Chapter 20: Truth

Looking at the potion vial sat on my desk I sighed deeply. It took a lot of trial and error to make this potion. Whilst I was practicing magic, fortifying my mind with occlumency and enhancing my magic capacity with that self-harming method I would still dedicate a few hours every week in an attempt to make this potion.

I only had 20 tries for such a potion however it wasn't impossible, it's just that I wanted to make the best version of the potion that had a 100% success rate in helping Nana. Sat in front of me was that exact potion. Whilst it only took me a few months to get the hang of making the potion needed this one was a culmination of working on every little detail within the procedure until it was literally followed to by the book. I then started to 'tweak' a few things here and there as I read into more potion books and cross referenced.

Now I had the potion though it felt like there was a weight on my shoulders. Nana and Melony were already suspicious enough of the fact Nana had been feeling better randomly every couple of months. If I slip this into a drink, or get Nana to drink it I will definitely be questioned. However…

"Maybe I'm just being selfish…"

Looking in the mirror I looked at my now 9 year old self. 4 years spent here was a short time compared to my 21 years in my previous life, however I felt much more alive in this life. I cherished every moment as much as I could and I wanted to do the right thing for the most part so I could live without any regrets this time around. Initially I planned on never mentioning to Nana and Melony about the wizarding world as I instantly believed that the knowing would lead them to danger. The thing is though the opposite was also true.

If I didn't tell them, if I kept them in the dark, then they wouldn't even know what could come for them and what to do in that situation. Alongside that I was slowly forming a plan to chase Merlin's legacy as the questions piled up this year about what sort of man he was after the Gringott's vault visit. With this goal in mind, I may not always be able to return back to here, to New Leaf. I had already pained them enough disappearing for a night, if I were to vanish for months with no explanation they may both be overcome with stress.

It was my own selfish desire that wanted to keep them in the dark. They had a right to know the dangers that came with housing me. I was afraid of the response though. What if Melony and Nana suddenly see me as some sort of demon? What if they think I'm just crazy and bring the doctor around? There's many ways this could go and in all honesty I was scared of the outcome.

I couldn't just sit still though, I had to steel myself. I wouldn't sneak this potion into Nana's drink like I planned. I would give it directly to her and explain to them both everything. This decision may end up putting them in more danger than if I didn't explain, it could even end up causing a rift in this relationship I cherished, but I felt as though they had a right to know considering the hospitality they had shown me up to this point.

Looking out the window I noticed that it was getting dark, night time arising. This would usually be around the time Nana and Melony would be downstairs alone chatting.

Standing up I walked over to the vial and grabbed it, shoving it in my pocket. Packing up all the different items in my room into the pouch on my side I headed out of my room and headed downstairs to the common room area…

.

Looking downstairs I saw Nana and Melony in their usual spots. Nana in the kitchen, Melony sat down. Recently as Melony got older though she started to take on a more 'admin' role in the orphanage. The younger she would have sat with a cup of tea doing nothing but natter to Nana. Now however she had different papers scattered in front of her, documents to sign and things to file out.

I slowly headed down the stairs with anxiousness filling my belly. As I got to the bottom I saw Melony's gaze wander over to me. The silent treatment that she stuck on me had long disappeared since I returned after vanishing overnight a year ago.

"If it isn't our Oz. What brings you down here at a time like this?"

My expression was flat as Melony spoke to me, Nana then poked her head around the corner as she heard Melony mention my name. As I saw her poke her head out I saw her kind grin as she spoke.

"Did you come down for a light night tea? Maybe a snack?"

I shook my head as I stared at Nana deeply then to Melony. It was finally time.

"I have something I need to tell you both. It will probably clear some things up"

Melony and Nana both exchanged glances before nodding at me. Nana finished cleaning up and brewed us 3 cups of tea as we sat down at the coffee table in the common room area. I looked over at both of them, not knowing where to begin. I took in a large breath as both look at me with expectance in their eyes and I began to speak.

"Nana, Mel, are you aware of the existence of witches and wizards in our world?"

Both looked at me dubiously, seemingly confused by my statement.

"Although it's something that only resides in story books normally, it's a real community that exists in the underbelly of this world. Magic is real and it does exist. It sounds crazy mentioning it, heck you probably already think in your heads I'm delusional however I guess it's better to show you rather than to speak about it…"

Reaching into my pocket I pulled out the now familiar to me Oak Wood wand and pointed it up to the sky. Both Melony and Nana watched wordlessly, staring at the wand. I flicked the wand gently whilst softly uttering;

"Lumos"

The tip of the wand started to glow illuminating the dully lit common room. I saw both Nana and Melony's expression warp into shock as I did this. As much as they stared they noticed it couldn't be a trick, it was real.

"This is magic. I realised I had this ability when I was 5. If you remember that event where my room was tattered and I was passed out that was me awakening the magic inside me. Ever since then I have tried to seek out this magic and how to use it. It wasn't until a few years later that I would find out there was an entire world based around it"

I was starting to throw some lies in there, however I didn't want to fully come clean about a previous life also. That to me was a taboo secret.

"When Nana collapsed I ran out of this place hoping to find something to help her. When I felt stranded I was picked up by a wizarding transport system that took me to Diagon Alley a place where I could buy wizarding supplies and such. I spent a day there looking for things to help Nana and I also discovered more details about myself along the way… but we will get to that later"

I reached into my other pocket and pulled out a vial, placing it in front of Nana.

