───
Moody and Ivan made their way into the crowds of central London.
A fierce-looking man whose face was covered in scars, and a slight boy hurrying along at his side. The mismatched pair naturally drew the attention of passersby. Some glanced at them before looking away, while others openly frowned and pointed. Moody looked utterly unconcerned by such stares.
His magical eye spun ceaselessly. Perhaps because of the dense crowd, it rotated faster than usual, sweeping over their surroundings in every direction. It moved as though determined not to miss a single passerby.
Hurrying along beside him, Ivan cautiously opened his mouth.
"Um... Mr. Moody?"
"What."
"Where are we going?"
Without taking his eyes off the road ahead, Moody gave a brief reply.
"I can’t tell you right now. There are too many eyes watching."
Ivan looked puzzled for a moment. What did it matter if there were lots of people watching? The thought crossed his mind, but when he glanced up at Moody’s fearsome face, he promptly closed his mouth. He felt it would be better not to ask any more questions.
When Moody opened the door to his house, Ivan stopped short and widened his eyes.
The house was crammed with objects of unknown purpose. Shelves lining the walls were packed with unfamiliar tools, while on the desk sat a large, cracked object resembling a glass spinning top. Beside it stood something that looked like a twisted golden television antenna, though Ivan could not even begin to guess what it was for.
Moody walked inside with practised strides, stretched out his wooden leg, and sank into an old armchair. With a casual flick of his wand, a small chair appeared from midair and landed before Ivan’s feet with a thump. It was a low chair suited to Ivan’s size.
"Sit."
Once Moody had confirmed that Ivan was seated, he spoke.
"Most Obscuruses parasitize their hosts and gradually harm them. But in extremely rare cases, when the host possesses exceptional magical talent, they can control it. The day we first met, you showed that the Obscurus moved as if it were protecting you, even while you were unconscious. It isn’t complete control, but a reaction like that alone is unusual."
Ivan listened silently.
"That is why I intend to train you, as quickly as possible, until you can control that power through your own will."
"How long will that training... take?"
Moody watched him for a moment before answering shortly.
"We’ll have to do our best until you’re eleven."
A faint smile passed over his lips.
"You’ll need to enroll at Hogwarts, won’t you?"
"What... is Hogwarts?"
Ivan tilted his head as he asked. He had never heard the word in his life.
Moody waved a hand as if it were nothing important.
"You’ll find out when the time comes."
He settled deeper into his chair and continued.
"That isn’t what you should be curious about now. What you need to think about is how hard, exhausting, and bothersome the training you’re about to undergo will be. That’s what you ought to concern yourself with."
Ivan swallowed.
"A power you cannot control is worse than no power at all. For the sake of protecting those around you, and ultimately for your own safety."
Keeping his magical eye fixed on Ivan, he added one final statement.
"‘Constant vigilance.’ Those are the words you must engrave into yourself from now on."
───
Three years flew by.
There was no longer any trace of the skinny boy who had seemed burdened by a dark shadow. His cheeks had filled out nicely, and he had grown as tall as children his age. By appearances alone, he was no different from any other eleven-year-old.
Only his eyes remained the same. There was a world-weary air about him that did not suit his age. In place of the innocence typical of children his age, his face still bore a gaze that seemed weary and yet sharp.
In the middle of London, Ivan walked close behind Moody. Still not fully awake, he repeatedly yawned and rubbed his eyes.
"Do we have to come out this early...?"
Ivan muttered sleepily.
"It’s better to get an early start if we’re buying school supplies."
Moody replied without slowing his pace.
"There’s less than a month until term starts."
Hogwarts. The name he had first heard three years ago had become rather familiar by now. At first, it had been no more than an unfamiliar word, but now it was the word that occupied the greatest place in Ivan’s life.
The two of them pushed their way through the crowd. Before long, an old, shabby sign caught Ivan’s eye. The peeling, faded paint bore faint lettering.
The Leaky Cauldron. It was an inn that looked old at a glance. Ivan gazed up at the sign through eyes still heavy with sleep.
"We’re coming to an inn to buy school supplies, Professor?"
Ivan asked, tilting his head.
"You’ll see."
