Author Note
I'm only posting this here due to a request by a reader on Questionable Questing. I'm not going to post the setup as it's huge and has a lot of notes. You can find it on the QQ site the story's name is the same, as is my username, and I have a link to my stories in my signature.
This story is a remake of my Gforce1000 story and will be very similar at times to my other Harry Potter stories.
Retirement Plan
Part 1
Wool's Orphanage. London.
I'd not taken it all seriously when I'd started filling out a few CYOAs online, if only because I had nothing better to do at two in the morning when I couldn't get to sleep. Not until I discovered that one of the CYOAs was somehow quite real and that huge flaming eye had been quite convincing.
It had started talking about stabbing people while naked or something like that and it had told me that I'd become a grand prize winner even if I hadn't entered any contests as far as I could remember. Once I'd heard that I'd begun to pay attention, or at least I did I'd stopped yelling out in sheer terror because I thought the Dark Lord Sauron was after me.
Lucky for me I'd seen plenty of these sorts of CYOAs in my time and stories that used them, so very quickly I'd been able to come up with some sort of plan to get myself a decent holiday/retirement package, or whatever this new stage of my life was supposed to be.
I could have done worse than chose the world of Harry Potter. If I'd only cared about points I would have gone right to Warhammer 40k, but since I wasn't a total loon I wisely decided not to go anywhere near that messed-up place. Even Mass Effect was too dangerous as I had no means or desire to deal with the Reapers.
Smartly, at least in my own view, I'd come to the world of Harry Potter, a decent enough place since I'd be able to pick up cool magic skills and a few fantastic items while living in this world. I would have the chance to interact with some interesting fictional characters as well.
To live out a long and peaceful life in my new home I would have had to deal with Voldemort and his minions even if I hadn't picked it as a challenge to earn some extra points. The loss of points was just extra motivation for dealing with the dark wizards.
While at first, this might seem like quite a daunting task, it wasn't as bad as it might appear since I already knew where to find all of the Horcruxes, as such I could hunt them down and hopefully make things easier for Harry Potter to finish the deed without too much risk.
Given that I had the Fate Breaker Perk I might even be able to deal with Voldemort myself, despite the prophecy, as long as I had the aid of my companions. Without them, I'd be foolish to go up against dark wizards who had much more knowledge of magic than myself.
Thankfully, I would have years to prepare and ways to weaken the bad guys before the Dark Lord returned to bring about another reign of terror. I might be able to prevent the second war completely by representing that rebirth.
My knowledge of future events gave me an advantage even without the aid of the two people who I'd chosen to be my companions.
"Not the nicest of places to end up," said a soft voice.
Willingly bonded to me in a magical contract, which she would have agreed to sign for reasons of her own, was Raven of the Teen Titans, or at least some version of her that might have been part of that team in the past.
I had selected Dawn Summers as well, but I'd not seen her here yet, she should appear close by within the next few hours assuming that she wasn't already here and looking for us.
While Raven had been an expensive choice it had made sense to me to have someone so powerful at my side as the Wizarding World was not the safest of places to live even during peacetime.
Besides, Voldemort would be a little more than a villain of the week in a comic book world, as such with her power and my knowledge of the setting we should be able to deal with the dark wizards.
Not that I told her any of this just yet because for a while I simply stared at her as not only was she real, and to me she was attractive, she was going to be an important part of my life from this day forward.
She didn't look much like the cartoon character version of her that I was most familiar with, she had black hair and sure she was pale but not any more than other goth chicks I'd seen. She must have made use of our shared perks to make it so she would better blend in.
Raven was dressed in what I assumed to be the kind of cheap clothing that a seventeen-year-old girl in an orphanage would have easy access to. The jeans looked good on her and the top she wore let me know she had breasts that might be worth plaything with.
Sure the purple hair could be explained away by claiming that she used some dye, but I could understand why she would have removed her demon half or at least the outward appearance that her demon half gave her.
I didn't yet know if she'd make herself fully human in the biological sense or if it was just a matter of appearance. It was something I'd ask about once we'd gotten to know each other better.
"You seem a little out of it," Raven commented.
Indeed, I was a little bit out of it. I'd been talked to by a flaming eye that looked as if it could belong to the Dark Lord Sauron and now I was in what I'd thought to be a fictional world with an actual superhero. This was going to take some getting used to.
It didn't help that I had changed so much. I was about eighteen in terms of looks, young and strong, with black hair and blue eyes. I had a bit of facial hair and a body that looked as if it had been taken to the gym often enough to keep in tip-top condition.
"Sorry, I'm still adjusting," I told the young woman "I wasn't expecting some internet document to go and radically alter my entire life".
She accepted my explanation for acting so strangely.
"I know what you mean" she confided "I didn't have a lot of time to think over the offer they gave me, but I decided it was worth it".
This seemed like a good time to find out why she'd agreed to be magically bonded to me and she barely hesitated before telling me.
"Thanks to the contract I've been able to cut off any connection I had with my father," she told me "And let's just say that he's never been much of Dad".
Having seen Trigon in action I could understand why she'd chosen to leave her world behind and change herself. It made sense for her to give up her freedom somewhat so as to save that world and all her friends who must mean more to her than her own life if her cartoon counterpart was anything like the person in front of me.
Sure in the comics and cartoon Trigon gets defeated, but it didn't make sense to risk a whole world when you had a chance to remove the danger, and it wasn't as if victory against him was assured.
"Thanks to the contract and your perk sharing I am now a witch of this world, fully human and with the ability to learn their magic without losing my powers," she was now saying "I figured that a fresh start wouldn't be such a bad thing and maybe one day I'll find the means of seeing my friends again".
Given that my other companion was Dawn Summers, The Key, we could figure out how to leave this world, it just wasn't important to me. I hadn't even given much thought to my old life when setting this up.
