Chapter 2: Diagon Alley
It's been around a week since that little episode between Lily, Severus, and I.
A wizard came yesterday, informing our parents of Hogwarts. He also left a letter, one each for Lily and me.
The letter said,
"Dear Mr. Evans,
We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
The term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress"
Meanwhile, the list said,
" UNIFORM
First-year students will require:
1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)
2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear
3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
4. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)
Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags.
COURSE BOOKS
• The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1 by Miranda Goshawk
• A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot
• Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling
• A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch
• One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore
• Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger
• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander
• The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble
Other Equipment
• 1 Wand
• 1 Cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)
• 1 set of glass or crystal vials
• 1 telescope
• 1 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 BRING THEIR BROOMSTICKS.
NOTE: A wizard will arrive shortly to assist."
We have been waiting for the wizard since. Even our parents have…
Of course, Petunia continued bad-mouthing us. Our parents didn't seem to notice since she did it while they were gone.
Ding dong!
The doorbell chimed. Lily ran to the door to welcome the guest - whom I assume is the wizard.
Lily opened the door, revealing a middle-aged man. "Good morning!" Lily beamed at the man.
He smiled. "Good morning to you, too, young lady."
Father walked down the stairs, Mother tailing behind him. "Please, enter."
"Thank you," the wizard said. He wore a formal outfit. Black pants, a grey blazer, and a white polo (I assumed) underneath. He entered the house and sat down the nearest sofa. Mother and Father sat opposite him, and Lily and I sat beside them.
"Mr. and Mrs. Evans, I have come to assist you with the purchases of the school materials."
"Of course! Thank you for coming, Mr. ...?" Father asked.
"Please, just call me Hendrickson." He replied as he gave a small smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
A small silence arrived. I guess I should speak up a bit. "Mr. Hendrickson, when are we leaving?" I asked, expectant. If we're going to a shopping place for wizards and witches, it must be fantastic!
Mr. Hendrickson replied, "as soon as possible, Nalesh."
I looked at my parents, "can we leave now?"
My parents laughed at my behavior. "Yes, Nalesh!"
"Great! I will be waiting by the front door," Mr. Hendrickson said. He got off the sofa and turned to the door.
"Ah! Mr. Hendrickson, how much shall the children bring?" Mother asked.
Mr. Hendrickson looked back and nodded, "don't Mrs. Evans, you have already paid enough."
Mother sighed in relief. After she showed her gratitude, she turned to Lily and me. "Children, we will leave in five minutes. Your father shall accompany you, as I have to watch over Petunia."
"Okay, Mother!" We replied.
~
Mr. Hendrickson was standing on the sidewalk, where his car was parked. When he saw us leaving the house, he smiled and opened the back door of his car. After saying thanks, we entered the car.
Then, he entered.
"Alright, our first stop will be London, to Diagon Alley!" He started the car and sped off.
~
Currently, we stood in front of the entrance to "Leaky Cauldron," peculiar name, but it has a type of uniqueness to it.
We walked into the building, taking in the interior design of the place.
"Yo, Hendrickson!" A man called. He seated at the counter; a couple of beer bottles surrounding him. He was big in stature and muscle mass, wearing a tank top and baggy pants.
"Oh! Greetings, Ben," Mr. Hendrickson replied.
"Muggles?"
"Yes. A fantastic bunch, if I may say so myself," Mr. Hendrickson beamed. Mr. Ben chuckled and pardoned himself.
Mr. Hendrickson passed by the counter; heading towards a back door. "This way, everyone," he exclaimed. We followed after him and left the building. He was looking at the brick wall, touching around it. It was a peculiar sight...
But when he pressed against a specific brick, a small hole appeared. The bricks started moving erratically, making Lily shriek. I widened my eyes in shock. Whoa!
After the bricks moved, an archway formed. "Welcome to Diagon Alley!" Mr. Hendrickson said.
After some gasps of excitement and surprise, Mr. Hendrickson pulled out the list of materials needed. "Let's see... First, we'll go to..." And he trailed off, making a plan.
I looked out the archway, revealing dozens of wizards and witches, going about their day. Nearby was another pub and other stores. There were people going in and out of buildings quickly. It seemed like a wizard version of rush hour. I looked beside me, seeing Lily and Father doing the same thing; surveying Diagon Alley.
Mr. Hendrickson seemed to finish his plan, as he began calling us. We followed him and joined the crowd.
~
Our first destination was: Potage. It was a store filled with countless of cauldrons!
Next was Madam Milkin's. It was a robes store. There were also other children in the store since it's the season to buy materials for Hogwarts. We found out about this through Mr. Hendrickson, as Lily asked him.
Also, that store is very popular, according to some people's comments. It was also amusing as we stood on the stool and the measuring tapes would fly around you.
After that was the Slug and Jigger's Apothecary store, which houses materials for potion-making. There, we bought the vials and brass scales. Other than the interesting and weird ingredients, it was normal.
Then, we went to Scribbulus, to get parchment, ink, etc. It seemed like a middle ages store, as it housed those items you would normally see in that era.
After that, we went to the famed Flourish and Blotts! The place to buy our course books. I also bought an extra book, for my free time. This was also the place that housed the most number of people at once, compared to the others I have been to. Some of the book titles were interesting, too...
Then, we went to Amanuensis Quills. As its name suggested, all it sold were quills. It was interesting as all it sold were quills.
That's all the stores I had been to. Currently, we were inside Ollivander's. The only place here that sold wands!
