6

Walking out of Ollivander's, I literally stumbled into the dimensionless Hagrid waiting for me outside.

- Whoa! Careful, Harry! Are you hurt?

- No," I replied, quickly backing away to a safe distance. How could he be a wizard and smell like that? Well, no wonder, considering that even the mice in his pocket had died and had been there for some unknown amount of time.

- I've been..." Hagrid said, sounding a little shy, which was actually quite frightening. - Here," he held out the cage, which had a snowy owl inside it. I looked at it carefully and almost croaked. Man, I'd forgotten all about that moment. And yet he sold me the most eye-catching owl of all! But I don't see what the big deal is. If you want to send something inconspicuous, you can use school owls. And this white beauty... I don't want it back, do I?

Sighing, he took the cage, set it down on the pavement, opened his suitcase and took the cage and the bird down the stairs inside, reminding himself with every step that he had given money to a really good cause. The stairs led to a marble floor in a corridor with an exit to the street at the end. The walls had the usual paintings of nature and the sea against a background of blue and gold wallpaper. It was clearly not cheap. The corridor was flanked by doors leading to adjoining rooms and a staircase to the first floor, which was a converted attic. There was a bedroom and access to a loggia. On the ground floor there was a study, a kitchen, a dining room and a living room with a fireplace.

I opened the cage outside and an owl hopped out, happily circling the huge valley that fit into my suitcase. There was also a veranda with a barbecue in the yard, and several separate workshops: a potion room, an artefact room, and just a shed with all sorts of tools. Behind the house was a field for a vegetable garden and an orchard. I picked a juicy, ripe apple from one of the trees and ate it immediately, looking up at the clouds in the blue sky and enjoying the warm sunshine. There was a gentle breeze and the leaves on the trees in the garden were rustling. It was really an amazing feeling! But, shaking, I woke up and walked back out of the trunk to Hagrid's surprised look.

- Erm, it's... it's a box house, isn't it?

- Aha! I've never had a home of my own! And here, home is always with me! I just couldn't resist buying it, Hagrid," I said, making the most pitiful face I could. And Hagrid was immediately sympathetic, taking out his handkerchief and blowing his nose. I also made a happy, crying face. - And now my home is always with me! I can always go there and enjoy my thoughts! It's... it's... so wonderful...

And we both burst into tears. No, I wasn't playing around then; it was the kind of house I'd always wanted, the kind I could always take with me. All that remains is to find a way to take it with me, even between worlds. And I will find a way!

I went to the chemist and bought all the dragon hearts I had. I had to hit the cheque book again, but having Shrieks in my arsenal was an incredible survival advantage in whatever might follow Hogwarts. Even if the exams change, I can get through a lot by screaming. Really, no one needs to know about this trump card of mine. And the goblins wouldn't spill the beans.

Back on Yew Street, I made my way to my cupboard flat, where I put all my purchases and things I needed into my bag. Then I went to the suitcase house to tidy it up. Luckily, with magic, it's not that difficult.

So there I was, standing at the station, patting Molly Weasley on the arm and pointing her to the right-hand aisle of platform nine and three-quarters.

- Mrs, are you all right? There's the corridor. Why are you shouting all over the station? - The Weasley family looked at me in shock. Just five minutes ago, this fat lady was screaming at the top of her lungs about where the platform was. And even though she has three sons at the school, one has graduated and one is enrolled. And her daughter is going next year, and she herself went to the same school and took the same train. Is she senile?

- Go away, boy, and stay out of the way of the grown-ups,' she replied immediately, shouting at the whole platform. And I shrugged my shoulders and went through the right wall, carrying my suitcase and shoulder bag.

The platform greeted me with a depressurised locomotive and the homon sounds of many adults and children. Some were already seated in the carriages, others were talking to relatives through the compartment windows. Some were crying and hugging their parents. All were dressed in different ways, but most were teenagers in school uniforms and mages in robes.

I took my round glasses out of my pocket and put them on, then with a flick of my fingers I changed from plain clothes to school uniform and bravely made my way to the train. As I climbed the steel steps, I inhaled the unforgettable smell of the railway: the smell of fuel, oil and steel. And then I walked down the corridor, looking in each compartment for a spare. And one was found at the very end.

He put his suitcase and bag on the luggage rack, sat down in the left-hand corner of the compartment, took a book on the laws of the magical world from a large pocket on the inside of his robe and began to read, jotting down occasional notes in a notebook so that he could understand it better later with the help of other literature.

Someone went in and out of the compartment. I did not mind, because knowledge of the law can help me in many ways. Good thing I have a law degree and a lot of extra knowledge from other splinters. However, I had to pull myself away from studying the book when I noticed that a good half of the page was covered by a girl's head with brown hair.

