A/N: Okaaay. So I finished this second chapter a little earlier than I expected. So there was a part in the last chapter where there was a weird mixture of words. Dunno what happened actually. It seems that the document got a little messed up when I uploaded it. But it's fixed now. Thanks to iiDopez for pointing that out. Reviews are very much appreciated
You know the drill. I don't own anything but my OCs.
Gabriel Truman hated the Floo Network. Out of all ways to travel, flooing was the worst. It was probably because it always left him in a coughing fit afterwards. Maybe it was because he ended up in the wrong fireplace more times than he could count. It also didn't help that his brother Daniel always laughed at him when that happened.
Dusting soot from his clothes, he followed the rest of his family to where the entrance to Diagon Alley stood. His father quickly took his wand from his pocket and tapped at the wall. The bricks quickly started moving and soon became the familiar archway into Diagon Alley.
The Trumans walked through the busy streets towards the big marble building which was Gringotts. Taking some money out of their vault involved the exhilarating ride on the Gringotts' cart. It was exhilarating for Gabriel and Daniel at least. For some reason, their mother never really liked those rides.
After getting their money, the Trumans quickly dispersed at the entrance of the bank. Daniel went off to meet with his friends; their parents went off to buy their books and other necessary equipment while Gabriel was left to get his school robes and wand. And a snack.
Madam Malkin's was empty when he went inside. Madam Malkin, a short witch dressed in robes he didn't know the color of, asked him if he was going to Hogwarts before letting him stand on a stool and put some robes over his head. After several minutes of measuring and pinning, Gabriel found himself paying for his uniform which was in a bag in his hand.
He decided on getting some ice cream from Fortesque before getting his wand. He bought himself a large chocolate and raspberry flavoured ice cream with chopped nuts which he ate while he stared at the latest broomsticks in Quality Quidditch Supplies. How he wished that first-years were allowed to bring their own broomsticks.
Once he was done, he headed to the South Side of Diagon Alley in a quick pace. This is it, he thought. I'm finally going to get my ownwand.
The bell rang quietly when he entered Ollivanders. The dimly lit shop was exactly like what he remembered. Mr. Ollivander himself was exactly like he remembered from the first and only time Gabriel had seen him before that moment. He stilled seemed a bit creepy.
"Ah, Mr. Truman," said Mr. Ollivander in greeting. "I remember you from when I sold your brother's wand a few years ago. The wand that chose him was made of maple and unicorn hair. Eleven inches and slightly springy, was it not?"
"Err, yeah," Gabriel was not actually sure nor did he really care what his brother's wand was.
A measuring tape started measuring him from shoulder to finger, finger to elbow, and even between his nostrils. He really didn't what that was for since Mr. Ollivander didn't really seem to use the measurements.
Mr. Ollivander took out a box from a shelf and handed him the wand inside. "Apple and phoenix tail feather. Ten and a half inches. A bit whippy. Give it a wave,"
The result of that wave was the breaking of a vase. It was a bit obvious that the wand was not meant for him. A handful of unsuccessful tries later, all of which had resulted in him breaking something or having the wand snatched from him before he even waved it, a smiling Ollivander handed him yet another wand. "Cherry and unicorn hair. Twelve and a quarter inches, quite flexible."
As soon as the wand touched his fingers, he felt a sudden warmth inside him. Somehow, he knew that this was the one. When he waved it, a stream of brightly colored sparks erupted from the wand. Yup, this is it.
"Wonderful, wonderful. I see that you have found your wand. Though of course, it was the wand the chose you. That will be seven galleons."
Grinning, Gabriel thanked him and paid for his wand. Aside from going to Hogwarts, he had always dreamed of getting his own wand. And now that he had, he felt extremely happy as he walked to the Leaky Cauldron where he and his family decided to meet up. Now that he had all his stuff, the only thing left was to get to Hogwarts.
Not even the horrible process of flooing could get dampen his high spirits.
After a quick stop at a bookstore on Charring Cross Road, the Addingtons stood in front of a grubby looking pub beside it. If it weren't for the fact that they knew the pub was there, they probably won't have seen it. None of the other people who passed it seemed to notice it at all.
"This is it?" Jason Addington asked doubtfully.
"This is where she said it would be," the same doubt colored Anne Addington's voice as she answered her husband.
Myra stayed quiet. Part of her felt a little scared that this was all just some elaborate hoax. The shabby pub with its equally shabby sign that said Leaky Cauldron didn't really look like an entrance towards some magical shopping place.
"Well," she heard her father say. "Let's go in then,"
And they did. The doubts in Myra's mind slowly faded just a bit as she and her parents went surveyed the interior of the pub. It was just as dark and shabby as it's outside. What caught the Addington's attention was that everyone inside wore different colored robes and cloaks. Some of them were even wearing pointy hats.
