Date: August 28th 2025 | Friday
Location: Flourish and Blotts, Diagon Alley
Time: Afternoon
Mention: @Tala Wehabi
Word Count: 293

The bell above the door chimed softly as Lily stepped into Flourish and Blotts, the sound followed by the quiet rustle of pages and the low murmur of a couple shoppers. The air smelled of paper and ink, it was warm and comforting, reminding Lily of her mother's library. She clutched her list in one hand and her bags from the previous store in the other. Her eyes scanned the shelves, taking in all the rows of books. There was Magical Drafts and Potions, Book of Spells and Magical Theory all nearby in the first section. This might go quicker than I thought.

After looking around for a couple minutes, she had acquired The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection. Lily was easily getting carried away by all the wonderful books and stories found on every shelf, on every side of the store. In this place the world was made of nothing but spines and dust, of gold lettering that caught her eye at every turn.

Lily's brows furrowed as she turned down another aisle of books, she was starting to get worried. She had already asked while entering where most of the books she needed where and this was the last aisle to check. She didn't want to have to ask again. Finally, she caught eye of Hogwarts, A History and A History of Magic. Just one more left.

As she crept near the end of the aisle, she felt a mix of frustration and determination. She paused and narrowed her eyes at the books around her. She wished she could ask for help but she knew her words would just come out jumbled. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Lily started to think the book title was foreshadowing this moment.

Interacting with @Lily Young

Tala had finally managed to convince her parents to bring her to Flourish and Blotts. Not for buying her school books - she had already done that as soon as she got her letter - but for buying new books for her growing personal library. It was her goodbye present from her parents.

Her parents and younger brothers went to buy ice cream, while she browsed the shelves, just admiring the different books, and how magical - for lack of a better world- they felt. Being a half-blood meant that she got the best of both worlds, but muggle books -fascinating though they might be- didn't really feel the same.

Nonetheless, Tala completely adored everything bookish, their smell, their weight in her hands, even just how they looked. She wasn't usually comfortable around this much people - there were a lot, everyone doing some last minute shopping before school starts - but all those books eased her nerves somehow.

Maybe that's why when she saw a girl about her age standing alone in an aisle, seemingly upset, looking around, as if in search for something, she made the split second decision to approach her instead of running away or freezing. After all, she did promise herself that she'd try to be more social once she gets to Hogwarts. Kids at Hogwarts are supposed to be really nice, nothing like her old school.

Tala tapped the girl's shoulder lightly to gain her attention. Then looking at a point over the girl's shoulder she said "Um, excuse me? Do - do you need help?"

Interacting with @Tala Wehabi

Lily turned at the light tap on her shoulder, a little startled and found herself looking at a girl around her own age with a kind face. Relief loosened the tight know in her chest almost immediately.

"Oh, yes, please," Lily said, exhaling a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. She glanced back at the shelf behind her, then at the girl again, and gace a small, embarrassed smile. "I'm looking for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and I thought it would be easy to find, but everything looks the same when you're standing in the middle of thounsands of books."

She let out a quiet laugh at herself, shifting the book carrier at her side. Her fingers brushed the edge of the list in her hand, which had already been folded and unfolded too many times from her nervous fidgeting. "I've been wandering around for a while, I think I'm lost. This might be the third time I look here." Lily rambled nervously, looking around, never really meeting the girl's eyes. She could feel the girl's presence, which seemed to help her relax. When Lily looked at the shelves around her once more, everything seemed less overwhelming.

As she finally glanced back toward the girl, looking at a point over her shoulder, Lily smiled softly. "Thank you for coming over, I was beginning to feel a bit silly standing here alone."

Interacting with @Lily Young

Something about the nerves of this girl seemed to ease her own, and she could finally meet her eyes....which weren't looking directly at her. She gave her a smile, trying to ease her nerves.
When the girl told her which book she was looking for, she gave her a small smile and said, "well, today is your lucky day. Even though this place really is confusing, I've been here so many times that I can probably find any book even blindfolded."

She didn't buy every time she was there though, as magical books were kind of expensive and her parents couldn't really afford them, but today was a special occasion of course, she was finally going to Hogwarts after all! And the best thing was that the staff was really nice and never asked her to leave or anything even remotely like that on her frequent visits.

Her dad works at an owl emporium here in diagon alley, and she often comes to help him as she's very fond of animals in general. Whenever she had a break, she'd come and look at the books and sometimes helped out the staff who knew her by name now.

"Come with me. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them isn't far from here actually, just a few aisles away." Walking with the girl, Tala hesitated for a second but gathered enough courage to say, "You're going to Hogwarts, too?" Then, noticing that many of the books with her were the same as the ones Tala had been studying in preparation for the new school year she added, "First year?"

When the girl thanked her, Tala's eyes widened with surprise. "Wha- oh I'm fine- I mean that's fi- " stopping and taking a breath she finally managed to say, "You're welcome. And you shouldn't fell silly. I always wander around on my own. It's actually quite nice when you're just browsing and not looking for something specific that you can't find. That I know can get really stressful."

Interacting with @Tala Wehabi

Lily listened as the girl spoke, and found herself relaxing more with every word. The way the girl mentioned knowing the shop to the point she could find books blindfolded made Lily smile.

She started following close behind, as the girl led the way between the shelves. "This is much better than what I was doing," she said. "I was just... hoping if I stared at the right spot long enough, the book would jump out and magically appear." Lily still felt silly, but this girl made her feel less foolish the longer they spoke together.

As they turned an aisle, Lily's eyes skimmed over the shelves again, taking in the way everything looked, trying to memorize it all. She would come here more often, and hopefully walk around with the same ease and confidence as this girl.

When the girl asked her if she was a first year, Lily could guess immediately that she was also a first year. "Yeah, first year." She confirmed, her fingers tightening around the strap of her bag naturally. She willed herself to relax again. "My parents told me a lot about Hogwarts and their experiences, but... I still feel like I'll be lost, just like here."

As they started slowing down, arriving at the right shelf of books, Lily said, "Thank you." She wasn't expecting anything more than a "You're welcome", but as the girl said she wasn't silly, Lily could feel all her nerves go away. She felt content, and hoped that somehow, somewhere soon they might meet again.