Michael Brown

Visiting Ollivanders left me quite exhausted and scared, but unfortunately becoming an unwilling host to a magical parasite was only the first attraction planned for my Diagon Alley tour. After leaving the wand shop McGonagall took me to various shops, making me buy all "necessary supplies". Thanks to all these purchases I became a proud owner of a relatively new cauldron, black cult robes all Hogwarts initiates were expected to wear and an adorable little Ministry spy, Owlfred.

Well, the official story was that Owlfred was just a brown owl I bought in Eeylops Owl Emporium, meant to act as my companion/pet/familiar (still not sure how the whole "animal companion" worked). Unofficially Owlfred was an animagus spy sent by the Ministry to track my movements and intercept any letters I would send. Jokes on them though, as I didn't intend to get to know someone well enough to send them letters. I would of course send a lot of fake letters though. It would make the Ministry think I trusted Owlfred, making them more careless in their machinations.

The fact that I was aware of my owl's true nature didn't however change the fact that in addition to being connected to some sentient parasite I was now also being observed by an animagus spy. I would have to be much more careful than before.

Thankfully the trip was about to end soon, as the only items left to buy were schoolbooks, from which I was expected to "learn about the wizarding world". In truth these books were most likely filled with blatant propaganda, meant to indoctrinate impressionable children into believing in the Ministry's regime. After seven years of absorbing lies they would step into the adult world completely loyal to their unseen masters, oblivious to the truth behind the curtain.

Despite my scornful words it was hard to blame these people though, as the process of indoctrination was surprisingly subtle and even I, if not of my unique situation, would have fallen for their lies. It all started quite innocently after all.

For example, wasn't it quite interesting that there was a trust for "unfortunate muggle-born children" used to buy them school supplies? Normally it wouldn't be suspicious, but it wasn't the case when it came to the Ministry. After all, if you thought about it, trust was completely unnecessary. If students needed supplies, like cauldrons or robes, why wouldn't Hogwarts teachers just create them with magic? It was the proof that the trust was made for much more sinister reasons. It was only created to put all these poor children into emotional debt to the Ministry, as they would forever remember that it was only thanks to the Ministry's generosity they were able to attend Hogwarts. It created inherent inequality between students and the government from the very beginning, making students think they were in the Ministry's debt when in truth everything was planned from the start to make them more dependent.

The fact that the Ministry was manipulating children in such a horrible way made me sick.

Engrossed in my thoughts I didn't even notice that we arrived at the bookstore until McGonagall spoke, bringing me back to the present.

"It appears we've reached our destination. This is Flourish and Blotts, a bookstore where you will be able to buy all your schoolbooks" she announced, making me look at the building in question. The first thing I noticed about the place was how crowded it was, even compared to the already crowded street of Diagon alley. Numerous people were for some reason surrounding the building, waiting for their turn to enter. They all looked quite excited for some reason, holding some kind of book in their hands and chatting with each other with smiles on their faces. It was quite an unusual sight, especially as the target of their excitement was a bookstore of all places. It actually made me a little curious about the reason for this commotion, though it made me wary as well. It wouldn't be wise to enter without knowing more.

"Professor McGonagall, why are there so many people waiting in front of the bookstore?" I asked, hoping that my handler would know more about the situation. She was a professional assassin, so it was possible she would possess more information about the unexpected situation, and even if she didn't, she would probably be able to sense any potential danger coming from the bookstore, stopping us from entering.

"I must admit I …Hmm?…I see…" Started McGonagall, apparently also confused by the sight in front of us, before stopping as her eyes landed on the large piece of paper hanging from one of the walls of the bookstore. It was a moving picture, depicting a familiar-looking man, clothed in an expensive suit. He was looking at us with a charming smile on his face, waving at us, as if asking us to come closer. Under him was a text, which upon reading made blood freeze in my veins.

GILDEROY LOCKHART'S AUTOGRAPH SESSION AT FLOURISH AND BLOTTS

I couldn't look away from the text, completely transfixed. Implications of this statement flooded my mind, terrifying me to my very core. I could barely hear McGonagall explanations, overwhelmed by the sudden development.

"I think I understand what's going on, Mr Brown. Mr Lockhart, a famous author and one of your future professors at Hogwarts, is currently giving autographs to his fans, which explains the commotion. It shouldn't be a problem for us though and you might even be able to meet one of your teachers sooner than expected. Professor Lockhart can be a little flamboyant, but I am sure he will be able to teach you a lot of valuable lessons" Stated McGonagall, unaware of my inner panic.

