On Wednesday morning, Kate was up early, munching on a sandwich while reading over the list of books second-year students at Hogwarts would need to purchase.
As expected, aside from The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 2), the rest were all by Gilderoy Lockhart.
She strongly suspected the man had built his bestselling reputation entirely off outrageously priced single volumes and the systematic exploitation of unfortunate students.
Fortunately, as a centuries-old family with a deep love of books, the Shafiq family had invested a considerable share in Flourish and Blotts from its very founding — precisely so they could get their hands on rare and precious volumes straight from the supply chain.
But with the Shafiq family's current decline, Kate, as its last descendant, had no choice but to keep a low profile and go buy the books herself.
Still, as a shareholder, a thirty-percent discount was no trouble at all.
Kate wasn't short on money herself, but she thought — the Weasley family probably was.
"Grandpa Rand, I'm done eating — I'm heading out now with Jingjing!" she called out loudly, and Jingjing promptly appeared before her.
"You've packed enough Gold Galleons, haven't you, Jingjing?" she asked, rummaging through her coin purse.
"All packed, Little Master — we can set off any time!" Jingjing answered with barely contained excitement.
It was rare for Jingjing to go out with Kate. This was an honour none of the other house-elves at home could claim.
Kate felt the coin purse bulging satisfactorily with Galleons and, reassured, reached out and rested her hand on Jingjing's shoulder. In the next instant, the scene before her shifted abruptly.
The sudden contact with bright light made her instinctively squeeze her eyes shut. Only once she had adjusted to her new surroundings did she slowly open them again.
Shops lined every side of her. She hadn't arrived especially early, and there were already quite a few wizards strolling up and down the street.
"This is..." Kate glanced around, and realised she was standing at the junction where Diagon Alley met Knockturn Alley.
She had sneaked into that place several times before — it had left rather a strong impression.
She turned to look for Jingjing, but the house-elf had already vanished from sight — not far away, surely, just hiding somewhere in the shadows and trailing her discreetly.
"Hey, young wizard over there," said a man passing by — his hair as white and fluffy as candy floss, his little daughter in tow — calling out in warning, "that is not a place for children!"
Kate scratched her cheek. She didn't mention that she had already slipped into Knockturn Alley several times on her own to browse for things. She obediently stepped away. "Thanks for the heads-up."
Her gaze drifted away from the perfectly ordinary-looking man — and landed squarely on the small, golden-haired girl standing behind him, nearly a full head shorter than herself.
The girl was looking her over in return with a pair of lovely silver eyes.
The girl had tucked a freshly bought wand behind her left ear. Her small earlobes carried rather substantial carrot-shaped earrings, and around her neck hung a necklace strung from Butterbeer cork stoppers.
The wizarding world had no shortage of adorable little girls. Had it not been for this particular child's rather charmingly chaotic ensemble, Kate might not have recognised her at all.
"Do you like it?" the girl spoke first, her voice light as a feather, drifting over as if from some great distance.
Kate blinked, then realised the girl was referring to the Butterbeer cork necklace on her chest.
She smiled warmly. "It's very special."
Just like its owner.
"I'm Kate Shafiq," she said, offering the girl her hand. "And you?"
The girl's eyes curved into a smile. She reached out and gave her hand a gentle shake. "Luna Lovegood."
"You're a Shafiq?" Luna's father, Xenophilius Lovegood, looked at her with some surprise, studying her a moment longer.
In the British wizarding world, there were very few people who wouldn't know the Shafiq family — much like Harry's name, which was known to everyone here. The last descendant of the Shafiq family, however, was considerably less famous.
Part of that was down to Kate and the old butler having kept to themselves for ten years; part of it was the low profile she had maintained since entering Hogwarts.
"A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Lovegood." Kate greeted him politely, then turned her attention back to Luna.
Compared to the charmingly dishevelled middle-aged man, the charmingly dishevelled adorable little girl was considerably more pleasant to look at.
"You look quite tired," Luna said, tilting her head slightly. Her lovely silver eyes seemed vacant and yet, somehow, as though they could see everything with perfect clarity.
Kate blinked, then quickly produced a smile. "Probably just didn't sleep well last night."
"Were you bothered by Wrackspurts as well?" Luna looked at her with sympathy.
"Perhaps," Kate said, neither confirming nor denying, keeping her answer vague. "If what you're describing can fly into someone's head, that is."
Luna gave a bright, airy laugh. "You're not wrong — Wrackspurts are invisible. They drift into your ears and muddle your brain."
"Ah. Then it seems my brain could do with a good de-worming." Kate shrugged, and the two of them shared a smile.
Perhaps it was rare for him to see his daughter chatting so happily with another child — Xenophilius, too, warmed noticeably. "Is Miss Shafiq currently studying at Hogwarts?"
"Yes — once term starts, I'll be going into second year." Kate answered readily, then glanced up at the sun overhead. "I've arranged to meet a classmate at the bookshop, actually — I might be running late now."
Luna blinked. "Then we'll meet again at Hogwarts, Senior Shafiq."
"Just call me Kate, little junior." Kate grinned, gave them both a nod, and turned to dash off in the direction of Flourish and Blotts.
Father and daughter watched her go. Xenophilius was just about to take Luna off to finish the rest of their shopping, when he noticed Luna had stopped in the middle of the path, gazing thoughtfully in the direction of Knockturn Alley.
"What is it?"
"I think someone was watching us just now." Luna's ethereal gaze drifted pensively toward the depths of Knockturn Alley.
Xenophilius peered over curiously, but saw nothing.
"Now," Luna said, after a pause, slowly moving her eyes back to her father, "that person has left."
He shrugged. "Right then. Let's carry on with the shopping."
With that, he took his daughter's hand and ambled away.
And at that very moment, deep inside Knockturn Alley.
Lucius — who had been forced to sell most of the family's dark artefacts to keep the Ministry of Magic's dark object raids at bay — slowly emerged from Borgin and Burkes.
The moment he stepped out, he saw his daughter crouched in the shadow of the alley, peering furtively outward.
"Draco," he said, turning his head slightly, "what are you looking at?"
Caught out, Malfoy straightened up with a jolt. "N-nothing!"
Lucius gave a slight nod, paying no mind to her stammer. "Come. Didn't you say you wanted to buy a new racing broomstick?"
"Yes, Father." Malfoy made a concerted effort to push aside the image that had just burned itself into her mind — Kate, laughing and chatting away with some unfamiliar girl — and followed her father onward.
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