Chapter Text
Azalea Potter sighed for what appeared to be the hundredth time on that day as she absently minded swung from side to side in her desk chair. She would be turning eleven the next day, and there was a tough decision she had to make, a decision that would dictate the rest of her life… alright, so maybe she was overreacting, but it felt like the most crucial decision in her short life, the first of many.
At eleven, she knew that she would be gaining her Hogwarts’ acceptance letter, but she never imagined that another school would also offer her a spot in their institution. She expected her sister, Heather, to get a lot of letters, and she had been right about that.
As the girl-who-lived, it was no surprise that magical schools all over the world were offering her a spot in their schools. Having her as a student would be a point of pride, and they would be sure to advertise her to other schools just to rub it on their faces. For the most part, Azalea was glad that she didn’t have to deal with everything that came with being the girl-who-lived.
She was not interested in fame nor acknowledgment, at least not from the world. She would like a bit more attention from her parents, though. It wasn’t like they neglected her or mistreated her, but most of their attention was on Heather. She understood why, of course, Heather was prophesied to kill the dark lord, Voldemort, in the future. Her sister would face a lot of hardship in the future, and their parents worry about her constantly and try to give her the best childhood possible because of it.
She understood, she did… but she shouldn’t have to, she was only a child herself, and she shouldn’t have to understand why her parents favor one child over the other. There were times that she wanted to scream at her parents and rage at the unfairness of it all, but so far, she had prevented herself from exploding.
That was what made her pause when she saw the unexpected invitation. She didn’t want to live in her sister’s shadow for the rest of her life. She didn’t want a similar experience at school that she had at home. She could already imagine her classmates getting close to her only so they could get a chance to talk to Heather.
This unexpected invitation to the Academy of Magics was like a gift from above. But she hesitated in accepting it because ever since she could understand, she thought she would be going to Hogwarts. Her parents and uncles had told her and Heather amazing stories of Hogwarts and generations of Potters had gone to Hogwarts. She would be the first one not to go.
On the other hand, Hogwarts may have been a second home for her parents, but their situation was different. What guarantee did she have on finding friends and people that would accept her? Not to mention that her family wasn’t big on tradition, her father had married a muggleborn witch, and one of her uncles was a werewolf, not that she had anything against any magical creature or care about blood statues. But the point still stood, she would stand out like a sour thumb.
Making up her mind, she nodded to herself determinedly before grabbing the letter she received six days ago and headed to her father’s office.
“Come in,” the voice of her father, James Potter, came through the door after she knocked.
“Azalea! Come in, come in, how can I help you?” Azalea wanted to roll her eyes at her father’s obvious joy of seeing her because she gave him the excuse of not working on the massive pile of paperwork on his desk.
“Dad, I want to talk to you about something very important,” Azalea informed him, sitting in one of the comfy chairs in front of his desk.
Her father turned more serious upon hearing her tone, “Sweetheart, you can tell me anything; I promise to listen.” Azalea likes those moments when it was only her and her parents or her and one of her parents because they would pay attention to her. It was when her sister was in the room that their attention would automatically go to Heather.
“I don’t want to go to Hogwarts!” Azalea blurted out and then scowled mentally at having just blurted it out when she had prepared a whole speech for her father. “What I meant to say is that I got an invitation a couple of days ago from the Academy of Magics--” Azalea started over again only to be interrupted by her father.
“Academy of Magics?”
Azalea tilted her head curiously at her father, “Do you know about the Academy of Magics? I searched for it but found nothing in the library books, and you have never mentioned it before.”
“There are eleven major magical schools established worldwide. The ones you have grown up hearing about besides Hogwarts are Beauxbatons, Drumstrang, and Ilvermorny, but those are only four schools out of the eleven. The Academy of Magics is one of the institutions in that list, and just as Beauxbatons is known for accepting light magical creatures, like Veeles, and Drumgstrang is known for their dark arts, the Academy of Magics is known for its secretiveness.”
“So, you can’t tell me anything about it?” Azalea sighed in disappointment.
“Not completely. I know that they are very picky about who they accept. Like the other schools, most of their students are children from former alumni, so you must have impressed them to have sent you an invitation. After all, no Potter has gone to the Academy of Magics,” James stated proudly, forgetting for the moment that her going to the Academy of Magics would mean not attending Hogwarts, his old alma mater.
