Fate - Another Life Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The Encounter.

Author's note:

Here it is. The first chapter of Fate - Another Life, a Fate/ Stay Night x Harry Potter crossover. To be honest I've never intended to write this story. But while writing my other fic, the idea suddenly appeared and it has stuck inside my head ever since. So in the end, I decided that the best way to get rid of it is just sit down and write.

About the story itself, this is a long multi-chapter fic. In the opening, I had changed Shirou's ending a little to fit with the scenario I had in mind. So yeah, just a little warning that this story might go way out of canon in some aspects. But I will still try to retain as much of canon as possible.

That's all for now, please enjoy.
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Shirou Emiya was kneeling under the crimson sky, on what in some ways could be called an empty hill. True, there was no one else there beside him. Only the remains of his last battle were still visible.

The overwhelming stench of blood and smoke covered the atmosphere. But Shirou paid it no mind. He was accustomed with it as long as he could remember. And that was to say, a very long time, from the day he was still just a kid.

The man tried to lift his head up and look around. The scene surrounding him was like a living hell, with countless number of corpses lying all over the hill. But his mind was taken by something else, something completely different.

Swords.

The resemblance was frightening. A sword-filled hill under a blood crimson sky. It was like Shirou was once again standing inside his own Reality Marble, his own world - The Unlimited Blade Works. The only difference this time was that this world wasn't a manifestation of his view. This was indeed the real world.

Finally, Shirou turned down to take a look at his own body. He was wearing his favorite battle gear - black tight suit, covered by a layer of red coat. The coat that was given to him by a member of the Burial Agency when they were cooperating in a joint mission.

If there was one thing that was out of place with him, then it would be the big wound that was bleeding quickly in the center of his chest. In normal circumstances, Shirou could easily Trace the Avalon and used it to heal his injuries. But this time, it was different. The wound was fatal, and he had finally burned out all of his reserve prana.

"Ugh..." Coughed up blood. Shirou accepted the fact that he was going to die soon.

He let out a choked laughter, being surprised by seeing that he was actually fine with it. Looking back, the life of the man named Shirou Emiya had indeed been fulfilling. He stayed true to his path, and had been fighting every single day of his life to save those in need. Although he was betrayed by the very same people in the end, Shirou held no grudge against them, nor he blamed them for what they did. He saved those people, and if the price for their salvations was his life, then he would gladly give it.

The only thing Shirou regretted was that this was also the end of his dream. From now on, he wouldn't be able to help anyone anymore. And only that part of him hadn't wanted him to die just yet.

If only I'm able to live more... thought Shirou with a bitter smile. I would do anything to be able to continue helping those around me.

"Is that true?" The voice of an old man suddenly appeared interrupted his thought. "You are willing to do anything, everything to archive that wish?"

Startled, he looked up to see a man standing in front of him. Normally in this case, Shirou would've Traced some of his swords to 'welcome' the stranger already. But this time, just this time, he allowed himself to be careless.

Took another good look at the old man, Shirou realized that he was actually very familiar. The guy looked very old, to the degree of non-human. He had crimson eyes and was wearing a black cloak.

"Zelretch..." He murmured. "What a strange honor..."

"And I will forgive you for not standing up to greet me," said the guy named Zelretch in a playful laughter. "So, what do you say?"

"Say about what?" Shirou asked, coughing up blood again.

"Is it true that..." Zelretch kneeled in front of him. "...you are willing to do anything to be able to save more people?"

"Yes," Shirou was now wondering where this was going.

"Even if that mean you will have to live somebody else's life? Replace him, bearing the burdens that he's supposed to have?" The old man looked straight into his eyes. And in that moment, Shirou realized that Zelretch was very serious.

"Yes," he nodded. Hope had returned inside his mind. "But tell me...ugh... why do I have to...replace that person?"

"Ah, that," the old man smiled. "You know. I like using my power to observe interesting things in alternate universes." He then tried to act embarrassed but failed miserably. "And then there's a very interesting boy that I 'found'. He has a very exciting life. And what impressed me the most was that: Not any single version of him, no matter in what universe, failed the destiny that he was given. In some way or another, he successfully cleared it..."

Then he paused and grimaced. "Except for one... He died even before getting to know about his mission."

"And...And you want me to..." Asked Shirou weakly. He could feel the last of his power leaving his body."

