Tommy woke Sunday morning, the feelings of anticipation, elation, and nervousness leaving no room in his stomach for breakfast. Instead, he started rummaging through his drawer for something decent to wear when his escort arrived. He put on his Sunday best, and combed his hair thoroughly, heart pounding in his chest. Ethan claimed that he nearly had a heart attack when he woke up and saw his friend awake, dressed, and actually functioning at seven o' clock.
"Go on and save me a seat, will ya?" Tommy asked. "I just have to check something before I leave."
"Yeah, no problem," replied Ethan, fumbling with his tie, which had a large patch on it to cover up a hole.
When Tommy was sure he had the dorm to himself, he delved into his drawer and finally found a very ugly pair of orange socks. He unfolded them and dumped their contents out onto his bunk. Unlike most of the kids at the orphanage, Tommy chose not to spend his money on toys and candy. He bought the occasional book, but otherwise saved it all for when he was officially an adult and would actually need it. However, he supposed he should bring some money along on his shopping trip in case he saw something magical that was too good to pass up.
Stuffing a small amount of money into his pockets, he bolted down the stairs and ran down the block until he reached the large stone building of the church. Tommy was hardly in the mood to sit still, yet he forced himself to quietly take a seat next to Ethan.
The sermon lasted forever. Tommy had counted to a thousand, tied with Ethan in tic-tac-toe fourteen times, and changed positions just about every minute, and yet the service showed no signs of stopping. After what felt like days of fidgeting, Tommy suddenly noticed that people were scooting along the aisles and the doors were open, filling the room with bright sunlight.
Instead of staying outside with the other kids during free-time, Tommy ran into the orphanage, slowing to a walk just before the headmistress' office. She gave him a suspicious look when he appeared out of breath, but uncharacteristically refrained from chastising him. Tommy suspected she was excited as well in seeing who had been sent to accompany him.
They were not kept in suspense long; a loud CRACK made them both jump, and when the looked up, it was into the grinning face of a balding, middle-aged man sporting full length green robes.
"Good afternoon m'am," he said to Headmistress Hettlebaum, "My name is Oglot Tanager, and I am the groundskeeper at Hogwarts." He stuck out a sunburnt arm and shook the headmistress' hand.
Much to Tommy's amusement and disgust, the normally severe woman shook his hand daintily and giggled. The man turned to Tommy and smiled.
"And you must be Tommy! Well, son, we've got lots to do today, better be off!" He led Tommy to the fireplace and pulled a small jar out of his pocket.
"Now, listen carefully. I want you to take just a pinch of this here powder, throw it in the flames, and step in." Tommy's jaw dropped at the last part of the instructions; was this man trying to kill him? He was ashamed to say he had a slight fear of fire, ever since he had been five and his sleeve had caught on fire as he had reached for the water jug across the table. "I assure you, it won't hurt a bit. Now when you step in, stand very still and say 'The Leaky Cauldron,' got it?"
Tommy dumbly took the jar in his hand, and still feeling very skeptical, tossed a pinch of it into the flames. Instantly, the once orange fire became emerald green and expanded so that it was taller than Tommy. Tentatively, he brought his finger near it, and as the green flame licked his finger, he jerked it back. The fire had been cool. With a deep breath, he stuck a foot in, and in the absence of pain, climbed right into the fireplace.
"The Leaky Cauldron," he exclaimed, catching a quick view of a wide-eyed Hettlebaum through a haze of green before the office dissolved and Tommy's world became blurred streaks of color. He caught glimpses of living rooms and kitchens, and then decided closing his eyes might keep the food in his stomach from reappearing.
Suddenly, the spinning slowed, and Tommy stepped out into a dimly lit bar. He had to windmill his arms to keep from falling backwards. Once he had regained his balance, he stepped to the side and stood uneasily, waiting for his escort.
"How'd you like your first Floo, son?" asked Og, dusting himself off.
"Er..." answered Tommy, still too shaken up by the experience to speak.
"Don't worry; it's not my preferred way to travel either," said the man, wiping some soot of his bald forehead, "shall we?" He made his way to the back of the bar, leading Tommy out into a small courtyard.
From what he had seen of this place so far, it didn't seem like they would find much. The Leaky Cauldron and this courtyard were far from impressive. He was considering voicing his concerns when the groundskeeper started tapping the bricks, and a large archway opened up right in the wall.
Tommy was glad he hadn't said anything, because the winding, cobbled street that he was looking at was probably the most impressive thing he had ever seen. People were everywhere; small children were tugging their parents into shops, and vendors were selling candy and pumpkin juice to passerby. He saw a large group of kids his age chasing a rabbit down the street, and even thought he spotted an elderly woman shouting at a young girl for 'spoiling her dinner by eating a licorice wand.'
"We'll be going to get your wand first," said Oglot, "Bet you've never seen anything like this, have you son?" Tommy shook his head mutely, still gazing about, awestruck.
"I'm telling you, you're going to love Hogwarts!" Oglot, insisting that Tommy call him Og like everybody else, proceeded to describe the castle to him as they made their way down Diagon Alley. He told him about each of the four houses, and spent a particularly long time describing the 'superb food' while rubbing his round belly.
Tommy was so engrossed in Og's stories that he walked straight into something, receiving a nasty shock when he realized it was goblin, which glared daggers at him until Og dragged him away. They entered an inconspicuous shop which was filled floor to ceiling with what looked like shoe boxes. A boy about his age was at the register with his mother, clutching one of the boxes as though it was a treasure.
When they left, Og led him up the counter, and he looked up into the gray eyes of Mr. Ollivander. The wand maker seemed to know Og, because he was able to describe precisely what type of wand he possessed.
A tape measure (of its own accord) started measuring Tommy, while Mr. Ollivander pulled out boxes. Tommy waved around quite a few wands without result before he found a match. His hand tingled before he even made contact with the wood, and the stick felt warm in his hand. He twirled it around a bit, and green sparks shot out of the end.
"Perfect!" said Mr. Ollivander, snatching the wand from his hand and beginning to wrap it up, "holly and phoenix feather, twelve inches, very rigid."
Og handed the wand maker some silver coins, who took them without taking his eyes of Tommy. "I sense power in you. You have the potential to do great things." Tommy felt his skin prickle, and could feel Ollivander's eyes on him even as he left the shop.
The rest of the day passed quickly and enjoyably. They stopped at the robe store where Tommy was fitted for his Hogwarts uniform, the second-hand book store, and a fascinating store filled with potions ingredients and supplies. When they stopped for lunch at a small café, Diagon Alley was teeming with students reuniting after the summer and they were having trouble getting through the crowds.
Finally, Og called it a day, and parted with Tommy at the Leaky Cauldron, leaving him with a ticket for the train to Hogwarts and rather unusual directions to get onto the platform. Tommy never would have thought he could get on a train by 'walking straight through the barrier between platforms nine and ten.' He was slightly regretful that he had eaten an entire ham sandwich when he stepped into the fire, but there was nothing to do about it as the wizarding world disappeared as he began to spin. That had been the best day of his life, and Tommy felt even better, if it was possible, in knowing that he would soon return to the wizarding world-his world- for the entire year.