Diagon Alley
The Leaky Cauldron looked exactly the same as it did in the last four years, and exactly the same as it did thirty years in the future.
Tom was there, cleaning the glasses on the bar, nodding to them as they stepped out of the flames.
It was quite a full day for the Leaky, with customers occupying all the tables and going in and out of the pub.
The family of four smiled towards Tom, and made their way to Diagon Alley.
Mia loved the Alley during her time, but it seemed so much livelier in this time.
They passed dozens of people and shops, as Fleamont and Euphemia tried to keep their children focused on getting their essential school supplies first.
They all stopped by Madam Malkin's first, to get fitted for their school robes, knowing it was where they would take the longest.
James wouldn't stop complaining about having to keep still while he got his robes fitted, when there was a brand new broom on display at Quidditch Quality Supplies that he could be seeing.
Mia did not mind, though. She took the time to observe the people in the shop, grateful that there wasn't anyone that she recognized from her time.
Once in a while, Euphemia would call her attention to look at some dress or other, and everytime she did not like one but did not want to hurt her mother's feelings she would say, "Mipsy would be quite sad if we arrived home with so many new dresses, Ma. You know how she likes making them for me."
At that, Euphemia would put the dresses back. Most of the time.
After they finished getting their school robes fitted, Euphemia announced that they would be getting their wands next, and Mia stiffened.
She knew she had no reason to be scared, but was still hesitant as they approached Ollivander's.
As she walked through the door behind Jamie, it felt like she had been transported to the past, or the future in this case.
It seemed like just yesterday that she was getting her first wand. A wand she missed very much.
"Ah, Euphemia, 11 ½ inches, dragon heartstring and blackthorn wood, if my memory serves me right." Euphemia only smiled at Ollivander, indicating that he was indeed correct.
"And Fleamont! 12 inches, unicorn hair and beech wood, is it?" Fleamont greeted Ollivander and assured him that he was right.
James decided that he would get to pick his wand first, as he was the older one (by three minutes).
Mia didn't put up much of a fight, she just stood by and watched her brother have the time of his life testing out wands and breaking everything in his vicinity.
He ended up getting an 11'' Mahogany wand with a unicorn hair core. According to Ollivander, it would be an excellent wand for Transfiguration, making James smile at the thought of all the cool things he could do with it.
Mia was next, and she nervously stepped forward to let Ollivander take all of her measurements.
It took longer for Mia to find her wand.
Every time she held a wand in her hands, she didn't even have to wave it before disaster struck some area of the small shop.
At one point, she saw Ollivander take her original wand out of its box, making her heart stop. But just as quickly as he did that, he put it back into the place it had been.
"Hmmm… you are a quite curious little girl. It normally doesn't take this long for witches to find their wands." Ollivander told her after some time.
After almost an hour at the shop, nearly crying a couple of times and almost dying from flying pieces of glass, she finally had her new wand.
The wand that chose her was quite similar to her old one. It was 10 and ½ inches, dragon heartstring core and cherry wood, compared to her old, 10 ¾ inches, dragon heartstring and vine wood wand.
It felt right for her, though. It felt like the right wand for Mia.
She couldn't stop looking at it as her parents paid for both their wands.
James came to her side and they compared both of their wands with grins on their faces.
As they left the shop, Euphemia announced that they would be going to Flourish and Blotts to get their school books.
Jamie started complaining so much that their parents gave in, letting Fleamont take him to Quidditch Quality Supplies while Euphemia took Mia to the book store.
They took their time getting the books and looking through the shelves. Mia was really happy when Ma allowed her to buy a couple of books.
"Just don't get too many, sweetheart. Merlin knows the bookshelves in your room will collapse if you put any more weight on them." Euphemia told her daughter.
She nodded along and ended up selecting only one book on time magic. It was one she had never seen before and hoped it would contain any sort of information that would help her unfold the mystery that is her life.
She walked through the shelves, happy to be in a familiar place that held actual good memories for her, in both lifetimes.
At one point, she stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Dolohov. It had been years since she had seen him last, and even though the scar on her chest was gone, it still seemed to burn.
She turned around before he could see her, and went to find her mother.
She felt lucky that he didn't spot her, and could only hope that he was already out of Hogwarts.
When they were done, Euphemia told Mia to go find her brother and father at the Quidditch shop while she got some of her own shopping done.
Mia took her time going to the store. It was quite rare that she had the chance to walk through Diagon Alley alone, so she walked slowly, looking at all of the shop windows and people passing by.
That is what caused her to not see the boy running in her direction, and the next thing she knew, they were both on the ground.
"I'm so sorry," the boy said, helping her stand up. "I was running away from Mother and didn't see where I was going."
