Chapter #11

Albus P.O.V,

The winter vacation had begun and many children had already left Hogwarts for their vacations. While the load of the year had undeniably lessened, it hadn't decreased in difficulty, only volume. Albus regretted that most profoundly right now.

He could feel the sickly sweet liquid all over him, courtesy of the Gryffindor students left in the castle. His eyes twitched as he heard the sounds of the children giggling.

His eyes immediately narrowed before he realized that they were children in their 2nd Years. He sighed resigned before vanishing it from himself. It did not make him feel less sticky…

He smiled at the children in slight amusement before scolding them and sending them to the hall. He would have to take another bath… he sighed.

As Albus enjoyed some time with the residents of the castle, his 2nd body was busy making preparations and readying some gifts.

Arceus had to prepare for the biggest event of the year and find an actual gift for Eleanor's Birthday. He thought back to his conversation with Ariana and Ab in which they both insulted his inability to find good gifts.

He wasn't as amused as they were led to believe… maybe a little. But the tampons for Ariana's puberty were only both a logical and caring gift. And maybe those pictures about the effect of tobacco on the lungs were overdoing it for both Nick and Aberforth but how else was he supposed to make them see the adverse effects of smoking?!

He had considered getting them for Eleanor but he had the strangest feeling that he did not want to do that. As if it was a life or death situation… he believed in his instincts… But what was he supposed to get a person for their birthday?

He thought about all the things he could buy her but that would just be a boring show of money… besides they had given the key to her own account to her which had all the money that had been gathering interest for hundreds of years. She was probably richer than him.

1st P.O.V,

I thought hard about what I could get her but many of the things I could get her were simply unavailable to the public at this moment. But while the new phone would definitely do… it had nothing on it at the moment…

Maybe a manor? No, doesn't nearly carry enough relevance…

My thoughts were going on a weird trip and that was probably the only reason I did not notice my children approach me. I felt two someones lunge at me and tensed, ready to end them in a moment before feeling who they were and relaxing.

They hug me tightly half and half and I wrap them both into a tight hug. I feel Leo's broad shoulders and Grace's soft hair on my hands and relax exponentially.

Leo is around 6'1 and he comes till my upper face, I am quite tall in this life whereas Grace is shorter than him by a few inches. Eventually, in around 2 minutes, they both start struggling as I am still not letting them go, which should be obvious to everyone who knows me… I haven't seen them both for months!

I finally loosen my hold on them and they both inhale deeply before smiling at me. I naturally return it, my children.

It has been so long since I have seen them… I had almost forgotten how bright their smiles were…

Leo has bright blonde hair that fall to his shoulders with bright sky blue colored eyes. I turn my attention to Grace; she can switch between her hair colors, black and white.

She did it on purpose to match mine; her red eyes gleam naturally, reflecting what she is seeing.

I would have undeniably found a way to adopt them both, maybe Leo later than Grace but still adopt them both… only the fact that they were romantically in love probably stopped me from doing so.

Aberforth and Ariana, as mature as they are, consider themselves too young to become parents and are incredibly scared of playing such a role in anyone's life.

They are fine with being adult figures but never parental figures.

I refocus on them both and they are both beaming at me brightly. I try to ignore the warm feelings that evokes in my heart and try to glare at them both, however before I can get going, they both take one of my arms and begin to drag me towards the manor.

I came here to pick them up so we will naturally have to travel a distance of 10 minutes before I create a portal to my realm. I smile fondly at them; I never could get mad at them since they started calling me 'dad'.

Leo grins at me and as he prepares to grill me on the reason why Ab and Ariana are not here, I change the topic as they will find out themselves in a few minutes.

End 1st P.O.V

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Al looks at the menaces that hold one of the most important places in his heart fondly before saying, "Did you enjoy your Honeymoon?" His voice is calm but his children; befitting the fact that they have known him most of their lives stiffen.

