Clash of Cultures

The next day, Remus arrived and set off the pagers shortly after George and Ellie had gotten dressed. This time he was greeted with open arms rather than closed fists. The family plus one all climbed into Dominic's largest four-by-four and started their long car journey to Diagon Alley.

Dominic dominated the initial bout of questions with his curiosity about the economic and political side of the wizarding world. He predominantly inquired into the purpose and power of the Ministry of Magic and Gringotts Bank, focusing on the main players who run the show. Amanda had a rather different set of curiosities when she had her discussion with Remus. She generally focused more on the education side and wanted to know how it differed from conventional muggle schooling.

During the time Amanda and Dominic semi-interrogated Remus, Ellie's face had slowly begun to turn bright red as if she was holding her breath. Once there were more than ten seconds of silence, the bomb finally detonated and George was ready with his fingers in his ears. Ellie made sure to ask all of her 'important' questions as quickly, and loudly, as possible before anyone could stop her. Most of the time she wouldn't even give Remus a chance to answer.

George did notice some consistencies in his step-sister's delirious enquiries such as the interest related to mythical beasts she had read about in books and seen in films. The time that she asked Remus about werewolves was a truly priceless memory George will never forget. Due to Amanda and Dominic controlling the conversation for the former part of the journey and Ellie for the latter, the car arrived at London Centre without a single moment of silence.

With the grace of a newly-born calf, George clambered out of the passenger door and breathed in the fresh London air. To release what felt like a lifetime's worth of muscle tension, he stretched his entire body. The cracking which followed echoed through the whole multi-story car park. The bone-breaking sound granted instant relief to him, but the faces of Ellie and Amanda didn't share his solace.

"George! What have I told you about cracking your joints? It's not healthy", his foster mother reprimanded.

"Sorry, Amanda. I won't do it again", he apologized.

Remus climbed out of the car and didn't look to be in much better shape than George. His face was pale and he was cradling his stomach like he was about to throw up. Once Remus took a minute to regain his composure, the family left the car park and followed behind Remus as he led them down the unfamiliar streets of London.

They stopped outside a small old pub that appeared to be derelict. The building's walls were leaning heavily to the left and looked on the verge of falling over. Also, the windows were completely black as if they were covered in ash which prevented anyone from looking inside. To any pedestrians walking by, the building looked like it had been in a fire and hadn't been restored.

Remus gestured towards the pub's door, "now then, are the Linwoods ready to take their first step towards the wizarding world?"

The overly dramatic invitation was met with zero reaction from the Linwoods. After reading the general attitude shared by his muggle company, Remus didn't bother to wait for a response and instead skipped the fanfare and opened the door. Once they were inside the Leaky Cauldron, the family was immediately greeted by the quiet sound of conversation and instruments playing mediaeval string music.

The entry was directly connected to a large open room with a ceiling three stories high. The blacked-out windows were now transparent and let light in like a two-way mirror. The only other form of lighting came from candles lit around the room which provided minor illumination. This left most of the large open space in shadow, shrouding a lot of its occupants in darkness.

The Linwood's eyes navigated around the room to absorb as much as possible until Remus closed the door behind them. He walked directly in front of their line of sight and gestured to a small corner table with six wooden stools spread around it.

"We can't just spend all day standing around staring at people. Go find a table and sit down, I'll go get us some drinks. Don't be shy, just treat it like going abroad and you're adapting to a different culture."

Dominic squinted his eyes towards Remus as he retorted in a hushed voice, "this isn't like going abroad. Pubs in Spain don't bloody well have floating jugs refilling your pint glasses."

Dominic held out his arm and pointed towards a corner of the room with a few witches and wizards lazing around. A woman was holding up her tankard towards a metal jug that was floating beside her. The hovering jug appeared to notice her request and started to pour its frothy contents into her tankard as if it was sentient. Remus looked back over his shoulder towards where Dominic was gesturing only to be distracted by someone at the bar.

Then Remus turned back around and suggested, "just bear with me for the time being, I've just spotted one of the staff at Hogwarts. I think we should go over there and introduce ourselves. What do you think?"

Without waiting for a response, Remus headed toward the bar, leaving the Linwood family stranded. In the end, they had no other option than to follow. On the family's way over to the bar, George recognised exactly who Remus was referring to. Sitting on a buckling bar stool was a humongous man with long unkempt hair and a coat which looked like it was made out of the hide of several animals. He immediately recognised the half-giant as none other than…

"Hagrid! What a pleasant coincidence meeting you here. Then again, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. It's nice to see you still spend half your life emptying the Leaky Cauldron of all of its pure malt whiskey", Remus proclaimed.

The giant man's whole body twisted to face Remus, causing the barstool to squeak in pain. His eyes lit up once he recognised his old friend. With a jolly smile, Hagrid put down his tankard and got up to embrace Remus in a warm hug.

Hagrid happily bellowed, "where in Merlin's name have you been? Everyone at Hogwarts has been worried about you living all alone up in the north with all those muggles, it'd send anyone do-lally. You know, Professor Dumbledore has been talking about you becoming a professor at Hogwarts for the past few years."

