Devlin is happily eating candy with Ron telling him what his life is like in the muggle world. He was having a fun time. Even though he grew up in his previous life, he didn't feel awkward talking to young kids. Devlin was no genius, but even he realized that his behavior is a little different from his previous life. It could be due to him being affected by the hormones of a young child. As an adult he was easily entertained, that hasn't changed now, if anything, made him a little more excitable.
"Okay coming from this list, all that's left is the wand and we may bring an owl or cat or toad?" Kate said reading off her requirements list.
Devlin tilted his head curiously. "Are those the only pets allowed into Hogwarts?" He recalled other animals like Ron's rat coming along but wondered why it only mentions these.
"Mm..I don't think so. Percy brings our pet rat Scabbers to school. So, I think others are fine." Ron replies.
"Cats, toads and owls are the most common and good examples of pets that aren't dangerous. As long as the pets aren't dangerous, it'll be fine." Mrs. Sprout said.
"I think you are too young to take care of a pet Kate. Maybe when you're older. For now focus on your studies." Devlin's father gestured.
"Its okay Dad, I feel like I wouldn't be able to take care of it either." Kate agreed.
"Well now, lets head to Ollivanders." Mrs. Sprout changes the subject. "He provides wands for most wizards in town. Come now follow." The Weasley follow along as well as they approach the shop.
Devlin looks at the sign hanging from the door. "Ollivanders..Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C." He is thinking it is a shame he isn't getting his wand this year.
"Looks a little dusty..." Kate said next to Devlin looking at the dusty window with a single wand in display.
"Looks can be deceiving. We can guarantee it's quality. Mr. Ollivander remembers everyone." Mrs. Weasley said.
As they enter the store, a bell sound rang. Devlin thought the place was smaller than he expected. He looked at the far wall seeing thousands of narrow boxes stacked up in the shelves reaching all the way up to the ceiling.
A man approaches the group appearing from the back room. "Well good afternoon, everyone."
"Hello Mr. Ollivander, we're here to find a wand for our Ms. Kate Delwyn right here." Mrs. Sprout gestures to Kate.
"Hmm. Let's see." Mr. Ollivander moved closer to Kate taking a good look. Kate gulped in nervousness scared to move or react intimidated by his approach. "Hold out your dominant arm..yes thats it." He measured Kate's shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knew to armpit and around her head.
"Um, is this really necessary for a wand Mr. Ollivander?" Kate questions feeling weird
Ollivander removes the measuring tape away from her head. "Every Ollivander wand has certain magical substances for its core. What we use here is what I would like to call The Supreme Wand Cores." He walks away from the group and starts searching through the narrow boxes. "One is Unicorn Hair, another is Dragon Heartstring and the final is the Phoenix Feather. Just like how there are no two wizards that are the same, there are no two unicorns or dragons that are exactly the same. The same goes for Ollivander Wands."
"Except for us you mean!" George and Fred as the twins pose in front of Mr. Ollivander playfully.
"Shush you two! My apologies Mr. Ollivander." Mrs. Weasley says.
Devlin laughed along with Ron and Ginny. "They are as playful as how they are written." Devlin thought comparing them to what he read in the novels.
Mr. Ollivander didn't react to them as he takes out a few boxes. "Come here young girl." He says as he dusts off the boxes and places them on the table in front of her. Kate slowly approaches the table. "Aspen and phoenix feather. 7 inches. Slightly springy. Here you go." Kate took the wand and looked at blankly. Mr. Ollivander stared at her for a little while she just looks at it. "Well come now girl. Give it a wave."
Kate flinched a little and then went ahead and waved the wand and looked a bit uncomfortable. After one wave, Mr. Ollivander immediately took it out of her hand. "No no, not that one!" He started browsing through his pile that he brought earlier reading the labels. He held one box up and looked at it with a pause. "Hmmm yes, I have a feeling. Fir and unicorn hair. 10 inches. Solid."
When Kate took the wand, Devlin noticed she all of a sudden relaxed. It was like all her nervousness disappeared. She raised the wand above her head and as she waved it down in motion, glowing star shaped sparks flew out from the end of the wand started floating and dancing around Kate. "Oh yes I thought so! This is your wand that is meant for you. My grandfather would always call your wood the survivor's wand. This was because of the three wizards he sold them to survived through mortal peril unscathed. The core is known to be faithful to its first owner so take care of it well. "
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"Thank you, Mr. Ollivander." Kate said smiling appreciating her wand.
"Nicely done!" Mrs. Sprout said. The group exit out of the store in good moods. Devlin notices a man with red hair with two younger versions of him follow him approaching Mrs. Weasley.
"There you are. Couldn't find you at all." The man said to her gasping for air.
"Oh Arthur, I'm sorry dear, we were keeping Mrs. Sprout and the Delwyn family company. Come meet them. This is a muggle family, and their daughter is entering Hogwarts this year. We thought it'd be nice to keep them company with Mrs. Sprout and help where we can." Mrs. Weasley introduces Devlin and the family while she introduces Arthur and the two elder sons by him.
"OH!" Arthur sparks up in excitement. "A muggle family, is it? Fascinating! I have so many questions!" Devlin watches as Mr. Weasley extends his hand excitingly as Peter smiles awkwardly.
