"A whole roast chicken, roast lamb with green beans, and ribs of beef with red wine..." Hagrid's thick fingers swept over the menu, marking his chosen territory. "And I'll have a butterbeer for myself, and two glasses of pumpkin juice for the little ones."
He didn't stop there. He then rattled off an astonishing list: "Oh, yes. You lot have the tuna mashed potatoes and seaweed soup. And we need some pumpkin bread. Also, lemon pan-fried cod..."
In the blink of an eye, Hagrid had ordered nearly six entire courses, all of which he intended to pay for. Given his sheer, half-giant stature, Harry and Tierra had assumed this colossal order would be merely a large meal for him.
They were profoundly mistaken.
When the waiter returned, laden with trays, Tierra and Harry realized the fundamental difference in scale between the Muggle and Wizarding worlds—especially when it came to food abundance. The roast lamb arrived not on a plate, but in a heavy, steaming, 10 * 10 cast-iron pot.
There were at least ten ribs of beef, each nearly as thick as Harry's small arm. The whole roast chicken was visibly larger than any Muggle turkey, and the roast pork shoulder was roughly the size of Hagrid's head. The tuna mashed potatoes were piled high in a small, impossible mountain at the center of the table.
Despite Hagrid's immense size, both children doubted he could finish even a quarter of it.
But they were worrying for nothing.
As Harry and Tierra tentatively began to spoon mashed potatoes onto their plates, Hagrid simply picked up a pig's trotters and the enormous roast chicken with his bare hands and commenced gnawing with enthusiastic, unabashed ferocity.
It was clear this was not Hagrid's first, second, or even tenth time eating like this at the Leaky Cauldron. The passing waiters, the surrounding wizards, and even Tom, the bar owner, were entirely used to the sight.
The sheer ease with which Hagrid consumed the mountain of food was mesmerizing. It quickly became apparent that in the wizarding world, where food was so magically abundant and readily available, the prices were correspondingly cheap.
"Right then, Harry, Tierra, come on, sorry to have kept you waiting," Hagrid finally announced, wiping his hands on a napkin and throwing down a single Galleon and five Knuts—an astonishingly low price considering the feast they had consumed.
"Let's go. I want to buy you a proper birthday present," Hagrid said, a burst of infectious energy filling his voice. "Er... Tierra, I know your birthday was over a month ago, but it's not too late to make it up." With that, Hagrid excitedly grabbed both children and hurried them toward the dark, slightly foreboding entrance of Eeylops Owl Emporium.
"Now, listen up. Owls, frogs, bats, or lizards... have a good look around and decide what sort of pet you fancy. I know the owner, and she'll give me the cheapest quote possible," Hagrid boasted, puffing out his chest with the pride of a seasoned customer.
They had barely crossed the threshold when a voice—kindly, but with a surprising, harsh rasp—cut through the noise of hooting birds.
"Ah, Hagrid! You're finally here!" The owner of Eeylops, a formidable old woman with wings embroidered on her apron and eyes that sparkled like polished jewels, spotted Hagrid immediately.
Her eyes immediately shifted past the giant to the smaller, more important figure.
"I heard from that old drunk in Lavenham that you were bringing Harry Potter here today to procure his school familiar. I presume this is the young gentleman!" The owner, who introduced herself as Madam Delia, half-ran, half-walked past Hagrid, seizing Harry's hand and shaking it with startling, vigorous enthusiasm.
Tierra, sensing the imminent business transaction and the focus on Harry, decided to introduce herself.
"My name is Tierra Woo, Ma'am," Tierra said clearly, stepping forward.
"Welcome!" Madam Delia pivoted with the speed of a seasoned shopkeeper, grabbing Tierra's hand next and shaking it with equal ferocity. When she finally released Tierra, a visible white mark was left on the child's skin.
Tierra subtly rubbed her throbbing right hand, noting that Harry was silently doing the same, validating the startling strength of the woman's grip.
"You must be a little Muggle-born, mustn't you?" Madam Delia said, her grin wide and slightly teasing. "Otherwise, your parents would have been the ones to bring you, not Hagrid, that great beast-lover who's always trying to crossbreed magical creatures!"
"Hey, Delia, that's not fair..." Hagrid mumbled, shifting his great weight nervously.
