Chapter 1: Diagon Ally
Scott's eyes squinted open as the light filtered in through his blue curtains. Sitting up in bed he reached over and crossed off another day on his calendar tacked to his wall, he saw that he had one more day until he started Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. Grinning to himself he swung his legs off his bed and stood up stretched and walked over to his window and pushed his curtains aside and looked down upon the street. His neighbors Miss. Higgens was bending down to pick up her paper while holding her light blue bathrobe in place. Scott turned and walked to the bathroom that was connected to his room, and looking into the mirror he examined his sleepy face. Just 11 years old Scott was a tall for his age, with dark brown hair that just touched his eyebrows, deep brown eyes, and a couple freckles on his face; he was skinny and no matter how much he had eaten it wouldn't change he was also a Junior named after his father. Scott turned his head to the sound of Christine, his step-Mum calling to him from in the kitchen.
"Scott, it's time for you to get up and come eat before it gets cold."
"Ok!" he called back, before taking one last look in the mirror; he was going to have to do something about his hair.
Five minutes later Scott walked into the kitchen fully dressed and hair combed.
"Mornin' Mum," he said, planting a kiss on his step-Mum's cheek and sitting in his chair at the table.
"Mornin' hun. Your mother called a little while ago." said Christine, putting a plate of pancakes in front of him. "She said she won't be able to make it to see you off tomorrow. But she wants you to send an owl as soon as you get settled in."
Scott rolled his eyes as he spread syrup on his pancakes. His father and mother were a witch and wizard but they had split just a couple of months after he was born. His mother had had three kids before his father; Sherri who had left Hogwarts and was living on her own in Peru as a Healer, Tyler who was in his 6th year at Hogwarts and Jamie who was in her 5th year. They all had different fathers and lived with them instead of their mother. After Scott's parents Trudy and Scott Sr. had split, Scott's father had married a Muggle; Christine and his mother had went back to Jamie's father and had had another child; Chris, who Scott was quite close to despite their four year difference. All the siblings kept in touch so that they could stay close. Christine sat down next to Scott and sipped her tea why he ate. His step-Mum was a short plump woman with a kind face and motherly expression. Scott loved his step-Mum and considered her more of a mother than his real one, even if she was a bit freaked out by him and his father being wizards. They tried to live as normal life as they could at home for her.
"I know that it bothers you, Scott." she said, eyeing him carefully. "Your mother and Chris not being there."
"Yeah it bothers me, but since when has she been there." he said, stabbing another piece of pancake with his fork. "At least I know why Chris can't come. He's seven he can't drive, ride a broom or Apparate so it's not his fault."
Christine smoothed out his hair with tears in her eyes.
"What?" he asked, lowering his fork.
"Nothing, you're just growing up so fast." she said, whiping her eyes. "Tomorrow you'll be off to Hogwarts all by yourself. I know that I don't like magic in the house, but I'm still so proud of you."
"Mum," Scott grumbled, "I'll be home for Christmas, and you can write to me."
"I know. Now, finish up your pancakes and then go and get ready so that your father and I can take you to get your things. He was able to set up the Floo powder network for the afternoon to get to Diagon Ally and back. Your father should be home soon." she said glancing at her watch. "I hate him working nights and the Ministry."
Scott's father Mr. Marshall worked for the Ministry of Magic in the International Magical Cooperation Department and spent his time arranging meetings with the Ministry of Magic and other Ministries around in other countries. It wasn't a big job but he got paid well for it.
Scott hurriedly ate the last of his breakfast and ran up to his room to get dressed, as he was pulling his shirt on he heard his father talking from in the living room. Walking into the kitchen he saw his father sitting with his step-mother at the table.
"Ready to go to Diagon Ally and get your stuff? Then we can drop you off at Leaky Cauldron and you can stay with your brother and sister for the night to catch the Hogwarts Express." he said.
"You're not coming to see me off?" Scott said, looking from his father to his step-Mum.
