Days at Hogwarts

Chapter 1 Loren Morgan

November 1981, Hampshire, England.

On the bustling streets of the city, vendors, scattered throughout, look expectantly at every passerby, especially those who have just come from the movie theater next door. It's perfectly normal for them to buy some snacks like cream puffs or small items like hair ties for their children on their way home.

As they neared the end of the street, the Morgan family of three was still savoring this happy day.

"It's been a perfect day, Mrs. Morgan. Perhaps I could invite you to spend the next weekend with me." The man on the left, carrying a child, was probably in his twenties, handsome, and had an irrepressible smile on his face as he spoke.

"Hmm, Mr. Morgan, that's a good suggestion, but I need to think about it carefully." The pretty woman next to him stuffed the last cream puff into her mouth and swallowed it. She then wrapped both arms around the man and gently rubbed them against his sleeves a few times when he wasn't looking.

The two looked at each other and burst into laughter.

Loren, nestled in the man's arms, was speechless. Similar scenes had played out repeatedly in the year since he came into this world, so cloying that it was unbearable.

With a milk candy in its mouth, it hummed twice, shifted to a more comfortable position, and prepared to continue sleeping. Even though it had the soul of an adult, its body was that of a one-year-old child.

The happy scene didn't last long.

"Peter! You will pay for your actions!"

The roar came from behind the young couple, so loud it hurt their ears, and the sound was filled with overwhelming anger.

A short, stout figure in a gray suit darted out quickly, passed the young couple, turned the corner, and disappeared.

Turning around, I saw a tall, thin man with a messy beard and hair, bloodshot eyes, staring straight ahead, holding a thin wooden stick in his hand. The roar I had just heard came from him.

The young couple on the roadside seemed a little lost. They exchanged a glance and tacitly took a few steps away.

Loren suddenly felt a powerful sense of unease and panic. Goosebumps rose from the back of his neck and spread to his scalp, and his heart was pounding so fast he could hear it himself.

"Run!" he cried out.

boom!

A powerful shockwave erupted from the street corner, blasting away surrounding houses, sending mud and rocks flying, and tearing up bricks and stones from the floor, exposing sewer openings, just like an earthquake.

In an instant, all Loren saw was his father protecting him and his mother, his mother hiding him beneath her, her sky-blue dress obscuring his view.

Loren's eyes glowed with a blue light, spreading from his pupils and obscuring his originally black eyes.

Sirius glanced sideways, somewhat surprised that such a young child was experiencing a magical outburst, but it didn't matter. Damn Peter…

The warm, sticky liquid seeped into Loren's clothes, and then she fainted.

……

"This is too cruel, Crouch. That damned Death Eater almost blew up the whole street, killed twelve Muggles and Peter Pettigrew, and he's even left with only one finger," Cornelius Fudge said, looking at the scene with lingering fear in his eyes.

When he arrived, Sirius Black was standing in this hellish scene, emitting a strange laugh.

Standing beside him was Barty Crouch. Something terrible had happened yesterday, and they hadn't slept a wink all night. Even so, he was still wearing a perfectly straight tie and his hair was neatly combed.

"These damned Death Eaters must get into Azkaban, they must give him a Dementor's kiss," he murmured to himself.

"Handle it according to the 'Secrecy Act,' communicate with the Muggle government to provide some compensation to the deceased..." He came to his senses and calmly issued the orders one by one.

The surrounding Aurors, filled with joy, methodically cleared away the memories of the Muggles.

They thought that Voldemort had fallen and everything would be alright.

……

June 1985, Sir Hillier Children's Welfare Home, Hampshire.

Five-year-old Loren Morgan is helping Sister Joyce sort through donated clothes. Here, slightly older children can help with some of the less strenuous chores, knowing that well-behaved children are more likely to be adopted.

"Sister Joyce, when is Mr. Bumble coming back?" Loren missed Mr. Bumble, the canteen manager who would occasionally give him some food. Since he left, Loren had been feeling a little dizzy from time to time, which he guessed was anemia caused by malnutrition.

