*Gobbledygook*
-August 1st, 1988-
Alex blinked awake, rolling over on to their side to look around the room as they woke up, sun shining in on their face from the window above their bed. The room was unfamiliar, yet completely familiar at the same time. It was set up in the same way as their old room had been, all their things in their places, but was different, the walls were a different colour, the painting was less pristine. Even if the room was a bit smaller and in a slightly shabbier condition, they wouldn't go back; they easily remembered where they were and yet still couldn't believe that they were there, couldn't believe that Remus actually wanted them and wanted them to live with him.
"Alex, breakfast is ready," Remus called, his voice easily reaching them from the kitchen on the ground floor. The house was a simple two-story house, somewhere out in the middle of nowhere and in the middle of a forest that Remus used for his transformations; even if he ran away from the house and into the forest, it would take him until the next evening before he reached other humans, and he would have transformed back to human long before then; it meant that he wouldn't risk injuring anyone since he couldn't afford wolfsbane, and Alex would be safe as long as they made sure the doors were all securely locked. Alex slid out of bed, wrapping their sleep robe over their pyjamas before heading downstairs, subtly pushing away the thrill at being called for breakfast, at being included in a meal with others rather than having to sneak to the kitchen for food or asking one of their elf friends for a meal; it was such a simple thing, but something they hadn't experienced for years.
"That smells good," they said as they entered the kitchen, breathing in deeply through their nose, breathing in the sweet smell of the pancakes that Remus was cooking on the stove. They watched as Remus easily flipped the few pancakes that were in the pan before he turned around to look at them, a smile on his face.
"I'm glad. I hope you like pancakes." Alex returned his grin and nodded; they had had pancakes before, but only a few times and only on special occasions, but they loved the treat, and enjoyed them even more when they helped the elves make them, even though their pancakes never flipped neatly like the elves' pancakes did.
They talked quietly as they ate, though Alex made sure to eat quickly so that they could get to Gringotts; they were very excited about Remus adopting them, and he had said he would see if he could legally change their name and gender registration, which would mean that they wouldn't, couldn't, be dead named when they went to Hogwarts, since no one would know what their deadname was. Once both Alex and Remus had finished breakfast, Alex helped Remus clean up before hurrying upstairs to get dressed, coming back downstairs only a few minutes later, ready to go. They followed Remus out of the cottage and to just outside the anti-apparition wards he had surrounding his house, before taking his offered arm, so he could apparate them to Diagon Alley.
They landed with a crack in a sectioned off alleyway that was designated for apparition, to prevent anyone from just appearing in the alley, which could cause accidents. Alex followed Remus out of the small alleyway and into the main road of Diagon Alley. They looked around the street in awe, there were so many people bustling around and so many different kinds of shops; they had only been to Diagon Alley once or twice in their life, when they were a lot smaller, so their memories of it weren't very detailed, and they hadn't been paying much attention to their surroundings when they were younger.
"There's lots to see, isn't there?" Remus said.
"Yeah. There's so many people. And the magic's everywhere," they said, their voice quiet with awe.
"Come on, Gringotts is at the end of the alley. And ... wait, did you say the magic's everywhere?" Remus asked, coming to a stop as Alex's words fully registered in his mind, moving to the side of the alley so they weren't in anyone's way.
"Yeah. It's so colourful. There's swirls and streams of it, and patches of more concentrated magic, and it's just everywhere," Alex said, looking at Remus with their head tilted slightly in confusion; they had thought that everyone could see magic.
"You can see magic," Remus said in shocked realisation.
"Can't everyone?" they asked curiously. "I tried to find information about it in the Potter library and in books that I ordered, but there was no mentions of it, so I just assumed it was something everyone could do." Remus took a deep breath and shook his head as he sighed.
"No cub, everyone can't see magic. It's an incredibly rare skill, something that only occurs once or twice every hundred years. And there wouldn't be much information on it. The only other magical skill that is as rare as it is Parseltongue. Metamorphmaguses, born Legilimens, and born Occlumens are more common than those who can see magic," Remus explained. Alex stared at him in surprise, knowing how rare Metamorphmaguses, born Legilimens, and born Occlumens were, and also in slight confusion, not knowing what Parseltongue was, having not come across the term in their reading.
"Oh. What's Parseltongue?" they asked. Remus shook his head in amusement at their ability to always want to learn.
