Disclaimer: Still not mine.
I slid the ring onto the third finger of my right hand. It was too big - just like I told them it was. I was about to slide it off again when I felt a tingling sensation starting in my hand. It continued throughout my body. All of a sudden, the ring started to glow and shrink to fit my finger.
Magic. My grandfather's ring was magic. This was all I could think. I looked towards my mother, but she was staring at the ring, with her hand clamped over her mouth. I didn't like this at all. I started to pull the ring off, but it wouldn't budge an inch.
"It won't come off, Hermione. Not until you die. You are the heir. We weren't sure whether you would be or not," this came from Luka, while I was still yanking at the ring, trying to get it off.
"The heir. The heir of what? Mum, what is going on?" I cried at her. She just stared at me.
"Oh, baby. This wasn't supposed to happen like this. He wasn't supposed to die until you were much older. After I had had a chance to explain, for you to be trained."
I tried to calm down, hoping that someone would explain just what I was the heir to. why this ring wouldn't come off and why my body felt like I had pins and needles everywhere. All of a sudden the front door opened and my dad walked in. I flung myself at him. Mum was starting to frighten me. He looked down to my hand and saw the ring. I couldn't tell what the fleeting emotion that passed across his face was, but I could tell it wasn't happiness or joy.
"Mya, sit down, your mother will explain everything now," my father said gently to me, stroking my hair to calm me down. So I sat down and stared at my mother, ignoring the other three men in the room. At the moment I didn't care a whit about them. They were irrelevant. I wanted to know what was going on. She stared back at me as if she weren't sure of where to begin, so I decided to help her.
"Given that the ring was magic, I'll take a wild leap and suppose that my grandfather was a wizard. Am I right? And if I am, that means you've been lying to me for my entire life," she cringed when I said that. She deserved it. I couldn't believe that my mother had been lying to me, even a lie through omission. I thought she was the one person that I could trust beyond a doubt.
"Some lies are necessary. They were kept quiet for your own safety."
"But I suppose my safety isn't an issue any more," I shot back.
" No, I don't suppose it is. My father was a very rich and very pureblood wizard," she began. "But with many very pureblood families, squibs are born. Now while Alexander wasn't exactly a squib, he wasn't exactly powerful either. But he had a very shrewd mind and a very commanding presence that allowed him, when his father died, to become the heir. I, on the other hand was most definitely a squib. I can do no magic whatsoever. That was never a lie. But all was not lost. If I had a child that was a wizard, that child had a chance of inheriting. So my father went to great lengths to find me a suitable husband, because as you know, one wizarding parent is enough."
"Like with Seamus, his dad's a muggle, while his mum's a witch," I injected.
"Yes, so my father and his advisors, arranged a marriage to a wizard with an impeccable background. Everything would have continued perfectly, if one day I hadn't been knocked over by a ruggedly handsome Englishman." She looked at my father and smiled, remembering the day they met.
"But as the story goes, my father did not approve. Your dad was a muggle. 'Elana,' he said, 'you know if you choose him then our name will die with me. Do you know what that will do to our world? No child borne of you two will ever be a wizard.' But he was wrong. I chose your father and we eloped and moved to England, far away from my father, who disowned me, and from anyone here in Italy who would recognise me. He told the press that I had died."
"Was that really necessary?" I had to ask. It seemed too much to me.
"His Name was Lord Alexander Medici. He was killed by You-Know-Who yesterday," Nicolas injected, "So I think it was necessary." He handed me a copy of the Italian wizarding newspaper. I saw the headlines.
LORD ALEXANDER MEDICI FOUND DEAD. Will this be the end for us all?
Lord Medici. I knew about him of course. We learnt about him and his lineage at Hogwarts. We had to. He basically controlled all Wizarding Europe.
I remember the passage well. Many years ago, the world was on the brink of destruction. Magic was uncontrolled and humanity began to suffer terribly because of it. Five wizards of the age met to discuss ways to control the magic. If the magic was left to unrestrained, it would eventually destroy the whole world and all who dwell within it. After many years of discussion, the five found a way to bind the magic to them and their kin. Channelling it through their systems, giving them control over the magic and the land solved the problem.
Each of the five wizards took a part of the earth's landmass to control. They are now known as the five continents, Europe, Asia, Africa, North and South America. While there are seven continents in the muggle world, in the wizarding world, Australasia and Antarctica are part of the Asian continent. To the relief of many, this binding spell worked, leaving the world at peace for the first time in many hundreds of years.
The wizards found that even though they had magic flowing through them, it did not make them any more powerful - except through their connection with the land. Through it, the wizards could control their land and the people in it. Over the years, these wizards and their heirs became the rulers of the five continents. With all rulers, muggle or wizard, there were some good and bad, but overall this system worked well. That is, until one of the lineages died out.