Lily was being examined for her wand. It really did make me curious. How are wands made? As I was in deep thought, I walked around the room. Hm.. do Phoenix's give feathers on their own or are they stolen? What are threstals again..? Why do wands have different sizes? What about the wood..?
I was cut off as Mr. Hendrickson told me that it was my turn. Turns out, Lily got a wand that's 10 and 1/4 inches. It was long.
I walked up to Mr. Garrick Ollivander. He studied me with his eyes, his hand on his chin. And suddenly, he rushed to the corridor, which seemed to house countless of wands. He 'called' a box, and walked back to me. "Try using it," he said.
Thus, I took the box and opened it. It revealed a long, brown wand. I held it in my hands, and I felt a surge of energy inside me and from the wand. I was shocked. Who knew wands carried this much power? I shook my head, aimed for the ground a few meters in front of me, and flicked my wrist (as I saw what Lily did with her's). A spark flew from the wand, and it hit the ground.
I looked at Mr. Ollivander and saw him grinning happily. "That's your wand, Nalesh," he exclaimed. How did he know my name- Oh. He must've heard Mr. Hendrickson calling me. "Phoenix feather core, larch wood, 10 3/4 inches," he recited. As I don't know much about wands, I decided to just ask later.
"Thank you, Mr. Ollivander," I said.
"You're welcome," he replied.
I put the wand back in the box and headed towards Mr. Hendrickson. He noticed me, and approached me, too. "Mr. Hendrickson, I'm done," I said, holding up the box. He smiled and headed towards Mr. Ollivander to pay. He took out some coins and gave them to Mr. Ollivander.
After that short exchange, we headed to Magical Menagene. Where they sold rats, toads, cats, and their supplies. Though, there was also a store for owls, the Eeylops Owl Emporium, we chose to go to Magical Menagene instead. Mainly because of me wanting a cat, and not allowing Lily and Father to split up with the group. And yes, Lily wants an owl, while I want a cat. Cats seem more of an indoor animal than an outdoor one, and being the indoor person I am, I opted for a cat.
We arrived at the entrance of Magical Menagene, and started entering. Mr. Hendrickson and I went to the front counter as Lily and Father explored the interior of the store.
"What can I do for you?" The clerk asked. She looked like a woman in her 20s, with black hair and eyes.
Mr. Hendrickson looked at me and I began to speak, "what are the types of cats you have?"
She replied, "we mainly have tabby cats. Though, we also have black, white, and ginger cats. Which gender would you prefer?"
I thought of my options. Hm... I don't feel like getting a single-coloured cat... Leaving tabby cat. I guess I'll have that. And I don't really have a preference for the cat's gender. "I prefer a tabby cat, not much of a preference for gender," I replied.
"I see," she said as she left to the back. After a minute or two, she came back with three small cages. "Two are male, and the middle one is a female. Take your pick," she said as she put the cages down the counter with a 'thud'.
I looked at each of the cages, they were all grey in colour. I looked at the one in the left cage. It had black eyes and grey stripes. I thought of it as 'plain,' though it could just be me. I looked at the female one. It had grey spots and black stripes, with blue eyes, that seemed to be full of energy. It seemed energetic, one trait I don't have much of. Thus, I looked at the last one. He had black stripes and grey spots, his eye colour unclear as his back was facing me. He seems more of a sleeper...
Also, all of these cats look around a year old.
Hm... We have a plain-looking one, energetic one, and a sleeper-looking one. Well. I think the choice is a bit obvious.
...The energetic female! She seems most interesting, plus, I hear that you have roommates. They might like her. And, even if she is energetic, she seems nice. Though, I admit, I do seem out of character right now.
"Miss, I'd like to have the female one," I said.
"Of course," she replied and brought out a box from underneath the counter. "This will be her supplies, for only one more Galleon," she added.
Hm... Well, Mother and Father are paying, and they guaranteed us that we could buy some extra supplies under three Galleon...
"We'll take it," I answered. She nodded and returned the two other cages. When she returned, she held a clipboard with paper.
"Please sign these papers, to confirm ownership of the cat," she said as she put the clipboard on the counter. I skimmed through it, a skill I learned from reading a countless number of times, to make sure nothing shady was written (you can never be too sure!). Fortunately, it was only two pages. Thus, I finished quickly. Nothing seemed to be shady, thus I signed it.
"Thank you for your purchase!" She said as she took the clipboard. Mr. Hendrickson took the box as I took the cage, the cat moving around. What a unique cat.
Lily and Father waited outside, as they had finished looking around, with the luggage we had. "Finally!" Lily exclaimed. I laughed.
"Before we leave, would you two like to open a Gringotts account?" Mr. Hendrickson asked.
~
We left the Gringotts building after confirming our accounts. Well, we had an account for wizard money now! I grinned as I thought about it.
This day had been fun. We explored Diagon Alley, bought our school materials, and learned more about the wizarding world.
If this is Diagon Alley, imagine Hogwarts! I grinned at the thought of it.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
BlankandNobody
BlankandNobody Sorry, I should've made this chapter before the King's Cross chapter. And I'm sorry if I deleted it while you were reading and such...
I couldn't find a way to make this chapter, and post this one as the 2nd chapter, without deleting the King's Cross one.
But the King's Cross chapter will be out shortly after this one is published!
Thank you and have a great day!
(The explanation on the wand: I joined Pottermore and took the wand quiz, making my choices based off Nalesh's personality.)
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