For Family...

September 1977.

New Hope Orphanage, London.

"House-elves? Any free House-elves out there?"

Alex called out while sitting in an empty library early in the morning. He'd been sitting there ever since he got up from bed two hours ago, trying out all the tricks, ideas, and even the plot armor usually associated with the reincarnated protagonists of novels that he'd read about in his last life.

"Come here to me~. Get a master for yourself~."

He singsonged. He had tried a lot of them in the past two hours. So desperate he was in his attempt to acquire something, anything to help him with the current crisis that he'd even tried ideas from novels and fan-fictions that had nothing to do with the world of wizards he'd found himself in. After all, it wouldn't hurt to try.

"I promise I'll never give you clothes or pay you unless you want me to~."

He had tried calling out to some system, even a Grandpa or someone else would have been fine, hoping for something to respond and got nothing out of it. He'd tried searching for some memories, not of his own, hoping that he'd somehow devoured the soul of some injured grand sorcerer or whatever strong entity while reincarnating in this world. He'd searched every nook and cranny of the library hoping to find some secret or profound sounding, weathered-looking ancient tome or a grimoire, consisting of some arcane arts long forgotten. He'd even gone to the kitchen, found a knife, and lightly pricked his finger to check the color of his blood.

'That had hurt a bit'

He thought, hopefully waiting for some house-elf to pop-up at any moment. He knew he was acting a bit desperate, even a bit moronic…

'NO, make that a lot.'

But, in his defense, the situation called for it. There was a chance, however minuscule, that some bored death eater could attack the orphanage, or even assault Sarah while she was in London. He couldn't leave anything to chance; he'd learned that lesson by experience. After all, weren't his chances of dying in a pandemic almost, statistically speaking, negligible? He'd still died though.

And it wasn't as if he was wrong in trying out to find some sort of cheat; after all, every reincarnated individual in those stories he'd read, did have something or someone, even luck, to depend on in case things got rough. With him being reincarnated in a world he previously thought of as a work of fiction, the thought that he too might have obtained some sort of cheat shouldn't be too farfetched.

Right?

He understood the fact that he shouldn't place much hope in finding some easy way to power, and the fact that he wasn't some protagonist of a novel, a figment of someone's imagination; he was, depending on perspective, just a lucky, or rather an unlucky soul that somehow transferred to another reality. And the one thing he could, without hesitation, claim about any reality is that it is often disappointing.

The fact that everything he'd tried until then gave no results, ascertained that claim.

"If there is any free house-elf, please come here."

He called for the last time. When he got no response after waiting for a while, he sighed in disappointment. This method was possibly the most likely candidate to succeed. Perhaps it was better for him to prepare for alternate solutions after all.

He raised a book kept on the cloth-covered, wooden table in front of him, and scratched out another possible cheat from the list placed underneath that he'd made when he had first entered the library early in the morning. He noticed that almost all the usual tropes, often associated with reincarnated individuals, had already been crossed out. All the ones left were either too moronic to even try or simply impossible to perform.

He couldn't just push himself 'over the limit' or force himself into life or death scenarios in order to 'ignite his hidden potential' without at least confirming that magic would passively heal his wounds and leave no damage behind. That would be plain stupidity. He was desperate alright, but not to the point of stupidity. He was planning to ensure his family's safety in the worst-case scenario, which may not even happen. If he were to die in attempting some sort of stupid, unverified method instead of some fight against death eaters, he would be so ashamed to even show his face that even the resurrection stone might fail in finding his soul.

Don't even get started on finding some 'mysterious ruins' to get some hidden ability or becoming the heir to Merlin himself. As a five-year-old kid, he couldn't go further than two blocks without at least ten adults questioning the absence of an adult escort, and another one or two offering him candies while trying to bring him back to 'home'. He could do without such nuisance, thank you.

Even his neighborhood was as normal as they come. Well, normal-normal of course, not the future Dursleys' kind. Here, the gossip of the week would be about how some Mr. XYZ, living two blocks away, sprained his ankle while running away from a dog.

"It seems I've to do it the hard way…"

He told himself as he once again covered the list he'd made with the open book kept on the table. He couldn't let someone else read the list; he was fine being called quirky, not insane. Truth hurts sometimes.

Feeling a phantom strain in his back due to sitting in the same posture for quite some time, as he tried everything he could think of, and found nothing to show, he interlocked his fingers, stretched his arms upwards as much as possible, with his palms facing towards the ceiling, and groaned. Feeling a dull pain in one of the fingers made him remember the wound he'd made about an hour ago. He pulled back his arms and observed the wound on his left-hand forefinger.

"Huh…"

He was surprised to find that the wound looked like it'd been made a day or two ago already. By his estimation, it could even heal completely by dusk. His desperation had unexpectedly given him confirmation of passive healing abilities provided by magic. Even if it wasn't an instant recovery, it provided him with opportunities that were almost unthinkable for those without magic to obtain.

Lost in his pleasant discovery, he didn't notice the opening of the library's door, nor did he notice when someone walked to his side.

"Alex?"

Surprised by the sudden voice calling his name, he let out a squeak. Looking up, he found himself looking into the familiar warm brown eyes of Sarah that were currently showing concern, relief, happiness, and a plethora of other emotions on seeing him awake. Still slightly lost in his thoughts, he just stared.

"When did you wake up? How are feeling now? Why are you sitting here instead of staying in your bed?"

She asked rapidly, causing him to break out of his stupor.

"I'm feeling fine, Sarah. I just woke up really early and came to the library as no one else was awake."

Alex replied with a smile that he thought was bright.

