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28.73% HP: A Magical Journey [Complete] / Chapter 126: Topic: The West Family

Chapter 126: Topic: The West Family

If you want to read ahead, you can check out my Patreón @

[ https://www.patreón.com/fictiononlyreader ]

The link is also in the synopsis.

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Quinn stood in the hotel lobby of the hotel with his suitcase in his hands. He tapped his foot against the floor as he absentmindedly gazed around the hotel lobby to pass the time. The hall was silent because it was just before seven in the morning. The lobby would regain its activity when the breakfast time down in the hotel restaurant would start, and people would start their day.

He retrieved his trusty pocket watch from its pocket and checked on the time. There were only a few seconds till the minute-hand struck twelve, and the hour-hand arrived at seven on the watch dial. Quinn watched the second hand smoothly travel clockwise and arrive at number twelve, marking the time seven in the morning.

The clock's interface shifted as the dial background shifted from the indigo shade of the sixth hour to the gold of the seventh hour. A faint yet visible outline of the number six also changed to seven, and some other changes magically appeared on the watch front to signify the change of hours.

When the clock turned seven, Quinn looked up, and like clockwork, the man he was waiting for walked into the lobby and walked towards Quinn with a steady stride and semi-brisk pace. Aksel Thorn, his Danish bodyguard/guide who he had evaded many a time in his stay.

"Good morning, Mr. Thorn," greeted Quinn. "I hope my portkey is ready to be deployed?"

Aksel nodded and took out a small wooden cube with blunt edges which rested on his palm. Quinn picked up the dark wood cube from Aksel's palm and observed it. The wooden cube was larger than a cuboidal die, but it wasn't big enough to cover the entire palm. Quinn could comfortably close his first around the cube, and it would be completely enveloped.

"It will activate at five past seven. The portkey will trigger on its own; there is no activation phrase," answered Aksel.

Quinn nodded in response and wrapped his fist around the cube. As there was no activation phrase, Quinn needed to hold the cube because, at five past seven, the portkey would trigger and take him to the destination with no delay.

"It was a fun week, Mr. Thorn. Thank you for your services; you were an excellent guide," praised Quinn.

"... And yet you sneaked away without me," commented Aksel. The fact that a teen could sneak away from him under his nose was embarrassing for someone from his line of occupation and his position, and Aksel wasn't taking it lightly. His partners and subordinates were having fun at his expense. And from what he knew about his company, they weren't going to let it go anytime soon.

"Now, now, don't beat yourself up that much up. It happens to the best of people," chuckled Quinn. He could see that it bothered Aksel, so he tried to soothe the wound before returning home. "It was simply a little too motivated to go out on my own, so it's not your fault that you missed out on my escapes. I'm good at magic, after all."

Quinn took out a card from his pockets and handed it to Aksel. "This is my personal contact details. If you ever come to England, do contact me, and I will be your guide just as you were mine."

Aksel looked at the deep royal blue card. On the royal blue background was a monogram logo in the shape of QW, and beside the logo was Quinn's name full name, also written in gold. He turned the card to see a WMF-id printed on the back.

"That's my personal WMF-id. Not many people have that number, so please don't share it. I like this id I have and don't want to change it," pointed Quinn.

This card differed from his AID cards, which were for promotion and availability, as the cards changed when Quinn or Luna was inside the office for a consultation. This card held his very personal WMF-id, which not a lot of people were aware of. Other than his family, only Luna knew of his WMF-id because her father had purchased an office version MagiFax and put it in his home as Xenophilius Lovegood worked as a reporter/writer from his own.

Quinn hoped he could give a few others his contact details as the MagiFax personal home models were launched just before Quinn left for Denmark. Quinn was sure that as the year passed, his friends would have a MagiFax unit at their respective homes.

"Do you have a personal WMF-id?" asked Quinn.

Aksel shook his head in reply. "I don't have a personal machine, but our office has one." Saying that, Aksel took out a white business card with black text reading contact information of the Limax group, such as their WMF-ids, address, and Aksel's name in the top-left corner on the card.