“This is what they send me,” Azalea handed her father the elegant invitation.
“Fancy,” James murmured, taking in the thick parchment with golden ink letters and the dark blue envelope that only had her name written on the front of the envelope, the broken wax-sealed in the form of the school symbol in the back let her father know she already took a peek inside at the letter.
The Academy of Magics
Dear Ms. Potter,
We are pleased to inform you that you qualify to attend the Academy of Magics. The Academy of Magics is proud to provide an exceptional education for all its students. By the time our students graduate, they have all of the tools to survive and thrive in the real world. Many of our former alumni not only achieve their goals but surpass their expectations. Some noticeable former alumni are: Miranda Goshawk, Aristotle Twelvetrees, Artemisia Lufkin, Mikael Almer, Francisco Silva, Camilla Nilsen, and Lukas Wolf.
We provide seven years of education with the opportunity to apprentice under one of our many masters who are experts in their fields after students' seven years of schooling. We provide a variety of mixture of magical and nonmagical classes and have hundreds of clubs and extracurricular activities to engage our students and provide a community feeling among our students and staff.
Not only do our students engage with each other and the staff members, but also the community that surrounds us. Students volunteer to help in animal shelters, assist the elders, and do community service hours by assisting in the childcare centers in the town surrounding us.
We give all of our efforts to provide an outstanding education to our students, so we ask our students to provide us with their full efforts in return. This is why our students are only given two weeks for winter break each year, and their summer consists of 1 ½ month only. We hope you understand that this is a serious commitment, and we realize that this is a hard decision to make, but I can guarantee that you will not regret accepting your place in the Academy of Magics if you do so. Unfortunately, we can’t dwell into further details about the school until you officially become a beloved member of the Academy of Magics.
The total cost of one year in the Academy of Magics is 6,000 Galleons. The tuition, however, covers the cost of all materials and supplies the student will be using, their uniform, which will be provided by them once they arrive at the academy, their room, board, and traveling fees. 500 Galleons will be put aside for them for personal use, but parents can provide them with an extra allowance. At the end of the year, the 500 Galleons will be returned to the student personally.
If you wish to attend but need financial help, you can check the box provided for you at the end of this letter before you sign. Know that signing this letter acts as a legal binding saying you will attend our school. If you sign and decide not to attend later on you will have to pay a fee of 3000 Galleons.
The term starts on September 1st, and we must have a reply by no later than July 31st. To accept your place in the Academy of Magics, you must sign at the bottom of this letter on the line provided for you, along with providing a drop of blood willingly. A second line is provided for your guardian to sign, confirming your acceptance. The letter will glow golden to indicate your confirmation on your attendance on September 1st, and we will mail you the standard packet provided for each first-year student, which you shall receive no later than two days after accepting your invitation.
If you do not wish to accept your place in the Academy of Magics, you can tear this letter or simply leave it blank until after the 31st of July. At 12:00 AM on August 1st, your letter will glow red, indicating that we have confirmed you have declined your place in the Academy of Magics.
We hope to see you among the first-year batch of students this year, but we wish you the best in your future endeavors even if you don’t become a member of our beloved institution.
Sincerely,
Athena Castellanos
Headmistress of the Academy of Magics
James had whistled at the names of former students from the Academy of Magics. Miranda Goshawk was a well-known author in magical theory all over the magical world. Aristotle Twelvetrees was a very sought after warder- he constructed the best wards across the globe. Still, the price for his service would make even Lucius Malfoy blanch, and Artemisia Lufkin was a renowned healer.
After the Halloween attack, they searched for answers, trying to find someone who could try to tell them what happened that night and what power Heather had that manifested that night. Even with their new fame, they still had to wait two years for their appointment, or at least at first, they thought they had to wait for two years, but they got a letter from her clinic forwarding their appointment, so they only had to wait seven months. Healer Lufkin was very sought after, so it took a long time to meet her.
Their meeting did not go as planned, however. They travel to Australia, where she was located for their appointment only for Healer Lufkin to tell them that Heather’s scar in her forehead had only a bit of dark magic residue. After she took it out without a problem right in front of them, she gave them a prescribed cream that they applied for two weeks every night, and Heather’s scar disappeared completely. Healer Lufkin checked her over, conducting many tests but found nothing out of the ordinary that hinted to the extraordinary power Heather had shown that night the twins were attacked.
