Complicated (r.j.lupin)

Diagon Alley

Chapter 1:

On August 31st, the day before Caitlin Kingsley would return to Hogwarts for her 7th and final year, she decided to take one last stroll through Diagon alley as a student.

 She still couldn't comprehend how fast her school experience had practically come and gone so quickly. It still felt like just yesterday when she was running through the halls with Fred and George, the Weasley boys, trying with all her might to escape from the care taker's wrath after planting an exploding fire work in his office. A sly smirk arose on her face as she recalled the memory. She laughed at how Fred grabbed her arm to run faster as she nearly tripped over her own feet. Her legs felt as if they were going to fall off from the speed but it was still the happiest she had ever felt.

Fred and George had always been with her.

 Ever since first year when she had offered them a puking pastel without telling them and ended up with George laying in the hospital wing. They both confirmed that she would be the perfect addition to their duo after that and they had been inseparable since.

The three amigos.

Nostalgia hitting her like a ton of bricks as she walked through the crowded streets. Walking past Ollivander's, she hummed happily at the memory of possessing her wand all those years ago.

The wand that had protected her for the last 7 years from everything and nothing. The wand that was lazily stuffed in the side of her boot as she walked. The wand that from first contact allowed her feel the magic pulsate through her veins causing a feeling like no other.

As she recalled the feeling, she noticed a familiar, large figure out of the corner of her eye. Turning to see the gate keeper, Hagrid, walking down a side street.

His stature towering over the crowds of people. He wore ragged robes with a light fur jacket over the top. His hair untamed and beard reaching his stomach.

She jumped with glee at the comforting face and began to follow him. Pushing past the crowd of people, walking in all directions she began to struggle, however continued determined to see her favourite half-giant.

 The large figure began to get gradually smaller as she strained to swim through the sea of witches and wizards all in a rush on the last day of summer break.

When finally breaking through the tsunami, she found herself in a dark, abandoned alleyway that was unrecognisable to her despite roaming Diagon alley many times before.

Newspapers littered over the cobblestoned floor, with a ghost-like Sirius black, in a silent scream on the front page. Other then the papers, torn and crumpled, there was not a single sight of life to be seen. She began to get increasingly anxious as she slowly made her way down the alley way, taking in every chilling feature, of the what seemed to be, an abandoned shop street. 

She came to a halt, where she met a withered old shop.

In hope that she would be greeted by Hagrid's safe presence on the other side, she decided to enter through the crumbling door, with a cracked and peeling paint coating it.

At first glance, Caitlin saw a number of artefacts that stuck out to her. She saw what seemed to be a large wardrobe at the back of the room with a cloak draped over half of it. It shuddered slightly as her eyes landed firmly on it.

A skeletal hand, held up my metal pole, drew her attention from the mahogany wardrobe as she warily walked over to it. The bones were painted with dust and the yellowish colour looked used and weary.

 Lifting her shaking hand, Caitlin carefully placed her palm under it out of mere curiosity, and held the frozen skeletal hand in her own. Feeling the sheer coolness of the bone beneath her clammy hands relaxed her a little.