- Oh! So these are the laws of the magical world behind this year's Ministry edition! I thought you were reading with such interest," she finally pulled her head away. I managed to lift my eyes from the lines and saw that the compartment was full. Sitting across from me was the red-haired boy who was with that unwell woman, Ron Weasley, I think. Sorry, but after reading the law in depth, the brain works with some difficulty and needs time to relax. And this redhead looked wolfishly at the man sitting next to him... Draco Malfoy, who looked at me with interest, assessing my clothes. He must have remembered my speech at Madam Malkin's shop, because I was dressed plainly, but the clothes still reeked of quality and price. And sitting next to me was Hermione Granger herself. - I read it myself, but I gave up on the third book, it was too complicated, so I was distracted by books on spells and Transfiguration. What do you think of the Laws?

- I wonder what kind of fool wrote them," he replied, glancing at the notes in his notebook. And Hermione was at a loss for words at my reply. - Some of the laws contradict each other, the wording and some of the arguments are too vague. Much would have to be learned from other books. And the ban on dark spells completely killed it.

- Why? It's useful and necessary!

- I know it's useful, but it says here in black and white that the Ministry reserves the right to call anything they want black magic. Which is strange, to say the least. After all, I've read the list of forbidden spells, and many of them are very useful in medicine, capable of curing a huge amount of the magical world's sick. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Hmmm... but I must be missing something, or I don't have enough data.

- Yes! That must be it! - Hermione nodded immediately.

It's a good thing I gave her a loophole in the dialogue, because otherwise my brain would have started to flicker and I would have realised that I was prying into things that other people shouldn't know about.

- Look, what's your name? - Hermione turned to me.

- James,' I said immediately. I wondered if they'd recognise me. I took off my glasses, folded them and put them in my pocket. - What about you?

- Hermione," the girl smiled a little embarrassed.

- Ron Weasley," the redhead cut in front of Draco, who looked at her condescendingly.

- Draco Malfoy," he introduced himself, giving me a sly wink as if he wasn't going to pass.

- And what department do you want to go to? - Hermione asked me.

- Я...

- Pfft! Gryffindor, of course! - Ron chimed in with his opinion, which hadn't really been asked. - Only dark wizards would go to Slytherin, only lazy and stupid people would go to Hufflepuff. And only boring nerds would go to Ravenclaw!

- Then you're going straight to the badgers,' I glared at him.

- Hey! Why is that? - he jumped up.

- Because you're lazy and stupid for thinking like that.

- Well, if you're so smart, then tell me about the abilities!

- Okay," I shrugged and gave him a serious look that made Draco's mouth twitch slightly. - There are four faculties, because the founders and creators of Hogwarts were four: Salazar Slytherin, after whom the Green Faculty was named. This faculty produces future politicians, clever and sensible people with a certain set of talents, such as Potions and Defence Against the Dark Arts. A faculty of future politicians and businessmen. Exaggerated, but true.

The second, Gryffindor. Named after Godric Gryffindor. It requires brave, determined, groundbreaking students with a lot of magic and a penchant for destruction. It is, after all, a martial arts school.

The third, Hufflepuff. Also named after one of the school's founders. Their paths are basically support, medicine, zoology, herbalism. Despite being looked down upon, they're indispensable to everyone, because who would you go to if you were injured or cursed by the enemy? The healers. So don't get cocky, or they won't treat you and you'll die a young, stupid idiot.

And the last is Ravenclaw. Also named after its founder. It's the Faculty of Intelligence and Scholarship. This is where the Ministry of Magic's Secret Service comes from, in case you didn't know. They're the ones who study new things and drive the progress of the magical world. They create new spells, artefacts, potions and the like. Without them, the magical world would have stagnated and degenerated long ago. So you must respect them. In short," I finished my story, looking at a surprised Malfoy, a shocked Hermione and a panting Ron.

- Gryffindor is still the best house! And Dumbledore himself came out of it! - Weasley said so.

- No one's stopping you from believing that," he shrugged. - But you have to respect the rest of the faculty, because they're important too.

- So that's it," Hermione chimed in. - This is unexpected.

- Where were you going?

- Gryffindor," the only girl in our group said thoughtfully. - What about you?

- I don't know," he shook his head thoughtfully. - Everything looks good to me. I'm not much of a scholar, though. So I probably won't get into Ravenclaw. Politician... I don't know. Gryffindor... high probability. Hufflepuff is a dream. Quiet, peaceful and I'll always get through. So I'm hoping for Hufflepuff. But Gryphons aren't bad either. Have you changed your mind about Gryffindor?

- I've been reading a lot and I want to do as much as I can for the magical world. I mean, housewives, that's slavery...

