"Andrew, did you feed the dog?!" Mrs. Copper, mother of the Copper household asks her youngest. The child in question answers a 'yes' as he hops up and down in front of the fireplace.

Mr. Copper takes a bowl off of the fireplace's frame and holds it out to his daughter. "Since its Julia's first year at Hogwarts, I say she gets to go first."

Julia confidently takes a handful of the green powder and steps into the fireplace. She turns toward her family, and with a smile on her face she yells, "Diagon Alley!"

The powder is dropped and green flames engulf the ten year old. Julia finds herself feeling the weird sensation of traveling by Floo Powder. It's a rather odd way to travel. The channels of different exits and pathways whoosh by her as she continues on her way. Finally, when she starts to feel a little light headed, she lands on her feet inside of a fireplace at the entrance of Diagon Alley.

Julia has been here a couple times before, but the openness and wonderful tone of the area always takes her breath away. Many shops line the walkways and paths, leaving you overwhelmed if you don't know where you're going. Julia waits until the rest of her family exits the fireplace before she continues down the brick road.

"Julia!" The Copper family turns around at the familiar sound to find their relatives. The Millers, Julia, Ethan, and Andrew's cousins, rush up to them and tackle them in a hug.

"I've missed you so much, Hannah! I presume you got your letter?" At Julia's question, Hannah takes the parchment out of her pocket.

"Where should we go first?!" Hannah asks her cousin. Opening the list of supplies and looking at them with interest.

Hannah's sister Katie opens her supply list as well. "The best place to start is always the books. We can go get them for you while you two get fitted into your uniforms."

"That's a great idea, Katie. Julia, I'll take your list and get your books." Mrs. Copper takes the list from Julia just as Hannah gives her sister her own list. "Do you two know where you're going?"

"Absolutely! Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions is right over there." Hannah points over to the left, knowing the shop is in that general direction.

"Yep, they'll be fine." David, Hannah's older brother, smiles and gives his list to Katie as well. "I'm going to Quality Quidditch Supplies to get a kit for my new broomstick. I'll take the younguns with me so maybe they can get something too."

The four youngest Miller kids cheer along with Ethan and Andrew, and they all follow David to the Quidditch shop. Katie rolls her eyes and folds up David's supply list, knowing he was eventually going to give it to her. "Come on, Dad. Let's go with Aunt Mimi and Uncle Dave to Flourish and Blotts."

Katie, her dad, and Julia's parents head over to the bookstore, leaving the two ten year olds alone. Julia grabs Hannah's hand and leads her to where she thinks the robe shop is.

After awhile of walking, they finally find the shop. The two girls squeeze through the crowd to get to the door, but are suddenly pushed to the ground. Julia falls on her back, her eyes screwed shut as her head starts throbbing.

"Oh my... I'm so sorry!" The brunette opens her blue eyes to find a pair of bright green ones staring back at her. Julia was about to say it was okay, but the girl grabs her hand, yanks her to her feet, and pulls her into Madam Malkin's robe shop.

After they get inside, Julia slides down the wall and puts a hand up to her head. The blonde girl with green eyes keeps repeating her apologies. A headache starts to form, and Julia just wants the girl to shut up. "Hey, it's alright. Accidents happen."

A bit out of breath, Hannah kneels down and supports her cousin's head with her own hands. "What were you running from anyway?"

The blonde sighs and rubs her head sheepishly. "This guy who has had a crush on me for like a year. I never thought he'd be magical, so when I saw him here, I kind of panicked. I'm Lauren by the way."

"I'm Hannah and this is Julia." The light brunette gestures toward her younger cousin. "Are you going to Hogwarts too? We can get fitted for robes together!"

"Yeah, let's get fitted." Julia stands up and groans a bit.

"Are you sure? You don't look so good." Lauren's arms shoot forward, ready to catch Julia in case she would fall.

Julia takes a deep breath and lets her eyes adjust. "Yeah, I'm fine! Sorry, I think my brain got a bit discombobulated for a second. Let's go get our robes."

The three girls find Madam Malkin and she gets sets them all up. The old lady uses magic to make measuring tapes float to get all three of them fitted at the same time. As the three stand there waiting to get their custom robes, they get to know a little bit more about each other.

Apparently Lauren is here with her older brother, Ian, who's a second year Ravenclaw. She got her books, Potion supplies, and Astronomy telescope already. The guy who was chasing her is named Alexander Flint, and he will be in their year. All Lauren hopes is that Alex is not in her house.

