Chapter Two

The White Kitten

Luka’s parents are incredibly busy the next day, but he and sister barely notice since they,

too, are busy with preparing to move. Luka spends most of the time in his room, going through

his things and wishing he could use magic to fit them all in his suitcase. It takes about half the

day to get everything from his room into his bags or in a separate bin for storage. By afternoon,

Luka’s room only contains his bare furniture and a few bits of paper and dust on the floor. It

reminds Luka painfully of Caligo’s hastily vacated home. But that pain is lessened when he

remembers that he is on the road to discovering where his friend went.

Damon and Anna return home that afternoon having set up a Portkey with MACUSA,

packed up all ​their ​things, put down rent for their new house in London, and officially enrolled

Luka at Hogwarts. By the time the sun begins to fall, the family is ready to have their going

away party.

Luka never realized how many friends he and his family made here. Sam, Georgia, and

all of his other friends attend the party, along with Leila’s younger group of friends and Damon

and Anna’s many acquaintances. The party feels surreal. The setting sun basks everyone in a

nostalgic glow, and the sentimental tone of the party (and possibly the alcohol served to the

adults) makes it feel slow, as though each conversation is happening underwater, as though each

goodbye is lasting forever. Everyone promises him that their goodbyes are temporary, but for

some reason Luka can’t see into the future they’re looking towards. All he sees in front of him is

England, Hogwarts, and the journey of finding his true best friend.
 The next day, Luka’s family wakes up just before dawn, and with their luggage in tow,

they go out their backdoor, through their backyard, and into the dark forest surrounding it. They

walk for about five minutes through the thick wood, their feet crunching on the blanket of leaves

below them. Luka finds it strange to be in these woods with his parents when he’s only ever been

here alone, causing mischief with the friend they never even knew he had. It makes him uneasy.

They finally approach a rusty hammer, and Damon stoops to grab it it. The rest of the

family follows suit, and within seconds, the hammer begins to shake. Before Luka can prepare,

the Portkey jerks him off the ground and he’s spinning much too quickly through space, and he

feels as though he might vomit, but just before he does, he lands roughly on a grassy hill, his legs

crumpling uncomfortably underneath him. He grabs his head to steady his vision, then rises to

his feet and helps Leila onto hers.

He and his family are in a field, and somehow the sun is already overhead, brightly

lighting everything around him. Luka realizes that the time changed now that they’re on a

different side of the planet.

“Where are we going?” he asks. His father points to the west, where there is an outline of

a few buildings on top of another hill. It takes about ten minutes to reach the first building, which

seems like a dilapidated house at first. But when Luka steps inside, he realizes that the building

is definitely under an Extension Charm, because the inside looks a bit more like a small indoor

train station, with at least twenty fireplaces lining the walls. People fill the entire space, stepping

in and out of fireplaces, the smell of Floo powder prevalent in the hot air.

“What is this place?” Leila asks.

 “It’s England’s national Floo center. This is where people who are traveling by Portkey

can come to get to their destination.”

The family walks up to the nearest fireplace, which Luka notices has a small gold plaque

above it that reads ​Diagon Alley. ​An attendant holds a bowl of Floo powder in front of the

family, so Damon grabs a handful, steps into the eerie green flames, throws the powder down at

his feet, and disappears. Leila goes next, with the help of her mother, and Luka can’t help but

hold his breath as we watches his six year-old sister step into the flames. Then, Luka goes,

scooping up the soft, sparkly black powder and walking carefully into the fireplace. The flames

lick at him, but do not harm him. He releases the powder and, again, he is flying with no control,

only this time he is flying through what feels like a brick tunnel. He keeps eyes and mouth closed

tightly, and after scraping his arm on the brick, pulls his elbows in.

He lands in another fireplace and steps out quickly. The room he enters is not lit except

for the sun shining through a tall window across the room. There are a few strange-looking

witches and wizards at the tables lining the darker edges of the room, but the center of the room

is mostly full with brighter people having lunch. Luka walks over to his dad and sister and waits

for his mom to appear in the fireplace, then they all meander to one of the empty tables.

“All right, let’s have some breakfast-- or lunch. Not sure which it is, actually,” Damon

laughs. Luka looks around apprehensively. He hasn’t been out of the United States for so long.

It’s strange to be traveling again, to experience a new place, hear new accents, and see new

faces. He’s intrigued by the prospect-- things have been pretty boring in his life until the incident

with Caligo occurred-- and, strangely, the experience of newness is familiar to him, no doubt
because he moved so much when he was young. But Luka can’t ignore the pain that stabs at him,

even with the comfort and excitement; he already misses home.

