Birthday, books and family
Wordcount: 2328. (The most i've ever written. If you think this chapter is too long and it would be better if it is like spaced up let me know!)
12-04-1917
I was awakened by singing. I opened my eyes, confused by the strange noise.
"Happy birthday to you!!" Sofia sang. I groaned and looked at her.
"Good morning to you too, Sofia. I totally forgot it was my birthday," I told her while rubbing my eyes.
It seems my birthday is the same in this world too. I turned 10 today, which means I have a year before my letter arrives. Sofia interrupted my thoughts as she said, "Come downstairs; we have freshly baked bread for you." I looked shocked at Sofia. That is way out of the budget of the orphanage. Even though we are pure and half-bloods living here, the sacred 28 don't care about us. We are orphans from small-time pureblood families; most of us living here are the last of our line. So they don't care; they barely give us enough money to get by. Many times I've heard the matron complaining about it.
"Thank you so much, Sofia. I know how hard it is to get the bread. Let's go." I quickly jumped out of bed. Sofia chuckled at my excitement. I followed her out of the door through the melancholic halls. The smell of fresh bread made my mouth water, and excitement slowly increased.
Arriving at the table, I saw almost everyone seated.
There are 10 children, including me, at this orphanage. I'm not particularly acquainted with the kids. Their names are Serena Harper, Elias Bennett, Maya Donovan, Dexter Chambers, Stella Rodriguez, Owen Mercer, Elara Nash, Finnian Gallagher, and Lila Caldwell.
I was well acquainted with Elias Bennett. We often talked about stuff together. He's quite interesting. He's the quiet type until you get to know him. When you get to know Elias, you'll know that he's mischievous. We play little pranks on each other like putting too much salt in the porridge and little things like that. The matron doesn't like that; she can get really mad since food and seasoning are quite scarce.
Elias comes from the Bennett family. They used to be a strong magical family but got into the pureblood culture too much, and their bloodline slowly got destroyed. Like the Habsburg family with their jaws. Elias is currently the last known magical member of the Bennett family. His other family all died out or were crippled due to inbreeding making them unfit as guardians.
My thoughts were interrupted by the matron: "Nathan, now that you are 10 years old, you'll be allowed to study the first-year curriculum. After dinner, you'll be allowed into the library to get yourself a copy of the first-year books." The matron tells me with a slight smile. "Yes, thank you, matron." I tell her with excitement shown on my face.
In the orphanage, it is a tradition that when you turn 10 years of age, you'll be allowed to read the first-year books. The reason for this was to even the chances with the other half and pureblood children as they get tutored from a young age.
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3rd POV
Dinner went by quickly. Nathan enjoyed the rare luxury of bread and the congratulations of the other orphans. It's been a long time since his birthday felt like something special. This certainly was a moment he will cherish dearly. In his last life, most of his family died early, and only celebrated his birthdays with Elanor, which isn't bad in any way but finally having a lot of people congratulating him meant a lot to him.
Nathan was currently following the matron to the library. They entered the library. "You'll be allowed all of the first-year books for reading. But don't even think about trying any of the magic. Not only do you not have a wand, you don't have a teacher. I don't have the time to teach you. So promise me you'll only read and that you won't experiment." The matron told me sternly. "I promise matron. I'll only be reading the books and won't experiment." Nathan tells her seriously. "I hope you'll heed my warning; I don't want to have to clean your remains after a failed transfiguration." The matron says shocking Nathan with her brutal words. Nathan was visibly shaken by her words and quickly nodded.
The matron left the library (A/n: I couldn't find any books used at this time, so I'll be using the later ones except for the Fantastic Beasts one for obvious reasons. I'm sorry, and I know this takes away the realism of the story but bear with me. Later on, when I have more time, I'll do deeper research into the books. Thank you for understanding!)
Nathan looked at the table where the following books were laying:
The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1 by Miranda Goshawk
A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot
Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling
A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore]
Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble
Nathan grabbed the first book titled "The Standard Book of Spells." The contents of the book were about the difference between charms and dark charms and the first-year charms like: Wand-lighting charms, Severing charm, Unlocking charm. Nathan recognized most of these charms as they were used a lot in the movies and books. After a quick skim through the book, Nathan grabbed the second book. Which was titled: A History of magic. Most of the writing in this book was about the witch burnings and the statute of secrecy. Nathan liked history but the way Binns taught it demotivated him a lot.
The next book was: Magical Theory (A/n: the contents of this book are not very clear so I'll just try to make something up. If you notice any inconsistencies or have any feedback on how to make it more viable, please let me know) This book talks about where magic comes from. Like the leylines and is produced by the living species themselves, like oxygen. How magic becomes part of our body and how the amount your body can store is like a muscle that needs to be trained. The book describes things like magical exhaustion and certain rituals can help with magical growth. But rituals in magical Britain are forbidden, and the book doesn't specify about the rituals.
Nathan was quite disappointed that it didn't specify further, but it is a book that is meant for 11-year-olds. The following book was the transfiguration book. The book was mostly theory and a lot of warnings. There were a few spells but more would have to wait until later years. Nathan's reading session was interrupted by the matron. It was time for lunch
1st POV
Lunch went by quickly, and I was curious about my family; I wanted to know more. Most fan fiction that I read had MCs who had insanely powerful families. I walked over to the matron's office. Knock "Come in," the matron said. I entered her office, "Ah, the man of the hour. What can I do for you?" The matron asks joyfully
"Good afternoon matron, I am growing quite curious about my family. Do you know where I could maybe find out more about them?" I asked her.
