*~Chapter Two~*

Cora dashed out of her room, with Sammy right at her heels, to go investigate she stopped at the top of her stairs when a looming figure shrouded in shadow trudged through the living room. Frozen in place all Cora could think about was how big this guy was! Even though a small voice told her it was Hagrid, Cora still stayed in that exact spot. Sammy found Cora frozen in this same spot and looked up to see a giant man that resembled Hagrid from the movie. The two best friends had reached the same conclusion but neither of them tried to make sense of the huge being before them.

"Ello!" Hagrid cheerfully said to Sammy and Cora like they were long-lost friends meeting at a park. Sammy immediately went back into her shell, like she had with Dumbledore, and looked at Cora then at Hagrid once more.

"H-Hello…" Sammy whispered to Hagrid.

"I'm sure Dumbledore told ya I would be takin' you to get your supplies." Hagrid said to the two best friends. Sammy and Cora just nodded their heads, still a bit shocked that the giant man had busted down Cora's front door with just a few knocks. "Well then, lets be goin'." Hagrid continued on, not waiting for the two girls to reply. He was used to such responses from all the other kids he had to help adjust to the wizard world. The half-giant walked out of Cora's house and waited for the two friends to follow.

"Cora… Lets get this over with." Sammy said. They both followed Hagrid out the front door –well, on top of the door if you want to get technical- while Cora moaned about how much her mother was going to kill her. How was she going to explain a broken front door!? The two friends quickly ran after Hagrid, Sammy keeping a considerable distance behind the giant while Cora boldly walked beside him. It was as if the shy girl was coming out of her shell while her friend was quickly darting back into hers. "Are we going to ride your motorcycle!?" Cora demanded to know, the excitement easily leaking into her voice about this one aspect of their adventure.

Sammy looked at Cora like she had lost her mind. "I hope we don't…" Sammy said quietly and stifled a groan when Hagrid nodded, grinning broadly.

"Of course! It's my only method of transportation." Hagrid replied, totally oblivious to Sammy's discomfort.

"Oh boy…. So not good…" Sammy mumbled mostly to herself. Cora was too busy dashing ahead to get a glimpse of Hagrid's massive motorcycle. 'I don't want to fly on that massive machine!' Sammy thought glumly to herself while Hagrid kept chattering away in his usual cheerful manner. "My bike is actually just around the corner!" He said as he turned the mentioned corner and waited on Sammy. Cora was all ready at the motorcycle, marveling at how clean and shiny the huge bike was.

"Cora…I don't like heights." Sammy said to her friend when she wasn't too busy jumping around in excitement on flying on a machine with no seatbelts. 'I hope this won't take too long.' Sammy thought as she scurried over to Cora, keeping her distance from Hagrid. The half-giant didn't seem to take Sammy's clear avoidance of him to heart. Maybe it was also something he was used to.

It was Cora's turn to look at Sammy like she was insane. How could she not want to fly on this huge motorcycle??! Cora had all ways loved the sensation of flight and being on a motorcycle just made everything even better! Her mother would flip! Quickly giving Sammy's hand a reassuring squeeze, she darted past her friend and hopped onto the huge black motorcycle with difficulty since it was a few heads taller than her. Hagrid helped her up though and gave her a helmet. Cora laughed in delight and anticipation before looking over at her friend. "Come on slowpoke! If you just shut your eyes, it won't be so bad." Cora advised Sammy as she offered a hand to help Sammy up. Sometimes she just couldn't understand her friend. Why couldn't she have a little fun? It wasn't like the whole 'discovering you're witches' thing happens to every girl on the block. And personally, she couldn't wait to meet Harry Potter!

Sammy reluctantly took Cora's hand and she too climbed onto the large motorcycle. Hagrid then gave her a helmet as well which she put on with a bit of hesitation. "It won't be that bad…" She mumbled to herself as Hagrid climbed onto the motorcycle, the two girls in front of him since they had no hope of either of them managing to wrap their arms around his waist. Hagrid put his helmet on and started up the motorcycle and took off. Sammy shut her eyes tight and gripped Cora's waist tightly while her friend held up her hands and laughed out loud. Cora leaned over her seat eagerly to watch the little suburban homes that zoomed by as they flew over them, their lights only bright yellow blurs mushed together the faster Hagrid revved his motorcycle. Wind whipped through the both of the girls hair –and Hagrid's beard- as the trio flew through the air and towards their destination: Diagon Alley.