Healer Lufkin concluded that they had a very healthy baby with a bit above the average magical core. James and Lily had been relieved, if not a bit confused about what she concluded. Still, James got the impression that Healer Lufkin was disappointed in having found nothing that indicated that Heather was spectacular. When they came back, they felt more relaxed, mostly when the scar finally disappeared from Heather’s forehead. They stopped traveling to different healers trying to find answers, which they were glad because it meant they stopped leaving Azalea behind in Sirius and Remus’ care.
Mikael Almer, Francisco Silva, and Camilla Nilsen were well-respected diplomats. They were the representatives in the International Confederation of Wizards from Sweden, Brazil, and Norway. Not to mention that Lukas Wolf was the current Chancellor of Germany, and by how much the public liked him, he was probably going to be in office for a while.
James frowned when he read about how little time Azalea would spend with them if she went there. He could just imagine the workload children were given with the prominent students they had produced and how it would demand a lot of their time, but he believed that children also should have fun and play; it shouldn’t be all work and no play.
He mentally winced when he saw how much the tuition cost. It wasn’t something they could not afford, but there was a massive difference from Hogwarts’ tuition. He was already calculating the amount he would have to put away, counting her allowance.
The date caught most of his attention, however. They had to decide by tomorrow, and he would have liked a bit more time to think it over. But first, there was something he had to ask, “Do you want to go? Your mom and I always assume that both you and your sister would be going to Hogwarts, that that was what you both wanted.”
It went unsaid, but Azalea knew that he was referring more towards Heather than her because they never thought she would receive an invitation from somewhere else. Azalea didn’t blame them since she had been surprised herself at receiving a different option from Hogwarts.
“I do, I gave it a lot of thought, and I want to go,” Azalea said earnestly, widening her eyes pleadingly.
“Azalea, you know the money is not a problem, and we want you to get the best education possible, whether it is Hogwarts or the Academy of Magics. But if you do attend the Academy of Magics, we will barely see you, a total of two months in a year is not much time.” James didn’t like the prospect of sending his daughter into a new school and not being able to see her so often. What if there was an emergency and Azalea got hurt and he could not see her? Would the school even notify him?
“Dad, I know you and mom and Padfoot and Moony have raised us hearing heart-warming stories about Hogwarts and how it became your home, but your circumstances were different. Everyone knows who Heather Potter is, and everyone will know me as her sister. They will probably try to be my friends only to get close to Heather or ask me hundreds of questions about her. I will always be in Heather's shadow, and I don’t want that. If I go to the Academy of Magics, no one will just assume I am Heather Potter’s little sister. I will be Azalea Potter, a normal student, and I will get to be whoever I want, instead of getting saddle with the title of the girl-who-lived’s little sister.”
James sighed at hearing his daughter’s words. No matter how painful they were, he could not deny their truth. They had tried to keep their whole family out of the limelight, but it had been impossible. He and Lily had very public jobs; they work for the ministry, after all, so everyone knew how they look, and even if they tried to keep Heather from the public, she was well known too. Reporters always seem to get pictures of her, and James and Lily couldn’t keep her locked up in their home all of the time.
The least seen Potter was Azalea. Azalea was an avid reader and between her and Lily the Potter library kept on having to be expanded every year. She spends most of her time reading rather than wanting to go out to play with other children. James knew that was probably because the children were more awed of Heather and wanted to play with her so Azalea was usually forgotten.
He had a better time bonding with Heather because she reminded him of his younger self. Heather was full of energy and was a very sociable child while Azalea was more shy and reclusive. It pained James to see one of his daughters look so isolated, he tried to find a mutual interest to bond with her and he tried to get her more out of her shell.
He was half successful, Azalea had a love for flying and while she was not very interested in quidditch itself James would take what he could. She was an amazing flyer and had given James many mini heart-attacks with the stunts she pulled off. James could see how she would be a perfect seeker if she ever wanted to play quidditch.
