Chapter Text
"This is it," said Hagrid, coming to a halt, "The Leaky Cauldron. It's a famous place."
Looking at the building, it looks like a tiny, grubby-looking pub. If the place was so famous, why does it look like it has not been taken care of well? 'I wonder if Mum ever went here?' Focusing my attention on the people hurrying along, they do not seem to notice the building. There was one or two people standing but just seem to glance from one shop to another as if they cannot see The Leaky Cauldron. I'm going to take a guess that only magical people can see this place. I wonder how does that work? I hope I get to find out at school. Before I ask Hagrid any sort of question, he guides me inside.
It take a few seconds for my eyes to adjust to the dim lighting of the place but once I can see, I gaze in wonder as a ricochet of questions start bouncing around my head wanting to get out. I hear Hagrid talk to a man he calls Tom. When Hagrid mentions me the room goes silent and all the questions disappear like bubbles bursting when everyone (and I mean everyone) stops what they are doing and stares in my direction. I try and hide behind Hagrid's massive frame but Hagrid moves me in front of him so everyone can have a real good look at me.
I flinch as a man hurries out behind a bar, rushing towards me and seizing my hand in his. He is squeezing my hand way too tight for my liking. 'Why does the man look like he is about to cry?' After that strange man leaves, everyone else in The Leaky Cauldron rush up to me. My heart is hammering a million miles an hour, just like the people asking and telling me all sorts of stuff that I don’t particularly want to know.
Whilst I am forced to shake hands with total strangers I spot a pale young man very nervously making his way towards me. Hagrid introduces me to the pale young man; his name is Professor Quirrell and he is going to be my Defence Against Dark Arts teacher. He doesn't shake my hand, which I feel quite relieved by. I don't want to shake another person's hand for a very long while.
A soft smile touches the corners of Professor Quirrell's mouth as our conversation comes to an end. When the professor walks away, more people have the best idea of asking me questions and shaking my hand for a long while. When will the hand shaking and chatting come to an end?
Hagrid eventually gets everyone to leave me alone so we can do what we actually came here for. To buy my school stuff.
I asked Hagrid about my Defence Against Dark Arts teacher and he told me that the apparent reason on why the man seems incredibly nervous is because he apparently met some vampires in the Black Forest and had a bit of trouble with a hag. What's a hag and I thought that vampires are just something that people read about in stories and dress up as for Halloween.
Hagrid leads me into a small, walled courtyard where there is just a dustbin and a few weeds scattered in a few areas. Aunt Petunia would have a massive hissy fit is she saw the weeds here and make me remove them immediately.
I turn my attention on to what Hagrid is doing. He is counting the bricks and muttering to himself. As I am about to ask him why he is counting bricks, the bricks start quivering and a whole in the middle of the wall gets bigger and bigger until it becomes an arch that Hagrid and I can walk through.
The archway takes us to a cobbled street that has many twists and turns. Turning around, I watch as the archway disappear and turn back into a solid wall.
As we walk down the cobbled street I can see a whole range of shops that I would have only seen in my wildest dreams from a shop that sells cauldrons to a shop that sells what looks to have eyeballs and slimy stuff in jars.
After a few minutes of us walking, we arrive at Gringotts. This is where Hagrid told me earlier that is where I'm going to be getting my money from. Before walking in a building, I see a goblin wearing a uniform that is scarlet and gold in colour.
Walking through two sets of doors, we wait in line to be seen by one of the many goblins that are sitting on high stools behind a very long counter. Whilst we wait I look around the room that we're in. Above our heads, there are what I think Aunt Petunia would call chandeliers, they are gold in colour and look to be lit up with long wax candles. Way up above our heads are massive circular windows that bring a ton of light into the building.
I jump when I feel Hagrid's hand gently push against my back to take us to one of the goblins. Hagrid and the goblin chat for a few minutes. I get distracted by the goblin next to us that is weighing rubes that seem to be the same size as coals.
"Griphook!" I hear the Goblin shout. I nearly jump out of skin. The goblin appears in less than ten seconds of being called for. Griphook gestures for us to follow him. We walk through one of the many doors and on the other side of the door, there is a narrow stone passageway that is sloping downwards and is lit with orange flaming torches. We get to railway track where Griphook whistles and a small cart quickly gets to where we are standing. It takes some difficulty for all of us to fit in but we somehow manage.
The journey to the where Hagrid needs to go happens very quickly. I stay in the small cart as Hagrid and Griphook get out to the vault and Hagrid grabs the thing he needs and they both get back to the small cart pretty quickly. I don't get to see what Hagrid has gotten out of the vault.
We speed off to my vault.
Griphook gets out of the cart first followed by myself and then Hagrid. Griphook unlocks my vault door and whole lot of green smoke comes out of the vault. 'Why is there green smoke?' Before I think of any more questions, I freeze. There is so much money in the vault. Aunt Petunia would have an absolute field day with all of that money in there.
