Magic flowed through my body like a warm stream. It was inside me—not as something foreign, but something natural. As if it had returned home. As if it had finally found its way to the place it had always belonged.
I felt different than ever before.
Alive. Stronger.
My vision was razor-sharp. Every detail, every crack in the wall, the dust in the air, the cobweb in the ceiling corner—all stood out, as if the world had finally decided to show me the truth. Sounds weren't just sounds—they were the melody of existence. I could hear my pulse. My breath. The heartbeat of the earth itself.
I raised my hand.
"Lumos," I whispered.
I flicked my fingers lightly, just as I had done so many times before… to no effect. But this time…
A small spark ignited at the tips of my fingers. Bright—born of pure will. It lasted only a second—maybe two. And then it vanished.
From the outside, it looked like nothing.
But I saw it. I felt it.
There was no unpleasant pull like before. No resistance between my body and the magic. This time… there was silence. Peace.
Magic flowed through me gently, smoothly, almost gracefully. It gathered in my chest, then moved through my arm and into my fingers—like it knew exactly where to go.
For the first time, I felt that I wasn't begging it to obey me.
It was listening to me.
Morning came unnoticed.
I hadn't slept. I didn't need to.
I sat on the edge of my bed, the first rays of sun spilling through the open window. Light danced across the dusty floor, slowly creeping over my feet and arms.
I stood up slowly. My body ached—not from exhaustion, but from intensity. As if every muscle had suddenly remembered it existed.
I stepped toward the mirror.
My eyes… still the same. Black and white. Piercing, unsettling, foreign. And yet… mine.
I looked different. As if I had grown overnight. Not physically—but in the gaze, in the expression on my face. The shadow of a child still lingered, but something deeper stared back from behind those eyes.
I went downstairs.
The orphanage dining hall was as half-empty as always—some children wandered near the tables, and two caretakers were serving porridge into bowls. One of them—Mrs. Myra—looked my way, as she usually did… and froze.
Literally.
The spoon in her hand stopped mid-air, and her eyes widened slightly.
The other woman, noticing the pause, looked up too… and did the exact same thing. No screaming, no panic. Just silence. The same silence that had wrapped around me last night.
The children looked at me later. And each of them—individually—turned their gaze away.
As if my stare was too heavy, too strange, too… piercing.
I sat at the table. Alone.
Not because I wanted to. The other kids had moved away—wordlessly, without thought. As if some primal part of them instinctively recognized something… different.
Not evil.
Just… foreign.
Their glances—brief, nervous—were quickly averted, as if my eyes reminded them of something they didn't want to remember. As if in their gaze, there was a silence that screamed louder than any sound.
But the magic hadn't left me.
I could still see it.
The world was woven from living threads—a shimmering web connecting objects, people, emotions. Each of them trembled in the presence of magic, like harp strings reacting to a nearby note.
And many of them… led to me.
They just couldn't see it. Couldn't understand. They only felt the weight I carried in my gaze. The weight of a legacy they knew nothing about.
Or maybe it wasn't about the eyes.
Maybe it was that I wasn't like them anymore.
And that… is what scared them.
I ate my breakfast quickly. Not that it was large enough to take any time. I got up and left the dining hall.
People avoided me—that much was clear. Before today, it had been different. As if they didn't see me at all, like I was just a shadow. Today, it had changed. They saw me. Clearly. But they pulled away, as if their instincts knew I didn't belong here. Maybe they were right. A Muggle orphanage isn't a place for a wizard.
I stepped into my room and forced the thoughts away.
"They're irrelevant," I said softly to myself.
Today was going to be a productive day. After all—I was now a full-time, young wizard.
I wasn't going to keep practicing basic spells. There would be time for that later. Today, I wanted to go to Diagon Alley, to buy a wand from Ollivander. But first… I had to visit Gringotts and claim what was mine. The Peverells were an ancient family—I couldn't believe they hadn't left behind a fortune.
Thinking of my family, a strange thought came to me.
In canon, the Potters were descendants of the youngest Peverell brother. But here… it seemed different. I remembered that Ignotus' son had a daughter—Iolanthe Peverell, later a Potter. But in this world, something must have changed. According to the tale of the three brothers, Ignotus' child couldn't have been a daughter. He had to have a son.
It's curious how such a small detail might change the fate of the Potters.
I pushed the thought aside. I had something more important to do.
I needed Muggle money to exchange it for galleons. And I already knew how to get it.
On my desk lay several torn pieces of paper—some written on, others blank. I had a plan. Perhaps not exactly legal… but I didn't care. In my previous life, I had read about a certain transfiguration spell...
"Numismorphus," I said confidently, waving my hand, with a clear intention in mind.
The paper was supposed to turn into a fifty-pound banknote.
The sheet began to change. Slowly, but surely. Lines shifted, colors emerged. It was forming into something that looked… real.
After a moment, on the desk lay a frayed piece of paper on the left… and the right half of a banknote. I sighed.
I tried again.
This time, the result was even worse.
And again. And again. Hours passed. Attempts stacked up.
Finally, after countless failures… it worked. A full banknote lay in front of me. Exactly as it should. Queen Elizabeth II on the front. Everything was correct.
I smiled faintly.
This was only the beginning.
I tucked the note into my pocket and simply walked out of the orphanage. No one cared. No one noticed. No one tried to stop me.
There was a bank nearby. It took me about fifteen minutes of easy walking to get there. I wasn't in a hurry.
The building looked ordinary—just another bank, nothing special. I went inside. There weren't many people there, just a few staff. "Maybe because it's noon," I thought.
My entrance caught some attention. A child in worn clothes, walking into a bank alone? Unusual. But no one asked questions. They quickly looked away and went back to work.
I approached one of the tellers and asked, "Good afternoon, could you break this for me?"
I placed the note on the counter.
The banker took it without a word and a moment later handed me two twenty-pound notes and a ten-pound note. I quickly tucked them into my pocket and left.
"Well, after conversion, I currently have about ten galleons," I thought. That should be enough.
The Leaky Cauldron was on Charing Cross Road. It definitely wasn't near the orphanage. I could've taken a bus, but I preferred to walk. I didn't feel comfortable in crowds. After an hour of walking, I arrived.
Between a record shop and a bookstore stood an old pub that clearly didn't belong among the surrounding buildings.
I stepped inside.
A few people were scattered around. Some were eating, others drinking. One wizard was chatting with the bartender—Tom. Both of them looked at me. Tom opened his mouth as if to say something… but closed it again and returned to his conversation. Every now and then, he shot nervous glances in my direction as I walked toward the back exit.
I ignored them. I passed through the rear door. In front of me stood the familiar brick wall.
"Three up… two across," I whispered. I didn't have a wand, so I touched the bricks with my bare hand.
It worked.
The bricks began to shift, one by one, forming an archway. The entrance to Diagon Alley opened before me.
After I left, one thought kept bouncing in Tom's mind—a thought that wouldn't let go:
"Those eyes… I last saw them in the previous era. But even back then, that gaze… it wasn't nearly as heavy."
AN:I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Are you ready for the next one? I did my best with the translation, if you spot any mistakes, feel free to let me know in the comments and I'll fix them.