"I just wanted a fresh start too," I shared.
This orphanage seemed a little old-fashioned and as I looked around I realised that this was the same orphanage that Voldemort had grown up in only more modern.
Lucky for the both of us I'd made arrangements when setting up the CYOA so that we wouldn't be living here for much longer. I was actually a little confused as to why we hadn't appeared in my new home. Did we need to be here for some reason?
"We won't have to stay for too long," I assured the female spellcaster "I carefully chose my perks so as to make things comfortable for us".
In this world, I was James 'Jimmy' Twycross, the half-blood son of a pureblood wizard and a muggle-born witch who'd been targeted by Voldemort shortly before he met his first end thanks to Lily and Harry Potter. Knowing that I was in danger they'd left me at an orphanage here in London, and then they went into hiding without me rather than have the whole family flee to say New Zealand because magical people are morons.
I am the lost heir of the Twycross family and now that I was an adult I'd be free to claim the family home which was the house I'd gotten with the CYOA and my family's fortune which I'd gotten via the Seed Money Perk.
An orphan discovering that he's not only wealthy but also an important person within the community is not that odd in the magical world.
All of this I explained to Raven, or Racheal Roth, who had her own backstory involving being a muggle-born who just happened to grow up within the same orphanage as me, statistically very unlikely, but stranger things happen in this world all the time.
The fact there were three magic users in the same place was downright bizarre, but the wand wavers were not known for logical thinking so I doubted they'd look into the matter even if the CYOA didn't affect them.
"There you are," said Dawn Summers as she joined us "I just appeared outside. I didn't know where you were".
Dawn looked good. I'd say she was about 17 in terms of appearance as were the rest of us, although the makeup she wore made her age harder to pin down.
I'd used a perk in the CYOA to change the ages that people went to Hogwarts, because who the hell wants to be an 11-year-old and have to deal with all that drama? I'd aged up the student population so I could avoid a lot of the angst.
"I've been here for a few hours" reported Raven.
We'd arrived at different times and apart because of a very minor drawback that I'd selected. I wanted some extra points so I'd set some challenges for myself as well. Including one that required me to steal the Philosopher's Stone.
"So what made you choose to join us?" Raven asked.
Dawn fidgeted for a moment.
"My sister killed magic" she answered "I mean she took out the source of magic in my world and I'm not exactly normal so I started to get sick".
I knew what she meant.
"You don't need to hide anything" I assured her "I've seen the TV show".
Raven confirmed that she had as well.
"I'm a TV show character?" asked Dawn "Why doesn't that surprise me".
No doubt stranger things had happened to her.
"Oh no, was Buffy the main character?" she asked.
I just nodded.
"That's so typical of her, she always has to be the centre of attention" Dawn complained before she stopped herself from going on a rant and got back to the matter at hand "Anyway, like I was sayings I got sick because of there being no magic so I decided to sign up for this.. whatever this is".
Before we could discuss that further someone called for us.
"Jimmy. Rachel, Dawn, you have letters" said one of the staff from the reception area of the orphanage "They look important".
Indeed they were. These were the most important letters that any of us would receive.
HOGWARTS COLLEGE of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorcerer, Chef Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confederation of Wizards)
Dear Mr James Twycross, we are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts College of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all the necessary books and equipment.
The term begins on 1 September. We await your reply by no later than 31 July.
Yours sincerely
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress
I looked at the second page.
UNIFORM
First-year students will require:
1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)
2. One plain pointed hat (black) for daywear
3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
4. One winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings)
COURSE BOOKS
All students should have a copy of each of the following:
The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk
A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot
Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling
A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore
Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble
OTHER EQUIPMENT
1 wand
1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)
1 set of glass or crystal phials
1 set of brass scales
1 telescope
Students may also bring if they desire, an owl OR a cat OR a toad.
FIRST YEARS STUDENTS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICK
Yours sincerely,
Lucinda Thomsonicle-Pocus
Chief Attendant of Witchcraft Provisions.
I felt giddy in a way that wouldn't impress my new companions so I calmed myself down as best I could. I also figured that it was a good thing that we'd moved away from the front desk so that no one could see what we were reading.
"How did they know about us?" questioned Dawn "We just got here".
This was information I could provide.
"At the school, there is a very special quill which writes down the name of every magical child in Britain at the time of their birth. Our names must have been somehow added when we got inserted into this world" I told Dawn.
This book allows Hogwarts letters to be sent to all magical people offered a place at the school at the appropriate time, even those who are Muggle-born, but those who should have no knowledge of magic get the letters posted to them muggle style with the correct use of stamps as it turned out.
Harry Potter must have gotten his letters via owls because his aunt and uncle knew about magic. I assumed that the process was automated and that's why no one at the school got worried about the letters being addressed to the Cupboard Under The Stairs, either that or no one cared about his suffering.
"How come we're not 11-year-olds?" Raven asked.
Since I had some information on this version of Harry Potter's world I knew that here upon your seventeenth birthday, which is like turning eighteen or maybe sixteen in Muggle Britain, you get certain rights you didn't have before in the magical world.
Including the right to own a wand, so if you're lucky you'll be invited to attend Hogwarts for the school year starting after you turn 17. Every magical child is invited to attend the school.
"Because I didn't want to go through puberty again I used the CYOA to change things so that you go to Hogwarts at 17" I explained "Having Hogwarts as a college will grant us more freedom and it makes more sense. I mean really, who gives an 11-year-old the ability to alter reality with a stick?".
It's bloody stupid if you actually think about it. Sure for a children's book simply meant to entertain it's not so silly, and doubtless, somewhere out there in the multi-verse, there are versions of this world where people are idiotic enough to do that. Just not in this dimension.
