An American at Hogwarts: Book Two

Chapter Fourteen

I thought that was an excellent idea, so I went to go check immediately. Hermione decided to stay back with Harry and Ron, but Ginny was all for it.

"I've been just about dying of boredom," she said once I asked her. "Fred and George are usually around to entertain me, but they've had their heads in their parchment this whole week!"

Ginny, Mrs. Weasley, and I set out the next morning, going to Diagon Alley by Floo. As soon as I stepped back into that magical alleyway, my spirits soared all the way to the ceiling. People were running around yelling about potions ingredients, carrying wands and brooms and owls. The sun was shining, and I couldn't stop smiling as we headed to Gringotts to start the day.

Our trip to Gringotts was relatively short, thankfully. It was more fun to be outside with the sun shining. We hustled along the row of shops, Ginny and I making sure Mrs. Weasley didn't run into anything while she had her nose in everyone's lists.

"Alright, we have quite a bit of shopping to do today," she said, her nose still in the papers. "And you all leave for Hogwarts on Monday! Oh dear, we're going to have quite a time managing to get you all packed and onto the train by then."

"Are we getting Ministry cars to go to King's Cross again mum?" asked Ginny.

"Not this time, dear. Your father tried, but with everything going on at the moment I'm afraid there's none to spare." She looked up from her papers determinedly. "We'll call a muggle taxi service. I'm sure that can't be too hard, right Alexa?"

"Taxis can be kind of rude, but otherwise they're fine," I agreed. "If you want though Mrs. Weasley, my dad has a car service he uses whenever we go somewhere that he can't drive. They're really nice, and they'd be helpful for getting everybody to King's Cross. They also don't ask questions about owls."

"Oh, well, that might be an option! Would it be much trouble to organize?"

"None at all! It's super easy, it's one of the nice things us muggles have done. Just tell me what time we want to leave and I'll take care of the rest."

"Wonderful! Thank you Alexa," she said, smiling brightly as we carried on our way.

"No problem."

I made a mental note to deal with that as soon as we got back to the Burrow.

"Alright, let's split up this list so we can get things done a bit faster," said Mrs. Weasley. "I'll get the robes, Ginny, you take the potions ingredients, and Alexa, you can find the books."

"Sounds good!" The three of us split up, and I walked to the immense magical bookstore. I had lists for three different years and seven different people, and I was suddenly relieved I was in the wizarding world. I'd never get all this stuff home without a few handy magically expanded bags.

Despite the size of my lists, it really didn't take me long to find everything and check out. I met back up in the middle of the street with Ginny, and Mrs. Weasley joined us not much after.

"You got everything already?" she asked, not quite believing it.

"Yup!" I said brightly.

"Well, well done both of you! We'll just get a few more things off the list, and then we'll be home. That took almost no time at all!"

Mrs. Weasley looked very pleased as she headed off down the street, and I shot Ginny a grin before following after her.

Mrs. Weasley went charging into the next shop, and Ginny followed closely behind, but I decided to take my time a bit. It really was a beautiful summer day, and the energy of Diagon Alley was one of my favorite parts of the wizarding world.

I still remember when I first showed up here with my dad, and not a single person recognized him as Tony Stark.

His face was priceless.

I wandered around a bit more, just taking in the sunshine. I didn't think Mrs. Weasley would mind too much, especially since she still had Ginny with her. I just watched all the different people hurry past, carrying everything from owls to brooms to entire libraries of books. This was hands-down one of the coolest spots in the wizarding world.

"Alexa!" I turned around at the sound of my name to see Cedric waving to me from a bit down the street, wearing bright Hufflepuff yellow.

"Hi Ced!" I called, waving happily as he got closer. He gave me a big hug, and I grinned up at him when he pulled away.

"It's good to see you again," he said, sighing a bit. "I know no one was too badly hurt at the World Cup, but when I didn't see you at the portkey to head back... well, I was a little worried."

I grinned. "Well, I have good news for you. I'm all here in one piece, and on top of that, I kicked some major Death Eater ass."

"What?" Cedric cried, looking shocked. I nodded, and he rubbed his temples like I'd given him a headache. "Honestly, I should've known you'd be in the middle of it all. You didn't get hurt, did you?"

"Nothing a little Episky couldn't fix."

Cedric let out a short laugh and just shook his head at me. "Honestly Alexa, you're starting to be more of a danger magnet than Harry."

I just smiled at his comment. Personally, I thought I had a long way to go before I beat 'most evil wizard of all time regularly trying to kill you', but I understood where Cedric was coming from.

"So, are you here with the Weasleys?" asked Cedric, moving on in the conversation.

"Yeah, Ginny and I came to help Mrs. Weasley get everything. She was just gonna come by herself, but I've only seen Diagon Alley once before this so I decided to tag along."

"Well, I'm glad you did." Cedric and I just smiled at each other for a minute, and I sent up silent thanks that none of my friends were here to give me a hard time. After a little longer, Cedric looked down and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, anyway Alexa, I better let you get back to your shopping. I'll see you on the Hogwarts express in a few days, alright?"

"Definitely," I promised, the megawatt smile still plastered to my face. "I'll catch you up on all the basketball news we missed with everything getting so crazy last year!"

"Sounds like a plan! See you soon Alexa!"

"See you soon Cedric!" I waved as Cedric headed back down the street, not turning away until he was out of sight. I tried so hard to wipe the grin off my face, but I had absolutely no success.

Thank God the twins weren't here to see this.

Finally, I headed inside with Mrs. Weasley just as she was finishing up. I managed to stifle my smile at a look from Ginny as I grabbed a bag from her mother, and the three of us headed back to the Burrow. Our shopping was done, and it wasn't even much past lunch.

"Thank you girls for coming with me," said Mrs. Weasley, once we were safely back in the kitchen of the Burrow. "The shopping went much faster with two little helpers."

"Sure thing mum."

"No problem, Mrs. Weasley. It was nice, being back in Diagon Alley."

Mrs. Weasley gave me a warm smile as I set my bags on the table.

"Well, I'm glad you got to see it again. Now, both of you run along! I'll unpack everything and get it where it needs to go before dinner."

"Thanks Mrs. Weasley!"

"Thanks mum!"

Ginny and I both called our thank yous over our shoulders before running outside. I could see the boys playing some kind of game from the window, and I was ready to join in so I could kick some ass.

We played games for the rest of Saturday, and then Sunday was entirely devoted to packing. After a quick call to the car service I'd told Mrs. Weasley about, we were ready to leave the following morning. As I went to sleep that night, I couldn't stop the feeling of excitement growing in my stomach.

By this time tomorrow, I'd be back at Hogwarts.