After getting the wand, the pair did not continue to stroll much around Diagon Alley. They picked up the clothes at Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, and then after some pleading from Alina, they went to Eeylops Owl Emporium to get some food for her new owl.
Dumbledore had recommended that it be called Wicca, similar to the pronunciation of the laughing owl's name, 'Whekau.'
But Alina had already decided that once she got back to the orphanage, she would change its name to Food Reserve. At least this way, every time she fed Food Reserve, she would feel like she was feeding a pet and not raising a brat.
Perhaps intentionally on Dumbledore's part, even after Alina was led back to Gringotts and returned to the shores of Loch Lomond via Portkey, she did not once encounter Hagrid and Harry. Alina, who had been anticipating seeing the young boy, couldn't help but be disappointed.
"I think that we can part here."
With the trip to Diagon Alley, which had taken more than half the day, now over, Alina suddenly became very quiet and obedient. This left Dumbledore somewhat uncomfortable, but he thought that it could have been because she was tired.
Dumbledore patted Alina on the shoulder and gave her an envelope.
"Tired, right? Get back, and have a good rest. This is your train ticket to Hogwarts. September 1st, King's Cross Station—everything is written on the ticket. Do you have any other questions?"
Alina put the ticket in her little bag, tilted her hand, and then opened her little hands to Dumbledore.
"There's one other thing, Professor Dumbledore. You forgot to give me my textbooks," the girl earnestly said, her eyes brimming with desire. "After all, I know nothing about the classes I'm about to take. If I can study ahead of time, it should be of great help in my classes."
Dumbledore lowered his head and glanced at the girl. He shook his head and gently smiled.
"There's still a month until school. Use this time to relax and play. Don't think too much about studying."
"But..." Alina continued to try, trying to act like a merit student.
"Relax. In Hogwarts, everyone is starting from the beginning. It's fine, even if you don't preview the material. In addition, I trust that with your talent, you'll be at the top of your class. Once school begins, I'll deliver the books to your dorm. This will also save on the luggage you need to bring, right?"
Dumbledore refused, unmoved by Alina's request.
One had to realize that if it wasn't for the fact that he didn't want to overthink things too much, back in Ollivanders, Dumbledore would have even had Ollivander's custom-made wand sent straight to Hogwarts for safekeeping.
This was because there existed a loophole that was not a loophole in the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery. It placed no explicit restrictions on underage wizards or witches who had yet to start school.
Starting from the moment that a first-year student at Hogwarts bought their wand up until the moment they officially started school, there was a completely unsupervised time period. Normally, people would tacitly accept the fact that young wizards would use this period to use their abilities.
But Dumbledore had a decent understanding of the silver-haired girl's intelligence level, execution ability, and trouble-making ability. He had no desire to wait until the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes got involved before he was forced to clean up Alina's mess.
"Oh, then I won't read the books on spells and herbology. I can at least read some basic introductory texts to amuse myself, right?"
Seeing that the old wizard was firm, Alina cutely blinked her eyes and made a concession.
"Basic introductory texts? Let's see some examples..." Dumbledore thoughtfully tapped his fingers as he curiously asked, his expression slightly relaxing.
Alina immediately raised her right hand and jumped in joy. "First is 'A History of Magic.' I'm sure that there are many interesting stories in the long history of the Magic World."
"There's no problem with that, though, though I think you might be disappointed."
Dumbledore relaxed and shrugged his shoulders, removing a thick book from a bag upon which the Undetectable Extension Charm had been used and handing it to the girl. Rather than having Alina fall asleep in Professor Binns's History of Magic class, it was better to have her learn something while she was still a little interested.
"Mm, if possible, I would also like 'One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi' by Phyllida Spore. When I was in the Headmaster's office, she recommended that I understand more about this subject. You can ask her about this if you want."
Seeing that Dumbledore's face had relaxed, Alina smiled and added on another request.