James had also learned that his daughter wasn’t shy, she was just a quiet person. Azalea just took more after Lily than James which James finally understood after deciding to spend a whole day with her, only the two of them. She actually reminded him of Remus, Remus had a silent inner strength and would turn ferociously if one of them were under attack, letting more of his wolf out, but for the rest of the time, he was mild-mannered.
James loved both of his daughters equally, but he worried more about Heather because Voldemort was not dead and when he regains his powers again he is going to come after Heather. James had been relieved that they had so many years of peace and only hoped they would have at least another decade of peace, at least Heather would be 21 then and hopefully more prepared to face him off.
But just because he was worried about Heather didn’t mean that he also didn’t worry about Azalea either, only his concerns for Azalea were more common parent concerns. Sending her to the Academy of Magics would mean barely seeing her in a year for seven years at least but it would mean she would be far away from danger, away from Voldemort.
“You are not just the girl-who-lived’s little sister, sweetheart. You are Azalea Potter and one day everyone will know your name if you want it to whether you become a politician, healer, warder, curse-breaker, or even a scholar... But you are right, just because Hogwarts became a second home for me it doesn’t mean it will become for you. Let me talk with your mom first about it before we make any decisions,” James came to a decision.
“Alright,” Azalea agreed easily enough. She had brought the matter to her dad and pleaded her case and now all she could do was wait for her parents to reach a decision.
She made her way to her bedroom, leaving the letter with her father. She was sure that her parents would end up agreeing and the more she thought about going to this mysterious school the more she became excited. There was no point in daydreaming about it, however, so she picked up the book she was almost finished- Magical Hieroglyphs and Logograms.
She was very interested in the study of Runology because it was everywhere. To create new spells you needed to know ruins and arithmancy, the same could be said if you wanted to become a wand lord, and not to forget warding. She didn’t understand why Hogwarts didn’t make it a required class along with Arithmancy, she hoped the Academy of Magics considered the subject more important than Hogwarts did, but either way, she was already planning on taking the class no matter what.
The hard part of studying Runology for beginners was knowing which ruin could interact with which one. You had to know what you wanted your chain to do and know what ruins would go together and give you a stronger effect, if that is what you were going for. The more you practice and dwell into Runology the easier it became to just instinctively know, at least that is how Azalea felt about it.
The more tedious part of Runology was memorizing all of the ruins that already existed. You could create new ones but that wasn’t done too often, to create new runic scriptures you needed to be knowledgeable in arithmancy and alchemy which Azalea was not an expert on, not to mention needing a solid foundation in ancient studies. She estimated that it would take her decades to get to that point because she would have to become first a master in alchemy, arithmancy, and Runology.
Thankfully Azalea had a head start in Runology, she had the basics down. She had memorized as many ruins as she could, she couldn’t say that she knew all of them because there were just too many in the world and every year there were new ancient runes being discovered. But at least she knew the most common ones which were a total of 3,798. Those 3,798 runes were a combination of the languages- Latin, Greek, and Arabic.
Besides studying runes she liked to study arithmancy, potions, and herbology, basically any subject that didn’t have to deal with performing magic. It wasn’t because she couldn’t perform magic but because she was… afraid of her magic. She knew she wasn’t normal because magic felt more sentiment to her than to anyone else. She tried searching for an answer which led her to reading a lot of magical theory books but she didn’t find anything that explained her connection to her magic.
“Hey, I would ask what you are doing but I already know I would find you reading a book,” Heather’s exasperated voice broke Azalea from her troubled thoughts.
“I could have been reading a fashion magazine,” Azalea half-heartedly protested as her sister plucked herself on her bed.
Heather actually snorted, “please the day you willingly pick a fashion magazine is the day Ron declares his undying love for everything Slytherin.”
This time it was Azalea’s time to snort. Ron Weasley held a big grudge against Slytherins and everything Slytherin related, his whole family were Gryffindors so maybe that is where he got it from. Merlin knew their father and Padfoot took Gryffindor loyalty to an extreme, but thankfully they had Remus and their mother to even things out.
“I am not that bad,” Azalea denied the accusation. “I dress fashionable, don't I?”
“Only because dad and me pick your wardrobe,” Heather scoffed playfully as she laid back on Azalea’s bed, taking all of the space available and not caring about it since Azalea was sitting in the chair in front of her desk.
