You're a Wizard, Harry!
"…"
"…"
"You okay, kid?"
The small boy let out a loud squeak as he leapt into the air, clearly not realising Rei had been there. The boy turned around, his wide green eyes gazing a Rei in fear and scepticism. Noticing the oversized clothes and small frame, the most prominent theory had two main inside possibilities itself; abuse/neglect or he lived on the streets. Paying closer attention to the boy's physical descriptors, Rei recalled a few of his wife's rants about some woman name Petunia's (funnily enough, the same name as his younger sister) nephew and claims of being some kind of thug. With this information, Rei could only say one thing:
"You don't look like much of a thug."
"Um- well-"
The boy was obviously trying to figure out what to say to address the claim, like he wanted to deny it but wasn't supposed to; one point to abuse. Rei let out a sigh.
"How old are you?" he asked simply.
"E-Eight…"
Another point to abuse; the kid looked like he was 5- maybe 6. Even though it could also work as a point to homelessness, the guarded response gave abuse vibes. Rei had lived in Surrey long enough to know that homeless people, while still not having a great time, weren't at risk of being hurt, at least, not enough to deserve this kind of wariness.
"Alright kid. Come on, let's get some food in you; you're way to small to reasonably be considered eight."
Rei led him to a small table in a more secluded corner of the library, one that was close to the stairs that led to his house above. Having the boy sit down, Rei quickly popped upstairs to his kitchen, opening the fridge to obtain the watermelon he had gotten the previous shopping trip on instinct.
"What's going on?" called a feminine voice.
Rei popped his head above the door to see his wife, Akari watching him curiously, and based on the soot on her kimono, having recently floo'ed back home.
"Eight-year-old downstairs, pretty sure he's that kid that Petunia woman you hate complains about. I'm 95 percent sure he's being either abused, neglected or both."
Based on her light gasp, Rei was certain she'd be coming with him to talk to the kid. He was proved right 20 seconds later when she was sitting sort of next to him on the small circular table while the green eyed boy watched the watermelon uncertainly.
"You're welcome to eat whenever you'd like," Rei clarified.
After a bite, the boy immediately began to dig in like a starved animal. Another unfortunate point towards abuse. Once he had finished, Rei decided to speak.
"So, kid, um… what's your name?" he asked awkwardly. He could feel Akari's disappointment at his social ability
The kid flinched, apparently realising there were people in front of him.
"H-Harry?"
The way his name sounded like a question pushed Rei to two ideas, either A. the abuse left him dramatically horrible at social interaction, or B. he isn't referred to by his name in his house. Rei hid his fury at Harry's incompetent guardians in case the kid worried he was mad at him.
"Well then… It's nice to meet you, Harry. My name is Rei Evans, and this is my wife, Akari."
"We own this library, and we also live upstairs. You're welcome to stay with us whenever you'd like."
Harry looked like he was about to respond, but Rei decided to shoot down the idea he could see forming before it finished.
"Before you suggest it; you won't be any kind of burden. Both I and Akira earn enough for us to live comfortably with even 5 extra people to look after, and that's not even including our jobs in the survey corps. in Akira's home country. You have no need to worry about anything like that."
Rei smirked internally at the pouty nod of agreement that Akira was giving Harry. Unfortunately, it wasn't that easy to deter the idea, and it finished forming.
"But- But I'm a freak!"
Rei's mind immediately caught onto that term, it reminded him of what Petunia had called Lily when she was going to Hogwarts for the first time. It was because of that, that Rei began to get slightly suspicious of the Petunia that Harry was the nephew of; could his aunt Petunia be the same as his sister Petunia? Rei decided that had to be crazy; as far as he could remember, Lily and James didn't have a son- although, maybe it had to do with that asshat Petunia got married to and it was simply her nephew-in-law. Either way, he was now pretty sure Harry had to be either a first- or second-generation wizard. Rei had an idea to check.
"…Hey Harry, quick question: can you see that bookshelf- the one that says wixencraft?"
Rei directed Harry's line of sight to the section of his library that held the books about magic. He had commissioned mundane-repelling wards that made the books there fall under mundane categories; potions would be chemistry; charms would be physics; wixen languages would become mundane ones- etcetera. The ward was uniquely designed so that unlike the normal wards, you could see them as long as you knew about the magical world or had close biological relation to a wix (parent or sibling) as well. It was helpful for any first-generation parents who had no idea what they might be sending their child to Hogwarts or another school. He achieved this by making his own version of the Hogwarts registry
The way it worked was that unlike the Hogwarts version, which only listed the wix specifically- his version not only listed the wix, but their immediate blood relations as well. He developed this with the help of the goblins at Gringotts International Bank, who he had formed a friendship with through a mix of his ability to learn and use goblin customs and tongue (they despised the term gobbledegook), his introduction of Pokémon, and his study of how magic works instead of believing the "because magic" bullshit. Granted, his study of magic was mostly because of the fact he was an absolute nerd- but that didn't matter, the fact was he did still research it.
And Rei had not only researched it, but he figured out the proper sciences behind most magic- he still believed Transfiguration was bullshit, Alchemy made so much more sense; it followed the law of equivalent exchange, you break things down into their elements- even their very protons, neutrons and electrons- and built it back up again. Rei simply couldn't bring himself to call Transfiguration anything other than physically-existing-but-not-for-very-long illusions. Granted, there was an element of Alchemy in Transfiguration; demonstrated by James' creation of earthen walls during the war, but it still faded after time.
Anyway, his creation of what he called the 'Wixen Gene Registry' was used to allow early notification for first-generation families, that way they'd be able to learn about the wixen world before their child is gone for 9 months each year, before generally being stuck in the wizarding world due to a lack of sufficient mundane education. While unfortunately, since there was only one library at the moment, not many parents were able/willing to come learn about the magical world, though they did generally get confirmation from Gringotts, who would sent the notifications to mundane parents that their child was magical in the first place as well as a pamphlet (of all the asshole things to send; a fucking pamphlet) on the basics of the magical world to make it seem less terrifying and dangerous (They put shit about fuckingunicorns in it!).
Bringing his attention back to Harry, Rei noticed the confusion on his face; either he couldn't see it and was confused as to what Rei was talking about, or, he could see it and didn't understand why it was important. Rei guessed the latter.
"I can see it, Mr Evans, but… why is it important that I can see it?"
Score! Now Rei had something to work with, Harry had to be wixen, given the evidence, meaning Rei could definitely contact the DMLE about getting this kid out of his aunt's home, and with someone actually willing to care for him. Though if that failed, he could at least help Harry learn how to use his magic, he was certain Akari would do the same.
"Well you see, it was important to answer my question as to why your relatives call you a freak. The answer is simple either way: you're not."
"But-"
"No. You're not a freak, no one is. You're simply different."
"What do you mean?"
Alright, now he was getting somewhere, moving away from the wariness and disbelief, moving into confused curiosity.
"To keep it simple, Harry. You're a wizard."