A wizard's clothing store has a limited variety. Most of them are simply ugly and hideously out of date, but beggars can't be choosers. Professor McGonagall bought me some attire to wear using her own money, and she told me that I would need to pay it back at least once I am able to earn some money for myself.
Following our quick trip to the clothing store, we proceeded to our main destination for the evening, the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts.
We didn't apparate there, though, because that's plainly banned; instead, Professor McGonagall instructed me on how to use the Floo powder. We just used the network that was available at the clothing store, but we must wait a few moments to ensure that it is connected to the location.
After the wait was over, the professor demonstrated how it's done by going into the fireplace first, and I followed with my new suitcase that was filled with clothing.
As the powder touched the ground, the greenish fire engulfed me whole, and the next thing I knew, I was in a different location that was far more magical than the last. I could see moving portraits of individuals hanging on the wall, bizarre gadgets that moved on their own, and peculiar fragrances that I had never smelled before.
I awoke from my trance and stepped away from the fireplace to explore further. As I approached a desk, I noticed an antique hat that appeared to be displayed and was encased by clear glass. Though it didn't speak, I could tell that this was the sorting hat.
As I continued, I began to hear whispers around me, and I noticed wisps of light moving around the space as if it were normal, but the wisps seemed to be headed in a certain path, towards the upper floor of the room, specifically a pedestal on it.
Huh, that's rather strange.
But then, I finally noticed that it wasn't just me and the professor in the room; there were two other people: one was an old man dressed in an odd purple robe, and the other was dressed in a formal Victorian-style suit. They were whispering on the room's upper floor.
"I cannot believe that this kind of thing happened right in the middle of when we were going to hold the triwizard tournament here. There has to be an error in the book." The man in the suit appeared to be frustrated as he spoke to the old man. Even a child can see that the source of his annoyance is me.
"Cornelius, the book is never wrong," the old man stated quietly. "His name is clearly written; we must send the invitation, which he accepted."
"Is it still possible to decline or reject him?" Cornelius inquired, almost desperate. "The ministry cannot handle this right now; we have too many responsibilities."
"What is there to be concerned about? it is just one student."
"We must thoroughly investigate his background, the ministry only has minimal data of him, and he has no relatives whatsoever, it's like he appeared out of nowhere! who knows what he will do in the tournament and potentially ruin—"
"Cornelius," the old man whispered quietly. "Hogwarts never turned down a student who wanted to learn. Let me handle this; there have been cases identical to his in previous centuries, and we will use those occurrences to create a curriculum suited for him."
Cornelius let out a sigh. "Very well, Albus, you're the headmaster; I trust you could handle it. But make certain that he does not do anything that jeopardises the reputation of my administration throughout the tournament."
The old man nodded. "You have my word."
Professor McGonagall suddenly cleared her throat forcefully, seemingly interrupting the conversation. The two men turned towards her, having now noticed me and the professor in the room.
"Ah, Minerva, I see you've arrived with the man of the hour." The old man, who was unmistakably Dumbledore, smiled at us. I avoided eye contact because I knew he was a legilimens and wasn't sure if my mind was safe.
"We needed to make a brief stop for clothing." McGonagall elaborated. "I'm afraid his situation is more complicated than we anticipated."
"And that is?" Cornelius inquired, uncomfortably.
"Magical accidents caused him to forget some details of his life." Minerva expanded. "Perhaps the ministry will have some form of record?"
"I'm afraid that we have none, Minerva." Cornelius explained. "From a quick investigation that I asked my assistant to do, aside from him, he has no relatives, it's quite odd. "
"That is really unfortunate." Albus hummed. "Does he have somewhere to live?"
"I discovered him atop a tree, Headmaster," Minerva replied flatly. "Wolves encircled him."
When Professor McGonagall said that, the entire room became silent and looked at me, puzzled.
"Before you say anything, no, I have no idea how I got there." I explained swiftly.
"Abraham, was it?" When Dumbledore called, I merely nodded. "I'll ask again. Are you truly willing to study at Hogwarts in your situation? It is not going to be easy studying five years' worth of materials in a single year, OWLs included."
"I suppose I could try." I responded.
"Very well." Dumbledore gave a nod. "To ease your burden, before the term starts, you are to attend private lessons. I'll ask a Hogwarts professor if any of them are willing to assist you."
"Thank you, headmaster." I said, but then a previous question came to mind. "But where would I live? I don't really have any money as far as I can remember."
"Not to worry." he said, and he snapped his fingers, as if calling something.
