"So where's this Leaky Cauldron?" Mrs Grant said. "I followed the directions that we were given with our letters, why is it not here?"
"Don't panic mum…" Curtis said
Mrs Grant ignored him. "It's a hoax, I knew it. We've been had. Why were we prepared to believe in magic? Where's the cameras? Yes, yes, we look really stupid now, you can come out and make fun of us."
"DON'T PANIC!"
Mrs Grant finally looked at her son. "I'm not panicking dear. Just accepting the truth."
"You don't understand. I can see the Leaky Cauldron. You've looked straight at it several times." Curtis pointed at where the Leaky Cauldron was. "See it?"
"Don't blabber nonsense at me dear. You're being delusional, seeing hallucinations."
Mr Grant piped up. "No, no, dear," looking at his wife. "Our boy's right. Just look a little bit harder where he's pointing. Believe that it's there."
"Do you really have to look hard to see it? I mean, it's just obvious isn't it." But suddenly, Curtis realized what was going on. "Non-magical people have to look hard for it, to believe it's there, to see it. That's why none of the other people along this street can see it."
Mr and Mrs Grant did not really care about this explanation, but Curtis was pleased by it.
"YES! There it is!" Mrs Grant finally said after a few seconds. "…it's so obvious. How could I miss it?"
"Sandra. I think you and I have just had our first taste of magic," Mr Grant said.
"I sort of expected it to be more dramatic than that Joe."
"Oh I imagine it will be more dramatic once we're in." chipped in Curtis.
And the family all walked into the Leaky Cauldron together, entering the magical world for the first time.
They were underwhelmed. It was just a typical pub, although the people in it were not dressed normally, sporting cloaks. But apart from the attire, there was nothing dramatic about this place at all.
Mr Grant approached the barman. "We were wondering the way to Diagon Alley?"
The barman replied, "First time is it? Follow me, follow me, but please do come back for a drink after you've done your shopping!"
He led them out through the back door of the pub. There was a brick wall there. The family wondered what was going to happen. The barman tapped a few bricks on the wall with what looked to be his wand. A hole appeared, and eventually got bigger and bigger until they could see down the path. Down the path, there was a lot of hustle and bustle from the cloaked people, and lots and lots of shops. Curtis smiled at his mum and dad.
"Told you it would get more dramatic."
Mrs Grant let out a yell of excitement. "Let's go shopping!"
Mr Grant turned around and thanked the barman, and they all passed through the archway where the brick wall once stood. Once they did, the wall immediately returned. The family looked at all the shops. Cauldron shops, owl shops, book shops, wand shops, a bank. The family weren't sure where to start.
Mrs Grant was quick to notice something. "None of this is priced in pounds," she commented. "I think it's all priced in wizarding money."
The family looked anxiously at one another. They didn't have any wizard money, nor did they know where to get any from.
"The bank, Gringotts?" Mr Grant suggested. The bank was very well built, and looked very posh. The family were a little skeptical about entering.
"I do wish the letter had been more informative," Mrs Grant said.
And the family stood, paralyzed, outside of the bank. They were approached by a red-headed wizard, or at least they assumed he was a wizard by the cloak he was wearing.
"You look like muggles," the wizard said, scanning their clothes. They did look out of place wearing regular clothes here in the wizarding world. "And you look lost. Would you like some help?"
Mr and Mrs Grant looked at one another. "Well, if you can spare the time…" Mrs Grant said, wondering what on earth a muggle was. Curtis had already guessed though.
"Of course we can!" the wizard replied. "Molly, could you come over here please?" he called across the street. "I'm Arthur Weasley by the way," and he shook each of their hands in turn.
"Mr Weasley sir." Curtis suddenly said. "We don't know what a muggle is. Would a muggle be a non-magical person?"
"Yes, that's exactly it. It's not offensive, it's just our name for non-magical folk. You, of course, I would assume, are not a muggle."
Curtis nodded. "We're here to get my school supplies for Hogwarts."
Mr Weasley replied "I gathered. It's that time of year to see groups like you. Ahh, here's my wife, Molly, now."
Another red headed person, this time a woman, approached the group. She was short and stout, but her expression seemed to be one of perfect friendliness.
"What is it Arthur?" she said.
