2 Game on

July 31, 1985 | England | Muggle World

In the middle of the night, in an orphanage in the depths of England, with meager revenues and a calamitous state, there was a row of beds, among which, in one of them, the farthest from the others.

"AAAH!" a child jolted awake, placing his hand on his heart, which he felt pounding once again.

"Shut up, damn crybaby! Aren't you tired of screaming like this every night? Everyone's had enough of you. At least we know why you're here; just die already!" shouted another child, despite his words.

"Once again, over and over, I have the same nightmare. Why must these images be etched into my memory? No matter what I do, I can't change anything. I find myself waking up again under this damn crumbling roof!"

With a knot still in his stomach, the boy got out of his bed and headed to the roof of the building to gaze at the stars.

Step by step, the boy's anger resonated with the sound of creaking wood under his grown strides. "What a damn good start to a birthday, another one that's going to be lousy. Phfff," the boy opened the window, revealing before him the vastness of the starry sea, took his usual place, and opened his book.

"Phfff, how boring. Why did this have to happen to us? Why do I have to relive this over and over again? WHY do I have to live here, no matter how much I try to escape? WHY did they have to change my last name!? WHY CAN'T I LIVE WITH MY BROTHER!?"

As the young boy screamed his pain into the night, it seemed to respond to his mood, and clouds filled with thunder began to cover the sky.

Surprised by the turn of events, the young boy lost his balance and fell from the roof. "No, how can it end like this? I haven't seen my brother again."

As the young boy closed his eyes, crying for his end, the world suddenly began to twist, and his body compressed. The seconds felt like hours, and the pea soup from last night wanted to come out in the wrong places.

Then, when everything returned to its place, except for what he was vomiting, the boy looked around. The first thing he noticed was the bad and repugnant smell, mixed with pollution, something he found strange because he had never smelled it in the countryside.

Then he saw it—a city, not the remote place where he lived but what he was trying to reach.

He realized at that moment that two things had happened to him.

On one hand, he had managed to escape from the damn old man who always caught up with him when he fled the orphanage.

On the other hand, he had used magic; he had finally awakened his magic, and he was finally able to do what he had always been incapable of doing.

Crossing his fingers and with a lump in his throat, he uttered a word. "Nixie."

A familiar form finally appeared before his eyes—she was finally here.

"Nixie, you... you came*gulp* you're here!" With emotion, the young man hugged the only other member of his family his mother believed in wholeheartedly.

"Young Master Lilian called Nixie; Young Master Lilian is alive, he is alive!"

Setting his emotions aside, Lilian urgently told Nixie, "Quick, Nixie, take us to the Potter Manor!"

"How does Young Master Lilian know the manor? And... Are you the young master?" Nixie became wary, something impossible to know from her young appearance.

"My mother, who believed in you, made you the secret keeper; quickly, before he finds me!" With hesitation, Nixie clung to Lilian and apparated them to the manor."

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"Nixie and Lilian landed in an entrance hall, with Nixie, of course, recoiling from the boy now found face down.

"Ah, damn, I'll never get used to this," Lilian said as he got up. He saw Nixie at a distance from him, opened his mouth wide, but no words came out. He lowered his head, hiding his emotions.

"Yes, now it's time to talk, huh," he looked at Nixie, who still had her gaze fixed on him. "The truth is, I'm a damn genius," his words, in turn, made Nixie raise her eyes. "I remember everything that happened in my life, from the number of times I fell to the times I was yelled at. Nothing escapes my memory, even things from when I was a baby."

The shock on Nixie's face was palpable, but approaching the boy cautiously, she asked, "Was the young master able to understand all the things Nixie told him?"

"Understand all the things? No, I was able to memorize all the sounds, voices, and things said but not understand them. It's much later that I understood what I memorized, like memorizing all the words in a book and then reading the story as it is written. Believe me, I learned that only I could do that and that I was surrounded by idiots much later." Lilian recalled the awkward conversation he had and the scolding he received for calling them idiots. "In the Muggle world, they call it hypermnesia, and in the magical world, it's a pure talent for mind magic. I believe Mom once wondered about that regarding me."

"The young master has become rude and arrogant like the master and Mr. Sirius used to be," Nixie said with a sigh, mixed with sadness and nostalgia.

"If Master Lilian is alive, then Young Master Harry is also alive. We must look for him," Nixie, filled with renewed joy and determination, wriggled in all directions after having this thought.

"Yes, but no," having said that, Nixie looked at her young master with puppy eyes. "We can't go look for Harry, no matter how much we want to. First, he must be watched like the old man who chased me every time I fled, and the guy named Dumbledore made sure we wouldn't see each other. Even though we don't know each other, he kept us apart at birth, gave us different last names, and made sure the magical world didn't know I am the son of my parents."

Nixie, faced with this situation, saw her ears droop like a sad dog and then perk up as if the same dog had found something interesting.

"Dumbledore is one of the first to have found us; he's the one who dropped me off at the orphanage with the last name Evans and gave Harry to my aunt, Mom's sister. At least Harry will be with family. By the way, do you know who Dumbledore is in the magical world? Even Dad was a fan of him?"

"Nixie knows. Albus Dumbledore is the great hero of the old war and the highest authority in Britain, along with the Minister of the government, and he is the headmaster of Hogwarts."

"So basically, the strongest guy who makes you eat dust. But what's Hogwarts?" Lilian asked, wondering how to join his brother under the watchful eye of the big bad.

"Nixie can tell, Hogwarts is the school where all British wizards go to study magic for the first time at the age of eleven," this answer greatly interested Lilian.

"Two questions: all wizards, like my brother too, and for the first time? Can't I learn from books here?"

"Yes, yes, Young Master Harry will also go to Hogwarts at eleven, and the young master can learn magic here from books but won't have a wand before the age of eleven, according to the government. And magic without a wand is very, very difficult; even Mistress Lily had a hard time."

Upon hearing this, Lilian lost faith in the government and, for the second time that day, tears welled up in his eyes, not out of sadness like all his other times but a unique feeling, a feeling he hadn't experienced in a long time.

"Damn, there's finally hope, hope to see my brother in the flesh *gulp* I... I can't tell you how happy I am to see you again, Nixie."

"Nixie is happy to see the young master too, and one more thing, young master. Happy birthday."

"Uh... Yeah, thanks, Nixie." Today he had gained the power he so desired; he obtained the ability to see a family member whenever he wanted, and he had obtained a method to see his brother again. So, as the beginning of the day, he swore with bleeding fists of anger that he would never lose something dear to him again, not a single member of his family. No matter the cost.

"What better way to start a birthday."