Chapter 3: Cornwall

Opening the door out of my room I headed out into the orphanage. It was eerily similar to some of the ones I was used to in my previous life when I was younger. Despite how well put together the place was, the air felt almost stale. It had a depressive atmosphere to it. Looking up and down the corridor I noted there was a wide number of doors meaning the amount of people in this orphanage was probably many. Considering they were all probably around my age though, I gathered they were all still sleeping as it was so early in the morning.

"Time to make a move Oz…"

Heading out of my room fully I headed for the stairs down the end of the corridor. As I approached the stair I started to hear voices from downstairs. The voices sounded like woman's voices, one however seemed a bit more aged than the other. Taking a deep breath I headed downstairs towards the voices.

As I reached the bottom of the stairs I was welcomed with a big 'common room' like area. Sat down on one of the couches was a young woman who was talking towards an area to my right, an area which I couldn't see properly yet.

"Honestly nana how are we going to afford to keep this place going like this? Give it another 10 years and we may have to give it up!"

I looked at the young woman who was speaking for a moment. She seemed around 18 years old. If I had to describe her looks she was definitely pretty… pretty average. Blonde hair, dark eyes and an average face. She seemed to exude a comforting energy though looking at her.

"I've told you again and again Melony I won't let it happen! Not over my dead body!"

Hearing the other voice reply, a woman walked out from the kitchen area seemingly missing me in her vision focusing her eyesight on this girl called 'Melony'. Staring at this woman it was clear she was in her fifties. Wrinkles were showing on her face and grey hairs were present in her auburn hair.

"The government can up the taxes all they like! I will just get more sponsors or work more jobs! I'm not letting the children here be tossed out into the street!"

Hearing these words for the older woman's mouth who Melony seemed to refer to as 'Nana', I instantly had a good impression of her. Unlike some of the orphanage owners in my previous life she seemed to actually be a good natured person who wanted to look after children without families. She was miles better than one orphanage owner I knew who took sponsors and spent the money on their own leisure's…

"Nana you got to think more realistic, you're already quite old you can't strain yourself with doing more jobs-"

Nana seemed to walk over to Melony in a huff and ruffled her hair strongly.

"You little brat calling me old, don't you worry yourself about me I can look after myself just fine! It's the kids here you need to help me look after-"

Nana's line of sight seemed to finally land on the staircase where at the bottom I was stood watching the situation unfold. She changed from her angry face to an amicable smile as she called out to me.

"Leo! You're up early little man. Would you like some breakfast?"

I walked towards this woman who was known as nana here and sat down on the couch opposite her and Melony.

"T-That would be great, thanks nana".

Melony and Nana both looked at each other in shock before looking back at me. Instantly I was questioning what I did wrong.

"Leo since when did you become so polite? You'd usually be demanding nana for a meal!"

The previous bodies' owner would actually do that? What a spoilt little brat he was… or I was… anyway what a spoilt little brat.

"I decided to just be a bit more polite… is all"

Melony and Nana kept their questioning gazes locked onto me as they tried to peer into why I had changed so drastically. It's not like they would accept me saying 'I'm a transmigrated soul so that explains it'. They will just have to accept this explanation. Nana who held her gaze on me for a while started to chuckle.

"I'll believe it if you keep it up for long enough… Anyway Leo did you finish your homework I gave you?"

Both Nana and Melony smirked as Nana asked me this question. I looked at them innocently replying;

"Yes, its all upstairs finished".

As I uttered these words both Nana and Melony looked at me with incredulous expressions. Nana looked at Melony for a moment before speaking;

"Melony go confirm"

"On it!"

Melony darted from her seat and up the stairs towards my room. Seeing this I was thankful I had stuffed the piece of paper with my 'plans' written all over it into my pocket. After some time upstairs Melony came back down with my homework in her hands. She looked towards me as if I was an alien.

"He's actually done it Nana"

Nana's jaw basically dropped hearing this news. Was the previous version of me really that bad of a kid? They are acting as if the sky fell…

Nana walked over to Melony and snatched the homework out of her hands reading it over. Looking through it she even confirmed that all the answers written down were actually correct. This made her jaw drop even further as she looked back at me.

"You little rascal… were you hiding your actual ability all along or something playing us for fools? Unless you cheated!"

Melony put on a face hearing Nana's words that screamed 'Aha!' as if they had both caught me out. I replied innocently again.

"I didn't cheat, I just did the work"

"Yeah right… I'll ask all the other kids when they wake up. If you have cheated you will have to do double the homework tonight!"

Nana seemed to relax a bit after 'confirming' the situation in her mind. She walked back towards the kitchen and started to prepare breakfast for me and Melony. Melony sat back down opposite me in the common room area.

"You actually nearly made me believe you were hiding your intelligence Leo… You sneaky rascal"

A sighed deeply hearing the complete denounce from both Melony and Nana.

"I really did do it… Ah whatever"

Looking out towards the entrance of the orphanage my mind was dead-set on answering a single question. Where the hell I am. Looking over to Melony I mulled over how best to bring up the topic.

"So… Melony, any plans on going out today?"

"Going out? Like into New quay town or something? I'd love to if I could later however that demon in the kitchen has told me I need to look after all you little brats instead"

"I HEARD THAT"

Nana yelled over from the kitchen as Melony responded to my question. Looking at Nana's angry face she honestly did look a bit like a demon. That being said… New quay. So I'm in Cornwall. I guess that explains why I can see ocean from my window. Now that question was out of the way it was onto the next and I had no clue how to ask this one… Maybe I just straight up ask.

"Hey Melony, how old am I?"

"How old are you? Did you hit your head or something?"

