Chapter Two: "Diagon Alley"
Emerging out of the fireplace at the Leaky Cauldron, Minerva blinked several times to adjust her eyes to the dim lighting. Already, she could feel the energy and excitement building within her at being back among wizards. Moving aside to let her brothers come through, Minerva found her mother across the room at the bar talking animatedly to the young proprietor of the establishment, Tom.
Once Mack, their name for Malcolm, hopped out of the fireplace, the three of them joined their mother at the bar, cheerfully greeting Tom.
"Boys, kindly go take our luggage upstairs," Isobel ordered, dangling the key in front of them. Seeing their mouths open in protest, she added, "Once you do that, you're free to go ahead and explore Diagon Alley." Rabbie and Mack's faces changed from reluctance to excitement at the opportunity to wander freely without their mother.
"Meet us in an hour at Gringotts!" Isobel shouted to their retreating backs. "They're good lads," she remarked to Tom, "But you just need to know how to ask the right way."
Tom grinned, revealing a couple of missing teeth. "You're a wise woman, Isobel," he replied. Then, turning to look at Minerva, he exclaimed, "Minerva! What's this I hear about you starting your final year at Hogwarts? Weren't you just eleven and picking out your wand?"
"Seems that way sometimes," Minerva replied, still not really feeling like a seventh year. It was still unreal that she was almost done with Hogwarts. "But if I recall, you had just started running the place when I first came. You were so nervous. Look at you now, right at home!"
Tom scratched his head, "Yeah…you're right. I guess I have been in charge for six years. Seems like it's been both forever and like no time has passed."
Isobel nodded knowingly, "That's life for you. I can't believe I'm old enough to have all my bairns at Hogwarts. My youngest is starting his third year! And this one," nudging Minerva, "has already come of age!" Minerva rolled her eyes at her mother's gushing, but said nothing.
"Well, you would never know looking at you," said Tom, winking at her, and then bade the mother and daughter farewell when he saw another customer approach.
Isobel looped her arm through her daughter's. "Well, better go convert our money at Gringotts. Who knows how long that will take since it's the day before the Hogwarts Express leaves." And with that, they headed off to the wizarding bank.
It seemed that the boys had wasted no time; in the past hour, they apparently had exchanged some of their own earnings from working the fields back in Caithness and had purchased a stock of "supplies," as they called it, from Gambol and Japes Joke Shop. Minerva knew she should be more bothered by her brothers' love of troublemaking, but their pranks were generally so clever that they had earned her grudging respect.
"You two are going to ruin my credibility as Head Girl this year," Minerva grumbled, eying the bulging bags that her brothers carried.
"Aw, don't worry, Minnie," Mack said, nudging her shoulder, "We'll keep out of your way."
"Besides," added Rabbie. "No one would ever disrespect your authority. They're all too afraid to get on your bad side. Remember what happened to ole Benjamin Tate? I don't think he's recovered yet."
Benjamin had gotten a severe and public shaming from Minerva after continually finding ways to bewitch the furniture in the common room to flip people onto the floor at inopportune moments. He had made the mistake of ejecting Minerva from her seat while she had been writing a particularly detailed essay for Defense Against the Dark Arts. In the process, an inkpot had been spilled onto her essay. Even though she knew how to siphon off the excess ink, it took more time and effort than she had originally needed to spend to complete the essay. Naturally, she quickly discovered the culprit, who, suffice to say, kept an extremely low profile after the incident.
"Good point," she said with a grudging smile. "But don't think for a second that if I catch you breaking rules that I will hesitate to put you in detention and take house points."
"We know," chorused her brothers, more than accustomed to their tight-laced sister. She had inherited their father's ironclad moral code and their mother's wit. The boys had no such moral qualms, but were both extremely clever.
"All right, children, pull out your lists and let's get to it," said Isobel, ready to run into old acquaintances. During her children's debate, Isobel had been craning her neck in hopes of seeing a familiar face among the crowded alleyway. "What do we need?" She began fluffing her hair as she waited for one of her children to respond.
