The You I Never Knew

While a week seemed to stretch on forever, Adele finally had her wish the following Thursday. She woke up, ever so excited, and the Granger women set out for Diagon Alley.

Strolling down the streets of London, Adele carefully scrutinized every shop they passed, searching for any sign that it might hold magical contents. However, there was not a wand or broom to be had. Disappointed, she turned her attention elsewhere.

Earlier that morning, she had walked into her mother's room to find her casting magic on herself. At first, Adele was in complete awe; she'd never seen anyone perform a spell before. When the novelty wore off, she wondered what exactly her mum had done to herself. She looked entirely different.

Naturally, Adele had asked why she was changing her looks, but not surprisingly, her mum had given her that look she knew all too well. It was just one more thing to add to the list of Things I Can't Ask Mom About Part III. But when did she ever take no for an answer?

"Hey, Mum? Why'd you change yourself?"

"Adele," she said warningly.

She knew she probably should have stopped there, but she couldn't help herself. Her mum expected her to push the limits sometimes, so who was she to let her down? Taking a couple steps to walk alongside her mother, she latched herself onto her mum's arm and half walked half hung onto her.

"Stop hanging on me, Adele. You're making it hard to walk."

While giving her mother a little reprieve she asked, "Are you going to be stuck like that?"

"Of course not."

"But, how are you going to you reverse the spell or whatever?"

"When you want to deactivate any spells, just move your wand like this," her mother swished with her finger, "and say Finite Incantatem. Then, I'll be back to normal."

"Is that hard magic? Can I do it?"

"Oh, it's not so bad once you get used to it, but someone of your skill level wouldn't be able to cast it. Ah, here we are."

Her mother pointed to a sign on a shabby looking building that read: The Leaky Cauldron. Adele glanced around to see if anyone was watching them.

"They can't see it, dear. They're Muggles."

"What did you call them?" she inquired, giving her mother a confused look.

"Muggles. It's what the people of the Wizarding world call people who have no magic ability. You'll hear it quite often, so be sure to remember it," her mother explained, before opening the door to the Leaky Cauldron.

*******

The inside of the inn looked like nothing more than a dim and slightly dirty pub. Various people dressed in robes sat at the tables drinking and talking amongst themselves. No one seemed to take any notice of them as they entered.

Adele was ready to start shopping, but as soon as she stepped forward, her mother stopped her. She didn't know what her mum could possibly want to do before going to Diagon Alley. Turning around, Adele crossed her arms to express her displeasure.

"Let's go," said Adele.

"Would you wait a minute? I need to go to the toilet."

"But Mum!"

"It'll only take a minute. You should go too."

"I don't have to."

"Oh, alright then, be stubborn, but I don't want to hear that you need to use it in a few minutes. Stay right here and hold my bag, please."

Adele leaned against the wall. While she waited, she began rummaging through her mum's handbag for some bubble gum. What she found though, was ten times more exciting than that. She took her mother's wand in hand and idly began to flick it around. The thought that she might be able to cast a spell intrigued her, but the only spell she knew was the one that her mother had mentioned earlier.

"Finite Incantatem!" she said, careful not to be too loud for fear of drawing attention to herself.

Nothing happened, which angered her. If she was a witch she ought to be able to cast a spell. After all, what kind of witch would she be if she couldn't?

Her mum had mentioned that the spell was complicated, so she assumed that the wand waving might be a bit more complex, too. She repeated the phrase a couple of times with various movements, none of which seemed to work. Figuring her mother would be out soon, she decided to try it one more time before slipping the wand back where she had found it. That time, however, the tip of the wand glowed brightly.

"Adele!" her mother shouted.

Adele looked up, and before she knew what had happened her mother stood before her as normal as she ever was. Adele's feelings were mixed. She'd cast her very first magic spell, a spell which her mother had said was challenging. On the other hand, judging by the scowl on her mum's face, she was in a lot of trouble.

"What do you think you're doing?" her mother inquired, snatching the wand from Adele's hand. "Don't you know that magic can be very dangerous? Adele, I'm very --"

A loud gasp from a witch nearby made Adele nearly jump back and Hermione stop mid sentence. All the color seemed to drain from the old woman's face. Adele could only assume that she recognized her mother. That witch wasn't the only person to take note of her mother's presence either. The attention of nearly everyone in the pub had turned to Adele's mum.

Adele wondered how well known her mother really was. If she could walk into a little pub and everyone knew her, what was it she had done that made her so famous? She couldn't stop thinking about it. Was her struggle to find the answers to all her questions really not going to be much of a struggle at all?

