On August 11, 1991, at 7:50 in the morning, it was sunny. This was a rare clear day in London, a city famously known as the Foggy Capital due to its pervasive smog. Yet, on my birthday, the skies were unexpectedly bright. It seemed like a good omen for the day. Frank Dell was writing in his diary. After all, who keeps a diary like a proper adult? But there was no way around it—his mother insisted he write one entry every week to improve his writing skills, with additional entries required on special occasions. And so, the household was filled with an abundance of special days: his father Huvenal's birthday, his mother Jeremiah's birthday, the Queen's birthday, the Prince's birthday, the Prime Minister's birthday, the anniversary of the Prime Minister's election victory, Madame Curie's memorial day, and so on. In reality, Frank had to write a diary entry every single day for his mother to review. Frank! Frank! His mother shouted from downstairs. Come down for breakfast! It's your birthday today. Your father and I are taking you to the amusement park. And your dad has a surprise for you. Frank responded while closing his diary. I hadn't written a diary since elementary school in my past life, yet here I am in Britain, making up for it. Turns out, debts always come due. Frank's arrival in this world was simple. In his previous life, he was a proud member of the infamous Qidian Orphanage. With a disabled right hand, he was never adopted, but he worked hard, always ranking first in academics. He eventually tested into Peking University, completing a combined bachelor's, master's, and Ph.D. in law. One weekend, while visiting the orphanage's younger kids—who loved *Cardcaptor Sakura* and *Harry Potter*—he stopped by a toy store to buy them some merchandise. The moment he stepped outside, a speeding truck sent him straight into this world. Eleven years had passed, yet memories of his past life remained vivid. Perhaps due to the fusion of souls from crossing worlds, his current intellect was frighteningly sharp. The Dell family were true-blooded British natives. Their ancestors had once defended the royal family, shedding blood for the glory of the British Empire in both World Wars. His great-grandfather had six sons and three daughters. Now, only Frank and his parents remained. In recognition of their immense sacrifice for the Queen and the Empire, the monarchy had granted them a knighthood. Frank privately thought a few million pounds would have been more practical, but his father, Huvenal Dell, was immensely proud. After all, how many civil servants in the British Empire could claim such an honor? Dad, Mom. Frank called as he descended the stairs. What's the surprise? Ta-da! A remote-control car! His father beamed. You love watching racing, right? We searched forever to find this—it's the latest model from America, not even on the market yet. I had to pull some strings with a friend at the embassy. Just be careful with it. If it breaks, replacing parts won't be easy. Frank nodded. Of course, Dad. I'll take good care of it. His father sipped his coffee and picked up the newspaper. Oh, and you got a letter today. Why don't you give your friends our phone number? Though… Hogwarts? I don't recall you having a friend by that name. Hogwarts? Dad, you can't— Frank almost blurted out that this couldn't fool him. But then he remembered reading *Harry Potter* to the orphanage kids in his past life. He'd even checked the publication date—1997. After all, he'd watched the Hong Kong handover ceremony with them and talked about it. Now, in 1991, how could Hogwarts exist? Unless some predecessor had written it first? Frank took the letter, examining the wax seal before flipping it over. The address read: Second Floor, 45 Fleet Street, London. Addressed to Frank Dell. He opened it to find the famous admission letter: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore (Order of Merlin, First Class; Grand Sorcerer; Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot; Supreme Mugwump, International Confederation of Wizards) Dear Mr. Dell, 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 no later than July 31. Yours sincerely, Minerva McGonagall Deputy Headmistress Frank skimmed the list of required supplies, then handed the letter to his parents. Well… maybe I won't be going to Eton after all. Huvenal laughed heartily. Must be a prank from one of your friends. I remember you stopped believing in Santa Claus when you were little. What, do you believe in magic now? Go ahead and reply. But don't come crying if your friend teases you tomorrow. Frank gave his father an exasperated look before noticing an owl perched on the mailbox outside. He pointed. If I need an owl to reply, why not use this one? Taking pen and paper, Frank wrote back, requesting further proof. But as the owl obediently took the letter and flew away, his anticipation grew. Perhaps a professor would visit soon. Ding dong—new system detected. Frank froze. No one in this era would speak Chinese inside his mind. He looked up at his parents. I'm suddenly really tired. I'm going back to bed. Without waiting for a response, he dashed upstairs. System? System? The moment he entered his room, Frank called out in his mind. As if hallucinating, he watched as a… pigeon? Materialized in mid-air. The pigeon landed on the back of a chair, its wings stretching out like hands to unfurl a scroll. On it was a man in formal attire, seated on a grand chair, one hand resting on his chin, the other atop a cane.
The man looked at Frank and said, Hello, I'm sorry to meet you like this. I am Clow Reed, the creator of the Clow Cards. He then placed his staff between his legs, resting both hands on it. My other successor of the Clow Cards. Frank seemed struck by a tremendous shock, his mind blurting out without thought, Does this world also have Sakura Kinomoto? Clow Reed smiled. No, when you died in your previous life, the Clow Cards and the magical wand in your arms released a tremendous energy that carried away your soul. I detected the trajectory of the Clow Cards beyond this world. They were originally supposed to come to mine. But this world already has Sakura. So, you were sent to the world you're in now. However, since you are still a successor of the Clow Cards, I couldn't simply ignore you. Therefore, when you came into contact with the magic of your current world, I was able to sense it and communicate with you. Crossing worlds consumes a great deal of magical energy, so even I cannot speak for too long. Given the differences between worlds, the manifestation of magic also varies. I've made some modifications to the Clow Cards accordingly. The scroll transformed into a star chart before Frank's eyes. The sun and moon stood side by side, surrounded by four stars representing earth, fire, wind, and water. Around these four stars, forty-seven dimmer stars orbited. Suddenly, the stars marked Illusion and Twin lit up. At the same time, Clow Reed's voice echoed. I left a bit of power in this Illusion card to help activate it, protecting your mind and preventing your past memories from being seen. Twin was activated because you once had two souls in one body. Though they've now merged, Twin remains active. The way you use them now may differ from the cards' original form. I'm not entirely sure how they'll manifest in your perception. The Clow Cards are primarily based on light and dark, with earth, fire, wind, and water as secondary elements. Each of these four has its own subsidiary cards, totaling forty-seven. You must first activate the subsidiary cards of earth, fire, wind, and water before you can activate the main four, and only then can you use light and dark. I believe you'll find your own hope in this process. However, be mindful when making choices—the earlier cards require less energy to activate, but the demand gradually increases. Plan your activations carefully. Of course, a large-scale magical ritual could also help you activate one of the earth, fire, wind, or water cards. But this method leaves the subsidiary cards weak, so you'll still need to practice diligently. With that, the star chart dissolved into specks of starlight and flew into Frank's mind. Practicing spells will increase your energy reserves. Each time your energy is full, you'll gain an energy point. Remember to study hard from now on. Perhaps someday, you'll even be able to visit me for tea. Before Frank could respond, the pigeon folded up the scroll, its body glowing with green flames as it spread its wings and vanished. Frank stared blankly at the spot where the pigeon had disappeared. Suddenly, his mother's voice called from downstairs, Frank, the professor from Hogwarts is here.