AN: So here's the Diagon Alley scene. This is my longest chapter so far. Its mostly just going through the motions and a bit of Mia learning more about her family, but there's a few fun Easter eggs hidden in here to show that the time frame is along the lines of Harry's first year.

Hope you love it!

Once again I am not Rowling, but she is one of my heroes.

Updated 6/18/16

Chapter 4

The pub was rather dark and shabby. There was a light layer of smoke hanging in the air coming from a few old women smoking in the corner. The pub itself was fascinating to look at, Mia had never seen so many bottles filled with strange colored liquid in her life and wondered if some of the more exotic colored ones were poisonous. Even more interesting than the pub were the people who filled it. There were strange looking people of all shapes and sizes, sitting around playing cards or drinking. One short man in a bowler hat seemed to be losing a game of chess with a tall old woman with stringy gray hair, a man in a turban was standing near the fireplace gazing into the flames. Just then the man tending the bar looked up and spotted the Professor. "Ah! Minerva! What a pleasure. Is there something I can get you?"

"Perhaps a private room, Tom? I just need to finish up a conversation I was having with one of my students before we head into Diagon Alley."

"O'course! Come right this way." The balding bartender led them up a set of stairs to a small room with a few chairs that surrounded a fireplace. "If there's anything I can get you just ask."

"Thank you Tom. Perhaps a few butter beers if you have them." Tom nodded and exited the small room. "All right, now where were we? Oh yes. I was telling you about your parents. Now listen Amelia, There are a few pieces of the story that I left out."

"Yes Professor, I wanted to ask about that. You said my parents were fighting a war, but there haven't been any wars that England has been a part of in a long time! And who is this evil man you spoke of? Hitler died long before I was born so I know that can't be it." After having the few minutes it took to walk through the bar to think on the story the Professor had told her, Mia had started to believe it less and less.

"Yes well I was getting to that." The Professor looked stern from being interrupted but her gaze softened before she continued. "Please forgive me; there was much that I needed to tell you, that I couldn't with that cab driver listening in. So for starters how about I finally give you this." The Professor handed Mia a thick envelope made out of strange paper. Not paper, parchment. Mia looked it over in her hand reading the address written on the front in emerald green letters addressed to Miss A. M. Black, The third bunk from the left, Hopetown Orphanage, London. Mia pulled out the letter and read.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Scor., Chf. Warlock,

Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. Og Wizards)

Dear Miss Black,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on September 1st. We await your owl by no later than July 31st.

Yours Sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall,

Deputy Headmistress

The second page was a list of things required and Mia was surprised to see it listing things such as spell books, wizard robes, a caldron, and even a wand. Wizardry? What was Mia getting into? This couldn't be real; it must all be just one big joke. But the look on the Professor's face didn't look like she was joking. "I don't think I understand Professor."

"Don't understand? Well I think it would have been pretty self explanatory. You're a witch! I'm a witch, your mother was a witch, and your father was a wizard. This is your world. Not that world you've been living in with all those muggles." Seeing the confused look on Mia's face, the Professor continued. "A Muggle is a non magical person. That Mrs. Hefner is a muggle, and our cab driver was a muggle, that's why I couldn't enplane any of this better with them listening. You see it's very important that we keep our world secret from the muggles, otherwise they would be constantly asking for magical favors or the like." Just then the bald bartender opened the door carrying a tray with two bottles on it. He popped the caps off and set them on the table.

"If there's anything else ya need Minerva feel free to ask." and with that Tom scooted back out the door, closing it behind him.

Mia decided to take the distraction as an opportunity and took a sip of her drink as she thought about what the Professor had said. As the amber liquid ran down her throat she felt warmth spread through her body, calming her slightly. "So if the magical world was at war then that explains why the muggles never knew about it. So then this evil man you spoke of, he was a wizard wasn't he? What was his name?"

Minerva winced at the question but knew she had to answer. "Yes, the wizarding world was at war. You know you are a very bright young girl. Your mother would have been proud." Minerva smiled sadly at the thought of the young mother who died before she could see her daughter grow up.

"Anyway, just as there are good people and bad people, there are also good wizards and bad wizards. And before you were born there was a man who was a very bad wizard. Now I'm going to tell you his name, because frankly you need to know it, but you also need to know that people in our world do not use this man's name. He was very evil and killed a lot of people so people were very frightened of him, so frightened in fact that most people refuse to say his name still to this day."

