《Wandless》


 Prologue

    The veil fluttered perpetually to an unseen breeze in an archway always on the brink of collapse. So old and mysterious was this construct that wizards and witches built their headquarters around it to study it. After many years of studying the veil it is believed to be a one way passage to the land of the dead and if you stand close enough to it you might be able to make out the whispers of lost loved ones. Over time and many years of stunted progress in understanding the workings of the veil has losts its popularity with magic researchers and the war going on above its chamber has made sure the veil is left alone, unchecked, unguarded. On the cusp of the climax of the war the veil did something it had never done before or was ever intended to do by its unknown maker. The veil bulged silently in small places slowing increasing all over its surface until it could hold no more and tore in several places releasing the souls that stressed it to its limits. The souls shot off in all directions looking for bodies to contain them while the veil quickly fixed itself to stop any more renegade souls from trespassing on the land of the living and settled back down into its timeless flutters once more. Of the souls that broke through one in particular traveled halfway around the world to the country of Australia to a woman in the early stages of pregnancy. Upon reaching its target it barreled through her and into the unborn child claiming its new body.


    Mary¡¯s strength left her like a kick in the guts causing her to stumble and almost fall if not for the quick reactions of her husband Zac.


    ¡°Woah you ok there dear?¡± Zac said with a hint of worry.


    ¡°Maybe, it feels like I have been drained all my energy just now¡± She replied on slightly shaky legs.


    ¡°Just give me a minute or two to get my bearings and I should be good¡±


    ¡°You look like you need a bit more than a minute or two, we should go to a healer like I said, they are much better than these muggle quacks you call doctors.¡± They had found about Mary¡¯s pregnancy last week which gave rise to celebration but that didn¡¯t last when the topic of where they should go for assistance with preparing for the arrival of the baby became a concern.


    Zac¡¯s comment earned him a glare from his wife. ¡°I thought you agreed to stop calling us muggles after all you married one.¡±


    He really needed to get a handle on that old habit, it really wasn¡¯t doing him an favors.


    ¡°Besides I already told you I''m not putting our child in danger by going to them while they have their war going on, it''s why you came all the way down here to get away from it after all.¡±Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    The start of the war and appearance of you-know-who had shocked the wizarding community to the core causing some people to flee for their lives with zac being one of them. He wasn¡¯t invested in the political conflict over purity of blood nor was his skill in magic much for praise so he figured he better get out of there especially when the death eaters started going after wizards not on their side. Zac fleeing from the war finally ended him up in Australia where he eventually meet Mary and was enthralled by her. They hit it off well and after a year of skirting around it he finally showed her magic which was meet with less amazement and wonder then he expected but it didn¡¯t cause any problems and a few years later they got married. They went to visit Zac¡¯s side of the family back in Scotland because unlike him they decided to stick out the war and were not to pleased with him fleeing let alone marrying a muggle. The visit was brief due to the war and hostile interactions with his side of the family they moved back to Australia where Mary become pregnant a year later.


    ¡°There are magic people here you know and so what if their magic is a bit unconventional I''m sure it will work out fine in the end.¡±


    ¡°I thought you said wandless magic was difficult and dangerous to do.¡± Zac has to pause a bit before responding.


    ¡°Yes¡­ but while it¡¯s not as reliable as using a wand they have been taught this way for years so I¡¯m sure it''s mostly safe.¡±


    ¡°No we agreed on this, we go to the doctors and you can ask them any questions you want since they are not like your healers with their trade secrets, now come on we are almost there.¡±


    The pregnancy went well and the doctors did their job even under the barrage of constant questions from Zac. He still couldn¡¯t get his head around how they were able to see the baby in the womb using something called ¡®ultrasound¡¯ let alone tell its gender. The only problem if you could call it that was when the doctors came back after delivering the baby boy asking to run tests on him because something felt off about him. The result showed the baby was perfectly health but they just couldn¡¯t shake the feeling of wrongness coming from the little one. Zac figured it was probably due to him giving off a little magic from the stress of being born and managed to convince wife it was nothing.


    ¡°What should we name him?¡±


    ¡°You don''t have a name? Your his mother, shouldn¡¯t you already have five or six planned out?¡±


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t think of any and neither of our family have people I want to name him after¡±


    They sat there for a while throwing names that popped into their heads back and forth.


