Esme quickly learned that Madam McNutly was able to convince Tom to let her stay for the next month, and the time went by very quickly. She spent most of her time working for shopkeepers, saving money for school supplies, and writing down everything she learned in her leather notebook. It had become quite handy lately since she was learning something new every minute, if not every day. Her favorite person to work for was a man named Florean Fortescue, who ran an ice cream parlor down the alley and gave her free samples whenever she worked. Eventually, she was able to get all her supplies, by either buying them or receiving them as a form of payment from the shopkeepers.
The shopkeepers, such as Mr. Fortescue, taught her things she should know while living in the wizarding world. One such lesson was about wizarding families and Hogwarts houses. One day in late July, Mr. Fortescue was having Esme sweep the front of the shop while he stocked up on ice cream toppings. Mr. Fortescue was a tall man in his late 40s, with brown hair, and a bushy mustache, who sported a dad-like belly. All in all, a charming man who made her feel welcome whenever she came to work.
"Now, Esme, there is one thing I wanna make clear about us magic folk…" Esme turned to look at Fortescue as he leaned on the counter, his face all scrunched up which made his beard and mustache look like a patch of fur on his face. He sighed and looked out towards the streets, "Alot of us have this… Certain way of thinking is one that I'm not too proud of. Some of us think that because we come from a family of wizards, the 'pure bloods', think that they deserve respect. And you should always show everyone respect, Esme, you know that." She nodded in agreement, Esme didn't know why he looked so sad but she wanted to listen anyway.
"Those people, the 'pure bloods', think that anyone who is born from a family of muggles, the 'muggle-borns' as most people call us, aren't as good as them. It's codswallop if you'll pardon my speech, but it's the world we live in Esme. I want you to be safe, so if you meet any other witch or wizard, see if they like muggles. If they like muggles then they are good people to have around. However-" Suddenly a tall man with long platinum blonde hair strode into the store. Esme quickly backed away from the man startled at his sudden appearance. He looked vaguely familiar but with his air of power, she figured she'd just seen him in the papers or something. "Morning, Mr. Malfoy, what's today's order?" Fortescue cheerfully asked although Esme noticed that his smile seemed to be a bit forced.
"Hello Fortescue, I'm here on a business trip but my son, Draco, went off to get his robes tailored, so I thought I'd come by and get the usual." Mr. Fortescue nodded, "Of course coming right up!" He left the back to grab the premium soft serve from the back, leaving Esme and Mr. Malfoy in the front to wait. Esme wanted to finish sweeping her area but she felt like if she asked the man to move he would not be too happy, so instead, she politely asked, "How is your day going, sir?" Mr. Malfoy, mildly surprised that there was a child in the shop that wasn't intimidated by his presence, had spoken to him. He turned to look down at the small girl timidly holding a broom and gave a small smirk, "Fine. Are you a helper to Fortescue young lady?" Esme nodded nervously, "Someone needs to help to keep the place clean for our fine customers, like you sir." Mr. Malfoy seemed to straighten with pride, "Quite right, if only more… workers, were as intelligent as you."
Shortly after Fortescue helped ring up Mr. Malfoy's order and Mr. Malfoy left with a curt nod to Fortescue and a small smile to Esme, "Perhaps one day I'll hire you to help around my house. I could use some good help for once." Then with a flick of his cape he left.
Finally, the day Esme was scheduled to go home had arrived. She assured the shopkeepers that she would try to visit soon, but she honestly didn't know when she would be coming back. It depended on what her parents wanted her to do. Speaking of her parents, Esme didn't know if her father had come to terms with her being a witch yet. During the month and a half, she was gone, he only wrote twice, and what he wrote concerned her. For some reason, he felt inclined to tell her he had bought a lot of science books that explained the supernatural. Despite her father's letters, she was excited to be coming home after being gone for so long.
The Knight Bus trip back home was calmer than her first, due to them traveling in the morning where they had seats instead of beds. The entire time, she was thinking of how to address her mom and dad after being gone for so long. Madam McNutly noticed her getting more and more worried and smiled down at her understandingly, "Everything is gonna be okay, Esme. I'm sure your parents can't wait to see you," Esme tried for a smile, but her nervousness made it extremely difficult. Soon they stopped in front of the driveway to her house, her father's car glinting in the sunlight. Esme didn't know if the knots in her stomach were due to the excited butterflies or the lingering fear in the back of her mind. Regardless of her feelings, Esme knew it was time to go.
She hugged Madam McNutly goodbye, then grabbed her things, "Thank you for all your help, Madam McNutly. I hope to see you again really soon," Madam McNutly smiled at her knowingly, "I'm sure we'll see each other again real soon, Esme. Don't hesitate to write me now and then, the address I gave you will deliver your letter to the wizarding mail unit. They will make sure an owl brings your letter to me," Esme nodded, then waved goodbye to Ernie as she descended the steps onto the street. She looked back and saw Madam McNutly's smiling face as the bus sped away, down the road and out of sight.