Remus was quick to end the hug and that particular subject, "enough about me. What about you? A month before the start of term and you're here. Surely you should be helping out with the recruitment of muggle-borns like the rest of the Hogwarts staff."

Hagrid seemed quite offended, "I would have you know that I'm on official Hogwarts business under the authority of none other than Professor Dumbledore himself. Not only that, Professor Dumbledore is confident the Dudleys will cause Harry some problems. So, he's asked me to go and pick him up in a few days."

Remus looked a little confused, "sorry, you lost me there. Harry?"

Hagrid leaned forward and spoke quietly, "I meant Harry Potter, you know, James's son."

Remus faintly smiled as he began to reminisce, "oh my, it really has been ten years", before shaking the distracting thoughts out of his head.

He quickly got back on topic, "Hagrid, I would like you to meet young Mr Linwood here. One of, in my opinion, the greatest young talents in this wizarding generation. This will be his first year at Hogwarts."

Remus gestured towards George who happily stepped forward away from his apprehensive family. Hagrid brushed his huge hand against his coat, presumably in an attempt to half-heartedly clean his palm, and shook George's hand. Even though that massive gorilla grip could bend steel like clay, the handshake was extremely gentle.

Hagrid introduced himself, "it's nice meeting ya, Mr Linwood. I am Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts, but you can just call me Hagrid. I guess you're here to buy your school equipment".

"Yes, you are indeed correct, that's why I'm here", Remus was quick to say, "Professor Dumbledore has asked me to show young Mr Linwood around Diagon Alley to help familiarise himself and his family with the wizarding world. But, before you get any ideas, this is just a favour. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Shame, that is. Always thought you'd make a good Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. Not saying anything against Professor Quirrell, but considering your history with the…", Hagrid started to say a little too much.

Remus interrupted once again, "no need to drag up the past. Anyway, we're burning daylight and...

"Mr Hagrid. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Amanda Linwood, George's mother."

Amanda mustered her courage and introduced herself to Hagrid.

Hagrid looked down at the woman nearly half his height, "nice to meet you too, miss. I hope I didn't startle ya, I tend to have that effect on muggle parents."

"You knew that we're muggles? Are we so obvious?"

Hagrid chuckled, "yer joking right? Us wizard folk can spot ya a mile away. All you muggles walking down Diagon Alley for the first time stand out like sore thumbs."

The half-giant reclined back onto his stool, "I've gotta say though. You were the first to talk to me this year. It's been getting worse, ya know. I think it's the beard, it intimidates your kind."

Amanda and Dominic looked at each other with the same 'should we tell him' expression on their faces. There were a few awkward seconds of Hagrid stroking his wiry beard before he suddenly started laughing. Everyone, including George, jumped in reaction and a few of the other wizards at the bar turned around.

"I'm just pulling yer legs. I get it, Professor Dumbledore had explained it to me years ago. All of this is new and strange to you muggles and the last thing you need is a big old scary fella like me showing you around."

Remus stepped in, "now that's not true and you know it. I don't believe for one second that Dumbledore would have told you that. People just... don't know you, that's all. Humans have the awful habit of jumping to conclusions, but that doesn't mean they're right."

That put a smile on Hagrid's tipsy face, "you haven't changed, have you Remus? Always see the best in people."

Amanda cleared her throat and asked, "if you don't mind me asking, Mr Hagrid. How long have you worked at Hogwarts?"

Hagrid pouted his lips and stroked his chin in contemplation, "haven't really thought about it. It must be... going on forty years now."

Amanda nodded curiously and continued, "you must be very satisfied working at the school to spend all those years there?"

"Well of course I am. Hogwarts is my home, my life. Couldn't think of a place I'd rather be", he enthusiastically responded.

"And what is your opinion on the current headmaster?", Amanda asked like she was reading off a tick sheet.

Hagrid more than happily answered, "what do I think of him? He's the reason I'm there. I'll say it once, I'll say it again. Albus Dumbledore is the greatest headmaster Hogwarts has ever had."

Amanda nodded her head again as if the half-giant had passed a test, "right then. That's all good to hear. Thank you for your time, Mr Hagrid. We'll leave you to drink in peace."

Remus butted in, "yes, that'll be for the best. We'll be having a quick break and then off to the shops. I want Mr Linwood here to get nothing but the very best before it's all sold out."

"Well, it's been good seeing you again. Mrs and Mr Linwood, Mr Lupin, I better get back to my official Hogwarts duties", Hagrid said politely before rotating himself back towards the bar.

Remus turned to George's foster parents, "it's been a long drive, so how about I order some refreshments and you go and take a seat just over there? Then we'll talk and get ready to go shopping. Sound like a plan?"

Amanda's smile faltered slightly, "okay. George, Ellie, come now."

George ended up sitting with his family in the furthest and darkest corner of the Leaky Cauldron. After a short while, Remus walked over with a tray of filled glasses and placed it on the table. He proceeded to hand out each beverage to every member of the family. The two glasses that were placed in front of Ellie and George were filled with a yellow carbonated liquid. Amanda and Dominic had two cups of brown steaming fluid placed before them, and Remus sat down with a creamy orange drink with white foam on top.

