Leo Perry and the Scrolls of the Druid

- CHAPTER FOUR -

Canice Fors Center

Leo was lost. He had packed up his things earlier that night. He had a few pairs of clothes, some food, any money that he could find in his room and most importantly his Eggswax letter. They were all gathered into a backpack. Leo had even taken Casper, who was sitting in the backpack with his head poking out the top.

Leo had crept out of his house during the earliest hours of the morning. He was extra quiet to make sure that his father would not wake up. He was still angry with his father, but he was beginning to think that running away was a bad idea. He had walked for a few hours now and he didn't know where he was. He was in a rich countryside. He was surrounded by cornfields and there were a few farms visible in the distance.

The sun's first rays could just now be seen breaking over the horizon and it was beginning to warm up. It was going to be an extremely hot day. Why did Leo have to runaway in the middle of summer? Leo sat down on the side of the road and took Casper out of his back pack to sit in his lap.

'Do you know where we are?'he looked at the cat. Casper blinked, 'Guess you're as lost as I am.'

Leo took some food out of his bag. He had a few bites and gave a bit to Casper. He would have to eat sparingly because he didn't know when he would have a chance to find more food.

'See, Casper, if I already knew how to do magic . . . ' Leo didn't finish this sentence as he wasn't sure that even magic could help him out right now.

Suddenly Leo heard a loud noise and Casper stood up with an arched back. Leo realized that the noise was the barking of a dog. He held onto Casper and stood up, as a middle-aged man came around a corner that Leo hadn't known was there. In front of him was a large white dog on a leash. The dog barked again as he spotted Leo.

'Quiet down, Zeke!' said the man. He was tall with light brown hair. He had a long face and a pointed nose, 'And who do we have here?' he said walking up to Leo.

'My name's Leo, sir.'

'No, no, no. Not you, who's this cat?'

'Oh, this is my cat Casper.' Casper was struggling to get away from Leo, not to run away from the dog, but to defend himself.

'He's a feisty little one eh? So you say your name's Leo? What're you doin' out here?' the man asked him.

'I ran away from home, but I don't really want to talk about it.'

'So you're off on your own then eh? Why don't you come back with me to my house for a little while?'

'Oh well that's very nice of you, but I-'

'Oh, c'mon let's get goin'.' Leo followed the man. He was nice enough and Leo couldn't see anything wrong with him. He would just go see his house for a bit and then he'd be on his way.

'So how long have you been away from home, then?' the man asked.

'Well, I left last night. Er . . . I'm sorry I don't know your name.'

'Oh I'm sorry 'bout that. I'm Ted Wolfe. This here is Zeke,' he said gesturing to the white dog, 'Here we are.'

Leo turned with the man up a driveway that lead to a farmhouse. The road had seemed to serve only the purpose of leading to this driveway.

'Didn't know this would be up here eh?'

'To tell you the truth, I didn't even see the road leading up here until just before you came off of it,' Leo told him.

'Yeah, it's protected so that muggles won't wander down to our farm.' Leo looked at him in shock.

'So you're a wizard then?'

'Of course I am. And I know that you are too because you could see the road.'

'Oh, I didn't realize,' Leo said as he looked at the house. It was small, with probably two floors. It was made of brick and had very bright yellow shutters and doors. Leo wondered why they would have a colour like that. It looked horrible against the brick.

Leo followed the man inside a side door. They were in a small kitchen. There was a small table with four chairs. There were counter tops all around that had many different things sitting on top of them. There were cook books, baking ingredients, clean and dirty dishes. The man sat down with Leo at the table. Leo let Casper down on the floor. The cat walked over to Zeke and they started sniffing each other. Leo was relieved to see that a fight did not erupt between the two animals.

'So this will be your first year in school?' Mr Wolfe asked Leo.

'Er . . . yeah. But how did you know?'

'You look the right age,' Mr Wolfe laughed, 'So which school are you going to?'