Thinking about it, it's actually rather amazing that more people don't die while at school. Monsters and Dark Lords aside there's so much potential for magical mishaps. Even their sport is really too dangerous for children. I would never let any child of mine play Quidditch. Who the hell would let bludgers go anywhere near their kids? Not that I had any children or wished to have any.
Then there's also the fact that wizarding children must need a basic education just like Muggle children. It's no use having the power to brew a magic potion if you don't fully understand how to follow the recipe. You need to know litres, grams, and so on. Also, it helps if you can read at an adult level.
"The CYOA doesn't specify which version of this universe we end up in" I answered, "If you pick the right perks you can change the world you end up. I made it so Hogwarts is a college. Despite that, the major events should play out the same".
"That was smart of you" commented the Teen Titan, "I think we'll both be in Ravenclaw".
It seemed clear to me that we'd all read the Harry Potter books, so I wouldn't have to explain everything.
"I was studying to be a Watcher before I came here, so I might end up in Ravenclaw too," Dawn Summers said "Assuming we all want to go Hogwarts. I sure do".
No one gave the idea of not going much thought or at least they didn't verbally express such thoughts. The possibility of learning the magic of this world was just too tempting and it wasn't as if we had anything better to do.
Since the CYOA was supposed to give me a hundred more years to live I could afford to spend a handful of them going to school.
"Given the 'logic' of the Wizarding World, it would make sense" I agreed "We all like reading and it will be easier to get by if we can be background characters. The books don't pay much attention to the Ravenclaws".
We might end up in Gryffindor as Raven had been an actual superhero, Dawn had helped save her world, and I had chosen to radically change my life for an adventure. Hopefully, the Sorting Hat will take our desire to be in Ravenclaw into account when sorting us.
"Jimmy, you have another letter!" I was told by the woman who sat behind the desk near the entrance.
This one turned out to be from Gringotts and as expected they wished for me to come in and discuss my inheritance. They didn't ask me to book an appointment so I simply assumed that they'd find someone to deal with my situation whenever it was I arrived.
The Wizarding World looked to be rather sedate when compared to the muggle so maybe the goblins weren't that busy.
"So what do we do now?" Raven wondered.
A good question.
"I guess we wait for Hagrid, or whoever else they send, or we could try to find the Leaky Cauldron on our own," I said, "It should be visible to us and sure London is a big city, but it's not like we have anything better to do".
Raven was clearly thinking hard at this point.
"If we had a wand we could summon the Knight Bus" she suggested, "Only we don't have wands or any of their money".
They might take regular money, as Gringotts did exchange pounds for Wizard money. Alas, the orphanage didn't give us much in the way of an allowance.
I would need to get to Gringotts soon as not only did they have my Seed Money it was likely that the special items the CYOA had given me were stored there as well.
"Rather than wander around aimlessly. I think we'd be better off spending our time productively" Raven offered "There are meditation methods somewhat like Occlumency that will help protect your minds".
That seemed like a good use of our time.
"We're not staying here all summer are we?" asked Dawn.
Given that I had a house we could all access that wasn't going to happen.
"We should be able to access my house and legally move into it when I've sorted things out at the bank," I said "But we have to stay here until some teacher comes to meet us or we won't be able to send our replies since there is no postal address in this letter".
Dawn's posture relaxed.
"Good," she said, "Because there's no way I'm sleeping with you if I have to stay here. Not that I want to rush into anything".
I'd actually forgotten about the sex stuff. Dawn and Raven weren't compelled to obey me, but they were still bound to me and would expect me to become involved with them sexually.
"There's no rush," I said "I can't make either of you do anything".
I felt the need to say more.
"It's not like I've had a harem before," I said, "We have time to figure it out as we go along and it's best that we behave ourselves while here as I really don't want to be lectured on the evils of pre-marital sex or get thrown out".
Right now I was more focused on Raven's offered Occumlancy lessons as I didn't want Snape or Dumbledore reading my mind as that could lead to some big trouble for the three of us. Sure I had a perk that should protect my mind, but it wouldn't hurt to reinforce that defence and she would have some knowledge of magic to share with us.
"For now we should learn Occumlancy and share what we know about this world" I decided.
Both Dawn and Raven agreed with this plan.
Retirement Plan
Part 2
Wool's Orphanage. London.
Raven seemed pleased enough with mine and Dawn's progress in her version of Occlumency. Which had nothing to do with mental barriers or anything like that, rather it was about controlling your emotions and being able to clear your mind so that telepaths couldn't get what they needed.
A mind that isn't thinking about much, or at least not thinking about anything important, won't give a magical telepath anything that can be used against you.
The more advanced method involves producing a 'faux' layer of mentality that can totally throw off the perspective of someone who is using Legilimency on you.
They will see the false layer as the legitimate one whilst its bona fide counterpart lies deeper within; hence, it is not obvious that Occlumency is being used.
It requires a great deal of willpower and this is how Snape could lie directly to Voldemort and how Barty Crouch Jr was able to fool Dumbledore when pretending to be Mad-Eye Moody.
If they had mental shields then that would just tell the people using Legilimency that they had something to hide. Voldemort would not have allowed one of his followers to shield their minds from him.
This form of mental defence wouldn't stop a proper telepath such as Professor X of the X-Men, and it would be wise of me to avoid eye contact with both Dumbledore and Snape even with this training and my perks.
Raven assured Dawn and me that we should both be fine when it came to causal scans of my mind and if I felt an intrusion I knew to do stuff like recite the lyrics of a song.
The former part demon could perform a mild form of telepathy and she'd found that I was good at hiding thoughts by thinking about stuff like food and sex, things that a seventeen-year-old boy should be thinking about.
This was my faux mind that people would see if they used Legilimency on me and over time I should be able to perfect it and anyone seeing it would just assume that I was a typical teenager.
Raven blushed when trying to read my mind because I'd thinking about her and rather than be repulsed by such thoughts she was pleased by attempts to throw her off when probing my mind.
