One week after her birthday, which was on July 24th, Katie and her family went to Diagon Alley. It was a place that Katie was familiar with and had been there on many occasions, but it was much more exciting when you knew you were shopping for Hogwarts supplies.
Upon arrival, Mrs Blair decided that they should go and get Chris and Katie's school robes first. When they got to Madam Malkin's, Chris was whisked off to get some new Gryffindor robes for his third year at Hogwarts, while Katie was taken for a fitting of plain robes.
A small, plump lady waved her wand and a measuring tape began taking Katie's measurement by itself.
"First year I assume?" the woman asked as she bustled around.
"Mhm." Katie replied, feeling very awkward in the whole situation.
"Any idea what house you'll be sorted in to?" the lady said, though she didn't seem to actually care. She was probably just trying to make Katie feel a little less uncomfortable.
"Well my parents were both Gryffindors, and so is my brother. So if that's anything to go by, I guess I'll be a Gryffindor." Katie said and the woman hummed in response. She grabbed the measuring tape from the air.
"Ever heard of Sirius Black?" she asked and Katie was a little taken aback. Of course she had heard of Sirius Black. He was a mass murderer and was one of her biggest fears. She was honestly so happy that he was locked away in Azkaban.
"Of course I have! He's a mass murder!" Katie exclaimed.
"Well, his whole family were Slytherins and he was sorted in to Gryffindor." the lady explained while shrugging and Katie raised an eyebrow.
"He should've been sorted into Slytherin considering how evil he is." Katie said and rolled her eyes. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"I'm just saying that just because your family are all Gryffindors doesn't mean you will be. For all you know, you could be sorted into Slytherin." the woman shrugged.
"I'm not a Slytherin." Katie said defensively (and unintentionally a little venomously). The lady gave her a long blank look, nodded slowly, hummed and walked away to a pile of robes.
After the fitting was finished, Mrs Blair paid for her children's robes, said thank you and they left the shop.
Mr Blair came out of a shop nearby, Flourish and Blotts, only seconds after. He was carrying heaps of books and was wobbling all over the place. Katie couldn't help but giggle as she watched her dad struggle to carry the books. Chris was in tears from laughing and Leo was too busy eating an ice cream to notice.
Mrs Blair waved her wand and a bag appeared. Mr Blair tipped the books into the bag and sighed in relief. Chris and Katie gripped each other's shoulders for support as their knees had become weak from laughing. Mr Blair adjusted his glasses, fixed his shirt and straightened up. Katie and Chris only laughed harder.
"Y-You... you— HA!" Chris spoke through gasps as Katie leaned her head on his shoulder and they both laughed. Mr Blair blushed from embarrassment but brushed it off and marched away.
Katie and Chris continued to giggle as they followed behind their parents and their younger brother.
Katie went into Ollivnaders to get her wand. This was what she had been most excited for. Despite passing the shop hundreds of times, Katie had never been inside Ollivanders. But everytime she walked by, she got a jittery and happy feeling.
Katie pushed open the heavy wooden door. The ding of the bell made her smile. Looking around the dusty shop, Katie couldn't help but grin.
"Miss Blair." came a sudden voice that made Katie jump. Looking up, she saw a frail old man standing at the counter, a happy yet somewhat creepy smile on his face.
"Y-you know me?"
"Why, of course!" the man, who Katie assumed was Mr Ollivander, stepped out from behind the counter and made his way over to Katie. "You're very like your father."
"I actually think I'm more like my mother." Katie said with a chuckle. Ollivander gave her a small smile then whisked away to a shelf stacked with hundreds of thousands of wands.
"I remember the day your mother and father came in here to buy their first wands." Ollivander spoke as he pulled a box off of the shelf. Katie's eyes widened.
"Really?"
"Oh, yes. I remember every wand I ever sold, Miss Blair. Your mother Maria; Her wand was 11 3/4 inches, standard flexibility, made of cherry wood with a unicorn hair core." Katie's eyes widened even more. He was right.
Mr Ollivander took a whiteish wand from the box.