George tilted his head towards Devlin and whispered. "See, looks like it'll be a long day!"
Fred joined in on the other side of Devlin. "Yup, rare thing for dad to get information about muggles. You should see the stuff at home."
Devlin was curious besides from what he read about. "Oh? What kind of stuff?"
Ron decided to join in. "Well, there's this big..."
"Ron! Fred! George! Be quiet! None of that talk here!" Mrs. Weasley stops them.
"Ah well! Maybe you can come over and see for yourself?" George asks walking between Devlin and Kate now.
"If our parents allow it, I'm not against it." Kate said smiling in reply. Ginny seemed particularly happy when she heard that reply.
"Oh can they mum? Please? Ginny asks Mrs. Weasley.
"Oh well, we might have to clean up a bit, but I don't mind." Mrs. Weasley looks at Mrs. Delwyn and the laugh together. The crowd discussed various of things enjoying each others company as they approach Leaky Cauldron's brick entrance.
"Well this is where we part. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley we enjoyed your company very much." Mrs. Sprout said.
"Please send us an owl when you can! Lets keep in touch." Mrs. Weasley nodded
"Actually, do you have time and is it allowed? My wife and I would like to thank you for showing us the way. We would like to treat you all to dinner in London." Peter Delwyn went and looked at Mrs. Sprout. "Are wizard and witches allowed to mingle in umm..our..world?"
"Of course, there is nothing strange about it. It is not common unless it was for business purposes. As you noticed from your own experience, currency exchange can be complicated, and many wizards and witches do not want to risk their identity in the muggle world." Mrs. Sprout explains
Mr. Weasley and Mrs. Weasley looked at each other and laughed. "Oh but we'll accept your invitation! I'm quite curious and have some more question!" Devlin could see Mr. Weasley's excitement.
It was late afternoon in the afternoon as the group head over to a small alley way in London. Devlin was entertained by the new scene as this time it wasn't his family that was looking around like tourists, but the Weasley family. Arthur Weasley can be seen excitingly looking around at the cars. They approach a clean wooden entrance and a sign mounted on the pilar "Simpons Tavern."
A line of kids are riding their bikes down the street. "Devlin, what are they on?" Ron asks curiously.
"Oh those are bicycles. It helps us get to one place to another faster than running. They push those pedals and the wheels spin." Devlin tries to explain. Arthur started staring in excitement trying to study the movements of the bicycle.
"Fascinating! Tell me, how did one come up with an idea like this!?"
"I don't know. It was invented a long time ago!" Devlin laughs in response.
"This is a popular place in London, they have great steak and salmon here." Devlin's father explained. The group entered in and got seated in a large corner booth for their group. A waitress came by and the group ordered their food that looked familiar. After waiting a while, their food arrives on the table, and they start enjoying their food.
"So is the food here any different from where you are from?" Devlin asked curiously to the kids side. He looked at his dish which was a simple butterfly chicken breast meal with mash potatoes.
"Not so much the food. I do find it interesting that the people here do all the mundane tasks like cleaning tables and serving the food only carry what they can physically carry. Our broom does the cleaning for us and not being able to bring along more than what can fit in your hands must be hard." Fred answered.
"We don't have any magic here, so everything here is done by hand or through tools of science and technology." Devlin answered
"Do you think they would let me in the back on how they cook their food? I'm just curious how a stove works!" Arthur explains. "Also, I have to admit. Steak is the same, but the taste. The chefs here are quite good here!"
Mrs. Sprout looks closely at her meal observing the herbs used in her food. "How curious, to use potion ingredients to supplement taste of food. Would have never thought of doing something like this."
"Mrs. Sprout, is it dangerous?" Devlin asked curiously.
"Not really." Mrs. Sprout picking up a peace of rosemary from her steak. "With magic this rosemary can be used to purification or cleansing an area. However, without it, you can crush it into oil to relieve some pain. Most importantly, itis delicious with this chicken!"
Devlin and the other kids smile and laugh. "As expected from an Herbology teacher." he thought to himself. After an enjoyable energic dinner, the group gathers at the entrance of Leaking Cauldron once more.
"Well, we'll be off. Ester dear, please keep in touch! It was a pleasure meeting you. Maybe we can meet up at the station next month. We'll show you how to get to the train station." Mrs. Weasley explains.
Ester holds up her paper. "So, I just go where it is written here to send an owl?"
"Yes, but I'll send one first to your home. You can just reply from that same owl. It'll be more convenient that way." Mrs. Weasley explains.
Fred and George rush up to Kate energetically. "I guess we'll be seeing each other at school often. We'll see you then!" The kids start chatting cheerfully saying their goodbyes.
"Mr. Delwyn..if you would." Arthur pulled Devlin's father aside. "I have acquired a rather interesting vehicle I've been struggling with..." Devlin couldn't hear the rest but could already guess what it was about.
Mrs. Sprout approaches Kate and Devlin. "I'm looking forward to seeing you at Hogwarts in a month Kate. Also Devlin, I expect you to register next year as well!"
"Wait Devlin you can use magic as well?" Ron Asks
"Yea. Mrs. Sprout verified yesterday I can do magic as well." Devlin answered.
"I guess we'll be classmates next year then!" Ron says.
"Looks like it! Looking forward to it Ron."