3 Ch 03 - Planning for the Future

I started doing Meditation and Yoga after I came into this world to suppress my anxiety about finding myself in an unfamiliar environment. It not only helped me come to terms with my new situation but also made me calmer and more collected towards external stimuli. Plus Yoga is great for health benefits.

I have settled down in my new life. With a loving family, a roof on my head and warm food to fill my stomach in the harsh winters is a pleasant new experience.

November has arrived and cold winds have started to blow over the landscape along with the usual overcast weather of the British Isles.

During this time I have gone through all my primary school textbooks for the infant level i.e. age group 5-7 years old and Junior Level i.e. age group 8-11 years old.

Though there is no fixed curriculum. It's mostly about Reading & Writing English and an introduction to Mathematics, Science, History, Geography, Physical Education, Music and Art & Crafts.

Currently, I am on leave till winter break and thus I am homeschooled for the duration as I need rest as advised by the doctor. After I am fully recovered I will join my buddies at school right after winter break.

Its been only 2 months and I am already done with my primary school education. My previous life's knowledge also helped fast-track this process.

My primary schooling will last for 4 more years till the age of 11 if I don't skip any grades. I will have to make a proper schedule to utilize my time effectively in order to achieve my goals.

Maybe also looking into skipping grades and taking CSE and O-levels by the time I am 11 seems a good goal.

I can then start looking into pursuing correspondence courses at the University of London in Computer Science.

One evening we all sat down to have deliciously made apricot chicken for dinner. I looked up to both mom and dad.

"Mom. I want to ask you something?", I asked.

"What is it, my dear?", Mom replied.

"Mom. I have read through all my textbooks. I want to read more. Can we go to the library this week?", I pleaded.

Emily was a bit puzzled. She knew that her son Edward was clumsy and a bit slow on the uptake. How come he is interested in reading books all of a sudden? And he even told her that he already finished reading his textbook. My father had the same thought.

"Ed. Are you sure you have understood what's in your books? Because you can only understand the next level book if you understand the previous ones first. Otherwise, it will be too difficult for you to learn.", my dad asked.

"But dad I already memorised and understand what's in the textbook. That's why I want to go to the library and learn more.", I replied much to my mother's astonishment.

"But dear didn't you dislike reading books earlier? What happened?", Emily asked.

"I don't know mom. Earlier I couldn't remember and understand the stuff in the books but after the Halloween incident somehow I can remember things better and also understand what I read. I just read the textbook once and I learned it all. I find it to be fun. I have read all my books. You can test me if you want.", I replied leaving an innocent hint to make them aware of my photographic memory.

Later Mom and Dad tested me for the knowledge in the books and they were surprised by my change. On further investigation, they concluded that the accident on Halloween was a blessing in disguise and now I not only had a great memory but my intellect was also better than most kids my age.

The next day they got me some more kid books on history and science. I was done with them in just a day but decided that it will be too much so I will wait for a few days and ask them to get me a local library pass so I can read more books. I realised it would be much better and I can have more leeway to read on different subjects.

My dad took me to visit the local Library in the vicinity on Sunday. I was impressed with their range of collections of books.

In my readiness to learn, I started pestering my mom and dad to visit the library almost every day even if it was for just half an hour.

Starting with the history section I will quickly memorize the book and later when I get back home I will process the information to internalize it by trying to analyse and make connections with my already existing knowledge.

I decided to start with the history section as that's where the true lessons in life and patterns to humanity can be found.

I fell into a routine for almost a month when I started seeing a pattern in the history books, in the newspaper reporting of mysterious deaths, accidents, house fires, an increasing crime rate in the last few months, and major events in the last few years.

Connecting the dots with my meta-knowledge of the Harry Potter series I came to a conclusion that I am indeed in the Potterverse and the war on the magical side is escalating as it even started to affect the muggle side as well.

In my excitement earlier I overlooked one key aspect that I came to this world even before the birth of the protagonist Harry James Potter. Due to the butterfly effect if unfortunately the protagonist is not born and the dark lord is not defeated then I will be in for dark times. Wizard or not.

Just as Christmas was coming around we planned to enjoy a family vacation together. At my request, we decided on Switzerland as I always wanted to visit that place in my last life but never got the opportunity.

This was also an opportunity for me to process the revelation that I am indeed in the world of Harry Potter. Any of my plans for the future will have to take this into consideration.

For my Christmas present, I got a library pass permit from my mom and dad. Which is the best present ever for me. Now I can read in the library on my own and even borrow a book if need be.

Our Switzerland trip was fun and we made a lot of wonderful memories there. I bonded with my parents in this life. This was very much real. I was real. My parents were real. I won't let a dark lord or a butterfly effect destroy it in my arrogance.

I will have to take action very carefully lest I cause major changes to canon.

On another note, I learned to ski at the resort. Initially, I was having trouble trying to follow the technique as instructed by my parents so I can do it properly without crashing.

My parents are pretty good at skiing. As time went on I also became increasingly better at it. By the time our trips ended, I was quite competent at skiing.

This also reminded me to start focusing on my physical aspects and look into starting with my physical training. Joining a martial arts dojo seems to be a good option as martial arts is not just good for self-defence it is also great for fitness, weight loss, and overall health.

These are also the reasons why people who are not into fighting sports join martial arts. And let's not forget that martial arts training is more fun than most average fitness classes.

After consulting with my father we both agreed that before I take up anything I need to build my stamina and get my body as fit as possible.

I already do Yoga and Meditation. So I should start with Running and Swimming for a more intensive workout.

Shortly after our trip, Dad got me a membership to an indoor swimming pool. And I can join the 2-hour classes on weekends if I want to learn various professional techniques from the instructor. After all, I really need to work on my physique.