Chapter 32: 28th July 1991, Sunday: Part 20

Once the Grangers and Sprout shuffled out of the bookstore, the Linwood family returned to perusing the many piles of literature. When it came to deciding how much to buy, George was going to have a similar approach to Hermione. He intended to clear Flourish and Blotts out of everything it had to offer. Dominic had used his galleons to buy George's school equipment at Diagon Alley so far. That meant George had nearly one hundred and fifty gold coins burning a hole in his pocket. Judging by the average price, he could afford to take around thirty new books home.

George started with purchasing all the required first-year books at Hogwarts since they were the easiest to find. He also picked up every single book for all the subsequent years whilst he was at it. George didn't want to be limited by the school's pace since he was far more capable than the rest of the eleven-year-olds. Being such a kind brother, he bought Ellie a copy of 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them'. She was clearly developing a love for magical creatures, so the book might spare George having to answer every question that popped into her head.

Next came the entire collection of Gilderoy Lockhart, the ten or so books weren't hard to find since they were scattered around everywhere. George could hardly take a step without tripping over 'Holidays with Hags' or 'Voyages with Vampires'. That fraud's books weren't cheap, they were more than double the price of the school books. Still, they were worth every penny. Since George himself was a monster, it was important to know how wizards deal with his feral counterparts. That way, if George was to be attacked, he could know what to expect. 'Travels with Trolls' and 'Wanderings with Werewolves' should especially make for interesting reading.

By far the most expensive book George bought was the 'Invisible book of Invisibility'. He hadn't gone into the store with the expectation to find a copy since it was invisible, but Ellie had managed to find one for him. George had no idea how she'd found it, but he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Provided that he worked out how to turn off the book's invisibility, the knowledge inside should be extremely useful at Hogwarts. Maybe he could make his own invisibility cloak or learn how to turn himself invisible with a spell. To avoid losing track of it, George wrapped the book in parchment and labelled it before placing it inside his leather sack.

Just because he had the money to spare, George bought a few miscellaneous books such as one about magical cheese. He didn't even like cheese, but who knows, it might be useful. By the time George left the bookstore, he only had a measly five galleons left. All the fun of throwing his wealth around had finally come to an end, and it was time to head back home. The Linwoods passed back through the Leaky Cauldron and briefly considered eating a late lunch. But after hearing about the famous pea soup that can bite back, the family were satisfied with stopping at a service station on the way home.

The car journey home was a lot quieter than on the way there, but Ellie and her two new friends made sure that the car never fell completely silent. One of the birds would not shut up and the other appeared to have an eye infection, George wouldn't be surprised if one died on the way home. Ellie ended up naming one Hoot and the other Blinkie, it didn't take a genius to work out why. She never stopped telling the birds all about their house, the garden and the local parks she was planning on taking them to. George could only cross his fingers and hope that the owls would keep his step-sister occupied for the next month.

Amanda and Remus had swapped places in the car, so both of George's foster parents were in the front seats. Dominic and Amanda didn't have too many questions for Remus by this point and were instead using their time to discuss the day's events. There were a lot of terminologies George wasn't familiar with being thrown around, he was beginning to speculate it was some sort of code. The only real detail he could pick out was that his foster father was going to be living in London for a while until things can be 'put in order'. Dominic's brother Matthew came up a few times in passing and so did Cape Town.

As interesting as his foster parents' plans were, George's own goals remained his main focus. The eleven months of relative peace with the Linwoods had officially ended, and now he needed to make his final preparations for Hogwarts. Considering how much he had planned, August was going to be an exceedingly busy month. During that time he needed to; decode his new magic battery and repurpose it for his electronic equipment, read every single book he'd purchased and comprehend the intricacies of advanced magic, and practice his fire innate talent within the restrictive confines of the Ministry laws. On top of that, George had to ensure that his foster parent's opinion of Hogwarts remained positive.

Technically, George didn't need his foster parents' approval to go to Hogwarts. If he wanted to go, there was nothing Amanda and Dominic could do to stop him. Although Remus wouldn't say this out loud, that was partially the reason why he was there. But, George absolutely wanted to avoid that option. The benefits his foster parents provided were now integral to the mission. Doubt has a habit of festering in the paranoid, and Amanda was no exception. George was aware that he wouldn't be the only one reading his new literature, and he would have to take great care to ensure that Amanda would only read the 'right' material. Books regarding the Dark Arts, for example, she must never know existed.

