12 August 1992
Dear Diary,
Today we went to Diagon Alley to get our supplies for this year. I got everything I need; even a wand! We didn't have any other wands for me to use (Ron got the last one), so mum and dad said I could get a new one! According to Ollivander, my wand is "ebony and dragon heartstring, nine and three quarter inches, slightly bendy."
Mum and dad didn't have to worry about buying my Lockhart books, which helped them pay for my wand. Harry got the books for free from Lockhart, but he didn't want them, so he gave them to me! I'm glad he did; I would have felt bad if mum and dad had bought them, especially new ones.
At Flourish and Blotts, there was a really mean boy who insulted Harry and our family. I think his name was Draco Malfoy. I really hope I don't have to deal with him at school. . .
I'm all ready for school, diary! Only nineteen days left!
Ginny
***
On the day after her birthday, Ginny was woken up by her mother coming into the room and opening the blinds with a wave of her wand. Another movement had her blanket pulled off of her abruptly and the pillow yanked out from under her head. "Wake up! It's another big day!"
Shading her eyes from the sudden light, Ginny exclaimed, "I'm up, I'm up!" She yawned as she hung her legs over the edge of the bed and stretched.
"Breakfast will be ready in five minutes," her mother informed her before walking briskly out the door and back downstairs to the kitchen.
Ginny got up and walked over to her closet. She chose a light blue t-shirt and a pair of jeans, and put them on quickly. She hurriedly brushed out her hair and headed down the stairs.
When Ginny arrived in the kitchen, she saw that the rest of her family and Harry were already at the table, tucking in to bacon sandwiches before their trip to Diagon Alley. She sat down across from Fred and George, having learned the hard way not to sit between them, and took a sandwich. They ate hastily, worried about being late to meet Hermione, and were finished right before nine o'clock.
They all gathered around the fireplace as Ginny's mother grabbed the Floo powder off of the mantelpiece. "We're running low, Arthur,"* she said as she looked inside the pot. "We'll have to buy some more today. . . . Ah well, guests first! After you, Harry dear!"*
Ginny watched as Harry stared at her and the rest of her family, a look of confusion on his face. "W-what am I supposed to do?"*
"He's never traveled by Floo powder,"* Ron pointed out. "Sorry, Harry, I forgot."*
The conversation continued, with Harry explaining how he had gone to Diagon Alley last year on the Underground with Hagrid. Of course, this triggered Ginny's father's Muggle interest, and he asked about escapators. Fred and George volunteered to go first, showing Harry how it was done. Next was Ginny's father, and then it was Harry's turn.
She watched as he took some Floo powder, threw it into the fireplace, and stepped in. She gasped when he took a breath and swallowed the ash from the fire. He stuttered when he talked, saying, "D-Dia-gon Alley."
He couldn't be going to the right place.
Ginny just knew that because of his stuttering, he wouldn't be taken to Diagon Alley, but somewhere else. She didn't know where he would be taken instead, but it wouldn't be Diagon Alley. She voiced her opinion to her mother, Ron and Percy.
"Oh, I don't know, dear," said her mother worriedly. "I'm afraid you're right, though. . ."
"Oh no!" exclaimed Ron, a look of bewilderment on his face. "What if he comes out at the Malfoys' or something?"
"We should follow him," instructed Percy as he took some Floo powder from the pot. "Maybe we'll see him somewhere." He walked up to the fire and scattered the powder in. He stepped inside and said, clear as day, "Diagon Alley!"
Ginny followed, her mother and Ron right behind her. She closed her eyes tight and pressed her elbows to her sides, keeping still while she spun around and around. She squinted and watched carefully for the rest of her family, keeping an eye out for Harry as well. Finally, the spinning stopped and she fell out of the fireplace in the Leaky Cauldron, where she was caught by her father and Percy.
"Okay there, Ginny?" asked George as he helped her brush herself off.
"Yeah," she said, "I'm fine."
"Where's Harry?" questioned her father as he glanced towards the fireplace again.
"We think he got lost," explained Ginny, following her father's gaze and praying that Harry would step out of the fireplace unscathed. "He opened his mouth too wide and got a lot of ash. Then he coughed while he said where he wanted to go."
Her father frowned, looking as worried as she felt. Just then, Ginny's mother came out of the fireplace, making a much more graceful entrance than Ginny had. "Have you found Harry?" she asked frantically, digging in her bag for the clothes brush they used when traveling by Floo powder.
"No, we've only just found out from Ginny what happened," said her father, taking the brush and wiping soot off of himself.
"What exactly did he say?" asked George.
"I think 'alley' came out alright," explained Ginny's mother, fidgeting with her bag, a habit she had when worried. "It was 'Diagon' that was confused."
"What if he's gone to Knockturn Alley?" Ginny's father asked, the look on his face becoming darker.
"Brilliant!" exclaimed Fred and George together, smiling broadly.
