There were some things in life that even magic couldn't heal and for Zakari Ollivander, being deaf was not something that he wanted to be "healed" of anyways. Never considering himself disabled, Zakari considered himself just to be slightly differen...
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Before school was set to start, Zakari wanted to make sure that he was going in prepared as much as possible. With his textbooks sprawled out all over his bed, desk, and nightstand, he was taking every bit of time to learn as much as he could before his classes began. He knew that there was the high probability of him struggling versus his peers but he wanted to lessen the odds of that happening. At least if he knew the source material, that was half of the battle, the other half would involve him actually learning how to perform the spells. He had spent hours reading and jotting down his own notes to remind himself of things he was likely to forget.
Once again, his mother was working late and rather than going to his grandfather's for the day, Garrick had agreed to come over to the flat to watch over Zakari. Of course, shortly after dinner, it didn't take much to put the old man down for a well-deserved nap, leaving Zakari to himself. His eyes started to burn with dryness after a while of reading, leaving Zakari to abandon his books for a bit and take a break. He was sure his mother would be there soon enough, leaving him to rest on his bed until she came home.
As soon as Zakari was settled on his back, Duncan jumped up, using the short chest that stored some of Zakari's old toys, as a stepping stool for his short legs. He made his way over and came to rest his head on the boy's stomach, letting out a visible little sigh. Meanwhile, Duncan was remaining alert to every single noise that occurred inside the place. Zakari could watch as his ears would twitch and sometimes he would lift his head up and look over in the direction of the bedroom door. However, it usually seemed to be a false alarm because Liz never came through the door.
Grabbing his wand from the nightstand, Zakari looked it over, tracing over the details that were carved into it carefully by his grandfather. All he wanted to do was put it to use, but he knew he was going to have to wait until classes started. Of course, that was all that had been on his mind in the recent weeks, everything that had to do with Hogwarts. Just the other night his mother had given him the option of whether he wanted to take the train with Franklin and Duncan in his company or if he wanted her to drop him off in Hogsmeade to avoid the long train ride.
And to be honest, Zakari wasn't sure what he wanted to do just yet.
He wanted the full experience, including experiencing the Hogwarts Express, but at the same time, he didn't want to be singled out for having his interpreter and service dog with him. But then he came to the conclusion that no matter what, he wasn't going to truly escape the stigma, he was just going to prolong it by letting his mother drop him off at Hogsmeade. After all, he was going to have Franklin and Duncan with him for the entire school year, what difference was a train ride going to make?
There was also the possibility that he could actually make some friends aboard the train, something he had been hoping and praying for every night. He wanted to make friends his age while he was away at school, but he wasn't going to give his hopes up, his childhood experiences with peers his age hadn't been the greatest for him in the past.
