• Published 22nd Sep 2018
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Ponies in Hogwarts [Edited] - KittyrinnAiko



A pony stranded in the past must go to another dimension and learn the ways of wizards before she can return to her own time.

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Chapter 2: Nova goes shopping.

Nova walked away from the bank with a small purse with a strap over her shoulder and then stopped to survey her surroundings. It was a new addition to the small suitcase. In it was an odd assortment of bits… wizard money actually, and a never dry stamp that was to be used for large purchases. As a safety measure, she was to turn the stamp from square to a diamond if she was ever under duress. Mr Malfoy and Mr Brown had returned to the Ministry to inform their people that they’d found a new backer, whose name was to be withheld for security reasons, and if anyone were to press they’d only get Celestia Solaris of Eques. Roomers of a foreign girl with a phoenix only helped to muddy the waters.

Mr Weasley had remained at Nova’s side, and Phenik, having refused to go back into the suitcase, not like it was a crammed tight space, she’d a whole deluxe apartment to explore, was presently perched on top of Nova’s hat engaged in pulling apart the silk flowers. Nova let out a sigh as a hoof-full of silk petals drifted down, people were staring at her. To make matters worse the hat was enchanted to be self-repairing which meant Phenik had an endless supply of silk petals to scatter. The hat delighted the young bird to no end.

“What say we get you some proper wizard robes.” Mr Weasley offered. “Maybe they won’t stare so much.”

“Something tells me that a phoenix is not a common pet,” Nova stated as another hoof full of petals cascaded down.

“Are they in your home country?” Mr Weasley asked curiously.

“Not especially, no,” Nova replied. “My brother Spike raised one but released it to the wild. Otherwise, the only other Phoenix I’m aware of is bonded to my Aunt. Phenik is one of the fledglings from a recent clutch.”

“I see. - Well, no point in hanging about, we’ll just draw a crowd.”

Their path leading to a shop called the Witches Wardrobe was all too easy to follow as a plethora of silk petals trailed their every movement. Why they’d chosen that specific shop was simply because Nova liked the presentation in the window.

“Welcome to the Witches Wardrobe.” Called the friendly voice of a woman in the shop. Nova took one look at the long elegant deep violet hair and said...

“Rarity?”

“Oh darling no. Though my friends often say that I’m a rarity.” Her wizard robes were light alabaster with floral designs around the base and looked more like a kimono than a typical wizard robe. The embroidered heraldic blazon of three blue diamonds on a silver shield boldly placed above the heart wasn’t helping Nova’s confusion. Nova had noticed that a lot of witches and wizards had these little shields, and filed it away wondering if it had anything to do with cutie marks. “Name’s Anastasia, but you may call me Ana. What can I do for you? Oh, and I must say that hat is divine. How’d you make that phoenix look so real.”

“Unfortunately, Phenik is real and very determined to destroy my hat,” Nova replied just as Phenik scattered more petals.

“Oh my... - He is quite determined. - He or she?”

“Being that a phoenix is capable of self-reproduction, I’d say both.” Nova offered. “But I usually just say she if I must be pinned down to a standard pronoun. - What with the egg-laying and all. - Be a while before this one lays any eggs.”

“I see, I see, well come on in, and tell me how I can help you?”

“I’ll be needing some robes, thank you please.” Nova offered as Miss Ana showed her to the fitting area. Nova set her suitcase down, climbed up onto a step ladder, and Ana moved Phenik, hat and all, onto a hat stand. Nova's ears were still slightly poniefied showing a bit of a point, and plenty of fuzz.

“I’ll have to ask Madasin if she can duplicate your hat complete with a mock phoenix.” Miss Ana said as her eyes strayed to Nova's ears. “She’s a hatter, quite mad, but then all the best people are.” A moment later tape measures are whisking about taking measurements. Nova couldn't help but giggle. “I can see the speculation about you was all wrong. Most muggle-born would start to panic about now.”

“What, from a few tape measures?” Nova asked, honestly perplexed.

“Indeed. They’d never experienced objects moving about seemingly on their own.” Ana offered.

“My Aunt Rarity is a fashion designer. You should see the things flying about in her shop when she’s feeling inspired. It's an experience that has inspired panic in the stoutest magic-user. - My present outfit was designed by a relative of hers, named Liberty. - I knew I’d have to travel through some, um, muggle areas, so the outfit was to help me fit in.”

