Chapter Two
Adventures in Diagon Alley
Diagon Alley wasn't what Brittany had imagined. She had thought it would be, for a lack of a better term, magical.
Unfortunately it had only been 6 years since Harry Potter had defeated Lord Voldemort, and the magical community was still devastated. Brittany and Luna arrived at the Leaky Cauldron mid morning, and Brittany was a bit confused to see the hesitation in everybody's eyes. "Luna, why are they all scared?"
"Because they fear the unknown." Her cousin answered. Although the answer just made Brittany more puzzled. Luna's responses had a tendency to do that. Brittany had asked her why she never gave an answer that was simple and Luna had replied with, "There are many answers to life's questions." Seeing her younger cousin was confused she added, "You learn to never have an absolute in Ravenclaw, the world is always changing, and so are the answers."
Brittany appreciated when Luna explained things to her, Uncle Xeno rarely did. He would go off about something, and then get lost in his own mind most of the time, not even noticing that Brittany was falling. Luna though…she noticed. She always noticed, and would always stop to re-explain something to her younger cousin.
So when Brittany asked, "What's the unknown?" Luna looked down at her, and smiled the saddest smile Brittany had ever seen and said; "I'll explain it to you at lunch."
After that they walked quickly through the dark pub and into the back alley where Luna tapped one of the bricks in the wall with her wand. Brittany watched as the wall pulled back into an archway big enough for both of them to step through. "We should probably go to Gringotts first." Brittany heard as she saw her cousin quickly walk through the gateway.
"Is that where the fairies hold the money?" Brittany usually got magical things mixed up, so it was no surprise to Luna that she had mixed up fairies and goblins.
"Goblins actually, and yes. Uncle sent the key to your vault when he replied to Father's owl." That confirmed it then; her father would not be meeting them there. She had hoped, and had been foolishly looking for him, but he wasn't coming. She guessed that's why Luna was with her alone, Uncle Xeno seemed to hate to disappoint her, and telling Brittany that her father wasn't going to make it did disappoint her.
"My vault? You mean dad's vault."
"No your father opened you an account with Gringotts. It's your vault." Luna smiled and handed Brittany the key. She turned it in her hand slowly.
"How much is in it?" She wondered aloud as her gaze landed on a stormy gray owl in a cage. He looked sleepy, and Brittany couldn't blame him; it was morning after all. Actually, as Brittany kept looking around everything looked tired. It was as if the alley had stayed up all night hunting for scraps, and now all it wanted to do was stuff it's head under its wing and sleep, just like the owl.
"I don't know really, but father made sure I knew that you were to get everything you needed. If we need to we'll visit my vault as well, and we'll make sure you have extra materials, incase the nargles steal some of them. They were always stealing my stuff when I was at Hogwarts."
"I don't know why we had to wait so long to finally get my school supplies." Santana started out as her mother stepped out of the fireplace at the Leaky Cauldron. "We were supposed to go weeks ago! All the good stuff will be gone and I'll be stuck with hand-me-downs or something." She glared at her mother.
"Now now Santana everything will be fine. Hogwarts takes in new students every year, I'm sure Diagon Alley is well equipped with everything we need." Santana wasn't really paying attention. This was her first trip to Diagon Alley that she could remember. Her parents had brought her there when she was younger, but then the second wizarding war broke out, and her family had gone underground. She didn't really remember much. Her father worked at the Ministry and he wasn't a fool. The minute Minister Scrimgeour had been killed he had rushed home and they spent the remainder of the war with her mother's relatives the Fawcetts. What Santana did remember was the fear. For the last six years her family moved as a single unit whenever they could. Her father only left to go to work, and her mother hovered constantly.
The Lopez's may all have been in Slytherin house, but that didn't mean they agreed with the Dark Lord's plans. They knew stupidity when they saw it. Muggles may be inferior, but they were still people. They still deserved to live, and be left alone to live their lives. As Santana's father had once told her, Muggles aren't worth the energy. Santana likes to take that thought one step further though; no one is worth the energy. In her view, time is better spent planning her future. Planning how she is going to do amazing things in the wizarding world, and how people will compensate her for it.
Her mother started leading them to the main entrance to Diagon Alley, and just as they were walking out the back door of the pub Santana caught a glimpse of blonde tresses walking through a giant archway. Her heart skipped a beat; but it couldn't be her blonde. She hadn't seen Brittany since that day by the river, and Santana was loath to admit it, but she was kind of disappointed. The blue-eyed beauty had captivated her with her voice that day, and Santana needed to know more about her.
She sprinted toward the arch, but it closed up before Santana could get a better look.
"Vault 534." The Goblin yelled as the cart they were in stopped suddenly. Brittany stumbled a bit when she got out of the vehicle, the fast paced ride making her very dizzy.
"Key please." The goblin seemed to yell at her as he stood next to the door of her vault. Brittany walked up to him and handed him the key.
Despite looking like a very old and rusty door the key moved smoothly. As it opened Brittany saw that her father had put quite a lot of money into her vault. There were heaps of silver sickles, tons of bronze knuts, and even a couple piles of gold galleons. Brittany got confused trying to change muggle money into magical money, so she wasn't sure how much was actually there, but it looked like enough to at least get her through her schooling.
