Right next door to Madam Malkin's was Flourish and Blotts.
The first-year book list had eight titles, but Richie still snuck in an extra copy of 100 Essential Everyday Charms You Can't Live Without. He would've bought half the store if Annabelle hadn't gently reminded him that Hogwarts had a massive library. That finally reined in his greedy little bookworm heart.
Next came the magical equipment and everyday supplies.
One thing worth mentioning: Annabelle insisted Richie get an owl—a beautiful gray tawny owl. Hogwarts semesters last almost half a year, and once school starts, students stay on campus until summer break. Wizarding communication was way more old-school than Richie expected. If you wanted to write home, an owl was basically your only option.
So yeah, an owl was non-negotiable.
"Alright, time to head home," Annabelle said, pulling Richie into a quiet little corner of Diagon Alley.
Everything they'd bought had been shrunk and lightened, then stuffed neatly into one suitcase.
"I just made them smaller and lighter for the trip back," she explained. "There's an even easier way—put an Undetectable Extension Charm on the trunk so you can shove everything in at once. But I'm pretty sure you have to register that spell with the Ministry here in Britain."
Richie carried the suitcase, listening to his aunt chatter away, a quiet look of wonder on his face.
From the moment that owl tapped on his window this morning to now—finishing their whirlwind tour of Diagon Alley—his entire worldview had been flipped upside down in half a day.
Even though he'd spent the last year writing in his diary about "superpowers," he'd always thought of them as rare, personal gifts for a lucky few.
But magic? Magic came with an entire hidden world, shops, money, schools, and a whole society. It had crashed into his life without warning, and the thrill of it still had him buzzing.
Now he couldn't wait to crack open those textbooks… or step foot inside the famous Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
"Little Richie, we're going home!"
Annabelle gave him a quick heads-up, then raised her wand.
"Apparate!"
In the blink of an eye, the two of them vanished.
---
"Sweetheart, can you please explain this to me?"
Denton drove with one hand on the wheel, glancing at his wife's worried face in the rear-view mirror. He'd been holding the question in for miles, but he finally asked.
"You know I've been dying to understand all this… wizards, magic, your sister…"
Hearing her husband finally speak up, Elena twisted the hem of her shirt, then let out a long sigh.
"I'm sorry I kept it from you."
"This story starts more than thirty years ago."
---
Elena Godwin was born into an ordinary wizarding family in a little valley town.
When it turned out she was a Squib—someone from a magical family who couldn't do magic—her parents didn't abandon her. They raised her exactly like any Muggle parents would.
Five years later, her sister Annabelle was born… and Annabelle was a witch.
Elena, growing up in a loving home, never felt jealous. She welcomed her little sister with open arms.
But another five years passed. Elena was ten now, and the frustration had started to eat at her. All the kids her age could wave a wand and make things happen. She picked one up and it might as well have been a stick.
Before the resentment could really explode, the outside world changed forever.
A dark wizard named Voldemort began openly recruiting Death Eaters.
As his followers grew, he started raiding villages, forcing ordinary witches and wizards to join him.
Then one night, a huge fire destroyed the Godwins' little valley town.
The family of four became refugees.
As Voldemort's power swelled, the wizarding world descended into chaos. The Godwins kept moving, kept running, for five long years.
The war reached its bloody peak. England was the main battlefield, left in ruins.
Elena's father decided the only way to survive was to get the family out of Britain and head to France.
But wartime restrictions made leaving almost impossible.
He pulled every string he could until he finally found a way.
There was just one problem: as a Squib, Elena couldn't go. The smugglers wouldn't take non-magical people.
So her father arranged for her to be hidden safely in the Muggle world. At fifteen years old, she had to pretend to be an ordinary girl and survive completely on her own in a world she barely understood.
Luckily, the wizarding war never spilled over into Muggle society. Elena slowly figured out how to live.
Five more years passed. At twenty, she met a kind young man named Denton Harland. Around the same time, she heard a prophecy from her sister about a baby who would one day be called the Boy Who Lived… and who would lose both his parents.
A year later she became Mrs. Harland. She gave birth to Richie Harland.
And at almost the exact same moment, the Boy Who Lived was born… and lost his parents forever.
---
"That's when I swore to myself that Richie would never, ever touch that world," Elena said quietly.
"He doesn't need to be a wizard. He doesn't need to carry some mysterious destiny before he's even old enough to walk."
"But… he still learned magic anyway."
She turned to stare out the window, eyes glistening.
"Oh… so that's why," Denton said, exhaling like he'd been holding his breath for years.
"I always wondered why you seemed so lost when we first met. You didn't know how to do anything. Couldn't cook, couldn't drive, didn't even know basic stuff. I honestly thought something was… off up there."
He tapped the side of his head with a grin.
Elena's eyebrow shot up. She turned slowly, teeth clenched.
"Off where, exactly?"
Denton, completely missing the danger in her tone, kept tapping his temple.
"Well, you know… up here…"
"Denton Harland!"
"Oh no—"
"Darling!"
"I'm driving!"
"Sweetheart, I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
"Ahhhhhh!!!"
And that's how their little yellow car swerved and fishtailed its way through London traffic like it was daring every traffic cop in the city, heading straight for 27 Hampstead High Street in Hampstead—the Granger Dental Clinic.