Afternoon in the Alley(part 3)

"So, tell me, Charlie, what's got you so happy?" Ted looked at the cheerful redhead with interest. He had never had the chance to speak with another young wizard.

Learning about the magical world from books was intriguing, but he wasn't certain which of the books actually applied to the real world. Only a wizard could answer that. Seeing that he would be stuck at the robes shop for quite a while, Ted chose to make the best out of his time.

Charlie looked at Ted with a wide smile. "My mom just got the letter that I'll be a house prefect next year at Hogwarts, so she decided to buy me a new robe and even a new broom."

"So, you're learning at Hogwarts? How is it?" Ted asked, giving Charlie an innocent smile.

"Yeah, I'm a 4th year and a Gryffindor. It's quite cool. The school is this gigantic old castle, and the Quidditch is the best outside of the professional leagues. I'm a seeker on the house team. Students mostly only get the announcement in their 5th year, but Professor McGonagall made an exception for me since I'm on the team, and she knew Mom promised me a new broom." Looking at Ted, Charlie was reminded of his little brothers who used to always ask him about his school, and he couldn't help but answer his questions.

Ted continued to ask about the subjects taught in the school, magical things Charlie had the chance to see, basic books that he might want to read before he goes there, and even about Quidditch. Charlie was very kind, and he laughed a lot as he shared some stories about the teachers. All that was until Ted's robe was done.

Looking at the fine black robe, Ted noticed that the fabric the hood was made of was quite a bit softer than the rest of the robe, and its color was more vibrant too.

The smiling witch in purple robes saw him looking at the hood with interest and smiled. "It's acromantula silk," she said. Ted could see the twitch on her face, and he knew why, or at least he guessed.

"I didn't order it," he said sternly, trying to make it as obvious as possible that he wouldn't pay for it. Ted had seen acromantula silk in 'Slugs and Jiggers Apothecary'; it costs a Galleon per 5 grams, and the hood was around 100 grams, making it around 20 Galleons.

"I know, dear. It's on me. I didn't check, and we ran out of other types of black." She looked quite hesitant, but the kind smile hadn't left her face. "You see, I don't like making people sad."

"Thank you, Madam Malkin. Do you do deliveries?" Ted answered politely. He was actually wearing a wide smile now, which was very uncharacteristic for him. He couldn't help himself; he had been thinking about the magical materials he saw earlier nonstop, and getting one for free made him delighted.

<============== >

Diagon Alley was now dark, most shops were already closed, and only the occasional cloaked wizard would pass through until they disappeared into some side alley. Ted was now standing in front of the same brick wall he walked through in the morning.

The only things on him were a leather wallet that contained a 50 bill and his credit card, a small old leather pouch he got when he opened a vault at Gringotts which contained a single gold coin and 4 silver ones and a single book titled 'A Hundred Concoctions for Beginners' by Horace Slughorn that was placed under his hand, and a single bag of candies that lay in his pocket.

The rest of the things he bought would be delivered to him via Owl-mail, saving him the trouble of carrying them, or explaining them to his father... or whoever it is that will receive him when he comes back home after disappearing for over a day.

Tapping the bricks in the same combination, Ted once again walked into the Leaky Cauldron's back room. He took out two candies from the small bag that lay in his pocket and stuck them in his mouth.

The candies were 'Hocus Pocus jelly beans,' a very interesting type of magical candy that changed one of the consumer's features randomly for a very short amount of time. Swallowing them both, Ted's hair turned a bright greenish color, and a very bushy black mustache grew below his nose, covering his mouth.

Ted fixed his hair a little to hide his face as much as possible and then passed through the old pub without stopping, eventually passing through the door that led to Charing Cross Road. Looking around for only a second, Ted walked hastily into a corner between two streets where there was a small park and hid behind the first tree he could find.

After only a minute, Ted finally felt that the mustache disappeared, and he came out of his hiding space, looking at Charing Cross Road. All he had to do now was either catch a bus or take a taxi and get back to the mansion.

