A/N: Disclaimer- I do not own anything Harry Potter related, but I do own the story line and Adena.
Super, super, super sorry about the late update guys! I kept rewriting this one. I wanted to get it right. I probably should have rewritten it one more time, but I really needed to update. Enjoy! -WW
The first thing I noticed was the people. All different color robes, some carrying different shaped packages to be taken somewhere. They were bustling about, like little worker bees, all content on getting their tasks completed.
The next thing I noticed was the shops. They were lined up down the streets all in a row. There was no room between them; they were wall to wall. They were mostly brick, and all of them looked pretty old. There were posters splattered all over windows, in many different colors.
Hagrid put a giant finger under my chin and closed my mouth for me. I flushed, embarrassed. We had magic shops in America, but most of them were very discreet. Some were disguised as antique shops or sheds with muggle repellent spells, or some were hidden from muggles by enchantments. Nothing was quite this big or loud or stand-out-ish…..I really can't find the right word.
"Adena, you're as bad as a muggle," Hagrid said play-scolding me. I smiled up at him and stepped out into the bright sun. I felt it warm my face. I beamed even brighter and began striding forward. Hagrid stepped out with me and I started to get pushed around by the crowd. Hagrid got ahead of me easily, since no one was going to push this huge man around. I decided to walk in his footsteps, literally.
I already had a wand, cauldron, and I didn't really need to spend the money on a pet. The things I really needed to get my school books and robes. So far, I needed to get books for Astronomy, Charms, and Defense against the Dark Arts, Herbology, History of Magic, Potions, Transfiguration, Arithmancy, and Ancient Runes. I looked up at Hagrid.
"Holy crap, they really don't hesitate on loading you with classes, do they?" I said with my luminescent eyes bugging out of my head when I read the list.
He sort of chortled at my expression. "Well, they 'ave to ge' you prepared for your O.W.L.s next year. They can be pretty difficult, ya know"
"We didn't have O.W.L.s back home. We had C.A.T.T.s. That's the acronym for Creating Amazing Things Test. We focused mainly on Transfiguration back home."
Home. No Adena. Don't think about it.
We came to the entrance of a book store. There was a big, old sign that said "Flourish and Blotts". The windows were stacked with books. "Is this where I'm going to get my books?" I asked.
"Yep. This's the place. Come on now", Hagrid said with his gruff voice.
We stepped in and I started coughing and sneezing. This place had dust all over. Hagrid started pulling the books off shelves that I needed. He had to have me read the titles off to him for some, though. I started wandering. I saw all sorts of interesting people. Some of them looked to be about my age. I wondered if they would be going to school with me. I saw all sorts of interesting books, too. I saw blank books, oozing books, smoking books, books on every subject, and I even saw I book that I would swear winked at me.
We left and wandered into a few little stores that weren't quite as crowded and bought miscellaneous quills and parchment. We bought enough envelopes to last me for about two months of writing Taylor and Emily. All of the shops were really cute, and no one was particularly mean.
We also bought robes. I tried on plain black ones that were so long they almost swept the floor when I walked. We got them cut down and my house emblem sewn in to them. We also bought mittens and a scarf with my house colors on them. I was really excited.
We walked over to the ice cream shop and ate ice cream while Hagrid told me about Hogwarts. He started talking about the teachers. I thought I would really like Professors Flitwick and Sprout. They seemed really nice. I really couldn't wait to meet McGonagall. I loved Transfiguration, and she seemed like the kind of teacher who would make sure everyone understood what was happening.
He also talked about Harry Potter. I knew all about him, of course, but I never really had thought about meeting him. I bet he was super popular. I didn't really know what I was going to do if I came face to face with him. I probably would just turn this infamous bright red (which clashed with my burgundy hair horribly) and not be able to talk. What if he was really mean? Wow, now I was extremely nervous for the first day. Well, we're in different houses, so maybe I wouldn't see him? Who knows?
Hagrid also told me about Harry Potter's friends. Ronald seemed really funny and Hermione really sounded like my kind of girl. I'm really into studying and she is too, and I really like learning and it sounds like she does too, so I bet we'll get along great.
After we were finished, I paid for my ice cream and we left Diagon Alley. I was really sad to leave. I felt like I belonged in this kind of world. I never really noticed how the wizarding community was so cut off in America. I liked it being all together like this. I was happy to be here. I just wished my parents could have been here to see it.