Hogwarts Outsider

There is no doubt the witch at Magical Menagerie was correct. Since returning to his room at Leaky Cauldron, the toad won’t stop croaking.

At this moment, it would be impossible to share a room with this toad…

Matthew then hangs the glass box on the balcony, then closes the window behind him. Finally, Matthew is at peace inside his room

—-

It was high noon; he left his room to get lunch downstairs.

Matthew couldn’t enjoy his lunch without feeling bothered by the old wizard next to him; he was wearing a thick wool coat in this scorching heat… of course, it would bother Matthew.

This old wizard then ordered a plate of pig liver; he sliced it open and relished it; he savored every single bite.

Fortunately, Matthew is used to this kind of view by now. His mental fortitude was strong; he finished his lunch and then went upstairs.

On his way to his room, he glanced at other rooms. He sees other children around his age, other Muggle-born Hogwarts freshmen.

Matthew is not in a hurry to get acquainted with them.

……

After returning to his room, Matthew organized the stuff they bought this morning.

He tore the seal of each book they bought at Flourish & Blotts Bookseller and put each on top of the table.

“The Standard Books of Spells, Grade 1. A Beginner’s Guide to Transfiguration. The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection.” Matthew murmured.

Those are all the same textbooks as in the original Harry Potter in his memory.

There are four quills, two bottles of black ink, a bottle of red ink, and a large stack of papers.

Suddenly Matthew’s movement comes to a halt. He found something strange at the bottom of everything… a book he doesn’t recognize buying.

It’s not thick; this book is way thinner than the previous books.

It is covered with leather, which gives people an unpleasant feeling just by looking at it. He could see the paper from the side; it was yellow… the sign of an aged book.

Matthew is puzzled by the existence of this strange book in front of him; his gut is telling him this book should be avoided.

“What the fuck is this book supposed to be?” He frowned and froze momentarily before taking the crumpled to-buy list from his pocket.

He compares it again, rereads it, and finds no such thing about the strange book in that list…

Matthew did not act rashly. He dared not touch the mysterious book because he knew he was in a wizarding world now.

Even an ordinary diary may contain the essence or spell of a powerful dark wizard, enough to rush and make a mess out of your mind. This book in front of him is not an exception.

Matthew took a deep breath and then made a choice; he went to the barkeeper’s room.

He rang the bell, and a minute later, the door opened.

A hunched figure appeared; it was the barkeeper, Tom. Smiling showing his rotting teeth, his smile is rather unpleasant…

“Do you need any assistance, Mr. Wickfield?” Tom asked while grinning.

“Can you please help me throw these cartons and boxes into the trash, Mr. Tom?” Matthew asked.

“With pleasure, Mr. Wickfield!” He replied.

Tom then walked into Matthew’s room and cleaned the mess. He took out the trash inside the room and walked down the stairs.

Matthew felt relieved as if he just avoided something dangerous.

—-

Throughout the noon up till evening, he read the books zealously. Although he doesn’t have a wand, he can read the theories about magic.

Magic is not what Matthew thought of before; he thought he only needed to wave the wand and shout some Latin words. To his surprise, as a result of his study, he found that conjuring a spell requires more than just that…

Control over one’s emotion, mastery over subjective consciousness, and complex gestures must be adjusted to different situations…

Learning magic might be much more complicated than Matthew imagined.

The bell rang, a sign the clock had struck eleven at night. Matthew then put down the book “One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi” in his hand.

“Time to rest.” Matthew said to himself, “But before that, let me get this fella that is still hanging out on my balcony.” Matthew then proceeded to take the toad he had left hanging outside.

Matthew realized he hadn’t even named the toad. Matthew smiled, seeing the toad upside down, thinking it was sleeping because it was not croaking anymore.

Suddenly a green fire blazed out of nowhere inside the glass box with the toad inside it; Matthew’s expression changed instantly… he was terrified…

The toad didn’t croak because it was asleep, it was upside down, and its eyes had turned lifeless… it’s long dead…

“How could it be…” Matthew muttered; what surprised him the most was not the toad’s death.

It’s something under the toad’s body… the mysterious book…

A book that should not fit inside let alone exist anywhere near him, because he had already asked Tom to throw it out.

The sky outside suddenly turned dark, and cold winds blew; then, a crimson moonlight shone through Matthew’s room window.