1DISCONTINUED
So, you willingly died for the happiness of your past self, now that you cannot return to your time through that trinket?
Yeah. She can be happy with her Sirius while I lost my Sirius due to my recklessness. He's the only family who loved me and yet...
So you decided to die?
Yeah. What's the point of living if you have nothing to live for?
That's sad. You were dealt with bad cards so you decided life is not worth living?
Er, are you going to let me die now?
Well, despite a few kills, you're innocent as you murdered to protect, not for shits and giggles as you humans word it. However, in your original world, you are dead while here, you're still alive and being judged. However, as a consequence of messing with time and unable to fix it, you will be 'frozen' in time for your remaining human life span in your old world and as you know, witches and wizards have long lifespans. You are physically 15 and unable to die until you live out 177 years due to your destiny of living 192 years, but you can change your state of health as you wish. Then after that, you will begin to age normally once more, becoming truly human again. That's the price. Oh, and we'll take that freeloader off your scar too.
I have a what?!
A soul-parasite you didn't know you have, and now we have him. We will wait for the other you to make him pay his just dues for the crime of splitting his soul like this and our judgment of him will make him prefer the very death he fears. Ironic that his chosen enemy doesn't fear death. Good luck in your new world, Heidi Potter.
And Heidi woke up in 19th Century London, year 1819.
On her lap was a book that has a green cover. Upon opening it, words began to automatically appear on it.
Welcome to an alternate world of Earth.
You are thrown backwards in time as a
consequence to your little stunt. Welcome
to 19th Century London, year 1819.
Here, the Wizarding World DOES NOT
EXIST. Instead, magicals called Magi do.
Magus is the term for a human practitioner
of Magecraft, the magical science, as
opposed to a Magician, who is capable of
bringing forth true miracles that are
impossible to be reenacted at the current
scientific stage. In ancient times, the term
magus was used for both the users of
Thaumaturgy and Magic, but with the
advancement of science that made past
miracles possible and the decline of the overall
power of Magecraft, the differences between
the two became clearer.
If one uses life-prolonging magic, it wouldn't
be impossible to live a few hundred, a few
thousand years either. Magi frequently, but not
necessarily, descend from old magical families,
as affinity to magecraft is something transmitted
through blood relations.
Instead of a Magic Core as you know, Magi have
Magic Circuits. It is a pseudo-nervous system
that spreads itself through the human body and what
qualifies a person to be a magus. Their normal
functions are to act as paths that convert Life Force
into magical energy, but humans learned how to
control it and use it to perform magic.
The older the bloodline, the more circuits a family's
descendant has. To this end, families often plan with
other families in order to pair up their children in
order to have an heir who is born with 'one more'
circuit than their parents. The more circuits, the greater
the power output of a magus. However, its true power
depends on the quality of Circuits they are born with.
Given your lineage, connected to the Peverells, Crouches,
Longbottoms and Blacks, your Magic Core became 90 A
Class Magic Circuits. You're very powerful. Therefore any
family will do ANYTHING to have you as their son's bride,
especially with your 'punishment', meaning, you can bear
powerful children for them. Well, as long as you lie low,
you can get your education and avoid Bride Wars over you.
For now, go to Clock Tower in London. This book will guide
you and will help you until you graduate. Once you graduate,
you're on your own. Ask questions or necessities from this
book. Only you can see this book. Once you graduated, this
will disappear.
To use your Magic Circuits, imagine magical energy flowing
through your body and search for your circuits in your mind's
eye. You'll see your circuits for the first time, as magical
energy flows through them for the first time, opening your
circuits. After that, you can use magic through it. In short,
your circuits replace your wand. Good luck and have fun.
The writings then disappeared, making Heidi blink.
'...I want a potion that will give my body perfect health and condition to cure me of malnutrition and gain perfect eyesight.' she asked while the book is open. A bottle appeared on the pages. 'It does work...' and she chugged it down while enduring the nasty taste. 'Yuck, potions are nasty as always.' she grimaced. 'But I'm not done yet...give me a potion that will give me developments in puberty I should have had!' she had to consume another bottle. What followed next were beauty products and lastly, she wanted her alterations to be genetic, so her children will never have bad eyesight ever again and be born with some of her aesthetic traits.
