A World Divided By Magic

by Ocerra

Chapter 4, A Foreign World

Chapter Four
A Foreign World

"You did that on purpose," Sunset jabbed at Dumbledore playfully, sounding impressed. They were almost halfway down the hallway and they could still make out Pinkie's voice. He looked down at her in surprise.

"Why, I'm afraid I have no idea what you could be referring to. I merely asked her help for two students in need of last minute preparations."

"Uh-huh," Sunset grinned, completely unconvinced, just now noticing the small smirk Rarity was giving the two of them as they bantered back and forth.

"It did seem a little cruel," Rarity contributed, "She hardly seems the type to handle someone like Pinkie very well."

"I have the utmost faith in the professor," he countered loyally, "Now, do either of you have any belongings you'll need to grab before we head out?"

"Ah! Yes," Rarity started at the reminder, "Give me five minutes, and I'll be back." She jogged off down the hallway toward her room.

Dumbledore watched her leave for a moment before turning his attention back to Sunset, "And you?" he added softly, almost appearing to know the answer already. Sunset wasn't really sure how he did that.

"Nothing I don't have with me already..."

"Anything you'll need will be supplied for you at Hogwarts already," he explained to her, "Anything else we can pick up today." He gave her that warm smile again. Sunset stared back at him sadly. He really is like Celestia.

"Why are you helping us?" she asked bitterly, "You seem important enough to not be concerned for the well being of six random girls in some silly school." She clenched her fists at her sides. "So why us?"

"I do things for a great many reasons," he said sagely, eyes unfocused, staring as if at something far away, "Some because I have to, others because it is expected of me," he returned his attention to her before continuing lightly, "and some because I want to."

Sunset's eye twitched in irritation. That could have meant anything!

"Also, you meant to say 'eight' girls in some random school," he continued softly.

"Eight?" she asked in shock, "Who else?"

"You'll recognize them when you see them."

She rubbed her eyes in vexation, trying her best not to scream in frustration. This guy is even worse than Celestia! She can at least answer SOME questions with a straight answer. Sunset shot a nasty glare, her target seemingly oblivious to her ire. The two of them together have to be the most frustrating pair in existence. I pity whatever fool is forced to sit in the same room with them for more than a minute. Noise brought her attention to Rarity, who was approaching with an almost comically large suitcase. She was almost surprised the girl could carry it.

"Alright," Rarity sighed dramatically, "I'm all packed." She turned toward Dumbledore before continuing, "Except for my cat. It is still alright for me to take her, yes?" She looked fragile, ready to break at any sign of protest. Luckily, she received none.

"Of course, but first, let us move out of the hallway," he suggested, leading them past the lounge again, which Sunset noticed the other three still hadn't left the room. Rainbow appeared to have joined in the onslaught by now too, McGonagall unable to get a word in at all. Sunset seemed to notice a slight smile edge onto Dumbledore's lips, as if he just now realized how effective his prank actually was. She shook her head disbelievingly, realizing she just couldn't get a read on Dumbledore. Every time she thought she had him down, he showed another layer underneath that made her question everything again. He led them into a small room with nothing but a small table with a vase on it. "Now give me just a moment to collect your cat, and we shall continue." He stepped away from them before adding gravely, "Also... do not touch the vase."

He vanished.

---

Sunset rubbed Rarity's back comfortingly, as Rarity was doubled over, retching violently on the ground against the side of a building. "Th-thank you, darling..." she mumbled miserably, "You... m-make this a much more t-tolerable experience." The three were currently located in the back alley of a street in London, after having traveled by a particularly unsettling method. After Dumbledore had returned with Rarity's cat, Opalescence, he had prompted the two of them to lay their hands on the vase in the room they were in earlier. It had only been a moment, but the three found themselves in London after having done so.

"Anytime," Sunset said sadly. She may not have been friends with Rarity for very long, but it was painful to see such a proud woman in this state. "Here, drink some water," she suggested, offering a glass of water she had been holding for her.

