A/N: This all came from a small idea between two friends who got way too carried away and ended up needing a fic to go along with it.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, not sure why I have to state this. I do, however, own Rosie, Elladora, and their families in collaboration with a friend.
1. TO DIAGON ALLEY, OF COURSE!
Nearly a week had passed since young Rosalie Sweeding had received her letter informing her that she was to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but only today had the words within the letter finally seemed real. Her home had been made spotless in preparation for the Professor who was arriving at her home in order to escort her to Diagon Alley, an offer given to students who had never been apart of the magical world, so that someone with experience could help them figure things out. While Rosie worked on dishing out food for her two younger siblings, she couldn't help but occasionally glance out the window hopefully, looking out for a person approaching their doorstep.
"Maybe no one's coming." Her older brother D.J. teased, swaggering up behind her to steal one of the french rolls that she had set to the side.
Rosie frowned, smacking his hand away lightly, "Declan and Ryley are patiently waiting at the table, why can't you?" she asked him, ignoring his jab.
The younger siblings of the family, twins with dark hair and dark eyes to match their skin, looked up from the table groggily upon hearing their names. Neither were very pleased to be up at the early hour, but both insisted they wished to be up to see the person coming from 'the magic school'. D.J. shrugged, unfazed by the younger one's frowns, "I'm the eldest, fairly certain that means I get served first."
Rosie rolled her eyes, but did not protest any further as D.J. scooped some eggs and sausage into his roll. Things between she and her older brother had been fairly tense since she'd been accepted into Hogwarts, he wasn't very pleased that she was going off to a fancy school for magic while he remained at home, attending to a normal, magic-free life. Rosie felt guilty for it, but she tried not to show this, knowing full well that D.J. would only use the guilt to his advantage.
Once he had stepped aside, Rosie finished up on filling the french rolls for the other two, only just setting the plates in front of the twins as a ring of the doorbell sounded through the house. Rosie tried to stay calm, resisting the urge to rush in front of her mother, who was making her way rather slowly to the door. The siblings no longer seemed interested in the food they'd been waiting for, all four of the Sweeding children tilting their heads toward the left of the table to get a better view of the Professor.
The man certainly wasn't what anyone had been expecting. He stood out quite blatantly, especially against Rosie's mother, who fit the bill of 'normal' quite spot-on. He looked much younger than any Professor they had ever seen, and his skin looked to be as white as a sheet in contrast with his burgundy robes and turban. The room had become quite silent, all the siblings staring adamantly at the man. Rosie's mother seemed at a loss for words as well, looking up and down the man's figure a few times.
"You must be our Rosalie's Professor." Rosie's grandmother's voice cut into the silence, not seeming to hold anything other than a casual tone as the older, dark skinned woman crossed the room from the stairs. Rosie wondered if it was due to her grandmother's vision worsening that the woman didn't seem to hold any interest in the man's odd appearance.
"Y-y-yes, ma'am. I am Quirinus Q-Q-Quirrell, P-P-Professor at Hogwarts." he stammered, stepping inside to grasp the welcoming hand of greeting that Rosie's grandmother offered. "W-w-which one would be h-h-her?"
D.J., Ryley, and Declan snapped their heads in the direction of Rosalie, "I'm Rosalie, Professor." she introduced.
Professor Quirrell removed his hand from Rosie's grandmother, crossing the room to shake hands with the eleven-year-old girl as well, "P-P-P-Pleasure." he stammered, and Rosie noted that his hand's were quite clammy. Rosie wondered why he was so nervous, but felt it would be quite impolite to ask, so she kept her mouth shut. "D-D-Do you have your l-list of s-s-s-supplies?" Rosie nodded and the man smiled, though the expression looked quite odd as it didn't meet his eyes, "G-g-g-great, than we can leave at any-anytime."
"Oh, there's no rush." Rosie's mother assured, crossing over to the kitchen to pull out a chair for the man, "Certainly you would like to stay for breakfast."
