"I reckon we should go to Diagon Alley today, as it's the last day of mine and Mum's holiday, what'd you think Cass ?"
It was the day after Professor Mcgonagall's visit and Cassie had spent the rest of yesterday interrogating her Dad on what he could remember about the Wizarding world.
"Yeah !" said Cassie "That sounds great, I can't wait to get all my spell books and a wand."
"Speaking of spell books and a wand, what exactly is on the list that Professor Mcgonagall gave you ?" asked her Mum
Cassie took the yellowing piece of parchment out of her pocket and laid it on the table, so she and her parents were able to read it, it said,
HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY
UNIFORM
1. Two sets of plain work robes (black)
2. One cloak (black with silver fastenings) for winter wear
2. One plain pointed hat (black) for feasts and other occasions
3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
4. Long sleeved shirts ( white)
5. Cardigan or jumper ( dark grey with house stripe - to be changed upon sorting)
6. A tie (black - to be changed upon sorting)
7. Skirts for girls or trousers for boys ( dark grey for girls or black for boys)
Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags
BOOKS
All students should have a copy of each of the following:
The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk
A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot
Theory of Charms by Adalbert Waffling
A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore
Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger
All The Stars And Moons by Aurelian Allende
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble
OTHER EQUIPMENT
One wand
One cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)
One set of glass OR crystal phials
One beginners potions ingredients set
One telescope
One set of Brass scales
Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad
PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS
"Well.." said her Mum " I can get the normal uniform bits at Marks and Spencers, but it looks like we're going to have to go to Diagon Alley for the rest of this stuff."
" Are we taking the train or going in the car ?" asked Cassie
"I think the car is the best option," replied her Dad "It's quite a lot of stuff to carry back on the train."
"Alright then." said Cassie.
...
It was a long drive, Cassie was thinking about throwing herself out of the car after ten minutes because her dad had the ABBA CD on full blast and was singing along. But finally after an hour and a half, they made it and parked in the car park opposite.
Cassie stared up at the sign which said, 'THE LEAKY CAULDRO ', the N had obviously fallen off and no one had bothered to put it back on. Cassie pulled both her parents into the small pub and looked around, it was dark and damp and there were several suspicious characters lingering but someone was levitating chairs up onto tables, so they were obviously in the right place.
"Dad," Cassie whispered, pulling on his sleeve "How do we get into Diagon Alley ?"
"We have to ask the owner Tom," replied her Dad "It's on the instructions."
Cassie walked over to the bar, there was a hunchbacked, bald man behind it.
"Hello," she said, "Are you the owner Tom ?"
"Yep," replied Tom "Thas me."
"Could you please tell me and my parents," She gestured to her Mum and Dad behind her. "How to get to Diagon Alley."
"Muggleborn are ya ?" asked Tom.
Cassie didn't know how to explain that she wasn't technically a Muggleborn so she just nodded.
"Follow me," said Tom
He gestured for them to come through the bar, and they followed him as he shuffled out into a small walled courtyard with several bins in it. He drew out from his pocket a short black wand that had little knobbles on it. He tapped a brick in the middle of the wall three times. The brick he had touched quivered and a small hole appeared, it grew wider and wider and a second later they were facing an large archway onto a cobbled street that twisted and turned out of sight.
"Woah !" said Cassie and her parents.
Tom smiled and revealed several missing teeth.
"Veh you are ven."
Cassie and her parents walked through the arch way and watched it as it shrunk down until you couldn't see it anymore.
"This is amazing." said Cassie, spreading her arms wide.
There were hundreds of colourful shops with signs stating things Cassie had never heard of,
'Two For One On Flutterby Bushes'
'NEW NIMBUS 2000 - FASTEST BROOM YET'
'Squirrel Spleens Inside - Perfect For Wart Cures'
'BRILLIANT SALE - 60% Of ALL Mice'
The whole street was bustling with life, witches and wizards going about their business, the majority of people seemed to be the same as Cassie - back to school shopping. Most were wearing robes and knew where they were going but a few were looking extremely confused and Cassie knew they were Muggles.
Her Mum was holding Professor Mcgonnagall instructions in one hand and Cassie's equipment list in the other.
"I think we ought to go to the bank first," she said "It says we'll need to exchange our money for magic money."
"I think that's it," said her Dad, pointing towards a white marbled building that towered above the small shops.
