I Think I Need Two Swords

"Oh, I'm afraid not." Petunia forced a smile. "Wizards... not everyone can become a wizard. Even the children of wizards aren't necessarily wizards themselves."

Harry's face remained impassive as he nodded. "Then please tell me what you know about Hogwarts and wizards."

Petunia stammered through an explanation.

Vernon had finally recovered a little. He looked around and realized, to his dismay, that his double-barreled shotgun was in the bedroom, not the kitchen.

Half an hour later.

Harry had listened to Petunia's lengthy account.

It was a strange and fascinating world. Wizards here apparently needed a little stick as a medium for casting spells. Without it, they lost the ability to cast spells.

Sorceresses in the Witcher world also needed different spellcasting mediums for some spells, but they could cast other spells without any medium at all.

And...

Their power wasn't all that impressive.

From Petunia's description, magic seemed limited to making housework much easier. Of course, that might just have been the perspective of a housewife.

Still, it was fascinating.

They could freely change the shape of objects, and even turn a piece of wood into an animal.

Magic could do that?

"The letter says I need to reply to them by owl." Harry lowered his head and looked at the letter. "What's an owl? Is that what wizards call a postman?"

"Or do they mean... the kind of owl that hoots?"

"The latter," Petunia replied, her expression complicated.

Harry nodded and smiled faintly. "Then, my dear Aunt Petunia, do you have an owl? I'm afraid I'll have to borrow one."

Vernon shook his head in alarm. "We're a normal family! Why would we have something like that?"

Normal...

Harry raised an eyebrow.

In this world, were wizards regarded as "freaks" by humans, just like Witchers were?

"Looks like I'll have to figure something out myself." He stood up, opened the door, and walked outside.

Although he didn't know how owls delivered letters,

the traits of living creatures couldn't be all that different.

Just like... every horse White Wolf owned was named Roach, and every girlfriend he knew White Wolf had was a sorceress.

When he stepped outside, he saw an owl perched on the fence. At the sound, it twisted its head around and stared intently at Harry.

"Looks like you're my postman." Harry smiled gently and held out his hand. "Would you come in and sit for a while? You must be tired from your journey, and it'd be nice to rest somewhere comfortable. You can wait while I write a reply, all right?"

The owl hooted twice and hopped onto Harry's arm.

Petunia didn't seem to like wizards much, but she was undeniably a capable housewife.

The owl food she made was a hit with this round-faced, plump Scottish bird.

The letter was sent.

Hogwarts responded faster than Harry expected. That very afternoon, someone began pounding on the door. Vernon went to open it, and found a giant standing outside.

"Hello, I'm from Hogwarts. Um... I've been sent to escort Harry. I'm Rubeus Hagrid." The giant spoke with some awkwardness. His build and appearance, combined with his broad grin, nearly gave Vernon a heart attack.

"Oh, good, another freak," Vernon muttered. "Come in."

Hagrid struggled to squeeze into the house. When he saw Harry standing in the living room, he sniffled, his voice catching. "Oh, Harry. The last time I saw you, you were just a baby."

"You look so much like your dad. Oh, and your eyes, too. His were golden-brown as well."

"Thank you." Harry nodded and took half a step back.

A massive frame was always imposing.

Especially when...

Harry's own body was considered scrawny even by human standards.

He instinctively felt his shoulder. Empty. Damn it, I don't have a single sword. Not even a silver sword—he'd be glad to have a steel one.

Human?

He didn't look like one. Humans couldn't grow that massive; their bones wouldn't support it.

Was he a demi-human? A halfling or an elf? Or maybe a troll or a giant?

"Hello, sir." Harry took a deep breath, keeping a hand at his waist, ready to cast a Sign at any moment. Even an ordinary Witcher, powerful as the White Wolf or Letho, couldn't do much to a large creature with the Aard Sign.

He was the exception.

Even a giant couldn't resist the Aard Sign he cast.

"Are you a professor at Hogwarts?"

"Is Hogwarts a school that accepts nonhuman races?"

Hagrid bristled—literally. His hair puffed up, and his face reddened. "Oh, nonhuman? My poor little Harry, how could you get an idea like that?"

"I'm human, a perfectly ordinary human being. I'm just big-boned."

"Hogwarts is a fine school. It doesn't have any strange creatures like Werewolves or Giants."

Is that so?

Harry remained doubtful.

Hagrid took a deep breath, put thoughts of being a "half-blood giant" out of his mind, and squeezed his bulky body into the sofa. Then he called toward the Vernon family, who were hiding in the kitchen. "Hello, could I have a pot of tea?"

"If it's black tea, even better with an extra half-spoonful of milk."

Petunia immediately pulled her head back out of sight.

Hagrid turned to Harry, who was still standing. "Come on, sit down. Let's have a good chat."

Harry hesitated for a moment, then nodded and sat on another sofa.

"I'm not a professor at Hogwarts. I'm the Keeper of Keys at Hogwarts," Hagrid said cheerfully. "It was quite a struggle to get Headmaster Dumbledore to give me the job. All the other professors wanted to come and fetch you."

"But I'm one of Headmaster Dumbledore's most trusted people, so he gave me the task."

He held his head high, looking very proud.

Harry nodded, took the Hogwarts supply list out of his pocket, and set it on the table. "How am I supposed to get these things for school?"

"Will you take me to buy them, sir?"

"I'd rather not say this, but I don't have any money. I doubt my aunt and uncle would be willing to pay for it."

In the kitchen,

Vernon called out loudly, "I'm not paying a penny! Send him to some loony asylum where he can learn a bunch of crazy tricks that'll make him even crazier!"

His fat uncle was afraid of the power of magic.

But his mouth wasn't.

Under the Aard Sign, even the table had shattered, yet his mouth had remained unharmed.

"How dare you speak about wizards like that?" Hagrid clenched his fists, his voice tinged with anger.

Harry waved a hand. "Calm down."

"In my situation, would Hogwarts provide these things for me?"

Harry's words did the trick. Hagrid gave a heavy snort and turned back around. "Oh, no, Harry. You don't need to use their money. Muggle money is no good in our wizarding world."

"Actually, your parents—surely you know about them?"

"They left you a considerable inheritance."

An inheritance?

Oh, right!

Harry suddenly came to his senses. How could he have forgotten something so important?

He abruptly turned to Aunt Petunia, who was coming out of the kitchen with a teapot. "Aunt Petunia, what happened to the inheritance my parents left me? How much of it do you have?"

Before Aunt Petunia could answer,

Hagrid explained first. "No, no, the inheritance isn't with these Muggles. Mr. Dumbledore wouldn't trust them with it, either."

"Mr. Dumbledore has been keeping it for you."