"But what was his name?" Mia asked impatiently

"All right, so his name was... Voldemort. Now as I told you before. The Dark Lord gathered a group of followers around himself, and those followers were known as Death Eaters. You see in the magical world just as in the non magical world there are politics. And in the magical world there is a group of people who believe that the magical purity of someone's blood makes them better than others. Meaning if someone were to descend from a long line of wizards they would be considered a pure blood, and on the other side, sometimes there are children born to muggle families who have magic in their blood, and these kids are called muggle born. You for example are a half blood. Your father was a pure blood descended from a very old line of wizards, and your mother was born from a muggle family. There's absolutely no shame in being a muggle born, but You-know-who decided that there was. He made it his mission to take over the wizard world, and enslave the muggle world. Does all of that make sense?"

Mia hadn't even taken another sip of her butterbeer; she had been too wrapped up in the Professor's story. She nodded to let The Professor know she understood everything she had heard and the old professor smiled. "I know it's a lot to understand all at once but hopefully it will all make sense eventually. Come now. We need to buy your school supplies before it gets too late."

Mia followed the Old Professor down the stairs and past the bar man as she paid him and then out the back door into a tiny alley way filled with nothing but a trash can and some weeds. Mia thought perhaps the Professor had taken them through the wrong door and was about to say something when Professor McGonagall pulled out a stick from the folds of her cloak and began counting the bricks on the wall. Suddenly Mia realized this was a wand and she got extremely excited hoping to see some magic. The Professor started tapping the bricks on the wall and before Mia knew what was happening the bricks started sliding and jumping around until they formed an arch way big enough for the two witches to walk through. What Mia saw next made her stop and stare in awe. "Welcome Miss Amelia, to Diagon Alley."

Mia looked up at The Professor and smiled. As they stepped into the busy market place Mia was overwhelmed with the sights all around her. There were shops filled with odd plants, shops full of barrels of gross slimy things with signs that read things like 'Dragon Liver', shops full of all different types of cauldrons, copper, brass, pewter, and even self-stirring. There were so many things to look at that Mia almost walked into several people but Professor McGonagall managed to pull her out of the way in time. The people she saw where even more interesting than the people back in the stuffy pub. She saw witches and wizards in funny clothes, kids her age buying books and potions ingredients, she even saw a man about three times the size of anyone else in the streets, carrying a snowy white owl in a cage.

Before she knew it Mia was standing in front of an enormously large white building. They walked up to the large bronze doors and McGonagall opened the door for her. Inside was a long marble counter with hundreds of scary little creatures sitting on tall stools behind it. The creatures were doing things like scribbling in large ledgers, and weighing coins on brass scales. The Professor clearly didn't seem surprised at the sight of these strange monsters so Mia took her cue and pretended not to notice their sharp teeth and long pointed fingers. Professor McGonagall walked straight up to one of the first goblins at the counter and announced that Miss Amelia Black wished to make a withdrawal from her vault. The scary banker looked at her accusingly when he heard her name, but then the look disappeared and he asked if she had her key. Professor McGonagall handed over a small gold key.

"Follow me please." The banker walked from around the desk and down a long corridor. He kept walking as the white marble corridor became a dark cave and gestured for them to get in a cart. Professor McGonagall told her to hold on tightly as the cart took off, spinning and looping unnecessarily, moving so fast that Mia couldn't see anything around her except for blackness and the occasional flash of light. Finally they stopped close to a ledge and a slightly green professor helped Mia climb out of the cart. The banker walked over to a vault door set in the side of the cave wall and opened the door standing aside to allow the witches to enter.

Professor McGonagall explained all about wizarding money to Mia, she told her how 17 sickles equals a Galleon and 29 Knuts equals a Sickle. After helping her put the amount of gold she would need for her supplies and a little extra for spending money for the year into a little bag they climbed back into the cart and Professor McGonagall explained while she covered her eyes so as to not get too dizzy that Mia's family was rich. Coming from such an old line as the Black's and being the heir to the Black legacy all of the Black family's wealth would be hers. The only money she had access to right now was a fund set aside for her schooling, but the rest of the fortune would become hers on her 17th birthday.

