̗̀➛ I
Now, it wasn't as though you were lost... But you were lost. Diagon Alley was just a bit too hard to navigate, especially for the first time. You had been with your mum, but at some point, she must have made a turn into a shop you missed and now you were completely clueless.
There was no point standing around to look for her. There were far too many people to be able to spot her in the crowd. Kids and adults littered the street. An overly large group staring through the window of a store for quidditch gear? Whatever that was.
Passing a few familiar shops, you wracked your brain for the other items required. Having already got your robes, you passed those shops. A wand, your textbooks, and a pet were all you needed now.
Glancing around, your eyes landed on a shop with "Ollivanders" written in between the windows. Figuring it would be best to get out of the crowd and grab a wand, you made your way to the shop, maneuvering so as to not bump into anyone.
A bell chimes as the door opens and soft thumps are heard behind the counter. The room was small and virtually everything was coated in dust. A soft voice spoke from behind one of the closer shelves. "Ah, hello." Without knowing it, a fairly older man had appeared behind the counter. His face twitches when he sees you, eyes seeming softer now. Stepping closer to the counter, you open your bag before looking back at him.
Your face scrunches up lightly in confusion, not knowing exactly what to say. "Hello, uhm. I'm meant to get a wand here I believe." Your hands move to grab your wallet from the bag you're carrying. "How much would that be?"
The man lets out a quick breath of air, almost as if he was laughing, and gestures for you to move back as he steps into the main floor of the shop. "Well, we need to choose your wand first. Or rather, have the wand choose you."
He doesn't elaborate any further and you find out that he wasn't joking like you thought he was. Pulling a measuring tape from off the counter, he asks for your wand hand.
A hum of confusion escapes from you as you shuffle around awkwardly.
"Must be new to this, yea?" He questions. "Your dominant hand."
"Oh."
You lift up your dominant hand and watch in awe as the measuring tape he had grabbed began to work on its own. Ollivander, as you learned was his name, had moved back behind the counter and busied himself in the shelves. The thumps you had heard when first entering started up again and he slides between each shelf.
After the measuring tape was finished, it retracted into place with a pop and landed back on the counter. Ollivander made his way back with a heap of boxes in his arms.
The first wand you try sets a nearby newspaper on fire and he quickly swipes it out of your hand. He laughs lightly at the mortified look on your face as he hands you the next wand, assuring you not to worry. After trying out three more, all of which did not go well, Ollivander hands you another box.
The wand was absolutely gorgeous. Ringed and dark brown. It fit perfectly in your hands as though it was made for you. This was it. You thought. This was the one.
"Rowan wood with a phoenix core. 12 and a half inches, slightly flexible." He informs from the side of you.
Your wrist flicks as you've done for what seems like a million times and a small golden light shines from the tip. You let out a small squeal as your feet shuffle around excitedly. "There you go Mx. L/n, knew we would get it eventually."
After thanking Mr. Ollivander, you pay him the six galleons for the wand and step out. Somehow it was as though there were more people out than before the trip to get your wand. You could barely walk forward without getting pushed around by the people beside you.
You feel it before you see it. Stepping left without looking, a shoe hits the side of yours. Next was the hands gripping your shoulders before the rest of the body falls onto yours.
The sudden impact of the floor and the body against yours has you gasping for air as the wind is knocked out of you. Your body curls into itself as you try to gain back your breath. You can hear a string of curses and groans leave the mouth of whoever fell with you, no doubt in pain as well. The movement around you doesn't cease, nobody stops to help you. Trying to focus back on what happened, your body turns towards whoever made you fall as you try to hoist yourself up. You can tell you must out of it by the expression on their face.
"Bloody hell, I'm so sorry"
He starts babbling in a panic. The colour on his face turns closer to the shade of his hair. His body moves almost mechanically as he stands up, eyes shifting to look anywhere but you.
"Are you alright?" He adds, almost uncertainly as he glances back at you.
"Yeah.. Yeah, I'm alright. Are you? Sounded like you fell harder than I did."
His face scrunches as he holds out a hand to balance you. You let him help you up, and try not to notice how he's shaking. "It uh, wasn't too bad. Sounded worse than it felt." He's lying. You can see that his hands are banged up, one of them even bleeding. He looks uncomfortable when he moves his arm too. There's a few seconds of awkward silence as the two of you stand there.
"I'm really sorry, didn't mean to trip you. My brothers-" He motions to two redheads standing on the sidewalk near you. They look like they're getting a kick out of watching your interaction. "Pushed me harder than they meant to."
You laugh at the boy's nervousness. "It's alright I promise. If you want to make it up to me, maybe you could show me where to get my textbooks?"