They made their way over to the bank, it had a large bronze door and a bronze sign saying 'GRINGOTTS'. That was the name of the bank Cassie supposed. There was a strange creature dressed in a gold and red uniform, it came up to Cassie's shoulder and had large pointy ears and long nose. It bowed as they went inside. They were met by another set of doors - silver this time and they had words engraved on it,
Enter, stranger, but take heed
Of what awaits the sin of greed,
For those who take, but do not earn
Must pay most dearly in their turn.
So if you seek beneath our floors
A treasure that was never yours,
Thief, you have been warned, beware
Of finding more than treasure there.
A pair of the creatures bowed them through the silver doors and they were in a vast hall. About a hundred more creatures were sitting on high stools behind a long counter, scribbling in large ledgers, weighing coins in brass scales, examining precious stones through eyeglasses. There were too many doors to count leading off the hall, and yet more creatures were showing people in and out of these.
"Goodness," said her Mum in a low voice "What are they ?"
"I think they might be Goblins." replied her Dad
GOBLINS, Cassie thought, what other strange mythical creatures were the Wizarding world hiding. Dragons, unicorns ?
Cassie led her parents over to a free counter and stepped up onto a little stool underneath it so she could rest her elbows on the desk.
"Hello," she said grinning "I'd like to exchange some money."
"Muggle money ?" questioned the Goblin in a high, nasally voice.
"That's right," replied Cassie, handing over several notes.
The goblin reached out a long fingered hand and took the notes, he held them up to the light and rubbed them between his fingers.
"I have always thought Muggle money is very strange," remarked the Goblin "And thin."
He reached down under the counter and pulled out two pouches, one leather and one silk. He counted out large gold coins that were the size of Cassie's palm, slightly smaller silver coins and tiny bronze coins that were the same size as a penny.
"A Galleon," he said, pointing at the gold coin.
"A Sickle," he pointed at the silver coin.
"And a Knut." he pointed at the bronze coin.
"Seventeen Sickles to a Galleon and twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle." he explained
Cssie scooped the coins up and put them into the leather pouch.
"Thank you" she told the goblin "Have a nice day."
The goblin didn't reply, he just disappeared behind a large sheet of parchment that had words written on it in a strange language.
When they were back in the sunny street, her Dad started to examining the money,
"Wow," he said, holding a sickle between his thumb and pointer finger "I've never seen anything like it."
"Darius," her Mum said, patiently, "We don't have all day, you can look at the magic money when we get home."
"So Mum," said Cassie, linking her arm with her Mums "What's first on the list ?"
"I think we'll get your robes first." said her Mum, pointing towards a shop that bared the sign,
'Madam Malkin's Robes For All Occasions'
When they walked through the door, a small bell tinkled, and a small witch dressed in dark blue appeared from seemingly nowhere.
"Hogwarts dear ?" she asked
Cassie nodded.
"Come on through then." she said
"You can wait there," she told Cassie's parents, pointing towards a small sofa.
Cassie followed Madam Malkin through a long velvet curtain and got up onto the small stool that she pointed to. Madam Malkin slipped a long robe onto Cassie and began to pin the sleeves.
"So dear," Madam Malkin began, "Did your Father go to Hogwarts, because I'm sure I've seen him before."
"No," said Cassie, slightly awkwardly "He didn't."
"Oh well," said Madam Malkin "It'll come to me, where I've seen him, you two look very alike you know."
"Yes we do." said Cassie, smiling slightly.
She had been told that a lot, they had the same hair, eyes and pale skin. Cassie remembered a time where she had come home from school upset, because all the children in her class were calling her 'The Vampire' because of her pale skin. And to make matters worse, when her adult teeth came in, her canines had come in very sharp and pointy so her smile gave off a very wolfish air. And that cemented the nickname 'The Vampire' forever and Cassie had to put up with all the children taunting her.
When Madam Malkin had finished fitting her, she packed the robes into a bag for Cassie at the front desk. They paid and then left,
"Where next, my love ?" her Dad asked her Mum
"We're going to the bookshop !" replied her mum excitedly.
Cassie and her Dad groaned.