"We will hun; we just figured you like to stay with your brother and sister tonight." Christine said, running her fingers through her hair.
"Oh, okay." I said.
"Alright let's go," Mr. Marshall said standing up, "It's going to take a while to get your books, money, robes, and everything else."
Scott followed his father out of the kitchen and into the living room where he took the flower pot of the stand next to the fireplace and tossed a handful of sparkling powder into the fire; which roared and glared bright green.
"Okay, Scott," Mr. Marshall said, motioning Scott forward. "It's very simple. You merely say your destination out loud and wait for the right hearth to appear. Make sure to speak clearly."
Scott walked hesitantly into the green fire expecting it to feel very hot; but instead was pleasantly warmed. He took a small pinch of Floo powder from the pot Mr. Marshall was offering him and threw it into the flames around him.
"Diagon Ally!" he cried.
Suddenly he felt as though he was being sucked downward, he was spinning so fast that he felt himself start to get dizzy. Houses of other fireplaces were a spinning blur around him. Suddenly, when he felt as though he might get sick from the spinning, he shot out and landed on a small carpet in a dinging little pub where a barman was grinning toothlessly at him from behind the bar. Scott scrambled to his feet and brushed soot off his clothes as he heard the fire behind him roar and turned and saw his father spinning in the hearth before climbing out of the fireplace and grabbing Scott just above the elbow, leading him forward as his step-Mum came spinning into sight. She climbed out of the green flames and put her hand on Scott's back and leading him behind his father.
"Tom," Mr. Marshall said curtly, nodding to the man behind the bar.
"Mr. Marshall," said the man with another toothless grin.
Scott followed his father the length of the pub and out a side door into a small brick-wall room where his father took out his wand and rapped the third brick on the left. Scott stared in awe as the archway to Diagon Ally opened in the wall. The small stone-lined street was filled with some of the most amazing shops Scott had ever seen. He looked to the left and saw a store filled with sweets called Sugar and Sweetshack and then to his right an ice-cream shop called Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. He gazed into the windows of the shops as he walked with his parents occasionally asking what was in certain shops.
"Where are we going first, Dad?" Scott asked, as they weaved in between witches and wizards doing their daily shopping.
"Gringotts the Wizard Bank." his father replied. "We need to get you some gold and I've been saving up here ever since you were born."
They walked a little farther up the cobbled street before they came to a building that was clearly the biggest one of them all. Scott stared up at the white pillared entrance as he followed his father up the marble steps. Short creatures with the ugliest faces Scott had ever seen opened the doors to them and revealed the most marvelous hall with marble walls and floor. Scott's footsteps echoed quietly in the room masked by the creatures doing their work.
"What were those things, Dad?" Scott said to his father.
"Goblins," his father mumbled out of the corner to his mouth.
Scott turned and watched as the goblins on either side of them where weighing gold on black rusty looking scales or counting it into piles and scribbling down on their parchment on the desk. When they reached the end of the hall Scott looked up as his father was speaking with a goblin.
"Scott Douglas Marshall Jr's vault please," Mr. Marshall said.
"Key," the goblin said, in a deep gravelly voice.
"Er...yeah, right here." Mr. Marshall said, as he rummaged through his robes and pulled out a small key and handing it to the goblin.
"Greathen!" the goblin called, over his shoulder.
"Yes, Gitren." the small goblin standing in the corner said, rushing over to them.
"Show Mr. and Mrs. Marshall to their son's vault." Gitren said, handing him the key to Scott's vault.
Greathen lead the Marshalls to a door off the hall and into a stone passageway, it was quite depressing Scott thought compared to the marble in the other hall. The goblin led them down the dank passage the torches on the wall lighting the way. The passage sloped down to a wide opening with a railway. Greathen whistled and a cart came rolling out of the darkness towards them. They climbed into the cart and it took off, Scott's eyes teared up as the cold wind blew in his face. He tried counting all the turns that they made to see which way they were going but the cart was moving too fast; the stone cave was a gray blur. Finally they came to a jerking stop next to a vault in the side of cave. Scott climbed out after his father and turned to give Christine his hand to help her up.
