Once the orange flash died down, Ariana found herself in a familiar, bright, bustling and busy street.
She immediately recognised it as the famous Diagon Alley. It had all the same shops, with the same people dressed in strange robes. Turning to the left she caught her reflection on large display window.
Staring back was a tall for her age, pretty, 11 year old with red hair and green eyes. It was clear that she had won the genetic lottery.
Ariana gasped at her appearance, the change of going from a large young man to...this, was all too surreal. 'If not slightly disturbing' a small voice in the back of her mind whispered.
Standing there and taking in all the impossible sights took about 10 minutes of her time before she decided to get down to business.
Ariana wore a larger red jumper with blue jeans. She felt like gagging at the 2003 fashion sense, but remembered it was 1991 and she was a broke orphan. Long before her time.
Taking off the backpack she had on, Ariana huddled in a street corner between two shops both selling brooms, and rummaged through her things. She found a large sack of coins McGonagall left her for shopping, and some papers.
Skimming through them she realised they were documents her 'parents' had left her, proving she was in fact Ariana Rosier, the daughter of Evan Rosier and an unnamed pureblood, not just Ariana Rose.
She had asked for this due to one reason. In the movies it had been shown that Umbridge demanded 'proof' of people's pure blood status. Whether or not there was a spell for it was unknown to her, but it was clear this would come in handy.
Inside also held her vault number, vault key and the location of the Rosier manor, along with a letter explaining that the papers had a simple spell placed on them to escape muggle detection.
"Let's get to work" she muttered.
Turning on her heel Ariana made her way to the tall white building that towered over everything else. Gringotts Bank.
...
Entering the imposing bank Ariana couldn't help but shudder and desperately tried to avoid eye contact with the hideous goblins. 'The movie really didn't do them justice.'
Walking forward she swiftly arrived at the famous goblin Harry and Hagrid had once spoken to. "I would like to enter my vault" she spoke with false, but hopefully convincing bravado.
After a second the goblin slowly raised his head and dully gazed at the little girl. "Name?" He asked drily.
"Ariana Rose" she replied
"Vault number and key?"
Reaching into her pocket she pulled out a small key with a rose on it and handed to the goblin, "Vault 420"
The goblins eye twitched slightly, showing no other reaction towards the key or the vault number. Although he had already guessed her identity.
"Well Miss... Rose. I'm sure your account manager will be wanting to speak with you, follow me." Not waiting for response he stepped down from off his platform and made his way.
Without wasting anytime Ariana nervously trailed after him, curious as to who this supposed account manager was.
They passed by many rooms before arriving at their destination. In a large room with multiple bookshelves and a single desk with three chairs. On one side was a goblin wearing a tiny suit.
The two creatures began to converse with each other in a foreign language. All Ariana was able to catch was 'Ariana Rose' and 'Rosier'.
The first goblin exited leaving only them two. "Good morning Miss Rose, I am Gurluk, the account manager for all Rosier vaults. I have been anticipating your arrival for quite some time." He said expectantly.
Noticing his clients inquiring expression he smiled an ugly smile, showing off he rotting teeth. "Your father informed me about you years ago along with proof of your existence. This was necessary if he did not desire for the bank to seize all his assets after his death. We have been patiently waiting for your return."
Hearing this Ariana thought it made some measure of sense and decided not to got into too much detail about her parents. "So, what's next?" She asked.
Reaching into his draw he pulled out a stack of papers, "First, would you rather remain as Ariana Rose? Or take your families name, becoming Ariana Rosier?." He questioned. Ariana refused without hesitation, choosing to keep the surname Rose. Staying as muggle as possible was the point after all.
"Secondly you must..."
They spent the next two hours going through everything that was 'need to know'. She gained access to a large amount of money left behind by her parents as well as the Rosier Manor in London.
She had also been informed of her visiting rights to see Bellatrix Lestrange in Azkaban. Although the dark witch wasn't a Rosier, her deceased mother, Druella Black née Rosier, was. Making Bellatrix and Narcissa Malfoy the closest living blood relations she had.
Which honestly didn't mean much considering the amount of incest that took place in this world.
After sorting through everything she took a large pouch of money, put it in her bag and left the bank to continue shopping.
...
