Love𝐑uler? (Grindeldore)

Chapter V

    Two years later, when August neared its end, Albus celebrated his eleventh birthday. Kendra took it upon herself to prepare a small cake to celebrate his birthday properly, but nothing could beat the 'present' that came from Hogwarts. An owl knocked on the window right after the sunrise. Kendra couldn't deny that she felt a bit disappointed that this owl looked nothing like the ones sent from Azkaban, but exactly that intrigued the woman enough to let the animal inside. Just then, she noticed the school crest in the circle of wax that sealed the envelope. She recognized it immediately. The time had come. Her firstborn son was about to leave her...for so many months. Kendra already felt her heart ache and, in fact, she felt quite stunned even though they all knew it would happen – Albus had shown his magical abilities after all, it was evident. Now it felt... so realistic, though. She didn't doubt for a moment that Albus was ready to take this step. He wasn't a child that would cling to his mother's skirt in fear of trying something new. Albus was diving head-first into the unknown, full of curiosity and enthusiasm. Kendra, however, wasn't entirely sure if she was ready for this.

Once Albus opened his letter, he couldn't stop grinning. He had been talking only about it for the past weeks or even months...about how the letter was going to arrive any day, and finally, the letter had arrived. Albus seemed unable to let go of it. He read it over and over again, so probably nobody would be surprised if the boy was capable of reciting it in his sleep without missing or changing a single word. After that, Kendra decided they would go to Diagon Alley - a street full of different stores and locals but only for wizards and witches. Muggles had no access to this street - it wasn't present on muggle maps, they couldn't see it or get there, even though the street was quite long and, in fact, full of life. It was the most famous place to go shopping for magical items in the whole of London, if not England. Young wizards and witches who were just starting their journey at Hogwarts came in large crowds to buy everything from the list that was attached to their very special letter, but it didn't exclude older students or adults who also visited Diagon Alley in order to buy different things or just meet up with other fellow wizards and witches. This made the street so lively and an amazing spot to start a business and join the family of stores, pubs, and locals.

Kendra was about to follow the instructions that Percival wrote about in one of his letters, which contained informations on how to get their savings out of Gringotts Wizarding Bank. Fortunately, the bank was also located on the same street as the stores that she and her son needed to visit. The plan for their trip was easy. Kendra would get their money out of the bank and then she and Albus would go shopping. Yes. Just her and her eldest son. Aberforth would stay with Ariana at home. It was too much of a risk to take all her children along to a place full of witches and wizards...especially little Ariana.

   The trip to London went impeccably - just like Kendra had planned it. She and Albus arrived in London around noon, after taking the train from a town near Godric's Hollow where the closest station was. It was Albus's first, carefree, trip. Aside from that, the boy's only experience with such longer trips was the time when he and his family had to leave their hometown. Kendra couldn't help but smile slightly as she watched her son who was glued to the window in their compartment, observing the changing scenery behind the glass, pointing out cows that were grazing in a meadow and counting them, constantly chatting about his excitement due to their visit to Diagon Alley. Sometimes Kendra had to remind her son to speak more quietly so people traveling in the same compartment wouldn't hear it. Most of them were probably muggles... 'magical people' certainly knew faster and better ways of transport.

Thankfully everything went according to plan. Kendra and Albus arrived in London after taking a train. Then they traveled by bus, following the directions from Percival's letter until they arrived at a brick wall in a dark alley. Percival mentioned it too. To get to Diagon Alley, someone had to knock rhythmically on certain bricks in a specific order. The crucial thing and the main problem was that this code was supposed to be applied to this wall... by a wand. Percival mentioned it briefly but seemingly, because of pressure of time, he forgot to mention some non-magical way of getting there. Kendra was a muggle and her son was supposed to get his first wand on Diagon Alley in Ollivander's store.