I hurriedly packed all of my belongings into just a few suitcases. My mom asked her friend to watch over the house while we were on a "mission trip". As soon as I was done packing, the three of us walked out side where I thought we would be getting into my mother's car and heading to the airport. Boy was I wrong.
Dumbledore instructed for us to grab hold of his arm and as soon as we obeyed, we were sucked into a straw and twisted in all sorts of directions, at least that's what it felt like. I later learned that what we had experienced was apparation which is the instantaneous transportation to another place. We had apparated to a place that looked like a very narrow alley that was lined with all sorts of strange looking shops that advertised things that I could've never come up with myself.
Dumbledore smiled at me and my mother before saying, "Welcome to Diagon Alley," he then proceeded into one of the peculiar shops. "This is Ollivander's wand shop, ah my dear friend Ollivander how have you been?" Dumbledore greeted an elderly man with discheveled gray hair.
"Hello Albus, oh! You've brought friends. Mr. Kettle's wife and daughter, correct?" Dumbledore nodded and nudged me forward.
"That is correct, his wife Maya and daughter Rose. Rose is here for her first wand."
Ollivander nodded and headed over to one of many tall shelves, all stocked up with rectangular boxes. He asked me a series of questions whilst scanning through the boxes, and eventually he pulled a maroon box from one of the shelves. He brought it over to me and opened it, revealing a gorgeous wand.
"Give it a wave." I did as he said and successfully didn't hurt anyone, must be a perfect fit right?
"Perfect! Cherry wood with a dragon heartstring core, quite flexible. 13 1/4 " in length." I nodded along as if I understood and thanked the strange old man.
After I received my wand, we headed off to buy books and robes and anything else I needed. That night Dumbledore took us to a very nice apartment. This was where my mother would be staying whilst I was away at Hogwarts. He then left to Hogwarts and told me he would be back at noon the next day to take me to Hogwarts. He allowed for me to spend one last night with my mother before going away for a few months at a time.
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I hardly slept due to the anticipation- and my insomnia- and the sleep I did get was full of dreams of wizards and magic which woke me up due to excitement. I finally gave up at around 7 AM when I got up and made my way to the bathroom.
I enjoyed my last shower in the muggle world, taking about an hour total washing my hair and body, exfoliating, using a hair mask, using a face mask, and allowing the hot water to cascade down my body. After I turned the water off I stepped out and wrapped a white fluffy towel around my waist and twisted my hip length brown hair into another one.
I brushed my teeth and went through the motions of my morning routine. Once the mirror lost the opaque white fog I applied a dark brown eyeliner around my almond shaped hazel eyes. My mother and I looked somewhat similar. She had brown hair like me, but hers was shoulder length. She had gray eyes unlike my hazel and stood at 5'3 whereas I stood at 5'11. My father had Gray hair from the time he was 23 and hazel eyes just like mine. He stood at an astounding 6'4.
Noon rolled around faster than I thought it would, and Dumbledore arrived right on time. I said goodbye to my mother and grabbed all of my luggage and once again had that feeling as though I had been sucked through a straw. We had apparated and were now standing in front of a large gothic castle, the sun reflecting off of it's high points, not accessing the crevices. There was a large lake on one side of the castle, it's water as black as tar. This was the most beautiful place I had ever seen in my life.
Dumbledore led me into the entrance and gave me a tour of the castle. He led me to the kitchens where he introduced me to the house elves who offered to help me with anything I needed. The last of the tour was Dumbledore leading me up near the astrology tower where he created a small apartment like space for me.
As you walk in their is a kitchen to the right, a living room straight ahead, and a hallway near the grand fireplace. There were floor to ceiling windows in view as soon as you walk in. The hallway was short and only had three doors. The first door on the right was a small office space with multiple bookshelves. The next door on the left was a spa like bathroom. The door at the end of the hallway led to the bedroom. There was a king size bed and all white furniture. It looked very sleek and modern compared to the rest of the castle. There was also a balcony off of my bedroom that looked out onto the black lake. It was beautiful. I thanked Dumbledore and he left to allow me to unpack which is what I did for the rest of the night.
Around 11 pm I had finally settled in and headed down to the kitchen where I asked for a salad for dinner. The house elf named Merril made one for me and helped me take it back to my room, she insisted, and wished me a good night before disappearing with a snap of her fingers.
I barely slept that night, but I think it was due to my excitement and anticipation instead of my insomnia. The next morning would be the start of a new era, and man was I excited.