"I have spent the last year making this for you Nana to heal your internal illnesses and injuries. This potion will not only heal you but help you live on for longer. It's completely up to you whether you trust my words on all this-"

Before I could even finish my sentence Nana grabbed the vial and took the cork off, drinking the entire thing. I looked on in shock at this wilful woman. Melony to the right gave a sly smile as she looked at Nana then to me. Nana seemed to shiver for a moment as the potion entered her body, if I assumed correctly she would be feeling a warm medicinal feeling flowing down throughout her body right now... After that feeling subsided and the slight shiver stop she just looked at a me with a smile.

"It seems you've had a lot on your mind little Oz. Did you think something like this would make us dislike you? See you as a monster? I already saw you as a monster!"

Melony started to laugh as she made that comment. I sat bewildered as Nana added onto the statement. She came over to me after drinking the potion and put her hand on my head.

"You told us a year ago you'd never do anything to harm us. I took those words to heart and trusted them. I understood since when you were 5 that something change, as if you realised something. It pained me that you wouldn't tell me however I wanted you to decide for yourself in the end instead of forcing the answer. You telling both me and Mel this shows that you truly care for us and for that I'm thankful Oz"

She pulled me into her embrace and I felt myself shake a little. I never showed emotions. Even when I was depressed, sad and angry I would usually bury the bad emotions deep down showing a shallow cold expression. Nana and Melony however seemed to have the ability to bring these buried emotions to the surface…

"Wait if you are a wizard Oz does that mean we can do the cleaning faster now!?"

Melony seemed to break the tension as she asked such a 'Melony-like' question. I laughed as I decided to give them more background into what wizards were.

"Wizards live under the blanket of society hidden away from the public or as they call people like you, Muggles. Normally I would be reprimanded for even telling you two this information and especially so for casting a spell in your presence however I have ways to dodge that for now"

"So there's rules and such… that makes sense"

Nana seemed to put her hand on her chin thinking about the rules and regulations behind wizarding governance. Melony on the other hand seemed disappointed I couldn't just use my spells to clean around the Orphanage faster.

"Anyway Oz you mentioned you discovered details about yourself in this 'Diagon Alley'. What did you find out?"

I bit my lip a bit before starting to explain.

"In Diagon Alley there's a place called Gringotts. It's the wizarding bank, a place to store a wizards riches. I used it to transfer money from British pounds to wizarding currency. Whilst I was there though I decided to try out a bloodline test to see what family I could be connected to in the wizarding world. I found out that I was connected to… Merlin"

Both Nana and Melony's eyes widened in shock again as they looked at me.

"Merlin? You mean the Merlin from storybooks? That wizard Merlin is your ancestor?!"

Melony seemed to be incredibly shocked by the news as she couldn't rap her head around it. Nana on the other hand took a more analytical approach as she spoke out.

"So this bloodline test is like an ancestry test… Merlin is someone I've only heard about when reading storybooks for the young children here. You are connected him?"

I nodded as I began to explain more.

"There's no mistaking it, I'm connected to Merlin. This wand here in my hand is actually Merlin's that I found in his vault left deep underground at Gringotts. The only reason why I mentioned this to you is that even in the wizarding world Merlin is seen as a grand figure. Due to this, it's possible I'll be rolled up in some things down the line…"

I saw some worry grow in Nana and Melony's eyes as they started to realise where the conversation was headed.

"Due to me being connected to Merlin it's safe to say I will belong in the wizarding world when I'm taken to it at age 11. I plan on seeking out his legacy fully when I'm there which means… I may become distant from this place from time to time. I'll still send letters and stuff, it's just… this is something I need to do else Ill regret it"

Is saw Melony wanting to say something however Nana stopped her. Nana then stood up and crouched in front of me.

"Your mind is set it seems. It's up to you to search for what you want in this world. Just remember that no matter where you go, what troubles arise and what things you go through you will always have a place here in this orphanage to come back to"

Hearing Nana's words I looked over to Melony who smiled at her grandmothers words. I felt a single tear escape my eye and drop onto my lap hearing these words. They were the only words I wanted to hear when I decided on doing this. Knowing that I had a place to return to would mean I wouldn't feel so alone out in the wizarding world even if I spent a long time away from here there would always be a place for me to come back to.

"Thank you…"

"What are you thanking us for brat? It's only natural I looked after my little brother and Nana looks after her grandson~"

I looked up at Melony after hearing her comment and gave her and Nana both a bright smile, probably the brightest I had ever made in this life.

I was truly grateful that these two were the ones to welcome me to this world…

.

After the events of that night, time passed by quickly. Nana seemingly healed up due to the potion I had brewed for her and left the doctor stumped seeing her in such good condition. Since I admitted to Nana and Melony early that I was a wizard instead of hiding the information, they actually arranged a place for me to practice magic and understood more when I wanted to head out to the forest. It was shocking honestly how quickly they accepted this fact however it showcased how much they cared for me.

Since I had made this leap of faith I needed to make sure I had the power now to support them if something did happen. I needed to grow to a point where this place I was able to come back to whenever I felt lost would be intact and safe when I came back.

A couple of years passed as I focused on training myself more and more. With Nana and Melony looking out for me as well, it became easier to get more training in. I felt myself get a handle on most of the basic spells in the first volume of the standard book of spells. My capacity was still growing even when I did the brutal breathing method training and finally my Occlumency ability were slowly following behind too, growing steadily. They weren't anything special however I doubted that anyone could immediately invade my mind, I would at least know if someone tried at this point.

Time passed like this until one day I came downstairs in the middle of summer and looked towards the common room area to see Nana and Melony sat down with smiles. As I approached them, Nana held up a letter with a smile on her face. She threw it over to me and I caught it in my grasp.

Looking down at the letter I saw it was addressed to me, 'Oz Osbourne'. Looking on the back I saw a familiar stamp that sealed the letter. A shield with four animals, a letter H placed in the middle. It was the letter all kids dreamed of getting in my previous life.

It was my letter to Hogwarts.