Chapter Summaries

Andy Collins learned that Harry Potter would start Hogwarts in his year, while his younger sister Isabel eagerly asked for Harry’s autograph. After breakfast, Helen told Andy to teach Isabel to read while she brewed potions.

• Andy woke and joined his family for breakfast, where he joked and bickered with Isabel.
• Kyle told Andy that Harry Potter would begin Hogwarts that year and be in Andy’s class.
• Isabel asked Andy to get Harry’s autograph, and Andy realized she might start school during Voldemort’s return.
• Kyle left for the Ministry of Magic, and Helen used magic to clean up breakfast.
• Helen told Andy to teach Isabel to read while she brewed a potion.

Andy taught Isabel to read while reflecting on his isolated childhood and the mysterious system he had awakened five years earlier. As he tried to raise his Charms attribute, the system rejected his lone Potential Point, leaving him uncertain how to earn more or how much upgrades cost.

• Andy made Isabel finish her reading lesson before she could play, then lured her away with the threat of withholding her hidden snacks.
• Andy recalled that his wizarding family lived apart from both Muggles and nearby wizarding neighbors, leaving him and Isabel with few chances to make friends.
• Andy opened his system interface and reviewed his attributes and his single Potential Point as he anticipated his Hogwarts letter the following month.
• Andy tried to spend his Potential Point on Charms, but the system reported that he had insufficient points.
• Andy wondered whether upgrade costs rose steadily or doubled, then admitted he still had no idea how to obtain Potential Points.

Andy read about ancient witchcraft and Obscuruses, then gave up on the book as a mere history text. Ron Weasley arrived at the Collins home, leaving Andy to greet the boy he found difficult to relate to but counted as his only wizard friend his age.

• Andy read that early wizards struggled to cast spells and considered how emotion, mind, and will affected magic.
• Andy studied the book’s account of Obscuruses, which formed in abused young wizards who were forced to suppress their magic.
• Andy finished the book and dismissed it as a history book with no useful information about ancient magic.
• Andy spotted Ron Weasley approaching on a child-sized Flying Broom and went downstairs to open the door.
• Andy reflected that he and Ron had little in common, though Ron was his only wizard friend his age.

Andy spent the day with Ron and Isabel, then returned to studying magic and wondered how wizards could increase their strength. He suspected that overlooked details in books about the Obscurus might reveal how mind power and magic could merge.

• Ron visited Andy, and Andy invited him to play Quidditch with Isabel.
• Andy beat Ron at Quidditch, then said he would bring Isabel to visit Mrs. Weasley in a few days.
• Andy asked Helen about her potion, learned it would take a month to brew, and guessed it was Polyjuice Potion.
• Andy read about the Obscurus and considered whether hidden magical knowledge could explain how some wizards became exceptionally powerful.
• Andy decided to reread his magic books for overlooked details about the connection between mind power and magic.

Andy finally received his Hogwarts acceptance letter and went to Diagon Alley to buy his school supplies. At Ollivanders, a pine wand with a Phoenix Feather core chose him, filling the shop with brilliant light.

• Andy grew impatient waiting for his Hogwarts letter, while Isabel teased him about possibly being a Squib.
• Kyle and Helen reassured Andy that his acceptance letter would arrive and discussed letting him try Kyle's wand.
• On July fifteenth, an owl delivered Andy's Hogwarts acceptance letter, and he eagerly persuaded Helen and Isabel to go to Diagon Alley.
• Helen sent Andy to buy his wand and clothes while she took Isabel to handle the other errands.
• Ollivander measured Andy and explained that the wand chose the wizard.
• Andy tried a thirteen-and-a-half-inch pine wand with a Phoenix Feather core, which filled Ollivanders with brilliant light.

Andy bought his wand and Hogwarts uniforms, then returned home with Helen and Isabel. Helen began brewing Veritaserum, while Andy prepared to try a spell with his new wand.

• Ollivander sold Andy a pine wand with a Phoenix Feather core and explained that a wand adapted as its wizard's personality changed.
• Andy bought a wand-care kit and three Hogwarts uniforms, then waited for Helen and Isabel at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour.
• Helen left to handle an errand, then returned and took Andy and Isabel home, where she told Andy she was brewing Veritaserum.
• Andy took out his wand and opened Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1 to try casting a spell while Isabel watched.

Andy began practicing spells and discovered that casting magic increased the red liquid in his system’s sphere, confirming that developing magical abilities could earn him Potential Points. At dinner, his family discussed celebrating his upcoming school year by visiting his grandparents.

• Andy cast Lumos and dismissed Isabel’s warning that using magic at home would get him expelled, since he had not enrolled at Hogwarts yet.
• Andy repeatedly cast Lumos and noticed the red liquid in his system’s sphere rise, confirming his theory that practicing magical abilities increased it.
• Andy considered studying every kind of magic and joked about joining Slytherin and keeping venomous snakes, but decided to leave his House sorting to chance.
• Kyle asked Andy about his pine-and-Phoenix-feather wand, and Helen told Andy not to practice magic around the house when she was away.
• Kyle suggested celebrating Andy’s upcoming school year by visiting his grandparents, and Helen agreed to write to them.

