Chapter Text
"Well, this is unfortunate," a woman frowned as she heard about the destruction of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry. The school in question was a place for young wizards and witches to be educated, but it came under fire in recent years for putting its students in danger. (Of course, the story of a wizard named Harry Potter and his task of defeating the Dark Lord Voldemort did nothing to win over the public. Many wizards blamed Harry Potter for the deaths of their family members. Many people also blamed him and Professor Albus Dumbledore for starting this mess in the first place.
But that's not what the story is about.)
The year was 1998, and many people around the world discovered there was magic in the world. Magical societies that were once shrouded in secrecy were forcibly exposed to the rest of the world. That was due to a vote during the general assembly of magical creatures. That meeting occurred on May 4, 1998. Many magical creatures such as vampires, werewolves, witches, wizards, elves, and spellcasters met at Parkforton Castle outside of Rome, Italy and debated the future of the magical world. Several people decided it would be best if they revealed themselves to the human world.
Of course, that idea wasn't without controversy, as a people who inhabited the secret world feared the inevitable war that would occur if humans were to discover who and what they were. The witches and wizards protested against the reveal, claiming that humans were the cause of the decline of many various wizarding societies. Plus, the fact that witches claimed to be victims of persecution by humans during the 1300s-1700s didn't help them. But Erissa Hazelfog (the general-secretary of the assembly) was unmoved; she placed the blame of the wizarding wars on the wizards and witches themselves, saying they must take responsibility for everything that happened to them during the wars.
Ironically, when the reveal did happen, not everybody around feared magic as they were supposed to. Actually, many human societies accepted the magical creatures, mainly those human societies that were open-minded and didn't see the need to fight against people who shared the same planet as the humans. Yet, some human societies continued to fear and shun the magical creatures. Those societies were largely influenced by the secular society of the day and not religion, as many people were led to believe.
(In fact, the fear of magic resulted in discrimination and prejudice; after many wars and poverty, humanity didn't have enough energy to deal with magic users. However, many humans took issue with the wizards and witches that caused serious damages in England. Even the Queen herself was severely disappointed in the Minister of Magic and his failure to prevent the second wizarding world from happening.
That too is a different story.)
"It's a shame Hogwarts was destroyed," said the other woman to her cousin as they sat outside at a cafe in London one day. "Albus Dumbledore should have known better than to trust the safety of his school into the hands of a teenage boy who can't even take care of himself and only succeeded through luck and chance."
"Everything in the world now depends on luck and chance," said the first woman, "and that's not something that I'm willing to teach my little Jacquelyn. She's almost 5 years old and her magic is already trying to manifest itself. I must find a school that will help her learn to harness her magic and use it for good."
"I know of a place like that," said a man as he cut into the conversation. "There's a school in Trallwng, Wales called Bloor's Academy of Fine Arts. It's a small private arts school, but I'm sure that the headmaster could make room for Jacquelyn when her time comes."
"It won't be long until she's 10 years old and is old enough to attend boarding school," said the first woman. "It's sad that we have to plan for her future this early."
“And not just for her future, but our own futures as well," said the man. “In case we forgot, we cut ties with Hogwarts after the first wizarding war began and we went to live in muggle London. So it's a small wonder why we didn't come back to assist them in the second wizarding war."
"Maybe it’s best if we left London altogether,” said the second woman. "No one's going to miss us here, and there are many other magical schools out there for Jacquelyn to attend. Why should we care about a school that would suppress her natural spellcasting powers anyway?"
And that was the end of that conversation.
Irina Kapustin and her family left London, England and moved to Trallwng, Wales in the year 1999. The city had a small-town charm, but it also had a dark history that involved magic. Even Bloor's Academy (which was one of the most prominent art schools in Wales) was rumored to take in students who had magical ancestors. (Later on, we'll discuss who all these magical ancestors were and and what they have to do with the story. We must never forget about those magical ancestors because it's pretty important.)
And to make things even more strange, the "endowed" children were divided into two groups: those who used their magic for good, and those who used their magic for evil. Irina had heard about the clashes that happened between the two groups on several occasions; she was reconsidering her decision to send Jacquelyn to Bloor's after her 10th birthday because of those rumors.
Yet she knew the time would come sooner than she thought, when 11-year-old Jacquelyn came to her claiming that Dr. Bloor had arranged a meeting with her art teacher...