The Power of Love

Shopping Trip

Cassandra tore her eyes away from the plane's window and looked up at Albus, "What is Hogwarts like Professor?"

"Hogwarts is an extraordinary place. It is an enormous castle, complete with secret passages, dungeons, towers, suits of armor, and ghosts. There are four dormitories for the students to live in. They are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house is suited for different students and no one is ever quite certain which house they shall be in until they go through the Sorting Ceremony at the Welcoming Feast when they arrive." He had his usual smile and twinkling eyes as he watched Cassandra's intrigued face.

"What are the classes like?" Cassandra sounded very excited about this particular aspect of her journey due to the fact that she had never really made it through an entire day of school in her life.

"The classes are all very informative, but at the same time, somewhat boring." He let out a chuckle. "You will be taking all of your classes with your house. You will have lessons such as Herbology, where you will learn about all sorts of magical plants; Transfiguration, where you will learn how to turn one thing into another; History of Magic, which is a particularly boring class; Astronomy, which is held once a week at midnight; Potions, where you will learn how to brew all sorts of helpful potions; and finally, Defense Against the Dark Arts, where you will learn how to defend yourself against Dark wizards or creatures."

"Sounds very interesting," she beamed, "I can't wait to start!"

"Yes well, you'll be taking all of those courses plus one more. You'll be having a class two times a week with me. We'll be working on controlling your unique gifts," said Professor Dumbledore with a smile.

"But I'm going to need books and other things for all of these classes, right?" Cassandra's smile started to fade. "How am I going to afford them? My parents already said they weren't going to give me any money to come here."

"Well, I said that you would be on a full scholarship to Hogwarts and I meant it. All of your books and supplies are to be included in that. Speaking of which..." He reached into his cloak and withdrew a parchment envelope and handed it to Cassandra. She smiled as she studied the green ink on the slightly yellowed parchment. As she slit the wax seal on the envelope open Albus began to speak again.

"I believe this includes your book and supply lists. We'll be arriving in London shortly, and then we can go to Diagon Alley to purchase all of your school things. I believe we will be able to stay at the Leaky Cauldron for the next couple of nights and then I shall see you off to Kings Cross station where you will be catching the Hogwarts Express."

Cassandra just smiled and went back to looking out the plane window. Before she knew it the plane was landing and they were gathering their things to get off the plane. Then they walked around the London airport and looking for their bags and a taxi. Cassandra was intrigued by everything around her. Considering that she had never really been out of her home for that long, she was never allowed on vacations with her family or even on small trips to the store with her mother, so to her, London seemed like a completely different world.

The cab finally came to a stop in front of a very dingy looking building that no one really seemed to notice. Cassandra looked up and saw a dark sign reading "The Leaky Cauldron" and Albus showed her in. They walked to the bar in a train, Professor Dumbledore first, then Cassandra, and then Jewel, and stopped in front of the old looking bartender.

"Why hello there Professor Dumbledore," said the old man flashing a somewhat toothless grin. "What can I do for you today?"

"Well Tom," Albus started, "my friend Cassandra and I are in need of a couple of rooms for the next couple of nights. Are there any available?"

"For you Professor, of course!" Tom looked at a small key rack behind him and picked up two keys and handed them to Professor Dumbledore. "Rooms 6 and 7 are for you. Can I help you and the young lady with your bags?"

"That would be wonderful Tom. We thank you very much." He showed Tom the bartender their bags and looked to Cassandra. She walked behind Albus with Jewel happily trotting next to her as they walked upstairs to their rooms. They got to a door with a brass number 7 on it. Professor Dumbledore opened the door and then spoke.

"Here is where you will stay for the night. I'm sure you're very tired from our journey today so I'll leave you to get some sleep," He said with a twinkle in his eyes, "and do rest up; we have a lot of shopping to do tomorrow."

"Thank you Professor," Cassandra said with a small smile, "I'll see you in the morning. Good night."

"Goodnight." He quietly shut the door and left her alone to dream.

When Cassandra woke up the next day she expected to see her normal dingy room and that everything that happened yesterday was only a dream. There was no Albus Dumbledore, there is no Hogwarts, and she was never leaving her horrible family in America. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes to see the small room in the Leaky Cauldron. She couldn't help but smile as he got out of bed knocking Jewel onto the floor. She walked around the room looking for her things while pulling out a nice set of robes to wear that day. She then walked into the bathroom to shower.

When she came out of the bathroom she noticed her breakfast was set out on the small table by the window. Just as she was about to sit down to eat there was a soft knock at the door. She slowly got up and opened the door to see Albus standing there.

"Good morning Cassandra!" Professor Dumbledore had a cherry voice and a bright smile on his face that immediately made her wondered how much coffee he had already had to be so perky. "Ready for a fun day of shopping?"

"Definitely," she said smiling, "it will give me the chance to practice my concentration before I get to school." He couldn't help but smile when she said this.