'Eggswax, only my dad . . . '

'Oh so that's why you ran away. No need to say anymore,' Mr Wolfe was very understanding, 'My son, Josh goes to Eggswax. He'll be up a bit later. He likes to sleep in late during the summer. Leo laughed, he liked to sleep in too. Come to think of it he hadn't even slept since the night before last. Then he had woken up to find the owl at his window.

'Who's this?' asked a woman's voice. Leo turned to see a short blonde woman. She was skinny and she had very rosy cheeks. She was dressed in violet robes. Leo glanced back to Mr Wolfe and noticed that he was wearing navy robes.

'This is Leo,' said Mr Wolfe to the woman, 'Leo, this is my wife, Andrea.'

'Hello, dear,' Mrs Wolfe said to Leo.

'Hi,' said Leo.

'Leo is a runaway. He's starting at Eggswax this year, and he will be staying with us for a while.' Leo looked at Mr Wolfe. He was about to say something, but Mr Wolfe spoke first, 'Don't worry about it. You can stay with us until school starts, if you like. And you can come with us to buy your school things. We have to go buy Joshua's things anyway.'

Leo would have said that he only had muggle money, but he didn't want them to offer him any. They were very hospitable people and they could have been easily taken advantage of.

'Oh a cat!' cried Mrs Wolfe with glee. She bent down to pet Casper. The cat purred and meowed happily.

'We've got a spare room for you to stay in, Leo,' said Mr Wolfe, 'Follow me.' Leo followed Mr Wolfe through a small living room and up a narrow staircase. On the second floor there were three rooms. One right in the middle, that the staircase lead to. Off to the sides of that room were two rooms. The door to one was closed, 'That's Josh's room.'

Mr Wolfe lead Leo into the other room. It was small, but big enough for one person. There was a bed tucked into the corner and a small dresser beside it. There was a closet off to the side as well. Besides those three things the room was empty. Casper, who had followed Leo up the stairs jumped up on the bed.

'I guess he likes it,' said Mr Wolfe 'Like I said Leo, you can stay with us for as long as you want.'

'Thank you,' Leo said.

Leo stayed with the Wolfes that night, and then the next and then the next. He had met their son, Josh. He was thirteen and didn't talk to Leo much. Then again, Leo thought, he didn't seem to talk to his parents much. He would only make small talk with anyone else and when Leo tried to talk to him, he would end conversations very quickly.

One day though, he had let Leo have a turn on his broomstick. Leo couldn't believe that the broom could actually fly. He had watched Josh fly around for quite a while. He was afraid at first. What if he couldn't do it right? What if he fell off?

'Oh c'mon! It's not that hard. Just say "up!" and then mount the broom,' Josh said.

'Up!' Leo cried at the broom. It leaped off the ground and hovered beneath his outstretched hand. Leo read the silver lettering near the tip of the handle. He was going to ride an AstroSweep Five point Zero.

'Now what do I do?' Leo asked.

'Just point the broom up and take off,' Josh was saying more to Leo than he had since Leo had arrived.

Leo pulled back on the broom, pointing it up, just as Josh had told him too. Suddenly the broom was in the air. Leo pulled the broom's handle to the left and it swung him around so fast that he was headed straight back towards Josh.

'Pull up! Pull up!' Josh cried. Leo pulled up and once again was racing through the sky. He had control now. He was turning corners and diving like a pro. Then at the end of a dive Leo turned a sharp right and ran straight into a tree. Josh ran over to him.

'Are you OK?' Josh asked. Leo turned over laughing. The collision hadn't hurt, but he was now lying on the ground at the foot of the tree. The broomstick was laying beside him.

'Wow! That was great! I love flying! One day I'm going to have my own broom and I'm going to fly all over town!'

'Woah, Leo! Wait 'til you learn how to play Quidditch,' Josh said.

'Quidditch?'

'Yeah, it's a broomstick sport.' The two boys walked back to the farmhouse. Josh briefly explained a game with seven players on broomsticks.

The next morning Leo awake to find Josh standing over him.

'Wake up, Leo. We're going to buy our school things today. Hurry up we're going to leave in a few minutes.'

Leo quickly dressed himself and ran down to the Wolfes' kitchen. Mr Wolfe, Mrs. Wolfe and Josh were all in the kitchen waiting for him.