It didn't hurt that she wanted me to find her attractive. I didn't need to probe her mind to know that she wanted to be accepted by me as a companion.
Raven ended this day's lesson early because we'd been informed by a letter that someone from the college would be coming to see us with the intent of discussing our education.
I figured that there must be some system in place to convince students that the letters aren't a joke and to ensure that they know how to find the Hogwarts Express.
"We should go wait in the front room," I said.
As soon as we arrived our attention was called for.
"Rachel, Dawn, Jimmy you have a visitor" we were told as we made it to the front desk "She's a professor from a college. Apparently, they're offering you all a full scholarship".
Was it my imagination or was the woman at the desk somehow drunk, or stoned? Had McGonagall placed a spell on her so as to smooth things over?
"You three are Mr Twycross, Miss Summers and Miss Roth?" questioned the teacher who soon gave us her name "I am Professor McGonagall".
We soon confirmed that we were those people.
"I am here to answer any questions you might have about Hogwarts, and to help you to prepare," said the Deputy Headmistress "I've already cleared everything with your carers so we can leave if you are ready to fetch your school supplies, however before any of that, I should explain a few things to you".
The teacher then smiled at me in a warm way.
"I'm pleased to see that you're doing well James," she told me "I knew both of your parents when they were at school. We all assumed that you'd disappeared with them. I'm sorry to tell you this, but since they left you in the care of others and didn't return then they must have passed on".
My back story was that they'd vanished during Voldemort's reign of terror so they could be living under new names somewhere far away. As long as they didn't come back and interfere with my life then I didn't much care if they even existed or not.
"It's no bother Professor," I said as we moved into the front room "I figured that if I had any family out there they'd have found me years ago".
She changed the subject, not wanting to dwell on the negative.
"Before we leave I should tell you that magic is very real" the teacher informed as she turned a table into a pig and then back again "You didn't seem as shocked as most people are when I do that".
To be fair it was an effective demonstration of the existence of magic, only Dawn and Raven had magical powers of their own and had performed more impressive feats. Dawn managed to bring her mother back from the dead, at least in some form.
"So I assume that all three of you have had strange experiences," the teacher was now saying "Have you seen things moving on their own or has something broken when you were angry, or maybe you have moved something without touching it?".
I could answer for sure that this was the case. My life had indeed recently become a very strange thing to experience.
"Yes, Professor" answered Raven with a slight frown on her face "I've broken things when I've been upset, without touching them I mean".
This seemed to please the woman even if the former Teen Titan looked as if it annoyed her. Perhaps if you broke things with magic you couldn't simply repair them with magic?
Raven's powers were tied to her feelings so I could easily imagine her breaking something she cared about while feeling upset.
"I've seen things that people say aren't real" informed Dawn.
McGonagall went on to explain that the college was on the surface not that different from a Muggle university and very different in other ways.
If you wanted to become a fully qualified witch or a wizard you needed at least three years of education in order to get your OWLS before you could get a job and if you wanted a good job you should stick around for a couple of more years and take the NEWTS.
The school also worked mostly like in the books. They had three terms a year, September to Christmas, the next early January until Easter, and then the last ended in the early parts of the summer.
Hogwarts closed during the summer but there were people who would take in those with nowhere else to go during that part of the year if some friend didn't offer.
"For the ease of those with muggle families and for those who have a foot in both worlds Hogwarts follows the muggle school year" we were told, "We do have week-long half-terms, but those are spent at the college and while you should relax during those weeks many students use the time off to catch up on coursework".
Having attended college before I had some idea of what to expect. Hogwarts seemed more rigid but that made sense as magic was dangerous.
"So we don't have to come back here once we leave?" I asked.
The teacher confirmed that we would have to stay here until the school year started, and when that happened we could stay at the college over the Christmas and Easter holidays without anyone's permission even if we hadn't turned 18 yet.
We would have years to decide what we wanted to do after school and there were career advisory sessions in the later years so things could be arranged for us.
I'd got the impression that, unlike the Muggle world, the magical one didn't have issues with unemployment or the homeless. Although this might have more to do with their small population than anything else.
Orphans had access to a special fund, it wouldn't pay for much, but it would get you through school as long as you didn't mind second-hand everything and it did cover all five years.
Not that I intended for us to stay that long as it would get boring, and it wasn't as if I planned to get a job at the Ministry. I had plans to increase my wealth and I'd rather travel, to explore this world.
I should be able to pay for everything with my seed money once I got access to it.
It was explained to us that we weren't allowed to leave the college during the week unless it was for important business like say needing to go to the hospital St Mungos, the existence of which was also explained to us, a family crisis, or for a trip to the Ministry of Magic to deal with some issue.
I noticed a hint of distaste when the teacher spoke about the Ministry. She must not be a fan of their government, however, as I was rather curious about the organisation I enquired about the Ministry, the working of which she promised would be covered in detail during our history of magic lessons.
She did tell us enough for me to discover that the Ministry of Magic was in some sense a division of the Muggle Government like the Ministry of Transport or the Ministry of Agriculture and in theory, the Minister of Magic, who was elected by The Wizengamot (which was wizarding Britain's high court of law and parliament) answered to the Prime Minister, but in reality, the Minister for Magic only had to keep the PM informed about important matters.
I let the matter go before long because I had no intention of getting involved with local politics unless I really had to and I could learn about it in detail later.
I'd just always wondered how the wizards supported their civilization here in Britain with such a small population. It looked as if the Muggles were paying for it all the same way their taxes paid for schools and roads in the mundane world.
To me, this felt a little wrong until you realised that it was worth the price to keep the two worlds separate so as to avoid stuff like witch hunts, and those could happen again very easily given how many religious fanatics there were in the world.