Every West business subsidiary had made MagiFax a part of their office culture. And because the West business empire spanned across continents, the MagiFax had bridged the gaps in communication that existed before the invention of MagiFax. Quinn's invention had transformed the way communication was handled between and within different organizations.

Quinn pocketed the card, and as he did, the cube started to faintly glow. Within ten seconds, the portkey would trigger, and he would be whisked away.

"It seems time's up," noted Quinn and then said the last words to Aksel. "Once again, Mr. Thorn. It was a nice week. Thank you for keeping it time; let's meet someday. Maybe it will be you coming to England, or I return here to Denmark. Until then, it's a farewell."

Quinn made a small wave before the portkey glowed up, and he was gone.

But Quinn missed the look that came over Aksel's face when he left with the portkey.

"... Quinn West, huh. I wonder what they would say if I told them about him," muttered Aksel as he stared at the card in his hand.

Quinn's time in Denmark had come to an end.

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- (Scene Break) -

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"We got a reply to the invitation."

The rest of the Potter family, who were sitting in the living room of the Potter home, looked up at their mother/wife. They saw the lady of the house waving a letter in her hand with a smile on her face.

"West family sent back a reply to our invitation," announced Lily.

James, Ivy, and Harry Potter all became attentive for different reasons. James Potter wanted to know if George West would be visiting because then he would need to prepare. And the twins wondered what reply their one year senior, the mysterious Ravenclaw Quinn West, had sent.

"Only one member, Quinn, would be coming for dinner," revealed Lily and passed the letter written in Quinn's handwriting down to her family. "The rest of the family, unfortunately, is busy or unavailable, and he would be visiting this Saturday."

James Potter read the reply twice before breathing a relieved sigh that George West wasn't visiting. Sitting with George West for an evening was something he wasn't prepared to do, not after what had transpired.

Ivy and Harry received the letter from their father and read the reply together. They both noticed the handwriting and recognized that it was Quinn who had written the letter. They had seen Quinn's writing, and even though the lettering on the reply was fancier, they could tell that it was Quinn who wrote it.

"Alright, everybody. Sit down," said James.

The twins glanced at each other, wondering what their father wanted to talk about. They communicated with their eyes if they knew what this was about. But none of the two had any idea what this was about. Lily also sat down beside her children to listen to what her husband wanted to say.

"Ivy, Harry, what can you tell me about Quinn West," asked James. "I've only talked to him for a few minutes, so I don't know how he is? Can you tell me about him? I know you aren't in the same year, but words travel; how is he seen in the school?"

Ivy and Harry exchanged glances once more, again initiating a round of twin-eye-talk discussing what to reveal and hide. In the end, they decided to tell what they thought about Quinn without revealing their interactions with him.

"Well, he is smart: scores at the top of his class. Runs a... club? Yeah, let's go with a club. He runs a club to help out students," started Ivy to sum up how others who didn't have much interaction with Quinn saw the Ravenclaw.

"He is pretty popular," continued Harry. "I think almost everyone likes him. No matter what the house or year, he's friendly with everyone. I think even professors like him, especially professor Flitwick. He likes him a lot."

"That's true," nodded Lily in agreement. "Except for the fact that he's known for breaking curfew, Quinn West is the perfect student."

"What about his personality?"

"A diligent and hard-working child," answered Lily with an earnest smile. From the times she had interacted with Quinn, she had a great impression of Quinn and genuinely thought that he was a charming child. "He's also so kind. Not only he helped me out with the Monopoly game, but his notes are also always on discount. I think he made it so everyone could buy his notes."

Ivy's brows twitched when she heard her mother's impression of Quinn. On the outside, Quinn did seem like Lily's description. But then she thought about her first few interactions with Quinn.

"Likes to act all mysterious," shared Ivy. When they were looking for the Philosopher's Stone, Quinn had acted all cryptic and had shut the door in their face after giving them a sudden warning.

Harry thought about his experience with Quinn, and him going to Quinn was the only time he could draw upon him.

"A know-it-all, but not in an annoying way. It's more like a guy who has answers to your every question," spoke Harry, nodding as he felt satisfied with his answer.

