Outside a Game Stop, a young man with a shopping bag full of games emerged from the store.
He appeared to be in his twenties with short white hair with dark roots, indicating that he had dyed his hair, which was styled backwards. He was wearing a black suit and black shoes with red soles that clashed with the professional look of his clothes.
He hurried home, close to the store. A considerable advantage for a gamer. Then he inserted the Hogwarts Legacy CD he'd just bought into his PS5.
Once the installation was complete, he sat down on the sofa and started the game, showing the title screen. He pressed start game.
He selected a new game and created his character, making him look as much like a young version of French youtuber Bob Lennon as possible, but with white hair and emerald eyes, to whom he gave the name Eden Peverell.
"Since the name has never been used for characters in the present, we might as well take advantage of it." The young man joked as he finished creating the character and finally began the story.
It began with the letter of admission to Hogwarts in fifth year, which is an exceptional circumstance, signed by the school's deputy headmistress, Professor M. Weasley.
After pressing X to skip the letter and start the story in full, the screen emitted a strong white glow, blinding the young man.
"Is everything all right?" asked an old man's voice as the light stopped blinding the young man.
His vision gradually returned to normal, and what he saw surprised him. He was no longer in his living room, but in a street with architecture similar to that of the late 19th century.
He turned in the direction of where the voice seemed to be coming from and found himself in front of an elderly man, perhaps in his sixties, who had approached Eden after loading their luggage onto the roof of the stagecoach. He was Professor Eleazar Fig, a teacher at Hogwarts... back in the days of Hogwarts Legacy.
"Uh... yes..." He replied a little perturbed, remembering having seen him in the game's trailers. "What the...?" He thought.
He looked discreetly out of the window of the car they were standing beside to see something that surprised him: he was in the body of the character he'd just created. He was... Eden Peverell.
Then a man in his forties appeared beside the young man and the professor.
"Oh, Eleazar." Laughed the man as he approached them.
"George, I'm glad my rather enigmatic description of our location didn't give you any trouble finding us." Fig said, shaking George's hand.
"I've teleported to destinations more vaguely defined than this one." George declared. "Although I confess I may have miscalculated slightly on my first attempt. I did scare a few of the West End theatre-goers. And who do I have the pleasure of addressing?"
"Er... Eden Peverell, sir." Said the young man, now a teenager again, as he shook hands with George. Preferring to use his character's name so as not to sound strange to Professor Fig, assuming that was indeed the name of the body he inhabited.
"It's been far too long," says Fig. Said Fig. "When I got your owl, I must say..."
"Uh, better not talk here, Eleazar." Says George.
"Sure, let's talk about it on the way to Hogwarts." Suggested Fig. "We've got a homecoming party and a ceremony to get to."
"Wonderful idea." George declared. "As long as young Eden doesn't mind me coming along."
"Not at all, sir." Eden smiled.
"After you, Eden." Said Fig as they entered the car and took off, unaware that they were being watched by a man in a top hat.
Later in the sky, while they were in the car, the two men and Eden were talking.
"I'm glad I caught you before you left for Scotland." Said George.
"Hardly." Said Fig. "This will be Eden's first year at Hogwarts."
"Really?" George asked, looking at Eden.
"Yes sir, I'm starting school in 5th year." Eden replied automatically, remembering the contents of Professor Weasley's letter.
"How extraordinary." Said George.
"That is indeed the case." Said Fig. "No member of the faculty has ever heard of anyone being admitted to Hogwarts so late."
"Neither have I." Says George.
"Of course, as the fifth years have been honing their magical skills for four years now, the principal asked me if I could learn as much as I could from Eden before the start of term."
"Well, you couldn't have asked for a better mentor." George declared. "Professor Fig is not only an acceptable teacher, he's also a gifted wizard."
"Mr. Ostrics is prone to flattery." Fig declared. "It's one of the reasons he's risen through the ranks so far at the Ministry."
Just then, George pulled out a copy of the Wizard's Gazette and showed it to them.
"Have you seen this?" He asked.
The article was entitled "The Rannrok Goblin Rebellion. Truth or Gobbledygook?". There was also the day's date on the paper, September1, 1874.
"Over 139 years in the past... I hope I don't go too far wrong... although, I could perhaps use some modern Muggle knowledge to my advantage. Especially with the possibilities that magic offers. But I'll have to save that for later." Thought Eden as the two adults continued their conversation.
"Indeed, I did. Opinions differ as to how much of a threat the Rannrok really is." Fig declared.
"Even if I haven't yet convinced my colleagues at the Ministry, I think he poses a significant threat." George declared. "It was your wife Eleazar who alerted me to his activities months ago."
