On Christmas Day, the Gray Family enjoyed a big meal, watched a musical, and took many photos with an antique camera Ferdinand had given Wade as a Christmas present. Fiona's gift was developing fluid.
"I bought this camera in Diagon Alley; they said it works perfectly fine at Hogwarts too," Ferdinand said with a smile. "This way, you can capture your life at school."
"The ice cream shop owner in Diagon Alley told me that if you use the right developing fluid, the people in the photos will move!" Fiona exclaimed excitedly. "So what are we waiting for? Let's take pictures today!"
But after taking the photos, they realized that even a small thing like developing pictures required a Wand, and Wade couldn't use magic at home.
Seeing Fiona's disappointment, Wade suggested, "Actually, we could go stay at The Leaky Cauldron for a night. There are a lot of adult Wizards there, so even if we used magic, the Ministry of Magic wouldn't be able to tell who did it, and we wouldn't get a warning letter."
Fiona was tempted but still shook her head. "Forget it. What if you get caught? It would be so bad for you! Anyway, you'll be going back to school in a few days…"
As she spoke, she grew sad. Wade hadn't even left yet, and she already missed him.
Ferdinand frowned and asked, "Wade, is the Ministry of Magic's enforcement really that imprecise?"
"When monitoring underage Wizards using magic, they can only track a general area. As for other things…" Wade thought about how the Ministry of Magic had become increasingly incompetent in the story, "…other things don't seem to be very effective either."
"Don't look down on the Ministry of Magic, Wade," Ferdinand warned. "No law enforcement agency isn't a violent one. If you don't face it squarely, you're prone to making wrong judgments."
Wade replied seriously, "I understand, Dad."
Indeed, the Ministry of Magic, which he now looked down upon, could imprison professors under Dumbledore in Azkaban and had the authority to expel Hogwarts students. This power hadn't diminished much due to the Ministry of Magic's bloatedness, corruption, and incompetence—quite the opposite, incompetent and corrupt individuals were even more prone to abusing their power.
The next day, the Gray Family woke up early because they were going shopping in Diagon Alley, and it was sure to take a long time.
As usual, they went to Gringotts to exchange money first. Ferdinand had already prepared a heavy pouch.
"Those Goblins don't like paper money," he explained to Wade. "If it's paper money, you can only exchange a maximum of 20 Galleons. The limit for coins is a bit higher, but there's no limit if you use gold. Goblins really like gold."
"I don't need that much money, Dad," Wade tried to persuade him. "Hogwarts provides food and lodging; some students only need 10 Galleons a year, and that's enough."
"That's because they can only buy secondhand goods, can't buy snacks, and even have to be careful with ink," Ferdinand patted his head. "Your flaw is that you're too sensible, Wade. Sometimes, you can be a bit more willful."
"And aren't you studying Alchemy?" Fiona wiggled her finger. "Don't try to fool me! Even though I don't do magic, I know that Alchemy must cost a lot of money to learn. Hogwarts can't possibly provide you with unlimited materials for practice, can it?"
Wade pursed his lips and softly said, "Thank you, Dad, Mom—I love you."
He had been introverted since childhood, and expressions like "I love you," which ordinary children took for granted, were difficult for him to say. Hearing it suddenly, Mr. and Mrs. Gray were both pleasantly surprised. They exchanged a look and couldn't help but smile.
"I love you too, darling," Fiona said with tender affection.
For the rest of the journey, Fiona held Wade's hand tightly.
After exchanging their money for Galleons, Ferdinand left for a moment. Fiona accompanied Wade to Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions.
Hogwarts uniforms were loose robes, and even though Wade had grown three centimeters, they still fit him. However, considering he would definitely continue to grow taller next semester, Fiona decided to order two more sets of uniforms for him.
"And a dress robe," Fiona said while discussing lining styles with Madam Malkin. "A simple one will do, and don't make the color too flashy; Wade doesn't like it. We need to pick them up by this afternoon at the latest. If they can't be ready in time, ready-made ones are fine too."
"A dress robe?" Wade, who was standing there like a clothing display stand, asked.
"Silly question, Wade," Fiona said gently, as if speaking to a child. "Are you planning to wear your school uniform when you go to Professor Murray's party tomorrow? Oh, you really should have told me sooner; that way, we could have had a proper one custom-made."
Wade actually thought there was nothing wrong with Hogwarts robes, and the dress robes displayed in Madam Malkin's shop looked very similar to his school robes anyway.
Of course, he couldn't say that, or Fiona would use at least a thousand words to prove that they were as different as night and day.
Wade could only obediently shut his mouth and listen to Madam Malkin tell his mother, "Don't worry, Mrs. Gray, I guarantee you'll have his new robes by 3 PM at the latest. Let's take a look at the dress robe styles first… Which color do you prefer? Ah, this color really suits his complexion; you have excellent taste… Any requirements for accessories? For boys, it doesn't need to be too complex or too many; noble and elegant is best…"
"Mom!" Wade couldn't help but interject.
Fiona turned to look at her son, sighed regretfully at his protesting gaze, and put down the useless but sparkling items like gem-encrusted necklaces, bracelets, and rings she was holding. She said, "Just choose cufflinks, cufflinks will do—nothing else is needed."
Madam Malkin chuckled and put away the other items, showing no sign of impatience. She spent a long time with Fiona choosing cufflinks. After they finally settled on the dress robe, Madam Malkin suddenly seemed to remember something and said, "My dear, young Mr. Gray can't possibly wear old shoes with his new dress robe, can he? Would you like to see our latest dragonhide boots?"
Wade stared blankly at the ceiling, regretting not bringing a book—he was now just hoping another customer would walk in so Madam Malkin would get busy. Otherwise, Fiona could spend the entire day here.
Suddenly, the doorbell rang, and Wade immediately turned his head to see Ferdinand entering with a newspaper.
Ferdinand nodded at Wade and asked, "Haven't bought the clothes yet?"
"Not yet," Wade couldn't help but sigh. "We're picking out shoes."
He tried hard to suppress the urge to complain to his father.
"Have all the measurements been taken?"
"They were done as soon as we came in."
"Good then," Ferdinand told his wife. "Fiona, take your time choosing. I'll take Wade to buy other things. You can wait for us here at Madam Malkin's once you've ordered the clothes."
Fiona waved her hand and said, "Okay. Just don't make me wait too long!"
As the Gray father and son left, Ferdinand told his son, "I've subscribed to the Daily Prophet—and I've subscribed to one for you too. They'll send it to the school by Owl. You should get used to keeping up with political affairs from now on."
Wade nodded.
The father and son walked around Diagon Alley, buying other items in less than half an hour. Wade also specifically made note of several shop owners' names and product catalogs so he could buy necessary items by Owl once he was at school.
Especially potion ingredients—Hogwarts only provided the most basic ones for free. Rare and expensive ingredients were only provided in small quantities when formal courses on them were being taught, so they wouldn't just give them freely to a young Wizard like him for practice.
By the time they returned to the robe shop, Fiona had just finished choosing shoes and was sitting, drinking tea, and flipping through a magazine called Wizarding Weekly. Hearing the doorbell ring, she turned to look and immediately broke into a bright smile.
Wade smiled, but before he could speak, he saw Ferdinand, who had been walking behind him, stride forward and gently ask in a low voice, "Finished shopping? Are you tired?"
Fiona, who hadn't stepped out of the robe shop once, stretched her arms and said, "Yes, shopping is really tiring—what are we having for lunch?"
"Isn't there a good French restaurant nearby? How about we eat there? We could order a foie gras steak and roasted cod…"
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