Chapter 8 School Schedules and Shopping

A short narration

Time was passing quickly and everyone was getting into their schedules. The tutors were being paid extra for the new students and they had no problem adjusting their times to fit in Maisie. When they were not teaching, they were learning from the Owens witches.

The boys were continuing their lessons with both the paid teachers and their family. Jordan had no idea what he was getting into when he agree to be tutored, but like Harry said, the tutors were cool. However, the aunts were making sure the kids had plenty of time for fun. The women jokingly complained that they had never had to work so hard in their lives.

Now, three of those teachers were going to be dismissed because it was time for the magical school to start. The only tutor that would stay on was Luis, though he would come at night. Agent Mumford would stay in the house, but as a bodyguard instead of a tutor. There had been a few incidences that made the government careful about the celebrity they had in their country. They didn't want the bad press should anything happen to him. Like any politician, they were wary of the press. If reporters started digging they might find the skeletons in their closets, and no one wanted that to happen.

Kippy was still a valued member of the family, yet was maintaining her house elf self and continuing to clean and tend the kids. She did was doing odd jobs for the Hiltons and Agent Mumford —they paid her well for her services. She was earning her check from the Owens women, of course, since she had no other way of making a living. She was, however, insisting on paying rent for her little room that they had made for her off the kitchen. They tried to tell her that is was part of a servants package, but she was stubborn and paid them five dollars a week for the room. There was even talk of her trying to hire herself out as a supply runner in SunSpot Alley, when the boys were in school. But it was just talk right now.

The Owens family and Hiltons became inseparable. The boys saw each other every day to play and learn. Luis brought him up to date on his etiquette, much to his mum's relief. She had been worried about his manners for when he went with the boys back to England. Not that she thought he was rude, but he would have to sit with the Owens boys and make sure they all stayed calm.

Even little Maisie was getting a firm hold on a few things that were making her life easier. The aunts made sure to teach her Wiccan magic so she would have a bit of power of her own. The little lady spent hours with the aunts each day learning from the Book. They were only simple spells and herbal potions. They would get into training her in magical potions when she was older. The little girl was ecstatic that she could make skin softening cream and a mugwort balm. The little bit of magic that she had would let her do small rituals, for things like good harvest and good luck. The aunts kept her firmly away from love spells and other mind altering magic. They made sure to copy the pages they were comfortable letting her read and kept her away from the darker aspects of the Book.

The agent that lived in the house, Claire, also jumped on this development and reported it to the government and a new program was set up for squibs to learn Wiccan magic. Finley declined stating that he was fine without magic.

Evie and Jordan were learning a lot from the tutors in the Owens household. Evie was marveling at the wandless magic she was being taught by the aunts and Gilly. She kept them abreast on the news from England.

Sirius was still hunting the objects unknown. All they knew was that he was bribing officials and sneaking down Knockturn Alley, which Evie told them was were Dark Wizards went. The Owens women figured out really quick that he was hunting the horcruxes, but kept that information to the family.

The Hilton mum let them know that Dumbledore and the Ministry were still looking for Harry, they really didn't care about Neville, but they want the Boy Who Lived on British soil. They had come to America and cause a bit of a commotion, but they didn't find anything, thanks to Evie.

Ever since the Owens women had taught her how to use her magic wandlessly, Evie and her family had enjoyed the benefits of using Muggle appliances, like the telephone. It was much better than the Floo, and she could warn her friends much faster. There had been three times, so far, that someone from England was in New Salem watching the town. She had warned her friends, who in turn told Agent Mumford, who of course reported it. This was the main reason that the agent was in the house still.

Now every magical British visitor gets questioned more thoroughly than before as to their purpose in the United States. The United States Government now knows who the boys are and how they got there. They've seen the paperwork and felt there was no need to tell the British anything, a little magic and money went a long way. Especially, when they were told the reasons they were wanted. They weren't the only country that was questioning the British agents as to why they were searching outside their jurisdiction.

Albus Dumbledore was making it hard for anyone to move about in England without him or his cronies questioning their motives, so they were returning the favor. The British Magical Government followed the Headmasters lead. While Sirius made a show of doing the same.

September 2, 1988, New Salem

In four days' time the boys would go to Salem Magical Institute. The Owens women and Evie were going over the brochure. Evie had made the witches wait until days before school started to get supplies. She wouldn't even let them read the pamphlets until today. She never told them why, just that it had to happen that way. Since her predictions helped keep the boys safe, they followed along. They were curious as to why she wouldn't tell them what she saw, and after they were done going over the school's information they would ask.

While SMI was the only public school in the area, the boys had been invited to many private schools all over the United States, but Evie told them not to read the invites, and that she would explain today. Gilly had glanced at the addresses and was contemplating sending Harry to a few of them, but kept her word and left the letters alone. When she mentioned sending them away to Harry, there had been quite a fit thrown. Then right at the beginning of the enrollment date for SMI, Evie made them do so, making sure they used the name Owens.

