Hogwarts only accepts a limited number of new students each year, and they're scattered across the British Isles. Forget having 'relatives' on the same street, it's rare to even find two students from the same city.
Considering that most of these students come from wizarding families, the chances of ordinary children receiving a Hogwarts letter are quite low. Some years, there are only a handful of such students, or even none at all.
This year was no different. Aside from the few children gathered here, there was only one other girl named Hermione Granger, who came from a completely Muggle family.
Because of this rare circumstance, both Hogwarts and the Ministry of Magic conducted background checks on the children. The final conclusion was that "everything is normal," and the children's shared magical potential and distant kinship could be explained by the possibility of wizard blood somewhere in their ancestral lines that hadn't been passed down until now.
By now, Selene had already asked all the necessary questions, and Professor McGonagall had patiently answered them. She even demonstrated a bit of magic to gain the guardian's trust.
Having reached this stage of the process, it was time for Professor McGonagall to meet the children.
When Selene called out to them, Ethan dismissed the mirror image in front of him and, like a normal child reluctantly leaving his game, walked toward the living room.
"Hello, Ethan Arendelle. I am the Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts."
"Is it this Hogwarts?"
Ethan raised the acceptance letter in his hand. Professor McGonagall smiled and nodded. Being attractive is often an advantage. Upon seeing such a cute and beautiful child, most people couldn't help but feel a sense of goodwill.
Each child who emerged was closely observed by Professor McGonagall. It could be said she was very satisfied. After observing them for a while, she didn't notice anything unusual. On the contrary, she found them all to be quite gifted, and she even wished she could pull every one of them into Gryffindor.
After chatting with the children for a while, Professor McGonagall took her leave. Before departing, she explained to Selene how to get to Diagon Alley and how to exchange money into the wizarding currency, which could be done at Gringotts.
"Goodbye, Professor McGonagall!"
"I hope to see you at Hogwarts soon, Mr. Arendelle."
As Professor McGonagall walked to the street corner and disappeared, the children all wore surprised expressions. But through Ethan's eyes, he could clearly see that she hadn't truly left. She'd merely turned invisible and was still standing there, watching.
Ethan wasn't the only one who could see through McGonagall's spell. Her invisibility was designed for Muggles. Anyone with a bit of power could see through it.
For someone like Logan with special abilities, even without advanced Druid training, his keen sense of smell could tell that she hadn't actually gone.
Pretending nothing had happened, they returned inside and resumed their usual, uneventful routine. In everyone's eyes, Ethan and the others were a group of quiet but intelligent children. Because they were obedient, even with just Selene as their guardian, there weren't any troublesome incidents.
In Professor McGonagall's view, this was ideal. No one disliked well-behaved children.
In the days that followed, McGonagall secretly accompanied Selene and the children to Diagon Alley. She didn't truly leave until they had entered.
Though Diagon Alley was bustling, compared to earlier times, hardly anyone paid special attention to Ethan's group.
It was close to the start of the school year, so Diagon Alley was filled with students. Not just first-years, but also returning students shopping for supplies.
"It's really lively here."
Without Professor McGonagall's constant supervision, everyone could finally talk freely. Although the area was crowded, they didn't have to be overly cautious with their words. Even if they acted a little strange, it wouldn't draw much attention. Eccentrics were common in the wizarding world, and most people were used to it.
"Probably because this place is really famous..."
The wizarding world isn't small, but it's not that big either. There are only so many wizards. While the UK has more than one place selling magical supplies, one Diagon Alley can meet the needs of nearly all wizards in the country.
This is because it hosts the flagship stores of many major magical brands. So most wizards prefer to shop here. Especially at this time of year, it's no surprise it's crowded.
Unlike other children who stayed close to their parents, Ethan and the others split up after entering Diagon Alley. Selene went to Gringotts to exchange currency, while the rest wandered around.
Diagon Alley wasn't that big, and they had already agreed to meet at the wand shop later. Until then, everyone could explore and figure out where the items they needed were.
Scáthach always preferred to act alone and quickly disappeared. Logan was the same. He said he wanted to wander, but Ethan suspected he just wanted to sneak off for a smoke. Did he really think no one would notice those cigars hidden in the snack stash? Too naive.
Illya followed Ethan as usual. Rin originally wanted to explore on her own but ended up dragging Leah with her as company.
Kind-hearted Leah had initially planned to stay with her teacher, but she couldn't bring herself to reject Rin's enthusiasm and ended up being pulled away.
"Anywhere you want to go?"
"I don't know. Let's just wander."
Now that her internal questions had been resolved, Illya was much more cheerful and generally acted like a ten-year-old child.
For Illya, most of her life had been spent in the Einzbern castle. She'd never truly seen the outside world. Even though she had learned plenty and was nearly an adult in age, a part of her still held a child's innocence.
Perhaps because they were all in child form, and this outing was so relaxed, that childlike side of Illya had finally been unleashed.
She darted around like a curious toddler, wanting to look at everything that caught her attention. Time passed quickly as she explored.
During this time, Ethan saw Harry Potter following behind Hagrid. The future Savior of the wizarding world was still just a cute little boy.
Harry looked around curiously, acting similarly to Illya. Though Illya was much more energetic, and her antics attracted a lot of attention. Still, most people just smiled kindly at the sight of such a lovely girl.
Some vendors even gave them small snacks or toys. Clearly, cuteness could indeed be a form of currency. Within an hour, Illya had basically taken care of lunch for both herself and Ethan.
At times like these, Ethan had to act like the responsible older brother, guiding Illya to thank the kind-hearted vendors. Illya never thought of such things herself. Her moral compass was underdeveloped, and she needed to live among others longer to learn how to behave appropriately—or at least appear normal.
Because Illya had been overly energetic, by the time they arrived at the wand shop, they were already late.
"Hehe, I guess I got carried away."
Illya scratched her head sheepishly. Even though she was technically an adult, she didn't understand why she was enjoying this childlike happiness so much.
Ethan knew it was because she had never experienced this kind of life before and deeply yearned for it. But this wasn't the time to give a lecture, so he simply smiled and said, "As long as you're happy."
Then he walked toward the wand shop, which he had already located.
Nothing unusual happened along the way. Aside from Harry Potter, they didn't encounter any familiar plot characters.
That was a good sign. It meant Ethan wouldn't have to become friends with the Golden Trio, wouldn't have to fight Voldemort, and wouldn't get caught in the absurd battles between the Death Eaters and the Ministry.
He just needed to applaud Mr. Savior Harry Potter when the time came and be a proper bystander.
"Here we are. By the way, does magic in this world have to be cast with a wand?"
Standing at the entrance of Ollivanders, Illya asked curiously. Based on what she had seen and heard so far, it seemed like wands were an essential tool for spellcasting.
Ethan, however, knew that wandless magic existed in this world. So wands weren't absolutely necessary. But for most wizards, losing their wand rendered them powerless.
"A wand is just a tool that helps with spellcasting."
"Got it."
(To be continued.)