Her hair was thick and vibrantly-shiny and silky. Her skin very fair and smooth. Her teeth straight and pearly-white and no body hair either, save for her locks and eyebrows that she trimmed before her final potion.
From a short 4'10 to 5'4, she was of ideal weight and shape for her age at her state of health, and a chest size her genetics can afford her since her mother isn't exactly busty.
Then she asked questions.
'What is money like in the 19th Century? And show pictures of the coins as you explain.'
Many types of coins with the Sovereign being worth the most,
and Farthing having the lowest worth. The coins in order of worth
are:
1 Sovereign= 20 Shillings or 240 Pennies
1 Half-Sovereign= 10 Shillings or 120 Pennies
1 Crown= 5 Shillings or 60 Pennies
1 Half-Crown= 2 Shillings and 1 Sixpence or 30 Pennies
1 Shilling= 12 Pennies
1 Sixpence= 6 Pennies, 1/2 Shilling
1 Threepence/Thruppence= 3 Pennies, 1/4 Shilling
1 Penny= 1/12 Shilling
1 Halfpenny= 1/24 Shilling
1 Farthing= 1/4 Penny, 1/48 Shilling
'What is the cost of living in this era?' Heidi gulped. The money system of old London is freaking complicated!
400-500 Sovereigns for annual income is ideal husband-material
for commoners, but this amount is 'alarmingly low' for wealthy
standards, especially for widowed wives who still have unwed
daughters who receive annual income through marriage portions.
Cost of Living Expenses as Follows:
Clothing is expensive as clothing is made by hand by tailors and
their teams of seamstresses. Clothes weren't factory-made at the
time. People who want new clothes must be measured every six
months before new clothes can be made. The cheapest would be
1 Sixpence just for the cheapest dress for a commoner that the
poor would beg people for even their hand-me-downs that
their economically-stable neighbors don't want anymore. Same
goes for shoes that cost more than clothes.
Renting an Apartment depends on the neighborhood you live in.
The cheapest rent is in a neighborhood rife with crime and disease.
Ideal and safe places cost 1 Sixpence a week for commoners, and
the most expensive rent known for commoners is 11 Shillings.
Food is thankfully cheap but this only applies to Tea, Sugar, Butter,
Eggs, Bread, and Vegetables. Meat is very expensive which is why
English of this era will willingly eat any part of livestock and are not
picky as long as its farm-to-table meat. Cakes and Pastries are also
expensive you're better off learning how to bake than buy some.
and because 100% wheat flour is expensive, flour suppliers cheat by
mixing 'stuff' into it just for commoners to be able to afford it.
'What are adulterated foods and how were they adulterated?'
You sure you want to know? It'll give you nightmares. Even if you
want to, you can't fight it or people who did it will give you no
moment of peace. Just live for yourself.
'What spell or technique do I need to have to determine the quality of goods and how do I learn it?'
Heidi spent learning about need-to-knows. Spells to avoid getting scammed, manners in this era, what to wear in different occasions, and how to dress in this era before asking for a magical multi-compartment suitcase to fit in her wardrobe and all her belongings, and an inexhaustible magical pouch that only she can use and can give her the money she needs in specific amounts, making her rich in a way. She also ensured only she can see and use it, and if she lost it, she can will it to appear in her hands again.
She then asked for what to do to enroll in Clock Tower and if there are dorms, and the costs.
'Sigh, these magi sure are into highway robbery.' Heidi scowled as upon getting a closet fit for a magus that fits her nicely. Wearing a nice dress.
Dresses in the early 1800s are all empire-waist dresses. Even for student uniforms in Clock Tower!
Tuition was 300 Sovereigns, thus, only the wealthy magus families can afford that the only way for poor people to enter is through apprenticeship. If they're lucky!
Tuition aside, there's books and school supplies to worry about, and the cost of having a dorm for a school year. And they have to provide their own food for themselves.
Upon graduating in seven years, she had exploited her book well that upon its disappearance on her graduation day, she didn't panic.
She kept studying in Clock Tower, wanting to study in five more Faculties after her primary of Curse Faculty, and studied as many arts as possible to be a lethal mage.
