A rather awkward looking girl

[Kestrel Archer]

A rather awkward looking girl stood in the middle of a crowd of busy-looking witches and wizards, who were rushing from store to store carrying out their own matters of business. The girl, Kestrel Archer by name, was visiting Diagon Alley to purchase the supplies she needed for her first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

She looked down at her list which was wrinkled and clutched in her hands a little too tightly. She had quite a few items to buy, and she hadn't the slightest clue where to begin. Her mother had sent her off rather hurriedly, and she was quite alone with a very big task to complete.

Where do I go first, she thought to herself. Her first impulse was to get her wand. Her grandfather's old, worn out wand was already set out and packed for her, but she wasn't going to bring that old thing to Hogwarts! She wanted something pretty. Shiny. And how she envied her sister's fantastic wands, long and slender things they had recieved in the supporting company of their mother (she rushed them straight to Ollivanders as soon as they got their letters). Wand it is, then!

It took her several tries to get anyone to even notice her, and when she had finally managed to catch someone's attention, it was that of a very irritable witch with an armful of scrolls.

"Excuse me, miss... But do you mind telling me where I can get a wand?"

The witch gave her a funny look. "Don't tell me this is your first time in Diagon Alley," she said.

Kestrel shook her head, her palid cheeks flushed pink from embarassment. "No, ma'am. I was here once, but I was too little to remember."

The witch didn't seem to know what to make of that, and she seemed in a hurry. She gestured with her shoulder toward a shop with the name "Ollivanders" hanging on the outside.

"Thanks," Kestrel said, but the witch was already hurrying off.

[Kaedi MacNair]

Kaedi, clutching the tiny kitten close, came to an abrupt halt as her mother stopped. "Mum?"

"I need to get something in another shop. You stay right here, or you're father'll deal with you when we get home." With that, Mrs. MacNair turned, disappearing in the general direction of Knockturn Alley. Sighing, the black-haired girl turned her attention to the passing shoppers. Watching people was her favorite thing to do, next to reading.

A girl who looked awkwardly lost caught her attention. Glancing fearfully towards Knockturn Alley, Kaedi walked over. "Are you lost?" She looked up at the other girl, who had several inches on her.

[samantha]

Samantha walked out of the Magical Menagerie, holding the tiny Quark in a black, blue and green cage. She smiled and looked down at her list, trying to sort out everything that she needs to get.

"Pet, check." She smiled down at Quark and headed in the general direction of Ollivanders to gather a proper wand. Samantha stared down at the wand in her hand and sighed heavily.

Made of worn oak and slightly longer than 6 inches, the wand was not built for her. It had been her sisters and a hand-me-down. All she had ever been given was hand-me-downs, until she moved in with her grandparents. They insisted that she had the best of everything, and who was she to argue?

Samantha looked over at the akward-looking lost girl and headed over to her. "Is everything ok? Did you lose anyone?"

[Kaedi MacNair]

Kaedi looked at both girls, biting her lip. Maybe it would be best to just...go back. This older girl(the same one she'd seen in the Magical Managerie, Kaedi realised) probably could help the other girl. She hesitated, torn between her conflicting feelings.

[samantha]

She smiled over at the girl that she had seen in the Magical Menagerie, waving slightly. "Hello there. I'm Samantha Preston." She looked towards the other girl, her kitten mewling in its cage. "Alright Quark. Hold on." She leaned against the wall nearest her, not in too big of a hurry.

[Kaedi MacNair]

"Kaedi MacNair." She cast a glance over her shoulder towards Knockturn Alley again before looking at the third girl in the group. "And you are?"

[Adara Gallagher]

I wonder when they're coming back. That thought ran through her mind, dully at first, lurking in the shadows as if willing her to forget it. But she couldn't-- if she lost track of time and failed to return to that shabby pub by noon, her house mother would have her head. It wasn't as if she cared-- heck, she could care less whether or not she returned to the group home; it didn't matter if she had to spend the night huddled in a grimy doorway or on a park bench. In fact, she would jump at a chance to run away and seek refuge somewhere else.

But she stayed. Her curiosity kept her from forsaking the others no matter how hard Alan hit her. She swore her curiosity would be the death of her some day, and she was probably right.

