----------------------------------------

OOOOO

A Day Out

OOOOO

----------------------------------------

"You were serious about taking those everywhere, huh?" I stepped down the stairs out of the house and turned back to my sister. She was clad in the Hufflepuff winter gear I'd gifted her a little over a week ago.

Sadie locked the door and slipped the keys into her pocket. She smiled and snuggled into the scarf. "I was. It's just about cold enough to wear these too."

I smiled as I opened the creaking gate to the house and walked out onto the pavement. Our house was a little ways off the main road, thankfully, so it wasn't noisy at night. Dozens of identical houses to ours ran across both sides of the road and I busied myself with counting all of them until we reached the end of the street.

"Are we going into London by regular transport, then?" I asked Sadie.

She sniffled a little. "We are. It's why we're up so early. I know it's the weekend, but it'll still take about an hour or so to get to Charing Cross Road. The pub's at Charing Cross Road, right?"

I nodded. "We could probably take the 176 and get off at…" I racked my brains in an attempt to remember the stop and gave up when I couldn't.

"Cambridge Circus." Sadie supplied.

I threw her a questioning glance.

"I was working at a courthouse in Blackfriars, a month ago," Sadie explained. "So I'm pretty familiar with the area."

Made sense. I shrugged and put one foot in front of the other until we had reached the main road. I stood still for a few moments as I looked around for the bus stop. "Over there, Sadie."

She broke out into a brisk walk. "I think that might be the bus on its way too."

I cursed and began to jog. Countless dreary cars whizzed past as we stood below the traffic light. A little impatient, I shifted the weight between my feet whilst keeping my eyes trained on the approaching bus. As it drew closer and the numbers on the front cleared, I realised that Sadie was right.

"It's green!" Sadie ran across the road, pulling ahead of the regular pedestrians, and I soon followed.

We continued to tear down the street, just barely getting to the bus stop in time. My previously numb toes were warm by the time I collapsed into one of the seats at the back of the bus. Since it was the morning of an incredibly chilly Saturday, there were only a couple of people on the bus' lower deck. Excluding Sadie, myself, and the driver, there was an old woman sitting at the front of the bus with a toddler on her lap.

"You'd better get comfortable," Sadie sighed as she sat across from me. "We'll be on this bus for a while."

I unzipped my coat but kept it on. "When are Remus' parents expecting us?"

"Somewhere around two o'clock."

"... Isn't it like ten right now?"

Sadie looked away from me. "Yes."

I stared at the side of her face and sighed. "Is this one of your ploys again?"

She whipped her head around and the pom-pom on the top of the Hufflepuff hat jiggled. "If it was one of my ploys, I wouldn't tell you. But no, it isn't. I'd like to ask Lyall and his wife a few things."

I folded my arms over my chest and let out a rumbling yawn. "It's fine. That just means Remus and I get to revise a little, I guess. I also get to practise a few spells for the first time in a week."

Sadie blinked and leaned in. "Why wouldn't you be able to use magic at home like you did during the summer?"

"There's no need to whisper; nobody can hear us anyways. We aren't allowed to practise magic outside of Hogwarts," she was about to interject but I continued. "The Ministry can track underage wizards performing any sort of magic. But I looked into it during my time at school. If you live with an adult wizard, they aren't actually able to discern who used the spell, only that magic was cast in a particular area around an underaged wizard. I reckon it's used to make sure Muggleborns like me don't break the Statute of Secrecy since it's pretty much useless if you live with an adult wizard."

"What's this 'Statute of Secrecy' anyways?"

"You know about the Witch Hunts, right?"

She nodded.

"The Statute of Secrecy is a law that wizards created to protect themselves from non-magical people as a result of them. It's a little complicated, but I'll make it simple: wizards can't perform magic near non-magicals for fear of breaking that law. Because if they do, it'll reveal the magical world to everyone."

Sadie nodded and leaned back. "That… makes sense."

"Why wouldn't it?" I asked.

"From what I've seen so far, wizards teleport everywhere, pay with solid gold, and dress like they're stuck in the mediaeval times. I wasn't exactly expecting common sense to be something at the top of their list when they had magic to compensate for it."

I stared at her, not knowing what to say for a while. "... You know, that does make sense."

OOOO

The door to the Leaky Cauldron swung open. The narrow hallway was half-cast into shadow, but I could make out the hazy figure of the barman approaching us, a cloth in hand.

