"Eeylops is next; although your mom said you could keep Emiko, I think we should buy HER a small owl, to make sure she keeps in touch. Nothing hyper though, something docile."

So it was that we entered the dark shop. Rustling and hooting came from every direction and big eyes blinked from inside cages. Meows and squeaks could be heard from different cages as well. The three of us approached the counter.

"Hi, first can I please get some owl nuts? The large ones? We also need to purchase an owl." I said and turned to look back at my aunt for clarification.

"We'll take your most docile and loyal Northern Pigmy."

"Yes, ma'am." The perky attendant said and raced off towards another part of the store. She wasn't gone long. She brought a tall, slightly narrow cage. It was narrower than Emiko's. A tiny owl sat in the cage, with its head tucked into its wing. As it was placed on the counter, it woke and gave a little hoot.

"If you want a loyal pigmy, I suggest getting a baby. They learn better loyalty as babies." The young girl said.

"Awwwww Aunty look! It's so little!" The word Puchi came to mind. I was delighted with the tiny owl, it was so absolutely adorable. "I think we should name her Puchi."

The tiny owl lifted its head from its water dish and looked at me and hooted. The little bird's eyes were huge and seemed to look right through me and into my heart.

"I guess that's settled then!" Aunt Nancy said with a laugh.

We paid for the owl and left, walking out into the sunshine which stabbed at our eyes after the darkness of the little shop with its chorus of sounds and many flashing eyes.

"What's next?" I said, poking a piece of an owl nut treat I had foraged for from the bottom of the bag into the tiny owl's cage. She hooted and nibbled at the treat energetically.

"A broom," said my Aunt Mattie and I turned with wide, excited eyes as we walked up to Quality Quidditch Supplies. Little did I know that I would be getting so much more than just a broom.

There was another sign hanging below the one giving the name of the shop. It looked newer than the old rickety sign, which had a single peeling letter on Supplies. The sign read, Now selling: International brooms from all over the world. I knew that there used to be a broom ban for first years, but that had been lifted. First years could bring their brooms but only use them for training and practice and were still barred from tryouts and team matches. I knew this because my Aunt's had been talking about it on the way to the Leaky Cauldron. Someone in Matti's first year had tried to smuggle one in and try out for Quidditch and got detention for it.

The brooms in the window were bright, shiny, and sleek and looked expensive. We walked into the shop and I saw all sorts of things hanging on the walls. Quaffles, Bludgers, bats, helmets, broom servicing kits, and a large silver cage of fluttering golden balls which I knew were Snitches. I couldn't take enough in at once. There were all sorts of uniforms and chest, elbow and shin guards hanging in rows of all sizes and colors. There was an entire bookcase in the back and I saw a total of nineteen volumes on the rules of The International Quidditch World Cup.

"Lucy! Come here and choose your broom, love!" I heard someone call from the front of the store. I walked forward and saw a huge wall dedicated just to brooms. Each broom had pegs holding it up against the wall. Some of the brooms seemed to be vibrating slightly. Little signs were under the brooms with descriptions and names.

Comet Series- Selling Comet260, Comet290, and Comet500

Firebolt Series- Original and Supreme

Official Brooms of Famous Quidditch Player Victor Krum and The Chosen One, Harry Potter

Nimbus Series- Selling Nimbus 1700, 2000, 2001

Popular for school-age Quidditch players

Starsweeper XXI

New from the USA, sleek and agile, highest height range

Twister Moc7

Greatest speed and turning ability, sleek design and extra cushioning with goblin-made metal twig holders

Varapidos

Fiery speed but can become volatile when damaged, use with impervious charm for best results, from Brazil

Yajirushi

Latest model straight from Japan, selling out fast, get yours today! Light and gentle to ride but powerful and fast. Beautiful and prevailing. Broom's of Famous Quidditch Beaters, Hongo and Shingo

As I was looking through the different brooms, I heard a conversation float to me from a few feet away. There were quite a few other customers here. I hadn't realized how packed the whole street was, let alone the store. The people standing next to me were clearly here for the same reason.

