Chapter 2 ~ Diagon Alley

Exactly one week after my birthday, on a bright and sunny Tuesday, my dad announced that we were going to Diagon Alley. I was practically bouncing off the walls in excitement. When I woke up I was running around and constantly asking "Can we leave yet?".

Finally, after an hour of the 'torture' as he called it, he said that we were leaving. I quickly pulled a dark blue cardigan over my white cami and slid on my black Converse. I checked my hair one last time in the front hall mirror, then joined my dad by the fireplace where he was waiting, holding a small pot full of sparkling green powder. I'd traveled by Floo Powder before so I knew just what to do.

I grabbed a handful of the shimmering powder, stepped into the grate and shouted "Diagon Alley", simultaneously throwing the powder down. I was engulfed by the familiar green flames and spinning sensation.

I landed roughly in a different fireplace and stumbled out into a shop filled to the ceiling with books. It was heaven. There were thousands of books filling the shelves, hundreds of subjects to be explored. I walked around gaping until another flash of green flame revealed my father stepping out of the fireplace. I ran over, giving him a hug despite the fact that we were both still covered in ash.

"Dad! Hurry up! We need to go to Gringotts!" I all but yelled as he siphoned the ash off with his wand.

"Slow down! I'm coming!" he said, waving his hands. "We'll get there! How about you go get your robes while I go to Gringotts and get some money." I nodded happily, a wave of excitement overcoming me as we stepped onto the highstreet, busy shopper bustling to their errands.

I almost squealed with delight and, grabbing his hand tightly, pulled my dad through the crowd to the large sign announing 'Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions'. I gave him a quick hug before slipping into the store, waving until he disappeared in the swarms of people.

As I turned back to the interior of the shop a squat witch in lavendar robes hurried over. "Are you here for Hogwarts dear? I've got another girl in the back being fitted right now! Come along!" she showed me to a stool in the very back of the shop, next to an identical stool where a blonde-haired girl stood. She looked about my age and her hair fell past her shoulders in waves.

"Hello." she said in a dreamy voice.

"Hi." I said, feeling awkward. I'd never known any girls - or any children at all - who were my age before. The witch, who I assumed was Madam Malkin, came back with some robes, slipped them over my head and started pinning them up.

"My name is Luna. Luna Lovegood." the blonde-haired girl said in her whimsical voice.

"Emily Lupin." I said. "Nice to meet you." I felt a bit worried all of a sudden. I was scared to make friends, scared that they would figure out my secret and abandon me. What if they deserted me when- if they found out I was a werewolf?

"Emily. That's a nice name." Luna said with a smile on her face, her eyes not quite focused. She wore large radish-shaped earrings which only added to her eccentric image. She suddenly looked straight at me, examining me from head to toe.

"I don't think I've ever seen you around Hogwarts. Are you a first year? You're small enough to be one, but you look older..." she trailed off, still staring at me. Her grey eyes were rather protuberant, giving her a permanantly surprised look. It was as though she didn't need to blink.

"Well I'll actually be going into my second year." I said shyly. "I was homeschooled last year, you see." It wasn't strictly true. I wasn't really homeschooled, more self-taught. I just read all the first year books I could find and worked as hard as I could to memorize the theory. I had no doubt that once I arrived at Hogwarts I'd be at the same level as all the other second years.

"Oh. That's nice." Luna said, her eyes shifting out of focus again. "I'm going into second year too. My daddy was thinking about homeschooling me at first, but then decided that Hogwarts would be better after all. Do you know what house you'll be in yet?" she asked.

"Umm... I'm not really sure what house I'll be in." I said finally, after thinking about it. "My dad was in Gryffindor when he went to school, but my mom..." I swallowed as a lump rose in my throat. "My mom was in Ravenclaw." I finished shakily.

Luna seemed not to notice my hesitation and smiled. "That's good. I'm in Ravenclaw. I hope you will be too. You're quite nice."

Just then Madam Malkin announced that we were both done. We hopped off the stools and made our way to the front of the store to buy our newly-fitted robes. My dad and another man (who I assumed was Luna's father) stood chatting near the door. The man had shoulder-length blonde hair and was dressed rather eccentrically in sparkling green robes. He turned as we approached them and smiled down at Luna.

"Daddy!" Luna called, running over to him. "Can we go find that book on Wrackspurts now? Or maybe get an ice cream?" I looked at her curiously, wondering what Wrackspurts were, but dismissed it.

"Of course Luna my dear. And- oh! Have you made a new friend?" He asked, turning to look at me. "Excellent!" he held out his hand to me. "And what's your name dear?"

I shook his outstretched hand, feeling a bit nervous. "Emily, Emily Lupin." I said in a small voice.

"Wonderful!" he exclaimed. "It's always wonderful to make a new friend! Your's I daresay?" he asked my dad. Dad nodded and smiled down at me.

