Surviving Times

"What took you so long, darling?" Mia asked her friend who just came.

"Presumably lost the track of time thinking about strawberries." Theo said not forgetting to snide.

"Well, at least, I don't need coffee to not get lost." Daphne retorted back.

"Here we go." Draco sighed.

"Enough. Please don't start this now. I'm not in a mood for this. So, Daphne back to the question, why were you late. Neither of Gilmore nor Petrov would dare to keep you waiting." Mia said, as an attempt to divert the topic.

"You see, our people finally deciphered the meaning of Plus Ultra. All Might would be so proud." She said. "They've really overdone themselves this time. Look at what they've gotten us."

Daphne summoned the books. And piles of neatly arranged books lay in front of them.

"Wicked!" Draco and Theo yelled as they checked out the books. Yes, all of them know everything in those books. But what really caught their eyes was various researches of Hogwarts.

Except for the sorting, which Merlin knows why it's not there, everything was present: One needs to know about Hogwarts. Names of portraits and where they lead, myths, legends, houses and their traditions, library hacks, shortcuts, location of places like the kitchens, hidden rooms, heck, there's even something about the room of requirements and the chamber of secrets.

"Interesting." Mia said as she read A Muggle's guide to Magic.

"Isn't it? That's why I've granted them a little one-day leaves." Daphne as she smiled. "Now isn't it really Plus Ultra?"

"It is." The three of them agreed. Even Theo stayed quiet this time. Books are on the fifth place of his most favorite things.

"Now, since we have robes and everything we need, we have an entire month before we start Hogwarts." Draco said, thinking of anything that they might need.

"Not really, we still need to get 'new wands.' And we must purchase them like everyone else or it might place unwanted suspicions on ourselves." Mia was cool with it but the other three were not. They g.r.o.a.n.e.d. They really loved their wands. It was like having a soulmate. Magic had become, so, so easier with them. Thinking about using some sub par wands filled their mouths with distaste.

"Oh, please quit the whining. I told you this day would come sooner or later. And no, don't even think about using those wands, just their appearance alone would attract jealousy, envy and hate."

"But ours are so fine. I can't imagine touching another wand. It's like I'm cheating my wife." Draco w.h.i.n.ed and when he w.h.i.n.es, he just doesn't stop.

"You're not married Draco."

"I'm married to my wand, Mia. Its my one true love." The three of them stood on a same stand.

"Then you all are getting mistresses. And that's final."

Mia 152. The trio 8. That's their score.

"And Ollivander might not be bad. Heard that he's the best wand maker in Europe." Mia tried to ease them. But it was not helping.

***

The four of them were going to Hogwarts, and Astoria didn't like it. And she was too sweet to say a word about it. Though it doesn't mean her friends didn't know. Yes, Astoria has friends.

"Why so glum, Story?" Asked Sherry, aka Sherlyn la Faye.

"Isn't obvious. Draco, Daphne, Mia and Theo are going to Hogwarts this month. Abandoning us all alone on our own." said Josie, aka Josephine la Faye.

"I will miss them." Confessed Story, aka Astoria Greengrass as she looked at the Faye twins.

"Don't worry, it's only a year. We'll all go to Hogwarts next year too." The twins said together.

"But weren't you two planning on attending Ilvermorny?" Story asked them, as they wanted to stay with their mother in America before.

"Well, we altered our plans. Hogwarts it is." They both winked scandalously.

"Thanks, both of you."

"P.l.e.a.s.u.r.e."

The three girls hugged each other and laughed.

Secretly observing them, the other two girls smiled.

"See, you don't have to worry about our little Story, Daphne. Josie and Sherry would take care of her and won't let her feel alone."

"Mm… I'm okay, Mia."

***

With one month at hand, the four of them didn't remain idle at all. They had to pack. Many things. But there's one particular issue that gave a headache to all of them.

Food. Food at Hogwarts may be exceptional but not the best there is. And for the quartet who grew up eating only the best food, this is an obstacle. They had to be serious.

"What should we do? My mother said the food at Hogwarts was bad. She even promised to deliver some sweets to me. Things just get worse." Draco tried highlighting the seriousness of the situation.

Daphne and Theo looked very solemn too. It was only Mia, who was carefree as she watched Naruto. And boy, it irked others to no end.

"Mia, are you okay with eating bland meals?" Theo asked, as he couldn't contain his… emotions.

"Nope."

"Then why are you not doing anything about it?"

"I don't have to. We have Uber Eats."

"…"

"And if they find out about it, we'll just have to change the kitchen staff and do the world a favor. Stop fussing like babies."

Silence. And Problem solved.

***

Time passed by. There were only fifteen days left before they hop on the fabled Hogwarts express. And suddenly, Draco and Theo got a terrific idea.

"Hey, Daphne! Mia! How about we create a Hogwarts GPS?" The boys said as they finished with panting since they ran to the girls. They finished watching James Bond.

"Hell yeah." Was all that came from the girls.

Before long, they started working on their new project. They reluctantly entered the void realm once again since they tested their wands. But having a high-tech Marauder's map tempted Mia to end. Once again, the cheat called VR worked miracles.

With the Hogwarts' research Fiore folks made, they were roughly able to make out a map.

With Daphne's celestial spirit Pyxis, The Compass, they managed to apply direction indicator.

It was practically done. They just needed to get into Hogwarts, and Hogwarts would be in their smartphones…

Kids these days are so scary...

***

The day before Hogwarts started, the quartet entered the Diagon Alley. They've seen it before. But they have never seen it before the day Hogwarts started. It reminded them of the muggle fish markets in Thailand. Crowded and chaotic. But there were some differences.

"I feel like I stepped into medieval England." Theo said.

"No, we have stepped into 'Once upon a Time' and they had better costumes than the actual wizards and witches." Daphne said, as usual picked on everything Theo said, but the remarks this time were mild.

And the rest agreed.