"Hannah! My goodness, how time flies—you're already old enough for Hogwarts!"
Madam Malkin's face lit up with warmth as she spotted the group at her shop entrance, her smile was crinkling the corners of her eyes as she addressed Hannah.
"Though we must follow protocol, dear. I'll need to see your acceptance letter, if you please."
"Of course!" Hannah chirped, obediently producing the envelope and handing it over. Then she turned to Luna beside her with a helpful gleam in her eye.
"Oh, where's your acceptance letter? You should give it to Madam Malkin too! First-year students get a discount on their school supplies, but only if you can show your Hogwarts letter."
Luna gave a small nod of understanding but made no move to produce anything. After all, she wasn't a first-year, where would she get an acceptance letter?
Before the confusion could deepen, Tom stretched out his paw and, with a casual flick, produced an envelope from thin air.
In the blink of Hannah's eye, a Hogwarts acceptance letter appeared in his furry grasp.
"???"
Hannah's gaze ping-ponged between Luna's completely unbothered expression and the cat who'd just handed over official school letter.
A very large question mark practically appeared above her head.
Then she seem to have understood something, and clapped her hands together with delight.
"Oh! You're using your pet to carry important items for you! That's brilliant—what a clever and amazing cat! It's even more convenient than an Undetectable Extension Charm!"
Her eyes sparkled with wonder as she leaned closer to Luna. "What species of magical creature is he? Where did you find him? Are there more like him? I'd love to have a cat this talented!"
The wheels were clearly turning in Hannah's mind. After all, items enhanced with Undetectable Extension Charms were strictly regulated by the Ministry of Magic. But a cat with built-in *sorry* born-in storage space? That should be perfectly legal!
'If I had a cat like this, I'd fill his space with nothing but snacks!' Hannah thought dreamily.
One could already see the future Hufflepuff in her with a mind continuously occupied with thoughts of food. Though perhaps that was simply the British condition, given they hailed from a country where cookbook volumes rivaled American history textbooks in thickness.
Before Luna could offer any explanation, Madam Malkin's gasp cut through the air.
"Tom Lovegood? So, you're the cat Professor Dumbledore specifically mentioned—the one starting at Hogwarts this year?"
[That would be me, Madam Malkin.]
A whiteboard appeared in Tom's paws seemingly from the same mysterious nowhere that had produced the letter bearing a line of neat handwriting.
Hannah: ((ᵒꈊᵒ‖))՞
If she'd initially convinced herself that Tom was using something akin to an Undetectable Extension Charm, that illusion shattered completely now. She'd watched with her own eyes as that whiteboard appeared out of absolutely nothing in those previously empty paws!
And wait—had she heard that correctly? Tom was enrolling at Hogwarts? As a student? Merlin's beard! She'd been treating her future classmate like a pet this entire time!
Though...
'He's so adorable though...' (⁄⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄⁄)
Tom had no attention to spare for Hannah's internal crisis. Madam Malkin had already whisked him away, her enchanted measuring tape was flitting around his body with precision.
The standard uniform robes proved to be straightforward enough—his build resembled a young wizard's well enough that only minor alterations were needed, plus the addition of a tail opening. The dragonhide gloves, however, presented a challenge.
With only four digits on each paw, Tom couldn't possibly wear standard-issue gloves. Those would require custom tailoring.
Once Madam Malkin finished recording his measurements and dismissed them, Hannah finally stopped pestering Luna. Instead, she dropped directly to Tom's side.
Though she remained silent, her curious eyes never left him. Whether they were purchasing textbooks, brass scales, pewter cauldrons, or any other supplies, she maintained her unwavering scrutiny. Tom could practically feel her gaze boring into him.
[What exactly are you staring at?!]
Finally reaching his limit, Tom brandished his whiteboard with the written complaint.
"Wait—you can talk?!"
[(¬_¬) Obviously. How else did I communicate with Madam Malkin just now?]
Hannah: ⊙∀⊙! Oh right...
But she'd already discovered something new to fixate on.
"Hold on! The words on your board... they just changed by themselves?!"
[They did not! I wrote them myself!]
Hannah: (¬ ε ¬)
What rubbish. She'd watched the text refresh instantaneously with her own eyes!
Since Tom refused to admit it, though, she let it drop and pivoted to a new line of inquiry, her questions were tumbling out like a broken Filibuster Firework.
"By the way, your name is Tom too? Just like my dad's name! And since you're so magical, can you transform into other cat breeds? Like a Ragdoll, maybe?
"Oh, and where do you keep all these things? I can't see any pockets or pouches on you! And that enormous whiteboard—where on earth does it come from?
"Can you deliver packages across cities like owl post? You know, covering several cities in just a few hours to get parcels to specific people?
"And—"
Tom suddenly understood exactly what Luna had endured earlier. This wasn't the quintessential Hufflepuff at all, this was a walking encyclopedia of curiosity! The barrage of questions threatened to overload his feline brain.
He cast desperate, pleading glances toward Luna and Pandora, but received only Luna's sympathetic yet distinctly relieved expression, she was clearly grateful the interrogation spotlight had shifted and Pandora's amused smile in return.
Fortunately, Diagon Alley wasn't particularly large. Before Hannah could satisfy even a fraction of her rampant curiosity, they arrived at their final destination: Ollivanders' Wand Shop.
The sight of the ancient shop sobered even Hannah's excitement. Apparently, the prospect of acquiring her first wand outweighed even the mystery of her magical cat classmate.
With Hannah finally quiet, Tom exhaled in relief. While he certainly appreciated being liked especially by charming young witches, Hannah's curiosity burned with the intensity of Fiendfyre!
Now that she'd settled down, Tom could properly observe the shop that featured in almost every time-travel or reincarnation fanfiction set in this world.
Just as the books described, the shop radiated historical solemnness. The faded gold lettering on the peeling sign declared its ancient lineage to anyone who cared to look.
Inside, the shop contained nothing beyond a single thin chair, but thousands of narrow boxes stacked floor to ceiling created a claustrophobic corridor that seemed to stretch into impossibility. Each box presumably contained a wand awaiting its destined wizard.
Tom found himself wondering idly whether Mr. Ollivander needed to cast Levitation Charms to stabilize the upper boxes whenever he retrieved wands from the lower shelves, lest the entire precarious tower come crashing down.
Before he could ponder the logistics further, a figure emerged from the shadows, it was an elderly man with wide, pale, luminous silver eyes that seemed to pierce through surface appearances.
"Good afternoon. Two new students seeking wands, I presume? Please, come in."
His gaze landed with certain precision on Tom and Hannah, completely ignoring Luna's presence despite her standing equally close. One had to admire Ollivander's professional acumen, he could identify first-years requiring wands at a glance.
Hannah's wand selection proceeded smoothly. After trying only a handful of options, Ollivander matched her with her perfect companion.
Then his penetrating stare shifted to Tom.
"You must be the Tom that Dumbledore mentioned so particularly—the one beginning at Hogwarts this year, yes?"
He moved closer, his expression was both solemn and earnest. "Regardless of who you are, what you were, or what you might become, the wand will always be your most loyal companion. Wands choose the wizard who deserves them, who suits them best."
His voice carried the weight of decades of experience. "So please, young one, come here. Let me find you the most suitable companion, the one meant to stand by your side."