In my view, it seemed very likely that the Muggle government was helping to keep the two worlds separate as the wizards in the book didn't seem to understand those who didn't use magic so there must be some cooperation between the magical and Muggle governments to keep the peace.
"At the weekends you may visit Hogsmeade, as the town provides services to the students" we were told "But there is an 11 pm curfew due for reasons of safety. Werewolves and vampires are known to haunt the Forbidden Forest near the school, and they become more active after midnight. If you take Care of Magical creatures I'm sure your Professor will explain further. Curfew on the nights, before you have classes, is 10 pm, although you are only confirmed to your dorms, not your rooms".
That seemed simple enough to remember.
"The letter mentions Witchcraft and Wizardry" Dawn was now saying, "What is the difference?".
This was a good question. I couldn't recall any reason for the school for having both Witchcraft and Wizardry in its name because the genders don't learn different magic as far as I knew, and they seem to all have access to the same classes.
Dawn was training to be a Watcher so she no doubt knew that were differences, at least in her world.
"Witchcraft is performed by witches and Wizardry is performed by Wizards" we were told, "That is the difference".
Dawn wasn't satisfied by this.
"But is Witchcraft any different to Wizardy?" she wondered "Are there different lessons for witches and wizards".
The educator seemed a little shocked by the idea.
"No," she replied, "Why would there be?".
I figured that it was time to get things back on track and I did this by showing the teacher my letter from the bank.
"Your parents must have set you up with a trust fund to see you through Hogwarts," she said, "I wonder why they didn't make arrangements to have someone take care of you until then?".
I could have answered that question only I chose not to since it would blow my cover. Instead, I mentioned that I would be paying for everyone's school supplies.
"That would be helpful and it is your money," said the educator "Just remember to come to me if you need a little more gold, the fund exists for a good reason".
The teacher told us more about the school, only since we all already knew nearly all of it her talk wasn't very interesting. We did our best to hurry things along so that we could get to Diagon Alley.
"We'll take the Knight Bus" the teacher let us know as we headed out onto the street "It is good for students to know about how to summon in case you somehow miss the train or end up stranded somewhere before you learn to apparate".
I so wanted to learn how to teleport magically. It must be a wonderful ability to possess as it would grant great freedom.
"Stay behind me" we were instructed.
Once we got outside and to the main road the Professor held out her wand and then there was a bang just before a double-decker bus simply appeared before us despite all the traffic.
"I hope you don't get motion sickness," said the teacher.
That might have been an issue in my old body, but I'd made sure to remove that fault when I brought the perk which allowed me to have the best body a human could have in this world. Still, I just knew that I wouldn't enjoy this ride.
Diagon Alley. Wizarding Britain.
After we all got off the Knight Bus, our next stop was Gringotts and the walk there did me good as I felt a little traumatised by my ride on that bloody bus.
How the Deputy Headmistress had been able to sit there looking so relaxed I'd no idea. Raven had just seemed annoyed or maybe disappointed by the ride as if it wasn't all she'd been looking forward to, Dawn had actually enjoyed it, odd girl.
Once inside the bank, I found myself thinking about the goblins. Would they be the wizard-hating warmongers some imagined them to be, or were they the super helpful buddy beings who really just wanted to be friends, that some fanfiction authors made them out to be?
Before long I began to suspect that the goblins were not so much evil as they were simply greedy little fuckers who had a certain dislike for humans. They were certainly well-dressed and seemed very devoted to their work.
Not that I would trust them as they were still bankers and I'd known plenty of humans who didn't seem to be evil on the surface who turned out to be complete and utter gits when you got to know them.
"Next!" a goblin called out.
Very quickly I handed over the letter I'd gotten from this bank to the creature at the counter, and before long I was dragged off on my own into a rather nice-looking office so that I could speak with the account manager.
If he/she only managed my account I didn't know and I didn't bother to find out.
"Mr Twycross," said the account manager "We knew that you weren't dead, but until your Hogwarts letter got sent off we aren't allowed to make contact with you due to a rule of the Ministry".
From my knowledge of this world and what McGonagall had told me I got the impression that the Ministry wasn't well-liked despite the fact that it employed so many people.
How that worked in economic terms could only be explained if my idea about Muggle taxes supporting the running of the magical world was correct.
As far as I could tell the Ministry existed to give the useless nobs people somewhere to work and to needlessly interfere with people's lives. So it wasn't that different from its Muggle counterpart in some ways.
"I am the Account Manager for your family," the goblin said "My name is Slashvine".
Before I could greet him or her the goblin spoke some more.
"Your family used to own all of Twycross, which is a small village and civil parish in Leicestershire" I was informed, "But due to the cutting off of ties between magical humans and what you call muggles, the village is no longer part of your family's holdings. Nor is the local manor, which is now a school of some kind for non-magical humans".
The goblin looked through some papers.
"Twycross House is still part of your family's holdings," Slashvine told me.
I was shown a picture of the property. The house looked big enough even if it didn't seem very impressive. However, that could be part of its defences, and I suspected that it would be much grander on the inside.
"Before your parents left this country they sold off their business interests and that money has remained untouched since then, they set it up to act as a trust fund meant to see you through Hogwarts and help you set up a life" I was informed.
This was how my Seed Money Perk worked in this world. No one would question my parents making sure I was provided for.
"I'll have your vault key and the key to the house brought to you, but it will be a few weeks before you will be able to move in," warned the goblin "As the Ministry is slow to deal with its paperwork and they hold the deed for the property"
I was left to look over some important looking documents as the Account Manager did his job filling out forms, and while I had little understanding of what I was looking at it seemed clear that my family, which was just me, had made a reasonable profit due to its stakes in other people's businesses.
My understanding was that spending five years in Hogwarts, assuming that I stuck around there for that long, wouldn't make much of a dent in my family vault. My wealth didn't match the likes of the Malfoys and Lestranges, but I'd be able to live a very comfortable upper-middle-class lifestyle.
