The next morning the trio had woken up late, panicking, so they quickly had gotten dressed and rushed downstairs in hopes that Amaimon will not get too mad at them. They had already created an excuse that yesterday's excitement had got the better of them(which was true, however, they will opt out of the late-night talk). When they finally headed to the ground floor, they stopped and looked in shock at the scenery around them. Lunch was cooking by themselves on the stove, brooms were sweeping the floor, the Hobgoblins were going into the crevasses looking and exterminating wayward Coal Tars and other lesser demon, and in the sink, the plums from last night were washing themselves before being put in a straining basket to dry off. It was still a new experience to the twins so they were slightly unnerved but that quickly grew into excitement, finally realizing that it was not a dream.
"I knew Papa was able to use some magic but to be honest, I figured it was because of his demon side," Ginga said quietly, looking at Behemoth chasing a couple of Tars and eating one of them. "It will take some time to get used to that again."
"It is so amazing!" Rin stuttered with stars in his eyes. "I can't wait until I use magic!" he then looked at this brother and noticed that Yukio had the same expression as he did. "Looks like the fun isn't Yukio?"
Yukio nodded vigorously, not finding anything to say as his mind was in overdrive.
"About time you three woke up," Came a voice behind them making them jump in shock, and they came face-to-face with Amaimon wearing a bandana on top of his head and a Sakura-patterned apron and was holding a Japanese-style duster.
"P-papa!" Ginga stuttered. "W-we didn't mean to sleep late, w-we..."
"We had a lot of f-fun at the stream and.." Rin tried to continue.
"Must have been too...too..." Yukio tried to complete the reason but he and the other two froze when the Earth Demon gave them a glare that showed disappointment. Shaking at the possible punishment they bowed their heads low and said, "Gomen-nasai Amaimon/Ji-San/Papa."
Amaimon stared at them for a few more moments until eventually, he laughed at the children making them tilt their heads in confusion. "I know you three had quite an adventure yesterday with everything that had happened. I was the same way when I got my first invitation." He then turned towards the kitchen and flicked his wand and the burger patties flew from the pans, bread from the cupboard and formed into burgers on plates and those flew on top of the table landing on each edge along with some drinks. "Eat up, we will need to do a little house cleaning and if we have time I will take you to the Slumbering Weald for some wand harvesting."
"Okay," They had said and started eating the burgers and some green tea. When they were done and the dishes were swept away, the trio was tasked to different locations. Yukio was in charge of dusting and organizing the bookshelves which have now been added new content, including the entire set of Standard Book of Spells, Charms, and Curses of Nature, Magical Botany, and Moste Potente Potions which for some reason it is sealed with multiple talismans and papers that had a combination of both Demonic and Exorcist Seals. It must have been so dangerous that when Yukio asked his uncle about this book, the Earth Demon jolted in shock and immediately grabbed the book from the boy and tossed it back into his Storage Mirror, and was told to never speak of it again.
Rin was in charge of the kitchen as he was working on plum recipes. Pitting the plums, dicing and slicing them, some preserved in special pickling for the umeboshi, sugaring them for candies, plum jam for spreads, and he was planning to make a special treat for his cousin in a few days, which he knew will make her happy.
Ginga was tasked with getting water from the well the normal way where she had to turn the handle to get the water. Now that they are registered, they will now have to abide by the magical law that nobody under the age of seventeen is allowed to use magic unless in dire cases of survival. Neither she nor her cousin's like the rule but they understand the situation, they will have to deal with this until the school term starts on the 1st of September.
"It is only a week away," Ginga growled, but she wasn't too bothered. Like Rin, she too had the inhuman strength from her father so this is considered light labor. She had to fill 6 large urns with water so they can take them to the Weald, she would carry 2 of them being held by a magic enhanced bamboo pole over her shoulders while Rin and Amaimon will carry the others.
Luckily for them that with the magic it did not take too long and it was around 3 o'clock when they were finished with the house chores. Now they were heading towards the Slumbering Weald where they will water the young tree sprouts and help with the wand harvest.
"This area..." Ginga stated as she looked at the variety of trees, Rowans, Cherry, Holly, and more in complete awe. "I can tell this place is full of magic, it makes my entire body tingle."
"I know what you mean, Plumberry," Rin agreed. His body was also tingling and it was slightly overwhelming. "You feel it too, Yukio?"
