Audrey and her grandmother stepped out of the taxi in front of a battered building whose sign read, The Leaky Cauldron, with some letters missing. They stepped into the pub. Audrey did not see much at first because it was so dark. Directly in front of her was a bar which wasn't very crowded because it was early in the morning. To her right, there was a little hallway which led to a room which was crowded with little tables. In there, it was about half full with people eating breakfast. To her left, there was a stairway, which Audrey guessed, led to private dining rooms and rooms where you could stay the night.
First, her grandmother led her into the dining room where a few of her grandma's friends said hello. Audrey was introduced and her story told many times that she was visiting her grandmother. They finally made it out the back entrance to a brick wall.
Audrey queried, "How do we get to Diagon Alley from here?"
"Quite simply. Just watch." She pulled out her want and tapped the bricks in a specific order. "Step back, Audrey."
Audrey watched amazed as the bricks parted to reveal an extremely crowded street. "Way cool," she murmured. Even though it was early in the morning, the little alleyway was packed with people. To the left and right were buildings squashed together as far as the eye could see. There were a couple gaps which were even smaller alleyways. Her grandmother did not let her stand and gawk for long.
"Come along now. We haven't get all day," her grandma said as she walked toward a building called Gringotts Bank. the outside of the building was very impressive. It was made of large stones and had columns in the front. If Audrey thought the outside was impressive, she was blown away by the inside.
As they entered the building, Audrey gasped, "What are they?"
Her grandma shushed her as she handed over the key to the goblin and whispered, "They're goblins. Mean creatures, so don't trust them. Still, they are the best thing that ever happened to this place. They have great security. The safest bank in the world it is."
After tearing her eyes away from the goblins, Audrey saw two rows, far to the left and right, where bank tenders were talking to customers. Everything was immaculately clean. Everywhere Audrey looked, she saw big security goblins glaring at everyone. She didn't let herself linger on them, just in case she decided to attack her. Sticking close to her grandmother, they followed a goblin down a set of steps to a room that resembled a subway station.
There were transport boxes with goblins zooming by or picking up passengers. Before Audrey could ask, her grandmother explained. "You see ,Audrey, all the vaults are underground. Those goblins take you to your vault and you extract as much money as you want. The goblins have to go along because it is like a maze down there. A normal person would get lost and eventually die."
They reached the vault and her grandma grabbed some coins and got back into the transport box. Audrey breathed a sigh of relief once they were outside the building. That was enough of goblins for her in one day.
"Next stop, Madam Malkins Robes for All Occasions."
Audrey and her grandma entered the shop. A bell rang somewhere inside the building as they stepped inside. On all sides were manicans that moved to show off their robes. As Audrey walked past them, they talked to her trying to convince her that they were the best. Immediatley, they stood stock still when Madam Malkins entered the room.
"How can I help you," Madam Malkins said.
"Audrey here needs some school robes."
"If you'll just step over here," Madam Malkins pointed.
As Audrey stood, she suddenly realized that she was being measured by tape measures flying in the air. Madam Malkins studied the measurements and told them to come back in about two hours for the robes.
Her grandma said, "Next stop, Flourishes and Botts."
As they entered the shop, a clerk rushed over and said, "What will you be needing today?"
Audrey handed over the list and wandered around. The whole store was lined with books. Clerks were rushing around grabbing books off of this shelf and that shelf, trying to help everyone. Some of the books changed colors and others shrieked when they were opened. Audrey was fascinated. She wasn't ready to leave when the clerk came back with her things.
"Go ahead and pay," her grandmother said.
"Wait. I don't even know what these things are," Audrey fretted, pointing at the coins. Her grandmother explained and paid.
She murmured, "You're way behind the times, dear. What was your mother thinking?" Then, more loudly, "Next stop, to buy a cauldron."
That did not take long, so they were already on their way to Olivander's Wands. Grandma said, "This might take a while so I'm going to get you a nice owl. Ok?"
"Sure," Audrey muttered.
Audrey cautiously entered the shop. From floor to ceiling were boxes full of wands. She also noticed that the desk in the back of the room had a scorch mark on it and several of the windows were broken. Also, at the back right corner a whole shelf was blown apart. "Excuse me. Is anyone here?"
"Hello, daughter of Margaret," a quiet voice said from behind a wall of wands. Audrey jumped and whipped around.
Mr. Olivander quickly took her measurements and went to the stacks of wands. "Hmmm," he muttered, "Here's one. Ten inches long, oak, with a dragon heartstring. Just give it a swish."
When Audrey "gave it a swish," Mr. Olivander's desk exploded. "I'm so sorry!" she gasped.
"No problem," he said taking it gingerly away from her. "Try this one. Twelve inches long, quite flexible beach wood, and it contains elf hairs."
This time, it broke a hole in one of the back windows.
Many wands and an hour later still hadn't produced a wand for Audrey. Mr. Olivander wearily picked up another wand. He handed it to her and said, "This wand is very interesting. Eleven inches long, flexible pinewood from America, and it contains a feather from a phoenix.
Audrey gave it a swish, and flower popped out the end. "Way cool," she murmured.
"Take good care of this wand," he said as he placed it gently in the box. "It could save your life one day. I'm particularly fond of this wand, and would like to keep it, but the wand chooses the witch."
Audrey walked out of Olivander's in search of her grandmother.
As Audrey turned the corner by Flourishes and Botts she ran right into someone. "Oh, excuse me," she muttered absentmindedly.
"Watch where you're going!"
Audrey turned and glared. "It was an accident. Sorry!"
The boy who had run into her got a good look and said, "Who are you? I don't remember ever seeing you around here."
"I'm Audrey Benton Hadley," she said shrugging her shoulders. "I only got here yesterday."
The boy bowed slightly and said, "I'm Draco Malfoy and these are my friends, Crabbe and Goyle."
"Nice to meet you. Now I must go find my grandmother." Audrey turned to leave.
"Wait," Draco said. "Did you say your name was Benton Hadley?"
"Yes."
"You're a pureblood witch then aren't you?" he asked.
"Pureblood?" Audrey said looking puzzled.
"Yeah, pureblood. Ummm. You know...Wizards and witches that have no Muggle blood at all in their heritage?"
"I guess I am," Audrey said turning to go.
"Whose your grandmother?" Malfoy asked just to keep Audrey's attention.
"She's Chandra Benton," Audrey said. "Now, I must go because I see her." Audrey hurried off toward her grandmother unawares that Malfoy and his friends were following.
"What a beautiful owl, Grandma!" Audrey exclaimed. The owl was a deep brown with, on a person, blond highlights. "What's her name?"
Her grandma smiled and said, "Her name is Marcella."
Glancing at her watch, Audrey asked, "Are we going to get my new robes now?"
"Yes. Let's go get them."
Draco turned and hurried to find his father. "Father," he said when he found him, "Did you know Chandra Benton had a granddaughter?"
"No. I did not," Lucius Malfoy said a look of surprise coming over his face. "Chandra's daughter, Margaret, had disappeared about sixteen years ago without a trace. And now suddenly her granddaughter shows up. Draco, how old was she?"
"She looked about my age, father."
"Hmmm," Lucius murmured. "Interesting. She definitely hasn't gone to Hogwarts, but she's definitely a witch. Draco, what was her name again?"
"Audrey Benton Hadley," Draco said.
"I think I'll go look at the enrollment lists of the other wizarding schools," Lucius said to himself as he turned away from Draco.