7 The Arrival at Hogwarts

"The Arrival at Hogwarts"

The Peaceful Day Breaks

The peaceful day at home was finally interrupted by the sound of an owl's wings as it delivered an envelope.

"Grandpa, Grandma, the Hogwarts letter is finally here!" exclaimed Stephen, a blond-haired, blue-eyed, and rather athletic boy, as he ran in from the yard, sweaty.

"Uf, yes, it seems the time has finally come. Though it makes me sad to be apart from my boy, it's time for you to study and make friends," said Grandma Perenelle with a hint of sorrow.

"Now, now, don't worry so much, Peny. Misty already secured a house in Hogsmeade; we just need to connect the door, and we'll be just meters away from Hogwarts. Don't stress too much. I also managed to join the school board easily thanks to Dumbledore and Mrs. Longbottom," said Grandpa Nicolas Flamel, trying to reassure his wife.

"Alright! I can finally go to Diagon Alley and get my wand. (Even though I occasionally use the one Grandpa gave me, I have to do so under supervision.)"

"Hu, Master, wouldn't it be easier to shop at Place Cachée here in France?" asked the small house-elf, Misty, softly from behind the excited young boy.

"No. You don't understand, Misty. If I'm going to a magical school in England, I must buy my supplies in Diagon Alley," the boy stated seriously, as if it were an immutable fact.

"I see, Master Stephen. You are so wise," said the elf, believing in the boy's nonsense as if they were unbreakable laws, completely ignoring the eye rolls from his grandparents, who were already used to his antics.

"Alright, we have until September to prepare everything, so it's time to move. We need to visit the French Ministry of Magic to handle the paperwork before we leave," said Grandma as she started listing the things they would bring, disregarding the fact that their house would be easily connected to the new one.

"Jaa, even though we never let anyone from the Ministry bother us and rarely had visitors besides the families of the children, the French Ministry won't like us moving—especially to England. I hope they don't put up too many obstacles; otherwise, I'll have to ask the Delacour family or even Dumbledore for help," said Grandpa, thinking about the Ministry officials who always looked at him with greed, as if he were a pile of gold. That was the main reason he avoided going out.

"Yeah, I hope it goes smoothly," Stephen said with a slight tremor in his voice, remembering that every time he mentioned leaving for Hogwarts, the little fairy would turn into a demon and give him a beating, effectively banning the word "Hogwarts" in her presence.

"You know you have to say goodbye to your friends, right?" Grandma said with a mischievous smile, noticing her grandson's small tremor and reminding him that he had to face that "demon." Though, to her, the girl was like a little angel. She was unaware that all of Stephen's friends had been trained in martial arts by him to defend themselves if anyone ever bothered them—and the best among them was little Fleur.

After preparing all the paperwork—which, fortunately, didn't face much resistance, since Mr. Flamel had come prepared and the Scamander family was in the country, making things easier thanks to one of Newt's sons—the family got ready for the move.

"Jojo, are you sure you don't want more ice for that eye, boy?" the old man said with a teasing smile as he looked at his grandson, who sported a black eye from a well-deserved beating by his little friend.

"I'm fine. It'll disappear in a couple of minutes. Ugh," Stephen replied with a forced smile, recalling his little friend's fury after he said they might not see each other until Christmas and taunted her that she wouldn't be able to hit him for months—earning him a few extra beatings in advance. Everyone else watched from the sidelines, unwilling to interfere in their daily sparring or the beatings Fleur gave Stephen.

"Alright, let's go, everyone. The portkey is ready. Ugh, this is going to make my bones ache. Fortunately, we only have to do this once, and then we'll use the door," said Perenelle. Stephen needed to know the location before using his portal, so they had to travel with a portkey first. After that, they wouldn't need it anymore—unless they traveled to another country.

The reason the entire Flamel family had to go together with the portkey was that they were one of the most closely watched families. If Stephen went alone and the Flamels suddenly appeared in Hogwarts, it would draw attention, potentially putting Stephen in danger.

The Stone was already a target; while many thought it was just a legend, others did not. Dumbledore assured them the school was safer than ever, but if people discovered there was magic capable of bypassing even the strongest barriers, it could turn the Ministries against them.

Thus, Stephen was forbidden from publicly demonstrating this magic until he developed a counterspell for it. This was a challenge for Stephen, as it had never been necessary in the other world, but he was close—perhaps one or two more years, and he could finally reveal it.

After the rough journey—during which Stephen vomited for two minutes straight, and the Flamel couple needed Misty's assistance—the family regained their composure and greeted the portkey official, who eyed them suspiciously, noticing they carried nothing in their hands. However, he didn't care much.

After leaving the British Ministry—where a chubby man named Fudge nearly kissed their shoes after meeting Minister Millicent—the Flamels finally arrived at their new home, stepping off the famous Knight Bus.

"I never want to use this country's transportation again. Ugh," Stephen groaned as he stumbled out, running toward a bush in the corner.

"Well, I must say it's not that bad. Back in the day, we had to travel in carriages that were far bumpier and much slower," Grandpa commented calmly, unfazed, under the watchful gaze of the driver.

Fortunately, they had no other passengers, so they weren't bothered much and didn't worry about the driver, who was bound by a magical contract preventing him from revealing passengers' drop-off locations unless they were fugitives or criminals.

Though the Flamels weren't exactly hiding, they certainly didn't want the entire British wizarding world knocking on their doors.

"Alright, Misty, let's go inside, get everything in order, and connect the door," said Perenelle, seeing that her grandson had recovered.

"Hu, yes, Mistress."

"Come on, boy, get inside. Kids these days are so fragile," the old man scoffed as he raised his hand, his joints cracking audibly.

"(Says the one making that noise?)" the boy thought, rolling his eyes at his grandfather's shamelessness.

Looking up, he saw the massive castle in the distance and smiled.

"At last, I'm here… Hogwarts."

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