✧

It was still early in the morning and she had only met a few curious students in company of their family, nervously talking and pointing at all the outlandish shops. She spotted a few familiar faces gathered around the ice cream parlour or contemplating the brand new broomstick, as she hurried past them hoping no-one would notice her.

Charlotte walked amidst the crowd, her head held low as she tried to make her way towards the shop without letting go of her bag her hands were so tightly wrapped around. The girl finally came to a halt as she stood in front of the big wooden door, where she stood almost a year prior. With the tip of the fingers she pushed the heavy-looking door, the soft jingle bringing back to mind some rather nostalgic memories, a faint smile spreading across her face. The candle-lit shop still smelled of parchment and Charlotte closed her eyes for a second as a feeling of joy took over her.

Greeting the shop owner she hurried towards her little corner, the place where some of the most interesting books waited patiently for her to flip through them delicately. She put her bad gently on the ground as she looked at the sea of books, her eyes widening with excitement, sure her skin was glowing faintly. One book in particular caught her attention, one she hadn't seen the year before. Her hands shaking a bit, she grabbed the thick book, stumbling backwards from the weight of it. She balanced herself backwards, holding the book in her arms before putting down on a dusty desk as she took a deep breath, feeling her heart beat fast in her chest.

The title was completely indecipherable, a few golden letters sparkling in the candlelight as she lifted the leather cover, impatient to see what this mysterious book was about. Following the narrow letters with the tip of her index, mouthing the words. A warm smile spread across her face as she read 'Charms: wand mouvements and incantations', quite a simple title that made her even more eager to dive into it.
The first few spells were rather easy but what she was most interested about was the complex ones, she could perhaps practise them when she would find herself in the enchanted Castle once more.

Just as she flipped the fragile first page, she was interrupted by the soft jingle and her eyes darted towards the door only to see a family enter the shop. Curious, she observed discreetly from between the books, chuckling as she overheard the man talk to the visibly confused wizard.

"So this sport do they let muggles go and see it? You know if... I wanted to take my son - that is. What happens if the seeker catches the snitch ten minutes into the match? Do they just have to end the whole thing early? Would they play another match so everyone could get their money's worth?"

Muggles... she thought to herself, unable to imagine what waking into this Alley must've been like for them. She squinted her eyes and saw a little boy, about her height but surely a year younger, wearing a bag the clearly showed he was quite new to to the wizarding world.Not wanted to eavesdrop, she return to her book as she focused back on the spells she expected herself to try soon.

She was so deep in her lecture, lulled by the sound of the light breeze outside and the faint footsteps on the wooden floor. Suddenly she heard a voice, and immediately looked up only to the the boy she had spotted earlier, standing in front of her.

"Ah- I'm sorr- I mean, I didn't- ah- I didn't see you there- I'm - ah - I'm James, by the way... Are you- do you- go to Hogwarts too?"
he said quickly.

She chuckled as she extended her hand, a warm smile spread across her face.
'Hi, don't worry... I'm Charlotte, I go to Hogwarts too -second year-, and I'm guessing you'll be a first year?'
she said, closing the book after checking the page she had stopped on.

The boy seemed a little lost, and she surely didn't want to intimidate him -even though she wasn't very intimidating- even more. She imagined herself as a first year, confused and excited at the idea to finally attend Hogwarts.

'Love your bag'
she added as she remembered the very Muggle bag the boy was wearing.

✧

James still seemed a little embarrassed, as he kept stuttering and Charlotte saw his cheeks rapidly turn into a bright shade of pink. Trying to make him feel a little more comfortable, she smiled warmly at him as she raised her eyebrows

"Charms? What are they? Is it like when you make a person feel more warmly towards you - like being Charming? That's what it says in my Dungeons and Dra- uh- that's what I've seen it mean in - other magic books I've read..."

Charlotte chuckled, amused to see the boy found such an normal subject amusing, he was a Muggle-born after all. Such a mundane subject, but still incredibly interesting to her. She opened her mouth but just as she was about to answer, the man that was questioning the wizard earlier appeared behind the pile of books that was hiding both of them from view.

