There You'll Be

Chapter Two
Arriving in Diagon Alley

~*~*~Two Months Later~*~*~

Time had passed, and it was now a week before Aaron and Delilah were supposed to leave for Hogwarts. They were going to make a stop in Diagon Alley to pick up anything they were going to need. For now, they were just packing what they could from home.

It was going to be hard to leave. Joshua had been her biggest help for the last eight years, and it was going to take some time not getting to see him everyday. They'd made plans for him to come visit for Christmas. That was a time to look forward to.

Later that day, Joshua drove them to the airport. When it came time for Delilah and Aaron to board their flight, they did quick goodbyes since parting was hurting so much. Turning around quickly, Delilah and Aaron walked through the gateway, and Joshua waved goodbye behind them until he could no longer see them.

Fifteen minutes later, the plane took off and they were London bound.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

By the time Delilah and Aaron's flight reached London and they had gathered all their things, it was almost lunchtime. Each pushing a cart through the crowds of people, Aaron asked, "Do you know where we're going?"

"Dee told me that we were to meet someone named Rubeus Hagrid. He'd be holding a sign with our names on it," Delilah answered as she scanned the crowd of people looking for the man they were supposed to meet.

It took them five minutes of searching, but Delilah was finally able to find Rubeus Hagrid. When she saw him, she covered her mouth with her hand as she gasped at the sight of him. He towered over the people who were rushing by them, who stared at him as they went passed. Delilah noticed that the man looked uneasy for some reason, as if he'd never been in an airport before.

Hagrid was a big man, who stood at least three feet above the tallest man possible, and everything else about him was...well, the only word that came to Delilah's mind was big. In his hands, he was holding a piece of parchment with their names on them: "Daliela James & Aran James."

"Rubeus Hagrid?" Delilah asked him when they'd come closer. She thought she saw him grin through his thick beard, but it was difficult to tell.

"That's me. Yeh must be Delilah an' Aaron James," he said while he rolled up the parchment and placed it in his pocket. "Ah was beginning teh think something happened to yeh."

"Sorry, it takes a while to get through customs, Mr. Hagrid," Delilah explained.

"Please, it's Hagrid," he offered holding out his hand to shake hands with her, which seemed to engulf hers.

Staring at Hagrid, Aaron commented out loud, "I didn't realize they had a Bigfoot in London."

Hagrid chuckled as Delilah admonished Aaron, "Aaron that was rude. Now apologize."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Hagrid," Aaron mumbled, not sure what was so bad about what he said. He was just being honest. His Grand-Pappy had taught him to be honest with people.

"It's all right, Delilah. Ah don't mind bein' called, what'd yeh say, a Bigfoot?" He assured her, grinning through his thick massive beard. "Hmm, never been called that. Ah like it!"

"And yeh can call me Hagrid, too," Hagrid mentioned, patting Aaron on the shoulder. Aaron winced slightly because Hagrid's gentle patting hurt quite a bit.

Aaron grinned a little since Hagrid wasn't going to be mad about his comment. Delilah still wasn't so sure. She didn't like it when people were called rude names, even when the person liked it. It just didn't seem right.

"We should be goin' though. There's lots teh do before we meet the train fer Hogwarts."

"Like what?" Aaron asked curiously they followed Hagrid through the crowds. "I thought we had everything we needed."

"Maybe, but yeh don't have all your school supplies," Hagrid pointed out. By this time, they were standing outside in front of the airport. Waiting by the curb was a big fire engine red Ford truck.

"We're taking a truck?" Aaron commented as Hagrid started to load their luggage into the bed. "I thought we were taking a train to get to the school."

"We are," Hagrid answered firmly. He quickly loaded up the last trunks, then handing the two pet carriers to Delilah and Aaron. "These two won't be safe riding in the back."

In Delilah's carrier was her calico cat named Tequila. They were allowed to have cats at Hogwarts, and she didn't want to leave her behind. Tequila had been her cat since she'd been married and had been the last present her ex-husband had bought for her before things started getting ugly. Besides Aaron, her cat was one of two things to come out of the marriage.

There was some quiet squawking coming from Aaron's carrier. Inside was a bushy brown owl that looked like a flying feather duster. The owl's name was Gypsy. No one could figure out where Aaron had gotten that name, but that's what he wanted to call him. Joshua had bought it for him before they left for London.

Kneeling down before him, Hagrid told him, "Now teh answer yeh question. Yes, we are taking the train teh get teh the school, but this is the easiest way for us teh get to King's Cross station without being too obvious."

"Guess I didn't think of that," Aaron said, feeling a little bit sheepish.