“I see, I see. - So they’re travel clothes.” Travel clothes were about to become all the rage. “Will you be attending Hogwarts this year?”

“We expect she will be.” Mr Weasley offered. He’d been standing off to one side to stay out of the way. “The letters haven't been sent out yet, but no harm in being prepared.”

Princess Celestia had said she’d entered Nova’s name, so Nova just trusted that her name would be in the enrollment. How this was accomplished Nova couldn't know, but she suspected that the enrollment book was a dimensional diary.

“Being that she’s not here with family, is this going to be the usual deal paid by the ministry?” Ana asked.

“Oh, I can pay my own way.” Nova offered. “Seems I’ve been provided with a rather substantial allowance.” Nova smiled at the memory of the ride down in the cart, she’d been leaning over the front of the cart, face to the wind, while Mr Weasley held on to her jacket pleading her to please sit down. They’d had to go past captive dragons and even a sphinx who’d asked the easiest question she’d ever heard. Who raises the sun, and who raises the moon. Of course, the answer was Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Granted that would have been a wrong answer for the world she was in, but the Sphinx smiled, because the Sphinx was from Equestria, and then to the surprise of the goblin driving the cart, and Mr Weasley, the two struck up a conversation in a language neither had ever heard. Old Ponish it was, which is related to the ancient Arcadian language as the Sphinx was more accustomed to the older language during which Nova brought the Sphinx up to date to include the time she'd raised the moon and that even though Luna had been banished, she would be restored on the longest day of the thousandth year of Luna's banishment by the Equestrian calendar.

The vault itself had marble tile on the floor, and the walls and ceiling were lined with alabaster stone with ornate designs inlaid with amber. It was very much like any typical vault in Canterlot castle and was piled high with gold, jewels, and a variety of precious objects.

“She’s an heiress. Her circumstances are a little unusual, and it seems I’ll be looking after her until it’s time for her to go to school.” Mr Weasley informed with a smile on his face. "I haven't told anyone at home yet."

“Seems I arrived in England too early. - What with the train being put through. - Otherwise, I was to wait for my letter and then procure transportation to the school. - Standard school robes, and something nice in case I have to go anywhere where I’ll need to dress up.”

“So how’d you like the ride in the cart?” Miss Ana asked.

“She loved it, and seems to be old friends with the Sphinx we had to pass.” Mr Weasley offered.

“Oh now your just teasing.” Miss Ana replied. “All done with the measurements. “Now, let's have a look at some robes.”

Miss Ana levitated out several examples of school robes from the most basic, anyone can afford, but no child would want to wear it, to a few robes that Nova was sure only spoiled fillies like Diamond Tiara would wear. Nova decided it would be best to be sensible, and picked something in the middle. After all, they were school robes, and it wasn’t technically her money. As for the nonschool robes she decided to get three for casual wear, two for dressier occasions, and one extra nice one just in case she found herself being invited to a fancy party. One never knew, and if word got out that she held the purse strings to a not so small fortune, even ponies weren’t above a little flank kissing of anyone who had lots of bits.

“I’ll need a signature and payment upfront, and where do I send the robes,” Ana said once they’d finished.

“I guess I’ll be staying with Mr Weasley.” Nova offered as she got out her stamp, she thanked her, and a short time later they were on their way to the next store. In this case, Nova had decided she wanted to go straight to the book store she’d seen earlier. She quickly vanished into the shelves of books, the only clue to her whereabouts being the occasional excited squeak and a trail of silk blossoms. At least that was until Phenik got excited, and started flying about the shop singing a most joyous song. It was a book store full of books Nova had never seen, and after some of the hardships she’d had to endure, it was like she’d ascended to a higher plane of creation. Granted there’d been the library in the citadel of Arcadia, but she’d been too pressed for time. Assuming Discord hadn’t moved it somehow, or it only existed in that one dimension, she hoped to return someday. Here and now, she was free to explore the shelves until they kicked her out. Not only that, but she could buy as many as she wanted.

“That’s quite the customer you’ve brought me, Mr Weasley.”

Squee! Trill trill trill...

“Indeed she is. Mr Flourish. Indeed she is.”

Squee! Trill trill trill...

