A/N: Written for the Childhood Memories Challenge with the character Rose Weasley, age 6, and the prompt 'red building bricks'.

I, Rose Weasley, aged 6, was about to go to Diagon Alley for the first time in my life. Rushing around the house, I frantically grabbed my boots, my small purse, and anything and everything I thought I needed. Excitement was just about bubbling out of me and a permanent grin seemed to stretch across my face. My younger brother, Hugo, was blinking at me sleepily from her mother's arms. He was too young after all; he didn't understand the importance of this day. It signified that my parents thought I was mature and responsible enough to handle the crowds and bustle of Diagon Alley. And I was going to show them that they made the right decision.

"Are you ready yet, Honey?" Mom called from the other room, amusement coloring her tone.

"Just a second!" I called from the kitchen, grabbing a handful of snacks and stuffing them into my bag. It never hurt to be prepared after all. I mean what if I got lost (which I definitely wouldn't) and started getting hungry? Running into the room, I accidently barreled straight into my father, who merely smiled and ruffled my hair.

"Alright, let's apparate to Gringotts and-" He started to say.

"Ron!" Mum interrupted him, looking horrified.

"What?"

"We can't just apparate there! This is their first time going to Diagon Alley!" She argued. "Let's go to the Leaky cauldron first. We can use the brick wall to get in." I didn't know what they were talking about, but my mum was usually right so I didn't complain.

Dad started mumbling under his breath, but a short glare from Mum stopped his protests. I giggled at them. This always happened. With a sharp crack, Mum and Hugo disappeared. Dad held out his hand to me, and I placed mine in his. His hand was huge, I realized; it completely dwarfed mine. And then, before I knew it, I had my first taste of side-along apparition.

It was terrible. It felt like I was being squeezed through an extremely tight tube and I couldn't breathe! But, the feeling disappeared as soon as it came. As I struggled to make sense of my surroundings, I realized I could hear Hugo crying somewhere nearby. As I staggered to my feet, I observed my surroundings carefully.

We were in some sort of back alleyway that was overgrown with weeds. In front of us was a red brick wall. There was nothing out of the ordinary here.

"Mum?" I asked in confusion. "What are we doing here?"

But she grinned at me, and I gave her an even more bewildered look. "You'll see." She said mysteriously, nodding in the direction of Dad. He was standing by the brick wall, and… counting the bricks?

Finally, he stepped back, and smiled at me. As I watched the bricks intently, I could feel my eyes rowing wider, and wider. My mouth spread into an amazed smile. Of course I had already seen magic before, but this… this was truly magical.

I let out a happy squeal of excitement. Grabbing my parent's wrists, I dragged them from shop to shop. Everywhere around us, people stared and whispered and pointed, but I paid them no mind. There was nothing her today that could ever ruin my good mood.

As the sun was setting and it was time to go home, I walked to one last destination. My steps were lagging with exhaustion, but I had a tired grin on my face. Slowly, I came to a stop in front of the red brick wall that we had entered from. It looked plain and ordinary once again.

It may sound a bit silly, but I felt I had learned something from the wall. I had thought that there was nothing there, when in reality, this was the gate to something far beyond and above my expectations. It seemed normal, but it held so many precious things inside.

It was then that I vowed to myself that I wouldn't judge someone by their appearance. Because, I thought, if I hadn't come here with my parents, I would've walked away from something special.

Rose Weasley stood in front on the plain red brick wall in the back alley of the Leaky Cauldron. She touched it gently with a single finger and smiled. Grabbing her boyfriend's hand, they walked back into the bar together. Scorpius raised a questioning eyebrow at her.

"You know, if it weren't for that brick wall, we wouldn't be together now."