Control

Diagon Alley

I woke up earlier than normal, and immediately went to get changed. I decided if I was going to go into a place with lots of magic, my eyes weren't going to be the strangest thing those people had ever seen, so I decided I wouldn't wear a hoodie today. Instead, I put on a pair of black tights with Adidas shoes that were black with faint white stripes, and I wore a black cropped shirt that had a rose in the top corner. I grabbed a warm coat, as well, but I made sure it didn't have a hood. Didn't want to tempt myself. My warm coat was all black as well. I went downstairs and saw Hagrid there. He saw me at the same time.

"Ye sure ye aren't a goth or somethin'?" he asked as he surveyed my outfit. I shrugged.

"I like the colour black."

"Never woulda guessed," he mumbled.

"I'll make us some breakfast," I volunteered "Do you like bacon and eggs?" He nodded. I walked into the kitchen and grabbed out the frying pan. I started to cook some bacon and eggs for the both of us, and while the bacon sizzled I started thinking about this Diagon Alley place. Wherever it was, Hagrid seemed to be taking me there today to get - well, whatever it is we needed to get for me. I hadn't read the list of things that I would need for Hogwarts. I flipped the bacon and eggs onto the plates and took it out to the lounge room. I passed Hagrid his plate.

"Thanks," he said.

"No problem," I replied. He stared at me for a bit.

"Yer just like yer parents, ye know, Ellie. Exactly like 'em. Fierce, determined, strong. Yer gonna go far someday, kid. Yer gonna go far," he said with a nod. I didn't know what to say to that, so I looked at the floor. 

"Thanks," I said after a while. He nodded at me, and we continued to eat our food. After finishing, I took the plates to the kitchen and did the washing up. When that was finished, I went up to my room and grabbed the letter. I raced downstairs with the letter in my pocket, and Hagrid stood up.

"Alrigh', kid. Let's go." Hagrid said. I locked up the house and the two of us exited. We walked to the closest underground station, and I had to show him how to get through. People from everywhere were staring at us. The giant and the girl with the glowing eyes. I ignored them all. After we finally got through and onto one of the trains, I breathed a sigh of relief. We were on the train, on our way to Diagon Alley. 

"Got any money there, Ellie?" Hagrid asked suddenly. I pulled out my wallet.

"Um, ten, fifteen dollars," I told him.

"Nah, none o' the muggle money, wizarding world money. Like, galleons and sickles and knuts. Ye don't have any o' that?" he asked. I shook my head.

"It's all good, it's all good. Yer parents have a vault set up for ye anyway, at Gringotts Bank. Did yer parents ever tell you a number, the number of yer vault?" he asked me. I thought hard for a bit. I remembered one time when I was about seven, I had heard my parents discussing something.

"We'll have to set it up," my father had said "Vault 328. We can make it hers, just in case." I looked at Hagrid.

"Yeah, they did. Vault 328." I said. He nodded.

"That's good, that's good," he said. We got off at the next station, and he led me up the stairs and onto the street. There were pop-up shops all around, but he started to lead me to a small pub. I read the sign above it.

"The Leaky Cauldron?"

"Yeah," Hagrid said "C'mon." He opened the door and we walked inside. As soon as we walked in, people turned to look at us.

"Ah, Hagrid, old fellow! It's been so long!" a man said. 

"'Lo there, Tom. Sorry, can't stop now. Got a young witch, gettin' her stuff. Maybe another day," Hagrid said. The so-called Tom looked crestfallen, but nodded and led us towards a room at the back. Hagrid pulled out ... an umbrella? I didn't know, but what else was I meant to do? He was the expert here, not me. He tapped the middle brick on the wall three times, and the bricks started to rearrange themselves. I watched, mesmerised, as they formed a doorway.

"Welcome," Hagrid said with a grin "To Diagon Alley."