Both men had a tear trickling down their faces do in part to the song of the phoenix. Curious passers-by had begun to gather at the door as well.

Squee! Trill trill trill...

“By any chance do you have the first yearbook list for Hogwarts yet?” Mr Weasley asked.

Squee! Trill trill trill...

“A prospective student then?”

Squee! Trill trill trill...

“Indeed she is.”

Squee! Trill trill trill...

“The list just arrived the other day, and I’ve already started getting the books ready to go. You weren’t planning on getting a jump on buying the required books were you?”

Squee! Trill trill trill…

“Might just as well. Something tells me I’m not getting out of here without at least two dozen books.”

Nova rounded the corner with a stack of books on top her suitcase, and another stack trailing in a light blue aura. How’s she doing that without a wand, someone in the crowd asked softly. Nova heard, became self-conscious, and dropped the books she’d been levitating with a loud thud. Accidental magic was the verdict, though the truth was that Nova had simply been using her pendant as a focal point for her magic. A moment later Phenik landed on Nova’s shoulder and peaked out from under the hat.

“So, um, how do you plan to carry all that?” Mr Flourish asked.

“Hang on,” Nova replied, and slid the stack on top her suitcase off onto the counter. She then turned the suitcase upright again, slid a panel, pressed a button, which was followed by legs dropping to the floor. With the case thus supported, she then pressed another button resulting in the back side of the case along with two of the four legs scooting out to reveal a book rack. Her travel case was now a book return cart.

“Now isn’t that clever.” Mr Flourish mused. Phenik dropped down onto the shelf and ducked under a flap at the end that still resembled a suitcase.

“Oh now you want to go back in,” Nova said with a snarky air.

As for the books, Mr Flourish selected several books that were required for the first years and then started going over the books she’d selected. Nova started going over the required school books, and let out a sigh. The books looked like primers to her.

“Don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it.” Mr Weasley offered.

Mom number two, Nova’s birth mother, was Twilight Sparkle. Nova knew all the basics of magic theory by the time she was four. Her magic hadn’t manifested until she was six, and she had been a late bloomer. Most unicorns started to learn about and use magic in magic kindergarten. Nova had been born a pegasus with a button horn. It was feared she’d be a false alicorn, which meant she’d likely never fly. Without a proper horn, she’d never do magic either, but shortly after her horn began to grow, her magic started to manifest. Shortly thereafter, Discord decided to boot her across dimensions. The wibbly wobbly nature of time and relative dimensions only made matters worse. Not to mention a bit awkward at times where Twilight and Luna were married in her world, but mother and daughter in another. Despite all that her education in magic seemed to be at a considerably higher level then where she was presently expected to start in the world she was presently in. Nova’s thirst for knowledge was rivaled only by Twilight Sparkle and had managed to further her education by one means or another regardless of the dimension, or hardships she might be in at any given moment.

“Miss, I can understand the books from the young adults' section, but you’ve picked out a number of books that are way beyond what is expected of a first year.” Mr Flourish cautioned.

Nova let out another sigh.

“You’re probably going to want to put some of those back.” Mr Weasley suggested.

Nova’s ears poniefied once more, lay down, and with hat in hand she looked at him with the most pitiful puppy dog eyes.

“For god’s sake, let her have the books!” Someone in the crowd outside the shop shouted.

A short time later a happy Nova, with suitcase in hand, can be seen headed for the next shop trailed by a rather defeated looking Mr Weasley.

Nova having satisfied her book lust, thought it’d be best to go to the pet store to get supplies for Phenik. Something she and Princess Celestia were completely remiss in that they never would have dreamed that one of the fledglings would stowaway. Nova hoped there was only the one in there.

:derpytongue2:

“You do not.” Replied the blond wall-eyed sales witch at the pet shop with a smile. Nova had just informed her that she needed supplies for a phoenix.

“I do, her name is Phenik.”

“Sure you do. Besides who names a phoenix after a small fox anyway?”

“Pardon?” Nova asked perplexed.

“Fennec. It’s a small phox.”

“No, Phenik, her name is Phenik, and she’s a phoenix, not a phox. - There’s a phox called a Fennec?”

“Didn’t you see us walk by earlier?” Mr Weasley asked.