*I'm glad you are so eager to do that. I can already tell you will do famously at Hogwarts,* she heard him think.

"Thank you."

"I wasn't thinking anything that was not completely true. No thanks required." He put a hand on her shoulder as she sat down at the table. "Well, let's eat our breakfast and then head out to the shops." Cassandra just nodded as they ate the rather large amount of toast, eggs, bacon, sausage, and waffles. When they were finished they both left Cassandra's room and walked back through the bar and out the back door. Albus walked up to the wall that was blocking the alley way and drew his wand. He tapped his wand on the third brick from the left next to a trash can and the wall started to open into a huge archway large enough to fit a giant through.

"Welcome to Diagon Alley, Cassandra," he said motioning for her to follow him into the very busy street. "This is where you will find everything that you need for school. Books are over there in Flourish and Blotts; and at Ollivander's you can get your wand; and right there you can find a cauldron for your potions class. But first we want to get you some robes and that store is right over here." The duo walked slowly so Cassandra could take in everything around her as they walked through the street and into a clothing shop.

"Why hello Professor Dumbledore," said a plump witch from behind the counter, "to what do I owe this pleasure?" Professor Dumbledore smiled and motioned for Cassandra to come forward.

"Well, I am helping young Cassandra here get her school things. It is her first year at Hogwarts and she will need the necessary robes," Albus said sitting in a chair in the corner. Jewel jumped into his lap and purred as he gently stroked her back.

"Alright missy, come over here." The plump witch pointed to a stool for Cassandra to stand on. She held out a measuring tape and began to measure all around Cassandra. She walked away to go and get some pins when Cassandra noticed the tape was still moving and measuring. She laughed. The witch put some black robes on her and began to pin them up. When she was finished she looked up at Cassandra and asked, "How's that dear?"

Cassandra just nodded and shyly smiled. "Right then, Alterendicum!" The witch cried pointing her wand to the robes. She pulled the robes off Cassandra and then walked behind the curtains. When she returned she had a large wrapped box and handed it to Cassandra. She moved to the register when Albus stood up causing Jewel to fall.

"Actually could you send the bill to Hogwarts? Cassandra is on a special scholarship." The witch just nodded and made mental a note of where to send the bill. Albus walked over to the door and opened it. "Alright Cassandra, I believe you need a wand next. We should be off to Ollivander's"

They walked back through the crowded street to another small shop. When they got inside Cassandra noticed the walls were completely lined in small wand boxes. While in the dimly lit shop Cassandra tried only three wands before they emerged from the shop new wand in her hand; rosewood, thirteen and a half inches, containing one dragon's heartstring.

They then went into a funny smelling shop where they bought her potions kit. After that they decided it was time to break for lunch and went to the small ice cream shop on the corner to eat. Cassandra was enjoying her ice cream when suddenly an owl landed on their table carrying a small package. Cassandra recognized it at once.

"Archimedes!" She cheered as the owl gave her an affectionate nip. "It's my grandmother's owl!" She reached for the package tied to Archimedes' leg and untied it. Albus watched curiously.

"I wonder how he knew where to find you?" he asked looking at the bird as Cassandra opened the package.

"He is a very smart owl. Grandmother probably heard that I left for school with you and wanted to get in touch with me. She has always been the nicest person in my family, especially towards me." Professor Dumbledore just smiled as she read a letter inside the package.

"Dear Cassandra,

Your mother just sent me an owl telling me that you have gone off to school in London! That's wonderful dear! I've always heard that Hogwarts is an exceptional school and I know that you will do wonderfully. Anyways, I thought you might need some money while you are over there. Enclosed is a gift of congratulations for getting into such and esteemed school. I hope you have a 'magical' term and I expect you to keep me posted on everything that is happening over there. Congratulations and good luck!

Much love,

Your Grandmother Salem."

Cassandra reached in the box and pulled out a leather bag that jingled with the sound of money. Sure enough she opened the bag to reveal several bronze Knuts, a large amount of silver Sickles, and a ton of gold Galleons.

"Now I can pay you back for all the school things." She reached into the bag and began to pull out some of the coins. Albus put out a hand.

"No need to my dear. You are on scholarship. You'll want to do something fun with that money." Albus was smiling. "You might want to make sure you save some for the train ride tomorrow. The snack trolley is always filled with various sweets and goodies I'm sure you will want to try. Now, we should go buy your parchment and quills."

And that was how the rest of the day went, Professor Dumbledore, Cassandra, and Jewel going from shop to shop buying all of her school things and a couple of extra things for herself. It wasn't until they were getting ready to leave the packed bookstore that Cassandra started to get a headache. She put a hand to her head and began to breathe very hard. Albus noticed this and quickly paid for her books and rushed her out of the store and to a room in the Leaky Cauldron.