Leo is nothing if not passionate but even he does not intend to stroke the fury that is the underlying meaning of his sentence. He may be one of the smartest minds on the planet but he isn't dumb.

Grace rolls her eyes at her beloved's actions before turning to their father and replying with, "Naturally! We even bought some souvenirs!"

Leo interrupts this conversation before it can actually get going; he does not want to start their return by reminding their dad that they ran away immediately after the wedding without telling anyone. It is already a blessing that he did not immediately come after them.

"Please Dad… can we not discuss this? Besides! We have much more things to do! I have started to look into the different laws of different elements but none of them strike me as something I really want…" [Leo]

Al rolls his eyes but lets it go. His daughter is as willful as ever and Leo… ever the peacekeeper. He listen fondly to them ramble about their vacation from the world. Sometimes he wonders why he is such a pushover when it comes to his family but then he sees their faces and understands that it isn't something he can change anymore.

He takes a closer look at them both and they seem so grown up-(when did that happen)-and smiles as he opens the portal to lead them to his universe. They can open it from virtually anywhere as well; he made it a requirement to know that if they wanted to leave Britain to go outside.

As they step in front of their home, he blinks slowly before smiling at them again, "Welcome Home my children."

How are they supposed to resist this opportunity? Albus very rarely displays affection so freely, mostly when he is feeling overemotional. They both hug him again and he signals them to head in where Ariana and Ab are waiting for them.

He has many things he has to do before Eleanor's Birthday. The preparation alone for the event will take forever.

He would probably have to consult with some of his advisors about a gift for someone. Who would be someone that actually has an idea of this sort of stuff…? Eleanor is more akin to a friend and a young adult so it will need to be something that symbolizes that part of our friendship. A practical gift that she can actually make use of in her day to day life… Al was coming up with a blank. It seems that Arceus would have to get some advice from his followers regarding this…

He was blatantly ignoring the explanation of them adopting Eleanor into their family as their sister, so his children would be gaining an aunt who was physically younger than them. He acknowledged that Eleanor's soul was older. It was around 40 years old which was a massive shock to him. He was initially dumbfounded at that but he calmed down once aunt Yao explained how during birth, souls with potential would age exponentially to optimize it.

The explanation like many things in this universe did not make sense but at least he was sure she wasn't some transmigrated soul as he had been dropping hints like crazy about the universe they resided in and they all passed over her head like air.

He was both glad and slightly disappointed in that but he didn't dwell on his complex feelings, he tended to overthink much and this was simply one of those things…

As he walked to his appointment that he had scheduled earlier, he laughed as he watched the reaction of Grace and Leo to the news. Never let it be said that Albus Arc was not a petty person.

As he thought, 'Insult my gifts agai-'and immediately stopped himself from thinking further along those lines. His siblings had the strangest sense, one that would tell them if he thought too much about it.

He appeared in his office with no sounds, no special effects, one moment he wasn't there and one moment he was. He made his way to his chair that he had transfigured using some of the softest materials in the world. Agrah's feathers.

It was mainly because he liked to be super comfortable in his own room. Other than this chair, the room was most blank. There was no personal touch and no decorations; it just had a bookshelf that had some books. He never saw the need for it and it remained similar to the day he created it, a blank white room.

He went through his bookshelf in order to find something to consume sometime. There was still time before the meeting. His eyes found the book he had commissioned from himself. He blushed brightly as he looked at it and immediately held up his hands to his face. Albus was very young in mind then, around 20 years and he did not make the best decisions…

This book was the greatest shame of his life and he had to wipe it out from the face of the earth. It was slow work but he was confident that within 2 years, he would be able to wipe it out of existence…

Albus smiled eagerly at that thought.

He spend some time working on some events that would most likely take place in a few months, but there was no rush.

He finally felt a magical signature appear in front of his door. The door was knocked and he gave his permission for him to enter.

