Visiting Diagon Alley

At 9.50 am next morning we stood in front of the orphanage doors, waiting for Professor McGonagall to return.

Mandy looked around nervously "I'm not really sure if we're doing the right thing," she said after a while. "Lies are never good. Maybe this woman wants to harm us. Maybe she belongs to some criminal organisation and wants to use us for something bad."

"I don't think so." Professor McGonagall had really not looked like a member of the criminal underground. I had to calm Mandy though.

"If she is, we're quite able to defend ourselves."

I knew that this was true and that was proof enough for me that she really had told us the truth. Mandy seemed to feel the same way. "You're probably right. It's just so hard to believe, magic school, really."

At 9.55 I started to become nervous for a different reason. What if she wasn't coming at all? Maybe she had given up on us. Or it had really been nothing but a joke after all. The hand of the clock by the bus station on the other side of the street reached the ten and Professor McGonagall still wasn't there. I didn't feel like talking anymore. It just had to be true, it had to. My heart was beating very fast. Why wasn't she coming?

At 10.05 am, Professor McGonagall came walking towards us. None of us had seen her arrive. "Good morning girls. Come on, we shouldn't waste any time."

"We've told Ms Thomson that we might not be back for lunch," Mandy said. Lunch was always at 12 o clock when we weren't at school. We probably wouldn't be that quick.

"Good. This can take a while," Professor McGonagall said. "Follow me please."

She led us away from the street to a small patch of grass surrounded by thick bushes. After scanning the surroundings carefully for potential watchers, Professor McGonagall took a piece of paper out of her pocket. It was a bus schedule.

"We need to use the line 2 if we want to go to the station from here," Mandy told her. We had travelled by train quite a few times before when going on excursions with the others.

"We're not going to take the train to London," Professor McGonagall said. "This would take way too long. You're going to see your first piece of magic now."

Mandy and I grinned at each other excitedly.

"This," Professor McGonagall indicated the bus schedule, "is a Portkey. It will take us to the Leakey Cauldron. That's a pub at the entrance of Diagon Alley. Diagon Alley is the magical shopping mile of London."

We were still looking at each other. If this really worked, we'd know that she was telling the truth really soon now.

"It will be very quick but the sensation is a tad bit unpleasant. So be prepared but don't worry. It's not harmful in any way. I'm counting to three, at three, you all touch the paper. Do you understand?"

"Yes," we told her quickly.

Professor McGonagall took something out of her pocket which looked like a wooden stick. She tapped the bus schedule with it and it started to glow faintly. "One, two, three, go!"

It happened immediately, a strange feeling as if something was pulling us forward from behind our navel. That was magic, real magic!

Before I could really decide if I liked the sensation or not, I landed hard in a heap on the floor. Mandy was lying next to me, while Professor McGonagall still stood. "All a matter of practice," she said.

A few people were laughing.

I scrambled to my feet as quickly as possible. I really didn't like being laughed at.

We were standing in a dimly lit guestroom, which had many visitors for the early hour. Some of them were having breakfast while others were only drinking something. Many people in the room didn't seem to be guests at all but simply passed through the pub. I noticed a plump woman with lots of children, all of them red-haired. The woman greeted Professor McGonagall politely when she passed her; the children did so as well. If she hadn't been wearing robes, she'd be completely ordinary looking I thought. Not what I imagined a witch to look like. That was true of most people present at the Leakey Cauldron. Their clothes were the only really unusual thing about them.

The other guests weren't paying any attention to us anymore. A group of people suddenly turning up on the floor of a pub didn't seem to be a very unusual occurrence among witches. Mandy was looking around curiously just like me. "So there are male witches as well?" she asked after a while.

Professor McGonagall smiled slightly. "They're called wizards and yes, males can have magical abilities as well."

I wasn't quite sure how I felt about this. Ms Leakey seemed to believe that magic was linked to being female. I had always believed this as well in a way. I had no problem with boys either though, it shouldn't really be a problem.

I noticed a young girl. She had short, spiky, rainbow-coloured hair, a bit punk-like. I really wouldn't have expected a witch to look like that.

When the woman sitting next to her got up, I felt as if I couldn't breathe anymore. This was my mother, or rather the woman I saw in those strange memories. Her hair was brown and not black yes, but details like this could change. Everything else, her face, the way she was carrying herself where exactly like I remembered them.