"That's right," Zelretch nodded. "You will take his place, shoulder his mission to save his world," he paused again and looked at Shirou as if estimating his condition. "I can't save your body though. This body is pretty much dead already. I can just transfer your mind over. And you will live your life all over again, from a kid. That's the price. What do you say?"

"Agreed," Shirou accepted his offer immediately. I have lived this long already. What's the problem with taking a few more years to grow up again? That's a rather cheap price for another life, and another chance to continue my dream.

"Then we have a deal," Zelretch clapped his hands. "I will give you another chance. In exchange..." He hesitated, choosing his words. "...complete you new destiny. And more importantly, entertain me."

"Deal. You are not joking, right?" Shirou smirked tiredly.

"Not at all," answered Zelretch. "Now, go to sleep. It will be an entirely different world when you wake up."

Follow the old man's words, he closed his eyes and let his mind fade away. But right before he blacked out completely, Zelretch voice once again appeared.

"Oh I forgot to mention this. But your memories may take some time before they come back to you, so don't worry if you won't be able to remember everything right away, okay?"

What!? Shirou wanted to shout out in shock, but all his could do now was to do so in his head. Are you freaking kidding me, old man? You are supposed to tell me that first hand.

"Don't worry. They will come back eventually," said the old man. And that's the last thing Shirou heard before falling into the compete darkness.
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Harry Potter was lying awake on his bed in the middle of the night. He just had the strange dream that he had been having since he was a kid.

In those dreams, what Harry saw could be described with one word - Hell. He saw a raging fire engulf a whole big part of a large area. And around him people are dying, or screaming for the help that would never come.

What made those dreams special was that they were so real. Harry could even feel the heat of the fire going rampage, see everything engulfed in flame and hear the screams of the agonizing people that he had never met before. In the past, every time that happened, he would wake up, crying and sweating all over.

Harry had gotten past the crying part over the years as he grew used to seeing the dreams. But the fact that they were still haunting his sleeps bothered the boy so much. He had no idea why did they appear in the first place. When Harry saw one of them for the first time, he guessed that was why his parents died. But after hearing his relatives' explanation about how he became an orphan through a car accident, Harry had dismissed that possibility entirely.

There was something different this time though; he closed his eyes, trying to remember the new details in his lasted dream. There was... a man. He was looking at me and smiling happily..., that was the first time Harry saw him. I wonder why. What's so happy about a hellish scene like that? And who was he anyway?

Finally gave up on figuring out who the stranger was, Harry got up and went out of the cupboard under the stair, which was his room, to get himself a cup of water. While drinking, he looked up at the clock on the kitchen wall, and realized that it was already past midnight.

Another day has passed, Harry remarked quietly, and remembered that his eleventh birthday would be just a week from now. But that didn't cheer him up much.

Normally, for most of the boys his age, birthdays were supposed to be very special. But for Harry, it was no different from every other days of the year.

The reason for that was actually very simple. After his parents passed away, Harry was brought here - Number 4 Privet Drive - to live with his only relatives - the Dursleys. The only problem was his aunt and uncle hated his parents deeply for some reasons, and that hatred was transferred over to poor Harry from the moment he started his life in this house.

For ten years, the boy had always been the bullying subject for the Dursleys. His uncle - Mr. Vernon - yelled at him all day, or even hit him whenever he was stressed, or upset with something. His aunt Petunia on the other hand, had forced Harry to do most of the house chores every day, and punished him severely if he couldn't make it to her standard.
And there was also their prince, Dudley Dursley. He was a fat little boy who loved bullying Harry. Dudley even had his friends over to hunt Harry together. In those times, the poor boy just quietly snuck out of the house and went around the streets until it was safe to go home once again.

Even what I'm wearing now is Dudley's leftover, Harry grimaced when he looked at the over-sized clothes on his slim body.

Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do about it. Although, on some occasions, Harry met some strange dressed people on the streets, and they appeared to know about him. But every time he tried to get close, they all disappeared mysteriously. Still, it gave the boy hope that someday, there would be other people than the Dursleys that was willing to take him in.

And speaking of strangeness, there was also something not normal about Harry himself. Appearance wise, he had a lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead, which he assumed came from the car accident. And more than often, the boy found himself in several strange situations that even he couldn't explain.

