"Well, wasn't that girl, Sylvia, nice?" commented Tonks, while Elena and Hermione nodded their heads in agreement. "I suppose you two want to go looking for an owl next?"
"Actually, I was hoping that we would be able to visit Amanuensis Quills Shop," Hermione admitted. "There's so many ink shops in Diagon Alley, yet they are one of the best. I've heard they have so many different types of ink. We'll need to get quills and parchment for school anyway."
"Sure, I'll lead the way," Elena started walking in the direction of the shop. As they walked through the door, into the shop, Hermione looked amazed.
"Look! They have Quick-Quotes Quills! I heard those write everything you say!" Hermione said excitedly. "And Self-Inking Quills! But WHY would anyone want to buy an auto-answer quill? Wouldn't you rather study and find the answer yourself?"
"Sometimes, they can be very helpful. I think I might get one myself. I also think we should probably get some self inking quills. They are very useful since they can be used without ink." Elena said, mostly to herself. "We probably don't need glow-in-the-dark ink or acidic ink, and invisible ink will be a waste of galleons since you can't even read what you wrote, but self-correcting ink might be useful, and colour-changing ink might be fun to use-"
"Are you done with your shopping list yet?" Tonks interrupted.
"Yes," Elena replied, while blushing. Tonks, Hermione, and Elena quickly finished getting the rest of their needs in the shop, paid the shopkeeper fifteen galleons, and left.
"I think all we need now are owls. Technically, Hogwarts also allows you to get frogs and other animals, but owls are the best and the most useful since they can deliver your messages." Elena explained as she led the way to the Owl Emporium.
As they walked into the Owl Emporium, they were greeted by ribbits, hoots, and even a couple meows. Elena and Tonks headed straight towards the owls, looking at the different colors, shapes, and sizes while Hermione lagged behind, looking at a particularly grumpy looking cat.
"I think this owl likes me. I think this is the perfect one for me!" Elena exclaimed as she stopped in front of a fluffy, snow - white, medium - size owl, who was hooting in admiration. " I think I'll call you... Sean!"
Meanwhile, Hermione was still in front of the ugliest cat Elena had ever seen.
"Oh, honey, you don't want that cat. She is grumpy and short-tempered," The saleslady said noticing Hermione.
"Nonsense! All it needs is some love. I think I'm going to call him Crookshanks," Hermione stated, her mind made up. "Do you like that name, Crookshanks?"
"Are you sure you want that grumpy old thing? There are some pretty nice owls over there," Elena looked unsure, keeping her distance away from Crookshanks.
"Yes, I'm sure! I can't just abandon this poor baby! I think she likes me," Hermione looked at the cat lovingly.
"Fine," Elena headed out the door with her new owl, looking disgusted at Crookshanks as Hermione cradled her, the expression on her face quite the opposite of Elena's.
"We should head on home now. You too Hermione. We'll see you in September!" Tonks said as her and Elena waved good-bye, heading in the opposite direction as Hermione and her parents.
"I'll be looking for you on the train!" Elena shouted to Hermione as Hermione nodded okay. "It was nice meeting you!"
"Welcome back! How was your day?" Remus greeted Tonks and Elena, coming out of the kitchen.
"Great!" Elena chirped. "Look at my new owl, Sean, and my new wand!"
"They're wonderful, sweetheart!" Remus replied. "Go get ready for bed now."
Elena climbed up the staircase decided to pack her things first. She grabbed her suitcase out of the closet, and emptied it out. Then, she took some muggle clothes from her drawers, and neatly folded them into the suitcase. The next thing to go into it was her new wand, robes, and supplies. After that, she packed some books and wizarding games.
Finally, she took the owl cage Remus had gotten her a couple weeks ago, and Sean flew into it. Elena double-checked to make sure she had everything she needed and fell asleep.
Sure it was only June, but she was too excited to wait!
September 1st
"Yay!" Elena said happily, strectching her arms in her bed as she sat up. "It's the first day of school!" She skipped down the stairs, into the kitchen, to find a giant, steaming plate of delicious pancakes waiting for her.
"Good morning! You better eat those pancakes quickly. You don't want to miss the Hogwarts Express!"
"All done!" Elena quickly rushed up the stairs to bring down her luggage.
Remus helped Elena load her belongings into the car, and they began to drive farther and farther from their house. As they reached the parking lot, they found out that there weren't many spaces left. Remus circled the lot a couple of times before he found a free space. Finally, he and Elena walked into the train station.
The two wizards approached the pillar that held the entrance to Platform 9 3/4. Remus quickly looked around to make sure no muggles were watching and when he gave Elena the thumbs up, they walked through.
At first, Elena was worried she was going to ram her head into the wall and get hurt. She wasn't quite sure what to expect, considering this was the first time she was experiencing this. Sure enough, though, she slid smoothly through the brick wall. When she stepped out the other end, she was amazed. She had never seen so many wizards in one area. A bunch of parents were quickly pushing their kids onto the train that would soon take them to their school.
However, there were just as many parents who were trying to hold back their kids as they struggled to break free of their parents' grasp. This, of course, was because of the fact that these people would be apart until Christmas break.
Elena watched as older wizards, who were obviously returning for another year at the wizarding school, hugged and greeted their missed friends. She suddenly spotted Hermione, next to her parents, who looked unsure of what to do.
"Hermione!" Elena called out. As Hermione turned and noticed Elena, she waved and said good-bye to her parents, who looked relieved that they could leave.
"Hi!" Hermione greeted. " It was so hard to find this place, and I can't believe the muggles didn't notice so many people disappearing into a wall!"
"I know, right? Those muggles will miss just about anything," Elena stated. " So, do you want to go sit together on the train?"
"Sure," Hermione nodded.
Elena looked back over to her dad and waved, "Bye! See you at Christmas!"