"It's nice to see you again, Tom," I smiled.

The kind-faced man returned it, if a little guiltily. "I recognise you two, but I seem to have forgotten your names."

"It's fine," Sadie said. "Really. We can't expect you to remember us for months now, can we?"

I offered him my hand. "I'm Cyrus."

He took it gratefully before moving to Sadie and doing the same. Leading us into the pub, which was fairly empty besides a couple people having a late breakfast, he circled behind the bar. "What can I help you with today?"

I turned to Sadie. She fished through her pockets and took out a folded sheet of paper. "It says here that we need to… floo?"

Tom pointed to a small urn on a shelf opposite the fireplace. " I've got some floo powder there. It'll be three knuts per person."

"... I've only got normal money, unfortunately." Sadie said.

"Tom, do you know what the current conversion rate is?" I asked.

The man hummed and rubbed his chin. "I think that a Galleon's about ten pounds."

"Wait, I can convert my money?" Sadie gasped.

"You can," Tom wiped down the counter. "There's a bank called Gringotts in the Alley. Run by Goblins."

Sadie's mouth opened and closed without a sound. "... Goblins?"

Tom laughed. "I'll never get tired of seeing that! They're the sole bank in the country for wizards." he opened the latch, giving us entry to the counter before he locked it with a lazy wave of his wand. "With me then."

We left the bar through a door just beyond the counter. Cold drafts of air howled and swept about as we trailed down a creaking set of stairs and the barman led us out into a walled courtyard. Exposed to the lovely London winter once more, I shuddered and zipped up my coat. The crunch of gravel was all the sound that followed until we neared the brick wall.

"I'll head back in." Tom bowed his head. His cheeks were already flushing a little.

I smiled kindly at him. "You do that. I can't imagine you're having the best time out here."

"Thank you." Sadie called after him.

With a final nod, he told us the directions to the bank and sped back into the pub, closing the aged wooden door behind him. Flakes of snow drifted down from the grey clouds above, melting upon making contact with the earth.

"Alright." my breath warmed the air in front of me. "What was the combination again… three up, two across?"

The bricks shuddered before rotating outwards. Dust and little bits of brick fell from the forming archway. The small gap widened until we could see clearly into the snowy wizarding district. As expected, the Alley was relatively empty, especially in comparison to when I last visited.

I stepped through the archway. "Shall we?"

I only continued to walk again once I heard the click of Sadie's heeled shoes behind me. The sun shone down on the Alley, deceptively bright but lacking any warmth. I sniffled once more, my nose numb, and peered around at all the stores. None seemed to be as vibrant as they were when I last came, but I guessed that they put on a show during the summer for newly discovered wizards and witches.

An irritated-looking ginger man stalked past us muttering, "A simple Potions set for a Galleon and Fifteen Sickles? They must be trying to hoodwink me. I'll try out Patrice's..."

We walked on for a little longer and I saw a squat, hunch-backed old woman hobble into a gloomy little alleyway. Just as we walked past it, I sneaked in a glance and could swear that I saw a pair of glowing crimson eyes. I blinked once, and they were gone, leaving me to squint into the darkness. "Is that…"

Sadie stopped just ahead of me. "What's wrong?"

I lingered, torn between looking into the alleyway—which was most likely the entrance to Knockturn Alley—and turning to Sadie. Gritting my teeth, I pulled away from it and caught up to her. "Nothing, don't worry. Probably a racoon or something."

She looked at me worriedly but said nothing.

Soon, we neared a gleaming marble building, held up by sturdy pillars. Almost immediately, it stood apart from all the other buildings in the district— and not because it was bigger. Rather all the other buildings near it had a sort of dreary feel to them, and then here was this building that was practically shining amidst the gloomy weather.

A show of wealth if ever I'd seen one.

"'Thief, you have been warned. Beware of finding more than treasure here.'" Sadie murmured and stood up straight. "A bit ominous, isn't it?"

I was just about to answer her when a guttural laugh sounded from behind us.

"I don't deny that," the voice said. It belonged to a scarlet and gold clad figure. His skin was swarthy, beard wispy, and his teeth pointed. This was a goblin, no doubt about it. His dark eyes tinged with amusement. "But it keeps the thieves away so I cannot say that it doesn't work."

Sadie tilted her head. "Fair enough." she cleared her throat. "Would this be Gringotts bank?"

