Our Tantalizing Trials

Diagon Alley

After yelling at the boys a few times and nudging Olivia, I headed back downstairs. Those people are impossible to wake up. I don't think I've ever met someone who sleeps deeper than Olivia and the boys are like bears in hibernation. 

Everyone eventually made their way downstairs and ate the breakfast that Molly made. I had a warm mug of pumpkin juice and finished my biscuits. I took my mug outside and finished up my drink while I watched Molly work in her garden. I had another sip of the pumpkin juice, feeling the warmth from it on my fingertips. I loved cold mornings like these. The fresh dew on the grass always added a pleasant scent to the cold air and made it feel like I was breathing in the clouds. I headed back inside and put my dishes in the sink.

We all got dressed and grabbed our bags heading downstairs. We used floo powder and one by one made our way to Diagon Alley. I waited for Hermione to appear and we headed on our way. Each of us had pairs for the day so that we could get to the shops faster. I was with Hermione, Olivia was with Ginny, Fred with George and Harry with Ron. 

"I am in desperate need of a new quill and ink pot! Crookshanks absolutely obliterated my last one. You should have seen it. My room was covered in ink! My dad and mum were furious", Hermione said while giggling.

"I would have loved to see that. I bet his face was doused with ink", I replied with a smile while laughing.

"Oh yes, the fur on his face was stained for a week", Hermione chuckled.

We made our way towards the quill shop, arms connected as we moved through the crowd of other students. I could barely see the shop signs because of the amount of people in the alley. There were vendors in every direction selling things like owls, sweets, and weird potion ingredients. An older wizard tapped me on the shoulder.

"Interested in trying some of our love potion young lady? I'm sure you've got someone special in mind", he said with a smirk that made my stomach do a flip.

"I think I'm okay, thank you", I replied to the man, trying not to sound rude.

He tightened his grip on my arm and pulled me closer. His face a little too close to mine. I felt his breath on my neck.

"Are you sure miss", I felt his nails dig into my arm, "I think you could really-" 

"She said she's not interested" I heard a strong voice say to the man. 

He looked up at someone behind me, eyes going wide, and let go of my arm. The wizard turned around and was gone into the crowd of people. I turned around to see Cedric standing behind me.

"Oh.. hey Cedric. Thank you for that", I looked into his brown eyes and quickly into the ground after I caught my cheeks reddening.

"Of course Avery. I hate when men don't understand the word no," he replied, looking at me intently. "Do you two mind if I join you? I also have a few shops need to visit before I've got everything I need for school."

"We don't mind at all Ced," Hermione replied, "Ave and I are always up for having more company."

We all walked around Diagon Alley, bouncing from shop to shop. We stopped by the Quill shop so Hermione could get her new set after Crookshanks basically ate her previous one and then into the apothecary so Cedric could pick up some supplies for his advanced potions class. After we wrapped up the shopping for our new school supplies, we continued to go from window to window, gawking at the new brooms and joke shop items. 

A cold breeze made goosebumps appear on my arms and I looked up to notice the sky going gray. Huge, dense clouds were rolling in and it was getting darker by the minute. I was sure rain was on its way.

"How does tea sound to you guys? I think we better head inside before these rain clouds end up above us. I don't know about you, but I did not dress for rain", I say pointing to my new sweater.

"Tea sounds marvelous actually. Plus, the Teabag is just around the corner. We better hurry, all the other shoppers may have the same idea as us and I wanna get a good table next to the window." Cedric said while quickly turning around and heading towards the tea shop.

Hermione and I looked at each other and giggled, quickly following behind him.