The talk with her friends went just as well as Maddie could have expected. They met in the park before lunch, where she told them that her parents were sending her to a boarding school for the upcoming year.
"What?!" Lucy had protested. "They can't do that!"
"They are," Maddie had replied miserably.
"But everybody at school is going to miss you!" Bridget had cried. This had just made Maddie feel even more horrible, and she ended up crying while her friends tried to comfort her. It was bad enough knowing that she was going to be separated from her two best friends during the school year, but the thought that there would be other people missing her too, students and teachers alike, was almost more than she could bear. So to push the thought out of her mind she changed the subject to something lighter, trying to make the most out of every moment she could spend with her friends.
Aunt Olivia was taking Maddie shopping toward the end of July, and Maddie had mixed feelings about it. While she was excited to ride the underground alone, and of course she loved a good shopping trip, some of the items on the list, which had been the second page of her acceptance letter, confused her. Dragon hide gloves? Brass scales? And the book titles were just as strange sounding, such as A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration and The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection. She groaned when she saw that she needed a cauldron, and an image popped into her head of herself standing hunched over a cauldron that was spewing smoke, herself cackling and reciting, "Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble!" She was even required to bring a pointy hat. Great, just great.
At last the day came when Maddie was to go to the mysterious Diagon Alley. Her mum was able to drive her to the station on the way to work, but since her train didn't leave for another hour she would have to wait near the station.
"Are you sure you're going to be all right?" Her mother asked nervously as she pulled up near the station. They had talked a bit on the drive about her waiting, and Maddie really hated seeing her mum so anxious.
"I'll be fine," she smiled. "I know exactly when the train leaves and exactly where I'm to meet Aunt Olivia. I'm sure everything will be fine." She waved goodbye as her mother drove away, and then sat down on a bench to read a book while she waited. She occasionally opened her purse to take out the weird-shaped coins that her mother had given to her for shopping, saying that they were real gold. She had also been given a few silver coins and a few bronze coins, mostly so that she would know what they were but also in case she wanted to pay the exact amounts. Galleons, Sickles, Knuts. Galleons, Sickles, Knuts. Mum had only had enough time to tell her the names of each coin, but Maddie had no idea what they were all worth exactly. At least she wouldn't be totally on her own, although she wasn't excited to see her two cousins again. It had been more than enough to see them every Christmas.
After a rather uncomfortable train ride, Maddie finally got out at a station in London. She had been to the city a few times before, but never by herself, and it would have been intimidating if she hadn't spotted her aunt and cousins right away, her aunt waving her arms and her cousins standing a few paces away from her, as if trying to disassociate themselves from her. Despite the fact that she detested her cousins, she couldn't help but feel relieved as soon as she saw them all and ran to meet them.
"Oh, Maddie!" Her aunt exclaimed as she held her tight. Maddie felt a little uncomfortable, but hugged her back. "You've grown so much since Christmas!" Maddie suffered through a few kisses from her aunt before she calmed down again. "I'm afraid that we have to walk a little ways before we get there, so I hope your legs are ready!"
As Aunt Olivia led the way, Ed and Walter came up on either side of her. "So, the Squib's daughter has at least some respectable blood after all," Ed sneered. His short-cropped hair was colored a deep red, a new thing since last Christmas, and even though his brown eyes matched his mother's, they lacked the warmth.
"Shove off her, Ed," his younger brother rolled his eyes. Walter didn't look much different than last time Maddie had seen him, although maybe a little bit skinnier. His glasses still stood perched halfway down his nose, despite his pushing them up several times, and his brown hair kept getting in his eyes, just like his dad's. He was at his gangly, awkward stage, and had kind of a mild, studious air about him. He looked at Maddie kindly. "Glad to see you've joined us. It's been horrible trying to keep everything a secret from you. Now family gatherings are going to be so much more interesting!"
