[h2][color=thistle]Amersa Selwyn[/color] & [color=gray]Delmare Montague[/color][/h2][hr]August  |  Diagon Alley


The quartet exited the shop with a few more words of thanks before heading to Flourish and Bott’s. The bookstore was as fully-stocked as it was ever, books overflowing from the shelves to nearby tables and sometimes even the floor. Although the room itself was quaint, the hustle and bustle of text and perusers made it seem more on the busy side.


“Delmare, you’ll be fine on your own, right?” Delmare’s mother asked, handing her daughter the list of supplies. Seeing Delmare’s nod, Lorraine smiled and patted her daughter’s shoulder before turning to Natalia. “Why don’t we head over to Rosa Lee Teabag for the moment? I believe our daughters are old and responsible enough to handle shopping for themselves,” Delmare’s mother continued, retrieving her coin and handing it to Delmare as well, “and smart enough not to purchase the next item that catches their fancy,” she continued with a pointed look at her daughter. Delmare nodded meekly, mind skipping back to the time she spent her lunch money on a something from Gambol and Japes Wizarding Joke Shop: a self-correcting quill.


“Have a good time and watch your purse! Oh and Amersa, if you see your dad — heavens knows where he is now — let him know where I am okay?” Amersa’s mother told her before exiting the store with Delmare’s mother.


Glancing at her list, Amersa began pulling books off the shelves, grabbing two of each as she went. Delmare followed behind her and reached out to grab a copy when she realized that Amersa had her back covered. 


[color=gray]“Oh, here,”[/color] she said, offering a hand to the other young witch. [color=gray]“I can carry my own load. It’s not fair to have you do all the work”[/color]


[color=thistle]“Oops,”[/color] Amersa said sheepishly. [color=thistle]“I’m way too excited for this.”[/color]


[color=gray]“No kidding,”[/color] Delmare said, laughing and taking the books into her arm. The girls spent the next few minutes stacking books into each other’s arms until each of them had eight volumes in their arms, some thick, some thin. The thickest one by far, however, was [i]A History of Magic[/i] by Bathilda Bagshot that impressed Delmare with its sheer volume. Was there really still that much history she had to learn?


After purchasing their books and quills, the pair headed straight to Madame Malkin’s, since both of them already owned owls. 


The bell jingled as they entered the shop and Madam Malkin’s head popped out from behind a folding screen. “I'll be right with you!”


They nodded and decided to look around. 

[color=thistle] “I would love a robe in this color,” [/color] Amersa sighed, feeling the thick material of the dark purple. [color=thistle] “It's really too bad all our clothes have to be in black.” [/color]


[color=gray]“It’s a practical color,”[/color] Delmare replied, pulling a robe out from a rack beside her. [color=gray]“Just two more then. Maybe in different styles?”[/color]


The girls made quick work of picking out the rest of their robes, and soon enough they were on their way again. A little over half an hour had been spent in Madame Malkin's, most of it delegated to the shop owner's quick retailoring of robes too big or long.


[color=gray]“What do you suppose these gloves are for anyway?”[/color] Delmare asked, frowning as she examined her pair of dragon hide gloves. [color=gray]“Surely there’s no reason we’d actually be expected to use them? Although herbology...”[/color]


[color=thistle]“Can we not talk about herbology?”[/color] Amersa groaned. [color=thistle]“I pretty much kill every plant I come into contact with. It's not my thing. But maybe we’ll use the gloves for quidditch - I hear the school’s brooms are...temperamental.”[/color] 


[color=gray]“Let’s steer clear of Quidditch too then,”[/color] Delmare said with a shudder. [color=gray]“And flying. Can’t stand heights.”[/color]


Amersa let out a little gasp, [color=thistle]“Oh! I love flying...I just wouldn’t trust the school brooms. How can you not love the feeling of freedom?”[/color]


Before Delmare could answer they entered the quaint teashop and the aroma of chai and lemon washed over them. Lorraine and Natalia were sitting together at one of the tables, polite smiles on both of their faces. 


“Can I get you girls something?” the shopkeeper, Rosa Lee, asked. Her long black hair was braided back, giving her exotic features a graceful air. 


“Oh, Rosa,” Delmare’s mother called, rising from her seat, “they’re with us. My daughter, Delmare.”


[color=gray]“Hello Miss Lee,”[/color] Delmare said with a smile, [color=gray]“I love your tea — especially the Oolong. Very distinctive taste.”[/color]


“Are you girls all done?” Amersa’s mom asked, eyeing their bags.


[color=thistle]“Yup, I think we’re set. I already have my cauldron and vials at home that I can use for school right?”[/color]


“We’re just about done as well,” her mom replied. “It was lovely catching up with you Lorraine, I’ll see you next week at the station.”