Mat was 9 ½ years old and had advanced so much in school that he dropped out and was home-schooled. This was decided by his parents due to his school trying to push Mat into gaining qualifications at a higher level and performing his music in local theatres. Mat agreed wholeheartedly with this decision. He now had more time to pursue what he felt he needed to, to realise his plans.

He helped steer his family to success in the stock market and the property ladder. They were getting rich, very fast. His mum had more success with her job due to smart investments, that money was funnelled into buying properties and his dad was renovating and selling them for profit. They eventually started their own company, Lawson Enterprises. His parents were co-founders. His dad acted as a property manager and his mum, the financial specialist. She split off from her job at Barclays bank but kept links within the company so she could access their resources, it was mutually beneficial, Barclays had stocks in Lawson Enterprises but had no control. The gambling aspect was ended as soon as the money started rolling in. They did bet on the World cup though.

The Lawsons were millionaires in the middle of summer 1998. The smart investments and the business enterprise were taking off. Mike, Mat's dad had hired nearly all of the family to work in home renovations as well as helping people get into the building trade. His mum, Sandra, had an office on their own property in the head office that is on their property in the new home. They had moved to a new house this year too. Lawson Enterprises had bought it with the intention of selling it on but had fallen in love with the small estate. The previous owner was in hospital for years and the property had fallen into disrepair, the garden was overgrown and there was some flood damage. There was over 4 hectares of land on the property. The main house consisted of two wings but was not overly large. They updated and repaired everything within and without of the house. Mat demanded they build a gym, library and an area for him to meditate outside. They could not deny him this as he was the reason for their success.

The amount of money being brought into the family allowed them to hire some of the best private tutors in the area for Mat. He now spoke fluent Latin and had a firm grasp on Germanic runes and a general understanding of Egyptian hieroglyphics. Mat would meditate for hours in the small temple structure on the grounds, it was a 3-minute walk from the house in a very old, untamed wooded area. He would organise his thoughts and calm his mind in this space. He was intimately familiar with the trees and wildlife that lived around here. He could see the brown colours of the plants and trees all around him. He was getting so attuned that he did not need to open his eyes now. As he meditated, he accessed his magical core. The plants and wildlife were flourishing in this area. The trees seemed to have grown and were arching towards the small temple structure where Mat would meditate. The grass was a perfect green, as were the leaves on the trees. There were wild flowers like bluebells, violets, witch-hazel and many different colours of tulips here as well. They seemed to glow with colour.

He would also practice his magic here. There was a small clearing where he could create his balls of light and shield. It was here that he found out that he could make sounds. He tried focussing on condensing a sound wave and releasing the pressure. This created a loud bass pulse. He started practicing with this in different frequencies and pitch and could emulate certain sounds with this, such as sounds that emulated kick drum and snare. This was not perfect though. He decided to weaponize this ability and started creating as many shockwaves as he could in a small amount of time. This developed into pumping magic into a condensed space and that created an explosion. He called this the Sound Bomb. He visualised condensing the air so much that the energy erupted at supersonic speeds. His largest explosion he created shook the ground and made a crater. He would eventually buy scrap metal and other materials then blowing them up, just to see how strong he could get. He could create up to four small explosions and set them off at different times. He thought this could be used to disorient enemies without hurting them. He combined the Sound Bomb with the shield.

He could now create a shield that was like a half dome, facing forward. He thought that in time he could make the shield cover him from all directions. The shield was stronger when smaller though. He did not know how powerful, or how resistant it was. The half dome shield was about the same size as when the car crashed into him, so he reasoned that it would be able to stop the same amount of force. He could create the Sound Bomb when the shield was active and did not have to drop it when casting. This was a major advantage. He knew that wizards had to drop a protective shield to cast magic. The shield and spell were both cast with the wand so this is when they would be vulnerable. However, trained teams could work in pairs in which one could cast protective shields and the other offensive spells.

While Mat was thinking about the tactics behind his magic against other wizards, he came up with the idea of creating his own mercenary company. This mercenary company would be trained by the muggle armed forces. In all the information he had on the Wizarding World, tactics didn't seem to play any part in their thinking. War was not won by two forces smashing into each other and hoping for the best. It was about intelligence, tactics and teamwork. Mat's idea was to train muggles how to take down wizards in combat. He was sure that a wizard or witch couldn't stop a bullet, well they could, but a shield would already have to be up. Imagine a sniper hidden in Diagon Alley and taking out a prime target without them knowing where it came from? When the wizards use fancy spells and are stood in the open, Mat's team could take them out, fast, and then disappear. At least that was the theory.

