Chapter 27: Diagon Alley

It was a relief to have the day off the following day. After the emotional roller coaster of the previous day, all I wanted was just to relax and collect myself in preparation for my Friday classes, which would include the seventh years as well as seeing Alex again. The house elves kept my quarters well stocked with various kinds of food, so there was no need to venture down to the Great Hall for my meals, and I had a stack of papers to grade for my sixth-year class on the topic of vaccinations.

Around midafternoon, there was a knock at my door and I startled just a little bit as I tried to imagine who it could be. What if it was Alex, come to revisit what had almost happened last night? And if it was Alex, how were we supposed to act around each other? The moment had been lost as soon as Mr. Clarke had interrupted, which left us in an awkward position now of having almost kissed, but also having not done it. Was I supposed to take the initiative now, or was he? Were we supposed to acknowledge what had almost happened, or pretend it hadn't?

Thankfully, I didn't have to worry about any of that at the moment, because the person on their other side of the door wasn't Alex, but Skye.

"Hey," I said, letting her in. "I wasn't expecting to see you today."

"I actually came to say the opposite," Skye returned. "You weren't at breakfast or lunch."

"It's my day off," I shrugged.

"Yeah, but you're usually still out and about on Thursdays," Skye reminded me.

She was right. Even though I didn't have to be anywhere specific on Thursdays, I usually still took my meals in the Great Hall and spent time with my friends throughout the castle.

"I just needed a day to myself," I replied evasively.

"Because of Tessa and Hannah?" Skye asked directly. She'd never been one for subtlety. "Alex told me all about it."

"What else did he tell you?" I asked warily.

Skye frowned. "Just that you overheard them talking in the teacher's lounge and that you were upset by some of the things they said. Was there something else?"

"No, of course not," I shook my head, pushing thoughts of last night from my mind. If I was thinking about it, Skye would pick up on it. "Anyway, it's not a big deal. I'm over it."

"Is that why you're hiding our in your rooms?" Skye asked, raising an eyebrow.

I sighed. "I'm not hiding," I insisted. "I'm just… relaxing."

"Well you're done relaxing for the day," Skye declared with a very noticeable change of tone. "Because we are going out on an errand."

The change of pace caught me off guard. "An errand?" I asked, wondering why Skye needed me. "You mean in Hogsmeade?"

"Not today," Skye informed me. "This errand requires a trip into the city."

"To London?" I said in surprise.

"Diagon Alley," Skye clarified. "It's the wizarding district. I have a quick meeting with a few quidditch scouts to discuss the possibility of having them come to a few matches this year."

"Why do you need me for a meeting with quidditch scouts?" I asked in confusion. It seemed like the kind of meeting Skye could handle on her own.

"I don't," she admitted. "But once the meeting is over, it'll just be you and me, out on the town."

"I don't know," I said hesitantly. I'd never been much of a partier, but Skye seemed really excited about taking me out. "I have to supervise breakfast in the morning."

"Don't worry, I'll have you back in plenty of time," Skye assured me. "Come on, please? Cam and Alex never want to go out with me. Besides, you look like you need to get out of this place for a bit."

Skye did have a point. The castle walls were starting to become a bit stifling, and as much as I liked it here, a change of scenery would do me good. Hogsmeade village was fine now and then, but I missed the busier atmosphere of being in the city.

"Alright," I agreed. "Let's go."

We had to walk down to Hogsmeade village first. Skye said it had something to do with the anti-apparition wards around Hogwarts. Since she was the one that knew how to teleport, I didn't question it and instead just walked with her until she deemed us far enough away. Then, at her request, I grabbed her arm and for the second time was sucked into a void where I was tossed and turned and compressed and stretched until I was finally spat out, still holding onto Skye, landing in some sort of restaurant or pub.

"Does it feel the same for you?" I wondered curiously as I regained my bearings. I hadn't actually fallen over this time, for which I was grateful, but I still felt like I might throw up at any given moment.

"I don't know," Skye replied. "What does it feel like for you?"

I considered for a moment. "Kind of like I've been tossed in a blender or a food processor, except that instead of blades cutting me up, I'm just being bounced around," I surmised.

Skye shrugged. "Yeah that sounds about right," she nodded.

I looked at her aghast. "And yet you still do it regularly?"

I didn't care how convenient this teleporting thing was, but I couldn't imagine travelling like that all the time.

"You get used to it," Skye assured me. "You'll see."

I decided not to comment on the implication that I'd be apparating more often in the future and instead attempted to properly take in my surroundings. The pub we were in wasn't too busy, but then again it was still mid-afternoon. The staff looked like they were gearing up for the dinner rush. The bartender was folding napkins on the side of the bar and a waitress was going around and cleaning the salt and pepper shakers on all the tables.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"It's called the Leaky Cauldron," Skye replied. "We'll be meeting those quidditch scouts here, but that won't be for a few hours yet."

