18

September 1, 1991, Platform 9 ¾.

I won't tire of repeating: when you're busy, time flies. It seems like only yesterday I returned from the magical world after shopping, and I'm already sitting in the compartment of the train that will take me to Hogwarts.

Not much has happened over the past year, but there are a few events worth mentioning.

First, in early December I tried to get into Diagon Alley. Having changed my appearance using metamorphism, my appearance was that of a frail blond man of about 16-17 years old, I went to the Leaky Cauldron pub.

***

Entering the pub, trying not to stand out, I went straight to the bartender.

"Good day, monsieur," I greeted him. -I would like to go to the magical street of Great Britain. Can you tell me how to get there?

Looking up from polishing the glasses, Tom looked at me and asked:

-Who exactly are you, young man?

-Oh, excusez, where are my mana? My name is Lance Bosch. I am a graduate of Beauxbatons School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. After graduation, I decided to travel and it brought me here to England.

-I understand you, sir. But why did you come from the Muggle world? After all, traveling through countries strictly passes through certain points. In England, this is the apparation area of ​​the Ministry of Magic," said Tom, piercing me with a wary gaze.

-Oui, you see, I'm Muggle-born, that's why I travel the Muggle way. I am not strong and skilled enough to travel by apparition or by switch.

"Oh, well then it's clear," said the Bartender, once again relaxing. -Then welcome to England, sir. Follow me.

-Mercy.

Coming out from behind the bar, Tom led me to the entrance of the magical world. Having walked the same path as last time, we found ourselves at the same dead end. Only today it was Tom who opened the door for me, not Flitwick.

After wishing me a pleasant time, the bartender left. Well, we can consider the penetration successful, and the mask, its appearance, quite successful. Only it consumes a lot of mana, it will last me for 5 hours. It's worth hurrying.

I visited the bank first. Having exchanged there the francs that I had bought in the ordinary world for pounds for Galleons, I went shopping. The first thing I bought was an expanded space chest. Together with the professor, we bought an ordinary school chest. It only fits school things, side by side, so to speak. Now I want to buy another one.

The choice, I tell you, was rich. There were both large and small chests, with and without weight reduction. I bought a chest that looked the same as the school one. It was distinguished by the fact that: inside it was divided into several sections, lightening the weight, expanding the space and blood connection.

In general, blood magic is prohibited in England, like many other schools of magic, but for example, binding is allowed if it is carried out according to the letter of the law. So things are allowed to be sold with a blood connection if they were designed that way.

I really wanted to buy a travel bag. It is more expensive, but much more convenient. However, as soon as I buy it, Professor Flitwick will immediately understand that I was in Diagon Alley. This may raise not the most pleasant questions. Moreover, if you ask the bartender, it will be clear that I did not pass the pub after visiting it with the professor, but this is already suspicious. Then this is definitely the end of my conspiracy. Screw unnecessary attention.

Next I went to a jewelry store. There I purchased a set of a minor aristocrat, that is, a ring, an earring and an amulet. The ring detects poisons and potions in food, an amulet against minor evil eyes and the removal of lost hair. Well, the earrings create a small mind shield, it's not very strong, but it can warn you when someone gets into your head.

In general, I gave most of my funds for the ring and amulet. No matter how they save money on this. I took the earrings in the minimum configuration. After all, I am an Occlumen myself. Every thing has a hidden charm.

They looked like ordinary silver dyes. Looking at the jewelry, it becomes clear that the precious stones act as pumps for pumping out mana from the owner's aura, and the metal itself was covered with runes. They were also responsible for the abilities of the artifacts themselves.

The decorations were also related to blood. To bind, you need to drop a drop of your blood on the jewelry while the seller reads a standard binding spell. Just after this, the decorations can be "camouflaged".

Last in line was the bookstore. In fact, I also went to a second-hand store and... there were no old, ancient tomes lying around. These shops were exactly what they are, a used store. A sort of warehouse for used items. Although it is worth noting that all the items were of good quality and will be able to serve the owner for many more years.

