Setting: Flourish and Blotts, Diagon Alley
Word Count: 437

Stepping into Diagon Alley for the first time had been a whirlwind. People bustling to and fro, bands of children in tow behind harried parents, checking items off of lists there appeared to be sometimes four or five children long. Puck looked down at their own list, now, standing in Flourish and Blotts and trying not to stare at the more magical of the shops collection, though it was rather hard not to just start gleefully giggling at the tiny yellow canary-esque books flapping ‘round a large golden cage.

The letter had listed all items in order of type, the books clumped together at the start so that’s where they’d headed first, Puck’s mother setting her chin determinedly and tugging them in through the doors and towards the shelf that seemed to have the kids Puck’s age crowded ‘round.

The first thing to catch their eye is a book high up on the shelf, ’Dragon Breeding for Pleasure and Profit’. The implications of such a title send Puck’s mind spinning, hopping from one thought to the next and leaving him whirling with ideas. ‘Are dragons real? What about other magical creatures? Can you ride them…’ Puck was reaching to grasp the leather-bound tome when his mother lightly slapped his arm, handing him a volume titled ‘A History of Magic’. Something far less exciting, but would probably be likely to turn into something useful, plus it’s something he actually needs. The attempt for the book of Dragons is thwarted, instead Puck begins to scheme ways to obtain it later; birthday present maybe? Though the real question is how expensive a dragon is…

‘The Book of Spells’ is what they found next, Puck’s taken to reading the blurbs of a few of them. This one states it provides the opportunity to ‘shine bright during Charms class’. Puck wonders if that’s a subject? One of the other books they have to get mentions ‘Dark Forces’, and they begin to question the existence of black magic, maybe that’s a class too. Picking it up, they flicked through it, looking for pictures that might explain a bit of what it meant, but all they found were a couple of blank sections, spaces that looked like they should have contained an image it just- wasn’t there.

Leaving that mystery for later, the two of them gathered the rest of Puck’s books and headed to the counter and paid— though not without some confusion as to which coins were which, earning them a few looks and a grumbling from someone behind them. Their mother squeezed their hand as they walked out, “Where to next?”