"Control freak," added Ivy, reaching deep into her bag of adjectives for Quinn.

"You don't want to play tag with the guy," said Harry, looking very serious. "One of the Hufflepuffs said that it took five guys ten minutes to chase him down and trap him into being tagged."

Ivy gave Harry a look like she was looking at an idiot.

"He's very good with magic," continued Ivy, commenting about Quinn's magical ability. From the time he trapped her into a wall to the time he conjured an elephant-sized Patronus towards a horde of hundred Dementors, Ivy had plenty of experience with Quinn's magical abilities.

"I can beat him," commented Harry with his arms crossed, the pride of the Auror's son coming out.

"He went sixty-nine to zero in the dueling club. Most of his opponents were older students," reasoned Ivy, eying her brother and then humphed. "You lost to me two out of four times and once to Hermione."

Harry grumbled but didn't try to debate with Ivy because what she said had indeed been correct.

Quinn's accomplishment in Lockhart's (Flitwick) dueling club was legendary. Not once was Quinn hit with a spell in his entire sixty-nine fights, and more often than not, he defeated his opponent with a single, swift spell. And just when students thought Quinn would cross into the higher double digits, he stopped at sixty-nine duels and didn't step on to the dueling stage anymore.

When asked why he stopped, Quinn would grin while saying the words to everyone: "Sixty-nine, nice." And didn't explain what it meant.

"... So, he is a reasonable person, right?" asked James. While Quinn had been a massive help to them, James didn't have a hang of Quinn's personality in that short period.

Ivy opened her mouth but then closed it without speaking. Quinn was a reasonable person, but he had called himself a hypocrite of a high order. And from what Ivy saw, Quinn was a tad bit prideful, had hidden greed, plagued with paranoia that supported his controlative nature, and finally was a manipulative person who seemed to be always operating in the background.

Ivy had been cautious of Quinn ever since she met him, and that cautiousness had increased as time had passed. After Ivy deduced that Quinn was her and Harry's savior in the Chamber of Secrets and heard about the recent event of him saving Harry from terrorist abductors, her wariness had almost vanished.

She still felt a little wary of Quinn because her debt was still unpaid, but there was a deep sense of gratitude and thankfulness towards Quinn.

"What are you talking about? Of course, he is a reasonable person," said Lily. The muggle studies professor from the very first conversation with Quinn had nothing but praises for him. "Why are you asking these questions?"

James thought about his reasons for worries. If this was any other kid, he wouldn't have been worried, but Quinn West wasn't any other kid.

"It's nothing," sighed James and semi-explained. "I was just worried about the West family, that's all."

"What do you mean worried about the West family?" asked Ivy, and the same question floated up in Harry's mind while Lily somewhat understood what James was talking about.

"West family is an influential family here in Britain," started James to explain the significance of the West family. "They have their hands in almost every major sector here in Britain and many minor profitable businesses. From agriculture, mining, forestry, fishing, potions, textile, metalworking to transport, hospitality, consulting, legal practice, healthcare, tourism, they do it all. And every single business they open gets support from their resources, so more often than not, their business quickly grows and becomes one of the top contenders for major market share."

James looked up noticed that while his family understood what he said, they weren't where he was coming from. So he simplified it for them so they would realize what he actually meant.

"They are rich," he said, and that was understood by the three, but then he gave them a comparison of wealth to get his point across. "To compare if we combine the wealth of say... Malfoys and Greengrasses, even that amount would lose out to West family's wealth in Britain. If we were to add on the Black family's wealth when they were at their peak, then that amount would beat West family's wealth in Britain."

"So, they are filthy rich," summarized Harry in concise words.

"Yes, son. They are filthy rich."

Lily furrowed her brows because even though she understood what James was saying, but one thing from James's words bugged her.

"Why do you keep saying West family's wealth in Britain?"

James turned to his wife and nodded as if he was expecting this question. "That's the real reason that sets West family apart from any other wealthy families. The West family business isn't concentrated in Britain; it goes way beyond that."