"Miriam?" Fig asked in shock. "How?"
"She wrote to me about Rannrok before she died." George revealed. "I wonder how much the Ministry knew about his activities. Before I could answer, I received this."
George then took out a green cylinder-shaped container with a flame-shaped symbol.
He then handed it to Fig.
"This looks like Metal Goblin." Said Fig.
"What's that glow?" Eden asked, seeing the symbol glow.
"I don't see any glow." Declared Fig.
"Neither do I." Said George.
Fig handed Eden the container and as soon as he touched it, it opened, revealing a key.
"By Merlin's beard!" Said George. "How did you..."
Before George could finish, a dragon came out of nowhere and bit his side of the car, killing him.
"What's going on?!" Said Eden as she saw the dragon.
"Jump!" Said Fig as he and Eden jumped out of the car before the dragon burned it completely while Fig saw the key fall. "The key! Give me your hand, Eden!"
Eden then grabbed Fig's hand.
"Accio!" Fig said as he called the key to him, teleporting him and his pupil as soon as he caught the key.
Later, Fig and Eden seemed to have been transported into some kind of cave.
"Are you all right, Eden?" Fig asked.
"Agh, not really." Eden grunted, feeling her whole body ache from the inertia of the fall.
"You're hurt." Said Fig.
"I cois. It would seem that the journey the key took us on, didn't lessen the inertia of the fall." Eden replied.
"Iner-what?" Fig wondered before putting that aside, his wounded pupil more urgent than an unknown word. And he handed her a vial containing a green liquid. "Take this. It's Wiggenweld's potion, it'll heal you in a second."
Eden drank the potion and suddenly the pain disappeared completely.
"Thank you, Professor." Eden said, rising to her feet. "What just happened?"
"Poor George, I can't believe he..." Says Fig. "What's got into that damn bug? Attacking a stagecoach in mid-air? A normal dragon would never do that."
"Professor?" Says Eden. "Where are we?"
"I'm not sure, but the key you discovered was clearly a portkey." Says Fig. "An object enchanted to take whoever touches it to a specific place."
"Well, now that the potion has cured me, maybe we should look around." Said Eden.
"Good idea, but stay close. Declared Fig. "We have no idea who created this Portkey or why."
The student and mentor emerged from the cave and saw some ruins of what appeared to be a castle facing the ocean.
"How far has this portkey taken us?" Eden asked.
"Farther from London than our original destination" Said Fig. Fig declared. "We're somewhere in the Scottish Isles."
"Sir, those ruins." Said Eden "Do you think..."
"The portkey was supposed to take us there? Yes." Answered Fig. "This day isn't going at all as planned. But Miriam sent that portkey to George for a reason. And I believe she, and now George, are dead for that reason."
"It's possible." Eden replied.
"Well, let's see if we can find a way." Said Fig.
The professor and the student found a way to the ruins.
"Why would people build a castle here?" Eden asked.
"I suspect they valued their privacy." Answered Fig. "This Portkey led us the portkey for a reason. Let's take a look at anything that looks out of place."
Eden looked around and saw a statue of a wizard.
"I guess he must have lived here a long time ago." Eden thought.
Eden went to the bottom of the ruins and saw the same symbol he'd seen on the container and portkey on the wall in front of him.
"There's that symbol again, but what could it be blocking?" Eden wondered.
As he approached, the stone wall turned to crystal. To his surprise, Jacob could see a room on the other side.
"Professor Fig, I've found something!" Eden shouted as her mentor ran to the spot.
"How strange, why would someone invoke this enchanted stone here?" Fig asked.
"And why is there a room behind it?" The teenager wondered aloud.
"A room?" asked Fig. Asked Fig. "I don't see anything."
"I see the same glow as on the Portkey container, and behind it a room. But I can't quite make out what kind of coin it is" Eden declared before touching the stone.
This action somehow transported them to the room he had seen.
"By Godric!" Haleta Fig.
"Where are we?" Eden asked.
The two then walked over to a goblin sleeping on a desk.
"Hello?" Eden said, causing the goblin to wake up.
"That's... impossible." Said the goblin, smiling and moving away from his desk. "Welcome to the Gringotts bank of wizards. Box number 12, I presume?"
"Uh, precisely." Said Fig.
"The key?" Asked the goblin.
"Er..." Said Fig nervously.
"Your wife's Portkey." Eden murmured.
"Oh yes, of course." Said Fig, handing the key to the goblin.
"This way." Said the goblin as he climbed onto the wagon.
Finally, after a short ride the cart stopped in front of another goblin who appeared to be a security guard.
