In the months following Peter's birthday, he became even more distant with the town than he already was. He was caught daydreaming in his maths class on multiple occasions, his daily trips to the local sweet shop became closer to weekly, and any time that he wasn't doing something that his parents asked of him, he would be up in his room, secluded from the world. Most people in town hardly noticed the lack of his presence, but those who did simply wrote if off as issues at home. In reality, however, Peter would spend hour upon hour reading, examining, and experimenting with the few magical items and books his mother still owned and pulled out of a very dusty trunk in the attic. He wanted to learn everything he could about the magical world that he missed out on for the first 11 years of his life, the very same world that he would be entering in no more than 3 days.

Peter's mother, on the other hand, had spent these months doing everything she could to help her son with this new adjustment into the world she left behind. There had been many times when Peter noticed his mother wasn't cleaning some part of the house as she usually did, but rather had seemed to disappear from the house in all. What he didn't know was that she would take secret trips to Diagon Ally in search of his school books, write letters to old friends to find a way to get her son to school, and keep her magic-hating husband oblivious to it all. 

***

"Peter, dear, could I come in?" his mother asked with a light knock on his bedroom door. 

"Of course, Mum," he replied as got up to greet her with a hug. "Is something wrong?"

"Oh, no no, nothing to worry about hun. Your father left the house to meet Vinny at the bar. I thought now might be the best time to talk before you head off to school." She said as she sat down on the edge of the bed, and Peter followed in suit. 

After getting settled, she took a deep breath and continued, "As I told you when you got your letter, Hogwarts is a school for magical children. In 3 days, the first of September, you will be taken there on a train. The school is far away and you will only get to come home for Christmas break. It may sound a tad bit scary being away from home for so long, but never have fear darling. We can still write letters to each other and I am sure you will make plenty of friends. This is the best opportunity for you, my love."

The longer that Peter thought about his mother's words, the more confused he got. There were still so many things he didn't know about the magical world. "Mum,  how are we getting to the train station? There isn't a station for 3 towns over."

His mum began to answer him, "Well hun, the train actually only stops at King's Cross, in London. A-"

"London? We can't get to London!" Peter exclaimed upon hearing his mother's answer.

"Boy, what have I told you about interrupting?"

"Sorry Mother." he said with his head hung low.

"Good. Now, as I was saying, we will be using magic to get to the station in London. I have contacted a few old friends and we have set everything up. All you need to do is listen and do exactly as you are told." The woman said quite sternly.

For the next few hours Peter went around his room grabbing things off shelves and out of drawers, shoving all of them into the dusty trunk from the attic that (despite being cleaned twice) still had a few cobwebs and stains here and there. Peter's mother spent this time instructing her son exactly what to pack, including his new school supplies that she never quite answered as to where she got them from. She spoke all about owls and how they would be the ones to deliver their letters, but she also told him to always send the letters to the barn on the outskirts of town so that his father wouldn't see the large birds. And eventually, as the night was coming closer, along with the arrival of her drunken husband, she began to explain how Peter would get to the station. How he must be up and ready to leave by 9:30 am (which certainly shouldn't be an issue seeing as the boy got up at the crack of dawn on most days), how he will wait for his mum's signal to leave, how he is going to have to carry his trunk all the way with him to the top of Mittle Hill where he will find a boot. How, at precisely 10:15 am sharp he must have his hand on the old boot and his other on his luggage, how he will feel an odd sensation- almost like a tugging behind his navel- and how he will appear in an alleyway moments later. How he should then walk down the sidewalk to the left until he reaches the station, how he will have to find platforms 9 and 10, how he must run right into the post that stands between them without thinking twice, how he will pop out on the other side of an all new platform, and how he should climb onto the bright red steam engine standing before him.  How his mother won't be present for any of it because she will be busy keeping his father home, happy, and not suspicious of where his son ran off to this time.

***

Between a mix of nerves and excitement, Peter had hardly slept through the last few nights. On the morning of September 1st, he awoke with the sunrise just a little before 7:00. Knowing he only had 2 more hours before he had to leave, Peter quickly checked that he had all of his belongings ready to go (for the 4th time), and then paced about his small room completely lost in thought. He soon realized that he needed to calm his nerves and worries, so he took out a sheet of paper that went unused from his long forgotten past maths assignment, and began to write a letter to his mother. 

Peter wrote about how he would miss her terribly, about how he was excited to make friends for once, how he promised that he would try his hardest at this new magic school, and how he couldn't wait for Christmas time, when he could come home and tell her all about his new life. He also wrote about all the questions he still had for her, like why did she never use magic around the house? And why was dad so apposed to it?

An hour and three pages later, Peter heard the sound of his parents getting ready for the day downstairs. Unable to control his giddiness and not wanting to make his father suspicious, Peter rushed downstairs, said good morning, grabbed some cash from the counter, and ran out the door. He decided that he would make his mum's life a little bit easier and use his last hour at home to gather the groceries, a new pack of beer for his father, and maybe a little bit of sweets wouldn't hurt for the long ride ahead of him. 

***

"Have a good day, Mr. Varner!" said the young boy as he was heading out the door of the local candy shop.

"Ah, thanks, kid. Now don't go causin' too much o' a ruckus at that new school o' yours." replied the old candy maker with a chuckle.

"I'll try not to! Goodbye, sir," Peter said with a laugh just before he ran out of the shop and made his way back to his home down the street. As he walked his mind was lost in thought, his pockets were full of chocolate, and his arms were full of heavy paper bags. Only moments later he stepped through the front door of his home.

"Ah, son you're back, and I see you chose to be useful today and got me a Watney's," his father greeted him with a wink as he walked through the front door.

"Sure did Pops, oh and Mum I got the groceries for you too." Peter said as he dropped the bags he was carrying onto the kitchen counter. 

"Thank you, hun. Could I speak with you in your room for a moment dear?" his mother asked in response.

"Sure, Mum." the boy replied as he followed his mother.

Once the door had shut behind them, Peter's mother began to speak, "Sweets, its almost time for you to leave. You remember my instructions?" Peter nodded. "Good, I have one more thing for you to remember darling. When you arrive at Hogwarts tonight, there will be a ceremony for new coming students. They will put you in houses just like the other boarding schools kids go to. There will be an older student in charge and they will come find you tomorrow morning and bring you to the head of your house. Follow their directions, okay hun?"

"Yes, ma'am. May I ask what this is about though?" Peter answered hesitantly. 

"A wand. I could get robes and quills and books for you, but a wand is something you must get yourself. The professor will help you with that. Now I'm going to get your father out of the house. As soon as we leave you need to make your way out the back door and head for Mittle Hill."

"Yes, Mum. Goodbye." the 11-year-old boy said with a saddened look upon his face.

"Oh goodbye, Pete. I will miss you dearly, but this is a great opportunity for you and our family." the boy's mother said as she pulled him into a tight hug. After a moment of silence, his mother pulled away and left the room without another word. It was time to start his new life.

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Authors Note: I hope people are actually enjoying this. I'm trying to write well and make a good story not just another cheesy fanfic, but this is my first after all so we'll se how that goes. 

The opening picture is not mine, it belongs to https://flaggermousseart.tumblr.com/ on tumblr from what I can find and if it belongs to someone else then I'm sorry.