New life and Old friends

As Olly swung open the door to his cramped cupboard, he was greeted by the sight of a big, blonde-haired man with a matching mustache. The man's hefty frame barely fit in the narrow space, and his outfit—an oversized coat and a beret-style hat—only added to his imposing presence.

"Who do you think you are, boy?!" the man bellowed, his voice echoing off the walls of the tiny room.

But Olly, unfazed by the man's bluster, simply tuned him out. With a roll of his eyes, he decided to have a bit of fun. Channeling his inner military general, Olly adopted a commanding tone that cut through the man's tirade.

"SOLDIER!" he boomed, his voice resonating with authority. "On guard! Identify yourself, soldier!"

The man, taken aback by Olly's sudden change in demeanor, straightened up and cleared his throat nervously. "Sir, Private Vernon Dursley, reporting for duty, sir!" he stammered, his voice cracking slightly as he offered a clumsy salute.

Not many folks knew this, but in this wacky version of the Harry Potter universe, the Second World War happened a bit later than usual. And guess what? Vernon Dursley, of all people, actually saw some action in it! Can you believe it? But once the war ended, ol' Vernon decided to retire from the soldier gig and trade in his uniform for a lifetime supply of chocolate biscuits. He hadn't lifted a finger since, unless it was to grab another snack or change the channel on the telly.

Yet, despite his best efforts to embrace a life of leisure, Vernon's military past still lingered somewhere deep in his subconscious, like a stubborn stain on a well-loved shirt. So, when faced with the unexpected authority of Olly's booming voice, Vernon's dormant instincts kicked into gear faster than you could say "chocolate pudding." With a reflexive salute and a muttered grumble about never getting back in shape, he unwittingly stumbled back into the ranks of soldierhood, if only for a moment.

With a mischievous grin spreading across his face, Harry, or Ollie as we'll call him from now on, began to scheme. Before the fat blob could regain his composure, Ollie once again bellowed in the same authoritative voice, only louder this time, his veins standing out prominently on his neck in the dim light of the cupboard.

"SOLDIER!" he roared, pointing accusingly at Vernon's protruding belly. "What a disgrace you are! Give me 20!"

With a flash of PTSD, Vernon dropped to the ground and attempted to perform a push-up with all the fervor of a man fighting against the tide of his own memories. His arms trembled under the weight of his own bulk as he strained to lift himself off the floor, his face contorted in a grimace of effort.

With a mischievous grin on his face, Harry strolled into the kitchen, finding his cousin Dudley, or as he liked to call him, Maggot Jr., stuffing his face with a stack of hotcakes.

Without much thought, Ollie casually strolled out of the house and into the wilderness, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. With each step, he felt a sense of liberation wash over him, as if the weight of his previous life had been lifted from his shoulders.

"Huh, guess that was one of this body's traumas," Ollie muttered to himself, a wry smile playing on his lips. "Poor kid must have suffered a lot for his body to retain the trauma like that. Meh, guess I'll get back at them someday."

He thought, running for maybe 20 miles into the seemingly endless forest near the park before he stopped, panting harshly and sweat covering his tattered old shirt.

"But right now, I need more sustenance, and I need to train this body a little before the Hogwarts letter arrives. If it will ever arrive. As I don't even know if this world Harry Potter is actually a wizard, or if wizards actually exist in this world. But I could bet my money on the fact that it actually exists."

Ollie's intuition wasn't only based on luck. It was actually the fact that he could feel something like an orb of energy inside his body, which he guessed was a mana core. But, like all children, it didn't actually awaken yet. He didn't really have much experience with the Harry Potter lore, but he actually knew a few things from retaining all the knowledge from the source, including the common knowledge of fans, like the fact that some people theorize that in Harry Potter, the mana core actually matures at the age of 11, and that's why they send letters from Hogwarts at that age.

Olly decided, with determination flaring in his bright green eyes, that before the letter arrives, he's going to make this body at least up to the standards he had when he fought the mid-level monsters in the Savage Lands. (By the way, the mid-level monsters in his past life were like 5 or 6 times stronger than the strongest dragon in the Harry Potter franchise...have fun with that thought 😇😈)

Suddenly hearing a feral growl, Ollie turns around, and finds himself face to face with a gigantic, mighty, muscular, gray bear.

As Ollie locks eyes with the bear, instead of ignoring him or giving him an annoyed glance like he usually does, he feels a wave of nostalgia wash over him. There's something about the bear's presence that feels familiar, as if they've crossed paths in another lifetime. Intrigued and curious, Ollie takes a step closer to the bear, his senses tingling with anticipation.

After locking eyes for about ten seconds, they both let out their aura. Despite overpowering the bear's aura with his own, Olly smirked confidently, feeling a sense of connection and respect with the powerful creature before him.

After overpowering the bear with his aura, Ollie surprises the bear by speaking to him in his mother tongue, using low growls and soft roars. Asking him, "So, what's your name, big fella?" The bear, flabbergasted by Ollie's ability to communicate in bear language, hesitates before asking, "Are you a bear in disguise?"

Suddenly, Ollie's expression froze, and without warning, he leaned too far forward, losing his balance in a comical fashion. With a loud "thud," he faceplanted onto the ground, his arms flailing out to the sides and his legs kicking up before flopping back down. Instantly breaking the tension.

Ollie: "Brutus, you stupid dunce, is that you?"

Bear: "Bro, is that you?"

Ollie: "I knew I recognized that aura, it's you, isn't it, Brutus?"

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To be continued