Author's Note: only content I own are my OCs. any constructive criticism is welcome. thanks for reading

Shopping

Diagon Alley looks even more overwhelming than that Professor described, I think McGonagall was her name. I can feel the energy in the air around us. It fills me with anticipation for what we'll see here. While all Diagon Alley was captivating, what stood out most was the tall, white and gold building labelled 'Gringotts'. Professor McGonagall warned us that the goblins (Goblins?!) were not to be trifled with, but they don't seem that bad to me, especially after I greeted the one at the door with a smile. McGonagall took us up to one of the tellers to open a vault.

"Hello, we're here to open a vault for Miss Tremaine and her brother and convert muggle money into galleons." McGonagall spoke respectfully and bluntly, I guess that's how the goblins preferred to be treated because the teller did what I assume was a smile saying that it would be done right away. After we left Gringotts, we headed to Flourish and Blotts' to get our schoolbooks such as The Standard Book Of Spells, A Beginner's Guide To Transfiguration, and Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them. Honestly, the last one sounded the most interesting to me, but my brother was captivated by the Potions textbook. We went to so many different shops to get robes, and a cauldron, anddragon-hide gloves (Dragons are real?), and a million other strange items that were supposedly "essential".

Finally, it came time to get our wands, freaking wands! Ollivander's looked old from the outside but the inside more cluttered than old looking.

"Ah, the… Tremaine siblings, yes?" I jumped at the voice coming from behind the counter.

"Um… yes sir," I respond hesitantly. How did this guy know who we were?

"Excellent!" He popped up from behind the counter, "Which is your wand arm?"

Apparently, I'm going first, "I'm right-handed, sir." A flying tape measure starts measuring my forearm, then my wrist, then my fingers, then my shoulders, then my neck, then- "Okay I get it!" I swat at the tape measure.

"Oh, a temper! Interesting…" Mr. Ollivander chuckles at my irritation. "How about this one?" He holds out a sleek black wand to me. I hover my hand over it, but he immediately snatches it back "Hmm, no not that one. How about… this?" This time it's a twisted red wand. A lamp breaks when I grab it, so I promptly give it back to Mr. Ollivander. We go through at least 20 other wands before he finally walks towards a dusty shelf while saying, "I wonder…" When he comes back, he's holding a box that he swiftly opens to uncover a beautiful, brown with red undertones, smooth wand with designs carved along the handle. I know that it'll be mine before I even touch it. A wave of warmth washes over me when I gingerly take it from the box, golden sparks appearing when I wave it.

"13-inch, surprisingly swishy, cedar wood, and dragon heartstring. I harvested the core myself from a magnificent old male who had much the same temperament as you." I barely listened to his words because of the feeling still coursing through my body from holding my wand for the first time. Shawn's wand was found much quicker than mine, but I was still so entranced by the energy coming off my wand, I didn't hear what his wand is made of.

"Alright, it's time for you two to go home now, unless you want to stop by the Magical Menagerie." McGonagall's voice brings me back to my senses.

"What's a Magical Menagerie?" Shawn voices the question I was thinking.

"It's a pet shop of sorts." McGonagall obviously doesn't like that description, but it was enough to pique my interest.

"Can we please go there?" I ask eagerly.

"Yes, I suppose we can." McGonagall seems like a no-nonsense lady, so I'm surprised she acquiesced to my request, even if she was the one to bring it up in the first place. I practically vibrate in place while we walk to the shop. When we exit, I am one ferret heavier, and my brother chose a more practical pet in the form of an owl. When McGonagall asked why I wanted a ferret of all things, my response was immediate.

"It's a common emotional support animal in the muggle world, AND it's travel sized. Not to mention it's even smarter because it's a magical ferret." I stroke his neck as he settles on my shoulders. "I think I'll name him… Cosmo."

"And I'm naming my owl Steve!" Shawn cuts in.

"Steve? Really?" I sputter, "You're going to subject this poor owl to such a name?"

