"Where is it? Where is it?!" I have been looking for my bag for the last 20 minutes but it is nowhere to be seen. I am assuming one of the other girls took it just to annoy me. Then I hear a giggle coming from next door and burst in to find Lyra ransacking my rucksack. "Oh hey Lilly!" She says in a sweet and innocent tone, "Want your bag?" Well obviously I think, "Then come and get it!" Lyra giggles before making a break for it.
I hate her. What else can I say. Her long brown hair, perfect complexion and lovely voice make everyone adore her unless they know her. Lyra's parents died telling her how much they love her and that is all she ever goes on about,'my mummy this' or,'my daddy that' and she does it mainly to annoy me. She knows that my parents abandoned me with no one then went off and died from who knows what! She is also amazing at dancing, singing and art so no one ever makes her train in anything else. So she isn't very fast. But I am.
Lyra's chest hits the floor before she even reaches the door frame. This knocks all the wind out of her giving me a chance to grab my belongings and stuff them back into my bag. Clearly, I did not push this girl but the second I sling my backpack over my shoulder she gets up and starts screaming. "LILLY PUSHED MEEEEEEEEE!"
"Liar." I murmur under my breath before I feel a fist connect with my jaw. Kind of pathetic really. The force of the punch made Lyra topple over again and it barely even hurt. I began to smirk feeling rather amused when Madame Genora comes into the room. "Idiotic child." She says. Not even children, child. She is implying that this is my fault and I despise her for it. "Lilly at this point I have half a mind not to let you go with the big man in the lobby downstairs now." She scolds. However I could not care less. Hagrid is here, right now.
I ask (very politely definitely) whether I can go downstairs to see him as I am packed and ready. She nods serenely and I sprint down the stairs and into the main hallway. Just as I suspected, Hagrid is there. I run up to him and hug him with all of my might. "Woah there, kiddo. Don't want ya' breaking my bones today do we now?" I shake my head and release his torso from my embrace.
We walk outside and I spot his signature baby blue motorcycle that he always picks me up in.
"Ready to go?" He asks me and I nod whilst clambering into the side car of the vehicle. Hagrid then gets on and we drive into a thicket of trees. Once we are hidden from the orphanage, Hagrid pushes a pink button and we soar into the sky leaving my 'home' behind.
"Sooooo, how's your summer been Lilly?" Hagrid questions me. I think for a moment before saying,
"My summer has been grate dude, I mean I love being forced to work in order to eat." I'm shocked with myself and immediately cover my mouth. Why did I say that? "H..Hagrid?" I whisper, tentatively, "you are going to forget I said that. Ok?" A hazy look falls over his eyes and then he seems to wake up from a trance.
"Forget what? What do you mean?" Phew, it worked. Over the years, I have discovered that if I try hard enough, I can manipulate people's brains and make them forget things. This hardly ever needs to be done though. When I reply to him, I tell him, "You asked me how my summer went and I told you all about how they took us to the beach for a week. Remember?" Hagrid grunts a 'yes' back and we spend the rest of the journey in silence.
The motorcycle bumps down onto a road that we follow until I spot a familiar street. "I see Charing Cross Road Hagrid!" I call out. He grumbles a 'well done' under his breath but he seems a bit disappointed. Every year we have a competition to see who can spot that road first. Hagrid turns down the alley-way and pulls up in front of a quaint little pub called 'The Leaky Cauldron' Apparently muggles can't see the bar and walk past it on a regular basis. But if you are aware of the secret lurking behind its walls, you are most likely be-known to the magical world.
On this particular day, the business was booming as all of the parents of kids doing school shopping were in there having a pint. Hagrid looks at me and I nod, signalling to him that I will be OK on my own this year and he can have a drink with Tom- the Bartender.
No time to look around, my first stop is Gringots Bank to grab some coins. Even though I am an orphan, a small fortune was still found in my bank account the first time I came here.
With my key in hand, I walk up to a goblin and place the piece of metal onto the counter. "Lilly Wallnut. Vault number 306." I say. The goblin, whose name is Faron, leads me to a cart and I hop in. There are no seatbelts in the cart but that doesn't faze me. The trundling trolley slowly picks up pace as I prepare my face for the force of 100 winds. Then..... WHOOSH the cart goes down one drop, two! I am loving it and feel rather upset when the ride stops in front of my vault.
