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“Three sets of plain work robes, one plain pointed hat for day wear, one pair of protective gloves, one winter cloak, ‘The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1’ by Miranda Goshawk, 'A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot, 'Magical Theory’ by Adalbert Waffling, 'A Beginner’s Guide to Transfiguration’ by Emeric Switch, 'One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi’ by Phyllida Spore, 'Magical Drafts and Potions’ by Arsenius Jigger, 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’ by Newt Scamander, 'The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection’ by Quentin Trimble, 1 wand, 1 cauldron, 1 set of glass or crystal phials, 1 telescope, and 1 set of brass scales. Students may also bring an owl, a cat, or a toad,” Rena listed off to her mother as they were walking through Diagon Alley.
It was July 29th, exactly 3 months after she received her letter. Rena’s fair skin was glowing in the sunlight while her new purple dress was rippling in the wind. Renata’s blonde hair was flowing with the breeze, and although a few men were hitting on her and complimenting her, she had to focus on her daughter.
“Oh, alright, that seems like a lot more than when I came to school,” Renata laughed nervously and rummaged through her small purse. “Are we going to be able to afford this, mummy?” Rena asked while looking at the windows of the shops next to them.
“Yes, we’ll be able to afford it, Rena, we might just have to ration our food this week,” her mom told her, sighing sadly. “Again? But we had to do that last week when I got new clothes!” Rena complained, remembering how she went to bed on a near-empty stomach.
“I know, sweetie, I know, but money is tight. Mummy’s new job doesn’t pay much,” her mom told her in a sorrowful voice and caressed her cheek. Renata had to get a new job once again the previous month and it has left them with little-to-no money. It pays horribly, but that’s what Renata has to do to keep her secret hidden.
Rena just huffed and looked at all of the other kids. Oh, how she wished she could be like those other kids. She wished that she could have her mom buy stuff without feeling guilty, even though her mom always told her to never be guilty, she still felt it.
Rena was very aware of their money problems and often asked questions about why they had no money. Rena knew about her father and his relationship with her mom. She knew almost everything about her mom since all they could do was hang out with each other at the cottage.
Renata was a bright girl throughout her years at Hogwarts and everyone thought that she would become a herbologist. She was very ambitious but being the Hufflepuff that she was, she was also very kind. Her kindness landed her with a muggle-born boy named Sam Izella in the 3rd year and they fell madly in love at a young age.
Her parents did not approve of their relationship though, for they were pure-bloods. But when you love someone, you will do anything you can to be with them. So, she told her parents to sod off and ran straight into the dreamy sunset of life with her lover.
They got married right out of Hogwarts and Renata fell pregnant with his child at only 20-years-old. Even though Sam said he was excited, she could tell he was a little wary about the whole situation. But, Renata just shrugged it off and carried the little Rena for a whole 9 months and a few days.
On April 29th, 1978, Rena Devika Izella was born. Her name meant “Joyous little princess” and that’s what Renata intended to treat her like, a princess. But unfortunately, Sam had other plans. He left the night she was born with the note, and with that, Renata signed the divorce papers that he asked her to sign. She was heartbroken but she paid the £15,000 that he demanded. It’s in muggle money because they got married in the muggle world, per Sam’s request.
The divorce left Renata with no money and a daughter to raise on her own. They got kicked out of their house when Rena was only 6 months old because Renata was unable to pay the house bills anymore. After living out of wizard and muggle hotels for about six more months, Renata was able to scrape up enough money to buy a small run-down cottage in Ottery St. Catchpole.
Now here they were, 10 years later, 1989, in Diagon Alley getting ready for Rena’s first year at Hogwarts.
“Come on, let’s go get your books,” her mom told her and grabbed her hand firmly before walking through the crowded Alley to Flourish and Blotts.
When they entered the small bookshop, Rena was immediately pushed around by other bodies in the shop. Her mom’s grip got tighter on her hand and pulled Rena through the large mob of people. As they were walking through, Rena couldn’t help but notice a group of redheads.
Maybe her mind was messing with her, but there sure were a lot of them.
After she and her mom gathered the books that were needed for the upcoming school year, her mom told her to stand near the entrance so that she could pay for them.
Rena nodded her head before walking through the large mob-crowd that was still in the bookshop. But right when she got to the middle of it, it started moving. She stumbled over her two feet while being carried away and out the door.
“Mum!” she yelled, but her mother didn’t hear, Diagon Alley was filled with very VERY loud children, much louder than her yelling. After a few seconds of being carried away, she was somewhere new. Well, it was new to Rena, as it was her first time in Diagon Alley.
