Chapter Two: Diagon Alley.
I wake early the next morning; my stomach writhing with excitement as everything that happened yesterday comes flooding back to me. I'm a witch! My alarm clock says that it is 6:03 so I roll over onto my front and try to get comfy. It's no use. I am way too excited to sleep. Instead, I try to imagine what sorts of things I will need to buy for Hogwarts. There is a list of equipment with my acceptance letter but that is downstairs and my parents would hit the roof if they heard me wandering about the house at this time in the morning. In fact, they would probably sprint downstairs armed with hairbrushes, convinced that we had been burgled! As this thought pops into my mind, I giggle then clap a hand over my mouth. "Right, Nattie! C'mon, you can't sleep so find yourself something useful to do, okay! Don't go waking everyone up." I think to myself sternly. Sighing restlessly, I reach for my diary. I haven't written it for a couple of days so I grab a pen and open it up. I begin to write:
Summer Holidays!
Dear diary,
Hiya! Okay, I have the most amazing/ weird news: I am witch. Yep. A really strange lady who came to our house yesterday morning told me that I was a witch and that I had been accepted into Hogwarts. Hogwarts is this magical school where witches and wizards go to learn all kinds of cool stuff. I'm not really sure how I KNOW this woman (Cecilia) is telling the truth,
but I kinda just don't think she is lying as well. Anyway, it sounds epic, right? I even got a formal letter and everything SAYING that I had been accepted into Hogwarts! I am so happy. There is only one bad thing about all of this: I can't see my family until Christmas when I go away because Hogwarts is a boarding school. That's good but I will miss them. Oh well, I just have to make the most of the rest of the holidays. I am going to Diagon Alley today – Diagon Alley is where witches and wizards go to buy all their magic stuff. I'm not sure how I'm gonna pay for everything but I guess Cecilia has sorted that too. I can hear Mum and dad getting up now so BYE! I will write again soon x love Natasha x
I shut my diary and hide it under my mattress so no-one will find it. Then I jump out of bed and head into my en suite to wash. After showering, I yank on some clothes that are comfortable enough for a day shopping but not TOO casual, pull my long brown hair into a high bouncy ponytail and dash downstairs. As my Mum and Dad are still washing, I'm the only one in the kitchen so I begin setting out things for breakfast. After around 10 minutes my dad comes strolling into the kitchen looking refreshed and happy. "Morning, love!" he hugs me and gives me a grateful smile as I hand him some toast. My stomach is still writhing with excitement so I put the kettle on but don't take any toast for myself.
"Not hungry?" asks Dad looking concerned. I shake my head.
"Nah. I feel fine but I am just excited!" I exclaim grinning brightly. Dad laughs and nods understandingly. I hear footsteps on the stairs and a few seconds later, my Mum comes into the room still glowing pink from her bath. I give her a hug and she kisses Dad on the cheek.
"Wow! You have been busy, sweetie! I have never seen you up, dressed and ready before noon in the holidays before. AND you've got the breakfast stuff out. Thanks, love," she says to me in mock admiration. I grin and hand her a large, steaming mug of coffee – I have already given Dad his extra large, good old English cup of tea. Soon, Mum is happily spooning up some fruity yoghurt and talking intently to Dad about our trip to Diagon Alley.
"Are Tommy and Maya coming with us, Mum?" I interrupt. She nods.
"Yes, darling. Maya is so excited, bless her! I don't think Tommy understands what is going on but he gurgled happily enough," Mum smiles fondly, "Speaking of the little ones, I should go and get them up otherwise we will be late." She gets up.
"Wait, Mum! I will do it, okay? You sit down and finish your yoghurt." Mum kisses me thankfully and sits back down. I head out of the kitchen and up the stairs. Deciding to wake Maya up first as Tommy is younger, I open the door on the left quietly. Maya's room is small and patterned with fairies. Most of her furniture is a light, dusty pink and her bed is in the corner. She stirs sleepily and sits up, blinking blearily at me. I go over to her a give her a cuddle, dragging her onto my lap. She winds her arms around my neck and snuggles into me.
"Why are you getting me up, Nattie? Is Mummy okay?" She asks frowning slightly. I kiss her fluffy, blonde hair. Maya is 5 years old but when she has just woken up or is tired, she looks so much cuter and younger.
"She is fine, pet. Right we need to get you in the bath because otherwise we will be late to go to Diagon Alley! We don't want that do we?" I tell her. She wriggles out of my arms and begins to undress.
"Well done, Maya. Right, I will go get Tom-tom while you undress and go into the bathroom. You two can have a bath together for a change." I head out of the room and open the door at the end of the landing. Tommy's room is small, bright and messy with Thomas the Tank Engine wallpaper and toys spilling from the wardrobe. He is only 1 and a half so he is still in his cot which is set up in the far corner of his room. When I come in, he scrambles to his feet with difficulty and holds his chubby arms out to me. I scoop him up and plant a kiss on his toffee-brown hair.
