(A/n: From here on out, I will be writing in the past tense. I hope that this turns out well.)
As we walked out of the door, we were surprised to find Professor McGonagall waiting for us. "Hagrid, you can go now. I will take them with me." She said to Hagrid in a voice that didn't want to take a no for an answer.
"But I thought you had some things linin' up. I could take them with me," replied Hagrid. It seemed very sweet of him to offer that, but his tone said otherwise. It was almost as if someone had taken away something precious away from him. All of a sudden, his previous tough and dangerous persona completely broke apart.
"It's alright. I had to pick up the muggle-born kids and their parents for the essentials anyways. I have them waiting in the Leaky Cauldron. Thought it would be better for the boys. They could meet the other kids beforehand. It would also be the quicker alternative to apparate all of us back to the cauldron.
Also, you have a job you need to complete. Don't forget what the headmaster told you to do." Professor stated as she gave Hagrid a stern look.
"Right, I'll do that then. 'Kay kids, see yeh all later." Hagrid agreed reluctantly. He walked away as he quickly bid us goodbye. I couldn't help but look at him walk away as he rode a bike that seemed comically small for his size.
"Okay, everyone. Hold on to me tightly. This might get a little disorienting, but don't let go no matter what. You wouldn't like the consequences." She warned all of us. While the warning was concerning, I couldn't help but wonder about the job she was talking about. Nonetheless, all of us held the professor's arms tightly, taking her warning very seriously.
Unfortunately, it did nothing to stop the uncomfortable sensation that we experienced right after. It felt like being forced through a very tight rubber tube roller-coster. Not the most comfortable feeling. After what felt like hours, Harry and I found ourselves on our behinds, gasping for air. However, my mom wasn't as lucky. Although she wasn't sitting on the ground like we were, she had regurgitated all the food she had eaten this morning. Exercising must have helped us avoid emptying our stomachs in that regard.
Eventually, all of us were stable enough to finally take a good look at our surroundings. Professor had brought us to a pub that looked like it belonged in the medieval age. The place looked dark and shabby. And the pub was unusually silent despite the abundance of people. Talking about people, they looked like they belonged in a cult with their cloaks. Except for a select few and the other kids and the people standing next to them, who I assumed to be their parents. They were probably to be Hogwarts students like us. Everyone seemed to be looking at us. Maybe they were wondering who we were.
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"Welcome to Leaky Cauldron. I am surprised that you boys didn't vomit for your first time experiencing apparition. Most people empty their stomachs like your mother." Professor stated. "We do exercise a lot, "I replied in response.
"New students, Professor?" We looked at the source of the voice to find an old bald guy. He stood behind the bar serving drinks to the customers.
"Yes. I...," replied Professor, but before she could say anything more she was interrupted. "Good Lord. Is this...Can this be?" the old bartender hurried out from behind the bar as he hurriedly held Harry's hands with tears in his eyes. "Harry Potter, what an honor. Welcome back, Mr. Potter. Welcome back." The little buzz present before completely disappeared. The silence was deafening. I reckon it was even worse for Harry. Thankfully, Professor saved him from the ruckus that was bound to occur by the looks on everybody's face.
"Harry, meet Tom. He is the bartender and owner of the place. Unfortunately, we don't have much time. You can talk to him at a later date. Everyone, let's go." Professor said not only to us but also to all of the other kids and their parents present there. I could see about 5 other kids like us. Two of them were boys while the rest were girls. They would glance at us time and again. To be precise, they were looking at Harry. They were probably wondering what was so special about him.
The professor led us to a stone wall at the back of the bar. Needless to say, all of us were very confused. "No need to be so confused, everyone. This stone wall you see is the door to the Diagon Alley. Diagon Alley is the center of the London wizarding world. It is also the place where all of the Hogwarts supplies are going to be bought. Now, look at what I am about to do very carefully." She explained as she tapped her wand at a certain brick on the wall, three bricks up from the rubbish bin present in front of the wall and then two across. She tapped the brick three times as a small hole appeared at the point of contact.
The hole grew wider and wider. Eventually, we were facing an archway just large enough for even the biggest of us to walk through comfortably. The archway led to a cobblestone road that twisted and turned out of sight. All of us were shocked, or at least I was.
Professor walked ahead of us as she welcomed us to The Diagon Alley. Just as I was about to walk through the archway, I saw a guy with a hideous turban looking at us. As soon as I laid my eyes on him, a name appeared in my head. "Quirrell"
By this point, I had already figured out that I only hear the names of important characters. And this guy gave me a very bad vibe. He looked at me straight in the eye as he gave a strained smile. I tore my eyes away from him and quickly walked through the archway. I immediately kept his face and name set aside in my mind, marked as a dangerous individual.
At the moment, I focused more on Diagon Alley. If the Leaky Cauldron looked like a pub inspired by the medieval era, being at Diagon Alley felt more like we were in a different time altogether.
The cobblestone road, the old-style buildings, and even the people inhabiting it. All of it felt like a different world altogether. As we were looking all around us, Professor McGonagall led us to a white building. Amongst the old rickety buildings, it stood out like a lighthouse in the dark seas.