"Lay down Cassandra," he said pointing to the bed. Cassandra laid down in pain and Albus pulled a chair next to her bed. Just then there was a knock at the door. Albus went to answer it and came back quickly with some hot chocolate.

"I'm sorry; I don't know what happened in there," Cassandra said through the pain, "I just couldn't seem to concentrate anymore. I'm sorry."

"No need to be sorry dear, it's perfectly fine," Professor Dumbledore said putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I didn't expect you to go the entire day without that happening. You just need training. It will still be difficult for you to stay in crowds like this for a long time like today, and large crowds will be exceptionally hard for you to handle at first. But, you will learn to overcome this. Honestly, I am very surprised you made it as long as you did. It shows you are a very strong person." Cassandra smiled weakly.

"Thank you Professor," she said laying there quietly sipping the hot chocolate.

"Now, before you go to school, or get on the train; I wanted to ask you a few questions about those unique gifts of yours." Cassandra sat up against the pillow and nodded indicating it was ok to ask away. Albus cleared his throat and started speaking. "You can hear what other people are thinking, we know that. And right now that is the foremost of our concerns but I wanted to see if you had any other abilities that might be connected with telepathy. First, have you ever spoken to someone using your mind?" Cassandra just shook her head. "Alright, it might take a little work but I am sure that one day you will be able to. Second, have you ever found yourself in a place that you weren't in a second ago, almost like you just popped up there?"

"Yes," Cassandra said quietly, "my brother, Hunter, was about to punch me and I closed my eyes, when I opened them again I was in the closet in my room."

"Wonderful!" Professor Dumbledore cheered. "Teleportation. In the magical world, we can Apparate. I'm sure you know all about that. But in cases such as yourself, you can travel as if you were Apparating but, it's quite different. Rather than using magic to travel like that, you use your mind. There are Muggles who can do that also. We will be able to work on that too. Now, when you get angry, something happens to you. You change. What can you tell me about this?"

"Well, it doesn't happen often. I not get that angry. But I transform sort of. My eyes turn purple, then my hair turns black, and whatever I'm wearing turns black. Then things start to shake and sometimes things shatter. I call it my 'Dark Side' because everything goes dark so quickly, even the clouds. But I can't explain it." She tried not to think of the last time she changed when the school crumbled to the ground.

"Well, I'm not exactly sure why it happens, but I do have a couple of theories and we will find out why this happens to you." He smiled trying to make her feel better as she sipped her drink again. "Is there anything else you can do?"

"Actually there is one more thing," she said smiling, "my grandmother calls me an Animagus. I can change into animals."

"Well, which animal can you become?" He eyed her curiously; it was extremely rare to find an Animagus this young.

"Any," Cassandra said getting out of the bed. "I can change into any animal you can think of. Just name off five, but try to make them small, I don't think a large animal could do that well in here." Intrigued, Professor Dumbledore stood up and began to think.

"How about, a rabbit, a phoenix, a bear, a wolf, and a cat?" He watched as Cassandra took a deep breath and then before him he saw a pure white rabbit with soft blue eyes, then a beautiful large phoenix with all white plumage and the same blue eyes. Next she changed into a large pure white bear, once again with blue eyes; but before he knew it, the bear had become a white wolf with blue eyes.

Finally, the wolf changed into an all white cat with blue eyes that looked identical to Jewel. Then the cat changed into something very small, and still white. As he got closer he realized Cassandra had become a pixie. She flew over to him and he looked at a type of pixie with hair, eyes, and a face exactly like Cassandra's with a very small body surrounded in white light and wings. She spoke in a high pitched voice.

"It's not just animals I can become," she said doing a loop-the-loop in the air and transfiguring herself back to her normal self. "I can become any creature you can imagine."

"That is amazing, but I see you have that power under control," Professor Dumbledore said smiling as she walked back to bed and sat back down.

"I have been able to do that for as long as I can remember, just like everything else." She took a drink of her hot chocolate as she thought. "My grandmother says I was born with it all."

"Very interesting," he said twirling his beard, "Professor McGonagall will be very pleased to see this. She teaches Transfiguration and will be astounded by what you can do. Now, I would like you to try and keep most of these special abilities to yourself. The other students needn't know all these things about you and if they do, you won't have as much fun when you learn to control them all. You may of course tell your friends, I don't expect you to keep secrets from them. But specifically the telepathy, teleportation, and your transformation should be kept secret. I'll let you dazzle your classmates with your Transfiguration abilities. And I expect Professor McGonagall wouldn't have that any other way."

"Thank you, for everything today Professor," Cassandra said with a cheery smile. "I can't wait to get on the train tomorrow." Professor Dumbledore just smiled as he pet Jewel.

"Now, you should get some rest. It will be a long trip aboard the Hogwarts Express tomorrow." He smiled and walked over to the door. "Get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning." He turned out the light and Jewel jumped up next to Cassandra and fell asleep.