The last week of the holiday passed unbelievably quickly. Wade felt as though he had only read a few books before time had quietly slipped away.
Professor Murray had left him a tiny matchbox containing a small, curled, blue-black sliver, like a dried caterpillar or a piece of membrane torn from a bat's wing.
Since he could not use his Wand, Wade merely examined its shape with a magnifying glass and did not employ any more destructive methods of testing. He would only be able to study it carefully once he returned to school.
Just as Marchioni had said, the Book of Friends went on sale as scheduled. Wade also received an invitation from Aslan's Magic Workshop for the release day, and an owl had sent him samples—two of every design, with a note saying he could keep one set as a collection and give the other away.
Rather than join in the fuss over the "first day of release," Wade preferred reading at home. Unfortunately, Fiona saw an advertisement for the Book of Friends in the Daily Prophet and eagerly wanted to go, so father and son accompanied her.
The family drove to Charing Cross Road in Westminster, parked nearby, and then walked to The Leaky Cauldron. It had snowed recently, leaving the ground wet and slippery. Fiona clutched Ferdinand's arm tightly, but her feet still kept slipping as she walked.
"I really wish I could fly straight to The Leaky Cauldron—have some Butterbeer—no, Firewhisky—" Fiona muttered as she carefully made her way forward.
"We're almost there," Ferdinand reassured her. In truth, they could already see the sign for The Leaky Cauldron.
As Squibs, Mr. and Mrs. Gray had not been accepted as students by the magic school, but the Wizarding World had not completely shut its doors on