"Thanks, hun." she said smiling at him.
They walked up to one of the vaults and Scott peered from behind his father to watch the goblin run his index finger down the length of the door. He heard clicking and the turning of levers as the locks on the inside unlocked the door and it swung open to reveal several mounds of gold.
"Wow," Scott breathed, as he stared shocked at the piles of gold.
"Just remember Scott," Mr. Marshall said sternly, "This needs to last you seven years."
"I know Dad," he said still staring in awe at the gold.
Christine stepped up from behind with her purse out and swept a good amount of gold into her it and clipped it shut before allowing to goblin to reseal the vault with another run of his finger on the door. They climbed back into the cart and it took off and brought them back up to the stone passage. The goblin pulled open the door that led back to the marble hall and light flooded into the passage as Scott and his parents walked back out into the hall it took Scott's eyes a minute to adjust to the sudden light.
They walked back out into the sunny stone-cobbled lane of Diagon Ally and Mr. Marshall took out Scott's book list and consulted it. He ran his finger down the list and then pocketed it.
"Okay, let's get your school robes from Madam Malkin's then we can decide what to get next from there." said Mr. Marshall. "Does that sound good to you Christine?"
"Well, actually. I have to go and get something real quick. But, you both go to Madam Malkin's and I'll meet you at Flourish and Blotts to pick up his books." Christine replied.
Mr. and Mrs. Marshall exchanged looks and they walked farther up the street until they came to Madam Malkin's. They exchanged farewells with Christine and Scott and Mr. Marshall walked into Madam Malkin's. The doorbell chimed as they pushed open the door they walked into a cool room with rows of robes Madam Malkin was a friendly smiling witch with shock white hair.
"Hogwarts, dear?" she said smiling as she came forward with her measuring tape.
"Yeah, first year." Mr. Marshall said proudly.
"Well dear, if you'll go stand on the stool I'll measure you out, and we can then find you some robes."
Scott went and stood on a stool in front of the mirror while Madam Malkin's tape measure flew around his body and started measuring every inch of him from his head to his legs. Finally a half an hour later Scott walked out of Madam Malkin's with his arms full of a set of school robes. They walked up the street and saw Mrs. Marshall standing outside Flourish and Blotts with a cage with a white cloth over it.
"What's that?" Scott asked pointing at the cage.
"Just a little surprise." Mrs. Marshall said her eyes twinkling. "But, you're going to have to wait until later on to find out what it is."
"Scott, if I give you your booklist do you think you can handle getting your books here while your Mum and I grab us all lunch?" Mr. Marshall said holding out his booklist.
"Yes, where should I meet you?" Scott said, reaching out and pocketing the list.
"Just meet us outside Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor; we'll be sitting at one of the tables." said Mrs. Marshall, as Mr. Marshall and her walked away down the street. "Make sure you get all the books you need."
Scott walked up the cement steps to the door and stepped inside, as soon as the door clanged shut behind him the manager appeared as though out of thin air.
"Hogwarts?" he asked, motioning him to one of the many bookshelves. "First year, I take it?"
"Yes, sir." Scott said nervously.
"Well then if you follow me we can get your books." he said, as he walked down the aisles of books pulling certain ones out and stacking them in Scott's arms.
"Standard Book of Spells: Grade 1, A History of Magic...Magical Theory." he murmured as he pulled them off the shelves. "What am I forgetting?"
Scott shifted the stack of books in his arms and pull out his list.
"Um...I still need A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration, One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi, Magical Drafts and Potions, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection." he recited, scanning his list.
"Ah, yes." said the manager, sweeping off down the aisle and pulling the books down from the shelves and adding them to the stack in Scott's arms.