Yukio nodded as he couldn't find the right words for the first time. The area was beautiful and the trees looked like they were dancing in some way. The four of them continued walking until they had reached a location where they saw a small divot with dug-out lines snaking outside going towards each of the rows of trees.
"Ginga, Rin, pour the water into the trough." Amaimon said after he had poured the contents from the Olla Jars in the same channel. "Yukio, look around the area and map out the trees with the most Bowtruckles."
"Hai." They all said and went to their task. Rin, however, was thinking about something and turned to his cousin. "What's a Bowtruckle?"
Ginga was just finishing her first pour when she answered. "A Bowtruckle is a magical creature where they resemble what you can describe as a thin bamboo stick/mantis combo."
Rin raised one of his eyebrows as he tried to imagine the combination of the two. "That sounds neat, I wonder if they bring good luck as the mantis as well."
Ginga giggled. "Technically, they do." Rin gave her a look that clearly stated 'Are you serious!?' "Bowtruckles only live in wand trees with the most promise. That is why we are looking for large Bowtrucle nests."
"So, that is why Yukio and Amaimon are looking for them," Rin concluded while the duo finished pouring the water. "Would it be possible if we found our wand wood here?"
"It's rare but possible." Amaimon said behind them, again causing them to jolt. "The Weald one of many Wand Farms and I am not the only one who have Nurseries like this." He then gave the kids two different bags, one filled with what looked like moving rice and the other was empty. "Yukio has mapped the trees we will harvest. All we need to do is to make an offering of woodlice to the Bowtruckles and they will give us the wood that will be used for wand making."
"Okay." They said and started getting to work for the rest of the afternoon. So far it was uneventful in the harvesting except on the third tree some Bowtruckles in an Apple Tree started attacking Rin, stabbing and scratching at the 11-year-old where eventually he inadvertently unleashed blue flames in self-defense. He now had to sulk next to the clay pots for the rest of the day with 3 large bumps on the head, one from each of the family members. (Who knew Yukio could be so strong when he gets pissed.) Once they were done with everything including tending to the burnt magical beasts Rin had caused harm to, they finally headed home with the bag full of wood.
"Again, I am really sorry Amaimon. I don't know what I did wrong. I gave them the offering, they just...went crazy." Rin said quietly. Ginga and Yukio looked at their brother/cousin with a sad expression. They knew he did not mean any harm but they still had to hit him for the flames, intentional or not. Amaimon, however just sighed and clarified some things to him.
"I don't condone what you have done setting my friends on fire, even though it was by accident." Amaimon said slowly, and Rin just lowered his head even more. "However, they did it for your own safety."
The trio looked at him in surprise at what Amaimon had said and become curious. "I became friends with these Truckles and we have a truce. Every once in a while there will be trees that even though they have magic, they can still be tainted by something darker like other earth demons." The kid's eyes widened in shock and shuddered in fear. "Another possibility is that they sensed your magic and determined the wood in question would have been dangerous for your ability. Your case was the latter."
"Nani?" They asked in unison.
"Like all wands, they can be used by anybody but they can only attach to one witch or wizard, kind of like summoning a Familiar. For example, my magic is more refined and potent with only the Chestnut Wand. If I use another's wand or if the wand is not compatible with the witch or wizard, it can be either weaker spells or, in rare cases become volatile." Amaimon then looked at his nephew with his golden eyes, now looking a little softer. "The Apple Tree is known for their ability to be loyal to those who have strong ideals, yet it is the opposite for Dark Magic and they will turn against it."
Yukio tilted his head in realization. "So that is why those Bowtruckles were trying to keep Rin away from it. With Rin's unusual Flame Magic they sensed it had some dark elements."
Rin gulped and Ginga sighed at what Yukio had said. "You mean there was a chance Rin might have gotten seriously hurt if the flames suddenly rebounded?" Ginga asked, causing Rin to shake even further of the possible outcome.
Amaimon just chuckled, put his hand on the 11-year-old head. "Don't worry about it, my friends protected you. Even though they are small, they see things most people don't." Rin 'yeahed' but was still mostly silent. Ginga looked at her cousin with concerning eyes. When Rin gets that quiet or withdraws to himself, he becomes antisocial and dwells in that darkness. She then stared at Yukio and once they had made eye contact, she gave a muted yet understanding look telling him to cheer him up.