“I got hexed this morning. Can’t see a thing beyond the shop. And I don’t care if that witch’s husband is filthy rich, I’ll not sell her one more animal. - Animals are not fashion accessories to be discarded the moment you get bored with it. - If Miss Shy had been here, she’d have given her a right piece of her mind, that she would.”

“Miss Nova, why don’t you just retrieve Phenik.” Mr Weasley suggested.

“Easier said than done,” Nova replied.

“Well, I’m not going to believe you own a phoenix until I see one.”

“Phine.” Nova retorted tersely, set her suitcase on an open space, and in a few swift motions, the floor now had what looked to be a large steamer trunk mimicking a raised hatchway into the cabin of a small boat. She opened the top, and then a door on one end, and descended a staircase. “Phenik!”

Now when opened thus, it opened to the back of the apartment so that all a person from above could see was a very large sitting room at the bottom of a staircase. If anyone were to poke their heads down into the hatch they’d see, a bedroom, a library, another bedroom to the left with a greenhouse to the right, a large arch at the far end which provided access to two stairwells, and another large room.

“Phenik?!” Nova called as she walked through the sitting room.

“Wow.” Mr Weasley said looking in the hatch. Hearing Nova utter what sounded like a four-letter word, he called out, “No phowl language young lady.” Granted it could just as easily been a five-letter word.

“Horsefeathers!” Nova shouted.

“Horsefeathers?” the sails woman repeated.

“Must be cultural.” Mr Weasley replied.

“Phenik, come here.” Nova’s voice could be heard from somewhere inside. She returned a short time later with said phoenix who looked quite pleased with themselves.

“Do you believe me now?”

“Yes, that’s definitely a phoenix.” The sales clerk had an expression of delight on her face. “How can I help you?”

“I was going to just get food and a perch, but it looks like I’m going to need a number of things to keep my fine fabulous fiery feathered friend occupied when I’m not watching her,” Nova replied while giving Phenik a dirty look.

A short time later Nova was putting her stamp on yet another large purchase. Much of it toys for Phenik along with an owl for sending messages. Allegedly it was possible to teach Phenik to deliver letters, but Nova wasn’t quite ready to push her luck on an untrained bird who thought destroying draperies was a good idea. Fortunately the drapes were self mending. Nova had no way of knowing for how long, and it created quite a fluff problem.

“What say we see about getting you a wand next.” Mr Weasley offered, as they walked across the street. Nova had Phenik on her shoulder once more, her suitcase in her left hand, and was happily nibbling on a muffin. “Oh, and what you have in there is not an apartment, not a deluxe apartment, it’s a royal suit.”

“Well I figured as much, but I’m not about to go running around telling people I’m carrying around a suitcase with a displaced aria inside bigger then most people’s houses, and some smallish castles.”

“Even so, you need to be extra cautious that doesn’t go inside a smaller displaced space. - Castles?"

“That would be a bad thing?”

“Ohhh, that would be a very bad thing.”

“I’ll ah, keep that in mind,” Nova replied timidly. It was going to be a difficult thing to do in a community that thrived on displaced space. “How exactly am I to know?”

“How…? - Well, don’t take it into any other cases, storage lockers, or tents. - I swear you’ve likely got the largest one I’ve ever seen. - I should probably get onto the Ministry about adopting some kind of standards, and some way for people to know so they don’t walk into something, and have the whole thing implode.”

“OK, imploding is bad. Quite possibly my least favorite thing to do. - I imploded a tree once. - Mine will attach itself to a blank wall and become a door. Is that sort of thing common?”

“Perhaps we should consult an expert.” Mr Weasley offered. Nova's interesting injection into what she'd been saying caused a raised eyebrow. “How exactly did you implode a tree?”

Nova hesitated to say anything, but on seeing someone trying out a broom at a nearby shop, she’d formulated what to say based on what she’d seen in a book in the bookstore, and overheard. The people there had all assumed her levitating things was some sort of ‘accidental’ magic. “Well, I was flying...”

“On a broom?”

“I kind of lost control, and I guess it was accidental magic.” She said bending the truth quite a bit. “Instead of splattering on the trunk of the tree, I sort of went right through it.” It’d been a panic teleport at rain-boom speed. “I’m afraid I shredded it along with the individuals who were chasing me.”

“That isn’t part of the reason you’ve been banished is it?”

