AN: Yes! This school year's semester is over and exams, projects, and reports are all over too! Now, I can finally focus on writing again (this break) since some of my stories haven't been updated in ages due to lots of work in school. Since I am still in the process of continuing chapters for my stories, I will share this story (chapter) to you. I have this stored within my laptop for several months already and my cousin thinks that it will be a waste if it stayed in my pc unread like this.

Anyway, for my readers, please don't lose hope. I won't abandon my stories! Thank you for your patience and support.

Feel free to send me a message on what you think and if you ever need to inquire something about my stories. It will make me happy to hear from you (:

Please enjoy this short chapter.

OooOoOooO

Chapter I

"Waah! Sugoi!" He exclaimed in awe as he walked around the busy streets of London. "This is my first time being in a city! It's way cooler than a village! So big too!" He smiled widely in response as his head swivelled around in excitement.

He was rather oblivious to the odd stares that he was garnering due to how he was acting. The boy appeared to be no older than ten or eleven, dressed in a large orange sweatshirt, black jeans, and slippers. For someone who had come from a village like he did, it was already a miracle that it wasn't due to his appearance that he was being stared for. Spiky blonde hair sat atop of his head while cerulean blue eyes gleamed with anticipation and slight mischievousness.

Well, he was lying when he had said that it was his first time being in a city. He had visited Tokyo several times in Japan when he had been little with his mother. Though, on his part, that had been years ago and all he could recall were hazy memories.

"This. Is. Amazing!" He yelled once more as he punched a fist in the air.

If people were discretely staring at him for his noisy behaviour before, they were openly staring now at the too animated blonde.

Now, if only he could find the way to his destination, everything would be much cooler in his opinion.

So, he – being a boy of ten years (who would turn eleven by October) – did the most sensible thing in his opinion. Ask. It never occurred to him that the people around him were strangers and potential threat because he was so caught up in the excitement on being on foreign lands. Though, he shouldn't have let himself be that preoccupied, he would later lament, since his mother had already warned him about this kind of thoughtless behaviour countless of times already.

He approached the man in the blue uniform with a skip in his step, brimming with energy as he did so.

"Excuse me, but may you please direct to Charing Cross Road?" He inquired as politely as he could since he knew that people tended to be equally rude if he was. It wasn't until he got a good look at the man and his uniform did he realize that he was talking to a policeman.

"What? A kid? What business do you have there by yourself?" The man instead asked back suspiciously with narrowed eyes. Now, the boy remembered why knowing about the policeman made him uncomfortable. "Where are your parents? You couldn't be seriously out on your own–"

He took a step back in panic.

"I'm meeting them there!" He blurted out before he could properly think of an excuse.

"Oh, really?" The man raised an eyebrow skeptically, his hazel eyes boring down on the large backpack that the boy was carrying.

"Yes!" The boy replied instantly with a hint of indignation to cover up his nervousness.

For a moment, the policeman just calmly observed him. The boy swore that if he managed to get out of this relatively unscathed, he would let himself indulge in seven bowls of ramen. If he could find a shop that sold his favorite noodles, that was.

"Alright, I'll accompany you there just to make sure," The man finally conceded albeit a little cautiously. "It isn't exactly that far from here, now that I think about it. You're not from around here, are you?" He pressed insistently with a frown and the blonde was ready to bolt if the officer even spoke of bringing him back home. He didn't exactly run away, not really, sort of, it's just that he got out of the village secretly for a while. That wasn't really running away, was it?

"Y-Yes," The boy laughed awkwardly. "I'm… meeting someone who would… show me around later on," He trudged forward almost uncertainly.

Maybe he should have just bought a map or something. They sold those here, he was sure of it.

"Fine," The man grumbled out. "Let's hope you're not lying, kid. I hate seeing strays like you, I have children of my own." He mumbled under his breath as he walked ahead of the blonde who meekly followed after him.

At least, the boy would concede, the officers here were considerate unlike those he encountered in Tokyo who would act first and ask questions later.

To his disgruntlement, the boy discovered that the officer's term of 'isn't exactly that far' was actually very far. It wasn't as if he had gotten tired – he had too much stamina for that – but the way the officer always had stops to halt and linger were grating on his nerves. Though, he entertained himself by treating it as some sort of field trip (buying snacks and even souvenirs along the way) but as much as the city fascinated him, he was also quickly growing bored of it.

So, he made sure that the policeman was aware of his displeasure.

"Are we there yet?" He grouched unhappily as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Oh?" The man blinked at him. "Don't worry, I'm done doing my rounds. That street is just a couple of blocks from here."