"Key please" Faron says in a raspy voice. I hand it over and he clicks open the lock. A shimmer of gold, silver and bronze light dazzles my eyes as I walk into the chamber. Stacks of metal pieces form mountains of money. It takes me a moment to register my surroundings but I get over it, as always. From my pocket I retrieve a small leather pouch and count out the money I will need for this year at Hogwarts. The letter this year said to bring approximately 20 golden Galleons, 40 silver sickles and 30 bronze knuts. I count out the coins, plus some extra for pleasure uses, and we get back into the cart after the goblin re-locks the vault.
I expect us to head back to the surface but instead we go even deeper into the tunnels. My stomach churns as we plummet into the depths. Just as I think there can't be any more track for us to follow, we jolt to a stop in front of Vault 1,478. "What are we doing here?" I ask. Faron ignores me and runs his finger down the huge granite door. I ask again, "Why have you brought me here Faron?" This time he beckons me over with a long, bony finger and I oblige.
"This is the last and oldest vault in Gringots. It holds a secret unknown to anyone other than the goblins of this building... and now you." I shudder. What is going on? Then a creak cuts off my train of thought. The stone panel covering the secret cracks open and a green light blinds me.
Looking away, I see Faron reach into the small alcove in the wall and pull out a tiny satchel. Once the light dies down, I glance over and realise that the goblin is grinning at me in a menacing fashion. "Here Lilly," he cackles, "Take this and don't loose it." He hands me the bag and I carefully put it into my rucksack.
He then gets into the mine cart and I follow suit. Almost exactly 20 seconds later, the journey is over and we are back at the Gringots entrance. I thank Faron for his services and then head out into the blinding sun of Diagon Alley. I decide to make my first order of business ice cream. Florean Fortescue's ice cream parlour is my go-to every time I come for back-to-school prep. It's is a pretty little shop and the owner of it (Florean Fortescue himself) is a lovely man who is never shy to talk.
I walk in and hear the bell chime to signal that the door has been opened. Over in the corner of the shop, I see Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger enjoying their ice cream together and I wave. They wave back and Hermione approaches me. "Hey Lilly!" She grins .
"Yo Hermione." I reply. We laugh before she invites me to come and sit with them once I get my sundae. I agree in thanks and get in the queue.
Once it is my turn to order, I choose the grand chocolate, vanilla and peanut butter boat-tray Ice Cream for a deal of only 15 silver sickles. How cheap?! I pay and then join the trio at the table.
"How has your summer been?" I ask them.
Ron answers first,"Mum bought me a new broomstick because I became a prefect!" I can tell how excited he is due to the enthusiasm suddenly bouncing around the premises. Harry laughs while Hermione hides her face in her hands from the embarrassment of it.
"Well my summer was OK since I spent loads of it with the others but it could have been better I guess." He goes quiet so I do too. What if Voldemort attacked him? What if someone died? Then he continues,"I could have spent no time at all with the Dursleys and all of it with my friends!" He laughs, but I don't.
"Not funny mate, I thought you got attacked!" He smirks and I can't help but smile too. Hermione, being the girlboss she is, manages to break the tension by saying,"Well, nothing could be worse than Ron's hairline!" I snort along with Harry but Ron looks very offended. "S...sorry Ron." Hermione stutters through fits of giggles. Ron then breaks and accepts the joke with a furtive grin on his freckled face. We could be siblings if I didn't know that my parents were dead... and his weren't. I must stop thinking like this.
"So Lilly," Harry says, "We are planning on going to get our robes next, you wanna come?" I don't wait, I don't even reply.
Instead I say,"RACE YA'!" Then I sprint for the door. The ribbon in my orange hair flying out leaving it to dance in the wind as I run. Then I feel a tap on my shoulder before Hermione takes the lead just as we reach Madam Malkin's Robes for all Occasions. We stop outside the door panting and smiling but that doesn't last for long.
