A New World, A New Life
He woke up, disoriented and cold as ice.
Shivering, as he got up as he was lying face-down on the cold, wet grass from dew, he warmed himself up with warming charms.
"Where the bloody hell am I?" he swore, as he stood up.
It was nighttime.
The trees look...different.
The air smelled so clean. He was used to the air of Britain. Muggy and all else.
He wandered around, until he found a rocky fountain with a crystal-blue glowing water with glowing lights around.
"What is that?"
He got near it out of curiosity, but when he got near, his body started feeling warmer and better.
Intrigued, he got close enough, that his whole body is glowing, warm and good feeling that his malnourished and dehydrated body afflicted by Dementor-Torture felt life coming in. He drank the waters, and it was more effective that way!
He drank and drank, wishing hard on his magic to utilize these magic waters to completely heal his body of all physical, mental and magical ills as he drank greedily.
End result?
His withered body soon looked healthier than he had been before his imprisonment. He looked younger even, more noticeable when he spelled off his facial hair, and his dry, wiry hair now hanging limply on his head, but thick, healthy and luscious. His ugly teeth fell off, replaced by healthier, straight pearly-whites. His yellowing-but-pale, cracked brittle nails fell off and clean, healthy pink ones grew in its place, causing him to feel discomfort in his feet due to something poking, and he took off his shoes and socks to see healthy toenails.
He shook off his socks, and out fell five yucky nails per sock. Ewww! Cringing, he banished his gross-looking nails he put up with, and enjoyed his new manicure-pedicure job.
'Merlin's beard...' he gaped, astonished. His thin bony hands now look healthy. "Harry, Moony, if only you're here, perhaps this is the start of a life we would have wanted together..." he mourned as this world is peaceful by the looks of things, as from his walks he saw a nearby quaint, homey-looking town. No road and no pavement. Just cleared, flattened land.
He struck, reluctantly using the Imperius Curse on some armored men, clearly night shift guards into telling him what he needed to know.
Men here are taller than he, being six feet tall.
He's damn glad they speak English, what they call 'common' here...but writing is another story. Commoners are illiterate until they gain apprenticeship at age 10, with which they are taught how to write and do maths. Some jobs require manners and etiquette too, if they're serving wealthy/nobility/royalty, before they get taught skills needed to pay the bills. Until then, children help their mothers at home in doing chores before they go out to play, or learn from parents in order to avoid wasting time and go straight to apprenticeship skill mastery in their apprenticeship.
He was in a world called Azeroth.
He learned its got many interesting inhabitants, and human culture and warfare.
Fascinating, so fascinating!
Once he was done with them, he gained a sample of money from the man.
Money is in copper, iron, silver and gold.
The wealthy are the only ones to EVER touch gold and silver.
1 gold equals 1000 silver.
1 silver equals 5000 irons.
For commoners, they can only ever touch iron and copper coins. For a commoner, the highest salary one can get, was 4000 irons and they live relatively well-off lives. But cannot access stuff way beyond their budget.
1 iron equals 1000 copper.
Copper can give a commoner enough food for two days' tops.
When he checked the market prices, it made damn sense. Vegetables and flavor herbs and spices cost depends on its weight in scales and kind, the most expensive being those around almost a hundred copper. Fruit is cheaper, Chicken is cheap around 140, eggs go for 9 per egg, mutton 170, pork 230, beef can go as high as 240. Grains? Wheat is 50 per kilogram, and rice is 70 or higher. Beer can cost 70 a bottle, Ale costs 90 a bottle. Wine and Liquor, beyond monthly budget.
Thus the ideal amount of money of a commoner family of five for a life of comfort, is around 96000 copper, or 96 irons in just food alone, but what about furniture and other stuff, eh? Taxes too!
"For a mere bachelor like me, food will be 17 irons in food." Sirius thought as he wrote on soil with a stick. "I rarely drink anyway, but in this world I can't afford whiskey and stuff, I'm restricted to solely beer and ale. That's another iron. Taxes here? 10% of your salary a month and Tax Collectors come charging the day before New Year comes.
Building a house, filling it up with furniture and knick-knacks, will nearly cost a silver and that's for a small thatched cottage alone for a family of four. Houses here? You need at least 3 silver for that! The good thing was, there's no such thing as real estate. You can build anywhere you like, as long as it doesn't get in the way, as long as the Mayor knows where you live. Towns and Villages are defined very distinctively through housing alone.
The town he was in called Brill, was a town where its people enjoy an income of 70 irons a month, and free medical treatments as the nearby Fountain of Health cures all ills. To earn the silver needed to build a house in a town, a man must earn 840 irons in a year. 6 years would make 5040. That's 1 silver with change left over. And his fiancee must then decorate to make it a home. Using his money of course. By calculations...commoners marry very late in life. Men are typically older than their wives hence for anyone living in towns. For villagers who live in cottages, marry younger than they do.