Of course, all of those questions begged the biggest question of all. If her mother was so well known, was her father as well? Adele couldn't stop wondering if maybe she would run into him today. It seemed unlikely that her mother would bring her to a place where her father might be. Unexpected things have happened before though, so she wasn't about to start thinking that all was lost on her little trip yet.

As her mother began a steady walk toward the back door of the Leaky Cauldron and away from the numerous sets of eyes watching her, Adele was devising a plan, shuffling behind her. The opportunity was really too good to be true, and she didn't dare waste it. As soon as her mother let her guard down, Adele was going to slip off and get some answers.

*******

When they arrived in a small lot at the back of the pub, Adele searched for something in her mother's face. She looked clearly shaken up by the incident. At least now she knew why her mother had disguised herself that morning.

"I'm really, really sorry about using your wand!"

"I can't believe you would do something like that. It's dangerous to use someone else's wand, Adele. You could have been hurt or worse."

"I know. And I'm sorry."

"Thank Merlin you're alright."

An all too familiar itch began to make Adele antsy. She really wanted to ask her mother what was going on. She should know what the outcome would be, but she just couldn't help herself. It really wouldn't hurt to give it a shot, would it?

"Why did those people start looking at you? Why did that witch act surprised?"

"Don't worry about it."

"But, Mum," she protested. "Can't I just ask you a question?"

"Please let it go. Don't ask me about it anymore," her mother begged.

"I wasn't going to!" Adele lied, crossing her arms over her chest. "I just wanted to know why we're standing in the middle of a courtyard when we should be in Diagon Alley."

"Oh, well then," her mum began, with a relieved tone. "You see it wouldn't be wise to have magical places out in the open for Muggles to discover. So, there are certain barriers put up to ensure these places are not found. The Leaky Cauldron goes unnoticed by the Muggle eye, love; however, wizards can see it. The same goes for Diagon Alley. For someone who has never been taught the way to Diagon Alley, they will have great trouble finding the way, you see. But, if you know the way to open the road, entry is simple." She finished the explanation as she tapped the wall three times with her wand.

It seemed to Adele that whatever part of herself her mother had left behind was now returning to its mistress as the bricks in the wall shifted and the streets of Diagon Alley appeared before them. Her tone was much more precise, much more knowledgeable. It was as if she had studied the place with a fine tooth comb and was now imparting any knowledge to her daughter that she deemed important. This was a whole new Hermione Granger, Adele concluded, one that she had never seen before.

Her eyes cast a look at the now open pathway, and she was bedazzled. It was wonderful, absolutely stunning. She couldn't remember the last time she had been so completely taken with something. Adele's lips parted slightly as she tried to take everything in and realized it was much too difficult to do.

"Whoa --"

"Impressive, isn't it? You're about to embark on a whole new stage of life now, darling."

Adele now gazed up at her mother's cocoa eyes and saw them almost misted over. There was that familiar tone back in her voice. She sounded like her mum again, rather than the narrator of a spectacular tale.

With another stolen look at the bustling street in front of them, Adele now saw the first chapter in her own story about to begin. A story of a girl going to a school of magic, no doubt to learn things that she had thought only existed in fairy tales.

"We'd better get a move on," her mother began, softly pushing her daughter into Diagon Alley. "We have to stop at Gringotts before we can do anything."

*******

Adele was careful to walk a few steps behind her mother. That way when she decided to run off, her mum wouldn't notice as quickly. She didn't know whether the streets were narrow or it was just the volume of people visiting that day, but whichever it was, it would help her get away that much easier.

When her mother turned a sharp corner, Adele saw her chance. She took several steps backward and ducked inside the first shop she could find. However her quick footwork caused her to trip. She tried to grasp for something to catch herself on, but only found an unstable stack of slender boxes. Adele fell to her knees, the boxes scattered about her.

The sound no doubt alerted the shopkeeper, whose shuffled steps sounded from the room behind the counter. Adele tried to clean up the mess she made before the proprietor made an appearance, but all her efforts were in vain. An old man with moon-like eyes stood above her.

"Ah, I'm so sorry. It was an accident really. Please don't turn me into a toad!"

When the old man offered his hand to her she was hesitant to take it at first. He looked nice enough, she supposed, but there's no telling what he could really be like. She started to regret separating from her mother.

"No worries. You're not the first child to knock over a stack of my wands." He flicked his own wand, and the boxes assumed their previous position.