"What broom do you want, sweetheart?" A decently handsome looking man said to a girl who looked about my age. The man had shoulder length, dark brown hair and a full beard and mustache. He was also wearing a vibrant purple coat with black buttons and filigree along the edges, with a black ruffled shirt showing underneath and matching purple pants. The girl was darker skinned and had vibrant pink hair. That caught my interest, but what she said next caught me completely off guard.

"Hm… I have no idea! What are you thinking about getting? You're going to Hogwarts too, right?"

It took me a moment before I realized she was talking to me. I had still been staring at her hair when I looked into her face and a huge, hundred-watt smile was directed right at me. Her teeth were super white and straight. She had warm brown eyes and a friendly face. She had high cheekbones and almond-shaped eyes.

"Y-yes, but I still don't know what to get. I like the sound of the Yajirushi, but the Twister sounds cool too." I smiled back, a little embarrassed, sorry I couldn't give the girl a better answer. She, however, seemed to enjoy my answer and it made her think.

"Hm... Well, let's ask! Between those two! Because I thought the Moc sounded good too, but you have me second guessing." and she waved down a store attendant who happened to be passing by, his arms full of a towering box of Quidditch boots.

"Hi, can I ask you a question? Between the Twister Moc7 and the Yajirushi, which would you recommend? What are the downfalls and pros of each?"

The assistant looked a little annoyed, but the girl just smiled at him expectantly, and the man set his boxes down right where he was standing and started to explain. Once he was done, the girl looked thoughtfully at the two brooms.

"I really like the sound of the Yajirushi!" I said enthusiastically.

"Oh, really? I was kind of thinking about the Twister Moc7… Can you tell me a little more about the Yajirushi?" She asked the attendant and when she was about to ask another question he cut in and said,

"There's only one left behind the counter little ladies, ya gonna have to duke it out with each otha." The man sniggered slightly and eyed both me and the girl in a way that was slightly uncomfortable. Maybe it was just me.

"Well, that sure settles it! I'll go with my first choice and take a Twister Moc7, that way you can have the one you want as well!" She said, clapping her hands and turning to me. I was liking this girl more and more as she talked. She had an aura about her that screamed confidence and friendship. I grinned shyly at her and said,

"That's really nice of you."

"Well, us first years have to stick together! It works out even better that we have more in common too. I figure you're a metamorphmagus as well?"

The word sounded so completely foreign, I was sure she had spoken another language.

"What does that mean?" I asked, completely bewildered. I looked back at my Aunts to ask them if they knew, but they were looking at a book on a shelf called The Greatest Game of Quidditch by Ginny Potter. They were arguing over something, but I couldn't hear them, they were standing slightly farther away than I was to the girl with the pink hair but several more customers separated me from my Aunts, and no one stood between me and the mysterious girl with her cryptic word.

I turned back to look at her, only to find her much closer than where I had left her. She was staring at my hair. She shocked me so intensely, I felt my hair change to bright green as I jumped backward, tripped on my jeans and almost toppled over. My hand flew out automatically and connected with another arm before I could fall to the ground.

"Whoops! Sorry! I didn't think your hair was dyed but," the girl started to laugh as she steadied me with her grip tight on my arm, "now, I know for sure! Was that surprise or fear? My emotions change my hair color too."

I couldn't answer for a moment. Too many thoughts were racing through my brain. How did she know? What does this have to do with my powers? I thought that's just how I showed my magic. All underage wizards displayed different kinds of magic. What does that word mean? Metamo- Metafoam- Whatever, what does it mean!? How can that be me? Why hadn't my Aunt's told me? Or Grandma? Did THEY not know? Was this some kind of evil, dark magic that wasn't well known about? But this girl didn't seem to be evil? Was she just that good at hiding it?

Round and round my thoughts spun while the girl waited for me to answer. She started to knit her eyebrows and I was sure the panic had shown on my face. I smiled quickly and said,

"Sorry! I don't speak that language." It sounded so stupid, but it was the first thing I could think of to say.