The Professor's eye twitched with what looked to almost be a sort of irritation, and he shook his head quickly, "N-no need, I-I-I ate q-q-quite a big one myself before c-c-coming here." the man chuckled nervously, glancing back over in Rosie's direction, "The q-q-quicker we s-s-set off the better. Diagon Alley is q-q-q-quite busy this c-c-close to the school year."
All of Rosie's nerves that had came with the Professor's entrance faded away with the mention of Diagon Alley, as her mind trailed to the fantastical items on her school list. "He's right, we better get going." she agreed quickly, grabbing the small messenger bag she'd packed for the trip off of the counter, practically bouncing with her newfound excitement.
"Well alright..." Rosie's mother trailed off, looking a bit nervous. Rosie's mother had been having a bit of trouble getting used to the idea of her daughter's rapidly approaching departure, and this trip felt like a test-run for her daughter leaving home. The Sweeding's had always been such a close-knit family, imagining one gone for most of the year was almost as painful as when they'd had one leave permanently.
Rosie's mother extended her arms, and Rosie gratefully accepted the tight hug and kiss on the top of her head from her mother. Soon, her siblings joined in, squeezes against her knees received from the younger one's, and a ruffle of her hair from D.J. Followed by one last hug from her grandmother. Rosie felt a bit more emotional than she had anticipated, tears pricking at her eyes. She worried slightly how much leaving them for so long was going to hurt if it was this painful to go off for the day without seeing them.
"Alright." Rosie stated once she'd pulled away from her family, her voice a bit shaky from the threatening tears, "I'm ready to go, sir."
Professor Quirrell nodded, "I will bring your daughter back home safely by the end of the day." he informed them, beginning to lead the young girl toward the front door.
"Hey, Rose!"
Rosie stopped in her tracks, just as she'd had a foot out the door, turning back in the direction of her older brother's voice.
"Don't forget to bring us back something cool from the magic shops!" He called, the younger siblings cheered in agreement with this.
Rosie grinned back at her family one last time, "Of course, I'd never forget you guys."
The trip had been rather silent, consisting of a rather long train ride in the underground station- a process that seemed to confuse the Professor. Rosie had only been to London a few times in her life, and she'd been far too young to remember much from any of them. It was quite plain to her, however, that London didn't seem to hold any out of the ordinary items that were listed in her letter. She'd wanted to ask questions, but the rather determined, straight-forward look Quirrell had as they walked down the streets intimidated her into backing down every time. With all the silence, the sudden question from the Professor surprised her.
"How did your family f-f-feel about the l-letter?"
Rosie turned her head up to him and away from the endless line of shops she had been staring at, it took her a moment to register what was asking, "They were surprised. My family never knew about magic..." she trailed slightly, before quickly adding, "But they were very proud."
Quirrell nodded, seeming to consider the words, "Y-y-yes, yes. They were m-m-muggles." he murmured as if he were talking to somebody other than her.
"I'm sorry?" she asked, tilting her head with confusion in response to the word 'muggle'. She'd never heard the term before.
"M-m-muggles." Quirrell repeated, "A t-t-term used by m-magical folk to describe the n-n-non-magical ones." he looked over Rosie, something resembling amusement seeming to cross his features before he added, "You are a m-m-muggleborn, meaning you have n-n-no m-m-magic in your b-b-blood."
"Oh." Rosie replied dumbly, processing the information.
The question and conversation seemed rather odd, and was followed again by silence, though much more uncomfortable this time. It also had left Rosie with more questions to plague her mind. It took ten long minutes of hard concentration not to blurt any of the inquiries out, only for them to fall out of her mind completely when she spotted the first thing in London to really stand out to her. A quite small, grimy pub right between two rather normal shops- despite how odd it looked, no one seemed to notice it. In fact, Rosie herself might not have if the Professor hadn't slowed down once they'd neared it.