Scott followed him back to the counter and balanced the teetering tower of books on it. The manager rang up the price and three minutes later Scott was walking out the store; his arms hurting with the weight of his bags. Stepping out in the sunlight, he made his way back down the street and saw Mr. and Mrs. Marshall sitting at one of the tables outside Fortescue's with plates of food in front of them.
"How'd it go?" Mrs. Marshall asked, as Scott sat down beside her and set his bags on the ground. "Did you get everything you need?"
"Yeah," he said, diving into his plate. "Where do we have to go next Dad?"
"Well we have to get you a wand, cauldron, and your things for potions. We will go to the Apothecary next because we can get your potion things there. Then stop at Ollivander's; then we'll drop you off to your brother and sister. Christine got you a trunk to keep your things in and we put your other things that you got already up in your room at the Leaky Cauldron." he said as he rubbed his eyes.
"What was the thing under the white cloth Mum?" Scott asked, hoping to catch her off guard.
"Just eat your lunch. As soon as you finish eating, we can get your things then you can find out." she said, smiling at his attempt of getting her to slip.
They finished eating and headed to the Apothecary and Scott purchased his things for potions then they headed back down Diagon Ally to Ollivander's. Scott pushed open the door and stepped inside the dusty room. Wands were stacked on shelves all the way to the ceiling and there was a ladder leaning against the shelf of wands behind the counter. Scott stepped up to the counter and rang the bell.
"Welcome, Mr. Marshall." said a low voice.
Scott started as Mr. Ollivander stepped out from behind the shelf of wands, his old face twisted into a smile.
"And welcome to Mr. and Mrs. Marshall as well." he said, giving them a slight bow as they stood behind Scott.
Mr. Ollivander set off down one of the shelves of wands and took down a few boxes and walked back around the counter and handed Scott one of the wands he had taken out of the box.
"Wave and let's see." Mr. Ollivander said.
Scott looked around and pointed his wand at one of the chairs in the corner next to a window. It burst apart with a loud bang and Mr. Ollivander took the wand out of his hand almost at once.
"Try this one." he said, handing him another wand.
Scott waved this one at one of the lamps next to the chairs and watched as the bulb blew apart shattering glass all over the floor; Mr. Ollivander whipped this wand away from him also.
"How about this one." he sighed, taking a rather black wand out of the box.
Scott took the wand from him and felt it grow hot and vibrate in his hand sending out gold and blue sparks. Mr. Marshall smiled and Mrs. Marshall clapped her hands smiled widely. Mr. Ollivander took the wand and wrapped it up in its box and handed it back to him.
"That's a good wand that one." he said smiling at him. "Great at Charms work by the feel of it. Unicorn tail and dragon heart string; thirteen and a quarter inches."
Scott paid Mr. Ollivander and left with his parents, the sun was setting as they made their way back to the Leaky Cauldron.
"Hey Scott! Over here!" Scott heard a familiar voice call to him and his parents.
Scott looked around and saw his brother and sister, Tyler and Jamie, sitting at one of the tables in the corner of the pub; both grinning widely. Scott turned to his parents and took his parcels from them. He allowed his mother to give him a peck on the cheek and his father to give him a brief hug.
"Alright, we will meet you here tomorrow at nine o'clock sharp so that we can make sure you have everything and make it to the train station on time." Mrs. Marshall said, "Make sure you are ready, because we will not have much time tomorrow."
"Ok Mum," Scott said, "Goodbye, see you tomorrow.
"Goodbye, and behave." she said sternly, as she walked away with Mr. Marshall. They turned on their heels and Disaparated with a loud crack.
Scott weaved in between tables and chairs to get to his brother and sister.
"Hi Scott," Jamie said pulling a chair out for him as he set his parcels on the table.
"Hi Jamie, Tyler." Scott said as he sat down next to them. "What are you guys up to?"
"We just ordered some food. What do you want? I'll go and let the waitress know." Tyler said as he pushed out his chair and stood up.
"Just Shepherd's pie is fine." Scott said. "Thanks,"
While Tyler went to order Scott's food, Jamie turned to Scott.