He paused before telling them what he had heard from his father and found from his job. "... West family's business spans across continents and has such reach that the amount of money and influence they have is more than any family in Britain and probably more than any group or organization that exists in the wizarding society. That makes Malfoy's wealth look like they are a bunch of poor chaps."

"Then why aren't they more famous?" asked Ivy because before she met, Ivy didn't have any idea about the West family.

"There are a few reasons for that," answered James. "First, they aren't involved in politics, so they aren't in the center of attention. If they want to get something done, they do it behind the doors, away from people's eyes."

"Second, the newspapers don't report on them because none of the family members appear in public," continued James and then revealed the size of the West family. "The West family only has three people; George West and his two grandchildren, Quinn and Lia West."

"People don't see George West any other place other than official events; he doesn't speak to newspapers, so most people don't know about it. Lia West, whom I researched, has been working outside of the country. She was only featured a couple of times since she entered the business, but that's because she spends a lot of time out of the country. She does get plenty of media attention, but because she moves a lot, no one country gets too much of news about Lia West."

"Lastly, there is Quinn West, who is still in Hogwarts. He spends most of his time in the castle, outside of the eyes of the media," spoke James before picking up on one of the tangents. "George West went to Hogwarts, and then after him, Quinn went to Hogwarts, but between those two, none of the other members went to Hogwarts. Lia West studied in France. Quinn's father also studied in France, and his mother studied in Italy. Lastly, George West's wife also came from France."

All three Potter audience noticed that James mentioned Quinn's parents. But previously, he had said there were only three West members in the family. Which meant that they were no longer alive. Ivy recalled how Lia was the one who came to pick up Quinn from the King's Cross Station. She hadn't given it a thought, but now she realized that Quinn's parents didn't come because they weren't alive.

"So the West family hasn't personally been active in Britain for some time, and that's the reason why most people don't know about them," spoke James, taking a sip of water from the glass of water on the table to quench his parched his throat.

No one cared about rich people if they weren't involved in some sort of scandal, and the members of the West family remained out of trouble.

"The members of Wizengamot know about them, most of the ministry bigwigs know about them, but from below that level, not a lot of people know about them. For some reason, their businesses aren't named after their family name, so the family isn't a household name," explained James, and he was done explaining to his family why the West family was such a big deal.

"The same day Harry was kidnapped, George West walked into the ministry and made his way straight to the minister's office," retold James the tale that he had heard from his peers in the Auror's office. "From what I heard, he walked to the minister's office and had his secretary announce that he was here to meet the minister. In under a minute, Fudge came running out with panic on his face. Fudge walked George West into his office, and when he left, Fudge issued an internal memo that essentially was a gag order to not let Quinn's name come in any of the forthcoming proceedings."

Such was the power of the West family. George West could walk into the ministry, and his wants would be entertained by the Minister of Magic himself.

"Voldemort had tried to recruit George West to his inner circle, no question asked, but he refused and fled the country, taking his family with him. They returned only after the war," brought up James. "This was the power of West family. Voldemort wanted West's financial support so much that Dumbledore had to go beg George just to make sure that he didn't support Voldemort. Forget about getting the West's supports for our side. If George West had decided to support any one side, the war could've gone very differently."

"So, I was just wondering if he is a type of person who gets offended easily because then I would step around him carefully," finished James. He didn't want to invite trouble just because he said something that offended Quinn, and that went to George West because that would be a huge trouble for him.

Ivy and Harry thought about Quinn and then compared him to Draco but didn't see many parallels between them. Draco liked to brag about his family, money, and the new things his dad had brought him. But Quinn didn't do anything of that; students didn't even know or thought that he was rich even though they paid him for multitudes of things.

Ivy thought back to the day she asked Quinn for the information about Nicholas Flamel, and that day he had asked her to pay upfront before she could even pick up the envelope that the information came in. She had to borrow money from Hermione to pay for that information.

'Ah... now with hindsight, Quinn did say that he would've mail-ordered the ingredients instead of picking them from Snape's inventory,' thought Ivy, picking up on things that showed he was from a wealthy family.