    ¡°Dick?¡±


    ¡°Mmm no I''m not calling my son dick.¡±


    ¡°How about Jason?¡±


    ¡°He doesn''t look like a jason.¡±


    ¡°Ok¡­ hmm... you got any?¡±


    ¡°I was thinking maybe Tim.¡±


    ¡°He kinda looks like a tim but not quite there.¡±


    ¡°Ahh I got it, Damian.¡±


    ¡°Yeah I can see that, will go with it.¡±


    Mary stares into the light blue eyes of her baby boy.


    ¡°My little Damian Anderson.¡±

 Pre-Hogwarts 1

    ¡®What''s going on, where am I, why can¡¯t I see, why can¡¯t I move properly, why do I feel so weird.¡¯


    ¡°Shhh there there mommies hear.¡± says a female voice while I start rocking.


    I put all my strength into turning my head towards the source of the voice but all I see is a blur. The situation is getting too much for me, I start thrashing but it is futile ¡°YOUR NOT MY MOTHER YOU DON¡¯T SOUND LIKE HER AT ALL TELL ME WHAT''S GOING ON.¡±


    A man''s voice joins the woman''s soft attempts at calming me down. ¡°What''s gotten into him? he was fine a second ago.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, he was sleeping so peacefully.¡± she replies.


    ¡°Maybe he¡¯s hungry?¡±


    ¡°Maybe.¡±


    The world shifts for a bit then I feel something touch my mouth and before I can do anything I latch onto it and begin sucking. ¡®What am I doing, this has to stop.¡¯


    I try to use my arms to push whatever it is in my mouth away from me but they lack the strength. I feel a liquid enter my mouth, it tastes¡­ not that bad, a bit like milk but sweeter. It helps calm me down which I suppose is good but by doing so it gives rise to the waves of tiredness I was suppressing during my struggle. I try to fight it but the waves are too big and I go under.


    I have finally figured it all out, I''m a baby, I have been reincarnated and I am now a baby. Clearly remembering my death and my terrible control over thi- my body where big clues. The seemingly endless time before this pushed me to my limits, no control especially of my bowels, no sight and no reason why. I¡¯m not ashamed to say I broke down a few times, I doubt anyone would be able to keep it together. Not saying now that I know makes it any different from before but I now have a reason why and my sight is slowly starting to work, control still needs work tho. As to how I was reincarnated I have no clue, one minute I¡¯m on a plane to America the next spiraling to the ground and then I came to as I am now. I¡¯m not to bothered by my death, kinda like a rollercoaster with no wind and louder screaming followed by a sudden stop, probably landed upside down with how quick it was. I¡¯m going to miss my fami- my previous family tho, except my brother, fuck him, he¡­ ¡®oh come on it hasn¡¯t even. been.. that¡­¡¯ the waves of tiredness come and I manage to resist for a brief moment before going under again.


    The lack of energy this little body of mine has is very annoying, it causes my day to day life to consist of on and off sleeping making it very hard to focus on anything in particular. I would much prefer a long sleep to these short ones, it would make getting through these seemingly endless days so much easier. I don¡¯t know what it is about the passage of time but everything seems to move so slow now that I¡¯m a baby, I think I have been around for 3 maybe 4 months now, it¡¯s hard to tell but I haven¡¯t had my first birthday so I know it hasn¡¯t been a year yet. Why can¡¯t things just move faster, doing nothing all day is so boring my mind is starving for stimulation. I guess the only thing I can do to pass the time is sleep.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    FINALLY an end to my boredom, I have acquired the ability to crawl. It¡¯s exhausting and slow but I can explore my home and see what the world is like. I have been taken outside a few times but those moments only come once in a blue moon and are not long enough for me to spot any anomalies. So far there hasn¡¯t been anything out of the ordinary so far, then again my parents keep a close eye on me so I haven¡¯t been able to look inside the garage or their room yet. Through grueling work I have managed to set up a pillow throne of sorts next to one of the low windows in the house so I can observe the street outside and have done it enough times that I have convinced my mother to stop dismantling it. From my pseudo-throne I observe the daily life of the street for clues about the workings of the world because I am certain there was no reincarnation like what I have been through in my old world, it would¡¯ve been a much different place if there was. There used to be a bunch of kids that would play games on the street every now and then but at one point they spotted me and slowly played less and less until it''s been weeks until I have seen them, I think I freaked them out. Other people who are disturbed by my watchful gaze are some of the elderly people living on the street who go for walks every now and then. One of my favourite things to do when observing the street is if I see someone who is particularly fazed by my watchful stare, I smile or do other things that I think look sinister to creep them out even more.


