-Author's Note:
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"This is it," said Dumbeldore, coming to a halt outside the teleportal box.
"The Leaky Cauldron, It's a famous place."
It was a tiny, grubby-looking pub. If Dumbeldore hadn't pointed it out, Neither Brianna nor Hermione wouldn't have noticed it was there.
They were standing on a busy street full of muggle shops. There were near the gateway that seperated the Muggle shopping district from the magical shopping district of London.
Next to the leaky cauldron was a stone archway that led to the magical shopping district.
The main street in the shopping district was Diagon Alley, it was long and winding with a variety of streets, lanes and alleyways leading off it.
Epicurean Street for example was full of different cafes, restraints, pubs, bars, tea shops and other small establishments selling food and drink for a variety of cuisines. Finance Way which housed lawyers, entrepreneurs, businesses dealing with imports and exports, financial investors, etc. Also, The Olde Way which is where you find what you need to perform traditional rituals and ceremonies. Diversion Ave where night clubs, bars, dance halls, cinemas, arcades, and other forms of entertainment could be found.
There were dozens of streets sprawled across miles, some eclectic and others specialised.
Hermione and Brianna looked at each other as they walked towards the archways. Both wore curious, excited looks.
"Have you still got your letters, Brianna, Hermione?' Dumbeldore asked as he paused at the atcheway.
Brianna took the parchment envelope out of her pocket, Hermione also held her envelope out for him to see.
"Good, good," said Dumbeldore. "There's a list inside of everything that you need for the year ahead"
Brianna unfolded a second piece of paper she hadn't noticed before and read:
HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY
Uniform
First-year students will require:
1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)
2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear
3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
4. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)
Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags
Set Books
All students should have a copy of each of the following:
The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk
A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot
Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling
A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore
Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble
Other Equipment
1 wand
1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)
1 set glass or crystal phials
1 telescope
1 set brass scales
Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad
PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST-YEARS ARE NOT
ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS
"Can we buy all this here?" Brianna wondered aloud.
"Certainly you can, if you know where to go," said Dumbeldore with a soft smile.
They walked through the archway on to a cobbled street which twisted and turned out of sight.
"Welcome" said Dumbeldore, "to Diagon Alley."
He grinned at Brianna's amazement, and smiled briefly at Hermione's excitement.
The sun shone brightly on a stack of cauldrons outside the nearest shop. Cauldrons – All Sizes – Copper, Brass, Pewter, Silver –Self-Stirring – Collapsible said a sign hanging over them.
"Yeah, you'll be needing' one," said Dumbeldore, "but we gotta get your money first."
Brianna wished she had about eight more eyes, as she turned her head in every direction as they walked up the street, trying to look at everything at once: the shops, the things outside them, the people doing their shopping. A plump woman outside an apothecary's was shaking her head as they passed, saying,
'Dragon liver, sixteen Sickles an ounce, they're mad …'
A low, soft hooting came from a dark shop with a sign saying Eeylops Owl Emporium – Tawny, Screech, Barn, Brown and Snowy.
Several boys of about Brianna's age had their noses pressed against a window with broomsticks in it.
'Look,' Brianna heard one of them say,
'the new Nimbus Two Thousand – fastest ever
–'
There were shops selling robes, shops selling telescopes and strange silver instruments Brianna had never seen before, windows stacked with barrels of bat spleens and eels' eyes, tottering piles of spell books, quills and rolls of parchment, potion bottles, globes of the moon …
"Gringotts" said Dumbeldore suddenly, breaking Brianna's train of thought.
They had reached a snowy-white building which towered over the other little shops. Standing beside its burnished bronze doors, wearing a uniform of scarlet and gold, was…
"That is a goblin, please don't stare Brianna it would be considered very rude" said Hagrid quietly as they walked up the white stone steps towards him. The goblin was about a head
shorter than Briqnnq.
He had a swarthy, clever face, a pointed beard and, Brianna noticed, very long fingers and feet. He bowed as they walked inside. Now they were facing a second pair of doors, silver this time, with words engraved upon them:
Enter, stranger, but take heed
Of what awaits the sin of greed,
For those who take, but do not earn,
Must pay most dearly in their turn,
So if you seek beneath our floors
A treasure that was never yours,
Thief, you have been warned, beware
Of finding more than treasure there.