She kept looking at me for a minute and then said, very matter of fact but quite enough not to be heard by anyone else,

"Do you not know what that means? What... What you are?"

I looked deeply into this strange girl's eyes. They were wide and not judgmental but concerned and caring. She honestly looked extremely friendly and those warm brown eyes are what made my deciding factor. I would trust her.

"N-no, I have no idea. I thought— well, I was just always told, that's how I show my magic. It's normal, everyone shows pre-magic when they're kids. They can't control it. Everyone does it a bit differently too; like my Aunt Nancy, she always levitated off the ground and Aunt Matti made plants grow. I mean I can do that too, I just thought-"

The girl had put her finger to my lips. I had been rambling on, almost in a panicked whisper. I hadn't realized I was breathing so hard until she removed her finger and I was still gasping for air.

"It's ok, it's ok; there's nothing wrong with you. I'm sorry, I thought you knew! I didn't mean to make you freak out. It's just a word for people like us, who can transform their appearance at will. You can do that right?"

"Yea, that's exactly right." And, for added effect, I changed my hair from its still bright green color to black and made it short, with thick sweeping bangs that stopped above my eyes. I changed my eyes from green to blue and did my second favorite nose (after my own), a cute little button nose.

The girl's eyes widened, and she looked amazed. She then turned into an exact mirror copy of what I had just turned into. The only difference was the clothes we wore.

"Wicked." We both said at the exact same time and laughed. I really did like this girl, I decided. Suddenly, all four adults walked up very quickly to the pair of us. Each grabbed the wrong child's arm and yanked us in opposite directions.

I heard the man dragging me saying, "Why did you give that person your hair? Did you see them drinking a potion? Polyjuice potion is nothing to take lightly, young lady!"

I stammered and tried to explain but the couple just cut me off and kept reprimanding me. I was saved by a shout from where the other girl had broken away from my Aunt's. She wasn't a replica of me anymore, however. She was halfway through changing, the black hair lengthening and turning pink, which gave it a very cool effect.

"Gwendolyn!" The two adults cried, and the man let go of me so suddenly and unexpectedly, I fell to the floor. The girl, apparently called Gwendolyn, rushed over to me, scowling slightly at her parents.

"Well jeez Dad, you didn't have to be so rude to her!" Gwendolyn reached out her hand and I took it, standing up and changing back into my normal self. Still with purple hair, of course.

The four adults encircled the two of us. All eight pairs of eyes were on me and Gwendolyn. I tried to take deep breaths; she had said it wasn't bad, but I could feel a rising pressure in my chest as all of the eyes focused on me and then the girl next to me. I felt an arm loop through mine and looked over to see her smiling broadly at me.

"Gwendolyn Star is the name. I usually just go by Star, but my parents insist on calling me Gwendolyn. Even just Gwen is better, but they don't like comic books very much, soooo." She rolled her eyes.

"Lucy Peveral." I said just as my Aunt spoke for the first time.

"Lucy, what is going on?" My Aunt Nancy said with a little note of disappointment in her voice, like I had done something wrong.

"This is Gwe-, I mean Star. She's a Hogwarts student too. Not only that but she said I'm a meter- meta- mega- uh.. How do you say it again?"

"Metamorphmagus! It means the person was born with the ability to change their appearance at will! I started showing signs at birth!" She said this with such pride, a little of my fear disappeared.

"I did too! My Grandmother LOVES to tell the story of my hair color changing in the hospital room. I've always been able to do this, as long as I can remember." I said, looking at my Aunt's as I spoke. They didn't seem to have had any reaction to the word that Star had spoken.

"I've never heard of such a thing. She's just extra talented is all. Probably will come out a Prefect, and Headgirl too." My Aunt Matti said. Nancy nodded her approval. Star's father, the man who grabbed me, spoke up,

"No, she's quite right. Metamorphmagi are very rare but Star here is the third and your... Whatever your name is… is the fourth! Small world though, meeting here!" and the man chortled loudly, apparently unaware that he was being rude, as I had just said my name.

