Rose tumbled out of the fireplace, ash in her hair. She stood up quickly, almost getting knocked out of the way by someone who had Flooed in right behind her. Despite several trips by Floo Powder, Rose had never quite managed to get the hang of it. Her eyes took in the surroundings, the cobbled footpaths, the many shops and all the witches and wizards hurrying about their business. Lost in awe - no matter how many times she came, Diagon Alley never failed to amaze her - she stumbled over a cobblestone and bumped into an elderly witch in emerald green robes. Quickly muttering an apology, she turned to where Al was standing and gave a sheepish smile. "So, where to first?"
Al considered this for a moment. "Well, I guess we could..." His voice trailed off slightly as his gaze was drawn to Rose's left ear. "Sorry, you've just got something..." He flicked a large piece of soot out of her hair. "That got it." He flashed her a grin. He began to walk. "Anyway, figure we can head to Madam Malkin's first, sound alright to you?" He began strolling down the street, browsing through the windows he passed. "Had a think about what you said in the letter too, and I reckon you're right. I won't try out for Quidditch yet. I don't... well, no sense in rushing, yeah?"
Rose patted Al's arm in what she hoped was a reassuring manner. “Don't stress about it. I've seen you play and you don't need to follow in Uncle Harry's footsteps, anyway.” Rose could now see Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions and next to it, Flourish and Blott's. “Well, here it is.” Rose stated, pushing open the shop door. The bell on the door tinkled, announcing their arrival. A slightly squat, smiling woman rushed to greet them. “You'll be needing robes for Hogwarts.” She said. It was more of a statement than a question. “Yes,” Rose said, suddenly nervous for no apparent reason.
"Cheers, Rose" Al said with a smile as she patted his arm. He carried on towards the shop, looking thoughtful. "Wait, when you said you'd seen me play..." He was cut off by the bell and Madam Malkin's welcome. "Oh, er, yes please!" Al smiled politely at the woman. "Erm, I think I've got a list here, somewhere." Hw fumbled for a moment in the pockets of his jeans before pulling out a piece of paper and handing it over. "Yep, there you go. Though I s'pose you know what we need."
Michael entered Flourish & Blott's, his mum a step behind him. He noticed a few of the required textbooks in the first bookshelf he came to, and idly pulled one out with the title of 'A Beginner's Guide To Charms'. His mum had told him to only pick a couple to see what they were like, since she and his dad wanted to know more about Hogwarts' curriculum before they let him go there.
As he was flipping through the pages, two children who looked about his age came up to the same shelf. They were clearly friends, and Michael had a pang of jealousy as he thought that this must all be perfectly normal to them, while he felt like an outsider. They were looking at First Year books, so Michael decided to chance speaking to them.
Al turned to Michale and gave a freindly smile. "Oh, yeah, our first year. It's going to be great, isn't it? Is it your first year too? Bet you've been looking forwards to it, right?" He grinned wider. "I can hardly wait. Oh, I'm Al, by the way. And this is Rose" He waved a hand in her direction. Al turned at the mention of Severus, and saw Victor standing there. He flashed him a quick grin. "Ah, sorry, I thought..."
"Well, I know we have to get books for school, but I really wanted to get a copy of Hogwarts, A History," Rose turned quickly to Al, in an attempt to head off any comments he might have. "I know we already have a copy at home, I know I've read it hundreds of times, but the copy we have at home is Mum's. I want one of my own." With a defiant glance at Al, she plucked a copy off the shelf. A few other people had entered the shop during Rose's rant, one of them being the boy who was now standing next to them. Upon his asking whether she and Al were going to Hogwarts too, Rose gave a nod and a wave when Al introduced her. One of the other people who had entered the shop was also a boy, who seemed to be around their age. A glance told Rose that he was looking at a book written by Rita Skeeter. Rose raised an eyebrow. Her mum was not impressed at all by Rita Skeeter and had told many a tale about the "vile woman".
"Well, I only heard about Hogwarts a few weeks ago, though I think I've nearly convinced my mum to let me go." Michael indicated over his shoulder to where his mum was standing, looking very out of place. "Oh, and I'm Michael."
Erica walked straight past the gaggle of what were obviously over-excited first years, at her heels was a huge fluffy white cat. She would be starting her second year in a few weeks time and had more important things to do than stand around in the middle of Florish and Blotts, getting in the way.
The group of kids still hadn't moved by the time she'd picked up her second year books and paid for them. As Erica moved past she heard snippets of conversation, but nothing held her interest.
As she walked back out into July sunshine she realised that her cat wasn't following like he usually did. Looking around she saw him rubbing up against the legs of one of the first years in the bookshop.
'Bai!' she called. The cat just looked at her, blinked and carried on playing up to the younger students.
Sighing and rolling her eyes she re-entered the shop and scooped Bai up into her arms.
