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The summer holidays had whizzed by so fast, Diana thought she'd dreamt them. It was nearing the end of August, which meant it was time to buy her school supplies, but not as a first-year, as a second-year. The young seer had successfully lasted one full year at Hogwarts, and during that year she'd been sorted into Ravenclaw and went on all sorts of adventures.
Like it had the last time she'd come, Diagon Alley hustled and bustled with witches and wizards preparing for the new school year. Families wandered from shop to shop carrying parcels wrapped in brown paper, excited children tugging at their parents sleeves, and owls hooted from nearby cages. Diana moved through the crowds at a slower pace, allowing people to pass around her before stepping inside Flourish and Blotts.
The first thing that hit her was parchment, because well, she had just entered in the shop where all the books were being sold. Along with the smell of parchment was ink and leather binding. Diana was grateful that it was a lot quitter inside than outside on the streets, however, it was just as busy as outside. Shelves stretched from floor to ceiling, stacked with textbooks, spellbooks, and novels alike. Several ladders leaned against the taller shelves while shop assistants hurried about helping customers locate books on lengthy school supply lists.
Diana had come because like everyone else, she needed supplies for her second year. Diana took out her supply list and wandered the aisles, collecting her books. Diana knew where most were since she had been here last year, but she enjoyed looking at all the books to see if any caught her eye.
As she turned into another aisle, Diana's attention was drawn to a younger girl standing a short distance away. The child couldn't have been much older than ten or eleven and clutched what looked suspiciously like a Hogwarts book list. Every few moments, her eyes darted from the parchment to the towering shelves before looking around uncertainly again. Diana paused and remembered doing almost the exact same thing last year. For a moment Diana considered continuing on. The girl would probably find what she needed eventually. Or perhaps one of the shop assistants would notice her first. But something about the obvious uncertainty on the girl's face reminded Diana too much of herself before her first year. Diana walked over after a brief hesitation. "Um..." she began softly, careful not to startle the younger girl. "Are you... looking for one of your school books?"
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