As Hogwarts drew closer, Andy looked back on a month of studying magic and gathering school gossip before spending his Potential Points to raise his Charms talent. He planned to keep learning new magic at Hogwarts and use his improved talent to grow stronger.

• Andy recalled asking the Weasley Twins about Hogwarts professors and hearing their account of Severus Snape as a villain who hated Gryffindors.
• Andy asked Helen about Snape and heard her story of Snape opposing the Four Champions of Gryffindor and trying to recruit a Gryffindor girl into the Death Eaters.
• Andy traded the Twins the Snape story for news of a secret passage, then worried when he heard their reckless plan, though they promised not to betray him.
• Andy finished several beginner magic books, practiced spells, and found that his improved skills let him easily bully Isabel.
• Andy saw that he had four Potential Points and used one to raise Charms from three to four, making spells and magical theory feel easier.
• Andy concluded that his system rewarded progress rather than practice alone and decided to learn more magic at Hogwarts.

Andy practiced Charms and Transfiguration in the basement after his talent for Charms increased, while Isabel and Helen spent time at home. After a productive practice session, Andy asked Helen if he could read the spell-casting sections of the family’s magic books.

• Andy levitated Isabel and her fairy-tale book, then asked whether she wanted to watch him practice Charms; she refused.
• Andy practiced spells and Transfiguration in the basement and saw the red liquid in his system sphere rise to one-third after an hour.
• Andy cleaned the Practice Room with magic and joined Helen and Isabel, who were playing Wizarding Cards.
• Helen told Andy not to overwork himself before school began, and Andy said he planned to rest for two days.
• Andy asked Helen whether he could now read the spell-casting sections of the magic books at home.

Andy left home for Hogwarts after spending the morning with his family and met Hermione Granger on the train. Hermione revealed that she had memorized all her textbooks, leaving Andy convinced he had found a rival.

• Andy woke late on September 1, ate breakfast with his family, and packed his luggage for Hogwarts.
• Andy and his family took the Knight Bus to King's Cross and said goodbye as he boarded the Hogwarts Express.
• Andy used the Levitation Charm to settle his suitcase in an empty compartment and rested while his family returned home.
• Hermione Granger entered Andy's compartment, introduced herself, and thanked him for levitating her trunk.
• Hermione told Andy she had memorized all the textbooks, and Andy replied that he had practiced every spell thousands of times.

Andy chatted with Hermione and met Neville aboard the Hogwarts Express as the train began its journey to Hogwarts. When Neville asked which House Andy wanted, Andy named several possibilities but said he wanted to avoid Gryffindor, upsetting Neville, whose family expected him to join it.

• Hermione worried that Andy's magical skill surpassed hers and resolved to study harder.
• Andy told Hermione about his home in St. Catchpole Village, and Hermione shared facts she had learned about the Ministry of Magic.
• Hermione fretted about the Sorting Ceremony after Andy joked about its dangers, then returned to studying.
• Neville joined Andy and Hermione's compartment, introduced himself, and worried that he had forgotten his grandmother's advice.
• As the train departed, Andy said he preferred Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, or even Slytherin over Gryffindor, leaving Neville upset because he dreamed of joining Gryffindor.

Andy, Hermione, and Neville chatted and shared snacks on the train to Hogwarts, revealing their different magical abilities and childhood Magic Outbursts. As the train neared Hogwarts, Andy used magic to change into his Wizard Robes.

• Andy explained that he preferred Ravenclaw’s quieter learning environment and said Gryffindor students could confuse courage with recklessness.
• Hermione, Neville, and Andy bought snacks, and Neville realized he had lost Trevor, his golden-backed toad, but recalled that Trevor often returned on his own.
• Neville described how his uncle had thrown him from a window to test whether he was a Squib, and Hermione recounted making a disliked person’s hair disappear during a Magic Outburst.
• Andy said he had once used magic to blow up the chair beneath his father, then demonstrated simple magic control by making Hermione’s hair float.
• As Hogwarts drew near, Andy used his wand to retrieve his Wizard Robes and change clothes with magic.

Andy arrived at Hogwarts with Hermione and Neville, met Harry Potter and Ron, and followed the First Years across the lake to the castle. At the entrance, Professor McGonagall took charge, and Andy began telling his friends about her tabby cat.

• Andy left the train with Hermione and Neville, then met Ron and Harry at Hogsmeade Station.
• Hagrid gathered the First Years and led them along the path to the boats.
• Andy, Hermione, Neville, and Michael Corner crossed the lake together while Ron and Harry shared another boat with Draco Malfoy and a chubby boy.
• Hagrid found Neville's toad, and the First Years followed him up to the castle doors.
• Professor McGonagall welcomed the First Years, and Andy called his friends over to tell them Fred and George's story about her tabby cat.

Andy and the other first-years waited nervously for the Sorting Ceremony, while Andy teased them with misleading details about George and Fred’s experience. Professor McGonagall led the students into the Great Hall, where the ceremony was about to begin.