The sign hanging from the building was in the shape of a leaking cauldron, though rather faded, to represent the name: the Leaky Cauldron. Rosie might have stood their for quite a while just to study the outside if Quirrell hadn't set a hand on her shoulder, ushering her into the dark tavern. It was even more run-down on the inside, people spread quite sparsely within it. The largest crowd was located in front of the bar, a circle of people surrounding something or someone too small to see.
"S-s-should I say something?" Quirrell muttered to no one in particular, then nodded to himself, gesturing for Rosie to stay put as he strode across the floor over to the crowd. She stared after him for a moment, before her attention turned instead to a group talking around a table, their eyes constantly glancing over to the part of the bar the Professor was now at.
"I think that's Harry Potter." said one.
"What?" another hissed back, "The famous Potter?"
"I'm sure of it. That's the scar You-Know-Who gave him on his forehead."
"Are you absolutely certain?"
"How many boys with lightning bolt scars do you know?"
"Well, then we should go introduce ourselves!"
Rosie watched after the group as they ushered over to the area they'd been watching so closely, feeling more confused than before. If she hadn't been told to stay put, she'd have crossed the room with the rest of them to get a better look at what they were all so excited about.
Rosie watched the other side of the room anxiously, feeling as if she'd been waiting forever. A green eyed, messy haired boy who looked to be her age caught her stare and she smiled quickly, her face flushing with embarrassment. The boy looked slightly taken aback, but returned the smile briskly before he was forced to return to paying attention to the rest of the crowd. Finally, a man far bigger than anyone else in the group clasped a hand around green eyes shoulder, announcing rather loudly that they needed to be on their way, and hurrying the boy away from the rest.
Professor Quirrell returned to Rosie's side, his eyes still focused on watching the boy leaved. "Professor Quirrell, who is Harry Potter?" she blurted out before she could stop herself.
The Professor raised an eyebrow and scoffed as if she had made a silly joke, "C-c-come. We have th-things to do." He told her, leading them out in the same direction the giant and the younger boy had gone, making no attempt to answer her question. The curiosity still burned inside of Rosie, though the reaction she'd received discouraged her from pressing any further toward the subject.
When they exited from the bar, Rosie took a moment to adjust to the sudden change in lighting. The outside seemed far brighter than it had before, and she believed her eyes were out of focus still for a short moment when she became aware of the solid brick wall in front of them. After a few seconds of staring at it, she looked to Quirrell, hoping for an explanation she was fairly sure she wouldn't receive from him. Not returning her gaze, the Professor stepped forward, moving around the two trash cans set out and pulling out his wand, causing a jolt of excitement to rush through Rosie. He tapped the wall with his wand in strategic places, and within an instant, the bricks withdrew into one another, and parted to reveal a large archway that welcomed them into a whole new world.
Despite the last week that she'd spent trying to desperately to picture what the magical world would be like, nothing she could ever have dreamed of came close to the actual amazement she felt when looking upon Diagon Alley. She wished she could have taken more time just to stand right where she was and memorize every last detail of it all, but she found that Quirrell wasn't experiencing the same feeling, the Professor already a few strides ahead of her. She quickly scurried after.
Quirrell had been right about Diagon Alley being busy, everywhere Rosie looked she could see families, and kids around her age scattered about, carrying various bags of supplies for school. Toward the front of the alley was a shop with hundreds of cauldrons on display, all various makes and colors with fancy titles that she didn't quite understand; she could hear a few kids talking animatedly to each other about which were the 'best', though they all seemed wonderful. Another large group was crowded around a shop Rosie thought to be similar to a hobby shop in the muggle world, kids of all ages were shouting about something called the 'Nimbus 2000'. Rosie watched in wonder as a boy walked by with an owl on his shoulder that nibbled at his ear.
Rosie was startled by a sudden, cold touch, looking up to see Quirrell looking down at her, "It's all q-q-quite exciting, is it n-n-not?" he asked, though he seemed a bit annoyed, "However, we n-n-need t-t-to get going i-i-i-if we want to get you h-h-home in g-good time. Take out your letter, p-p-please."