That day the Potters continued to talk about Quinn and the West family just because Quinn was coming to their home later that week.

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Quinn West - MC - I know

Aksel Thorn - Founder (Limax Group) - How is he connected?

James Potter - Soar throat - I haven't spoken so much in a while.

Ivy Potter - Some hindsight - Opinions in transition.

Harry Potter - Boy-Who-Lived - "... What? Tag is important."

Lily Potter - Professor - Has a really good impression of Quinn.

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Chapter 127: Description, Knight's Bus, Godric's Hollow

If you want to read ahead, you can check out my Patreón @

[ https://www.patreón.com/fictiononlyreader ]

The link is also in the synopsis.

.

-*-*-*-*-*-

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Quinn stood in front of a full-sized mirror inside his room, watching his reflection in the mirror. He wore a well-fitting white shirt and black denim pants layered with a hunter-green blouson jacket. His pants were fastened around his waist with a tan belt, and down in his feet were a pair of brown leather loafers over checkered grey socks.

Quinn's appearance had evolved and transformed as he grew up. He was going to turn fifteen years old in a week and had changed a lot from his pre-teen eleven-years-old self at the start of Hogwarts to today, where he was a budding teen in his growing years.

Over the years, the innocent look of a child had transformed into a boyish youth of a teen. The smart appearance that Quinn was known for had gained a tinge of roguishness that people would miss if they weren't looking closely.

His hairstyle, which was tapered on sides and back while the top kept short, giving him an easy to maintain Ivy league haircut, had slightly changed with his age. Now Quinn's matte-black hair was kept short on the sides and back while the top part was of a medium length and styled into choppy, textured combed back layers with a side part.

Quinn's wiry frame that came with his young age and daily workouts was finally experiencing change, with puberty kicking into full effect. In the last few months, his chest had widened, and not only his arms and legs grew faster, but he also gained some height, finally pushing past the hundred seventy centimeter mark and stopping at hundred seventy-six.

And the final change that came with puberty was Quinn's voice. His vocal pitch deepened by nearly an octave. And the process of voice change to his adult voice finally started and would continue to deepen until his eighteenth or nineteenth birthday, as magical humans reached physical maturity by that age. After that, aging slowed down because of their increased lifespan than their non-magical counterpart.

The air and vibe around Quinn had also changed, not because of his age but because of his magic. Magic was an essential aspect of his life, maybe even the most vital part of his life. Quinn's attitude and personality were deeply tied to his magic.

When Quinn had lost his magic, he rarely spoke to anyone and would like to remain alone rather than spend time with anyone. He became so obsessed with regaining his magic that Quinn pretty much ignored every person in his life and acted that he and his magic were the only two existences in the world.

Quinn lost his magic, regained it while suffering from pain. He came very close to dying from injuries and Dementors and had to time travel to save his life. Learned a magic that was much higher than his capabilities, beyond what he was currently capable of. And finally met with Dumbledore and got out without getting his mind read.

After all those ups and downs in a single year, Quinn had come out with a new level of maturity, confidence about his magical capabilities, and faith that he could come out of situations no matter what. He was much more comfortable with himself and felt secure with his magic beside him. And the trip to Denmark with the apparition lessons had given him the magic that increased his ability to move around, providing Quinn with a sense of freedom.

If previously, Quinn had a hidden and reserved attitude to his public persona, now he was coming out of his shell. For the first time since coming to this world, Quinn truly felt safe. He knew that with his family around, he would be safe from most dangers.

But Quinn always had that sense of urgency in the back of his head to get stronger so that he could be safe on his own. To be able to protect himself from dangers on his own without depending on others.

That was Quinn West's thing: On His Own.

In many of Quinn's retrospective sessions, he thought about why he had such a terrible reaction to a wand that clearly suited him and had chosen him to be its wielder. The answer that Quinn came up with was his view of magic: he wanted to be self-sufficient, free from any form of support and dependence, and that carried over to his magic.

Quinn wanted his magic to be always present with him so that if one day he was dropped buck naked into an unknown place, he would be able not only be able to survive but also return home safely with ease. But a wand stopped Quinn from achieving that. Take the magical focus from a magic-user, and except for a handful of people, everyone else would essentially lose their magic and be the same as non-magicals.

