Chapter Text
Stick didn’t believe in governing magic. He hated the ministry almost as much as he hated the hand. He hated magic schools (especially Hogwarts). Saying things like “Magic school is just a place for shitty magicians to learn shitty tricks.” And “All Hogwarts does is shelter already terrible wizards and make them worse. They encourage them to be all buddy-buddy and it makes them weak.”
Stick would probably kill Matt if he ever even thought about falling into the ministry’s “trap” and giving up his magic to their control.
“If you were to go to school for magic you’d be giving yourself up Matty.”
Stick had said after one particularly grueling training session. That Matt had been embarrassingly bad at.
“Then they would know about you and your magic and they would monitor you for the rest of your life. They wouldn’t let you perform magic outside of school. They would limit you to only the spells that don’t do any real damage.”
Limiting the use of spells that could kill people didn’t sound like that bad of an idea to Matt. But he didn’t say this out loud.
“They don’t teach control of the mind or body,” Stick punctuated his last word with a jab to Matt’s ribs making him groan. “Those kids are useless, they're gonna get themselves killed thinking they can do magic. Their swinging blind.”
Matt snickered. This earned him a smack upside the head as Stick stood.
“Take me seriously Matty! You’re barely any better than them. How do you expect to be a warrior in the state you’re in!”
Matt did take him seriously. He believed everything that Stick told him about the wizarding world.
That was until Stick left him.
__________
Matt was weak. He knew that now. That was why Stick had left because he was weak and compassionate. Because he lets others in even though he knows it makes him weak.
Now he didn’t know what to do with himself. With all of his knowledge. He couldn’t just be a muggle now!
He had built him up telling him that he was special that he was strong. He had given him control and knowledge. He had told Matt to be grateful and he had been.
He put up with everything. He believed in what Stick was saying because he had no other choice. But now Stick was gone and Matt was alone again.
Alone and angry.
Angry at Stick for leaving. Angry at himself for getting too close. Angry at Stick for hurting him. Angry at himself for putting up with it.
Angry at Stick for telling him he had to kill people... He didn’t want to hurt anyone.
__________
Things started happening again like before. Strange unexplainable things. Except they were explainable now. Stick had taught him control but now it was slipping through his grasp. He was too angry to care.
He spent all his days wandering around St. Agnes doing nothing when he wasn’t in school. But then it was summer and he had even less to do.
Until the letter came.
Matt was genuinely shocked when it happened. He heard the nuns mumbling about it before they even brought it to him. They were confused about who Matt even knew that would send him a letter. Before Matt read it he didn’t even consider the possibility that it could be from Hogwarts. He was just as confused as the nuns.
As he took the letter from sister Edith he wondered to himself ‘who in their right mind would send a letter to me?’
After the sister had left he ran his fingers over the thick paper of the envelope. He found that it was embossed with Braille close to the bottom of the envelope. He figured the address was also printed in ink in the center.
He brought it up to his nose and sniffed, finding that there was indeed ink on the center of the envelope. Whoever sent this letter went out of their way for him. They had to know that making it so he could read his own address was unnecessary.
He read it anyway.
Mr. M. Murdock
Last door on the right
St. Agnes Orphanage
127 Kent Street, 10024
Now, this was strange. ‘How did they know where he lived? Did he have a stalker? Was that why this thing was so meticulous?
He opened it. Inside there were two folded pieces of paper. The same type of paper the envelope was made out of.
The words were written completely in Braille.
__________
HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
Headmistress: Minerva McGonagall
Dear Mr. Murdock,
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.
Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Headmistress
__________
Matt almost dropped the letter as soon as he read the “HOGWARTS” he had been taught to hate Hogwarts. He had been told to hate anything to do with the ministry. He didn’t even consider the possibility that they would want him. That they could even get to him.
Stick had had wards up all the time so they wouldn’t be able to find him. Without them, Stick would have found himself in Azkaban a long time ago. It was these wards that had kept Matt hidden from them. But now Stick was gone and he was vulnerable.
Matt read through the rest of the first page but didn’t even bother with the second. As soon as he was done he crumpled the letter and threw it into the corner of his room.
There was no way he was going to Hogwarts.
