First Year (2)

As the days passed, Alex cemented his reputation of being a talented student at Hogwarts. He was the best in Charms Class from his year and he performed well enough in his other subjects.

The most challenging for him was pretending that he was studying for his classes. But, it did give him the time to work on his side projects as much as he wanted.

Surprisingly, there were several options for a wizard to disguise himself. There was even a charm that could prevent post owls from finding him. The method that Alex decided on was a combination of charms and some advanced transfigurations.

It was simple enough to change his hair colour and length through charms. Changing his body size and shape, however, was done with some very obscure spells in Transfigurations. His earlier attempts had been painful, but it was worth it. Now, his disguise should be enough to fool anyone unless he was specifically subjected to a 'Revelio' charm or a ward with similar effects.

Another interesting development was the change of attitude among the first-year students of the Hufflepuff House. Clay had taken Alex's words very seriously. Now, he had become the unofficial leader of the first-year badgers. His group became very protective of their fellow house-mates. If a Hufflepuff got hurt by anyone, they would find ways to get even with the offender, usually through some creative pranks.

Furthermore, their house that year in general was performing better academically. Alex, himself, had contributed about 50 points in the House Cup which was awarded mostly by Prof. Flitwick. But, the Slytherins still grabbed first place in the end.

During their ride home in the Hogwarts Express, Alex and Clay promised to write to one another during the break. This would mean getting a Post Owl of his own, something he was planning on doing anyway.

***

Alex was glad to see his grandfather after coming back to London. When they reached home, it seemed that his grandfather had taken a new hobby. A working table was set up in the garage. The woodworking tools were neatly organized along the wall and the smell of wood dust and lacquer was unmistakable.

For a week, he stayed at home trying to settle in once again in the non-magical world. He was not allowed to use magic outside of Hogwarts, but he knew there was a way to get around that.

The 'Trace' that was applied to every student on Hogwarts was meant to detect under-aged use of magic. Alex knew that there were ways to get around that.

In actuality, the 'Trace' would detect any wand based magic performed around the under-aged student. However, some places in the Wizarding World were made as exceptions, like public places or any registered wizard's homes. This was because any magic detected could be attributed to other wizards nearby. Secondly, there was no threat to the 'Statute of Secrecy' since they were in places that were hidden from the muggles.

Effectively, the rules about the under-aged use of magic were only enforced on muggle-born students. That was why Alex had to be cautious about using magic during the summer. However, he couldn't waste his time during the break. He had plans that summer and he would have to use his magic to accomplish them.

The first thing that he did was buy a typewriter and a duplicator machine. These tools were simple enough to learn. In fact, even his grandfather could make use of them if he wanted to make turn his new hobby into a small business. Alex wanted to handle all the printing he would be doing to make sure he wasn't risking the exposure of the magical world.

The booklet he spent two weeks to finish was titled 'Welcome to Magic: A Guide to the Wizarding World for Muggle-borns and their Families'. He used the pen-name 'Prometheus', after the titan god of fire in Greek mythology. He was confident that no one would suspect a 12-year-old boy writing a comprehensive guide to the Wizarding World.

The 100-pages book included explanations about the history and importance of the Statute of Secrecy, laws regarding the use of magic, the definitions of the terms 'pure-blood', 'half-blood' and 'muggle-born', recent cultural and political changes in their society and other pertinent information. These were the result of his research during the school year.

The tone of the writing was straightforward while casual. Alex wanted to inform his readers without scaring them. However, he was very clear that the Wizarding World should be treated as a separate country from the U.K. and Ireland.

He included a note on the cover that the entire book was written by a muggle-born to help other muggle-borns like him. Then on the last page, he included a symbol of two hands holding a ball of fire as a symbol of Prometheus.

Alex compared this alter-ego of his to the titan god who gave fire to mankind to help them create civilization. He was hoping that the information he was sharing would better prepare all muggle-borns for their new life in the magical world.

Alex created about 200 copies of the booklet using the duplicator. There were about 10-15 new muggle-born students every year. So 200 copies were enough to even include older students in the distribution.

Alex didn't use any magic at all with making the booklets. Conjured copies would not be permanent and he couldn't use any enchanted printing machine from his home. He did find it ironic that the comprehensive guide to the Wizarding World that he created was made without using any magic.

***

Alex placed all the books in his enchanted trunk before taking a taxi heading to the Leaky Cauldron. When he got there, he went straight to the back area. He looked around to make sure that no one could see him, then he applied his disguise before entering Diagon Alley.

He looked like a man in his late twenties with black hair that was combed up neatly. He looked like a well off man with the appropriate attire to match. His face was very distinguished, high-bridged nose, chiselled jawline, thick eye-brows, clear blue eyes. It wasn't hard for Alex to visualize this face as it was what he would look like as an adult. Of course, his clean and presentable attire was a dramatic improvement from what he could remember from the other timeline.

He went around the alley just like any other person doing their shopping. In the 'Flourish and Blotts Bookseller', he bought some books about enchanting. The art was lightly touched upon in the Hogwarts curriculum as most wizards and witches preferred to use their wands for just about anything. That didn't diminish the value of the art in the Wizarding World, however.

