Leaving the Nest (Pt. 1) Solo Finished

Saturday: September 1, 2018
7:00 am

On a day when he ought to have risen out of bed, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, Andrew woke up feeling groggy and sluggish, not wanting to move, as he peeled his eyelids open. This wasn’t his normal, healthy state, he realized, as soon as he took in his first swallow, feeling the soreness and scratchiness creep up in the back of his throat, along with the bitter taste in his mouth. Mustering the strength to sit up, his change to the upright position did nothing to clear the airways of his stuffy nose. All the symptoms of a manifesting cold.

Nooo… Andrew groaned to himself, plopping himself back down onto the bed and sinking into his mattress. Of all days for him to get sick, it had to be today.

Half an hour later, Andrew dragged himself downstairs, into the kitchen, where his mother and older sister were fixing breakfast. None of the pan-sizzling aromas roused his hunger or evoked his interest. Still in his pajamas, with his ruffled bedhead hair and lethargic expression, the boy showed all the outward indications that he was not feeling well.

“I’m sick,” he croaked, followed by a wet cough.

Mrs. Vance placed a hand on her son’s forehead, feeling for his temperature. “A little fever,” she commented, putting on a pouting lip to show sympathy. “Let’s get you some medicine. Poor wizard-son…”

While Andrew was administered a capful of cherry-flavored cough syrup for him to gulp down, his father gave him a once-over.

“Well, if you wanna stay home and sleep all day…” Andrew’s father stressed firmly, with a lighthearted tease, “You can miss the train, forget about Hogwarts, forget about being a wizard, and get back to living like the rest of us. Is that what you want? It’s your choice.” Not that Mr. Vance was any less sympathetic than his wife, but he didn’t see any point in consoling Andrew and detracting him from the seriousness and urgency of the situation. A cold wasn’t going to disappear in an hour, so unless if Andrew wanted to kiss his new wizarding future goodbye, he would have to weather it out and make the best of it in the meanwhile. If Andrew didn’t make the 11 o’clock train, there would be no second chances for him to go to Hogwarts.

Andrew gave a reluctant sigh that sealed his fate. As much as he was tempted to flake out and crawl back into bed, he knew he couldn’t disappoint his family, not after all they had been through in helping him prepare his materials for school. He couldn’t disappoint himself, either. If he stayed home, he’d surely regret it once his cold was over. Cancelling this train ride was out of the question.

“No. I’ll go.”

“Good then.” Mr. Vance patted his son’s back in approval. “Tough it up, give it a week, and you’ll be back to normal in no time. We’ll get you some medicine to take with you.”

After changing out of his pajamas and putting on some decent clothes, Andrew ran a comb through his hair and freshened himself up in the bathroom before heading back downstairs to the kitchen. Breakfast had been bountifully prepared for this special day – stacks of pancakes, a platter of hash browns, eggs and toast, sliced fruit, a pitcher of orange juice, and mugs of hot chocolate. Andrew was bestowed the seat of honor at the head of the dining table. While he attempted to act like his normal self in chatting with his family, who seemed to be more excited for Hogwarts than he was, Andrew nibbled at his eggs and toast half-heartedly. Nearly all food tasted bland when he was sick, and he had no appetite, although to appease the chefs (his mother and sister), Andrew sampled a bit of everything. A dose of sugar seemed to cleanse his palette though, as he sipped on his hot chocolate. On any normal day, his parents wouldn’t have approved of him loading up on sugar while he was sick, but – they reckoned to each other – better something to fuel him on his journey than nothing at all. Andrew helped himself to a few pancakes with maple syrup, and then munched on an apple for good measure.

He double-checked his bags to make sure that he had packed all of his school supplies and belongings – including Aurelia B’s Remembrall (hoping he wouldn’t forget about it later, once he arrived at Hogwarts). He then petted and hugged the family cats goodbye, giving Duchess and Princess each a longful squeeze before sending the two felines outside to the backyard. Passing by the goldfish tank, Andrew touched the pad of his index finger against the hard acrylic surface and watched as the three fantails swam over to investigate, as he silently bid them farewell.

This was it – Andrew stood by the entryway, casting one last glance down the front hallway. The last time he would get to see this house. Until Christmas break. It was only three months away, but it was the unknown of what might happen to him within those three months that made Andrew dread the most about leaving home. Still, it was a tiny voice of commitment, an inner call, a small flame, deep within him, that kept him going.

At promptly 9:00 am, the Vances piled into their dark blue minivan and began their drive towards King’s Cross Station, even stopping along the way to indulge in what would be Andrew’s last chocolate-glazed doughnut at the Vance family’s childhood favorite doughnut shop, before resuming their trip. Gazing out the window, passing by familiar streets and storefronts… Leaving his old Muggle world behind… Andrew knew he couldn’t abandon his mission now. Not when there was still so much out there for him to discover. And not just for himself, but for his family as well. He was their only source of contact with the wizarding world, to relay his findings to them. Should he quit now, he would be severing his family’s hopes of having their curiosities satisfied. Not that they wouldn’t get past it, if Andrew refused, but it would be a letdown for them, for Andrew to miss out on opportunity of a lifetime. He had to do this for them. Even if it meant suffering through his cold, which he hoped wouldn’t interfere too much with him being able to enjoy the rest of this day to the fullest.