Finally exiting the bank and stepping back into the crowded street, Mia asked a question that had been eating at her for a while. "So is all of my family really dead? Am I the last one left?"

Minerva sighed. She knew she had to tell her the whole story. "Not exactly." She led the girl over to a small diner and ordered them some lunch before she continued. It took her a while but eventually Minerva managed to explain to Mia about her family. Most of her family had been blood purists and were known or suspected death eaters. She had a few second cousins still alive, one was in Azkaban, one was married and had a son her age, and one was a good and loving woman named Andromeda. Then Minerva continued to explain the hardest part of the story. She told Mia how her father had been a trusted member of the Order of the Phoenix for years, but in the end it came out that he was a Death Eater and one of the Dark Lord's most loyal followers. She said she didn't know too many of the details but he was also sentenced to life in Azkaban.

This was too much for Mia, finding out that she did still have living relatives but all of them where blood purists or murderers. She had been asking the question for years, who was she? But now after all these years to find out she was the daughter of one of the most dangerous and feared men alive? She wanted to take it back, take back finding out the truth. Professor McGonagall could sense her turmoil in her head and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Amelia, the actions of your family do not dictate the path you must take. You are your own person. Don't let the people of your past decide who you will be. It is your choice to follow after them or to carve a new path for yourself. Use the knowledge of your past as a weapon and walk boldly into your future. Alright?"

Mia nodded. She had always prided herself on being a brave person. The only times she ever backed down from a challenge was when she knew fighting was the wrong choice and would only cause more trouble. She did have one more question on her mind though. "Professor? What were those things at the bank." Professor McGonagall bent her head back and laughed one of her rare deep laughs.

They had been wandering the market for hours, talking and buying everything Mia would need for school. Not only did she need the listed supplies, but there were lots of other things she would need when she left the orphanage like toothpaste and spare pajamas. Many of the people they passed knew the professor and would wish her a good day as they passed, adding on a smile to Mia when they saw her with the professor.

For her school robes they entered a fancy shop called Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. When they entered the shop a kind looking squat witch came out from behind a row of cloaks. "Another one for Hogwarts, dear? Oh Professor! What a pleasure! Bringing another young student for her robes then?"

"Oh yes Dotty, Miss Amelia here will be needing a full set of robes and school uniform." Professor McGonagall ushered Mia forward to the short witch. Madam Malkin gestured for Mia to step onto a raised platform as she slipped a long black robe over her head. "Amelia if you don't mind I will just be over here browsing the hats." And with that Professor McGonagall walked away leaving Mia in the hands of the short witch as she began pinning up her hem line.

"So, Amelia is it? Tell me, what is your last name so that I can have the labels sewn into your robes. Oh stand up straight there! Don't want your hem to be crooked."

Mia felt awkward as the witch pinned up her robes. She had never had a last name before and wanted to take pride in it. But was that a bad thing given what her family had represented? "My last name is Black."

Madam Malkin stopped what she was doing. "Black did you say?" She peered at the young girl's face and a look of recognition flashed through her face. "T-Tell me, What was your father's name?" Mia noticed the slight fear in the woman's voice and wasn't going to answer but it didn't matter. "Minerva? Minerva!" Professor McGonagall ran over at the seamstress call. "Minerva, why on earth would you bring his daughter into my shop? You know how I feel about those people! I will not have one of them in my shop!"

The look on Professor McGonagall's face told the short witch that she was in dangerous territory, and she stopped speaking immediately. "How dare you prejudice yourself against one of my students who has never done a thing against you? I thought you were a more sensible woman than that. Blaming someone for the sins of their family is an incredibly ignorant thing to do. You don't see me blaming you for your great uncle being a Death Eater. He's in Azkaban as well is he not? And didn't I see the Malfoys walk out of here earlier with their son? We are here to buy robes and if you refuse our money than say the word now and we will leave. If not I expect you to finish up my students robes so that we can go and get her school books." Professor McGonagall finished her speech with a death glare that made the short woman sink even lower into the ground.

Madam Malkin turned back around and finished up pinning the garment without another look at either the Professor or Mia. When she was finished she pulled the robe off of Mia and told her they could come back in a half hour and everything would be ready. Mia paid the woman and left the shop following a steamed professor back out into the street.