"How's your summer been Scott?" Jamie asked, "Did you hear from Mum at all?"
"It was ok, long though. I can't wait to start classes tomorrow." Scott said.
"That's great; you're going to love Hogwarts. But you're not answering my question. About Mum." Jamie said, eyeing him closely.
"No I haven't heard from her. Christine said that Mum wasn't going to make it tomorrow morning, but that doesn't surprise me really." Scott said, refusing to look Jamie in the eyes.
Jamie opened her mouth, probably to push the subject more, but Tyler showed up with Scott's food and he dived into the Shepherd's pie with a little more enthusiasm than he normally would have. Scott still avoided Jamie's eye but he could tell she wasn't done pressing the matter yet.
"So, Scott. Did you get everything that you need for tomorrow? Books, potion ingredients, things like that?" Tyler said, as he watched Scott eat.
"Yeah," Scott said through a large amount of pie. "Although, Christine did buy me something but she wouldn't tell me what it was. Do you know?"
"No idea, where is it anyway?" Jamie said, handing him a napkin.
"She said she put it up in my room for me to find out after supper." he said, as he wiped his mouth. "So, what's Hogwarts like? I can't wait for tomorrow to get there!" his eyes bright with excitement.
"You're going to really like it." Jamie said, smiling at his eagerness. "Just make sure you concentrate on your school work. It's easy to get distracted there."
Scott's excitement grew and he couldn't wait to board Platform 9 and 3 Quarters the next day. They finished their supper with Scott asking them questions about Hogwarts and the classes he would be taking; Scott was so excited he was almost bouncing. After dinner Tyler and Jamie showed Scott to his room.
"Where will you guys be?" he asked as he put his hand on the door knob.
"I'm across from you and Jamie is in the room right next to mine." Tyler said, jabbing his thumb behind him and walking towards his room.
"G'night guys see you in the morning." said Jamie, as she closed the door to her room.
Scott and Tyler said their goodnights and Scott opened his door to his room; before he could get a good look at his room, suddenly something white flew at his face. He threw his hands up in front of his face but whatever had attacked him landed on his shoulder. Lowering his hands he looked at a brilliantly white and light brown barn owl perched on his shoulder gazing at him with bright yellow eyes. She clipped his ear affectionately and he noticed she had a note attached to her leg. Scott went and sat on the four-poster bed and shifted the owl from his shoulder to his lap and untied the note from her leg, opening it up he recognized the writing to be his step-Mum's.
Scott,
Your father and I decided that since you are going off to Hogwarts all by yourself you'll need a way to send us letters to let us know how you're doing. This owl will help you get in touch with us if you need anything; no matter where we are she will find us. We also hope that she will keep you plenty of company, owls make amazing pets. Think of this as a gift from your father and I. We are so proud of you.
Love,
Mum
P.S. Make sure you name her.
Scott looked back at the barn owl and she hooted softly at him. He started stroking her feathery back and she closed her yellow eyes as if she was enjoying it.
"You're beautiful." he murmured, "Like Aphrodite."
The owl hooted again at him and he smiled.
"You think that's a good name for you? Aphrodite?" he said to her, she opened her eyes and stared at him. "Alright then, that's what I'll name you. Aphrodite."
Aphrodite hooted once more before ruffling her wings and flying out the window into the cool night air to hunt. Scott stared after her before he walked over to the pile of packages on the nightstand next to the bed and started un-wrapping them. He opened his trunk and put his robes in a neat pile on the bottom of the trunk, then started stacking the books one on top of each other. Before he closed his trunk he looked around to make sure that he wasn't forgetting anything, then he pulled on his pajamas and opened the window wider so that Aphrodite could fly back in when she was done hunting. He grabbed her cage from off his bed and set it down on top of his trunk and climbed into the four-poster bed then reached over and turned out the lamp on the bedside table. Scott smiled in the darkness; tomorrow he would be boarding the Hogwarts Express and be on his way to Hogwarts.