Now the women of the two households were sitting in the living room of the Owens' house. There were tall glasses of iced herbal tea, Kippy's blend of course, and plates of little finger sandwiches with turkey and cheese, on the table between them. The kids were outside playing with Finley as Agent Mumford watched. They had already gone over the private schools and were now looking at the pamphlet for SMI.

"This is so different from Hogwarts," Evie said, her eyes roving the colorful pamphlet in front of her, taking in all the classes and pictures of the main teachers. "There are even two different buildings for the same school." She was looking at the rather luxurious buildings that looked more like grand mansions than school buildings, albeit small mansions, only five stories tall, but mansion nonetheless.

"What's so different? I mean, it's a school right? How could it be that different?" Gilly asked, hoping that variances were for the better. They had picked Evie to be the read the pamphlet out loud, to make sure they understood everything and nothing was missed. This was because she had a magical education, and they felt she could explain things better. Each aunt had their own pamphlet and would follow along while Evie spoke. They would ask questions, when appropriate.

"Well for one, there are non-magical classes at SMI," Evie started to explain, pointing out the unusual classes, making sure the aunts understood. They might need to know this when the boys went to Hogwarts. "Hogwarts doesn't have those."

"I wonder why," Jet said, mostly to herself.

"They are probably worried that the pure-bloods can't keep up," Frances offered as an explanation.

"That's more than likely it," Gilly said, looking to Evie for confirmation.

"Well, it could be, but I'm not sure," the Hilton woman answered.

"So what else can we expect?" the red-blonde asked, waving the lack of non-magical classes in Magical Britain. They had long ago accepted that those bigots would do something like that.

"Well, reason number two is that Hogwarts is a boarding school and SMI is a day school. The kids will take a magical school bus at 7 a.m. to school each morning and return in the evening at either 3:45 p.m., or if they did sports or band 5 p.m. Do you think they will?" she asked, already knowing the answer, but wanted to confirm.

"Oh, yeah you can count on Harry and Neville wanting to join the football team," Gilly said with a chuckle. The boys were happy playing catch in the back yard, but since most of the town disliked them, they only had Jordan to play with, and they had to teach the poor boy the game. They would be ecstatic to join the team when they were old enough. She looked at her pamphlet and saw there was a pee-wee team; it was flag football, which should be good enough for the boys. "Oh, look they have a flag football for younger children," she exclaimed.

"What you Americans call football, isn't. I'm not even sure what to classify that game as," Evie retorted and then went back to contemplating the brochure. "I think Jordan would like that though. I don't see any Quidditch on here, that's another difference, so I'm counting that as three."

"What's Quidditch?" Gilly asked, looking over the extra-curricular activities. There were flying classes after school, but no flying sports. The classes were held in the gym, to keep the non-magicals for seeing.

"Quidditch is a sport much like what you call soccer, but it's played in the air," Evie explained. "Now, let's back to the differences. Four," the little blonde continued, "the school year is shorter at SMI. Your American schools only go for nine months, while England's go for ten."

"Yeah, but you guys have longer holidays," Gilly pointed out, gaining a nod from the narrator.

"Five, magical Britain stops schooling at age seventeen, here they stop at eighteen. Then there's the fact SMI starts at eight years of age, instead of eleven." Evie saw the confused looks so she clarified. "Hogwarts starts at age eleven, because that's when a child's magic supposedly stabilizes. Here they are saying that there is no reason to repress that. It says here they believe that theory can be taught along with simple wand spells," Evie rattled off, still confounded at the difference.

"Oh, well we know the boys have been doing magic for years, even Jordan has come along well," Jet said in a proud voice.

"You're right, but your magic doesn't need a stable core," the Hilton woman argued.

"Still…" Gilly trailed off, not wanting to get into a debate. "What else?" she asked instead.

"Six," Evie continued counting off on her fingers, "SMI teaches all the way to a Masters, Hogwarts only teaches until NEWT's."

"This could be why the school years are shorts, it says here that the classes are accelerated," Frances stated, pointing at the paragraph she just read, "which is probably why they can offer Master's Degrees."

"You're probably correct. Seven, the kids will only have one classroom with only one teacher until they are thirteen, except for a few classes, like computers and flying. It says here that they do that because they mostly study theory and mild spells until then. All younger year teachers have Masters in various crafts and even if they need a different teacher then the teachers will change rooms and the class stays were they are. Even in the non-magical studies, it says that this is normal for non-magical schools. Hogwarts has a separate teacher for each subject and you have to go to separate floors to find your class," Evie read off as the witches followed along.

