The warm sunlight of early July washed over the crowded streets of London in 1990. High in the sky, the morning sun's light reflected on the feathers of a shiny, earthy-brown owl.
The owl, holding a letter in its mouth, began a sudden descent as it passed over the Thames, gliding towards a green park stretching into the distance. Slowing down, it waved its wings gracefully as it circled above the old houses and finally entered a Victorian-styled mansion through an open second-floor window.
The room it entered was large, with a spotless, old wood-panel floor. There were few furnishings in the room—only a large queen-size wooden bed, a large mahogany reading table, and a cabinet with four shelves filled with books of all sizes.
Near the reading table, holding an exquisite quill decorated by a large raven feather, was a young boy around twelve. His raven-black hair fluttered with the slight wind that entered through the open window, and his eyes were a deep silver, like a storm of lightning. Only the slightest hint of blue could be seen around their center, giving them a cold and sharp edge.
Ted, now eleven, was still on the tall side, standing at 154 centimeters.
The owl landed on the table right next to Ted, who didn't even lift his head as he continued writing something on a piece of parchment. The owl, dissatisfied with being ignored, hooted at the young man who was focused on the parchment. Ted looked at the owl for only a second before he kept writing hastily.
A few minutes later, Ted ran out of parchment and finally turned to the impatient owl who had been giving him stares for the last few minutes, adding a hoot here and there, seemingly not wanting Ted to forget its existence.
Taking the letter from the owl, Ted opened the envelope, a smile rising to his face. He was waiting for this letter forever...
[
HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore (Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)
Dear Mr. Blake,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on September 1. We await your reply by no later than July 31. If you are unable to use an owl for communication, please reply by ordinary mail to the address Hogwarts, and an acceptance professor will personally visit you before the start of term to purchase the necessary supplies for the upcoming year.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall Deputy Headmistress
]
Reading through it quickly, Ted passed to the second piece of parchment
[
HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY
Uniform:
Three sets of plain work robes (black)
One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear
One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)
Books:
The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk
A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot
Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling
A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore
Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble
Equipment:
Wand
Cauldron (Pewter, Standard Size 2)
Glass or Crystal Phials
Brass Telescope
Set of Brass Scales
Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad
PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall Deputy Headmistress
]
He already owned all the needed equipment and prepared ahead of time; all he needed now was a wand. After that day, a little more than two years ago, Ted had the chance to visit Diagon Alley several times.
Initially, he had troubles with choosing what he wanted. However, soon, through learning potions, he found another way to get wizarding coins. During the summer of 1988, Ted visited Diagon Alley several times, and by the end of the summer, he returned to his boarding school with his suitcase filled with magical materials.
He found an abandoned basement at his school, using it as a lab he eventually created several of the more simple cost-effective potions. By Christmas, he already had enough to sell and double the coins with which he bought the materials.
Selling was initially a problem, after all, he was just a kid. Fortunately, he had Raynold, the old shopkeeper at 'Slugs and Jiggers' who helped him sell to interested buyers; the old man had taken a liking to him for his talent at potions and had even given him a 20% discount on the items he bought.
By the time of spring vacation this year, Ted had already reached N.E.W.T level in potions and had even invented his own original potion, the skin refresher. He created it using his combined knowledge of chemistry and potions.
The potion could make any witch or wizard look younger by about 15 years with the limitation looking at 16. Meaning a 17 and a 31 drinking it would get the same results; drinking it below 16, though, was extremely dangerous...
Anyway, it was cheap to make and extremely popular, bringing him extremely high profits, currently having equipment and coins totaling over 30,000 Galleons in their worth, those being worth about 540,000 Pounds.
Most of his coins though... were already spent. Last time he was in Diagon Alley, Ted came across a suitcase enchanted with space enlargement, anti-theft, lightness, etc. Its interior was the size of his room twice over. It could keep things hidden, be incredibly lightweight, and its size was no more than a lawyer's briefcase.
It was sold in an auction, reaching 18,000 Galleon with Ted having the winning bid. This thing was basically a portable safehouse, absolutely worth every dime in Ted's opinion.
Putting the two letters on the desk, Ted took the one he just wrote and blew on it a few times, making sure the ink was dry before handing it to the owl, and putting a silver sickle in the bag that was tied to its leg. He had prepared this letter ahead knowing it was the day; after all, today was the 7th of July, his birthday.
<================>
A bit later that day, in the library, Ted was now fiddling with a small box in his hand. The box was green in color, decorated with lines of silver, and the letter 'S' was curved like a snake on its top.
'Probably thought to the Death Eaters,' Ted thought as he passed the box from one hand to the other repeatedly. This was Ted's birthday present; apparently, before his mother died, she had prepared a will. In it, she left all that she owned to his father except for her books and this box, which was only to be given to him when he turned eleven.
He kept playing with it but couldn't bring himself to open it. He'd been throwing it around for the last hour, and it was already noon. He still wanted to get his wand today.
'I'll think about it later,' he decided finally as he threw it into a black briefcase that laid on the desk. It was a neat leather-bound briefcase decorated by thousands of small runes and the letters T.S.B standing for Theodor Selwyn Blake. This small briefcase cost him 300,000 pounds.
Entering his room again, Ted waved his hand at the closet-room door. "Indutus Vestio," he said as a robe came flying out of the closet-room and wrapped itself around him, covering the casual white silk t-shirt and black silk-tailored pants.
Yes, Ted couldn't buy a wand, but it didn't mean he didn't learn how to use magic at all. It was hard, it took a lot of dedication, time, and effort, but eventually, he could cast the simplest of spells wandlessly. It took him a full six months of relentless day by day attempts, but eventually, he had cast his first spell and could cause little things to levitate, and from there, it only became easier.
The hardest parts about casting a spell with no wand were feeling the magic, which he already did at Ollivanders, concentrating it at one spot on the body and sending it out of the body. After he could do all of that, which was what the wand did naturally, all he had to do was learn the incantation, imagine the effects, understand them and gain control.
Most of those things came to him very naturally, and he eventually mastered them all, allowing him to learn low-level spells amounting to over several dozens and eventually, He even succeeded at casting 'Expelliarmus,' which was considered mid-level magic.
Taking a deep breath, Ted walked down the street towards the center of Kingstown before he lifted his right arm, driving a little magic through it. Only a minute later, the familiar 'Bang' sound of the Knight bus stopping was heard as the triple-decker stopped right in front of him.
From it came out a young man. "Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard. Just stick out your wand hand, step on board, and we can take you anywhere you want to go. My name is Stan Shunpike, and I will be your conductor this morning."
<==================>
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hope you like where this story is going.
Anyway you are welcome to try my other fic
HIMYM: Barney Stinson... but with a Vampire System?!