Chapter 1

Waking up and suddenly finding yourself in the body of a 5 year old is disorienting enough. Waking up in the body of a 5 year old who was previously lying in a pool of blood and brains was more than a little freaky.

I looked around attempting to get familiar with my surroundings. I was in an old clearing, with crumbling stone walls, dead grass and weeds sprouting out of cracks in the ground. The gently swaying grass and grey clouds promising rain provide an eerie atmosphere. A large chunk of wall that had fallen on the ground was covered in brains and blood…. My brains and blood? I gingerly touched my head but other than a slight sore feeling everything felt like it was in its right place.

Suddenly, like a lightning bolt, memories crashed into my mind. 4 years worth of memories were suddenly stuffed into my mind as a name, unbidden, escaped from my lips.

Arius Black.

Black? Like Sirius Black? Like related to The Lestranges and the Malfoys, Black? I don't wanna believe it but my new memories prove otherwise. Apparently a burst of accidental magic caused pieces of the wall to go flying and I got brained by one of them.

While I can clearly remember my last life, my new memories begin to bleed in. I close my eyes in pain, remembering all the things I've lost, even as I look forward to all the things I can gain. While I don't like being ripped away from my past life I can't help but be excited. Magic! Who hasn't thought about being able to do magic. The corners of my lips tug upwards a little as I let my resolve form in my mind.

"Alright, Arius," I say with a sad smile on my face, saddened by the loss of an innocent life even as I am relieved due to my own survival. "I will take on your name, and your face. And I promise you, when I'm done there's no one who won't know the name Arius Black."

Upon my declaration, it's as if something inside me slots into place. As if the last part of Arius that was struggling to fight back against the foreign invader inside its body accepts my resolve, accepts my declaration.

My smile stretches wider as I look ahead towards something only I can see. An imperceptible gleam in my eye.