As It Was *Complete*

7. Lonely

Astra spent the rest of the summer in her new home. She didn't need to venture outside the comfort of her own garden for very much except to head to Gringotts to get her accounts sorted and then to the market once a week for food.

Professor McGonagall was right. She was lonely here by herself. She had been writing to Maddi since she arrived, explaining about her change of address and finding out that Eileen, whom Maddi had met before, was actually her grandmother and left her a home.

Maddi lived on the North Coast of Ireland, having moved there in their third year when her mother and father divorced, so it wasn't easy for her to visit, but they spoke every day. Astra had yet to tell Maddi about Snape or finding out that her mother was Lily Potter. It was not the type of information one puts in a letter. That kind of shock had to be delivered face-to-face.

School was to start in a week, and Astra needed to head to Diagon Alley to get her books and equipment. She had never actually been before where she was able to buy things. As she was an orphan, she got her school robes, books, and equipment for free. It was great that she didn't need to rely on anyone, but it also meant she was never able to have a companion in school. Never able to have a broom or any little trinkets one can buy.

When she stayed in Eileen's, she had given her a bit of money for the school year. Just to get sweets in Diagon Alley, but, Astra would always save it and buy Christmas presents for Maddi and Eileen herself. But today, she could actually treat herself.

She was up bright and early, dressed and fed, and even had a wicker basket that she found in her closet that must have belonged to her grandmother. She slipped on her jeans, the first pair she ever owned, and her oversized shirt, which she tied in a bow over her stomach, and her new white Converse trainers.

She stepped into her fireplace with her basket and bag and shouted out her destination before disappearing and stepping out in The Leaky Cauldron and making her way out back to the street.

It wasn't as packed as she thought it would be, which was good as she was able to walk up and down the street window shopping as she looked over her list for the 100th time. She bought her school shoes, uniform, and potion kit before heading to the bookshop for her textbooks and stationery.

She heard the little bell ding on her way in. She loved bookshops. She loved to read. Funny, she spent all her childhood reading and her spare time in school, and yet other than her textbooks, she never owned a book before. She always managed to find some in the school library but actually owning one, being able to take it home, and knowing it's yours, you don't have to give it back to the owner or the school. It was special. So she promised her treat to herself would be a new book.

She went to the counter, and the young girl behind the counter smiled. "Hogwarts? 7th year?" She guessed, and Astra smiled and nodded. "Do you have your book list there, and I can get them for you?" Astra handed over the letter. "Astra...cool name."

"Thanks. I actually want another book. Just something to read in my spare time. Do you mind holding them here as I pick something?"

"No, be my guest. Do you need help picking something?"

"What would you recommend?" She asked.

"Well, I am a Shakespeare woman myself, but you look more like an Austin fan?'

"I adore Jane Austin!" Astra smiled. "I have read them all."

"What about Little Women then?" The girl smiled.

Astra gasped. "Yes! That is my favourite book. Of course, it has to be the first I own."

The girl gasped. "The first you own? You have never owned a book before?"