Then, he went to 'Quality Quidditch Supplies' to get a flying broomstick. Starting in their second year in Hogwarts, students were allowed to bring their broomstick. This was also the year when most students would start trying out for the Quidditch team of their house.

The newly released 'Comet 260' was sold for 120 Galleons. It was certainly not the model that anyone could just buy. However, this was the model that Alex had used in his past life. With an experienced flyer, it could even keep up with the 'Nimbus 2000', a model that wouldn't be released for about a decade. So, Alex bought the broomstick and put it inside his trunk.

With his shopping done, he went back into the Leaky Cauldron. After entering the tavern, he saw the barman cleaning the counter. It looked like a slow business day in the inn. This was how the inn was usually before Hogwarts letters were sent out late in July.

***

Tom, the hunched-back owner/barman of the inn, didn't recognize the man who approached him. There were only a few people in Wizarding Britain that he hadn't met at least one time. And, he was a man who prided himself in being good at remembering faces.

"Good morning, Mr Tom." greeted the man. "I wonder if we could talk in private for a bit."

"Of course, mister…" Tom trailed off, expecting the man to introduce himself.

"Great! Perhaps, we can seat at one of the booths? Lead the way, Mr Tom."

Tom smiled wryly. The man had neglected to introduce himself on purpose. While the words were polite, the man wasn't really asking Tom. But it was enough to make him curious, so he went ahead and sat at the booth by the corner.

After they were seated across one another, the man motioned to take out his wand from its holster.

"May I?" he asked. It was considered proper etiquette to ask permission before drawing wands as guests.

"If it pleases you," said Tom. There was a hint of wariness in his voice.

"I just want to make sure that our conversation remains private. 'Muffliato'…"

Tom was unfamiliar with that spell, but he didn't mind if it assured his guest.

"Now, we can finally talk with ease" the man continued. "One cannot be too careful nowadays."

"Please, feel free to speak frankly, mister." Tom was still waiting for the man to introduce himself.

"First of all, I am a muggle-born. That will not be a problem with you, am I right?"

"No, sir! Not a problem at all. Half of my customers are muggle-borns…" Tom responded defensively.

Because the war with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and his Death Eaters just ended almost two years ago, the topic of blood status was still not openly talked about.

"Relax, Tom. I am not here to cause trouble. I just want to know your honest opinion." said the man, looking at Tom in the eyes.

Tom felt reassured somehow, so he decided to be straightforward.

"Look here, mister. If you have to know, I don't mind having muggle-borns around. They bring me half of my business anyway. In case you are forgetting, the Leaky Cauldron had proudly served as the gateway between Wizarding World and the muggle world. That has been the case ever since the 'Statute of Secrecy' was enacted, and it will remain as such for many years to come."

"Hmm... I believe you," said the man after pondering what Tom said. "You see, I am a muggle-born, I don't mind saying that much. But, there was a time when in my life that I couldn't admit it openly. You understand."

"What do you want then?" asked Tom.

"To put it simply, I want to help other muggle-borns to do well in the Wizarding World. And I need your help in doing it."

"What do you need from me, exactly?"

"I've written a small book. In it are useful pieces of information any muggle-borns would find useful. I need you to distribute the copies to any muggle-born that comes around this inn. As you said, the Leaky Cauldron is the gateway to the Wizarding World."

"A book for muggle-borns? How much will you be selling them for?"

"You will be handing them out for free. However, discretion is paramount. We both know that there are still some people out there who would be very bothered when they learned that we are helping out the muggle-borns."

Tom thought about it for a few seconds. Sure, he didn't hate muggle-borns, but could he risk his neck out for them?

"I get what you are saying, mister," said Tom. "I'd like to be helpful and I like what you are trying to do, but this could bring some unwanted attention to me and my inn. I guess what I am asking is, why would I risk what I have to help your agenda?"

Tom wondered what the wealthy-looking-man was willing to give. The man just smiled at him. Tom was sure that he had seen that smile before and he felt scared for a moment.

"I will tell you why you will help me," said the man. "You will be doing what I asked for out of the goodness of your heart. After all, you sympathize with the plight of the muggle-borns in our society. At least, that is what you will say when other people ask you."

Tom frowned at that. He finally realized that he was speaking to a man that wouldn't be denied. But his expression quickly changed when he heard the sound of coins as the man placed a small bag on the table.

"This," the man said, "is 300 Galleons, which you will receive for my assurances that you'll do what we agreed on… I need you to make an oath that one, you would do your best to discretely offer a copy of the book to any muggle-born that you see coming through your inn. Two, you would keep and care for the books until you have given them all away. And three, you would never speak or allude to my description. Do this and you will be 300 Galleons richer."

Tom didn't want to take the oath, but he could understand the man's caution. He thought about it and realized that the oath would also protect him somehow, preventing him from making any mistake on his part. Besides, 300 Galleons was more than what he could earn in two months with the inn.

"Deal."