For example, when aunt Petunia spotted him coming back from the barber with his hair being just like when he left the house. She was so furious that he almost shaved his head, only left a bit in front of his forehead to cover the scar. Poor Harry was so scared of going to school next day in that state. But to his surprise, in the next morning, all of his hair magically grew back like nothing ever happened. Needless to say, his aunt and uncle were so pissed off at him. And Harry got grounded for a month after that incident.

There was also another time, when Harry was chased by a large dog from the family of one of Dudley's friend. The dog's size was almost twice as him, and it chased him around the neighborhood. Eventually, Harry ran into a dead end and was cornered. Terrified, he desperately grabbed a stick he saw leaned against a wall trying to protect himself. But what happened next was something that Harry could never forget. When he started to swing the stick around, his body suddenly moved so naturally like he was an experienced swordsman. And after Harry finally regained himself again, the dog was already unconscious.

Of course the boy couldn't explain how that happened. While Harry did have a strange obsession with swords and blades, he had never ever held a sword in real life. But in the end, Harry was still got punished badly by his relatives.

That wasn't the end of it. In the latest event, he 'accidentally' released a freaking Boa Constrictor by making the protecting glass of its enclosure disappeared when visiting the zoo with the Dursley during Dudley's birthday. Even crazier, Harry could swear that the giant snake talked to him right before the glass vanished.

Shook his head to clear his strange thoughts, the almost-eleven-year-old boy started to feel sleepy again.

I guess it's time to go back to bed, putting the cup he used back onto the cupboard, Harry started going back to his so called 'bedroom', all the while stretching his body and letting out a huge yawn.
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A few hours later, Harry woke up feeling rested. It was still pretty early in the morning, but he better be quick and started making breakfast before the Dursleys woke up. Or else...

Actually, it wasn't much of a chore for him as cooking was fortunately one of his hobbies. For today's breakfast, he decided to go with the classic fried bacons and eggs. While there were many other dishes that Harry could make, there weren't enough ingredients in the fridge for anything else when he took a look. That also mean there would be a shopping trip waiting for him this afternoon.

Well, thought Harry as he flipped the eggs. It isn't really that much of joy cooking for the Dursleys. But at least it's still better than getting beaten or chased around the neighborhood.

"Oi, brat," Mr. Dursleys loud hoarse voice came in from the hallway just as Harry was getting done with the cooking and was now setting the table. "Breakfast ready yet?"

"Yes, uncle Vernon," he answered while his relatives walked into the kitchen. Then without a single word to thanks their nephew, nor any sign showing that they ever noticed his existence, the three of them sat down around the table and started to eat.

During the meal, Harry was still retained his invisibility status as he watched his cousin trying on the new uniform. This year, both Harry and Dudley would go to secondary school. That mean, for the first time ever in his life, Harry wouldn't have to bear the presences of the fat boy and his annoying friends at school. And maybe he could finally make some friends. At the school he was in now, no one wanted to get close to 'that Harry Potter' that Dudley's gang hated. So naturally, the boy had to go through five entire years in desolation.

Grimaced at the bad memories and tried to finish his own breakfast, Harry almost missed the familiar sound of the letters that came every morning through the front door.

"Harry," ordered Mr. Dursley, didn’t even bother taking a look at his nephew. "Get the mail."

Silently obeyed his uncle, Harry got up from his seat and went to the door. On the floor nearby, there was already a thick pack of mails waiting for him. Picked it up, Harry browsed through the pile of papers.

Bill, bill, bill, thought the boy as he looked at each of the letters in total boredom. More bill, letter from aunt Petunia's friend, bill again, postcard, neighborhood's notice, bill, letter for Harry Potter, bill...

Wait a minute, finally realized something out of place; Harry immediately took another look at the mail addressed to him in bright green ink. At first, he thought that he mistook the name written. But after staring at it for almost a minute, Harry had to admit that the letter was indeed for him. It said:

To Mr. Harry Potter.

Cupboard under the staircase. Number 4 Privet Drive.

They could even tell where my room is, his eyes widened in surprise. Of course there was no telling how the sender of this letter could possibly know about that. But whoever that was, it appeared that he or she knew about Harry and wanted to contact him.

But who might they be? Wondered the boy trying to remember someone who was able to do something like this. But nothing came to mind. This family was Harry's only relative left, and he had no friend, either.

Then Harry thought of the strangers that he sometimes saw on the streets. They approached him, greeted him and shook his hand, but always vanished before he managed to ask any question.

