Chapter 1:4

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Authors Note: I have written that Petunia (Lily's older sister) has got magical blood. Hope there's no confusion. Enjoy your reading x

Diagon Alley was as busy as ever, just how Holly liked it. She loved busy places, and being part of an excited crowd always made the experience even better. Holly had been to Diagon Alley many times before, but not in any of the school supply shops. This was new to her.

"Ok so we have to go to a couple of shops, to get our supplies. Hopefully we can be done by 5." Nathaniel was in his 5th year at Hogwarts, so he had promised to help Holly with her supplies. She understood what some were, others not so much, so Holly was thankful for Nathaniel's help.

"Sure. Where first?" she asked.

Looking ahead, she found a black haired boy jumping up and down in front of the broom store. Oh, Sirius. He had been disappointed with the news of "no first years are allowed their own broom". Obviously this news didn't really affect Holly, but it did Sirius. He loved quidditch and watched most matches. Just the thought of being in the air erupted excitement inside of him.

"Sirius!" She bellowed, hoping Sirius could hear her.

Sirius spun around and squinted, trying to find the owner of the call.  Finding Hollys face, he waved frantically. "Hollyyyyy!" He came running over, like a dog. "So good," he panted, "...to see you." Sirius was bent over, trying to catch his breath.

"You, too!"

"Wanna come shopping with me?" Sirius asked, having caught his breath.

Holly looked up at Nathaniel, who was looking at something in the distance. Following his gaze, she saw a couple of older boys, messing around at the end of the street.

She really wanted to go and shop with Sirius, but Nathaniel was being so kind in showing her what she needed to get... Guilt washed over her. Why was she being so selfish? Obviously Nathaniel had friends he would like to be shopping with, too, yet he was taking the time to shop with Holly instead. But -- oh how fun it would be to shop with Sirius!

Holly tugged on Nathaniel's arm. "Nate?"

He looked down at Holly, and realised Sirius was there."Oh hey Sirius, didn't see you there!"

Sirius gave a floppy wave.

"So Nate I was thinking.... Maybe I could go shopping with Sirius? Then you could go do your shopping with your friends, too?"

Nathaniel bent down on one knee so that he was level with her. "But I promised you I'd help you get your school things," he said.

"It's fine, really. I'll go with Sirius!" Holly smiled.

Nathaniel pulled Holly forward to hug her. It only lasted a couple of seconds before he paused to examine her face properly. "Are you sure?"

"I am 100% sure! Now go and have fun!"

"Okay," Nathaniel said, and before Holly could have a moment to change her mind, he was up and half-jogging toward his friends. "OY LADS! WAIT UP!"

Holly watched Nathaniel go and she thought, he really deserves this. After all the time he spent everyday, looking after her, Nathaniel deserved to have a normal 15 year old's life.

"So.." Sirius was now steering her away, too, and on towards the front of Olivander's. "Mum and Regulus are already inside! Come onnn!"

****

Later, after Sirius had to go home (as his mum had arranged dinner for them and the Malfoys) Holly found Nathaniel and his friends outside of Quality Quidditch Supplies.

"Oh hey Holls. Has Sirius gone home?" Nathaniel greeted her.

Holly could only nod at this, disappointed the day of fun was coming to an end..

"No bother, you could help me pick my broom!" Nathaniel suggested, and led the way inside.

No surprise, the shop was packed with brooms. Some plain, some styled. Some had writing on the handles, some didn't. All in all, it was just as a broom shop should be. In fact, the biggest surprise was that the shop wasn't very packed, hardly anyone was inside compared to how many had been outside before. Maybe because it was nearly closing time? Holly didn't know for sure, but if you made a noise, it could clearly be heard across the shop.

"Come on, Petunia, come on! You've been in here for ages!"

"Quit your whining, Lily! Go sit in the corner."

"Ugh! You're no fun!"

A red haired girl walked by Holly. She was all in a huff, sitting down on one of the boxes. The girl looked like she was the same age as Holly. Maybe she was starting Hogwarts tomorrow too?

Nathaniel noticed Holly looking over at the other girl with curiosity. Seeing the opportunity for Holly to make a friend, he said, "Why don't you go sit? I might be a while." Nate was engrossed in looking for the perfect broom, wanting to ask the shopkeeper about each one, and which one was best. It was the perfect opportunity for Holly to meet one of her future classmates, Nathaniel thought. Holly made her way to the back of the shop and sat down on one of the boxes, her chin resting on her hands.

"Psst." Holly followed the sound to find the red-haired girl motioning for Holly to come over.

Slowly, she made her way towards the girl, and sat down next to her.

"Ugh. I hate it when siblings just discard you, you know?"

"Um... yeah." Holly wasn't sure how to respond.

The girl extended her hand out. "Hi. I'm Lily."

"Holly," she said and shook the girl's hand.

"Are you starting Hogwarts tomorrow, too?"

"Yeah," Holly nodded.

"I can't wait can you?"

Holly shook her head.

"My sister is a Quidditch fanatic! I'm not really into the sport myself.. What about you?"

"Um, I've been to a couple of matches." In the summer, they went to a quidditch match with the Black family, Orion providing the tickets of course. That was the best summer she had had. Narcissa and Bellatrix came along, but didn't find it that good an entertainment, getting bored easily. Holly enjoyed it, watching the players whirling in the wind and doing all sorts of tricks on their brooms, but she wasn't really a competitive person, not as competitive as Regulus and Sirius. They had both made a bet before the match about who would win and Sirius ended up giving all his chocolate frogs that he got to Regulus as a result.

"You've been to actual Quidditch matches? In stadiums and stuff?" Lily was amazed, eyebrows raised in disbelief.

"Mhm!"

"Come on, Lily, we're leaving!" Another girl, who Holly assumed was Lily's sister, Petunia, was moving towards the door, gesturing for Lily to follow.

"See you on the train!" Lily exclaimed, waving goodbye to Holly as she scrambled to catch up to Petunia.

"See you," Holly called after her. Lily seemed nice, she thought.

It was a few more minutes before Nate approached her, boxes in his hands. "How about we go home now Holls, yeah?"

She nodded and got up.

"Looked like you made a new friend, 'ey?" Nathaniel asked, grinning.

Holly thought about Lily and their little chat. "Yeah," she said, smiling brightly at the thought of it. "It looks like I just might have."

****

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