The magic connected with the land was unleashed for the first time in a number of millennia and the ancient cultures of Africa were wiped out. Few humans remained after the magic had run its course, settling itself into the land. The few that remained spread themselves out to start new cultures. What once was, was forgotten. Through out the millennia other lineages died out, with the same devastating effects. North and South America were both lost. The only two still standing are known as Europe and Asia, ruled by Lord Medici and Lord Chang respectively. Lord Chang had eight children - their line was still going strong. The Medici line was in danger - who would become the heir?
"You see, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named believed, along with the rest of the world, that I had died without producing a child, so therefore the Clan Medici was left with no heir to control the land. So when he died, while the power over the land would be lost, the ownership itself would be left to whomever was in the will. This would leave open the estate itself to be bought and sold to whomever pleases," my mother explained to me. I was beginning to understand.
"Voldemort could get hold of many dangerous objects that he usually wouldn't have ever been able to touch." Everyone, except my father flinched when I said his name - even my mother. I began to realise why it was important to my mother that no one knew that I was alive. Had Voldemort known I existed, I would be up there with Harry on his 'Need to Kill' list. Some of the rumoured possessions of the Dark Lord are so powerful and dangerous, that in the wrong hands they make the Philosopher's Stone in Voldemort's power seem like child's play.
"But if the magic was unleashed, everyone would die. It makes no sense to have killed him, even for his possessions," I said, not understanding Voldemort's logic.
"It is believed that he thought that he would be able to channel the escaped magics into himself and therefore become Lord," Paulo told me. "It was not the first time that he tried to kill off the Lord, but before he always failed."
I sat there for a while thinking. If what they were telling me is true. and instinctively, I knew it was. I am now Lady Medici. I now control Europe. And at that moment all I could think about was that Malfoy was going to regret every mean thing he ever said to me. Shock makes you think funny things I suppose. The advisors started whispering to one another. I wanted to know what they were saying.
"Excuse me gentlemen, what are you whispering about?" I asked them.
"My Lady, we were just discussing how we are going to announce this to the wizarding world," Nicolas addressed me. "No need to worry."
" Do I have any say about this by any chance?" I asked, getting annoyed at the patronising tone that he was using.
"Mya, let them do what they think is best. The wizarding world is probably very panicky at the moment," my mother said to me.
"I don't know them, Mum, so therefore I don't trust them. If there is one thing I have learnt being Harry Potter's best friend for the past five years is to be careful whom you trust, because people are not always who they seem. If this is really happening I want people I trust here. Contact Professor Dumbledore and the Weasleys. I want them here now. Until then, I'm going to my room. Come get me when they arrive. Don't tell them anything until we are all back here together." With that I left. I was going to have to get used to giving orders as Lady Medici, so I might as well start learning now.
I slid the ring onto the third finger of my right hand. It was too big - just like I told them it was. I was about to slide it off again when I felt a tingling sensation starting in my hand. It continued throughout my body. All of a sudden, the ring started to glow and shrink to fit my finger.
Magic. My grandfather's ring was magic. This was all I could think. I looked towards my mother, but she was staring at the ring, with her hand clamped over her mouth. I didn't like this at all. I started to pull the ring off, but it wouldn't budge an inch.
"It won't come off, Hermione. Not until you die. You are the heir. We weren't sure whether you would be or not," this came from Luka, while I was still yanking at the ring, trying to get it off.
"The heir. The heir of what? Mum, what is going on?" I cried at her. She just stared at me.
"Oh, baby. This wasn't supposed to happen like this. He wasn't supposed to die until you were much older. After I had had a chance to explain, for you to be trained."
I tried to calm down, hoping that someone would explain just what I was the heir to. why this ring wouldn't come off and why my body felt like I had pins and needles everywhere. All of a sudden the front door opened and my dad walked in. I flung myself at him. Mum was starting to frighten me. He looked down to my hand and saw the ring. I couldn't tell what the fleeting emotion that passed across his face was, but I could tell it wasn't happiness or joy.
"Mya, sit down, your mother will explain everything now," my father said gently to me, stroking my hair to calm me down. So I sat down and stared at my mother, ignoring the other three men in the room. At the moment I didn't care a whit about them. They were irrelevant. I wanted to know what was going on. She stared back at me as if she weren't sure of where to begin, so I decided to help her.
"Given that the ring was magic, I'll take a wild leap and suppose that my grandfather was a wizard. Am I right? And if I am, that means you've been lying to me for my entire life," she cringed when I said that. She deserved it. I couldn't believe that my mother had been lying to me, even a lie through omission. I thought she was the one person that I could trust beyond a doubt.
"Some lies are necessary. They were kept quiet for your own safety."
"But I suppose my safety isn't an issue any more," I shot back.
" No, I don't suppose it is. My father was a very rich and very pureblood wizard," she began. "But with many very pureblood families, squibs are born. Now while Alexander wasn't exactly a squib, he wasn't exactly powerful either. But he had a very shrewd mind and a very commanding presence that allowed him, when his father died, to become the heir. I, on the other hand was most definitely a squib. I can do no magic whatsoever. That was never a lie. But all was not lost. If I had a child that was a wizard, that child had a chance of inheriting. So my father went to great lengths to find me a suitable husband, because as you know, one wizarding parent is enough."
