Master of death

Chapter eleven~

Tom glanced up in surprise as the fireplace in the Leaky Cauldron blazed green with a silvery-grey fringe. The only time a Floo had a coloration other than the usual solid green was when it was an international Floo shift, as those required extra preparation to connect the various countries' Floo Networks, each having been assigned their own color of Floo powder. While this wasn't the first time he'd ever had an international visitor to his Floo, he didn't know which country had that particular shade as its identifier. What was also odd was that the flames had shot out of the fireplace and up before parting into a wide circular gateway, something that Floo flames did not normally do. Usually, the flames would flare and a witch or wizard would duck in or out and that would be that. But for some reason the flames now boldly presented dramatically as a portal that three figures stepped through.

One was a somewhat hunched, bald man dressed in black whose eyes darted every which way of their own accord, not unlike the one magical eye of a certain Auror. The second was a young boy who looked to be of age to be a first-year at Hogwarts, dressed in a rather dapper suit and skeletal glasses. The third was one that Tom readily recognized, though his company and arrival were unusual. "Well that's an entrance, Hagrid," he greeted warmly as he walked over, setting down the glass he was cleaning. "Just a moment, Tom," Hagrid offered apologetically before turning to a hissing burden in the crook of one arm. "Oh, did ye not like the Floo? No worries, ah know it takes gettin' used ta, Norbert. Ye won't be needing ta take it once yer old enough ta fly on yer own, easy now, easy..." Hagrid cooed softly.

As Tom looked to see what manner of creature Hagrid had brought into his tavern to baby this time, Tom found himself stifling a gasp of shock. It had brownish-black scales with ridges all along its back, emerald green eyes with slit pupils, wings, and a spiked tail. It was definitely a Norwegian Ridgeback dragon...and yet Tom had to do a double take to make sure it wasn't just Hagrid's immense size making him mistake it by comparison, but it was small enough to easily fit in the palm of Tom's hand. "Hagrid...where did you get that?" he asked finally. "He's a gift from my family," Hagrid replied warmly, still cooing to the little dragon...who, to Tom's surprise, had stopped hissing and was now gently butting its head against Hagrid's fingers to solicit affection, something dragons simply did not do. "Come along, cousin!" the bald man suddenly called out as he stumped towards the back. "We need to get to the Alley, and you're the only one of us who can open it." He reminded Hagrid. "R-right!" Hagrid replied instantly. "Be right there, Fester. C'mon, Malikai." Tom blinked, and looked at the young boy. Something about the name tickled his mind, and those eyes...was it..."And you?" he asked curiously. "New Hogwarts student?" Tom asks curiously.  "That's right," the boy chirped warmly. "Malikai Mordu Addams nice to meet you." He happily took Tom's hand and shook it, before jerking his head towards 'Fester' and Hagrid. 

"My Uncles are taking me to get my supplies for my first year." Malikai chirped happily. "Time to go Kai!" Fester called from the barrier. "Coming, Uncle!" Malikai responded readily, turning and following after his family. Tom stared at the trio, his eyes wide as a miniature Hungarian Horntail swoop in the window before coming in for landing on the boy's shoulder, lightly gripping with claws before wrapping its tail around his neck, positioning the spiked end so the spikes wouldn't scratch him. "An Addams is going to Hogwarts..." Tom murmured to himself in awe. And then another revelation hit him a little harder. "...Hagrid's an...Addams?" Tom gasps finally realizing what just happened. Reaching over, he grabbed a bottle of fire whiskey off his shelf. He needed a drink...
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As the trio walked into the Diagon Alley, Hagrid was a little put out. Normally, when he was assigned to bring a student here for their shopping, there was a bit of awe and marvel on their part as they took in the magical beauty of the Alley and just how impressive it all was.  Admittedly, it wasn't surprising that members of the Addams clan were underwhelmed by something so magically mundane, but it was disappointing. "We should hit Gringotts," he pointed out idly as he noticed Norbert scrunching his muzzle, a sure sign he was about to start caterwauling to demand food. As he reached into his pocket, he continued, "Need to pick up some Galleons from Kai's vault to pay for his purchases." Hagrid announces. "No need," Fester replied with a mad grin. "Gomez contacted the goblins in the New York branch, and arranged to connect Kai's Key to the Addams' accounts and made a remote withdrawal. Plus he's got a good 600 Galleons in his pocket at all times, for anything he might need." Fester assures happily. "Well ain't that convenient," Hagrid allowed as he finally found the hunk of raw meat he'd been searching for. Bringing it to his mouth, he tore a small chunk off with his teeth before holding it out for Norbert to eat. Gomez had explained to him that it was important after the first feeding that anything he fed Norbert for the first few months had traces of his magic in it so Norbert would always know his magic from anywhere in the world, and the easiest -and cleanest- way to do that was to get a bit of his saliva on it before feeding it. Besides, tearing chunks away with teeth for feeding was how dragons fed their youngsters, so it would speak to his instincts. "I need to stop by there anyway. Got somethin' I need to pick up there fer Dumbledore." Hagrid says sighing tiredly.