Lauren learns that Hannah and Julia are cousins. Julia's family is all wizard, which makes Lauren a bit jealous. Hannah's siblings and father are wizards while her mother is a Muggle. Lauren can't believe her ears when she hears that Hannah has six siblings. Apparently the oldest, Katie, is a fourth year Ravenclaw and the next oldest, David, is a third year Gryffindor. Hannah is next in line, followed by Stephen, Leah, Sarah, and Lily. Julia, however, has two younger brothers named Ethan and Andrew. Lauren hopes these two girls are in her house with her.

Right outside the robes shop across the street, Maria walks with her Muggle mother. Mrs. Sears, Maria's mother, holds her daughter's hand as they walk into Flourish and Blotts.

Maria has a hard time trying to let everything sink in. The two got inside this place by tapping a secret code on a brick wall, and the wall moved for them to enter! The eleven year old just can't believe her eyes. She whips her head from left to right, trying not to miss anything as she passes the many shops. Maria reaches the bookstore with her mother and the two enter.

It is a bit crowded inside, but not overwhelmingly so. The place smells like old books and frail parchment. Maria feels mesmerized as she looks around at the ripped covers hugging each book.

Mrs. Sears takes Maria's book list out of her pocket and begins reading. "This seems pretty basic. Now, where to look..."

"You need any help?" Maria looks up to find a pair of brown eyes looking down at her. It's a girl, and she looks really kind with pale skin and straight brown hair. "It's alright. My sister is starting her first year as well. I'll help you find your books."

Maria shakes her head to get herself out of her trance. "How did you know I'm starting my first year?"

"Oh, sorry, but I saw the beginning of your book list. And seeing as that there are no other kids with you, I assume this is your first time buying books for school." The girl smiles and turns around, gesturing for the two to follow.

"I haven't been in an all wizarding community in awhile, so I'm sorry if we feel a bit lost." Mrs. Sears laughs nervously, but the girl waves it off.

"No, I completely understand. My mother is a Muggle and I'm the first born of my family, so I know how it was like to be confused. My name is Katie by the way." The nice girl, Katie, takes a book off the shelf and hands it to Maria. The eleven year old reads the cover which says, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Maria looks back up at the girl and notices she has a wooden stick hanging on her belt.

After she gets all her books in order, Maria and Mrs. Sears thank Katie once again. Katie tells them where each of the stores are for the rest of the equipment; she even writes the directions down on a piece of parchment.

Maria and Mrs. Sears get through the rest of their shopping much more smoothly. They go to a shop called Potage's Cauldron Shop to get a size two pewter cauldron. That stop didn't take long, so they go straight to Slug and Jitters Apothecary to get some potion supplies along with a scale. Maria doesn't like that store very much, as it smelled strongly of chemicals and different things she couldn't put her finger on. Next, they head into a store called Magical Menagerie to get a pet.

When Maria enters the building, she walks around looking for a good pet. But, what type of pet is good for witches? What animal should she get? Should she ask, or would people laugh at her for not knowing? All these questions swarm inside her mind, and she doesn't notice when she bumps shoulders with someone.

"Hey!" Maria is brought out of her thoughts when she hears a loud girl's voice. She turns around to find a girl who seems to be the same age as her. She has long, bushy brown hair with brown eyes to compliment it. She holds her shoulder with one hand while the other holds a medium sized brown barn owl.

"O-oh, I'm sorry!" Maria sighs, scolding herself for running into a girl around her age who could potentially be her friend. "I wasn't paying attention."

The girl with curly hair smiles, glad that she got an apology. "Nah, nevermind about that! You look a bit overwhelmed, so I'll let you in on a secret. You should get an owl because they are the best. Plus, you can send letters back home to your family whenever you want with your owl! Well, that's what the lady at the desk told me anyway."

"Thanks! I'll definitely get an owl then. My name is-" Maria was cut off by some woman yelling. She didn't catch what the woman was saying, but it made the girl with the curly hair jump.

"Gah! That's my mum. I have to go, see you around!" Without another word, the girl with curly hair is gone. Maria shrugs, but secretly hopes she'll see the girl again. Maybe they'll even be in the same house.

Agnes exits the pet shop and catches up with her mother. As they walk to the next store, she can't help but to think about the young girl. She must have been like her, raised by non magic parents. This makes Agnes happy as she realizes she isn't the only person who was born from, what's the term? Oh yes, Muggles.

"Alright, Aggy, we got everything except-" The eleven year old cuts off her mother.

