Chapter 2: Diagon Alley
"Okay, Callum. It's a simple situation." I told myself. "A creature that is supposed to be mythical is flying outside your second-story bedroom window! Wait—what am I talking about?! A freaking gryphon is outside your window! This can't be real!" Every time I tried to convince myself that this wasn't real, the more I thought it was. I finally pulled together and got a single thing in my mind: this was real.
Suddenly, the gryphon squawked and lowered itself. "You want me to get on?" I asked it. It replied with another squawk. "Okay, I guess that's a yes." I climbed onto its massive back and gripped onto its feathers. Then, with a powerful burst of wind from its wings, I was in the air. The rush of air swept by as I swiftly went by some of Cheshire's most famous landmarks, from the Jodrell Bank radio telescope, to the Sibelco sand quarry, and past Tatton Park.
"This is great!" I said in awe as we passed over the famous 443-foot tall London Eye Ferris wheel. The gryphon then slowly descended as we landed in front of a massive castle, with a tall elderly man in long, black robes standing at the front entrance. I got off the gryphon's back and approached him. "Are you Callum Barnaby?" he asked. "Yes," I said. "And you must be Albus Dumbledore, right? You're the one who sent me the letter with this gryphon?"
"Yes, that would be me." He said. Albus turned to me. "Callum, this gryphon doesn't have a name or an owner. Would you like to name him and be his owner?" I went through his statement and question in my mind. On one hand, I would finally own a pet. On the other hand, I would own a pet that is a mythological creature and that no one ever thought existed. I ultimately came to a decision right then. "Yes Albus. I would be glad to own this gryphon. I've already found a name for him, Evangelos; it's Greek for "good messenger". I find it to be appropriate as he sent that letter to me, much like a messenger."
"I see it as a very wise choice." Albus said. "Don't worry about feeding it, though. We have quite a large arrangement of meats that Evangelos can take his pick from. But enough of that topic, we have to get you to Diagon Alley."
"Where exactly is Diagon Alley?" I asked. Albus turned and looked at me with the eyes of a very wise man. "Ah, the question is not where, but rather what. Our gamekeeper, Hagrid, will take care of getting you there. His hut is situated right next to the Forbidden Forest. There's a reason why it's forbidden. So keep your distance. Ah, here we are."
I never realized that we were walking while we were talking. I saw a small hut with a fire burning outside in a pit about 5 feet away. Albus led me into the hut and kneeling over what I definitely sure was a teakettle was a large man. A really large man with a dark brown cloak that went down to his boots, which were worn and dirty probably from long trips through forests. He had a rough, scraggly beard that looked like it hadn't been brushed or combed or taken care of in any way.
Despite his size, I felt a sense of relief when he stood up, smiling and towering above me. "Nice ter meet yeh. Name's Hagrid, Rubeus Hagrid". I admit having a huge shadow looming over me was intimidating, but I reached out my arm and shook his hand, but it felt like he was shaking me. "Oops, sorry. Sometimes I don' know me own strength. Anyway, let's get you to Diagon Alley. Dumbledore already told me yeh were comin'". I didn't know what to say, so I just blurted out the first thing I was thinking about. "Um, Hagrid, how exactly are we getting to Diagon Alley? I'm sort of new to this whole wizard thing." I said. "Don' worry about that, I know me way 'round the place." He led me to his fireplace, which where I asked my second question. "How will a fireplace get us to Diagon Alley?" I asked.
Hagrid looked at me and then chuckled. "That's an old wizarding technique." He proceeded to take out a small pouch out of his oversized pocket. "This 'ere is Floo powder. It's the way wizards and witches get to an' from Diagon Alley. Yeh simply take a bit out o' the pouch an' throw it inter the fireplace." Hagrid then did just that. As soon as the emerald green powder hit the flames they turned a bright green. "I want yeh ter know something before we go. No matter what happens, stay where I can see yeh. Got it?" Hagrid said. I nodded.
"Good. Dumbledore, I trust that you'll take care o' Callum's gryphon while we're gone?" Hagrid asked. "Trust me, Hagrid. After all, I am headmaster of the school. Now go along and help Callum pick up his things. I'll be waiting up at the castle." He said. And with that, Hagrid stepped into the bright flames and beckoned me over with his oversized finger. I was surprised to see that he wasn't burning or hurting in any way. I stepped in. "Diagon Alley!" Hagrid bellowed. In an instant, we were gone.