A new beginning
Happiness...is what Harry wondered about most days, as he chose death than go back to Hogwarts, he was reborn in a medieval village with thatched roofing. He lives in a village called Tugby, a 5000-and-counting population not far from Lordaeron by a hill away from it. On wagon, it's a day away.
It has a young history as it was newly established near a good water source, metal mines, and flat land for livelihood and it began with 100 newly-married young couples as well as elderly people of around age 50 and up and an elected mayor chosen from the getting-overpopulated capital city of Lordaeron to create a new village.
Thus it's a less-than-a-thirty-old village. It'll be a while before it can become a town, so house-building is always carefully-planned.
However, with exodus of mostly newlyweds and veterans, leaving behind people of ages 30-40 from all occupations in the Capital City just enough to keep the city running and functioning, alongside children. This leaves a lot of space in the kingdom. Free housing and apartment spaces mostly for military soldiers of commoner origin alongside their own families if they married in the city, so incase stuff happens, they are at the King's Summon in a jiffy.
"So it's a city for the military huh?"
And this is because he is born in a turbulent era. It's because after the First War, it didn't even take longer than a breather for the next to begin and lasted a year. Not much room for healing, recovery and rebuilding.
King Terenas II's tenure sure isn't what you'd call 'peace and quiet'. The First War was between Orcs, a brutish race, and the Stormwind Kingdom. The Second was between the Eastern Kingdoms next, leaving Kingdoms devastated in its wake.
After that, King Terenas II took steps. Forming an Alliance between many countries except Alterac and Gilneas, and began human development for the sake of investing in manpower for the sake of his son, Crown Prince Arthas' rule.
The Second War era that lasted for as long as Tugby was built. Thankfully the military cleared all monsters and bandits in the new Village Site, so laborers can build safely. Log trees, clear land, and develop the land to be suitable for farming and housing. In these hard days, the aging people used for labor died from the strain of land developments here and there in their old age. It was ruthless in making spaces!
If not rebuilding a village or town or a new city, it's culling monsters to make building possible.
Is it like this in medieval times? Harry is born in a situation like this! Medieval Fantasy Land at that.
Other than Tugby, there are about 100 villages to be built, 50 new towns and ten large cities with the orders that they be fruitful and multiply. Seven children each married couple!
An order like that, after overworking elderly peasants to death? Seriously, Royal Family?
And instead of Harry, it's Hadrian. But still Harry for short.
He was obviously, born a peasant.
His parents looked haggard and twice their age while looking like they haven't seen a bath in weeks nor washed their clothes. Even he himself, is filthy, when he regained consciousness in this world at age 4. Old enough to eat, walk well and start talking, to learn about his new world. He grew up with sticky, greasy hair that can impress even Snape, and sticky, greasy skin from all that accumulating sweat over the years.
Due to labor demands and crazy working hours, people haven't time for themselves much. Cleaning? Laundry? They can only cook, eat and sleep after a tough day! Cleaning and bathing, is the last thing in their minds.
With everyone so dang filthy, Harry wondered how long humans here live with sanitation and hygiene levels so bad.
And most peasants are illiterate. They are only taught Math and Skills training as a necessity in their jobs. However, the nearer you are to the Capital City, the luckier a Peasant is, as in order to save face, they can read and write, along with doing Maths in the Town Hall for children of ages 7-10, thus it's for the sake of positive impressions of a ruler should foreigners visit for political stuff.
Next issue is food.
Their idea of toddler food, is soaked soggy bread. They would soak bread into some nice fruit juice, scrape it off the bread by a spoon and spoonfeed it to him. Kinda weird, but nice. But for his family, it's bread, porridge and mystery recipes and that's it. He doesn't know how those taste as he was too young for solids.
His father Jericho works as a Miner, earning 20 gold coins a month. His mother Victoria works as a seamstress, earning 9 gold a month. They get their salary from the Town Hall in copper and silver though. Money Circulates around well for convenience.
Money here is valued by points. 1 point of value for copper coins. 100 coppers to a silver coin, and 100 silvers to gold.
He also has a lot of siblings...that his mother is easily the size of Mrs. Weasley now at just age 34. In ten years since marrying, she looks like she had 'life drained out of her' that she looked older than she should.
Out of all family members, he was the closest to his new mother since she had to raise him for six years after all. He was also close to his fourth brother who would soon leave for the city as a training squire, and older sisters who played with him until Charlene was old enough to work...at age ten, beginning as an Apprentice for now.
