Chapter Three: Diagon Alley
Erin shielded her eyes from the bright sun as she gazed up at the large, brick wall. "What do you think, Sapphira?" she whispered. Her fingers were itching to just touch the wall. "You think this is the magical barrier that conceals an entire world of wizards?" Sapphira chirped, but Erin couldn't tell if it was from agreement or utter disbelief. She reached for a gnarled, wooden stick lying beside a trash can, which she assumed was there for this exact purpose.
She tried to recall Dippet's instructions in her head. "Three up… two across…" she muttered, tapping the wall three times in the correct spot. The effect was almost immediate. Sapphira tightened her hold on Erin's shoulder as the brick she had tapped quivered, and a hole appeared that seemed to be growing wider and wider- until a moment later they were facing an archway that opened onto a cobbled lane that twisted by the surrounding shops.
And what astounding shops they were! For although she had never really gone shopping and purchased items, she was sure anything she would have gone to would have never compared to this.
There was a store selling cauldrons- copper, brass, pewter, silver- an Apothecary, and Eeylops Owl Emporium, where most of the noise is coming from (Erin stroked Sapphira before passing by with a grin). There were shops selling robes, magical telescopes and strange instruments that scuttled around when you touched them and windows that were stacked with jars of newts' eyes and spider venom, faltering heaps of parchments and quills, potion bottles, and planetary orbs that showed you the constellations with just a single word.
Erin's head was moving too fast, trying to absorb everything she was seeing: the shops, the merchandise, even the peculiar people shopping here. There had been nothing like this back at home. She pulled out the thick wad of parchment that had come enclosed in the envelope she had received from Dippet; on it listed the first-year student requirements. Well, she supposed, looking up at the sign that read Flourish and Blotts, she might as well start with purchasing her school books.
She opened the door to the shop and stepped inside cautiously. The shop was large, and, to Erin's amazement, the shelves were stacked to the ceiling with the strangest assortment of books. They didn't seem to be in any particular order, and she had quite a lot of trouble finding the books she needed. Sapphira stared at her with her beady eyes, and Erin snarled back at her, "I can do things on my own! I didn't need that old man's help to begin with."
Checking her list again just to make sure, she mouthed The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection and looked up. "It's written by Quentin Trimble," she said quietly to Sapphira. She realized how strange it would look if someone happened to be watching her talk to her bird. "See if you can find it." Sapphira drifted off her shoulder and within moments was cawing in success; the book was on a pretty high shelf, and even from here Erin could tell it was beyond her reach.
She went over to where Sapphira was hovering and stood on the top of her feet, her hand outstretched, trying to grasp the book that was above her reach. "Just- a little further-" she mumbled to no one in particular. Her fingers brushed against it- maybe if she climbed onto the bottom shelf-
But another hand reached forward a gently pried the book out from its surrounding companions and placed it in her hands. She turned around, surprised, to see a young boy, her own age perhaps, rather taller than she was with blonde hair that clashed with his pale, pointed face. He grinned at her.
"Er- thank you," she said unsure, taken aback. The boy reached up and took his own copy, placing it in a pile of his other books. "First year at Hogwarts?" he asked, seizing her up. "My name is Scorpius; I'm a first year too."
"I'm Erin, and this is Sapphira." She pointed to the falcon, which did a half flip in midair and squawked. Scorpius laughed and Erin muttered, "Show off."
They both gathered their items and brought it to the front to be rung up and purchased. Erin sorted through the bag of coins Dippet had given her, trying to determine what each of the coins' values were. "Oh, are you new to this?" Scorpius asked, watching her struggle with the purchase. She noticed he sounded a bit uncomfortable and was looking around the shop as though he expected someone to jump out at them. "Where are your parents?"
"Dead," she said shortly, receiving and pocketing her change. Scorpius's expression immediately changed. "I'm really sor- you know what? My dad's busy getting me my Apothecary items. You want to get the rest of the items on the list together?"
Erin didn't need Sapphira's prod. "I'd like that," she said, smiling.
They each bought a pewter cauldron, a set of brass scales and glass phials, a telescope, and then treated themselves to multi-colored ice-cream sundaes. Their money bags considerably lighter, they slowed their pace as they enjoyed the scenery around them.