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"Alright," Fester agreed. "While you're doing that, I'll take Henri down to Nocturne Alley. There's a few things I need to pick up, and Malikai's running low on Night Balm." Fester explains calmly. "Night Balm?" Hagrid asked curiously. "For my skin," Kai explained easily, gesturing to the slightly pale tone he had. "Helps keep me from tanning, and the pale tone is great for blending in when visiting the Realms of the Dead. Skin care is important, so it's best to start young." Kai retorts. Hagrid blinked slowly for a few moments, though it didn't interrupt Norbert's feeding. "...right," he finally allowed. "Just be careful, okay? Nocturne Alley ain't exactly the light side, ye ken?" Hagrid says worriedly. "Don't worry!" Fester promised. "We won't traumatize the locals too much!" Fester jested. Hagrid stared at Fester for a time, then shook his head before turning towards Gringotts. "Dunno why I expected anything else..." he muttered as he marched off.

It wasn't too long before Hagrid left Gringotts, having retrieved the contents of vault 713. The only hold up had been over Norbert, but not for the reasons he'd expected. Being an Addams, his ownership of Norbert was filed as "Nobody's Business," and the bank had already filed the appropriate paperwork. What had held him up had been literally every goblin he'd interacted with wanting a closer look at the little fellow while asking intelligent questions regarding his abilities, cost of care, and if the Addams clan were interested in making the breed available beyond family and what the price might be to acquire a few clutches for bank staff, as the goblins thought they would be immensely more reliable -and more aesthetically pleasing- than owls, not to mention adding an extra layer to security.

Never one to hesitate to talk about a subject near and dear to his heart, Hagrid had waxed as eloquent as he ever did to answer their questions as fully as possible. As a result, the trip took longer than expected. As he stepped out, however, he realized something he'd overlooked. "Ah never told 'em where and when ta meet up with me!" he declared as he slapped a hand to his forehead, causing Norbert to chirp in concern.

"How am I supposed to find 'em?" Hagrid asks himself worriedly. "Find who?" Malikai suddenly asked from behind him. Hagrid jerked in surprise and turned, finding Kai and Fester looking up at him with matching smiles. "Blimey," he murmured. "Didn't ya know you could do that too, Fester." Hagrid says impressed. "I'm not as good at it as Kai," Fester admitted with a proud smile. "But I've stumbled that way a time or two myself.  As long as he leads the way, it's easy enough for me to follow." Fester explains calmly.

"So where to now?" Malikai asked as he slipped a few things into a bag that showed no sign it held objects larger than its apparent volume. "Well, the next place to stop would be Madam Malkin's." Hagrid concluded, gesturing to a shop that declared itself to be 'Madam Malkin's Robes For All Occasions'. "Need to get yer uniform. While you're there, Fester 'n, I can pick up your books." He gestured to another store titled 'Flourish and Blotts'.  "Then there's potion supplies-" Hagrid began but stopped when he saw Kai's smirk. "Already fully stocked," Kai pointed out with a smile. Hagrid smirked. "Got a cauldron too, I take it?" Hagrid asks smiling ruefully.