Dominic picked his glass up and sniffed it, he was clearly suspicious of its content.

Remus wiped his mouth before saying, "no need to panic, not everything in the wizarding world is strange. What you're sniffing is a normal herbal tea with milk."

"You could have fooled me", Dominic placed the tea down and pointed at George's cup, "and what's that?"

"It's just old-fashioned cloudy lemonade. Probably with a little extra fizz than Ellie and George are used to, but I used to drink it by the gallon growing up", Remus reassured.

Ellie leaned forward and asked, "and what are you drinking?"

Remus lifted his glass, "this, my dear, is Butterbeer. One of the most popular drinks drank by wizards and witches alike and a personal favourite of mine."

Amanda took a sip of her tea before asking, "so are all the staff at Hogwarts like Hagrid?"

Remus lowered his butterbeer away from his mouth, "what do you mean?"

"You know... on the taller side", she sensitively responded.

Remus shook his head, "no. Hagrid is one of a kind, even in the wizarding world. All of the professors are of normal height, except for one. He's a bit shorter than the rest."

Amanda paused while swirling her tea, "so... do you mind explaining why George has to attend this school again."

Remus stopped mid-swig, "are you sure you want to talk about this here?"

"I don't see why not", she answered while casually shrugging her shoulders.

The butterbeer was then placed back down and Remus tapped the table rhythmically.

"First of all, this isn't only George's problem, this affects every single new witch or wizard around the world. It just can be worse for some more than others. Having the ability to cast magic is... a bit like raising a dog. It needs to be well trained from a young age or it'll become uncontrollable. That's why Hogwarts exists, it gives the next generation the best chance to master their innate talents. There, George can have access to all of his potential and become truly extraordinary..."

Remus glanced at George before continuing, "if he doesn't go, then that potential will amount to nothing. In the worst of cases, it could start to harm him. Without the proper guidance, accidents will happen. Any strong emotions or distress would result in... horrible things happening that I don't wish to contemplate.

I know that we're here to have a look around and debate whether this is the life you want for George... but I can't stress enough how important it is for you to take this offer seriously. There's never been a good ending for parents who don't."

One of Amanda's eyes started to twitch, "was that a threat, Mr Lupin?"

Remus ran his hands through his hair and closed his fatigued eyes, "no Mrs Linwood, it's not a threat. As George's guardians, you and Mr Linwood are completely within your right to refuse provided George concurs. I'm merely making a plea for you to make the right choice."

Amanda returned to stirring her tea and suggested, "what about private tutelage? We could pay for wizards such as yourself to train George at home. That way he doesn't have to spend ten months living in some castle in the middle of nowhere."

Remus didn't look convinced, "I've heard of that before, but only in the elite wizarding families. You would have to apply to the Ministry to allow George to use magic unrestricted at your premises. Unless you had an unbelievably good reason, they would never agree to that."

"Not even with a generous donation? Money won't be an issue", Dominic contributed.

Remus sighed before elaborating, "there's not enough money in the world to make that happen I'm afraid. When it comes to ensuring magic remains a secret, the Ministry doesn't take any chances."

Amanda put her tea down, "okay, Mr Lupin. I think we should have a look around first, and buy some school equipment George might need. If Dominic and I don't see anything too disturbing, then we'll see what George wants to do. Until then, we'll keep an open mind. I trust you'll have no issue with that."

"That sounds marvellous. Thank you for your understanding, you won't regret it", Remus excitedly spat out.

George's foster parents then looked at each other and stood up in unison. They were so in sync that their movement looked rehearsed.

"Ellie, George, we're leaving now", Amanda stated flatly.

After quickly gulping down their drinks, George and his family followed Remus through a rickety wooden door at the back of the pub which led to a small flagged garden. Describing it as a 'pub garden' might have been overstating what was in reality a tiny outdoor space with high brick walls on all sides. The family, besides George, all looked a little confused why Remus would direct them to this seemingly dead end.

Remus looked back at them with a smile, "what were you expecting? A big sign saying 'Welcome to Diagon Alley, here's where you can buy all of your wizarding paraphernalia'."

Ellie had an epiphany, "so it's a secret entrance!"

"Top marks, Ellie. You are indeed correct. Couldn't be having any muggles accidentally walking into Diagon Alley now, could we?", Remus responded with a renewed vigour.

"So how do we get in? Is there some sort of hidden button or lever", Dominic said while touching the nearest wall.

"Close, but not quite. Allow me to demonstrate."

Remus turned towards the far brick wall and swiftly pulled out his wand from his sleeve. He walked up to a portion of the wall, which appeared to have lost a few bricks, and tapped his wand five times clockwise around the indentation. After the last tap, the entire wall appeared to come alive.

The sound of bricks sliding over the top of one another could be heard as they began to reorientate themselves. Starting from the area that Remus had tapped, the brick wall separated revealing the street behind. This process continued until it created a huge archway, leaving no trace of the wall ever being there in the first place.

Remus took this opportunity to say with an exaggeratedly wide arm gesture, "welcome... to Diagon Alley!"