Chapter 4
Successfully getting over the fact that he is now living in the Potterverse, Alan spends a whole day hiding in his training room, writing down everything he can remember about the Potterverse while at the same time making plans for what he's gonna do in the future. Things change now, so he has to be prepared. Voldemort is still hiding out there somewhere in the Albanians' forest, possessing some poor animals to stay alive. PETA will have a field day if they know how many animals were killed by Voldemort! Alan is sure they will tear Voldemort to shreds if they know. Never mind, so... No more playing around with the shops and the gardens; Alan now has bigger problems to solve. Forewarned is forearmed, and all that shit, right?
Never does he say that life has been easy for him, but honestly, having an existential crisis at the age of 7 will absolutely be the worst thing ever! After having solid pages upon pages of information about the Potterverse, Alan comes to realise that he now has the name for his power! And it-makes-him-want-to-scream!!! Wanna guess? Yup! Correct! He is a fucking Metamorphmagus!
Here he is, thinking that he's so much smarter than his past life, Alan finally comes to terms with the fact that he was and still is a moron. Really, how he never had a thought about this in the first place will always amaze him. It's just so obvious. It's right in front of his face, and he doesn't even think about it. However, in his defence, there isn't much about the Metamorphmagus mentioned in the books or the movies! The only thing Alan can recall about the Metamophmagus ability is Nymphadora Tonks's constantly colour-changing hair. Furthermore, there is only one scene in the movie where Nymphadora changes her lip? Mouth? Into a duck's beak. But that's it. Nothing more! So, it's understandable that he doesn't recognise his power after having and practising it for nine whole months, right?
Comes to thinks about it, Alan finds that Nymphadora and himself have one thing in common, which is that both his and Nymphadora's abilities heavily depend on their emotions. Nymphadora's hair changes to a bright pink whenever she gets angry at something. For him, whenever he gets angry, if Alan doesn't stop it, his power will make his hair change to the brightest shade of red!
Alan really doesn't know for sure if he's allowed to say that he has better control than Nymphadora, as she seems to be unable to control her hair to change colours at all. However, maybe it's because she doesn't have to hide her ability as Metamorphmagus in the first place? Just think about it: why would she? In the Wizarding World, besides having magic, there are some wizards and witches who are very lucky to be born with some extraordinary gifts! To name a few, there are people like Gellert Grindelwald, who is a Seer, born with the ability to touch the flow of time, to look into the future, and to see visions of possibilities that could have come true. There are people like Queenie Goldstein, who is a born Legilimen, born with the ability to read other people's minds as they please. There are people like Salazar Slytherin and Voldemort, who are Parselmouths, who can communicate with and command all kinds of reptiles as they please to do their binding. And of course, there are people like Nymphadora Tonks and Alan, born with an ability called Metamorphmagus that allows them to change their age, sex, hair colour, and so much more. A rare magical ability that cannot be taught or mastered by those not born with it. The ability is bestowed on only a few people around the world. Hence, Alan knows for sure that Andromeda and Ted Tonks would have been thrilled to know that their daughter was born with such marvellous power. Meaning that they will absolutely encourage her to freely use and show it to the world.
Meanwhile, living in the orphanage in the Muggle's world, Alan has been spending every minute perfecting his control over his power so that he won't expose his power to the world. Human is the most complicated creature ever, and they can be as cruel as wonderful, and Alan just doesn't want to test how people will react when they find out that there is a shapeshifter living among them. People fear what they don't understand, and being a Metamorphmagus is inherently unthinkable for the people around him. When they fear something, they will lash out, and Alan just doesn't want to be hurt or to hurt anyone in the orphanage; it's his home, and these people, even though some of them are quite annoying sometimes, are still his family after all.