And so it went. Hermione accused wizards of practicing slavery, Malfoy countered, Ron couldn't understand a thing and wasn't interested. And I went back to the book, but another one. Someone else came into the compartment. Hermione was off somewhere, Malfoy had a fight with Weasley. I didn't care, I was reading. But when it almost came to a fight, I used psionics and both rebels fell asleep at the same time, hugging each other in their sleep. I even set special runes to record their awakening. And back to the world of Transfiguration. Quite interesting, but not the moment of transformation from inanimate to inanimate, but the moment of the highest level of transfiguration - animagia. The possibility of transforming oneself into one's animal form. I'd suspected mine, but anything could happen, so I'd check it out when I got a good look at it.

When the train arrived, I grabbed my bag and suitcase and stepped off, despite the conductor shouting that you could leave things in the compartment. Well, to hell with relying on all sorts of housekeepers. My suitcase cost over two thousand galleons. I don't think I'll leave it with anyone. But when the headmen came to me on the way out, I shrank both my bag and my suitcase a few times and put them in my pocket.

- Can we go now? - and the chiefs, swooning at such a clever decision, let me go to the gathering giant of the first generation.

Then there was the path and the boats and the view of the castle. To tell the truth, only the young and the green are amazed by the view of the castle at night, deliberately illuminated by a multitude of lights. But I, who have lived many lives and been in many castles and fortresses, saw something quite different. Yes, the castle was impressive. But you could see that the defensive walls were no good, although the lake around it was a good natural protection, but besides the protection there was permanent damp and wind, and therefore wild winter cold and draughts. And in general, high humidity and a lot of disease associated with it. Of course, the magic castle is not a pound of sultanas, and there may be a lot of special devices for comfortable living, but I doubt it, remembering the canon. And if you look with special vision, with the mana of darkness and shadows in your eyes, you can see a weakened, on-duty protective field, and a number of places where magical communication is not active at all, or is almost disabled for one reason or another. But most interesting of all was the fact that many of the power circuits ran through the foundations, into the depths of the island on which Hogwarts stood. Yes, and the special gold and blue lines went there too. Which meant I had to visit the cellars of this castle and find the hub. If I can understand the principle and control of the castle's magical structures, it will open up an incredible amount of possibilities, up to and including activating an anti-seduction magical active defence. I can also use the attack on the castle, and if there are aggressive monsters like trolls, volan de mort and basilisks, I can get a barrage of protection on the enemy, which would be a real shame. But before that, you'll have to work hard to regenerate magical structures and energy pathways. That's interesting. And it'll keep me busy for a long time in my spare time.

As we docked at the castle, Hagrid gathered everyone together and led them to the main tower, which we entered to the delight of Harry inside me. Yes, it was the first time he'd ever had such an experience, so I tossed him a few more orbs with views of the wizarding cities of Sumer, the elves, the dwarves and, most importantly, the alves. The latter are incredibly beautiful and, at first glance, airy castles built into the vast heights of the mountains, where an ordinary human would find it difficult to breathe due to the lack of oxygen. Let him enjoy the sight of the true art of magical and runic buildings. Not this almost ruined antiquity.

Upon entering, I felt a faint and somehow doomed sense of the castle's attention. As if someone unbelievably old was looking for a long-awaited and unbelievably welcome guest. But he had already seen so many people that he did not expect to meet this one. My attention slipped over me and moved on to others, but after a few seconds it returned, and then the heart of the castle quivered. I felt the incredible joy and hope of this ancient magical stronghold. It was hopeful and begging. So, as I walked down the corridor, I touched the walls and stroked them with my fingertips, feeling a mutual warmth and almost tears of joy. Somehow, it seemed, the castle sensed my essence of the shard and that I could help it. Now there was no turning away from helping it, and I wanted to do it myself. After all, this castle holds so many secrets and possibilities...

Hagrid handed us over to a sternly dressed woman in glasses and a robe, who told us to wait until everything was ready for us, and left us behind the double doors to the main hall. And within a minute, ghosts began to fly above us, appearing out of nowhere in the corridor, seeping through the walls and startling the arrivals, and immediately, by reflex alone, I transformed the sand in my pocket into salt mixed with black pepper and, taking a handful, crossed my fingers and whispered a few lines of prayer to the Creator. Then I sprinkled some of it around me and prepared to throw it at any ectoplasmic that came my way. But the spirit that flew at me hit a wall when it got to the salt I had scattered around me, and got oddly smeared all over the invisible barrier. It didn't kill me, but it was a hell of a lot worse. I was in the middle of a fight, and the rest of the ghosts were instantly away from me and the spot where their comrade had been so badly hit. I was right, it was automatic!

