Both of them were aware that their way of life, living in the middle of a Muggle town and adapting to their surroundings, was not endearing them to certain parts of magical society, but they couldn't care less if they were called Muggle-lovers and blood-traitors. After all, their daughter Luna seemed happy with how they were living, and that always was most important.
"Have you noticed it too, Xeno? Luna seems to apply herself very much at school. Her teacher after all is giving us nothing but praise that she easily is doing double the work expected, even breaking into material for the next year," Pandora told her husband while putting her purchased ingredients into her basket.
"That's our little pumpkin," Xeno said with pride. "I heard from Arthur that his own daughter is applying herself above all that's expected as well. Smells like a little conspiracy between these two."
"Ohh, maybe these two are Ravenclaws in the making? A Weasley in Ravenclaw, that would be a first," Pandora laughed. "Remember, her teacher told us that they are starting to consider her skipping a grade. The same goes for little Ginny as well."
Xeno gave her a knowing smile. "As I said, looks like a little conspiracy these two are cooking up."
Their next stop was the stationary shop, Amanuensis Quills.
Looking at the prices for quills and ink while his wife was making her purchases, Xeno noticed that they were quite a bit lower than he remembered, which was unusual, and spotted the owner standing behind the counter. "Ah, Jason, is there a sale of quills and ink I have not heard about?" he asked, smelling a story behind it.
Jason Hackson, the owner who knew Xeno, frowned when hearing the question. "No, I had to lower the prices to stay competitive. You know that over half of my sales goes to Hogwarts students, most by owl-order? However, recently demand for quills and ink has gone down."
"I don't think they'll write any less at school, so what could be the reason?" Pandora asked.
Mr. Hackson snorted. "Competition from the Muggle market. It's an open secret that the number of muggleborn and half-blood students at Hogwarts is rising steadily. Turns out many of them prefer to use these modern fountain pens and recently started to do so at school as well. Well, and since our ink is meant for quills and doesn't work with those pens..."
"...they buy the ink on the Muggle market as well," Xeno concluded. He already could see the article in the Quibbler form in his mind: 'Are Muggle Products Better?'. Yes, that would be a great story.
What Mr. Hackson did not say, was, that he blamed Headmaster Dumbledore for this change in purchasing patterns. After all, the Hogwarts letters now stated, that while quills were the norm, other writing utensils using ink were explicitly allowed as well. While the Headmaster had introduced this change due to many complaints from muggleborn and half-bloods about how impractical quills were, Mr. Hackson saw it as a move to hurt his business.
When they again left the shop, Pandora finally confessed "I didn't want to admit it whie he was present, but ever since we had to buy school supplies for Luna in a Muggle stationary shop, I've started to buy there as well. It's been weeks since the last time I used a quill and parchment."
"Well, looks like I can get a first-hand experience account," Xeno chuckled.
Continuing their stroll down Diagon Alley, they stopped when seeing a window display in Flourish & Blotts. A new book was showcased, which read in golden letters on the dark green book cover: Potions for Experts - written by Severus Snape.
"Oh, a new potions book! Now this sounds interesting!" Pandora said excitedly, her love for potions experiments shining through.
A sign next to the book in the display gave more details.
Potions for Experts
This comprehensive book was written by Severus Snape, professor at Hogwarts and potions expert. Within these pages, Professor Snape not only reveals new potions he developed with diligent work, but also countless ways how to get better results with existing potions. Due to the nature of this book, its usage in school by students is banned by the Ministry of Magic.
A list of reviews from several famous potion brewers followed, all of them praising Snape for his thorough and detailed work, many pointing out how this book would make the brewing of many potions for many much easier than before.
"Oh, Xeno, I need to buy this book. This is exactly what I needed for years." She didn't even wait for his reply while walking to the entrance to buy a copy.
"This is my Pandora, she gets a one-track mind once it comes to potions. Not that I love her any less because of it," Xeno mused, before following his wife into the book shop.
...St. Grogory's Primary School, January 27th...
Even during a rather cool January, children under then age of ten didn't mind getting outside after being cooped up in a classroom for hours; they simply needed the movement. Such also was the case during recess at the school that Harry Potter attended during this Tuesday in January. It was cold enough you could see your breath, but the children didn't care at all about that while milling around in the schoolyard.
Such also was the case for Harry.
The two boys he was talking with right at the moment were not close friends of his - thanks to Dudley and his gang he didn't have those - but they were still friendly enough that they could talk about the kind of stuff six to seven-year old boys liked to talk about. In this case it was about that latest episode of a popular animated TV show.
"Man, He-Man really did a number on Skeletor," the boy to Harry's left said.
"Yes, but he didn't humiliate him like some episodes ago," the boy to Harry's right added.
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