It was literally a scene from the fucking Chamber of Secrets!

Was I supposed to believe that it was only an accident that I came to the Diagon alley the same day that scene was taking place?! There was no fucking way. It was most likely planned by the ministry. They knew I was on guard, so they planned for me to tangle myself in "the plot". I would "accidentally" meet Harry and his friends, which would end with me befriending them and becoming a member of their group. We would have various adventures, saving each other numerous times, which would make me trust them.

Eventually I would decide to reveal the truth about my nature to them, telling them about memories and the government responsible for my creation. At that very moment Harry, Hermione and Ron would draw their wands, revealing themselves as Ministry agents, tasked with extracting information from me. I would be captured and put in Azkaban, where dementors would use Enhanced Interrogation Tactics to make me spill my every secret!

"There is no point in waiting, so let's just enter for now. Most of the people are only here for Professor Lockhart, so we shouldn't have any problems with purchasing the books" Stated McGonagall, already moving towards the store. I actually spent the next few seconds calculating my chances of successfully running away from her before sighing and following her, knowing it would be meaningless. There was no way I would actually be able to escape from McGonagall, so it was safer to just be on my guard and avoid any suspicious friendship offers made by a charismatic abuse victim with a scar on his face.

I entered the bookstore, resigned to my fate.

Unsurprisingly, the store interior was even more crowded than exterior, though it was mostly because the rooms in the building were annoyingly narrow, with most of the space in the shop taken by various books, leaving only a small part of the space available for people to use for moving through the shop. The fact that most of that free space was taken by the people standing in line, which was most likely leading to Gilderoy Lockhart's stand didn't help. The rest of the space, not taken by books and Lockhart fans, was taken by people actually browsing through books displayed in the store, making travelling through the bookstore quite a slow process.

As I was walking behind McGonagall, who was taking me to the schoolbook section, I was desperately looking around the shop, trying to spot a familiar sight of red hair, indicating that actors pretending to be Harry Potter characters were in the area. I didn't exactly know what I would do upon spotting them, as regardless of my actions they would surely find a convincing excuse to "stumble upon me", but it would at least let me prepare myself for the inevitable encounter with Harry Potter, a boy who worked for the Shadow Government.

Contrary to my fears I didn't see a familiar face of Daniel Radcliffe or Emma Watson, which quite surprised me. Through the entire process of acquiring my school books I was ready for sudden assault, but it just didn't happen. I wasn't approached by "Hermione" as I was browsing books, nor I encountered "Ron" while standing in line to the cashier. I was surprisingly able to purchase everything I needed without a fuss, not harassed by overly friendly gryffindors.

It made me actually believe that I would be able to finish my trip to Diagon alley without any further complication. Apparently Machine Overlords took offence to that, as my biggest fear materialized before my eyes.

I was walking towards the exit with a smile on my face, having finished shopping, when I noticed that there was a commotion taking place in front of me. Several customers were loudly arguing about something right before the doors outside, though the most important thing about them I was able to observe from the distance was that some of them were very noticeably ginger. A strong suspicion started forming in my mind as I was coming closer, unable to stop thanks to McGonagall following me, forcing me to keep my course. As I was approaching the group I started noticing some painfully familiar features of the people in question.

Yes, the boy in the middle most definitely looked like Harry Potter, with his round glasses and the face of young Daniel Radcliffe. And look at that, Ron and Hermione were also there, standing at Harry's both sides like proper sidekicks. Even Malfoys were there, who would have thought…

Fuck.

Why?! Why was this happening?! I was so close! Wait, Was that Ministry's plan? To give me hope, only to crush it at the last moment, making me more susceptible to their manipulations? Hmm, It was certainly possible. They probably planned it from the start and were currently laughing at me!

No, wait. I shouldn't give up. The game wasn't over yet. These people were probably counting on me interacting with them, drawn by nostalgia and curiosity. I could destroy their plot by just ignoring the scene and walking around them to the exit. Yes, it could totally work!

"Oh, what a surprise. Arthur, Mr Malfoy, I didn't expect to see you there" Came the voice of McGonagall, destroying my plans and plunging me into pits of despair. She knew! She knew from the start!

McGonagall's words made everyone, from Weasley to Malfoy, turn around to look at her. The entire group looked quite surprised to see her, acting as if they didn't expect her to be there, though it was most likely just a farce meant to put me at ease. It wasn't however the main issue, as the group soon noticed that McGonagall was not alone.

All eyes landed on me.

It was official. I was doomed.