After lunch at the Leaky Cauldron, Luka and his family venture out into Diagon Alley.

Immediately, Luka is amazed at the cobblestone steps and the teetering buildings that look so

much older than anything back in California. He’s used to everything being new and pristine, but

this place existed lifetimes before anything was built back home, and it shows. He’s surprised

that the shops aren’t collapsing in on him in a pile of old wood and dust. But Diagon Alley has a

certain vibrance to it. This doesn’t counter its age, but makes it more interesting. The old walls of

each shop are coated in brightly colored paint, many with whimzical moving signs, like

Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes, a​ store that Luka has to stop himself from asking to enter. He wishes

he had more time to look around, but Damon is insistent on getting the supplies as quickly as

possible.

“Me and Luka will go get his potion ingredients. You and Leila can go to Flourish and

Blotts for his books.”

Luka follows his dad through the alley, until they reach a shop called Slug and Jiggers

Apothecary. They enter the dimly-lit shop, where a number of witches and wizards are browsing

through the rows of animal parts and plant extracts. Many of the people are young like him, and

Luka guesses that they’re fellow Hogwarts students, doing some last-minute school shopping. He

feels unreasonably nervous at the sight of his own peers.

“So, what house do you think you’ll be in?” Damon asks his son out of the blue, his eyes

shining behind his glasses as carefully plucks a few porcupine quills from their tub.

Luka shrugs.
 “I don’t know. I mean, if were at Ilvermorny, I’d probably be a Thunderbird.”

Damon laughs at this. “Yes, you definitely would be.”

“But I don’t know about Hogwarts. You were a Ravenclaw, right?”

“I was.”

“I could be a Ravenclaw, maybe.”

“Yes, maybe,” Damon says thoughtfully.

Luka, consulting his school supplies list, bottles up five grams of Bleeding Beetle legs as

he thinks about his future house.

“You know,” Damon says after a long pause, “it doesn’t really matter which house you’re

in. I actually had more Slytherin friends than Ravenclaws.”

“Really? Why?”

Damon stops scooping powdered dragon scale and looks down.

“Well, I felt very accepted among certain people in that house.”

“Accepted? Aren’t Slytherins known for… well, the opposite of acceptance?”

Damon smiles defeatedly. “I suppose they are. That’s why I had to separate myself from

them later on.”

“Oh,” Luka says quietly, feeling awkward for pressing his dad. He didn’t mean to shame

him for the friends he made. But Damon, after a moment of silence, speaks confidently again.

“And that’s why you should be careful about the friends you make. Don’t follow in my

footsteps. If someone is causing trouble, I recommend that you distance yourself from them. I

thought I could see something in those people that others didn’t, but when the whole world

perceives somebody as bad or wrong, it’s best to listen to them. I made the mistake of eagerly
accepting whoever floated into my life, because I was desperate. But Luka, you’re better than

that. You deserve to be picky.”

Luka’s mind immediately turns to Caligo. He knows his dad would consider the strange

boy someone to stay away from, and that’s why Luka never told his parents about his secret

friend. But his dad is right about not letting in the wrong type of friend. The only person Luka

truly needs is Caligo, but since they are separated, he needs to spend every second searching for

his friend, rather than trying to replace him with new ones. Caligo is the friend he would choose

above all. That’s why all he can think about, even as he’s in a completely new country, on a new

continent, going to a new school, is finding him. Instead of feeling scared about Hogwarts,

remaking friends, stressing over classes, and anything else distracting about going to a new

school, Luka decides to dedicate every second to finding the only person that matters to him in

this world.

Damon and Luka purchase all the ingredients they collected at Slug and Jiggers, and then

the whole family continues to scurry around Diagon Alley for another two hours, slowly

checking off the items on Luka’s supplies list. Finally, the last thing on the list is a wand.

“I’m so excited,” Luka says aloud, grinning. Buying the rest of his school supplies was

moderately enjoyable, since Diagon Alley and everything in it is so unique, but everyone knows

that what every young wizard really wants is an instrument to channel their magic: a wand.

Once they start heading towards the wand shop, Leila lights up and begs,“Can I go in

with him? Can I get one? I mean, just try one? Please?”

“No, Leila,” Anna says. “We haven’t seen your magic yet. Who knows what could

happen if we put a wand in your hand?”

 “Fine,” she huffs.

The family ventures to the end of the ally and up to an old-looking shop called

Ollivander’s. ​Anna and Leila wait outside while Damon ushers Luka in. Immediately upon

entering the shop, Luka feels an ancient magic wash over him. It only takes a few moments for

someone to come out of the back. The woman is young, almost too young to belong in a place as

archaic as this.

