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"Speaking"
"SPEAKING LOUDLY"
"Speaking in a magical language" (Parseltongue or Ancient Runes)
"...*Quotes*..."
*Sound effects*
'Thoughts'
##### = Scene break
Time and place where the story is happening
Enjoy the chapter !
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London - 30th Kinnerton Street (09:45 PM - 24th May 1885)
Today was supposed to be the best day of his life, he had received his Hogwarts owl that carried his admission letter, he could finally enter the wizarding world, he could finally get a wand and practice magic instead of having to wandlessly try and fail to cast a simple Accio.
But that very day, his life had been shattered. Mrs. Weasley, the deputy headmistress, had come to see his family to show them magic and explain how the wizarding world works to them. Except that he wasn't Arthur Polaris who had a family aware of magic and supportive of their son learning it.
No, he was Nick Lapis and his parents had taken the news that he was a wizard pretty badly.
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Nick was indeed unfortunate, his parents were complotists, and they were on the most extreme part of the spectrum. They were convinced that the crown was hiding something big from the people, convinced that reptiles walked among them, trying to seize power…And now, Mrs. Weasley had come to their doorsteps, a few hours ago, telling them that magic existed and an entire community was hiding right under the nose of the common people, manipulating their memories to stay hidden.
Needless to say that they didn't take it very well, their biggest fears had been proven true and now they had learned that their son was one of these monsters, hiding in their very home.
In front of the deputy headmistress, his parents had acted as if they understood the situation but didn't wish to let their son attend the school, the witch had still insisted that they could always change their mind until the 31st of July, and as soon as she had disappeared, his hell began, as his parents finally showed their true colors.
First, they had beaten him up, though that hadn't really bothered him much. They had been doing that for years now, since he had shown he was better than his other peers, in facf. They believed it would stimulate him to do better, but even when he did, it was never enough.
Indeed they had instilled a fierce competitive spirit in him as early as possible, wanting him to become someone great. They had done their best to force him to develop an extroverted personality, to be a leader as well as a natural at socializing and making connections. All those who were part of their very restrictive and secretive complotist group, the *truth seekers* had done the same with their children, indoctrinating them and pushing them to shoot for the moon.
On the surface they all were just really strict parents that simply wanted the best for their children, but the hidden truth was way darker.
All that was for a deeply sad yet laughable goal : to get an insider in a very high position in the government, someone that could have access to classified information to finally prove their complotists fantasies right, since they were too mediocre to do it themselves. And of course, their second goal was to groom them all into the next generation of *truth-seekers*, making sure they had the same ideas and worldviews as they did.
It was what had made Nick meet Arthur : because of his competitive nature, he had been looking for a challenge, and since he hadn't found any intellectual one, he had turned to sports, toward physical challenges. That's also why he had befriended Arthur when he had noticed he was extremely intelligent, hoping that someone similarly above all the others would understand him, and secretly, hoping he could prove himself superior to someone obviously way above the rest.
Meeting Arthur had turned out to be the best thing that happened in his life since his friend had shown him a completely different world, worldviews and most importantly, a new path.
One which allowed him to be happy and do what he truly wanted, instead of following what his parents had planned for him.
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What followed the beating however...What they had said to him and how they had done it, had managed to hit him infinitely harder than the slap : it had destroyed the lie he had been living in all his life and had shattered the rose-tinted glasses he had been using to look at his family, finally revealing the ugly truth underneath.
*You are NOT my son, I would have NEVER birthed a MONSTER like you ! You are just a creature wearing human skin to fool the world and hide your true nature, you DEMON ! To think you have been spying on us all these years, to think that the very thing that came out of my womb was one of the EVIL SPAWNS we have been fighting against all this time !* These words his mother had said while looking at him with a mix of fear, disgust and hatred in her eyes, had been what had truly hurt Nick, and his father's words and expressions were pretty much the same.
He wasn't oblivious to their worldviews, they intended to induct him in their little group and had been grooming him for it after all. Only, Nick wasn't completely brainwashed, they only used hints here and there instead of a brutal brainwashing that would only have made him a puppet, unlike what had been done for all the previous generations of members.
The *truth seekers* didn't want a puppet since they needed a leader, especially one that could reach the top without being discovered by the monsters…The brainwashed ones in the past were easily detected because of their radical ideas and had always mysteriously disappeared or been dismissed as crazy people by the sheeps unable to see the truth.
So they had tried to change their approach, making it less obvious that someone was part of their group through light brainwashing, yet still completely loyal, while maximizing their chances to reach the top.
