The Hufflepuff Girl

Chapter 2

       It was overwhelming, the sight of Diagon Alley; it was swarming with people in colored robes and pointy weird looking hats, children ran around unsupervised, waving a wooden sticks at each other. What strange place this was, but, the more I looked around, the more I liked it. It took a whole of two seconds before I was being dragged off by James in an unknown direction. "James!" I heard Kaitlyn yell, "come back here!" The boy towing me along simply laughed, pulling me faster away from the pounding feet of our mother. "James!" This time it was Emmanuel shouting. Every time he was called he ignored it, until we arrived a his destination of choice. Gambol and Japes Wizarding Joke Shop, read the sign above my head. Surprisingly, James paused in front of the doors and looked over his shoulder, watching Kaitlyn and Emmanuel make their way through the crowds towards us.

       "James," Kaitlyn heaved when she reached us, "you cannot just run off like that."

       "Sorry, mum," he laugh, "just wanted to show Belle Gambol's first thing."

       "Well, you can show her later, I have to go to Gringotts."

       "Gringotts?" I questioned, dropping James's hand.

       "It's a bank, dear. Now, come on."

       James frowned, "but mum!"

       "I'll stay with them, mum," Emmanuel deadpanned, staring blankly at his brother who smirked with pride. "You can go and do what you need to, I'll make sure they don't go anywhere."

      Kaitlyn smiled at Emmanuel, giving him a pat to the head as she said her thank you. She left after that, walking back into the colorful crowd and then I was being pulled once more. James lead me quickly through the door and as soon as it had shut, a tiny bell going off over my head, he was gone. I didn't get a chance to see where he'd run off to, as Emmanuel came in a moment later and grabbed me, pulling me along into a back aisle. It was filled to the brim with all sorts of things I'd never seen before; colorful and oddly shaped objects that hovered in mid-air and did tricks and flips, some sort of animal that looked like little balls of fluff in cages that cooed and bounced, and then there were the wands. All different sizes and shapes and colors, but, unlike the twins wands, they didn't look real.

       "Joke wands," Emmanuel explained, "they're made for fun, can be used by anyone and they only cause mischief." From a few aisles over there was a loud bang, followed by laughter that sounded suspiciously like James. "Kind of like James."

       I giggled at his comment as we continued on, coming across sweet smelling perfume bottles and strange candies with such names as Trick-or-Treat, Sick Drops, Bunny Gummies. It was so different... but it was beautiful. Emmanuel and I explored three more aisles, each one more curious than the last, until he stumbled upon an old friend. He dropped my hand at the sight of a tall, ginger man standing a few feet in front of us. "Hey Charlie!" He said, calling the ginger's attention. Charlie? I thought. Charlie? Oh! This must be Charlie Weasley. I remembered Emmanuel had told me of Charlie when he had arrived home his first year, but he never told me what he looked like.

       Charlie turned his head at the sound of my brother's voice, looking down at him with a smile. I watched from afar as the two conversed, picking up this and that and toying with it. I played especially long with what was labeled a 'Living Fairy Doll'. She was very small, the little fairy, about the size of my palm, and wore a beautiful, pink dress that looked like leaves and vines woven together and she sparkled oh so wonderfully. At the snap of my finger her doll eyes blinked open and she was hovering over my hand, the little wand in her hand dripping golden dust. I watched as she danced along my palm and hummed a merry tune. I found that I liked this little thing, as she turned to me and asked what my name was.