Raine raised his eyebrows as he leaned against the side of an old street lamp. His hands tapped on its polished frame hearing that metallic echo. Light Snow. From what he remembered, it was an illusion-based Skill used by a guy in Bungou Stray Dogs….. Junichiro Tanizaki. As he hung on this, reading the panel over and over again, bursts of adrenaline and excitement pumped throughout his body.
He'd always wondered what it would be like if he were to possess…. Power. To possess supernatural abilities beyond the normal limits of what was possible. Now, if all of this was true, Raine would be able to walk amongst the people unnoticed and twist their perceptions of reality.
Now, within just ten minutes of walking through a town, he'd gotten himself what was basically a superior version of the Cloak of Invisibility, without some of its hindrances and faults.
With the ridiculousness of everything that had just happened in the twenty minutes since his death, the probability of this actually working actually felt… Reasonable.
Raine raised a finger into the air and concentrated, thinking….
[Skill: Light Snow]
And then, it occurred.
A digitalized transparent screen tinted green swept around his radius, and in his little bubble, flaky white snow illuminated a green sheen seemed to rain down from above. The screen seemed to follow his whims as it expanded slightly, contorting and warping about at Raine's will.
In a way, it felt like his own world. Raine turned his finger slightly, and in flashes of light, what seemed to be two "clones" of himself appeared. They were the same in appearance, height, and so on. Each one was completely statue-esque, not moving in the slightest.
In just a few seconds, these figures flickered back out of existence. Seemed there was skill and practice involved in maintaining and controlling these illusions. Raine snapped his fingers, causing the screen before him to fade out of view, as he reconnected with the world.
He'd first try to completely settle himself. The first matter at hand was to figure out the date. That was probably the most essential. Was it the First-Year? Fourth Year? How old was the main cast?
He could vaguely estimate that it was Summer at the moment. House windows were open, lawn chairs were out, and schoolchildren pranced about. At the moment, it was also pretty hot. Then again, Raine didn't really know much about the area's weather scheme, so for all he knew, it could be spring or late/early autumn.
The second thing Raine needed was money. It was essential for daily necessities, along with transportation. One of his only options at the moment was to steal. In this world, he was basically an undocumented illegal immigrant with probably no way to get a job in this ordinary rather upstanding town.
Not to mention it would probably be a distance from any place that could let him earn any money. He also had a handy skill that he'd obtained just a minute or so prior which would make the process much easier.
Still, as Raine thought of this, he sighed. While thievery was seemingly the most reasonable option at the moment, he'd definitely have a guilty conscience after doing so. Sure, it was in his best interest to rob houses, but-
"Only 36!? But last year I had 37! Why-"
Suddenly, a loud scream echoed across the neighborhood. Raine turned around to look at the commotion. It was a young boy's arrogant entitled voice, making any who listened immediately despise them.
Maybe perhaps…. There were a few people he wouldn't feel much from robbing.
Later….
Raine Sano Quill felt it much more convenient that the Dursleys had left their garden window open. A wonderful plot convenience. Carefully weaving his way around the bristling flowerbed, he hoisted himself into the house with a plop.
Outside, a car screeched out of the driveway, taking the Dursley residents off to wherever. As soon as Raine had seen the group move out, he'd moved. But not before catching a glimpse of that young scrawny boy entering the car…. Even for just a short glimpse, it was quite the spectacle catching a glimpse of the Boy-Who-Lived himself, Harry Potter.
As soon as the car had turned out of view, Raine was on it, best attempting to turn himself invisible. Of course, he hadn't forgotten to try it out before proceeding onwards.
That poor cat had been mighty terrified when it felt something unseen blocking its road. Maybe using a cat to test was not the best option?
Wiping dirt off his shoes with the bottom side of a rug, he looked around in sheer wonderment. So this was what a British home looked like in the late 1900s… It was rather enlightening. The floor was made up of shiny brown tiles, and wooden cabinets lined the kitchen walls.
A refrigerator nestled in the corner while a stove sat on the opposite end. A rounded dining table sat just outside the open kitchen, a few mugs, and cups scattered around. In the living room, a battered leather couch stood across from an old boxy television set.
On the ground beside the couch, an exceedingly large number of viciously opened presents sat there, toys sprawled across the ground, packaging ripped apart, and so on. Truly the work of a savage.
Raine mused, inspecting the ornate china within a large antique cabinet. He strolled down a hallway, sneakers clopping across the tiled floor. To his left, a polished staircase rose to the second floor, its white railings squeaky clean.
And there it lay, nestled underneath. An old white door. The cupboard under the stairs. It had quite the symbolism to be sure, so there was no way Raine was not going to take a look. He had plenty of time before the Dursleys returned, so he could tour all he wanted.
It was a dusty and decrypt place down there, the walls filled with miscellaneous junk and such, while a small moth-eaten bed sat there, cramming the rest of the available room. The low ceiling was covered in wispy spiderwebs, those small dastardly critters scurrying out of sight as the light came through.
Raine shook his head in sympathy. To think that such a young child was locked into this cupboard for weeks. It truly was no wonder how Harry turned out the way he did.
Still, in a month or so, all of that suffering would mostly disperse as this young boy embarked on his magical journey at Hogwarts. Carefully and delicately, Raine shut the door behind him, its frame creaking miserably.
Even though the cupboard appeared as if it had been abandoned millennia ago, from the made bed to the clothes thrown about, Raine could tell that Harry Potter still resided here. And with the presents and their departure, he had arrived in this world on the day that canon started. How handy.
Now, where was all the money at?