Surviving Times

3rd person POV:

Aurora remains a woman of terrifying talents. She almost recreated whatever she d.e.s.i.r.ed from the Star Trek. She doesn't know it, but she fulfilled the American dream. Well, that's a story for another day.

And Mia is blessed to be the daughter of such a woman. Because of having extraordinary mother, anything Mia does might not seem abnormal.

For example, creating a virtual reality in the void realm. Developing a whole new kind of alchemy. Creating different branches of magic, like summoning the celestial spirits. Bringing out dystopian technology. So on and so forth.

No one found anything amiss. Naturally, Mia was cautious. But ultimately, being born in a not so normal family had its advantages. Like even if she were to turn into a dragon, it would seem not so odd.

Heck, Theo even thought she was not from this world. Daphne suggested she was some celestial spirit reincarnate and Draco thought she was some wandering soul of a great evil or something of that sort. No kidding. All of it was so close to the truth. But they probably flicked it of as a joke and that was the end of it. They watched too much science fiction.

Therefore, here we are with the current dilemma.

"Zhou Qunfei. Are you sure about it? I mean, there's nothing special about this woman Mia." Draco was perplexed regarding his friend's decision. Well, it wasn't his fault. He didn't know the future after all.

And it was one thing Mia was glad about. The world was very similar to her previous world's. The history, the particular individuals, were all the same. Except there was no J. K Rowling in this world. It would make sense or maybe not.

As to who Zhou Qunfei is? She was the world's ric.h.e.s.t self-made woman till Mia sprung up with her kick-ass software which caused revolutions…

And what does she require Zhou Qunfei for? It was of course to place some nice screens on their smartphones which would come out of the factory...

Her three friends, mother and grandmother all had a sudden penchant for smartphones, because they literally binge watched every TV show there is. And Mia was more than happy to get her grubby little hands on smartphones. No one can have a smartphone too early.

She was sick of owling every time she needed to send a message. The next problem was the internet, but she already thought of a solution for that.

They spend three months on coming up with a feasible plan to create a perfect smartphone or iPhone. In the VR, they were able to create ten models, and they were doing fine.

Mia was fine with its performance. Everyone was satisfied with them. But somehow, Daphne thought it would be nice if anyone from Fiore had them too.

Hence, they had to think up ways to manufacture them. They brought few muggle companies, production lines, etc.

The staff was switched with some people from Fiore who were skilled in enchantments, arithmancy, artifact making, etc. and signed hell lot of confidentiality agreements. Soon, many wizards would have smartphones in their hands but that would be in a distant future.

She was able to come up with a design, and it was already in production. The sole problem was the screens, the available ones were plastic…

Because the very first mobile phone came into the market in 1983 and they all had plastic screens…

They thought of using the lens. So they searched for suitable options, but Mia was adamant about this woman named Zhou Qunfei.

"Believe in me Draco. She would do nothing but fine."

"Fine, as you wish."

With that, there was nothing left for her do. The smartphone fiasco was finally over. It was tough but it was worth it.

Everything was satisfactory. With an elevated mood, Mia went inside to have lunch after finishing up some paperwork. Owning a MNC was not easy… so is being rich.

Mia's entire family and friends sat together for lunch. They were having Thai food today. Nearly ten different dishes were laid for them to eat as usual.

Gresil's training had paid off. The Morgan house elves were indeed capable of presenting any dish. Speaking of the Exceed, there's no clue where he was at all. Mia was someone who respected privacy, so she didn't bother him. If he was fine and happy, nothing else would matter to her. She let him be however he wanted. And she was certain, he couldn't stay away from her for long…

While she was enjoying some Pad Thai, an owl flew through the window and landed in front of Mia. And boy she loathed it. The owl's feathers fell on her plate, and she lost her appetite.

She must really do something about these owls… smartphone production just got faster due to her eccentricities. She would personally overlook them now.

Sighing, she opened the letter and was mildly spooked.

It turned out to be 'the letter.' The Hogwarts' letter. OMG. She practically forgot about it.

Everybody looked at her curiously, save for Aurora and Rebekah who discerned what it might be.

"It's the Hogwarts' letter." She said. After a moment of silence, the dining room was noisy.

Her three friends looked agitated. They were only ten and everyone knows that Hogwarts would send a letter to 11 years old.

"Why did you receive this letter?!" Daphne was the first to ask.

"Exactly. You're 10. You are not going there!" Draco continued, at least not without them.

"Did you do something?!" Theo asked, he seemed to have predicted this.

Draco and Daphne looked at her with disbelief written all over their faces. They looked a bit betrayed. Mia rolled her eyes at them. Her mother and grandmother were absolutely enjoying this preteen drama. And it wasn't helping at all.

"Corrections, ladies and gentlemen. I'm 11 so I don't need to do anything to get a letter." She said through another sigh.

"You're 11?" The three of them shouted at once. They found it hard to believe. Well, it's not their fault.

They met Mia when she was five or at least they thought so.

"I'm born in 28th August 1979. Period."

"…"

"And don't worry, I'll go with you all next year."

With that, Mia was tackled into a hug yet again, and it annoyed her even more. Because her mother kept cl.i.c.k.i.n.g photos…

***

Later that night, after eating a whole three boxes of vanilla ice cream, Mia went to sleep. She slept for real this time. Because at this point, meditation helped very little. Truth to be told, it didn't help at all. Her occlumency and legilimency were doing just fine. Improving them further would require decades…

So, for the first time in a long while, Mia went to sleep. Real sleep where your mind drifts away and shuts down, providing it with some rest and preparing you for what is to come. And it's common to have some dreams when you are asleep. It's the same for Mia.

The dream she had was a happy one. At least at the beginning.

She dreamt of her previous family. Her mother, father and brother, they were doing fine. They found peace. She had a bittersweet smile on her face as she dreamt it.

Subsequently, the dreamscape changed to her current life. It was of one of the times when Aurora and Regas where playing with her. It was also pleasant. She abandoned her shame and curled in her father's arms like a baby she was. It felt really nice and then suddenly, something happened. There was a claw poking out of Regas' c.h.e.s.t, digging his heart out.

And this was enough to wake her up and deprive her sleep for the rest of the night…