'You would be insane to try and rob Gringotts, the goblins are immensely proud of the precautions they take. They would not take kindly to anyone trying to take a treasure which was not theirs. The only place that is considered safer than this bank would be Hogwarts' said Dumbeldore warningly.
A pair of goblins bowed them through the silver doors and they were in a vast marble hall. About a hundred more goblins were sitting on high stools behind a long counter, scribbling in large ledgers, weighing coins on brass scales, examining precious stones through eyeglasses. There were too many doors to count leading off the hall, and yet more goblins were showing people in and out of these.
Dumbeldore, Brianna and Hermione made for the counter.
"Good morning" said Dumbeldore to a free goblin. "We've come to take some money out of Miss Brianna Potter's safe."
"Do you have her key, Professor Dumbeldore sir?"
"I have it right here" said Dumbeldore and pulled out a small leather pouch from a pocket in his robes. He opened it slowly and then removed a tiny golden key. The goblin looked at it closely.
"That seems to be in order."
'Also I would like to visit vault seven hundred and thirteen. I am here to remove the contents within" The goblin looked at Professor Dumbeldore carefully.
"Very well," he said, handing the key back to Dumbledore, who indicated that Brianna should take it.
"I will have someone take you down to both vaults. Griphook!"
Griphook was yet another goblin. Once Brianna had placed the key into one of her pockets, she, Dumbeldore and Hermione followed Griphook towards one of the doors leading off the hall.
"What's inside vault seven hundred and thirteen?" Brianna asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. Hermione dug her elbow into Brianna's ribs, Brianna glared at Hermione as she rubbed her ribcage.
"I'm afraid I can not tell yeh that," said Dumbeldore politely, but with a note of mystery. "It's top secret. Hogwarts business."
Griphook held the door open for them. Brianna, who had expected more marble, was surprised. They were in a narrow stone passageway lit with flaming torches. It sloped steeply downwards and there were little railway tracks on the floor. Griphook whistled and a small cart came hurtling up the tracks towards them. They climbed in.
Hermione with some difficulty, she was trembling slightly, Dumbeldore smiled reassuringly at her. and were off.
At first they just hurtled through a maze of twisting passages. Brianna tried to remember, left, right, right, left, middle fork, right, left, but it was impossible. The rattling cart seemed to know its own way, because Griphook wasn't steering.
Brianna's eyes stung as the cold air rushed past them, but she kept them wide open. Once, she thought she saw a burst of fire at the end of a passage and twisted around to see if it was a dragon, but too late – they plunged even deeper, passing an underground lake where huge stalactites and stalagmites grew from the ceiling and floor.
"I've never known which were stalactites and which were stalagmites" Harry called to Dumbeldore and Hermione over the noise of the cart.
"Don't you dare ask me questions right now" snapped Hermione irritably "not just now I honestly think I'm gonna be sick." She did look very green and when the cart stopped at last
beside a small door in the passage wall, Hermione got out and had to lean against the wall to stop her knees trembling.
"To answer your question, stalactites grow down from the cave ceiling, while stalagmites grow up from the cave floor. It's easy to remember which is which: Stalactites have a "T" for top and stalagmites have a "G" for ground." Professor Dumbledoee said to Brianna, as he helped her out of the cart.
Griphook unlocked the door. A lot of green smoke came billowing out, and as it cleared, Brianna gasped. Inside were mounds of gold coins. Columns of silver. Heaps of little bronze Knuts.
"All yours," smiled Dumbeldore, Brianna smiled back at him and then frowned as she noticed the look of greed filling Hermione's face.
Brianna turned to her vault and stared in amazement. All this was her, all this money was Brianna's. It was incredible. For years her adoptive parents had struggled with financial problems, for years Brianna had been teased for having shabby clothing from second hand shops, for years she had been forced to go without treats, their had either been times when he adorpivebpwrents had gone without meals to ensure she was warm and fed.
The Fairdales, her adoptive Aunt and Uncle had often complained how much Brianna cost them to keep? And all the time there had been a small fortune belonging to her, buried deep under London in a magical, enchanted realm.
Dumbledore helped Brianna pile some of it into a bag, while Hermione and Griphook waited outside, Griphook had chased Hermione out of the vault after snarling at her sharply and slapped her hand when Hermione had attempted to pocket some of the gold galleons.