Rosie complied with this, though she was quite certain she'd had the list memorized from all the times she'd read it over, taking the well-loved letter out of her bag. She'd hardly let go of it when she'd gotten it, the edges of the envelope crinkled from her tight grip, and the fresh ink addressing it to her had been smudged underneath her thumb. She pulled out the list gently.
"Robes are at the t-t-top of the l-l-list so we m-may want t-t-to do that f-f-first." Quirrell suggested, looking at the list over her shoulder, "Th-though cauldrons are r-right t-t-there-"
"I'd like to get my wand first." She interrupted, her voice rather firm and sure of her answer. This had been the item on the list she'd been most excited for, she'd spent hours imagining herself holding one in her hand, the ability to cast spells right at their fingertips. She felt that the moment she had her wand, it would all become official. The strange events that had occurred around her since she was a child would no longer be happenstances, but have a definite cause: magic. And after seeing Quirrell's wand only moments ago, she was even more certain that this item would surely be one of the most important.
"Y-y-yes, t-t-to the wand shop, th-then." the Professor agreed, leading her through the alley. Rosie paid extra attention to the shops as she passed them, she could see that many of the older kids were wearing scarves of the same colors divided between the four corners of the crest on the front of her Hogwarts letter. She found that the 'Nimbus 2000' she had overheard conversation about happened to be a shining broomstick. She remembered a note on the letter about first years being unable to bring their own broomsticks, making her curious as to what the students wanted them for in the first place. She certainly couldn't see herself caring much about having one, she had a terrible fear of heights.
Professor Quirrell stopped toward the very end of the alley, in front of a very old shop that reminded her of the few times she'd joined her mother while antique shopping. The sign for the store- Ollivander's- was hardly legible on the sign that seemed to have endured years of fading.
"I-I-I will get your b-b-books in order." Quirrell told her, "You can handle a b-b-bit of t-t-time alone while I do a f-f-few things, c-c-can't you?"
Rosie took a moment to pull her eyes away from the eerie shop in order to the nod, thanking the Professor for his help and handing over some of the cash her mother had converted into money used by the wizards, before the two parted ways. She set into the store, surprised to find that it was even dustier than the pub had been. The place seemed to weigh down those inside it with the magical ambiance that seeped through the cracks of groups of long boxes stacked on top of one another. The place was silent to a point of being stiff, apart from the tiptoe of another girl ahead of her. The girl looked to be her age, and judging by the way she examined each wand a bit nervously, Rosie assumed that she was a first year as well.
Before she could really think about it, Rosie stood on her tiptoes to look over the girl's shoulder, "Are you a first year, too?" she asked, hoping to confirm her suspicion.
The other, taller girl jumped at the voice, turning around quickly and laughing nervously, "Uh, yeah, I am." she answered, gaining confidence in her voice as a grin formed on her face, "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, what about you?"
Rosie's face brightened at her chance to make a friend before she arrived at school. "Me too!" she exclaimed, holding out her hand, "I'm Rosie Sweeding, nice to meet you."
The other girl returned the handshake rather firmly, "Elladora Weatherwax." she replied, "My dad's over buying some books- he's a wizard, he went to our school. Meanwhile, I'm here looking for a wand."
Rosie was amazed just considering the concept of having a magical parent, this girl must have grown up knowing all about the magical world. "I'm hoping to get a wand too." Rosie explained, "My parents are non-magical, though. A professor escorted me here to help."
"Oh really! Which professor?" Elladora asked, "My dad has told me all about the ones he could."
"Professor Quirrell." Rosie answered.
"Ah, he's pretty young, right? My dad doesn't know much about him. I think he said that he used to teach Muggle Studies- but he's Defense Against the Dark Arts now." Elladora rambled, "Neither class was very interesting to my dad, though. He's a healer, you see, so he always focused more on herbology or potions-"
Elladora must have noticed that Rosie had gotten lost, because she slowed her talking toward the end and smiled sheepishly. Elladora opened her mouth to speak again, but shut it again, her eyes moving to something behind Rosie.