• Professor McGonagall explained the four Houses and warned the first-years to follow school rules as they waited to be Sorted.
• Andy noticed Harry and Ron’s bruises, and Ron said he and Harry had fought Malfoy on the boat.
• Andy told Ron and the others that George and Fred had spent a night in bed after Sorting, making the first-years fear the ceremony might hurt.
• Ghosts passed through the waiting room and frightened the first-years before Professor McGonagall returned.
• Professor McGonagall led the first-years into the Great Hall, where students and teachers were gathered for the Sorting Ceremony.

Andy Collins was sorted into Ravenclaw, where Hermione Granger joined him after choosing the House over Gryffindor. The sorting left Andy aware that his arrival had changed the world’s familiar course, while Harry Potter and Ron Weasley were left without Hermione in Gryffindor.

• The Sorting Hat sang, and Professor McGonagall began calling the First Years to be sorted.
• Andy Collins tried to keep his thoughts hidden from the Sorting Hat, which placed him in Ravenclaw.
• Professor McGonagall was surprised that Andy had not been sorted into Gryffindor.
• Hermione Granger took several minutes with the Sorting Hat before it sorted her into Ravenclaw.
• Hermione told Andy she had chosen Ravenclaw because its quieter environment would suit her studies.

Harry Potter was sorted into Gryffindor, and Andy watched the students celebrate before sharing a feast and listening to Dumbledore’s start-of-term announcements. Dumbledore warned students away from the Forbidden Forest and a fourth-floor corridor, whose danger Andy noted was described differently.

• Professor McGonagall called Harry Potter, and after whispering to the Sorting Hat, Harry was sorted into Gryffindor.
• Andy joked with Hermione about Dumbledore’s speech before the students shared the feast and desserts.
• Hermione discussed first-year coursework with Penelope Clearwater while Andy considered Hogwarts’s food and his plans for practicing magic.
• Dumbledore reminded students to avoid the Forbidden Forest, banned corridor magic, announced Quidditch tryouts, and warned them away from the fourth-floor corridor.
• Andy noticed that Dumbledore had described the fourth-floor corridor as a source of possible accidents and painful death rather than simply forbidding students to enter.

Andy joked with Dumbledore during the feast, then followed the Ravenclaw prefects to the tower and met his roommates. He ended the night looking over a timetable that showed two Potions lessons with Professor Snape the next morning.

• Andy asked Dumbledore whether a painful death would let him enter, and Dumbledore replied that he would notify Andy’s parents to collect his body.
• Dumbledore led the students in singing the School Song, and Andy wished he had a camera to capture the professors.
• Penelope guided the Ravenclaw first-years through the moving staircases, explained the Eagle knocker, and showed them the Common Room.
• Andy teased Hermione about Ravenclaw’s strength, and Hermione warned that he might soon get beaten to death.
• Andy met Anthony Goldstein, Terry Boot, and Michael Corner in the boys’ dormitory, then checked the timetable and noted Snape’s Potions lessons the next morning.

Andy began his first day of classes at Hogwarts and attended Snape’s opening Potions lesson with Hermione. Snape tested Andy’s potion knowledge, then introduced the Cure for Scabies Potion.

• Andy woke in the Ravenclaw dormitory, got ready, and headed to the Great Hall after waking his roommates.
• Andy found Hermione reviewing Magical Potions and Potions, and they discussed their approaches to studying and brewing.
• Andy and Hermione went to the Potions classroom, where Snape delivered his opening speech.
• Snape questioned Andy about finding a bezoar and the consequences of adding porcupine quills before extinguishing the fire.
• Snape began teaching the Cure for Scabies Potion and displayed its brewing steps on the blackboard.

Andy and Hermione brewed a Cure for Scabies Potion in Snape’s first Potions lesson, where his detailed instruction was overshadowed by his frightening presence. Their potion met the standard, and Snape awarded Ravenclaw a point before Hermione reassured herself that Andy had been telling the truth about being practical.

• Snape explained the Cure for Scabies Potion and told the Little Wizards to brew it in pairs using the steps on the blackboard.
• Andy and Hermione worked together, while Snape frightened students and deducted a Ravenclaw point after Anthony Goldstein mishandled Porcupine Quills.
• Snape inspected Andy and Hermione’s correctly brewed potion, told them to bottle it, and awarded Ravenclaw one point.
• Andy tried to explain Snape’s cold manner to a disappointed Hermione, who said Andy had been right about being the practical type.

After Potions, Andy reassured Hermione about Snape and discussed Hogwarts before heading to the library with her. He began searching for books to improve his magical abilities and earn Potential Points, while Hermione chose a book for them to consider.

• Andy and Hermione left Potions Class, and Hermione defended Snape against the other students’ complaints.
• Andy told Hermione that Hogwarts had the largest collection of magical books and discussed magical schools with her.
• At lunch, Andy spoke with Ron and Harry about Snape’s Potions Class, then returned to the Ravenclaw table to talk with Hermione.
• Andy noticed that Ron preferred talking with Harry and decided he had less reason to worry about distancing himself from them.
• Andy and Hermione went to Hogwarts’s library, where Andy chose to focus on Charms to improve his abilities and gain Potential Points.
• Hermione pulled a book from a shelf and asked Andy what he thought of it.