny as well as Luna and now Mr. Ollivander got down from his stool and beckoned them over to where a stack of wand boxes stood on a low table.

“Miss Weasley first, then. Go on – hmm... no, not that one... yes, try this – hawthorn and unicorn hair, nine and a half inches.” he said, and offered the wand to Ginny. Rhiannon felt a surge of nostalgia at the sight, which became further familiar as the wand spat out lime-green and gold sparks in the red-haired girl’s grip.

“No, no, that’s not it – give that here,” Mr. Ollivander mused, taking the sparking wand from Ginny’s grasp. He rifled through the boxes on the table and frowned, then set some aside so he could look at those a little deeper down. Eventually he discarded the idea of any of them, and turned instead to rifle through the shelves behind the table. “Where did I put it... it’s around here... ah, yes – here, holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches,” he mumbled, then turned back holding out an open box holding a wand Rhiannon recognised. The wand itself was plain, but engraved in Rhiannon’s memory for the way it had felt in her hand – like grasping a live wire.
Where it had revolted in Rhiannon’s grasp and spat violet sparks, it did none such in Ginny’s. It bathed the entire shop in a brilliant blue light for several moments, illuminating Ginny’s wondering face in sharp relief before fading. Mr. Ollivander clapped his hands and smiled broadly. “Well, well... that settles that, Miss Weasley. I am eager to see what you do with it.” he said, still smiling to himself. He diverted his attention from Ginny to look for Luna, but he was not with the rest of the group. Mr. Ollivander frowned and turned to look around the rest of the shop, alighting on Luna where she paced along the back wall, one hand raised and murmuring quietly as they looked through the boxes of wands.

“No, come away from those – they’re experiments, the sale wands are at the front, please -” Mr. Ollivander said, his calm demeanour cracking for the first time as he hurried over to Luna. Luna blinked and turned around in a hurry, accidentally knocking a wand box from the shelf as fae did so. Xe winced and bent to collect it, heedless of Mr. Ollivander’s further protests.
In eir grip the wand seemed to shiver, and Luna was just about to put it back in the box when it began to glow. Unlike the brilliant diffusion of light from Ginny’s wand, this sent out a trail of sparks which whirled around Luna and tousled his hair, leaving her laughing and breathless as the sparks died.

“Well I suppose that settles that – the wand chooses the master as I always say... Who am I to contradict it?” Mr. Ollivander remarked, ushering Luna back to the front of the shop to stand with the others. Xenophilius fished in his pockets for coins, while Mr. Ollivander studied Luna curiously. “That was an experiment with Druid methods of wand-craft, acacia unified with creeping vinewood and a unicorn hair core. I did not expect to sell it, considering it a foolish endeavour... I am rarely pleased to be proven wrong, young Lovegood, so thankyou... I think I should take up that experiment again sometime. Xenophilius, twelve galleons if you please – I will not charge full price for an experimental wand.” he said firmly, concluding his musing.

Xenophilius frowned and re-counted the heavy coins in his hand, then handed the revised amount to Mr. Ollivander. The shopkeeper smiled mysteriously, and with a gesture from his wand-bearing hand the door swung open behind them.
“I remember every wand I have ever sold... And I think we are entering an unusual time. Go well, all of you.” said Mr. Ollivander by way of farewell as they left the shop.

______________________________________________________

After the unusual experience of the wand-shop, the rest of the morning’s shopping went by relatively quickly. Rhiannon and Ron wandered down the street to look at broomsticks through the shop window while Ginny and Luna had their uniforms fitted and Mr. Lovegood fetched Dudley for the same. When that was concluded they reunited with Mr. Weasley, Hermione and the twins and they wandered for a while, killing time until Hagrid and Mrs. Weasley were finished in the bookshop.

Eventually Mrs. Weasley and Hagrid joined them too, out of breath and weighed down with more books than Rhiannon could count – Hagrid’s arms were full and Mrs. Weasley looked incredibly flustered. “Oh, we’re so lucky he gave us free copies... those books are so expensive...” she sighed, but didn’t bother to explain further – evidently this was the tail end of a conversation. Hagrid grunted and redistributed some of the textbooks into the three cauldrons that had been purchased for Dudley, Luna and Ginny. Everyone else carried some as well, but Hagrid took the bulk of the load with a cauldron in each hand. They made their way awkwardly down the street to the Leaky Cauldron and through its brick wall entrance, then out to the street where a battered sky-blue Ford Anglia waited. Arthur Weasley beamed and, weighed down by the third cauldron full of books, he made his way over to unlock it.

“Come on, c’mon, I just got finished with the enchantments – I’ll drop you and the rest home, Xenophilius,” he urged. Rhiannon strongly doubted their things would all fit, let alone the people themselves, but somehow everything was piled into the expansive boot of the rickety car. Mrs. Weasley shook her head resignedly. “Percy’s still busy, I’ll Floo home later – I’ve got general shopping to do anyway. Ginny, you come too – leave them to it.” she said, to a complaining groan from Ginny. “Ah, fine, squish in, I’ll see you at home later!” Mrs. Weasley amended, and she strode off back into the Leaky Cauldron.

Hagrid coughed. “Honestly, I got stuff to do too – that rustbucket’s too small for my taste. Er, sorry Arthur.” he said, casting a mistrustful glance at the car. He too headed back into the pub, leaving the rest of them to arrange themselves.

Fred and George fought for the front door, and George piled into the bench seat in front beside his father, leaving everyone else to figure themselves out. Rhiannon opened the door and was bewildered to find that despite its fairly ordinary external appearance, the inside of the car was cavernous with two additional bench seats behind the front one. Dudley immediately climbed over and settled in at the very back, colliding with Ginny who’d made a dash to do the same. Fred climbed in beside them.