"Isn't Hogwarts a castle? How do you find the classes?" Gilly teased, knowing that the former Ravenclaw would not take too much offence. It was all in good fun. Evie had opened up quite a bit since she started hanging around this house.

"It was difficult the first few weeks, but soon enough it was easy and we got a lot work out on the stairs," Evie said with a smile. "Eight, like you just said, Hogwarts is a large castle that is set away from all non-magical towns; SMI is two grandiose houses that are right smack-dab in the middle of Salem, which would explain why they don't have Quidditch." She tapped her chin at that thought.

"Why do you suppose there are two buildings?" Jet wondered out loud, going over her own booklet.

The youngest Owens glanced through her pamphlet and answered, "Oh, it says here they use computers and other technology. So they have to have a separate building for those. Then the other building is for magical studies. The second building has non-magical repelling wards. I guess that make sense. They don't know our magic yet, and even if they did, wand magic is still overpowered and will short electric stuff out. This is a relatively new development, and they only added the second building about five years ago."

"I wonder how they keep the non-magicals from seeing anything" Jet mused, with a small quirk of her mouth.

"They probably keep all the magic in the classrooms," Gilly answered, taking a sip of her tea. "Are there any more dissimilarities? I mean, really it's like a whole different world." She was completely floored by all the major differences.

"Yes, one more that I can tell. Let's see, nine, you have to enroll at SMI, Hogwarts is invite only. So I would say that the two schools are quite different." She finished a little out of breath after her narration; she took a large drink of her tea to ease her dry throat.

"What's the schedule look like? Are the boys going to be very busy?" Frances asked, worried the boys wouldn't have fun anymore with all the fast-paced classes, but knowing they needed to learn all they could now.

The time they had to go back to England was coming closer. The Owens women had done everything in their power to make sure the boys were ready, without crushing their free spirit. Now it was the magical world's turn. That and Evie said that Sirius Black would be coming into their lives in a few years, so if he tried to take the boys, they would be able to prevent it. Evie wasn't overly worried, but she couldn't see his intent, only that he was keeping the other hunters off of their trail.

"Let's see," Evie said, bring Frances out of her musings. "It says here, since they start school at the age eight, one week will be non-magical studies and the next magical. They switch buildings each week. So the schedule for first years in the first week is non-magical:

8:00: Announcements, lunch count, attendance, write the day's homework in planners

8:10-8:30: Basic computer setup and programs

8:30-9:00: Spelling, penmanship and phonics

9:00-9:30: Specials Classes: Physical Education, Music, Library or Art (to be switched per day)

9:30-10:15: Language: English, Latin, Spanish and French (to be switched daily)

10:15-10:30: Recess

10:30-11:15: Math (basic chemistry will be added weekly, no labs until 6th year.)

11:15-12:00: Reading

12:00-12:35: Lunch and lunch recess

12:35-1:35: History

1:35-2:00: Flexible time

2:00-2:40: Social Studies or Science

2:40-3:00: End-of-day administration, prepare for tomorrow, pack up and clean up, dismissal

3:30-4:45: Extracurricular activities

"Then they switch to magical studies, so the second week is:

8:00: Announcements, lunch count, attendance, write the day's homework in planners

8:10-8:30: Theory reading: Spells, curses and jinxes what's the difference

8:30-9:00: Wand movement and incantations (one day a week dedicated to wand care. For the first month)

9:00-9:30: Specials Classes: Physical Education (one flying class a month), Music, Library or Art (to be switched daily)

9:30-10:15: Language: Latin, English and French (to be switched daily)

10:15-10:30: Recess

10:30-11:15: Basic Arithmancy

11:15-12:00: Astrology

12:00-12:35: Lunch and lunch recess

12:35-1:35: History

1:35-2:00: Transfiguration

2:00-2:40: Magical government structure and laws

2:40-3:00: End-of-day administration, prepare for tomorrow, pack up and clean up, dismissal

3:30: Extracurricular activities

"So the schedule is still the same they just change off subjects," Jet said, after the narration. "There are separate teachers for non-magical and magical, but that is to be expected. It says here that when the first years are in magical studies then the non-magical teacher will teach the second years. The same with the upper years, so each teacher has at least two age groups to teach, until junior high, which is when the kids turn thirteen," she concluded with a thoughtful look on her face. That was tight schedule and she hoped it wouldn't be too much for the children. It was another major difference between the schools. Hogwarts only had three classes a day for the first two years.

"That sounds rather expedient," Gilly said smugly.

"Where did you learn such a big word, Gilly-bean?" Jet teased with a crooked smile.

"Bite me, you old hag," Gilly laughed, still trying to hold on to her youth with both hands and be the responsible adult she was becoming. It took a lot to get her to grow up, but the boys were a godsend in that area. The two women smirked at each other and then turned back to Evie as she continued.