"Don't worry 'bout it," Hagrid said, giving the boy a smile. "S'all right."

Just then, a muffled dinging was heard from Hagrid's pocket. He fumbled around in it until he pulled something out. It was a silver pocket watch. "Blimey, we're late. Best be going." He gestured for them to hop into the truck. Circling around the front, he got in the driver's side.

While Delilah and Aaron were getting in on their side, she heard Aaron quietly singing, "I'm late. I'm late for a very important date."

"Aaron, be quiet," she shushed him, hoping Hagrid hadn't heard him, although she couldn't help smiling herself.

The inside of the truck was a lot bigger than it looked from the outside. From the outside, it looked normal as can be. The inside was a totally different story. There was enough room for Hagrid's large form, plus room to spare.

"This is bigger than it looks," Delilah commented as she and Aaron put on their seat belts.

"It's magic," Hagrid simply explained as he started up the ignition, the engine roaring to life.

This said Hagrid maneuvered his way into traffic like a pro. Quickly, they drove through the streets of London. There wasn't much time for them to dilly-dally.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Thirty minutes later, Hagrid stopped in front of a murky looking tavern. There was a sign over the door that read, 'Leaky Cauldron.' It looked like it had seen better days gone by. People were rushing by it without a sideward glance that Delilah wondered if they even saw it. Following Hagrid's example, she and Aaron both got out of the vehicle, and stood in front of the building.

"Why are we here?" Aaron asked cautiously as he tried to stay out of the way of the passing people, who didn't seem to see him.

"I'll tell yeh once we get inside the tavern," Hagrid told him as he unloaded their things onto the sidewalk. A few minutes later everything was finally sitting at their feet in a heaping pile. Hagrid used his pink umbrella to make a small circle and tapped the pile. In the wink of an eye, the heaping pile shrunk small enough to fit in the palm of Hagrid's hand.

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone 'bout that," he asked as he placed their luggage in his pocket. "I'm not really supposed teh be using magic." Without a hesitation, they both nodded in agreement.

Gesturing to them to them, "Let's step inside. I'll explain things once we're settled." Approaching the tavern, Hagrid opened the door for them, and they all went in.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

When they were inside, Delilah was surprised by its appearance. It was very dark, and quite grubby. There were a few people sitting up at the bar, each sipping from a glass. Tables were settled throughout the room, a few of them occupied by people deep in conversation.

"Are ya having the usual today, Hagrid?" the bartender asked as he grabbed for a glass that sat on the shelf behind him.

"Not today, Tom," Hagrid said as he placed his hand on Aaron's shoulder. "Ah'm here on Hogwarts business today." Tom nodded and started to dry some glasses that were sitting in front of him.

Hagrid let them through the room until they walked out the back door and stopped in the courtyard where an old brick wall stood before them. As they watched Hagrid tap it with his umbrella, Delilah asked him, "Hagrid, why did it seem like no one noticed you shrinking our luggage?"

"It's 'cause there's a veil of invisibility surrounding the front of the Leaky Cauldron. That way Muggle folk don't wander inteh the Wizarding world," he explained when he'd finished tapping the wall. "If they knew 'bout our world, they'd want teh get magic solutions fer all their problems. It's best if we keep teh ourselves."

The moment Hagrid had finished tapping the brick wall, and it started to vibrate. The individual bricks started to separate, causing a hole to appear in the middle of the wall. It only took a few minutes until they'd separated enough to become two separate pillars with a doorway in the middle.

Each taking a step between the pillars, Aaron and Delilah were immersed in new and interesting sights and sounds. There were people rushing here and there, their arms bundled down with bags and packages of very shapes and sizes. Also, there were shops that sold anything a witch or wizard would ever need. A woman with silvery blond hair was leaving a shop that sold broomstick, and she was murmured, "Finally, the prices for racing rooms have gone down. Draco has got to cut down on his late night jaunts."

"Where to first?" Delilah asked as they walked down the street.

"Deh yeh have yeh wizarding money on yeh?" Hagrid asked as they passed a shop that sold various types of robes and other clothing.

"Right here," Delilah answered, patting the side pocket of her handbag. Professor Dumbledore had given her enough money to help her get the things they would need for school. At first she protested, but he told her to think of it as congratulatory present to them.

"Good. Now we just need Aaron's letter," Hagrid said, grinning as Aaron pulled out of his pocket saying, "Here it is."

"What shall we go for first, Aaron?" Delilah asked him as she watched him unfold the pages of parchment. "Your choice."

"My choice? Ok, let's see," he muttered as he looked over his list of school supplies. "Let's get my wand first."

