[August 2024]

“What’s next on the agenda?” Noah’s mom said inquisitively. She had given Noah the supply list after leaving Ollivanders, perhaps to try increase his responsibility.

“It’s… Flourish and Blotts! What is that.” Noah read proudly. Unlike Ollivanders, he could not recall what Flourish and Blotts was, no matter how hard he racked his little brain.

“They sell books, if I remember correctly.” Noah’s mother informed.

“Awww. I gotta read?” Noah whined. Although he didn’t hate reading, if given the chance, he would rather not.

“Yeah. It’s a school. What’d you expect?” She questioned with a grin.

“Alright…” Noah sobbed, realising that learning magic would be a lot harder than he had originally thought. He didn’t care too much though; it was inevitable that he would have to work himself to the limit if he wanted any chance of catching up to his brother.

The bell above the door of Flourish and Blotts chimed softly as Noah stepped inside, and the din of Diagon Alley faded behind him like the closing of a heavy curtain. The scent of parchment and ink was thick and intoxicating, despite the sweet aroma of freshly printed books transmitting a wave of warmth across Noah. The shop was bustling with witches and wizards preparing for the start of term, the air alive with the rustle of turning pages, the hum of whispered conversations, and the occasional pop of a spell gone astray.

He looked down at the list and read them out internally:
Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger;
Book of Spells by Miranda Goshawk;
Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling;
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble;
Hogwarts, A History by Garius Tomkink;
A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot;
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander.

“That’s… a lot of books…” He puffed.

“Then… I guess you gotta get started!” His mother patted his back and pushed him forwards slightly, urging him to get it over and done with.

Noah looked around inquisitively, wondering where he should start. Soon enough, his eyes fell upon a pyramid of sleek, black-bound copies of “Magical Drafts and Potions” which were relatively near the entrance of the store. Their gilt-edged spines gleamed under the soft, golden light of the enchanted chandelier above. He quickly picked one up, before being bombarded by other students who saw the book and wanted to get one as quickly as they could.

In the more silent part of the shop, Noah stumbled upon the shelf where the books of Magical Theory were. Here, any voice of other moves gradually faded into a holy silence. Noah saw the title by Adalbert Waffling thrown in among the rows of any other worthy scholarly works; he remembered his Father reading a book by the same guy. He flipped through a few pages, and then, he opened by diagrams of spell frameworks and dense paragraphs explaining the principles of magic, before quickly shutting it. It spun his head a little, but he tucked it under his arm with a grin of determination. "Alright, two done, fou- fiv- six more to go!"

Nearby, the book "The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection" loomed on a red, leather-bound book. The cover was embossed with a golden embroidery and its edges glowed faintly. The notion of there being Dark Forces around always scared Noah slightly. Even though Voldemort was killed by Harry Potter, there were still evil things lurking that forced even schoolkids such as himself to learn how to defend themselves. Then again, Noah remembered that Harry Potter, the so called 'Chosen One', was a criminal, or something. Locked up in Azkaban because he killed that one girl. The memory was blurry since he had only heard it in passing, but maybe Voldemort wasn't THAT bad. He supposed he had to probably read a couple more History books before he made his mind up.

While on the topic of history, the next two books he grabbed were "Hogwarts, A History" and "A History of Magic". Finally, the last book he had to pick up was "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them". He had read this book a couple years ago, a felt as if it deserved a movie. He just hoped they didn't mess it up! But, they would never do that!

Anyways, he kept searching and searching and searching but, alas, he couldn't find it. He could ask his mother for help, but he had to prove his 'responsibility' and that he would be good to go in Hogwarts! So, the only thing he could do was... search.