7 7. Hogwarts

It was Christmas day and kids had gathered around the Christmas tree to open gifts. Even Bill and Charlie had come home.

The family wasn't really rich so there was only one gift for each kid. There were mostly sweaters or other clothes. All the kids behaved and cheerfully wore the gifted clothes.

"Ahem... everyone," Alexander took their attention and one box materialized in front of everyone present with a wave of his hand.

Kids were the first to open their boxes but after opening, they seemed disappointed because they were Hogwarts robes.

"What's with the faces? These aren't ordinary robes. They are fireproof, cold proof, waterproof, they will grow as you grow, will clean themselves, never wrinkle and most importantly they can protect you from strong spells. They can even save you from a killing curse, though you will still have some temporary injuries." Alexander informed them.

Arthur, Molly, Bill and Charlie had their mouths agape because they understood the usefulness of those robes. Even the kids seemed excited. Fred and George even tried burning it.

"Ron, you'll be starting Hogwarts next year so I gave you a set too. Ginny, I've also given you a set but considering that you will not use it anything soon, I've decided to give you another gift" he said and another box appeared in front of her.

It was an interactive Barbie doll which had all knowledge of 7 years of Hogwarts. After that Bill opened the box and found a small white orb. He looked at Alexander in confusion.

"Haha... kid, I heard that you work for Gringotts in Egypt as a curse-breaker. You must have to deal with cursed tombs and stuff like that. This orb will tell you if you are near a curse or a trap. It will start making noise when it detects something. Different shades of red color will tell you the danger level of curse and If someday it starts glowing golden the don't think and run away because that means that the curse can even kill an Arch magi." Alexander explained the use.

Bill looked at Alexander gratefully and thanked him. Then Charlie opened the box and found a white flute.

"You are a Dragonologist, so I reckoned that you interact with dragons, a lot. This flute can calm any angry dragon. It also can not be stolen from you as I have put special enchantments on it. If someone steals it then you will feel it and it will also return to you by flying. Not just yours, all my gifts have these enchantments." He said.

Charlie inspected the amazing flute and thanked him.

"Arthur, I have given you an encyclopedia of muggle artifacts. It might prove to be useful in your job."

Just as he ended speaking, Arthur opened the book and excitedly started reading it. Molly scolded him for not saying thank you.

Alexander then looked at Molly, he really didn't know what to give to her. So he just gave her a stylish female long coat with the same features as Hogwarts robes. She happily accepted it. With that, the gift session ended and everyone ate dinner. Molly also gifted him a red sweater.

The next 6 days were calm and full of happy vibes. But soon, 1st January came and the kids had to go back to Hogwarts. He also decided to go with Fred, George and Percy.

...

1st January, Morning.

At the King's Cross Station. He stood up in front of the pillar between platform number 9 and 10.

He saw the 3 kids cross it and he also followed. While crossing he felt like he crossed a wall made of dense air. He was really intrigued by how the magical world could hide in plain sight.

On the other side, he saw the big steam engine, puffing white smoke. The platform was filled with kids and their parents. When he was walking by the bogie, he passed Lucius Malfoy. Their eyes met each other. Alexander was still wearing his everyday clothes plus sunglasses. Lucius made a disgusted look, thinking that he was a muggle.

But soon his face turned into a surprised one when he saw him entering the bogie.

~Strange, what was he doing here? his son starts Hogwarts next year.~ that's what Alexander was thinking.

After a long whistle, the train started moving. He was sitting with the twins. They were busy talking about some new pranks.

Soon the refreshments came.

"Anything off the trolley, dear," she said. But when she looked at Alexander, she froze.

"I'll take everything, dear," Alexander said and gave her the galleons.

"Oh, yes, yes... haha... sorry for my rudeness, I've never seen a handsome old man like you in ages" she shyly complimented and gave them all the food and candies.

Fred and George started laughing when the trolley lady left.

"Hey, Grandpa, you should ask her for a date." Fred teased.

"Yes, she fell head over heels just by looking at you," George said, trying to hold his laughter.

"Oh, this world is so unfair. Here I was thinking of giving all these candies to some twins but they betrayed me. I guess I'll have to eat them all by myself." Alexander said and 90% of the candies vanished.

Fred and George stood up and jumped on Alexander.

"We are sorry, Grandpa Universe" they pleaded with puppy eyes. Ron had told them that this trick works on Alexander, most of the time.

"Oh, I think I am hearing voices," Alexander said, acting as if he could not see them.

He cast illusion spells on both Fred and George, so that they could not even see each other.

Fred looked towards his brother and found nothing. George went through the same thing. They both started panicking and yelling each other's names.

"Where are you, Fred? I can only hear you"

"Yes, I can hear you too, George. Did we turn into ghosts?"

"What, how can this be... nooo, I am too young to die like this."

They both were about to cry when Alexander removed the spell and also brought the candies out of the space.

They looked at each other and then Alexander, who was happily eating a pumpkin pie.

"OLD MAN," they realize, but instead of retaliating, they hurriedly started eating and filling candies into their bags. Alexander heartily laughed seeing their shenanigans.

...

In the evening, they arrived at Hogsmeade station. Getting out, he went ahead and boarded a carriage pulled by Thestrals. It was said that only those who have seen death can see them and he had seen thousands of deaths in GTA 4 world.

After a while, he could see the huge magnificent castle. It was glowing with lanterns. When they arrived, he saw Professor McGonagall standing at the entrance. When he got closer to her she reached out to him.

"Sir, professor Dumbledore has said that he will meet you after the feast. Meanwhile, you can join us at the teacher's table." She said, politely.

"Oh, that would be a great honor for me" he warmly accepted the offer.

"No, sir, the honor is ours," she humbly replied and led him to the great hall.

When he reached the hall from the teacher's entrance, he was mesmerized by the beauty of it. It was packed with students, many were still entering. Teachers had already taken their seats and were chatting with each other.

When he came, all the teachers looked at him. He smiled at all of them and followed Professor McGonagall. He was surprised to find out that his seat was to the left, just beside Dumbledore.

When he reached his seat, Dumbledore suddenly stood up and gave him a bear hug. Everyone, including Alexander, were surprised at this. According to his memory, he had never met this old man before.

Dumbledore laughed and signaled him to sit down.

"Hahaha... I got a little carried away. There aren't really many people left alive from those times. It's good to see someone still alive and kicking," Dumbledore clarified...

"Haha, yes, those were harsh times," he nodded

"Yes, yes... I actually saw you in action once, back in the days. But I was preoccupied so I couldn't have a chat with you," Dumbledore said.

"Well, now we have all the time in the world to talk," Alexander smilingly replied.

...

Soon, the hall was full. Fred and George were ranting about knowing Alexander and about his past deeds. Percy just happily looked at him. Alexander waved at him.

"Oh, so you've met Weasleys" Dumbledore exclaimed.

"Yes, I've been renting a room in their house. They are truly a very kind and cheerful family." He answered.

Dumbledore nodded and stood up. He amplified his voice with magic and started speaking.

"Happy new year and welcome back to Hogwarts. Before we start the feast, I would like to introduce you to my old friend, Alexander Maxim Universe. Some of you might have heard his name from your History of Magic classes. But, don't be fooled by his charming looks, he's an oldy just like me." He said, in a joking tone, while looking at Alexander. To which, Alexander waved his arm shrugged in disagreement.

Students also giggled seeing that.

"Okay, let the feast begin," Dumbledore said and sat down.