Even though both share the same rare magical power, the difference in how Alan and Nymphadora use their power is very noticeable. Being mature enough, Alan knows that intention is what really matters. You see, Nymphadora uses her power for concealment and disguise; with her Metamorphmagus ability along with the proper training gained while in the Auror Training, she is the perfect spy that you can ever imagine. But for Alan, he quite likes the face he's wearing in this life, so he doesn't want to change it. Instead, Alan uses his Metamorphmagus ability mostly for offensive means, like strangling someone to death or breaking their bones by whipping his hair at them... But now, knowing that there is a possibility of changing all of his features and body parts into some animals' features, Alan suddenly has so many ideas to experiment with, and he can't wait to test them out!
But before doing all of that, Alan has to get over the existential crisis he's having right now! He truly wants to scream! Why? Easy! While busy thinking about the Metamorhmagus ability, Alan suddenly realises that this rare, wonderful magical power is genetic! Only people who share the same genetic code can have this power, and while there are millions of wizards and witches in the world, there is only one family in England that is infamous for possessing this power! Wanna guess? Yup! The one and only—the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black!
Alan is truly having a mental breakdown right now! You would think he should be happy for being a member of the House of Black, right? Cause if there is one thing about the House of Black, it will be that they're like the Royals in the Wizarding World, or at least in Great Britain. And you should feel happy about becoming a member of the Royal Family, right? Wrong! Nope! Nah, ah! Thanks, but no thanks! Let Alan tell you why: Darling, besides being one of the largest, oldest, and wealthiest pure-blooded wizarding families in Great Britain, the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black is also famous for their "Black Madness"!
Telling members of the Black Family are crazy is like telling a butterfly is pretty! It's that obvious. You don't believe it? Well, just look at Bellatrix and Walburga Black - They're the embodiment of craziness! Not to mention that the Black Family is the worst blood-purist arsholes ever!
You really can't find anyone worse than them. They despise anyone, whether Muggleborn or Half-Blood. It doesn't matter who you are; if you're not from one of the Pureblood families, you're like dirt to them. The Black Family always thinks that the blood in their veins brings magic; magic brings power, and to keep the power, they must keep their blood pure. That's why their mojo is called "Toujours Pur - Always Pure", as they think their blood is above all because they claim that their blood is the purist. And in order to maintain the purity of their blood, the Black Family really does everything in their power to make sure of it, including inbreeding and killing off all the Squibs—people who are born into the wizarding family but don't have magic—so that no one can "taint" their blood... About that, Alan has one word for them: BULLSHIT!
Remember Albus Dumbledore and Voldemort? The greatest white wizard of modern times, while the other is one of the most feared Dark Lords ever. Remember them? Yeah, they're Half-Blood, you stupid blood purist! Alan is pretty sure that members of the Black Family will hate his gut as he is gay and also a Half-Blood! God, Bellatrix's sure as Hell will tear him to shreds if she knows about him! That woman is the next level of craziness!
The reason he's so sure that he is Half-Blood is because Alan refuses to believe his birth mother can die giving birth to him if she was a witch! No way in hell can it even happen. The Wixens have their flaws, but do they have potions that can heal every injury! So if his birth mother is a witch, there are hundreds of potions that can save her life, and she won't even give birth to him in the Muggle's hospital in the first place. Alan likes to think that his mother is a descendant of a squib who was abandoned by the Black Family a long time ago, but the chance for it to be true is just very thin. The Black Family is extremely proud to say that they killed all the Squibs they had in their bloodline. "Vanishing the taint" - they say. Grade A arsholes, they are!
So it must be his father... The man who fathered him has to be a member of the House of Black. And there are only two men that Alan knows belong to the House of Black: Sirius and Regulus Black!
Regulus is already off the list. Poor him; he died too young, only 17—almost 18... Alan can't really think Regulus had the time to birth a child when he's too busy staying alive since being the Death Eater and then died too young because of stealing one of Voldemort's Hocruxes. Alan's sure that, being an Inferi swimming mindlessly in a cave by the sea somewhere in England, Regulus won't have a chance to father him. So there's only Sirius left, and honestly, somehow it's made it even worse!
