The Lunar Forest | Tom Riddle

•• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ •• Inkeri Koskinen surveyed the outside of the Borgin and Burke, eyes downcast to avoid meeting any gazes and triggering unwanted conflict. She already detested the dingy shop and the alleyway in which it was situated, but Ora had said that the secretive company would serve well to distract curious minds from investigating their sudden presence. They had Apparated to London, which was yet another unfamiliar term to the young girl, and a new form of magic which she had not known existed— the ability to materialise in a different place entirely, on the whim of will. She turned to the Seer, whose body was cloaked by a black robe, and face was hidden behind his hood to conceal his grotesque appearance. "Just do exactly as I told you to," he said in his callous voice, scraping against her ears like metal screws. "Don't stray from it, and you will be fine." "You can't accompany me further?" She asked, breath hitching in her throat at the fear of facing the new world alone, but he shook his head. "No," Ora said, "this is your task to complete. You needn't worry— when I last visited, I found the place to be abysmally dull, perfectly sheltered from danger." She wondered when exactly he'd 'last visited', considering he'd spent the last two hundred years in a church. "I informed Armando Dippet of your arrival at his school months ago," he continued. "Through his nightmares, although it was ridiculously difficult considering the old fool seldom wrestles with any demons." "You sound almost jealous," she said in an attempt at a joke, but he just frowned at her. "Good luck, Inkeri," Ora said genuinely, and for the first time, she saw a hint of concern in his amethyst eyes. "Whatever happens, do not let the darkness consume you." Inkeri did not understand, as her head swam with new information that she already needed to remember, but she was not given the chance to question him, because with that, he vanished like lightning's sudden gleam. She inhaled deeply, then exhaled, and made her way down the gnarled cobblestone road. She needed to get to Diagon Alley, that was where she would get all of her supplies. Odd eyes found themselves peering at the newcomer, whose white robes and hair stuck out as the only brightness to be found. She almost felt as though bony, skeletal fingers were reaching out for her when she turned the corner of Knockturn Alley, out onto the busy, bustling street that was Diagon Alley, and Inkeri watched with amazement; she had never seen so many people, so much life and so many colours all in one place. The sun shone brightly on a stack of cauldrons outside the nearest shop. Cauldrons - All Sizes - Copper, Brass, Pewter, Silver - Self-stirring - Collapsible said a sign hanging over them. Inkeri wished she had more eyes with which she could fit every little image into her brain. She turned her head in every direction as she walked up the street, trying to look at everything at once: the shops, the things outside them, the people doing their shopping. A plump woman outside an apothecary's was shaking her head as she passed, saying, "Dragon liver, seventeen sickles an ounce, they're mad..." A low, soft hooting came from a dark shop with a sign saying Eeylops Owl Emporium - Tawny, Screech, Barn, Brown and Snowy. Several boys of about Inkeri's age had their noses pressed against a window with broomsticks in it, though she didn't understand why they were so fascinated by them. There were shops selling robes, shops selling telescopes and strange silver instruments she had never seen before, windows stacked with barrels of bat spleens and eels' eyes which intrigued rather than disgusted her, tottering piles of spell books, quills and rolls of parchment, potion bottles, globes of the moon... Inkeri had no clue where to begin. She decided to start with the most important thing— a wand. Although Lilja had taught her how to perform spells and enchantments without one, she'd been instructed to buy a wand for sole purpose of blending in with the other students. She approached Ollivander's Wand shop tentatively, pushing open the door, the comforting scent of wood and ash hanging in air. The settled dust and silence seemed to tingle with magic. She saw an old man bustling about the shelves with his back to her, and she decided it was time to test Ora's rune work. "Hello?" She called out, and the man looked up at her. "Ah, hello, I'll be with you in a minute," he replied, and Inkeri almost laughed with relief. She was aware that she was speaking in a different language to her native one, and yet she understood the words perfectly, and her thoughts formulated sentences with almost the same natural speed. He did indeed come bustling over to her a few minutes later. "Did you come for a repair? You seem a bit old for your first wand, and I don't recall ever selling one to you." She scowled at his judgement. "I do require a new wand," she said with forced politeness. "I came here recently, from abroad." He hummed in thought, and she thought he was going to ask where, when she was saved by voices outside the door, evidently waiting for their turn. "Very well then," he said. "Let us find you a wand." He plodded off and returned moments later with a box. "Try this," he said, taking out a slender, light- wooded one. "Ash, 9 inches, with a dragon heartstring core. Reasonably supple." Inkeri took it and held it out in front of her, wondering what to do. Mr Ollivander urged her to wave it, and so she hesitantly did. Immediately, the glass door behind them shattered. The people outside screamed as they were showered with glass, while she stared in shock. "Evidently not," the old man said. "No matter! We shall try another." He handed her another box, containing a more rough, black wand. "I believe this should do the trick. Blackthorn wood, with a unicorn