"All right," Delilah agreed and she looked down the street for what they were looking for. She looked back at Hagrid when he mentioned, "Mr. Ollivanders is the place yeh'll be wanting. Bin selling the best wands fer years."

They approached a shop that was narrow and shabby. It was a shop that would have been closed down in the Muggle world, but not in Diagon Alley. Various people were going in and out the front door, which had a sign hanging over it. It read Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C.

Delilah and Aaron started to enter the shop as Hagrid mentioned, "Ah'm just going teh make a stop at The Leaky Cauldron. I'll meet yeh back here in a bit."

"All right," Delilah said, and they walked into the shop.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

When the two entered the shop, they were instantly immersed with sights they'd never seen before. There were stacks of small boxes as high as the eye could see. It was odd to see that many boxes in a shop as small at Mr. Ollivander's, but it seemed like there was still lots of room to spare. Delilah and Aaron strolled around looking, but not touching, even though they wanted to so much.

It'd been no more than a few minutes when they heard the quiet approach of footsteps behind them. Both turning at the same time, Delilah and Aaron met a tall man who looked as old at the shop, but he looked as wise as can be. He was smiling gently at them as if he was happy to see them.

"Ah, Aaron and Delilah, welcome. I've been expecting you," he told them as he tapped his fingers slowly together. "I'm Mr. Ollivander."

"Expecting us?" Delilah questioned, not sure what he meant by that. "How did you know we were coming?"

Mr. Ollivander just tapped his head and acknowledged, "I just know these things. Besides I get a list of new Hogwarts students each year."

Delilah and Aaron nodded in understanding, although it was only slightly. Before they knew it, Mr. Ollivander was measuring Aaron. Once that was completed, the old man started pulling out various wands for Aaron to experiment with. It didn't seem like a complicated task so Delilah just stepped back and let Aaron do his stuff.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

About thirty minutes later, Aaron found the want that suited him. Or better yet, the wand found Aaron. The wand was thirteen inches and made of birch wood with a unicorn hair for its center. Aaron was glad the process was over since it seemed like it was going to go on forever.

Delilah was up at Mr. Ollivander's desk paying for the wand when the door opened, letting in three adolescents of eighteen. There were two boys and a girl. The girl had slightly bushy hair and knowledgeable eyes. It was almost as if she had the answers to all the world's problems. As the door closed behind them, she opened up her bag, and placed a thick book inside.

One of the boys had auburn red hair with a mischievous look to him. There was a possibility he was the one trouble liked to find. Even though they looked like they'd be taken care of, the boy's clothing was looking rough from wear. In his hands, he was sorting though a small pile wizarding cards as Delilah heard him mumble, "Where's my Gryffindor card? I just got it and now I can't find it."

Then the girl sighed and wondered to him, "Ron, I can't believe you brought those along. I thought you left them at home."

"I was going to, but Seamus sent me an owl saying he found some cards that I've been looking for," the boy, whose name was apparently Ron explained to the girl. "We're going to go through them while on the train to school."

The girl just shrugged her shoulders and mumbled, "Whatever."

The other boy, who'd remained quiet through this confrontation, had scraggily black hair that stuck up all over the place. He seemed to be a kind boy, but there was some mischief in him too. The most distinguishing feature was the lightning bolt scar barely visible under his fringe. It was very unusual to say the least. Delilah had heard enough mentions to know that this young man was the famous Harry Potter, the boy who had survived an attack from the once powerful Lord Voldemort. Harry just looked at the girl, grinned and suggested, "Lighten up, Hermione. Collecting wizard cards is no more childish than your Barbie dolls."

The girl named Hermione blushed red as Ron's hair and looked away. All she could remember was the time Ron and Harry found her playing with her dolls when they'd come to pick her up for the trip to King's Cross Station the previous year. It was very embarrassing since she was supposed to be acting like a grownup.

Delilah couldn't help smiling and offered her wisdom the three. "Don't give her such a rough time about the dolls. All girls should be able to play with dolls, even smart ones. Besides, just cause you're growing up doesn't mean you should be old at heart."

The girl smiled as Ron and Harry just stood there and stared at Delilah. Their attention was diverted when Mr. Ollivander smiled at the group and asked, "What can I do for you three today?"

"We came to get our wands cleaned," Hermione explained as the three drew their wands from the bags at their waists. "It's time for it again."

"So it is," Mr. Ollivander agreed. "Let me finish up here, and I'll be right with you." The three nodded, and he returned to Delilah's purchase. Finishing up quickly, Mr. Ollivander gave her a note of payment and wished her and Aaron a good day. Gathering the three wands, Mr. Ollivander took them into the back for the cleaning.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

After Mr. Ollivander left, Harry Potter noticed that Aaron was watching them intently. He waved at Aaron, which caused him to blush and look away since he'd been told many times not to stare.