__________
It turns out that the people at Hogwarts were a lot more persistent than he thought. Then sent another letter every day that week. Each of them ended up on Matt’s floor. But they just kept coming.
14 letters later he was pretty much done.
So he decided that he would write back telling them to fuck off. He picked a letter up off the ground. Before stopping.
He was only told Hogwarts was bad by Stick.
And Stick was an asshole.
The only reason Hogwarts was bad was because it didn’t produce soldiers. But Matt wasn’t a soldier and he didn’t have to listen to Stick anymore. If he ever wanted to learn anything more about magic he would have to go to school. He didn’t have anyone here to teach him anymore.
He ran his fingers over the second page of the letter. It was all just supply stuff like books and uniforms that you would need to buy.
Matt could get these things.
He knew where and he had some wizard money left over that stick had given him. He already had a wand. And some of the books in Braille. He could get mor-
What was Matt thinking? Why was he actually considering going to Hogwarts!
‘Why shouldn’t I,’ he thought to himself, ‘I’m not a warrior, I don’t need to kill people. I don’t want to kill people. I’m not a part of Sticks war and I’m never going to be! I could go to magic school like all the other kids if I want to.’
So instead of writing a rude letter to tell Hogwarts to go fuck itself in Matt’s chicken scratch handwriting. Matt got one of the nuns to write a letter of acknowledgment for him which he then sent back to Hogwarts.
Apparently, Matt was going to Hogwarts.
__________
‘This was such a terrible idea,’ Matt thought to himself as he stood between platforms 9 and 10 completely lost.
He had gotten there considerably early since he figured the train station wouldn’t be too accessible. He was right.
It took him half an hour just to get to where he was now.
The people at Hogwarts were idiots if they thought a blind kid would be able to figure out their platform 9 3/4 puzzle by himself. Especially with all of these people around and with him having all of his stuff. They really do not make it easy. And Matt was getting overwhelmed by the sounds of the station.
He had no idea what to do. He was just standing there like an idiot.
Stick's voice ran through his head, “You can’t even figure out some stupid puzzle made by the ministry! You really weren’t worth my time.”
Matt stomped him down. He was here because he didn’t need Stick.
Or like what father Lantom had said he was here because he “was doing it for his own good.” The father had said that he wouldn’t let Matt go if he was only going to spite Stick.
Sometimes he just wished that Father Lantom would let him have things. But no he had to do this by the book and be Christian about it. And now if he didn’t he would feel all guilty about it.
So here he was trying to find a train on a platform that doesn’t exist. In the middle of the day. Surrounded by people. All in the name of bettering himself.
Fantastic.
Matt figured he just wasn’t trying hard enough. He needed to focus more. He narrowed down his senses and started to pick up something weird coming from a pillar. It was magic. It was just oozing magic. How he didn’t notice beforehand he had no idea.
Now Matt just needed to figure out what it did. He figured it must be a door of some kind. Hopefully to platform 9 3/4 because it was becoming close to time for him to be on the train.
Matt walked up to the pillar and later his hand flat on it. Nothing happened. He figured that he would just fall through but that obviously isn’t happening. He tapped it a couple of times.
Nothing.
He tried banging on it.
Nothing.
He had started to feel around for a lever or a code or something to open the door when a person came up behind him.
He noticed them just before they tapped him on the shoulder. But he flinched anyway.
“Oh sorry to startle you, dear,” the woman said, “just wondering if you were going to Hogwarts?”
Matt turned to “look” at her giving her an eyeful of his blindness. Her heartbeat stayed steady. He nodded his head yes.
“Are you new this year?”
He nodded again.
“Well, I figured with you looking all confused over here by the entrance.” She smelled like deli meat and perfume, her voice was loud but not grating. Like a grandmothers would be. “Don’t worry I’ll help you out. I got a son going into his first year too just like you. He can help you out once you get on the train.”
“Thank you.”
“Oh, it’s no problem dear.”
She grabbed his cart and before he could protest she started to walk away calling for him to follow. Matt liked her.
It turns out she was walking towards two boys. Her sons. The older one called out to him as he walked over.
“Hi!” He yelled, “I’m Foggy.” Foggy also smelled like deli meat like his mother but also like grass and laundry detergent.
Matt put out his hand for Foggy to shake, “Matt.”
Foggy took his hand and shook it wildly as he spoke. It was soft.
