"Let's try to survive, shall we?" Alexandra whispered. She once again modified her appearance to the common brown hair and blue eyes she had adopted hours ago to enter the magical world, and then she climbed down the stairs of Gringotts, eager to discover the mysteries of Diagon Alley.
Now that she had money, Alexandra figured she could at last search her school supplies and the rest of the magical objects she needed before September 1. First thing up on her list were logically an owl and a trunk, considering the Dursleys refused to get her the later. An owl was her priority for three reasons. First, while she had no friends to send messages to for now, she also had absolutely no means to reply when someone sent her an important message requesting an answer as soon as possible. Messages coming from places like Gringotts or Hogwarts, for example. Secondly, buying an owl in the short term would certainly be costly for her budget, but would avoid a lot of spending in the long term. If she had to use the owl office at the end of Diagon Alley every time she wanted to communicate with someone in the magical world, it would add up. Lastly, her aunt absolutely hated all sorts of animals at home, even the dogs Vernon's sister Marge brought with her when she came. Making an owl come into the Dursleys home would be a superb prank, even if Aunt Petunia was allergic to the birds, a cat would have been better from that point of view.
Entering Eeylops Owl Emporium, Alexandra noticed that the store was very dark on the inside, almost certainly because owls were nocturnal creatures contrary to humans. Alexandra's vision took roughly a minute to completely adjust. When she had adapted sufficiently, she was able to see the shop was simply a warehouse for a lot of cages, all containing owls of different kinds and sizes. There were a few birds vaguely looking like hybrids of owls, but apart from these special cases, the shop was truly the kingdom of the caged owl.
"Can I help you, Miss?"
Alexandra nodded to the vendor. She almost didn't hear him with all the hooting and screeching from the dozens of owls.
"Possibly," Alexandra replied. "I'm looking for... a courier owl, fast and tough enough to carry messages and packages."
"No problem." The man smiled, then began to march along the alley formed by the numerous cages, followed by Alexandra."Eeylops has plenty of those." He laughed loudly. "We have plenty of owls of all sorts, even some foreign breeds, if you like."
They passed by many owls, all of them hooting as they twisted their heads this way and that. Alexandra was surprised when some owls revealed themselves able to twist their own head a full 180 degrees. Still, no owl for the moment had attracted her attention.
They had finally reached the far end of the shop when she was attracted by the sight of a snowy white owl with amber eyes. She was looking at her with intelligence. Alexandra smiled, knowing she had found her owl at last.
"This one." she said.
"Be careful with this one!" said the shop keeper in an alarmed tone. "She has already tried to bite several customers in the last weeks. This bird is a white demon!"
"Thank you for the warning but I will take her." Alexandra said. "How much for her?"
"Thirty Galleons. That includes both the cage and owl treats."
"I won't need the cage," Alexandra said, her voice almost cold, at the involuntary reminder of the years she had been imprisoned in the cupboard by the Dursleys. She would be damned before she subjected an animal to the same cruelty.
The vendor looked a bit worried at the idea of selling an aggressive bird to a young girl, but he didn't argue. "Very well, then it will be twenty Galleons for the owl."
Alexandra paid the man, and then opened the cage. The owl flew out without needing any incentive and then landed on her right shoulder. The owl then refused to move further, making the vendor laugh.
She left the shop, which had been too dark and noisy for her taste, with her new companion on her shoulder, and then proceeded to search for something to eat.
At Fortescue Ice-Cream Parlour, she bought a sandwich, a tart, an apple juice, an ice cream and water, filling her stomach which had been drastically emptied by the cart ride in the depths of Gringotts. She also had the arduous task of naming her owl. Initially, she had been willing to name the owl Athena, but the owl screeched threateningly when she had made the mistake to call her by that name. After an intense period of negotiation, which included owl treats and pieces of sandwich, they finally settled for Atalanta. Alexandra thought it was a good name for her owl, as she had a huntress' temperament. Once her meal was over, she gave her reply letter for Hogwarts to the newly named owl, who flew off into the northern sky northwards after eating one more owl treat.
Her next stop after lunch was the shop Magical Trunks to Travel Anywhere!, as she really needed something to carry her supplies. After Eeylops, it was not a surprise to discover the shop was huge and full of trunks. Some of them were even moving or levitating by themselves. The shop owner was sitting near a desk at the far end of the shop, negotiating with a client who seemed to have needed a customised trunk as he departed with one in tow which was growling and barking at the same time.
"Can I help you miss?" asked the man.
"Yes, I was wondering if I could get a trunk for Hogwarts," she answered, looking at all the trunks present with interest.