"One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi? Mm, Headmistress Spore told you?" Dumbledore slightly frowned as he pondered. Alina had a low chance of encountering any magical plants in a month, and if this had been on the advice of a previous headmaster, he had no reason to object.
"Very well, but you must promise me that you will not consume or purchase any magical plants on your own."
"I promise!"
Alina solemnly swore, and she quickly had another book in her hand. The silver-haired girl happily squinted, showing her adorable front teeth as she cautiously asked another question.
"Well, uh, Professor Dumbledore, one last book..."
"I know, I know. Newt Scamander's 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,' right?"
Dumbledore preemptively answered, placing a book with a green cover in Alina's hand. "But since you want to take three books, then you must make me another promise: you cannot use magic until school starts."
"No problem! Relax."
Alina immediately agreed. In truth, Dumbledore was completely overthinking things. Magic wasn't as simple as reciting a few spells. One needed to match it with a specific tone and gesture. Since there would be teachers to guide her in school, why did she need to blindly mess around on her own?
Besides, she had something far more important to do in the coming month.
Dumbledore inexplicably felt a hint of panic and stopped to carefully examine the silver-haired girl. His many years of experience told him that the girl's reply had not been half-hearted or insincere.
What was the problem then? Had something unexpected happened with Voldemort and Harry Potter?
Dumbledore frowned as he suppressed his worries. Planning to look into things further once he got back, he patted Alina on the head and said farewell.
"Well, that's it for now. If you have any questions, have your little owl send a message. It knows where Hogwarts is. However, I advise you to let it rest for a few days.
Dumbledore pointed at the curled-up owl in the corner of the cage. 'Food Reserve' apparently had some Portkey sickness.
"Mm, I know. It looks to me like it still needs to eat a little more to get stronger."
Alina glanced at her weak little bird, curled her lips in disgust, and nodded.
There was a crack in the air as Dumbledore Apparated away from the shores of Loch Lomond.
...
"Professor Dumbledore?
"Professor Dumbledore, are you still here?"
Alina stood on the deserted lakeshore and shouted a few times to confirm that Dumbledore was gone.
The girl squatted and shook the cage while speaking in a sympathetic tone, "Food Reserve, seeing how poor your condition is, you probably won't live for long. Why don't I just eat you!"
Gu! ⊙∀⊙!
The listless owl suddenly opened its eyes, stood up straight, and began to energetically flap its wings.
"Hmph, I knew you were playing dead."
The girl wrinkled her nose in displeasure. She had never before seen any animal that could still so deftly move its ears around while sick.
It seemed that what might have been the last laughing owl in the world, 'Food Reserve,' was quite smart.
"Get up! I need you to deliver a letter to Benitez, that man living in the gray-brick house behind this small town's church. And then bring him here. He will be feeding you for the next few days."
Alina reached into the cage and took the owl out of the cage. She tore a somewhat empty page out of the History of Magic textbook and began to write on it with the pencil she had bought just today.
[Father, my clothes and luggage are by the lake. Please help me move them to my room. This owl is my pet, 'Food Reserve.' Don't eat it, and please help me feed him for now.
I'm going on a trip to London and will be back soon.]
Alina paused and then added another sentence.
[If I'm not back in three days, have 'Food Reserve' send a letter to Dumbledore. Tell him that I've been captured by the goblins of Gringotts.——Your beloved, cute, and adorable Alina Kaslana]
Once the letter was done, Alina grabbed 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' and 'One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi,' stood up, and began to walk toward the train station. At the same time, she solemnly felt the object bulging from her chest.
The fairy tale trip to the Diagon Alley was over.
But the fun was just getting started...
——————
Alina: Food Reserve, be quiet! (•̀∀•́)
Alina: Food Reserve, hug me. (๑•.•๑)
Alina: Food Reserve, I'm hungry~╭(°A°`)╮
Alina: Food Reserve, help me take a bath~ ⊙▽⊙
Alina: Alina, stop shaking. ╮(╯▽╰)╭
Alina: Food Reserve, can I lick you just once? (ฅ>ω<*ฅ)