“Oh no. I wandered into another country,” It’d been a dimension where Queen Moon was at war with King Sombra, and it had been Sombra's mind-controlled drones after her. “I’d been drafted, they were enemy agents, and I got a commendation.”

“You got drafted? At your age?”

“They were using me as a message runner. - All the message runners were minors. We were small, fast, and every last one of us thought we were indestructible. - That was last year, and I’m the only one of my group that made it out. I have nightmares about it now.” She had to take a deep breath. "Sometimes I'd arrive at my destination, and there would be wounded, and no medic. I start helping as best I could. After a while, they decided it might be best to start teaching the runners how to do basic battlefield first aid."

Mr Weasley reached out, perhaps to place a comforting hand in Nova’s shoulder, only to get a painful peck from Phenik. He pulled his hand back wincing.

“To be honest I thought they’d blown up the tree. I’d been hit by flying splinters, and got put out of action for a while. - Right in the plot." She couldn't help but roll her eyes. The few times she'd been wounded it had always been in the plot. “I’d have never known what actually happened if not for a scout patrol that had witnessed it.”

“Wow, that’s...”

“I got the scars to prove it too. - Want to see?”

“Um, no, that’s quite alright.” Mr Weasley replied, perhaps a bit too quickly. “And we're here.”

Nova looked at him curiously. Ponies in general certainly wouldn't have balked at looking at a few scars. She was pretty sure the CMC would think they were awesome… having a few of their own that is. The line, ‘yep, that’s gonna leave a mark’, was fairly well ingrained in her memory.

Nova looked at the shop, curious as to what a place that sells wands looked like. It wasn’t much to look at, there was a door, a window in which a single wand rested on a cushion, and a sign that proclaimed the establishment Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. in gold lettering. Nova had no idea what the number meant though she thought it likely to be some notable event. The modern Equestrian calendars were dated to Night Fall, but the lettering looked to be fairly new, so she figured the shop probably hadn’t been around all that long.

“What’s BC?” Nova asked at length.

“It means before Christ.”

“And who or what is that?”

Mr Weasley thought about it for a moment. “I’ll have to admit that I’ve no idea. I’m a government minister, not a historian. - Come on now.” He offered as he opened the door.

Nova stepped through the door into a tiny shop that was wall to wall shelves filled with small long boxes. The place reminded her a bit of some hobby shops she’d been in, what with all the stacked boxes. She could feel the magic in the wands radiating out and tickling at her senses.

“Welcome to our shop.” Said a young ginger-haired man with a shop apron on over a wizard robe. There was a certain eager anticipation to his tone. “The old man is out right now, so I’ll be the one to help you. Is this your first wand?”

“Yes, I’ve never actually used a wand before,” Nova admitted. Nova smiled as she looked into his steel blue eyes.

“You’re first...” The young man repeated sounding put off just a bit. “Tell you what, have a seat, I’m in training, but I’m sure I can help you out. Names Harold. So which hand do you favor?”

“Hand?” Nova asked as the boy got out a tape measure and began holding it in various odd ways as though trying to measure some aspect of her. The fact that the tape measure wasn’t levitating worried her. “Right hand I guess?”

“You guess?” He offered as he looks over some boxes. He pulled out a box, opened it up, and handed it over to Nova. “Here, just give that a flick… the other way round, you’ve got a hold of the wrong end. Have you never seen someone use a wand? I swear, if not for that phoenix I’d think you were muggle born.”

“She’s a foreigner.” Mr Weasley offered as he sat down on a stool that sat in a corner. “We expect she’ll be attending to Hogwarts this year.” As he was saying this Nova gave the wand a flourish. It responded by going pift as acrid smoke erupted from the end of the wand.

“Is it supposed to do that?” Nova asked.

“Ahh, no, not really,” Harold replied. He’d never seen a wand do something of the sort either. He took the wand back, gave it a wave, blanched, and stuffed it in a pocket in his shop apron. He then looked through the boxes once more, pulled out another box, and handed it to Nova. The results were about the same.

“Maybe we should come back when your grandfather is here?” Mr Weasley offered after the fifth wand had gone out with a mighty whimper and a puff of smoke.

“No, that's OK, I can do this.” Harold implored, grabbed a box at random. “Ah, dogwood with heartstring, that’ll do it.”

“Are you sure?” Nova asked cautiously.

