"Seven Galleons, please."
After paying, Jerry asked Ollivander, "Sir, is a wizard only allowed to own one wand? Could I buy a second?"
In the world of Harry Potter, being without a wand was like being without a gun in America. Jerry wanted a spare: one in plain sight, one hidden away.
"The Ministry of Magic only permits a wizard to own one. You can buy another wand only if the first is damaged."
Got it. Find a way to rob someone for one while wearing a mask...
With his answer, Jerry left the wand shop.
Ollivander watched Jerry go, feeling uneasy. All he could do was pray Merlin would protect them.
"Professor, sorry for the wait. I didn't expect to spend so long in the wand shop."
When Jerry came out, he found Dumbledore sitting on a chair by the street, chatting with someone. The other person rose to leave when Jerry approached.
"You seem rather particular about your wand," Dumbledore said with a smile.
"Yes. I tried more than a dozen before finding one that suited me. Luckily, the last one did."
Jerry took out his shopping list and checked that he had everything. Then he returned to Madam Malkin's shop, tried on his finished clothes, and left once he found they fit.
By the time they had bought everything, it was noon. Dumbledore treated him to lunch at the Leaky Cauldron. Jerry wasn't keen on the place, but he accepted. The food wasn't great and was far too sweet, though Dumbledore seemed to enjoy it.
After keeping the old man company through lunch, they left.
Dumbledore must have noticed Jerry's reluctance to ride the Knight Bus, because they used Apparition for the return trip.
He dropped Jerry off at the Orphanage and left.
Night fell.
Jerry returned to his room. The Matron had specially moved him into a single room, since he was now a wizard.
On the table lay Modern History of Magic and Hogwarts, A History, both bought that day in Diagon Alley. Jerry flipped through them quickly but found nothing useful. He could only remember the broad outline of the Harry Potter story.
Before crossing over, Jerry had only seen the films, and that had been when he was a child. More than ten years had passed, and his memory had long since blurred. Reality was reality, films were films, and now his presence could change things too. The original plot could only serve as a reference.
The thought gave Jerry a headache. Forget it. I'm tired. Bed!
"Caw... caw..."
Early the next morning, a cry woke Jerry.
He sat up and saw a birdcage on his table. Inside was a bird he didn't recognize.
Jerry hurried out of bed and checked the doors and windows. There were no signs of forced entry.
He went to the table and inspected the cage. A note attached to it bore his name. It was a gift for him.
He opened the cage. A black bird about the size of a mail owl hopped out. It showed no fear of people and flew straight onto Jerry's shoulder.
Jerry studied the silly bird. Smooth, jet-black feathers covered its body, and its dark gray beak looked sharp.
Its head and eyes were unusually large. As for its gaze... well, it had an innocent stupidity to it. The bird was like a husky with wings.
Jerry found a key attached to its foot. The head formed an intricate pattern of winding lines, while the slender cylindrical shaft was engraved with delicate designs.
He removed the key and turned it over for a while, but he couldn't think what it opened. He decided to ask Harry at school whether it was a key to a Gringotts vault.
Neither the bird nor the key looked like it belonged to the Muggle world. Jerry had no idea who in the Wizarding World would send him these things, but he was in no rush. Whoever it was would come looking for him eventually.
After breakfast, Jerry went back to his room and fed Tom some fruit. "Tom" was the name he had given his bird.
Jerry decided to get a head start on his studies. He picked up Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1, and began reading.
"Lumos!" Jerry raised his wand and gave it a gentle flick. A bright light shone from its tip.
It worked! It was much easier than he had imagined. His talent for Charms really was exceptional. Now he found himself looking forward to the Dark Magic lesson at eleven.
One month later, on the night of August 30.
[Host: Jerry Green Profession: Wizard Inventory: Empty Talents (maximum 10): Charms: 8 (exceptionally gifted) Potions: 7 (fairly gifted) Transfiguration: 9 (supremely gifted) Divination: 1 (works sometimes, fails sometimes) ... Dark Magic: 11 (even Dementors would tremble at the sight of you!!!) Spells: Lumos (Lv. 2, 1.04%), Unlocking Charm (Lv. 1, 82.7%), Mending Charm (Lv. 2, 0.7%), Nonverbal Spell (Lv. 1, 72.4%), Fire-Making Spell (Lv. 1, 91.6%), Impediment Jinx (Lv. 1, 83.3%), Levitation Charm (Lv. 1, 89.1%), Blasting Curse (Lv. 1, 92.8%), Disarming Charm (Lv. 1, 95.5%), Levicorpus (Lv. 1, 98.5%), Densaugeo (Lv. 1, 76.2%)... Card draws available: 21 (Become the mightiest, most terrifying Dark Lord!!)]
For the entire month, Jerry had barely left his room except to eat and use the bathroom. He had thrown himself into Magical Theory and practiced spells relentlessly.
Learning the basics of most spells was easy for Jerry; he usually succeeded on his first try. Improving beyond that was much harder. Despite his exceptional talent for Charms, only Lumos and the Mending Charm had reached level two.
Lumos was brighter and illuminated a wider area than it had at level one. The Mending Charm had improved similarly, repairing things more effectively. But he still couldn't cast either spell nonverbally. Their levels probably weren't high enough. He needed more practice.
Aside from the spells, his biggest gain was the number of card draws he had saved. He had held off for a month, letting them pile up until now.
Jerry ruffled his hair. "My turn. Draw cards!"
Flowers bloomed and confetti burst across the virtual screen. It even had a draw animation. But the excitement quickly faded.
"Better luck next time."
"Better luck next time."
"Better luck next time."
Madam Malkin's Self-Heating Cloak (Hogwarts student edition)
Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans (bogey flavor)
"Better luck next time."
Jerry nearly blacked out. Ten draws, and all he'd gotten was a damn outfit?!
After taking a deep breath, Jerry decided to do another ten draws. Maybe the first ten had just been clearing out the bad luck.
"Better luck next time."
"Better luck next time."
"Better luck next time."
Constipation Man (Why worry about You-Know-Who? You should worry about Constipation Man—the torment of constipation plagues the nation.)
"Better luck next time."
Wizard Card (Cliodna): Using it increases the success rate of your next potion by 60%.
"Better luck next time."
Rita Skeeter's Camera: Anyone photographed with it will start swearing at everyone.
"Oh, fuck, shit... damn it!" 🖕
Twenty draws in all. Apart from the somewhat useful Wizard Card, everything was trash.
Jerry felt his blood pressure rising. He glanced at the system panel. One draw left. He was doing it!!!
One draw for a miracle!