1 Stark in the Magical World
"The 58th winning number drawn this week is 4-3-9-6-2-8-0-0!!"
Lying in the rented room, William, clad in a black shirt and SpongeBob SquarePants shorts, jumped up in excitement upon hearing the host on the television reveal the winning numbers.
"I won? I won!" William rubbed his eyes, repeatedly comparing the numbers on the scratch-off ticket in his hand.
The numbers were undoubtedly a match!
"Haha, I'm a rich person now."
He recalled the past, felt the present, and imagined the future!
William had been an orphan since childhood, coming from a poor family.
However, he didn't give up on his dreams of becoming rich and insisted on buying lottery tickets every day believing that he would eventually win.
Now he had succeeded and had finally entered the season of harvest!
With this money, William could do many things.
He could buy a luxurious seaside villa in Dubai, invest in his favorite actors' Hollywood films, and provide treatment for his beloved anchor with a ten-year-long depression...
Two days later, wearing a disposable mask and a five-dollar pair of children's sunglasses, William walked into the Lottery's Customer Service Center.
With his greasy hair and wandering gaze, he looked like a homeless Che Guevara.
He looked around... (The background music "Happy" by Pharrell Williams froze)
No crowd of onlookers;
No fundraising organizations with pens in hand, waiting for his donation;
No journalists were rushing in to interview him.
No grand scene, not even the money... There was nothing!
William Stark suddenly sat up straight, awakening from his dazed slumber.
Where am I?
Who am I?
Where's my husband... oh wait, where's my money?
William looked around, realizing it was a dream, he sighed and laid back on the bed.
No wonder it felt a bit unreal; everything else seemed so real, but how could there be an image of Joe Biden on the dollar?!
He slapped his forehead, revealing a depressed expression that made him look like Pepe the Frog.
A month ago, William was still living in New York City, waiting for someone from TraxNYC to hand out free gold bars to him.
Both of William's parents died when he was a child, and he only managed to complete his university education with the help of kind-hearted people.
The beginning of the dream was real; he did win the lottery, but while celebrating in his backyard with barbeque, he was suddenly abducted by a kidnapper.
William still remembered the appearance of the person: blood-red lips, a pointed nose, baring sharp teeth, a chilling and ominous makeup... identical to the Joker's appearance from Batman.
Initially, William thought it was a joke. He was looking for Batman with great interest, but unexpectedly, he was knocked out by a brick by the other side.
Afterward, the kidnappers took his money, tore the ticket, and when he woke up again, William had traveled to England, back in the year 1990, becoming an eleven-year-old child.
Upon waking up, William found out that he could communicate with others in British English, and that he had gained the memories of an eleven-year-old boy.
This boy's previous name was William Stark, and he came from a well-off family. His father was a dentist, his mother was a professor at Cambridge University, and he had a nine-year-old sister named Annie.
In his previous life, William was an orphan, so he was quite satisfied with his current identity. As for his past, he treated it as a nightmare to forget.
The only regret was the scratch-off ticket.
Luckily, William had written down the winning numbers in his diary. As long as this wasn't a parallel world, he would become a millionaire sooner or later; he just needed to wait patiently... for thirty years!
He wasn't going to eat barbeque this time, no matter what.
William sighed, tossed, and turned on the bed, finding himself sleepless, so he decided to get up for a morning jog.
But as he stood up,
He heard a "thump" coming from the balcony.
"Clementine, is that you?" he asked softly while getting dressed.
Clementine was a beautiful young orange cat. William had rescued it when it was injured, and later, it became his adorable pet.
Although these stray cats weren't as rampant as foxes in London, they were still quite common.
Because of its all-orange fur, William named it Clementine.
Clementine had a very gentle personality; otherwise, William's parents wouldn't have agreed to keep it.
After quickly putting on his clothes, William pulled back the curtains and opened the door. The sunlight outside was warm but not dazzling.
It seemed like it was going to be a good day today!
William squinted as he looked outside and saw Clementine crouching on the marble floor of the balcony, facing off against an owl.
The scene was incredibly strange.
Hearing footsteps, Clementine twitched its orange ears and, with a row of sharp teeth revealed in its mouth, emitted a "meow" of warning while crouching down, ready to pounce.
The owl lowered its head, swaying it and turning its big eyes, seeming to have a disdainful look.
Can this be tolerated?
Clementine grew furious and was about to launch an attack.
William quickly intervened, stepping in front and saying, "Clementine, don't eat strange things, you'll get sick!"
He added, "And make sure to cook it thoroughly before eating..."
"Hoot!!"
The owl seemed to understand William's words, tilting its head and casting a glance at the boy, appearing offended.
It twitched its brownish-yellow pupils and then spread its wings, fluttering away from the balcony railing.
Only then did William notice that it was clutching a brown envelope made of thick parchment in its talons.
A letter?
For me?
He felt somewhat puzzled. Owls were nocturnal birds, and it was strange for one to confront his little orange cat early in the morning, let alone deliver a letter.
What era is this anyway?
William held his chin, contemplating deeply, his dense and radiant dark brown hair gently swaying in the wind.
"Come to think of it... there were indeed strange incidents in this body's memory."
William wasn't sure how to describe it; it was somewhat like a superpower awakening, but also akin to a magical awakening.
He had even probed his parents about it, but he found out that they were just ordinary people. To avoid being dissected, this secret was kept hidden.
"Now it seems... I am not an ordinary person!"
Combined with the fact that he bore the surname Stark...
William's emerald-green eyes brightened, his demeanor akin to a blind person who had just found a point of light.
"Could it be... a distant relative, Howard Stark, has noticed the increasing resemblance between his son Tony and me, whom he's met briefly, and is preparing to have me come to the United States to inherit his estate?!"
But that doesn't make sense.
Stark Industries is so well-known; that William hadn't even seen it on television. So, this couldn't be the Marvel Universe.
Then...
"Could it be a relative from Westeros, Bran Stark, planning to summon me over to inherit the Iron Throne?"
But they should've sent a raven, right?
As William was lost in thought, the owl circled in the sky a few times before dropping the envelope onto his head.
William picked up the envelope and quickly turned it over, revealing a wax seal on the back, a shield emblem with the capital letter "H" surrounded by a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake.
His eyes widened suddenly, and he gripped the envelope tightly, then swiftly tore it open and took out the letter to read:
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore (Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)
Dear Mr. Stark,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall Deputy Headmistress
William hadn't finished reading the letter when his attention was once again interrupted by a sound.
He looked up to see that Clementine had pounced on the owl and knocked it down.
The owl lay on the balcony, and Clementine was now sprawled over it.
Hmm, the posture looked somewhat ambiguous.
That was William's initial reaction.
The second reaction...
Wait a minute, Clementine! Let it deliver the letter first; then we can have a barbecue!