Bad thing? No such thing as Flats here. Inns and Travel Taverns are NOT apartments. You can only stay as long as a week and begone to make space for weary newcomers. If you want a roof on your head, build a damn house or live in a tent.
Perhaps its a good thing Sirius knows how to make magical tents and camping skills...it's a NEWT-Level skill that became vital in wartime...
Thus a Bachelor before he marries a girl, must have a budget enough to build their own home, and fill it up with furniture, decor, and equipped with a complete set of tools. Commoner Men must be capable of craftsmanship and carpentry, or no woman will marry him. Because a man's duty is to provide and protect, and a wife's duty is to be supportive to a tired husband who comes home from work, educate children in basics, and cook, clean and make crafts to sell for extra income, if she had such skill...and teach her children those skills.
But educational standards here are...low. It's like the 17-18th century all over again but less than that, in regards to modern comforts of the time itself. Hell, 17-18th centuries were more modern than this! When he once complained to Harry how bored he was in yet another prison, Harry had called Dobby and got him choice books. Perhaps it's fate Harry gave him those books as considering what world he's in now, it's vital for his survival now!
"OK, I'm a 35 years old man. At a normal marriageable age in this world." Sirius thought with a twitch. "I need to be young again somehow, I can't marry here and I'm worse than dirt-poor! I'm a newcomer to this world..." he swore.
He dedicated himself to traveling thus for bigger places, aiming for Andorrhal after going to the meat farms and stealing some sheep for himself to sustain him on his journey. There are two types of fountains...one was the Health one, the other one for regaining Magical Energy!
He also sought out mines, so he can get money and buy things he needs. He targeted both iron and gold mines. It'll be weird if he, with his shabby clothes possessed gold coins!
All adults here are six feet tall. Men are veeeery muscular! Women wear their hair long and wear dresses or blouses that leave their upper breasts or majority of it exposed, if one wears dresses that covered 1/4, barely enough for modesty...what's with these people? He could only blush. But alas, women must have it big and flaunt it to attract a rich husband. And the bigger, the healthier the babies are when breastfeeding as was urban belief and even to him, that didn't make sense. The old broad he had to call mother was flat as a board and he grew up just fine!
He then deaged himself using magics from a Fountain of Mana and made sure he did it right. Satisfied, as a now ten years old boy, he magicked his way into apprenticeship just to...learn how to write.
"How...degrading." he thought in dismay, but bucked up with it.
On the path to magic, there are things an apprentice must pursue in order:
4 years of Herbalism or Inscripting = Master these two mandatory fields, either one is OK, must deem you a graduate, a new Master in a minimum of four years. Failing this benchmark, kiss your Mage dreams goodbye as Herbalism is a test of a student's studying skills, memory retention and knowledge. A loooong exam that is passed by 100% AND making a successful basic potion is required to graduate. They can then, get license to practice.
4 years of Alchemy = Pass this, and your Diplomas with your Master's signatures and stamps, will grant you entry to Dalaran's Magic Schools!
To enter a Magic School in Dalaran, you need two Diplomas in Herbalism, Alchemy, Enchanting and Inscripting.
But to the remaining two unlearned skills, you'll have to take supplementary classes along with a school of choice.
"OK, I have 18 years benchmark to meet." Sirius thought, now a ten years old boy again. He had bought cheap clothing for himself in order NOT to stand out.
His Master in Herbalism in Andorrhal, was Mistress Esmeralda.
She was a Grand Master in Herbalism and Alchemy, and works in Andorrhal as a Pharmacist, selling medicine for a living.
She takes in four students at a time, before receiving next batch.
The life of an Apprentice has free room, if he could call it THAT, and food. But Tuition Fee is 10 silver a year.
That's 50000 irons.
Most commoners can only dream of touching those coins, as only the wealthy merchants, aristocrats and royalty are allowed to possess them, as well as Grandmasters and Masters of Professions. Thus they pay in irons by bulk. Nobles can simply hire Masters to tutor them at home. Jerks!
'Alright then kids,' said Mistress Esmeralda to her new students. 'Introduce yourselves to me.'
Sirius has three classmates.
All were well-off commoners, mostly girls! People from Common Families rarely have surnames, unless their parents accomplished a great feat renowned enough, that they can gain a surname but must travel to Lordaeron's Civil Registry Office for it.
So here in this world, he's just Sirius, a sponsored orphan, that's it, and he ensured they won't ask questions he can't answer.
His three classmates were Melissa, a girl with auburn hair and brown eyes with freckles, Katrina who has curtains that matched her windows being black, and Sophie who has brown hair but blue eyes.
Sirius was the only guy in the class.
"Well, here goes nothing!" he swore, as his hair was cut in a modern boyish style he sees in kids back in his old world. A wave of his wand and it's done. But until he graduates...
...he cannot show anyone he can do magic already.