"Ah! James there you are! Your mother and I- "
the man stopped as he made eye contact with Charlotte, who smiled somewhat awkwardly.
"Oh, speaking to a girl I see... well I'll leave you two alone..."
and just like that he was gone.

"Dad! I- it's not like that."
he turned to Charlotte,
"I- don't think it's like that. I wasn't trying to- I mean I was just wanting to learn more about spells"

Charlotte looked at the boy, chuckling silently, rather amused but feeling the embarrassment of the boy, she stopped and smiled warmly, acting as if nothing had happened. She cleared her throat, trying not to laugh, thinking it wouldn't help in this situation.

'It's fine, I understand'
she said as she nodded gently, rapidly jumping back to the topic of Charms.
'Oh, no... Charms are well, uh... Magic spells? You know, you can make objects float in mid-air, or even repair one. You'll love it, I'm sure...'
she said, wondering if her definition was understandable.
'I would've showed you something, but I can't use magic outside of the Hogwarts grounds... Well until I'm a little older.'
she quickly added.

She tilted her head slightly to have a clear view of the alley through the stained glass. More and more people passed by, talking eagerly and holding in their hands the same list she had received before she came here for the very first time. Surprisingly, very few people pushed the door the Flourish and Botts, much to her relief. Perhaps she could help the young boy out to get his school supplies, his family and him must feel slightly overwhelmed surrounded by hundreds of wizards. She eyes darted back towards James, eager to hear what he thought of Charms.

'Did you get your wand yet?'
she said as she got out hers from the inside of her robes.

✧

James pulled out his wand, and by the looks of it he treated it like a treasure. He was very delicate in his mouvements and his eyes glimmered with admiration once he got it out. He described it eagerly and Charlotte smiled as she knew that she now treated her wand like the most mundane of objects but to see the young boy still be cautious, as if it might break if the slightest breeze were to brush against was pretty adorable.

'Oh, phoenix feather, that's pretty rare!'
she said as she raised her eyebrows, genuinely surprised.

'Mine's a little more-well, a tad less interesting...'
she chuckled as she looked at her dark and smooth wand.
'It's cherry wood and dragon heartstring, but I gotta say I like it a lot'

Her wand was of a very deep brown colour, long and lean, smooth and shiny. She stared at it, like a child looks at his favorite toy, remembering what she'd been told when she held it in her hands for the very first time. Rather bendy, perfect for casting spells and intended for accomplished duellists. To be quite honest she wasn't sure about being an accomplished duellist but she did have a little penchant towards spells. That was probably the reason she was reading such a book before James had come in and found her there.

'I'd love to teach you the spell, James.'
she said as she shot him a warm smile.
'You're really going to like the Wizarding World, its so much bigger and better than you can imagine...'
she added, tucking her hair behind her ear.
✧

"Thanks- Charlotte. I-"
the boy started but was rapidly interrupted by a woman from behind the bookshelf, presumably his mother.

"James, sweetheart, we need to go now. Remember Dad's got to do a work dinner tonight, so we've got to get him home. Thank you"

Charlotte gave the woman a warm smile as she nodded, finding James' family adorable.

"Yeah, thanks, Charlotte!" James piped up, "It was really nice to meet you! I'll- uh- I don't know- I'll find you at school or something after my first Charms class - yeah?"
he said as he gave a thumbs up, following his parents out of the shop.

She chuckled a waved goodbye, eager to meet the young boy again at the start of the year. The familiar jingle was heard and the shop was once more left silent. Her book was still waiting for her, opened on the second page for her to read. She walked back towards it, but didn't feel quite like reading at this moment, although everything around her was perfect. The candlelight gleamed on the books and gave her little corner a golden glow, the shop owner was scribbling on his notebook and the soft scratch if the quill could be heard faintly, the light breeze blowing on the windows. But she couldn't find the focus to read, staying on the same words, over and over again.

She glanced around, grabbed her bag and rapidly gathered all the books she would need for the following year. They weren't that hard to find as she had come here rather often the year before and intended on coming back. She dropped them on the counter as she searched through her pockets, taking the coins out one by one and delicately giving them to the old man. Once that was done, she looked one last time at the book she had left alone over there as if promising herself she'd come back. She pushed the door and the soft jingle of the bell was heard one last time as she dived in the crowd.