Good lord the goblins were tightwads. It took 5 minutes of going back and forth to get them to finally understand that no, Matt did not want to open an account with them. Whatever rates they were offering were unlikely to benefit him, and he needed what little money extra he would have left over. They seemed really put off with that and grumpily rushed through his exchange. He was still unfamiliar with the coinage, but as he counted up everything while they were leaving he figured out they had shorted him 2 sickles.
Was that supposed to be some kind of goblin stealth insult? He briefly considered going back to complain, but Mrs. Sprout was still standing there and he really didn't want to get into it with these people over change.
Getting back out into the street did wonders for his mood, and they did the rest of his shopping over the next 2 hours. The process of getting a wand had been without the theatrics of Harry Potter's, and after 5 tries Mr. Ollivander had somehow figured out the right combination that had conjured a burst of motes of light when Matt held it. Ebony and Phoenix feather, whatever that meant.
There had been a large temptation at the book store, but in the end he stuck with just school books. He figured Hogwart's library would be more than enough to keep him busy, and he really couldn't afford to fit more books into the wheeled trunk that he was pulling now. He also chose not to buy a pet, on account of "normal" animals not being very useful once he had to leave. It was a distraction he didn't need.
"Hear you are deary, I've talked to the innkeeper Tom and you're covered to stay here until the 1st. Please keep in mind to make curfew and not wander far from Diagon Alley's main street. There are some seedy places there where young boys do not belong."
Matt looked around the seedy bar and wondered what Mrs. Sprout considered seedy, but he let the thought go. He went out to the car to fetch his belongings, which wasn't much besides the guitar.
"Thank you for your help, Mrs. Sprout. I'll be seeing you at Hogwarts then?"
"Yes deary, but next time we meet you should call me Professor. Well, see you in 2 weeks Mr. Forrester. Maybe you'll be in my House."
She said that with a wink and left in her Beetle to who knows where. After going back inside and talking to Tom to see which room he was assigned, a room number 3 on the ground floor, he wheeled his trunk to his room and locked the door. It was threadbare but surprisingly clean despite how the tavern part had looked. He at on the bed and started unpacking the trunk.
He had specifically chosen here rather than a muggle hotel nearer the station for one purpose, which was an early start on his learning. He didn't know exactly how the so-called Trace worked or when it was placed, but living in a building full of wizards would provide him cover if the original books were to be believed.
So with great aplomb, he opened up The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk and got started on his law-breaking.
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A well-honed speed reading as a lit major and long time reader came in handy, as he finished The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1), Magical Theory, and A Beginners’ Guide to Transfiguration in the 2 weeks he had with time to spare. He was torn between breaking his own ban on buying more spellbooks or finished off the other texts, as he really didn't really care about potions or history. He didn't forget that he still had a task to be the first on the end of the year exams, but facing a bunch of 11 year olds didn't give him much of a sense of crisis. Shouldn't be that hard to just make up later along with everyone else. I at least have confidence in my cram studying.
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In the end he decided on neither and focused on the practical use of what he had learned. He probably had more fun than he should have trying to levitate his own shoes while he was wearing them, but by the time it was ready to leave he had at least passing familiarity with all the charms in the first year book, and could turn a match into a needle as well as shoot out a stream of blue-colored birds with transfiguration(useless as far as he could tell, but still interesting).
After a conversation with Tom he found out The Leaky Cauldron had another benefit, which was free tickets for the Knight Bus to anywhere in London. Matt was severely debating whether he really wanted to go there. Memories of the movie kept coming back to haunt him, but he didn't have any normal money left to get a taxi. Walking the 2 miles to the station was a bit much with a trunk in tow.
Besides, it's only 2 miles. That's like 30 seconds in the bus, right? He could handle this.
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What was I thinking? Matt was severely reprimanding himself as he vomited into a trash can in King's Cross, as his experience had let him know of whole new lows to driving. Mrs. Sprout drives well in retrospect, at least by wizard standards. I think I'm good for any roller coaster in existence now. Squeezing between cars at drag racing speeds and being tossed around on the floor had left him just squeezing his eyes shut and hoping no bones were broken. He had payed 5 sickles for the pleasure of his 30 seconds of terror, and he vowed to never do it again.
He only had about half an hour before the train was supposed to take off, so he found himself a drinking fountain to rinse the taste away before heading for Platform 9 3/4. He kept expected people to look at the crazy little red head kid walking right into a wall, but nobody did and he found himself face to face with the black and red steam train from the movies. He had never actually rode on one of these before, but it was easy enough to ask a passerby where he could find the first year compartments. After finding an empty box, he settled in and propped open a book. He'd have to shut it once the train got moving as it would make him sick otherwise, but it passed the time.
After 5 minutes, a brown haired kid who introduced himself as Terry Boot joined him, followed by another kid who introduced himself as Michael Corner. The names rang bells in the back of his head, but they weren't important enough to make his notes. Ravenclaw, if I remember right. They made small talk but there wasn't much to say to a group of 11 year olds until the trolley went by. With their help he'd managed to pick out a sack of Every Flavor Beans, licorice wands, and some cauldron cakes. He avoided the chocolate frogs despite their recommendation because moving food kind of grossed him out.
The train ride passed peacefully while the other 2 talked and Matt listened. He was fine with that really, as it let him pick up on tidbits of what a wizarding household was like so he ouldn't make a fool of himself later, but it was interrupted by an announcement over an unseen speaker system.
"Hogwarts coming up in 15 minutes, please change into your uniforms if you haven't already."
Matt changed as quickly as he could despite some embarassment with the uniform that looked like a halloween costume and looked out the window. He could see a village he assumed was Hogsmeade, but Hogwarts wasn't in view yet. It might be visible from the other side. The train was already slowing down and impatient people trying to get into the hallway. Despite his excitement, Matt knew that trying to beat the throng to the punch wouldn't accomplish anything so he was content to wait.
Once the halls were somewhat clear, he left the box with the other 2 and made their way to the exit. There was a group that was obviously separate which were surrounding a giant of a man he recognized could only be Hagrid shouting for all first year students to come here, so he made his way over to them.
"“Firs’ years! Firs’ years over here! All right there, Harry?”"
Matt took a few seconds to look at the protagonist, who had just appeared out of the train door. Harry Potter looked just like Radcliffe had in the movie, which Matt guessed shouldn't have been surprising. Honestly he looked miserable as everyone turned to stare at him and started whispering, but Hagrid seemed oblivious.
“C’mon, follow me — any more firs’ years? Mind yer step, now! Firs’ years follow me!”