"This family here, well they're muggles you see, and they're buying school supplies for their son here. I thought we could help, they look a little confused."
Mrs Weasley shot what Curtis thought was a disapproving look at Mr Weasley, but then smiled at the family.
Mrs Grant had a worried look on her face now. "Only help if you can spare the time. We don't want to be a burden."
"Don't you worry," Mrs Weasley said. "I should imagine this is a daunting place for you."
"The first thing," Mr Weasley said, "is money. Do you have any wizarding money?"
"No." Mr Grant replied. "Where could we get some? Will we be able to exchange for our money?" He flashed the pound notes from his pocket.
"Exchange some money with me," Mr Weasley responded. Mrs Weasley shot him another look, which he ignored. "We're not spending much today, and we have a bit of spare change. We'll convert your money back to wizarding money for ourselves later."
"What's the exchange rate?" Mr Grant asked.
"5 pounds to the galleon. How much do you have?"
"1000 pounds"
"MERLIN'S BEARD! Are you rich?"
"No, no," Mr Grant responded, slightly offended by the question. "Just we didn't know how much money we would need, so we brought as much as we could just to make sure."
"Sensible, sensible," Mr Weasley replied. "You muggles are smart! Well, I don't have 200 galleons I'm afraid, but I do have 20, that will be enough for your supplies."
Mr Grant gave Mr Weasley 100 pounds for his 20 galleons.
"Thank you very much Arthur." Mr Grant said.
The two groups were about to part, when Mrs Weasley stepped in, seemingly having warmed to the family. "Why don't you shop with us? We don't want you to get confused again?"
"That sounds lovely to me," Mrs Grant said.
And so they did their shopping together. Curtis got a cauldron, set of phials, and brass scales first, before moving onto buying an owl, which Mr Weasley recommended for easy communication between him and his parents. They had just enough money to buy the owl and still afford the rest of his supplies. The owl was a brown one, called a "common owl". Curtis named it "Arthur", as he could not think of any other names at the time, which humoured the Weasleys.
Next was uniform. Curtis really wasn't bothered, and got the cheapest of everything from Madam Malkins' store. The two things left were the things Curtis was most excited about. The wand, and his books. First, they got his wand, from the shop called Ollivanders. Mr Weasley stated that Mr Ollivander was the best.
Curtis entered the shop. It was a strange, dark room, unlike any shop Curtis had entered in his life.
"Hello," muttered a soft voice.
Curtis spotted the shopkeeper and walked over to the counter.
"I see you're muggle-born," the shopkeeper said, looking out of the window at Curtis' parents. "I'm Mr Ollivander, in case you hadn't guessed."
Curtis was intrigued by Mr Ollivander calling him "muggle-born". Was the fact that his parents were muggles a big thing? Curtis had wondered whether he would be the only person like it, but Mr Weasley's comment about it being the right time of year to see muggle families showed that he wouldn't be the only one.
"What's your name?" Mr Ollivander asked.
"Curtis Grant"
"Ok Curtis. Well I'm going to hand you a wand now. You are to wave it, and then I will tell you if it the right one."
Curtis looked blankly at Mr Ollivander.
"But of course, you don't understand. Most muggle-borns enter my shop thinking all wands are the same. They are not. In fact, every wand is unique Curtis, and perhaps more crucially, the wand chooses the wizard. This means that we may have to try a good few before I find a wand that suits you, but it's definitely worth going through that process, as the stronger the tie of the bond between wand and wizard, the easier you will find it to channel your magic through your wand."
Curtis was impressed. This was a science, and Mr Ollivander seemed like the Einstein of his field.
"Right then, let's get going. I can see the enthusiasm in your eyes! Which is your wand arm?"
Curtis felt foolish for a couple of seconds. He was right-handed for most things, but left-handed in some, and didn't want to make a critical error before he even got to Hogwarts. But he realized in his head that he would be more comfortable with the wand in his right hand.
"This one" he said, holding out his right arm.
"Excellent," said Mr Ollivander picking up a tape measure and measuring the arm, and then every other conceivable part of the body he could measure. "Ok, here we go. I want you to take each wand I give you, and wave it. I will decide whether it is suitable or not and we will find the right wand for you."