Even those handful of people couldn't access their full capabilities if one took away their preferred choice of focus from them. But Quinn could confidently say that he was the same no matter what the situation.

And now here he was, standing in front of a full-sized mirror inside his room, straightening out his semi-casual clothes while checking them out to see if they were proper and if he looked presentable or not. Soon he had to leave for the Potter cottage in Godric's Hollows for dinner with the Potter family.

"This will do," nodded Quinn after confirming that his outfit was appropriate for the occasion. He turned away from the full-sized mirror beside which hung beside his closet and walked to his bed.

From the bed top, he picked up three white pockets shaped objects and one by one applied them to the inner lining of his hunter-green jacket. When white of the pocket-shaped fabric would touch the dark green fabric of the inner lining, threads would appear and stitch the white secure to the green, and then the white color would change to match the green.

These were Quinn's trusty detachable pockets, spelled to have an expanded inside them. The idea had come to Quinn in his second: the year in which he had just begun working with fabrics and leather. Quinn had taken inspiration from a certain blue robotic cat, who had a half-moon-shaped pocket that held numerous fascinating gadgets.

The three pockets didn't hold gadgets from the future. But the pockets did store the things Quinn wanted to carry with him: vials of numerous potions, safety equipment, a couple of tools, a lot of chocolate, two decks of cards, coins, and other miscellaneous things that Quinn always wanted on hand.

"Alright, I am ready. Let's go," said Quinn before exiting his room and walking to the general study of the mansion.

He entered the study to find the person he was searching for and found Ms. Rosey sitting in the sport that was usually reserved for her, and from the looks of it, she was working on the monthly budget and inventory of the West mansion.

"Ms. Rosey, I'm leaving for the dinner at Potters," informed Quinn to the only adult in the house. Lia was in France with her friends while George and Elliot were out for business.

Ms. Rosey looked up from the account books at Quinn and gave him a look over, examining his outfit and judging if it was proper for the function he was going to attend.

"I still don't understand why you enjoy muggle clothing so much," sighed Ms. Rosey. The old caretaker was a conservative lady and didn't understand the appeal of clothing from the non-magical society. "When will you return from the Potters?"

Seeing that Ms. Rosey didn't critique his clothing meant that it passed her check and got her approval, meaning that he was good to go.

"It will end quickly, from what I am guessing. I will go there, converse a little before dinner time, enjoy a meal and wrap up things with a short after-meal talk," shrugged Quinn. "I'm not particularly close to the Potter children, so I think it will be back just a little after grandfather and uncle come back home."

"Do they have the floo prepared for your arrival?"

"I'm not traveling via the floo-network," answered Quinn with a shake of his head. "I will be taking the Knight bus to Godric's Hollows, and then I will walk to the Potter cottage."

"Again, with the Knights bus, you have been using that service a lot, haven't you?"

Ever since returning from Denmark, Quinn had stopped using floo-travel as a mode of transportation altogether. Instead, he had shifted to Knights bus to get around. Taking the bus was time-consuming, but it was all for the sake of magic.

"Ms. Rosey, I finally know apparition," grinned Quinn. "I've to know the places so that I can pop by anytime I want. The Knight bus simply allows me to travel places I can't travel by a floo-fireplace, especially the muggle ones. My current long-time goal is to map the entire country, so I can get anywhere via apparition."

Apparition required the user to have memory or a clear image of the destination they wanted to visit. And that clear image could only be obtained by visiting the place and couldn't be replicated by the destination's image.

So Quinn, while he was outside of Hogwarts, was trying to use his time to go to important places so that he could increase the destinations he could travel to.

"But you can use the floo-fireplace to travel to the Potters," pointed out Ms. Rosey.

"Yes," nodded Quinn and then grinned in reply. "but the Knight bus is so much more fun."

