The feast began in earnest.
Despite the mountain of snacks he’d demolished aboard the Hogwarts Express, Alvin found himself hungry all over again.
Being eleven apparently came with the appetite of a small dragon.
It certainly didn’t help that Hogwarts’ house-elves were culinary geniuses.
The tables groaned beneath an endless spread of food.
Roast beef.
Pork chops.
Lamb ribs glazed to perfection.
Mashed potatoes swimming in butter.
Yorkshire puddings.
Sausages.
Fresh vegetables.
Rich brown gravy.
French onion soup.
And dozens of dishes Alvin couldn’t even name.
The aromas alone were enough to make his stomach growl.
Naturally, he didn’t waste time.
He loaded his plate with steak, drowned half of it in gravy, and dug in with admirable determination.
Across from him, Cho watched the spectacle with growing amusement.
At first, she simply smiled.
Then, almost absentmindedly, she placed another helping of food onto his plate when it started looking empty.
A few minutes later, she did it again.
And again.
Somewhere along the way, she appeared to discover that feeding Alvin was strangely satisfying.
Before long, she’d completely embraced the role.
Alvin, meanwhile, accepted the service without the slightest complaint.
Just as he was considering a second helping of potatoes, he felt an unusually intense stare.
Looking up, he found an older Ravenclaw watching them from several seats away.
The boy wasn’t even trying to be subtle.
The moment their eyes met, he immediately leaned forward.
“Roger Davies.
Fourth year.” He pointed dramatically at Cho.
“You’ve been at Hogwarts for less than a day.” Then he pointed at Alvin.
“And somehow you’ve already won over the prettiest girl in Ravenclaw.” His expression turned deadly serious.
“How?” “Teach me your secrets.” Cho’s face instantly turned red.
Notably, she made no attempt to deny the accusation.
Alvin considered the question with appropriate gravity.
Then he nodded.
“Very well.” Roger straightened in anticipation.
“Step one,” Alvin said solemnly, “be handsome.” Roger blinked.
“Step two, acquire a phoenix.” Silence.
Cho immediately pinched his side.
Hard.
“Ow.” The memory of Fury’s dramatic entrance at Ollivanders clearly resurfaced in her mind.
A second later, she burst into laughter.
Roger sat there in stunned disbelief.
He had come seeking wisdom.
Instead, he’d been assaulted by reality.
Life truly was unfair.
Eventually, the feast drew to a close.
The remaining food vanished from the tables as though it had never existed.
Not a crumb remained.
Dumbledore rose once more.
“Before bedtime,” he announced cheerfully, “let us sing the school song!” A wave of collective dread swept through the older students.
With a flourish of his wand, golden lyrics appeared above the House tables.
The words floated in the air like a magical banner.
Dumbledore beamed at them.
“Everyone pick your favorite tune.” “Ready?” “Sing!” Chaos erupted.
Absolute chaos.
Hundreds of students immediately launched into completely different melodies.
Some sang quickly.
Others sang slowly.
A few appeared determined to invent entirely new songs halfway through.
The result sounded less like a school anthem and more like a magical disaster.
Alvin glanced toward the Gryffindor table.
Fred and George Weasley were solemnly singing to the tune of a funeral march.
Several nearby students looked moments away from choking with laughter.
When the final note finally died away, Dumbledore dabbed at the corner of his eye.
Whether from emotion or relief remained impossible to determine.
After a few final announcements regarding forbidden forests, forbidden corridors, and various forbidden activities that sounded suspiciously tempting, the Headmaster dismissed everyone for the evening.
The prefects quickly gathered their Houses.
Ravenclaw’s male prefect introduced himself as Dieterick Wiggens, a sixth-year.
“Follow me, please.” The Ravenclaws filed out of the Great Hall.
Then they started climbing stairs.
And climbing.
And climbing.
Alvin quickly came to a startling realization.
Hogwarts had far more staircases than any building had a right to possess.
Several minutes later, after ascending what felt like half the castle, they finally arrived at Ravenclaw Tower.
Waiting for them was a polished wooden door.
Mounted in the center was a bronze eagle-shaped knocker.
Dieterick stepped forward and tapped it.
Immediately, the eagle’s eyes gleamed.
Then it spoke.
“What is the most appropriate word to describe an unattractive girl as beautiful?” The first-years blinked.
Several looked completely lost.
Instead of answering, Dieterick turned toward the group.
“Go ahead.” “Try.” “Ravenclaw doesn’t use passwords.” A few students immediately looked pleased.
Then Dieterick continued.
“Our door values intelligence.” “If you can answer its question, you may enter.” “If you can’t, you’ll have to wait until someone else solves it.” The pleased expressions vanished.
A murmur spread through the first-years.
Various answers were proposed.
“Kindness?” “No, that’s not describing her as beautiful.” “Charm?” “That doesn’t really fit either.” Nobody seemed particularly confident.
