Starting School

Eli walked somewhat anxiously through the dimly lit Knockturn Alley.

He was carrying six thousand Galleons. To put it bluntly, he was a walking fat sheep!

As the saying went, what you feared was exactly what came for you.

A figure suddenly sprang out from a corner and pinned the unprepared Eli against the wall.

This guy clearly had plenty of experience with this sort of thing. He expertly restrained the hand Eli was about to use to draw his wand.

He was a middle-aged man with sparse hair, rotten teeth, and a strange sulfurous stench clinging to him.

He snarled at Eli, "You rich little runt, I can hear your money pouch jingling. Hand it over!"

The foul stench from his mouth nearly made Eli choke.

He desperately tried to think of a way to escape.

But how could a child's body possibly match an adult's?

His mind had turned to mush with panic, and he couldn't think of a single useful spell.

The man pulled out a wand and pressed it against Eli's neck.

"Come on, let me put a curse on you. Once you're dead, your money will naturally be mine!"

He looked mentally unstable, completely unhinged.

Eli was instantly gripped by terror.

The man began chanting, and Eli could even feel magic gathering at the tip of the wand.

"Avada..."

The Killing Curse!

The moment he heard the first few syllables, Eli began struggling wildly. The Killing Curse meant certain death upon contact!

The shadow of death immediately engulfed him, and the aura of death radiating from the wand made it hard for him to breathe.

For a moment, he seemed to see the ghastly green light that had lit up the night and hear a woman screaming.

"No... no!"

All he wanted now was to return to the Leaky Cauldron. Someone there could save him!

Crack!

A sudden explosive pop rang out, followed by a powerful tugging sensation. He even felt as if his body were being stretched infinitely long.

The strange sensation vanished. What suddenly entered his ears were the shouts of people drinking and a scream of agony.

At the Leaky Cauldron, the drinkers fell silent and all looked toward the two people who had suddenly appeared.

"Oh! That's Ocluse! The Ministry of Magic is hunting him. He's killed quite a few people!"

Eli looked around blankly. How had he suddenly returned here?

Then he noticed the dark wizard on the floor, groaning in pain, and the threat of death instantly flooded back into his mind.

He pulled out his wand, and, burning with rage, viciously fired off a spell at him.

Petrificus Totalus!

An especially thick gray beam struck the dark wizard on the ground.

He instantly stopped moving, his body taking on a stony texture.

Eli immediately turned and ran upstairs.

Everything had happened in a flash. The wizards had only seen the black-robed figure suddenly hit the man on the ground with a Petrification Curse before immediately running off.

Everyone was stunned for a moment before a huge wave of discussion erupted.

"Who do you think that was?"

"Who else could it be? An Auror!"

"Then why did the Auror run away?"

"This..."

Mr. Tom quickly led the servers over.

After examining the dark wizard on the floor, he said, "Oh! He was hit by such a powerful Petrification Curse. I've never heard of a Petrification Curse truly turning someone to stone. He even got splinched during Apparition!"

The servers immediately felt that this guy was incredibly unlucky.

Mr. Tom shoved one of them. "Don't just stand there! Go notify the Aurors!"

Then he led others upstairs. That black-robed person had run up there just now.

After racing back to his room, Eli immediately locked the door.

He erased every trace on himself, including the black robe.

Then he lay on the bed and pretended to be asleep.

After a while, there was indeed a knock at the door.

Eli put on pajamas and wore a bleary-eyed expression.

When he opened the door, Mr. Tom stood outside with a group of servers, blocking the entire corridor.

"Kid, are you all right? Did anything happen?"

Eli rubbed his eyes. "Mm... I've been sleeping the whole time. Nothing should have happened, right...?"

Tom nodded, gave him a reminder, and led the others away.

Of course, he had never suspected that the black-robed person was Eli, who had not even started school yet.

He had only knocked to make sure Eli was safe.

Back on the bed, Eli's eyes were wide open. His heaving chest showed that he was far from calm.

What had just happened continued replaying in his mind.

He had nearly died under the Killing Curse!

"But why at the end..."

He couldn't figure out why he had appeared at the Leaky Cauldron.

Then he recalled that the night he had transmigrated, the same thing had happened. He should have been in the Potter Family's room with Harry, yet he had ended up out in the wilderness.

Eli racked his brains but still couldn't make sense of it.

In the end, he simply closed his eyes and touched the money pouch in his arms. "It's all fucking fleeting. Only Galleons are real."

The Daily Prophet immediately reported what had happened that night.

An unidentified black-robed person had suddenly appeared at the Leaky Cauldron with Ocluse, a fugitive wanted by the Ministry of Magic, hit him with a Petrification Curse, and fled.

For a time, this bizarre incident became idle gossip among wizards.

After some time, the Ministry of Magic suddenly released a statement saying that the black-robed person that night had been an Auror, and that Ocluse had been lawfully apprehended by the Ministry.

As for why the Auror had left, it was because he had other urgent duties to attend to.

When Eli saw it, he sneered disdainfully. "This Ministry of Magic is useless at getting things done, but it sure is first-rate at stealing credit!"

Of course, he had no way of telling people that he was the black-robed person.

Whether anyone would believe him was one thing. It would also bring him trouble.

Naturally, people did not believe the Ministry's explanation either. Newspapers published questions about it and even demanded that the Ministry bring out Ocluse for a face-to-face confrontation.

The Ministry immediately fell silent, brushing it off by claiming that he should not appear in public while under interrogation.

The Ministry began bickering with the media again, and that became people's reason for buying newspapers during this period.

They just wanted to enjoy the drama.