"Parseltongue is the language of snakes. Anyone who can speak Parseltongue is known as a Parselmouth and use Parseltongue to talk to snakes. It's seen as a Dark ability these days," he explained.
"So, I shouldn't tell people that I can talk to snakes as well?" they asked. Remus' mouth fell open slightly before it snapped shut and he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Of course, you speak Parseltongue as well. Anyway, yes, I would advise keeping it a secret, as people would automatically assume that you're Dark if they know. Voldemort gave the ability a bad name, since he was the only well known Parselmouth in Britain for the last century, and definitely last known Parselmouth in Britain in a couple of decades," Remus said. He ran a hand through his hair, a habit that he had picked up from Sirius and James years ago and hadn't managed to get rid of.
"Ok, those two revelations aside. Let's get to Gringotts," Remus said, leading the way to the large white marble building at the end of the alley. Alex followed him, trying not to let their excitement show; they had read that goblins ran Gringotts and was hoping to be able to practice their Gobbledygook, something they hadn't had a chance to do before; hopefully, they wouldn't butcher the language too much or accidentally insult any of the goblins.
They walked up the marble steps that led up to the building, slowing down at the bronze doors which were opened by two goblins wearing gold and crimson uniforms, one standing on each side of the door. The two goblins bowed to them as they passed, a gesture that Alex repeated; it was simply polite, plus, they remembered that traditional greetings and gestures were a big part of goblin culture. Remus noticed Alex's bow and hastily copied their action before the two of them continued walking. The next set of doors were silver and had another two goblins standing beside them. Alex paused for a moment to read the poem engraved on the doors before bowing to the two goblins and proceeding through the doors, Remus copying them once again.
They entered the vast marble hall and Remus led Alex to one of the lines before a goblin teller, where they both waited patiently for their turn; something that many of the wixen around them seemed to struggle with. As they waited, Alex allowed their eyes to drift around, taking in the magics that made up the hall and the protections around it. It was truly amazing how many different magics were woven together throughout the large space.
As the two of them moved further up the line, Alex turned their attention to the interactions going on around them between the wixen and the goblins. They were shocked to see the ignorance, disgust, and blatant disrespect being shown by the wixen towards the goblins throughout the hall. The goblins were a proud race with a long history of master crafters and incredible warriors and should be respected. Plus, this was the race that protected all the money in the British wixen world; they could cause a monetary shortage should they grow annoyed at any of the wixen.
They reached the front and Remus let Alex step forward and take control of their interaction with the teller. Alex gave a bow to the teller and made the traditional greeting in slow but confident Gobbledygook, so as to not trip over any pronunciation, before continuing on with their request.
*Greetings, Master Teller. May your gold overflow. I would like to talk to someone about an inheritance test and blood adoption. I am happy to wait should they all be occupied at the moment.*
*Greetings, young one. May your gold never dry. Griphook will take you to see Nurrak, the Head of the Inheritance and Family department,* the goblin replied before calling for Griphook.
*Thank you, Master Teller. May your enemies tremble before you,* Alex said before following the new goblin, Griphook, hearing the Teller's reply as they left.
*And may your enemies fall at your feet, young one.*
"What's going on?" Remus asked quietly as he followed Alex, who was following Griphook through the corridors that led away from the hall.
"Griphook is taking us to see Nurrak, who is the Head of the Inheritance and Family department, for an Inheritance test and a blood adoption," Alex explained, having found it much easier to follow the conversation than they had thought. It was only a few moments later that Griphook stopped outside one of the doors and knocked. The door opened after a moment and Griphook left with a short bow, which Alex returned. Alex and Remus walked through the now open door and found a goblin, presumably Nurrak, seated behind the desk.
*Greetings, Master Goblin Nurrak. May your gold overflow,* Alex said with a bow before taking a seat at the desk. Remus followed their action, bowing before taking his own seat next to his godchild.
*Greetings, young one. May your gold never dry,* Nurrak said with a nod, before switching to English, clearly for the benefit of Remus, who was looking completely lost. "How can Gringotts help you today?"
"I would like to take an inheritance test, and we are hoping to conduct a blood adoption," Alex explained.
"That is simple enough. I have the potion for inheritance tests here and it simply requires three drops of blood from the one wanting to take the test. I can also provide the needed potion for a blood adoption, but a suitability test is required from the one wanting to adopt," Nurrak explained. Alex and Remus nodded in understanding, and the goblin pulled out two pieces of parchment and two different potions. One potion was a pale silver with an almost mirror-sheen, while the other was a deeper silver with a pearl shine. Nurrak passed the pale silver potion to Alex and handed the deeper silver one to Remus, sliding a piece of parchment to each of them as well. Nurrak then withdrew a steel knife from a drawer in the desk and placed it on the desk.
