1 Tenth Birthday

I laid on my back in a bed made of the softest material I had ever felt. Soft beds were a luxury that I couldn't afford in my past life. This bed is in a house made of a material I had never seen. Houses on my planet were built to withstand bombs and high-energy weapons.

Though the air smelt bad compared to what I was used to, I was pleasantly warm and the smell of bacon slowly took over.

I look around the room and find a large mirror atop a cherry oak dresser. Climbing out of bed, I walk over and see that I look exactly the same. My tanned skin, thick wavy black hair, and hazel eyes. However, my body is a lot weaker than in my past life. With that thought, memories began to flood my mind, and then I realized who I now was.

In this life, my name is now Cotton Hollow. I was adopted at 2 years old by a British Family. I was brought from New Zealand after my father left me in the hands of the New Zealand Ministry of Magic. I lived a good, normal life despite the reason behind my adoption. When I turned six years old, my magic emerged and strange things began to happen. It soon became our family's best-kept secret as I learned to control my power and live like a normal kid.

Suddenly the space in my room shifted and the Great Bitch God Akasha appeared. In all honesty, I hated this god and the games he liked to play with mortals and Gods.

"Tazmin Lexon, this a prerecorded message sent by a sliver of my being. Entering your dimension is just too risky. As I told you before, it's outside of my control. I'm sorry to say that Mira has died. When she was nine years old, she and her sister were kidnapped and Mira was killed in the crossfire during her rescue. I am deeply sorry. I assumed that all would be well until she awoke...But I was wrong...

As payment, the best I can do is give you information powerful enough to give you the best life. You have five minutes to get a notepad and pen. You can not record a video of me, but my voice will record."

I scrambled about, then ran downstairs, opened my father's briefcase, and took his tape recorder. The house naturally smelled like freshly cooked bacon, because both of my parents were asleep.

-Recording-

"Mira Archleon of the Commander Generals House was reborn as the youngest daughter of the Cho Family. A hereditary knight family in the British Wizarding World. This ranking was earned after six generations of hard work after immigrating to the British Wizarding World. Mel Beatly is in America, she was born as a nonmagical human being in a family of strong Native-American descent. Each of you was born on the same day of the same year. If everything went well, you are all currently ten years old. You will have to find her or leave her be, as your fate landed you in a world of trouble...

If you decide to find her, be sure to return to the United Kingdom, you will have time before your eleventh birthday to hone your magic. Now, this is the important part, Tazmin Lexon. You are a wizard, and you will receive a letter from Hogwarts, a school of witchcraft and wizardry. It is a very dangerous place in a very dangerous world. Especially, for a boy like you who is meant to be dead...

Before that happens, you will need to be ready. You will go to a place called Diagon Alley. There, you will go to Gringotts Wizarding Bank and ask for a female Goblin named Sharptooth. Ask her to contact the New Zealand branch and ask for a female Goblin named Agnuk, she is the account manager of the Hakopa Family, your family. You are the sole heir and because of the tribe system, British rule, and the war-like nature of your ancestors, you have the means to live a great life in the British Wizarding World. However, you will not reveal any of this to anyone except for Agnuk when she arrives. Privately. You know what legacy means to your people, it means the same in this world...

Agnuk will do a blood test and you will claim your vault and everything that is yours. It will help you and Mel if you choose. You will then get yourself a Familiar from 'Magical Menagerie'. You will buy books from 'Obscurus Books' and 'Second-hand book store'. You can find clothing from 'Twilfitt and Tattings', and when you are absolutely ready, you will find a man named Rufus Amos. He will craft a wand of your choosing. But the weapon of your house can be forged in Bulgaria by Henry Kazhoff...

The only thing I require of you is to learn the arts of Legilimency and Occlumency.

P.S. Stay away from the Potter boy, learn magic and non-magical languages, and Diagon Alley is accessible from London through the Leaky Cauldron, which is on Charing Cross Road, set between a bookshop and a record shop. In the back of the establishment is a brick wall, tap the bricks to open the way: from the rubbish bin, three up and two across.

P.P.S. Once again I am extremely sorry about your wife. Live well Tazmin Lexon, shall we never meet again.

-Recording ended-

My heart was broken about Mira. I know it sounds heartless, but I had to push Mel from my mind. During the Aegean System War, Mira and Mel had perished. When I followed, I petitioned Akasha to reincarnate us in the same world. To do that our karma was weighed and our fate would be unknown, even to him. And though Mel was still out there, it was best to leave her to her own fate. A normal life would be better than the war-torn life she lived previously.

I had played with their fates enough. In this life, I could do what I couldn't in the last, let her go.

It was my birthday today. With a bit of manipulation and deception, I managed to get my parents to take me to the city. We walked and I played the eager child. I then 'happened' upon something they could not see. With our family secret, it wasn't hard for them to believe.

Naturally, I took them into the Leaky Cauldron. Strange and curious, it was.

"Oh...It seems we have ourselves a young wizard. Muggle parents, I'll take it." The barkeep sang. "Diagon Alley is through the back, the door is already open and your new classmates are flooding the market. Enjoy!"

Taking off with wonder and deeply hidden caution entangled with deadly awareness, I walked into Diagon Alley, which caused my parents to nearly die of shock. I had no idea what I was doing, but I remained confident the entire time.

I walked around and then thought of my next move. I wanted Ice cream. Genius, right?

Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. The parlour was a small shop with places to sit down inside, and a small area outside with a bunch of tables and chairs. Inside, one could find lots of colorful ice cream on display. However, when we tried to order, our money was no good. The kind man then directed my parents to Gringotts Wizarding Bank for me.