"That's, um, great!" Maddie managed a smile. She realized that maybe she hadn't been entirely fair with her cousins. Maybe they were totally different under everything they had to hide from her. Well, obviously Ed was still horrible, but maybe Walter would end up being halfway decent. At least he was only one year older than she was. Ed was three years older. "It's all a bit overwhelming for me, honestly," she said quietly.
Before Ed could make some kind of mean remark, Aunt Olivia piped in, "Well, that's what we're here to you help you with! We can spend the whole day catching you up to speed for how things work so you won't act like a total muggle when you're at school," she blushed, "no offense to your father or your upbringing, of course, but the fact is that you'll get along much better if you actually know a bit of what you're getting into. Oh, look, here we are!"
They had stopped in front of a small but friendly-looking building with a sign hanging in front of it that said "The Leaky Cauldron Pub and Inn." There were flowers growing in all of the front window-boxes, and the whole building looked like it had been newly renovated. The walls were painted a cheerful pale yellow, the roof was a perfect shade of green that matched the window shutters exactly. In contrast, the two buildings on either side of it, a bookstore and a small thrift shop, looked like they hadn't been painted in several years.
"I still think it's a shame that Hannah gave up the inn to work at Hogwarts, she really improved the place," Aunt Olivia commented. 'It used to look so run down. That would be young Mrs. Longbottom," she added belatedly, as if that would explain everything. "I've heard she's really doing well at the school, though. It's been years since she and Neville got married, but somehow it's hard to see anything but the slightly chubby Hufflepuff who kept her hair in pigtails all the time and used to be so shy. Of course, I was four years older than her so I was long gone by the time she started growing up. Although there were so many back then who were forced to grow up early…" Her eyes took on a faraway look which confused Maddie, but then her aunt seemed to shake herself out of it as she straightened her shoulders. "Well, then. We can't just stand here all day or we'll confuse the muggles. Come on!"
She led them all to the door of the building and it made a pleasant jingling sound as they walked through. Maddie's mouth dropped open. Despite the unassuming exterior of the building, the pub was the strangest place she had ever seen in her life. It was crowded with a bunch of men and women sitting at tables, all in robes and cloaks and either holding wands in their hands or in their pockets. There was a clock hanging on the wall which kept on shouting out the time, and a painting of a lady hanging next to it who had her hands covering her ears and kept on telling the clock to be quiet. The beer was serving itself into mugs before a busy young woman picked them up and served them to various customers. There was even a potted plant in the corner which was singing a song and swaying as if it were drunk, although it shouldn't be possible for plants to sing, let alone become, as her mother would say, "inebriated."
The serving girl saw them and smiled brightly, serving a last mug of beer before coming over to them. "Olivia!" she exclaimed as they hugged. "It seems like the only times I ever get to see you are when you're bringing the children shopping for school." She looked at Maddie curiously. "I didn't know you had a daughter."
"Oh no, this is my niece, Madelyn," her aunt hastily explained. "Maddie, this is Felicia Carne. She was my classmate at Hogwarts," she added, although Maddie had guessed that. She turned back to her friend, gesturing to Maddie. "Her mother was too busy to take her shopping for her first year, so she asked me to take her daughter."
"Skipping out of her duty, eh?" An old man sitting nearby surprised them all with his accusation. "Just like a Trembath."
There was silence in their part of the pub for a moment as the other wizards near enough to hear him stopped talking. Maddie looked up at her aunt curiously, and saw that she had turned pale. Then a hot flush covered her cheeks and she straightened herself, looking away from the man's accusing glare. "Anyway, we had better get going," she smiled at Felicia, although it was forced. "Madelyn's got a lot of shopping to do and we've only got today. I hope we can get together and chat soon?"
Felicia looked embarrassed from the man's rude comment. "Of course. Just tell me whenever you're free, you can floo on over anytime," she said, and they both hugged again before Aunt Olivia grabbed both of her boys by the arm and, deliberately avoiding the gaze of everybody she passed, led the way to the back door.