Time flew by, and the day school began soon arrived.

Eli also ended his grueling training early and returned home to stay for a few days.

On September 1st, the Hall Family arrived at the station.

After saying goodbye to his parents, Eli disappeared into the pillar between Platforms Nine and Ten.

When he arrived at Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, the place was packed with people, young wizards bidding farewell to their parents.

Eli had put all his luggage into the Undetectable Extension Bag, so he was empty-handed and completely relaxed.

After boarding the train, he began searching for that familiar figure.

Knock, knock, knock!

Eli knocked on a compartment door, and the thin black-haired boy inside noticed him.

"Eli!"

Harry's green eyes were filled with disbelief.

This was truly an unbelievable encounter in an unbelievable place!

Eli sat down in the compartment. Harry was the only one inside, so it seemed the Golden Trio had not met yet.

Harry clearly still hadn't recovered from the surprise. "Eli, you... you're a wizard too?"

The moment he said it, Harry felt that the question was unnecessary.

Eli smiled. "I never expected to meet you either. But fate works in mysterious ways, doesn't it?"

The two sat together and chatted for a long while, like close friends who had not seen each other in years.

Looking at Harry's familiar face, Eli couldn't help wanting to be close to him.

Perhaps that was the power of blood ties!

"Excuse me, can I come in...? Everywhere else is full."

At the door, a red-haired boy asked somewhat shyly.

He seemed to have interrupted their lively conversation, and when the two looked at him, he grew even more restrained.

"Of course. Come in!"

The moment Eli saw that distinctive red hair, he knew that Ron Weasley, one of the Golden Trio, had arrived.

"Er... hello. My name is Ron, Ron Weasley."

The two introduced themselves as well.

When Harry introduced himself, Ron looked extremely shocked. "Y-you're Harry Potter?"

Harry had already seen how famous he was in the wizarding world, so he was no longer confused by it.

He casually showed off the scar on his forehead.

"Cool!" Ron exclaimed.

Boys their age made friends easily, and the three quickly began chatting together.

Both Harry and Eli formed a good impression of Ron.

Perhaps it was the natural friendliness inherited from the Weasley Family.

Just as they were chatting happily, a plump witch pushing a snack trolley came over.

"Would you like anything?"

"No, thank you."

Ron awkwardly pulled out a sandwich that had been squashed into mush.

Harry noticed Ron's embarrassment and said extravagantly, "I'll take everything."

For a moment, Eli and Ron both looked at him with the envy of poor people.

Eli couldn't help grumbling inwardly, If I'd revealed my identity sooner, then as Harry Potter's little brother and the Potter Family's younger son, it wouldn't have been too much to get a share of the inheritance, right?

Eli quickly turned his grief and indignation into appetite and began eating heartily.

Ron suddenly wanted to show them a spell that could turn his fat old rat, Scabbers, yellow.

Unfortunately, it failed.

Eli patted Dogdan, hidden in his robes.

He suddenly remembered that this rat seemed to be some creepy villain.

What was that spell called again? It was... something like Animagus.

A highly advanced Transfiguration spell that could turn a person into a specific animal.

This rat was an Animagus.

Eli suddenly felt a little mischievous. Since he was a villain anyway, it should be fine to mess with him early, right?

"Ron, why don't you let me try?"

Ron readily agreed. He hated that rat anyway.

Eli took out his wand and lightly tapped it.

That fat gray rat instantly turned a disgusting shit-yellow.

"Cool!"

Ron and Harry immediately had stars in their eyes.

"Oh, not at all... Stay humble, stay humble..."

Eli looked modest, but inwardly he was delighted.

A shocked voice rang out. "Silent Casting!"

They looked over.

A little witch with bushy hair climbed into the compartment.

"My name is Hermione Granger."

The group began another round of introductions.

For the second time, Hermione showed surprise when Harry introduced himself.

Ron immediately formed a terrible impression of this rude girl.

Hermione's attention was clearly on Eli. "Were you using Silent Casting just now? The books say it's an advanced casting technique... blah blah blah."

Eli, however, was drawn to Hermione's appearance. Of course, not because she was beautiful. She was still just a child and had not grown into her looks yet!

Three years or more, ten years or less!

Hermione looked almost exactly like she did in the movies, except she had an extra pair of buck teeth.

To put it more tactfully, rabbit teeth.

"I memorized all the books at home, but I'm still worried I won't be able to keep up with everyone else... Eli?"

"Ah... ah?"

Clearly, while he had been distracted, Hermione had already delivered an entire grand speech.

"You were saying? I was listening."

Eli looked very serious.

The little girl did not think much of it. "I just learned a few little spells. Come help guide me!"

Eli readily agreed. It was a small matter!

Hermione Granger pulled out her wand and aimed it at Harry's somewhat worn glasses.

"Reparo!"

A soft sound rang out.

Harry instantly felt his vision become much clearer.

He took off his glasses and found that they looked as good as new.

Eli nodded approvingly as well. For a young Wizard to achieve this much was already quite impressive.

Hermione Granger looked at Eli nervously.

Eli immediately put on a serious expression. "Not bad! I think your spellcasting was very precise!"

"Very precise? Then that means it still wasn't good enough! I knew it... blah, blah, blah."

Seeing Hermione Granger about to launch into her muttering again, Eli immediately cut her off.

"What were you coming in here for just now?"

Hermione Granger suddenly remembered something and hurriedly ran out. "I almost forgot I still have to help Neville find his toad!"

Everyone in the compartment breathed a sigh of relief.

"Remember to put on your school uniforms!"

Hermione Granger suddenly appeared.