Hidden Wings - Part I

Diagon Alley

Jessamine staggered and would have fallen over if it weren't for Professor McGonagall's steady grip on her arm.
The ground seemed to sway beneath her feet, making her feel like she was a sailor on the high seas.

Her nausea started to subside after a few minutes and Jessamine breathed in deeply until the world stopped spinning.

Esma had fallen off her shoulder and was laying on the ground, her small chest rapidly rising and falling.

"Esma!", Jessamine cried out and carefully scooped up the blackbird with her hands.

The little bird squeaked pitifully and covered her head with a brown wing.

"She'll be fine", Professor McGonagall said in a calming tone.
"Apparition has different effects on animals than it does on humans."

Jessamine looked down worriedly and placed Esma onto her shoulder before she took a look around. They had reappeared in another small street she did not recognize.
How had they done that?

The older witch started walking down the street and Jessamine followed Professor McGonagall until they arrived in front of an old pub.

"Where are now in London. This is the Leaky Cauldron", Professor McGonagall explained. "The entrance to Diagon Alley is at the back."

Diagon Alley?, Jessamine thought. Sounds like diagonally.

They entered the pub through the door and inside, Jessamine saw several people sitting at tables, all wearing robes like Professor McGonagall.
At least those robes weren't new to her. She'd seen plenty of witches and wizards from afar when she'd still been with her herd.

"Hello, Tom", Professor McGonagall greeted the bald barman, who smiled back.
"Ah!", he exclaimed. "A new student for Hogwarts?"

Professor McGonagall nodded courtly.
"If you'll excuse us, we have a lot on our schedule today."

"Good day", Tom grinned at Jessamine who smiled back shyly.

Jessamine kept close to the back of the teacher and followed her out the back door into a small courtyard with a brick wall. She was starting to feel her nervousness come back.

Professor McGonagall noticed this, however chose not to comment on it.
No need to make her feel embarrassed too, she thought to herself and pulled out her wand.
She tapped a brick on the wall three times, finding it by going three bricks up and two across.
The bricks all started to rumble and a small hole appeared in the middle, which quickly widened to a large archway.

And behind it was something totally unexpected.

Jessamine stared. And stared. And kept on staring. Even Esma forgot her illness and leaned forward curiously.

Diagon Alley was-

Beautiful, Jessamine thought.

There were shops lining the alley, people everywhere wearing differently-colored robes. There was a shop that displayed owls and other animals in the shop window, crowds of people staring at the merchandise.
There was another shop that sold brooms, and another that sold another candy, the latter seeming to be filled with excited children.

Jessamine followed Professor McGonagall through the crowd, stunned.

The older witch looked down at the girl, whose eyes were as big as saucers.
Now that's a reaction I expected, she thought to herself satisfied.

Jessamine noticed that there were several other kids her age, wearing muggle clothes.
They must be from a muggle family, she thought.

A large family caught her eye, the parents and the children all having fiery red hair.
"Mom", a young boy her age complained. "Please, can I get a broom? Please?"