"Yup." Wow, no hesitation.

"Alright fine, it's your funeral."

"Now children, it is time to return to your home until September 1st." McGonagall interrupts before Shawn can shoot back a response. We groan and try to stay longer, but we were both exhausted from the day's activities, so we didn't complain much.

"Today's the day," I wake Shawn up on September 1st with a pep in my step. "Today we go to, wait for it, Hogwarts!"

"Ugh," Shawn tries to cover his face with his pillow, but I move it out of the way. "What time is it?"

"Only eight am." I say nonchalantly before dodging his arm.

"UGH, get out!" He swats at me and throws pillows as I back out the door.

"Make sure you have all of your stuff!" I yell before slamming the door closed. I laugh as I race down the hallway back to my room. "Hey Cosmo, you ready to go to our new home?" I ask my ferret softly. He chitters back at me, "I'll take that as a yes."

The time flies by as Shawn and I rush through breakfast and hugging our parents goodbye until finally, Shawn and I are standing in between platforms nine and ten at King's Cross Station.

"Okay so that weird lady said to just walk through this wall, right?" Shawn asks me quietly.

"That weird lady will be our professor in a few hours, but yes, that's what she told us." I say before making a break for the wall, "Last one in is a rotten egg!"

"Hey not fair!" Shawn shouts after me, "You got a headstart!"

We laugh as we make our way past all the families and onto the train. We pass many full compartments until we come across one with only one occupant. The girl has long, bushy hair and a book in her lap. I knock on the compartment door before opening it.

"Hello, do you mind if we sit here with you?" The girl startles from her reading before giving us a small smile.

"Sure, I'm Hermione Granger." She holds out a hand for me to shake.

"Aria Tremaine." I shake her hand loosely, why does everyone always insist that grabbing each other's hands is an appropriate greeting? I let go of her hand quickly to gesture behind me, "And this is my brother Shawn."

"A pleasure to meet you both," She seems anything but pleased, but I guess it's the thought that counts. "If you don't mind, I'm going to continue reading my book."

"Of course, go ahead." I answer for both of us before sitting down across from her. I reach to grab my own book out of my bag, instead Cosmo crawls up my arm and neck to peer at Hermione. "Hey Cosmo, that's Hermione, please don't climb her," I mutter to Hermione surprise and Shawn's amusement.

"Excuse me?" She asks before spotting the ferret around my neck. "Is he even allowed?"

"Considering McGonagall was there when I bought him, I would assume so." I answer curtly.

"Okay then," She responds before slowly turning back to her book. I reach into my bag again to grab Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, my favorite of all the books I've read since we went to Diagon Alley. Cosmo settles on my shoulders as I re-read the book for the fifth time, what? I'm a fast reader. By the time I finish my book, Shawn's asleep against my side and Hermione is onto a different book than the one she had before. I decide to at least try to make friends.

"So, Hermione." I start, making sure she looks up before continuing, "What house do you think you'll be in?"

"Probably Ravenclaw," She looks surprised at the question, but answers anyway, "How about you?"

"Honestly? Slytherin." Her eyes narrow so I quickly continue, "I know they have a bad rep, but I think the traits fit me, even if I am a muggleborn. And my brother will probably end up in Ravenclaw."

"Really? What subject looks the most interesting to you?" She's placated by the news that I am a muggleborn, so I assume she is one too.

"Either Transfiguration or Care of Magical Creatures. I've always loved animals, but Transfiguration just seems so fascinating!" I excitedly tell her.

"I'm looking forward to Transfiguration, too!" She looks just as excited to talk about Transfiguration as I am about Care of Magical Creatures. Our conversation continues through the rest of the train ride ranging from our muggle schooling to what's the weirdest thing we've heard or seen in the Wizarding World so far. A prefect interrupts us to instruct us to put on our school robes. I shake with excitement at the knowledge we're almost at Hogwarts.