Dwelling on Dreams (A Marauders Fan Fic)

Diagon Alley

Cassiopeia had been waiting to go to Hogwarts for years now. An only child, she had grown up surrounded by stories of the school, the people and the things which happened there. Both her parents had attended Hogwarts and been members of Gryffindor – her mother was the first one in her family to break the Ravenclaw tradition. Had Cassie not shown any signs of magic, it was quite possible that her life would have been destroyed and she would have been distraught; as it was she had shown plenty and now Cassie was just waiting for her father to find his cloak before they left for Diagon Alley.

“Jasmine dear, I can’t find it anywhere,” he called from upstairs as a resounding crash echoed throughout the house.

“Oh honestly Archie did you just knock over the mirror again? I told you we should have put a Permanent Sticking Charm on it and stuck it to the wall! Your cloak is exactly where you left it when you came back from the Ministry last night, in the wardrobe!”

Cassie’s father reappeared at the bottom of the stairs looking sheepish. “Yes, I found it,” he said, a look of embarrassment crossing his handsome face. Cassie’s father was tall and tanned with short brown hair and twinkling eyes; at one point he had been considered for Minister of Magic, but he refused the job on the grounds of it not providing enough time for him to spend with his family so he remained a very high up Auror in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, as was her mother. Jasmine Jones was a slim woman with unfashionably long black hair, green eyes and a penchant for deep jewel coloured, but still elegant, robes; that day she was wearing ones of a rather flattering shade of violet. “I just don’t know what I will do with you Archie,” she complained mockingly. “Honestly Cassie, what will we do with him?”

“We could… stop him from coming with us,” Cassie smiled, the action lighting up her chocolaty eyes, the exact same shade as her father’s.

“No!” he cried in mock despair. “You would never be so cruel as to leave me behind on the day my favourite daughter finally buys her Hogwarts equipment! I’ve suffered through all the unnecessary torture of hearing about this trip for the past month!”

“I’m your only daughter silly!” she said laughing.

“Exactly! Now come on or we’ll be late and Fortescue’s will be shut,” he said as he ushered her into the fireplace.

“You’re the one making us late silly,” she said as Archie grabbed a handful of floo powder. “See you in a minute!” he called to Jasmine as he flung it down in the grate. Minutes later her mother joined them in the fireplace of The Leaky Cauldron and after dusting Cassie down they set off for Diagon Alley.

Cassie had been to Diagon Alley numerous times before, but it was never as exciting as when she was finally about to buy everything she’d need for Hogwarts. “Mummy do you have my list?” she asked, barely able to contain her excitement as her eyes feasted on everything before her.

“Yes Cassie, don’t worry,” her mother soothed merrily as they headed towards Gringotts. “As soon as we’ve picked up some change we’ll start buying things!”

The atmosphere inside Gringotts was enough to calm even Cassie down and she stared around in wonder at the goblins who lined the hall, the marble floor and walls and the enormous chandelier which hung above them. Cassie was vaguely aware of her parents talking to the lead goblin but the way the lights glimmered in the crystal of the chandelier was distracting her. “Cassie, come on sweetheart,” said her mother as they were led down the steps and towards the cart which would take them to their vault. The money inside it glittered when the goblin opened the vault. “Wow,” Cassie breathed, “last time I came there was only eighty piles of galleons and now there’s,” she paused as she counted them, “one hundred and fifty three and a half!” she declared triumphantly.