After receiving her admission letter, the next big event was going to Diagon Alley to purchase the items listed in it.
Esther felt as though she could not wait even one more second.
Although she had discovered at the age of eight that she had transmigrated into the world of Harry Potter, the truth was that before then, she and her parents had always lived in the Muggle world. It was only a year ago, when they began considering the fact that she was nearing the age to attend Hogwarts, that the family finally moved here.
She had never once visited the legendary Diagon Alley.
Her mother, unable to withstand her constant pestering, finally gave in and hurriedly promised to take her tomorrow.
Esther then turned toward her father, grabbed his arm, and began acting spoiled with all her might: "Daddy has to come too. I want our whole family to go together!"
David rubbed his brow helplessly, but his voice was still gentle as he agreed. "Alright. I'll go with you tomorrow."
Overjoyed, she planted a kiss on each of her parents' cheeks, clutched her letter, and hopped her way upstairs.
Behind her, her father watched her small, excited figure disappear up the stairs and shook his head with a helpless smile.
The house here was much smaller compared to the one they'd lived in back in London, but since the family was small, it was still more than enough. The three-story house had the living room and kitchen on the first floor; the entire second floor was her parents' bedroom and their study and recreation room; which meant the entire third floor belonged solely to her.
On the bedside table in her room, the bouquet of white roses she had picked yesterday was already beginning to wilt today, their petals no longer as full and glossy as before.
A soft breeze drifted in through the window. The sky was high and the clouds were thin, truly a rare, lovely day.
She sat down at her desk, thought for a moment, and finally picked up her quill to write a letter.
---
**"Dear Ernie,
I received my Hogwarts letter today. I'm so excited, but somehow also a little nervous. Do you understand how I feel?
Tomorrow, Mum and Dad are taking me to Diagon Alley. It'll be my first time going. Which shop was the candy you bought me last time from? I really liked it and want to buy more.
I told Mum and Dad that I want to be sorted into Hufflepuff because you're there. Going to a completely unfamiliar school by myself is still a little scary. (And don't you laugh at me, otherwise I'll tell Auntie.)
I really can't wait for school to start, so we can study together.
Your loving little sister,
Esther."**
---
She wrote a messy, rambling letter, then handed it to the family owl and told it to deliver the message to her cousin, Ernie Macmillan.
Ernie Macmillan was a named character in the original Harry Potter series.
Esther remembered that the books described him as a somewhat short and chubby kid, a student in the same year as the savior Harry Potter. Later, he even became a Hufflepuff prefect and a member of Dumbledore's Army.
He was one of those characters who didn't appear very often, but had a generally positive image and, most importantly, survived until the very end.
Though unlike in the original books, the Ernie in this world truly wasn't very tall, but he wasn't chubby either. In fact, he actually looked rather good.
So sometimes Esther wasn't quite sure whether she had transmigrated into the canonical HP world or into some kind of fanfiction.
If she really had ended up in a Mary Sue story or one of those deranged crack-pairing fanfics, then she would much rather the entire world be destroyed on the spot!!!
Fortunately, it seemed that aside from this tiny, ignorable deviation, everything else matched her memories.
Back to Ernie...
Her relationship with this cousin was alright, but not particularly close, because they hadn't grown up together.
In fact, when she was little, Esther had absolutely no idea she even had such a cousin.
Her mother rarely talked about her own family, and Esther wasn't very sure what had happened between them.
But she did know that the Macmillan family was one of the twenty-eight Sacred Pure-blood Families, while her father was a Muggle-born wizard, so she guessed that their romance must have gone through quite a few twists and turns back then.
After letting her imagination run wild for a while, she finally pulled out a copy of A History of Magic and began reading again.
She had to study hard! She couldn't waste this whole transmigration experience!!!
An hour later.
Esther had peacefully fallen asleep, her head resting on the desk.
---
The next morning, Esther woke up early.
After a quick wash and comb, she changed into a beige dress and hurried downstairs in high spirits.
In the dining room, she was the last to arrive, as usual.
Her parents were already seated at the table, enjoying breakfast.
"Good morning, Mum! Good morning, Dad!"
"See, darling? I told you there's no need to call her—she'll come down on her own," David said, looking rather pleased as he glanced at his wife.
Letitia gave her husband an amused look and reached out to pour a glass of milk for Esther.
"Yes, you're always very clever," she said, praising her daughter in a half-hearted way.
Esther frowned and cut a piece of the fried egg. "Are you two betting on me? And you still haven't even said good morning to me!"
Letitia smiled, stood up, and kissed her forehead. "Good morning, my darling."
Finally, Esther's spirits lifted.
As for her slightly tsundere dad?
She didn't expect any comforting kiss from him.
After breakfast, the whole family set off for Diagon Alley.
Just as described in the books, they entered from the Leaky Cauldron, walked past the bar, and came to a small courtyard surrounded on all four sides by walls.
From the outside, it looked like nothing more than some trash cans and a few weeds, but the bricks on the trash bin hid the entrance to Diagon Alley.
Count three bricks up from the top of the trash can, then two horizontally, and tap lightly three times with a wand—the brick would shake and reveal a small hole, which would then expand into an archway leading into Diagon Alley.
Everything was just as magical as she remembered.
Except for the Leaky Cauldron itself, which was indeed shabby, since its current owner, Tom, was hardly the tidiest of people.
Thinking of Harry spending most of his third summer here, she couldn't help but feel a burst of admiration.
No wonder someone capable of great things could adapt so quickly.
Once Hannah Abbott took over the Cauldron, it would probably be much better—but that would have to wait until after the final events of the story.
Lost in her own thoughts, Esther instinctively held her mother's hand a little tighter.
The winding cobblestone streets, the quirky shops, the bustling crowds—perhaps because school was about to start, many adults were strolling around with their children. Because of the crowds, the shops felt very cramped.
"There are so many people," Esther said, a little surprised.
Being so young and surrounded by so many adults, she mostly just saw people's backs and couldn't see much else.
It was a little discouraging, to be honest.
"Yes, quite a crowd. After all, if you think about it, this is the only wizard shopping street in England," David said with a wry tone.
He was a Muggle-born wizard. While he loved magic, he also found the wizards' stubborn pride annoying. As for the Dark Lord, who once wanted to restore pure-blood supremacy? David didn't even bother considering him seriously.
What century is it, and people are still obsessed with bloodlines? If you're not going to fail, who else will?
Letitia gently linked arms with David, speaking softly to comfort him. "Alright, darling, stop complaining. I've made plans to meet my brother's family...they should be at Florean Fortescue's ice cream parlor. Let's go."
Esther looked up at her mother. "Is Ernie coming too?"
Her mother reached out and gently patted her hair. "Yes, sweetheart. Ernie is going to shop with you today."
Esther was genuinely delighted.
She had already decided that she would stick close to this cousin of hers and become the kind of side character who was familiar to the audience, had only a small amount of screen time, and yet survived all the way to the very end—a true expert-level supporting character.
As for dating any of those popular main characters?
Forget it, forget it. She did not even dare to think about it.
Survival was what mattered most.
***
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