"Both potions require three drops. Once the blood is in the potion, shake the potion for 30 seconds before tipping it on to the parchment." Alex took the knife first and used it to cut the tip of their thumb, sucking in a sharp breath and wincing at the pain as the blade opened their skin. They let three drops of their blood drip into the potion before putting their thumb in their mouth and corking the potion vial. They used one hand to shake the potion while slowly sending their magic to their thumb, letting their magic close the cut.
As Alex shook their potion as instructed, Remus picked up the knife and cut his own thumb, allowing three drops of blood to drip into the potion he had been given. After the third drop entered the potion, he corked the vial and used his wand to heal the small cut before shaking the potion. After thirty seconds, Alex stopped shaking their potion and uncorked it, tipping the potion, which was now a soft pink, onto the parchment. Next to them, Remus started doing the same thing with his potion, which had turned a flat rose pink. Alex ignored the words spreading out over their parchment, instead watching the words that started to write themselves on Remus', knowing that Remus' test would be much simpler than theirs.
Remus John Lupin
Mother: Hope Lupin nee Howell
Father: Lyall Lupin
Sibling(s): N/A
Age: 28
Life Partner: N/A
Child(ren): N/A
Godchild(ren): Lexa 'Alex' Potter
Other: werewolf
Nurrak took Remus parchment and studied it before placing it on the desk.
"Apologies Mr Lupin, but you will be unable to blood adopt anyone due to your status as a werewolf. The blood adoption potion will not work for anyone with creature blood, and the Ministry won't approve and accept any adoptions done by creatures that aren't blood adoptions. However, you can transfer guardianship if you already have a claim over the child and there is a sufficient reason," Nurrak explained. Remus sighed.
"I should have expected that. Then I would like to transfer guardianship of Alex here to me, as I am their godfather, and their current guardians are inadequate."
"I will send for the forms and they should be ready for you to sign before you leave," Nurrak said, before turning to Alex, who took that as a signal to have a look at their own test.
Lexa 'Alex' Lily Potter
Family relations
Mother: Lily Potter nee Evans
Father: James Potter
Sibling(s): Harry Potter – younger twin
Godparent(s): Remus Lupin
Age: 8
Heirships
Potter (Primary heir – blood and magic)
Black (Primary named heir – named by Lord Black and blood)
Peverell (Open selection heir – blood)
Slytherin (Conquest heir – magic)
Core Classification
Type: Open
Colour: White
Inclination: Neutral
Abilities
Parselmouth/Parseltongue
Mage Sight
Eidetic memory
Other
Horcrux (Tom Riddle 'Voldemort' - 0.015625%)
Magic's Chosen
"Can you explain some of these please? Especially the ones about core classification," Alex asked. Nurrak nodded.
"There are three sections of core classifications. The core type, the core colour, and the core inclination. There are three core types; closed, which is the most common; combined, which is sometimes seen; and open, which is the rarest. These three types describe how the core is in the body. A closed connection is one where the core is separate from much of the body and opens when in extreme emotions as a child and when casting magic once gaining a focus; it is like oxygen, available when needed and something needs to be done to access it in the first place. A combined core means that the magic core is partially open, constantly fluctuating between open and closed, much like the heart beats; open, closed, open, closed. An open core means that there is no separation from the magic core and the rest of the body, the magic of someone with an open core is part of their very being and always at their fingertips; their magic flows through them just like their blood does.
"The second section of core classification is colour, which signifies how powerful the magical core is. Blue, green, and purple cores are the most common colours and are mid-range power. Black is the lowest colour and brown is a close second and are the two colours found in squibs. A pink core is a low-level core, but enough magic that it can be used. The colours then increase in power after the common three, in the order of red, yellow, orange and finally white. Orange cores are very rare, and white cores are almost never found. Albus Dumbledore has an orange core. This is the part of core classification that most people like to keep private, to prevent anyone finding out how powerful, or not powerful, they are, and many purebloods lie when asked, wanting to make themselves seem more powerful.
