A New Name, A New Face And A New Mission

Nezan (Nathan) Loken Cassidy POV: (In the future, it will just be Loken or Nezan)

"May you live in interesting times." This was a saying I found to be rather ominous as it was usually a prelude to having less than fortuitous encounters, especially when dealing with forces one could not hope to understand. 

Yet when I opened my eyes and did not find myself in my home or my bed, the reality began to set in. A mop of disheveled black hair and piercing green eyes stared at me within the small and cramped "room".

The room stunk of asbestos and droppings with only a tiny lightbulb casting any luminance in this dark hole, and within such light, I saw my new visage. Gone were the wrinkles and the scars, along with my former blue eyes and dirty blond hair, which, while mostly white and fading, was still present. The small and dirty mirror taped to the wall opposite me showed a new reality within its cracked surface.

Although the greatest loss was my beard, which I had cultivated for years, May it rest in peace and never be forgotten.

As I tried to gain my bearings, I heard a loud thud from above and a screeching laced tone shouting, "Wake up, you lazy! Daddy needs his breakfast now!" In all honesty, I was fully prepared to walk out of this cupboard that they call a room and smack the boy, as Mrs. Cassidy would kill us if we ever ordered her around like that. 

But I steady myself and crouch out of the room beneath the stairs, but as I am about to walk out, a mass of cloth and energy barreled down the hallway, causing me to have to go flat against the stairwell.

Walking towards what I assumed was the kitchen, I found an older woman with black hair staring at me with complete and utter hatred and disdain. Yet behind those eyes, I saw fear and utter and complete envy. But as I stared a bit too long, she smacked me with the rolling pin she was holding as she said in a distant tone of voice, "I need to prepare Duddykins cookies. You need to get the food ready. Now move, freak!"

The impact of the rolling pin left a small bruise on my right arm, but I obliged, still in a bit of a daze, or maybe I am just used to following orders. Thoughts for later, and as I cooked using the given materials, I decided on a classic English breakfast of mainly bacon, fried, poached or scrambled eggs, fried or grilled tomatoes, fried mushrooms, fried bread or buttered toast, and sausages. The smell wafted through the home as the child Dudley looked on with impatience and hunger.

Which I found to be quite hilarious as, with his current physique, he looked ready to explode. And I have nothing against people with a bit of meat on their bones, but his looks were horrid, and I immediately returned my focus to cooking the food. 

Luckily, the life skills perk I chose seemed to be coming in handy as I knew how to mix and match all of the ingredients. As well as the perfect temperature to cook the meat. And after a few minutes, another presence made himself known, and from Duddley to this mammoth, the distinction was nearly identical.

The mammoth of a man walked over to the table and sat down with the chair, giving an audible groan as he said in a loud tone, "The boss had been on my neck over the past few days. What does he expect? For me to sell my drills to ghosts. Bah! I should be in charge." 

As the man went on a tirade over his job, I placed the food in front of them, with each one of them eating like vultures. It's like I am looking at caricatures of humans, yet not at the same time.

But before I could eat my food, the boy Dudley took it from me, and nothing happened. They all go on as if this were normal, and as I speak, somewhat surprised by my own higher-pitched voice, "I ask that you return my food, Dudley." 

The boy shoves it all down his mouth, with Vernon shouting, "Be quiet, ingrate! You are lucky we are even feeding you at all! Now go to the gardens and trim the hedges. Mr. Morrison was complaining about them yesterday, and be quick about it! If those hedges don't resemble the palace's gardens, there will be no food for you at all!"

As I was about to protest, I stopped myself, not wanting to upset them further, and the fact that the backyard was fenced and had a relatively large shed, I remained silent and said, "Yes sir, right away." I smile internally at my acting skills as the three return to eating, and I walk outside. Even though the pause should have alerted them, it did not, strange.

The backyard of the home was well kept if not a bit barren, with basic bushes lining the fences and the flowers near the home being dead as it was November and the chilling winds nipped away all warmth and growth, and the sky was perpetually a muddled gray yet this was perfect as the families nearby work through most of the day.

The only caveat was that Harry attended a primary school called St. Gregory's, and that place was anything but saintly as, from my memories, each and every day that school gave Harry more bruises than a badly soured apple. 

I thank my lucky stars that due to Harry being a wizard, he was built of slightly sterner stuff. Speaking of which, I felt something calling to me from within, and no, it was not the need to use the bathroom.

A more spiritual feeling, and as I went into the shed, I stood in the center and closed my eyes. I spiritually walked toward the feeling, and I saw many things from the depths of my soul. From colors and stars to a veritable sea of light, yet in a far-off corner huddled amongst the beach I stood on was a creature with a humanoid shape. 

To be honest, it looked like an emancipated piece of bacon in the form of a human as it wheezed and coughed in utter and complete pain. I then kneeled down and looked it right in its dead red eyes.

"Not doing so good, huh, Tom? I would pity you, but looking at you now and knowing everything you have done, I despise you. You took everything from him, all in a vain effort to avert a prophecy you had caused. You were never meant to be born into this world, Tom, but don't worry, I will end the suffering soon. I can't have you ruin this magical world after all." The being tried to grab at me, but all I did was move back a bit, and it fell on the gray sand, wheezing and screeching in anger. 