Weirdly enough it was Heather and their father who were the more fashionable members of their family. Azalea took after their mother who, while not interested in looking amazing all of the time, cared about looking presentable. Lily had grown up in a middle-income family so they couldn’t really waste money on dressing up in the latest trends and as a grown-up, even now that she had money to throw away, she still kept her habit. All Lily cared about was that her clothes were not too revealing and that she didn’t look shabby.
James on the other hand grew up spoiled since his parents had him at a later age and he was their only child. He was used to looking the part of coming from a rich family and that habit had not faded as he aged, something that he seemed to have passed on to Heather. Azalea was fine with being her sister’s dressing doll since Heather always kept in mind Azalea’s preferences.
“Dad and I,” Azalea automatically corrected her sister but Heather just waved her off, used to Azalea always correcting her. They did not have a close bond as the Weasley twins had but they were still close which was why Azalea didn’t know how to tell Heather that she wasn’t going to Hogwarts.
“Heather... I have to tell you something important,” Azalea started hesitantly but continued on when Heather looked expectantly at her. “I don’t want to go to Hogwarts and I talk to dad about it because I got an invitation from the Academy of Magics and after thinking about it for days I decided that I want to attend the Academy of Magics instead.”
“What- why- When did you-,” Heather spluttered not knowing what question to ask first.
Thankfully Azalea understood what Heather was trying to ask, “I got their invitation a couple of days ago. I never heard about the Academy of Magics so I did some research-” here Heather rolled her eyes at her because she was so predictable. “-But I didn’t find anything on it. It’s a real school though because dad has heard about it. He said that they are known for their secrecy so that was why I probably couldn’t find anything in the books. Dad is going to talk to mom about it but I am very sure that they are letting me go. I know we assume we were both going to go to Hogwarts but… when Hogwarts students realize I am your sister all they will want to talk about is you. You will be surrounded by a lot of fans and you won't have trouble finding friends while I will struggle a lot,” Azalea ended saying softly, looking down at her hands.
“That’s not true,” Heather protested. “They will focus on me only until they realize how scarily smart you are then all they will talk about is you.”
Heather tried to sound encouraging but she couldn’t keep the tint of envy from her tone. Heather wasn’t stupid but she just wasn’t as smart as Azalea and she knew that she would never be as smart as Azalea.
Azalea could read for hours, her mind could focus on one topic for hours while Heather’s mind could focus on a topic for 10 minutes, maybe 15 minutes if she really tried but then her mind would wander. Azalea also had a talent for multitasking and organizing her time so that she was always being productive.
Heather knew people fawn over her because they thought she destroyed a dark lord when she was just a baby but sometimes she doubts their beliefs. Between the two of them, Azalea seemed to be more fitted for the job because shouldn’t the destined heroine be smart?
The only reason Heather kept on doubting and going back and forth on her thinking was the fact that Azalea didn’t appear to be magically gifted. Heather was the one who had a lot of bouts of accidental magic throughout their childhood while their parents thought Azalea may have been born a squib since she hadn’t produced accidental magic by the age of seven. Azalea actually performed her first accidental magic when she was nine and it had happened to save Heather from having boiling water splashed on her.
Heather had been throwing a tantrum (much to her embarrassment now) because her parents were refusing to throw her a large birthday party. It just so happened that the confrontation took place in the kitchen because her mother was baking cupcakes with Azalea and his father was reading the newspaper, keeping them company. They had decided a while ago that instead of having a birthday party they were going to go on a vacation for two weeks to Mount Hutt, New Zealand.
However, Heather had changed her mind because her other friends had badge her on and on about having a party. She always worried about what people thought about her and didn’t want to appear uncool to her friends so she wanted to throw a large birthday party instead of going on vacation even though it had been her idea to go to Mount Hutt in New Zealand, to begin with.
Her magic had acted to her anger and the pot with boiling water that her mother had on the stove had burst up and most of the water would have landed on her but Azalea had covered them in a blue shield, acting faster than either of their parents. Heather had not protested after that accident and in the end, she was glad they had gone on their vacation because it had been lots of fun.
Their parents had been thrilled to see Azalea’s accidental magic and they had celebrated it with Padfoot and Moony. Heather didn’t know their parents were worried about Azalea’s magic until after that accident when they looked so relieved.