"As I'm sure you are aware Brianna'' Dumbeldore explained as they filled the small bag "the gold ones are galleons, and there are seventeen silver sickles to a galleon and twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle, it's easy enough"
"That should be enough, right?" Brianna asked once the small bag was over halfway full.
"Yes that should be enough for a couple of terms" replied Dumbeldore
"We'll keep the rest safe for you" assured Griphook.
Dumbeldore turned to Griphook. "Vault seven
hundred and thirteen now, please"
"And can we go more slowly?' Henrione snapped shrilly.
"One speed only," said Griphook with a suspiciously smug smile as Hermione groaned.
They were going even deeper now and gathering speed. The air became colder and colder as they hurtled round tight corners. They went rattling over an underground ravine and Brianna leant over the side to try and see what was down at the dark bottom but Dumbeldore groaned and pulled her back by the scruff of her neck. He gave Brianna a disapproving look.
Vault seven hundred and thirteen had no keyhole.
"Stand back," Griphook said importantly. He stroked the door gently with one of his long fingers and it simply melted away.
"If anyone but a Gringotts goblin tried that, they'd be sucked through the door and trapped in there," said Griphook.
"How often do you check to see if anyone's inside?" Brianna asked.
"About once every ten years," said Griphook, with a rather nasty grin. Brianna and Hermione shared a horrified look.
Then Brianna turned her attention back to the vault, she was extremely curious. Something really extraordinary had to be inside this top-
security vault, Brianna was sure, and she leant forward eagerly, expecting to see fabulous jewels at the very least – but at first she thought it was empty. Then she noticed a grubby little package wrapped up in brown paper lying on the floor.
Dumbeldore picked it up and tucked it away in the inside pocket of his cloak. Brianna longed to know what it was, but knew better than to ask.
"Come on, back into the cart, and please try to stay inside the cart this time," said Dumbeldore.
One wild cart-ride later they stood blinking in the sunlight outside Gringotts. Brianna didn't know where to run first now that he had a bag full of money. Brianna didn't have to know how many Galleons there were to a pound to know that she was holding more money than she'd had in her whole life – more money than even Victoria had ever had.
"It might be best to get your uniform first. It will take the longest after all." said Dumbeldore, nodding towards Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions.
Brianna entered Madam Malkin's shop behind Hermione and Dumbledore, feeling nervous.
Madam Malkin was a squat, smiling witch dressed all in mauve.
"Hello Professor Dumbleodr, I see you have some new students with you. I'm guessing it's your first year at Hogwarts" Madam Malkin said smiling as they walked in, " am I right dears? I can take one of you now, the other will have to wait. My assistant is just finishing up with a young man"
Dumbleodre nodded towards Briqnnq, indicating that she should go first. Hermione scowled slightly and then walked off to look at the casual witches robes that were designed to go over the top of more modern clothing, like cloaks.
In the back of the shop, a boy with a pale, pointed face was standing on a footstool while a second witch, madam Malkin's assistant, pinned up his long black robe, and the hems and cuffs of his school uniform. Madam Malkin stood Brianna on a stool next to him, and slipped a long robe over her arms head and began to pin it to the right length.
"Hello" said the boy, "Hogwarts too?"
"Yes," said Brianna
"My father's next door buying my books and Mother's up the street looking at wands," said the boy. He had a bored, drawling voice. "Then I'm going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don't see why first-years can't have their own. I think I'll bully Father into getting me one and I'll smuggle it in somehow."
Brianna was strongly reminded of both Victoria and Hermione.
"Have you got your own broom?" the boy went on.
"No," said Brianna
"Play Quidditch at all?"
"No," Brianna said again, wondering what on earth Quidditch could be. She would have to ask Hermione at some point.
"I do – Father says it's a crime if I'm not picked to play for my house, and I must say, I agree. Know what house you'll be in yet?"
"No" said Brianna, feeling more stupid by the minute.
"Well, no one really knows until they get there, do they, but I know I'll be in Slytherin, all our family have been – imagine being in Hufflepuff, I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?"
Brianna did not say anything. She did not have a clue what this boy was talking about.
"I say, look it's Dumbeldore!" said the boy suddenly, nodding towards the opening which led to the front part of the shop. Dumbeldore was standing there, watching them with a strange, almost worried look on his face.