She looked toward her house and took a deep breath, but before she could even take a step, the front door opened, "Esme? Is that you?" Esme smiled as her mom stood in the doorway relieved, "Hi mom!" Mrs. Brown ran over and gave Esme a big hug, "I missed you so much, Esme! How was your trip? What did you learn while you were gone?" Esme laughed as she gently let go of her mother, "I missed you as well mom, and don't worry. I'll be able to tell you all about my journey over some lunch… I'm hungry" Mrs. Brown laughed and nodded, "Of course my little one, let's go inside. Your father is in the living room right now, perhaps you can say hello to him as well? He's missed you too, Esme,"
Esme paused and gave a small smile, "Y-yeah… I guess…" Mrs. Brown smiled, oblivious to the inner turmoil that Esme was experiencing, and led her inside the house. When they got inside, Esme immediately noticed the pile of books that was on the living room table. The titles that were the most notable were "Explain the Unexplainable with Science" and "Scientific Explanations for Odd Situations". Benjamin Brown looked up from the book he was reading calmly, "Magic is Advance Science", and nodded towards Esme, "Good to have you back, Esme. I was worried you'd gone and stayed with those hooligans…" Esme shifted uncomfortably and hid her luggage behind her back, "Yeah… I'm glad to be back…"
Mrs. Brown finally caught on to the tension that was rising between the two and broke the awkward silence, "Well I'm glad to have my family back… Why don't we go fix ourselves some lunch, Esme?" Esme nodded and walked briskly past her mom to the kitchen. After she was gone Mrs. Brown turned to Mr. Brown concerned, "Darling, I thought that you were going to be supportive of Esme… You barely said anything to her…" Mr. Brown flipped the page of his book and continued reading, "I said I would support her. Not any of the nonsense she talks about."
Mrs. Brown sighed and shook her head quietly while Mr. Brown continued, leaving a bookmark to hold his place, "I can not believe that the normal daughter we raised claims to have magical powers. Everything was perfectly fine until that… Woman barged into our home and made a mess of our perfectly happy, good, and normal family," Mrs. Brown took a long breath, then stated calmly, "Jorge. Benjamin. Brown. You are the last person to talk about being normal. You were bullied in school for being interested in science because the other boys wanted to join the Portuguese Military. You were considered so abnormal, that when we got married no one was surprised that you married an English woman and went by your middle name…"
Mr. Brown was about to answer her, but she kept going, "My point is nobody is normal, Benjamin… Besides, we all knew Esme was special. We just got a daughter who is special in a way we didn't know about…" She knelt in front of him and held his hand pleadingly, "Can you please try to accept her? For me, meu amor?" Mr. Brown's serious face faltered, he could never stay upset when she broke out the Portuguese. He sighed and put his book down, "... Alright, I'll try…" Mrs. Brown smiled and stood up with him, "Thank you, Benjamin! You don't know how much this means to me," He smiled and kissed her, "I'll do my best to listen to her… stories…." She smiled at him, "That's my Benjamin. Now let's go have some tea, I'm excited to learn about Dragon Alley or wherever she stayed at!"
Things were rocky at first, but Mrs. Brown somehow worked her magic to find ways to bring Esme and Mr. Brown together again, even if it was just a little bit. Esme spoke about the wonders of Diagon Alley, anecdotes about the amazing people she met, and little factoids she learned from her books. Mrs. Brown was fascinated with everything that Esme told them, while Mr. Brown tried to humor his daughter's wild stories. 'It's nice she thinks that the things she's seen are real, but I can't wait till this silly fantasy comes to an end…' However, during dinner on August 5, Esme mentioned going to school, and to say it was a shock to Mr. Brown, was a major understatement.
"You're going WHERE?" The glass he was holding slipped out of his hands and onto the floor with a crash. Esme shriveled in her chair like a dandelion that had been sprayed with weed killer, "I… um… Hogwarts… dad…" Mrs. Brown watched worriedly, "Dear… Please let her explain…" Mr. Brown took in a deep breath and tried to de-red his face, "Alright… Young lady, explain yourself."
Esme knew she was in trouble when he put on the stern teacher face, his voice went cold and his expression was unreadable. She had only seen it a few times, like the time that she had brought in a family of rabbits to live in the garden or knocked over his very expensive chemistry set. "R-remember when-when Madam McNutly said that I was g-going to Hogwarts? Well, th-that's why I've been gone this month… To get my school… supplies…" Mrs. Brown nodded understandingly, "I see… Did you manage to get everything, Esme?" Mr. Brown sighed and closed his eyes, then he took his glasses off and rested them on the table, "Esme… Are you sure this place exists?" Esme nodded, "Positive… At least 83% of the people in Diagon Alley have either attended Hogwarts or seen it in person… I calculated it myself,"
Mr. Brown looked at Mrs. Brown for… something, anything at this point. But she sternly looked at him, mouthing the words, 'Support. Her.' He sighed once more and asked quietly, "When do you leave?" Esme blinked in surprise, then stammered, "Sep-September 1st, at… 11 am sharp…" Mr. Brown grabbed his glasses and looked at Mrs. Brown, then to Esme, "Guess we should start getting ready then…" A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth and Esme jumped into his arms extremely relieved, "Thank you, daddy! Thank you!" Mrs. Brown wiped away some stray tears that had escaped her eyes, her family was going to make it after all.