"Why are we so early?" I wondered.

Skye smirked. "So, I can show you around, of course."

She led me towards a back room. I asked if we had permission to be back here, but she assured me that we did. The room was small and didn't have anything in it besides a couple of barrels in the corner. I was confused at first, but then Skye tapped her wand against the bricks of the wall opposite us, and the wall suddenly began to open up, the bricks peeling back and revealing a bustling street filled with noise and activity.

"Diagon Alley," Skye said almost proudly, a smile plastered across her face. "If you thought you'd seen true magic at Hogwarts, you were wrong. Get ready to be wowed."

The alley was like nothing I'd ever experienced. Numerous shops lined the street with fantastic window displays, and travelling vendors were scattered throughout the pedestrian walkway, selling various things and calling out, trying to get the attention of passing shoppers. Music was playing, but I couldn't figure out where it was coming from. It didn't seem to have a source, but rather it felt like it was just surrounding us on all sides. Owls swooped overhead, flying in all different directions, and the whole atmosphere was very whimsical and fun.

We passed many colorful shops. There was a sweet shop and a joke shop, both of which were the most brightly decorated in the alley. There was a pet shop from which all sorts of noises were coming. There were numerous bookshops and broom shops and potion shops and all sorts of other shops I couldn't even identify.

I eventually dragged Skye into a shop called Amanuensis' Quill Shop, drawn in by the beautifully displayed quills in the window display. Though I refused to let my students use quills in my class, instead insisting that they use pens and pencils as the muggles did, there was a certain allure about these quills that had drawn my attention. They must have been expensive quills, because inside the store they were all displayed in glass display cases. Many of them were brightly colored and it was to one deep purple quill that I was drawn.

"It almost looks real," I said, marvelling at the impressive dye job they must have done on it. "I can barely tell what it originally looked like."

"It is real," Skye informed me. "That's to say, it came in that color. That's a fwooper quill."

"Fwooper?" I frowned.

"It's an exotic magical bird," Skye informed me. "Their feathers make really good quills though. You should buy it if you like it that much."

"I don't have any wizarding money," I said, my shoulders sagging. I'd never made it to the currency exchange place in Hogsmeade that one time, and hadn't had a reason to spend money since then.

"You can exchange your money at Gringotts," Skye offered. "Here, I'll spot you the galleons and you can pay me back once your money's been exchanged."

I had no idea how much the quill would cost comparatively in currency that I understood, but I knew that it had to be expensive if it was being kept in a display case. Then again, it wasn't as though I'd been spending the money, I'd been earning on anything recently, so I had quite a bit of it. I decided to splurge. The fwooper quill would look really nice on my desk, and purple was my favorite color.

We went by Gringotts next, so that if there were any more purchases I wanted to make, I could use my own funds. The bank was intimidating to say the least. The goblins, as Skye informed me the creatures that ran it were, all looked at me with a look that made me feel very much like they didn't want me there.

"Don't pay them any attention," Skye muttered. "They don't even like wizards that much."

Thankfully, it was a witch and not a goblin at the exchange counter, and she was very used to dealing with muggles, as she had to handle all exchanges for the parents of muggle-born children. She very kindly helped me to understand the difference between the bronze, silver, and gold pieces as well as the comparative values in the currency I was familiar with. I realized then that the fwooper quill had been a lot more expensive than I'd thought it was and though I paid Skye back in full, I was also conscious that I had to be careful with the money I had left. I'd just spent fifty pounds on a pretty purple writing feather that I wasn't even planning on writing with.

"Come on," Skye said when we were finished at Gringotts. "There's so much more to see."

We visited the sweet shop, and I bought a couple of chocolate frogs for myself to hold onto until I had one of my intense chocolate cravings. They were cheaper here than in Hogsmeade and so I bought a few more than I normally would have. We went to the Magical Menagerie, and Skye showed me all sorts of wizarding creatures like kneazles and streelers, fire crabs and puffskeins.

When we got to the crup puppies, I felt myself melt as I looked into their adorable eyes. I asked the shopkeeper if I could hold one, but Skye cautioned me that it would be a bad idea. Apparently crups could be rather ferocious towards muggles, and these cruppies were too young to behave themselves around me. Instead, the shopkeeper let me hold a puffskein. It was soft and cuddly and burrowed right into the crook of my elbow and I nuzzled its little face happily.

After the magical menagerie, we stopped by a shop called Broomstix that specialized in selling brooms, and Skye spent a good twenty minutes drooling over the new Silver Bullet, which was supposedly the newest model of racing broom. Since Hogwarts received its brooms as second-hand donations from various alums, Skye had no good reason to purchase one and eventually we made our way out of the shop.

We visited a few more shops and then as suppertime came upon us, Skye led us back through the alley towards The Leaky Cauldron once more to meet up with the quidditch scouts with whom she had a meeting scheduled.