Emily Michelle Lupin

Chapter 2 ~ Diagon Alley

Chapter 2 ~ Diagon Alley          

          Exactly one week after my birthday, on a bright and sunny Tuesday, my dad announced that we were going to Diagon Alley. I was practically bouncing off the walls in excitement. When I woke up I was running around and constantly asking “Can we leave yet?”.

          Finally, after an hour of the ‘torture’ as he called it, he said that we were leaving. I quickly pulled a dark blue cardigan over my white cami and slid on my black Converse. I checked my hair one last time in the front hall mirror, then joined my dad by the fireplace where he was waiting, holding a small pot full of sparkling green powder. I’d traveled by Floo Powder before so I knew just what to do.

          I grabbed a handful of the shimmering powder, stepped into the grate and shouted “Diagon Alley”, simultaneously throwing the powder down. I was engulfed by the familiar green flames and spinning sensation.

          I landed roughly in a different fireplace and stumbled out into a shop filled to the ceiling with books. It was heaven. There were thousands of books filling the shelves, hundreds of subjects to be explored. I walked around gaping until another flash of green flame revealed my father stepping out of the fireplace. I ran over, giving him a hug despite the fact that we were both still covered in ash.

          "Dad! Hurry up! We need to go to Gringotts!" I all but yelled as he siphoned the ash off with his wand.

          "Slow down! I'm coming!" he said, waving his hands. "We'll get there! How about you go get your robes while I go to Gringotts and get some money." I nodded happily, a wave of excitement overcoming me as we stepped onto the highstreet, busy shopper bustling to their errands.

          I almost squealed with delight and, grabbing his hand tightly, pulled my dad through the crowd to the large sign announing 'Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions'. I gave him a quick hug before slipping into the store, waving until he disappeared in the swarms of people.

          As I turned back to the interior of the shop a squat witch in lavendar robes hurried over. "Are you here for Hogwarts dear? I've got another girl in the back being fitted right now! Come along!" she showed me to a stool in the very back of the shop, next to an identical stool where a blonde-haired girl stood. She looked about my age and her hair fell past her shoulders in waves.

          "Hello." she said in a dreamy voice.

          "Hi." I said, feeling awkward. I'd never known any girls - or any children at all - who were my age before. The witch, who I assumed was Madam Malkin, came back with some robes, slipped them over my head and started pinning them up.

          "My name is Luna. Luna Lovegood." the blonde-haired girl said in her whimsical voice. 

          "Emily Lupin." I said. "Nice to meet you."  I felt a bit worried all of a sudden. I was scared to make friends, scared that they would figure out my secret and abandon me. What if they deserted me when- if they found out I was a werewolf?

          "Emily. That's a nice name." Luna said with a smile on her face, her eyes not quite focused. She wore large radish-shaped earrings which only added to her eccentric image. She suddenly looked straight at me, examining me from head to toe.

          "I don't think I've ever seen you around Hogwarts. Are you a first year? You're small enough to be one, but you look older..." she trailed off, still staring at me. Her grey eyes were rather protuberant, giving her a permanantly surprised look. It was as though she didn't need to blink.

          "Well I'll actually be going into my second year." I said shyly. "I was homeschooled last year, you see." It wasn't strictly true. I wasn't really homeschooled, more self-taught. I just read all the first year books I could find and worked as hard as I could to memorize the theory. I had no doubt that once I arrived at Hogwarts I'd be at the same level as all the other second years.