"What? Why have I never heard of them?" Nancy said, looking at her sister. "You think our mother would have known?"

"Maybe she didn't tell us? But, why?" Matti responded, sounding just as confused as her sister.

"Don't feel too bad, ladies. It's little known. We only know by chance." The woman said, speaking for the first time and laying a hand on her daughter's shoulder. She was thin and also darker skinned, with high cheekbones, just like Star's.

"I met Teddy Lupin. Do you know who that is?" Star asked me.

I nodded my head and responded, "He's the Defense Against the Dark Art's teacher, isn't he?"

"Have you not heard of his transformational abilities? His parents?" She continued, hoping that I would catch on.

At this point, however, she had lost me. I knew his parents had died in a war, just like his godfathers had done in the war before that. It was tragic, but Teddy Lupin had grown up to be a great DADA Teacher. He was only about in his thirties, so my Aunt's had not had him as a teacher, but his skill was renowned. Some say he was trained by the Chosen One himself (who, as everyone knew was an amazing DADA student and secret teacher to a group of his own fellow students)! But this clearly wasn't the power that Star was referring to.

"He's one too." She whispered, and her eyes shone with such excitement it was absolutely contagious. A giggle rippled through my chest.

"Is he really?"

"Yes! I can't WAIT to meet him! How often do you think he changes his hair color? How often do YOU change your color?"

"I keep it mostly purple, but it goes with my emotions quite often! Why, how often do you change it?"

"I change it all the time! Today I was feeling bright pink! I've no idea why. Maybe it was because somewhere in my soul, I knew I'd find you today! Our hair colors match so well together!"

"Aww, that's so sweet! I'm honestly glad I already have a friend before going… I was a little nervous… I wasn't sure anyone would like me!"

"That's absolutely ridiculous! You are so fun and spunky, I can just tell!"

On and on we babbled together. I'd never enjoyed talking with someone as much as Star. We even sort of talked the same. Quick and often changing subjects, but always coming back to the points from before and not losing track. As we talked, the adults had ignored our babble and started discussing Quidditch brooms. Something they were saying caught my attention and I suddenly remembered.

"Oh no! What if the Yajirushi got sold?"

Star's eyes got as wide as mine and together we spun towards the adults, who were a few feet away, and approached them quickly.

"Well, the Nimbus Series is the most sensible, of course. Decent for school. It's exactly what I had when I was a young student, although not a first year of course." Star's father was saying.

"Dad, I want the Twister Moc7!" Star interrupted.

"I'd like the Yajirushi, but there is only one left and it might be sold at any moment!" I said, looking at my Aunt's pleadingly.

"What? You want THAT one? How much is it?"

"Let's go ask!" I suggested, and looked at all four adults, hoping to include Star so we could all walk up together. Star made this easy by walking right up next to me, her parents trailing behind her. We all joined the line to the desk where a slightly frazzled looking attendant was trying to manage an arguing couple at the front. While we waited, I asked my Aunt's what they had been arguing about by the bookcases before.

"Oh, I was just trying to convince Nancy that the book I'm buying wasn't a waste!" Matti said and handed the book to me.

I flipped the book over and read,

"Ginny Potter delves into her experience of the 2014 semi-finals between Bulgaria and Japan. The most notable sportsmanship ever seen in a game of Quidditch. An exciting and exhilarating guide to all of the moves done and new illustrations by the author herself. A complete guide to everything Victor Krum and his life-long achievement win of the 2014 Quidditch World Cup is included with your purchase."

I gave the book back to Matti. Of course, I knew all about the Potter's. It was common knowledge for those in magical families. My mother hadn't been the one to tell me, of course. It had been my Grandmother who told the tale of The Boy Who Lived and how he had saved the wizarding and muggle worlds alike when he defeated Voldemort. There used to be a stigma on saying the name, people feared to speak it. My Grandmother had still had trouble saying the name, even over twenty years later. She said it though and with her head held high. She explained that the fear was so bad, people used to call the man who had split his sole, You-Know-Who.