"You see that?" Scorpius sighed wistfully, pointing to a window where a large crowd was gathered. "My dad won't buy it for me- says first years aren't allowed on the team." Erin squeezed through the crowd with Scorpius on her tail to see what the commotion was about. There, on display in the window, was a broomstick. But even Erin could tell it was not an ordinary broomstick.
It was a dark, rich mahogany color with a sleek tail that was calling for Erin to just touch it. She narrowed her eyes, and she could just make out the words, "Redstar 300" written on the tag. "Price on Request" was scrawled underneath it. "Wow," whispered Scorpius, fogging up the glass with his breath. "There's no way you would be able to lose a Quidditch match flying on that."
"A what match?" Erin asked, confused. Scorpius rolled his eyes and grabbed her arm, pulling her away from the broomstick exhibit. "Oh, never mind."
The school uniforms didn't take as long as she had thought it would to get. Madame Malkin had been kind, all lumps and smiles, as she fitted Erin and Scorpius into their correct sized robes. When she had gone to shorten Scorpius's left sleeve, Erin tried not to voice her amazement when the measuring tapes Madame Malkin had left began to measure her themselves. She supposed this kind of thing would happen plenty of the time now.
They left the shop, their new sets of robes folded in their arms, still chatting loudly. "Scorpius?" called a drawling voice Erin instantly disliked. Scorpius froze like a deer caught in headlights. "What's wrong?" Erin asked, but he shook his head. "It's my father- I have to go." Erin checked her list. "But I still haven't gotten my wa-"
But Scorpius was already sprinting down the cobblestone path. "I'll see you on the first of September!" he called behind him before he turned the corner behind one of the shops. Sapphira gave Erin a half-sad look, and she whispered, "Yeah… see you too."
She was sitting on a low tree branch, picking fruits and throwing them down to the small, dark haired boy, Rada, on the ground below her. "You know, Erin," he said, throwing up one of the fruits and catching it. "I'm not going to be able to just play with you after this year." The girl swung her legs over the branch and leaped down, her feet touching the ground lightly. She bit into one of the orange striped ones, the juice dribbling down her chin. "What do you mean by that?"
"Well, you know I'll be turning seven next week," Rada said, drawing himself up to full height. "I'll be starting the Academy, so I won't have time to play around with you. I'll have to begin my training." Erin looked at him with reproachful eyes. "You won't play with me at all? Why can't I start the Academy with you?"
Rada shrugged. "'Cause you don't turn seven till the year after me," he pointed out. She gazed wistfully at the Academy doors, where a lone man was whittling a piece of thick wood. "See that man?" Rada asked, following her eyes. "He's going to be my instructor- Master Ragen."
"He looks frightening," Erin said taking in his serene face and the two, long symmetrical gashes running down his cheeks. Rada waved his hand and said lightly, "Oh, he's not bad, I know him from my sister. The only problem is he's going to keep me working so hard I don't know when I can see you." He must have seen the sadness that crossed Erin's face because he quickly added, "But don't worry, once you're in the Academy, we can always hang out." He pulled out a flat knife and began peeling off the skin of the fruit. "After all, we'll always be friends."
She smiled at this. "Always? You promise?"
Rada grinned back. "I promise." _The only thing left for her to attain was a wand, which was what she had been looking forward to the most. It seemed she and Sapphira would be doing this on their own. She quickly found the narrow, shabby shop with peeling gold lettering on the door that read Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. She opened the door, which emitted a tinkling noise, and she entered the dingy shop, feeling very nervous. The dust was everywhere- there didn't seem to be a single spot it didn't inhabit. Sapphira made a strangled sound that could have been a sneeze. "Hello?" she called out, her uneasiness echoing around her. "Anyone here?
"Maybe we should just leave," she whispered to Sapphira, before a ladder slid across one of the wooden shelves, and in one sweeping motion the person on it climbed off. Erin eyed the woman, unsure of what to make of her. She was small and slender, with mousy brown hair and a pinched nose. Her clothing was adorned with flashy sequins and peculiar jewelry that gave her an odd look.
Her abnormally large, silver eyes didn't blink for even a moment. "Hello there," the woman said in a surprisingly deep voice for someone so small. "First time buying a wand, I see. I'm Marigold, welcome to my shop."
"I'm Erin Lyths," she said as the woman circled her, apparently evaluating her.