I didn't know how the Household expenses were handled, so I could only assume that such things were handled by House Elves who worked invisibly behind the scenes.
Despite this, I figured that it would be best to go and find out as I didn't want to be surprised by a pile of unpaid bills. I also didn't know if property tax was a thing here in the Wizarding World. I should check that out when I got around to visiting the Ministry.
My account manager didn't say much, but he wasn't rude either, so I got the impression that goblins were indifferent to humans rather than hostile if this was typical interaction.
Once we were done I took my keys and my documents out of the Account Manager's office. Then I went to a desk back in the lobby so that I could access my trust fund via the mine carts they made people use.
Again it was a good thing that I'd gone to the trouble of removing any chance of me suffering from motion sickness.
"Key, please," said the goblin.
After it was used to open the vault I took back the key as it was way too important not to keep on me at all times. My trust fund vault was not that impressive and it was just one of many vaults in an area more well-lit than I'd been expecting.
There was nothing more than a stone plinth with a large pile of coins on it, no artefacts, or any weapons. The items I'd purchased from the CYOA must be in my home.
"That felt odd" I mentioned as I stepped into the vault.
"Your vault is in a pocket dimension," said the goblin who was in the corridor "Only you and those you allow access may enter".
I filled my money bag, which the bank provided for a small charge, with as many coins as I could and then I filled two more as my companions would need their own funds. I would open vaults for both of them once I started making some money.
With that done I left the bank as quickly as I could since there was no reason for me to stay, and while the goblins might not be evil per se I still didn't like them.
Besides I had some cool magic stuff to buy.
Retirement Plan
Part 3
Diagon Alley. Wizarding Britain.
Stepping out of Gringotts I grinned. I knew where I wanted to go first, but the Deputy Headmistress spoke before I could mention my desires.
"You should acquire trunks first," the stern woman advised.
That made sense since I'd been intending to buy a load of books right away and that would easier if I had something to carry them in.
I was fairly sure that some of them were much bigger on the inside than the out, the one that the real Moody had been stored in had lots of
compartments, and having something like that would make it much easier to lug around everything I needed for school.
"Good idea. I'm going to need a lot of storage space" I mentioned.
After all what kind of Ravenclaw wouldn't want to carry around his own library? And I really wanted to be in Ravenclaw House.
"Can I help you?" someone asked as we entered the right store.
I turned and looked at the speaker, he was a typical wizard, dressed smartly enough, but well behind the times at least in Muggle terms. Given their separate culture, it made sense that wizards and witches would set their own trends and retro styles did sometimes become mainstream.
Still, the Victorian-style clothing did lead me to wonder how old-fashioned people around here were. If the girls at school held to certain values it would be hard to get into their knickers.
Thankfully Dawn and Raven both seemed interested in having sex with me they just weren't rushing into it.
I kept my focus on the here and now, listening to the man running the store as he spoke about all the different features the trunks had. Such as the multiple compartments and the all-important bigger on-the-inside enhancements.
"My friends and are looking for a few decent trunks," I told the man who I assumed to be the store owner "Something with a lot of internal space so it can hold all of our school supplies".
And a small library, however, there was no need to mention that.
"Any preference?" I was asked, "Do you want something plain and practical, or a bit fancier".
I was wealthy so I wanted something good but not too fancy since I wasn't a millionaire, function was more important than form.
The first trunk I was shown in detail because it caught my eye, looked like an old-fashioned chest but not a cheap one. It was made of wood and banded with metal that had to be gold. The silver-coloured lock had four different keyholes.
"This trunk has four compartments, all of which are different," I was informed "The first one you can use for storing your school supplies, paper, parchment, quills, and other odds and ends, such as ink bottles, which are guaranteed to never spill. The second one is made to hold clothes and the third is specially made to store all of your books. The last one will hold the big stuff you use while at Hogwarts like your telescope and broom".
When the first compartment opened up I saw the set of drawers. There were a total of eight drawers each with small silver handles. Above each of the handles was an empty placeholder which looked like it was meant to hold a label.
"Just place the tip of your wand on the label and say what you want it to say," the salesman told me "As I told you already these drawers are good for holding your school supplies. Ink bottles, quills, parchment and so on. There's even a draw for your money purse, which only you can open. The big drawers are for potion stuff. You even have a little draw for treats for your pets, and it keeps them fresh for you".
I could have gone for a bigger trunk with more decorations, but I liked this one, at least for school stuff. I had an entire house for a special storage space to keep things hidden in.
"Can I see the compartment?" I requested.
Best to check them out before spending more money.
"Might want to step back lad," the man advised before flicking his wand at the trunk.
Quickly I did as he had instructed, and watched as the trunk opened itself after the wizard tapped the trunk with his wand and a metal clothes rack lifted itself out of the trunk.
The rack itself had plenty of wooden hangers dangling from it that I could use for my coaks, shirts and coats. Beneath it was a flat rack for shoes, slippers and boots.
Beneath it was several long drawers I assumed it would be filled with my socks and underwear. Behind the rack was a wooden back with a long mirror that I would be able to see all of myself when changing.
"The clothes rack will keep your clothes all nice and clean," the salesman told me "The shoe rack can even polish your shoes for you, just tap it with your wand and make sure it has plenty of polish. The drawers are for your socks and undergarments".
Since the House Elves at the school would clean and iron my clothes I would not need the rack to do anything more than safely store my outfits, but I didn't mind the extra features.
"The third compartment is called a library compartment, not very creatively named but it is what it is," said the salesman.
With the third key, he opened the trunk and stepped to the side to allow me to see what popped up this time. It appeared that the only thing inside of it was shelving, a lot more than should be allowed given the trunk's external dimensions.
