The Leaky Cauldron buzzed with life as the morning sun stread through its gri-streaked windows. The clinking of mugs, the hum of conversation, and the rustling of newspapers filled the air, blending into the cozy, bustling atmosphere it was known for.
Inside, Tom, the pub owner, stood behind the counter wiping a mug with a rag, flashing his usual wide smile, nodding now and then to custors at different tables, greeting them as if they were old friends.
While in front of him, a young witch moved skillfully through the crowd, balancing a tray full of drinks and pastries as she dodged the loud custors laughing over their jokes, performing her job with ease.
Amid this lively bustle, a figure sat alone at the table near the corner. He appeared South Asian, brown, and middle-aged, and his presence seed almost negligible to everyone else, as not a single occupant was seen looking in his direction, not even to offer a nod to include him in sharing their jokes.
That was except for the waitress who was walking toward his direction.
"There you go, Mr..."
"Khan," the man said, offering a polite smile. "Thank you, young lady."
The witch flushed slightly, her cheeks warming as she straightened. "Yo-You're welco," she managed to stamr, looking away from the eyes that seed to have made her lose her composure.
It had been a few months since she had started working as a waitress at the Leaky Cauldron, and she was now used to dealing with all sorts of custors. It wasn't unusual for so of them to try to get her attention. However, she was a young woman just above 20, and the wizards who did so were either three tis her age or thoroughly unremarkable in appearance.
She had dismissed every attempt, but today was different. Though the person she had just served didn't seem to be seeking her attention, she couldn't help but wonder, why couldn't it be the other way around? Why couldn't she take the initiative instead?
After all, it's not every day that a man this handso, carrying an air of elegance, would co and sit for a al in this dilapidated old pub.
However, just as she placed the food and drinks on the table, he thanked her and subtly, but politely, indicated with clear words that her presence was no longer needed.
Unfortunately for her, it seed the handso man was not here to make new friends or enjoy the company of the opposite sex, bringing an end to her hope for a more engaging exchange.
Letting out a soft sigh, she turned and walked away, unwilling to linger or push further.
Though disappointed, she briefly wanted to glance back. After all, so n liked to act mysterious at first.
However, as soon as the thought crossed her mind, her footsteps paused, and the idea vanished completely.
She continued with her duties as if nothing had happened, the only difference being that now she, too, seed like everyone else, ignoring the inconspicuous corner as if nothing were there.
Khan enjoyed his food quietly while observing everything happening inside the pub. His face showed no particular expression, just blank, as if nothing of interest was around him—until, half an hour later, he briefly lowered the newspaper he was reading and glanced toward the entrance, a slight gleam in his eyes.
He saw a massive figure duck through the low door, followed by a smaller one. The atmosphere seed to pause as all the occupants looked at the pair with keen interest, while the bustling noise filling the pub almost faded to silence.
Khan wasn't interested in the others' reactions. His attention was focused on the smaller figure beside the giant man. The child seed very curious about everything he was seeing, as if this place was sothing extraordinary, like a first-ti experience of witnessing sothing incredible.
Khan's eyes flicked to the boy's face—round glasses, ssy black hair, and a lightning-shaped scar barely visible beneath his tousled hair.
A slight smirk tugged at his lips. It's finally here, he thought.
The brief silence inside was broken by the scrape of a chair as a witch stood abruptly. Her voice trembled with excitent as she gasped and then said, "Bless my soul... Harry Potter!"
The na hit the room like a spell. Instantly, the atmosphere changed from mundane to once again electric. Wizards and witches alike turned in their seats, eyes wide with awe, their whispers growing louder.
So very exaggerated reactions ca from the occupants, as Khan watched a wizard fumble with his hat, spilling his drink, while a witch clutched her chest, as if she might faint.
He watched the excitent unfold as, one after another, witch and wizard alike approached the boy, shaking his hand and offering flattering words.
As the giant man and Harry Potter made their way toward the back of the pub, Khan finally made a move. He stood up from his table, placed a few coins on top of his newspaper, and quietly followed the pair toward the back entrance.