"Come on, it's time to leave," even her voice sounded like that of the woman I remembered. "And you really should change your hair, Nymphadora."

"Don't call me Nymphadora," the girl said loudly.

The name really was a bit strange but not that strange for a witch I thought. I liked the idea of nymphs. Were they real as well?

The woman sighed. "Not again."

They walked towards us; I tried not to stare at the woman too much. It was impolite but I simply couldn't help it. Could she really be my mother? But why would she leave me even though she already had an older daughter?

"Good morning, Minerva," she said. "Hogwarts business?"

She was looking at us now and an inner voice of mine begged her to show some sign of recognition, but she did not.

"Good Morning Andromeda," Professor McGonagall said. Andromeda, the name was beautiful. It was from Greek mythology, I hadn't really liked her story that much though. Helpless girl who needed to be saved by the hero. I preferred the story about Medea.

"Yes, those two have been living in a Muggle orphanage."

Andromeda gave us a slightly pitying look which made me a bit angry. I didn't want to be pitied. I wanted her to realise that she was my mother or at least related to me. That didn't seem to be the case however. I sighed and looked away.

Nymphadora was eying us curiously. Her hair was still rainbow-coloured; she didn't seem to care about her mother's advice.

"Hello, I'm Dora Tonks by the way. Maybe you'll be in Hufflepuff with me. It's the best houes." She grinned.

"What is Hufflepuff?" Mandy wanted to know. "I thought the school was called Hogwarts."

Dora grinned. "Yes, it is. There are four school houses though. Hufflepuff is one of them. They're named after the four founders of Hogwarts."

School houses? These were among the things I've only read about so far as well. Just like magic.

"So there are four houses?" Mandy asked. "How do they decide where we will go?"

"There's the Sorting," Dora explained. "You have to put a hat on, it once belonged to Godric Gryffindor, another one of the founders. The others put magic into it as well though. It will talk to you a bit and then decide which house you will be in. It's quite easy actually but many people are scared."

A hat that told us into which school house we belonged? It was hard to believe that but if all this other stuff was true, why not?

"You're sorted by your character traits you know," Dora added. "Hufflepuff is for those who are just and loyal. Some people think that's worthless but this is rubbish. We-"

"I'm really sorry Dora but we have to go now," Andromeda told her daughter. "The McLaggens are expecting us at 10.30. And please do something about your hair, will you? You have to think about your future career as well. They're quite high up in the Ministry."

Dora sighed. "Alright," she said and seconds later her hair had turned from rainbow-coloured to black and became sleek rather than spiky as well. It looked much more like mine now.

"Good. Come on now. Nice to meet you. I hope you'll have a good time at Hogwarts."

Dora waved at us and the two walked away.

"We have to get going too," Professor McGonagall told us. "I think you should get your robes first. Let's go to Madam Malkin's."

We followed her into Diagon Alley, a small, rickety street lined with various shops. Some of them sold "normal" things such as ice-cream or books but many others offered things I had never seen before. I didn't really know where to look first, there were so many fascinating things. I still wondered if I might not be dreaming.

We quickly reached "Madam Malkin's" though. It wasn't that different from a non-magical clothing shop, there were rows and rows of clothes and people trying them on. The only difference was the way the clothes looked. Only long robes and cloaks. This would take some getting used to.

The Hogwarts robes were black, I preferred something more colourful, but we'd have to wear what was expected.

Our next destination was the wand maker. I was very excited about this. We could use our magic already but I was sure we'd be more powerful with a wand.

Mr Ollivander gave me a very strange look when we entered his shop. It was lined with shelves containing small boxes.

Professor McGonagall introduced us and Ollivander said. "Miss Lestrange, that's really interesting."

Professor McGonagall gave a very audible cough and Mr Ollivander fell silent.

"Which one of you first?" he asked after a short while.

Mandy and I shared a nervous look. Neither of us knew what was going to happen here and how you selected a wand.

"Miss Lestrange, maybe you want to go first," Ollivander said after a while.

"Okay." If he was asking me like that, I'd do it. I didn't want them to think I was afraid. Mandy watched curiously.

Ollivander took out a measuring tape and asked me which hand I was using. "I'm left-handed," I told him wondering if that was a problem among wizards. I knew it had been for Muggles in the past but nowadays there was writing equipment suitable for that.

