Chapter 21: Hogwart's Letter

Reading through the letter in front of me I had a deep smile on my face knowing that I was now definitely heading for Hogwarts. I did wonder during the time I was waiting for this letter whether I could just go to another school instead away from everything for now however considering Hogwarts ancientness, its pure connection to merlin and how I'm aware of its layout and what it has to offer to some extent it felt like a better idea to stick with it as my school of choice if I did get the option to go elsewhere.

My letter seemed to be basically word for word similar to Harry's in the original canon when he gets admitted to Hogwarts, however there was one area that seemed to be added that Harrys didn't have. It was disclosed as such;

'Hogwarts Orphan Policy:

Due to the recipient of this admission being an Orphan, A member of the schools staff will arrive soon after this letter has been received in order to brief the student on what Hogwarts truly is, what it has to offer and so forth. This will also give time for the staff to explain the situation to the owner of the orphanage so they understand the situation as a whole also.

After this is all discussed, if the recipient is accepting of Hogwart's invitation, they will be escorted by the member of staff to Diagon Alley and in turn be escorted through Diagon Alley to buy their school supplies. The school supplies will be funded by Hogwarts if the orphan is incapable of purchasing everything they need themselves. After all is sorted, the orphan shall be given a room free of charge in the Leaky Cauldron pub for a couple of days until the start of the Hogwarts term…'

It made sense when read out. After all most orphans wouldn't have any clue what magic is and there would need to be some communication about what it is with both the orphan and the orphanage owner so the orphan could be admitted to Hogwarts safely. Seeing that I would get escorted though I started to wonder who would be the one to escort me. Would it be Hagrid like in the canon with Harry or could it be another teacher?

As I furrowed my brow both Nana and Melony looked at me questioning. Nana was the first to break the silence.

"Is something the matter Oz?"

"No, it's nothing big. Since I'm an orphan there's an orphan policy attached to the letter. Apparently soon a person from Hogwarts will come and explain to me and also to you about magic. Of course… I already knew about it and told you so to keep suspicion low around me I'd hope you could pretend you had no idea…?"

Nana and Melony both looked at each other and nodded. Melony smiled with a confused expression whilst stating;

"Magic? Never even heard of it"

I smiled at Melony's response. It would be a lot more straightforward this way. If whoever came caught on to the fact I already knew and had told Nana and Melony issues might have arisen. Now that I think about it though… maybe it was a complete waste me hiding magic in the first place if someone would have explained it to Nana and Melony eventually due to this policy... Then again, explaining sooner personally allowed them to give me space to practice and even make sure no other kids followed me when I practiced so in the long run it was the better call. It also went a long way as they trusted me more now after me coming clean about it personally. It worked out in the end anyway so it should all be okay.

"Also in this policy it states when you've been explained to about what 'Hogwarts' and 'Magic' is, I'll be taken to Diagon Alley by the staff member and along to buy my school supplies. When they are all bought I'll be put in a room in the Leaky Cauldron and from then be expected to catch the train at Kings Cross station, Platform 9 3/4 , when the train is due to leave…"

"Leaky Cauldron? Wasn't that the place you stayed at last time you scattered off? Looks like you'll be all okay then since its familiar territory~"

Melony made a quick jab at my actions when I was younger as I explained the rest of the letter to both her and Nana. Reading a few more bits until the end I sat down with them and explained what we should do when the staff member arrived.

Basically, I wanted them to pretend they didn't know what magic was. This of course included any mention of me 'practicing' already and brewing any potions. Usually I wouldn't be so stringent on this however the Hogwarts staff aren't all completely dumb. If they piece together a young orphan who knew they had magic telling their guardians they had magic and if Nana also slipped and mentioned me heading to Diagon Alley/London already, they may link me to the Descendant of Merlin that's recently appeared or at least place suspicion on me.

I understood eventually that it would become public knowledge and I would take that title then in stride however for now whilst it was up in the air who the Descendant of Merlin was I wanted it to remain that way. Peace and quiet whilst I find my foothold in wizardry was what I wanted, not constant pestering from other students, teachers and so forth who want connections with me knowing I'm the descendant of a legendary wizard.

The canon shift notification hadn't occurred in regards to Hogwarts and my new second name in the wizarding world yet so I could only imagine that information was still contained to Gringotts and the ministry. How long that would last though… I didn't know. It was frustrating someone had to escort me to Diagon Alley and to the shops as that meant those people I told my name to, if they were there, could blow my cover. I'd have to hope I can tell whoever appears to stay outside whilst I go in or better yet if they do that of their own accord.