Suddenly, a creature that appears to be a house elf appeared in front of me, looking curiously at the headmaster.
"The headmaster calls for Dobby, sirs?" the house elf spoke. Of course, it was Dobby…
"Yes, Dobby." said Dumbledore. "Please bring our young student here to the three broomsticks and ask Madam Rosmeta to provide him a room, as for payment, I will take care of it."
"Very well headmaster." Dobby nodded vigorously, and turned towards me, as if waiting.
"Abraham, the money does not come for free, for you have to pay it after you graduate, understood?"
Of course, student debts…
"That will be fine, Headmaster, thank you."
"Then I hope you can rest tonight," said Dumbledore. "Me and Professor McGonagall will have to discuss your curriculum for the year, and tomorrow, someone will come for you to start the private lessons, now, Dobby?"
In an instant, Dobby grabbed my hand, and we apparated away from the place, leaving the three adults.
======
The night flew by while I slept like a brick within the room of the three broomsticks. It appears I'll be staying here for the rest of the summer; the view outside is rather nice; and the village of Hogsmeade clearly exudes a warm vibe that I can't quite put my finger on.
Through the window, I saw wizards and witches with all kinds of attire wander around the cobblestone path, entering and exiting some shops here and there. I observed an Ollivander's shop in front of the Three Broomsticks entrance, albeit the person running it is most likely not from the Ollivander family and is probably just a regular employee. A sporting goods store was across the street, to the left of the entrance; I'm not sure if it was managed by the same family as the previous owner in the nineteenth century, but I doubt it.
I opted to head downstairs, towards Madam Rosmeta's bar, because I didn't know what to do at the moment. I could see people filling the inn as I walked down the stairs, and I could only sit in front of the bar, watching at Madam Rosmeta as she washed some mugs.
"Can I have some food?" I inquired gently.
"And do you have the knuts to pay for it?" she asked back.
I merely sighed; this was what I expected.
"Can't I just work for it?" I proposed. "If you want, I can tend the bar or sweep the floor."
"With a simple charm, I could mop the floor, but... you could assist me tend the bar and serve some food; I'll offer you food plus 15 sickles for a week you work here."
I rose up and nodded to Madam Rosmeta, seeing this as an excellent opportunity. "Deal."
So I quickly put on an apron and assisted Madam Rosmeta in tending to the bar, washing the mugs by hand because I don't know how to use magic yet, and assisting her in delivering the items that the customers had requested. As a result, time seems to pass swiftly, and noon arrives. I immediately ate the food Madam Rosmeta had given me and resumed my work, since things were starting to get hectic after lunch.
But then, unexpectedly, a short man entered the inn. And by that I mean the man was really short, like "Goblin" short. I instantly realised he was Professor Flitwick; he was bringing some charmed books, and they were flying all around him like a flock of birds, following him.
"Good afternoon, Rosmeta." The professor greeted Madam Rosmeta happily. "I was supposed to meet with the soon-to-be fifth-year student; is he upstairs?"
"Hello Professor, that's him, he's not upstairs." She directed her finger at me, but I was still delivering food to a customer.
"Goodness! Already working for you, I see. Why?" Flitwick inquired.
"He didn't have a single knut on him and was starving, so he suggested working for me for money and food."
"Why didn't Dumbledore give him more money?" Flitwick blinked, plainly perplexed.
"I suppose he forgot, or he's doing this intentionally; who knows what that man is thinking." Madam Rosmeta shook her head.
"Well, he's certainly quite a hard worker, isn't he?" Flitwick hummed, looking at me. "Would you mind if I borrowed him for a couple of hours?"
"Not at all; he's still a student, and studies come first."
"Indeed."
The small professor then approached me with a large smile on his face, as if he was expecting something from me. After I dropped off the food to the customer, I walked up to him.
"Mr. Abraham Ashworth, correct?" he said.
"Yes, sir. Do you need something from me? Oh, are you a professor?"
"Indeed I am, Mr. Ashworth." Flitwick smiled. "My name is Filius Flitwick, and I shall be your Charms teacher throughout the regular school term."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, professor." I nodded. "Should we take it upstairs, then?"
"Oh, before that, we have to get you a wand first." He replied, but the books that were flying around him suddenly flew away from him, towards the upper floor; they appear to be heading to my room.
"Ah, sir, I'm afraid I don't have any galleons."
"Don't worry, Mr. Ashworth; the ministry has subsidised Wands, so the school will pay."
"Oh, alright, that's a relief."
"Let's go to Ollivander's shop then; it's just right in front of the inn."
