It's Time to Stir Things Up!

The Fidelius Charm was truly miraculous.

Ever since Winky and Barty Crouch Jr. moved into the Underground Fortress Safe House, Old Barty Crouch could no longer locate his son's position, though he knew his son would live safely and comfortably.

Moreover, without having to face his son every day, Old Barty Crouch's life had actually become rather quiet and leisurely.

The only problem...

Might be taking care of Vinson Wright.

Since they had no House-elf, the two of them had eaten roasted potatoes, fried potatoes, and mashed potatoes with various sauces for nearly half a month straight...

Until Vinson Wright finally couldn't take it anymore and threw together a stir-fry of sour and spicy shredded potatoes, which made Old Barty Crouch suddenly feel that looking after the little guy wasn't so bad.

Over a month passed.

Vinson Wright's eleventh birthday finally arrived.

August 8th, early morning.

A strange owl landed by the mailbox, a letter clutched in its beak. It tilted its head, dropped the letter into the mailbox, and flapped its wings away.

Since Old Barty Crouch was at work in the Ministry of Magic, only Vinson Wright saw the owl. He simply took the letter out of the mailbox in advance.

It was indeed an acceptance letter from Hogwarts.

Throughout the whole of Britain and Ireland, children whose magical power manifested within them, as long as it happened before the enrollment period, would receive an acceptance letter from Hogwarts on their eleventh birthday.

If the child's birthday fell before enrollment—like Vinson Wright's on August 8th—they could still receive the Hogwarts acceptance letter...

But if the child's birthday came after enrollment, they'd have to wait another year.

In the center of the envelope was an H letter, surrounded by four animals, each symbolizing one of Hogwarts' four houses.

Eagle, Ravenclaw.

Lion, Gryffindor.

Badger, Hufflepuff.

Serpent, Slytherin.

Vinson Wright carefully tore open the envelope, pulled out two sheets of parchment from inside, and lowered his head to read the contents of the first page.

[Dear Mr. Wright:

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than August 15.

Yours sincerely, Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress]

The wording of this acceptance letter was quite polite.

Anyone reading it couldn't help but think of how humble the writer must be, showing no trace of wizard arrogance whatsoever.

Even an ordinary Muggle who had never heard of magic or wizards wouldn't feel any aversion upon seeing this letter.

Perhaps they'd feel more of a longing fascination.

Vinson Wright had never met Minerva McGonagall, the Deputy Headmistress and Transfiguration professor at Hogwarts. He only knew from his past life's film and television impressions that beneath this old lady's humble exterior lay a resilience few could match.

Vinson Wright flipped to the second page of parchment. The contents were more complicated, filled with many terms ordinary people had never heard of.

Even he hadn't seen some of them.

[Uniform] First-year students will require:

1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)

2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear

3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar material)

4. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)

Please note: All student clothing must be labeled with name tags.

Just these clothes alone made Vinson Wright's brow furrow. First-years actually needed to prepare three sets of school uniforms!

Most Hogwarts first-years were around eleven years old, still in a growth spurt. A single set of clothes wouldn't last more than a year or two before needing replacement...

Vinson Wright frowned as he looked at the dense list of books below. A first-year really had to prepare a lot of new books...

[Textbooks] 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, Newt Scamander

Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection, Quentin Trimble

Vinson Wright felt the poverty of his knowledge. Among the authors of the new textbooks, he only recognized Newt Scamander—that guy seemed to have married an American witch...

Apart from these textbooks.

The remaining items on the list were relatively simple.

[Other Equipment]

One wand

One cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)

One set of glass or crystal phials

One telescope

One brass scale

Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad.

Parents are particularly reminded that first-year students are not permitted their own broomsticks.

Vinson Wright finished reading the entire list and shook his head helplessly. All these things would definitely need Barty Crouch's help to prepare.

Still.

Receiving this letter was good news.

Because the system contained a lucrative chain of main quests, and now the first ring—the acceptance letter quest—had already been marked complete.

[First Ring: Received acceptance letter from Hogwarts (1/1). Quest complete. Reward: Magic Power upper limit increased by 200 points, Magic Spell: Legilimency.]

[Legilimency: Passive magical ability, Advanced Proficiency. Does not require sealing one's own mind; allows free control over which memories are displayed or hidden.]

Legilimency was quite practical.

Because wizards were very skilled at extracting people's memories. At Advanced Proficiency, Legilimency was enough to let him deceive the Legilimency of someone on Voldemort's level.

Vinson Wright figured the first ring's reward was mainly to help him get through the Hogwarts Sorting Ceremony, since the Sorting Hat would probe the emotions and memories of new students.

However.

This was a last resort.

Vinson didn't want the Sorting Hat on his head.

Who knew how strange that hat—left behind by Hogwarts founder Gryffindor—really was? If the hat didn't call out any house name but instead blurted out "Azkaban" on the spot, the atmosphere might get a bit awkward...

That probably wouldn't happen.

Vinson Wright wasn't a bad person.

[Second Ring: Join one of Hogwarts' houses (0/1). Choose any one. Different magic skill rewards will be granted based on the chosen house.]

[Choose Ravenclaw (0/1): Reward: Magic Power +200, Magic Skill: Life Ray]

[Choose Gryffindor (0/1): Reward: Health Value +200, Magic Skill: Hunting Rhythm]

[Choose Hufflepuff (0/1): Reward: Health Value +200, Magic Skill: Void Feast]

[Choose Slytherin (0/1): Reward: Magic Power +200, Magic Skill: Petrifying Gaze]

If purely considering the system rewards, he should choose Gryffindor or Hufflepuff. Because in the Wizarding World, rewards for life force were rare—who wouldn't want to become a melee wizard in a magical world?

Of course.

Vinson Wright knew very well that he was going to Hufflepuff. Because Hufflepuff had the most students, and the young wizards there were honest and kind...

Mm...

This house's temperament matched his own quite well.

Besides, the Void Feast magic skill also increased life force. This ability could largely compensate for his shortcomings.

Only...

If Vinson Wright wanted to get into Hufflepuff, the difficulty was almost as great as reaching the sky. Because he couldn't find many memories that matched Hufflepuff's traits of honesty and kindness...

That was a bit awkward.

"I'll have to stir up some trouble first, so the headmaster of Hogwarts is mentally prepared for me to cause trouble at school..."

Vinson Wright helplessly pulled a sheet of letter paper from his drawer, picked up the quill on the desk, and scrawled two words in a flourish.

[Seen and noted.]

I checked the birthday chart.

Longbottom was born July 30, 1980, and he got in.

Hermione wasn't so lucky—September 19, 1979—so she was delayed a year...

It seems Hogwarts' age-eligible children definitely have to be the right age before enrollment.

Later on, it'll be mentioned why Cedric is three years older than Harry but only two grades ahead...