“This is my little brother Theo,” Foggy said as he patted the smaller boy who was clinging to him on his shoulder.
“Alright, boys we gotta go it’s almost time for the train to board.” She put her hands on Matt’s shoulders and turned him around so he was facing the pillar he had just come from, “alright Foggy you go first with your brother.”
“Okay,” Foggy grabbed his cart and his brother before he took off running at the pillar. As he got closer more people started to crowd him. Until he was gone. The magic around the pillar flared and Matt couldn’t hear his heartbeat anymore.
‘You just had to run at it. That’s how it works.’ Matt thought to himself.
“Ok dear, now what Foggy and Theo just did is they ran straight at the pillar you were just at. Don’t stop running no matter what and you’ll be fine. I’ll hold onto your cart with you and steer you in the right direction.”
“Ok, thanks”
“It’s no problem dear.”
And just like that, they started to run. Matt didn’t really need Foggy’s mother to guide him but as people started to gather around them. He was thankful that she was there.
He sensed the pillar coming. Closer and closer. But he kept running like she had said to do. He wasn’t scared when they hit it. He definitely would have been able to go by himself.
Matt came out the other side of the wall only to be assaulted by magical energy. It was radiating off of every person there. Matt had never been around so many magical people in his entire life. It was completely overwhelming.
Foggy put his hand on his shoulder and was talking to him but Matt couldn’t hear a word that he was saying.
Eventually, he found himself being led by Foggy up to a big metal box? Train. The train and by the time he could finally focus he was sitting across from Foggy in one of the compartments on the train. Moving. The train had already left.
Foggy was talking about something. He seemed to be deep into the middle of it when Matt finally got his senses under control enough to comprehend what he was saying.
“-first one of my siblings to go to Hogwarts but I know what to expect since I’ve got a whole horde of cousins already there. My parents both went there too,” Foggy chirped, “The Nelson clan is expansive and old!” Foggy said in a grand and exaggerated voice before giggling to himself.
Matt chuckled a bit too.
This seemed to surprise Foggy because his heartbeat sped up and Matt could feel his intense gaze on him.
But soon Foggy just smiled and asked, “Do you have any family that went to Hogwarts?”
“No not really, Murdocks aren’t known for their magical abilities,” Matt paused considering what story would be the best to keep him flying under people’s radar. “I actually just found out about magic not too long ago when I got my letter.”
“Oh, so you're muggle-born. That would explain why you didn’t know about the door.” Foggy paused and his heartbeat picked up again, “Wait, Matt Murdock? Are you - You're not from Hell's Kitchen, are you?”
“Yeah, born and raised.”
“So am I! Yeah, I heard about you, what you did, saving that guy crossing the street.” Foggy’s heartbeat was skyrocketing now and Matt could hear the grin in his voice.
“Yeah, I just did what anyone would have.”
“Bullshit. You are a hero.”
“I'm really not.” Matt was blushing now.
“Come on! You got your peepers knocked out saving that old dude.” Foggy said too confidently for Matt to take him seriously.
“They didn't get knocked out,” Matt said grinning.
“Good, 'cause that would be a little freaky. But no offense.”
“Please, none taken.” Matt paused trying to stop himself from saying what he was about to say, “Uh - Most people dance around me like I'm made of glass. I hate that.” He said it anyway.
“Yeah, you're just a guy, right? A really, really good-looking guy.”
“Oh, um...” Matt really was blushing now.
Foggy quickly tried to backtrack, “I mean, girls must love that, the whole wounded, handsome duck thing. Am I right?”
“Right. Yeah, it's been known to happen.”
“This is gonna be awesome!” Foggy practically yelled.
“What is?”
“Me as your wingman! You're gonna open up a whole caliber of women I've only dreamed of. A lot! We're gonna be like Maverick and Goose!”
“Goose died and he was married.”
“Details!”
Matt smiled, he liked Foggy and he had never had a real friend before so maybe it would be nice to have a “wingman”. But Stick's voice echoed in his head.
“Friends make you weak Matty. You're just gonna end up hurting this kid.”
Matt fought back the urge to flinch at his words. But he could already feel himself start to trust Foggy. To give him too much of himself. But Stick was gone and Matt didn’t really care.