After about an hour of flight Hagrid finally lowered the motorcycle and hopped off his bike. He helped the two girls off the massive bike like the gentleman he was while Cora was trying not to pass out in a puddle from the lack of oxygen she had been getting from Sammy holding onto her so hard. The group was in a dark alley way and she could see a small bar a bit a ways from them. Cora thought the scenery looked vaguely familiar but she was more concerned about her friend. Sammy looked a bit green…

"Are you okay, Sam?" Cora asked worriedly, wrapping her arm around her friend's shoulders. Where they actually were could wait.

Sammy looked up at Cora. "Y-Yeah…I'm fine…" She replied quietly, taking a few deep breaths to settle her upset stomach. Cora sighed with relief at her friend's reassurances and stayed quiet, knowing her friend needed to calm herself. Once her stomach was completely settled she gave Gora a small smile. She then took in her surroundings. 'This place looked familiar…wait is that the Leaky Cauldron?' Sammy thought as she spotted the bar. "Ummm…Cora… I think that's the Leaky Cauldron…" Sammy said quietly.

"Yeah, it is." Hagrid said to the girls. "We best be getting' this done." He added, walking to the entrance of the Leaky Cauldron and holding the door open for both of the girls. Cora gave a small squeak of fright when Hagrid had started to walk away. She didn't want to be left alone in a dark and scary alley way with her best friend, in fact, she just wanted to be at home. So, doing the most logical thing in her mind at the moment, Cora grabbed Sammy's hand and scampered after Hagrid. She scrunched up her nose at the disgusting smells that drifted their way. Yep, they were in an alley way all right

"Oh, so that's why this place looked so familiar." Thanks to Sammy's wonderful intuition and sigh, Cora had been quick to realize that they were, in fact, near the Leaky Cauldron. When the trio entered the Leaky Cauldron, Cora felt more at ease with her surroundings and eased her grip on Sammy's hand but she didn't let go. Their arrival had drawn many stares from the drunks in the Bar and Cora could feel the animosity coming off the witches and warlocks in waves. She knew what they were seeing. All those witches and warlocks thought her and Sammy were just a pair of lost Muggles. Cora held her head high. They weren't just Muggles anymore! They were witches in training! The sudden change in attitude seemed to satisfy any lingering stares and the people went back to their business.

Cora gave Sammy's hand a worried squeeze before gazing up at Hagrid. "Can we just go through the back all ready? This place gives me the creeps…and it smells." Cora's nose scrunched up again in a now familiar gesture to indicate her distaste for the musty smell in the Bar. She just wanted to get out of here and to Diagon Alley. She also wanted to see Hagrid use his pink umbrella that hid his wand. Cora thought such a feminine item on the giant looked so hilarious. Not really waiting for an answer Cora started to shuffle around Hagrid and towards the back door, pulling Sammy along with her. She wasn't worried about anyone attacking them, but maybe she should have been.

Thank God Sammy was more aware than her friend.

Sammy looked at Cora then back towards Hagrid as she was dragged away from their only known contact in the wizard world. She had a very bad feeling about being in the Leaky Cauldron. She knew something was wrong, very wrong. Hagrid gave the girls an impatient one minute sign and started to chat with a few of the people in the bar. Sammy could imagine Cora stifling an eye-roll as she dragged her friend to the back entrance of the Leaky Cauldron.
'What the hell was that!?' Sammy thought when she heard a sound, gripping Cora's hand tighter. Cora winced at Sammy's sudden change in grip and threw her an annoyed glare. "What?" She demanded, "What's wr-" Cora never got to finish. Sammy had yanked Cora to the floor so hard that her head had it with a loud thud as one word reached Sammy's ears:

"Crucio."