"It would," the goblin said. "I presume that you are here for our services?"

Sadie nodded.

"In that case we welcome you," he bowed once and opened the bronze gates.

If I thought the outside of the bank was a show of wealth, then it paled in comparison to the inside of the bank. Standing in a vast marble hall, I goggled at the shining ornaments hanging overhead. Several goblins sat behind a long counter that spanned the width of the hall, each preoccupied with a task. One wore a monocle and was carefully inspecting a gleaming ruby gem. Another furiously dipped an ornate quill in an inkwell before scribbling away on a flowing roll of parchment. The one sitting closest to me was carefully weighing solid bars of gold whilst the one beside him frantically tapped away at some sort of typewriter.

We weren't the only people in the hall. Several other people were dotted around the large hall. Some were speaking animatedly with the goblins, others huddled nervously, their eyes darting around as if they feared their wealth was being depleted simply by them standing here.

A long-bearded goblin exited one of the tens—possibly hundreds—of doors circling the hall. "How can I help you?"

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

Sadie stepped forward and extended a slightly shaking hand. "Hello there, sir. We'd like to exchange some normal money."

The goblin eyed her hand strangely but eventually clasped it. A small shake and he withdrew his hand. "I'm assuming that by "normal money", you mean muggle money?"

Sadie nodded. He simply beckoned us forward, leading us over to the side of the counter. "The current exchange rate between the Pound Sterling and the Golden Galleon is one Galleon per ten pound. Gringotts charges a small fee of ten pence per exchange. How much would you like to exchange today?"

Sadie looked at me. "How much do we need?"

"Honestly?" I asked her. She nodded. "We don't even need to exchange a pound. But it'd be useful to have some spare change today, I think. How much money have you got on you?"

She looked through her purse. "Thirty-five pounds and seventy-four pence."

"In that case, I'd say do ten pounds."

She walked up to the counter and placed a ten pound note on the table. The goblin slid a single golden coin to her, which Sadie slipped into her bag. A little while later, we returned to the Leaky Cauldron, entering in from the Alley, sneezing and shivering.

"Back already?" Tom called over from the counter.

"Yeah. We've got a single Galleon. Got any change?" I asked him.

"That's about sixteen Sickles as change, give or take." the man replied.

I wordlessly slipped the golden coin into his hand, taking a handful of silver ones in return.

"Know how to use the floo?" he asked.

Sadie removed the paper from her pocket and unfolded it. "It says here to throw the powder into the fireplace, say 'Hopeful Home' and then step into the fire?!"

Tom laughed. "Exactly that. Don't worry, you won't burn. Remember to say the words to your destination clearly as you do, though. Wouldn't want to mess it up and end up on the other side of the world now, would you?"

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Sadie stare at the fireplace dubiously, not budging from where she stood. "I'll go first."

I marched over to the shelf and grabbed a handful of floo powder. Careful not to get any of it on myself, I tossed it into the fire. It hissed softly, darkening into a spooky emerald and I tentatively stepped inside, feeling none of the heat I'd expected. I swallowed, cringing a little at the name of the house. Fearing the consequences of screwing up the jump, I made sure to enunciate my words properly. "Hopeful Home!"

The fire roared, engulfing me. I squeezed my eyes shut, accidentally inhaling a mouthful of ash. After what felt like a moment later, I exited the fireplace, covered in soot and dust. My eyes itched and my lungs burned, but as far as I knew, it seemed to have worked properly.

OOOO

Remus' room was pretty minimalistic as far as preteen rooms were concerned. The only noticeable articles were the dark grey carpeted floor, single bed, large wardrobe, and desk occupying most of the space in the room. The walls were plain, as was the rest of the room for the most part.

With that said, there was a magical calendar just beside the wardrobe and on the wall in front of his desk, a motivational poster. From what I'd seen, it had been charmed to give different messages depending on the time of the day. Currently, it read: 'You've been working so hard! It's the final push now— fifteen more minutes!'

I sat at the foot of the bed, pen in hand as I scanned through the work on my lap. "This is correct, but a little too simplistic. Explain this further. Try not to repeat words that you've already used in quick succession. Sure, accurate knowledge earns you points, but so does a well-written essay."

I handed Remus his notebook back, giving him an encouraging smile as I stretched out my other hand for Lily's work.

"Hold on," the redhead muttered, not looking up. "I'm not done yet."