"Hello, children." Rosie flinched, not expecting the sudden voice, and whirled around in the direction of it. A very old man stood over the two, eyeing them.
"Hello." Elladora and Rosie both responded, their voices quite shaky as they worked on recovering from the shock of his sudden voice.
"Ah, Ms. Weatherwax, I wondered when another one of you would walk through my doors." The man drawled. "Your father was a good wizard- odd he married a muggle." Elladora looked a bit frustrated with the comment, struggling to keep herself from saying anything back. "However, I knew he would produce a magical child, no matter. His wand was a good one: Rowan wood, eleven inches, unicorn hair. All wonderful."
The man's eyes trailed over to Rosie, and she felt as if her blood had turned to ice. The way he studied her made her feel rather worried that he could read her mind.
"I do not know you, however. Which must mean that you are not of magical lineage, correct?" Rosie couldn't form words, so instead she only nodded in response. "Very well. It's not to worry over, plenty of great witches and wizards were not of pureblood lineage- despite what they'd like you to believe."
Rosie wasn't sure what he was talking about, but didn't have any courage to ask. Instead, she and Elladora just watched as the man began to shift through the piles of wands.
Rosie and Elladora tried a few different wands that they were handed, most with disastrous results. Elladora had knocked quite a few things over in her attempts to perform magic, though at the very least she seemed to know what the process was about. Rosie, on the other hand, felt rather dumb waving a wand, and she was glad that D.J. wasn't here, knowing how amused he would be by this. The wand was doing magic, sure, but nothing like she had pictured. Instead, she'd ended up blasting things across the room (almost smacking the old man with a tape measurer in the process).
Elladora tried yet another wand- pear wood with phoenix feather core, as Rosie had heard the man say, but he snatched this one out of her hand before she'd even managed to flick it. He replaced it quickly with another wand, and Rosie noticed the change in Elladora's expression the moment it touched her palm. When she flicked the wand, it didn't cause any sort of troublesome results. It sparked like a light show, illuminated by a beautiful shade of blue.
Rosie clapped, excited for the other girl, and the older man joined in. "Yew wood and unicorn hair, a rather odd combination." the man told her, "A bit contradictory in its reactions to dark magic, but certainly a wand meant for someone with a protective heart."
Elladora beamed as the man helped her package her wand up, taking the galleons she'd placed on the counter. Once he finished, he went to the back of the shop, telling Rosie to stay put while he looked for the perfect one.
Rosie took a breath, trying to regain the confidence she'd lost from trying out so many wands. "Maybe it was a series of coincidences." she murmured under her breath.
"What was?" Elladora inquired, looking to Rosie with curiosity.
"My 'magic'." Rosie emphasized her sarcasm with air quotes, "Maybe I don't actually have any. My mother always assumed the odd things that would happen were just accidents."
Elladora shook her head, "Nah, they wouldn't make a mistake like that. You're only on the list if you have magic." she assured Rosie, smiling brightly, "And besides, there's no way those were accidents- well, they were, but they were magical accidents. It happens to all young witches and wizards, especially when we're scared or angry."
Elladora's explanation made a few things clearer, and Rosie couldn't help but feel her spirits rise in response to the other girl's enthusiasm. As the older man stepped back out to their area, Rosie took a deep breath, feeling much more confident. Elladora grinned, and shot her a thumbs up from the side.
As the wand was placed in Rosie's hand, she understood why Elladora's expression had changed so suddenly when she'd been given the right wand. Rosie's palm was touched by a rather extreme warmth, and the flick of her hand felt much more natural as white whisks of light flew out from the tip of her wand.
Elladora clapped as Rosie had, and the older man seemed to smile crookedly. "Interesting, very interesting."
"What is interesting?" Rosie asked, looking up at the man as she approached the counter to pay for her wand.
