02 When Magic Comes Knocking

On the evening of July 31, 1991, the setting sun was like a golden veil, gently draping itself over every corner of the children's home in the London Borough of Shelton.

In a small room on the second floor, Michael Foster was sitting attentively at his desk, reading, when suddenly, a soft knock on the door broke the peace.

Michael carefully set his book down and then quickly opened the door.

The Episcopal Church volunteer woman stood outside the door, and before she could catch her breath, she spoke hurriedly, "Michael, Dean Nancy needs you to come over." She took a breath and continued, "There's a strange old man here who claims you've been accepted to their school, but the dean hasn't even heard of the school and will have to ask you to confirm it in person."

"Auntie, please, what kind of weird old man came to see me?" Michael asked with a face full of confusion and a furrowed brow.

It should be known that mind-bogglingly strange things often appeared around him, and although such cases had gradually decreased in recent years, there was still no one who actually took the initiative to look for him.

The crooks with bad intentions had trouble getting past the government's rigorous vetting process, let alone getting past Mama Nancy's careful and meticulous review.

"He was tall and thin, with a white beard that hung down to his waist, dressed in a strange purple robe, and a long, twisted nose that stood out. I've never seen anyone so eccentric in all my years." Auntie Volunteer described it in vivid colors, gesticulating constantly as she spoke.

When she was finished, Auntie Volunteer hurriedly got ready to head to the other rooms to attend to the children who were crying.

As she was about to leave, she turned her head again and urged with a worried heart, "Michael, you have to be more careful when you go down there, after all, due to all the previous rumors, there will always be some people with evil intentions coming over here in a vain attempt to adopt you directly through the dean, and they are definitely harboring malice in their hearts, I swear in the name of God!"

After hearing these words, Michael instantly froze, his entire body standing still as if he had been cast a stasis.

This feeling was both unfamiliar and familiar to him. Because in his previous life, he could only lie helplessly on the bed of the orphanage, he had repeatedly read the books donated by many kind-hearted people, and among these books, his favorite was the Harry Potter series which was full of fantastical colors.

If it really is "him", then the events of the last ten years may have a logical explanation.

Michael was both intrigued and eager to find out the answer, but at the same time, he was deeply afraid that this was just another one of his fantasies.

He straightened his ill-fitting clothes a little, stumbled down the stairs, and slowly made his way to Nancy's office door.

Standing in front of the closed door, Michael's arms repeatedly raised and lowered as if out of control as he hovered in front of the door.

The nagging feeling in his heart was like an invisible pressure, causing his forehead to be covered with fine beads of sweat and his breathing to become more and more rapid.

The desire to know the answer was like a surging tide in the bottom of his heart, which eventually drove him to raise his arm again.

The trembling hand slowly raised, gently knocked on the door twice, the knocking sound varied, as if knocking on the unknown fate.

"Come in." A voice as pure as a clear stream came from behind the door.

Michael tried his best to calm his nerves as he slowly pushed the closed door with a trembling hand, his heart beating a beat faster with each push, his eyes staring at the gradually opening doorway, eager to find out what was going on, to confirm what he had seen and remembered.

The door was finally pushed open, and the first thing that caught Michael's eye was still that familiar figure - Nancy, who had taken care of him like a "mom" for the past three years. At this moment, she was leaning over and whispering to someone else.

The voice of the other person was gentle and kind, with a wonderful soothing magic, as if it could make people instantly return to peace, from which they could obtain a full sense of security.

When the door opened completely, as expected, a "strange old man" appeared in front of us.

The "strange old man" noticed the teenager outside the door the moment it was pushed open. The boy stood there like a burning torch with an icy aura that seemed to freeze the eyes that were watching him.

The room was warm, and the old man knew that this was not an illusion, for he sensed the power of the fire that should have unleashed an all-consuming blaze, but did not burn others.

The "strange old man" turned to face Michael in the doorway, and revealed a smile as warm as the spring sun, saying: "Mr. Foster, I have taken the liberty of visiting you, but I have a gift to present to you, and I sincerely hope that you will be able to accept it with pleasure."

Michael tilted his head, and his eyes fell upon the tall, thin old man. He had intended to express his thanks to the other man as politely as his mother Nancy usually requested. However, a desperate desire for the truth prompted him to blurt out without thinking, "Who are you?"

"Seriously, I haven't introduced myself to you yet. I am the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Albus Dumbledore." As soon as the words left his mouth, Dumbledore cast a fire condensing spell on the glass of water on Nancy's desk, and in an instant, a ball of flame flared up in the glass out of nowhere, like a sudden explosion of thunder in the midst of silence, dripping with the wizard's magical spell.

Immediately after that, he turned his head to Nancy and said, "This child is a young wizard with great potential, just now we have already talked about the horrible things that had happened, if he continues to live here without being well guided, the things that will happen in the future are things that no one would like to witness."

Nancy listened to Dumbledore's words and her brows furrowed slightly as she pondered for a moment.

Afterwards, she slowly crouched down, that gentle gaze as if it were the warm spring sun, gazing into Michael's black jewel-like eyes. Still as gentle as ever, she listened to the child's wishes, "Michael, my child, do you wish to believe in Him? Is it your desire to receive the gifts He gives?"

After saying that, she pursed her lips, and after a moment of silence, she gently reached out and stroked Michael's dark hair adding, "If you don't want to, then no one can take you away from here without permission, you're a good boy, just different, and we all love you deeply."

"Mother Nancy, I would like to go to Hogwarts, I will prove that I am not a freak and I will never bring any more bad luck to the children's home. More than anything, I want to be able to help you!" Michael raised his head, his gaze unmistakable, and returned without hesitation.

"Well, I understand." Nancy smiled and nodded gently, her eyes filled with relief and hard-to-conceal dismay.

Dumbledore gently raised his arm and slowly opened his palm, and in this instant, a letter emitting a soft yellowish glow, as if it had traveled from another dimension, suddenly appeared in his wide palm, its light flickering in a breathtaking manner.

After handing the letter to Michael, he said solemnly, "I believe that after a period of training, you will definitely be able to better control those unstable magical powers and become an outstanding sorcerer. And now, it's time for you to view this gift."