"It doesn't look like they get much into wand use until next year. Runes and Care of Magical Creatures will be added when they are eleven and will replace the wand care and theory classes. Potions will be added when they are thirteen and will replace Astrology. The classes, magical and non-magical, will get progressively harder," the petite blonde said, going over the few years ahead so they would know what to expect.

"What is the supply list like? We're going to have to go to SunSpot tomorrow. I wish we hadn't waited, Evie, but you said that it was necessary," the youngest Owens whined playfully, not too worried that something bad was going to happen. Her seer friend had kept them out of a bit of trouble the past few years, by warning them when someone they didn't want to meet was close by, and to stay in their house.

Evie continued reading, "Let's see the supply list for the non-magical studies are:

No. 2 pencils

Colored pencils

A pencil sharpener (hand-held with a top to collect shavings)

A large pink eraser (The old-fashioned ones do the best erasing.)

Ballpoint pens

A box of crayons

Water-based markers

Spiral-bound or composition notebooks

Loose-leaf notebook paper

A three-ring binder

Pocket folders

A box for storing items

Highlighters

Index cards, ruled and unruled

A sturdy, supportive, expanded, feather light, backpack (SMI does not have lockers, please supply your child with this type of backpack)

Drawing paper

Construction paper

A ruler with English and metric measurements

Glue sticks

A four-ounce bottle of white glue

Scotch tape

A stapler

Scissors

Watercolor paints

Printer paper

Ink cartridges

A sturdy lunch box

A stainless steel water bottle

NOTE: Computer classes are mandatory, we recommend you purchase a computer for your home or visit your local library often. If you purchase a laptop, do not let your children bring it to the school. We cannot guarantee that it will be safe.

Additional Note: Emergency supply kits will be available for purchase for $5 each, the other option is to make your own and a pamphlet will be supplied on the first day of school. They are mandatory.

"Looks like we're going to have to set up a room with a computer for studying," Jet mumbled, going over the finances in her head. "At least we know there are enough funds for that."

Just as promised the goblins provided a substantial allowance to the witches. And just like they discussed, oh so many years ago, they put most of it away in a bank account for the boys. They were also very frugal when it came to spending said money, so that when the brothers and Jordan go back to England, there would be enough for at least one of the aunts to go with them. The Hiltons and the older aunts would have to stay here, but thanks to Evie's gift, they understood.

The goblins also invested the boys' trust funds and they grew to great proportions. The vaults now had a lot of money in them, which was taken to the family vaults at the end of the year. They wanted to make sure that the boys understood the value of a dollar. However, Luis was teaching them the fine art of 'gifts' in politics. They would need the extra money if they were to play with the Wizengamot.

Not having heard Jet's words, Evie continued on. "There's another difference from Hogwarts. This school supplies the books, even in magical studies and they stock potion ingredients. I wonder why we had to pay for the school and the books, plus supplies in Hogwarts." she questioned mostly to herself and then shook her head and went back to reciting the supply list. "Anyway," she said aloud, "the magical supplies are a lot fewer:

No. 2 pencils (for notes)

Colored pencils (for notes)

A pencil sharpener (hand-held with a top to collect shavings)

A large pink eraser (The old-fashioned ones do the best erasing.)

A calligraphy primer

Fountain pens (for homework)

Quill and ink (for homework)

Spiral-bound or composition notebooks (for notes)

Loose-leaf, three-hole, lined parchment (for homework: NEW: can be purchased in SunSpot Alley)

A three-ring binder

Pocket folders

A box for storing items

Index cards, ruled and unruled (for notes)

A sturdy, supportive, expanded, feather light, backpack (SMI does not have lockers, please supply your child with this type of backpack)

Wand

Wand holster

Wand cleaning kit

NOTE: It is recommended that magical and non-magical supplies are kept in separate backpacks.

Additional Note: Brooms are supplied by the school. Please, do not let your children bring their own broom. We cannot guarantee its safety, as there is no storage for such an item.

"So we can go to Salem in the morning and hit Wally World for non-magical supplies, and then get the magical stuff in the Alley, or visa-versa. I want to stop by All Things Wicca anyway and get some supplies for Maisie. She is also starting first grade this year and her supply list is the same as the boys' non-magical one," Evie concluded, and then put the guide back in her purse.

"Can you explain to us why the boys need quills and ink? Isn't that a bit old-fashioned?" Frances questioned. It never made sense to the Owens when Luis insisted that the boys learn the fine art of quill use.

"Well," the shorter woman started, tapping her finger to her chin, trying to figure out the best way to explain, "quills hold magic. That's pretty much the brunt of it. They can be enchanted to keep children from cheating, plus, they work better with parchment, which can also be enchanted. They've never been able to get non-magical pens and pencils, or paper, to hold charms. The feathers quills are made out of come from magical birds, freely given." She shrugged her shoulder as if it were a given.