Upon hearing the murderer's name, Joyce's expression hardened, then she gently comforted him, "Mr. Bamble has gone on a long journey and probably won't be coming back to work at our orphanage."

Loren was somewhat disappointed that the source of free food was gone.

"Can we skip the potatoes tonight?" Loren felt like he hadn't eaten as many potatoes in the past few years as he had in his previous twenty-odd years.

"Hmm, perhaps we could try cooking the potatoes in a different way. Do you have any suggestions?" Joyce knew that the food at the orphanage was barely enough, and most of the money had to be used to buy coal and clothing for the winter.

Loren sighed, frowned, and didn't reply.

Joyce looked at the little person in front of her, whose blue, clear eyes were drooping with eyelids, looking as worried as an adult, and found it amusing.

"The church and government people are here today and are talking to Ms. Maggie. Maybe we'll have some new food," Joyce reassured, or perhaps she was thinking to herself in order to deal with what happened last month.

Before he could finish speaking, there was a knock on the door.

"Joyce, bring Loren out here to hear some good news!" The woman at the door said with delight.

The best news she could hear at the orphanage was that the children were with her. These words gave Joyce some clues. She immediately grabbed Loren and rushed out of the house.

"Ms. Maggie, what good news do you have?" Joyce asked eagerly.

"Come with me," Ms. Maggie replied.

Ms. Maggie led the two to the reception room. She was the director of the orphanage and was forty years old, but she still walked briskly and energetically.

Two people were sitting in the reception room, one dressed in a white monk's robe and the other in a single-breasted black overcoat. They immediately stood up when they saw the three of them.

Ms. Maggie began her introductions: "This is Deacon Thorne from the church and Mr. Pinault from the city council."

Just as Joyce was about to greet the two gentlemen, Pino spoke up first: "Time is of the essence, so let me explain the situation. Last week, while we were sorting through household registration information, we discovered that this Loren Morgan's mother still has a living uncle. We called to inquire, and he expressed his willingness to raise Loren."

Thorne added, "Get the paperwork done as soon as possible, and we'll escort little Loren off tomorrow morning so we can be back before the end of the month."

"That's wonderful!" Joyce hugged little Loren with joy. God had finally seen the suffering child.

Loren was somewhat bewildered. He had opened his eyes to find himself in this orphanage. Later, when he was a little older, Ms. Maggie told him that his parents had died in a car accident. Loren vaguely felt that this wasn't the case, but he couldn't remember anything before he entered the orphanage.

His memories of this world all revolve around this orphanage, the gentle Sister Joyce, the strict yet kind Maggie, and Mr. Bumble who always gave him food, even though he left the orphanage last month.

Upon suddenly learning that he was about to leave, he felt a sense of unease.

Ms. Maggie asked Joyce and Loren to go back and pack some things to take with them, while she accompanied Mr. Pinault and Deacon Thorne to handle the paperwork.

The next morning, at the entrance of the welfare home.

Joyce stood outside the car, gazing at little Loren in the back seat, her eyes filled with reluctance. She loved this clever little rascal. She handed him a small bundle wrapped in white cloth, containing some clothes and odds and ends.

"Come back and visit when you're all grown up, Loren." She kissed Loren's forehead.

Loren's cheeks flushed slightly, and he nodded.

"Cheer up, kid! We have to get going!" Mr. Pino in the passenger seat sounded rather cheerful.

The light blue Ford Anglia gradually accelerated and drove into the distance.

As the black dot gradually disappeared from view, Joyce couldn't help but ask, "Was Loren really going to his relative's house?"

"I don't know either, Joyce. This is the result of what they've decided. Little Loren will be properly taken care of, but Bumble will go to hell," Ms. Maggie replied with a hint of helplessness.

"He killed so many children, he deserves to go to hell!" Even now, Joyce's anger remains undiminished when she thinks of that man...

(End of this chapter)