'C'mon, dear. We're going to the Canice Fors Center,' said Mrs Wolfe.

'Where is it?' Leo asked, wondering how long they would be traveling for.

'It's in Toronto, Leo,' said Mr Wolfe, 'But don't worry. We'll be there in no time. We're traveling by floo powder. Now, Josh and I will be going first. Watch what we do and then do the same. Mrs Wolfe will come after you to make sure everything's all right.'

Mr Wolf stepped up to his fireplace. He grabbed some powder from a jar mounted to the wall beside the fireplace and he threw it into the fire place. The already burning fire grew tall with a roar and turned a brilliant emerald green. Mr Wolfe stepped into the large opening and as he stepped into the fire he yelled.

'The Canice Fors Center!' Mr Wolfe disappeared completely.

Josh stepped up to the fire and added some more floo powder. He stepped into the fire.

'The Canice Fors Center!' Josh disappeared from vision as well.

'Your turn, Leo,' said Mrs Wolfe. Leo stepped up to the fireplace. He grabbed some floo powder from the jar. Some sifted through his fingers.

'Now step up to the fire, and do as Mr Wolfe and Josh did,' said Mrs Wolfe.

Leo turned. 'So I just say the name and step into the fire, right?'

'Yes, dear. And remember to tuck your elbows in and you might want to close your eyes.' Leo stepped up to the fire, wondering why he would have to tuck in his elbows. He threw the floo powder into the fire and then he stepped into the flames. They were warm, and tickled his skin.

'The Canice Fors Center!' he yelled.

The world began to spin. Leo immediately closed his eyes and tucked in his elbows. The spinning was making him feel nauseous. He was glad that he hadn't had any breakfast before leaving the Wolfes' house.

The spinning started to slow down and suddenly Leo was thrown out onto a stone floor. He stood up and began dusting himself off. He looked up and spotted Josh and Mr Wolfe off to the side. They had soot on their faces and clothes. He walked over to them.

'You OK, Leo?' Mr Wolfe asked.

'Yeah,' Leo said. His stomach still felt like it was doing flips, though.

Then, Mrs Wolfe appeared from the fireplace behind Leo. She also was covered in soot. Leo looked around he was on a large open building. It had a wrap around balcony that served as a second floor. The only windows were in the ceiling, but they lit the whole building up. Leo could see no doors to the outside either. He looked all around him.

There several shops on each wall and the length of the building stretched very far. Behind Leo stood the huge fire place that Leo had arrived through. It was alone on the huge wall.

Mrs Wolfe went around to the others and cleaned them up with a towel. As they walked down the long building, they were soot free.

They walked up to a statue of a fat witch with hair that stood out everywhere. Leo read the plaque at the bottom of the witch's feet.

Canice Fors

Founder of the Canice Fors Center. She owned the first shop built on this spot, Fors' Wands. After muggles discovered it in 1856, Fors decided to build this muggle-proof building, where her shop was rebuilt. It still stands today.

'Hey! Josh!' called a voice. Leo turned to see two girls walking towards them.

'Hey! Mom, can I go with them? I'll get all of my school things.'

'OK, Josh,' Mrs Wolfe handed a pouch to Josh. Leo knew that there was wizard money in the pouch. Leo felt guilty. He didn't want the Wolfes to buy him his new things, but he didn't have any money of his own.

'Meet us back here at one 'o clock!' called Mrs Wolfe after her son. Leo watched Josh runaway with his friends. He wished Josh had stayed. He liked Mr and Mrs Wolfe very much, but he liked having another kid to talk to. Leo turned to Me and Mrs Wolfe. Then, Leo heard another voice calling.

'Leo? What're you doing here?' Leo turned to see Aunt Julia. She was no longer wearing her blouse and skirt. She was wearing long violet robes, which seemed to suit her much more than her muggle clothing.

'Julia? You know Leo?' asked Mr Wolfe.

'Yes, he's my nephew.' Leo felt more guilty for not telling the Wolfes about . . . everything.