But unlike Magi, she did not live their lifestyle. She only studied to have more cards to draw in battles. She also trained her body hard to reach peak physical form and performance that she has 'great strength and flexibility', further improving her shape as a teenager.
However, the denizens of Clock Tower noticed that she does not age, and remained physically 15 by the time she was 22 years old. She was as young as ever. But while magi prolonging their lifespan and retaining their youth through magecraft is common, a child her age able to do it definitely raises eyebrows.
When made to go for a check-up, her body was checked for anything whether she liked it or not, and discovered her secret...her circuits that got many families drooling, and the fact that she was locked in a time-based curse.
The Mages Association thus has an event in history called Bride Wars as many prominent families whose histories were 500-above fought over her for their sons while she was put in a 'holding facility' with complete housing needs for her to stay in until her 'new family' comes to pick her up.
She was annoyed by this, really.
Her life here was no different from her old one. Put in a cage until needed, then put away again. So she closed off her heart just to stave off the pain she felt, and became a cold woman while still retaining her morals.
However, it wasn't just the Western Magi. Eastern Magi also came to England to try to obtain her like she was some high-class commodity. She hated being caged, but as she doesn't want enemies on her head, she simply waited to be bailed out, and kill whoever bailed her and run like hell.
She was taken by the Asians at age 27 in year 1831 who were superior in fighting ability than the Westerners as the asians knew martial prowess and she doesn't. She judged that if she fought to flee, they'll do all means to keep her with them further restricting her freedom and she has no fighting ability even if she was physically strong. The family that got her, were the Zenjou Family who hired the Nanaya Clan as mercenaries who snuck her out of Europe. A family whose sorcery trait maximizes the pedigree of their partners through the children.
She lived in Japan, in the Edo Period where martial arts ruled by the samurai class.
Due to how much she knew, she was able to teach Japanese Magi Magecraft as there is great discrimination against asians in Clock Tower after learning Japanese, and training hard in swordsmanship. She married her husband and gave him four children as a start, yet only one can have the family crest. And the daughters of the Zenjou are highly-prized by other Japanese Families if they descended from her. Thus arranged marriages are made. She lamented the fact that she and her children are just the means to an end for magi. So she had a hand in upbringing as much as possible.
Instead of a family feud over it, she created a thaumaturgical system that determines compatibility with the Magic Crest. Thus regardless of birth order, the child with the highest compatibility, will inherit the family's crest and house headship. And due to the Zenjou Sorcery Trait, her children started off with 30 B-class Magic Circuits capable of 30 units of Prana.
That was the effect of the Zenjou Bloodline through her marriage with her husband, and the influence of her own lineage factors as she is of a very old lineage...that got the family excited when normally, such levels were IMPOSSIBLE unless you're of a family of at least, 700 years old and very good at matchmaking.
Because she's a perpetually young and beautiful wife, her husband kept his sexual drive very active, thus she bore him many sons and daughters until he was fifty years old. By this time, she has 14 children. Four sons and ten daughters, which she ensured. Her daughters were sought-after by other Japanese Families to marry their sons. Thus they stopped having kids upon having at least, two sons to have many clan descendants but Heidi wanted more kids. Since the system created by Heidi, no family in Japan feared Crest Feuds ever again and can safely have as many children as they wanted, and pick an heir compatible with the Crest.
Her husband of 21 years then gave her to his nephew when he turned 18 to marry by year 1852. It was like, she would marry at least, three men of Zenjou men who would pawn her off to younger relatives upon turning 18 after they reach the age of fifty. Such was her life until they let her go upon ensuring the future of Japanese magi. She has had husbands who stayed with her for 32 years each man.
Last Zenjou husband came at 1884, before she left the house to travel after her last thirty-two years with him. By this time, she was living in Meiji Restoration. She has no money problems whatsoever anyway. Her money pouch will always give her the money she needs no matter what country she was in. But she stayed in Asia and avoid going west on principle, and lived, marrying normal men this time while using sorcery to pretend that she ages, and would often change locations per marriage, effectively creating new families of Magi with her human husbands none-the-wiser while he goes off making a living as she turned their children into Magi if they were born with Circuits, and engage her daughters to Magus Families in Japan while her sons sought Zenjou brides.