He pulled out a box from the shelf. "11 inches, oak and dragon heartstring. Firm but brittle." Curtis accepted the wand, and was excited to have a wand in his hand for the first time. He went to give it a wave, but Ollivander snatched it off him.
"No, no, absolutely not. Take this one."
They continued in this way for a few more wands.
"Try this one out. Beech and dragon heartstring. 12 inches. Nice and swishy."
When Curtis took this wand, he immediately knew. A warmth shot up his fingers as the wand entered his hand. He was so pleased by this reaction, he forgot to wave.
"Ahh, but the smile on your face reveals all," Mr Ollivander said, smiling himself. "Still, give it a wave, we must be sure."
Curtis waved the wand, and it reacted energetically, sending sparks everywhere. He was shocked at himself, at long last, he had done something like magic, although he was sure it would be more exciting than that at Hogwarts.
"Yes, yes, splendid!" Mr Ollivander said. "You've got yourself a powerful wand there boy. Use it well!"
Curtis paid his money for his wand, delighted with his purchase, and was dismissed from the shop by Mr Ollivander. He was not greeted by a happy scene. Mr Weasley and another man with pale-blonde hair were facing off with each other, with Mrs Weasley, and Mr and Mrs Grant helplessly watching.
"Your choice of company alarms me Weasley," the blonde-haired man said. "How dare you associate yourself with these…" He looked at Mr and Mrs Grant.
"Why is my choice of company your business Malfoy?" Mr Weasley replied. "I find it somewhat better than the company you have chosen to keep in the past anyway. Still keep in contact with Bellatrix Lestrange? Visit in Azkaban?"
Malfoy shot Mr Weasley an evil look. But then he smirked instead. "I could take you to the Wizengamot for that Weasley, associating me with scum like Lestrange. The company I choose to keep consists of people such as the school governor's and the Minister of Magic himself. Now if you consider these people to be scum then I suggest you go and tell them."
Mr Weasley glared at Malfoy. Mrs Weasley tapped the nearly crying Mrs Grant on the shoulder, and they both walked into a shop away from the two men. Mr Grant continued watching, still helplessly.
Malfoy suddenly spoke up, looking at Curtis with disgust. "I assume this is the mudblood for whom you are –"
Mr Weasley had pulled his wand out of his pocket and Malfoy quickly did likewise.
"You dare…" uttered Malfoy.
Mr Weasley now spoke, anger seemingly coming out of every pore on his face. "You dare, Malfoy, to use that word. Even in front of the boy? You should go to Azkaban for saying it behind his back let alone to his face!" Mr Weasley had almost shouted that last line.
Malfoy gave Mr Weasley a hard stare…and then turned his back and left. Mr Grant looked bewildered. Curtis was left confused. Should he feel offended? He wasn't sure.
"Scum of the earth, that Malfoy," Mr Weasley said to the pair, pushing his wand back into his pocket.
"What did Malfoy say that was so bad Mr Weasley?" Curtis asked.
"Don't worry about it Curtis. It's not what you need to be worrying about on your first day in our world."
Curtis didn't worry about it either. He knew that the word 'mudblood' was what had offended Mr Weasley so much. He even had a strong guess at what it meant. No doubt mudblood was a rude way of saying "muggle-born", the term Mr Ollivander had used.
Mr Grant, who had looked like he wanted to say something for a couple of minutes, spoke now. "Arthur, are you quite sure that it's safe for my son to enter your world?"
"Oh yes, absolutely. There are plenty of muggle-borns out there, in places of high authority, who do not get persecuted at all. It's just that there are a few people out there like Lucius Malfoy who do discriminate. They are absolutely the minority."
Mr Grant looked unconvinced.
"Look, I'm going to have 4 boys at Hogwarts this year. They will all look out for your son, I promise."
There was a silence between the men as they waited for their wives. They came out of Flourish and Blotts, the book shop, where they had went while the men argued. Mrs Grant had a pile of books, the ones that were on Curtis' list. She spoke up.
"He's gone then."
Mr Weasley muttered something into his wife's ear. She looked shocked, and then looked at Curtis with great sympathy.
"Don't worry dear," she said. "Me and your mum thought it would be a nice idea to have an ice cream at Fortescue's."
