The Australian Way
Disclaimer:- I do not own Harry Potter and related stuffs, they belong to whoever they belong to and that's not me. I swear it isn't me.
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Rubbing my eyes, I quickly remembered that I was on a train to my boarding school. Hogwarts… has a kind of mystical ring to it… or you could just be reminded of a warty pig.
"So you're awake," a voice said. It was Kleio.
"Yeah," I said, sitting up. "What's the time?"
"Three hours 'til midday."
"I really slept in," I said to her.
"No one else is awake," Kleio said. "But we'll be in London soon. I think we're somewhere above Egypt at the moment."
"Great," I said, getting out of bed, taking my clothes and wandering into the connected bathroom.
Feeling refreshed after a shower, I was surprised to see the other three dressed and ready to go. Magic would take some getting used to. At least I wouldn't be the only muggle born in Hogwarts.
"Ooh look, you can see England!" Kalos exclaimed. I wandered over but the other two weren't interested. They were too busy discussing music and poring over magazines. I'd found them interesting the night before but this morning, they were old news.
England lay before me like a map… in a way, it was a map. The most detailed map I'd ever see in my life. It had amazed me when we'd flown over the Northern Territory how red the soil actually was. There's almost no water or clouds there, that's why it was really clear. I've always heard that it always rains in England. I guess that since it was summer, there would be rain less often.
"That's pretty cool," I said more to myself than to Kalos.
"It is, isn't it," Kalos remarked.
*We will be arriving in Diagon Alley shortly. Please make sure all belongings are stored in your luggage*
The intercom system was quite strange. It was like there was a voice inside your head talking to only you.
"You better make sure all your stuff's in your trunk, Jen," Kalos said. "My brother said that if anything's left behind, you'll never see it again."
I packed my pajamas and toiletries back into my trunk and was all set. Soon, I felt the train lurch as it came to a stop. It seemed even wizards didn't know how to control inertia.
*Diagon Alley*
The four of us stepped out into the station with our backpacks on backs. We'd left our trunks on the train because they'd be taken to our rooms separately.
"I haven't been here in years," Kinara said. "It's really changed."
"Everybody, everybody over here!" A tall witch called us over the crowd of around 200 students. The crowd hushed and the woman spoke. "As some of the older students know, we will be spending a week here in Diagon Alley before you all catch the school train to Hogwarts with the rest of the students. Here, you must purchase your uniforms and other important school items before leaving at the end of the week. The rest of your time may be spent shopping and getting to know the people. I want you all to leave here with a fair dinkum British accent."
Some people laughed at her usage of Aussie slang. They took it that her speech was ended and the students split off into different directions.
"First years over here!" this time a different voice called, likely for a different purpose. I looked around as worried faces breathed sighs of relief and wandered toward the voice. A man with hazel eyes, reddish-brown hair and a smile was waving his arms waiting for the last of the eleven-year-olds to join him.
"For some of you," he began. "This will be your first visit to London. Or at least, your first visit to Diagon Alley. I'm offering you a tour, but if you'd rather wander around by yourselves, that's fine."
Kinara and Kleio shared a look. Kinara may not have been recently but she and the other two had been to Diagon Alley before and they didn't appear too keen on spending an hour on a tour.
"Let's go," Kinara whispered.
"I want to stay," I said.
"So do I," Kalos said. "I think it'd be fun."
"Well, I'd rather not," Kleio said.
"Okay," Kinara said. "Kleio and I will meet you at Florean Fortescue's in an hour."
"Sure thing," I said, not knowing what Florean Fortescue's was.
The group left and Kalos and I went with them. I managed to get a good look around Diagon Alley with Kalos. She'd been here before but wanted to come just to make sure she remembered everything. Kalos had also managed to wind up at Knockturn Alley once and she didn't want that to ever happen again.
When the man who introduced himself as Phillip got too boring, Kalos started her own commentary.
"This is Eeylops' Owl Emporium. They sell owls as you can probably tell."
"Owls fried, baked or boiled. Anyway you like them," Kalos added.
It was fun. And after that, we had the best ice cream I'd ever tasted. There are good and bad points to being a witch. Ice cream is one of the good things.
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a/n: good? Bad? Terrible? Review if you must.