Hence, Nick's generation of *truth seekers* was born : children slowly indoctrinated by their parents over time, waiting to be sufficiently mature and judged adequate to truly become part of the group. Children were the best choice since they were easy to indoctrinate because of their young age and their still malleable worldviews, they would never betray them since they were family and could be under their watch at all times, lessening the risk of error.
That slow indoctrination was the reason why Nick had always hidden his magic from his parents. At four years old when he had his first bout of accidental magic, the brainwashing hadn't been really that strong yet, and since he wasn't dumb, far from it, he hadn't dared to reveal his secret, knowing they would view his magic as something *demonic*.
He had known it was always only a matter of time, not telling them earlier had only extended their limited time as a *happy family*. Still, he was a child, he had naively hoped that they would never learn the truth, hoping they could still live happily ever after, even if they did learn the truth.
And that was precisely what had allowed Arthur to undo years of their delicate work, though he wasn't aware of it in the beginning. After sharing their secret about having magic, at six years old, they had become pretty close, and Nick, as a kid, had opened his heart to Arthur to the point that the brainwashing had become obvious for him to see. And at that point, Arthur had taken the matter into his own hands, since Nick was his only friend and an extremely promising wizard his age.
For the last four years, he had made sure Nick could be a normal child with his own worldviews and a clear mind, someone who would learn to love magic instead of seeing it as something demonic, and most importantly, a friend who could keep up with him and would always stay by his side.
The *truth seekers* had groomed Nick as their black pawn with the potential to become a black queen once he reached the end of the board, ready to bring ruins to their opponents from behind the other side…The pawn had approached Arthur during his travel toward the end of the board, and through a series of events, the latter had seen opportunity to convert Nick into his own color, gaining a potential queen that would stand by his side of the board for life.
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Nick's parents had surprisingly not completely abandoned him as they hadn't chased him out of their house yet, but what they had said to him meant pretty much the same and the atmosphere there had become unbearable. They had been watching every single movement of his, with knives and brooms within reach at all times, ready to defend themselves if he ever did anything suspicious.
After less than an hour like that, he just couldn't bear to stay there anymore, he was emotionally at his lowest point and he dared not close his eyes in case his parents tried anything, which stressed him to no end. So he chose to do something he had never dared to do before, he ran away from his home, crying during the process and wandering in the streets of London for hours on end.
He finally ended up in front of his best friend's house, in the evening of the day which had changed his entire life so fast he still had problems comprehending it, one that had turned a happy life into one full of confusion, sorrow, despair and uncertainty. He knew Arthur well, he would not let him down, even if he outwardly looked like someone that didn't care about anything or anyone, who spent most of his time with books or thinking, and seemed almost aloof and above all else.
He was a big softie at heart, one who would go to hell and back for someone he cared for, though no one would realize it since he cared for almost no one. One thing he knew that even his family didn't, or deliberately ignored, was that if those he cared about were hurt by someone, he could thoroughly ruin the life of the perpetrator if he so wished.
Arthur had once shown him how he could make someone's life hell without having to fight, just through words, some dirty secrets and anonyme letters.
Nick had been targeted by a bully on the way back to his home, after sports, and would often get beaten up. After Arthur had noticed his wounds, he had managed to get the guy's parents to ground him for two months, enough for the guy to calm down on the bullying and forget Nick.
That was a frightening, yet lethally precise use of his intellect, one that had opened Nick's eyes. A show of force that didn't even require the presence of the puppeteer himself in the fight. For someone addicted to challenges, it was a kind of strength he had never seen before and feared he would never be able to replicate or even fight if he became its target. That day he had truly understood that Arthur had acted that way as a show of strength, trust and care, it was his way of saying they were friends and that he would fight for him if Nick needed it.
That's why Nick had chosen to come here, instead of going to the police or beging his parents to let him in. He knew he would be warmly accepted and cared for here, unlike what was awaiting him in his home. And he was right, as his friend had not let him down, he had left no room for his parents to even think about refusing to house him, not that they had any intention to after learning why he got into this situation.
Arthur had shared his clothes, bedroom and everything he had without hesitation, his fury clear for all to see, promising a lot of pain for Nick's parents.
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London - 30th Kinnerton Street (09:45 AM - 25th May 1885)
Nick had spent the night at the Polaris', though he was unable to sleep, making him look really haggard and tired of life the next morning as the events of the night before had finally caught up to him as he finally was hit with the hard truth of what had just happened and its consequences. He had been devastated in fact, and since that day, the extrovert he once had been was nowhere to be seen. At the deepest point of his life, he even started to say things he would always regret saying to his best friend.
