Today was Monday, and the Harland family all had their own stuff going on.
Mrs. Harland was supposed to head into London for a job interview at a private dental clinic in Hampstead. For over ten years she'd been a dentist at the local children's hospital, but after one too many blow-ups with a patient's parents, the hospital gave her a formal warning. She refused to back down and quit on the spot.
After two weeks of soul-crushing housewife life (Richie had already whined that "if I have to eat Mom's cooking one more time I'm gonna turn into a piece of dry toast"), she decided it was time to get back to work.
But of all days, today—of all days—something unexpected happened…
She'd lost every ounce of motivation for the interview, but at Richie's strong insistence she still went. After all, she'd already set the appointment.
Denton's job was close by—just a newspaper branch office in the town center. As director, he only had five people under him: three delivery guys and two guard dogs. Still, the paycheck was solid.
At his son's suggestion, Denton decided to head in late so he could drop his wife off. He was worried she might chicken out at the last second (honestly, he couldn't stand her cooking anymore either—especially since he had to fake praise it every single time).
As for Richie, he'd graduated from Cardisk Elementary a month earlier. His original plan was to stay home and read.
But now? He was heading into the magical world with Aunt Annabelle to buy everything on the Hogwarts supply list.
Most importantly—the textbooks!
School was still two whole months away, but Richie was already itching to dive into real magic.
---
9 Silver Maple Road, Maplewood District, Prorow County. The Harland residence.
By now, Mr. and Mrs. Harland had already left.
"Ready, little Richie?"
"It might feel a little rough…"
Standing in the middle of the living room, Annabelle held his hand, a mischievous sparkle in her eyes.
"I'm ready!"
Richie took a deep breath, but his palms were already slick with sweat.
According to Aunt Annabelle, there was a place in the wizarding world called Diagon Alley—the main shopping street packed with every magical shop you could imagine. Everything a new Hogwarts student needed could be bought there.
The Harland house was way too far for a normal trip, so his aunt decided to take him by magic!
And that magic was exactly what Richie used to think was "teleportation superpowers"!
"Okay, here we go!"
Annabelle's face turned serious. Left hand gripping Richie's, right hand flicking her wand as she chanted:
"Apparate!"
A loud crack split the air. The two of them were sucked into a tiny black point and vanished on the spot.
---
Somewhere in an alley off Charing Cross Road, Westminster, London.
Richie clung to the wall, dry-heaving like his stomach was trying to exit his body.
That spell felt absolutely insane.
It was like someone had stuffed him into a garden hose the width of an arm, squeezed him through it, then tossed the whole hose into a high-speed spinning washing machine. Suffocating pressure mixed with dizzying spins—every second felt like an hour.
Even though it only lasted three or four seconds, it felt like forever.
"Richie… little Richie…"
His aunt's voice sounded muffled, like it was coming through a thick blanket.
The next second a familiar sweet perfume hit his nose. Almost instantly his churning stomach calmed down and a cool, refreshing feeling spread through his head.
"Better now?"
Annabelle's voice came through clear again. Richie looked up into her smiling eyes.
The corner of his mouth twitched. "Auntie… if you want to laugh, just laugh already. Holding it in looks painful."
"Pfft—Hahahaha!"
Annabelle finally cracked up.
"You always act like such a little adult, but right now you look like a pathetic kid who just got off his first roller coaster."
She pulled out a handkerchief, wiped his mouth, then spun once on the spot. A black wizarding robe instantly appeared over her clothes.
"This is a wizard's robe. In the magical world, we all wear these to show who we are."
Annabelle grabbed his hand again, looked him dead in the eye, and said seriously:
"From now on you hold my hand tight at all times. Don't let go, no matter what. Got it?"
"Auntie, what if I need to use the bathroom?"
Richie blinked and asked very earnestly.
"Hah, I've seen everything you've got. I used to change your diapers when you were little!"
Annabelle flicked his forehead.
"Also, out in public? Don't call me 'Auntie.' Call me 'Sister.'"
"Understood… Annabelle… Sister."
Under threat of more forehead flicks, Richie reluctantly agreed.
"Good boy~ Let's go. We'll enter Diagon Alley through the Leaky Cauldron."
After giving him the rules, Annabelle confidently led Richie out of the alley.
The entrance to the Leaky Cauldron was squeezed between a big Muggle bookstore and a record shop. It just looked like an ordinary arched wall with a shabby old sign:
The Leaky Cauldron – Diagon Alley, 1
People on the sidewalk walked right past it without a second glance, completely ignoring the weird sign.
"The Leaky Cauldron has a Muggle-Repelling Charm. Only witches and wizards notice it."
Annabelle tapped the wall with her wand. A door-shaped outline appeared. She pushed it open and pulled Richie inside.
---
"Old Jack, I'm telling you, those goblins are nothing but money-grubbing bastards! They just jacked up the storage fees again!"
"Silent Harry picked up his last Galleon yesterday! I knew he wouldn't last!"
"I wouldn't have lasted either!"
"Tom, another Firewhisky!"
---
December 25th, 1990 – Sunny
Great, I finally finished my old diary. The Christmas gift this year included a new notebook, so I'll use this one from now on.
I'm now completely sure I'm a superpower user.
Ever since that first brain-flick, I've done countless experiments. I finally managed to do it again.
After flicking over two hundred sparrows out of the neighborhood (purely for research purposes, definitely not for fun—though I have to admit it's way more convenient than marbles), I've figured out the pattern.
As long as I concentrate hard and keep mentally chanting "brain-flick, brain-flick, brain-flick…" while aiming at the target, I can do it from a distance!
I'm still researching exactly how it works, but I think I'm starting to get some clues.