She looked around for a trusting adult that would surely take her back to her mom. She looked around for a few seconds before seeing the group of redheads she had previously noticed in the bookshop. She looked at who seemed to be the father and studied his face.
“He seems nice,” Rena thought before rushing over to them.
“Fred, George, will you stop that?!” the man yelled at two kids. They looked to be twins, for they looked identical. “Sorry dad!” they apologized at the same time, they both had very squeaky voices.
Rena walked up to the family and started speaking, “Excuse me, can you help me? I seem to be lost,”. The five redheads turned their heads. “Ah, yes, where do you need to be headed to?” the man asked.
“Flourish and Blotts, I was just there with my mom, but then I got carried away, literally,” Rena explained.
“Oh! We were just there,” he looked at his four sons and then back at her, “is it your first year at Hogwarts?”. She nodded her head. “It’s my two sons’ first years too,” the man said and pointed to the twins.
She looked at them and wondered how anyone could tell them apart. “We’re twins,” they both said at the same time, “I’m Fred,” the one on the left said, “And I’m George,” said the one on the right.
“My name is Rena,” she told them with a smile.
“Well it seems you three have gotten to know each other, so why don’t you two show her back to the bookshop? Bill, Percy, and I will be at Sugarplums. Don’t tell your mother,” he told the twins before ushering his two other sons away, following behind them.
“Right this way M'lady,” one said (Fred?), making her laugh. The other one looked a little flustered but then started walking.
She followed the boys back to the bookshop and once she entered, she saw her mom looking rather frantic.
“Oh my gosh! Where have you been?! You scared me half to death!” her mom exclaimed and gave her a tight hug. “Sorry, I got carried away. But I got help to find my way back!” she told her mom, trying to lighten the mood.
“Oh thank you!” her mom exclaimed and hugged both of the boys. Their eyes went wide and Rena just giggled.
“Alright, well we better get going,” one of the twins (George?) said, “Got to get back to our father,” the other one explained, “Goodbye Rena,” they both said before turning around at the same time and walking out of the shop.
“Bye!” she called out before they walked completely out of sight.
“We need to hurry and get the rest of your school supplies, come on!” her mom whispered excitedly and pulled her out of the shop. But, Rena’s mind was still thinking about those two interesting boys.
“Oh we get to go to Ollivanders!” her mom exclaimed giddily and ran to the famous wand shop.
“Ah, Renata… Izella, is it now? Since you got married to Samuel,” Ollivander greeted Renata as they both walked in. Renata just slightly nodded her head, not wanting to tell the story, and pushed Rena a little forward.
“You must be Rena,” he sighed, rather happily… kind of creepily too, “let us see which wand will choose you,”.
He grabbed a box that was near the front, “Try this one,” he told her and placed it in front of her. She grabbed it and waved it around, making a couple of boxes fly out of the shelves.
“Oh, not that one,” Ollivander laughed and went to look for another wand while Rena quickly sat the previous wand down.
“Now try this one,” he instructed her. She hesitantly picked it up and immediately felt a warmth in her fingertips. She waved it around and red and gold sparks came out. Ollivander and her mom clapped joyfully, “Excellent! Unicorn hair, made of acacia, seven and a half inches, unyielding,” he listed in amazement.
The wand was brown (as it was made of acacia) and had a floral design all through the shaft of the wand. The handle of the wand looked like a mini calla lily, with a place just perfect for her hands to wrap around it comfortably.
Renata hesitantly handed over 7 galleons while Rena looked at her wand with a huge grin on her face before they bid Ollivander adieu and left the shop.
“Now to get my robes!” Rena said cheerily and started walking. “Um, sweetie, your wand took all of the money I had,” her mom said worriedly, “but, that’s alright, I have my robes and all that from when I went to Hogwarts,”.
Rena just frowned and looked at her wand, “I’m sorry,”. “Oh dear, it’s not your fault, we’ll be fine,” her mom told her, immediately hugging her.
They stayed like this until someone told them to move out of the way.
“Oh, alright, come on sweetie, let’s go home,” her mom told her and they used the Floo Network to get back to their small cottage, the same way they used to get there.
Once they arrived, they walked inside and set everything down on the table. Renata quickly requested for Rena to help prepare dinner to which Rena agreed.
While Rena was helping her mother, she couldn’t focus because her mind was stuck on the two odd twins.
“Grab the onions, dear,” Renata ordered her, snapping her out of her daydream. “Yes, mum,” she said and smiled thinking about the boys before grabbing the onions for her mother.
