At first she had been ecstatic when she gained the memories of her past life and realised where she was. After all who wouldn't be after being reborn to a world of magic. Sure there was conflict around her as they were at war but she was getting a second chance. She was also relieved when she realised who her parents were seeing as she could have ended up a child of the dark lord or one of his followers. That would have sucked. As the first born of the Potters she was three years old and her little brother Harry was fifteen months old.
At first everything was fine until Harry began to exhibit accidental magic, magic she had yet to show herself. All this time her parents had not seemed to be bothered by this so she was not worried. She missed the silent conversations her parents had between them every time her brother did magic. It was not until they were planning to get out of hiding that She overheard the conversation between her parents about sending her away.
Alex froze in the hallway after returning to the living room where her parents were after being put in bed that evening. She wanted her mother to read to her that evening as she normally did every night.
Her mum's voice was clear as day as she spoke "James, you are talking about giving away one of our children."
Her father replied "We do not have much of a choice Lily. You know with my position as a lord in our society if it is found out we have a squib for our daughter they will not just shun us, they will turn on our entire family. We will be treated like pariahs by the general public and I don't even want to imagine what they will do to Harry let alone Alex. I am not suggesting we send her off to be some else's problem. I will put in place everything she needs to have a life just as comfortable as she would have been here with us. As much as this hurts me the reality of it is that if we do not do something about this we endanger both our kids. If it was just us I would most likely say throw caution to the wind but can you imagine what this will do to Harry? He is to be the Potter heir. He will be a target."
Lily was quiet for a bit. It was clear she wanted to argue by the stubborn look on her face. She knew her husband was right. This was not just about her and James but their son too. The question was could she truly give away one child to protect the other? Seeing the hesitancy James continued "Right now no one else knows of her existence seeing as she was born after we went into hiding and she was born under the fidelias. If we are to protect them both we only have this small window of opportunity to do so because once the word is out it will not be possible to hide it again."
Lily broke down in tears as she listened to her husband. She did not however refute him as Alex had hoped. Alex turned from there and returned to her room no longer seeking her parents and chastising herself for her naivety.
xxxx
It had been 3 years since Alex had been sent away by her parents. She rushed toward the door as someone was knocking knowing that if she delayed her so called relatives would either withhold food or lock her up for days on end yet again. She didn't even want to think about Vernon giving his overgrown son the go ahead to teach the freak a lesson. She sighed knowing that if she stayed patient enough she would be gone soon enough she was after all a child with an adult mind she would find a way.
At first Alex was worried that she would be the one facing the trials Harry had to face until she saw the dates. They did not match up what she remembered of the books. She was born a couple of years before Harry and yes he was born after two years.
What she did not expect though was to have Lily and James send her away to the Dursleys after the attack by Voldemort that they survived somehow. While she knew she was going to be sent away she had not expected them to send her to magic hating muggles especially with how they went on about how much they loved her despite having no magic. All she got from the conversation depicting the reason why they were doing this was that she had no magic and it was better for her to live away from it all, with Lily stating that she hoped it would be a way for her sister to find something in common with her.
If she had been an actual child she would have been timid, cowed, withdrawn and proper conditioned by the way the Dursleys treated her. They did not allow her to go to school so she never learned how to read and write. All she could do was be thankful that she already knew how to do it. When she first arrived Petunia would drug her food leaving her with a vacant expression on her face and drooling then take her to be looked over by a doctor who declared that she was in need of extra care and could not go to a mainstream school.
It took a lot for her not to go against them seeing as she could hardly care for myself at such a young age. So while they were getting benefits for her care and working her like a horse she meditated and searched for anything inside her that would resemble magic. Why would she be born in a world of magic only to be denied it. That was just a cruel fate.
