Knock, knock.
Hearing the knocking, Molly was the first to run to the door. She didn't even need to stand up; she just raised a paw and pressed down on the handle, opening the door. When Owen emerged from his room, he saw the witch standing at the entrance. "Professor McGonagall? What brings you here?"
Hearing Owen's voice, Molly stepped aside. McGonagall gave the Wampus Cat an appreciative look before letting the young wizard take her hand and lead her to the living room.
"These are cookies made by Ms. Tina. Would you like to try some?"
McGonagall accepted a cookie and watched as the young wizard brewed tea. After he served it, she smiled and asked, "My dear, I was wondering if you could tell me why I received a complaint from the Ministry of Magic regarding you?"
Owen paused, then quickly realized what it was about. He pouted unhappily. "Professor, it's like this: I needed a strong owl to send a reply to America... so they showed up. I even paid ten Galleons for the service! How can they take my money and then file a complaint?"
Taking the money and then snitching? That move by the Ministry really rubbed the young wizard the wrong way.
If he hadn't paid, a complaint would be justified. But he paid! The transaction was complete!
"Hehe. So, my dear, can you explain exactly how you summoned the Ministry's dedicated owls?"
That's simple. Owen stood up, opened the front door, stood on the threshold, and reached his hand toward the sky. "I NEED SOMEONE TO DELIVER A LETTER!"
After shouting, he turned back to McGonagall. "Just like that..."
Before his voice even faded, a dozen owls of various sizes swooped down from the sky, landing around the young wizard. The corner of McGonagall's mouth twitched. Since when are these messengers so easy to summon?
Just as she was about to dismiss them, a streak of white lightning appeared. It knocked aside five or six other owls before stopping right in front of Owen. With a spread of its wings, it wrapped the boy in a hug and tilted its large, fluffy head to nuzzle against his.
"Professor McGonagall, this... is the Ministry's civil servant owl. Her name is Sasha."
McGonagall was silent for a full two minutes. She refrained from saying something cliché like "This bird is destined for you." Instead, she drew her wand and gave it a wave. All the owls, including Sasha who was still hugging the boy, flew away.
"Alright, I understand. This isn't your fault..." McGonagall sighed. "I will explain the situation to the Ministry and suggest they strengthen their owl management protocols. On another note, school is starting soon. Are you interested in guiding the incoming first-years to Diagon Alley?"
Owen laughed. "Forget it, Professor. I don't exactly have much authority right now. Give it two years. When I'm older, I can help share that workload."
Wizarding families didn't need a professor's guidance; their parents could take them. As for Muggle-born families, sending him would be inappropriate. No parent, no matter how open-minded, would entrust their child to another child, wizard or not.
"Very well. I still have a lot of work to handle..."
"Professor, please stay for dinner before you go..."
Looking into the young wizard's eyes, the witch's heart melted. "Alright!"
Without house-elves or even magic, the young wizard cooked a table full of common Muggle dishes. But the witch could see he was happy; he even talked more than usual. She listened as he recounted his holiday experiences bit by bit, almost unwilling to leave. She wanted to stay with this resilient boy so he wouldn't feel so lonely.
"Sorry, Professor. I haven't had a guest in a long time. I got a little too excited."
When the young wizard realized it was dark, he finally stopped. He walked the witch to the door, flashing a big smile. "See you at school."
"Yes, see you at school."
The witch gave the boy a warm hug, then vanished with a CRACK.
Owen closed the door and returned to his desk, opening the book he had been reading earlier. The big cat curled up on his feet, and the phoenix perched on the chair behind him. The house became quiet once again.
No one enjoys loneliness, but studying helps you ignore it.
Potions is a subject combining theory and practice. No matter how solid your theory is, you need hands-on experience. With fifteen days left until school started, Owen decided to go to Diagon Alley first, buy some ingredients and equipment, and try brewing some potions at home for practice.
He also had some other ideas he needed to verify practically.
Step one: Without changing the ingredients or adding anything extra, see if he could make certain potions taste... less terrible!
---
"Why are you here?"
Owen never expected that the moment he tapped the brick and opened the passage to Diagon Alley, the first person he'd see would be Professor Snape. If not for the obvious first-year student standing next to him, Owen would have suspected the man was waiting for him specifically.
"Professor, I'm here to buy some potion-making equipment and ingredients. I plan to practice a bit."
Snape's expression softened slightly. "Diagon Alley's ingredient selection is incomplete. Wait here. Miss Greengrass, please wait here with him. I will return shortly."
With that, Snape vanished with a CRACK.
Owen turned his gaze to the young witch. "Hello. Are you a new student enrolling this year?"
The girl looked at him, her face flushed red. "Yes. My name is Astoria Greengrass. Nice to meet you."
A polite young witch. Owen nodded in return. "Owen Corlett. Nice to meet you too... uh... wait, Miss Greengrass, you..."
It started friendly enough, but the moment he said his name, the girl's expression changed. Suddenly, she looked fiercely adorable—like a snarling kitten.
"So you're Owen?"
Astoria couldn't hold it in anymore. "You're the one who assigned homework to my sister, making me read books for the entire holiday, right? Don't you think that's excessive? I haven't even started school yet! I had plans! I was going to play with my sister all summer, but because of your homework, we didn't go anywhere!"
Sister?
Owen looked at the angry little girl and suddenly recalled another witch. "You're Miss Daphne's sister?"
"What? Do I not look like it?"
"Not really. Miss Daphne is an outstanding witch, and in Slytherin, she's a student who knows how to keep a low profile."
Owen admired Daphne Greengrass. She was one of the few Slytherins willing to get close to Muggles and interested in Muggle technology—after his guidance, of course. When she first enrolled, she was just another "Pure-Blood Supremacy" girl.
"Hmph! Of course my sister is outstanding!"
Astoria wrinkled her nose. Her anger had subsided a little, but it was still there. "What gives you the right to assign homework to my sister? You don't look much older than me!"
Owen laughed. "Wait until school starts. You'll understand why I can assign homework then."
"Tch!"
The girl turned her head away, ignoring him.
Watching her, Owen couldn't help but chuckle. Judging by her reaction, he suspected quite a few of this year's incoming first-years were going to hold a grudge against him!