That left Rhiannon, Hermione, Luna and Ron to crowd on into the middle bench seat and a very awkward-looking Xenophilius Lovegood to perch on the far side of the passenger seat. Rhiannon as the smallest sat in the middle between Luna and Hermione, feeling a little cramped. Arthur Weasley looked back at them in the mirror as he started the car, still beaming. “Enchanted her myself, and fixed up all the engineering,” he said proudly. The twins groaned, and George reached over to fiddle with the central radio. “Yeah, but that’s the boring stuff Dad – this is the fun bit,” George replied. He twiddled several knobs and prodded the radio with his wand a couple of times, and it crackled and began to emit a peculiar jazz-inspired melody:

Oh, come and stir my cauldron
And if you do it right
I'll boil you up some hot, strong love
To keep you warm tonight!

Fred and George groaned in unison, echoed by Ron and Ginny, and George scowled at the radio. He twiddled some knobs, shifting it to a broadcast discussing broomstick regulations. When clearly that wasn’t what he was looking for either, he pulled back a foot and kicked the radio solidly.

Rhiannon was understandably horrified, but it was apparent that brute force was what the finicky radio required. The twins, Ginny, Ron and Mr. Weasley cheered as the last strains of a guitar melody faded away and were then replaced by a swing-style piano line.

Dudley cocked his head curiously and frowned – not that Rhi could see, and the twins stared at eachother and then looked back at Rhiannon for a brief moment before dissolving into cackles. Rhi stared blankly at them, then at the radio as the first lines of a completely unfamiliar song rang through the interior of the car.

I saw a werewolf with a Chinese menu in his hand
Walking through the streets of SoHo in the rain
He was looking for the place called Lee Ho Fooks
For to get a big dish of beef chow mein

Rhiannon just stared at the radio some more. At the chorus she and Dudley burst out laughing, and the rest of the car joined in along with them after a brief hesitation. The twins grinned and howled comically, and Rhiannon’s sides hurt with laughter. She grew quieter through the second verse, frowning as the singer cheerfully announced ‘little old lady got mutilated late last night, Werewolves of London again,’

Fred grimaced. “Want us to turn it off? Forgot about that line,” he asked. Rhiannon shook her head. This time she joined in singing with them for the chorus, ‘ahooooooo! Werewolves of London,’. They rolled down the windows and belted it out, the broad grin etched firmly on Rhiannon’s worn face. Fred and George’s laid-back attitude to her new situation earlier had been the first introduction to the idea that maybe there might be a lighter side to her condition, and now the song reinforced that. Sure it wasn’t perfect, but it was fun – and it was the first time she’d heard anything say the word confidently out loud. Werewolves.

Rhiannon’s confidence grew as she sang along with the rest of them. She grinned, and flipped her hair dramatically at the line ‘his hair was perfect’. The twins wolfwhistled and guffawed, and a glance back told her Dudley had preened similarly. She was suffused in a giddy haze and surprised herself with a gleeful howl that broke into her voice on the final chorus, joined even by shy Hermione and the usually-quiet Luna at last.

All too soon the song came to an end and the radio was turned down again, leaving them to laugh and chatter amongst themselves. Rhiannon leaned into a sideways hug from Hermione, and Luna squeezed her hand wordlessly. Mr. Weasley looked back in the rear-vision mirror again and Rhiannon caught a glimpse of the warm smile on his creased face. He sighed, and drummed his hands on the steering wheel. “After all that, I’m hungry – swapped to a late shift at work so I could help with the morning shopping,” he explained. “Anyone else up for lunch?”

Dudley shifted in his seat, and leaned forward to rest his arms over the seat in front. “Honestly, I could really go for Chinese,” he admitted. That drew a laugh from the Weasley twins and even Ginny. Arthur shrugged and grinned. “Well, I have no idea what that entails but if it’s not too expensive... there’s probably something around,” he agreed.

They drove around for a while searching for a suitable takeaway place. The twins and Dudley cheered as they saw one, and pointed it out to Mr. Weasley. From there ensued an amusing scenario of teaching him and Mr. Lovegood about the serve-yourself buffet menu. The twins and Ginny fought a play-duel with chopsticks while they waited, with Rhiannon, Hermione, Luna and Ron in stitches as they tried to break it up. This close to the Ministry of Magic’s London headquarters even play-acting could get them accused of breaking the Statute of Secrecy.

Eventually the shenanigans subsided, and the motley party settled in to eat their lunch. Rhiannon vaguely remembered similar meals on the rare occasions she’d had to spend nights with Mrs. Figg while still with the Dursleys. Arthur Weasley was summarily banned from further attempts to use chopsticks after he accidentally squeezed too hard and flicked a meatball at Xenophilius who was slightly more coordinated but no more familiar, and eventually Hermione removed the chopstick pot entirely when the twins started making a chain out of them.

Rhiannon felt a little swell of disappointment as they all finished their food and piled back into the car, sticky and full and exhausted with happiness. She settled in leaning against Hermione’s shoulder in preparation for a long drive all the way back from London to Exeter, and so was surprised when Arthur broke off the main roads and looked furtively around them. The twins cackled evilly and fiddled with buttons. “Hang on,” Ron warned – and just in time, as the car shot into the air.

Sped by magic through the air, the trip home was drastically shortened, sped further by the good cheer and several more impromptu sing-alongs instigated by the twins. Rhiannon thought she might burst with happiness, her cheeks ached from smiling. If this was what going back to Hogwarts meant, even now – then maybe she could do this after all.