Chapter Five- Diagon Alley

Once we'd gotten to the mainland Hagrid said we'd keep travelling till we reach London. As soon as we did, we parked the motorbike in a dark alley and started exploring London's streets. I'd never been to London before.

I took out my letter and went to the next page where it explained what pieces of equipment I would need for school. "All students must be equipped with...one standard size two pewter cauldron and may bring if they desire either an owl, a cat or a toad. Can we find all this in London?" I asked Hagrid, looking up at him quite a bit as I was nowhere near tall enough to look at him face to face, being as young as I was. I don't think I'll ever be as tall as him.

"If you know where to go," Hagrid replied in a mysterious voice.

He led me to a dungy looking corner store that looks like a rundown grubby pub, known to witches and wizards as the Leaky Cauldron, a famous place Hagrid tells me. I wouldn't of noticed it if Hagrid hadn't pointed it out. I hear talking as we enter through the door.

I don't really see any change from the outside to the inside expect for these old people dressed in robes and pointy hats. For a famous place it certainly doesn't seem very nice. Who dresses in that kind of fashion? The Barkeep Tom notices Hagrid and me walking in. "Ah, Hagrid! The usual, I presume?"

"No thanks, Tom. I'm on official Hogwarts business today." He put a hand on my shoulder. "Just helping young Reyna here buy her school supplies."

Tom looked shocked and awed as he stared at me. "Bless my soul," he said in an awed whisper, "it's Reyna Potter."

The pub goes silent. A man comes up to me and repeatedly shakes my right hand. "Welcome back, Miss. Potter, welcome back."

An old witch dressed in purple robes comes up and shakes my hand, as well. "Doris Crockford, Miss. Potter. I can't believe I'm meeting you at last." What is she talking about?

Then a pale man in light pink robes with a turban on his head appears. This man was known as Professor Quirrell. "Reyna P-potter. C-can't tell you how pleased I am to meet you."

Hagrid looks surprised and pleased to see him here. "Hello, Professor. I didn't see you there." To me he said, "Reyna, this is Professor Quirrell. He'll be your Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts."

Wow, so I've already met one of my teaches and learnt the names of one of my classes. I can't help but find it sound interesting. "Oh, nice to meet you." It should be good to make a good first impression so I put out my hand for him to shake. The strange thing was though that he refused to touch me.

"F-fearfully fascinating subject. N-not that you need it, e-eh, Potter?"

"Yes, well, must be going now. Lots to buy." Hagrid started leading me away.

"Good-bye." That was one weird teacher.

We leave into the back room of a pub that seems to be the winery. We stop in front of a brick wall.

"See, Reyna, you're famous!" Hagrid said happily.

"But why am I famous, Hagrid? All those people back there, how is it they know who I am?" I just don't understand what's going on here.

"I'm not exactly sure I'm the right person to tell you that, Reyna." He then brought out his umbrella and tapped the brick wall clockwise. The blocks shifted from the centre outwards and opened up to reveal a hidden, busy street; filled with what I presume to be witches and wizards.

"Welcome, Reyna, to Diagon Alley." I looked out in wonder at all the shops and everything they had to offer.

I grin broadly as we step into the street and walk down it. Further down I hear an owl screech. I turn around quickly and notice the brick wall closing up.

Hagrid kept pointing out different shops. "Here's where you'll get your quills and ink, and over there all your bits and bobs for doing your wizardry."

I'm just amazed as we pass by the shops and owls and bats. I wish I had more eyes then the two I've got. There was just so much to see.

As we walk by a shop I notice a fancy broom on display, where a group of boys are crowded around it. One of the boys exclaimed, "It's a world class racing broom. Look at it; it's the new Nimbus 2000! It's the fastest model yet." I think I'm going to really like the magical world.

"But Hagrid how am I to pay for all this? I haven't any money." I just now realised that. I've never been given money buy the Dursley's. I don't know how I'm going to get all of my school equipment.

He pointed up a head to a huge curvy white building that towered above all the others by far. "Well there's your money, Reyna. Gringotts, the Wizard Bank. T'aint no place safer, 'cept perhaps Hogwarts."

Before we enter the bank I notice to little strange creatures in a uniform of scarlet and gold guarding huge burnished bronze doors. I don't have a clue what they are. They were about a head shorter than me. They looked clever and despite being short it seems they have very thong fingers and feet. They bowed to us as we walked inside. Then we came up to silver doors this time with words engraved upon them:

Enter, stranger, but take heed

Of what awaits the sin of greed,

For those how take, but do not earn,

Must pay 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.

Two more of those strange creatures bowed us through the doors.