It could be one of them, Harry guessed, looking at the envelope in his hand again. But if that's the case. Then why now? They didn't contact me at all in ten years. So why are they suddenly interested now?

Many questions popped up inside his head. But no matter how much Harry thought about it, he still couldn't find any answer for any of the questions. In the end, the boy started to feel an incoming headache. So he decided to temporary set the matter aside since there was no point rushing into a dead end.

Might not be a good idea to let the Dursley see this, Harry stopped halfway to the kitchen as the thought popped up inside his mind. He then hid the letter under his shirt before coming inside and handed over the rest of the pile to his uncle.

"What took you so long, you useless brat?" Vernon glared at him annoyingly. It wasn't a surprise. Everything that Harry did, no matter right or wrong, always annoyed the Dursley.

"I'm sorry, uncle Vernon," he apologized politely. But after noticing that the man's glare had become even more annoyed than before, Harry hastily added. "I'm done with breakfast now, so I will come back to my room. The boy then quickly cleaned his own plate, then get out of the kitchen as fast as he could.

After securely lying on his bed, Harry pulled out the letter and once again looked at the words ran through the envelope.

"Yup, no mistake. This is indeed for me," he mumbled. The boy then opened the letter, taking a look at its content.

Harry raised an eyebrow seeing two parchments inside the envelope. This was the first time he saw a letter used that kind of material. But again, maybe it wasn't that uncommon, Harry had never gotten anything sent for him after all.

Took one out of their cover, Harry started to read. He was extremely curious about what was that that the strange people (he assumed) wanted to tell him about. He read it the first time, then second time from the top. However, the boy couldn't believe what's written in front of his eyes.

Apparently, according to the letter, Harry was accepted into some kind of magic school named Hogwarts. Their new school year would begin on 1 September. And they would wait for his owl until 31 July.

What do they mean by 'await your owl'? Harry was confused. There wasn't a single thing in the letter that made sense. School of Witchcraft and Wizardly? That sounded like some kind of joke people would pull on the April's Fool. But now it was July already. And even if it wasn't, Harry still didn't find it any funny.

After that, Harry spent the entire morning lying in his room, thinking about the letter's content. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't think of any acceptable explanation. In the end, the boy fell asleep due to the exhaustion of having too many mysteries to think about in one morning.
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Harry suddenly found himself standing in a large yard of what he thought was some kind of school. The boy was currently hiding himself in a bush next to a warehouse. After awhile, Harry realized that he was currently peaking at what seemed to be a fight.

But it wasn't a normal fight. The scene in front of him at that moment was just like what could only be seen on a movie. Right in front of the gate a bit away from Harry's hiding spot, a man in red and another in blue was fighting each other with clear killing intents.
Harry gasped at the unbelievable scene. He was mesmerized. The blue guy, who was holding something like a long red spear, was attacking, striking, thrusting at a lighting speed. Harry couldn't see any of his movements. But the boy was surprised even more to see that no matter how fast or dangerous the strikes were, the man in red would just either block or parry them with what appeared to be a pair of short blades.

"What fascinating swords..."Harry murmured at the sight of black and white steels dancing around in the air.

Then all of a sudden, he caught a glimpse of the red man's face. And an unexplainable hatred started to rise in his heart. Surprised, Harry tried to calm himself down. Obviously, the boy didn't know who that guy was, or what did he do. They had never met before, so how could he hate him that much? However, despite trying his very best, every time the red guy turned his face to Harry's direction, the boy could still feel a strong urge to go out there and kill that man right on the spot.

"Hold on a sec," the blue guy's voice interrupted Harry's thought. "I think I saw somebody over there." He said, looking over the place that Harry was standing.

He spotted me, the boy paled. He now realized that he might have witnessed something he shouldn't. And he had already seen how crazy those men were. If he didn't get out of there now, there would be a very bad ending waiting for him.

With that in mind, Harry immediately left his hiding spot and ran toward one of the buildings. But to his horror, when he turned around, the guy in blue had already started chasing him.

"Don't run, boy," He shouted while dashing toward Harry with insane speed. "It will be over quickly."

Ignored his words, Harry found himself using all of his strength to speed up and rushed into the nearest building. Who in his right mind would ever listen to someone that was trying to kill him anyway? He ran through the entire first floor, and climbed the staircase. His lungs felt like they were gonna explode; his muscles were screaming and his mind started to blank out due to the lack of oxygen. But suddenly, the presence of the blue man behind him disappeared.