Wizard and muggle teams would have to be created too. The magic caster could have many functionalities, such as field medics, shield bearers, artillery or a wide range of spells that could be used to incapacitate an enemy. Another role that wizards could have with muggles would be infiltrators, sabotage experts or information gatherers. These roles could be utilised with both muggles and wizards and both would be effective. There would have to be major reprogramming of the wizarding brain for them to work in unison like this. Mat would have to get in contact with ex forces to create his mercenary company. This would have to come later, he wanted his family to live in ignorance for a bit longer.

When Mat was planning on how to include muggles in his world, he had thought about using explosives. Because Mat could use his shockwaves and cast the Lumos charm, he thought of using them both together, to create a magical flashbang. This was not very hard to do. He had already cast them both and were both powerful. The hard part was to make the Lumos at a distance so he wouldn't be affected by it. He would, in the future, create more tactics to combat magicians. Muggles appeared more inventive than wizards, they could think outside of the box. They were not all set in their ways and could create something unique.

Mat decided to take his SATs when he turned 10. He felt he needed time to prepare for the future, it would be a year from his birthday when he could visit Diagon Alley and could start studying magic. Unfortunately, Mat could not access or re-create other spells. He believed that this was because he did not now how the spell worked. With his Lumos spell, he created a golden ball of light, the real Lumos would be a pure white light and so was not the same spell. With the others, he would need to feel the spell when cast, as well as heard the sound it makes to truly comprehend it.

Christmas came and went, and the new year had started. The 10-year-old Mat was Muay Thai training with Tom in the ring. The gym his family had built had a full-sized boxing ring, a full set of punching bags; like speed balls and a personally made body punch bag. They were doing pads. Mat was focussed on his punching when he had gone into a trance. He could see his own golden aura splitting the air and the see the shockwaves when hitting the pads. It looked like a splash of gold when each punch hit. He couldn't help but smile at this. Tom changed to legs, and he could see the same with knees and feet. Tom then changed it so Mat was using all his limbs on the pads, from knees, to punches, to elbows, he could see a splash of gold every time he hit the pad. He had never noticed this before.

After a rest, they were practicing clinching, and this is where he figured out that he could read peoples movements with his Sine Sight. With his hands, he could feel the vibrations within Tom and could read where he was about to move. It seemed like a sort of foresight when touching someone. He could feel the blood being pushed around Tom's body, the beating of his heart and each breath he took. He could successfully counter each of Tom's manoeuvres and enjoyed great success when in the clinch.

Both Mat and Tom were both panting from exertion at the end of this exercise. Tom passed a bottle of water to Mat "I've never known anyone with such reflexes before. You countered everything I did in the clinch, it was almost unnatural." Mat flinched at that "I knew someone in Thailand who could do something like that. He was partially deaf and blind, he had to rely on vibrations and touch to fight and move around. He could walk around a pitch-black room and not bump into anything. He was the best when clinching, everyone stayed away from him when sparring." Mat nodded at that, Tom continued "I think that's what you could do, the guy taught this, but he had a natural affinity for it, he was faster than everyone else and had a sixth sense, almost as if he could sense where the next move was going to come."

Mat looked thoughtful, then nodded "yeah, it feels like I knew what you were going to do, like I could feel your muscles move with my hands and knew how to react. It was only because you had taught me how to manoeuvre that I could do it that well though. I wouldn't know what to look for otherwise."

Tom agreed with that "yeah, that guy had to be taught too, but once he knew what to do, it never went away. Like most people who got there, they train for a few months, go home and then come back the next year. I stayed there for five years altogether. He came back the next year and because he went to his local gym twice a year, he got better." He had his hand on his chin looking away, his eyes distant.

"What you thinking Tom?" Mat leaned against the ropes sipping the water.

Tom turned his head to Mat, "I'm just thinking on how I can help you improve."

"Well" Mat replied, "I do Jiu Jitsu as well don't I? Maybe I can hone it there as well?"

Tom beamed at that, "that's a brilliant idea! Do you think you can always feel what is going to happen or when you are fighting?" He asked.

"I think its when my blood is pumping, like an adrenaline type thing" Mat answered.

