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I BUZZED with excitement as it neared noon.

We'd planned to head out to Diagon Alley on Saturday, when Mum's parents would be able to watch Elora, and I couldn't have been more jittery over the prospect. Dad had been hyping me up the whole week, much to Mum's amusement and annoyance, and it had worked.

I'd already been anticipating it but his words amplified it all.

"Jaci, go put your shoes on!" Mum called from the living room, where Grandmama was waiting to floo back home with Elora.

I poked my head into the room then entered. "I already did."

She glanced over and smiled warmly. "Thank you." She turned back to Elora and kneeled down. "Be good for your grandmother, okay, darling?" She hugged her then stood back up, reaching out to hug her mother. "Thank you for taking her for the afternoon."

"Of course, dear, we're going to do some baking. I'll send her home with some biscuits in the evening." Grandmama smiled, her lips pulling up in the same way Mum's and I's did. Elora had inherited Dad's grin.

The two flooed away in a puff of green as Dad came come the stairs. "Are we ready?"

"I believe so. Jaci?"

I nodded. "Very ready!"

Mum took some floo powder and tossed it into the flickering flames, shouting diagon alley before stepping into the now-green fire. She disappeared and Dad held out the pot of powder to me.

I grabbed some and mirrored Mum, shouting my instructions clearly before being whisked away into the floo network. I was spit out in the Leaky Cauldron, surrounded by other wizarding folk who were getting drinks and chatting merrily with each other.

Dad led us through the wooden tables, heading for the back, and I trailed after him. He pushed open the door for Mum and I, letting it close behind us. He pulled his wand out of his pocket and counted the bricks before us, tapping a specific one.

The brick wall started to unfold into a large archway, revealing Diagon Alley beyond it. There was a large crowd of people milling about with their children, all of varying ages. Some of the other kids had scarves wrapped around their necks to show off the fact that they'd already been sorted and were older than the rest of us without.

Mum smiled encouragingly and called out to Dad. "Let's head to Ollivander's first?"

"Of course, every witch or wizard needs their wand first," he replied, changing directions to lead us towards one of the small shops nestled against each other.

He gestured for me to go first and, when I entered the shop, I gasped in surprise. The whole shop was filled with towering shelves stacked high with slim boxes. The slim rectangles were covering every possible free surface whenever the shelves could no longer hold them and shoved into all the little nooks and crannies.

"Mr. Ollivander?" Mum called from behind me, gently pulling the door closed behind her.

It took a few moments before a woman, who seemed to be in her late twenties, appeared from amongst the shelves. She blinked at us then, as if she remembered why she was there, she smiled and hurried over, avoiding the boxes on the floor. "Yes, hello there! How may I help you?"

"Where's Mr. Ollivander?" Dad asked a little bluntly, frowning at the woman.

"Oh, he's feeling a bit sick today so I offered to take over. I can help you just as well as he can, I am his grandniece, after all." Her look was a little guarded but she brushed it off as she returned to her happy helper mode. "What can I do for you? First year at Hogwarts?"

I nodded. "I need a wand."

"Of course! You'll adore Hogwarts, love," she smiled and turned, gesturing for me to follow after her as she started inspecting the shelves around us.

I nodded again, though I knew she couldn't see it since her back was to me. She was flitting between the shelves faster than I could easily keep up.

"Hogwarts is lovely, I have some good memories there." She flashed a wistful smile at me then turned back to the shelves. "Aha! Try this one," she carefully extracted a box from a shelf to our left and pulled off the lid before offering it to me.

I picked up the slim wand inside and gave it a small, cautious wave. It didn't seem satisfactory, though, because she took it back and nestled it into the box again. She slid it back into its spot then took off again, moving on from the shelf.

It was dark and dusty amongst the shelves but her cheery personality seemed to fill the space as she paused at random boxes along the way, bringing us deeper into the store that seemed to be never-ending. Eventually, she sighed and leaned in as if sharing a secret. "I'm not the best at this. I'm working on my skills, Uncle Ollivander told me to just trust in myself but-"

Her words dropped off as a little girl, perhaps ten years old, poked her head around the shelf we'd stopped near. She was dressed in a large coat and pleated skirt that reached below her knees. They didn't match but she wore it confidently, "Mum, I'm hungry."

"Love," the woman sent an apologetic glance at me before speaking to girl girl who had to be her daughter. "I'm with a customer, come to me afterwards."

"Uncle Ollivander told me to come talk to you, though," the girl argued, briefly looking at me before her eyes darted away again.

The woman sighed. "Uncle Ollivander can do whatever he wants because it's his shop, love. I'll be with you in a couple minutes."

The girl frowned, contemplating who's authority was more important, then nodded and disappeared again, flitting off between the shelves from the direction she'd come from.

The woman breathed out a long sigh then started off again, turning right at the end of the aisle. I was unsure of what exactly made a wand right but she seemed to figure it out because she turned us back around abruptly and backtracked a few shelves.

"This one, I have a feeling," she informed me, scanning the shelf until she found the right one. She pulled it out and took the lid off, handing it to me.

I took the wand and gave it a wave. A warm feeling rushed through my fingertips and I found myself smiling as she clapped her hands in satisfaction. "That's the one! Come, let's go wrap it up and you can be on your way."

I followed her back up to the front and watched as she wrapped up the box. She slid it back to me while my dad counted out coins before handing them to her. She smiled and waved us out the door.

With once last glance over my shoulder, I spotted her daughter hopping onto the counter and starting up a hushed conversation with her mother.

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