บท 5: Hogwarts Admission Letter
~15th July, 1991~
The evening sky was as serene as ever. The slanting rays of the setting sun gave a warm orange tinge to the sky. On a grassfield behind the resplendent Everhart manor, a figure of a young shirtless boy could be seen punching the air with his two fists. His well-defined muscles bathed in sweat glistened under the sunlight. As he punched, large bursts of golden red flames could be seen erupting from his fists.
Beside him, a cute blue-eyed cat was watching him closely. The cat suddenly meowed softly, grabbing the attention of the devilishly handsome young boy. The young boy was without a doubt, Gavin. He had matured over the past 2 years, reaching 4'11 in height.
[Am I finally done for the day? Thank Merlin! Your training regimen is absolutely demonic. If i didn't spend all of my childhood growing up with you, i would've thought you were trying to exhaust me to death.] Gavin complained, relieved that he was finally done.
[Who said you were done? You still have about an hour, Gav. I only interrupted to inform you that I can see an owl carrying a letter about an hour away from here. I assume that is your Hogwarts admission letter so use that as extra motivation to finish today's training.] Aelia replied, after giggling.
In these past 2 years, Aelia had put Gavin through hellish training. Gavin had to read all the Hogwarts 1st and 2nd year books he got from his brother and practice the spells wandless. He was extremely talented at every single subject, much to the disbelief of Aelia and his parents. Gavin hardly ever needed to cast the spells more than three times in order to master them and when he did cast them, they were always extremely potent. Aelia was in awe at how perfect his body was at absorbing and channeling mana, she had never seen a human so in touch with mana before.
Personally though, Gavin hated Herbology. He thought the subject was annoying because he had zero interest in it. So far, his favorite subjects were Charms, Potions and History of Magic. Potions reminded him a lot of chemistry from his previous life; he even wrote down several of his ideas relating to the relationship between the two in one of his notebooks.
Gavin found Charms very enjoyable. He thought the spells were pretty fun to cast. He liked History of Magic because it focused on the origin of magic, a topic that he was extremely interested in. He thought it was crucial for him to understand it for when he starts experiments using Arithmancy in his 3rd year.
Besides the Hogwarts curriculum, Aelia thoroughly trained Gavin in the art of Occlumency and Legilimency after he had asked her. Occlumency was essential for all Everharts, in order to protect the secret of the existence of griffins. Currently, Gavin had mastered Occlumency to a fairly high degree and was certain that even Snape would have a hard time getting into his head.
His Legilimency training wasn't so smooth though. He was actually pretty average at it so he had made moderate progress in it at best. He couldn't read people's memories by just looking into their eyes yet.
Lastly, there was his griffin power training which was largely physical training for now. Gavin had to run at least 40km and perform extensive weight and flexibility exercises every day. The stronger his body was, the more power he could draw out from it. Aelia had told him that he had just barely scratched the surface of what her powers were capable of, much to Gavin's dismay. It made him focused and more relentless in his training.
Gavin sighed heavily and resumed his training, only stopping when a brown screech owl dropped a letter in front of him and perched on his shoulder.
Gavin picked up the letter, with trembling hands. He pinched himself to confirm he was not dreaming.
'I'm holding an actual Hogwarts Admission Letter, how crazy is this?!' He thought in disbelief. He still found it hard to accept the fact that he was now living in the wizarding world. It felt too surreal.
He gently opened the letter, took a deep breath and grinned while reading it.
HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY
Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE
(Order of Merlin. First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme
Mugwump, International Confed. Of Wizards)
Dear Mr. Everhart,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts
School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all
necessary books and equipment
Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall,
Deputy Headmistress
'Its real…I'm actually going to Hogwarts!!' Gavin exclaimed internally, reading the letter again.
[Come on Aelia, let's go tell the others] he said excitedly, carrying the owl and the letter back to the manor.
***
In a large room with a round table, a teenage boy and multiple cats could be seen sitting around the round table. The teenage boy had messy brown hair, light blue eyes and wore a serious expression on his face. He was sweating profusely and fidgeting with his fingers.
'Do I move there? …No, I'll just get caught in his trap…sigh, I've really put myself in a pickle this time.' The boy thought as he gazed at the cat, which had sky blue fur and golden eyes, opposite him.
Unlike the boy, the blue haired cat had a lazy expression on its face. It raised its paw over his mouth as if yawning. The cat raised its eyebrows when he saw the young boy finally making a move on the chessboard.
[Hah, nice try Cass. There's nothing you can do… face it, you've lost!] The cat said, smirking at the end.
[Not yet, if i can just take out that knight I-]
Suddenly, Cass was interrupted by the sound of the doors opening abruptly. Frowning, he turned his head to see just who had interrupted his Wizard Chess Tournament final.
"Oh, it's just you Gav." Cass said, his expression softening.
"I got the letter." Gavin said while catching his breath. "Oh, hey guys." he added when he noticed the multiple cats in the room, all staring at him.
"Wicked!... Let's go shopping for your stuff right away." Cass said rather happily, forgetting about the chess game he was just playing.
[Oi kid…you better finish this game] The blue haired cat said while frowning. It was actually looking forward to winning this tournament final. It was the first one where all the griffins, except Aelia, had played.
[Sorry Taron, this is urgent… why don't we continue when I come back?] Cass responded, almost immediately.
[Tch…whatever. Do any of you guys want to have another go?] Taron scoffed and asked the other cats at the round table.
[Only if you allow me into your vintage wine collection] a shiny silver haired cat replied eagerly.
[Nah] a brownish-yellow haired cat said lazily
[Definitely not] a bluish-white haired cat responded
[Not a chance] a gray haired cat said
….
[Why did I even ask] Taron sighed.
Cass and Gavin laughed at their interaction.
"Right, come on Gav, let's get going. We'll take the portkey since we're the only ones home." Cass said, walking towards the door.
"Aelia you coming with?" Gavin asked.
[Yeah, it's been a while since I left the island. A little trip won't hurt.] Aelia replied, hopping on Gavins shoulder.
"Nice. Bye guys." Gavin said as he left the room alongside Cass.
After they left the room, Gavin first sent the owl back. Then, Gavin and Cass walked to a medium sized room with a book laying on the floor. Cass walked over to the book.
"This is your first time using a portkey, right Gav?" Cass asked, looking at Gavin.
"Yes, I've never used a portkey or apparated before." Gavin replied while gulping. In the books, using a portkey was always a nauseating experience. He was dreading experiencing it firsthand.
"Right, well just don't puke on my clothes. Got it?" Cass said while chuckling.
"Yeah whatever. Let's just get this shit over with." Gavin said, mentally preparing himself.
[Don't worry, it'll be over soon if that's any consolation.] Aelia said, a bit softly.
"Yeah…"
Cass then gestured to Gavin and Aelia to stand around the book.
"On the count of three, everyone touches the book." Cass instructed, with a faint smirk on his face.
'Is he going to do what I think he's about to do?' Gavin wondered inwardly.
Unfortunately for him, he found out the answer to his question almost immediately after.
"Three!" Cass said abruptly, touching the book alongside Aelia.
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