Simply Sneakers
written by Theo Braith-Lupin (Teas)
My mom always said I was strange, I thought she was right. So when things started to go wrong - and I mean REALLY wrong, my mom blamed me. Life had been hard enough after my dad had died, but I'm now eleven and my mom completely forgot about me. Then I got a letter. A real letter, a letter I'd never seen before, a letter I knew my mum thought was probably from an advertisement company. When I opened it, it was for me! It was a letter to Hogwarts. And trust me, no one has ever had as much fun as I did. Besides my ugly sneakers.
Last Updated
05/31/21
Chapters
5
Reads
1,045
The Sneaky Cauldron
Chapter 2
"Hey, kid! Where you going?" asked a man I'd never seen before.
I stopped running and turned around, replying with a simple, "It's my business, now isn't it?"
The man stared after me as I ran, looking around for the Leaky Cauldron. Or the Sneaky Cauldron, I thought. I suddenly saw it. It would've been nice if my mum had taken me, but clearly she didn't care. I stepped through the doors, the heat finally leaving my body. It was cold in there. I wish it had said that in the letter so that I could've grabbed a sweater. I saw a bartender at the bar talking to two men. I ducked low, hoping no one had heard my sneakers.
"Are we going to move it tonight?" asked the tallest of the two men, he seemed to have black-ish hair.
"Why shouldn't we? No one's going to stop us." replied the bartender, starting to dry some cups.
I felt as if my shoes were growing closer to my feet, so I crawled underneath a table near the door, still in hearing range.
"Hey, did you hear that Bella?" asked the taller man again.
The other man's hood came off, and he was a she! She had black hair, and seemed perfectly normal. I could tell her face was pale though.
"We should move it tonight before Hogwarts opens. Now come, we're not supposed to be here. Thanks for the drink, Draco." They then left the Sneaky Cauldron.
I pretended like I'd just come in and hadn't heard any of that. My stomach felt like it was full of stones, though. The bartender looked up.
"Ah! Hello, welcome to the Leaky Cauldron. I'm guessing you need to get to Diagon Alley." he said, putting down the cup he was washing.
"Um, yes sir." I replied, wringing my hands behind my back.
He laughed, then I blurted out, "Can you just point me in the right direction?"
"Direction? Follow me."
He took me into a room with a brick wall. He took out a wand and looked at me respectively as I gaped at it, then he tapped a brick and it all came apart. It was beautiful! It was like the clouds parting through the sky, and then it all stopped.
"Thank you, Mr?" I asked, looking up.
"Draco. Draco Malfoy, now go get your supplies!" and he pushed me through the entrance.
Diagon Alley was bustling, and here I was not even knowing what I was supposed to do! I glanced around and looked at the list.
Uniform:
Three sets of Plain Work Robes (black)
One Plain Pointed Hat (black) for day wear
One Pair of Protective Gloves (dragon hide or similar)
Please note that all student's clothes should carry name-tags at all times.
Books:
The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1, by Miranda Goshawk.
A History of Magic, by Bathilda Bagshot.
Magical Theory, by Adalbert Waffling.
A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration, by Emeric Switch.
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi, by Phyllida Spore.
Magical Drafts and Potions, by Arsenius Jigger.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, by Newt Scamander.
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection, by Quentin Trimble.
Other equipment:
1 Wand
1 Cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)
1 set of glass or crystal phials
1 telescope]
1 set of brass scales
Students may also bring an Owl, a Cat or a Toad.
Parents may also note that first years are not allowed a broomstick.
I stared at the list, realizing something horrible: I hadn't brought money! And I had to send an owl to Minerva McGonnacal or whatever her name was. This is awful! I want to go to Hogwarts, I do! I do! I then saw a boy going into the book shop, so I ran in after him.
"Um, I need help a little navigating this place..." I told him, looking extremely embarrassed.
"Are you Muggleborn?" he asked, looking at me with a strange look on his face.
"Um, I don't know. What's a muggle?" I asked him. Clearly this was a wrong thing.
"A muggle is a non-magical person. A Muggleborn means you were born from two muggles but you're magic. So are you Halfblood, Pureblood, or Muggleborn?" he replied.
"I don't know!" I replied.
"Are both your parents muggles?" he asked me.
"Well, see, I um... I don't know. See, Dad died when I was three, so he could've been a wizard!" my face turned red as I said this.
"Name's Sam Malfoy." he said, shaking my hand.
I gaped, then shook his hand back and replied with, "Wanda Adams."
He smiled at me, "Let me guess, no money as well?"
"Uh... Yeah..." I was a bit embarrassed, but he was really nice.
"What was your dad's name? That can help us. Also, I can ask my mum if you can go shopping with us." he seemed really friendly.
"Brian Adams I think." I had thought really hard about that one.
"Doesn't ring a bell yet. We can ask Dad when he's done at the Leaky Cauldron, come on!" he grabbed my hand and took me to find all the books.
I was mostly interested in a book that seemed to be a monster book. Sam took me away from that book. It was really cute! He took me to the Year 1 part. He started telling me about Hogwarts and explaining about Muggleborns, Halfbloods, and Purebloods. We both laughed when he said a joke, it was almost like the friend I'd never had. Then a woman with long flowing brown hair came in. Her hair looked silver in some parts of her hair.
"Sam, is this the girl?" she asked. Her voice sounded like bells.
"Yes, Mum. She doesn't have any money or anything, so we need to help her." he told his mum.
She nodded, then hugged Sam. She walked over to me and said something along the lines of 'Glad we can help'.
Then I saw Draco again, he came over and hugged his wife and Sam. Then he turned around to me.
"Ah, the question girl with sneakers."
I blushed. Were my sneakers really that noticeable? I heard Draco's wife whispering to him.
