Diagon Alley
DISCLAIMER: I have not, am not, nor will I ever be J.K. Rowling.
Rachel woke early the next morning. Although she could tell it was daylight, she kept her eyes tightly shut.
"It was a dream," she told herself firmly. "I dreamed that strange women came and told me I was going to a school of magic." There was a sudden tapping noise. And there's Jacob come to get me up, she thought, her heart sinking. But still she didn't open her eyes. It had been such a gut dream.
Tap…tap…tap.
"Alle rechts. Alle rechts, (All right, all right)" Rachel mumbled, "Ich bin Aufstehen! (I'm getting up)" She sat up, but instead of finding Hannah next to her, she was in a strange room, with strange fixtures. "Wo bin ich?(Where am I?)" She asked to what she thought was an empty room.
"I'm sorry?" Came the voice of the lady from yesterday.
"Oh, I didn't know you were in here. Where are we?"
"This is the Leaky Cauldron." Rachel nodded, having no idea what the professor was talking about. She got up and changed into a navy dress and went to the mirror to fix her hair up properly. The prayer kapp went over her bun, and she picked up the thick sock and put those on too. She decided to forego the apron today, and put on her shoes. They walked down stairs into the café. As they walked through, Rachel noticed people whispering about her strange attire. Some even pointed her out to others. Suddenly McGonagall stopped.
"Quirinus! I didn't expect to see you here. Come on, Rachel.—Rachel Lapp, this is Professor Quirrell. He'll be one of your teachers at Hogwarts."
"N-nice to m-meet you R-R-Rachel Lapp."
"What sort of magic do you teach, Professor?"
"D-Defense Against the D-D-Dark Arts," muttered Professor Quirrell, as though he'd rather not think about it. "You're an A-A-American, eh?"
"Jah, I mean yes I am."
"Unfortunately we don't have much time to talk. We have to finish getting Rachel's school supplies." As they walked to the back room, Rachel continued to think about the whispers and Professor Quirrell's stutter.
"Is he always that nervös, um, nervous?"
"Yes. Poor man. Brilliant mind. He was fine while he was studying out of books but then he took a year off to get some first-hand experience…they say he met vampires in the Black Forest, and there was a nasty bit of trouble with a hag—never been the same since." She turned to the back wall and tapped a few bricks. Suddenly, the bricks began to move, and turn until they formed an archway, and they walked into Diagon Alley. The sun shone brightly on a stack of cauldrons outside the nearest shop. Rachel wished she had eight more eyes. She spun while walking, trying to see everything.
"Come on, Rachel, we need to get some money from Gringotts for your supplies." They reached a snowy white building that towered over the other little shops. Standing beside its burnished bronze doors, wearing a uniform of scarlet and gold was—a goblin. Don't stare, Rachel. She reminded herself. As they stepped inside, they came to another set of doors, silver this time, with a sign that read:
Enter, stranger, but take heed
Of what awaits the sin of greed,
For those how take, but do not earn,
Must pay most dearly in their turn.
So if you seek beneath our floors
A treasure that was never yours,
Thief, you have been warned, beware
Of finding more than treasure there.
As Rachel read, she couldn't help but be reminded of what a broken world they lived in. A pair of goblins bowed them through the door. The lady walked up to a goblin, and they spoke for a minute before they were led over to a door. Just before Rachel walked through the door, she noticed a very large man with a dark haired boy of about eleven.
"Come along, Rachel." She turned and followed the professor into a dark cave like area.
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
"Do you still have your list, Rachel?" They were back outside, and heading down the wide street.
"Yah…I mean yes, I do." She pulled it out of her pocket, unfolded it, and read:
HOGWARTS SCHOOL
of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
UNIFORM
First-year students will require:
Three sets of plain work robes (black)
One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear
One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)
Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags.
COURSE BOOKS
The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)
By Miranda Goshawk
A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot
Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling
A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi
By Phyllida Spore
Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
By Newt Scamander
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection
By Quentin Trimble
OTHER EQUIPMENT
1 wand
1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)
1 set glass or crystal phials
1 telescope
1 set brass scales
Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad
PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS
ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICK
"Umm, Professor, about the robes…" Rachel wasn't sure about this anymore.
"I've already talked to the headmaster about that. You may decide if you would like to wear the school robes or your dresses." McGonagall gave Rachel one of her rare smiles and the two set off again. "Why don't we get you a few robes just in case you decide you want them later in the year?" Rachel nodded and they made their way into a shop labeled 'Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions' "I'll just go over to Flourish and Blotts and pick up the books you need. Wait for me here. I'll be back soon." Rachel nodded and walked into the shop. A lady, Rachel could only assume was the shopkeeper came out from the back room.
"Hogwarts too, dear?"
"Yah, I mean, yes." She really needed to work on not speaking German so much.
"Got the lot here—two young men being fitted up right now, in fact." The seamstress led her to the back room where there was a pale blonde boy as well as the boy from the bank earlier.
"Hello," the dark haired boy said, "Hogwarts, too?"
"Yeah," Rachel said.
"My mother's next door buying my books and father's up the street looking at wands," said the pale boy. He had a bored, drawling voice, and talked down to her as he was superior. "Then I'm going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don't see why first years can't have their own. I think I'll bully father into getting me one and I'll smuggle it in somehow."
"Have you two got your own broom?" the boy went on.
"No," said the dark haired boy.
"Nor do I," Rachel said.
"Play Quidditch at all?"
"No," She said, wondering what Quidditch would be.
"I do—Father says it's a crime if I'm not picked to play for my house, and I must say, I agree. Know what house you'll be in yet?"
"No," said Rachel, feeling more stupid by the minute.
"Well, no one really knows until they get there, do they, but I know I'll be in Slytherin, all our family have been—imagine being in Hufflepuff, I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?"
"Mmm," Rachel said, wishing she could say something a bit more interesting.
"Where are your parents?" The pale boy said turning to the other boy.
"They're dead," The dark haired boy replied.
"And yours?" Rachel was really staring to get irritated with this boy.
"Back in America," She said glaring at him, then she turned to the other boy. "I'm sorry about your parents."
"Were they our kind?" Rachel couldn't believe this boy! Ack!
"They were a witch and wizard, if that's what you mean."
"I really don't think they should let the other sort in, do you? They're just not the same, they've never been brought up to know our ways. Some of them have never even heard of Hogwarts until they get the letter, imagine. I think they should keep it in the old wizarding families."
"That's you done, my dear," Madam Malkin said to the dark haired boy. He hopped down from the stoll.
"Well, see you at Hogwarts, I suppose," the pale boy called after the other.
"Der Herr sei mit euch. The Lord be with you," Rachel said, giving the common Amish farewell with a smile.
"What about your parents? Are they our kind?"
"Es tut mir leid, but I didn't catch your name,"
"I'm Draco. Draco Malfoy. Anyway, your parents, are they magical?"
"Well my Mamm is a—oh what's the word she used? Squid?"
"Squib? Oh, and your dad?"
"Jah, a squib. Daed is just a regular Amish man. I don't think he's a wizard."
"You're done too, dear," Madam Malkin said to her.
"Dankes," She said hopping off the step stool. She turned back to the other boy. Even if she didn't like him, her father had always told her to 'clear her side of the road in an argument'. They really hadn't argued. He just made her mad. "Der Herr sie mit euch." He looked at her for a minute before replying:
"And with you as well," She smiled as she went back towards the door where she was supposed to wait for the professor.
AN: Okay that's chapter 2. Do you think you guys who are reading this could review. I haven't gotten a single review yet…even if you don't like it please review. Next chapter Rachel's getting her wand.