In many ways, Alice felt like she had taken a long holiday albeit a stressful one. She had to throw away some soured food items in the fridge, go through several loads of laundry, take two dresses to the cleaners and make an uneventful trip to the grocery store to replenish what she discarded. In the mood to do menial tasks, she began organizing the place by finally unpacking the last of her moving boxes and filing several papers she had laid astray. Books that were out found a proper place on the bookshelf and newly revealed countertops were dusted to reveal a clean sheen. Without the clutter and the added benefit of objects being organized, her flat exuded a contemporary minimalist aesthetic with clean lines and stark color contrasts. After several hours she allowed herself to sit at her desk and use the technology she was previously so addicted to. She had still felt the mild pains of withdrawal from being away from the internet and her daily ritual of checking email and online news carriers. In just the few days since she last opened her inbox, it had already filled with numerous messages. A former professor wanted her to participate on his panel at the annual Science and Technology Conference that summer, which she quickly accepted. There were also several calls for papers with topics that looked promising. Already she felt re-immersed in her world. Job-wise, however, looked less promising as she searched to see if any related teaching positions were opening up in the UK. Many departments were unfortunately dropping professors instead of taking them in. She would have to keep looking.
Noting the time and quickly calculating the time zone difference, Alice decided to give her father a call to check in. Hearing his voice also brought a stabilizing comfort to her. Her father mentioned that he may be coming to London on a business trip in the next month or so. Since Alice now lived in London, it would give her an opportunity to meet up with him while he was in town. She also mentioned that she had met someone recently. This of course led her father to inquire about this young man's background. Alice tried her best to translate Draco's credentials into muggle terms, such as instead of calling him a potioneer, he was a chemist who was doing medical research. This little exercise made Alice realize the potential difficulties of living between two worlds. Undoubtedly, her father would invite Draco to dinner with them when he was in town and she knew such a meeting would be awkward for all the wrong reasons.
After the phone call, Alice heard a loud rattling noise and a pop coming from her laundry closet. Running over to the machine, she noticed water spewing from the lid as the clothes inside continued to spin. She quickly pulled the knob to turn off the machine only to have it break off. "Great," she said annoyed, now knowing she'd have to pull the machine from the wall to unplug it. Water continued to leak out and the machine rattled louder as Alice first tried climbing onto it to see if she could reach behind where the plug was. As she reached, the machine hissed and squeaked, and the rattling got louder. By this point, water started leaking into the kitchen area. No matter how hard Alice reached her fingers couldn't pull the plug. Frustrated, she began sliding out the machine from the wall, causing the front of her loungewear to become soaked in soapy water. The machine rattled louder as if it was resisting Alice. "Would you stop already!" she yelled, her voice trying to outdo the rattling noise. Suddenly the machine stopped even though she hadn't even gotten it halfway from the wall. "Seriously?" she asked herself, as she opened the lid to inspect the situation. It felt like the machine listened to her. She spent the night cleaning the mess on the floor and hand washing her laundry in the tub. "What is it with me and water?" she thought back to her tub mishap at Malfoy Manor. After calling building maintenance, she desparately hoped they'd replace the machine instead of repairing it. This was the second time it had leaked during a cycle and obviously their first repair hadn't remedied the situation.
Despite her washing machine troubles, Alice was able to sleep incredibly well. She attributed this to being back in her own bed after a week of absence. She planned on working on an article for a small newspaper that morning before heading off to the Leaky Cauldron to meet Draco for lunch in Diagon Alley. This venture would truly be her first step into the wizarding world as a free woman and having only caught glimpses of the world before, she was unsure of what or who she would encounter.
On the bus ride to Tottenham Court Road, Alice reminisced of her first trip there. To think she no longer needed to conduct research based on tabloid inquiries. She figured she would need to find a new research topic to keep her occupied these days. Perhaps she should just devote her time to turning her dissertation into a book or two. After exiting the bus, Alice found Charing Cross Road where the little pub was located. She was surprised that it was simply there in the open, an unhidden doorway to another world. Draco did mention an enchantment was placed on it to deter non-magic people from entering. As she stood a few meters away, she wondered if her magical gene had relapsed because she felt slightly apprehensive to go in. It was 12:25 pm, a little early to meet to Draco. She knew her apprehension was undoubtedly due to being headline news for the past week and, not having received a Daily Prophet after the trial, she had no clue what was recently written about her.