Let's say... unlike other fans, Alan doesn't really like Marauders. Don't get him wrong; Alan doesn't hate them, but he dislikes them! Why? Well, you see... In Alan's eyes, the Marauders are bullies! The way they tormented Snape because he was simply a "slimy" Slytherin—as James Potter said—just doesn't sit right with him. Say whatever you like, but what they did to Snape was bullying. Ganging up on a scrawny little boy who lived in an abusive home with no one to rely on—that's bullying! You will say that Snape also fought back with the same level of maliciousness. Well, what do you want him to do? Standing there and just letting them torment him? True to be told, if Alan's in Snape's situation, he swears he will tear the Marauders limbs from limbs, and consequences be damned!
Knowing he is gay at such a young age, Alan is too familiar with bullying. It's like being bullied is the mandatory passage of maturing that you have to pass if you're gay. Alan has never, in his entire life, encountered a homosexual individual who had never been bullied by those homophobic jerks. Luckily for him, Vietnam, even though it is a very traditional Southeast Asian country with such a long history, is somehow quite open to the LGBTQ+ community.
One of the many things Alan learned from his past life is that Vietnam is a free country that gives you the freedom to practice whatever religion you like. No matter the gods or goddesses that you like to worship, whether you are Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, or Muslim,... as long as you don't do anything to harm other people and are not against the laws, the government won't give a shit. There are at least 15 religions that are practised by more than 90 million people in Vietnam. And even though Alan's a Buddhist, there is one religion that originated in Vietnam that stands out the most to him: The Four Palaces!
Many people don't know, but Vietnam used to be a matrilineal society, so it's very understandable that Vietnam has its own religion to worship the Mother Goddesses called Đạo Mẫu. Đạo Mẫu is a distinct form of Vietnamese shamanism, giving prominence to some Mother Goddesses in its pantheon. It contributes to the appreciation of women in society and is recognised by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity. The most prominent form of Đạo Mẫu is the Four Palaces (Tứ Phủ), which worships a hierarchical pantheon of Vietnamese indigenous deities, mostly women, with a strong influence from historical figures, Taoism, and Buddhism. The name literally means "Four Palaces", which includes the four realms of Heaven, Mountains, Water, and Earth.
There are many rituals that will be performed by the followers of the Four Palaces; however, the most well-known ritual that will be performed by the Four Palaces' followers will be "Lên Đồng", in which followers become spirit mediums for various kinds of spirits and deities while also being a bridge between the mortal realm and other realms. The date of "Lên Đồng" rituals is typically planned to coincide with a festival, anniversary, or the inauguration of a Mother Goddess house. Rituals are generally held in temples, shrines, or similarly sacred locations.
The reason why Alan is so fascinated with the Four Palaces is because gender holds no value for the Mediums! Men and women can both be Mediums for the Four Palaces, but most of the time, it's the man who becomes the Medium. When "Lên Đồng" rituals are performed, the Medium has to wear costumes and jewellery and even do makeup to match the particular deities they are incarnating. And because most of the deities that are worshipped in the Four Palaces are women, imagine how surprised Alan is after watching a young, beautiful man wearing a very beautiful costume start dancing and acting like an ancient indigenous "Goddess". It's one hell of an experience! It also made his little gay heart feel so warm knowing that the Mediums are revered highly, including the male mediums, even though they dress up like women and most of them are openly gay.
And maybe because of that, along with the rich culture gained after more than 4500 years, Vietnam is not too much of a difficult country for the LGBTQ+ community. There are, of course, lots of homophobic arsholes; the world is going to "die" without them, or at least that's what they thought! Seriously, the world will be so much better without these homophobic jerks. Up until Alan died in his past life, Vietnamese people were more open-minded, and the government even considered legalising same-sex marriage, which of course made Alan extremely happy.
However, as he mentioned, being gay equals being bullied, and Alan encountered many bullies in his past life. You should know that being bullied is the worst feeling ever, especially if you can't even tell your parents the reason why you're being bullied. How can he? He can't tell his mom that there are people calling him faggot, using other degrading terms to call him, pushing him around, and even attacking him just because of who he really is. Alan still remembers that he wished for anyone to come to rescue him and tell people off, but sadly, no one came...