"Like with Seamus, his dad's a muggle, while his mum's a witch," I injected.
"Yes, so my father and his advisors, arranged a marriage to a wizard with an impeccable background. Everything would have continued perfectly, if one day I hadn't been knocked over by a ruggedly handsome Englishman." She looked at my father and smiled, remembering the day they met.
"But as the story goes, my father did not approve. Your dad was a muggle. 'Elana,' he said, 'you know if you choose him then our name will die with me. Do you know what that will do to our world? No child borne of you two will ever be a wizard.' But he was wrong. I chose your father and we eloped and moved to England, far away from my father, who disowned me, and from anyone here in Italy who would recognise me. He told the press that I had died."
"Was that really necessary?" I had to ask. It seemed too much to me.
"His Name was Lord Alexander Medici. He was killed by You-Know-Who yesterday," Nicolas injected, "So I think it was necessary." He handed me a copy of the Italian wizarding newspaper. I saw the headlines.
LORD ALEXANDER MEDICI FOUND DEAD. Will this be the end for us all?
Lord Medici. I knew about him of course. We learnt about him and his lineage at Hogwarts. We had to. He basically controlled all Wizarding Europe.
I remember the passage well. Many years ago, the world was on the brink of destruction. Magic was uncontrolled and humanity began to suffer terribly because of it. Five wizards of the age met to discuss ways to control the magic. If the magic was left to unrestrained, it would eventually destroy the whole world and all who dwell within it. After many years of discussion, the five found a way to bind the magic to them and their kin. Channelling it through their systems, giving them control over the magic and the land solved the problem.
Each of the five wizards took a part of the earth's landmass to control. They are now known as the five continents, Europe, Asia, Africa, North and South America. While there are seven continents in the muggle world, in the wizarding world, Australasia and Antarctica are part of the Asian continent. To the relief of many, this binding spell worked, leaving the world at peace for the first time in many hundreds of years.
The wizards found that even though they had magic flowing through them, it did not make them any more powerful - except through their connection with the land. Through it, the wizards could control their land and the people in it. Over the years, these wizards and their heirs became the rulers of the five continents. With all rulers, muggle or wizard, there were some good and bad, but overall this system worked well. That is, until one of the lineages died out.
The magic connected with the land was unleashed for the first time in a number of millennia and the ancient cultures of Africa were wiped out. Few humans remained after the magic had run its course, settling itself into the land. The few that remained spread themselves out to start new cultures. What once was, was forgotten. Through out the millennia other lineages died out, with the same devastating effects. North and South America were both lost. The only two still standing are known as Europe and Asia, ruled by Lord Medici and Lord Chang respectively. Lord Chang had eight children - their line was still going strong. The Medici line was in danger - who would become the heir?
"You see, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named believed, along with the rest of the world, that I had died without producing a child, so therefore the Clan Medici was left with no heir to control the land. So when he died, while the power over the land would be lost, the ownership itself would be left to whomever was in the will. This would leave open the estate itself to be bought and sold to whomever pleases," my mother explained to me. I was beginning to understand.
"Voldemort could get hold of many dangerous objects that he usually wouldn't have ever been able to touch." Everyone, except my father flinched when I said his name - even my mother. I began to realise why it was important to my mother that no one knew that I was alive. Had Voldemort known I existed, I would be up there with Harry on his 'Need to Kill' list. Some of the rumoured possessions of the Dark Lord are so powerful and dangerous, that in the wrong hands they make the Philosopher's Stone in Voldemort's power seem like child's play.
"But if the magic was unleashed, everyone would die. It makes no sense to have killed him, even for his possessions," I said, not understanding Voldemort's logic.
"It is believed that he thought that he would be able to channel the escaped magics into himself and therefore become Lord," Paulo told me. "It was not the first time that he tried to kill off the Lord, but before he always failed."
I sat there for a while thinking. If what they were telling me is true. and instinctively, I knew it was. I am now Lady Medici. I now control Europe. And at that moment all I could think about was that Malfoy was going to regret every mean thing he ever said to me. Shock makes you think funny things I suppose. The advisors started whispering to one another. I wanted to know what they were saying.
"Excuse me gentlemen, what are you whispering about?" I asked them.
"My Lady, we were just discussing how we are going to announce this to the wizarding world," Nicolas addressed me. "No need to worry."
" Do I have any say about this by any chance?" I asked, getting annoyed at the patronising tone that he was using.
"Mya, let them do what they think is best. The wizarding world is probably very panicky at the moment," my mother said to me.
"I don't know them, Mum, so therefore I don't trust them. If there is one thing I have learnt being Harry Potter's best friend for the past five years is to be careful whom you trust, because people are not always who they seem. If this is really happening I want people I trust here. Contact Professor Dumbledore and the Weasleys. I want them here now. Until then, I'm going to my room. Come get me when they arrive. Don't tell them anything until we are all back here together." With that I left. I was going to have to get used to giving orders as Lady Medici, so I might as well start learning now.
