Aldric stood outside the shack for a long moment, quiet and thoughtful. 'That must have been Apparition,' he thought.
He hadn't expected Dumbledore to come in person, nor did he realize that his magical surges were actual signs of real power. From their conversation, Aldric understood that his talent must be rare, most kids couldn't control magic without causing harm before turning eleven. This meant he had a remarkable gift for silent, wandless magic.
Before wands were invented, only those with this kind of ability were considered true wizards. Nowadays, many who might have been overlooked can perform magic with wands.
A thrill ran through him as he thought about the wizarding world, it was so different from the ordinary one. Here, individual power could mean everything.
Wizards like Dumbledore or Voldemort could face entire armies alone. Having strong magical talent in that world was a big deal.
But as a Muggle-born, making a name for himself wouldn't be easy. Even though Dumbledore and others worked toward peace between wizards and Muggles, pure-blood families still dominated the wizarding world. Muggle-borns were often looked down upon, sometimes even more than pure-bloods who lacked real talent.
The Weasley family was a good example. Arthur Weasley worked in the Ministry's Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office and even promoted the Muggle Protection Act.
Yet, the stories showed his knowledge of Muggles wasn't very deep. Surely, a Muggle-born wizard would be better suited for that kind of work.
But the Ministry preferred to keep a pure-blood like Arthur, even if he wasn't the most capable, rather than hire a Muggle-born. So for Aldric to succeed, he'd either have to challenge the pure-blood dominance or become so powerful that even they couldn't ignore him, like Voldemort or Dumbledore.
Shaking his head to clear those heavy thoughts, Aldric reminded himself there was something urgent to focus on now. Dumbledore had told him that every Muggle-born student could use their Hogwarts acceptance letter at Gringotts to get special rate, trading five British pounds for one hundred gold Galleons.
Aldric had just over four hundred pounds saved up, mostly from odd finds over the past six months. The nickname "Lucky Aldric" wasn't just for show.
British pounds were strong currency in this era, so this was a significant amount. If he sold some of the junk in the shack, he could probably gather over five hundred pounds.
With a clear plan in mind, Aldric quickly packed what little belongings he had, slung a large sack over his shoulder, and stepped outside, ready to take the next step into the wizarding world.
As the morning light filtered through the chilly air, two figures made their way along the streets of Richmond. One was a towering man, easily over two meters tall, with a presence that made him hard to miss.
The other was a small, slender boy wearing thick black-framed glasses held together with tape. His hair had grown wild and untrimmed, sticking up in messy tufts that covered his forehead like a tangled mess.
Passersby shot curious glances at the unusual pair, some even whispering in concern, wondering if the boy might have been taken against his will. After all, the giant man hardly seemed trustworthy. Still, no one stepped in, not even the authorities. In Richmond, gang activity was common enough, but sightings like this were rare.
In reality, the two were none other than Rubeus Hagrid, the Hogwarts gamekeeper, and Harry Potter, a new student at the famous school. After a short walk, they reached a small shack tucked away in the western woods of Richmond.
Just as Hagrid cleared his throat to knock, the door swung open. Inside stood Aldric, who instantly recognized the giant as Hagrid from Harry's stories.
Before Aldric could say a word, Hagrid lowered his hand, clearing his throat awkwardly to break the silence. "You must be Aldric Thistlewaite, right? Let me just check..."
Hagrid fumbled through the deep pockets of his heavy coat and pulled out a crumpled slip of paper. Reading aloud, he stumbled over the words: "Abandoned by parents at age two... escaped the orphanage at five... has been wandering London ever since. Uh, sorry!"
Realizing he'd just read the note word for word, Hagrid's cheeks flushed with embarrassment. He quickly balled up the paper and shoved it back into his pocket.
"Well, basically, I'm the gamekeeper at Hogwarts. I've come to take you and Harry to Diagon Alley."
Aldric didn't mind Hagrid's awkwardness and smiled warmly. "No worries, Mr. Hagrid. Thanks for coming all this way."
Without wasting any more time, Hagrid led Aldric and Harry toward London. Throughout the journey, Harry stayed tense and quiet, too nervous to speak.
He had imagined Hagrid would whisk him away to the magical world with some grand, extraordinary gesture. Instead, Hagrid first picked up Aldric, another Hogwarts freshman, and then took both boys on the underground train to central London.
As they traveled, Harry found himself warming up to Aldric. Until now, Harry had believed no one could have suffered more than he had, but meeting Aldric made him realize he wasn't alone.
Compared to Aldric's difficult past, Harry's own struggles felt almost minor. For a moment, a small, guilty satisfaction stirred in his chest, but he quickly pushed it away, overwhelmed by an even stronger sense of guilt.
It was clear that Harry's nature were innocent and kind. Meanwhile, Aldric was lively and talkative, striking up conversations with both Hagrid and Harry whenever he could. The awkwardness that had hung around Hagrid slowly faded as they shared easy, friendly banter.
Harry stayed quiet, still a bit nervous, but he felt somewhat comforted by their company. Before long, they arrived at the Leaky Cauldron. Known as the public gateway between the magical and non-magical worlds in Britain, the Leaky Cauldron was famous, but despite that, the place was dark and a bit grimy.
In one corner, a few elderly women sipped small glasses of sherry, one puffing on a long clay pipe. Nearby, a short man wearing a tall hat was chatting with the nearly bald pub owner.
As soon as the trio stepped inside, every patron's attention snapped toward them. Tom, the pub owner, was about to greet Hagrid when he noticed the two boys.
His face lit up with excitement as he eagerly shook Harry's hand. "Good heavens! You must be Harry Potter! It's such an honor!"
Tom's words sparked a commotion throughout the pub. Everyone clamored to get close to the famous Harry Potter, eager to shake his hand.
Aldric spotted a man who was nervously stammering as he spoke, it was clearly Professor Quirrell, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts. Hagrid looked proud but also a bit overwhelmed, as if he wished he didn't have to shake hands with every single person.
Still, he did his duty and soon guided the boys through the crowd toward a brick wall at the back of the pub. "Three bricks up… then two bricks across…" he muttered quietly. "Alright, step back, little ones."