We soon reached an old looking pub called The Leaky Cauldron
"What are we doing here professor?" I asked confused
"We're just passing through, this is the way to Diagon Alley." Professor McGonagall told me
"Diagon Alley?" I asked
"It's where you'll get all your supplies for school. Oh and you'll need this." She said handing me a pouch of coins.
We headed out the back door and came face to face with a brick wall. Professor McGonagall tapped on the brick third from the left above the bin and suddenly the wall opened up revealing a busy street. My mouth fell open as I looked into the street
"Come on then. We don't have all day" McGonagall said pulling me from my daze.
The street was noisy with children and parents a like rushing around trying to buy the things they need
"We'd better get your uniform first." Professor McGonagall said pulling me over to a shop. The front of the shop said Madam Malkin's robes for all occasions. We entered the shop to see a small plump woman in mauve
"Hogwarts is it?" She asked. I simply nodded as the woman showed me over to station with a footstool
"Just stand on the footstool for me dear." She smiled.
She slipped a long black robe over my head and began pinning bits into place to fit. I'd never had properly fitting clothes before so this was a new experience for me.
"Oh, and we'll have three of the robes." McGonagall shouted from the front of the shop
"Aright dear." The plump woman smiled
"And a winter cloak as well." McGonagall reminded her
"I know. Had a lot of Hogwarts kids in here today." She laughed as she continued to pin the robes.
"Alright that's you done." The woman said pacing me the clothes as McGonagall paid for the items.
The next shop we went into was a book store called Flourish and Blotts. The store it's self had books piled from floor to ceiling of all kinds.
"What books do I need professor?" I asked.
McGonagall handed me the letter with the required books
"So first of all I need 'The standard book of spells, grade 1'" I said to myself as I looked round the shop for the books. Some time later I had accumulated all the books I would need and we were onto the next shop.
The final shop we went into was Ollivanders wand shop
"Ah, hello." The old man beamed as I walked inside
"hi. I'd like to buy a wand." I said
"ah yes now let's see. Try this one." The man said and passed me a wand.
I stood holding the wand for a few seconds before Ollivander said
"Give it wave." I waved the wand and caused some of the wands to fly from their places
"Sorry." I apologised putting the wand down on the counter quickly
"That's quiet alright. I remember when Professor McGonagall here got her first wand. Took about twenty wands to find the right one."
"I don't think it was quiet twenty." McGonagall put in.
After several wands I was given my wand, as soon as I took a hold of it, it felt right. My wand was an ebony coloured ash wand with a unicorn hair core.
"Right Aviana. You will need to go to Kings Cross station September 1st to get the train to Hogwarts. The train leaves at eleven o'clock from platform 9 3/4. You will be staying at the leaky cauldron until then." McGonagall told me as we arrived back at the leaky cauldron
"But, professor I've never heard of platform 9 3/4. Where is it?"
"Oh,sorry. You need to run at the wall between platforms nine and ten." With that McGonagall was gone. She just disappeared before my eyes. I wrote the incident off as magic and headed up to my room.
I had little to do over the next couple of weeks. I had read all my text books cover to cover within the first week and practiced some simple spells without the knowledge that until 16 I couldn't do magic outside of Hogwarts. I found that out the hard way. By week three I was bored, and with only my cat Midnight as company.
"Are you sure I can't go down to Diagon Alley for a little while?" I pleaded,for the third time that day, to the owner of the place
"McGonagall told me not to let you leave." He said once again
"I won't go far. I just want to have a look."
"Okay fine, but be back by sundown." He sighed as I raced out the door.
Diagon Alley was a lot quieter now than a few weeks ago. I wandered down the street aimlessly until I came to a shop that said Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream
Parlour. Realising I was in fact quiet hungry I went inside the shop to get a mint choc chip ice cream with the money I had brought out with me. Once coming out of the ice cream parlour I noticed a boy maybe a few years older than myself over by a broomstick shop. He was with his parents and I think he was trying to persuade them to buy him the broom. I chuckled slightly at the sight realising this was a normal thing here. A clock chimed behind me showing it to be 5pm. I set off back to the leaky cauldron realising that the sun would be setting soon
"You have a good time?" The wizard asked as I came through the door
"Yeah. I didn't get a chance to really look round last time." I told him as I climbed the stairs to my room.
'There is only a week left.' I thought to myself 'I can get through a week.'