My arm grew sore as I waited for her to hand me her answers. It slumped back to my side, pulsing in relief. Lily lay on the floor, propping herself up on her arms, lazily kicking her feet in the air as she scribbled away. "Am I ever going to get that sheet of paper?"

"Aaand done!" she shot up and handed me the lined paper. It had been marked in neat cursive, rivalling Remus' own handwriting.

I raised an eyebrow. "How many spelling errors am I going to encounter this time?"

Her cheeks flushed. "That was one time!"

I rolled my eyes. "The exams are only "one time."

She huffed and plopped down onto the carpeted floor, crossing her arms.

About five or so minutes later, I returned her work to her. "All things said, it's a solid essay. I'm not Flitwick or McGonagall but I think that'd be a high exceeds expectations, perhaps borderline outstanding."

She beamed at the praise. "That's great!" she turned to Remus and nudged his shoulder. "I think we'll ace these exams!"

He looked at her, a little amused. "You sure? There's still a lot we haven't covered."

"You do realise that we're only here for about six hours, right?" I interjected. "I don't think we should expect to cover everything we've learnt during the year, much less try to."

Remus turned his chair around to face me. "Then what should we do?"

I smiled. "It's simple, really. We list out the things that we're not so confident in, circle the ones that are common between us all, and then go through those."

Lily rolled her eyes and blew a few strands of hair out of her eyes. "Why do you even keep saying "we", Mr. I-can-take-my-exams-whenever-I-want?"

"Because," I laughed. "Just cause you know something, doesn't mean that you can't forget about it."

She tilted her head, but eventually conceded.

"Anyways," I looked to my right at the last member of the study group. "I think it's about time I check through your essay, Snape."

The dark haired boy stared at me for a moment before wordlessly slipping it into my hands. I roamed over the page, taking a moment to whistle in approval. "If only you could write like this for all your other subjects," I said. "Then I'd really have some trouble for that top spot— at least in terms of theory."

Lily sat up, placing her hands on Snape's knees. She craned her neck to get a better look. "Is that a Potions essay?"

I nodded and passed her the essay. A few minutes later, she looked up and smiled brightly at the boy. His cheeks flushed a little and he looked away.

"Let me see," Remus called from the desk.

Lily passed him the paper and he sat in silence for a few moments after he'd finished reading. "Wow… Cyrus wasn't kidding. This is really well-written, Severus. I'd say it's about as good as Cyrus' essays."

It was hard not to feel a flash of indignation at his remark, be it because of my physical age or the fact that my work was being compared to a child who was seven years younger than me. At the very least, though, I had to concede the fact that it was a well-written essay and that Snape was a talented child.

"I know it's not as simple as it sounds," I began, drawing Snape's attention. "But if you can get this level of detail and analysis in all your essays—maybe with a bit of personal comment in your conclusions—then I might have a real academic rival on my hands, Snape."

The boy gave me one of his rare smiles— and by rare, I meant practically nonexistent. "I'll keep that in mind. And Azar?"

"What is it?"

"My name is Severus."

I smiled at him. "Feel free to call me Cyrus then, Severus."

Lily rolled over onto her back and groaned. "Thank God! You two have been calling each other 'Azar' and 'Snape' for months!"

"It's called etiquette, Lily. And stop being so dramatic. Cyrus and I have been on speaking terms for two weeks," Severus drawled though his eyes shone with amusement. "Though on second thought, I guess you wouldn't have heard of such a thing."

She reared up. "That is not true! I can be polite when I need to."

Remus laughed. "Yeah, for all of ten minutes when meeting someone new."

I watched on in silence, content to just watch them get along. It was mind-boggling to think that in another time and place—one where I didn't exist, I thought morbidly—that these three would have never sat in the same room, much less joke around with each other.

A knock at the door pulled me out of my spiralling thoughts. Remus' mother, Hope, poked her head through it. Her golden locks fell over her face slightly, framing her smooth face. The dimples on her cheeks stretched as she smiled at us.

"It's nice to see you all getting along," Mrs. Lupin said. "But it's time for dinner now."

Remus' face brightened the minute he lay his eyes on her. "Oh, hey mum!"

"Hello dear," she smiled.

"We just got done revising," he puffed out his chest a little and I couldn't help but smile.