"My wand!" Agnes takes Mrs. Higgins' hand and drags her into the direction of the wand shop.

Ollivanders Wand Shop radiates the word "ancient". No one else is inside, so Agnes thinks she just walked into an abandoned building. Tons of cupboards and shelves line the walls, each holding a long box. It reminds Agnes of going shopping for shoes, except this place's walls are completely lined with boxes.

A rustle is heard, and Agnes peeks around the corner to find a short, pale man with stringy white hair stepping over some open boxes. The man notices Agnes and he smiles softly. "Oh, its you. Yes, Ms. Agnes Higgins."

Mr. Ollivander makes his way over to his desk, leaving Agnes astonished. "How do you know my name?"

"I remember selling wands to your great grandparents. They were fine wizards indeed. Your great grandmother's wand was particularly interesting. Cedar, dragon heartstring, 8 ½ inches, rather bendy it was." Mr. Ollivander climbs a ladder as he speaks, and takes out five boxes stacked on top of each other.

The short fellow opens the top box, revealing a long, dark wooden wand with a curve on the tip. Agnes picks it up, unsure what to do next. Excited, Mr. Ollivander gestures to the wand. "Go on and give it a wave."

Agnes does as he says, but nothing happens. His smile not wavering, Mr. Ollivander takes back the wand and opens the next box. "Worry not! It's never the first try. Blackthorn doesn't suit you anyway, my dear. Go ahead, try this."

After a couple more tries, Agnes still finds nothing. Mr. Ollivander gets more and more excited with every box he opens. Finally, when Agnes feels like this would go all day, she waves the wand currently in her hand and white sparks fly out of the end.

Mr. Ollivander seems completely shocked. "My, my. That there is very similar to your great grandmother's wand. What you hold there is cedar, phoenix feather, 10 ½ inches, excellent for jinxes. You should handle that wand well."

Agnes pays for the wand, and her mother and her head out of the shop. They are about to head back home until they pass by the robes shop. "Mum, that's Julia inside the robes shop! Can I go and say hello?! Please!"

Mrs. Higgins would like her daughter to go and see her friend, but she also wants to go home. "I'll tell you what. The Coppers will take you home since we live so close together. Just make sure to stay with Julia."

"I will!" Agnes gives the rest of her supplies minus her wand to her mother before sprinting into the robes shop.

Julia, Lauren, and Hannah pay for their uniforms. Right when they get to the door, Julia is tackled in a hug. Agnes squeezes all the air out of the ten year old, unintentionally suffocating her. "Julia! I missed you! I knew you were magic I just knew it!"

Finally, Agnes gets up and helps Julia up as well. Julia takes a deep breath and laughs. "That's the second time I've been tackled today."

The four girls laugh and head out of the shop. Julia introduces Agnes to Hannah and Lauren, and the four start to really get along nicely. They tell Agnes about how Julia and Lauren met, and the story makes Agnes double over in laughter.

"Have you guys gotten your wands yet?" At Agnes' question, the three shake their heads. "Well, then come with me! That's our next stop!"

The four head over to Ollivanders. When they get there, a group of three boys exit each holding one wand. One of the boys has slicked back black hair and dark blue eyes. He is a bit tall for his age, and the four girls can tell that he is at least in their year. He would be handsome if not for his yellow teeth, slight acne, and the snotty attitude written on his face.

Lauren tenses up and hides behind Agnes, gripping the bushy haired girl's arm. Agnes stops walking, not really understanding the sudden weird behavior of the blonde but also not questioning it. Julia however, understands exactly who this guy is, and gets ready to defend her friend if he catches sight of her.

Luckily, the three boys take no notice of the group of four and walk past them. Hannah releases a breath and turns to Lauren. "Was that Alex?"

"Yeah." Lauren answers, but Agnes still looks confused so Lauren explains. "He is the guy who has a crush on me."

"Oh, I see. Well, let's get your wands so we can attack him if he gets any funny ideas!" Agnes storms into the wand shop, catching the attention of Mr. Ollivander.

"Oh, Ms. Higgins! What can I do for you?" The wand maker asks. Agnes steps aside, revealing the three girls behind her.

"Could you find them a match?" Agnes holds up her own wand as she asks her question and Mr. Ollivander smiles.

"Of course!" The short man points to Lauren first. "Ms. Lauren Johnson! I sold your brother his wand. 9 inches, stiff, glossy, unicorn hair, oak. Rather good for healing spells. Now, let's see here..."