"Yes, he brought me and my cousin here?" Said Brianna, she was liking the boy less and less.
"Oh," said the boy,
"Why is he with you? Where are your parents?" Asked the boy a sneer settling into his pale face
"My parents are dead, and my cousin Hermione is a changeling like my mother was" said Brianna shortly. She didn't feel much like talking about this with the boy.
"h, sorry about your parents and your family,'' said the other, not sounding sorry at all. "But what about your father, what was his blood status"
"He was a pureblood" said Brianna in a matter of fact way, she was resisting the urge to punch the snide, sneering boy.
"So he was nothing more than a blood traitor"
Before Briannq could answer, Madam Malkin's assistant said,
"That's you done, my dear," and Briannq, not sorry for an excuse to stop talking to the boy, watched as he hopped down from the footstool.
"Well, I'll see you at Hogwarts, I suppose," said the drawling boy. He sneered at Hermione as they passed each other and flounced out of the shop.
Brianna was rather quiet as she stood on the footstool, Hermione next to her and the two adult witches working around them.
"Everything alright Brianna?" Dumbeldore asked as he sank himself into a comfortable armchair..
"Oh yes" Brianna lied.
A short while later they paid for their robes and left the shop.
They stopped to buy parchment and quills. Brianna cheered up a bit when she found a bottle of ink that changed colour as you wrote. When they had left the shop, she turned to Dumbeldore and said in a soft, shy voice.
"Um Professor Dumbeldore, sir, what's Quidditch?"
"It's the most popular sport in the magical realm" Dumbeldore replied
"Everyone know what Quidditch is" Hermione said in a smug condescending voice
"Don't make me feel worse," said Brianna. She told Dumbeldore and Hermione about the pale boy in Madam Malkin's.
"If he'd known who you were Brianna, he'd have grown up knowing' your name' if his parents are magical folk, if he had known who you were he would have fawned over you" said Hermione her bossy know it all voice.
"Brianna some of the best witches and wizards I have ever taught were Changelings. If we had not integrated with muggles we would have died out" Dumbeldore said, "Look at your mother, she was the first magical born in her family for who know how many generations and she was an exceptionally gifted and talented witch"
"So what type of sport is Quidditch?"
"It's our sport, everyone follows Quidditch. It's played up in the air on broomsticks and there's four balls – sorta hard to explain the rules.' really"
"And what are Slytherin and Hufflepuff?"
" They are two of the four school houses at Hogwarts. The others are Ravenclaw and Gryffindor. Your parents were in gryffindor" Dumbeldore spoke softly and patiently.
"Really"said Hermione excitedly.
"The only house I would hate being placed in is Slytherin," said Hermione arkly. "There's not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin. You-Know-Who was one." Said Hermione in a harsh snotty voice.
"Voldemort was at Hogwarts?" gasped Brianna in surprise
"He was a student there, yes, about fifty years ago," said Dumbeldore calmly.
They bought Brianna and Hermione's school books in a shop called Flourish and Blotts where the shelves were stacked to the ceiling with books as large as paving stones bound in leather; books the size of postage stamps in covers of silk; books full of peculiar symbols and a few books with nothing in them at all.
Even Victoria, who never read anything, would have been wild to get her hands on some of these.
Dumbeldore practically had to drag Brianna away from Curses and Counter-Curses (Bewitch your Friends and Befuddle your Enemies with the Latest Revenges: Hair Loss, Jelly-Legs, Tongue-Tying and much, much more) by Professor Vindictus Viridian.
"You are your father's daughter" he chuckled And then his tone grew serious "Those under the age of seventeen, in other worlds children, are not allowed to use magic outside of school, except in very special circumstances" said Dumbeldore in a stern voice
"Why?" Brianna asked
"There have been way too many magical mishaps and accidents throughout the years" replied Dumbeldore, "the ministry decided that it would be better to restrict the use of underage magic to ensure it is used safely and responsibly. Magic can be wonderful but it can also be dangerous and can have disastrous consequences if used improperly"
Dumbledore wouldn't let Hermione buy a solid gold cauldron, either ('It says pewter on your list'), but they got a nice set of scales for weighing potion ingredients and a collapsible brass telescope. Then they visited the apothecary's, which was fascinating enough to make up for its horrible smell, a mixture of bad eggs and rotted cabbages. Barrels of slimy stuff stood on the floor, jars of herbs, dried roots and bright powders lined the walls, bundles of feathers, strings of fangs and snarled claws hung from the ceiling.
