For the next few weeks, Jane did nothing but daydream about Hogwarts. What would it be like? Would she make friends? What if they didn't like her? What if it was all one big mistake and she wasn't a witch after all?
Gertrude didn't approach Jane much during this time. She simply said nothing to her, avoiding her at all costs. Jane was confused and angry with her, and wanted to know what her problem was, why her Aunt Gertrude, who seemed to be the biggest Muggle of Muggles, was so bitter about her going to Hogwarts. In reality, Gertrude wasn't bitter as much as she was anxious. While she never really got along with her brother, Sam was still her brother. He still mattered to her, and he was dead. He threw himself into his work, got caught up in some bad business with the mother of his child and business partner, Maggie, and because of that he was dead.
Gertrude may not be close with Jane, but she still cared for her. Gertrude didn't want Jane to end up dead because of that bloody wizard world she was excluded from. But, it seems Dumbledore had every intention of getting her niece involved with magic, and his word, as everyone knew, was law.
Jane tried not to dwell on her aunt and all the secrets she's kept from her the past ten years, instead deciding to spend her time thinking about what Harry Potter would be like. What would the famous boy look like? What was his personality like? Would he like her? Did he live a good life with the Dursleys'? Did he grow up not knowing about magic like she did? Or did he know all about it? What if Harry found her dumb for not knowing about magic?
Jane had no idea what to expect from the Boy Who Lived, but in the end, he was just a boy. An eleven-year-old kid who was in over his head, just like her. They went through so much together, without even properly knowing each other. They had to bond over that at least.
When July 31st rolled around, Jane was practically bouncing with excited nerves. She could barely sleep due to her own excitement, so she ended up just giving up and got dressed at the crack of dawn in a large green jumper and jeans. She waited around all day until she heard a honk emit from the street. Jane grabbed her rucksack before racing outside, a dazzling smile brightening up her pale face as she greeted the black cab waiting for her. She went to open the back of the car, and guffawed at the sight inside.
There, squished in the back seat, was Hagrid.
"Hagrid!" Jane greeted in both with amusement and slight surprise that he managed to squeeze his giant body in there.
"'Ello Jane," he said back, although it sounded like a mutter due to his chin being practically smashed into his chest.
Jane chuckled slightly. "You okay, Hagrid? You don't seem very comfortable."
"I'm fine, Jane," he insisted. "Jus' a bit cramped back here's all. We're goin' to the neares' train station from her'."
Jane nodded before slipping into the backseat with him, taking up the 1/4 space left. "So where's this Potter bloke you told me about?"
"Over here," a voice said from the front.
Sitting in the passenger seat in the front of the cab was a scrawny boy with messy black hair and piercing green eyes residing behind some round glasses taped in the middle. Jane's eyes traveled to his forehead, where, smack in the middle, was the famous lightning shaped scar.
Jane gave the boy a wide smile, holding out a hand to him. "Hi, I'm Jane Tyler. Nice to meet you."
He took her hand and smiled back. "I'm Harry Potter, nice to meet you too."
-+-
On the car ride to the train station, Jane learned a bit about Harry. His Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia were terrible, treating Harry like scum whilst treating their son, Harry's cousin Dudley, like he was the most precious thing in the world. In reality, Dudley was a big, blonde bully.
"You see, people like him are the reason why blondes are seen as dumb!" Jane proclaimed with gusto, shaking a finger in a disapproval.
Harry laughed. "Yeah, my aunt and uncle didn't exactly appreciate my parents..." he glanced at the muggle cab driver, "'lifestyle' if you know what I mean."
Jane gave him a wink as she picked up what he meant. "Gotcha."
"What about you?" he asked. "Hagrid said you have an aunt. What's she like?"
"Well, I wouldn't say Aunt Gertrude is as bad as your family by any means, but she's no saint. She's incredibly strict and stern, so we don't exactly mesh well. She also hates my parents and won't tell me anything about them. I didn't even know what they looked like until I found old pictures of them in the basement."
"She doesn't sound very pleasant."
"She's not," Jane scoffed. "We get along sometimes, but rarely."
Harry nodded in sympathy. It seemed neither of their home lives were particularly fun for either of the famed children.
Jane smiled at the boy in return, sighing loudly as she decided to change the subject to something more positive. "So, Harry Potter, since you and I are now officially acquainted, I have decided to make you my new friend. Is that alright with you?"
Harry laughed at her dramatic flair. "You sure about that?" he inquired semi-sarcastically. "I'm nothing special."
"Au contraire, Harry," Jane replied with a smirk and dramatic hand movements, making him laugh again. "I find you to be incredible company, and as a notorious loner, that means quite a lot."
And it did. Jane seemed to get along really nicely with Harry, even in the short time they've been together. She wanted to get to know him, which she couldn't exactly say about other kids her age. The children in her town were incredibly judgmental and wary of Jane due to her quirky habits and rebellious attitude. Rather than try to assimilate, Jane preferred to be alone. If people didn't like her, she wasn't going to try to make them, remaining faithful to who she was.
Harry was a breath of fresh air. He seemed to like her, and he also liked how she liked him, since not many people in his own town did. It seemed these two were simply destined to become friends. And so it was.
After a while of bonding and talking about their lives thus far, they finally arrived at the train station, much to Hagrid's relief. Hagrid had a bit of trouble with the bills, so Harry and Jane counted them out for him. Jane's confusion about Hagrid's confusion was quickly cleared up, as Harry explained that in the wizarding world, there's a completely different kind currency. Gold, silver, and bronze coins called Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts were what was considered "wizard money," and wizards and witches kept their money in a bank, Gringotts, which was run by goblins and guarded by spells, enchantments, and dragons. He also mentioned a Ministry of Magic, who's job it was to keep the wizarding world hidden in order and from Muggles.