Last but not least, was the thorn sitting right beside George. This werewolf had quickly become the biggest problem in his plan. In a nutshell, Remus started to discern that George was no ordinary eleven-year-old boy. The funny looks had started at the Apothecary and it only became more obvious at Flourish and Blotts. George didn't exactly know where he'd gone wrong in his facade, but Remus clearly suspected him of having some secrets. Judging by the werewolf's current pondering expression, the questioning was going to spill out any second now.

"So George, what did you think of Diagon Alley?", Remus asked in an upbeat manner.

Here we go, starting casually and working our way up to the heavy stuff, are we?

"Yeah, it was really good. Why do you ask, Mr Lupin?", George responded calmly while flicking through 'A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration'.

Remus looked out the window, "I'd grown up with magic being a part of my life. I guess I was just curious to hear a muggle-born's perspective. That's what you are, right? A muggle-born?"

George kept reading the book, "what do you mean, Mr Lupin?"

"Do you remember anything about your biological parents?", Remus enquired.

George shook his head, "nope. I was just a baby when they gave me away."

"Really. So you didn't know anything about magic until two days ago?"

"Yep. Well, actually no. I knew about my ability to make fire appear from nothing, but I didn't know it had anything to do with magic until yesterday."

"Umm... That's interesting."

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George looked up from his book and saw that Remus was still looking outside. His eyes might have been focusing on the motorway, but George knew the werewolf's mind was staring directly back at him. Every single wizard and witch had the potential to cast Legilimency. Just like any other spell, it can be theoretically cast subconsciously. Some wizards and witches are so gifted in mind magic that they can't help but constantly see into the minds of those around them. The point is, if a magic user wants to know what another is thinking, they could cast the spell without even realising it. And right now, George could feel an intrusive probe tickling his mind.

The fact that Remus's attack was pitifully weak and he wasn't holding his wand told George that the probe wasn't deliberate, but it did prove something. Remus didn't believe him, and more importantly, the werewolf really wanted to know why he'd lied. George could only think of one reason for Remus's overwhelming curiosity about George's past, and it was Dumbledore. That scary old man already knew something about George and had consequently sent Remus instead of a Hogwarts professor. Now, George was starting to understand why. Dumbledore must want to know where George had magically appeared from, and Remus was acting as his proxy.

Obviously, George hadn't really been in an orphanage most of his life, he'd barely lived in one for a month before the Linwoods adopted him. There was a good chance that Dumbledore and Remus already knew that. So the question in their heads had to be, where had George been for the first ten years of his life? Remus clearly didn't think that he'd been living a normal muggle life, judging by his questions. Regardless of what they believed, George had to get on top of this speculation before his patron got a whiff of this and pulled the plug on the mission.

George closed his book and asked, "do you think my real parents are sorcerers, Mr Linwood?"

Remus looked back at him, "your a very talented young boy and you have a very keen eye, George. Not many your age could see the sign outside the Leaky Cauldron, let alone notice it was enchanted.

Gifted individuals, such as yourself, are a part of wizarding families with a rich history of pure magic blood. Whoever your real parents are, they must have been a part of a strong lineage."

George did wonder who his real parents were from time to time. It was nice to think about what could have been if his patron hadn't 'acquired' him as a baby. But a lot of time had passed and George had changed both physically and mentally beyond all recognition. By now, he doubted that he was any more related to his biological parents than he was to Dominic and Amanda. Even if his patron decided to tell him who his real mother and father was, George didn't really care anymore. Whoever his parents are, they allowed him to be taken away by his patron and George will never forgive them for that.

Dominic looked at George through the rearview mirror and said, "family is who you decide it is, George. It doesn't matter who you share your blood with, it's who you're willing to shed your blood for."

Amanda then turned around in her seat, "don't waste your time thinking about your mother and father. They stopped being your parents the moment they left you in that awful place. You are a Linwood now, and we will never let anything like that happen to you again."

Amanda returned to facing forward, and the car fell silent. George wasn't sure how he should feel after that declaration, happy he guessed. Remus certainly didn't look happy, the subtle nuances of his foster mother's reassurances must have been heard loud and clear. The werewolf made the sensible decision and ended that awkward conversation. George was almost starting to believe he could read in peace, but Ellie had to go and ruin it. He was poked repeatedly in his leg with increasingly stronger jabs until he couldn't take it any longer.

"What is it, Ellie?", George asked while desperately trying to hide his infuriation.

"I remembered what I wanted to tell you", she joyfully responded.

"What are you talking about?", George said while rubbing his leg.

"I forgot in the pub, but Mr Lupin just reminded me."

George's patience was dwindling, "any day now, Ellie."

"Do you remember that special sign outside the pub, the one only magic people could see?"

George squinted his eyes, "yes… why?"

"I could see it too."

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