Rissie Vogel walked through the archway into Diagon Alley with excitement in her eyes. She sucked in a deep breath and sighed happily as she remembered the first time she had set foot in this bizarre and wonderful place.
The eleven year olds short, dull red hair fell in front of her eyes as she stared around her, drinking in the sights, smells and atmosphere of Diagon Ally, bustling with activity so close to the end of the summer break. She inhaled deeply and remembered her Grandfathers instructions:
First get your wand at Ollivander's
Then your robes at Madam Malkin's
After that head to Flourish and Blotts
then the stationary store
You may want to head back to the leaky cauldron before selecting your owl from the owl emporium
Prologue
Rissie excitedly walked along the street peering curiously in shop windows until she came to Ollivander's wands. As she entered the shop the number of wands amazed her. There were row upon row along the back and sidewalls, and at the front there were displays of some of the more exotic made wands.
A scruffy looking man poked his head out of what appeared to be the back room and said, "Looking for a wand, my dear?"
"Yes, that's right." Replied Rissie
"Then you've come to the right place. I am Mr. Ollivander, at your service." He said as he came fully out of the room.
"Rissie Vogel" she smiled at the man as she gave him her name.
Rissie proceeded to look around the shop, studying wands, and at Mr. Ollivander's request, gave a few of them a little wave.
As she was looking at the wands on display she chanced upon a long 14-inch wand made from a very dark oak wood with a phoenix feather at its core. The wand was unique; the handle was simple, for comfort more than anything. But as Rissie studied it she saw that it had phoenix illustrations carved up and down the wand. The phoenixes spiraled and circled one another; it was as if they were moving of their own accord stopping when they neared the tip. Rissie shyly turned to Mr. Ollivander and asked politely if she would be allowed to wave this wand.
"Don't get your hopes up Miss Vogel; this wand was one of my first creations. I would be very surprised indeed if she were to choose you."
As Rissie picked up the wand she felt warmth spread through her, and unknown breeze ruffled her hair as it began to glow a brighter red, until her hair was glowing so much that Mr. Ollivander was finding it very difficult to look at her.
After a moment the wind died down and Rissie's hair returned to its original shade, but the magic in her bright blue eyes stayed the same.
"I think I'll be taking this wand, thank you Mr. Ollivander" came an excited voice.
"I should hope so Miss Vogel." Mr. Ollivander replied with amusement.
Rissie chuckled as she walked out of the shop with her new wand happily and she smiled as she entered Madam Malkin's shop for her new school robes.
She was soon laden with packages and bags full of her school requirements as she made her way back to the Leaky Cauldron before finding her way to Eeylops owl Emporium.
As she entered the owl emporium she heard the sound of ruffling feathers and birds shifting on their perches. After a minute or two of looking at owls, a middle-aged witch came up and asked her what owl she would like. Rissie glanced around before she spotted a midnight black owl and said "That one, please."
The owl studied her for a minute, and then started savagely shrieking at the others and hooting dangerously. Then it looked back at her, cocking its head to the side as if wondering what her reaction would be.
The owner glanced between the owl and the girl in disbelief before grabbing a glove and reaching in for the bird. Before the owner could grab it the bird started attacking her hand, the witch quickly pulled her hand out and went to fetch her dragon hide gloves muttering about bloody birds. When she returned she tried unsuccessfully several more times to retrieve the owl before saying to the girl "look, if you can get him out and into a cage then I'll give him to you for half price, and I'll throw in an extra large bag of treats."
Rissie had gulped and slid towards the cage with the owner looking at her with a smirk. she slowly lowered her hand into the cage and reached out for the bird, stopping just near it. The bird regarded her with its large eyes before hopping onto her sleeved arm. Rissie carefully extracted her arm from the cage and placed him into his new one. All the while the older witch was looking at her with her mouth dropping open in astonishment "right well, I'll just go get your owl treats than shall I?"
Rissie smiled after the witch thinking that this had been a great day. After she had paid for her new owl, which she named Avalerion, which meant king of the birds she headed back to the leaky cauldron to meant her Great-uncle Albus.