So, easy to understand, because of having no one to rely on, Alan decides to say "Fuck it". He will be his own saviour! That's why, one day in his past life, when he was still in high school, while a bully tried to push him down the stairs while passing by, Alan suddenly turned around, grabbed the bully's hand, and brought him down the stairs with him. Alan truly didn't know what possessed him at that moment, but the next thing he did was bite his bully's throat so hard that he tasted blood in his mouth. Biting so hard, Alan pierced deep into the throat of his bully, making his bully have to have stitches in the hospital. Let's just say that being banned from school for one whole week for fighting and endangering your fellow students, for Alan, was totally worth it! There was lots of blood, and Alan was certain that at that moment, with blood dripping from his mouth, he was like a demon resurrected from Hell, but he could not care less! Why? Because from that moment onward, no one has dared to touch him ever again. So Alan counts it as a win! Who cares what other people say? You've gotta protect yourself, right? If being crazy helps keep him from being bullied, then crazy it is! The world is not black and white; there is also grey, and it can be very cruel to kind hearts, so Alan will save his kindness for those who truly deserve it.
Now you understand why Alan dislikes the Marauders, right? Snape was just like him, if not worse! It is understandable why Snape reacted the way he did when the most popular group at school tormented him with magic without anyone standing by his side or offering their help. Victim to victim, Alan, of course, will side with Snape on this one! But hey, it doesn't mean that Alan likes Snape, okay? Alan understands Snape to some degree, but honestly, the man really needs lots and lots of serious therapy.
Being a victim of bullying, Alan doesn't know how to feel if Sirius, a bully, is his father. There are just too many traumas preventing him from even thinking about accepting Sirius as his biological father. Alan is "seriously" thinking that he will have to go to therapy if it comes true. Does Great Britain even have therapists in 1987? Fuck! Alan will have to search them out sooner than later. Or maybe Alan can be lucky that Sirius is not his father? Who knows? He's quite lucky so far, so maybe he will be lucky this time too? God, he's so pathetic. Fine! He will take care of it when the time comes. For now, "Get a hold of yourself and start making plans!" Alan talks to himself.
And making plans, he is!
The first thing Alan notes down on the note is to find a way to contact Nymphadora and her mother, Andromeda Tonks. Why? Because, besides Regulus and Sirius (he is a bully, but among the Black Family, he's not a bad one), Andromeda Tonks is the only member of the Black Family who is decent and not a blood-purist supremacist. Unlike her crazy sister Bellatrix and her blood-purist supremacist Narcissa, Andromeda was disowned by her own family for being married to a Muggleborn wizard named Ted Tonks. Alan truly can't help but admire her. Not everyone can say that they break the circle of abuse to become their own person while also unlearning all the blood-purist propaganda that was engraved in their minds from a very young age. But Andromeda Tonks (nee Black) did it! And if Alan truly is a Black, they'll be family, and as an Asian, family matters the most to him. Also, living in the Muggle's World truly has its disadvantages, so he's gonna gather all the support he can find. Besides, currently, Nymphadora is the only other fellow Metamophmagus that he knows about, so he wants to reach out to her as they share the same magical gift. Not to mention that, it's not hurt to have other minds while experimenting with their power, right?
Next, he notes that he has to find Harry Potter. The sooner, the better! Don't worry; Alan has no intention of taking advantage of Harry Potter. He's not that low to take advantage of an orphan. What he wants is to help increase Harry's current living situation.
