Chapter 1
"There it is, Alvin!" A young girl called to her older brother, pointing to an old, Victorian-style shop with the words "Wands" written in deep red cursive on the front of the store. The girl had dark brown hair that ran a bit past her shoulders, large, bright green eyes peeking out from a curtain of shaggy bangs, a spray of freckles on her cheeks, and was wearing a crescent moon pendant on a long string around her neck. She was tall and slender with a golden-brown tan from a summer spent swimming in a lake, and she had a skip to her walk.
Her brother and her parents laughed when they caught up to her as she rushed through the door to the wand shop. "Slow down, Squirt!" Her brother, Alvin, told her, giving her arm a playful punch. "Zoey, I know this is a big day for you, but Ollivander's not as young as he used to be. You have to calm down a bit." Her father said. "Okay, but Papa?" Zoey asked. "Yes?" "He doesn't act that old." She pointed to an old man, scurrying around the back of the store and muttering cheerfully to himself. Her father chuckled. The old man finally noticed them and hurried over to greet them. He shook Zoey's father and mother's hands firmly and said hello to Alvin, before turning to Zoey. "You must be the little one, yes?" Zoey nodded. "And your name is...?" "Zoey Christine Leplado." "Pleasure to meet you, Miss Leplado. My name is Ollivander. Are you looking for a wand?" Zoey nodded again. "Well you've come to the right place. Let's see now, what-" Ollivander's voice trailed off as a wand box shook and trembled on the shelf right above Zoey's head.
She turned around slowly, only to see the box shoot out of the shelf, landing in her outstretched palm. "A special young girl, is she not?" Ollivander said, reaching into the box and pulling out a long, brown, slender wand with runes engraved on it's handle. It had tiny crystals embedded in it that sparkled and reflected Zoey's eye back at her. There were whimsical swirls etched into the shining, polished brown wood of which the wand was made. "Woah." Zoey breathed "Wicked!" Ollivander let out a hearty laugh. "Wicked indeed, Miss Leplado." He said, gently taking the wand from Zoey's hands and running his shaking fingers across it, examining it carefully.
"Ah, yes, very special." Zoey beamed. "11 inches, Cypress, and a Phoenix feather core." "Brilliant!" She said ecstatically. "Thank you, Mr. Ollivander, thank you, thank you, thank you!" She shouted, throwing her arms around the old man. He looked shocked for a second then gently patted her shoulders. "My pleasure, Miss Leplado."
Zoey's parents left after that because they said they needed to get back home and take care of Zoey's little sister, Madison. Zoey could not stop smiling as she skipped out the door and made her way down Diagon Alley.
. . .
Esther Flare reached her delicate fingers into her bag, listening delightfully to the gentle clinking sound her Galleons made as they bounced against each other cheerfully. She had just finished at the wand shop and was walking through the door to the robe store when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She whipped around, her long and silky strawberry-blonde hair twirling around her as she did. There stood a boy her age with brown eyes and black hair, smiling broadly at her. "Albus!" She exclaimed, her crystal-blue eyes dancing. "You're parents let you come out alone, too?" "Not exactly..." Albus' voice trailed off as he pointed to a boy a couple years older than him, staring intently at something in the "Weasley's Joke Shop" window. He had bright green eyes, jet black hair, and lots of freckles. Esther laughed. "Your brother James is very mature." She joked.
"Man, Alvin's gotta see this." James exclaimed. He then walked over to Esther and Albus, humming a small tune under his breath. "Alright lovebirds," He said, making Esther blush scarlet and Alvin glare at him, "Since we all live in Diagon Alley, I take it we've picked out our robes?" Esther nodded, her eyes drifting to Albus. But Albus was staring at something behind her. She followed his gaze to a brown haired, green eyed girl who was examining the robes on the walls. Her eyes were, at least, but they looked a bit unfocused, and even though she was standing just a few feet from them, she seemed to be far away, deep in thought. "Hey, that's Alvin's little sister!" James exclaimed. "Zoey, hey!" He shouted through the glass, waving frantically at her. She twirled around and broke into a wide grin, and, giving him a slight wave, tugged on her brother's sleeve and pointed to James. Her brother smiled excitedly. James rushed inside the store, followed by a cautious Esther and a confused Albus. He and Alvin raced into the back of the store. Esther and Albus stood uncomfortably near the door. "Hello!" Zoey said, giving them both a warm smile. "Are you starting your first year?" They both nodded. "Me too!"
There was a long silence after that, until Esther decided to brake the ice. "I'm Esther Flare," She said, "and this is Albus Potter." She stuck her thumb in Albus's direction. "I'm Zoey Leplado. I live in Godric's Hollow. What about you two?" Zoey asked. "We live a little farther down Diagon Alley, where all the old-looking-but-actually-really-nicely-firnished-if-the-owners-actually-care houses are, across the street from each other." Albus replied. Zoey laughed. "I have someone living across from me, too, back at home. She's actually supposed to meet me here." Just then, a girl about Zoey's age skipped into the store. She had wavy, white-blonde hair that cascaded down her back, going almost past her waist. Her eyes were as blue as the sea and almost as wide, and you could see just by looking at them that they always smiled, even if their owner was frowning. "Zoey!" The girl sang. She reached Zoey and smiled.