I spent a long time in the bookstore. But there was little choice there. I bought: "The Complete Collection of Laws of Magical England", "The Basics of Charms", "Basics of Transfiguration" and "Potion Brewing: Rules and Basics". I didn't find anything else. Although I searched for a long time, in every section. You never know where they got lost. I also consulted with the seller, but the only thing he told me was: "The list of books is regulated by the Ministry of Magic. If you want more books on a certain field, please come to the library of the Ministry or Guild."

Having purchased everything I needed, I left Diagon Alley.

***

I spent the rest of the time at home, continuing to improve in magic, studying the books I bought and, of course, the wand.

In general, there was an interesting situation with the books; each of them did not reveal complete information on the chosen topic. That is, the basics were usual there.

On oaths there were examples of the most common oaths in the world. For example, "I swear on magic..." or "I swear on life..." punishes in exactly the same way as worded. But there is a condition - it is not the Ephemeral Entity that punishes you, but you yourself. This is something like programming your own body. Like self-hypnosis for ordinary magicians, with the only difference that the magician cannot dispel this oath, like self-hypnosis for ordinary people. No, I'm sure these oaths can be circumvented. I think magicians of the mind who can work with the subconscious will be able to give the command to cancel the oath. Another thing is that not everyone achieves such mastery.

Also in the book about oaths, it briefly talks about oaths that are made under the patronage of the owners of the plans. These oaths cannot be deceived, since the owner of the plane himself, or a fairly strong inhabitant of it, monitors the fulfillment of the oath. And the punishments there are much stricter.

Not every magician decides to take an oath certified by the spirits of the plans. There's definitely no escape from it.

Perhaps the book about the laws of magical England is the only complete book. It describes all the current laws and I must say there are an incredible amount of them. There is also a certain bias in the laws. Even those laws that were introduced more than 500 years ago were used. And there are many such laws.

The laws themselves were not introduced often. There have been fewer of them in 500 years than in the last 50 years. Apparently the ministry decided to tighten and strengthen its power.

How sad, the magical court will be on the side of the aristocrat, not the Muggle-born. Aristocracy and magical families without a source are the basis of the magical world. Therefore, the law will be on their side. This can be both condemned and understood.

***

The situation with the wand is also quite interesting. My wand is: concentrator, consumer and pump. Let's go in order.

Hub - everything is simple here. The wand makes it easier to use magic. If without it I can lift about half a dozen objects, then with a stick I can lift 3 dozen. It's a striking difference, don't you think? It immediately becomes clear why many magicians stop developing. Why, if progress is not so noticeable. Also, all magicians consider themselves incredibly strong. Their wand will not be taken away from them under any circumstances. Fools.

Of course, this does not contribute to the development of control. Therefore, I will use the stick only in lessons and when necessary, and in personal training I will use pure control. I'm not going to become an appendage to the wand. I want to change reality itself with my will, and not be content with little.

Next, the shelf consumer constantly consumes mana from the 7th beginning. This develops the very structure of the stick. Under magical vision, the wand looks like a small instrument with mana channels. A sort of extra body part. By consuming my mana, it increases its "mass", develops channels and increases synchronization. A sort of symbiont outside the body, but inside a magical shell.

Pump – when using a wand, it "scoops up" mana from the external environment and fuels my manipulations. It's good that this ability can be temporarily disabled. I want to continue to develop and not stand still.

The wand itself sprouted a separate mana channel to my 7th shell. More likely, it didn't even germinate, but connected it, because... he was immediately quite developed. She consumes mana from the same channel. It also develops if you use only a wand, and the other, native channels gradually degrade, or simply do not develop. A sad picture, nothing more can be said.

From the above it follows that the wand is a symbiont. It evolves and makes it easier to use mana.

That's basically all that happened in a year. Now I am sitting in a train carriage and waiting for departure. I changed my appearance using metamorphism. The usual build of a child 11-12 years old. This is exactly what I looked like when I met the professor. I think if an 11-year-old boy comes to school looking 13-14, it will definitely attract attention.

Spend much less on replenishing your appearance than in the case of Lance. There I radically changed my appearance and build. Now I have only slightly reduced my height. I also trained all this year and my reserve reached a volume of 170 MU. This is a quarter more than a year ago. Apparently the beginning of the teenage growth boom also applies to magic.

People were milling around outside the carriage window. All are magicians. Some were already in school uniform, usually senior students, gathered in groups and boarded the carriages. In some places, relatives said goodbye emotionally.