"Safe number?" He asked.
"Safe 12." Said the office goblin. "Memorable day."
"Hmm, on our way." Said the security goblin, grumpily.
As they continued, Eden noticed that the security goblin had the same dark aura around him as the dragon.
Finally, the carriage stopped at safe 12, as the goblin and wizards approached.
"When was the last time this safe was opened?" Fig asked.
"A goblin has been stationed at my desk for hundreds of years." Said the goblin. "No one has visited safe 12 until today."
The goblin then unlocked the safe.
"Safe 12." Said the goblin.
Fig and Eden entered the safe, after Eden thought to retrieve the key by politely asking the goblin for it.
"What are we supposed to be looking for?" Eden asked.
"I'm not sure." Said Fig as the goblin closed the safe and locked it.
"Well, that's just great." Said Eden.
"Let me think." Says Fig. "There must be something here. Revelio maybe?"
"Revelio?" Eden asked.
"Yes, a revelation spell." Said Fig "This is probably the most appropriate time to tell you."
"Yes, being locked in a bank vault, where you're likely to die of hunger and thirst, is the perfect place to learn a revelation spell." Eden said sarcastically.
"Don't be defeatist, young man. We wouldn't be locked up without a hidden exit door, if the goblin's instructions weren't to lock up anyone who brought the key." Fig said.
Then the teacher showed Eden how to use the spell. Eden didn't show it, but inside he was as excited as a flea. He was going to do some real magic.
"Revelio." He said as he waved his wand, revealing a door with the same symbol. They then entered a dark room.
"Lumos." Eden and Fig said as their wands illuminated the room.
This surprised Eden, who had done it almost automatically. Would her identity and that of her character have blended when her mind arrived in the game.
"This is no ordinary safe. We'll have to earn our way out of here. Stay close to me, Eden." Said Fig as they went deeper into the bank.
Just then, Eden noticed the same glow on the ground as before.
"It's that glow again, but it's on the ground this time." Said Eden as he walked over to where the glow was and waved his wand.
At that moment, Eden and Fig felt as if they were in a different room.
"What's going on?" Fig asked.
"When I walked towards the glow, it felt like the floor was swirling." Eden declared.
"Are you all right?" Fig asked.
"Yes, I'm fine." Said Eden.
"You seem to have modified the floor." Said Fig.
"That statue." Says Eden, looking at the floor.
"What statue?" Asked Fig.
"I see a statue, but only as a reflection in the ground." Said Eden. "And if... Revelio!"
Just then appeared the statues of a sword-wielding knight kneeling before them.
"I suppose that's his reflection you see in the ground." Fig declared.
"Yes, the reflection is still there, but the positions don't match at all." Eden declared.
Fig moved closer and Eden saw the reflection turn.
"Wait Professor, when you moved, the reflection moved in the direction of the light." Eden declared.
"Hmm, perhaps you should cast Lumos to guide the reflection on the statue." Fig suggested.
"Good idea. But just in case, be prepared to fight back. If we're to earn our way out, there must also be some adversaries for uninvited guests." Eden suggested.
The professor nodded and Eden cast the Lumos spell, in the same way as before. It was practically automatic for him, and that disturbed him a little.
He then moved to match the statue and the reflection.
At that moment, the statue stood up and struck the ground with its sword. Then a few more knights appeared.
"Looks like you were right." Fig observed.
"If only I was right about some good news." Eden commented, ducking to avoid having her head cut off. Then another statue attacked her.
"Protego!" Cira Eden, casting a spell to protect himself just before another statue charged him.
"Stupefy!" He said, casting a spell that destroyed the statue.
Eden and Fig continued to push the statues back until they were nothing but piles of rubble.
"Good work, Professor Fig. Eden said, but there was no reply. He threw Lumos and saw that Fig had disappeared. "I guess I'm on my own now. How do I get out of here?"
At that moment, Eden saw wisps of magic that had the same glow as the one he'd seen on the ground.
He followed the will-o'-the-wisps to the same glow on the ground as before. He then waved his wand and saw three reflections of the same statues. He cast Revelio to make them appear, then used Lumos to align the reflections correctly, making them stand upright as more statues appeared.
"I guess I'm on my own this time." He said, ready to fight.
He fought the statues, but it was more difficult this time as Fig wasn't there to help him. All he could do was protect himself, throw Stupefy and make basic throws that seemed to have very little effect on the statues.
Once the last statue had been destroyed, Eden knelt down in exhaustion as he tried to catch his breath.
"I have to... learn all the spells I can... at Hogwarts... in case something like this happens again." Eden gasped between breaths as she stood up. "Now I've got to find Professor Fig and get the hell out of this fucking trunk."
