In the wizarding world, three spells are universally recognized as the most evil, sinister, and cruel—The Unforgivable Curses.
The Cruciatus Curse, the Killing Curse, and the Imperius Curse.
These three curses are incredibly unique. First, there are no counter-curses to undo their effects. Second, they require extremely specific conditions to be cast.
A wizard must summon intense negative emotions along with an extraordinary amount of magical power.
Like most dark magic, once the incantation is spoken, the darkness begins to seep into the caster's soul, gradually distorting their true nature.
Because of this, wizarding law has always been strict: anyone caught using these three spells will be sentenced to a lifetime in Azkaban!
Dylan sighed in frustration. He never expected that his three randomly maxed-out spells would turn out to be all three Unforgivable Curses.
"Calm down, Dylan, calm down. Spells are just tools. Even the Unforgivable Curses are just that—tools."
He lightly patted his face and muttered to himself, "At the very least, this means I have a way to protect myself, right?"
They say the best defense is a good offense. While he didn't get lucky enough to draw a Patronus, having the Unforgivable Curses wasn't the worst outcome either.
After convincing himself of this, Dylan felt a bit more at ease and turned his attention back to the system panel before him.
Aside from the three maxed-out spells, he also had a free magical creature to claim.
"Merlin's beard, please just give me something cute. Power doesn't matter. I don't need a phoenix or a qilin—just don't give me something that looks like Gargamel, okay?"
As if the universe had heard his plea, a burst of starlight suddenly exploded before him.
The space in front of Dylan twisted and warped.
In the blink of an eye, a small creature leaped out. It looked somewhat like a black cat, but also had the features of a lynx.
It was petite, its fur a deep, inky black—darker than midnight, pure and without a hint of other colors.
Dylan stared at the creature, feeling an inexplicable sense of foreboding.
Despite being just a kitten, it had no trace of the usual clumsy cuteness. Instead, it exuded a sharp, almost ominous presence.
When their eyes met, a chill ran down Dylan's spine, as if he was looking at something… unsettling.
"Mrrrow~" The little creature's paws were tucked beneath its fluffy body, its dark eyes staring directly at Dylan.
**[Notification]: You have obtained a magical pet—Shadowpaw!**
**[Notification]: Your pet storage space has been unlocked!**
"Shadowpaw?"
Dylan glanced at the system panel, where detailed information about the little creature was displayed.
After reading through it, he let out a small sigh of relief.
"Well, at least it's not an evil magical creature. But I'll still need a permit to keep it—otherwise, I'd be breaking the law."
Luckily, the system provided him with a pet storage space, meaning he could keep Shadowpaw there when necessary instead of carrying it around all the time.
"Mrrrow!"
Shadowpaw's voice grew louder, as if trying to communicate something to him.
To his surprise, Dylan found that he could vaguely sense what the little creature was trying to express.
"You… want me to hold you?" Dylan blinked.
"Mrrrow!" Shadowpaw lifted its head proudly.
Wait, was this little thing… acting tsundere?
And why did its meow sound more like a moo?
Dylan chuckled and reached out to pick up Shadowpaw, cradling it in his arms.
"Alright, little guy. Since you're my pet now, how about I give you a name?"
Shadowpaw curled its tiny legs and tilted its head slightly to glance at Dylan, making no move to resist.
"You look pretty cool, and your fur is jet black… How about…"
"Coalball? What do you think?"
"Mrrrow?!"
Shadowpaw bared its tiny teeth.
Seeing no protest—only a flicker of light in the creature's big eyes—Dylan took that as approval and gave it an affectionate rub.
"Glad you like it. Now, I have some things to take care of, so you can hang out in your storage space for now."
"Mrrrow??"
Dylan placed Coalball into the pet storage space.
He could feel it—this space functioned like a Poké Ball. His pet wouldn't feel trapped or uncomfortable inside, not even noticing the passage of time.
"I wonder if I'll be able to upgrade this space into a real-world environment someday."
As this thought crossed his mind, he also realized that he needed to visit Diagon Alley at some point.
He had to figure out how to obtain a magical creature permit for Shadowpaw.
After all, this was his first pet—he couldn't just keep it hidden away like a shameful secret.
"Ugh, what a mess. I haven't even started school yet, and I'm already racking up legal offenses."
---
Dylan double-checked his Hogwarts acceptance letter and went through the accompanying list of required school supplies.
After making sure he remembered everything important, he carefully tucked both pieces of parchment back into their envelope and headed upstairs.
"Mom! Dad! I have something important to tell you!"
After washing up and getting dressed, he sat down with his parents at the breakfast table and told them about Hogwarts.
However, his parents only exchanged skeptical looks as they stared at the letter on the table.
"Hubert, do you believe this? I mean… magic?" Dylan's mom, Maeve, looked utterly unconvinced.
"Sweetheart, it does sound unbelievable. But Dylan has always been honest," Hubert said as he picked up the parchment to examine it more closely.
"So you think one of Dylan's friends is playing a prank on him?" Maeve asked, her suspicion slightly easing.
"Mom, you know I don't have any friends," Dylan reminded her with a small shrug.
Maeve and Hubert exchanged another glance.
Could their son have fallen for some kind of scam?
Dylan could have easily demonstrated his spells to prove his case, but he saw no need to do so. He was still a kid—he didn't want to end up living out Harry Potter's story.
Even if his family was poor, at least his parents loved him.
"Dad, maybe I could write back? If it turns out to be real, wouldn't that be amazing?" He put on the perfect look of anticipation.
"Magic, huh?" Hubert tapped the parchment thoughtfully.
"Oh, sweetheart, you can send a letter if you want, but promise me you won't go anywhere with strangers, alright?" Maeve said seriously.
"Of course!" Dylan agreed instantly.
Since it was their day off, his parents watched as he carefully wrote his response letter.
Seeing their son's serious expression as he wrote, they decided there was no harm in humoring his curiosity. It was just a letter, after all.
Once Dylan finished, he placed the letter by the living room window.
But an entire day passed without a single sign of an owl.
"Don't be sad, sweetie. Maybe Santa Claus will bring you something magical for Christmas," Maeve said, trying to comfort him.
"Christmas?" Dylan blinked.
Mom… it's only summer.
Did you really just push my hopes all the way to Christmas?!
(End of chapter)