Morning light struggled through the narrow window, filtering into the cramped basement room.
Dylan Hawkwood stared at the envelope on his desk, stunned.
A moment earlier, he had flung open the window lattice as usual, hoping the fresh air would dispel the night's dullness.
Unexpectedly, an owl swooped in, swooping through the window with a whirring sound.
Its reckless flapping wings nearly knocked over the candlesticks before landing lopsidedly on the old wooden table.
A letter was fastened securely to its legs—the very letter Dylan was standing before.
At first, Dylan paid it no mind.
But just as he was about to shoo the owl away, he caught a glimpse of the distinctive emblem on the envelope—
a shield of arms: a majestic lion, a soaring eagle, a sturdy badger, and a cunning snake, all surrounding the letter "H."
Above and below the coat of arms, two delicate ribbons bore the words "Hogwarts" and "Sleeping Dragons Do Not Disturb," respectively.
For a moment, his expression froze, as if struck by a flash of lightning from the depths of memory.
"Hogwarts?"
Familiar yet unfamiliar elements, like a surging tide, instantly overwhelmed his memory.
Hermione and her two flaws?
"I'm actually in the world of Harry Potter?"
Dylan had always believed he'd traveled to a historical England.
But he never saw the arrival of Goldfinger.
His parents were both humble employees in ordinary companies, and his family was poor.
Over the past decade, Dylan had finally put aside his fantasies of Goldfinger.
He simply wanted to leverage his foresight into future technological trends, hoard stocks, and live comfortably—that was his ultimate goal.
But this letter had cruelly shattered his dreams!
The world was far from as simple as he'd imagined. Even if he accumulated wealth in the future, it could vanish at any moment!
After all, those damned wizards only needed to wave their wands and chant a few spells.
A single Legilimency or Imperius Curse
would be all it took to control his mind.
Even so, he had to pray they didn't intend to harm him.
If he encountered a vicious wizard, a flash of the Avatar spell would end his life in an instant!
With this thought, Dylan's languid back straightened, a sense of crisis looming. Dylan
took the envelope from the owl, and it flew out the window.
"But at least now I have the opportunity to learn magic."
Now that he had received his acceptance letter to Hogwarts, it meant he could practice magic and protect himself.
At the very least, he had to learn some escape and self-defense spells before buying stocks!
Dylan secretly resolved to immerse himself in the study of magic at Hogwarts.
He would focus on mastering various protective spells and maxing out his defenses first!
When he's fully grown, he can slip back into the Muggle world and live a carefree life. How wonderful!
Dylan stared at the envelope for a long time.
Finally, he reached out, his fingertips trembling slightly as he tore it open and pulled out the parchment inside.
————————
44 Ansheng Road, Basement, to Mr. Dylan Hawkwood. Headmaster of
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and
Wizardry: Albus Dumbledore (President of the International Confederation of Wizards, Chief Wizard of the Wizengamot, and Recipient of the Order of Merlin, First Class)
Dear Mr. Hawkwood:
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Enclosed is a list of required books and supplies.
The new term is scheduled to begin on September 1st, and we will await your owl message by July 31st.
Yours faithfully, Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress (Female)
————————
Dylan had just finished reading the last line when a strange scene suddenly appeared before his eyes.
"Hmm?"
Dylan was stunned.
Could this be his golden finger, ten years late?!
Dylan couldn't help but feel excited and quickly explored the contents.
"Achievement system?"
The system interface was divided into four parts: wizard hat, magic scroll, magic wand, and magic book.
The wizard hat icon represented his personal information.
——————————
[Name]: Dylan Hawkwood
[Magic]: None
[Item]: New Student Gift Pack
—————————— After clicking it, the spell column was empty except for his solitary name—after all, he was now a master of nine out of ten spells.
There was a small gift bag in the inventory, but he had no idea what it was.
The magic scroll icon linked quests and achievements.
Upon opening it, the quest column was empty.
However, there was a lit achievement in the achievements column—
[Achievement]: First Encounter
[Description]: You have been blessed by magic! Experience this world of magic and Muggles!
[Requirement]: First encounter with magic.
[Achievement Reward]: A small Hogwarts freshman gift bag.
Clicking the magic wand icon,
another page appeared.
——————————
[Name]: Dylan Hawkwood
[Spells Available for Refinement]: None
——————————
Dylan glanced at it and saw that it was a tool that could help him refine his spells.
He couldn't click on the magic book icon either; it was mysterious and without any clues, leaving him baffled.
"That's my cheat code!" Dylan rubbed his hands, his eyes eagerly fixed on the small gift bag in his inventory.
Click it.
A new system prompt popped up.
[New Student Gift Pack]: Open it and you'll receive a magical beast and three max-level spells!
"What? Three max-level spells??"
Dylan's eyes lit up.
This gift pack...
max-level spells, free just for logging in?
Oh my god!
The thought of it was exciting!
"There are so many spells, and I only got three. Pulling a spell like Expecto Ward is unlikely."
With the max-level spell as a guarantee, Dylan wasn't even that excited about the magical beast.
Whatever he got, it was fine. It would save him the trouble of buying it.
With a tinge of trepidation, Dylan opened the gift pack.
In an instant, four golden beams shot up from the ground, reaching the sky above the interface, like brilliant stars descending!
Dylan's heartbeat suddenly accelerated!
Three of the golden stars shifted constantly, then suddenly disintegrated, transforming into a black mist that hovered like a black hole in the sky!
The next second, three magical messages instantly poured into his head.
Dylan saw countless figures, not just humans, but also all sorts of bizarre creatures.
He stood before these creatures, waving his wand.
First strike.
"Ahhh!"
The people in the front row fell to the ground, writhing in agony, wailing and screaming.
Second strike.
"Plop!"
The group in the middle was struck by green light and instantly fell stiff, their bodies limp, and they fell silent.
Third strike.
The people at the end had empty eyes and resembled puppets.
[Message]: Congratulations on mastering the maximum-level magic - Crucio!
[Message]: Congratulations on mastering the maximum-level magic - Avada Kedavra!
[Message]: Congratulations on mastering the maximum-level magic - Imperio! Countless
whispers echoed in Dylan's ears.
The intertwining spells etched themselves deeply into his soul.
At this point, Dylan felt like he didn't even need a wand; he could cast these three spells effortlessly.
However, looking at the three maxed-out spells on the spell list, Dylan's vision suddenly darkened.
"Am I seeing this correctly?"
Dylan closed his eyes, a little afraid to open them.
He didn't even need to look at the spell list.
The three Unforgivable Curses, at his command, vividly demonstrated to him how to torture others.
"I'm completely convinced. System, what are you trying to do? Do you want me to be arrested the moment I enroll and spend the rest of my life in Azkaban?!"
(End of Chapter)