Obligatory A/N: I've gotta let you guys know that I do now own anything that you recognise from this story (unfortunately). The first few chapters here will get you acquainted with the sort of child that Aurelia Sterling is, and how she is raised. Hopefully this will make things more clear as the story goes on. For now, welcome to Aurelia's world!
"Now Darling, you really must stop Vanishing the carrots from all our meals," Stella Sterling chided her nine year old daughter Aurelia who looked back with wide eyes and an innocent look. "I don't know what you're talking about, Mommy. I haven't even got a wand!"
"As if that ever stopped you before…" Stella mumbled, rolling her eyes and trying not to notice her husband choking back laughter across the table.
"Stella dear, perhaps it is time to begin training her to exercise her magic. I know when I was her age, I almost couldn't help all the accidental magic from reacting to my thoughts, and I'll bet you anything that Uncle Al was the same way," Aurelia's father, Mark Sterling suggested to his wife.
"How'd you do it, Daddy? Children aren't allowed a wand until they are eleven years old," his daughter asked with a quizzical gaze. Mark shot her a wink, "Like this," he said, nodding to his right where the pie was levitating and serving itself onto each of the three dessert plates.
Aurelia rolled her eyes, "You always do that, Daddy," she told him, but then a spark of comprehension lit her eyes. "Does that mean I can do that too?" The young girl practically bounced in her seat while screwing her eyes shut and extending her hand towards the gravy. A startled chuckle from her mother caused her to open her eyes quickly and look at her mom.
CRASH! came from the table and her head shot to the side where she saw the gravy boat shattered across the surface and a liberal amount of grey goop covering everything left on the table. Her eyes darted to both of her parents, fearing reprimand, but all she saw was a proud smile from her father and a look of wonder from her mother. Neither seemed concerned about the mess, and she basked in being the center of attention for a moment.
"Well that seems to answer that question, Darling!" Boomed Mark, "I'll set up some things we can work on to fine tune your power, and we can start whenever you'd like. But for now, it's time to wash up and head to bed, Young Lady." Aurelia wanted to protest, but couldn't hold back the large yawn that forced itself out of her mouth. She supposed that she did feel pretty exhausted from using her magic consciously for the first time. Giving both of her parents a kiss on the cheek, she bounded up the stairs of Sterling Chateau to her rooms.
Aurelia and Mark sat on the floor of their formal living room with ten large white balls placed in a row in front of them. "Try changing them all to different colors. Pick any color you want, and visualize it clearly in your mind while focusing on what you want to happen," Her hand flung out in front of her, Aurelia screwed her eyes shut and tried to picture a beautiful blue ball, the color of her father's eyes. So focused on her task, she jumped when she heard a gasp of wonder. Slowly, she lifted her eyelids to see what had made her father react like that, and saw the ball that she had been picturing hovering in front of her. Pure and deep, a sapphire winked back at her from the ball that had been white just a moment ago. She turned wide eyes onto her father, silently asking for confirmation that she had really made something so beautiful. A large and proud grin in place, Mark nodded firmly to his only daughter and heir. It seemed she had inherited his magical power and gift for magical precision rather than her mother's less powerful, but more forceful magic. He blinked back tears as he gazed upon his daughter, his Ari, happily changing the rest of the balls to physically transform to be different kinds of precious gems.
Finished with her task, Aurelia turned to her father, "Can I give these to Mother?" Wondering once again how he had gotten so lucky, he responded, "Of course, Ari. Always thinking of others, aren't you? Are you sure you don't want to keep one?" She firmly shook her head. "I want Mother to have these, so that when I keep practicing and get even better, I can give her a whole new set and see how much progress I've made."
"Go on, then," Mark urged his daughter, and with no further prompting needed, she trotted out of the room in search of her mother with ten sparkling and massive gems levitating after her. He followed at a more sedate pace, knowing that she would wait for him before presenting them to Stella.
His girls.