Harry walked over and asked, "Are you new to Hogwarts?"

"Yes," Aaron answered as he saw Hermione and Ron join Harry. Then he directed the question to all three, "Do you go there also?"

"I definitely do," Harry replied, and Hermione and Ron nodded in agreement. "This is our seventh year. My name is Harry Potter, and these two are Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. What's yours?"

"Aaron James," he stated, and then indicating his mother. "This is my mom. She's going to be teaching there."

"Really?" Hermione inquired, quite intrigued. "What will you be teaching?"

"Well, isn't it obvious what she's teaching?" Ron asked the two. They both shook their heads since they didn't have any idea. Sighing, he told them, "It's got to be Defense Against the Dark Arts. It's the only job open...at least that's what it was when school was finished last year."

"Is that right?" Harry asked her, looking doubtful. They'd never had a woman Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.

"Actually, I'm not," Delilah answered, getting a bewildered look from all three. "I'm teaching Muggle Studies."

"What happened to Professor Dipstick?" Ron asked.

"He won the Wizard Lottery, remember?" Hermione answered as she shot him a glare. "It was reported in all the wizard papers."

"Oh," Ron sheepishly said, his ears slightly turning pink. "I forgot. Besides, I don't read the papers all that often."

"Don't feel so bad. I didn't know about it till Professor Dumbledore told me. They don't get the wizarding news in Florida."

"Florida? Why weren't you living in Europe? That's where most wizards live anyway," Ron wondered.

"But I'm not a wizard. I'm a Muggle."

The three stared at her in pure surprise. They'd never heard of a Muggle teaching at Hogwarts, usually the teachers were wizards. "Well...if you're not a wizard, how are you going to be a teacher?" Hermione asked carefully, trying not to sound insulting.

"Professor Dumbledore is my godfather, and when Professor Dipstick decided to retire, Professor Dumbledore thought I had what was needed for the job," Delilah explained, then continued with, "I guess he must have some faith in me."

"Professor Dumbledore is a good judge of character, even if he is a bit off at times," Harry said, grinning.

"I agree," Delilah nodded. "He can be a real sweetheart."

Ron and Harry broke into quiet chuckling while Hermione just stood there and glared at them. While Ron and Harry knew that Dumbledore was a wise man, they didn't think of him as a sweetheart. Hermione thought he was a good man...no matter how off he was. Sighing, Hermione just shook her head at she asked Delilah, "Well, since you're a Muggle, how are you going to bypass the Anti-Muggle booby traps?"

"Dumbledore wasn't sure what would happen to me when I tried go through the barrier at the station, so he's sending a teacher to travel with me. If there are any problems, the teacher can put the necessary spell on me," Delilah explained carefully so they'd not misunderstand. "Besides, I may have been raised Muggle, but I was born into a wizarding family. Hopefully there won't be too many problems."

At this time, the door was pushed opened by Hagrid. He was carrying the remains of something in a big, which he put into his pocket. Greeting Harry, Ron and Hermione, Hagrid then asked Aaron, "Did yeh get your wand?"

"Yup," Aaron replied, grinning from ear to ear as he showed the wand to him. "Look at it, all nice and shiny."

"It's a beauty," Hagrid agreed wholeheartedly. "It'll do yeh proud."

"We were on our way out when we started talking with Harry, Ron and Hermione. Lost track of time," Delilah explained quickly.

"That's alright," Hagrid motioned for her to forget it. "Although if you're going to meet the train early tomorrow, we'd best get a hurry on."

Agreeing with Hagrid, Delilah turned to the three before her and said, "Aaron and I should be going. There are still some things that Aaron needs to get, and Professor Dumbledore suggested I look at some things I might want to use for my teaching. I'll see you later at school though."

The three agreed and said their goodbyes. Everyone waved as they departed, walking out into the busy streets of Diagon Alley.

Four hours later, Delilah finally marked off the last item on Aaron's list. Everything was finally done, and they were exhausted, shopping can take a lot out of a person. The only one who wasn't tired was Hagrid, who seemed to have endless energy. It must be because of his size.

Hagrid left them at the Leaky Cauldron where they had a room. He promised to be there to pick them up at nine o'clock to take them to the station. Not long after they arrived, Delilah and Aaron were ready for bed, and fell asleep as soon as their heads hit their pillows.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

At nine o'clock, Hagrid was there are promised. Gathering all of their belongings, Hagrid, Delilah and Aaron piled back into the red Ford and headed through the late morning traffic to King's Cross Station.

