Arthur should have known better than to tempt fate.
It had the habit of making fools of anyone who dared challenge it.
Arthur knew that now, he knew it dearly as he watched his mother deliberately take slow sips of his favorite mango juice.
He looked at his bowl of soggy cereal and felt a primal form of sadness envelop him.
As he was sulking, and making sure Helen saw the act, he heard a knock at the door.
Hurriedly putting his spoon down he sprang to open the door.
He didn’t want to stay drooling at the breakfast table.
The moment he opened the door and saw who was outside, he couldn’t help but mutter, “When did hats come back?”
…
The person at the door turned out to be Minerva McGonagall, as in the deputy headmistress of Hogwarts.
Arthur went white when she introduced herself and explained that apparently hats were always in fashion in the wizarding world.
He had noticed his brain being in the absolute dumps since he got the letter.
That was the only reason he stayed silent and shook his head no when the professor asked him if he had any questions after she explained the concept of a magical society to his parents.
She explained about magical children and gave a general idea about what the school functioned.
When Helen and John still looked skeptical after the explanation Professor McGonagall stood up and said, “How about a demonstration?”
After Arthur rapidly nodded yes to the question, McGonagall took out a wand from somewhere on her person and waved it around.
As the Smith’s watched in anticipation she tapped the sofa she was previously sitting in.
To their astonishment the sofa transformed into a large and fat pig.
The shock Arthur felt when he saw something dead come alive was only slightly diminished when the pig started to snort and start to smell the surroundings.
Watching the plump pig start to observe its surroundings he wondered how it would taste.
He snapped out trying a way to ask that question when McGonagall twirled her wand causing the pig to turn back into the sofa.
The Professor put away her wand and addressed Arthur specifically, “My purpose here today is twofold: first, to prove the authenticity of the magic school and persuade the guardians to allow their child to attend; and second, to take the student to buy school supplies if the need arises.”
The mention of how an obscurus formed and what it did was pretty much all that needed to be mentioned to persuade the Smiths’ on the necessity of a magical education.
The school supplies on the other hand was something to consider.
“What kind of need?” Arthur asked for clarification.
“Busy parents.” said Minerva.
After a pause she continued, “Some need further persuasion.”
Arthur assumed it was something akin to ‘coming out’ and didn’t push the topic.
He could understand horrible parenting, anyone could.
“We’re not busy.” John said patting Arthurs’ head.
The professor pursed her lips at that and looked at Arthur.
Arthur assumed that she wanted his confirmation, which was the quality he would look for in a good child protective services agent.
Arthur had a million questions to ask.
He wanted to know all about the wizarding world, about magic and about the school.
He wanted so much to just go with her but he stopped himself.
Feeling his mother holding his hand in a tight grip he looked the professor right in the eyes and said, “I’ll go with my family.”
Professor McGonagall left shortly after the conversation about giving them general directions to ‘The Diagon Alley’ and where to board the train for school.
After that the house was a rush of preparation for the upcoming trip.
They all got dressed as quickly as possible and set out to find the magical world.
…
Their search soon led them into a dirty and small pub called ‘The Leaky Cauldron’.
Looking at the establishment didn’t exactly fill Arthur with any form of confidence.
It looked like places his mother would warn him about.
However, the fact he was the only one of the three that noticed the place was a point in its favor.
His parents apparently found nothing even when he specifically pointed at the place.
For all Arthur knew, maybe looking dirty was also in fashion.
Arthur held his parents hand and led them into the pub.
After entering John and Helen didn’t seem to have any problem observing this place.
Perhaps because it was so early, the pub was nearly empty.
They had left right after breakfast.
A hunchbacked man wiping tables greeted them, “Good morning, I’m Tom. What can I do for you?”
Tom glanced at the dressed up family of three, focusing particularly on Arthur, who was looking around the entire place, and knowingly asked, “New student? Muggles?”
“Good morning, Tom. I’m John Smith. This is my wife Helen and my son Arthur.” said John taking the lead.
“We’ve brought our son to buy what he needs for his enrollment.”
“What’s a muggle?” Helen asked right after.
“A muggle is a person who has no magical powers.” Tom said as he signaled them to follow.
The group crossed the pub and walked to the small courtyard at the back.
Tom stood beside a dumpster, took out his wand, and pointed, “Remember this place. To enter Diagon Alley, you need to go through here. Three bricks from the top, two bricks from the bottom…”
He tapped his wand three times on a brick wall.
All the bricks on the wall moved, as if an invisible hand was adjusting their shape.
Watching it reminded Arthur of a Rubik’s cube being solved.
In the blink of an eye, a wide archway appeared on the wall, and the beauty of the wizarding street presented itself.
The Smith family was stunned speechless at the sight.
Before them lay a winding street, lined with shops selling all sorts of strange and wonderful things.
