The knock at the door came at exactly noon, and as soon as Acacia heard the doorbell ring she raced down the stairs to open the door. She saw her newfound family on the other side, smiling their warm grins down at her. She smiled back as her parents walked up behind her.
"Are you all ready to go?" Harry asked.
"I think so, but, where exactly are we going?" Dudley responded nervously, putting an arm around his beautiful wife.
"Diagon Alley, don't worry, we'll take you the muggle way."
"Oh, are we meeting your friends there then?" Bridgit asked, grabbing her purse from the end table.
"Yes, I think you all will enjoy Hermione, she's a Muggle-born, like Acacia, and you will be able to relate to her greatly and ask her any questions you have," Harry informed them, walking out the door.
"So, where do we go?" Acacia asked, closing the door behind everyone.
"Just follow me," Harry instructed.
"This is amazing!" Acacia squealed as soon as she stepped foot into Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.
"You like it?" Albus joked.
"Like it? I love it! Look at everything! It's wonderful," she marveled, walking around the shop in wonder.
"Yes, Ron and Hermione should be here any minute," Ginny told them, checking a clock on the wall.
"Oh, do they have children, also?" Bridgit asked, looking overwhelmed at everything going on.
"Yes, their oldest, Rose, is starting this year," Ginny answered, straining her neck to keep James in sight.
"Uncle Ron!" Lily shrieked, running up to her uncle for a hug. He lifted her up off the ground and swung her in a circle, hugging her with a smile.
"Hey, Ron. You remember I mentioned my cousin Dudley and his wife and daughter are coming with us today, right?" Harry reminded Ron as Dudley, Bridgit, and Acacia came into view.
"Oh, yeah, hello, I'm Ron Weasley," Ron held out his hand for them to shake, which they all did.
"Come on, Hugo, I want to show you the new version of the whackerboxes Uncle George has just put on display!" Lily grabbed the young boy standing behind his father's legs hand and dragged him off to the other side of the store.
"Oh, that's our son, Hugo, and I'm Hermione," the woman said.
"I'm Rose," said the girl with fire red curly hair.
"Oh, so you're a muggle-born like Acacia, right?" Dudley remembered, looking to Hermione.
"Oh yes, as a matter of fact I am. So, if you have any questions, feel free to talk to me about it. I went through all of this when I was her age."
"Well, we better get going," Ginny decided as Harry came back from finding all of the children scattered throughout the store.
"So, where are we off to first?" Ron asked when they made it back onto the street.
"I think we should go to Ollivanders," Hermione suggested as they neared the very shop, and everyone agreed, "Ollivanders is a wand shop," Hermione explained, "I hope Harry has already told you about muggle currency?"
Acacia nodded, staring at every different building and sign in excitement.
They entered Ollivanders and Acacia caught her breath. The rows seemed to go on forever, the boxes all the same yet each looked to contain a unique story.
"Oh, why hello there, what can I do for you all?" the man in the chair in the corner stood up and straightened his somewhat puffy hair.
"Oh, these three need wands, Mr. Ollivander," Hermione answered, gently tapping Rose, Albus, and Acacia on the shoulder, indicating for them for step forward, which they did.
"First wands, huh? Well, which should go first?" Rose stepped forward again, and Harry and Ron laughed, though the children and the Dursleys didn't understand what was so funny.
"You seem like a," he paused, thinking for a moment, "let's try walnut wood with a unicorn hair core," he grabbed a box off of the endless shelves, "it seems like ten inches and unyielding will fit."
Rose took the wand out of the now open box, grinning like a madwoman. Hermione was absolutely giddy, gripping her husband's hand in anticipation. Rose looked at Mr. Ollivander for further instruction.
"The wand chooses you, dear, so just give it a go," was all he said, so Rose waved it in front of her, and all of a sudden a golden glow appeared in front of her being emitted from the wand. Mr. Ollivander smiled and nodded, and everyone clapped.
"How about you, dear?" he smiled at Acacia and motioned for her to come nearer. He took one look at her and grabbed a box off of the nearest shelf,
"a swishy, nine and three quarter inch willow with a dragon heartstring," he stated, though Acacia had no idea what he was talking about. She waved it like Rose did, and something stirred within her, she had never felt anything like it. A green glow was emitted from the end of the wand and Ollivander started clapping and laughing.
"I'm on a roll," he mused, signalling for Albus to come. It took quite some time to find the right one for him, he went through seven wands before they found the correct one, and by that time the shop was almost in ruins.
They next stopped at Potage's Cauldron Shop for their new cauldrons before going to Flourish and Blotts, which Hermione quickly reminded everyone was her favorite place in Diagon Alley. Acacia wandered around the shop for as long as they would let her, exploring the history of her newfound magic.
"You know, I think you'd make a wonderful Gryffindor," Hermione found Acacia reading one her new textbooks on the ground in between aisles.
"Oh, thank you," Acacia quickly closed the book and she could feel her cheeks get warmer.
"You remind me of myself. I was thrown into this whole thing too, and I just want to let you know that you belong at Hogwarts just as much as all of the other kids do, okay? It may seem like you're an outsider to all of the customs at first, but trust me, you'll blend right in."
"Oh, well, thanks for the advice," she got up from the ground and went to find her parents to put her textbook in.
"Just remember that we're here for you, is all," she added before looking for her own children. No one could tell, but a weight had just been lifted off of Acacia's shoulders.