Adara wandered through the crowded Alley, conscious of the time. She had thick auburn hair bound in a threadbare ribbon that caught the sunlight, glinting a brilliant copper despite the dark red coloration. Her narrowed green eyes were directed at passersby that gave her strange looks. She hated strange looks. Bitterly, she reminded herself that if Alan would leave her alone every other day, she might be able to blend in with other people. That, and the Home give her more fitted clothes or a bite more to eat. Why can't they just occupy themselves with a new broom or potion? It's only a black eye for Merlin's sake.

She had a piece of parchment in a death grip in her left hand; scrawled onto the top was Aubri needs a new plushie. The incident was burned into Adara's memory like a brand: It was two days ago when she received her long awaited letter; it was two days ago when Alan and his gang stole Aubri's plush rabbit and tore it apart-- all because she, Adara, refused to let them take her post.

The redhead limped around a corner, expecting to push open the door to Ollivander's (as the sign hanging above the area stated), and ran right into a group of girls. Adara flinched away, mumbled a quiet Irish-accented, "Wotcher," and squeezed between them with ease into the shop.

[Kestrel Archer]

Kestrel was gazing in the direction of the swarm of witches and wizards when the first girl greeted her, though she didn't notice her right away. Her mind was busy trying to work out a plan of action. She had already decided on Ollivanders first, but what then?

She silently cursed herself for not being more prepared. In the middle of this self-disciplining was when Samantha spoke her greetings. Kestrel, however, was still too deep in thought.

It wasn't until the girl with the auburn hair (which Kestrel half-saw coming in their direction, though in no way payed attention) collided with the three of them did she snap back into focus.

"Wha?" Her eyes darted between the two girls (as the third had already squeezed past them and was on her way to Ollivanders) and the barest rosy flush spread across her pale cheeks. "Err...I'm sorry, did you say something? I'm afraid I was rather distracted..."

The letter in her hands all but resembled a piece of rubbish, as her fingers tore nervously at the corners.

[Adara Gallagher]

Adara's eyes lit up at the dusty wand boxes. She ran her gaze over each of the covered walls, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. So this was the wand shop her mother had spoken of...

"Ah, hello there, young lady. How may I help you?" From a shadowy corner emerged a little man with a measuring tape hovering by his ear.

She c o c k e d her head to her left mutely, blinked twice, and watched the shopkeeper closely as he motioned for the tape to do its job. Between the tape's blurred being, she saw him shuffle about the place in search of boxes. He handed her wand after wand, which she flicked and swished, until the one in her left hand emitted silvery-green sparks.

"Slytherin, I see," Mr. Ollivander muttered. "Flick it again."

Adara pointed the wand at a scroll of paper, setting it alight in a blaze of gold and orange. The shopkeeper distractedly reconstructed the parchment from the ashes as he took the wand from her to examine it.

"Hazel, phoenix feather, ten inches..." He looked down the wand and rubbed it on his robes, all the while muttering to himself, "Hazel... haven't sold too many of those... stopped using the wood years ago... not tall, not thick enough... blasted faeries..."

Adara raised an eyebrow at the man. Sure, she spoke to herself, but usually mentally if other people were present. Obviously this guy doesn't mind being considered a nutter. She took the opportunity to glance around some more. An occasional wizard or witch would peer through the shop window at the dust-covered displays, then turn their attention to the scrawny little girl next to the local wandmaker.

"All right, then." She jumped at the sound of Mr. Ollivander's raised voice, turned to look at him with her expression carefully masked. "That will be seven Galleons, dear."

After handing him the money and refusing a bag (wrapping up a completely silent, one-sided exchange), Adara crossed to the door, hesitating. The group of girls was still there, and she knew she would have to say something to them if she exited the shop right then and there.

She glanced over her shoulder to assure herself she wasn't being watched, then cast her "Chameleon Charm" (she obviously didn't care to go by spells' proper names, or by the rules). Adara was still uncertain if she should leave and risk running into the group. She weighed the outcomes, then took up a position in the musty glass display case beside the door.

[samantha]

She winced slightly as the girl ran into her. "Oww! Wotchit!" She shook her head slightly and looked up at the shop. "Hmm, that reminds me. I must get my wand..." She looked at the two girls with a slight smile and walked into the shop.

