3 Chapter 3: "The Awakening of Memories"

In the grim aftermath of that fateful night, the Potter house stood in shambles, a solemn testament to the tragedy that had unfolded. Amidst the ruins, Harry and Charles, the sole survivors, lay unharmed, their innocence a stark contrast to the devastation surrounding them.

The stillness of the night was abruptly broken by a subtle, scurrying sound. A rat, with beady, calculating eyes, crept into the room through a crack in the wall. In the blink of an eye, the rat transformed, revealing its true form: Peter Pettigrew. 

Peter's eyes darted across the room, absorbing the surreal scene – the unscathed children and the remnants of the Dark Lord's visit - a dark cloak and the Dark Lord's wand lying on the ground.

Pettigrew's face twisted in panic. As a traitor to the Potters and now witness to his master's apparent downfall, he found himself in a precarious position. He had already betrayed the Potters, putting him at odds with the light side. Now, with his master apparently killed, he realized he was also in danger from the dark side. Fear for his own life overrode any other concerns.

Snatching up Voldemort's wand, he transformed back into his animagus form of a rat quickly. He didn't even consider doing anything to the children; whatever force had vanquished the Dark Lord was not something he wanted to reckon with.

His tiny rat heart pounding with fear, Pettigrew scurried out of the room and disappeared into the night, desperate to save his own skin.

Meanwhile, Harry, lying amidst the rubble of what was once his home, the invisibility cloak thrown away in the aftermath, and with tears in his eyes, felt something strange happening within his mind.

It was as though a hidden vault in his mind had been unlocked, releasing a deluge of memories that felt both foreign and intimately familiar.

These memories, vivid and extensive, connected all the fragmented nightly dreams he had experienced in the past, weaving them into a coherent narrative. As he lay unconscious, his mind embarked on an extraordinary journey through the life of a muggle in a world vastly different from his own.

In this mental journey, Harry found himself living through key experiences of this muggle's life, skipping over the personal and intimate details like birth, family dynamics, and romantic relationships. Instead, the memories focused on the acquisition of knowledge and life experiences. He attended school, where he learned mathematics and science, subjects alien yet fascinating to him. He then progressed to university, delving deeper into the world of academia.

After university, the memories shifted to an ordinary 9-5 job, portraying a routine yet insightful glimpse into a mundane adult life. These memories, however, abruptly ended when the muggle reached the age of 23, leaving a sense of unfinished business.

Among the most captivating elements of these memories was the muggle's deep fascination with the 'Harry Potter' book series. This interest led to an exploration of fan fiction, a realm where the canonical boundaries of the original story were creatively reimagined. Harry was captivated by the creativity and diversity of these fanfictions, which presented alternate realities and possibilities for characters he felt a strange kinship with.

Absorbing these memories and experiences, Harry could feel the emotions of that man as if they were his own. He could feel the man's joys, sorrows, and fears. Harry soon deduced that these memories were from his past life.

He had for some reason retained his past life memories and they were getting unlocked through his nightly dreams. But, due to this night's turmoil, the memories that were supposed to unlock slowly as he grew up, got released prematurely. Harry Potter, the three-year-old boy who had just lost his grandparents, was now also a 23-year-old man from another world, reincarnated into the Harry Potter universe.

However, the mental journey he had gone through did not contain any personal details, like he did not know his name in his past life or remember his parents in his last life. This ensured Harry did not have any attachment to his past identity. 

Harry felt the joys, sorrows, and fears of his past life as if they were his own, yet he retained his identity as Harry Potter. His love for his current grandparents, his distant parents, and his younger brother Charles remained unaltered. He was still Harry Potter, yet he was now imbued with knowledge and wisdom that spanned beyond his young years.

In this unique state of being, Harry silently vowed to use his newfound knowledge to combat the dark forces that had shattered his family. He would grow into a wizard who would honor the legacy of Fleamont and Euphemia, a beacon of strength in a world shadowed by darkness.

From the memories of the Harry Potter books and fanfiction he had absorbed, Harry realized he was reborn into the very universe he had once read about. The world he knew was the Harry Potter universe, and he was its titular character. He understood that he had been born into an alternate reality, where his brother Charles would be hailed as 'The Boy Who Lived'. 

From the things he knew about the prophecy's wordings, he could not be the Boy Who Lived since he was not born on 31st July like his brother. 

However, this did not bother him. He did not care about the title or the status that came along with the title. All he wanted to do was become the strongest wizard in the world and restore the status of the Potter family in the wizarding world, making his grandparents proud.

As Harry drifted deeper into sleep, his thoughts did not go to the dormant fragment of Voldemort's soul nestled within him. Harry, who had read about his fictional counterpart's experiences in the books, was aware of this dark fragment yet did not feel any sense of urgency, knowing that the literary Harry had lived with it for seventeen years without any immediate harm. 

This night had indeed marked the beginning of a new epoch in Harry Potter's life. He was a child in body, but within him resided the mind and memories of an adult. His path was set to leave an indelible mark on the magical world, a journey that would intertwine the threads of fate, magic, and an extraordinary destiny.