Child Labor much?
Government Mandate, because due to monsters in their world, they need to compensate to avoid human extinction. And having seven or more kids is the most important duty of a woman as they give birth to future soldiers of humanity. It didn't matter if childbirth is risky every time or kill the poor mother. But if it means more future heroes, so be it, that deaths of mothers are revered here and respected, and their deaths are compensated with 1000 gold coins by the government. Man then is required to remarry until his family has a Quidditch Team in the house.
At least they didn't say 'have seven sons or else'. The demand for seven children per family is pretty vague, but thankfully quite open for interpretation. So having daughters is not scary for everyone.
Boys are drafted into the Military at age 12, starting out as Squires upon Coming of Age. Youngest son stays in the village as labor force, be it farmer, logger, miner, construction worker and craftsman.
Daughters stay in the village also as labor force in things only a woman can do...unless they are detected to have magic. They're drafted into Dalaran's magic academies. Again, youngest son is exempted from all forms of mandatorial drafting. They need at least one boy to continue family lines to replenish humanity's numbers.
Thankfully, it's the King paying for magic tuition.
And even more thankfully, out of five sons, named Dennis, Vincent, Eugene and Alfred the older brothers, and two older sisters in Charlene and Jennifer, it's Harry who's the youngest. Each child is born almost three years after the previous one. Once the previous child is two years old, couple tries again, mom gets pregnant in nine months...and so on!
"It seems gods heard my wish that all I want is a peaceful life." Harry thought with a smile. He won't go to the Military when he turns twelve! Yay~
Since Harry was born, his older brothers are loong gone. If Harry is now four, Jennifer 7, Charlene 10 and Alfred soon to be 13(he was late by a year as he broke a leg during basic training in the Town Hall and missed the annual wagon), so he was able to know his fourth brother. No news so far from his 16 year old brother Eugene, 19 year old Vincent and 22 year old Dennis.
He was able to have a normal childhood. He envisioned living a normal life which he gained. But unknown to everyone, he kept his magical powers. Charlene started Apprenticeship, thus like their parents, she is hardly home since after breakfast, and coming home only to have lunch, then dinner and sleep!
Living under the Dursleys' roof, he was used to chores anyway, even with the advantage of conveniences such as Washing Machines.
When he turned seven, Jennifer is now 10 and would soon start her apprenticeship too in her chosen career...and his mom will soon start going back to her normal work hours.
'Son, you're seven now. You have to think of a career soon.' said his father. 'At age 10, you'll start working like everyone else as an apprentice.'
'Hummm, I'd like to be a farmer dad.' said Harry. 'I like the outdoors and food.'
'Well, he sure decided quick, dear.' said his mom to his dad with a chuckle.
'We'll talk to the Mayor in three years then. For now we need Harry more in the house.' said his dad. 'He'll soon start doing chores in places he can reach like his siblings did before him you know. And his sisters can have more time to relax from their jobs to focus more on sewing so when they marry out, they'll do well in their new homes.'
'...come to think of it, you guys leave home two hours after sunrise then come back home at sunset...what's with that?' Harry asked them.
'Our job schedules are demanding. Just you wait, as a farmer you'd be complaining too. At least we can go home when sun starts to set so we can see the road home.' said Charlene dryly. 'Us Villages are responsible for food, and making materials needed in everyday life and for the military. We need a certain quota every month as our form of annual taxes before we foist it off on Towns who would then process what we forked out as THEIR taxes. As for farmers as you wanted to be, your taxes at least, depends on what crop the mayor assigns to you. It's decided by Lottery to be fair to everyone.'
'Obviously, people would want higher-paying jobs in exchange for our nasty work schedules...' said Jennifer. 'And scorn the jobs that pay low. So nobody can complain, it's the lottery.'
'Heee...' "I can simply rig it." Harry thought with a sneer.
He knows the prices of vegetables since he's usually the one doing errands along with Jennifer.
If its money he wants, the ideal crops to plant would be fruits. Snapvine Watermelons for 25 copper? Moon Harvest Pumpkin that sells for 1 silver a whole pumpkin? Raspberries for 11 silver and 20 copper? They're the most ideal so far and the most desired crops next to grains.
But why are raspberries so...expensive? It baffles him that pumpkins are cheaper! What's with that?
But as Harry prioritizes health in a world like this, he chose to plant vegetables on purpose.
His next goal, is health. He didn't want to die young for being malnourished after all.