Lively Journey

The students quickly grew tired of the seemingly endless gray tiles outside the car windows. Instead, they explored the candies within the carriages, laughed at each other's Muggle outfits, or played games they'd brought from school.

Concerned about potential damage to Honeydukes' products, Anthony confiscated a deck of Exploding Snap and two sets of Gobstones, but he turned a blind eye to the students clamoring for a game of Wizard's Chess.

Students from various houses and years mingled, moving from carriage to carriage and quickly making new acquaintances. Anthony spotted several oddly dressed students huddled around Hufflepuff's Megan Jones, pleading for help in assembling a more sensible Muggle outfit. Megan blushed and nodded silently, agreeing to their every request.

Despite the leisurely pace and rattling sounds, Honeydukes' freight route was surprisingly fast. Around noon, they arrived at the Diagon Alley branch, where the welcoming clerk awaited them at the platform.

"No peeking!" Anthony warned the students once again.

The clerk pulled the lever with all her might, almost hanging from it. With a loud screech of metal on metal, the train lurched to a halt, and a giant, marshmallow-like object squeezed through the window into the carriage, startling everyone. The train swayed reluctantly and finally stopped.

The soft buffer vanished like a cloud, revealing that they had safely pulled into the warehouse.

The rosy-cheeked clerk opened the carriage door with a smile. "You must be Professor Anthony! Welcome, welcome! Merlin's beard, what an honor to meet you!" She thoughtfully placed a small step stool beneath the door for the students to disembark. "Come on out, everyone. I hope you enjoyed the ride!"

She greeted each student with a kind smile, efficiently noting which candies they had consumed and collecting payment. The students filed out of the train, and with each departure, the clerk's small pouch grew larger. The Weasley twins, however, hadn't purchased anything and hopped out of the carriage empty-handed.

Anthony listened to the pleasant clinking of coins with a touch of nostalgia, then gathered the students from his list and conjured new outfits for them based on their revised plans.

Several of the better designs had a suspiciously similar style. Anthony eyed Megan, contemplating awarding a few extra points to Hufflepuff, but decided against it when she looked away guiltily. A few newly submitted plans were truly abysmal, forcing him to pull out the textbook and have them choose from the sample illustrations.

After dealing with students dressed in winter coats, fur jackets, and skimpy tank tops, and just as he was about to lead the group into Diagon Alley, more students approached, requesting additions like prints, accessories, or higher heels.

Anthony patiently fulfilled their wishes (with a few sidelong glances at the afro-sporting Weasley twins) until everyone was satisfied with their attire.

The Honeydukes clerk waited patiently, even smiling as students begged Anthony to emblazon their clothes with the Hogwarts crest on the front and a roaring lion on the back. Finally, she opened the warehouse door, inviting the Muggle Studies group to pass through the tempting displays of the branch and onto the cobblestone streets of Diagon Alley.

Anthony couldn't help but remind a student who was staring at the bubble gum to pay attention to his pocket money balance.

If he had read correctly, the other person's bag was already filled with candies. Besides, Honeydukes in Hogsmeade also sells bubble gum, and these students go there almost every week.

"As soon as I come out to play, I can't help but want to buy something," the student explained to Anthony, who was quickly pushed out of the store by his friend.

…

Their outfits attracted a lot of attention in Diagon Alley. The wizards on the roadside looked at them either subtly or directly, as if they didn't understand why so many Muggle clothes had suddenly appeared on the street.

The students didn't care and happily discussed their journey and future destinations.

"Let's go eat first," Anthony announced.

The students, whose stomachs were already full of snacks and candies, made faces but followed Anthony to the Leaky Cauldron.

Tom, the barkeeper, had received a letter in advance and came out of the pub specifically to see what the Muggle Studies excursion was like. He laughed as the colorfully dressed students appeared and raised his glass to Anthony.

Anthony stood guard at the entrance and watched the students come out one by one.

"What you're wearing reminds me of when I first met you," Tom whispered beside him. "You seem more comfortable in Muggle clothes than in wizard robes."

"I've changed a bit, I guess, but not too much," Anthony replied to Tom. "Wait, I'll come to you for a drink with Hagrid during the holidays."

He stuck his head out, confirmed that no students were left behind in Diagon Alley, counted heads, and led them onto Charing Cross Road.

It wasn't until he went to Hogwarts that he learned that many children from wizarding families had never even set foot on the Muggle street outside the Leaky Cauldron. If they wanted to get to Diagon Alley, they had an easier way than walking and counting bricks—using Floo powder.

…

"Today, we are all trying to pretend that magic doesn't exist," Anthony reiterated. "Of course, if we really forget to pretend, we can use more magic to solve the problem."

The students all nodded and said, "Okay, Professor."

Anthony continued, "But, as I said before, you have to pay with house points if you slip up. So far, I think everyone in our class has done very well, and I don't want to deduct any points. Please don't let me break this record. Don't let yourself be the first student to lose points in my class just for trying to eat a lollipop that burns a hole in your tongue." He watched as the student quickly stuffed the sour popping candies into his pocket and smiled. "Please."

When they walked to the bus stop, many students looked around curiously, watching the cars speed by. Of course, they had learned about cars in class, but many of them had never seen so many Muggles sitting around in them, with their turn signals blinking.

"Oh, cars," said the Weasley twins, looking very familiar with them.

Anthony quickly guided them onto a large bus. The conductor watched with curiosity as the group of excited, chattering teenagers boarded, then smiled and nodded in understanding as Anthony paid, explaining that it was a class trip from Scotland.

"It's not a short journey, is it?" the conductor said, handing him the tickets. "If you allow me to suggest it, sir, I know a good restaurant just near the stop where you get off."

Anthony smiled and thanked the enthusiastic conductor. The restaurant was near a pet rescue center on his block, and he was familiar with it. They were just going to eat there.