Ted didn't know the bus lines, as he never actually rode one before, so he chose to catch a taxi.

Standing in front of an old bookstore that was just next to the Leaky Cauldron, Ted raised his right hand as he looked at the road, trying to signal to a taxi just like he was taught by Henry, the old chauffeur who worked for his father.

Several minutes passed, and several taxis passed by, but none stopped, probably thinking that a child his age won't be able to pay or will only bring them trouble. He might have been a bit tall for his age, but he still looked like a nine-year-old. Such a young kid shouldn't be traveling alone.

Ted was wondering if he should give up and go ask people for directions to Kensington, something he really wanted to avoid as it would undoubtedly attract attention. Kensington Palace Gardens, where Ted lived, was the most expensive and exclusive street in London.

Most of the street was occupied by royalty and different embassies, but Ted's Grandfather from his father's side was actually very connected to the royalty. Though Ted wasn't sure how.

When he asked the old etiquettes teacher, all he got was "The man founded the whole Blake group from the ground and was a real legend before he died of lung cancer, that happened just a few months before you were born."

Though Ted wasn't sure if he wanted to meet the man, he was described as an older wiser version of his son, and Ted's father wasn't exactly the nicest person he knew. He would often ignore him and send him off on some trips just so he could have some business meetings.

Just like the one he went on yesterday to the National gallery. In Ted's opinion, If his father ever bothered to care, he would have known he had already gone there last summer, and Ted wasn't one to forget, important or unimportant. Ted remembered almost everything he had ever seen, experienced, and felt in incredible detail.

So 'Broadening his horizons' was obviously nothing more than some weak excuse to send him out. Ted, at least, couldn't see it any other way.

Just as he was about to walk towards a bus station just a few shops ahead, a screeching of wheels was heard from behind him. Ted, who was surprised by the sudden loud noise, turned around only to see a vibrant Purple triple-decker bus driving against the flow of traffic at an incredible speed heading directly in his direction.

Ted jumped back almost immediately, reaching the wall of the shop behind him. He lifted his head just in time to see the bus go from full speed to a total halt in the manner of a second. Ted was absolutely shocked, so much that he didn't even notice his mouth was wide open as he stared at the bus's doors open, and 2 old witches walked down and disappeared into the Leaky Cauldron.

"Welcome to the Knight— Are you going to enter or just lean at the wall?" an old man started calling at him as he saw his bewildered expression. Ted, in turn, blinked several times before he walked forward.

"I—" But before he could say anything else, the old man, who was clearly quite impatient, continued his narration.

"Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the standard witch or wizard. Just stick out your wand-hand, step on board, and we can take you anywhere you want to go. My name is Cedric Cobbleway, and I will be your conductor this evening. For only the price of eleven Sickles, our driver, Ernie Prang, will take you where you want to go. For thirteen, you can get a hot chocolate, and for fifteen, a hot water bottle and a toothbrush in your color of choice."

Ted looked at the old man for a few seconds, considering his options. He was in a tight spot and he wasn't really in the mood to talk with strangers to figure out the way, not to mention that he had never traveled such a distance alone in his life. Just this walk in Diagon Alley was his longest one ever.

He took the last gold Galleon from his pocket and handed it to Cedric, "I'll have the toothbrush." before thinking for a second of what he saw and added "No hot chocolate."

"Sure, but if you want the toothbrush it still costs the same." Cedric shrugged, slightly disappointed for not getting to see another kid ruining his clothes.

"Fine." Ted nodded, he hadn't showered or brushed his teeth yesterday and he felt quite dirty.

Cedric took the coin and gave Ted back two silver Sickles. "Your destination?"

"Kensington Palace Gardens 4th."

Ted noticed a slight change in the man's expression; he was probably familiar with the street as he looked quite flabbergasted.

Ted took the ticket from him, entering the magical bus.