The Witching’s Close
The Royal Mile
Edinburgh, Scotland
25th August 1973
The late summer sun was high in the sky as Lily navigated the busy capital alongside her three friends. Cobbled streets and bustling crowds seemed to be everywhere where the young witch looked. Lily stopped to take a breather. She had never visited Edinburgh before and the combination of the odd humidity and steepness of the city was taking it out of her, as she could feel the beginnings of a stitch taking hold in her body. However, she didn’t get to stop long as Marlene swooped her arm into Lily’s arm and linked them together.
“Always the same in August, bloody Muggle festivals! Can’t even swing a Kneazle out here,” commented Marlene as she hurried Lily along the busyness of what was The Royal Mile. Tall buildings loomed overhead, almost leaning forwards yet crooked, making the street feel even more crammed.
“Why don’t we just wait until we go down to London on Friday, Marlene?” asked Lily as the pair stopped beside the Tron Kirk, taking some shade from the old church’s shadow. It was already the Saturday before they returned to Hogwarts, and Lily would be traveling via the Floo Network down to London alongside Alice, Mary and her family, and Marlene with her family too. Lily’s parents would be meeting her there on the 30th August.
Marlene shook her head. “Nah, it’s better we just get it over with now and I really want to show you Witching’s Close. Alice and Mary have both been before!” added her friend. Lily nodded before looking around for their two friends.
“Where even are they?” she asked, unable to see either witch among the crowds. Marlene hummed as she too joined Lily in looking around. Luckily it didn’t take long, as Mary, an Edinburgh native herself, found Lily and Marlene, dragging Alice along by the hand.
Mary smiled wide, unbothered by the bustling crowds in her hometown. “Oh you can’t beat Edinburgh when it’s like this,” she chuckled, panting slightly. “I must take you all to one of the festival shows before we leave!”
“Will we actually have time to see something?” asked Alice tentatively as she sat down. “I mean we are leaving next week. Will anything still have tickets?”
Mary nodded. “There are tons of stuff on, not just the Fringe, but there is the book festival too,” she smiled, looking over at Marlene in particular. The Ravenclaw girl was a well-known bookworm who loved both magical and Muggle books. “There is a reading and signing by a popular author I like on Monday, I think you might’ve heard of her, Lily? Frances Blackwell.”
“Really? It’d be so cool to see her. My mum and I both love her books,” replied Lily excitedly. Since Lily had gone away to Hogwarts, she and her mum had been sharing books with each other, and Frances Blackwell was a favourite of her mum. “I could get a signed copy for my Mum!”
“Great, we can go along to the bookshop afterwards, get some books and the tickets, but we really need to get going as we don’t have long until our fittings with Madame Grizel!” said Marlene cheerfully as she checked her watch.
It didn’t take long for the four girls to start back on their walk after that, side by side with arms linked like daisy chains to not lose each other, and with their united strength among the crowds. Suddenly they found themselves before what Lily could only describe as a large odd-looking structure made of stone with a large pillar on top. Squinting upward at it, she was sure that there was a small unicorn sculpture perched at the top.
“Is this it then?” asked Lily, looking over at her friends.
Each of them nodded, all looking upwards at the imposing monument. The three of them had all been here before, while Lily had not, and she couldn’t help but wonder how they were supposed to access Witching’s Close from here.
Alice giggled as she huddled closer to Lily. “It’s just like Kings Cross and Platform 9 and ¾, we just take a run right at it, and we get there,” she whispered into Lily’s ear. Lily aahed in understanding.
“But don’t the Muggles see us? It’s really out in the open,” murmured Lily, as she glanced around at the surrounding crowds.
Marlene shrugged her shoulders at Lily’s comment. “It’s got a charm on it that makes Muggles think it’s something else like Hogwarts has, it’s just some monumental marker to them,” she added with a smile.
“Mind you, some have accidentally got into Witching’s Close and came back with stories of mythological creatures and haunted houses. To them, it’s just Mary King’s Close and the entrance is just Mercat’s Cross,” explained Mary as they all separated from each other, waiting for the right moment to run at the stone structure.
Lily nodded interestedly at Mary before taking a prompt sprint and, much like Platform 9 ¾, she did not hit the stonework but appeared somewhere completely different.
While the High Street of The Royal Mile was packed like sardines, Witching’s Close was much more peaceful yet much more narrow. It seemed to glow like golden rays of sunshine from the lit lanterns that lined the stone walls that seemed ever so tall to Lily. She wondered how on earth the size of it all could fit underneath a capital city, how it seemed akin to an underground labyrinth with little side alleys and streets splitting off in different directions. Quaint shops and little bistros and tiny little pubs stretched as far as the eye could see and Lily was amazed by the ingenuity of it all.
One after another, Marlene and Alice and Mary appeared beside Lily, having taken their own run. Marlene quickly slung her arm around Lily’s slim shoulders and grinned. “Welcome to Witching’s Close, Lily!”
Lily giggled, shoving her friend away playfully with a bat of her hand. The four girls began to wander together, the three others pointing out different places to Lily, and commenting on what was the best place to shop for robes or cauldrons. Even though technically they were underground, deep underneath the bustling city of Edinburgh, the air was still fresh as high above.
As Marlene wandered over to a shop with Scotwiz Sporting Supplies painted above it in turquoise lettering, with Mary in tow, Lily pulled out her list from Hogwarts for this year. The heavy yellow parchment letter was safely tucked away in her little handbag, and as she did it, Lily noticed that Alice seemed to have the same idea.
Her friend sighed softly as she reread her own letter, her heart-shaped face concentrated on its contents. Lily glanced back at her own, she knew how Alice was probably feeling, they were about to start their third year at Hogwarts and they all had new subjects, these letters were the most extensive and yet the most anxiety-provoking.
“Hey, Alice? What classes are you taking this year again?” asked Lily as she wandered close to Alice, who smiled.
“Oh just Divination, Care of Magical Creatures & Ancient Runes, what about you Lily?” replied Alice as they watched Marlene near enough leap out of the shop she had been in, with what they both suspected was new Quidditch gear wrapped up in a parcel - Marlene had joined the Ravenclaw Quidditch team last year as a Keeper and was eager to keep her position this year too. Mary, too, was carrying a wrapped parcel, albeit it was much smaller.
Lily nodded. “The exact same! I can’t wait for Divination, because a lot of it is talked about or used by Muggles, and it’ll be fascinating to see the interpretations by witches and wizards,” she added interestedly. Marlene sighed and three pairs of eyes turned to her.
“What’s wrong with Divination?” asked Lily to her friend, now intrigued.
Marlene shrugged. “It’s just a bit… fuzzy? Usually it ends up being guesswork or something,” she said honestly. Lily nodded, Marlene’s family were all Ravenclaws and highly intelligent, albeit her eldest brother who had been a Gryffindor (but still extremely smart).
“That’s what my dad said when I told him I was taking it too, he wanted me to take up Arithmancy like he had!” exclaimed Alice, much louder than she had anticipated, and her voice ended up echoing throughout the wizarding world catacomb.
“Oops?” giggled Mary as they looked around at the witches and wizards now watching the four of them curiously. Alice’s face was now blushed pink in embarrassment.
Linking her arm with Alice’s own, Lily grinned enthusiastically as to distract her friend. “Now why don’t we head to Madame Grizel and get some new clothes and robes? A shopping spree is just what we all need,” she said happily, and with that, they wandered away chattering and giggling without a care in the world.