Chapter 5 – Coming to grips with Reality

There are many things that I had not given much thought to, yet. Is this world even the same as the one described in the books? Is Harry the Chosen One in this world? Or was he abandoned by the Potters because he had some twin that was hailed as the Boy Who Lived and they forgot about him? Are the Potters actually dead? Is Neville the one Prophesied One? Still, all these questions could be answered easily enough in the future. 

But there are some other questions that are not so easily answerable. How did I become Harry Potter? How did I come in this world in the first place? Was this the work of some Higher being that got bored and decided to play with Harry's life and mine for entertainment? Am I really Harry Potter, who got memories of my previous life? 

That would mean that I died at just 18 years of age. But that doesn't seem plausible, because I have no memories of Harry's life until now, nor was I unhealthy enough to drop dead at such age in the middle of the night. That would mean that I, or rather my soul or consciousness was plucked out of my body and put into Harry's. But then, what happened? Did Harry die, and I was chosen to take his place? 

Or did we both die, and I was reincarnated in his body the moment he died? But then, the question arises, how did I die, or is my body is still alive, and I am in my world lying comatose? Even if I managed to somehow get the answer to any of these, there still remains the question, do I even want to return, back to my world? 

The truth is, I am very conflicted about what to do. It seems that I am being pulled in two directions. On one hand, I am able to live my dream, to be in the magical world of Harry Potter. Sure, this world has its ups and downs, and there will be considerable danger in the upcoming years, it still doesn't change the fact that this world is magical. I literally have the power to bend the reality to my whims on my fingertips. Nothing can really top this experience in the world.

On the other hand, I have my family to think about. My family is still going through the financial crisis, and my parents have given up on their dreams for me, in hopes that I would be able bring my family out of the financial crisis. Even though I have a younger brother, I know that he won't able to shoulder all the responsibilities on his own. If I am coma in my world, it would put a lot of strain on my family, not only financially, but also on my parents, especially on my mother, and I don't think she will be able to handle it, and neither could my father or brother.

After lying on the bed for who knows how long, and thinking about my situation, I finally came to a conclusion. I would still prepare myself as Harry and learn all the magic I can, so I can survive the upcoming ordeals in the following years. On the side, I would have to study some topics on my own, to find a solution to my problems. I don't think muggle humans would be able to help me with this, and in the magic community, if the wrong people got the wind about my condition, the Unspeakables would be the least of my problems, so I can't tell anyone about it. It looks like I am on my own in this.

It doesn't really matter that I won't have any help in this though, I have worked on many projects for a long time on my own without any help, this would be the same, just with difficulty level amped up to max times two.

With these thoughts and a wry but content smile, I finally fell asleep…

The next day when I woke up, I was filled with a sense of determination of the likes that I had never experienced. I knew that I had to do everything in my power to improve myself, to literally ensure my survival and eventual return. With a nod to myself, I got up and completed the morning rituals, and had the excellent breakfast that Tinky created. 

While eating, I thought about how similar and different the original Harry and I would be in our personalities, actions and other things now that I had the knowledge of the future. Going along that line, I suddenly had the inspiration to note down every single important event from every year, no matter how small or big, it may have been. It would help me to notice any deviation from the timeline, and also to avoid any future events that are too troublesome. 

After thanking Tinky for the breakfast, and asking about the status of Dursleys, who still hadn't returned, I returned to my room and started to write down every single thing that I could remember from the books. All the major and minor event that happened, the most accurate date of occurrence, and all of the characters related to that particular event, and any of their actions that led to the events, or their participation in the event. I basically wrote the entire book itself. It was nine in the morning when I started on this project and by the time it was dinner, after a full twelve hours of working, with only bathroom and lunch breaks, I was barely able to complete it till the second book. 

After dinner, I didn't start with the notes of the third book, but just reviewed the previous notes. After another two hours of reviewing the notes, and adding a few things here and there, I was really exhausted. I called for Tinky, and asked her to take me to the clearing. Again, the same process was repeated, and this time, I bonded to another sixty-four elves. After explaining the rules to the new 'members' of the family, I returned with Tinky and bid her goodnight. I took the notebook containing the notes, hid it under the mattress of the bed, and fell asleep a few minutes later.

It took me a complete week to finish all the notes, and another two days to proofread through everything, and add more points. The Dursleys had returned on the third day, and seemed desperate to avoid me at every turn, not that I minded; I had no use for them, for now at least. In the meanwhile, I had added a total of another 148 house elves to the Potter family. After recruiting so many free elves in the past week, it was becoming harder and harder to find more. As I was relaxing after completing the notebook, suddenly, a scenario came to mind: what would happen if I was taken back to my world without any doing on my part, and Harry's soul came back? 

Although it was unlikely to happen, I still thought it would be prudent to take action for it. When, or rather if, Harry comes back, he won't be able to understand the sudden changes in his life around him. Also, I wanted to help him, I mean who doesn't want their hero to succeed? So, I decided to write a letter to a future Harry's self, explaining everything to him, so he could have some edge in the future. 

But before I do that, I need to learn about the history of this world. I have to check whether this world is same as the books, or some kind alternate reality. 

"Tinky?" I called out for her. Tinky popped in the room and bowed as she asked, "Master called for Tinky?" I nodded at her as I motioned for her to take a seat at the chair. She looked a bit uncomfortable but still took it, her feet dangling in the air. Looks like my conditioning has started to take place, but still has to go a long way. 

"Yes Tinky, I wanted to ask you something. Tell me, you were alive during the last war against You-Know-Who, weren't you?" I did not say Voldemort's name out loud, out of precaution; I have no idea whether the Taboo on that name is active or not. Tinky's eyes widened at the mention of the war, but still nodded shakily.

 I nodded and asked, "Alright, tell me, the Halloween night when You-Know-Who attacked my house and died, did either of my parents survive that night?" "No master, as much as I heard, you be the only who survived that night." Tinky answered in a shaky voice. "Which means I was called the Boy-Who-Lived?" Tinky nodded again. "Alright, and another thing, was the Longbottom family also attacked?" Tinky thought for a moment and then answered, "Yes master Harry, during the war, I remember my previous master be talking about that, that Longbottom was attacked." 

I nodded, thought for a while, and asked, "Alright, last thing, was Sirius Black also arrested and sent to Azkaban?" Tinky nodded immediately, "Yes Master, I remember. Sirius Black was arrested for betraying your parents, Master, and for killing Master's parents' friend Pettigrew." She nodded as her ears drooped. I nodded and told her, "Alright, thank you, Tinky. That was helpful. Can you get some snacks started?" Tinky nodded her head eagerly, dropped to the floor and popped out. 

'At least the world looks familiar to the books. But I don't have any idea if the future would remain the same. I'll need to keep an eye out for it. Fortunately, I have a literal battalion of house-elves at my disposable to whatever I want.' 

So, I sat at the table and started to think about what all I would write in the letter to future Harry. And after two hours and a half-hour, while munching on snacks that Tinky prepared, the letter was done, and looked like this…

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x- 

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