HP : A Wizard's Dream

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"Speaking"

"SPEAKING LOUDLY

"Speaking in a magical language" (Parseltongue or Ancient Runes)

"...*Quotes*..." 

*Sound effects*

'Thoughts'

##### = Scene break 

Time and place where the story is happening 

Enjoy the chapter ! 

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London - 30 Kinnerton Street (31st December 1874)

'My diabolical plan succeeded, I got cake, impressed my parents while reminding them that I am a genius AND I realised my lifelong dream of dirtying a suit to get rid of it without anyone yelling at me or looking down on me !'

'The photos might be incriminating in the future though… Should I make them conveniently disappear ? Nah, it can't hurt me, it's not that important.'

'What is important is that I completely forgot to ask what year we will be tomorrow !'

'Well, cake is more important and I can always ask tomorrow, it will still be of actuality, unlike the cake… yeah, I definitely did the right thing !' 

*yawn*

'Tomorrow it is then"

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London - 30 Kinnerton Street (1st January 1875)

His sugar cravings having been satiated, Arthur woke up the next day feeling refreshed and energized in his bedroom, on the first floor of the house. His mother came to bring him down to the kitchen, on the ground floor, to eat breakfast, giving him the opportunity to finally ask his question.

"Mamaaa, whyyy cake yess-ta-da ?" (Mom, why was there cake yesterday ?)

"Good morning to you too Arthur !"

"..."

"..."

"Morniiiing"

"See, you can do it when you want, you little glutton ! And don't think I haven't noticed that the only word you pronounced correctly was *cake*". His mother answered both sweetly and menacingly at the same time, making him sweat a bit.

"To answer your question, yesterday was New Year's Eve, which means that we entered a new year today. Last year was 1874 and this year is 1875, now, try to repeat after me, Art, 1-8-7-5"

[...] 

After a rather long session of repeating words to get better at speaking English correctly, and some breastfeeding, Arthur could finally concentrate on the information he just got from his mother.

'What happened in the late 19th century, probably in England, that could warrant the intervention of someone like me through reincarnation ? Why this time period ?'

'I highly doubt that my reincarnation was just a stroke of luck, it probably involved the intervention of some higher being or concept. And someone or something like that doesn't go around reincarnating people without reason other than necessity or boredom. In any case, it WILL be dangerous and I didn't even get a heads up nor did anyone ask for my opinion.'

'The only thing I know around this time period is that WWI (First World War) started in 1914, which is in 40 years. Am I supposed to stop a world war ? Without superpowers or special historical knowledge ? I know an assassination started it, but I don't even know who died to spark this war, and it would have probably happened anyway with another trigger ! There must be something else.'

'The only other thing I know is that Jack The Ripper became known in the late 19th century. I don't even have a precise date, and I doubt he is that important !'

'Anyway, I might have to fight in a war or against a serial killer…or something else totally unknown. I haven't witnessed anyone with superpowers or magic yet, and I won't just stand like a sitting duck in these conditions. Anyway, whether it's war, a serial killer or something else, I will need to know how to fight, preferably with a weapon, a gun if possible.'

'Now, how do I ask for a gun as a 6 month old baby, hummm, questions questions…'

'I guess I can start by asking to learn how to fight ? Things like Krav Maga, fencing and maybe I should try asking to learn how to hunt since we are rich ? I am pretty sure nobles loved that in the middle ages, and it still existed in 2025, it should be doable. And then when I become an adolescent I should start working out and try out parkour, if it even exists in this time period, then enroll as soon as possible in the army to learn how to use a gun and all.'

'Look at me, an intellectual at heart, yet forced to choose such a violent path based on suppositions…But I won't take any risks, if I happen to overthink it, I can always self-study the science of this time period, it should be easy to make breakthroughs with all my future knowledge'

'Yes, let's do that, now that the boring part is done, time for really important questions'

'Now, question one, when can I finally *legally* eat cake in this house ?'

'I am 6 months old, that's the moment when babies start eating more solid things. I am lucky I didn't get sick when eating cake before, but now there shouldn't be any risk ! Especially since I am going to have a really healthy lifestyle in the future with all the sports I will have to practice…'

'I am already tired just thinking about it'

'Question two, how do I get access to the library before I start planning murders and assassinations out of boredom ?'

'The library, on the second floor, is always closed and I am too short to reach the handle. My parents won't let me in, I tried many times. Even if I manage to get inside, how do I pick books when they are too high for me, especially since they are probably as big and heavy as me, if not more ? Finally, how do I explain everything the moment my parents inevitably find out ?'

'I guess I can start thinking about my plans for murders and world domination…'

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London - 30 Kinnerton Street (14th April 1875)

Turns out that opening the door of the library was easy, with just a sheet, Arthur managed to lower and pull the handle. Picking books, however, was much harder, the same method wouldn't work for books on the higher shelves and he was on a tight schedule before one of his parents noticed his disparition.

Even the books on the lowest level were a problem, because although he could reach them with how close to ground they were, pulling them out proved to be too difficult with how weak his baby body is.

Of course, no book was on the ground or on a desk, every single one was accounted for on the shelves. That's something that was seriously starting to get on his nerves as it seemed like the world was against him in satisfying his cravings for reading materials.

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London - 30 Kinnerton Street (28th April 1875)

'Finally'

Arthur was getting really desperate as he couldn't read anything despite having access to the library with books within reach yet impossible to pull out. That is, until her mother took out a recipes book from the library and kept it in the kitchen.

'I don't care if it talks about the best way of killing a chicken or peeling oignons layer by layer, I WILL put my hands on it and devour it, as many times as necessary.'

And so did he. He waited until his mother was in the shower and his father was in his study before stealthily going down the stairs to reach the kitchen. There, he rushed to the nearest broom, before pulling it behind him until he reached the table, and swung the broom as violently as possible for a baby, several times, to get the book closer and closer to the edge.

'I am sorry little book, I hope you don't end up with torn pages because of that, but *it's for the greater good*, alright ?'

One last swing and the book fell, thankfully not in a way that had damaged it.

'Finallyyyyyy ! Now, I need to push it in a corner of the house where no one will find it, preferably on the ground floor since I won't be able to make it climb the stairs with me. I already have enough trouble climbing them myself, let's not add more weight and problems.

Fortunately, he had already scouted the ground floor many times before executing his plan, a good thing that he did, because he misjudged the weight of the book, taking more time than anticipated to push it in a corner of the living room, behind a sofa, just in time, before his father came to check what caused the disturbance.

Not finding anything he went up once again, leaving Arthur with his book in his cozy little corner of the living room. 

'Now i just need to add some cushions and it will become my own little hideout !'

Arthur thus started his long overdue binge reading of *European recipes for upper society* by the author *Ratatouille I - 5 stars chef*.

His reading time didn't last long however, as he was disturbed by his parents frantically searching for him in the entire house, already imagining the worst case scenarios after noticing the disappearance of their son from his crib.

'Oooops, I forgot to go back ! Let's just pretend I was sleeping in some corner'

That foolproof alibi was quickly destroyed however, as his parents noticed him crawling out of his hideout, yelling for a good 30 minutes about how worried they were and questioning him about his disappearance. And trying to act like he didn't understand didn't help at all, as his mother proceeded to dismantle his cozy nest in response.

Finding out the presence of her book in it confused his parents even more than they already were about this whole situation, and it earned him another long earful, as well as a reinforced scrutiny, which annoyed him to no end for following months. He had managed to read a bit…but the price was steep.