"So, Nii-San. What do you have plans for dinner tonight?" That worked, and Rin perked up and he started listing the ingredients they have available and what he can make. Ginga actually giggled when he was starting to explain that he was going to make sugar plums, saladitos, chili plums, and umeboshi. She was looking forward to those as she had a thing of liking plums in all seasonings, and a variety of that scale definitely does not make things boring on the tastebuds. The main thing though, was dinner and Rin was planning to make takoyaki with plum sauce. "Now, that is what I am looking forward to, Blueberry," Ginga said with a smile, and she and Rin raced towards the cabin, with Amaimon and Yukio following behind.
The rest of the week went by even quicker and eventually, the big day arrived for Ginga when she finally turned 11 and it was also the same day she and the others will go to London for their supplies. She was still nervous, as she, Rin, and Yukio never left Hufflepuff's Glenn since the move. Even though her father had told her that Britain has much more leniency towards demons she still has a large part of insecurity deep within her heart. She will push that aside for now, and she ran down the stairs for breakfast with her family.
Rin, Yukio, and Amaimon were at the table and had yelled Happy Birthday to Ginga with a large plateful of Plum Tarts, buttered bread with plum jam spread, and thick-cut bacon nice and chewy with crunchy edges. It was fantastic and even more when they had given her a large set of multi-color yarn for her crafts, a box of candied plums, and a book of water spells.
Later that morning they left the house for the next part of their adventure, school shopping. However, something was missing and Yukio noticed it first. While Rin and Ginga were talking to each other, he asked Amaimon his concern.
"Ji-san, how are we getting to London before noon? It takes 2 and a half hours to get to London by bus." Yukio asked, and Amaimon laughed at his question, causing the same boy to raise his eyebrows in wariness. 'He is up to something.' Yukio thought. Rin thought the same thing too because he just straight up asked his uncle, "You're about to do something crazy, are you?"
Ginga then caught on to what was going on and sighed. "Papa, we're Disapparating right?" The look on Amaimon's face was so sinister that it had made Yukio pale and gulp in fear. Rin looked back and forth between his uncle and cousin on to what the hell they were talking about. "Diss-a-what?"
"Disapparition, Rin-ko," Ginga repeated as she put her bag over her shoulder.
"I would like to know more about this Disapparition," Yukio asked while realigning his glasses. "Is it safe for us? What are the repercussions?"
Ginga was the one who answered. "Disapparition is a kind of teleport where a witch or wizard can leave one location and move to another as long as someone has been to the destination in the first place." She told her cousins, sweatdropping when she had noticed Rin was not understanding. "It's kinda like Instant Transmission Goku used to travel far in an instant."
"Oh, I get it now!" Rin yelled excitedly, pounding one of his hands in the other. Yukio, however, asked further questions. "What about those who have not Disapparated before?"
"Then we go what is called Side-Along Apparition. As long as we grab onto each other with at least one person touching the person Disapparating or leading the Disapparition, then we will all reach the same location."
"So does that mean that when we do it at least once, then we can do it anytime we want?" Rin asked excitedly, the thought of teleporting is awesome. "Maybe we can use it to visit tou-san every once in a while! Itte!"
"We can't do that!/It sounds very complex, nii-san!/You are underage, Blueberry!" Amaimon, Yukio, and Ginga yelled while hitting Rin in the head with 3 impressive lumps. Then Ginga continued the explanation. "Even you do get it down in one go, which I highly doubt you can pull it off, (Hey!) there are several factors. One: you have to be of legal age which is 17. Two: you will have to have registered for a legal apparition. And three: if we screw this up, we can end up being Splinched."
"What now?" Rin asked, and Ginga put her head in her hands. "I keep forgetting the magic world is still new to you two. I mean, you did not find out until you met me and Papa about 3 years ago."
"True," Yukio and Rin stated, then Amaimon finished the explanation. "Splinching is a term where if you don't Disapparate correctly a piece of your body no matter what size gets left behind, and sometimes it can be lethal. It is kind of like losing a strand or 2 of your hair to half or more of your body." At that the twins blanched, the fact of losing pieces of you sounded very disturbing. Amaimon just chuckled, "Don't worry, I am certified and I have been doing this for centuries. The only thing you may lose is your food."
'That doesn't sound any better.' Both thought in unison. "Is there another way that may be a little safer?" Rin asked with a slight warble in his voice. "I would like to know as well." Yukio concurred.
