5 Chapter 5: Finally, it's starting- The visit.
--------Prasad house, Baker Street, London-----
As a shut-in nerd in my past life, my days were filled with the familiar comforts of anime, manga, and the endless abyss known as fanfiction.
But since my rebirth in this fantastical world, I've come to realize that most of the fanfiction I once devoured is nothing but pure fiction.
Independence, once taken for granted, has become a rarity in my new life. My freedom is limited to the park in front of my house – no adventures to the Leaky Cauldron, no visits to Gringotts, and certainly no waving wands.
Gone are the days of attempting to become an author or offering futile business advice to my stubborn father. That bull-headed man will never listen to anyone, least of all his son.
Entertainment in this world is far from developed, which is ironic considering it's the reason I've managed to achieve so much. With an abundance of free time and limited distractions, I've been able to focus on honing my skills and expanding my knowledge.
[AI Profile
Name: Arjun Prasad
Age: 11 years a
Wizard: Muggleborn
Physique: Under-12 karate champion
Charm: First-year level
>Lumos: Mastered
Variants: Lumos Duo - Mastered, Lumos Maxima - Mastered, Lumos Solem - 52/100
>Wingardium Leviosa: Mastered
>Accio: 5/100
>Alohomora: Mastered
>Aberto: Mastered
Transfiguration: First-year level
>Transformation: Matchstick to needle - Completed
>Conjuration:
Incendio: 1/100 Augumenti: 1/100 Skills:
Medical knowledge: Postgraduate level in Medicine, Pediatrics, Human Anatomy, Physiology, Biochemistry
Programming: Computer science student
Social studies: Graduate level [Enjoys reading about politics and history]
Magical reserves: 10 L (L = Lumos - 2 basic units + 1 cast unit )
[Author's Note: L represents the official units for magic reserves from now on.]
KNOCK KNOCK
I heard the door knock along with my mother's voice, "Arjun, come down. Someone is here to see you."
My best achievement - privacy. Seriously, it took my first tantrum in years to afford it.
------------
KATA
KATA
KATA
KATA
I went down into the living room with a run, where my family were seated. My thoughts halted as I saw the visitor.
Facing me was a tall, black-haired woman clad in emerald-green robes. Her face was so stern it could give some competition to my dad. Her demeanour screamed out she wanted everyone to be firm and proper with no mistakes. I did not need any foreknowledge to know that.
It is the kind of appearance my dad projects as an Industrialist. Yep, Dad finally established his chemical Industry, ATHUL Labs - Manufacturers of Intermediate drugs, in the Pharma field.
Minerva McGonagall, in the canon timeline which I assume is the one I reincarnated, is the deputy Headmistress and Head of the Transfiguration department of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
"Good morning, Mr. Prasad. I am Minerva McGonagall, Deputy principal of Hogwarts; a boarding school for gifted children, children like you." Professor McGonagall introduced herself as she put down the teacup. "You should take a seat, young man."
I did as I was told, keeping a watchful eye on her all the while.
"Gifted? I guess I did well in classes - ranking first, Sports and even won the under-12 karate competition." All these achievements in their own right are impressive for a kid. Something, I can see has impressed her.
Though most of my true achievements are in the dark, even in school seeing there is no need to brute force to graduation since I was waiting for a Hogwarts letter. Besides, I didn't waste my time in classes. Just like the other kids, I was learning. They were learning the course, while I continued my private study using AI which is the best tool for learning.
Knocking these thoughts away, I came back to the point I was making, "But to warrant sending a recruiter, much less the deputy headmistress is a bit weird. Also, please use my given name as everyone here is Prasad. Since, with your position or age, there is no need to be formal with a kid like me."
My reply, while a bit mature even for bright kids, elicited no outward reaction from her, as if my previous reaction was merely an illusion. However my feelings, on the other hand, were something else compared to the controlled reply I gave.