Heh, so much for the memory of a man who'd become a paladin of the Creator in one of the worlds. There are a thousand and one life-saving tricks like that in there. Salt and pepper is the simplest. Holy water is more difficult, but the effect is more powerful. It affects ghosts and demons as well as acid and fire. The only downside is that the effect is short-lived. But it might save your skin. However, in this day and age, this reflex has become quite frankly superfluous and unnecessary.

As people stared in amazement at the ghost's literal pancake, I carefully, and as inconspicuously as possible, erased part of the salt and pepper circle and deftly moved to another spot. The ghost returned to normal, scratched his head in amazement and, after a while, walked through the wall, whispering to himself. The other ghosts, shocked to say the least, began to scatter as well. And the people in the corridor with me immediately began to discuss the strangeness of this ghost, which seemed to have been hit by a reinforced concrete wall at great speed. But these conversations were cut short by the return of McGonagall, who led us into a huge hall lit by a huge number of floating candles and a night sky instead of a ceiling with a bunch of stars. The illusion was of such quality that if I hadn't known it was overcast outside, I would have thought it was the real sky I was looking at.

Then the director made a speech and sang a song from a hat on a stool. A fascinating artefact, I tell you! It had so many spells and weaves wrapped around it (!) that I could hardly believe it was a simple artefact capable of identifying people into faculties. Especially since its appearance was nothing more than a material illusion. But underneath so much magical weaving and glowing magic, its true appearance could not be seen. This artefact could hardly have been created by one of the founders of the school, for many of the techniques in its weaves were borrowed from Sumer. And there was also the smell of a divine object from a mile away. But what was stranger was that there was a very, very powerful spirit in it. This indicated that a powerful shaman had been involved in its creation. I didn't know of any such founders.

As soon as the hat had finished its song, trivialising everyone's ears with its voice, the headmaster announced the allocation and McGonagall, unfolding the scroll, began to read out the names. Those named came out, sat on a stool and put on a hat that covered the children's heads up to their chins. When she had seated herself on the head of the candidate, she would loudly announce the faculty. The uniform of the person announced took on the colours of his faculty and his own coat of arms on his chest.

Gradually, more and more people went through the distribution, and finally I was the last. Realistically, I should have been named a long time ago! I stood there in utter bewilderment at what was happening.

- The last pupil! Headmaster," McGonagall handed the scroll to the headmaster, and he looked at me with the same confused look, his eyebrows raised. So much so that I thought they would lift his extravagant hat. He conferred with Minerva and, coming to no conclusion, showed the scroll to Flitwick, who jumped to his feet and nearly fell off his chair when he saw what was written. He rudely snatched the scroll from Minerva's hand, looked at it, at me, and then, after whispering something to Dumbledore and Minerva, got up and walked majestically to McGonagall's seat, where she was announcing the names of the candidates.

- Don't be surprised at what's going to happen! - he said to everyone at first. He looked around at the incomprehensible students, took a deep breath, straightened his shoulders and then said something that made my jaw drop. And the conspiracy rattled at every available seam!

- Aye! Deinmar Dowa Dur Turi! Dowa Parke So Maar! (Greetings! Lord Protector of the Dragon Curse! True Dragon!) - at this phrase in a language unknown to anyone but me and this half-goblin, everyone literally dropped their jaws to the floor. Even McGonagall and Dumbledore. And the half-goblin literally glowed with the pride and honour that had been bestowed upon him. Where did he come from? Not to mention, how could a human and a goblin get together?! Who taught him the language of Dov? - Well, to put it in plain English - my heart almost stopped at that sentence! - Harold James Potter, come to the hat.

And the old bastard blinked! Imperceptibly, because at that moment everyone was still trying to understand the phrase spoken in an unknown language. Surprised at what had happened without any acting, I went to a stool, took my hat, sat down and put it on my head in complete silence.

- Hm-hm-hm-hm," sighed the hat thoughtfully. - What shall I do? There's determination and honour and pride here, and a strength beyond anything I've ever seen, not counting ancient times... I'm at a loss, young man. To tell you the truth, a senile old man with a beard that has bells in it has been very insistent that you be placed in Gryffindor. However, I'm confused and, frankly, afraid to go along with him. So I ask you, where would you like to go?

- And... where would you recommend it? - The conversation took place in the upper mental layers, so no one else would have been able to hear the dialogue.

- Hmm... You have leadership experience, and hero experience, and villain experience, and even non-human experience, and god experience... I'm confused," the hat said honestly. - You can go to any department, for you can be a scholar, or an incredible battle mage, or the greatest healer, or the greatest politician this world has ever seen. But I would advise you to choose the faculty you have been thinking so loudly about, for it is much better in some circumstances. Although I cannot understand why a man like you should study here.

- It is the law of the world," I mentally shrugged.

- Then..." and the silence of the hall was shattered by a loud decision of the hat.