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1st P.O.V,

I stared at Arcturus Black as he entered my office. I immediately sighed on the inside as this was about to get troublesome. I had a 'friendship' as Arceus with many prominent people and he was one of them. A terrific dueler and someone who possessed the potential to ascend… he was already on the 5th level and the only reason he hadn't progressed was due to the lack of a Dark Lord.

Why would he schedule a meeting in private? We have a small gathering in a few days as well as the event after that…

He goes through a number of subtle greetings and I return them all while he takes a seat. I stare at him in bemusement but he doesn't even twitch! Not funny anymore!

He begins to speak to me about the children of this generation and how proud they make him. I nod along as I completely agree as ever since I had changed the education system, magic has started developing again. They are some ways off from discovering the actual stages but the various fields have begun slowly developing again.

It is unfortunate that as a species, wizards have too much regard for those that came before them. Respecting the elderly is one thing but glorifying the deeds and discoveries of someone is too much. All ideas exist to be challenged and fortunately, the recent graduates have been slowly but steadily been progressing the fields they go into.

I am personally just thankful I won't have to babysit them all for too long and will be able to mostly supervise instead of guide.

I wonder why he is praising me so much though… what would he exactly want that he can't get from money.

"- have you ever considered marrying my Lord?"

End 1st P.O.V

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Arceus was dumbfounded. Hell, his other body was also dumbfounded. Al was teaching Eleanor some final things about transfiguration after which she would progress solely based off her own knowledge. He had already taught her how to transfigure gold from different materials which was how he gained most of his wealth…

He had been laughing with Eleanor over the state of her most recent project that combusted from the inside. She wasn't as amused as he was from her expression but she ended up laughing anyway.

He had stiffened almost immediately after he gained knowledge of what Arcturus had said.

Arceus stared back at Arcturus in profound silence, which was him being lost and having no idea of what to say. He had considered marriage but he hadn't found someone who he would be willing to spend an eternity with. He couldn't really say this to him.

Arcturus took his silence as a signal to go on, "I have a wonderful cousin who is single as well as-"

Al wasn't really listening to him anymore. He was going through various what-ifs and multiple simulations of what could be. He would reject this; he knew that as soon as he heard what Arcturus had to say but his reasons were complex in nature…

He had been having a strange feeling that there was someone waiting for him, or someone he was waiting for. It was a weird feeling and he did question Aunt Yao on it but she didn't have an answer for him.

Or maybe she did but wasn't willing to him for some mysterious reason. She had a tendency to do that. He remembered how annoying it was for him to convince her to take him to the location of each stone. He used them to facilitate his insights into different aspects of Creation.

She was quite leery of sending him to another realm despite his pleas to allow him that. Her expression that screamed amusement and satisfaction on an entirely different level clued him in to the fact that she probably wasn't telling him the complete truth.

He focused him attention back to Arcturus who had broken all records and was currently speaking about heirs… to Him.

"- need an heir my Lord as well as a Wife. I also have many other contracts that the others have given me to offer to you for consideration."

Albus could admit, if only to himself, 'I am getting too old for this.' How did this move to him proposing from his family to it being a requirement. This was the reason, the main reason why Al wanted to leave this realm immediately, ASAP.

Every time he would think about taking some time to investigate this universe, something like this would happen; some new discovery, a new requirement that he had to fill or something that this ancient society had made compulsory.

It baffled him, how many weird things they would pull out of their records and then he would have to deal with the fallout.

Not for the first time, Albus Arc (-eus), thanked his years old self for making most of the obnoxious purebloods his slaves by using various contracts. It wasn't a decision he would ever regret…

Arceus sighed before saying, "Arcturus stop. I have no intention of marrying anyone at this point in time. There will be too many consequences of that and our society does not have the time to slowly get used to them. You can return these contracts to the families that gave them to you, and ask them all that I want to see them in my office tomorrow at this time slot."