As time went by nothing happened. She struggled to get something. Years went by as she tried and tried not wishing to give up. It was her adult mind that still had hope that maybe, just maybe there had been a reason for being reborn in that world. Besides what else had she to lose by not giving up? It was when she turned eight that she finally began to waver and give up after constant disappointment. The fact that he parents never bothered to check on her despite the impression of caring about her they gave in the beginning, he had waited and waited for something, anything to show they were thinking about her or even checking up on her but the constant reminders from the Dursleys that she was not wanted and was a drain on their resources she was only there due to the goodness of their hearts as they could have just left her in an orphanage. She even asked herself would it be so bad in an orphanage?
One night as she crawled into the little cupboard under the stairs where she slept after a particularly horrible day with Vernon, and his sister who arrived and made hell on earth feel like Tartarus on earth for her. The woman had taken to smacking her around and not caring when her dog chased her until she went up a tree to get away from it. It was the first time she crawled into bed without meditating looking for magic inside of her. She was in pain and exhausted she just closed her eyes and went to sleep.
As she slept she felt herself falling. Her eyes opened at the sensation and she found herself looking through clouds as she went down. She screamed a she fell seeing as she was falling towards what looked like a lake. The lake was crystal clear she could see right to the bottom. It felt as if she was being guided toward the lake and braced herself for impact. She fell in with a huge splash. She didn't realise it but her attempt at calling my magic to the fore released it from its core where she could not reach it before. Yes she had been born a squib a fact that she realised after she started finally getting to know her magic.
Alex was in shock. As she sank in the lake she did not attempt to swim back to the top instead she looked around and noticed every time a water creature swimming by touched her she gained a sort of memory. Her eyes widened at the implication. That did not even start on the fact that she was not drowning but breathing just fine while in the water. It was clear she was in her own mind. A happy laugh escaped her at the realisation she had somehow manged to reach her magic or her magic had found her, she was not sure which.
She began to swim looking at the fish noticing that the different species depicted different memories some for this life others for her former life. Alex spent time checking every creature she could find making all her memories sharper and actually watching as they were rearranged in order. The fish she touched no longer held the memories she somehow knew they were safe and being stored in her very being there was no way anyone but her could retrieve them. Finally she came to what looked like a waterfall. She could not see where it started but it was clear this was the reason for the lake as well.
It was also there that she sensed and met her magic for the first time. Her magic was almost sentient, she gained the sense of how it communicated and it was telling her that it was good she did not give up even after so long. It had been attempting to reach back to her every time she but it was when her magic finally had something to hold onto that it was able to connect with her. It also led her to a different creature in the lake that looked like something out of the avengers movie, a huge worm like creature lay at the bottom of the lake not moving but looking very intimidating and frightening. Alex froze at the sight but her magic nudged her forward letting her know this was important and she needed to do this.
Alex swam until she was right next to the creature which had not moved and reached out with her hand then gasped as something opened up inside her that felt like it had been locked. Memories and knowledge of another life that someone had decided to lock away inside her. Her eyes were wide a she watched how her previous life ended. She had assumed she died and was reborn immediately but it seemed this was not the case. She was actually taken from her home by a sorceress who had plans to use her. She had done an experimental blood ritual with the blood of two Asgardians and ensured she mind controlled her once it took hold. She attempted to use her to gain a foothold on the royal family by using the blood of the two princes.
It was working as she intended until the plan backfired when Alex managed to regain control of her mind briefly and alerting the younger of the two princes. He was only able to save her by using magic to send her away where she was reborn to the Potters, as well as binding the magic she gained from the blood adoption. Her memories of her time in that world were bound for her safety. She remembered the prince telling her it was safer for her this way no one could trace her back to Asgard and use her again. She was surprised at being able to regain these memories. It was clear that she was not meant to have regained her magic so it was most likely that when that happened her memories were released.
Alex felt ecstatic at her memories. All the knowledge of the training that the sorceress had forced her to endure was there. She sat there going through it wincing at how brutal it was at times. It was clear the woman wanted a warrior. Alex knew she would have to retrain if she wanted to be as efficient at magic as she had been then.