Taking a deep breath, Alice entered the pub door, quickly sliding her oversized sunglasses on top of her head to meet the darker lighting. She found the use of candlelight odd but charming, even if it had the effect of making places seem creepier than they are. The pub was packed with customers and the loud noise of conversation met her ears. Like before, her entrance caught more than a few of the customer's attention. Without a doubt they recognized who she was and as Alice moved through the space she noted a Daily Prophet with a picture of her and Draco on it, the headline read, "The Malfoys Hosted a Muggle?"
Suddenly a voice called out, "Hoi, your Alice McNally," and the man who Alice rightly assumed was one of the pub's owners came over to greet her. He looked to be the same age as Draco.
"Neville Longbottom," he said cheerfully offering his hand, "I fought on your grandfather's army."
"Hi," Alice assumed by his tone that his intentions were friendly and she realized again how everyone seemed to know her grandfather. "So you went to Hogwarts too?" she asked as she shook his hand.
"That's right, we were quite surprised that it was you who were in our pub last week," he replied.
"Oh, so you're the owner?" Alice asked about the assumption she had made previously, but Neville quickly corrected her.
"My wife is the owner," Hannah slowly made her way from the kitchen to stand beside her husband. "This is Hannah."
Alice offered her hand and said concerned, "I apologize for any disruption I caused last week."
"That's quite alright," Hannah said reassuringly, "I assumed you were out of place."
"That obvious, huh?" Alice thought back to how clueless she must have looked, especially when she inquired whether the place had internet connection.
"No worries," Neville added, "Glad things worked out for ya. What brings you back?"
Before Alice could respond, Draco showed up beside her and said, "She's meeting me."
Alice couldn't help her face from smiling at the sight of Draco, who had an equal I'm-glad-to-see-you look on his face.
"Draco, haven't seen you at Hogwarts in awhile," Neville wasn't surprised he was there, considering the news.
"I've been doing research at the Ministry for the past several weeks," Draco replied, "Though I heard recently that Slughorn might be taking some time off." He wasn't necessarily friends with Neville, but they remained civil to each other when they came in contact at the school.
"Rumor has it he might be retiring soon. Interested in the position?" Neville asked.
"If it's offered," Draco replied not feigning his interest. Surprisingly, teaching came more naturally to him than he thought though his teaching techniques may have been more reminiscent of Professor Snape than anyone else's. Slughorn had recently mentioned his desire to take a break, saying he wanted to change his routine and do some travelling.
"Do you teach there too?" Alice asked Neville, wondering what his relation to the school was.
"I'm the Herbology professor," he said happily; his passion and career finally found a meeting point at Hogwarts. He had spent a few years as an auror before taking the position and never looked back. "There's going to be a lot of changes at Hogwarts next year, several positions are opening up. Seems to be the retirement age for many of the professors. I feel like an infant there sometimes. Ya know Alice, you would make a fine Muggle Studies professor."
"Me?" Alice responded a bit surprised.
"Don't be surprised if you hear from McGonagall, she just as impressed as everyone else is."
"I'm sorry, who is McGonagall?" Alice asked, a bit confused by the whole remark.
"She's the headmistress of the school. Taught Transfigurations when we were there," he said, referring back to their student days.
"I see, I haven't thought about teaching in this realm. I still haven't been able to find a job in my own," Alice said jokingly although bitter. The job search was definitely irking her.
"Have to see what happens, but I'll let her know you're free," Neville said, "Don't want to keep you two, heading into Diagon Alley I presume?"
"That's right," Draco replied, grateful that Neville proceeded to end the conversation or he was going to. He was a lot chattier than he used to be in school.
"Well, it was nice meeting you Alice," Neville said.
"Same here," Alice replied and gave a quick wave to Hannah, who earlier had gone back to tending customers.
"See you around," Draco said before taking Alice's hand. His unexpected touch made Alice feel like a bolt of energy went through her.
After saying goodbye, Draco led Alice through to the back corridor and out into a courtyard which was completely walled in by a large brick fence. A couple of barrels were lying about and some weeds had grown through the stone flooring below. Alice wondered where the entrance was but knew enough about the magical world not to ask too hastily; most likely it would be revealed by some magical incantation.
Draco took out his wand but before tapping it counter-clockwise on the brick wall in front of them, he turned towards Alice and said warmly, "It's nice to see you again."
Alice couldn't help the smile from forming across her face, she felt the same way even if they hadn't been apart very long, "I was thinking the same thing."
Draco then tapped his wand lightly several times and the bricks began to separate to provide an entrance big enough for the both of them to walk through. Alice shook her head in admirable disbelief. Immediately beyond the gateway was what looked like a never ending street lined with antiquated buildings that reminded Alice of the places she saw at Hogsmeade; however, these shops were a lot more condensed and the street was more crowded with people. This might be the equivalent of the magical world's London she thought as they stepped through, unconsciously she pulled her sunglasses over her eyes.
