Off to America

It didn't take long for Luke to arrive near the leaking caldron. He stopped a block away since the street's any nearer were full. It wasn't that much of a problem for me though and I swiftly arrived at the door. Upon entry what greeted me was the same gloomy, run-down place full of odd people. I saw the bartender Tom with a towel in one hand and a glass cup in the other like always.

I nodded at him before walking into the small, secluded and unkept little yard with an out of place brick wall. I remembered which bricks and the order they needed to be pressed in from McGonagall. I tapped them with a stick that was conveniently in the corner and the same thing happened as it did more than a year ago. The wall began to rumble and shake before the once sturdy, cohesive bricks shifted and separated into an archway where they once again solidified.

What appeared in my vision was the same busy streets of Diagon Alley. The swarm of wizards, witches and children could be seen in all kinds of colourful attire. The contrast between the muggle world and the magical one was just too different. I squeezed my way through the crowd to the best of my ability and headed towards the shop I had visited some odd days ago.

It didn't take long to get there and when I walked in, I saw the same old man by the counter tinkering with one of what I assumed to be his many projects or orders. He had brown hair with strands of white that streaked through every now and then. He had a slightly hunched figure and long fingers that held on to his wand like a pen.

It seemed he was too immersed in his work since he didn't even realise I was there, even after the bell tied to the door rang. I decided to look around and wait for him to finish. Making expansion charms was a difficult process and one that required a lot of focus. One small distraction could be the deciding factor between a successful product and a failed one.

It was about ten minutes later when I heard him again.

"*sigh* finally done, such a tedious project," he said with a tired expression while rubbing his forehead as his other hand held his glasses. He raised his head to see me sitting on a chair off to the side.

"My, thank you for waiting young man. If I'm not mistaken you must be the boy who came the other day?" he asked while looking at me.

"That is correct, I am here to pick up the object I had ordered," I said with a smile while nodding.

"Right-right, that's right, I have it here, one second." He said before waddling to the back of his store. It seemed that being in the same position for a while was bad for his body, seeing how stiff his walking was. It didn't take long for him to come back with an obsidian black coloured bracelet. There was nothing special about it if you looked at it without knowing what it was. I nodded contently when I saw it. After all, one of the specifications was to make it as simple and inconspicuous as possible. I would be storing a lot of things in it after all.

I got up from the chair and pulled out a bag full of galleons. It was expensive, to say the least. 1000 galleons to be specific. Luke and Diana weren't happy with the price but got it for me as a way of making up for not getting me a birthday present. I was very thankful since 1000 galleons was a lot of money when converted into pounds.

As soon as I handed over the money, I was given the bracelet which I didn't hesitate to put on. I thanked the old man and walked out before heading into an alleyway. I then proceeded to cast a quick charm on the bracelet. This charm was special since it was a sort of locking mechanism. I dripped a bit of my blood on the bracelet as soon as the charm was done being placed, it immediately seeped into the metal. This way, no one was able to access it without my permission. It could already do that without the charm but having extra countermeasures is always welcome. As soon as I was done, I walked out of Diagon alley and out of the leaking cauldron and back into Luke's car.

20 minutes later I was back at home packing my clothes and necessary things and placing them in my bracelet. It was one of the many times if was grateful to have magic. It was simply too convenient.

The night was calm and after dinner, I head off to bed early. Tomorrow I would be heading to a new continent after all. And a lot of things were waiting for me there. The next morning was quick and slightly rushed. It was my first time on a plane in either one of my two lives and I was very excited. When I got there, immigration and customs were a pain since there was a special magical sector we needed to go to.

We were intercepted by a man in a blue suit and tie.

"Excuse me, can you please come with me," he said calmly and politely. I simply nodded and Luke and Diana followed silently.