Ginga had to agree, even though she had Apparated with her father several times before, but this will be a first for them. Considering the factor of the side effect of being squeezed in a tube plus massive vertigo it might not be as optimal. "There is also what is called Floo Powder, where all you have to do is walk into a green flame, say where you need to go, and you will be there. The only side effects are going to a wrong location if not pronounced right and slight dizziness from spinning." Ginga then stepped back with her hands up when Rin got too close.
"Then why don't we do that!" Rin complained, wanting to go that route as well. He backed up a bit when Ginga growled when he got into her personal space. "G-gomen."
Yukio then spoke as he remembered reading something about that. "Don't we need a fireplace for that and have it registered to some kind of connection? What about Portkeys? I think I have read about those as transportation tools as well."
"Yes, we need a fireplace but it is not currently linked for the Floo Network due to keeping you three safe. Now that you are going to school I will have to go to the Ministry of Magic to connect. As for Portkeys, it is the same as the Floo, it will have to be Ministry approved due to the chance that Medatanai can randomly touch them." Amaimon said, now beckoning them to come closer. "Y'all better hold tight, it will be a doozy for first-timers."
Rin, Yukio, and Ginga grabbed hold of the Earth
Demon, the twin's looking nervous but from there the other emotions diverged. Rin was shaking with excitement at the possibility of Apparating to another location in a flash. Yukio, on the other hand, was unnerved. The fact of one traveling in an instant several miles away sounded outrageous to the boy, even in the magic community. Splinching did not sound like fun either, a chance of missing a limb or two disturbs the 11-year-old as well. He looked at Ginga for further questions, but she just smiled right back at him, totally releasing the stress and worry. "Yuu-ko, don't worry. Papa has done this several times before with me, the only side effects are feeling squeezed and some nausea. It's unpleasant, but you will get used to it."
"H-hai."
"Get ready." Amaimon said. "Hold your breath to keep the oxygen in and if you are going to hurl it is better not to hold back."
Yukio and Ginga did just that, however, Rin decided to speak up at his Uncle's attitude. "What d'you mean by tha-AAAAAAAAHHHHH!" For a split second that felt like an eternity, Rin and the others twisted and Disapparated on the spot. It was highly uncomfortable, the twins felt a tightening sensation like they were being inserted into a tight tube and forced squeezed into a pressure jet. Rin hated it, the sensation, the squeezing, the feeling of being trapped, and he hated it. It felt even longer for him, putting a heavy pit in his stomach like thousands of bees wanting to get out. 'Get me the hell out of this!'
Yukio had a different reaction. Even though he felt the same squeezing sensation as his brother but he had a lighter side of butterflies in his stomach and he was excited. It was like one of the high-speed rides from Sanrio Company in Japan or the Twilight Tower in Disneyland. 'This is amazing!' Yukio thought and wanted it to last a little longer.
But like all things must come to an end, cold air and solid ground met them with different reactions. Ginga and Amaimon inhaled like normal with no ill effects, albeit Ginga growled a little. Yukio was inhaling deeply to not only calm his racing heart but regulate his breathing. Rin, ah... ghosted.
"Papa, Rin-ko's soul left his body," Ginga said casually, as she was staring at the back of the physical Rin, owl-eyed and paler than normal. "I don't think he likes Apparition very much." She then grabbed his spirit as he was passing *ahem* floating by her and stared straight into his ghostly eyes. "Genki desu ka?"
Yukio felt pity towards his brother, he knew Rin was not a fan of rides and that may be because of his demon side. Their senses 50 times stronger than a normal human, he may have developed severe vertigo. "I think you should wait until his body starts to regain color." He told his cousin, who nodded in confirmation. Yukio then looked at Ginga's seemingly empty hand. "How is his soul?"
Ginga huffed and shook her head in slight amusement. "Rin-ko is doing fine, his soul is still intact. He's just being a Drama Queen right now."
Just then Yukio and Amaimon saw Ginga's hair get blown backward like a gale just appeared out of nowhere. "Well at least we know he's still alive." Yukio chuckled. He laughed even louder when Ginga just said, "If you can still complain Blueberry, you'll live." and shoved Rin back into his body, causing him to shudder.
"When it's time to head back home, can we take the bus?" Rin grumbled, and Yukio, Ginga, and Amaimon all laughed at his pout. "Being squeezed like that is not a comfortable feeling."