Everyone who knows about the Potterverse will know that Harry is abused by his relatives - the Dudleys - at a very young age. Petunia is a petty person; she hated Lily Potter all her life, but we all know that, secretly, she was jealous of Lily for having magic. Oh, Magic, to have it is Petunia's deepest desire. But that desire turned to nought, as Petunia has no magic. Alan suspects that Petunia is a Squib, but he doesn't have any proof to back his theory. Needless to say, Petunia resents Lily and all things related to magic, as she has none, and if she can't have it, then no one else can! Petunia, along with her husband, Vernon Dursley, tries every possible way to "stamp" the magic out of Harry. Honestly, it amazes him how Harry doesn't become an Obscurial. Because with everything the Dudleys do to Harry, he has every excuse to become one, but Harry doesn't! And it's truly a wonder in itself. But guess what? Alan'll pay good money to see Albus Dumbledore's face if Harry becomes an Obscurial. First Ariana, then Credence Barebones, and now if Harry Potter—The Chosen One, The Golden Boy—becomes an Obscurial, Alan's sure that Albus Dumbledore will drown in shame!
So no, the reason why Alan wants to find Harry Potter as soon as possible isn't because Harry Potter is The Chosen One; it's because, by living and breathing, Alan's already changed the course of history. The butterfly effect is already at play. He cannot know for sure if other things will change as well. What if, in this life, Harry Potter finally says fuck it and then not be The Golden Boy anymore? Or worse, become an Obscurial for being constantly abused by his only relatives? Who can make sure this possibility won't happen? Alan's sure he cannot!
The query is: You are aware of the abuse an orphan boy is receiving from his relatives and are able to stop it. What are you going to do? Are you just standing aside and watching all of it play out without preventing it? Or will you step in to help the powerless boy? Well, for Alan, he's sure as Hell will step in and put a stop to all of the bullshit! Let's just say that Alan might not be a good person, but that doesn't mean he is a bad person. He's morally grey, and he still has standards, alright? Even though those standards might lean a little towards the dark, he draws a line at animal cruelty and child abuse! So yeah, Alan will find Harry Potter and try his best to help Harry's life situation. Albus Dumbledore can go fuck himself for all he cares!
The problem is, even though Alan remembers Harry Potter's house address at Number 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey, he just doesn't know how to get there! There is one thing about Alan that he hates to admit: he is really bad at memorising and navigating the roads. He doesn't even know the directions to save his life; just put him in the maze, and he will die eventually because he is unable to find the way out. In his past life, whenever he needed to go somewhere, Alan used Google Maps to navigate the roads. But this is London in 1987, and Google Maps didn't exist until 2005. So, Google Maps is out of the picture. There are, of course, paper maps of London, but he's really bad at reading the maps. Alan's gonna need some help...
Besides, Alan doesn't think Madame Maxime will allow him, a 7-going-8 child, to leave the orphanage and go somewhere God knows what all by himself. He can convince her to have a day off school to go somewhere, but she will sure as Hell demand an adult to accompany him. But if someone goes with him on the quest to find Harry Potter's house, Alan doesn't know what he can explain to that person about why he needs to find the house in the first place. What can he say? Saying that he - an orphan - needs to find that house so that he can find The Chosen One, The Golden Boy, and The Boy Who Lives of the Wizarding World to help save that boy from an abusive home? Alan is having a migraine thinking about that. Alan decides that he needs to be patient. He is not a Gryffindor, and he won't jump into actions without having a plan or two or three to back them up. So... "Sorry Harry, you have to wait for a little more, dear!" - Alan tells himself.
Next, Alan writes down the name "Voldemort"!
Alan might not remember every single detail about the Potterverse, but he remembers enough to come to the conclusion that Voldemort needs to die! Tom Marvolo Riddle might be The Boy Who Made All The Wrong Choices, but Voldemort is nothing but a monster that needs to be put down, burned to ashes, put in a box, and then buried deep under the ground with nine layers of Hell Fire above it! Thinking about Voldemort makes Alan realise that his extreme side is coming out to play, but he doesn't give a shit!
Let's just say that even though Alan is only 90% sure that he's a member of the Black Family, God, he's really needed to find a way to test it out. The Wizarding World must have some kind of genetic test, right? Or else he has to find a way to collect some hair from Nymphadora and give both her hair and his to the DNA Testing Centre to make sure that they're related. But nevermind, if Alan is truly a Black, and with being a Black and a Half-Blood, when Voldemort raises again, Alan is sure as Hell Voldemort will come recruit him if not for his last name - Black - holds power, then will for the similarity of them!