"And what has made you so curious?" The matron asked, surprised by my question.
"I've always been curious. I want to know more about mother and father and their parents. I never got the chance to meet them, but I'm still curious." I said, sounding sad. I wasn't faking the sadness. The feelings of the original Nathan are still with me. Her gaze softened, and she said, "Well, Nathan, as it is your birthday, I'll take you to Gringotts. Your family has a vault there, so that means they have an account manager. The account manager will probably be able to tell you something, but I won't promise you anything." My eyes lit up as I heard her answer. "When can we go?" I asked excitedly. "Come to my office in an hour," The matron said with a slight smile on her face.
After a very long hour, I walked up to the matron's office. "Hello Nathan, are you ready?" The matron asked me joyfully. "Yes ma'am," I answered politely. She told me to grab her arm, and we apparated in front of the Leaky Cauldron. After entering, we went to Diagon Alley's entrance and walked towards Gringotts. At the entrance of Gringotts, there was another pair of doors with the following words:
Enter, stranger, but take heed Of what awaits the sin of greed For those who take, but do not earn, Must pay most dearly in their turn. So if you seek beneath our floors A treasure that was never yours, Thief, you have been warned, beware Of finding more than treasure there.
After passing through those doors, we got to a counter. The matron asked the goblin: "Good afternoon, with me I have Mr. Randall who would like to speak to his family-appointed account manager." The goblin looked up from his desk and eyed us with annoyance seen on his face. "Branbock is currently busy. Wait 10 minutes; he will come over to you." He said quickly with a monotone and cold voice.
We waited 10 minutes, and a goblin could be seen walking over to us. "Mr. Rendell, you can come with me," The goblin said while grumbling something in his language. "Thank you, mister," I tell him. The matron and I stand up while the goblin suddenly says, "Only Mr. Rendell." The matron looks encouragingly at me and says, "Go on. I'll wait for you." I give her a confident nod and follow the goblin.
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3rd POV
Nathan and the goblin are walking through Gringotts halls. After walking for a few minutes, they enter an office. The office is filled with weaponry, gold, and skeletons of fierce-looking beasts. Nathan was staring at the skeletons. They were very scary-looking. The goblin noticed his stare. "Ha, little wizard. These skeletons are from my right of conquest. In my younger years, I was quite adventurous. The caves are filled with these beasts, and we clean them out. They are now my proud conquest." The room was cold, yet all of the stuff in it gave it a certain warmth. They sat down at his desk.
"So little wizard. Why did you want to speak with me?" The goblin asked Nathan.
"As you know, I'm currently the last of my line. Not that my line is a big one. But I'm still curious about them. The orphanage could only tell me so much. I wondered if you could tell me more about them, seeing as you are my family's account manager." Nathan explained to Branbock. The goblin seemed to be intrigued after my explanation.
"Ah yes. I've been an account manager for your family for 3 generations. My father was the one before that. Your family is only considered pure because of the 3 plus generations of wizards. Your father was a muggle-born, and your mother was a half-blood. Your grandmother was a muggle-born, and your grandfather was a pureblood. As most families have a specialization, like the Greengrasses with their herbs, etc. Your family, to the outside world, wasn't special. But between them, specifically your family's first wizard member. He was a natural Occlumens and wrote a book for his members on how to master Occlumency.
"Now, what is Occlumency, you may wonder. Occlumency is the power to protect the mind against its antagonist, Legilimency. The art of invading the many layers of someone's mind. Occlumency isn't just used for defending the mind. It's a way of controlling your emotions and actions and many more things which you will find out on your path."
Nathan was shocked to hear this. The revelation that his family had such power. It wasn't a very well-known power and said to be hard to master, but still. This gave Nathan more hope of becoming someone powerful. But one thing bothered Nathan.
"But sir Branbock, I am the last of my line. How will I be able to learn this? There is no one left to teach me," Nathan tells Branbock, his voice full of concern.
"That's where you are wrong, little one." His gaze softened. "Your great-grandfather saved my father's life. My father was so thankful that he pledged his life to help his family where he could. They became great friends. In secret, of course. Your great-grandfather decided to entrust my family with the book of Occlumency to give on. As he didn't trust wizards. And now it has been a tradition for my family to give the book to the children once they turn 11. And worry not. The book is designed to teach it to you. The stronger you get, the more of its power will be revealed to you." Branbock tells Nathan. Hearing this story, Nathan was bewildered. Such a story of friendship between races that hated each other was rare. "Thank you so much for telling me, sir!" Nathan says emotionally to Branbock. "No problem, little one. Come see me when you're 11. You'll get the book." After leaving his office we went back home. The matron did not ask me anything about our conversation. The day ended with dinner and a little cake. Nathan was too tired to read and slept peacefully.
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A/n: second chapter. Please leave any constructive feedback or tips. I saw that people were almost offended that I already did a word count chapter. I don't know why they care so much. I was just curious if they could make the ranking as there is a word requirement. Please next time if y'all want to ask something, ask it nicely its exhausting to read those comments that attack you for doing something that isn't even bad. It's tiring and demotivating.
Thank you for understanding.
Have a wonderful day!