'Sorry if he was annoying you' she said to the lad whose legs Bai had been getting friendly with.
"No problem. You couldn't annoy me, could you? Who's a cute little boy then?" He stroked the cat under the chin, before freezing, a tinge of red spreading across his face. He threw an accusatory glance in Rose's direction. "What?"
Victor looked up at the “cute little boy” comment to see who'd said it.
Oh, just a cat. He was about to go back to reading his book when he did a double take. The boy looked so much like him. It was strange, the hair, the eyes, they were the twin of his own. Well, perhaps the other kid’s was a little better kept, but still
( ... )
"Don't look at me!" Rose exclaimed, after Al's "aren't you a cute little boy" comment, "After all, you were the one said it." She grinned, "Besides, I like cats too. Crookshanks is really grumpy though, not like this cat. Mum reckons it's a miracle that he's still alive." The boy who had been looking at the Rita Skeeter book was now standing on the edge of the crowd, looking slightly apprehensive. Rose gave him a friendly smile and waved him over. To her, this was the perfect opportunity to ask about the book he had just bought.
As Michael walked off, Al went to say something, but cut it off, looking to Rose for reassurance. He returned Michael's wave with more enthusiasm, and gave him a friendly smile. He took a deep breath, and turned back to Victor. He spoke quietly but with a degree of certainty. "Look, Victor, it's difficult. I mean, yeah, I s'pose we are special when you look at Muggles. But... just because we can do something that they can't doesn't mean that they aren't special either, I guess is what I mean. It's..." Al fidgeted a bit. It was as if he were trying to catch a bubble without bursting it, fumbling for a way to put what he felt into words. "It's like... racism, and sexism and stuff. Some wizards are like that with muggles. And some of them have done really bad things, which is why we're so... careful about it. And... I don't know. I mean, thinking of, like, us and them. It's not really helpful, y'know? We're all people. It's... It's not what we can do that's important, I reckon, but what we do do." Al looked around him, and grinned
( ... )
Rose winced as Al mentioned "mudbloods". She could see by Victor and Michael's face that they didn't really understand the full extent of what that word meant in the wizarding community. As Michael moved off with his books, she gave him a smile and waved. "See you at Hogwarts," she called. Rose gave what she hoped was a reassuring smile to Al, and let him continue. A big grin spread across her face as she listened to Al sum it up perfectly. "It's not what we can do that's important, I reckon, but what we do do." "Well, Al pretty much summed it up exactly." Rose agreed, "But yeah, I do get where you're coming from. Getting my Hogwarts letter was one of the best days of my life so far. Even though I've said this thousands of times already," here she gave a small smile to Al, who had had to put up with most of her incessant chatter about how excited she was, "I'm thrilled to be going. I still can't believe it's so close now."
Victor also nodded at Michael. He wanted to say some friendly goodbye, but he had the feeling it was his fault Michael was leaving in the first place.
He smiled at Rose, grateful for the slight change of subject. He could understand how the whole thing was a bit of a prejudiced point of view, but it was his opinion nonetheless. What you do may be important, but to have the ability to do it? That’s what really mattered. Still, he was done with the argument.
“It’s all happening kinda fast for me. I didn’t even know there were real wizards ‘till last month. Suddenly knowing that I am one… I feel like I’m behind everybody. I mean, hell, “ he held up the book, “ people know more about my own relatives than I do.”
Al nodded. "Yeah, it must be really weird, if you don't, y'know, know all about it. Didn't mean to bite your head off just then. It's..." Al shrugged. "Me and Rose have always grown up seeing the wizarding world as... well... normal I guess..." He flicked his hair out of his eyes and chuckled. "Not that normal's really the right word for it. But, look, if there is anything you want to know about, or whatever, me and Rose will try our our best. Right?" He turned to Rose and gave her a grin, before leaning in to Victor and speaking in a mock-whisper. "She does tend to go on a bit, but she's generally right."
Al glanced to Rose out of habit before turning back to Victor. "People aren't exactly sure, but Hogwarts is... a bit over a thousand years old. That's what people reckon. It was founded by these four wizards, really powerful, who thought that there should be somewhere to learn about magic." Al grew more animated as he got into it. "And now there's four houses there, one named after each of the wizards who founded it. That's Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Slytherin and Hufflepuff. And like the whole building is magical. It's supposed to be awesome!" Al looked up for a moment. "That's probably why electrical stuff doesn't work there. Magical resistance or... something."
Victor grinned. "Sounds cool. I hope we get into the same house then. I like you guys." He turned to Rose and smiled shyly. "Though, I don't think I ever got your name."
Rose grinned, "It's Rose. Rose Weasley. I can lend you my copy when we're at Hogwarts if you like. In any case, there should be one in the library at Hogwarts. Like Al said, Hogwarts is ancient. I'm not entirely sure but I reckon they put a charm on these books so they can hold more information."