"Hmmm that does make sense, okay, try to keep training it, hopefully you will better over time. Right then, lets spar." They both placed their protective gear on and went for it. Mat decided to activate his magic and could feel, to a lesser extent, Tom's movements. Mat knew he could do more with this.

Two months had gone by and Mat could now fully access his Sine Sight and always used it passively. He was used his magic while doing it, but it used less and less over time with the more he used it. Or it was his magical core growing, he did not know which. He started practicing Tai Chi in the temple structure in the garden. He attempted to feel the world around him while moving, like he could when fighting. He had a sense of what was around him but could fully access his Sine Sight when doing this. He had heightened senses though which was a good thing. He discovered that when moving, it was harder to access the Sight, but just walking or sat down, he could access it without really trying too.

Jiu Jitsu was paying dividends when sensing an opponent's movement. He could feel where they were going to move and countered them instinctively. This was a relatively minor ability but could come in handy in a life and death situation.

He had perfected the flashbang as well. He did this by focussing a Lumos next to an explosion and activating them at the same time. He practiced this in a densely packed bushy area to get it right. At first, there was a lot of force being projected from the explosion. He tried to change the pitch of the sound and this changed the physical effect. The higher the pitch the less physical damage he could do. More damage was done by lowering the pitch and condensing the magic being used. Mat had attempted to manipulate sounds around him so he could basically be a walking speaker, but he could not create that and could only emulate a kick drum and snare sounds. It was good to know one's limits.

One aspect that he did find was awesome, was that if he lowered the frequency in a Sound Bomb and pumped massive amounts magic into it; he could create a miniature earthquake. The Sound Bomb did not create a massive explosion but was more of a rumble that shook the earth. This, Mat thought, could be used to unbalance a large number of enemies in a tightly packed area. He named this the Earthquake Bomb.

He found some land to work on these abilities and finally got access to scrap materials. The Sound Bomb he could make powerful enough to bend steel, the best bomb he made he managed to flip a Peugeot 306 a metre in the air. He nearly feinted from exerting too much energy with that. He would run through his new scrapyard causing explosions, rumbling the earth and sending flashbangs in places where someone could hide. This was his assault course.

Mat had passed his SATs with flying colours, getting some of the best in the country for that year. It was in the middle of July. He was meditating in the temple in the garden and was organising his thoughts. He had accessed The Village and was preparing his mind defences. The motte and bailey had been converted into solid, limestone castle. Complete with crenulations, towers, a single massive gatehouse, moat and thick walls. There was a winding path leading from the Village up to this fortified structure. It looked menacing from below. The keep was a single rounded structure, shaped almost like a cog. He had created a labyrinth underneath where he kept most of his precious memories from this world. This was a ruse though. His most important memories were hidden in the forest near the mountains, nowhere near The Village.

The other structures had more details and were becoming more corporeal. He could not access the Tower that was forming, that did have clear features on it now though. It was ivory white with a golden inlayed pattern running from the bottom to the top, the top was slightly mushroom shaped which turned into a tall spike at the top, almost like St basil's Cathedral in Moscow. The Library and university were becoming one with each other over time. The Temple had hardly changed. This was probably because this is where Mat spent most of his time organising thoughts when meditating. The houses were also improved with little titbits which gave the illusion that they were lived in. The sun had now turned a golden yellow with a pink centre and pulsed vibrant purple solar flares. It was still void of life in The Village and so Mat started to develop what he called Shadows in his mind.

They were representations of creatures and aliens from fantasy, horror or sci fi. He included Tryanids from Warhammer, the xenomorph from Alien, Witches from Left 4 Dead 2, The Gentlemen from Buffy and other creatures from the muggle fantasy world. He decided not to include any creatures from the magical world because anyone invading his mind would be familiar with them. He figured that the intruder would be a witch or wizard and would not know what the muggle fantasy creatures were if they saw them. He could use this to strike fear into the intruder and defeat them. He set up traps and scenarios if he was ever invaded. He decided not to include beings such as the Chaos Gods… just in case.