Immediately she started to sneeze. Years of dust quickly got to her sinuses and she had to cover her nose with the sleeve of her jacket before she was able to adjust to the shop. Samantha looked around the shop for Mr. Ollivander and smiled when she saw him.

"Hello there Mr. Ollivander!"

"Samantha? What are you doing here?" She held up the poor excuse of a wand that she had kept hidden and sighed. Her puppy had, unfortunately, thought it to be a toy and broke it in half.

"Oh dear. Well, step right this way." She walked up and the shop keeper began to throw wands at her, each one failing to work for her. Finally, blue and silver sparks followed by a flowery-smell erupted from the end of her wand. "Ah, a true Ravenclaw if I ever saw one. Ebony, 11 inches and a unicorn hair core. Truely lovely. That will be 6 galleons dear."

She handed him her money and walked back outside to the two girls.

[Kaedi MacNair]

Kaedi glanced behind her again, growing more anxious as the minutes passed. Looking at the other girl, she brushed some black hair behind an ear as Samantha came out again. Murmuring, "I better go..see you at school, I suppose," the tiny girl turned and ran in the direction she came.

[Adara Gallagher]

Snuggled in the dusty display case, the redhead watched silently as a girl from the outside group entered. She stuffed her new wand into the hoodie pocket of her much-too-large black sweatshirt and prepared to leave when the girl did; all Adara would have to do was sneak out while the door was open, completely avoiding contact with her new year-mates.

She carried out the plan with ease and slipped away into the crowd, leaving the others behind. A ghost of a smile spread over her lips as she headed down the street towards the robes shop, quietly murmuring the countercharm to the disguising spell.

And then she cursed rather loudly as she ran into yet another person, this time a lone girl just as small as Adara herself was.

"Sorry, my fault," Adara muttered, stowing her wand in her pocket once more. She turned to go, but something in the other girl's eyes made her stop.

[Montana Red]

Trudging along, a tall.. if not gangly youth walked beside what one would assume was his friend, yet he really traversed the allies of Diagon with his sister.. despite the fact that they did not even look vaguely related. As they were not at Hogwarts, he was not dressed in his uniform as a second year Ravenclaw, rather he was dressed more like a metal-headed punk.

Black scraggly hair that hung past his ears and a not-so-pale complexion contrasted by the mascera he wore. He might have had nice eyes, but the left one was covered by a large part of his hair and the other one was downcast and half closed. He blended in with the crowd nonchalantly, but he always kept by his sister's side.

Though she was talking (he thinks~) he was not paying attention. .rather he was listening to his earpieces playing some sort of non-specific metal genre into his cranium, his slight nodding probably relayed a sense of agreement to whatever the heck she was talking about.. though suddenly he grunted and tapped at his ears, groaning.

"Aw hell! My songs scuppereed!" he complained as he tapped his pocket roughly with a bare finger, as the fingers to his gloves were cut away. "It is up the spout! What's the barney with it?!" he once more wailed, unwittingly giving away the fact that he hasn't been listening to a single thing his sister said to him. He was a competent wizard and a passable student.. but he was always in the shallow end of the dream pool when it came to common sense and wits apparently.

[Lucielle Red]

Montana's sister turned sharply.

Lucielle Red was a tad bit shorter than her brother, with blonde hair that curled inward at the ends. Like Montana, she wasn't wearing her uniform either, instead she donned a short, pastel blue dress and white stockings. Mary Janes met the ground as she stamped her foot mercilessly against it. Her green eyes sparked with fury upon hearing Monty's complaints.

"Did you just let me carry on a waffle by m'self, Monty? If you did, don't you dare do it again or I'll have to introduce my plates of meat to yer nob, ya grotty tart!" She pointed accusingly to the pocket where she knew Montana kept his CD player in. "It's probably all that magical-rubbish of yours makin' it all wonky!"

[Kestrel Archer]

Kestrel looked around after another bout of mind-drift, this time finding herself alone. A strange relief flooded through her as she found herself alone. Well, that's lucky, she thought to herself.

She quickly hurried off toward Ollivander's, brushing past a rather dodgy looking fellow in makeup and what she assumed was his girlfriend. Making no effort to appologize, she rushed along on her way.