"Oh, that's quite alright..." the words died on her lips and she looked up and saw the face of Sirius Black.
He was younger, of course, her age in fact. His hair was still long, brushing up on his jaw. He had sharp, aristocratic features that went well with him.
And his silver eyes seemed to penetrate her soul, making her blush as she noticed how handsome he was.
Stop it, Mia, she thought, you will not get another crush of Harry's godfather.
"Thank you for your help," she said. "My name is Mia. Mia Potter."
"I'm Sirius. Sirius Black. At your disposal, my lady," he said, giving her a mocking bow that drew a small laugh from her.
"And if you don't mind me asking, why are you running away from your mother?" She asked, even though she knew the answer.
He made a face of disgust. "Oh, she is a horrible woman. You should be glad that you've never met her before." He gave a fake shiver that made her laugh again.
"Well, if you are so hell-bent on hiding from your mother, would you like to go with me to Quidditch Quality Supplies? My brother is there, and I think you would quite like him."
"That would be great," he said with a big grin on his face, "anything that'll keep me away from that old hag."
Mia laughed a bit as they started walking together towards the shop.
"So, have you started Hogwarts yet?" She asked.
"I'm actually starting this year, and by the looks of the books that you're carrying, I'd say so are you."
"How observant, Mr Black," she said with a small giggle. "You are quite right. Jamie and I are starting Hogwarts next month."
"Jamie? Is that your brother?"
"Yes, he's my twin. And there he is right now," she said, pointing towards the boy who was looking at a pair of Quidditch gloves.
"Jamie, I would like to introduce you to Sirius Black. Sirius, this is James."
They shook hands, with small smiles on their faces.
As seriously as he could (pun intended), Sirius asked, "What Quidditch team do you cheer for?"
James looked slightly aghast, "Puddlemere United, of course, as if there would be any other team worthy enough to cheer for."
Sirius broke into a huge grin and said, "I can tell we are going to be best friends."
Mia smiled at the interaction, thinking of how much Harry would've liked to see this moment.
She shook those thoughts out of her mind before she could become sad, and went back to observing the two boys, who were now talking about what their favourite Zonko's product was.
They continued talking for another while, and Mia opened up one of the books she had with her and started to read.
She was lost in the world of magical creatures, and before she knew it, Fleamont approached them and said, "Alright, kiddos. Ma is waiting for us at the Leaky, so we better get going."
He then noticed there was another boy with them, and asked, "And who is this?"
"Sirius Black, sir! Pleasure to meet you," with his most charming smile. "Don't let the Black name fool you though, I always try my best to be everything that my mother hates."
Fleamont laughed at that. "It is a pleasure to meet you too, Sirius. You're Walburga's son, I presume?"
"Yes, sir, unfortunately. I think I should get going. She might try and check here soon, and I'm not in the mood to see her yet." Sirius said. "I'll see you both on the train." He left the store, looking both ways across the alley before running off.
"Well, that was unexpected," Fleamont said, still chuckling from the interaction.
As he took the kids back to the Leaky, James wouldn't stop talking about his new friend.
"He is the coolest person ever, Pa - no offence Mi - he even likes Puddlemere too!"
By the time they reached the Leaky, James had gone over all the conversations that they had, and Mia couldn't stop smiling.
It made her heart soar to see her brother so happy. She couldn't help but think how happy the interaction would've made Harry as well.
They passed by all of the Leaky's bustling customers and saw that Euphemia was waiting for them at a table near the Floos. She had ordered them some chips and told the children to eat quickly so they could head home.
She was surprised as well to hear about Sirius, but was happy to know that the twins had already made a friend.
As soon as they finished their chips, they headed back home.
The twins ran upstairs and started unpacking everything they bought.
They knew they couldn't use magic outside of school, of course, but that didn't stop them from laying in James' bed until dawn, pretending that they were casting the most wonderful spells.
Jamie was already telling Mia how he would be one of the greatest pranksters that Hogwarts had ever seen. Apparently, in the short time they had together at the Quidditch shop, he and Sirius had already started planning their first prank of the school year.
Mia smiled at the thought that decades after they left Hogwarts, people would be still talking about their Marauder days.
"I think you're going to like it there, Jamie," Mia said at one point.
"How would you know? You've never been there either."
She bit back the smile that threatened to appear. "I haven't, but I have read Hogwarts: A History, which talks about the castle in great detail. If you had bothered to read it, you would know more, too."
He began muttering about Mia and her books, and they soon fell into conversations about a million other things.
At some point, they both fell asleep. Neither was sure when, but they both dreamt of Hogwarts and the adventures that were to come.