His movents, like before, was ignored by everyone else, as if he wasn't even there.
The giant man, whom he knew was Hagrid, and Harry Potter walked into the empty courtyard. Khan was a little behind, but his attention never left them. He watched as Hagrid made a few gestures, tapped the wall with his wand, and opened the entrance to the heart of magical Britain—Diagon Alley.
Khan kept his distance—not too far, but not too close either. He walked slowly, discreetly following the pair through the bustling streets. Once again, despite moving through the large crowd, people walked past him without any acknowledgnt, as if they were deliberately avoiding him.
Minutes passed like this. Khan stayed so distance behind the half-giant and the boy, following them as they walked passing stall by stall, occasionally listening to their conversation.
When they reached a place that looked different from all the other stalls, he focused more on their conversation.
"Hagrid... what's this place?" He heard the boy ask, looking at the multiple-story building that appeared much busier, with more people coming in and out than at the other places.
"That right there, Harry, is called Caesar's Magitech," Hagrid said, gesturing toward the busy building. "A recently famous store that sells all sorts of magical gadgets... it's beco quite popular around the world."
The half-giant leaned down a little, lowered his voice, and cupped his hand by his mouth as if sharing a secret. "Tell you what, Harry, I'm actually friends with the owner."
Hagrid straightened up, puffed out his chest, and flipped his thick coat proudly. He raised his eyebrows at the boy, clearly expecting a reaction of awe or admiration.
Khan watched their interaction, a subtle twitch forming at the corner of his eye as he observed the half-giant acting more like a child than the child standing beside him.
The pair continued down the street, bypassing the other stores until they reached Gringotts, the wizarding bank. Khan watched them enter the grand building, but he stayed outside. After a mont, he moved to a quieter corner where fewer people were moving about.
Raising his right hand, he focused on a bracelet-like object wrapped around his wrist. Slowly, his entire body disappeared, turning completely invisible. He then snapped his fingers, casting another spell on himself.
Since he was already invisible, it seed as though nothing had changed. However, he knew this spell added another layer of invisibility on top of what the gadget on his wrist had already provided.
Now, with his already inconspicuous presence further amplified by several layers of invisibility, he returned to the bank and positioned himself a short distance from Gringotts' entrance. There, he stood silently and waited.
About half an hour later, he spotted the half-giant and the boy exiting the bank and heading toward the wand shop. Once again, he followed, observing their movents closely.
From the entrance of Ollivanders Wand Shop, he saw the boy separate himself from the half-giant. Harry Potter entered the shop alone, while Hagrid turned towards the pet store which was a couple of minutes away.
Khan's attention then changed solely to the half-giant as he increased his pace following him, now making it clear who his true target was.
When Khan got a couple of ters closer, he flicked his fingers, casting a spell. A few seconds later, his pace quickened, and he was walking side by side with the half-giant.
His expression turned solemn as he made his move. While walking beside Hagrid, Khan reached for the man's thick coat, gently moved it aside, and slipped his hand into the inner pocket. There, he carefully retrieved a small pouch.
If anyone else had used an invisibility spell and attempted the sa, the veteran half-giant would have surely noticed his jacket moving, let alone sothing being taken from the inner pocket. But it seed that nothing was out of place, as if Khan's actions had gone completely unregistered by the giant man's five senses.
Khan didn't stop moving after retrieving the pouch. He maintained the sa pace, walking beside Hagrid. As he did, he carefully took the content of the small bag and cupped it in his palm.
It was a red stone—not as shiny as a ruby, nor as plain as a simple crystal. He didn't do anything with it or to it, other than holding it firmly while keeping pace for about half a minute.
However, during that brief ti, his expression changed several tis, starting with excitent, then to confusion, followed by curiosity, before finally settling into a look of understanding.