"Elm wood, typically it is only used by purebloods, they would hate to hear it has chosen a muggleborn." the old man chuckled, a rather dark sound, obviously taking pleasure in this, "The wood will pair rather nicely with the unicorn hair core, however. Great things a wand and a wizard can do together."
Rosie was beginning to feel a bit uncomfortable, and she was happy to quickly set eight galleons out for him, then quickly make her way out of the shop, Elladora at her side.
With some unspoken pact, Rosie and Elladora had made a decision to do their shopping together. Neither minded this, both were rather relieved to have company.
"Maybe Madam Malkin's next? We'll need our robe sets." Elladora suggested. Both young witches had been looking down at their lists as they walked, considering where they should stop next. Rosie nodded, happy to have a suggestion as she followed Elladora into a shop.
The store had a welcoming smell to it, much more light and open than any of the ones that Rosie had been in today. Robes of all sizes and colors were hung about.
A short witch with a beaming face who Rosie supposed to be Madam Malkin turned from the clothes she'd been hanging, "Hello, girls. You must be Hogwarts students, quite a few are coming through today." she gestured forward, "Two young men are in the back getting measured if you would like to join."
Rosie and Elladora nodded, traveling through the rows of robes to get to the back of the shop. Two stools were placed side by side; one holding a pointy-faced, pale, blonde boy, the other holding the messy haired, green eyed boy Rosie had seen at the Leaky Cauldron.
"Merlin's Beard- that's Harry Potter." Elladora hissed out excitedly, gripping Rosie's arm rather tightly. There was that name again, Rosie frowned with confusion.
"Hogwarts, too?" the blonde boy interrupted, looking from the messy haired boy over the two girls with a rather careless demeanor.
"Yep!" Elladora answered, though her eyes were focused on the green eyed boy- Rosie assumed that he must have been Harry Potter.
"Interesting." the blonde gestured to the darker haired boy. "We were just talking about broomsticks and Quidditch. Do either of you play?"
Rosie stared back at the blonde blankly, relieved to find that the other boy seemed to be just as dumbfounded as her in response to the subject. Elladora, however, dove right in, "I had my first broomstick when I was three- a toy one, of course. My dad says I was born to play."
"Yes, well, we'll see." The blonde replied, not looking very impressed. "I plan on playing for Slytherin. I'm certain I'll get in, father says it'll be a crime if I don't."
"Aren't you a first year?" Elladora raised an eyebrow, "There's no way to know for sure that you'll be in Slytherin."
"Well, no. But all my family has, I see no reason why I won't." the boy drawled out, he looked over to the three with a cocked eyebrow, "Which house do you think you'll get into?"
Rosie and the dark haired boy shared uncomfortable looks, neither knowing how to respond to the question. Elladora, however, grinned confidently, "Well, my father was a Slytherin." the blonde looked taken aback by this. "But he's always said that I have Hufflepuff in my veins."
"Hufflepuff?" the blonde scoffed, and Elladora's grin faded, "I think I'd leave."
"The important thing is that we all get to go to a magic school." Rosie cut in, knowing the look of two who were about to argue well enough from having three other siblings.
Elladora smiled over at Rosie, but the blonde narrowed his eyes, "You looked rather confused by my questions." he noted, "Your parents don't have any wizard blood, do they?"
Rosie frowned, not certain what that had to do with anything. "No, they don't."
The blonde smirked, amused by this, "A muggleborn, then. I'm surprised they let your sort in."
Elladora stepped forward, almost as tall as the boy on the stool, "What's wrong with her being a muggleborn?"
"Well, they're just not as competent in this world the way we are." the blonde said firmly, "They shouldn't be taught. That's what father says."
"Your father is-"
"Girls." Madam Malkin's voice interrupted, "If you would come with me, I'll get you two fitted right away."
Rosie nodded, thanking the witch as she pulled Elladora after Madam Malkin. Elladora turned her head toward the boys, giving one last, long glare to the blonde boy.
"So Harry Potter-" Before Rosie had any opportunity to question, Elladora interrupted.