"WHY DID I HAVE TO LEARN MAGIC FROM YOU ?! I WAS SO HAPPY BEFORE, BUT YOU HAD TO RUIN MY LIFE B*STARD ! WHAT DID I DO TO YOU ?"
Nick's magic was roaring, the entire room was shaking and walls were starting to crumble into pieces.
"No, I didn't, you were born with magic, you would have received this letter regardless ! If you had suppressed your magic to live with your -oh so perfect- family, you would have become an obscurus and would have killed your family with your own hands."
Arthur was an adult, he knew Nick didn't really mean it, any child would be devastated and lashing out after something like that. He knew he would see reason at some point, but what he was really worried about was that Nick might start hating magic since it had ruined his life, something he wouldn't allow as he firmly believed it would be the answer to all his problems instead.
"WHY ? WHY DID I HAVE TO BE BORN LIKE THIS ? WHY DID I HAVE TO BE ABANDONED ?"
"Magic is a gift dumb*ss, you should be proud and honoured to have it ! Do you really think it's a curse ? You can create MIRACLES ! Your family fears that you will hurt them with it, JUST PROVE THEM WRONG ! They fear you will become a monster, then prove them you are infinitely better than one, become someone great, someone that everyone looks up to, MAKE THEM REGRET THROWING YOU AWAY, MAKE THEM BEG TO MAKE YOU COME BACK HOME !"
"*sniff* Do you *sniff* really mean it *sniff* ?"
"Of course I do, dummy ! Now get your head out of the gutter, I will have you know that you destroyed my bedroom, and that's enough, stop or the whole house will be in ruins and we both won't have a place to stay at tonight !"
"*sniff* Shorryyyyy *sniff*"
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London - 30th Kinnerton Street (10:30 AM - 1rst June 1885)
In the end, Nick had finally gotten better, more determined than ever to learn magic to prove his parents wrong, grateful that his magical friend had helped him in his times of need, and more importantly, eager to go to Hogwarts to avoid his family. He still wasn't back to his usual, extroverted and cheerful self however, healing from something like that would take time, and Arthur would make sure that Nick would come out stronger from the ordeal.
His family didn't want to let the matter rest however as they had come to try to get him back three days after he had run away. They had come with big smiles, saying that they had regained their senses and deeply regretted acting like that in front of their son.
But it was clear for all to see that they still looked at their son the same way, hoping their son would forgive them just like a naive kid. But they clearly had a hidden agenda, one Arthur could roughly guess : using Nick to learn more about the wizards to find proofs backing their complotists claims.
So William and Alice had refused to budge, saying Nick would only stay in a place where he felt at ease, only coming back to their home when he felt ready, and threatening them to call the police and child services if they came again.
Nick's parents took the hint, and chose to leave, but not before giving their son the green light to attend Hogwarts, hoping he would change his mind with time and enough *kindness* from them, choosing to play the long game and the sentimentality card. Though they didn't know they wouldn't be able to, as the Polaris family had only said that to gain time.
Indeed, they intended to adopt Nick, but his parents and relatives needed to be obliviated first, before they could really proceed with the help of the magical world.
But they couldn't contact the ministry of magic without an owl, and they chose to wait for Arthur to get his admission letter to go to Diagon Alley and get one themselves. Nick had also been waiting for Arthur to get his letter to send his reply to Hogwarts at the same time, since the owl that had sent his letter had been violently chased away from his house by his parents when he had run away from his home.
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A beautiful brown owl with a letter in its beak was flying above London, eyeing the house on 30th Kinnerton Street and trying to locate the recipient of the letter it was transporting, without success since the room on the first floor no longer existed, unlike what was specified on the letter. The owl thus landed on the doorsteps and started to peck at the door to warn the one inside that he had received some mail.
'Oh finally, the Hogwarts' acceptance letter is here !' Arthur immediately opened the door and snatched the letter from the beak of the owl, which earned him an indignant hoot from the bird.
He then proceeded to grab some dried meat he had prepared in advance for the owl, before giving it away to his feathery messenger. Apparently the offering was enough to calm the owl down, though it still eyed him suspiciously. Meanwhile, the child, Arthur, tore open his mail, finding a parchment inside which said :
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"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry"
"Headmaster : Phineas Nigellus Black"
"Dear Arthur Polaris"
"We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as a first year student. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment"
"Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July"
"Yours sincerely,
Mathilda Weasley
Deputy Headmistress "
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On the second page, he found the list of the school supplies for the first years which said :
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"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry"
"UNIFORM - First year students will require :
Three sets of plain work robes (black)
One plain pointed hat for day wear (black)
One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
One winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings)
Please note that all pupil's clothes should carry name tags."