    ¡°Damian! What have we told you about creeping out the neighbours, we have already had several complaints from them about you.¡±


    ¡®Shit my dad caught me again, quick act innocent.¡¯


    ¡°Oh no that won¡¯t work on me I saw you messing with Mrs Green just then. She''s a nice old lady, she doesn¡¯t deserve your harrasment.¡± With saying that dad comes in close and whispers.


    ¡°Someone you should harass tho is Mr Thomas, the one that walks funny, that old fart has got it out for me for some reason, always calling me a pansy, whatever that means.¡±


    ¡°ZAC! I can hear you, stop encouraging him to harass the neighbors.¡± My mum yells from the kitchen. A moment later she pops her head around the corner.


    ¡°Close the blinds, no more window for him.¡± she looks at me and says ¡°next time I¡¯m gonna take these pillows away.¡± and with that she goes back.


    ¡°Don¡¯t test her, you know she will do it.¡± my dad says while he closes the blinds.


    ¡°Hey I got an idea, I¡¯m pretty sure you haven¡¯t seen this before and the blinds are closed so no one will see.¡± with that dad pulls out a long brown stick with weird carvings on it. I stare intently at it because this is my first time seeing him with something like this, ¡®it kinda looks like a- ¡¯


    ¡°Ready? Ok  ¡®Lumos¡¯.¡± and with that the tip of the stick spews forth white light. The sudden light catches me off guard and I reel backwards in shock causing me to tumble off my throne. ¡®Magic wand¡¯.

 Pre-Hogwarts 2

    That was magic, real magic from a magic wand, I knew there was something about this world and now that I have found it, I must have it. I roll onto my hands and knees and charge my Dad, aiming for the wand.


    ¡°Sorry for that Damian didn¡¯t mean to scare you there.¡± Says my Dad with a worried look. ¡®Great he has dropped his guard, now lunge!¡¯ My fingers close around the tip of the wand, ¡®yes!¡¯, but it is unfortunately tugged from my grasp, ¡®no!¡¯


    ¡°Woah there you can¡¯t have this, this is mine, daddies wand not Damian¡¯s wand.¡±


    ¡®no it is Damian''s wand, it is magic, I must have it.¡¯ I struggle with all my might for the wand. It¡¯s what I have been waiting in front of the window for, Dad be damned I gotta have this magic.


    ¡°I said no. Hey stop it. Your gonna hurt yourself.¡±


    We struggle for possession of the wand for a while before Dad realises I''m not giving up.


    ¡°Ok that''s it, no more magic if your gonna be like that, let''s go see mummy instead.¡± He says while putting the wand back where he got it from then he picks me up. We enter the kitchen to see Mum checking the contents of the pot containing tonight''s dinner.


    ¡°Tea will be ready soon.¡± She says when seeing us before slightly frowning when she notices my mood.


    ¡°Did he get upset because we closed the blinds on him?¡±


    ¡°Nah I showed him some magic and he got upset when I didn''t give him my wand.¡± Said Dad causing Mums frown to deepen.


    ¡°Magic? Your not supposed to be doing magic here, this is a no magic area, someone could''ve seen you.¡±


    ¡°No no its ok I closed the blinds first so no one could¡¯ve seen me besides it was just a small ¡®Lumos¡¯ spell so it would¡¯ve been hard for people to make it out even if they did see me.¡±


    ¡°¡®Lumos¡¯? Were you casting spells on our son?¡± Says Mum while crossing her arms, not looking happy.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry ¡®Lumos¡¯ just makes the tip of my wand glow, besides having spells cast on him won¡¯t hurt him unless it¡¯s caster is a dark wizard or inexperienced and since I am neither he is perfectly safe.¡± said Dad trying to reassure Mum.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°It¡¯s not the person I¡¯m worried about, I can understand people, its the magic that I don¡¯t like. The way I see it, it¡¯s unwieldy at best and chaotic at worst.¡±


    ¡°Magic is not that hard to control and he will tell you the same when he goes to school to learn to control it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not really convinced he should go, he will be surrounded by it and he could get hurt.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the same with me and your non-magic ways yet here we are.¡±


    ¡°That''s because we are here with him, we won¡¯t be able to protect him when he¡¯s at school.¡±


    Oh boy I think they have started arguing. I hardly ever see them argue probably because they don¡¯t want to upset me. I fine with them arguing at the moment tho, the topic of conversation is a one I¡¯m keenly interested in. ¡®Yes argue, spill the beans on the magic.¡¯


    ¡°Hogwarts is one of the safest places in the world, he won¡¯t need our protection when he''s there.¡±


    ¡®Hang on, what was that?¡¯ I spin my head around to try and get a better reading on what Dad had just said.


