Side-along apparition is the weirdest feeling ever. Like you are being squeezed through a straw. Not one of those throw-away plastic ones littering the ocean from Muggles. A heavy-duty, metal one. We appeared in an alley where the dumpster smelled of grease and fries. It was a hamburger bar, an old looking one but it had that rustic look of welcome. We started the walk towards the famous Leaky Cauldron. We passed several muggle shops as cars zipped by on the road next to them. We passed flower shops and dress stores and boutiques. Finally, we came to a music museum (my aunt said it used to be just a music store, but they got so many collectibles donated, it became a museum) and a bookshop. Between the two of them was the Leaky Cauldron.
"Ohhh, it looks exactly the same as when we came our first time, doesn't it sister?" Said my Aunt Matti with a musing look on her face as she stared at the sign. Nancy nodded her head, smiling fondly at the entrance to the bar. Matti pushed the door open and they walked inside. The inside was kind of small and dingy but made it feel like home. There was a wooden staircase and a door to the outer alley, separated by a wooden bar with several chairs. A middle-aged man stood behind the bar while a woman with blonde hair sat in a chair, half concealed by a slightly closed door. The middle-aged man had no hair and a bit of a belly but toned arms and legs, covered in tattoos. Regardless of these things, he was a good-looking man. He whistled while he cleaned glasses and nearly skipped around behind the bar.
"Robert! I hoped you would be here today!" My Aunt Nancy called to the man. He glanced up and smiled real big. His teeth were white and straight.
"Nanc! Darling! How wonderful to see you! Who is this lovely little lady? Oh, look at her, she's going to be a heartbreaker one day! You must be eleven and heading to get school supplies! Nancy who is this darling little thing?" He said all of this very fast and with such an excited inflection in his voice, Lucy's face went bright red.
"This is my niece, Rob and you're right! Her first trip! I am so excited! She's growing up way too fast, don't even get me started on boys! Her name is Lucy and she will absolutely take one of your specialty prediction drinks!" Nancy responded in the same way, very quick and chatty. They kept up the chatter continuously until Rob plopped the drink down in front of me. It was a small, round glass with a milky white substance in it. The glass was smoking slightly and swirled around, even when it wasn't moving. I looked up. Everyone was staring at me expectantly.
"Uhh… What do I do? Just drink it?" I said. No one had told me about this. Nancy sounded like she was knew Rob well.
"That's right sugar! It will, with almost one hundred percent accuracy, predict what Hogwarts house you'll be in!" Robert responded. They all smiled at me and watched me in anticipation.
"There's no alcohol, right? My mother would kill me." I said with a nervous laugh. The man just shook his head, still smiling gayly at me in waiting.
I took a big swig of the surprisingly smooth drink, it tasted like nothing at first. As it slid down my throat however I caught a taste of what I could only describe as sunshine. It was bright, almost floral and very crisp. I went to go take another drink of the white liquid, but it had turned a bright yellow.
"Hufflepuff!" exclaimed Robert, twirling in a circle. I big smile lit up my face. Hufflepuff. It sounded like home.
"Well we won't know for sure until she gets there!" said Aunt Nancy, looking slightly disappointed.
"You wanted me to be in Ravenclaw didn't you Auntie?" I asked her, laughing slightly.
"Just as much as I wanted you to be Gryffindor!" Matti exclaimed, also looking a tad disappointed but smiling just the same.
"You write to us the second you get sorted by the Hat young lady and let us know!" Nancy said, smiling and ruffling my hair.
"Ladies, she's clearly a Hufflepuff. I'm telling you, my drinks are almost never wrong! I brew them up special." Robert said with a wink.
Laughing, we went to the back alley where a trashcan lay, and a brick wall seemed solid and unmovable.
"What's the brick count again?" Matti said, pulling out her wand.
"Three up, two across, Auntie!" I said, my eyes wide with excitement. My heart was pounding in my chest. This was it. Diagon Alley. I finally get to make the trip to get my Hogwarts equipment. I was really going to school at Hogwarts. I was going to get a wand.
The brick wall opened onto the place I had heard so much about, the bright sun shone down onto the cobbled road that twisted out of sight. Shops of all kinds drew my eyes and people moved about the street merrily, witches and wizards doing their shopping.
"Right! I want to get this done in a timely manner, so I made a list." Aunt Nancy said, and pulling from the inside of her coat, she produced a long list that drooped all the way to the floor.
"Merlin's Pants! What, do you plan on taking her to every single store?" Matti said, gaping at the list as Nancy squinted at the first item.
Potage's Cauldron Shop
-silver, size two
"Why do you have silver on there, Nancy. Her list says pewter!" Matti said as she read her sisters insanely long list.
"You've seen her powers, you know she's going to excel at everything. I am just trying to give her a head start!" Nancy said, and pulled the list away from her sister's prying gaze, "I'm in charge of her finances for this trip so if she goes to school with a silver cauldron, they'll just have to accept it!"
