The Wheelchair War Goddess Is Speedrunning Hogwarts

Vera's interest was piqued. The instant her fingertips touched the wand, the golden patterns along its shaft suddenly lit up.

At the same time, she felt the magical circuits within her body resonate intensely with the wand.

The moment she gripped it tightly, a dazzling golden light burst from its tip, illuminating the entire shop. Countless golden motes danced through the air, slowly spinning before vanishing.

Ollivander's eyes widened. "Amazing! Since Gregorovitch entrusted this wand to my care, it has never reacted to any wizard!"

Vera stared at the wand in her hand in equal surprise. The yew wood felt cool and smooth, and the golden patterns on its shaft were identical to the faintly visible magical circuits beneath her skin.

It was as though... it were an extension of her body.

"A yew wand grants its wielder the power to command life and death, while Thestral tail hair..." Ollivander's voice held a trace of reverence. "This wand core is exceptionally rare. Only witches and wizards who have witnessed death can bring out its full potential."

Vera's grip on the wand tightened slightly.

She truly had witnessed death—not only the fatal car accident in the original Vera's memories, but also her own death in her previous life.

Ollivander's gaze shifted between Vera and the wand, complicated light flickering in his silvery eyes. "Gregorovitch once said that this wand contains ancient magic. It will not choose a master lightly. Only a witch or wizard with special talent can wield it."

Vera gently traced the flowing golden patterns on the wand. A warm power flowed from its core to her fingertips, circulating through her body like blood.

This wand had been meant for her from the start.

"Thank you. Please also convey my gratitude to Mr. Gregorovitch." Vera spoke softly, taking out the gold coins she had prepared long ago and placing seven on the counter.

At least she would not have to learn from some noseless guy and dig up wizards' ancestral graves.

Author's note: PY "In Ark, I Grow Stronger After Death and Fear Nothing"

Harry Potter

After paying, she slowly wheeled herself out of the shop.

But... the moment she stepped outside, she spotted an exceptionally conspicuous giant figure in the crowd from afar.

So this was Hagrid? He really was as eye-catching as she had imagined.

Then the person beside him had to be the famous Savior... Miss Harry Potter?

Staring directly at the bespectacled little girl beside Hagrid, Vera felt her mind go blank for the first time. She almost thought she had mistaken the person for someone else.

The girl was clearly rather small and thin, dressed in oversized old clothes. Her long black hair was messily tied behind her head, and a pair of round glasses, wrapped over and over with tape, sat on her nose. Behind them were a pair of emerald-green eyes.

Most eye-catching of all was the lightning-shaped scar on her forehead, faintly visible beneath the sunlight.

She was looking up at Hagrid as she listened to him speak, her face full of wonder.

Vera blinked and checked again and again that she had not seen wrong.

Harry Potter had become Harry Potter?

This world-shattering realization made her tighten her grip on her wand slightly as she watched the frail little girl from afar in her wheelchair.

Harry Potter—the Savior of this world—was actually a girl.

Her mind raced. Vera wheeled herself into the crowd and quietly observed Harry and Hagrid.

"We need to withdraw some money first. Gringotts is over there." Hagrid's booming voice carried over.

"Um... Hagrid, who are those people?" Harry answered quietly. As they passed several hurried witches and wizards, she looked up and asked cautiously.

Vera noticed that when Harry's gaze swept over those people, she instinctively drew in her shoulders.

That wary yet curious demeanor was rather different from the Harry Potter of the original story, who had been wholly immersed in the new world.

"Oh, they look like Aurors from the Ministry of Magic. Don't mind them." Hagrid answered gruffly. "We need to hurry and get the money. We've got a lot to buy today."

Vera watched thoughtfully as they headed toward Gringotts' snow-white marble steps, but she did not follow immediately.

The Black family was wealthy, and the money she carried was already enough for today's shopping.

So there was no need to follow them.

Having made her decision swiftly, Vera turned her wheelchair down another branch of the street, intending to buy the other necessities first.

The clerk at Flourish and Blotts enthusiastically recommended all the textbooks first-years needed and thoughtfully helped her store the heavy books in the compartment beneath her wheelchair, which had been enchanted with the Undetectable Extension Charm.

The owner of the cauldron shop selected a standard pewter cauldron for her, along with a set of crystal potion vials, a telescope, and a brass scale.