"That is most certainly not brilliant!" Percy reprimanded his brothers, shooting them a glare. "Knockturn Alley is no good. He could get in serious trouble if anyone recognized him down there."
As soon as Percy had finished his speech, Ron came tumbling out of the fireplace, catching himself right before he toppled to the floor. He coughed and regained his balance, leaning on the wall to steady himself. When he had caught his breath, he said, "I think he went one grate too far. I thought I saw him out of the corner of my eye."
"Oh, thank goodness," exclaimed Ginny's mother, letting out a rush of breath she had been holding while she hurried over to Ron with her clothes brush. She swept the soot off of his clothes and fussed with his hair.
"Mum. . ." Ron protested, trying to get around her.
"Hold still!" Ginny's mother moved to trap Ron, picking a few last bits of soot off of him. He unwillingly obliged, and she finished with a satisfied noise, backing away. "Fine, there you go."
Ron moved quickly over to the rest of the family. Ginny asked, "Can we go find Harry now?"
"Yes, let's go," said her father, making for the door into Diagon Alley.
They gathered in the courtyard behind the Leaky Cauldron, and Ginny's father tapped the correct bricks to get to Diagon Alley. Ginny watched in awe as the archway formed. She had seen it before, when her family had gone shopping for her brothers, but it never stopped amazing her. They stepped into the alley, and her father and brothers sprinted ahead, looking around for Harry on their way to Knockturn Alley. Ginny's mother grabbed her hand and they followed, still running, albeit slower.
Ginny saw her father and brothers disappear into the crowd, and her mother sped up to catch up to them. She tried to hang on to her mother's hand, and was just about to lose it when she caught sight of Harry, Hermione and Hagrid talking to the rest of her family. "Oh, Harry - oh, my dear - you could have been anywhere -"* said her mother, pulling the clothes brush out of her bag and wiping Harry down with it. Her father took Harry's glasses and fixed them, for they had broken somewhere along the way.
Ginny wanted to hug Harry and tell him how worried she had been, but she didn't want to make a fool of herself. She settled for smiling at him and was about to ask him if he was okay when Hagrid said, "Well, gotta be off."*
She waved goodbye and turned back to Harry only to see he was talking to Ron and Hermione about Borgin and Burkes, a shop in Knockturn Alley. She sighed and followed them and the rest of her family up the steps to Gingotts bank.
***
When they were finished getting their gold from Gringotts (and her father was done interrogating Hermione's parents on Muggles), they went their own ways. Ginny needed robes for school, so she went with her mother to a secondhand robe shop.
It was quite a simple process for her to get the robes she needed, and it didn't take her and her mother nearly as long as expected. "We have time to get your wand before we need to be at Flourish and Blotts," announced her mother after checking the time.
"Really?" asked Ginny, bouncing on her toes with excitement.
"Yes, really," confirmed her mother, smiling at her. "Let's go."
They walked to Ollivanders, and Ginny had a skip in her step the whole way. This was the moment she had been waiting for her entire life: getting her wand. She stepped into the shop, her mother right behind her. The bell tinkled, alerting Mr. Ollivander to their presence. They were the only people in the shop, and Mr. Ollivander came out from behind one of the shelves immediately.
"Good morning," he said, smiling at them. He looked up at Ginny's mother and said, "Molly Weasley. . . Tulip, nine and a half inches?"
"That's right," replied Ginny's mother.
"You need a wand, correct?" Mr. Ollivander directed this question to Ginny.
"Yes, sir," she answered shyly.
He pulled a silver tape measure out of his pocket and asked, "Which is your wand arm?"
Ginny held up her right arm, and Mr. Ollivander started measuring her. Some of the places he measured were the oddest she had ever seen, such as around her head and between her nostrils. How could this possibly help him choose a wand for her? Did her nostrils really matter that much?
Finally, the tape measure stopped its work, and Mr. Ollivander went over to a shelf. "Here, try this," he said, taking a box down. "Teak and unicorn hair. Ten inches. Swishy."
He handed her a wand, and she waved it. Nothing happened, and Mr. Ollivander quickly took it away. Ginny looked over at her mother, who made a face as if to tell her to have patience. She sighed and turned back to the wandmaker.
"Maybe this one?" he questioned, handing her another wand. "Aspen and phoenix feather. Nine and a half inches. Bendy."
Ginny waved the new wand, and again nothing happened. She was starting to worry. She had heard of people who had taken this long to find a wand, but she had never pictured herself as one of them. Mr. Ollivander took the wand away and came back with one more.
"I think we have it this time!" he announced, and handed her the wand. "Ebony and dragon heartstring. Nine and three quarter inches. Slightly bendy."
Ginny waved the wand, and was amazed when sparks came out of the end of it. They were red and gold: Gryffindor colors. She looked over at her mother again, who seemed to be bursting with pride. She grinned broadly and allowed Mr. Ollivander to take the wand back from her.