"The final section is core inclination. There are three different inclinations: dark, neutral, and light. These simply refer to which magics are the easiest and most natural for someone to use. Those with a dark inclination find emotion based magics, dark magics, easier to use. Those with a light inclination find structural based magics, light magics, easier to use. And those with a neutral inclination find both emotion and structural based magics just as easy as each other. There is an even amount of dark and light inclined, to keep Magic balanced, with a scattering of neutral inclinations to keep a balance," Nurrak explained. Alex and Remus both listened in fascination, neither of them having heard of the different types of core classifications. Remus especially was interested in how the goblin had explained dark magic in comparison to light magic; it was very different to how the Ministry classified magic and was much simpler.
"Is there anything else you want explained?" Nurrak asked.
"Yes please. Could you explain the two under other?" Nurrak nodded, taking the parchment and scanning it.
*The first is an extremely black piece of magic. It is best to have it removed, but it can not be removed until you go through your second stage of core maturity, which is when you turn fifteen. Until then, it can be supressed with Occlumency so that it doesn't cause you any undue harm. It is an abhorrent piece of magic that is better remaining unknown by most.* Alex gulped, but nodded, understanding how serious it must be since Nurrak was keeping it from Remus.
"What about the second?" Nurrak looked back down at the parchment before staring, eyes widening slightly in what seemed like shock.
"The second is something that requires immediate explanation and action, which needs to be conducted in private," Nurrak said.
"What is it?" Remus asked, extremely confused. Nurrak didn't respond, instead pulling a pile of forms out of a box on the edge of the desk and sliding them towards Remus.
"These are the forms needed to claim guardianship of Alex and also the needed forms to legally change their name and gender registration in all legal records. If you could fill these out, Alex and I will have our needed discussion under a privacy ward." Remus nodded, slowly, picking up the first of the large pile of forms.
"Okay." With Remus' agreement, a ward flared around Alex and Nurrak, sealing them in a small bubble of privacy.
"So, what's Magic Chosen?"
"Magic's Chosen refers to a person chosen by Lady Magic herself to be a guardian of magic and help keep the peace. There hasn't been someone named Magic's Chosen for centuries, not since the time of Merlin and the Founders of Hogwarts. Those five were collectively known as the Founders and Protectors of Magic.
"The main reason this needed to be kept private is because of a legend passed down from goblin to goblin about the Guardian of Magic who would be born centuries after the Founders and Protectors of Magic but would be educated by the five of Magic's Chosen. The Guardian of Magic would be the first of Magic's Chosen in centuries and would be sent back to the time of Merlin and the Founders of Hogwarts to learn from the Founders and Protectors of Magic to harness their powers and control their magic so they could bring back the peace that had disappeared. It was said that this Guardian of Magic would need the control taught by the five, as the five would be the only ones powerful enough to have a chance of teaching them, as their magic was so powerful and easy for them to access.
"You are the first of Magic's Chosen to appear in centuries, and you have both the rarest core colour, type, and inclination. Your magic is white, making it extremely powerful, and your core is open, making it accessible at your fingertips. Add to that the fact that you have a neutral inclination, making all magic equally easy for you to use, means that you could easily cause destruction without meaning to with no one to teach you control; the teachers at Hogwarts would not be able to teach you to control such vast amount of power as they teach for the most common core classifications. You fit the legend perfectly.
"With your permission, I will take you to our time chamber, which was created purely to send the Guardian of Magic back in time and then pull them back without much time in the present passing. The time chamber will send everything about you back and you will have years to spend learning to control and harness your powers and then you will be pulled back to this time. Your consciousness and magical control will be the same as when you leave the past, but you will be pulled back to this body. Any magical changes made to your body in the past, such as rituals or long-term potions, will also affect your current body." Alex thought about it for a few minutes, knowing it was a big decision to make, before nodding.
"I would like to visit the time chamber," Alex agreed. Nurrak stood, which they copied, before following the goblin out of the office and through the stone corridors. It was only a minute or two before they reached a chamber at the end of the corridor. Nurrak pushed the door open, and Alex stepped inside, finding a large assortment of runes covering the floor and walls, each rune a pulsing colour of magic.
"Stand in the centre of the room," Nurrak instructed. Alex did as they were told, moving to the centre of the room, and turning to look at Nurrak. They went to ask what next when Nurrak stepped out of the door again.
"Good luck, Guardian of Magic," Nurrak said before closing the door. As soon as the door closed, the runes around the room activated and a swirl of brightly coloured magic surrounded Alex before everything turned a blinding white.