    ¡°You speak so highly of the place even tho you love telling stories about all the pranks and accidents that happened during your time there.¡±


    ¡°I can assure you Hogwarts is the safest it''s ever been, the current headmaster is the best it¡¯s ever had.¡± said dad beaming with pride.


    ¡°That Albus what''s his face is just one man, he can¡¯t protect all the students from harm.¡±


    ¡°Albus Dumbledore is a great man, he has defeated a dark lord and scared the socks off the most recent one.¡±


    ¡°You mean the same one that got beaten by a baby.¡± say Mum with look of victory ¡°these supposedly powerful dark lords can¡¯t be that much trouble if babies can defeat them.¡±


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t say that about you know who.¡± said Dad clearly put off by Mums mocking of the you know who.


    ¡°Come on you said he was destroyed when he tried to kill the boy, he¡¯s gone, there''s nothing to scared of anymore.¡±


    ¡°What ever happened between you know who and the boy is a mystery to everyone, he could still be out there for all we know.¡± Dads worry about the untimely demise of the recent dark lord put a dampener on the mood, bringing the arguing to halt.


    ¡°Ok we should stop bickering now, teas just about ready.¡± says Mum with sigh try changing the subject. ¡°And I think Damian has had enough of mummy and daddy fighting anyway.¡± Finally noticing the blank look I¡¯ve had for awhile now. Their argument contained a lot of shocking information, to the point it set my mind reeling from the thoughts and emotions it invoked. The most pressing of them was the realisation of where I was, I am in the Harry Potter universe. Albus Dumbledore, Hogwarts and you know who are huge giveaways and I refuse to believe they are just coincidences. What do I do with this realisation tho, I guess I can try helping Harry with his fight against Voldemort, actually no things turn out well in the end so I don¡¯t want to mess with that. I think I''m better off just to do my own thing and avoid the shenanigans the main trio get into with my knowledge of the future. What happens if there are others tho, if I¡¯m somehow reborn here it''s not that much of a stretch to assume I¡¯m not alone. I better look out for people I don¡¯t remember seeing in the movies although everyone will probably look different to the silver screen counter parts. The potential for others in my situation to screw up the story is worrying and that''s not including the very real concern of mind reading in this universe. No I gotta stop thinking about this it''s too early, I¡¯ve got many years to go before things really get going.

 Pre-Hogwarts 3

    Why does it take so long for things to get going? It feels like it¡¯s been forever since I first found things out but it has really only been three years. There''s hardly anything to do at home and no one for me to play with, everyone is either too old, too young or unsettled by me. I¡¯m not sure why I disturb people, I¡¯m pretty sure I have the toddler act down pat but no matter what I can¡¯t seem to get a positive reaction out of people. The only people I can interact with is my parents but my act is not that effective on them, I think they know I¡¯m faking it but how much they know I¡¯m not sure. Dad is the one staying home looking after me while Mom works because she''s the expert when it comes to the non-magic world. Dad and I play a few of times a day in between his chores and complaining at how easier it would be with magic. At first we did simple things but they quickly got boring, at the moment our go-to game is connect four. The main challenge I have with the game is not winning but losing with style. I¡¯m trying to make it look like I¡¯m actually trying to win while losing most of the time. Dad sometimes attempts to let me win but I refuse to win those on principle alone, there''s no fun when there''s no challenge.


    ¡°Would you stop doing that you almost had that one.¡± Dad mocked when I reset the game on the brink of winning.


    ¡°Must be fair.¡± I said firmly, he had caught on to my dislike for his game throwing a while ago and found it funny how he could change the game into one with the aim to lose.


    ¡°It was fair, I didn¡¯t cheat.¡± The annoying smirk clear on his face.


