Chapter - 4.2
"We don't have money? You should have told me that earlier. I would not have spent so much on clothes. Let's return your clothes tomorrow and get a refund," Nicole panicked a bit in the beginning, but she soon came up with a solution to her problem.
But this left Alexander dumbfounded at his sister's shamelessness. His eyes could not help but turn towards the bags he had just laid on the table. On one side, there were more than ten bags with stuff for his sister, while on the other side, there were only three bags that belonged to him.
"They don't use this money," looking away from the bags, Alexander shook his head at Nicole's cunningness before he started to explain, "They have Knuts, Sickle and Galleons."
"Knuts? Sickle? Never heard of them. So how are we going to buy all that is mentioned in this list?" Nicole was slowly accepting that a far more fascinating world was waiting for her, but there were always some obstacles coming her way.
"Well, I do have some money that we can use. The rest can be taken care of by exchanging currency in the market," Alexander said, relieving Nicole of her worries.
"Idiot brother of mine. Why are you creating problems when there are none? Can't you just say it all in one go?" Nicole could not stop herself from snapping at Alexander.
"Young lady," Alexander said in a deep voice, "We may be twins, but I am the older one here. You better not throw the respect out of the window," Alexander sat at once and said, flicking Nicole's forehead.
"Fine... Fine... No need to be so touchy. But now that we have the money, when will we go to that market, 'Diagonally'?" Rubbing her forehead, Nicole asked again.
"Firstly, it's not diagonally, but Diagon Alley. Split the two apart. And secondly, for those who live in the muggle world or are orphans like us and show aptitude in magic, a teacher is assigned to help them understand the ins and outs of the school and help with other formalities. We just need to wait for them to show up," Alexander explained further.
"Ohhh..." Nicole was clearly not happy with the waiting.
"Till then, why don't I give you some books? It might help you familiarize yourself with the world of wizards and witches," Now that Alexander had explained everything to Nicole, he thought it might be best if Nicole did her own study and make an opinion for herself.
"How many are there?" Not fond of reading, Nicole asked. If there were going to be too many, she might as well just skip this part.
"There are quite a lot. A bunch on everything," Alexander said and picked up his pouch again. He put his hand inside the pouch, and pulled out a couple of books. He did the same a few more times until a stack of books was in front of Nicole.
"For starters, let's go with these," Alexander said, pointing at the books.
"Starters? How many more do you have?" Nicole was startled the moment she saw the books. Her brother must be a real nerd to even have the urge to read those rusty old books.
"A few more," Alexander said, "Why don't we start with the basics?" When Alexander saw the reluctance on Nicole's face, he knew what to do. He put back some of the books, leaving a couple of them behind.
"Have you read all of them?" Nicole had to ask, seeing the books.
"A couple of them are left," Alexander nodded, "I will be done with them in a few more days." Alexander grabbed the books he had shortlisted for Nicole and said.
"Where did you get them from?" Nicole asked.
"It shouldn't be hard for you to guess," Alexander said, suggesting something.
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"That man, isn't it?" Nicole asked only to get a nod from Alexander.
"Most of them are from him. While a few others, I bought them while I was away," Alexander told Nicole.
"But, isn't he just too generous to you, to us? Or is there something else you are not telling me?" Getting a whiff of something, Nicole asked, squinting her eyes in suspicion.
"There is nothing of that sort. You will know all about it when the time is right," Alexander dodged her question and handed her the books, "Now focus on these books. You can start with this one."
"There is nothing like free lunch," Nicole took the book from her brother and sat on the edge of the bed. The book was titled 'A History of Magic' by Bathilda Bagshot. And unlike her usual thorny ass self, Nicole did not move from her place, completely immersed in reading the book. She would even ask Alexander a thing or two from time to time.
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Soon a week passed, and the most playful child of the orphanage, Nicole, was rarely seen these days. The siblings would spend the day cooped up in their room, not meeting anyone. Even their dinner was being delivered to their room. The boss privilege may be.
And like the last few days, Alexander and Nicole were in their room when their door was knocked.
"Alex, someone is here to see you," it was the head nun outside their room. Alex was something only the head nun would call him.
"Coming," it was Nicole who answered.
Alex could guess who it was. Not the person, but why they were here, he knew it. At this time, only two people were looking for him. His master, but he won't come through the front door in the middle of the day. The other would be someone from Hogwarts.
Alex, in a jiffy, took all the books that were scattered around the room and put them back in his pouch. He had already told Nicole to act as if they don't know anything about magic. They were supposed to act dumbfounded and lost at the mention of Hogwarts and magic.
When they were all set, Alex nodded toward Nicole, instructing her to open the door. The door opened, and the head nun was the first to walk in. Alex first nodded towards the head nun and then looked towards the lady standing beside her questionably before nodding at her in greeting.
"I will take it from here, thank you," the middle-aged lady asked the head nun.
On hearing the lady, the head nun nodded and, giving Alex a look, left the room.
"Please, come in," with the head nun gone, Alex turned his attention towards the unknown lady in the room, gesturing for her to come in.
Looking around the room, the lady, with slow steps, walked into the room, inspecting every corner before settling her eyes on Nicole.
The lady continued to stare at Nicole for a while before she opened her mouth, "Sorry to intrude suddenly, but I am Minerva McGonagall, the deputy headmistress at Hogwarts. You can call me Professor McGonagall."
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