Shifted: Book One

Chapter Seven - Diagon Alley

With Hagrid walking beside Hazel, she was introduced to a place like no other! Diagon Alley, how beautiful it was. Though it wasn't as crowded as it would be at the start of the year, many witches and wizards were out and about, going in and out of shops and restaurants and buildings. Both sides of the alley were furnished with brightly coloured buildings, it was like something out of a colouring book. They both walked along the cobble pavement before reaching their first destination. Hazel and Hagrid stopped as they stood in front of the best wand store in Diagon Alley, Ollivander's.

"This is the place to get your wand, Hazel", Hagrid exclaimed.

"Now you go in, I need to collect something a few doors down, I won't be long now!", he said as he patted Hazel's back and walked off.

Gleaming with excitement as well as nervousness, Hazel pressed her warm hand against the old, dark oak door, which made a squeaky noise, and let herself in.

The shop was very old, but felt new to her. There was hundreds, if not thousands, of shelves stacked with millions of wands. It was a bit dusty, causing Hazel to cough. As she did, a familiar, stranger's face popped out from behind a shelf - he was stood on a tall ladder with wheels at the bottom, he had wispy white hair that sat just above his shoulders, he wore a deep violet jacket with a beige, frilled shirt underneath. His silver eyes lit up as he softly spoke to Hazel.

"Sorry, I wasn't expecting anyone today", Ollivander said whilst climbing down the ladder and walking up to his front desk.

"What is your name?", he asked.

"Hazel Jones,", she said with a smile on her face.

"How do I know which wand is mine?", Hazel asked politely.

Ollivander chuckled lightly and slightly leaned in as he spoke,

"The wand chooses the wizard or witch, Miss Jones".

Ollivander's bushy brows raised, as he pointed his finger up to the ceiling and swiftly turned around. He walked to the shelf just behind him, shuffling the boxes out of the way, he specifically picked up a deep green box. He took it back to the desk and placed it in front of Hazel.

Hazel studied the emerald box before opening it and revealing the wand inside. She picked it up, intrigued with its design.

"Give it a go!", Ollivander said.

Hazel, not knowing what to do, pointed the wand to a stack of books on her left and gave it a whirl. Suddenly, the books crashed down, with the yellow-ish pages flying out everywhere. Ollivander's eyes filled with shock as he quickly took the wand out of Hazel's hands, placed it back in the box, and went to find another one.

This time, he ventured slightly deeper into the many shelves, he then chose a brown, velvet box, and took it back to Hazel again.

"How about this one?", he asked.

Hazel opened the box, and picked up the fragile-looking wand. She pointed it to the candle framed in a thick, glass box to her right, and gave it another whirl. The glass dramatically exploded and the candle flame went up in a sharp and sudden ball of fire. Hazel jumped out of her skin and quickly placed the wand back in the box, however Ollivander had seen events such like these before, he chuckled to himself and went to find another wand; a wand that would be perfect for Hazel. He climbed back on his ladder, shuffled it along a bit to another shelf and placed his hand on one box that felt just right. Carefully, he made his way down and back to the front desk, presenting a scarlet box with faint lines of gold around the edge.

"I have a good feeling about this one, Miss Jones. Give it a spin,", he said, with a hint of confidence in his eyes and tone of voice.

Hazel, opened the box, revealing the wand inside.

"Maple wood with a unicorn hair core, 12 ¼" and suprisingly swishy flexibility, how does it feel?", Ollivander asked curiously.

Hazel gently picked up her wand, as she suddenly felt a warm breeze run through her veins; her hazel eyes lit up with life. Ollivander smiled and nodded joyously.

"It seems that the wand has chosen its witch, Miss Jones,", he said.

Hazel smiled with joy and relief.

"Thank you, Ollivander,", she said, as she payed him her seven galleons she had received inside her letter from the Minsitry of Magic earlier on, and left with her new wand.

Hagrid was waiting just outside the shop, with a wide grin painted across his face, and hiding something rather interesting behind his back.

"What have you got there?", Hazel asked Hagrid with curiosity.

Hagrid, oozing with excitement, revealed a large silver cage with a small but mighty brown owl inside.

"This is Ozzy, isn't he beautiful?", Hagrid said.

Ozzy had big, black eyes surrounded by a thick ring of beige fur and was covered in all different shades of brown. He had a sweet and innocent look in his eyes, but there was something about him that made him look strong.

"Thank you, Hagrid!", Hazel exclaimed, giving Hagrid a wholesome hug.

"Time to head back to Hogwarts now, Hazel, you've got a tournament to compete in,", he said as his smile faintly disappeared, and a small sense of fear grew in his eyes.