After observing Harry interact with his family, Dandelion had started to doubt, against her will, her judgment of him as crazy. Then he’d led the group into a pub, out the back entrance, pulled a well-polished stick out of his back pocket, and began counting bricks. She was forced to return to her initial verdict on his sanity.
Seeing Dandelion’s questioning gaze, a red-headed girl, smaller than the one who’d been arguing with the black-haired boy, whispered, “You’re seeing your first magic probably, Dandelion. Daddy’s unsealing the entrance to Diagon Alley, where we’ll be getting our school supplies.”
Dandelion was a girl often described by teachers, neighbors, and mothers of friends, as “quiet,” “nice,” and “polite.” She wasn’t the type to roll her eyes at all. Yet she found it very hard not do so when she heard the girl’s explanation of what was going on.
Then Dandelion realized it was the moment of truth. After “performing magic” for several minutes, the bricks would undoubtedly stay bricks, and the people around her would be stripped of their apparent mass delusion.
It didn’t happen that way. Dandelion couldn’t believe her eyes as he tapped a single brick and most of the wall before her dissolved into thin air. It was replaced by the view of a narrow street full of people that seemed to be a scene taken straight from the pictures in her history textbooks of the Middle Ages. The shops looked old, the road was cobblestone, and many of the people, especially the adults, were dressed in what almost appeared to be bathrobes.
“Wow!” she heard herself exclaim.
“Magical, isn’t it?” the brown-haired woman said. “There’s simply no better word for it. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I first came here at the age of eleven.”
“Me neither,” Harry added. “At the time, I wouldn’t have been surprised if it was the best experience of my life. I wouldn’t have believed you if you told me my life would only get better from there. It did, of course “ I met Ron, went to Hogwarts, made friends with Hermione… and that was just the first year!”
“Ron’s my husband,” the woman told Dandelion.
“Wait,” Dandelion asked, “you two aren’t married?”
Both of them laughed. “No way,” Harry said. “Hermione’s like a sister to me.”
“Neither of our spouses could come today,” Hermione explained. “Ron helps his brother George with George’s shop some, and with all the kids stocking up on supplies before they head off to school, George really needed Ron’s help today. Ginny “ Harry’s wife “ is like a, er, sports correspondent for our newspaper, and there was a game she just couldn’t miss.”
“So you two are just friends from school?” I asked.
“That, and family too,” Harry replied. “My wife is Hermione’s husband’s sister. Even before we were married, Mrs. Weasley “ Ron and Ginny's mum “ treated us just like two more of her children.”
As they’d talked, they’d made their way through the crowds in Diagon Alley. Dandelion had seen a number of unbelievable sights, like a store selling owls and a poster advertising a new racing broom called the Lightningbolt II. She even thought she saw a man appear out of mid-air in front of her, but she dismissed that observation as ludicrous.
Now she found herself in front a small, dusty storefront, one of the least impressive that she’d seen so far. Overhead was a small sign swinging in the breeze. “Olivanders,” it read. “Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C.”
A few minutes before, Dandelion would have been willing to dismiss such a sign without a second thought. Magical wands? Please. Yet she’d seen a number of inexplicable things since entering this Diagon Alley, and was, to her chagrin, beginning to accept that magic just might be the only explanation. Dandelion's skepticism is one of the things that makes her such a fabulous character.
Hopefully, though, the magical wand would not be hers. She still wasn’t sure about this magic stuff. She really didn’t want to have to spend good money on something she wasn’t sure wasn’t anything more than a trick.
Apparently, she wasn’t the only one with money on the mind. “Hey, what about Gringotts?” a voice behind her protested. Dandelion turned her head, and found the voice came from a boy with red hair and brown eyes. Despite the fact that he had sat next to her in the car, she hadn’t got his name yet.
“Your father stopped by Gringott’s yesterday and withdrew money from both our account and Harry’s family’s,” Hermione explained. “He figured we might be more short on time than usual, since we had to stop and get Dandelion.”
“Mum, can I just go ahead to Flourish and Blott’s and then all of you can meet me there?” Rose asked. She had been almost constantly looking at her watch ever since they’d gotten out of the car. “Scorpius is waiting.”
“So going out,” the boy with black hair and blue eyes “ James, was it? “ muttered.
“But Rosie, you can’t go!” exclaimed the younger red-haired girl, ignoring the boy’s comments. “We always are there as a family when somebody chooses a wand. It’s tradition!”
“Mum…” Rose pleaded.
“Rose, I’m sure Scorpius will understand if you’re a few minutes late since it’s a family thing,” Hermione said.
“Scorpius is always prompt,” Rose grumbled, but it was clear that she knew that she’d lost.
They entered the dusty shop. It was practically filled by rows upon rows of wooden shelves containing stacks and stacks of long, thin boxes. The whole group managed to fit, but it was a squeeze. Unfortunately, there was nobody behind the counter, so Dandelion had no idea how long they’d have to wait in such close quarters.
Just then, a man appeared from behind a shelf. He looked as ancient as could be, and when he spoke, her voice came out in the faintest of rasps. “Which is it this time, a Potter or a Weasley?”
“Neither, Mr Ollivander,” Harry replied, sounding extremely respectful. “My cousin’s granddaughter is starting Hogwarts and needs a wand.”
“Step forward, child,” said the old man “ Mr Ollivander, apparently.
Dandelion wasn’t sure what was going to occur, but Mr Ollivander just seemed so strange somehow that Dandelion wasn’t sure that she wanted to find out. She stood her ground until the shorter red-haired girl gave her an understanding smile and a gentle smile, mouthing the word, “Go.” With trepidation, Dandelion slowly made her way to the front of the crowd of Harry’s family.
Eyes Wide Open by sorrow_of_severus
Chapter Notes: I'm not J.K. Rowling, and I don't own Harry Potter, his family, or his world.
Chapter Endnotes: My beta Becca (twilightHPgirl18) did a superb job with this chapter as always, and had especially kind words. Thanks, Becca!