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"COURSE BOOKS - First years student should have a copy of each of the following :
The Standard Book of Spells - Grade 1 (by Mathilda Goshawk)
A History of Magic (by Bathilda Bagshot)
Magical Theory (by Adalbert Waffling)
A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration (by Emeric Switch)
One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi (by Phyllida Spore)
Magical Drafts and Potions (by Arsenius Jigger)
Magical Beasts Compendium (Babelline Draconis)
The Dark Forces : A Guide to Self-Protection (by Quentin Trimble)"
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"OTHER EQUIPMENT :
1 Wand
1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)
1 set of glass or crystal phials
1 telescope
1 set of brass scales
Students may also bring, if they desire, an owl OR a cat OR a toad
Parents are reminded that FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICK !"
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He didn't waste a second, running to the living room where his parents were.
"I got my letter for Hogwarts ! Look !"
"That's wonderful ! Not like there was any doubt that you would be accepted though, you have been causing chaos in the entire house for the past few weeks, ever since you have managed to successfully cast your first spell."
"I don't think you really understand just how incredible what I am doing is…But anyways, since I have the list now, we need to go to Diagon Alley ! With Nick, because you know, his parents…"
"Of course he will come with us ! The poor boy, having parents like that !" His mother started to rant about his best (and only) friend's parents, clearly still outraged by what had happened.
"Don't forget to send your reply today with Nick's letter ! And warn the school of Nick's situation, as a school, they won't tolerate that a child could be treated like that, they will intervene in this matter and help us when we try to gain Nick's guardianship !"
Everything was in place, the kids had sent their replies with the explanation of Nick's situation, and they would get an owl to mail the ministry the next day, it was only a question of time before Nick became part of their family.
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London - Diagon Alley (01:30 PM - 2nd June 1885)
Usually, when Arthur came to Diagon Alley, he spent most of his time in the bookshop, today would be different since he wasn't alone and he had a whole list of supplies to buy for Hogwarts.
"First we need money to buy the supplies, so we start with Gringotts !"
Arthur had already converted all his muggle money earned from his hoodies venture and his allowance into gold, which unlike muggle money, could be converted without a ceiling into galleons.
"4500 galleons ! I am rich Nick, f*cking RICH ! Don't worry about not having money, ny the way, you can use mine."
Turning to the goblin, Padrock, Arthur asked him to open an account for Nick and deposit a third of his pile of gold in it.
"1500 GALLEONS ?! That's too much !"
"Nah don't worry, I will continue to gain money from my hoodies anyways, you on the other hand, need it way more than I do, so just take it already. It will be for your schools tuitions fees and school supplies for the next seven years. What will be left of the 1500 galleons will be your allowance."
"Thank you bro, really, I will pay you back one day, I promise you that *sniff*"
Nick cried a lot after that, vowing to pay him back with interest, before they got Gringotts pouches, linked to their respective vaults, allowing them to take money out of their vault or put money in it by smearing some of their blood on it everytime, a bit barbaric but extremely useful.
"Now we can start shopping ! We need trunks first, to store everything we are going to buy today !"
That's what they started with, magical trunks were magically charmed to have more space inside than their form should allow them to. Both trunks cost a massive amount of money, 350 galleons each, but it was money well spent since it was something they would use even after school.
Each trunk had two configurations : the basic one had several compartments for every kind of clothes, as well as a small library, a potion rack and the equivalent of a small refrigerator (using stasis spells to conserve food). The secondary configuation could only be accessed with a passcode, and it changed the space inside the trunk into stairs leading to a literal house, contained inside, with a bedroom, a fully equipped kitchen, a restroom equipped with a bath and toilets, a library room and a very large storage space.
"We can live in these trunks if necessary ! I will be super useful if we travel the world one day ! Now let's get the potions supplies and clothes out of the way."
For the potions, they simply took what was specified on the list, with Arthur buying a second cauldron just in case one of them accidentally melted his, as first years couldn't go to Hogsmeade to buy a new one if necessary. They lost another 110 galleons in total, 10 each per ingredient sets, 5 per crystal phials sets, 10 for the brass scales and dragon hide gloves and finally 20 per cauldron.
