Falling Through: Hogwarts

Glancing around the street I confirmed that Snape really had just left a child alone on the street. Granted it was Diagon Alley and I was a grown-up inside, but still. I looked like a small helpless kid. And according to everything he knew I shouldn't have a clue what was going on. He was sent here under the premise that I needed his help. Any other kid would be reduced to tears and probably end up injured or worse. Just wondering around I could fall in a ditch, or go down Knockturn Alley, or even just pick up something that meant instant death in the Apothecary. A responsible a.d.u.l.t would have been around to warn me. You aren't supposed to leave a kid as young as I am alone for very long. Even in a normal place. Let alone in a totally new one. Even Hagrid as drunk as he was knew that. Hagrid thought I would soon be reunited with my nanny at least. Snape just up and stormed off like a petulant child. The nerve of him.

Against my better judgment, I hoped he would come back. I fiddled with my phone, I thought about it. Deciding to give him a chance to change his mind I looked around the street. Finding a niche between the buildings I stood and waited. Even if he was mad at me, he should come back. He was a teacher, after all, he wouldn't just leave me here for good. A seed of doubt existed in me when I thought that. Pulling out my phone I decided to make a compromise. One hour, that's how long I would wait. Giving him an hour of my time was more than generous. If he wasn't back by then he wouldn't be coming back. Leaning back into the stone wall let my mind wander. Ollivander had said a lot of things about my wand. A lot of things about me. I'd guessed beforehand that I would either receive the most boring wand or the weirdest in existence. In my possession was the latter.

Pulling my new wand out of my bag I admired the golden varnish and pink hue of the wood. No embellishments lay on the handle. My handle was just a small one, made easy for gripping. Besides the coloring, it was plain. Just a nice glossy stick of wood. I liked it that way. It was functional. The core was what mattered most. Something in me said it wouldn't always be this plain. It would grow with me. Becoming something different and exciting. Changing before I could even realize it. I must be influenced by Ollivander as those thoughts flowed through my head. Putting a mental reminder to get a holster, so I wouldn't accidentally break it, I closed the box and placed it back in my bag.

Stretching in place, my thoughts turned to Snape. I may not have been completely fair in my assessment of him. Granted he was a teacher and should know better. But the man was also human. He didn't know how to interact with people properly. The choices he made in the past and future were disastrous but unlike many death eaters, he chooses to do right in the end. For the wrong reasons but he did do right. In his mind must still be the little kid that was rejected and messed up. Always wanting to be loved and be praised. He was bullied and rejected by everyone he tried to show affection towards. For goodness sake, his own self appointed nickname had hints of self-loathing. Honestly, he needs therapy desperately. He shouldn't be taking out his hurt feelings on kids. As an a.d.u.l.t in this situation, despite my body being smaller, I should be the bigger person. Perhaps, along the way, I could teach Snape to grow up and act better to everyone.

Attempting to look from Snape's point of view was hard. This must have been his first attempt at chaperoning a student. Afterall most have parents or family members to help. Whether they be muggles or wizards someone would accompany them. The opportunity just doesn't come up that no one is willing to go with them. His usual interactions with children are at Hogwarts. Where the students can roam around without a.d.u.l.t supervision. Which is mental in its own right but I digress. Snape doesn't have younger relatives or any older relatives to tell him what's wrong. He himself was left alone a lot as a child. A small world shrinking even smaller with each passing year. He had escorted me like he was supposed too and I had vomited all over him. Not the most pleasant experience. A trying one for anybody but especially for someone like Snape. He wasn't a coddler and since he had nothing to do without an expected timeframe it must have dragged on for him. Wizards live a long time, but Snape hadn't finished growing yet. He was still a young petulant man. I wasn't justifying anything, just thinking from his perspective. He still did unacceptable things from mine but from his perspective, he had tried. Granted a poor attempt but he had.

