1990, April 1st – Overcast
Forty-year-old guy gets isekai'd into a ten-year-old kid. Already painful enough.
Even worse? I'm a goddamn Brit!
The British food desert just got its most miserable tourist yet!!!
If I can't rant about this suffering out loud, I'll just write it in a diary.
---
1990, April 23rd – Cloudy
I wasn't seeing things.
Auntie can teleport!
---
1990, May 4th – Sunny
Lucky break in this mess: I seem to have landed in a world with superpowers.
My aunt is apparently a teleporter. I caught her appearing out of nowhere in the living room when I got up to pee in the middle of the night!
Need to observe more…
---
1990, May 21st – Sunny
I just discovered something huge.
I think I have superpowers too.
I was annoyed that a sparrow on the tree outside was chirping too loudly while I was trying to read, so I flicked it in the head through the window.
Next thing I know, there are feathers scattered all over the ground.
I literally gave a bird a brain-flick from across the room?!
Is my superpower… giving people noogies?!
What the hell?
I've decided to seriously study this so-called superpower.
From today onward, this diary is officially called "Superpower Research Diary"!
---
Poor little sparrow. Lesson learned: Don't make noise when someone's trying to read.
---
July 1st, 1991.
Another new day.
Warm sunlight poured through the window into the cozy little bedroom.
Richie Harland, his blond hair sticking up in every direction like a bird's nest, sat at his desk flipping through his diary.
"Richie! Time to wash up and come eat breakfast!"
"Coming, Mom," Richie called back without looking up.
Honestly, he really didn't want to eat the breakfast his mother made: rock-hard toast that could probably break a tooth, slathered with overly sweet butter, a couple of tiny tomatoes, and a glass of slightly fishy warm milk.
But his body was still growing, so he had no choice but to choke it down for the sake of proper development.
Richie set his diary aside. Just then, a tapping sound came from the window.
Tap. Tap.
He looked up instinctively.
An owl was perched outside the glass.
"An owl? That's unusual…"
Richie raised his finger, ready to practice his long-distance noogie, when he suddenly noticed something tied to the owl's leg.
"Huh?"
"Are capitalists too cheap to even pay mailmen now?"
Realizing it was a delivery owl, Richie opened the window and let the bird inside.
Completely unaware it had just dodged a bullet, the owl hopped onto his desk, gave Richie's arm two light pecks, then lifted its leg toward him.
Richie grinned at the funny sight and untied the item from the owl's leg. When he unfolded it, he realized it was a letter.
To: Richie Harland
Second-floor north bedroom, 9 Silver Maple Road, Maplewood District, Prorow County
The envelope was sealed with a wax stamp featuring a strange symbol—four animals, it looked like.
Richie couldn't think of anyone who would send him a letter. But it had his exact name and address, right down to the specific bedroom.
"Some kind of prank…?"
He glanced at the owl, which was busy preening its feathers, and decided to open the envelope anyway.
---
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore
(Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, First Order of Merlin, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot)
Dear Mr. Harland,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on September 1.
We await your owl by no later than July 31.
Yours sincerely,
Professor Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress
[Attachments]
Uniform:
Plain work robes (black)
Plain pointed hat (black) for day wear
...
---
Richie's eyebrows shot up as he quickly read through the letter.
"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?"
That name sounded way too familiar.
Wait… oh… ohhhhh.
Wasn't that the magic school from those Harry Potter books his son used to love?
He used to read the series to his boy every night as bedtime stories. It had been a while, and he'd only been half-paying attention back then, so the details were fuzzy.
But now he had actually received an acceptance letter from Hogwarts?
Magic?
Wizards?
Richie's eyes lit up.
So… his "superpowers" weren't superpowers at all.
They were… magic?
He had transmigrated into the world of those books and become a wizard?!
Everything suddenly made sense.
"Ahhhhh!!!"
A high-pitched scream suddenly ripped through the air.
Richie instinctively covered his ears and turned toward the door. His mother, Elena Godwin Harland, had appeared out of nowhere, staring in shock and fury.
"Hoot."
The owl flapped its wings nervously.
---
The Harland family breakfast table had a rare heavy atmosphere that morning.
"Denton! This is a serious problem!"
"Denton Harland!"
Denton Harland lowered his newspaper and let out a long sigh.
"Elena, I heard you the first ten times."
Elena slammed her hand on the table, eyes wide.
"Then give me an answer!"
"I'm losing my mind here!"
"I'm sorry, dear," Denton said, raising both hands in surrender.
"But isn't this obviously some kind of prank? An owl? A magic school…?"
"No! It's not!"
"…"
Richie sat quietly on the side, swinging his legs as he ate his breakfast. Inside, he was absolutely thrilled.
This world actually had magic!
Not only that—it had a whole system, real knowledge, and an actual school for it!
This was fantastic.
He wouldn't have to flail around like a headless chicken trying to figure things out by himself anymore.
Superpower Research Diary? Cancelled. Welcome, Magic Research Diary!
He was going to school. He was going to study real magic!
As for his mom not wanting him to go?
Richie snuck a quick glance at his mother, who was still venting at his father, then looked away again.
He remembered that if Hogwarts didn't receive a reply, they would send a professor to find the young witch or wizard in person.
Wasn't that how Hagrid showed up on that island to get Harry?
So earlier, during all the chaos, he had secretly let the owl fly off without a reply. That meant a professor should be coming soon…
Richie waited with growing excitement.
"Richie. Richie!"
"Look at me, sweetheart."
Elena placed both hands on his shoulders, her eyes full of panic and heartbreak.
"You cannot go to that world. It's dangerous, dirty, and completely chaotic!"
"Cruel dark wizards killing innocent people left and right."
"Self-proclaimed 'good' wizards who just stand by and watch."
"Parents sacrificing themselves for their newborn children…"
"Baby, listen to me. We can't go there."
"We'll stay here, live a normal, safe, happy life. Okay?"
Richie was momentarily stunned. He remembered the books being marketed as children's stories. Was it really as bad as his mother was describing?
But… it was magic.
After working his whole life in his previous existence, he had finally found something that truly interested him. Asking him to just walk away from it?
Only someone who had been given a second life could understand how precious this chance was.
After a long silence, Richie made up his mind.
He raised his hand. The newspaper on the table slowly rose into the air.
"But Mom… I belong there."
Elena's eyes widened. A single tear slid down her cheek.
"How could this happen…"
"Whoa," Denton muttered, staring at the floating newspaper and rubbing his forehead. "Never seen a flying newspaper before."