"Haha, alright, Hagrid, I know you won't make trouble in front of little Harry," Delia laughed, her harsh voice softening slightly. "You two choose whatever pet you want. It's my small way of celebrating our sweet Harry's arrival in the wizarding world."
With a gentle push from Hagrid's large hands, Harry and Tierra were sent into the depth of the Eeylops Owl Emporium, a place thick with the smell of wood shavings, bird droppings, and the constant, unnerving clamor of various bird calls.
"This here is Clark, a true native Barn Owl..." Delia narrated as they moved through the main section. "...And this beautiful creature is Hedwig. She is a purebred Snowy Owl. Her parents were imported all the way from the Leningrad region of the Soviet Union, but sadly, they passed last year..."
Harry's eyes were immediately drawn to the majestic, pure-white owl, its gold-and-black eyes watching him with intelligent gravity. It was obvious where his choice would land.
Madam Delia then led them through three small, heavily reinforced doors. Each room was magically expanded with a Traceless Extension Charm, concealing vastly different biomes within.
The first room was a humid rainforest enclosure, filled with the chirping of frogs, the slow, muscular coils of pythons, and the darting movements of lizards, chameleons, and strange, tropical birds like hornbills.
Harry was immediately uneasy; the animals regarded him with curious, almost human-like stares. The sight reminded him unpleasantly of the snake he had unintentionally released at the Muggle zoo during Dudley's birthday—and he wondered if that snake, too, now had to endure such curious, inquisitive scrutiny.
The second room was a chilly, dimly lit cave system, tailored for bats and various species of subterranean rodents and mice. The lighting was so poor that Harry immediately backed out, opting to wait in the owl section.
Tierra, however, had followed Madam Delia into the darkness. While avoiding the dense cloud of bats, she crouched down and began conducting simple reaction tests with the white mice, observing their speed, aggression, and response to specific sound frequencies.
"You seem very interested in the breeding of magical beasts yourself," Madam Delia noted, observing Tierra's concentrated work.
"I am," Tierra confirmed, rising to her feet after a few minutes of quiet observation. She had learned what she needed to know about the local fauna's cognitive speed and sensory weaknesses. Leaving the cave and the high-risk bats alone, Tierra followed the proprietor into the final chamber.
"And finally, this section," Madam Delia announced, ushering her into a room containing more common, yet equally magical, creatures: various breeds of ravens, chickens, geese, ducks, and even a few small magical dogs.
Tierra's gaze immediately found its target: a sleek, intelligent-looking raven perched silently on a high wooden shelf.
"That one," Tierra said, pointing.
"Ah, excellent vision," Delia praised, and a sharp, shrieking cry—a sound that resonated with surprising magical force—escaped the woman's throat.
At the sound, all the ravens in the room turned their heads, fixing their beady eyes on the doorway where Tierra stood. But only the raven she had chosen instantly took flight, flapping its large wings silently before landing with perfect, agile balance on Madam Delia's extended arm.
Madam Delia spoke a few unintelligible words to the raven in the same harsh, resonant cry. The raven tilted its head, observing Tierra, before it fluttered its wings again and settled lightly upon Tierra's head.
"She's yours. Name her," Madam Delia declared, smiling.
"Riven," Tierra stated. "I'll call her Riven."
"Riven the Raven," Madam Delia chuckled, finding the alliteration amusing. "A very thoughtful young woman, indeed. Ravens do not require cages; they form much stronger attachments to humans than owls," the shopkeeper explained. "And they are generally much more intelligent, better at retaining complex instructions."
"Thank you, Madam Delia." Tierra gently raised her arm. Riven, the young raven, cleverly hopped from Tierra's head down to her forearm.
The raven was still young, barely twenty centimeters tall, with patches of downy brown feathers still mixing with the mature black. It looked like an ordinary crow to the untrained eye, making it the perfect, inconspicuous companion.
Crucially, given its size and youth, Tierra felt confident that her current magical strength would be more than sufficient to subdue and control Riven through basic spiritual imprinting, forging a genuine, unbreakable familiar bond—a bond far deeper than the transactional connection Harry would share with Hedwig.
This familiar would be her eyes, her ears, and, eventually, her messenger for the darkest tasks.
With your finances secured, your cover story established, and a loyal, intelligent familiar chosen, only one crucial item remains on your list: the wand.
Are you ready to face Ollivander's Wand Shop and receive the magical focus that will determine your path?