Inside the bank, I saw a vast marble hall. More than a hundred of these creatures were now sitting on high stools behind a long counter, scribbling who knows what down. Some were weighing coins in brass scales or examining precious stones through eyeglasses. I could see various people talking with these small beings, probably dealing with how much money they either want to take out of the bank or in.

"Hagrid, what exactly are those things?" It seems the best person to ask about these things would be Hagrid. I would like to think of Hagrid as my friend, and he will be my first ever friend, so I think he will answer me this, though he hasn't told me how my parents really died yet. That must be something I must ask him about soon.

"They're goblins, Reyna," he answered back in a serious tone. "Clever as they come goblins but not the most friendly of beasts. Best stick close to me." I inch a bit closer to him not just because he said for me to do it but with how he described these Goblins. This is my first sighting of magical creatures and they're apparently not the most friend or appealing. We made our way to a counter at the end of the row of counters. Hagrid cleared his throat as we stood in front of a terribly old looking Goblin. I had to crane my neck up to see him. "Miss. Reyna Potter wishes to make a withdrawal."

The goblin looks up from scribbling something. "And does Miss. Reyna Potter have her key?"

What, I don't have a key but then Hagrid spoke up. "Oh. Wait a minute. Got it here somewhere." He fished a tine detailed golden key out of one of his many pockets. "Hah. Here's the little devil." He put it down on the counter so the Goblin could see it. "Oh, and there's something else as well. Professor Dumbledore gave me this. It's about you-know-what in vault you-know-which," it seemed he was whispering this information. It must be important, especially if it's from my new Headmaster. He fishes out a letter wrapped in string and hands it over to the Goblin.

The Goblin looks up after reading the letter. "Very well. I will have someone take you down to both vaults. Griphook!"

This was yet another Goblin, which was really to be expected in a place run by them. We followed him as he led us toward one of the doors leading of the hall.

~RP~

"What's the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen?" I asked Hagrid. It seems he is proud of being the one Headmaster Dumbledore trusted with bringing this mysterious object to him.

"Can't tell yeh that," said Hagrid mysteriously. "Hogwarts business. Very secret."

Griphook held the door open for us and after we stepped through we found ourselves in a narrow stone passage way that was lit in flaming torches. I was surprised. I expected more marble, as a lot of the building seems to be made of it. I could see that it sloped steeply downwards and noticed that there were little railway tracks on the floor. Griphook whistled and a small cart came hurtling at a fast speed towards us. We climbed in, though Hagrid had a little difficulty and we were off.

I think this is one of the things I'll remember for the rest of my life. It felt like the experience of flying on Hagrid's motorcycle. We sped down passages, twisting left right with, I think the desire for us to not remember the way. The cart was steering itself on its own I noticed when I saw that Griphook wasn't moving.

When the ride stopped Hagrid looked very green. "You alright Hagrid?"

"I'll be fine in a minute Reyna. Those things make me feel sick."

"Vault 687," said Griphook. This must be my vault. I couldn't wait to see what was inside. All my life I've never had a penny to my name.

While Hagrid leaned against the wall Griphook unlocked the door. Green smoke bellowed out of it and when it cleared my mouth dropped open at the sheer amount of money I could see: as inside there were mounts of gold coins, columns of silver and heaps of little bronze nuts.

"All yours," Hagrid smiled at my wonder. All mine. If the Dursley's had known about this then it would all be gone in seconds spent of their precious son Dudley. "Didn't think your mum and dad would leave you with nothing, now did ya?"

He took out a small dark purple bag and helped me load some of the coins in. He explained what each of them where. "The gold ones are Galleons, seventeen silver Sickles to a Galleon and twenty nine Knuts to a Sickle. Right, that should be enough fer a couple o' terms; we'll keep the rest safe for yeh." He then turned to Griphook as I tightened the string in the bag and put it in my trouser pockets. "Vault seven hundred and thirteen now, please, and can we go a bit more slowly?"

"One speed only," was Griphook's reply. I don't understand Hagrid. He likes his motorcycle but not the cart ride? I love both.

We went down even deeper for the next vault. When we reached the vault I noticed it had no key hole. Well, how was Hagrid supposed to get whatever it was inside it then?

"Vault 713," Griphook announced. "Stand back." He walked up to the door and slid a finger down the door. Clank. Clank. The vault opened to expose a small grubby package. I was disappointed. I thought some rare jewels or something was going to be inside it. Hagrid hurried in and scooped it up. This eerie light that was shining on it disappeared as he did so.

"Best not mention this to anyone, Reyna."

