3 Janet Bell
-3rd POV-
After talking to his father for the last time, Lucien had decided to sleep and give his brain a rest.
The next morning, however, he replayed his fathers' words in his head: Charing Crossroad, Leaky Cauldron, Diagon Alley.
He knew what he had to do to get there. Lucien took the initiative and looked through his memories to find a way to get the most money possible in his current situation.
Sifting through his thoughts, images of his bullies came to mind and the older boys that they liked to follow around. The old Lucien had been looking for a train part when he had walked past the Loo. The older boys huddled around, pulling their day's work out of their pockets and putting it into a metal box.
It was their cache of money that they hid in the loo under the floorboard beneath the counter.
'Haha, I got your asses now. Hopefully, wherever the Bondye is sending me is good enough to live,' Lucien had thought.
Apparently, those d-bags were selling cocaine. Probably to buy clothes for themselves since the ones provided by the orphanage are nothing but rags.
'Oh well, it's a dog eats dog world from now on, I guess,' and with that thought, Lucien went into the loo, grabbed the cash cache, and went out the window in the direction of what he thought was Charing crossroad.
After a couple hours, Lucien had finally asked for directions and was led in the right direction.
It was around 11pm when he finally arrived at The Leaky Cauldron. It was a place full of life with kids around his age and older with their parents and friends. Eating, drinking, and laughing. At that moment, a nostalgic feeling falls over Lucien. This site had reminded him of the quarter, and then he had remembered how he and his mother were murdered to cripple the growth of their community.
Lucien hardened himself again. He wasn't here to make friends and reminisce. However, some people had other plans.
"Excuse me, dear, are you lost perhaps?" Asked a purple-haired woman with dark brown eyes, who looked about 18 years old.
Coming back from his thoughts, Lucien looked up at her. "No, not all. I'm just looking for the entrance to Diagon Alley."
"Diagon Alley? Well, it is too late to go there, love. If you have a Galleon, you can stay here for the night."
"All I have is pounds," taking out a couple of pounds from his pocket.
"Muggle money? Well, I guess you can stay with me and tomorrow you can go to Gringotts to exchange em"
Not knowing what the hell Gringotts was, Lucien knew he had a free place to stay "oh, that would be groovy, thank you."
"Haha, Groovy? You're quite funny. By the way, my name is Janet Bell. But everyone calls me JannaBell."
"Hmm, I like JannaBell. Can I call you that?" asked Lucien.
"Well, of course," JannaBell replied with a nice smile.
"haha, Groovy," Lucien chuckled.
Following Jannabell to a table, she ordered two drinks and looked at Lucien with a serious expression.
"So, what's a young boy like you out and about all late for? Don't your parents worry about you?" Jannabell asked.
"Actually, I don't have any parents. You see I do magic tricks for money and a man gave me some good money and told me to come here. He said it would rock my world, and it's where people like me belong," Lucien explained.
"I'm sorry. I didn't know, but it's good that the man helped, or it wouldn't have been long until the ministry picked you up," Jannabell spoke with a worried voice.
"It's alright it's not like you can read minds, and what's the ministry?" Lucien asked.
"Oh Legilimancy, heavens know that magic is to advance for me and The Ministry of Magic governs all wizards in Britain," said JannaBell.
Again, Lucien was stuck. Now he wanted to know just what kind of place the Bondye had sent him to. And what other kinds of magic did they practice besides that ancestral stuff his father told him about.
"Well, why are you here?" asked Lucien.
"I have to get my supplies for Hogwarts. It's a school for people like us. I suppose you're not 11 years old yet if you haven't gotten a letter by now," said Jannabell.
"Well, I'm 9 years old, and you are telling me that there's a school that teaches magic?" Lucien asked.
"Yes, and tomorrow I'll tell you all about it. But we better get to bed if we want to beat the crowd tomorrow." and like that, the night ended for young Lucien.
The next morning Lucien was awakened by getting gently poked in the check by a purple-haired beauty.
"Wake up now. It's time to get going. I have a new world to introduce you to," Jannabell sang.
Lucien moaned and grumbled but, he still got out of bed. Something told him that this wild and eccentric beauty isn't one to piss off.
"So, how do we get to Diagonally? Or however, you say it?" asked Lucien.
"It's Diagon Alley, and if you follow me. I'd love to rock your world for the day," Jannabell giggled.