"Bit of an odd one, isn't he? I expected someone so famous to be a bit more talkative. Though I guess it'd be hard to hear anything over that blonde boy, he really did like the sound of his own voice." Elladora stuffed the candy-spun quill she had purchased along the way to the next shop back into her mouth. She seemed to notice the confusion on Rosie's face after a while, however, "What is it?" she asked around the candy.
"Who-who is Harry Potter?" Rosie asked hesitantly, hoping she wouldn't receive the same response she'd gotten from the Professor.
"You don't know about Harry Potter?" Elladora asked, sounding rather shocked, "I guess they wouldn't teach muggles about it- but still… it's a part of history!" Rosie frowned, and Elladora took a breath and reworked her words, "Harry Potter was just a baby when a dark wizard killed his parents- but Harry came out of it with just a scar on his forehead!"
"There are dark wizards?" Rosie asked, feeling a bit uneasy about this.
"Well of course," Elladora said with a careless shrug, "Just like there are bad muggles."
"So, this dark wizard…?"
"You-Know-Who is what he's usually called around here. He did an awful lot of bad. Caused an entire war." Elladora frowned, seeming to mull over what she was saying in her mind before speaking. "People were terrified- they still are too afraid to say his name. Sometimes my dad doesn't even want to hear his nickname."
Rosie felt even more sick hearing this, and frantically looked for a way to change the subject, "So, um, what about Quidditch?"
Elladora's eyes nearly popped out of her head at the question, "You don't know about Quidditch!" she exclaimed, loud enough that people turned their heads. Rosie's cheeks flushed with embarrassment, but Elladora didn't seem to notice, grabbing Rosie's wrist and quickly leading her through the crowds of people in the alley.
They found themselves in front of the 'Nimbus 2000' display that Rosie had seen earlier, Elladora's features seemed to sparkle with enthusiasm when she pressed her hands against the glass that contained the displayed broom. Rosie stepped up beside Elladora, looking a bit desperate for an explanation. "Isn't she beautiful..?" Elladora murmured.
"What exactly does this have to do with Quidditch?" Rosie asked, struggling a bit to pronounce the name.
"Quidditch is a sport of the wizarding world. It's played on a broomstick!"
Rosie didn't quite like the sound of that, not really enjoying the image of herself flying around in the sky either. Though she listened as best as she could to the complicated explanation of the sport Elladora was giving her as the taller girl continued to fawn over the broomstick. Eventually Rosie grew a bit tired of it though, and convinced the other girl that it was high time for a snack.
The two made their way to an ice cream parlor toward the front of the alley, taking a place in line between three boys. Twins with matching bright, ginger hair were speaking eagerly about a subject with a shorter, dark skinned boy. The conversation seemed to cease, however, when the three became aware of the two girls standing behind them.
One of the twins whirled around, his arms crossed, "Settle an argument for us, will you? Lee over here seems to think the Bulgarian Quidditch team is better than Ireland. Ridiculous, is it not?"
"Completely!" Elladora responded enthusiastically, taking Rosie a bit by surprise, "Ireland is better, by far!"
The twins cheered at this, and Rosie watched as the three immediately dove into a more complex discussion of Quidditch that she didn't understand. She was quite content to just admire how easily Elladora had managed to make conversation, enjoying the way all three of their faces lit up as they talked.
"Hold on!" Lee interrupted, pointing to Rosie, "What's your opinion on the matter?"
The boy seemed desperate for someone to be on his side, but Rosie gave an apologetic smile as she said, "I don't know much about Quidditch, but I was born in Ireland, so it only seems logical that I root for them…"
The twins roared with enthusiasm and Lee gave a rather dramatic sigh of defeat. One twin stepped forward, offering his hand to the girls as the other followed in suit, "I'm Fred, and this is my brother George. That traitor over there is Lee."
"Hey!"
Rosie grinned as she returned both of their handshake offerings, "Nice to meet you, Fred. George."