I knew that as the happy-go-lucky giant said that, I knew this had to be taken seriously. So I nodded.

~RP~

Later on in the day we find me and Hagrid outside in the street, walking.

I was carrying all the things I'd bout so far which included all the clothes I'd need that I got tailored for in a shop called Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions: Three sets of plain work robes (black), One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear, One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide), One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings). There were also the course books that were from a shop called Flourish and Blotts: 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. And finally, there was any equipment I would need: 1 Cauldron (pewter, standard size 2), 1 set glass or crystal phials, 1 Telescope, 1 set of Brass Scales. We also bought some parchment and ink. I watched in amazement as I found a bottle of ink that changed colour as you wrote. When we reached the Apothecary it was only the interesting ingredients like silver Unicorn horns or glittery black beetle eyes and the fact that Hagrid had asked for some basic potion ingredients for me that made it worth hanging around with the awful smell of something like bad eggs and rotten cabbages.

"I still need...a wand." This was the thing I had been looking most forward to though getting a pet was second on the list.

"A wand? Well, you'll want Ollivanders." He pointed out a dark narrow shop up ahead. Peeling gold letters over the door read Ollivanders; Makers of Fine Wands since 382b.c. "No place better. Run along there, but wait. I just got one more thing I got to do. Won't be long."

I go into the store quietly as I can and put my packages down on the counter. I look around to see there are shelves of wands in thin boxes right up to the ceiling, but no people.

I speak softly, aware that the air in here felt strange. "Hello? Hello?"

I heard a thunk which made me jump and look up to see a man appear on a ladder who looked and smiled at me. "I wondered when I'd be seeing you, Miss. Potter. It seems only yesterday that your mother and father were in here buying their first wands. Your mother Lilly, she had ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work." He stared at me few a few seconds. I kind of wish he didn't. I thought those silver eyes of his were a bit creepy. "You father on the other hand favoured a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration. Well, I say your father favoured it- it's really the wand that chooses the wizard, or witch, of course." Um I didn't know that, he says it as if I should. As if everyone should.

"Which is your wand arm?" he asked me.

How am I supposed to know that? I've never used a wand before, that's the whole point of why I'm here. He could mean which arm I write with I suppose. "Well, I'm right-handed."

"Hold out your arm. That's it." He measured me from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit, and round the head. And as he measured me he said, "Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance, Miss. Potter. We use Unicorn hairs, Phoenix tail feathers, and the heartstrings of Dragons. No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two Unicorns, Dragons, or Phoenixes are quite the same. And of course, you will never get such good results with another wizard's wand." Just then I realised that the tape measure was measuring me on it's as I saw Ollivander flitting around the shelves, looking at different wands. It was as he told it that it was enough that it crumpled to the floor.

"Ah. Here we are. Try this one. Beech-wood and Dragon heartstring. Nine inches. Nice and flexible." I hold it and stand in the same place. I don't know any magic. He hasn't told me what to do. "Well, give it a wave."

"Oh!" It was that simple was it? I wave the wand and all the shelves come crashing down. I jump, surprised and hurriedly put the wand back on the counter, knowing the wand wasn't for me.

"Apparently not." He gets another wand for me. "Perhaps this. Maple and Phoenix feather. Seven inches. Quite whippy." I didn't get a chance to wave it before it was snatched out of my hands. He didn't let me even try it. He got me another wand. "Ebony and Unicorn hair, eight and a half inches, springy." I waved my wand at a vase and it blew apart. "No, no, definitely not! No matter..." he goes further down one isle and stops. He takes out a box. "I wonder." He hurries back down to me, takes the wand out of the box. "Holly and Phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple."

He hands it to me. As soon as he does I felt a sudden warmth in my fingers. I felt compelled to lift the wand above my head before I brought it swishing down through the dusty air and a stream of red and gold sparks shot from the end like a firework. I somehow knew that this was the wand for me. "Curious, very curious."

"Sorry, but what's curious?"

"I remember every wand I've ever sold, Miss. Potter. It just so happens that the phoenix, whose tail feather resides in your wand, gave one other feather, just one. It is curious that you should be destined for this wand when its brother gave you that scar." He pointed to my scar. I can tell that he is very serious in his words. I swallow, noticing that my mouth suddenly feels dry. "Yes, thirteen and a half inches. Yew."

"And...who owned that wand?" I asked him, curious. Nobody has yet explained to me who killed my parents.

"Oh, we do not speak his name. The wand chooses the wizard, Miss. Potter. It's not always clear why, but I think it is clear that we can expect great things from you. After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things...terrible, yes, but great."

