My Turn to Draw Cards

"That'll be 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 wand in plain sight, another 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 while wearing a mask...

With his answer, Jerry left the wand shop.

Ollivander watched Jerry go, feeling uneasy. All he could do was pray that 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 saw Dumbledore sitting on a chair by the street, chatting with someone. The other person rose to leave when Jerry approached.

"Looks like you were rather particular about your wand," Dumbledore said with a smile.

"I was. I tried more than a dozen before I found one that fit. 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 ready-made clothes, and left once he was sure they fit.

By the time they had finished shopping, 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—far too sweet—though Dumbledore seemed to like it.

After keeping the old man company over lunch, they left.

Dumbledore must have noticed Jerry's reluctance to ride the Knight Bus, because they Apparated back.

Dumbledore dropped Jerry off at the orphanage and left.

Night fell.

Jerry returned to his room. It was a single room the matron had arranged specially for him, now that he was a wizard.

On the desk 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 remember only the broad outline of Harry Potter's story.

Before coming to this world, Jerry had only seen the films, and that had been when he was a child. More than a decade had passed, and his memories had long since blurred. Reality was reality, and films were films. With his own butterfly effect thrown in, the original plot could only serve as a reference.

The thought gave Jerry a headache. Forget it. I'm tired. Not thinking about it. Sleep!

"Caw... caw..."

Early the next morning, a burst of cries woke Jerry.

He sat up and saw a birdcage on his desk. Inside was a bird he didn't recognize.

Jerry hurried out of bed and checked the door and windows. He found no signs that anyone had tampered with them.

At the desk, he inspected the cage. A note attached to it bore his name. It was meant for him.

He opened the cage, and a black bird about the size of a messenger 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 was unusually large, as were its eyes. But that look in them... there was an innocent stupidity to it, like a husky in bird form.

Jerry spotted a key fastened to the bird's leg. Its head formed an intricate pattern of winding lines, while its long, slender cylindrical shaft was engraved with delicate designs.

He removed the key and toyed with it 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.

The bird and key clearly weren't from the Muggle world. Jerry had no idea who in the Wizarding World would send them to him, but he wasn't in a hurry to find out. Whoever it was would come looking for him eventually.

After breakfast, Jerry returned to his room and fed Tom some fruit. Tom was the name he had given the bird.

Jerry intended to get a head start on studying. He picked up The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1, and began to read.

"Lumos!" Jerry raised his wand and gave it a gentle flick. A bright light shone from its tip.

It worked. That was much easier than he had imagined. His talent for Charms really was exceptional. Now he found himself looking forward to Dark Magic at eleven o'clock.

A 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 a Dementor 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: 21

(Become the most powerful, most terrifying Dark Lord!!)]

For the entire month, Jerry had barely left his room except to eat and use the bathroom. He had studied Magical Theory and practiced spells relentlessly.

Most spells were easy for Jerry to learn; he usually succeeded on the first try. Improving beyond that was much harder. Even with his exceptional talent for Charms, only Lumos and the Mending Charm had reached level 2.

Lumos had grown brighter and illuminated a larger area than it had at level 1. The Mending Charm had improved in much the same way, repairing things more effectively. But he still couldn't cast either spell nonverbally. Their levels probably weren't high enough. He would have to keep practicing.

Apart from the spells, his biggest gain was the number of card draws he had saved. He had held out for a month, letting them pile up until now.

Jerry ruffled his hair with one hand. "My turn. Draw cards!"

Flowers bloomed and fireworks burst across the virtual screen. It even had a card-draw animation. But the exciting display soon vanished.

"Thanks for playing."

"Thanks for playing."

"Thanks for playing."

Madam Malkin's Self-Heating Cloak (Hogwarts student edition)

Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans (bogey flavor)

"Thanks for playing."

Jerry's vision went dark. Ten draws, and all he got was a damn "skin"?!

After taking a deep breath, Jerry decided to draw ten more. Maybe the first ten had just cleared out the bad luck.

"Thanks for playing."

"Thanks for playing."

"Thanks for playing."

Constipation Man (Why worry about You-Know-Who? You should worry about Constipation Man—constipation is tormenting the nation.)

"Thanks for playing."

Wizard Card (Cliodna): After use, increases the success rate of your next Potions preparation by 60%.

"Thanks for playing."

Rita Skeeter's Camera: After use, anyone photographed will start hurling insults at everyone.

"Oh, fuck, shit... damn it!" He flipped them the middle finger.

Twenty draws in all. Apart from the Wizard Card, everything was trash.

Jerry felt his blood pressure rising. He glanced at the system panel. One draw left. He was going for it!

One draw is all it takes for a miracle!