"C'mon then, Tommy. You're gonna have a bath with Maya!" I tell him as I head into the bathroom where Maya is standing patiently. Tommy gurgles delightedly, giving Maya a huge, gummy grin.
"Maya, sweetie, can you start running the bath please? Turn the tap nearest the window as far as it can go...yes, that's it. Thanks," I say beginning to undress my younger brother hurriedly. Soon, Maya and Tommy are splashing happily around in the bath – I gave them a squirt of my peach bubble bath. Suddenly, Mum comes into the bathroom looking stressed.
"Natasha, can you get ready to go now please because Cecilia has just arrived and we have decided to let go with her and we will stay at home with the kids," she explains to me. I get up.
"Ok...is that alright with you and Dad?" I ask. She nods so I head out of the bathroom and down the stairs.
After an hours long journey on the tube, Cecilia and I are standing inside a dusty, dim pub called The Leaky Cauldron. It's fascinating inside and I want to stay for a bit but Cecilia tells me that we need to get on else we won't have time to buy everything. I follow her out of the loud pub and into a tiny backyard that had nothing in it except a bin in the corner. An extremely solid looking brick wall is in front of us. I turn to Cecilia in puzzlement but she just smiles at me calmly and pulls a thin, whippy...wand out of her pocket! I gape at her as she walks towards the wall purposefully and taps a few bricks that are above the dustbin. The wall begins to wriggle and the bricks swivel and vanish creating a huge archway. I stare in stunned silence at the road which lies just beyond. "Welcome to Diagon Alley," says Cecilia, taking me by the arm and leading me into the packed street. Diagon Alley is packed full of extraordinary people and shops. As we wander into it, I catch snatches of conversation from the people walking past us. "Right, Emma, where do you need to go next?" "6 galleons just for a quarter of a frog liver...do they think we are made of money!" "Heat proof cauldrons for just 5 galleons 7 sickles! Bargain!" There were shops selling eyeballs, nails and dried Dragon dung. Shops selling ink bottles, quills and parchment that lengthened on command. A pet store with screeching, flapping owls and dancing rats. And, finally a huge white marble building which towered above everything else. Gold curly writing spelled out: GRINGOTS WIZARDING BANK. I gaze up at it in awe. Cecilia looks at me with a slightly bemused expression before tugging me gently up the steps and into a huge room filled with... "Goblins. Yes. Don't want to get on the wrong side of a goblin," says Cecelia looking at me. We walk further into the room, me eyeing the goblins with apprehension. Cecelia walks confidently up to one of the few free desks and clears her throat loudly. The goblin looks up slowly, it's small eyes flickering over us. "Yes?" It says in a scratchy voice. "We are here to withdraw some money from Natasha Barnes' vault. Number 134." Cecelia tells him. He nods and hands us a small, gold key. Cecelia leads me around the desk and into a back tunnel which is cool and gloomy. "Brace yourself, Natasha," she warns me, "It's going to be a bumpy ride!" A small cart zooms out of nowhere and stops, vibrating slightly, in front of us. I look at Cecelia in horror. She nods, confirming my worst fears. **** 2 long hours later, most of my shopping is done. I have got gold from Gringotts, uniform from Madam Malkin's, quills, ink, parchment, scales, a telescope, cauldron, potion ingredients and best of all, a light brown owl whom I have named Quest. All I need to get now is my wand – the thing I have been most looking forward to. Cecelia and I stroll down the street until we come to a shop that has a faded black sign with silver letters saying: Ollivander's wand shop. I take a deep breath and push open the door. The shop smells musty ad the only source of light is from a dim lamp shining in the corner. Cecelia nods encouragingly so I approach the desk and ring a little bell. Suddenly, a small, withered man comes hurrying from behind one of the many shelves. His papery skin hangs of him as if he has shrunk inside and his eyes are misty and orb like. "Aaahh! Natasha!" he beams. I gulp. As he scrutinizes me, a tape measure begins to measure every inch of me. Thankfully, this takes less than a minute so Mr Ollivander finally stops examining me. He shuffles off into the shadowy back of the shop and a few seconds' later returns with an armful of slender black boxes. He dumps them on the desk, opens the top one and hands the wand inside to me. "Oak wood, 13 inches, whippy, Dragon heartstring, especially good for Potions work. Lets see what you make of it...go on give it a wave!" he says impatiently. I wave it in a long sweeping motion. There is a dull thud and a dozen or so boxes topple over. I blush and hastily shove the wand back into its box. Mr Ollivander shakes his head vigorously and hands me another wand. The same happens. And again. And again. And AGAIN! Then he takes one out of a box and hands it to me almost reverently. "Rose wood. Unicorn tail hair. Strong. Good for Charms." He says watching me carefully as I take it from him, trembling slightly. There is a whooshing sensation and the shop is illuminated as several multi-coloured sparks shoot out the end of the wand. "Yes! Yes! Yes!" cries Mr Ollivander happily. He packs it for me and I take it in joy. Cecelia smiles. "Well done! Now let's go home shall we?" she says looking at my tired face. I nod thankfully.