She showed no change in her thoughts and simply took her seat. My father, the autocrat of the house, bluntly asked her, "Excuse me, I do not know what kind of school you are from. I did not hear Hogwarts – "
"Hogwarts, sir, ends with 'ts,' not 'ds.' You see, sir, Hogwarts is a school that may be one of the oldest schools in the world, easily dating back centuries." She corrected him calmly, her confidence unwavering.
Turning towards me, she spoke with utmost confidence in her words. "You are gifted, Mr. Arjun. Gifted with something most people could only dream about, of that I have no doubt." She started, looking into my eyes to convey her sincerity. "You might have found yourself in strange situations before, seen things you thought impossible."
I felt excitement bubbling up within me. Unlike the others in the room, I knew the context of the matter. While magic is an incredible power, hiding it all these years and the slow progress had depressed me for a long time.
Most importantly, it was the words that she was about to utter that almost gave me an adrenaline rush.
"It is magic." She gave me the slightest of smiles before adding the fateful words, "And you, Mr. Arjun, are a wizard."
Even after years of using magic in my lonesome, hearing another person tell me that made my emotions jump like a roller coaster.
I couldn't contain my happiness and laughter burst out of me, not caring if my family or she misunderstood whether I was laughing at her, probably assuming I was laughing at her words.
My dad, on the other hand, could be considered a true tyrant in work or personal life. I could already feel his anger rising from her words. I forced my laughter down, hoping to stop him before he exploded, but I wasn't in time.
"No offence, ma'am, but I cannot believe such ridiculous claims. You look educated enough not to say such stupid things. You can get out of my house." my dad snapped, his words sharp and cutting.
And there he was, my dad, followed by incoherent noise from the rest of my family.
My mother tried to console him, while my brother struggled to calm him down. Unfortunately, they were always wrong in the way they handled these tasks.
My mother shouted at him, while my brother simply told him he was wrong to insult people in anger.
Pointing out my dad's mistakes, in this case, the apparent disrespect to the elderly woman, only made him angrier, like showing a red flag to a bull. Ahh, the blissful chaos of a family.
Though, it seemed I had done a good job of hiding my magic since they didn't believe her words. Before I could intervene, as the one person who knew the way to calm him down was with slow talk and proper explanation, Miss Minerva drew her wand from her sleeve with a flick of her hand.
A firm, decisive move saw the tip of her wand glow slightly; magic so concentrated it became visible. The dining table turned into a large Siberian tiger.
Minerva calmly stroked the long tiger as it purred at her feet, casting a spell of awe and shock among the rest of the room. Seeing the magic in action, live and tangible, was truly incredible.
The stern woman explained her position with a serious expression as she addressed us, "I am no joker, Mr. Prasad. Rather, I am one of the foremost experts in the art of transformation magic - Transfiguration. Please take a seat and listen to me."
The rest of the lengthy discussion was where she explained the workings of the magical world to my dad directly, confirming various places and laws in place. As I listened to her explanations, I learned that Muggleborns have had basic rights, including gender equality, for thousands of years. It was a surprising revelation, one that fucked with the prejudices I had from reading too much fanfictions.
However, I couldn't help but notice that she didn't touch upon the extra things, like the power dynamics of Purebloods or the corruption in wizarding society. Nor did she mention the fate of other races or the implementation of various laws.
Then again, it was often the case in most societies where the most powerful had fewer restraints from laws due to the wealth or authority they wielded.
As the discussion continued, my family began to understand that the magical world, like any other, had its complexities and injustices, despite its wonders. It was a lot to take in, but I can see they are slowly coming to an understanding.
As far as I know, any good family will support their budding wizard child to learn magic, even if they are not blessed with it. Rather, they will support it all the more because their family member was blessed with such a unique power.
I can say with complete confidence, for all their flaws, my family is a good one. I don't need the best, just my family is enough for any number of lives.
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. Prasad,
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 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress[2]
Second page
HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
People might wonder how I currently feel. Like many things, it is something you need to experience to understand it. No words, no image would be enough to describe what I am feeling. It was simply magic.
"I am going to Hogwarts."
