Chapter 5

The Blood Oath Charm is very magical.

Ever since Shanshan and little Bartemius moved into the underground fortress safe house, old Bartemius Crouch could no longer find his son's location. He knew his son would be safe and comfortable.

Moreover, without having to face his son every day, old Bartemius Crouch's life became somewhat quiet and leisurely.

The only problem...

might be taking care of Wesley Light.

Since they didn't have a house-elf, the two of them had been eating roasted potatoes, fried potatoes, and mashed potatoes with various sauces for half a month...

Until Wesley Light finally couldn't take it anymore and stir-fried some spicy and sour potato shreds, which made old Bartemius Crouch suddenly feel that taking care of the little guy wasn't so bad.

A month passed.

Wesley Light's eleventh birthday finally arrived.

August 8th, early morning.

A strange owl landed by the mailbox, holding a letter in its beak. It tilted its head and dropped the letter into the mailbox, then flapped its wings and left.

Since old Bartemius Crouch worked at the Ministry of Magic, only Wesley Light saw the owl and simply took the letter out of the mailbox.

Sure enough, it was the acceptance letter from Hogwarts.

All children in the UK and Ireland who exhibit magical abilities receive an acceptance letter from Hogwarts on their eleventh birthday, just before the start of the school term.

If a child's birthday is before the start of school, like Wesley Light's on August 8th, they can still receive the acceptance letter from Hogwarts...

If a child's birthday is after the start of school, they would have to wait another year.

In the center of the envelope was the letter H, surrounded by four animals, each symbolizing one of the four houses of Hogwarts.

Eagle, Ravenclaw.

Lion, Gryffindor.

Badger, Hufflepuff.

Snake, Slytherin.

Wesley Light carefully tore open the envelope, took out two sheets of paper, and looked down at the content of the first page.

[Dear Mr. Light:

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Enclosed is a list of all necessary books and equipment.

The school term will begin on September 1st. We await your owl by no later than August 15th.

Deputy Headmistress

Minerva McGonagall]

The wording of the acceptance letter was very polite.

Anyone who saw the letter would wonder how humble the person writing it must be, showing no trace of the arrogance of a wizard.

Even a Muggle who had never heard of magic or wizards would not feel any aversion upon seeing the acceptance letter.

Perhaps they would feel a sense of longing.

Wesley Light had never met Deputy Headmistress Minerva McGonagall or the Transfiguration professor at Hogwarts, but he knew from his previous life's media portrayals that this old lady had a humility that few could match.

Wesley Light turned to the second page of the letter, which contained more complex content, with many terms that ordinary people had never heard of.

Even he had never seen some of them.

[Uniform] First-year students will require:

1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)

2. One plain pointed hat for day wear (black)

3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)

4. One winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings)

Please note: All students' clothing must be labeled with their names.

Just the uniforms alone made Wesley Light frown. First-year students actually needed three sets of school uniforms!

Most first-year students at Hogwarts are around eleven years old and are still growing, so a set of clothes wouldn't last more than a year or two...

Wesley Light frowned as he looked at the densely packed list of books below. There were so many new books a first-year student needed to prepare...

[Textbooks] All students will require the following books:

"Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)" by Miranda Goshawk

"A History of Magic" by Bathilda Bagshot

"Theories of Magic" by Adalbert Waffling

"A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration" by Emeric Switch

"1000 Magical Herbs and Fungi" by Phyllida Spore

"Magical Drafts and Potions" by Arsenius Jigger

"Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" by Newt Scamander

"Defensive Magical Theory" by Quentin Trimble

Wesley Light felt the lack of his knowledge. Among the authors of the first-year textbooks, he had only heard of Newt Scamander, who seemed to have married an American witch...

Besides these textbooks,

the rest of the list was relatively simple.

[Other Equipment]

One wand

One cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)

One set of glass or crystal phials

One telescope

One brass scales

Students may bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad.

Please note that first-year students are not allowed to bring their own broomsticks [for riding by witches and wizards].

Wesley Light finished reading the entire list and shook his head helplessly. These items would definitely need Bartemius Crouch's help to prepare.

However,

receiving this acceptance letter was also good news.

Because there was a series of main quests in the system with generous rewards, and the first quest, the acceptance letter, had already been completed.

[First Quest: Receive the acceptance letter from Hogwarts (1/1), Quest completed, Reward: Increase maximum magic power by 200 points, Magic Spell: Occlumency.]

[Occlumency: Passive magical ability, Advanced Proficiency, No need to close your mind, can freely control the display and concealment of memories.]

Occlumency was quite practical.

Because wizards are very skilled at retrieving memories, and now with Advanced Proficiency in Occlumency, he could deceive someone of Voldemort's level.

Wesley Light believed that the reward for the first quest was mainly to help him avoid the Sorting Hat during the Hogwarts sorting ceremony, as the hat would probe the emotions and memories of the new students.

However,

this was the last insurance.

Wesley didn't want the Sorting Hat on his head.

Who knows how strange the Sorting Hat, left by the founder of Gryffindor, might be. If the hat didn't announce any house name and instead shouted "Azkaban" on the spot, the atmosphere might become a bit awkward...

It shouldn't be possible.

Wesley Light wasn't a bad person.

[Second Quest: Join one of the houses at Hogwarts (0/1), Choose one, and you will receive different magical skill rewards based on the chosen house.]

[Choose Ravenclaw (0/1), Reward: Increase magic power by 200 points, Magic Skill: Life Ray]

[Choose Gryffindor (0/1), Reward: Increase health by 200 points, Magic Skill: Hunting Rhythm]

[Choose Hufflepuff (0/1), Reward: Increase health by 200 points, Magic Skill: Void Feast]

[Choose Slytherin (0/1), Reward: Increase magic power by 200 points, Magic Skill: Petrifying Gaze]

If he only considered the system rewards, he should choose Gryffindor or Hufflepuff, because in the magical world, rewards for health points are rare. Who wouldn't want to be a melee wizard in the magical world?

Of course,

Wesley Light was very clear that he wanted to go to Hufflepuff, because Hufflepuff had the most students, and the young wizards there were honest and kind...

Yeah...

The atmosphere of this house matched him well.

Besides, the Void Feast magic skill actually increased health points, which could significantly compensate for his weaknesses.

However,

if Wesley Light wanted to enter Hufflepuff, it would be almost as difficult as climbing to the sky, because he couldn't find many memories that matched the honest and kind characteristics of Hufflepuff...

This was a bit awkward.

"I can only cause some trouble first, so the headmaster of Hogwarts will be prepared for me to cause trouble at school..."

Wesley Light helplessly took out a piece of paper from the drawer, picked up the quill on the table, and wrote two words in a flourish.

[Read and Understood.]