The typical aristocrats were also present. Families saw off their children in full force. The adults' faces wore impenetrable masks of boredom and arrogance. The children could not boast of the same. Every now and then, interest, impatience, fear and joy leaked through their "masks."

The platform was full of life.

Then a sound sounded, foreshadowing the imminent departure of the train. Those who did not have time to take a seat in the carriage quickly said goodbye and jumped into them.

The train started moving. The platform gradually disappeared from us, as did the people who, standing on it, watched their children leave. People were even visible running after the train along the track.

My parents couldn't get on the platform. We said goodbye before entering the platform. I'll miss them.

There was the sound of a sliding door. Two twin brothers, about 13-14 years old, stood on the threshold. So similar that they cannot be distinguished.

-Oh, Brother Forge. Do you see what I see?

-Yes, brother Dread. I see the same thing.

Having said this they entered my compartment. They looked, as I said, the same, indistinguishable. Both are red-haired, freckled, thin, and of the same build. The robes are good quality, but you can immediately see that they are slightly worn; they knew and knew how to wear things. They made a pleasant first impression.

-On license...

-...more mature and experienced magicians, we...

-... we recommend enrolling in Gryffindor, because only with us...

-... the most courageous, cheerful and...

-... faithful housemates.

They said in one breath, while accompanying their words with magic. With a wave of their wands, they conjured fireworks, colorful lights, and a lion and a dragon that clashed in battle. And all this against the backdrop of a majestic castle that was located in an equally large and ancient forest. Could this be Hogwarts?

I must admit it looked amazing, if I were an ordinary child I would definitely want to go for red and gold. And nothing could convince me otherwise.

-By the way, we...

-... incredibly famous within the school...

-...jokers. The best ever...

-... the history of Hogwarts.

-So you want to say that you are the main asset of Hogwarts? - I said, smiling slightly. -In the entire history of the school, there weren't any more cheerful and tower-less magicians there?

The twins looked at each other, smiled and nodded at the same time:

-Forge, I like him.

-Not you alone, Dread.

Looking at them, I decided to introduce myself:

-My name is Calder Wilson, what are you, the greatest jesters of Hogwarts? - I said, getting up from my seat.

-The right jester's name is Fred Weasley, and...

-... left George Weasley...

-We are the greatest jesters of magical England.

Having finished in one voice, they laughed together. Funny guys, you can't say anything. Just a question arose. Are they really like this or is it just another mask?

They didn't stay in the compartment long. Apparently this speech should be heard more than once on this train. They bowed and left.

As soon as they left, just a couple of minutes later the compartment door was rudely opened. On the threshold was the redhead again, only younger and alone.

Having looked at the compartment and me, he grimaced his face and closed the compartment door with force. Out of the corner of my ear I caught a couple of words escaping his lips.

-Filthy mudblood...

Hmm, not the most pleasant person. Apparently this is the sixth Weasley, they call him Ron. It is not for nothing that in the book he was shown as an envious person and a man who would not disdain to stab in the back. Harry would be unlucky, oh, he would be unlucky with such a friend.

Regarding the words "mudblood". The light of the aristocracy is the name given to people from the Muggle world that are not acquired. That is, the descendants of the Clans who, having seized curses, lost the Gift. Only in the last 30-40 years has this word become a common noun for all Muggle-bloods. Aristocrats, what can we take from them? Moreover, the influence of the policies of the Dark Lords of the last century also affects.

By the way, the twins were dressed in robes, and Ron was in ordinary clothes. Is it really a performance for one spectator?

The further trip proceeded somewhat routinely. No one came in, no one knocked. Nobody wants a humble loser. And glory to Magic.

Only towards the end did a head with luxuriant hair peek into the compartment. Having looked around the compartment, the owner of lush hair left without saying anything. It must be Hermione. What can I say about her? An ordinary girl. Slightly impolite, but let's chalk it up to excitement.

I didn't sit idle all the way. During the journey, I practiced the spells that were described in books. Sitting at home, I didn't risk practicing spells. I don't want to attract the attention of members of the magical intelligence agencies.

As soon as it got dark I changed into my school clothes. As soon as I changed clothes, the train signal sounded. Coming soon.