Sunlight filtered softly into a modest hotel room in East London.
A boy lay on the bed, carefully studying a letter in his hand while consulting a dictionary.
He seemed around fourteen or fifteen, yet carried himself with the composure of someone far older, with neatly cropped dark brown hair and gray eyes. His expression carried a maturity far beyond his years.
The room's layout was oddly arranged. On the table beside the bed, one side was cluttered with bottles and jars, and a small cauldron emitted faint wisps of black smoke. On the other side lay several thick books, pressed down by two small wooden sticks—one dark gray, the other green, resembling a pair of chopsticks.
Not far from the green stick lay an iron ring, tossed carelessly aside. Next to it sat a small, silver, octahedral trinket.
The open envelope nearby bore a shield-shaped crest. Inside the shield was a large letter H, surrounded by four animals' heads—a snake, a badger, an eagle, and a lion. Beneath the emblem was written the boy's name:
Christopher Patrick.
...
For Jon Hart, this wasn't the first time he'd received a letter from Hogwarts.
However, this one was written in German—a first for him.
The ever-considerate Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, mindful that this "exchange student" came from Austria, had sent the letter in German. It detailed instructions for his journey to the school and listed the supplies he would need to bring.
Unfortunately, poor Jon had to buy a German dictionary from a small bookstore and spend hours puzzling over the letter, deciphering it word by word.
After most of the day, he finally managed to understand its contents.
Deputy Headmistress Minerva McGonagall personally welcomed Mr. Christopher Patrick to Hogwarts and reminded him that, as a first-year student, he would need to bring standard items such as brass scales, a cauldron, and a pointed wizard's hat.
A list of textbooks for the semester was also enclosed. Compared to the previous term, there were only two new titles: Standard Book of Spells, Level IV by Miranda Goshawk, and Defensive Magical Theory by Wilbert Slinkhard.
However, Jon would have to purchase all of his books and supplies again in Diagon Alley—since the originals had been left behind at Hogwarts as the "belongings" of the late Jon Hart.
Fortunately, he was already in London, not far from Diagon Alley.
Regretting the hours spent deciphering a letter that yielded nothing of value, Jon tossed it—envelope and all—onto the nearby table.
Then he picked up a copy of The Daily Prophet that had just been delivered by a post owl and was now lying under his foot.
...
The front-page headline of The Daily Prophet read: "Mr. Gideon Crumb Announces End-of-Month Wedding."
Gideon Crumb, the bagpipe player for "The Weird Sisters," was a somewhat famous wizarding musician. The headline article took up nearly the whole page, analyzing who his bride might be and which notable wizards would attend the wedding later that month.
Jon patiently read through the article but found nothing useful.
Muttering that The Daily Prophet was fast becoming the wizarding world's answer to The Sun, he flipped to the second page.
The second page reported on Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge's state visit to Andorra, complete with a photo of him alongside Andorra's Minister of Magic. The editor noted that this event marked a new milestone in magical cooperation between Britain and Andorra.
Jon gave the article only a passing glance before skipping to the third page.
The headline immediately caught his eye: "Senile Albus Dumbledore!"
"At noon GMT on July 14th, the International Confederation of Wizards voted to remove Mr. Albus Dumbledore from his position as President. This follows his loss of the Chief Warlock title at the Wizengamot on July 9th, marking the second major office he has been stripped of."
"Sources revealed that Albus Dumbledore is now too aged and feeble to handle these responsibilities. Since the end of the Triwizard Tournament over two weeks ago, Dumbledore's behavior has indeed shown signs of senility. This may be due to the severe emotional blow caused by the sudden death of his favored student, Jon Hart, during the tournament..."
"...The Order of Merlin is also reportedly considering whether to revoke Dumbledore's Order of Merlin, First Class. However, the proposal has met strong opposition from many senior wizards and remains in dispute..."
"Finally." Jon lowered the newspaper.
It was obvious that Dumbledore hadn't gone senile—nor would he be shaken by his own death.
There could only be one explanation: Dumbledore must have made a public statement declaring Voldemort's return, after which the Ministry wizards voted him out of office.
Apparently, Cornelius Fudge still had considerable power and influence. That was understandable; after running the British Ministry of Magic for so many years, it would be odd if he couldn't pull something like this off.
By contrast, Dumbledore, now over a hundred years old, had long since withdrawn from politics. His influence was clearly weaker than that of Fudge and the Ministry.
Of course, knowing Dumbledore, Jon was certain he didn't care about such superficial honors. As far as Dumbledore was concerned, as long as his image stayed on the Chocolate Frog cards, nothing else mattered.
At the same time, Jon couldn't entirely rule out the possibility that Dumbledore was deliberately using Fudge's actions to feign weakness before Voldemort.
Turning the page, Jon's attention shifted to the fourth section of the newspaper.
...
The fourth page reported on the Ministry's most wanted fugitive, Sirius Black.
"According to Mr. Kingsley Shacklebolt, Deputy Head of the Auror Office, the brutal and cunning fugitive Sirius Black has been sighted in Tibet, where he appears to have struck some form of agreement with the local Yeti. Officials from the Department of International Magical Cooperation are seeking assistance from the Chinese Ministry of Magic to arrange his extradition..."
Jon let out a quiet laugh as he read the absurd report.
Finally, his eyes moved to the fifth page.
The headline there was just as sensational:
"The Notorious Boy Harry Potter: Narcissist? Delusional? Or Murderer?"