Standing in the middle of a long hallway on the third floor, Harry couldn't hear the other guy anymore. However, he still didn't stop to catch a breath, just running slower. In a situation like that, the silence of this place was horrifying. A chill went up his spine as the boy felt like his chaser was going to jump out from any classroom that he passed by, and was even started by the rustle sound of his own clothes. It was just like living in a real life horror movie.

"Going somewhere?" Suddenly from nowhere, the blue man appeared in front of him. Shocked, Harry jumped backward and fell to the floor.

He caught me... He was terrified. He caught me. Now I'm dead for sure.

Now that they were very close to each other, Harry finally had a good look on the man for the first time.

He was a very handsome guy with tall, well-built body and strangely blue hair. He was wearing some kind of tight blue armor and holding onto his red spear. That was what caught Harry's attention. Not only because that weapon would be the thing that was going to end his life, it was also because he could feel something very evil and full of malice coming out of it.

"You shouldn't run like that," the spearman walked slowly toward Harry. "You've witnessed something you shouldn't. And it would be so much easier for both of us if you could stop running."

Like hell it is, you are gonna kill me, Harry wanted to shout that out. But his mind and also his body had frozen from fear. No matter how much he tried, the boy couldn't even move one muscle.

"Good boy," said the blue man with a triumphant smirk as he started rising the spear. "Now bear with it for awhile. This will be over soon."

And even before Harry be able to completely process what he just said. The guy brought his arm down. And Harry could feel clearly that a metal bar ripped open his chest and went through his heart. Blood spurted out from where the spear connected and pain exploded inside the poor boy's body as the core of his life was destroyed. Finally, he fell down with a loud 'Thud!' like a puppet whose strings were cut off.

So this is how death feels like? Wondered Harry as the pain, and even his own senses started to fade away.
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Harry Potter had just woken up from his unexpected nap. He had a nightmare and jolted awake into a sitting position too fast that he loudly banged his head onto the ceiling of the cupboard that was now called his bedroom. That little incident made a big bruise on his forehead and now leaving him with a headache to go together with the piercing pain on his chest over the heart.

What a horrible nightmare, gritted his teeth because of the pain, Harry looked down at his chest. There was nothing there, no wound, no blood. Of course, he was stabbed inside his dream, not inside this cupboard. After all, Harry would've been dead if that was the case.

What was that all about? He lied back down and let out a painful grunt. This is the first time I've ever seen that dream. Who are those two men? Why did they appear in my dream and ki...kill me...

Unconsciously put his hand over his heart, Harry started to remember the feeling of the red man's spear. It was so real that it became sickening, the feeling of your heart being ripped open. The boy just wanted to vomit when that sensation came back to his mind.

Suddenly, there was someone banged loudly on to the door. That made the poor boy startled, sat up quickly and once again kissed the ceiling with his head on the same spot.

"What the..." Wiped away his tears of pain, Harry opened his bedroom's door only to see aunt Petunia glaring at him.

"What are you doing so loudly in there?" She growled.

"I'm sorry," said Harry, still rubbing his head. "I kind of banged my head onto the ceiling."

"Hmph, noisy brat," she turned away with a look of disgust. "Hurry up and get to the kitchen. It's almost lunch time already."

"Yes, ma'am," Harry nodded obediently as he followed Mrs. Dursley to the kitchen.
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Zelretch was now sitting in his old office at the Clock Tower. The old Dead Apostle rarely came back there as he enjoyed traveling around and playing pranks on people. But since today was an important day, Zelretch just didn't find himself interested in going outside. He just sat there and stared at the big old clock on the wall opposite of his desk, waiting for the right time to move.

The boy should've gotten his Hogwarts letter already, took another look through the Kaleidoscope; Zelretch could now see the boy cooking lunch for his relatives' family. It had become a habit of the old man to observe Harry (or Shirou) everyday for a few hours, just to make sure that everything was still going on its proper track.

Almost eleven years ago, Zelretch had made a deal with a dying man on the hill of swords, that in exchange for giving him another chance to save more people, the 'hero' Shirou Emiya would have to entertain the old Dead Apostle. Yes, pure entertainment. It might sound weird, even somehow insane, to normal people. But with one who had lived for so long like Zelretch, some really exciting entertainments were all he needed. But believe it or not, that wasn't something easy to get, especially when your sense of humor wasn't considered 'normal' by the others.

