With Felix’s wand finally chosen, the rest of the shopping trip moved considerably faster.
There was still plenty to buy, but compared with finding a wand that had actually responded to him, collecting robes, equipment, and books felt almost routine.
They visited Madam Malkin’s first, where Felix was measured for his Hogwarts robes and fitted with everything he would need for the coming year.
From there, they moved between shops collecting his cauldron, brass scales, glass phials, telescope, protective gloves, parchment, ink, quills, and the other items listed in his Hogwarts letter.
The number of books alone was enough to fill several bags.
Felix recognized many of the titles from his previous life, but holding actual copies in his hands was still strange.
He turned A History of Magic over several times before Starla reminded him that he could read it later, and Soren had to stop him from inspecting the construction of his cauldron as though he were personally responsible for approving its manufacture.
By the time they had gathered nearly everything, Felix was carrying several bags while his parents handled the rest.
His new wand was safely secured in its holder, and the silver Falker ring remained on his finger.
There was only one thing left.
A pet.
They eventually stopped outside the Magical Menagerie, and Felix looked through the windows with immediate interest.
He had always assumed that if he ever reached Hogwarts, he would probably end up with an owl.
It was the obvious choice, particularly for someone who would need to send letters home.
Still, when he stepped inside the shop, an owl was not what caught his attention.
The Magical Menagerie was considerably louder than Ollivanders.
Cages and enclosures filled much of the shop, containing cats, rats, frogs, birds, and several creatures that Felix recognized from his knowledge of the wizarding world.
The mixture of chirping, scratching, squeaking, and occasional squawking created a constant background noise as Felix moved slowly between the enclosures.
Then he saw the falcon.
It was perched alone near the back of the shop, larger than most of the birds surrounding it.
Its feathers were dark and sharply patterned, and it held itself with an alertness that made it seem almost regal.
Unlike many of the other animals, it was completely silent.
Its eyes followed Felix.
Felix stopped.
The falcon continued watching him.
Something about the bird immediately caught his attention.
It was not simply that the animal looked fierce.
There was a confidence in the way it held itself, as though it had no interest in impressing anyone and no intention of being intimidated by the noisy creatures around it.
Felix approached the enclosure and slowly held out his hand.
The falcon tilted its head before stepping toward him.
Felix smiled.
“Hello.”
The bird moved closer until it was standing directly beside the bars.
Felix could not explain the feeling that passed between them, but the connection was immediate.
There was no hesitation from the falcon, and Felix found himself strangely certain that this was the animal he had been looking for.
Starla came to stand beside him.
“You’ve decided already, haven’t you?”
Felix nodded.
“Yeah.”
Soren studied the falcon for a moment before looking at his son.
“Then I suppose we have our answer.”
Once the necessary arrangements had been made, the falcon was brought from its enclosure.
Felix held out his arm, expecting the bird to hesitate, but it simply stepped onto him and settled comfortably.
The weight surprised him, and he adjusted his arm slightly while the falcon looked around the shop with the same sharp attention it had shown him earlier.
“You need a name.”
The falcon turned its head toward him.
Felix considered several possibilities before one finally came to mind.
“Kratos.”
The bird gave a sharp cry.
Felix grinned.
“I’ll take that as approval.”
Starla laughed softly.
“Kratos it is.”
Felix looked down at his new companion.
There was something satisfying about the name.
The falcon was fierce, independent, and clearly not interested in behaving like an ordinary pet, which made Felix suspect they were going to get along perfectly.
After leaving the Magical Menagerie, the Falkers stepped back into the crowded streets of Diagon Alley.
Felix carried the remaining bags while Kratos remained perched comfortably on his arm, occasionally turning his head to watch the witches and wizards passing by.
They had barely walked several metres before Felix accidentally bumped into someone coming in the opposite direction.
One of his bags swung sideways.
“Sorry,” Felix said, quickly steadying it.
He looked up and found himself staring at two almost identical red-haired boys.
He knew them immediately.
Fred and George Weasley.
For a brief moment, Felix simply stared.
There was something surreal about seeing them standing right in front of him.
He had grown up watching their story unfold, had laughed at their jokes, admired their confidence, and remembered the enormous role they had played in the wizarding world.
Now they were eleven-year-old boys standing in front of him, and one of them was looking rather suspiciously at the falcon perched on his arm.
“That’s a serious-looking bird,” one of the twins said.
“Serious is one word for it. I was going to say it looks like it’s planning something.”
Felix glanced down at Kratos, who had fixed the twins with the same unblinking stare he gave everyone.
“He does that. He’s not actually planning anything. Probably.”
“Probably,” the first twin repeated, exchanging a look with his brother.
Fred — Felix was fairly sure it was Fred — turned his attention back to him.
“You’re not from around here, are you? I’d remember that bird.”
“Felix Falker,” Felix said, shifting the bags in his other hand.
“And no, I’m not. First trip to Diagon Alley.”
George’s eyebrows went up.
“Falker. That’s an old name.”
“You’ve heard of it?”
“Dad’s mentioned it once or twice. Something about dragons.” George glanced at Kratos again.
“Seems fitting.”
Fred leaned in slightly, the way he did when he’d decided someone was worth his attention.
“So what’s the story with the bird? Most people go for an owl. Practical. Boring. Reliable.”
“I didn’t pick him,” Felix said.
“He picked me. I walked past his enclosure and he decided we were going to be friends.”
“That’s a bit alarming,” George said.
“I thought so too, but he seems to know what he’s doing.”
Fred laughed, and it was the real thing — not a polite laugh, but the kind that came from actually finding something funny.
