Ryan Elias, an orphan at the Silver Lime Tree Orphanage, lost his parents and grandmother in a sudden fire when he was young. He was the only survivor and was placed in the orphanage by a distant relative.
He was a bright and well-behaved child who rarely caused trouble at the orphanage. The only unforeseen incident in his life was a bout of unexplained fever three days earlier. That fever left him in a coma for twenty-eight hours, and even the doctors thought he might not survive.
But only Ryan knew what a fantastic, dreamlike adventure he had experienced during that fever.
In that dream, he traveled back a thousand years to ancient times. There, alone and helpless, he met four great wizards on their journeys: Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff, and Salazar Slytherin. These four wizards told him that there was a spirit of magic within his soul. In other words, Ryan was a wizard himself.
So, they decided to take the young boy with them on their journey—though one of the Parseltongue-speaking wizards was initially reluctant, he couldn't persuade his three friends.
Ryan traveled with them to many places. He saw Muggle villages, journeyed to the mysterious land of Asia, and visited Merlin's former home. He heard the cry of eagles in the valleys, ran alongside lions on the savannah, searched for potions among the trees of the rainforest, and even tried to fight off a dragon with a basilisk.
As they got to know each other, the four wizards grew close to Ryan and took him in as their student.
To be honest, at first, the four argued over who would be the most suitable teacher for Ryan. But when the arrogant and aloof Mr. Slytherin secretly prepared a special birthday cake and delivered it to Ryan's tent late one night, only to find the remaining three wizards and their cake inside, they reluctantly decided that Ryan would become their shared student.
"You should be honored, for you will be the only one," he said in a long-faced tone. Ryan still remembered that tone—the way Slytherin said it with a hint of pride. Seven years after they first met, the four wizards concluded their travels and decided to find a place to call home.
They eventually found a beautiful spot in the Scottish Highlands—a region rich in magic, the most in all of Britain. They decided to build a wizarding school there, which they named 'Hogwarts'.
But one day, after the school's completion, Ryan came down with another severe fever. After a deep sleep, he found himself back at the Silver Lime Tree Orphanage.
"We will meet again, my student," the four wizards' final words echoed in his ears, and everything seemed like a dream.
But Ryan knew it wasn't a dream. The faint, lingering magic within him and the letter in his hand were proof enough. However, it was clear that for the others, this was just a cruel joke.
"This is just a prank, Ryan," Ms. Perla said, noting otherwise. "That's a pretty clever prank! The stationery looks expensive—have you been staying in your room writing all day?" she added with a grin.
"What a lovely child," she said cheerfully, gazing at the acceptance letter in her hand.
"Ms. Jones!" a kindly-looking elderly woman beside Ms. Perla called out. She was Ms. Aisha, the director of the Silver Lime Tree Orphanage. "I'm afraid you shouldn't be so quick to judge," she said, her slightly narrowed, presbyopic eyes holding a warning.
Perla instantly understood—shattering a child's illusions was the wrong kind of education. "Oh, I mean... it's not necessarily false. If you write back…" she quickly tried to make amends.
But Ryan spoke first, "Actually, I wrote back three days ago, ma'am," and he even fed the plump snowy owl a piece of cake. Yet, he could clearly see that neither Ms. Perla nor Director Aisha believed him—in fact, no regular Muggle would.
Ryan gently waved his hand across the office table. Suddenly, a pair of crystal reading glasses with frayed edges and a glasses cloth floated off the table and landed directly in his hands. He took the glasses, carefully wiped them with the cloth, and then handed them to Ms. Aisha, who seemed to be rubbing her eyes.
Before he could say anything, a shrill voice rang out, "Incredible! Masterful magical control!"
Ryan's gaze immediately turned to the window, while Ms. Perla and Dean Aisha were a bit slow to react. Just then, a small figure flew into the office through the window. Ms. Perla instinctively shielded Ryan and Dean Aisha behind her. The three of them turned their gazes to the short figure.
With silver hair and a beard, he resembled a dwarf—an unassuming figure—but his eyes were sharp and intelligent.
"Oh, sorry... I think I scared you," he said earnestly in a shrill voice, noticing Perla's movements. He landed on the ground and saluted gracefully with his short hands. "I'm Filius Flitwick, Professor of Charms at Hogwarts and Head of Ravenclaw House."
As he finished speaking, three voices echoed in quick succession.
"Professor?"
"Hogwarts?"
"Ravenclaw?"
The voices came from Ms. Perla, Headmaster Elsa, and Ryan himself.
"Yes, that's correct," Professor Flitwick nodded, stroking his beard. "So, magic schools do exist—and their professors are... uh, goblins?" Elsa crossed herself, still finding this to be a cruel prank.
"Actually, I'm only part goblin, not a goblin," Flitwick corrected gently, not taking offense. Then he looked at Ryan warmly. "Presumably, you're..." he began.
"Hello, Professor Flitwick. I'm Ryan Elias," Ryan said matter-of-factly.
As he spoke, he quietly studied the Hogwarts professor before him. He'd heard him mention Ravenclaw House, which suggested the school must indeed have four houses, as his teachers had said.
His half-goblin identity wasn't surprising. His teacher, Godric Gryffindor, was an expert on the goblin race. He'd once taken Ryan to visit the Goblin King Ragnark I and asked him to forge a sword. Well, it's worth noting—the sword was eventually forged, but Ragnark I fell in love with it and refused to hand it over.
Ultimately, Gryffindor personally led Ryan into the goblin kingdom, had a heart-to-heart with Ragnark I, and, after becoming acquainted with the goblins, successfully retrieved his own sword.
Gryffindor's assessment of goblin-descended wizards was also accurate.
"Wizards of goblin descent often possess superior magic and exceptional intelligence, making them trustworthy allies... provided, of course, they haven't inherited the goblin race's greed."
Clearly, this was the case with the friendly and enthusiastic Professor Flitwick before him.
However...
"Of course! Mr. Elias, I saw it clearly... what you just did was incredible! A brilliant Summoning Charm! Your control of magic is impeccable for someone your age!"
A shrill voice cut through the air, a little too loud and piercing. Ryan slightly adjusted his impression—while the professor was enthusiastic, he might be a bit overexcited.