Draco noticed this and asked slightly mocking, "You trying to hide behind those big things?"
Alice flashed a smile, "Do you think it'll work? And big is in this season."
"You just sounded like my mother," Draco replied amused.
"That's probably why we get along so well," Alice laughed and then took his hand as they strolled up the street. It was Draco this time who felt a bolt of energy rush through him at Alice's touch.
Alice couldn't help but peer into shop windows as they went along; there were garment stores, book stores, pet stores, broomstick stores, everything you'd imagine in a wizard shopping district.
"Students typically come here to purchase their school supplies each year, that's why there are so many generic places in one section. I wanted to take you to this curry shop up ahead," Draco noticed Alice's avid curiosity.
"I wondered, I thought three shops that sell only cauldrons was a bit much," Alice couldn't help but be amused by the stereotypical witch kitsch.
This whole time the couple was braving stares and hushed whispers from passersby. In some ways, Alice's oversized sunglasses brought more attention to her seeing how not many magical people wore them. Draco gave people rude stares if the onlooker's eyes lingered too long. Alice was able to ignore most of them since she was more content looking in shop windows, reading store signs and seeing moving posters plastered on walls. For her, it was like stepping into a foreign country for the first time where everything was new.
They reached the curry shop and Draco held open the door for Alice, which she found to be unexpectedly chivalrous of him and something she wasn't use to. His parents surely taught him manners. The small restaurant's tables were full of witches and wizards enjoying their lunch break, many no doubt were from the Ministry. Draco found a table near the back where they could eat out of view. Alice removed her sunglasses and placed them in her bag thinking she might keep them there later. Draco ordered on her behalf after Alice trusted his recommendation. The waitress recognized Alice but politely refrained from broaching the subject, perhaps weary of her date's wrath, and took their order without questions.
"You don't know how relieved I am to be here," Alice said after he ordered, "I woke up thinking it was a dream, that last week didn't happen."
"You're not the only one," Draco confirmed, as he admirably watched Alice's bright eyes wander to the ceiling and across the walls as she took in every framed picture on the wall. He liked how inquisitive she was, always pondering and discerning her surroundings.
"Sorry," Alice said embarrassed after she noticed Draco's eyes on her, "Everything's novel to me. To think the seven million people who live in London don't know this place exists, it boggles the mind," she scratched her head and then changed the subject, "So how was your morning at the Ministry?"
"Interesting to say the least. As expected I had to deal with some inquiries in my office. Luckily most of the workers know well enough to leave me alone," He smirked.
"Your bad reputation is good for this situation," Alice grinned. Inwardly she was attracted to his bad boy image, even if she knew he wasn't all that bad. "I didn't read the paper, but I assume by seeing a headline that you and well, we were mentioned."
"Don't worry, our relationship would be known sooner or later. Once people get over the shock of it, they'll move on..."
After lunch, which Alice thought tasted like her Aunt Marla amazing home cooking, Draco led her back through Diagon Alley, saying he had one more stop to make with her before he should return to work. For some reason, Alice did not find herself questioning him, something she hadn't done since they met; a trust she did not allot too many people. They passed by an extremely colorful building with a smiling ginger haired animatron man who repeatedly took his top hat off and on.
"What's this place?" Alice asked amused as she peered in the window and saw a young boy walking up the side of the wall.
"A joke shop where you can buy love potions, tonics to make you appear ill, trick wands, things like that. You'll find it filled with kids mostly," Draco continued to move down the street with Alice, her face now grimacing at the idea of love potions. They came upon a small shop whose interior and windows looked a bit newer than the others, like it had been remodeled in the previous years.
Draco stopped before the entrance and Alice read the writing scrolled across the building out loud, Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. Her heart stopped and she didn't move, despite Draco moving his hand for the door knob. A wash of apprehension was apparent on her face, she was not sure she was ready for this. The idea of others doing magic was still settling in as reality for her, but the idea of her doing magic was not something she knew how to approach. Draco saw the uncertainty in her eyes and let go of the door knob and moved in front of her, placing his hands on her shoulders.
"Hey, you don't have to do this if you don't want to," he said concerned, "But I'd like to teach you magic, if only the basics, so at the very least you can maneuver this world better. You are ready for this Alice. I know you are."