If Ollivander minded in any way, he didn't let it show. After he knew about my size, he gave me a wand to try. "Ebony and Phoenix feather, 12 inches." I took the wand, my hand was slightly sweaty. This was a bit embarrassing but Ollivander didn't seem to notice.

"Go on, wave it around a bit," he told me but there was still no effect.

He gave me another wand to try and a few more, but the result was always the same. I started to get nervous. Maybe I wasn't magical after all.

"Don't worry. This often takes a while," Ollivander told me. "The wand chooses the wizard you know. It takes time to find the proper match."

I took a deep breath and continued trying. I was magical, I told myself. I knew it.

Ollivander gave me another wand. I immediately thought that it looked quite nice. "Elm and Dragon heartstring, 12.5 inches," Ollivander explained.

I took the wand and felt a sudden warmth in my fingers. Bright little starts were erupting from the wand and arranged themselves on the ceiling like the real stars in the sky. I watched, fascinated. Had I really done this? Or was it the wand, telling us that it belonged to me?

Mr Ollivander was smiling slightly. "That's really nice. This is the right one but you already know that, don't know?"

I nodded, beaming.

"A very good choice, Miss Lestrange. Elm wands are known for their reliability. They are the least likely to produce magical accidents."

Do I look as if I needed that, I was asking myself. Mandy was the one who kept setting things on fire.

"They're capable of highly advanced magic and usually, their owners turn out to be as well," Ollivander added.

"Excuse me, Sir but what about the dragon? Has it been killed so the heartstrings could be used?" I had always liked Dragons and wasn't really happy about the idea, that such a powerful creature had been killed for one single heartstring to be put into my wand.

"Nowadays, Dragon heartstring are removed without killing the Dragon," Ollivander said.

I was relieved.

"There are powerful healing spells that make this possible. In the past, killing them was the usual way to do this though. It was seen as a sign of courage before Dragons have become so rare."

"Thank you for telling me," I said.

Mandy also needed a while until she had found the right wand. It produced a small rainbow in the shop when she took into her hand. Her wand was made of beech and contained a Unicorn tail hair.

"Witches and wizards who are chosen by a beech wand are often unusually open-minded and far-sighted," Ollivander told Mandy. "It's very suitable for the more subtle forms of magic."

He was probably telling everyone something nice about their new wand, I thought.

Still, I was intrigued by the fact that I had a wand now. I could hardly leave me fingers off it, wanted to feel the smooth wood all the time. I was really looking forward to doing real, controlled magic with it.

"When will we buy our spell books?" I asked.

"We're going to do that next," Professor McGonagall said. "And the potions equipment as well.

Some of the things in the shop for potions equipment reminded me a bit of the chemistry stuff I had seen in some of my books back at the orphanage. Maybe it would be a bit like it, now that I wouldn't learn about chemistry. I was quite sure that I'd like potions as well.

"You need ingredients as well, but we're going to buy them last," Professor McGonagall said. "The smell is a bit unpleasant in some cases. You wouldn't want that at lunch."

"Can we keep them in our dorm than?" I asked. "Wouldn't the others notice that there's something odd?"

"You won't take these things with you to the orphanage," Professor McGonagall told us. "It's very likely that people would notice. We'll keep them at Hogwarts."

I didn't like this at all. I didn't want to part from my wand again so soon and I wanted to read my books. "Can I take the books with me at least? I don't want to be completely clueless when I arrive at Hogwarts?"

"Yes," Mandy added. "All those people from magical families will prepare before school and we'll be the only ones who don't know anything."

Professor McGonagall sighed. "Alright. I don't want to keep you from learning. Make sure that you hide the books well though. And if someone sees them, tell them they belong to some sort of fantasy novel you're reading."

Mandy grinned. "I'm sure everyone would believe Vivi that. She keeps reading this kind of stuff."

When we reached the bookstore, Flourish and Blotts an elderly witch wearing a stuffed vulture on her hat and a chubby-looking boy who might be about our age were walked towards us. The boy looked very shy and sad.

"Good morning Augusta," Professor McGonagall said. She really seemed to know everyone here. Well, if they all went to her school it wasn't much of a surprise.

"Morning Minerva," the elderly witch said. "Showing new Muggle-borns around?" She didn't wait for an answer from Professor McGonagall.

