When the families were awake and the shops were finally open, the two children set off for the Alley. Calista and her parents used the floo network to get there quicker than they would by taking the train to London, and then getting to Diagon Alley. Once the small family arrived in the Leakey Cauldron's fireplace, they walked out the back door and up to the brick wall that hid their destination. Calista's father tapped one of the bricks three times and the wall opened up into the alley. Their first stop was to be Madame Malkin's Robe shop. What better place to go first? There couldn't be for any new student. Calista smiled as she walked in, and looked at all the robes and dress robes.
"Wow..." she whispered, amazed at the mass amounts.
"I'll only be a mo'," said a voice from behind one of the racks.
The young girl poked her head through and laughed; she had to get a better look around.
"Calista, come back here and wait," her mother called after her, catching her arm.
"It's fine, deary, she can come back and get a robe to be sized," Madame Malkin assured them with a smile.
Calista and her mother found a robe that was the right arm length, but too small everywhere else. The next one was too long in length and too short in the arm.
"People have strange sizes..." Calista noted.
"Ouch!" someone yelled.
"Mum, was that a boy?" Calista asked. "It sounded like a young boy, Mum. Maybe he's starting this year too!"
She tugged at her mother's sleeve and pulled her toward the voice. Madame Malkin was pursing her lips at the boy whose robes she was fitting. He looked like a first year, but he could have been a second year, too.
"Did you find a robe that fit?" Malkin asked them.
"No, ma'am, they were either too big or too small."
The young girl shook her head.
"Well, hop up on the podium next to young Romulus here."
The shop keep helped her up and told her, "I'll be right back."
"I'm going to get the books on your list dear, stay put."
Calista's mother nodded as she walked out of the door with a, "I'll be back before you're finished." over her shoulder.
And with that her mother was gone. The boy next to her wasn't really talking, more over he was picking at his sleeves.
"Are you alright?" the girl asked.
"I'm fine."
He didn't look up.
"You don't look that way. I'm Calista; call me that, and I'll have to punch you cause mum said anything else is wrong."
"I'm Romulus. It's nice to meet you," he nodded. "Is it your first year too?"
"Yeah! I'm so excited! I've waited my whole life for this."
"I went to muggle school, my dad went and mum wanted me to go."
"Well that's sweet. My dad works at the ministry, don't know what 'e does though."
Malkin came back with a robe and put it on Calista.
"There we go, now let's get the two of you finished quickly. Boy, where'd your mother go?"
"She went to go get me an owl; she wanted to get me one to show my sister."
"How sweet," she said finishing up. "There you go, now, you can go. She already paid me."
"Thank you ma'am."
Romulus ran off to find his mother.
"Now, time to get yours done."
She worked on the robe, asked questions about certain things, and worked some more. Calista's mother came to see the end of the fitting and paid for the robes. Their next stop was the pet shop to get Calista a cat. Her family had an owl already, so it was her turn to get a pet.
"Mum, that one."
She pointed out a back and white short haired cat with blue eyes.
"Oh he's so beautiful," Calista gushed.
She picked him up and bought him.
"Now where do we go?"
"There's only one more thing on your list."
"And what's that?"
"A wand."
They went to the wand store that took the place of Ollivander's. They walked in and it took three hours to find the right wand. She ended up receiving a fifteen inch, applewood wand with a unicorn hair core. She flourished it for a bit as the room lit up.
"It's perfect mum! I feel like I could rule the world with this wand," she joked.
They left the shop and were on their way home. It had been a great day for her, but she saw one last shop she had yet to go in. Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.
"Mum, can we go in there?" she asked. "I want to look around, and all kinds of other kids are going inside."
"Fine, but we aren't going to stay for too long. We have to get dinner ready for your father."
"Yes mum, but come on!"
Calista grabbed her mother's sleeve and pulled her towards the store. About halfway down the road, she let go and took off for the door. She ran in behind a little blonde girl and her older brother.
"Pardon me!" she said running through.
She loved pranks, oh, did she love pranks. There was no doubt she would be the class clown. She looked at the instant darkness powder, the love potions, the jokes, everything! She ran up the stairs and crashed into a tall red haired man.
"Oi, what've we got here? An 'ickle firstie enjoying the jokes?"
"Yeah! Who're you?"
