OK this should be the last Diagon Alley chapter, more important things to start.  Neways Please review 'cos it really makes me want to write more.

Also mpe: Thanks for the review.  The phoenix feather will be important but as the last chapter said it's not fawkes'.

They wandered down the long cobbled street stopping to buy various potion ingredients from the strange smelling apothecary. The second stop was Flourish and Blotts for books. Buffy made a mental note to bring Willow there and then remembered that Willow might be a thorny issue when she finally arrived. They bought books for every subject-A Beginners guide to and Intermediate Transfiguration, The Standard Book of Spells Grades 1 2 3 and 4, A History of Magic, Magical Drafts and Potions and more. The one Buffy was interested in was titled The Dark forces: A Guide to Self-Protection. It was located in a dark corner of the shop and the books around it had covers with pictures of wolves and dragons, blood spatters. She couldn't resist buying a small book titled 'The legends of the Vampire Slayer'.
"What?" She commented to Giles whose eyebrows had risen in surprise. "So I'm not exactly a book person, this I have to read."
"A fanciful piece of work" the owner of Flourish and Blotts remarked as Buffy placed the book on the counter. "A wonderful story but absolutely no fact in it at all. As imaginary as Dracula."
"I'm sure, I mean a Vampire Slayer, who could even think one would be real?" Dawn tried to smother her giggles as Buffy agreed with the owner.
They bought parchment and quills; Dawn and Buffy were slightly worried about slipping back into the middle ages until they found pretty colours of ink. In Madame Malkin's Dawn stood on a stool with black robes of various sizes being draped over her head. Buffy wandered around the shop fingering the different fabrics, there were all manner of colours and textures under the sun. A pink set of crinkled silk caught her eye and she held them against herself. Looking in a full length mirror Buffy couldn't help but laugh slightly.
"What'cha laughing at?" Dawn asked struggling to turn around without dislodging the many pins that were millimetres from pricking her. "Pretty pink" she commented catching sight of the robes Buffy was holding.
"Yeah" Buffy agreed gently stroking the material. "Kind of reminds me of a dress I had."
"The one at the back of your closet?" Buffy started drawn away from her memories.
"How did you...damn snoopy little sisters. If we weren't in public I would so be pummelling you right now."
"Yeah, sure. Owww" Dawn squealed as several pins poked her.
"Hah" Buffy exclaimed. "See Giles I didn't even have to turn violent."
"Quite, and I'm sure next time you are faced with a demon you will simply prod him with pins." Giles replied in an undertone looking highly bored. "Buffy shall we go and get some more of Dawn's equipment? We can return here afterwards when Dawn is finished here."
"Lead the way." Buffy followed Giles back into the street leaving Dawn draped in several metres of black cloth.

A few moments later the shop door opened and a pale blonde boy entered. Another witch went to attend to him and soon he too was standing on a stool with metres of black material over his head.
"Hogwarts?" He asked Dawn who nodded.
"I haven't seen you around." he said wondering how he hadn't noticed someone so remarkably pretty. "What house are you in?"
"Uh I' m new" Dawn said not sure what the boy was talking about. "By the way, I'm Dawn."
"That might explain it." he drawled. "I'm Malfoy, Draco Malfoy. Slytherin, best house to be in. Imagine being in Hufflepuff, G-d how awful. Do you play quid ditch?" Dawn shook her head completely lost. "Who's your team?" Dawn shrugged cringing as she realised that this boy must think her a complete idiot. He kind of reminded her of someone though.. she couldn't quite place her finger on who it was...
"Spike" Dawn blurted out suddenly then as Malfoy looked at her she added "Sorry you just reminded me of someone."
"How old are you?" Malfoy asked still looking at Dawn strangely. "You can't be a first year."
"Nope going into Fourth year." At Malfoy's look of confusion she explained "I didn't know about Hogwarts until this summer." immediately the boy's pointed face broke into a scowl.
"So you're muggle-born."
"Kind of, something wrong with that?" Dawn turned defensive even though she wasn't quite sure how she was being insulted. Before Malfoy could answer Madame Malkin finished with Dawn's robes.
"They'll be ready in a week dear" and Dawn hopped off the stool seeing Buffy and Giles through the shop window. Malfoy didn't see them, he was too busy trying to untangle himself from the robes Dawn had artfully managed to wind around him.

"Giles why didn't I start Hogwarts in the First year?" Dawn asked as the shop door closed behind her.
"I suppose they didn't know about you, you would have been undetectable a few years ago."
"I guess and what are houses? Slytherin? Hufflepuff?"
"There are four school houses. Each student is sorted into one of them and has lessens with the other people in that house. You also share a common room, dormitory and meal table. Slytherin and Hufflepuff are two of the houses, the others are Gryffindor and Ravenclaw."
"How exactly do you mean sorted?" Dawn's voice was a little hesitant as she imagined some hideous spell or possibly something just as hideous in its embarrassment, Giles' hokey kokey ritual springing to mind.
"A sorting ceremony, nothing too stressful, the sorting hat will…uh decide."
"The sorting hat?" Buffy exclaimed unable to believe a fashion accessory could be quite so flexible in its useage.
"It is an extremely powerful magical object, an ancient wizard's hat belonging to Gryffindor himself I believe. It has traditionally separated new students into their houses since the founders themselves ran the school. You will see at the sorting ceremony it's nothing to worry about."
"Yeah but Giles you've come to regard the possible end of the world as nothing to worry about." Dawn's fears were not quashed but she spotted the owl Buffy was carrying. "What is that about?"
"Isn't he gorgeous?" Buffy cooed and Dawn looked at Giles in surprise. "He's my little messenger bird. Do you think I can call him Xander? Yeah he wont mind."
"Having a bird named after him, no I'm sure he wont." Dawn muttered then turned to Giles to ask suddenly, "What's quidditch?"
"A sport played on broomsticks." Distaste was clear in Giles' voice. "Like these ones here" he added indicating the window of Quality Quidditch Supplies where a firebolt lay in blazing glory.
"Wicked cool" Dawn exclaimed. "I so have to try that." She pressed her nose up against the glass fascinated by the broomstick.

            "I don't know about that Dawn, it's rather dangerous."

            "Giles reality check, she lives with a  slayer.  Dangerous doesn't exactly cover her life."

            Giles looked doubtful but decided to keep quiet.

            They returned to Hogwarts and their own rooms by early evening.  Buffy quickly changed her password then headed over to a comfy chair in the corner wanting to rest her feet.  The guardian from the portrait was talking to her again.

            "So you have your wand."

            "Yep.  Lignum Vitae."  Buffy said pulling the box from her bag.  "How come I have a special wand for me?  The shop guy said it's because I'm the slayer."
            "It is dear, no one else can use that wand, almost no one.  I saw it made centuries ago.  Such magic went into that wand as barely exists any more.  It is powerful my dear.  Particulary in your hands.  Did you hear what it contains?"

            "Phoenix feather."

            "Yes a special ingredient but there was another."  A knock on the other side of the wall interrupted the conversation.  "It is a young woman"  the guardian told Buffy.

            "Let her in"  Buffy responded and the portrait swung open.

            "Hey there Buffy"  said a familiar voice.

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