Despite their frightening appearance, thestrals were actually very affectionate creatures, and the one Julian was stroking eagerly leaned into his hand for more attention. Hagrid ended up shooing him away not long after, though, because the thestrals were starting to get overly enthusiastic about winning Julian's affection and had begun nipping at each other in an effort to claim his pets for themselves. Julian did not mind, since he had already done what he came there to do. After that, he finally met back up with his friends since it was time to head for the carriages before boarding the train. They chatted casually on the way about how nice it would be to have no homework and similar topics.
The Hogwarts Express was already prepared and waiting when they arrived, and after finding their luggage, the group boarded the train to claim a compartment. Julian joked about how fortunate they were that the compartments seemed to fit exactly six people comfortably once they picked one out. It was never brought up in the books, but Julian noticed that the train had been thoroughly cleaned since its earlier use, even the scuff marks on the steps had been removed. Harry, Ron, and Julian had to wait outside the compartment for a while, since the girls needed to change back into their normal clothes.
After that, it was the boys' turn, aside from Julian, who was already dressed casually. The train ride itself was fairly quiet, since eventually they ran out of things to talk about. One interesting thing Julian noticed once they had moved away from the dense magical environment of Hogwarts and Hogsmeade was that his magical senses suddenly seemed to go into overdrive. He could now detect even very well hidden magic, which in this case appeared as a faint web like aura draped over both his own body and those of the others.
So this must be the infamous trace the Ministry uses, he thought before discreetly creating the counter flow to that magic and stripping it from himself. The idea of not being able to cast magic freely until the age of seventeen was simply unacceptable to him. None of the others noticed what he had done, and a few hours later the train finally arrived at the station.
"Alright, looks like it's time for us to split up. I'll see all of you once summer is over, so stay safe," Julian said as they got off the train, tossing each of them a ring of protection.
They all nodded and slipped the rings on before heading off toward the people waiting to collect them. Julian rolled his luggage behind him as he walked toward the old man holding a sign that read {JULIAN RAVENCLAW} in large bold letters. Naturally, the old man was none other than Garrick Ollivander himself, there to meet Julian.
Ollivander smiled broadly when he saw Julian approaching, though his eyes soon dropped to Steve, who was perched comfortably on Julian's left shoulder and looking around with interest.
"Ah, a niffler, what a delight. When I was younger, I once experimented with niffler fur in wandmaking. It wasn't especially powerful, but it did tend to produce a mischievous personality with a fondness for charm work," Ollivander said with a nostalgic smile.
"Would you believe me if I told you I originally found the little guy trying to steal from me?" Julian asked with a grin.
Ollivander chuckled. "I would be more surprised if you told me it happened some other way. Despite their habit of thievery, I am told they are remarkably loyal, so I can think of no better sort of pet," Ollivander said with a broad smile.
"So how exactly are we handling this? That wasn't really specified in the description," Julian asked curiously.
"We shall be using a portkey to my shop. I prepared it years ago in case I ever found myself needing to return while traveling," Ollivander explained, taking an old metal mug from his robes.
"If you would wait just a moment, I am expecting someone else. Don't worry, they won't cause any trouble at all, I promise," Julian said, reassuring the old man that there was nothing to be concerned about.
No sooner had Julian spoken than a figure floated up out of the ground nearby before becoming corporeal and giving a curtsey, which startled Ollivander greatly.
"By Merlin's beard, the Grey Lady herself!" the old wandmaker exclaimed softly in shock.
"As I said, I promise she won't be much trouble. She is only here to guide me to my ancestral home during the summer," Julian said, drawing the old man's attention back to himself.
Ollivander simply laughed warmly, his expression bright and cheerful. "I would hardly complain about hosting the Grey Lady. After all, she was the ghost of my own house when I attended Hogwarts, though of course I do not expect you to remember me," he said to Helena.