"Rune, dear-- What does the list say you need?"
He came to a stop at his mother's words, causing her and his father to do the same. "Right! Ah..." Rune patted his coat's pockets for a moment till he heard the crinkle of paper against the fabric. Rune's hand dived into that pocket to pull out the folded paper. He was careful to unfold it so as to not tear the list.
"The first item on the list is the uniform. It says we need three sets of plain work robes, one plain pointed hat for day wear, one pair of protective gloves, and one winter coat." Rune looked up at them when he finished reading to see his father looking around.
His gaze landed on the shop with mannequins covered in different kinds of clothing in the windows that he had spotted before. His father looked back at the three of them and took each of their hands on his own, Rune's and his mother's while Rune was holding on to his sister, "That looks like a clothing store-- lets try there first." Without another word, he walked them towards the shop.
The sign above said that the store's name was Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. When Rune had opened the door, a bell rang and a lady immediately came from the back to greet the new customers. The shop was near empty-- other than their family and the shopkeeper, Madam Malkin as the store's name suggests. In her hand was a roll of measuring tape.
"Hello! Welcome, welcome! First year robe shopping, I presume?" The woman spoke enthusiastically, tossing the measurement tape in the air. The roll floated in the air, unrolling as it glided over to Rune.
His eyes couldn't leave the measurement tape-- he immediately recognized it as magic at work. "Arms up darling," Malkin instructed with ease. His arms lifted up from his sides and the measuring tape began to wrap around his body.
Meanwhile, the shopkeeper watched it and wrote down something on her notepad.
Must be Rune's measurements.
"Yes, please," Rune's father answered her question, tearing his own gaze away from the measuring tape.
He had never seen such things before, same with his mother. The measurement tape wrapped around the different segments of his arm now, stretching out afterwards to measure his arms length before it moved to his legs. "How much for the robes and such?" As he spoke, he removed his arm from being hooked with Julia's to fetch his wallet.
Madam Malkin paused to answer, watching as he pulled out a few British pounds. A smile etched onto her face as she began to write on her notepad again after flipping the page.
"Let's see.. Three work robes, a hat, gloves, and a winter coat..." Malkin scribbled numbers at the bottom of the notebook before smiling up at them. "That would be 87 pounds." She clicked her pen and flipped the page back over before holding her hand out.
In an instant, the measuring tape rolled back up and flew into her hand. Rune's father handed her the money to pay what was needed. Malkin went behind the register to place the money into a compartment before disappearing to the back. Most likely to get his clothing ready.
It didn't take longer than five to ten minutes before Madam Malkin returned with a bag filled with the purchased clothing. His mother took the bag from her and Rune stepped over to her to peer inside it. The clothing was folded quite neatly, the hat and gloves resting on top and the thick fabric of the winter coat peaking from underneath the robes.
They all mainly had a black and grey color scheme of sorts. The button up shirt was white though, but the grey cardigan that laid on top of it would cover most of it. It all looked to be made out of a comfortable material, though.
The uniform was quite different from the uniform he used to wear to school before. Then again, this school was very different from the ones he used to attend. "That should be everything," Malkin spoke kindly, holding her hands in front of her, "If you ever need any mending then do not hesitate to stop by."
"Of course. Thank you, Miss." Rune's father nodded his head once in parting, turning to guide his family out the store.
"Have a good day!"
"You too!" The four bid their farewells as they exited the store, the bell ringing once again as the door opened and shut.
A heavy sigh of relief left my father's lips, "That was easier than I thought it would be. What's next on the list, dear?"
His attention turned towards Rune now, a smile remaining on his features. He seemed to be getting a bit excited about the new wonders around him. His mother was in the same boat, although she was way more calm than her husband.
"Next is... all of the books I'll need."
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TO BE CONTINUED.....