Chapter 1: Waking up in another world

Author's Note: This is my first time writing a novel. After reading numerous fanfics Harry Potter and others, I have decide to write my own as none satisfied me fully, though HP: A Magical Journey came the closest. Main character is an SI OC lightly based on my own character. I will try to uploaded every other day or even everyday if I can. Have a dive!

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When he woke up, his sight met with an unfamiliar ceiling, confused he sat up straight and sure enough it was not his college dorm room but quite a small room with a single bed and a cupboard.

'Am I in a dream?, this one is too realistic.'

This happens often with him. Most of the time he can tell when he is in a dream. But this time feels different, his first thought itself was questioning whether or not he is in a dream. Usually he becomes aware after quite a lot of weird stuff has already happened. Also he is able to notice details that are not usually possible in a dream like the old cupboard, he can see its roughed up texture and various dings and scratches on its surface.

He felt weird, somehow small, he looked down at his body and sure enough his body is very small compared to his usual 6 feet height.

Suddenly his head started to hurt, at first the pain was mild but it was getting sharper every second. 'This can't be a dream' was his last thought before pain became too much for him to think. He clutched his head and 11 years worth of memories that are foreign flooded his mind in a few minutes. He couldn't think or do anything for almost an hour because his head still hurt so much.

When the headache finally subsided and he could finally think of what he has learned he was quite perplexed. According to the memories, his memories, he is a 11 year old orphan living in an orphanage in London. His name is Callum Haven. This was all very shocking but something even more shocking is that the current year is 1991.

May questions were running through his mind.

'Is this time travel?, Why am in London in a 11 year old's body?, this feels like a situation from one of those reincarnation/ transmigration fanfictions. Am I in another world or same world but at different time?, Who sent me here?, I don't remember meeting an ROB making any wishes and other stuff that usually happens in novels.'

He stood up from the bed and went to the mirror stuck on the cupboard. Sure enough he looked like a 11 year old kid with pale skin, messy light brown hair and brown eyes, his physique looked on the thinner side. Nothing much stood out in his appearance. He was wearing old pajamas that looked like they are hand-me-downs.

He sat back on the bed and trying to make to make sense of what's happening.

'This is definitely like one of those situations from fanfictions. I can guess which fiction universe I'm in based on this setting but I can't be sure, I hope I'm not in ordinary earth just back in time', he thought with some panic, he is going to have a very hard life if he is an orphan in the ordinary world.

'Wait even if it is Harry Potter universe as I suspect, it's not confirmed that I'm a wizard'. He wasn't sure which would be worse, being an orphan in ordinary world or not being able to do magic in Harry Potter world.

He finally decided that there is no point thinking about it now. He stood up from the bed and opened the cupboard picked up his toothbrush and a towel from it like it's everyday habit that is ingrained in the body. He exited his room into a narrow corridor and went to the common bathrooms.

After freshening up and changing into an old looking but clean pair of shirt and trousers and went down to dining area for breakfast.

"Happy Birthday Callum", matron said smiling at him soon as he approached the serving station. He remembered today's date July 7th which is also his birthday. He turns 11 today.

"Thank you, Mother", he replied politely to the matron. Everyone in calls her Mother or Mama for some smaller kids. Other children also started to wished him happy birthday one by one, he tried to smile and greet them back properly.

He finally sat down to eat the porridge and thought about his new name which felt a little weird to hear. He remembered that the old matron gave him his name after his mother died giving birth to him in nearby hospital and they couldn't find any relative of her. His mother told the doctor that his father passed away due to an accident few months before his birth. He got his mother's last name Haven.

After breakfast he went back to his room, from the memories he can see that his current personality matches the personality from his previous life. He is quite, polite, slightly awkward and tries to avoid difficult situations. He finds it hard to make close friends but maintains acquaintanceship with everyone. He simply prefers his own company to others.

Now comes the crucial part of scouring through his memories to find any bouts of accidental magic he may have performed. Though he is not certain that he is in Harry Potter universe, there's no harm in going through this life's memory once anyway.

He went through the memories gradually especially those situations in which he was scared or panicked. There was one where he was chased and bitten by a street dog when he seven but he wasn't magically saved.