Professor McGonagall put a smile back on her face and turned to Mia. "I'm afraid you will just have to get used to reactions like that. It is a shame yes, but that is just the lot you have been stuck with." Mia lowered her gaze. It seemed the magical world she had entered was even more confusing than the one she had just left. "Cheer up my dear. You will just have to prove them all wrong with your actions and show the magical world how amazing you really are. It will take some work, but if you're anything like your mother, or even your father, I know you will do great things in your future."

With that the professor turned and led Mia into a shop that seemed to sell things like quills and parchment. When they bought her trunk, Professor McGonagall added a weightless charm and a hover charm to make it easier to carry. Mia was fascinated by this use of magic, and as they bought the rest of her heavy school supplies, they simply piled it all into her trunk.

For her school books, they entered a store called 'Flouris and Blotts'. Mia spotted a book that she had a feeling would help her understand the wizarding world a bit better. 'What every muggleborn needs to know about magic' was sitting on a shelf to Mia's left. Professor McGonagall argued that she wasn't a muggleborn and didn't need the book, but Mia pointed out that given that she was raised her whole life in the muggle world, it just made sense. Mia won the argument and added that book plus a few others she thought would help give her important information she knew she was lacking, to her already long book list. A few of her extra books she bough where 'Hogwarts: a History', 'The rise and fall of the dark arts; expanded addition', and '1001 famous wizards and their accomplishments', she even added a book on a sport called Quidditch that apparently was very popular in this new world.

After all their shopping and all the extra books, Mia's new trunk was already too full to close. Professor McGonagall made Mia promise not to tell anyone and she put a few internal expanding charms on it to giver her plenty more room. She also added a few protection charms and a memory print charm so that Mia would be the only one able to open the lid that way none of the other kids at the orphanage would 'accidentally' discover her spell books. She also told Mia if she planned to read her school books to make sure to leave the dust covers off the books so that none of the other kids would notice the strange titles to her books. Mia didn't really think that was much of an issue given that most of the other orphans didn't really care what Mia did.

As Mia was reading back over her acceptance letter and supplies list, to make sure she had everything she needed, she realized a part that she didn't understand. "Professor, what does it mean by 'we await your owl?"

"Oh yes how silly of me." Professor McGonagall led Mia over to a building with a sign that simply read 'Owl Post.' The professor explained to Mia that owls were what wizards used to carry their mail. As they entered the shop, she explained that the owls in this post office were color coded depending on how far the bird had to travel and how fast you wanted the message taken. Just then a tall skinny wizard appeared around on of the many perches filled with owls. He asked if he could help them with anything and pulling out a small piece of parchment the Professor scrawled a note on it and handed it to the man. "Yes sir, I just wanted to deliver this message to Hogwarts. No rush, just regular speed would be fine."

"Yes Professor, not a problem." The wizard took down a small tawny owl and tied the letter to the owl's leg and it took off through the window. "Is that all you would be needing? Just 8 knuts." Professor McGonagall counted out the coins and paid the man and they left the shop.

Finally the last thing on her list she needed was a wand. They had stopped by the old shop called Ollivanders: Makers of fine wands since 382 B.C., but the first time they walked by the small shop, it seemed too crowded so they decided to come back after they did some other shopping. This time when they walked past, the shop seemed empty so Professor McGonagall told Mia to go on in while she waited outside, she seemed distracted by a wizard standing by the robes shop, but Mia was so excited to get her wand she just ran inside without a second thought.

The shop certainly was small, or at least it seemed small since the entire shop was filled with hundreds and hundreds of long skinny boxes. Just then an old grey haired man came out from behind some boxes and peered at Mia. "Ahhh Miss Black. Imagine seeing you here! This has been a memorable day to be sure." Mia was taken a little off guard by this strange man, but she was at least relieved that he seemed to know her name and was fine with her heritage. "I suppose you will be wanting a wand! You know I sold your mother and father their wants. Your mother's wand was 10 and one half inches holly with a unicorn hair core. Your father's was 12 inches redwood, with a dragon scale core. Very powerful wand. Now let's see what it shall be for you."

