Vincent stood in the orphanage hallway, listening to the steady patter of rain against the windows.
It had been an entire year since his transmigration, yet he still hadn’t grown accustomed to England’s endlessly dreary weather.
It seemed to rain for three-quarters of the year, leaving the hems of his trousers almost as damp as the orphanage floors.
The reason he had endured it all floated before his eyes.
[Congratulations on Your Transmigration: Harry Potter World]
[Timeline: 1990]
[Please Select Your Talent…]
[Talent Wheel Loading: 99%]
Lines of text glowed across a pale-blue screen visible only to him.
Ever since he had awakened in the body of Vincent Aydon—a ten-year-old orphan with black hair and dark eyes—this mysterious interface had accompanied him.
I’d gladly put up with rain every single day of the year if this thing actually worked.
Vincent had accepted his transmigration almost immediately.
The only problem was that, back then, the [Talent Wheel Loading] had been stuck at 0%.
Over the course of an entire year, it had crept upward bit by bit.
Now, at long last, it had reached 99%.
Vincent couldn’t suppress his excitement.
This has to be the slowest loading screen in history.
For an entire year, he had been waiting for this moment.
The timing couldn’t have been more important.
It was 1990, and he was ten years old.
If he possessed magical talent, he would receive his Hogwarts letter the following summer and begin attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry on 1 September 1991.
And everyone knew what that meant.
Once Harry Potter entered Hogwarts, the gears of destiny would begin turning.
Professor Quirrell would become possessed by Voldemort.
The Chamber of Secrets would be opened, unleashing the Basilisk.
Sirius Black would escape from Azkaban.
Lord Voldemort would eventually regain his body.
Dumbledore, Sirius Black, Cedric Diggory, Remus Lupin, Fred Weasley, Nymphadora Tonks, Severus Snape, and countless others would lose their lives during the Second Wizarding War.
Since he had already transmigrated into this world, Vincent refused to simply watch those tragedies unfold.
His first goal was simple.
Become an exceptionally powerful wizard.
His second was even more important.
Save everyone who had met a tragic fate in the original story.
Everything depended on whether he truly possessed magical talent.
The clock on the wall ticked.
The hour hand shifted forward by one mark.
Vincent fixed his gaze on the screen.
[Talent Wheel Loading: 100%]
A brilliant flash of white light filled his vision.
An enormous roulette wheel materialized before him.
It spun rapidly, its colorful sections covered with different talents.
[Purple Talent — Charms Specialist]
A once-in-a-century prodigy.
Any Charm you learn can be mastered after seeing it once.
[Blue Talent — Guardian Keeper]
An extraordinary Quidditch Keeper.
Your reflexes are so sharp that you can block shots with your eyes closed.
[Green Talent — Cat Whisperer]
You can speak a broken version of Parseltongue.
Cats have a 50% chance of not understanding you and a 40% chance of ignoring you even if they do.
[White Talent — Squib]
Although born to wizarding parents, you possess no magical ability whatsoever.
Tiny golden sections were scattered across the wheel.
They were so narrow that he couldn’t even read what was written on them.
“Anything but the white one…”
Even becoming a cat whisperer ignored by cats would be acceptable.
As long as he could use magic.
“Come on… Spin!”
The wheel accelerated instantly before gradually slowing.
The pointer drifted toward the white section.
Vincent’s face became almost as pale as the talent itself.
Then—
At the last possible moment—
The pointer slid past it.
[Golden Talent Obtained — Legendary Animagus!]
[Reward Obtained: Transfiguration Mastery]
You possess complete mastery over Transfiguration magic.
You may obtain your Animagus form by completing the Animagus transformation process.
[Additional Talents Locked]
Requirement: Complete the Animagus transformation.
Progress: (0/10)
“Yes!”
Vincent leaped into the air.
Animagus…
He immediately recalled what that title represented.
An Animagus was a witch or wizard capable of transforming into a specific animal at will while retaining their human intelligence.
It was one of the most difficult branches of Transfiguration, mastered by only a handful of people in modern magical history.
Professor Minerva McGonagall herself was a registered Animagus whose animal form was a tabby cat.
“Transforming into an animal doesn’t sound as flashy as mastering an entire subject…”
“But its potential is incredible.”
Reconnaissance.
Espionage.
Stealth.
Escape.
Infiltration.
Ambush.
An Animagus could excel in countless situations.
More importantly…
He had also received Transfiguration Mastery.
Even if he focused solely on Transfiguration, he could become an extraordinary wizard.
And once he completed the Animagus transformation…
Even more talents would unlock.
“My journey as a wizard is finally beginning.”
Unable to contain his excitement, Vincent clenched his fist.
Crack!
A sharp sound echoed through the corridor.
Then another.
And another.
“Oh no…”
Every window along the corridor exploded simultaneously.
Young witches and wizards who had yet to receive formal magical education often experienced accidental magic whenever their emotions became unstable.
Vincent’s overwhelming excitement had unconsciously triggered exactly that.
Orphanage Director’s Office
Vincent sat quietly in a wooden chair with his head lowered.
Across the desk, Director Kenna adjusted her small round spectacles.
Beneath her graying hair, her sharp eyes remained fixed on him.
“Thirty minutes ago,” she began, “every window in the west wing’s second-floor corridor shattered simultaneously.”
“When the other children arrived, they found only you standing there.”
“Would you care to explain what happened?”
Vincent sighed inwardly.
He had deliberately chosen that deserted corridor because almost nobody ever passed through it.
Unfortunately, that also meant there wasn’t another person he could blame.
“I… I was practicing cricket, ma’am.”
“I accidentally broke the windows.”
Director Kenna raised an eyebrow.
“You were playing cricket…”
“…and somehow managed to shatter every window in the corridor at the same time?”
Her expression clearly said she didn’t believe a word of it.
Seeing Vincent remain silent, she folded her hands together and let out a weary sigh.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Aydon.”
Here it comes…
Vincent braced himself.
He expected a lecture about dishonesty, reckless behavior, and property damage, followed by weeks of punishment.
Instead…
Director Kenna’s expression unexpectedly softened.
“It’s time you learned the truth.”
Vincent blinked.
…What?
“We’ve kept it from you because explaining it to a child would have been difficult.”
“But after what happened today…”
“…we can no longer keep it a secret.”
She looked directly into his eyes.
Her expression was unusually solemn.
“Vincent…”
“You’re a wizard.”