Minerva glanced over her list. She generally had everything except for the new books necessary and she needed to replenish her potions supplies. She really wanted to go visit Quality Quidditch Supplies and browse a little, but she knew her mother wouldn't want to go. Not that her mother didn't enjoy Quidditch, rather the opposite. When Isobel was at Hogwarts, she was the Captain of the Gryffindor Team. But now, after being so isolated and without any opportunities to play or watch professional games, Isobel kept her distance from the sport. When Minerva announced that she had made the Quidditch team in her third year, Isobel had congratulated her and then quickly hid in her room for the rest of the day. Everyone had heard the sobs coming from her room, but no one knew how to help. Minerva had made supper for the family that night and resolved to never bring it up again.
"How about we go to the apothecary? It's right across the street and we'll all definitely need supplies from there," Minerva suggested. "Then we can go to Flourish and Blotts. I know I'll probably be a while, so maybe we could split up?" She added that last question hopefully. It was definitely true; Minerva loved looking at all the variety in volumes at the bookstore. Then, if they split up, she could sneak over to the Quidditch store.
"I dunno," Isobel said slowly, "I think we should stay together as a family."
"Aw, Ma, you know Minnie is going to be in there for hours and we're going to be so bored," said Mack.
Rabbie, the more diplomatic of the two, said, "Maybe we can compromise. Let's meet for dinner together at the Leaky Cauldron and then we can spend the evening together as a family."
Isobel looked like she wanted to argue further, but then she spotted an old friend from Hogwarts with her family walk into the apothecary and nodded. "I suppose that's a fair arrangement. Now, let's go, I want to catch up to my friend, Margaret."
Ensconced in the energetic atmosphere of the Quidditch supply store, Minerva inhaled deeply. She loved the combined smell of new broomsticks, cleaning supplies, and gear. Working her way around the shop, she stopped in the robes section and lightly ran her hand on the robes for fans of the Montrose Magpies, her favorite team. She could never justify the expense nor did she have a real purpose for wearing them, but she did enjoy looking at them and even daydreaming about being on the team.
"Hello, Minerva," said a familiar voice, breaking Minerva out of her reverie.
She turned to find a big smile on a face she may have thought about more times than she'd care to admit. "Hello, Ewan," she said, smiling back. "Have a good summer?"
She had bonded with Ewan Mackenzie on their first day on the Hogwarts Express when they sat in the same compartment and found that they were both from the Scottish Highlands. Bonding over their mutual heritage, the two became fast friends and later members of the Gryffindor Quidditch team.
Minerva had never thought much about the attractiveness of Ewan until other Hogwarts students began asking her whether or not they were an item. They certainly spent enough time together and Ewan did often seem like he was flirting with her, but Minerva didn't have time to bother pursuing the matter. Or, at least, that's what she told herself. Ewan's green eyes, blonde-brown hair, and winning smile often crept their way into Minerva's thoughts and, sometimes dreams.
"My summer wasna bad. I spent it mostly workin' in the fields with my uncle and da," he said in response to her question, comfortably reverting to the looser tones of his Scottish accent. "So nothing really excitin' to report other than our seeds have been sown and our horse gave birth a week ago." He winked conspiratorially at her, knowing full well that she understood where he was coming from.
"Sounds like Rabbie and Mack's summer. Since Da spends all his time tending the needs of the congregation, the boys go help out at some of the other farms in the area. Ole McGregor already has them booked to help him and his son Dougal next summer."
Ewan nodded. "Sounds about right. Your ma was probably glad that they were out of the house."
Minerva chuckled, "They certainly can be a handful. This was good for them, it gave them a chance to earn some money for themselves." She shook her head. "Except it seems like they already spent all their wages at the joke shop." She sighed. "What am I going do with them?"
"Oh, you'll figure it out," Ewan said wryly. "You always do." Changing the subject, he asked, "You buying anything in particular here? If not, why don't we go get ice cream? My treat."
Minerva's heart sped up a bit. "Sounds good to me," she said casually. And with that, they walked off to Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor.
Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Next, she'll be boarding the Hogwarts Express and going to Hogwarts. I'd love any ideas for what kinds of mischief the boys can get into at Hogwarts and general adventures :) Please review!