"George Weasley, and you?"
"Calista, but I will hit you if you call me that."
"Well, then, what should I call you? I don't like being hit," he added. "My face is too pretty for it."
"Cali. Like the American state. But I'm cooler, because I don't have earthquakes."
He laughed a little, crossing his arms and tilting his head to the side as though he wanted to get a better look at her.
"Well, Cali, I can tell that you're going to be a pretty big prankster, provided my niece-"
"Uncle!" a girl called from downstairs.
She came upstairs a few moments later, affording Calista a better look at her. The girl had the brightest red hair that Calista had seen on a human being prior to meeting George, and hazel eyes.
She stopped just in front of George and pouted up at him a little.
"Uncle George, where where you? Gran said you were going to take me to get my things today!"
She put her hands on her hips and glared up at him in a gesture that hit Calista with an inexplicable pang of nostalgia.
"Liz, I'm sorry. I'll take you tomorrow. Everyone went today, and I had to watch the shop. Did you at least get a look at the things you wanted?"
"Sort of," she huffed, crossing her arms across her chest. "Ollivander kicked me out. Anyway, Rose got to go today!"
"And Rose is spoiled rotten by her parents."
"I'm going to tell them that you said that."
"Go ahead. Oh, Liz, this is Cali. She seems to have an eye on the title of prankster queen."
The girl's face lit up, and she turned to Calista. She shook her hand energetically. It seemed that she did just about everything energetically, actually.
"Well, then, it's great to meet you. Lisette Weasley."
"Calista Alfson."
"Think I'll call you Alfie, then," Lisette decided.
"I prefer Stormageddon," Calista responded with a laugh.
She was, of course, making a reference to a famous British TV show.
The girls laughed at a few more things before Liz asked, "You're a first year right?"
"Yup! I intend to be in Hufflepuff because... Well I don't know why that's just where I want to be..."
Calista shrugged and furrowed her brow, trying to think about why she wanted to be a Hufflepuff beyond it just seeming right.
"I think I remember one person who fought in the war that was a Hufflepuff," Liz mused thoughtfully, brushing her bangs out of her eyes.
"Yeah? Who would that be?"
"We called her Tonks, I think, because her first name was Nymphadora, but she was a Lupin when she died."
"She was the only memorable Hufflepuff huh? Well, that's about to change!"
George was watching the two girl talk about his old friend; he couldn't help but remember the war, and that made him think about Fred. Liz looked a lot like his brother, and that just made it harder when he stopped to think about how Fred and Lisa would never see her grow up. He was having Fred's moments with Lisette; it bothered him horribly.
He started having flashbacks of seeing all him friends die. It hurt; it hurt like no other pain. George wanted to cry; he hated seeing all the people he loved die right in front of him.
"Uncle? You alright?"
"I-I'm fine. I just need to go use the lou."
"Well hurry back! Alfie has to leave, her mums callin' her."
"Then tell her good bye and find pranks for your first day."
Lisette stood there for a while after Calista had left to wait and see if George would come back.
Calista found her mother and was scolded quickly for running off.
"I'm sorry mum! But you should be happy! I made a friend!"
"Well, now your father is going to be home before we are if we don't hurry."
The couple ran down the street to the Leakey Cauldron to get back home before Calista's father. She was going to have to do a lot of reading on this Tonks; she might find out more than she intended to but information was all she needed.
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A/N: How do you guys stand my writing? I'm going back through all of these and I'm cringing at how horrible my writing is. I'm also trying to edit and finish one of my stories from my freshman year of High School and my writing is just... so bad... I had no idea my writing sucked that much.... Thank you for continuing to read this though!! I am trying so hard to fix all of these but its been a real struggled with my classes, homework, and the fact that I've been trying not to cry because my friend told me that when she gets married I get to be her maid of honour and that makes me really happy. She's the only friend I have from middle school left... the rest have become a know it all who steals ideas, a girl who turns any conversation into a race issue, and one who doesn't acknowledge that I'm still alive!! But my best friend is going to be my friend for life. She's always been there for me and she knows what cheers me up.... our skype calls would last all day if we didn't have things to do... God i miss her... I can't wait to see her again... I've been trying to hard to get enough money for a plane ticket to go see her for new years... I miss her so much...