His voice was nothing more than a whisper in her mind. She was too caught up in the magic he performed to take in what he said. With a flick of his wand the boxes just stacked up on their own. What might have taken twenty minutes to clean up was done in no more than twenty seconds. But even more amazing than that was the fact that he had used his wand so casually as if he hadn't even given it a thought.

"Here, let me help you up."

Adele took his hand and found herself back on her feet. She was in a wand shop? Her mother had mentioned something about a wand shop called Ollivander's, so she assumed that the man in front of her was Mr. Ollivander himself.

"Thanks. I didn't mean to make a mess."

Boy, was her mother going to tear into her for causing trouble when she found out. She just kept getting herself in deeper and deeper as the day went on. By the time her mum discovered that she had disappeared and what had happened, she would have to stay in until she was twenty-five at least.

"Your first wand?" Mr. Ollivander asked, walking behind the counter.

"Yes, how did you know?"

The man gave a hearty chuckle. "How did I know? Dear girl, I remember every wand I've ever sold."

Had this man sold her parents their wands? And if it was true that he did remember every wand he sold, he would probably remember her parents. After all, it was only logical given the reaction of all those people in the Leaky Cauldron. She needed to pursue this further.

"Have you had a shop in Diagon Alley for long?"

"Oh, yes, it's been quite some time. I daresay longer than I care to admit; I probably sold your grandparents their first wands." He pulled out a wand box. "Shall we get started? These things take time, you know."

"Huh?"

"You've come here to buy a wand, haven't you?"

"Oh, uh, yeah, my mum's at Gringotts getting our money exchanged. I'm meeting her here."

The situation wasn't good. She needed to get him talking again. She needed to know if he knew about her parents. But, she had to do it so that it didn't look like it was coming out of nowhere. If she was as close to finding out about her father as she though she was, she needed to act like she wasn't digging around for information.

"Now let me see," he began, walking around her.

Adele wrinkled her nose. Again with the staring: first it had been the witch back at the Leaky Cauldron and now the shopkeeper. Didn't wizards know that it wasn't nice to stare? If they'd been raised by her mother, they certainly would have. She didn't know how many times she'd been yelled at for gawking at people. More importantly though, why was he staring?

"Oh my, could it be?"

"Could what be? What's wrong?" she asked, afraid that he'd found something wrong with her.

"Hermione Granger: vine wood with dragon heart string," he said, sounding quite proud of himself. "She's your mother, no doubt. You have her eyes and face. If you're half as smart as that one, you'll be quite remarkable. They say she was one of the brightest out of Hogwarts, do you know that?"

"No, sir, I didn't," she replied.

"But I'm certain she is your mother."

"Umm, yes, she is my mum."

"Well then, I know undoubtedly who your father is." He gave a heavy sigh before continuing, "That boy, he broke more of my wands than I care to count. Now, let me see, R--"A tapping at the window interrupted him. "Oh, look. It seems I've got a package."

Adele wanted nothing more than to scream at him. He knew him! He knew her father, and some stupid owl had stopped him from telling her just what she wanted to know. She was so close that she felt like crying.

"Mr. Ollivander--"

"Ah, so sorry." He shuffled behind the counter, placing the package on a nearby chair, and returned a few minutes later with a tape measure. "This is a pretty exciting moment for you. Let's not get sidetracked. Your wand waving arm, if you please."

As he was busy taking measurements, she had to keep herself from groaning. Exciting moment? He didn't know the half of it. She only wished he realized that picking out her wand was getting sidetracked from the matter she wanted to talk to him about. She knew that her time was running out. Her mother had to have noticed that she was gone by now. It was only a matter of time before her mum figured out where she had gone.

"Mr. Ollivander, about my father--"

"He turned out to be an exceptional Auror. Of course, that's not surprising considering what he went through."

"Auror?"

"You know, an Auror."

No, she didn't know because her mother had kept all of this a secret from her. Adele tried to not dwell on that fact, and was successful sometimes, but right then, she hated her mother for it. If she'd just been honest with her, she wouldn't be going through all this torment. The fact that she'd just learned something about her father and didn't know what it meant nearly killed her.

"I'm sorry, but could you explain? I was raised...umm....what's the word?"

"Muggle?"

"Yeah, that's it."

Mr. Ollivander took a step back from her looking shocked. "I'd heard your mother had left. But really, raising her daughter as a Muggle? It doesn't seem right." He sighed and continued the measurements. "Anyway, an Auror fights Dark wizards. Now that I think about it, your father was in not three days ago."