“I like him,” he said to George.
George nodded slowly, studying Felix the way he might study a puzzle he was considering taking apart.
“Yeah. All right. He’ll do.”
“High praise,” Felix said dryly.
“You have no idea,” Fred said.
Kratos chose that moment to shift on Felix’s arm and turn his head toward Fred, and Fred — to his credit — did not flinch.
He just looked back at the falcon with the same open curiosity he’d been giving Felix.
“He’s watching me,” Fred said.
“He’s deciding if you’re worth the trouble.”
“And?”
“Too early to say.”
George grinned.
“You know, for someone who’s just met us, you’re picking up the tone pretty fast.”
“Maybe I’ve met people like you before.”
Fred’s eyes narrowed slightly, but in a good-natured way.
“Now that’s interesting. What exactly do you mean by that?”
Before Felix could answer, a familiar voice called from behind the twins.
“Fred! George!”
The twins turned, and Felix followed their gaze.
A red-haired woman was approaching, looking mildly exasperated but clearly accustomed to whatever her sons had managed to get themselves into.
Her expression softened when she noticed Felix and his parents.
“Starla?”
Starla’s face brightened immediately.
“Molly.”
The two women walked toward each other and embraced.
Felix looked between them, surprised.
Soren greeted Molly politely, and she returned the greeting before turning back to Starla, and within moments the two women were talking as though they had never been apart, reminiscing about their younger years and catching up on everything that had happened since they had last seen each other.
Felix glanced toward the twins.
They were watching their mothers with the same curiosity he was.
“Apparently they know each other,” George said.
“Apparently,” Felix replied.
Fred looked at Kratos again.
“What did you say his name was?”
“Kratos.”
George nodded approvingly.
“That’s a proper name. Better than what Fred wanted to call him.”
Fred looked genuinely offended.
“I didn’t say anything.”
“You were going to. I could see you thinking it.”
“I was thinking something perfectly reasonable.”
“You were thinking ‘Fluffy.'”
Fred opened his mouth, closed it, and then shrugged.
“It’s a good name for a bird.”
“It’s a name for a sofa cushion,” George said.
Felix laughed before he could stop himself, and both twins turned to him with the satisfied expressions of a pair who had just successfully completed a performance.
“Wait a minute.”
George looked at him.
“What?”
Fred’s grin slowly spread across his face.
“Didn’t Tom say something about some kid staring at the rubbish bin by the entrance?”
George’s face lit up with recognition.
“Oh, yes. That’s right.”
The twins turned toward Felix together, and Felix felt his stomach sink slightly.
Fred leaned in slightly.
“Old Tom was talking about some kid staring at the rubbish bin by the entrance. Apparently he looked like he was thinking about tampering with it.”
Felix’s expression remained neutral for approximately two seconds.
Then he sighed.
“That was me.”
Fred’s grin spread across his face.
George burst out laughing.
“You actually asked about the bin?” Fred said.
“I was curious.”
“Curious,” Fred repeated, clearly delighted.
“Curious about whether you could tamper with the rubbish bin.”
George shook his head.
“We’ve known you for about five minutes and you’ve already admitted to investigating suspicious rubbish bins.”
Felix shrugged.
“I didn’t touch it.”
Fred and George exchanged a look, and something unspoken passed between them.
Then they both turned back to Felix.
“Yet,” they said together.
Felix laughed.
“You two are going to be a problem, aren’t you?”
“A problem?” Fred put a hand on his chest.
“We’re a delight.”
“You’re going to get me in trouble.”
“Not on purpose,” George said.
“On accident?”
“On purpose,” Fred admitted.
“But only the fun kind.”
Felix shook his head, but he was smiling, and he could already tell that these two were going to be difficult in the best possible way.
There was no awkwardness, no forced attempt at friendship, no need to impress one another.
The twins simply understood his humor, and Felix understood theirs.
He could already tell that if they were ever given the opportunity to work together, the results would probably be disastrous for everyone around them.
And, strangely enough, Felix was looking forward to it.
His smile faded slightly as a thought from his previous life surfaced.
He remembered Fred and George as older boys — remembered their jokes, their shop, their loyalty to their friends, and the way they had fought when everything had gone wrong.
Most of all, he remembered the Battle of Hogwarts and the fact that Fred had never walked away from it.
Felix looked at the two eleven-year-olds standing in front of him.
They had no idea what was waiting for them years from now.
Neither did most of the people around them.
Felix could not change everything.
He knew that much.
The future was not a book that could simply be followed page by page, and his presence in this world had already changed things in ways he could not predict.
But this was one thing he could make a decision about.
He would not simply stand by and allow the future he remembered to happen if there was something he could do about it.
Fred noticed Felix staring at them.
“What?”
Felix blinked and smiled.
“Nothing.”
George narrowed his eyes.
“That didn’t look like nothing.”
“Just thinking.”
“Dangerous habit,” Fred said.
“Very dangerous,” George agreed.
Felix laughed, and the twins joined him.
Nearby, Starla and Molly continued talking, apparently unaware of the quiet promise Felix had just made to himself.
He looked at Fred and George again, and for the first time, the memory of what he knew about the future did not feel like something distant and inevitable.
It felt like a problem.
And Felix had never been particularly good at leaving problems alone.
He adjusted the bags in his hand while Kratos shifted comfortably on his arm.
Fred and George were already arguing over some new idea, and Felix found himself listening with a growing smile.
Hogwarts was still several weeks away.
Already, however, Felix had a feeling his first year was going to be interesting.