"I'm Elladora." Elladora introduced, gesturing to Rosie, "And this is my friend, Rosie." Despite the fact that the two had only known each other for a few hours, Rosie's heart filled with warmth at being referred to as a 'friend'.
"Are you two Hogwarts?" Lee asked as the man working the ice cream parlor handed out cones, the two girls nodded in response. "I figured with what you're carrying. First years, I'd supposed."
"We're Hogwarts as well." Fred explained with a grin, "Third years."
"Don't worry about being first years, though. You only have to face a troll, is all." Rosie desperately hoped George was kidding.
The five continued to speak happily together as they ate their ice cream. The three older boys offered kindly to lead the girls to get the last few items on their list, helping them pick out the best things at the best prices. Rosie had made them stop for quite a while at the cauldron shop, studying each one quite carefully despite being told that first years required a very specific one. She was giddy at the very idea of having her own cauldron and brewing potions like a witch in a book. Toward the end of their shopping, they found themselves looking at Quidditch supplies once again. Rosie heard another explanation of the sport from the twins who played, but she still was rather lost.
"Our job is to keep other teammates from getting knocked off their broomsticks." Fred explained when Rosie asked.
"That can happen? Why would anyone want to play!" Rosie squeaked, horrified by this. The twins' laughter only made Rosie's decision in her head that she didn't want to come near a broomstick more solidified.
When they walked out of the shop for sport's items, Rosie had to contain a loud squeal of excitement when she saw the back of a dark haired boy who was carrying a snowy owl. Reminded of the section on the letter that allowed students to have pets, Rosie dragged the other four to a pet shop.
"A frog, really?" George asked, raising an eyebrow in amusement as Elladora paid the shop owner.
"Frogs don't get enough love." Elladora said firmly, stroking the back of the frog as she set it in a terrarium.
"It's a little creepy, isn't it." Fred said, waving a finger in front of the small animal teasingly.
Elladora swatted his hand away, "She is an Amazon Milk frog! And her name is Cocoa!"
The twins chuckled with amusement, but Rosie found she no longer had the ability to listen to the conversation as she met eyes with an adorable, small, grey screech owl with the largest eyes she'd ever seen.
Her eyes began to fill with tears as she continued to keep the stare, "That's it!" she shouted suddenly, startling the others, "I love you!"
And so Rosie and Elladora ended up walking out of the store with the other three, both very happy with their new pets.
As the sky was beginning to darken, the three boys waved goodbye as they parted, the girls shouting their thanks for the help around Diagon Alley. The two girls had grown aware of how tired they were, their feet feeling heavy and their cheeks numbing from all they smiling they'd been doing. If this was how it was going to be at Hogwarts, Rosie was certain she couldn't wait any longer to be there. The two settled down on a bench in front of the book shop, awaiting the adults return.
"Hey." Elladora mumbled, breaking the pleasant silence that had settled between the two. She looked over to Rosie, "We'll sit beside each other on the train, won't we?"
Rosie smiled, surprised Elladora felt as if she had to ask, "Of course. There's no person I'd rather sit by."
"Good."
"Hey, Ellie?"
"Yeah?"
"I had a lot of fun today."
"Me too."
Both girls shared the last wide grin they were capable of, and just as they finished, Professor Quirrell emerged from the crowd. "M-Ms. Sweeding! I ap-p-polgize for g-g-getting s-s-seperated so long!" he shouted frantically as Rosie rose carefully from the bench, brushing herself off.
"It's no problem, Professor." Rosie assured, looking back at Elladora with a grin, "I wasn't alone."
The Professor took a breath of relief, "Y-y-yes well, g-g-good." he sighed, "Are you r-ready to r-r-return home?"
Rosie nodded, though she felt sad to part from her new friend. She hadn't thought it quite possible, but she wished to go to Hogwarts even more than she had during the days of reading her letter over and over again. She waved goodbye to Elladora and looked back for as long as she could at Diagon Alley while she followed behind Quirrell.