Then Dieterick casually added, “Oh, and if one of you first-years solves tonight’s riddle, you’ll receive a private room.” The common room instantly became silent.
Every student straightened.
Including Alvin.
A private room?
Now that was valuable.
He had far too many secrets to share a dormitory comfortably.
The discussion continued for another minute.
Still, nobody found a satisfactory answer.
Finally, Alvin stepped forward.
The bronze eagle turned toward him.
“What is your answer?” Alvin smiled.
“Lies.” The eagle stared.
Then nodded.
“Correct.” The door swung open.
Several first-years looked as though they had just watched a winning lottery ticket disintegrate.
Their private room had vanished before they even had a chance.
Dieterick laughed.
“Excellent answer.” Then he led everyone inside.
The Ravenclaw common room was stunning.
A vast circular chamber stretched before them.
Bookshelves lined the curved walls.
Comfortable chairs sat in clusters near the windows.
Bronze and blue decorations reflected the moonlight streaming through tall arches.
Beyond the glass, the grounds of Hogwarts spread out beneath the stars.
The room felt different from the rest of the castle.
Quieter.
Calmer.
A place built for thought.
A place where ideas mattered.
Alvin immediately liked it.
After assigning the first-years to their dormitories, Dieterick led Alvin down a smaller side corridor.
At the very end stood a single wooden door.
“Your prize.” He handed Alvin a key.
“Congratulations.” “Thank you.” Alvin stepped inside.
The room exceeded his expectations.
A large bed occupied one side.
A sturdy desk sat beside a window overlooking the grounds.
There was a wardrobe, a changing area, and enough space to work comfortably without interruption.
It wasn’t luxurious.
But it was private.
And privacy was worth its weight in gold.
Quite literally, in Alvin’s case.
Following the prefect’s instructions, he placed the luggage tag bearing his name into a slot beside the bed.
A few moments later— Pop.
His suitcase appeared.
Alvin raised an eyebrow.
House-elves.
There truly was no competing with magical logistics.
At that moment, a familiar chime echoed through his mind.
[Ding.] [Host has successfully enrolled at Hogwarts.] [Daily Mission System Activated.] [Complete daily tasks to earn 100 Gold.] [No penalty for failure.] Alvin immediately opened the interface.
This was important.
Daily missions would be his most reliable long-term source of Gold.
The panel expanded before him.
Daily Missions Summoning Charm Used: 0/10 Read 30 Pages of The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1: 0/30 Play with Fury for 10 Minutes: 0/10 Alvin visibly relaxed.
Reasonable.
Wonderfully reasonable.
At least the system wasn’t demanding that he duel Voldemort before breakfast.
After unpacking his belongings, he snapped his fingers.
Golden fire blossomed in the room.
A moment later, Fury emerged from the flames.
The phoenix landed beside him and immediately pecked his hand several times.
Apparently, she had opinions.
Strong opinions.
Specifically regarding being ignored all day.
“Alright, alright.” Alvin laughed.
“My fault.” “I was trying not to terrify my new classmates.” Fury chirped indignantly.
Originally, Alvin hadn’t planned on bringing her into Hogwarts so soon.
Arriving with a phoenix on the first day felt like a good way to attract unwanted attention.
Fortunately, his newly acquired private room solved that problem.
After spending some time playing with Fury, he completed the remaining tasks.
Ten uses of the Summoning Charm.
Thirty pages of reading.
A little quality time with a very demanding phoenix.
The mission rewards arrived almost immediately.
With everything finished, Alvin opened his status panel.
Host: Alvin Gaunt Age: 11 Birthday: October 31st Identity: First-Year Hogwarts Student Bloodline: Wizard Spirit (Awakening) Magic Power: 8.5 Magical Items: Guardian Necklace Blocks three Auror-level attacks Blocks two Professor-level attacks Blocks one Legendary-level attack Cooldown: 24 hours Felix Felicis ×1 Inspiration Potion ×3 Instant Magic Recovery Potion ×3 Charms Talent: 5 (Outstanding) Defence Against the Dark Arts Talent: 5 (Outstanding) Dark Arts Talent: 9 (Dark Lord Incarnate) Known Spells: Summoning Charm Shield Charm Sectumsempra And more…
Gold: 1,300 Alvin examined the panel with satisfaction.
His magical reserves already exceeded those of many adult wizards.
His collection of spells continued to grow.
And most importantly, his future potential remained enormous.
All he needed was more Gold.
More draws.
More Character Cards.
Given enough time, there was no telling how far he could go.
After admiring his progress for several minutes, he finally closed the interface.
He washed up.
Fed Fury one last treat.
Then climbed into bed.
The phoenix settled comfortably nearby, her feathers glowing softly in the darkness.
Within minutes, sleep claimed him.
Tomorrow would be his first full day at Hogwarts.
And Alvin intended to enjoy every second of it.