Reading Log -119: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

After all, I really should read this series.
I mean, you can't really say, "I've never read Harry Potter..." can you? (Though, to be fair, no one has ever asked me, "Have you read Harry Potter?" before...)

Reading it carefully again, J.K. Rowling really is amazing. How on earth did she come up with such a story (not to mention the names of the characters and objects)?

Well, there's nothing left to say about this work at this late stage.
There must be many people who have seen the movie as well as read the book (I am one of them).

So, I asked Gemini to convert the story of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" to late Meiji-era Kyoto.

It ended up feeling a bit like "Demon Slayer," didn't it? Haha.

"Hariu Pottaa and the Magatama of Joruri"

[Character Mirror (Comparison Table)]

• Hariu Pottaa: A boy with a "lightning-bolt-shaped scar" on his forehead.

• Izumo Roon: A boy from a fallen samurai family with many children. Not red hair, but naturally reddish-brown hair.

• Himuro Hamai: The daughter of a merchant family during the Meiji Restoration. A brilliant student who is exasperated by the two pranksters.

• Shirahige Doburudo: Headmaster of the Daigokuden School of Magic. An elderly sorcerer in traditional Japanese clothing with a long white beard.

• Namekawa Budo: "That man" (Voldemort) who once shook the world and whose name must not be spoken.

Chapter 1: The Strange Mail on Karasuma Street

The 30th year of Meiji. Hariu Pottaa, who had been taken in by his eccentric uncle's house on the edge of Kyoto, spent his days in a dark storage room. His uncle's family was devoted to the Meiji Restoration and thoroughly despised the old-fashioned "Onmyodo" (Way of Yin and Yang).

However, in the summer when Pottaa turned eleven, a blue heron brought a letter made of Japanese paper like nothing he had ever seen. It was written in vivid ink as follows:

His uncle is furious and burns the letter, but the next day, hundreds of blue herons fill the garden. Suddenly, a man with a massive, extra-large build, the school's guard Hagrid, breaks through the shoji screen along with a storm.

"Pottaa, you have the blood of a 'sorcerer' in you. You are the only boy who survived the curse of that man, Namekawa."

Chapter 2: The Back Alleys of Shinkyogoku and the Karasuma Cinema

Led by Hagrid, they headed to the bustling Shinkyogoku Street. When they tapped on the back door of an old lantern shop with a spell, the space warped, and the "Evernight Alley," a secret black market where Meiji-era sorcerers gathered, appeared.

Potter receives a mountain of gold coins left behind by his late parents at a 'money changer' run by a fox spirit, and purchases a 'Japanese umbrella made of cherry wood with a crow's feather core'.

Then, on September 1st. When he leaps with his whole body into an old brick pillar between 'Platform 4' and 'Platform 5' at Kyoto Station... there, the phantom train 'Daikyokuden-go' running through pitch-black darkness was waiting. On the train, he met Ron, who was wearing a hand-me-down haori, and Hermione, a strong-willed girl who had already memorized the textbooks.

Chapter 3: Daikyokuden School of Magic and the 'Selection Noh Mask'

The train arrived at a five-story pagoda castle modeled after the massive Heijo-kyo, towering deep within the barrier of Mount Hiei.

The new students were gathered in the Great Hall and had an old 'Noh mask (Selection Mask)' placed on their faces. The Noh mask began to speak with its eyes glowing eerily.

'Hmm... the valiant 'Lion (Gryffindor)', or the cunning 'Serpent (Slytherin)'? You also have a strong aptitude for darkness... Very well, go to 'Lion'!'

Potter went to the 'Lion House' with Ron and Hermione.

However, school life is not straightforward. Snape, the potion teacher who slicks his hair back with oil and views Potter as an enemy, always glared at Potter with cold eyes.

Chapter 4: The Night Palace and the Three-Headed Guardian Dog

One night, the three were tricked by their mean classmate Malfoy and wandered into the off-limits 'Western Corridor'. There, what they saw was a massive, terrifying three-headed guardian dog protecting a trapdoor in the floor.

'I wonder what that guardian dog is protecting?'

The three, who managed to escape thanks to Hermione's quick thinking, realized that a terrifying secret was hidden in the school. They suspected that the 'Jewel of Joruri', which possesses the spiritual power of immortality that 'Voldemort' once coveted, was hidden in the school's basement.

Chapter 5: The Aerial Battle of Kurama and the Final Confrontation

At school, 'Quidditch', a traditional sport where students ride Japanese umbrellas to fly in the sky and compete for spirit fire, was held, and Potter displayed genius talent. However, behind the scenes, the shadow aiming for the jewel was definitely moving.

Convinced that Professor Snape must be the culprit, the three rushed into the room of the three-headed guardian dog at night.

Waiting in the basement were numerous magical traps.

• 'Cursed vines' that tighten around the body

• 'Countless origami cranes with keys' flying through the air

• And the 'Giant Chessboard Trap' where you become a piece and shed blood

Ron won the chess game with a brilliant move that sacrificed himself, and Hermione cleared the logic puzzle. Finally, Potter proceeded alone to the innermost room.

Waiting there was not Professor Snape, but Quirrell, the sorcerer who always wore a turban and seemed timid and frightened.

When Quirrell removed his turban, the back of his eerie head revealed the snake-like face of Voldemort, who had been surviving by possessing the bodies of others.

Potter, look into that mirror. Where is the magatama?

In the center of the room stood the Mirror of Erised. When Potter stood before it, he saw his reflection place a bright red magatama into his own pocket. The next moment, he felt a heavy weight in the pocket of his kimono.

You have it! Kill him!

Voldemort attacked, but the moment Quirrell touched Potter's skin, his hand burned violently and turned to ash. The protective magic of love left by Potter's mother had protected him even in the Meiji era.

Epilogue

When he came to, Potter was lying on the tatami mats of the infirmary in the Daigokuden. Headmaster Dumbledore stood by his bedside, smiling. The magatama had been safely destroyed, and Voldemort's ambitions were thwarted.

The end-of-term feast. Gryffindor, which had been in last place, made a dramatic comeback thanks to the efforts of Potter, Ron, Hermione, and finally, Neville, who had shown great courage. The crimson banners of the lion were proudly displayed in the five-story pagoda castle.

Summer vacation. On the phantom train returning to his uncle's house on Karasuma Street, Potter waved goodbye to Ron and Hermione with a smile.

See you later. For the first time, I have a real home.

The jet-black train carrying Potter disappeared into the streets of Kyoto during the Meiji Restoration, puffing out mysterious smoke.