“Hello,” the woman says. “Welcome to Ollivander’s.”

Luka immediately decides that however young the woman appears, her graceful

demeanor and wispy voice carries a very delicate energy that actually makes her fit right in.

“Hello,” Damon replies. “Where is Mr. Ollivander?”

The woman frowns. “If you’re talking about Garrick Ollivander, he passed a few years

ago. I’m his niece, Guinevere.”

“Mr. Ollivander is deceased?” Damon exclaims. “I can’t believe I haven’t been told.

Well, I’m sorry to hear that. We’re here to get Luka a wand.”

Damon pats Luka on the back and Guinevere Ollivander looks at him with luminous eyes

that seem to peer straight through him. Luka looks away shyly.

“Well, I’ll just get your measurements and we’ll find you a wand.”

While Guinevere looks in the back, an enchanted tape measure winds around Luka’s

body, measuring every inch of him. Then, the tape measure falls to the floor and Guinevere

comes out with two boxes.

“I think one of these will work. Try this. It’s vine wood, with a unicorn hair core, just like

your father.”
 “How do you know about my wand?” Damon asks suspiciously. The woman looks at

him.

“Garrick Ollivander passed on a lot of knowledge, Mr. Jones.” She turns to Luka. “Now

here, try it.”

Luka takes the beautiful white wand and swishes it through the air like he’s seen adults

do. A soft burst of energy waves across the room, and at first Luka thinks it’s worked, but the

wave just hits a stack of books that goes toppling to the floor.

“Hmm, that won’t do. Try this, then. This is a maple wood wand with a dragon

heartstring core. It’s twelve inches, rather whippy.”

Luka picks up the darker colored wand and immediately feels a rush go through his wand

arm, into his chest. Luka smiles as he waves the wand and silver and gold sparks shoot out the

end.

“Yes, wonderful! Mr. Jones, this appears to be the wand for you.”

Luka grips his wand with satisfaction, happy to finally feel this kind of magic inside him.

“You may find that this particular wand will give off a faint glow when you are properly

fueling it with ambition and adventure. It may even shine brightly, when you are most engaged

and at peace. Maple wood is a very special material, Mr. Jones, use it wisely and with pride.”

Luka doesn’t really know what to say to this-- he’s never heard of a glowing wand

before, and he doesn’t exactly understand why he should be proud of a wand, but he nods

seriously nonetheless, not wanting to disregard the sacredness of Guinevere’s statement.

Finally, the family is completely done with their shopping, and Luka feels relief as they

walk back towards the Leaky Cauldron, his stomach grumbling.

 “Wait, dear,” Anna says to Luka. He turns around.

“What?”

“Well, me and your dad feel bad about this whole moving away thing. We know how

stressful it’s been, how quickly we had to rush, and… well, we want to give you a gift to try to

make up for it. How about we go to Magical Menagerie and pick out a pet for you to bring to

school?”

“Really?” Luka asks excitedly.

“Really,” Anna smiles.

Magical Menagerie is an orchestra of screeching, meowing, croaking, and barking, but

Luka enjoys being in there. He looks around, easily identifying most the animals after spending

so much time at his mom’s apothecary. Anna geeks out as she looks at the creatures, asking the

clerk about a three-eyed toad, a winged dog, and a bright pink snake. Luka browses happily,

excited at the prospect of being able to pick his very own pet.

“Mother, what about this one? She’s so beautiful, look at her eyes. They’re such a bright

green.”

Luka looks over and is stunned to see a luminous, white figure standing in front of a cat

cage. He realizes the figure is a girl-- probably about his age-- who has long, curly, golden hair

and is so extremely pale that she appears to be glowing. She coos at the pure-white kitten she’s

holding, which happens to match her silky robes.

“Darling, you don’t want a filthy animal getting hair all over the nice robes we just

bought you.” The second voice comes from a woman standing behind the girl. The woman is
much taller and is wearing wine-colored robes, but has the same golden hair and glowing skin.

Her face is contorted into a grimace.

“Mother, please, she’s not filthy. She’s beautiful,” says the girl.

“She looks pretty, dear, but a refined girl like you shouldn’t have to take care of

something like that.”

“​Please, ​she’s the only thing I’ve really wanted all day. She’ll be my only friend at

school.”

“Oh, please, what about that blond boy that’s always hanging around you?”

“Well, ​besides h​ im.”

“Darling, I just can’t allow it.”