“Absolutely positively…"

“Bam!” This time the wand had exploded with a loud bark and ignited.

“Ahy!” Nova cried out in pain as she dropped it. Her own built-in pegasi force field had kicked in, but not quite fast enough. She'd been saved from serious injury but had still been scorched.

“Idiot boy!” Shouted a silver-haired old man with a long beard, having entered the shop from somewhere in the back. “I thought I told you to tell people they’d need to come back? - Now go find yourself a switch, and wait.”

“Yes, sir.” Harold offered apologetically. “I’m so sorry, I thought I could do it.”

“Git!” The old wizard ordered.

“Are you burned?” Mr Weasley asked.

“Just a bit,” Nova replied. “I’ve had worse.”

“I’m so terribly sorry.” Mr Ollivander offered with a polite bow.

“Thank you, I hold no grudge or blame.” Nova offered while returning the bow.

“I gather you’re trying to beat the rush before school.”

“Yes, I’ve never used a wand before, and thought that as long as I was down here, I might do a bit of shopping.” Nova replied. “I do believe I’m right-handed.”

This time the tape measure took measurements on its own. Mr Ollivander put on a pair of hexagonal glasses and studied Nova for a bit. “Interesting, most interesting.” What he was seeing was unlike anything he'd ever seen before as the girl seemed to have multiple reserves of magic. “I think we’ll start you out...” He went to some boxes on the other side of the room, and picked out a long box. “Ash with unicorn hair.”

Nova tried it. At least this time it didn’t blow up. He quickly took it away and presented her with aspen, and then alder, and then he tried blackthorn eleven inches with unicorn hair. Nova was delighted when a colorful shower of sparks came out.

“The wand does choose the witch or wizard.” Mr Ollivander offered.

Nova held up the wand and decided to try that light spell in her lesson book. “Lumos.”

The two men looked on in shock as the wand lit up with a bright light, delighted that she’d managed the spell so well on a first try, followed by dismay when the wand went out like an over-amped light bulb.

Nova looked at it thoroughly disgusted by this point, set her suitcase down, held the wand up, and produced a sort of magical heads up display in mid-air that she looked through to examine the wand. The two men were stunned as Nova manipulated arcane figures with her left hand. “So that’s the problem,” Nova said more to herself then the two men.

“What’s that?” Mr Weasley asked.

“The cores can’t handle my magic. It’s too wild.” Nova offered. "I need a mixer."

"That, that, how did you do that thing you just did?” Mr Ollivander asked.

“Magical device diagnostic spell.”

“But how are you casting that spell?” Mr Weasley asked.

“Oh, right,” Nova said realizing she’d need to show what she was using to do magic, undid the top two buttons of her jacket, and pulled out an amulet. The amulet itself was made out of a highly polished material he assumed to be ebony, but blacker then any sample he’d ever seen. Set into the disk was a crescent moon made from opal, a small blue crystal cut in the shape of a star directly below the reach of the moon’s overhang, and a much larger precious stone of blue also cut into the shape of a star about halfway down on the far edge from the crescent moon. The moon itself was tilted so as to reach over the first gem with the tip directly over the second. Around the edge were a series of arcane symbols derived from the Arcadian script known as liner B, which were cut into at the point where they intersected with the larger gem. Nova knew the language as ancient ponish.

“I see. But, to do such magic at such a young age?” Mr Ollivander asked. His eyes scanned the letters which read Kisumi Naowa Mune Rokaqaos. When adjusted for the linguistic shift, and translated, it read Captain Kitzumi Nova Moon, which was a most curious thing being she was only an Ensign.

“My biological mother is what I think you might refer to as an arch mage. I’ve had magic lessons drilled into me since I was as young as I can remember. As is I’ve been able to do magic since I was six.” She explained while leaving out the fact that cutie marks had the effect of turning ponies into borderline savants. She could do some really crazy stuff and yet was unable to do quite a number of things that would be considered mundane by wizards. There were also a number of gaps in her education.

“And here I thought you were joking when you said the first-year book looked like a primer.” Mr Weasley said.

“Any chance they’ll let me go at my own pace?” Nova asked.

“Not likely, but they might jump you ahead once they’ve had a chance to see what you can do.”

“Should I get second-year books as well?”

“Might be advisable.” Mr Weasley mused as Nova put the amulet back, and buttoned up her jacket.

