Chapter 1

Warriors

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"You're slacking, Lucie! How do you want to become a proper Shadowhunter if you can't even maintain the right fighting stance?"

Lucie rolled her eyes at Abigail while she wiped her forehead, pushing stray strands of her hair behind her ears. Her oldest cousin was towering over her, not a hair out of place of her intricate braids, not a bead of sweat on her brown skin.

"What? I'm only eleven, what do you expect? For me to do back flips while fighting off five people at once? What level were you on when you were my age?"

"Because it's the back flip that makes the Shadowhunter!"

"Oh, shut up, Kayden! I was only exaggerating!"

She boxed him in the arm and he tried to box her right back. He was the spitting image of his sister, just shorter and less polished.

"Stop it, you two!" Abigail looked at her younger brother and cousin in exasperation. "And Lucie, it doesn't matter where I was when I was eleven, because you started training earlier, remember?"

Lucie was about to respond when Joshua piped in from the corner where he was sitting.

"Yeah, Abi, what's up with that, by the way? Why was she allowed to start earlier? Why can't I start yet?" He was shorter than all three of them, but made up for it with his loud voice.

"Because-"

"Because I'm more talented than you." Lucie interrupted and stuck her tongue out towards Joshua.

"Hey!"

"That's definitely not the reason!"

"Then what is?"

"Er-"

"Abigail?"

"In here, Mum." She had never looked more relieved to be interrupted. "What is it?"

Jodie walked in and took a look around the room. Lucie's aunt was a tall woman with olive skin and smooth brown hair that she usually wore pulled back out of her face.

"How is it going with the training?"

Her eldest child snorted.

"Well, Lucie is being lazy, Kayden the smarty-pants he always is and Josh, he's making unwanted commentary."

"Hey! Just because you've been on your first hunt and can handle the Angel light sword thingies-"

"Seraph blades"

"Whatever!" Joshua puffed his chest. "You don't get to command us around!"

Abigail looked at her mother pleadingly.

"You see what I have to deal with?"

Jodie sighed.

"Alright, listen up!" The three in question stopped their bickering immediately. "Stop making it such a hard time for your sister. She's more advanced than you are and clearly a lot more mature," she frowned at them. "Which means you can learn a lot from her. Abigail is not only your sister, but also your mentor for now. So treat her as one, understood?"

The cousins nodded in unison.

"Good! Now-"

"Ms Redcliff?"

"Yes, Mr Branwell?"

Jodie turned around to answer the secretary of the Institute.

"There is a visitor waiting for you outside."

"Outside?" She furrowed her brow in confusion.

"Er, yes. He...er," he leaned in closer to the head of the Institute lowering his voice. "He can't see the entrance on his own and, er, we weren't sure whether to let him or not."

They exchanged looks before Jodie murmured something only he could understand. Mr Branwell just nodded in response before leaving the room.

"All right then, you can continue with your training. And no bickering!"

"Of course, Aunt Jodie," said Lucie seriously.

"Yeah, yeah" was Kayden's response which earned him his cousin's elbow between the ribs.

Lucie had been living at the Institute for over ten years now. She grew up among her cousins Abigail, Kayden and Joshua as if she were their sister - although she didn't quite fit into the family picture as her appearance was quite different from her cousins and the grown Shadowhunters.

Red was an uncommon hair colour for a Nephilim, and her complexion was much lighter than even her Aunt Jodie's. At least she grew as tall as the others and had inherited the hazel eyes that ran through the entire Redcliff line. Still, Lucie knew from a young age that she was different not just in her looks. But like her cousins she was a Redcliff with a Redcliff name. And so she was raised to be one.

At an early age - earlier than most Nephilim - she started her training. Lucie was never really told why, but she had her suspicions. It had always been more than obvious when Council officials observed her training sessions; when sometimes murmured, sometimes shouted conversations were held in her aunt and uncle's office; when everyone always seemed to keep an eye on her.

It had become every Shadowhunter's duty in the Institute to insure that her Nephilim side rooted itself deeply within her being. To the others she was a ticking bomb - having Wizards for parents was dangerous, for her and for the Shadowhunters. And nobody wanted things to go down the same path as they had with her father.

That was why the Council and every Redcliff feared the year she'd turn eleven. And why Jodie knew exactly who was standing outside the Institute waiting to be invited in.

After all, there had only been about a hundred or so letters over the past week.

There was a soft knock on the door.

"Come in, Lucie."

After some hesitation, the door opened and the young Nephilim stepped into the office. She was greeted by the familiar faces of Aunt Jodie, Uncle Matthew and a member of the Council - and the unfamiliar face of a bearded old man in a strange purple costume. The Council representative had strong features and always wore a firm expression on her face which already held many wrinkles, few from age, more from stress. The silver-haired man had, too, many wrinkles, though his seemed to come from old age and smiling too much.

"You wanted to see me?"

There was a short silence before her uncle cleared his throat. He was the tallest in the room, towering over all of them, heavily muscled under dark skin. His black eyes always wore a kind expression, especially when they were set on his niece.

"Yes. There is something we need to talk to you about. Why don't you sit down?" He gestured to the ensemble of chairs in the middle of the room.