He was a little mad at this moment. They did not get to sell off their daughters to someone! Not even him. He had banned this years ago.

"My Lord, I can explain-" [Arcturus]

Arceus sighed, "You can all explain yourselves tomorrow. I will be seeing you there."

Arcturus remained silent but he did express some concerns, "My Lord, you need an heir. You have been ruling over us for 2 decades now and the lack of one is concerning to the general populace." He went on to give multiple reasons and proper explanation of why exactly he needed an heir at this point in time.

Al wasn't convinced but he calmly listened to what he had to say. He would later admit that the reasons were all logical but for now he remained silent. Arcturus eventually got up and took permission to leave which he granted. Albus pondered on the information he had been given and while he didn't find most of the reasons logical, he admitted some had some foresight put into them.

He shook his head to stop pondering on those reasons. He already had Leo as his Heir. It wasn't something he was particularly worried about. Even if he were to leave, Leo could easily begin leading the world in his place. He had taken Leo and Grace for them to gain the oaths of the ones he had.

The line of succession wasn't the issue in his case.

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1st P.O.V,

I thought on the conversation or dialogue I had just had and banged my head on my table. I should have kept the contracts or at least read them! I had just messed up badly. I sigh in preparation for the absolute mess that would be tomorrow's meeting. I immediately got up and appeared in same room, a few minutes ago.

Our conversation or one sided dialogue had lasted for an hour.

I looked at myself and I was clearly not paying any attention whatsoever to what Arcturus was saying. I duplicated the contracts and travelled back to my own time.

I wonder how long it will take Yao to send a signal that she knows about what I did. I sit down on my seat and immediately time slows down to a crawl. A large stick made of mystical energy materializes in front of me; I dodge it naturally but barely. I guess that was the signal.

*Splash* *Splash*

I look up from my wet condition and laughed silently. I admit this was a really good move. The bat would distract me and I wouldn't notice something using my danger sense about a bucket of water. I must be more distracted than I thought… or tired…

End 1st P.O.V

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Al in Hogwarts is currently looking at Eleanor who is fuming. He is surprised but not for the reasons one may think up.

When he had stiffened, it lasted only for a few moments but Eleanor, who can sense emotions, sensed his complex feelings and became worried.

For her, this was similar to what happened during the ritual when he had frozen suddenly without any sign of it.

Eleanor asked him, "Al. Al! What happened?! Are you okay?!" Albus was quick to answer but she kept staring at him in question, probably wanting to know what this was.

He had no intention of telling her his identity at this point in time. It wasn't about trust but merely age. Even if she was mentally more mature than most, she did not have enough life experiences yet. There would be no point in her knowing his 2nd Identity at this point.

If she could read his thoughts, she would vehemently disagree with his conclusions but she could only read his emotions which were not as thorough for an explanation of his thoughts.

"It's-"

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Eleanor's P.O.V,

I looked at Al after asking him what happened in worry. He shook his head at me in dismissal of what happened but I wanted to know what this was all about.

It wasn't funny. He could be sick or injured mentally and I would have no idea! This knowledge of something being wrong is the most scared I have been since I reincarnated into this universe…

His emotions came and went too fast for me to actually decipher what they were. It was a hole in my ability… the emotions you feel for someone stay as long as you are with them but emotions that come with certain thoughts come and go in a few moments…

It took me quite some time to actually come to a proper conclusion on why I wasn't able to sense his emotions clearly when he would be thinking. I was getting closer to deciphering them faster but I wasn't there yet.

He looked at me in slight curiosity and I glared at him because he was not answering my question.

"It's nothing Eleanor. Just an old man lost in his momentary thoughts…"

This angered me for some reason. He kept dodging my questions and kept using his physical age as a shield against whatever I would think up. It made me so mad…

I told him that he wasn't old and to answer my question honestly. "Don't lie to me!"