"Oh, I guess that makes sense. I wonder how they keep them from cheating in non-magical studies. Well never mind, I'm sure they have their ways." The older Owens sister waved off the question and went back to her booklet.

"What I would like to know is why you made us wait this long to go over all this? The only thing you let us do is enroll the boys and you made us to that right away. So what gives?" Gilly asked the seer.

"Well, I saw letters arriving for other schools, and I knew that you might be thinking on sending them somewhere else, though I'm not sure why. So I made you enroll as soon as you could to SMI. The reason you had to wait this long is because the mall was flooded with British Ministry people looking for Harry." Her eyes pleaded for them to understand that she was trying to protect them. "I'm sure they did this in other countries to. This is not the only one that starts at such a young age."

That caused the aunts to gasp. Gilly opened her mouth to ask how it happened, but Evie plowed on.

"I have no idea how they slipped in under the American government's radar. But, if you had gone before today you and the boys would have been caught. That's the reason I told you that today we would be going over the differences. I know you guys, if you had read the supply list you would have been off like a shot to get them, you always want to supply the boys with everything they need as soon as they need it. This is not a bad thing, just something you couldn't do this time. So I made you wait. From what I see, Harry and Neville should be okay in there tomorrow," Evie explained, sometimes she liked her sight, if it saved her friends hardship.

The witches looked affronted, "Evie dear," Frances said, looking their friend in the eye, a small betrayed look on her face. "Do you believe we wouldn't have understood that?" she probed, hoping that was not the case.

"Oh Merlin, no! That's not why," she exclaimed, devastated that they would think that. "No, I know you would have understood, but I saw me telling you and Agent Mumford would have heard. She would then tell her boss and the Alley would have been flooded with counter-agents. Then the British government would know someone was hiding near Salem, you would have been found. No matter how I looked I couldn't find a way around that. As for the other schools, I saw Harry take care of that so my interference wasn't needed, except to hurry you along. I am so, so sorry I made you think, even for a minute, I didn't have faith in you. This is why I sometimes hate my gift," Evie explained as quickly as she could, small regretful tears forming in her eyes.

And that was why this gift was a two-sided coin.

Gilly messed her hair up sheepishly, "Yeah, we were thinking about sending the boys to a boarding school to keep them behind wards throughout the year, but Harry quickly dissuaded us of that notion. He told us if we ever tried to pull that again, he'd disown us. Sometimes I wish we had never taught him to stand up for himself, even with us." That boy had quite a mouth on him when he got going. Kippy had to keep shocking him, but he kept right on cussing up a storm.

Evie's tears dried up quick, remembering her vision of the boys being caught and there was no way she was going to let that come to pass. "If you had, he would have been found by Dumbledore and he would have been sent to his relatives. Harry would have hurt them. Not on purpose, but because they would have angered him to the point his magic would have flared and destroyed their house. Then the idiots in Magical Britain would have called him a Dark Lord. So it is best you didn't," she confirmed with a firm nod of her head.

"Yeah, I wouldn't want that to happen," mumbled the youngest Owens. Oh, she would have stormed Britain to get her boys back and that would be a political nightmare. That and she didn't know if she could stand up to someone like Dumbledore, for all she was learning about more magic.

"It is the wards around your house that keep him from being found. You must keep him here until he goes back," she ended her tirade with that venomous warning. Her small hand slammed flatly on the table, in emphasis, causing the glasses and plates to shake. She looked like she would move the earth itself to make sure they understood just how dangerous what they had planned was.

The witches nodded earnestly, they knew by now to listen to Evie. If she said keep Harry here then by all the Gods, they would keep him here. They settled Evie down and made plans for the following day. The boys came in a dinner time, flushed and happy. They had invited the Hiltons to eat with them, but Finley declined stating he had some work at home to finish.

The Owens family spent the evening discussing the school with the excite boys.

The next day the two families meet, at nine in the morning, at the Hiltons' modest one story house. They decided that they would travel by Jumping to All Things Wicca. Evie wanted to get some Wiccan books for Maisie, so they could continue the studies at night when the girl was done with her homework. Then they would all go to SunSpot Alley to get money and magic supplies, and then they would be off to Wally World to get non-magical supplies for everyone.

After the Owens family Jumped into the back yard of the Hiltons' house, they walked down the chilly wood chip path, which lead through the dying herb garden, to the back door and knocked.

Finley answered, looking a little rumpled, but smiling. He opened the door wider and said, "Good, you guys are here. We're just getting washed up from breakfast. Come on in. There's tea in the kettle." He waved the way to the kitchen, which was just inside the door.