Life wasn't fair. Her eyes were beginning to tear up. She'd missed him by a few days? If her mother had taken her shopping forty-eight hours earlier, she might have run into him at that very spot. Right then, she wanted nothing more than to be in her bedroom, hugging her stuffed dog and crying.

"Is something wrong?"

"I just have a really bad headache."

"Well then, I think we're ready to start," he announced, walking toward the back room.

Adele heard Mr. Ollivander turning over boxes and talking to himself. It wasn't long before he was back, holding a wand for her to try.

"Here we are. Ten inches, maple, unicorn hair. Go on now, give it a flick."

Adele took the wand from the container. It was very light, but felt a bit awkward in her hand. She had just raised it above her head and was in mid stroke when he nearly snatched it out of her grasp.

"No, no, no, I had it all wrong. Please excuse me for a moment."

Again, Mr. Ollivander went to the back, muttering to himself all the while. Quite some time and at least ten wands later, Adele felt she held something she deemed perfect in her hand.

With a flick, colourful sparks emitted from the tip, and Mr. Ollivander had a satisfied look on his face. Adele returned the wand to the box.

"Of course, why hadn't I gone with my first instinct? Willow, supple, eleven and a half inches, phoenix tail feather. It's a perfect match for you."

"There you are."

Adele was awash in dread. Her mother had finally found her. The cheerful tone in her mum's voice didn't escape her ears. While Mr. Ollivander might believe it Adele knew better. Her mum was just trying to appear pleasant in front of the old man. If Adele had been alone, her mother would have been ranting and raving from the second she had walked in the door.

"Hey, Mum. Get the money exchanged?"

"Uh huh," her mum said, walking to her side.

Before she could even look up at her mother, a hand was on Adele's shoulder. The pressure her mum was applying made Adele want to shrug her off, but she knew it was a futile attempt and would only get her in bigger trouble.

"You have perfect timing. We've just finished selecting the little lady's wand."

"Thank you so much, Mr. Ollivander."

"No need to thank me. I was wondering when I was going to see a child of yours. Young Mr --"

"Seven galleons, is it?" Hermione interrupted, digging in her purse for the money and trying to hide a flustered face.

"It's eight galleons now, I'm afraid. The Wizarding economy isn't what it used to be."

Adele watched as her mother exchanged money with the shopkeeper and quickly took the bag, passing it on to Adele. She could tell her mother couldn't wait to leave the shop. It was partly due to the fact that Mr. Ollivander knew who her father was and might let it slip. But more than that, Adele thought, her mum couldn't wait to let her have an ear full.

When they left the wandmaker's, they took several steps in complete silence before her mother grabbed her by the hand and led her into an empty alley. Preparing herself for the worst, Adele glanced at her mum. She was giving Adele her best "you are in so much trouble right now, Adele Winifred Granger" look.

"What were you thinking of running off like that? You scared me half to death!"

"I'm sorry," Adele muttered, staring at her feet and nudging a discarded sweet wrapper with the toe of her shoe.

"You're sorry? Adele, all I kept thinking was what if something horrible had happened to you. I would never have forgiven myself."

"I said I was sorry."

"I understand. Sorry isn't going to fix this little predicament you've got yourself into though. Why did you run away from me?"

"No reason."

Her mother was all about secret keeping, and Adele was feeling a little spiteful. She wanted to know why she ran away? Too bad. It was her turn to keep secrets. She wondered how her mother liked being in her position.

"You're expecting me to believe that you just walked off for no reason? I wasn't born yesterday, Adele."

"Just leave me alone. I don't want to talk about it." She started to walk back to the main street before her mother caught her by the shoulder.

"This is about your father, isn't it?"

"No."

"Just leave it alone, all right?"

No, it wasn't all right. She didn't want to leave it alone, and by no means was she going to. Adele didn't care how long her mother made her stay in for either. She was going to find her father against her mother's wishes. That was that.

"Fine, I'll drop it," Adele said to placate her mother.

"Good. Now, let's finishing up our shopping."

"Does that mean I'm not getting punished?"

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Are you kidding me? You are in a world of trouble, missy. We'll talk about your punishment when we get home."

Well, it wasn't as if she was expecting to get out of it anyway. She knew her mother a little better than that. As for her mission, she didn't think she'd get the chance to get some time to herself for the rest of the day. Her mother would be on her like a hawk. Sighing, she followed her mother off to the next shop.