'He's been living with us for about a week now,' said Mrs Wolfe. Leo wished he could disappear. Aunt Julia was looking at him and he wasn't sure if she was angry or confused.

'I ran away from Dad,' said Leo, 'I was mad that he hadn't told me that I was a wizard.'

'So you must be Kora Sibyll's son then?' asked Mr Wolfe.

'Yes he is, Ted,' Aunt Julia turned back to Leo, 'And how did you end up with the Wolfes?'

'Well, I got lost and then I just met Mr Wolfe on the side of a road. We went to his farm and they let me stay for a while. We came today to buy my school things. But I don't have any wizard money and I don't know how I'm going to buy anything.'

'Well we could-' Mr Wolfe started.

'No thanks.' Leo said. He looked at Aunt Julia. She was smiling as usual, now.

'Well, Leo, it just so happens that I am here today to buy your school things as well,' Aunt Julia laughed 'I was going to give them to you when I took you to school. And about the money, we will go to Gringotts and I will take you to the vault where your money is. Your mother left you some when she died, and I've also saved some up for you.'

'We'll just go look at some of the shops,' said Mr Wolfe, 'Meet us back here at one.'

Leo walked down the long building beside Aunt Julia. They passed many shops. Some had spell books in the windows, some had potion ingredients, there was even one devoted to broomsticks and flying.

Leo walked with Aunt Julia to a large shop. It had large white pillars and tall, heavy, bronze doors. Over the top of the doors was written the word 'Gringotts' in gold letters. Aunt Julia lead the way through the doors.

On the inside Leo and Aunt Julia found another set of tall heavy doors. This time, however they were silver. There were words engraved upon these doors:

Enter, stranger, but take heed

Of what awaits the sin of greed,

For those who take, but do not earn,

Must pay most dearly in their turn,

So if you seek beneath our floors

A treasure that was never yours,

Thief, you have been warned, beware

Of finding more than treasure there.

'That poem's sort of creepy,' said Leo. He followed Aunt Julia through the doors. They were now in a long hall with marble floors. Leo saw many short little creatures behind long counters. They had long noses, and clever, but disgruntled faces. They were all wearing scarlet and gold uniforms.

'What are they?' he whispered to Aunt Julia.

'Goblins,' she replied. Leo looked around at them again. A few of them were looking at him. He noticed others, weighing coins, and examining jewels. Some were writing on something that Leo couldn't see over the counter. There were many other goblins, Leo noticed that were leading people in and out of doors. These doors lined the walls and there were too many to count. Aunt Julia walked up to a goblin standing behind the counter. He seemed to be doing nothing but sitting there on his stool.

'We've come to make a withdrawal,' she said to the Goblin.

'Vault?' asked the Goblin.

'Leo Perry's, number three thousand eight hundred and seventy two,' said Aunt Julia.

'And you have his key?'

'Yes.'

'Good. Someone will take you down to the vault in a minute. Axeclaw!'

Another goblin walked over to them and Leo handed Axeclaw his key.

'Follow me, please.' The goblin lead them through one of the numerous doors. They entered a narrow stone passageway. There in front of them was a cart sitting on a track. Leo couldn't see where the track went. It seemed that it dropped down into the mines.

Leo climbed into the cart with Aunt Julia and Axeclaw. The cart began to move. At first it went straight. Leo had been right though, and the cart suddenly dropped down a steep hill. The cart was going as fast as it possibly could and the cart continued to drop. They would reach the center of the earth if they didn't stop soon. Suddenly the track straightened out. The cart turned a corner at top speed and then stopped without a moments notice. Leo was thrown to the front of the cart.

He climbed out after Axeclaw. Aunt Julia came after him. Axeclaw walked up to a very large door. He took out Leo's key. There were three Keyholes on the door. Each keyhole had a number over top of it. Axeclaw stuck Leo's key in the keyhole that had '3872'. The door swung open and revealed a small pile of gold, silver and bronze coins.

'This is mine?' Leo asked.

'Yes, of course,' Aunt Julia, 'Gather some up and put it in this.' Aunt Julia handed him a money pouch, much like the one that Mrs Wolfe had gave Josh. Leo gathered up as much coins as he could and stuffed them into his pouch.

