TIMESTAMP ; august #, 2025. morning	REPLIES ; open!

𝔈mma walked into the Flourish and Blotts beside her mother, the bell over the door chiming softly upon their arrival.
It obviously wasn’t her first time in Diagon Alley, but it was the first time she was shopping as an incoming student. The thought made her a little nervous, but she was mostly excited.

The shop was bustling with people– parents and kids alike roaming the shelves and plucking off various books to purchase. The shop smelled a lot like the small library the van Elsts had in their home, where Emma spent a lot of her time. The thought was comforting.

“Come, dear,” Cordelia flowed forward, her every step echoed with the clicking of heels.
Emma followed suit, straying behind her. She unfolded her acceptance letter from where it was tucked in her bag, scanning it until she landed on the supplies list.

“The first thing it says I need is a copy of Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger,” Emma read aloud. She couldn’t help but find the man’s name a little amusing.

Her mother curtly nodded, and they brushed past the crowd of wizards (and some muggles, who you could almost always point out, seeing as they looked the most confused) towards the shelves on the far right.

As her mother scanned the shelves, Emma found herself drifting into her own thoughts, watching the other families bustle about the store. She couldn’t believe that her education at Hogwarts was approaching so soon. It felt like just yesterday the school was simply something to look forward to. But the term was starting in a month. It all felt surreal.

“Emma!”

She was abruptly brought back to the current moment by her mother’s snapping.

“Next book,” she said simply, “I found the one we needed.”

“Uhm,” Emma hummed, checking the list again. “Book of Spells by Miranda Goshawk.”

And she followed her mother once again.