Victor started to say something when a nearby clock chimed the quarter after.
“Ack! I have to go! Nice meeting all of you!" He turned to Erica. "Sorry I never got your name." He nodded at the others. "Rose, and…Severus, ha! You’ll have to remind me of your first name again later. “ He ran around the group and headed for the door only to turn ‘round again. “See you all at Hogwarts!”
And with that he was gone, running as fast as he could so as not to miss the 11:30 bus.
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Her eyes took in the surroundings, the cobbled footpaths, the many shops and all the witches and wizards hurrying about their business. Lost in awe - no matter how many times she came, Diagon Alley never failed to amaze her - she stumbled over a cobblestone and bumped into an elderly witch in emerald green robes. Quickly muttering an apology, she turned to where Al was standing and gave a sheepish smile. "So, where to first?"
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He began to walk. "Anyway, figure we can head to Madam Malkin's first, sound alright to you?" He began strolling down the street, browsing through the windows he passed. "Had a think about what you said in the letter too, and I reckon you're right. I won't try out for Quidditch yet. I don't... well, no sense in rushing, yeah?"
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“Well, here it is.” Rose stated, pushing open the shop door. The bell on the door tinkled, announcing their arrival. A slightly squat, smiling woman rushed to greet them. “You'll be needing robes for Hogwarts.” She said. It was more of a statement than a question. “Yes,” Rose said, suddenly nervous for no apparent reason.
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"Oh, er, yes please!" Al smiled politely at the woman. "Erm, I think I've got a list here, somewhere." Hw fumbled for a moment in the pockets of his jeans before pulling out a piece of paper and handing it over. "Yep, there you go. Though I s'pose you know what we need."
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As he was flipping through the pages, two children who looked about his age came up to the same shelf. They were clearly friends, and Michael had a pang of jealousy as he thought that this must all be perfectly normal to them, while he felt like an outsider. They were looking at First Year books, so Michael decided to chance speaking to them.
"Are you going to Hogwarts too?" he asked.
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Al turned at the mention of Severus, and saw Victor standing there. He flashed him a quick grin. "Ah, sorry, I thought..."
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A few other people had entered the shop during Rose's rant, one of them being the boy who was now standing next to them. Upon his asking whether she and Al were going to Hogwarts too, Rose gave a nod and a wave when Al introduced her.
One of the other people who had entered the shop was also a boy, who seemed to be around their age. A glance told Rose that he was looking at a book written by Rita Skeeter. Rose raised an eyebrow. Her mum was not impressed at all by Rita Skeeter and had told many a tale about the "vile woman".
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The group of kids still hadn't moved by the time she'd picked up her second year books and paid for them. As Erica moved past she heard snippets of conversation, but nothing held her interest.
As she walked back out into July sunshine she realised that her cat wasn't following like he usually did. Looking around she saw him rubbing up against the legs of one of the first years in the bookshop.
'Bai!' she called. The cat just looked at her, blinked and carried on playing up to the younger students.
Sighing and rolling her eyes she re-entered the shop and scooped Bai up into her arms.
'Sorry if he was annoying you' she said to the lad whose legs Bai had been getting friendly with.
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Oh, just a cat. He was about to go back to reading his book when he did a double take. The boy looked so much like him. It was strange, the hair, the eyes, they were the twin of his own. Well, perhaps the other kid’s was a little better kept, but still ( ... )
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The boy who had been looking at the Rita Skeeter book was now standing on the edge of the crowd, looking slightly apprehensive. Rose gave him a friendly smile and waved him over. To her, this was the perfect opportunity to ask about the book he had just bought.
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"Well, Al pretty much summed it up exactly." Rose agreed, "But yeah, I do get where you're coming from. Getting my Hogwarts letter was one of the best days of my life so far. Even though I've said this thousands of times already," here she gave a small smile to Al, who had had to put up with most of her incessant chatter about how excited she was, "I'm thrilled to be going. I still can't believe it's so close now."
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He smiled at Rose, grateful for the slight change of subject. He could understand how the whole thing was a bit of a prejudiced point of view, but it was his opinion nonetheless. What you do may be important, but to have the ability to do it? That’s what really mattered. Still, he was done with the argument.
“It’s all happening kinda fast for me. I didn’t even know there were real wizards ‘till last month. Suddenly knowing that I am one… I feel like I’m behind everybody. I mean, hell, “ he held up the book, “ people know more about my own relatives than I do.”
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“Ack! I have to go! Nice meeting all of you!" He turned to Erica. "Sorry I never got your name." He nodded at the others. "Rose, and…Severus, ha! You’ll have to remind me of your first name again later. “ He ran around the group and headed for the door only to turn ‘round again. “See you all at Hogwarts!”
And with that he was gone, running as fast as he could so as not to miss the 11:30 bus.
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