"Indeed."

"You two don't look very much alike do you?" Luna said suddenly, looking from my dad to me and back again.

I stifled a giggle at her bluntness. Everyone said that, just not in such a matter-of-fact way. The only thing I had inherited from dad seemed to be my small stature, not super tall or stocky, just small. I was the spitting image of my mother, from my dark brown hair to my blue-green eyes.

I realized Luna was still looking at me. "Yeah, we get that a lot." I said, a smile still covering my face. "I take after my mum..." I trailed off.

"Well, we must be off to Flourish and Blotts!" said Mr. Lovegood as he payed for Luna's robes.

"Bye Emily! Hope to see you at Hogwarts!" Luna said, waving dreamily.

"Bye Luna!"

Dad payed for my robes, then we went to get the other things on my list. First we went to the Apothecary, which was full of strange scents and even stranger potion-making products.

Potions was actually the only thing I could do as far as magic went, besides accidental magic that is. I was really good at it too, from my many hours spent experimenting with different ways of doing things. From there we went to Pottage's Cauldron Shop, then to a store (I never did find out it's name) to grab ink, parchment and quills. Dad shrunk all of our things so that they could fit his pocket.

Finally it was time to get my wand. I was expecially excited to finally have my own wand! We headed over to Ollivanders, a small and dimly lit store, and entered from the hustle and bustle of the street into the silent reverance of the shop. Thin boxes were piled high on hundreds of shelves, some of them leaning precariously. Dad retreated to a spindly-looking chair that stood near the door, leaving me standing in front of the low counter.

A man suddenly appeared from behind one of the shelves, moving silently, like a ghost. He was very old and frail looking, with eyes that shone silver like two full moons. I shivered in spite of myself. He was a little creepy.

"Hello." he said in a soft voice. "I was wondering when I would see you Miss Lupin; a bit of a late start is it not?

I nodded, feeling a bit uncomfortable. Luckily he noticed my dad and took his silvery orbs off of me.

"Remus! Remus my dear friend, how nice to finally see you again! Rowan, eleven and three-quarter inches, unicorn tail hair wasn't it? An all-around splendid wand."

My dad smiled. "A very splendid wand if I do say so myself Mr. Ollivander."

"Excellent." Mr. Ollivander said cheerfully, then turned back to me. "Well then my dear, let's find you a wand shall we? Which is you wand arm?"

"My right." I said nervously.

"Alright then..." Mr. Ollivander began mumbling to himself as he examined a few boxes and carefully removed them from the overstocked shelves.

"Give this one a wave then." he said, handing me a wand made out of a dark-colored wood. I took it and waved it, feeling a bit foolish. A vase exploded, sending bits of ceramic flying everywhere.

"Hmm... Apparently not that one then." He snatched the wand out of my fingers and handed me a lighter one. "Perhaps you take more after your mother. Phoenix feather and elm, ten inches."

My throat closed at the mention of my mother, hot tears pricking the corners of my eyes, but I just swallowed them back again and waved the second wand. As far as I could tell nothing happened whatsoever.

Mr. Ollivander looked thoughtful, then took the wand from me and hurried back to grab another box off a crowded shelf. "Perhaps a mixture?" he was mumbling under his breath as he set the newest box on the counter.

"Try this one. Rowan and Phoenix feather, ten and a half inches."

I took the wand and immediately felt warmth run through my whole body. I waved it and a jet of red sparks flew out of the tip. I had found my wand.

"Wonderful!" Mr. Ollivander exclaimed as he clapped. "Simply wonderful!"

We payed eight galleons for my wand, then headed off to the last mandantory stop on our visit, Flourish and Blotts. Dad was right to save it for last. He knew that I loved to read and could spend hours and hours pouring over the numerous tomes filling the shop.

We already owned most of the course books from when my dad had attended Hogwarts, so we only needed to get those that were new or that had been revised. Dad also let me get a few new books, one called "The Rise and Fall of Goblins in Contemporary Society", another entitled "The Guide to Important Wizarding Events of the 13th Century" and one called "500 Witchy charms for housework, health and beauty". Can you tell that I absolutely love Wizarding history?

After visiting Flourish and Blotts, dad announced that I could choose either a cat or an owl for a pet as a late birthday present. I had to think about that for a while. Even though I'd wanted a cat forever, they really didn't seem to like werewolves. Eventually we came out of Eyelops Owl Emporium with a small, pitch-black owl I had named Caspian, after my favorite character from one of the many Muggle fantasy books I'd read.

We made our way back home and I settled down on my bed with my new book about Goblins, looking forward to my coming year as a second year. I would finally be able to do actual magic instead of just practicing incantations and wand movements. I would be at a school. An actual school, where my dad would be one of the teachers. It was like a dream come true.

REVIEW if there's something you don't understand.

Again, thanks so much for reading!

~Megan