“I’m at a bit of a loss as what to do about the wand though.” Mr Ollivander offered.

“I think I know the solution.” Nova offered. “Though you might find this to be a bit unorthodox.”

Nova handed the wand back to Mr Olliveander, took off her hat handing it over to Mr Weasley, undid her hair bun, her hair draping down to her waist, and plucked three strands of hair. One white, one vermilion, and one purple. She held out the three together by the ends and twisted them together into a spiral. “I think you’ll find my own hair should do nicely for a wand core, and it’ll be compatible with my magic.”

“Do people use their own hair very often where you come from?” Mr Weasley asked. Meanwhile, Mr Olliveander was having a closer look at the hairs Nova had handed him.

“My amulet has hair in it from each of my mothers.” Nova offered, hoping to bypass the question. It was also an out and out lie, but she wasn't about to tell them about the stones. The amulet did at least contain magic from all the Lunas she'd met. Wands were virtually unknown in Equestria being that ponies didn’t need them. The amulet itself had originally been a means for Princess Luna’s personal guard to be able to access restricted areas of the castle.

“This will do, yes, this will do nicely.” Mr Olliveander said softly. On close inspection, he’d discovered that the strands the young woman had given him were from the mane of a winged unicorn. Add to that the hairs had some rather unique properties he couldn't quite put his finger on. The girl was a winged unicorn under some kind of enchantment.

“It will?” Mr Weasley asked as Nova tied up her hair again, and put her hat back on. “Miss Moon, could you wait outside?”

“Yes, I guess, I suppose that’s alright,” Nova replied.

“I should be able to get the wand to you in about a week. It’ll be on me for the trouble my grandson put you through.” Mr Olliveander offered.

“Are you sure, I can pay,” Nova questioned.

“It’s quite alright, It’s the least I can do.”

“Well, alright.” Nova offered and stepped outside to enjoy a bit of sun.

“You aren’t seriously thinking of putting human hairs in a wand are you?” Mr Weasley asked dumbfounded at the idea.

“On the contrary, I’ll be doing nothing of the sort.” Mr Olliveander replied with a smile.

“Oh, alright then...” Mr Weasley replied. “And her wand?”

“Ready in about a week.”

:trollestia:



Mr Weasley stepped out into the alley convinced he was missing something important. On looking about he discovered the something important he was missing was Miss Nova. He felt a moment of panic as he looked about, but the small gathering of amused witches and wizards outside the book store was rather telling. Sure enough, Nova was on another book splurge. Once retrieved from the book store they went to a general mercantile and wizarding supplies shop where she purchased a Britannia pewter cauldron, scales, standard weights for the scales, and an assortment of measuring devices.

Nova simply could not bring herself to go into any of the apothecaries as every time she tried she could picture herself being sliced up, dried, and or cured in whatever fashion seemed appropriate for her various parts, and sold in the shop. Pony potions to include Zebra potions were mostly plant-based and seldom if ever took parts of creatures in such a way as to cause harm. Why even glue could be made from hoof clippings alone, and pedicure shops provided the glue industry with plenty of clippings.

“You should probably wait until you get your letter anyway.” Mr Weasley offered.

“No, this is a challenge I must face...” Nova stated, started to walk into a shop, turned right around, and added, “but not today. I think I’m good for now.”


A quick note about Nova’s cutie mark. Her cutie mark was as described on the amulet minus the arcane symbols, a crescent moon tilted to overhang, and two stars under the overhang. Her fur being white the crescent moon had manifested in deep violet, and the stars outlined in violet. Regarding the events prior to her receiving her cutie mark, Nova had been fired out of a catapult by a group of bullies who wanted to see her fly. Unable to do so she somehow managed to teleport to safety. Straight to Princess Luna’s chambers in the next dimension over. The chamber was destroyed by the force of air created by a filly teleporting in at flight speed. She landed safe enough on the bed but sank far enough into the springy cushions that she was bounced up to the ceiling along with the bed bouncing with a mighty thump. Guards rushed in, and not knowing who she was, attempted to apprehend her. This led to a chase across the palace in which Nova teleported every time they thought they had her. Now to the surprise and bewilderment of all, Nova went straight to Princess Luna, and even though this Luna had no clue who Nova was, any filly seeking sanctuary from her was going to get sanctuary. The cutie mark appeared a short time later. As to meaning, being a typical unicorn cutie mark, the meaning was anything but clear. Obviously, it signified magic, but it could potentially mean one who is protected by the moon and one other. Another interpretation has to do with the tilt of the moon, and the placement of the stars in that it was a stylized moon gate. Nova was really good at teleporting. Once her flight feathers came in at the age of twelve she became an excellent flier mixing her magic with her flight capabilities to do what few others could do, but teleportation was top.