“I think it’s best if we go to separate schools, Heather,” Azalea admitted, having heard the envy in Heather’s tone. “We can still keep in touch with letters but if we don’t go to the same school we won’t have to worry about competing against each other.”
Heather had more friends than Azalea had but Azalea was her confidant. Heather could spill all of her fears, dreams, and hopes into Azalea and she never made fun of her or teased her. Azalea was like her diary except much better because she would give her wise advice in return and Heather got jealous just imagining other children realizing how amazing her sister was and taking her away from her.
“I don’t want to compete against you,” Heather whined, she already knew that there was no way she could academically compete against Azalea.
“I am going to the Academy of Magics, Heather,” Azalea stated firmly.
“What if you forget about me? You will have so many friends and you will be so busy with them and studying that you will forget to write to me,” Heather blurted out her fear and the real reason behind her envy.
“Heather, you are my twin and I will never forget you- no matter how many friends we have. You have tons of friends, not to mention hundreds of fans, and yet I am still your best friend, and no matter what, you will be mine,” Azalea smiled softly at her sister.
Heather actually burst into tears and launched herself into Azalea’s arm. They didn’t spend every minute together like Fred and George Weasley but at the end of the day, they would sneak into the bed of the other just to talk about nothing and everything.
Azalea would mostly talk about what she had learned that day while Heather would gossip about the people she had to hang out with or about fashion tips that both knew Azalea would never follow. They remembered old memories and laughed at the silly things they did and talked about the future and what they wanted to do. Azalea wasn’t sure what she wanted to do but she thought about becoming a Master in Runes often enough.
Heather on the other hand wanted to go into the fashion business, she wanted to bring new trends to the magical world and be a worldwide name because of it. She knew much thought she would become an Auror like her father or a Charm Master like her mother and work in the charm division in the Ministry but those jobs didn’t appeal to her.
“Twin promise?” Heather asked, giving Azalea her puppy dog eyes.
Not that she needed to base on the gentle smile Azalea was giving her. “Twin promise,” Azalea agreed, nodding. Twin promise was something they had come up with, it was a lot like a pinky promise and when they swore on a twin promise then they knew that they could not go back on their word.
That night Azalea was getting ready for bed when she was summoned to her father’s office. She nervously peeked inside to see her mother and father already there waiting for her.
“Mom, Dad, did you come to a decision?” Azalea asked nervously, taking a seat.
“Your dad and I have talked about it and we decided that we would be the worst parents ever if we didn’t allow you to go. The Academy of Magics is certainly a prestigious school and if you want to go then who are we to discourage you from learning? That said, we expect to receive at least one letter each week from you missy,” her mother tried to look sternly but failed because her eyes were a bit too shiny and she looked like she would start crying any minute from now.
“I promise,” Azalea quickly agreed, not wanting to upset her mother further.
“Come here princess, let’s finish making this official,” James gestured to Azalea to come closer and sign the letter by handing her a quill.
Azalea looked down at where she had to sign and saw that her father had already signed. She took a deep breath and signed where she needed to and poke her finger to let a drop of blood drop on the square marked in the letter. The three of them held their breath waiting for the golden glow- one second passed, then two, then four, and then the letter was engulfed in a golden light. Azalea had been worried that she would not be able to notice the golden light but it was too bright to miss it.
“Now all I have to wait is for the school to send more information and paperwork I have to fill out.” Azalea’s calm and cheerful tone seemed to be the straw that broke the camel’s back because her mother burst into tears. Azalea and James shared a panicked look between them before Azalea tried to calm her mother by giving her a hug except that Lily clung to her which was something that she had not expected.
She threw a pleading look at her father but he only looked amusingly at the pair of them. Azalea sighed, resigned to having to wait it out. This was the second time that day she had to deal with a crying witch but she was used to seeing Heather crying because Heather was overdramatic about everything. But when her mother cried, Azalea panicked because her mother wasn’t one to easily cry and didn’t want to see her in tears, especially if it was because of her.
One thing she and her father share, is the panic they felt when they saw her mother crying. While her father had years of practice he still didn’t know what to do with a crying witch and Azalea reasoned that if her father hadn’t learned how to handle a crying witch after so many years then there was no hope for her either.