*Central London.
The Leaky Cauldron.*
The feeling was not pleasant.
One moment you’re grabbing someone’s hand, and the next you’re being squeezed.
That’s not all.
You get twisted, turned inside out, pulled through the eye of a needle, and then spat out like a piece of half-chewed meat.
Not the best sensation, that’s for sure.
At least I landed on my feet.
It would have been funny if I hadn’t.
Professor Flitwick and I ended up in a secluded alley.
A trash can stood nearby.
If I weren’t a Metamorphmagus and unable to control my body, even at a basic level, I would have been keeping that trash can company for at least the next five minutes.
Glancing at Flitwick, I saw that he was completely unfazed.
He didn’t even bat an eye.
That’s what experience does.
“How are you feeling, Kael?” the professor asked, concern in his voice.
“Not the most pleasant sensation, you’re right about that,” I answered.
“But otherwise, it’s tolerable, aside from the urge to throw up breakfast along with last night’s dinner.”
“You’re holding up pretty well,” Flitwick said with a smile.
“I’ll tell you a secret: not even many adult wizards can suppress the urge to vomit.
You should be proud, especially at such a young age.”
“Thank you, Professor,” I said, smiling slightly.
Well, that didn’t work out very well.
I can’t help but stand out, even in such a simple situation.
That’s what happens when you have reflexive control over your body.
I haven’t paid attention to it for a long time.
Everything happens on a subconscious level.
“Well then, I think we should get going.”
As soon as we stepped out of the alley, we found ourselves on a busy street in central London.
There were so many people.
They were all rushing about like ants, each on their own undoubtedly important business.
It was the middle of the day, after all.
We walked along that street for some time.
The people were all different, dressed in all sorts of ways.
Adults mostly wore business attire.
Teenagers wore clothes that showed their independence or individuality.
There were punks, goths, and many others.
We also saw wizards.
One glance at them, and you immediately understood that the Harry Potter books left a lot out.
First of all, most wizards were dressed like ordinary people.
It wasn’t like men were wearing women’s dresses with rubber boots.
They were all dressed in normal, high-quality clothing appropriate for the weather.
A bit old-fashioned, perhaps, but not everyone follows fashion.
Still, there were those dressed as if from the Middle Ages.
But ordinary people didn’t notice those wizards.
Clearly, Muggle-repelling charms were at work.
You might ask, how did I know they were wizards?
I have highly developed senses.
Not exactly.
Of course, over the years of observation and practice, I’ve learned to feel mana.
I can even see it.
To do that, I need to channel mana into my eyes.
As soon as I do, the world blooms with new colors.
Everywhere I look, I see streams of multi-colored mana, and that’s just on the street.
What about our backyard?
There’s such a riot of color there that I associate it with life.
What will Hogwarts be like?
Will I go blind?
But there’s a downside to this vision.
Objects with a small amount of mana are simply invisible.
They blend into the background.
Mana is present in every object, but most objects have incredibly little of it.
There’s also a second downside.
I can’t use this vision for long.
My current limit is forty-three minutes at a time, or three hours total per day if I don’t push it.
By the way, at the very beginning, my limit was fifty-one seconds.
It’s developing nicely.
So, this isn’t just sensory perception. This story is hosted at g.com.
It’s much simpler and more interesting, for me and for you.
All these wizards greeted Flitwick as we passed by.
Some with respect, some neutrally, but they all greeted him.
Some even approached us and struck up a light conversation.
“Professor, may I ask a question?” Flitwick looked at me with interest and nodded.
“Are you quite popular among wizards?
Or are these all your friends?”
He chuckled softly.
“Some of those who approached me are certainly good acquaintances.
I wouldn’t call it friendship.
There’s much more meaning in that word than meets the eye, don’t you think?”
“You’re absolutely right, Professor.
Sorry for the inappropriate question.”
“Don’t worry about it.
I’m not offended.
It’s actually quite simple.
They were all once my students.
I taught every one of them.
Some were from my own house, some weren’t.”
“Did you teach all of them?
Sorry for the immodest question, but how old are you?”
“Your question is indeed immodest,” the professor smirked.
“If I told you the answer, it wouldn’t be interesting, would it?
I’ll just say this: I wasn’t born in this century.”
Hearing that, I was momentarily stunned.
Not born in this century?
That meant he was about a hundred years old, maybe more.
How many such “acquaintances” did he have?
Over the years, he must have gathered quite a few supporters.
Lost in such thoughts, I continued following the professor.
***
Our journey ended suddenly.
By my reckoning, we had been walking for about fifteen minutes, but in reality, it took no more than five minutes to reach the entrance to the Wizarding World on foot.