*******

After a wait at Madam Malkin's and a quick trip to the cauldron shop, Adele and Hermione found themselves in the entrance of Flourish and Blotts. Hermione noticed that Adele stood in awe at the number of books that lined the walls and filled the shelves.

There was section after section of all different types of books. There were books that had color-changing covers, biting books, and books that had to be locked up for one reason or another, all of which must have been a lot for Adele to take in.

Hermione, however, was at home. It had been years since she had stepped into such a fine bookshop. Muggle shops could hold nothing against the bookshops of the Wizarding world, she was sure. How many times had she walked down the aisles with her own parents, pointing out her interests, and on more than one occasion, had scanned through to see what a book had to offer? Now, all her spellbooks were locked away at her parents' house, sorely in need of some use.

When she glanced down at her daughter, she saw that look in her eye. Honestly, didn't she know when enough was enough? Hermione was certain that Adele was just waiting for another moment to sneak off again.

"Don't even think about it."

"Think about what? What am I thinking?"

"We both know what you're thinking and it's not happening. You're sticking with me."

She didn't miss Adele's huff. Hermione wanted to roll her eyes. Adele didn't even know how much like her father she was. Some their mannerisms were uncanny in similarity. As much as it annoyed her at times, Hermione was also thankful for it.

"Come on, we need to pick up your schoolbooks."

*******

Adele begrudgingly followed her mother around the shop. It was safe to say that she was absolutely miserable. Her mother seemed to stop after every single shelf to skim across the titles, none of which were on Adele's school list. And Adele had thought that going grocery shopping with her mother took a long time.

At first she stayed right at her mother's side, but she soon found out that she could get away with merely staying in her mother's line of view. She didn't know if her mum was being lenient or if she was so absorbed in the books that she had forgot about what she had told Adele earlier. Either way, it was to Adele's advantage, so she was certainly going to abuse the privilege as much as she could.

Adele came across the discount bin, among which was a book titled Magical Me by some guy by the name of Gilderoy Lockhart. Whoever he was, Adele thought he had the smarmiest smile known to mankind. There wasn't anything she thought looked interesting, so she worked her way up the row to her mother.

As she was doing so, she ran her fingers down the spines of the books to see if anything caught her eye. She saw various titles, some that dealt with the care of magical creatures, and others that contained how to make various types of potions, and there were several bookcases dedicated to the history of magic, which she thought looked particularly dull.

The binding of a large red and gold book read, Famous Gryffindors. Taking it from the shelf, she stood mesmerized at the cover. On it was a lion crest that she assumed to be the crest for the Gryffindor house. She recalled her mother vaguely explaining that there were four houses at Hogwarts, and first years were sorted according to their strengths. However, her mother had never answered her question about what house she had been sorted into. Big surprise there.

Just as she was about to open the book, someone bumped into her. Adele took a several steps back before gaining her balance. After readjusting herself, she glanced at the girl who was mirroring her own actions. She was just little bit shorter than Adele was with long black hair and brown, almond shaped eyes.

"Sorry about that. I should pay more attention in these crowded shops," the girl apologized, smiling very pleasantly.

"No problem," Adele replied.

"Um, are you going to Hogwarts, as well?" the girl asked, peering at the cover of the book in Adele's hands.

"Yes, I've just got my acceptance letter in the mail. It will be my first year."

"Really? It's my first year too. My name is Akemi, Akemi Kano."

"Adele Granger. It's nice to meet you."

"I haven't met anyone who is going to Hogwarts yet."

"You were raised Muggle too, then?"

"Ah, no, it's not that. We live in a rural area, so I haven't had much of a chance to meet wizards my age."

"Yeah, me either."

"It was really nice to meet you, Adele. I'm not as nervous about going to Hogwarts now that I know someone there."

"I know what you mean. I hope we're in the same house. That'd be great."

Adele didn't know why, but she had an immediate liking for the girl. Akemi seemed to be really nice. She thought that she could make friends easily with her.

Someone waving a hand caught her attention as she looked over Akemi's shoulder. There was her mother standing at the end of the aisle, weighted down with more books than could have possibly been on the list. As much as Adele enjoyed an occasional read, her mother seemed obsessed with it. She could only imagine what her mum had purchased for her.

"That's my mum, so I'll have to be going now," she explained, returning the red book to its spot on the shelf.

"Maybe I'll see you on the train then, Adele?"

"I'll save you a seat. See you then."

*******

As they began to walk to the magical creature shop, Hermione made an occasional glance at Adele, who looked as if she was growing rather irritated. She was certain that Adele sensed that she wanted to ask her a question. Hermione really wanted to know who Adele had been talking to at the bookshop.