Seeing the creature's struggles, I moved it away from me, and with a bit of effort, it was launched back into the hole formed by the scar on my forehead. As a former soldier, having the enemy living in your head is a rather bad deal, but I can't do anything about it now as my control over Magic is like a man wielding a gigantic hammer trying to hit a target blindfolded.

Magic, the very thought that I had Magic, almost made the very fact that I was here and not home almost bearable, and in that moment, I did something I had never done in my life. I prayed that whoever sent me here protects my family or anything else for that matter. I'm going to miss those kids, but who knows? Maybe I could make my way back, but for now, this was my new reality.

"I ask whoever sent me here to guard my family and watch over them as I cannot do, and should whoever sent me here do so, I shall be grateful." As I finished, I saw a flicker of light, and a small post-it note fell. As I went to pick it up, I saw what was written on it.

"Worry not for the past, for we are always watching." -YO/ LO. 

Ten words were enough to give me a small respite, but even though the cynic in me wants to question their validity, it would be pointless to do so as I am apparently dealing with forces from a fantasy. And from what my nieces and nephews say about such things, to question is to invite disaster from higher powers. I shall take heed of that advice for now, at least. 

Returning to my soul, I reached for the sea of light, and it answered quite violently, I might add, as the waves became as large as tsunamis and the beach was nearly flooded. The pure weight of the Magic literally forced me out of the Soul Space, and upon re-opening my eyes, I saw all the tools strewn about the shed. A light chuckle brings its way to my lips as the fact that I can wield magic sets in.

I now have a tool that can reconstruct the very fabric of reality, and instead of small tricks like guessing which card you have in your hand or making things disappear in a hat, I could eventually develop the ability to teleport and create vast arrays of spells. The future was looking bright until I remembered who I was, and I was promptly kicked from my proverbial high. The feeling felt similar to when I tried LSD on a dare and then came down.

All I can say is never do drugs, kids, as I woke up naked in an alleyway with the locals looking at me in what seemed like fear. I never was able to learn what I did during that high but later in life, I never really wanted to. But enough reminiscing, it's time to get to work. Firstly, I must work on my control as my spells seem to be overcharged due to the high amount of mana in my soul.

The first thing I learned in basic training was that control is the best thing one can have in battle, and for now, with my perks, I should be able to wrangle it in as it is but a part of myself. So, taking that advice, I try to pull at the Magic. 

Now, one must be thinking that I may alert the proper authorities due to underage usage of Magic, but it was confirmed that accidental usage of Magic during childhood is rather common, and at my age, it may come up as a nonessential on the radar.

If I am even on the trace, that is. Harry's multiple usages of Magic throughout his time in the Dursleys but was never approached by the Ministry of Magic throws up some red flags. Such thoughts bring questions to my mind about how and why my Magic seems so uncontrolled, even with my perks. 

I then decide to look deeper, diving into the sea of my Magic, and what I find infuriates me to no end. My Magic was atrophied and in disarray by various curses and charms.

While the charms and curses are not life-threatening, they would severely limit my potential, and from what I can vaguely sense, they are connected to something, and these spells feel like they have a trip wire. Specifically, if I tried to remove them without care, it may alert the one who put them on me, so it is yet another challenge for me.

It seems the drawback of Dumbledore's troubles is rearing its head as the spells were seemingly meant to keep my Magic under wraps so that other wizards and witches may not sense me, but it can be seen in other ways so that I may be hidden and slain in terms of my potential said I may be put under someone's thumb. 

The very thought brings both chills and anger to the surface, but I stamp them down. I mostly blame the fact that I am in a child's body and that my emotions are in such turmoil, but that is just an excuse. 

Luckily, I chose to get the mind of the jumper perk, which allows me to gain other's memories when I insert myself into them without being changed by their memories. To make a comparison, it's like being in a movie theater with only you being there to witness them. However, the ramifications that I may have killed this child will definitely weigh on me for times to come.

"Another war for another age. The only way out is up, so let us begin." I muttered to myself and began the laborious training as I needed to find some modicum of control before I could even think about casting a spell. In terms of time, I have one year before my Hogwarts letter is sent. 

So I need to study up as well. Life skills gave me knowledge on basic things, which is very useful as I know various future events with my days in modern-day America, but the perk itself has no esoteric benefits.

Merlin Returned will be my pack mule to carry me through this jump as it makes me a genius in Magic and learning said Magic. The effects on my amount of Magic have already been confirmed with the veritable sea of Magic, but I need to study those curses and charms to unlock my control. 

In terms of the beginning of a plan, if I can manipulate the structure of the curses and charms, I can straight up send them onto another item, which will not alert the person that the curses or charms have gone down, and I can simply keep the item on my person.

Luckily enough, with my youth returned, the one thing I definitely have a large amount of is time, and now all I need to do is practice. Although the thought does bring excitement to the various items, I can add to my collection, like the claws of dragons and the feathers of a phoenix. And the thought of owning my very own owl sounds fun.

So, as I stand in that backyard shed, I give Harry, whom I replaced, a promise to make his life one worth living. Even if it may be seen as redundant, it's the thought that counts. An invisible way to leaving my shoulders, I feel the spirit of Harry dissipate towards brighter lands. 

This world wanted a boy who lived well, and I will give it one. Like my nephew Rodney used to say, "It's time to speedrun."