As they approached the barman, a somewhat bald and slightly old man, Myra surveyed the menu which seemed to offer an assortment of dishes that mixed the words leaky, soup, and house. Leaky House Soup, Leaky Soup House, Soup Leaky House, House Soup Leaky and Soup, Soup Soup were among them. Myra wondered what the difference was when the barman looked up.
"How may I help you?" he asked with a grin. He seemed nice.
"We were wondering how to get into –" her mother said as she glanced at her daughter in question.
The barman beat her to the answer by asking "Diagon Alley? Incoming first year?" he said looking at Myra. After seeing her nod, the barman grinned once again.
"How nice it is to see young witches and wizards. I'm Tom by the way. Right this way now."
Tom the barman led them into a small walled courtyard with a dustbin near the back. The Addingtons exchanged a few glances before Tom took out his wand and tapped a brick on the wall. (It was three up and two across from the dustbin.) The family stood in awe as the wall became an archway leading into a busy cobbled street. Tom turned around to face them and said, "Welcome to Diagon Alley," before returning to the Leaky Cauldron.
The three felt their awe and wonder grow as they stepped into the busy street. The alley was lined with different colorful shops selling a lot of different things they didn't know the name of. At the end of the street, they saw the large marble building that McGonagall had instructed to go to first.
The three of them almost did a double-take when they saw the guards. McGonagall had told them about the goblins but seeing them in person was a very different story. After passing through the doors, they entered the entrance hall which had a foreboding that made them nervous even though they did not plan to steal anything. After passing through the doors in the hall, they were greeted and approached by a goblin named Blordak. Myra's parents handled the transactions. (1 Galleon was equal to £4.93)
After having their money converted into gold, silver, and bronze coins, they started shopping for Myra's school supplies. The first shop they entered was Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions where they bought her school uniform. They bought a set of glass phials which was a bit cheaper than the crystal ones, a brass telescope, and a set of brass scales which all cost 13 galleons from Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment. They passed by the Apothecary which had an unpleasant smell because of all the potion ingredients. They apparently didn't need to buy any because the school would provide all the ingredients. Myra was thankful for that because her clothes would probably smell horrible when put in a trunk with all of those. They bought a pewter cauldron from Potage's Cauldron Shop, all the required books from a large bookstore named Flourish and Blotts, and quills, ink and parchment from Amanuensis Quills. (Her parents thought it odd they wrote with quills but Myra thought that it was much cooler than using regular pens)
Her parents led her to Eeylops Owl Emporium. They told her that they wanted her to have an owl so that she could write to them. The store had a variety of breeds. Myra wanted to get a Snowy owl but they didn't have one then so she settled for a smart looking screech owl that she didn't have a name for yet.
Their last stop in Diagon alley was a dimly lit shop named Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. They saved it for last because a wand was what Myra was most excited to get.
"Hello," said Myra's mother.
Mr. Ollivander was an old man with pale silver eyes. His eyes flitted from her mother to her father before landing on her.
"Muggleborn are you?" he asked her. "I love selling wands to muggleborns. Before I sell you one, you should know that it is the wand who chooses the wizard or in this case, witch. Every wand has a core of a powerful magical substance. No two wands are the same. And of course, you will never get good results with another wizard's wand."
He said this while a tape measure was measuring her on its own. Mr. Ollivander pointed his wand on the measuring tape to stop it just as it was measuring between her nostrils.
Taking a box from one of the dusty shelves, he opened it.
"Cherry and phoenix tail feather, 9 and a quarter inches. It is quite springy," he said as he handed her the wand. As soon as she touched the wand, he snatched it away from her. That was exactly what happened with the next wand he handed her. And the next one. And the next one as well. She had tried dozens of wands and was only allowed to wave an apple wand. She accidentally broke the chair where her mother sat because of that. She tried several wands more, but Ollivander always snatched them back. She was beginning to despair. What if there was no wand for her? Maybe it was a mistake? Maybe she wasn't a witch and had to go back to a school where all of her friends did not want anything to do with her.
Finally, Mr. Ollivander handed her an ash wand with a unicorn tail feather. It was ten and three quarters inches long and was unyielding. When she took the wand, a strange warmth spread inside her and different colored sparks flew from its tip when she waved it. She looked up to see Mr. Ollivander and her parents smiling at her. It was quite obvious that they had finally found a wand.
Her parents paid seven galleons for the wand before leading her out of the shop. They passed through the Leaky Cauldron and went back to Charring Cross Road which seemed a bit boring and unreal after their day in Diagon Alley.
The magical world seemed really interesting to Myra. And she knew that she would be excitedly counting the days until the 1st of September.