Alice knew he was right, that she was ready, or her grandfather would not have lifted the enchantment. She nodded her head and tried to wipe the worry from her eyes as he led her into the shop. The tiny space was lined floor to high ceiling with small rectangular boxes of wands and the only thing that stood in front of them was a small counter strewn with several pieces of parchment. A well-used quill hovered and wrote notes on the paper that sat below its tip.
"Ahh," a meek voice from the back of the shop called out, "I've been expecting you Alice McNally."
Alice's eyes grew wide, he had to have seen her through the window she thought.
"To think you are fifteen years late in coming here, very rare indeed," the wizened man slowly walked from behind the shelves, his face layered with years of wisdom, his white hair incredible unkempt.
"And young Mr. Malfoy, I assume your wand is still in one piece," he looked observantly at Draco. Neither he nor his parents were easy customers to deal with.
"Yes, Mr. Ollivander, I'm only here to support Alice," Draco said politely, despite being slightly uncomfortable in his presence due to their past history.
"And she will need your support now more than ever. Very rare my dear," He gazed heavily upon Alice who hadn't spoken; her eyes looked a bit concerned and slightly skeptical by what he would say. He slowly moved towards the back of the store and pulled a box from the very bottom of shelf. It was slightly damaged on its front corner. He blew the heavy dust from its surface and walked towards the front counter, "Very rare that a wand has been waiting for you since your coming of age; that it should wait and survive the destruction of this very store."
He slowly opened the box and pulled out a non-descript stick of reddish brown wood, heavily polished and smooth from tip to handle.
"This is Burmese teak wood, very few wands are made of this material exist outside of Asia. Inside is a feather of an albino peacock, another rare specimen," he placed the handle in front of Alice who continued to stare at the wand before she allowed her hand to move towards it. She clasped it lightly and once Ollivander release his end, she felt a surge of energy fluctuate through her.
"Precisely," he mused confidently knowing his choice was correct. "This is your wand my dear, rare, for you are also rare," his eyes smiled at her and Alice gave him a quizzical stare.
"How do you know?" she cautiously asked, finding her ability to speak after a very odd experience.
"The wand chooses its owner, not the other way around," Ollivander said distinctly handing Alice the wand's box. She slowly placed the wand in it and closed the lid, feeling odd when she parted from its touch. "Your apprehension is well-expected for your age, but it should not stop you from accepting who you are now."
Draco stepped up to the counter next to Alice and placed his hand on her shoulder reassuringly. He also gathered several galleons from his pocket to pay for the wand. Ollivander's raised the palm of his hand at Draco to stop him, "This wand has no price. I am just glad to finally see it in the hands of its owner."
Ollivander then looked upon Alice whose face had softened considerably, though her mind was still in thought. She managed to say thank you to the old man before leaving the store, her boxed wand now securely placed in her bag.
"You okay?" Draco asked Alice, who looked like she had seen a ghost.
"Just a little overwhelmed. Hey, thanks for offering to pay, for lunch too," she had already made the mistake of pulling out the wrong currency at the restaurant only to realize that the magical world did not use the English pound. Alice was not a girl who expected the guy to pay.
"Don't be silly," Draco was still a bit surprised by the notion of a girl paying on a date; he never had that happen before. Most likely because most girls knew his family was loaded and expected such a courtesy.
"Then the next one's on me," she said, already thinking of where to take him in the muggle world.
"You sure you're okay?" Draco asked again, knowing Alice had intentionally changed the subject.
"It's a big change," Alice's voice grew a bit hushed, "I wasn't sure about learning magic. I mean, to suddenly change at this point in my life seems difficult. But you're right, I should know the basics so I can manage better in this world."
Draco understood her apprehension, she feared personal change and she still wasn't sure if she would fit in here. "It'll be easier than you realize," his tone was encouraging, "I was thinking of starting lessons tonight, if you're up to it."
Alice was amused by his eagerness; he wasn't going to let her not challenge herself. She smiled confidently at him and winked, "Good reason to spend more time together."
"That's right," Draco returned her smile with a slight blush, then mischievously added, "Don't expect me to go easy on you though."
"I wouldn't count on it," Alice replied equally charmed by the thought.
They had reached the entrance of the Leaky Cauldron and after a simple wand motion, the bricks peeled back, allowing them to enter the courtyard where Draco would have to leave Alice to return to the Ministry.
"I should finish around 5 today, so I'll apparate in slightly after that?" Draco asked with his hands clasped on the side of her arms.
Noting that they were alone, Alice moved forward to embrace him, her lips softly meeting his in a goodbye kiss. "Until then," she whispered after parting his touch. Draco nearly melted on the spot.