And so they did. It was clear to Curtis that his parents and the Weasleys had really broken the ice whilst Curtis was inside Ollivanders. His parents were now explaining to Mr Weasley the exact function of electricity in their life, and he was listening with great interest. Mrs Weasley looked quite disinterested though, so Curtis thought that he might be able to ask her a question.
"Mrs Weasley?"
"Yes dear."
"I haven't really seen much magic yet. I was wondering what sort of things you can do with magic."
Mrs Weasley shuffled uncomfortably. Curtis knew it would be a tough question but he wanted to know. "Well dear, you can do practically anything you can imagine. There are many different branches of magic, and each gives its own opportunities. For example, my sons are very skilled…too skilled in fact, at creating magical objects that do many sort of things, such as explode when you say a certain word, that sort of thing. You can also make things explode with your wand…the world of magic is a broad world dear. You'll learn as you go through Hogwarts."
Mrs Weasley had said enough to really whet Curtis' appetite. He was eager to get learning magic as soon as possible, he wanted to be able to do all of these things.
After their ice cream, it was time for them to leave Diagon Alley.
"But I wanted to go to Flourish and Blotts" Curtis said. "I wanted to do just a bit of reading, get a bit of background."
"We'll come back." Mrs Grant said. "But now, let's not take up any more of Molly and Arthur's time. Bye!" she waved at them.
Mrs Weasley called back with a smile "See you soon!"
They walked back to the Leaky Cauldron (a witch passing by helped with the brick wall), promised the barman they would have a drink next time they came through (Mrs Grant was a bit flustered having just been offered a butterbeer). But once the Grants got into the car, all of Mrs Grant's inhibitions came out.
"Right, I've decided," she said, looking at Mr Grant. "I can't let my boy into that world. Not with people like that Malfoy around. What if they kill him dear, did you think of that? I can't be letting my boy go to Hogwarts. He can't stand up for himself. He won't know what's going on, he'll be an outcast. No!"
Curtis stared at his mother in disbelief. He opened his mouth, but his mother stopped him from speaking.
"No Curtis. Don't make me feel guilty. I'm doing this for your benefit. You saw how malicious that man was."
"Mum! Listen to me!"
Mrs Grant looked at Curtis. Curtis knew that he had one hope, one lie in his locker. He only hoped his dad wouldn't contradict it.
"That Malfoy man was only bothered by you and dad! He didn't think you had the right to be in a wizarding place. I, on the other hand, am a wizard, and he showed no sign that he didn't accept me being there."
Curtis recalled the mudblood comment, the look of hatred on Malfoy's face. In Curtis' mind, he believed that Malfoy hated him even more than he hated his parents. But he could not tell his mum this. And as his mum was inside Flourish and Blotts at the time when Malfoy spotted Curtis, she could not know.
Mrs Grant gave it a little consideration. "Is this true dear?" she finally said, to her husband. "I don't remember him showing any contempt towards Curtis, now I think about it."
Mr Grant hesitated. He was much less protective of his son, but he did not like lying to his wife. "No, it was only us he had a problem with dear. Foolish man."
Curtis' insides turned over. He felt a great rush of thankfulness towards his father, but he didn't dare express it, at least, not until his mother could not see. Mrs Grant was sitting there, deep in thought.
"Ok, I trust you two. But I'll be using Arthur to send you messages every day! Maybe 3 or 4 times. I'll expect replies each and every time. Maybe two replies to each actually, just to make sure, you can't be too safe. Maybe I should send you food as well, just in case you –"
Curtis laughed. "Thanks mum."
He laughed back then, but Curtis still thought as he lay in his Ravenclaw bed, that overall, his mum had a point. There was certainly a sinister side to the wizarding world. His encounter with Malfoy proved that. He just hoped that there was no one here at Hogwarts who shared the same beliefs as Malfoy. Curtis tossed over on his bed, and saw Anthony Goldstein coming in. Curtis pretended to be asleep, he did not fancy a conversation with Anthony right now (he wasn't sure that he ever would fancy a conversation with him). Eventually, tiredness beat excitement, and Curtis fell asleep.
AN: A long chapter here. I hope you understood it was a flashback quickly! I thought it would be better to allow the reader to figure out it was a flashback rather than shove it in all your faces!