The only perks about this, was the loyalty of her magus husbands, great sex life, and she has a big family. VERY BIG FAMILY. She also enjoyed living the ancient life, too, and became a teacher to the Zenjou Family children and they have many arts to choose from, after learning the fundamentals after Language and Math lessons. Families also sent their heirs to learn other arts from her after they learned the family arts and specialties. She often used Alchemy to create books after writing down lessons by chapter, and magic to copy books for her students.
That ended when she left the household in order to learn Japanese Magecraft such as Onmyodo, Shinto Sorcery and Buddhist Sorcery.
By 1900, through many arrangements, the Japanese Magus Society gained great power but they will not step foot into the Mage's Association just yet. Mastering their craft aside, they also must become very skilled combatants, considering the Asians earned the ire of the west by taking her from them.
However, she still ended up in the west when she was found by Einzbern Agents who took her to Germany to become their bride.
She was thinking, 'How many husbands am I going to have in my life, seriously?'
The Einzberns however, are running out of actual human members as their eighth family head, is a freaking golem, created by the family as a full-functional 'perfect' family head. And the last humans of the family, is a middle-aged, unmarried man who has the family crest. So she married him, and bore him nine sons whom they raised and trained until the last son was age twenty. All sons-and herself- learned Einzbern-Style Alchemy, and she trained her sons to have strong, combat-able bodies and trained them hard in martial arts, and combining both alchemy and martial arts into a deadly fighting style that was simple, yet horrifyingly quick and effective.
However, due to the precarious situation of the Einzberns, they cannot step foot into the Association yet. She had arranged for them through Jubstacheit to marry her great-great granddaughters while not telling the girls they're marrying their relatives. Upon securing the future of the family through training before the marriage and told them to keep bearing lots of children to secure the bloodline, Heidi then left Europe to go back to Japan wherein it now suffered money crisis.
By marrying her into the family, the future was effectively changed.
Sure, the Einzberns still participated, but without Emiya Kiritsugu getting involved with them, their greatest creation will never be born, Angra Mainyu never causing the Fire of Fuyuki, and a certain boy will never discover magecraft and become a Counter Guardian. A ripple had been made in the World, destroying the known order. The Counter-Force is thus seeking a new solution to rid the world of Angra Mainyu and it found one. All it has to do now, is to fix things in time for the Fifth Heaven's Feel.
She had a manor built just for herself, and her Homunculi Companions, while waiting for her curse to end so she can finally truly mingle in society without the annoying need to hide. The families of Zenjou, Einzbern and her 'human descent' family the Kuze know her phone number when society has a good-enough phone line again.
She spent the rest of the 20th century researching on improving the Einzbern Blueprint of Homunculus Coining, and created companions for herself who also double as servants and bodyguards. Her homunculi had a beautiful shade of a cross between gold and honey-blonde hair, and jewel-like green eyes more beautiful than Heidi's own eyes. She made them ideal beauty and cuteness depending on what she had planned. However, because she both used egg and sperm cells as opposed to just a sperm cell with alchemy, her homunculi have bypassed the issue of defects and are 'perfected homunculi', a formula the Einzberns never figured out. And as its her craft, there's NO WAY SHE'LL PUBLICIZE IT. She might get a Sealing Designation!
These Homunculi are born with the necessary knowledge to enable them to live as both human and magus. Unlike their kind, they are NOT inept with technology.
Heidi happily plays with video games in her house, thank you!
But come 1989...
Her descendant gave her a phone call.
'Hello?'
/Dai-sosen Heidi-sama?/ it was a woman.
'Er, which Zenjou is this?' only the Zenjou children call her that.
The Zenjou are effectively split-in-half. The Zenjou who came from her, and the Zenjou who didn't.
At the present date, the latter no longer bore Magic Circuits and declined completely yet still retaining the family trait. Unlike Magic Circuits, Sorcery Traits NEVER die unless the bloodline does. But unlike most magus families, the Zenjou could care less as long as they have relatives who remained 'mystically-active' and unlike westerners, don't see it as a shame. But they still practice swordsmanship and created their style of Zenjou-Ryuu Iaijutsu, Nitoryu and Battojutsu through her help. The 'declined ones' even opened a school!
The school is big enough to house students who cannot afford to commute out of inconvenience, and can house 40 students at a time and training was ten years, only receiving new students every January 1.