What did the entrance to this strange world look like?
From the outside, it was a standard pub.
The dark tones of the door and walls only emphasized its age.
The glass was cloudy, not from dirt, but from the method of its creation, which once again showed how old the building was.
The slightly crooked signboard with a talking image of a cauldron and the words “The Leaky Cauldron” completed the picture.
“We’ve arrived at the entrance.”
The professor broke the silence.
“This is the entrance?
So to get to the wizarding world, we have to go through a pub?” I asked skeptically, or at least I thought I did.
“Not all wizards enter the wizarding world this way,” Flitwick smiled.
“You see, this entrance is for people like you, children from ordinary families, or those who can’t or don’t know how to use other methods of travel.
You experienced one such method yourself.”
“Apparition,” I said affirmatively.
“Correct.
Apparition.
Not every wizard can do it, and even if they can, not everyone can Apparate long distances.
There are also other entrances to the wizarding world, but you’re a first-year.
Passing through this pub has long been a tradition for first-years.
Good or bad, that’s for you to decide.
But note, it’s the easiest way to find and show the entrance.”
“I understand that.
But don’t ordinary people see it?”
“Look around.”
I looked around and realized something.
People didn’t notice the pub.
Moreover, they walked around the area in front of the pub, not by much, about a meter and a half, but still.
“Magic,” I answered under the professor’s watchful gaze.
“Obviously, a spell has been placed on the pub that makes ordinary people not only fail to notice it but also avoid it.
Perhaps the spell is not only on the pub but also on the surrounding area.
Like an invisible dome.”
Clap, clap.
Flitvik clapped his hands lightly. Visit g.com for the full chapter.
“Excellent analysis, young man.
You are absolutely right.
Every word is true,” the professor said, smiling.
Only then did I notice his pointed teeth.
“Indeed, both the pub itself and the area around it have been enchanted with a dome-like spell.
It diverts the attention of ordinary people and hides the pub from modern technology.
Satellite imagery, for example.
Don’t be surprised.
We know about satellites, video cameras, and so on.
We’ve even adapted some of their developments for our own use.
For instance, the video camera formed the basis for many new spells.”
After listening to the professor, I thought deeply.
So wizards fully understand and are aware of the development of ordinary people.
They even take their ideas as a basis and create something of their own, something new.
Then why is there a law forbidding the enchanting of Muggle objects?
That law didn’t come out of nowhere.
Something must have prompted it.
I stood there, lost in thought.
The sound of a bell snapped me out of it.
The professor had opened the pub door and was waiting for me to snap out of it.
“Sorry, Professor,” I said, bowing my head.
“It’s fine.
Come on in.”
And I stepped through the door.
I found myself, unsurprisingly, in a pub straight out of a sixteenth or seventeenth-century historical film.
The interior of the building was spacious, with lots of open space.
The floor, walls, and ceiling were dark.
The room was lit by candles in sconces and a chandelier hanging from the ceiling.
In the main hall itself, there were about fifteen tables with two chairs next to them.
To the left, a staircase led to the second floor.
Next to the stairs was a bar counter.
A bartender stood behind it.
That was where we were heading.
The place was quite crowded, despite the time of day.
“Good day, Professor,” the bartender said.
“Come on, Tom, you’re not my student anymore.”
“I may have been, but you’ll always be my professor,” Tom said with a smile.
“And who is this with you?
A future student?
First time in the wizarding world?”
“Yes,” Flitwick replied.
“This is a future wizard.
Introduce yourself, Kael.”
“Hello,” I said, bowing slightly as a sign of respect from a neophyte to a wizard.
“My name is Kael Massimo.
I’m a first-year student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.”
“Nice to meet you, young man.
My name is Tom Kril.
I’m the owner of this pub.
Well, let’s go to the entrance to Diagon Alley.”
Coming out from behind the bar, Tom headed toward a door that was hard to see at first glance because it was hidden by the stairs.
Approaching it, he opened it and let the professor and me through.
As soon as we passed, Tom closed the door behind us and said, “Good luck, Professor.
And good luck to you too, young man.”
The door closed.
We found ourselves in an enclosed space without a roof.
We were surrounded on four sides by brick walls.
They were all the same, except for the one with the doorway.
“Get ready,” the professor said.
I wanted to ask, “For what?”
Approaching the wall opposite the door, he drew his wand and tapped the bricks.
The wall trembled.
Immediately after, a wave of visible mana passed through it, and as the climax of the whole performance, the wall parted.
Just like in the movie, each brick “crawled” out of its place and “floated” to the opposite side.
As soon as that happened, the professor’s voice rang out, “Welcome to Diagon Alley.”
And a street appeared before me.