I simply nodded in response to the professor's suggestion, and we both exited the building, going for the shop.
======
It was a rather boring trip, to say the least. The Ollivander's shop in Hogsmeade isn't really interesting. As I suspected, the shop was run by a normal employee, and when I entered it, it seemed like any other normal shop—at least, the "normal" equivalent in the wizarding world.
The wand selection, on the other hand, took longer than I expected; it took around thirty minutes to find the appropriate wand because the employee wasn't as skilled as Ollivander. But eventually, I found the one that was suitable for me.
It was a thirteen-inch-long wand crafted from English Oak, with a dragon heartstring as its core. It was slightly springy, and the handle was carved with a zig-zag design for improved friction, preventing it from slipping from the hand.
Professor Flitwick then paid for the wand, and we returned to the inn, to the room I was sleeping in. When I walked into that room, I could see the books piled on top of the desk, waiting for me to read them.
"Now that you have your wand, we can begin the lessons." The professor beamed as he approached the book. He took out a feather and placed it on the desk. "Let us begin with a basic charm. The levitation charm allows you to levitate any object in the air; it's a useful trick that may be utilised in a variety of situations."
The professor approached the feather and pulled out his wand. Flitwick repeated the incantation while making a swish-and-flick motion with his wand.
"Wingardium Leviosa."
A breeze of magic could suddenly be seen surrounding the feather, and it floated in the air as the professor continued to point his wand at it.
"There are many variations of this spell." Flitwick went on to clarify. "The Wingardium Leviosa variant allows you to move the object whilst doing so, but it requires focus and cannot be distracted."
The professor then moves the feather around the air, easily gliding across the space, as it follows where the wand is pointing.
"There's also the Levioso variant," remarked the professor. He appeared to have cancelled the magic previously, as the feather was now gently descending to the floor.
After that, he flicked his wand quickly and recited an incantation. "Levioso."
The previously falling feather abruptly ceased its sluggish velocity and hovered in mid-air.
"Unlike the Wingardium Leviosa variation, this variant merely causes the object you cast it on to float temporarily, and you don't have to maintain it once you cast it. Aside from that, it's also quick to cast and doesn't need much attention, making it ideal for combat."
As the professor said that, the feather stopped floating, and it slowly fell to the ground again, finally reaching the floor this time.
"Oh, we've gotten ahead of ourselves. Ignore the last spell I stated before; it's more complicated. Let us concentrate on the Wingardium Leviosa spell." The professor shook his head as he picked up the feather and put it on the desk again. "Now, why don't you try it? You've seen my wand move, correct? Just imitate what I did; remember, just swish and flick. Don't worry about the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery, you've been temporarily allowed to use it for this summer only."
I simply nodded in response to the professor's instruction and then pointed my wand at the feather. I did as he said, making a swish-and-flick motion with my newly bought wand before reciting the incantation.
"Wingardium Leviosa."
I saw a breath of magic fast encircling the feather, completely coating it, before it caused the feather to float into the air, rising from the desk.
"Excellent! First attempt!" The professor gave me a warm smile. "It appears like your time as a fifth-year student will not be as difficult as it might be if you keep this up."
"Thank you, professor." I nodded. Not bad for my first excursion into magic.
"Well, I suppose we should go on to the next course for efficiency; let me just look through the transfiguration book for the material..."
The professor then takes one of the books from the desk and carefully flips through its pages.
Meanwhile, while I waited for him to locate it, I went through the other books. It looked to be a 15th-century relic; the paper was yellow and dusty, shredded parchments were slid in between the still intact pages, and it was unmistakably a spellbook.
But what drew my attention was a container of something that looked to be emitting wisps of light, and I could hear whispers from it as well, much weaker than in the headmaster's office.
"What is this, Professor?" I inquired gently, pointing to the container emitting wisps of light and whispers.
Flitwick gave it a brief glance and informed me. "That's for Herbology, Mr. Ashworth. There's a pair of Dragonhide gloves in there; they're mine, but you may have them."
"Dragonhide gloves?" I inquired once more.
"Yes, herbology is quite dangerous if you are not properly protected," he said. "Dragonhide gloves are ideal for protecting yourself from harmful plants and bites. Courtesy of the ancient magic in those hides."
Ancient Magic? Wait a minute, I'm starting in fifth year, and I could see wisps of light around items that had ancient magic... This sounds all too familiar.
"Ah, finally." The professor spoke up once more, having finally obtained the material he desired; he took out some needles and placed them on the desk. "All right, let's get back to our lesson, shall we?"