hair core." This time, when she waved the wand, a gentle glow emanated from the tip, and a smile painted her features with amplified glee. She placed a bunch of golden coins on the counter, and when he told her the wand costed seven galleons instead of the twenty she'd given him, she just tilted her head in confusion and told him to keep them all. The witch was unfamiliar with capitalist ideas, and Ora had given her enough golden coins to 'buy a bank', whatever a bank was. The next thing she picked up was the school uniform she would have to wear. The tailor woman had poked and prodded her with so many pins that Inkeri nearly blasted her with magic. The robes were also black, much to her dismay. By the time she was done walking backwards and forwards around the street collecting all the items which her mental list had devised, it was nearly sunset, and Inkeri did not want to be caught outside after dark, where unwanted eyes and ears never failed to summon themselves. But despite having traipsed the path up and down at least a dozen times, she couldn't recall seeing a single place of lodging, and her worry began to heighten. She decided to ask someone for help, and looked around for a person that didn't look too intimidating. Her eyes landed on a boy, about her age, leaning with one shoulder against a wall, as though he were waiting for someone. He was very tall, and seemed to slant slightly because of this overextended height. He had sandy brown hair, his hands were shoved deep into his pockets, and his eyes darted around, not settling on anything for too long. He exuded an aura of awkwardness and discomfort, and Inkeri decided that he would be her victim. She approached him, and when his eyes landed on her as she neared, he stood up slightly straighter. "Excuse me," she said in the most polite manner she could, wondering how to phrase the strange question. "Do you happen to know where I could find a place of lodging here?" He shifted uncomfortably, then nodded. "Down the road to your left," he said quickly. "The Leaky C-Cauldron." "Thank you," she said, and he nodded again, not quite meeting her gaze. She noticed one of the books he was holding, and realised it was the same one she had bought less than an hour ago; it had been on a shelf called back-to-school requirements, so she'd grabbed it just in case. "Do you go to Hogwarts?" She asked, as curiosity got the best of her. "Yes," he said, still looking anywhere but at her. She sighed. It was clear he did not want to converse with her, so she decided to leave him alone, hoping that everyone else at the school would not be as dry. She halted at a sign which read The Leaky Cauldron, just like he had said, but found with dismay that there was nothing there except a brick wall. She poked it with her wand, wondering if there was some sort of magical manipulation involved, but when nothing happened, she kicked it in frustration. "You have to t-tap the bricks," came a voice from behind, and she spun round to see that the boy had followed her. She moved out of the way and watched with awe as he touched the more worn-out bricks in a specific pattern with his own wand, and the wall moved to reveal a dismal yet welcoming pub, and a sign informing her that there were beds available upstairs. "Thanks," she said, smiling widely at the boy, who surprisingly, returned the gesture. She was going to ask him what his name was, when another boy came over and clapped him on the back— nearly knocking the thin boy over in the process— wearing a wide grin on his face. This one had an air of confidence about him, with straight black hair and a mischievous smile. He was slightly shorter, but he wore it better, supporting a more muscular build than his friend. "Finding yourself a new girl to obsess over, are you Nott?" The new boy asked, turning to Inkeri as Nott scowled at him. "Orpheus Lestrange," he said, holding his hand out to her, and she looked at it, perplexed. "Inkeri Koskinen," she greeted, and he retracted his hand with a hint of scepticism. "You have an accent," he noted, "and I haven't seen you before. Are you from around here?" The question seemed innocent, but the sly glint in his eye warned her that she should be paranoid. "I'm from Norway," she said slowly, trying to hide her own uncertainty. "I just arrived here." "Right," Lestrange said, his tone indicating that he was already bored of the conversation. He tugged on his companion's sleeve, and the pair left, Nott mumbling a rushed goodbye. Inkeri watched them leave, then went inside, jumping slightly at a sudden rowdy shout from the drunk men in the pub. A man with a hooked nose had asked her a hundred questions when she'd asked him for a bed; evidently it was particularly strange for an adolescent female to request a room unaccompanied. Finally, she briefly flashed the bag of coins hidden under her cloak, and like a spring mechanism, the questions ceased and he immediately showed her to a room. Inkeri inhaled deeply, then coughed, immediately regretting her decision when when she choked on the dust and lint which the room had been collecting over many years of neglect. She dumped her numerous bags on the single spindly chair which the room accommodated, and fell onto the bed, gazing up at the grimy ceiling. Soon, she would go to Hogwarts, and her journey would be set into motion. Fear turned tyrant, held excitement by the throat, instinctual fright settling into her bones like an imprisoned flame as everything registered with the once carefree girl. The burden which she shouldered threatened to suffocate her that night as she lay awake, the moon bathing the room in its luminescence, shedding light onto her gloomy thoughts. With a wave of her hand, she shut the curtains, plunging the room into darkness. She was tired, and the light wasn't letting her sleep. •• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••