Dumbledore stood passively on the side. "Travel by Portkey is a difficult experience for those not used to it," he added sadly, bringing Sunset's attention to him. "I am, however, surprised that you handled the trip so well. I'm not sure if I've ever seen anyone handle their first experience that well." The unasked question was ignored for a moment as Rarity emptied herself onto the pavement again, bringing Sunset's attention back to her. She rubbed Rarity's back again, showing silent support.

"It didn't feel very different from a crudely implemented teleportation spell, back in Equestria," Sunset finally commented. If he had been expecting that answer or not, he never let it show. She leaned forward, offering Rarity some more water, who decided to just drink and stay quiet. "I'm used to the feeling, I guess." The three passed the time in silence. Rarity, over the worst of her nausea, sat glumly on the top of her cat's kennel with a sour expression. Observing herself in a small hand mirror, she dabbed at her face with a cleansing towelette to remove the streaking of her make-up. There was something about the tenacity that Rarity went through to maintain her appearance that impressed Sunset. She herself spent minimal effort on her appearance, figuring she already looked pretty good, and anyone who didn't agree could eat dirt, literally.

At some point while they were resting, Dumbledore excused himself from the group to grab the two girls carts to carry their supplies, even if Sunset had none currently. The sounds of busied chatter filled the street at the end of the alleyway. Sunset noticed groups of people, chatting excitedly, passing by the head of the alleyway frequently. A large majority of them seemed to be dressed in a similar fashion, with black robes and pointed hats. Luckily, the alley which they were in appeared to gain no traffic. She doubted anyone would be interested to see someone vomiting, even if it was someone as pretty as Rarity... She shook off the thought, and glanced over at Rarity, who she noticed seemed to have just done the finishing touches on her make-up and appeared to be satisfied with the result. Taking a deep breath, Rarity stood up slowly, and gathered her belongings, setting her suitcase and kennel neatly on one of the pushcarts. It must have been about an hour they had spent for Rarity to regain her stomach, but even so, the method of traveling was, indeed, much faster than their alternative. They must have saved at least of a full day of traveling time, though if Dumbledore was looking forward to them being impressed, it was ruined by Rarity.

"Thanks for waiting." Rarity still sounded a little off, but definitely seemed much better than earlier. "I'm ready when you two are." Dumbledore took her up on her offer, silently leading the pair out of the alley and into the street.

"Now that we are ready to continue, allow me to formally welcome you to Diagon Alley." Sunset realized it was even busier than she thought it would be, people almost completely crowding the street. This would be a pretty difficult area to navigate, especially with a large cart. She found, though, that as they entered out into the crowd, that it seemed to part politely for them. In fact, it seemed like they were the only ones whom it did part for. Sunset began picking out people nodding to Dumbledore respectfully, some even saying his name in greeting as they passed by. Whaaat? How do I end up in the company of people like this?! One other thing that stuck out to her, much to her irritation, was that none called him Albus. Curse you, Rarity...

"I think a good place for us to start would be getting the two of you a nice new case for storage," Dumbledore suggested, leading them through the throng.

"Us two?" Rarity inquired, "I already have a suitcase." The comment only drew a smile from him as he continued toward a small shop on the side of the main street.

"These are not your average suitcases. In this case, I believe an example would be more effective than explaining." He gestured off to the side in front of the shop, "You may leave your carts here. You need not fear they will be taken." They did as they were told before following him into the shop. It had a bright and pleasant atmosphere, scattered with children and adults alike. It was empty enough that there was no problem navigating the store, but had enough people to show that it was popular. Instead of leading them further in, he led them to the bags they were showcasing at the front of the store. Wasting no time whatsoever before showing the best they had to offer. Sunset figured it was to prove a point. He gestured toward a large purple case propped open on display in the front window of the store, "Go ahead, take a look inside."