Alex was in her mind for much longer than she realised. She had not wanted to leave before completing going through her memories. Once she done she finally swam to the surface and then to the shore. She looked around to see a wide expanse of land. The place looked like a huge field where she could actually practice her magic, something she took advantage of uncaring of how long it would take her. She knew now that time moved differently in her mind than out in the real world.
xxxxxx
Alex felt the pull to the waking world and followed it. She opened her eyes to see a little light at the bottom of her cupboard door and knew it was most likely five am and as it was summer it was light very early outside. Her mind went back to the day before, remembering the Dursleys watching and doing nothing to stop Vernon's sister from abusing her all day or even attempting to protect her from the dog, in fact laughing when it chased her.
She had known they hated her especially when they applauded their walrus of a son when he abused her but this was different. Vernon's sister had used whatever was at hand to hit her with. She could feel the welts, from the beatings the bruises all over her body and even her sprained arm where she was grabbed and dragged across the room for not being fast enough to get the woman her sherry. No matter what she did she could not do anything right in the woman's eyes and was hurt for it. Her magic however, she could feel it all over her body just beneath the surface ready and waiting to be used. It felt like a she had lost a limb and now after getting it back only just realising how much she had missed it.
Alex sat there and cast a few spells to make sure she really could do it out of her mind. She could feel the relief of knowing she now had a way to get away from her tormentors. Petunia Dursley came to unlock her cupboard door that morning with her usual screech of "Up! Up! get up! Now!"
Alex crawled out of the small space and looked into the face of the woman. She wondered to herself what the woman thought of the treatment she gave her niece and if she thought she truly was normal. Was she aware of her cruelty and just did not care? Pulling her thoughts back and not dwelling on the woman Alex followed her to the kitchen and begun her morning routine of making breakfast for the Dursleys and cleaning their home and after them as the morning wore on. It was nearly 11 am when Petunia turned to her and said as she walked in from the backyard "Vernon, Dudley and I are going out today. I want these chores done and if I come back to find you slacking Vernon will be the one to deal with you."
She gave Alex a long list of chores meant to keep her occupied the whole day. Petunia was under the impression if she was too busy trying to complete the chores she would not have time to make herself comfortable in her home in any way. Alex quietly took the list and helped them get ready for their trip. Petunia grudgingly handed her a plate with toast, egg and bacon left overs from breakfast then left with her family after locking up the upstairs bedrooms, food cupboards, fridge and a storage cupboard a well to keep Alex out of them.
Alex watched them leave before looking at the food. This was very unusual of Petunia. She had never been this generous with Alex no matter the situation. Alex climbed the stairs and used magic to open Dudley's room and placed the plate of food in there . The fat lard would eat just about anything. Alex was not about to eat anything Petunia gave her so generously especially as the bitch drugged her as child.
Alex had already made up her mind. She made her way to Petunia's bedroom and found a pair of jeans and a shirt that she shrunk down and put on after taking a shower. Alex had no idea if what she was doing would even work. If she did it she would be giving up the only measure of safety she currently knew. But she also knew with her magic she would be fine. She did not want to be under their power anymore and no one was coming to save her from them. What worried her was the escalation of violence from the adult Dursleys. They no longer shied away from hurting her. It started with a few pinches, slaps, and with how Marge seemed to have nothing holding her back she di not want to test out how the Dursleys would now hold back if at all. After all the pinching all the pinching and slapping started after Marge's previous visit.
She did find quite a bit of money and not in Petunia's bedroom but in Dudley's room. The kid was eight years old. How on earth did he accumulate so much money? Alex noticed just before leaving Dudley's bedroom that the food on the plate was now a bit discoloured. The bacon looked a little brown. She wondered what she put in it. She shrugged and cast a stasis spell on the food before it could discolour even more, the little pig would eat anything placed in front of it. It was probably cruel but she was at the point of I don't care. Let her deal with the consequences for once.