Melony reached over the coffee table and but her hand on my head for a moment. She frowned as she pulled back.

"You don't have a fever so that can't be it… why are you asking such a dumb question?"

"I'm just asking to see if you know is all. Of course I know how old I am"

"You're 5 years old little Leo, 5 years old. Hey how about I also tell you your blood type too while im at it?"

This girl seemed good natured however she did love to take the piss when she could. Even though she mocked me she did however give me the information I wanted and confirmed my age. I'm 5 years old and I'm in Cornwall. Just as these thoughts were confirmed in my mind, Nana came over with a plate of food and placed it in front of both me and Melony.

"You two stop bickering and eat. I'd be thankful if you'd help me cook the others breakfast' after you are finished with yours. Such an old woman like myself shouldn't be cooking so many meals on her own"

"So it's not okay when I call you old but when you call yourself an 'old woman' its fair game?"

"Too right!"

Ignoring the two woman's bickering I started to eat the meal in front of me. It was a simple English breakfast, can't go wrong with it. As I bit into the first slice of toast I immediately realized how hungry I was, scoffing it down quickly. Melony also scoffed her breakfast down too. As we both finished our meals she grabbed a tissue and cleaned around her mouth looking at me.

"You are acting strange today Leo… Usually you would just call me 'Mel' and not 'Melony'. Are you sure you didn't hit your head?"

Ah so that was a thing was it? In response to this probing I just shook my head at her 'hitting my head' comment. Taking my finished plate quickly over to the kitchen. I immediately went to the sink and started to clean my plate off myself. It was a habit I had to clean my dishes right after eating back when I lived in my flat in my previous life. It took me a second however to realize the mistake I made. Turning around I saw Nana and Melony's shocked expressions again.

Honestly why was the previous 'me' such a brat…

.

Weeks have passed since I first set foot in this world and nothing of note has happened really. I still fell under the questioning gaze of Nana and Melony as I started being more polite and helping out. Eventually though they started to accept this new 'Leo' warmly and Nana even started to give me an allowance due to how I was helping around the orphanage all of which I saved from when I would go to Hogwarts. As for the other kids in the orphanage… I found it hard to talk to them.

Originally I was a very solo kind of guy in my previous life anyway. One of the main things I wanted to work on in this life was being a bit more social however I kept returning to my roots, staying to myself and not speaking to anyone else. In all honesty it also felt a bit weird me, a 21 year old soul in a 5 year old body, making friends with other kids around my age.

So whilst the other kids socialized I either exercised or read books we had in the orphanage. I wasn't allowed too far away from the orphanage however the orphanage itself had a sizable playground area outside. I would exercise out there and jog around it from time to time improving my strength. When Melony first spotted me doing this she thought I was crazy and had gone ill again or something. It seemed the original 'Leo' was a NEET who just stayed in his room and came downstairs only for meals…

As the weeks passed by I felt my strength improving. My originally chubby physique started to become a bit stronger and refined. I guess it's true what they say about it being easier to 'sculpt' a younger body. Weeks turned into months whilst I continued this boring routine. Just over a 4 months into being in this world I overheard my first opportunity one night from Nana who was organizing a trip for the orphanage downstairs.

"Nana are you sure we can afford to take all the kids on a trip? We are barely getting by as it is!"

"Hush Melony, I will figure it out. The kids deserve a reward. I mean look over at our little le- I mean Oz. He's working hard in the kitchen cleaning on the kid's plates! He deserves a fun trip somewhere"

A grin rose to my face as I continued to clean. Within the months I had been here I told everyone in the orphanage I wanted my name changed. Nana and Melony were very confused at first and even tried to stop me from doing it however when I busted out the puppy dog eyes and the pleas, they ended up caving. Seeing my resolution on the matter and the fact I was being good recently, Nana took me into town to get it all sorted legally. It was weird being called 'Oz Osbourne' right now however when I claim my bloodlines inheritance that will hopefully change.

"I mean I guess that's true… Le- I mean Oz has been good recently. But where could you even take a trip to with the money we have on hand? Take the kids into town?"

Nana laughed as she displayed a victorious expression.

"Oh my dear Melony I already have it covered. A coach driver owes me a favour so he offered to take the kids in his coach to wherever we want in the south west. All we need is a location and we get a free trip to it! I'm thinking either… Bristol or maybe even somewhere like Ottery St Catchpole"

"Ottery St Catchpole? What sort of trip would that be for kids they'd be bored all day long!"

Nana and Melony started to bicker again over the topic of where to go on the trip. In the 4 months in this world I found out their relationship is actually grandmother and daughter. Honestly I was a bit shocked finding this out as Nana didn't look 'that' old. Hearing them mention Ottery St Catchpole though, I felt a lightning bolt shoot through my body. This was my chance.

"Nana, I would love to go to Ottery St Catchpole! I heard the river otter is really cool~"

Melony looked at me incredulously as Nana gave a wide smile.

"See Melony even kids can enjoy a place like Ottery St Catchpole!"

"Only a weirdo like Oz would like a place like that though…"

With my eyes shining looking at Nana she instantly decided on the location being Ottery St Catchpole. Writing down on the paper in front of her she planned the trip more thoroughly. As I finished my chores in the kitchen I walked back into the common room area and spoke to Nana.

"I'm all done with my chores! When will the trip be?"

"Next week Oz! Look forward to it~ No go off to bed and do your homework while you are at it!"

Nana shooed me away up the stairs and Melony sent me off with a little wave. Taking myself upstairs I walked into my room with a smile.

With that location being the destination of the trip, I might actually be able to learn some magic earlier than I thought.