Just then a small tape measure jumped up and began measuring every bit of Mia as she just looked on in wonder as the old man pulled down box after box. When the tape measure was finished measuring her nose the wild eyed old man started putting sticks in her hand and muttering about phoenix feathers and unicorn hair. Sometimes he would have her wave the wand, sometimes he would just place one in her hand and then immediately take it out shaking his head again. It started to get a little boring and Mia's mind started to drift. She looked out the window and saw Professor McGonagall talking with a wizard. No, she saw Professor McGonagall arguing with a wizard. The man looked to be in his 30s or so but had too much grey hair mixed into his light brown hair and his clothes looked quite baggy on him. Mia knew she hadn't met him before, but still, there was something familiar about him. They were arguing heatedly and although Mia couldn't hear them she knew they were talking about her as the wizard kept gesturing towards the shop.

Suddenly Mr. Ollivander cried out with excitement, Mia looked back to see she was holding a long wand that was a faint red color. "Yes, yes I have found it. Should have know, so much like your father you are. It is 12 and one half inches inches Redwood with a dragon scale core. Very powerful that wand is. Most dragon wands use a heart string but occasionally one will contain a scale. Much more powerful and only suitable for a strong witch or wizard. Yes, very powerful indeed. Use it well, use it well." Mr. Ollivander boxed her wand back up for her, and she paid him and quickly left the store in hopes of catching part of Professor McGonagall's argument with the familiar looking wizard.

"It's my rite Minerva!" The wizard stopped talking the moment Mia stepped out of the shop into the street. Mia walked up to them as they tried to pretend they hadn't been arguing.

"Ah Miss Amelia, did you get a suitable wand?" Professor McGonagall looked flustered but managed to pull off a cool look.

"Yes Professor, I did thank you." Mia looked up at the new wizard hoping for an introduction and saw the most peculiar look on his face as he looked back at her. His face was covered in thin scratch like scars and his eyes looked tired but there was something hidden behind the apparent exhaustion. Sadness and longing was there as well, but through all the mixed emotions there was also a look of hope, and something else Mia had only ever seen in a dream and couldn't quite remember. A sudden silence passed between the group, but it wasn't an awkward silence, it was as if the young witch and the tired wizard were absorbing each other's presence. This was broken by Professor McGonagall.

"Um, Miss Amelia, this is Professor Lupin. He is an old student of mine. Lupin, this is one of my new first year students who I have been taking shopping for her school supplies."

"You're a Professor? Do you teach at Hogwarts Professor Lupin?" Mia spoke quickly wanting to get as much information out of this familiar man as she could before Professor McGonagall managed to end the conversation and take her away.

"Oh, sadly no Miss Black, I don't teach at Hogwarts, although it is my dream to one day." Professor McGonagall tightened her grip on Mia's trunk and prepared to walk away.

"Yes well, hopefully one day you will get that opportunity, though of course that decision will be left up to Professor Dumbledore. Well if you will excuse us Professor, I should be taking Miss Amelia back home shortly. Good day." Professor McGonagall had one hand on the trunk and her other hand wrapped around Mia's hand and turned back around half dragging Mia down the alley towards the Leaky Cauldron. Mia almost tripped a few times as she kept looking back over her shoulder at the tired wizard standing in the street, un moving, watching her being led away. Mia knew it wasn't even worth asking Professor McGonagall about the strange Professor, she knew she wouldn't tell her anything, and would deny any argument having been about her. But Mia knew it was about her, it just had to have been. For starters the Professor had looked so familiar, but Mia just couldn't figure out why. And also, if they hadn't been talking about her, then why did the wizard know her last name was Black? Professor McGonagall had only referred to her by her first name. And sure the wand maker had known her name, but this was different. She just knew it.

Remus Lupin just stood in the street as he watched his whole world being taken away from him for the second time in his life. He had to do something. He had sworn to protect her and just watching from the sidelines and sending the occasional hover charm when she fell out of trees wasn't enough. As the beautiful young girl was led away he noticed the familiar blue ribbon tying up her hair and he smiled. He kept standing there until they had turned a corner and he could no longer see any traces of his God Daughter. Finally after taking a deep breath he had decided. He would go see Dumbledore and ask the old man to help him. With that he turned on the spot and with a loud CRACK was gone.

AN: I hope you liked it! Lupin is one of my favorite characters in the books. Next up is a little more Lupin face time and Mia's birthday.

Please leave a review, they make my heart beat.