When Stella was newly pregnant and they were told that it would be a baby girl, he had gotten some sympathetic looks from his colleagues and even some friends. A male heir was typically preferred as a first born child, and to his shame, he too was slightly dismayed to be first blessed with a female rather than a male. But when little Ari was born, all thoughts of that flew right out the window. His only thoughts had been "She's perfect. She's mine," The childbirth had been hard on Stella. It was never easy giving birth to a child of two magically powerful parents, more so since Mark's power was Lord-level. They were told that it was highly unlikely that it would be possible to conceive again, and by that point, Mark had already accepted his daughter as his heir. His only regret was that she would never have a brother or a sister to go through life with as he had, as the youngest of seven siblings.
Mark rounded the corner to see a bemused smile on his wife's face and his daughter looking as though she wanted to be bouncing in place, but was too much a Young Lady to do so. "Finally! Now that Father is here, I made you a present," Aurelia stepped aside and floated the orbs to her mother, "I made them with Father and look! This one is the color of his eyes, and this one matches your favorite earrings, and this one," Aurelia kept listing her inspiration for each of the globes, and her parents made eye contact over her head. Both expressions mirrored each other, shining with pride and joy. Their daughter would be a powerful force to be reckoned with.
"Please give me a sixty second summary of everything we have gone over today," Aurelia gave her mother a serious expression and straightened her shoulders. Sometimes it was better to show your understanding than simply telling it. That was something her mother had taught her years ago. In a carefully measured voice, she began, "A Sterling Lady is graceful. She does not jerk or make careless movements. She thinks ahead to avoid embarrassing or improper situations, and always has a back up plan. A Sterling Lady knows her customs, such as how to properly entertain guests in her home. She is able to think both of her reflection of the family as well as being a proper host without seeming like a servant. A Sterling Lady knows how to conduct herself at social gatherings, making sure that each person she speaks to feels as though they are important, and conduct engaging conversation. These are the lessons we have learned today."
"Very good, Young Lady," Stella warmly told her daughter. Unlike some other mothers of her standing, she never felt the need to keep a cold distance between her and Aurelia. Her daughter seemed to instinctively understand when it was or was not appropriate to be casual around her family. "That's all for today. Maybe if you are quick, you can catch Uncle Al before he leaves and persuade him to stay for dinner." Before she was finished with her sentence, Aurelia was already on her feet, giving her mother a respectful curtsey, and walking as fast as was appropriate of a Young Lady of her standing would allow.
Aurelia was determined to catch her Uncle Al. It had been weeks since she had seen him, and she wanted to show him what she had been learning in her training with her father. There were voices coming from just in front of her, near her father's study. She made sure that her back was straight and her chin level with the floor before she turned the corner, but she couldn't help the wide smile as she exclaimed, "Uncle Al!" and closed in to hug her godfather. Albus Dumbledore had no problem catching her, and picking her up to twirl in a circle. "And how is my favorite goddaughter?" Rolling her eyes before she could stop herself from such childish behavior, she replied, "I'm your only goddaughter, Uncle Al,"
"Well, I suppose that's right. Silly me," He teased, with long practiced ease and fiddled with his tall, purple hat. Seeing an opportunity to show off her skills, she Conjured herself one just like it, down to the exact shade and the stars that seemed to move of their own accord to sparkle in the light. His eyebrows shot up in surprise at the same moment that there was a bright flash. The pair both looked up to see Stella holding a camera. "She's been busy since you've been off in Athens for your conference planning," Stella told Albus with a pleased expression. "I have to agree with you there! That's more than just practice, that's natural talent I haven't seen since your father and I were young boys," Aurelia beamed with the praise and said imperiously, "Then to celebrate, you have to stay for dinner and tell us all about your adventures. It's been too long, you wouldn't want your favorite goddaughter to feel neglected," And it was proven again that no father could resist the puppy dog eyes from their favorite little girl.