Luna glided past her and started collecting handfuls of each different coin. It only took a second and she was gliding back out of the vault. "Ready to go?" Brittany wasn't ready though, for some reason she had to actually enter the vault; her vault. She stepped over the threshold and glanced at the coins, an overwhelming sense of rightness fell over her. She smiled and then exited her vault and headed to the cart.
When the cart finally stopped where they had started Brittany was once again very dizzy. She really hoped she got used to how fast the little carts where, it was very embarrassing to get up and fall right back down.
"It helps if you close your eyes." Luna said as she followed the goblin toward the door that would take them to the main lobby. Brittany was trying to get her head to stop spinning, and had almost succeeded when she caught a peculiar scent in the air. It smelled like…well frankly Brittany wasn't sure what it smelled like, but she knew who smelled like that. She didn't know how she remembered the latina's scent after only one afternoon, but the second she smelled it she knew. Santana had just been here. She was probably in a cart right now heading down into the vaults. Brittany stared down the track, willing her eyes to make something out, but the cavern was too dark.
Santana and her mother stepped into Madam Malkin's robes for all occasions shortly after leaving Gringotts. Madam Malkin herself was standing in the middle of the room talking with a dark haired girl and what appeared to be her father. "No worries dears, I get many Hogwarts first years in here every year. I know exactly what I'm doing." When she heard the door chime she added, "Be with you in a second."
Santana busied herself with looking at the different styles of robes that Madam Malkin sold, while her mother went to go check on prices for basic Hogwarts Uniforms.
"Hogwarts dear?" Santana heard asked from above her. She looked up and nodded. "Right this way, we'll just get your measurements and then you'll be all set." She led Santana toward the platform the other girl had stood on just moments ago.
"Where are we going to meet Daddy?" Santana could faintly hear the girl saying as the pair exited the shop.
"You'll be able to have them ready by the end of the day?" Her mother asked as Madam Malkin flicked her wand at a strip of measuring tape making it fly through the air and start encircling Santana's waist.
"Of course, as I was just saying to my last costumer, I get a lot of first years in here, I'll have her robes done in a couple of hours and you can stop back by and pick them up."
"…so basically everyone fears that He-who-must-not-be-named will somehow rise again." Luna finally finished while Brittany sat nervously sipping her butterbeer.
"That's horrible." Was the only thing Brittany could think of to say. Her brain had shut down. Supposedly there had been this great wizard war when she was younger, and she had been blissfully unaware of it. Her father had never once mentioned a dark side of magic; had never once even hinted that something like that had or even could happen. It scared Brittany to her core. Brittany wanted to keep talking, if only to fend off the horrible images that had popped into her head.
"You fought with Harry Potter?" She asked her cousin.
"Oh yes, Harry is a very exceptional wizard, I like to think we've become good friends." Luna smiled a bit remembering that time in the halls of Hogwarts when Harry had called her his friend for the first time.
"You must be very brave to have done that." Brittany smiled too, she was proud that her big cousin had such an important role in the war.
"It was nothing to do with bravery" Luna started out, "and much more to do with the fact that it was the logical thing to do."
"Now we should probably finish getting your school supplies. You still need a wand, potion ingredients, and your robes." Luna said while looking at the list Hogwarts had included with the acceptance letter.
Brittany and Luna left the little restaurant heading for the apothecary. Brittany was in her own dream world when she heard, "I need to go to the Quidditch store mum, my broom needs some oil." She whipped her head around, hoping to see the dark haired girl, but all Brittany saw was a street filled with people, people who where not her mysterious Latina.
Her shoulders slumped as she caught up with Luna and scurried in the apothecary. The small shop had anything a witch or wizard would need for potion making, and Brittany was overwhelmed by the sheer mass of stuff. "Luna I don't need everything in here…do I?" She asked as the thought of knowing what each ingredient was made her head hurt.
"Don't worry, first years don't need many potions ingredients, I suspect the man behind the counter will be able to get us everything we need." She stepped up and told him she needed the first year basics, he nodded and got to work collecting things from around his shop and putting them in different jars.
After a few minutes the man returned with about two-dozen different jars filled with all kinds of things. "That'll be 7 sickles and 5 knuts." The shop keep said while extending his hand for the money.
Santana and her mother walked out of Quality Quidditch with not only oil for her broom, but also a new pair of goggles that were enchanted to never fog up.
"Tana," Her mother started, "Your father and I wanted to get you something as a start of term present. We were thinking an owl." Santana's face lit up. Owls were very useful, and a very big responsibility. She had been asking for one for years.
Santana surveyed the owls perched outside Eeylops and walked up to a gray one with odd tuffs of feathers on top of its head. The poor thing looked like it had been trying to sleep all day without success. When she approached, the owl opened one eye and without warning shrieked at her. She flung herself away from the owl in a panic, and once at a safe distance checked if anyone had seen her before straightening her clothes. "Bloody crazy bird." She hissed under her breath and entered the shop.