While Dumbeldore asked the man behind the counter for a supply of some basic potion ingredients for Brianna and Hermione,
Brianna herself examined silver unicorn horns at twenty-one Galleons each and minuscule, glittery black beetle eyes (five Knuts a scoop).
Outside the apothecary's, Hermione was helping Dumbledore check off all the items of their lists again.
"We just have to get your wands now, oh and Briqnnq I still haven't got you a birthday present." Brianna felt herself go red.
"you don't have to –"
"I know I don't have to but I would like to. Tell you what, I'll get you an animal. Not a toad, toads went out of fashion years ago, you would most likely be laughed at, and I don't' like cats, they make me sneeze. I'll get you an owl. All the kids want owls, they're dead useful, carry your post" Dumbeldore spoke in a kind voice that left no room for arguments.
Twenty minutes later, they left Eeylops Owl Emporium, which had been dark and full of rustling and flickering, jewel-bright eyes. Brianna now carried a large cage which held a beautiful snowy owl, fast asleep with her head under her wing.
Brianna couldn't stop stammering her thanks. "Oh don't mention it" said Dumbeldore calmly in a grandfatherly voice.
"Just Ollivanders left now, only place for wands, Ollivanders, and you've got to have the best
wand."
A magic wand this was what Brianna had been really looking forward to. The last shop was narrow and shabby. Peeling gold letters over the door read Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 BC.
A single wand lay on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window. A tinkling bell rang somewhere in the depths of the shop as they stepped inside. It was a tiny place, empty except for a single spindly chair which Dumbeldore sat on to wait. Brianna felt strangely as though she had entered a very strict library; she swallowed a lot of new questions which had just occurred to her and looked instead at the thousands of narrow boxes piled neatly right up to the ceiling. For some reason, the back of her neck prickled. The very dust and silence in here seemed to tingle with some secret magic.
"Good afternoon," said a soft voice. Brianna jumped. Brianna heard Hermione shriek.
An old man was standing before them, his wide, pale eyes shining like moons through the gloom of the shop.
"Hello," said Brianna awkwardly.
"Ah yes," said the man. "Yes, yes. I thought I'd be seeing you soon. Brianna Potter." It wasn't a question. "You look exceptionally like your mother, you even have your mother's eyes. It seems only yesterday she was in here herself,
buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work."
Mr Ollivander moved closer to Brinna and Brianna wished he would blink. Those silvery eyes were a bit creepy.
"You have your father's unruly raven hair of course, your father favoured a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration. Well, I say your father favoured it – it's really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course."
Mr Ollivander had come so close that he and Briqnnq were almost nose to nose. Brianna could see herself reflected in those misty eyes.
"And that's where …" Mr Ollivander touched the lightning scar on Brianna's forehead with a long, white finger.
"I'm sorry to say I sold the wand that did it," he said softly. "Thirteen and a half inches. Yew. Powerful wand, very powerful, and in the wrong hands … Well, if I'd known what that wand was going out into the world to do …" He shook his head and then, to Brianna's relief, spotted Dumbeldore.
"Professor Dumbledore sir, it's a pleasure to see you again …and who is this?" he asked, looking at Brianna.
"Hermione Dursley, I'm Brianna's cousin" said Hermione in an important bossy voice.
"Hmmm," said Mr Ollivander, giving Hernione a piercing look.
"Well, now Miss Potter. Let me see." He pulled a long tape measure with silver markings out of his pocket. "Which is your wand arm?"
"Er – well, I'm not sure" replied Brianna
"Which is your dominant hand?"
"Oh well I am ambidextrous, but if I had to choose I would say I prefer my right-hand" said Brianna.
"Then hold out your right arm. That's it." He measured Brianna from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit and round his head. As he measured, he said,
"Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance, Miss Potter. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers and the heartstrings of dragons. No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons or phoenixes are quite the same. And of course, you will never get such good results with
another's wand."
Brianna suddenly realised that the tape measure, which was measuring between her nostrils, was doing this on its own. Mr Ollivander was flitting around the shelves, taking down boxes.
"That will do," he said, and the tape measure crumpled into a heap on the floor. "Right then, Miss Potter. Try this one. Beechwood and dragon heartstring. Nine inches. Nice and flexible. Just take it and give it a wave."