As they walked into a walled-in courtyard, Maddie asked, "What was that all about?" Even her cousins were silent and stony for once.
Aunt Olivia sighed. "It's nothing, really," she said tiredly. "Just some old animosity toward our family that should have died years ago. Don't worry about it."
"But what was it?" Maddie persisted. "What happened to make that man so -"
"I said don't worry about it!" Her aunt snapped. She shook her head and stopped at the garbage can by the far side of the wall. She took a wand out of her shoulder bag, which was almost astonishing to Maddie as her aunt yelling at her, and touched a seemingly random brick with it. At first nothing happened. But then Maddie watched as the brick quivered, then slipped away, and the bricks all around it were moving, turning and sliding backward until there was an open arch that looked like it had been built there with the rest of the wall, and Aunt Olivia motioned for them to follow her through.
Once she walked through the archway, Maddie completely forgot about the strange encounter in the pub. There were buildings lining the street like any other place, but it gave off a very 19th-century feeling in the cobblestone street and the way that most of the buildings were designed. She couldn't help staring at all the people walking by; more people in long robes and pointy hats for the most part, although she was relieved to see a few people walking down the street in ordinary clothes like herself.
"Mum, I'm going to go join Horace at Weasley's." Ed barely gave his mother a chance to protest before he waved at a boy who looked about his age standing in front of a shop called "Weasley's Wizard Wheezes."
"Yeah, and I promised I'd meet Kirk at Potage's," Walter added. "He really messed up his cauldron last year and I'm helping him choose the best replacement."
"Okay, but meet us back at Florian's at four o'clock and I'll buy you kids an ice cream, and make sure you tell your brother -" Aunt Olivia cut off her words, as Walter was already too far away to hear her over the crowd. She gave an exasperated sigh and looked at Maddie. "Well, I guess it's just you and I, then. Where would you like to go first? Here, let me see the list…" and she took Maddie's list of required items from her and scanned the page. "You do have enough money, right? Yes, that should be enough for everything, I can kick in some money if we end up running out. Why don't we go to Madame Malkin's first, it'll take longer to get fitted for your school robes so we might as well kick it out of the way first thing."
They made their way over to Madame Malkin's. Maddie had never gotten formally fitted for anything before, so she was kind of nervous, but it turned out to be a pretty normal-looking place on the inside, just like any nice tailoring shop she had seen in movies. Madame Malkin took her to a girls' fitting room on one side of the building. The only time Maddie yelped during the whole process was when the measuring tape flew up of its own accord and began to measure her.
"Merlin's beard, girl, haven't you ever been measured for anything before?" Madame Malkin exclaimed, but Maddie blushed and said nothing.
They stopped at a few other shops, too: Potage's for a cauldron, Flourish and Blotts for her school books, and Scribbulus Writing Instruments for parchment, quills, and ink, which didn't please Maddie. What with the old-fashioned looking Alley and this old-fashioned equipment, she was not looking forward to being introduced to magic at all. The one really bright spot in her day so far was when she got to pick out a pet to bring. She had the options of a toad, a cat, and an owl. She would not have a disgusting toad, and she had never forgiven the cat they used to have for bringing dead squirrels to their door and killing their pet bird, so, out of her dislike for cats and in memory of her beloved parakeet, she chose a beautiful tawny owl.
"What are you going to name it?" Her aunt asked as they were walking away from Eeylops Owl Emporium.
Maddie shrugged. "I haven't decided yet."
The last shop they had to visit before they were finished was Ollivander's, and it was the place Maddie had the most inner turmoil about. It was where she was going to get her wand, and Aunt Olivia was paying for it. Her aunt had explained as much about wands as she knew, telling Maddie about different wand cores and such, but she still didn't know exactly what to expect.