"The books are sorted by subject and by the title" I was informed, "So you can just chuck them in and let the shelves sort out the books, it even has a fiction section that gets sorted by genre and author instead of subject and author".
He had a bit more to say.
"As for the fourth and final compartment, it's just a large empty space" he let me know "Which is meant for the storage of stuff like telescopes and brooms. Nothing special just a few charms to stop anything from breaking or getting dirty".
It sounded as if it was worth the expense.
"How much?" I asked.
It would so be worth the price, but costly as I was going to need three.
"We don't have three of this exact model, but we have some that are close" the wizard let me know.
Magical humans don't mass-produce things so the trucks that Raven and Dawn got were similar, but not exactly like mine, and once purchased we moved on.
Diagon Alley. Wizarding Britain.
While shopping we passed by so many stores, such as the 2nd Hand Brooms, which I ignored as I had a fear of heights and no desire to fly, neither did Dawn, as for Raven she could fly on her own making brooms rather pointless for all of us even if we were allowed them.
Since flying lessons were a thing at Hogwarts I might have to deal with that fear sometime soon, but I'd try to get out of them if possible.
The teacher with us explained that flying brooms were somewhat like muggles driving their cars. When at home it was up to the parents if children could fly around on brooms at home.
However, once you got to Hogwarts you needed a license and to get that you had to pass the flying class. If you didn't you couldn't fly a broom anywhere other than on private property.
I asked about apparating, which the professor had mentioned, and as it turned out they didn't have lessons for that at the college, it was handled by people who were appointed by the Ministry.
You either went there for tests and lessons or you booked lessons at home and only went to the Ministry to get your licence. No doubt there was a lot of paperwork involved.
Given that I had the money I figured that it made sense to hire a tutor for Dawn, Raven and myself rather than wait until next summer for the group lessons at the Ministry.
After passing by some shops we entered others, such as Amanuensis Quills, which I got my stationery supplies from. I was not looking forward to using quills and parchment. I was not some sort of 12th Century scholar.
Also, we all popped into a store that was located on the north side of Diagon Alley which supplied people with ingredients for potion-making and the equipment required. My money pouch began to lighten very quickly.
The apothecary was a breeze compared to some places. I got the standard first-year potion kit and a book which explained in detail what all the different ingredients did when they reacted together.
Right now everything was just random bits of some dead animals, bugs, plant parts and goo to me, so there was no point in getting extra anything until I actually knew what it all did.
I went with crystal vials as I could afford the best and they were practically unbreakable according to the wizard who'd sold them to me. I also got a nice set of brass scales that would make measuring out stuff for my potions easy enough.
Raven and Dawn got more basic supplies, both insisting that I'd spoiled them enough with the trunk and that they should save some of the money in case we needed things while at school. Something that earned her the approval of the Deputy Headmistress.
After that, we went to yet another store and I bought the standard astronomy supplies as well. Honestly, if I was going to buy anything extra for this subject it would be some muggle books, not the wizard ones as they didn't have any proper telescopes.
They did have models of the solar system despite their lack of space exploration. Muggles just seem so much more advanced when it came to this subject, or at least that was the impression I got.
Still, I was sure that there was some magic lore which I need to know about in order to pass my exams, and that it would involve the phases of the moon or some crap about my horoscope.
I didn't bother with getting a pet, aside from the fact that I had no one to write to, which made owning an owl totally pointless, I didn't want to take responsibility for an animal.
"Can I have a cat?" asked Raven "When we move into your family home, I mean".
This was unexpected.
"I thought you were more of a bird person," I remarked.
The witch granted me a small smile.
"I've always wanted a cat, but I had... allergies," she said.
My thinking was that her being a part demon was the actual reason she'd never gotten a cat. Perhaps it was like being a Witcher.
"You can get a cat," I told her.
I resisted the urge to make a joke about my wanting to stroke her pussy.
Next up was Madam Malkin's, or whatever it was called, for my school clothes, which were soon stored in my new trunk that was easy to carry around as it seemed to weigh nothing.
I was assured that the school clothes were self-repairing and would grow with me in case I had a growth spurt. Which was possible for a lad of seventeen even if it wasn't likely as I recalled that I'd stopped growing taller at this age the first time, and they would stay crease-free.
While there I had been drawn to other items in that store. So I'd ended up exiting the shop with some enchanted wool gloves, that would always keep my hands warm, useful since I was going to school in Scotland, as well as a nice scarf.
Everything else that I brought was made of dragonhide. Where Muggles would wear leather, wizards would wear dragonhide. The hide of a dragon was very tough, impervious to a multitude of spells, and provided a decent amount of protection from the elements.
It had a similar texture and appearance to snakeskin. Not that I'd ever worn snakeskin.
In this world, dragonhide was used to make gloves, boots, jackets, belts, and even cloaks. It was in high demand and most dragonhide was used to make gloves, for the handling of hazardous materials so we needed some for potion classes.
Given that dragonhide resisted magic I could imagine that it was a nightmare to enchant. Something reflected in the price, which thankfully would be handled by charges being made directly to my vault which I assured the teacher would last.
She clearly disapproved of my excessive spending, I could see it in the looks she gave me, but she didn't say anything on the matter. Perhaps she figured that as an orphan I'd had so little that I was going overboard now. Plus I was an adult in this world.
In the end, I did limit myself to a jacket and belt as well as the gloves needed for lessons. I figured that the jacket was a justified expense since it could resist minor spells such as the hexes that were bound to be flung around by students in a school for magic. As for the belt, it hadn't cost much and I thought it looked good on me.
Before long we all ended up at Flourish and Blotts. I half expected to run into Hermione Granger while here, but there was no sign of her. I wondered if she looked like Emma Watson in this universe.
As for the store, the place was a maze of books. There were books about every magical category imaginable. Charms, potions, history, obscure languages, wizard culture, wizard music, and wizard hobbies.