Ariana's first stop was obviously Ollivanders. In spite of the difficult situation she refused to let anything get in the way of actually being able to do magic. No longer distracted by stressful thoughts of her mission she could enjoy the moment a little.
Asking around for directions it wasn't long till she arrived outside the small wand shop. Stepping inside, Ariana saw a small figure wearing oversized clothes. He looked eerily familiar from behind, however it wasn't until the figure turned his head to the right that she caught a glimpse of his face.
"Holy shit, It's Harry Potter" she whispered quietly, her mind going at a mile a minute.
She could hear Ollivander telling Harry about the time his mother and father came in to get their wands, although she couldn't see him through the stack of shelves. Calming her breathes, Ariana came to decision.
Walking up behind Harry she tapped him on the shoulder, "Er-hello? Have I seen you before?" She asked quietly.
Harry's head snapped in her direction, his eyes widening at the familiar face, "I..I know you. I've seen around my neighbourhood. Wait! Are you a wizard as well?" He questioned in astonishment. The last person he expected to see here was the girl from Surrey.
Ariana smiled brightly, "Well a witch actually, although there's not much of a difference. I only just found out a while ago when I got the letter and a Hogwarts professor visited me, it was all so exciting. And it seems you're in the same boat. What are the chances, huh? My names Ariana Rose." She stuck her arm out for a handshake.
Harry hesitated for a split second before returning the gesture. He was visibly nervous. This could be considered his first time speaking to a pretty girl, especially one he had to literally look up to.
Harry was already short for his age, not to mention Ariana who was rather tall for her age.
"I think this wi...Oh! And who is your friend Mr Potter? A customer?" Ollivander had returned with a small rectangular box in hand, staring curiously at the duo, mystified by resemblance between young girl and the late Lily Potter.
It was as if James and Lily were in his shop once again shaking hands.
Hearing the famous wand maker the first years broke eye contact and swivelled around. Ariana smiled politely and stepped forward, "A pleasure to meet you sir, I'm here to get my first wand for Hogwarts. I've only just found out about magic and was told this was the best place to go for a wand."
Ollivander examined the girl in front of him for a moment before telling her to wait until Harry was done, since he came first.
Ariana sat in the corner seat and watched Harry go through multiple wands until he found the one that suited him best. Garrick Ollivander gave the creepy 'curious' speech and Hagrid soon arrived with Hedwig in hand. Saying goodbye to Harry she promised to find him on the train.
This left only herself and Ollivander, "Now then, let's get you sorted shall we? Your name Miss?" He asked inquisitively.
"Ariana Rose...Can we get this done quickly? My friends are waiting for me." She coughed, not wanting to be here for long.
He swiftly handed her a wand, and thus began her trial and error of breaking nice things.
It was the fifth wand that didn't damage anything. Unlike the others Ariana actually felt something when she touched the weapon. Previously it had been like waving around any old stick and making things go bang, but now...it felt real. This euphoric feeling is what she truly anticipated and hoped for when she thought of magic.
"Ah yes, it seems a wand has finally chosen you. It's 12 inches, Yew and Dragon Heartstring. A strong wand for combat, as most sharing its core tend to be." Ollivander informed monotonously.
Not wanting to stay with the creepy shop owner any longer Ariana quickly asked the price, paid him using her school funds, and proceeded to lose her way in the bustling streets.
Her next destination was Madam Malkins. Quite some time was spent browsing, wanting to understand Wizarding 'fashion'. She bought her Hogwarts Uniform along with an outfit that looked extremely similar.
The only difference being it wasn't the school's uniform. It had a similar black robe, white shirt, black tie, black skirt and black leggings. She used the dressing room to change into it.
It was getting late so Ariana tried to be quick and rushed to get her books, owl and other supplies. She didn't make it a big deal like most would and just got a large grey owl for cheap. Not like she had anybody to write to.
Looking around the bookstores for anything pertaining to the 'dark arts' she came up empty handed. She hadn't initially planned to, but after being informed of the talent she held towards the subject, it was must.
As expected, nothing was found, and she wasn't willing to risk going to Knockturn Alley. Her best bet was the restricted section at Hogwarts. Besides she hadn't even learned basic magic and wasn't in a rush to get into mean stuff. Lastly she got a small cauldron and telescope.