The grandest building with large words that read 'Gringotts'. As my parents talked to a teller and listened to all the banking information, currency exchange, and conditions on which a client must abide to open a vault, I walked around with sparkling eyes and then found a teller of my own.

I did exactly as Akasha told me, and an hour later I was the heir to a family that I was never a part of and a very rich man, even by wizard standards. I also inherited the title Marquess of Stornoway and Uist. When my parents were shocked and had many questions, my responses led Agnuk to sow a story of deception by telling only half of the truth.

Sitting in a private room with the highest level of security, Agnuk began with candor, "Cotton Hollow, as you've named him. Was put up for adoption in the non-magical world per New Zealand's child protection protocol. Meaning, he is an heir of a family that has a blood feud so strong that authorities would rather have the family die out to save lives. This program is centered around the children rejoining the wizarding world as first-generation wizards with no knowledge of their legacy."

"But would their enemies just look for them?" My father asked.

"Mmm, a crime of the highest degree." Agnuk replied honestly, "Once placed in the program, all information is sealed and blood feuds are considered void, being that if only a child remains, then the other side naturally won and claimed all of the child's legacy anyway. Searching for the boy means a person is bloodthirsty and not guided by retribution."

"But you told us that Cotton has a lot of assets. How'd you find him and how is that possible if his family was killed off?" My mother inquired.

Agnuk chuckled. "His father abused the system. He did something that wizards never thought of."

"What was that?" my father asked.

"He blew himself up along with his enemies during a planned parley. As for how I found him," Agnuk eyed me and I forcibly blinked many times. "His father gave me a blood totem. The moment he walked into Gringotts, his blood connected to his vault and the vault to my totem. I then came running."

"Hmm, that must be special to important wizards, the one goblin didn't tell us anything about that." my mother murmured.

"Only the higher ranking families have them to ensure the continuation of bloodlines." Agnuk lied. It was completely made up. I called her and she was covering for me.

As the conversation went on, Agnuk called me the Prince of Conquest. Heir to a House of Conquest. She explained that the Houses of Conquest made their wealth through adventure, duels, and outright war. Ancient houses of North and South America, Norsemen, Polynesians, Romans, and Egyptians had many Houses of Conquest. Most extinct and their assets lost or reclaimed by other parties.

The New Zealand Branch of Gringotts is small considering it was once a territory of Great Britain. so Agnok transferred to the main branch, as I was her sole account, and was better for me if no one in New Zealand knew she was active again. As my manager, she explained to my parents that had some rituals to undergo to claim my inheritance. Of course, this was a rouse to get me alone. She then led me to another room.

"Wizards are so deceitful. But in your case, I understand," she said, "How do you know your family? How did you know to look for me?"

"You're my account manager. What are your duties and level of loyalty to me?" I asked, ignoring her line of questioning.

"I protect and manage your vault and all assets registered with Gringotts. Secret properties and wealth are out of my control. I make sure the right money is coming in and the right money is going out. Finer details are handled by you. But your family is easy. Their method of earning was conquest. Businesses once acquired were quickly sold off. And I'm loyal to the Goblin Nation first, my client second, and there is no third."

"Good, then just know that someone has found a way to inform me of what's mine. When we get back I need you to do something for me to appear as if you're introducing me to the magical world. Also, need all of my banking information and I'll send a script when I have time." I told her.

"A script?" she asked.

"You know, bulk money. You do a job for me, I give you… a note, saying that you can take a certain amount of...Galleons, from my account."

"Now you're talking Gobbledygook," she smirks devilishly. " What do you need me to do, little wizard? And how much are you paying me?"

I told her what I needed. When we rejoined my parents, she brought me a list of books for all seven years of Hogwarts, Magical Creatures suitable for war, Wand lore, Clothing Enchantments, History, Peerage system, and Bloodlines. She then gave me a list of assets registered with Gringotts and Vault statements.

Finally, Agnok gave me a magical wallet connect to my vault and 'Muggle' or Human money, a sum of 100,000 British pounds, all of which was placed in a muggle bank under my parents' names.

Sometime later, my parents and I stood in the middle of Diagon Alley and my parents looked around with childlike wonder now that they better understood the world they were in. I audibly cleared my throat and they looked down at me.

"How can you not be amazed about all of this?" my father asked me.

"Because I can't help wondering that my biological father may have missed a few enemies," I explained bluntly. I appreciated the wealth, but the trouble was bound to follow and it was on my mind.

"ahh... yeah... I'm still getting used to the whole Heir of a magic mafia thing." my father replied, jokingly. "Son, you can't forget that you're also the Marquess of Stornoway and Uist."

"I don't even know where that is," I told him.

"Scotland. I'll take you there when all of this is behind us."

My mother giggled a bit haughtily and said, " I always knew you were special Cotton. I even told your father. Now, look, a wizard of a prominent family. Even when your magic was first expressed, I wasn't surprised."

"Haa! Wasn't surprised? Your mother nearly burnt down the house. A fire ignited the grease, she dropped the pan and it ended with the entire kitchen being remodeled. She was shocked out of her mind. I picked you up and ran from the kitchen." My father shot her story full of holes as I chuckled at the level-headed couple that playfully bickered in the middle of a crowded market.

I guess after raising me, there isn't much these two can't handle anymore.

"Now, let's get what you need while we're here. I'll go back to the...' Muggle' world?" he paused.

I nodded my head and he put on a prideful smile.

"I'll go back to the Muggle World and make some calls and plans to make sure we're safe. Vanessa, stay the boy and keep him out of trouble." my father finished, kissed my mother, then patted me on the head.