As I was remembering my Grandmother's stories, the line moved forward. Star was chatting animatedly with her parents, waving her hands and almost smacking a person in front of her. I chuckled at this. She was like me in so many ways, it was almost crazy! I wondered if we would be sorted into the same house. I hoped so, but only because I wanted to spend more time with her. There was no more house rivalry. Slytherin and Gryffindor got along just as well as Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. All of the houses got along with each other. It was only the House and Quidditch Cup that had any sort of competition, and that was just normal, healthy competition. It started after the Second Wizarding War, all the houses hatred towards Slytherin and any other hatred was stamped out by the school staff, whenever they saw it. It was well known now that Hogwarts was a community, the houses only the limbs of the entire body. Students of different houses got together quite often. So, even if Star and I were in different houses, we would be able to see each other quite often.

"What house do you think you'll be in?" I blurted at her. She blinked up at me in surprise but answered immediately.

"Either Gryffindor or Ravenclaw! What about you?"

"I'm not sure… I took that special drink the bartender at the Leaky Cauldron made. It said Hufflepuff. But you never REALLY know until you get there, right?"

"Oh! I've heard about that! I've heard that the drink is pretty accurate. I'll have to try it before we leave and see what I get! I can totally see you being in Hufflepuff though. What do I seem more like, Gryffindor or Ravenclaw?"

"Honestly? Gryffindor, but I sort of hope you'll be in whatever house I'm in. Or vice versa."

"I hope so too but even if we aren't, I promise to stay friends with you! I've heard that inter-house sleepovers can be a thing now, on weekends! That might just be a myth though."

The last person before me finally walked away from the counter and I had to stop chatting to walk up and make my order. I was lucky, the Yajirushi was still available. The man told my Aunt's the price, but they were too busy arguing over Matti's book to hear and just nodded at me when I asked if I could get it. The man behind the counter brought out the broom that had been on display and wrapped it. It had a beautiful red handle and white twigs, all nice and even and straight. I was buzzing with excitement. That would be my broom, for as long as it was still good. That was my families tradition (so my Aunt's had said, and it only started with me, hah! TRADITION…) and now I was the owner of a broom!

We moved out of the way, so Star could get her broom (she ALSO got the broom she wanted, after she had to persuade her parents). The man wrapped her broom and Star grabbed it excitedly and ran over to me.

"Oh my gosh! I can't wait to get to school and try this out!"

I felt her excitement and it matched my own. I smiled real big and nodded in agreement.

"Will you try out for your house team?" I asked because I planned to eventually.

"Hm… Probably! I'm not sure if I would make it, but I'd like to try!"

I was about to reply, but the adults had come up to us and interrupted me before I could.

"Well, we're all set here and a little behind schedule, so we have to move on Lucy." Nancy said, checking her long list.

"Where are we going next Aunt Nancy?" I asked, hoping Star would be going to the same place and we could spend more time together. I really liked the girl and hoped she liked me just as much.

"Madame Malkin's and Co., we need to get you your robes."

"Star, where are you heading next?" I asked, turning to her. My face fell when I saw her sad expression.

"We're going to Eyelops next, that's the opposite direction." We both exchanged a sad look.

"Come on now, you'll see each other on the platform and train! If not, then for sure at Hogwarts!" Star's father said, seeing our gloom.

Star walked right up to me and hugged me, hard. I hugged her back. At that moment, I knew that we would be the best of friends. Even if we were in separate houses, we would be close. Eventually, we broke apart and left the store, I waved to her the entire time she walked away, even though she only moved one store down. She did exactly the same, needing to be ushered inside by her parents to stop us waving and grinning at each other, both of us overly excited about this new friendship. There was a connection made today, a connection I felt deep down in my soul; I could tell that she felt the exact same way. The best feeling is meeting someone who resonates with your soul so completely. We would go through a lot in our years at Hogwarts, though we didn't know that now. We just reveled in the finding of each other and the start of a wonderful friendship.