The five of them remained silent as they settled themselves. Lucie could feel the eyes of both the Council Member and the old man on her the whole time. Both their gazes were piercing, yet the man's was softer and strangely kind. Since her aunt didn't make any move to start the conversation, it was Uncle Matthew who again raised his voice.

"This is Ms Ashburn of the Council. She is the Head of-" He shot a glance in the old man's direction. "- Wizarding affairs. And this is Mr Dumble-"

"Professor."

"Sorry?" asked Uncle Matthew visibly irritated.

"It's Professor Dumbledore."

The old man had a twinkle in his eyes when he spoke, but Lucie was far too distracted by the mention of the Councillor's department to be reassured by the smile he sent her way.

"Yes, well, this is Professor Dumbledore," continued her uncle. "And he is-"

"I am the Headmaster of Hogwarts, School for Witchcraft and Wizardry."

Lucie could only gape at him before panic overcame her. This meeting could only mean one thing. Aunt Jodie, seeing her discomfort, overcame her own and laid a reassuring hand on her niece's knee.

"Lucie, did you notice any strange things happening over the past couple of weeks?"

"What - what are you trying to say?"

"Lucie-"

"No, I'm not a Witch. I can't be."

"As much as we all wish there was a choice, there isn't," it was Ms Ashburn's turn to talk. "You either have magic or you don't. And you, Lucie, you have it - unfortunately."

Professor Dumbledore cleared his throat.

"If I may say so, being a Witch is nothing unfortunate; and nothing to be ashamed or afraid of either."

"And as you may know, Professor, we Nephilim have a good reason to be cautious when it comes to Wizardry!"

"These you may have, but that does not mean you should reject Shadowhunters born with magic."

"It is not a question of rejecting -"

"Enough!" Jodie's voice was unusually load as she had a sense of déjà-vu. "You're frightening her."

Lucie was fighting back the tears.

"I'm so sorry, Aunt Jodie. It's all my fault!"

"No, it's not, Lucie. Don't ever say that!"

"But I hear you fighting all the time. Because of me. I destroy the family!"

"Look at me, Lucie." Jodie laid a hand on her niece's cheek trying to calm her down. "That you have magic doesn't mean you are any less part of our family. You are a Redcliff and you are a Nephilim."

Lucie hesitated. "So what happens now?"

"You will attend Hogwarts," stated Ms Ashburn.

"It is a wonderful school filled with children like you. You will learn a lot there and you can finally meet other Wizards and Witches." the Wizard in the room tried to convince Lucie who didn't look very thrilled about going to a magic school.

She turned to her aunt. "Can't I just stay here? Do I have to go to that school?"

"I'm afraid you do. Wizard magic isn't like Nephilim blood. If you ignore your powers, you will lose control of them," Ms Ashburn explained, crossing her arms in front of her. "The last Shadowhunter whose powers were denied went mad before she destroyed a good part of the Institute burying herself in the rubble.

"What a great way to encourage her," murmured Uncle Matthew while rubbing circles on Lucie's back.

"Is that true?", Lucie asked, her eyes wide.

"Sadly, yes," Jodie told her. "That was my father's twin sister."

"That will definitely not happen to you when you come to Hogwarts where you will learn to control and advance your magic," Professor Dumbledore said.

"It's ok, Lucie. Kayden told me what occurred during training last week." Her niece wanted to say something, but Jodie cut her off. "As I said, it's ok. I know we've all been hoping for a different outcome, but we'll make it work, I promise. What happened with your father will not happen to you... You just always have to remember who you are."

Lucie nodded hesitantly. A Redcliff. A Shadowhunter. She was and always will be.

"And that is why Professor Dumbledore, the Council and your uncle and I have come to a few agreements so you can continue your training with us: You will come home every holiday and also every second weekend. There will be a permanent portal installed for you through which you can travel back and forth and you will get a room for your training."

"A few of the teachers are already in the know and the Head of the House you get sorted into will be informed as well."

"House?" Lucie's head was spinning from all the new information.

"All will be explained when you get to Hogwarts," the Professor smiled down to the little Witch. "You will enjoy it there, I am sure of it."

Uncle Matthew snorted.

"Well, then. Shall I escort you and your family to Diagon Alley where you can buy all your school supplies?"

"No, thank you," Aunt Jodie replied firmly. "But I think we'll manage it on our own."

"Alright, then," said the Wizard, smile and twinkle never fading. He turned to the Clave representative. "About the name?"

"Ah, yes. She will be going to Hogwarts as Lucie Radcliffe," Ashburn mentioned matter-of-factly, handing Jodie a document with the seal of the Council on it. "We chose the name to cover up any connection to the ancient Redcliff name, in case any old Wizarding family could recognize it... but it's close enough to the original so that Lucie here doesn't forget her place..."

The person in question could only try to process everything before quickly saying goodbye to Ms Ashburn and the Headmaster.

"See you at Hogwarts!" Dumbledore waved goodbye.

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A/N:

"As a child you would wait
And watch from far away
But you always knew that you'd be the one
That work while they all play"

Warriors by Imagine Dragons