Time flew past and Mat was developing his skills at a steady pace. He felt that he should not push himself too hard or attempt to develop anything new. He believed that he should master a small number of skills now so he could focus on the wide spectrum of spells he would be learning at Hogwarts. His senses, speed and stamina were sharper and could hold his own against Tom, though they never really fought competitively and Tom still beat him consistently. The Sine Sight was becoming sharper and could, if he focussed, see the heartbeat of somebody stood directly in front of him. He could control the Sound Bomb to such an extent that they could manipulate it to cause a specific amount of damage. Flipping a car still took a lot of energy out of him still. The Earthquake Bomb he developed to be a distraction. He would use it in areas where he was avoiding or going to attack. The distracted enemies would be much easier to deal with or avoid if they were constantly trying to stay standing or were dodging falling materials. The flashbang could be directed and could focus it into a cone shape in any direction he chose. He was greatly enjoying this sound manipulation. The shield progressed no further in regard to the size, however, he could feel it was stronger than before.

It quickly came to 2nd December 1999, it was Mat's 11th birthday and he woke up at 6am like clockwork, he now slept from 2am till 6am, 4 hours was more than enough. He meditated for approximately 3 hours a day to rest his mind. He did his usual business when he got up and went downstairs in zombie mode, grabbed some food and munched it in silence. Both his parents got up at around 7, they were all milling around the house waiting for the meeting with the wizard or witch who they were told to expect on Mat's birthday. Both his mum and dad were obviously anxious, trying to start small talk and failing majestically. It was at 9 o'clock on the dot when someone knocked on the door.

His dad basically ran to the door, his mum coming out of the kitchen to stand in the living room with Mat. They heard some mumbling of voices in the entryway and made out his dad say "please come in." A very strict looking woman in a dark green robe and a green tartan hat, walked through. She had square rim glasses and looked very prim expression, and her hands were folded at the front. She looked around the living room and locked eyes with Mat, her expression changed completely. She was an older woman, probably in her sixties and quite attractive. The attire and demeanour screamed that this was not a woman to cross.

She crooked a small smile and pulled out an envelope made from cream coloured parchment that had eloquent green writing on the front and a wax seal on the back. She handed it to Mat and said "Mr Lawson, I am Professor Minerva McGonagall. And I am the deputy headmistress at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I have come to offer you a place there, and introduce you to the world of magic." She had a stern yet polite Scottish accent and stood there with the expectation of waiting for something to happen. She seemed surprised when Mat calmly nodded, strolled up to her, took the letter and muttered a "thanks" then sat down to read it.

As Mat took the letter, he could not help but smile and get excited. This was where it all started, whatever it was. He pulled the wax seal with a crack and opened it. It read:

"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 Lawson,

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 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress"

Mat's smile got wider and wider the more he read. It was surreal, he looked up at McGonagall, "so, what next?"

Professor McGonagall looked shocked for a moment but quickly stamped down on that emotion. "You don't seem surprised to find that you're a wizard Mr Lawson." She stated.

Mat shrugged, "I presume you wasn't notified that I was hit by a car and had a burst of accidental magic which protected me, and then some magical police came and spoke to us about it?"

McGonagall put her hand over her heart and somehow stood even straighter, her lip forming a very thin line, "I most certainly was not, when did this happen?" she said in a very stern voice.

"Erm, about 3 years ago, I presume the government doesn't talk to the school then?" Mat replied with a little smirk.

"They are supposed to notify us of every bout of accidental magic." She huffed "Rest assured Mr Lawson, that I will look into the matter immediately." She placed her hand down, "I presume that you know all about the Wizarding World?"

"Yes Miss, well, two policemen came and spoke to us for about 2 hours and left, answering all our questions, I feel quite prepared." Mat then turned the parchment over "so where do I get all these materials from then?"

McGonagall's mouth hooked up at the corner showing a hint of a smile "those 'policemen' who came here are Auror's, they are highly trained investigators and the first line of defence against the Dark Arts, you would do well to remember that." She sternly looked at Mat who nodded again, waiting for her to carry on "I could meet you at the Leaky Cauldron, on Charing Cross Road, in London and could show you around Diagon Alley. This is where all the supplies can be bought for the rest of your time at Hogwarts. I trust you could find your own way to the Leaky Cauldron?"

All three of the Lawsons nodded at that. Mat's dad mumbled "bloody London, why London?"

McGonagall chose to ignore this, "excellent, on Monday 7th December is good for you? Very well. I will see you shortly. I will now go to the Ministry of Magic to give them a piece of my mind." She turned to Mat's parents "good day Mr & Mrs Lawson" then to Mat "Mr Lawson." Then turned and walked out of the house.

"I feel sorry for whoever she goes after" Mumbled Mats dad, both Mat and his mum snickered.