You could learn to spell your own cheeses or discover how to knit a jumper that gave you hugs. That sounded like something that could go horribly wrong and result in jumpers trying to strangle people.
"Hogwarts has six core subjects for those who wish to become qualified wizards or witches," the professor reminded us "Those courses are mandatory for three years and you have the choice of two electives. You should consider what electives you wish to take before deciding what books to buy".
The teacher took the time to explain to us a little about the different subjects and how long we'd be studying them. The core classes that were required for us to take were DADA, Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, Herbology or History of Magic.
"The elective courses will be discussed by your head of house after you are sorted" we were informed "You will take your OWL exams at the end of the third year, and then you will decide which NEWTs you wish to take".
Since the students would be older it shouldn't be surprising that they didn't spend seven years at the school. Older students would be able to handle a bigger workload.
It was a very good thing that they had hand baskets with charms placed on them to make the carrying weight less than it should be, or I would have been doubled over with my purchases pretty quickly.
Raven proved that she was physically stronger than she looked by carrying even more books than I did. Something that grated at my male pride for only a short time as I realised she could be using her powers in some subtle way.
First I bought all of the books from the school list, paid for them, and then quickly stuffed them in my trunk. I then went back and bought the whole seven years' worth of books in the Standard Book of Spells series as that way I could go through them at my own pace.
The school wouldn't start classes for a whole month so I had time to read ahead and I planned to study on my own time so that I would be prepared for the lessons well in advance.
Once the school books were handled I let my eyes wander over the shelves and found a few more interesting books that I soon threw in my cart; Hogwarts a History, Arithmancy for Beginners, and some stuff I didn't even understand the titles of, but I would find out about them later if I took those classes.
A few Defence Against the Dark Arts book were also brought by me. Given the state of the teachers in that subject, I'd be better off teaching myself from books or making use of a tutor.
A quick look at a book on runes let me know that they had nothing to do with enchanting as I'd read in many fanfictions, instead of in this version of Potter's words, the study of Ancient Runes was like studying Latin.
Runes saw some use in legal documents, and some enchanters were known to mark their creations with a personalised rune, but as far as I could tell the symbols had no practical use outside of legal documents and decorations, as such they held no interest for me.
Enchanting was performed by placing a series of complex charms on an object. To enchant something you had to be very good at charms and to apply the spell a number of times, or a series of them in the right order, which could be very time-consuming and mentally tiring work I imagined.
I was sure that I would learn more about it later. I did already know that an enchanted object was referred to as being: bewitched rather than enchanted, but I wouldn't use the word bewitched as that just reminded me of the old TV show.
"Even future Ravenclaws only need so many books," the Professor said when it became clear that I was at risk of clearing the shelves "and I promise you that Hogwarts has an extensive library".
She might be right, and I still hadn't brought my wand. I should go do that now as should my companions.
Diagon Alley. Wizarding Britain.
"When a witch or wizard acquires their first wand it is supposed to be a private moment," said the animagus as she led us to the store "So you will go in one at a time to obtain your wands. Mr Twycross please go first".
This was going to be a very important purchase and a memorable moment in my life, so I took a moment to savour it.
"We shall be waiting here when you are done" the professor assured me.
Before long I headed into the dusty wand shop, and I was soon set upon by the wandmaker who got to work right away by shoving different wands into my hand one after the other. Nothing happened, I didn't blow anything up or make any messes.
He seemed rather frantic in his efforts to get matched up with the right wand as quickly as possible. Perhaps he needed to use the toilet.
"No, not unicorn tail" he muttered, "And most certainly not dragon heartstring, that just leaves...".
A wand that looked more like the horn of some exotic creature than a bit of wood was forced into my hand.
"Aspen, 12 inches, somewhat flexible, with a feather from a wild phoenix" I was told, "How does it feel?".
Words almost failed me.
"I feel like I've been reunited with a friend I'd forgotten I had," I said.
That was the only way I could articulate the feeling.
"I know exactly what you mean," said the store owner as he smiled at me
"It's not the same for everyone, but the sentiment is often similar".
It was soon explained to me that a phoenix's feather was the rarest core type and these feathers are capable of the greatest range of magic, though they may take longer than either unicorn or dragon cores to reveal this.
"Phoenix tail feather wands show the most initiative, I've even heard of them acting on their own accord, a quality that many witches and wizards dislike" the old man let me know "Phoenix feather wands are always the pickiest when it comes to potential owners, for the creature from which they are taken is one of the most independent you'll ever find. These wands are the hardest to tame and to personalise, and while their allegiance is usually hard-won, I promise it will be well worth it".
I was something of an outsider even before I'd changed worlds.
"Now as you can see wand-quality aspen wood is white and fine-grained, as such it is highly prized by all wand-makers for its stylish resemblance to ivory" Ollivander informed me.
Well, that explained why I thought it looked more like a horn with a fancy handle than a stick.
"Aspen wood is also known for outstanding charmwork" I soon learned "The proper owner of such a wand can become an accomplished duellist. Perhaps you will become one too".
I was planning to focus on defence against the dark arts because I knew what dangers were ahead, and this sounded like a good wand for such an endeavour.
"The wand for this wood came from a fine specimen of Populus Tremula which grows fight here in the British Isle" the wandmaker mentioned "I put a lot of work into this wand so please look after it".
I fully intended to and once the wand was boxed up I asked about holsters and polish. I intended to take good care of my wand. After that, I headed outside to find the teacher waiting for me as promised.
"Miss Roth why don't you go next" she suggested.
The wait felt long even if it wasn't and soon all three of us hand wands.
"I will leave you to make your own way home," said the Deputy
Headmistress "I have another appointment this afternoon".
Since I had no intention of ever returning to the orphanage we headed for the Leaky Cauldron so I could book us some rooms.