Scott started fantasizing about what school was going to be like at Hogwarts and he wasn't really sure when he fell asleep; but it seemed like two minutes later his door was banged open and Tyler came in.
"C'mon Scott. You got to get up your parents will be here in a half an hour." Tyler said loudly as he walked back out of the room.
Scott sat up groggily and looked at his watch; with a jolt he realized his brother was right. He yanked the covers off himself and ran to his trunk and pulled out clothes so he could get dressed. Tyler knocked on the door five minutes later as Scott was pulling his shirt over his head.
"Hey, I brought you some toast." he said, handing Scott a stack of toast on top of a napkin. "Make sure you hurry, and you might want to stop at Eeylops Owl Emporium so you can grab your owl some treats and things." he added noticing Aphrodite on top of the coat rack next to the window.
Scott carried the stack of toast to the dresser and picked one up and gave it to Aphrodite to nibble on while he got ready. Fifteen minutes later he was all dressed and was attempting to drag his trunk downstairs, Tyler appeared at the top of the stairs and Scott leaned against the wall whipping sweat off his brow and pushing his hair out of his eyes.
"Need some help?" Tyler said, as he came down the stairs smirking.
"Yes please." Scott replied, leaning back down to pick up the trunk as Tyler grabbed the other end.
Together they heaved Scott's trunk down the stairs and into the pub where Scott's parents were waiting.
"Where's your owl?" Mrs. Marshall said.
"Aphrodite? She's up in the room; I've got to go get her." Scott said, as he headed back to the stairs.
Twenty minutes later Scott, Tyler, Jamie and Scott's parents were getting into Ministry cars that Mr. Marshall was able to acquire for them. Scott, Tyler, and Jamie were seating comfortably in the back seat; which was magically stretched to be as long as a bench. While Mr. and Mrs. Marshall were seated with the Ministry driver up front. They arrived at King's Cross Station and Mr. Marshall looked at his watch.
"Alright everybody. Let's hurry." he said, quickly thanking the Ministry driver before sheepherding them into the station.
"Alright Scott, when we get to the barrier to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters watch your brother and sister carefully." Mr. Marshall said, his hand on Scott's back guiding him to platform nine and ten.
They stop in the middle of the station and Scott watched as Jamie leaned up against the barrier with her trolley and suddenly disappeared. Scott blinked and stared at the barrier then looked at his father questioningly.
"Watch Tyler carefully. You'll see it." he said, leaning down to his ear.
Scott watched carefully as Tyler leaned up against the barrier just like Jamie. He winked at Scott before sliding into the barrier and disappeared into the stone as though it wasn't even there. Scott's mouth fell open and he looked at his father.
"Where did they go?" he asked, looking around for them as though they would suddenly appear out of thin air.
"You'll see," said Mr. Marshall. "Alright I'll go with you and then your mother will be right behind us. Ready?"
Scott nodded and Mr. Marshall grabbed him just below the elbow and led him to the stone wall. Mr. Marshall was leaning against the barrier with Scott's trolley and pretended to be interested with the number nine sign just above his head; Scott attempted to imitate him. Scott slid through the stone wall and the next thing he saw was a huge scarlet and black train with a sign over it that said:
Hogwarts Express: Platform 9/24
Scott stared amazed at the train until her heard his mother coming from behind him. They lead him to the train and helped him lift his trunk and Aphrodite; who was sleeping in her cage, onto the train. Scott then turned to Mr. and Mrs. Marshall.
"Well hun, Aphrodite will know where to reach us." said Mrs. Marshall, hugging him tightly and giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Make sure you send us a letter as soon as you get settled in. Ok?"
"Yes, Mum."
"Ok, I love you."
"Love you too."
His father gave him a hug and then Scott climbed into the train. The whistle rang shrilly as Scott closed the door to the train he stared out the window as his mother and father waved to him moving farther away as the train started moving. He waved until the train turned the corner and they were out of sight.