Ms. Rosey sighed at the teen in front of her and lightly waved her hand. "Alright, off you go. Remember to maintain decorum, go straight to the Potter cottage and return directly. Don't take things from strangers, don't follow anyone you don't know, and if in trouble, immediately apparate. If you can't apparate or get out of trouble, you know how to send an emergency signal."

The emergency signal was a blaring alert system that Quinn had set up inside the West mansion. Everybody in the West family wore a piece of jewelry connected to the alert system in the manor. If, in any case, they were in trouble, the family member could use the jewelry to fire off the alert inside the mansion. Effectively send an SOS signal to get help.

"Ms. Rosey, I'm not a child anymore. You don't have to repeat that every time I go outside," pouted Quinn while touching the thin silver chain necklace with a hexagon piece hanging from it around his neck. This was the jewelry Quinn had chosen for himself and was connected to the emergency/SOS system inside the manor.

Ms. Rosey didn't grace him with a reply and went back to work while ignoring Quinn. To her, Quinn would always be a child.

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- (Scene Break) -

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Quinn walked out of the West mansion gate, which he had been using a lot these days. As he exited, the enormous gate, which was slightly open, closed back up, and the chains that locked it went back around the two panels of the gate, binding the two together before the lock snapped into place.

"Maybe, I should talk to grandfather about changing this gate," thought Quinn.

He didn't mind opening the entire gate every time, and it wasn't even a task because, with magic, he could do it every day, all day without breaking a sweat. But opening the gate just so that he could walk out seemed inefficient.

Quinn raised his hand with his fake wand in his grasp. The wand tip glowed as he held the fake wand over his head. He waited in silence as the fake wand tip glowed and gazed around to look for something noticeable.

It took a minute before the silence in the darkening evening sky broke, and there was a deafening BANG, which made Quinn involuntarily twitch.

'I can't get used to this even after all this time,' sighed Quinn as he watched to see a gigantic pair of wheels and headlights screeched to a halt just in front of him. They belonged, as Quinn saw when he raised his head, to a triple-decker, violently purple bus, model name AEC Regent III RT, which had appeared out of thin air. Gold lettering over the windshield spelled The Knight Bus.

Then a conductor in a purple uniform leaped out of the bus and began to speak loudly to the night. "Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard. Just stick out your wand hand, step on board, and we can take you anywhere you want to go. My name is Kevin Kendall, and I will be your conductor this eve -"

The conductor stopped abruptly. He had just caught sight of Quinn, who was putting his fake wand back into his pockets.

"Oh, it's you again," spoke Kevin Kendall, who looked to be the age of eighteen or nineteen, with large, protruding eyes and a thick beard for his age, but that only meant that he could be below thirty.

Quinn had been using the Knights Bus for travel so much that Stan had gotten acquainted with him.

It was so ridiculous that when Quinn was visiting places, so that he could use apparition later, he would call upon the Knight Bus twenty times a day so that he could travel around. Quinn traveled so much that he was acquainted with a good part of the Knight Buses fleet and their conductors.

Unlike in the books, where the Knight Bus wasn't explored in detail, Quinn had found that more than one Knight Bus was running all over the country. Every Knight bus operated in their own area and didn't go out of their territory. Quinn's destination list was so extensive that the conductors had come to recognize him.

"Good evening, Kevin," greeted Quinn nodding to the recognizable conductor. "How are you today?"

The conductor didn't reply to the question. Instead, he returned with a question. "Are you going to travel today?"

Quinn had called the Knight Bus to travel, or why else would he call upon it? But Quinn understood what Kevin meant. He meant if Quinn was going to a place, walk around that place to memorize a general layout and scenery before calling the Knight Bus again.

"No, Kevin. I'm not going to do that today. Just one place today," answered Quinn.

Kevin looked a little disappointed because that meant that Quinn wouldn't be shedding money to travel, which, in turn, meant that Kevin won't be earning more today. All Knight Bus conductors not only got a base salary but also got paid on a commission basis.

"Alright, where do you want to go?" asked Kevin, going back to conductor mode.

"Godric's Hollow," answered Quinn and reached into his pockets. "How much will it cost me?"