People in wizarding robes came and went, haggling, children pulling at their parents, chasing and playing, creating a lively and bustling atmosphere.
Maybe it was because of their time of arrival the place was not as crowded as it could have been, Arthur could tell because the pub was still empty.
Magical or Not, this was London.
After Tom pointed them towards Gringotts he went back to tending the pub.
John led the way through numerous shops to Gringotts.
Since he had already prepared the money for exchange; he pulled out a large amount of pounds and walked up to the counter.
Professor McGonagall had reminded them that the amount of Muggle banknotes that could be exchanged at Gringotts was limited, but there were no restrictions on metal coins, gold, or jewelry.
Behind the counter was a short, human-like creatures with a pointed beard, and exceptionally long fingers.
Tom had explained that goblins were responsible for running the bank so they were able to put a face to the name.
While John negotiated the exchange of currency, Helen took Arthur to the door of the bank to look at the different magical shops in the alley.
John joined them shortly looking very pleased with himself.
Arthur looked back at the counter to find the goblin also laughing to itself.
He almost got his words out when his mother pinched the back of his neck and stopped him.
John, happy with his bargaining skills led the way to the shops.
They bought the required school uniforms, textbooks, scales, a cauldron without any problems.
They also bought an owl as a pet.
The owl was apparently very necessary to send letters, being the primary means of communication in the magical world.
Respecting the local customs, Arthur picked a brown barn owl, he liked it because it had white markings around its beak that looked like drool.
It looked stupid and was absolutely adorable.
The final and most important thing to buy was undoubtedly a wand.
They quickly found the wand shop.
It was small, shabby and had the words ‘Ollivanders : Makers of fine wands since 382 BC’ out front.
The shop was much better once you went in.
Although it still looked old and the items were cluttered, it looked more like everything had a specific history that led them there.
With a crashing sound a man with gray hair and beard appeared behind the counter.
“Good afternoon everyone.” the mysterious man said, “I’m the owner of the shop, Garrick Ollivander. I assume you’re here for a wand.”
“Yes.” Arthur replied quickly stepping forward towards the counter.
His parents followed right behind him.
“Alright, young wizard.” Ollivander said as he stepped out from behind the counter, “Can you tell me your name?”
“Arthur Smith.” Arthur replied earnestly trying to make a good impression, in the hopes that it would get him a good wand.
“Smith…” Ollivander paused slightly, “And they are…”
“My parents ,John and Helen Smith.” Arthur said.
“Oh, of course…” Ollivander said addressing Arthur, “Now Mr. Smith, Which hand would you like to hold your wand with?”
Finally getting towards the highlight of the day Arthur proactively said, “Mr. Ollivander, I’m right-handed.”
He then stretched out his arms straight as instructed.
Ollivander took out a silver-marked tape which sprung into action and measures his height and arm span.
Done with the measurements Ollivander started muttering and went towards the wall filled with various boxes and quickly pulled a box from the middle, opened it, and pushed it in front of Arthur.
“Try this!” Ollivander said loudly, seeing Arthur hadn’t moved.
Arthur was looking at the wand with a stunned expression.
“Huh? Oh, okay.” Arthur snapped out of his daze and carefully picked up the wand from the box.
It was yellowish-brown, with a smooth surface, a wind like circular pattern clearly visible along its length and the necessary handle.
It looked properly magical.
Arthur held the wand gently, but before he could do anything, a burst of honey smell erupted from the wand, instantly filling the entire room.
The previously dark and gloomy shop became much brighter, as if a feast was right around the corner.
“Good, excellent.” Ollivander seemed very pleased and explained, “Twelve inches, walnut wood, Dragon Heartstring, I must say, it’s a truly magical combination.”
“A magical combination?” Arthur was somewhat puzzled.
“Yes, magical.” Ollivander gazed at the Smiths’ and patiently explained, “Walnut woods are not usually used for magical purposes around here. However, to the Hindus walnuts represent wisdom, intellect, and inner resilience. Dragon Heartstring on the other hand produces a wand with powerful and fast spellcasting, favoring strong-willed users, though they change allegiance easily. The combination of these features make the wand choose wise wizards with strong inner resilience.”
While Arthur was not usually fooled by old men acting mysterious, this particular old man was charming in all the right ways.
Arthur was very satisfied with the wand mostly because it could clearly see how good he was.
Not satisfied with how vague the explanation was Arthur got ready to ask deeper questions, because he had heard that was how fortune tellers operated.
Before he could get a word out, Helen grabbed his shirt collar and dragged him behind her and put her hand over his mouth.
“How much?” John asked quickly catching on when Arthur started to struggle.
Ollivander’s smile widened considerably, “Seven Galleons. ”
“Alright.” John said not bargaining, took out the seven galleons and placed them on the counter.
Helen and John had to physically drag Arthur out of the store to keep him from causing trouble.