"It is actually fun to me and it is one of the quickest transportations, however, there is a distance limit." Amaimon said, now putting an Acid Pop in his mouth and a slight sizzling sound can be heard. "We will be staying at the Leaky Cauldron for the rest of the week. I have a lot of things to do like the Floo Network registration, helping Gringotts with some demon problem and seals, and of course getting supplies for all three of you. Not to mention London is the place where you need to be to head to Hogwarts." Amaimon then raised his hand when the trio was about to speak. "I already have some clothes and items packed in trunks and I will buy more clothing while we are here. They are in my storage pouch."
"Did you also bring my-"
"Yes Ginga, I already brought your art supplies and the creature you are making. I will have to say, it looks like it can be a dragon of some type."
"Yes Papa, it will be a Sea Guardian. For some reason, I keep seeing this creature in my dreams so I have decided to make it. If I can animate it with some powers that would be amazing."
Rin finally got up from the ground and he shook his head a bit to clear his head. "Well, at least we won't be using that for a while." He then looked around and found that they were in some type of alleyway. "Are we in London? Where are we?"
"Yes we are in London, we had to Apparate in a location where Medatanai won't be able to see." Amaimon replied, now leading the kids out of the alleyway and walked a few blocks to the Leaky Cauldron. At first, Yukio and Rin did not notice they were there until Ginga tapped them on the shoulder and pointed to a shabby sign which upon first glance looked rusted and run down. However, as they got closer the sign transformed and a cauldron appeared in the middle of the plaque with cracks forming at the bottom of the pot.
"Wow," Yukio said suddenly in surprise. "This area is so obvious yet not at the same time it's no wonder that the Medatanai are oblivious."
"That or they are just plain stupid," Rin said, causing a flick to the forehead from Amaimon. "What?"
"You would have been part of that group too, Rin. Also, we have Medatanai repelling charms here to reduce the risk of mingling. We wouldn't want everyone asking us for cures all the time, and there are those who rather not mingle." Amaimon said while opening the door to the Leaky Cauldron.
The moment they looked inside immediately made
They feel like they were in the middle ages. The bar was dingy but somehow felt cozy, and there was an old, balding mand with several teeth missing was cleaning the glasses and hanging them. He looked up at the quartet and once his eyes hit the Earth Demon he smiled widely.
"Amaimon! Great to see you again! It has been about 15 years, hasn't it? You still don't look a day over 16!"
Amaimon's right eye twitched but smiled just the same. "Well, we demons to have a long life span, but you look more like Quasimodo in Italy, Tom."
"Bah, I am still better looking than Quasi!" Tom replied with a wave of his hand. "Oh, by the way, you have a visitor. I kept telling him to leave the others alone but you know Muggles."
Ginga and the twins tilted their heads in confusion. "Who is the visitor, and what is a Muggle?"
Tom chuckled, "If I recall it is another term for what you say Medatanai." He then pointed behind the trio. "There he is now."
Before any of them was able to turn around the trio was grabbed and their faces were buried by someone's chest. "Rin, Yukio, Ginga! I am so glad to see my sons and niece! How's Britain, are you eating well, are you looking forward to Hogwarts, did you miss me!?"
"Yes, we missed you, Tou-san!" Rin stuttered as his lungs were being squeezed into a pancake. "Now let us go, you are crushing us, and stop making a scene!"
"Ah, gomen." He said and let the three of them go, and they were gasping for air once they have been freed. They looked up and saw a tall man in a priest's robes with a cross pendant.
"Father Fujimoto, I hope you did not cause so much trouble with the people here. I told you to keep a low profile." Amaimon scolded while giving the man a slight karate chop to the head. "Remember, Medatanai usually should not know about the wizarding world unless in special circumstances."
"Right, right, but everything is so new. You know what they say, Curiosity Killed the Cat!" Fujimoto then laughed causing others to sweatdrop with his antics.
"I think we should go, Papa," Ginga said suddenly, looking around the pub. "They are starting to think Father Fujimoto is crazy and want him to leave."
"Ne?" Amaimon said and he too looked around. sure enough, the vibe in the pub has changed and it seemed colder. "Right...let's go, we got a lot of shopping to do and we need to go to Gringotts first."
"Where are we go-ack!" Fujimoto was about to ask until he was yanked by the collar from Amaimon and the Earth Demon King proceeded to drag him to the back of the Leaky Cauldron, with the other three in tow, laughing at the scenario in front of them.