Oh God. She could feel some tears run down her cheek, and she wanted to scream in anger. Her body was too young to properly comprehend the emotions of her old mind. She had no control over her emotions in moments of anger or deep emotions, her hormones of puberty were not helping the situation at all…

She could feel Albus's emotions at her current switch in emotions. He was lost for words and (Confusion-Sorrow-Horror) were all being emitted by him in spades.

She looked at him as he sat down on the ground in front of her. He was lost for words and his hands were reaching out to her in confusion, she would have laughed in any other situation where something like this happened.

I felt amused at his reactions. He looked so lost and confused on what to do that I couldn't help but take pity on him. I opened my arms for a hug which he looked at in slight (Confusion-Surprise) before he understood.

I could see how tall he was now that he was kneeling on the ground in front of me. I was taller than most my age and I had belief that my magic had something to do with it.

He hugged me and I almost melted into the hug, he gave really good hugs. I buried my head in his shoulder and he rubbed my back slowly. I felt slightly guilty and angry about having romantic feelings for him, especially in moments like this. Maybe in another life, I would have looked at him differently but not this one.

I sighed slightly, a little content, a little relieved and still angry. He wasn't willing to answer me yet and I would allow it… for now.

End Eleanor's P.O.V

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Albus's P.O.V,

He could feel her sniffling silently on his shoulder and he felt so guilty. It wasn't something he liked to particularly see. He cared about her in his own way. She didn't go into any folder of the mind like his children, surprising but not too much (She was the Dark Lord Candidate), or like his siblings but something different. His magic was screaming something to him but he wasn't able to understand what.

She held a very high position in his heart and he knew that he would burn the world for her, like he would for each of his children and little ones. He had wrapped her in his magic, for Eleanor, it was (Protective) and she adored it but to him it was surprising that he cared this much for her within months.

Both her reaction and anger were expected by him. She would eventually get angry at him, at least once for some reason, he just didn't expect her to be angry over this or even be so observant. His siblings hadn't yet seen the complete extent of what it was that plagued him.

His own reaction to her was surprising, if only to himself. He was lost for words. He knew that everyone around him believed that he had trouble caring for people. That wasn't the truth and he had manipulated the opinion of everyone regarding that.

(His siblings and children probably knew the truth deep down but they didn't quite realize it and he let that be. He had the exact opposite problem. The problem was him not caring but it was caring too much for his people. He cared too much. The sun rose from the east and Al loved silently and furiously. It was a fact of life as much as common sense.

He deliberately, many times would pretend to keep his distance. He had made that mistake with his siblings, with both his children and now he would be making it with her. He didn't know what it was exactly but ever since he had reincarnated he had trouble showing his feelings for those he cared about.

It was many things, maybe it was the fact that he didn't and couldn't feel grief for his previous family. It was wrong… he knew that, as if a barrier prevented him from realizing the true extent of what he had lost in his previous life. He felt so much love for his current family and he only had fond memories of his previous life… so why couldn't he feel anything with those memories.

It drove him mad at times and was probably the main reason he pretended to not care as much. The children at the orphanage looked at him and they didn't see a parental figure but a professor and role model.

Maybe it was for their protection as much as his but it had failed so badly with his little ones and his children, he was resigned to them knowing the truth in their hearts.)

It was different with Eleanor. She expressed her emotions differently. Similar to him, they both expressed it logically and by actions. Many times when he would have tea in the morning before breakfast, she would smile at him knowingly as if she knew how much he cared but that was ridiculous right?

It was probably one of the main reasons why he didn't have trouble expressing his care for her so… openly. He was fond of her. This he knew and so did the ones around them.

He felt her loosen in his arms and slowly let go of her and created a towel for her. He guided her to a chair and immediately went to work on making some tea for them both. He had only just started on heating the water and the kettle burned.

He stared in disbelief and it was mirrored by her as well. Her eyes glowed slightly red, which he missed, as she stared in disbelief at the burnt kettle.