Everything went like it normally would: they arrived at the station, loaded all the luggage, including the cat and owl, onto a trolley and headed into the somewhat crowded train station. By the time the small group arrived at platforms nine and ten, it was ten-thirty and time was growing short. Aaron and Delilah's train left at eleven, and they didn't want to be late.

Delilah was about to mention the time when she saw Professor Snape waiting for them by the platform signs. He was wearing an all black outfit, but Delilah could tell the outfit was outdated. Snape must not get out into the real world all that often. That outfit has to be at least ten years old,' she thought with a slight grin.

"Professor Snape, good morning," Delilah greeted him with a smile when they were closer to him. "It's good of you to meet me here."

"Well, Professor Dumbledore asked me to come here, and I'm doing it as a favour to him," Snape stated firmly so that she'd have no question about his intentions.

"Well, I appreciate that you're meeting me all the same. Professor Dumbledore definitely chose the right person...at least from what my grandfather has told me about you," she told him, offering him another smile.

This stopped Snape's next retort. He'd never realized how highly her grandfather thought of him. 'All the times I've wanted to get a praise from that man, even when he was my teacher, and now I found it,' he mulled over in his mind.

"Blimey, look at the time. Professors, you should be getting on the train. It leaves in twenty minutes," Hagrid reminded them, indicating his watch.

"I know what time it is, Hagrid," Snape retorted. "Now go away."

"Just a friendly suggestion after all. That train doesn't wait for latecomers," Hagrid pointed out. "You should know that from experience."

Snape's ears turned a light shade of red, and then quickly disappeared as he said, "Alright, we're going."

Snape first looked at Delilah, then turned to retort something at Hagrid, but found that he was gone. Grumbling, Snape looked at her and asked her, "Of all the powers they let him use, why did they have to let him Apparate?"

Grinning, she said in a high-pitched, annoying voice, "Because he's so special."

Even though Snape was usually so grim, he couldn't help but chuckle at that. Shaking his head, he muttered softly, "Oh no, not another Pollyanna."

Snape shook his head again, and motioned for Delilah and Aaron to go over to barrier. When Snape was about to explain things, Delilah suggested, "Why doesn't Aaron run through first? It'll work for him. Then, I'll go. If there are any problems it shouldn't be to difficult to fix."

"Fine, whatever," he grumbled, begrudgingly. Indicating the barrier, Snape told Aaron, "All you have to do is go straight at the wall. Some people run, some people walk, and some people just fall through the wall. I don't care. Just go."

Aaron just shook his head as Snape looked at the barrier. "Well, you're a lot of help," Aaron told him, sent him a loud raspberry and took off for the barrier...stepping on Snape's foot in the process.

As Snape grabbed his foot, massaging the hurt, Aaron disappeared through the wall. "Why that little..." Snape said through his clutched teeth. Though he wanted to say something else, but seeing Delilah he changed it to "that little angel."

Barely restraining her laughter, Delilah asked him, "So you like him too?"

"Just step up to the barrier," he said as he unclenched his teeth. "The train will be leaving soon."

Delilah walked up to the barrier, eyed it uncertainly as she examined it closely. "Just lean against it casually, and you should go right through. If it doesn't work, we'll do something else."

Stepping up the wall, she leaned against it and felt herself fall right through. Stumbling through the wall she arrived on the other side. She saw the train that read 'Hogwarts Express' on the side, billowing steam from its funnel. A second later she noticed Aaron grinning broadly at his accomplishment and smiled to herself. A second later, Snape appeared and Aaron grabbed his trolley, running for the loading dock.

Delilah watched Aaron run off as Snape said, "I'll see you at the school tonight." Then instantly as he appeared, he disappeared with a pop. After everything was loaded up, she and Aaron found their seats on the train. As the train pulled out of the station at eleven o'clock, she started singing softly the Willie Nelson tune, "On the Road Again."

On the road again
Just can't wait to get on the road again
The life I love is makin' music with my friends
And I can't wait to get on the road again
On the road again
Goin' places that I've never been

Seein' things that I may never see again,
And I can't wait to get on the road again.

On the road again
Like a band of gypsies we go down the highway

We're the best of friends
Insisting that the world be turnin' our way
And our way
Is on the road again

Just can't wait to get on the road again
The life I love is makin' music with my friends
And I can't wait to get on the road again

On the road again

Like a band of gypsies we go down the highway
We're the best of friends
Insisting that the world be turnin' our way
And our way
Is on the road again

Just can't wait to get on the road again
The life I love is makin' music with my friends
And I can't wait to get on the road again
And I can't wait to get on the road again