At the apothecary, Vera also bought some basic potion ingredients, as well as medicine that could ease the aching soreness in her spine.

As she passed the ice cream shop, she saw its owner glance at her again, but this time, the woman did not approach her.

Then Vera arrived at a pet shop.

The moment she wheeled herself inside, all kinds of animal cries and smells rushed over her.

Vera's gaze swept over the cages of owls, toads, and cats of every color before finally stopping at a corner. Curled up there was a silver-gray long-haired kitten, watching her warily with amber eyes.

"That cat..." Vera pointed toward the corner, at the kitten whose fur was strikingly similar to her own hair color.

The shopkeeper was a long-faced witch. She hurried over, and her eyes flickered when she noticed Vera's wheelchair, but she quickly returned to normal. "That cat has some Kneazle blood. It's very rare."

She lowered her voice. "But... it has been here for a month and has refused to let anyone near it."

Vera wheeled herself closer to the cage. The kitten immediately turned toward her, arching its back warily and letting out a threatening growl.

But when she extended her hand, it suddenly calmed down. It tilted its head to examine her, even allowing her closer before lifting its head to rub against her palm.

"It seems to be interested in you!" the shopkeeper exclaimed.

As the kitten's tail lightly brushed Vera's wrist, its amber pupils narrowed into thin slits in the dim shop.

Vera smiled and said without hesitation, "I'll take it."

After saying that, she quickly paid, discreetly observing the kitten's reaction at the same time.

The little thing had already curled up familiarly on her lap, its claws hooked into her robe and its tail lightly wrapped around her wrist, looking especially dependent on her.

"Looks like it chose you too." The shopkeeper smiled. "Would you like to give it a name?"

Vera stroked its smooth fur. "Nox."

It meant the goddess of night.

Vera's fingers gently combed through Nox's fur. The little creature comfortably narrowed its amber eyes, purring deep in its throat.

Unable to stop herself from smiling, Vera was about to turn her wheelchair and leave the pet shop when, just as she reached the doorway, a huge body suddenly squeezed in from outside.

"We need an owl—oh! Watch out!"

With Hagrid's rough cry of alarm, Vera instinctively tried to dodge, but the cramped space behind her made it impossible to avoid the sudden collision.

The wheelchair was knocked backward. Vera tensed instinctively and could only grip the armrests tightly.

In that instant, she heard Nox's fur bristle on her lap as it arched its back and let out a sharp hiss.

Another nimble figure flashed past from behind Hagrid and swiftly caught the wheelchair before it toppled.

When Vera had barely managed to steady herself and looked up again, she unexpectedly met a pair of panicked emerald-green eyes.

The girl's hands were gripping the wheelchair's armrests tightly. Her glasses had slipped crookedly to one side, and her bangs were disheveled, exposing the lightning-shaped scar on her forehead.

"I'm sorry! Are you okay?" Harry hurriedly apologized. Behind her crooked glasses, her green eyes were wide open. "We didn't notice you were here..."

Vera glanced at the flustered Savior and almost immediately noticed the many small scars covering the hands holding her wheelchair steady.

It was clear that this gender-swapped version of the Savior had not been treated much better by the Dursley family than in the original story.

She might even have had it worse because she was a girl.

"Oh, no! I'm so sorry!" Just as Vera wanted to observe further, Hagrid's bearded face flushed red, abruptly interrupting her thoughts. "Miss, it's all my fault for being so reckless—"

"It's all right." Vera could only withdraw her gaze hastily and answer softly, soothing Nox's bristling fur on her lap. "We're fine."

He was a half-giant, after all. She could not expect too much from him.

Author's note: PY "She Can See the Date of Her Own Death"

The Savior Was Too Cute

Even after she had answered, Harry's hand was still resting belatedly on the wheelchair's armrest.

Noticing Vera's gaze, Harry seemed to realize only then that she had been rude. She hurriedly let go and stepped back, nearly treading on Hagrid's boot.

"I-I'm Harry Potter." She introduced herself with a stammer. "This is Rube Hagrid."

Vera noticed Harry's gaze pause briefly on her unfeeling legs before swiftly moving away, as though afraid of offending her.

Vera raised an eyebrow and quietly looked the girl over in return.