He then spotted the will-o'-the-wisps again and ran towards a statue of the same symbol from the key and the container.
"It's that damn symbol again. What does it mean?" Eden wondered.
Then he waved his wand and suddenly a door appeared.
"This must be the solution. I just hope Professor Fig is on the other side." Eden said as she stepped through the door.
As he did so, Eden found himself in a different room with nothing but a pool in the middle. He approached the basin and saw a small vial floating above it just before he reached for it.
Just then, Eden heard a door open and saw Fig enter the room.
"There you are Eden!" Said Fig completely relieved to see that his protégé was okay while he looked around. "What is this place?"
"I don't know, but I found this vial floating in that pool over there." Eden declared.
"It's not just a basin, it's a Pensieve for visualizing memories." Fig declared as he approached the Pensieve.
Fig then took the vial from Eden's hands and poured what it contained into the Pensieve. Both of them put their faces into the Pensieve and saw two wizards building the safe using magic.
"Everything's in place." Declared a wizard named Charles Rookwood.
"Is the Portkey well hidden?" Asked a wizard named Percival Rackham.
"Perhaps too well." Said Charles. "I wonder if the path we've created..."
"Maybe impossible to follow? It will only be possible for someone who can't see the traces of ancient magic like me." Percival declared.
"Your ability to see what others can't may not be enough, Percival." Said Charles. "We entrust powerful secrets to the one who embarks on this path. With knowledge, others will do anything to obtain it."
"Yes, and if we're right, Charles the witch or wizard who completes the trials will have proven himself worthy of this knowledge and the knowledge and responsibility that comes with it." Said Percival.
The memory had ended when Fig and Eden raised their heads in shock.
"Is that what you see?" Fig asked. "The glow that surrounded them."
"Yes, sir." Said Eden. "It would seem that the magic I can see has long since disappeared."
"Traces of ancient magic, to be precise. Said Fig. "The magic Miriam had always believed existed but could never..."
Just before Fig could finish, three goblins, including the security goblin, entered the room. The leader wore glowing armor on both arms. It was Rannrok.
"I was right." Said Rannrok as Fig and Eden pointed their wands at him. "I was beginning to think no one was going to visit Rackham's vault."
"And why are you here, Rannrok?" Fig asked.
"There's no need for unnecessary conflict." Said Rannrok. "Just give me what you've found and let's wipe the slate clean."
"I'm not giving you anything!" Said Fig, sticking to her guns.
"Well, perhaps your young friend here will be more useful?" Said Rannrok, looking at Eden.
"Sorry, Rannrok. But red eyes and black sclera don't inspire confidence." Eden declared.
At that moment, Fig launched Expelliarmus but Rannrok blocked it with one of his arms and used the other to knock the two wizards over.
Just then, a giant statue of a knight emerged from the ground and attacked the goblins.
While the goblins were distracted, Eden spotted a door and revealed a way out. He and Fig ran to the door and disappeared from the room.
Later, the two wizards appear in what appears to be a forest.
"Are you all right?" Fig asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Said Eden.
"I've never seen a goblin so powerful." said Fig. Said Fig. "He didn't seem affected by my magic."
"Where are we?" Eden asked, looking around.
"It can't be." Said Fig with a smile on his face. "It would seem that those who installed the Pensieve, the medallion and the path to both wanted you to end up here. Come, we have a distribution ceremony to attend."
Fig then led Eden to the one place that could teach him everything he needed to know about magic: Hogwarts.
But that's not the story we're going to follow, the one that awaits us begins in a more familiar time. In 1994, on the Hogwarts Express.
Eden was sitting in one of the train's cabins, barely older than himself, looking out of the window at the scenery. Thinking back to everything he'd experienced during his time in this world, everyone he'd met, everyone he'd befriended, the one he'd loved...
... the one he had lost...
As this thought made his face darken, the sound of the cabin door opening followed by a voice pierced the silence.
"Uh, excuse me. Do you mind if I stay with you on the trip?" asked the new arrival, a young woman by the sound of her voice.
A voice that sounded familiar.
"Yes, of course. No probl..." He replied, turning his gaze to his interlocutor and freezing as he saw a beautiful young woman with pale skin, worm-eyes and red hair in braided ponytails.
They looked at each other in silence before Eden stood up at the same time as the young woman closed the cabin door once inside.
"...Eden...?" The young woman asked with a sigh before he hugged her and tears threatened to fall from their eyes.
"Mirabel." He said as they tightened their embrace a little more, burying their faces in each other's necks, weeping with happiness as they found each other again.