The afternoon followed much the same, they went into lots of interesting shops and looked around with awe. Including, 'Flourish and Blotts' - the bookshop where there were millions of books in different sizes on different topics. Large books on household charms all the way to tiny obscure potions books. After the bookshop they went to the Apothecary which smelled like rotten fish but was so interesting Cassie forgot about the smell. There were glass bottles lining the walls containing multi coloured potions and bundles of herbs and even what looked like (it couldn't be) a unicorn horn hanging from the ceiling. There were barrels that held disgusting things like cat hairballs, sloths brains and mucus from a Murtlap. They also went into ' Eeylops Owl Emporium' which didn't just have owls, but also cats, rabbits, rats, snakes and toads. It was dark and filled with the noise of rustling feathers, squeaking and the occasional meow from a cat. Cassie spent a long time peering into each cage and poking her fingers through the bars to stroke whatever was in there.
The Black family walked out of the emporium and shielded their eyes from the sun,
"Just your wand left, darling." Her Mum said.
Cassie fizzed with excitement, this was what she was most looking forward to the most. A magic wand, one you could do spells with. The last shop was narrow and shabby. Peeling gold letters over the door read 'Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C.' A single wand lay on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window. As they walked through the door a tinkling bell sounded somewhere deep inside the shop. Cassie looked around, the whole shop was filled with thousands and thousands of thin narrow boxes that obviously contained the wands. The air around Cassie felt thick with magic and she stretched out her fingers absentmindedly, it felt like her body was trying to absorb as much magic as it could.
"Good Afternoon," came a voice.
Cassie jumped about a foot in the air and placed her hand on her chest, trying to make her heart resume a normal speed.
"Jesus !" she shouted, " Do you always sneak up on people like that ?"
An old man, with eyes so bright they shone like stars in the night sky, came around from behind Cassie. He pretended not to hear her furious remark.
"Oh, yes...yes." he whispered.
He stretched a long finger, not unlike the goblin's earlier, and touched Cassie's cheek. She jerked away from him.
"A Black ?" Mr Ollivander asked quietly " It's been a long time since I've had a Black in this shop."
"Uh, yeah." replied Cassie.
" Interesting, interesting." he whispered, peering over Cassie's shoulder at her parents.
"Which," Mr Ollivander said at normal volume "Is your wand arm ?"
Cassie, who was very relieved that Mr Ollivander was acting normally, said,
"Well um I'm left handed, if that works."
"That's right, that right," Mr Ollivander said, flitting around Cassie with a tape measure.
He measured Cassie from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit and round her head.
"Now," said Mr Ollivander "Let's see."
He brought out several thin boxes and laid them on the front desk. He selected one and announced,
"I think a dragon heartstring is in order, as it was favoured by the Blacks, this one is Red Oak, 10 inches, quite sturdy, go on give it a wave."
Cassie gave it a wave and it let off a stream of smoke that didn't stop until Mr Ollivander grabbed it of her. The next wand she tried was also a dragon heartstring core but made of Ebony wood, it was very long and elegant but it felt too thin in Cassie's hands and when she waved it, a window in the back of the shop shattered.
"Sorry !" said Cassie hurriedly and placed the wand carefully on the desk.
"It's okay." Mr Ollivander waved away her apology "Let me think."
He darted away, right to the back of the shop, and used a ladder to reach one of the highest shelves. He grabbed an old looking box and blew the dust off the top. Then he nearly ran back to Cassie and handed her the box. He looked very excited,
"I think this one will be perfect for you," Mr Ollivander told her "Dragon heartstring core, Cherry wood, 10 inches, very powerful, very powerful indeed."
The wand was different to the other wands she had seen before, it wasn't black or brown but a pink colour with a twisting design on the handle. It seemed to be nearly vibrating as it waited for Cassie to pick it up. When she picked it up a feeling of warmth spread from her arm to the rest of her body and the hairs on her neck stood up. She gave it a flick and the smashed window at the back jumped back into its frame.
"Wonderful !" cried Mr Ollivander "I shall be expecting great things from you Miss Black, with a wand as powerful as that."
Cassie turned around and grinned at her parents and her dad mouthed 'a magic wand' and mimed cheering and Cassie laughed. They paid for the wand - 8 Galleons and a Sickle and walked back into the high street.
The sun was slowly setting and the Alley was lit up by orange light. The family of three slowly walked down the cobbled street watching as shopkeepers closed up for the night. They walked through the arch and watched Diagon Alley disappear.