She began laughing while he just sighed in annoyance.

(It was something he had accepted a long time ago. He couldn't cook to save his own life and even at moments like this, the realization made him dread ever living alone. He could create food, it would taste good and even have nutrients but it would always lack the warmth of another being.

That was also one of the main reasons why a magical could never truly enjoy mundane food for too long. The ingredients had no magic; they weren't bland to them but simply did not appeal to their magic. It was probably why he adored Ariana's cooking or Eleanor's tea, they didn't pay much attention to it but he could sense the care they would put into it. Food cooked by a magical would always be preferred but one created by family, those who cared would always triumph that.)

Eleanor had gotten up and was now pushing him away from the scene of the crime. It baffled him to no end why he would feel as if a friend was pushing him away but he had accepted it as a mystery that comes with knowing an old soul in a younger body.

He observed her making tea and while he had done it many time, she made tea every morning, the sheer level of control she had over her magic always pleasantly surprised him.

Her control of her magic was much higher than even his children. She had so masterfully converted the air into water and immediately transfigured the fire into a kettle. She then cast a purifying charm on the water while leaving it to heat up.

The tea bags and cups materialized from her glowing ring, he was so proud, and within a few moments she was pouring him some tea.

It reminded him slightly of the first time she made tea for them both. He had come out in alarm and immediately went over to help her in making tea. He couldn't just let her do everything, it wasn't proper! He was the grown up.

It backfired magnificently to say the least.

He remembered her staring at him in slight disbelief before huffing a slight laugh, "Shh, just let me do it old man. Your old bones might start creaking if you exert yourself too much."

The previous day was the first time he used his, 'Woe is me, I am so old' excuse with her. She stared at his 20-something old body in disbelief before smiling in amusement…

He hadn't understood what exactly he was unleashing by saying that to her or even if the excuse was valid but she used it to do everything and anything. He had blushed the first time in embarrassment but had drawn the line at something. He couldn't be bothered to jog his memory about what it was.

She was one spiteful witch and sue him, he found that absolutely hilarious… and adorable. She was, to this day, the first person to turn his excuse completely against him. Even his children hadn't yet done it despite his increasing tendency to use it to make them do his chores.

He slowly sipped his tea while savoring the taste, he loved this flavor. She had started making some herbal variants in the past few weeks, having taken a small portion of the garden for her needs. Needless to say, Ariana and Aberforth were so happy and even proud. It was probably what led to them becoming so close to each other. She had started a few months back when her year started.

"I am going to Aunt Ariana. She wanted to talk about something earlier with Ab but I had a lesson." Ah yes, that conversation… He was dreading the conclusion of this particular conversation. To think that Ariana hadn't yet told her about the fact that she and Ab were adopting her as their sister. He was so dreading this…

He calmly finished his tea and told her to be calm and careful. She was looking at him in worry and confusion but he did not say anything regarding that. She wrapped up the tea setup and he waved his hand in farewell. She waved back and made her way out.

End Al's P.O.V

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Eleanor's P.O.V,

"You want to what?!" I looked at her in shock as Aunt Ariana said the weirdest thing I have ever heard.

End Chapter.

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Author Notes: Hello Guys! So good news, I will probably be posting 2 chapters this week! Rejoice! Bad jokes aside, I am really bored so I decided to give a little insight into how I write.

The first thing when you start a chapter is knowing what exactly it's content will be, roughly. I had planned to write a chapter that deals with preparation for the event and a few other things but I had no idea I had written so much about Al's thoughts. It is incredible to me personally how the character gets lost with the planning.

Anyways, I have 2 Questions for everyone who actually reads this, first, How long does it take you on average to actually read a chapter. Second, how is Al's characterization coming along? Am I fleshing him out well? Usually I would ask my brother to read it and give some feedback but his exams are coming up so I don't want to distract him.

Let me know what you guys think and any idea you think of, I am open for suggestions...