"Inside?" Rarity arched her eyebrow at him before stepping toward the case and following the suggestion, bending over the suitcase, "It's... what?!" She stuffed her head and most of her upper body down inside, leaving only her backside wiggling around awkwardly in front of Sunset. Sunset found herself fighting between focusing on Rarity or the magical bag, blushing slightly. Finally after having spent a good portion of time looking around the bag, Rarity pulled herself out of it and confronted Dumbledore, "Why, how is this possible? I could fit my entire boutique in there."

"Really? After everything that happened the last two days, this is where you draw the line?" Sunset teased, earning her a scowl from Rarity. Though to give her credit, Sunset, having come from a world filled with magic, hadn't seen anything like it either. Having now learned the usefulness of these bags, they spent the next half hour browsing the shop. Sunset found herself attracted to a cheaper, average sized, plain brown suitcase near the back of the shop. It opened revealing an area that appeared to be a little smaller than the trunk of a small car; however, the case had a dial with four different settings, which would apparently make the bag open to a different storage depending on which setting it pointed to. It was just the right amount of crazy for Sunset. Rarity, meanwhile, found herself unable to leave the purple bag at the front of the store, and after confirming it was okay to get the most expensive bag in the store, settled for that. Though Sunset couldn't imagine a bag that required you to have to climb inside of it as anything but frustrating.

After having made the purchases, the group found themselves back out in the alley with their carts once more. Sunset finally had something to put on her previously empty cart, while Rarity climbed inside of her new bag, with her other bag. It was a little bizarre seeing a suitcase going inside another suitcase, but no less bizarre than a person crawling inside one. Sunset's curiosity got the best of her, and she found herself approaching the bag and looking inside. Rarity was unpacking her things, organizing them around her new space, making the place look impressively welcoming in almost no time. Sunset started to doubt her purchase. This is like having a portable home. She shook her head in disbelief before backing away from the bag. Rarity was quick about her work, Sunset noticed, as she climbed out of her bag awkwardly in only a few more minutes. She seemed extremely pleased with her purchase, which Sunset could imagine why.

After a moment to prepare, the small group pushed their carts out into the parting crowd again, following Dumbledore's lead. "Perhaps we should prioritize getting your wands earl-" he thought aloud, just before being interrupted by a massive explosion from across the street. The entire street's traffic stopped, complete silence filling the normally loud street, as everyone stared in shock at the source. Smoke billowed out the open door and shattered window of a small unassuming shop, as Sunset noticed three familiar faces rush out of it, coughing from the smoke. Sunset wasn't sure whether to be surprised or not that Pinkie and Rainbow were the cause of such a spectacle.

"That... was AWESOME!" Rainbow exclaimed ecstatically, throwing her arms into the air, one of which gripped a small piece of wood. McGonagall didn't seem to share the same opinion, seemingly torn between scolding the pair or fixing the damage.

"Or we can get our wands later..." Dumbledore suggested, unfazed by the scene before them, "Come along now."

Comments

[Crossbredorc]

And the wands will be waiting for a little later. Rainbow why'd you go and blow up half the store? Oh well, I'm sure they can make the store better again fairly easily. The Harry Potter world is very simple... When there is a problem, blame magic. When the problem is solved, Hail Magic!

[Reishin Amara]

Did she just sonic rain boom with her wand...?XD

Loving this story.only problem I see is the lack of the American ministry....then again,havnt checked the date of this story so it may predate Fantastic Beasts.

[Ocerra]

8085416
This story doesn't predate Fantastic Beasts, and before the movie it was still known about the American Ministry. Unfortunately, there is a lot of plot occurring behind the scenes, some of which may be covered later. Regardless, Dumbledore fought for their custody; his motives are unclear.

[Naturefang]

8086113
At the start I just figured you put Canterlot high in Europe, then the whole half a world away comment came up. This cleared it up for me, thank you.