Hagrid gets a small bag for me and help me put some of the money in there for at least a couple of terms of school as he explains to me how the money system works. He says that the money system is easy but it seems so confusing. 'Seventeen sickles per galleon... twenty-nine knuts to a sickle...' I hope I learn quickly.
We get back outside very quickly. Hagrid takes me to the shop called Madam Malkin's Robes for all occasions. He explains to a smiling, squat witch that is dressed in mauve clothes about what I will need.
"I'm just going to get something, I'll be back in a few minutes." Hagrid quietly tells me. I feel nerves pooling at the bottom of my stomach.
"Hello. I'm Madam Malkins." She gently guides me to where we need to go. Once we arrive to where I need to go. She tells me. "You'll need to stand here. I'm going to measure you so your clothes can fit you properly." She shows me how it works. I guess that she has dealt with people from non-magical backgrounds.
As the lady is measuring my clothes, I can see a pale boy that looks to be about the same age as myself getting his own robes pinned to fit him properly. The boy notices me pretty quickly and says, "Hullo. Hogwarts too?" I reply with a shy nod. He tells me that his father is buying his books and his mother is buying him his wand. Lucky. I wish my mum and dad was still here.
Our conversation comes to a stop when the boy's father arrives to get him.
Once my clothes have been measured and sorted out. I am given a surprisingly light bag but when I look in the bag, all of my stuff is in there. Looking back up, I see Hagrid just outside holding two large ice-creams and something large in his other hand. I leave the building and Hagrid passes me one of the ice creams as well as a napkin so I can wipe my hands and mouth afterwards. The ice cream that he gave me has two flavours, chocolate and raspberry with chopped nuts sprinkled on top. I really like the raspberry.
Hagrid lets me pick out the next thing to get off from my list. I pick the books and stationary. Hagrid leads me to a bookshop called 'Flourish and Blotts'. Inside, there are books stacked up all the way to the ceiling. After myself and Hagrid scour the bookshop for my books and the stationary, I also get some that are not on the list. Some storybooks, a diary so I can remember what I have done every day and some books that will hopefully help me with blending in with the other students. I don't want more attention on me like I had in The Leaky Cauldon. That was scary.
I buy the books and Hagrid beats me to grabbing the bag.
The next shop we go to is a potions shop. It was very dim in there and a little grimy. I get distracted by some unicorn horns and eyeballs in jars. This sort of reminds me on the books that Aunt Petunia has read to Dudley and his friends during Halloween. Hagrid gets the stuff I need so I don't accidently get the wrong stuff.
After the potions shop we go to the most exciting shop of all Olivander's! This is where I'm going to get my wand! It feel so surreal to be getting my wand. I wonder what mum and dad's wands looked like? My thoughts vanish as soon as I hear someone softly say "Good afternoon". I spot the person who said that as he comes closer to me. I take a step back. He must have taken the hint because he gives me some space. He introduces himself as Ollivander.
As Ollivander measures me for me to get my wand (why does he need to measure me?) he tells me about what my mum's and dad's wands looked like. Mum's first wand was made of willow and was good for charm work and my dad’s wand was a mahogany wand that was good for transfiguration. It's as if he had plucked those questions right out of my head.
It takes me a while to find the right wand. For every wand I get rejected by, the happier Ollivander becomes. Well... at least he likes his job I guess...
We finally find myself a wand! It is apparently an unusual combination, holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches and nice and supple. The man goes on a tangent about how the feather being a brother for a different wand. The wand that was used to kill my parents with.
When he finally leave Ollivander's Hagrid asks me if there are any shops that I would to go into in particular. I ask him if we can go to a clothes shop that just sells normal clothes. Although I really like my school clothes... I don't want to wear them all the time.
It's late afternoon when we finish getting everything that I need. We leave Diagon Alley from where we came from earlier in the day. The Leaky Cauldron is practically deserted as we leave.
Hagrid pays for my train ticket back to the Dursley's place. As we wait for my train to arrive, Hagrid gets me a burger. A few minutes before my train arrives, Hagrid gives me my ticket for the train to Hogwarts and a letter about what day, time and where I'm going to get the train. I look at the ticket in slight confusion. I have never heard of a platform called platform nine and three quarters.
"Hagrid. How do I get to platform nine and three quarters?"
"Oh right. It is in between the signs platforms nine and ten. You will have to go through that. I'll get Dumbledore, your headmaster at Hogwarts, to send someone to help you get there safely."
"Thank you."
"Your very welcome." Hagrid checks his watch. "Better get going unless you want to miss your train home."
"Oh. Right." Hagrid gets me on the train.
I try and watch him out of the window but I look away for a second and he vanishes into thin air.