Anyway, in order to fulfill his end of the deal, Zelretch had transferred Shirou's mind into the body of the dying one year old Harry Potter on the night of the attack in Godric Hollow. All other versions of Harry in other alternate universes survived Lord Voldermort's Killing Curse that night. But for some unknown reasons, only that one couldn't. It enraged Zelretch, but excited him at the same time. From that point onward, the old man had always wanted to see how the boy's life would turn out now that Shirou was living it. That, to him, was a high quality entertainment.

But how interesting would it be, if I were to interfere as well? Some months ago, that thought started to make its way into Zelretch's mind, and refused to leave him alone. Being the kind of person he was, of course the old man himself didn't wanted such a great idea to go to waste either.

With that in mind, the Dead Apostle Ancestor had spent most of his time to come up with a plan. And today was the day he brought it into action.

I guess it's time to go, thought Zelretch as he looked at the time once again. It was now the middle of the afternoon. Stood up and walked away from the desk, the old man activated his Kaleidoscope.

He wanted to visit the Dursleys' house. Shirou Emiya was gonna need a guide to the world of magic. And since that was the case, it would better for the guide to be Zelretch himself, rather than that half-giant Rubert Hagrid, who was going to visit the boy one week from now. His carelessness aside, there was something else that the big man lacked. And that was the knowledge about the world of magecraft. Shirou needed to be retrained since most of his memories still hadn't come back yet.
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As expected, around three in the afternoon, Harry was ordered to go for a groceries run by his aunt while he was sitting in the garden, trying to progress the strange events that happened in the morning.

"Hurry up. The floor still needs to be mopped when you come back," said Mrs. Dursley as Harry walked out of the door.

Of course, it's always me, taking a turn at the corner and finally got out of Petunia's sight, Harry let out a big depressed sigh.

But it wasn't like he could do anything about it. No matter how much they disliked each other, the Dursleys were still Harry's only relatives and the only ones who were willing to take him in. That didn't stop the boy from hoping that one day; someone else would come and rescue him from them though. And now, despite being all suspicious about the letter delivered to him this morning, Harry suddenly found himself wanting it to be true. Inside, what he really needed right now was a miracle, and a school that taught you magic sounded just like one.

Well, not that I really believe in it anyway, sighed again, the boy walked through the door of the local mall in Little Whinging. He pulled out the shopping list that Petunia gave him and took a look at it.

We are out of rice too? Harry grimaced seeing the items that he had to carry later. It's not gonna be light. Guess I will have to buy it last. Now let's see...where is the pork...

After thirty minutes of running around the mall behind the trolley, the boy finally managed to buy all the things needed, and was now trying to bring them home. As expected, the bag of rice proved to be quite a challenge.

"Are you sure you will be able to carry all that, little boy?" Asked the cashier gently as she saw Harry trying to take all the bags by himself. "We have a delivery service, you know?"

"I will be fine, thank you." Smiled gratefully at her, Harry was now able to get everything into the plastic bags that he was currently holding in both hands.

I'm not saying that I hate shopping. But this is overkill, gritting his teeth trying to endure the pain from the plastic pushing and grinding against his palm, he heavily stepped out of the mall and was now heading back home. The image of a frail little boy carrying groceries that seemed almost as heavy as him had drawn the attentions of many bystanders on the street. It wasn't really bothering Harry though, since this wasn't the first time something like that happened, minus the rice bag.

Luckily, the mall wasn't too far from the Dursleys' house. After about ten minutes of fighting the groceries on the street, Harry finally made it back.

"I'm home," the boy said as he stepped into the house.

But unlike what Harry expected, only silence greeted him. Actually, the Dursley didn't usually greeted him back either. But there should still be some other noises, like their voices talking to each other, or the television. This complete silence was just too strange.

"Uncle? Aunt?" Harry called out. "Dudley?"

Weird, thought Harry, walking down the hallway. Did they go somewhere without telling me again?

However, when he got into the kitchen, all of his doubts were cleared seeing Mr. and Mrs. Dursley were sitting at the dining table when Dudley was nowhere in sight. From the seat opposite of them, there was an old man who Harry had never met. According to the shocked and somewhat terrified looks on his relatives' face with their jaws hung open, the silence from before was understandable.

