5 A reminder of his past

June, 1984

"Dean, wake up. Today your father will take us to the zoo." Helen was trying to wake up Dean. He opened his eyes slowly to see his mother in front of him, caressing his hair.

"Zoo?" He asked slowly, still not fully awake.

"Yes. There you will be able to see lots of different animals. But, there will be lots of muggles. So, you can't talk about magic and stuff, okay?"

"Okay!" He was fully awake in a second. He was really intrigued by the mention of lots of animals.

His mother was really amused by how enthusiastic he was. "Then you need to change your clothes, I already prepared them. Also, don't forget to wash up in the bathroom before you come downstairs." She prepared muggle clothes for just today. She didn't wanna stand out like a sore thumb with the wizard robes and such.

Once he was ready, he went downstairs to join his family at the table. But there was only his parents and Daphne sitting at the table, having breakfast.

"Where is the rest of the family?" He took the chair right next to Daphne and asked.

"Astoria was a bit sick this morning. Your aunt and uncle took her to a healer."

"Again?" Everyone was getting a bit worried about Astoria having poor health. She was getting sick periodically, which was only relieved by healers and potions. Though, it was never a lasting solution.

Astoria is the second daughter his aunt gave birth to two years ago. She took her eyes and hair color from his father, a cute little girl with brown hair and hazel eyes. Her father Oliver was happy that some of his genes finally appeared in one of his daughters. Because Daphne was like an exact copy of her mother in all aspects.

"Yes... So today, we will take you and Daphne to the zoo. If you wanna fully enjoy today, eat your breakfast properly, you will need all the energy." Helen urged them to eat more.

Daphne started leading more food to her mount. Her cheeks were already bulging, looking like a cute squirrel. She didn't forget to look at Dean time to time with provocative eyes to start an eating contest.

Dean had to accept the challenge. He didn't wanna disappoint this cute looking squirrel.

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When they were at the entrance of the zoo, they could already see a lot of families going in with their kids. Everything just looked so energetic with kids running around, pulling their parents to go inside. Dean and Daphne couldn't sit still as well. Daphne was holding his hand, jumping around with a happy smile. Dean was also very excited to see new things. He was very curious about every little thing he saw, since he was reborn. He wanted to explore and enjoy this world as much as possible.

He was very happy, letting himself be dragged around by Daphne, until he saw what it really is like inside the zoo. His mood dampened immediately by what he saw. 'This is the zoo?' Every other kid around was enjoying the scenery created by different kind of animals, even the adults. They were pointing at them and laughing with their kids.

When he left his home, he was happy, because he thought he will be able to see lots of different things. But he never imagined it will be in these conditions. They were just like him in his past life, they were caged by humans. The only difference was that he was alone, while they were caged together as some sort of entertainment for the humans. In these past 4 years, he was so happy, he almost forgot what he really wanted. He wanted power, the power that will let him be free and do as he wished. He never wanted to be caged and controlled against his will ever again. This was like a wake-up call for him, he needed to get stronger.

With the comfort provided by his new family, he forgot the promise he made to himself. He was reminded one more time, what would happen when he remains week. This will be the result if he neglected to get stronger.

He was determined to get stronger, for himself and for his family.

His father surprised with how fast his mood changed. "Dean, did something happen?"

"Father can we set them free?" Dean asked with hope.

...

"I'm sorry Dean, but we can't." He didn't know what else to say. He never expected his son to be so passionate about the animals inside the zoo. He had to disappoint his son, because he couldn't really set these animals free. To his rescue, his wife came up with a suggestion.

"How about we go to the beach after we finish touring the zoo? That will be fun, right?" she pinched his husband's arm, urging him to follow up after her.

"Oww. Yes, yes, will we go to the beach too."

That day, his parents tried their best to cheer him up, even Daphne tried her best with a kiss on his cheek. But, nothing really was enough to make him forget today's event.