"It's happening quite often and it's still like a miracle when magic bobs up just like that." She looked down upon the boy besides her and sighed. "Too bad the opposite can happen as well. I didn't think Neville was magical enough to go to Hogwarts before we got the letter. He only showed his magic one single time. And that with parents as talented as his."

Neville's face had turned purple and he stared at the ground. I felt very sorry for him. How could she talk about him like that? In front of his future teacher and classmates. It was really mean. I tried to give him an encouraging look but I wasn't sure if he noticed that.

The old woman looked at us again. "Very well, Longbottom's the name, Augusta Longbottom."

Mandy looked as if she were about to laugh and I stepped on her foot. I was quite touchy about last names as well even though mine was much better than Longbottom I had to admit. I wouldn't have wanted to grow up in the orphanage being called that.

Mandy quickly glanced at Neville's backside as if she wanted to find out if the name was appropriate or not.

"Nice to meet you, Mrs Longbottom," I said, hoping that they hadn't noticed Mandy's reaction. "My name's Vivien and that's Mandy."

Mrs Longbottom nodded and turned to Professor McGonagall again. "You're sure this one's really a Muggle-born?" she asked, looking at me.

I started at her, for the moment completely forgetting about politeness. My hand wandered to my wand again, as if it could reassure me in a way. Ever since I had known that I had been simply left at the orphanage, I had been asking myself who my parents were and where I came from.

"I assume so," Professor McGonagall answered. "Both girls have grown up in a Muggle orphanage. The Ministry would never allow for magical children to be left there on purpose. The danger that someone finds out about their magic is far too great in such a place."

"This is correct of course," Mrs Longbottom said, looking at me again. "But maybe no one knew. Sirius Black was very fond of wild Muggle parties. He persuaded my Frank to accompany him once, you know." Whatever had happened there, it hadn't pleased Mrs Longbottom that much was obvious. I wasn't sure if this was the fault of Sirius Black or if "her Frank" had decided to ignore her advice.

Professor McGonagall clearly didn't like the direction this conversation was going. "I don't think speculation will lead us anywhere," she said rather tartly while I made sure to remember the name Sirius Black.

"There must be something," Mrs Longbottom said. "If she doesn't have any Black blood somewhere, I'll eat my broomstick."

"No Gran, please don't do this," Neville said quietly and Mandy and I both laughed.

I needed to know what she was talking about though. "Excuse me, but what does Black blood mean?" I wasn't even sure if it was supposed to be a good thing or not.

"The Blacks are an old magical family," Professor McGonagall explained. I should have guessed that after they had been talking about Sirius Black.

"Andromeda Tonks whom we've met earlier comes from this family."

"Oh."

"Close your mouth again or flies will get in," Mrs Longbottom said and I did so, blushing.

So other people believed I might be related to this Andromeda as well? It wasn't just me? But why hadn't she noticed anything?

Well, maybe she had simply been too busy with her daughter and their appointment.

"And this Sirius Black is one of them too?" I asked. "I'm sorry for acting like this but I know absolutely nothing about my family. That's why I'm really curious."

I hoped she'd understand that and wouldn't think me too obnoxious. Still, I didn't like the way she was treating Neville either.

"That's understandable. Yes, Sirius Black was one of them too. He used to be a sort of rebel, or so we believed," Mrs Longbottom said. "I wouldn't put it past him to have a child with a Muggle, if only to make his family angry."

Well, that sounded almost exactly like the image of my father I had gotten from the things I had heard at the orphanage. Some irresponsible man who got a clueless woman pregnant and left her alone with me until she couldn't take care of me anymore for some reason.

What about my memories though? If they were anything to go by, my mother had been the one looking like Andromeda, the one from this Black family. After everything I knew now there was no real reason to believe that those memories weren't real anymore.

"I'm sorry Augusta but we really need to get going now," Professor McGonagall said. "Have a nice day."

Mrs Longbottom turned away, followed by her son, or grandson? I wasn't quite sure.

"Bye Neville," I said. He surely didn't have an easy time either. But at least he knew who his family was.

I had been so excited about the spell books before, but now I hardly noticed what we were buying. I was thinking about my family. Could this Sirius Black really be my father?

Maybe I'd learn more when I finally got to Hogwarts. Maybe I'd find out where I came from and if the large house and the herb garden had been real or not.