/Uhm, I'm Tohsaka Aoi. A Zenjou who married into the Tohsaka Family./
'I see...what do you ask of me, child?' Heidi asked kindly. Despite how she looks, she's old enough to have the right to call anyone decades younger than her 'child'.
/Even with the system you created, one of my daughters is still in danger...we are not powerful enough to protect both./ Aoi stammered out shakily. /Please help us. We have two options but a childhood friend of mine would rather I not choose the second option./
'Let me hear about that.'
/Matou Family uses Crest Worms according to him. He says anyone with those in their body would rather die than have it. And Sakura is a girl as Tokiomi chose Rin to be our heir by compatibility yet Sakura is more suited to the family art.../ Aoi choked out. /The Matou have declined completely as he refused to be the family head though he won't explain why, and his brother has a child with no circuits. Please hurry before Zouken finds out about her existence to take her from us, I beg you!/ came the desperate cry.
Heidi honestly cannot blame this Matou dude for running away, and Aoi for their desperation.
Having worms in their bodies is a lifelong torture as you 'get educated' in Magecraft. Worse, being familiars, you are at the mercy of whoever their master is.
'OK, give that girl to me than have her raped by worms for the rest of her life. I'll blood-adopt Sakura into my original family as my heir.'
/Thank you so much!/ came Aoi's tearful gratefulness. /When can we expect you?/
'I'd say soon. Get ready.'
xxx
Tohsaka Estate...Aoi put down her phone.
'I take it that's a yes?' Tokiomi asked his wife who went hysterical when he suggested to his parents and wife that he would allow Zouken to have their second daughter...if only out of pity to a declining allied family and for Sakura to take what's theirs so that the Tohsaka can have the secrets of the Matou when she and her grandchildren are strong enough for them to come back home. But apparently, his wife had a good reason to put her foot down, having surprising knowledge of what goes on in there...which was why Matou Kariya refused to marry her for her and her children's safety, and told her to tell all Zenjou NOT to marry into the Matou. After which he ran and never looked back in fear of Zouken's wrath. Kariya has 20 D-Class Circuits, and his older brother Byakuya had even fewer. Byakuya's son Shinji, has none.
Thus his wife suggested they give Sakura to her ancestress instead who currently lives alone with her homunculi companions, living as a single woman once more, retaining her original family name. She has married five times in her life after all.
The tower researched her background only to draw a blank. This was because her father who cannot afford Clock Tower was an apprentice of a Mage who was affiliated with the tower. The Potter Family is therefore an unknown entity yet for Heidi Potter to be fought over for having so many circuits, they can only guess she was of a very old lineage that nobody knew existed till now. They even theorized of what era they came to be, but Heidi's not telling as the Zenjou spirited her away.
Tokiomi felt had they done that in the 1800s, the Matou would have not declined. But their pride finally bit them hard.
'She said yes.' said Aoi in relief. 'Sakura will be OK.' she said with a sniffle, eyeing the infant in her swaddling clothes. 'She'll be here...'
The alarms are triggered, causing Tokiomi considerable pain.
'Urrrgh! Powerful!' he gasped in sheer pain, clutching his chest hard and leaning on a chair for support. 'I-is this her?'
'Yes. She has 90 A-Class Circuits.' Aoi winced in sympathy. 'Its why in the 19th Century, the families of the west and east fought over her with my family sneaking her out. The only magi who can compete with her are the Barthomeloi at this point.'
'Well, that's news to me.' Tokiomi wheezed out as he sat on a chair, sweating heavily. 'I'm not in a condition to receive guests now...I leave it to you.'
'Alright.' and Aoi left with their daughter to greet her ancestress by the door.
The woman may be fifteen in appearance, but her eyes do not belong to her appearance.
Her ancestress bore the eyes only the very old would have.
She has the eyes of tired, weariness and having known and seen a lot.
'So this is the child eh?' her voice is young, but rich in maturity. 'I shan't stay long since her existence is a secret after all. We shall talk by phone in three minutes.'
'We owe you, Heidi-sama.' Aoi bowed gratefully as Heidi apparated away with an audible 'crack'.
Well, Heidi's in for motherhood. Again.