They did the same for the clothes, without any upgrades or decorations, as they knew they would need to buy another set after growing a bit. Arthur bought a really warm and comfortable scarf made of acromantula silk, which he started to look at with greed in his eyes after noticing the price and remembering the fact that acromantulas were living in the Forbidden Forest of Hogwarts. Another 100 galleons less for Arthur and 30 less for Nick.
"70 galleons for the finest scarf made of acromantula silk. Nobles probably only buy clothes made of that material, can you imagine how much money we can get by selling some giant spider's silk ?"
Arthur intended to explore Hogwarts' close proximity as early as possible, Forbidden Forest included, and he clearly didn't mind making some money in the process !
Next, they made a brief detour by the bookstore, since Nick needed his own copies of the books, for a total of 15 galleons. Arthur had been raiding the bookstore for years trying to find anything interesting and already had all the books for first years and second years, so they didn't stay there for a long time.
"Alright, only the telescopes and wands are left now. Let's buy the telescope before getting some ice cream from *Icy & Creamy* for a break before going to Ollivander's.
The astronomy shop sold maps of the starry sky and telescopes. Buying a portable telescope with removable legs cost them 220 galleons each, something Arthur was pretty upset about, as he found it utterly useless and prompting them to leave as soon as they got the thing.
They finally took a their little break, and got multi flavoured, joy inducing ice creams, which significantly lifted Nick's mood before the wand selection, making him a bit more joyful for this happy moment he would no doubt remember all his life.
They went to Ollivanders' shop, the famous wand seller whose family had been specializing in wandlore and wand crafting since 382 BC. Gerbold Ollivander was in the shop, trying to find the right wand for a young witch.
'It seems that he spends most of his time in Hogsmeade but he still comes to Diagon Alley during the school rush. He really is passionate about his craft, that's admirable'
Both children were pretty entranced when they entered the shop, it seemed to be overflowing with magic, probably because of all the wands stacked in this little shop.
"Oh two young wizards coming for their first wands before Hogwarts, I presume ? May I have your names ?"
"Arthur Polaris"
"Nick Lapis"
"Oh, a Polaris… and a muggleborn I guess ? I have never helped anyone with the last name *Lapis* choose their wands before. Maybe you will be a bit more challenging to match with a wand than the young witch who came before you."
"Anyways, let's start with Mr. Lapis, what's your dominant hand ?"
"I am right handed sir"
"Perfect, stand still while I take your measurements. Good, let's try this wand first…"
After a few dozen tries, a lot of sparks and burned wand boxes, he found the one that was made just for him : a blackthorn wand, 14 inches long, with a dragon heartstring core.
The moment he came into contact with his wand, it emitted a beautiful, roaring dragon firework.
"Oh I see Mr. Lapis ! You must be a warrior with a big personality, and it seems your magic will be more on the flamboyant and dramatic side, though be careful, wands with a dragon heartstring are often temperamental."
"Thank you Mr. Ollivander ! I will cherish it !" Nick was jumping in joy around the shop while holding his wand, relishing in the feeling of having created a magic firework for the first time.
"Good, and now, your turn young Polaris ! Your dominant hand ?"
"I am right handed !" '
'But what if my right hand or arm gets broken someday ? I need to become ambidextrous ! Yet another thing to do. I should have thought about that earlier when I was still a child and had all the time in the world to practice ! I guess the more obvious it is, the less you think about it…'
Arthur took a while to be matched as well, freezing a big part of the shop before he finally matched with a Pinewood wand, 10 ½ inches long with a phoenix core.
He manifested a magnificent aurora borealis with thousands of dancing snowflakes that coalesced into a phoenix when the wand matched with him.
"Beautiful ! You must be a creative, yet independant and detached loner, you will be able to use a great range of magic proficiently,and it will manifest itself in an elegant and refined way, though be warned that this wand is a picky one capable of acting on its own."
"Yes, thank you sir, can we also have wand holsters charmed against summoning spells ?"
"Of course, that will be 9 galleons each, in this case ! And be aware that you can't legally use magic outside of Hogwarts until you turn 17, the ministry of magic will know if you use spells illegally through the Trace !"
Their little shopping day was almost reaching its end, they now only had to find a pet.
Arthur chose a beautiful male European Eagle Owl he named Jupiter (See comments), while Nick chose a male black, fluffy cat, with Kneazle ancestry he named Pluto (See comments) and Alice chose a female snowy white owl, called Snowflake (Like Edwidge).
They had thus finished their shopping for Hogwarts, and only had to wait for another two months before they could finally board the train and reach the famed school, two months during which the Polaris would inevitably gain Nick's guardianship.