Up close, Harry was even smaller and thinner than Vera had imagined. The oversized old T-shirt hung from her like a sack.

The only thing that truly caught the eye was her fresh green gaze, brighter than Vera had imagined, like two leaves pierced by sunlight.

Vera's lashes trembled. As if burned by such pure eyes, she lowered her gaze slightly and gently stroked Nox's back.

The kitten gradually relaxed on her lap, though its amber eyes remained fixed warily on Hagrid.

Unexpectedly, Harry suddenly crouched down, bringing herself level with Vera's eyes. "Your cat is really pretty. What's its name?"

The gesture surprised Vera. Harry... this child had simply crouched down naturally, as she would for any other girl her age. There was no prejudice in her gaze as she looked at Vera and her cat.

"Nox," Vera answered softly, absentmindedly rubbing Nox's ear between her fingertips. "It means 'night' in Roman."

After adding that, she noticed Harry's eyes light up at the explanation.

"That's so cool!" Harry praised quietly. "Can I pet it?"

Nox's ears pricked up warily, but under Vera's permissive caress, it sniffed the fingers Harry extended.

When Harry's fingers touched its head, the kitten suddenly sneezed, spraying out a tiny ripple of magic like water.

"Merlin's beard!" Hagrid exclaimed. "This little one is no ordinary cat!"

Harry smiled in delight as well. "It can do magic!"

She looked up at Vera, pure joy gleaming in her eyes. "Just like you, it's so cool!"

Vera froze.

In this world, this was the first time someone had described her with that word.

Not "pitiful," nor "what a shame."

"...Are you here to buy school supplies too?" Vera changed the subject and slowly wheeled herself forward.

The cramped shop forced Hagrid to turn sideways as he followed behind the two girls like a small mountain.

"Yeah!" Harry said excitedly, jogging after Vera's wheelchair. "I just found out I'm a witch! Hagrid brought me here to buy a wand and textbooks—oh, and we just went to Gringotts too!"

She suddenly lowered her voice. "At first, I didn't even know what Gringotts was."

The corners of Vera's lips rose slightly. "A goblin bank. The Black family vault is there too."

The moment she said that, Hagrid's expression abruptly changed. His lips moved beneath his huge beard. "Black? You mean... you're a child of the Black family?"

"Yes. I'm Vera Black." Vera calmly gave her name.

Immediately afterward, she saw Hagrid's expression turn strange as he looked at her.

Vera was not surprised by Hagrid's reaction—the Black family's current reputation, coupled with Sirius still being locked up in Azkaban, meant that as one of Dumbledore's devoted followers, it was perfectly normal for Hagrid to feel uneasy around her.

She lifted her chin slightly and looked Hagrid straight in the eyes. "Is there a problem, Mr. Rube Hagrid?"

Hagrid's beard twitched, and he looked somewhat awkward. "N-no, nothing. Harry, hurry and pick out your birthday present."

Clearly, for the moment, Hagrid had no idea how to explain to Harry the secret that her deceased parents had been found by Voldemort because Sirius Black had leaked their whereabouts.

Harry keenly sensed the tension in the air. She looked at Hagrid in confusion, then turned to Vera. "Is there something wrong with the surname Black?"

Vera lowered her lashes, lightly combing her fingers through Nox's fur. "Nothing. The family history is just a little complicated."

For some reason, she did not want to leave any strange impression on this innocent Savior during their first meeting.

"Every family has secrets." Vera raised her head and gave Harry a faint smile. "For instance, the Potter family is also one of the old pure-blood families."

Harry's eyes widened. "Really? I had no idea! My aunt and uncle never told me anything about my parents!"

Vera noticed Hagrid's expression grow even more uneasy. His thick fingers twisted together. "Er, Harry, let's not chat for now. We're short on time."

"Oh, right!" Harry seemed to come back to herself, but her gaze remained on Vera. "Would you like to come with us? I mean, if you don't have anything else planned—"

"No, Miss Potter." Vera spoke first, her voice calm and utterly without ripples. "I'm used to going alone. I hope you enjoy your shopping."

With that, she wheeled herself away without hesitation.

She could feel Harry's gaze following her until the pet shop door closed behind her, accompanied by Hagrid's unmistakable sigh of relief.