Speaking of which, I also would need to hide the extension pouch I had however that was easily done. I'll just place all I need in it and shove it deep into my pocket. The fact I was being escorted also meant they'd take me to Ollivanders… if a wand doesn't connect to me in there should I just come out and show Merlin's one pretending it was the one that connected to me? I guess a lot of this I'll have to improvise when it happens.

"By the way Nana…"

"Hmm? What is it Oz?"

"Why did you throw the letter at me to catch? Couldn't you have just passed it to me?"

Nana chocked a bit on her drink as she looked towards me with an embarrassed smile. Ever since she had that potion I gave her she had been in the best health she had ever been in. She even looked a bit younger now due to it and along with that slight de-aging, she seemed to act wilful at times…

"Because… it seemed like it would be cool?"

"Pfft"

Melony couldn't contain herself as she let out a snort at her grandmothers innocent words. I chuckled alongside her also before placing the letter into my pocket.

"I wonder when this staff member will come then"

Nana tried to change the topic of the conversation by bringing this point up.

"It won't be long, I'd even say it could be as soon as tomorrow considering its nearing the end of summer and the new term now"

Nana and Melony noticeably seemed a bit sombre on this point. I had told them now a few times my plans for when I went to Hogwarts. I didn't want to return to here during the summers, I wanted to seek out Merlin's legacy when I could. If I needed a place, I would come back to here of course however if It was in the realm of possibility I'd rather stay in the Wizarding World.

"I'll still send letters don't you worry… I imagine you'll get well acquainted with the Owl ill pick in Diagon Alley"

"Wait wait wait… you get to pick an owl!?"

Ah that's right I hadn't mentioned this point yet.

"That's right Mel. It's usually a choice between a few pets but considering I need to send letters to you both I'll get an owl there, He or she will come to you with letters and probably rest here from time to time so you'll get used to him quickly. Make sure to look after him when they're around"

Melony seemed to be excited at the prospect of seeing an owl especially one that she could look after. She seemed to be the sort of girl who enjoyed looking after animals to the point where I thought she would want to be a veterinarian or something. However I guess her drive to look after this orphanage overtook her passion with looking after animals. With the way some of the kids acted here though they were just like animals...

"It's getting late Oz and it seems you'll have a busy day tomorrow. Why don't you head up off to bed?"

Nana gave me a warm smile as she suggested as such. I nodded and headed on up to my room.

.

Entering my room I sat down on my bed and sorted through all my belongings. The notes I had made, all the miscellaneous things I had scattered in my room magic wise I put in the extension pouch neatly and tidily.

It started to dawn on me that after 6 years in this world I would soon be at Hogwarts, the fated destination. Would I do okay there? What would happen with the canon story due to me being around and doing things different? I honestly couldn't know.

In regards to the canon though I decided before I even came too properly in this world that I would do what I wanted. If I wanted to step in I would if I deemed it a good idea however I wouldn't constantly step in on my own time. Harry needed to grow after all and I'm not about to handhold the lad through school like a helper, he needed to grow up himself even if that meant some trials and tribulations being thrown his way. I could aid him sometimes, maybe even expose his terrible living situation, but in school I would keep minimal interaction from them all searching for what I wanted first and foremost. Searching to reach the 'height' of magic and absorb all the knowledge I could. With occlumency making some more strides my already decent memory was further strengthened, I was able to memorise things more easily so retaining information would be a lot faster now...

It may seem weird not wanting to connect with anyone at school however I deemed those sorts of connections as ties. I couldn't avoid Nana and Melony as they owned the orphanage I arrived to in this world and I owed a great deal to them for looking after me as I grew and got used to this place however for Hogwarts though it was simple to ignore the kids there if I wanted. I didn't find it fun or interesting anyway to make friends with 11 year olds when my mind was now 27 years old counting my previous life. It would feel fake to begin with, just like when I tried to connect with the kids here at the orphanage, it just wasn't something I was capable of.

It would definitely be a lonely time at school due to this decision however I was content with that fact regardless. After all, I knew now I had somewhere to return to and people who knew me for who I was truly. With that in mind, playing this solo would be easier and I could focus more on myself instead of the constant help of others and needing to keep friends in a social circle.

Looking out at the moon in the sky I realised my thoughts had brought me late into the night now. Tucking myself into bed I started to get a long nice sleep…