    ¡°You want to lose.¡±


    ¡°So do you, why do you want to lose hmm?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not fun.¡±


    ¡°You sure? I¡¯m having lots of fun.¡±


    Oh the things I want to say but can¡¯t, pretending to be a 3 year old can be so frustrating sometimes. Since my words don¡¯t look they are going to help me against Dad and his mocking lets see how he likes a piece to that smug face of his. The sudden act of aggression catches Dad off guard for a second and we briefly sit there facing each other.


    ¡°So that''s how it is, well two can play at that game.¡± he says before we start peppering each other with the pieces. It quickly becomes clear that I¡¯m not winning, despite his throws being light, they are numerous.


    ¡®Ok that''s enough, no more¡¯. I bring my arms up to shield myself but Dad just changes the game to trying to get past my defences.


    ¡®This is not working, I need to get away¡¯. I get up and make a break for the door of the lounge room only to be knocked flat by a big hit to the back. Turns out upon seeing me trying to run Dad decides to lob a pillow after me with a bit more force than intended. I lay there for awhile on the verge of tears, attempting to calm down.


    ¡°You ok there Damian?¡± Luckily Dad realised something was wrong when I didn¡¯t get up straight away otherwise I would''ve gone over the edge if he tried to continue playing. I get up since there''s no point sulking on the ground when I have a better spot but before leaving I make sure to give Dad an upset glare.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Ah ok.¡± Dad responded my glare with a face of someone who had caused an accident.


    I go to my room and crawl into my sulking spot under my bed, dragging my pillow and blanket in after me. My sulking spot came about during the first few times I got pushed to the edge by my parents, at first I would just find a corner to sulk but they would start talking to me after awhile and I wasn¡¯t in the mood for chit-chat. I came up with the idea of going under the bed when I got in big trouble for trying to steal Dad¡¯s wand and really didn¡¯t want to talk with my parents lest I say something I might regret. My parents and I get along well but every so often our interests conflict on things mainly due to the difference between who they think I am and who I really am. I understand that I am a little kid and will be treated as such but sometimes I just want to be treated as my true age. I could go by the saying and act my age to maybe get the treatment I want but by doing so will give up things I¡¯m not ready to give up. My thoughts are interrupted by the appearance of Dads face at the end of the bed.


    ¡°Truce?¡± He says revealing a plate of freshly cut apple slices with lemon juice and setting it down on the floor just before the foot of the bed. I go back and forth over whether to accept but in the end fresh apple slices win out and I accept his appeasement. I crawl to the foot of the bed and drag the plate of food under, not yet ready to leave my sulking spot.


    ¡°You have got to use your words more, say when you¡¯ve had enough instead bottling it up until it gets too much.¡± Says Dad as he sits down against one of the bed legs.


    ¡°It''s not just this time either, your mother and I aren¡¯t as oblivious as you think, we notice your barely keeping it together and it hurts us that you don¡¯t open up to us and instead come here.¡±


    ¡®Damn I¡¯ve really gotten used to crawling under here haven''t I?¡¯


    ¡°It''s good that you don¡¯t cry over everything but not crying at all is just as bad, your mother and I are here for you so it¡¯s ok to let go sometimes.¡± I really don¡¯t like these heart to heart moments, whether it¡¯s this life or the last one, They make me feel so guilty. The other person is always asking me to change my ways because it''s making them sad and all I can do is sit there and agree while knowing full well I won¡¯t change.


    ¡°You understand right Damian?¡±


    A small ¡°Yeah.¡± is all that comes out from under the bed.


    ¡°So can you please make an effort to be more open with us from now on.¡±


    ¡°Ok¡±


    ¡°Good because it¡¯s gotten to the point that your mother was threatening to drag you out from under there if I didn''t do something first.¡± Ah I have really stuffed things up, I gotta fix this somehow. We sat there in uncomfortable silence for awhile, my slices long finished.


    ¡°Anyway.¡± Dad said all of a sudden. ¡°On a brighter note, school will be starting for you in a fortnight''s time, maybe interacting with kids your own age will loosen you up a bit.¡± Finally it¡¯s over, although I didn¡¯t miss that little jab at me. School, one of the things I have been waiting so long for which is kind of ironic since most people can¡¯t wait to leave it. Not that the company of my parents is bad but a change of scenery is long overdue.


    ¡°You excited?¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t wait.¡±