Brianna took the wand and (feeling slightly foolish) waved it around a bit, but Mr Ollivander snatched it out of her hand almost at once.
"Maple and phoenix feather. Seven inches. Quite whippy. Try–"
Brianna tried – but she had hardly raised the wand when it, too, was snatched back by Mr Ollivander.
"No, no – here, ebony and unicorn hair, eight and a half inches, springy. Go on, go on, try it out."
Brianna tried, and tried and tried. She had no idea what Mr Ollivander was waiting for. The pile of tried wands was mounting higher and higher on the counter, but the more wands Mr Ollivander pulled from the shelves, the happier he seemed to become.
"Tricky customer, eh? Not to worry, we'll find the perfect match here somewhere – I wonder, now – yes, why not – unusual combination – holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple."
Brianna took the wand, as she took it from Ollivander she noticed that Dumbeldore was looking at her very intently, a strange mix of emotions filling his face. Ollivander too had a strange look on his face. As Brianna closed her hand around his fingers, she felt a sudden warmth in them.
Brianna raised the wand above her head, brought it swishing down through the dusty air and a stream of red and gold sparks shot from the end like a firework, throwing dancing spots of light on to the walls. For a second Brianna's ears were filled with a strange high pitched music.
Hermione whooped and Dumbeldore clapped and Mr Ollivander cried,
"Oh, bravo! Yes, indeed, oh, very good. Well, well, well … how curious … how very curious …" He put Brianna's wand back into its box and wrapped it in brown paper, still muttering,
"Curious … curious …"
"Sorry," said Brianna, "but what's curious?" Mr Ollivander fixed Brianna with his pale stare.
"I remember every wand I've ever sold, Miss Potter. Every single wand. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand gave another feather – just one other. It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother – why, its brother gave you that scar."
Dumbeldore was looking at the ground, a strange look on his face and Brianna swallowed. Hermione looked like she wanted to errupt with questions.
"Yes, thirteen and a half inches. Yew. Curious indeed how these things happen. The wand chooses the wizard, remember … I think we must expect great things from you, Miss Potter … After all, He Who Must Not Be Named did great things – terrible, yes, but great."
Brianna shivered, she wasn't sure he liked Mr Ollivander too much. They paid seven gold Galleons for her wand and after Hermione had found hers, the ebony and unicorn hair, eight and a half inches wand that Brianna had previously tried, Mr Ollivander bowed them from his shop.
The late-afternoon sun hung low in the sky as they made their way back down Diagon Alley,
back to the Leaky Cauldron.
Dumbeldore escorted Brianna and Hermione inside the small, vertically empty pub, for refreshments before he returned them to Privet Drive.
Brianna didn't speak at all until he sat down at the small circular table Dumbeldore picked for the.
He bought Brianna and Hermione a glass of butterbear each and a bowl of pumpkin soup. Briqnna kept looking around. Everything looked so strange, somehow.
"Are you all right, brianna? Yer very quiet," said Dumbeldore.
Brianna wasn't sure she could explain. She'd just had the best birthday of her life – and yet – as she dipped some bread into her soup trying to find the words.
"Everyone thinks I'm special," she said at last. "But I don't know anything about magic at all. How can they expect great things? I'm famous and I can't even remember what I'm famous for. I don't know what happened when Voldemort killed my parents, I mean, why didn't I die too, that night, the night my parents died."
Dumbeldore leant across the table, he wore a very kind smile.
"Don't you worry, Brianna. You'll learn fast enough. Everyone starts at the beginning at Hogwarts, you'll be just fine. Just be yourself. I know it's hard. You have been singled out, and that's always hard. But you will have a great time at Hogwarts – I did –still do, as a matter of fact."
Dunbeldore helped Brianna and Hermione carry their parcels back to Privet Drive and then on the doorstep, he handed them both an envelope.
"Your train tickets for Hogwarts," he said. "The train leaves from platform nine and three quarters, at Kings Cross station on the first of September. all the information is on your ticket and if you have any problems send me a letter with your owl, she'll know where to find me … I will see you both soon, Brianna, Miss Dursley ."
Brianna wanted to watch Dumbeldore until he was out of sight, but Aunt Petunia pulled her inside of the house and told her sharply to take her things up to her room.