Chapter 6: First Time at Diagon Alley
"Are you sure this is the place?" Dawn Evans asked her daughter as she parked her second-hand Volkswagen Beetle in front of a tiny, grubby-looking pub, which was supposed to be famously known as the Leaky Cauldron by all magical people as stated in one of the parchments. It looked barely noticeable to most people, who just walked from the big bookshop on its right to the record shop on its left, ignoring the pub totally. If Lily had not pointed out the pub, Dawn would not have even noticed its existence.
"I'm sure this is the place, Mum. I see you in five hours time." Lily smiled confidently as she kissed her mother goodbye and got off the pale yellow car. She looked at the car as it went further and further. Then she turned around and look at the pub skeptically. I'm not sure if I'm at the right place. This doesn't exactly seem like a place I have in mind. She was having quite a bit of money in her wallet and was starting to feel the jitters. She swallowed her saliva and walked towards the pub, looking at the inconspicuous signboard that read 'Leaky Cauldron'.
"Excuse me?" Lily's thoughts were interrupted by a voice.
"Yes?" Lily turned and saw a young girl about her age and slightly taller than herself. She noticed that the girl had very rare purple-colored eyes. "Unusual eyes you got there."
"Thanks. You've got unusual fiery red hair too." Both the girls blushed and smiled at each other shyly.
"Anyway my name is Lily, Lily Evans. What's yours?" Lily asked smiling, holding up her right hand for a handshake. She rarely introduced herself to a total stranger in this manner.
"Arabella Figg. Nice to meet you." Arabella smiled warmly, returning the handshake.
"Anyway are you erm… going to the erm… Leaky Cauldron?" Lily asked curiously. She looked at the pub and looked at Arabella again.
"Actually I was about to ask you the same question. Are you – well - going to this school name er… Hogwarts or something?" Arabella asked, trying to find the right word, without sounding too weird.
"So you are a witch too?" Lily asked happily, glad to find someone in the same situation with herself.
"Yes. It's my first year. You too?" Arabella smiled, feeling utterly relieved. This is real! She was equally glad that she had just made a new friend.
"Let's go together." Lily suggested as they started to walk into the Leaky Cauldron. The two girls looked rather lost at the smoky pub. Naturally they walked towards the bar counter.
"Erm, excuse me." The two girls tried to get the attention of the bartender.
"Yes? Diagon Alley?" The bald and toothless bartender said before they asked anything. The two girls nodded silently. "Follow me." Both of the exchanged a puzzled look and remain rooted at where they stood. "Don't worry, I'm taking you into Diagon Alley. This way." They followed the bartender but kept a safe distance in case if he might do anything.
"Two first-years without an adult." The bartender joked and both girls just smiled politely. He brought them to the courtyard and tapped the brick wall with a wand. And the most amazing thing was the brick wall moved magically and opened up, revealing a stretch of busy street, known as Diagon Alley.
"Go on in, just come back here later." The bartender smiled. "Go straight to Gringotts first to exchange for wizardry money."
"Thank you." The two girls thanked the bartender gratefully and walked through the opened brick wall. Their very first step into the magical world.
yYyYyYyYyYyYyYyYyYyYy
"Can't you just hurry up?" Sirius groaned at his younger sister of one minute. James and Sirius had been pacing outside Stefanie's room for about five minutes so far. They were waiting anxiously but unwillingly for her.
"Coming, don't hurry me!" Stefanie yelled back from her room, continued packing her bag as quickly as she could, trying to bring all the stuffs she needed.
"We're not waiting for you then." Sirius yelled back, about to head towards the fireplace at Back's Mansion, pulling James along.
"If you don't wait for me, I'm gonna tell Mum and Dad." Stefanie yelled out, as she brushed her hair quickly and tied it into a ponytail. She knew that this statement would be able to make Sirius waited for her.
"Girls." Sirius rolled his eyes at James. And James just returned with a smile. They stopped and waited outside Stefanie's room once again. It was the first time that they were be heading to Diagon Alley all by themselves, without the adults breathing down their necks.
After another five minutes of waiting, Stefanie got out and they finally head downstairs. Sirius was complaining to Stefanie non-stop about how slow she was being, making the two of them wasting their precious time to wait for her while they could be doing something more worthwhile at Diagon Alley. The three of them now had dangerously pocketful of Galleons, Sickles and Knuts jingling away in their pockets as they walk down the stairs towards the fireplace.
The threesome stood in the fireplace, dropped some glittering Floo powder and with a roar, the fire turned emerald green.
"Diagon Alley!" They shouted at the same time and they spun through a series of fireplaces.
yYyYyYyYyYyYyYyYyYyYy
"Diagon Alley." Remus shouted from the fireplace at the Lupin Villa. He felt as if he was being sucked down a giant plughole. He seemed to be spinning very fast and the roaring in his ears was deafening. He kept his eyes shut tightly and the whirl of green flames made him feel sick in the stomach. I hate traveling using Floo powder. He kept his hands tucked in tightly while he was still spinning. He opened his right eye a little to catch a glimpse of what was going on and he saw a blurred stream of fireplaces and the rooms beyond. Suddenly the spinning stopped. He opened his eyes fully and saw the familiar surrounding of Diagon Alley. He had been here so often with his parents but it was the first time he came by himself since his parents are away in some meeting by the Ministry of Magic. Remus stepped out and took a deep breathe of the smell of the familiar and yet foreign Diagon Alley.