He reminded me a lot of my little brother sometimes. From the way that you could tell what mood he was in from his eyes alone, to how he sought out praise from people he looked up to. Though I shook my head to banish the thoughts. Even now, I couldn't help but feel my heart ache every time I thought of my unborn family.

"Good," Mrs. Lupin said. "Go and wash up then. The bathroom's downstairs, just across from the staircase. You guys had better hurry though, the food's getting cold."

I was the first to leave, though the others soon followed. As I descended, the pleasant aroma of freshly cooked food wafted through the house and filled my nose. I made a beeline for the bathroom, rending my wand free from its holster and locking the door after muttering the incantation underneath my breath.

"Oi!" Lily rapped her fist against the door, rattling it slightly.

I grinned as I began to wash my hands.

OOOO

"Hey dad," Remus glanced at him from over the table. "Can we show you some magic in the garden?"

Mr. Evans sat up at that. "Magic? Now that is something I'd like to see more of."

"Me too," Sadie nudged me with her elbow.

"So long as I'm watching, then that's fine. But, give me a minute," he floated the dirty plates and cutlery over to the kitchen. I heard the patter of water against the sink and the clatter of the dishes being washed.

"I never get tired of seeing that," Mrs. Lupin smiled. "Makes life so easy, you know?"

Sadie ruffled my hair. "When will you be able to do that, huh?"

I swatted her hand off my head. "Unless some wizard decides to live with us and our house ends up registered as a wizarding home? When I'm seventeen."

Mrs. Evans frowned. "That doesn't sound very fair. Doesn't that mean all the children with wizards for parents will be ahead of those whose parents are like us?"

Snape furrowed his brow. "Unfortunately."

"It's something that's been getting on my nerves for years, mother," Petunia sighed.

Mrs. Lupin leaned across the table and slid Sadie an aged book. "You asked for this earlier, right?"

"What is it?" I craned my neck to look at the cover. "'A Muggleborn's Guide to Wizarding Britain'?"

"This was a lifesaver when I married Lyall," Mrs. Lupin said.

"Do you perhaps have a copy that we could borrow?" Mrs. Evans asked her.

The blonde shook her head. "Unfortunately I've only got the one."

"But thankfully, you've got me," Mr. Lupin entered the dining room with his wand in hand. He looked at Petunia. "I don't know if you've learnt about this spell yet, though you might when you return to school. It's a variation of the Doubling Charm that's often used by newspaper businesses like the Daily Prophet. Coincidentally, it's also quite useful for paperwork."

I didn't hear what he muttered, but the book in front of me seemed to split right down the middle. Each side pushed outward until two identical copies of the book sat in front of me. Staring at the beaten covers of both books, I was struck by an idea that had me pull out my wand.

"What are you doing?" Sadie asked.

I didn't reply. Instead, I passed my wand over the two books, gathering my will to make them look as new as they possibly could. "Reparo."

As my wand passed over them, the wrinkles on the books' covers faded away, and the slightly worn lettering writhed across until it was a full, inky black once more. I appraised my work with a satisfied smile and slid my wand back into its holster.

"Well-cast, Cyrus. That'd be five points to… Hufflepuff?" Mr. Lupin smiled at his joke. "Talking about spells, I think it's time we make our way to the garden."

The grey sky was even gloomier than when I first arrived at the house. Thankfully it was a little less colder though. The Lupins' garden was deceptively large. From the outside, it seemed to be about the size of your normal garden, but now that I stood inside it, it seemed to be about twice that. Maybe Mr. Lupin had used an extension charm of some sort. His special job at the Ministry might have allowed him the privilege.

Remus wandered into the grass just ahead of me. "What spell would you like us to use?"

The man folded his arms and hummed. "Any of you guys familiar with the Disarming Charm?"

Snape, Petunia, and myself stuck up our hands.

Lily frowned. "But isn't that a second year charm?"

"There's nothing stopping you from learning it," Snape said. "The school library has all the editions of 'The Standard Book of Spells'."

"I guess I can teach you guys the spell then," Mr. Lupin smiled at Remus and Lily. "It's, arguably, one of the most useful spells to have for self-defence purposes."

"Wait, the magical world is dangerous?" Mrs. Evans asked, a little worried.

"If I were to tell you that it was no more dangerous than the muggle world, I'd be lying," Mr. Lupin replied. "And whilst it pains me to admit it, it's better to be equipped to deal with that danger than it is to be caught unawares by it."