They were now halfway to the pet store, and Hagrid had yet to notice anything amiss. Khan placed the stone back into the pouch, then carefully reached once again for the half-giant's thick jacket. He repeated his previous actions in reverse, slipping the small bag back into the inner pocket from where he had taken it.
There, he stopped following and watched for a brief mont as Hagrid moved ahead and finally entered the pet store, also known as the Magical nagerie.
Khan then turned around and walked toward an alley where people seed to be deliberately avoiding. As soon as he entered, he stopped, glancing to his left and right before his invisible figure vanished from the spot.
...
Woosh!
The soft thump of Apparition echoed in a small, brightly lit room furnished with only a desk and a comfortable-looking chair by the wall.
A figure materialized into view as he canceled the magic cast on himself and walked over to the chair. He slumped down tiredly, as if he had just completed a heavy task, then leaned back comfortably, resting his head while looking up at the ceiling, looking thoughtful.
A sigh escaped his lips, followed by a triumphant smile as he murmured to the air, "Finally..."
Just then, his expression changed. "Is it ti already?" he murmured again, before straightening his posture. His brows furrowed uncomfortably as his appearance began to change.
A few twitches and so uncomfortable movents later, his middle-aged, Indian-looking self disappeared completely, replaced by a young white man with dark chestnut hair.
Maverick let out another sigh as he leaned back in the chair, recalling the eventful morning he had just experienced. It was now the 31st of July, 1991, as far as he rembered, and according to the many exaggerated storybooks he had read about a certain wizard, it was also the birthday of Harry Potter, also known as the "Chosen One."
He recalled every bit of the Harry Potter first book and the first movie he could rember, and knew that today would be the day Hagrid would take the young wizard around Diagon Alley to gather supplies for his freshman year.
He also rembered that the half-giant would be retrieving a very valuable item from Gringotts as per Dumbledore's request, and that particular item had been the target of his actions today.
The Sorcerer's Stone, or Philosopher's Stone—whatever it was called—was believed to be an alchemical artifact with incredible properties. From what he recalled, it was said to have the power to extend one's life and transform any elent into whatever the holder desired. Two incredible abilities, ones that Maverick, with his cheat that could replicate extraordinary item's extraordinary characteristics, wanted for himself at any cost.
However, acquiring the stone while it was at Hogwarts would be difficult. Not impossible, but difficult. Moreover, doing so would risk drawing the attention of one powerful, and very nosy Arch-Magus, which he had no interest in, or rather avoid entirely.
Therefore the best chance to get his hands on it without anyone noticing would be during its transport, when it was far away from the school.
Luckily for him, he had knowledge from beyond the fourth wall, and knew exactly when and where the stone would be before it made its way to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
But he didn't want to take any chances of being discovered, even though he was confident that he could pull off the task. So, he devised a plan involving several layers of precautions to ensure that, even if he were to be discovered, the na Maverick Caesar would be the last anyone would think of.
He used the Polyjuice Potion to transform into another man—soone entirely random, halfway around the world—and gave himself a new na. He then cast the Notice--Not variant spell to dim any attention directed at him, just enough to go unnoticed, but not completely.
But when the mont to take action arrived, he quadrupled the layers of precautions, using magic suppression and invisibility twice—once through his magic and once from the alchemical bracelet—effectively erasing his magical presence while becoming completely invisible.
Finally, at the last mont, he cast the illusion spell to manipulate the nearby people's perception, as well as the half-giant Hagrid's sense of touch and sight, ensuring that nobody— not even Hagrid himself— could see, hear, or feel anything other than what he intended them to.
After that, it was simple. He took the stone from Hagrid's pocket, held it in his hand long enough for his system to register it, then returned it to Hagrid's pocket and disappeared from the scene as if nothing had happened at all.
Now that he was alone in this remote place he had prepared, far from anyone, he finally went through the multiple system prompts that had appeared the mont he touched the famous creation of Nicolas Flal.
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Author's Note:
Just a quick update — up to Chapter 99 is already available on P AT r30n!
PAT r30n [.] com / RyanFic
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