Now, back to the Leaky Cauldron. They’d done all the shopping they could do, and Mr Weasley was explaining to Nova how to use the floo network. “Now it’s important to keep your arms and legs tight, don’t panic. All you have to do is take the floo powder. Throw it in the fire, you step in, and to get to my home say Weasley Abbey, and you're off. - You got that?”

“Easy Peasy.” Nova offered while Phenik bobbed her head up and down from Nova's shoulder, stepped into the fire, cast the powder into the fire, spoke the name Weasley Abbey, and vanished in a green puff of smoke.

Did I mention she could project a body shield about herself? Hers was the pegasus body shield that normally only kicked in at high speed. Unlike the spherical unicorn shield, the pegasus shield held tight to the body with the exception of a cone that formed in front of them at near supersonic, and supersonic speeds. It was this shield that allowed pegasi like Rainbow Dash the ability to walk if off after leaving a crater in the ground, and Nova had figured out how to activate the shield at will.

Mr Weasley stood there stunned, sure that his charge was now at the other end seriously injured. There’d been several gasps from the patrons who’d seen what had happened. Mr Weasley quickly grabbed a handful of floo powder, but before he could cast it into the fire Nova burst out in another puff of green smoke with Phenik appearing a moment later.

“Sorry, did it wrong, going to do it again.” Nova announced while Phenik circled overhead, cast the powder in the flames, stepped in, said ‘Weasley Abbey’ and was off again shortly followed by Phenik.

The flow powder slowly trickled from Mr Weasley’s hand.

“This is fun!” Nova announced bursting out again.

“Quit wasting floo powder!” Called the innkeeper, as Phenik swooped out of the fireplace yet again.

“Sorry.” Nova replied sheepishly.

“Just wait for me at the other end.” Mr Weasley said sounding just a bit put out.

“Alright, sorry.” Nova replied, and then dove into the fireplace with another green flash closely followed by Phenik. To Nova, the floo was just another form of teleportation. To her the main difference was that instead of the FTL speed of teleportation, Floo travel was closer to the speed of sound which allowed her to see momentary glimpses inside the homes of others. It was all quite fascinating, and downright fun.

“Blimey, you see that, she didn’t even use any powder that time.” A patron said in disbelief.

“What have I gotten myself into?” Mr Weasley said softly as he took up another handful of the powder. He cast the powder into the fire stepped in, and to his dismay found himself being buffeted about, twisted around, and even turned upside down till he came flying out into the Floo parlor at Weasley Abbey where he took a tumble and found himself sliding across the floor, passing by Nova, and continued to slide until stopped by a sofa. Phenik let out a happy warble, and a moment later a card flew out of the floo stating that the floo network was being shut down due to unexplained turbulence and apologizing for the inconvenience. The fire promptly went out with a mighty puff of smoke that filled the room.

The CMC would be proud.

Author's Note:

There is a certain advantage to doing a crossover into Harry potter outside the time line of the books. In the case of Diagon Alley The only business I know to exist in 1903 per canon is the bank and the wand shop. Shops in any mall or arcade come and go. So with this in mind, why not throw in a few business that have characters that are suspiciously familiar. Rarity in a dress shop. Derpy and Fluttershy running a pet store. To be honest I'd never thought to ship Derpy and Fluttershy, but then it occurred to me they'd go well together running a pet store.


Weasly Abbey is a nod to Downton Abbey. The premise is that the Weasley family were at this point in time a wealthy family with a lot of influence. The Burrow being nothing more then a hunting lodge at this time.

"I'm also finding that if I'm to do this justice I'm likely going to need a couple more chapters before doing the jump forward in time.

As for the 'PH' bit of tom phoolery, that was prompted when I accidentally typed fox with a 'ph', and yes, she said phuck. :twilightoops:

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