The girls’ mother walks off apathetically and the girl sighs. Then, she spots Luka looking

at her.

“It’s unfair, isn’t it?” she says to him.

Luka’s not exactly sure how to respond, but he just says, “Yeah.”

“She ​is ​beautiful, though, isn’t she?” the girl asks, looking at the small white kitten.

“Definitely,” he says, even though his opinion on the cat is rather neutral.

“Are you looking for a pet?”

“Yeah, my parents are letting me pick one out.”

“Lucky you. My parents are rich and they haven’t let me get one thing I like all day.”

“Why not?” Luka asks, feeling as though that is quite unfair.

The girl rolls her eyes, which are a very dark brown and lined with thick black eyelashes.

“They just don’t want me to be happy.”

 “I’m sure that’s not true.”

“I think it is.”

Luka, again, doesn’t really know how to respond, so he just pets the cat that is still in the

girls’ arms.

“I’m Dahlia, by the way,” the girl says, smiling with bright white teeth. “What’s your

name?”

“Luka.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Luka. Are you going to Hogwarts?”

“Yeah, it’s my first year.”

“Hey, me too!” Dahlia exclaims. Then, she asks, spotting his accent, “But you’re

American. Why are you going here?”

“I just recently moved here.”

“Really? When?”

“Um, today, I guess.”

“What, are you serious? Why?”

“Well, let’s just say sometimes my parents can be unfair, too.”

“That’s horrible,” Dahlia says. She looks at Luka for a long time, her smile so

sympathetic and genuine that it almost makes him uncomfortable.

“Well, if I can’t get her, do you want the kitten?” Dahlia finally asks him. Out of all the

animals in the shop, Luka doesn’t think he would have picked that one, but something about

Dahlia’s kindness and insistence, and the unfairness of her situation, makes Luka smile softly

and nod his head.

 “Yeah, why not?”

“Cool!” Dahlia says as she hands the warm, fluffy animal to Luka. “And maybe, if you

want, I could visit her when we’re at school together.”

“That’d be cool,” Luka smiles.

“Great. So you’ll be on the train tomorrow?”

“Yeah.”

“Well maybe I’ll see you there.”

“Yeah.”

Dahlia walks away smiling, and Luka stands with the cat in his arms. The longer he

stands there holding it, the less he understands how he actually ended up with it.

“Hey, Luka. Have you found something you like yet?” Anna asks as she turns the corner,

peering curiously at the kitten.

“Um, yeah. This one is pretty cool.”

“Are you sure?” Anna asks. “I wouldn’t have guessed that you’d pick that one.”

“Yeah, me neither,” Luka grins.

***

The next day, Luka holds his suitcase, his cat carrier, and his new wand close to him,

using them as a sort of armor as he walks through King’s Cross Station. People bustle all around

him; he can tell some of them are wizards. The wizard-like people grow more concentrated as

Luka and his family approach platform nine.

 “Wait a second, how do we get to platform nine and three quarters? There’s only nine

and ten,” Luka explains.

Damon smiles mischievously. “You have to walk through the wall.”

Luka stares at the bricks in front of him, which look very real, and very hard.

“What do you mean, walk through it? How?”

“You just have to ​believe y​ ou won’t hit it, and you won’t. I promise.”

Luka swallows and starts walking toward the wall. Just as his nose makes contact with

the brick, he feels himself sliding through it, and then he’s on the other side. People are packed

on platform nine and three-quarters, and all of them are witches and wizards. Children with

whimzical toys and strange animals and adults with pointed hats and bright-colored robes

surround him. Within a few seconds, Damon, Anna, and Leila are following Luka towards the

train, which is billowing white clouds of steam. Luka turns around.

“So this is it,” he says.

“Yes it is,” Damon replies. “Do you feel ready?”

“Kind of.”

“You will be,” he says. “Hogwarts is an amazing place. That school was-- and still is--

my favorite place on earth. You’re lucky to be here.”

Luka doesn’t feel so sure, but he nods anyways. His mom comes in for a hug.

“Oh, Luka, I love you so much.”

“Love you too, Mom.”

“Be good,” she says with a twinkle in her hazel eyes that look just like his. “But have fun,

too,” she smiles. Luka grins.

 “I will.”

“Bye, Lu,” Leila says.

“Bye, Leila. I’ll see you at Christmas,” Luka says, giving his litter sister a hug. She

pushes him away, but he just laughs.

“Okay, guys. I’ll see you later,” Luka finally says to his whole family. He walks towards

the train, steps on, then looks back one last time to see the three of them waving at him. He turns

around for the last time and steps onto the train.