"Luna! I can't believe you're getting me an owl!" Santana heard from the front of the shop. A smile crept onto her face because she knew that voice; it's the same voice that has been haunting her for weeks. She quickly turned to see that it is indeed Brittany; and she was just about to run up to her, or shout out her name, when Santana noticed the bird that was perched on Brittany's shoulder. It was the same bloody owl that had tried to attack her earlier. The owl swirled its head in her direction, glaring at her, as if in challenge. So instead of revealing herself, Santana slunk back behind a couple of cages and watched as Luna pays for the gray owl, and the two of them walk out of the store.
"Have you decided on one yet dear?" Her mother asked from somewhere to her left. Santana looked around quickly and noticed an eagle owl that was secluded. She walked over to it and it opened a red eye and looked at her, then slowly closed it.
"This one." Santana grabbed her owl and took it to the register.
"You might not want that one miss." The manager said as Santana put her owl on the counter.
"Why not?" She glared at him, and he visibly swallowed.
"Well, he's got a right temper, and he's stubborn as they come. A young one like yerself won't be able to train him properly." The look Santana gave him then reminded the man of the day the death eaters had walked into his store and told him they would be taking his owls for the war effort. Being a Gryffindor the man had tried to stand up to them, but then Bellatrix Lestrange had glided up from the back of the group and stared him down. The two stares where eerily similar, which made the man backtrack and say, "What I meant was that'll be 10 galleons." Santana smirked then turned on her heels and walked out the door, letting her mother pay for her owl.
The store that Brittany walked into next was probably the most exciting and terrifying for her. Ollivanders was a quaint little shop filled to the brim with long skinny boxes that Brittany assumed had wands in them.
"Ah Luna!" Was heard from deep within the store, and a second behind the voice a figure came rushing forward. The man hugged Luna gently and leaned down and kissed her forehead. "Nothings wrong with your wand I hope?" He asked as Luna shook her head.
"No Mr. Ollivander, my cousin Brittany is starting at Hogwarts this year." Brittany waved sheepishly at Mr. Ollivander who was now staring at her intensely.
"Aahhh. Miss Pierce I believe. I'm sure we have the right fit for you somewhere. Now, which is your wand arm." Brittany looked shaken, and glanced at Luna who just nodded.
"Um…." She held up her right arm, hoping that writing hand and wand arm were the same thing. Mr. Ollivander took off around the shop, pulling down boxes and talking about her father's first wand. She would have paid more attention to him, but there was this measuring tape that kept taking measurements of her whole body, and it was getting annoying.
"I don't suppose this one?" Mr. Ollivander said. "It's Ash, Pheonix Feather 8 ½ inches." Brittany took the wand and gently waved it. Nothing happened, and Mr. Ollivander snatched it away.
"How about this one?" He put another wand in her hand. "Cherry, Unicorn Hair 10 ¾ inches." The wand was barely in her hand when he again snatched it out. That went on for a good five minutes until he was down to only two more wands that he had set aside.
"I like a challenge Miss Pierce." The old man had said as he picked up another wand. "This is Willow, Unicorn Hair, 11 ¾ inches; a bit springy." He bent the wand a bit to show her, and then placed it in her hand. Warmth instantly spread from her palm up into her chest. When Brittany looked up Mr. Ollivander was smiling. "I believe we've found a wand that wants you Miss Pierce."
"We still need to get my robes." Brittany reminded her cousin after they had left Ollivander's shop.
"Right, Madam Malkin's then. This way."
The walk to Madam Malkin's was short, and thankfully when they entered the shop was empty except for the seamstress herself.
"Hogwarts?" She called from her place behind the desk. "Step on up to the pedestal."
Brittany jumped up and Madam Malkin went about getting her measurements.
"How long until they're ready?" Brittany heard Luna ask.
"Well, I just finished up my last order, so if you'd like to wait I can have them for you in a couple minutes." Madam Malkin said in a friendly voice. Luna agreed that they could wait, and the witch took Brittany's measurements into the back with her.
Brittany was bored waiting, she really wanted to get back to Uncle Xeno's place and look over all her new stuff. She trailed her fingers along the counter top, but stopped when she hit fabric. Looking down at the robes her fingers had run into she saw the name S. Lopez written on a piece of parchment pinned to the top of the pile.
Brittany's heart raced, she hadn't imagined it, Santana had actually been in Diagon Alley and she was going to be picking up her school uniform from this shop soon. Brittany was sure they wouldn't meet, but she needed to let Santana know she had been here. Out of the corner of her eye she saw parchment and a spare quill, she quickly grabbed them and hid in the corner to scribble a note to the dark haired beauty.
Madam Malkin came out from the backroom just as Brittany was slipping the finished note in between Santana's robes.
"Ready to go home Brittany?" Luna asked as she led them back to the Leaky Cauldron and the fireplace that would take them back to Ottery St. Catchpole. Brittany only nodded and smiled; it had been a wonderful day. She had gotten everything she needed for school, and had just hidden a note inside Santana's robes, that she hoped would get read soon.
AN: Hey everyone! I've gotten the second chapter done in, what is for me, record time.
Thanks to my reviewer, and all the favs/alerts I got just off of chapter one.
I hope you guys continue to read, and comment ^_^