Gary woke up early on Sunday. After having breakfast with Mrs. Shafik downstairs, he returned to his room and drank his daily dose of Potion for Magical Stability.
"Seven and a half Galleons…" Gary thought about the price of the half-tube of clear blue Potion, frowning and grimacing as he drank it. He had to go to Diagon Alley today, and to be safe, he drank a full dose of the Potion.
The Potion took effect quickly, and Gary could feel the restless magic within him rapidly calming down.
The exhilarating, swollen feeling beneath his skin completely disappeared.
"Bang, bang, bang!" James was outside the window, knocking on the glass with his fist.
Gary walked over and opened the window. "Something wrong?"
"My dad blew up the fireplace at my house, so I need to use your Floo Network to get to London."
James's hair was still covered in soot, and his face was grimy. He sat outside the window, astride his broom.
"Oh." Gary responded with a stiff face, reaching out to pull James in. Eleven-year-old James was slender, ducking his head to squeeze into the room, then turning back to pull his precious broom.
"I'll leave my broom here for now. I'll ride it back when I return tonight." James was covered in sweat as he handed the broom to Gary.
Just as Gary reached out to take it, the broom twisted its body, evading Gary's hand. The bristles on the broom head stood on end, looking extremely resistant to him.
Gary stood awkwardly in place.
"Oh, don't be like that, please!" James whispered, threatening his broom. "Behave, or next time I'll ride Dad's broom to go see Sirius."
The broom's wooden handle bent slightly, looking utterly wronged.
Ten seconds later, Gary went downstairs, holding the now obedient broom.
Mrs. Shafik was downstairs, tending to her dahlias.
"Is James here?" She frowned prettily, asking softly.
"…James's fireplace exploded, he needs to borrow our Floo Network, Mum."
"Oh…" She drew out the word, clearly having seen the dirty James trailing behind Gary.
"Scourgify." She picked up the wand from the table and pointed it at James.
Only after she had cleaned all the soot off James did her brows relax.
"Thank you so much, Mrs. Shafik." James scratched his messy hair, grinning.
Mrs. Shafik's gaze shifted from James's clothes to his hair.
Her brows furrowed again.
Fortunately, she shifted her gaze, and upon seeing Gary's neat, smooth slicked-back hair, she immediately smiled gently.
"I'll go get the Floo powder. You two should get going now; it's a good habit for gentlemen to arrive early." She wore a white dress today, walking at a leisurely pace, like a graceful noblewoman.
Gary put the broom in the storage room under the stairs, tidying up the clutter inside. When he came out again, Mrs. Shafik was already chatting with James by the fireplace.
Only when she saw Gary did she confidently hand the jar in her hand to James.
"You know how to use it, right…" Her speech was slow, her words clear.
James was impatient. He nodded, grabbed a handful of Floo powder from the jar, sprinkled it into the fireplace, and as soon as the flames in the fireplace turned emerald green, he immediately jumped in.
"Leaky Cauldron!" he shouted.
The emerald green flames consumed him, and crackling sounds filled the fireplace.
A moment later, the flames gradually receded, and the sounds of burning wood slowly diminished. Only then did Mrs. Shafik signal Gary to step forward.
Gary walked to Mrs. Shafik, reached into the porcelain jar containing Floo powder, and took out a small pinch.
Then he loosened his hand slightly, letting some more spill.
Mrs. Shafik noticed this keenly.
Her left hand gently encircled Gary's shoulder, and her lips lightly touched Gary's forehead.
"Go on, be careful," she said unhurriedly.
Gary nodded obediently and sprinkled the Floo powder into the fireplace.
The tail of the flame gently hooked the powder. A moment later, it was entirely emerald green, its temperature gradually rising. Gary looked back at his mother once, then stepped into the fire.
The internal temperature of the fire was not high; the heat made Gary feel somewhat warm.
He coughed once, then said loudly, "Leaky Cauldron!"
The world spun. In his last moment, he saw the low pressure formed by the high temperature, causing the wind to slightly lift his mother's skirt.
The next moment, he climbed out of the fireplace.
Having visited here before, Gary knew he had reached his destination.
James stood in front of him. Seeing him appear, he immediately grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the door.
"…Excuse us, Brother Tom." Gary apologized to the pub owner, Tom, who was cleaning glasses at the counter.
"It's no big deal," Tom, who had just graduated from Hogwarts this year and returned to the Leaky Cauldron to take over from his father, said, "Time really flies. In the blink of an eye, little Gary is going to school too."
Gary smiled, pressing his lips together. James pulled him directly out of the Leaky Cauldron.
The Leaky Cauldron is located on Charing Cross Road, in the heart of London, surrounded mostly by various types and sizes of bookstores and tourist attractions.
The Leaky Cauldron seemed out of place here, but ever since Charing Cross Road was redeveloped, Muggles could no longer see the pub. The scene of Muggles and Wizards sitting together at the bar, drinking, could no longer be witnessed.
"…James, I have to go to Leicester Square to find Alfrina. You go find Black. See you in Diagon Alley!"
Gary said to James. The last sentence was a lie to James; Gary would absolutely not go to Diagon Alley with that scoundrel Black.
"What a coincidence! We also agreed to meet in Leicester Square!" James was excited. His already spiky Black hair looked even more wild and unruly in the wind.
Gary's heart sank by half. He let James pull him towards Leicester Square, racking his brain for words to strike at that scoundrel Black.
The Leaky Cauldron was not far from Leicester Square. A short jog, and five minutes later, Gary and James arrived at their destination.
It was still ten minutes before the agreed time, but Gary immediately spotted the little girl sitting on the bench.
Gary tugged James, and the two tiptoed behind the girl. They stood to the girl's left, and James lightly tapped the girl's left shoulder.
The girl reacted quickly. She looked to her right, where there was only an uncle holding two balloons, teasing his child.
"James!" The girl turned around, her face red, glaring fiercely at James.
James spread his hands innocently. "It's not my fault, Alfrina. You just overthought it."
A mischievous grin, having successfully played a prank, still hung on the corner of his mouth.
Gary wondered how many times innocent Alfrina had been tricked by James to react that way.
"Hello, Alfrina." He greeted the girl casually.
The girl was still huffing, a blush still on her neck. "Long time no see, Gary."
She drew out her words, her narrow, beautiful eyes darting a glance at Gary.
-----------------------
If you wish to read more or simply support me than check out my patreon at
"https://www.patreon.com/Amon0_0"
Or Just search Amon_The_Error in your patreon and you can find the advance chapters there