In response, Sarah just scrutinized him from top to bottom, as if she could detect anything wrong with him through just a look. She glanced at the book kept on the table in front of him before abruptly hugging him, putting his head near her abdomen, with her arms wrapped around it.

Even though Alex was surprised by the sudden gesture, he hugged her back. They kept hugging even as she began stroking his head affectionately.

"Are you really feeling fine?"

She asked again, still combing through his hair.

"Mmm…"

He just gently nodded, basking in the familial warmth she almost radiated.

They remained in the same position for several minutes as he drew comfort as well as determination from the hug. After a few moments, the hands stroking his head were gently placed on his shoulders, as Sarah drew back from the hug, causing him to look up. She stared into his eyes and asked a question he wasn't prepared for.

"What happened to you in London yesterday?"

"Nothing. I was just really really tired"

Caught by surprise, he answered quickly. Perhaps a little too quickly if the slight narrowing of her eyes were any indication.

'Oops…'

She just kept on looking into his eyes, hoping to somehow force out a real answer from him, even as he stared back, trying to look as innocent as he could. When she didn't get the answer she was hoping for, she just sighed wearily even as she sat beside him on the bench.

"You do know that you can tell me anything, right?"

Without even expecting a response, she continued just as gently as she began.

"When you suddenly fainted yesterday, it worried me, Alex. You looked like you'd seen something like a ghost. I'd never seen you afraid before yesterday, you know that? I've seen you getting happy, excited, sad, irritated, and I've even seen your face when you're planning something naughty, but never afraid. I was even a little proud about it, you know? After all, which mother wouldn't be proud of having such a brave son?"

Hearing Sarah calling him as her son for the first time made Alex's eyes tear-up a bit. Even though he thought of her as an elder sister, he couldn't tell her that. All that mattered to him was that she too thought of him as a family. Sarah, on the other hand, seemed like she didn't notice and continued talking.

"The thought of something frightening you to the point of fainting, scared me even as it angered me. No one gets to scare my son and walk away with it. But I couldn't even find something to vent my anger on, something that could have scared you."

She paused for a short while, took a calming breath, and continued speaking.

"I know you're hiding something from me, Alex. I won't ever force you to tell me anything you don't want to. I know that you're mature, more mature than even someone twice your age, but believe me when I say that it isn't wrong for you to depend on someone, especially me. You can depend on me for anything. You don't have to say anything now, Alex. Tell me when you are ready."

She raised her hand, stopping Alex from saying anything when it seemed like he was about to say something. Then, she said with a teasing grin.

"Hopefully, one day, when you're older, we will be having a pleasant discussion about your crushes in school."

Without paying any mind to Alex, who was shocked silly about the sudden change in the topic and the tone of the conversation, Sarah quickly stood up and made her way towards the door to the library.

"Now hurry up and get ready. It will be time for breakfast soon."

She said while exiting the library, leaving a still stilled Alex behind.

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Something was wrong.

It wasn't just her intuition or her mind making things up, out of concern for him, Sarah was sure of it. She had just exited the library and was making her way to the kitchen as she thought back to the conversation she had with Alex a few moments ago. She was convinced that he was hiding something from her and she'd made certain that he knew too.

It appeared to her that he was concerned about something and was trying to hide it by pretending to read a book in the library. Oh, she knew he was pretending, he seemed too lost in his thoughts to even put up a decent act. It worried her even more to see him unaware that the book he was pretending to read contained nursery rhymes, something that he'd quit reading almost two years ago. He was too meticulous of a child to make that silly mistake.

Even if she overlooked that detail and write it off as him being nostalgic and wanting to read those books again, other reasons told her about his worries.

He could've fooled anyone with the lively mask he put on a while ago, anyone but her. After all, it was she who had raised him from the time when he couldn't even talk. She knew him too well for him to lie to her; he had this weird habit of staring intensely, without ever blinking, right into the eyes of the person he was lying to. She assumed it was meant to show his sincerity; unknown to him however, it let out his lies instead.

So she knew that whatever that scared him, the identity of which still eluded her, was in London. But she, for the love of God, couldn't even think of something that could scare him to the point of fainting. She'd lived in London, or near it, for all her life and even then she didn't know the existence of anything that could scare her son.

It pained her heart to see him so tense, so lost in thought, sitting alone in the library. It almost looked like someone had placed a heavy responsibility on his shoulders, a burden that was only meant for him to carry. She wanted to help him, to get him back to his usual cheerful self, but first, she had to know the reason before she could offer any help.

A reason he wasn't willing to share.

She couldn't do anything to get him to confide his worries in her. He was almost as stubborn as a mule when he wanted to do something and she knew that no amount of cajoling or even force could draw out the real reason for his fear.

All she could do was to support him, and she did just that, hoping that one day, he would on his own, reveal the reason for his worry and return to his bright, cheery, and somewhat goofy self he was before that accursed trip to London.

She only prayed that it wouldn't take too long.

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Meanwhile, still sitting in the library, Alex stared at the door, through which Sarah just left, taking in all the words she said to him, reveling in the familiar warm feeling he felt upon hearing them.

He knew that they were family; he knew that since a year ago. Still, nothing trumped the feeling of hearing the confirmation with his own ears instead of merely knowing it. He'd often heard people say that 'Words have Power'; perhaps in the magical world that phrase rang even truer because he'd never thought that just a few words from Sarah could make him feel so empowered, so loved.

He stood up, feeling more optimistic than a minute ago, more determined to work harder, ready to become ruthless if the situation demanded, and confidently strode towards his room to get ready for quick breakfast, leaving an empty library behind.

After all, he had a plan to enact.

'For Family…'

He quickly came back running, barging through the library door, to take back the list he'd forgotten about with him this time.

He still didn't want to be considered insane.