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As soon as we reached Diagon Alley, Hermione took off to find her friends. I was left to browse shop windows with Mum and Dad. My mother kept telling me that I should go with my sister, but I insisted on staying with them. I wanted to enjoy this Hermione-free moment while it lasted. I knew if I tagged along with her, I would be completely ignored, as usual, yet still forced to drag along with them. Besides, I would meet her friends on the train. Maybe even while Hermione wasn't there. I smiled at the thought. My sister was always there – an ever-present, annoying presence. It was nice to catch a few moments alone. It took a while, but my mom finally gave in.
"Fine, but stay close to me," she warned.
I rolled my eyes. "I'm eleven, Mum. Not two."
"Sweetie, I know you're eleven. But safety comes first."
Sighing, I headed towards a store called Flourish and Blotts. I recalled that Hermione had gone there last year to get her school books. Hermione loved that store, but I simply couldn't see what the big deal was about. I guess it's just Hermione being her usual bookworm self. Unfortunately, there weren't any video game stores in Diagon Alley. Oh well. As I walked into the bookstore, I wrinkled my nose. The whole place smelled like it needed a good deep cleaning. It had that old book scent – the one you get when you crack open a book that hasn't been opened for years. Hermione absolutely adored it – yet another aspect of my sister I will never understand. I found my books as quickly as possible and paid for them in wizard money. My parents had given me some coins they had left over from last year's trip to Diagon Alley, but next year I would have to go to Gringotts, the wizard bank, to get more. As I turned to leave the shop, I froze. Hermione and her friends – I couldn't remember their names – walked into the shop. One of them, a redhead with freckles, seemed to have the same opinion about bookstores that I did. He was complaining loudly as the trio walked into the store. The shop owner glared ferociously at him.
"Ron, shut up!" said Hermione angrily. "It's not my fault you two don't read.
Just as I was about to bolt back into the shelves, my mom spotted Hermione.
"Hermione! There you are!" she said with a smile.
My sister spun around and her eyes grew wide. She tried to drag her friends deeper into the store, but it was too late. Ron, confused by Hermione's sudden change in attitude, followed her gaze to where my parents and I were standing.
"Harry, look! It's Mr. and Mrs. Granger!" he yelled, shaking his friend's arm. The store manager shot him another nasty look. I really couldn't blame him.
"Ron, honestly!" exclaimed Hermione. She turned to our parents. "Hi Mum, hi Dad," she muttered sheepishly. No sign she even saw me standing there. Not that this was anything new.
My mother simply smiled. "Hello dear. Having a good time?
"Um… sure, I guess," said Hermione uncertainly.
I smiled. This conversation was getting better by the second.
"How about you two?" she asked, this time addressing Ron and Harry.
"Oh, er – we're fine, right Harry?" stuttered Ron.
"Yep. Everything is just fine," said Harry nervously.
My mom raised her eyebrows, but otherwise did not mention their behavior. "Well anyway, have fun."
"Bye, Mum!"said Hermione hastily.
"Wait – don't you want to take Emily with you?" said Mum, seizing her chance.
I groaned. "Mum, I –"
Harry and Ron looked at each other and shrugged, despite Hermione's frantic head shaking from behind our mother. "Why not?" said Harry, looking straight at Hermione. When anger clouded her face, he did this weird thing with his mouth that was halfway between a smirk and a smile. As he reached up to brush his hair out of his face, I saw a zigzagging cut on his forehead. I frowned. I knew that cut was important for some reason, but I couldn't think why. Oh well. I'd probably figure it out later. When Harry saw me looking, he quickly brushed his bangs back into position. Weird. Why would he want to hide a stinking scar?
Before I could protest further, my mother was pushing me gently out the door. Grumbling, I hurried to catch up with Hermione.
"– don't know why they were in there, she said they would be going there last," Hermione was saying. "We can go back to Flourish and Blotts after – yes Ron, we have to go back! We haven't got our schoolbooks yet!
"C'mon, why can't we just go to Quality Quidditch Supplies?" demanded Ron. "I want to go look at brooms!"
"Because we don't need those for school! Besides, are you actually planning on buying anything there?"
"Well – no," admitted Ron. "But it's more interesting than a bookstore!"
Hermione sighed. "Forget about Quidditch already! We all need new robes for this year, and Emma might as well get hers while we're at it. Mum will be furious if she finds out we have robes and she hasn't."
Wow. I can just feel the love. But I followed them into Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occasions anyway. Typically, Hermione made sure I was last. Once my turn finally came around, I stepped up onto a stool that a lady, presumably Madame Malkin, had placed in the middle of the shop. Madame began measuring every little aspect of my body with a measuring tape. After a while, she went and selected a robe for me. But apparently it still didn't fit, because then she started pinning up and letting down the different sections of the robe. After what felt like an hour, she stepped back.
"Voila!" she exclaimed with a flourish.
I thanked her politely and headed out the door to search for Hermione and her friends. I spotted them almost instantly. They were in front of an ice cream parlor, near the front of the line. I ran up to my sister.
"Getting ice cream without me, are we now?"I said with a smirk.
"Go away, Emily," she said irritably.
"You know Mum and Dad only let us get ice cream occasionally, and then we both get some!" I whined.
"So? Mum and Dad aren't here now, are they? Nothing to stop me."
"I'm here. And I'll tell Mum and Dad about this if I don't get any."
"You wouldn't!" she said, glaring at me. I almost laughed. She knew all too well that I would.
I simply smiled in return.
Hermione seemed to struggle for a Moment, then let out a sigh. "Fine. I'll get you ice cream. But don't get used to this.
I only got a plain vanilla cone, and it was the smallest size they had, but I had beaten my sister to get it. That made it one hundred times better. There was also the fact that both of my parents are dentists. Even a small scoop of vanilla ice cream is a treat.
After we had gotten all of our school things, Hermione finally consented to let Ron go to Quality Quidditch Supplies. It actually wasn't all that bad. Better that Flourish and Blotts, at any rate. We looked at the displays of broomsticks and browsed the shelves of equipment. That's where my parents found us an hour later.
As Hermione said goodbye to Ron and Harry, I thought about the day. I'd say it wasn't a complete waste of time. Winning "The Great Ice Cream Argument", as I had come to call it, definitely made up for any bad things that had happened. But I'd had enough magic for one day. My video games were calling me.