The stranger dressed in a formal black suit with a matching necktie. At first, he seemed like nothing but a normal old man, might be older than anyone that Harry knew, but not very strange. But when the boy finally got a look at his face, he almost jumped backward in surprised. The man's eyes had a deep crimson color. One that can only be seen in books or movies.

It's odd how those eyes seem to suit him perfectly, remarked Harry as he calmed himself down.

"Ah, nice to finally see you, Harry," the stranger gently smiled and stood up to shake the boy's hand. "I'm Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg. But you can call me Zelretch."

"Ah... Excuse me. But do I know you?" Asked Harry hesitantly as he took a glance at his relatives. The Dursleys still looked like they were in too much of a shock to say anything.

"You do," Zelretch sat back down in his seat and answered. "We've met before. But it's not strange that you forgot about me. It's been a long time after all. By the way, the tea's great." He turned over and thanked Petunia. That made the woman twitched and tried to hide herself even more behind her husband.

This was the first time Harry saw them behave that way. And needless to say, the boy found the whole scene to be quite interesting.

"Anyway," put down his cup, the old man looked back at Harry. His smile was still visible. "As I've explained to your relative before you got home. I'm here to talk about the letter you received this morning, Harry."

"Letter..." Hearing his words, Harry's jaw dropped wide open. "You...you mean the Hogwarts letter?" The boy could feel that his uncle and aunt's expression changed uncomfortably when the word 'Hogwarts' came out of his mouth. But he chose to ignore them. There are more important things to focus on at the moment.

"Exactly," Zelretch nodded. "And I believe that you've already read the letter?"

"Yes, I have," answered Harry, still couldn't believe in his ears. "So are you saying...they are real? Hogwarts...and all the magic stuffs?"

"Of course they are," Zelretch said cheerfully and stood up once again. "Here, if you need some demonstrations..."

Immediately afterward, even before Harry could understand what Zelretch mean, the old man suddenly vanished in the blink of an eye.

"What the..." Harry's jaw opened even more. But the boy couldn't finish his sentence as he felt a hand put on his shoulder which made him startled and jumped forward, tumbled on the floor.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry," from behind laughing happily, Zelretch grabbed Harry's hand and helped him stood up straight. "Do you want me to do something else? Or that's enough to prove that magic is real?"

"It's amazing," the boy's face beamed up. "So... If I go to school at Hogwarts, I will be able to do that too?"

"Maybe?" Maybe not?" The old man looked at him with an amused expression. "It depends on whether you have what it takes to be able to learn it or not."

"Ah right," said Harry, a bit disappointed. "I guess there's that too, huh..."

"Alright," for the first time since Harry got here, Mr. Dursley opened his mouth and spoke. "That's enough, sir. I don't know who you are. But you are trespassing illegally. Therefore please leave our house. I won't allow you to tell the boy anymore about all that nonsense."

Seeing Vernon's reaction, Zelretch was about to say something. But Harry was quicker than him.

"Wait..." Once again the boy had a disbelieving look on his face. "Does that mean... you know about this from the start?" He asked his uncle.

"Of course we know." However, his aunt was the one who answered the question. "You are just like your parents. They also got themselves involved with all that freaky stuffs and then finally got blown up," she said with a super high-pitch voice that made Harry's ears hurt.

"What...what are you talking about?" The boy stuttered, feeling a bit terrified of this sudden revelation. "Didn't they die in a car accident?"

"That's not true, Harry." This time Zelretch spoke up. "But seeing your relatives' attitude. It didn't surprise me that they hid the truth from you."

"I have to stop you now, sir." Mr. Dursley growled. Angry veins popped out from his tempers. "You can't say anything more to the brat. That's enough."

"Oh...? Is that so?" The old man grinned mockingly with transparent enjoyment on his face. "It's such a same. And here I am, planning to take Harry with me after explaining everything to him."

"You what?" Harry and the Dursleys loudly asked in unison. What Zelretch just said had no doubt created a huge impact on them.

"Wh...What do you mean by that?" Finally, Harry asked in a trembling voice.

"Dear Harry," Zelretch turned to look at him, the gentle smile once again returned. "That means you would come to live with me. Only if you want, of course."

"Really?..." The boy was clearly shocked by his proposal. But before he was able to say something else. Mr. Dursley cut him off.

"You really mean that?" He asked eagerly. "The brat will go with you, forever?"