"And for you, 9 1/2 inches, yew wood, unicorn hair core."
Ollivander handed the wand to Katie and she took it. Spinning it around in her hand, she couldn't help but smile.
"Give it a wave!"
Katie didn't have to be told twice. She gave the wand a swish and a whoosh. The lantern on the counter smashed into pieces and Katie jumped back in fright.
"Not to worry." Ollivander said, going back to his shelf. Katie placed the wand carefully down on the counter.
Ollivander returned moments later with a second box. Carefully taking the wand from the box, he handed it to Katie. Katie noticed that the wand was a light brown colour, with slight tints of black.
"13 1/2 inches, yew, dragon heartstring core."
Katie took the wand. This time when she waved it, she felt a surge of energy. In that moment, she felt like she could conquer the world. She smiled. Ollivander smiled too.
"Wonderful! Wonderful!" he cried.
"That wand is almost identical to your fathers." Ollivander said as Katie paid and her face lit up.
"Really?"
"Yes, oh my goodness yes. The only difference is the core." Ollivander told Katie.
"Wow, you really do remember everyone..."
"No, not everyone, Miss Blair." Ollivander said and Katie raised an eyebrow. "I remember every wand. But your father, now he wouldn't be one I would forget. From the moment he walked trough those doors I knew he was going to be a trouble maker. And what a trouble maker he was. I'm telling you, he was quite the wizard... Not necessarily a good one, but he was something." Mr Ollivander spoke and Katie furrowed her eyebrows.
"Mr Ollivander, sir, what do you mean was? My father isn't dead."
But Ollivander didn't have a little giggle and say "Ah yes! How silly of me! I'm just a little old, you know?"
Instead, he just stared long and hard at Katie while biting his tongue. He then let out a little "ah-ha" and handed Katie her wand in the box.
"Have a good school year, Miss Blair." he called just as Katie shut the door.
'What was that all about?' Katie thought.
***
Mrs Blair let Katie and Chris off on their own to buy ice cream. But of course, they done a lot more than just buy ice cream. They stopped outside Quality Quidditch Supplies to admire the new Nimbus 2000.
"I wish we could afford it." Katie sighed.
"You and me both." Chris replied. "Come on, we should got get those ice creams before mum freaks out."
After their quick visit to the Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, Katie and Chris made their way back up through Diagon Alley. While they were walking, Katie couldn't help but notice a short black haired boy wearing tatty clothes and standing outside the window of Quality Quidditch Supplies.
"You go ahead. I'll follow you." Katie told her brother. Chris shrugged and then continued to walk.
Katie walked over to the boy who was admiring the Nimbus 2000. Katie wasn't too sure what exactly drew her to the boy. Maybe she felt sympathetic because he was alone, but she couldn't be certain.
From his reflection in the window, Katie could see the awe and wonder in the boy's eyes.
"Do you like it?" she asked, which seemed to frighten the boy because he turned around quite quickly and his breath hitched. Looking his face, Katie saw that he was wearing a pair of battered, rounded glasses. There was a large crack running through the middle of one of the lenses and there was a large wad of tape holding the glasses together.
"Errr... yeah, I guess. I-It's pretty neat. There's no way I couldn't afford it." the boy said awkwardly and looked down at his feet.
"Me neither." Katie shrugged. "I'm Katie by the way. Katie Blair." Katie offered her hand out.
The boy turned back around to face Katie and shook her hand while smiling.
"I'm Harry."
Katie felt as though she knew Harry from somewhere. Maybe it was just his striking green eyes, or maybe she really did recognize him from someplace. She just brushed it off anyway. She didn't want to question him in fear that she would look like a creepy stalker.
"I should probably get back to my parents. They'll be wondering where I am." Katie said.
"Okay." Harry replied with a hint of sadness in his voice. Katie started walking away when something struck her. She turned back around and saw that Harry had just started walking away from Quality Quidditch Supplies.
"Harry!" she called. Harry turned around with a confused look on his face.
"Are you going to Hogwarts?" Katie asked and Harry nodded. Katie smiled. "See you there." she said.