Matti rolled her eyes. While this had been going on, I had been gazing around at everything I could keep my eyes on. Witches and wizards roamed the streets, some stopping to talk to each other, others just waving and moving on. Brightly colored birds sat atop the shoulders of two twin girls, about 7 or 8. Their father was watching them fondly when suddenly a woman approached them. It ended up being the wife and she scolded the husband. I could hear them all the way from where we were standing.
"I told you not to let them beg you to buy them something! How much did those cost?"
The husband stammered but looked sweetly down at the two girls and said,
"Well dear, they were on sale. Two for the price of one… Now how could I turn that down when that's the same deal we got." He pulled his wife in and kissed her while the two girls giggled and ran around them. I turned my head away, blushing. The obvious love he had for her was almost too raw to look at directly. I started to wonder if that would ever be me some day. Would he be a wizard? Maybe a Muggle? What would he look like? He would HAVE to be funny… Would he be handsome? Or more, lovable dad looking?
As I had been pondering and daydreaming, I hadn't noticed that my Aunts had started towards the cauldron shop. I was still staring off into the constantly moving and slowing crowd of people. I turned around to ask my Aunt a question when I finally noticed they were gone. My stomach dropped, and I turned around, scanning the crowd for a sight of them. I spotted them right at the entrance to Potage's Cauldron Shop. I sighed and walked over to them, they had been arguing so much they hadn't even noticed. I walked up to them and as I did, Nancy turned her head and said,
"Right, Lucy?!" I didn't know what to say.
"Uh… What?" I blurted.
"Oh, you've got your head in the clouds girl. Don't you think a silver cauldron is better?"
"Your list says pewter!" Matti said, sounding exasperated.
"Why don't we ask the shop keeper?" I said, trying to find a solution to help everyone stay calm.
Nancy opened her mouth to say something, took a breath, stopped, blinked a few times, looked right at me and said,
"Maybe you ARE a Hufflepuff. Alright, let's go ask then." She sighed dramatically and held the door open for us. Aunt Matti and I both walked in and Nancy followed, letting the door close behind her with a little tinkle.
The shop was very organized and clean. Rows upon rows of cauldrons of every size imaginable were lined up in neat little rows, going from largest way in the back to tiny ones at the very front of the shop. There was a small stack on the checkout counter, I picked one up. It fit in the palm of my little eleven-year-old hand. My two Aunts had started the discussion with the store keeper, so I wandered around the shop. I walked to the very back and found the largest cauldron in the whole shop. I compared it to the one in my hand. The size difference was astounding. I couldn't even reach the top lip of the huge black cauldron. The small one in my hand was grey, rather than black and smooth. The one next to me was rough and bumpy. Suddenly I heard my name being called. It sounded weirdly reverberated with all the large empty cauldrons around me. I made my way up to the front of the shop and went to replace the tiny cauldron when my Aunt grabbed it and placed it next to a silver, standard size two cauldron. I guess Nancy had won the argument for silver being acceptable. I grinned at my Aunt as she paid five galleons and two sickles for the two cauldrons. They were packed away into a box with handles and we left the shop.
Next on Aunt Nancy's list, I glanced under her outstretched arm (her eye sight was getting a bit worse).
Mr. Mullpepper's Apothacary
-potion's starter kit
-vials
-dragon-hide gloves
"We might as well get her the advanced potion kit to go with her silver cauldron." Matti said, as we walked into the shop. The smell was awful. I covered my mouth and nose with my shirt, hoping to block out the stench. The shelves were full of strange objects. Tea cups and metal things and spoons and knives that glowed slightly green. I walked around looking at all of the shelves and magical items. Soon I was again in the back of the shop. Suddenly, something caught my eye. It was a very old, folded up bit of parchment. It looked ancient and like it had been folded and unfolded several times over. I picked it up, feeling a sudden rush I couldn't explain. Why was I so drawn to this spare bit of parchment?
Still contemplating it, I walked back towards the front of the shop. I could hear my Aunt Matti saying something, her voice slightly raised. I moved closed to her and realized she was arguing with the store clerk.
"She's only a first year, she wouldn't need the advanced potion making set." The old clerk wheezed.
"That's for us to decide isn't it, though? I want to purchase both." Aunt Matti had that tone in her voice that suggested she was not going to budge.
"Very well, very well. Take both and the gloves and be gone then." The old man huffed.
"Aunt Matti, can we buy this too?" I asked, rushing forward with the parchment.
"What, that old piece of paper? What does it do?" Matti asked the clerk.
"I've no idea. I've never seen it before now." The clerk said, looking at the paper curiously.
"How much do you want for it?" Matti asked.
"Nothing, you may have it young lady. Now excuse me, there are other customers, "and with a final irritated wave, he ushered them out of his shop. I started at the paper I now owned. I still wasn't sure why I had bought it, but I knew that it was magical.