Marigold nodded in confirmation and gazed at her with her wide eyes, extracting measuring tapes that hung and twisted in midair. "Which is your wand arm?"
"My right hand, I suppose," Erin said, confused. Marigold nodded again and went back to the shelves where she began to inspect the boxes they held. "My father owned this shop before I took over," she said as she pulled boxes out, shaking her head and making tsking sounds. "He was, to many, the greatest wandmaker of the century. The great Ollivander…." Marigold sighed. "I never wanted this job, you know," she said suddenly. "When my father passed away, he left me this shop. I was already running my own small fashion business-" -so that explained the gaudy jewelry she wore- "but it has been a tradition in my family for centuries to run this shop, so I felt it my duty to take this upon myself when there was no one else to do it.
"Here you go, Ms. Lyths, willow and dragon heartstring," Marigold said, breaking out of her reverie and pulling the wand out of the box. "Ten and a half inches. Nice and pliable." Erin took the wand and held it for a moment, feeling foolish. Marigold heaved a sigh. "Well, give it a wave," she said crossly. Erin glanced at Sapphira and flicked the wand, unsure what was supposed to be happening. As soon as her wrist moved in motion, Marigold snatched the wand out of her hand and clicked her tongue loudly. "No," she muttered, flinging boxes out wildly from the shelves. "No, no." She climbed onto the ladder and pulled off the topmost box from the shelf. "Try this one; cedar and Acramantula venom with just a single unicorn hair. Flexible, great for Transfiguration."
Again and again, she held the wands Marigold passed to her, and each time they were seized right back. Erin was beginning to wonder if this wasn't a hopeless cause, although Marigold's excitement seemed to grow. "I haven't had such a tricky customer for a while now!" she cried somewhat happily as she swept up the shards of a glass lamp Erin's sixteenth wand had blasted.
"Maybe…." Erin began hesitantly. "If I just chose any one of them it could work for me…." Marigold raised her eyebrows. "My dear, it's the wand that chooses the wizard, or in your case the witch!" She rummaged through the assorted boxes in the very back of the shelf- Erin noticed these were becoming more and more dusty, so she assumed they had been here longer.
Marigold looked up at Erin and stared at her eyes, and then pulled out a long, thin golden box that had a layer of filth around it. Blowing on the lid to disperse the dust, Erin reached inside and grasped the wand firmly by the handle. She jumped in surprise.
She felt unnatural warmth spreading from her hand to the rest of her body, filling her with a light and happy feeling. The wand, although she couldn't say why or how, felt right somehow in her hand; almost as though it had been shaped for her hand exactly. Sapphira squawked in delight as gold and silver sparks emitted themselves from the top of the wand and went cascading down to the ground, still shimmering in the air.
Marigold peered at her intensely, her round glasses magnifying her silvery eyes. "I'm a bit offended, Erin Lyths," she said, reaching out her hand to take back the wand. Erin was very reluctant as she released her hand and watched Marigold put it back in the box.
"Er, sorry?" Erin said hesitantly.
"Since my father left me the shop, every wand I've sold has been a make of my own. But you…." Marigold wagged a finger in Erin's direction. "You just had to have one of my father's wands, didn't you?
"He was an extraordinary man, even I could see that, but I fear he had gone somewhat mad in his old age. Nevertheless," she extracted a small object from the folds of her robes and pressed it gently into Erin's hand. It was cold. "He gave this to me, to give to the person who is chosen by this wand. Ten-and-a-half inches, ash. Phoenix feather and basilisk fang. Very strange combination, don't you think so?"
Erin gazed at the object Marigold had placed into her head. It was a small silver key, with intricate and elaborate designs on the handle. Why had Ollivander, a man she didn't know, left this key for her? Marigold fixed her pale eyes on her again. "I had expected the owner of this wand to do great things. I still do. The power that you have, that has made this wand accept your being, is a great gift and a terrible burden all at once. It is entirely up to you to decide which one of those it shall be."
Erin felt chills that had nothing to do with the draft creep up her arms. "I'll just pay for that now, shall I?" she asked, and paid seven gold Galleons for her wand, leaving the shop in quite a hurry. Marigold stood in the window, illuminated by the single light on the inside, watching Erin with her widened and never blinking eyes until Erin turned the corner and Marigold was out of sight.