The Owens family trooped in and unbuttoned their jackets, but didn't remove them. The elder aunts, dressed in their usual old-fashioned dresses with traditional traveling coats complete with umbrellas, got tea and settled at the kitchen table. The boys, in jeans, tee-shirts and denim jackets, took off like a shot to find their friend. Gilly, in hip hugging jeans and belly button shirt with a waist length leather jacket, just leaned against the counter and waited for everyone to be ready.

After about ten minutes everyone gathered in the kitchen, donning light jackets. "Is everyone ready?" Evie asked, dressed in jeans, button up blouse and light wool jacket, as she looked over her children to make sure they were bundled correctly.

"Yup," Jordan said, as he playfully shoved Harry, who had just mussed up his hair. He was dressed like his friends, only with a parachute jacket and not a denim one. Harry just ducked and laughed and mussed it up again. Neville looked on with a tolerant smile; he was always the calmer one. Oh, he still played, just not as rough as these two boys.

Finley was dressed in jeans, a button-up shirt, and denim jacket. Maisie was in a nice dress with a knee length wool jacket.

"Good. Maisie, you will go with Gilly. Finley, you go with Jet. They are better at sidelong Jumping than I am. Jordan, you go with Harry. Everyone, go to the back yard," she commanded as she shuffled her family out the door. Used to her ways, her family and friends just followed orders.

Gilly had asked once why they didn't Jump to and from inside the house and was told in no certain terms that it was very bad form to do any sort of traveling, short of the Floo, in a house. And the seer wouldn't be dissuaded from that. The Owens women respected her wishes for her house, but traveled all the time from theirs.

Gilly grabbed Maisie's hand and disappeared without a sound. Jet and Finley went next, and then Harry and Jordan and the rest traveled on their own. Jordon was still learning to Jump, but he was getting there. He could Jump around the yard, but if he couldn't see where he was going it didn't work. He was greatly frustrated with his lack of progress, but Gilly told him it would take time and that even Agent Mumford, who would be lurking around the mall today, and Luis had a hard time, which made him feel better.

They all arrived in the back room of All Things Wicca and then moved to the front of the store. The same clerk from before was tending the till and gave the group a nod. She was quite used to them and they were valued customers. They were some of the few magicals that were interested in Wiccan magic. She never asked why, just appreciated their purchases.

Evie went to the books with Maisie. Frances went with them to point out the journals so Maisie could start making her own Book of Magic. Jet and Gilly went to restock candles, crystals and incense. The boys and Finley just hung around the back and waited patiently, mostly, for the women to finish. After the women were supplied, they all went back to the back room and Evie opened the arch.

The sunlit mall was as busy as ever. It looked like they weren't the only ones to put off the shopping until the last minute. Parents and other adults were bustling from shop to shop, trying to corral their overly excited children. Said children were running all over the place, calling to friends and generally making a ruckus.

Harry made sure to keep his hat low on his head. They never could find a way to cover that stupid scar. Even non-magical make-up just faded away, like the damn thing ate it. It's like the fucking thing wants to be seen, he thought. Even though Death had removed the soul piece, the scar was still a curse scar and seemed to have a mind of its own. Stupid Fate and her stupid plans, he mused.

"First Gringotts, I think," Jet said as she headed to the back of the mall.

"You know, you would think that the bank would be at the front of the Alley," Gilly said as she held on to Maisie and followed her aunt. "It would make it the first thing to be seen, and easier to get money from," she commented.

"It's all about marketing," said Finley knowingly as that was his job, marketing for malls. "If you travel through the mall to the back, you'll stop and look at stores, see the sales and think to yourself 'oh look, a sale on shoes. I'll have to come back for that', making you want to spend money on things you aren't even here for." He sported a grin that make Gilly want to smack him upside the head.

"Oh, that's sneaky, but effective I'm sure," she replied, after all the man would know. That and that did make sense. Evil marketers, was her thought on the issue.

Jet was looking around the mall and noticed a man doing magic with a wand. He was making expanded book bags at a kiosk. She looked on with a small look of wonder on her face.

Evie noticed the look and questioned, "You know, every time you see men do magic you get that same look on your face, why?" It had been a burning curiosity since she had known the witches. There was just never a time the tutors weren't around for her to ask, or something else came up and took the thought away.

"Oh," Jet said, coming back to herself, "you have to understand, the Owens family have all been women for centuries. Marie was non-magical born and the first in our family. The curse she laid on us made every child a female. Until Luis, we've never seen any man do magic. And no matter how many years have passed, it still catches me off guard sometimes, which is rather funny, since he has been teaching us for years." She laughed at that. Poor Luis would catch her gawking and smile. She had explained it to him years ago, and he mostly understood.

"I didn't know that," Evie said with a nod, thinking there might be more to the Owens family than they have told her. This was okay there were still things about her family's past she kept to herself. Just because the two families were tight didn't mean they shared everything.