Godric's Hollow was a village in the West Country of England. The West Country was a region of south-western England. And covered the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, and Somerset, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, and finally, Herefordshire, where West manor was situated.

This region of England also played home to many other wizarding families, including the Weasleys, Malfoys, Lovegoods, Diggories, Abbotts, Scamanders, and once the Dumbledores. Indicating that the region was densely populated as a residential area by the magical community.

"Eight sickles is the price," quoted Kevin.

Quinn paid the amount and stepped onto the bus. There were no seats; instead, half a dozen brass bedsteads stood beside the

curtained windows. Candles were burning in brackets beside each bed, illuminating the wood-paneled walls. There were a couple of passengers other than Quinn sitting/lying on the beds.

He laid down on the bed as if it was his own home. Quinn knew what was about to come, and he was prepared for it.

Kevin walked up to the driver's seat and spoke to the old driver, who had been driving the bus ever since its founding.

"Take 'er away, Bol," said Stan, sitting down in the armchair next to Bol's.

There was another tremendous BANG, and the next moment Quinn found himself flat on his bed, pushed down by the speed of the Knight Bus. He had been thrown back a couple times before Quinn learned that it was best to start the journey lying down. Pulling himself up, Quinn stared out of the dark window and saw that they were now bowling along a path outlined by trees.

"Best go wake up Madam Marsh, Stan," said Bol. "We'll be in Wiltshire in a minute."

Kevin passed Quinn's bed and disappeared up a narrow wooden staircase. Quinn continued to look out of the window and recalled the first few rides on the bus. None of the Knight Bus drivers seemed to have mastered the use of a steering wheel, and it had freaked him half to his death. The Knight Bus kept mounting the pavement, but it didn't hit anything; lines of lampposts, mailboxes, and trash cans jumped out of its way as it approached and back into position once it had passed.

Kevin came back downstairs, followed by a faintly green witch wrapped in a traveling cloak.

"Here you go, Madam Marsh," said Kevin happily as Bol stamped on the brake and the beds slid a foot or so toward the front of the bus. Madam Marsh clamped a handkerchief to her mouth and tottered down the steps. Kevin threw her bag out after her and rammed the doors shut; there was another loud BANG, and they were thundering down a narrow country lane, trees leaping out of the way.

Bol slammed on the brakes, and the Knight Bus skidded to a halt in front of a small pub.

"Thanks," Quinn said to Kevin.

Kevin tipped his conductor cap and then slammed the door close before there was another loud BANG, and the Knight Bus was off doing its duty.

Godric's Hollow could be described as being quaint. There was a narrow road with look-a-like cottages that resided on either side of it. There were streetlights at the center of the village, indicating it as the square. Beyond that square was a church, and even though Quinn couldn't see it, there was a graveyard behind the church.

"Now, which one is Potter cottage," muttered Quinn as he walked inside the village and looked around the cottages on the side of the roads.

"Oh, I see them. These must be the homes," spoke Quinn as he noticed non-magical-repellant charms and wards around some cottages riddled around the villages. "Which one of these belongs to the Potters."

Quinn walked for a couple of minutes before he arrived at the edge of the village and saw a comfortably sized, two-story building with a small gate and hedges surrounding the front yard. He peered at the wall beside the door and saw the sign that read Potter.

He lifted the latch of the small gate and entered the well-maintained greens and lush front yard with a small garden with colorful flowers to the side. Quinn walked down the paved path from the small fence gate to the main door and knocked using the door knocker installed in place of a bell.

After half a minute, the door opened by the girl with red hair, and the moment their eyes met, Quinn greeted with a smile.

"Good evening."

.

-*-*-*-*-*-

.

Quinn West - MC - Buses are useful.

Ms. Rosey - Conservative nature - Motherly figure.

Kevin Kendall - Conductor - Let's keep 'em rolling.

Bol - Bus Driver - Even though it doesn't seem like it, he's a master of the wheel.

.

-*-*-*-*-*-

.

If you have any ideas regarding the magic you want to see in this fiction or want to offer some ideas regarding the progression. Move onto the DISCORD Server and blast those ideas.

The link is in the synopsis!


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