#72 - Ottery St. Catchpole

After several hours of bumpy travel, Anduin stepped off the steam train and, as usual, bid farewell to Vivian and Charles before taking out Augusta's letter to examine it. →Read М

“Ottery St Catchpole? I guess I'll take the Knight Bus.” Anduin looked at the address on the letter and decided after thinking for a moment.

Leaving the train station, Anduin found a street with few people and raised his wand.

Before long, a purple triple-decker bus screeched to a halt in front of Anduin in a rather violent manner.

Anduin looked at the behemoth in front of him, guessing that this journey wouldn't be too comfortable.

Ottery St Catchpole. Anduin, who had just gotten off the bus, swayed unsteadily, taking a while to regain his balance.

This trip had really taken a toll on him. The bus had been swerving and bumping the whole way, and then there was the violent sudden stop at the station. Anduin even admired the ticket seller on the bus, who could stay on it all day without throwing up.

Following the address of the Longbottom's house, Anduin quickly found the place.

“Anduin, we've been waiting for you! It's been half a year since we last saw you at Christmas. Look at you, your hair's gotten so long.” Augusta, wearing an apron and holding a soup ladle in one hand, looked at Anduin at the door with a smile.

Anduin hadn't cut his hair at all this school year, and now his long hair was draped over his shoulders, his style was like Sirius except for his pure black hair color.

“I should be thanking you for the invitation. I can't contact Sirius and the Potters. If you hadn't taken me in, I would have had to spend this summer at the Leaky Cauldron.” Anduin said very sincerely to Augusta.

“Don't say that. You're not only our friend, but also our comrade. Have you forgotten? Having you here to keep me company this summer won't be too boring. Don't just stand there, come in.” Augusta quickly pulled Anduin into the house. As soon as he entered, he smelled a rich aroma.

“Wait here for a moment, dinner will be ready soon. Frank and Alice will be back soon too. You can keep Neville company for me, I don't know if he remembers you.”

With that, Augusta walked quickly into the kitchen.

Smiling and nodding, Anduin stayed in the living room, taking in the Longbottom's house. The Longbottom's house was distinctly different from the Potter's house. The interior of the Potter's house was cozy and simple, while the Longbottom's house had more of a sense of history.

The surrounding wooden furniture was heavy and sturdy, looking like it had been passed down for several generations. The carpets and decorations had a distinct aristocratic style. Some landscapes and portraits were hung on the walls, and some utensils that looked like antiques were placed in the living room. There were even some small animal specimens in a display cabinet, and a hat rack next to it was displaying a valuable decorative hat with a vulture specimen standing on it.

What a peculiar taste, Anduin thought, this definitely wasn't Alice's style.

On a crib next to the fireplace in the hall, Neville was lying bored. Suddenly, the face of a long-haired man appeared in his eyes. Startled, Neville was about to burst into tears, but he found that the face in front of him looked a little familiar. He stopped crying and stared at Anduin with his round eyes.

Anduin saw that Neville was about to cry when he saw him, but he was also a little curious, and couldn't help but find it funny.

So he smiled happily, gently pinched Neville's little hand, and said, “Little Neville, do you remember me? We once fought off the Death Eaters together.”

Neville, who was just a little curious, was frightened by Anduin's teasing and cried loudly, leaving Anduin awkwardly frozen aside.

“Okay, okay, I won't tease you, why are you crying so hard?” Anduin said to himself helplessly.

Neville's crying alarmed Augusta in the kitchen. The old woman ran out of the inner room, and when she saw that Neville was okay, she coaxed little Neville with Anduin, and then ran back to the kitchen to get busy.

Anduin just waited aside, staring at Neville, not daring to touch him, for fear of scaring him into crying again.

Before long, the door opened, and the Longbottom couple returned. Frank and Alice, who came in, saw Anduin standing next to Neville, and couldn't help but step forward to greet him happily.

“Anduin, long time no see. My mother said at first that you would come to our house for the holidays. I didn't believe it at first. It's really good that you can come. Alice and I are busy every day. Now there's someone who can keep my mother company, so she doesn't have to nag us every day.” Frank stretched and greeted Anduin excitedly, as if he was a savior.

“Hello, Frank, Alice, Old Madam Longbottom is very friendly to me, and I am also very grateful that you can invite me.” Anduin greeted the two politely.

“Hmph, I just heard someone say bad things about me. Dinner is ready, what are you still doing here?” Augusta said to the two with a straight face again.

“Okay, okay, I know I was wrong, Mom, don't you see there's a guest here?” Frank was startled when he heard Augusta's voice, and quickly apologized to his mother, then turned back and stuck his tongue out at Anduin secretly.

Anduin thought this family was very interesting. Augusta was a serious mother, but he could feel her deep love for her family, just from the dinner that smelled so good, you knew it was great, only with heart can you weave real deliciousness.

Anduin ate his first meal of the summer at the Longbottom's house. The dinner was very rich. Seeing Frank and Alice's natural appearance, it should be so rich every day. Augusta ate very quickly, and after dinner, she was busy feeding little Neville. It could be seen that she was very attentive to her little grandson.

After dinner, Anduin took out the prepared gifts from his space bag. The Longbottom family was very reluctant at first, but with Anduin's insistence, Augusta accepted it, and hurriedly took the ham that was thicker than a cow's leg to the storage room to put it away, while Frank smiled and opened a bottle of Ogden's Old Fire Whiskey, poured himself a small glass, and secretly tasted it in the living room.

Anduin found it funny to see him looking so wretched, like a bear kid who was afraid of being caught by his parents for secretly drinking alcohol.

Anduin and the Longbottom couple returned to the living room, Alice was holding little Neville, and Frank was holding a glass of wine, sipping it in small sips, and chatting happily with Anduin.

“So, how was your first year at Hogwarts? Did you often get caught by Professor McGonagall? I remember she used to like to make trouble for us and give us detention.” Frank said.