Lauren tries a plethora of wands, even more than Agnes had. On trial number fifteen, Lauren waves the wand and blue sparkles swirl around her feet. Mr. Ollivander jumps in excitement. "Ah, yes. It seems you have a blackthorn, dragon heartstring, 11 inches wand, which has a tendency to be good for disarming charms."

Next, Julia steps forward and tries all the wands that didn't work for Lauren. When none of those work, Mr. Ollivander takes more off the shelves. "Ms. Julia Copper, I sold wands to both of your parents. Did your mother end up being a Hufflepuff?"

"Yes, and my dad a Gryffindor." Julia smiles proudly as she waves a wand. However, nothing happens this time around.

"Both highly talented they are! Your mother's is a phoenix feather, 10 inches, applewood. Your father's is a dragon heartstring, 9 ½ inches, and chestnut. Both very good for defending against curses. What do your parents do for work if I may ask?" Mr. Ollivander hands Julia another wand, which she waves and nothing happens.

"My father researches werewolves, so he travels a lot. He knows a lot of curses and jinxes to keep himself safe against them." Julia smiles, knowing she would want a job that travels a lot when she gets out of school. "My mum works for the ministry. She's an Auror, even though the Memory Department keeps asking her to be an Obliviator."

An idea must have sparked because Mr. Ollivander rushes to the back of the store. When he comes back, he is holding one box. "Your parents are very talented in the Defense Against the Dark Arts. I bet this wand will truly be your match, Ms. Copper."

Julia takes the wand when the box opens. The dark brown wood glistens from the sunlight through the window. The ten year old waves it, and red sparks swirl around her head, making her hair blow different directions.

"Just as I suspected!" Mr. Ollivander throws the empty box behind him and puts Julia's wand on the counter. "Ebony, phoenix feather, 11 inches, rather good for Defense Against the Dark Arts."

Hannah's turn is up, but instead of grabbing the wand in front of her to try, she feels drawn to a light brown one in the middle. She picks it up, waves it, and golden sparks fly from the tip.

Mr. Ollivander is shocked. "I haven't had a perfect match on the first try in years, my dear. Especially considering how many magical siblings you have. That wand you hold is elm, dragon heartstring, 10 ½ inches, good for healing and counter jinxes. May I ask what your father, Eric, does?"

"Oh, sure." Hannah smiles, relieved she didn't do anything wrong and puts her wand down on the counter. "My father is an announcer for the England Quidditch team. He is said to be up to announce the Quidditch World Cup in a couple of years."

"Ah, excellent, excellent! And yes, I do remember your father's wand, Ms. Hannah Miller. Oak, unicorn hair, 8 ½ inches it was. Now, that will be ten Galleons each." The three girls each pay for their wand before leaving the store.

On the way back, Lauren finds her brother and introduces him to Julia, Hannah, and Agnes. Lauren leaves with her brother to get the last things she needs before heading back home. Julia tells her that she'll send an owl to keep in touch.

Julia and Hannah find their parents and siblings. Hannah departs with her family and Julia takes Agnes along with hers. The Coppers are completely shocked and so happy to find that Agnes is a witch and will be attending Hogwarts, for they have been good family friends since Julia was in second grade.

Maria notices that it's getting late, and looks at the list with her mother for the last item she needs. Her wand. "Mummy, it says Ollivanders is this way."

The eleven year old leads the way to the wand shop. When they enter, Mr. Ollivander seems to be just closing up for the night. "Oh? One last visitor."

"I apologize. I haven't been to any place magical in years." Mrs. Sears says, and Mr. Ollivander chuckles.

"No need to worry. This happens all the time." A bit tired from today's events, Mr. Ollivander waves his own wand to make the boxes float down instead of climbing a ladder to get them himself. "Now, where to start? Ah, here."

After ten long minutes of waving wands, Maria finally finds hers on the thirty-fourth try. Mr. Ollivander leaps with joy when green sparks fly around the room. "That's definitely the one, Ms. Maria Brown! You're holding a willow, unicorn hair, glossy, 11 inches. It's quite unlike your father's which was beech, phoenix feather, and 9 ½ inches. Both wands are perfect for exciting charms."

Maria pays the nice man ten Galleons before her and her mother walk out of the store. Mrs. Brown has to guide her daughter to the exit, as Maria can't stop staring at her wand. She will get to perform magic and spells with this item in her hand. That fact gets Maria really excited for September 1st to come. Hopefully she'll meet some nice people and make friends quickly.