Moody answered briefly, opened the door first, and entered.
The interior was dark. A few lamps hanging from the ceiling cast a muted light, but the overall atmosphere was dim. Despite the early hour, several customers had already taken seats at tables here and there. Feeling unfamiliar eyes upon him, Ivan walked close behind Moody’s back.
Moody headed straight across the inn toward the back door. Beyond it lay a narrow backyard, a dead-end space enclosed by brick walls.
Moody gauged the position by pointing his wand above a dustbin, then lightly tapped the third brick from the left.
Tap, tap, tap.
At that moment, the bricks began to move by themselves. They shook and twisted, slowly changing shape, until a passage wide enough for several people to walk side by side appeared.
Ivan stared at the sight with his mouth hanging open. Then, the moment he saw the view unfolding beyond the bricks, his astonishment deepened even further.
A narrow, winding alley stretched before him. Old, crooked buildings stood in precarious rows, rising toward the sky, while colourful signs hanging over the shops swayed in the breeze. Beyond the windows were objects Ivan had never seen before—brooms, cauldrons, pointed hats.
The alley bustled with people. Wizards in robes of every colour hurried back and forth: someone with an owl perched on their shoulder, a child carrying a cage, an old man clutching a great stack of thick books. It was unlike any street Ivan had ever seen.
As Ivan passed through the brick passageway, he could not take his eyes off the scene.
Moody stopped in front of an old shop tucked along one side of the alley. Its sign bore faded lettering: Ollivanders.
When they entered, the smell of old wood, dust, and something indescribable hit them. The shop was filled with shelves that seemed to reach the ceiling, crammed with narrow, long boxes.
At the sound of their arrival, a white-haired old man emerged from the back. Recognizing Moody, he smiled in welcome.
"Oh, well, if it isn’t Alastor."
"It’s been a while, Garrick. I’ve come to look at wands."
Ollivander clicked his tongue with a rueful expression.
"Well, considering the dangerous work you do... I suppose it is understandable that your wands don’t last long."
"My wand is perfectly fine."
Moody replied with a frown. He lightly drew Ivan, who had been standing beside him, closer by the shoulder.
"This boy is enrolling at Hogwarts this year, so I came to buy him a wand."
Ollivander’s eyes widened with interest as he looked Ivan up and down.
"Well... I never heard that you’d married?"
He gave a teasing smile.
"Seeing as he doesn’t look a thing like you, I suppose he takes after his mother—"
"I’m only looking after him temporarily, due to certain circumstances."
Moody cut him off flatly. Folding his arms, he added,
"So, are you planning to sell a wand or not?"
Ollivander’s gaze instantly turned serious. Taking out a tape measure, he approached Ivan.
"Excuse me for a moment."
The measuring tape rose into the air on its own and began measuring Ivan’s height, the length of his arms, and the width of his shoulders—even the width of his nostrils. All Ivan could do was watch the spectacle with a bewildered expression.
Once the measurements were finished, Ollivander moved among the cabinets and brought out a box.
"Walnut, twenty-three centimetres, dragon heartstring. Go on, give it a try."
The instant Ivan reached out to take the wand, Ollivander snatched it back before he could touch it. He immediately began searching through the cabinets again.
"Cedar, thirty-one centimetres, phoenix feather."
Again, it was taken away before Ivan could lay a hand on it.
"Cherry, eighteen centimetres, unicorn hair."
"Fir, twenty-six centimetres, dragon heartstring."
Several more wands followed. Every one of them was returned to Ollivander’s hand before it could properly reach Ivan. Moody stood behind him with his arms folded, silently watching the process.
"Hmm... quite a difficult customer."
Ollivander muttered as he searched through the cabinets once more. When he finally took out another box, a faint curiosity crossed his face.
"Laurel, twenty-seven centimetres, unicorn hair. A slightly flexible wand."
He handed the wand to Ivan.
The moment Ivan gripped it, a soft light spilled from its tip, brightly illuminating the shop. It felt as though a warm heat spread up through his fingertips.
A satisfied smile spread across Ollivander’s lips.
"Mm. I believe the wand likes you."
"The wand... likes me?"
