"Oh! Merlin's beard. I must have been overwhelmed and completely missed a young wizard."
Professor McGonagall pressed a hand against her forehead, looking genuinely troubled. The Hogwarts Book of Admittance never made mistakes. If Jamie Campbell Bauer's name appeared inside its ancient pages, then he was unquestionably qualified to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
The decisions made by the Book of Admittance and the Quill of Acceptance were absolute. Throughout Hogwarts' long history, no student whose name had failed to appear in the book had ever been admitted to the school.
The moment a magical child displayed enough accidental magic, the enchanted quill would leap from its inkwell and record the child's name in the book.
"Fortunately, the school year hasn't started yet. There's still time. I need to send that young wizard his Hogwarts letter immediately."
Without wasting another second, Professor McGonagall hurried down from the tower and returned to her office. The moment she stepped inside, she began preparing the admission notice.
"Oh, the address is... Number 17, Godric's Hollow. I seem to remember another young wizard living there. Tyler Blake, wasn't it? Could the two of them be living together?"
She paused briefly before shaking her head.
"No matter. There's no time to worry about that now. The letter needs to go out immediately."
Even if two young wizards happened to share the same home, there was nothing unusual about it. After finishing the paperwork, Professor McGonagall attached the letter to a school owl and sent it on its way.
Number 17, Godric's Hollow.
"It looks like Hogwarts finally sent the admission letter."
Jamie watched an owl fly directly toward the house and smiled.
After removing the envelope from the owl's leg, he tossed the bird a small piece of bread. The owl gulped it down enthusiastically before spreading its wings and flying away.
"Let's see what we've got here."
Jamie opened the envelope and pulled out the two sheets of parchment.
"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."
"Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore. Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, and recipient of the Order of Merlin, First Class."
"Dear Mr. Bauer:
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Enclosed is a list of all required books and equipment.
Term begins on September 1st. We await your owl no later than August 4th.
Yours sincerely,
Professor Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress."
Jamie finished reading and snorted.
"Hogwarts really hasn't changed at all. This admission letter has absolutely no style. It's a miracle they manage to recruit students."
He waved the parchment in the air.
"Just look at the acceptance packages Muggle schools send out these days. Compared to that, the entire wizarding world feels ancient and outdated. Everything smells like it's been sitting untouched for centuries."
After reading the letter, Jamie couldn't help complaining.
Tyler merely shrugged.
"The International Statute of Secrecy was originally meant to protect wizards, but eventually the magical world is going to be exposed anyway. It's only a matter of time."
His tone carried more disdain than concern.
Muggle society had already entered the information age. Technology advanced every year, while most of the wizarding world stubbornly refused to change. One side constantly evolved. The other remained trapped in the past.
Natural selection applied to civilizations too.
If wizards continued resisting progress, they would eventually pay the price for it.
"Come on," Tyler said. "Let's head to Diagon Alley. The reconstruction should be mostly finished by now, and you still need a wand along with all your school supplies."
Jamie nodded thoughtfully.
"I still think we should connect the fireplace to the Floo Network. Apparition feels awful."
Tyler immediately shook his head.
"No thanks. I don't want Ministry employees having access to my house. Besides, traveling through the Floo Network isn't exactly comfortable either. Most forms of magical transportation involving spatial travel feel terrible."
His distrust of the Ministry of Magic remained as strong as ever.
"Fair enough."
Jamie stepped closer and rested a hand on Tyler's shoulder.
Tyler raised an eyebrow at him but said nothing. A moment later, he cast Apparition.
With a loud crack, both boys vanished from the living room.
A second later, they reappeared elsewhere.
"Ugh."
Jamie grimaced immediately.
This time they hadn't traveled through the Leaky Cauldron. Tyler had brought them directly into Diagon Alley.
The famous wizarding shopping district still showed the scars of the disaster that had struck it not long ago.
Construction crews were everywhere.
Witches and wizards moved through the streets carrying materials, casting repair charms, and rebuilding damaged storefronts. While magic could fix many things quickly, some damage couldn't simply be waved away with a wand.
Buildings destroyed by intense fires often required complete reconstruction. Certain enchanted materials had to be replaced entirely rather than repaired.
The most obvious example stood directly ahead.
Gringotts Wizarding Bank.
The goblins had suffered enormous losses during the attack. Much of the structure had been destroyed, and reconstruction efforts were still underway.
Even so, the goblins had established several temporary banking stations outside the ruined building. They had no intention of allowing their business operations to stop.
"Those greedy goblins probably never imagined that the people responsible for robbing Gringotts would be strolling around right in front of them."
Jamie leaned toward Tyler and whispered with a grin.
Tyler shot him a sharp look.
"The Gringotts robbery had nothing to do with us. It was obviously the work of an evil dark wizard."
Jamie nearly laughed out loud.
Despite the joke, Tyler remained serious.
Their current strength was nowhere near enough to dominate the wizarding world. They needed time to grow stronger, gather resources, and remain unnoticed.
Keeping a low profile was still their highest priority.
"Fine, fine," Jamie said. "Low-profile people. High-profile actions. I get it."
Tyler nodded.
"First we buy your wand. Everything else can wait until afterward."
The two continued walking through Diagon Alley.
Along the way, they passed numerous damaged shops still undergoing repairs. Some storefronts remained boarded up, while others had only recently reopened.
Although Tyler himself had been responsible for much of the destruction, he felt absolutely no guilt about it.
In the wizarding world, power was everything.
Those without power became victims.
Those with power made the rules.
That was simply reality.
Fortunately for Ollivanders, the famous wand shop had escaped the worst of the destruction. Its location was far enough away from Gringotts that the shockwaves and magical fires had never reached it.
The narrow storefront looked exactly as it always had.
Dusty windows.
Towering shelves.
And thousands upon thousands of wand boxes.
The moment Tyler and Jamie stepped through the door, a soft voice greeted them from somewhere inside the shop.
"Good afternoon, gentlemen. Are you here to purchase a wand?"
.....
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