Axeclaw took them back up through the mines and Leo and Aunt Julia left through the silver and bronze doors.

'I really don't like those goblins,' said Aunt Julia.

'I think they're kind of funny,' said Leo.

'All right, Leo. What's on your list?' Aunt Julia asked. Leo pulled his letter from his pocket. He had been carrying it everywhere with him. He looked down at his list.

EGGSWAX NOTORIOUS SCHOOL OF SORCERY

Uniform

First years must have the following:

1.Three sets of school robes (to be acquired upon arrival to school)

2. One plain, pointed hat (black)

3.One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide)

4.One winter cloak (black)

Please have your name written on all clothing.

Books and Equipment

All first year students should have a copy of the following for their studies: The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk

Transfiguration Made Slightly Difficult by Frank Hout

Basic Potions and Drafts by Arnold Palmer

A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot

A Guide to Magical Vegetation by Olivia Jansten

The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection (Updated Version) by Quinton Trimble

Basic Charms to Survive the Day by Sedah Goat

A Guide to the Stars by Omelia Jonsten

All first years should have the following for classes:

One wand

One cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)

One set of glass potion phials

One telescope

One set of brass scales

Students may also bring A pet

Broomsticks are allowed. Rules must be strictly followed and first year students are prohibited to fly until their first flying lesson.

'So, where do we go first?' Leo asked Aunt Julia.

'Well it seems that we'll have to go to several different places,' she said, 'We'll start by going to the robe shop. While you're there, I'll run to the bookstore and buy your things there. We'll have to stop by the Apothecary. And the wand shop! Oh my!'

'Can I get a broomstick?' Leo asked. He remembered his flight on Josh's AstroSweep Five point Zero. He couldn't wait to fly again.

'What, dear?'

'Can I buy a broomstick?' Leo asked again.

'We'll see, Leo,' she said, 'First we need to buy everything you need and then we'll go look at some broomsticks.'

'OK, where's the robe shop?' Leo asked.

'Well, we'll head back to the statue. I'm sure it's on the way there,' Aunt Julia sighed. She seemed to be tired out already and they had just begun.

Leo walked with his aunt to a shop called Robes for Everyone, All Sizes, All Occasions. Leo looked at his aunt.

'Just go inside and tell them that you're starting at Eggswax. Tell them that you need to be measured. I'll go get your books.'

Leo walked into the shop. There were racks, of many different sets of robes hanging from them, lining the walls. There was also a table off to the side with some papers that looked to have different designs of robes on them.

Leo saw a counter near the back of the shop and he started for it. As he approached the counter he spotted a bell and just as he was about to ring it, a small, old witch appeared.

'Yes, dear?' she asked. She had very large glasses that sat on the end of her nose. They looked as if they were about to fall off.

'I'm starting at Eggswax this year. I need to be measured for my uniform,' Leo said.

'Oh. Right this way, dear,' the witch lead Leo over to the corner where to stools stood. She gestured for Leo to stand on one of them and Leo climbed up. The witch conjured a measuring tape with her wand, and it immediately started measuring Leo all on its own. Leo watched the witch record the measurements as it went.

'So what's your name, dear?'asked the witch.

'Leo,' he said, 'What's yours?' Leo asked before thinking.

'I'm Madam Lismer,' she said laughing, 'There you are.' Leo stepped down from the stool and looked at her expectantly.

'You will get your robes when you arrive at school, dear.'

'Oh, right,' said Leo feeling stupid, 'Thanks.'

Leo walked back out of the shop after paying the old witch. He met Aunt Julia right outside. She had a bag full to bursting with books.

'Well, let's get going. We have to get you a cauldron, some potion phials and a scale. So let's go to the Apothecary.'

Leo followed his aunt to the Apothecary and was in and out in no time. Aunt Julia knew where everything was. They found everything, and left.

'So we have to get you a wand, and then we're done,' said Aunt Julia.

'Yeah and-' Leo started.

'No, I already picked up your telescope, dear.'