The group finally made it to the bank. The Owens troop went to the exchange counter, while the Hiltons went to withdraw from their vault. Since the Owens got direct deposit, they had not had to set foot in the vaults, ever. The only time they dealt with the goblins was when Harry or Neville had to come in for the yearly reports. It was something that started this year in January. The goblins wanted to make sure they understood, just what being a Lord meant. Luis and one of the aunts would come with them, but usually said in the background. The goblins didn't offer this service to many people, but their fear of Death made them do so.

After everyone got their money they all gathered at the front of the bank. They looked around the mall and wondered where to start.

"Okay," Gilly said as she looked around, "where first?"

"I think," said Harry, "that we should get the book bags first. That way we can just put everything in them so we don't have to carry bags and sh… ummm, stuff." He ran a hand through his hair and looked sheepishly at his aunts, who were all looking at him in fond exasperation.

He still had issues with cussing around his family. He was used to cussing out the bullies in town as they seemed to think it made him more bad-assed, and they left him alone more often than not. Since he was still on the short side, he took advantage of any tool he could use.

After the Magical Law Enforcement showed up one time, he refrained from jinxing the kids that confronted him or his friends and family. It had been their fault; if they hadn't been throwing rocks at Neville, he wouldn't have lost control. The spells the aunts taught them were off the radar, so to speak, unless they were strong, which that jinx was. They looked good in donkey ears, and it was too bad the Accidental Magic people showed and put them right. They changed the bullies' memories too, which made jinxing them useless.

It was a good thing they never found out who had done the accidental magic, or Harry would have been caught and sent back to England, and Evie said that would be a very bad thing. The seer warned him to avoid doing magic in town at all costs. So he took to cussing at them instead. It worked so he was going to use it.

Gilly blinked at the near miss, then shrugged it off. They had been warned to leave it alone, unless Harry started talking like a dock worker, which he only did when angry. As of right now, it was his only form of defense. If he used violence in any nature it would come back and haunt him in the future. "Sounds logical," she said, ruffling his hair to show she wasn't going to scold him.

When they got to the store they all headed to the side where the book bags were. "Pick what you want, kids, we've been saving just for today," Finley said to his two children. They both got excited looks on their faces and ran to the bags.

In the end, after much debate, Harry's first bag was a green bag that matched his eyes: on the back it had a large stag in a forest, which had a huge rack of antlers and would prance and jump through the trees. He knew from the journals that this was his dad's other form, too bad they didn't tell how to become and Animagus, since they all took place after his parents left school. The other was a red bag that had all sort of sports paraphernalia, including footballs, soccer balls, snitches and quaffles that bounce and flew around. It was a very busy bag. He had been tempted to get the one with flourishing lilies that opened and closed, but decided it was too girly.

Neville's choices were much more sedate, his first bag was forest green and had vines that twisted and bloomed. He didn't care if it was girly or not, he just liked the vines. His second bag was brown and had a large otter, which would slide down a hill into a lake, then would climb back up and do it again. he figured this bag made up for the first one, since it was much more manly.

Jordon's first bag was the same as Harry's sports one, only in blue. His second was a burnt orange bag that had books that would fly off the shelf, open and close, and then reshelf by their selves. While he wasn't quite a bookworm, he liked this bag and thought it was a good school bag.

Maisie's bag was one that was covered in butterflies and fairies. All the bags were spelled with a Notice-Me-Not charm that was aimed towards non-magicals, so they could be used in either world. So when she went to school all the other kids would see was motionless flowers and fairies.

They next went to the book store to get magical dictionaries and encyclopedias for the study rooms. There were some reference books they wanted to get as well. They didn't spend much time in this store, since SMI provided their textbooks and they still had to get the non-magical equivalents at Wally World.

Next was the stationery store to get a calligraphy primer, fountain pens and tips, quills and pen knife, bottles of ink, spiral-bound notebooks and loose-leaf lined parchment. All other stationery stuff they would get in Salem.

Since robes were not required, they decided to get school clothes in one of the second-hand stores, unlike the stores in non-magical Salem, these clothes were adjusted and repaired by magic and looked brand new. Shopping here saved both families a lot of money. And the Owens witches could make sure they weren't too out of date.

Last, but not least, it was time to get the wands. This store none of them had never been in before. It was called Wanda's Witches and Wizards Wand Shoppe, catchy title. Finley and Maisie declined going in, so the women and the boys left them as they split to the potions shop, so Finley could get stuff to stock the Hiltons' potions supply. He had a list from the Owens witches, and they made sure to give him money.

Like the rest of the Alley, Wanda's was bright and sunny, the shelves were neat and organized. There were benches for parents by the window. The store was colored in muted browns and blacks, but didn't come off as dark and broody. The boys excitedly bounced at the counter. The woman at the till looked on leniently; she was quite used to eight year olds. "Oh, here for your wands are you?" she said, smiling.