They walked in, and Maddie had to blink her eyes a few times to get adjusted to the darkness. Once she got her bearings, she was able to get a better look at the room. About halfway into the room was an empty counter with piles of cases on it. Other than that and a small chair, the only things in the room were very tall shelves, lining every wall and reaching the ceiling, full of long, thin cases which she could only guess held wands.
A man got up from under the counter, which almost made Maddie yelp again. He was a little old man, but she got the feeling right away that there was much more to him than there appeared to be at first. "Hello," he said, "good to see you, Olivia. You've got a new Hogwarts student, eh? What's your name?"
"Um, Maddie," she said, "I mean Madelyn, Madelyn Warner." She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and stood a bit straighter.
"Hmm," he said, not impressed, or maybe just not recognizing her name, "Well, let's get you started now, shall we?" He gestured to the chair. "Why don't you just sit right down there and we'll get you measured."
Maddie didn't know why she had to get measured for a wand, but something about the man, who Aunt Olivia whispered was Ollivander, made her not want to question him, and she obediently walked over to the chair. This time when a measuring tape flew up and began measuring her, she didn't utter a sound or even flinch, even when it measured from her ear to her mouth and the tip of her finger to the corner of her eye. Mr. Ollivander was asking her questions the whole time, which made Maddie rather uncomfortable, but she made sure to answer honestly.
After a while, Mr. Ollivander came up to her with four wand cases and gestured for her to stand up. "Let's start you with this wand," he held out the top case for her to take, "Black Walnut, ten and three-eighths of an inch, phoenix feather core."
Maddie reached out for the case cautiously and opened it. She took out the wand, setting the case on the chair, and looked at her aunt, who made a small flicking motion with her hand. Maddie took a deep breath and aimed at the counter. A few sparks sputtered out, but otherwise nothing happened. This didn't faze Mr. Ollivander, who simply took the wand and handed Maddie the next one. "Try this one. Larch, unicorn core, twelve and five-eighths of an inch."
This wand worked better, blasting the books on the desk with a gentle breeze, but still Mr. Ollivander shook his head and said, "Closer, but it's still not quite right." Rather than being put out, he seemed pleased, as if each failed attempt were merely a clue in a scavenger hunt that he had found, bringing him closer to the prize. He took all four cases back to the shelves they came from, apparently knowing that they weren't the right match, and rummaged around before he was satisfied and brought a single case for Maddie to examine.
"I believe this one will do the trick, but I'd like you to see for yourself. Elm, unicorn core, eleven and three-quarters of an inch."
Once Maddie's fingers circled around the wand, she knew that this was the one for her. It filled her with an energy she couldn't even describe, and she could have sworn that it was humming, seemingly in approval. She felt that she didn't even have to flick the wand, but at the same time felt an irresistible urge to cast a spell. She pointed it at a book on the desk and flicked her wrist, only to jump back as an explosion of light burst out of the end of her wand and knocked all of the books over.
Mr. Ollivander smiled. "That's your wand all right. It certainly seems like it has chosen you." He took the case, telling her that she wouldn't need it, they were only for storing the wands on the shelves. Aunt Olivia paid him, and Maddie barely got out a thank you and a good-bye before they left the shop.
"So, what do you think?" Aunt Olivia asked as they walked toward Florian Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour.
Maddie was studying her wand, marveling at how smooth it felt in her hand. "I don't really know what to think." Magic had come out of a wand. This was real life, and she was doing things that should have been impossible but seemed to be quite normal to everyone around her. "But I'll be doing all the studying I can before school starts. Thank you for getting me that Hogwarts book," she looked up at her aunt. "I guess it'll help to know about the history of the school before I go there. And thank you for buying me my wand," she added belatedly.
"It was my pleasure," Aunt Olivia smiled. "Just like it will be my pleasure to buy you some ice cream before we get you back home. Come on, the boys are waiting."
I would like to thank Silken Gloves for beta-ing this second chapter. You helped make it so much better and tighter and clearer and just generally helped a lot. ^_^