July 21, 1991. Early morning.
London, South Kensington. Garden Street, Number 101.
A three-story single-family villa stood proudly on the street.
Its front yard was enclosed by white wooden fencing, and the tall gate combined with the imposing spire revealed that the owner possessed an extraordinary family background.
South Kensington was a well-known affluent area in London, where the residents were at a minimum among the elite middle class: lawyers, dentists, anesthesiologists, and the like.
Among these impressive homes, Number 101 was particularly eye-catching.
The house was essentially twice the size of its neighbors and boasted a large backyard as well.
The villa's owner, Erwin Gaunt, sat in his living room, staring at a fat Scottish barn owl.
A minute passed before the letter clutched in the owl's talons finally dropped.
The round-faced bird fluttered away indignantly, leaving behind some droppings at Erwin's doorstep to express its dissatisfaction at not receiving any treats.
Erwin picked up the letter and read the address.
'101 Garden Street, to be received in the stately living room by Mr. Erwin Gaunt.'
His hands trembled slightly.
An owl delivering a letter.
A pale-yellow envelope bearing an emblem of a lion, a snake, a badger, and an eagle.
Could it be any more obvious?
Erwin's emotions were complicated at this moment.
He had originally believed he'd simply been reborn in the same world.
He hadn't expected this to be the magical world of Harry Potter.
Hogwarts. Harry. Hermione. Luna. Fleur...
'Wait, wait…'
The point wasn't these people. The point was the fantastic magic itself.
Erwin was an ordinary reincarnated soul, a glorious toiling worker in his previous life.
After dying from overwork, he'd opened his eyes to find himself in London in 1980.
Of course, he had to be an orphan. Classic protagonist template.
Originally, Erwin had thought he would awaken some system and traverse multiple worlds. Just like in the novels he read.
But eleven years had passed, and he knew now he'd been thinking too much.
No cheat had awakened.
However, with the spiritual power bonus obtained from his rebirth, his memory had greatly increased, along with a few other special abilities.
Erwin had achieved financial freedom early.
Using the modest financial knowledge from his previous life, he'd opened an investment company.
After donating a portion to the orphanage every year, he still had hundreds of thousands of pounds remaining.
Two years ago, he'd purchased this house and moved out on his own.
He'd thought he could spend his life peacefully like this.
He would wait for the bubble crisis in a few years to make a fortune, then invest in cryptocurrency when the time comes. He could live wealthy and comfortably.
Unexpectedly, this turned out to be a magical world.
Erwin now felt both longing and anxiety.
Although he hadn't been an avid Harry Potter fan in his previous life, he had seen the entire film series.
As time had passed, while he didn't know every plot detail, he retained a general memory of the main storyline.
This was not a peaceful world.
It was now 1991, and he would be entering school in the same year as Harry Potter.
From first year to fourth year, as long as he lived a normal life and didn't get involved in the affairs between Dumbledore and the Savior trio, he could enjoy himself safely.
After all, the dangers Harry encountered in those first four years were largely the result of his own recklessness and Dumbledore's manipulations.
But in the fifth year, after the arrival of Umbridge, things became more complicated.
Sixth and seventh year? The school wouldn't be safe to stay in.
Hogwarts would become Voldemort's territory.
To be precise, the entire magical world wouldn't be safe.
But magic… who didn't yearn for it?
When watching the movies in his previous life, Erwin had been captivated by the magical world presented on screen.
Now that he'd come to this world and had the opportunity to explore the mysteries of magic, it would be a lie to say he wasn't tempted.
Perhaps he could attend until the fifth year, pass his O.W.L.s, then leave school and find somewhere safe to wait things out?
Thinking this, Erwin opened the envelope and examined the contents.
**
{HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore (Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorcerer, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot)
Dear Mr. Gaunt,
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.
In addition, due to your family circumstances, we will be sending a professor to your home on July 31st to answer any questions you may have.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress}
**
Just as Erwin finished reading the letter, a sudden sound echoed in his mind.
Ding.
[Detected that the host has come into contact with the extraordinary side of this world. Scanning world parameters.]
Ding.
[Scan complete. Customizing a system that conforms to the laws of this world for the host.]
[System customization complete. Your system: [Magic Card Drawing System] is now online.]
[Welcome to the [Magic Card Drawing System]. This system has no subjective consciousness and cannot analyze or present situational advice for the host. However, this system does not impose any penalties. Please use it without concern.]
The corners of Erwin's mouth twitched.
No wonder the standard transmigrator system hadn't arrived yet.
It turned out he'd never been in contact with the supernatural side of the world until now.
This was good.
The system had awakened. As long as he wasn't too reckless, there shouldn't be any real danger at Hogwarts, right?
"System, you were dormant for so many years. Is there a beginner's gift package?"
In his previous life, web novels had been his companion for years.
Erwin was at least Dumbledore-level when it came to extracting benefits from a system.
Ding.
[Detected that the system has been dormant for eleven years. Accumulated energy will be split 50-50 with the host. The host is awarded 5,000 gold coins.]
[Distributing beginner's package. Do you wish to open the beginner's package?]
"Open it."
[Opening package now. Congratulations to the host for obtaining one [Bloodline Origin Trace] opportunity. The [Gaunt Bloodline] has been activated.]
Suddenly, Erwin felt as though a volcano was erupting within his body, but it calmed down almost immediately.
He examined himself carefully.
The supernatural power he'd thought he possessed, actually magic, had only been subtly detectable before, like sensing the faint flow of energy.
But now it was like a stream flowing freely through his body, far easier to control than before.
Erwin was extremely satisfied.
The advantages brought by any world bloodline couldn't be ignored; otherwise, the protagonists of fantasy worlds wouldn't constantly have special constitutions.
After his bloodline activation, he could definitely master some self-protection abilities in a short period.
"System, what is the function of gold coins?"
Seeing the compensation the system provided, Erwin couldn't help but complain internally.
This system had even learned to split the spoils, directly deducting half of his own accumulated energy…