First thing I would do when I saw him again was apologize. I hadn't yet for vomiting on him. I hadn't meant to do it in the first place but that didn't mean he didn't deserve one. Even if I had to wait for school to start I would apologize. No matter the consequences. He could very well hate me even more for reminding him of the incident. I was going to be the bigger person. I could show him how to grow. And maybe while I was at it help him change his image. Pink hair being an accident aside it was really for the best. All the black did nothing to help people see him for who he was. Because although I didn't support people only looking at the surface, I knew more often than not that is what people judge you on. It wasn't fair but it was the average. If I could change him others needed to be able to see it. Hearing the alarm coming from my phone I turned it off.

Resigning myself to the fact he wasn't coming back I pushed myself off the wall. Bullying hadn't helped him at all to act reasonably. Memories from when Scurgify had been used against him. Choked by a spell aimed at him in malice must have left a shadow in his mind. Me being so focused on it hadn't helped. He was self-conscious and I had dug out a painful memory. It wasn't just cleaning up his hair an act most people would disregard. It was painful. I was guilty in that aspect. My mind was jumbled up from trying to view both sides. I decided, for now, I would push all thoughts of Snape to the back burner. It was something I could figure out later. Moving from the niche I went back inside the wand shop. Briskly buying a wand holster and cleaner. Ollivander looked pleased with the care I was showing my new wand before I fled back onto the street. My next stop could prove to be a longer stop then the wand shop. Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. Proving the proprietress to be very detailed oriented the outside of her shop was well maintained. Dust still coated some of the bricks on the outside but the windows were pristine. Two sets of dress robes were showcased.

Pushing open the door the tinkling of a bell accompanied my entrance. A wall of neatly placed fabric of every texture and color greeted me. Walking further into the store I approached the desk. A woman sat apathetically behind the desk. I took a deep breath before trying to get her attention. "Excuse me, where do I go to get measured for my school robes?" With indifference, the clerk waved me toward the right hallway and got back to whatever she was doing. Following the corridor made of fabric, I found myself in a semi-circular room. Mirrors occupied two of the walls in front of me. The third being occupied by a large window looking out on the street. Inside the room were two people. One being the tailor, a smiling woman, who if I had to guess, was Madam Malkin herself. In the books, she was described as being a squat, smiling witch. She had white hair, pale skin, and blue eyes. Examining her the description was spot on. My attention switched to her current customer occupying one of the three pedestals in the room. A head of fiery red hair greeted my eyes. It was a Weasley.

Even though my luck may have run out with Snape, it didn't seem to run out today. I realized that I couldn't spend all my years alone at Hogwarts. I needed to be able to talk to people like a normal kid. In front of me was a Weasley. I'd loved their whole family in the books. Each one of them was warm and seemed willing to make friends wherever they go. I still found myself becoming nervous Even though I knew they were a friendly lot I still wanted to make the best impression possible. That impression changing immensely if it was the twins versus Percy.

Unable to see their face I moved about the room. Trying to catch an indirect look in one of the mirrors. Since they were getting school robes it must be one of the older Weasleys. They were too tall to be Fred and George. Since they were my age and shouldn't have hit their growth spurt yet. That left Percy, Charlie, and Bill. Percy only gets new ones for becoming a prefect. It finally hit me when I caught sight of his face. Charlie also got new robes for becoming a prefect. A friendly smile greeted me when we accidentally made eye contact in the mirror. He straightened trying to look older and more appropriate than his goofy grin implied.

Madame Malkin noticed this and briefly glanced toward the mirror catching sight of me she said: "Get up on the platform dear. I'll be done here soon." Stepping on the display I immediately felt a twinge of self-consciousness. Being so out in the open surrounded by mirrors gave me the willies. Awkward now I wanted to do something to ease the blanketing silence, but I simply didn't know what. The only sound that could be heard in the room was the rustle made by Madame Malkin. Spotting my panicking eyes Charlie spoke "Hello there, I'm Charlie Weasly. are you going to be attending Hogwarts?". At that moment, my brain decided to freeze.