Chapter 2: Fortunate Meetings
To Claire's disappointment, the present her mother gave to her when they were done with supper was a hand-me-down uniform which consisted of a black hooded robe a black buttoned blazer with a white shirt underneath a matching black tie medium-length skirt pantyhose and slippers.
"I found it in the attic today and decided to give it a good wash," Claire's mother said as she blushed. "Though I had no idea you were going to get accepted into Hogwarts."
"Must've been your intuition, Mum," Claire guessed, trying to smile for her mother.
"Perhaps," her mother agreed. "Now why don't you try it on? It should be about your size."
Reluctantly, Claire changed out of her casual clothes and into the uniform while her mother waited outside. Downstairs, the door opened. To Claire, this meant that her father was back from work and was now more embarrassed when she looked at herself in the mirror next to her bed. While her mother went downstairs, Claire's mind drifted back to the time when her brother was forced to wear their father's old uniform which looked exactly like her mother's but with pants and no buttons on the blazer.
"Claire!" Her mother called. "Come downstairs and show us how you look in the uniform!"
"Okay!" Claire responded, and stepped out fully dressed.
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A few days later, Claire's mother made plans to take Claire to Diagon Alley for school shopping but then she remembered that it was Laundry Day where everyone's clothes were being washed. So she told Claire to head for Diagon Alley without her and lended some money so she could buy the things on the list. As for Claire's father, he had a lot of work that needed to get done so he wasn't able to accompany Claire to Diagon Alley either. So wearing her mother's uniform, Claire took the train to the inner part of London while trying to ignore the various Muggles that stared at her.
Afterwards, she walked down a few blocks till she found the Leaky Cauldron inn. Inside, there were all kinds of patrons whose clothes were more unusual than hers. Yet despite this, she didn't want to draw attention to herself and so Claire pulled up the hood of her robe and walked past the bar till she came to the back part. Here, a brick wall stood with some bricks sticking out more than others. Remembering her mother's instructions, Claire touched the bricks in a certain order which caused them to move and push themselves back like a curtain.
On the other side was a winding street with several unusual buildings crowded together and equally strange people going to and fro. There were even children with uniforms that looked exactly like Claire's, causing her to lower the hood in relief. Then she caught the attention of a girl that stood nearby with dark skin large glasses and medium black hair.
"Hey," the dark-haired girl said, waving at Claire. "You look a bit lost."
"Am I that easy to read?" Claire asked, looking downward.
"It's nothing to be ashamed of," the dark-haired girl smiled. "Diagon Alley is pretty overwhelming for newcomers in general. Want me to show you around?"
With no other alternatives, Claire nodded.
"Are you planning to attend Hogwarts?" The girl guessed.
Claire gasped. "How did you know?"
"You've been holding the acceptance letter since I saw you," the dark-haired girl answered, pointing to the one Claire held in her hands. Then she pulled out an identical letter from the folds of her robe. "Don't worry. I've got one too."
"That means we'll be classmates," Claire realized.
"Yes, you're right." After putting away the letter, the dark-haired girl held out her hand. "My name is Rowan Khanna! What's yours?"
Hesitating for a moment, Claire accepted Rowan's outstretched hand. "I'm Claire Krystal."
"No way!" Rowan exclaimed. "Are you related to Jacob Krystal, the Hogwarts student that got expelled while searching for the legendary Cursed Vaults?"
"He's my older brother," Claire responded with some reluctance.
"The same one that disappeared right afterward?" When Claire nodded, Rowan looked guilty. "Sorry, I shouldn't have said anything."
"No, it's all right," Claire insisted. "I learned about it from my parents, who were pretty upset, and the Daily Prophet did a story on the Cursed Vaults if I recall."
"That's where I heard about your brother," Rowan confirmed, and shook her head. "Anyway, let's move on to less depressing things like getting our school supplies."
Taking Claire by the hand, Rowan took her to various shops along Diagon Alley starting with Flourish and Blotts. Here, all the books Claire and Rowan needed were available. After buying a copy of each one, they left to get some plain work robes gloves and cloaks at Madam Malkin's. Next, the girls got matching pewter cauldrons crystal phials and brass scales.
"All right," Claire noted, checking the list. "The last thing I need…is a wand."
"You'll find them at Ollivanders," Rowan responded, pointing to a shop that had a generic-looking wand hanging over the sign. "I already got mine, so I'll wait for you outside. My parents gave me some extra money, so I'm thinking about spending it on something that'll make me look scholarly enough to be a possible candidate for Head Girl or even Prefect. What do you think I should buy?"
"I'm not sure if First-Years get the chance to become Head Girl, let alone a Prefect," Claire pointed out. "But if I had to choose, I would say a scarf would look nice."
"Brilliant!" Rowan beamed. "I'll go get that, and meet you outside of Ollivanders when you're done, okay?"
"Sure," Claire agreed and went into Ollivanders while Rowan skipped down the street.
Upon entering Ollivanders, Claire was surprised by how deathly quiet it was. Apart from the front desk, there were rows of long vertical boxes lining the shelves on both sides all the way to the back. Then a sullen-faced man approached her from behind the desk with grey hair and dark glistening eyes.
"Welcome to my shop, young one," the man said in a gravely voice. "Garrick Ollivander is my name, now how may I be of service to you?"
To be continued…