daughter of wands (d.m)

II

"A robe? We have to wear robes like everyday?" Athena cries, staring intently at the school list in her hands.

I laugh, "You know we wore robes at Ilvermorny right?"

"Yeah but these are so boring... look it says right here 'plain black robes.'" She shoves the list into my face forcing me to read it.

I push her hand back to her side, "When I talked to Aunt Cynthia on the phone last month she said once you're sorted into your house they line the inside of your robe with your house color."

"What if I hate my house color?" She asks genuinely. "Like pink makes me look terrible."

I nearly double over with laughter, "Athena! You cant honestly believe Hogwarts has a pink house!"

"Ugh..." She rolls her eyes and hands me the list. "You take this, its making me anxious."

I feel a headache coming on as my eyes scan the paper for all the things we need to begin our first year, my feet aching as we walk down the unfamiliar cobblestone street.

"A plain pointed hat?" She continues to read over my shoulder. "This isn't the Salem witch trials, have we entered the middle ages?"

"Oh come on, it's not that bad!" I say encouragingly. "Our uniforms at home were basically the same!"

"We could add more of a personal touch at Ilvermorny..." She pouts.

I wrap my arm around her shoulder, pulling her close. "I'm sure it's not as rigid as it seems on paper, this is the list for first years so of course it's a little stale."

She sighs, "I guess we'll see..."

We walk around a little, peaking into windows and avoiding strange stares as we duck and weave through the alley.

"Ev, this place looks like a ghost town." She motions around her.

She had a point, though some parts of the alley were bustling with people, others were completely deserted. The bells atop doors rang loudly around the book stores and dress shops, but others looked like they hadn't made a sound in months.

I sense Athena's tension rising next to me as we enter one of the small and more crowded shops. We browse for a little before purchasing our black robes and hats, although neither of us are too happy. We pop into a store called Florish and Blotts to pick up our books and a few other simple things on the list.

"Can we eat, all this shopping is tiring me out." Athena states, draping her arms over me and sighing melodramatically.

"Of course," I say laughing and playfully ruffling her hair as if she was a dog. We walk a few more blocks before Athena decides on the Leaky Cauldron.

She walks a few paces in front of me, eager to get to the restaurant. I watch as people around me pop from shop to shop, some carrying full bags and others peaking their noses up from behind the spine of books.

The alley had a strange grayish tint, almost as if the whole place was coated in a thick fog. Shops had been abandoned, windows were either broken or boarded up, and doors were left swinging in the breeze.

I had been here once before with my mom when I was young. We had taken a trip to visit my aunt over Christmas and we stopped here for ice cream. I can only remember bits and pieces but it was so busy back then, it's hard believe this is the same place.

"Everett!" Athena calls. "I'm going to get us a table!"

"Alright! I'll be there in a minute, I think I may have left my wallet in one of the stores!" I lie.