I shivered. I wasn't sure that I liked this old man too much. I paid seven gold Galleons and turned around when I heard knocking and a call of 'Reyna' on the front window. It was Hagrid, smiling happily at me. I looked down next to him and saw a beautiful Snowy Owl in a tall cage. "Reyna! Reyna! Happy birthday!" The Snowy Owl hoots.

"Wow." That Owl is just the best birthday present I have ever got. Well, the only one I've ever had. I decided to name her Hedwig.

~RP~

It was now the late tea time and after purchasing some supplies for Hedwig would find Hagrid and me eating chicken soup in the Leaky Cauldron. We decided to get ourselves a room for the night and then go catch the train for Hogwarts tomorrow which will be September 1st. I couldn't wait for school tomorrow but I was feeling down thinking about what happened earlier today.

We were sat at the beginning of a long table, and I wasn't feeling particularly hungry.

I was thinking about the person Ollivander called He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. I wasn't sure but I think he was the one who killed my parents even though Ollivander didn't actually say that.

"You all right, Reyna? You seem very quiet."

I wasn't sure. I mean, it was the best birthday I'd ever had in my enter life. I guess the only way to know for certain who killed my parents would be to ask Hagrid. "He killed my parents, didn't he? The one who gave me this," I pointed to my scar. "You know, Hagrid, I know you do."

Hagrid sighed and pushed his bowl away then leaned closer to me. "First, and understand this, Reyna, 'cause it's very important. Not all wizards are good. Some of them go bad. A few years ago there was one wizard who went as bad as you can go. And his name was V-...his name was V-..." Why can't people say his name? It is only a name after all. What is to be afraid of a name?

"Maybe if you wrote it down?" At least that way he won't have it say it.

"No, I can't spell it. All right. His name was Voldermort."

"Voldermort?" I almost shouted. What kind of name is that?

"Shh!" Hagrid hurriedly shushed me. I looked around to see if the few people who were here hadn't noticed my outburst. "This wizard, about twenty years ago now, started lookin' fer followers. Got 'em, too - some were afraid, some just wanted a bit o' his power, 'cause he was gettin' himself power, all right. It was dark times, Reyna, dark times. Didn't know who ter trust didn't dare get friendly with strange wizards or witches... terrible things happened. He was takin' over. 'Course, some stood up to him and they ended up dead. One o' the only safe places left was Hogwarts. Reckon Dumbledore's the only one You-Know-Who was afraid of. Didn't dare try takin' the school, not just' then, anyway." This Headmaster Dumbledore and the school must be really powerful then, since it was enough to scare Voldermort.

"Now, yer mum an' dad were as good a witch an' wizard as I ever knew. Head boy an' girl at Hogwarts in their day! Suppose the mystery is why You-Know-Who never tried to get 'em on his side before... probably knew they were too close ter Dumbledore ter want anythin' ter do with the Dark Side.

"Maybe he thought he could persuade 'em... maybe he just wanted 'em outta the way. All anyone knows is, he turned up in the village where you was all living, on Halloween ten years ago. You was just a year old. He came ter yer house an' You-Know-Who killed 'em. An' then - an' this is the real mystery of the thing - he tried to kill you, too. Wanted ter make a clean job of it, I suppose, or maybe he just liked killin' by then. But he couldn't do it."

"Me…?" I ask in shock. "Voldermort tried to kill me?" How come he hadn't succeeded then? Not that I'm not grateful that he didn't kill me.

"Never wondered how you got that mark on yer forehead?" Of course I have. Who wouldn't? I knew it wasn't an ordinary cut; it would be pretty hard to make. "That was no ordinary cut. That's what yeh get when a powerful, evil curse touches yeh - took care of yer mum an' dad an' yer house, even - but it didn't work on you. No one ever lived after he decided ter kill 'em." As Hagrid's story finished I remembered the green light I sometimes dreamed of clearer than any other time and heard a cool, cruel laugh.

"What happened to Vol-" I started to say his name but then remembered that Hagrid doesn't like saying it so I thought it would be politer to say "...to You-Know-Who?"

"Some say he died. Codswallop in my opinion. Nope, I reckon he's out there, still, too tired to go on. But one thing's absolutely certain. Something about you stumped him that night. That's why you're famous, Reyna. That's why everybody knows your name. You're the Girl Who Lived."

Well, now I finally know what happened to my parents. I've learnt more about them in one day then in the whole time I've lived. I also know now why I'm famous. I don't think I'm going to like being famous when I get to school but hopefully I'll find some friends who will stick by me not because of my title but because of who I am. The thought of gaining friends at my new school cheered me up a bit.