Forgetting Harry Potter, Alan is now the one who's extremely similar to Voldemort in every aspect. Both were descendants of an ancient wizarding family; both are orphans living in the orphanage; and both have rare magical gifts: Parselmouth in the Voldemort case and Metamorphmagus in the Alan case. If Harry Potter and Voldemort are two sides of the same coin, then Alan and Voldemort will have tea on the same side of that coin.
So if Voldemort knows about him, Alan is 100% sure that Voldemort will come to recruit him immediately, and of course, Alan will decline! He doesn't have a death wish. Thank you very much!
As long as Albus Dumbledore is still alive, Voldemort will never have a chance to win. That old man really has a master's degree in manipulation and strategy. Say anything you want about Albus Dumbledore, but you cannot deny that Albus Dumbledore just knows how to win the war! For Alan, Albus Dumbledore is not a good person; no good person will manipulate an orphan boy and groom that boy like a pig to be slaughtered, but Alan also doesn't think Albus Dumbledore is a bad person. In his mind, Alan thinks that Albus Dumbledore is simply a General at war. And being a General at war, Dumbledore will, of course, do anything to win. All's fair in love and war, right? Yes, he is manipulative. Yes, he uses children to fight his battles. Yes, he sacrifices everyone, including himself. Yes, he uses any means to achieve his end. But in the end, he wins a war! A war against a crazy power-hungry corrupted Dark Wizard that'll kill everyone standing in his way.
The Chinese have a saying like this: One general succeeds and ten thousand bones wither. Meaning that sacrifice must be made to win a war, and everything Albus Dumbledore does is to make sure that the Wizarding World won't suffer under the mercy of another Dark Lord. You can blame him for all you want, but you cannot deny that if not for Albus Dumbledore and his plans, there will be thousands more Wixens die if Voldemort wins!
Alan also likes to think that if Albus Dumbledore has more time; if he doesn't get an untreatable curse placed by Voldemort on the Resurrection Stone, and if he is still alive when Voldemort comes to Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore will have other plans for the Golden Trio and not tell them to follow the not-so-good but somehow well-crafted plan that he instructs them after he dies in the first place. Desperate times call for desperate measures. after all...
As of now, when Albus Dumbledore is still alive and breathing and enjoying his Cockroach Clusters in his office, Alan isn't so sure what plans Albus Dumbledore has for him if he sides with Voldemort. So, "Voldy, thanks, but no thanks! You're on your own, man"!
However, there is a consequence, which is that Voldemort will absolutely not be pleased with Alan for declining to join his crew. And when the Dark Lord is not happy with you, he will kill you. And Alan doesn't want to be killed, so of course he has to do something, right? You see, when there is a threat to him, Alan will do everything in his power to eliminate the threat. Wait... why does he sound like Gellert Grindelwald? Maybe he does have the "Black Madness" after all? Fuck it! Who cares? Voldemort needs to die, and that's final!
Writing down all the things about Voldemort and his Hocruxes that he can remember, Alan suddenly realises that there is one Hocrux that he can get his hand on to destroy: the locket! Right now, Kreacher is keeping it at 12 Grimmauld Place, right inside London. He knows the house is under the Fidelius Charm, but maybe Andromeda can still access it? As he remembers, the Fidelius Charm will hide a location and only be visible to anyone who knows the address in the first place, and even though Andromeda was disowned, the Fidelius Charm had been there for far too long, even before she was born, so Andromeda must still remember the address of her ancestral house, right? Wait, he still remembers the address of the Grimmauld Place! Perfectly clear in his mind: Number 12 Grimmauld Place, Borough of Islington, London. If he still can remember it now, can he be able to see it too? That sounds legit, right? Ohhhh, that'll be marvellous if he's right! He has to test it out! But for now, closing up the notebook, Alan talks to himself: "Aunt Andromeda, ready to meet your 90%—sure—nephew?"