When Jane asked how he knew all this, Harry simply replied, "It was a very interesting boat ride off the rock my Uncle Vernon kept us hiding on."
After a brief moment of bewilderment, Jane simply shook her head and shrugged. At this point, how much weirder could it get?
When the trio finally got off the train, they arrived at London. Harry started naming off the different required items from the list, like a wand, a pewter cauldron, an owl, cat, or toad ("A toad is an absolute no," Jane quipped. "They're too easily lost."), and how the two were apparently not allowed a broom as a first year.
"Can we get all this in London?" Harry asked.
"If yeh know where to go," said Hagrid.
London was what you'd expect it to be: busy. Harry seemed to be a bit overwhelmed with the big city, which Jane fully related to. She was raised in the country, where everyone knew each other and there was never traffic or a bustle of people fighting to get to crosswalks in time. Although, Jane couldn't help but enjoy herself. It was completely out of her element, but she loved it. Everything was there, all in one place, with so many different people living different, separate lives. It was exhilarating just crossing the street, to live here seemed like a dream. It was big, busy, and full of interesting shops and diners. To Jane, it was practically a wonderland
Even so, Jane could never imagine finding a shop that sold brooms or wands or books on "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them." But Hagrid seemed to know what he was doing, and although every ounce of logic in a normal person seemed to not trust the big bloke with the crazy hair, Jane did. She had no explanation for it, but she often had these strong hunches about people or situations, and she frequently seemed to know if it was going to end well or not. Hagrid didn't seem dangerous in the slightest, rather coming off as quite friendly. Almost teddy bear-like.
"This is it," Hagrid said, coming to a halt, "the Leaky Cauldron. It's a famous place."
Was it? Because it didn't seem like it.
The Leaky Cauldron was a small, grubby-looking pub. The Muggles passing by didn't seem to notice it, only Jane, Harry, and Hagrid. Perhaps it was a magical enchantment or something. Whatever it was, Jane was intrigued.
Inside was even dingier than the outside. It was dark, shabby, and definitely not a place Jane could imagine her Aunt Gertrude stopping to get a drink at. There were quite a few people in there though; a surprising few.
"The usual, Hagrid?" the bartender asked from behind the counter.
"Can't, Tom, I'm on Hogwarts business," said Hagrid, clapping Harry's shoulder and making his knees buckle, causing Jane to snort in laughter.
"Good Lord," said Tom, gaping at me and Harry, "are they -- can they be --?"
The pub became quiet.
"Bless my soul," whispered the bartender, "Harry Potter and—and that must be Jane Tyler... what an honor."
Tom scurried out from behind the bar and offered both his hands to Harry and Jane, shaking them vigorously with tears in his eyes.
"Welcome back, Mr. Potter and Ms. Tyler, welcome back."
Jane was speechless as the witches and wizards from all over the bar came to shake their hands -- some more than once. All giving their condolences and welcoming the two back... whatever that meant.
A pale bloke with a purple turban wrapped around his head approached the three, one of his eyes twitching. He reminded Jane of a squirrel with rabies.
"Professor Quirrell!" Hagrid said. "Harry, Jane, Professor Quirrell will be one of your teachers at Hogwarts."
Proffessor Quirrell took Harry's hand in his, giving a stuttering greeting, "P-P-Potter, T-T-Ty-Tyler, c-can't t-tell you how p-pleased I am to meet you two."
"What do you teach at Hogwarts, Professor?" Jane asked politely, taking her hand from his sweaty palm after he shook it.
"D-Defense Against the D-D-Dark Arts," the quivering professor muttered, almost as if he'd rather not think about it. "N-not that you n-need it, eh, P-P-Potter? P-P-P-Probably have your m-m-mother's gifts, T-Tyler." He laughed nervously.
He started talking about equipment for school and Jane tuned him out. Jane was more interested in finding out what he meant when he said, "your mother's gifts." What gifts? Did she have special ability? And how did all these people know Jane? With Harry it's kind of obvious with the scar smack in the middle of his forehead, but Jane didn't have one. How did they know her? Or did they just assume it was her because she was with Harry?
Jane was about to ask him when he was pushed out of the way by more eager witches and wizards wanting to shake their hands. It took them about ten minutes to detach themselves from the crowd. Hagrid took them through the pub to a small, walled courtyard with nothing but a trash bin and a few weeds.
"Told yeh, didn't I? Told yeh you two was famous. Even Professor Quirrell was tremblin' ter meet yeh both -- mind you, he's usually tremblin'."
"Is he always that nervous?" Harry asked.
Hagrid explained Quirrell had never been the same since he had a run in with a few vampires and a hag. However, still confused and fascinated about her notoriety, Jane interrupted, "Hagrid, all those people. How'd they recognize me? I don't have a scar like Harry, so how'd they know who I was?"
"Well yeh walkin' in with 'Arry, and you two are often paired together when being talked 'bout. Plus yeh look 'zactly like yer mother, Jane, 'cept the yeller hair. And yer mum was very famous. Very famous indeed," he answered.
He took out his umbrella and started counting bricks over the trash bin, "Three up... two across... Right, stand back you two."
He tapped the wall three times with the point of his umbrella, and each brick he touched began to wiggle and move before creating a small hole. The hole just got larger and larger, until they were facing an archway to a twisty cobbled street.
"Welcome," Hagrid said, "to Diagon Alley."
A/N: helloooo
so another chapter has arrived, i hope you guys like it. it's a bit shorter than last chapter, but next chapter is gonna be the whole diagon alley trip and then i'll skip to king's cross station for the fourth chapter.
thanks for reading <3
edit: woo! that took a while, glad that's over with. but yeah, jane's kinda famous still. keeping that. editing over! that's a relief