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Sadie's gaze on me and gave her what I hoped was a reassuring smile.

"Now," Mr. Lupin clapped his hands. "Wander around the garden and find a stick for yourselves."

"Why?" Petunia asked. "Can't we just practise the charm on our wands?"

"And run the risk of breaking them?" Snape replied.

Once we'd all gathered our sticks, Mr. Lupin had us line up in front of him. The parents crowded around the door leading back into the house, watching on curiously.

"Severus and Cyrus, since you two are already familiar with the spell, I'll call you guys up first," Mr. Lupin said.

I moved onto an open patch of grass in front of the man and stood opposite Severus. "Who's going to be casting first?"

"Severus," the man replied.

I nodded and held out the stick as I would with my wand. "Ready?"

The boy nodded. He spread his feet and traced his wand in the air, whispering, "Expelliarmus."

A bolt of scarlet light, not unlike a tennis ball, leapt towards me. The stick in my hand was sent hurtling to the fence but, by a stroke of luck, it didn't go over.

"Nice," I smiled at him. "Try to control where it lands, though."

"What do you mean?" he tilted his head.

"Watch this," I brought out my wand and waited for him to bring out his twig. Calming myself, I gripped my wand a little tighter and gathered my desire to disarm him. "Expelliarmus."

A slightly smaller but more intense bolt of light darted towards him. The twig was ripped out of his hands, and sent spinning back towards me. I snatched it out of the air and waved it at him. "Like that."

Outside I looked completely calm but I was grinning like a child on the inside. That had taken me weeks to get that down and I still couldn't do it at the drop of a hat. It'd be much simpler to use the spell as Severus had. After all, it was better to be practical than it was fancy— at least until you could do both.

"Well done you two," Mr. Lupin nodded with a small smile. "Next up: Petunia and Lily."

I walked back to Remus with Severus in tow and watched the two girls. I reckoned they'd take a little longer since Mr. Lupin had to teach Lily how to cast the spell before they could do anything.

"D'you think it'll be you and your dad next, Remus?" I asked him.

He shrugged. "Probably."

"Well, good luck with that," I said. "A word of advice, though. Don't try to do what I did— at least not at first. Start off with trying to disarm, and when you can do that ten out of ten times, move on to the fancy stuff."

I stalked through the grass and back to Sadie and the parents. She hooked an arm behind my neck and brought me into a tight hug.

"That was amazing!" she ruffled my hair.

I smiled, even though she'd practically smothered me into her coat. "Thanks Sadie. Now can you please stop suffocating me."

"Oh?" I could her smirk. "Now that you're a big bad wizard you don't like your normal sister anymore, huh?"

I rolled my eyes and stood up straight. "That'll never happen. Besides, if you weren't around, I doubt that I'd survive for very long."

"Glad you know it," she puffed up.

I sat down on the stone steps leading back into the house. Not even my jeans were enough to stop their chill but I gritted my teeth through the cold. I watched as Mr. Lupin held a spindly twig in his right hand, several more clutched in his other one, as Lily sent one after the other across the garden— one of them even landed at my feet.

Stretching my neck, I glanced upwards at the darkening sky. "Hmm… I think it's going to rain."

Mrs. Evans looked upwards. "I think so too."

"You reckon magic could stop it from falling on us?" Mr. Evans asked me.

I looked at a particularly dark cloud thoughtfully. "Huh. I don't know… maybe?"

"Expelliarmus!" I heard Lily cry. The twig smashed against the wall next to my head, snapping. I eyed it warily for a moment.

"Oi!" I cupped my hands over my mouth. Lily stopped mid-cast and turned to me. "Watch out with that. You almost blinded me!"

She smiled apologetically.

"Good grief," Sadie placed a hand on her chest. "That was quite the scare."

Mrs. Lupin laughed. "You're telling me. I've lived with Lyall for over a decade now. At first, I jumped at anything magical that he did."

I turned to her. "Really?"

She nodded. "It takes some getting used to, but I think being around magic more sure does help. It seems less magical and more normal, you know?"

Sadie snorted. "I don't know, no," she held up the book that Mrs. Lupin had given her. "But hopefully this will help with that."

I felt a drop of water slip down my forehead and sighed. "Great. It's started to rain now…"

"We'd better head back inside," Mrs. Evans said.

One by one, we all trailed back into the house, even Lily, who was quite vocal about her displeasure.