Ivan asked, blinking.
"Indeed. People commonly misunderstand. They think the wizard chooses the wand. But the truth is the opposite. The wand chooses the wizard."
───
After leaving the shop, Moody led Ivan down the alley and stopped before another store. A sign overhead read Madam Malkin’s Robes for All Occasions.
"Stay here and get your uniform fitted. I need to go somewhere for a moment."
"Where are you going?"
"I’ll be back soon."
Moody answered briefly, turned around, and vanished into the crowd.
When Ivan entered the shop, a girl with thick, curly brown hair was speaking to two people who appeared to be her parents.
"Are you going to Hogwarts too?"
A slender witch asked Ivan.
"Huh? Uh... yes."
Ivan answered without thinking.
"Sit on the chair in the back, dear. I need to finish measuring this girl first, so would you wait just a moment?"
Ivan quietly sat in a chair at the back and watched the witch take the girl’s measurements.
Once the measurements were finished, the witch disappeared deeper into the shop to fetch some robes. Taking that opportunity, the girl strode over to Ivan.
"Excuse me, are you enrolling at Hogwarts this year too?"
"Yeah, I am—"
The girl’s eyes sparkled.
"Really? What was it like when you got your Hogwarts acceptance letter? When I got mine, I was so happy I nearly screamed! At first I thought it was a prank, but when Professor McGonagall came to explain it herself, I realized it was real. And you know the textbooks I bought today? I can’t wait to get home and read them all. There’s A History of Magic and An Introduction to Transfiguration, and I was so curious about how systematically Hogwarts’ curriculum is put together that I could barely sleep last night."
All Ivan could do was nod.
...I’ve never met anyone who talks this much in my life.
Ivan thought to himself. The only people he had met so far were Professor Moody and old Mr. Scamander. Moody had never been much of a talker to begin with, and while Mr. Scamander was not as quiet as Moody, he certainly was not the chatty sort. After knowing only those two, encountering someone of the complete opposite kind left Ivan feeling somehow overwhelmed.
"What do you think first-years will learn first? I want to get to Hogwarts even one day soo—"
Before she could finish, several small glass potion bottles fell from the girl’s pocket, struck the floor, and shattered.
"Oh, no! Those are part of my supplies..."
The girl looked down at the broken bottle fragments with a flustered expression.
Ivan let out a small sigh and raised his wand.
"Reparo."
The moment he murmured the spell, the shattered bottles returned to their original shape as though nothing had happened. Not a single crack remained.
The girl’s eyes went wide as she watched.
Ivan knew instinctively that an even fiercer barrage of questions was about to descend on him.
"How did you do that just now?! That was a repairing spell, wasn’t it? I’ve read about it in a book! But what year do people usually learn that? Did you study ahead of time? I bought all my books because I wanted to prepare too, but I’ve never actually practised magic before—"
Pressing a hand to his forehead, Ivan murmured quietly,
"Please... could you ask just one question at a time...?"
Without hearing him, the girl’s eyes sparkled again.
"Then, what’s your name?"
"Ivan. I don’t... have a surname."
"Ivan! I’m—"
Before she could finish, the witch came over and tapped the girl’s shoulder.
"All done, dear. Try this on."
Though the girl looked disappointed, she obediently followed the witch. After that, Ivan was kept busy having his measurements taken and trying on his uniform as well, and in the end, he never got to hear the girl’s name.
Only after Ivan had finished trying on all his uniform robes did Moody enter the shop carrying a cage. Inside sat an owl, calm and still.
After paying the witch for Ivan’s uniforms, Moody approached him.
"What’s that owl?"
Ivan asked, looking at the cage.
"It’s your birthday present."
Moody answered as if it were nothing remarkable.
"September first will be hectic with the start of Hogwarts, so I’m giving it to you early."
Inside the cage, a tawny eagle owl tilted its head toward Ivan.
Ivan accepted the cage with a stunned expression. His fingertips trembled faintly.
"Th-thank you."
His voice shook. He had never received a birthday present even once in his life. His throat grew hot, and his eyes reddened.
Moody roughly ruffled Ivan’s hair.
"Happy birthday in advance."
───
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