Chapter Text
Always Bet On Black
Part 1
Wools Orphanage - London
Alioth Black, that was not the name I'd been given while I was living here at the orphanage, or at least it wasn't the one I remembered getting called by, yet it hardly mattered what people used to call me, as I knew that Alioth Black was the name I would go by from now on, and it sounded like the name of a powerful wizard, at least in my opinion.
While I have lived for seventeen years in this place, or thereabouts, I don't feel sure that it actually happened, as there is a feeling of distance between myself and my memories. In fact, the childhoods of both the two lives I have experienced seem somehow foreign to me, as if they were more the background story for a DND character rather than the past of a real-life person.
Sure, I can recall many parts of both of my lives, but I can't say I care much for any of the people that I can remember. It is as if the memories are there more to give my personality a foundation than anything else, and besides, they have nothing to do with who I am now or who I will be.
I suspect this is because the entity that sent me here wouldn't get much entertainment if I spent my time moping about because I was thinking about how much I missed my world. Also, perhaps they didn't want me trying to punch holes in the universe with magic so that I could find a way back.
Even if I did somehow get back to my universe, it would be at the wrong point in history, and people wouldn't recognise me. Plus, I would have to hide my magical powers from everyone. If powerful figures found out there was a real wizard in the world, they would see me as a threat or as someone that they needed to control.
Not that I've ever understood why people who do get sent off to have adventures in some other realm or part of the universe are always so obsessed with getting home. What is so great about life on modern Earth? I think it is rather dull, and yes, family can be important, but they should not define who you are so much.
Although I do miss streaming sources and other modern conveniences, such as being able to laugh at funny videos that people post online. It's going to be years before I can get access to that sort of entertainment, the orphanage doesn't even have a DVD player, that's how primative things are here.
Oh, well, at least it means people won't have to hear me whine about having been an unloved orphan because not having a family does not bother me overly, and with nothing tying me to the past, I am free to be who I wish to be, and not who some parents would wish me to be.
As for who I will become, the journey towards finding out will start soon, because this morning, a very special letter arrived via an owl, one that means I am off to spend years of my life learning magic at a very special castle up in Scotland.
Once again, I read the Hogwarts letter, as if I needed to confirm that it was true, and to be fair, given how I'd gotten here, I had the right to question my existence, as I had not simply been reborn into a new life as perhaps others were.
I can't imagine that many folks die, end up in a void and then get selected by a powerful creature to provide them with some sort of entertainment, and then, even stranger, there was paperwork for me to do. Apparently, there are things you can't even escape by dying.
HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY
Dear Mr Black,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Attached, you will find a list of all necessary textbooks and supplies. The school year begins on September 1st. We expect your owl no later than July 31st.
With kind regards,
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress
LIST OF SUPPLIES
Uniform (first-year students require):
Three sets of plain work robes (black).
One plain pointed hat (black) for everyday wear.
One pair of protective gloves (made of dragon hide or similar material).
One winter cloak (black with silver clasps).
Required textbooks:
The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk
A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot
Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling
A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore
The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble
Magical Draughts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger
Other Equipment:
One wand
One Cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)
One set of glass or crystal phials
One Telescope
One set of brass scales
One Broom
Students may also bring, if they desire, a pet.
Now the time has come for me to become a wizard, to leave the mundane world behind and learn to be whatever kind of sorcerer I want to be. I have no intention of becoming a dull-minded Ministry bureaucrat or of ending up working in a shop. I would not be dragged down into the same mediocrity that most wizards and witches found themselves trapped within.
That was why, when the topic of rewards had come up, I'd made sure to give myself a way to visit another world, just in case this one got too boring. All I have to do is complete certain objects, and I will be able to transport myself to another world of my choosing.
However, there is no sense in leaving yet because while I have plenty of raw magical power and some skills already, I'd need to spend years studying to become a powerful wizard. Besides, the rewards will be sweeter if I have to put some effort into acquiring them.
Sure, I could have chosen to have magical knowledge in many subjects right from the start, but then what would I have done in Hogwarts for the next five to seven years, depending on whether I bothered to do NEWT-level work or not?
