The Boy Who Never Was - A Harry Potter Fanfic

Flourish and Blotts was a chaotic wonderland of books and magical mayhem, but the final weeks leading up to the Hogwarts Express were even more of a whirlwind.

I'd been busy—like, ridiculously busy.

First off, the apartment trunks had become my personal Hogwarts prep zones.

One trunk was a fully functional warehouse, complete with rows of shelves holding all the random stuff I'd "acquired" over time—ingredients from potion shops, enchanted trinkets, and a whole collection of magical odds and ends.

I even managed to steal entire shelving units from IKEA during a particularly bold mission.

Assembling those shelves was a nightmare.

Between incomprehensible instructions and missing parts, I was ready to hex the whole operation.

But eventually, I had a beautifully organized space that would make any wizarding warehouse proud.

The second apartment trunk? My personal library.

It was paradise.

Rows upon rows of bookshelves lined every wall, filled to the brim with books from Flourish and Blotts and a few other places I'd visited.

Building the bookshelves was just as painful as the warehouse ones, but it was worth it when I stood in the middle of my very own magical reading sanctuary.

There was even a cozy corner filled with a comfortable beanbag chairs I acquired from 

Hermione would be proud—not that I was going to tell her how I got half the stuff.

There was even one room completely empty for any future books.

Speaking of Hermione, my relationship with the Granger family had gotten a lot better.

Mrs. Granger no longer looked at me like I was a walking catastrophe waiting to happen.

Mr. Granger even joined me in a few mischief-making endeavors, much to Hermione's horror.

By the end of my stay, the Grangers were practically my second family.....

or first family?....

...

anyways

And then there was the wand.

Picking it up from Ollivander's was an experience I wouldn't forget.

"Chestnut wood, twelve and a half inches, with a twin core containing unicorn tail hair and thestral tail hair," Ollivander had announced, holding the wand as though it was a fragile piece of ancient art.

His eyes sparkled with curiosity and a hint of unease. "A combination that should not be possible," he murmured.

"Why not?" I asked, inspecting the wand. It felt right in my hand—like it belonged there.

"The unicorn tail hair is a stabilizing core, calming and pure.

The thestral tail hair, however, is wild, unpredictable, and carries an essence of death.

These two should repel each other. And yet..."

He trailed off, his gaze intense.

"Yet they don't," I finished for him.

He nodded. "Indeed. Your wand suggests a paradox—existence and non-existence in harmony. Completely unstable and perfectly balanced at the same time. This fact is reinforced more so by the fact that the wood in your wand is Chestnut. The chestnut is know be a sort of wildcard that takes on the characteristics of the core it embodies. A most curious wand, Mr. Sky Kingston."

I didn't care much for the philosophical implications—I just loved the thing. It hummed with power in my hand, and I couldn't wait to put it to use.

Fast forward to the morning of the train ride.

Platform Nine and Three-Quarters was a bustling sea of students and parents.

The air buzzed with excitement as trunks were loaded and owls hooted from their cages.

Hermione and her parents waved me off with warm smiles.

"Take care of yourself, Sky," Mrs. Granger said.

"And keep Hermione out of too much trouble," Mr. Granger added with a wink.

"No promises," I grinned.

Hermione huffed. "He's the one who causes trouble, Dad. Not me."

I winked at her. "But you love it."

She just let out a huff as she walked away. 

There was a slight reddish tinge to her cheeks.

We boarded the train and found an empty compartment.

As we settled in, Hermione pulled out a book, naturally.

The train whistle blew, and we were off.

The ride was mostly uneventful at first.

I spent the time mentally cataloging my warehouse inventory and brainstorming ways to smuggle more goods into Hogwarts without raising suspicion.

Hermione rambled on about our course books, and I nodded along, only half-listening.

*knock knock knock*

"Come in" I said out loud as the door gently slide open to show a somewhat chubby, round-faced boy with blond hair.

"Hi, my name is Neville Longbottom. I've lost my toad, have you seen him anywhere?" he said miserably.

"I'm afraid not. Sorry." Hermione replied.

"We'll help you find him. Hermione, come on." I said as I got up and stretched.

I turned to Neville offering a hand.

"Names Sky Kingston, and this Cute bookworm here is Hermione Granger." I introduced as we shook hands.

Hermione went scarlet at being called cute again.

I like picking on her like this on a daily.

"Can you tall me the name of your Toad Neville?" I ask inquiringly.

"His name is Trevor."

"Hermione, you find a prefect and ask if they know the Summoning Charm. Me and Neville here will knock on every compartment until we find him."

She nodded and hurried off.

I started my mission, knocking on doors and politely asking if anyone had seen a toad.

Most compartments were unhelpful, but then I reached one where two boys sat—one with messy black hair and round glasses, the other with a shock of red hair.

"Excuse me," I said.

"Have either of you seen a toad? My friend Neville's lost one."

The black-haired boy shook his head. "Sorry, no toad here."

The redhead, Ron, was too busy stuffing his face with a sandwich to respond properly.

My eyes flicked to the rat on his lap.

"Nice rat," I said casually.

"How much do you want for him?"

Ron blinked. "What?"

"I'll give you ten galleons for the rat."

His jaw dropped. "Ten galleons? Seriously?"

"Seriously," I confirmed.

He didn't hesitate. "Deal!"

I handed over the galleons and took the rat, cage and all.

Ron looked like he'd just won the lottery.

"Pleasure doing business," I said smoothly.

As I walked back to our compartment, I made a mental note to get the cage reinforced by a prefect.

It looked like it would fall apart if someone sneezed near it.

Later, after the prefect had cast a point me spell, We finally returned to our compartment.

Hermione was back, and Neville was happily reunited with Trevor.

The cart lady arrived not long after and I made a bold move.

"I'd like to buy up all the leftover stock of sweets and snacks at the end of the trip," I told her.

She looked surprised but nodded. "Of course, dear. I'll come find you before we reach the station."

Satisfied, I settled back into my seat.

Hermione looked at me questioningly.

"You know as first year, we won't have access to any outside snacks right? Wouldn't this be the best time to stock up on as many outside snacks as possible?"

The sudden realization seemed to smack them in the face as they both left the compartment and headed towards the cart lady.

While doing so, I headed towards a couple of second year Ravenclaws.

After hours of negotiating, they agreed to sell me their 1st year notes of all the standard subjects for 20 galleons split between 4 of them.

5 Galleons each was a good chunk of spending change for them.

As the journey continued, Hermione and Neville chatted, but my attention was on the rat in its newly reinforced cage.

I leaned in close, my lips curling into a smirk.

"Hello, Peter," I whispered.

The rat twitched, its beady eyes as it slowly and nervously turned its head towards me?

Good.

This was going to be fun.