"Are you sure, Lavender?" he asked her.
She nodded in reply. Sam glanced at me, then ran and hugged me.
"Mum and Dad want to adopt you!" he looked so happy, I wanted to cry.
"Really?"
"More like you stay with us for the summer thing." said Draco, smiling.
I laughed and then hugged them. Still wondering about my whole future and what Dad was. Wizard or Muggle?
I stopped running and turned around, replying with a simple, "It's my business, now isn't it?"
The man stared after me as I ran, looking around for the Leaky Cauldron. Or the Sneaky Cauldron, I thought. I suddenly saw it. It would've been nice if my mum had taken me, but clearly she didn't care. I stepped through the doors, the heat finally leaving my body. It was cold in there. I wish it had said that in the letter so that I could've grabbed a sweater. I saw a bartender at the bar talking to two men. I ducked low, hoping no one had heard my sneakers.
"Are we going to move it tonight?" asked the tallest of the two men, he seemed to have black-ish hair.
"Why shouldn't we? No one's going to stop us." replied the bartender, starting to dry some cups.
I felt as if my shoes were growing closer to my feet, so I crawled underneath a table near the door, still in hearing range.
"Hey, did you hear that Bella?" asked the taller man again.
The other man's hood came off, and he was a she! She had black hair, and seemed perfectly normal. I could tell her face was pale though.
"We should move it tonight before Hogwarts opens. Now come, we're not supposed to be here. Thanks for the drink, Draco." They then left the Sneaky Cauldron.
I pretended like I'd just come in and hadn't heard any of that. My stomach felt like it was full of stones, though. The bartender looked up.
"Ah! Hello, welcome to the Leaky Cauldron. I'm guessing you need to get to Diagon Alley." he said, putting down the cup he was washing.
"Um, yes sir." I replied, wringing my hands behind my back.
He laughed, then I blurted out, "Can you just point me in the right direction?"
"Direction? Follow me."
He took me into a room with a brick wall. He took out a wand and looked at me respectively as I gaped at it, then he tapped a brick and it all came apart. It was beautiful! It was like the clouds parting through the sky, and then it all stopped.
"Thank you, Mr?" I asked, looking up.
"Draco. Draco Malfoy, now go get your supplies!" and he pushed me through the entrance.
Diagon Alley was bustling, and here I was not even knowing what I was supposed to do! I glanced around and looked at the list.
Uniform:
Three sets of Plain Work Robes (black)
One Plain Pointed Hat (black) for day wear
One Pair of Protective Gloves (dragon hide or similar)
Please note that all student's clothes should carry name-tags at all times.
Books:
The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1, by Miranda Goshawk.
A History of Magic, by Bathilda Bagshot.
Magical Theory, by Adalbert Waffling.
A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration, by Emeric Switch.
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi, by Phyllida Spore.
Magical Drafts and Potions, by Arsenius Jigger.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, by Newt Scamander.
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection, by Quentin Trimble.
Other equipment:
1 Wand
1 Cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)
1 set of glass or crystal phials
1 telescope]
1 set of brass scales
Students may also bring an Owl, a Cat or a Toad.
Parents may also note that first years are not allowed a broomstick.
I stared at the list, realizing something horrible: I hadn't brought money! And I had to send an owl to Minerva McGonnacal or whatever her name was. This is awful! I want to go to Hogwarts, I do! I do! I then saw a boy going into the book shop, so I ran in after him.
"Um, I need help a little navigating this place..." I told him, looking extremely embarrassed.
"Are you Muggleborn?" he asked, looking at me with a strange look on his face.
"Um, I don't know. What's a muggle?" I asked him. Clearly this was a wrong thing.
"A muggle is a non-magical person. A Muggleborn means you were born from two muggles but you're magic. So are you Halfblood, Pureblood, or Muggleborn?" he replied.
"I don't know!" I replied.
"Are both your parents muggles?" he asked me.
"Well, see, I um... I don't know. See, Dad died when I was three, so he could've been a wizard!" my face turned red as I said this.
"Name's Sam Malfoy." he said, shaking my hand.
I gaped, then shook his hand back and replied with, "Wanda Adams."
He smiled at me, "Let me guess, no money as well?"
"Uh... Yeah..." I was a bit embarrassed, but he was really nice.
"What was your dad's name? That can help us. Also, I can ask my mum if you can go shopping with us." he seemed really friendly.
"Brian Adams I think." I had thought really hard about that one.
"Doesn't ring a bell yet. We can ask Dad when he's done at the Leaky Cauldron, come on!" he grabbed my hand and took me to find all the books.
I was mostly interested in a book that seemed to be a monster book. Sam took me away from that book. It was really cute! He took me to the Year 1 part. He started telling me about Hogwarts and explaining about Muggleborns, Halfbloods, and Purebloods. We both laughed when he said a joke, it was almost like the friend I'd never had. Then a woman with long flowing brown hair came in. Her hair looked silver in some parts of her hair.
"Sam, is this the girl?" she asked. Her voice sounded like bells.
"Yes, Mum. She doesn't have any money or anything, so we need to help her." he told his mum.
She nodded, then hugged Sam. She walked over to me and said something along the lines of 'Glad we can help'.
Then I saw Draco again, he came over and hugged his wife and Sam. Then he turned around to me.
"Ah, the question girl with sneakers."
I blushed. Were my sneakers really that noticeable? I heard Draco's wife whispering to him.
"Are you sure, Lavender?" he asked her.
She nodded in reply. Sam glanced at me, then ran and hugged me.
"Mum and Dad want to adopt you!" he looked so happy, I wanted to cry.
"Really?"
"More like you stay with us for the summer thing." said Draco, smiling.
I laughed and then hugged them. Still wondering about my whole future and what Dad was. Wizard or Muggle?