"I wouldn't dare to say 'forever', Mr. Dursley," answered Zelretch with a satisfying grin. "But yes. If you allow Harry to go to school at Hogwarts, then the boy will come with me. Which mean you and your family won't have to see him for a long time."

"Fine," said Vernon instantly. But then he hesitated a little, and added. "But I won't pay for the brat's school fee."

"But...dear...?" For some reasons, Mrs. Dursley didn't seem to be very sure about letting her nephew go. "I think we shouldn't..."

"Please don't worry, Mrs. Dursley," Zelretch, as if sensed her thoughts, quickly reassured the woman. "I will make sure that Harry's going to be completely safe once he's with me."

"But..."

"It's okay, Petunia," Mr. Dursley jumped in. "He said the brat's going to be okay. And isn't this what we've always wanted?"

Mrs. Dursley looked like she wanted to argue some more. But after thinking it through, she finally accepted that it was better not saying anything.

"That's settled then," clapped his hands, Zelretch turned back to Vernon. "And don't worry about the money, Mr. Dursley. That had been taken care of." Then he looked at Harry, smiled warmly. "All that left is your decision, Harry. Do you want to come with me? Or you wish to continue living with your relatives?"

I've already known what the answer is, thought Harry. I think I can trust him. During the others' conversation, he had been thinking a lot. Of course, he had just met Zelretch for the first time. But there was something about the old man that felt so familiar. It was like they had known about each other even before this meeting. Besides, this was exactly what Harry had always wanted. To be able to get out of the Dursleys' house, might be for forever, was the miracle that he really needed.

"I want to come with you, sir," looked back at Zelretch, Harry answered solemnly.

"Very good," The old man grinned. "Then for now you should come back to your room and pack your things. I have to arrange something else with your uncle and aunt."

Smiled at Zelretch and nodded his head, Harry walked out of the kitchen and headed to his room. All that while with a satisfying smile on his face.

So magic is real, the boy excitedly thought as he took out a small travelling bag and started to put his stuffs in. There was nothing much really, since the Dursley rarely bought him anything, most of his luggage now was Dudley's leftover clothes.

There were still so many questions that he needed to ask Zelretch. How did his parents die? Why only now that the magic world made contact with him? Why was he left with the Dursleys in the first place? And so many other ones going rampaging inside his mind.

When Harry finished packing, he came back out to the hallway and saw Zelretch had already waiting for him together with his relatives. Mr. Dursley seemed very happy with the recent arrangement. But the look in his wife's eyes were something that Harry couldn't understand. Was it fear? Or worry? And was that a trace of sadness that he saw? The boy couldn't be sure.

"I'm all done," Harry informed the old man. "So we are leaving now?"

"Yes, we are," Zelretch nodded. "Say goodbye to your relatives, Harry."

Turned over to the Dursleys, Harry suddenly felt something that he had never imagined that he could feel. The boy was so surprised to see that he actually felt a bit sad saying goodbye to his aunt and uncle. But it's understandable; they had lived together for almost ten years after all.

"So... Good bye, uncle Vernon," he finally said. "Good bye, aunt Petunia. I hope to see you again."

"Goodbye..." Mrs. Dursley said hesitantly.

"Good bye, brat." Mr. Dursley waved his hand. "Go and never come back."

With that, Harry followed Zelretch out of the house he had been living in since he was just a kid. Took one last look at number four Privet Drive, the boy then turned his eyes toward the old man.

"So where are we going now, sir?" He asked, couldn't hide his own excitement.

"Your new home, Harry," Zelretch took the boy's hand. "And from now on, just call me Zelretch."

And before Harry was able to answer, everything around him turned all blurry. All the houses, the trees and the street just disappeared. After awhile, the whole scene became solid again. But the two of them was no longer standing in the Dursleys' front yard.

Instead, Harry found himself and Zelretch now facing a big and beautiful western style mansion. Surrounding it was a large yard with many types of trees and statues as decorations. And from what Harry guessed, then they probably were nowhere near the Little Whinging anymore. Since the boy had lived there for ten years, and he had never seen or heard about a place like this.

"So, what do you think of your new home?" Asked Zelretch as they walked together to the front door.

"It's amazing," Harry simply answered, wondering how his life would turn out now that he finally got away from the Dursleys. Or more importantly, now that he knew that he could use magic.

End of chapter 1.