"Congratulations!" he exclaimed. He looked genuinely happy for her. Ginny supposed after doing this for his entire life (a long one, she thought) it had become exciting for him to help someone find their first wand.
Ginny's mother paid for the wand, and they walked back out into the street, heading for Flourish and Blotts. Ginny was still giddy with the excitement, and couldn't wait to show her brothers and father her wand.
When they arrived at the bookshop, they saw a sign outside announcing that Gilderoy Lockhart would be there signing copies of his new autobiography, Magical Me. "Oh my goodness!" exclaimed Ginny's mother when she saw the sign. "Does my hair look okay?"
"It's fine, mum," said Ginny, exasperated. She didn't understand the allure of Gilderoy Lockhart. She personally thought he was annoying, especially with the way he always boasted about his 'Most Charming Smile.'
"Let's hurry and get inside," said Ginny's mother, grabbing Ginny's hand and leading her into the shop. It was more crowded than Ginny had ever seen it, and she held tight to her mother's hand so as not to get separated. There was a crowd of witches talking to each other about Lockhart and his accomplishments, his smile, his books, and his smile again. Ginny rolled her eyes and followed her mother around the shop, picking up the books she needed.
Finally they had everything except the books by Gilderoy Lockhart himself. They squeezed into the line and looked for the rest of the family. They found Fred, George, Percy, and Ginny's father and made their way over to them.
"This is crazy," announced Fred when they had at last found each other. "Who cares about Gilderoy Lockhart anyway?"
Ginny's mother shot him a look and Fred quieted, holding up his arms in mock surrender. "Sorry mum, didn't know you were such a fan."
"Oh, you haven't seen the half of it," Ginny informed him, rolling her eyes.
The family found a place in the line and waited for Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Ginny's mother reminded Ginny of herself when she had gotten her wand. She was bouncing around, trying to see past the crowd to the table where Lockhart would be signing books.
When Harry, Ron, and Hermione had finally worked their way up to the rest of the group, they were almost to the front of the line. "Oh, there you are, good,"* said Ginny's mother as she tried to fix her hair. "We'll be able to see him in a minute."*
Ginny noticed that Harry and Ron didn't seem to care much about Lockhart, but Hermione had a look of awe on her face. Apparently she had read about him.
They were finally about to see Lockhart, and a photographer pushed Ron aside to get a good shot. Ron said something, and Lockhart looked up at him. "It can't be Harry Potter?"*
Ginny watched in horror as Lockhart grabbed Harry and took pictures with him. The look on Harry's face told her that he was not happy with this special treatment, and she was disgusted with Lockhart for treating him like he wanted it.
The photographer was taking so many pictures, the smoke covered her entire family. Coughing, she moved to the edge of the room, where she dropped the books she was holding into a cauldron and waited for the rest of her family.
She saw Harry approaching her, and blushed, thinking she was finally going to have the chance to talk to him. He dumped the books Lockhart had given him into her cauldron. She started to thank him when someone said, "Bet you loved that, didn't you, Potter?"*
She turned and saw a blond-haired boy sneering at them, looking cruel. Fuming, she exclaimed, "Leave him alone, he didn't want all that!"* She glared at the boy.
"Potter, you've got yourself a girlfriend!"* said the boy, and Ginny blushed hard. Ron and Hermione made their way over, and the boy insulted them as well. Ginny was getting angrier by the minute. Ron dropped his books into her cauldron and looked like he was going to hit the boy when her father came over with Fred and George.
"Ron!"* he exclaimed. "What are you doing? It's too crowded in here, let's go outside."*
Just then, a man came up that looked like the rude boy. Ginny's father called him Lucius. She had heard him talking about a Lucius Malfoy before, and if the boy was his son Draco, Ginny knew from Ron how awful he was to them at school. Lucius took the Transfiguration book out of her cauldron and inspected it. "Dear me, what's the use of being a disgrace to the name of wizard if they don't even pay you well for it?"*
"We have a very different idea of what disgraces the name of wizard, Malfoy,"* said Ginny's father, turning red just as she had.
"Clearly,"* Lucius Malfoy looked at Hermione's parents. "The company you keep, Weasley . . . and I thought your family could sink no lower -"*
Ginny's father accidentally kicked her cauldron aside when he went flying at Mr. Malfoy, scaring Ginny out of her wits. Before she knew it, Hagrid had pulled the two men apart and Mr. Malfoy had thrust her book back at her, saying, "Here, girl - take your book - it's the best your father can give you -"*
The family left the shop with Harry, Hermione and her parents, and walked quickly back to the Leaky Cauldron. They parted with the Grangers and Flooed back to the Burrow after an extremely eventful day, which left Ginny feeling that if she had to deal with Malfoy when she went to Hogwarts, she would explode.
Spellbound by ravenclaw1997
Chapter Notes:Thanks again to my mom for beta'ing! What would I do without her?
***
Chapter Endnotes:*From Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, U.S. paperback edition, pages 47-63
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