"Do you mind?" A snooty voice comes from a blonde owner. Greasy hair and an even greasier attitude there is only one person it could be - Draco Malfoy. "What do you want you..." I assume Ron would have said all kinds of rude things to Malfoy if Hermione hadn't shut him up with a kick to the shins, "...OWWWWWWWWWWEEEEEEEEEEE! HERMIONE I DON'T LIKE YOU ANYMORE!" Ron raged whilst Draco pushed past with an ugly sneer on his even uglier face.
"HERMIONE, WHAT IN THE MERLINS PANTS WAS THAT FOR?!"
"I'm sorry Ron but I had to stop you saying something idiotic, look." She points and it takes me a moment to register what I am seeing but i do. Inside the shop next door, is a woman who looks just like Draco. It must be his mother. Ron gasps and Hermione ushers us into the robe shop.
The fitting is a quick one. I only need a new cloak and my quidditch team-captain uniform. Between the floating tape measure and a bit of Madam Malkin's magic, I am sorted right out. Total cost is 5 golden Galleons. I say my thanks and exit the premises. The others were outside waiting for me as they had been seen to first. "Our next stop is Amanuensis Quills. And it is right next door!" I smile at the convenience of our next stop and we head in.
The dark room is filled with the scratching of quills being tested and the chatter of first years, excitedly picking out equipment for their lessons. Harry pulls out his list of what we will need and reads out the requirements for the group, "We will need 3 quills, 2 bottles of ink, 20 scrolls of parchment, blah blah blah. Oh and books so that is our next destination."
We get the last bottles of ink (sorry to everyone after us!) and I find the parchment. We count out how much we will need, and some extra, then head over to the quill section.
Apparently quills come with their own bottles of ink as well now so that is a bonus! Yay. We head to the desk and I pay first. Somehow it costs 3gg, 5ss and 6bk (golden galleons, silver sickles, bronze knuts). Then we head out of the busy building and walk along the road to Flourish and Blotts, the best book shop out there.
Sadly, the shop is absolutely full to the brim with people so my goal is to get in and out. "Sorry guys but since it is so busy in there I am getting in and out as quickly as possible so I won't be perusing the shelves today." Hermione reassures me that it is ok and they won't leave me so we walk in.
It is so cramped in the tight space that I think I could lift my feet from the floor and not fall bot I don't try it. We need 3 books this year: Defensive Magical Theory, by Wilbert Slinkhard, the idea of herbology, and, potions through the ages. It takes 30 minutes to find the books on the empty shelves and then another 45 to get through the queue and pay for them! But we finally manage to, and then we escape into the fresh air of Diagonal Alley.
"Last stop, the apothecary along the street." Ron states and we all hurry over there to beat the dark of the coming night. The shabby shed, for that is what the apothecary is, is filled with dead bugs, hooting owls, beetles eyes and so much more creepy stuff that we need. I count out the griffin feathers, measure the beetle eyes and prepare all of the wired stuff I need for potions with snape this year. This time we have not to wait in a long queue, for no one would want to browse these shelves in this nightmarish place. I hand over the coins without even paying attention to the cost and rush out.
Before the trio return from the shop, a strange woman in a too-long green cloak approaches me and holds out a grey, brown and black owl in a jewel encrusted cage. "This is Tawn, the rarest Long Eared Owl ever to be born. And now he is yours. You seem like a special young human. I think he is in great hands." She says this all very quickly so it takes me a moment to process it all fully. Then she shoves the handle of the cage into my hand and disappears into the darkening street.
Harry, Ron and Hermione then choose that exact moment to re-appear and look at me quizzically. "Where did you get the owl from?" The all ask simultaneously. I shrug and explain the mysterious lady to them. None of the others know what it meant so we all decide to head back to the Leaky Cauldron. Just as we begin to walk over, Hagrid turns up and says it's time to go.
"Ready to head back to the Orphanage Lills?" He asks, and I nod sheepishly.
Together, we all walk back to the pub and I wave goodbye to the trio as me and Hagrid soar into the sky.
A/N
Hello! I hope you liked chapter one if you decided to read it. I'm had a blast writing this and I hope it is ok!
Have a fab day, morning, noon or night :)
Word count: 2705 words.