So much has happened in the last week. I've been trying to remember all the details, I hope I can describe everything well enough.
On Monday, Professor Merrythought came to our house to pick up Elizabeth and I. She threw some sort of powder into our fireplace, she called it Floo powder. She said that wizards sometimes used it to travel. All we had to do was step into the fire, say where we wanted to go, and we'd be transported there. Professor Merrythought said our destination was a place called Diagon Ally. So I found myself standing in our fire place with my suitcase, with a green fire tickling around me. I said "Diagon Ally" as cleary and carefully as possible, which was very important, I didn't want to end up in the wrong place. All of a sudden I felt a whooshing motion around me. I could see other fireplaces moving past me as if they were all lined up in the same hallway, and I was running down it faster than I'd ever ran before. Then the moving stopped and I stepped out onto a busy street. It looked like any normal street in London at first, until I started looking at the items in the windows of the shops. There were shops selling dresses, pastries, and books, but right along side were shops selling potion ingrediants, owls, and even broomsticks! I heard a sound behind me and Professor Merrythought and Elizabeth popped out of the grate. Professor Merrythought took us to the bank, which was run by goblins, to exchange our American money for wizard money. Then the professor had to get back to Hogwarts so she left us to do my school shopping. We went to the inn in the ally first and got a room so we could drop off our luggage. After that we decided to go look at the shop selling robes. Elizabeth had sewn my uniform back at home, but we wanted to make sure that I didn't need anything else. Luckily I had everything I needed, so we only got a few school crests to sew onto the breast of my robes.
The rest of the shops went buy in a blur. We had to get items for my potions class, cauldrons, scales, dragon hide gloves for Herbology, and so many more things. I wanted to get one of each book in the store when we picked up my school books, but Elizabeth laughed and said she didn't have enough money for that. She did let me get a couple extra books though, including one about the history of Hogwarts and one of fairy tales for wizard children. The lady at the shop said they were classics and I'd love them both.
Lastly we went to the most important shop of all, the wand shop! I'd been eager to go there all day. I stepped inside and saw boxes and boxes lining the walls of the shop. An older man stepped behind the counter and asked if I was looking for my wand for Hogwarts. When I said I was he smiled and pulled out a measuring tape. It started taking my measurements, normal ones like my height and around my waist, but it even measured my handspan and the length of my earlobes. He asked me all sorts of questions the whole time, even though it was hard to answer and try not to giggle from the silly tape measuring tape. Finally he took the tape and stepped behind the counter and started pulling out wands. He would hand them to me, and when nothing happened, take them away and replace them. Finally he handed me a wand, and I got this warm glowing sensation. Blue sparks emitted from the wand, and the shopkeeper smiled. "Excellent" he said, "A fine wand, 10 1/2", willow, nice and flexible, dragon hearstring, with the wings from a fairy. I think you'll find that an excellent wand for Charm-work." I paid him for the wand, and I haven't been able to let it go since. I was able to look up some simple spells in my new books and was even able to make Elizabeth's shoes walk across the floor in our hotel room. Having my wand made this feel all so real, not just a dream I'll eventually wake up from.
Elizabeth and I have been enjoying the rest of the week in London. We've been enjoying going around and visiting the sites. She showed me all the places her and my parents used to go visit. She asked if I'd like to go by my old house, and I said no. It'd make me too sad, maybe later on I'd be able to.
Tomorrow we go to the train station to meet the train to Hogwarts. I'm very excited to go, but I'll miss Elizabeth terribly.
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