'No. I mean we still have to go look at broomsticks,' said Leo.

'Oh right. Sorry, Leo, I forgot,' she said, 'As soon as we get you a wand.'

Fors' Wands was at the other end of the building. As Leo walked with his aunt, he began thinking of home. He wished he could go back and show his father all his cool new things. He wasn't sure how his father would react though. He would probably already be mad at him for disappearing for so long. Showing him a whole bunch of stuff that he didn't want Leo to have in the first place, wouldn't make things much better.

'You should go home, Leo,' Aunt Julia said. Had she known what he was thinking about? Apparently this question was written all over his face because she laughed.

'Your father might be mad,' she said 'But you need to talk to him. You're going to leave for ten months. You don't want to spend your last month away from him, do you? Make the best of the time you have.'

'Is he always going to hate wizards?' Leo asked.

'He doesn't hate us,' Aunt Julia said smiling, 'He's just confused. He doesn't know what our world's all about. You can help him with that.'

'But what if he's still mad at me when I get home?' Leo asked.

'He won't. He knows that getting angry with you was wrong. If not for him, go home for me. Please?'

'OK,' he said. Aunt Julia smiled.

'We'll meet the Wolfes at one and tell them that you're going home. We can go get your things from their house and then I'll take you home, OK?'

'All right,' Leo said as they walked through the door of Fors' Wands. It looked like the oldest shop in the building, and then Leo remembered that it was. There were piles of long, small boxes all around the room. There was a single door on the far wall and it was open. Before Leo got to see what was on the other side of that door a face appeared.

'Hello Ms Fors,' said Aunt Julia to the witch standing in the doorway.

'Ah, Ms Sybill and who do we have here?' she asked. Leo assumed that Ms Fors was a descendant of the subject of the statue outside. She looked nothing like the statue though. She was a young witch, about the age of his aunt. She had long straight blonde hair and a pretty face. She was very tall. She was the complete opposite of the statue of her ancestor.

'I'm Leo,' he said, 'Leo Perry.'

'So you must be Kora's son then? You're the unaware,'

said the witch, inspecting him. Leo hadn't a clue as to what she was talking about.

'Right-handed?' the witch asked.

'Yes,' Leo said unsure.

Before he knew it a measuring tape, just like the one at the robe shop was measuring him. It measured him from shoulder to finger, shoulder to elbow, elbow to finger, shoulder to floor, elbow to floor, waist to finger and for some strange reason, his eye to his ear. Leo looked at his aunt and she shrugged.

Ms Fors hurried off to the side and selected a box. She opened it to reveal a wand. She handed it to Leo and told him to give it a wave. Leo waved and as he did sparks of every colour flew from the tip.

'Very good, Mr Perry,' said Ms Fors 'You are the first wizard ever to find his wand on the first try. Let's try one more though just in case.' Leo thought this was bizarre. If he had found his wand, why did he have to keep searching?

Ms Fors handed him another wand. He waved it and again sparks of every colour flew from the tip.

'It seems that any wand will have you!' she said, 'And, for your information, multicoloured sparks on the first wave is a mark of a powerful wizard! So you can pick either of these wands.'

Leo picked the first one he had tried. Ms Fors put the other wand back and she put Leo's in its box. She placed it in a bag.

'Very good choice, Mr Perry. That's maple, ten inches, and its core is a griffin's feather. There are only five wands in this hop with that core. Very good choice.'

Leo left with his aunt and they went to look at broomsticks. Leo found one that was great! It was one of the best and very expensive. Aunt Julia let Leo buy it, but only after Leo made her consider that he had never gotten anything from his mother.

'It'll be like a great birthday present from her,' he had said. So, Leo met the Wolfes with all of his new things, including his new broomstick, a Whistler One Hundred. He returned to their home with them and Aunt Julia.

He gathered his things, which didn't take long. He found Casper laying with Zeke and said good bye to the great white dog. He thanked the Wolfes and he said goodbye.

'See you at school,' Josh said.

'You can come back any time, dear,' said Mrs Wolfe.

Then Leo left with Aunt Julia, headed for home.