Without anything to learn in classes, I'd quickly become bored out of mind and likely get myself hurt by experimenting with magic or drop out without qualifications, I might even get myself into trouble by racing off somewhere dangerous.
No, the magical perk, items and skills I'd chosen would serve me well enough, and my chosen course of action seemed sound, and be fair, it is hard to make choices about your future when you exist in a formless state within an endless void and have a strange alien entity watching you.
I couldn't wait to get out into the world because living in Wools Orphanage is a bit depressing. There weren't even any orphanages like this left in Britain, at least not during my old life, and it hadn't taken long for the name of this one to ring a few bells when I had little to do other than to think about the situation I had found myself in.
This is where Tom Riddle, AKA Lord Voldemort, had grown up before he went to Hogwarts. That alone made me eager to leave this place and find somewhere nicer to live, as it is not a good thing to have a similar origin to the big bad of a series.
The fact that I also chose to be magically powerful, I am half-blood and able to speak to snakes, makes me more than a little uncomfortable about staying in this room within the building, as I had the horrible feeling it was the same one used by Tom Riddle.
Thankfully, there are some differences between Tom Riddle and me, such as how I am currently seventeen and not a child scared of dying. Also, Black is a Pureblood name, and Alioth is the name of a star. So unlike Tom Riddle, I don't have a boring Muggle name that I want to escape.
Unless the surname is a massive coincidence and I'm from a Muggle family called Black, and I am named after that matter-consuming creature you see in the Loki series, which doesn't exist yet, then I am most likely a member of the Black family.
Since my Hogwarts letter seems to be years late, I must indeed be an alternate version of the Harry Potter world as promised. Which is good because I don't want to have to deal with a load of children and their antics while I am trying to learn magic. Who the hell wants children to have that much magical power anyway? I certainly don't.
I felt fairly sure that there were no wizards of the Black family still alive once Sirius Black had died. Not, unless you count the witches who had taken new names upon marriage and the children born into the Malfoy and Tonks families, who don't use the Black name, so how exactly I fit into the family is a mystery I will have to solve. Although, given my age, the list of suspects is a rather short one.
Thinking on it, I wonder what else will be different given the choices I have made, and I figure that the only way to find out is to seek out Diagon Alley, to investigate this world and to learn about it. Which means finding the pub called the Leaky Cauldron, which is at Charing Cross, if memory serves, and since I am a city boy, I know how to navigate even a big place like London.
Once there, I should be able to get someone to open up the way for me, and once I am in the alley, I could go to Gringotts and see if I can access any vaults held by the Black Family. There must be at least one left open to me.
If not, then I'll have to wait for a teacher to pop by and show me around. There's supposed to be a fund to supply students who can't afford their own materials, and if I go to Hogwarts, I can raid the Room of Requirement for valuables to sell or trade.
Of course, there is the fact that I will have to go to Hogwarts, as while it is a bad school in so many ways, and I have no idea why any parent would endanger their child by letting them go there, if I want to learn magic, I don't have much of a choice in the matter.
Unless I inherit a vast fortune, I don't have a home to do homeschooling in, nor can I pay any tutors, and even if I knew how to apply to foreign schools, it's likely too late, and how would I even get to those schools? I don't have a passport or any money to buy a plane ticket with.
It looks as if Hogwarts is my only chance to become a wizard, so it is either go there or stay in the Muggle world. I would never be content as a mundane person, so Hogwarts it is. Besides, this was all set up by some sort of higher power, including events that should take place at the school. So if I don't go, I might anger the entity that put all of this together based on my choices.
If I didn't have some money waiting for me at the bank, then I would have to send the school a letter asking for help, but I should have some money waiting for I selected the option to be rich, and once I have money, a lot of my problems will easily be solved.
Later, if I requested aid, I guessed that the school would send along some member of staff to talk to me, explain things and then show me around the alley, but there was no reason for me to sit around waiting for that. No, I might as well visit Gringotts now and find out more about my situation. So, it was time to put on my trainers, jump on the London Underground, and make my way to the Wizarding World.