"What?" Adele finally asked.

"Well, who did you meet in the bookshop?"

"Her name is Akemi. It's her first year as well."

"That a girl. You've already made your first friend."

"I'm saving her a seat on the train, so maybe we can talk a bit more. I really don't know her that well, but she seems really nice."

"You'd be terribly surprised the friends you'll make on your first train ride," Hermione stated, thinking back fondly to a certain red head with a smudge of dirt on his nose and a black haired boy with a scar on his forehead.

Adele shrugged indifferently. "Yeah, I guess so."

Soon they found themselves in the Magical Menagerie. Hermione waited to see where Adele would go first, but she didn't even have to give her time to look around. Adele headed straight for the cages upon cages of cats.

*******

Adele carefully examined all the felines from top to bottom. She had never seen so many cats of different build or color. There was a particular tabby cat that she was fond of, but that soon changed when her eyes fell on a small cage at the very bottom corner. Inside was a tiny black cat that looked considerably smaller than any of the others. He had large round eyes and gave a tiny mewl when he saw he held her attention.

Squatting down and unlatching the door, Adele picked the cat up by the scruff and held him in front of her face so they met eye to eye. There was a silence for a moment before the tiny kitten gave another sad meow.

"How about you go to Hogwarts with me, cat?" she questioned.

He blinked at her once, and then she turned around to her mother, who had just arrived behind her. Standing up, she held the feline in her arms, stroking its back.

"I'd like to get this one, Mum."

"Are you sure? He looks awfully small."

"Yeah, I'm sure. He'll get bigger eventually."

"All right then," Hermione replied. "What are you going to name him?"

Adele picked the cat up so he was facing her. She thought for several minutes, all sorts of names popping in and out of her head. Squinting her eyes in deep thought, she decided.

"Vincent," she announced. "I'll call you Vincent."

"Well then, shall we get things for him and be off? I thought we would have dinner at your grandparents' tonight so they could see you before you leave for school. You won't be back until Christmas, you know."

*******

At one o'clock, the Granger women made their way back to the Leaky Cauldron. Her mind cluttered with all sorts of thoughts about Adele and the situation at hand, Hermione nearly forgot what she was walking towards. She turned sharply to go into an alley that would take them to the Leaky Cauldron another way. However, her efforts were in vain when she heard Adele let out a gasp. Not two buildings in front of them stood a shop that was decked out with bright colors and all kinds of boxes and objects decorated the windows. Hermione couldn't help but want to kick herself for being so careless.

"Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes," Adele read, running ahead and looking at the sign above the doorway. "Can we go in there, Mum?"

"I don't think so, love," Hermione replied, trying her best to hide the nervousness in her voice.

Leave it to Fred and George to ruin a perfectly spent day in Diagon Alley. It seemed that the only difference after eleven years was the products in the shop window seemed to be more incredible, judging from the advertisements. Though the twins hadn't been much for school, they were ingenious. She would at least give them that.

"Why not? It looks fantastic!"

"No, Adele," Hermione answered sternly.

The last thing she needed was for Fred and George to recognize her after all these years of hiding. One slip of the tongue and Ron would come searching for her. She just knew it. It was too risky, much too risky.

Then, her heart skipped a beat when she saw a red head come into view talking to a customer. It was Fred. He hadn't changed a bit since she had last set eyes on him. He had the same length of ginger hair, same build, and the same sense of humor, no doubt. Looking at Fred, she tried to envision what Ron would look like now.

"Mum, if you're not going to let me go in, then let's go," Adele huffed.

"Of course, dear. Yes, grandma and grandpa will be expecting us soon."

*******

Adele was severely disappointed as she watched the brick wall barrier of Diagon Alley close behind her. She felt a bit empty, as if she left a part of her she never knew before that day back in the Wizarding world. Maybe it was the fact that she knew her dad was living in that world that made her feel like she wasn't whole. In all honesty, she didn't know if she'd ever be complete without him in her life.

And what about her mum? If she felt that way and had yet to experience Wizarding life, she wondered how her mum was feeling. Adele didn't know how she could have possibly turned her back on it all. Though she was angry with her, Adele did feel a little sorry for her mum. It wouldn't change the fact that she had to go against her mum's wishes, but there was some sympathy there.

Most of all, her first taste of the Wizarding world had left her wanting much more. However, she did have several things to look forward to. In a matter of two weeks, she would be setting out for platform nine and three-quarters to ride off to Hogwarts.