Genevieve walked along Diagon Alley with her newly made friend, Hannah. The two girls had collided several minutes earlier, resulting in their almost instant friendship. Hannah had invited Genevieve to do her Hogwarts school shopping together so here they were, heading to their first stop -- Potage's Cauldron Shop.
As they got nearer to their destination, they noticed a sign above the door swinging gently in the breeze. The sign had the words 'Potage’s Cauldron Shop' carved into it. The shop windows displayed cauldrons of all sizes and materials, from twinkling and traditional copper to expensive and fancy silver.
“Let’s go in!” Hannah said, her eyes shimmering with eagerness.
Inside, the shop was filled to the brim with shelves containing cauldrons, scales, phials, pliers and much, much more! A whisper of metallic and magical scents lingered in the atmosphere. A tall, thin man with a monocle stood behind the counter, organizing a stack of cauldrons.
“Welcome to Potage’s Cauldron Shop,” he said with a nod in a drone like way. “How can I assist you today?”
Genevieve took out her Hogwarts supply list and read out: “We need a standard size two cauldron, a box of glass phials and... Copper scales!” Genevieve explained, her voice filled with excitement.
“Oh, first years. The standard size 2 pewter cauldrons are over there in the corner,” the shopkeeper droned on, whilst pointing to a shelf at the edge of the room. “The glass phials are on this shelf over here." he said, now pointing at a ledge near by. Then, moving his arm to point at a rack on the other side of the room, he droned for the last time: "And the copper scales are over there.”
The girls made their way to the different shelves and began examining the cauldrons. Hannah picked up a shiny pewter cauldron and turned it over in her hands. “This one looks perfect,” she said with a beam before wandering off to the other shelves and her other supplies.
Genevieve selected a cauldron as well, feeling the cool metal under her fingers. “I can’t believe I'm actually here,” she said to herself, her voice filled with wonder at the complexity of the wizarding world and her arms hugging the cauldron to her chest.
Once both the girls had gotten the Hogwarts supplies and that they could purchase from the cauldron shop, they brought their resources to the counter. The shopkeeper rang up their purchases. “That will be 16 sickles and 26 knuts each,” he said.
Genevieve thought back to earlier that day, before she had met Hannah: Genevieve had tried to by her supplies with muggle money (pounds and pence) instead of wizarding money (galleons, sickles and knuts). That ended up in her trip to Gringotts Wizarding Bank and Hannah and Genevieve's friendship. Genevieve handed over the correct amount, feeling a sense of success at being able to transfer the correct amount and type of money.
“Thank you,” the girls said as they left the shop, their Hogwarts resources in hand.
“Where should we go now?” Hannah asked, pulling out a piece of parchment with their school supplies written on it.
“How about we get our robes at Madam Malkin’s?” Genevieve suggested.
“Great idea!” Hannah agreed. The duo set off down the street, their laughter and chatter blending with the sounds of Diagon Alley.