The boy sighed in relief.

"That's good," He slumped a little. "I thought we'll never get there," He admitted with a sheepish grin.

True to the man's word, they had finally reached the street and the boy finally saw a shady looking pub. The boy actually face-palmed. He had heard that it appeared to be a broken-down old shop in front of the street to muggles. Of course, the officer would be suspicious if a kid would like to go to some broken down old shop by himself (not to mention that it was really a shady looking pub with – from what he could see – equally shady characters). When he had heard that Leaky Cauldron was a pub, he imagined bars or something flashy.

Not this shifty looking establishment, that was for sure.

"So, where's your company?" The man questioned him.

The blonde froze.

"E-Eh?" He mumbled out in surprise. He had completely forgotten about that. "You see–"

"So you did runaway," The man accused.

Cerulean blue eyes widened at the claim, alarm seeping through his features.

"No, it's not that–"

"Tell me that when I bring you back, kid," The man cut off as he put a restraining hand on the boy's shoulders.

Getting more desperate by the second, his eyes roamed for something or anything that could pull him out of this – admittedly ridiculous – predicament. He made sure to at least single out those who looked like would bring him back to their homes and dissect him for experiments. Eventually, he spotted a well-mannered looking redheaded man that had just gotten out of the pub. The boy was betting it all on the man so he hoped – really hoped – that he didn't make a mistake this time.

He ripped himself away from the policeman's hold and ran to the oblivious redhead's direction. Nervously, he grabbed the man's sleeved.

"There you are, uncle!" He stated with forced cheer.

For a moment, the man just stared at him in surprise and confusion. But then, his brown eyes darted to the boy and to the officer now standing directly behind him.

Please just go on with it, please! The blonde begged mentally.

Then, to his surprise, the redheaded man brightened and ruffled his hair affectionately. At the gesture, he fervently hoped that he hadn't just saddled himself with a pedophile. He already had enough encounters with perverts back in his village that had effectively scarred him for life.

"Oh, William, so good to see you here," The redhead laughed good-naturedly.

"Are you his guardian, sir?" The officer was quick to intervene.

The blonde tensed.

"Ah, he's with me since his mother – my sister – will be expecting us later. I just had some things to take care off near here," He stated blithely and the blonde boy marvelled at how good the man was in getting on the flow.

"And letting him go here–" The policeman's voice had gone significantly rigid. "–by himself?"

The redhead then looked at the boy in some kind exasperated reprimand.

"Didn't I tell you to wait for me in that…" He searched for something not so obvious. "…bookstore?"

"I-I got tired of waiting," The blonde boy replied unsurely.

"Thank you for escorting him here, officer, goodness, the things that could've happened to him if you didn't," The redhead was too immersed into the role that made the boy think that this had happened in the past to the man.

For a moment, the policeman looked unconvinced but he just frowned.

"Alright," The man reluctantly conceded. "Better take care of your nephew. Kids these days are more rebellious than teenagers nowadays," He commented almost good-naturedly.

"Oh, I understand what you mean, it's like it has only been yesterday when my only daughter out of seven children with six boys had finally ascended to adolescence," The redhead laughed, not even noticing the odd looks he got. Even the blonde was in a state of disbelief. Was the man in need of a clan that badly?

"Y-Yes," The policeman muttered out in shock. "I-I'll get going now," He coughed out in what the blonde perceived to be embarrassment.

The man then went away with a few suspicious looks thrown over his shoulder.

And the boy and the redheaded man just waved back at the policeman with too-bright smiles to be innocent. The older of the two then faced the younger.

"So," The redheaded man started kindly. "Is there something you need, young lad?"

The blonde stared at the man in awe. He was glad that he hadn't made a mistake in choosing a person, this was just too fortunate on his part. Blinking at the anticipatory look on the man's face, the boy then bowed on waist level.

"Thank you for your help earlier," He stated loudly, earning himself odd looks from others.

"No need to bow," The man hastily pulled the boy off from his position, cheeks tainted red in embarrassment. "It wasn't actually that big of a deal," The redhead chuckled. "Now, is there something else you might need?"

The blonde wondered if it was possible for people to be this kind to strangers around here.

But he suddenly remembered why he even travelled all the way here.

"Actually, if it isn't too much of a bother," The boy scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "There is,"

"Oh!" The man brightened. "Do tell!"

The blonde's smile widened at the positive response.

"I need to get to Hogwarts!"

O.o

Leave a review before you go and Ochibi-chann wanted to send her tremendous thanks to all those who supported her stories. She won't be abandoning them and will start to work on them now. Sorry for the lateness.