POV- CALLUM

I was starting to get disappointed when I remembered an incident from last year, me and some other fellow orphans were helping matron in cleaning up the storeroom when I was accidentally pushed into the racks and what looked to be a heavy box fell from the top shelf onto my head. I saw it about to fall on top of my head, in panic I closed my eyes and raised my hands to shield my head. To everyone's surprise, mine included, the box felt incredibly light to my hands and broke apart as soon as it touched me and we saw that it was empty. According to matron, it contained some gardening tools, which we found were still on the shelf and were not inside the box. At first matron thought that this situation was very strange but soon came to conclusion that maybe she forgot to put the tools in side the box last time she used it and as for the box breaking apart, may be it was the work of termites, as it was a wooden box.

This one was the only incident which can be attributed to accidental magic, at least I hoped it was and not the case as matron concluded.

A knock on my door brought me back from my thoughts. Matron came in and said, "Callum, see here someone came to meet you". On the door stood an older lady in grey cardigan and long skirt with a stern looking face and graying hair tied in a neat bun.

"She is the Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts school. She says your mother enrolled your name in the school for when you turn 11, all your family studied in that school. Isn't it wonderful, I'm so happy for you. Now I will leave you two to talk, I'm sure you have many questions to ask her". Matron patted my head and left.

My heart was hammering in chest from the excitement as the old lady came into my room and closed the door behind her. " Mr. Callum Haven, let me reintroduce myself properly, I'm professor Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, in which you have been accepted. Here is your admission letter, I suggest you read it now". She handed me a yellowish envelope addressed in emerald green to Mr. Callum Haven, Room 7, First Floor, Sunderland Children's Asylum, London. I opened the letter quickly and read:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme

Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)

Dear Mr. Haven,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall,

Deputy Headmistress

"Witchcraft and Wizardry?", I tried to look confused. "like card tricks?".

"No, it is a special school for special children, children who can do real magic, not some card tricks. You are a young wizard Mr. Haven. You are born with the ability to use magic", I still looked confused, so she added, " Have you ever had an incident which made you afraid or panicked, but something miraculous happened and you were saved?".

I looked thoughtful and nodded slowly after a few seconds.

She smiled, "That's called accidental magic, children below 11 years of can't usually control their magic, but it manifests itself in difficult situations where your emotions are heightened. Children reach first magical maturity at age 11, when they can begin to learn to control their magic. Hogwarts will help you to control your magic and teach you how to use it properly. Within a few years you will be able to use magic for things you wouldn't have thought possible. Let me give you a demonstration".

She took out a polished stick from her sleeves and pointed it at the cupboard in the room and it started changing colors from red to yellow to blue to green and finally returned to normal but now it looked quite new, without any scratches or dents on its surface.

I didn't have to pretend to look amazed, because watching real magic for the first time was an unbelievable experience. I looked at her amazed and asked, "Did my mother also go to this school and learned magic?"

Professor McGonagall looked a little sad while answering, "No, I'm sorry for lying to you earlier, that was just an excuse for your matron. The magical society lives in secrecy from the muggles, that's the term we use for non-magical people. This is the statute of secrecy that all magical beings have to follow, otherwise the consequences will be dire. I also advise you to stick to the story I told your matron and keep the existence of magic a secret from muggles."

I sort of had a feeling that the story about my mother being in Hogwarts might not be true. I looked at the list of items that are needed for the school and asked, "What about school fees?, I don't have the money to pay school fees or buy any of these items".

"You don't have to worry about that Mr. Haven, Hogwarts has the responsibility to guide young witches and wizards like yourself, Hogwarts has a trust fund for cases such as yourself, it will cover all your studying expenses for 7 years of school, and after you completed your education and are able to stand on your feet, then you can return the amount if you are able to that is. Think of it as a loan that is not mandatory to pay and for indefinite amount of time."

I thought, 'Well, that makes sense, rather than making everything totally free, this way Hogwarts can get some compensation from those who felt goodwill towards the school for educating them and are able to repay the school.'

"You must be wondering where you will get the school supplies on the list. There is a magical market called Diagon Alley, which we will be visiting soon. Get ready and ask your matron's permission, we will be leaving in 10 minutes."

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