" That would be groovy," Lucien chuckled.
Janet leads the way to the back of the Leaky Cauldron and through a doorway that looked like it should have been a wall but, Lucien didn't ask too many questions. He just soaked everything up. If he saw it and heard it, he would remember it forever.
Breaking his concentration, Janet grabbed his arm, pulling him in the direction of huge gold and ivory building that said 'Gringotts.'
"Aye, we're here. This is where you will exchange that muggle money of yours," said Jannabell.
Leading Lucien in, they went straight to the head teller.
"Ahh, if it isn't young mistress Yaxley, have you finally come to claim your inheritance?"
"It's Bell, and no, I have not. I'm here with a young friend. He wants to exchange muggle pounds for Wizard Galleons, then open himself up a vault here," explained JannaBell.
"Hmm, well, if you say so. What is your name, young man?"
"Lucien Dubois, What's your name, teller?"
"Kerlaag, young wizard. Now how much are you exchanging today?" asked Kerlaag.
Looking over at Janet and then back at Kerlaag. Lucien reached into the pack he had been carrying with him and pulled out a metal box.
"A little over 100,000 pounds, how much will that get me, Mr. Kerlaag?" asked Lucien.
Hearing his name said with respect and honorifics, Kerlaag was feeling good for the first time when dealing with a young wizard.
"Well, Mr. Dubois, follow me to a private room so we can count it and get you a fair exchange," said Kerlaag.
"I see you're a man about your money, Mr. Kerlaag," said Lucien
Following the goblin to a private room, they counted the pounds totaled at 589,000 pounds, and Lucien received 41012 Galleons 8 Sickles 12 Knuts. And opened himself up a vault as an independent. He then paid 1000 galleons to register his Family name, Dubois.
After they were finished, Lucien received a pouch with some kind of magic charm to link it with his vault, kind of like a debit card.
After leaving Gringotts, Jannabell took Lucien to many different food places and small shops to get to know the market.
It was all fun, and Lucien really enjoyed himself. However, he didn't really love it until Janet started her school shopping.
The first stop was Flourish & Blots, There Janet got all her school textbooks for the year, but Lucien also saw that they sold a wide variety of books. The place was so cluttered with books the shop owner had to use her wand, which Lucien still didn't completely understand the purpose of, to move books around to help the customers.
The next stop was Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, Magical Menagerie, Potage's Cauldron Shop, and finally Slug and Jiggers Apothecary.
Walking back to the leaky cauldron, Lucien was still organizing his thoughts to make the most out of his new life. But one thing stumped him the most. He had enjoyed himself, but the market had seemed so anticlimactic to be a magic market. And he wondered where everyone got their wands from.
"JannaBell… are there any other markets besides Diagon Alley? And where does everyone get their wands?" asked Lucien.
"Ahhh yes, that's what I forgot, most wizards get their wands their first year, and since you're not a first-year and I already have a wand, I forgot to take you by Ollivander's. Well, let's go, maybe he's still open for one last patron," said JannaBell
Stopping in front of Ollivander's, JannaBell and Lucien walked into find a well-kept man in his 60's maybe, carefully expecting a wand. It was a nice-sized shop with boxes on every shelf. It was a clean and well-organized shop.
"I see you're finally heading back to Hogwarts, Ms. Bell," said Ollivander.
"Yes, it's been a while. But I'm back now, and I plan to finish my last two years" Jannabell with determination.
"That's fantastic!" Ollivander cheered her on.
" And this must be a young wizard looking to purchase a wand." Finally, looking up from the wand in his hand, the old man's face contorted when he saw Lucien. "Well, I will be damned. Never in my life have I seen a soul quite like yours."
Lucien looked over at JannaBell with a questioning look, and she just shrugged her shoulders.
"I want to see if I'm fit to wield a wand," said Lucien.
"And I also what to see if your fit to wield a wand. However, I just don't know what wand to give you," said Ollivander.
"What do you mean, Mr.Ollivander?" JannaBell asked, confused by the odd exchange.
"Well, Ms. Bell, for the first time in my life, I have no idea how to match a wand to a young wizard. We may have to go through every wand in this shop," Olivander spoke with a hint of excitement.
Talking it over for a while, Lucien convinced JannaBell to leave after exchanging info so that he could send an owl later while he stayed at Ollivander's and started the Trails of Wands.
