The Light at the End of the Tunnel

'Where on earth am I?'

That was the first thought that popped up in Lucas's mind as he gazed upon the pitch black void around him. He felt like he didn't have a body, almost like…he was floating? He tried moving but to no avail. Eventually, he gave up pondering his current circumstances. It was simply pointless to do anything.

'Did I die?...Hah, thank lord. I was tired of my pitiful life.'

Unlike most people, Lucas was eager for death. His existence often felt…meaningless, and he constantly suffered throughout his life. He was born sickly and paraplegic, and was abandoned by his biological parents shortly after his birth. He had grown up in an orphanage, before moving out to college once he was 13.

Because he was paralyzed from the waist down, Lucas spent virtually all his time reading books; it was what kept him sane and happy. In books, he found solace. It was through reading that people at the orphanage discovered his abnormally high IQ. Lucas was ridiculously intelligent. At the age of 6, he could already solve advanced calculus, physics and chemistry problems. He loved mathematics especially and would often spend hours on end solving some problems mentally. He saw math as a language, a tool in understanding the world around him. Therefore, math presented a way to satisfy his overly curious mind. It was logic to him.

So by the age of 13, Lucas was already ready for college. He went to Oxford University for a degree in Mathematics. His university days were mostly filled with work seeing as he had no friends. Eventually, the lonely life as well as his sickly nature got to his head. He started losing interest in life and became despondent. To him, there was no point of living anymore.

After all, what was he living for? .….A family? He had none…. A good paying job? What was the point?....Will he not still remain alone?.... A wife and kids? In his opinion, the probability of him getting married was the probability of the sun suddenly exploding. He wasn't handsome either, just average in terms of looks.

Eventually, he became depressed and died during his second year at university from heart failure during his sleep.

'Sigh….so i just float here now?...Is this the afterlife? It looks just like my life…haha.'

"That's not funny, you know." An old, ancient voice sounded all of a sudden.

"Oh, fuck off. What's it to you?" Lucas scoffed and replied, disregarding whatever supernatural entity the voice was.

"Sigh…young man, I feel your pain. Your life is probably one of the worst I've observed." The old voice resounded once more.

"Is that sympathy or pity? Regardless, I don't need either… I'm dead after all…Ahahaha." Lucas said, laughing loudly at the end.

"Do you want to live a new life?" The old voice asked once more, disregarding Lucas' monologue.

'Live again? Is such a thing even possible?.....Wait of course it is, im talking to fucking god or whatever this guy is…..Do I even want to live again?' Lucas pondered seriously. He asked himself internally whether he even wanted a second chance at life.

"What do you mean to live again?" Lucas asked, with no emotions attached to his voice.

"You deserve to experience the joys of life. I will give you a chance to live again in any world of your choosing….Classroom of the Elite?...An Alternate Earth?...any world you want. I will also grant you 3 wishes to make your life in your new world stellar."

'In any world?? This is…'

For the first time in what seemed like forever, Lucas actually felt….excited? He was practically geeking out mentally. To think he would obtain this kind of opportunity. All his suffering would finally be remedied, he finally had been able to obtain hope. So, without hesitation, Lucas said

"I would like to go to the Harry Potter world….Sorry for my rudeness earlier….erm... sir." Lucas replied politely.

The Harry Potter series was his favorite series since childhood. He had long lost count of the number of times he read the books and watched the movies. Lucas always admired the world, it was simply…magical. If he had a second chance at life, he would absolutely love to live there.

The old voice laughed.

"Young man, I like you….I can send you to the Harry Potter world seeing as it's not against the rules. Though I must say, the world you chose is somewhat dangerous."

"Yes, but it's what I want. It would be a dream to live in that world. I can't wait to do Arithmancy, I want to see whether math can explain something as mystical as magic, and to what extent if so." Lucas replied excitedly, almost drooling. Mentally, of course.

"Alright, suit yourself. Now, let's get to your wishes." The old voice responded.

'Hmm…3 choices…infinite possibilities. What should I choose?...Eh..I just want a nice life, surrounded by family, friends, magic and adventure. Such a life is my dream.' Lucas thought while smiling.

"Does wishing for a family and elder brother count as a wish?" Lucas asked.

"No..your appearance, family situation and timeline of your reincarnation don't count as wishes." The old voice resounded once more.

'Sweet. Though to be honest, I don't want crazy powers. With my wits, I can easily become the next Merlin with talent as bad as Ron Weasley's so getting rid of Voldy should be straightforward….In that case, I should just use my wishes to make my life easier and improve my potential. I want to be remembered as one of the greatest magicians to exist in that world.'

"Right, for my first wish. I wish to be a prodigy in most things. Especially most forms of magic and sports, I plan to play quidditch you see." Lucas said while chuckling.

"Done… Interesting first wish. Most people would immediately go for the most overpowered ability they can get." The old voice sounded, intrigued at Lucas.

'I mean..what I wished for is somewhat overpowered in my opinion but alright I guess..'Lucas thought inwardly, not caring that the old voice could probably hear his thoughts.

"Secondly, I want to use my next wish to grant myself something akin to a golden finger. Make my family extremely powerful, pureblood, and wealthy. Give us the exclusive ability to command and bond with Griffins who have special abilities, you can randomize the special abilities. Just make them powerful enough to stand toe to toe with the mightiest dragons and phoenixes." Lucas said with a grin.

"Griffins were practically non-existent in the HP world. It would be new and exciting to see them there. I prefer them to dragons and phoenixes. I think they're much cooler…Also, I only went with this because I want my golden finger to be within the scope of Harry Potter. Lastly, I don't really want to deal with all the stupid racial bullshit, I just want to live a thrilling and easy life, surrounded by people who love me. '' Lucas soliloquized, reminding himself why he chose his second wish.

"Done. They will be extremely powerful, you can be rest assured. And your last wish?"

"For my last wish, grant me the ideal physique for controlling and harnessing magical energy. I need my magic to be as precise as possible for some of the things I have in mind." Lucas said.

'Hmm, was I too vague? Eh doesn't matter…I can work with anything, I'm a genius after all…Plus it's more fun this way, I want to see how it turns out.'

"Alright young man, now please choose your appearance, family and timeline."

"For my appearance, just make me devilishly handsome. I'm talking one of a kind handsome. Make sure my eyes and eyebrows are borderline perfect and jaw-dropping…For my family, give me both my parents and an elder brother, who is not that much older than I am . I've always wondered what having an older sibling would be like….For the timeline, put me in the same year as Harry Potter." Lucas said.

"Alright, done…Well, If there's nothing else, I'll send you on your way." The old voice said.

"Wait! Can you partially block my memories of the plot? I don't want to remember every single detail of what will happen. Just a rough general overview." Lucas pleaded abruptly. He didn't want to remember every single detail about what would happen, it would be too boring for him.

"Oh? Very Interesting. I should probably tell you that your wishes will have some…effects on the plot of the wizarding world you are familiar with. Are you sure you want to give up that advantage?"

"Yes." Lucas replied without hesitation.

"Alright, done. I'll send you off now, I've spent too long here already. Have a good life." The old voice sounded.

"Okay, thank you sir!" Lucas said, before he felt his consciousness fade.