"Yeah," came the chorus of three, along with vigorous overexcited nodding of heads.

"Okay, then. Who is first?" the clerk asked. "I'm Wanda, by the way. You may call me Miss Wanda," she introduced herself to the boys and looked to the four women seated in the back and gave her permission for them to do the same with a nod of her head. She was old-school and didn't think it proper for children to use her first name without the honorific address.

"I think Harry should go last," Evie predicted and when she saw the slumped shoulder she added. "Not that you're not important, Harry, just I have a feeling you're going to take the longest. So let the others go first." She put a comforting hand on his shoulder and led him further back from the group.

Used to Evie's ways, a disappointed Harry nodded and sat on the bench. The aunts made sure to pat his hand and give him and encouraging smile.

Miss Wanda pointed to a large circle that was etched on the floor, and said, "Step in here, whoever goes first. This circle is spelled so misfired wands don't ruin my store." She gave a bright smile at that bit of spell work. She had heard the horror stories of other wand shops and how first time wand users would cause a lot of damage. So she invented this circle to prevent it.

Neville bravely stepped forward and stood in the circle indicated. A measuring tape flew out from behind the counter and started measuring everything, even the size of his feet.

"Ummm, why is it doing that?" a confused Gilly asked the wand maker, not sure how his feet size could help in picking a wand.

"Oh, are they Muggle-born, then?" she asked gaily. No one felt the need to point out how wrong she was. "Well, the tape is not just measuring for the length of the wand; it's also getting a ruling for his magic and personality. When it is done, a list will pop up and it will let me know which wands to try on him. The wand chooses the wizard, after all," the shop owner explained in a voice that said this was a common question.

The tape stopped measuring and the list appeared. Neville tried about twenty wands and finally matched with an eleven and three quarters inch, holly and Pegasus tail hair. "Holly wood is to symbolize truth and Pegasus hair is for wisdom, you will be a very true friend," Miss Wanda stated as she smiled at the proud looking boy.

Jordan stepped up into the circle. The tape did its thing and Miss Wanda chose the wands from the list. Jordan only had to try ten wands and was chosen by a ten inch vine with toenail of a sphinx. "Vines symbolize growth and life, the sphinxes are benevolent, but having a ferocious strength. You will be a strong protector," the shop owner predicted and handed the wand back to the beaming boy.

Then came Harry's turn, he stepped into the circle and waited for the tape to stop. The other boys sat in on the bench, having been forewarned it would take a while. The list that popped up was long, it was noted that this might have to be made. "Well, we'll just try the ones on the list first, since crafted wands are more expensive," the wand maker said, with a look of excitement.

Two hours and one hundred twenty-two wands later it was decided that he needed a crafted wand. Miss Wanda had to call in an assistant to take care of other customers. So the tired and mostly bored group got up and followed the wand maker to the back, after the shop owner informed her assistant that she would be unavailable.

"Okay, this is very simple," Miss Wanda told the weary boy. "Put your hand over the box of wood, we know from the wands earlier that you, like your brother, seemed to like your birth wood, holly, but let's make sure." She indicated the box on the far table.

Harry, grumbling that they should have done this first, stepped up to the box and held his hand over it. A few seconds later a twelve inch piece of Holly flew to his open hand.

"Now, step over here and try to find your core in the canisters on the shelf."

Harry again did as instructed and passed his right hand along the containers. It took about two minutes when one tin glowed.

"Griffin feather, very interesting," the shop owner said as she took the canister down. "A Griffin is a symbol of celestial power and a guardian of the divine. Needless to say, we can expect great things from you, young man." They never gave any of the boys' names. "It will take an hour for me to craft this wand. How about we go to the front and you can pay and then come back? This wand is twenty Galleons; the other two are seven each."

The women and the boys went to do as suggested and Evie paying for Jordan's and Gilly paying for her two wards. They met with a disgruntled Finley and Maisie, who had been waiting outside with melted ice cream on their hands and bags of potion ingredients at their feet. Maisie was looking particularly bored.

Gilly smiled sheepishly and apologized, "Sorry about that, we had to get Harry's wand special made. We had to go into the back, and I didn't even think about you two waiting out here." She blushed and so did the other women.

"We saw you were still busy with Harry, hours ago. So we went to the ice cream parlor. We brought you guys back some, but it melted a long time ago, and we had to toss it," Finley said, glaring at the abashed women. Again, apologies were made by the women, who with a wave of their hands cleaned up the two impatient squibs, as the boys told Maisie about their wands. The group headed to have a very late lunch and when they were done they went to get Harry's wand.

Soon it was time to go to Wally World, that trip was completely uneventful. Both families decided they were too tired to Jump, so the train was caught and everyone went to their home and to bed. They'd see each other tomorrow.