Sweat beaded her forehead and she was panting. "Ran all the way here." She said between gasps. She finally regained control of her lungs and took a deep breath. "Did you get your wand yet?" She asked Zoey. Her voice was dreamy and melodic, and when she talked it faintly sounded like a wind-chime on a breezy day. Zoey nodded. She then seemed to remember that Esther and Albus were standing right in front of them. "Oh, guys, this is Robin Longbottom, daughter of Luna and Neville Longbottom. She's starting her first year, too." "And you must be Esther and Albus." Robin said, earning her puzzled looks from both of them. "My dad's the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts, so I got to see a list of all the new students and their pictures. Also, my dad and mum are really good friends of your dad, Albus." She explained. "So, which wand did you guys get?" She asked them. Zoey pulled out her wand and allowed them to marvel over it, before Robin pulled out hers. It had copper vines covering it's smooth surface, the metallic color popping out in the olive green wood. Albus showed them his wand next. It was pure black, the handle carved into an eagle's head. Last was Esther. Hers was glistening white, a single ruby implanted into the handle.
They all whirled around as the door to the shop opened, and in walked a girl with curly, flaming red hair that framed startling lilac eyes, and freckles dotting the bridge of her nose. "Hugo!" She called over her shoulder to a little boy with the same hair as the girl looking into the glass at the pet shop. "We'll go there next, come along now!" As she went to get him, a boy walked into the store in her place. He had bleach-blonde hair and pale green eyes, and a smug smile contorted his mouth when he saw Zoey and Robin. "Ah, you two." He said. "And you are...?" He shifted his gaze to Esther and Albus. "Esther Flare." Esther replied flatly, frowning slightly. Albus followed suit. "Blood status, Flare?" He inquired. "Half-blood." She replied. He chuckled. Robin was fuming. "Tell me, Scorpius, if your parents got divorced, would they still be brother and sister?" She quipped. Scorpius, knowing that she was mocking his pureblood history, fired back. "At least my mother didn't go loony." "Out of all the people in the world, this one had to be our neighbor?" Zoey mumbled to herself.
The bell on the door jangled as the redheaded girl came back into the shop, the little boy called Hugo following closely behind. The girl noticed the quarrel and walked up behind Scorpius, who was now insulting Albus's dad. "Something wrong, boys?" Scorpius and Albus jumped as the girl spoke. "Oh, hey Rose." Albus said, letting out a relieved sigh. "Hi, Albus." She replied nonchalantly. "What seems to be the problem?" "What's it to you?" Scorpius snapped. Rose narrowed her eyes and pulled her wand out of her military-green combat boot. It was scarlet with a shark tooth as it's handle. She pointed it under Scorpius's chin, forcing him to look her in the eye. "Cause his dad's my uncle, hotshot." She growled. He stifled a laugh. "You're a Weasley?" Rose gritted her teeth, her foot colliding with his shin. "Got a problem with that?" He looked back up at her and glared. She smirked at him. "Fight! Fight! Fight!" Hugo shouted excitedly, a cheeky grin on his face. Rose ruffled his hair. "Not today, Freckles." His ears turned red from the nickname. "You're calling him Freckles? Have you looked in the mirror lately? Obviously not." Scorpius chided. Rose's eyes steeled over.
"Cool down, Thorn!" A boy with light brown hair and blue eyes patted her shoulder as he walked into the store, another identical to him following close behind. "Yeah, lighten up!" The second said. "That's not what I meant, you git!" The first one exclaimed, slapping the second upside the head. "How was I supposed to know what you meant?" "We're twins!" "Wow, I definitely did not notice that!" "Girls, girls, you're both pretty." Rose told them, a crooked smile playing onto her lips. The second boy pretended to flip his hair. "Well, I got a new shampoo yesterday, and it's simply divine!" He said in a high-pitched voice. "Shut it, Charlie!" She said between laughs, playfully slugging him in the shoulder. Charlie rubbed his arm in pretend hurt. "Joe, she's on a rampage!" He told his twin, now back to his regular voice. Joe laughed and patted Rose's head. "That's why she's the brains out of the two of you! Because she actually knows what a rampage means!" Joe was taller than she was, so she had to look up to glare at him, grinning at the same time.
"Hi." Esther said, remembering when she first met Rose at Albus's house. "Esther!" Rose exclaimed. "Long time, no see!" Albus looked confused. Rose finally seemed to notice. "Oh, yeah, this is my cousin, Albus. Everybody, these are Joe and Charlie. I've known 'em since I was two." "I liked it better when she couldn't talk." Charlie added. Joe thumped his back. "Nice to meet you both." Esther said. She held her hand out to Joe, who blushed at shook it limply. "This is Robin Longbottom and Zoey Leplado." Albus explained to Rose and the twins, pointing to Robin and Zoey. "And who's this toe-rag?" Charlie jabbed his thumb at Scorpius. "That would be Scorpius Malfoy." Robin said, distaste in her tone. Charlie faltered for a moment, entranced by her voice, but quickly bounced back. He covered Scorpius's face with his hand. "Shield your eyes, young ones!"