As Marcus broke down and cried, he felt a sensation of rushing warmth through him. Even in his grief, he was astonished to see his backpack begin to float.
Then his chair began to float.
And, incredibly, his desk began to float too.
"What the fu—" Marcus exclaimed, but then he felt the rushing warmth retreat, for lack of a better word. As this happened, the backpack, chair, and desk fell, now returning victims to the force of gravity.
He now felt physically tired as well, but seeing this weird phenomenon happen around him, he managed to regain focus.
"Okay, what the hell? Is there a ghost in my room? And why did I feel a warmth rush through me?" Were some of the questions racing through Marcus' mind. He knew that the warmth wasn't normal; he hadn't felt anything like that before in both his previous life and this new one. He tried to call forth that warmth again, but nothing happened.
Resolving that perhaps reality glitched or maybe he had temporarily lost his sanity, he decided to go to bed and deal with this in the morning.
November 18th, 1990, 6 a.m., Cheshire Home for Orphaned Children, London
When Marcus woke up and was going through his morning rituals, he noticed something different in his senses. He felt the warmth had returned, and it was gentle and soothing to him. Confused by this, he decided to put it aside for now and get ready for another day at primary school.
However, as he went to the main lobby of the orphanage to head to the bus stop for the library, he noticed someone peculiar in the lobby—someone who looked vaguely familiar. This person was a woman with graying hair and a severe expression, and she was talking to one of the orphanage staff in a Scottish accent.
"Good morning, my name is Minerva McGonagall. I am the Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts School in Scotland. We are a very private school, and thus we only invite those we feel have the ability to achieve their true potential within our walls. I am looking for one of your residents, a young man by the name of Marcus Castle. We have an invitation for him. I have the official paperwork as well. Would you show me where he is?"
Marcus, overhearing this, naturally had this thought come to mind.
'What. The. FUC-'
However, quickly regaining control of his emotions, he decided to announce his presence.
"Good morning, Deputy Headmistress. I am Marcus Castle. How are you doing?"
The deputy headmistress, upon hearing Marcus' voice, turned to him and smiled.
"Good morning, Mr. Castle. Would it be alright if we talked in private? I imagine you overheard what I just mentioned about Hogwarts School."
"Of course, Deputy Headmistress. There is a conference room to our right that my fellow orphans and the families that are adopting them use to meet and get to know each other." Marcus replied, having an idea why she was here, and the events of last night clicking in his head.
"You may call me Professor McGonagall, Mr. Castle. I understand Deputy Headmistress might be a bit overbearing. Please lead the way to this conference room." McGonagall said, smiling.
Marcus led the way, and both he and Professor McGonagall entered the room, with the door closing softly behind them.
"You have an offer for me for this... Hogwarts School?" Said Marcus, curious even though he had an idea what this was about.
After all, he was an avid consumer of the Harry Potter franchise. He had read the books as a child, watched the movies, and was an avid consumer of fanfiction over the past decade of his life.
He knew the name Minerva McGonagall very well.
The professor smiled and handed Mr. Castle an envelope. It was thick and appeared to Marcus to be made of parchment paper, with a green wax seal. Upon the envelope was the following address:
Mr. M Castle
Bedroom 34, side A
Cheshire Home for Orphaned Children
Islington, London
While Marcus was reading this letter, the professor asked him the one question he had been waiting on for the past few minutes.
"Mr. Castle, when you have ever been upset or excited, have you ever noticed strange or odd things happen?"
Marcus, acting like a shy child, which was easy enough since he was a shy adult in mind, said "Yes... why do you ask?"
The professor, quick to reassure a young child, replied "Do not worry, Mr. Castle. This is normal. There is no easier way to say this, so I will be upfront. You are a wizard, and I am a witch. Hogwarts School is actually Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry."
Marcus' face showed shock, which he was. He was also somewhat concerned, but overall... excited. Yes, he decided, he was excited.
Marcus, to keep up the act of the unknowing child, asked for proof of this claim. The professor drew out a stick of wood, her wand, and changed a nearby chair into a cat. Marcus gazed at the cat in awe, this time for real.
Marcus, still gazing at the cat, said "Well then. That is some proof right there, and of the fuzzy kind."
The professor chuckled and replied "Yes, indeed. As I said before, Mr. Castle, you have this power inside of you as well. But we, as in the school, noticed something odd. Your name was only given to us last night, even though you are now 11 years old."
At Marcus' curious look, the professor exclaimed further. "This is odd because normally we receive reports of children with magic and add them to our records of future attendance when they are much younger than yours. So far, last night was your only recorded instance of magic we have on our record. Would you know why this would be?"
Marcus, stunned at this twist, thought for a second and responded "Well, would the name drop from the list if a future student dies? Even if for a short time, and they were brought back to life?"
Curious, the professor responded with "Yes, I suppose the name would drop. This has happened with students in the past who have met an... untimely end. Wait, are you saying you—" the professor stammered, connecting the dots.
With a bittersweet smile, Marcus sighed. "Yes, I had an incident where I fell unconscious and woke back up in the hospital with some of my memories confused. I suspect I died for a short while, as I had hit my head rather hard on concrete, but something brought me back when help arrived."
The professor smiled sadly. "That... yes, that would explain it. Thank you for letting me know, Mr. Castle. Have you looked at the rest of your letter?"
Marcus nodded. "Yes, I have. Where would I get these supplies?"
The professor, back to teaching mode, responded "Our kind, here in Britain, has a shopping district catered to our needs. It is called Diagon Alley. I can escort you there today and help you acquire these supplies for your education at Hogwarts. Also, don't worry about funding. The Ministry of Magic has a stipend for orphaned children to receive the materials they need at Hogwarts, along with a pet if the student so desires. Beginning in your third year, you will receive a stipend of 2 galleons a month. But I suppose I am getting ahead of myself. Are you available today to go to Diagon Alley?"
Marcus, straightening his back, said yes. In his heart, he knew one thing for certain. He would persevere. He always did.
