Hogwarts: a school of Witchcraft and Love (Tom Marvolo Riddle x F!reader)

Chapter 0-03

"Wand?"

"Check!"

"All of the books?"

"Check!"

"Uniform?"

"Check!"

"That should be all then."

Thank Merlin for that! You weren't sure how long you've been adventuring through Diagon Alley, but your feet were sore. It must have been visible on your face because Tom, who was guiding you through the sea of witches and wizards, rolled his eyes at you.

"Quit your yammering. We're nearly finished," he scolded you impassively while you tried to avoid not to bump into strangers. This was harder said than done considering just how packed the alleys were and just how much stuff you were tugging behind you.

But despite your feet aching and pleading for a break, the pain was no match for the sheer amount of excitement buzzing through you. The wizarding world was everything you dreamed of and much, much more! While Diagon Alley technically speaking was the only magical place you visited so far, it did not fail to impress. Everywhere you looked were restaurants, shops and other sights. The area it covered was huge, not to mention how wicked the way of getting there was. You couldn't have asked for a better companion than Tom, truly. Leave it to him and his smart brain to figure out the correct combination of bricks to tap in the wall behind the Leaky Cauldron.

It did surprise you how close the Muggle world and the Wizarding world were to each other. The Leaky Cauldron was located between an ordinary bookshop and a record shop. All it took was one person to accidentally hit the right bricks, which was a farfetched idea, but hey. Weirder things existed. You were the living proof of that.

"Hey Tom," you uttered his name while trying your best to keep up with where he was going. For a small boy he could take surprisingly large and purposeful steps. "Is that wall the only thing that keeps the Muggles from, y'know, finding us?" You inquired curiously.

To your chagrin, Tom maintained his pace, didn't slow down, even when he answered your question. "Don't be daft," he replied dully. "Diagon Alley was hidden by the use of many powerful spells of concealment." You thought you heard him scoff? Was he scoffing because you didn't know that? How typical Tom.

You felt your good mood sour the slightest bit, but wasn't going to let his know-it-all attittude bring you down. Not today. This shopping trip was simply too much fun.

You were about to ask where he was headed next when you supposedly had everything you needed. Before you could do just that, your eyes caught sight of the bright pink exterior of 'Florean's Frotesques Ice Cream Parlour'. Your stomach growled and your mouth practically drooled, only to be bitterly disappointed when Tom walked right past it.

Should have known. You would have sneakily slipped in and bought yourself a chocolate ice cream with two scoops weren't it for your friend guarding your spending money like a protective dog. Probably for that exact reason. You were easily tempted, especially when everything looked so damn appealing with sparkles and trinklets following you everywhere you went.

Making his way across to the north side, Tom put his and your shopping items down near the front of a much less appetite-pleasing shop. It had a wooden plaque hanging next to it, reading 'Magical Menagerie', though you could have already guessed what kind of shop it was with one glance at the windows. There were many cages of pets on display, and upon pushing the creaky wooden door open, the inside was extremely noisy and smelly, a cacaphony of hissing, hooting and wizards talking amongst each other.

"This is so cool!" You gaped in awe and glanced around. So many animals were being sold here, many of which you didn't even know the names of. In Muggle terms you'd call them rats, ravens, frogs, owls of every colour and pattern imaginable, and much, much more.