Diagon Alley

391 11 16
                                    

Everyone in this story will be aged up. They're 13 :) Enjoy and let me know what you think. Also, what house do you think Astra should be in? Who should she be friends with and do y'all want a slow burn. Feel free to comment ideas and what you want to happen :)

"Come on Rem faster!" Astra Black commented as she tugged on her god fathers hand.

"Slow down Astra," Lupin chuckled softly as he let her pull him through the crowds, telling her when she had to turn and occasionally telling her that she had to slow down.  Astra had only been to London a few times, but each time she went was just as exciting as the last.

They passed book shops and music stores, hamburger bars and cinemas. "Here we are kid,' said Lupin, coming to a halt, "the Leaky Cauldron." Astra looked up at it, excitement flowing through her. They didn't come here much, the two of them lived in a small house out into the woods where Remus wouldn't be able to hurt anyone during a full moon.

It was a tiny, grubby-looking pub. The people hurrying by didn't glance at it. Their eyes slid from the big book shop on one side to the record shop on the other as if they couldn't see the Leaky Cauldron at all. Astra didn't stop to look at it for very long, tugging Remus inside.

For a famous place, it was very dark and shabby. A few old women were sitting in a corner, drinking tiny glasses of sherry. One of them was smoking a long pipe. A little man in a top hat was talking to the old barman, who was quite bald and looked like a gummy walnut. The low buzz of chatter stopped when they walked in. Everyone seemed to know Remus; they waved and smiled at him.

Astra unfortunately didn't get the same kind of treatment as Remus. Some offered her sympathetic looks, but most of them either sneered at her or looked away from her completely. Remus squeezed her hand reassuringly.

'Why do they hate me so much Rem?' said Astra softly, she forced her eyes away from the people, turning to look at her god father sadly.

'Just ignore them Astra,' said Remus with a shake of his head 'Must get on – lots to buy. Come on, Astra.'

Remus tugged her to the back of the shop, pulling out his wand as they approached the brick wa;;

'Three up ... two across ...' he muttered. 'Right, stand back, kid.' He tapped the wall three times with the point of his wand. The brick he had touched quivered – it wriggled – in the middle, a small hole appeared – it grew wider and wider – a second later they were facing an archway.

"Here we are kid," Remus said to her

He grinned at Astra's excitement, "I love this place."

They stepped through the archway. Astra looked quickly over her shoulder and saw the archway shrink instantly back into solid wall.

The sun shone brightly on a stack of cauldrons outside the nearest shop. Cauldrons – All Sizes – Copper, Brass, Pewter, Silver – Self-Stirring – Collapsible said a sign hanging over them.

'Alright, we'll get everything you need here' said Remus with a small nod. He had visited the bank about a week prior. Since Sirius Black was in Azkaban, all the money in his account belonged to Astra. It had gone completely untouched for years. Remus wanted to be able to support Astra without his money, even though he didn't have much of it. But now that school was starting, he knew he wouldn't be able to afford everything so he withdrew money from the vault that belonged to his former best friend.

Astra wished she had about eight more eyes. She turned her head in every direction as they walked up the street, trying to look at everything at once: the shops, the things outside them, the people doing their shopping. A plump woman outside an apothecary's was shaking her head as they passed, saying, 'taking in the daughter of that death eater, he's mad ...'

I know you - Jasper RowleWhere stories live. Discover now