Chapter 68: I Want to Go
Chapter 68: I Want to Go
"Grandpa Luke, Grandma Sandra, we've come to visit you!"
As soon as the car door opened, Nia rushed out like the wind and threw herself into Luke's arms with open arms.
"It's been a while, Nia. How have you been since school started?"
"Not good. School is so boring." Nia pouted and complained, "I want to go to Hogwarts."
"Nia, you're still too young. You'll have to wait another two years," Luke said comfortingly, then looked up at Herb and his wife, "Let's continue this conversation inside."
Sandra looked at her granddaughter and asked, "Nia, have you missed me?"
"Grandma Sandra, I've missed you so much!" Nia hugged the elderly woman, causing Sandra to laugh cheerfully.
"Albert sent some things back with his owl, and I think..." Before Herb could finish his sentence, Luke interrupted him.
Luke looked around and reminded Herb and his wife once again, "If there's something you want to discuss, let's do it inside."
"Albert also sent us some things through his owl. We were just looking at them," Sandra said with a smile as they entered the house. "I never would've guessed that wizard drinks would taste so peculiar."
"Don't forget your cat in the car." Luke turned to remind Herb.
"I have her with me." Daisy entered the house with the cat carrier and closed the front door.
In the living room, Sheila was resting on the table, eating owl nuts from a box that Albert had left for her.
Tom, who had just been let out of his cage, jumped onto the table and stared at the owl, both of them poised for a potential fight.
"Stop it, Tom." Daisy reached out and picked up Tom, placing him on her lap.
"Are these things from Albert as well?" Herb asked as he placed a large box on the table, his eyes falling on the already opened box beside it.
"You still don't understand your son." Daisy glanced at Herb. "Even if you forget, he never will."
Albert has always been Daisy's pride and joy! What? Other people's children are better?
Nonsense! Who says that?
Our children are always better than others'.
"But where did Albert buy these things? He's attending that school, Hogwarts, isn't he?" Sandra was puzzled. Surely they didn't sell these things at school.
"He probably purchased them through owl post." Herb was well aware of Albert's capabilities, and this wasn't the first time he had shopped in Diagon Alley, London, via owl post.
"Can we open the package now?" Nia asked eagerly.
"Of course," Herb said with a smile.
The package had arrived that morning. However, after discussing it with his family, Herb decided to share this joy with his parents as well, so they had hurried over by car.
Inside the package was a roll of parchment tied with a red ribbon, a paper bag labeled "Photos," and several bottles of drinks and snacks at the bottom.
Nia picked up the paper bag and opened it to find photos taken by Albert, each with a sequential number on the back.
The first photo was of the Hogwarts Express, a vivid red train.
"We have the parchment and photos here, too." Sandra handed the stack of photos to Daisy and picked up the parchment to explain, "Albert says this is the Hogwarts Express, which takes the students to Hogwarts."
"I never expected wizards to travel to school by steam locomotive!" Daisy exclaimed as she examined the photo. "You won't find such an antique anywhere in Britain these days."
As she spoke, Daisy handed the photo to her husband and took out a bottle of what appeared to be... pumpkin juice?
"It looks like a drink," she said, opening the pumpkin-shaped lid and pouring some into a cup. She took a small sip.
"How is it?" Herb asked.
"It tastes a bit odd," Daisy said, pouring the remaining pumpkin juice into other cups and distributing them to the family in the living room.
Nia took a cup and sipped, her small face scrunching up. "This fruit juice tastes strange. It's not as good as the ones sold outside."
Herb finished his drink and smacked his lips. "It's not exactly unpleasant, but the taste is peculiar."
"I had almost forgotten this flavor," Luke murmured, a nostalgic look in his eyes.
After finishing her cup of pumpkin juice, Nia pointed at the box and said, "I want to drink that!"
"But that seems to be... beer?" Daisy frowned at the words "Butterbeer" on the label. She didn't want her daughter drinking alcohol at such a young age.
"It's fine. We just drank some, and it doesn't taste like beer. There's hardly any alcohol in it; it's more like a beverage. Otherwise, Albert wouldn't have sent it back," Luke reassured her. "It tastes a bit like a less cloying butterscotch candy."
Luke poured some of the freshly opened butterbeer for Herb and Daisy to taste, so they could decide if Nia should drink it.
"It does have a strong buttery aroma," Daisy remarked, taking a small sip. The texture was smooth.
"It says here that butterbeer is very popular in the wizarding world, like soda in our world," Luke explained. "While it's not exactly unpleasant, the taste is indeed odd."
"Why do wizards like to drink this?" Nia pouted, taking another small sip.
"Just drink a little. There's still a tiny amount of alcohol in it," Daisy warned.
"At least let me finish the butterbeer in my cup," Nia insisted. After finishing the butterbeer, her interest in wizarding beverages waned significantly.
"There's only a trace amount of alcohol, so it's fine for minors to drink in small quantities," Herb consoled, but he quickly shut up after receiving a glare from his wife. He knew Daisy cared deeply about their children's upbringing.
The rest of the items in the box were taken out and placed on the table—all snacks for Nia.
Nia opened a Chocolate Frog and took a bite, her thoughts unknown.
Daisy untied the ribbon and handed the unrolled parchment to Herb, asking him to read the contents of the letter.
The letter provided a detailed introduction to the Hogwarts castle.
From the new students' crossing of the lake to entering the Great Hall through the oak front doors of Hogwarts Castle, it described the Sorting Ceremony. The letter slowly unveiled the mysteries of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
The enchanted ceiling, the kitchen entrance disguised as a fruit painting below the Great Hall, the moving staircases, and the talking portraits in the corridors were all described.
The letter also mentioned the various secret passages in the castle, the pranks played on the stairs, the ghosts residing within, the moving armored knights, the classrooms, the lengthy corridors, and the Fat Lady guarding the entrance to the Gryffindor common room.
It detailed the journey into the Gryffindor common room, the climb up the stairs to their dormitories, and the introduction to their three roommates.
This six-foot-long letter, accompanied by maps and photographs, gave the Anderson family a comprehensive introduction to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, making them feel as if they had personally visited Hogwarts Castle.
Leaning against Daisy's shoulder, Nia murmured, "I want to go, too!"
(End of Chapter)
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